Yes, Olmert if you talk like a clown...

By Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers Mon Oct 29, 10:24 AM ET
JERUSALEM — The last time Israeli leaders sat down for meaningful peace talks with Palestinian negotiators, then- Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert led a march around the Old City's ancient walls to protest any plans to divide his adopted home.

Olmert in 2000...

"No concessions on Jerusalem ," Olmert said on the eve of the 2000 Camp David summit. "For 33 years, Israel has said there will never be a compromise on Jerusalem . Do you think we were joking?"

Olmert in 2007...

Bouncy, Bouncy...

NYPD vs. PAPD

Daled Amos: How Many Men Does It Take To Police The West Bank?

I saw this article quoted by Daled Amos it's exactly at topic we've discussed at lunch. Yes, not only do I get to read blogs but I get to discuss them at lunch too. I'm like the Sy Sperling of Blogs, "I'm not just a blog reader..." So just to give some perspective... The New York City Police Department has about 37,800 officers that cover an area of about 830 sq. km (322 sq. miles) for about 8.2 million residents. That's about .46% of the NYC population are NYPD police officers.

The West Bank by comparison has 80,000 police officers that cover 5,860 sq km for about 2.5 million residents. About 3.2% of the West Bank population are members of the PAPD.

Watch TV and lose weight

For all you couch potatos (I'm the captain of the Olympic couch potato team) atke a look at this.

The UN does an superb job all by itself

Actually, the UN, unfortunately, does a superb job undermining their own credibility and compromising efforts to stabilise the region by allowing Hezbollah to truck in arms, renting or selling their jeeps and equipment to Hezbollah to kidnap Israeli soldiers and the list goes on.

Thu Oct 25, 6:09 AM ET
MARJAYOUN, Lebanon (AFP) - Lebanese troops opened fire on two Israeli jets flying low over the south of the country on Thursday, the police and army said.
"The Lebanese army used anti-aircraft weapons toward two Israeli warplanes that were flying low over the Marjayoun area," said a police spokesman, who asked not to identified.
An army spokesman said the two jets headed back towards Israel at around 11:10 a.m. (0810 GMT).
The incident marked the first time in a year that the army has fired on Israeli warplanes. In February, troops fired on an unmanned Israeli drone flying east of the southern port city of Tyre.
Israel has drawn intense international criticism by continuing overflights after the ceasefire that ended last year's 34-day war against the militant group Hezbollah.
The United Nations has said such overflights undermine the credibility of UN peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon and compromise efforts to stabilise the region.

God is fair many of his Moslem faithful are not fair.

The former mufti of Jerusalem, Ikrema Sabri, has made the claim that there never was a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall was really part of a mosque.

"There was never a Jewish temple on Al-Aksa [the mosque compound] and there is no proof that there was ever a temple," he told The Jerusalem Post via a translator. "Because Allah is fair, he would not agree to make Al-Aksa if there were a temple there for others beforehand."

God is fair many of his Moslem faithful are not fair. When one denies our history they deny our future.

Sabri rejected Judaism's claim to the Western Wall as part of the outer wall of the Second Temple.
"The wall is not part of the Jewish temple. It is just the western wall of the mosque," he said. "There is not a single stone with any relation at all to the history of the Hebrews."

"We are the Jews..." come on everyone sing along. Outside of those who want to disassociate us with our history and our future no one refers to the Jews as "Hebrews". So come on mufti own up to it, your statements are just another attempt at a big lie.

Its the same bag of tricks. "Even though we're (the Arabs) the losers of 4 consecutive wars we're coming in as the victors and if you don't listen to our ultimatums we're going to continue terrorist activities. So you'd better listen to us and do as we say otherwise...."



Ali Waked
Published:
10.25.07, 00:17 / Israel News
Israel is hindering the Palestinian Authority's security plans, a Palestinian security source told Ynet on Wednesday.
According to the source, Israel prevented the entry of some 500 Palestinian police officers into Nablus through the Hawara checkpoint on Tuesday.

...

"The Israelis are not cooperating on this issue as well," he said.
According to the source, "The agitation among the organization members is increasing and things could get out of hand."

Desiree Fairooz - Not your average protester

She quit her job as school librarian in Texas to cook and clean for other women who come to Washington DC to protest US Policies. Women from all over the US leave their families for varying amounts of time to stay at this house so they can protest elected officials in Washington. Ms. Fairooz seems to be a Cindy Sheehan without the notoriaty. In fact she was arrested with Ms. Sheehan on September 10, 2007 in DC.

