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This blog is a no-Israel-bashing zone (click for explanation)
6/25/05
I'm traveling to New Jersey today for a funeral. I'll be there for a few days. Posting will probably be light..
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Now I'm refining the results of the other poll. Your attendance is required. And if you don't vote, don't bitch later when I change the site and your preference isn't on it.
Once again, your honesty is required in order to determine the future of this site. And that means you too, invisibles.
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The EU is beginning "low-level" talks with Hamas. The U.S. has stated (and since recanted) talking about discussions with Hamas' "political" wing. So what does Hamas say?
GAZA STRIP - Nizaar Rian, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, told supporters Thursday diplomacy with Israel was a “failure” and encouraged them to redouble efforts to “liberate” Palestine. “All of Palestine, from the river to the sea, will be liberated by the mujhadeen (martyrs) and their rifles, not by pointless diplomatic meetings,” he said.
Look a little closely at the map. "From the river to the sea" is where Israel stands right now. Once again, Hamas openly calls for the destruction of Israel. Cross-posted to yourish.com. Does this get any play in the mainstream media? No. UPI has a brief piece which was picked up only by the Washington Times, and the Times is hardly mainstream. Once again, the terrorists clearly state their aim—which is to eliminate the state of Israel, not live side by side with it—and the world turns a deaf ear.
And oh yeah, these "moderate" terrorists? They're selling rockets to other terrorist groups.
The world does not like the Jews.
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6/24/05
Like, I'm a babe. I'm 5 feet 8 inches, 150 pounds, and I know all the right clothes to wear, and, like, I'm used to being stared at by all the losers who wish they could date me, or all the losers who wish they were me. But, like, I wear a Muslim headscarf (that's a hijab, duh!), and like, it's because Daddy gets That Look if I don't, and, like, it's my statement, y'know? Besides, I have sixteen color-coordinated hijabs, and I have three more on order from this really cool store in Egypt.
Anyway, I try to go to the gym just about every morning. I have a bod to die for, and, like, it cost zero dollars in plastic surgery, ohmigawd, I'd never do the kind of things that those actresses do. And, I'm like, really used to people staring when I work out, because, like, I'm a hottie? And they all wish they looked as good as me?
But, like, the other day, I started noticing that there were more stares than ever while I was walking to the gym, and I was like, "Losers, stop staring at me!" but they were like, still staring, and I was like, is this the right color hijab for this outfit? But then I was like, hello, Queen of Accessorizing here! So I got to the gym, and people were like, still staring at me, and I was like, "Bitch! Go look in the mirror and see what's wrong with your ass," but I was like, cool and just looked at the televisions instead. There were all these boring news shows on. Like, the news is so ten minutes ago. Really, who cares about Bush or a bunch of losers in orange jumpsuits—orange jumpsuits!—in Cuba. Like, Amnesty International, which is the coolest group, all my friends send twenty-five bucks a year to them and we're helping free prisoners of conscience, is that cool or what? Anyway, Amnesty ought to protest the orange jumpsuits. I'd rather die than be caugt wearing orange.
Anyway. So, like, I was getting all bored by the news, and, like, people were still staring at me, so I went over to a treadmill and did some extreme running (like, so great for the butt and thigh, I'll bet Lindsay Lohan wishes she had my butt), but, like, people were still staring at me. And I was like, stop staring at me, losers! And, like, when I reached for my towel, I dropped my keys, 'cause, like, I forgot to put them in my locker, and, I was like, I'm not gonna interrupt my routine to put them back. Next time, though, I'm going to, 'cause, like, it sucks to be running with keys. I'm never gonna do that again, 'kay?
