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Open Thread

The Sound of Children

A wounded Palestinian child screams as she arrives at Shifa Hospital after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. Like tear-drops in rain.

Source: Fadi Adwan-Getty, Washington Post.

Husk at man alltid apotekno.com skal lese pakningsvedleggene for medisin man skal bruke. 1 omfatter ikke psykologhjelp, behandling hos kiropraktor eller behandling for språk – og taledefekter. Insomni: problemer med å sovne, urolig nattesøvn, problemer med å sove lenge nok ogeller dårlig søvnkvalitet.

402 replies on “The Sound of Children”

An article talking to the question of what Obama has done and is doing to shape new politics.
New Yorker Magazine: The New Politics: Barack Obama, Party of One

Without entirely realizing it, America elected its first Independent president. The implications for how the country will be governed are profound, exhilarating, and loaded with risk.

http://nymag.com/news/features/all-new/53380/

By Post Author

News just in – Obama has asked George Bush to request release of the US$350 billion TARP bailout funds from Congress. Assuming Bush makes the request (and in his final press conference is indicated that he would as soon as the request was made) – then Obama will receive the 350 billion with no strings attached because if Congress tries to add too many strings Bush can veto the Congress triggering release.

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/us/politics/12cong.html

By Post Author

UN human rights body to send fact-finding mission to Gaza

The United Nations Human Rights Council today adopted a resolution strongly condemning the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza. The decision includes the immediate dispatch of a fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations committed in the territory.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stressed to told the Council on Friday that international human rights law must apply in all circumstances and at all times, and strongly urged the parties to the conflict “to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law to collect, care for and evacuate the wounded and to protect and respect health workers, hospitals, and medical units and ambulances.

“Accountability must be ensured for violations of international law,” she said, suggesting that the Council consider a mission to assess violations committed by both sides in the conflict in order to establish the relevant facts and ensure accountability.

The latest casualty figures according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health are 883 Palestinians killed since the operation began on 27 December, including at least 85 women and 284 children, as well as 4,057 wounded.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29512&Cr=Gaza&Cr1=

By Post Author

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi speaks to two congressman with very different views on the Gaza crisis.

Dennis Kucinich, Democratic member of the US House of Representatives and former presidential hopeful on why he feels Israel is violating international law with its invasion of Gaza. And secondly Eliot Engel, US congressman from New York, on why he supports the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGOv0lMMNDI&feature=PlayList&p=38F7745BC2422CD4&index=73

By Post Author

Like the “Tags” and “Categories” & “Search for” additions to the right-side column ,Cat 🙂

Inside story from Jimmy Carter, privy to diplomatic discussions on the ground:
“I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.
After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn, and I declared their launching from Gaza to be inexcusable and an act of terrorism. ”
and then further-
” We knew that the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza were being starved, as the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food had found that acute malnutrition in Gaza was on the same scale as in the poorest nations in the southern Sahara, with more than half of all Palestinian families eating only one meal a day.
Palestinian leaders from Gaza were noncommittal on all issues, claiming that rockets were the only way to respond to their imprisonment and to dramatize their humanitarian plight. The top Hamas leaders in Damascus, however, agreed to consider a cease-fire in Gaza only, provided Israel would not attack Gaza and would permit normal humanitarian supplies to be delivered to Palestinian citizens.
After extended discussions with those from Gaza, these Hamas leaders also agreed to accept any peace agreement that might be negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who also heads the PLO, provided it was approved by a majority vote of Palestinians in a referendum or by an elected unity government.
Since we were only observers, and not negotiators, we relayed this information to the Egyptians, and they pursued the cease-fire proposal. After about a month, the Egyptians and Hamas informed us that all military action by both sides and all rocket firing would stop on June 19, for a period of six months, and that humanitarian supplies would be restored to the normal level that had existed before Israel’s withdrawal in 2005 (about 700 trucks daily). ”
Cont’d,
“An Unnecessary War.”
http://www.truthout.org/010809R

I’m certain he will be back. He is the buyer for Good Guys Australia wide. I haven’t spoken to him yet. Thought it better to keep out of the way at the moment.

OT, admire this young protester who raised his paddle,and sans pennies in his pocket, successfully bid for some of Bush’s firesale of Utah’s beautiful National Parks.
22,500 acres for $US1.7mil
His was a protest of ‘seat -of-the pants’ proportion against big oil and mineral companies. What courage.
Good to see on-line donations from supportive individuals to try and buy these parks.

http://www.truthout.org/011009A

202 Catrina Do you REALLY thinks Bush can do that right? His track record says NO. Computer says NO!

Catrina at 165,

How is Hamas firing rockets at Israeli civilians addressing the needs of the Palestinian people? How is Hamas refusing to recognise the right of Israel to exist addressing the needs of the Palestinian people?

It could indeed be the case that Hamas want to do what is best for the Palestinian people. However, if so, they are fuck-ups at it.

If Israel wants to destroy the Palestinians, it must indeed by a very long-term plan. Sixty years and they have not come close, when if they wished to they could do it in a matter of weeks – and have been able to do it in a matter of weeks since 1972. Basically, I think that you are projecting your fear and hatred of Israel onto the situation, rather than thinking things through rationally.

