On The Border

Hamas continues its assault on Egypt and has now deployed border agents on both sides of the Gaza-Egypt border.

RAFAH, Egypt - A smattering of Hamas-affiliated security forces, many of them bearded and dressed in blue camouflage uniforms, fanned out on both sides of the breached Gaza-Egypt border Sunday to jointly police the crossing with Egyptian guards.
 
Though only about a dozen Hamas forces took up positions, it was their first significant action on the Egyptian side of the border in the five days since Palestinian militants blasted through the partition. Since then, tens of thousands of Gazans have flooded into Egypt to buy food, fuel and other goods made scarce by an Israeli closure of the territory.

Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 and forcibly seized control of Gaza from the rival Fatah faction in June. But the Islamic militant group had no role in controlling Gaza's border crossings before the breach on Wednesday.

Now, Hamas is hoping to change that.

The temporary cooperation appeared to be between low-level security guards on the ground, and not indicative of any change in policy by Hamas or the Egyptian government, which are still far apart on the question of future control of the border.

Egypt wants to restore an arrangement whereby the border was controlled jointly by the Palestinian Authority headed by Fatah, Israel, and European monitors. Hamas rejects the old system and is pushing for a new one where it has a role.

Hundreds of Egyptian forces have been deployed around the border for several days, and some guards have also crossed briefly into Gaza. The Egyptians have been struggling to re-establish control along the border. But for the fifth straight day, Palestinians moved unimpeded back and forth across the frontier.

The small group of Hamas forces appeared to be coordinating efforts to restore order at the border with their Egyptian counterparts, jointly directing traffic and manning checkpoints. Both Hamas and the Egyptians were urging Gaza motorists to go back home.

There is a lesson here. A nation either enforces its sovereignty or it has to abandon its borders and eventually its sovereignty. That appears to be happening in Egypt right now.

It is happening somewhere else right now. A little closer to home.

“We’ll Eat You Up, We Love You So”

Somehow, Maurice Sendak's famous line from Where the Wild Things Are seems completely appropriate to this gem from Hillary Clinton (via Michelle Malkin).

Love drove Bill over campaign line: Clinton

Hillary Clinton admitted Sunday her husband Bill’s hard-charging campaign tactics had gone overboard, but chalked the ex-president’s fiery broadsides up to love and a chronic lack of sleep.

A day after rival Barack Obama trounced her in the South Carolina primary, the former first lady also mounted a vigorous defense of the two Clinton White House terms, which Obama has said did not spark transformational change.

Clinton was asked on CBS television’s “Face the Nation” whether her husband was “out of control” after he took the Illinois senator, and the media to task, during a foul-tempered week-long campaign.

“You know, my husband has such a great commitment to me and to my campaign,” the New York senator said.

“He loves me just like, you know, husbands and wives get out there and work on each others’ behalf.”

She blamed the tensions of the tight battle for the party’s presidential nomination

“Maybe he got a little carried away.”

Ah, that wild rumpus thing gets old quickly, doesn't it? As Sendak's book illustrated rather nicely. I wonder if Hillary might be worried that Wild Bill is actually beginning to eat her chances up.

Actually, I don't really wonder, I'm pretty sure Hillary is getting worried.

You’re Stupid If You Get Old

In Britain, that appears to be the tack the government is taking.

Drivers intending to stay behind the wheel well into old age may have to pass exams proving they are mentally up to it.

Ministers want to ban anyone over 75 who does not pass the exams and they will insist that drivers repeat the series of IQ tests every five years if they want to stay on the road.

The new barriers to elderly motorists will also include an eyesight exam, but they will not have to re-take their practical driving test.

Since 1974, motorists have been allowed to continue unhindered until they reach 70. After that, they simply fill out a form every three years to declare they are fit to drive and are free of ailments such as epilepsy, diabetes and heart conditions.

But a shake-up was ordered because the 1.5million motorists aged 75 or over who have licences today will soar as the "baby boomer" generation approaches retirement and beyond.

