Recent twists in the palestine-israeli peace process have the SOUND of good news - but if the worlds attention is taken away from it, the mould-breaking good attitudes shown - a bit "under the surface, perhaps, but there, nevertheless - might all too quickly get buried under the predictably "minderbinder"influenced media semi-scepticism.
So much DOES hinge upon this key factor in the world that sometimes its hard to see that, as much as that set of disputes DOES nail the "war of errorism" to the perch, so to speak, unblocking it ALSO needs both extra imagination in terms of input from the "outside world", but also both the extra scepticism to see what HAS kept blocking it in the past ( - then ways to kick out those blocks ), but also how this SERIOUS defuse of the "present" clash of cultures ( in-Book clashes, you might say) could exist within a wider global unblocking of futures.
(a couple of imagination-spurs from the past are in the december o7 "remember each !!th" post"Remember Forgetting" - the Hague pre-WW1 peace process that almost was, with the "League of Nations" actual Disarmament process they thought was going to happen. When these didnt happen due to the machinations, prevarications etc of dodgy senators, media-opinion-influencers, etc ( see the famous 1920s quote from a young FDR ) - the early disarmament of the Versailles treaty seemed far more unjust, so that war-stirrers etc could use it later as provocation, hence, as we were all taught at school - somewhat inaccurately, in actual fact - WW2.)
The Palestine/Israel situation has four straightforward problems, of course - Jerusalem, the borders, the happiness of "returnees", the happiness of "settlers".
It could also do with the actual engagement of those breathing components of its various spiritual traditions - all types - liberals but "fundamentalists" too . In fact the involvement of different spiritual traditions, both those that hold Jerusalem (or little towns nearby) as special - but also those whose single news of these places is in either the possible destination of a few wise men (or women) who went on a very long journey on a bit of a hunch*, or that recognise in some of its tales the sorts of things that might have happened in their own misty pasts.
But all that said, the actual need is for a higher sense of security - in the entire region. Much of the most recent "THE NEXT SET OF IMAGINARY WMD WE ARE GOING TO WAR ABOUT ARE. . . . " bogeyperson creation scheme is due to the fact that after the - OVERT - engineering of a coup against its elected prime minister in 1953 by the USA, with the UK, for the sake of a threatened renegotiation of a "Sub-prime-mortgage-snake-oil-charmer-reminiscent" oil license, certain nations saw their "deterrent" as a threat against what they saw - also somewhat inaccurately - as a "client state" of that same USA. Nuclear weapons might have seemed to unlock that knot - but in actual fact were used as the excuse - in the case of Iraq - by certain interest groups in the USA - or with outposts there - or employing "opinion-influencer" groups there - to invade, then somehow create such a mess of the place that the entire regions quality of existence suffers in ways people couldnt have guessed at as a "worst case" outcome in the past.
This means the need for a serious re-look at the sort of global (total) nuclear DISarmament treaty that JFK was working on in the months after the "missile crisis" - prior to getting shot. Realistic, with stages, the security of materials, where they get collected under UN auspices, mutual guard forces ( who watches watchers watchers, etc) then the straightforward use of useful new tech for the checking, the factory inspections that INCLUDE the USA, UK, etc - but ALSO include Corporations large or little - (that are very much more admitted as a factor, these days).
This sounds complex, but is MUCH less complex in comparison to, say, carbon trading, (**) - or serious "attempts-that-work" to sort out climate turbulence, global poisoning/waste factors, seeing as we have got over the stage when "opinion-influencers-of-the-world-for-hire" were employed trying to sell out their own kids in that "WORLDS FLAT - "SCIENTIFIC"DISPUTES REMAIN stage, if we aint quite got over the "you could pay the wasters to waste a bit differently - you could have a MARKET in "unwaste paper bonds", WE could T R A D E them for you" (in the voice of gollum).

A serious look at the UN - to strengthen it - is actually getting pushed by the UK, as most of the people that hope to do the job of president in the USA show signs of seeing past the old war-spinners or the unnecessay duallism of "neo" intervention versus short-term fake isolationist pragmatism, as "bilateral" is seen as the bullying-with-blowback that it is, when more people are looking at the output of certain "apolitical" groups to see that, they too, should "clean house" when it comes to the dodgy commecial cash in politics - why, either side of the pond, people are at last suspicious of that the entirely saintly image of newspaper proprietors might have a few extra questions asked . . . . as people in the UK wonder at the immense funds weilded by the SECRETARIES of certain UK donors, people in the USA look at old Bond pictures to wonder . . . . is that the REAL "Mr Kane"???? (re "Citizen Kane")
In actual fact, seriously, a bipartisan, all sides of the house amount of progress - ACTUAL progress - is quite possible.
