When the going gets tough, the tough get—cat pictures.

Nothin’ but Tig for now.

This one is from yesterday. Sarah and I gave Tig 100 ml of sub-q a day after he got 200 ml of sub-q fluids. He seems to be acting more like his old self. His meow is louder and firmer. He ate all the tuna (he gets his phosphor-binding powder with a forkful of Sheba tuna fillet), instead of just licking the gravy off it. And strangely, he tried to go through the railing and walk on my Chinese screen, which would have been an utter disaster. The screen is an inch thick, and Tig is too ill to be able to balance on that. It’s also six feet tall. And, uh, an antique, and the last thing I want is a cat grabbing it all the way down, particularly when that cat hasn’t had his claws trimmed in, hm, let’s see, how long have I lived in Richmond? Right. More than six years, probably.

I can’t decide for sure if he’s feeling better. The signs are there, but I thought he was feeling better last week, and he went right back down again. I can tell you he that his eyes seem more alive. I can tell you that he’s eating more. I can tell you that he seems stronger. But I told you all that last week, and then he seemed like he was at death’s door. I suspect it’s going to be an up-and-down thing, but Tig is in pretty bad shape by the numbers. If he continues to eat more, he’ll have a chance. But if he keeps losing weight, it’s only a matter of time before I call the vet for that final shot.

That being said, here’s a picture hot off the presses, taken just a few minutes ago:

You can’t see it from the image, but his eyes are more alert than they’ve been. He’s currently lying in his “nest,” the foliage right next to the AC unit. It’s been a little less than 24 hours since his last injection of sub-q fluids. Sarah’s coming over later this afternoon.

And let me take the time right now to tell you how great this woman is. The reason she’s coming over every day is because her husband just had major surgery and is recovering in a hospital in the West End. She passes right by my apartment complex on the way, but still, she’s going out of her way to spend an extra few minutes helping me give Tig his sub-q fluids. Yesterday, she had all four kids with her (probably today, too) on their way to visiting their dad. It’s service above and beyond the call, when a friend takes time out from a stressful event in her life to help you through a stressful event in yours. Even when you’re so loopy from just waking up from a nap that you see her children at the door and say, “But they’ll scare Tig!” without thinking that Sarah can’t leave them out in the cold in the van. (I put on Cartoon Network, they were happy, Tig was happy, we were all happy. Except Gracie, who ran away.)

Anyway. Larry is recovering nicely, and we’re very happy with that. But Sarah deserves a kol hakavod for this week. What a great friend.

George Habash is dead.The New York Times had this interesting tidbit.

A number of accounts say Mr. Habash was born in 1925 in Lydda, Palestine, which is now Lod, Israel. The son of a well-to-d0 grain merchant who was Greek Orthodox, he was known as a hard-working and serious student who was introverted in his youth. He studied medicine at the American University in Beirut, but his studies were interrupted in 1948 when he left school to help his family flee Palestine as violence deepened between Arabs and Jews.That experience of the nascent Israeli Army driving the Palestinians from their homes had a profound effect on the young medical student, who began organizing Palestinians as soon as he returned to medical school, graduating first in his class in 1951. In 1953, Mr. Habash was among the founders of an organization in Jordan called the Arab Nationalists’ Movement. Backed with financing from Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, the group established a medical clinic in Amman and promoted the broader goal of a unified Arab superstate.

In 1957, however, the Arab Nationalists’ Movement was implicated in an attempt to overthrow King Hussein, and Mr. Habash and his followers were fled to Syria. But the group was also forced from that country in 1963, two years after Syria withdrew from a political union with Egypt.

Ignore the “driving the Palestinians from their homes,” but note that Habash, before starting the PFLP helped found Arab Nationalists’ Movement. The following is from the article, I probably quote more than any other, “How Important is the PLO?” by Daniel Pipes. It’s almost 25 years old, and still as valuable as ever.

Pan-Arabism then transformed what would have been an obscure clash over territory into one of the greatest, most significant land conflicts of the age. If not for the Arabs’ impulse to engage in one another’s affairs, the Palestinian cause would probably have remained as peripheral to world politics as that of the Armenians or the Eritreans. But the pan-Arabist focus on Zionism as the paramount enemy made the fate of the Palestinians a matter of direct concern to every government between Libya and Iraq. As the unifying element in pan-Arabism, the cause of the destruction of Israel acquired a symbolic importance out of proportion to the issues at hand. With time, it even took on independent existence, bearing its own mystique.As the principal goal of pan-Arabist politics, the destruction of Israel also became a way for government to assert their legitimacy; many rulers - Jamal ‘Abd an-Nasir of Egypt, the Syrian and Iraqi Ba’thists, and, especially, Qadhdhafi - made their involvement in the “Palestinian cause” a leading warrant of their worthiness to rule. Conversely, the credentials of Arab rulers who did not hew to the standard line on Israel were brought into question (indeed it was expected that any Arab leader who accepted Israel would pay with his life, in the manner of King ‘Abdallah of Jordan, Anwar as-Sadat, and Bashir Jumayyil).