Similar to above, it could indeed by the case that Israel wants to destroy the Palestinian people. However, if so, they are fuck-ups at it.

As to the little girl at the top of the page, if Hamas had not fought, she would not have been injured. If Hamas laid down their weapons today, recognised the right of Israel to exist and renounced violence forever, it is doubtful that any more children would be killed by Israel in Gaza.

However, given that you believe that Israel just wants to kill Palestinians, I can see that from your perspective fighting is the only choice for Hamas. It is our initial premises that lead us to different conclusions here. And – obviously! – I think that your premise is demonstrably false.

In any case, it has been an interesting discussion. I have certainly learnt a lot more about the reasons why people do things and why they believe things – including me. And I have learnt that some of the things that I thought were false – for example, that Israel’s war on Lebanon had frightened Hezbollah into no longer firing rockets at Israel. (I still think that Hezbollah no longer want to fight Israel, but I could be wrong in that, too.)

I am not likely to post too much more on this particular topic, although I might make the odd post here and there – it is always difficult to hold back, I find. 🙂

Seems that there is a lot of spin going on in the preparation for the announcement of a ceasefire. A report over over on Yahoo suggest that Rice was cut off at the knees by Bush on UN vote on the demand for a ceasefire.
Rice shame-faced by Bush over UN Gaza vote: Olmert

JERUSALEM (AFP) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was left shame-faced after President George W. Bush ordered her to abstain in a key UN vote on the Gaza war, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday.

Throw into this the Times report that Israel is demanding Hamas accept a ceasefire.
Gaza: Israel prepares ‘iron fist’ strike at Hamas

Israel is preparing to wage war against Hamas in the very heart of Gaza’s crowded population centres unless the Islamic militants accept ceasefire demands swiftly and stop firing rockets over the border.

I’m guessing that a ceasefire may be imminent (with the next three days) and that we are just watching the framing of events for media consumption. It seems to me that Israel is preparing it’s exit strategy for domestic consumption.

By Post Author

David Gould at 218

How is Hamas firing rockets at Israeli civilians addressing the needs of the Palestinian people? How is Hamas refusing to recognise the right of Israel to exist addressing the needs of the Palestinian people?

David – just for the record – in your mind, when did the firing of rockets commence? And while your doing a little of research on that subject, what do you suppose the needs of the people in Gaza (as opposed to the broader Palestine subject) were?

It could indeed be the case that Hamas want to do what is best for the Palestinian people. However, if so, they are fuck-ups at it.

Possibly – but before you make such a claim you should be able to articulate that state of affairs in Gaza at the time of escalation. I’m looking forward to hearing what you believe the ‘state of affairs’ was at the time of escalation.

If Israel wants to destroy the Palestinians, it must indeed by a very long-term plan. Sixty years and they have not come close, when if they wished to they could do it in a matter of weeks – and have been able to do it in a matter of weeks since 1972. Basically, I think that you are projecting your fear and hatred of Israel onto the situation, rather than thinking things through rationally.

You think I have a fear and hatred of Israel?

Similar to above, it could indeed by the case that Israel wants to destroy the Palestinian people. However, if so, they are fuck-ups at it.

You imply destruction is based on the killing of civilians. If that is your assumption then I need to correct some of your presumptions. If you destroy an economy, isolate the people for the rest of the world, stave them, withhold medical aid, water, food, are these not the not the actions of an entity attempting to break the people of Gaza – to destroy a people through elimination of it’s fabric?

As to the little girl at the top of the page, if Hamas had not fought, she would not have been injured.

Possibly – and at the same time it is also probably that should would not get enough food to eat, or that if she got sick she would not get medicine. It’s probably that she would would spend the rest of her life in a refugee camp. Take another look at the girl in the picture and ask yourself if your ready to take her place – and from the safety of your imagination, ask yourself what the right thing is.

If Hamas laid down their weapons today, recognised the right of Israel to exist and renounced violence forever, it is doubtful that any more children would be killed by Israel in Gaza.

No Palestinian State?
No right to self determination?

By Post Author

Two comments:
1.) 60 years of violence have done nothing to help the world move towards a Palestinian state.

2.) if Hamas laid down their weapons and renounced violence forever, the Palestinians would have self-determination and a state in a very short time – even if Israel opposed it.

Just went down to my brothers shop. Between 2-5 million in damage. An asbestos roof that has to be replaced. Power board exploded, seems to be the explanation. Bib Stillwell has offered him the place next door that he has. So he should re open pretty quickly.

Juan Cole in Salon:

The Gaza War of 2009 is a final and eloquent testimony to the complete failure of the neoconservative movement in United States foreign policy. For over a decade, the leading figures in this school of thought saw the violent overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the institution of a parliamentary regime in Iraq as the magic solution to all the problems in the Middle East. They envisioned, in the wake of the fall of Baghdad, the moderation of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the overthrow of the Baath Party in Syria and the Khomeinist regime in Iran, the deepening of the alliance with Turkey, the marginalization of Saudi Arabia, a new era of cheap petroleum, and a final resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on terms favorable to Israel. After eight years in which they strode the globe like colossi, they have left behind a devastated moonscape reminiscent of some post-apocalyptic B movie. As their chief enabler prepares to exit the White House, the only nation they have strengthened is Iran; the only alliance they have deepened is that between Iran and two militant Islamist entities to Israel’s north and south, Hezbollah and Hamas.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/01/08/gaza/print.html

The Star Tribune.

