Hezbollah Rally in Toronto

"We are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies, we want that we will be able to live in an entirely different environment of relations with our enemies."
(Ehud Olmert Address at Israel Policy Forum, New York, June 9, 2005)

Israelis want to win but their current Prime Minister wants to lose. And so it goes that the Israeli Cabinet voted 24-0 to accept the UN Resolution 1701 and defeat with only a lone solitary cabinet minister abstaining.

Olmert might be tired of fighting and winning but that didn’t stop Montana and I from walking up the street to attend the Anti-Hezbollah counterrally held yesterday in Toronto. Early on Montana was enlisted to give Right Girl a break and he held up her end of an Israeli flag. All the usual suspects were in attendance on the Pro-Hezbollah side (including CUPE supporters). Right Girl and Relapsed Catholic have pictures.

By the time the Pro-Hezbollah supporters made it to the US Consulate the Israeli flag burning had begun.

Photo: CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR
 

Anti-Hezbollah Counterrally to be held in Toronto

I just got a notice last night about an Anti-Hebollah Counterrally to be held tomorrow:

Well, since I agreed to organize an anti-Hizballah counterrally for August 12th, here is the plan. It's encouraging to see that people are actually interested!

I would like it if we could meet at the Starbucks at 110 Bloor West (on the north side of Bloor, west of Bay). I will arrive there probably a bit before 12:30PM. Please come between 12:30 and 1PM, which is when the pro-Hizballah rally starts. At 1PM we will walk one block west to the Israeli consulate, which is where all the pro-Hizballah types are going to be hanging out.

If you're reading this, and you're interested in attending, please email me so that we can swap cellphone numbers.

DIRECTIONS TO STARBUCKS: If you're taking the Bloor-Danforth subway line, get off at Bay Station and walk west on Bloor until you see the Starbucks sign. If you're taking the yellow line, it's probably easier to get off at Museum Station, walk north on Avenue Road to Bloor, then walk east. If you're in the general area but still can't find Starbucks for whatever reason, call my cellphone for directions.

SIGNS AND MESSAGES: Please try not to put anything on a sign, or say anything to the media, which could possibly get you in trouble for hate speech (the legal definition of which can be found here.

MUSIC: I'm planning on bringing an acoustic guitar. Does anyone know any easy protest songs?[Lord God no!] If you do, please suggest them to me, and I will look them up and figure out how to play them.

PUBLICITY: It's too late to launch any kind of full-scale advertising campaign for our counterrally, but if you know anyone who might be interested in attending, please pass this along to them.

See you there!

-Aaron: aaron1310 AT cogeco.ca

If you don’t have time to email Aaron, I wouldn’t sweat it. Just show up. Montana and I will be there. For some strange reason he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to let his mother go alone to a protest rally against a terrorist organization. Of course, he can’t understand why anyone would demonstrative in support of a terrorist organization. Frankly, I am a little loss for words to explain the rationale myself.

Every Crackpot Loves Company

I am always glad to learn that I am not the only crackpot in the world who thinks that the latest the UN ceasefire proposal will be a disaster for Israel. Ari Shavit from Ha'aretz goes one step further and suggests what course of action Israeli Prime Minister should take next, if the current ceasefire proposal is carried by the UN Security Council and accepted by the Israeli cabinet:

Ehud Olmert may decide to accept the French proposal for a cease-fire and unconditional surrender to Hezbollah. That is his privilege. Olmert is a prime minister whom journalists invented, journalists protected, and whose rule journalists preserved. Now the journalists are saying run away. That's legitimate. Unwise, but legitimate.

However, one thing should be clear: If Olmert runs away now from the war he initiated, he will not be able to remain prime minister for even one more day. Chutzpah has its limits. You cannot lead an entire nation to war promising victory, produce humiliating defeat and remain in power. You cannot bury 120 Israelis in cemeteries, keep a million Israelis in shelters for a month, wear down deterrent power, bring the next war very close, and then say - oops, I made a mistake. That was not the intention. Pass me a cigar, please.

