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from Project Gutenberg
A Wonderful Night: An Interpretation of Christmas
By James H. Snowden
(click on Christmas under the Pages listing
on the right for the full length version)

VI. The Town of Bethlehem

The land of Palestine is divided from north to south by a central range of mountains which runs up through this narrow strip of country like a spinal column. About five miles south of Jerusalem a ridge or spur shoots off from the central range towards the east. On the terminal bluff of this ridge lies the town of Bethlehem. On the west it is shut in by the plateau, and on the east the ridge breaks steeply down into the plain. Vineyards cover the hillsides with green and purple, and wheatfields wave in the valleys. In the distant east, across the Dead Sea, the mountains of Moab are penciled in dark blue against the sky.

At the present time the town has eight thousand inhabitants. Its flat-roofed houses are well built and its narrow streets are clean. It is a busy place, its chief industry being the manufacture of souvenirs of olive wood which are sold throughout the Christian world. Its principal church is the Church of the Nativity, which is built over a cave that is one of the most sacred and memorable spots on the globe. It is believed that this cave is the place where Christ was born, and a silver star inlaid in the stone floor is intended to mark the exact spot. It was then used as the stable of the adjoining inn, and in its stone manger the infant Jesus may have been laid.

At the time of this event Bethlehem was a mere village of a few hundred people. It might have been thought that Jerusalem, the historic metropolis and proud capital of the country, the chosen city of God and seat of the temple and center of worship, a city beautiful for situation, magnificent in its architecture, sacred in its associations and world-wide and splendid in its fame, should have been honored with this supreme event in the history of the Jews. But an ancient prophet, while noting its comparative insignificance, had yet put his finger on this tiny point on the map and pronounced upon it a blessing that caused it to blaze out like a star amidst its rural hills. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” And so proud Jerusalem was passed by, and this supreme honor was bestowed upon the humble village.

Great men, as a rule, are not born in cities. They come up out of obscure villages and hidden nooks and corners. They originate closer to nature than city-born men and seem to spring from the very soil. The most noted birthplace in Scotland is that of Burns: it is a humble cottage with a thatched roof and a stable in one end of it. The most celebrated birthplace in England is that of Shakespeare, and again it is a plain cottage in a country village. Lincoln was born in a log hut in the wilds of Kentucky, Mohammed was the son of a camel driver, and Confucius the son of a soldier. The city must go to the country for its masters, and the world draws its best blood and brains from the farm. It was in accordance with this principle that the Saviour of the world should be born, not in a city and palace, but in a country village, and that his first bed should be, not a downy couch, but a slab of stone.

from Project Gutenberg
A Wonderful Night: An Interpretation of Christmas
By James H. Snowden
(click on Christmas under the Pages listing
on the right for the full length version)

V. Simplicity of the Narrative

Though surcharged with such tremendous meaning, carrying a heavier burden of news than was ever before committed to human language, yet the simplicity with which the story is told is one of the literary marvels of the gospels. This event has inspired poets and painters and has been embroidered and illuminated with an immense amount of ornamentation. Genius has poured its splendors upon it and tried to give us some worthy conception of the scene. But the evangelists had no such purpose or thought, and their story is told with that charming artlessness that is perfect art. They were not men of genius, but plain men, mostly tax collectors and fishermen untrained in the schools, with no thought of skill or literary art. Yet all the stylists and artists of the world stand in wonder before their unconscious effort and supreme achievement. No attempt at rhetoric disfigures their record, not a word is written for effect, but the simple facts are allowed to tell their own eloquent and marvelous tale. The inspired writers mixed no imagination with their verities, for they had no other thought than to tell the plain truth; and this gives us confidence in the trustworthiness of their narrative. These men did not follow cunningly devised fables when they made known unto us the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, for they were eye-witnesses of his glory.

from Project Gutenberg
A Wonderful Night: An Interpretation of Christmas
By James H. Snowden
(click on Christmas under the Pages listing
on the right for the full length version)

