Chicago: 36!

What a number. A new record!

Is it the number of games the Chicago Cubs have lost in the last month? NO!

Is it the number of bribes any Chicago Politician took yesterday? NO!

Is it the number of seconds that Oprah went without mentioning herself, Dr. Phil, or Barack Obama? NO!

It is the number of young men and women who were gunned down this past school year. 36.

With three weeks left before summer break, a record 36 Chicago Public Schools students have been killed this school year, marking the third straight year that youth homicides have climbed into double digits. Chicago has surpassed New York City and Los Angeles for having the highest youth homicide rate in the nation.

"I think people in Chicago have almost gotten numb to the statistics," said Dexter Voisin, a researcher at the University of Chicago who studies the impact of violence on adolescents.

The latest victim in Chicago's long year of student killings is 15-year-old Alex Arellano. On May 1, he was chased, beaten with baseball bats, run over by a car, shot and burned. His body was found days after he disappeared from his family's home on the city's South Side.

Police continue to investigate the killing; gang activity has been suggested. His grieving family members have denied any gang connections and continue to look for answers.

"The homicide rate is just the tip of the iceberg," Mr. Voisin said. "Those with nonfatal injuries are almost 100 times that of our homicide rates. You think for about every one kid who is murdered, 100 kids witness the murder or are victims of nonfatal injuries, of robberies, muggings and gang-related incidents. A lot of times, this exposure goes undocumented or unreported."

Black youths, he said, are two times more likely than white youths to fail or drop out of school, and at the same time they are also eight to 10 times more likely to be victims of homicide than whites.

"I don't even know where to begin," said Diane Latiker, who runs a program for at-risk youths out of her home in the city's Roseland neighborhood. "There aren't any words for what I feel for what is going on for our youth."

Ms. Latiker uses three rooms of her six-room apartment to run a nonprofit program called Kids Off the Block. She offers tutoring, mentoring and travel opportunities designed to show Chicago youths who want successful futures that the violent culture they see daily is not the norm.

The local drug dealer in a big car with flashy rims, wearing cool sneakers, appears to many to be the model of success, Ms. Latiker said.

"The A and B students, they have family and community support," she said. "What about the kid who is struggling, hanging out there on the street corner and joining that gang because he feels hopeless? That's what I'm hearing from our youth. They feel they have nothing to live for."

Read the full story here.

Where is Jesse Jackson? Where is Al Sharpton? Maxine Waters? Why is the Daily Kos and Huffington Post both silent on this? Why is the left silent? Black children are being killed!

Yet not a word about this from them. If it came out that Black children were being killed by the Chicago police, white men, or KKK members, they would be marching in the streets. But a little gang violence and they remain silent on this issue. THAT IS RACISM!

Why is it that Jackson, Waters and Sharpton will go ballistic if the 'N' word is used by a comedian, radio personality or other WHITE person, but are remaining silent when a rapper like: Mac Dre, Snoop Dog, Master P, and Lil Wayne all tell young people not to snitch, don't cooperate with the police. So the murderers go free to kill again and again. The rappers get rich, the murderers get away with the crime, and the people of the neighborhood are less safe, less secure in their homes.

And still the only cry that goes out is: Take away people's guns. If there were no guns, there would be no gun violence, the liberals say. The truth is that these crimes are not committed with legal weapons, but illegal ones. AK-47's to be exact. That is not the type of weapon one can walk into a gun shop and pick up.

Gun control is NOT the answer. The answer is for the Black Community to stop the culture of gangsterism. It is for parents to sit down with their kids and explain to them that the rappers and gangsters are not the best role-models for them. That snitching is not wrong. That testifying in court is your civic duty. That solving one's problems with a shooting is just plain stupid. Most important it is time for Black leaders to say these things. For Black leaders to march in the streets of Chicago screaming for justice for these 36 children. For Black leaders to stand up to the gangsters and take their culture back.

In September, Chicago will begin a new school year. Let us all pray that the next year will see no child shot, no child killed by gangsters. That each child will have a chance to grow up and become a useful and productive member of this great nation.

You Know You're A Cat Person When....

...you refer to going to the bathroom as "using the litterbox."

...you do not consider an outfit complete without some cat hair.

...you consider cat hair in your food as extra fiber.

...you apologize when you step on a fuzzy cat toy in the dark.

...you snap your fingers and pat the sofa beside you to invite your guests to sit down.

...you sleep on one edge of the bed because the cat is sleeping in the middle looking soooo cute!

...you accidentally put your child's dinner plate on the floor.

...you spend more money on toys for your cats than on the kids or grandkids.

...you decorate your Christmas tree with dangly cat toys.

...your neighbors refer to you as "the crazy one with all the cats."

...you have more pictures of your cats than your kids in your wallet.

...you refer to your cat as your furry child.

...your parents wind up with a four-footed, furry "grandchild."

...you plan your vacation around the cat show schedule.

...you accidentally call your spouse by your cat's name!

...you set a place at the dinner table for your cat.

...you have a set of towels with "His" "Hers" and "Kitty's."

...you call home and leave a message on the answering machine for your cat.

...you have the cat meow on the outgoing message of the answering machine.

...you and kitty have matching outfits.

...your spouse says, "Me or the cat!," and there's no hesitation.

...you never go to the door unless it's to let a cat out.

...your favorite friends have fleas.

...you chose a house to buy based on it having a good location for the catbox.

...you think cat fur makes a wonderful garnish to any meal.

...you own 17 varieties of kitty-nail-clippers.

...you are lost for conversation with non-cat people.

...you meow so well, you confuse the cats.

...you bore the neighbors with discussions on the exact
nutritional differences between 9-Lives and Amore...at length.

I post this because I am now the adoptive human of a most adorable and purrfect kitty:

Kara Kitty

Isn't she the Cat's Meow?

Sderot to Congress: Don't Finance Terror!

From the Sderot Media Center

Rockets still fall upon Sderot and Southern Israel. Even with a "cease-fire", Hamas will not stop firing rockets.

Ceasefire broken again: Qassam slams into western Negev on Sunday

By Anav Silverman

This week Kibbutz Kfar Aza mourned the death of Jimmy Kedoshim, a husband and father of three, who was killed last year in a Palestinian mortar attack on May 9, 2008. The mortar, fired from northern Gaza, struck Kedoshim, 48, in the backyard of his home. Kedoshim’s death was the first caused by mortar fire since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

A day after Kedoshim’s memorial service, the Kfar Aza community was reminded once again that Palestinian rockets still threaten the region. On Sunday, May 10, 2009 a Palestinian Qassam rocket slammed across Kibbutz Kfar Aza, this time landing in an open area in the Regional Council of Sdot Negev and Sha’ar HaNegev. No injuries or damages were reported.
Kedoshim was a well known and beloved figure in the Kfar Aza community.

