Left work early, and headed to Carytown, Richmond’s shopping area for the young, the hip, the tragically chic, and the people who like spending too much money on things. Of course, since I intended to spend too much money on chocolate, it was the ideal place for me.

Passed by the completely-packed Ukrops parking lot and decided no, I don’t need to buy soap that badly (I have one bar left that will be switching from shower bar to sink bar in the upstairs bathroom until I go shopping again). Found a parking space in the lot for a shop called For The Love Of Chocolate, which is, of course, a store where you can spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on designer and imported chocolates, wacky stuff (chocolate baby poo, I am not making that up), weird stuff (a giant chocolate Santa, imagine giving that to your five-year-old—”Hey, son, would you like to much on Santa’s arm?” “WAAAH!”), and, of course, the stuff that drew me in an unerring direct line—the sugary stuff. Rock candy. Candy cigarettes. Candy, candy, candy.

I am so glad I went to this store after lunch.

I decided not to try the 85% cacao chocolate bar, because y’know, why not just buy a box of baker’s chocolate and eat that instead? I mean, ew. I also passed up anything I could buy in just about any store. I picked up truffles for Sarah and Larry, since Sarah is making Thanksgiving dinner for us tomorrow and absolutely refuses to let me do anything. I also picked up some sweet things for the kids, and some things for me, and then I went back and got more stuff for us, and even some for Heidi and G. There’s this special kind of chocolate they like that isn’t easily available, and the store had some.

And now I am home, and the chicken is defrosting, and I have about seven things for dessert, including the remains of my birthday cake from Saturday, and I have absolutely no need to leave the house until late tomorrow afternoon. For the first time in years, I won’t be driving to NJ for Thanksgiving. I’m actually rather relieved. It’s pretty lousy weather down here. I’d be driving through rain. Been there, done that, don’t like it very much.

Tig was sleeping on a box of clothes in my bedroom when I came home, and I had a momentary bout of panic when I couldn’t find Gracie in any of her usual places. But then I looked over at Tig again, and saw that he was back-to-back with his sister. I’m betting she was there first, he came up, and she refused to leave, so he pushed her over bit by bit until she was in the back corner next to the dresser. They have both been given some tuna-flavored Fancy Feast, and so, are happy.

And I have a bottle of Coke in my hand (the good stuff in the glass bottle, not the plastic ones), and a tape with two episodes of the Gilmore Girls on it, plus today’s soaps. I shall be relaxing tonight, and cleaning house tomorrow before heading over to the G. family’s Thanksgiving celebration, where a wonderful time will be had by all.

Blogging will in all likelihood be light. It’s Thanksgiving. Give yourselves a break from the usual routine. I intend to. And I will also be giving thanks for the good things in my life. I have much to be thankful for, not least of which is not having to drive on this yucky, yucky day.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Hamas wants Israel to evacuate Sderot in order to stop the rocket barrage.

The only way to stop the regular rocket fire on Sderot, an Israeli city of about 20,000 nearly three miles from the Gaza Strip border, is for the Jewish state to evacuate the entire city, Hamas announced in a statement Wednesday.

“Only the departure of residents from Sderot will stop the rocket fire,” Abu Abaida, spokesman for Hamas’ so-called military wing, said in a statement to reporters.

“There are no limits on our rocket attacks and we will prove that in coming days. We advise residents of Sderot to evacuate,” the Hamas spokesman said.

Israel has a better idea.

Israeli ground troops, tanks and armored vehicles advanced on two northern Gaza towns Wednesday in pursuit of Palestinian rocket squads, besieging a well-known Hamas lawmaker’s house and engaging militants in ferocious clashes, Palestinian officials said.

And gee, the IDF proves it’s not full of dummies: The palestinians’ traps were laid in vain.

Bulldozers, skirting regular roads where mines could be planted, created new routes of access by knocking down greenhouses in Jebaliya, Beit Hanoun and neighboring Beit Lahiya, and two small farmers’ houses.

Countdown to the international outcry begins now. And say, those greenhouses? They were the Israeli-built ones. The ones that remained after being looted by the palestinians the moment Gaza was evacuated, and frankly, I’d like to find out if they were simply the shells of greenhouses, or greenhouses that were in working order. Not that the AP would tell us if they weren’t.

