Mickey Mouse is a jihadist. Nothing is sacred.
(via Ezra Klein)

I haven’t said anything about this, so with a ceasefire looming, I thought I should.
Mike has an interesting post advocating the ouster of Olmert. In it, he cites an article in Ha’aretz:
There is no mistake Ehud Olmert did not make this past month. He went to war hastily, without properly gauging the outcome. He blindly [...]

Matt Yglesias makes an excellent point against Dershowitz’s application of his “continuum.” Again, Dershowitz is right to note that there is some moral ambiguity in what are civilian deaths, but calling anyone who doesn’t leave an area which Israel wants to bomb complicit is absolutely wrong.
As Matt points out, Dershowitz’s claim essentially erases the distinction [...]

You can find pictures of Palestinian children doing worse things, but that doesn’t make these any less disturbing.

Dershowitz has an interesting op-ed in the LA Times today.
For the most part, Dershowitz is correct. He argues that who is and isn’t a civilian in a lot of conflicts is not that clear:
There is a vast difference — both moral and legal — between a 2-year-old who is killed by an enemy rocket and [...]

So, yeah. Not good.
Time says they’re not going to focus on Israel at first:
Dealing with Israel—in either sense of that term—is not a priority for Hamas right now, nor will it be for some time to come. Instead, the radical Islamist group that won a landslide victory in Wednesday’s Palestinian Legislative Council election, taking 76 [...]

Israel’s started pulling out of the Gaza Strip, leading to some pretty ugly clashes.
It’s hard not to have mixed feelings about this. People are being forcefully removed from their homes, which is hardly a happy event to witness. On the other hand, the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is wrong and this [...]

I don’t have much to say in general, so go read this article from Salon on Arafat’s death. Pretty interesting.
On a lighter note, there is something seriously wrong with Ron Artest.

Ten die as Israeli tanks fire on peaceful protest
Israeli forces fired tank shells into a peaceful Palestinian protest during the ongoing assault on Rafah refugee camp yesterday, killing at least 10 people - mostly children - and critically wounding many others.
The army described the incident as “very grave”, claimed it had only fired “warning shots” [...]

Via Altercation:
A Wall as a Weapon
by Noam Chomsky
Well that’s new.
Sheesh, two posts in a row on Chomsky. I think you go to hell for things like that.
That is, if hell exists.
Which, it doesn’t.