I understand that almost nobody reads to the end of a news article. I get that you bury information deeply when you don’t want it to be very well noticed. Usually, this works to Israel’s disadvantage, as the anti-Israel media bias spins pro-palestinian on a regular basis.

But here’s what the AP considers a newsworthy explanation of the subject of one of its news articles.

First, the context: The man who would have been the New York City Fire Department’s new Muslim chaplain resigned after Newsday published this quote regarding what he thought about 15 of the 19 hijackers who destroyed the WTC being from Saudi Arabia:

“I’ve heard professionals say that nowhere ever in history did a steel building come down with fire alone,” he told the newspaper.
“It takes two or three weeks to demolish a building like that. But it was pulled down in a couple of hours,” he said. “Was it 19 hijackers who brought it down, or was it a conspiracy?”

So far, so good. But the AP decided they needed to add more information.

Here are the final four paragraphs of the article:

“It’s sad,” said Kevin James, a spokesman for the Islamic Society of Fire Department Personnel. “We had no idea those were his views. He’s entitled to his opinion but he’s not the right person for the chaplain.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed Habib’s resignation.

“The remarks were offensive and the mayor is satisfied that the chaplain has resigned,” mayoral spokesman Ed Skyler said.

Some have blamed the destruction of the trade center on a U.S. or Israeli plot designed to whip up support for attacks on Muslim countries. In 2003, New Jersey eliminated Amiri Baraka’s position as poet laureate after he wrote a poem suggesting Israel had advance knowledge of the attacks.

They could easily have ended the story without the final paragraph. But they didn’t. Instead, they mention Israel twice when discussing the fever dreams of the Muslim world. Why, you’d think the AP wants people to think the Jews did it, or something.

Even more interesting, you can read the NY Newsday story on their website, and not once is the word “Israel” mentioned. In fact, the would-be chaplain never mentioned Israel, not in that article, and not in the follow-up piece.

So why, one must ask, did the AP bring it up in the article?

I have my suspicions.

Looks like Jay surprised me and uploaded the new theme while I was working.

Thanks, Jay. It looks wonderful!

Update: Okay, now I’m kvelling. The more I look, the more I like.

I’ll be adapting the CSS to change the typestyles when I get the time, but wow, I really like this layout, Jay. Really nice job. Really.

Sometimes, my posts write themselves. Let’s look at two recent AP articles. The first, dated Sept. 29th, is about the U.S. refusal to give control of the Internet to the United Nations:

GENEVA (AP) - A senior U.S. official rejected calls on Thursday for a U.N. body to take over control of the main computers that direct traffic on the Internet, reiterating U.S. intentions to keep its historical role as the medium’s principal overseer.

“We will not agree to the U.N. taking over the management of the Internet,” said Ambassador David Gross, the U.S. coordinator for international communications and information policy at the State Department. “Some countries want that. We think that’s unacceptable.”

Many countries, particularly developing ones, have become increasingly concerned about the U.S. control, which stems from the country’s role in creating the Internet as a Pentagon project and funding much of its early development.

The second, written a day earlier, reports on the UN’s upcoming summit on Internet access in the developing world:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Facing heated protest, the United Nations on Wednesday defended Tunisia’s hosting of a U.N. summit about Internet access in the developing world, even though the north African nation has been repeatedly accused of rights abuses that include blocking Web sites it dislikes.

Earlier this week, a coalition of human rights groups known as the Tunisia Monitoring Group issued a report that declared Tunisia unfit to hold the World Summit on the Information Society, set for November, because of reports that the government has stepped up attacks on the press and civil society.

The group, which has frequently criticized the selection of Tunisia as the host country, said the government has blocked access to Web sites belonging to Reporters Without Borders, other human rights watchdogs, and the independent press, while police monitor e-mails and Internet cafes.

“It does question to some extent the U.N.’s credibility that a world summit on the information society is taking place in a society where access to some Web sites is restricted,” said Alexis Krikorian, of the International Publishers’ Association. “It’s amazing that such a summit would take place in a country like this.”

Hypocrisy, thy name is United Nations.

But of course, it gets better. Because the UN bends itself into all kinds of twists to justify holding a summit on the Internet in a nation that does not allow open access to it.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said the summit could help pressure President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisia has long been accused of human rights abuses, while Ben Ali, who took power in a bloodless palace coup in 1987, has repeatedly won landslide electoral victories tainted by charges of fraud.

“These kinds of international conferences can be beneficial to the people in the country hosting them,” Dujarric said. “It opens up the country to the outside world and such a spotlight of attention gives the government strong incentives to try to meet international standards, including on human rights.”

Dujarric said that at the time Tunisia was selected, countries had wanted a developing nation to host the summit as a way of showing the importance of bringing Internet access to the developing world. He would not say if the United Nations or Annan had urged Tunisia to curb abuses ahead of the summit.

One would think that Tunisia will do what all dictatorships do: Use the summit as a great PR moment to brag about how forward-thinking Tunisia is, while brutally clamping down on protesters and its citizens who try to defy the Internet laws.

The summit Web site includes a message in which Ben Ali calls the summit an opportunity to help bridge the digital divide and bring about “an Information Society that is balanced and accessible to all.”

Whoops, look like he already is. And to think, I didn’t even have to read to the end of the article to predict that. Seen one dictatorship, seen ‘em all.

I suppose it could be worse. Yahoo might be giving Ben Ali the emails of reporters and dissidents.

By the way, some of the sponsors include Samsung, Microsoft, Alcatel and Ericsson. I suppose it could be worse. Yahoo could be supplying emails that Ben Ali would use to send people to prison.

Sure, let’s give the UN control of the Internet. I say we mark our calendar for the day Hell has a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once again, those brave warriors of Islam have gone underground for fear of being executed by Hellfire missile. Funny how they keep on saying that death by martyrdom is their noblest cause, and when Israel offers it up, they run and hide and say, “Uh, well, we need to fight the enemy! Our deaths will not serve that purpose!”