“The death of Jimmy Kedoshim was devastating for the entire Kfar Aza community,” Karen, a Kfar Aza mother told Sderot Media Center last year. Jimmy, a professional sky diver, raised his three children on the Kfar Aza kibbutz with his wife Anna.

*YNET News contributed to this report.

The media cries that these are homemade rockets, they do little damage and cause very few injuries and deaths. I have a proposition for the members of the media then. Someone will go over to your house with a gun and fire randomly into your home. They will do this for the next 8 years. The media will not cover the event, the police will not stop it. No bullet fired will be aimed. What will YOU do? After all they are just bullets of a small caliber, they do little damage and cause minimum injuries.

You see how your argument is faulty?

US Representatives Continue to Petition Congress on Gaza Aid

by Anav Silverman

Back in March, Sderot Media Center director, Noam Bedein held a special briefing with US Congressmen and their advisors on Capitol Hill, where he highlighted the rocket situation in Sderot and southern Israel in a meeting initiated by the EMET organization President, Sarah Stern.

A day previously, on Monday March 2, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had pledged $900 million at a conference in Egypt set to raise billions of dollars for Gaza reconstruction after Operation Cast Lead.

Following the meeting between Bedein and the Congressmen on Capitol Hill, Democratic Representative Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) sent a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which demanded that the aid to Gaza be delayed as long as the rocket fire continues and Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian terrorists three years ago, remains captive by Hamas.

Joining Berkley in her efforts to place conditions on the $300 million in US aid for Gaza, is Representative Elliot Engel (D-N.Y.). Three weeks ago, Reps. Elliot and Berkley drafted a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committe; Congressmen David Obey and Jerry Lewis respectively. Reps. Eliot and Berkley stated that "we are concerned that - in the aftermath of Hamas’ unprovoked attacks on Israel - sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza without conditions will send precisely the wrong message at the wrong time"

In addition, the Congressmen also added that “ it is essential that we not simply write a “blank check” for the Gaza-based Palestinians to continue" its missile attacks on Israel.

“We must instead send a message that the United States will help with the needs of the Palestinians if--and only if--they meet the conditions of the international community to recognize Israel, renounce terrorism, and commit to all agreements that they have signed with Israel. Not only has Hamas failed to meet any of these conditions, it has not stopped raining rockets on Israeli territory and still holds captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It is essential that we condition our funding for Gaza on Hamas’ complying with these basic demands.

Read the full letter below.

April 28, 2009

The Honorable David R. Obey, Chairman

The Honorable Jerry Lewis, Ranking Member

Committee on Appropriations

H-218, The Capitol

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Obey and Ranking Member Lewis:

We write to you today regarding the President’s request for supplemental funding in fiscal year 2009. It has come to our attention that within President Obama’s request is $900 million in funding for the West Bank and Gaza. We are concerned that - in the aftermath of Hamas’ unprovoked attacks on Israel - sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza without conditions will send precisely the wrong message at the wrong time.

In late 2008, Hamas intensified its missile attacks on Israel, using Gaza as a launching pad to terrorize the population of Sderot and other communities in southern Israel. Even after Israel withdrew completely from Gaza in 2005, the unprovoked assault by unguided rockets of terror continued. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) finally retaliated against these attacks, after showing incredible restraint for many years, destroying a great deal of Hamas’ infrastructure within Gaza. While the IDF attempted to minimize civilian casualties, there was damage to many areas in Gaza. The blame for this, however, rests firmly on Hamas’ shoulders, as they began the unprovoked shelling on Israeli cities and were warned repeatedly that the continued shelling would bring a strong response from Israel. Further, Hamas conducted its combat operations from heavily-populated civilian areas and, thus, was responsible for the protection of the civilians in the area. Indeed, this use of unarmed men, women, and children as human shields was shocking and disgraceful.

It is, therefore, essential that we not simply write a “blank check” for the Gaza-based Palestinians to continue acting this way. We must instead send a message that the United States will help with the needs of the Palestinians if - and only if - they meet the conditions of the international community to recognize Israel, renounce terrorism, and commit to all agreements they have signed with Israel. Not only has Hamas failed to meet any of these conditions, it has not stopped raining rockets on Israeli territory and still holds captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It is essential that we condition our funding for Gaza on Hamas’ complying with these basic demands. Without such links, Palestinians will see the U.S. as providing aid while Hamas continues to terrorize the Israeli people, with no consequences from the U.S. government.

We urge you to condition our funding on reciprocal actions from Hamas. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Shelley Berkley

Member of Congress

Eliot Engel

Member of Congress

*The JTA News Service contributed to this report.

The United States has pledged $1.1 billion to Gaza. This is effectively giving $1.1 billion to Hamas. For the only funds that are going to Gaza are going to Hamas. Do you believe for one moment that any of the allocated funding will go to rebuild homes, schools, etc...? If you do I got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. It is an antique, but in very good condition (real cheap too).

This has got to end. There should be no funds sent until:

1. Hamas recongizes Israel not only has a right to exist but is a Jewish nation.
2. The return of Gilad Schalit safe and unharmed.
3. The immediate ceasation of all attacks on Israel.

After those 3 points are met, then the $1.1 billion in aid should be sent.

It seems that the Obama administration is hell bent on the destruction of the Jewish Nation. Call or write your Representative today! Don't allow your tax dollars to be sent to a terrorist organization. Make your voice heard!

Hezbollah: The Army Of God

Another in my ongoing series of: Know your enemy by their own words. This time it is the terror group: Hezbollah.

The Hizballah Program

Our Identity:

We are often asked: Who are we, the Hizballah, and what is our identity? We are the sons of the umma (Muslim community) - the party of God (Hizb Allah) the vanguard of which was made victorious by God in Iran. There the vanguard succeeded to lay down the bases of a Muslim state which plays a central role in the world. We obey the orders of one leader, wise and just, that of our tutor and faqih (jurist) who fulfills all the necessary conditions: Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini. God save him!

By virtue of the above, we do not constitute an organized and closed party in Lebanon. nor are we a tight political cadre. We are an umma linked to the Muslims of the whole world by the solid doctrinal and religious connection of Islam, whose message God wanted to be fulfilled by the Seal of the Prophets, i.e., Muhammad. This is why whatever touches or strikes the Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines and elsewhere reverberates throughout the whole Muslim umma of which we are an integral part. Our behavior is dictated to us by legal principles laid down by the light of an overall political conception defined by the leading jurist (wilayat al-faqih).

As for our culture, it is based on the Holy Koran, the Sunna and the legal rulings of the faqih who is our source of imitation (marja' al-taqlid). Our culture is crystal clear. It is not complicated and is accessible to all.

