Good thing...

"Iraq said Thursday it will bar Blackwater Worldwide from providing security protection for U.S. diplomats because its contractors used excessive force, sanctioning a company whose image was irrevocably tarnished by the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians."

It's about time, they've been killing innocent people for far to long, not just in Iraq, they did it in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina as well...

Not Quite a cease-fire

"At least nine people, seven of them school girls, have been injured by an Israeli air attack in the southern Gaza Strip, sources tell Al Jazeera."

Unfortunately, Israel decided to break the cease-fire by attacking the tunnels that lead to Egypt (Gaza's lifeline because of the blockade), so Gazan's responded with rockets, Israel responded with injuring school girls...when this war starts up again at some point, Hamas will be blamed for breaking the cease-fire.

A little bit of courage...a little bit too late

"The Turkish prime minister has stormed out of a heated debate at the World Economic Forum in Davos over Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip."

Finally, Turkey's government got some courage....and Netanyahu is wrong, nuclear weapons in his hands are more dangourous then nuclear weapons in the hands of the Iranians because Netanyahu is way more fanatic and racist then Iran will ever be.

Stimuli

Detailed information about the stimulus plan, I happen to be rather supportive of it...

Cease-fire breaches anyone?

"Two people have been wounded in an Israeli air raid on the Gaza Strip, Hamas and Palestinian medical officials have said."

Israel doesn't believe in cease-fires, it's as simple as that...

Silly Foreign Policy things...

Sorry about not blogging yesterday, I was kinda busy, but anyways, here is something...why is Obama so pressed over Pakistan. He has a government there that is willing to do whatever he wants, and he's talking about invading? You don't invade countries like that, you buy them, arm their military make them able to fight al-Queda and the taliban. More importantly, these attacks and silly rehtoric are making Pakastanis hate Obama, does he really want them to side with al-Queda? Being irresponsible about this will have dire consequences to American interests in the region.

War Crimes anyone?

"While the vast majority of Palestinians were killed by conventional weapons, a Norwegian doctor, Erik Fosse, said injuries he had seen in Gaza were consistent with the use of Dime (dense inert metal explosive) bombs. "It was as if [patients] had stepped on a mine, but there was no shrapnel in the wounds," he said. A UN convention, which Israel has signed, prohibits "the use of any weapon the primary effect of which is to injure by fragments which in the human body escape detection by X-rays". This could apply to Dime bombs, but by their nature it is extremely difficult to prove they have been used.

Amnesty International last week called on Israel to give details of weapons beside phosphorus it had used in Gaza, so that medics could better treat the injuries they inflict. Donatella Rovera of Amnesty, currently on a munitions fact-finding mission to Gaza, said doctors were encountering "new and unexplained injuries, including charred and sharply severed limbs" after air strikes. The UK human rights agency also quoted Dr Subhi Skeik of Shifa hospital's surgery department as saying: "We have many cases of amputations and vascular reconstructions where patients would be expected to recover in the normal way. But to our surprise, many of them died an hour or two after operation. It is dramatic.""

And some claim Israel is a humane nation?

Not really donating anything...

"A bitter struggle is taking place over the right to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, even as the leadership of Hamas emerges from the rubble of areas that were devastated by 23 days of Israeli bombardment. The international community insists that it cannot channel billions of dollars in reconstruction aid to Hamas, and is calling for the involvement of the more moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. But Hamas is insisting on sole control of Gaza's rebuilding, as well as claiming moral leadership of the Palestinian people."

Bush Doctrine Continued...

"Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, has called on Barack Obama, his US counterpart, to end American missile attacks in South Asian nation's tribal border regions with Afghanistan."

Like that will ever happen...Obama's foreign policy will not be much different then Bush's, it may be even worse.

Reality

Obama yesterday gave a speech on what his policy towards the Israelis and Palestinians is going to be like...the same as Bush's. He made a huge point to condemn Hamas rocket attacks but barely said anything about the Palestinians. For example, the only thing he said somewhat against Israel was that he was "deeply concerned" about civilian loss on both sides, he couldn't even say anything soley for Palestine, this is is not the kind of thing you expect from "the agent of change", this is a clear continuation of the Bush doctrine in the Middle East.

Nothings changed...

"Missiles fired from suspected US drones killed at least 15 people inside Pakistan today, the first such strikes since Barack Obama became president and a clear sign that the controversial military policy begun by George W Bush has not changed."