IV. An Historical Event

The story starts with the place and time of the Saviour’s birth. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king. There are many myths and legends floating through the world that are often beautiful and useful, but they hang like gorgeous clouds in the air and are ever changing their shape and place. They are growths of the imagination and lack historic roots and reality. They are chary of names and dates and hide their origin in far-away mists. However powerfully and pathetically they may reflect the needs and hopes of the human heart, they are unsubstantial as dreams and afford no foundation on which to build our faith. Heathen religions are generally woven of this legendary stuff. The Greek and Roman divinities were all mythical. But the scientific spirit has swept these imaginary deities out of our sky and rendered belief in them impossible. Our religion must be rooted in reality and cannot live in clouds, however beautifully they may be colored. We refuse hospitality to anything but fact. Give us names and dates, is our demand.

The Bible responds to this requirement. Christianity is an historical religion. The gospel narrative begins with no such indefinite statement as “Once upon a time,” but it starts in Bethlehem of Judea. The town is there and we can stand on the very spot where Jesus was born. The narrative places the time of his birth, in the days of Herod the king. History knows Herod; there is nothing mythical about this monster of iniquity. These statements are facts that no keenest critic or scholarly unbeliever can plausibly dispute. So the gospel sets its record in the rigid frame of history; it roots its origin down in the rocky ledge of Judea. Christ was not born in a dream, but in Bethlehem. We are not, then, building our faith on a myth, but on immovable matters of fact. This thing was not done in a corner, but in the broad day, and it is not afraid of the geographer’s map and the historian’s pen. The Christmas story is not another beautiful legend in the world’s gallery of myths, but is sober and solid reality; its story is history. Our religion is truth, and we will worship at no other altar.

from Project Gutenberg
A Wonderful Night: An Interpretation of Christmas
By James H. Snowden
(click on Christmas under the Pages listing
on the right for the full length version)

III. A Wonderful Fulfillment of Prophecy

This birth was a wonderful fulfillment of prophecy. The Jews had cherished the hope of the promised Messiah for thousands of years. Through all their national vicissitudes, enslavement in Egypt, wanderings in, the wilderness, establishment and growth in the promised land, internal division and external captivity in Babylon, restoration, and final subjection to the Romans, this hope burned on the horizon of their future as a fixed star. It was this that ever led them on and held them together and made it impossible to break or subdue their spirit. This was the dawn that filled all their dark and bitter days with the rosy glow of hope.

Yet the Messiah came not, and as the centuries slowly rolled along they must have grown weary and at times have doubted. Sceptics scoffed, “Where is the sign of his coming?” But the great heart of the nation remained true to its trust, while prophets caught glimpses of the coming glory and white-headed, trembling old saints prayed that they might live a little longer and not die before he came. Perhaps this hope was never at a lower ebb than when the Roman power was ruthlessly grinding the nation down into the dust. But suddenly at this darkest hour a blinding light burnt through the floor of heaven and shepherds ran about announcing that the Messiah was born! Who can imagine the surprise, the wonder, the overwhelming amazement this news created? How many were eager to go to Bethlehem and see this thing which had come to pass! And when it was found to be true, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy and old men blessed God and said, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servants depart in peace.”

Yet why should they have wondered at God’s faithfulness in keeping his promise, as though he could ever have forgotten it or failed to bring it to pass? Why should we ever wonder at the faithfulness of God? Doubtless in some degree because of our human infirmity. Our sense of unity with God and trust in him have been weakened by sin until we are ready to doubt him as though he were one of ourselves. His promises also are so far-reaching and great, splendid and blessed, they so far surpass our thoughts of wisdom and mercy, that, even though they have been repeated to us until we are familiar with them, when they are fulfilled we wonder at the faithfulness that will bring so great things to pass.

from Project Gutenberg
A Wonderful Night: An Interpretation of Christmas
By James H. Snowden
(click on Christmas under the Pages listing
on the right for the full length version)

II. Preparation for the Event

Near events may have remote causes. The river that sweeps by us cannot be explained without going far back to hidden springs in distant hills. The huge wave that breaks upon the ocean shore may have had its origin in a submarine upheaval five thousand miles away.

