Archives for January 2009

War in Gaza Update- Ceasefire Edition

January 18, 2009 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #19.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15, *16, *17, *18, *18.5 and 19.

As a side note Haveil Havalim, the weekly blog carnival of the Jewish/Israeli Blogosphere can be found here. Go check it out as you can be certain that it also contains valuable posts about the war.

From the traditional media we have:

CNN: Israel declares unilateral cease-fire in Gaza
NY Times: Israel Declares Cease-Fire; Hamas Says It Will Fight On
WSJ: Israel to Halt Offensive in Gaza Strip
Reuters: Israel to cease fire in Gaza, no deal for Hamas
JPost: PM says all Israel’s goals in Cast Lead have been attained
JPost: Hamas vows to keep fighting Israel
JPost: Mubarak calls for IDF to leave Gaza (Maybe he’ll see about shutting down the tunnels.)
Haaretz: An open letter to Gideon Levy
Haaretz: ANALYSIS / Israel declares victory in Gaza, but at what cost?
Haaretz: ANALYSIS / The ball is now in Hamas’ court in Gaza
TNR The Things They Carried
Commentary: Thoughts On The Cease-Fire

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continued live-blogging the war.

The Rebbitzin’s Husband: Gaza, Wounded Children and the Tyranny of Liberal/Conservative Labels

At Yourish read the following posts:
British academics: Israel must be destroyed
IDF concludes deterrence has been achieved
Religion of peace and tolerance closes only synagogue left in Indonesia

Omri provides these posts that I encourage you to read:

Breaking: Hamas Launches Last-Second Barrages As Israel Prepares To Declare Ceasefire (UPDATE: Israel Declares Ceasefire)

Israel To Call Unilateral Ceasefire, Declare Partial Victory (Plus: Has Operation Cast Lead Achieved Anything?)

Iranian Cleric: Put A Bullet In Livni’s Head (Plus: Smug Liberal Sophistication Unperturbed By Spectacularly Wrong Iran Predictions, Failed Anti-Iran Efforts)

Firedoglake offers Breaking: Israel Declares â€œCeasefireâ€, cue Rod Serling. At Crittenden read World Gone Gaza.

Surber posts Cease-fire. Shrinkwrapped has an interesting piece called Inverted Cowardice.

Go read Some comments on the â€œIsrael must loseâ€ letter – David Hirsh.

At Israel Matzav Liveblog: Olmert announces Israel to surrender to ‘public opinion’ , Did Israel cave to Mubarak? and IDF opposed cease fire.

From Treppenwitz you have Betrayed. The Occidental Israeli asks Truce? What Truce?

Daled Amos wants to know Did Mony Python Negotiate Israel’s Ceasefire?

At EOZ read Why diplomats don’t get it and British anti-semitism roundup.

WestBankMama has A Gift for the New President. Judeopundit says Iran Gloats.

And from Shiloh Musings The Government’s Statement re: Unilateral Cease Fire.

This will be updated later tonight.

Airing out the Archives

January 17, 2009 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

Decided to air out the archives and share some old posts again.

Some Songs That I Have Been Thinking About
Music That Makes Me Feel
I Still Feel Like a Fool
Losing Touch With Friends, With Family, With Life
My Crazy Life
Putting it All In Perspective

The Northridge Earthquake

January 17, 2009 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

It is dark outside and in the back of my mind I am slowly realizing that tomorrow marks 15 years since the Northridge quake. If you are interested in some pictures and details you can read a post I wrote last year.

There is a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. I have survivied a forest fire and been through more than one major earthquake. I have seen more than a few catastrophes up close and the memories stick with me. But the truth is that there is something about that day so long ago that hasn’t ever gone away.

I haven’t quite figured it out. Every time that I think that I have I find that it still doesn’t make sense. There is a sense of foreboding that hasn’t really left me. I don’t think about it often, but sometimes I have this feeling that in a moment all hell is going to break loose.

The feeling starts slowly. I feel like the earth is starting to move and then I look for a chandelier or similar object, expecting to see it sway. I listen for the rumble that turns into a roar and I try to decide where to go. In seconds I know whether I am going to hit the doorway, go beneath the table or try to exit the building.

Prior to the Northridge quake I had no fear of them. A quake was a big joke. But that night taught me to show more respect for Mother Earth. That night I realized that this was very different from a funhouse. In the funhouse the hydraulics shut off and all returns to as it was. A large quake is far different.

The quake made a real impact on sleep patterns. Many of my friends say that for months afterwards they slept with one eye open. Those that made a habit of sleeping naked no longer did, or made certain to have clothing in many places.

