So what or who is really behind the escalation in Gaza? According to French Historian Alexandre Adler, the answer to that question couldn’t be more clear: Iran. And to be more specific - Iranian President Ahmahdinejad, who is fighting a rear-guard action against many people in his own government who desire an accommodation with the United States.

But what is his game, exactly? Ahmahdinejad is fashioning a foreign threat before elections in the spring to save his political neck.

For France’s Le Figaro, Alexandre Adler writes in part:

“By precipitating such a fight, the fundamentalists are taking a huge risk, but they also hope to win big.

The sacrifice by the Islamists of Gaza are meant, in the spirit their instigators, both to beat the Shiites in Tehran and Baghdad - who dream only of a dialogue with Obama and, once and for all, destabilize an increasingly fundamentalist Egypt.

Mubarak’s powerlessness could definitively weaken his state and make the entire region shift toward a sort of caliphate.”

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We received today at National Catholic Reporter where I write a weekly column, the communiqué I’ve quoted from below. There are many things to say about Hamas and Israel and the Palestinians, but there are also untold stories about many good people in the Gaza region. This is only one such story:

There are Catholic churches in Gaza. Gaza is a far more patchwork of peoples than media traditionally explains.

Catholic Masses for resolution and peace are being held round the clock in Gaza and handfuls of brave parishioners venture out to attend them. The points of view expressed by various parishioners (and commenters to the NCR communique,) cover the spectrum…. from condemnation of one side or another, one group or another, one historical time-sequence or another, one incursion, invasion or another, making points, pointing out various facts, and finger-pointing as well.

But, there are also the RainMakers, and they often carry a far less one-sided viewpoint.

The Rainmaker of Eld
My father’s family, old country immigrants and refugees, used to speak about ‘the RainMaker’ who was a holy kind of person who lived outside the village in the forest. The RainMaker was not caught in the daily contretemps of the village proper. The old people of the family would say, “If you want to know the truth and what is right to do next, don’t go to the fighters. Go find the RainMaker.”

A Possible Modern RainMaker

In Gaza yesterday, at one of the Masses at St. Stephen’s, I believe there was present, a RainMaker.

He is retired Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem. And this is what he said:

“…the Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip means death for both sides.

“What is happening now is death for Palestinians as well as Israelis,” Patriarch Sabbah said at the Mass. “What is happening in Gaza has made us all come to pray and join in a prayer that says stop the massacre. We are calling to God to look at Gaza and see what is happening there and to all of us.”

“Peace only can come through justice, not war,” he said.

“We are looking at ourselves and we are not doing our best. Israel should stop this and will stop, but then after this destruction there will be more destruction,” he said.

He called on Palestinians to realize that the only way to regain their freedom and independence is through nonviolent means.

Another RainMaker
At St. Catherine Church, adjacent to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, Christians attended a special Mass and at that Mass was, I believe, a RainMaker by the name of Victor Zoughbi. This is what he said… and the difficulty of being a RainMaker during any heated battle is made clear in his last sentence:

He told Catholic News Service after Mass he was praying “not just for the people in Gaza but also for those in Tel Aviv. Every (Israeli) soldier going into Gaza now has a mother who is sitting glued to the television with her heart in her throat. He who truly has God in his heart loves everybody.”

“What are we fighting over — for a piece of land? Take the land. In the end the land will swallow us all,” he said, noting that, given the situation, he was not able to speak so freely with many of his friends and acquaintances lest his loyalty be called into question.

I feel so inept to comment on the issues in the MidEast, easily sensing I do not know enough, not anywhere near enough, to offer brick-solid solutions. But, I feel certain it will be the rainmakers, not the same ol’ same ol’ avenging sides, who will carry not only solutions forward at last, but attitudes that will work effectively.

I hope for a hoard, a squadron, a legion of rainmakers, not just one here and there drowned out by the bellowing of the well-armed, trivialized by media, or else silenced by media not reporting incessantly on what reasoned RainMakers have to say.

Rancor can rarely see clearly. RainMakers often can.