A wide circle of causes converged towards this birth; all the spokes of the ancient world ran into this hub. When Abraham started west as an emigrant out of Babylonia, “not knowing whither he went,” he was unconsciously traveling towards Bethlehem. Jewish history for centuries headed towards this culmination; this was the matchless blossom that bloomed out of all that growth from Abraham to Joseph and Mary. Priest and prophet, tabernacle and temple, gorgeous ritual and streaming altar, sacrifice and psalm, kingdom and captivity, triumph and tragedy were all so many roots to this tree. These were the education and discipline of the chosen people, preparing them as soil out of which the Messiah could spring. The great ideas of the unity and sovereignty, spirituality and righteousness of God, the sinfulness of sin and the need of an atonement were in flaming picture language emblazoned before the people and burnt into their conscience. Christ could do nothing until these ideas were rooted in the world.

Pagan achievements, also, “the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome,” were roots to this same tree of preparation for the coming of Christ, though they knew it not. Greece with all the glories of its philosophy and art showed that the world never could be saved by its own wisdom; and all the laws and legions of Rome were equally impotent to lift it out of the ditch of sin. Neither a brilliant brain nor a mailed fist can save a lost world. Yet both Greece and Rome made positive contributions to the preparation for Christ. Greece fashioned a marvelous instrument for propagating the gospel in its highly flexible and expressive language, and Rome reduced the world to order and hushed it into peace and thus turned it into a vast amphitheater in which the gospel could be heard. Greece also contributed philosophy that threw light on the gospel, and Rome gave it a rich inheritance of law.

God thus set this event in a mighty framework of preparation. He got the world ready for Christ before he brought Christ to the world. He was in no haste and took plenty of time before he struck the great hour. The harvest must lie out in the showers and sunshine for weeks and months before it can ripen into golden wheat, and the meteor must shoot through millions of invisible miles for one brief flash of splendor. The centuries seemed slow-footed during that long and dreary stretch from Abraham to Mary, “but when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son.”

from Project Gutenberg
A Wonderful Night: An Interpretation of Christmas
By James H. Snowden
(click on Christmas under the Pages listing
on the right for the full length version)

Part 1 - An Age of Wonders

We live in an age of wonders. Great discoveries and startling events crowd upon us so fast that we have scarcely recovered from the bewildering effects of one before another comes, and we are thus kept in a constant whirl of excitement. The heavens are full of shooting stars, and while watching one we are distracted by another. So frequent is this experience that our nerves almost refuse to respond to the shock of a new sensation. We are no longer surprised at surprises. The marvelous has become the commonplace, and the unexpected is what we now expect.Yet we are not to suppose that our age is the only one that has had its wonders. Other times had theirs also, only these old-time wonders have become familiar to us and ceased to be wonderful; but in their day they were marvelous, and some of them equalled if they did not surpass any wonders we have witnessed. The Great War was the most cataclysmic eruption that has ever convulsed the world, but it was not more revolutionary and sensational in the twentieth century than the French Revolution was in the eighteenth and the Reformation was in the sixteenth century. The discovery of America in the fifteenth century created immense excitement and was relatively a more colossal and startling occurrence than anything that has happened since.

The telescope and the Copernican theory were as great achievements in their day as the spectroscope and the nebular hypothesis are in our day. The most useful inventions and the most marvelous products of the human brain are not the railway and telegraph after all. The art of printing, which infinitely multiplies thought and sows it in the very air and every morning photographs the world anew, is a more useful invention and in its day was a great wonder. Still farther back, hidden in the mists of antiquity, lies the invention of the alphabet that is even more useful and marvelous. It is when we get back to the oldest tools, the hammer and plough and loom, that we come to inventions of the greatest fundamental utility, and we could better afford to give up all our modern magic machines than to part with these.

