That Nutty Nasrallah

Our favorite cult leader is altering reality again.

The leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has accused the US of ordering Israel to start last year's conflict with the militant group.

"The one who fomented chaos in Lebanon, who destroyed Lebanon, who killed women and children, old and young in Lebanon, is George Bush and [Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice, who ordered the Zionists to launch the war on Lebanon," he [Nasrallah] said.

Really? Who was it that started the war last summer, hmm?

Hezbollah and Israel fought a fierce 34-day conflict in July and August, after Hezbollah killed and captured several Israeli soldiers.

Exactly.

"The one who must be punished, who must be tried, is the one who ordered the launching of war on Lebanon," Sheikh Nasrallah told the crowd.

And that would be YOU, Nasrallah.

Addressing a huge crowd in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Sheikh Nasrallah also accused the US and Israel of trying to foment civil wars in the region.

Nasrallah is referring to Lebanon's near civil war that is brewing, for which he, again, is responsible, having thousands of his Shia Hizbullah thugs occupying the center of Beirut as "protesters".

Three people died and 100 were injured as [Hizbullah] protesters, who blocked many roads, clashed with government supporters.

And was their big "peaceful" strike last Tuesday.

Government offices in Beirut have been besieged by opposition supporters since they began a sit-in in December.

The clashes re-opened many old wounds from the civil war in the 1970s and 80s, our correspondent adds, and raised fears that sectarian civil strife could be re-kindled if the crisis goes on.

Like Nasrallah says, this is all because of "George Bush and [Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice". The flowers must be pretty in his world.

More Balloons O' Death

It's hard to make this stuff up. The hysteria continues:

Renewed panic spread among some Lebanese Monday, as a black balloon with a spider drawn on it landed in the heart of a Beirut neighborhood, a day after Israeli balloons landed in South Lebanon. "It is a terrorist act against our peace of mind," Khaled Qamaryeh, owner of a store in the neighborhood of Salim Salaam, told The Daily Star.

"I didn't go near it as I was worried it may be filled with poison," Qamaryeh said of the balloon found in his neighborhood. "I don't trust the Israelis."

It had to be from Israel. Only they can aim a balloon to land in the heart of a city many miles away.

"Israel is capable of anything, and whether or not there are actual toxins, they are always waging a psychological war against the Lebanese," said Mohammad Sharqawi.

"Psychological war" will have Lebanese surrendering by the droves. I guess Israel could have saved a lot of trouble last summer by just releasing balloons instead of fighting Hizbullah.

While there is no evidence of poison, Rifi said there is a question over the "timing."

"Israeli balloons never used to drift over to Lebanon, so why now?" he asked. "I believe it is an intentional act by Israel to cause further panic in a country already on edge," he added.

Conspiracy...again.

Resigned Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh slammed Israel Sunday for what he called, "a creative" new way of violating Resolution 1701, and called on the UN to put a stop to it.

"It wasn't enough that they violate our skies daily with their drones and warplanes, now they sending over their balloons to terrorize the Lebanese people," he said.

Balloons now terrorize, but let's forget the fact that they were never poisonous in the first place, only in the paranoid minds of the conspiracy-obsessed Lebanese.

"Israelis have a history of targeting the civilians,"...

Actually, Islamic terrorists are the only ones who proudly target civilians. Lebanese civilians died because brave terrorists fought behind civilian shields.

"...and so why not now through balloons?" he asked.

Even if a rumor is proven to be false, once believed it will forever be considered true.

Sharqawi also believed that the officials "would lie" to keep the people from panicking.

First they try to blame everything on Israel, now they try to cover it up - which is it?

"There is a sort of panic now in the country from any balloons," the army source told The Daily Star.

"Now every time a child has a birthday party and some balloons are released," the source added, "we get a call or two of panic from nearby residents."

Psychologically disturbed, these people.

The source said more comprehensive tests on the Israeli balloons will continue for the next two days to check "for chemicals and minerals" that the balloons may be carrying or are made of.

Why? They were never poisonous in the first place.

Let me make a prediction: someone will plant a balloon with poison in/on it and Israel will be blamed.

One thing is for sure: it must be wonderfully convenient to have something on which to blame every problem you ever had, have, and will have.

Perverted Humanity

When one hears the terms "legitimate", "right", "natural", and "honor", what comes to mind? If it's anything other than death, destruction, and hate, well, according to terrorists you have a screw loose.

...Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum defended the suicide attack as legitimate "resistance" against Israel.

So resistance = blowing up a bakery. What bravery.

Barhoum called the attack, which killed three people in a local bakery, a "natural response" to IDF policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as its ongoing boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government.

Yes, purposely blowing one's self up in order to murder civilians is oh so natural.

"So long as there is occupation, resistance is legitimate," he said.

Occupation? The terrorist was from Gaza which Israel un-occupied in 2005.

He also said attacks on Israel were preferable to the recent bout of Palestinian infighting in Gaza. "The right thing is for Fatah weapons to be directed toward the occupation, not toward Hamas," he said.

If you get that hankerin' to do some killing, Jews are the preferred target.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the attack together with two other groups, posted a statement on its Web site Monday saying that it had engineered the bombing in an attempt to "focus Palestinians' attention away from killing each other," Sky News reported.

No matter what differences they may have, killing Jews is what every terrorist agrees on. And this terrorist's family couldn't be happier.

"The whole family was very happy when it heard that Muhammad is the hero who carried out the attack," said Naim Saqsaq, the brother of Muhammad Saqsaq, who carried out the suicide attack in Eilat that killed three people. ... "He got his wish, and we got this honor."

I guess that if suicide terrorism is "natural" for these people, why would they not be happy that their family member is dead and in hundreds of pieces, along with innocent civilians he killed? It's amazing how this death cult unashamedly displays it's depravity to the entire world.

News Roundup for January 29

Now for some insight from the Middle East press. First, from the Palestinian civil war we have some beautifully-crafted descriptions of events in Gaza courtesy of the Hamas website.

At the time of A very big campaign against the Elected Palestinian government from the Zionist and American governments.

When your official website to the world has a sentence fragment.

After the delivered weapons from the American and Israeli governments to Dahalan's forces in the area, many clashes happened in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Isn't that a bumper sticker, "Clashes Happen"?

These incidents happened On Saturday 27 January, 2007 with many incidents at the same day resulting a lot of Corruption in different parts of the Gaza Strip.

Your geuss is as good as mine.

* * * *
Next, a suicide bomb in the Israeli port city of Eilat that killed at least three Israelis so far. One resident describes their experience.

“I opened the window, and the entire house shook from the blast,” a local told Ynet. “It was really close by, and I’m shaking with fear; it’s as though we are living in Texas – in the Wild West."

Yes, the wild west of Texas where outlaw suicide bombers once roamed the prairie.

* * * *
From Lebanon, Israel is using the old poisonous balloon ploy to terrorize civilians.

Eight people were hospitalized Saturday after inhaling toxic gases from poisonous balloons dropped by Israeli warplanes over Upper Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon, the National News Agency reported. ...