Anyway, like, I watched my keys fly off the treadmill, and I was like, what if they get stuck in the metal part and break it? Will Daddy have to buy them a new treadmill? But, like, they fell to the floor, and I was like, phew. Then this guy comes over and picks them up and hands them to me, and it turns out he was like, Al Gore, the guy who I would have voted for if I'd remembered to vote that day, and I was like, ohmigawd, it's Al Gore! And he was like, "Ma'am, here are your keys." And I was like, "Ma'am? Ma'am? What do I look like, my mother?" And he was like, "Uh, Miss, I need to tell you something." And I was like, "Huh?"
And then he leaned towards me, and whispered, "You have toilet paper sticking out of your sweatpants."
Ohmigawd!
(Note: For those of you who were wondering exactly what the Juvenile Scorn category in the poll meant, it's like, this. And this. And especially this. Definitely that. Don't miss that.)
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It's Blog Nekkid Day. It's all Matt's idea, because, well, let's face it—Matt's a dawg, and he thinks this is going to get a lot of links. (It probably will, for that matter.)
On the other hand, he managed to snag me into it. There will not be photos of me blogging nekkid, but let me tell you that I do not like to lie, and if I say I'm writing this nekkid, then I am.
Tellya what, I'll link to Matt's webcam. He's not too bad-looking.
Now I have to go get dressed for work. I think I'd get into trouble if I made this a Work Nekkid Day.
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6/23/05
I forgot to link this last night. Lair Simon has it. Edloe is the host. It is the funniest, best CoTV there has ever been.
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Take that, lying, terrorist-sponsoring, anti-American state: American troops sent a few messages to Baby Assad: They bombed Syrian troops on the Iraq/Syria border. (It's in the Ma'ariv Hebrew edition, sorry.)
American aircraft this week attacked Syrian border troops with missiles along the Iraqi border. Syrian sources said American helicopters penetrated Syrian territory from Iraq, in violation of Syrian sovereignty, according to a report published Wednesday in the London-based Arabic daily al-Hayat by Ibrahim Hamidi, its senior correspondent in Damascus known for his ties to the Syrian elite.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Perhaps Syria ought to stop sending terrorists to kill Americans.
What do the pals think (none of the obvious jokes, please): An opinion poll shows that they're not happy with Abbas (though we could sort of tell that, what with the bullets flying and bombs going off in his vicinity).
Evaluate the situation in general since the election of Mahmud Abbas:
Things have:
Improved a lot 3%
Improved somewhat 45%
Did not change 39%,
Worsened somewhat 8%,
Worsened a lot 4%
What does it matter if it isn't a victory if it is perceived as one?
Do most Palestinians see Sharon's plan to evacuate the Israeli settlements from Gaza as a victory for the Palestinian armed struggle?
A victory 73%,
Not a victory 20%
But I thought the palestinians want peace!
Do you support the collection of arms from armed Palestinian groups?
Strongly support 10%,
Support 28%,
Oppose 43%,
Strongly oppose 17%
So is this disillusionment, or intent? I suspect the latter.
How soon do you think a political settlement between Israel and the Palestinians will be achieved?
Not possible ever 46%,
Only after many generations 22%,
Only in the next generation 7%,
In the next decade 3%,
In the next few years 16%
Sure, the pals want peace. Absolutely. Because, look at these polls. Are these the poll results of a people who want peace, or what?
The Saudis and free trade? Excuse me? Excuse me? My Congressman is leading the bi-partisan charge to stop the Saudis from getting into the WTO and all the benefits thereof. Good. Bastards are part of the oil cartel that strangles the world, responsible for most of the world's terrorism, and they should be rewarded for this? I don't think so.
Saudi Arabia’s effort to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) and finalize the U.S.-Saudi free-trade agreement that will accompany its admission is coming under increasing attack from a bipartisan group of lawmakers assisted by pro-Israel lobbyists.
Of course, they had to put in the Jewish angle.
Deputy House Majority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and 45 other lawmakers, several in leadership positions, co-signed the letter to Portman. It outlines four areas where the Saudi government must shift policy dramatically before gaining congressional support for its WTO application, filed 12 years ago this month.
