When an eye for an eye is not enough

So a Jewish terrorist runs amok and open fires on a bus killing 4 and then is lynched by the crowd. Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades decides it is not enough that the perpetrator has only but one life to take and chooses to open fire on a traveling car and now a child lies in critical condition with a bullet to the head reports the Jerusalem Post.

A 10-year-old child was critically wounded after being shot in the head in a drive-by shooting near the British Police junction in the West Bank on Sunday afternoon. The driver of the vehicle, a friend of the child's father, was lightly wounded in the hand during the attack. The father of the child, 44, was in the car along with two other passengers.

The Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aksa Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack. A statement issued by the group said the attack was a retaliation for Thursday's attack in Shfaram.

A dark day in Zion

When I arrived home last night I first learned of the terrorist acts of 19 year old IDF deserter Natan Eden Zada. This is a post that I wish I could avoid acknowledging but there is no way to continue to watch events in Israel and the Middle East and not give this incident the weight it deserves.

For those not already in the know, Natan Eden Zada boarded a bus in his army issue uniform. The bus was full of Palestinian Christians and Druze who were going about their daily affairs and in an act of the utmost evil, and without known provocation, opened fire with his army issued weapon. Four souls were killed out right and over 12 sustained injuries. Zada was not content to shoot just those on the bus also turned his gun on several passerbyers on the street. According to eyewitness accounts the police were late arriving but eventually were holding him alive and captive on the bus. The news of the shooting spread rapidly and within minutes a crowd of over two thousand surrounded the bus. The mob outraged over Zada nefarious acts and the fact that the police had not shot dead the prepatrator laid seize to the bus. By the time order was finally restored Zada had been beaten to death by the mob.

According to this Jerusalem Post report police have arrested 3 minors who allegedly had fore knowledge of Zada’s attack. Haaretz is quoting Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon calling it “a sinful act by a bloodthirsty terrorist” According to Debkafile Sharon has also ordered that the bereaved families and victims of yesterday’s attack will receive state assistance and benefits awarded to all those who are victims of Palestinian Arab terror in Israel. How ironic it is that only on a dark day can I finally find anything to give credit and kudos to Ariel Sharon for, and the record, I would also note that Sharon did not refer to Zada at any time as a militant or extremist (note to the Toronto Star) nor did not hesitate to call him a terrorist.

Bus Driver Michel Bachus, 56,
Sisters Dina (23) and Hazar (21) Turki
Nader Hayek, 55

May they rest in peace.

Is there anyone not moving into the Gaza Strip besides Jews? Raise your hand now!

According to Debkafile another “popular” army has moved into Gaza Strip and is ready to carry out neighborhood improvements. The rule I use with Debkafile is one should always wait 48 hours to see how things actually shake out. So far according to my score card they are more right than wrong and the reporting from the initial Iraqi invasion was remarkably good.

Furthermore, this is not the first time that it was suggested that Al-Qaeda was moving into the neighborhood. I found this reference from the BBC from October 2004.

Know thy Enemies

I concede calling the war “the Global War on Terrorism” and changing that name to the “Global War on Violent Extremism” is just flat out dumber rather than being merely just dumb. Unfortunately, I am afraid the next name incantation will land the Bush Administration into the dumbest name ever category. The innate danger of refusing to say exactly what you mean is that you become the subject of ridicule. Crack what jokes you will but make no mistake; we are at war and the enemy is Islamic Fascism.

I have created a new law. The next time someone invokes Juan Cole’s name in an article, newspaper or blog and cites him as an authority the argument is condemned into irrelevancy.

Among the Romani the world is divided into us and them. They refer to everyone who is not born Romani as “gagjo” which translates into English roughly as “one who is easily duped”. Slinger is a gagjo.

The New Adrienne

So Mr. Dithers has finally gotten around to announcing that Canada has a new Governor General - kind of, well, ah, sort of - according to the CBC and the Toronto Star.

I really don’t know much about her except what The Toronto Star is claiming that she is a CBC journalist which seems a bit of an oxymoron to me. I am really having a hard time placing her but I do remember a host on the Passionate Eye who spoke English with such a bad accent that I kept wishing that she would give up and just revert to French instead.

