to no real surprise, israel ignored the united nations and there has been no cease-fire. this is from reuters:

The Israeli military said it carried out more than 70 air strikes in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Friday against militants, rocket launching sites and weapons caches, and that the Islamist group fired at least 30 rockets across the border.
Medical officials in the Gaza Strip said the Palestinian death toll had risen to 784. Hamas officials said more than a third were children. Ten Israeli soldiers have been killed, as well as three civilians hit by Hamas rocket fire.

that death toll is an undercount. even npr was talking about the over 800 today and npr does not go out on a limb for the palestinians ever. 1 incident today saw mass deaths. this is from donald macintyre, said ghazali and fares akram's 'Massacre of a family seeking sanctuary' (independent of london):

According to 19-year-old Maysaa, a second shell or missile fell on the building's roof with such force that she would in hindsight assume it came from an Israeli F-16. At the time she lay down with her nine-month-old daughter Jumana under her, listening to the screams of those around her, as the structure filled with smoke and dust. When the smoke began to clear, she looked around and saw what she says were between 20 and 30 bodies, and 20 wounded. The dead included her own husband Tawfiq, her father-in-law Rashed, who "was hit in the head and whose brain was on the floor", and a five-month-old baby "whose whole brain was outside his body".

now a lot of realities get left out of the 'news'. if you're looking for a primer on the basics, information clearing house has a documentary by john pilger. from 'Palestine is Still the Issue:'

Why Has This Documentary, Never Been Broadcast On U.S. Media ?
Twenty-five years ago, I made a film called Palestine Is Still The Issue. It was about a nation of people - the Palestinians - forced off their land and later subjected to a military occupation by Israel. An occupation condemned by the United Nations and almost every country in the world, including Britain.
But Israel is backed by a very powerful friend, the United States. So in 25 years, if we're to speak of the great injustice here, nothing has changed. What has changed is that the Palestinians have fought back.
Stateless and humiliated for so long, they've risen up against Israel's huge military machine, although they themselves have no arm, no tanks, no American planes and gun ships or missiles.
Some have committed desperate acts of terror, like suicide bombing. But for Palestinians, the overriding, routine terror, day after day, has been the ruthless control of almost every aspect of their lives, as if they live in an open prison. This film is about the Palestinians and a group of courageous Israelis united in the oldest human struggle - to be free.

if you can stream online, you can watch the documentary. it's an important 1. (and there's no fee to watch it.) pay attention over the weekend because the outrage is growing and that generally means israel begins moving to a wrap up and they always try to go out with a big-bang slaughter on even larger levels than what they start out with.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'







Instead we'll drop back to November 28th when

Earlier this week (Tuesday),





Marcia also covered Kelly Doughtery's testimony:




Meanwhile the violence continued today.




Yesterday's snapshot also included this: "As
Stevie Nicks once sang, 'No one ever leaves, every one stays, close til the fire fades' ('Fireflies,' written by Nicks, on Fleetwood Mac Live). Sidebar: Stevie joins bandmates Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Lindsey Buckingham for the group's first tour which kicks off March 1st in Pittsburgh (March tour dates are up at Fleetwood Mac's site)." That should have been "first tour in five years." My apologies. Public broadcasting notes. Starting with public radio, WBAI on Sunday and Monday offers:Sunday, January 11, 11am-noonTHE NEXT HOURActor/author/raconteur Malachy McCourt holds forth on issues ofchurch, art, state.Monday, January 12, 2-3pmCAT RADIO CAFEProducer and Artistic Director Mark Russell on "Under the Radar," aspectacular international theater festival now in its 5th season;author/artist Wafaa Bilal on "Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and ResistanceUnder the Gun," his book about an interactive performance piece; andpianist/composer Andrew Shapiro on upcoming performances and his newrecording of "Numbers, Colors and People," works for solo pianomerging classical and pop sensibilities. Hosted by Janet Coleman andDavid Dozer.Broadcasting at WBAI/NY 99.5 FMStreaming live at WBAIArchived at Cat Radio CafePublic television finds NOW on PBS exploring global warming's impact on ocean currents and sea chemistry as they travel "deep into the oceans with scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) with help from other researchers for a first hand look at this stunning sea change, and what we can do about." That begins airing on most PBS stations tonight as does Washington Week (check local listings for both) which finds Gwen and the gas bags exploring few topics but pretending they are many. Look for lots of bad puns and what doesn't even qualify as a one-liner. John Harwood (NYT, CNBC) shows up without his twin (John Dickerson), Michael Duffy (Time magazine) and Mark Mazzetti (NYT) will attempt to grapple with topics (and what passes for topics) while Jeanne Cummings grapples with the English language (stands in front of, stands behind -- it's all so confusing for Jeanne).

