I believe it is peace for our time... And now I recommend you to go home and sleep quietly in your beds.
--Neville Chamberlain upon signing the Munich Agreement, September 30th, 1938
Every one of the hundred million Arabs has been living for the past nineteen years on one hope – to live to see the day Israel is liquidated…There is no life, no peace nor hope for the gangs of Zionism to remain in the occupied land.
--Cairo Radio, on the eve of the 6 Day War
One never knows when aircraft come towards you what their intention is.
--Abba Eban, explaining Israel's actions before and during the 6 Day War
The United States reaps the thorns its rulers have planted in the world.
--Saddam Hussein, referring to the 9/11 attacks, September 12, 2001
Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken. Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned and this regime is on its way to annihilation.
--Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, May 9, 2008
והתורה אמרה: אם בא להורגך – השכם להורגו
And the Torah said: if he comes to kill you - rise up to kill him (first)
--The Talmud, Berachot 62B
______________________________________________________________________
World events do not happen in a vacuum.
In the history books, intentions are not remembered - only results are. If I intend to save a life by driving my car recklessly in order to reach an injured person in time and in the process run over and kill someone else...society will not be impressed that I attempted to be a hero, history will only remember the fact that I took a life.
Likewise if a nation's leader signs an agreement that sacrifices another nation in the name of peace...and that agreement not only doesn't result in peace but is a direct path to WAR - his intention is meaningless. His actions led to the destruction of innocent lives. Those extinguished lives are as much his responsibility as they are the responsibility of the actual aggressors of the conflict.
Furthermore if a nation's leader directly threatens to destroy another nation, or even to harm one single life in that nation and he has the means to do so, his intention is irrelevant. It doesn't make a difference why he says it...whether it's to distract his people from a bad economic situation or to win an election...it matters not. If someone has a loaded gun pointed at your wife, has his finger on the trigger and says to you that he is going to kill her right in front of you, are you going to take the risk that he is indeed bluffing?
Because it also follows that if you have the means to prevent the murder of your wife and you choose not to because you feel the gunman did not have the INTENTION of pulling the trigger or because you had the INTENTION of resolving the conflict peacefully - and you turn out to be wrong when he shoots her in the face - that you are nearly as culpable as the actual murderer himself. No one will care WHY you stood by and allowed her to die, all they will remember is that you had the opportunity to act but chose not to for some misguided reason.
And finally, if a weaker nation threatens to overrun a stronger nation and does not have the ability to do so what should happen? Should the stronger nation take the steps to prevent this from occurring? Or should the leaders of that country wait until their enemy actually has the means to do so? Or even worse, should they give their enemy the means to do so? It would be preposterous if they did. No one, no matter how naive, no matter what misguided intentions they had, would actually willingly give their rival the ability to destroy them, right?
Did you read the first quote in this essay? Because that's exactly what happened in 1938.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made a deal with the devil and effectively gave Hitler control of all of Czechoslovakia's vital industries and natural resources. He also gave him the courage to continue his plan to dominate all of Europe to the point that Hitler later remarked:
Our enemies are little worms, I saw them at Munich...Now Poland is in the position I wanted...I am only afraid that some bastard will present me with a mediation plan at the last moment.
In fact, if you believe this site, Chamberlain may have inadvertently kept Hitler in office and thwarted a plan to have him removed from power by his generals. You see at the time, Germany had little military might to back up their threats. A war with Britain and France at this point would prove disastrous. Hitler's generals knew this and planned to have him arrested the moment he gave the order to invade. The Munich Agreement prevented this invasion and gave his staff no pretext to have him deposed. If this is indeed a fact, than the blood of millions is on Neville Chamberlain's and the rest of the appeasers' hands.
So instead of averting the greatest nightmare of the 20th century, the wheels of history continued to turn. Evil was permitted to win the day, Germany was granted the time to continue building its war machine and the prestige of the British Empire dwindled to the point that Hitler became fearless of it. By the time the West decided to act, in defense instead of on offense, it was too late. One Holocaust, two nuclear fireballs and countless battles later, over 50 million people paid the price for Britain's lack of resolve at Munich. Chamberlain's intentions and ideals are irrelevant in the grand scheme of history. Sleep quietly in your beds everyone, your government has it all under control...
Fast forward now to June, 1967. The newly established State of Israel has fought two full-scale wars for survival, dozens of pitched battles against her Arab neighbors and has somehow beaten the odds to claim victory both times. Prime Minister of Israel, Levi Eshkol finds himself in a highly precarious situation. Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser has united the Arab states of Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq under the banner of finally destroying the 18-year old "Zionist entity" (the phrase that is still used by many Arab and Iranian leaders when referring to the as-yet-unrecognized state of Israel). Egypt was blockading Israeli shipping interests, had recently evicted UN peacekeepers from the Sinai peninsula and was mobilizing huge numbers of soldiers. All across the Middle East, state-run newspapers and radio broadcasts screamed about the impending doom that the Jews of Israel were facing. The United States and Israel did not yet have the relationship they have had in recent years and besides that, the Americans were too busy trying not to win the Vietnam War to get involved anyway.
Not willing to sacrifice Israeli sovereignty by surrendering territory and not willing to wait until his country was completely surrounded by Arab forces, Levi Eshkol decided to act.
On the morning of June 5th, 1967, 200 Israeli planes took off from various airfields throughout Israel. In what was arguably one of the most successful air campaigns in the history of warfare these planes effectively destroyed the combined air forces of all four enemy nations - mostly while they were still on the ground. With instant air superiority, Israel smashed the armies that surrounded it and more than tripled its land size. The gains it made during this war allowed Israel to eventually make peace with Egypt, previously its greatest rival and instigator of several wars against it. In addition, the divided city of Jerusalem was reunited and Jews returned to their ancient capital for the first time in 2,000 years.
Two cases. Both are situations where a militarily weaker nation threatened to destroy a military stronger nation. In one case the result was appeasement. The weaker nation (Germany) used the time it was granted to catch up militarily to the stronger nations (Britain and France). Utter disaster followed. In the other situation, the result was a preemptive strike. Israel (the stronger nation) did not allow the instigator, Egypt (the weaker nation) time to build its defenses. Israeli leaders, with the memories of the Holocaust still fresh in their minds, would not repeat the mistakes of Europe from 30 years earlier. They would not allow Egypt to fight on its own terms, when it was ready for battle. Israel would not allow Syria and Egypt to sit on her border, having their militaries trained by Soviets and getting more access every day to the latest in Soviet military technology.
This is war. This is war for survival. And in a war for survival you do not sit around and allow your enemy to fight on equal footing. If you have the advantage, you must take it. Your ideals and your intentions go right out the window when there are hordes of AK47-toting barbarians rampaging through your cities, destroying your farms, raping your women, slaughtering your children and laying waste to the society you've built up out of the sand.
Hitler said to Chamberlain: "I am going to destroy you." Chamberlain responded by giving him the tools to do so.
Nasser said to Eshkol: "I am going to destroy you." Eshkol responded by rising up to destroy him first.
Intentions are meaningless, only results matter.
If we apply this logic now to the Iraq war, the motivation for going becomes a little more understandable. Put aside any conspiracy theories or oil nonsense. Taken in the context of a post-9/11 world and with this historical background, acting preemptively should have been the only option on the table.
