Israel isn't getting enough money

* ron at rawstory:

"On Thursday, the political action group MoveOn sent emails to all of its members based in New York asking them to vote on which candidate to support in the upcoming Democratic primary for U.S. Senate: incumbent Senator Hillary Clinton or anti-war challenger Jonathan Tasini."

* kevin:

" the plain fact is that a great deal of American foreign policy is driven by concerns over the stability of our oil supply. The rest of the world is well aware of this, and our blithe pretense that we're not concerned with such grubby issues — it's all about democracy! — is one of the reasons so many non-Americans don't believe a word we say on other issues as well. They probably can't figure out if we're in genuine denial about our own motivations or just being mendacious about them, but does it matter?

On our end, of course, most Americans just end up being perplexed. Why do foreigners think we're after everyone's oil? How can they believe such a thing about us? The answer is easy: they believe it because there's a lot of truth to it. But you'd hardly know it if you read nothing but the American press."

* FP:

"California Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos -- in a mind-boggling move -- is promising to stop a bill that would send $230 million in reconstruction funds to Lebanon. The top Democrat on the International Relations Committee, Lantos is apparently concerned about smuggling on the Syrian border and worried that Israel isn't getting enough money"

* amy:

"The administration’s $230 million dollars for Lebanon has been criticized for being at least one-tenth of annual US military aid to Israel. But there are reports that disparity could get even wider. A high-ranking American diplomat tells the Jerusalem Post the Bush administration would “seriously consider” an Israeli request for more money to make up for the large expense of its attack on Lebanon. Israel says it spent close to seven billion dollars and may ask the US for up to two billion."

* amy:

"UN: Israel Dropped 90% of Cluster Bombs in War’s Final Hours
The top humanitarian official at the United Nations has lashed out at Israel for unleashing a deluge of cluster bombs in the final hours of its invasion of Lebanon. "

* amy:

"A public relations industry source said the Pentagon has been “overwhelmed” by news stories that have differed from how the military originally wanted them transmitted."

hysterical.