Coleman is casting wider net for votes.

His requests are frustrating county elections officials, who are being asked to produce thousands of documents.

In their fight to overturn the U.S. Senate recount, Norm Coleman’s legal team has begun pressing some Minnesota counties for documents on hundreds of thousands of ballots that were not previously disputed.

The lawsuit that Coleman filed last week to erase DFLer Al Franken’s 225-vote lead cites a few dozen specific ballot errors that he says favored Franken. But Coleman’s camp is also now casting a much wider net for other mistakes that could cost Franken votes.

The latest requests, dealing with approved absentee ballots and precinct voter rosters, are frustrating some counties. “You’re talking 30,000, 40,000 pages of documents,” said Stearns County elections chief Dave Walz, referring to his county alone. Joe Mansky, Ramsey County’s election director, said the county has received requests for copies of “over 200,000 pieces of paper” from the campaigns.

continued in The Star Tribune

Political Wire.

No Such Thing as “Election Day”

Michael McDonald: “In the presidential election of 2008, approximately 39.7 million or 30% of all votes were cast prior to Election Day, November 4, 2008. This is a significant increase from 20% in 2004 and part of the upward trend experienced since 1992, when 7% of all votes were cast early.”

Political Wire

Political Wire.

Burris Will Take Seat This Week.

After meeting with Roland Burris’ attorneys, the AP reports Senate Democratic leaders expect to formally seat Burris later this week.

A statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL): “We have spoken to Mr. Burris to let him know that he is now the Senator-designate from Illinois and as such, will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a Senator-elect.”

Political Wire

Politico.

Obama to reverse Bush executive orders.

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to move swiftly to reverse executive orders regarding torture of terror suspects, the military prison at Guantanamo Bay and other controversial security policies, sources close to his transition said, in dramatic gestures aimed at reversing President Bush’s accumulation of executive power.

Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) said he’s been informed that President Obama will support his proposed legislation to make public some opinions from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which issued some of the Bush Administration’s most sweeping claims of executive power. Obama also has promised to limit President Bush’s practice of using “signing statements” to amend legislation.

“Every day we get indications that they’re serious about reversing the abuses of the Constitution,” Feingold, a harsh Bush critic, told Politico. Feingold said Obama’s staff told him to expect executive orders rapidly reversing Bush policies on the interrogation and detention of terror suspects, and on keeping the records of past presidents secret. He declined to be more specific.

continued on Politico

The Hill.

Obama accepts invitation to speak to House GOP.

President-elect Obama has accepted an invitation to speak to the House Republican conference shortly after being inaugurated, a GOP leadership aide said.

Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel “enthusiastically” accepted the invitation extended last Friday by the newly-elected GOP leadership team, according to the House Republican aide.

Hmmmm.

continued on The Hill.

A bloody good read.
The Jailer State
By Oren Yiftachel

Israel has turned Gaza into a massive prison, and is choosing to prolong the cycle of state terror and prisoner resistance that goes with that, writes Israeli academic Oren Yiftachel
“We have a great opportunity now in Gaza to smash and flatten them…[We] should destroy thousand of houses, tunnels and industries, and kill as many terrorists as possible…”

So declared Eli Yishai, Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister, a few days ago. On the same day Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni promised “to topple the Hamas Regime”, and Israel’s Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert demanded in every forum to “hermetically seal” the Gazan-Egyptian border.

These, and many similar statements by Israeli leaders, sketch in painful clarity the “political geography of mass incarceration” increasingly evident in Israel/Palestine. Under this regime large populations are locked into specific areas against their will, and often against international law, and are then subject to the mercy of their wardens. Typically, when the conditions of imprisonment become unbearable, a rebellion erupts, and is suppressed by violent collective punishment, which in turn sets the conditions for the next uprising. …….

http://newmatilda.com/2009/01/12/jailer-state

One other thing that I wanted to comment on, and that is the ability of Israel to build a missile defence system that would protect its civilians from the rockets fired by Hamas.

They have attempted to do so – indeed, they spent a lot of money in 2007 and early 2008, including on test firings, of a system designed to shoot down these missiles.

However, the technical problems are at present insurmountable. The flight speed of a Qassam 3 is around 200 m/s. It has a maximum range of 10 kilometres, but is rarely fired over that distance. The usual targets are within 5 kilometres of the launch site.

At that flight speed, it takes 25 seconds from launch to strike. Detection of the missile launch and activation of the necessary computer systems up until the lauch of the counter missile takes around 15 seconds. Then there is the intercept flight time, which simply because the counter missile must track and then match the vector of the incoming missile, comes in at at least 15 seconds.

For longer range rockets, such as the Katyushas variants fired by Hezbollah, which generally have longer flight times, a laser is a possibility, with one having been in development for quite a while now. (Since 1996, at least on the theoretical level). While tests in 2002 were declared ‘successful’, the fact that this has not been deployed by Israel (it certainly was not in use in the 2006 war with Lebanon) is an indication that it is not yet sufficient.

