Happy New Year 2006

May the New Year Bring Best Wishes to All People of Good Will.

Swarming Kurds? Or Nefarious Propagandists?

Nice little bit of analysis of journalistic propaganda at the Rastî site today. I used to think the issue of unfair news coverage was basically an Israeli issue, and lately a U.S. issue, but surprise! it is a Kurdish issue as well.

Much more of this type of analysis is needed to help us see past the journalistic bias and into the truth. Happily for Israel there are quite a few media watchdogs now, including CAMERA, HonestReporting, and Palestinian Media Watch -- not to mention of course MEMRI and many others now.

Where are the Kurdish equivalents of CAMERA? Whereever they are, they have a serious contender in Rastî. Check out his spin unspun here. We need to see more of this!

MK: Egypt Preparing for Possible War with Israel

16:02 Dec 28, '05 / 27 Kislev 5766 By Scott Shiloh

MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud) says that Egypt’s arms buildup over the past few years has focused on the possibility of future war with Israel.

In a radio interview broadcast on Arutz 7’s Hebrew internet site Tuesday night, Shteinitz, a former professor of political science at Haifa University who chairs the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that Egypt has already become a major supporter of terrorism against Israel.

Shteinitz said that Egypt has been allowing terrorist groups operating out of the Gaza district to smuggle missiles into Gaza. Those groups intend to use the missiles against Israeli targets.

In his estimation, 90% of the explosives used by the terrorist groups are brought in from Egypt.

Shteinitz explains that it is a mistake for Israel to view Syria as its principle enemy, while neglecting the Egyptian threat, primarily because Israel maintains diplomatic relations with Egypt.

[...]

The Egyptians, Shteinitz asserts, have kept to the peace agreements signed in 1978 as far as not engaging Israel in outright conflict. But on other levels, such as economic relations or stopping anti-Israel incitement, Egyptian compliance has been lacking.

Arutz-7, Israel National News

...and as if that isn't depressing enough, read this article called "Hezbollah's Strategic Threat to Israel," by Patrick Devenny, in The Middle East Quarterly.

65 % Palestinians Support Genocide of Israelis

Tuesday, December 27, 2005 /26 Kislev 5766

A poll carried out in the Palestinian Authority shows 65% support for Al Qaeda terror attacks on the United States and European countries - the biggest donors to the PA.

The poll comes at a time when US and European funding of the Palestinian Authority is at an all-time high.

With elections due to be held next month and the Hamas terror group gaining significantly in municipal elections and polls, the survey further illustrates the desire of a majority of PA Arabs to establish an Islamic state, similar to Iran. A whopping 79.9% of Palestinians would like the PA to follow Shari'a - Islamic religious law. Included in the figure are 11.3% of the respondents, who would like to see Shari'a supplemented by the laws of a PA Legislature.

"What is striking is the willingness of Palestinians to turn against even the Western countries upon whom they are so totally dependent in order to progress," said Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) Director Itamar Marcus. "The poll underscores what PMW has been documenting for years - the profoundly negative impact hate education has had on PA society…Palestinians are not in direct conflict with the US, and certainly have counted on the Europeans as active allies. And yet an overwhelming majority desire to see Europeans and Americans killed by a religion-based terror organization."

The poll was conducted by FAFO - a Norwegian-based NGO not known for sympathy toward Israel or antipathy toward the PA. FAFO says it conducted the polling among the Palestinian population "in order to assess political feelings after Israel's voluntary withdrawal from Gaza in late-summer 2005." The poll results were reported in the PA newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida last Friday.

Last month (November 18th), in a sermon broadcast on PA-controlled television, Islamic leader Suleiman Satari offered the following prayer:

"Destroy the Infidels and the Polytheists! Your [i.e. Allah's] enemies are the enemies of the religion…! Count them and kill them to the last one, and don't leave even one."

According to PMW, prayers to annihilate all “infidels” have been included in Friday prayers on PA TV at least six times in recent months. Two such sermons were delivered by Yusuf Jum'a Salamah, PA Minister of the Waqf Religious Authority - the most important religious office in the PA. Even though PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas was present on at least one of these occasions, similar prayers for genocide continued on the PA-owned and controlled TV in subsequent weeks.

