Mutant Teenage Moral Pigmies

The other night as I walked through the door the Last Amazon rushed me and pronounced that she is not sure that she can ever have sex in her best Amazonian Diva style. I managed a "Right, well then – let me get my coat off and you can tell me how your day went". I suppose I should take comfort in the fact, that unlike her mother, she actually manages to come out with original things to say. For years I tormented my own grandmother with a daily "I'm home. What's for dinner?"

The Last Amazon may have been having a diva moment over her alleged inability to have sex but I wasn't going to let it upset my peace of mind considering that she is not quite old enough to have her first date. I also am old enough to know biology has a way of working these things out. So I nagged her into making me a fresh cappuccino if she wanted to spill the beans over whatever had her tied all up in knots. Besides she's the only one who knows how to use the machine as I just haven't been able to find the enough time for her to demonstrate how the machine works, but I must say the current imbalance in our skill set has been working out great for me.

Apparently, it all started in Canadian Law class when there were discussing the case of Mr. X who was charged with aggravated assault causing grievous bodily harm. Apparently, Mr. X was diagnosed with HIV. After being diagnosed with HIV public health workers went to a great deal of trouble explaining to Mr. X the danger unprotected sex posed to any potential sexual partner. Mr. X was quite cavalier and deliberately withheld not only his HIV status from three sexual partners but deliberately refused to use a condom during sex. The third girlfriend learned inadvertently about Mr. X's status and was horrified at the potential death sentence Mr. X's cavalier approach condemned her to. She took her case to the authorities.

The Crown decided to prosecute the Mr. X with the charge of aggravated assault causing grievous bodily harm. Eventually, for a variety of technical reasons Mr. X. was ultimately acquitted. But what had upset the Last Amazon was the attitude of her classmates towards the actions of Mr. X. She was the only student out of forty 15-17 year olds who thought it was morally reprehensible (if not an act out right act of evil) to not advise any potential sexual partners of your HIV status, and 2) to deliberately refuse to use any form of protection during sexual intercourse knowing you were HIV positive.

The overwhelming consensus of her classmates was Mr. X was lonely and just wanted to experience human warmth untainted by the shadow of his disease before he was too sick to do so, and furthermore, why should it be a crime just wanting to get laid? If Mr. X had acknowledged his HIV status to any of his potential partners he ran the risk of refusal and so be potentially denied the fulfillment of a basic human need. One of her classmates used all his full intellectual and moral weight to argue since Mr. X has received this disease unknowingly he was "justified" in passing it on to the next "vic" with the caveat "that it might not be right, but it’s justified". It was to his point of view her classmates instinctively rallied behind.

For her efforts, she was denounced as judgmental and closed-minded. She was told in no uncertain terms that she not only lacked any pretense of empathy but basic human compassion. It didn’t particularly concern her that her classmates judged her and found her wanting, but she is appalled that she must continue to spend the next few months surrounded by these people in her class. And since these are her peers, she is further repulsed by the fact that her potential dating pool is filled with such moral pigmies. And these students were not the vocational or general level students but the cream of the academic crop. This is the Last Amazon’s first real experience with public education since a brief 4 month stint in junior kindergarten wherein most of her classmates have spent their entire educational lives in the public secular school system.

One of the ways in which having children changed my worldview was it made me question not just my value system but the value systems of my peers. I was a seventies child/teenager. I was the one of the first generations to be raised without an overt reliance of a religious education and it was my generation’s parents who were the first to break with regular attendance at any kind of religious institutions.

My peers and I were raised by the agnostics, atheists, and New Agers. The prevailing value ethos was anything goes, do your own thing, and if we gave it a thought at all some of us added the caveat “as long as no one gets hurt.” Let it all hang out. Your intentions were more important than your acts. It was my generation who came of age after the sexual revolution was in full swing. So very few of us spent any great effort struggling through moral complexities or formally spent time worrying about our own ethical conduct until things went horribly awry in our own lives.

Most of my peers had no clear cut notions of right and wrong or good and evil. A great number chose to do bad, destructive or even evil things and had absolutely no basis in which to judge or even understand the nature of what they had chosen to do.

I escaped most of the excesses of this because my mother was never particularly hip and I was fortunate to have two sets of grandparents who had a great deal of influence on my moral development. I remember on more than one occasion when I sought to avoid a young man’s call by having to leave the condo and stand outside the house door in order for my grandfather to be able to advise the young man I had just left the house as he would not tell a lie. Not even a little one and not even for me. I thought him hopelessly old fashioned and quaint in a good mood, but a right pain in a bad mood. Now I realize what a treasure he was.

After I had the Last Amazon and her brothers it caused me to take a long hard look at my peers and my own values. I had quite an electric group of people surrounding me which eventually I cut all ties with. My sole criterion for friendship in those days was based on two principles; I must find you amusing and you could not pose deliberate harm to moi. My libertines’ did not pose a physical threat to my children but their appearance in our lives undercut the values in which I was trying to instill.

How can one teach a child that stealing is wrong when a master thief comes regularly to dinner? Or how does one explain that fortunate telling is an art wherein one seeks to extort money based one’s ability to exploit another’s capacity for self-delusion? How can I explain to my child that prostitution is not a profession worthy of being my a woman when one of my oldest friends is a prostitute, abet a highly successful one, but one who still needed alcohol and drugs, to get through a work day? Perhaps one can, but I certainly was at a loss to do so.

Ultimately, we made the decision to have the children educated in an environment where religious values and ethnics were part of the core curriculum. It was just not enough for us to govern our own lives by our own personal values and ethnics and not have our children’s outside everyday world made up of elements which undercut rather than reinforced our everyday values. The children needed to be in a world wherein they saw other’s living the same way, and just as the children were subject to the authority of their parents and teachers, they needed to understand that their parents and teachers were also subject to a higher authority whose nature was unchanged by fashion or whim.

Even if the children grew up to reject the teachings of their religious environment they would have a baseline to guide their own values and ethnics. And if they chose to do evil at least they would know what evil they had chosen to do. It has been my experience that ignorance has never been blissful.

I would say most of the parents of these teenagers in my daughter’s class are not bad people but rather careless parents who put their hopes in the hands of the alleged experts without ever fully understanding the area or nature of expertise of the educational experts. They have passed on their parental responsibilities to those others in the hopes of bringing up tolerate compassionate people who will not be narrow minded or judgmental but accepting, inclusive and merciful adults.

Judge not less you be judgment and found unworthy is no longer a call to judging others by the same standards one sets for oneself, but a call to suspend all judgment and seek only mercy. This is why we now have a generation of teenagers whose moral creed is no longer 'do unto others as one would do for oneself' but 'do unto others as others have dealt with you'. And if you do wrong, no worries; claim the perpetual right of mercy under the clause ‘for all the evil done unto you.’

G-d save us all because these teenagers won’t.

Demographics, statistics and damnable lies

Caroline Glick has an interesting column on Israeli-Arab demographics and the alleged “Fourth Way”.

SINCE THE inauguration of the 1993 Oslo peace process, Israel's national debate has largely ignored the only question that should be guiding it: How are we to advance Israel's national interests? Rather, since 1993, our national debate has been anchored around the question of how best to establish a Palestinian state. This question, rooted in the false Arab narrative which consciously rejects the morality of the Zionist revolution, has brought us to a position where the IDF is cognitively barred from rationally approaching Israel's security challenges.

Things needn't be this way. The Israeli public is quite sick of hallucinatory peace processes and is keen to reignite a Zionist national discussion. Consistent opinion polls show that the overwhelming majority of the public knows there is no possibility of achieving peace with the PA and that any Palestinian state will be a terror state. Moreover, in poll after poll, the Israeli public expresses its patriotism and its desire to strengthen and preserve the Jewish, democratic character of the State of Israel.

And there are options other than delusion. On Wednesday, one such option was presented in Washington at the American Enterprise Institute. There, the American-Israel Demographic Research Group (AIDRG) presented a plan for Israel's future called "The Fourth Way."

Led by American economist Bennett Zimmerman and former Israeli diplomat Yoram Ettinger, the AIDRG first burst onto the screen in early 2005 when it presented the first comprehensive analysis of Palestinian population data.

Since 1997, Israel's leaders have based their policies towards the Palestinians on what was perceived as a madly ticking Palestinian demographic time bomb. The public was told that the Palestinian population in Jerusalem, Gaza, Judea and Samaria was rapidly expanding and that by 2015, Jews would lose our majority west of the Jordan River. If we didn't hurry up and hand over Judea, Samaria and Gaza and partition Jerusalem, we would find ourselves forced to choose between a Jewish state and a democratic one.

The AIDRG took it upon itself to do what no Israeli governmental body had considered doing: Its members just started counting heads. It worked out that the doomsday scenario was based on a massive fabrication. In 1997, the PA published census figures that exaggerated its population figures in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Jerusalem by nearly 50 percent. The PA double counted Arab Jerusalemites, included hundreds of thousands of emigrants to its population rolls, asserted mass immigration when in fact there has been net emigration from the PA since 1995. It exaggerated fertility rates and underplayed mortality rates. In all, the PA added approximately 1.4 million people who did not exist to its population rolls.

Rather than 3.8 million Palestinians, the team found there were likely no more, and perhaps less than 2.4 million Palestinians. Jews, who make up an 80 percent majority within sovereign Israel, make up a 59% majority of the population of Israel with Gaza and Judea and Samaria and a 67% majority of the population with Judea and Samaria without Gaza.

