I Must Say

Why private and not public?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:45:00 +0000

Here is a comment from Hillary Clinton during the Saban Forum on Nov. 30, 2012. It says it all:

"I think Israelis have good grounds to be suspicious. And I would never be one who tries to rewrite or dismiss history. The Palestinians could have had a state as old as I am if they had made the right decision in 1947. They could have had a state if they had worked with my husband and then-Prime Minister Barak at Camp David. They could have had a state if they’d worked with Prime Minister Olmert and Foreign Minister Livni."

My only question is this: why is it that such a comment is made in a private forum and not publicly?

Wipe them out....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:36:00 +0000

From the Arab Higher Committee Delegation, in February 1948. Now, pay close attention to the last paragraph of their statement. Sixty five years later, nothing has changed:

“a. The Arabs of Palestine will never recognize the validity of the extorted partition recommendations or the authority of the United Nations to make them.

b. The Arabs of Palestine consider that any attempt by the Jews or any power or group of powers to establish a Jewish State in Arab territory is an act of aggression which will be resisted in self-defense by force.

c. It is very unwise and fruitless to ask any commission to proceed to Palestine because not a single Arab will cooperate with the said commission.

d. The United Nations or its commission should not be misled to believe that its efforts in the partition plan will meet wit any success. It will be far better for the eclipsed prestige of this organization not to start on this adventure.

e. The United Nations prestige will be better served by abandoning, not enforcing such an injustice.

f. The determination of every Arab in Palestine is to oppose in every way the partition of that country.

g. The Arabs of Palestine made a solemn declaration before the United Nations, before God and history, that they will never submit or yield to any power going to Palestine to enforce partition.

“The only way to establish partition is first to wipe them out – man women and child."

Today there are officially 49 Muslim countries and 16 Christian countries. But the Arabs and Iran still believe in wiping out the only Jewish country....

From Tripoli to Damascus

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:32:00 +0000

Good analysis from Gustavo Chacra, a Brazilian journalist from the newspaper "O Estado de Sao Paulo" (translation from Google, with some intervention....):

The rebels took Benghasi in a few days. The first UN resolution against Libya imposing sanctions, was approved in early March. At that time, the opposition controlled the whole eastern part of Libya, called Cyrenaica. Two weeks later, on March 17, when Gaddafi forces were near Benghasi, the main bastion of opposition, to crush once and for all the protests, the Security Council established the no-fly zone and opened the door to the NATO bombing - which were illegal in many cases for failing to respect the text of the UN. By the, a series of army and government officials had already abandoned Gaddafi. Still, it took another five month until his rule ended.
In Syria, Bashar al Assad's regime controls the entire territory, including Hama. There hasn't been one single crack in senior government or army. The opposition, although well armed, is unable to fight against a well trained and loyal army without NATO's help. So far, the UN has not approved even one resolution with sanctions and in the Security Council, the United States hasn't brought up thepossibility of military intervention.
Taking these factors into consideration, I wonder how long it fwill take for Assad to fall, considering that Gaddafi, who was in a much more adverse situation, lasted five months? Now pay attention, I wrote Assad, not the Baath regime ... Tomorrow, I delve more on this distinction.

Israel: Are Gay Rights Used to Hide Palestinian Conflicts? (Time.com)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:13:00 +0000

The anti-Israel movement has reached a new level. Now some segments of the gay-lesbian movement are accusing Israel of promoting the rights of gays and lesbians to hide Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.

This is quite interesting given the Palestinian gays/lesbians from the West Bank take refuge where? Well, in Israel!

In the meantime, go check what is happening to gays and lesbians all over the 23+ Arab and Muslim states? I don’t need to list it here, just google it: killings by Sharia Law, honor killings, torture, prison, and the list goes on and on. In fact, you don’t need to be gay or lesbian in the Arab world today to be subject to killing, torture and imprisonment. Just see what’s going on in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Egypt (yes, still in Egypt, where Christians are being killed still this week).

And where are the gays and lesbians voices of protest? Or other voices of protest? They are focusing on Israel, now, with this new twist.

So let’s look at what’s next:

- Arab students in universities across Israel. The numbers vary from school to school with the Hebrew University in Jerusalem having over 30% of Arab students in its total student population.

Next they will say that Israel admits Arab students at universities in Israel, to camouflage Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians….

- Political rights in Israel. There are several Arab members in the parliament, some of which even defend the destruction of Israel and were present last week at the signature of the Fatah-Hamas deal in Egypt. (Could a member of the U.S. Congress sympathize with Al-Qaida and agree with acts like 9/11?)

Next they will say that political rights exist in Israel, only to camouflage Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians….

- Free media. There are several Arab newspapers, radio stations and TV. They are totally free to criticize Israel. Jewish media in Israel is free in criticizing the government.

Next they will say that the media is free only to camouflage Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians….

