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Tuesday
Jan202009

A Gut Reaction to The Obama Inaugural Speech

Related Post: And on the Eighth Day - Hopes and Fears Over the Obama Foreign Policy

It is a strange feeling watching this day, sitting amidst technology which gives access to numerous television channels, Internet streams, and Twitter.

On the one hand, no amount of detachment --- not even the challenge of writing a live blog and providing a running analysis --- could separate me from the excitement and the enthusiasm of today. I have said this as a pro forma for media interviews but today I believed it, "Growing up in Alabama in the midst of the racial issues of the 1960s and 1970s, I never dreamed that I would see an African-American become President of the United States."



And those hundreds of thousands on the Mall not only were in the midst of a realised dream but in the midst of hope. In the middle of an economic crisis, in the middle of a foreign-policy mess from Iraq to Afghanistan to the Middle East, facing the unknown extent of climate change, they took in and radiated hope. A hope for most that, after the division and destruction and turmoil of the last eight years, light would come out of darkness.

Obama's speech was not a great speech, by his standards; there were too many formulae that had to be laid out: the tributes to America's greatness but also the warnings of recent drift, the possibilities of freedom but the need to achieve it and protect it, the responsibilties of citizenship. These had to be carred across general references to the economy, social issues, America's common defense, foreign policy.

But, working to and laying out those formulae, Obama offered his flourishes: the reference that, 60 years after his father was refused service in a restaurant, he was taking "the sacred oath" of the Presidency, the tribute to both "fallen heroes" and those who served by taking in the dispossessed when the levees broke, the invocation "“This is the price and promise of our citizenship….This is the meaning of our liberty.” And I must add that it was wonderful, both for hope and a bit of retribution, that the cameras cut away to former President Bush as Obama said:

We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine drafted a charter of ideals which inspired the world...[which] assured the rule of law and the rights of man.



On the other hand....

When I go back to the keyboard, rewind the video, glance at the world via Internet feeds, I have a great concern.

US Presidents have to talk tough. American political culture doesn't accept Presidential weaklings (did you notice Jimmy Carter on the platform?) in either rhetoric or action. So Obama had to combine the offers of friendship with the warning that, if you oppose the US, "we will defeat you". He had to speak of common dangers to the planet but also to affirm that, in addressing those challenges, "America must lead". He directly addressed "the Muslim world" for a relationship based "on mutual trust and respect" but also chastised those who are corrupt and deceitful. He offered peace but only "if you will unclench your fist".

This speech --- in the revival of hope, the call for unity, the offer of friendship, and the warning to America's enemies --- is a descendant of John F. Kennedy's famous 1961 Inaugural. And thus it should be noted that, while the Kennedy Administration could be commemorated for its calls for global development and progress, it could also be remembered for the confrontations that included the Bay of Pigs and the escalation of the disastrous involvement in Vietnam.

Is Obama's invocation of "America", one which stemmed from and added to the hope of today, one that is going to be offered to others, both friend and foe? Or will it be delivered in the terms of "you lead, we follow"? Freedom is a wonderful concept, but in the current conflicts that always face the Obama Administration, it is an abstraction beyond political, economic, and military realities.

So part of the concern is that, on the day after the Inauguration, the rhetoric of today has to meet the reality of what has happened in Israel, Palestine, and Gaza in the last month. It is that his reference to the Muslim world with trust and respect but also with a response to the "clenched fist" must define itself with the troubled relationship with Iran. It is that Obama's warning "we will defeat you" has to confront the complexity of the unrest in Pakistan. It is that, with a broken United Nations and damage to the notion of international co-operation, "America must lead" has to address the response of others that "America must listen". It is that his promise that the United States will abide by "a Charter of law" has to negotiate through the legal and political challenges that will threaten his promise to close Guantanamo Bay (not to mention, his silence on other American detention facilities such as Camp Bagram in Afghanistan).