Last year, the group analyzed fertility trends in Israel and Judea and Samaria among Jews and Arabs. They found that in contradiction to the Palestinian and Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics forecasts, while Jewish fertility rates are on a steep and consistent incline, Arab fertility rates are steadily declining.

The significance of these actual trends is obvious: Not only is there no Palestinian demographic time bomb necessitating the immediate handover of Judea and Samaria to Palestinian terrorists. Israel's actual demographic position is its ace in the hole. This year the team members took their data to the next logical step by offering their best shot at a national strategy for Israel, based on true population data.

While one can agree or disagree with the viability of their strategy, the fact that it is based on truth rather than lies already places it in a different league from the "peace" plans that have held Israel intellectually hostage since 1993.

The plan is predicated on electoral reform in Israel that will set the course for a democratic absorption of all or parts of Judea and Samaria into Israel while securing the political rights of all Israelis - both Jewish and Arab. Israel today is governed by a proportional electoral system that treats the entire country as a unitary voting district. The plan recommends changing the electoral system to a direct, district-based voting system divided along the lines of the Interior Ministry's administrative partition of the country.

Given Israel's 80 percent Jewish majority outside Judea and Samaria, it is unsurprising that Jews form massive majorities in every administrative district in the country except the northern district. In the North, Arabs comprise a bare 52% majority. But the internal migration of just 52,000 Jews to the North would overturn that majority.

Within Judea and Samaria, the sparsely populated sub-districts of Western Samaria and the Jordan Valley are vital for Israel's national defense. As the study shows, an internal migration of approximately 150,000 Jews to these areas would give them strong Jewish majorities. Given that the Tel Aviv district has a 99% Jewish majority and the central region of the country has a 92% Jewish majority, a national plan for populating the areas could easily facilitate such a migratory trend.

In the Jerusalem district, the population trends are in flux. The erection of the separation fence has driven tens of thousands of Arabs from Judea and Samaria into the city to avoid PA rule. Conversely, the high real estate prices in Jewish neighborhoods are forcing Jews to leave the city.

Today Jews make up a 67% majority in the capital. The researchers demonstrated that if the capital's boundaries are extended to include Jerusalem's western suburbs, the Etzion bloc, the Adumim bloc, and the Givon bloc on the Jewish side as well as Abu Dis, Beit Hanina and the north Jerusalem bloc on the Arab side, the Jewish majority of the expanded city would be 66%. The flow of Arabs into the city's center to get away from the PA would abate. Real estate prices throughout the city would drop with the increase of land supplies and so the capital would again be affordable to young Jewish families. If Bethlehem is added to the municipal boundaries of the capital, the Jewish majority would be reduced to 62%.
(…)
NEXT WEEK Israel's premiere policy conference, the 7th Annual Herzliya Conference, will take place. The "Who's Who" of Israel will again present their "visions" for the country. In most cases, the speakers will regale us with tales of how they will make peace with the PLO and will warn us that we have to be nice to Abbas, (and eat our peas and carrots,) or be destroyed by Iranian nuclear bombs.

At last year's conference, the AIDRG team presented the data they had painstakingly compiled. They were greeted with unabashed hostility. Many walked out in the middle. Others groaned or chatted loudly with their friends trying to drown out the presentation. The audience of elitists didn't want to hear proof that for the past decade, Israel's national debate - which they themselves have led - has been based on a lie aimed at destroying the Zionist idea.

Fascinating idea which also has the possibility of being a much more workable solution than the establishment of another failed Arab welfare state. But one has to ask which would the Palestinians choose?

To be a citizen of a brashly Jewish state (even if it is the most dynamic and advanced states in the Middle East) or be the a citizen of an all-Arab (Jew-free) phone booth size state which has to relie on the goodwill and largess of international community for its daily bread? It’s the old Miltonian dilemma; is it better to be a servant in heaven or the ruler of hell.

Iran meets the Zionist Borge

Normally I don’t bother with these kinds of reports but this one’s humour potential is too great to resist. Ynet News:

A UFO omitting a "yellow ray" has been seen across Western Iran, the Fars News Agency claimed in a report recently.

"Witnesses told FNA (Fars News Agency) that the object has been observed for more than an hour," the report said, adding: "In a similar incident last Monday, an Unidentified Flying Object was witnessed in the same area and at the same time."

According to eye witnesses, "the UFO has been as big as a ball, with a yellow ray and a bright reddish color in the center. They also stated that the object has been flying at a very low altitude." The FNA said Iranian officials declined to comment.

The Iranian news outlet also reported a UFO "crashing" last Wednesday, "in Barrez Mounts in the central province of Kerman."

"Deputy Governor General of Kerman province Abulghassem Nasrollahi told FNA that the crash, which was followed by an explosion and a thick spiral of smoke, has caused no casualties or damage to properties," the report said, adding: "He further denied earlier reports that the explosion has been the result of a plane or chopper crash, reminding that all the passing aircrafts have been reported as sound and safe."

Iranian authorities were investigating the crash, described by witnesses as an explosion "caused as a result of the crash of a radiant unidentified flying object onto the ground." "Meantime, an informed source told FNA that the object has been on fire and there has been thick smoke coming out of it prior to the crash, concluding that the object couldn't have been a meteor as meteors do not smoke," the article said.

How long before Ahmadinejad claims it was the alien Zionist invasion launched from outer space, but no worries, as the Republican Guard was able successfully able to repel the alien zionist invasion forces.

EU Head Monitor passes judgment

I like this article from Ha’aretz. I am struck by how quintessentially weasel-like EU government organizations have remained, which in turn, reminds me to be grateful that my ancestors had the good sense to flee the Old World long ago.

The head of the European mission monitoring operations at the Egypt-Gaza border said Thursday that no weapons have been smuggled through the crossing since it was opened, and that all weapons that were discovered were destroyed, Israel Radio reported. Lt. Gen. Pietro Pistolese as saying urged Israel on Thursday to stop restricting operations there, saying disruptions only promote "extremism and terror."

Since the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June, Pistolese said, the crossing has been open only 39 days. During that time 80,000 people have passed through it, he said, though 550,000 could have used it if it had been open the entire period.

Israel, citing security alerts, has kept the Rafah terminal - Gaza's main gateway to the outside world - closed for about 80 percent of the time since Shalit's capture.

The European monitors at Rafah were deployed as part of a U.S.-brokered agreement of November 2005 that was to ease movement in and out of Gaza. The agreement was reached two months after Israel withdrew from the coastal strip.

Strange how the good Lt. Gen. has no word of criticism for when the Egyptians who have periodically ordered their side of the border closed due, dare I say it; "security considerations."

And how soon the Lt. Gen. forgets how often the men under his command have had to flee their posts in fear for their lives and seek the sanctuary BEHIND the Israeli Defense Forces.

But you know, I don’t think I will ever be able to fully understand the inner complexity of a modern EU mind. The logic of ‘no weapons have been smuggled through the crossing since it was opened and that all weapons that were discovered were destroyed’ is far too nuanced a position for me to fully grasp.

Though, Lt. Gen. Pistolese does have a point concerning the Egyptian-Palestinian weapons smuggling operations. Generally, the weapons smuggling traffic does not necessarily travel aboveground but through a rather complex network of underground tunnels lying below the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.

Jimmy Carter, the former US president who has managed to make even Richard Nixon look good

It’s been obvious for years that former US president Jimmy Carter had more than a mild apathy towards Jews but I never would have suspected his apathy would extend to lending support for the most notorious of Jew killers. Arutz Sheva is carrying an account of a rather extraordinary claim by a former US Justice department official who maintains that former US president Jimmy Carter personally attempted to intercede on the behalf of SS Nazi guard facing deportation:

Neil Sher, a veteran of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigation, described a letter he received from Carter in 1987 in an interview with Israel National Radio’s Tovia Singer. The letter, written and signed by Carter, asked that Sher show “special consideration” for a man proven to have murdered Jews in the Mauthausen death camp in Austria.

“In 1987, Carter had been out of office for seven years or so,” Sher recalled. “It was a very active period for my office. We had just barred Kurt Waldheim – he was then president of Austria and former head of the United Nations – from entering the U.S. because of his Nazi past and his involvement in the persecution of civilians during the war. We had just deported an Estonian Nazi Commandant back to the Soviet Union after a bruising battle after which we were attacked by Reagan White House Communications Director Patrick Buchanan.

“Also around that time, in the spring of 1987, we deported a series of SS guards from concentration camps, whose names nobody would know. One such character we sent back to Austria was a man named Martin Bartesch.”

Bartesch, who had immigrated to the U.S. and lived in Chicago, admitted to Sher’s office and the court that he had voluntarily joined the Waffen SS and had served in the notorious SS Death’s Head Division at the Mauthausen concentration camp where, at the hands of Bartesch and his cohorts, many thousands of prisoners were gassed, shot, starved and worked to death. He also confessed to having concealed his service at the infamous camp from U.S. immigration officials.

“We had an extraordinary piece of evidence against him – a book that was kept by the SS and captured by the American armed forces when they liberated Mauthausen,” Sher said. “We called it the death book. It was a roster that the Germans required them to keep that identified SS guards as they extended weapons to murder the inmates and prisoners.”

An entry in the book for October 10, 1943 registered the shooting death of Max Oschorn, a French Jewish prisoner. His murderer was also recorded: SS guard Martin Bartesch. “It was a most chilling document,” Sher recalled.