No one can imagine the importance of our military potential as our military apparatus is not separate from our overall social fabric. Each of us is a fighting soldier. And when it becomes necessary to carry out the Holy War, each of us takes up his assignment in the fight in accordance with the injunctions of the Law, and that in the framework of the mission carried out under the tutelage of the Commanding Jurist.

Our Fight:

The US has tried, through its local agents, to persuade the people that those who crushed their arrogance in Lebanon and frustrated their conspiracy against the oppressed (mustad'afin) were nothing but a bunch of fanatic terrorists whose sole aim is to dynamite bars and destroy slot machines. Such suggestions cannot and will not mislead our umma, for the whole world knows that whoever wishes to oppose the US, that arrogant superpower, cannot indulge in marginal acts which may make it deviate from its major objective. We combat abomination and we shall tear out its very roots, its primary roots, which are the US. All attempts made to drive us into marginal actions will fail, especially as our determination to fight the US is solid.

We declare openly and loudly that we are an umma which fears God only and is by no means ready to tolerate injustice, aggression and humiliation. America, its Atlantic Pact allies, and the Zionist entity in the holy land of Palestine, attacked us and continue to do so without respite. Their aim is to make us eat dust continually. This is why we are, more and more, in a state of permanent alert in order to repel aggression and defend our religion, our existence, our dignity. They invaded our country, destroyed our villages, slit the throats of our children, violated our sanctuaries and appointed masters over our people who committed the worst massacres against our umma. They do not cease to give support to these allies of Israel, and do not enable us to decide our future according to our own wishes.

In a single night the Israelis and the Phalangists executed thousands of our sons, women and children in Sabra and Shatilla. No international organization protested or denounced this ferocious massacre in an effective manner, a massacre perpetrated with the tacit accord of America's European allies, which had retreated a few days, maybe even a few hours earlier, from the Palestinian camps. The Lebanese defeatists accepted putting the camps under the protection of that crafty fox, the US envoy Philip Habib.

We have no alternative but to confront aggression by sacrifice. The coordination between the Phalangists and Israel continues and develops. A hundred thousand victims - this is the approximate balance sheet of crimes committed by them and by the US against us. Almost half a million Muslims were forced to leave their homes. Their quarters were virtually totally destroyed in Nab'a, my own Beirut suburb, as well as in Burj Hammud, Dekonaneh, Tel Zaatar, Sinbay, Ghawarina and Jubeil - all in areas controlled today by the 'Lebanese Forces',. The Zionist occupation then launched its usurpatory invasion of Lebanon in full and open collusion with the Phalanges. The latter condemned all attempts to resist the invading forces. They participated in the implementation of certain Israeli plans in order to accomplish its Lebanese dream and acceded to all Israeli requests in order to gain power.

And this is, in fact, what happened. Bashir Jumayyil, that butcher, seized power with the help also of OPEC countries and the Jumayyil family. Bashir tried to improve his ugly image by joining the six-member Committee of Public Safety presided over by former President Elias Sarkis, which was nothing but an American-Israeli bridge borrowed by the Phalangists in order to control the oppressed. Our people could not tolerate humiliation any more. It destroyed the oppressors, the invaders and their lackeys. But the US persisted in its folly and installed Amin Jumayyil to replace his brother. Some of his first so called achievements were to destroy the homes of refugees and other displaced persons, attack mosques, and order the army to bombard the southern suburbs of Beirut, where the oppressed people resided. He invited European troops to help him against us and signed the May 17th, [1984] accord with Israel making Lebanon an American protectorate.

Our people could not bear any more treachery. It decided to oppose infidelity - be it French, American or Israeli - by striking at their headquarters and launching a veritable war of resistance against the Occupation forces. Finally, the enemy had to decide to retreat by stages.

Our Objectives:

Let us put it truthfully: the sons of Hizhallah know who are their major enemies in the Middle East - the Phalanges, Israel, France and the US. The sons of our umma are now in a state of growing confrontation with them, and will remain so until the realization of the following three objectives:

(a) to expel the Americans. the French and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonialist entity on our land;
(b) to submit the Phalanges to a just power and bring them all to justice for the crimes they have perpetrated against Muslims and Christians;
(c) to permit all the sons of our people to determine their future and to choose in all the liberty the form of government they desire. We call upon all of them to pick the option of Islamic government which, alone, is capable of guaranteeing justice and liberty for all. Only an Islamic regime can stop any further tentative attempts of imperialistic infiltration into our country.

These are Lebanon's objectives; those are its enemies. As for our friends, they are all the world's oppressed peoples. Our friends are also those who combat our enemies and who defend us from their evil. Towards these friends, individuals as well as organizations, we turn and say:

Friends, wherever you are in Lebanon... we are in agreement with you on the great and necessary objectives: destroying American hegemony in our land; putting an end to the burdensome Israeli Occupation; beating back all the Phalangists' attempts to monopolize power and administration. Even though we have, friends, quite different viewpoints as to the means of the struggle, on the levels upon which it must be carried out, we should surmount these tiny divergencies and consolidate cooperation between us in view of the grand design.

We are an umma which adheres to the message of Islam. We want all the oppressed to be able to study the divine message in order to bring justice, peace and tranquility to the world. This is why we don't want to impose Islam upon anybody, as much as we that others impose upon us their convictions and their political systems. We don't want Islam to reign in Lebanon by force as is the case with the Maronites today. This is the minimum that we can accept in order to be able to accede by legal means to realize our ambitions, to save Lebanon from its dependence upon East and West, to put an end to foreign occupation and to adopt a regime freely wanted by the people of Lebanon.

This is our perception of the present state of affairs. This is the Lebanon we envision. In the light of our conceptions, our opposition to the present system is the function of two factors; (1) the present regime is the product of an arrogance so unjust that no reform or modification can remedy it. It should be changed radically, and (2) World Imperialism which is hostile to Islam.

We consider that all opposition in Lebanon voiced in the name of reform can only profit, ultimately, the present system. All such opposition which operates within the framework of the conservation and safeguarding of the present constitution without demanding changes at the level of the very foundation of the regime is, hence, an opposition of pure formality which cannot satisfy the interests of the oppressed masses. Likewise, any opposition which confronts the present regime but within the limits fixed by it, is an illusory opposition which renders a great service to the Jumayyil system. Moreover, we cannot be concerned by any proposition of political reform which accepts the rotten system actually in effect. We could not care less about the creation of this or that governmental coalition or about the participation of this or that political personality in some ministerial post, which is but a part of this unjust regime.

The politics followed by the chiefs of political Maronism through the 'Lebanese Front' and the 'Lebanese Forces' cannot guarantee peace and tranquillity for the Christians of Lebanon, whereas it is predicated upon 'asabiyya (narrow-minded particularism), on confessional privileges and on the alliance with colonialism. The Lebanese crisis has proven that confessional privileges are one of the principal causes of the great explosion which ravaged the country. It also proved that outside help was of no use to the Christians of Lebanon, just when they need it most. The bell tolled for the fanatic Christians to rid themselves of denominational allegiance and of illusion deriving from the monopolization of privileges to the detriment of other communities. The Christians should answer the appeal from heaven and have recourse to reason instead of arms, to persuasion instead of confessionalism.