And on broadcast TV (CBS) Sunday,
60 Minutes:The Price Of OilThe historic swings in oil prices last year were the result of financial speculation from Wall Street and not supply and demand, several sources from the financial and oil communities tell Steve Kroft. Watch Video
The ChairmanCBS News correspondent David Martin profiles Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen.
60 Minutes Update:

Finally, the Illinois Supreme Court stuck with the law.

peter graffahmed rasheedkhalid al-ansaryjon boyle
the new york timestimothy williams
laurel brubaker calkinsmargaret cronin fiskbloomberg newsjulie sullivancbs newslaura strickler
iraq veterans against the war
kelly dougherty
aimeee allisondavid solnit
aaron glantz
60 minutescbs newsnow on pbspbswbaicat radio cafejanet colemandavid dozerwashington week


u.n. votes for cease-fire

The UN Security Council appears to have overcome its divisions and is poised to vote unanimously for a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Chances of the resolution being agreed appeared to recede earlier when new disagreements emerged in New York between Arab states and Western powers.

that's bbc on the latest. the united nations security council might take action. (they have, it's on the t.v. right now.) did they just decide israel's actions were outrageous?


and let's go through some of the u.n. comments today and comments made by u.n. members.

this is from u.n. notes on a security council briefing that took place today:

KAREN PIERCE (United Kingdom), echoing the High Commissioner’s admiration for UNWRA’s workers in the Gaza Strip, called for immediate humanitarian access in light of the immense suffering caused by the escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel. The United Kingdom called for an immediate ceasefire and condemned acts of terror and violence against civilians.
Pointing out that the majority of people affected by violence did not cross international borders, she expressed strong support for the High Commissioner’s approach to internally displaced persons, encouraging him to see what could be done, in cooperation with humanitarian partners, to enhance the cluster approach. As for the changing causes of forced displacement, the current protection framework was adequate if implemented properly.
Council members did not yet have a unified view on the concept of responsibility to protect, she said, adding that Governments should be helped in discharging their responsibility to protect civilians. The United Kingdom would welcome more regular and ad hoc briefings by the High Commissioner, and the Council should make greater use of UNHCR expertise in formulating mandates. There had been a debate within the United Nations and the international community about whether refugees should be encouraged to return only to their own places of origin, or whether they should be encouraged to go to other places. The United Kingdom needed more information on that discussion.

ABDELRAZAG GOUIDER ( Libya) said no one could appreciate UNHCR’s work more than people living in Africa and the Middle East, which had, over the past few decades, seen wars and natural disasters that had sparked large population flows. Along with protecting displaced persons and refugees, the countries concerned also faced the challenge of coping with the tensions that often arose between the displaced and local populations, as was the case with those displaced from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq and other countries. The ideal solution for addressing such problems was to prevent conflict, resolve disputes and resolve tensions, ensure safety and, ultimately, provide livelihoods and jobs.
He went on to recount the disturbing events in Gaza, where the civilian Palestinian population was being displaced due to collective punishment with Nazi-like overtones. The people of Gaza could not flee and had no option but death. The Security Council remained silent while those preventing it from shouldering its responsibilities were evincing tacit approval of Israel’s operations. Libya appreciated the work carried out by UNRWA and its staff in very dangerous conditions, and hoped that the Council could quickly arrange a briefing of that Agency’s Commissioner-General. The Council should ensure that no effort was spared in protecting all civilians in conflict, including displaced persons and refugees.

now this is the united nations summary of the president of the general assembly's press conference on gaza today:

