Let us take a moment from my regular subjects, and point out something in an AP description of Hanan Ashrawi, who, as regular readers know, is no friend of mine:

HANAN ASHRAWI, 59. She emerged as a prominent figure in Palestinian politics during the first Palestinian uprising, which erupted in 1987. Eloquent and often feisty, she was official spokeswoman for the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East Peace talks 1991-93, and headed a committee responsible for Jerusalem’s citizens rights after the signing of the peace agreement. She was appointed minister of higher education in 1996, and quit her post in a high-profile rebuke to Arafat over corruption in 1998. A legislator in the outgoing parliament, she serves on a number of international bodies, including the Council of Foreign Relations. She is a member of the Palestinians’ Christian minority.

“Feisty.” This is a word used most often to describe a woman. This is a demeaning word, used when the writer can’t seem to use the words “strong,” “tough,” or “independent.” Its nearest relation is “spunky,” a word which, if used to describe me while I am at arms’ reach, often results in physical damage to the person using the word.

Feisty. Good choice, AP. If you’re Ward Cleaver.

This is an absolutely hilarious video, totally inappropriate for work or children. Watch it and howl. I could not stop laughing.

It’s a song about what the Internet is for.

Via my friend Jay.

I knew there was a new judge in the Saddam Hussein trial. What I did not know was that he is a Kurd.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi officials named Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman, a Kurd, as the new chief judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein, a top case investigator said Monday.

Proof, again, that God has a wicked sense of humor.

The WaPo says that Israel should just hope that the terrorists in Hamas decide to stop killing Jews because, well, I think it’s the “Mussolini made the trains run on time” argument.

Having prescribed democracy as an essential condition for a Palestinian state, the Bush administration can hardly stand in the way of electoral participation by a movement that represents a large fraction of Palestinians. It must hope that Hamas eventually will embrace democracy as the sole means of advancing its agenda, rather than as a mere tool to prevent its own disarmament or any Palestinian concessions to Israel, and that it will feel obliged to moderate its tactics and agenda while serving in government. Whether or not that happens, a Palestinian Authority backed by Hamas may be able to restore a semblance of order to Gaza. In the dismal present circumstances, that would be a step forward.

So let me see if I get this straight: The PA is corrupt. Hamas is not. Hamas may kinda sorta possibly stop being terrorists once they assume public office. Do we have any evidence for that? Please don’t bring up the Irgun again. Menachem Begin was in the Irgun in the 1940s. The Irgun was forced to give up arms by other Israelis–not by outside sources–and Begin became Prime Minister thirty years later. There is no such comparison in the current status of the PA and the other palestinian terror groups.

And what does Hamas have to say on the subject?

Ismail Haniya, the top candidate on the Hamas list for Palestinian parliamentary elections, said Sunday that Hamas supports only as a temporary solution the establishment of a Palestinian states along the 1967 borders and with Jerusalem as its capital.

Haniya emphasized that Hamas does not recognize the existence of the State of Israel and maintains its vision of establishing a Palestinian state throughout all of the area west of the Jordan River.

He also reiterated that there is no chance that Hamas would voluntarily disarm as long as Israel exists, Israel Radio reported.

The Hamas has repeatedly stated things like this, then, of course, repeatedly pretended that they might, just might, negotiate with Israel after all.

It is a lie. They have not changed their charter. They have not softened their stance. Their candidates repeatedly deny negotiating with Israel. Their candidates repeatedly deny giving up “resistance” once they get into office. Their candidates repeatedly deny giving up the Hamas charter. Their aim is still to establish an Islamic state on the land where Israel now exists.

The media are wilfully blind. We have to keep pounding on this issue.

David’s got a take on this as well.

In the upside-down world of terrorism, this story makes sense. In the world of moral and ethical people, there are no words.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - An Israeli aircraft fired at three Palestinian gunmen trying to infiltrate Israel from the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing one man and wounding the other two, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.

The army said the three men were several yards from a fence near the Karni border crossing in northern Gaza when the airstrike occurred.

The Popular Resistance Committees, a tiny militant group, said all three gunmen were members. The group vowed retaliation for the killings, saying attacks would come after the Palestinian elections slated for Wednesday.

“The Popular Resistance Committee has the right to respond to the crime of assassination,” said a group spokesman, Abu Yousef.

The men were inspecting the area in preparation for future attacks, Abu Yousef said.

Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, spokesman for the Palestinian Interior Ministry, said an investigation was under way.

Let’s take these facts one at a time. First, three terrorists were fired upon as they were looking for a way to attack Israelis. One dead, two wounded (bad shooting, dammit). They are claimed by a terrorist group, and the AP is told by the terrorists that they were on a terrorism scouting mission.

And yet, the AP then quotes the terrorist as saying they now have the right to “respond” to the “crime” of assassination. And the AP publishes this, matter-of-fact.

But that isn’t quite enough. THEN the AP goes on to say that the PA is investigating the incident. The effing terrorists already said it was a scouting mission, already said these were terrorists, yet the PA spokesman says they are “investigating” the incident.

Would somebody please send these people back to the Tea Party from which they have strayed?