They say 3 kids died in the attack, I am sure they were al-Qaeda members...

A good thing he did...

"Barack Obama, the US president, has signed an executive order overturning a ban on US funding for groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option, the White House says."

Well, one more thing I agree with!

More Crimes...

"A total of 53 installations used by the United Nations Relief and Works agency, Unrwa, were damaged or destroyed during Israel's Gaza campaign, including 37 schools - six of which are being used as emergency shelters - six health centres, and two warehouses."

You know that a country is guilty of war crimes when they are forming a defense before chargers were even filled...

Interesting choice...

"In 2000, he [George Mitchel] also presided over a committee investigating the ongoing violence of the Middle East conflict and recommended Palestinians do more to stop attacks on Israel and an end to Israeli settlement building on occupied land."

Sounds like every other congress man in this country when talking about the middle east, nothing is going to "change"; I know it.

Worth doing...

" President Barack Obama's first public act in office Wednesday was to institute new limits on lobbyists in his White House and to freeze the salaries of high-paid aides, in a nod to the country's economic turmoil."

Good move, well done Mr. Obama!

We'll see...

"The new Obama administration circulated a draft executive order Wednesday that calls for closing the controversial detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year and halting any war crimes trials in the meantime."

So will any of those people get justice? maybe...

False Hope

"Arabs were hopeful on Wednesday that President Barack Obama will amend US policy on the Middle East, while Israel expects little change in the wake of its deadly assault on Gaza."

Nothing is going to change with Obama as president...nothing.

Inaugaration Fever

So I had class at noon today so I ended up watching the inauguration stuff on the Internet, I listened to Obama's speech and read the text as well. The problem is, I have nothing to report. He really did not give us much in his speech, except for an American history lesson and that nice delivery he has become famous for. These sorts of ceremony's have always been overrated, Bush should have just handed him the keys to the white house and that's it, no need for all the extra stuff that goes along with it. With that said, I expect now that Obama is officially the president, that there are going to be some big new pieces of legislation, like the economic stimulus, possibly a new bailout, use of the current bailout, a health care bill, and more. He has got to come out here with a bang in order to keep the people on his side. I am interested to see how long this honeymoon lasts...

I knew it

"Arab leaders have failed to agree on a specific mechanism to support reconstruction in Gaza following Israel's offensive there, despite vowing to provide Gazans with "all forms of support". Disagreements over how aid should be channeled to Palestinians blighted the Arab ministers' meeting, held on the sidelines of an Arab economic summit in Kuwait, on Tuesday."

I knew this would happen, under Israeli/American wishes, the Saudis and the Egyptians will not give the money to Hamas, the people who actually govern the Gaza strip. Instead, they would prefer to give it to fellow puppet Mahmoud Abbas who will simply pocket the money himself. I mean, Fatah doesn't even have a single representative in Gaza at the moment, and while Palestinian unity is needed now more then ever, as the current situation stands, Hamas are the only ones who can help the people of Gaza. The sooner the Arab governments realize this the sooner the people of Gaza can go back to living their normal lives.

NFL Playoffs III

Ok, so now that the conference finals are done, here's what we can say. First, I want to congratulate my Ravens on a great year, no one thought we would get this far, certainly I didn't. And we are now going out admirably. I am today proud to be a Ravens fan, and now we will hope (not pray because I am not religous) that Willis McGahee will fully recover and be able to play at the level he was able to before.

Now for the super bowl prediction: while the steelers have the number 1 defense and played great on Sunday, the Cardinals have the one thing that will bother the steelers on defense though: a deep ball. Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald can go deep like no one else, and that is the only small little hole in the Steelers defense. On the other side of the ball however, the Steelers have the advantage because the Arizona defense is way to small, albeit fast, to handle the physical running game of the Steelers. All in All, while Big Ben might not have a good game, and the Cards offense will have its moments, but when its all said and done; I think the Steelers will win the super bowl (as much as it hurst me to say that) 28-21. Ben will make just enough palys to win and their running game will great, and their defense will do enough to compliment that running game.

who is going to save Gaza?