To the Christians:

If you, Christians, cannot tolerate that Muslims share with you certain domains of government, Allah has also made it intolerable for Muslims to participate in an unjust regime, unjust for you and for us, in a regime which is not predicated upon the prescriptions (ahkam) of religion and upon the basis of the Law (the Shari’a) as laid down by Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets. If you search for justice, who is more just than Allah? It is He who sent down from the sky the message of Islam through his successive prophets in order that they judge the people and give everyone his rights. If you were deceived and misled into believing that we anticipate vengeance against you - your fears are unjustified. For those of you who are peaceful, continue to live in our midst without anybody even thinking to trouble you.

We don't wish you evil. We call upon you to embrace Islam so that you can be happy in this world and the next. If you refuse to adhere to Islam, maintain your ties with the Muslims and don't take part in any activity against them. Free yourselves from the consequences of hateful confessionalism. Banish from your hearts all fanaticism and parochialism. Open your hearts to our Call (da'wa) which we address to you. Open yourselves up to Islam where you'll find salvation and happiness upon earth and in the hereafter. We extend this invitation also to all the oppressed among the non-Muslims. As for those who belong to Islam only formally, we exhort them to adhere to Islam in religious practice and to renounce all fanaticisms which are rejected by our religion.

World Scene:

We reject both the USSR and the US, both Capitalism and Communism, for both are incapable of laying the foundations for a just society.

With special vehemence we reject UNIFIL as they were sent by world arrogance to occupy areas evacuated by Israel and serve for the latter as a buffer zone. They should be treated much like the Zionists. All should know that the goals of the Phalangists regimedo not carry any weight with the Combatants of the Holy War, i.e., the Islamic resistance. This is the quagmire which awaits all foreign intervention.

There, then, are our conceptions and our objectives which serve as our basis and inspire our march. Those who accept them should know that all rights belong to Allah and He bestows them. Those who reject them, we'll be patient with them, till Allah decides between us and the people of injustice.

The Necessity for the Destruction of Israel:*

We see in Israel the vanguard of the United States in our Islamic world. It is the hated enemy that must be fought until the hated ones get what they deserve. This enemy is the greatest danger to our future generations and to the destiny of our lands, particularly as it glorifies the ideas of settlement and expansion, initiated in Palestine, and yearning outward to the extension of the Great Israel, from the Euphrates to the Nile.

Our primary assumption in our fight against Israel states that the Zionist entity is aggressive from its inception, and built on lands wrested from their owners, at the expense of the rights of the Muslim people. Therefore our struggle will end only when this entity is obliterated. We recognize no treaty with it, no cease fire, and no peace agreements, whether separate or consolidated.

We vigorously condemn all plans for negotiation with Israel, and regard all negotiators as enemies, for the reason that such negotiation is nothing but the recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist occupation of Palestine. Therefore we oppose and reject the Camp David Agreements, the proposals of King Fahd, the Fez and Reagan plan, Brezhnev's and the French-Egyptian proposals, and all other programs that include the recognition (even the implied recognition) of the Zionist entity.

The Jerusalem Quarterly, number Forty-Eight, Fall 1988
This is a slightly abridged translation of "Nass al-Risala al-Maftuha allati wajahaha Hizballah ila-l-Mustad'afin fi Lubnan wa-l-Alam", published February 16, 1985 in al-Safir (Beirut), and also in a separatebrochure. It carries the unmistakable imprint of Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, the Hizballah mentor, and is inspired by his book Ma'maal-Quwma fi-l-Islam (Beirut 1979). See also his article in al-Muntalak (Beirut), October 1986.

*This paragraph did not appear in the original translation published by the Jerusalem Quarterly.

It is possible that this ommision is due to the fact that the source (al-Safir) for the translation did not include this text, which appears in the original Hizballah Program. The original Program was published on 16 February 1985. The organization's spokesman, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Amin read the Program at the al-Ouzai Mosque in west Beirut and afterwards it was published as an open letter "to all the Opressed in Lebanon and the World". It should be emphasised that none of Hizballah's web sites have published the full text of the organization's program, and they prefer to publish the 1996 electoraral program which was intended for the specific propoganda campaign before the Lebanese Parliamentary elections in 1996.

It is hard to read this and not think of the horror that happened to Lebanon because of them. Not to think of the 281 US Marines murdered by them. And wonder if the US or Israel had acted towards themin the manner that the US and Allies had acted in Europe after WW II, would Lebanon had desolved into anarchy and chaos? A question I do believe that would best be answered by those historians and fiction writers who specialize in historical What Ifs?

Like all terror groups, Hezbollah sends out the cry: We are the victims! They cry about the Sabra and Shatilla Massacres yet fail to remind the world that the people living in those camps were not considered Lebanese by them. It is strange that they would consider them Lebanese now.

Like all other Islamic Groups they state very clearly that they will instill Shar'ia Law through out Lebanon. They call on the Christians in the nation to either convert or live under the restrictions of such law.

Lebanon was once the only Christian nation in the area. Could you have imagined the outrage if the Christians had put such restrictions on the Muslim?

Funny how Hezbollah rejected UNIFIL then. They don't now. Back then UNIFIL actually tried to stop the slaughter. Today it openly arms Hezbollah. What a difference 25 years and Iranian money can bring.

Hezbollah, like Hamas claimed victory after the world forced Israel into a Cease-fire. Perhaps next time Israel won't give into the pressure from the world and finally wipe this group off the face of the Earth.

King Abdullah: No Alternative to Two State Solution for Israel

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Jordan's King Abdullah has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that under the terms of the Arab peace initiative, there are no alternatives to the two state solution, meaning an official state for Palestinians, side-by-side with Israel. In fact, Abdullah turned the screws a bit harder and said:

[there] is consensus in the international community that there is no alternative to the two-state solution."

King Abdullah

The AP author, Jamal Halaby, says, without quoting anyone:

The Arab peace initiative would offer Israel relations with the 23 Arab League members in exchange for its withdrawal from land it occupied in the 1967 war, a just solution for Palestinian refugees and the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Does it get any cheekier than that?

Isn't it simple? Israel gives away it's holiest site, the Temple Mount, and agrees to live sided-by-side with Palestinians who have vowed to bring about the destruction of Israel and have so-stated in their Charter.