People often forget (or choose to forget) that Saddam Hussein had been terrorizing his neighborhood for decades and made frequent threats against America and her allies. This site has a list of anti-American, anti-British, anti-Saudi Arabian and anti-several-other-countries quotes from Hussein and his state-controlled media that span many years. Regardless of what his intentions were, President Hussein made it clear with those statements that he was clearly on the side of the 9/11 terrorists when it came to killing Americans in Manhattan, Riyadh or wherever they could be found. His statements threatened international terrorism against Americans as well as chemical and biological attacks. Here are a few select quotes, some of which were made within weeks of the attacks on New York City and Washington:
"If the attacks of September 11 cost the lives of 3,000 civilians, how much will the size of losses in 50 states within 100 cities if it were attacked in the same way in which New York and Washington were? What would happen if hundreds of planes attacked American cities?"
Al-Rafidayn, September 11, 2002 (State-controlled newspaper)
"[I]t is possible to turn to biological attack, where a small can, not bigger than the size of a hand, can be used to release viruses that affect everything..."
Babil, September 20, 2001 (State-controlled newspaper)
"The United States must get a taste of its own poison..."
Babil, October 8, 2001
This goes along with YEARS of belligerence against American and allied interests. Keep in mind, we are dealing with a dictator, who quite frankly was responsible for a LOT WORSE than Nasser was before the 6 Day War or Hitler was before WWII. The ruins of the Twin Towers are still smoldering and a genocidal maniac is talking about biological warfare and viruses. Remember, intentions are irrelevant here, only results matter.
Shall we wait to see if he is bluffing for publicity? Do we wait to see if he is serious, knowing he has already performed all the acts he is threatening us with on his own people and neighbors? Keep in mind that this man fired dozens of scuds during the first Gulf War into civilian areas of Israel which was a non-participant in the fighting. Keep in mind that he was still viewed by many Arabs as a hero for standing up to the mighty US military during the first Gulf War and living to talk about it. Keep in mind that like Hitler, he had already attempted to annex a neighbor previously. Keep in mind that even if he wasn't directly involved in the 9/11 attacks he had contributed at least $35 Million to international terror campaigns and housed an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist-training center.
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
--Sir Winston Churchill
Regardless of what weapons inspectors said. Regardless of whether or not in 2003 he posed an actual threat to you or me living in our nice American suburbs. Regardless of whether or not Colin Powell was given good or bad intelligence. Regardless of all of that, we were dealing with a very dangerous regime that either possessed or was trying to possess the means to attack the United States and its allies. The information I am sharing with you here was all publicly available at the time...and several of us who followed the news and history of the Middle East felt that regardless of what the administration said were its reasons for going to war - these facts, when viewed through the prism of history meant that preemptive action was REQUIRED.
We could either take the path of Chamberlain and seek to appease a man who told us he wanted to kill us or take the path of Eshkol and rise up to destroy him before he had the ability to.
Now we have a new President Hussein, this time in charge of the United States of America. And a new threat is rapidly approaching the breaking point. A new evil has been menacing the Middle East in the guise of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and the Ayatollahs that pull his strings. The time will soon come that we find out whether Iran is serious about incinerating Israel and instigating a nuclear war that will consume the entire Middle East. Or perhaps we will find out if Iran will simply balance out Israel's perceived nuclear deterrent and allow the Palestinians and their puppet masters to launch full-scale attacks on Tel Aviv once more.
We stand once more on the precipice of all-out destruction, with the United States in the position of Britain and Iran in the position of Germany.
Israel will never allow herself to be sacrificed in the name of mindless appeasement the way Czechoslovakia was.
But the fight will only become more difficult with every day that passes. Everyday brings Iran closer to military-equivalence to the West. Everyday brings Iran closer to the Bomb which will make the situation exponentially more precarious.
Please Mr. Obama, do not allow this day to come. Do not be fooled, like Chamberlain was, that the enemy's ambitions will end with a few regional power plays. It will start with Israel, like Germany started with the Sudetenland, but it will not end there. The goal of this evil is to overrun every last corner of the Earth where freedom and liberty are a way of life. We have been down this road before.
Although we will never know what would have happened had Israel not struck first against Egypt, we know for a fact what the result was of allowing Germany carte blanche to do as it pleased - the greatest terror the world has ever known. Therefore, in the end it boils down to two options. You can either:
1. Allow your enemy the time to prepare his attack, build his strength and eventually reach and kill you...
2. Or rise up before he can and kill him first.
It's either one or the other. The history books will only remember the results of the choice, not the intentions behind it.
The clock is ticking...
Vote for this post on BloggersBase
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Why We Fight: In Defense of Preemptive Offense
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Gilad Shalit Day
Gilad Shalit.
Born, August 28th, 1986.
Sitting in captivity in some Gaza hell hole since June 25th, 2006. Meantime, this peice of work goes home to a hero's reception.
I hope we didn't miss our chance to get him back in time for his 23rd birthday.
Speaking of which, what were you doing on your 23rd birthday? Or your 22nd? Or your 21st? Well I don't want to talk about my 21st and you probably don't either because like me you probably can't remember too much of it. Lots of fun these early-20's birthdays. Before you realize you're closer to 30 than 20. Or more than halfway to 50. Yikes.
It's a scary time in your life to be 23, you know?
If you're an American (or even an Israeli) in all likelihood you're either recently done with college or about to be done.
Scary, really.
It's time to start thinking about your future, your career. What you want out of life. Maybe you've been in a relationship for a couple of years and now it's time to start talking about whether or not your plans are in line. After all, if you're all about Medical School and she's all about looking to start a family (or vice versa) - it may be time to go your separate ways. At 21 or 22 it may not have been a big deal, but by 23...well it's getting to be decision time my friends. Lots of big decisions to be made at 23.
Big, scary decisions.
But none of that really matters if every day you wake up in the basement of some nearly-collapsing house surrounded by people who want to nothing more than to see you suffer in the name of their insanity.
Nope, no scary decisions necessary here. If they give you food today, you eat it. If they give you water today you drink it. If they beat you today you nurse your wounds. If they don't, you wonder what they're planning tomorrow.
Everyday you wish it were over. But everyday it continues, same as the day before. Same as it ever was. How many days has it even been anyway? Is it your birthday today? If it was your birthday today, how old would you be? Does it matter? What should you do today in between dealing with your captors? Should you count how many bricks are in the wall again? Should you try to sleep? Will they let you sleep? Do you even remember what normal sleep feels like?
No, not much to decide here. Not much sense in obsessing over the future when you're Gilad Shalit...and it's been more than three years since you had to make a scary decision. No worries about the future or what to do with your life or if you should go out with that girl from last night again...when your entire life consists of just getting to the next hour without having your arm broken or face punched or your body violated. No scary decisions about the future, when the future is just your next breath. Or the next burst of pain. Or the next time you'll be able to chew your food.
Man it sure ain't easy being 23.
For some though, it's easier than others.
Today on Twitter, in honor of his upcoming birthday there was a concerted effort to make #giladshalit a top trending topic.
Despite the demise of Ted Kennedy dominating the headlines, this effort was a success, indicating just how much support there is for this 23-year-old. Hopefully enough people on Twitter clicked on this topic, learned about this travesty of justice and will try to do something about it.
I'll close with a small selection of what people were saying about Gilad today on Twitter.
