No shocker here, of course, but Jimmy Carter has confirmed he's on board with Obama and has been for a while:

Former President Carter says he'll endorse Democrat Barack Obama after the polls close on the final primaries.

Carter told The Associated Press on Tuesday: "The fact is the Obama people already know they have my vote when the polls close tonight." Carter spoke to the AP after addressing the Georgia World Congress Center.

Carter, a superdelegate, has remained officially neutral in the race but has offered high praise to Obama. Carter has noted that his children, grandchildren and their spouses back the Illinois senator.

Update [2008-6-3 15:37:49 by Todd Beeton]:I assume once Carter makes it official after the close of the polls tonight, he'll be counted in Obama's official delegate tally. As of now, the Obama official count is actually 30.5 to go to clinch the nomination. This number is a result of the 11 offical superdelegate endorsements announced for Obama today (8.5 superdelegate votes). DemConWatch has the details.

Update [2008-6-3 15:37:49 by Todd Beeton]:The Calitics kids tell me Jerry McCnerney just endorsed Obama, so epect him to be added to Obama's tally as well.

Update [2008-6-3 15:43:27 by Josh Orton]: And from a presser today, Harry Reid looks like he's ready to endorse...someone...and lead his caucus later this week:

QUESTION: What about for yourself, Senator? Are you prepared to endorse as early as tomorrow if the race is over tonight?

REID: I will set an example for the rest of the Senate like I try to do with everything. And something will be done this week by I think most or all delegates. They're about 18 in the Senate -- that's how many are left -- super-delegates.

...to Israel and the US on the matter of human rights in Gaza and much more.

This news was published on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 by The Guardian/UK and republished in the US by CommonDreams.Org, an internet news source. The article is entitled: Carter Urges `Supine' Europe to Break With US Over Gaza Blockade and was written by Jonathan Steele and Jonathan Freedland.

My only question after reading this article was: where is American mainstream media in reporting this news? It is a damned shame when Jimmy Carter, a former president, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and a world-class humanitarian, must go to Europe to address audiences about human rights crimes in which the US is a participant.

No, more than a human rights crime. It is "one of the greatest human rights crimes now existing on Earth" says Carter. Think the Myanmar junta, the Sudanese government, and now the Israeli/US/EU (Blair) coalition, and yes, that would be us.

Following up on his first expose of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the deadly siege, blockade, and collective punishment Israel has imposed on the Hamas controlled territory and its 1.5 million residents, Jimmy Carter spoke out again, this time in Wales, essentially turning up the volume on his previous Cairo message and more.

This report came through the French news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP), and was picked up by Yahoo News.

As Hillary continues to vow to stay in the race, the pressure and calls for her to withdraw increase.

President and Superdelegate Jimmy Carter, while hinting at an Obama endorsement, told Sky News that he expects the remaining super delegates to endorse right after the last primary and "at that point [June 3], it'll be time for her to give it up."

 "I'm a superdelegate ... I think a lot of the superdelegates will make a decision quite, announced quite rapidly, after the final primary on June 3," he told Sky News.

  "I have not yet announced publicly, but I think at that point it will be time for her to give it up," Carter said

Hamilton Jordan died today.

On May 8, 2008, Jimmy Carter wrote this short piece for Comment is Free, an internet site run by the London newspaper, The Guardian.

What is interesting about this article is that one cannot find a similar American publication of Carter's declaration about the human rights crimes going on in Gaza. Part of the problem may be that the Gaza seige is fully supported, even paid for by the United States under the Bush administration. The main issue, however, is censorship in which any news detrimental to Israel's government fails to find its way into the front pages of America's mainstream newspapers, even when terms like "human rights crime" are applied.

This news was relayed by Muzzlewatch this morning. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that:

This article called Tough Love for Israel will appear in the May 5, 2008 edition of The Nation (requires a subscription to read in full). Here is a fair use introduction. Its author, Henry Siegman, is typical of Nation authors: they have a well-developed habit of telling the truth. In this case it is about politicians who appear willing to pretend that what is going on in Israel-Palestine is not going on.

Pretending about Israel's intentions is a favorite pastime of American politicians and politicians elsewhere, and that would seem to include all of the current presidential candidates. Says Seigman below, Israel has "never had the intention of allowing a Palestinian state to come into being." Or, as Jimmy Carter put it a few nights ago on the Charlie Rose Show, "Israel wants land not peace." And Israel is apparently willing to continue killing and uprooting Palestinians to achieve its goal.