memeorandum: Norway deplores executions in Iran (Iran Focus)

4:15 PM ET, December 28, 2008

Top Items:

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Marty Peretz and the American political consensus on Israel — (updated below - Update II) — Opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian dispute are so entrenched that any single outbreak of violence is automatically evaluated through a pre-existing lens, shaped by one's typically immovable beliefs …

Discussion: J Street, ATTACKERMAN, Newshoggers.com, American Power, Mondoweiss, CBS News and Associated Press

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:

ISRAEL, WRONG. — This is the paragraph that I can't get out of my head: … No deaths and few injuries. “Deeply disturbing.” Hamas lacks the technology to aim its rockets. They're taking potshots. In response, the Israeli government launched air strikes that have now killed …

Discussion: TPMCafe

Jerusalem Post:

‘Hamas could have prevented massacre’ — Hamas could have prevented the “massacre” in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday in Cairo. — “We spoke to them and told them ‘Please, we ask you not to end the cease-fire. Let it continue,’” …

Discussion: Hot Air, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Commentary, Israel Matzav, The Muqata, MSNBC, Macsmind, Ynetnews and Mere Rhetoric

Greg Mitchell / The Huffington Post:

Attack on Gaza: As Usual, U.S. Media (And Most Liberals) Silent — As Israeli Newspaper Raises Doubts — In the usual process, the U.S. government, media here — and most liberal bloggers — are silent or playing down questions about whether Israel overreacted in its massive air strikes on Gaza …

Discussion: The Independent, D-Day, his vorpal sword and Mondoweiss

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Playbook - 23 days to Inauguration - Gaza is ‘First test for Obama’ - Axelrod and Gibbs on Sunday shows - MoveOn.org gets practical, echoes the President-elect — Birthday: NBC's Savannah Guthrie ... Brokaw on Russert ... Remembering Samuel Huntington ... Engaged: CNNers Howard Lutt and Lydia Garlikov …

Discussion: MSNBC, Swampland, Times of London, AmSpecBlog and Time

Daniel Levy / Prospects for Peace:

What next on Gaza/Israel and Why Americans Should Care — For many people, what has happened today between Gaza and Israel may have all too familiar a ring to it - Israel warns and then retaliates to an alleged or real Palestinian escalation of violence, there is Arab condemnation …

Discussion: juancole.com, theheretik.us, Commentary and Los Angeles Times

Press Association:

Egyptians open fire on Palestinians — Egyptian border guards have opened fire on Palestinians who breached the border to escape Israel's assault on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. — An Egyptian security official said there were at least five breaches along the nine-mile border and hundreds of Palestinian residents were pouring in.

Discussion: Jerusalem Post

Jerusalem Post:
Artillery batteries deployed along border with Gaza Strip

Discussion: Ynetnews, Israpundit, The Huffington Post, Commentary, Yourish.com, Harry's Place, Haaretz, Israel Matzav, Associated Press, CNN and Sean Rayment's blog listings

Hana Levi Julian / Arutz Sheva:
Hizbullah Vows to Open Second Front in Gaza Conflict

Discussion: Israel Matzav

BBC:
Israeli jets target Gaza tunnels

Discussion: Xinhua News Agency, BlogHer, Agence France Presse, Global Voices Online, New York Times, Jihad Watch, Atlas Shrugs, Israpundit, Yourish.com, TalkLeft, Washington Post, bint battuta in bahrain and Haaretz

Robert Pear / New York Times:
White House Puts Onus on Hamas to End Violence

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews, Commentary, Haaretz and The New Republic

New York Times:
Israeli Attacks in Gaza Strip Continue for Second Day

Discussion: Haaretz, International Herald Tribune, I*Consult, Associated Press, The Caucus, Ynetnews, Power Line, Outside The Beltway, Think Progress, Mondoweiss, Word on the Street, Yourish.com and Booman Tribune

BBC:
Hamas ‘bars injured leaving Gaza’

Discussion: Harry's Place and Jihad Watch

David Horovitz / Jerusalem Post:
Analysis: The policy of restraint is over

Discussion: rubber hose, Israel Matzav, Yourish.com, Israpundit, Ynetnews, Reuters and Haaretz

Ynetnews:
Iran orders Muslims to defend Palestinians

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs and Jihad Watch

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
US urges Hamas to cease rocket attacks on Israel

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Haaretz, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mondoweiss, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Salon and MSNBC

Siun / Firedoglake:
It's Already Sunday in Gaza: “IAF strikes mosque, TV station”

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Aljazeera, Associated Press, QandO, Ynetnews, Stop The ACLU, Commentary, Right Wing News and Comments from Left Field

Gateway Pundit:
IDF Airstrikes Continue …

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, Fars News Agency, Power Line, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Haaretz, HaYishuv, Jules Crittenden and A Blog For All

Carol E. Lee / The Politico:

Obama bristles as the bubble closes in on him — HONOLULU - The media glare, the constant security appendage and the sheer production that has become a morning jog or a hankering for an ice cream cone - it's been closing in on Barack Obama for some time. — Now the president-elect appears …

Discussion: TigerHawk, The Impolitic, RedState and THE CUNNING REALIST

Michael Goodwin / NY Daily News:

Goodwin: Say goodnight, Caroline — In the beginning, just three long weeks ago, the idea of Caroline Kennedy being a United States senator had a certain ring to it. The Camelot myth still has shelf life and a merger with the historic Obama presidency provided an intriguing story line.

Discussion: RBO and Hot Air

Anne Glusker / Washington Post:

She's a Kennedy, But She's a Lot Like Us — Amid all the recent buzz about Caroline Kennedy's bid for a U.S. Senate seat, there has been a great deal of talk about her connections, her power, her wealth. But the way I see it, if you strip away the glamour, the name and the money, then Caroline is . . . me.

Discussion: Commentary and NewsBusters.org

New York Times:
Transcript of the Caroline Kennedy Interview

Discussion: Gawker, Michael Calderone's Blogs and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Frank Rich / New York Times:

You're Likable Enough, Gay People — IN his first press conference after his re-election in 2004, President Bush memorably declared, “I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it.” We all know how that turned out. — Barack Obama has little in common …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, News Hounds, Prairie Weather, Alternate Brain and TalkLeft

Christopher Booker / Telegraph:

2008 was the year manmade global warming was disproved — Looking back over my columns of the past 12 months, one of their major themes was neatly encapsulated by two recent items from The Daily Telegraph. — The first, on May 21, headed “Climate change threat to Alpine ski resorts” …

Discussion: Liberal Values, Power Line, Deltoid, EU Referendum, The Strata-Sphere, Right Wing News, NewsBusters.org, Scared Monkeys, Wake up America, Don Surber and Ed Driscoll.com

Maria Panaritis / Philly.com:

Cars leaving lots without drivers — A half-dozen trailers rolled up to Eckenhoff Cadillac Buick Pontiac GMC in Jenkintown bright and early and wiped the lot clean of $8.4 million in inventory - Hummers, Cadillacs and all. — “Load up, leave. Load up, leave. . . .” …

Discussion: Angry Bear

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit:

PAUL MULSHINE BLOWS IT. In this Wall Street Journal column, he manages to conflate punditry with reporting (following in Nick Lemann's footsteps) while simultaneously engaging in a bit of misleading quotage that thoroughly undercuts his point. — My point, as quoted in his column …