Vatican Cardinal Renato Martino:Gaza Like Nazi Death Camp!

Cardinal Renato Martino, the Vatican's justice and peace minister, was quoted by the online Italian daily Il Sussidario as saying that the conditions in Gaza "increasingly resemble a big concentration camp".

On Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI said he wanted to encourage efforts to get Israelis and Palestinians to sit down together in peace talks over the Gaza conflict.

Benedict was speaking to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's square, repeating his warning that hate and rejection of dialogue only lead to war. The Vatican said that he would like to go to the Holy Land on a pilgrimage this spring, but no concrete plans have been made!

Listen to the Anguish of the Children and their Parents

There is not much more to say, so I shall keep silent for now, and ask that you click on the heading, for videos of Palestinian children being murdered by the IDF. In case you lose your way, all of the links about the escalating murders of Palestinian Children are at http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/

Oxford professor of international relations Avi Shlaim served in the Israeli army and has never questioned the state's legitimacy, but its merciless assault on Gaza led him to devastating conclusions: Establishing the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians. British officials bitterly resented American partisanship on behalf of the infant state. On 2 June 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to the foreign secretary, Ernest Blevin, that the Americans were responsible for the creation of a gangster state headed by "an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders. I used to think that this judgment was too harsh but Israel's vicious assault on the people of Gaza, and the Bush administration's complicity in this assault, have reopened the question.

Is Peace at Hand?

Please click on the headline and search in the "Financial Times" for "Pressure grows for ceasefire in Gaza"

An Israeli delegation is due in Cairo to discuss the details for a possible ceasefire, which might put a temporary end to the fighting, which has so severely damaged Israel's reputation. Involved will be a French-backed Egyptian initiative that calls for a temporary ceasefire, followed by talks on how to control the Gaza-Egypt border and prevent Hamas from re-arming, as well as how to achieve reconciliation among rival Palestinian factions.

An Eye for an Eye Makes the Whole World Blind

Israel's unprovoked aggression against the children of Gaza (like the one to the left of this entry) is having very serious repercussians against the innocent children of Jews in other parts of the world.

Unfortunately, it is always so - Unable to strike back at the out of control "Israel Defense Force", those who want to send a message to the powers who ordered the killing of these innocents have chosen to vent their wrath against other innocents, the closest at hand.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" said Mahatma Gandhi, the "great soul" of India. Peace, not revenge, is the real answer to our world's problems!

Now it is the Americans who Live in Infamy!

Arthur Schlesinger, the truly distinguished gentleman, for that is what he REALLY was, lived from 1917 to 2007. Among other things, he was an outstanding historian, whose more than 20 books shaped discussions for two generations about America's past, and who himself was a provocative, unabashedly liberal partisan, most notably in serving the Kennedy White House. He agreed that the doctrine and implementation of "our" 2002 National Security Strategy , and its implementation in Iraq, are widely regarded as a watershed in international affairs. After the first bombs fell on Baghdad, he recalled FDR's words following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, "a date which will live in infamy". "Now it is Americans who will live in infamy", he wrote, as their government adopts the policies of Imperial Japan. He added that George Bush had converted a "global wave of sympathy for the US" into a global wave of hatred of American arrogance and militarism." Were he alive today, how would he judge the Israeli incursion into Gaza?

Israel Fires White Phosphorous Shells into Gaza

This is an AP news photo of a white phosphorous shell (WP) fired into Gaza. WP causes painful burn injuries to exposed human flesh, and is considered a chemical weapon by most governments around the world. Its use in civilian areas is banned by the Geneva Treaty of 1980. The United Nations considers such weapons illegal.