My guess would be that the main problem is tracking a missile or multiple missiles fired and targetting them swiftly enough to shoot them down. Testing is notorious for problems in that if you know a missile is coming you can take certain steps to speed this up – cheating, in effect.

Ship missile defence systems use a “hail of bullets” approach to avoid the tracking and targetting problems. This is something not really suitable for use around civilian populations, as it would likely cause far more damage than the missile …

In the future, there may well be solutions to these issues, particularly as computers get significantly faster. But there is nothing at present that is of much use, unfortunately.

# 201 Great article Catrina. This is the bit I like.

Not long ago, a Republican guru of my acquaintance was brooding on who might be his party’s nominee in 2012—and questioning the sanity of anyone who’d want to be. “To run against Obama, you’re going to have to raise $1 billion,” he marveled. “Who in their right mind would want to try and do that to run against an incumbent president?”

This is why four Republicans have jumped ship already. There will be more as they see the writing on the wall. Who would be silly enough to take on Obama? Guess who? This will enable Obama to storm the middle ground, and take places the Democrats have never taken before. Obama’s machine is still growing. With the money he is putting into the Internet, it will allow for a faster growth of the Internet.

click here for the article

I wonder if the Australian Labor Party is analysing Obama’s campaign?

10-Year-Old Reporter Damon Weaver Gets His Credentials.

Oh frabjous day! This evening, upon my return home, I got a message from Jezebel.com’s Megan Carpentier that cheered my heart, and is bound to increase the temperature of your cockles, as well, without pharmaceuticals even. Ten-year-old elementary school cub reporter Damon “The Future of Journalism” Weaver has successfully hurdled one of his Inauguration Week obstacles: MSNBC is reporting that Damon Weaver, whose quest for an inaugural press credential to interview Barack Obama we previously chronicled, has been granted one by the Inaugural Committee. Now he just needs the interview, Rahm.

continued on Huffington Post.

Via Daily Kos, there’s a pre-inauguration bash on the 18th to be held at the Lincoln Memorial. Performers include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder.

Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington will be there to read historical passages (from what, it doesn’t say), and The Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson will give the invocation.

They must all feel very proud.

It looks like the Israelis are using banned weapons. Phosphorus shells.

Medics in Gaza say latest casualties include at least 60 people affected by suspected phosphorus shells fired illegally near civilian areas.

An Israeli army spokeswoman strongly denied the report, saying all its munitions complied with the law.

An Israeli spokesman also denied Human Rights Watch allegations of multiple use of white phosphorus in the bombing.

Phosphorus shells are allowed to make smoke in battlefields. Their use where civilians may be harmed is prohibited.

continued on the BBC site.

http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/20090112_targeting_hamas/

SHALOM, AND HAVE A NICE DEATH

The incursion into Gaza is not about destroying Hamas. It is not about stopping rocket fire into Israel. It is not about achieving peace. The Israeli decision to rain death and destruction on Gaza, to use the lethal weapons of the modern battlefield on a largely defenseless civilian population, is the final phase of the decades-long campaign to ethnically cleanse Palestinians. The assault on Gaza is about creating squalid, lawless and impoverished ghettos where life for Palestinians will be barely sustainable. It is about building ringed Palestinian enclaves where Israel will always have the ability to shut off movement, food, medicine and goods to perpetuate misery. The Israeli attack on Gaza is about building a hell on earth.
This attack is the final Israeli push to extinguish a Palestinian state and crush or expel the Palestinian people. The images of dead Palestinian children, lined up as if asleep on the floor of the main hospital in Gaza, are a metaphor for the future. Israel will, from now on, speak to the Palestinians in the language of death. And the language of death is all the Palestinians will be able to speak back.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090112_the_language_of_death/

Burris “Humbled” To Be Next Ill. Senator

Roland Burris says he’s “humbled and honored” to be Illinois’ next junior senator, and is thankful for the opportunity to serve.

The former Illinois attorney general thanked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois at a news conference Monday and said their scrutiny was motivated by trying to do the best thing for the chamber.

Senate Democrats said earlier Monday that criticizing Democratsthey’ll accept Burris as President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate successor and expect to swear him in soon.

continued on CBS News

If you read my article on censorship. You would know I have worked in bookshops. One thing I did not mention was that I was a sales rep for an Australian Publisher that went by the name of Rigby Publishing. In 1972 we distributed a book by the name of The Joy of Sex. This was a ground breaking book. The first sex book to be reviewed by the Age. We struck resistance in conservative area’s such as Warrnambool and Hamilton. The big breakthrough came when it appeared in paperback. We were still struggling to break into those areas. The big breakthrough came when Target took 1,000 for each store. Warrnambool included. Newsagencies went and bought them from Target. Hamilton still boycotted it, until the bosses daughter was prescribed the use of the book by her doctor for her marriage. Why do I mention this now?

Because it has now been revised!

