Brian’s back on SNN. The feature interview is with Itamar Marcus of Palestinian Media Watch, the organization that gives us the scoop on how the Palestinians indoctrinate their people in Israel (and America) hatred.

My contribution this week analyzes Sarkozy’s election, and attends to the critical issues of whether or not it’s safe to stop calling them “freedom fries.”

Damian goes after the left’s reaction to Falwell’s death. Sorry, but Lair’s Falwell screed was simply the cream of the crop, so I really don’t care what the left had to say. But Damian does.

I give this one two thumbs up. Go and listen, and pass the URL along to your friends.

I missed this one, what with no longer watching the Simpsons. But it’s quite funny.

In the heated debates between pro- and anti-Israeli folks there is a lot of illogical and plainly ridiculous arguments, each of the parties bringing in his/her own load of prejudices, knowledge (or the lack of it), sectarian fervor, etc.

Quite frequently you can see a drone - either pro-Israeli or anti-Israeli one, repeating ad nauseum the same tired slogans, sometimes of their own manufacture. Trying to argue with a drone is a useless and a thankless enterprise - anything you throw at one in the way of logical argument will be simply ignored, the stream of slogans continuing uninterrupted.

Sometimes the incredible stupidity of a drone gives birth to an especially entertaining statement that will leave you agape for quite some time.

I was reading a passage in an excellent post by DrMike of BlueTruth:

2007: A Palestinian refugee camp is the target of indiscriminate shelling by the army, in its attempt to root out a band of fanatical Islamic terrorists. Civilians flee for their lives and condemn the terrorists. The Arab League itself blames the terrorists for threatening the country’s security, safety and stability. However, the United Nations remains strangely silent and the world media have not run the blazing headlines about atrocities and massacres.

Could it possibly be that the world only cares about protecting terrorists if it’s the Israeli army that’s attacking them? The Arab League statement made it very clear why it can condemn Fatah al-Islam: the group “has no relation to the Palestinian question or Islam”.

And then I remembered an exceptional in its slack-jawed imbecility (but relevant to the above) passage by a commenter that figures under the nickname Goodfairy in the gutters of Commentisfree:

As for “they can be pounded ruthlessly and mercilessly by the Lebanese army and the entire world remains silent”. Well, for starters I doubt you are comparing like with like; this isn’t the democratically Hamas, this is 200 cultists who have taken over a Palestinian Camp and (according to Robert Fisk) are shooting the fleeing Palestinians in the back. So they are probably CIA controlled.

Yep. You see, dear DrMike, you cannot win them all. In fact, you cannot win a single one of them, and their name is Legion (of imbeciles, but still).

Cross-posted on SimplyJews.

Here is a fine example of your tax dollars, and the Army Corps of Engineers, at work: There are unexploded WWI munitions in the sand at Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

Many of the beach towns on Long Beach Island, one of New Jersey’s most popular summer vacation spots, have laws prohibiting people from digging deeper than 12 inches in the sand. They stem from an accident several years ago in which a teenager died when a deep hole he was digging collapsed, burying him.

This year, the prohibition is for a different reason: More than 1,000 pieces of unexploded World War I-era military munitions were unwittingly pumped ashore during a winter beach replenishment project decades after being dumped at sea. Authorities say they’ve removed everything they could, but can’t guarantee more munitions don’t remain hidden.

“How can you tell a kid not to dig in the sand?” asked Faith O’Dell, who lives near the beach in Surf City, where most of the fuses were found. “It’s their nature, it’s what kids do. And when your kid says, `Why, Mommy, why can’t I dig in the sand?’ what do you tell them, that they could blow themselves up?”

This information was buried in an AP story on the crazy rules set by NJ beach towns. But I found a bit more on the story:

The 1.4-mile stretch of sand on Long Beach Island was declared safe Wednesday following a three-month cleanup by the Army Corps of Engineers.

But officials could not guarantee that all munitions had been removed, and warning signs posted at beach entrances stated that digging more than one foot deep and the use of metal detectors were prohibited. Pictures of the munitions were displayed for emphasis.

And people are still stupid.