- Freedom of Religion. Tell me where else in the Middle East there is freedom of religion, other than in Israel? Is there a church in Saudi Arabia? When was the last time Christians where killed in Egypt? And what about the daily suicide bombings between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen?

Next they will say that freedom of religion exists in Israel only to camouflage Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians….

- Freedom of Arts. Israel has several art venues where Arabs can express themselves in every way, shape or form. Israel theater and movies have Jews and Arabs playing together, and are free to say whatever they want. Try to find in the Arab world artistic expression that criticizes the government or different aspects of the Arab culture and religion.

Next they will say that artistic freedom exists in Israel only to camouflage Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians….

As Israel celebrates 63 years since it has regained its independence, people and countries around the world still hope and act towards the destruction of the Jewish State. They never fail to come up with different ways in their attempts – whether with plain military and terrorist attacks, or with pseudo-intellectual campaigns, the latest of which is this incredible and amazingly absurd claim by some sectors of the gay and lesbian community.

Ironically, an old Arab proverb says: “the dogs bark, but the caravan moves on”. Because Israel’s values are much higher and stronger than any of its enemies and bashers, Israel will continue celebrating many more anniversaries for years to come, contributing to the humankind with its advances in science, education, literature, ethics and much more. In the meantime, the dogs will keep barking.

Happy 63, Israel!!

Palestinian Bullies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 21:31:00 +0000

Heres' what bullyonline.org says about bullies:
A bully is a person who:

- has never learnt to accept responsibility for their behavior
- wants to enjoy the benefits of living in the adult world, but who is unable and unwilling to accept the responsibilities that are a prerequisite for being part of the adult world.
- abdicates and denies responsibility for their behaviour and its consequences (abdication and denial are common features of bullying)
- is unable and unwilling to recognise the effect of their behaviour on others
- does not want to know of any other way of behaving
- is unwilling to recognise that there could be better ways of behaving.

But the Palestinian bully is even worse, because after hitting Israel, it runs to mom (the Arab League) and dad (the UN) seeking for some sort of protection after its provocation generates a reaction.

Hey Palestinian bullies, read the above and like it says, "recognize that there could be better ways of behaving" so that your people can enjoy peace and prosperity!

Glued to toilet vs. Rocket fired at school bus

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:04:00 +0000

CNN front page editor likes jokes rather than real news. Or maybe he likes better when Israel reacts to Palestinian terrorist attacks, rather than when Palestinian terrorist fire rockets at Israel.

Check the home page of CNN at 12:05 PM, April 7, after a school bus was hit by an anti-tank missile coming from Gaza. What? You can't see it there. You are right, it's not there.

Instead, the editor chose to give space to the guy that was glued to the toilet seat at a Walmart store. And life goes on...

The First Officially Western Planned and Recognized Judenrei Country

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:55:00 +0000

Maybe I am a little slow, or maybe it's something that nobody has yet realized, but in the process of debating the issue of the settlements in the West Bank, it dawned on me that all official proposals for an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians - whether the ones submitted in Oslo or Camp David, or the ones still at the US or the Quartet's drawing board - are racist in their very essence.

The idea that the Palestinian state to be established as a result of the agreement should be free of Jews, is quite racist on itself. But what is more appalling is that this idea is being supported and actually crafted by whom? By countries like the US, France, Great Britain among others, countries that supposedly are the first line of defense against racism and apartheid!

And to add insult to the injury, the media at large are the public endorsers of this plan. Think of it: many in the media that are highly critical of Israel and that often publish articles claiming that Israel is a racist and apartheid state are the ones defending a plan to have a Judenrei Palestine.

How incredible is that? Not incredible at all... it's happening just in front of our eyes! Is it possible that nobody - not one single person, has raised his/her voice to denounce this absurdity?

Time Magazine - anything goes...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 04:49:00 +0000

This week's Time magazine reflects how personal and group ideology took over large sectors of journalism and how once big name newspapers and magazines, in their desperate attempt to survive are resorting to anything and everything.

Newsweek was sold last month for $1 dollar.

Time seems to feel the heat. Their newsstands sales went down by about 35% during the second semester of 2009, and by another one third in the first months of 2010. Overall subscription went down by 17% from 2006 to 2009 and by another 6% in the first half of 2010.

Rick Stengel, Time's managing editor, its most senior editor, said this past June: "we convert information into knowledge".

But judging from the latest Time Magazine cover and corresponding article "Why Israel doesn't care about peace", it looks like Rick Stengel would better define Time's editorial guidelines as "we convert the journalists ideology into a hypothesis offensive enough to generate polemics and hopefully .... sales."

To Stengel and Vick (the author of the article, who got his five minutes of fame, and whose name will for sure fade away in journalism's history), I have one question: how many parents did you interview for your article, in order to substantiate your claim? How many parents did you interview with the following question:"How happy are you to send your children to the army for 3 full years once they reach 18 years of age."

