Saturday, October 17, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
AP editoriziling the "news"
New Fatah leadership boosts Mideast peace efforts
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer Mohammed Daraghmeh, Associated Press Writer – Tue Aug 11, 2:57 pm ET
BETHLEHEM, West Bank – Fatah has elected a rejuvenated leadership that will likely bring the mainstream Palestinian movement (bold and color are my emphasis) more in line with President Barack Obama's vision for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, according to unofficial results released Tuesday.
But a reluctant Israel and militant Islamic Hamas stranglehold on the Gaza Strip pose formidable obstacles (bold and color are my emphasis) on the road toward a peace accord....
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer Mohammed Daraghmeh, Associated Press Writer – Tue Aug 11, 2:57 pm ET
BETHLEHEM, West Bank – Fatah has elected a rejuvenated leadership that will likely bring the mainstream Palestinian movement (bold and color are my emphasis) more in line with President Barack Obama's vision for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement, according to unofficial results released Tuesday.
But a reluctant Israel and militant Islamic Hamas stranglehold on the Gaza Strip pose formidable obstacles (bold and color are my emphasis) on the road toward a peace accord....
Everybody should be breaking out in song and dance because "GOOD" Palestinian Fatah has elected a rejuvenated movement. "BAD" Israel who is linked to the bad Islamic Hamas pose formidable obstacles. Glad to see AP isn't injecting any editorializing in it's "news" articles. What happed to just the 5 W's: Who, What, When, Where and How?
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sit Yasir, Fetch Abbas
Maybe it's time to buy a dog and name it Yasir Arafat or Mahmud Abbas.Muslims believe dogs can violate ritual purity and consider them unclean. Calling someone a dog is one of the worst insults in the Middle East. The problem is I like dogs too much to insult an animal with such a name.
Sadat's daughter takes on Hollywood movie
By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press Writer – Sat Aug 8, 11:32 am ET
CAIRO – The daughter of Egypt's former president Anwar Sadat has filed a complaint against the makers of "I Love You Man," a 2009 Dreamworks film, for naming a dog after her father, her lawyer said Saturday.
Egypt's prosecutor will look into the complaint, but it is unclear what sort of action Egyptian courts could take against the Hollywood movie company.
In the movie, actor Jason Segel's character has a dog named Anwar Sadat. When asked if it's because he likes the former president's policies, the character replies it is due to the dog's resemblance to the Egyptian leader.
The name of the dog also appears in the credits as Anwar Sadat, playing himself, the dog.
"This is a disaster, a serious affront," said Samir Sabri, the lawyer for Rokaya Sadat, daughter of the former president and peace Nobel prize winner.
The film, directed by John Hamburg, opened in Egypt last month, but the scene with the dog had earlier been excised by the distributor. Word of the scene only came to light in the last week when it was publicized by an Egyptian Web site.
"This has caused serious psychological and moral damages to the plaintiff, as President Sadat is a prominent figure in the Arab history in general and in Egyptian history in particular," the lawyer's brief said. "Everyone agrees that he is a unique leader who was politically savvy, and has worked hard to serve his country."
Muslims believe dogs can violate ritual purity and consider them unclean. Calling someone a dog is one of the worst insults in the Middle East.
Commentators in Egypt have called the movie, which grossed more than $71 million in the U.S., another in a long series slights against Arabs and Muslims in Hollywood.
Sadat's daughter takes on Hollywood movie
By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press Writer – Sat Aug 8, 11:32 am ET
CAIRO – The daughter of Egypt's former president Anwar Sadat has filed a complaint against the makers of "I Love You Man," a 2009 Dreamworks film, for naming a dog after her father, her lawyer said Saturday.
Egypt's prosecutor will look into the complaint, but it is unclear what sort of action Egyptian courts could take against the Hollywood movie company.
In the movie, actor Jason Segel's character has a dog named Anwar Sadat. When asked if it's because he likes the former president's policies, the character replies it is due to the dog's resemblance to the Egyptian leader.
The name of the dog also appears in the credits as Anwar Sadat, playing himself, the dog.
