Mayor Sam the Tram is going to take risks. Hey, why not? Putting him in City Hall shows that the voters of Portland love risk....

You'd never know it by reading an American newspaper.  The Oregonian, for example, yesterday summarized the assault on Gaza with a  list that included this "fact":

"Why it started: Israel is targeting Hamas after rocket attacks on Israel."

U.N. human rights envoy to Palestine, Richard Falk, tells a different story.  Falk, who was "expelled from Israel" a couple of weeks ago to prevent him from doing his job, lays out a precise chronology of the events leading up to the Israeli assault on Gaza:

"There was no substantial rocket fire from Gaza during the ceasefire until Israel launched an attack last November 4th directed at what it claimed were Palestinian militants in Gaza, killing several Palestinians. It was at this point that rocket fire from Gaza intensified."

Falk also argues that it is almost impossible to attribute the early missile attacks solely to Hamas:

"A variety of independent militia groups operate in Gaza, some such as the Fatah-backed al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade are anti-Hamas, and may even be sending rockets to provoke or justify Israeli retaliation. It is well confirmed that when US-supported Fatah controlled Gaza's governing structure it was unable to stop rocket attacks despite a concerted effort to do so."

The truth behind the motivation for the assault on Gaza may never be fully exposed, but Falk speculates that the "timing" has political implications --mainly the upcoming parliamentary elections in which Ehud Barack and Tzipi Livni can expect the hard right "militarist", Benjamin Netanyahu, to challenge them on their "toughness".  

It has been suggested by others that the Gaza attacks were timed to start before Barack Obama is inaugurated as the next U.S. president.

Whatever the truth, it seems clear to me that that the Israeli government is using Hamas missiles as a PR justification for its incursion into Gaza.  It is also equally clear to me that the attempt to wipe out Hamas militarily will backfire in the court of world opinion.

The Gaza assault will only fuel Arab anger at both Israel and the United States.  And it will do nothing to either promote security in Israel or stymie terrorism in the Middle East.

The Trib confirms today what we've been telling folks for years: that "urban renewal" and police and firefighter pension and disability benefits are gobbling up property taxes in Portland at an alarming rate. The worst part about the police and...

Another Arctic blast has Portland in its icy grip. At this hour, there is 0.0016 inches of treacherous slush on the ground. And the light rain that's falling is not only wet, but cold. It is currently 37 degrees Farenheit,...

"ISRAEL’s war in Gaza is an act of political insanity. It is the product of a deeply disturbed society, able neither to curb its military arrogance nor calm its profound paranoia. The consequences are likely to be painful for Israel’s long-term prospects."  --Patrick Seale

Not only is the Israeli assault on Gaza "insane", it likely ends any prospect of peace with the Palestinians, at least for the foreseeable future.  In fact, according to Seale, whose analysis (it ran in yesterday's Oregonian --the only place I could find it online was the Saudi Gazette) is a welcome departure* from the echo chamber of the pro-Israeli American press, destroying the peace  process may have been the intention of the Israeli government in launching the criminal bombardment of Gaza:

"The war has, in fact, confirmed what had long been apparent, namely that Israel has no interest in a negotiated peace. Peace means retraction, it means ceding territory, whereas Israel is still bent on expansion."...

"It may be that the war was launched precisely because Hamas has recently shown signs of moderation. Its key spokesmen ... have expressed their readiness to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. To Israel’s dismay, they have begun to distance themselves from the movement’s 1987 charter, which calls for Israel’s destruction."

"Expansion" refers to Jewish settlements which continue to encroach on Palestinian territory in the West Bank, protected by the "security wall", check points, and roads built for the exclusive use of the settlers.  Subsidies for the settlements, where ultra-orthodox Jews especially feel entitled, even obligated (Eretz Israel), to live, has long been government policy.

Until that policy changes, there can be no peace in Palestine.

Make no mistake.  American foreign policy** enables the continued oppression of the Palestinian people and the military occupation of the West Bank.  The new Obama presidency promises no change in that pro-Israel stance.  