Nor do I comprehend why being a “CBC Journalist” now seems to be a pre-requisite to being the Queen’s Representative in Canada, and frankly, as a tax payer it sends shutters down my arm to what is left in my pocket book that the Liberals have appointed another one. Here’s to hoping that she understands that every penny she spends means there are less pennies I can spend on my family.

Should I count my blessings that the Globe and Mail does not call them Freedom Fighters?

According to the Globe and Mail today “militants” in Gaza were attempting to fire rockets into a group of unarmed men, women and children at a peaceful anti-disengagement rally in the Israeli town of Sderot. The “militants” missed the rally but instead hit two Palestinian Arab homes and a third rocket fell harmlessly in a field. The damage; 9 Palestinian Arabs injured, five children seriously harmed among the injured and one 3 year old boy was killed outright while another 11 year old boy is listed in critical condition. The Jerusalem Post carries a similar report without the term "militant".

I loathe this misuse of language. There is no argument of moral equivalency that can be made for these acts. These were not militants and there is no excuse for the Globe and Mail to use this kind of neutral non-specific language to describe the kind of murderous scumbags that feel an entitlement to fire rockets on unarmed civilians. This is terror plain and simple. The people who commit such acts of terror are terrorists. These people do not wage war against an army but terror against a civilian population. They wear no uniforms and strike haphazardly with the only strategically goal to produce maximum death and mayhem. This time no one wishes to openly claim responsibility because the wounded and dead are not Jews.

It strikes me that the term terrorist racists would be far more accurate and fitting to describe the perpetrators of these acts since the long term common goal of all the various and sundry “militant” groups in the Disputed Territories is to push the Jews into the sea. Sounds racist to me.

Just what Gaza needs - another "popular" army!

In my last post I was just attempting to be snarky about Fatah not sharing weapons and ammunition with the Palestinian Authority but then I read this in the Jerusalem Post:

Fatah leaders and activists have decided to establish a Palestinian "popular army" to help the Palestinian Authority enforce law and order in the Gaza Strip after Israel evacuates the area. PA officials in Ramallah expressed concern over the decision, saying there was no need for "another militia" and that the Palestinian security forces are capable of taking control over the areas that will be evacuated by Israel. "This is the last thing we need now," one official told The Jerusalem Post. "We already have too many armed militias out there. The Palestinian people want one authority and one security force."

Sources in the Gaza Strip said the decision to establish a "popular army" was made by top PLO official Farouk Kaddoumi, who is based in Tunis and also serves as chairman of the ruling Fatah party's central committee. A staunch opponent of the Oslo Accords, Kaddoumi was one of the few PLO leaders who refused to return to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1994.

Kaddoumni, who is planning to move to the Gaza Strip after disengagement, recently opened an office in Khan Yunis. The office is run by dozens of Fatah activists and gunmen who are unhappy with the policies of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. On Monday, Kaddoumi's office launched a training program for dozens of recruits wishing to join the "popular army." The new "soldiers" are expected to undergo military training for several days before being officially drafted into the new army.

Kaddoumi told his supporters that the new force would be entrusted with helping the PA security forces enforce law and order and "protect the property of the Palestinians after the Israeli withdrawal. We will seek full coordination with all Palestinian factions to achieve our goal." The decision to establish a Fatah "popular army" comes in the wake of reports that Hamas was also setting up a similar force in the Gaza Strip.

It does not take a rocket science to know that Kaddoumi is positioning himself to challenge President Abbas although I did not expect this move until after the August 15th Israeli pull-out from Gaza and I suspect that unless Abbas leaves the disputed territories he will not live past six months from Kaddoumi’s arrival in Gaza.

It is also prudent to note that Kaddoumi has the support base not only within Fatah but has a positive working relationship with the leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The extent of that working relationship could also go a long way in establishing a rational for Hamas and Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade openly sniping at Palestinian Authority security forces in Gaza in the last few weeks.

Furthermore, this puts Kaddoumi’s meeting with the leadership of Hezbollah in Beirut last week in perspective. Since this announcement was made on Monday concerning Chairman Kaddoumi establishing a Fatah “popular” army for Gaza I suspect Kaddoumi’s discussions with Hezbollah were quite productive and fruitful for both his short and long term aspirations.