“We’re going to go dig for some,” Surf City resident Lance Wimmer said with a laugh as he and his wife, Marilou, approached the beach at North Third Street. “I want one for my own.”

[...] The all-clear for the beach opening was a relief to local merchants, who said a delayed opening could have been devastating, if not fatal, to their businesses.

“Eighty percent of my business comes from Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July week and Labor Day weekend,” said Joe Muzzillo, owner of Exit 63 WearHouse, which sells shirts, stickers, mugs and other items bearing Jersey Shore slogans.

A popular new addition to Muzzillo’s shop this year made light of the munitions scare. On the back wall hung T-shirts with such phrases as “Surf City — Our Beaches Will Blow You Away” and “Surf City Bomb Patrol.”

Muzzillo said he had sold more than 300 shirts in the past few weeks but would remove them if anyone were injured by munitions.

“If something serious happens, the joke is over,” he said.

So. Anyone up for taking the chance of digging for bombs in Beach Haven?

I know I’m not. I’m planning to play “pot luck” for a Duck vacation weekend.

The war by Hamas against Israel continues.

A man was killed Sunday morning in the southern town of Sderot after a rocket landed near the car he was sitting in.

The man, 36-year-old Oshri Oz of Hod Hasharon, crashed into the wall with his car after it was hit. He managed to get out of the vehicle and take a number of steps before collapsing. He was evacuated to the Barzilay Medical Center in Ashkelon, where he died of his wounds.

Oz was a computer technician who used to visit Sderot often as part of his work. He was survived by his pregnant wife and a 2-year-old daughter.

The AP continues its policy of never naming Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks.

Another rocket slammed into the southern Israeli town of Sderot early today, killing a 36-year-old computer technician as he was driving. It was the second fatal rocket attack in less than a week.

Olmert continues the big talk.

“There will be no immunity for anyone involved in terror,” Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stressed at Sunday’s cabinet meeting, adding that Israel would “act without a time limit and will not be subject to conditions from any outside source.”

“We have instructed the IDF to continue operating against the terrorists. In the past few days many dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad men have been hit. The operation was meant to hit anyone involved in the shooting, anyone providing means to commit the attacks, and everyone involved,” the prime minister explained.

Responding to expected international pressure and criticism, Olmert said, “We are not subject to any timetable dictated from external bodies. We will decide when, where, and how we act.”

And the Shin Bet says that Hamas is ready for an IDF ground attack, if the war continues to grow.

“They’ll be waiting for us with explosive tunnels, snipers, road bombs and anything else they can think of, just in case we decide to go in,” said Diskin.

The Shin Bet, he stressed, recommends, in agreement with the IDF, to continue the ongoing operation “in order to avoid hurting any civilians. We mustn’t believe any fabricated calm,” added Diskin. “We must keep hurting Hamas on a daily basis.”

[...] “As much as I appreciate the efforts, the problem isn’t with fortifications,” said a livid Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. “The equation needs to be changed. We need to make it clear to the world that we have reached the end of our tolerance, and we should respond harshly.

“I don’t mean ground invasion. I’m talking about focusing heavy fire on the launch sites. We need special unit activity based on quality intelligence. This is the only way we can change the equation, not through fortification,” he added.

“The way we operate has made things very difficult for Hamas,” said Diskin when asked about IDF actions in the last few days.

“Rival Palestinian factions are talking to each other, trying to reach a ceasefire, and that shows us just how hard up they are,” he added. “Hamas and Khaled Mashaal are very concerned by the despair and misery among the Palestinian public.

[...] The ministers pushed further, asking if Hamas was capable of increasing the amount of missiles launched at Israel. “They can make such an effort, but for no longer than a few days,” said Diskin.

“They are limited by the difficulties in moving rocket launchers around, they can’t make as many rockets as before and they have an increasing amount of casualties,” he added.

“It’s no coincidence they’re not firing at Ashkelon. They may have the technical ability, but they know that would mean things have escalated further.”

To be continued.

The Keen Grasp of the Obvious Award goes to: Hamas.

Israel is trying to weaken Hamas and not just respond to Qassam attacks, members of the movement said after IDF destroyed at least ten outposts of Hamas’ special forces Satuday. Seven rockets were launched at Israel from northern Gaza during the day, one of them hitting a Sderot house directly.