In Israel itself, in stark contrast to this country, there is a far more vigorous and public debate about government actions vis-a-vis Palestine.  Perhaps the most dramatic is the protest of organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, which condemns the Gaza assault and also publicizes the plight of young Jewish conscientious objectors --the Shministim-- who have been imprisoned for their principled stand against serving in an army which abrogates the human rights of their neighbors, the Palestinians.  

One such is Tamar Katz, age 19:

"I am not willing to become one of those holding the gun pointed indiscriminately at Palestinian civilians, and I do not believe that such actions could bring any change except ever more antagonism and violence in our region.”

Young Israelis like Katz keep the flickering flame of peace alive in Israel/Palestine.  

*(Bob Geary agrees.  On his My Oregon blog post, he writes: "It is truly a rare thing when the public is given an objective report such as the op-ed by Patrick Seale, an author of reports on the Middle East. Mr. Seale concerns himself with facts. Unfortunately, we are not used to such an approach."

**("As for the outgoing Bush administration, the blatant lies of Condoleezza Rice, who blamed the war solely on Hamas, must serve as the damning political epitaph of the most ineffectual US Secretary of State of modern times."  --Patrick Seale)

This one is bugging me again....

In our e-mailbag this afternoon: Hi Jack-- First of all, I want to say thank you very much, both to you and to the generous winner of your "Buck a Hit" day contest. As Executive Director of Ronald McDonald House...

A reader who read our post of yesterday about the new bottle deposit rules in Oregon writes: Another observation I made today regarding new laws that take effect -- only anecdotal, of course. But like the bottle bill, there may...

... but it's been snowing again (and sticking) for the last hour or two here in Portland. Wet stuff, and now turning back to rain. UPDATE, 3:33 a.m.: Looks like there's a slide blocking U.S. 26 up around Brightwood, and...

We're still looking for advice on this weekend's pro football games. We need an underdog that will delight its home crowd with a win. If you think you know, take our poll here. We have to pick a 'dog by...

From Astoria, a gorgeous blog....

Today the recent revisions to Oregon's beverage container deposit law take effect. As the waste manager at our house, I look upon this development with a mild sense of dread. Now plastic water bottles will have a nickel deposit on...

Use the below link to download the podcast of this message from Rev. Chuck Currie for your iPod or personal computer.   

Download JAN012009.m4a

(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to Rev. Currie's podcasts on ITunes by clicking here.

You can download a PDF copy of this message by clicking here.

1. 2,000 situps a week. 2. Run 300 miles for the year. 3. Less alcohol. 4. Less high-fructose corn syrup. 5. Sunscreen. 6. Vegetables. 7. Tea. 8. Water. 9. Cooking. 10. Gardening. And others......

As grandma always said: Good riddance to bad rubbish.

The interview that I did this morning with KPOJ is now available online.

Click here and then download the podcast that reads:

KPOJ POJ-cast 7-8 am 12-24-08

Portland progressive activist Rev. Chuck Currie on the true meaning of Christmas, OR Congressman Peter DeFazio, and listener calls.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, Chris Hedges.  Here's an excerpt:

"The Democratic and Republican parties have become little more than squalid clubs of privilege and wealth, whores to money and corporate interests, hostage to a massive arms industry, and so adept at deception and self-delusion they no longer know truth from lies. We will either find our way out of this mess by embracing an uncompromising democratic socialism—one that will insist on massive government relief and work programs, the nationalization of electricity and gas companies, a universal, not-for-profit government health care program, the outlawing of hedge funds, a radical reduction of our bloated military budget and an end to imperial wars—or we will continue to be fleeced and impoverished by our bankrupt elite and shackled and chained by our surveillance state."

Hedges piece is less an exposition of his socialist leanings than a critique of the American "corporatocracy", largely unregulated and left free to wreak whatever damage to the  economy that benefits the corporate bottom line.  Hedges pulls no punches in his scathing indictment of the corporate presence:

"The creation of a mercenary army, the privatization of public utilities and our disgusting for-profit health care system are all legacies of the corporate state. These corporations have no loyalty to America or the American worker. They are not tied to nation states. They are vampires."

But that's alright with me.  Reigning in the excesses of Wall Street --and rethinking corporate "personhood"-- is the sort of change I can believe in.

Happy 2009!

Got plans for tonight?...