Harshly criticizing the Security Council’s delay in demanding and achieving a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, President of the General Assembly, said today that the Assembly would hold its tenth emergency special session this afternoon to pressure Israel and the United States to comply with the multitude of United Nations resolutions concerning the question of Palestine.
[It was announced later that the emergency session had been cancelled.]
Speaking at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon, the President lashed out at Israel’s strategy to use the United Nations to stall a ceasefire agreement until it had achieved its military objectives in Gaza. In a statement, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni had described Israel’s fundamental diplomatic objective of gaining time to achieve its goals.
“Gain time for what?” Mr. d’Escoto demanded. “So that there can be more killing? So that there can be more destruction and more suffering of innocent people?” Ms. Livni’s views on the need for more time were “almost the same words uttered by (United States Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice during the (2006) Israeli invasion into Lebanon”.
The President continued: “I think that it is not unlikely that the timing of this particular incident now is precisely to be able to do whatever they want to do before ( United States) President [George w.] Bush leaves.”
He said he had received a growing number of requests from Heads of State and diplomats around the world, particularly in the last two days, to convene the emergency session to consider the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. However, the President declined to name those Member States when asked by a correspondent to do so.
The world, he said, was “fed up” with the inability of the United Nations, in particular the Security Council acting on the Assembly’s behalf, to fulfil its principle and founding objective of averting war and maintaining international peace and security. This afternoon’s meeting was intended to exert pressure to ensure that the Council’s legally binding resolutions were in fact implemented, and that Member States were not allowed to shirk their duty to the Organization. “ Israel should be open to resolutions not only of the Security Council ‑- which it does not care to comply with ‑- but also to resolutions of the General Assembly. After all, it owes its own existence to a General Assembly resolution. That’s more than any other country can say.”
Expressing frustration with the Council’s “dysfunctionality”, he stressed that the international community must not remain silent, and warned that a ceasefire in the current Gaza crisis would not be permanent unless the root causes of the conflict were addressed. The United Nations had created a Jewish State in 1948, but a Palestinian one was yet to be established. On the contrary, Palestinians were humiliated and discriminated against every day, and that must change.
Asked to comment on the moral obligation of the United States Secretary of State to end the Israeli invasion of Gaza, he said she must work for peace rather than block it. She must not betray the ideals of the American people and the spirit and letter of the United Nations Charter, which she was obliged to uphold.
Responding to a question about what the Assembly could do specifically to end the Gaza crisis, he stressed the need to ensure that nations complied with the Charter’s call for effective, prompt action to end armed conflict. “Just because the General Assembly is accustomed to not doing very much, doesn’t mean it cannot do something. This is only the beginning of our struggle for peace in the Middle East.”
When pressed to name the countries that had called for the emergency Assembly session, the President said he had consulted with several representatives of Member States, including permanent and non-permanent Council members. Many of them had expressed their belief that a draft resolution on the Gaza crisis would be brought before the Council, where it would be vetoed.
The last meeting of the Assembly’s tenth emergency special session was held on 15 December 2006 to consider illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

and this is the u.n.'s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, director of gaza operations for u.n. relief and works agency for palestine refugees:

The need for a full and immediate ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was becoming more desperate by the hour as continuing violence rendered humanitarian activities increasingly difficult and, in some respects, almost impossible, John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, said at Headquarters this afternoon.
Indeed, the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had been suspended today following the killing by Israeli tank fire of one driver and the wounding of another in a clearly marked aid convoy less than a kilometre from the Erez crossing. A second convoy dispatched to recover the body of a United Nations staffer had come under small arms fire in Gaza City during today’s three-hour lull in hostilities.
Mr. Holmes, who was joined via video link by John Ging, UNRWA’s Director of Operations in Gaza, emphasized that both convoys had been the subject of careful coordination between the Agency and the Israel Defense Forces through the Israeli liaison office and had been given the green light.
“This is a very, very difficult decision for us to take,” Mr. Ging said. “The population here are in a dreadful state and really need our help, but we also have a responsibility to our staff. We cannot fly in the face of the security situation we find ourselves in.”
The accumulation of incidents against UNRWA staff and facilities, including Tuesday’s shelling of an UNRWA-run school in the Jabaliya refugee camp, were above and beyond the reasonable risks of a conflict zone, he continued, suggesting that the credibility of the mechanism in place to coordinate humanitarian operations with Israeli authorities had broken down. “If they give us the clearance to move, it is wholly and totally unacceptable that their soldiers on the ground are firing on our aid workers.” Until satisfactory assurances of those workers’ safety could be made, the movement of all UNRWA staff would remain frozen.
He stressed that the key to a resumption of the Agency’s humanitarian efforts was a cessation of violence on both sides. There was an urgent need to end the fighting. Israel’s around-the-clock bombardment had left Gaza’s streets largely deserted and “eerie”, given the enclave’s reputation as one of the most densely populated places on Earth. However, there was an absence of anger among Gazans. They were not anti-Israeli, but at a loss as to why the hostilities were allowed to continue.
Mr. Holmes said that another factor in the decision to suspend UNRWA operations was the fact that the transportation company employing the drivers killed and injured today was the only one authorized to handle the goods crossing at Erez or Kerem Shalom. Until a ceasefire was reached or better security guarantees were provided, that company had decided it could no longer operate. That meant that, even if the crossings were open, and even if another company were convinced to operate in Gaza, all movement of significant goods was suspended.
He reported that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had also decided to suspend operations. After gaining access to one residential area near Gaza City, its staffers had found 12 corpses lying on mattresses, with, in some cases, small children lying next to their dead mothers, too weak to stand up on their own. In adjacent buildings, 18 survivors, some of them wounded, had been found, in addition to three other bodies. ICRC had been shocked to discover an Israeli military post located some 80 metres from the house, yet no one had intervened in the days since the deadly attack. Rather, the rescue team had been ordered to leave the area.
He said ICRC was arguing that the situation contravened international humanitarian law, an issue that he had raised with the Israeli authorities to ensure the security of humanitarian efforts.
Turning to broader issues in the humanitarian efforts in Gaza, he said the local Ministry of Health was reporting a total of 758 fatalities since the start of hostilities. About 34 per cent, or 257, of those killed were children and 7.5 per cent, or 56, were women. There was a total of 3,100 injured people, of whom 1,080 were children and 452 women.
Although the United Nations could not independently verify those figures, they appeared credible, Mr. Holmes said, noting the rising incidence of civilian casualties, including whole families buried in houses hit in the bombardment. On the other hand, Hamas militants continued firing mortars and rockets into Israel, with total fatalities holding at 4 and more than 30 injured.
Meanwhile, the number of displaced people had risen from 16,000 yesterday to almost 20,000 today, he said. Many of them were now in UNRWA shelters, which were located in schools for the most part. As a result of the overall crisis, public health concerns were growing and hospitals were struggling without enough supplies or workers.
Fuel supplies had entered Gaza and the number of people with running water at some point during the day had increased by 300,000, he said. But sewage pumps were still not working on a widespread basis and the power plant had not been started because the damage to its delivery network was that it was pointless using the fuel until the delivery of power to the local population could be guaranteed. In addition, the Kerem Shalom, Erez and Rafah crossings open in different ways, but there was no final confirmation that some 80 trucks scheduled to enter had been able to do so.
Asked if he could state unequivocally that Israel was responsible for the incidents in questions, Mr. Ging said that, while that Israel might dispute its role in the future, it had not yet done so.
In response to several questions about the tunnel systems in Gaza and what the targeting of those networks might mean, he said he could state categorically that none of those tunnels emanated from United Nations buildings. Furthermore, the Israelis had never alerted him that such might be the case.
Responding to a question about Israel’s claims that militants had been operating out of the school in the Jabaliya refugee camp, he said he was confident after visiting the site that no militants had been inside the building at the time of the bombing and no fire had come from within. However, Israel’s position on the issue had shifted to suggest that militant fire had come from the vicinity of the school rather than from inside.
Those responsible should be held accountable for the use of force as regulated by international law, he said. Had the response been appropriate and proportional? Had the duty to have a care for the civilian population within and in the vicinity of the school been discharged? Presumably, Israel accepted that, beyond the two militants they had thus far named as being among the dead, the 41 other casualties were civilians.
Responding to a question about various weapons reportedly used in Gaza, Mr. Holmes said there was no indication at present that cluster bombs were being used. Some assessments by Norway suggested that phosphorus-filled weapons were being used, but ICRC had said it had seen no evidence.
Asked where and when the United Nations had suspended humanitarian operations in the past, Mr. Holmes stressed that only UNRWA’s activities had ceased, not all United Nations humanitarian efforts. While the World Food Programme was considering a similar decision, other organizations such as the World Health Organization continued their work.

now if you read all of that - and this is why i put it in - you'll think, 'the united nations is going to do something and do it immediately!'

if you're thinking that, it is your 1st time at the rodeo.

the u.n. always wants to do something.