The Senate version will likely echo the House letter’s arguments, which highlight human-rights abuses, anti-religious-freedom laws and terrorist financing in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Arab League boycott.
Go, Eric. Say. He only just got elected a few years ago, and he's already Whip? That boy is going places.
It's the terrorism, stupid: Gerald Steinberg on why Hamas will not put down their weapons after they win elections:
This optimism is based on the theory that as the leaders of terrorist, liberation or revolutionary organizations gain political power, they are also forced to deal with the realities of the governing process. According to this model, these realities – providing jobs, housing, health and education, and security – require cooperation with their enemies and neighbors. And this cooperation, in turn, fosters ideological moderation, and a transition from violence to peaceful coexistence.
But like many appealing diplomatic theories, this one has a poor track record in the real world, particularly in the case of radical Islamist groups. In Afghanistan, when the Taliban took power after decades of warfare and terror, many intelligence agents and policy makers expected the extremist mullahs to become pragmatic. But instead of moderation, they converted their power into a reign of terror used to impose the most extreme form of Islam on the entire population.
The Taliban leaders never bought into the concepts of responsible government. And social services – health, education and economic development – were not high on their list of priorities. And instead of cooperation with the West, Mullah Omar and the rest of the Taliban leadership used their control over Afghanistan to provide Osama bin Laden with a safe haven and a base for operations.
THE SAME theory was used to predict the transformation of Hizbullah from a Shi'ite terror group focused on attacking Israeli and Western targets into a political party focusing on internal Lebanese issues. But in this case as well, the hard evidence has proven stronger than the soft theory, at least in the five years since the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Instead of ending its terror activities and investing more in social services, Hizbullah engaged in kidnapping Israeli soldiers, the deployment of 12,000 rockets, and in providing direct support for Palestinian terror attacks. So while Hizbullah pursues political power in Lebanon in parallel with terrorism, the declarations of leaders such as Hassan Nasrallah, rejecting all disarmament proposals, appear entirely credible.
I told you they'd find something wrong with it: The Boston Herald's editorial staff proves my point from the other day that someone would find fault with the agreement to raze the houses in Gaza.
It is a measure of the great political and cultural divide that is the Middle East that at least 8,500 homes in Gaza will be reduced to rubble this summer and all sides regard this as great news.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice celebrated the announcement during her Mideast trip. Officials of the Palestinian Authority wanted the homes of evacuating Israeli settlers leveled to make way for high-rises that can accommodate more Palestinian residents. And the Israeli settlers, who will be compensated by their government for the loss of their homes, are apparently pleased that those houses will never see Palestinian flags rising above them.
Such is the level of hostility that destruction is the only thing that seems to please all parties. How wasteful and how tragic!
Ooh, they used an exclamation point. That makes it doubly tragic.
Never underestimate the ability of people to find fault with anything Israel is involved with. It's a double-whammy: Israeli Double Standard Time and The Exception Clause.
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6/22/05
Matt got me to agree to join blog nekkid day.
I didn't say I'd be providing pictures.
I will not.
I expect I'll have to post right after my morning shower, what with having to go to work and all that.
Yes, I could get lower than this. But I won't.
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Stupid palestinian quote of the day
"You cannot fight every Tom, Dick and Harry who has a rocket launcher or has a missile ... and decides to shoot it off. These things happen." — Rafiq Husseini, Mahmoud Abbas' chief of staff.
Cross-posted to The Jewish View.
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It isn't bad enough that Tig killed a bluejay. It isn't bad enough that Tig brought the dead bluejay back after I'd gotten rid of it. It isn't bad enough that I had to get a dead bird off my patio for the second time in one day. This evening, he brought back another dead bird. Another starling. Only this time, I had to wonder if it was the same bird he found three weeks ago (gawd, I hope not), and this time, he was effing playing with it. He tossed it up into the air and leaped after it. He let it fall to the ground and batted it with his paw. He commenced to be so jolly with it, that Gracie wanted to run outside and play with him. I finally got him inside, got two plastic bags, one to pick it up with, and one to put it in, brought it to the dumpster, washed my hands twice, and then watched Tig as he went outside and started looking for his plaything.
Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew.
I may never get another cat.
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No time to post much this morning. But time for these:
PA TV still wants your child to blow up Israelis
Condi is finally getting that Abbas can't (read: won't) do the job
Democracy: What's in it for the pals
Tourism to Israel is up 30% (HA-ha)
An overview of the Sharon-Abbas meeting (and the terrorists are pissed)
And I'm outta here.
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6/21/05
If you folks would take some time to respond to this poll, it'd be helpful. Do me a favor, don't choose multiple answers if you're going to choose "All of the above." It's not my code, so I can't stop you, but I'd appreciate that one being chosen by itself for a true picture. Thanks.
This is a serious poll. There are some major changes coming down the pike, very soon, and your truthful answers will help me effect those changes.
Also, if my "invisibles" would please take a moment to take this poll, it would help me greatly. I know that 80 percent of you read this weblog and never comment, never email (and never hit the tipjar, bummer), but if you'd at least take this poll, I could get a better idea of why people are reading.
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Mostly, stuff I'm not posting here. I could cross-post, and may in the future, but the cut-and-paste JewNews articles are all going over there.
You should be going over there, too. Don't you want to be in on the ground floor for the next great group weblog? I hear that someone's working on a rather controversial post for tomorrow. And it isn't me.
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Clinton's State Department, redux
The palestinians attempted to greet the U.S. Secretary of State in their traditional manner: With a welcoming explosion of Jews. The IDF prevented a female suicide bomber who used her humanitarian pass to try to smuggle a bomb past a checkpoint, and when that failed, tried to blow herself up. She intended to blow up a hospital. Meantime, the terrorists ambushed and murdered civilians. The man who sent the suicide bomber says "The next bomber will succeed," and that he won't stop trying until one gets through. Islamic Jihad has never stopped operations, and the IDF just arrested 52 Islamic Jihad terrorists overnight. Palestinian spokesliar condemns "the cycle of violence," equating Israel's arresting terrorists with terrorists murdering Israelis. And what does the Secretary of State say?
Well, nothing. She's too busy telling Egypt to have a democracy and telling Israel to stop building more housing in Jerusalem suburbs. But the State Department had a stern warning for the PA:
"We strongly condemn the terror actions of the last several days, directed at taking the lives of Israelis and sabotaging efforts for peace," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday. "Now is the time for the Palestinian Authority to act against terrorists."
Explain to me how this is any different than what Clinton did five years ago. Clinton failed. If the Bush Administration follows this same line, it will also fail.
And if the PA keeps on putting terrorists on its police force, we are going to see an absolute repeat of what happened four years ago.
I'll have much more on this subject later.
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6/20/05
Here's the search: "how a queen ant get elected."
Yes, someone actually searched on that.
Yes, my blog showed up on the first page of that search.
Yes, someone actually clicked on my link to see if s/he could find out how a queen ant gets elected.
I blame George Lucas. He's the moron that made being Queen of Naboo an elected office. (Then again, he's the man who created a planet named Naboo in the first place.)
The stupidity of the people in this world frightens me, sometimes.
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I don't have much time to post here this morning. My extra thirty minutes got cut into by taking care of a neighbor's dog, who wanted to walk but not do anything else. I suspect either she was walked already this morning by teenaged friend, or she's done something I don't want to know about upstairs where I did not look.
Anyway, The Jewish View will have plenty of posts today by me and others. Once again, if you want to be blogrolled or post there, contact me via comments -at- thejewishview.com or here.
I will go in-depth later into this: terrorist leader Zakariya Zubeidi is joining the PA police. Wonderful. They already tried this. The police are then complicit in suicide bombings.
