I make an appearance in the Onion's counterpoint section.

Tim shared this week's Onion's counterpoint. I doubt he sent it to me for the following reason, but I think it's a prime opportunity to poke fun at myself. One of the commentators is a nerdy looking chap whose piece closes with the following pearl: "It would be far too difficult—and far too arrogant—to attempt to sum up the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in one op-ed." Similar to me? Yes, but it gets worse. Here's the gent's photo:

Aaaaaaacccchhhhh. I've become a physical stereotype in the Onion!

The response to the poindexter's comments is hilarious: "Not if you hate Jews!"

Do you wonder what it's like to move to Taiwan?

If you do, check out the Razzel Berry and you can read about the trial and travails of adapting to Taiwanese culture. I find Rachel's food posts intriguing. Nevertheless, I'm dying to see what Nick looks like on a scooter.

Rachel's Razzel Berry

Wall Street tightens its belt. Bwah! Suckers.

What Red Ink? Wall St. Paid Fat Bonuses

Since the crack managers on Wall Street have done a heckuva job, various firms have paid out 18.4 billion in corporate bonuses, according to the NYT. And since most of those have pulled from TARP funds, that means it's likely that taxpayers have paid for--in some way or another--lavish multi-million dollar bonuses. Of course, since there has been no clear accounting of TARP pay-outs' use, it's difficult to arrive at that conclusion authoritatively.

Certainly I am sympathetic to this inequitable treatment:
"On Wall Street, where money is the ultimate measure, some employees apparently feel slighted by their diminished bonuses. A poll of 900 financial industry employees released on Wednesday by eFinancialCareers.com, a job search Web site, found that while nearly eight out of 10 got bonuses, 46 percent thought they deserved more."

Where's Ivan Boesky when you need him? I guess the best we've got is Bernie Madoff

Bill Kristol's last column and something I agree with

Today marks the final day of Bill Kristol's column in the NYT op-ed section. I'll miss his wackiness and illusory comments about this country as a center-right nation. Who can forget his quoting newsmax's faulty reporting on BO's presence for Jeremiah Wright's incendiary sermons? Even though the son will never compare to the father's inspiration, he seems to be a light for conservative thinkers at some level.

Nevertheless, he said something today that I agree with:
"The answer lies in the hands of one man: the 44th president. If Reagan’s policies had failed, or if he hadn’t been politically successful, the conservative ascendancy would have been nipped in the bud. So with President Obama today. Liberalism’s fate rests to an astonishing degree on his shoulders. If he governs successfully, we’re in a new political era. If not, the country will be open to new conservative alternatives."

I think Kristol's wrong to invoke the well worn liberal-conservative dichotomy, but if Obama proves wildly successful, he could lay the ground for a shift in policy thinking away from the market-obsessed, neoliberalism that erupted with Reagan. Just as Ike, Nixon, and Ford tolerated and, in some cases, bolstered the New Deal, Clinton wasn't a dramatic turn away from Reagnism and Reagonimics. Obama has a steep hill to climb. If he can make it through two terms, right the ship, demonstrate the permanence and necessity of his administration's policies, then he has the opportunity to build something new. It's far too early to tell what that new entity could be, but "success" is a pretty low bar and his achievements might not have to be monumental.

EFCA commercials

As of this week, I've noticed the below commercial pitching the Employee Free Choice Act. During the fall election cycle, and before the September-October meltdown, various business groups aired commercials crowing about the loss of the secret ballot or unions' stifling of choice. I was waiting for the response, and I'm relieved it's arrived. I wasn't surprised by the lack of an immediate retort to the smear campaign. Most people in unions wouldn't want, in any way, to contribute to making the election any sort of a referendum on unions. But as the economy teetered on the edge of the precipice and took a hard landing (I'm not sure we've retreated too far), the commercials vanished. This issue will remain when EFCA seriously enters Senate debate, and I'm curious if Obama's new organizing crew will be asked to participate in the struggle.

From your Sunday NYT

Today's NYT features two articles of note, or at least of note for me. Shepard Fairey and the topic of street art (including Banksy) gaining prominence. You can find him hanging in the National Portrait Gallery.