Just weeks before the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001, Dr. Ikrime Sabri, the Mufti of Jerusalem and the highest-ranking Islamic figure in the Palestinian Authority said on PA radio: "O Allah, destroy America and its supporters and collaborators. O Allah, destroy Britain and its supporters and collaborators." Click here to view the clip.

Arutz-7

Will The West Throw Russia out of the G8?

Is Russia fit to become the next G8 leader? --TimesOnline

WHEN Andrei Illarionov joined the Kremlin as an economic adviser in 2000, he and most of the Western world were convinced that Russia was finally heading towards a brighter, freer future. For five years he advised President Putin and headed Russia’s negotiations with the G8, which Russia joined in 1997 as a reward for its liberal political and economic reforms.

But yesterday — five days before Russia takes over the rotating G8 presidency for the first time — Mr Illarionov resigned from the Kremlin, saying that his country was no longer politically or economically free.

“It is one thing to work in a country that is partly free. It is another thing when the political system has changed, and the country has stopped being free and democratic,” he told reporters. “I did not go to work for such a country.”

The Case Against Putin's Russia

COUNTS AGAINST THE KREMLIN

1 President Putin has re-established direct or indirect control over all national TV channels and most newspapers

2 The Kremlin scrapped direct elections for regional governors this year

3 Russia’s hardline policies in the North Caucasus, especially Chechnya, are radicalising Muslims in neighbouring republics and around the world

4 The oil company Yukos was effectively renationalised and its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, jailed this year in what was widely seen as punishment for his meddling in politics

5 The Duma passed a Bill last week allowing the Kremlin to shut down NGOs that criticise its policies

6 Russia is helping Iran to build a nuclear reactor and sold Tehran $1 billion of weapons last month

7 Moscow is blocking moves to censure Syria over the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister

8 Kremlin has backed Uzbekistan’s autocratic regime over the massacre of protesters in the city of Andijan

9 Russia maintains troops in Transdniester, a separatist region of Moldova, despite committing to withdraw them in 1999

10 Moscow is trying to reform the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe to prevent it from criticising rigged elections in the former Soviet Union

Times Online

Here we go again! The West seems so very soliticious of all these tyrants. You get rid of one, and half a dozen other tyrants spring up in the world, each with its own following of terrorists.

Palestinian Democracy Watch

Read dfrankfurter's Letter from Jerusalem

The democracy shell game

It's a simple game. Just a bit of sleight-of-hand. Put some international aid down, and watch closely as the Palestinian master moves the democracy pea around under the propaganda thimble.

When Israel voiced objections to Hamas terrorists to participating in the upcoming elections, the Palestinians cried "foul" and convinced Europe and the US that it would be "undemocratic" to expect Palestinians to keep to signed agreements which excluded Hamas from fielding candidates.

Watching closely? Under which thimble is the democracy pea? The one on the left? Bad luck! Put some more aid money down, and have another go around.

Read the rest here

The NY Times Votes for Hamas

Mediacrity: A Must Read





and this from

HONESTREPORTING:

You wouldn't know it from media coverage, but this Israeli position on Hamas is, in fact, neither recent, nor specifically Israel's position at all ? Hamas was rejected for a government role in the very foundational documents of the Palestinian Authority.

A quick review of this important matter:

The Palestinian Authority was established in 1994, pursuant to the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO. Oslo Interim Agreement, Annex 2, Article III (1995) outlines eligibility for PA elected office:

The nomination of any candidates, parties or coalitions will be refused, and such nomination or registration once made will be canceled, if such candidates, parties or coalitions:

(1) commit or advocate racism; or

(2) pursue the implementation of their aims by unlawful or nondemocratic means.

Honest Reporting

Is there anyone who doesn't believe Hamas advocates racism or the pursuit of their aims by 'unlawful' means?

Merry Sinter Klaas Day

Sinter Klaas - Owen Franken/Corbis

Sinter Klaas comes to New York:

Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.

The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society's annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace.

In 1809, Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book, The History of New York. As his prominence grew, Sinter Klaas was described as everything from a "rascal" with a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a "huge pair of Flemish trunk hose."

courtesy of The History Channel

A final bit of trivia: 336 – First recorded celebration of Christmas on December 25 takes place in Rome.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS to my Christian Friends. PEACE ON EARTH is our common prayer.