The conflict with Israel thus came to bear on the authority of Arab regimes; giving aid to the Palestinian cause strengthened rulers against challenges from within or meddling from abroad. With the years, Israel’s military prowess rendered the idea of destroying it increasingly senseless - yet the failure to find other sources of political legitimacy meant that Arab rulers continued to depend on anti-Zionism.

In understanding Palestinian nationalism, it’s important to recognize its relationship with pan-Arabism. Palestinian nationalism is less about the dispossession of the Palestinians - if that were the case, it could have been solved easily by now - than it is about non-Arab encroachment on Arab land: Israel.

It’s telling, of course, that the “moderate” leader of the PLO sees the need to honor Habash. (via memeorandum)

PFLP founder George Habash died at age 83 in his home in Amman. His terror gang massacred dozens of Israeli adults, children and babies, assassinated Minister Ze’evi and plotted to kill Rabbi Ovadya Yosef.PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced three days of mourning following the death of George Habash, the founder of terror gang PFLP. All PLO flags will be at half mast and there will be an official “house of mourning” in Abba’s Ramallah office.

The Democracy Project emphasizes an aspect of the NY Times obituary:

For those who argue America’s retreat from Vietnam had no ill effects:Mr. Habash later remarked that the Arab defeat that year [1967] convinced him of the need to adopt a strategy like that of the Marxist guerrillas in Vietnam. “By 1967, we had understood the undeniable truth, that to liberate Palestine we have to follow the Chinese and Vietnamese examples,” he said in an interview in 1969.

JammieWearingFool notes that Habash’s death was announced by Leila Khaled. For those of you with long memories, she wasn’t just a member of the PFLP but a hijacker. Theodore Dalrymple had a nice summary of her career:

Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, so perhaps it is petty to complain that the presence of the Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled in Britain, to address a meeting of students at London University’s prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies, undermines Britain’s claim of iron commitment to the anti-terrorist cause.For a time, Khaled was the most famous airplane hijacker in the world. In 1969, she took part in the hijacking of a TWA flight that was diverted to Damascus. She escaped by sneaking on to the same bus that carried away the hijacked passengers. She did not give up after her escape. In 1970, she attempted to hijack an El Al flight, which made an emergency landing at London’s Heathrow Airport. Authorities arrested her, and she spent four weeks in prison but was then freed in exchange for a hostage held by the Palestinians.

Now Khaled is back in England’s green and pleasant land. To do her justice, she is not a turncoat to her cause. She told the meeting at SOAS (packed, of course, as you’d expect) that there were no suicide bombers, only freedom fighters. The fact that freedom is not a conspicuous aspect of the political culture of the part of the world from which she comes seems to have escaped her.

JudeoPundit slams the BBC’s “eulogy” for Habash and reminds us:

He was a pioneer in the use of the airline industry for terror-purposes. That makes the 9/11 operation part of his vile legacy.

Unfortunately, most people - especially media folk - don’t have memories that long.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

via memeorandum.Gazan masses foil attempt to seal off Rafah border

Some Egyptians were also worried that Israel would exploit the situation to try to “drag” Egypt back into the Gaza Strip.Husam Sweilem, a retired Egyptian army general, voiced concern that Israel was planning to push Egypt to annex the Strip and to hand the West Bank over to Jordanian control, thus “ending the dream of establishing a Palestinian state.”

In Ramallah, Palestinian Authority officials said Hamas was using the crisis to extract concessions from the Egyptians on the issue of the Rafah border crossing. The officials expressed “disappointment” over Mubarak’s call for unconditional talks between Fatah and Hamas.

Of course, President Mubarak has the solution to the chaos:

Mubarak proposed in a newspaper interview that representatives of the two movements come to Cairo for talks. “I want this language of violence to stop,” Mubarak was quoted as saying. “Peace could be achieved on the basis of international resolutions and agreements that demand the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

In case he hasn’t been paying attention, Gaza is the Palestinian state for now. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, in accordance with “international law”. And it hasn’t led to greater peace or stability.

Mubarak is pushing for reconciliation between “moderate” Fatah and the terrorist Hamas organization. A Blog for All thinks that this proposal is Egypt’s way of becoming relevant again.

