Tom Lantos dies at 80 - IDF kills One

Rep. Tom Lantos, 80, a California Democrat whose experience as the only Holocaust survivor elected to Congress shaped his concern for human rights and his staunch view in favor of U.S. military intervention abroad, died today at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. He had esophageal cancer. Lantos, born in Budapest to Hungarian Jews, served 14 terms in the House of Representatives. He is the only Holocaust survivor elected to Congress. His district included southwest San Francisco and much of San Mateo County, where he was known for supporting the socially liberal agenda of his constituents. Last year, he announced he would not seek reelection because of his cancer treatment.

Gaza-Krise: Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt werden auf israelischer Seite verstärkt die Kriegsfanfaren und wie schon zu Beginn des Libanon-Feldzuges die absurdesten Kriegsziele vormuliert. Israel will sein militärisches Vorgehen gegen die radikal-islamische Hamas im Gazastreifen verschärfen. Die Regierung habe der Armee freie Hand gegeben, sagte Ministerpräsident Ehud Olmert am Montag zum Auftakt seines Deutschland-Besuchs in Berlin. "Unsere Sicherheitskräfte haben die Erlaubnis, alles Nötige zu unternehmen, um die Lage zu ändern", betonte er vor seinen Gesprächen mit Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel am Dienstag. [...] Frei Hand ist wiederum Blödsinn, da der persönliche "Berater" Haim Ramon von Olmert klare Kriegsziele steckt. Zuvor jedoch eine erneute Festellung: Vize-Regierungschef Haim Ramon drohte mit einer gewaltsamen Entmachtung der Hamas. "Es wird ein paar Monate dauern, vielleicht ein Jahr", sagte er. "Aber am Ende wird es die Hamas als Terror-Organisation nicht mehr geben." [reuters] Wieder einmal Übersetzungsterror, die Konzeption: Ramon reiterated his position that Israel must squeeze Gazans economically while attacking the sources of Kassam rocket fire, after giving civilians a warning. He also restated his position that "any Palestinians that are involved directly or indirectly in trying to kill Israeli citizens (are) a target from our point of view." "I believe the combination of steps against Hamas in Gaza will bring an end to the Hamas regime in Gaza," Ramon said. It might take a few months, but "the Hamas regime in Gaza will not last," he added. Ramon tritt als Gegner einer größeren Militärofensive auf. Dennoch ist das Setzen des Kriegszieles "Regime Change in Gaza" vollständig irreal. Mitten im Reich der Spekualtion was eine "freie Hand" bedeuten könne äußer sich der Armeechef: Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi tells hundreds of senior IDF officers 'army is prepared to expand its activity in accordance with the (government's) decisions.' Southern Command chief: Gaza will soon reach boiling point. Nach Angaben von Yuval Azoulay hat er hingegen gesagt: "The IDF is prepared and ready to deepen and expand the operations in Gaza as much as necessary, in accordance with [the political echelon's] decisions," said Ashkenazi during a conference of top military officers at the IAF base in Hatzor. [Wahrscheinlich nuschelt Askenazi so stark das man ihn kaum verstehen kann.] Den Vogel schießt jedoch Ehud Barak, seiens Zeichens Verteidigungsminiser ab: Defense Minister Ehud Barak also attended the conference, hours after vowing that Israel would not be deterred from taking the necessary military action to restore security to the residents of the Qassam rocket-bombarded south. "The IDF will act in any way necessary in order to restore security and quiet to Sderot and the Gaza border area," Barak told the Labor Party Knesset faction on Monday. "The primary objective - halting Qassam rocket fire and significantly reducing the strengthening [of terror organizations] through weapons smuggling." The defense minister said Sderot residents have a right to be angry. "The fury and pain are natural, human, and justified," he said. "The government has the responsibility to ensure their security, to help in any way possible, and to embrace them warmly." "We are open to any idea," Barak continued. "There are a lot of people who have come to me with various ideas. It is important that we listen but keep them to ourselves. When concrete modes of operation are discusses on the radio, they are liable to serve our enemies." "You don't need to be a military expert in order to understand that if you identify a concrete goal - it won't happen," he said. "If we identify the structures that we are going to strike, they won't be there. I recommend that all of us avoid detailed public discussion on technical operational aspects." [????]