There is no mistake Ehud Olmert did not make this past month. He went to war hastily, without properly gauging the outcome. He blindly followed the military without asking the necessary questions. He mistakenly gambled on air operations, was strangely late with the ground operation, and failed to implement the army's original plan, much more daring and sophisticated than that which was implemented. And after arrogantly and hastily bursting into war, Olmert managed it hesitantly, unfocused and limp. He neglected the home front and abandoned the residents of the north. He also failed shamefully on the diplomatic front.

It's strange to think that I am praying for Hezbollah to miss an opportunity to declare victory.

Hezbollah holds a royal flush and Iran is about to share a border with Israel

I cannot think of a worse UN resolution for Israel than what Ha’aretz is currently reporting.

The UN Security Council will convene Friday to discuss the new proposal, which has been agreed to by the United States as well as France.

The sides are currently putting the finishing touches to the final wording of the resolution. The revised draft calls for a "progressive" Israeli withdrawal, a senior Lebanese political source said on Thursday.

"The Americans have moved their position. A deal with the French is very close in the next hours, but most likely on Friday," he told Reuters. "The breakthrough is based on the inclusion in the call for a cessation of hostilities for a progressive Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory to go simultaneously with the deployment of the Lebanese army backed by reinforced UN peacekeepers."

The source said the peacekeepers would mainly be reinforced by French soldiers. As part of the deal, Hezbollah would pull out from south of the Litani river. After 30 days, the source said, there would be a more comprehensive resolution that declares a ceasefire and sets out solutions for the Shaba Farms issue, the release of captive IDF soldiers, the release of Lebanese prisoners and the disarming of Hezbollah.

Otniel Schneller, an adviser to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said the UN was at work on a new approach. "A new proposal is being drafted, which has positive significance that may bring the war to an end," Schneller said.Both the American and French envoys to the UN briefed Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the progress in talks.

At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said there could be a vote Friday on the resolution. "We're making progress and it's entirely possible we could have a vote tomorrow," Bolton said after a meeting with his French counterpart, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere. "We've closed some of the areas of disagreement with the French."

The terms of the resolution were agreed upon following talks between the five permanent members of the Security Council - U.K., France, U.S., Russia, and China.

The deal was coordinated with Israel and apparently with the Lebanese government. In his efforts to advance the cease-fire, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch departed Beirut on Thursday and arrived in Israel, where he updated Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on the latest diplomatic developments.

The resolution will stop short of requiring peacekeepers to disarm Hezbollah but will call for an embargo to prevent the group from bringing in arms from Iran and Syria, a senior Israeli official said on Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the resolution would also call for creation of "an emboldened UNIFIL", the UN force currently in Lebanon and long derided by Israel as ineffective.

But the official said: "The (international) force will not have any mandate to disarm Hezbollah."

So Israel concedes land to a bogus claim, obtains a formula for the possible “one day over the rainbow release of its soldiers, the missile threat from Hezbollah’s arsenal remains, and the Lebanese Army gets propped up by French forces, but no one disarms Hezbollah.

And what the hell is a more "emboldened UNIFIL" anyway? UNIFIL has been the embodiment of the words 'apathy' or 'inefficiency' or 'ineffectual' since its original deployment 28 years ago. So what does it really mean – it will only be characterized as only two out of the three given states at any one time? Fat lot of good the arms embargo will do - like Iran really cares! Remember the Silkworm.

Oh yeah, not only has Hezbollah survived but it has launched a successful coup d'état of the Lebanese Cedar Revolution and Iran is about to gain a border with Israel. If the Olmert Kadima government agrees to this resolution Israel will have mortgaged not only the current citizens of Israel but their children’s children as well and hundreds will have died in vain. With my luck, I will be bringing the Last Amazon to Israel right about time Iran will probably be launching an offensive. I must make a note to pack iodine pills and buy more life insurance.

Do I ever hope Ha’aretz is wrong. And for the record- Bush is such a wangster.

UK Terror Plot

Damn those Swedish Lutherans.

Now they have infiltrated and corrupted members of the British South Asian community with their nefariously subversive dogma.

Canadian Peacekeeper’s Day of Remembrance

Thirty-two years ago today in an unprovoked act of aggression Syria fired three missiles on UN Plane 51 carrying 9 Canadian Peacekeepers on a routine supply run from Beirut to the Golan Heights just after the plane had been cleared to land by Syrian air traffic control and had begun its descent. The time was 11:50 a.m.