Yet something about “The Joy of Sex” resonated with people — or at least reached them, parked as it was on the New York Times bestseller list for years after its 1972 release. It went directly from shelf to nightstand drawer, where kids found it and went “eww.”
It scintillated, it titillated, it taught French you never learned from Madame Cousin. But most of all, it normalized. In the boudoir, everyone was okay, and everyone could be taught. Subtitled “A Gourmet Guide to Lovemaking,” with such chapter headings as Starters, Main Courses and Sauces & Pickles, doctor-author Alex Comfort’s book made being a sexpert a snobby hobby. Like cheese-tasting, but naked.
This week in bookstores, an overhaul. A major overhaul — not like the smaller updates done over the years. “The Joy of Sex: The Timeless Guide to Lovemaking” has 42 new sections mixed in with the old standards like cassoulet and pattes d’araignee. Comfort died in 2000, so Susan Quilliam, a British relationship shrink, stepped in to write new content and balance out the phallocentric worship from the original.
According to “Joy’s” introduction, this version was written to benefit the “ordinary, sexually active reader.”
Ordinary? What, in the “Joy of Sex” world, does that mean, anyway?

Do you know who was on the board of directors of Rigby at the time? Sir Donald Bradman.
continued on MSNBC

Smoke that Senator Conroy!

244 jen I really hope Palin runs for president in 2012. I think she will be easy meat. Unless something goes horribly wrong for Obama.

Politico
Can Obama seize the moment?

Lincoln in the distance is poetry. Grant, on horseback at the foot of the Capitol lawn, grit. And from across the Tidal Basin, FDR, seated in his Navy cape and sheltered by a bank of holly trees, is a call for action.

This is the landscape Barack Obama will see from the West Front of the Capitol when he is sworn into office on Jan. 20.

With Lincoln’s Bible under his hand, the cannons booming their salute, history will come alive for one magic moment that will go to the heart of the American experience like none before in modern time.

A nation forever haunted by the legacy of slavery will have its first African-American president and, together with Obama, will stare down the great avenue of trees and parkland that holds so many memories.

continued on Politico

Hillary Clinton seems to be stepping up to the challenge as she walks a fine line during her confirmation hearing:

Mrs. Clinton said America must recognize Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas rockets but cannot ignore the suffering of Palestinians citizens, as well as Israelis. “Real security for Israel, normal and positive relations with its neighbors” as well as genuine security for Palestinians must continue to be America’s ideal, she said.

The 61-year-old senator, who was warmly received notwithstanding pointed remarks from the committee’s leading Republican about her husband’s fund-raising activities, acknowledged that lasting peace in the Middle East, and the idea of Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side, are dreams that have been elusive.

Noting that “many presidents, including my husband,” have spent years trying to achieve peace in the Middle East, Mrs. Clinton said: “We cannot give up on peace. The president-elect and I understand and are deeply sympathetic to Israel’s desire to defend itself under the current conditions and to be free of shelling by Hamas rockets.

“However,” she went on, “we have also been reminded of the tragic humanitarian costs of conflict in the Middle East and paid by the suffering of Palestinian and Israeli civilians. This must only increase our determination to seek a just and lasting peace agreement that brings real security to Israel, normal and positive relations with its neighbors; independence, economic progress and security to the Palestinians in their own state.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/us/politics/14state.html?ref=world

By Post Author

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/65210

Tues Jan 13:
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/doonesbury;_ylt=AucHqEbZr9L23lQEC7LJ_eAVvTYC

Tues Jan 13:
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/tomtoles;_ylt=AlmshdfsWwoHOwPF57D21gQl6ysC

Dubya’s unreturned, “Three Shakespeares and a Camus”, will incur late fines. Check out the simian body language of “potus imbecilicus” who wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to “keep expectations low”. Sure delivered on that promise. Yessuh!
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=85TE0K5fgJM

A touching moment, as Dubya’s “base” bid farewell to their Imbecile-In-Chief
http://www.worth1000.com/entries/79000/79096gLNk_w.jpg

Mon Jan 12: Don’t forget to double-check the Recovery Rocket’s “O”-rings, Barry.
http://news.yahoo.com/edcartoons/patoliphant;_ylt=ApaRMsDgGeCLYpYJdUskK9sVvTYC

Washington Post.
For Senate GOP, 2010 Losses on Top Of the 2008 Losses.

A spate of retirement announcements by Senate Republicans this year have further complicated attempts by GOP strategists to begin rebuilding a party devastated by across-the-board losses in recent elections.

The latest departure news came yesterday, when Sen. George V. Voinovich of Ohio said he has decided not to seek a third term in 2010, citing a desire to “step back and spend the rest of our time with our children and grandchildren.” Voinovich joins Republican Sens. Sam Brownback (Kan.), Christopher S. Bond (Mo.) and Mel Martinez (Fla.) on the sidelines heading into the 2010 election. So far this year, no Democrats have announced plans to retire after the current Senate term.

The rapid pace of Republican retirement announcements has dispirited many in the party who thought the 2008 election, in which the party lost seven or eight seats (depending on the outcome of the Minnesota contest), marked the GOP’s nadir.

may need registration.
continued in the Washington Post

NYT: U.N. Warns of Refugee Crisis in Gaza Strip

GAZA CITY — Growing numbers of Palestinians are fleeing their homes for makeshift shelters in schools, office buildings and a park as the Israeli Army continues to press its military campaign deeper into Gaza City.