(…)

“One day, in the fall of ’87, my secretary walks in and gives me a letter with a Georgia return address reading ‘Jimmy Carter.’ I assumed it was a prank from some old college buddies, but it wasn’t. It was the original copy of the letter Bartesch’s daughter sent to Carter, after Bartesch had already been deported.

“In the letter, she claimed we were un-American, only after vengeance, and persecuting a man for what he did when he was only 17 and 18 years old. “I couldn’t help thinking of my own father who returned home with shrapnel wounds after he joined the U.S. Army as a teenager to fight the Nazis and hit the beaches at Normandy at that same age on D-day. “On the upper corner of the letter was a note signed by Jimmy Carter saying that in cases such as this, he wanted ‘special consideration for the family for humanitarian reasons.’

It’s at this point, I feel compelled to point out that this is a one-sided account of Mr. Sher’s side of this story. And owing to the rather spectacular allegations against Mr. Carter I believe it is necessary to err on the side of caution per say, but I would be remiss if I also did not point out that there is not a shred of evidence suggesting Mr. Sher’s memory of events or reputation is in the least way dubious.

Arutz Sheva is also hosting the Israel National Radio link for the Tovia Singer interview of Neil Sher so you can listen to Sher’s story in his own words here and then decide for yourself.

Crocodile tears for dead children

Jimmy Carter’s interview on Al Jazeera has to be the single most asinine interview Carter has given in his long, very public career. How he could even keep a straight face when he suggested Palestinians do not engage in terrorism when they launch kassam attacks at Israeli civilian populations is beyond me. Carter is being widely disparaged, and rightly so for his personal skewered definition of terrorism. But that wasn’t his only asinine statement and this one deserves the same treatment.

In my book, I talk about violence from both sides, and I describe very carefully and accurately the number of casualties among Palestinians and Israelis, including children. The number of Palestinian children who died because of the violence is five times greater than the number of Israeli children, and I condemn this kind of violence on both sides.

There is a cultural reason why Palestinian child causalities are 5 times greater than Israeli child casualties, and it’s not for a lack of motivation or trying on part of the Palestinians. Israeli parents rarely send their children outside to riot against Fatah/Hamas/Islamic Jihad forces.

Nor do Israelis build bomb making facilities in the family recreational room, hence the low incidence of “work related explosions” in Israeli homes. It has never been considered a common rite of adolescent passage for Israeli youths to act as human shields for the IDF. Call the IDF old fashioned or quaint, but using Israeli civilians as cannon folder has just not made its’ way into the IDF’s military doctrine.

Here's another new low

From a national news paper which suggests a federal minister has to justify his canceling of a prison run tattoo program. Here’s the Globe & Mail account:

Day defends axing prison tattoo program
Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day had some explaining to do yesterday after an internal report had positive things to say about a prison tattoo project he axed last month.

In terminating the safe-tattooing program, Mr. Day said an analysis of the project showed it "has not been demonstrably effective." But critics expressed concern the move would increase the spread of AIDS and hepatitis C by encouraging illicit tattooing behind bars.

The Correctional Service's draft evaluation of the pilot project was not made public at the time. The report, now available, says the project resulted in increased knowledge and awareness among staff and prisoners about preventing blood-borne infectious diseases. It also found that while the price-tag was low, a more cost-effective model could be put in place with similar results.

I am only surprised that no federal inmate hasn't already sought recourse from the courts for the government cancelling this program, and thereby, violating his right to exercise free expression. Anyway, don't hold your breath. It will no doubt come.

IDF Chief of Staff Resigns

Talk about a whole lot of shake-up. IDF Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz resigns reports Ynet News:

An earthquake in the military and political echelon: IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz resigned Tuesday night. This was reported by the IDF Spokesperson's Office.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed deep sorrow over the decision. Olmert, who knew beforehand that Halutz was going to resign, asked him to reconsider, but according to the PM's Office, Halutz's decision was decisive and as such, Olmert has no choice but to accept it.

Despite vast pressure exerted on Halutz recently, pursuant to the second Lebanon war, the general originally seemed poised for the opposite action. In a press conference presenting the post-war investigation findings, Halutz said "I haven't heard calls from my superiors for me to leave. When they tell me to, I'll respond."

Halutz addressed the imminent report by the Winograd commission, expected in February, and stated that if the commission took a different stance, he would comply "as it required." "I chose to take responsibility," said Halutz. "There are those who interpret responsibility as running away. I chose to deal with the investigation and a nation demanding a solution. That is responsibility."

Only Tuesday morning, former IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen (res.) Dan Shomron, who reviewed Halutz's performance during the recent war, criticized him harshly for his flawed management of the conflict. Tuesday afternoon, he presented the Knesset's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee with his conclusions, declaring that this summer's war "was run without any goal." According to Shomron, "The prime minister instructed the army to halt the rocket fire on Israel, but the army failed to translate it into a military objective."

I could make a make a few quips about Halutz’s poor stomach under fire or his performance as IDF Chief of Staff but his exit is far classier than I expected. The reality is Halutz only made the Sharon’s short-list for IDF Chief of Staff because he was one of the few senior officers who could be counted on to be able and willing to take charge of the expulsion of Jews from Gaza Strip. More experienced and seasoned officers refused to have Gaza on their service record or their conscience.

I am glad to see Halutz return to the heart of soldiering – doing one’s duty. In this case - it’s by resigning, and while Halutz’s performance as Chief of Staff was less than inspired, I have to give the man full credit for taking the initiative by resigning. I’m shocked really, as I had presumed the only way he would have been successfully removed was to be run out of town on the rails.

Maybe there’s hope for Olmert. And just in case anyone missed it. Ynet News is reporting that the Israeli State Prosecutor has directed the police to launch a full scale criminal investigation into Olmert’s activities when he was Minister of Industry, Commerce & Labor.

It will be interesting to see if Olmert will break with both honor and tradition by staying on rather than resigning and clearing his name.

Freedom to Choose is also Freedom to Refuse

I have never understood what politician’s mean when it is suggested that Parliament needs more women. I always ask “why” but I have to receive and answer that wasn’t either demeaning or downright patronizing to me as a woman. It’s hard for me to comprehend what the presence of women (or more women) would collectively bring to the table that is not already there. I would like to understand it. As it stands, I feel like there is a huge cultural and social divide between me and my alleged betters on this issue. For example, take this recent Toronto Star editorial bemoaning the lack of women in parliament:

Women should be encouraged to bring their unique qualities to the job, without having to mimic the traits of their male counterparts.

Who knew female politicians “mimic” the traits of their male counterparts? All of which makes me speculate as to who Shelia Copps and Carolyn Parrish have been attempting to “mimic” all these years. And here I thought they were Canadian originals. I really want to double dog dare the Toronto Star to send a reporter to interview Parrish and ask her which male politician she has spent her political career “mimicking”. Even the idea of a female Chretien wannabe is too hysterical for words.

But the Toronto Star never defines what “unique qualities” women would bring to parliament that a man isn’t capable of bringing. If by sheer virtue of our collective physical presence and our double XX chromosome we improve anything and everything; why don’t people go around complaining why there aren’t more female welders, or plumbers or even oil rig workers? When was the last time you heard anyone say; ‘we need more female plumbers’ or ‘I only conduct welding business with female welders?” When you need a plumber who really cares what sex the plumber is?

There is a perfectly obvious and simple reason why more women don’t choose to become welders, plumbers or even politicians. Collectively, it just doesn’t appeal to most women. Note I said ‘most’ and not ‘all’ women. Some women choose to become welders, plumbers or even politicians - and more power to them. No one is going to argue that because you are female you cannot be anything you want to be in Canada in 2007. As this is Canada, no doubt there are probably all kinds of entitlement and grant programs set up for women who do choose to become welders or plumbers, but still, most of us just don’t find it an appealing way to earn a living even with any potential perqs. We can accept that about welders and plumbers; so why can’t we about politicians?

Alternative realities

I’ve not been posting over the weekend. Real life has intruded. Too bad the Israeli Prime Minister Olmert doesn’t have those same real life moments. Ynet News is reporting this:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert lashed out on Monday at members of his Kadima party for what he labeled as a bad atmosphere among their ranks. "If we forget for one second the tumult, the fervor and the way in which the Israeli public discourse is being managed, and look for a moment at the situation in the eyes of the international economic expert, we will find him speaking praises about the way in which we are managing things," he said at a meeting of the Kadima faction.

There has never been a more comfortable period for the State of Israel as the present period … We have to understand that reality is good and only the polls are not – and thank God this is so. Imagine this was different," he said.

One of the things I admire about Israeli society is how engaged it is politically. Their ability to form opinions and then slug it out in the public forum. Too bad the Saudis, the Iranians, or even the Syrians couldn't take a that leaf out of the Israeli discourse and make it their own.

Meanwhile Kassams continue to rain down on Israel and the local Palestinian USAID has embarked on a campaign to improve its image and brand among the Palestinians. It very well may be a lost cause as these are one of the few groups of people who it can be said to not only mourn Saddam Hussein but have idolized him as well. I just can’t see any common cultural ground. I’m probably living in an alternative reality.

Living with the Proverbial Bull

I love my oldest son. I truly do. He has many fine outstanding qualities which make him an incredible human being but living with him is like living with a proverbial bull in a china shop. Snow finally descended yesterday morning and the streets were dusted so my young bull and I did not go to the laundry mat until late in the evening. I figured this was the most optimal time for us to go as either the snow would have melted or the streets would be shoveled.

