Three items you might have missed

Some people who know me know that I sometimes get up early – really early – and go fishing on the ‘web. And sometimes I find some interesting items. Hey, you could, too, but I’m making it easy this morning. Here are three items you might have missed.
What you think? Comments welcome.

ITEM ONE
Israel’s wealth gap continues to widen
The top tenth’s average income was 12.1 times that of the bottom tenth in 2005.
by Zeev Klein / Globes Online / July 24, 2006
The gap between Israel’s rich and poor continues to widen. Average gross income of Israel’s top tenth reached NIS 39,671 a month in 2005, 12.1 times the average monthly income of Israel’s bottom tenth of NIS 3,279, according the Central Bureau of Statistics’s 2005 Income Survey, published today … READ THE REST HERE

ITEM TWO
Israel’s Strategic Quandaries in Lebanon
by Shalom Lappin / Normblog / July 20, 2006
As the air war in Lebanon continues into its second week, Israel’s strategic quandaries in the north are becoming increasingly apparent. In May 2000 it unilaterally withdrew its forces from southern Lebanon to the international boundary. Hizbollah quickly entrenched itself along the border and built up a large arsenal of short and intermediate range missiles supplied by Iran and Syria. While the past six years saw no major military engagement along this front, Hizbollah frequently punctured the relative calm in the area with local katyusha barrages and occasional forays across the border, particularly in the area of Har Dov, near Syria …
READ THE REST HERE

ITEM THREE
On Israel, We Must Never Be Silent
by Jonathan Tasini / Common Dreams / July 27, 2006
When I announced that I was entering the race for the US Senate, I began with a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” I am not a professional politician whose sole goal is to accumulate power, so I have the freedom to speak my mind and I will not be silent.
The truth is that while people view talking about Israel-Palestine as the “third rail” of politics in New York, the more I think about it, the more I realize that there are a growing number of people in the Jewish community who are willing to speak up, out of love for Israel, about the dreadful occupation and the never-ending violence that is spinning out of control, in large part because … READ THE REST HERE