And, at the end of this day, I note --- very narrowly, perhaps, but I believe pertinently --- that Obama only moved beyond generalities to refer specifically to two other countries. He promised that the United States would leave Iraq to its people, an allusion to the timetable for the withdrawal of US combat troops (but not, it should be noted, all troops). And he immediately followed that with an American commitment to the "security of Afghanistan".

I hope I'm wrong. But, for all the hope of a new America, the rhetoric that precedes and underpins this America --- the rhetoric of our vigiliance, our "common defense" against enemies, our extension of freedom --- means that Barack Hussein Obama will double the US troop level in Afghanistan from 30,000 to 60,000. And when he does so, with many crowing that he is simply following Bush's War on Terror rather than rejecting it, with others declaring that our liberalism requires such interventions, he will open Pandora's Box on his own war.

I hope I'm wrong. But if that happens, it will be hard to reach back to the hope of today. Hard to reach back not because we didn't believe in the vision of this historic moment, but because we did.
Tuesday
Jan202009

New Nation

Obama's Inauguration Speech as a Wordle:

Obama Inauguration Wordle[Via Rich]

Tuesday
Jan202009

The Alternative Inauguration Watch 

Later post: A Gut Reaction to the Obama Speech
Later post: A New Nation


1:30 p.m. I've posted an entry, "A Gut Reaction to the Obama Speech", which incompletely, possibly incoherently summarises my mixed emotions on this day and on the day after. We've posted the transcript of the speech, which is also available via CNN.

President Barack Obama is now lunching with Congress before his motorcade to the White House and the Inaugural Parade. It is afternoon, but It is Still Morning in America.

Thank you for joining us today.

12:25 p.m. The closing set-piece as Obama invokes "the father of our Nation" George Washington huddled with his troops at Valley Forge in the midst of hardship: this is how America today "faces its common dangers".

"We carried forth that great gift of liberty and delivered it safely to future generations."



12:24 p.m. As Obama refers to himself as the child of a man who could not get served 60 years ago and who is now taking "this sacred oath", a big round of applause....

12:23 p.m. A return to the old truths of "courage and patriotism" with a new responsiblity: "This is the price and promise of our citizenship....This is the meaning of our liberty."

12:21 p.m. The tribute to America's "fallen heroes" as example of greatness for the rest of us, but also...

"The kindness of workers" who take in those when the levees break (there's the reference ot Katrina), to the firefighters who protect us, etc.

12:19 p.m. America's strength comes from its patchwork heritage: "As the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself and America must play its role."

To Muslim world: we seek way forward based on mutual trust and mutual respect --- A message sent out to those who are corrupt and deceitful, but we will extend a hand "if you will unclench your fist"

12:18 p.m. "Our security emanates from the justice of our cause."

And specifics --- leave Iraq to its people and ensure security of Afghanistan. To the terrorists: "we will defeat you". (round of applause)

12:17 p.m. "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine drafted a charter of ideals which inspired the world" (cutaway to shot of former President George W. Bush) and "assured the rule of law and the rights of man. That Charter inspired the world and we will not give it up for expedient's sake."

"America is a friend of each nation, and we are ready to lead once more."

12:16 p.m. "The question is not whether Government is too big or too small, but whether it works." (Compare that to Ronald Reagan's dismissal of "Government" in 1980.) Nor is it a question of free market right or wrong, but the fact that it is "surest route to our common good".

12:14 p.m. "Starting today we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and rebuild America." We will rebuild our economy, raise up science and technology, harness energy, and transform schools and universities.

"There are some who question the scale of our ambitions" (take that Congressional opponents of my economic plan) "but they have forgotten what this nation has done."

12:11 p.m. "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit." --- "All are equal, all are free."

Call to reaffirm greatness of nation but "we" have always known this must be earned. So hail to the risk-takers and the brave, who crossed oceans, toiled sweatshops, went to the West, endured the lash of the whip, fought and died "for us".

"America is bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions."

12:10 p.m. Decline measured in statistics but also in confidence. However, now, "know this, America, these challenges will be met....We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over discord." There is an end to "petty grievances" that plague our politics.