Now my son has been carting the laundry bags every since my washing machine gave up the motor of life last fall. I realize I should not complain as the washing machine lasted a good 12 years longer than any husband I ever had but still…. And I will have saved enough money to buy a new machine come March so it’s only inconvenient for a little while.

I did notice on the way to the laundry mat that he was only wearing his light fall jacket and not his winter coat. A bell went off in my head and I made a mental note to remind him that with snow on the ground and the temperature dropping; it’s not appropriate to wear one’s light fall jacket. It’s strange, I would have thought before I had sons of my own that snow on the ground would be a big "heads up" to wear coat, hats, gloves, scarves, and winter coat, but my sons aren’t hardwired to take into account those kind of hints. You should have seen the get-up Isaiah Sender tried wear before he left the house this morning.

The boys must be explicitly told in no uncertain or ambiguous language exactly what to wear and when to wear it. I would have thought teenagers could make this decision on their own, and certainly the Last Amazon does, but the boys generally just don’t get it. I can hear what most of you are thinking. Let them freeze their little tussie’s off and then they will learn. Nope, tried it and it just didn’t work. I’m probably lucky that I broke before they did. Otherwise their teachers probably would have reported me to children’s aid society for sending them to school without adequate clothes. The problem is; my sons don’t whine or complain about the bad decisions they make. They just suck it up and move on - all the while hoping things turn out better next time.

I have actually been enjoying our sessions at the public laundry mat and in a strange way I will miss seeing them come to an end. Being the mother of many, it’s not often that I get to spend much time alone with any one child. The laundry mat has turned into the ideal place for Montana and I to chat. The other two children are quite happy and content to miss out on going. Besides, Montana is not only horrified with the idea of me going to the neighborhood laundry mat by myself, but he thinks I am incapable of carrying of carrying bags on my own which suits me just fine.

So we are at the laundry mat looking at the window, and I am pointing out all the environmental clues as to why his fall jacket is a poor choice for the day, when this really sheepish expression crosses his face, and announces he has something to tell me. He prefaces these remarks by saying “I am not to be angry or worry about anything” all of which makes my 'zero to psychotic' mummy meter start to vibrate and my right eye twitch. I have been down this road a time or two in the last 14 years and it’s never good.

Apparently, he accidentally ripped the heavy metal gauge zipper off his only coat. Oddly enough, as he struggled to unstick the zipper, he inexplicitly also managed to take off a good chunk of the front panel of his coat as well. Go figure, but it’s all good, because he really doesn’t need a winter coat. He will just wear extra clothes under his fall jacket. Besides school isn’t more than a 20 minute walk from home. And winter can’t last forever and pigs might even well learn to fly one day as evolution is in constant state of flux.

I am not upset that he ruined his winter coat. For years, I budgeted in at least 2 winter coats for Montana, as I know, Montana will just be Montana. He’s gentle on people and tough on his clothes, furniture, appliances, toilet seats etc. But I had thought we have moved pass that stage as it was his second winter with that same coat. When I sit back and think of how many times in the six weeks I have been flush with cash and could have easily bought him a coat I could just kick him for not saying a word. This weekend he watched me purchase a number of appliances and various other household things and he didn’t mention a word about his jacket. I’d rather my son had a new winter coat than I have a new dvd player for the living room or a deep fryer in my kitchen and a half a dozen other little things.

And why didn’t he want to tell me about his coat? Because he didn’t want to throw off the family budget which could potentially cause me to be unduly stressed. Nor did he want the other two to have to go without their little conveniences. It’s true, I don’t have a great deal of money. I live on a very tight budget and I am rather anal about sticking to it. I even try to sock away a little money every month in an RRSP - and not because it’s the best investment deal for my limited funds but because the penalties are so extreme I won’t be tempted to cash it out. I probably cook more than most women because I don’t buy prepared or ready made meals. Thank heaven’s, I grew up in Rosie’s kitchen so I know how cook real food. It can be a bit of a pain as I always end up having to make a special trip to the grocery store and end up lugging home cans whenever the school does a food drive so the children can have something to contribute.

And so he made the decision he could easily suffer the consequences so the rest of us wouldn’t need to. And you know, he’s really sincere about it. This isn’t a made up ploy so he can avoid any kind of retribution or lecture. I haven’t a clue as to what to do with him but am struggling with the urge to drive a stake through his heart right after I take him out shopping for a new coat tonight.

Update:

Last night I just scored the perfect coat. Brand new black downfilled parka, fur lined hood in a man's XL with plenty of pockets. The coat was only $130 but the store was having a sale with 25% off and when I got to the woman on check out duty - the math utterly defeated her. Then I wowed her with the ultimate question; “So what's the cash price?” We settled on $100 and she can settle up with the tax man herself. Between women with inadequate math skills and cash - how could I lose?

But I had to snicker as I took Montana on a tour of two of the largest department stores in Toronto (the Bay and Sears) first. The $440 average price tags were rather an eye opener for him. The cheapest coat we found was $298 with 10% off. And they weren't even very warm coats or coats with hoods. Why men even bother to pay these outrageous prices is simply beyond me. Any man who doesn't tour the Army/Surplus stores for a winter parka is an idiot or a man without a wife.

I also want to thank all those who emailed with offers to help, but this really wasn’t a plea for help. I know he can't help how hard he is in clothes but rather than come out and say he needs something, he will just make up his mind to suck it up and "save" me and/or spare the other two from any alleged hardship...while that's sweet and all, but he is just 14 and my child. I would rather have a live child than a boy who willfully chooses to risk dying from exposure rather than speak up. He doesn't get it. These are not his decisions to make. I am the grown-up! I am suppose to be in charge! WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

'This goes from the sublime

...to the ridiculous' to use a quote from my grandfather – cold and snow predicted for southern California.

The Last Amazon got a new digital camera so I must send her out to take pictures of Toronto this weekend. The leaves have fallen off the trees but the grass has stayed green and most of us were walking around at lunchtime without our coats done up. No one from outside will believe this is Canada without pictures.

Blog Secrets

In the last two years of blogging, I have often been asked what blogs I read. Usually I avoid giving a straight answer. I actually read everyone on my blogroll, and then some. I don’t necessarily read every blog ever day, but in any given week, I usually manage to make at least one fly-over read for everyone listed. As a rule, just put me down as one of the maddening silent readers. I am not much of a commenter – even if I like the blog. Then, I also read a number of other blogs I find on other people’s blogrolls. Sometimes, I end up visiting the same blog, over and over again, just to get the link to a treasure of a blog I found on their blogroll.

Seraphic Secret is one of those treasures I originally found somewhere else. I am not sure on whose blogroll I found it on first, but I suspect I owe big props to one unlinked blog. I first visited in the middle of “How I married Karen”. It’s not often I am a sucker for a romance but this was a heck of a one. Reading it transported me back to childhood, when I would sit enraptured, listening to the family histories being told. The relationship between Robert and Karen is what we should all be striving for and rarely settle for. I freely admit as a widow, I am green with envy but in a really nice way. For some strange reason, I somehow find it very reassuring to find that there are couples like Robert and Karen out in the big wide world - even if I never number among their ranks.

Well, Robert has started another serial called My Hollywood Gun. Read Part 1 – The Burning and then stroll onward and upward for the rest at Seraphic Secret. I would say it illustrates the potential for personal disaster which can result when you consign your personal safety to government – any government. Personally, I prefer not to remain a bystander in my own life.

And the resignations just keep on coming…...

Taken from the International Herald Tribune:

ATLANTA: Fourteen members of a Carter Center advisory board, who worked to build support for the human rights organization started by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, have resigned in protest over Carter's latest book.

The resignations, announced Thursday, are the latest in a backlash against Carter's book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," which has drawn fire from Jewish groups, been attacked by fellow Democrats and led to the resignation last month of Kenneth Stein, a Carter Center fellow and a longtime Carter adviser.

In their letter of resignation, the members of the Center's Board of Councilors wrote of Carter, "you have clearly abandoned your historic role of broker in favor of becoming an advocate for one side." The board is responsible for building public support for the Carter Center. It is not the organization's governing board. Carter Center Executive Director John Hardman said Thursday in a written statement that the board's members "are not engaged in implementing work of the Center." Hardman offered no further comment other than thanking the resigning members for their service.

Former US President Jimmy Carter’s only claim to fame for his presidency was the peace deal he successfully brokered between the Egyptians & Israelis. What is often overlooked, when discussing the Camp David accord, was how lavishly Carter managed to bribe both parties into accepting the deal. And if not for the largess of the American taxpayers; would the accord still be holding today? Here’s a test; name all the Egyptian high government representatives or leaders who have visited Israel in say the last 30 or so years. I’ll bet you won’t even use all the fingers on one hand.

Name this country!

And here's a hint: it’s not Toronto, Canada.

I just don’t understand why I can’t live in a country like this. I thought I did, but I haven’t seen snow in so long, that I am starting to believe it’s a national myth - like Santa Claus lives in the North Pole. Arutz Sheva carries this report:

Pisgat Yaakov is a small hilltop caravan neighborhood of Beit El located on Mount Artis. Residents woke up early to find their beloved mountain covered in a velveteen layer of pure-white snow. Twenty-nine families live in the close-knit community, which has its own synagogue and vista observatory. From the top of the mountain, Tel Aviv can often be seen to the west, while Jerusalem's Mount of Olives can be viewed in the south. On rare days, when weather conditions permit, snow-capped Mount Hermon appears to the north.