Uh-huh. You can fight the “enemy” when that enemy is a car full of civilians, but it’s quite another thing when you have to face an armed and alert IDF. Asymmetrical warfare goes both ways.

And it doesn’t look like the IDF will be backing off anytime soon.

“A major transformation had taken place. We are now in the midst of a process of reshaping the rules of the game, moving toward stabilization. Operation “First Rain” is a part of that process,” Ziv said. Major General Ziv is expected to retire in coming months, after two-and-a-half years as Head of the operations branch.

Referring to the operation in Gaza, ziv said that “the objective of the operation is to send a message through that the rules of the game have changed in the wake of the disengagement… the unbearable ease in which rockets are being fired into Israel, under the assumption that Israel will restrain its response, is ungrounded.,” Ziv said.

“Under the new rules, rocket launchings or attacks on Israel from any place in the Strip are forbidden. As long as the children of Sderot cannot sleep, no one will sleep in Gaza.”

Ziv believes that the Palestinian Authority must decide if it assumes responsibility over its own fate, or stay a prisoner of Hamas.

“All IDF operations in the pullout’s aftermath are grounded on the principles of respect and deterrence. As long as the PA will act as a sovereign entity and prevent the launching of terror attacks from Gaza, we will make the maximum effort to respect its autonomy. However, as long as terror continues, we will adhere to the deterrence policy,” Ziv stressed.

This time, I think they mean it.

The number of deaths by terror is down significantly, again, in the past year. What’s different this year?

The fence. Although Ha’aretz thinks there are other significant factors involved. (Actually, I’m agreeing with that.)

Factors contributing to the decrease in violence include the continued construction of the West Bank separation fence, the implementation of the disengagement plan and the calm that most of the Palestinian organizations have declared, a Haaretz investigation has found.

Since September 29, 2004, 425 Palestinians have been killed in the intifada, an average of 35 a month. In that time, 56 Israelis and foreigners have been killed, an average of five fatalities a month.

In the fourth year of the intifada, by contrast, an average of 11 people a month were killed on the Israeli side. The second, and most violent, year of the intifada saw an average of 36 deaths a month on the Israeli side and 88 on the Palestinian side.

[...] There have been six suicide bombings in the past year, killing 14 Israelis. Since September 2004, Palestinians have also fired about 1,450 mortar shells and Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip.

[...] Since the intifada began, 144 suicide bombings having been carried out in Israel, according to the defense establishment. Some 515 IDF soldiers, Israeli civilians, foreigners and Palestinians have been killed in these attacks, and another 3,300 have been hurt. In the past year, only six such attacks have been carried out, four of which were within the Green Line. Therefore, only 25% of the Israelis killed this past year died in suicide bombings.

According to IDF figures, the number of terror attacks and violent incidents in general - including the firing of mortar shells, rockets, anti-tank missiles and grenades, and stabbing - this year was the lowest since fighting commenced five years ago.

Of course, next year’s statistics will not include attacks on Jews in Gaza. The larger question is: What will the statistics be like a year from now?

Finish the fence, and they’ll keep improving.

Yossi Klein Halevi, one of the architects of the failed Oslo Accords, writes an open letter to the palestinians that will do, well, nothing:

During my journey into Islam in Gaza, I met General Nasser Youssef (who at the time of our meeting was head of one of the Palestinian security forces and is now the PA Interior Minister). At one point during our conversation, I asked the general to describe his vision of the relations between a Jewish state and a Palestinian state after we signed a peace agreement.

Let’s assume, I said, that Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, uproots the settlements and redivides Jerusalem: What then? He replied that, once the refugees begin returning to the area, so many would gravitate to those areas in Israel where their families once lived, that eventually we would realize there was no need for an artificial border between Israel and Palestine.

The next step, continued the general, was that the two states would merge. “And then we’ll invite Jordan to join our federation. And Iraq and Syria. Why not? We’ll show the whole world what a beautiful country Jews and Arabs can create together.”

But, I asked the general, aren’t we negotiating today over a two-state solution? Yes, he replied, as an interim step. And then he added, “You aren’t separate from us; you are part of us. Just as there are Muslim Arabs and Christian Arabs, you are Jewish Arabs.”

He confronts Arab anti-Semitism. Again, the result will be: Nothing.

Instead, you have developed what can be called a “culture of denial,” that denies the most basic truths of the Jewish story. According to this culture of denial, which is widespread not only among your people but throughout the Arab world, there was no Temple in Jerusalem, no ancient Jewish presence in the land, no Holocaust.

Nowhere is The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as popular as in the Arab world, which has also become the international center for Holocaust denial.
The real problem, then, is not terrorism, which is only a symptom for a deeper affront: your assault on my history and identity, your refusal to allow me to define myself, which is a form of intellectual terror.

IN YOUR society’s official embrace, through media and schools and mosques, of the culture of denial, you have tried to reinvent us, to redefine us out of our national existence.

Someobody’s eyes have been opened. Pity it doesn’t mean anything.

Today begins the sixth year of the current Arab-Israeli war. Lynn has more.

Wow, this is informative. And depressing. It’s about how wrong the EU approach to Israel has been. Via Solomonia, who points out that the Muslim Waqf has been busy destroying Jewish artifacts while lying about Jews destroying the Muslim parts.

Neo-neocon found an essay by Gandhi that suggests the Jews should gladly welcome their extermination at the hands of the Nazis. No, I’m not exaggerating. Go read it, you’ll see.

Why you should be reading Omri (besides the fact that he and I read the same sources and practically write the same posts)

Via Judith, a fascinating article on the difference between Jews and Christians on the topic of forgiveness, which was brought up because of a church sign.

And now to bed.

Too tired to write the summary. You’ll have to wait a few days.

Update: Okay, I’m getting a boatload of Google searches. Here’s what I have so far. You’ll still have to wait for the rest of it, though.