The oldest literature is ever the ripest, richest and best, and Homer and Shakespeare overtop all our modern writers as the Alps overshadow the hills lying around their feet. What modern preacher can compare in eloquence and power with Paul and Isaiah? Nature is ever full of new wonders, and yet the grass was as green and the mountains as grand and the golden nets and silver fringes of the clouds were as resplendent in the days of Abraham as they are to-day. We are the heirs of the ages, but wonder and wisdom were not born with us, and with us they will not die.

Where must we go to find the greatest wonder? Not to the scientist’s discoveries and the inventor’s cunning devices: the greatest marvel is not material but spiritual; and to find it we must not look into the present or future, but go back to the first Christmas morning. On that morning the Judean shepherds had a story to tell which all they that heard it wondered at and which is still the wonder and song of the world. The birth of Jesus is absolutely the greatest event of all time. Whatever view is taken of him he has become the Master of the world. Christ has created Christendom, silently lifting its moral level as mountains are heaved up against the sky from beneath. The coming of such a unique and powerful personality into the world is an infinitely greater wonder than the discovery of a new continent or the blazing out of a new star in the sky.

Hey, Bono, here are some issues you can wrap your head around. It is from a brief search of the news. Imagine this, all the issues listed are related to Ireland. You know, that place where you were born. Try to make it your first location for finding causes. Moron!
What, no complaints for the officials in Ireland or England?

C. Harris
MoreWhat.com

Legal battle to get Canadian marriage recognised in Ireland continues
UTV, Ireland

Irish lesbian couple appeal marriage ruling
PinkNews.co.uk

Lesbian couple to appeal marriage case to Supreme Court
Irish Independent

Ireland to become GM free?
Ireland Online

Key achievements for Ireland from fish talks
Fish Update
.
International Space Station passing over Ireland
Ireland Online

New children’s commissioner in Northern Ireland announced
Communitycare.co.uk

Bono criticises US politicians over AIDS fund

RTE.ie, Ireland - 7 hours ago
Bono was left disappointed after meetings with incoming US Democratic leaders late last week did not lead to commitments of financial support for the fight …

Where the hell does Paul Hewson get off demanding American taxpayers contribute his requested billion dollar fund for addressing AIDS? Mr. Hewson or Bono or whoever the hell you are, you’re from Dublin, Ireland. So how much has Ireland contributed to AIDS? Have you spent any time involving yourself in Irish politics? Are you a citizen and registered voter in the United States? If not, butt the hell out!!!!!! It is reported that Americans donated 276 billion dollars to charitable causes last year. That is a quarter of a trillion dollars. And the government has spent taxpayer money on aid to countries and causes around the world. One last thing, Mr. Hewson, how much have you contributed to AIDS in dollars?

C. Harris
MoreWhat.com

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid Stiff U2’s Bono:

Rocker ‘Alarmed’

National Ledger, AZ - Dec 18, 2006
Bono, the U2 frontman and anti-poverty activist, was on Capitol Hill to seek assurances that $1 billion in planned US spending to fight AIDS and malaria in …

One can offer an unqualified approval of the new Democratic majority leadership for at least one action. As if to say to Bono in the style of W.C. Fields, get lost kid you’re bothering me. To that we add, hey Bono, go feed your ego in your own country. Correct us if we’re wrong but we are unaware of Bono possessing US citizenship. If it is true and you are an Irish citizen only, kindly restrict your headline grabbing tactics to your own country.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Mr. Limbaugh:

Have you ever stopped to consider that continuing to pursue answers to topics like global warming is more beneficial than continuing to dismiss such topics as false?

You might also consider the risk of dismissing a potential threat completely may leave you with no options if the proof you so strongly demand is presented after it is too late.

Just as it is wrong to draw a conclusion before all the facts are in, it is equally wrong to dismiss a concern without those same facts.