Somethings are beyond parody or belief

Debkafile is running a report on the latest demands from Palestinian Authority to the Israeli state. Apparently, PA security forces are so short of ammunition and that PA security forces are down to issuing only 4 bullets to each security services personnel and have requested that Israel supply them - otherwise they cannot effectively protect the IDF when Israel begins the disengagement from Gaza.

The Jerusalem Post carries a similar story without the drama:

Spokesman for the Palestinian Interior Ministry Tawfiq Abu Khoussa said Saturday that the PA has a detailed security plan for ensuring quiet during Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, but are suffering from a dire lack of weapons and equipment. The PA is ill-equipped in arms, ammunition, transportation and communications, Khoussa said.

"We have less than 20 percent of the rifles we need for our security men," Abu Khoussa said. He said the shortage of bullets is even more dire. "If a bullet is fired, it isn't replaced," he said. Abu Khoussa said the Palestinians have raised requests with Israel and American officials for better arms and equipment. He said Israel has failed to respond to the requests, while the Palestinians believe the Americans "understand" their needs.

Israeli defense officials say they are ready to consider the Palestinian requests, but haven't made any decisions. Israel fears weapons and bullets could be used in attacks against Israelis, as has happened in the past.

I never thought I would live to see the day when the PA claims to be short of weapons or ammunition. I guess this means that Fatah, Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, Hamas, Islamic Jihad are not too big on sharing.

Is there anyone on the planet who could possibly be surprised by this?

From the Globe and Mail:

Tehran — Iranian authorities have detained a prominent human rights lawyer and accused him of leaking classified details on Iran's nuclear spies, a spokesman for Iran's judiciary said Sunday.

Abdolfattah Soltani, who also represents the family of an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist who died in Iranian custody, was arrested Saturday, said Mohammad Dadkhah, Mr. Soltani's lawyer.
“He has revealed information on nuclear spies both inside and outside Iran as well as to families of the suspects,” said Jamal Karimirad, Iran's judiciary spokesman.

Of course he did. All human rights lawyers in Iran have access to information on secret Iranian nuclear programs. Everybody knows that. No doubt he is part of an international Zionist conspiracy as well.

Red Ensign Standard XXVll

Shane of The High Places hoists the latest edition of the Red Ensign Standard XXVll. Go forth and catch up.

Exiles in Zion: The SLA

During the last few months I have been watching Lebanon with more than a passing interest. Few countries have had to live through the seemingly endless nightmare of grief that a civil war spanning more than a generation produces, and despite the Syrian occupation and control of Lebanon, the divide that caused the war had not been breached.

It was more like all parties agreed not acknowledge that their homes were divided and silence produced the only tonic that allowed for the possibility of a tomorrow for the wounds of civil war were far too raw. It was not until the assassination of a politician that the fever of silence and denial broke and so the complex process of healing could begin.

This spring we shall the return of General Michel Aoun from exile and the removal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Now a relatively free election returned a parliament of reconciliation that declared an amnesty for Christian Militia leader Dr. Samir Gaegea. But Lebanon is not yet on the path to full recovery until one more group of Lebanese is allowed to return home and be absolved of the madness that divides.

From the Lebanese Daily Star the once taboo debate has begun:

BEIRUT: The most heated debate during Friday's parliamentary session involved a dispute over how to treat Lebanese ex-militia members living in Israel with their families. Free Patriotic Movement MP Ibrahim Kenaan accused the Lebanese State of having abandoned the population living under occupation. Kenaan said: "The Government has to form a joint committee with Parliament to investigate events that led Lebanese families to take refuge in Israel."

He said the state is responsible for failing to provide for the occupied areas for 25 years.

Intense argument began when Kenaan claimed a Hizbullah official called for "slaughtering" all those who collaborated with occupying forces following the Israeli withdrawal.

House Speaker Nabih Berri interrupted Kenaan and asked him to be more specific and name the official.

Hizbullah Metn MP Ali Ammar commented furiously on Kenaan's claim that the official was [Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed] Hassan Nasrallah.