The other is a Magazine article on Yu Hua, whose novel, To Live, I read over break and will discuss with my students in a couple of months. The piece is a long one, but a good one.

Qaddafi advocates for a one state solution

Like everyone and their uncle's monkey, I want a sustainable peace with reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis. (Let's face it, that emotion doesn't make me special.) I am heartened to see Muammar Qaddafi (the US' Middle Eastern bogeyman preceding Saddam) pushing for a one state solution. I think it's a good idea, however, logistically I wonder about the possibility. I still am confused as to how you can have a two state solution when one of the states is split in two with no physical connection. Realistically, it could work but it could be plagued with administration issues. The Obama administration is going to run up against this dilemma as it becomes clearer that Hamas is strengthened and Fatah faces an uphill climb in regaining control of Gaza.

It seems unlikely that Israel would permit an influx of Palestinians that would immediately offset Israeli demographic preponderance. I can't think of an occasion where the PM or the Knesset would authorize the end of their authority. Israelis want peace, but that might be too high a price.

Anyway, not a bad idea, but demographics and the legal challenges to property ownership make it unlikely unless their is a mjaor push inside Israel for a dramatic peace agreement that stresses reconciliation over Israeli statehood. Muammar doesn't hold much sway, just like Habib Bourguiba didn't when suggested East and West Arabs accept Israel in the mid-1960s.

Muammar

George Mitchell

I'm still uncertain on George Mitchell's chances for anything more than marginal achievement as the new Middle East envoy. The tide of history is against him, but I would prefer to avoid allowing cynicism to throttle my belief that peace is possible. If, by some odd stroke of luck, Mitchell could pull something off, and it lasted (that's the key), it would be a diplomatic coup for Obama and nothing short of it. A regional settlement that returns the Golan to Syria and peace with Israel, pushes for Lebanese political reconciliation, dissuading Iranian nuclear development, and a peaceful transference of power to Iraqi authorities, if that can happen in four years it's hard to overstate the victories they represent. If those goals can be reached, it also might force the authoritarian Gulf and other countries to loosen up a bit if the bogeymen are extinguished. Of course, I don't expect that to be the only arena diplomacy assumes a paramount role.

The LA Times featured a favorable write-up on Mitchell today. I'm impressed with learning about his patience and tenacity, puzzled by the contradiction of two paragraphs:

"Although his mother was Lebanese, Mitchell has not been active in advocacy groups espousing Arab causes. His Senate voting record is considered solidly pro-Israel. He supported foreign aid packages for the Jewish state and regularly voted against sales of U.S. weaponry to Arab countries."

then, an AIPAC official disputed Mitchell's comments maintaining that:
"It bothers me a bit," he said. "The Israelis have shown that they're the good guys. And the people they're being asked to make peace with are usually the bad guys, with a couple of exceptions."

In other words, I don't know what to expect.
GM

Fox goes ape on Obama.

But he doesn't have his hand on the bible! Is he president? This came from kos, and I thought it was worth posting since it moves quickly. Don't get me wrong, I'm not surprised but it's entertaining when spliced and diced.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Fox News Fear Imbalance

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Oscar nominations

The envelope, please

BEST PICTURE
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Milk
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

BEST ACTOR
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road"

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
Gus Van Sant, "Milk"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"
Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"
Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Marttin McDonagh, "In Bruges"
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, "WALL-E"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"
David Hare, "The Reader"
Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"
John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"
Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Baader-Meinhof Complex" (Germany)
"The Class" (France)
"Departures" (Japan)
"Revanche" (Austria)
"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
"Bolt"
"Kung Fu Panda"
"Wall-E"

BEST ART DIRECTION
"Changeling"
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
"Dark Knight"
"The Duchess"
"Revolutionary Road"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Changeling" Tom Stern
"Slumdog Millionaire," Anthony Dod Mantle
"The Reader," Chris Menges
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Claudio Miranda
"The Dark Knight," Wally Pfister,

BEST FILM EDITING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
"The Dark Knight," Lee Smith
"Frost/Nixon," Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
"Milk," Elliot Graham
"Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"Australia," Catherine Martin
"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Jacqueline West
"The Duchess," Michael O'Conner
"Milk", Danny Glicker
"Revolutionary Road," Albert Wolsky

David Lee Roth snippets

Do you ever wish you could hear some of David Lee Roth's signature...sounds and singing? Now you can. I should mention that these seem to be culled from Runnin' with the Devil.