(more…)

Apparently, I’m not as centrist as I thought.

No wonder most bloggers on this side of the ’sphere don’t link me anymore.

(more…)

Originally published on May 5, 2004

Meirav was two

This is Rebecca. She is two years old. I see her frequently, usually every Thursday. Sarah and the twins and I run errands in the morning and have lunch in the afternoon. This picture was taken at one of our favorite spots in the West End of Richmond.

There are a few more pictures of Rebecca sprinkled throughout this weblog.

Meirav was two. She and Rebecca have something in common. They’re both Jewish. Meirav lived in a town in the Gaza Strip with her three sisters. Rebecca lives here in central Virginia with her three brothers. Rebecca giggles a lot, and dances a lot. I’ll bet that Meirav giggled and danced, too.

(more…)

Hamas doesn’t need a PR agency. The AP is doing it for them.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - The Israeli military has rounded up 379 militant activists, including dozens of electoral candidates from Hamas, prompting accusations that Israel is using a weekend truce breach as an excuse to crush the Islamic group before upcoming Palestinian elections.

The arrest sweep in the West Bank - the biggest in three years and part of a new offensive against Hamas - came after Israel failed to win international backing for its demand that the militant organization be barred from the Jan. 25 parliamentary vote.

Israel says a government that includes Hamas, which calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, would threaten peace prospects. But letting Hamas contest elections is the cornerstone of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ plan to tame the group, and the Palestinian Authority believes it will be the main loser in the Israel-Hamas showdown.

By the way, someone find me the objectivity in this article, because I’m thinking it should have been labeled “opinion.”

So let’s take a quick look at some of these candidates for office. Let’s see how the “political wing” of Hamas fares when we do a quick check of the Hamas covenant, which, if they are members of Hamas, they adhere to:

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Soccer Dad crunches the numbers on hate crimes and discovers that Jews are victims far out of proportion to their numbers in America. That’s funny. I thought it was anti-Muslim hate crimes that were on the rise.

Next up on Second Draft: The footage behind the Al Dura hoax.

The Hulk Poseur doesn’t like the real Hulk dropping in on this blog from time to time. Got one thing to say to you, poseur: Bring. It. On. Hulk says he wants to tell you something:

Hulk smash fake Hulk! Hulk SMASH! Bah. You not talk like Hulk. You talk like someone else talking for Hulk. Girl know better than to talk for Hulk.

Ooh. Looks like a Hulk fight brewing. Everybody duck.

See, posts like this are why I can never get tired of Lair Simon. Spit-monitor warning for those of you who appreciate this kind of humor.

The current Israeli response to rocket fire seems to many in the world to be an “over-reaction.” They ignored the hundreds of rockets that rained down on Israel border towns, and ignore the continuous effort to make “improvements” in the rockets, so that they will be able to rain down on Tel Aviv and every inch of Israel. Make no mistake, that is the terrorists’ ultimate goal.

For quite some time, Israel has promised an overwhelming reponse if the PA doesn’t stop the rockets. The current response is not solely aimed at Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza. It’s aimed at the would-be rocketeers in the West Bank. Make no mistake, this is an object lesson in the Israeli version of Shock and Awe.

Exhibit A: “Our aim is to put an end to all threats of firing of qassam rockets into Israeli territory”

“The IDF began this operation two days ago and will continue it all the while that this intolerable situation of shooting persists, and until the Palestinian Authority takes full responsibility for activity within its area jurisdiction,” Announced the Head of the Operations Branch, Major General Yisrael Ziv to the media. “Our aim is to put an end to all threats of firing of qassam rockets into Israeli territory, and for this purpose we have, according to our right, begun to use which ever arms are necessary in order to achieve this. Our current aim is to fire into those areas we know to be the source of qassam fire. It is not our intention to hurt innocent civilians, but we are, within our rights, using heavy means in order to put an end to the threat hanging over Sderot and other areas.”

Major General Ziv also made reference to the current situation in the Gaza Strip following the disengagement from the area. “It is expected of the Palestinian Authority to take full responsibility without any room for excuses. They no longer have the ‘excuse’ of the occupation or other such stories to use as excuses for not taking responsibility.”

Exhibit B:

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesday that he is “not satisfied” with Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar’s call for a halt to rocket attacks on Israel.

“Hamas committed an unforgivable act, and we have to dictate new rules for the game,” Mofaz told Army Radio. “We will not let this pass quietly. Hamas needs to know that Israel will act to protect its citizens.”

[...] Boim told Army Radio that the continuing IDF strikes were aimed at “searing into their conscience” that Israel was determined to create deterrence.

“If we have to, we’ll turn the screws even tighter,” Boim said.

Israel no longer occupies Gaza. The world can sputter and protest, but they have to acknowledge that Israel has the right to protect her citizens from rocket attacks. The world cannot use the “occupation” as justification for Israeli murders–until the rockets start coming from the West Bank.

This is Israel’s shot into the bow of the terrorists’ ships to make sure that does not happen.

Yossi Beilin, as far left as you can get in Israel without turning into a Chomsky, the architect of the horrendous (and failed) Oslo Accords, says that Israel should not allow Hamas to take part in the upcoming elections.

When even Yossi Beilin says they’re a terrorist organization–they are.

Mind you, the article is full of the usual claptrap about how the PA is weakened due to attacks on infrastructure, but still–even Yossi Beilin says that Israel should not treat with Hamas.

But still, the EU and the US say she should, even though the US recognizes that Hamas is a terrorist organization.

QUESTION: What do you make of the statement by Hamas over the weekend that it’s halting all attacks against Israelis? Do you welcome this statement? Are you taking it with a bit of skepticism? Do you think this is enough to calm the recent violence that happened over the weekend?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, again, our views about Hamas as a terrorist organization are well known and unchanged. And I would note that before making this statement they launched a rocket attack, in which several missiles landed in Israel and injured a number of people.