The Israeli press has quite a different take on the Gaza activity, though. They don’t seem to think it’s a large as the AP makes it out to be.

The IDF is waiting for the decision of the security-political cabinet regarding the nature of the operation in the Gaza Strip. Military sources noted that the army has broader plans which may reduce the Qassam fire in the long run.

[...] Several incidents took place throughout the morning in which terrorists fired antitank missiles at building where soldiers were staying. Shots were also fired at the forces from small-arms.

The Israel Defense Forces hit a group of Palestinians attempting to place an explosive device. The Palestinians reported of three injuries among their people.

The soldiers operating in the northern Strip are carrying out activities aimed at thwarting and reducing the firing of Qassam rockets at Israel. Meanwhile, the raids are mainly carried out near areas where launching cells are operating from, in Beit Hanoun and Jabalya.

No word on whether civilians are stupid enough to try to stop a running battle. However, there are Americans who are committing war crimes by offering themselves up as human shields for terrorists in Gaza. More on that later.

Louise Arbour, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, actuallly WITNESSED a violation of Israeli human rights, and said nothing—absolutely nothing—condemning the palestinians’ firing rockets at civilians.

“Arbour’s convoy was coming into Sderot at the time — she had spent the night in Gaza which obviously is very close. The rockets landed about 200 metres from the convoy, as it passed the industrial zone. She arrived at the mayor’s office — where we had been waiting — and she was a bit shaken. Within a few minutes of meeting the mayor she asked if she could go and see the damage. So off we went.”

But don’t worry: Arbour says she understands how the Israelis feel.

Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who then went to the site of the rocket impact in Sderot, said she could understand the sense of vulnerability and despair among the town’s residents.

Ms. Arbour, who was on the second day of a five-day tour of the region, recalled that one of her main areas of concern was the protection of civilians, stressing that governments had a duty to shield their people, although within the bounds of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

Apparently, she can only recall that concern for palestinians. Here’s what the UN News Center has to say about her trip to Beit Hanoun the day before:

20 November 2006 – The top United Nations human rights official said today that “massive” violations against civilians had taken place in the Gaza Strip as she began a five-day tour of the region following Israel’s deadly assault on the occupied Palestinian territory earlier this month.

Ms. Arbour told journalists that an independent, credible and thorough inquiry was needed to determine where responsibility lies for the deaths in Beit Hanoun, which occurred on 8 November.

At least 82 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF began its latest offensive in the Gaza Strip near the end of last month and one Israeli woman was killed last week when a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza struck the town of Sderot in southern Israel.

The High Commissioner told journalists that the lack of accountability for human rights in Gaza leaves locals with no one to turn to when there is a breach.

“The call for protection has to be answered. We cannot continue to see civilians, who are not the authors of their own misfortune, suffer to the extent of what I see here,” she said.

Quite a difference, isn’t it? She actually, physically, sees with her own eyes the rocket landing in Sderot, and she “understands the sense of vulnerability.”

Yaakov Yaakobov, the Israeli who was critically injured by the kassam, died of his wounds. Arbour hasn’t had a word to say about that yet.

The plot was exciting to start with. Assassination attempt on a senior ex-FSB officer, in London of all places. Hints on connection to the assassination of Russian journalist, thallium, Italian informer - in short, all the elements of a robust thriller.

But now the ante is significantly higher. It is not a journalist, even as famous and as controversial one as Anna Politkovskaya was. The accusing finger is pointed at no more and no less than Romano Prodi, according to this sensational clip from the European Parliament.

UKIP MEP Gerard Batten reveals some interesting information given to him by ex Soviet Agent Alexander Litvinenko concerning Romano Prodi the Prime Minister of Italy and ex-European Commission president. Mr Litvinenko was recently poisoned in a murder attempt in London.

Of course, it could easily be another FSB provocation, in the best traditions of good old KGB. But in any case the story bears watching.

(By the way - could somebody from UK explain that apparent oxymoron: what does a UKIP member do in European Parliament?)

Many thanks to nic.

Update: the thallium that went into Litvinenko’s stomach seems to be radioactive, according to the latest news. This is not your run of the mill rat poison anymore, its XXI century, people!

Cross-posted on SimplyJews