Gisela Dachs über den Berlin-Besuch Olmerts. Stephan Kramer bringt sein Lieblingsthema vor.

Der Montag bleibt halbwegs ruhig: The Israel Air Force carried out an air strike Monday in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, wounding two civilians, Palestinian sources said. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the air strike, saying it targeted a car carrying members of Hamas' military wing. The army said the car was hit in the strike. Meanwhile, Palestinian militants fired two Qassam rockets at Israel, causing no damage or injuries. [...] Schon wieder: Leaders of the ruling Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip have scaled back their public appearances and stepped up other security measures, fearing Israeli assassination attempts in response to a wave of Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel, Hamas officials said Monday. Im Krankenhaus verstirbt ein Palästinenser an den Wunden die er sich in Jabalia am Donnerstag während eines israelischen Angriffs zugezogen hat.

Vice Premier Haim Ramon on Monday appeared to scale back expectations for reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians this year, saying instead that Israel hoped the two sides would reach a "declaration of principles." Speaking to reporters, Ramon said the target was not a fully detailed agreement, but a document detailed enough to set out a program for establishing a Palestinian state over the course of two to three years. [Mir wird schlecht. Die "declarition of priciples" wurde doch bereits in Annapolis... egal. Man will einfach nicht.] So nebenbei fällt der nächste vielleicht weg: Shas will leave the government if the Jerusalem Post report which revealed that Palestinian and Israeli negotiating teams were conducting secret talks on the future of Jerusalem turns out to be true, Trade and Labor Minister and Shas Chairman Eli Yishai told the Post on Monday. "We will check your story and if it is true, Shas will leave the government," Yishai said. He added that the party would also leave if the government continued to negotiate while rockets were being fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip.

A national poll reveals that some 100,000 children in Israel have been sexually assaulted, but only 2.5 percent of the incidents are reported to the proper authorities. The poll, presented at a National Council for the Child conference in Be'er Sheva on Monday, encompassed 500 polled parents.

Peace Now, an extra-parliamentary organization which promotes a two-state solution, has been accused by a Justice Ministry department of violating the law, Channel 2 reported on Monday. According to the report, an investigation conducted by the government found that the organization broke the law by using money earmarked for an educational non-profit organization to fund political activities. In the past few days, the department published its findings in a report which details the illicit activities, and has recommended that the government take action and possibly dismantle the organization. However, due to staff changes in the department, the process was expected to be delayed, the Channel 2 report said. [Da hätten sie sich mal lieber von Olmert beraten lassen sollen. Der weiß wie sowas geht.]

The new European mechanism for transferring economic aid to the Palestinian Authority, PEGASE (Mecanisme "Palestino-Européen de Gestion et d'Aide Socio-Economique"), will pay NIS 121 million (€ 22 million) today to 74,000 Palestinian public service providers and pensioners on Monday. Launched ... Wem fällts auf? The new European mechanism, PEGASE, will pay NIS 121 million (€ 22 million) today in favour...

Im schönen Film "Matrix" sind ja die deja vus immer das Merkmal das in der Matrix Veränderungen vorgenommen wurden, die man natürlich nicht gleich erkennen kann... Ich schätze Mal das innerhalb dieser Veröffentlichungszeiten der verschiedenen todays gewisse Reibungsverluste des Geldes von Statten gingen... Nicht nur das die Kürzung von 3000 Personen zum Vorgängerprogramm offensichtlich ist, sondern das bisherige Fehlen von Angaben über das "Social Hardship Cases (SHC) scheme" das nochmal 79 000 Personen mit diesen 300 € versorgte macht stutzig. Die ausbezahlten [hoffentlich nicht doppelt!!] 22 Mio€ sind nur etwa 11.5% des Vorgängervolumens. Sieht so aus als ob die fetten Fatah-Taschen wieder gefüllt werden....