Only distorted minds like Stengel and Vick's could have published in the front page of their magazine that Israeli parents don't care about peace. But, hey, for sure they were thinking "anything goes to save our jobs..."

Two States: one state for the Palestinians and the other for whom?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:37:00 +0000

This is from special envoy to Middle East peace talks, George Mitchell:

"They agreed that for these negotiations to succeed, [the talks] must be kept private and treated with sensitivity," Mitchell said, adding that "both Netanyahu and Abbas condemned all forms of violence that target innocent civilians. They reiterated a common goal of two states for two peoples."

Hmmmm: "They reiterated a common goal of two states for two peoples."

However, the Palestinian camp has always proclaimed that it won't recognize Israel as a Jewish State. Just yesterday Palestinian negotiator Nabil Sha'ath stated it again.

So, let me understand: Israel and Palestinians agree to work towards a two-state state solution: one state for the Palestinians and the other for....?

Now, if someone will tell me that the other is for Israelis - Jews or Arabs - then, please tell me if the future Palestinian State will also be for Arabs and Jews...

So, again, one state for the Palestinians and the other for....?

Can someone help complete the phrase and also help define the character of the Palestinian state?

Helen Thomas - A nice way to end a career

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 21:38:00 +0000

Well, sometimes one needs to be patient to wait until truth is revealed.

In this case, Helen Thomas did a good job of hiding her anti-semitism for many years.

Peace is possible if we free Gaza....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:06:00 +0000

... from Hamas:

Written in 2002 and truer day-by-day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 03:01:00 +0000

I was thinking about the useful idiots of the world, and came across this article. In light of the latest Gaza event, and the vessels carrying agitators and a horde of useful idiots, this article from 2002 says it all….
The Chorus of Useful IdiotsBy: Bruce S. Thornton
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, November 01, 2002

Lenin called them "useful idiots," those people living in liberal democracies who by giving moral and material support to a totalitarian ideology in effect were braiding the rope that would hang them. Why people who enjoyed freedom and prosperity worked passionately to destroy both is a fascinating question, one still with us today. Now the useful idiots can be found in the chorus of appeasement, reflexive anti-Americanism, and sentimental idealism trying to inhibit the necessary responses to another freedom-hating ideology, radical Islam.

Sheer ignorance is a tempting explanation for the persistent willingness of the free to attack the foundations of their own freedom and to ignore or rationalize the forces that would destroy them. Totalitarian societies are masters of disinformation, propaganda, and outright lies, the bigger the better. How many generations of starry-eyed leftists made pilgrimages to the old Soviet Union to gawk at any number of Potemkin villages and other cardboard-and-tinsel stage-sets for the socialist paradise?

So too today ignorance of Middle Eastern history and the true nature of Islamic society and values makes it easier for many to misinterpret the motives of Islamic terrorists and thugs like Hussein. Nowhere is this more obvious than in many people's interpretation of the conflict in Israel. All we hear about is a "Palestinian homeland," that simple solution that will bring peace to Israel and end the terrorist slaughter. A brilliant propaganda campaign since 1967 has sold the whole world on this specious explanation for the murder of Israelis.

Yet the history of the conflict and the words of most Middle Easterners themselves tell us that the real issue is not the Palestinians, but simply the existence of Israel itself. Long before the so-called "occupation" of the West Bank and Gaza, Israelis were subjected to incessant guerilla and terrorist assault, not to mention two full-scale military attacks. Or look at the maps adorning textbooks, insignia, and web-sites from all over the Middle East. You will not find Israel anywhere, the whole state having been erased as thoroughly as Trotsky from an old Soviet May Day photograph. Some argue persuasively that even Arafat's keffiyeh or head-dress is carefully arranged to hang in the shape of an envisioned state of Palestine that occupies all the territory now part of Israel. Israel in any shape or form is unacceptable to many in Islam, for it is an outpost of the infidel West and an intruder on lands conquered with the help of God to further his designs.

But ignorance alone can't explain "useful idiocy." As early as the twenties the true nature of Soviet communism, along with its penchant for terror, assassination, show trials, and gulags, was known in the West, and that didn't cut down on Communism's admirers. Today anyone with a computer can go to the Middle East Research Institute web site and read the vicious anti-Semitic and anti-Western drivel produced by state-run presses in the Middle East. Or those with a satellite dish perhaps can tune in Egyptian state-controlled television's miniseries dramatizing the absurd slanders of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

The facts are there, and the facts tell us that a sizable number of Islamic people see the West and its proxy Israel as its ancient enemy whose destiny is to be conquered by a spiritually superior Islamic civilization. That struggle may be waged by a secular maniac like Hussein, a homicide-bomber in Israel, or a terrorist in Manhattan, but they all are fighting the same fight, a struggle that began in the 7th century AD and whose ebb and flow must be understood from the perspective of God's time and purposes, not ours.