She's also a Gore for President supporter having signed his online petition 3 times (16133, 16134, 16135) and suggested that the Democratic ticket be Gore & Obama.

Ms. Fairooz according to the Fort Worth Weekly is cashing in her retirment savings to fund her protest addiction. [Hattip: Sweetness & Light]

Somehow I think the NSA is collectively saying to Ms. Fairooz, "I've got my eye on you" - especially after this high-profile incident.

10:55 PM CDT on Friday, June 22, 2007
By CHRISTINE MacDONALD / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
...
"I'm shy," said Ms. Fairooz, 51. "But I'm not afraid at all to confront the criminals on the Hill and speak out for the innocent in Iraq."
Code Pink formed five years ago, basing its name on the government's color-coded terror alert system. According to co-founder Medea Benjamin, the group has an annual budget of about $300,000, which it raises through donations, online fundraising, bake sales, raffles and sales of Code Pink merchandise.

Code Pink's members – mostly women – plot strategy nightly, jotting down the next day's congressional hearings on a dry-erase board near the front door. Most stay at the house for a few weeks before returning home.

This is more than a letter writing campaign.

As "house mama," Ms. Fairooz shops and cooks for the other residents. "I think my husband would keel over if he knew how much cooking I'm doing down here, because I don't cook," she said.

What would NOW have to say?

US Secretary of State needs a new security chief

Desiree Fairooz of Texas, 50, jumps up in front of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before Rice testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington October 24, 2007. Fairooz, an anti-war protester waved blood-colored hands in Rice's face at a congressional hearing on Wednesday and shouted "war criminal!", but was pushed away and detained by police. At right is the committee Chairman Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA).
REUTERS/Larry Downing

If I were Condi, I'd be looking for a new security chief. How in the world can a protester get so close to the US Secretary of State in a Congressional meeting in the US House of Representatives?

The square wheels of PA justice keeping turning

Overview
1. At the government meeting held on Sunday, October 21, 2007, Israeli Security Agency chief Yuval Diskin revealed that the PA had released three previously detained terrorist operatives belonging to a squad which had planned to assassinate the Israeli prime minister. The attack was to have been carried out during the prime minister's late June visit to Jericho . The visit was cancelled (apparently for political reasons) and rescheduled for August 6.
2. The details of the affair are the following:
1) At the end of June 2007 the ISA gave the Palestinians the names of the members of a terrorist squad who were planning to attack Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The attack was to be carried out at a meeting with PA Chairman Abu Mazen scheduled for the end of June in Jericho . That meeting was not held, but as a result of the information reinforced security measures were in place for the prime minister and his entourage during his August 6 visit to Jericho .
2) Following the information given to the Palestinian security forces by Israel , they detained three terrorist operatives . Two other members of the squad were detained by the Israeli security forces. Two of those detained by the Palestinians belonged to the National Security Force and the third served in General Intelligence. Two of the three were also members of Fatah-Tanzim.
3) The terrorist operatives who were detained admitted that they had planned to shoot at the prime minister's convoy . Nevertheless, all three operatives held by the Palestinians were released on September 26 when the investigation ended. The Palestinians issued contradictory versions of their release: Palestinian “security sources” told a journalist from the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz that they had been released “by mistake,” and that once the mistake had been realized they were again detained. On the other hand, Palestinian “political sources” claimed that the three had been released because they hadn't had a serious plan for carrying out the attack ( Ha'aretz , October 22).
4) The terrorist squad was composed of armed members of the Palestinian security forces with easy access to Jericho . They were supposed to be part of the PA's outer security ring along the road leading to Jericho or around the Intercontinental Hotel, the destination of Olmer's convoy ( Yediot Aharonot , October 22).
3. Ha'aretz reported that last Friday, October 19, the Palestinian security forces again detained two of the three terrorist operatives previously released . According to the same report, Israel detained the third terrorist previously in Palestinian hands. The PA allowed Israeli newsmen to hold short interviews with the two terrorists currently imprisoned in Jericho , in our assessment, in an attempt to deflect Israeli accusations. The two, Muhammad Gharouf and Muhammad Hamdan, were interviewed by Ha'aretz and Yediot Haaharonot reporters and as expected, denied Israel 's version ( Ha'aretz , Yediot Aharonot , October 22).