Your radio program is a mixture of fact and opinion. Your arguments are a mixture of fact and opinion. It might be helpful if you used facts to form your opinion rather than using opinion to form your facts. It is dangerous to offer a point of view as fact to the general public. Your statement on what is science serves as an example.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

program aired on  the 19th

Corporate Executives Plead Guilty to Illegal Hiring Practices

California company forfeits $4.7 million in profits, executives fined

SAN DIEGO - Two corporate executives at a California fence building company pleaded guilty Thursday to the hiring of unauthorized alien workers, following a multi-year investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As part of the guilty plea, Golden State Fence Company agreed to forfeit $4.7 million gained from its illegal activities. In addition, Golden State’s President, Melvin Kay, and Vice-President Michael McLaughlin, will pay fines of $200,000 and $100,000 respectively.

To those of you previously laughing at the suggestion by comedians and others that the southern border fence authorized by Congress would end up being built by illegal aliens, you can stop laughing now. The part that is even less funny is the attempt at PR by Golden State Fence Company on their website.

Golden State Fence Works to Ensure Legal Status of Employees

Not a great deal different from press releases offered by Swift and Company after they were busted. Did you ever consider that the phrase “jobs Americans won’t do” might refer to employers not offering them to Americans?

C. Harris
MoreWhat.com

FRIST HAILS LAST MINUTE PASSAGE OF HEALTH PACKAGE
Most Significant Health Package This Congress

December 9th, 2006 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., (R–Tenn.) made the following after the Congress passed a succession of health related bills:
“I am so glad that at this early hour the house was able to pass a succession of health related bills which will improve the quality of health for millions of Americans. This is the most significant health package of the 109th Congress and one that I am very proud to see completed.”
The bills passed tonight were the Ryan White HIV Treatment Modernization Act of 2006, the Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2006, the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006, SCHIP Extension, Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act, The Preemie Act, and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Quality of Life for Persons with Paralysis Act.

Maybe the bills listed above provide some solutions for some citizens. But why is it Congress cannot effectively deal with something like universal health care? Why are they so reluctant to give ordinary Americans health insurance like they have? Rather than accept campaign and lobbyist money from the medical industry, the public might be better served if Congress would wield their significant influence to legally extort needed changes from health care providers, insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The reverse has been true for too long. It is especially annoying when Bill Frist MD, operating as Bill Frist, Senator, provided no more leadership toward those ends than some possible involvement with the bills listed in the press release. This country claims to have the best health care in the world, if you can access it.


Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Blair makes one last push in Middle East with….

Guardian Unlimited, UK - 1 hour ago
Tony Blair yesterday proposed a controversial plan to bolster Mahmoud Abbas in his escalating battle against Hamas by funnelling millions of pounds in aid …

That’s the ticket, Tony. Go get those people some good old-fashioned money. That will win at least something for a while or longer.

…left-wing parties to present initiative to end Fatah …

People’s Daily Online, China - 1 hour ago
Palestinian leftist parties were preparing a national initiative to end the political crisis and unrest following the clashes between supporters of the …

The DFLP and PFLP would be wise to use intelligent methods to find solutions. For all the militants in the Middle East it would make sense if they realized how little benefit they get from the actions that don’t make sense. Blowing things up and shooting people or any of the many tragedies that take place, haven’t produced success even briefly.

Only an end to sanctions can halt …. crisis

Guardian Unlimited, UK - 1 hour ago
As Hamas and Fatah supporters took to the streets to protest at or support Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to call for early presidential elections, congratulatory …

No jobs, no money, no paycheck should be something everyone can understand as a problem. For many who have nothing to do with the idealogical or political strife, just getting paid would be an improvement. We sometimes forget that conflicts half way around the world also involve ordinary people just trying to survive.

