We Live in "The Borrowed Times"

...so sayeth The Nation's epoch-naming contest judges. I kind of liked "The New Steal."

Update: Huffpo.

Suleiman Baraka

A Palestinian Astrophysicist who used to lecture Palestinian children, and all children, to look beyond the Helicopters, F-16s, for planets "and hope," tells of his son's death

Are you listening? Another interesting take here, though sometimes forgetting how important it is to qualify statements: down to three rockets a month is no solution, but it sure does seem like a potential step toward creating the conditions to negotiate/force a more equal peace (only ever if Israel is genuinely willing). In the end the occupation, and most specifically its relation to the Israeli economy, obviously must be addressed. Sadly, not even Jimmy Carter talks about it.

Bushisms

The BBC already waxes nostalgic. (Digby waxes actual historical.)

Israel's Will to Violence

In which we could sure be talking more about the economy, stupid pundits. After all, the prime motivating factor of this latest slaughter is surely the desire to demonstrate to Israel's new shareholders that the fourth largest arms dealer in the world is capable of better innovation and "success" than in its last performance. Where's Naomi Klein these days?

Israel now sends $1.2 billion in “defense” products to the United States—up dramatically from $270 million in 1999. In 2006 Israel exported $3.4 billion in defense products—well over a billion more than it received in US military aid. That makes Israel the fourth-largest arms dealer in the world, overtaking Britain.

Much of this growth has been in the so-called “homeland security” sector. Before 9/11 homeland security barely existed as an industry. By the end of this year, Israeli exports in the sector will reach $1.2 billion—an increase of 20 percent. The key products and services are high-tech fences, unmanned drones, biometric IDs, video and audio surveillance gear, air passenger profiling and prisoner interrogation systems – precisely the tools and technologies Israel has used to lock-in the occupied territories.

And that is why the chaos in Gaza and the rest of the region doesn’t threaten the bottom line in Tel Aviv, and may actually boost it. Israel has learned to turn endless war into a brand asset, pitching its uprooting, occupation and containment of the Palestinian people as a half-century head start in the “global war on terror.”

Obama's idiotic economic austerity?

Is this [link fixed] really all we worked so hard for? "Like worrying about watering the plants while the house burns," in the words of one of Amy's guests. Of course some remain more optimistic, with reason.