Makes me feel sick to see the suffering of the Palestinian families, their homes are destroyed and their businesses are gone. The people of Gaza have no one, the Arab governments turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the atrocities going on in their neighbors backyard. Every Arab regime deserves as much responsibility for allowing this to happen as Israel deserves. The worst part is that Palestine doesn't even have a government, or more importantly, an economy capable of making enough money to help these people. Hamas certainly have the kind of money needed to rebuild Gaza, and if we are leaving it to people like Mahmoud Abbas and Mohammad Dahlan to save Gaza, then we might as well throw in the towel.

The question is, who is going to save Gaza? Israel? Not a chance in hell. The US? EU? Again, not a chance; they are in love with Israel and won't stop for a second to see the suffering in Gaza. I mean, considering the rhetoric out of the Bush administration in the last few days of its life, I have to seriously wonder if they ever bothered to take a good look, a real look at what their policies have done. Do they see the suffering kids? Do they see the mothers crying? Do they even have a pulse? I am sick and tired of our fake democracy and total hypocrisy here in the US. We say we're for justice, and yet when an injustice is clearly being served half way across the world, we fail to do something about it. I guess we be live in justice when it serves us.

But anyways, who is going to save Gaza? the sad answer is no one. Just like every year since 1948 no one will be there for Gaza. The Saudi king said he wants to donate 1 billion dollars to rebuild Gaza. But I will guarantee you that money will never reach the people who need it. See, the Saudi King, under US wishes, will not give the money to the authority on the ground who can use it to help the people (Hamas), instead, they will give it to "the legitimate Palestinian authority" a.k.a. Mahmoud Abbas and Mohammad Dahlan. These are two of the most corrupt people in the world and they won't leave a drop of that money to rebuild the homes and lives of the people who lost them in this war. The saddest part of all is, that is exactly what the US and Israel want, and no one will care or try to stop it.

Hypocracy at its finest

"King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia pledged on Monday to donate one billion dollars towards the reconstruction of the Palestinian coastal territory, which has faced deadly attacks by Israeli forces since December 27."

So now Abdullah wants to show compassion? Now? After he supported Israel during the duration of this war? Now he wants to show compassion? That kind of thing makes me sick to my stomach.

Recap

Now that the war is looking more and more, well, over; it is time to make a recap. First, Israel missed out on almost all of its goals, they did not crush Hamas, they did not stop the rockets and Israeli troops were unable to crush Hamas' ground forces. Most of all, Israel was unable to change the attitudes of the Palestinians and Arabs in general. They were unable to make Palestinians blame Hamas for what happened, instead, people are more steadfastly with Hamas and resistance to Israel, also, just like in '06, Arabs now believe even more that Israel is beatable, the element of invincibility is completely gone. Also Israel has now created a new generation of even more angry and ready to fight Palestinians. All of these elements can and one day will lead to the demise of Israel and the racist Zionist dream.

Israel listining?

"The Israeli army said a short time later it [the cease-fire] had begun withdrawing its troops from the territory after calling a halt to its three-week offensive, which claimed the lives of about 1,200 Palestinians, a third of them children and young people."

Apparently Israel really wants to leave, well, they're certainly welcome to.

Its over, for now...

"Hamas and several allied Palestinian factions have announced an immediate one-week ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, giving Israel seven days to pull out of the territory."

Let's see what happens in the next seven days...

Not quite a cease-fire

"Israel will halt its offensive in Gaza at 0000 GMT on Sunday but troops will remain in the enclave for the time being and will respond to Hamas fire, Olmert said on Saturday."

This is not a cease-fire, this is an image cleanup, if Israeli troops are still in Gaza, then there is no way that we can call it a truce or cease-fire, as long as occupying forces are there, they should be attacked, and I fully expect that to happen.

At least its somewhat over...

"Israel's security cabinet is expected to decide to halt the war on Gaza at a meeting on Saturday, Israeli sources have said. The move would be seen as being preferable to entering an Egyptian-brokered formal ceasefire with Hamas, unnamed sources told the AFP and Reuters news agencies."

This clearly is a way for Israel to avoid admitting that they could not enter Gaza City and they could not stop the rocket fire, this is sounding very similar to 2006 in Lebanon. The mighty Israeli army has officially lost its might.

Agreement? Really?

"Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister and her US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, have signed an agreement aimed at preventing arms smuggling into Gaza for the Palestinian group Hamas"

Signed an agreement? when do the US and Israel ever disagree?

More Crimes

"Video showing injuries consistent with the use of white phosphorus shells has been filmed inside hospitals treating Palestinian wounded in Gaza City. Contact with the shell remnants causes severe burns, sometimes burning the skin to the bone, consistent with descriptions by Ahmed Almi, an Egyptian doctor at the al-Nasser hospital in Khan Younis."