Diamond Dave clips

Where to now?

Tomorrow, according to various reports, President Obama will issue an executive order to close Guantanamo within a year. Smashing. The next question is where will the inmates go? Australia said no, and I believe Portugal volunteered to take some. Maybe Poland (don't forget Poland) or some other member of the coalition of the willing could house portions. I'm intrigued to see if any are shipped to Super Max prisons in the continental US, as the Bush administration rejected, ostensibly, bringing such gems as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to these shores.

Closing Guantanamo won't mean clearing out but all of the most grizzled and dangerous. The US will reluctantly release several soon, I presume. Still I think it unlikely that the regrettably high number of innocents will be released to their home countries as many are considered threats, and that's a label that won't vanish in the near future. Hopefully I'm wrong in every way.

What kind of 'hood do I live in?

In September '07, our car was stolen from in front of our house. We didn't have an alarm, it was an Accord, but the doors were definitely locked. This morning when we left the house, we noticed that a car's wheels were stripped. The thief left the jack and propped the car up with a concrete planter. I can't recall it having extremely nice wheels, but the owner did not look happy this afternoon when the car was lifted onto a flat bed. I didn't take any photos because the owner was milling about and something told me that he wouldn't appreciate a nerdy guy in glasses wanting to take photos for his blog.

Judge: Cheney allowed to determine which records to preserve

Dick Cheney won a case for preserving the dark lord's archives. A judge ruled in favor of his argument that his office is not technically part of the executive branch, and thus not covered by the Presidential Records Act. As an aspiring historian who spends his time with government documents, many of which are pointless and boring, I can guarantee you that Cheney should not be permitted to exploit this loophole. This is part and parcel of the Bush administration's penchant for secrecy and pushes to close documents for interminable periods of time.

Court Rules in Favor of Cheney in Lawsuit

Bronner assesses Israel's war against Hamas

Parsing Gains of Gaza War

Bronner is one of the reporters covering this story I like more for the NYT. His analysis piece today, however, didn't give me more than a some well-traveled comments/concepts other than Hamas' soldiers displayed a greater sense of discipline and this nugget (yes, that's sarcasm):

"Shlomo Brom, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University and a retired brigadier general, said it was wrong to consider Hamas a group of irrational fanatics.

“'I have always said that Hamas is a very rational political movement,' he said. 'When they use suicide bombings, for example, it is done very consciously, based on calculations of the effectiveness of these means. You see, both sides understand the value of calculated madness. That is one reason I don’t see an early end to this ongoing war.'"

Innocents in Gaza and accountability for attacks.

Further proof of how innocents in Gaza are paying the toll in this war. The Trib is running a story on Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Gazan doctor who also traveled freely between Gaza and Israel. Three of his daughters and a relative were ripped to pieces when an Israeli shell landed in their apartment. The IDF issued its stock response: "The Israeli army said it was investigating, and that an initial inquiry showed that 'soldiers were apparently fired upon' from the doctor's building 'or its vicinity.'" Like the attack on the UN compound, without some form of independent journalists it's impossible to verify any of the IDF claims and they should be seen as suspect.

In one of the most densely populated areas in the world, where do people go and how close is close? The Israelis aren't accepting refugees, and many can't travel through IDF lines. It's a cop out to say that Hamas fighters may have been firing near by without any proof, and it permits wanton destruction and death. And there is no indication, or at least that I've read or heard, that this is pushing Gazans to reject Hamas. If that's the case, one must question what Israel is gaining from this incursion. Helping Ehud's or Tzipi's electoral position isn't a worthwhile justification, and if Hamas returns more powerful this is going to be a botched offensive that does nothing more than perpetuate Israel's security dilemmas rather than forge a resolution. And those jackasses in Hamas are equally responsible for pushing this as long as they have.

