Happy New Year 2009, the Year of the Ox!

" 新年快乐！xīn nián kuài lè Happy New Year!
to all my Chinese clients and friends.
Good luck for the coming year "

Please Stop the Israeli Bloodshed Invasion of Gaza!

" War on Gaza, Al Jazeera English "

" Gaza Bloodshed, with over 900 Palestinians killed and the death
toll mounting daily as the Gaza offensive escalates- 11 Jan 2009 "

With over 900 Palestinians killed and the death toll mounting daily as the Gaza offensive escalates, we're urgently demanding action to end the violence and protect civilians.

Calling for robust international action to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and take further crucial steps toward a fair and lasting peace in the Middle East

Petition to the UN Security Council, the European Union, the Arab League and the USA: AVAAZ.ORG

Live update: AlJazeera English News
Live update: AlJazeera Magazine
Live update: www.muslims.net

We urge you to act immediately to ensure a comprehensive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, to protect civilians on all sides, and to address the growing humanitarian crisis. Only through robust international action and oversight can the bloodshed be stopped, the Gaza crossings safely re-opened and real progress made toward a wider peace in 2009.

Here is a link to the full column by Uri Avnery.

Here is Tony Karon (Rootless Cosmopolitan) arguing that Israel has in fact lost this war.

Here is Israeli historian Avi Shlaim's analysis of the origins of the conflict, from the Guardian.

Here is a long post by Jim Sleeper from TPMCafe, offering a sympathetic defense of Israel's existence, questioning the moral posturing of some of its critics, yet concluding that there is urgent need for some "tough love" from its friends. TPMCafe also has some nice posts from Todd Gitlin, Sam Bahour, and MJ Rosenberg.

And finally, here is a link to a Washington Post column by historian/journalist Tom Segev.

In spite of UN Resolution 1860; Israel continues offensive ...
1. The Security Council stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

2. The Security Council calls for the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment.

3. The Security Council welcomes the initiatives aimed at creating and opening humanitarian corridors and other mechanisms for the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid.

4. The Security Council calls on member states to support international efforts to alleviate the humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza, including through urgently needed additional contributions to UNWRA and through the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee.

5. The Security Council condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorist.

6. The Security Council calls upon member states to intensify efforts to provide arrangements and guarantees in Gaza in order to sustain a durable ceasefire and calm, including to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition and to ensure the sustained reopening of crossing points on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access between the Palestinian Authority; and in this regard, welcomes the Egyptian initative, and other regional and international efforts that are underway.

7. The Security Council encourages tangible steps towards intra-Palestinian reconciliation including in support of mediation efforts of Egypt and the League of Arab States as expressed in the 26 November 2008 resolution, and consistent with Security Council Resolution 1850 (2008) and other relevant resolutions.

8. The Security Council calls for renewed and urgent efforts by the parties and the international community to achieve a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders, as envisaged in Security Council Resolution 1850 (2008), and recalls also the important of the Arab Peace Initiative.

9. The Security Council welcomes the Quartet's consideration, in consultation with the parties, of an international meeting in Moscow in 2009.