America

While the eyes of the world are on Gaza, what's going on in the West Bank? Bloggers report that there is enormous anger at the assault on Gaza, yet ongoing tension between political factions in some areas means that protesting publicly has not been easy.

Samuel Nichols, who blogs at SammerTime, is a American member of the Christian Peacemaker Team working in a village in the southern West Bank:

"I gotta get outta this country, Bruce!  The sunshine, the great surfing, the hot Sheilas — it's all too perfect!"

"Bloody oath, Bruce!  What's the plan, then?"

A photo from Life Magazine of Southdale Shopping Center in Edina, Minnesota after its opening in 1956.

The current economic collapse is a difficult story for TV. It's a peculiar period in between an election and an inauguration. This most important story, this great-or-not-so great depression, is also the hardest for CNN to tell. I have more than enough reasons why in this late-night rant.

1) It's not a hurricane so Anderson Cooper of CNN is unable to position himself in the middle of the storm for optimal drama. In other words, TV anchors can't get wet and windblown, while viewers worry about their safety. The state of the economy is a disaster but not a natural disaster.

Here's a video interview with

Jeremy Scahill
AlterNet
November 21, 2008

A who’s who guide to the people poised to shape Obama’s foreign policy.