Just got off the phone with the vet. Gracie is still vomiting every so often, but the vet isn’t nearly as worried as I’ve been. One of her partners is offering a free endoscopy. He hasn’t done a lot of them and would like to get in the practice. I was a trifle skeptical, but since I am rather blunt, I said he could do it if she was sure he wouldn’t break through Gracie’s intestinal wall or stomach. My vet got a big laugh out of that and assured me her partner wasn’t that bad.

So tomorrow morning, they’ll perform an endoscopy for no charge that may or may not show results. Then they’ll probably go through with the barium treatment and X-rays. If there’s no blockage found, we proceed from there.

The vet told me that after she got off the phone with me this morning she went in to pet and talk to Gracie, but no bellyrub was forthcoming. (I had told her how much I missed our morning routine.) Gracie isn’t the bellyslut. That’s Tig. He’ll roll over for anyone. But it’s good to know my vet did that. Gracie’s in good hands for sure.

It still could be nothing but the pancreatitis, and we just have to wait it out until the right hydration level is reached. Here’s hoping.

Any way you look at it, though, this entire week’s salary will probably go to pay the vet’s bill. That’s right, every minute I work this week is for Gracie.

Oh, okay. She’s worth it. You should hear her special purr that she does only for me. Deep, throaty, “I’m the happiest cat in the world” purr. Yeah, it’s worth a week’s salary.

Generally, mentioning this profession is as likely as not to cause a few derisive remarks. In this case, though, we are talking about two jailed lawyers. Which, again, may serve as a source for another remark or two, but let’s look at the cases first.

Chen Guangcheng (China)

Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer from Shandong province (See An “independent” legal kingdom and a blind lawyer). While Chen has been an advocate for the rights of ordinary citizens for many years, he attracted the attention of the local government when he publicized its abuses of power in implementing family planning, including forced abortions and sterilizations, which are illegal. A central government investigation confirmed Chen’s discoveries, but local officials kept him under house arrest and finally charged him with “intentionally damaging public property and inciting traffic disorder”, even though he had been under their watch during the times he allegedly committed these crimes.

Chen faced trial on August 18. A few lawyers in Beijing had agreed to defend him but they were not allowed in the court room. Instead, two lawyers chosen by the state represented Chen. Later in the week, Chen’s sentence of four years and three months in prison was announced

Lynne Stewart (USA)

Attorney Lynne Stewart, who was convicted of helping an extremist Egyptian cleric pass messages from prison urging his followers on the outside to launch terrorist attacks, was sentenced to 28 months behind bars.

Stewart, 67, was charged with aiding a U.S.-designated terror organization, the Islamic Group, wage a broad murder and kidnapping conspiracy. Federal prosecutors said she and two men convicted with her helped her former client, the blind sheik, Omar Abdel Rahman, transmit messages to the group’s leaders in defiance of prison restrictions. The government had asked U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in New York to impose a 30-year term. In a plea for mercy, Stewart implored the judge to “Permit me to live out the rest of my life productively, effectively and righteously.”

Koeltl said he handed down a lighter sentence because of Stewart’s “extraordinary personal characteristics,” including her decades of service as a defense lawyer. Her attorneys had asked the judge to impose no prison time, citing Stewart’s poor health. She’s recovering from a bout with breast cancer.

Interesting, isn’t it? In China a person gets four years and three months for the same qualities that shortened the sentence of the American lawyer by something like 10-15 years…

Now your comments, please. To make your analysis easier:

Stewart, whose clients have included mobsters and radical leftists, had said she was prosecuted for her role as an outspoken lawyer.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews

When I am very worried, I have a tendency to be on edge and sharper than usual. I also tend to lash out at anyone who pisses me off.

I am very worried about Gracie.

This is putting me in a very, very bad mood.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

So, France won’t help disarm Hezbullah. They won’t stop the flow of weapons from Syria into Lebanon. They won’t stop giving money to terrorists. And they won’t even stop their own police force from being attacked by “youths” in their inner cities. But there’s one thing they say they will do: Fire on Israeli Air Force jets that overfly Lebanon.

Commanders of the French contingent of the United Nations force in Lebanon have warned that they might have to open fire if Israel Air Force warplanes continue their overflights in Lebanon, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday.

So, how’s that going over in Israel?

Peretz said that nevertheless, Israel would continue to patrol the skies over Lebanon as long as United Nations resolution 1701 remained unfilfilled, adding that such operations were critical for the country’s security, especially as the abducted IDF soldiers remain in Hezbollah custody and the transfer of arms continue.