Ammar said: "The Israeli-U.S. so-called democratic deluge on Middle Eastern countries seems to have reached Lebanon."

Kenaan claimed that he "did not mean to dehumanize the resistance or its leader but was referring to a reliable source: a quote from one of the LBCI guests in a talk show."

Kesrouan MP Michel Aoun raised this question in Thursday's session, hinting at granting amnesty to those in Israel so they could return home; Hizbullah MPs strongly oppose the plan.

The Southern Lebanese Army was a Christian militia group whose sphere of operation was in southern Lebanon. It allied itself with the Israelis and in return for co-operation it received financing, weapons and training from their Israeli allies. Once the Israeli full withdrawal from Lebanon began in May 2000 the SLA collapsed in the face of a Hezbollah offensive. Estimates vary widely (2,000-7,000) on how many SLA members and their families fled Lebanon for sanctuary in Israel in May 2000. Mid East Forum and Jewish News Weekly both have older articles on the plight of the SLA in Israel. The dilemma of the SLA members and their families has not changed greatly in the years since these articles were published.

Many Lebanese look upon the SLA as traitors for aligning themselves with Israelis’ and thereby openly braking ranks with the notion of pan-Arab unity and to compound their sin; they sought refuge in Zion rather than lay down their arms and become the sacrificial lambs on Hezbollah’s altar. But the process of healing and the path to reconciliation from the divide of the civil war cannot be complete until all of Lebanon’s sons and daughters can once again come home.

Hard-liner Kaddoumi speaks freely in Lebanon

I found this story in the Lebanon Daily Star and the implications of it made the hair on my scalp crawl:

BEIRUT: Fatah President Farouk Qaddoumi agrees with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that the path of resistance is the most efficient way to achieve results when confronting Israel. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star, Qaddoumi said he "believes in the path of resistance rather than the path of negotiations. Every word that Nasrallah said is very precise and correct, and I fully support it."

Qaddoumi was commenting on a speech Nasrallah delivered Wednesday, in which he said that the resistance "achieved everything. What did the negotiations achieve? Nothing." Referring to the Israeli pullout from Gaza Strip, Qaddoumi said: "Any withdrawal from the Palestinian territories is a good thing, and it is what the Palestinian resistance aims for." He added: "We are willing to fight for another 50 years to achieve our goals."

Qaddoumi claimed that the "differences" among Palestinian resistance factions "are not grave enough" to jeopardize such goals, adding that the internal struggle "is not serious. It is a psychological case which can be monitored to prevent the state of chaos the Israeli enemy expects." "The Israeli occupation is behind all the tension created inside Palestinian society ... In-fighting might be one of the results of such differences, but it remains a mere possibility," said Qaddoumi

.
Farouk Kaddoumi is part of the old hard-line guard of the PLO. Kaddoumi refused to return to the disputed territories with the Arafat and the rest of PLO under the Oslo Agreement in the mid-nineties as he refused to accept anything less than a total annihilation of the Jewish state. For years he has categorically refused to even negotiate for a separate state of the Palestinian people though there who are suggesting that he would be open to entering into negotiations with Israel now.

He was Arafat’s Minister of Foreign Affairs for 30 years and was said to be outraged when elected President Abbas replaced him in bid to lessen Kaddoumi’s influence in the PLO and Fatah. Kaddoumi, by refusing to return to the disputed territories has escaped the taint and charges of corruption and cronyism that haunted Arafat, Abbas and the old guard of the PA. After the death of Arafat, Suha Arafat immediately sought out Kaddoumi’s protection from any possible retribution from the Palestinian Authority. Kaddoumi’s was named head of Fatah last November and he is perceived as Abbas’ main rival, certainly he can be considered Abbas’ deadliest adversary.

He has recently set-up an office in absentia in Gaza and is expected to return to Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal ends. It is rumored that he recently concluded successful negotiations with the heads of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Damascus to return to Gaza with him. There are other rumors that Kaddoumi has been receiving support and financial backing by Hezbollah (Iran) and Syria.