As I’ve predicted in the past, Egypt is now trying to push its own diplomatic efforts after watching the Saudis proffer their own last week. They want to mediate between Hamas and Fatah. The Palestinian civil war continues to simmer as both sides are unwilling and incapable of conceding on basic issues.

From its side Egypt hasn’t shut down the border leading to increased commerce.

You will also note that the Egyptians did not succeed in shutting down the border at 3:00 yesterday like they said they would. In fact, they still haven’t shut it down. Rafah has become one massive shopping mall in which the supposedly ‘penniless’ ‘Palestinians’ look for bargains, just like Massachusetts residents do in New Hampshire and Illinois residents in Wisconsin…. Well… sort of….

The Weekly Standard explains Egypt’s fears in detail:

The breakdown of the Gaza border also exposes the rift between the moderate government in Cairo and the Palestinians. While Arab governments delight in Palestinian attacks on Israel, they are wary of the violence spilling over. The Kuwaitis despise the Palestinians for backing Saddam Hussein during the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Palestinians wore out their welcome in Baghdad after some were connected to terror attacks following the U.S. invasion in 2003. And the Palestinians in Lebanon are treated like third class citizens, unable to hold jobs outside the refugee camps. The Fatah al Islam uprising in the Nahr al Bared camp in northern Lebanon claimed the lives of 122 Lebanese troops while the Ein al Hilwah camp is essentially a no-go area for government forces.

And Israelly Cool! continues to liveblog the whole thing.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

It’s odd writing this when I had nothing to do with it. Haveil Havalim #151 is UP at Jack’s Shack. He’s got a great array of posts on topics ranging from personal reminisces to Israel to the presidential campaign to Anthrax (the rock group, that is.) Check it out!To submit a post about Judaism or Israel for the next edition click here. If you’re a blogger and wish to host let Jack know here. And please, especially if you have a post featured in the current edition, PUBLICIZE IT!

Listed at the Truth Laid Bear Ubercarnival.

Technorati Tags: Blog carnivals, haveil havalim, Israel, Judaism.

I believe now that I can find a silver lining in anything, so I am not absolutely lost to humanity. Here comes an example of a tragic story, idiocy and yes, some silver lining. Plus a superb writer, person and blogger who was too het up to spend a few more minutes in an investigation. Writes Ami Isseroff:

Media bias is apparently an immovable fact of news reporting on the Middle East. I am not talking about doctored photos, use of hate words like “Israel Occupation Forces” and “Apartheid Wall” in more more extremist publications. I am referring to a pervasive standard of more subtle mendacity that we have come to accept. Like people condemned to live near a pigsty or a chemical plant, we have become so used to the stench that we hardly notice it. In the same way, Jews in other times became accustomed to wearing a yellow star, and black people in southern United States understood that they must ride in the back of the bus.

Difficult to disagree, especially on the background of the Western MSM recent surrender to the Hamas’ propaganda. In this instance Ami describes a specific and truly disgusting Reuters piece.

Yesterday, two terror attacks took place in the West Bank. In one, Palestinian Arabs attacked border guards at a checkpoint and killed a border policeman. In another, Palestinian Arabs entered a civilian Yeshiva in the community of Kfar Etzion and tried to kill students there. The students were armed though, and they overcame and killed their attackers.

The Reuters report of this incident is below. It is not outstandingly anti-Israel, just biased and hateful in an ordinary pedestrian way. A casual reader might not notice much bias unless it was pointed out. What do we see here? The headline tells you that two Palestinians and one Israeli was killed. Clearly it is another case of the Israeli Goliath victimizing the oppressed Palestinian David. That is how those lopsided casualty figures pile up - incident by incident.

The lede paragraph tells us that “Jewish settlers shout dead two Palestinians” - without telling us why. It also tells you that “gunmen” (of unidentified origin - maybe Jewish) Killed an Israeli Border Guard (religion and ethnic affiliation unspecified.

Etc. Well, I have invested about 5 minutes to study the author of this dreck. One Ori Lewis, a Jerusalemite, most probably an Israeli. A quick google shows that Ori is mainly a Reuters sports hack with very few articles on other subjects. Now the provenance of the offensive headline “Two Palestinians, Israeli killed in W.Bank incidents” should be clear. Think “Brazil - Uruguay 3:1″. And the further development of the story is a typical report on a sports event.

Small fry and not very professional, in other words. The editor of the story, one Tim Pearce, is quite another matter. Seems like a seasoned editor, having his fingers in lots of pies. But a bit of low level anti-Israeli coverage probably doesn’t bother his majesty. Unless it’s Mr Pearce himself that arranged the article in this way…

In any case: Reuters - Ami 0:1. Easy game, too.

Do you see the silver lining now?

Cross-posted on SimplyJews.