Directly after this rocket attack, the Israel Air Force launched a series of strikes against Hamas’ special forces. The first outpost hit was one in the Sheikh Raduan neighborhood in Gaza.

Shortly afterwards, the IAF targeted a Hamas compound in the Jabalia refugee camp. According to the sources, the post attacked is near the home of Hamas Special Forces commander, Abu Obaid al-Jarrah. At least two Palestinians were injured in the attack.

Later Saturday, the IDF attacked a Hamas outpost in Rafah.

Five members of Hamas’ security forces were killed earlier Saturday morning, during a similar air strike on one of the organization’s compounds in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called the Israeli army’s continued attacks in the Gaza Strip “part of an international plan to change the Palestinian political map.” He said that the attacks were meant to exert pressure on his organization to yield to foreign initiatives.

Gee. Ya think? Israel’s trying to destroy Hamas?

No. Can’t be. [insert eyeroll here]

Gawd. Could they be any dumber?

The following post by Ami Isseroff is copied in its entirety. The message it carries should be spread as widely as possible to show the real motives behind the boycott movement.

This matter should be of urgent concern to anyone interested in Middle East peace, and especially to groups who are debating boycotts of Israel. The anti-Israel boycott campaign is led by organizations who proclaim their humanitarian and peaceful intent. A group that claims to represent a coalition of such organizations is the “Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel [PACBI].” Their Web site, at http://www.pacbi.org, is revealing. You may not be able to see this site, which is visible in the Middle East, but may be hidden in Europe and the USA. Check the Google cache, and refer to the translated materials here: A program for wrecking Israeli-Palestinian Dialog.

The interesting message of this site is contained in several Arabic language documents at their Web site. That is quite different from the message of peace, democracy and human rights that is given to the foreign “khawaja” “marks” they are trying to convince. They do not provide the documents in English of course.

The highlights of their message, from documents that have been translated thus far:

Dialogue and cooperation contacts should only be with groups that accept right of return of Palestinian refugees, and for projects that advance the solution of the Palestinian problem “in the broadest sense.”

• Dialogue with groups formed for purposes of enhancing empathy, health, cultural exchange only should be avoided.

• Seeds of Peace is a dangerous organization, according to the PACBI.

• Those who run dialogue and cooperative ventures are traitors who live on crumbs thrown to them by the Europeans and Americans.

• Dialogue is a sham, based on the premise that there are misunderstandings between the sides. The real problem is that the Zionists stole the land of the Arabs.

• Israel is a European implant in Arab soil.

• Dialogue groups do not fight for Palestinian rights, including right of return.

• All forms of “resistance” (including terrorism) are legitimate under international law, though “many Palestinians” oppose killing of civilians, according to PACBI

This is the “humanitarian” message of the PACBI boycott coalition, which does not disclose what groups support it. As in some grade B science fiction movie, when the foreign suckers are not looking, the humanitarian angels of the PACBI morph into depraved and evil creatures who approve of terror, and consider Seeds of Peace a dangerous organization. They try to destroy any hope of constructive dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, if they cannot subvert it to the goal of destroying Israel and denying the right to self determination to the Jewish people.

For those of us who cannot read Arabic or access the PACBI Web site, information about them is posted here, in English:

A program for wrecking Israeli-Palestinian Dialog - which shows their flow chart for determining whether it is wise to engage in cooperative projects, and PACBI - Youth Brochure where high school students can learn about the dangers of Seeds of Peace, and about the “traitors” who run such organizations, and who “accept crumbs” from the Europeans and Americans. The “Youth Brochure” provides a hate filled panorama of Palestinian Arab history, meant to “educate” Palestinian high school and university students. Ironically, it also explains that all protests about incitement in Palestinian educational materials are propaganda.

Make certain that every union group, church group or university who admits a speaker from PACBI or one of their affiliate organizations is aware of their program. Make certain that the speaker is asked what their stand is about the rights of Jews in Palestine, and whether or not they support the existence of a Jewish state of Israel, and whether or not they think all “resistance” is legitimate.

Ami Isseroff