375 more results since you started searching. Refresh to see them
ashleyscorpio @JIDF I am praying too! In the words of Rabbi Chaim "Let's bombard heaven with prayers!" #GiladShalit less than 20 seconds ago from web
Dogmum21 @JIDF RT @ashleyscorpio: Wish there as more I could do for Gilad than just tweet about his plight. #GiladShalit // PRAY! #GiladShalit
Esty_Gluck RT @superimma #GiladShalit has been in captivity for over 1100 days and is allowed no contact with .. http://bit.ly/2nG8mY #GiladShalit
603 more results since you started searching. Refresh to see them.
scarpetablog thinking about #GiladShalit half a minute ago from TweetDeck
JoesaidTweeter FREE #GiladShalit NOW! Free #giladshalit NOW! #tweetforshalit #gilad #shalit #tweet4shalit half a minute ago from web
JewishAgency First, I want to again says thanks to all the awesome tweeple who shouted out our #GiladShalit petition: http://ow.ly/lsyY #FSUBlog less than a minute ago from HootSuite
RoytelM #in10years Criss Angel and Drake will go on Top Chef sponsored by AT&T cooking Snow Leopard for Candace Parker. Goodnight #GiladShalit Jay-z less than a minute ago from web
GiladRS RT @GiladRS #Giladshalit #Giladshalit #Giladshalit #Giladshalit #Giladshalit #Giladshalit #Giladshalit #Giladshalit #Giladshalit 1 minute ago from TweetDeck
bethanyshondark The Hebrew nation and all the world have #GiladShalit in our hearts and minds. May he find freedom well before his next birthday.
JBCarver Who is #GiladShalit you wonder & why is he a trending topic? Read about him here http://bit.ly/mobSC #FreeGilad #prisoner 1 minute ago from Seesmic Desktop
watchful1 Vancouver, Canada it's 9:04pm let's trend #GiladShalit to #1! 2 minutes ago from TwitterFon
benny428 @JIDF ROCK ON MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO YOUR SHOW!!!! BOOYAKASHA #GiladShalit!!!!! 2 minutes ago from HootSuite
txrepublican Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem Ps 122:6 Pray for #GiladShalit #Tweet4Shalit #iamthemob #TCOT #RS #Israel 2 minutes ago from twhirl
629 more results since you started searching. Refresh to see them.
rachelcravit MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH GILAD SHALIT 4 YRS. IN TERRORIST CAPTIVITY MAY HE SOON BE REUNITED WITH HIS FAMILY #GiladShalit 1 minute ago from API
jacquelinewl FREE #GIladShalit #GIladShalit #GIladShalit #GIladShalit #GIladShalit #GIladShalit #GIladShalit Bring Him Home to His Family 1 minute ago from web
JewishGayDads Hundreds gather at Western Wall to mark Gilad Shalit's 23rd birthday, his fourth one in captivity. http://short.to/o22u #GiladShalit 1 minute ago from API
Justice_For_All RT @prosam 20 Quick Tips For Aspiring Freelancers http://ff.im/-7duB9 // #GiladShalit 3 minutes ago from web
JoesaidTweeter FREE #GiladShalit NOW! Free #giladshalit NOW! #tweetforshalit #gilad #shalit #tweet4shalit 3 minutes ago from web
1419 more results since you started searching. Refresh to see them.
pinkylsb @jidf Can we keep campaign 4 #GiladShalit going beyond 2day? #prayer #america #israel #jewish #mia #pow #idf #soldier #peace 1 minute ago from mobile web
benny428 #GiladShalit!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YO MAN!!!!! KEEP HANGIN!!! WE LUV YOU!!!!!!!!!! 1 minute ago from HootSuite
arashad Free the terrorist #GiladShalit from his crimes, execute him after a fair trial along side his superiors .. please half a minute ago from web
GleaningHarvest RT: @JIDF: Plz RT! Support #GiladShalit today using the #GiladShalit hashtag all day! Help raise awareness! #Tweet4Shalit half a minute ago from TwitterFox
Katelyn_Thee is listening to David's radiocast thing .... still tweeting4shalit #GiladShalit half a minute ago from web
LeniPenny @JewishAgency Just signed the petition G_d Bless all you are doing and everyone taking a stand for this young man. #GiladShalit #FSUBlog less than a minute ago from TweetDeck
moliwo #GiladShalit is in need of freedom. One that he deserves. less than a minute ago from txt
Ain't that the truth.
Here's hoping that by birthday number 24 he's back to making "scary decisions" like the rest of us.
Good luck Gilad - stay strong, bro.
Vote for this post on BloggersBase
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A hero's welcome! Hooray for Megrahi! Hooray for Libya!
Some people just will not get it. They either ignore current events and history or just are incapable of understanding their significance.
If you hadn't already heard, the Pam Am bomber was just released because he has terminal prostate cancer. Apparently, this was done out of compassion, to give this convicted murderer of 270 people the opportunity to die, peacefully in his homeland. And so, the cultured and enlightened nation of Scotland, in a show of goodwill and understanding to the people of Libya and the greater Islamic world, decreed that Mr. Megrahi be allowed to go free as his time on this world was nearing to an end.
So there he went, flying off into the sunset...with Moammar Gadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi along for the ride. Amongst statements from Scottish Secretary of Justice MacAskill, justifying the release...
No compassion was shown by him to them. But that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him. Mr. al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power.
...and warnings from Western leaders not to make a big show of his return...
"I think it's very important that Libya knows, and certainly we have told them, that how the Libyan government handles itself in the next few days after the arrival of Mr. Megrahi will be very significant in the way the world views Libya's re-entry into the civilized community of nations,"
...the question remained...how would the Libyans receive a released mass murderer? Would they protest his crime? Would they even let him off the plane? Would they throw rotten fruits and vegetables at him?
Hey look, it's a party! Let's do some Jäger bombs! Oh wait wrong occasion, uhhh not bombs, bombs are bad...ummm...how about beer pong instead! All right!
Wooo confetti! Welcome home sport! We missed you! We love you!
And what about everybody's new bestest friend, Gadhafi? What did he have to say about the return of one of the worst murderers in history?
Great to have you back dude! Don't forget we gotta chill at the palace after-party dawg. It's gonna be off da hook ya'heard!
Actually Gadhafi didn't say that, but he did thank his "good friend" Prime Minister Gordon Brown for sending a mass-murderer back home. Gadhafi's son Seif was more direct in his statement that Megrahi's "liberation is a victory that we offer to all Libyans". Keep in mind by the way that Megrahi was not released on any appeal of his conviction. He was released on grounds of compassion. The Scottish government was essentially saying: "We still think he killed those people but we're going to let him go anyway because we feel bad for him".
And bingo, hero's welcome. Flags, flower petals and embraces with the leader of the country.
But wait a minute. Didn't everyone tell the Libyans to behave? After all...
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had specifically asked Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi not to give al Megrahi a celebratory welcome, Brown's office at 10 Downing Street said.
Brown wrote a letter to Gadhafi, delivered to the Libyan Foreign Ministry on Thursday, asking the Libyans to act with sensitivity with regard to al Megrahi's return.
Hello? Moammar? You there? Your "good friend" TOLD you not to do this! Why, it's almost like...you don't CARE what your new English-speaking friends think of you. Like you don't care what anyone thinks as long as you get what you want. That's not very nice Moammar. You've made Mr. Brown and Mr. Obama very very very upset. I mean, they SPECIFICALLY ASKED you not to do this. You can absolutely FORGET about being invited to the White House to play on Barack's new slim Playstation 3 now. Just forget it!
I mean, what a shocking turn of events. A convicted mass-murderer receives a hero's welcome in his Middle Eastern country while the truly enlightened Western leaders are humiliated.
