And they have been for a while-
US Engineering Corps officers have arrived in southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah to monitor the Egypt-Gaza border and unearth underground tunnels in the area, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi
According to the report, the US Military deployed troops to the area several weeks ago, at Israel’s request, in light of its statements that Egypt is doing nothing to curb weapons smuggling into Gaza through the Rafah border.
In case you needed more indications as to the weakness of the pro-war PR façade as the IDF get approved to intensify the attack (maybe this will stir some rather silent big dem blogs into noticing the slaughter, ahem)…
Joe the Plumber is taking on a new job. The Ohio man, who became famous during the US presidential campaign after asking Barack Obama about his tax plan, is heading to Israel as a war correspondent for a conservative Web site called pjtv.com.
Dubbed “Joe the Plumber” by McCain’s campaign, Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher was held up as an example of an American worker who would be hurt economically by Obama’s election.
Wurzelbacher says he’ll spend 10 days covering the fighting and explaining why Israeli forces are mounting attacks against Hamas.
He tells WNWO-TV in Toledo that he wants “go over there and let their ‘Average Joes’ share their story.”
Wurzelbacher later joined Republican John McCain on the campaign trail. At one stop, Wurzelbacher agreed with a McCain supporter who asked if he believed a vote for Obama was a vote for the death of Israel.
More than half of the children growing up in poverty have a parent in work because Britain has a low-wage economy, according to a report published today.
Although Labour has lifted 600,000 children out of poverty since taking power in 1997, almost all of them had parents who were unemployed. Some 2.9 million children are still classed as poor because their family’s income is less than 60 per cent of the median.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a left-of-centre think-tank, accuses the Government of failing to tackle the problem of “in-work poverty”. It will be seen as a criticism of Gordon Brown’s flagship tax credits scheme and will call into question Labour’s ability to hit its target of abolishing child poverty by 2020.
But like good neoliberal market fundamentalists they insist on dismantling welfare and saying work is the only way out of poverty. Or maybe education-
A warning that state schools must brace themselves for years of austerity is due to be delivered by the Commons Select Committee on Children, Schools and Families today.
Still, even though the ideology is a zombie stumbling on one of its proponents has snuffed it, Chile visiting, Pinochet fan, Thatcher advising ‘sir’ Alan Walters (although many obits -grauniad included ahem- neglects his fascist torture loving chums and his praise for them, in fact a 6 year old book review has more than the obit). You tend to find mention in venues where such allegiances are considered a good thing- He visited Chile, where General Augusto Pinochet’s ministers had begun deregulatory reforms that Walters called “the greatest experiment in liberal economics”.
Indeed we are treated as subjects suitable for vivisection. (ht2 James)
He keeps posting!-
Day 11 of Israeli War On Gaza
Death toll 620, injured 3000 and most of them Civilians
By Sameh A. Habeeb, A Photojournalist, Humanitarian & Peace Activist in Gaza Strip.
*Numbers and Figures of Israeli War on Gaza:
*Total death toll: 620 while Wounded: 3000.
*Civilians: 220 children and 130 women killed since the start of this War. Many old men and young people were killed and the number is estimated of 80 and this is all according to the Medical sources.
*Thus, we could say so far: Around 430 civilians killed and 190 are policemen and militants.* More than 1 thousand child among the wounded!
*11 Ambulances bombed and 4 vans for civil defense hit.
*30 paramedics wounded and 7 killed.
Ten Percent 