Remember this?

The United States will not change its policy towards Hamas, despite a letter which will be passed to the new American president requesting that he engage the group in dialogue, Senator John Kerry said on Saturday.

"[The letter] doesn't change our policy in not dealing with terrorists," Kerry said during an interview with Channel 2. "We will deal with the Palestinian Authority government, with [PA President Mahmoud Abbas], and [PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad]."

Hamas official Ahmed Yousef on Saturday said he wrote a letter to US President Barack Obama, which was received by Kerry during his visit to Gaza.

The letter was given to UN officials who passed it to the US senator during a one-day visit to Gaza on Thursday.

Yousef said that the letter was endorsed by the Hamas government.

The letter calls on Obama "to deal in a fair way with the Palestinian issue," he said, noting that many Palestinians believe that US foreign policy is biased in Israel's favor.

I does take--at a minimum--two parties to broker a fair, just and sustainable peace. But while we are patting Jimmy Carter on the back (deservedly so), let's not forget who has actually been doing the "reaching out" here. It has not been, imo, the US, and it certainly has not been the Israelis, who remain frozen in position. The Israeli negotiating position remains absurd, while the US is not initiating contact with Hamas, but rather responding to contact from Hamas.

The most movement towards negotiation has in fact been from Hamas, the evil, democratically-elected, terrorist organization.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1233304838221

Excellent point regarding how governments attempt to control the flow of powerful imagery. Iran is certainly doing so in a number of ways, and so is the US--from the torture imagery we are still waiting for, as well as imagery of returning coffins, or just about any death imagery (US or Iraqi) from the Iraq occupation.

Our leaders, just as does the supreme leader in Tehran, fully realize the power of images and the need to carefully control their distribution.

Yesterday I saw a very powerful image of the spot where Neda died. It is being turned into a shrine, with flowers, candles, and such. Much like what we saw in NY on 9/11. This morning I have been trying to find that image to post the link here for others. I've not been able to relocate it.

GG, anandakos' comment below brings up a relevant point, one that (seems to me) doesn't get discussed here in your column--media ownership--and the role ownership plays.

I've read you fairly closely for some time, but this aspect of our political media pathology doesn't seem to get the attention it deserves. Do you feel that ownership plays a major role in causing the problems exhibited by establishment media? Does it play any role in individual events such as Froomkin's firing? Can significant improvements be made in our establishment journalism without dealing with the issue of media ownership/consolidation in the US?

We have citizen frauds too. These are organizations that, like fraudulent Congress members, acted as if they opposed wars when it didn't much matter, when the government was run by Republicans dedicated to continuing wars. These are blogs and organizations that put the Democratic Party's positions ahead of what's good for the country or the world or -- I would argue -- even the Democratic Party. They did not lift a finger to oppose this war supplemental: Campaign for America's Future, Center for American Progress, Democracy for America, Moveon.org, Talking Points Memo, and True Majority.

http://votersforpeace.us/press/index.php?itemid=1924

Perhaps we have the Congress that we deserve.

The only question is whether Obama will be seen as one who worked to conceal the wrongdoing and protect the wrongdoers.

When does this begin to impact Obama to significant degree? For that matter, when does continuing torture (through, minimally, forced feeding of Gitmo inmates) begin to stick on Obama's name?

Obama is not only complicit in covering past crimes, but is likely committing others himself, via his administration of ongoing torture in US facilities. When will the left begin to exert true pressure on Obama?

My guess is that the WH will find a work-around for the IMF deal, rather than change the Lieberman amendment. Generally speaking, I'll bet they find the right's views more palatible than those of the left. And specifically, the pain of additional photos being produced is greater than the pain of modifying their IMF promise.

re: Israel=South Africa.

No comparison is 100% accurate. But I think the comparison is illustrative, educational, and fair. --adios

Point well taken.

I would also be delighted by a true Israeli freeze, and would celebrate that with you if it ever comes about--however unlikely.

Looking back, I think most Americans were truly joyful when South Africa's oppressive regime finally collapsed under the weight of its own injustice and blood-soaked misery. Israel is the South Africa of the 21st Century. I hope and believe that Americans will again celebrate when a solution is found to the terrible injustice being experienced by the Palestinian people.