Israeli crimes never ceases to amaze me...

About time

Qatar, Mauritania, and Syria have all cut ties with Israel...what took so long?

Weather

The weather here is 0 F with a windchill of -15F, can someone please remind me why I came to Pittsburgh?

More Autrocities

"Three hospitals and a UN compound have been bombed by Israel as troops continue to advance into the densely-populated Gaza City. Around 500 people were sheltering in the Al-Quds hospital in the city's southwestern Tal Al-Hawa district when it was bombed by Israeli jets and set ablaze on Thursday morning. Hospital officials said the fire was sparked by a "phosphorus shell"."

The Palestinians won't stand by and let this continue, ever!

over 1000 dead...

"As the offensive continued in the early hours of Thursday, with what has now come to be nightly explosions and heavy gunfire on the ground in Gaza City, diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire continued to yield little result."

Never forget, Never forgive...

Viva Chavez!

"Venezuela has joined Bolivia in severing ties with Israel in protest against its war in the Gaza Strip, which has left more than 1,000 Palestinians dead."

I love Latin America, it's the only place in the world that knows how to pick some real leaders...

I can't belive I voted for this guy...who appointed this other guy...

"President-elect Barack Obama's choice to run the Treasury Department and lead the nation's economic rescue disclosed publicly Tuesday that he failed to pay $34,000 in taxes from 2001 to 2004, a last-minute complication that Senate Democrats tried to brush aside as a minor bump on an otherwise smooth path to confirmation."

And this guy is supposed to get us out of this economic mess? What a future we have...

NFL Playoffs III

So I was 1/4 with predictions last week in the NFL Playoffs, the one I got right though, is really the only one I cared about (my Baltimore Ravens)! Anyways, for this week, in the NFC I think the Eagles will beat the Cardinals, Larry Fitzgerald might run wild, but Warner will be under pressure all day and will not have time to go deep, and McNabb will be able to exploit Arizona's young secondary to make the throws necessary to win. The only thing about the Cardinals is that they remind me of the Colts when they won the super bowl, could score, and found their defense in the playoffs. I think the Colts were better though, and the Eagles will prevail and go to the Super Bowl.

In the AFC, and maybe I am biased, but I am predicting the Ravens to beat our arch rivals Pittsburgh and go to the super bowl! First, the Ravens were very impressive against the Titans (even with the lucky break on the play clock...), this is not the same team that lost in the regular season to the Titans and this is not the same team that lost to the Steelers twice in the regular season. Joe Flacco is growing before our very eyes and Ray Lewis will have this team ready to play. Big Ben is definitely banged up and I believe, will struggle against the Ravens defense. The thing that concerns me is the Steeler defense, and the fact that Pittsburgh is more rested then the Ravens are. But I think Flacco has grown to the point that he can navigate his way through this game, and adrenalin should be able to help the Ravens.

Eagles vs. Ravens, WE'RE READY!!!

Another Gaza article from my school...

So the Pitt News published another article today about the war in Gaza written by a different staff writer Jason Myers. The article was much better then the one written on Friday, clearly, the writer makes a better effort to give both sides of the story, but there were still some things I have to mention.

First, in the second paragraph, the writer compares two things that shouldn't be compared. He says that Chabad House believes in that validity of Israel's aggression towards the Palestinians, but then he goes on to say that the Muslim Student Association and the Students for Justice in Palestine argue that Palestine has a legitimate claim to the Israeli territory. From reading this, it seems as if the writer asked these groups different questions, why is he asking the Muslim and Justice in Palestine groups about the "legitimate claim to Israeli territory"? He should be asking them about the current offensive to make his comparison of the different groups valid.

After that the writer gives a good synopsis of what the New York Times has been saying this whole time, however, when he tries to give an opposing view, by questioning Magid Shihade, he did not go in-depth enough about her views to make it a valid counter point. For example, he could have asked her what specifically where those "unnamed news sources" and he could have asked her to explain what Israel did to break the ceasefire, such as the tightening of the blockade (the blockade in general is Illegal in inhumane) and the November 4th and 17th bombings that killed several Palestinians.