More factual information, then, will not help people whose beliefs are based not on reason but on a debased religious impulse. The decline of religion does not mean that the "need" for religion disappears. Most of us still crave a meaningful picture of the world and our place in it, an identification of the good and the evil, and an assurance that in the end the good (i.e. people like ourselves) will triumph. For years Communism was the opiate of the secular materialists, an apocalyptic creed which filled the chosen with assurance of their righteousness and election.

So too with anti-Americanism, a sect of that old-time Marxist religion. This doctrine knows the font of evil in the world — the West and especially America — whose deadly sins of "imperialism" and "colonialism" and "racism" have created a fallen world of suffering and exploitation, a world whose redemption depends on battling the power and influence of the wicked militarists and global capitalists. Or as one sign from last week's "anti-war" rally in New York succinctly put it, "Bush is a Devil." America is guilty and must atone for its sins by abandoning its power and pouring vast sums of money into its Third World victims, for only then will the golden age of peace, equality, and universal tolerance come about.

Recognizing these attitudes as a species of religion makes it easier to understand their illogic and incoherence. Hypocrisy, for example, the failure to live the doctrine one preaches, is a perennial bugbear of religious belief. So too with the anti-Americanists, the vast majority of whom have no intention whatsoever of living anywhere other than in the West, where they enjoy the freedom and prosperity that subsidizes their beliefs. Yet this is a minor cavil when one is so passionately concerned with the salvation of the oppressed, not to mention one's own righteousness.

Likewise with the utopian perfectionism that lurks behind most criticism of America and the West. Only a quasi-religious eternal standard of human happiness--the sort traditional religion once promised for believers after this life--could explain the nit-picking, ever more minute dissections of presumed American injustice and evil that typify the "leftist" attack on the United States. Consider, for example, the following, from a New York Times story about some videos the government has produced documenting the prosperity and tolerance enjoyed by Muslim Americans. In response to a comment by the Muslim director of the National Institutes of Health commending America's unique tolerance of diversity, a recent Harvard graduate disagreed, responding that at a rally at Harvard Square last year "I heard young people saying very hard things about Muslims."

Think about it. Days after a murderous attack by 19 Muslims driven by nothing other than sheer intolerant hatred, a time when in most human societies people would have burned, looted, and murdered in rage and vengeance, the Harvard grad thinks that people saying "hard things" about Muslims is somehow evidence of intolerance and xenophobia. In actual fact, that hard things were only "said," rather than large numbers of Muslims being beaten and murdered, is testimony to the truth of America's remarkable tolerance of cultural and religious difference. But when the standard of judgment is a religious belief in a perfect world, a world in which conflict and hurt feelings "never" occur, then America falls short.

Freedom of religion in America, however, means freedom for pseudo-religion as well. Useful idiots have a Constitutional right to display and parade their useful idiocy. But what should disturb us all is the prevalence of this sort of irrationality in what are presumably the bastions of critical thinking and healthy skepticism, our universities. It is there that the pseudo-religions of Marxism and anti-Americanism not only flourish, but choke out other alternatives. An ideological conformity redolent of the medieval church permeates everything from who gets hired to what gets taught. And that betrayal of the intellectual's calling means that fewer and fewer venues exist in which the irrational and dangerous delusions that blind us to reality — the idiocy useful to tyrants and dictators — can be exposed.

Bruce Thornton is the author of Greek Ways and Decline and Fall: Europe’s Slow-Motion Suicide (Encounter Book}. He is 2009-2010 National Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is a classicist at California State University, Fresno. He has written for many publications, published several books, and appeared at numerous media venues

Question of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 May 2010 18:16:00 +0000

The question of the day - or perhaps of the years to come - after you read what’s in this link, is how many more where removed from the U.S. Travel security list since Obama's new administration? Time will tell....

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20004263-10391695.html

Until when?....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:03:00 +0000

This morning the terrorists in Gaza - supported by the local government - launched another rocket into Israel, this time killing a farm worker.

No word from the US administration, or from the Palestinian Authority unambiguously condemning the attack.

On the other hand, the pounding on Israel continues, whether by Obama, Clinton or other White House personnel.

"Israel needs to make gestures", says Clinton. And what about strongly condemning the Palestinians for their incitement? And what about asking the Palestinians for some gestures?

"...the PA leadership has been calling on Palestinians to demonstrate against Israel’s alleged scheme to destroy the mosques on the Temple Mount"

This sort of baseless incitement is a thousand times more dangerous and prone to set the region on fire, and yet, we have heard no strong and public condemnation as we are seeing in the case of the 1600 housing units - where the issue was timing and not the essence - because as we all recall, Netanyahu excluded Jerusalem from the 10-month moratorium, which at the time was accepted and praised by the White House.

The Obama policy towards the Middle East was a failure in its first year, and if it continues this way, it will not recover from this failure.