The proposals, to be announced within weeks in a Government consultation document, suggest a "cognitive" exam to measure brain power.

It is likely to include an IQ-style puzzle such as being asked to spot the odd one out from a series of shapes.

Last night, a spokesman for the charity Age Concern warned: "A blanket system risks stereotyping the elderly as bad drivers."

Muriel Gladwin, 94, from Hereford, who taught herself to drive 82 years ago and has held a clean

licence since, said: "It's the wrong way round. You don't have as many older people getting into accidents as younger ones.

"It's the younger drivers who should be having more tests."

i have nothing whatsoever against eye examinations for older drivers. But younger folks who back what Britain is proposing should realize that some day, they too will be older. Unless the other British proposal kicks in, of course. Well, maybe that is the real message from the British government. You really would be stupid to grow old there. Because growing old is rapidly becoming an "unhealthy lifestyle choice" in Britain. Soon, the old in Britain will only be good for one thing: energy.

The real future is even darker than George Orwell feared.

Thought So

I kind of suspected that Ted Kennedy would not be far behind Caroline Kennedy in endorsing Barack Obama. That appears to be the case this afternoon.

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Senator Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., will endorse Barack Obama's presidential bid on Monday in Washington, a source close to Kennedy tells ABC News.

The endorsement gives Obama a boost in the eyes of the Washington establishment, and comes after some prominent Democrats criticized Senator Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and former president Bill Clinton for their campaign tactics before Obama's landslide victory in South Carolina.

Caroline Kennedy, the late President John F. Kennedy's only daughter, announced her endorsement of Obama in an Op-Ed for the New York Times on Sunday.

And in an exclusive "This Week" interview, Obama hinted that the senior senator from Massachusetts might be next.

"I'll let Ted Kennedy speak for himself. And nobody does it better. But obviously, any of the Democratic candidates would love to have Ted Kennedy's support. And we have certainly actively sought it," Obama said. "I will let him make his announcement and his decision when he decides it's appropriate."

I mentioned in comments a while ago that it appeared that a tide was beginning to set - both for Obama and against Hillary Clinton. The fault lines in the Democratic party are beginning to show rather clearly. It has been a different race so far than everyone expected. It looks to be getting even more interesting.

Meanwhile, Over In China

Chinese officials are scrambling to try to straighten out transportation chaos and major disruptions in energy and food supplies ahead of a major national holiday. Why, you ask?

Because of the brutal winter weather that is gripping the country, all the way down to the southern regions.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Sunday ordered urgent steps to fight transport chaos and threats to energy and food supplies caused by brutal winter weather that forecasters said will continue as the nation heads into a major holiday.
 
The cold spell has lashed central, eastern and southern China in recent days, bringing heavy snow and sleet to provinces used to milder winters. Dozens of people have died, and many roads, railways and airports have been paralyzed.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the chaotic weather was threatening lives and straining supplies of fresh food, coal, oil and electricity ahead of holidays marking the Lunar New Year, which starts on February 7.

"Urgently mobilize and work as one to wage this tough battle against disaster," Wen told officials, according to the transcript on the government Web site (www.gov.cn). "Ensure that the people enjoy a joyful and auspicious Spring Festival."

He and other senior officials announced steps aimed at softening the economic blow from the bad weather.

Provinces must share coal and electricity, officials would waive some transport charges for farm goods and they would keep a close eye on price hikes. Train services must also be able to cope with tens of millions of passengers heading home for the holidays, while more coal must be found for power plants.

But the government's chief weather forecaster, Yang Guiming, said the harsh weather was likely to continue, the China News Service reported.

"There's no room for optimism about this abnormal rain and snow weather across the country over the next week," he said.

How bad is it? Well, homes have collapsed under the weight of snow and ice. Power lines have snapped and the government is taking the drastic step of reopening coal mines currently closed for safety reasons. The worst has not even hit yet according to the government. How extensive is the snow? Well, the Rutgers Global Snow Lab shows the majority of China is currently covered in the white stuff. Closer to home, the West Coast is being pummeled by yet another major storm with heavy rains and blizzard conditions at higher elevations. There is a brief warming trend forecast for the nation's midsection, but the arctic cold will return early next week, just in time for the remains of the systems pounding the West Coast to arrive in the heartland.