Israel to Create Anti-Rocket Buffer in Gaza

From the New York Times --reg required

December 24, 2005

JERUSALEM, Dec. 23 - Frustrated by continuing rocket fire from Gaza, the territory Israel evacuated over the summer, Israel is trying to enforce a buffer zone in northern Gaza through air and artillery strikes, a deputy defense minister, Zeev Boim, said Friday.

The intention is to prevent Palestinian militants from using former northern Gaza settlements like Dugit and Nissanit, now piles of rubble, to fire rockets into Israel. In the last few days, rockets have hit the outskirts of Ashkelon, raising concerns about a big power plant there, and in Sederot, a regular target of rocket fire. On Thursday, a rocket landed in an Israeli Army
base on the border, slightly wounding five soldiers, and Israeli shelling in response killed a Palestinian in Jabaliya.

Israel, in the midst of an election campaign, is threatening a temporary reinvasion of northern Gaza with ground troops, though the preference is to discourage the rocket firing through shelling and airstrikes - mostly on open fields where rockets are sometimes fired.

But Mr. Boim on Friday suggested that Israel might fire artillery toward populated areas as well. "We need to tell the residents of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and the suburbs of Jabaliya: 'In 12 hours, artillery will land in the area; evacuate these areas,' " he told Israeli Army radio. "I think one operation of this sort can solve the problem."

Palestinian security forces who are patrolling northern Gaza and say they are trying to stop the rocket fire also say they will not evacuate the area, which they now consider sovereign and liberated Palestinian land. So Israelis are imagining other ways to create popular pressure on the militants to stop firing, with suggestions that Israel cut off all electrical power to Gaza, a move of dubious legality. Human Rights Watch, for instance, says that such a cutoff would constitute collective punishment of a civilian population under international law.



Yes, shame on Israel for even thinking such things. Better to get shelled and rocketed on a daily basis. I really liked this comment about the article from JIHAD WATCH's Nariz:

Screw Islamic Hegemony Watch, and Islamic Internationale (their real names), there is not an honest bone in their corporate body..
The current deplorable state of Gaza is a paramount and prime example of the infantilism and failure of the Arab/Islamic mind. They turn into garbage overnight, that which was handed to them as gold. And yet Bush pumps millions into Gaza, as did (surprisingly and disappointingly) Wolfensohn.

Money given to Muslims is a waste, they only know one thing and that is living off the labor of others, a legacy of ghazi raiders, booty, slavery and Insha'allah fatalism.

Every muslim country on earth is a failure and can't even feed it's own people without foreign aid, Jizyah, assistance.

It's bad enough the west is financing it's own suicide by buying their oil, but if they had no oil be sure that they would be the recipients of charity and foreign aid..even from Christian charities. BTW, time for America to emulate Brazil. Brazil has switched, almot totally , to ethanol and GM has developed and manufactured a car (the Corsa) that seamlessly uses ethanol, gas or any combination thereof.
There is no justification for our dependency on oil, except that oil money is what drives American politics and policies, and it is the oil men that run the RNC and DNC.

OUCH! I am not sure ethanol is the answer, but I am sure there is an answer, borax, electricity, solar, hydrogen, drilling in Alaska. We should do something besides whoring for the oil producing nations. When will we ever learn??

Happy Hanukkah

This picture of a menora
is from the
Internet Jewish
History Sourcebook

It is the source for all things related to Jewish History, a mega-site from Fordham University.

BIBI WINS LIKUD LEADERSHIP

For more on the internal political politics, the Bibi win and the Sharon stroke, check out the HeadHeeb's take on current events in Israel, and his predictions here.

Prayers go up for Ariel Sharon's speedy recovery.

Cox & Forkum

...


Not just cartoonists, but cartoonists with an attitude, fully expressed at their website.

