I've spent the good part of the day catching up on e-mail. I'm not all that active, but I've always found folks responsive, and information here most helpful. I appreciate the fellow feeling that most of you have expressed about Tuesday's events. I agree, in a general way, that getting on with business whole we prepare to respond to the atrocity is very necessary. I, however, do fully understand the practical necessity for postponing the conference. I don't think we'll ever REALLY understand, because the mindset that finds human life valuable has no point of contact with the mindset that finds human life meaningless and worthless at best. That, btw, is a major reason why I found the article about "understanding mideast violence" such drivel. After all what we are looking here is a. A meticulously and callously planned mass murder of enormous scale, not as "collateral damage", not as a "regrettable" but necessary "side effect" of military actions, but as THE END itself and b. The calculated suicide of dozens of people who could have had a future - who could have, in fact, used their abilities and knowledge to help their poor, impoverished neighbors, but who instead chose to spend the last months of their lives preparing for a spectacular suicide that would take THOUSANDS with them. THIS is the epitome of what terrorists are - people with NO respect for human life often not even their own, and certainly not of ANYONE else - even those they are purporting to speak for. Since it seems to be the feeling on th list, however, that this is not the place for this discussion, I'll leave all my other reactions to this article and any comments for other fora. I would just like to say one other thing, though. I had not even realized that Dr. Razzak Memon is Arab, and I still don't care. I just want to say that I hope that he comes to no harm for something that is no fault of his. I find it despicable that anyone should engage in that kind of scapegoating, and it saddens me that anyone would take on one of the characteristics of our enemies. Let me just finish by saying, that as tomorrow is the Jewish New Year, I'd like to wish everyone a blessed and sweet year. -- KKZ