12:09 p.m. Obama: "We are in the midst of crisis. Our country is at war" against a far-flung enemy, economy in troube. "Our collective failure to make decisions" has strengthened our adversaries and threatened our planet.

12:07 p.m. To chants of "Obama!", the 44th President begins his Inaugural Speech.

Polite applause when Obama thanks George W Bush, who is no longer the President of the United States of America.

12:06 p.m. GEORGE W BUSH IS NO LONGER THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

12:06 p.m. Barack Hussein Obama is now President of the United States of America.

12:05 p.m. Well, Obama just fluffed his lines taking the oath, but I don't think it matters. "Congratulations, Mr President."

12:04 p.m. Chief Justice John Roberts introduced to give the oath and the crowd is already screaming.

12:01 p.m. The alternative post for 11:57 a.m.: "Biden sworn in. Dick Cheney no longer vice president, instead just a creepy old guy (in a wheelchair) who shoots his friends in the face."

11:59 a.m. Pause for a John Williams song performed by Itzhak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, etc.

I'm sorry but, if I'm in that crowd in sub-freezing temps, I'm thinking, "Can we just put this on 78 rpm?"

11:57 a.m. Joe Biden takes the oath to become the Vice President of the United States. Must be the shortest speech he's ever given.

Good round of applause but you know that folks are holding back a bit for what's to come.

11:53 a.m. Sing It, Aretha. In the service of a new Anglo-American relationship, Ms Franklin has just started on the British national anthem "God Save the Queen", also known as "My Country 'Tis of Thee".

11:48 a.m. Pastor Rick Warren, a controversial choice, delivers the invocation. Respectful but muted applause except for a couple of boos.

Not sure "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God" is the most politically sensitive choice of Scripture, given current events.

11:43 a.m. I do have chills up my arms as I type this: Barack H. Obama has been introduced as the next President of the United States. I cannot capture how loud that cheer sounded.

If only this moment can be carried forward over the next months and the years....

11:43 a.m. Via Twitter: "Standing O for the O-man at the Paramount [cinema]. Sustained whooping and hollering."

11:40 a.m. Fox's Juan Carlos Williams is worried about the "tightness" in Obama's jaw. Chris Wallace adds, "We're in a severe economic crisis, we're in a continuing War on Terror, we're in two wars...."

C'mon guys, lighten up.

11:39 a.m. Vice President-elect Joe Biden comes out to a massive roar. Meanwhile, shots of Obama coming down the Capitol stairs. No smile, very measured.

11:36 a.m. President Bush, Vice President Bush, and Cabinet walk onto platform (a reader notes: "DEFINITELY not handcuffed"). Bush shakes a few hands, makes small talk, "How you doin'?" (And somebody replies, "Keep up the good work.")

Bush is going through the motions, so looking forward to getting onto the helicopter for the airport.

11:34 a.m. Fact check (for 16th, 17th, and 18th times this morning): The Capitol was built by slaves.

11:30 a.m. And here comes, in his last 30 minutes as President, George W. Bush. Forgive me, but he looks fidgety, biting his lips and eyes darting about. He's struggling to pull it together for the cameras.

11:28 a.m. But, if Fox can't quite accept Clinton, our readers can accept George H.W. Bush: "I kinda liked Bush 41's purple scarf. Aptly Imperial."

11:25 a.m. Michelle Obama's mother and the Obamas' children walk onto the platform.

11:22 a.m. After Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush are introduced with their wives, Bill and Hillary Clinton are introduced to a huge cheer from the crowd.

Fox commentators are taken aback: "Just sends a thrill up your spine." Juan Carlos Williams, "Wow, the American people. Just reminds me --- we are a country who celebrates our leaders."

C'mon, gentlemen: say it. That crowd was celebrating a leader who happened to be Bill Clinton. Yep, the President that Fox trashed for eight years.

Chris Wallace: "Some people are happy about the events, some people not so happy, look...." And then, let's talk about the Lincoln Bible.

11:16 a.m. Former Presidents Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton arriving on the platform.

11:13 a.m. Simple but essential reminder from a reader: "People need to see this happen. Hope is powerful."