The pilots, Capt. George Foster and Capt. Keith Mirau, managed to evade the first missile but a second missile hit the left engine, a third missile hit the fuselage. Everyone on board was killed. It was the single largest loss of life in Canadian peacekeeping history.

Syria detained the remains of the soldiers for days and has never formally apologized or paid compensation.

Pierre E. Trudeau was Prime Minister of Canada.

A Soldier's Prayer for the Fallen:

To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord
No more bleeding, no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord
Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep
Through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord

Capt. George Foster, 44
Capt. Keith Mirau, 29
Capt. Robert Wicks, 39
Master Warrant Officer Gaston Landry, 35
Warrant Officer Cyril Korejwo, 47
Master Cpl. Ronald Spencer, 29
Cpl. Bruce Stringer, 23
Cpl. Morris Kennington, 30
Cpl. Michael Simpson, 26

Birds of an Iranian Feather

Reuters is reporting that Iranian Revolutionary guards were found among the Hezbollah dead today:

JERUSALEM, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard have been found among Hizbollah guerrillas slain by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, Israel's Channel 10 television reported on Wednesday citing diplomatic sources.

It said the Iranians were identified by documents found on their bodies, but gave no further details on how many were discovered or when. Neither the Israeli military nor Hizbollah representatives in Beirut had immediate comment on the report.
Iran, like fellow Hizbollah patron Syria, insists its support for the Shi'ite guerrilla group is purely moral.

Israel says many of the rockets being fired against its civilian and military targets are Iranian made, and that Hizbollah fighters taking on its forces trained in Iran. Washington also accuses Tehran of actively funding Hizbollah.

Gee whiz. What a surprise. Let me guess - they replaced the UN military observers.

Let the “war crimes” cries begin in earnest.

My son Montana brought this Ynet News article to my attention. He thinks it is a sign that Operation Change of Direction is finally going in the right direction:
Fighters of the 51st Battalion of Golani received aid from an unusual source Tuesday.

A group of snipers hailing from states that had fought in battles in Chechnya and Afghanistan the joined the battalion as it entered Bint Jbeil for the second time after it suffered a serious blow two weeks ago when eight of its soldiers, including the deputy battalion commander, were killed. The snipers were called up in an emergency draft to the war.

The snipers, between 35 and 40 years old, immigrated to Israel at the beginning of the 90s and in the past few years have been considered excellent fighters. They were active in the past in operational activity in the Gaza division, but at a certain point finished their service in the division once the impression was created that they were "trigger happy."

The happy snipers will be deployed along side with the Golani brigade.

Raging Against the Night

Here’s an interesting article written by Lebanese journalist Michel Behe at Metula News Agency translated into English:

The politicians, journalists and intellectuals of Lebanon have, of late, been experiencing the shock of their lives. They knew full well that Hezbollah had created an independent state in our country, a state including all the ministers and parallel institutions, duplicating those of Lebanon. What they did not know – and are discovering with this war, and what has petrified them with surprise and terror –is the extent of this phagocytosis.

In fact, our country had become an extension of Iran, and our so-called political power also served as a political and military cover for the Islamists of Teheran. We suddenly discovered that Teheran had stocked more than 12,000 missiles, of all types and calibers, on our territory and that they had patiently, systematically, organized a suppletive force, with the help of the Syrians, that took over, day after day, all the rooms in the House of Lebanon. Just imagine it : we stock ground-to-ground missiles, Zilzals, on our territory and that the firing of such devices without our knowledge, has the power to spark a regional strategic conflict and, potentially, bring about the annihilation of Lebanon.

We knew that Iran, by means of Hezbollah, was building a veritable Maginot line in the south but it was the pictures of Maroun el-Ras and Bint J’bail that revealed to us the magnitude of these constructions. This amplitude made us understand several things at once : that we were no longer masters of our destiny. That we do not possess the most basic means necessary to reverse the course of this state of things and that those who turned our country into an outpost of their islamic doctrine’s combat against Israel did not have the slightest intention of willingly giving up their hold over us.