Inside Tour of Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque





A Tour of the Temple Mount

Hamas Must Pay $116 Million to Terror Attack Victims

In 1996 American citizen Yaron Ungar and his Israeli wife, Efrat, were murdered by members of the PLO and other terrorists on the West Bank. In an earlier time this would have been just another tragedy and forgotten. But in 1991 the United States passed The Anti-Terrorism Act of 1991. A little known provision of this Act states:

(a) Action and Jurisdiction.— Any national of the United States injured in his or her person, property, or business by reason of an act of international terrorism, or his or her estate, survivors, or heirs, may sue therefor in any appropriate district court of the United States and shall recover threefold the damages he or she sustains and the cost of the suit, including attorney’s fees.

The Ungar Estate did just that in Federal Court in the State of Rhode Island. And finally justice has been served.

The Palestine Liberation Organization and its governmental entity cannot overturn a court judgment forcing them to pay more than $116 million for a Hamas terror attack that killed a U.S. citizen and his wife, a federal judge has ruled.

The case is among a handful in the country filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1991, which seeks to hold terrorist organizations responsible for the killings of American citizens.

In a ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lagueux rejected a request from the Palestinian defendants asking they not be held responsible for the 1996 shooting deaths of Yaron Ungar and his Israeli wife, Efrat, near the West Bank.

The judge, who first ordered the Palestinian defendants to pay in 2004, blamed their loss on a legal strategy set by their late leader Yasser Arafat, who refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the U.S. court.

"These choices were the intentional, deliberate and binding decisions made by the PA's dictatorial leader," the judge wrote. "Defendants must now accept the consequences of these decisions."

Legal proceedings are under way in the United States, Israel and other countries to take money from the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, said David Strachman, an attorney for the estate of the Ungars, who had two children. Only a modest sum has been collected so far, he said, declining to be more specific.

"Judge Lagueux confirmed once again their culpability and their obligation to pay to the Ungar orphans and their family," he said.

It was unclear Thursday if the PLO and Palestinian Authority would appeal, said Deming Sherman, an attorney representing them. He declined to comment further on the case.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for a fatal attack on June 9, 1996, near the Israeli village of Beit Shemesh.

Ungar and his wife were driving home when another vehicle driven by three Hamas gunmen pulled alongside them and opened fire. The couple were killed, but their 9-month-old son survived; another son wasn't in the car.

The defendants accused Hamas, a Palestinian militant group considered by the European Union and the United States to be a terrorist organization, of staging the attack to disrupt peace negotiations the Palestinian Authority was carrying out with the Israeli and U.S. governments.

The judge previously ordered that Hamas must pay more than $116 million for its role in the attack. Hamas has never hired a lawyer or contested the case.

This should be no problem for the Ungar Estate to collect on. The US government under President Barack Obama has pledged $1.1 billion to the PA. First subtract the funds for this judgement, then send out the money. Or just hold it back. With this win, there could and should be more victims of terror worldwide coming forth. We could start with the 9/11 families (Saudi Arabia has very deep pockets). Then there are the victims of 7/7, Madrid, and Mumbai (Pakistan was involved and is slated to receive $10 Billion).

The victims of terror could put these groups out of business very fast with lawsuits.

This will just become another Nakba to the Arabs. They can start holding yearly marches over this one too.

Anointing Charlie Crist, Dismissing Marco Rubio, Republicans Unite...or not.

by Maggie Thornton at Maggie's Notebook

Republicans are meeting in a "special" session next week to officially brand the Democrat party as the "Democrat Socialist Party." I think that name is apt, but really, this is a lame attempt to get a message across. Is this how Republicans unite? See photos and a video below.

Republicans Unite

During the campaign we couldn't get a Republican to stand up and call Obama a Socialist. We knew he was a Socialist, with communist leanings if given a chance. We read, we studied his background, we studied his activities as a "community organizer." So what did our "speakers" do, they waited, now it's too late, and their pathetic impotent whines ring hollow.

Apparently, this "special" session is considered an emergency, and to call a "special" session, 16 RNC members from 16 different states are needed to call the meeting. Party leaders want to get some issues on the table for airing. I'm up for that.

Two other resolutions — to urge Republican lawmakers to reject earmarks and to commend them for opposing “bailouts and reckless spending bills” — are also on the agenda, but language that would have denounced Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican turned Democrat, and Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins for voting for President Obama’s stimulus package has been dropped.

I think all the "togetherness" the party leaders can stand is a very good thing, and ongoing discussions about earmarks are critical. It's good to keep the party centered and focused. I don't know about condemnation of Specter, Snowe and Collins. I see no fruit coming that. Maybe just doing a little strong-arm technique works better, like NEVER, NEVER support a single Bill they want supported unless it is a thoroughly conservative venture? If a Snowe or Collins Bill has the stench of Democrat support, look at it closely, very closely - and for heavens sake - read every word those two women write. You could also sit at another lunch table.

Our focus must be on finding very conservative candidates for the 2010 election, and guaranteeing that powerful Republicans unite behind them with vigor. In this arena, we are going to lose our first battle: Governor Charlie Crist has announced for the U.S. Senate seat of Mel Martinez. If what I read is true, Marco Rubio is a "real" conservative out of Florida, and he's running against Crist. Unless the information out there can be proven incorrect, Rubio is very conservative - but yet, the Republican establishment is gearing up to support Charlie Crist who rushed with adoration and open arms to support Barack Obama's stimulus bill. Jon Cornyn says the National Republican Senatorial Committee will throw their full support behind Crist. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is backing Crist. The position is that Crist offers the best chance to "maintain the checks and balances that Floridians deserve in the U.S. Senate. What does that mean? Florida doesn't want conservatism representing them?

Marco Rubio

You may remember this week that some in the party said Republicans need a "bigger tent," meaning we need to be more moderate to bring in those less conservative. This from a Republican:

Gov. Crist is exactly what we need because if we don't increase the size of our tent, we're going to be in big trouble in our future,'' said Joe Gruters, chairman of the Sarasota Republican Party and Buchanan's political director.

A Senate hero, in my opinion, Senator Jim DeMint, used the term "big tent" party to described what he thinks the Repubs need, but he said this:

But big tents need strong poles, and the strongest pole of our party -- the organizing principle and the crucial alternative to the Democrats -- must be freedom. The federal government is too big, takes too much of our money, and makes too many of our decisions. If Republicans can't agree on that, elections are the least of our problems.

I can agree with that...but people who want to be free and people who want to smaller government should already be in our tent. Our tent is already huge, but our leaders are ignoring our presence and they are not listening to us. I say, lose the Big Tent image. Get behind conservative candidates.

DeMint paraphrased C.S. Lewis:

"...if you aim for principled reform, you win elections in the bargain; if you just aim for elections, you get neither."

All those so ready to jump and endorse any well-known face, take a deep breath and a step back. Ask why you would support a Charlie Crist, a Republican that made such an embarrassing point of supporting the stimulus. Senator Mel Martinez, who Crist would replace said:

I don't know that my governor [Crist] understands all the details in this package -- that there will be nothing here to help with Florida's housing economy, Martinez said, noting the package is light on stemming the tide of foreclosures.