Doctor's Lament

American Missionaries in the ME

Two recent books cover American missionaries in the Middle East:
Ussama Makdisi - Artillery of Heaven: American Missionaries and the Failed Conversion of the Middle East
and Heather J. Sharkey American Missionaries in Egypt: Missionary Encounters in an Age of Empire

American missionaries are fascinating people. Of course, they're doing god's work, but what they propagate is a particularly American style of worship and, generally speaking, culture. I'm eagerly awaiting a good book on Mormon missionaries, one where an author discusses the nature of the Mormon message and (out of personal curiosity) if there's any relationship to capitalism/entrepreneurship. While it's great to know where men on their missions ventured by church orders, but any successful book would need a critical examination of how and what was proselytized.

I have yet to begin, in earnest, Chalcraft's recent book. But that's on tap for Monday.

Go see Frost/Nixon.

I admit: I am continually fascinated by Richard Nixon. His personality, intelligence, cunning, pain, all reveal a complex figure. I would go so far as to say that he's one of the US' most enigmatic and intriguing presidents, quite possibly rivaled by his predecessor Lyndon Johnson. I don't know how the US got such men as back to back presidents. Other presidents are equally accomplished and integral to American history, but seldom do they have the shocking personalities and range of an LBJ or Nixon. Both men were tragic figures, and were responsible for tragic actions in Vietnam and elsewhere. So this isn't hero worship, rather amazement at their characters.

So as you can presume, I loved Frost/Nixon and Frank Langella's portrayal of Nixon is flooring. The movie covers ground familiar to historians, but I give Ron Howard and Peter Morgan an immense amount of credit for their gripping work. The weakest part was Langella's voice and affectation, but the makeup and his acting towered over that minor issue. In fact, Langella shines in the dramatic close-ups as he reveals the tortured Nixon. As a film, I highly recommend it, but it comes with a fair amount of fiction.

The World's Healthiest Foods

I swing over to WHFoods.com when I am left wondering about various a fruit's or vegetable's nutritional content and trying to soothe my conscience.

Roger Cohen, BO's ME Dream Team, and Arab-American Gap

Today's Roger Cohen Op-Ed deals with the lack of Arab-Americans in the new Obama Middle East team. His first sentence rattles off a list of academics/intellectuals who are conversant in regional culture and language who are on the team: "Shibley Telhami, Vali Nasr, Fawaz Gerges, Fouad Moughrabi and James Zogby." At first, I was astounded to see that Obama created such a group to advise him on Arab and Arab-American affairs. Cohen was kidding. However, that canard allowed him to illustrate the very lack of what the US needs in its diplomacy with the Middle East. Cohen doesn't denigrate BO's diplomats' qualifications, but "on the diversity front they fall short. On the change-you-can-believe-in front, they also leave something to be desired."

Importantly, those hands arrive with certain predispositions and legacies of failures. Although he doesn't bang his reader over the head, he remarks that the US needs fresh minds to tackle the region's dynamic realities. Such as:

"Does regarding the Middle East almost exclusively through the prism of the war on terror make sense? Does turning a blind eye to the Israeli settlements in the West Bank that frustrate a two-state solution, and the Israeli blockade of Gaza that radicalizes its population, not undermine U.S. interest in bolstering moderate Palestinian sentiment?"

or

'"Do we understand the increasingly sophisticated Middle East of Al Jazeera where, as Telhami, a professor at the University of Maryland, put it to me, 'People are not dumb and our credibility is at a historic near-zero?'"

All in all, a well-written op-ed.

Joe the Plumber reporting from Israel

Seriously, who is responsible for this fool? Joe the [fake] Plumber is now in Israel reporting on how journalists should not be allowed to report from war zones. Thank god we've got Joe. Not only is he parroting the IDF line that prohibits any non-Israeli journalist from entering Gaza, but he also sounds like an idiot. He is a vestige of the 2008 election that should have withered along with John McCain's resounding loss.

Where does the money go?