P.S.- To CNN, a rocket falling in Israel and killing a person is no news - here's the front page of CNN online today (I am also including the image of Fox News online at the same time, where the attack is posted)

200 Christians massacred... just a sideline piece of news...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:40:00 +0000

March 7, 2010, 9:38AM

"JOS, Nigeria — Rioters armed with machetes slaughtered more than 200 people overnight Sunday as religious violence flared anew between Christians and Muslims in central Nigeria, witnesses said. Hundreds of people fled their homes, fearing reprisal attacks.

The bodies of the dead — including many women and children — lined dusty streets in three mostly Christian villages south of the regional capital of Jos, local journalists and a civil rights group said. They said at least 200 bodies had been counted by Sunday afternoon.

In Dogo Nahawa, a village three miles (five kilometers) south of Jos, residents said the dead included a 4-day-old infant. Those who survived claimed their attackers shouted at them in Hausa and Fulani — two local languages used by Muslims."

I am wondering when will the UN request that Judge Golsdtone write a report about this conflict....

A marvelous quotation by Albert Einstein

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:50:00 +0000

It's a really good one, and a friend of mine sent it to me - I thought it would be worth posting it here, but first...

But first . . .

When Paul Newman died, they said how great he was but they failed to mention he considered himself Jewish (born half-Jewish).

When the woman (Helen Suzman) who helped Nelson Mandela died recently, they said how great she was, but they failed to mention she was Jewish.

On the other side of the equation, when Ivan Boesky or Andrew Fastow or Bernie Madoff committed fraud, almost every article mentioned they were Jewish.

However, when Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, Martha Stewart, Randy Cunningham, Gov. Edwards, Conrad Black, Senator Keating, Gov Ryan, and Gov Blagojevich messed up; no one reported what religion or denomination they were, because they were not Jewish.

This is a reminder of a famous Einstein quote:

In 1921, Albert Einstein presented a paper on his then-infant Theory of Relativity at the Sorbonne, the prestigious French university.

"If I am proved correct," he said, "the Germans will call me a German, the Swiss will call me a Swiss citizen, and the French will call me a great scientist.

"If relativity is proved wrong, the French will call me a Swiss, the Swiss will call me a German, And the Germans will call me a Jew".

Iran - .... all the way

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Until Hitler was ready to launch a major attack, he bought time.

First, internally, he built the infrastructure. As years went by and segments of the population started being concerned with the direction of things with his Hitler Youth and his Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (personal bodyguard regiment), the world thought that perhaps things would change in Germany. But not only that nothing happened, Europe looked for ways to appease him. First, it was with the Munich Pact, where the British, French and Italians handed parts of Czechoslovakia to Germany in 1938. Then in 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-agression treaty.

Initially Germany invaded Poland, still in 1939.

...And in 1940 and 1941 all the wishful thinking and acting came apart when Hitler started his invasions in the Western and Eastern front.

Fast forward 70 years, and I will just make some "slight" changes to the above paragraphs....

Until Ahmedinajad was ready to launch a major attack, he bought time.

First, internally, he built the infrastructure. As years went by and segments of the population started being concerned with the direction of things with his Basij and his Revolutionary Guard, the world thought that perhaps things would change in Iran. But not only that nothing happened, the world looked for ways to appease him. First, it was with the 5+1 Nuclear negotiations, where the Americans, Chinese, Russians, British, French and Germans extended month after month deadlines for Iran to comply with the international requirements to prevent them from having nuclear weapons. In addition to that, different countries started making individual agreements with Iran, as a way to ensure that economic sanctions would not affect the Iranian regime.

Initially Iran invaded Iraq, still in 2009 (in fact today, as I write these lines).

...And in 2010 and 2011 all the wishful thinking and acting came apart when Ahmedinajad.......

Wait a minute.... we are still in 2009. There's still time to avoid history to repeat itself all the way....

Lebanon, once upon a time - but now.....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:33:00 +0000

When in Brazil, I had many Lebanese Christian friends before I moved here 18 years ago. In a sign of appreciation towards the good relations the Jewish and Israeli community had with the Lebanese Christian, I received the entire collection of speeches by Bashir Gemayel, who was assassinated by the Syrians at the age of 35, shortly after he was elected President of Lebanon in 1982.

Slowly (or perhaps not so slowly) but surely, the Lebanese Christian, once the largest and thriving population in what used to be called the "Paris of the Middle East" have been wiped out by the Muslim not just in Beirut, but in entire Lebanon.

The latest absurdity happening in Lebanon, is the inclusion of Hizbullah in the Lebanese government, and that government's authorization for the terrorist organization to hold on to their armaments and own "army".

Here's what a member of the dwindling Christian community in Lebanon had to say about this:

"The new move by PM Saad Hariri only shows that Muslims are regrouping in Lebanon brought together by a common enemy, Israel. Hariri would not have done this without the blessing of or even direction from Saudi Arabia. The US is the big sucker in this now. We just handed Hezbollah under the title of "aid to Lebanon" over $1 billion in military and peripheral weapons to use freely against Israel. And I suspect Hezbollah will soon find a way to drag Lebanon down a very nasty conflict and get that weapon in the name of "resistance."- not just because Israel remains their target, but also gives them an opportunity to neutralize the Christians of Lebanon once and for all. Two birds in one stone.