The 909-meter tall mountain is covered, as are most mountains in the Binyamin Region, with ancient terraces. These terraces are the work of Jews, dated by archeologists to the Second Temple period. Ancient Jewish burial caves, as well as ancient wine and olive presses, abound throughout the terraces. Alongside the new Jewish neighborhood, animals continue to make the mount their home, including gazelles, porcupines, eagles, and wild boars.

Other Beit El neighborhoods are sprouting at the foot and midriff of the mountain, and they include a girls' high school, a new mikvah (ritual immersion bath), and a winery that sits below an ancient Jewish winepress. Some researchers believe that this mountain is the spot of Jacob's dream of the ladder which the Torah describes as occurring in Beit El.

Arutz Sheva is hosting a photo gallery of the snowfall in the Beit El area taken by Artis resident Yishai Fleisher.

About that Apartheid State

The advantage of being my age is that I can remember quite clearly how the South African apartheid system not only ticked, but worked. The Palestinian demagogues and their supporters frequently smear Israel as the new apartheid state, but the thing is the old South African apartheid state would never have done this: (Taken from Ynet News)

Israel’s first Arab minister, Science, Technology, Culture, and Sports Minister Raleb Majadele told Ynet Thursday, “I see the appointment as a historic precedent. I couldn’t refuse this opportunity.” The newly appointed minister did not fail to see the connection between Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s shaky position and his appointment. “The move undoubtedly created sympathy for Amir Peretz amongst the Arab public,” he said. Majadele referred to the inevitable meeting with Lieberman and said, “It’s not an easy situation, but we will deal with it.”

Majadele told Ynet that he was approached after former Minister Ofir Pines-Paz resigned, but that he was very hesitant and only made his decision after being approached a second time, and after having consulted with friends. “I believe this is a precedent that will be written in the history of Israeli society,” he said. According to him, even those in the Knesset that dislike him would call it a great move.

“I hope that after this, more steps will follow. I hope that Amir Peretz’s political plan changes the situation and removes barriers,” Majadele said. The new minister also mentioned a time when he made the unpopular move of joining former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. “At one time Rabin said to break the arms and legs of Palestinians. The Arabs hated him,” he said. “Then they cried for him because he gave equality as prime minister, as well as peace. People cried because the Arabs lost him,” he explained. “They didn’t forget what he had said in the past, but they remembered what he gave as a prime minister.”

You can be as cynical as you want about Peretz being in the fight of his political life and using Majadele as a pawn to score cheap political points, but a government representative of the South African apartheid state would never have considered using the "other" as currency in which to purchase any political brownie points. And by the way; just how many Jews or Domi sit in the Palestinian legislature?

Milking it

According to this Arutz Sheva report, the Israeli State Prosecutor is about to recommend the Israeli police open a criminal investigation on the activities Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert:

According to a report broadcast Tuesday night by Channel 10 television news, State Prosecutor Eran Shendar will instruct the police to investigate Prime Minister Olmert's alleged illegal involvement in the public tender for the purchase of Bank Leumi. In addition, the investigation may focus on three other cases of alleged corruption involving the prime minister.

The Channel 10 report said the Attorney General's Office will make the announcement of the investigation upon Olmert's return from his ongoing three-day state visit to China.

Prime Minister Olmert has thus far refused to provide any immediate reaction to the report - finding himself in a very awkward position in the midst of an official visit to an important world power. Sources close to him said that it is nothing more than speculation and analysis, not reliable foreknowledge, and that no information regarding an impending criminal investigation was given to the prime minister or his staff.

Ynet News is given over to speculating on whether Olmert should resign if he finds himself the target of a criminal investigation which I suppose one why to get rid of him without an election.

As much as it could be considered a good thing for Olmert to resign, I am not sure that anyone who is currently standing in line to step up and fill Olmert’s shoes, (without a general election being held) would do the job better than Olmert currently has. The possible succession candidates for endless disasters are potentially more horrendous than Olmert running around the world milking cows as Prime Minister of Israel.

Men Not Invited #2

When I started blogging there were only a handful of blog carnivals. Now there are so many different ones it’s a Herculean job trying to keep up but I did find this rather novel one at Simply Jews called Men Not Invited 2. It’s the brain child of Snoopy the Goon

I am not sure how I made an honorable mention except that I am female blogger and I do have a grey tabby named Rogue but how Snoopy knew about the cat is beyond me. Don’t let anyone tell you different – those Elders know everything – well, everything except anything about existing Israeli war plans. And Snoop, for the record I have more than a passing acquaintance with gross negligence coming from a family of Zigani.

No peace for the wicked, no rest for the weary

And just to show that the world hasn’t changed all that much from yesterday Hamas is alleging that Fatah is a part of the Zionist conspiracy. Ynet News reports:

A day after Fatah leaders spoke out against Hamas , Hamas are now warning of a "revolutionist sect within Fatah" which is trying to lead the Palestinians into civil war. The past 24 hours in Gaza and the West Bank have been relatively quiet though tensions are still running extremely high; especially if judged by statements made by both sides.

Hamas spokesman Dr. Fouzi Barhoum told reporters at a press conference on Monday that there are those in Fatah who are in league with the Zionist-American conspiracy to stage a coup and overthrow the elected Palestinian government – this as punishment for the fact that the government refuses to recognize the State of Israel.

Barhoum said that there are Israeli and American interests shared by Fatah and that the economic and political siege led by the US, Israel and officials within the PA is designed to defeat the Islamic movement – represented by Hamas which won the Palestinian vote.

Barhoum said that Muhammad Dahlan – the leading Fatah leader in Gaza who once tried to overthrow Yasser Arafat – now seeks to overthrow the current government. Barhoum said that over the course of the past month there were 70 incidents in which Hamas establishments and leaders were attacked, including parliament and the prime minister's office. He said that Hamas will not let the situation come to civil war and addressed Fatah leaders, calling them back to the Palestinian negotiation table. Hamas, said Barhoum, will not allow a group seeking a coup to destroy it, nor will the movement allow the Zionist enemy victory.

I think it’s safe to make at least three deductions from this. The Zionist conspiracy has officially gone worldwide but is boycotting Hamas. And there is simply no rest for the Elders.

The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine

Ynet News is reporting the US has struck at Al Qaeda target in Somalia:

WASHINGTON – A United States military plane attacked senior al-Qaeda officials in Somalia Monday night. The attack's main target was Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a senior commander in the organization's East African branch. Mohammed is wanted by the FBI for his suspected involvement in US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, in which 241 people were killed.

Other targets of the attack were terrorists suspected of involvement in the "Paradise Hotel" bombing in Mombasa on 28 November 2002. Fifteen people were killed in the attack, including three Israeli's. The terrorists were also suspected of involvement in attempts to shoot down an Arkia plane later that day using two missiles.

Monday's US military attack was carried out using an AC-130 gunship. Pentagon sources told the American CBS network, which exposed the story, that many bodies could be seen on the ground following the attack, although the names of those killed were not yet known.

The gunship used in the attack took off from an air base in Djibouti and made its way to the tip of southern Somalia, which was where al-Qaeda terrorists took refuge after being chased out of their strongholds by the Ethiopian army in collaboration with US forces. Assuming the operation was successful, it would be a hard blow to al-Qaeda in East Africa.

Al-Qaeda hoped to turn Somalia into its stronghold, as it had done with Afghanistan for several years. The US considers removing Muslim rebels from Somalia an important step in fighting world terror.

Let’ call this Vultures Down.

Only in America

This brings a whole new meaning to riding the A Train.

h/t The Corner

Crock Pots Meet Kettles

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas denounced Hamas paramilitary forces as illegal and threatened to arrest all Hamas milita members on Saturday, but personally I think it’s a bit of sour grapes on Abbas’ part; as Hamas has been kicking some serious Fatah butt all week. Anyhoo, the Jerusalem Post carries the response from the milita man on the street response to the PA chairman’s call:

Six Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip on Sunday threatened to assassinate "collaborators and traitors" in response to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's decision over the weekend to outlaw Hamas's "Executive Force." The groups warned Abbas and senior Fatah leader Muhammad Dahlan against trying to implement the decision which, they claimed, was taken at the request of Israel and the US.

Dahlan, who according to Palestinian sources has been asked to head the PA security forces in the Gaza Strip, responded by issuing a threat to eliminate Hamas leaders. One of the six groups that issued the threat belongs to Abbas's own Fatah party. The five others are: Izzadin Kassam, the Abu Rish Brigades, Sword of Islam, the Brigades of Unification and the Salah Eddin Brigades.

Abu Obaidah, a spokesman for the six groups, told reporters in Gaza City that Abbas's security forces were not carrying out their duties to restore law and order. It was a mistake to hold the Executive Force responsible for the anarchy, because it had existed long before the Hamas force was established, he added.

Obaidah said a "rebellious" group inside Fatah was trying to topple the Hamas-led government with the help of the US and Israel. He criticized Abbas for the move against the Hamas force, branding him the "President of the Oslo Accords."
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians braved torrential rain and the cold to participate in a rally marking the 42nd anniversary of the founding of Fatah. The rally, the largest of its kind since 1994, turned into a show of support for Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas.