The national salvation discussions that concerned the application of Resolution 1559 and which included most of the Lebanese political movements were simply for show. Iran and Syria had not invested billions of dollars on militarizing Lebanon in order to wage their war, simply to give in to the desire of the Lebanese and the international community for them to pack up their hardware and set it up back home.

I bet he’d agree with me that Hezbollah can be aptly characterized as the Iranian Foreign Legion.

(h/t Israpundit)

PSYCH OPS WARS

The IDF has taken to hijacking Hezbollah’s al-Manar television broadcast twice a day (7:30 am and at 7:30pm) reports Ynet News:

VIDEO - While Israel Defense Forces soldiers are fighting brutal battles in the villages of south Lebanon, the army is also fighting a fierce PR war against Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The IDF took over the airwaves of Hizbullah's al-Manar television network as it showed Nasrallah's last speech and replaced the broadcast with propaganda footage. The video showed the bodies of Hizbullah operatives and asserted that fighters were fleeing from the battlegrounds.

Since the beginning of fighting in Lebanon the IDF has briefly taken control of the airwaves of al-Manar, Radio Nour, and Radio Sawt Al-Shab (the radio station of the communist party, which identifies with Hizbullah) to relay Israeli messages aimed at boosting deterrence, demoralizing Hizbullah and presenting Nasrallah as a liar and incapable leader. Clips broadcast on al-Manar made use of motifs taken from the world of Lebanon and Hizbullah, including quotes from Nasrallah.
(…)
The propaganda videos expose Nasrallah's lies regarding the number of casualties the organization has suffered in fighting against Israel. Likewise, a clip was produced showing "the escape legend" of Hizbullah fighters in battles in the south and in Baalbeck, weighed against a letter Hizbullah operatives sent to Nasrallah which he presented as a "Letter of the brave." In addition, the clip shows Israeli commando activities in Baalbek, as well as the report on the IDF take-over of al-Manar in a Lebanese newspaper.

I can’t help but wonder what the ratings are like. Now if only the IDF could take over the CBC I might be happy. There is also a sample video at the Ynet News link.

In keeping with my Psych Ops theme Ynet News is also carrying this report that suggests that Associate Press is suffering from the same kind of malaise that Reuters has succumbed too, though the difference lies in that AP is trying silent stoic route - probably in the hopes that it will all just go away.

A woman has made two appearances in photographs used by the Associated Press and Reuters, allegedly wailing over the destruction of her Beirut home. US bloggers have however noticed that photographs were taken two weeks apart from each other, according to times stamps on the images, and that the photographs were taken in different locations.

"Either this woman is the unluckiest multiple home owner in Beirut, or something isn't quite right," noted the author of the Drinking From Home blog.

In the first photograph, taken by Reuters, a woman is seen in front of a bombed out building in Beirut. "A Lebanese woman wails after looking at the wreckage of her apartment, in a building, that was demolished by the Israeli attacks in southern Beirut," Reuters said in its caption. The photo was dated July 22 2006.

A second photograph of a woman who looks exactly like the woman in the first Reuters image, even bearing the same scar on her left cheek, is then supplied by the Associated Press.

"A Lebanese woman reacts at the destruction after she came to inspect her house in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon," the Associated Press caption claimed. The date accompanying the photograph is August 5 2006, and the scenes behind the woman are different to those of the July 22 photo. After receiving "some emails" about the photos, the BBC removed the Associated Press image from its own website. The Associated Press has so far not responded to requests by Ynetnews for an explanation of the mysterious time gap.

Kind of makes you wonder what her insurance premiums were like – can one even claimed if your houses are bombed by the IAF? Maybe she can launch a suit against Hezbollah for damages. Personally, I have been waiting all day for the response from the Toronto Star's media critic cum blogger, who is being strangely silent about the Reutergate issue. I figure she got her mouth caught in her burqa.

Do all dead babies look alike?

For whatever reason, I just could not go to bed early last night, and subsequently, I was real late dragging my sorry self out of bed. The first day back after a long weekend finds my desk swamped, so blogging will be light until I get my “work” legs back under me. If you are looking for a read, try the 57th Carnival of Liberty by the Life, Liberty and Property blogs which is being hosted at Socratic Rhythm Method.