"First comes Saturday and then comes Sunday."

Then Hezbollah empowers the palestinians to march down with them and Israel faces enemies on three major fronts; Hezbollah, Hamas and the world of public opinion.

There has to be a major move to shake up the Lebanese Christians to regroup as they did in 1976 because quite honestly, the Christians of Lebanon are toast. They are about 3 steps from being told "check mate" by both the Sunnis and the Shiites.

Someone needs to keep the US from delivering the rest of installments of that $1 billion that is yet to be handed over in 2010.

Israel can but shouldn't be the only entity trying to neutralize Hezbollah. They need to find and strengthen an internal ally. The US can't and won't touch this. Europe is too influenced by the Arabs. Israel seems to be alone and isolation is not a good thing. UN is useless and words don't heal.

Time for some serious strategies."

If only the Palestinian-Israeli conflict were resolved.....

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:25:00 +0000

Yes, this is what critics of Israel say about Islamic fundamentalist terrorism: "if only Palestinian-Israeli conflict were resolved.....if Israel would just freeze the settlements.... we would have a more secure and peaceful world..."

Sure....

12/04/09 - Militants attacked a mosque during midday prayers in Rawalpindi today killing at least 40 people and wounding 83, Pakistan authorities said.....

12/04/09 - The death toll rose to 23 on Friday in a suicide bombing attack at a Somali graduation ceremony at Banadir University...The attack in Mogadishu on Thursday was carried out by a male suicide bomber dressed in women's clothing, witnesses said.Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has blamed the Islamist rebel group Al-Shabaab for the attack.

12/04/09 - Guinea's president has been flown to Morocco for medical treatment after he was shot during an assassination attempt nearly a year after he seized power in a coup, a government official said Friday. Since winning independence half a century ago from France, Guinea has been pillaged by its ruling Muslim elite. Its 10 million people are among the world's poorest, even though its soil has diamonds, gold, iron and half the world's reserves of the raw material used to make aluminum.

12/02/09 - Chechen Muslim rebels claimed responsibility Wednesday for blowing up a high-speed Russian train last week, an attack that killed 26 people, injured scores of others and raised fears of a fresh wave ofterror attacks....

11/25/09 - The death toll from the Philippines’ worst politically-linked massacre has risen to 57. The victims were abducted as they were travelling to nominate an opposition candidate for governor in upcoming elections in the Muslim province of Maguindanao

Indeed... "if only Palestinian-Israeli conflict were resolved.....if Israel would just freeze the settlements.... we would have a more secure and peaceful world..."

Dumb, Naive, Incompetent or Ill-intentioned?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:31:00 +0000

These are the people that “we” are engaging in a dialogue. Are “we” dumb, naive, incompetent or ill-intentioned?

Attached is a link to important footage of a massive arms shipment intercepted by the Israeli Navy last night (3/11/09)

The approx. 6 min. video shows the ship entering Ashdod port after it was seized and revealing the Iranian weapons found on it.

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ClipMediaID=4497352

Roughly 500 tons of weapons, rockets, and missiles was uncovered aboard the cargo vessel “Francop” flying an Antiguan flag, which was intercepted and brought to the Ashdod port.

36 shipping containers with 500 tons of weaponry were found on the ship disguised as civilian cargo, and hidden among hundreds of other containers onboard.

The naval commando force boarded the vessel and conducted an initial search. The search was conducted in accordance with the usual search protocols as dictated by International Law.

Following the initial search and after it became clear that the vessel was carrying weapons, the vessel was directed by the Israel Navy to dock at the Israeli Ashdod Naval base for additional searches and a detailed inspection of the hull’s cargo. The captain of the ship agreed to the search and the Israeli Navy conducted all its activity without any force.

Following the necessary inspections of the boat, it is expected to be released.

The “Francop”, owned by the Cypriot shipping company UFS, was carrying containers marked IRISL (Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines), as can be clearly seen in these pictures of the seized ship in Ashdod port:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/slideshow/ALeqM5h3S0DqyLu9CfgcBASy2XHOGCk0IAD9BONONG0?index=0

Under the guise of legitimate commerce, and by using ships, flags and ports of blameless countries, Iran is turning the Mediterranean into a base for its nefarious activities, with the aim of destabilizing regional security, as has recently come to light in the cases of the Monchegorsk and the Hansa India.

UN Security Council Resolution 1747 prohibits weapons export from Iran. The existence of Iranian weapons in the containers represents, therefore, a severe violation of this resolution. This violation is one of many violations of UN Security Council Resolutions by Iran. Iran continues to systematically ignore UNSC Resolutions, supplying weapons to terror organizations.