Also, the writer mentions Miller's assertion that it is part of Jewish understanding that you are supposed to love your neighbor, it would have been more comforting for me to see him explain that this is also something deeply rooted in Islam as well, any Muslim could have explained that to him.

Finally, I have to disagree with Pitt professor Goldstein, who says this is all over a piece of property. Let me just explain that it is not over a piece of property, this is over justice, the Palestinian people want the right of return, and to live in a comfortable setting, that's it. It doesn't matter whether it is one state or two (most Palestinians support a one state solution where all can live together like Jonas Moffat said). Finally, I think Goldstien should stop with the phrases such as "you guys have to cut this crap out." Lets not act like we are morally above anyone, after all, we are the nation that "pre-emptivaly" bombed the crap out of a country that posed no threat to us (Iraq).

All in all, this article was better then the last one that was written in the Pitt news about this but there were still a few things I had a problem with.

They can't win

"Mohyeldin said there was speculation that Israeli soldiers were limiting their operation during the day because of stiff resistance from Palestinian fighters on the ground during daylight hours."

This is starting to look extremely similar to Lebanon in '06, we all know what happened to the IOF (Israeli Offensive Forces) then.

Israeli truth

"According to a joint Tel Aviv University-European University study, this fits a larger pattern in which Israeli violence has been responsible for ending 79 per cent of all lulls in violence since the outbreak of the second intifada, compared with only 8 per cent for Hamas and other Palestinian factions."

This latest incident started with Israel bombing Hamas on November 4th with no provocation. They don't tell you this in western media...

Arab Truth

"Egypt has rejected a Qatari request to hold an emergency Arab League summit in Doha on Friday to discuss the Israeli offensive in Gaza."

Egypt and Saudi Arabia claim that the summit shouldn't happen because it will show how ineffective the Arab nations really are, this is a cover for the nasty truth, Egypt and Saudi Arabia don't care about the suffering of the Palestinians.

Israeli Racism

"Two Arab political parties have been disqualified from running in Israel's parliamentary elections on February 10 after they were accused of not recognising the country's right to exist."

Racism maybe?

Updates

"Explosions from heavy aerial bombardment continued in the early hours of Tuesday and fierce gunfire could be heard as ground troops moved into the more densely-populated areas of the Strip, as the assault entered its 18th day."

Israel will keep trying, Gaza will keep resisting...

Israel's version of humanity

"Israeli military actions prompted an unusual public rebuke from the International Red Cross after the army moved a Palestinian family into a building and shelled it, killing 30. The surviving children clung to the bodies of their dead mothers for four days while the army blocked rescuers from reaching the wounded."

Never forget, Never forgive.

How nice of the world to look...

"With the death toll from the 17-day Israeli assault on Gaza climbing above 900, pressure is increasing for an independent inquiry into specific incidents, such as the shelling of a UN school turned refugee centre where about 40 people died, as well as the question of whether the military tactics used by Israel systematically breached humanitarian law."

I guess 900 is the magic number for people to start noticing?

"Surgical" attacks

This kid lost his eyes in the bombing, I am sure that he was a Hamas militant.

Updates.

"Heavy fighting has been reported in the northern Gaza Strip and on the outskirts of Gaza City after Israel sent army reservists into the territory to support its ground forces."

Reports are saying that the Israeli military is having difficulty entering Gaza City, the will of people can always trump any amount of military might. Think about it, Israel is having more difficulty dealing with little tiny Gaza then it did dealing with Jordan, Egypt, and Syria in 1967. There were even reports in '06 saying that Israeli soldiers were literally running away from Hezbollah fighters. The once invincible army is no longer...

I can't believe I voted for this guy...

"Seeking to reassure wary lawmakers, President-elect Barack Obama said Monday he will fundamentally change the way the second half of the $700 billion financial bailout fund is spent, focusing some of the relief on housing and small businesses."

yea right, Obama changing anything? That's laughable.

Different sortof attack...

"Israeli troops in the occupied Golan Heights have come under small arms fire from Syria, Israeli military officials have said."

Here's to hoping the fire kills some of the occupying forces next time.

888 dead, 4000 wounded

"Israel has begun sending reserve units into the Gaza Strip as the military continues to pound the territory for the 16th consecutive day. "

Never forget, Never forgive.

