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Two House Dems Visit Gaza, Unsanctioned by White House

Reps. Brian Baird (D-WA) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) arrived in the Gaza Strip in recent hours, becoming the first U.S. governmental representatives to visit the region in more than three years, according to a joint release from their offices. (Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry [D-MA] was also visiting Gaza today as part of a broader regional swing.)

Baird and Ellison met with representatives of the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, but neither they nor Kerry will meet with Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007. The House Dems' trip was not officially sanctioned by the Obama administration. Hopefully, however, it will mark the beginning of a greater recognition on Capitol Hill of the humanitarian costs the Palestinians have paid amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.


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"Hopefully, however, it will mark the beginning of a greater recognition on Capitol Hill of the humanitarian costs the Palestinians have paid amid the ongoing conflict with Israel".

since when are war crimes and ethnic cleansing part of anything???

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Seriuosly! What is the point of Such mush-mouth nonsense? If it at all reflects a US media bred misimpression of the actual facts of the case, TPM might start with Henry Siegman's piece in the current London Review of Books, and actually all his LRB pieces the last couple of years.

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Thank God for some safe congressional districts!

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Go fighting 5th of MN!

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I wish we had Ellison as our Congressman. His presence alone wigs out the End-Timers.

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Please everyone remember that when the lunatic from the 6th gives her next interview.

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Hopefully, however, it will mark the beginning of a greater recognition on Capitol Hill of the humanitarian costs the Palestinians have paid amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.

I certainly hope the same; it's long overdue.

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In the end, Congress will just read whatever cue cards are put in front of them by the lobby.

Absent very strong, coordinated leadership from the WH.

I mean, the lobby is not utterly without sophistication. They can make more PC cue cards: "Everybody is deeply concerned about the suffering of the Palestinian people that has gone on far too long. The way forward for them is to permanently renounce all violence and recognize Jerusalem as the eternal, undivided, and exclusive capital of Israel just as it has always been."

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Beyond all the religious baggage, I think we really need to update our moral paradigm. It is based on an amoeba like attraction to the beneficial and repulsion of the detrimental, good vs. bad. This creates a linear view of reality that doesn’t seriously consider reciprocity, reaction, equilibrium, the laws of unintended consequences, etc. In fact they are derided as moral relativism. So we naturally assume that if a little is good, a lot must be that much better. It's no wonder people can be so completely butt-headed and think they are God's gift to the rest of us.

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WTF?

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Reply to eatbees(the reply to button doesn't seem to work),

Is WTF exclamation, disagreement, or both?

I'm in general disagreement with the concept of monotheism. The "all-knowing absolute," as Pope John Paul described it, is contradictory. Absolute is a universal state lacking any distinction or definition, while knowledge is a feedback loop of distinction and judgement. So a spiritual absolute would be the source of raw awareness from which life rises, not an ideal form from which it fell.
Basically we have a three thousand year old assumption of an anthropomorphic father figure/leader with eons of conceptual patches and variations to hold it together and appeal to various groups. Now two of them are fighting over the same small piece of ground, with no compromise, since "God" is on both sides. As usual.

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A step in the right direction. Let's make sure these guys aren't tarred and feathered for acknowledging there are two sides to the story.

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The first report:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/02/congressmen_view_destruction_in_gaza.php

"The amount of physical destruction and the depth of human suffering here is staggering" said Baird, "Entire neighborhoods have been destroyed, schools completely leveled, fundamental needs such as water, sewer, and electricity facilities have been hit and immobilized. Relief agencies, themselves, have been heavily damaged. The personal stories of children being killed in their homes or schools; of entire families wiped out, and relief workers prevented from evacuating the wounded are heart wrenching. What went on here? And what is continuing to go on, is shocking and troubling beyond words." the Washington state Congressman said.

Inquiring about the status of relief efforts, the Congressmen learned that some aid material has been allowed in since the intensity of the attacks lessened a month ago, but much is still being blocked by the Israeli defense forces. An example of aid that has been banned by the Israeli Government includes lentils, macaroni, tomato paste, and other common food products. Basic building materials, generator fuel and parts to repair damaged water treatment equipment have also been kept out.


It is not news but if this information gets into the bubble of Congress that would be news.

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