According to the United Nations, about 30,000 people are living in schools it sponsors and an estimated 60,000 have fled to the houses of relatives. The figures still represent a small part of Gaza’s 1.5 million population but have doubled in the past four days, United Nations officials said, raising concerns about the humanitarian impact of a broader war.

The article goes to look at changes on the ground and reflects a growing polarization and shift of support from moderate Palestinians towards Hamas.

By Post Author

Watching ABC News Breakfast this morning I saw Hillary in a press conference and she looked terrible. The bags under her eyes were really pronounced. Now it’s possible that she just had great makeup on the campaign trail, and now there’s less need for that, but the difference was really noticeable.

Meanwhile Obama has said he will veto any resolution to block his stimulus package, which will mean a 2/3 majority will be required to overcome the veto. The blogging reaction that I’ve seen is terrible – seems people who post on HuffoPo and Daily Kos, for example, continue to be against these measures. I hope Obama can pull this off. We probably won’t know for a long time, though.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/13/obama-issues-first-veto-t_n_157585.html

Bush Declares State of Emergency

It’s true, President Bush sounded alarms about Barack Obama during the campaign season. On Tuesday, Mr. Bush went one step further: He declared Mr. Obama’s inauguration an actual emergency.

But before anyone jumps up and down …

The declaration, though, was not a political statement about Republicans being run out of town. Rather, it was a bureaucratic move intended to provide additional federal money to help the District of Columbia cope with the massive crowds that are expected to turn out for the swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20 that will make Mr. Obama the nation’s first black president.

😆

By Post Author

Ironic how the world changes:

The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, announced last January that he would invest $15 billion in renewable energy. That is the same amount that President-elect Obama has proposed investing — in the entire United States — “to catalyze private sector efforts to build a clean energy future.”

(NY Times)

The political scene remains depressing, but there’s some hope that real changes in energy usage will emerge to reduce our oil dependence.

Thanks for that Kirri- a sense of hope in all the gloom. The inauguration should give us all a lift!

ROTLMFAO!!!
Bush on Howard and Blair…

‘They are the sort of guys who look you in the eye, and tell you the truth and keep their word,’ Bush said during his final scheduled event in the White House’s East Room.

in between heaving.

262
Jen
Well all I can say is that the rude pundit would make a *far* better Mayor of London than that fuckwit Boris Johnson. :mrgreen:

WE DO NOT NEGOTIATE WITH DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVTS.

Gee, what a complete surprise!
Who would have ever thought HRC capable of such an “absolute” pro-Israeli stance?
For a moment there one could have been forgiven for thinking that Hamas were the democratically elected government of Palestinians in Gaza.

US secretary of state-designate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday ruled out negotiations with the Hamas militant group until it recognises Israel and abandons violence, saying her position is “absolute”.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/clinton-rules-out-negotiations-with-hamas/2009/01/14/1231608743657.html

——————
jen, it’s good that Johnny the Grub-Rodent is now conjoined by congressional medal to The Imbecile. Warmongers, liars and cowards, they deserve each other.

Overheard in Member’s Bar some time late 2035………

“Yeah, I remember Johnny Kow-Tow. Sucked up to the worst president in American history. Grovelled more than he usually did to Betty Windsor. Fucken parasite.”

paddy- agree about the mayor thing, but the first bit about The Biggest Fucking Idiot President Ever was funny.

Politico

In a brief stop on the road to Foggy Bottom, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton politely stiff-armed Republicans on Tuesday as they clamored for greater oversight of her husband’s overseas fundraising activities.

During an otherwise sedate confirmation hearing, Clinton exhibited a staggering range of foreign policy knowledge, declaring a new era of American diplomacy and coining a new phrase — “smart power” — to describe an Obama-Clinton approach that blends ideology and realpolitik in equal measure.

“Foreign policy must be based on a marriage of principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology, on facts and evidence, not emotion or prejudice,” she said in her opening statement.

Senior Democrats expect the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to approve Clinton’s nomination overwhelmingly Thursday, then move on to the confirmation hearing for U.N. Ambassador-designate Susan Rice.

continued on Politico

The Hill.
Senate Dems to hold three vote edge on most panels.

Senate Democrats will edge their Republican counterparts by at least three votes on almost all committees under an assignment scenario laid out Tuesday night by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

After weeks of negotiations with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Reid announced a lineup that assigns three more Democrats than Republicans to all committees except Appropriations and Armed Services, which will have four more Democrats.

The only other exceptions will be a one-seat advantage for Democrats on the Intelligence Committee and a two-seat edge on the Joint Economic Committee.

continued on The Hill

CQ Politics

Obama Pitch for Bailout Funds Pleases Democrats, but GOP Votes Said to Be Scarce.

President-elect Barack Obama stepped up his lobbying blitz with Senate Democrats Tuesday in an effort to win the release of the second half of the $700 billion financial industry bailout fund.

Claire McCaskill , D-Mo., said Obama made a “compelling case” for the second round of funding for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) during the Senate Democrats’ weekly luncheon and stressed that the new administration would bring more transparency to the process.