the american vote usually ensures that nothing ever happens. on the security council, for example, the u.s. is 1 of the permanent members. any permanent member can veto any action - just 1 permanent member saying 'nix.'

so there is always talk of supporting the palestinians in the u.n. but very little happens to match the wording.

as i said, the t.v. is saying that the u.n. supports an immediate cease-fire. but how far will the u.n. go (or be allowed to go) in order to see that take place?

this is the independent of london (and it's friday there already):

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepened yesterday when the main United Nations aid agency suspended its work in the Strip after one of its drivers was killed by an Israeli tank shell.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also said it would restrict its operations after one of its lorry drivers was hurt when a convoy carrying drugs for Gaza hospitals and transferring intensive care patients to Egypt came under fire from Israeli troops south of Gaza City. Both organisations said their convoys had been co-ordinated with the Israeli military.
John Ging, operations director of the UN Relief and Works Agency, said: "We have lost confidence in the mechanism that is there. We are ... prepared to take reasonable risks in this conflict but something has to change with regard to our being able to rely on the liaison that we do with the Israeli military.

a u.n. staffer and a red crosser staffer are hurt in 2 different incidents, hurt by 1 government, and the israeli government gets away with it. always. over and over. i've seen it happen for as long as i've followed the issue.

this is from john pilger's 'Holocaust Denied' (dissident voice):


switching topics, the movie posts we did last night are all worth reading and this is an easy to click reference:

Thomas Friedman is a Great Man
Marilyn Monroe
10 hours ago

Mikey Likes It!
Audrey Hepburn
10 hours ago

Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude
gaza, bette davis
10 hours ago

Clark Gable, Roland Burris
10 hours ago

Ruth's Report
Gary Cooper
10 hours ago

Oh Boy It Never Ends
Ingrid Bergman
10 hours ago

Like Maria Said Paz
John Wayne
10 hours ago

Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)
Charlie Chaplin
10 hours ago

that's it for me tonight. i know i've gone on and on about gaza for what, 2 weeks? longer? if you're a longterm reader, you know that happens when the palestinians are under attack. this really is my key issue.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'



Yesterday the

Repeating, 4223. Not 4213, as


No one ever leaves . . .


In some of today's reported violence . . .





Yesterday the


And the Pentagon, as


Meanwhile an


Another Iraq War veteran is out of the service finally.

Turning to US politics, as


Also on Barack, we'll note this from

the new york timeseric owles
thomas e. ricks
the los angeles timesjulian e. barnes
elisabeth bumiller
the washington postann scott tysonlizette alvarezerik eckholm
mcclatchy newspapers
leila fadelsam dagherchris floyd
etandennis blair


gaza, bette davis

How can anyone watching Gaza burn escape the bitter realization that history repeats itself? Many have compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to Apartheid South Africa. But not in their cruelest hour did the Apartheid regime wreak such wanton murder and destruction. Let us stop mincing words. What is happening to Palestinians now whispers of Warsaw and Lodz.
Schools, universities, mosques, police stations, homes, water treatment plants, factories, and anything that supports civil society, including the only mental health clinic in Gaza, have been blown to rubble from planes that rain death from clear skies without any resistance, because Palestinians have no opposing air force. Nor do they have an army or navy. No mechanized armor or heavy weaponry. Thanks to Israel, they haven’t even had continuous electricity or fuel for the past two years. Or food and medicine. Israel’s siege and blockade of Gaza has prevented the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza, including the import of the most basic goods necessary for survival.
A recent study by the Red Cross showed that 46 percent of Gazan children suffer from anemia. Malnutrition affects 75 percent of Gaza’s population, half of whom are under the age of 17. There has been widespread deafness among children due to Israel’s intentional and frequent sonic booms from low overflights. An alarming number have stunted growth and serious mental disorders due lack of food. The only way they have been able to survive thus far has been due to the tunnels that smuggle food and goods from Egypt.

that's from susan abulhawa's 'Palestinians Will Never Forget' (dissident voice) and i urge you strongly to read the entire thing. you especially need it when the new york times offers crap like this. barak ravid and haaretz note that some 1 is taking the slaughter seriously:

Venezuela expelled Israel's ambassador in Caracas on Tuesday to protest the offensive in Gaza. The move came just hours after President Hugo Chavez called the attacks a "holocaust."