"This is a disaster, a serious affront," said Samir Sabri, the lawyer for Rokaya Sadat, daughter of the former president and peace Nobel prize winner.
The film, directed by John Hamburg, opened in Egypt last month, but the scene with the dog had earlier been excised by the distributor. Word of the scene only came to light in the last week when it was publicized by an Egyptian Web site.
"This has caused serious psychological and moral damages to the plaintiff, as President Sadat is a prominent figure in the Arab history in general and in Egyptian history in particular," the lawyer's brief said. "Everyone agrees that he is a unique leader who was politically savvy, and has worked hard to serve his country."
Muslims believe dogs can violate ritual purity and consider them unclean. Calling someone a dog is one of the worst insults in the Middle East.
Commentators in Egypt have called the movie, which grossed more than $71 million in the U.S., another in a long series slights against Arabs and Muslims in Hollywood.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
More misplaced sympathy and concern
United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Robert H. Serry, center, visits Palestinian families a day after they were evicted from their house in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Israeli police evicted two Palestinian families in east Jerusalem on Sunday, then allowed Jewish settlers to move into their homes, drawing criticism from Palestinians, the United Nations and the State Department.(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
So after the world meddles in an internal Israeli matter that went through a free democratic country's legal system - all the way to the Supreme Court - the UN must explicitly show it's misplaced sympathy and concern. When was the last time the UN visited people in Sderot, or victims and families from any of the homicide bombers or... you get my point.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Hey Zahal, duck!
In this photo taken Sunday, June 14, 2009 Palestinian security officers loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas train in the West Bank town of Jenin. In a military-style exercise, everything went according to script: U.S.-trained Palestinian commandos, faces smeared with black camouflage paint and moves carefully choreographed, stormed a mock militants' hideout in an abandoned building, 'wounding' one gunman and arresting a second. Yet reality is far less accommodating in the Israel-controlled West Bank, where Palestinian forces try to expand islands of limited authority by proving their effectiveness, including by going after Hamas militants.(AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)It's just a matter of time before U.S. - trained Palestinian commandos are pointing their US supplied weapons, tactics and training at Israelis.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Hamas is pro-Israel
Palestinians walk out of the National Islamic Bank in Gaza City. The first bank affiliated with the Hamas movement running Gaza opened on Tuesday in the Israeli-blockaded coastal strip which lies outside the Palestinian Authority's control.
(AFP/Mohammed Abed)Notice the National Islamic Bank's sign. It has a piece with the shape of Israel on it. Obviously, Hamas has moderated it's rhetoric and has become pro-Israel - not.
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Muqata: A Robotic Passover Greeting#links#links#links#links#links#links
The Muqata: A Robotic Passover Greeting#links#links#links#links#links#links
It brings back fond memories of a family seder...
It brings back fond memories of a family seder...
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Looks more like an "Exterminate Israel" rally
Masked Palestinians take part on an anti-Israel rally organised by Hamas movement in Nussirat camp in the central Gaza Strip March 27, 2009.REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA POLITICS CONFLICT)Monday, March 2, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Newsflash: Olmert grows a pair - finally
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on February 15, 2009. Israel's security cabinet voted on Wednesday to condition a Gaza truce on the release of a captive soldier, a move that risked further complicating Egyptian efforts to broker a lasting ceasefire.(AFP/Emil Salman)Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sen Charles Schumer Chattering Class focus on tiny porky amendments American people don't care
Hey Chuck, YES WE DO CARE!
Send flowers not rocketsd and suicide bombers
Israel lets Gaza export Valentine's Day flowers
Thu Feb 12, 10:26 am ET
KEREM SHALOM, Israel – Israel is relaxing its blockade of the Gaza Strip to let through 25,000 carnations headed to Europe for Valentine's Day.
But the head of the Gaza flower growers' association said that was "nothing" compared to the 40 million flowers a year that came out of the territory before the blockade.
The flowers will be Gaza's first exports in a year. Israel has blockaded Gaza since Hamas militants seized control of the territory in June 2007.
Israeli military spokesman Maj. Peter Lerner said Israel agreed to let the flowers through at the request of the Dutch government and Gaza farmers.