“I understand the challenge they are facing,” she said. “I feel much better.”

continued on CQ Politics

Suggest one gives this a few minutes to sneak up on you. The riff Neil Young uses was employed with great commercial success by guitarist Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top in their knock-shop anthem, La Grange. But if Billy didn’t “pick up on it” from John Lee Hooker you can bet your blues booties it was first power-chorded by a guitar-wieldin’ “field negro” from a Delta plantation in the Thirties. The sound is raw and Young’s words are wry dynamite. Almost revolutionary.
One is left with the distinct impression that very few if any corporate dollars were spent in maintaining Neil’s “High-Concept” production standards.

Btw, wtf has Bob Dylan done to be a flea in Bush’s collar like Neil Young has over the last eight years of U.S. War Masterin’?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-young/fork-in-the-road_b_157698.html

Associated Press.

Introducing a whole new range of voters. In eight years time these will be a very rich vein of voters to tap into. 😈

Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers headline kids’ concert.

Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers are slated to perform on the eve of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration at a concert for children, and a day later, the Obamas will have their first dance at a ball headlined by Beyonce, Jay-Z and Stevie Wonder.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the talent lineup Tuesday for the “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future” concert honoring military families, which will air Monday night, Jan. 19, on the Disney Channel. The Neighborhood Inaugural Ball, which will allow the Obamas to meet some of their new neighbors in the District of Columbia, will be broadcast live on ABC on Jan. 20. It also will feature Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Alicia Keys and Shakira.

“We are bringing these exciting performances into the homes of millions of Americans to make this the most open and accessible inauguration celebration ever,” Emmett Beliveau, executive director of the inaugural committee, said in announcing the lineup.

Obama revealed during the campaign that he listens to Jay-Z on his iPod. And the president-elect’s daughters are fans of Cyrus and her Disney show, “Hannah Montana.”

Just after the election, Cyrus’ father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus invited the Obama daughters to appear on the “Hannah Montana” show. The Disney Channel issued a statement saying they’re welcome any time.

continued on Associated Press

New York Times
Anti-Smoking Advocate Is Named to Health Post.

President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday that he had chosen the head of a leading anti-tobacco organization to be the No. 2 official at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The prospective nominee, William V. Corr, is executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a nonprofit group that seeks to reduce tobacco use among children and adults.

As a member of the Obama transition team, Mr. Corr has led efforts to review and evaluate the work of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Yes!

You may need to be registered.

continued on the New York Times

The Independent.

Obama: the world’s hottest ticket.

Four million people, including Bono and Beyoncé, will join the party for a new America next week.

With a week to go before Barack Obama is sworn in, the hype is unstoppable. In the bus queues and at the hairdressers across the country, on talk radio and on the blogs, the only subject worth discussing is next Tuesday’s inauguration. Yesterday’s excitement was all about the Obama tattoo man, Ryan Hadley.

In Fort Wayne, Indiana, he was busy applying Obama tattoos on the waistlines of two teenage girls. Other customers wanted them on their legs, arms and waistlines. “The smallest costs $50 (£35) and one the size of a softball will set you back $600,” he said. “They can always be lasered away but so far they are loving them.”

continued on The Independent

AFP
US Senate, House launch YouTube channels.

The US Senate and House of Representatives have launched YouTube channels following a presidential election in which the video-sharing website played an influential role.

Steve Grove, head of news and politics at Google-owned YouTube, announced the creation of the channels, youtube.com/senatehub, and youtube.com/househub, in a post on the YouTube blog on Monday that also featured appearances in a YouTube video by the Democratic and Republican leaders of the chambers.

Grove said members of the US Congress would be “posting videos direct from their Washington offices, as well as clips of floor speeches and committee hearings alongside additional behind-the-scenes footage from Capitol Hill.”

“The House Hub and Senate Hub are the digital equivalents of a backstage pass to your government,” Grove said.

continued on AFP

The Associated Press
Judge: Copy of disputed documents goes to Obama.

A federal judge says the incoming administration of Barack Obama must be given copies of documents the Bush White House has been withholding from Congress on the firings of nine U.S. attorneys.

Tuesday’s order by U.S. District Judge John Bates is a minor victory for the House Judiciary Committee’s effort to get the documents as part of an investigation that led to the resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Bates agreed with the committee that if Congress wins its court fight over the documents that they would not be readily available once they were shipped to the National Archives when President George W. Bush leaves office on Jan. 20.

continued on The Associated Press

ABC Online.
Obama election win reduced Will Smith to tears.

The election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States in November reduced Will Smith to tears of joy, the Oscar-nominated actor said during a visit to Spain.

“When he won I cried so much that even my daughter thought something bad had happened,” the 40-year-old said during a news conference in Madrid.

“Obama’s win is an achievement not just for the USA, but also for all of humanity,” he added.

continued on the ABC Online

Associated Press

Retooling Obama’s campaign machine for the long haul.

President-elect Barack Obama, accompanied by National Economic Council Director-designate Lawrence Summers, second from right, leaves a Democratic policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington.
The vast network that helped elect Obama will be tapped to lobby lawmakers on behalf of the president, with an eye toward reelection. A service organization as a nonprofit arm is also considered.
As Barack Obama builds his administration and prepares to take office next week, his political team is quietly planning for a nationwide hiring binge that would marshal an army of full-time organizers to press the new president’s agenda and lay the foundation for his reelection.