One should be asking why Kaddoumi has left his base in Tunis and gone to Beirut at this time? What is the agenda behind his meeting with Hezbollah and why this very public display of support for Hezbollah at this time? Why is Kaddoumi so dismissive of the recent ongoing strife between the Abbas'PA, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip?

One nightmare scenario for the Israelis’ is that Hezbollah will choose the disengagement from Gaza as the perfect opportunity to launch a low-level sustained attack on Israel as the IDF will be tied down on the southern front making the Gaza strip as Judenrein as possible. If matters escalate on the Northern front there are many in the neighborhood who would welcome this as the perfect pre-text to deal a significant blow to the Israeli state. Realistically, can the Israeli’s count on the American support if Iran throws its weight behind Hezbollah?

Somebody tell me: Is it against either International Law and/or Canon Law for Jews to defend themselves?

Collapsed Catholic that I am, this kind of thing makes me long for the reign of John Paul ll, and is just one of the many reasons, I will probably remain a collapsed catholic. Taken from Ha’aretz:

VATICAN CITY - Responding to Israeli criticism, the Vatican on Thursday said it hasn't condemned every strike by Palestinian militants against the Jewish state because Israel's military response to the attacks has sometimes violated international law.

Largely good relations between the Vatican and Israel in recent years were strained this week by Israeli outrage that Pope Benedict XVI failed to condemn terror against Israelis in recent remarks. On Monday, the Vatican envoy to Israel was summoned to the Foreign Ministry as Jerusalem expressed its outrage over Benedict's remarks that didn't condemn the Netanya bombing.

The Foreign Ministry had complained that Benedict, in a public appearance at his Alpine vacation retreat on Sunday, "deliberately" didn't mention a July 12 suicide bombing in the coastal city of Netanya while the pontiff did refer to recent terror strikes in Egypt, Britain, Turkey and Iraq.

"It's not always possible to immediately follow every attack against Israel with a public statement of condemnation, and for various reasons, among them the fact that the attacks against Israel sometimes were followed by immediate Israeli reactions not always compatible with the rules of international law," a statement from the Vatican press office said Thursday night.

"It would thus be impossible to condemn the first (the terror strikes) and let the second (Israeli retaliation) pass in silence," said the Vatican statement, which had an unusually strong tone for the Holy See. On Monday, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Benedict had been referring to the attacks of the last few days and, referring to the ministry statement, called it "surprising that one would have wanted to take the opportunity to distort the intentions of the Holy Father."

A suicide bomber implodes himself outside a shopping mall killing 5 (at last count and injuring over 90 Israelis) on July 12th. Israel demands that the Palestinian Authority disarm the terrorists and “The IDF conducted a pinpointed arrest activity against the Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure in the area of Tulkarm, in order to disrupt and thwart the execution of terror attacks.” PA Chairman Abbas condemns the attacks and by late afternoon Israeli communities are under attack from a terrorist element in Gaza who are raining missiles and rockets into their communities; so IDF takes to the sky to take out the "militants" who are firing those rockets as Israeli citizens are dying in their homes from that barrage. So what does the Vatican think a good Jew should do – wait for the Holy See to send in the Swiss Guard?

Talk about here comes the bride, er brides!

This article at the Jerusalem Post caught my eye only because this is something that you would never see any government in the West promote or attempt to emulate in any way:

Has Hamas discovered the power of love? On Thursday night, the militant group organized a mass wedding for 452 couples in the sports stadium in Nablus. Attended by many Hamas leaders in the West Bank, the ceremony is believed to be the biggest mass wedding of Palestinians ever held.

In a culture where appearances count, Arab weddings can be horrendously expensive. Over the past decade, many Islamic countries have adopted the practice of collective weddings. As one of many gifts given during the month of Ramadan, Egypt hosts mass weddings for low-income and physically handicapped couples. Other countries where mass weddings have become a norm include Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Pakistan and Sudan.

For many poverty-stricken Palestinian families, the mass weddings mean marriage ceremonies can take place without the crippling expense of a mahr (dowry) or a private party, which can run to tens of thousands of dollars. Most of these grooms are sons or relatives of Palestinians killed in the violence over the past four and a half years.