Yes, so why again should Israel facilitate elections in which Hamas is a part?

I never thought I’d ever agree with Yossi Beilin. First time for everything, I suppose.

Haveil Havalim is up. (That’s Carnival of the Jews, to those who don’t read Hebrew.) ((Okay, it really is the English transliteration of Vanity of Vanities, but you wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t told you.)) (((Okay, I wouldn’t have known if David hadn’t told me, but only because I would have been too lazy to look it up in the Hebrew-English dictionary.)))

Maxwell Smart is dead. Sorry about that, Chief.

Citizen Smash describes the latest anti-war rally in San Diego, where people finally got fed up with the anti-Semitism of the ANSWER left.

I upgraded my Windows Media Player and finally was able to see Pallywood, a film you must not miss. This film documents the lies and hoaxes of the palestinian journalists that are picked up by the international media, then repackaged and fed to us as Israeli “oppression” on the evening news.

If you haven’t seen it yet, go. Now. And link this out to everyone you know.

We need to spread the word. Israel has been losing the PR battle since 1967.

Kol Hakavod, Second Draft.

The AP spins the Israeli response to mortar attacks on her civilian population thusly:

Israel launched the weekend offensive following a rocket barrage from Gaza into nearby Israeli towns. It has carried out a series of airstrikes, killing four militants and destroying several weapons facilities, and has arrested more than 200 Palestinians. The fighting has destroyed any goodwill from the Gaza pullout and increased already intense pressure on Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to confront militants.

Abbas has said his forces are not strong enough to take on militants, and that he fears civil war among the many armed groups in Gaza.

What goodwill? The goodwill that led to 40 rockets being fired into Israel after Hamas blew up its own people through its own negligence?

Wow, in every update, AP sinks lower. They removed the line about soldiers dancing (want to bet it was their palestinian stringer’s fevered imagination that made that one up, and no factual basis?), and now we have the above.

Israel continued its air campaign despite a call by Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar to end the group’s rocket attacks. Zahar spoke at a news conference late Sunday, hours after a pinpoint Israeli airstrike killed a top commander in the Islamic Jihad militant group.

Zahar said his Islamic militant group remained committed to a seven-month-old cease-fire and he wanted to prevent further Israeli attacks.

“We call on our military groups to stop their operations against the enemy from the Gaza Strip,” he said. Zahar also renewed a pledge to end Hamas’ military-style parades celebrating the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

There’s that context thing again. The AP quotes Hamas’ line on the truce without mentioning the suicide bombings, shootings, knifings, and planted bombs. Hamas has never been committed to a truce, only to a “hudna”–a pretend calm that is a time for re-arming and regrouping.

We finally get more information on the murderer of the Hatuels, but of course, AP whitewashes it. Couldn’t possibly reveal these murderers for the scum they truly are:

The attack killed Islamic Jihad’s top commander in southern Gaza, Mohammed Khalil, and his bodyguard as they drove on a coastal road.

The army said Khalil was responsible for the deaths of 17 Israelis, including a shooting attack that killed a pregnant woman and her four young daughters as they drove near a Jewish settlement in May 2004.

Oh, and they’re readying their excuses for the upcoming terror attacks:

Even if Hamas stops its rocket attacks, it remains unclear whether smaller militant groups would follow suit. Islamic Jihad’s top leader in Gaza, Mohammed al-Hindi, said the group would no longer observe the cease-fire following Sunday’s deadly airstrike.

“There is no talk of a truce. There is only room for talk of war,” al-Hindi said.

Thanks, AP, for giving us the terrorist line. And for establishing the excuse before the events occur. The copy will read that the terrorist attack is in “retaliation” for the IDF’s defending her people.

Spin, spin, spin. Always against Israel.

Two separate articles prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Hamas will never become a political party as we currently define the term. Of course, if you want to change “political party” to include, “will also wage war and kill civilians,” then Hamas fits in perfectly.

Exhibit A:

TML: What is the final goal of Hamas?
A-Z: If you ask any Palestinian or Muslim, wherever he lives – in America or in Britain or in Indonesia – he would tell you that according to the religious point of view, this land is part of the Arab and Muslim nations. This means, that there is no other option but to reunify this land once again.

TML: What is ‘this land’ that you are talking about? Are you talking about the whole of Israel?
A-Z: I understand where you are headed, and I will answer you. First of all this Palestinian land, and all the Arabic nation, is all part of the same area. In the past, there was no independent Palestinian state; there was no independent Jordanian state; and so on. There were regions called Iraq or Egypt, but they were all part of one country. That is why it is not permitted to [agree to] establish separate countries, which was the case after the Sykes-Picot Agreement [1916]. Our main goal is to establish a great Islamic state, be it pan-Arabic or pan-Islamic. Therefore, it is not allowed to establish an Arabic state over the land of Palestine alone. Also, remember this land is still occupied. To sum up, the Islamic and traditional views reject the notion of establishing an independent Palestinian state. The European example is clear. Europe’s history is filled with wars and blood. Its races are varied, its languages are varied, and nevertheless it established the European Union. The Islamists’ view, which Hamas adheres to, is that a great Muslim state must be established, with Palestine being a part of it. Within this state, Israel has no place – its history is different, its language is different, its religion is different, its culture is different, and its security and political affiliations are different. This is the view of Hamas movement.

TML: Is Hamas ever going to recognize the state of Israel?
A-Z: Let me ask you a question, does the Egyptian people recognize Israel? No. That is why it did not normalize relations with Israel. This is not a view held only by Hamas. This is a view held by anyone who believes in Islam.

Exhibit B:

The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, said that it rejects to become a political party after the upcoming Palestinian Legislative Elections.

Mosheer Al Masry, Hamas media spokesperson, said that the movement will not transform into a political party as long as the Palestinian territories are still occupied.