11:06 a.m. CNN's Blitzer: This Inauguration could have a larger US television audience than the final episode of MASH (which, by the way, was a comedy series about the US embroiled in a never-ending war --- so no relevance there).

11:04 a.m. Useless Graphics Moment: Fox cuts away to animated shot of route that Obama will take through the Capitol to the platform. Thank goodness, they figured out that Michelle Obama's brother is on the platform so they could trash thousands of dollars of computer eyewash.

11:02 a.m. Supreme Court Justices walking onto the platform.

11 a.m. Kudos to Steven Spielberg: "I couldn't afford to do this shot in a movie."

10:55 a.m. What can you say over the footage of a motorcade going from White House to Capitol Hill?

1. Talk about previous rides that didn't go well --- Hoover and Roosevelt (1933), Truman and Eisenhower (1953)
2. Mention that manhole covers are welded shut and all postboxes removed
3. Wow, it's really cold.

10:48 a.m. Bush and Obama emerge from the White House to go to Capitol Hill. High-pitched screams of excitement. For Obama or for Bush?

10:45 a.m. Dick Cheney emerges in a wheelchair to go to the Inauguration.

Let's repeat that. Ted Kennedy is walking about on the Inauguration Platform, despite a brain tumour. Dick Cheney is in a wheelchair.

10:43 a.m. More CNN insight into Bush-Obama chats: "Do you think they talk substance? (Bush: "What do you say to going out a bang --- bomb Iran?" Obama: "Step aside, Dubya.") Or is light chit-chat?"

10:40 a.m. Senator Edward Kennedy, looking pretty well despite his battle with a brain tumour, arrives on the platform.

10:35 a.m. No News Moment: Chris Wallace on Fox, "See that motorcade. It doesn't include President Bush or President Obama."

10:25 a.m. Highlight for Fox reporter: crowd bouncing about and bobbing to giant-screen replay of Inaugural Concert. "You think about the inter-racial harmony of this day: Garth Brooks doing the Isley Brothers and moving hundreds of thousands of people."

Thus, one man's glorious harmony becomes another's vision of musical hell.

10:24 a.m. Fox reporter on the Mall: "I haven't seen a single individal misbehave....We have a table with coffee and doughnuts, and I haven't even seen a single person attack that table."

Hmmm....is the moral that Americans are angelic or that your coffee and doughnuts suck?

10:20 a.m. Fox's Jim Angle has just referred to the "3 Vs" of this day: "Validation, Vindiction, and Victory."

Yep, Vindiction.

10:19 a.m. VIPs arriving for the ceremony. Well, not that many VIPs and not that quickly. Fox has to settle for former Governor of California Jerry Brown.

10:17 a.m. OK, I Won't Forget: For the 15th time this morning, "Don't forget, the US Capitol was built by slaves."

10:15 a.m. The first suggestion for the Bush letter to Obama (see 9:58 am.) comes from "Rattal007" : "I want to be US Ambassador to Iraq."

If only. I think Dubya is settling for city life in Texas and whatever he can make from his memoirs (no doubt written all by himself).

10:10 a.m. Over on Fox, Carl Cameron is standing in the Capitol Rotunda. It (see 6:38 a.m.) is still empty.

10:05 a.m. CNN is offering both sublime and ridiculous.

Ridiculous from Wolf Blitzer as the Bushes greets the Obamas: "I wonder if the microphones on the scene caught any of the chit-chat. Every word now is historic." (Like Bush to Obama: "How are you?" Obama to Bush: "Step aside, Dubya. There's a new sheriff in town.")

"They call it a coffee. I don't know if they're drinking or what they're drinking, maybe hot chocolate, maybe tea, but they call it a coffee."

Sublime from David Gergen: "There was a time when it was brandy. We had a Vice President in 1865, Andrew Johnson, who got totally drunk. They almost had to kick him out of the Inaugural."

9:58 a.m. CNN reporters reveal: "When Barack Obama goes into the Oval Office, there on the desk will be a letter written to him from George W. Bush. Nobody knows what is in it." Any suggestions?

