Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Genocide, in Real Time



Infographic showing the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza, broken down into the categories of Civilians (further broken down into women and children), Members of armed groups, and "Unknown."

Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs



This is a map of Gaza, already the most crowded place on the planet. Gazans have been ordered by Israel to move out of the pink-shaded "buffer zone" that includes almost half of Gaza. Note that this area will be without electricity, running water, and sewage treatment because the Israeli Defense Force bombed Gaza's only power plant.




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Monday, July 28, 2014

Numbers to Ponder, Israel vs. Gaza Edtion

Well over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the most recent "skirmish" in Gaza. More than seventy percent of those killed were civilians. With that in mind, here are some statistics:

Number of Israelis killed in traffic accidents in 2013: 303 (Source: Jerusalem Post)

Total number of Israelis killed by Hamas rocket attacks since 2001: 35 (Source: Mondoweiss)

Number of Palestinian homes demolished by Israel, 1967 - 2012: 28000 (Source: Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions)

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

IRS Scandal! Republican MegaWealthy Donors Frightened! Oh Noes!

Paul Waldman, writing in his column in The American Prospect, talks about the current state of Republican fundraising. He touches on the IRS "scandal," said to have had a "demonizing" effect on Republican donors. About the IRS "scandal," he has this to say:

The worst thing that happened was that some Tea Party groups that had applied for 501(c)(4) status—claiming, utterly falsely, that they were charitable, non-political organizations, I might add—had to wait longer than they should have to get approval on their applications. (And, I have to repeat, when you’re waiting for your approval, you’re permitted under the law to act as though you’ve gotten your approval. You can raise and spend money, which they did.)
That's right. A few groups, who were skirting the law, had to suffer the indignity of a meaningless delay. And for this, we've had... what is it, fourteen million hearings?

Republicans. They are very very very good at crying foul or, in soccer terms, flopping.



  The Continuing Agonies of the Super-Rich:



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