“We decided to participate in the elections as part of our legitimate struggle against the occupation”, Al Masry said, “Resistance is a legitimate and strategic right, Hamas will not disarm”.

I think that Hamas is making its goals more than clear. Ignoring them is not just at Israel’s peril, because a group like Hamas wouldn’t stop at Israel if (God forbid) it ever managed to achieve its goals. Europe would be next. And then America. But of course, Jews first.

Sound familiar?

It should.

The targeted assassination that took place today has killed the murderers of the Hatuel family

I wrote about that murder when it happened.

It won’t bring Tali Hatuel or her children back. But the animals that killed them–and filmed them afterwards–won’t harm anyone else.

Hat tip: Andrew.

Hamas is backing down. From the latest AP update:

Late Sunday, a top Hamas leader in Gaza said his group would halt the rocket fire. Israeli officials said they would wait to see if things remained quiet before calling off the offensive.

There is also this, which makes me wonder if the AP is reading blogs:

After the airstrike, Mohammed al-Hindi, Islamic Jihad’s top leader in Gaza and the West Bank, said the group would no longer honor the cease-fire. “There is no talk of a truce, there is only room for talk of war,” he said.

Although the truce has brought a sharp drop in fighting, Islamic Jihad has carried out a series of attacks in recent months, including three suicide bombings in Israel. The group says all of its attacks have been in response to perceived Israeli violations of the truce.

However, Mahmoud Zahar, leader of the much larger Hamas group, said he had ordered an end to rocket attacks and a halt in military-style celebrations in order to preserve the truce.

This, only a day after taking the Hamas line in another article. Can the editors finally be recgnizing their reporters’ bias?

Meanwhile, Israeli troops, backed by armored bulldozers, tanks and armored personnel carriers, massed outside Gaza. Israel set up five artillery pieces on the border, and fired test-rounds into empty fields in northern Gaza to calibrate their guns in preparation for a possible artillery assault. There were no injuries.

In the past, Israel retaliated against Palestinian rocket fire with air strikes or ground incursions, but not artillery fire, which is imprecise and could cause many casualties in densely populated Gaza.

Naaaaaah.

Hulk not been here since girl start new blog. Girl say to be nice to people who read this. Hulk tell girl what to write, but girl tell Hulk what to say. Hulk’s head spinning. Girl say welcome to Carnival of the Cats. Hulk like carnivals. Carnivals have lots of good things to eat. Hot dogs and hamburgers and cotton candy. Hulk pick up candy machine once looking for cotton. Hulk only find candy. Boy at machine run away. Hulk had dollar. Hulk was going to pay. Anyway. Cats. Hulk like kitties. Meryl’s cats not like Hulk. Keep hiding when Hulk is here. Hulk not get that. What? Oh. We start.

Boy say Tucker is mean cat. Boy say you need to be careful around cat. Hulk say he not worried about Tucker.

Gizmo sit near girl’s computer and not let her use mouse. Hulk not see mouse, only computer parts. Bah. Tell cat to move.

Clover cat has head. Then cat not have head. Hulk not do it. Hulk swear! Here other cat’s head. Can girl use this cat’s head on cat that not have one? Hulk has glue.

Ferdinand think he on throne. Look like chair to Hulk. Hulk needs bigger chair than that.

Here another cat’s head. This one in language girl can’t read. Hulk can’t read at all, so what? (Oh. Girl say it really cool that CoTC is international. What "international"?)

Cat’s girl say Abby watching out for us. Abby cute cat. Black and white. Hulk would like green cat. Anyone got green cat?

This cat looking in mirror. Hulk like mirror, but it break too easy. Everything break too easy for Hulk.

Cat in human’s spot on bed. Not problem for Hulk. Move bed. Leave cat on floor.

Ooh. Pretty, pretty cat. Trying to hide on rug. But Hulk can see pretty cat! Pretty!

Another black and white cat. This cat watching wine bottles. Hey. Any wine for Hulk?

Girl say these are Israeli cats. Rahel sneeze when she around cats. Not even her cats. Hulk been to Israel once. Sabra has stupid costume. Stupid powers, too. Hulk beat Sabra. Girl say that was during really stupid story years, and Hulk is better now. Hulk like that.

KITTEN! KITTEN! HULK WANT KITTEN! KITTEN! WHAT? Oh. Hulk be quiet. Windows break again. Other cat, too. Pretty. Hulk want both.

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Tal–Thal–Kitty! Happy birthday to you!

Girl say this cat is real Mellow Yellow. What that?

Look at cat, help people in trouble. That work.

Cat hunt stick. Cat win. Good for cat.

This cat fluffier than Tig. Grey cat. Remind me of Grey Hulk. Me not like to talk about that much.

Lots of cats at this place. Pretty page. Hulk like.

HAHAHAHA! Cat on side with belly up. What? Girl not think that funny? Stupid girl.

Uh-oh. This cat look mad. Hulk wonder what made it mad. Not good to make Hulk mad. Bet not good to make cat mad, either.

Hey! No picture here, just story about cat. Hulk want picture! What spayed?

Oh. Lots of pictures here. Pretty, furry cat. And ‘nother black and white cat. Hulk like both.

Shhh. Kitty sleeping here. Hulk turn head back and forth and up and down, can’t find top or bottom of cat. Someone find and tell Hulk, please.

More pretty kitty belly. Black and grey and white. Girl say to tell you hair will be black when full-grown. How does girl know?

KITTEN! KITTEN! ‘NOTHER KITTEN! HULK WANT KITTEN! YOU BE QUIET, GIRL, HULK WANT KITTEN!!

KITTENS! KITTENS! MORE KITTENS! ONE, TWO, LOTS! LOTS OF KITTENS! WANT KITTEN!

Wow. That one big kitty face. Girl say, "I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille." Huh? Hulk not get it.

Pretty kitty. Zoe washing Shelley. Girl say she remember picture of Zoe on Shelley’s arm. Hulk not remember it. Girl say Hulk not see it. But girl did. Huh. Not fair.