Except that it's not shocking at all. This is what happens. How many times do we need to see these cheering, taunting crowds who mock and ridicule the naive idiots that release killers back into society? How many times do we have to act "shocked" and "disgusted" that these absolutely sick societies embrace murderers and terrorists as their ultimate heroes? How many times is it going to take before we wake up and realize that it's not just propaganda, it's not just the government news stations. It's the people themselves who live in these countries that support terrorism. No, not all Libyans are terrorists. Not all Palestinians are terrorists. Not all Iranians want to obliterate Israel. But so many of them support terrorism and nuclear annihilation that it is impossible to ignore.
And of course our "leaders" react with shock and outrage as If they could never fathom that a Middle Eastern dictatorship could ignore their demands.
Obama described the scenes at Tripoli airport as "highly objectionable", and the White House warned the Libyan government that it risked a rift between the two countries if there is any repetition of the hero's welcome for Megrahi. Gibbs said the US would be watching what happens next. It wants Megrahi held under house arrest. Part of the US anger is because Libya snubbed a plea by Obama not to award him a hero's welcome.
Wow I can't WAIT to see "what happens next". What will the consequence for this "snub" be exactly? Sanctions? Or much more likely just a bunch of huffing and puffing and then...back to begging the Islamic world for forgiveness for supporting Israel.
This isn't the first time these terrorist-worship-fests have happened either.
It happened when Samir Kuntar, murderer of five people including a 4 year old received a hero's welcome in Lebanon
It happened when Yasir Arafat was applauded at the United Nations, despite being responsible for thousands of dead Israelis and Palestinians
And it even happens when the perpetrators are not in attendance, as during the recent Fatah "conference" where notorious murderers Dalal Mughrabi and Khaled Abu-Usbah were honored as heroes and martyrs
How can we ignore these images? How can we refuse to learn from these events? How our leaders be so naive, so blind, so pathetic as to continue making these deals, knowing they will be continuously humiliated?
These people are not our friends. These societies do not respect compassion and understanding. They respect strength, power and resolve. Come on Gordon and Barack...you think they care about your "victims sensitivities" or your "civilized community of nations" ? You naive, ignorant fools. They are laughing at you today! They are thanking you for your complete ignorance! They delight in making blockheads out of you. They see you as buffoons, as clowns, as pathetic excuses for leaders. As idiots, as suckers to be taken advantage of. And for once, I can agree with the terrorists and their supporters. Because you see, in the final insult, as if a hero welcome for a murderer wasn't bad enough - present at the celebrations were SCOTTISH FLAGS.
That's right, before the plane doors opened and the confetti and green flags of Islam started flying, the crowd, in an ultimate display of mockery...actually waved the emblem of the very nation that this attack took place in.
"Specifically asked" to behave indeed.
When will people start to get it?
Vote for this post on BloggersBase
Saturday, August 15, 2009
A taste of what's to come...
Radical Muslim cleric among 21 killed in Gaza clashes
GAZA CITY, Gaza (CNN) -- A radical Muslim sheikh's call for the creation of an Islamic emirate in Gaza sparked clashes with Hamas forces that left 21 people dead and injured at least 121 others.
Hamas forces blew up the home of Sheikh Abu al-Nour al-Maqdessi, leader of the radical group Jund Ansar Allah, or Soldiers of the Partisans of God, Hamas sources said.
"Give us a homeland! End the evil Israeli occupation! The IDF is worse than the SS!"
The group posted a statement on the Web site announcing the establishment of the Islamic emirate in Gaza and proclaiming al-Maqdessi "the commander of the faithful."
"We only want peace! We only want to live normal lives like the rest of you!"
The statement declared that armed forces in Gaza should unite under him. It urged Muslims everywhere to support the "young emirate" by providing money, weapons and men because "this is the hope of the Muslim nation in raising the banner of monotheism in Palestine and to liberate all the lands and purify Al-Aqsa mosque from the filth of the damned Jews."
"Zionism is racism! Israel is bad! Give us our own country and end the apartheid!"
The group accused Hamas of not being Islamic enough, saying they care more about pleasing "tyrants" than "obeying God."
"Tear down the wall! Grant us right of return to our ancient villages that we just remembered were built where Tel Aviv is today! We promise we'll be good and treat you with respect!"
This is what's ahead for Israel and "Palestine" if we give into the world's demands. You see it's not just about violence against Jews (although it's mostly about that) - it's violence against each other. Fatah fights Hamas which fights itself which fights Fatah which also fights itself and they all fight the Jews. The Arab and Persian world watches as their Palestinian puppets keep Israel occupied while destroying themselves. Europe, the UN and the Americans cry crocodile tears and dump billions of dollars of aid money into "helping" these poor people blow themselves up, destroy mosques and generally do all the things (and much worse) they condemn Israel for doing.
And all across the world, college students, peace activists, professors and people who call themselves liberals line up to protest in support of this insanity.
You want Palestinian statehood? You think you're going to have a pluralistic society where children grow up happy and kicking soccer balls around and eating giant shawarmas and falafels?
You are wrong. You're either misguided because you've bought into the other side's propaganda or you ARE the other side.
This is what happens, this is the end result. So when you say you want an "independent Palestine" - inevitably what you are really saying is...
You want beheadings for selling land to Jews.
You want summary executions of innocent men women and children.
You want torture in the name of politics.
You want reduced rights for women, honor killings and sharia law.
You want an Islamic caliphate.
You want chaos, upheaval, death, destruction and violence...not for Jews but for PALESTINIANS. It's important to remember that in the one Palestinian-controlled place that is cleared of settlers there is regularly Palestinian-on-Palestinian violence...MUCH more so than in the West Bank or Israel proper. It's not just about the rights of Jews and a Jewish civil society, it's about the rights of the Palestinians and a civil society for all. These kinds of things just don't happen in Israel or the West Bank. But they do happen, with regularity in the Gaza strip.
This is the future guys, this is what's coming, take a good look at it, and love it because you've created it.
Vote for this post on BloggersBase
Friday, August 14, 2009
No comments necessary
From the recent "Fatah conference", here is the full text of the plan they ratified. Emphasis, italics, asterisks and bold added by me.
-----------------------------------------------------------
FULL TEXT OF FATAH POLITICAL PROGRAM AFTER IT WAS RATIFIED BY FATAH
CONFERENCE
As published in al-Ayyam Translation provided by The Jerusalem Media &
Communications Center
The political program said the continuation of negotiations without achieving real progress within a set time ceiling constitutes a danger on our rights and becomes foul play that allows Israel to use the negotiations as cover up for the continuation of settlements and consolidation of the occupation. The program defines eleven rules in order to engage in negotiations with Israel and outlined five options in case of the failure of the current dialogue with Hamas and ratified four steps to confront the
siege imposed on Gaza and talked about seven forms of struggle.
Fatah Movement rejected the alternative homeland in Jordan and refuses to sign any agreement that does not lead to the release of all prisoners. Fatah stressed on rejecting the principle of forceful resettlement or the calls for the alternative homeland: there wont be resettlement in Lebanon and there wont be an alternative homeland in Jordan.
Fatah stressed on serious work towards the release of all prisoners and we will not sign any peace agreement until all prisoners are released. Fatah stressed on the independence of the movement in the context of the PLO and the PNA.
The political program of Fatah pointed out that in order to avoid a situation where the negotiations become foul play and waste of time; we have to make sure that the PLO abides by the following rules in order to engage
in the negotiations:
1- To link the negotiations process with real progress on the ground according to clear and concrete indicators, mainly the complete halt of settlements especially in Jerusalem and to stop changing the features of Jerusalem and to stop the Judaization process of Jerusalem and these are two conditions that must be met in order for resumption of any peace negotiations; we need to ensure also that Israel end its incursions, arrests, assassinations, and the end of the siege imposed on our people in Gaza, and the removal of the checkpoints in the West Bank, and the withdrawal until the September 28, 2000 borders as a first step towards withdrawal until the borders of June 4, 1967; these are clear and concrete indicators that must be seen on real grounds and to link progress in negotiations with achieving the above mentioned steps and measures.
