Palestine's Cost For Voting For Hamas

Various news agencies were reporting Israeli bombing atrocities in Gaza during the last several days. Most of the media criticism was centered around the shelling of three facilities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

In fact, the Israeli bombings were a subject of criticism by numerous speakers at Tuesday's United Nations Security Council meeting. In recent days, Israel's shells have fallen around three schools, including a girls school, and a health center for Palestinian refugees.

However, there is another side of the story that is being overlooked by the mainstream media. Consider that there were two witnesses that saw a small group of Hamas militants firing mortar rounds from a street near the girls school.

If these eyewitness accounts are correct, it certainly would not be the first time that Hamas was intentionally drawing Israeli fire toward civilians. The militants were near an area where more than 350 innocent refugees had gathered to get away from the bombing.

Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador Gabriela Shalev is claiming that among the casualties at the United Nations Relief Agencies were two senior Hamas members. So, what were two members of Hamas doing at the United Nations Relief Agencies to begin with?

That question was posed by the Inner City Press to a spokesperson for the United Nations. The evasive U.N. answer was as follows: "we are defending our right to defend refugees. There were no armed men... they might have been Hamas but they were there as refugees."

The mainstream media is eager to report Israeli mistakes but in its bias, fails to report and highlight the use by Hamas of innocent civilians as human shields and the exploitation of the United Nations Relief facilities for protection and international propaganda.

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and most Western nations. Since Hamas seized control of Gaza in June 2007, 1,685 rockets have been launched into Israel. There were more than 1,200 rockets launched by Hamas into Israel last year alone. The intent of Hamas is clearly stated in its Charter: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

The Gaza military offensive is in reality a defensive measure by Israel for the security of the country. It is a military action against a known terrorist organization that is long overdue. In 2006, Palestine elected terrorism in the name of Hamas as its majority party in a free and democratic election. For the country, it was an opportunity lost and in retrospect that vote comes at an increasing humanitarian cost.

Free democratic elections are national decisions that have long term consequences. 100 tons of Israeli bombs dropped on Gaza in the last few weeks and the resulting human tragedy have become Palestine's cost for voting for Hamas.

A Veterans Day Reminder From The Drawings Of Auschwitz

A few days ago, a German Daily newspaper called Bild obtained drawings of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp layout, including gas chambers. The paper placed several images on its website and in its daily publication.

The newspaper said twenty eight yellowing documents, drawn by a concentration camp prisoner and dated 1941-43, were a sensational new historic discovery found in a Berlin apartment that was being cleared out.

In addition, Hans-Dieter Kreilkam, the director of the German Federal Archive, told reporters he thought the material was new and that it provided additional proof of the chronology of the "Final Solution."

However, historian Robert Jan van Pelt, an expert on Auschwitz, said he had checked the "so-called 'new' material" on the Web site of Bild, and found that "the drawings that are on their site are all old material, perfectly known" and published by himself and others in the 1990s.

The importance of these Nazi Death Camp Plans at Auschwitz is not whether its new material or old. It really does not matter if its an original or a copy. The truth is that everyone should understand the horror of what happened in Nazi Germany more than six decades ago.

There is no need for any additional historical verification. No, the real importance of these documents is the knowledge that they exist and a reminder of the horror of fascism and tyranny that our veterans have fought against on the military battlefield throughout the years.

This year's Presidential Veterans Day Proclamation states it best: "From the fields and forests of war-torn Europe to the jungles of Southeast Asia, from the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan, brave patriots have protected our Nation's ideals, rescued millions from tyranny, and helped spread freedom around the globe".

"America's veterans answered the call when asked to protect our Nation from some of the most brutal and ruthless tyrants, terrorists, and militaries the world has ever known. They stood tall in the face of grave danger and enabled our Nation to become the greatest force for freedom in human history. Members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard have answered a high calling to serve and have helped secure America at every turn".

Unfortunately, many members of the military have never return home. In World War 2 an estimated 406000 made the ultimate sacrifice with another 600,000 wounded in battle. An estimated 112000 Americans died in World War 1. 33000 Americans would die in Korea while 58000 never returned home from Vietnam.

Those drawings from Auschwitz are an historical testament to the horror of fascism and tyranny. They act as a vivid reminder of the sacrifice of the brave men and women of the American military. Indeed, it's the reason the country honors its veterans on the eleventh day of November each year.

China And Russia Use The Media As Olympic Sport

It is often said by media professionals that if you want to announce something damaging or have a particularly negative thing to hide or disclose, the best time to do it in the perpetual media news cycle is late on a Friday afternoon. Of course, its even better if late Friday afternoon comes just before a huge international news and sporting event like the Olympic Games.

The idea is for the bad news and publicity to become diluted and eventually forgotten over the weekend or in the constant media news stream to come. This is exactly what Russia hoped for last Friday afternoon. With the world's attention focused on the 2008 Olympic games, Russia invaded Georgia and as a result nearly 2000 people are feared dead, today.

Of course, the invasion itself was several years in the making and the formula for conflict was already in play. An independent Georgia was seeking inclusion into NATO, had supported the U.S. military in Iraq and had recently launched an invasion of its own into South Ossetia. The truth is that Georgia had become a painful thorn in the side of the Kremlin. Therefore, the timing was perfect for Russia to make an agressive military move against Georgia under the international news cover of the 2008 Olympic Games.

So, last friday evening as the world watched the opening ceremonies of China's international propaganda game, Russian tanks were on the move against the country George Bush once called "The Beacon of Liberty".

Indeed, while thinking of the President, liberty and basic human rights, exactly what was George W. Bush, doing attending that opening Olympic ceremony in Beijing, anyway? He would spend much of the evening like the rest of the international community watching China's showmanship and empty propaganda about the importance of human rights. In addition, he could also be seen smiling with Vladamir Putin as Russia's military invasion of Georgia was well underway.

The truth is that if you include the names of countries like Tibet, Myanmar, Darfur, Zimbabawe, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and now Georgia to this administration's eight year resume, it all adds up to an American foreign policy that is in complete and total disarray. Bush would have been much better off staying home as a protest to China's cyncial use of basic human rights in these 2008 Olympic games.

In retrospect, it was a weekend that highlighted China and Russia's intent to exploit the news media. Indeed, China presented their best artificial image to the international community while Russia would use international Olympic news coverage in an attempt to cover an ongoing military conquest.

As China and Russia used the international media as an Olympic sport, their opening weekend extravaganza was there for everyone in the world to see, in color, on split screen T.V.