Crapy articles from my own school

So after reading the pitt news yesterday, it made me realize how out of touch they are with reality. There was an article about a vigil that took place on Pitt's campus Thursday written by Caitlyn Christensen. Clearly, she has no idea what she is talking about when it comes to what is really going on in this war. Just in the first paragraph the calles Palestine "Hamas-occupied." Occupied? Really? Last time I checked, Hamas was democraticly (you know, democracy, that word that we like to throw around when convienient), this is like saying that on January 20th, the US will be "democrate-occupied." Also, the writter claims that Israel moved into Gaza "with the intended goal of overturning the Hamas infrastrucutre and taking control of Hamas rocket launching sites, whcih were firing explosives into southern Israel." First of all, the writter fails to mention throughout this article that Israel has had a blockade on Gaza for 18 MONTHES. Do we really expect the Palestienians to not respond after something like that? Also, why is it that the author, throughout this article, tries to promote the idea that Palestienians are the agressers? Many times in this articles she tries to make the point that the protesters do not support the actions of Hamas, as if that's what the protest was about. Even when she interviewed Josh Ulrich, he said "The fact that Palestine has survived is retaliation enough" that does not mean that there is no support for Hamas, that is a testiment to Palestienian toughness. Also, how can she take it seriously when an opposing protester stands behind an israeli flag and says he's not pro-Israeli? This article is racist and extremly biased, makes me feel uneasy that my fellow students would write something so ignorant.

crimes, crimes, and more crimes...

"Human Rights Watch has called on Israel to stop using white phosphorus which it says has been used in military operations in the densely populated Gaza Strip"

For those who don't know, white phosphorus burns people's skin off, oh Israel, what regard for human life...

Aid

I plan to try to help out the Free Gaza Movement, which sails to the coast of Gaza, around the blockade, and gets humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza who desperately need it. Recently one of their boats got hit by the Israeli Navy and was forced to dock in Lebanon. Funds permitting, they plan to make another trip to Gaza in the near future, I am going to try to donate to them and I urge anyone who cares to try to give something.

Another Update

"The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 821 people and more than 3,300 injured as the Israeli offensive enters its third week."

How much longer will the world allow this to go on...

Love is in the air...

"The US House of Representatives has voted to endorse a resolution backing Israel in its offensive in Gaza, in which at least 780 Palestinians have been killed. The body passed Friday's resolution "recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza" by 390 votes to five."

Sometimes, I wonder if the US congress sleeps in the same beds as the Israeli government...

Modification

My friend Holden brought it to my attention that one of my posts made it sound as if I think Jews and Zionists are the same...

Let me make it clear, I don't hate Jews at all, I hate zionists, that includes non-Jewish zionists such as George Bush, and excludes Israeli Jews who r not zionists, but I will say that I do think Zionism is a racist movement, because it puts one group of people above another while totally disregarding equality. I also hate the way that state of Israel operates, it has ZERO regard for human life and makes decisions based on, well, terrorizing those who don't believe in zionism, that includes Arab-Israelis who are treated like shit there.

I was just trying earlier to make the point that these actions will backfire on Israel, not help them.

Told you Israel

"The diplomacy championed by Mr Abbas has for years been difficult to sell to Palestinians because it has brought little or no relief from occupation or improvement in their daily lives, only the expansion of Israeli settlements. This existing frustration –which helped Hamas defeat Mr Abbas's Fatah movement in the 2006 elections – is now combined with popular anger and dismay at the carnage among fellow Palestinians in Gaza."

Is he really there?

If there really was a "God"...I believe there would be social equality in this world, people would truly have equal opportunities. I wholeheartedly agree with Dead Prez in their song Propaganda:

"I believe man made God, out of ignorance and fear
If God made man, then why the hell would he put us here
I thought he's supposed to be the all lovin'
the same God who let Hitler put the Jews in the oven"

Hate

Many people wonder where Islamic fundamentalism (whatever that means), hate, and anger in the Arab world towards Israel comes from. When we see the murdering and massacring of our people in Gaza, we get angry. When we see the murdering and massacring of our people in Lebanon, we get angry. Even if Israel succeeds in crushing Hamas, what do they expect? Do they really think there won't come a group to replace them? There is more anger and rage among the Arab youth today then there has ever been, and the hope that the 2006 war with Hezbollah gave all Arabs and oppressed people all over the world still rings loud today no matter what happens to Hamas now.

