un demands israel stop settlements

nice. but isn't this the same thing they've been saying for 30 years, to no effect? Israel just keeps on building (stealing), no matter what they say or what anyone else says. while the world talks, Israel keeps building, stealing, and killing. and the US keeps supporting Israel.

UN demands an immediate halt to Israeli settlements
dpa German Press Agency
Published: Saturday December 16, 2006

New York- The United Nations has demanded that Israel immediately halt its controversial settlement policy, it was reported Saturday. "Settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (are) illegal and an obstacle to peace as well as economic and social development," a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly with 162 votes in favour late Friday in New York said.

Eight countries, including Israel and the United States, voted against the resolution, while 10 abstained.

the so-called tragedy of rumsfeld

the real tragedy here is not how history will judge the "legacy" of this overrated fool --- the real tragedy is the tens of thousands of lives taken, the families broken, the bodies shattered, the hundreds of billions of dollars squandered, and the real opportunities for peace that were lost, because of his arrogance and his boss's inability to admit a mistake.

Rumsfeld career ending in ignominy in Iraq
...
He was the primary architect of the war plan," said military analyst Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution. "He was no scapegoat. He deserves the blame he received."

he was not only the primary architect of the war plan, he was a primary cheerleader for the war before it started, and a primary force in keeping the military on its disastrous course long after it became obvious to everyone else that it was a disaster. how can any sane person look at this situation and see this as a "tragedy for Rumsfeld"? he didn't lose any children. he didn't lose any limbs. he's already obscenely rich, and he'll go back to a civilian life among the privileged and make even more money, surrounded by a bubble of admiring sycophants who'll fill his ears with praise for the rest of his years. some "tragedy". in my book he's about as "tragic" as Pol Pot. he deserves to be put on trial for war crimes.