I think it's irrational to not be scared of the deficits our country faces and dire economic situation we face. President Bush will request the remaining 350 billion this week. Where is this money going and where has the money gone? The guarantees that the public will be paid back are rosy, but the little transparency and accountability is scary. Apparently Congressional Democrats will act this week to apply checks and oppose Bush's freewheeling request, but I'm left wondering why it took this long? Hank Paulson wanted almost no system of oversight and I think he's succeeded in restricting any examination into distributing TARP funds. As the Senate Republicans attacked the B3 and the UAW over 15 or so billion, hundreds of billions flowed to various financial institutions.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't receive the money. But there should be greater accounting of this rather than turning over hundreds of billions to the very people who's foresight failed them so miserably...and the very people who were supposed to embody economic/fiscal acumen.

Politico story

Ross Part II: People for a Compressed Trey

(Thanks to Doug Snyder who reminded me of the Ross->Ross nature of these posts)

Recently, the ad wizards at Phantasy Phish cajoled Tom Marshall into asking Trey about his lack of a Ross compressor for his guitar tone after the hiatus. Trey's response was slightly ambivalent--I believe he said he didn't even know where it was--but he appreciated the interest. Of course, Phish fans take things to the extreme and one of them purchased Trey a new Ross adorned with the Phish logo. The photos (supplied by Tom Marshall) tell the story. Trey told Tom "'people would be hard-pressed to find an equivalent story in music history.' He is excited and happy that people actually noticed the missing Ross, and is putting it back in his rig!"

Ross Part I: Dennis Ross to manage diplomacy with Iran?

Via Arabic Media Shack, Dennis Ross has been selected as the envoy to Iran. Why the passive voice? Because I'm uncertain who chose Ross, but, if the speculation is accurate, he will report to H Dawg and not the President, so it's likely that this is Clinton's insistence. Ross adopted a hard line stance recently, which also popped up in his Newsweek comments in Zakaria's forum. His column pointed out the necessity of direct talks, which is correct, but past statements and his concluding comments point to the option of bombing Iran as a very real likelihood.

I agree that Iran shouldn't get the bomb, and the US should reduce, in drastic fashion, its stockpiles. It's the biggest blight on human history: the ability to essentially destroy the world in less than an hour should two parties decide. That being said, the US isn't in the best position to attack Iran, and that shouldn't be considered the logical end of American policy if Iran doesn't snap to the American line quickly. Considering the already strained position we are in the region, nothing fosters good will like bombing a smaller state. And an attack on Iran doesn't mean that Khomeini or his successor will sit penitently in the corner waiting to curry favor with the US or its Saudi and Gulf allies. And if the US or whomever didn't wipe out the nuclear program, it would be a major strategic blunder.

I don't think there's an easy policy answer. But continuing a hawkish line with a country that already feels threatened, may or may not produce the desired results. Accepting the US' weakened stance is prerequisite to diplomacy with Iran. (What will we do with trillion dollar deficits? Countries and empires have been ruined by less.)

Bipartisan "Meeting the Challenge: U.S. Policy Toward Iranian Nuclear Development"
Newsweek

Comparisons of Israel's wars against Hezbollah and Hamas

I enjoy making a good comparison as much as the next fellah, but it really grinds my gears [cue grinding sound] when someone constructs a poor comparison. That's why I find comparisons of the outcome of Israel's current attacks to Israel's 2006 war against Hezbollah a bit of a stretch. Why? For one, Hezbollah and Hamas are wildly different organizations with disparate resources. Two, Palestinians (like Arabs) aren't homogeneous and an attack on one isn't the same as an attack on a mass of Arabs.

Hamas and Hezbollah have opposing political and physical geographies. Hezbollah had/has greater sanctuary in a wider area with advantageous terrain. Gaza is a densely populated area, which could work to Hamas' advantage as close quarters combat is arduous and could ground an Israeli assault to a creeping pace. But when it comes to rearming, there is little to no doubt that Hamas will face an uphill struggle, unlike Hezbollah. Egypt won't rearm Hamas and Israel surrounds Gaza's remaining borders. Smuggling will continue but it's doubtful that Israel will permit a wholesale arms bonanza to occur. The porous border with Syria allowed Hezbollah to recharge its armories with little hindrance.