I don't know about you, but when I find a stray balloon the first thing that comes to mind is to immediately inhale whatever is inside.

The agency said Israeli warplanes dropped at least 10 poisonous balloons with Hebrew markings over Upper Nabatiyeh at about 9 am Saturday. ...

Warplanes dropping balloons...

NNA had earlier said that the Lebanese army's engineering unit headed to the area and destroyed the balloons by explosives.

Popping them from a safe distance by, say, shooting is apparently out of the question. Get the explosives and blow those puppies up!

The army, in a communiqué issued Friday, warned civilians against messing with the balloons and urged them to report finding them to the closest army unit.

Remember, no "messing" with them poison balloons. Israel, on the other hand, offers an explanation.

An Israeli promotional campaign involving balloons caused panic among Lebanese civilians Saturday when the wind carried them over the border into southern Lebanon. ...

However, the photographs published on the Web site of Hezbollah's TV station Al-Manar show green balloons from a promotional campaign for Ha'ir, a Schocken group newspaper.

Sure Zionists, but what about that "toxic" helium?

Sources from UNIFIL said that lab results have shown the Israeli balloons did not contain any toxic gases.

Typical Zionist plot: drop poisonous balloon decoys in order to lower everyone's guard.

* * * *
And finally from Pakistan, where a demonstration urging non-violence goes horribly wrong.

On Saturday morning, the students fought over a poster urging students not to fight on campus. According to reports, the fight was over who would put up the poster first. And what started as an exchange of hot words snowballed into a full-fledged fistfight following which, the students hurled classroom furniture at each other. ...

Traffic on the road was suspended for around three hours, till the police arrived. Personnel from all of police stations in the area reached the troubled spot, and used tear gas, baton charge and open fire to disperse the students.

It seems that the concept of "non-violence" still has a long way to go for Middle Easterners. Oh well.

Wait, I'm The Victim Here!

The ongoing campaign in Israel by the Arab citizenry (usually of the Islamic variety) to portray the Jewish state as "racist" just took another blow by the appointment of MK Raleb Majadele (Labor) as the first Arab minister in Israel's history.

MK Nadia Hilu (Labor) expressed on Sunday her satisfaction with the appointment of fellow Labor MK Majadle to the cabinet. "Today, a step forward was made in the integration and equality of the Arab population," Hilu said.

But, predictably, not all are pleased.

Following Raleb Majadele's appointment as Israel's first Arab minister, the National Democratic Assembly announced that "Majadele's entrance to the Israeli government contradicts the interests of the Arab public in Israel and harms the struggle against racism."

Why? Because the interest of the "Israeli-Arab public" is to portray Israel as racist. Instead of looking at the appointment as a step in the right direction to elevate the status of Arabs, it is decried for obstructing their goal of slandering Israel.

The Balad Party released a statement saying that Majadele's ministerial position "would give a seal of approval to the policy of racial discrimination against Arabs," and would not change this policy.

In other words, what they are saying is that by giving an Arab a position of unprecedented power and authority in the government, Israel is actually endorsing discrimination against Arabs.

Representatives of the Hadash, Ra'am-Ta'al, and Balad parties [all Arab - a.y.] expressed a lack of confidence in the government and the appointment, and said they would vote against it.

That's looking out for your constituency's best interests.

Sadly, what is ignored is that not only do no Jews elsewhere in the Middle East have any sort of similar position in Muslim-majority countries (usually because it is illegal), but also Jews/Israelis are not even allowed to set foot in these countries, for any reason. We'll hear no cries of racism or discrimination by any of these wounded souls.

Obviously, they would be happier if Israel passed laws that were blatantly oppressive and discriminatory against Arabs, like, say, the anti-Jew laws in Saudi Arabia. Strange, these people.

Cannon Fodder

It is a fact that most every Muslim stands with the oppressed Palestinian brothers in the Holy Land. Outside of Palestine, well, Palestinians are just another despised minority.

Palestinians living in Iraq have been warned that they will be killed by Shia militias unless they leave the country immediately.

Doesn't sound like that renowned Middle Eastern hospitality, does it?

More than 600 Palestinians are believed to have died at the hands of Shia militias since the war began in 2003, including at least 300 from the Baladiat area of Baghdad. Many were tortured with electric drills before they died.

That's one way to drive your point home. Just imagine the outcry if this was done by the Zionists or the Great Satan.

Sheik Mahmoud El Hassani, a spokesman for the Mehdi Army, said the Palestinians had brought their suffering on themselves. He said Shias believed they were in league with Sunni extremists and al-Qaeda.

"We are sure that all the Palestinians in Iraq are involved in killing the Shia people and they have to pay the price now," he said. "They lived off our blood under Saddam. We were hungry with no food and they were comfortable with full bellies. They should leave now, or they will have to pay."

If the rumor sounds remotely plausible, then it must be true. If it must be true, then let the slaughter ensue (don't bother to check if those accusations are actually true or not).

And sure enough, more Palestinians were abducted today in Baghdad.

Seventeen Palestinian men were seized on Tuesday by armed men wearing police uniforms from a Baghdad house rented by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), the agency said.

Odds are that the tortured remains of these poor men will be found soon.

So if the Shia aren't sending large sums of money to kill Palestinians in the Holy Land fighting Israel, they are happily killing Palestinians on their own turf. Either way Palestinains are dying by the droves. As they say, against Israel the Muslim world will fight to the very last Palestinian.

Reasonably one might come to the conclusion that the battle lines are drawn along the Sunni-Shia divide. Condoleeza Rice seems to think so.

“There’s still a tendency to see these things in Sunni-Shia terms,” Ms. Rice said. “But the Middle East is going to have to overcome that.”

That, and a long list of other things, to say the least.

Such thinking has lead some optimistic souls view the Iranian nuclear threat as a possible opportunity for the threatened parties to join ranks against the common enemy. Not hardly says former CIA director James Woolsey.

"I do not believe the current Sunni concern over the Shi'ite nuclear weapons program in Iran will lead to some sort of covert Saudi, Egyptian, American, Israeli modus vivendi to protect ourselves together against the Shi'a," former CIA director James Woolsey told the Herzliya Conference on Monday...

"The Wahhabis, al-Qaida, the Vilayat Faqih in Teheran, although often lethally competitive with one another in the way the Nazis and communists were in the 1930s, are capable of unification," Woolsey asserted. "Those who say that these movements will never work together because of their ideology are precisely as correct as those who in the 1930s said that the communists and Nazis will never work together. They didn't, until they did."

In other words, just as Nazism, Communism, and western Democracy were ideologically unequivocally incompatible with each other, during the 1930's and 1940's strategic alliances were formed despite the mutual hostility. Sunni and Shia may never, as Ms Rice puts it, "overcome" their insurmountable differences and hostility, but they will always unite on common denominator: their bitter hatred of Israel. And just as the Allies and the Nazis never formed an alliance, so too Muslims will not, and cannot, ally themselves with the Zionists. Ever.

