Isreali troops enter Gaza

AFP

Israeli troops entered Gaza under cover of darkness on Saturday, escalating the war on Hamas after artillery pounded the Palestinian territory and warplanes staged dozens of air strikes -- one killing 16 people in a mosque.

"Large numbers of forces are taking part in this stage of the operation including infantry, tanks, engineering forces, artillery and intelligence," a military spokesman said.

[snip]

The air force and navy were supporting the operation in the Hamas-controlled territory, the military spokesman added.

Thousands of Israeli troops and tanks had encircled Gaza as Howitzers lobbed shells across the border hours earlier. F-16 jets roared over the enclave where at least 460 people have been killed in eight days of attacks.

said the shark

true love

Bigger Than Bush

The Shrill One

As the new Democratic majority prepares to take power, Republicans have become, as Phil Gramm might put it, a party of whiners.

Some of the whining almost defies belief. Did Alberto Gonzales, the former attorney general, really say, “I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror”? Did Rush Limbaugh really suggest that the financial crisis was the result of a conspiracy, masterminded by that evil genius Chuck Schumer?

But most of the whining takes the form of claims that the Bush administration’s failure was simply a matter of bad luck — either the bad luck of President Bush himself, who just happened to have disasters happen on his watch, or the bad luck of the G.O.P., which just happened to send the wrong man to the White House.

The fault, however, lies not in Republicans’ stars but in themselves. Forty years ago the G.O.P. decided, in effect, to make itself the party of racial backlash. And everything that has happened in recent years, from the choice of Mr. Bush as the party’s champion, to the Bush administration’s pervasive incompetence, to the party’s shrinking base, is a consequence of that decision.

first night austin 081231

first night austin 081231
Originally uploaded by birzer

wednesday reads

Israel today rejected calls for a ceasefire and said it would continue military operations in Gaza, according to reports.


Who Is Amira Hass?


No bailout for the overqualified jobless.

One group that still is getting a raise — Congress

Former Merrill Lynch executive pays 37 million for NYC apartment (with taxpayer money)


Woody Paige: Time to exclaim new era of change

tuesday reads

Robert Fisk: Leaders Lie, Civilians Die, and Lessons of History are Ignored

Glenn Greenwald: George Washington's warnings and U.S. policy towards Israel

Kucinich: UN should investigate Israeli Gaza strikes

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) called for an independent investigation to be led by the United Nations into the recent eruption of violence between Israel and Hamas along the Gaza strip that has killed scores of innocent civilians.

[snip]

Kucinich said he wrote to UN General Secretary Ban ki-Moon urging an "independent inquiry of Israel's war against Gaza." The Democratic lawmaker said Israel's attacks are an example of "collective punishment," which violates the Geneva Conventions.

"The perpetrators of attacks against Israel must also be brought to justice, but Israel cannot create a war against an entire people in order to attempt to bring to justice the few who are responsible. The Israeli leaders know better," Kucinich said in a news release Monday. "The world community, which has been very supportive of Israel's right to security and its right to survive, also has a right to expect Israel to conduct itself in adherence to the very laws which support the survival of Israel and every other nation."

Daniel De Groot: Remembering How Gaza Got Like This


Deepening economic strife in the US could lead to civil unrest and violence that would require military intervention, warns a new report from the US Army War College.


Robert Parry: Two Dangerous Bush-Cheney Myths

monday reads

Hamas' strategy of escalation


America's New Year Resolution: Stop Being Stupid


Banks in violation of local public nuisance laws.





A shorter version of our long national nightmare.


Epic Fail
Epic Fail