Over the past few days, Peretz said, Israel had gathered clear evidence that Syria was transfering arms and ammunition to Lebanon, meaning that the embargo imposed by UN Resolution 1701 was not being completely enforced.

Uh-huh. 1701 is violated by the Syrians and the Lebanese, and the French are mum. The IAF makes some aerial surveillance overflights, and suddenly the French are trigger-happy.

So, what do I think would happen? Well, I got a little help from one of my favorite analysts:

Whoops, it’s the IAF in a crusher. Wait, let’s try something else: The IAF versus the entire Blue Helmet force.

Doom for the blue helmets.

Well, there you have it, folks. The IAF would crush the French and the entire UN peacekeeping force, but we kinda already knew that.

Sarah sent me a link to a YouTube video of a Bollywood version of Thriller. It has to be seen to be believed. Personally, I think the girl is screaming at the guy’s outfit, or at his dancing. They both scared me.

And just to compare and contrast, here’s the original.

Well, she started vomiting again. Just got off the phone with the vet, who said that the vomiting is actually still a part of the pancreatitis and continues until the cat reaches a certain level of hydration. She says Gracie is not lethargic or depressed, so that’s good. The next step, which I gave her the green light for, is to give her barium and follow its progress to see if there’s a blockage. She’s going to wait a few hours and see how Gracie does before going ahead with that.

I miss my sweet girl. She waits for me—anxiously—to get out of the shower in the morning so I can come into the bedroom and pet her. It’s our morning routine. We haven’t done it since Friday. Or maybe Thursday. I can’t remember.

Well, this morning just got a little bleaker.

Here’s hoping it’s just the pancreatitis.

This one’s from the summertime, because it is a rare, rare shot to get Gracie’s tummy in a photograph. It helps that she was sleeping. Now, Tig will ruin a great shot because when I see him sitting in a great pose, I’ll run and get my camera. He sees me coming towards him and says, “Oh, are you gonna pet me? Okay,” and he starts walking towards me and ruins the shot.

Gracie, on the other hand, ruins the shot because she hates the flash. At the very least, she’ll close (or half-close) her eyes. Usually, she’ll go, “Nuh-uh” and walk away.

You can see that her tummy fur has yet to grow in completely from her compulsive licking earlier this year. But it’s getting there.

It’s a wonderful thing—for the terrorists.

The military wing of Hamas announced Monday evening that it had completed its preparations towards a possible all-out conflict with Israel should the IDF launch a ground offensive inside Gaza. A spokesman for the organization warns that “the fighters of the al-Qassam brigades will not have mercy on your cowardly soldiers. Your destroyed tanks will become the eternal testimony of your failure and of your running away from the Strip.” The statement was made at a time when the IDF has evidence showing that dozens of advanced anti-tank missiles have been smuggled into Gaza.

According to the Hamas spokesman Israeli reports regarding the advanced weaponry that Hamas allegedly smuggled into Gaza are “in preparation for an attack, an excuse for the planned invasion of Gaza and for the planned crimes (it plans to commit).”

Now, there are those out there who think that since there are no longer any “settlers” in Gaza, the IDF can operate with impunity if Hamas gets its war on. Hey, now the IDF can simply blow right over the Hamas forces, right?

Wrong.

Those would be the same people who think that the UN is not biased against Israel, that the world will not shriek “WAR CRIMES” at the fauxtography that will doubtless come out during any exchange of fire. Or have we forgotten the Gaza beach “massacre,” in which Hamas blew up its own people and blamed Israel? Or the Hamas rally in which Hamas blew up its own people and blamed Israel? Are we that stupid that we think Hamas won’t do the same with every single death that happens, regardless of who is at fault?

The European Union is giving the palestinians nearly a billion dollars, and the mainstream media is still full of stories about how the poor, poor, pitiful pals are starving, out of money, unable to celebrate Ramadan, etc., etc., yadda yadda, ad nauseum.

If the IDF needs to go into Gaza in force, watch for the waves of human shields to be even larger and more complex than were used in Lebanon—and the world outrage to be even higher.

You know, I love Tig very much, and he is my big goofball, and he’s the purr-kitty and the one that snuggles and gives hugs, but man, you’d think he never had a sister, the way he’s acting. It’s like, “Gracie? Who? Never heard of her.”

Mind you, Gracie does the same thing if Tig has to stay overnight in the vet’s, but she’s got the better reason: Tig beats her up and teases her mercilessly.

Well, here’s his latest Tummy Tuesday entry.