9:55 a.m. The crucial question (and answer) flashes across my computer screen: "Is Michelle Obama taller than George Bush? I think she is, at least in shoes."

9:54 a.m. And now He is entering the White House.

9:40 a.m. You Have Been Warned: Security agencies say once 350,000 people are on the Mall, the gates will be shut.

9:20 a.m. Don't Bring Me Down: Fox is speaking with Obama's political strategist, David Axelrod, and decided to focus on the "realities of the office": less than half of $30 billion of highway construction funds will be released into economy in next four years.

Sorta like the guy at your New Year's Party who wants to talk about the virtues of central heating systems.

9:10 a.m. Hope and Big Brother: After raving about the enthusiasm of the crowd, CNN spends a few minutes panning across the sniper teams on the roofs of buildings: "Anybody who has any intention of causing harm here knows they're under the watchful fire of the United States SecretService or the FBI or any other of the 58 agencies enlisted to provide security for this event."

9 p.m. CNN's coverage has just been lost in how impressive this is --- "We have never seen anything like this on the Mall." And, you know what? Even on a 25-inch TV (without High Definition), it is.

8:55 a.m. Who's the Heckler at the Back? Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily:

I want Obama to fail because his agenda is 100 percent at odds with God's....Nowhere in the Bible does it teach us to obey evil rulers.



8:45 a.m. We see Him! We see Him! Barack and Michelle Obama emerge from Blair House to go to private church service. Apparently the Bidens are also there.

8:40 a.m. Advice of the Day: An 85-year-old suspected war criminal, a Mr H Kissinger, has emerged to tell Barack Obama the secret to US foreign policy ---- Use a Lot of Jargon:

The complexity of the emerging world requires from America a more historical approach than the insistence that every problem has a final solution expressible in programmes with specific time limits not infrequently geared to our political process. We must learn to operate within the attainable and be prepared to pursue ultimate ends by the accumulation of nuance. An international order can be permanent only if its participants have a share not only in building but also in securing it. In this manner, America and its potential partners have a unique opportunity to transform a moment of crisis into a vision of hope.



8:10 a.m. Fox is in feel-good mode, talking to American football legend Jim Brown, who is now with Amer-I-Can. Brown on Obama: "This is a great man."

7:50 a.m. One-Liner of the Day: as Dick Cheney attends the Inauguration in a wheelchair, either because he has strained his back or because he doesn't want to stand up for Obama: "His transformation to Bond villain is complete."

7:40 a.m. Culture of Fear alert: Newt Gingrich "There are some really bad people who wouldn't mind randomly causing damage on a day like this."

7:30 a.m. Obama's incoming Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has appeared both on CNN and Fox. He seems a lovely fellow, but the chat was so bland I can't remember a word of significance.

7:25 a.m. Fox is worried that Pastor Rick Warren, delivering the Inaugural Prayer, will not be allowed to mention "Jesus".

7:20 a.m. US commentary has descended from discussion of the weather to discussion of "how tough is it to get to the Mall?" Which is fortunate, since it is preventing Laura Ingraham on Fox from launching her standard rants about liberals.

7:03 a.m. Fox: apparently the crowds on the Mall moving towards the light of the Jumbo-Trons "is something akin to an alien landing".

6:53 a.m. That's more like it: Sky News in Britain is concentrating on Obama speech by talking to a bookmaker who's quoting odds on a mention of Hillary Clinton (6-5 on), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (33/1), and hero pilot Chelsey Sullenberger (4/1). Oh, yes, you can also bet on whether Obama's tie will be red or blue.

6:48 a.m. Culture of Fear reminder: Thanks, CNN, for not letting go of this today. Ten minutes spent with "former Bush security advisor" on possibility of Obama being assassinated, people sneaking through security cordons, etc.

6:40 a.m. Shameless Self-Advertisement of the Day: Fox reporter now waxing lyrical about an empty museum, possibly because it's the "News History Museum" of News Corporation (owned by Rupert Murdoch, who just might have some connection with Fox)

6:38 a.m. Fox's intrepid reporters are breaking news by talking about the empty Inauguration Platform and the empty Capitol Rotunda.