I know my prayer is small and not big enough to cover all matters in the MidEast, nor to overcome all cynicism and tiredness over it all…

but sometimes a small prayer might also be strong medicine for someone, somewhere, somehow. I don’t think I am naive. To cast bread on the waters without knowing where it may go and whom it might feed, is one of the evidences of Ruach in praying small mind into huge Mind… asking that it all be carried to where it may help bring new idea or ease old ones. This is the prayer I’m praying right now:

Bring forth the RainMakers as soon as possible.
We will know them by their insistent mercy and compassion,
by the pathways they offer to help make whole all who want to be made whole
without annihilating the wholeness of others.

So much for the Democrats’ triumphant first day of Congress, when they’d be sworn in amid a feeling of joy for their increased numbers. The now the conventional-wisdom increased numbers are down by two.

The ongoing Minnesota-based political soap opera featuring Democrat Al Franken accepting his razor-thin declared victory is unfolding amid signs that Republicans will most certainly go to court to challenge the recount results in an effort to try and keep GOP Senator Norm Colman…GOP Senator Norm Colman.

But the most prickly political problem is also coupled with the twin prongs of embarrassment and a growing belief by opponents that Senate Democrats (and in the background the new Obama White House) are perhaps fighting a losing legal battle in the case of Roland Burris, appointed to fill Obama’s term by Illinois’ scandal tinged, big haired, four-letter-word using Governor.

Burris was officially turned away from the Senate today — which means some lawyers will now get a nice, legal bailout as this case speeds its way into court…unless there is some final compromise (such as Burris filling out the two years but vowing not to run — a pledge for politicians that’s usually as easy to keep as a New Year’s resolution to eat no ice cream for 12 months).

The Senate and Democrats in particular are in a bind. The battle has been thrust into the racial politics barrel, amid charges that the Democrats are in effect racist for not seating him. The battle seems on legal ground as steady as California soil in Malibu after a monster rain. Yet, a new poll shows that most Americans agree with the Democrats:

A majority of Americans say Roland Burris should be blocked from taking a U.S. Senate seat and Illinois should hold a special election to fill the vacancy he was appointed to fill, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.

In a spectacle that spilled onto the Capitol steps, Burris was turned away from the Senate Tuesday as the 111th Congress was gaveled into session. His lawyer, Timothy Wright III, said the Illinois politician was considering more negotiations or a court challenge to press his case.

The controversy centers on Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who appointed Burris after federal prosecutors released a criminal complaint that accused the governor of trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

The poll found that a whoppingly lopsidded number of people feel Burris should be turned away, versus those those who feel he should be seated:
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If and when he is confirmed, Leon Panetta will be running the CIA from the Headquarters Compound in Langley, Virginia, the George H.W. Bush Center for Central Intelligence.

For those who have been fueling an uproar over the proposed new Director’s lack of experience in the spook profession, the naming of the CIA’s head office may offer some perspective.

In 1998, urging the House of Representatives to approve it, Rep. Porter Goss of Florida said, “Bush demonstrated leadership and trustworthiness at a time when both were desperately needed to help restore confidence in the Central Intelligence Agency and the other intelligence agencies that make up our intelligence community.”

The bill was passed with bipartisan enthusiasm, naming the headquarters for a director who had served barely a year and had come to the position with no background in intelligence.

For those who are complaining about Panetta, the story gets worse.

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So how is President Elect Barack Obama doing in his first major task — building a White House governing cabinet? The reviews are mixed.

While many of Obama’s moves and decisions have pleased centrists, reassured some Republicans and perhaps concerned some progressives, the withdrawal of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson due to an FBI investigation was a major toe-stub in terms of vetting. And while the naming of former Clinton Chief of Staff Leon Panetta as the new proposed CIA chief drew praise in some quarters, it has raised eyebrows in others.

Here’s CBS’ Bob Schieffer’s take on the Obama cabinet stew, notably spiced up by the dashes of Richardson and Panetta, after finally deciding to add the sometimes controversial but popular ingredient of Hillary Clinton:

ABC reports that the choice of Panetta is drawing mixed reviews among CIA officials:

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UPDATE:

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. The military denied having attacked the school, as Palestinians claimed, and was probing to find out the source of the explosion.

—————————————————————————–

Jerusalem Post: IAF targets UN-run school; Palestinians: At least 10 killed

I’m going to make some guesses, we’ll see how well they bear out.