January 27, 1967

Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. Rest in peace.

Pad 34

Clinton’s Legacy: Gutter Politics

So says Vaughn Ververs of CBS News in an analysis of the Obama landslide in South Carolina. Dubbed 'The first black president' because of his connection to the black voters, Bill Clinton squandered most - if not all - of the good will he had with his strongest base of support. As a result, his legacy is lost.

South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest ranking African American in Congress, publicly told Bill Clinton to "chill a little bit." Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, speaking with the former president just feet away, rebuked his language, insisting, "this is reality, not fantasy or fairy tales." The shots came from all corners. Writing on his own blog, Clinton's former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich accused Clinton of spearheading a "smear campaign against Obama."

South Carolina voters apparently agreed. The numbers are jarring: Fifty-eight percent said Bill Clinton's involvement was important to their decision and most of them voted for Obama. Seventy percent believed Hillary Clinton had unfairly attacked Obama. As a warning to Clinton, just 77 percent said they would be satisfied with her as the nominee.

"Not presidential" is how former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle described Bill Clinton's behavior on the campaign trail of late. All the same, it may be effective. Clinton's campaign is aimed at capturing voters who make up a huge part of the Democratic demographic: Middle class, white, female, older. Those are the voters who may shy away from backing a "black" candidate, as they have in earlier contests in this race. Despite his huge margin of victory, Obama captured just a quarter of white voters.

And the nasty tactics had another purpose - to knock the candidate of "hope" off the mountaintop and down into the gutters of hardball politics. Forcing the man who has sought to connect himself to the legacy of inspirational leaders of the nation's past (he announced his candidacy in the shadow of Abraham Lincoln) to trade blows and accusations with Bill Clinton on the divisive issue of race only serves to muddy both. And there's some evidence that it worked. Fifty-eight percent of South Carolina voters said they felt Obama unfairly attacked Clinton during the campaign.

Ververs thinks that Clinton has likely succeeded in labeling Obama as the black candidate and that Hillary may win the nomination now. The cost will be high. It's already lost Bill the legacy he craved and replaced it with one of rank, gutter politics of the worst kind. Personally, I think the damage will be severe and lasting.

Slipping Point

The phrase 'tipping point' has been flogged nearly to death in the media, both old and new lately. Every event these days, it seems, is called a tipping point by someone for whatever reason. The popularity is tied to this book by Malcolm Gladwell. He defines a tipping point as ""the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable." I won't use that to describe the article from today's Telegraph. Instead I'll call it a slipping point, defined as that point when the slippery slope becomes a reality and a society begins the long slide.

Britain has begun the slide.

Don't treat the old and unhealthy, say doctors

Doctors are calling for NHS treatment to be withheld from patients who are too old or who lead unhealthy lives.

Smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly should be barred from receiving some operations, according to doctors, with most saying the health service cannot afford to provide free care to everyone.

Fertility treatment and "social" abortions are also on the list of procedures that many doctors say should not be funded by the state.

The findings of a survey conducted by Doctor magazine sparked a fierce row last night, with the British Medical Association and campaign groups describing the recommendations from family and hospital doctors as "out­rageous" and "disgraceful".

About one in 10 hospitals already deny some surgery to obese patients and smokers, with restrictions most common in hospitals battling debt.

Managers defend the policies because of the higher risk of complications on the operating table for unfit patients. But critics believe that patients are being denied care simply to save money.

It is an ugly article, with much sanctimony on the part of proponents of the death by government neglect approach. define a set of unapproved lifestyle choices - such as getting old, you'll notice - and deny them services to save money. This is the logical destination that socialized medicine ends at. Or rather there is one more step which is not far off now. That's when they begin getting rid of the outcast and the elderly outright.

I expect that day will arrive rather quickly. Still think letting the government be in charge of health care is a good idea?