Crist acknowledged that he hasn't seen all the details but said Florida needs federal help, period.

Now that's embarrassing!

About 2-1/2 minutes into the video below you can watch Charlie Crist tell us that the stimulus is not about partisan politics, it's about rising above "that."

Back in February there was a lot of talk that Crist had seriously damaged any aspiration for the Senate with his groveling at the feet of the President. Reports were that donors were furious, that phone calls were coming in fast and the callers were angry. Ana Navarro, said to be a Republican consultant from Miami said...way back in February:

We're going to spend $30 to $40 million to get a Republican elected to that Senate seat, and we could end up with a guy who's going to be the 60th vote for Democrats.

Come on Republicans. Get a mad-on and demand that those with the purse strings, those purses you've helped fill, take a look at Marco Rubio, at least (read more about him here) - or perhaps there's someone else - just don't anoint Crist because he seems the natural successor.

The Politics of Genocide

In the old days (before the collapse of the Soviet Union), the first week in May (especially 1 May) the leftists would march down city streets and on campuses shouting: Solidarity with the workers.

Those days are long gone, today the campuses of American schools are not silent, they now hold the annual Kill All The Jews WeekIsrael Is A Nazi State Week.

This is especially true of the University of California at Irvine. The incidences of attacks on Jewish students during and after these events skyrockets. The level of hatred during this event each year soars.

This isn't just some students talking, it is been and continues to be well documented by Gary Fouse of Fousequawk. And also Stand With Us.

The massive "Apartheid Wall" display shows egregious photos that accuse Israel of imprisoning Palestinians and deliberately killing children.

In the Spring of each year, the Muslim Student groups at UC Irvine organize extremist programs that create hatred against Israel, at UC Irvine. This year is certainly no exception, and it begins with the title of the Spring weeks in progress: Israel: The Politics of Genocide.

Photo of Anne Frank, to make the offensive comparison that what happened to Anne Frank by Nazis is happening to the Palestinians today.

UC Irvine has become a testing ground for some of the most hateful programs across North America, contrasting the Palestinian unfortunate experiences in Gaza with the Holocaust,
blaming Israel for all their suffering, never once pointing a finger at the racist doctrine of
radical Islamic groups like Hamas, which calls for the murder of Jews and which has led the Palestinians backwards instead of into the future.

The organizers of anti-Israel events at UC Irvine will never discuss the rockets being launched into Israel from Gaza, or the use of Palestinian human shields by the terrorists in Gaza.They wont tell the student body that they are concerned about the role that Hamas played in forcing Israel into a war last December and January.

Everything is 100% Israel's fault as the story is told by the Muslim students at UC Irvine. They talk about Israel's alleged racism, when they should really be talking about the clearly written racist goals in the charters of Hamas, Hezbollah and Fatah. But they don't.

This year there was a new display, this time of a tank, covered with accusations against Israel as a "Goliath," which helps to abdicate any possible responsibility that the Palestinians (or their poor leadership) might have in the ongoing conflict.

What a shame that students who are not familiar with the history or the facts on the ground in Gaza, will be fed one-sided lies and exaggerations. Too bad that the students at UC Irvine are being poisoned in this manner, and may fall into the trap of believing one-sided, out of context extremist information.

Muslim students used street theater this year to cast one-sided blame on Israel for the death in Gaza during the war that was brought on by the continuous rocket launching from Gaza into Israel.

And too bad, that the UC Irvine administration does not stand up and say, "You have a right to all of this hateful rhetoric, it is your opinion, and falls under the rules of free speech. But this administration condemns the hateful nature and misinformation you are promoting." Too bad. But sadly, that's the way it has been(and still is) at UC Irvine.

This years pro-Israel counter-campaign was designed to remind UC Irvine's students of the racist doctrines of Hamas. StandWithUs congratulates the students at UC Irvine who are working hard to stand up to anti-Semitic lies and misinformation. Yes, they are anti-Semitic lies because the stories being told at UC Irvine allege that Israel deliberately targets Palestinian children and women for death.

StandWithUs is proud to have partnered with the students of UC Irvine to make sure that Israel's voice is heard on campus.

If Israel has been committing genocide, they are doing a very bad job of it. There have been more Arabs born in Gaza and the West Bank in the years between 1967 and today who live past their 5th birthday. For true genocide you need to look at what the Turks did to the Armenians, the Germans did to the Jews, Roma, Homosexuals and anyone else they did not like., the destruction in the Congo, and the ongoing horror that is Darfur. Those were and are examples of true genocide.

Every Muslim is taught that Anne Frank never existed, that the Germans never systematically killed anyone and the Holocaust is a lie. The government of the Netherlands spent millions to
authenticate the diaries she left behind. So for the MSU to use her image is not only wrong, it it is in bad taste. Since all those who knew Anne Frank have died, they will get away with this. It is too bad that her image isn't protected the way Albert Einstein's is.

UC Irvine will continue to hold these hatefests until it is no longer in their best interests to do so, ie. contributions dry up due to them. If you are considering UC Irvine chose another school and let them know why. If you are an Alumni don't donate to the school and let them know the reason why. If we can dry up their funds they will stop these weeks of hate on their campus. It is after all your money, you can chose to donate to the causes you feel best serves your interests.

Does Anti-Semitism serve your interests?

The Circle Of Life - Gaza / Israel

Hat tip to Israel Matzav

The Circle Of Life - Gaza / Israel




View at YouTube

Was Islamic Centre Torching Revenge?

by Lionheart

Foreword: The Moslems from within the Cultural Centre have apportioned blame with not one single shred of evidence, on who they have called 'Right Wing extremists', which is the politically correct term for anyone who challenges Islam within Great Britain.

Anyone who does challenge them, is immediately a 'Right Wing extremist'.

So at least if those of us who disagree with the Islamic religion are Right Wing, then we know that it is the Left Wing who agree with them, support them and protect them, so the sides are clearly defined in the present cultural fight for future survival of the British Isles.

Which side of the dividing line do you stand on?

Vote Left Wing and you end up with Mega Mosques in London for example, and vote Right Wing and remove these boiling pots of hatred and war from our land.

Is it any wonder Sayful Islam and his group have not been arrested and banned from Luton town centre yet when Luton has a raging Left Wing liberal in ultimate power over the community.

Atleast Luton Police have made it perfectly clear that there is NO EVIDENCE to suggest this was a racially motivated attack.

That has not stopped Luton today from apportioning blame though, which is in sharp contrast to when old peoples homes were having large objects thrown through their windows, in the Bury Park area of Luton - Ethnic cleansing in a 21st Century Western society - Video: Ethnic cleansing in Luton Part 1 & Part 2

The Islamic Centre call themselves peacemakers, but peel back the curtains of reality, and see what their ideology at the core of their religion is really all about.