Get a daily dose of Cox&Forkum here

Krauthammer, must read:

In Iran, Arming for Armageddon

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, December 16, 2005; Page A35

Lest you get carried away with today's good news from Iraq, consider what's happening next door in Iran. The wild pronouncements of the new Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have gotten sporadic press ever since he called for Israel to be wiped off the map. He subsequently amended himself to say that Israel should simply be extirpated from the Middle East map and moved to some German or Austrian province. Perhaps near the site of an old extermination camp?

keep reading

A Couple of Terrific 'Blogs'

The first one is IRIS blog, an Israeli news blog. It is excellent but it is sometimes difficult to connect with, perhaps because it is in Israel.

The second is the "Rantburg" blog, which-justly- prides itself on Civil, Well-Reasoned Discourse -- not to mention pictures, like this one:

which illustrates this story:

Palestinian killed in Gaza blast
A Palestinian fighter has been killed in an explosion in a car in the southern Gaza Strip that Palestinian officials blamed on Israel. The Israeli army denied any involvement in the death on Saturday of Khaled Abu Sitta, a senior leader of the Abu al-Rish Brigades, who was killed when his car blew up as he drove at night between the southern Gaza cities of Khan Yunus and Rafah. Palestinian security sources and members of the Abu al-Rish Brigades said an Israeli missile fired from an unidentified aircraft hit Abu Sitta's car, killing him and turning the vehicle into charred and twisted metal. The Abu al-Rish Brigades said they would avenge Abu Sitta's death. Abu Haron, a spokesman for the group, which is linked to the mainstream Fatah faction, said: "We do not forget the blood of our martyrs and our reaction will be strong and painful."The Israeli army, which often admits to strikes on fighters' cars, denied involvement in the incident. "The Israel Defence Forces was not involved in this incident," an army spokeswoman said.

These headlines can be found neatly laid out at Rantburg:

Finally: Senator Accuses NY Times of Endangering U.S. -
Mehlis: Syria killed al-Hariri Palestinian killed in Gaza blast
Bangladesh police seize arms cache
Another four die in tribal clashes in Dera Bugt -
Gitmo Detainee Attempts Suicide Again-
Al-Qaida in Iraq Claims Election Attacks-
Iran's president orders conditional suspension of IAEA protocol Syria Welcomes UN Move on Murder Probe
Saleh gets ruling party approval, may seek new term
Al Dulaimi puts priority on ending militancy
‘Imam Mehdi’ poster banned
EU condemns Ahmadinejad’s remarks
Khaleda Vows to Fight Terrorists
Turkish Military In Tense Ties With Govt.
Iraqi Sunni alliance ready to join coalition
Mother Sheehan Leads War Protest in Spain
Very Advanced Vaccination Gun
Le Pen gaining strength after riots
Ten killed as quake strikes Iran

So be sure and check it out for a quick look at the important headlines, with a twist.

Austria 'begins process' of restitution to Holocaust victims/survivors

YAWN.....

Here is what my dearest mother, the Mother of All Mothers, said about that: "Just saw that Austria is beginning to pay Holocaust victims. Those bastards - I remember how miserably anti-Semitic they were 74 years ago, when I was in kindergarten there. Saying miserable things, and pulling out my hair. I can still see a girl holding a lot of my hair in her hand. And this was before Hitler came to power in Germany."

So don't hold your breath, Ma. They have sent out letters and forms. 100 of them!

- "Austria on Thursday began the process of compensating Holocaust victims robbed under the Nazis, mailing notifications to the first survivors eligible for payments.

The fund created by Austria in 2001 to compensate those stripped of businesses, property, bank accounts and insurance policies under the Third Reich mailed letters to 100 of the 19,300 survivors who have applied.

The letters say how much the victims will receive, along with a form they must sign and return promising not to sue Austria or Austrian companies that benefited from the taken property, said Hannah Lessing, general secretary of the General Settlement Fund.

``This is the first step in payment,'' Lessing told The Associated Press. ``Now the first payments can be made in the next 10 days.''

Andreas Kohl, Austria's parliament speaker and chairman of the fund's board, said he was determined to see the first payments go out before year's end, and he pledged to devote three hours on Monday to signing another 1,300 letters.

Earlier this year, the government and Austrian companies pledged to pay $210 million to endow the fund once all Holocaust litigation against Austria was resolved.

Vienna was home to a vibrant Jewish community of some 200,000 before World War II. Today, it numbers about 7,000.

