News out of the Gaza strip remains grim. International aid groups are ratcheting up their criticism of Israel, claiming that Palestinian civilians are being completely neglected and that aid workers are being hurt and killed. The United Nations has suspended activities in Gaza and launched an official investigation into the Israel military after a UN driver was killed while in a UN-marked aid truck; the Red Cross has released a harsh statement condemning Israel for what it calls failures of international humanitarian law. While criticism mounts, the current US administration continues to back Israel somewhat unconditionally, ugh. It is tough to take a stand on this issue at the office, but it is likely that no one will bring it up.
Economic news at home is similarly grim. Major retailers, including discount stores like Wal-Mart, reported declining sales figures for December and warned that the next few months will be even worse. Additionally, the final employment report for 2008 has been released and it shows that the US lost a total of 2.6 million jobs in 2008, which is apparently the most in a single year since WWII ended in 1945. Job loss accelerated as the year went on meaning that it is likely to continue well into 2009 and also that various stimulus schemes used by the Bush administration didn’t really work. The Obama economic team is overhauling his proposed stimulus package after the initial plan met with some criticism from congressional leaders. How to talk about this at the office? There isn’t much to say besides that it sucks and hopefully no one is getting laid off.
The Florida Gators beat Oklahoma 24-14 to win the BCS national championship. I guess that means the Gators are the best team in college football? I dunno, that whole thing is so fucked up. Here is hoping that President-elect Obama will fix it. There is probably a pretty killer party in Gainesville right now, so if you can make it head on over.
Palm, a company that was once the king of handhelds but has lagged seriously since the creation of smartphones, has rocketed back into relevance with the introduction of the Palm Pre at this year’s CES. While iphone killers seem to pop up (and fail) with increasing regularity, this one looks great. Gadget writers I respect are lining up to sing its praises. The phone features multitouch, is on a 3G network, runs on a linux platform and integratse mobile facebook and gmail apps into the software of the phone itself. For example, if a friend calls their facebook photo pops up. Unfortunately, it is currently exclusive to Sprint… grrrrr…
President-elect Obama said yesterday that overhauling Medicare and Social Security will be a key part of his administration’s plans to reduce the Federal deficit. This makes sense on paper, since those are two of the governments biggest programs and both quite odl and inefficient, but it also seems a tailor-made way to grind Obama’s agenda to a halt. My guess is that this announcement (besides being good policy) is part of his continued efforts to get Republican buy-in for his stimulus package *titter.*
It is looking increasingly likely that Roland Burris, Senate appointee of crooked Governor Rod Blagojevich, is going to be seated as a Senator. Man THAT is weird.
Israel came under rocket fire (3 rockets, but work with me) from Lebanon this morning. This could mean that Israel’s “war” in Gaza is opening into a two-front action. Since Israel invaded Gaza they have had their eye on Lebanon expecting just such a move from Hezbollah, but no one has claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks. Anyone keeping score at home will remember that Israel invaded Lebanon in 2006 and it didn’t go very well. Those looking for more insight into the conflict (and if there is one thing I love, it is more insight) should read this Op-Ed from a professor of Arab studies at Columbia. It is absurdly one-sided and his conclusion paragraph is complete crap but when almost all of what you see on TV being is very pro-Israel, it is worth reading contrary opinions. There is also a better Op-Ed on this topic from former President Jimmy Carter, who knows a thing or two about the Israel-Palestine peace process.
I am really beginning to believe that these Somali pirates are some kind of secret UN plot to make me feel better. I get all depressed because of the economy or the fact that maybe people think I hate Israel (I don’t) and then a news stories pops up about the pirates and I feel better. I mean, I know they are just poor people driven to desperate straights by their failing government, blah blah blah. But come on — PIRATES!!! There is a new US task force being assembled to try to protect merchant shipping in the waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and you can bet your ass that Uncle Sam is leading the way this time. I know I read somewhere that China was in charge of some UN anti-pirate navel force, but apparently not anymore? Either way, PIRATES!!!
The Israeli invasion of Gaza continues unabated, and the debate continues to rage internationally about civilian casualties. Yesterday. Israeli forces shelled a UN-run school filled with civilians, killing 40. It seems likely that the Israeli soldiers were returning fire at a few Hamas gunman who fired mortars from the school, but the incident underscores the fact that Israel is doing next to nothing to minimize civilian casualties.
Tom Friedman proves, yet again, that he writes for the New York Times and I don’t with a great column that put the Gaza conflict in the context of the greater Middle East. Raise a point from the article over lunch or in case your boss mentions the conflict to you and you will sound smart. Don’t feel bad about ripping off Times columnists, I do it all the time.
