Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and media sharply critical of Al Jazeera

YNet reports that

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni gave an interview Monday (29/12/08) to Arab television network al-Jazeera in which she harshly criticized Hamas, saying the organization was to blame for the civilian casualties in Gaza...

However she also lambasted Al Jazeera:

[She] sarcastically noted during the interview that "when you show one-sided images from Gaza you're not helping peace. I understand that pictures which create provocation lead to anger and hostility among the citizens, but we want a better future for this region"

Al Jazeera and PressTV have been showing wall to wall coverage of the Israeli invasion from an Arab perspective. These channels are available internationally. This has angered many Israelis. I am not aware of any Israeli TV channels which perform the same function.
YNet also carries an article by Dr. Mordechai Kedar who is a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University’s department of Arabic. In it he calls for the closure of Al Jazeeras offices:

........What matters is that this is not a media channel, but rather, a jihadist terrorist channel that aims to eliminate the State of Israel. It is for good reason that Osama Bin Laden hands over his audiotapes to this channel, which cooperates with him fully.
Israeli citizens are paying with their blood for the media freedom enjoyed by al-Jazeera.
There is only one conclusion here: We must immediately shut down al-Jazeera’s Israel offices and prevent its employees from working for it. Once Israel does it, many other countries will follow suit, particularly in the Middle East, for their own reasons. They are waiting for Israel to put an end to the recklessness of this non-media channel....

Israel fears Hamas rockets may destroy Dimona nuclear power plant

Israel has harboured fears for sometime that Iran might target the Dimona nuclear power plant. It is suspected that nuclear station at Dimona is used by the Israeli military to make atomic bombs. Such a missile attack by Iran would obliterate Israel. Now Israel is facing a second threat to the security of this facility.
PressTV carries the following:

Hamas retaliatory attacks have alarmed Israel with officials anticipating that the Dimona nuclear complex might become the next target......................Israeli officials were quoted by the Times Online as saying on Friday that Hamas may have acquired longer range rockets, which would enable the group to target the sole Israeli nuclear plant in Dimona.

It is time for a ceasefire and negotiations. Hamas must cease its rocket attacks on Israel. A strike on Dimona could cause a second Chernobyl. The Israelis must end the aerial bombardment of Gaza. The US, Britain, France and Russia must pressurise both sides to pull back from the brink of disaster.

Israeli military channel on YouTube hosts videos of air strikes and other attacks on Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip

THE Israeli defence chiefs have launched their own channel on YouTube and are posting footage of air strikes and other attacks on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This is part of their propaganda war against Hamas. The channel may be accessed here .Youtube has removed some of the videos. Minors should not view the footage.
Below is a video titled:

Israeli Air Force Strikes Hamas Government Complex in Gaza 30 Dec. 2008.

Gaza-Israel and Hamas should negotiate under certain clearly defined conditions

Both sides in the Middle East could learn from the Northern Ireland peace process. There the Provisional IRA through its political wing Sinn Fein has accepted the reality of British rule in Northern Ireland and now also recognises the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland). It has decided to pursue its claims to a united Ireland by peaceful means only. There is no future in this insane violence, which is tearing the heart out of Gaza.

Palestinians resent their expulsion from legitimately held lands with the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.This is natural. Israelis now hold lands which are de jure Palestinian.

But the reality is that the state of Israel now exists. Israelis and Palestinians must now deal with the de facto situation. Both sides should now call a ceasefire.

Hamas should accept the right of the state of Israel to exist and agree to pursue its aims by peaceful means only. This does not mean that Palestinians would give up claims to land from which they were ejected by Israelis. It just means that they would accept the de facto situation but would continue to campaign by peaceful means only to recover their lands or else secure adequate monetary compensation. Violence has failed. Israelis will not be driven into the sea. The US -in a doomsday situation-would not allow this to happen.

Israel must show more respect towards Palestinians. The plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza is horrific. Some of this may be self inflicted but much of it is due to Israeli activities.

Certainly Israel must defend itself from Hamas rockets but the over reaction this week-with so many civilian casualties resulting from Israeli air strikes- just produces more recruits for Hamas.

In short Israel will not be destroyed. Hamas will not be destroyed. There is stalemate. It is time to call a prolonged ceasefire. Time for sanity to prevail.There is a strong suspicion that politicians are using this as part of the upcoming Israeli election campaign.

Hamas should learn from the Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland. The Israelis should learn British government blunders in Northern Ireland. As Winston Churchill put it, “Jaw-jaw is better than war-war.”

Israel is losing the battle for public opinion on the world stage.
Where is Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair?

Israeli air strikes against Hamas positions in Gaza-Contrasting Media Coverage from Fox News and Russia Today

The two videos provide a fascinating insight into media coverage of Middle East affairs. The Fox News video places a greater emphasis on Hamas attacks whilst the Russia Today video emphasizes more strongly the civilian casualties and places less emphasis on Hamas attacks.

NozzleRage: Attack of the Pump an amusing clip with a powerful message

This is a very funny clip satirising the rip off of the consumer at the pumps. It has a strong message.

North Korea joins Castro, Hamas, Gaddafi and Chavez in expressing support for Obama:

The following is an excerpt of a fascinating story carried by the World Tribune newspaper: According to the Choson Sinbo, a newspaper run by ethnic Koreans in Japan and which supports North Korea, “North Korea prefers Democratic candidate Barack Obama over Republican John McCain.

"The Communist country, which has survived a relatively hawkish Bush administration, considers McCain "a variant of Bush" and "nothing better than a scarecrow of neoconservatives”……………………….”The newspaper expressed hope of better ties between North Korea and the United States under an Obama administration...”

This is highly embarrassing for Barrack Obama as already Fidel Castro has referred to him as “the most progressive candidate to the U.S. Presidency”. Gaddafi of Libya has already -on Al Jazeera- expressed a preference for Obama.
In addition Hugo Chavez of Venezuela favours Obama over McCain. Barack Obama -whilst cautious-has stated that he could meet Chavez.

Aaron Klein and John Batchelor interviewed Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Prime Minister of Hamas, on WABC radio. In the interview he stated that “Hamas has endorsed Barack Obama for President. Yousef said, "We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election."
The interview is carried here:(Click on black arrow)

These endorsements are highly embarrassing for Obama and will undoubtedly become a major issue in the Presidential Election campaign. They reinforce the belief that Obama is suspect on foreign policy. Advantage to John McCain.

The Real McCain/Rubin Interview shows that John McCain has not flip-flopped and is consistent in his stace of no unconditional meetings with Hamas

In an article in the Washington Post titled Hypocrisy on Hamas, James P. Rubin-who served in the Clinton Administration- recounts an interview which he conducted with McCain for Sky News. He quotes selectively as follows and misrepresents John McCain's position: "I asked: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?"

McCain answered: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."

Rubin in his article omitted several key sentences including the following "......It depends on how Hamas acts as a new government". This proves conclusively that John McCain has not flip-flopped and is consistent in his stance of no unconditional meetings with Hamas.