Chanting "Long live Fatah" and "Death to the Hamas murderers," many of the demonstrators carried pictures of Yasser Arafat and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The main speaker at the rally, which was held at Yarmouk Stadium, was Dahlan who, along with other Fatah officials, used the platform to launch a scathing attack on Hamas.

Condemning Hamas as a "bunch of murderers and gangsters," Dahlan said: "They are murderers. If they harm one of us, we will harm two of them. If the Hamas leaders think that they are immune, they are mistaken." "Today you have come to respond to the murderers who are shedding Palestinian blood," Dahlan told the crowd. "As the Israeli army was raiding Ramallah, the forces of disgrace were attacking the home of Palestinian security officer Muhammad Gharib last Thursday [in the northern Gaza Strip]. If they think that the murderers will go unpunished, they are mistaken."

The Hamas response:

Hamas legislators in the Gaza Strip issued a statement in which they described Abbas's decision to ban their Executive Force as illegal. They said the force had been subjected to "a campaign of incitement that began in the US State Department." In a related development, Hamas threatened to avenge the killing of three of its supporters in Gaza City late Saturday night. The three, members of the Diri family, were killed in a confrontation with members of the Daghmash clan. "This crime will not pass unpunished," Hamas said. "We will rid our people of these murderers."

If this keeps up and stays serious the IDF can start holding golf tournaments.

Sabra Rattling

The Sunday Times is carrying an article which suggests the Israelis have a tactical plan to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities and the IAF is already training pilots for the mission:

In an Israeli air force bunker in Tel Aviv, near the concert hall for the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, Major General Eliezer Shkedi might one day conduct operations of a perilous kind. Should the order come from the Israeli prime minister, it will be Shkedi’s job as air force commander to orchestrate a tactical nuclear strike on Iran.

Two fast assault squadrons based in the Negev desert and in Tel Nof, south of Tel Aviv, are already training for the attack.

On a plasma screen, Shkedi will be able to see dozens of planes advance towards Iran, as well as the electronic warfare aircraft jamming the Iranian and Syrian air defences and the rescue choppers hovering near the border, ready to move in and pluck out the pilots should the mission go wrong.

Another screen will show live satellite images of the Iranian nuclear sites. The prime target will be Natanz, the deep and ferociously protected bunker south of Tehran where the Iranians are churning out enriched uranium in defiance of the United Nations security council.

If things go according to plan, a pilot will first launch a conventional laser-guided bomb to blow a shaft down through the layers of hardened concrete. Other pilots will then be ready to drop low-yield one kiloton nuclear weapons into the hole. The theory is that they will explode deep underground, both destroying the bunker and limiting the radioactive fallout.

The other potential targets are Iran’s uranium conversion facility at Isfahan — uncomfortably near a metropolis of 4.5m people — and the heavy water power reactor at Arak, which might one day be able to produce enough plutonium to make a bomb. These will be hit with conventional bombs.

In recent weeks Israeli pilots have been flying long-haul as far as Gibraltar to simulate the 2,000-mile round trip to Natanz. “There is no 99% success in this mission. It must be a perfect 100% or better not at all,” one of the pilots expected to fly on the mission told The Sunday Times.

The Israelis say they hope as fervently as the rest of the world that this attack will never take place. There is clearly an element of sabre-rattling in their letting it be known the plan exists and that the pilots are already in training. But in the deeply dangerous and volatile Middle East, contingency plans can become horrible reality.

NO nuclear weapon has been fired in anger since the American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Should Israel take such a drastic step, it would inflame world opinion — particularly in Muslim states — and unleash retaliation from Iran and its allies. But Israelis have become increasingly convinced that a “second holocaust” of the Jews is brewing, stoked by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president and chief Holocaust denier, who has repeatedly called for Israel to be destroyed.

Western Europe and the United States have been trying to persuade Tehran to drop its nuclear ambitions, using the carrot of co-operation with a legitimate nuclear energy programme and the stick of UN sanctions. But they have had no effect.

As a result, Israel sees itself standing on its own and fighting for its very existence. It got a taste of what Iran was capable of during last summer’s war in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah, Tehran’s proxy troops fighting from bunkers secretly built by Iranian military engineers, humiliated the Israeli army and rained missiles into northern Israel.

Every Israeli government has vowed never to let Iran acquire nuclear weapons. Ariel Sharon, when he was prime minister, ordered the military to be ready for a conventional strike on Iran’s nuclear programme. Since then, however, the Iranians have strengthened their nuclear facilities and air defences, making a conventional strike less likely to succeed.

Speculating on the Israeli intentions of launching a pre-emptive on Iranian nuclear facilities seems to be a common theme for the Times. I am not really clear on why this piece wasn’t originally run in the newspaper’s predictions for 2007. In December 2005, the Times reported the Israelis had a plan and were currently in the midst for training for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilties. The Times speculated that an Israeli strike would occur around March 2006.

ISRAEL’S armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed.

The order came after Israeli intelligence warned the government that Iran was operating enrichment facilities, believed to be small and concealed in civilian locations. Iran’s stand-off with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over nuclear inspections and aggressive rhetoric from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, who said last week that Israel should be moved to Europe, are causing mounting concern.

The Israelis having a plan and training for its implantation is not really news. Six months before the Times ran their piece, I quoted a Jerusalem Post report from July 2004:

"Israel has completed military rehearsals for a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear power facility at Bushehr, Israeli officials told the London-based Sunday Times. Such a strike is likely if Russia supplies Iran with fuel rods for enriching uranium. The rods, currently stored at a Russian port, are expected to be delivered late next year after a dispute over financial terms is resolved.

An Israeli defense source in Tel Aviv, who confirmed that the military rehearsals had taken place, told the paper: "Israel will on no account permit Iranian reactors - especially the one being built in Bushehr with Russian help - to go critical."

The source was also quoted as saying that any strike on the Gulf coast facility at Bushehr would probably be carried out by long-range F-15I jets, overflying Turkey, with simultaneous operations by commandos on the ground. "If the worst comes to the worst and international efforts fail," the source was quoted as saying, "we are very confident we'll be able to demolish the ayatollahs' nuclear aspirations in one go."

The source noted that the strike could be accompanied by an attack on other targets, including a facility at Natanz, where the Iranians have attempted to enrich uranium, and a plant at Arak, which produces heavy water.

I admit I have an incredibly low opinion on the current Olmert government in Israel. Recent events have shown that this administration couldn’t fight its way out of a paper bag without a bribe. At the same time, for the Israelis not to have a plan for a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be gross negliance on an unheard of scale even for the Israeli state. Furthermore, I can’t believe an old military hand like Ariel Sharon wouldn’t have had a war plan for an Iranian strike drawn up long before he won his second term as Prime Minister.

Are the Israelis training? No doubt about it. Will the Israelis launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities? Who really knows? But I would suggest this; Olmert is in absolutely no position politically to launch a pre-emptive strike. If you were Olmert; how likely would you to give a green light to launch a major military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities with any plan approved by Minister of Defense Amir Peretz and to be implemented by IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz – the chief architects of last summer’s Lebanon fiasco?

Not bloody likely, unless the plan had the full backing of the current US Administration, and after last summer’s adventures in Lebanon; I’d say the odds of the US Bush Administration giving even a token promise to watch your back if the strike goes south are highly suspect. Olmert is no Ben-Gurion or Begin. He’s more like the Israeli Jimmy Carter. I think it’s a safe bet that the Mullah’s can sleep relatively easy at night until the Israelis change governments.

What I would really like to know is; how much truth are there to those pesky rumors that Israeli commandos were training on the ground from Western Iraq and are they still deployed there, and if so, in what capacity?

Arab Apartheid

Arab countries are the first to try the west for any alleged perceived "racism" but why does their own bigotry always get a pass? Sometimes you cannot win without losing. Ynet News carries this shameful account:

Authorities have revoked the Bahraini citizenship of a Kenyan-born athlete who ran in an Israeli marathon, the nation's athletic union said Saturday. Bahraini runner Mushir Salem Jawher competed and won the Tiberias Marathon in Israel on Thursday, ending the race in just over 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Most Arab states do not recognize Israel, and the Jerusalem Post newspaper said Jawher was the first athlete from an Arab country to compete in an Israeli marathon. Jawher was born in Kenya in 1978 and moved to Bahrain in 2003, according to the International Association of Athletics Federation.

The Jerusalem Post cited Jawher as saying he was "very proud" to have run in Israel. Even though Bahrain has no official ties with the Jewish state, "It is a free country," the athlete was quoted as saying. Bahrain's Athletic Union said in a statement Saturday that it had received the news that a Bahraini national competed in Israel with "shock and regret."

"The union deeply regrets what the athlete has done," the statement said. A comity of sport and government authorities decided to strike Jawher's name off the sport union records and strip off his Bahraini nationality, the statement said. It said Jawher had entered Israel with his Kenyan passport and added that the runner's Bahraini citizenship was revoked because he had "violated the laws of Bahrain."

Absolutely shameful in this day and age. By the way, did I mention that Bahrain has close ties with the United States? Maybe its time to re-think our relationships with stone age bigots.