A spokeswoman for the community, Erika Jakubovits, said the group was ``very satisfied'' that the first payments would soon be made."

The Guardian, no less, calling a robbery a robbery for a change

"Peter Philips, 70, of Hertfordshire, is one of those set to receive a compensation. He said: “I’m delighted that at long last legal peace has been made. But I think the agreement negotiated by the World Jewish Congress and the Jewish Claims Conference stinks.”

The former chairman of the Austrian Restitution Group said he was expecting to receive only a tiny fraction of the money his family was owed.

But he added that he had received a number of letters from Holocaust survivors to who the payments, which are likely to run to several thousand pounds, would make a real difference."

TotallyJewish.com

BIG FUCKING DEAL What's that saying about the elephant laboring to give birth to a mouse?

Israel Helps to Heal Mankind

More from Israel21C

Israeli researchers connect obesity to eye disease - 12/11/05

Israeli stem cell researchers in demand in California - 12/04/05

Israeli research shows gardening, reading and praying can help stave off Alzheimer's disease - 11/27/05

Israeli vaccine could provide universal answer to flu epidemics - 11/06/05

Joint Israeli-US team finds thyroid drug reduces colon cancer risk by 50% - 11/06/05

Scoping out a clearer future for AMD sufferers - 10/30/05

Children with ADHD may need sleep, Israeli study finds - 10/23/05

Pfizer puts funds behind team of Israeli all-star scientists to change traditional diabetes research - 10/23/05

Israeli device increases rate of hip fracture recovery - 10/16/05

Israeli researchers redefine 'normal' blood glucose levels - 10/09/05

Israeli doctor heads Merck team that has developed vaccine against cervical cancer - 10/07/05

Kibbutz company sends natural pharmaceuticals far and wide - 09/25/05

Israeli researchers find connection between brain and bone density - 09/25/05

Israeli stem cell research shows umbilical cord blood can rejuvenate damaged heart tissue - 09/18/05

Israeli scientists successfully transplant frozen-thawed ovaries in sheep - 09/16/05

Discovering the real baby Einsteins - 09/11/05

Israeli biotech leader asked by Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to develop treatment - 08/28/05

Israel21C

or a few headlines from the Technology section:

Israeli 'clean' solution insures drinking water is disinfected - 11/06/05

Hologram labels make their marks to insure food purity - 11/06/05

Bill Gates - Israel is a high tech superpower - 10/30/05

Israeli security technology keeps mass transit safe - 10/23/05

A nano superhighway for drug delivery - 10/16/05

US Marine Corps to use lightweight Israeli armor for military vehicles - 10/09/05

Great Things about Israel

Sometimes it seems as if the whole world has completely lost its collective mind when it comes to Israel, especially these days. Frankly, it feels to me that the atmosphere about Israel these days is much the same as it was about Jews in Germany in the nineteen thirties. And we seem just as loathe to criticize the generators of that atmosphere today as we were then. Does the word 'scapegoat' ring a bell?

But on a lighter note, there is a wonderful website that tells real news about Israel, called Israel21C . While Israel tries to fight off the Palestinians, the Iranians, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc they never stop trying to do good works.

A mobile mission - Israeli researchers help stem mental retardation in Arab village A team of Israeli scientists is helping to turn around the high rate of mentally retarded babies being born in an Israeli Arab village. In addition to identifying the gene that causes the defect, the team has developed a blood test that bring to the village to determine if adults are carriers of the gene or if a young fetus is likely to possess the gene. Come learn about the work of Dr. Lina Basel. More...

Ailing hearts boosted by Israeli stem cell treatment
12/11/05 - A novel Israeli stem cell treatment for heart disease is exciting the medical world even before it has undergone full clinical testing. TheraVitae's VesCell treatment, which repairs damaged or inactive heart tissue using adult stem cells harvested from the patient's own blood, has achieved amazing results on over 60 people with no other therapeutic options - including famed singer Don Ho - and has won the company the World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneers award for 2006. More...

Israeli riding therapy 'bucks' the system The Therapeutic Riding Center of Israel is a trendsetter in the field of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), a technique that demonstrates that sometimes a dog or a horse is the best therapist. Over 600 patients - with handicaps ranging from blindness to brain damage, as well as high risk teens and kids with special needs or learning disabilities - receive treatment through a range of TRCI's innovative Equine and Dog Assisted Therapy programs. More...