The main point here is this: Those who say that Iran would never use a nuclear weapon to hit Israel because they would also kill Palestinians and other Israeli Arabs are either hopelessly naive or sadly underestimate the depraved depths to which Islamic fanatics continually plumb.

It's Your Fault For Quoting Me

In a previous post we saw how broadcasting facts made the broadcaster guilty of what the subjects of the broadcast themselves did. Now we have the exact same situation, this time courtesy of the intellectual powerhouse Hamas.

The Arabic satellite network Al Arabiya ordered its reporters to stop working in the Gaza Strip yesterday after the governing Palestinian Islamist party Hamas attacked the network for blasphemy.

Al Arabiya drew the wrath of Hamas after airing a recording that quoted Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh saying that Hamas "will not accept conditional aid, even if it came from God."

Haniyeh was recorded blaspheming, but the station Al-Arabiya is guilty of blasphemy for making it known. Got that?

Hamas officials told Al Arabiya not to air the quote, which reportedly came from a Palestinian Cabinet meeting. The Dubai-based network instead aired the quote along with a denial by a Hamas spokesman.

He was recorded saying the blasphemy, but a Hamas spokesman was there to deny what everyone just heard. Got that?

In response, the Palestinian government threatened to sue Arabiya. "It is a clear and deliberate defamation," government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said.

Hamas agreed to the interview (and they do love to be interviewed) but now threaten to sue because the interview was broadcast. Seems these people can't be pleased.

Al Arabiya's director of operations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Nidal Hasan, said he had ordered the 42 employees in the station's Gaza bureau to stay home after receiving death threats from anonymous gunmen. "There are some people who might wrongly attack us," Hasan said.

The usual Middle Eastern response to a dispute - murder.

Hasan has refused to apologize for airing the statement.

"We did nothing wrong," he said. "We did our jobs as we should, getting comments on the tape from both sides."

It seems that thuggish mind control is more important than the notion of a free press.

You can't make this stuff up. Unfortunately.



(via Jihad Watch)


UPDATE - Sure enough, a "huge blast" occurred at the offices of Al-Arabiya in Gaza this evening. Although there was "considerable damage" to the office, thankfully no one was there when it exploded. One can be sure that this is a warning message sent to all journalists to think twice before attempting to report the facts that are not congruent with the Hamas worldview.

Priceless

An oldie but goodie (click on the picture to see full size)

There are some things money just can't buy...

Another Cease-Terror Offered

A cease-fire is a good thing, right? That depends on the motives of those who offer it.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas on Saturday renewed his offer for a 10-year truce with Israel in return for the establishment of a temporary Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

So, Israel is offered a cease-fire, or an Islamic hudna, meaning that Hamas will cease terror in exchange for the unprecedented price of Israel giving them complete authority over the entire West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem and treat them like a sovereign country. Israel is not so hot on the idea for many reasons.

...because they [Hamas] have not conformed to the international community's demands that the organization recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce violence.

Remember, this truce is for only 10 years. After that the fighting will resume, state or no state.

"We are with liberating any inch of Palestine," the Palestinian Prime Minister said in a televised address, explaining his suggestion.

Every inch of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ashdod, you name it - it's ALL theirs.

"But we will not close the door for the next generation, because the weak don't always stay weak, and the strong won't stay strong," he added.

Give them a state, and it will be just a phase in the larger plan to get "every inch" of Israel. This is according to their own charter and is consistent with everything they say about the subject, so don't take my word for it. Read their lips.

In other words, a hudna is just a time to regroup and re-arm for the next round, kind of like a time out or half time of a basketball game. Take a breather and then back to work. Like Mohammed, who made a 10-year truce (hudna) with his enemy to strengthen his forces and eventually wiped them out, a truce is a tool to achieve the goal, not for the purpose of any kind of peace. And which is why Israel, understandably, rejects any notion of a hudna out of hand.

Yasser Arafat: master hudna dealer

What the World Is Up Against

Every now and then I like to peruse the Middle Eastern press to see what they themselves have to say about regional events. It is refreshing to hear from the horse's mouth exactly what they want the world to hear. Two websites, Hamas' cool-sounding Izaddin Kassam and Syria's Syria Times, show the world what it is up against. Here's a news item from the latter:

Israeli occupation troops...

Their term for the IDF (Israel Defense Force)

...lifted...

Probably a derogatory term for "transported" or "transferred".

...yesterday the Syrian captive,...

Prisoner under incarceration. Actually he is formerly Syrian but now an Israeli citizen.

...Sedki el-Makt, from a prison in Jalbou area to a solitary cell in Beir Sheva in southern occupied Palestine...

Southern Israel, not to be confused with the disputed territories of West bank and Gaza. For these people, ALL of Israel is "occupied territory".

...in a framework of an oppressive campaign against the Arab captives.

Another way of describing an incarcerated law-breaker who happens to be an Arab.

News agencies reported that the Israeli occupation troops which had arrested el-Makt in 1985, sentenced him to 27 years in prison.

El-Makt was a member of a Syrian clandestine resistance group.

Orwell-speak for a terrorist organization.

He is from the occupied Golan village of Majdal Shams.

That refers to the territory which Syria lost when they attacked Israel in 1967. In case you didn't notice, they are still very bitter about that resounding defeat.


And now for Hamas' official English site. Here are some excerpts to mull over:

Military Communiqué

Tamer Nassar martyred of Wounds sustained last Friday.

"Martyred of Wounds"??

As the Faithfulness of the Free Campaign against the occupation assault on the Gaza Strip, The out - low groups insist on being the hand of the OF.

"Faithfulness of the Free Campaign"?? "out - low" must mean "outlaw".

Another item:

In the frame of programmed planning which led by the captivation heads to put the Palestinian people in the cycle of disorder and confusion , attacking and daring on the resistance take a very series direction , which Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades represented the head of it .

Uh, don't even know where to begin.

And finally, your daily dose of moral equivalence:

Some other scandals about the Zionist leaders who were not fell in crimes against civilians but also in moral scandals. Moshe Katsav, the former president for the Zionist Entity, was accused of raping his secretary before a few months to prove the administrative and human failure between the Israeli chiefs.

So we have these terrorists (whose entire leadership bravely prefers women, children, and the elderly as targets for murder) pointing their self-righteous fingers at a single individual, who is by no means proven guilty yet, to be representative of the entire government. Just be sure to never imply that these terrorists = all Palestinians. That would be outrageous and insulting.

And this is their official mouthpiece to the world. How embarrassing.

Plenty of Craziness For Everyone

In order to evenly distribute the critique of silliness, file this one under the "What was I thinking??" category:

When Moshe Friedman, a senior leader of an ultra-Orthodox anti-Israel/Zionist Jewish secte Neturei Karta, attended the recent Holocaust denial conference in Iran and was photographed "passionately kissing" Iranian president Ahmadinejad, he knew that he would upset the world Jewish community.