Senate Democrats, ever the masters of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, are raising a stink over President-elect Obama’s choice of former Clinton Chief-of-staff Leon E. Panetta for CIA director . Obviously, the Obama team goofed by not consulting with the Senate Intelligence Committee, but it seems to me that there is no real basis for criticism of his pick. As Matt Yglesias twittered a few minutes ago, “The case for putting a CIA veteran in charge of the CIA would be more compelling were the CIA’s record not so unimpressive.” If this goes beyond a few nasty media quotes and the dems really try to derail the appointment, that would be stupid.
January means the Consumer Electronics show and Macworld. Despite the recession, many of the gadgets on display at CES are just as cool as previous years. While Apple announced some interesting new innovations (a new macbook pro and DRM-free music), CEO Steve Jobs had to bow out of the convention for health reasons. Applewaters and fanboys are trying to decide if the keynote was boring because there were no really mindblowing innovations or products or just because of Job’s absence. Also, this has raised the question that if Jobs even leaves the company or takes a less prominant role, will Apple be able to continue its market and media domination?
And we are back! Let me tell you, ANYONE can do year-end wrap up in the year they actually occurred, but only this blog can bring you on a nostalgic tour of 2008 with the distance and perspective that comes from the first week of 2009. So this week, now that the trees and “menorahs” have been taken down and the New Years hangover is over (replaced with a regular Monday hangover) we will be looking at some of the highs and lows of last year. But first! The news.
If you have really checked out over vacation and are only just coming back to the world, you may have missed that news that Israel has invaded the Gaza strip. Responding to the endless, if sporadic, rocket attacks coming from within Gaza, the Israeli army retaliated through massive air strikes and now with a ground offensive that has cut the strip in half. Fighting has left over 500 Palestinians dead (100 civilians) and a rapidly developing humanitarian crisis is putting millions in danger of starvation. Many experts are saying that Israel chose now to strike because they knew the Bush administration would support them pretty much no matter what they did. That has proven to be the case as the US has blocked moves in the UN to condemn Israel. This will be a major challenge for President-elect Obama when he takes office.
Your favorite, formerly bearded, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name from consideration for Secretary of Commerce. Apparently, he is the subject of an ongoing investigation into political donations made to him by a company with massive business interests in front of the state. This might not be the last we hear of him; President-elect Obama has signaled that he is interested in reviving the special envoys to deal with global crisis areas. I am not sure but I don’t think that requires legislative approval.
Because Republicans can’t stand building roads or feeding the hungry, President-elect Obama’s massive stimulus bill *titter* will contain almost $300 billion in tax cuts designed to attract Republican support for the parts that will actually help. Cha-CHING.
Al Franken is going to be the likely winner of the Minnesota senate seat by a margin of about 200 votes. That is awesome in so many ways.
We have been talking about the stock market for a few days. Yesterday, the market was down 300 points at lunch and up 300 points by the time the market closed. Overall, the market seems to be bouncing back from the slide it was in over the past few days. Most people are crediting the Federal’s rate cut along with some other government subsidies that I don’t really understand for restoring investor confidence in the market. However, many are still saying that the Federal Reserve is too concerned with the market and needs to focus more on controlling inflation.
The Presidential campaign continues to stagger along heading into the primaries in Florida and South Carolina this weekend. How do you know today is a bit of a slow news day? There is a New York Times article saying that, among the candidates, Mitt Romney is the most hated. Man, Giulinani can’t win anything! Additionally, some people are a trifle upset that the former President is on the campaign trail so vigorously. And when I say vigorously, I mean like a rabid weasel in a sack. Finally, for those of you who were thinking things might be resolved on Super Tuesday, think again.
In Iraq, a lack of any major political solutions are jeopardizing the military successes the United States have had during the surge. If you want to sound smart, nod knowingly and say, “This was the danger of the surge all along.”
Egypt brought down a section of border wall, enabling Gazans to get some relief from the economic blockade they have been suffering. Unfortunately, Nintendo couldn’t keep up with demand so many of them had to return to their war torn homeland without a Wii.
And finally, from the files of “Screw you for that threatening letter I got sophomore year,” the movie industry has admitted it overstated the amount of movie piracy that goes on on college campuses. The Motion Picture Association of America has said that college students are responsible for 44% of illegal movie downloads. Their new estimate: 15%. They have cited ‘human error.’
The Israeli invasion of Gaza continues unabated, and the debate continues to rage internationally about civilian casualties. Yesterday. Israeli forces shelled a UN-run school filled with civilians, killing 40. It seems likely that the Israeli soldiers were returning fire at a few Hamas gunman who fired mortars from the school, but the incident underscores the fact that Israel is doing next to nothing to minimize 