Israel21C

IRAN IS NOT THE ONLY ONE

Verbatim:

Lebanon's Largest Government University Hosts
Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV Symposium
Calling to Wipe Israel Off The Map:

Lebanese Students at a Hizbullah TV Symposium: "We Should Fight the Jews and Burn Them Like Hitler. Israel Should Be Wiped Off the Map."

The following are excerpts from a symposium of students at Universite Libanaise, hosted by Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV and broadcast on November 29, 2005. Al-Manar's TV symposium was devoted to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and participants included Shafiq Al-Hut, a former PLO representative in Lebanon, and Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian students. It should be noted that Universite Libanaise [1] is Lebanon's only government-run university, and the country's largest. [2]

TO VIEW THIS CLIP, VISIT: http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=962 .

Mediator: "The Arab regimes have all accepted the establishing of a Palestinian state on the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In other words, the 1967 borders only. They believe that the reality and the balance of power do not allow more than that at this stage. Do you support this 'realism,' or do you adhere to what has come to be known as the historical, original Palestine? Let us... Let us... Go ahead."

Student 1: "My name is Hisham Sham'as, and I study political science. I just want to say everyone is talking about..."

Mediator: "Please address the question."

Hisham Sham'as: "The state shouldn't be only within the 1976 borders... Or rather, 1967... Israel must be wiped out."

Mediator: "You mean, reviving the motto of erasing Israel from the map."

Hisham Sham'as: "Israel should be completely wiped out, so the Palestinians will have a country to return to."

Mediator: "If someone tells you this motto is unrealistic, how would you respond?"

Hisham Sham'as: "There is no such thing as unrealistic. Just as Israel... Just like Hitler fought the Jews - We are a great Islamic nation of Jihad, and we too should fight the Jews and burn them."
[...]

Student 2: "Avian flu hit the entire world, and they are trying to find a cure for it now. As for Israel - the only cure for it is to wipe it off the map."

[...]

Mediator: "What's your name?"

Student 3: "Mahmoud Fakhri. I hope what I have to say is not too inciting."

Mediator: "Go ahead and incite. This is what we're looking for. We want some action."

Mahmoud Fakhri: "In all honesty, the Arab people should overturn the disappointing regimes."

Mediator: "Now you are really inciting..."

Fakhri: "In all honesty, any disappointing government that wants to normalize relations with the Zionist enemy and to sell out the Arab cause, and especially Jerusalem - the people must topple this regime and have its say."

[1] The University was created in 1953 by the Lebanese State. According to its website, it is "morally independent and enjoys administrative, academic and financial autonomy."

http://www.memritv.org/
Middle East Research Institute TV Monitor Project

The Javelinas ate my flowers

Javelina


Eat prickly pear cactus, spines and all
Are not pigs, but look a lot alike
Have a strong family scent that helps keep the herd together

Also called: peccary
Weight: 40-50 pounds
Lifespan: 15 years
Offspring: 1-2 at a time
Habitat: Desert with cacti, palo verde
Diet: Cactus, seeds, roots, fruit
oh and they eat garden flowers. They are not particular.

All you ever wanted to know about Javelinas

Steyn on Ahmadinejad

Mark Steyn
But seriously folks, this clown is dangerous
A must-read for a refreshing (typically Steyn) persepective.

"Diplomatic" language is one of the last holdovers of the pre-democratic age. It belongs to a time when international relations were conducted exclusively between a handful of eminent representatives of European dynasties. Today it's all out in the open -- President Ahmaddasanatta proposed his not-quite-final solution for Israel on TV. McLellan and Ereli likewise gave their response on TV. So the language of international relations is no longer merely the private code of diplomats but part of the public discourse -- and, if the government of the United States learns anything from the last four years, it surely ought to be that there's a price to be paid for not waging the war as effectively in the psychological arenas as in the military one. What does it mean when one party can talk repeatedly about the liquidation of an entire nation and the other party responds that this further "underscores our concerns," as if he'd been listening to an EU trade representative propose increasing some tariff by half a percent?