Blair backs Abbas plan amid Gaza violence

Independent, UK - 1 hour ago
By Donald Macintyre in Ramallah. Tony Blair launched an effort yesterday to secure international backing for the Palestinian President’s …

Imagine that, Israel has owed Palestine $65MM per month and that is part of Blairs’ idea for making things right.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

This is the third post and these items are from the 18th

US tentatively endorses Abbas call for new.. elections

International Herald Tribune, France - 2 hours ago
AP. WASHINGTON: The United States tentatively endorsed on Monday a call for early elections by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, a …

What a pickle to be in. The US would like Hamas to go away. So would the Israelis. Just from the standpoint of keeping your job, Abbas would probably like them to go away so he can make nice to deeper pockets. Probably help to get the sanctions removed and if someone working in Palestine ( like that happens much) can get paid some of the violence would subside. But that is not a subtle or tactful way to get rid of a recently elected groups of people. Maybe Al Gore and John Kerry should have tried that.

US endorses Abbas’ call for early elections

Jerusalem Post, Israel - 2 hours ago
By AP. The United States tentatively endorsed on Monday a call for early elections by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas …

After you test the water with the whimpy tentative endorsement, it is time to really approve of the tactic. It is getting so bad now that world political types don’t even try to appear subtle, honest or diplomatic. Maybe everyone is trying the cowboy George approach. They don’t realize the only reason GeeDubya uses that approach is his vocabulary is not a good fit for dip;omacy. Actually, Bush asking Congress for something is enough to make anything tentative, especially with a newly elected Democratic majority. Bush doesn’t realize they’ll do almost anything to avoid a fight.

US Backs Early Palestinian Elections

ABC News - 59 minutes ago
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen speaks during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the West Bank …

ABC doesn’t like the word tentative. That must be it because it reads a lot like the other news fodder. But removing the word tentative makes it sound better and we can follow with…….

……this
Oh ya, if we can get Tony Blair to go along with this it’s a done deal. No more waiting on the sidelines. Maybe Tony really started this and the US waited to see how they like Tony’s approach, not so much the cowboy, or cowgirl if Conde Rice is representing America.

Arab FMs may hold emergency meeting on …. crisis

People’s Daily Online, China - 1 hour ago
Arab foreign ministers may hold an emergency meeting to seek an end to the conflicting situation in the Palestinian territories, Egypt’s official MENA news …

Now you know it’s serious. If the Arab FM’s hold a meeting and it’s not about oil, there is real fear of things changing in a way that threatens the sheiks. Heads may roll and not in the symbolic sense. The laundry expense will increase this week. (a little update: they called it off after talking to Abbas…..hmmmm)

Gunfights shatter ceasefire…. Blair urges world to back …

Scotsman, United Kingdom - 1 hour ago
GUNBATTLES and kidnappings shook Gaza yesterday despite a ceasefire declaration by Hamas and Fatah, while Tony Blair called on the international community to …

Can’t have the US pay for everything…… or can they. More in the next post. All items from the 18th.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Abbas insists he will hold elections

The Age, Australia - 3 hours ago
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is vowing to press on with early elections as a truce between his security forces and the Hamas government appears close to …

Early reports characterize Abbas’ stance as firm, then insists, then below he may be softening. When surrounded by all kinds of nutcases and having a slippery grip on the situation, it’s easy to understand how one might do that.

‘Warmer’ Abbas in push for early poll

Irish Examiner, Ireland - 1 hour ago
By Karen Laub Ramallah, West Bank. PALESTINIAN president Mahmoud Abbas yesterday said he was pushing ahead with early elections — despite …

A one hour ago indication with yesterday in the article text. Confusing, no? The article’s date stamp on that site shows December 19. These summaries were obtained on the 18th. Ya, we know, who cares? Someone might. For a minute we thought the Irish were coming late to the party. That’s why we made that crack about Northern Ireland in the last post.

Palestinian PM Haniyeh to deliver key speech on …

International Herald Tribune, France - 4 hours ago
AP. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh will deliver a major speech on Tuesday to respond to President …

As mentioned before, if Hamas sees this as a move by US and Israel to undermine their position that would explain why Abbas did not seek a national consensus for the elections. As if the situation has ever been promising for a peaceful future, most nations seem to be pushing their own agendas and making matters worse.