The sinews of Hezbollah's social capital are different from Hamas' even though Hamas controlled Gaza, partially because of Israel's and Egypt's blockade and Hezbollah's long-standing presence in Lebanon and its ability to receive supplies from Syrian and Iranian backers.

So what does this all mean? Unless Hamas is eradicated or ousted--as the Israelis, Americans, and many others hope--Gaza will slowly crawl out of from under this war. But does it mean that the attacks will serve the purpose of opening new negotiations that will provide a "sustainable and durable" peace that won't "return us to the status quo ante"? Not likely, and Condi's 2006 comments will most likely prove as illusory soon as they were then. If Hamas survives, however, it won't be a looming threat with the material wherewithal to attack Israel or defend against Israeli assaults/incursions in the same style as Hezbollah. It's also unlikely that Gazans will take to the streets to end Hamas' control. Maybe it will provide an opening for Obama to swoop in and employ his abilities to initiate a lasting agreement. But I won't hold my breath.

Remapping traditional understandings of broadcasting and digesting war.

I'm not a fan of Israel's attacks on Gaza. But I am amazed at the IDF's youtube vlog and I think it's a fascinating remapping of how war is fought and groups broadcast and justify their wars. Of course, there are mouthpieces explaining away the attacks but also fresh footage of air assaults.

Most importantly, it's a novel approach to controlling and disseminating information. Let's face it, very few of us can watch the footage and say conclusively what targets are being attacked or what military value they contain. But it doesn't matter. The clips express an intrinsic authority for a Western audience. Sure, many of us question what we see on CNN, but that footage still retains a fundamental authenticity, particularly since the first stage of the US' long war in Iraq (Shock and Awe Part I in 1991). The purpose of the vlog and the clips isn't merely to justify the war, but to participate in the processes of manipulating the currency of "video evidence," technology, and outlets such as youtube to control the discourse of war. Fascinating method.

IDF Vlog

Happy New Year from Norman Holder

Kate and I are staying in Steamboat for a couple of nights next week, so we elected to stay in for new year's eve. I cooked a boneless leg of lamb (see above pic) marinated overnight in a paste consisting of rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and anchovy paste. I also made small incisions and stuffed them with sliced garlic and some of the paste. We served it with pine nut couscous and mashed sweet potatoes with cranberries, pecans, and some sweetening additives, mostly brown sugar. The post-oven and plating pictures didn't turn out as I thought, so the wrapped meat is what you get. Overall, a solid meal with leftovers that last for about four or five days. For dinner last night Kate sliced a baguette and topped it with dijon mustard, Irish cheddar (leftover from our amazing Christmas Eve bouillabaisse), and a few slices of lamb. Wonderful.

Norman Holder was a frumpy gentleman who worked the desk at the UN archives while I researched the Jordan River matter. Norman wasn't too helpful, but I guess he was at least friendly. (OK, to be fair, the archives there aren't the best and Norman did his best considering the constraints.) However, every time he picked up the phone he extended his best greetings in a throaty tone (think Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade) that I enjoy repeating to this very day. I also was privy to his evening plans, such as visiting the theater, where he would eat, his thoughts on the Giants, etc.

Rosa Brooks& Israel Can't Bomb its Way to Peace

Israel Can't Bomb its Way to Peace
Wikipedia List of Qassam Attacks (I can't vouch for this list's accuracy or provenance)

Rosa Brooks's column in today's LAT counters the simplistic narrative that Israel's hand was forced by Qassam rocket attacks. She points out that Ehud Barak, Olmert, and Tzipi all have political aspirations in this new war, and their timing is hardly coincidental. Near the end, she offers two salient points before launching into policy suggestions:

"Israel has no viable political endgame here: There's just no clear route from bombardment to a sustainable peace. But the damage caused by this new conflagration won't be limited to the Israelis and Palestinians. Israel's military offensive already has sparked outrage and protests throughout the Arab world. The current crisis also may destabilize some of the more moderate Arab governments in the region -- in Egypt, for instance -- where leaders now face popular backlash if they don't repudiate Israel.

And if you think that none of this really matters for us here in the U.S., you're kidding yourself. Arab and Islamic anger over Palestine continues to fuel anti-Western and anti-U.S. terrorism around the globe."