2- Negotiations will be on the basis of international legitimacy and its main resolutions (181, 194, 242 and 338) and in the context of the Arab Peace Initiative, as long as the continuation of negotiations meet our interim and strategic goals.
3- To continue work towards holding a new international peace conference that consolidates our rights and pushes towards quick negotiations that result in a peace agreement that achieves our goals.
4- To insist on setting up a clear and binding time table and a time ceiling for the negotiations.
5- To reject delaying negotiations over Jerusalem and the refugees cause or any of the final solution issues.
6- To reject the idea of the state with temporary borders.
***7- To totally reject recognizing Israel as a Jewish state in order to protect the rights of the refugees and the rights of our people inside the Green Line.***
8- To insist on international participation during the negotiations and on a mechanism for arbitration upon the eruption of a dispute when implementing the agreements and this mechanism should be binding for both sides.
9- To insist on international monitoring and an international peace keeping mechanism to guarantee the implementation of the agreement.
10- Our success in achieving our goals through negotiations requires a national professional committee capable of negotiations that will remain under the PLO supervision and to be monitored by a higher committee which
should include the factions and Palestinian competent figures and another Fatah Committee to follow up the negotiations and to submit its reports to Fatah Central Committee and Fatah Revolutionary Council.
11- We must head to popular referendum to adopt the peace agreement that will be reached through the final status negotiations.
Fatah defined five options that it will adopt in case the current dialogue with Hamas fails. Fatah said that the continuation of the split between the two parts of the homeland constitutes a threat to the fate of the national cause of the Palestinian people and Hamas bears responsibility for the continuation of the split; we have to move forward to achieve success in comprehensive national dialogue, mainly with Hamas, on the basis of ending the split in Gaza and the establishment of a national reconciliation government that organizes concurrent presidential and legislative elections and unify the security services as national services that protect the security of the homeland and the citizen and to handle the traces of the
split and achieve national reconciliation and release of the detainees. Fatah stressed that the failure of the dialogue because of Hamas intransigence does not downplay the importance and priority of the dialogue and its continuation, but forces Fatah to adopt alternative options:
First: To restructure Fatah Movement in Gaza as deemed by the current situation and provide full support to our organization in Gaza to confront the split.
Second: To push the cadres and members of Fatah in Gaza to reinforce popular action and mobilize the Palestinian masses to confront the split and dictatorship.
Third: To expose the measures of Hamas; these measures which are not part of our Palestinian traditions and norms, and the crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
Fourth: To demand Arab security support in Gaza Strip during the interim phase.
Fifth: To reinforce media action in the Arab and Islamic street to expose the policies and measures of Hamas.
With regards to ending the siege imposed on Gaza, Fatah outlined four steps:
1- to reinforce the steadfastness of Gaza in face of the siege and grant it priority in national support through the finances of the PNA and international; grants and to solve the urgent problems of Gazans who reside abroad (students and patients).
2- To launch an international humanitarian campaign against the siege and the attempts to cause famine in Gaza and to inform the world about the crimes against humanity that Israel commits against the citizens in Gaza and
to link the negotiations with Israel with the condition of ending the siege.
3- To start a process of gradual dismantling of the linkage of the Palestinian economy with the Israeli market, especially in electricity, fuel, gas, basic food items and replace them with Egyptian, Jordanian and Arab markets.
4- to work on implementing the international agreement on Rafah Crossing and try to develop the agreement in a manner that does not give Israel the chance to control the crossing or the chance to close this important crossing.
Fatah adopts all legitimate forms of struggle along with clinging to the option of peace without limiting the options to negotiations to achieve peace. Among the forms of struggle that can be exercised with success in the current phase to support and activate the negotiations or to act as alternative to the negotiations if the negotiations don’t achieve their goals:
a- To mobilize popular struggle against settlements and its successful modern form is the continuous confrontation in Bil’in and Ni’lin against settlements and the wall, and to save Jerusalem and reject its Judaization. We have the task to mobilize all citizens to engage in the activities and to achieve Arab and foreign popular participation and offer all support from
the PNA apparatuses in order to make them succeed and Fatah popular and official leaders need to lead the most important activities.
******b- To be creative in finding new forms of struggle and resistance through popular initiatives and other initiatives by the cadres of the movement and to stress on the determination of our people to remain steadfast and resist in accordance with the legitimate norms and laws.******
c- To boycott the Israeli products inside the territories and abroad through popular moves, in particular commodities that have a local alternative and exercise new forms of civil disobedience against the occupation and work to escalate an international campaign towards boycotting Israel and its products and its institutions through making use of the experience of South Africa.
d- To pose and discuss Palestinian strategic alternatives if it is not possible to achieve progress through the current negotiations, including poising the idea of the unified democratic state that rejects racism, hegemony and occupation, and to develop struggle against Israeli Apartheid and Racism or return to the idea of declaring the state on the 1967 borders and other strategic alternatives.
e- To continue tireless work towards the release of the prisoners and detainees and end the external siege and the internal checkpoints and achieve freedom of movement.
f- To return to the UN and the Security Council and demand that they assume their responsibilities in ending the conflict and ending the occupation and to continue work towards the issuance of Security Council resolutions on the basis of the Seventh Chapter of the UN Charter which carry the binding character.
g- To regain our direct and strong relations with the Israeli peace camp and reactive it to work for the sake of a just peace without confusing this with normalization which is rejected as a policy under the occupation.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Source: Independent Media Review Analysis (IMRA)
So to recap:
1. Jersualem = Judenrein
2. Israel is not a Jewish state
3. Hamas must be exposed for their terrorist methods
4. To "mobilize popular struggle" and to be "new and creative" about it
5. No negotiations until all Fatah prisoners (many of which are convicted murderers of civilians) are released
6. No normalization of relations.
These are their own words. I copied the entirety of the plan and left nothing out. This is what Fatah, the "moderates" are planning to do.
No need for any pithy comments here - the text speaks for itself.
They are TELLING YOU WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO. Can you afford not to believe them?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
This just in: FATAH no better than HAMAS
In the Middle East, it's entirely unsurprising to realize that people you were told were moderate are really just as bad as the extremists. We've documented this in the West Bank and Gaza several times in the past.
Here's the latest example from the Jerusalem Post:
Hamas on Monday accused the Palestinian Authority security forces of torturing one of its supporters to death in a detention center in the West Bank.
Oh really? That's odd...aren't these the guys the Israelis are supposed to be negotiating with?
He was arrested last June by the PA's General Intelligence Service on suspicion of membership in Hamas.
Well if ever there was a crime worthy of arrest, that's it I guess...
PA security officers claimed that an initial investigation showed that Hamadeh had committed suicide.
But the man's older brother, Muhammad, strongly denied the claim, saying that Hamadeh could never have considered committing suicide because he was religious.
Hamas also dismissed the claim, saying Hamadeh, like most Hamas-affiliated detainees, had died as a result of brutal torture.
Hamas legislator Salah Bardaweel said that "every Palestinian child has by now heard of the various torture methods used by the Palestinian security forces."
Wow Salah, every Palestinian child? Are you asserting this isn't the first time that the wonderful Fatah-run, Palestinian Authority, darling of Europe, the UN and the West has done something like this?
That can't POSSIBLY be true, can it??