Choose peace

Jerusalem Post, Israel - 4 hours ago
When the bullets are flying and the guns are flailing, polls are notoriously unreliable. The surveys that indicate a tight race …

That’s a quaint headline from an Israeli paper. The last paragraph explains the headline. It’s not a call for peace. It says the international community had previously not pushed the Palestinians to choose peace and that was a mistake. That is not the first place to look for mistakes in this neverending conflict. Thanks Israel, nice point, NOT.

Roundup: Palestinian violence concerns Israel

People’s Daily Online, China - 1 hour ago
After internal violence between warring Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas exploded across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank last weekend, Israel is gravely …

The People’s Daily writes Israel is concerned this will be a further deteoration and cost them greatly. Maybe Israel and Palestine should work a little harder to reach agreements. Or maybe it is just easier and a better bet you can get what you really want with the US pouring money in the place while you hold out for a better deal.

Olmert, Blair stress backing for Abbas

Daily Star - Lebanon, Lebanon - 4 hours ago
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he plans to set up a meeting with Mahmoud Abbas “very soon,” and release seized Palestinian funds for “humanitarian …

This item just proves the conspiracy theory that the US and Israel have a plot going on here. And since everyone knows that Tony Blair and George Bush are such good friends, it must be true.

Abbas gets Israeli and UK backing
BBC News, UK - 4 hours ago
UK and Israeli leaders have reiterated their support for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in his row with the governing Islamist party Hamas. …

One source in Lebanon and one in the UK saying the same thing. More confirmation for the conspiracy theorists or just media types filling space.
Again, more on the topic in the next post.
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

A Counterproductive US Advice to Palestinians

Asian Tribune, Thailand - 4 hours ago
By Nicola Nasser. Regardless of good will or bad faith, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to go without national consensus …

The take on current Middle East politics from one Asian news account contends the Abbas early election plan simply conforms to a US-Israeli plan to push Hamas aside in Palestinian affairs. Wouldn’t Vegas call that long shot odds unless someone fixes the election. That’s what happens when you let people carry on about Bush stealing the election from Gore and Kerry. Right away, every time the US is near an election, people think it’s fixed. But, by their own account, they are not an organization but some kind of force for change in Asia. Whatever. Then how did they show up in a news search. That’s right, blogs are in the searches now too. Haven’t seen Blog @ MoreWhat.com there yet.

Abbas’ election call escalates tension with Hamas

Bangkok Post, Thailand - 4 hours ago
By DEAN YATES. Jerusalem _ President Mahmoud Abbas’ call for early elections may have scuppered any chance of compromise with the …

See, another Asian report and now they’re blaming increased tension on the call for an early election. They probably think the US and Israel will fix the election. As long as the Middle East has had conflict, they may be running out of excuses to continue fighting. So blame the US and Israel since everyone knows the Us will back Israel right or wrong.

Officials working to shore up tottering Gaza truce (Roundup)

Monsters and Critics.com, UK - 3 hours ago
Palestinian security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas take up position around their camps in Gaza City 18 December 2006. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER. …

This might more accurately read, some of the militants and other armed individuals could be trying to keep things from getting outta hand. A huge guess might be this is an empty gesture to minimize attaching blame to one group or another. This region has been flogging itself for so long they fight at the drop of a hat. When any attempt at peace appears to have a chance some moron straps on a bomb and explodes in a crowd. Maybe this dysfunctional behavior becomes the norm if allowed to continue long enough. Is this worse than Northern Ireland?

West may be too late to save weakened Abbas

International Herald Tribune, France - 3 hours ago
By Steven Erlanger. JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain dropped by Ramallah on Monday to show his support for the Palestinian …

It just wouldn’t be right without France chiming in. Next headline.

Abbas stands firm on vote plan amid shaky ceasefire

Gulf News, United Arab Emirates - 4 hours ago
Ramallah, West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday said he would press on with early elections as a truce between his security forces and the …

Sanctions, unemployment, poverty and political basketball may have given Abbas few options. The election strategy may be a little too transparent.

This is kind of a chronology, as best we can, given the order of news reports. Will pick up here, with a bit more on the election part of the story and to the other reports.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com