The role of the mahr in Islamic marriages has sometimes been interpreted as a bride-price. For many Muslims, it is purely symbolic, just as white dresses, diamond engagement rings and gold wedding bands are symbols in traditional Western marriages. However, in many cases, the mahr serves as an insurance policy, payable to the woman in full if her husband remarries or divorces her.

Hamas, whose name means Islamic Resistance Movement, is clearly using the ceremonies to further promote its image as a positive institution in Palestinian society. Palestinians have long maintained that one of the main reasons for Hamas's soaring popularity, particularly in the Gaza Strip, is the fact that the movement continues to provide a vast network of social and economic services to the needy. Hamas is not the only group to organize such events. Earlier this month, Islamic Jihad sponsored a similar ceremony in the Gaza Strip, but for "only" 222 Palestinian couples. Tens of thousands of people attended the mass wedding in Gaza City, which was financed by several Palestinian companies and institutions.

Khaled al-Bahtini, one of the organizers of the gathering, said each couple received a gift of $200 – $300 in cash, in addition to wedding rings and bedroom and other furniture. Islamic Jihad leader Nafez Azzam said the event was aimed at demonstrating that his group was interested in all aspects of life, especially on the social level.

When even terrorist organizations recognize the importance married family life; why do all we in the West continue to undermine the state of marriage and hold it in so little regard? Of course, maybe I shouldn’t crow too soon – Hamas is not yet enlightened enough to sponsor any gay unions.

The utter folly of leaving home

My son tells me the electricity went out around 11 am yesterday morning. Fortunately for him my friend’s work shut down for lack of electricity and when she discovered that her home had full power she collected him. Oddly enough her home is located approximately 1 city block west of mine. For the first time this summer he has spent an entire afternoon in the cool comfort of air conditioning until the early evening. He has always loved soups and stews but soup is not something I make when the days are over 24C though yesterday he was able to indulge himself with that and goldfish crackers.

The power came back online around 6:20pm for 20 minutes and was out till after 9pm when it made another brief appearance. Apparently, I am the victim of rolling back outs but I am my mother’s daughter so that I had my portable Coleman lights and the son and I were able to pass the evening with Harry Potter and James Lee Burke. I got up as is my habit around 4am to discover I had power only to lose it again just as I poured the water into the coffee pot.

There is an old Irish expression that says what is breed in the bone comes out in the flesh and found myself questioning why I live in the center of the largest urban centre in Canada and in an environment that is both alien and foreign to my character. Like all the McNamara women that came both before and then after me, I could not wait to leave and now in my maturity I repent of those choices and decisions that led me to this place and at the mercy of government bureaucracy and incompetence.

I find that I long more than ever on nights and days like these for those long familiar woods and home. A lack of electricity would not disturb the tranquility of my days. There are Coleman lamps a plenty, and if the power was out, I would still have the wood stove to cook on. And if the day was too hot to cook inside, I could just start a light a fire in the yard, and if the heat at night was too obsessive to sleep inside, there is always the cool night air on the porch. I would always have coffee or a cuppa to take to the porch as I rose and no doubt I would be watching the path Venus takes as it moves across the horizon rather than stumbling and scrambling to dress in the dark.

My mother’s father was born in the country and even he longed for adventure that he thought he could only find in the city, and hence when the opportunity to leave came he did not hesitate to lie and sign up to fight the Hun in a battle that would carry him half a world away in an alien and foreign land. In retrospect, he was luckier than the rest of us for he learned early in life that sanity and peace lie in hills, woods and valleys. He came home from the WW1 relatively physically unscathed but with a decided contempt for society and its rules, and so sought the sanctity of the woods and river valleys. He spent his life as an illegal fur trapper, logger and wood’s guide. He probably could have received a license to trap furs if he the patience to wade through the levels of government bureaucracy required and paid the fee for the right to make a living in the land he thought he fought to save. No doubt he felt that he had paid enough through tears, flesh and blood on Vimy Ridge and saw no sense or appreciable meaning in any government telling him how, when, and where he could make his way in life and demanding that he pay once again for the privilege to do so. In WW1 he was a scout and a messenger. My mind often shuts down in horror when I attempt to picture that slight 16 year old boy creeping through the wastelands to scout the enemy lines. He told me once that what he hated most was not the cold or hunger, nor the lice, or rats but the sound of the horses crying to their death. There is a degree of courage and fortitude that was present in him that I rarely see among the city breed but I often encounter it among those who live tied to the land.