Hamadeh is the second detainee to die in a PA prison since the beginning of the month. On August 4, a top Hamas operative, Kamal Abu Toyamah, died in a Jordan hospital shortly after being released from a PA detention center in the West Bank.
Abu Toyamah was arrested by PA security forces in September 2008, but was released two months ago after a serious deterioration in his health.
His family and Hamas also accused the PA security forces of torturing him while he was in detention.
At least six Palestinians have died in PA detention centers in the past two years. Hamas and human rights organizations estimate that up to 1,000 Palestinians are being held without trial by Abbas's security forces on suspicion of membership in Hamas.
Ladies and gentlemen, these are the people Israel is expected to negotiate with. These are the people we're supposed to tell families in the West Bank to stop having babies for. These are the people we're supposed to uproot innocent men women and children for. There are the people we're supposed to trust.
And it's not like this is something new.
Fatah is responsible for two intifadas and the deaths of thousands of Jews and Palestinians alike. Just in May, barely three months ago, Fatah sentenced a Palestinian to death for selling his land to a Jew, a common practice for Fatah in the West Bank. This goes along with numerous reports from the recent Gaza war of Hamas blowing away dozens of Palestinians for being members of Fatah and more recently stealing UN ambulances. An event that the UN itself is so scared to admit is true, that they've resorted to putting up undated pictures of the alleged ambulances still in their custody.
I mean, is there anything more sad or pathetic than a victim, in fear for their own safety, doing everything possible to exonerate the perpetrator?
Are you starting to get the picture yet? All the world does is demand, demand, demand from Israel that they negotiate with people who can barely refrain from killing their own citizens for five minutes. These are the people who the peace activists want and expect us to be friends with. I guess it's Israeli settlements in the West Bank that make Hamas and Fatah slaughter each other like a band of rabid hyenas. It must be those awful Jewish highways, farms and irrigation systems that make a Gaza father bludgeon his daughter to death in an Islamic "honor" killing. Or cause Hamas to prevent ambulances from taking sick Palestinians to ISRAELI HOSPITALS. Everywhere you look, everyday there's another unbelievable story about one Arab killing another Arab and blaming a Jew for it. Everyday it seems to get worse.
Because you see, in the Arab Middle East, if you're not a camel or a sand dune, you've probably got some Palestinian or Jewish blood on your hands.
There is just NO ONE for Israel to talk to here. No one.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
In the end...it doesn't even matter... #iranelection
Tehran, I believe, is ground zero of a civil rights movement that will leave no Muslim or Arab country, or even Israel, untouched.
--Hamid Dabashi, of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University
The unrest in Iran makes me green with envy.
--Gideon Levy, Haaretz reporter
However, we will not abandon the great achievements of Iranian scientists. I too will not suspend uranium enrichment.
--Mir Hussein Mousavi, recent loser of the Iranian presidential "election"
Let's not fool ourselves over here.
There is a misconception flying around the West that the recent "election" in Iran was between the forces of good (Mir Hussein Mousavi) and evil (Mahmoud Ahmedinejad). The subsequent protests, violence, chaos, death and destruction that erupted were seen as an uprising of civil rights for the oppressed Iranians who yes, deep down inside just want to live in peace and harmony and shop at the Gap and Walmart just like the rest of us.
Not so fast my friends.
While it's easy to get caught up with the hype and excitement of a seemingly never-ending stream of young protesters, marching through the streets of Tehran chanting Allah-u Akbar, kicking over cars, setting fire to buses, fighting with soldiers and police...wait a minute, this isn't peaceful at all! It kind of looks like those anarchists who went bonkers in Seattle back in 1999.
The American Revolution...this isn't
On Youtube, videos of the chaos began popping up almost immediately. And all across the Twitter-verse, people anxiously checked online as @Change_For_Iran kept us enthralled with updates, allegedly from downtown Tehran about protests and riots breaking out. With posts like "tear gas #iranelection" and "my eyes are burning hard to keep them open #iranelection" Americans and other Westerners were able to follow along with up-to-the-minute updates from Iranians being chased by club-wielding police from the comfort of their own living rooms. As unlikely as it is that someone being chased by Iranian Revolutionary Guards would stop to type out a pithy "Tweet" - it didn't stop tens if not hundreds of thousands of young Westerners from jumping entirely onto the "support Iranian freedom" bandwagon.
Facebook statuses declared their solidarity for the "green movement" in Iran. Profile pictures were colored in green in solidarity. To this day (nearly two months after the elections) the #iranelection hashmark on Twitter is still a top-trending topic. "Free Iran" and "Where is my Vote" protests broke out all over the world and continue to this day. Pundits on both sides of the political spectrum delivered rousing, breathless pronunciations that a new day was dawning in the Middle East and a new, lovely, tolerant Iran would emerge from this chaos, led by the open-minded, tolerant, lovely Mir Hussein Mousavi. America, especially young Americans had fallen in love with a Persian for the first time since Aladdin.
First thing's first - this "election" was a sham regardless of who won, how they won, how much they won by or how rigged the election was.
There is NO democracy in Iran. There never has been.
Did that register? In case it didn't, let me say it again and I would ask you to please say it with me.
THERE IS NO DEMOCRACY IN IRAN. PERIOD.
Regardless of who "won" this "election" - the only prize was the right to be the mouthpiece for the mullahs and ayatollahs and sheiks and scum of the Earth that dictate the day to day lives of all the Iranians, Hizballah and lately, Syria. The "president" of Iran does NOTHING. The real power in a theocracy like Iran comes from the THEOCRATS, not the winners of these absurd contests that do nothing but create an illusion for their subjects that they have some kind of say in their daily lives. It's a joke. It's a scam. It's meaningless. It didn't matter if Ahmedinejad won by a million votes or 100 million votes. It didn't matter if Mousavi won. In the end, all they do is what the Ayatollah tells them to do.
But what of the great reformer, Mousavi? Perhaps he could exert some kind of reformist, positive influence on his ayatollan masters during conversations with them?
From a Weekly Standard posting before the election:
In 1981, when Mousavi first appeared, UPI explained that "Appearances aside, Mousavi heralds a more vigorous propagation of the radical Islamic foreign policy of exporting Iran's revolution." In 1987, Reuters quoted Mousavi at a demonstration in Tehran saying "Tomorrow will be the day we step on the Great Satan. Tomorrow is the time for America to see our iron fists."
Uh-oh. This doesn't look good...
Iranian Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi yesterday called Israel a "cancerous tumour" and said the Palestinian move to accept UN Resolution 242 would anger Muslim revolutionaries.
Oof.
In 1989, Mousavi called for Salman Rushdie to be killed.
Ouch.
From his profile on about.com
In that 1981 interview, Mousavi defended the taking and holding of American hostages by Iranian militants for 444 days as serving the revolution’s purpose. “It was the beginning of the second stage of our revolution,” following the overthrow of the shah, he said.
Well, that's not very liberal. Or moderate. Or anything short of completely insane.
But in all honesty, these quotes and incidents are mostly from the 1980's. What about the fact that unlike Ahmedinejad, he has not denied the Holocaust? Surely his statements on this topic at least will be clearly sympathetic to the 6 million Jews who had their lives snuffed out by a similarly evil ideology to the one he used to subscribe to but now allegedly doesn't.
From Der Speigel:
SPIEGEL: President Ahmadinejad does not believe that there is historic evidence of the mass murder of the Jews. Do you also feel that more clarification is needed?
Mousavi: We have a cemetery in Tehran where Polish immigrants are buried. They fled to Iran to escape the injustices at the time. Something must have happened.