Fatah militants tried to ambush Israeli PM

Sun Oct 21, 6:24 AM
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Militants from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement tried to attack Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's convoy in the West Bank last summer, a senior Israeli official said on Sunday.
Yuval Diskin, the head of Israel's domestic Shin Beth security service, gave details of the August 6 plot during a weekly meeting of the Israeli cabinet, a senior government official present at the meeting told AFP.
"On August 6, while Prime Minister Olmert was travelling to Jericho to meet Abu Mazen (Abbas), Fatah terrorists tried attacking his convoy," the official said, quoting Diskin.
"The terror plot was thwarted and the meeting was held as planned," the official added.
A senior security official speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity said the operation -- envisioned as a shooting ambush -- was planned by a five-person cell, including members of security forces loyal to Abbas.
"It was a cell of five members. Three of them were arrested by Palestinian security services and released on Sept 26. The other two were arrested by Israeli security forces in an operation in Jericho," the official said.

Glad to see the square wheels of Arab justice are spinning. In what other place on earth is a assassination attempt on a foreign leader, especially the one that you're allegedly trying to make peace with, treated like this? On August 6 they attempt to kill Olmert and on September 26 they're released. Exactly what type of justice - even in the loosest definition of the word - is there among Abbas and company?

"The members of the cell were members of the Palestinian security forces, including the 17 Force," an elite force under the direct authority of Abbas, the official added.

Aren't these the guys that the US government is training? Here's a quick reference in a June 18, 2007 article in the NY Times,
“We are going to support President Abbas and what he wants to do,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in announcing the change in policy. She said the United States would work to “restructure” and unfreeze $86 million in aid that was originally set out to help Mr. Abbas build up his security forces.
A senior Palestinian security official, however, said the group responsible for planning the attack included only two people, and that Palestinian security forces were still holding both of them.

"We have arrested the members of the group and have launched an inquiry. They are still in prison, and we have not freed anyone," Tawfiq Tirawi, the head of Palestinian intelligence services, told AFP.

So which is it? Are they free or are they in prison?

Now remind me why Olmert and company are making fire-sale like concessions to a leader whose status as leader is on life support. Abbas can't even stop his loyal well trained by the US guards from assasdination attempts against foriegn leaders, he doesn't control Gaza, they continue to launch missile attacks on Israel, they continue to send suicide bombers, they haven'y completed any steps on the Road Map plan, etc. And for all this Olmert is giving away Israel?

According to the US State Dept.:
The following is a performance-based and goal-driven roadmap, with clear phases, timelines, target dates, and benchmarks aiming at progress through reciprocal steps by the two parties in the political, security, economic, humanitarian, and institution-building fields, under the auspices of the Quartet [the United States, European Union, United Nations, and Russia]. The destination is a final and comprehensive settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict by 2005, as presented in President Bush’s speech of 24 June, and welcomed by the EU, Russia and the UN in the 16 July and 17 September Quartet Ministerial statements.

A two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only be achieved through an end to violence and terrorism, when the Palestinian people have a leadership acting decisively against terror and willing and able to build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty, and through Israel’s readiness to do what is necessary for a democratic Palestinian state to be established, and a clear, unambiguous acceptance by both parties of the goal of a negotiated settlement as described below. The Quartet will assist and facilitate implementation of the plan, starting in Phase I, including direct discussions between the parties as required. The plan establishes a realistic timeline for implementation. However, as a performance-based plan, progress will require and depend upon the good faith efforts of the parties, and their compliance with each of the obligations outlined below. Should the parties perform their obligations rapidly, progress within and through the phases may come sooner than indicated in the plan. Non-compliance with obligations will impede progress.

Have a cigar, you're gonna' go far

Yes, those nefarious Israelis/Jews are back to their old tricks. They've found yet another way to increase the suffering of the poor Arabs, especially those in Gaza. If only the Israelis would ease the economic embargo...

SHATI REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip - In Akram Abu Ghaben's hole-in-the wall grocery, cigarettes are no longer sold by the pack.
Skyrocketing prices — a result of Israel's economic sanctions on Gaza following the Hamas takeover in June — have pushed cigarettes out of the reach of many smokers.
In a tension-filled place where a pack of Marlboros is a badge of manliness and smoking is common, even in hospitals and elevators, many are now forced to face their addiction.
Some have quit, while others are reluctantly cutting back, cursing Israel for keeping most cigarettes out and the Hamas government for clamping high taxes on whatever gets through.
Mahmoud Zahar, a stern Hamas ideologue and physician, said he's not moved by the smokers' complaints.
"We are very happy about their suffering," said Zahar, pointing to the obvious health and financial benefits of the cigarette shortage.