If/as a few other facts come out, this might mean quite fast progress - but there are signs that people could "roll with it" - without the need to fall into "you're a diabolic dupe/ ethicless secularist . . . . you're a bigotted stick-in-the-mud/ holy fool . . . . lets both surrender our last free thoughts, cash, etc to that nice security industry/ arms dealer over there, then do the NEWnew "clash of cultures" jig. Assuming the inept cunning plotter types comprehend we AINT doing the USA 1860s Re-enactment for them.
The serious look at what the world encourages, through rewards, in this odd set of logistics that - post deregulation - despite "stitch-in-time" theory, with its re-working of global structures might discover a few large scale actual criminal scams as the attics looked through, so to speak. This is also quite possible - but - odd though it sounds - is as much a cause for "situation-defuse/ peace process thinking as the middle east.

Loads of these things are far MORE possible if the world accepts that, at the same time that amends ARE a way for people out of old-style revenge cycles, if we cushion the effects upon actual people - ALL types of people - of rapid alterations to the world - then the "nightmares" come out of a lot of different scenarios, allowing people to think past "denial", if they see themselves as "the" winners in only this shape of the world, however short-term that might seem.
Emphasizing the removal of stress from society - ALL bits - without the (always expected "swapping") of the " nasty seats" - that increases the total stress in society, as people that had thought they were "okay-ish" worry about WHATEVER might happen doing them harm.
(Of course - to some extent THAT entire bit of the process is MUCH easier in this particular dystopia, due to the fact that - as a usual bit of the "background noise" in society - its as if the more criminal bits of the "insecurity industry" have gone around sub-acoustically playing the mesmerising sound of "WOLF, WOLF, WOLF, WOLF" whispers, in several variations, for YEARS, so that when the reality of new situations DOES happen, when people AINT stuck on burning pyres getting fed their pets as their fingernails are pulled out - ITS ALL ACTUALLY QUITE A RELEIF.)
(Thats for the short-short term. For the mid-term, etc, people that do maths have seen that set of stats about other uses of two weeks of the worlds "arms spending", as the spend on the "war of errorism" passes 1,000,000,000,000 bucks - the idea of WHAT INVESTMENT MEANS reminds the world its spent X-amount averting tragedy after sub-prime, out of societies purse, when the "risk-taking" bits of society screwed up to leave people paying for the damage with their homes, pensions, security, then, in a bit, we are told, less jobs, so, more stress etc. . . . the single good thing thats come out of it is the fact that the "cash-jugglers of the world" too might accept that the meaning of the word "investment" has got free again. We could also re-use that old phrase "stitch in time saves nine".)
Stretching imagination - in tight corners - aim higher
With a large-SEEMING "investment" up front - of imagination - effort - time too - then problems such as those "four horsemen" of Jerusalem, etc could actually open the door to different solutions to world problems - or open doors to different worlds ! A U.N university of aerospace,etc - for peace. . . . say, amongst 4 new universities, at new, green oases in the desert . . . . the 2020 "peace" world games-type investments, those old "worlds fair" type architectural competitions - to end up as a few "extra" bits - new "eden projects" to practise growing crops under glass/etc in new situations. . . . "green" research, in the new, "worlds" jerusalem - of wonderful new homes for actual people - in a wider way to see jerusalem as the capital of both palestine, with israel, but also with the world. . . . worlds, too, later ! (Or at least, seen as a "cradle" of new "arks" - the freight-lifters, etc for space travel . . . . idea of a "worlds spiritual university" / multi-versity - to research all different spiritual traditions - to disagree too - but also to appreciate each - to include "older" or newer attitudes too - ethical codes that mightnt seem spiritual to some for a bit, might also appreciate "political" research, discussion etc. . . . after all, much good has come from this region in the past (thats a sort of understatement for a lot of people, (happy xmas!!!!) the fact that much harm has seemed to also means much has probably got misunderstood - but either way, it seems a good idea to remember some of the unusual mutual associations of the past, to strengthen all of us, if we are to have much of a future.
There is a phrase from a few wise old irishmen or women that strengthened the "quiet" moments of that gritty miracle - that said - some times Revenge . . . . in actual fact . . . . IS the sound of our kids kids playing together, happy.
If it takes a bit extra effort, then the idea of settler-israeli kids kids happy - in space - with palestines returnee kids kids . . . . as a gesture of support from the world thats worth all the words, but so much more . . . .
. . . . the world could push its imagination a bit.
Discover again the meanings of a few old words.
Might do us ALL a lot of good,
kick out the jams a bit!