Wow! What rousing support! "Something must have happened" indeed! Jews had to flee from "injustices" apparently. That's an odd way to describe a murder...
In local news today, a convenience store clerk was the victim of an injustice during an armed robbery. Witnesses say the alleged perpetrator pulled out a gun and injusticed him when he refused to open the cash register. Full story after these words from our sponsor!
Ok, but at least he doesn't politicize the Holocaust to advance his agenda like Ahmedinejad, right?
SPIEGEL: Your president has repeatedly denied that the Holocaust happened, and that the Germans killed 6 million Jews. Do you, too?
Mousavi: It is not a question of the number of people killed. Nor is it a question of who committed the crimes. No matter who was responsible, we condemn them for it. But the issue is this: Why should the Palestinians have to pay for what happened back then in Europe?
What does he mean “no matter who was responsible” – the GERMAN NAZIS AND THEIR ALLIES were responsible. Who else could be responsible? Maybe the Soviets? Maybe the Americans? Or maybe Jews brought it upon themselves? RIDICULOUS! And oh yes, the Palestinians shouldn’t "pay" for the crimes of the Nazis. That old story again.
Nevermind the 4,000 year connection that Jews have had to Israel since Biblical times. Nevermind the fact that there was a contiguous Jewish presence in various Israeli cities (including Jerusalem) that go back to the Roman era, predating any Arab or "Palestinian" invasion during the 600's. Nevermind all that. Because inevitably the path we are on, takes us to...
SPIEGEL: Do you recognize Israel?
Mousavi: No, I do not recognize it. For the past 20 years, we have called for a solution to the problem by taking a poll of all Palestinians. This referendum should also include Jewish and Christian Palestinians living in the region. They should decide whether they wish to live in one state or two states.
Oh wow thank you so much Mr. Mousavi! You'll ALLOW the "Jews and Christians" - who in your version of "Palestine" are a hopeless minority - to have their land and sovereignty ripped out from underneath them by the overwhelming Muslim majority in one of your absurd "elections" ! How pragmatic and moderate of you! Please notice by the way that he lumps the Jews and Christians together, continually reaffirming the notion that this is a war between Islam and everyone else, not just Jews and Israelis.
And yet, as long as he frames his worldview as being sympathetic towards the plight of the Jews "just not at our expense" - you're likely to find gullible buffoons and self-haters in the West who will fall for it. His interview with Der Speigel shows he is well versed in the practice of creating moral and political equivalency between a truly democratic Jewish state and a harshly autocratic theocracy like his own or the one he and Hamas would like to replace Israel with.
And yet all across America and Europe, young college students wear green in solidarity. Haaretz and New York Times and Huffington Post reporters rush to support this wonderfully liberal "green revolution" that they've created in their heads. Muslim and Iran apologists highlight this supposed outbreak of human rights as if to say "here look, we don't need the stupid Jews or Americans to show us how to do this, we can do it ourselves just as well!" But's it's not the same. It's an illusion.
Because what the apologists don't tell you, what the "peace activists" fail to grasp and what this ignorant administration cannot realize is that green isn't the color of Iranian freedom.
Green is the color of Islam.
It is the color of Hamas. And Hizballah. And the Muslim Brotherhood. And the Taliban. And al Qaeda.
This is not democracy breaking out in Iran. These aren't moderates fighting extremists. It's just one faction of extremists fighting another faction. Like Hamas VS Fatah. Or the Shiites VS the Sunnis. In the end, it doesn't even matter which side wins. These young Iranians getting beaten and killed in the streets are suffering for nothing. You are supporting them for nothing. They are fighting for an illusion. The results of the election are insignificant because even before the first "vote" was cast, the outcome was certain:
Continued pursuit of nuclear weapons. Continued hatred and incitement of Jews and Christians. Continued rule by the mullahs and ayatollahs. Mousavi is just different packaging of the same evil.
And you're all falling for it.
Vote for this post on BloggersBase
Friday, August 7, 2009
And on and on
It just doesn't stop.
Report: Iran authorities kill 7 lawyers
Seven lawyers in Tabriz and Mashhad who had been representing young Iranians detained in post-presidential election protests have been killed by the Iranian authorities in recent days, according to sources in Iran.
What the hell.
Three of them then died from injuries suffered during their detention. They were so badly beaten that their families could barely recognize their faces, this reporter was told.
The other two - prominent figures in the local community - were executed, having been sentenced to death on trumped-up charges of drug possession, the sources said.
In similar cases in Mashhad, in eastern Iran, two more lawyers were hanged on fabricated charges of drug trafficking, the sources said. Both were known to have been representing young students detained by the Iranian authorities.
Unbelievable. And it follows on the heels of the Iranians shutting down the press...
A press organization in Teheran was shut down on Wednesday night, apparently by Iranian authorities. According to a Reuters report, armed men stormed the offices of the Association of Iranian Journalists, and then closed them down.
The International Federation of Journalists was quoted in the report as condemning the raid, as well as calling for the Islamic republic to release over 40 journalists currently held in prison.
"Government actions against media and journalists erode further the credibility and standing of the Government in national and the world opinion," an IFJ statement read.
You have to wonder though, what "credibility" does the Iranian government even still have at this point? Or ever for that matter. Ridiculous.
Seriously though, can we just get two hours of peace from this insanity? Honestly. Don't these people even need a break? And what is going on lately with this stuff, it's just a constant, unending stream of it.
It's not just my imagination right? There definitely seems to be an uptick in this chaos lately...
Where is the UN on this by the way? Western democracies? These insane dictators are just months away from the Bomb...when is the time for intervention? For God's sake don't just sit around waiting for the inevitable, DO SOMETHING you idiots!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
And the beat goes on...
And now fresh from our Tisha B'Av call to action, a sampling of some recent news stories from around the world, mostly from Israel's neighbors and cousins.
First from the Palestinian territories...
Blast injures 50 at wedding for nephew of Fatah leader
Report: Fatah to oppose recognizing Israel as Jewish state
Kids TV praises Gaza mom's suicide bombing
Rights groups decry Gaza 'honor killing'
Hamas blocks 50 from leaving Gaza
Got all that? It's like a Religion-of-Peace-a-thon the last few weeks. Here's a few briefs from each:
50 Palestinians who were supposed to cross into Israel from the Gaza Strip Tuesday, mostly to receive medical treatment here, were repelled by Hamas security forces at the Beit Hameches Junction just west of the Erez Crossing in the north-eastern Gaza Strip.
And the beat goes on...
Riyashi killed four Israelis in a 2004 attack at the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel.
In the video, an actress playing her prepares explosives for her mission, ignoring her children's questions about what she is doing. "Mummy, what are you holding in your arms -- a toy or a present for me?" her daughter asks. Her daughter then sees a news report about the suicide bombing and sings, "Only now I understand what was more important than us."
...still moving strong on and on
"Three years ago, we did a study on children in Gaza between the ages of 12 and 14, and we asked them, what would you like to be when you are 18?" Sarraj said. "At that time, 36 percent of boys said, 'I would like to be a martyr,' and 17 percent of the girls said the same."
And the beat goes on you'd better believe it,
still moving strong on and on...
Two years ago, the station created a Mickey Mouse-style character that encouraged "violent resistance" against Israel and simulated the use of an AK-47 and grenades.
The beat goes on,
the beat goes on,
the beat goes on...
A 27-year-old mother of five was bludgeoned to death with an iron chain by her father last week in Gaza in what human rights groups report was an honor killing.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights, another Gaza-based organization, said hospital forensic reports show the woman's body showed signs of torture and that she suffered a skull fracture from being hit by an iron chain.
