Playing Catch-up.

I've not meaninglessly published my opinions of various subjects for a few days, so I'm going to use this post as a way of assuaging my guilt and satisfying my blogging addiction:

Shimon Peres quit Labor and will campaign for Sharon's new Kadima party. This is a big development but doesn't mean as much to Labor as many think. Peres lost a power struggle with Amir Peretz and has been looking for a way to remove himself from Labor. It would be good if Kadima brought in some new blood as well, by the way.

Dave Schuler has a great post of the separation of powers and the responsibilities prerogatives of the executive and legislative branches. It is amazing how our form of government is too often misunderstood. Dave obviously has read his Constitution.

The sad and predictable reaction to the supposed propaganda story misses every point about the use of propaganda in wartime. WaPo:

IN HINDSIGHT, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that the Pentagon has been secretly paying Iraqi journalists and news organizations to write and run positive stories about the war. After all, this is an administration that paid a U.S. columnist and peddled phony video news releases at home, too. But saying it was predictable makes it no less loathsome and damaging to find that the Bush administration has treated the Iraqi press, the Iraqi people and the very idea of Iraqi democracy with even greater contempt.

This is so fraught as to be laughable and pathetic. The WaPo is talking about Armstrong Williams, I guess. The editorial writers fail somehow to understand the difference between peddling NCLB and feeding positive stories to media in the midst of an existential war. Anybody wringing their hands or wailing about this doesn't understand that propaganda is a vital weapon. In this war, again, our own media is working against us.

Israel successfully tested a missile defense system to combat the Shahab 3 missile being developed by Iran. Related: Tigerhawk has some interesting speculation vis-a-vis Israel and the Mad Mullahs.

More torture stories today. In China.

A string of disciplined, lightening fast jewelry heists have been targeting jewelry stores in mall up and down the East Coast, some coming as far west as Pittsburgh. These guys seem to know what they are doing and are confounding FBI and local law enforcement.

I work with a bunch of jewelers, none in malls. This is only adding to the nervousness that was present with the prospect of lighter-than-expected sales this Christmas.

For what it's worth, I couldn't care less about Tookie "Moumia" Williams.

And lastly, this whole annual Christmas spat (Holiday trees, creches and menorahs, etc) is being blow up and exploited by both sides to raise money and support for narrow agendas. And most people don't care.

Happy Hanuramakwanzmas!