6:30 a.m. Leaving a Man Behind: No Presidential pardon for the only Administration official to take a fall for Iraq, illegal surveillance, detention, torture, etc. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former fixer and part-time novelist, will remain the Poster Jailbird.

6:25 a.m. Fox is now in its pattern for the day: pundits are shouting beyond comprehension at each other about "Obama's First 100 Hours", so they switch to a profile of actor Lorenzo Lamas (who?).

CNN's scheme at the moment is just to talk to "common people" and avoid shivering.

It's Morning in America (6 a.m. Washington time): CNN International is giving this the big festival/parade treatment, with on-the-ground reporters shouting, "It's insane!" (or possibly, "I'm insane!"), and constant temperature checks (20 degrees Fahrenheit at the moment --- not-insane anchorman yelling, "Remember in The March of the Penguins where the crowd huddles for warmth?"). Access to the mall wasn't supposed to start until 7 a.m. but thousands are sneaking in, apparently via some magic passage near the Washington Monument.

Fox News is preferring immediate political scrutiny, both to big up the outgoing President ("Is Obama Trying to Rehab Bush's Image?") and to jab at the incoming one with irrelevancies ("Did Jill Biden Spill the Beans on Her Husband as Possible Secretary of State?")
Tuesday
Jan202009

Time's Running Out! Vote For A Farewell Song For George Bush

bushwave



As the Bush Presidency enters its twilight, so too does our search for A Farewell Song For George Bush. And this one's a closer call than an election involving W, with Barry McGuire's 'Eve Of Destruction' and Neil Young's 'Let's Impeach The President' currently in a dead heat. But there's still time for many of our nominees to win, so get voting!

Vote here, view all the nominees here.
Tuesday
Jan202009

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Updates (20 January)

See also: Chris Emery on Israeli Elections and the Gaza Crisis: What Has Changed?

12:30 a.m. That's all for today. No real diplomatic shifts, and the story of a possible full Israeli withdrawal to welcome President Obama was clearly spin.

Most dramatic development was UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's speech when he discovered the extent of the destruction wrought by Israeli forces. Whether his emotive criticism of Tel Aviv has any effect, especially as he went straight from Gaza to a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, is another question.

Good night and peace to all.

11:55 p.m. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has moved to re-define any initiatives for a settlement with Hamas, announcing in a campaign speech that Israel will not end its blockade of Gaza until there is progress in talks on the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held in Gaza since June 2006.

Meanwhile, Israel has re-confirmed its strategy to get the Palestinian Authority back into Gaza, declaring that any aid to the area should go through the UN, non-governmental organisations, or the PA.

11:40 p.m. The International Atomic Energy Agency will investigate complaints, lodged by ambassadors of Arab countries, that Israel has used depleted uranium in its munitions during the Gaza conflict.

11:30 p.m. Ha'aretz is reporting skirmishes in violation of the Gaza cease-fire on Tuesday. After Palestinian militants (not necessarily from Hamas) fired eight mortars, the Israeli Defense Forces launched an airstrike on the positions. Gunmen also fired on Israeli troops in two separate incidents.



9:45 p.m. Repeating the- importanfiret news from earlier today: Arab countries at the Kuwait summit have been unable to agree on how to support reconstruction in Gaza, disagreeing on whether aid can be dispersed via Hamas.

Meanwhile, it appears that the Obama Administration will name former Senator George Mitchell, who was instrumental in the negotiations of an agreement on Northern Ireland, as his envoy to the Middle East.

9:30 p.m. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has phoned Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to congratulate Hamas on the "victory achieved by confronting the Zionist aggression on Gaza".

9:20 p.m. We're back after a break to live-blog the Inaugural of President Barack Obama.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been quick to offer thanks to former President George W. Bush and a welcome to Obama:

The values of democracy, brotherhood and freedom that constitute the building blocks of American society are also shared by Israeli society, together with the faith in man's power and ability to change and influence his surroundings. We wish the incoming President success in his office and are certain that we will be full partners in advancing peace and stability in the Middle East.



