By Gregory Harms Almost two-thirds of Americans feel Israel’s operations in Gaza were justified. When given sufficient information, and when thinking outside ideological parameters, Americans commonly draw reasonable conclusions and are in agreement by a two-thirds majority. In the case of the Gaza-Israel conflict, a knowledge deficit and ideology are to explain why the population […]
Blown Chances in Gaza Israel and the U.S. Miss Many Chances to Avoid War
By Sandy Tolan via Tomdispatch.com Alongside the toll of death and broken lives, perhaps the saddest reality of the latest Gaza war, like the Gaza wars before it, is how easy it would have been to avoid. For the last eight years, Israel and the U.S. had repeated opportunities to opt for a diplomatic solution […]
Lauren Bacall’s Best Lines
via “Layla Raymanova” “here’re Lauren Bacall’s (1924-2014) best lines from the movie TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT.” Little-known fact: Lauren Bacall and former Israeli president Shimon Peres are first cousins, both with the birth name Perski.
Hundreds, if not Thousands will Die: Film Crew finds Iraqi Yezidis still Trapped on Mountain
Channel 4 News “Dramatic footage as our Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Rugman helps drag dehydrated children to the back of a military helicopter who have fled Islamic State forces in northern Iraq. As the helicopter left Mt Sinjar it came under fire from IS militants and the helicopter crew are filmed returning fire. Camerawoman: Philippa […]
Israel Drones Gaza Human Rights Worker to Death
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A rights group Monday condemned an Israeli drone attack on Gaza that killed a Palestinian worker for a human rights organization the day before, a statement said. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said that an Israeli drone attack killed 43-year-old Anwar al-Zaanin, a staff member of al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, […]
“Good Morning, Afghanistan!” Robin Williams entertaining the Troops, 2007
“A Life Overseas”: Robin Williams (1951-2014) was one of the acts for the 2007 USO show here on Kandahar AirField. Alert: Profanity. Robin Williams At Kandahar AirField May Mr. Williams rest in peace.
Gaza and the Palestine Crisis in History: World War II
By William R. Polk At the outbreak of World War II, both Palestinians and Zionists enlisted in large numbers — 21,000 Jews and 8,000 Palestinians — to help the British in their hour of need. But both kept their long term objectives firmly in mind: both continued to regard British imperialism as the long-term enemy […]
Party of Palin? Why Almost No Scientists Are Republican
Cenk Uygur of the Young Turks: “”A large majority of the public (76%) and nearly all scientists (97%) say that it is appropriate for scientists to become actively involved in political debates on controversial issues such as stem cell research and nuclear power. Among the public, substantial majorities of Democrats (80%), independents (76%) and Republicans […]
Nightmare in Iraq
Joe Stork via Human Rights Watch Fearing for their lives, more than 150,000 Yezidis fled Sinjar and surrounding villages to mountains north of the city on August 3, 2014 when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attacked the area. Some young and elderly are dying from the harsh conditions. I visited a Yezidi […]