This cat called Tunch. That sound like punch. Hulk like to punch. Hulk ask girl to say what long word mean. She say it mean "lots of toes." Hulk has lots of toes. Hulk not think that big deal.

Wow. This cat very pretty. Girl say cat is–wait, she say it for me–"gorgeous." Wow. Not know what gorgeous is, but cat very pretty.

‘Nother black and white cat. Pretty. Hulk like. Hulk want.

Girl say this cat from Sissy Willis. Girl say it talk about pork. Cat not pork. Okay, cat fat, but cat not pork. Hey. That cat not fat! Just look that way ’cause of picture. Sissy Willis fool Hulk. Hulk not like to be fooled. Oooh, pretty. Hulk like this one. Hulk forgive Sissy.

Hey! There a dog in this picture. Why there dog? This cat picture show! Go away, dog! Leave cat alone!

Pretty cat. Food not look so good. But cat like it. Hulk stick to people food.

Yay! Another birthday! Hulk sing again! What? Oh. Girl say not. Broke windows last time.

Two more pretty cats. Hulk want both. Can Hulk have cat? Please?

Stripey cat look soft and cuddly. Hulk want this cat, too.

This cat have horns? Hulk not see horns. Only ears. And whiskers. And eyebrows. Hulk fight Rhino. Rhino have horns. Rhino not cat. Rhino ugly and mean.

This cat in sink. Gracie like to sit in sink. Hulk not try to sit in sink. Too small.

There lots of cats in this one. But who is Rita?

Okay. Cat not Rita. Cat Izzy. But girl talk about three and four cats and Rita. Hulk head starting to hurt. Wait? More cats? None of them named Rita? Ow. Hulk dizzy!

Duck and cover? Duck and cover? Hulk never cover, but sometimes Hulk duck. Missiles hurt!

And last, not least, girl say link to this cat post at man who make Carnival: Girl say Piper tell us difference between Category 1 and Category 5 hurricane. Hulk think Piper pretty. Hulk not care for hurricane. Windy.

That end of Carnival, girl says. Oh, no, wait. One more.

Now it end. Hulk go find kitten.

Next week’s Carnival of the Cats is at Music and Cats.

Israel has rounded up more than 200 Hamas terrorists, and killed a few while she was at it. The IDF has set up a front on the Gaza border and launched artillery rockets into a field to let the pals know they’re not the only ones who can send rockets into the air.

And of course, the media bias continues.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli aircraft blasted suspected Palestinian weapons facilities in Gaza on Sunday and authorities arrested hundreds of militants in the West Bank, launching an offensive against the Islamic group Hamas after it bombarded Israeli towns with rockets.

[...] The new offensive dubbed “Operation First Rain” dashed hopes that Israel’s recently completed Gaza withdrawal would help restart peace talks and left a seven-month-old cease-fire teetering on the brink of collapse.

You see, even though the palestinians launch rockets into Israel, set bombs, try to set off suicide bombs, smuggle weapons, shoot and knife civilians and soldiers, the “truce” holds–until Israel retaliates.

In a further sign the truce was unraveling, the military arrested 207 wanted Palestinian men in the West Bank overnight, most of them members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements. The military has conducted sweeping arrests of Islamic Jihad militants since the February cease-fire with Palestinians. But this is the first time it has detained large numbers of Hamas members.

Just to be sure, let’s see if I’ve got this straight: Hamas launches rockets, and the truce holds. Israel arrests Hamas terrorists, and the truce is unraveling.

But wait–the AP manages to plant even more bias:

In tandem with the airstrikes, large numbers of ground forces deployed near northern Gaza, the launching area for most Palestinian rocket attacks. And in an unprecedented step, Israel set up five artillery pieces on the border, and fired test-rounds into empty fields in northern Gaza in preparation for a possible artillery strike, causing no injuries.

The Israeli soldiers danced in a circle after firing the artillery and sang a biblical song of revenge.

Hey, let’s make the Israelis look like bloodthirsty savages, shall we? (I’d love to get a fact-checker on this to see if it’s even true.)

Look at the boilerplate story ending every AP article on these events:

The chain of events began Friday afternoon, with an explosion at a Hamas rally in Gaza’s crowded Jebaliya refugee camp, that killed 20 Palestinians, four of them 16 years old and under.

Hamas blamed Israel for that blast, and said its rocket attacks were retaliation.

Israel denied involvement. Abbas said Sunday an investigation by the Palestinian Authority determined the blast was caused by a shell dropping out of a vehicle laden with weapons.

No, the chain of events began Friday afternoon with the firing of rockets into Israeli towns for no reason other than to kill Israelis.

But don’t let the facts get in the way of the story here.

Hubris, you are so lucky I wasn’t drinking anything when I read this. (Warning: This post is a Category 5 spit-monitor alert.)

This post, which I may have forgotten to link to, continues to raise Hubris’ reputation in my eyes. It is only a matter of time before the guys start calling him p-w’d.

This post, of course, lowers his reputation even more, and yet, I still read. And laugh. It’s probably mostly that his kids are so damned cute.

Tig got his first dog today.

Sheba, the Australian Cattle Dog that lives a few doors down (and who is a very sweet dog), turned the corner of our building and found Tig. Her owner gives Sheba a lot of leash, and before she could pull Sheba back, Sheba had leaped at Tig. Who responded as a cat will, and slashed Sheba’s nose. I heard barking, then yipping, and ran outside quickly to find Tig all fluffed out and running back in. I chatted with Sheba’s owner while I tried to get the dog to sit so I could survey the damage. I finally saw one drop of blood on her nose.

Yep, Tig has finally drawn his first doggy blood.

He’s still pissed off and refusing to go back outside. Meantime, Gracie, entirely oblivious, is going back and forth as usual.

If you haven’t had enough of Madman Lair Simon, you can check out his two podcast song homages to the Port-A-Pottie That Would Not Yield To Rita.