AP - Sat Oct 20, 2:21 PM ET
Palestinian Akram Abu Ghaben, right, sells a cigarette to a customer at his shop in Gaza City Friday, Oct. 19, 2007. In Akram Abu Ghaben's hole-in-the wall grocery, cigarettes are no longer sold by the pack, but by the piece. Skyrocketing prices — a result of Israel's even tighter economic stranglehold on Gaza following the Hamas takeover in June — have pushed cigarettes out of the reach of many smokers.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Palestinian Abdel Basset Hajaj, 50, a former smoker who quit after some 38 years due to high prices is seen in Gaza City Friday, Oct. 19, 2007. Skyrocketing prices — a result of Israel's even tighter economic stranglehold on Gaza following the Hamas takeover in June — have pushed cigarettes out of the reach of many smokers. Some, like Hajaj have quit, while others are reluctantly cutting back, cursing Israel for keeping most cigarettes out and the Hamas government for clamping high taxes on whatever gets through.(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Then AP includes these two photos to accompany their ground breaking news story.

Sharon's 180 degree turn and other

If we cut and run, Gaza will be taken over by terror organizations... Gaza's squares shall be transformed into launching platforms of Katyushas toward Ashkelon ... The only way to defeat terrorism is by controlling its bases.

Likud MK Ariel Sharon Maariv, June 12, 1992

All you do all day is threaten that there will be Katyusha rockets landing in Ashkelon. Would you mind telling me why there are no rockets fired from Aqaba to Eilat?"

Foreign Minister Labor MK Shimon Peres
Knesset minutes September 9, 1993

Peres may not have even a toe in reality but he is consistant. Take a look at what some Israeli politicians have said in the past.

If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem

What was the issue(s) that drove him to change his mind?

Singing in the Rain

We ask for rain in Israel during the Geshem prayer during Mussaf. And we add "Mashiv HaRuach Ooh'Morid Hageshem."

Live long and prosper

By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer

An asteroid between Mars and Jupiter has been renamed 7307 Takei in honor of the actor, best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original "Star Trek" series and movies.
"I am now a heavenly body," Takei, 70, said Tuesday, laughing. "I found out about it yesterday. ... I was blown away. It came out of the clear, blue sky — just like an asteroid."

Technorati Profile

Sukkah at work

PA wants 'sweeping deal' before summit

Oct 2, 2007 0:42 Updated Oct 2, 2007 11:08
KHALED ABU TOAMEH AND MARK WEISS

The Palestinians will only participate in the US-sponsored peace conference expected to be held next month if general agreement is first reached with Israel on all the fundamental issues, Palestinian Authority officials here said Monday.

They said that in addition to Jerusalem, the borders of the future Palestinian state and the problem of the refugees, the PA was also seeking agreement on water, security and settlements.Meanwhile Monday evening, 16 Gazans were wounded in Khan Yunis in fighting between Hamas and Fatah gunmen. The clashes began when Hamas's Executive Force tried to arrest a Fatah man.

The officials also denied that the PA had agreed to discuss an exchange of land with Israel and limiting the number of refugees who would return to Israel proper. They said the PA's official position remained that Israel must withdraw from all the territories captured in 1967, including east Jerusalem, and that there would be no concessions on the "right of return."
...
According to another PA official, the Palestinians want the declaration of principles to include an Israeli commitment to withdraw to the pre-1967 borders. "As President Mahmoud Abbas stated last week, we have no intention to compromise on any of our rights," he said.

Could it be that the Arabs will "never miss an opportunity to miss and opportunity"? Because I'm concerned that Olmert/Ramon/Livni will continue with their "yard sale" of Israel.

TSA to scrutinize remote-controlled toys

By EILEEN SULLIVAN,
Associated Press Writer Mon Oct 1, 5:38 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Airport screeners will be taking a closer look at remote control toys in carry-on luggage due to concerns they could be used to detonate bombs, U.S. officials said Monday.
The new practice is a result of reviewing recent intelligence, but isn't based on any specific threat, according to the Transportation Security Administration. ...

And according to Kip Hawley, TSA Administrator, in the same article, "We know that al-Qaida uses children and babies and old people, and you can't predict what a terrorist looks like," ...

And here's what ABC has to say...

Yes, they were just two college student caught speeding with "fire crackers" who were racially profiled according to Ahmed Bedier of CAIR-FL.