If Israel doesn't start seeing this they will be in major trouble, the more I think about it, the more I realize that we haven't advanced much as people from the days of B.C.E. until now. I mean, the fact that an idea like Zionism exists today means that we still think like we're in B.C.E., we are still a racist, ignorant species, only humans still care about someones skin color or what language he/she speaks. And we still kill each other for "political gains" as if that matters when a nuclear war destroys us all, its time for all of us to wake up.

Update

"Dozens of Palestinians were killed on Friday as Israeli warplanes pounded areas across the Gaza Strip and tanks shelled Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya, medical sources said."

How long will we let this continue? How many more Palestinians have to die? Does Israel think that this is going to help them in the long term?

Hopefully...

If Obama actually does what he says he's going to to do in his stimulus package, such as invest in more classrooms, modernizing medical records (making them digital), and investing in science and technology...my engineering future will be bright, if not, we're all in trouble!

Ofcourse...

"The announcement came shortly after the driver of a U.N. truck was killed by tank fire as he was headed to an Israeli border crossing to pick up an aid shipment."

And Israel claims they try to avoid civilian casualties right?

Joe the...

No way, he's back...WHY????

Go Chavez!

"Venezuela is reducing crude shipments to U.S. refineries Chalmette and Sweeney to comply with its OPEC output cut of 189,000 barrels per day, to be borne in part by foreign oil companies, the energy ministry said on Wednesday."

Israel talk

"The brief lull allowing Gaza's beleaguered residents to look for food and fuel was also followed by news that Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, had been given the green light by the security cabinet to order a deeper offensive into Gaza towns as part of its stated aim to halt Hamas cross-border rocket attacks."

A "wonderful" lull followed by approval for an escalation of the war...Israel in a nutshell!

Is it really that intellegent?

An entertaining editorial on why intelligent design isn't very intelligent.

Good Editorials

Robert Frisk, one of the best journalists in the world on Middle Eastern politics.

"Yes, Israelis deserve security. Twenty Israelis dead in 10 years around Gaza is a grim figure indeed. But 600 Palestinians dead in just over a week, thousands over the years since 1948 – when the Israeli massacre at Deir Yassin helped to kick-start the flight of Palestinians from that part of Palestine that was to become Israel – is on a quite different scale. This recalls not a normal Middle East bloodletting but an atrocity on the level of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. And of course, when an Arab bestirs himself with unrestrained fury and takes out his incendiary, blind anger on the West, we will say it has nothing to do with us. Why do they hate us, we will ask? But let us not say we do not know the answer."

Typical

The US only agrees to a ceasefire if rocket attacks on Israel stop, but the Israeli offensive? That apparently is ok. I thought a ceasefire means BOTH must stop firing, am I missing something here?

Hahaha

Syria is suppowed to stop whats happening in Gaza? This is pure comedy.

He's "Deeply Concerned"

"Barack Obama, the US president-elect, has expressed "deep concern" over the number of civilian casualties in Gaza and Israel during the conflict there."

Later in the article he says that he will wait until he gets into office to speak more on the issue, I guess not enough people died in Gaza for him to say something now. Clearly, he has more influence then Bush at this point, and chooses not to use it.

What a target

"Israeli strikes have killed at least 43 people taking refuge inside a UN school in the Gaza Strip, medics say."

How does something like this not cause worldly riots, if this happened in the US, the whole world would be crying.

Israeli shielded talk...

"Israeli officials have generally been reluctant to say that the attack on Gaza is intended to force Hamas from power out of concern that it would undermine the international support they have won by portraying the assault as a purely defensive measure to stop Hamas rockets."

Israel is good at propaganda, but no one is that good.

Resist...please!

"Heavy fighting has taken place in and around Gaza City with Palestinian fighters putting up a stiff resistance to advancing Israeli ground forces."

Here's to hoping that resistance gets stronger, not that I love Hamas, but Israel needs to pay for its crimes.

A little school pride...

Pitt is really making me proud these days, classes seem to be good and the basketball team is playing amazing and achieved the number 1 ranking. Big things could be coming this year!

Refusal

I keep seeing news stories on it, but I refuse to give any attention to any UN or EU or US convey for peace to Gaza. Same with the Arab League, none of these people deserve any publicity or attention, they care nothing about the Palestinians and only want to promote Israeli conditions in a cease-fire agreement.

Unjust

20 more died Monday to bring the Gaza death total to 531, its just not right...just not right.

What is that I smell? Cowardice.