Lerner called the move an Israeli gesture and said it did not indicate any change in the overall policy toward Gaza.
But Mohammed Khalil, head of the Gaza flower growers' association, dismissed the move as "nothing."
Khalil said Gaza used to export 40 million flowers a year, so 25,000 carnations is insignificant.
"We had to feed the flowers to the animals because we couldn't export them," he said. "We are afraid of losing our reputation in Europe and are afraid to plan ahead."
Here's an idea....stop sending rockets and suicide bombers to Israel and I'm pretty sure the Israelis will have no objection to you exporting even 80 million flowers.
Thu Feb 12, 10:26 am ET
KEREM SHALOM, Israel – Israel is relaxing its blockade of the Gaza Strip to let through 25,000 carnations headed to Europe for Valentine's Day.
But the head of the Gaza flower growers' association said that was "nothing" compared to the 40 million flowers a year that came out of the territory before the blockade.
The flowers will be Gaza's first exports in a year. Israel has blockaded Gaza since Hamas militants seized control of the territory in June 2007.
Israeli military spokesman Maj. Peter Lerner said Israel agreed to let the flowers through at the request of the Dutch government and Gaza farmers.
Lerner called the move an Israeli gesture and said it did not indicate any change in the overall policy toward Gaza.
But Mohammed Khalil, head of the Gaza flower growers' association, dismissed the move as "nothing."
Khalil said Gaza used to export 40 million flowers a year, so 25,000 carnations is insignificant.
"We had to feed the flowers to the animals because we couldn't export them," he said. "We are afraid of losing our reputation in Europe and are afraid to plan ahead."
Here's an idea....stop sending rockets and suicide bombers to Israel and I'm pretty sure the Israelis will have no objection to you exporting even 80 million flowers.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Daniel Pearl and the Normalization of Evil
By JUDEA PEARL
This week marks the seventh anniversary of the murder of our son, former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. My wife Ruth and I wonder: Would Danny have believed that today's world emerged after his tragedy?
The answer does not come easily. Danny was an optimist, a true believer in the goodness of mankind. Yet he was also a realist, and would not let idealism bend the harshness of facts.
Neither he, nor the millions who were shocked by his murder, could have possibly predicted that seven years later his abductor, Omar Saeed Sheikh, according to several South Asian reports, would be planning terror acts from the safety of a Pakistani jail. Or that his murderer, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, now in Guantanamo, would proudly boast of his murder in a military tribunal in March 2007 to the cheers of sympathetic jihadi supporters. Or that this ideology of barbarism would be celebrated in European and American universities, fueling rally after rally for Hamas, Hezbollah and other heroes of "the resistance." Or that another kidnapped young man, Israeli Gilad Shalit, would spend his 950th day of captivity with no Red Cross visitation while world leaders seriously debate whether his kidnappers deserve international recognition.
No. Those around the world who mourned for Danny in 2002 genuinely hoped that Danny's murder would be a turning point in the history of man's inhumanity to man, and that the targeting of innocents to transmit political messages would quickly become, like slavery and human sacrifice, an embarrassing relic of a bygone era.
But somehow, barbarism, often cloaked in the language of "resistance," has gained acceptance in the most elite circles of our society. The words "war on terror" cannot be uttered today without fear of offense. Civilized society, so it seems, is so numbed by violence that it has lost its gift to be disgusted by evil.
I believe it all started with well-meaning analysts, who in their zeal to find creative solutions to terror decided that terror is not a real enemy, but a tactic. Thus the basic engine that propels acts of terrorism -- the ideological license to elevate one's grievances above the norms of civilized society -- was wished away in favor of seemingly more manageable "tactical" considerations.
This mentality of surrender then worked its way through politicians like the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. In July 2005 he told Sky News that suicide bombing is almost man's second nature. "In an unfair balance, that's what people use," explained Mr. Livingstone.
But the clearest endorsement of terror as a legitimate instrument of political bargaining came from former President Jimmy Carter. In his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," Mr. Carter appeals to the sponsors of suicide bombing. "It is imperative that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Road-map for Peace are accepted by Israel." Acts of terror, according to Mr. Carter, are no longer taboo, but effective tools for terrorists to address perceived injustices.