For a brief time I played rent-a-boyfriend and had a bunch of sleepovers at the apartments of some of my female friends. Truth is that I think we all felt better knowing that someone else was around.

War in Gaza Update #19

January 17, 2009 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

As a prelude to this I want to link to this post ‘He who cannot defend Liberty does not deserve Liberty’ which is still Well Worth Reading .

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #19.

From the traditional media we have:

CNN: Israelis edging closer to cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
CNN: Israel, U.S. target Hamas arms smuggling
WAPO: Diplomatic Efforts Toward Gaza Truce Intensify
WAPO: On Day of Heavy Fighting, Moves Toward Gaza Peace
Associated Press: Turkish PM: Israel should be barred from UN
Guardian: Syria urges full Arab boycott of Israel as divisions deepen over Gaza
Guardian: US backs deal to reopen Gaza-Egypt border
JPost:’Solidarity during war is Israel’s finest hour’
JPost: ‘We reject Israel’s truce conditions’
JPost: Reporter’s Notebook: An emotional disconnect
Arutz Sheva: “Iranian Unit” Destroyed, Hamas was Surprised
Arutz Sheva: Hamas Offers Ceasefire, Threatens Revenge

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF blog shared Summary of IDF Operations, 16 Jan 2009, 22:00 IST.

Seraphic Secret says Goodbye (Elite?) Iran Unit. The Augean Stables offers BBC Silent about being Terrorized in Gaza: Discretion or Cowardice?

Go to Soccer Dad and read Is the media losing the credibility war? and MacLeod-ing the issue.

Daled Amos asks Will Israel Negotiate Defeat From The Jaws of Victory?

Weasel Zippers has Hamas Storms BBC Offices in Gaza and Uses Them to Fire Rockets at Israel….Says Nothing…..

and

Washington: Reporters Call Israeli FM Tzipi Livni a “Terrorist” and a “Murderer” During DC Press Conference…..

Israel at Level Ground has a video that shows the downside of firing mortars at Israel.

At Planck’s Constant What is Really Happening in Gaza and Why There can be No Truce with Hamas.

The Atheist Jew Disproportionate Response: By The Media, Protesters, Bloggers, Etc.

Joshuapundit provides The Root Causes Of the Gaza War in Less Than 6 Minutes. Flopping Aces discusses Civilian Casualties in Assymetric Warfare.

Counterterrorism blog provides the low down on Who was Said Mohammad Siyam?

Gateway Pundit has the sad story of Masked Thugs Repeatedly Stab Man For Wearing Jewish Symbol in France. Zombieblog relates to this with January 10, 2009: The Intifada is globalized as the Gaza War becomes a world war.

At Harry’s Place it is Downright weird. At Winds of Jihad Hamas fires rockets from BBC building in Gaza, staff used as human shields, BBC keeps silentâ€¦

This concludes the round up.

The Growing Hazard of Bird Strike

January 16, 2009 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you but flying is stressful enough without having to worry about the growing hazard of Bird Strike. I already worry about dealing with all of the normal crap associated with flying like crowded planes and interminably long security lines.

On really bad days I wonder if the man with the crazy eyes plans on trying to hijack my plane. And let me tell you Mr. Crazy Eyes, not only am I watching you, but I have a plane to take you down hard and fast.

And it is not the sort of hard and fast that makes your wife hate that little blue pill either. No, it is swift and severe, prompt and persuasive. You won’t like it all, Mr. Crazy Eyes. But I digress.

Now, I have to worry that a flock of birds might disable my plane and cause to hurtle through the sky wing over wing into a river or some farmers’ field. And I have to worry about this without the reassurance of the crocodile hunter or Marlin Perkins.

But because I like to share the good and the bad allow me to provide you with more insight as to what I am talking about.

But among the surprises was the fact that the incident appeared to be caused not by terror attack or mechanical failure, but by a wayward flock of geese. (See pictures of the plane crash in the Hudson River.)

While the National Transportation Board has yet to conduct a full investigation, authorities believe the geese were sucked into the plane’s two jet engines, causing immediate engine failure, shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia airport. The aircraft, an Airbus A320, has engines designed to sustain damage from a bird weighting up to a four pounds, according to Todd Curtis, founder of Airsafe.com and an aviation safety expert. Canadian geese â€” the suspected culprits â€” weigh an average of 10 pounds. More than 219 people have been killed worldwide as a result of wildlife strikes since 1988, according to the volunteer organization Bird Strike Committee USA.

War in Gaza Update #18.5

January 16, 2009 by Jack Steiner Leave a Comment

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #18.5.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15, *16, *17 and 18.