1) Weapons were stored in this facility, possibly top Hamas officials were hiding there.
2) The school was warned by phone calls and/or ‘knocking’ on roof.
3) Hamas filled the building with people and would not permit anyone to leave or go up to the roof so that the pilot(s) could see them because Hamas wanted many people to die.
4) The entire episode is a Hamas attempt to create a ‘massacre’ and make Israel ‘responsible’ for it.
5) Hamas is totally responsible.

Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid apparently read my column of a few days ago that ended by imploring him to stop whining and just seat Roland Burris and Caroline Kennedy. The upside is having two junior members that the leadership can control; the downside is very, very problematic for two constituencies of the Democratic Party who may take the rejection(s) as a personal insult - African Americans and Women. In New York State, the gender connection is obvious; however, the Barack Obama / Roland Burris connection is more intriguing because it could serve as a opportunity for Republicans to regain parity in attracting black voters.

In 1956, Republican Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon won 40% of the black vote. In fact, Dr. King, his father (MLK, Sr.), and Jackie Robinson were all Republicans. In October 1960, Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia. Coretta King called the White House to get assistance from the Republican administration. Eisenhower and Nixon failed to act on her request to help free her husband. The Kennedy campaign, as well as JFK himself, took the risk and helped King to get out of prison. This one incident was instrumental in moving large segments of black voters from Republican to Democrat.

The opportunity today revolves around the seating of Roland Burris in the United States Senate. As important as MLK, Jr. was in the 1960 election, the refusal of seating Burris today may be the lever that shifts African American voters into looking at the Democratic party with a critical eye. If Reid turns away Burris, and if this political drama goes to the Supreme Court, Reid will have given Republicans a wedge issue to drive African Americans away from the Democratic party… an opening that Republicans have been trying to exploit for over 20 years.

If I were Michael Steele, I would go to Capitol Hill today and speak on Burris’ behalf. Steele was the Republican nominee for the Maryland U.S. Senate seat in 2006. Steele, in his position as GOPAC chair and running for RNC chair, can bring Republicans on board in calling for Burris to be seated. JFK positioned himself as Dr. King’s friend by getting him out of an Atlanta jail one month before Election Day; Steele can position himself, and his party, as friends of African Americans across this country by helping to get Burris seated in the United States Senate.

I read that Reid is considering seating Burris after all, that would be the politically wise choice on Reid’s part. Obama is not even President yet and Harry Reid may cause the resurrection of the Republican Party by alienating the most loyal voting block within the Democratic Party. Two months after a landslide victory, the Democratic party is standing on the verge of imploding under its own arrogance… “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

I guess I’m not all that surprised by a surge in SUV sales now that gas prices have dropped. Supply and demand, that’s how it works—or how it’s supposed to work—right? Still, I didn’t think we’d put a hand back on the stove so soon after getting burned.

The details:

Trucks and sport utility vehicles will outsell cars for the first time since February, according to a December report by Edmunds.com, which tracks industry statistics.

“Despite all the public discussion of fuel efficiency, SUVs and trucks are the industry’s biggest sellers right now as a remarkable number of buyers seem to be compelled by three factors: great deals, low gas prices and winter weather,” said Michelle Krebs of AutoObserver.com, a division of Edmunds.com, in a prepared statement.

Yes, collective amnesia is partly to blame—gas mileage “hasn’t been a topic of conversation lately,” one dealer says—but the big draw for SUVs has been discounts from dealers looking to move large vehicles off their lots. Perhaps this is just a temporary bounce back before the market stabilizes in favor of more fuel efficient vehicles. Still, do the people buying gas guzzlers now really think prices won’t go back up? Are we destined to repeat this cycle forever?

Andrew Sullivan says it’s time for a gas tax. I’m not looking forward to paying more at the pump, but if this trend in vehicle sales continues, that will probably happen anyway as the economy starts to recover. Why not increase taxes on gasoline and lower them somewhere else or invest the revenue in alternative energy research?

Yesterday I mentioned that LG Electronics is to announce a new range of Netflix-ready broadband HDTVs that will have a small Linux-powered, Internet-friendly computer embedded that will be able to get video right off the Internet.