3:35 p.m. Al Jazeera's Mouin Rabbani on Ban's statement: "Those were very, very, very powerful words. We haven't seen a leader of this stature speak such language...condemning Israel but not the Palestinians, using the term 'Palestinian self-determination', calling for investigations and accountability....The Rubicon has been crossed here."

3:15 p.m. Ah, there he is: Ban Ki-Moon emerges, a bit shaken from his debriefing by UN staff. He is "not able to describe" how he feels about the damage and devastation, and he has "expressed his utter frustration, his utter anger" about the attack on the UN compound, asking for those responsible to be accountable.

Political questions remain: Ban continues to press the notion of "Palestinian unity", possibly without any consideration that this might imply the imposition of the Palestinian Authority upon Gaza.

2:45 p.m. UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon is still in hiding in the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza. Al Jazeera has been featuring a shot of a bank of microphones on an empty podium for the last 90 minutes.

1:40 p.m. Arab leaders at Kuwait summit pledge $2 billion for Gaza reconstruction but divide sharply over how to distribute aid: Egypt and Saudi Arabia oppose direct provision to Hamas. On the symbolic front, there is some consensus with the call for Israeli political and military leaders to be tried for war crimes.

1:10 p.m. Donald Macintyre in The Independent of London has more details of the Zeitoun mass killing.

1:02 p.m. Oh, good, a fight over the military figures rather than the humanitarian toll: Israel claims more than 500 Hamas fighters killed (vs. Hamas claim of 48 and "Palestinian factions" claim of 112 plus 170 policemen), more than 12oo of Hamas' 2000 rockets destroyed, and 80 percent of tunnels shut down.

1 p.m. Robert Fisk sums up yesterday's Kuwait summit in nine words: "There was really no adequate comment for this charade."

12:50 p.m. The medical crisis continues: Nasser Medical Compound in Khan Younis has appealed to Arab nursing unions and international organizations to “urgently send nursing staff” to the Gaza Strip to fill a large void there.

12:40 p.m. I don't know if UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is lost, or just too embarrassed to come out, but still no press conference from his visit to Gaza.

12:30 p.m. Interesting dichotomy in Gaza coverage in US and Britain: while broadcast networks have largely moved away from the news service, print journalists --- some belatedly getting access to sites and sources --- are continuing to highlight the legal and humanitarian issues. Sheera Frenkel of The Times has followed the articles in The Guardian with a human-interest story from Israeli attacks on Jabaliya, "Blind and burnt: Mahmoud, 14, young victim of banned white phosphorus shelling", and the revelation: "The Times has uncovered dozens of incidents in which doctors say that civilians have been wounded by white phosphorus."

12:15 p.m. So much for that Arab "Consensus"? Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has apparently told news services that delegations at the Kuwait summit "are unable to agree on a unified statement about Gaza".

10:20 a.m. Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin continues to warn of possible outbreak of disease, with bodies now weeks old and sewage flowing over in many areas.

9:55 a.m. Eyewitnesses are telling Al Jazeera that Israeli troops are destroying buildings and infrastructure as they pull back in Gaza.

9:45 a.m. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will be in Gaza in just over an hour.

Morning Updates (8 a.m. Israel/Gaza time): The Central Bureau of Statistics in Palestine has confirmed more than 1300 Gazans have been killed and more than 5400 wounded in the conflict. More than 4,000 buildings were destroyed; another 18,000 were severely damaged. The total cost to Gaza of the invasion is more than $1.9 billion. A new and staggering figure: more than 80 percent of Gazan crops were destroyed.

Hamas has survived as the Gazan leadership, however, and it will offer a public demonstration today with a "victory rally".

Meanwhile, Barack Obama's team keep insisting that he will now enter the diplomatic arena, named a special envoy to the Middle East today. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will maintained his even-handed intervention with a visit to Sderot in southern Israel; there are reports he will also visit the Gaza Strip.