Hide the cats before you listen. Even Nardo has a comment or three.

In the udpate to the news story cited in my previous post, the AP gets even lower than I have yet seen, taking the Hamas line on their “adherence” to the pretend truce:

Hamas vowed to avenge the attack, calling on its militants in a statement to strike Israel “in every spot of our occupied land.” While respecting the cease-fire, the group maintains it has the right to respond to alleged violations by Israel.

This is an unbelievably biased piece of “reporting.” By adding the word “alleged,” the AP thinks it can justify taking the Hamas line on the so-called cease fire.

Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. I repeat: I hate the mainstream media, and this is why.

The AP is blaming Israel for responding to rocket attacks on civilians. Let’s take a look at the bias. First, the headline:

Israeli Aircraft Launch Missiles in Gaza

Reading just the headline, you would think that Israel simply flew into the Gaza Strip and fired missiles for no reason.

Now, the lead:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The Israeli air force attacked three buildings in the Gaza Strip early Saturday, the first airstrikes since Israel withdrew from Gaza last week after 38 years of occupation, the army said.

Hospital officials said three people were hurt.

Two paragraphs in, and we’re still thinking the IAF woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and decided to attack Gaza. You still have no idea why Israel attacked. Finally, we have the information, which should have been in the first paragraph:

The attacks, which Israel said targeted militant weapons facilities, came after militants fired 21 homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip into the Israeli town of Sderot, injuring five Israelis, the army said.

Notice the use of the adjective “homemade,” which makes the reader think that these are some kind of fireworks-type rockets. Notice also that the quote is from “the army,” not a spokesperson, in the AP’s usual drive to depersonalize all things Israeli.
(more…)

Lair Simon survived Rita.

And he’s buttblogging.

Oh. And Port-a-Pottyblogging.

Only Lair.

The world has such a short memory:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Egypt’s foreign minister called on Israel Wednesday to follow its withdrawal from Gaza by launching final status negotiations with the Palestinians and halting the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit told the U.N. General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting that until Israel reaches the goal of a complete withdrawal from Palestinian territories, it also should stop building the West Bank separation barrier and improve the humanitarian situation of Palestinians.

“As we welcome the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and few settlements in the northern part of the West Bank, we also call upon the Israeli government to continue the withdrawal of its troops from all the Palestinian territories,” he said.

Aboul Gheit, who previously served as Egypt’s U.N. ambassador, called on Israel to meet all its commitments under the road map peace plan so Arabs and Israel can reach their common goal - “the establishment of two independent states, Palestinian and Israel, coexisting in peace and security.”

From 1948 to 1967, the Gaza Strip was part of what country? Say it with me now: EGYPT!

Funny how the Egyptians didn’t think Gaza deserved to be part of its own state back then.

“Anything you can do, I can do better/ I can do anything better than you!”

The lyric from Annie Get Your Gun is utterly borne out by the latest study, wherein it is proven that men are slobs.

In a recent telephone survey, 91 percent of the subjects claimed they always washed their hands after using public restrooms. But, when researchers observed people leaving public restrooms, only 83 percent actually did so.

Only 75 percent of men washed their hands compared to 90 percent of women, the observations revealed.

By the way, the worst offenders? Atlanta Braves’ fans. Remember that next time you’re in Atlanta, and wash your hands a little longer. Oh, and use a paper towel to open the bathroom door. Thirty-seven percent of the men (and sixteen percent of the women) who went through that door before you did not wash their hands.

Let the fireworks begin.

Simon Weisenthal was buried in Herzliya, and Jews being Jews, we’re complaining that there was only one Israeli government minister at the funeral.

Simon Wiesenthal was laid to rest in a Herzliya cemetery Friday.

Ambassadors and senior officials from all over the world came to pay their last respects to the Nazi hunter, who died on Tuesday.

However, not a single government minister came to the funeral.

Deputy minister Michael Melchior was the only government representative who bothered to attend

Regardless, Weisenthal won’t have very far to go when the Messiah gets here.

In an article about the palestinians controlling the Rafah border for the first time ever (they never controlled it when it was Egyptian, either), the AP buries this biased account of the death of three “militants:”

Earlier Friday, Israeli forces killed three Palestinian gunmen in a West Bank raid.

Israeli forces went into the village of Ilar near Tulkarem after midnight, and surrounded a building to arrest senior Islamic Jihad militants holed up inside, the military said. Three gunmen fled in two separate directions, and were shot dead after opening fire on Israeli troops who pursued them, the military said.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Israeli incursion into Tulkarem, and the assassination of three Palestinians,” Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.

Despite a cease-fire declared in February that has drastically reduced violence after five years of conflict, Israel continues to target Islamic Jihad cells. Shortly after the truce was declared, Islamic Jihad carried out a suicide bombing attack in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis.

All the elements are there: The use of the nameless, faceless “Israeli military” as a spokesman for the Israeli side, a named spokesman for the pals. The words “incusion” and “killed” used to illustrate Israeli actions, “gunmen” and “militants” for terrorists. Look at the order in which the “gunmen” were shot dead:

Three gunmen fled in two separate directions, and were shot dead after opening fire on Israeli troops who pursued them, the military said.

First they fled, then they were killed–after opening fire on Israelis. Why not write something like:

Three gunmen fled in two separate directions, fired on Israeli troops who pursued them, and were shot dead, the Israeli spokesman said.

Well, we know why not. Because it would be the truth. Because it would be less damaging to Israel. Because the AP wouldn’t be the AP if it didn’t slam Israel at every opportunity.

And about those “militants”–Ynet says they were planning rocket attacks. On the West Bank.

The mastermind of the Netanya Passover Massacre was sentenced to thirty-five life terms. His wife is unfazed. In fact, his wife is insane.

If you would like a first-hand look at the brainwashing that is the PA, read this article in full.