Or you could read the Islamic Republic News Agency report about the massacre of 40 –Oh, I mean, 1 Lebanese civilian in Houla yesterday. Be sure to take a good look at the baby pictured in the article. It’s probably just me, but I would have sworn that I saw the same dead baby at the Qana “Massacre” last week. Am I to infer that all dead Lebanese babies now look alike – or is it only to Iranians that they do?

(h/tip An Unsealed Room)

Hezbollah aka the Iranian Foreign Legion?

The Jerusalem Post is running this article on a high ranking Hezbollah operative that was part of the original mission to kidnap Israeli soldiers.

My mission was to prevent armored Israeli reinforcements from chasing after the kidnappers," Hussein Ali Suleiman, a Hizbullah operative captured by the IDF, said when describing his role in the kidnapping last month of reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

Suleiman, 22, was captured several days ago by troops from the Golani Brigade operating in the southern Lebanese village of Ayta A Shayeb. Officers said that the operation was not related to the Hizbullah operative, who they said, surrendered to the troops after he realized that he was completely surrounded. Suleiman, a high-ranking officer revealed Monday, was part of the 100-man force that participated in the cross-border kidnapping on July 12.

A commander of an anti-tank rocket cell, Suleiman did not cross the border into Israel, but was part of an outer-envelope force that the Hizbullah deployed to prevent Israeli reinforcements from chasing after the abductors. Suleiman did not provide any new information regarding the condition of the Israeli soldiers being held by the Hizbullah.
(…)
In a videotaped segment of Suleiman's interrogation released on Monday by Military Intelligence, the Hizbullah operative revealed how he was recruited into the guerrilla group in 2000 and how he participated in a religious "brainwashing" seminar following which he was sent to Iran for tactical warfare training. He said that he was trained how to use a number of weapons, in the use of explosives and first aid.

So we have Iran offering weapons training to Lebanese Hezbollah operatives and this admission from an Iranian official that Iran has indeed been supplying missiles to Hezbollah (Jerusalem Post).

Iran admitted for the first time on Friday that it did indeed supply long-range Zelzal-2 missiles to Hizbullah. Secretary-general of the "Intifada conference" Mohtashami Pur told an Iranian newspaper that Iran transferred the missiles so that they could be used to defend Lebanon, Channel 1 reported.

The extent of Iran's intimate involvement in Hizbullah attacks is starting to emerge. According to the defense establishment, the reason Hizbullah has not fired long-range Iranian-made Fajr missiles at Israel is due to Teheran's opposition. Israel now understands that without direct orders from the ayatollahs, Hizbullah is not allowed to use Iranian missiles in attacks against Israel.

I think we can safely characterize Hezbollah as the Iranian Foreign Legion. I realize that it has now become the general prevailing opinion that Iran gave the green light to Hezbollah to launch an offensive against the Israeli state in order to take the heat off the Iranian nuclear program, but what if that is just not so?

Consider that Iran had just signed a pact with Syria a few weeks before the Hezbollah incursion into Israel which would cover Syria’s butt in event of a jam. But what if the real rationale for the Hezbollah offensive was to destabilize the Lebanese government so that the only viable political authority left standing was none other than Hezbollah? And with Hezbollah acting as the Iranian Foreign Legion controlling Lebanon implies that Iran now has an unfettered access to a de facto border with Israel – the state the Iranian president wants to wipe off the map.

I realize that there have been a few statement issues by Hezbollah officials expressing surprise at the fierceness of the Israeli response but with if that is just subterfuge? If we are to take the words of Hezbollah officials at face value (and considering their relationship with the truth is rather tenuous at best) - just how were they able to mobilize their resistance forces so quickly if so taken by surprise? And make no bones this is a well organized defense.

It is no secret that the Olmert government is one of the weakest Israeli administrations in some time, and furthermore, it’s saddled with a Defense Minister and Prime Minister who possess only a bare minimum military experience. It wouldn’t take an Einstein to figure out how the Israelis could be goading into taking an robust staunch - considering the Israeli response to the Hamas kidnapping of Corporal Shalit was to deploy two elite combat battalions. Just something to keep in mind as the UN Security council attempts to pass a ceasefire resolution without the complete demilitarization of Hezbollah as a fait accompli.

Succinctly Ironic

I am enjoying the last day of a three day weekend and can't be bother to blog more than quick links.