However, no one was more upset that Moishe's wife, who had divorce papers waiting for him upon his return from the Persian kingdom. It was the old "I love you, honey, but I gotta draw the line somewhere" deal. Come to think about it, the thought of kissing someone whose lips touched Ahmadinejad definitely qualifies as a relationship-ender.

Although Friedman lives in Austria, other Neturei Karta live other countries such as the UK, USA, and Israel. Scandals within the Orthodox communities, however, are not uncommon. A recent Haaretz article describes some of these problems including an Orthodox butcher who knowingly sold non-kosher meat to fellow Orthodox, internal conflicts which have spilled over into violence and insulting rivals (such as a quarrel between two sons who are each fighting to succeed their deceased father's leadership), and worshippers getting drunk on large quantities of hard liquor in synagogues (maybe they were getting "filled with the 'spirits'").

It's good to know that the Middle Eastern influence is alive and well in other parts of the world.

The Sad Truth

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently published a column called Mideast Rules to Live By, which are, as he describes, "rules of Middle East reporting, which also apply to diplomacy". Though intended as a guide for decision-makers, these rules can be used by average observers to correctly interpret daily events in the most exciting part of the world. Here are a few:

Rule 1: What people tell you in private in the Middle East is irrelevant. All that matters is what they will defend in public in their own language. Anything said to you in English, in private, doesn't count. In Washington, officials lie in public and tell the truth off the record. In the Mideast, officials say what they really believe in public and tell you what you want to hear in private.

When reading any report or article, try to determine the audience of the Middle Easterner being quoted. If it is a private interview, anything newsworthy usually will be either 1) later denied outright, 2) later "clarified" (denied) by other spokesmen, or 3) dismissed as an error of translation.

Rule 2: Any reporter or U.S. Army officer wanting to serve in Iraq should have to take a test, consisting of one question: "Do you think the shortest distance between two points is a straight line?" If you answer yes, you can't go to Iraq. You can serve in Japan, Korea or Germany — not Iraq.

It means that logic is not useful here. If it makes sense to do, for that reason alone it cannot be done.

Rule 3: If you can't explain something to Middle Easterners with a conspiracy theory, then don't try to explain it at all — they won't believe it.

And the identity of the conspirators will always be Jewish.

Rule 4: In the Middle East, never take a concession, except out of the mouth of the person doing the conceding. If I had a dollar for every time someone agreed to recognize Israel on behalf of Yasser Arafat, I could paper my walls.

See Rule 1.

Rule 7: The most oft-used expression by moderate Arab pols is: "We were just about to stand up to the bad guys when you stupid Americans did that stupid thing. Had you stupid Americans not done that stupid thing, we would have stood up, but now it's too late. It's all your fault for being so stupid."

Heaven forbid anyone does anything for the simple reason that something is right to do. Actually, procrastination is simply waiting for an excuse not to do what one does not want to do. It is helpful also to absolve any responsibility for current problems by waiting for some unsuspecting dope to blame for everyone's actions and ills.

Rule 8: Civil wars in the Arab world are rarely about ideas — like liberalism vs. communism. They are about which tribe gets to rule. So, yes, Iraq is having a civil war as we once did. But there is no Abe Lincoln in this war. It's the South vs. the South.

It's all about being "Number 1".

Rule 9: In Middle East tribal politics there is rarely a happy medium. When one side is weak, it will tell you, "I'm weak, how can I compromise?" And when it's strong, it will tell you, "I'm strong, why should I compromise?"

Compromise is for losers.

Rule 11: The most underestimated emotion in Arab politics is humiliation. The Israeli-Arab conflict, for instance, is not just about borders. Israel's mere existence is a daily humiliation to Muslims, who can't understand how, if they have the superior religion, Israel can be so powerful. Al Jazeera's editor, Ahmed Sheikh, said it best when he recently told the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche: "It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego. The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this."

The term "crybabies" comes to mind...

Rule 13: Our first priority is democracy, but the Arabs' first priority is "justice." The oft-warring Arab tribes are all wounded souls, who really have been hurt by colonial powers, by Jewish settlements on Palestinian land, by Arab kings and dictators, and, most of all, by each other in endless tribal wars. For Iraq's long-abused Shiite majority, democracy is first and foremost a vehicle to get justice. Ditto the Kurds. For the minority Sunnis, democracy in Iraq is a vehicle of injustice. For us, democracy is all about protecting minority rights. For them, democracy is first about consolidating majority rights and getting justice.

"Justice" in the Middle East is a loaded term because those who employ it really mean that "justice" is only what they determine it to be. For example, how can there be "justice" if they do not get everything that is rightfully theirs? Anything less than 100% of one's rights is NOT "justice" (remember, no compromise) and, therefore, must be rejected.

Rule 15: Whether it is Arab-Israeli peace or democracy in Iraq, you can't want it more than they do.

And if they don't want a better quality of life, they would rather die than have it. Sad.

The fact is that Middle Easterners are most interested in "honor" (an oxymoron according to the very definition of the term) and choose self-inflicted death over possibly being percieved as weak or in cahoots with non-Middle Easterners. Pick your poison.

Lessons From the Animal Kingdom

This story from the beastial realm seems to prove the feeling of gratefulness is a universal response to rescue from suffering.

People in Cali, Colombia, are shocked to see the bond between a large African lion and a woman who saved it from abuse, involving long, affectionate kisses and hugs between the pair.

Ana Julia Torres, who runs the Villa Lorena animal shelter in Cali, fed and nursed Jupiter the African lion back to health years ago after it was found abused and emaciated in a traveling circus.

One would assume that Sunni and Shi'ite alike would be grateful to the USA for liberation from the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein (Kurds being the redeeming exception). Unfortunately, a stupid animal shows more humanity than the majority of enraged Mohammedans.





(via Drudge)

Angels Living Among Infidels

Here we have proof that the craziness plaguing the Middle East also infects Australians via the Religion of Peace. Controversial Muslim leader Sheik Taj el-din al Hilaly has savaged Australia in an interview on Egyptian television despite the fact that his future as mufti hangs in the balance because of insensitive comments he previously made.

The interview, in Arabic, was about the furore he created in October with a Ramadan sermon in which he compared scantily clad women with "uncovered meat", suggesting they were responsible for rape,...

If I rape, it's not my fault.

...called women Satan's soldiers to deceive men,...

If I'm deceived, it's not my fault.

...and said thieves often stole because they were pressured by greedy women.

If I steal, it's not my fault. In other words, if everyone were enslaved under Islam and Shari'a, there would be utopia (assuming you are a Muslim male) and Islam could then live up to the "Religion of Peace" business.

"Anglo-Saxons came to Australia in chains, while we paid our way and came in freedom. We are more Australian than them."

True to the Middle Eastern mentality, reality is based on a fixed point in time and everything should be judged on that historical reference. Even if that were true, why should the Islamic choice of reference point supersede any other?