There are times that I want to leave this country and put its trouble far behind me and live free from the government’s ever expanding reach but what holds me here is that I find I cannot forsake the woods of my Canada that tied me so long ago to the land. As long as I am here there is hope that the day will come when I will be free of my obligations so that once again I can walk in the woods that sheltered and nourished myself, my mother, my grandparents, my great grandparents, my great-great grandparents and so on, and so on. That is the hope that has carried and substained me as I walk on these mean streets and through many a dark day and night here – that one can indeed go home again.

Parrish the thought but….

I have once again been held hostage to government bureaucracy and incompetence so I am a few days late and short on adding my two cents on the latest Parnoucement from on low.

Truth be told, I generally try to avoid thinking about the MP from Missisauga-Erindale but my inability to secure a power source left me a tad more reflective and I have to admit that I am slowly starting to develop a grudging admiration for that estrogen deprived harridan of odiousness. Good thing, I am not a Blogging Tory as no doubt they would be sending me to Coventry for expressing that.

I abhor her worldview. There is probably not a single issue where we could ever form a mutual consensus on from Israel to what is the proper time to feed the cat. She represents a great deal of what I feel is wrong with Canada but her constituents not only like her; they have returned her successfully to Parliament in four elections well within margins that can only be described as easy victories.

I have to give credit to the Liberal Party for attracting her because I put her much more at home with the NDP philosophically but she’s a librano and probably one of the more honest ones at that. She’s brass, passionate and historically challenged with chutzpah to spare but if I was one of her constituents; I would not hesitate to bring any problem into her office and if I could convince her of the rightness of my cause, I have no doubt or hesitation that she wouldn’t go to the wall and back for me. How many MP’s can one say that of? I’ve got the original Mr. Metrosexual and if I had to have a librano be my representative in parliament, I’d take the harridan over the metrosexual any day of any given week.

No one can ever accuse her of dithering or not knowing her own mind. She maybe low rent but unlike the Minister responsible for democratic renewal she can’t be bought and no one can accuse her of robbing a Peter to pay a Paul. And this woman can take a few political shots to the head that would have sent a lesser MP running for cover in the corner but she takes her licks with a standing count and comes back swinging – good to go for another round.

If the conservative party is ever to make up a majority in Parliament they need to find representatives that can inspire that same sense of trust and common touch that Parrish inspires and exhibits to her constituents.

Calling Art Historians

I was reading something that I will follow up on at a later day and I was struck by the thought that I have never heard of any pre-twentieth century Arab painters or sculptors. I readily admit to big gaps in my education but this has me really stumped and I am quite annoyed by my ignorance.

Who is the Middle East’s equivalent to di Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rodin, Rembrandt, or Donatello? I tried using online search engines and really got a big nada prior to the twentieth century. Even a name for a 19th century painter or sculptor would be appreciated as a starting point.

Colour me orange: Israeli Homeowners

Caroline Glick at the Jerusalem Post has a column up on the recent “settler” protest at Kfar Maimon that should be a must read. I have always had problems with the term “settler”. For a long time I suspected that it was a mistranslation of a Hebrew word. Kind of like the mistranslation in the 10 commandments where “thou shall not murder” becomes “thou shall not kill” which certainly gives an entirely new meaning to the commandment doesn’t it? I know a smattering of Hebrew and one prayer in Hebrew that I learned strictly by accidental design and for years laboured under the illusion that it was a Latin prayer. My grandfather did tell me if I couldn’t remember or learn any others this was the only one I really needed to know. I am advised that one unique quality of the Hebrew language is that there are no synonyms, and yet, mistranslations abound.

Now there are certainly religious communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza but there are also significant groups of non-religious Jews as well. I have this nagging suspicion that the term settler was coined as a bit of misinformation propaganda and came into the English lexicon as term favoured to bring about the maximum depersonalization of the Israelis living there - to render them more truly one of the “other”. You could easily use the term Israeli/Jewish homeowner in replacement of the term “settler” and I suspect it would reflect with a far greater accuracy the common characteristics of the so-called “setter” but whether that intention was deliberate or not, it certainly characterizes the situation today.