It's incredibly lucrative to be PA Chairman

Somedays, I really am not in the mood or right frame of mind to blog, but then again; why should today be different from any other day? So I will just lead with a few quick links:

PA Chairman Abbas should be feeling mighty flush this morning as he has the Israelis agreeing to unlocking US$100 million into his stewardship and according to Ynet News the Bush Administration will give pony up another US$86 to Abbas to fight Hamas. Hamas asks that Abbas reject the funds in the name of Palestinian Unity. No wonder Arafat killed off all leadership hopefuls and pretenders.

Still more fire than cease as Kassam’s are still landing in Sderot.

Caroline Glick’s latest column is up and she’s always worth a read. The Bitter Fruit of Corruption.

shoot-outs & payouts

The Toronto Star leads with the IDF raid in Ramallah in which 4 Palestinian (alleged civilians) were killed and 20 wounded No word on the status “civilian” of those wounded though Ynet News is reporting 6 dead and 18 wounded.

But if you ask me the real slaughter was between Hamas & Fatah in the northern Gaza Strip (Toronto Star account):

In the northern Gaza Strip, a senior Palestinian security officer allied with Fatah was killed when Hamas militants laid siege to his house, engaging in a protracted gunbattle with his guards and then attacking it with grenades and a dozen rockets, Palestinian officials and witnesses said. The officer, Col. Mohammed Ghayeb, was the chief of the Preventive Security Service in northern Gaza, and his death was expected to trigger revenge attacks.

Moments before his death, Ghayeb was on the telephone to Palestine TV appealing for help as his house in Beit Lahiya came under attack. "They are killers," he said of the Hamas gunmen. ``They are targeting the house, children are dying, they are bleeding. For God's sake, send an ambulance, we want an ambulance, somebody move.''The battle outside the house raged for much of the day and killed four of Ghayeb's guards and a Hamas gunman. About three dozen people, including eight children, were wounded.

Apparently, PA Chairman Abbas is demanding a $5 million payout from Israel for compensation to the damaged to Ramallah shops and cars by the IDF. No word whether he will include Fatah’s Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade as a co-defendant in his claim against the Israeli state nor whether he intends to pursue a suit against Hamas. And since turnabout is considered fair play, I really hope there is an Israeli bean counter in ministry building busy calculating the cost of the Kassam rocket fire on the Sderot so the claim against the PA can go forward in short order.

While Hamas and Fatah are battling it out on the streets there is a bigger picture that is being overlooked. Just how exactly is Israel to make peace with a people who cannot even keep the peace among themselves? The only time there seems to be a resemblance of unity between Palestinians is when they are otherwise engaged in the planning or executing plans to kill Jews which hardly seems like a feasible rationale on which to base or establish a state.

Plausible Deniability

According to the allegations in this Ynet News report terrorists who are loyal to Fatah and Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas, but Abbas and Olmert say it isn’t so:

Terrorists associated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party who have been firing rockets from the Gaza Strip into nearby Jewish towns are loyal to Abbas and commit their attacks in accordance with Fatah, the northern Gaza leader of Fatah's declared "military wing" told WND in an interview.

Since a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza-based terror groups was agreed to in November, more than 60 rockets have been fired by Palestinians in Gaza, seriously injuring two Jewish teenagers and disrupting life in Israeli cities neighboring the Gaza Strip.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which bills itself as the "military wing" of Fatah, has taken responsibility for about one-third of the recent rocket fire. Abbas has claimed Brigades leaders firing rockets from Gaza during the truce are "renegade" members of the group, and that he doesn't have authority over the terrorists.

Miri Eisin, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, this week told the Israel Resource News Agency the al-Aqsa Brigades members firing the projectiles from Gaza are not affiliated with Fatah and don't take orders from Abbas. She said the terrorists are directed by the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hizbullah militia. Olmert last month held talks with Abbas and has said he is willing to conclude a peace agreement with the Palestinian leader.

But Abu Ahmed, the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades leader in the northern Gaza Strip, told WND his group, including the terrorists launching rockets, is loyal to Abbas and coordinates "resistance operations" with the Fatah party. "The al-Aqsa Brigades is the military wing of the Fatah and the President Abu Mazen (Abbas) is the chairman of the movement. We are committed to our leadership, to Abu Mazen. All our activity is in accordance with the political line of Fatah, which consists of fighting the occupation until the creation of a Palestinian state. The rocket shooting is part of this vision," Abu Ahmed said.

All rockets fired from Gaza have been launched from the northern part of the territory, which falls within Abu Ahmed's jurisdiction in the Brigades. Asked why Abbas distances himself from al-Aqsa's rocket firing, Abu Ahmed told WND, "Listen, we are aware of our president's (Abbas') declarations but we are also aware of the international political system that brings the president to adopt this position."

The terror leader said Abbas never asked his group to halt the rocket fire. "We know what is Fatah's general political line and we act according to this line and I can say that we were never asked to stop shooting rockets. Therefore, the rocket shooting is not in any way harming our loyalty and our commitment to (Abbas) and his leadership."

Abu Ahmed refused to address information released by Israeli security officials his group is financed by Hizbullah, but sources in the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades admitted they receive some funds and training from the Lebanese militia. The Brigades sources also said they regularly coordinate their attacks with Mahmoud Dahlan, Fatah's strongman in Gaza. "We are still totally committed to Fatah and (Abbas) regardless of help from other groups. The help is sanctioned by Fatah," a Brigades source said.

The longer Abbas holds the reins of Fatah, the more I am struck by his commitment to follow Arafat’s party lines, and why not? No world body or government ever truly held Arafat accountable for any of his command decisions and even the Bush Administration seems to be committed to giving Abbas not only a free pass, but guns to boot. While Olmert, simply reminds me of a man living in an alternative dimension.

Fatah’s Call to Arms

Fatah and Hamas are battling it out (again) in the streets of northern Gaza. Ynet News reports:

On Wednesday the Fatah movement declared a state of high alert amongst its ranks in Gaza, calling for them to adjust their deployment following the deaths of three officers from the Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Preventive Security Service (PPSS) and an additional Fatah loyalist in clashes earlier in the day.

Members were called to "be prepared and defend themselves by any means in the face of attack." Fatah has accused Hamas of instigating the violence and for the wave of kidnappings that plagued Gaza on Tuesday, when no less than 23 people were abducted by both organizations. A woman who was uninvolved in the fighting was also killed today after she was caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Fatah gunmen in Jabaliya.

While the focus of the clashes remains in northern Gaza, representatives from Hamas and Fatah in southern Gaza struck an agreement to end the violence late Wednesday evening. It remains unclear if this agreement will bring to the fighting to an end.

Big surprise (not) as Fatah blames Hamas for the violence.

Palestinians sources say that in all, 10 Palestinians have been kidnapped by both Hamas and Fatah throughout Wednesday. Among the abductees are three 17 year-old youths, nephews of a senior PPSS officer loyal to Fatah.

Fatah also claims that Hamas gunmen have set up roadblocks and are conducting searches throughout northern and southern Gaza. Fatah says the roadblocks are preventing ambulances from reaching the conflict zones and tend to the wounded.

A spokesman for the Fatah organization in Gaza, Mahar Maqddad, accused Hamas of assassinating members of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service and a Fatah operative in Gaza on Wednesday. "Fatah will not remain silent in the face of these crimes perpetrated by Hamas," said the spokesman. Maqddad called on the factions to uphold the ceasefire agreement and make sure that Hamas honors it as Fatah has.

Later in the evening Palestinian sources reported that senior Fatah military wing leader Hassan al-Qasas, member narrowly escaped an assassination attempt after gunmen fired an RPG towards him and another senior group member. Fatah has blamed Hamas for the attack.

Ahmad Sarur, a resident of Beit Lahiya, told Ynet on Wednesday that the situation in northern Gaza is "very frightening." Sarur says that masked gunmen are positioned at every junction and along every route. According to Sarur the gunmen interrogate people on the street and search them.

"Everywhere you go there are masked Hamas fighters," he described his surroundings, "Fatah is nowhere to be seen in the streets, Hamas has taken control of things here." Sarur said that residents are embittered about the situation and that there seems to be no solution to the crisis. "We elected a government so that it would bring change to the security situation, but its only gotten worse and is deteriorating," he said, "no one goes anywhere in the north (of Gaza), people only want to stay in their homes so as not to be caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Fatah."

How odd, I haven’t read any condemnations from the UN or the EU on the disproportionate amount of forced being by used on the streets of Gaza.

Cheese is a junk food?

Who knew? Personally, I adore all types of cheese except processed cheese. There is just something about a petroleum by-product which under-whelms my palette. I’ve been stuffing the tribe with all kinds of cheeses made from cow, sheep or even goat’s milk since they were old enough to eat whole foods. But without the cheese sauce, however would I have gotten them to eat broccoli or asparagus? It must be another of those little daily miracles considering their lifetime weekly intake of cheese, butter and sour cream that not one child is even close to being overweight. And out of three children, only one has ever had a cavity. Makes you wonder how safe is yoghurt? Taken from the Telegraph:

Cheese is to be treated as junk food under new advertising rules for children's television. Commercials promoting it will be banned during children's TV programmes and those with a large proportion of young viewers. The rules, which come into force this month, are part of a Government drive to reduce children's exposure to foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

Much to the disgust of its makers, cheese is to be regarded in the same light as crisps, sugary cereals and cheeseburgers. In fact, under the criteria used by the Food Standards Agency to determine junk foods, such products are actually regarded as healthier than cheese. The ban follows evidence that TV commercials have an indirect influence on what children eat and are contributing to obesity in the young.