Well, it emboldens the bully. It gives him an advantage, like the punk who swears and sprawls over half the seats in the subway car while the other riders try not to catch his eye. The political thugs certainly understand the power of psychological intimidation. Look at Saddam Hussein in court, so confident in his sneering dismissal of judge and witnesses that he's generating big pro-Baathist demonstrations in Tikrit. I was struck by his complaint that the real terrorism was that he hadn't been given a change in underpants in three days. I hope that's true. It requires enormous strength of will on the part of free societies to bring blustering cocksure thugs down to size, even after we've overthrown them and kicked them out of the presidential palace. In Iran, President Ahmaddamytree figures that half the world likes his Jew proposals and the rest isn't prepared to do more than offer a few objections phrased in the usual thin diplo-pabulum.

Sound familiar?


Reminds me of the Evian Conference. Canadian Friends of Israel have a great article about the Evian Conference here.

Good News for Elephants

Endangered Baby Elephant Born in
Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo
17:28 Dec 12, '05 / 11 Kislev 5766 By Ezra HaLevi

In the first event of its kind in Israel's history, an endangered Asian Elephant in Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo has given birth to a baby elephant after fertility treatment and an arduous labor.

The mother, named Tamar, was in labor for four hours – at which point a live internet broadcast of the birth was halted and veterinary staff decided to hasten the birth. Two hour later the calf was born – healthy and weighing 198 pounds.

The baby elephant, its birth, and a live broadcast of it with its mom during daylight hours can be viewed by clicking here.

The baby elephant is the first to be born in Israel and just the 11th Asian Elephant on earth to be born through the complex fertility method.

Zookeepers were concerned that the fact that Tamar was raised in captivity would preclude the 21-year-old elephant from bonding with her child. The mother and child quickly bonded however, and they can be seen on the zoo's web site.

An endangered species after being hunted throughout the ages for the ivory in their tusks, there are less than 50,000 Asian elephants worldwide. The Biblical Zoo currently is home to one male and four female Asian elephants. Their names are Teddy (after former Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek), Susan, Avigail, Michaela and Tamar. All of the females of the herd came from Lampang in Thailand while Teddy comes from the Safari Park in Ramat Gan.

The Biblical Zoo, which displays animals mentioned in the Bible alongside specific passages referring to them, was also recently blessed with the birth of a new giraffe, named Shelly.

Complete article and pictures in Arutz Sheva: here

Group Says Poland Main CIA Stop in Europe

A Human Rights Watch investigator said in remarks published Friday that Poland was the CIA's main center for secretly detaining terror suspects in Europe.

It seems that HRW has a CIA informant passing it information. hmmm..

The Washington Post first reported the alleged existence of secret prisons in eastern Europe and other countries last month.

Secret facilities and harsh interrogation methods would violate European human rights conventions. Leaders in both Romania and Poland have denied the allegations and signaled their willingness to cooperate with a European investigation.

Forbes Article

So the US might be doing "harsh interrogation" of terror suspects in Poland, of all places. hmmmm POLAND, home of AUSCHWITZ­/ BIRKENAU, BELZEC, CHELMO, GROSS­ROSEN, MAJDANEK, PLASZOW, SOBIBOR, STUTTHOF, TREBLINKA

So let's see now... and what countries are complaining? Give me a(reality)break!

Yesterday the UN Celebrated Anti-Corruption Day

rotflmao. I couldn't find the Reuters link but here is the Yahoo!one.

Hey but that ain't nuthin'. For sheer chutzpah try this on for size: "As Iran vows to wipe Israel off the map, UN displays Israel-free map"

United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, presidents of the U.N. General Assembly and the Security Council and other dignitaries attended a U.N. "Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People" in which a large "Map of Palestine" on which Israel does not exist was displayed prominently behind the dais, as documented in photos and videos by the watchdog organization Eye on the UN.

not surprisingly:

Annan has on previous years described the anniversary of the partition as "a day of mourning and a day of grief."

In 2004, Israel was the most criticized country in the UN, called out for censure more than twice as much as the next most criticized country, Sudan. The US tied for 4th place in the most-criticized category.