As it appears that the weapons were destined for terrorist organizations in Lebanon, it seems apparent that this is also a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Despite UNSCR 1701, the transfer of weapons from Iran and Syria to Hizbullah is continuing unmolested, including the intent to transfer new and dangerous weapon types

Changing History

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:53:00 +0000

Here's a quote from PA Prime-Minister Mahmoud Abbas today:

"Israel is working on a daily basis to Judaize Jerusalem by building settlements, not permitting (Palestinians) to build and by assaults on the Al-Aqsa mosque, like we see today," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Yemen's state-run TV on Monday.

Hmmmm..... from what I knew and from history books, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built on top of the site of the Second Jewish Temple in an attempt to "Islamize" Jerusalem.....

Israel's press office should quickly reach out to news agencies and set the record straight on this matter, and if the reaction is... : "well... this was long ago, we need to see the facts on the ground now", then perhaps Israel should hold tight and in a few centuries the facts on the ground will be that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish state called Israel. Period.

Jimmy, the provocateur

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:33:00 +0000

Because he was once a president, all the microphones are still open to him. Knowing this fact, he takes full advantage of it in order to show that he's still alive.

Some people find noble ways to be relevant. Other choose to create polemics and to be provocative in order to be relevant.

Jimmy Carter certainly belongs to the last category, and to say that the overwhelming opposition to Obama's health care plan is due to racism, is not only a statement that is an insult to the intelligence and/or to the diligence of those who took the time to learn about the health plan, and rightfully or not have objections to it, but it is also a defamation that will contribute to increase the racial divide, since now all those that oppose anything that Obama will bring to the table will be deemed as racists.

Newspapers, from the left to the right, must love Jimmy. In the last few years, Jimmy, the provocateur, made quite a good number of headlines.

Other Presidents, Democrats or Republicans, were dearly missed when they departed our world. Not so sure if this will be the case with Jimmy.

Taking Stock of U.S. Policy toward Israel

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:29:00 +0000

This is an excellent speech by David Harris, Executive Director of AJA, which I believe is worth reading:

Taking Stock of U.S. Policy toward Israel

David Harris
Executive Director
American Jewish Committee (AJC)
July 23, 2009

The following is adapted from my remarks to a meeting of the U.S. Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, attended by about 20 Democratic Senators, on Capitol Hill on July 22.

Thank you for the privilege of speaking once again before this distinguished group.

I represent AJC – the American Jewish Committee. We have been active for decades in supporting Israel and advancing peace. I would describe our outlook in the words of President John F. Kennedy, who said, "I’m an idealist without illusions."

We welcome President Obama’s groundbreaking speech in Cairo on June 4th.

We applaud his statement that the bonds between America and Israel are "unbreakable."

We praise his principled condemnation of the Holocaust denial that is all too common in Arab and Muslim societies.

We fully embrace his commitment to peace – peace among Israel, its Palestinian neighbors, and the larger Arab world.

And we share his vision of a region where "children grow up without fear."

At the same time, I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t tell this audience that we have some specific areas of concern. This is a caring critique from a friend, and we hope that these issues can quickly be put behind us.

Let me cite three.

First, in his Cairo speech, the President implied that the Holocaust was the primary reason forIsrael’s creation. That is unfortunate – and factually incorrect.

Israel was born out of an ancient vision unique in the annals of history. In the words of its Declaration of Independence, Israel "was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books."

This was understood by President Harry Truman, who defied the advice of his State Department to recognize the re-establishment of Israel in 1948.

His favorite Psalm, according to presidential historian Michael Beschloss, was Number 137: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion."

Why is this important now? Because the Arab world has long challenged Israel’s legitimacy by arguing that it is a Western implant in the Middle East, created to appease the conscience of aEurope with Jewish blood on its hands.

President Clinton encountered this view when his valiant efforts to make peace were rebuffed, as Yasser Arafat outrageously denied the historical Jewish connection to Jerusalem.

Indeed, more than any other issue, this gets to the root of the conflict. The United States must take every opportunity to reinforce Israel’s rightful place in the region.

Second, the President juxtaposed the Palestinian condition with that of black Americans and other suffering people "from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia."

Whatever its intent, this seemed to create a regrettable equivalence.

I would not for a minute deny that Palestinians have suffered. I have visited the West Bank andGaza and know that the lives of many Palestinians have not been easy.

Yet I also know that the Palestinian condition is, above all, self-inflicted. That is to say that the Palestinian people have been ill-served by their own leaders.

Where are the Martin Luther King and John Lewis, the Vaclav Havel and Lech Walesa, and the Mahatma Gandhi of the Palestinian people – individuals of visionary greatness and deep commitment to non-violence?

According to a senior British official, Palestinians are the world’s largest per capita recipients of foreign aid. Yet corruption and mismanagement have siphoned off too much from the intended recipients.

To suggest that Palestinians are the modern-day version of those who endured inescapable oppression is to give them, and especially their leaders, a free pass. Those leaders should be held accountable for failing to move Palestinian society from victimization to responsibility.