A building housing a staunch anti-war newspaper has been hit by an incoming Hezbollah rocket.

Women at war

Reuters has suspended the photographer who shopped his photoshopped pics to Reuters.

Israeli Arabs: Finish off Nasrallah

Syrian continues to yell from the mountaintop that they are spoiling for a fight with the Israeli state.

Hezbollah tries to encourage the Syrians by overshooting their rockets into Syria instead of Northern Galilee region of Israel.

Amateur hour leadership has yet to end in Israel. IDF ditches plans to reach Litani River.

al-Reuters needs Photoshop 101

Imagine my surprise when I surfed into Ynet News this morning and discovered this article:

A Reuters photograph of smoke rising from buildings in Beirut has come under attack by American web logs following suspicions that the photograph was distorted to show more smoke and damage. The photograph shows two very heavy plumes of black smoke billowing from buildings in Beirut after an Air Force attack on the Lebanese capital.

Charles Johnson, of the Little Green Footballs blog, which has exposed a previous attempt at fraud by a major American news corporation, wrote : "This Reuters photograph shows blatant evidence of manipulation. Notice the repeating patterns in the smoke; this is almost certainly caused by using the Photoshop “clone” tool to add more smoke to the image." Johnson added: "Smoke simply does not contain repeating symmetrical patterns like this, and you can see the repetition in both plumes of smoke. There’s really no question about it."

A series of close ups are then posted on the blog, showing that "it’s not only the plumes of smoke that were 'enhanced.' There are also cloned buildings." The close ups do appear to show exact replicas of buildings appearing next to one another in the photograph. The Sports Shooter web forum , used by professional photographers, also examined the photo, with many users concluding that the image has been doctored.

Low and behold, the photographer that submitted this picture is one of the same photographers who did the Qana “Massacre” shoot. Apparently, Reuters is now issuing an advisory concerning this picture.

Hezbollah – Party of Satan

Don’t blame me – I didn’t say it but Ynet News is reporting a senior Saudi cleric has issued a fatwa calling Hezbollah the Party of Satan.

A senior Saudi religious figure, Sheikh Safar al-Hawali, published a fatwa establishing that "Hizbullah is not the 'Party of God' (the meaning of Hizbullah in Arabic), but the 'Party of Satan.'"

Al-Hawali is considered an extreme religious figure in Saudi Arabia. In the past Osama Bin Laden was among his students. In the fatwa published on al-Hawali's website, it was written that it is forbidden to pray for Hizbullah, or to support the organization in any way. Al-Hawali's position, from the Wahhabi stream in Saudi Arabia, exemplifies the prevailing historic rift between Sunnis and Shiites , who, in the eyes of the Wahhabists are apostates.

The Wahhabists seek to cleanse Islam from innovations and deviations, which, according to them, violate Islam at its core, such as worshipping holy men and their graves, or decoration of mosques. The controversy between Sunnis and Shiites is not absolute. For example, the Sunni Muslim Brothers in Egypt have declared their support of Hizbullah.

Al-Hawali's words are an addition to a previous fatwa issued two weeks ago in Saudi Arabia by the leader of the Wahhabi movement, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jabrin, which declared that it is illegal to support, join, or even pray for Hizbullah. In the same fatwa, Iran was condemned for her involvement and financing of terrorist organizations.

The Saudi fatwas are joined by a fatwa issued by a Kuwaiti sheikh after the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers on the northern border, in which a harsh condemnation of "the imperialist aspirations of Iran by means of the organization" was published.

Besides, it’s all bollocks ‘cause everyone knows G-d is a classic liberal – free will and all that.

"Liberals Accept Responsibility for Killers" program, or LARK for short.

I was in the mood for a laugh. I found it here at Shiloh Musings:

You'll be pleased to learn that, thanks to the concerns of citizens like yourself, we are creating a new division of the Terrorist Retraining Program, to be called the "Liberals Accept Responsibility for Killers" program, or LARK for short.
In accordance with the guidelines of this new program, we have decided to place one terrorist under your personal care.

Your personal detainee has been selected and scheduled for transportation under heavily armed guard to your residence next Monday.

