"As the New York Times had recently pointed out - most of the media analysts on war and terrorism have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air. If that is not enough, just digest this: records and interviews show that the Bush administration used its control over access and information in an effort to transform those analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks."

"The Obama campaign has in effect contributed to equating any person with a connection to the American Muslim community as politically untouchable."

"So what about peace? The occupation? Economic policy? Social problems? Education? Health care?

Who gives a damn?"

"It was World War I that changed the calculus. When the Ottomans joined the war on the side of Germany, the Allied Powers – Britain, France and Russia – decided to dismantle the Ottoman empire. Even then, there was little interest in the Zionist plan – despite intense Zionist lobbying."

"While a failed peace process and the continuation of the violent insurgency is in strategic best interest of Eritrea as that could, in due course, drain Ethiopia economically and demoralizes its military, it entails a hefty price paid by the helpless Somali civilians who die as a result."

"Both Hamas and Fateh leaders have been weakened considerably as a result of the internal fighting. For Hamas the experience of running a government, even a reduced one, has had a humiliating result. Fateh’s arrogance, which failed to allow it to honestly and fairly deal with a rising competitor, has also learned a lesson or two in the past two years."

"Olmert's negotiations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, enshrined last November in the Annapolis process, were doomed to failure from the start...."

"...public relations are the main motive driving the current Israeli leadership's interest in the ongoing process, which will continue in spite of the possible absence of Olmert. At the same time, it will continue to fail to produce results."