Mr. Carter's logic has become the dominant paradigm in rationalizing terror. When asked what Israel should do to stop Hamas's rockets aimed at innocent civilians, the Syrian first lady, Asma Al-Assad, did not hesitate for a moment in her response: "They should end the occupation." In other words, terror must earn a dividend before it is stopped.
The media have played a major role in handing terrorism this victory of acceptability. Qatari-based Al Jazeera television, for example, is still providing Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi hours of free air time each week to spew his hateful interpretation of the Koran, authorize suicide bombing, and call for jihad against Jews and Americans.
Then came the August 2008 birthday of Samir Kuntar, the unrepentant killer who, in 1979, smashed the head of a four-year-old Israeli girl with his rifle after killing her father before her eyes. Al Jazeera elevated Kuntar to heroic heights with orchestras, fireworks and sword dances, presenting him to 50 million viewers as Arab society's role model. No mainstream Western media outlet dared to expose Al Jazeera efforts to warp its young viewers into the likes of Kuntar. Al Jazeera's management continues to receive royal treatment in all major press clubs.
Some American pundits and TV anchors didn't seem much different from Al Jazeera in their analysis of the recent war in Gaza. Bill Moyers was quick to lend Hamas legitimacy as a "resistance" movement, together with honorary membership in PBS's imaginary "cycle of violence." In his Jan. 9 TV show, Mr. Moyers explained to his viewers that "each [side] greases the cycle of violence, as one man's terrorism becomes another's resistance to oppression." He then stated -- without blushing -- that for readers of the Hebrew Bible "God-soaked violence became genetically coded." The "cycle of violence" platitude allows analysts to empower terror with the guise of reciprocity, and, amazingly, indict terror's victims for violence as immutable as DNA.
When we ask ourselves what it is about the American psyche that enables genocidal organizations like Hamas -- the charter of which would offend every neuron in our brains -- to become tolerated in public discourse, we should take a hard look at our universities and the way they are currently being manipulated by terrorist sympathizers.
At my own university, UCLA, a symposium last week on human rights turned into a Hamas recruitment rally by a clever academic gimmick. The director of the Center for Near East Studies carefully selected only Israel bashers for the panel, each of whom concluded that the Jewish state is the greatest criminal in human history.
The primary purpose of the event was evident the morning after, when unsuspecting, uninvolved students read an article in the campus newspaper titled, "Scholars say: Israel is in violation of human rights in Gaza," to which the good name of the University of California was attached. This is where Hamas scored its main triumph -- another inch of academic respectability, another inroad into Western minds.
Danny's picture is hanging just in front of me, his warm smile as reassuring as ever. But I find it hard to look him straight in the eyes and say: You did not die in vain.
Mr. Pearl, a professor of computer science at UCLA, is president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, founded in memory of his son to promote cross-cultural understanding.
Please add your comments to the Opinion Journal forum.Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A15
This week marks the seventh anniversary of the murder of our son, former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. My wife Ruth and I wonder: Would Danny have believed that today's world emerged after his tragedy?
The answer does not come easily. Danny was an optimist, a true believer in the goodness of mankind. Yet he was also a realist, and would not let idealism bend the harshness of facts.
Neither he, nor the millions who were shocked by his murder, could have possibly predicted that seven years later his abductor, Omar Saeed Sheikh, according to several South Asian reports, would be planning terror acts from the safety of a Pakistani jail. Or that his murderer, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, now in Guantanamo, would proudly boast of his murder in a military tribunal in March 2007 to the cheers of sympathetic jihadi supporters. Or that this ideology of barbarism would be celebrated in European and American universities, fueling rally after rally for Hamas, Hezbollah and other heroes of "the resistance." Or that another kidnapped young man, Israeli Gilad Shalit, would spend his 950th day of captivity with no Red Cross visitation while world leaders seriously debate whether his kidnappers deserve international recognition.
No. Those around the world who mourned for Danny in 2002 genuinely hoped that Danny's murder would be a turning point in the history of man's inhumanity to man, and that the targeting of innocents to transmit political messages would quickly become, like slavery and human sacrifice, an embarrassing relic of a bygone era.
