I’m so proud of myself.

I kept getting these annoying automated phone calls that hung up after two rings. It was an 866 number, and I knew it was something I didn’t want to deal with. But I caught one on call-waiting while talking to my brother, said, “Gotta go, this thing’s been calling me all day!” and caught it.

“Hello?”
“Hello! This is A&S research, blahblahblah survey, blahblahblah, few questions. If you are 18 or over, press one. If you are under 18, press two.”

I pressed two.

“Thank you. Goodbye.”

Score!

Smarter than your average phonebot, that’s me.

I knew they wouldn’t want to talk to a kid. Probably illegal.

Ha. Ha, I say.

Hamas to shield fighters,

says the headline in Aljazeera, and I have chosen this source to prevent an outcry blaming the Israeli press as biased.

The intended interior minister in Hamas’s government has said he will not order the arrest of fighters carrying out attacks against Israel.

Saeed Seyam, who was chosen by Hamas to oversee three security services, told Reuters on Thursday that “the file of political detention must be closed”.

“The day will never come when any Palestinian would be arrested because of his political affiliation or because of resisting the occupation …

“But the right to defend our people and to confront the aggression is granted and is legitimate.”

And we all know what is meant by “resisting the occupation” and “defending our people”, right, Saeed?

So don’t cry after IDF does what it must do to defend our people.

But, after all, what is really new in this declaration? The habit of token arrests of the “militants” and the revolving jail doors was invented by the late Yasser as a lip service. It is time to remind everyone the ultimate and definitive description of the “earthshaking” change in the Palestinian Authority:

So let me get this straight: people are annoyed that the party that wants to destroy Israel won the elections against the other party that wants to destroy Israel, but won’t actually come out and say so at the moment. Since everyone knew that the governing party that wants to destroy Israel but wont come out and say so really does want to destroy Israel whether they say so or not, why is everyone so concerned that the party that wants to destroy Israel won the election, since by definition both of the parties involved want to destroy Israel, except that the second party that wants to destroy Israel finds it politic at the moment not to mention that they want to destroy Israel just as much as the other party that wants to destroy Israel but has no qualms about bringing up the fact that they want to destroy Israel, unlike the party that wants to destroy Israel but doesnt want to come out and say that they want to destroy Israel. There is a theme here, isnt there, or have I missed something along the way?

And thanks again to Akaky. The more I read the above, the better it feels.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews

A Canadian ferry with more than 100 passengers and crew sank yesterday. But thanks to the crew members, everyone made it to lifeboats. And thanks to the tiny village of Hartley, they were rescued before the Coast Guard ship arrived.

The quick response from about 200 villagers in the fishing village of Hartley Bay, B.C., is being credited with assisting the amazing rescue of the passengers and crew aboard the ferry that sank off the Queen Charlotte Islands early yesterday.

“There may not have been survivors without them,” said Capt. Leah Bryne, spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria. “Their support has been tremendous.”

Most of the villagers were in bed at 1 a.m., but someone constantly monitors a marine radio for reports of missing boats in the area. When the word came that the Queen of the North was in trouble, residents, some dressed only in their shirtsleeves, charged into their boats and pushed off into the inky storm waters.

As it would turn out, rescuers had less than an hour before the ferry went down.

Well done, heroes of Hartley.

But then, we knew they’d never stop. So, how’s that moderation watch going?

Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal said on Wednesday the Palestinian militant group will continue to fight Israel and told the United States that its Middle East policy would fuel terrorism.

“Israel cannot have stability with occupation. It has to choose. This is the message Israel should understand,” he told Reuters in an interview in Abu Dhabi.

“Armed resistance is legitimate. All resistance options are open to the Palestinian people and Palestinian factions including Hamas,” said Meshaal, who is touring Arab and Muslim countries to solicit financial and political support.

He said that he informed Arab leaders that the government his group will head needs $1.75 billion per year to make ends meet and that he was confident that they would help.

They sense victory. Unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank at this time is a very, very wrong thing for Israel to do. Unless Olmert is preparing to go to all-out war as the missiles fall on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

The Instapodcast interviews Israeli ambassador Daniel Ayalon.

It’s a pretty good interview covering a wide range of topics. Worth a listen.

Ayalon makes a point I’ve been making for a while: Hamas was allowed to run in the Palestinian elections while armed Basque groups don’t run in Spain, Nazis don’t run in Germany, and absolute rejectionists (besides the Arab parties, of course) don’t run in Israel. On top of this, don’t forget the lockout of Ba’athist party from Iraq and Taliban in Afghanistan.

Lesser standards of civilized behavior and democracy for the Palestinians just so Jimmy Carter gets a few million more miles of film wasted on his horrific visage?

You bet your ass, it is.

(Oh, Glenn and the BlogCarnival Guy mention The Carnival of the Cats. Twice.)

Folks,

I’m going to make the author’s name on a post a lot more noticeable to counter the current confusion, but I don’t write all the posts any more. Laurence Simon writes some, and SnoopyTheGoon writes some. For instance, Lair wrote the pinata post. I didn’t.

Don’t always assume that I’m the author of the post you’re responding to. I know we write about similar subjects. That was a requirement for my co-bloggers. But y’know, we do have three distinct styles.

Okay, maybe not always. I could have written that pinata post. I’ve channeled Lair Simon from time to time.

But I’m not writing them all. Credit where it’s due, and all that.

But I thought Israel was the biggest drain on the United States, like, ever!

Israel Biggest Mideast Investor in U.S.

Another suicide bombing attack prevented: The IDF stopped another would-be mass murderer from blowing up innocents. Sure, they want peace. Uh-huh. That’s why they elected a terrorist organization whose charter demands the destruction of Israel.

Speaking of terrorists, they’ve gone and picked their terrorist-filled cabinet. Let the festivities begin. Oh, and they’re not about to recognize Israel, stop trying to kill Jews, or talk to Israel. But that’s not stopping Sweden from declaring them a “partner.” Says a lot about the Swedes, doesn’t it?

What truce? Palestinian Terrorists Killed Placing Bomb Near Gaza Fence.

The AP put a bunch of background in towards the end of their latest Israel/Hamas story. Here it is. Can you tell me what’s missing in this recap of Israeli actions over the past week? (Warning: It’s a trick question.)

In violence early Wednesday morning, Israeli troops entered the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp near the West Bank town of Jericho to arrest three Islamic Jihad militants, the army said. The soldiers surrounded three houses and called on the suspects to come out and two of the men surrendered, the army said.

The army fired at one of the houses to get the remaining suspect to emerge, the army said. Troops then entered, saw a “suspicious figure” under mattresses and, believing he was armed, shot and killed the man, the army said. No weapon was found, the army said.

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian legislator for Jericho, condemned the killing, saying Israeli raids and closures were making life intolerable for the people of Jericho.

Last week, Israeli forces raided the jail in Jericho and captured six top militants after destroying large parts of the compound in a daylong siege.

Give up? Okay. This is what’s missing from the wrap-up of what’s been happening between Israel and the pals lately:

The van was stopped at a roadblock near Latrun, located halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Police removed the bomb from the car, setting off a panic among nearby motorists.

“People started to run away from the cars,” Danino said. “Police were shouting into megaphones, ‘live bomb, live bomb,’ and people were running in every direction.”

Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said the assailants were carrying 11 pounds of explosives and intended to plant a bomb in central Israel. He said 10 people were arrested.

Once again, all Israeli actions are played up, all palestinian terrorist actions are downplayed.

The attempted suicide attack happened hours before this AP update, but it wasn’t included — mostly likely because it makes the palestinians look like, gee, terrorists.

The AP anti-Israel spin continues.