Honor killings usually target female victims of rape, women suspected of engaging in premarital sex, and women accused of adultery. They are murdered by relatives because the violation of a woman's chastity is viewed as an affront to the family's honor -- on the woman's part.
Don't stop the groovin'
Don't stop the groovin'
the leniency with which the authority treats the perpetrators of such crimes, who usually allege that they were acting to preserve the honor of the family, has contributed to the noticeable increase in honor killings."
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said nine people have been killed in honor crimes in 2009, five of them women.
Maha Abu Dayyeh Shamas, the director for the Jerusalem-based Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling, says the deterioration of rights for Palestinian women is not just a Hamas-inspired phenomenon.
She says rights for women and children in both Gaza and the West Bank are eroding.
The Palestinian Fatah faction plans to oppose recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and consider opening a strategic dialogue with Iran, according to details from a proposed draft of its political platform that were leaked to the Arab press on Saturday.
Abbas' job as party leader is not on the line, but support by his party can help shore up his political legitimacy. His term as president expired in January, and he has simply stayed on, saying the rift with Hamas left him no other option.
Marwan Barghouti, who led the last Palestinian uprising, is running for the 21-member Central Committee from the Israeli prison where he is serving five life terms for his role in shooting attacks. A strong win could help a future bid for the presidency, once Abbas steps down.
Fatah is full of thieves, spies and corrupt people, enough to destroy any country, said Amr, 61, who is seeking a committee seat.
Ok, that's enough from the Palestinians...surely the great Arab leaders of the Middle East will step up to the plate to condemn these horrible atrocities that are taking place in the West Bank and Gaza. Surely these are just isolated terrorists in the Israeli-oppressed territories. The responsible leadership of such notable states as Saudi Arabia and Syria will surely broadcast a message of tolerance and acceptance for their neighbor and encourage their Palestinian cousins to make peace and strive for prosperity instead of suffering. Surely.
From Israel's neighbors:
Saudi Arabia rejects U.S. call for ties with Israel
Assad: Golan will return to Arab hands
Awesome...
After the Saudi foreign minister flatly rejected the US request that his country make goodwill gestures toward Israel, Syrian President Bashar Assad was quoted repeating his refusal to resume negotiations with Israel unless the country first commits to ceding the Golan Heights.
Just like my love, everlasting
"The Syrian Golan will yet return to Arab hands," Assad promised.
Still moving strong, on and on and on
Saudi Arabia on Friday accused Israel of not being serious about peace with the Palestinians and rejected U.S. pleas to improve ties with Israel as a way of jump-starting regional peace talks.
"The question is not what the Arab world will offer," Saud said. "The question really is: What will Israel give in exchange for this comprehensive offer?"
"Israel hasn't even responded to an American request to halt settlements, which President Obama described as illegitimate," he said.
Saud said Israel was being asked to give back land that "never belonged to it in the first place."
And the Americans? They can't possibly be blind to this, right?
U.S. President Barack Obama, Clinton and special envoy to the region George Mitchell all have been urging Arab nations to improve ties with Israel with confidence-building measures such as opening trade offices, allowing academic exchanges and permitting civilian Israeli aircraft to overfly their airspace as a way of demonstrating their commitment to peace.
Clinton repeated that call in her remarks, saying the Obama administration wants "the Arab states, including our friends in Saudi Arabia, to work with us to take steps to improve relations with Israel, to support the Palestinian Authority and to prepare their people to embrace the eventual peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis."
Good God. Hi Hilary. Hi Barrack. Could you please scroll up a few paragraphs and try to tell us with a straight face that THESE are the people you want us to "support". And your plan is to rely on "our friends" the Saudis to help bridge the gap between Israel and the honor killers, ambulance stoppers, wedding bombers, suicide glorifiers, Jewish State deniers and their backers?
"We know that this is all in the process that has to be undertaken and we are looking forward to seeing the parties sitting down at the negotiating table supported not only by the United States, but by other nations led by Saudi Arabia," Clinton said.
What other states? Syria? Iran? What other nations are going to be leading the charge into a peaceful 22nd century exactly?
Perhaps she is referring to our friends in Australia? A strong, democratic Western nation will certainly not contribute to the problem, right?
Hizbullah TV network gets okay to air in Australia
Hizbullah-sponsored TV network Al-Manar TV has been granted permission to broadcast in Australia, after having been banned on two occasions.
...was referring to material aired on Al-Manar that lauded suicide bombers, called for Israel's annihilation and resurrected the medieval blood libel.
Wow. I mean...just...wow. Imagine that Churchill or Roosevelt would have broadcasted Nazi propaganda during the 1930's. Well it's not like there's much to worry about anyway for the Australians. The war against terrorism is winding down, right? It's really just contained to Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, places that only exist on maps and news reports. No need to worry about any al Qaeda attacks in your backyard or anything like that...
Al Qaeda priority: Western targets
Recruits reveal al Qaeda's sprawling web
Vinas says he was told, while on a mountain walk with a Belgian-Moroccan friend, Hicham Bouhali Zrioul, about a new course being taught by al Qaeda called "international operations," set up by its head of international operations. Vinas later identified him as Abu Hafith.
[They] allegedly talked to each other in their detention center about what sounded like a scheme to attack Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, a conversation bugged by Italian police. French officials have said they were never aware of a concrete plot to attack the airport.
Al Qaeda, it would seem, may still want to pull off spectacular attacks in Europe or the United States.
The revelations raise the possibility that al Qaeda was developing a program of targeted assassinations.
Vinas stated that Zrioul also discussed with him an attack on the Brussels metro, telling him it was a soft target because it was poorly protected. He said Zrioul also raised the possibility of launching an attack on a European football stadium.
Such conversations illustrate the terror networks' continued desire to inflict mass casualties.
Vinas stated that he himself gave detailed briefings to al Qaeda chiefs in Waziristan in September 2008 about how the Long Island Commuter Rail service worked, according to a federal indictment earlier this month.
Above all the accounts from Vinas and others show that al Qaeda's training structures have but one goal, another 9/11.
You see that's the problem with the Clintons and the Obamas and the whatever-idiot-ok'ed-the-Hizballah-TV-in-Australias of the world. They think in terms of optimistic talks, handshakes, signatures, smiles and politics. They want us to negotiate with dictators who refuse to recognize our legitimacy to exist. They want us to make concessions to a party whose most popular figure is a convicted murderer serving five life sentences, but may still win in the next election.
Regardless of who we talk to however, the enemy here is not interested in negotiating. The enemy here has one goal above all else:
Victory.
Not peace. Not prosperity. Not happiness. Not life. Not progress. Victory above all else.
While our "leaders" are prancing around trying to win elections and create fun little photo ops and sound bites, the Islamic fundamentalists and their state sponsors are killing, maiming and destroying their OWN PEOPLE while planning ever more creative and destructive ways to destroy our people. They're also brainwashing their children to do the exact same thing. They don't rest. They don't relax. They plan. They tell you what they're going to do and then they do it.
Garsallaoui issued this threat to Belgium authorities on his wife's Web site on May 11, 2009: "If you thought that you could pressure me to slow down through the arrest of my wife, you were wrong. It won't stop me fulfilling my objectives... the place of my wife in my heart and the heart of all the mujahedeen is greater than ever... Surprises are sure to be in store for you in the days ahead. Those who laugh last, laugh more."
And you are extremely foolish if you do not take their words seriously.
Posts