The organization, known internally as “Barack Obama 2.0,” is being designed to sustain a grass-roots network of millions that was mobilized last year to elect Obama and now is widely considered the country’s most potent political machine.
Organizers and even Republicans say the scope of this permanent campaign structure is unprecedented for a president. People familiar with the plan say Obama’s team would use the network in part to pressure lawmakers — particularly wavering Democrats — to help him pass complex legislation on the economy, healthcare and energy.

contued in the LA Times

Chris B Says:
“January 14th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Politico……In a brief stop on the road to Foggy Bottom, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton politely stiff-armed Republicans……..”
.
I heard Hillary on Newsradio today: formidable, I thought….

# 284 This is what we should be setting up in Australia. This would be a counter balance to people like senator Conroy.

BBC.
The end of the neocons?

Jonathan Clarke, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs looks back at the rise and fall of the neocons, who encouraged George Bush to invade Iraq.

With the Bush Administration about to recede into history, a widely asked question is whether the neoconservative philosophy that underpinned its major foreign policy decisions will likewise vanish from the scene.

The answer seems likely to be Yes.

But the epitaph of neoconservatism has been written before – prematurely, as it turned out, in the 1980s.

Having been apparently headed for extinction at the end of the Reagan Administration a second generation emerged in the mid-1990s.

continued on the BBC News site.

BBC News.

Iceland for the EU

Iceland’s capital is a pretty and well-constructed picture, its buildings in soft blues and reds, harmonious shades of granite, slate and white. Dormant volcanoes provide a dramatic backdrop, their snowy caps disappearing in mist that merges into cloud.

Another conservative government in trouble over the economic crashes. Generally the conservative governments are in trouble. The socialist governments are doing well.

continued on the BBC News

I reckon copping a Freedom Medal from The Imbecile is akin to being bequeathed an award for intellectual rigour by Keith Windschuttle.

megan at 288
Thanks for the link.

While reading the article I was thinking about how conflicts create polarization and where my own opinions are. In my case I’ve presented a bunch of views that could reasonably be classified as pro-Hamas – but I know at the same time it’s not about being pro this or pro that – it’s more about justice and seeing a set of scales that are way out of balance and doing something to correct that. But that gets into objectivity. I know I’m trying in some small way to correct an imbalance and in doing that I’m no longer a natural observer. I figure others are much closer to a neutral observer than I am, but I can’t accept the cold logic of an observer when the scales of justice are being melted down to provide gold trinkets for the next Bar Mitzvah.

Just thinking out loud.

By Post Author

Catrina (294), megan, katielou and others, I think you’ve done good. Certainly, you’ve provoked me into reconsidring my own reflexes and working assumptions. I’m grateful for that. Mostly, I’m immune to that sort of thing, but you got me to reboot. Thanks.

And right on cue:

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden issued a new audio message to followers, calling for a holy war against Israel, reports said Wednesday. The tape, which cited Israeli actions against Gaza, was posted on a militant Web site and has yet to be authenticated as coming from the fugitive al-Qaeda chief, according to the Associated Press. Bin Laden also said the global financial crisis has exposed waning U.S. influence in world affairs, Reuters reported, adding it was his first public message since May of last year.

…so is Likud doing recruitment drives for al Qaeda now?

Looks like it, and Uncle Sam gets a mention as the (global) village idiot.

bin Laden’s getting so many free kicks it’s just too easy.

Israeli assaults bring Gazan factions together – 14 Jan 2009

Israeli officials have been repeating that the assault on Gaza is targeting Hamas, but Hamas’ military wing is not the only group battling Israeli troops. The offensive may have united Palestinian resistance inside the Gaza Strip, but as Al Jazeera’s Roza Ibragimova reports, no other regional forces have joined them yet.

Inside Story – Gaza protests – 13 Jan 09 – Part 2

Protests against Israel’s offensive in Gaza have been taking place around the world, in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Africa and the Americas. Counter demonstrations by members of the Jewish diaspora have also been taking place in New York and some European cities.

NYT: Israeli Rights Groups Call for War Crimes Inquiry

JERUSALEM — Nine Israeli human rights groups called on Wednesday for an investigation into whether Israeli officials had committed war crimes in Gaza since tens of thousands of civilians there have nowhere to flee, the health system has collapsed, many are without electricity and running water, and some are beyond the reach of rescue teams.

By Post Author

Paddy,
Excellent article at 289. Having seen a similar attitude in South Africa although implemented on a smaller scale, I do sometimes despair. It is not that each member of the powerful elite and the comfortable middleclass are evil, just that they get so comfortable with the idea that their success and power are their due. Like South Africa in the sixties, the middle classes in the US seldom even walk through the neighbourhoods of the lower class majority. In Dearborn on a business trip, the Australian contingent were warned to stay inside our cars, to only go to certain areas. Of course, being Ozzies we ignored the warnings and met many interesting and vibrant people (to the horror and dismay of our US colleagues).
It was much the same in South Africa of the sixties. For many people, who seemed perfectly good and honourable, it was easier not to ask questions, but just to accept the way things seemed to be. There was the same fear of the ‘other’, that allows people to see whole groups of people as somehow less than human, and therefore easily covered as collateral damage.
How to overcome that blindness is the question.

Comments are closed.