Video: Islam - What the West needs to know

Jesus said: blessed are the peacemakers.

But do you let these people take over your country, enforce the population into a position of second class citizen status in their own land, and make them live under the strict Islamic religious code, along with taking their wives and children as war booty?

I think not!!!
Video: London Moslem demo (Take their wives as booty)

The Elite who run the country might not live and experience life around one of these newly formed mini Islamic States that have been erected upon the British Isles, but there are many of us who do.

The Islamic centre in Luton has the same religious goal as Sayful Islam but just a different approach to getting there, so fundamentally they are not peacemakers but it looks good for P.R purposes for the sake of the dumb ignorant infidels doesn't it?

There is much talk of this fire bombing being an inside job anyway, and Luton Police are no fools when it comes to the insurance scams run by those from within the confines of Bury Park. This was an ideal opportunity for their own kind to pour the petrol and light the fire themselves, when they are the ones who are preaching war and hate against the people of Britain and America.

People need to learn the meaning of Jihad whilst living in the Dar al-harb (the house of war), for the sake of their children.

You might not like what I say, but is it not my right to say it? Especially if it is the truth!

The future depends on our actions now because when it arrives, it is too late, just like what is now unfolding in Luton, Dunstable and surrounding areas was inevitable based upon the past goings on of militant Islam in Luton. Abu Hamza, Omar Bakri and Anjem Choudry are just a few who have all used this area as a recruiting ground for their military form of Jihad against Great Britain, and those Pakistani Moslems from within the community on the morning of 7/7 facilitated Al Qaeda's open declaration of war against our country.
Video: Al Majhiroun

What are those on the ground who are awake to what is happening in their community supposed to do, just sit back and ignore this guerrilla war that is aimed at them and their children?

No surrender is the English people's motto, no matter what their enemies (foreign and domestic) throw at them, or for how long.

We are an oppressed people in our own land now, we have a small cabal in government controlling the population, and enforcing their will upon the majority, through the 'Power of State', who are allowing Islam to desecrate our communities on street level, and thus the future security and life of our Nation.

Look at the present facts, and project a future vision for Great Britain, and it does not look good when you know the mandate of Islam which has been on a religious war against all outsiders since it was created 1400 years ago by a warmongering peadophile, who today's Moslems still follow.

Video: Radical Islams war against the West

Luton Today

Was Islamic Centre torching a revenge attack after parade?

We are peacemakers caught in the crossfire, says secretary

The secretary of Luton's Islamic Centre which was torched by arsonists last week has said he believes the attack was an act of revenge after Muslim extremists protested at a soldiers' homecoming parade.

Farasat Latif said the religious centre had banned the extremist group from its three-storey building in Bury Park Road five years ago, but has still been targeted.

Mr Latif said: "The Islamic Centre was firebombed for the actions of a group that we have been fighting for years.

"We are double victims in this; victims of the stupidity of Muslim extremists who metaphorically poured the petrol and of far right extremists who lit the match. We are peacemakers caught in the crossfire between two groups intent on destroying community cohesion."

But Beds Police, who are investigating the huge blaze on Tuesday, May 5, have said there is nothing so far to suggest it was a racially-motivated attack.

Detectives are now appealing for two men, who are believed to have helped put out the flames, to come forward and help with the investigation.

The men, who are both of Asian appearance and in their early 20s, were in the area at the time of the fire and told a resident that they had seen two men running away from the scene.

Related: Luton Fire-bombing: Islam Grows in House of Commons

Return Gilad Schalit Home NOW!

Hat tip to A Soldier's Mother


When Alan Johnston went missing in Gaza on 12 March 2007, the world press went ape over it, demanding his immediate release. On 4 July 2007 he was released.

On 25 June 2006 Gilad Schalit was kidnapped. That was over 1050 days ago. There has been no word of his condition, no Red Cross visits, nothing. Just a handful of letters.

The world's press silently applauds this action. After all Gilad is just another Jew. And Jews are the worst people on Earth to them. So what if he is never seen alive again.

The Obama administration doesn't condemn this action. They reward it with a cash handout of $1.2 billion. Job well done?

But you have a voice. Let the Obama administration know that you do NOT support this action.

This appeal is coming directly from Noam Shalit, father of Gilad. Please don’t let him down. All it takes is a click.

We, the undersigned, call on the United States government to make its $300 million humanitarian aid pledge to the people of Gaza, conditional upon the Hamas leadership releasing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held in captivity for over 1,000 days.

Please sign the petition at: http://dogood.aish.com/gilad/ and forward to your friends in Israel and abroad.

Thank you!

Gilad’s family has been living this nightmare for 3 years, not knowing where their loved one is, how he is. Not knowing if he is being tortured, suffering, alive or dead.

And Gilad himself – he was just a boy when he was captured by a cruel and intractable enemy. What kind of people give no information about a prisoner of war, only torment the family? What kind of a world does not speak up about this injustice? Don’t be like them. Please help this family. Click and then send this on to everyone you know.

Sign the petition, link any aid to Gaza with the return of Gilad Schalit. Bring him home NOW!

FREE GILAD SCHALIT NOW!

A Quick History Lesson

From Dry Bones

Bibi is about to meet with Obama.
For the occasion, at the request of a reader, I've redone a Dry Bones cartoon classic that, more than 30 years ago, back in 1977, gave Jimmy Carter an accurate history lesson in Occupied Territories.

If the reports leaking out of Washington are accurate, the new President seems stuck with the old misconceptions that withdrawing from territory will placate those who lust for our destruction and that America can help by negotiating on behalf of the Arab states that refuse to negotiate directly with the Jewish State of Israel.

The teacher in the 1977 'toon was Menahem Begin, then Israel's feisty Prime Minister. The teacher in today's cartoon is Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, Israel's current Prime Minister.

Now does this sound like a good idea to anyone? Why is it a good idea for Israel?

About that Two State Solution: Palestine is Ready, Is Israel Willing?

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

In a May 4th report in the the New York Times, Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas, announced that the Hamas organization had "grounded it's rockets - for now," and would not fire on Israel. This act of benevolence to the people no longer under attack, is in preparation for the realization of a two-state solution for Palestine, as outlined by Hamas.

Jerusalem - Israel's Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Saying that his coalition would not recognize Israel, Meshaal "urged" critics to ignore the fact the Hamas charter calls for the destruction of Israel, saying simply that it was a twenty-year-old document. According to the NYT, Meshaal "gave off an air of serene self-confidence..., as he said "There is only one enemy in the region, and that is Israel."

Meshaal said the Hamas position supports a two-state solution that returns the lands taken in the 1967 War and he throws a ten-year-truce into the bargain. Under this plan, Israel would return East Jerusalem, destroy the settlements, and guarantee the "right of return of the Palestinian refugees."