However does one measure or substantiate the direct impact of an “indirect influence”? In General, I have always wondered just how effective television advertising really is in influencing the average person’s purchasing decisions. Simply because most of the people I have met spend a good part of their television viewing coming up with ways to avoid sitting through the ads (and that includes the tribe.)

I have been wondering what’s up with the Brits for sometime and I think I have a partial answer. The Brits are letting the children do the meal planning and then sending the kiddies out to do grocery shopping. No doubt some child psychologist has probably suggested it as a way of "empowering" a child’s self-esteem. All that "indirect influence" is directly influencing the children’s purchasing decisions. Think I am wrong? Look what foods are banned from children’s TV:

Marmite, Flora Lite, half-fat cheddar, Dairylea triangles, bran flakes, camembert, sugar-coated puffed wheat, instant hot oat cereal, Jaffa cakes, reduced calorie mayonnaise, multi-grain hoop cereal, half-fat creme fraiche, takeaway chicken nuggets, potato waffles, Greek yoghurt (from sheep's milk), ham, sausages, bacon rashers, low-fat spreads, peanuts, cashew nuts, pistachio-nuts, peanut butter, raisins, sultanas, currants, low-fat potato crisps, olive oil, butter, pizza, hamburgers, tomato ketchup, chocolate, brown sauce, cola and lemonade.

And these are the "healthy" foods which are still permitted to be advertised on children’s tv:

Plain fromage frais, fish fingers, lasagne ready meals, currant buns, malt loaf, frozen roast potatoes, chicken curry with rice ready meal, frozen oven chips, sliced white bread, cottage cheese, supermarket frozen chicken nuggets, milk, brazil nuts, canned strawberries in syrup, diet cola and chocolate-flavoured milk.

I don’t know. Maybe the French, Italians or Greeks should just considering invading in order to save the palette of the average Brit because, Lord knows, they certainly seem desperate. Besides, the Brit’s are really comfy now letting someone else make basic decisions over their personal quality of life.

UNIFIL Forces Raise Alert Threat

Reports the Jerusalem Post:

Fearing attacks by Global Jihad and Hizbullah, the UNIFIL has raised the level of alert around its bases in southern Lebanon, a high-ranking officer in the multinational force told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

According to the officer, threat-warnings recently relayed by the IDF regarding potential threats were "taken seriously" and were being handled with extreme caution. The officer refused to say what changes had been made to security procedures in UNIFIL bases, except that "necessary measures" were taken.

"This threat is serious," the high-ranking officer said, "and we are taking the necessary precautions." Two weeks ago, Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of Military Intelligence's Research Division, told the cabinet that there were increasing signs that Global Jihad elements were establishing a presence in Lebanon and planning attacks against UNIFIL.

The high-ranking UNIFIL officer said the Global Jihad terror cells posed a direct threat to the multinational force in southern Lebanon, particularly to its French, Italian and Spanish soldiers. UNIFIL issued a year-end press release over the weekend saying it now had more than 11,000 peacekeepers in its area of operations, Lebanon south of the Litani River.

There is a particular smell to this report, and it’s not because I doubt that the threat assessment is inaccurate. I just have a hard time believing Hezbollah, (whose grip on southern Lebanon could be aptly characterized as a total lockdown for the last six plus years) would tolerate outside competition in their hood….. Unless ‘Global Jihad’ is the new code for Iranian Republican Guard.

Big Lies

I am not much for New Year’s resolutions and can’t recall at time when I have made any specifically for a coming new year. It just seems pointless. If a resolution must be made, then what matters what day it actually is? A resolution does not carry more weight if it’s made on one day versus another. I am no more likely to maintain my resolve if my commitment is made on the 1st day of a new year than on the 17th or 265th day of any given year.

Having said that, I spent a great deal of time of my vacation thinking about how I want to shape the coming year for myself and what I need to do to reach each of those personal benchmarks throughout the entire next year. This year is a little different than previous years as I want to do more than just survive whatever outrageous slings and arrows life throws my way. I still want to survive but this year I have very specific things I want to accomplish and when vacation time roles around next December, I want to be able to look back and tick those goals off my list in order than I can move on to make new ones.

The reason resolutions and commitment are at the forefront of my mind this morning is not because it’s the start of a new year or the fact I spent last month making my own resolutions, but because I read Caroline Glick’s most recent column in the Jerusalem Post on Big Lies:

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Yasser Arafat was a master of the big lie. Since he invented global terrorism with the founding of the Fatah terror organization in 1959, Arafat successfully portrayed himself as a freedom fighter while introducing the world to passenger jet hijackings, schoolhouse massacres and embassy takeovers.

To cultivate the myth of his innocence Arafat ordered his Fatah terror cells to operate under pseudonyms. In the early 1970's he renamed several Fatah murder squads the Black September Organization while publicly claiming that they were "breakaway" units completely unrelated to Fatah or to himself.

In 2000, as he launched the current Palestinian jihad, he repeated the process by renaming Fatah terror cells the Aksa Martyr Brigades and then claiming that they were completely unrelated to Fatah or to himself. This fiction too, has been successful in spite of the fact that all Aksa Martyr Brigades terrorists are members of Fatah and most are members of Palestinian Authority official militias who receive their salaries, guns and marching orders from Fatah.

Last week, with the quiet release of a 33-year-old US State Department cable, a good chunk of the edifice of his great lie was destroyed.

ON MARCH 1, 1973, eight Fatah terrorists, operating under the Black September banner stormed the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan during a farewell party for the US Embassy's Charges d'Affaires George Curtis Moore. The terrorists took Moore, US ambassador Cleo Noel, Belgian Charges d'Affairs Guy Eid and two Arab diplomats hostage. They demanded that the US, Israel, Jordan and Germany release PLO and Baader-Meinhof Gang terrorists, including Robert F. Kennedy's Palestinian assassin Sirhan Sirhan and Black September commander Muhammed Awadh (Abu Daud), from prison in exchange for the hostages' release.

The next evening, the Palestinians brutally murdered Noel, Moore, and Eid. They released their other hostages on March 4. Arafat denied any involvement in the attack. The US officially accepted his denial. Yet, as he later publicly revealed, James Welsh, who served at the time of the attack as an analyst at the National Security Agency, intercepted a communication from Arafat, then headquartered in Beirut to his terror agents in Khartoum ordering the attack.

In 1986, as evidence of Arafat's involvement in the operation became more widely known, more and more voices began calling for Arafat to be investigated for murder. As the New York Sun's online blog recalled last week, during that period, Britain's Sunday Times reported that 44 US senators sent a letter to then US attorney-general Edwin Meese, "urging the American government to charge the PLO chief with plotting the murders of two American diplomats in 1973."

The article went on to note that the Justice Department's interest in pursuing the matter was making senior State Department officials uneasy: "State Department diplomats, worried that murder charges against Arafat would anger the United States' friends in the Arab world, are urging the Justice Department to drop the investigation."

There has been no doubt in my mind that Arafat was behind the acts of the terrorist group Black September. I never brought the arguments put forth from the professional Palestinian apologistas who long maintained the fiction that these acts by Black September or even Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade are splinter breakaway groups. All one has to do is read the names of the roll call of Fatah and know that no independent breakaway splint group has the resources or finances to bank roll successive operations without the shelter and support of a much larger organization.

What is interesting in my mind is how much and how long the US State Department has invested in keeping Fatah’s Big Lie going - no matter what price or the cost in human lives. And going is the operative word here. The truly scary part is that Black September may be disbanded but the terror networks of Fatah have never been cut off or shut down, and yet, this is the group that successive US Administrations seek to strengthened and finance. Now that’s real resolve and commitment.

What we all should be asking is how many more big lies the US State Department has a vested interest in maintaining? The future of all our children's lives may depend on it.

An outrageous tyrant for all seasons

Just as an impeding train wreck holds one attention so have I been long fascinated by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Only the Lord knows what he will say or do next – and even then the Lord probably has room for doubts. Usually, when a military coup is successful the leader of the coup appoints himself General and Leader, but not Gaddafi. He only aspired to only a ceremonial Colonel-hood and holds no “official” other titles.

A few years ago when than German Chancellor Schroeder came looking for business and political deals with Libya, the Colonel left no hospitality stone unturned. But then Gaddafi demanded compensation must be paid to the Libyan government before the two countries could go forward in any future negotiations or dealings. The Schroeder administration was flabbergasted as Gaddafi’s claim for compensation was based on the mining of Libyan sands by Rommel during WW2 which are apparently still maiming and killing Libyans today.

He was my personal choice for the next Secretary General of the United Nations. I couldn’t think of a world body that deserved his attention more than the UN. Besides think how impressive the photo-ops would be with Gaddafi framed with his all Amazonia body guards behind him or just traveling through the halls. As Secretary General, it would give him untold opportunities to press his claims for war reparations. Besides, it could also give him an opportunity to act as a mediator between his son (and rumored successor) and Canada.

So what has Gaddafi said now? Ynet News reports:

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi called to “allow Jews and Christians to visit Mecca and circle the Kaaba (cubical building surrounded by the Sacred Mosque).” These days Muslims all around the world are marking Eid al-Adha, the most important Islamic holiday. Some three million people have made the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Gaddafi believes the holiday offers a great opportunity to bring the three main monotheistic religions closer together. “Everyone has the right to stand atop Mount Arafat and circle the Kaaba,” he told the media.

Jews in Mecca! Bet that went over well with the House of Saud.