First day on the job

Jim DeMint, R-South Carolina, and David Vitter, R-Louisiana won't play ball: CNN

A wreath is good, a slower tempo and more time at home would work better: Time

Not exactly the get out of GITMO free card they were hoping for: NYTimes

Khaled Meshaal, leader of Hamas, wants to talk: BBC

Separate but unequal peaces

So now we have a pair of unilateral but unequal cease fire declarations. The first come for Israel which has ostensibly declared that it has met all of its military objectives. The second comes from the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and apparently covers all the belligerent factions that take up residence there. The second is only a week long and likely is some kind of compromise between the Gaza branch confronting the unpleasant facts on the ground and the Damascus branch that seems to view the Gazans as cannon fodder in its war on Israel. Egypt and the EU are attempting to turn the cease-fire into a more durable truce. Hamas wants the border crossings opened. Israeli wants an end to weapons shipments and rocket attacks. The Palestinian town of Beit Lahiya is a ruin, and perhaps as many as 40,000 were returning to their homes in Rafah after fleeing the fighting. Despite the airwave wars that played out during the fighting, neither side exactly occupies the moral high ground in this asymmetrical struggle which is likely to continue. Sadly, the Palestinians are just as likely to launch rockets all over again while continuing to miss an opportunity for a peaceful solution.

The Bear's market

It's that time of the year again, the annual row between Russia's Gazprom and the Ukrainian government. And it's the same old dispute with Gazprom claiming it is owed millions and Ukraine says it paid its debts. The row has led to the shutting down of gas lines through Ukraine and that's got several European countries squawking. The problems are what they always are: 1) Russia keeps unilaterally raising rates on gas to Ukraine and 2) Russia is miffed over that fact that Ukraine politically tilts westward. Interestingly enough, the Germans and the Italians account for almost half of the gas that comes into the European Union. The EU is demanding that talks over the dispute resume immediately and at least one Ukrainian official is traveling to Moscow on Thursday. Sadly, Ukraine's political leadership is not up the challenge even as this latest dispute occurs in the dead of a bitter winter. With the Eastern Orthodox Christmas arriving quickly, one hopes that the all the parties to the dispute will only find a lump of coal in their stockings.

Remainders

The funny man is off to clown school, but his opponent, the grand tradition of Monty Python's Black Knight, refuses to yield: CNN

Japan marks the anniversary of A 1,000 year old classic love story: NYTimes

At least he didn't leave his keys in it when he left it to gather dust for the next 50 years: Reuters

That had better be some really good sushi: AP

Same old song and dance

Haven't we seen this show before? The onslaught continues in Gaza as the EU helpfully calls the fighting a "failure of diplomacy" and is sending a mission to the region. Israeli tanks and heavy armor have cut off Gaza City from the rest of the strip. The military is telling the viewing audience that this operation could take "many long days." The Israeli military claims it is ahead of schedule in its current offensive. And while denying it has any plans to retake Gaza, the Israeli military has stated it has several places it means to control for now. The score board is alleging 507 Palestinian casualties and 1 Israeli soldier since the latest fighting began. This follows the deaths of four Israelis during the newest round of Gaza rocket attacks. As always, the numbers are open to contest. Unfortunately, this show is always a ratings grabber and the plot is likely to come to its inevitable conclusion leaving open the likelihood of a sequel.