Apart from the time restriction and the refusal to accept Israel’s existence, Mr. Meshal’s terms approximate the Arab League peace plan and what the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas says it is seeking.

Israel rejects a full return to the 1967 borders, as well as a Palestinian right of return to Israel itself.

One thing to remember about Israel returning lands to Palestine, is that it recreates the militarily indefensible borders that Israel went to war in 1967 to protect. As Israel began to implement the National Water Carrier plan, diverting water from the Sea of Galilee for irrigation, a plan that established in the League of Nations mandate, the Arabs refused the plan because, to them, it meant that they were recognizing Israel.

In January and February 1965, terrorist acts were perpetrated against Israeli water-carrier operations. In an 18 month period, there were 120 attacks, and eleven people died. The armistice agreements from the War of Independence allowed Israel to cultivate the demilitarized zones. The Syrians fired on the Israelis and Israel returned the fire aggressively. Syria took it's shelling to northern Israeli towns and then added air bombardments. There were many political dynamics at play at the time, including some shenanigans by the USSR.

Israel Borders Pre-1967 War

In mid-May 1967, it was obvious Egypt was amassing it's military in the Sinai desert. On May 23rd, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships. The U.S. did nothing. The PLO boasted at the U.N. that they would expel the Zionists from Palestine and destroy the Nation of Israel. The U.S. participated in growing the story, claiming that the tensions between Israel and Syria were due to Israel cultivating the demilitarized zone, when in fact the tension was all about the water - which no country can survive without.

U.S. President Lyndon Johnson was impotent, for all practical purposes. He could not get Europe to step-in, or Congress to honor the promise to Israel to protect shipping lines in the Strait of Tiran, and he would not offer the military support promised in the event the Straits were closed before other action could be taken. The U.S. would do nothing. Johnson wanted to do nothing.

Late May, Jordan signed a defense pact with Egypt. Boasts were made that Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon would take care of Israel with Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation standing at the ready. On the day the war broke out, June 5, 1967, the State Department issued this message: "the U.S. position is neutral in word, thought and deed."

According to reports, and I don't know if this is true, or legend, Israel dug 10,000 graves and readied 14,000 hospital beds. To the world, the U.S. held that Israel would win handily, but our own CIA reports belied this.

The day before the start of the war, Iraq joined Iraq and Egypt. The war ensued and Israel won. No need to go into how it won, the point is that Israel's borders needed defending, their water carriers needed to be restored and defended, and their shipping lanes needed to be restored and defended. All that was accomplished in the war, along with the gain of territory that help put some distance between Israel and her enemies.

Palestine is promising a ten-year-truce in exchange for their pre-1967 borders, with no promise of respect for Israel as a nation, or Israel as a people, or Israelis as humans. To think that Palestine will honor a cease-fire is a true willing suspension of disbelief.

This takes me back to Hamas leader Meshaal's announcement that rocket firings into Israel had stopped. Today, May 10 2009, The Jerusalem Post reports that a Kassam rocket fired by terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip hit near a kibbutz in western Negev.


Photo credit: National Geographic, Annie Griffiths Belt

Happy Mother's Day!

To all who dry our tears,
Wipe our boo-boos,
Smile at our antics,
Cry with us when we are sad.

Thank you Mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

The Bushes in Preston Hollow: How Iraq May Follow Them There

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

It has been 18 years since the north Dallas homestead of J.R. Ewing departed prime time, leaving behind the vision of glittering oil baron balls, Dallas skyscrapers and infidelity at Southfork. That "larger-than-life" image of Dallas society lingered in the minds of people around the country. Now, a former U.S. President who has dabbled a bit in the oil business, has come to the north Dallas neighborhood of Preston Hollow. George and Laura Bush have back moved in.

George and Laura Bush

Preston Hollow is, or has been, home to the rich and famous: Ross Perot, Roger Staubach, Mary Kay Ash, T. Boone Pickens, American Airlines' Bob Crandall, and the Bushes until he was elected Texas Governor. It's said that purchasing a "tear-down" in Preston Hollow will cost about $800,000 with estates costing up to $40 million. The 8,500 sq. ft. Bush home is at 10141 Daria Place, and the street was gated and closed to the public when the Bushess moved in. Neighbors are waiting to see what happens next.

David Feherty, a journalist, a CBS golf commentator and a neighbor living about a "par-5" away from the Bush's new home has some advice for the President and Mrs. Bush - move to Crawford - build an alligator-filled moat around the place - come back to Dallas in about 30 years...

Feherty seems to be a social crank, and I find that unusual because he's a "golf analyst," after all and that whole golf scene is usually so friendly and gentlemanly (except for Tiger's recent and accelerated tantrums). Feherty likes "Dubya," however" and he is sympathetic to the plight of the former First Family as they try to maneuver the local rich and famous:

Even with their Secret Service entourage, the Bushes are going to be besieged by herds of North Dallas McMansion-dwellers, more brown-nosed and full of BS than any longhorn. Nouveaux riche and face-lifted old-monied fossils alike will descend upon them like ants to the honeypot every time they set foot outside their door. The area that encompasses the Park Cities and Preston Hollow is home to roaming packs of these social climbers. I’m talking to you, the guy with the champagne flute, the stupid grin, and the trophy wife who, if she has one more facelift, will be wearing a triangular beard. You’re just the type who will want to show that famous hospitality for which Texas is renowned, and your nasty little dog will try to hump poor Miss Beazley half to death. (Although that former First Scottish Terrier has shown some gnashers recently, so Fido beware.)

Pretty funny, actually.

The advice to return to Dallas in about 30 years was to allow the time needed before "any of us knows the truth about how and why he [President Bush] played some of the rotten cards he was dealt," addressing the Bush legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan:

From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there’s a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death. I’ve never met a soldier who didn’t love this president and this country, and I’ve met a bunch of them, at home and abroad, in hospitals and in theater. At Walter Reed, Bethesda Naval Medical Center, and the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, I have visited dozens of patients, and I always ask of them before I leave: “What do you want to do when you get out?” No matter how broken or burned, or how many limbs they are missing, they give only one answer: “I want to go back. I want to rejoin my team, to finish our mission.” They are rightfully proud of what they have done and want nothing more than to be with their brothers and sisters in arms, because they know the consequences if their job is left unfinished. Right here on American soil, we will end up with unqualified people having to do the job they have been doing over there so incredibly well, and with such extraordinary compassion. The fact is, Americans in America have been safe since 9/11, almost the whole length of G2’s term as president, and for that we should be thankful.

I don't know about you, but that choked me up a bit. I hope Mr. and Mrs. Bush receive many blessings in their new home, because I know they will be a blessing to many.

Read the entire article at D Magazine, with more insight into the President and First Lady and what life might be like for them in Preston Hollow. Here's a hat tip to Jules Crittenden.