"Australia is not an Anglo-Saxon country - Islam has deep roots in Australian soil that were there before the English arrived," Sheik Hilaly said.

So Australia is Islamic land and Muslims are just claiming what is rightfully theirs.
Also,

...Australians played the "fear card" to keep Muslims down, and that racial prejudice was the reason for the 55-year sentence given to the gang rapist Bilal Skaf.

The old "I'm-being-sent-to-jail-not-because-I'm-a-gang-rapist-but-because-I'm-Muslim" story. Obviously, it must be racial prejudice because, after all, rape isn't a man's fault.

In the half-hour program Sheik Hilaly said the controversy showed how standards were skewed and claims were fabricated. "There is no freedom and no democracy [for Muslims]..."

They are upset that the Muslim vote counts the same as the vote of the infidel and woman.

"...the most dishonest and unjust people are Western people and the English in particular."

Sounds like the sheikh sure knows his racial prejudice as well as anyone out there.

Always the victim, never their fault. No wonder they are a frustrated bunch.

A Voice in the Wilderness

Before I'm accused of implying everyone in the Middle East is just plain nust, this next clip from MEMRI shows that even an Iraqi (secular) Shi'ite MP can at least look at things rationally and soberly. I would argue that the reason is because this man is not eaten up with prejudice and hate (which is rare). Some quotes from Iyad Jamal Al-Din:

I do not consider the U.S. to be the Great Satan. I view it [America]as the sponsor and founder of the project of democracy, and the defender of democracy in Iraq. You can be sure that if America were to withdraw today, there would be Shiite massacres of Shiites, Sunni massacres of Sunnis, and Kurdish massacres of Kurds.
...
We, the oppressed and slaughtered peoples, have seen nothing but stupid dictators or wise dictators. It's one of the two. Wise dictators pave roads and build houses, but they are still dictators. On the other hand, there are stupid dictators, like our friend [Saddam] who has gone. We are very far from democracy. It is inconceivable that we endured this humiliation and tyranny for 1,400 years, yet we are unable to create a democracy.
...
We are very far from liberty. Do we even know what to do with the values of liberty? The moment Saddam's club was lifted from over our heads, each and every one of us wanted to assume Saddam's personality. We had one Saddam, and now we have six, seven, ten, or fifteen Saddams. We now have local mini-Saddams. I said this before the war. I said that America would do us a favor by ridding us of Saddam the dictator, but that this favor would be incomplete unless it rids us of the opposition parties.
...
Therefore, in my opinion, democracy can be established in our region only through force. Democracy must be established by force, and only America can do it.

Just pray that this man will be listened to and not a victim of revenge for those who hold a different opinion.

Click here to see it (opens Windows Media player).

Or go here and click "view clip" button.

(via Allahpundit at HotAir)

Naughty

From Tim Blair:

Alan R.M. Jones emails: “The next time you find yourself on public transport, sitting next to someone who cannot resist chattering to you endlessly, I urge you to quietly pull your laptop out of your rucksack, carefully open the screen (ensuring the irritating person next to you can see it), and hit this link.”

It Sounds So Crazy, It Must Be True

According to Saddam's lawyer, before the tyrant was executed he announced the identities of those behind the plot to exterminate him.

Hours before Saddam Hussein's execution, the ousted Iraqi leader asked his attorneys not to appeal for his life and accused the United States and Iran of collaborating to hang him, according to a copy his will.

Who would have thought that after all this time that the entire "War on Terror" and "Axis of Evil" bit was just a scam to get Saddam?
It seems to me that if Saddam were right, it would have been a whole lot easier for America and Iran to just join forces and get him without all of the other diversionary activity of insurgents and democracy building. But what do I know? Your modern plots and conspiracies frighten and confuse me.

Another Stinkin' Plot

A trusted Lebanese blogger updates the political chaos in his home country in a recent post. Since said chaos is too complicated to even begin to sort out here, the simple explanation is that political leaders of the various factions are essentially opportunists whose constituencies are used to jockey for personal power.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri (who is a pro-Syria Shi'ite) wielded his power yesterday and closed the most advanced health laboratory in the country, arguably one of the largest in the region, leaving Lebanon without any significant research facility. Why?

Berri’s security boys have been complaining about the lab for a long time, claiming that it “emits bad odors” and that it could be used to launch a “chemical attack” on the parliament’s speaker.

Okaay. The concept of "paranioa" comes to mind here, but the truth probably is that this another attempt to force Lebanon in a further state of gridlock for the purpose of forcing the government to disband.

On the other hand, if Berri's allegations are indeed true, such a conspiracy can only be described as...evil?

Convenient Convictions

Yet another example of arbitrary capriciousness from the Middle East. A terrorist group in Gaza, the Palestinian Resistance Committee (PRC), makes the claim that the Israeli kidnapped soldier (Cpl. Gilad Shalit) "is being treated according to Islamic standards of dealing with prisoners of war". That concept should make one shudder.

So, what is their definition of "Islamic standards" for war criminals?

According to Sheikh Abdala Darvish, the spiritual head of the southern faction of the Islamic Movement in Israel and a respected Islamic authority, the Sha'aria (Islamic law) has detailed directives governing the treatment of prisoners of war.

Shalit's captors were obligated, according to Sha'aria, to keep the soldier alive and healthy, said Darvish."

Islamic law also prohibits degrading or scaring a prisoner of war.

"The captors are even obligated to give their prisoner a feeling of friendship," added Darvish...

"Regarding the treatment of prisoners of war, the basic principle is that as soon as an enemy soldier has been neutralized and taken out of the war, the Muslim army is responsible for taking care of him."

Wink wink, nudge nudge.

Now, time to blame others for everything you do:

However, sources familiar with the workings of the Hamas-affiliated PRC are skeptical about the extent to which these terrorist groups see themselves as obligated to normative Islamic law. Even Darvish admitted that what he called "Israeli subjugation" of Palestinians forced them to transgress Islamic law.

So, in this religion it's ok to sin if you have a good excuse. How convenient.

Islamic Child Abuse

Whenever I hear Palestinian children are killed in the conflict with Israel, I can only acknowledge the tragedy and shame. But I often ask myself, "Where are the parents?" Well, this next story is sadly all too common.

A former Israeli Shin Bet security officer, Nissim Levy, reflects on his time working in Lebanon against the same type of Islamic death cult terrorism. Here is an unfortunately typical situation he encountered:

Once in Lebanon they told me that they had caught a 12-year-old boy with an explosive device in his hand," he recalls. "I didn't really believe it; I thought the soldiers must be exaggerating. I arrived at the place and it really turned out that the boy was walking along the highway with an explosive device ... We drove to his village, entered his parents' home. I said to the father: 'Is this your son?' He said yes. I said to him: 'We caught your son with an explosive device in his hand.' The father looked at me and made a gesture as if to say, what can I do?

"I asked the boy who had given him the device and he told me: 'I found it.' I asked the father if he had given him the device, and he said no. What could I do? A 12-year-old boy - I wouldn't take him to jail. So I told the father that I was leaving him at home, but if I caught him one more time, I would put both of them in jail.