Ihlas sounds very confident, just as confident as she was during her questioning following the suicide bombing in Passover 2002:

When Abbas was arrested, they arrested me as well. One of the police interrogators asked me how many life sentences I want them to give Abbas, and I said ‘as many as you want, everything is from the hand of Allah, and at the end you will vanish. This is our land, and you have no right over it’.

See if you can spot what’s missing from this AP article about Al-Kidwa’s speech to the UN.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa expressed pessimism Thursday about Israel’s intentions in the West Bank following its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, demanding international action to stop expansion of settlements and the construction of a separation wall.

In a tough speech to the U.N. General Assembly, he said action to end these “illegal” and “inhuman” activities was essential “to safeguard the future of the Middle East and maintain the prospects for peace.”

While Al-Kidwa recognized that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza was an important development, he accused Israel of leaving the strip “completely devastated” and called its occupation of Gaza “one of the worst injustices in recent history.”

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has reaped diplomatic rewards for ending the country’s 38-year Gaza occupation. In the past two weeks, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia have held high-level public meetings with Israel - a rare event for Muslim countries - and Sharon met Friday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II for their first talks in months.

The Palestinians are prepared to return to negotiations and to start quickly implementing the road map peace plan drafted by the so-called Quartet - the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, Al-Kidwa said.

Go ahead, read it all. I’ll wait.

Give up?

Not a word about ending terrorism, which is part and parcel of the Road Map obligations. Funny how that bit always seems to get overlooked by the mainstream media.

This is a perfect example of the media repeating the palestinian line in full, without any context whatsoever. No, wait. There was some.

In his speech Thursday to the U.N. summit, Sharon said the Palestinians are entitled to their own state and his country has no desire to rule them.

He urged reconciliation and compromise with Palestinians to end their conflict. But he said that after Israel’s Gaza withdrawal, it was up to the Palestinians to “prove their desire for peace” by halting terror and disarming militants.

Al-Kidwa said the Palestinians “will continue to exert efforts to impose law and order” and to build democracy, including holding elections at all levels. “Israel must stop its attempts to interfere in and sabotage these elections,” he said.

In the last three paragraphs, which most people never read. And which all news media know.

Yeah, we’re worried about Lair. But he’ll do the right thing.

Lair, I have a new twofer picture of the cats on the sofa, which I don’t think I’ve ever managed to get before. I’ll put it up after you settle in wherever you settle.

Folks, one of the things that is preventing me from putting some posts up is the amount of time they’ll take to convert. Link-heavy posts like “Meirav Was Two” are going to take a while to get to, even though most of the links are dead. Hm. Or maybe I shouldn’t reproduce dead links. That’d be, well, stupid.

Anyway, go ahead, make some more requests. I’ve got a few ideas of my own, but no time for it probably until after the High Holy Days (Mom’s coming to town).

Hamas is showing the world what it truly thinks is holy:

WASHINGTON - Emboldened by Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank, Hamas yesterday announced its plan to turn a synagogue in Netzarim into a museum that would display weapons employed by the terrorist group’s members against Israeli civilians.

A statement issued yesterday by Hamas said, “Qassam rockets and other locally made arms will be exposed, since it is the legal weapon that evicted the occupation forces.” The Middle East Media Research Institute yesterday reported that recent sermons delivered by Hamas leaders pledged to resist efforts from the Palestinian Authority to disarm the organization ahead of upcoming elections.

Sure, let’s force Israel to help the pals elect terrorists, and then watch the world go after Israel for refusing to deal with them politically.

Hat tip: Joel G.

Once again, our Secretary of State says the right things a day after she says the wrong things. I cannot tell what she means anymore without an interpreter.

QUESTION: Have you spoken to Prime Minister Sharon since his comments suggesting that if Hamas were to contest the Palestinian parliamentary elections that Israel would somehow intervene or — I’m not exactly sure, you know, what they’d be planning to do. But given that we classify Hamas as a terrorist organization, wouldn’t he be justified in doing that? I mean, should we expect Israel to recognize a Palestinian government that includes members of a terrorist organization or has representation of such a group?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, we are talking to the Israelis. I think there is a difference between the question of whether or not you interfere in somebody else’s elections, you know, in some way by not letting them take place or whatever — that’s one question. But look, on the question of whether or not you can have a situation in which a group maintains both an option for politics and an option for violence, I think that’s a real question for the international community. The Israelis shouldn’t be the only ones asking that question.

In multiple cases, take Afghanistan, for instance, one of the requirements of people running for office was that they had to disarm the militias. They had to either (inaudible) their weapons or — they couldn’t simultaneously be an armed militia and a political entity. If you look at the Northern Ireland situation, while Sinn Fein did (inaudible) while there was still an IRA, it was clearly a part of the Good Friday Agreement that the military wing of the Irish movement would disarm. There is a requirement under Resolution 1559 for the Lebanon to eventually disarm the militias.

Because people understand that there is not a circumstance that I can think of in which you have a functioning democracy in which part of that government or part of that political — of the political entity maintains an option for violence. Any functioning democracy has to have one authority and one gun, as Mahmoud Abbas has put it.

So I think we will want to work with the international community to address this question. I think it is an extremely important question because I don’t, frankly, think Hamas can have it both ways.

Now, I think it would be a good start for the Palestinians, by the way, if they would disarm the militias of Fatah. That would be a good start. They have a roadmap obligation to disarm terrorist organizations and militias. But as a starting point, because I understand that there are complications with Hamas and there are questions about how capable they would be of actually insisting on disarmament of Hamas. They really do need to start getting, as Abbas has called it, one authority and one gun.

But I would separate the question of how the Israelis approach the question of their elections, the Palestinian elections, where I think you will want to elect — the elections be carried out, from what I think is a legitimate question for the international community to ask about those who wish to keep a political option and a violence option.

She changes her opinion so fast I’m getting whiplash trying to keep up with her.