Walking among the tens of thousands of Israeli protesters at Moshav Kfar Maimon this week was like being witness to a miracle. There in the scorching summer heat were thousands upon thousands of families with children of all ages, young men and women and elderly people, living under siege and in conditions that would make an infantryman cringe.

And yet, there was no complaining. There was no shouting. There was no pushing. There was no garbage on the ground. There was no stench of any kind. What one saw in the protesters' faces and heard in each and every statement and conversation was dignity, determination, integrity, faith and a form of earthy, plainspoken and unabashed patriotism and concern for the greater good that has become an artifact of a barely remembered past for many Israelis.

Read the whole column here. Then surf over to Israellycool where there really are Israeli cool pictures taken from the Kfar Maimon protest that were not shown on any broadcast that I saw on CNN, Fox or CBC’s the National nor did I find see them in any Canadian daily last week.

Some ceasefires are more fires than ceases

The Jerusalem Post is reporting on the state of “ceasefire” after a statement released by Palestinian Authority and Hamas that they had agreed to a ceasefire between both organizations in Gaza.:

Five Palestinians were injured on Wednesday in fresh clashes between Palestinian Authority security forces and Hamas gunmen in the Gaza Strip. The latest confrontation erupted in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood south of Gaza City only hours after the two sides announced that they had struck a deal to end the fighting.

PA security sources reported that Hamas gunmen opened fire at the house of Rashid Abu Shabak, commander of the PA's Preventative Security Service, and an office belonging to the ruling Fatah party. Three PA policemen and four Hamas members were injured in the attack, the sources added, accusing Hamas of initiating the clashes. However, Hamas denied the charge, accusing the PA security forces of triggering the fighting by opening fire at a car carrying Hamas gunmen as they drove past Abu Shabak's house and the Fatah office.

Abu Shabak's men have, over the past few days, fought street battles with hundreds of Hamas gunmen in the northern Gaza Strip. The fiercest fighting erupted on Monday and Tuesday, with more than 25 Palestinians injured. Despite Wednesday's pre-dawn clashes, Hamas leaders announced that they were committed to an agreement reached with the PA late Tuesday night and called on their followers to honor the cease-fire. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that despite the clashes, all sides were keen to draw a line under the violence. "There is a desire among our movement and the leaders of the Palestinian Authority to put an end to this issue and to implement this quiet on the ground," he declared.

Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, announced that his movement had decided to "end all forms of violence and tension with the Palestinian Authority." He added: "Hamas is not at a state of hostility with the Palestinian Authority or Fatah. Our sacred weapons will continue to be directed against the occupation. Internecine fighting does not serve the Palestinian people or the Arabs and Muslims or Hamas and Fatah."

What can I say? Somethings are beyond parody but what are the odds that it’s all just a case of one last hoorah between the two thugs?

There goes the neighborhood; look who’s moving in!

From the Jerusalem Post:

Nayef Hawatmeh, head of the Marxist-Leninist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), announced Thursday that he will move to the Gaza Strip after Israel completes its withdrawal.

Hawatmeh, who is based in Damascus, is the first leader of a radical Palestinian group to announce his intention to move to Gaza after disengagement. The leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have also reportedly expressed their desire to move to the Gaza Strip.
"I will return to the Gaza Strip after a full Israeli withdrawal from the area," Hawatmeh said. "The borders of Gaza will be open to any Palestinian wishing to return to Palestine."

He said representatives of various Palestinian groups will meet in Amman or Cairo shortly to discuss the planned withdrawal and the unofficial truce with Israel.

Founded in 1969, the DFLP is the third largest PLO faction.

The DFLP’s first rose to infamy when it carried out a horrendous attack on Israeli school children in Ma’a lot, Israel in 1974. Apparently, Hawatmeh, a Jordanian born Christian, has spoken out against suicide bombing inside Israel. As far as I can determine no one has yet asked his opinion on raids on sleeping children, the hijacking of school buses, or the seizing of apartment buildings.