"A week later, the same story, the same boy. I took him to his father and he said to me: 'I have no control over him. He goes to school, they give him an explosive device and tell him to throw it. They throw it. That's how we're raising our children.' I sat opposite him. I believed that he hadn't given the boy the device, and I said to him: 'You're endangering the boy's life. He'll die.' He said to me: 'He'll die? So he'll die.'"

When there are parents like this, no wonder so many children die.

Dear parents: If your children aren't smart enough to understand that if they go to a firefight where bullets are flying everywhere, they will get shot, teach them and keep them away at all costs.

Otherwise, do NOT complain.

The Redemptive Death of Saddam

Put on your seatbelt and leave your thinking cap behind (it won't do you any good) because the high-octane realm of Middle Eastern, ah, debate is to be believed only when seen.

In this MEMRI clip the owner (Mish'an Al-Jabouri, on the right) of pro-insurgent television station Al-Zawraa gives us food for thought on how the Middle Eastern mind can consider a tyrant butcher to be a blessed saint by the simple fact that he didn't cry like a baby when he died. From the transcript:

"As you know, Saddam executed my own brother[-in-law] and many of my relatives. He executed the uncle of my children, but the way he was executed proved Saddam was a brave man. He has truly become our martyr, and we will visit his grave like the graves of the righteous."

Got that? Saddam can kill hundreds of thousands of people with utter contempt, including members of one's own family, but he should be completely forgiven and now worthy of the highest respect because of the "dignified" way he died. Thus "bravery" cancels out any and all transgressions, no matter how morbid.

Click here to watch the mayhem (opens Windows Media player).

Or go here and click "view clip" button.

(via lgf )

UPDATE - Sami Moubayed of the daily Oman Times echoes this assessment in this piece from the AP.

...he [Moubayed] "tried hard" to sympathize with Saddam while watching the execution. "But I could not find a single thing worth praising about Saddam."

"However, the fact that he was executed under the watchful eye of the United States, at a time when Iraq is occupied, makes him a national hero to the Arabs," he wrote.

Again, a Muslim can commit genocide, use wepons of mass destruction and wage war against other Muslims (supposedly forbidden in the Koran), and be universally despised by Muslim and non-Muslim alike. But if the infidels, namely America or especially Israel, have anything to do with bringing justice to such a monster as Saddam, he is immediately a hero.

Gotta love people with principles.

Personal Responsibility?? What's That?

As the un-civil war brews among the Palestinians, we take the opportunity to observe the Middle Eastern blame game. Hamas is warning that if they don't get what they want, well, they won't be able to control themselves. Let's break the situation down, piece by piece.

Six armed Palestinian groups affiliated with Hamas issued a statement Sunday evening threatening to respond with force to any attempt to dissolve the government's special security force.

Radical groups with their own armies is nothing unusual in the region (see Iraq and Lebanon, for example), commonly considered to be a "state within a state". It's something not at all compatible with democracy.

The six organizations, which include Hamas' armed wing, the Popular Resistance Committees, and groups that split from Fatah,...

Can anyone say "complete anarchy"?

...announced they will allow no one to attack the security force, saying that anyone who takes such action "will be held accountable for the consequences."

"We hold [Palestinian President] Abbas responsible for every drop of blood that will be shed by our kinsmen because of his decision..."

So Hamas' premeditated actions are not their fault. This typifies the complete absence of any notion of personal responsibility for one's own actions. It is a grave error that (although normal behavior for this region) is commonly accepted as legitimate by western governments. Example: the conventional wisdom that Islamic radicalization and terror is caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (like the Bali bombing of 2002 which targeted and killed mostly Australians and Indonesians who have nothing to do with Israel).

"We hold him [Abbas] personally responsible, along with the master of conspiracy and division, the godfather of the American plot, called Muhammad Dahlan," the groups wrote in the statement.

Everything is a conspiracy. Mohammed Dahlan is the security chief of Fatah (which opposes Hamas). Although Fatah is also a terrorist organization, sloganeering dictates that if someone is your opponent they must be in collusion with your hated enemy.

The statement continued, "We make it clear to our people that we will remain loyal to national unity and won't allow collaborators and traitors to drag us into civil war,..."

"National unity" = Hamas' opinions. "Collaborators and traitors" = anyone who disagrees with Hamas.

Seeing how Hamas calls Abbas "the president of the Oslo Authority" (reference to those who feel an obligation to the peace accords with Israel) and "anyone planning to harm Hamas' security force, in accord with the Israeli occupation" (meaning that disagreement with Hamas equals supporting the Zionists) it is natural that such a person is considered to be commiting sedition. Make sense? It gets much better as it continues:

"...even if we are forced occasionally,..."

Hence the ongoing killing and suffering they are causing.

"...and with much regret,..."

Heard of "crocodile tears"?

"...to strike the hubs of treason and conspiracy…"

So much for Palestinian "brotherhood".

Hamas, on the other hand, claimed that Abba' decision was aimed at fueling tensions in the Palestinian arena.

For Hamas, "Palestinian" = "Hamas". Too bad for Hamas that the polls show the country deeply divided.

Once again we see the ongoing "cycle of violins", where the sad strings play the tune of victimhood for everything done to them and everything they themselves do.

And what a sorry song it is.



UPDATE - Thank you Hamas for proving my point.

The Mohammed Cartoon Outrage Understood

In order to understand Islam one should hear it explained from the faithful. In an article from Arab News entitled The Prophet as a Man — 108: War Preparedness the philosophy of Islamic war is analyzed by examining how Mohammed himself treated the subject.

We'll begin with the opening paragraph, struck in a reasonably conciliatory tone:

Despite what the enemies of Islam say, particularly nowadays, and what impression some fringe groups of Muslim hard-liners advocate, Islam is a religion of peace, which prefers to live with all communities in an atmosphere of mutual respect and true understanding.

Uh, could we have just one example of that, please?

However, Islam does not shrink from fighting a war imposed on it by its enemies.

I'll say.

This could be by launching a straightforward attack on Muslim population or Muslim land, such as Israel did when it attacked Gaza and Lebanon in recent months,...

Excuse me while I clean my coffee spew off my computer monitor. As I remember, the attacks into Gaza and Lebanon were in response to the initiated terrorists' kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers from Israeli territory.

....or by imposing some sort of siege, which prevents Muslims from advocating their faith through free speech. In fact Islam does not require from anyone more than the basic freedom of speech and conviction, which are as essential to human existence as food and drink. Without such freedom, man’s life will not be different from that of animals.

What about the automatic death penalty for those who have the conviction to change their religion from Islam to something else?

It seems that the foundation laid for the rest of the argument is wrought with contradictions, so the reasoning that follows is fatally flawed. Regardless, the article goes on to describe a battle where Mohammed was injured but was protected by certain individuals at the risk of their own lives. Later he entered Mecca (Makkah) and proceeded to exact a bit of revenge on a reverted Muslim, Ibn Khatal.