But somehow, barbarism, often cloaked in the language of "resistance," has gained acceptance in the most elite circles of our society. The words "war on terror" cannot be uttered today without fear of offense. Civilized society, so it seems, is so numbed by violence that it has lost its gift to be disgusted by evil.
I believe it all started with well-meaning analysts, who in their zeal to find creative solutions to terror decided that terror is not a real enemy, but a tactic. Thus the basic engine that propels acts of terrorism -- the ideological license to elevate one's grievances above the norms of civilized society -- was wished away in favor of seemingly more manageable "tactical" considerations.
This mentality of surrender then worked its way through politicians like the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. In July 2005 he told Sky News that suicide bombing is almost man's second nature. "In an unfair balance, that's what people use," explained Mr. Livingstone.
But the clearest endorsement of terror as a legitimate instrument of political bargaining came from former President Jimmy Carter. In his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," Mr. Carter appeals to the sponsors of suicide bombing. "It is imperative that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Road-map for Peace are accepted by Israel." Acts of terror, according to Mr. Carter, are no longer taboo, but effective tools for terrorists to address perceived injustices.
Mr. Carter's logic has become the dominant paradigm in rationalizing terror. When asked what Israel should do to stop Hamas's rockets aimed at innocent civilians, the Syrian first lady, Asma Al-Assad, did not hesitate for a moment in her response: "They should end the occupation." In other words, terror must earn a dividend before it is stopped.
The media have played a major role in handing terrorism this victory of acceptability. Qatari-based Al Jazeera television, for example, is still providing Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi hours of free air time each week to spew his hateful interpretation of the Koran, authorize suicide bombing, and call for jihad against Jews and Americans.
Then came the August 2008 birthday of Samir Kuntar, the unrepentant killer who, in 1979, smashed the head of a four-year-old Israeli girl with his rifle after killing her father before her eyes. Al Jazeera elevated Kuntar to heroic heights with orchestras, fireworks and sword dances, presenting him to 50 million viewers as Arab society's role model. No mainstream Western media outlet dared to expose Al Jazeera efforts to warp its young viewers into the likes of Kuntar. Al Jazeera's management continues to receive royal treatment in all major press clubs.
Some American pundits and TV anchors didn't seem much different from Al Jazeera in their analysis of the recent war in Gaza. Bill Moyers was quick to lend Hamas legitimacy as a "resistance" movement, together with honorary membership in PBS's imaginary "cycle of violence." In his Jan. 9 TV show, Mr. Moyers explained to his viewers that "each [side] greases the cycle of violence, as one man's terrorism becomes another's resistance to oppression." He then stated -- without blushing -- that for readers of the Hebrew Bible "God-soaked violence became genetically coded." The "cycle of violence" platitude allows analysts to empower terror with the guise of reciprocity, and, amazingly, indict terror's victims for violence as immutable as DNA.
When we ask ourselves what it is about the American psyche that enables genocidal organizations like Hamas -- the charter of which would offend every neuron in our brains -- to become tolerated in public discourse, we should take a hard look at our universities and the way they are currently being manipulated by terrorist sympathizers.
At my own university, UCLA, a symposium last week on human rights turned into a Hamas recruitment rally by a clever academic gimmick. The director of the Center for Near East Studies carefully selected only Israel bashers for the panel, each of whom concluded that the Jewish state is the greatest criminal in human history.
The primary purpose of the event was evident the morning after, when unsuspecting, uninvolved students read an article in the campus newspaper titled, "Scholars say: Israel is in violation of human rights in Gaza," to which the good name of the University of California was attached. This is where Hamas scored its main triumph -- another inch of academic respectability, another inroad into Western minds.
Danny's picture is hanging just in front of me, his warm smile as reassuring as ever. But I find it hard to look him straight in the eyes and say: You did not die in vain.
Mr. Pearl, a professor of computer science at UCLA, is president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, founded in memory of his son to promote cross-cultural understanding.
Please add your comments to the Opinion Journal forum.Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A15
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