Israel's ambassador to Venezuela, Shlomo Cohen, and his staff were given 72 hours to leave the country.

good. other countries should be doing the same. i wish they were.

al jazeera reports:

The United Nations is to convene its general assembly to discuss the Israeli offensive in Gaza, following days of talks at the security council, Al Jazeera has learnt.
The move comes as members of the security council and Arab ministers on Wednesday discussed an Egyptian-French proposal to end the crisis, in which more than 700 Palestinians have died.

700 is much more like it. but i still believe the figure is much, much higher.

ap notes that cbs, nbc and abc have all not sent their evening news anchors to gaza and that anderson cooper (cnn) just returned and that he returned because israel was limiting his access. of course the israeli government was doing that, they don't want their crimes against humanity broadcast around the world.

let me very clearly state that when the behavior is finally condemned in the u.s. - 2 years, 10 years, 100 years - people are going to ask how america could have enabled it for so long and supplied weapons to israel? because our news outlets refused to tell the truth about what was going on and because so many of us were more comfortable ignoring the story.

so that's the deep stuff. night bloggers are covering movies tonight and the way it works is that

jim, dona, ty and jess of The Third Estate Sunday Review came up with a list of performers and directors, assigned them a number and then asked us to pick a number.

jim told me who i got (i picked 13, i believe they had a list of 50 but it may have been 40) and i didn't believe him. i asked to speak dona. she confirmed jim was telling the truth: bette davis.

i love bette davis and that's why i was sure jim was conning me.

if i'm sick (or miscarrying), i've always taken the bed or couch and watched bette davis. at the worst of it all, she gives me hope i can carry on. i am truly not joking, i am completely serious.

the skeffington film is my least favorite bette davis film. i love everything else including return to witch mountain and the tele-film she did with robert wagner. my favorites are many.

1) of human bondage.

2) all about eve.

3) now voyager.

4) old acquaintance.

5) dangerous.

6) dead ringer

7) jezebel

8) dark victory.

9) the letter.

10) deception. (i love it when she shoots claude raines)

11) the little foxes.

12) all this and heaven too.

13) the star. (she plays a character based on joan crawford)

are you getting the idea that i've seen every bette davis film?

i have.

'what a dump.' that's her famous line from a film. in the film of albee's who's afraid of virginia wolf?, elizabeth taylor asks richard burton 'what picture' that line is from. she goes into this really great performance (this may be elizabeth's best role, i love her in this film) about how bette davis plays a 'housewife' married to joseph cotton. and she comes home from doing errands, sits the groceries on the table and says, 'what a dump.' what's the picture?

they never tell you in who's afraid but it's beyond the forest.

she's a 2 time oscar winner and should have won even more. in many ways, i respect her a great deal more than katharine hepburn. bette's raked over the coals by some for her horror films but at least she was still trying to act. all hepburn spent the 70s, 80s and 90s doing was indicating. you never got 1 damn performance out of her and she's wretched in on golden pond.

and, of all her films, i think storm center most needs a reconsideration. i couldn't understand why that film was so hated. i caught it on tv in the 70s and really enjoyed it - it's a drama and bette's magnificient as the librarian. c.i. explained that it was 'difficult' for cowards to applaud bette and the film because it was dealing with political witchhunts and it was released during mccarthyism, thereby hitting too close to home for many. so i would strongly urge you to check that out if you have seen a lot of bette davis films. that's the unknown gem by comparison.

oh wow. bette has an official website. she passed away in 1989 so i'm surprised. i hope it's her son doing or okaying it. (she and her daughter had an infamous split in the 80s.)

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'


Starting with the press. As

"This is scripted,"



Staying with the responsibilities of the press,

From the




One of the most specific critiques




Joseph Christoff: Based on that prior report correct.






Joseph Christoff: And that's still true.


Joseph Christoff: That's correct.


Joseph Christoff: Correct, and no progess this year either.



Lloyd Doggett: Right, but we're not there yet.








December 30th, the Kurdish Regional Government issued the following:





Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .





Turning to legal news.

Totally unrelated but Michael Yon covers Iraq and


Here is Dianne Feinstein's public statement in full:



helen thomasthe new york timesbrian stelter
alive in baghdad
michael yon
the new york timestimothy williamssuadad al-salhymcclatchy newspapers
nancy a. youssefleila fadel
del quentin wilberthe washington postjesse j. holland
andrea stone
ruben navarrette jr.