Rice’s New Middle East has failed. It has failed because the representatives of the old Middle East prevailed: Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, but most importantly the people through the region, which began once again, constructing a sense of collective identity. The new ‘axis of evil’, somehow managed to withstand immense pressures, and in the case of Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza, numerous bombs.  FULL ARTICLE

I remarked in my last article “Ron Paul Shows Some Outrage” that Congressman Paul (R-TX) was visibly upset at the end of his 2-minute opposition speech to House Resolution 34 which called “on all nations to lay blame both for the breaking of the calm and for subsequent civilian casualties in Gaza precisely where blame belongs, that is, on Hamas.”

For those who do not follow Ron Paul quite so much, this is unusual as he typically constrains himself from showing anger.  Well, this 4-minute video released Tuesday night by the Campaign for Liberty reveals why.  The House had called a last minute vote the night before and started the session one hour earlier than normal.  Dr. Paul claims he was notified at the last minute and was barely able to arrive and interject with his opposition for two minutes. (photo) Continue reading →

20+ days into the Gaza crisis and the humanitarian crisis there gets worse every day.

Over 1000 Palestinians have been killed; 398 women and children are dead, another 4500 injured, 750,000 lack access to water and one million are without electricity. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians have been killed.

Each day that passes guarantees more innocent civilians will suffer. Tell Congress to act swiftly to help more humanitarian aid and workers enter Gaza and to suspend all transfers of weapons to Israel.

Continue reading →

It is American supplied F-16 fighter jets, helicopter gunships, missiles, and bombs that are destroying the civilian infrastructure of Gaza and murdering the Palestinians who have been packed into the tiny strip of land. What is happening to the Palestinians herded into the Gaza Ghetto is happening because of American money and weapons.  It is just as much an attack by the United States as an attack by Israel. The US government is complicit in the war crimes. FULL ARTICLE

Life in Occupied Gaza. No end of conflict is in sight. Mass slaughter continues unabated. World leaders are silent on halting it. Blame the victims. Back aggression, but people globally say otherwise: In solidarity, we’re all Gazans. We’re all Palestinians. FULL ARTICLE

Caged, starved, sniped, suffocated. They are slaughtered like sheep, but the leaders of the free world just cannot seem to find a moment to comment. Golfing, vacationing, Obama, Bush, even the EU, they just aren’t important enough. My mutterings have become a like a canter. I call out to these stricken and shattered little bodies, who frankly never experienced life to lose it. The only consolation to offer is the respite found in death.  FULL ARTICLE

What has Israel won exactly, aside from the haunting images of Palestinian youngsters in UN schools, homes and hospitals, mutilated, some silent and others screaming? This is no victory, but a brief illusion of one. As for the long-term repercussions, that is a whole new story. Israeli bombs over Lebanon in 1982 gave rise to Hezbollah, and its war of 2006 turned a small, resisting militant movement into a major powerbroker that will certainly help shape the future of Lebanon. Israel is now doing the same in Gaza. A victory, indeed.  FULL ARTICLE

For the past 16 months, Gaza has been under siege and experienced a growing humanitarian crisis: isolated; squeezed by sanctions; and denied essentials short of what little donor agencies provide. The Group called the situation “dire.” It’s now catastrophic.  FULL ARTICLE

Do friendly bakers still give customers a baker’s dozen — when you order 12 of something, do the doughboys or doughgirls still give you 13?

Probably some do, some don’t. But the friendly Green Dog is providing a baker’s dozen of something here, Bunkie.  Following are 13 quotations that when uttered or written had nothing to do with the internationally critical situation occurring now in Israel/Gaza.  Conversely, because of their sentiments, the quotations have everything to do with what’s been going on between the Israelis and Palestinians, now and for the past 60-plus years.

Read the quotations and see if you might agree… Continue reading →

The House voted on Friday January 9^th to pass House Resolution 34 which can be summed up with this short excerpt: The United States “calls on all nations to lay blame both for the breaking of the calm’ and for subsequent civilian casualties in Gaza precisely where blame belongs, that is, on Hamas.”

Umm, I don’t think this will find much support from the peoples of “all nations.” Now, the firing of Hamas’ highly inaccurate rockets into civilian areas is to be condemned.  Continue reading →