Unequal parties
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas deserves admiration and applause for seeking membership of the United Nations (UN). His bid for UN membership represents the long-held and genuine aspirations of his people who have suffered too much for too long. Israel, unconditionally, unshakeably and unjustly supported by the US, is not only guilty of the illegal occupation of the Palestinian lands but has also inflicted so much death and destruction upon the Palestinians. US President Barack Obama is telling Abbas to directly negotiate with Israel. But the point to be understood here is that it is a conflict between two unequal parties with one party ever ready to unleash its Apaches and F-16s against the other and threaten to stop the flow of revenue to the Palestinians. There is still time for the US to realise that Israel will never agree to a just resolution of the conflict without pressure from outside. After all it is in the interests of the US itself as it cannot afford to carry the Israeli luggage for too long.
From Mr Muneer Ahmad
Abu Dhabi

What next?
Never in history has the attainment of statehood for a country (Palestine in this instance) been so debated as the issue of whether Palestine will be granted UN membership. Britain, the US and Israel were (and still are) at the forefront of this anti-statehood crusade and, as a consequence, gave rise to the creation of militant forces that spawned terror on both sides of this warring neighbourhood — a tit-for-tat fireball that has consumed many lives! Germany is about the only state (in this quartet) that has remained divided. Obama, with his country’s debt crisis and a popularity rating that is at its lowest point, will have to apply super statesmanship tantamount to a slight shift in US-Israeli relations to ensure that the US is not biased when it comes to democratic ideals being pursued by any country — whether it is one that is at odds with Israel.
From Mr A.R. Modak
Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa

Member of the house
I drove into the basement parking after a tiring day at work and immediately got a message from my spouse asking whether I had reached home. Thanks to technology, communication has been made easier. I picked up my son from his babysitter and I get a message from my boss asking me to do costing for a new order. For a moment there I wished I had no e-mail access. Here I was standing in the kitchen cooking and I receive messages from around the world and I thought to myself: “Can you guys leave me alone for a while?” I managed to prepare one of my husband’s favourite dishes and as I asked how it was, his phone rang and I could see him frantically trying to operate the gadget with his left hand and eating with his right. Finally, we go with one last look at our phones before we say goodnight to each other. A sound from our phone either excites us or makes us anxious — depending on what the message is and who is sending it. I realised that our two-year-old son is a silent spectator and accepts the mobile phone as a member of our home.
From Ms Zahrah A.
UAE

Traffic tips
My observation about Sharjah traffic is as follows: I believe the problem is not due to high traffic but due to the mishandling of it. There are a few very simple steps that if initiated by Sharjah will solve most of the delays and traffic congestion. Get rid of all roundabouts in busy areas and replace them with traffic signals. The signal time should also at least be doubled. All roads that join the main road should have a buffer running — they should not directly join at 45 degrees, as in most of the cases in Sharjah. This causes a lot of problems to drivers as they cannot view the incoming traffic on the main road before proceeding. This eventually causes traffic to slow down. Finally, most of the dense residential areas are linked to main roads with single-lane entrances. There should be more access roads from the main road. Areas such as Al Nahda and Majaz have single lane connectivity from the main roads, causing delay in the exit and entry of many cars at peak hours.
From Mr S. Hashmi
Sharjah

Skyrocket
Gold rates are really unpredictable these days — the fluctuations in the rate are very sharp either way. A few months ago it came down to Dh163 and I thought of waiting a couple of days to see if it declines further, but it increased to Dh200 in just a few days.
From Mr Sargunar
Ajman
Full name withheld by request

Go back to normal
I am very happy that gold prices are falling. I feel that it should come down to its old price. Gold is not a necessity yet the price is being artificially hiked by some manipulators.
From Mr Dayal N. Lakhpati
Moscow, Russia

Truly green
This is a great initiative (“Deadline set to go green in UAE”, Gulf News, October 2). This is a good way to make things happen. I have heard of many awareness campaigns to stop the use of plastic bags and although they are effective, they do not work as well. Bringing in the authorities to create stringent rules and regulations will definitely bring in some change. And this change is needed!
From Mr Ahmad Ramadan
Fujairah

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