He [Ibn Khatal] also had two slave girls who used to sing for him and for his companions songs full of abuse of the Prophet. The Prophet’s instructions specified that the two slave girls should also be killed. The man was killed as he was actually holding on to the coverings of the Kaaba. Abu Barzah Al-Aslami and Saeed ibn Hurayth Al-Makhzumi killed him along with one of his slave girls. The other managed to flee until someone sought a special pardon for her from the Prophet, which he granted.

Just like the Mohammed cartoons, the two slave girls, expressing their right to free speech no doubt, dishonored Mohammed. The result: death for girls. Had the one slave not escaped, she would have been summarily executed also.

While the opening paragraph above claimed "Islam is a religion of peace, which prefers to live with all communities in an atmosphere of mutual respect and true understanding" and "Islam does not require from anyone more than the basic freedom of speech and conviction", these Islamic "truths" are self-evident in the respect that only ISLAM is to be "respected" and "understood", and "free speech and conviction" belong to the MUSLIM only. Any breach of these ideals opens the door to Islamic war waged upon the guilty community.

So the Mohammed cartoon controversy actually has historical precedent with Mohammed himself. Since Mohammed was perceived to be dishonored, what happens after that is just a foregone conclusion.




(via lgf )

Quiz Time

A little multiple-choice Middle Eastern test for the weekend.

Question: Who is responsible for this Saudi airliner accident?



Choose whichever apply:
a) Not the pilot
b) Not the air traffic controller
c) The Zionists
d) All of the above
e) None of the above; it was Allah's will that the plane crashed.


Answer: Today all are correct, though I reserve the right to change my mind if I want.

The Fall Guy

As a followup to the last post on Middle Eastern thought processes we have this gem from Shi'ite territory. It's not about our pal president Ahmendinejad, but rather the vice president of Iran, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaee.

An editor and manager of the Iranews.org website have been arrested, after the site posted a video of the Iranian Vice President, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaee, "taking part in a ceremony in Turkey where unveiled women were dancing," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported last week.

According to an employee of Iranews.org , the two employees under arrest were invited to meet with Vice President Rahim-Mashaee after their website posted the video. "But Mr. Mashaee did not come and some unknown people arrested" the employees, the report said, adding that "under Iran's Islamic laws men are not allowed to watch women dance and sing."

It is against Iranian Islamic law to watch unveiled ladies dance, and since there is film proof that Rahim-Mashaee watched said offense, naturally those who did the filming were the ones arrested.

In his complaint, Mashaee said he did not know women would be dancing during the ceremony. "I was not aware of the content of the program while it was being presented. I was suddenly faced with a dance. In a critical way, I mentioned the topic to Mr. Ebrahim Oglu, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Conference. He pretended that this was not a serious problem, and I think he said that this is an Erfani (mystical) dance."

Ok, give the vice president benefit of the doubt, he didn't know that the sinful event was in the program. Simple mistake, not his fault.

Meanwhile, the DPA news agency reported that Mashaee has "come under fire" over the video, "which shows him watching and applauding women dancing during a ceremony in Istanbul ."

D'oh!

Mashaee, who is also Head of Cultural Heritage, accused Iranian members of parliament opposed to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government of being behind the video...

Quoting Iranian media sources, the DPA said the Iranian vice president dismissed the video as "a smear campaign."

So, let's not dwell on minor details of what the vice president was actually filmed doing. That's beside the point because the ones who did the filming had an alleged motive. And if someone somewhere has a motive, well, all transgression and guilt can be transferred to them.

In these kinds of situations a key truth is always in operation: the more important the person involved, the less at fault that person is, no matter the circumstances. The buck, as they say, always stops at the most insignificant individual possible.

Think Like an "Activist"

The thought process of Middle Easterners, while at times maddening and arbitrary, is a reality. One cannot expect to understand it, but merely recognize and acknowledge it when it rears its head. Case in point in a recent meeting between an Egyptian diplomat and the most wanted man west of bin Laden, Hassan Nasrallah.

Darrar confronts the crisis in Lebanon by calling those responsible to account. Notice what happens:

During the meeting, [Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan] Nasrallah said to [Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Hussein] Darrar, "We have the courage to say that mistakes were made by all the sides, and not just by one side."

Nasrallah grudgingly, excuse me, "courageously" admits what everyone knows: that any faults made must only be viewed in context of everyone else's countless mistakes. His are but drops in the vast bucket of mistakes made.

"Yes, we have made mistakes and have deceived,..."

That's as much of an admission as you're ever going to get. Now the "but"...

"...but what is important is that at every juncture we supported Arab and Lebanese initiatives."

Lying and deceiving is patently wrong unless you have a really good reason and cause to promote (and notice the unchallenged assumption that the "Arab and Lebanese initiatives" are automatically righteous). If your cause is worthy you should be excused and, actually, congratulated for whatever you do.

"We weren't the reason for the obstacles."

How can those with such purity of soul cause any obstacle? If anything bad happened as a result, it wasn't because of the lies and deception (for said reasons above). Any problems should be attributed to those who are far less worthy.

And, just like that, we have virtual innocence.

Which is why one must remember always this cardinal rule: Any problem is never their fault. Ever.

Bless Their Little Hearts...

Leave it to the Middle Eastern media leader al-Jazeera to clearly explain the true reason behind all of the tension within the Islamic world.

Pierre Heumann of the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche spoke with Al-Jazeera Editor-in-Chief Ahmed Sheikh in Doha.

Pierre: Mr. Sheikh, as the Editor in Chief of Al-Jazeera, you are one of the most important opinion-makers in the Arab world. What do you call suicide bombers?

Sheikh: For what is happening in Palestine, we never use the expression "suicide bombing."

Pierre: What do you call it then?

Sheikh: In English, I would describe it as "bombings."

Seeing how the "bombing" was the result of a suicide, why not call it such?

Pierre: And in Arabic?

Sheikh: Literally translated, we would speak of "commando attacks." In our culture, it is precisely not suicide.

So what precisely is the semantic difference between a "commando attack" bombing done by, say, remote control and a "commando attack" bombing done by suicide self-detonation? Sounds like it's about time to get out the ol' hip-boots.

Pierre: But instead a praiseworthy act?

Sheikh: When the country is occupied and the people are being killed by the enemy, everyone must take action, even if he sacrifices himself in so doing.

Pierre: Even if in so doing he kills innocent civilians?

Sheikh: That is not a Palestinian problem, but a problem of the Israelis.

If terrorists are killing you and your loved ones, naturally it's your own fault.

Pierre: You're avoiding the question.

Sheikh: Not at all. When the Israeli Army attacks, it kills civilians...

And the exploding granny is a classic example of what they consider a "civilian" to be.

...An army should be able to distinguish between military and civilian targets.

Moral equivalence alert: Terrorists who intentionally try to kill civilians and purposely blend into their own civilian population to them as human shields is, according to this logic, no different than the Israeli army which goes to great lengths to try to precisely get only those terrorists.