On this front, there are glimmers of hope today in the West Bank, but there remains a long road yet to be traveled. Meanwhile, of course, Gaza is in the iron grip of Hamas, which continues its implacable hostility toward Israel, and, indeed, toward the Palestinian Authority.

And third, the President, in his speech in Cairo, made a specific demand for action by only one country. He said, "It is time for these settlements to stop." Like the Secretary of State, the President made clear that he was referring to all settlements, everywhere.

The President has said that friendship entails honesty, and that he is being honest with a friend.

Yes, but among all the countries of the region, it was unusual to see our President single out only Israel – our "stalwart democratic ally," in the words of Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) – with such sharp focus.

To be sure, the settlements are an issue. We at AJC have said so more than once.

But they are not the underlying cause of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. They should be addressed in the context of negotiations, not treated as a sine qua non for talks, as Palestinian leaders are doing now.

In fact, Palestinians seem to have interpreted – or misinterpreted – President Obama’s stance as a license to sit back while Israel is forced into concessions. As President Abbas said in a revealing interview, "I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements. … Until then, in the West Bank we have a good reality. … The people are living a normal life."

In the end, Israel cannot and will not return to the fragile armistice lines of 1967. This was acknowledged by Presidents Clinton and Bush, and we hope that it will be reaffirmed.

As the late Abba Eban, an Israeli diplomat and peacemaker par excellence, said, "We have openly said that the map will never again be the same as on June 4, 1967. … The June map is for us equivalent to insecurity and danger."

Distinguished Senators, no nation other than Israel has experienced the daily trauma of more than six decades without peace. Today, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah openly call for its destruction.

No other nation in the Middle East has been a more steadfast friend and democratic partner of theUnited States.

No other nation, victorious in wars thrust upon it, has demonstrated more willingness to make painful concessions to advance peace.

The UN embraced the idea of two states – one Arab, the other Jewish – as early as 1947. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is not new. It was embraced by a majority of UN member states six decades ago.

An agreement, however difficult, remains possible today. Indeed, four consecutive Israeli prime ministers have called for a two-state accord.

Yet their Palestinian counterparts have not reciprocated, even when Prime Minister Olmert made what the Palestinians themselves acknowledged was an unusually far-reaching offer.

As Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) recently said, "I believe negotiations will be successful only with a renewed commitment from the Palestinians to be a true partner in peace."

In that spirit, why has Saeb Erekat, the PA’s principal negotiator, refused to negotiate with the current Israeli government, while holding talks with the Iranian foreign minister instead? Shouldn’t it be the other way around – spurning the Iranians and meeting the Israelis?

It’s no wonder that many Israelis are skeptical about the chances of achieving a solution. They seek reassurance that the United States, their indispensible friend and partner, stands with them in their quest for lasting peace and security.

President Obama has laudably reiterated his deep and abiding friendship for Israel on numerous occasions. Quite frankly, though, the polls show that many Israelis are not convinced.

Perhaps he could soon find an opportunity to pay a visit and speak with Israelis directly. It might do a lot to advance understanding among the Israeli public – and to reaffirm America’s belief, expressed by President Truman, that Israel is "not just another sovereign nation, but … an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization."

Thank you.

2nd Round - Bloody and Bloodless Coup

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:13:00 +0000

Honduras - where the bloodless coup happened - is expelled from the Organization of American States.

Ahmedinajad - the protagonist of a bloody coup in Iran - invites Obama for negociations.

Interesting what will be Obamas's position. Will he refuse to talk to Ahmedinajad the same way he is refusing to talk to Micheletti because, as Obama said to Micheletti "the takeover of power was not legal".

What do you think?

Bloody and Bloodless Coups

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:41:00 +0000

The Bloody Coup:

Iran's regime, ruled by the fanatic clerics, manipulate the ballots, and give the victory to Ahmedinajad. In the ensuing protests, they kill and wound demonstrators against what I call the "white gloves coup". They further arrest demonstrators and close affiliates of the candidate that should have won the election. The international community condemns the event, talks about sanctions....... nothing more than that, and life goes on....

The Bloodless Coup:

After the Supreme Court of Honduras rejects the Zelaya's - President of Honduras - request to have a referendum to change the Constitution (something that they were concerned could be manipulated, given Hugo Chavez's support for this change), Zelaya removes the Chief of the Armed Forces, whom the court ordered to protect the location where the ballots were guarded. Zelaya orders the invasion of that location, in order to proceed with the referendum against the Court's order. This is what led to the coup that removed him from power.

Not one drop of blood. You know why? Because unlike in the case of Iran, the new President has popular support.

How the international community reacts to it? In a much harsher way than in the case of Iran: the EU removes all its ambassadors, so does the Organizations of the American States which is expelling Honduras from the Organization and will boycott the country, and the United States issues a much stronger protest than in the case of Iran, and so it goes.

This is our world.....