Thankfully, Israel did nothing to stop them, a move both ethically and tactically wise. The blockade has now been broken. May other boats follow.

“We recognize that we’re two, humble boats, but what we’ve accomplished is to show that average people from around the world can mobilize to create change. We do not have to stay silent in the face of injustice. Reaching Gaza today, there is such a sense of hope, and hope is what mobilizes people everywhere.”
–Huwaida Arraf.

Photo Mohammed Saber / EPA via a L.A Times article.

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From Earth2tech, who has more on utilities switching to anything but coal.

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Bloomberg

A failure of U.S. mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be a catastrophe for the global financial system, said Yu Yongding, a former adviser to China’s central bank.

“If the U.S. government allows Fannie and Freddie to fail and international investors are not compensated adequately, the consequences will be catastrophic,” Yu said in e-mailed answers to questions yesterday. “If it is not the end of the world, it is the end of the current international financial system.”

“Tell me again why that would be such a bad thing?” was a somewhat snarky response in comments on a Calculated Risk post about this. Long term, I agree, but it’s the getting to a sane world financial system that will be just a tad bumpy.

Some of the Calculated Risk commenters think big bad commie China is threatening us. Not really. The Seriously Big Deal here is Fannie and Freddie preferred stock and especially the bonds. Lots of central banks, US municipalities, and pension funds hold the preferred and bonds. Having them go splat to zero would indeed be catastrophic and could easily trigger earthquakes in hidden financial fault lines across the planet. (The common stock is already a goner and probably will go to zero or close to it.)

I find it illuminating that such blunt statements by Yu got released in tightly controlled China. Someone, I think, is sending a message.

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Why? Because coal must be stopped if we are to halt global warming.

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Their intention is to break the blockade. Israel has called them pirates. European legislators have endorsed and are participating.

They should reach Gaza sometime today. The only question is, what will Israel do?

Tikun Olam has excellent continuing coverage. Free Gaza has boat updates and streaming video.

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All summer Obama has offended his most ardent supporters, and lost countless others, while spending too much time ingratiating himself with people who will never vote for him in November.

The result, according to the Zogby poll, is telling: McCain surged ahead by five points this week, a gain of fifteen percent. Obama suffered a reversal of nearly 20 points in his favorable/unfavorable ratio. The primary reason, Zogby, said is that Obama flip-flopping move to the center was perceived by his supporters as a move to the center.

The magic is tarnished.

No doubt, at least on the Left. But Obama’s timeworn if cynical calculation is, who else will they vote for but him, especially with Nader and McKinney being nonentities this election.

Hayden is quite correct when he says progressives should and must pressure the Obama campaign to tilt leftwards and to hit McCain on the war and economy. Hard.

Else it’ll just be ten weeks of unending meaningless attack ads driven by pollsters, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing.

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