Ali Mohammed Ahmed bin Mahmud (you can just call him Ahmed) is to be cared for pursuant to the standards you personally demanded in your letter of complaint. It will likely be necessary for you to hire some assistant care-takers.

We will conduct weekly inspections to ensure that your standards of care for Ahmed are commensurate with those you so strongly recommended in your letter.

Although Ahmed is a sociopath and extremely violent, we hope that your sensitivity to what you described as his "attitudinal problem" will help him overcome these character flaws.

Perhaps you are correct in describing these problems as mere cultural differences. We understand that you plan to offer counseling and home schooling.

Your adopted terrorist is extremely proficient in hand-to-hand combat and can extinguish human life with such simple items as a pencil or nail clippers. We advise that you do not ask him to demonstrate these skills at your next yoga group. He is also expert at making a wide variety of explosive devices from common household products, so you may wish to keep those items locked up, unless (in your opinion) this might offend him.

Read the whole thing here to see who signs the letter from the White House.

what she said

Caroline Glick in the Jerusalem Post on Amateur Hour is Over:

Of course that wasn't all Olmert said. He also told the Associated Press that Israel's "victory" against Hizbullah would pave the way for the implementation of his plan to transfer control of Judea and Samaria to Hizbullah's most ardent supporters - the Hamas and Fatah-led Palestinians.

Olmert's empty declarations of victory and his continued obsession with his plan to expel up to 100,000 Israeli citizens from their homes in Judea and Samaria and transfer the areas to the Palestinian Authority are not simply preposterous. They are dangerous.

On the domestic level, anyone who takes a look at both the IDF casualties and the IDF troops and officers themselves will see that talk of withdrawing from Judea and Samaria is a recipe for demoralization. Maj. Ro'i Klein, the deputy battalion commander from the Golani brigade who was killed in Bint Jbail last week, died heroically, when after calling out "Shema Yisrael" he jumped on a hand grenade to save the lives of his soldiers. Klein lived with his wife and two young children in the community of Eli that Olmert has slated for destruction.

So too, Lt. Amichai Merhavia, who was also killed in the battle, lived in Eli. In photographs making their way through the Internet, Merhavia is seen being beaten by police as he passively resisted the destruction of the Gilad Farm in Samaria in 2002. Last summer prior to the expulsion of Israeli civilians from Gaza and the withdrawal of IDF forces, Merhavia sent a private letter to Halutz. In it he explained why he believed the operation was wrong. Halutz reportedly ordered him thrown out of the army. His commanders intervened and Merhavia was placed on a three-week leave.

Between 30-50 percent of the IDF combat troops and officers in the regular army and the reserves are religious. A large percentage of them live in Judea and Samaria. By claiming that a victory in Lebanon will pave the way for them to be thrown out of their homes, Olmert signaled clearly that he doesn't understand the role of a national leader in wartime, and worse, he doesn't understand why victory is essential.

Indeed, his declarations of victory themselves indicate that he does not understand the nature of the war Israel is facing or the challenges it must contend with both regionally and internationally. By claiming that Israel has already won when it is absolutely clear it has not, Olmert sends terrible messages to both Israel's ally the US, and to Israel's enemies.

He tells the US that it doesn't have to take us seriously as a client. Since we're willing to pretend that we've already won, we tell America that we will accede to any settlement the State Department carves out with the French and the Russians - even if it involves a total Israeli capitulation replete with land giveaways to Hizbullah and the surrender of Israel's right to defend itself to some UN mandated multinational force made up of French dhimmis and Indonesian jihadists.

Olmert tells our enemies that they do not have to be concerned that Israel will defeat them because the prime minister of Israel is not planning on doing anything that would involve their actual defeat. This of course emboldens them to widen their attacks.

AND OUR enemies are in fact emboldened. Over the weekend, for the first time, Syrian forces detonated a bomb along the border at Kuneitra in the northern Golan Heights. On Monday, Assad ordered his army to ready itself for war. For the first time, this week Assad allowed Druse leaders in Damascus to openly call for a reconquest of the Golan Heights. And of course, Syria is actively assisting Hizbullah by resupplying its forces and providing logistics bases for them.