Pierre: You come originally from Nablus: a city that was occupied by the Israelis in 1967. In 1968 you left your homeland to study in Jordan. When you say that, is it the Palestinian in you speaking, who regards Israel as the enemy, or the journalist, who is dedicated to finding the truth.

Sheikh: The journalist.

Pierre: So your personal background has no influence on your work?

Sheikh: When I'm in the newsroom, I forget my personal background. I set aside my political convictions. The news story is sacred for me. One cannot change it. One has to broadcast the story, as it is. Unchanged.

Pierre: Still, I have trouble believing that you leave out your personal history in assessing a story.

Sheikh: You're right. It's not always possible at work completely to separate oneself from one's personal background.

John Kerry couldn't have flip-flopped any better.

Pierre: You sound bitter.

Sheikh: Yes, I am.

Comforting to know that he can keep his emotions in check and remain unbiased.

Now we get to the crux of the problem.

Sheikh: In many Arab states, the middle class is disappearing. The rich get richer and the poor get still poorer. Look at the schools in Jordan, Egypt or Morocco: You have up to 70 youngsters crammed together in a single classroom. How can a teacher do his job in such circumstances? The public hospitals are also in a hopeless condition. These are just examples. They show how hopeless the situation is for us in the Middle East.

Pierre: Who is responsible for the situation?

Sheikh: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most important reasons why these crises and problems continue to simmer. The day when Israel was founded created the basis for our problems. The West should finally come to understand this. Everything would be much calmer if the Palestinians were given their rights.

Actually the Muslim rejection and hatred was in full swing decades before 1948, so the reasoning doesn't follow.

Pierre: Do you mean to say that if Israel did not exist, there would suddenly be democracy in Egypt, that the schools in Morocco would be better, that the public clinics in Jordan would function better?

Sheikh: I think so.

And the beheadings in the Philippines by Islamic terrorists is because of Israel, too.

Pierre: Can you please explain to me what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to do with these problems?

Sheikh: The Palestinian cause is central for Arab thinking.

Pierre: In the end, is it a matter of feelings of self-esteem?

Sheikh: Exactly. It's because we always lose to Israel. It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego.

There you have it - no democracy, human rights, peace, justice, love, or freedom because their feelings are hurt.

Sheikh: The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this.

There, there; maybe the west can give everyone a cookie and a hug, and everything will be better, mmkay?



(via lgf via Tim Blair)

Revise That History

A little glimpse inside the "intelligentsia" of the Middle East:

Just when you thought the Iranian leadership could stoop no further:...

Actually, plumbing new depths of depravity and self-embarrassment each day is what we have come to expect from these people.

A top advisor to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed in an interview with Iranian website Baztab that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's parents were both Jewish and that Hitler himself was one of the founders of the State of Israel.

Really? That would sure be a convenient after-the-fact-self-fulfilling prophecy for the anti-Zionist crowd.

[The] Nazi leader was Jew who conspired with USSR and Britain to establish Jewish state....

[Mohammad-Ali] Ramin [a chief aide to Ahmadinejad] cites a 1974 book by Hennecke Kardel titled 'Adolf Hitler: Founder of Israel', which alleges that Hitler strived to create a Jewish state as a result of being influenced by his Jewish relatives and his cooperation with Britain – which also wanted to drive the Jews out of Europe.

It gets better.

Ramin also claimed that the reason Hitler developed such an aversion to Judaism was because his Jewish mother was a promiscuous woman. Hitler therefore, says Ramin, tried to escape his religion...

Hitler's paternal grandmother was a Jewish prostitute and his father even kept his Jewish name until finally changing it to Hitler when he was 40.

According to Ramin on the one hand Hitler's relatives and the friends who brought him to power, as well as his mistresses and personal physician, were all Jewish.

So, Hitler was a self-loathing Jew and hated Jews so much that he completely surrounded himself with Jews.

On the other hand he welcomed the expulsion of ambitious and influential Jews from Europe to the British Mandate of Palestine.

Summary - Because Hitler hated everything Jewish so much he:
1) Killed all the Jews of Europe and Russia,
2) Orchestrated a two-front world war with the USSR and Britain (who played along with the scheme) that resulted in millions of deaths and the destruction of his Germany (not to mention his own reign and life), and
3) Created the country of Israel in British mandate Palestine for whatever Jews escaped the gas chambers of Europe and Russia.

Hence, the creation of Israel is a Jewish plot through and through and is why Ahmadinejad asserts that this "historical error" must be corrected by eliminating it.

All of this makes perfect sense if not for the fact that
a) it makes absolutely no sense, and
b) there is not a shred of factual evidence to support those wild claims about Hitler's Jewish parentage, Jewish religious upbringing, and collusion with Britain and the USSR (his mortal enemies).

One can be sure of one thing when it comes to conspiracy theorists: the more incredible the accusation, the more credibly true it must be.


UPDATE - I see that I beat Drudge in posting this article, so a little self-congratulation is in order (I'm taking whatever I can get).

People Call Me Forrest...

A sober look at the state of the Palestinian "state".

Stripped of all emotion and prejudice, right and wrong, one reality becomes clear: there is no chance of a sovereign, autonomous Palestinian state. Not within our lifetimes. No chance. None.

Not only won't there be a sovereign Palestinian state, there can't be.

It's no longer viable. At every historic juncture since Israel was created in 1948, rhetoric has taken precedence over pragmatism in the Arab world. As a result, every one of these historic junctions has resulted, without exception, in material defeat for the Palestinians.

If they really wanted a state they would have had one a long time ago. Many times over.

Compare this fenced-off community of today with 20 years ago, before the intifadas. The Palestinian workforce was integrated into the Israeli economy, with relatively free movement into Israel. Education and health systems were built, universities opened, local governments were functioning, corruption was minimal, and life expectancy had soared from 47 under Arab rule to 68. Then came Yasser Arafat and Fatah.

Like their hero Saddam Hussein, why do the Palestinians consistently attach themselves to the world's worst people? One has to wonder.

And Israel? Through all the wars, terrorist bombings and threats of annihilation, and despite intense internal divisions, Israel has grown into a muscular economy of almost 7 million, with a per capita gross domestic product far higher than any Arab neighbours, including Saudi Arabia. The Jewish population has grown from 600,000 to 5.3 million, with a birthrate higher than those in Western Europe. Per capita, Israel has the most engineers and the most high-tech economy in the world.

And just imagine what kind of economy the Palestinians would have if they didn't squander the billions of dollars the world has donated to them.

"But on the Muslim side, the message has always been 'No', and 'No', and 'No'. They quote the Koran: God is on the side of the patient . . ."

Maybe. But is he on the side of murder and hate as well?

Sixty years of years of "No" has put an end to a sovereign Palestinian state, indefinitely. This pawn has been sacrificed in a much larger game.

Do they want a state? "No". As someone once said, "Stupid is as stupid does".


(via Tim Blair)