IsraelInsider

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad [mah-MOOD ah-mah-dih-nee-ZHAHD]. Here is a complete biography from GlobalSecurity.org It seems he was a murderer and an assassin just like Saddam Hussein. Saddam's record can be found here.
According to GlobalSecurity:

With the formation of the elite Qods (Jerusalem) Force of the IRGC, Ahmadinejad became one of its senior commanders. He directed assassinations in the Middle East and Europe, including the assassination of Iranian Kurdish leader Abdorrahman Qassemlou, who was shot dead by senior officers of the Revolutionary Guards in a Vienna flat in July 1989. Ahmadinejad was a key planner of the attack. He was reported to have been involved in planning an attempt on the life of Salman Rushdie.

To make matters worse:

Ahmadinejad is a member of the central council of the hard-line Islamic Revolution Devotees' Society (Jamiyat-i Isargaran-i Inqilab-i Islami). The Devotees publicly endorsed another candidate -- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf -- in the 17 June 2005 first round of the presidential election. Both the Developers and the Devotees represent the younger generation of Iranians with a background in the Revolutionary Guards and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. Ahmadinejad represents the rise of this new generation.

Nuclear weapons in the hands of such people is a recipe for global disaster.

IRAN

US Army: No option for Israel against Iranian nukes By Arieh O'Sullivan in the Jerusalem Post ---

Now, a report by the US Army War College concludes that the Air Force could probably hit targets in Iran, but not maintain a sustained air campaign that would deliver a deathblow to their nuclear weapons program.

and
Ahmadinejad Faces Character Assassination by Amir Taheri

I had not heard of the "Hidden Iman" before:

Did the "Hidden Imam" send a flash signal to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while he was addressing the United Nations last September? Is the new president assisted by an army of djins and angels?

[...]

The entire Khomeinist system is based on the concept of the "Hidden Imam" a system in which religious faith, not secular reason, is the matrix.

here

A Very Important Day in History

On this day in History the BEST DAD IN THE WORLD was born.

Netanya Mall -- The stories behind the names

The stories behind the names

Haim Amram, a hero who gave his life to save others in this attack. Daniel Golani, had a wife and three daughters, sold clothing and was active in local politics. Eliyah Rosen was an educational psychologist and mother of three children, ages 12,9 and 5. Alexandra Zrnitzki immigrated to Israel from the Ukraine in 1997. She leave a son, Andrei.

Read the full story at the Jerusalem Post

Chomsky, Darling of the Left

Today, my research into Norman Finkelstein has led inexorably to the collision with Chomsky, again. Chomsky, renowned linquist and intellectual darling of the radical left, ie the agressive pacifists, of which there are so many these days. Anyway, it led to a wonderful article (2003), entitled The Hypocrisy of Noam Chomsky," by Keith Windschuttle (isn't that a lovely name?)

(with Jews like Chomp & Fink, who needs fascists,lol)

Also here is an article by Christopher Hichens, whom I despise for his lies about Israel in Vanity Fair, while agreeing with some of his other ideas, as in this article, called Sticking Up for Saddam - Ramsey Clark admits that his client is guilty
I learned more than I ever wanted to know about Ramsey Clark:

From bullying prosecutor he mutated into vagrant and floating defense counsel, offering himself to the génocideurs of Rwanda and to Slobodan Milosevic, and using up the spare time in apologetics for North Korea. He acts as front-man for the Workers World Party, an especially venomous little Communist sect, which originated in a defense of the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956.

to this

Most experts accept a figure of about a million and a half as the number of young Iranians and Iraqis who lost their lives in consequence of this aggression (which incidentally enjoyed the approval of that Nobel Peace laureate Jimmy Carter). And Ramsey Clark says that the aggression is an additional reason to justify the massacre at Dujail.

2 Friends have Blogs

Two of my web-friends have blogs I wish to share with you. They are both excellent blogs, one is Rastî's new Kurdish blog , and the other is my London friend's blog, called JustifyThis! .

Sadly, my London friend's blog is filled with all the news about today's Netanya suicide bombing from the Jerusalem Post. 5 Dead. 66 Wounded. Just like that. Lives destroyed.

Nesumah

The name was inspired from the Yiddish meaning "soul" and taken from Bubby's Yiddish/Yinglish Glossary, and enjoy her Jewish jokes here.