Today we learn from Robert X. Cringely how pricey they’ll be:

The Netflix-capable LG TV’s, we’re told, will cost about $300 more than LG sets that can’t do such streaming.  The difference between the two TV families is that the streamers have a System-On-Chip to run a minimal operating system and handle H.264 decoding, an Ethernet adapter chip to connect to your home network, and some buffer memory.  That’s three extra chips costing at most $20 extra plus a little software, giving LG a gross profit margin of around 1500 percent for this particular improvement!

If consumers will actually pay $300 more for a TV with Netflix streaming built-in then I predict that EVERY HDTV manufacturer will install Netflix on every set by the end of this year.  They won’t even care if people actually watch Netflix content as long as they just buy the more expensive sets.

The jury is still out, I’d say, on whether people will actually pay this price difference when, for $99, they can simply plug in a cheap media streaming box like the one from Roku and achieve the same result.  Still it’s worth a shot, the folks at LG must be thinking.

Cringely also says that MacWorld will be more than expected with a substantial product announcement or two. (I’m hoping one is the much rumored Mac Mini.) And that given the press and stock market reaction to details of Jobs’ health problems, “he’ll make a cameo appearance at Macworld a few hours from now even if he has to send his good twin to do so.”

In the meantime, enjoy the funny spoof video from The Onion about a new Apple sensation: The Macbook Wheel.

Depending on the final decision pending from New York Governor David Paterson regarding Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, this could turn into a very interesting story.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn met today with Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), and intends on supporting him as the congressman strongly considers a run for the Senate in New York.

“Senator Cornyn believes Peter King would be a very formidable candidate. He believes the seat could be in play, and is prepared to commit the resources to win the seat,” said a senior Republican aide familiar with the meeting.

A source close to King confirmed that the congressman is strongly considering running for the Senate. He is expected to make a final decision whether to run “soon after” Gov. David Paterson appoints a successor for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat

Paterson is in a shaky position already here in New York, and a serious misstep in appointing Clinton’s successor could set him up for a fall when he runs for his first full term as Governor in 2010. Likewise, if he either places a caretaker or a weak candidate, the Senate seat may be up for grabs as well. As of this morning, Paterson is playing coy and has sent out a lengthy background information form to a number of Senate hopefuls, but he may still go with Caroline Kennedy. (Kennedy has a history of not wanting to discuss her financial situation, but may have to do so in order to get this prize.)

Peter King is likely the GOP’s best hope (besides Rudy Giuliani) to seize either the Governor’s office or the Senate seat in 2010. Both Paterson and - potentially - Caroline Kennedy have been suffering from “The Utica Problem” (where politicians perceived as being too much in the pocket of New York City anger the more conservative, rural upstate voters) this winter, so Republicans are sensing an opportunity. King has a long, successful record in Nassau County, and has suffered remarkably little in the way of scandal or controversy outside of his interests in Ireland’s troubles.

King also has other reasons to be interested in a new job. New York is expected to lose one House seat in the upcoming redistricting shuffle and the Congressman is one of only three remaining Republicans in the state delegation. With Democratic majorities in both chambers of the state government and the Governor’s mansion, insiders expect them to look to remove one of these few GOP seats, so King’s current job may go the way of the dodo bird. If he can raise the money for such a run, King will likely be a formidable candidate.

Since the only response to my ‘what do you want us to do’ post involved more coverage of Africa I though I would try to start getting into answering that request. The BBC has offered a good ‘what will Africa face in 2009′ article which helps gives us some focus.

I encourage you to read the article and keep track of the stories they discuss but just for those who don’t have the time right now some of the issues that they think will be key to the continent.

• At the center of US/Africa relations will, of course, be the Presidency of Barack Obama, which many hope will help with relations. I’m not sure that it will, after all President Bush has done more for Africa int he last 8 years than most of his predecessors but problems remain
• In Ghana they will also be adjusting to a new administration, after a very close election it remains to be seen if the fragile democracy will endure
• Elections loom in Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa so there will be plenty to watch
• In Zimbabwe we still have the ‘Hitler of the month’ in the form of Robert Mugabe
• Sudan and Darfur still need to be resolved, with the lives of many hanging in the balance

As always, the perennial issues of poverty, disease, starvation, war and similar problems seem to filter into every aspect of society.

I will try to make semi regular posts on this important continent