Rather than explaining to the world that Syria is in fact a participant in the war and should be treated as an aggressor, intent on pretending that the conflict is limited and so can be wished away Olmert and his government have all but given Damascus a clean bill of health. Not only did the government announce that it would not attack Syrian targets, it reportedly asked the anti-Israeli, anti-American government of Spain to engage the Syrians. And so, on Thursday Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos went to Damascus, ending Syria's diplomatic isolation initiated after it masterminded the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. While there, Moratinos praised Assad's leadership and said that Syria "will play a positive role," in any cease-fire talks. Far from insisting that Syria be shunned for its aggression, Israeli incompetence is paving the way for Syria to be rewarded for it.

There’s more here. A lot more – and she’s calling for tough love.

Egyptian Judges want to Scrap & Attack

Ynet News is carrying this report out of Egypt:

Judges in Egypt called upon the government to dissolve its peace agreement with Israel, on the grounds that it is inconceivable for Egypt to coexist peaceably with Israel while the IDF operates in Lebanon. The judges expressed support of popular resistance against Israeli advances, which, in their eyes, is the only way to protect the Arab ummah (greater nation).

In a statement issued Thursday, Egyptian judges censured "the barbaric Israeli attacks on the Palestinian and Lebanese people." They also warned of American attempts "to rearrange the Middle East, based on the 'Greater Middle East' plan, via Israeli pride and American hegemony, in whose eyes the lives of hundreds of Arab children are not worth the wounds of one Israeli child."

The judges expressed their belief that the popular resistance is the only way to protect the Arab nation and their honor, and stated their support from "the bravery of Lebanese resistance fighters and the stance of Lebanese people of all denominations." The statement declared that it is inconceivable that the US will continue to be considered a friend or strategic ally of any nation in the region, after having proven itself to be the primary instigator of attacks on the Arab nation.

According to the judges, the US incited this attack, encourages it, and is the main beneficiary from it. They censured those trying to bring about war between Sunni and Shiites and labeled them "an agent with malicious motives." Likewise, they condemned anyone trying to provoke war between Muslims and Christians and anyone expressing doubt that an entrenched nation in the area (implying Iran) has nuclear know-how.
The Egyptian judges called upon judges from around the world to do their duty and aid in imposing values of justice and equality between human beings.

Anyone know if Louise Arbour has issued a statement in support for her Egyptian colleagues yet? If the world is lucky she’ll strike too.

Nasrallah will never make it on Jeopardy!

I realized that Hezbollah’s aim wasn’t the greatest but I had no idea that Hezbollah’s leader Nasrallah had no sense of geography until I read his latest threat to the Israeli state in Ynet News:

Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to bomb Tel Aviv during a TV address Thursday night, should Israel attack in Beirut. "If you indeed do this, I say this clearly. I won't use terms I used up to now, past Haifa, but I will say clearly and in a way that is not open to interpretation: If you bomb our capital we'll bomb your capital. We'll bomb Tel Aviv and we can do this."

Tel Aviv isn’t the capital of Israel - Jerusalem is. Not that I would really want to see Jerusalem or any city under rocket fire but if a Hezbollah can lobby a missile to Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount it could end a considerable amount of conflict and tension. And how could the Palestinians get mad – Narallah’s their hero and he can do no wrong. Geeze, good thing I am not running the Mossad or I might be tempted to give Hezbollah a hand.

Batman Assad to the Cedar Rescue

The Euroweanies have enlisted Syria’s Assad to Beirut’s rescue reports Ynet News:

The European Union has enlisted Syria's help to end the fighting in Lebanon as Damascus pledged support to the Lebanese government's plan for a settlement.

EU envoy and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said following talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad Thursday, Damascus agreed to play a constructive role in settling the conflict by pressing Hizbullah to accept a ceasefire.

"We also agreed on backing the Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora as time is ripe for intensifying diplomatic efforts by all parties," Moratinos said. He said Syria backs Siniora's seven-point plan to end the conflict. "Hizbullah's present stance is unanimous with the government, and Premier Siniora represents all Lebanese parties, including Hizbullah.

"We received Syria's response to be part of the settlement in this complicated region of the world and not be part of the problems." Moratinos said.

I just bet that Assad was simply thrilled to be invited back to Beirut courtesy of the EU. Talk about the cat swallowing the mouse and to hell with the whole Cedar Revolution thingie.