War-crazed leaders

"Israel yesterday used tanks, artillery and warplanes to mount a massive offensive in Gaza which local medics said had killed at least 31 Palestinian civilians by dusk. The Israeli forces divided the Gaza Strip in two, from the eastern border to the Mediterranean, and began to cut off the main city from the rest of the territory."

The NFL Playoffs II

So I was 3 of 4 in predictions this week of the first round of the NFL playoffs (including seeing my Ravens DESTROY the Dolphins)...pretty good considering my friend Holden was only 0 of 4 and his blog is dedicated to sports (sorry Holden, had to say it)!!

Anyways, I will stand by my picks of MY Ravens beating the Titans, the Chargers beating the Steelers, and the Giants beating the Eagles. The Ravens showed me that they are ready to face almost anyone, and same with the Chargers. The Eagles showed that they can be competitive, but the Giants are too good and talented and should handle the Eagles easily.

For the match up I didn't call correctly, I still think the Panthers will handle the Cardinals easily. That defense is much better and more equipped to handle the passing attack of the Cardinals and Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams should have great days against the sub-par Cardinals defense...check back next week to see more predictions for the next round....

Real Catastrophies

"It has never been like this before. The assault is coming from the sky, the sea and the ground. The explosion of shells, the gunfire from the tanks and the missiles from planes and helicopters are incessant. The sky is laced with smoke, grey here, black there, as the array of weaponry leaves its distinctive trail."

Too bad so few people seem to notice...

Israel's stupidity

"Israel has said that its offensive in Gaza could take "many long days" as its troops moved deeper into the Palestinian territory in the second day of its ground attack.
...

An Israeli air strike hit two ambulances in Gaza on Sunday, killing four paramedics as they tried to reach those injured in the offensive."

Let me guess, the ambulances were carrying weapons for Hamas right?

The Escalation

"Thousands of Israeli troops, backed by tanks and helicopters, have entered the Gaza Strip as Israel escalated its offensive into the territory on the eighth day of operations."

I hope, for Gaza and Palestine's sake that Hamas makes good on their promise to defeat the Israeli army.

More War cimes...

"At least 11 Palestinians, including one child, have been killed after Israeli forces struck a mosque during prayers in the city of Beit Lahiya, north of Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip."

There were 200 people praying in this mosque, I'm sure Israel coincidentally hit it on a Friday as well...

If at all possible...

If anyone is interested in donating to help Palestinians in Gaza, please click here.

Great Commentary

A very good editorial about the real story of Gaza.

Horrors of the war...

""There is no water, no electricity, no medicine. It's hard to survive. Gaza is destroyed," said Jawaher Haggi, a 14-year-old Palestinian American. She said her uncle was killed in an airstrike when he tried to pick up some medicine for her cancer-stricken father, who died of his illness several days later."

Israel, what a humane state...

More "interesting" targets

"Israeli warplanes destroy Gaza houses and mosque as air strikes continue.

Death toll rises to 414 after week of bombing, dashing hopes of a ceasefire."

I guess houses and mosques are "terrorist" targets...

Update

"The toll over the first seven days of Israel's aerial bombardment on Gaza has now reached 428, with the latest casualties including three children who had been playing outside."

I'm sure those three kids were getting ready to launch rockets into Israel.

On the personal side of things

I have mixed feelings entering the new year. Many challenges lay ahead, but I guess that's life in general. Although I have blogged extensively about the horrors in Gaza, some good news has come lately, my grandma had successful hip replacement surgery. That's a relief considering just last year she suffered a stroke during the same surgery, nice to see things work a little better this time. Well, happy new years everyone, here's to hoping the year gets a little better for the citizens of Gaza...

Found It

A full profile of the Nizar Rayan, the Hamas commander who was killed today.

Disproving Israel again...

Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni claimed today that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, here is some news to to contrary.

Again...I can't belive I voted for this guy

Obama is taking the coward way out of this massacre.

An Amazing Feat...

"A senior leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Nizar Rayyan, has been killed in the latest air assault by the Israeli military in Gaza."

Wow, Israel actually hit someone from Hamas? That's something unheard of in this war, too bad this guys worst crime was that he was a college professor...

Oh how nice...

Israel is letting foreigners leave, oh that's nice of them...I'm now convinced of Israel's humanitarianism.

Bombing...Hamas militants?

Video footage of Israelis killing innocent civilians...

Exploiters of the east

America isn't the only one exploiting their neighbors.