You know, the whole palestinian Authority is a sham. Mahmoud Abbas is simply trying to put them all together into the semblance of an actual organization that does not care about killing Jews, so they can then kill more Jews.
The next year or two is going to be very, very bad for Israel. Not in attacks per day—but her enemies are strengthening their hand for the next war. And next time, Iran will have nukes.
Israel had better delineate the Samson Option in no uncertain terms, because I don't see much else deterring the Mad Mullahs and the Holocaust deniers who now lead the PA.
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6/19/05
He's not a space cadet: I'm adding Rand Simberg to my links page under the long-overdue additions category. I should probably stop thinking that just because he sometimes writes about space doesn't mean he always writes about space. Sorry about that, Rand. Plus, well, he's got a really cool name. Not Randy. Not Randall. Just Rand. Kewl.
Bad news. Mommabear lost Poppabear. Our sympathies are with you.
The dry air is evidently good for her: Ilyka is back, and as vituperative as ever. (I have to use that word here, as I used it there.)
She writes them, so I don't have to: Lynn's got two posts that lighten my load. The first is about how clueless Condi seems to be on the palestinian situation. The second is how the pals don't want a two-state solution. Yeah, we knew that. I see a very bad stretch for Israel coming in the near future. Once again, the world is ignoring what the pals are saying, and pretending that the pals are saying what's in the world's head. Uh-huh. And I'm going to win the lottery tomorrow, too.
The hibernation is over: NZ Bear revamped his site and the Ecosystem. Link me, folks, I've fallen and I can't get up. Actually, I'm serious. You folks aren't linking to me anymore. That isn't helping me, blog-wise, y'know? Say, send email to your friends and tell them what a great blog this is. Lie if you have to; I don't care.
And I'm outta here.
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I've started a new group blog, The Jewish View. It's finally open for business. You'll notice some familiar names among the authors. I'll be cross-posting somewhat there and here, but I'm working on changing directions here. I may put most of the Jewish-themed blog posts over on The Jewish View.
If you are a blogger who writes on Jewish issues and themes, and are interested in joining the crew, email me either there or here.
And many thanks to One Fine Jay, who created the theme and helped immensely in the site creation. Oh, and of course, Wind Rider, who never seems to get tired of my tech phone calls.
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You saw the news article about Tig killing a bluejay. But there's so much more behind the story that didn't make it into the news. Typical media laziness, with what looked to me like an anti-cat bias. So I have to fill you in on my wonderful (sigh) Friday morning.
I get up half an hour earlier than I need to, and I do this for you, my
readers,so you can have a new post or two to read every morning. (No applause,
just throw money.) Friday's weather was beautiful: The humidity finally
broke, it was clear, dry, and heading into the low eighties. I was downstairs
early enough that I decided I had enough time to take the top off my jeep
and ride to work in all its top-down glory. So I'm very much looking forward
to that while writing and making breakfast. In the background, the patio
door is open and the cats are going in and out as they please, staying
to the back yard, which is great, because I don't have to waste time chasing
them when I have to leave. I hear the occasional bluejay and think nothing
of it. The jays have been flying to the kitchen roof and teasing the cats
lately. They come close, scream at the cats, the cats yowl back at them
(words to the effect of, "I want to eat that bird, please make it
come down closer to me"), I ignore the situation, life goes on.
Well. Friday morning, I suddenly hear the jays going wild. Screaming, lots of them, from outside. Thinking they're mobbing Tig, I jump out of my chair and see—Tigger, walking slowly and proudly, with a dead jay in his mouth. He killed it instantly. Broke its neck, I think. It was in full plumage, but I think it was a juvenile. It seemed rather small. So I quickly run for the digital camera, but by the time I got it ready, Tig had dropped the bird on the ground and was nosing around it, waiting for his praise. Tig Mighty Bluejay Hunter, you see. He is providing for me. Yum. Roast bluejay for dinner. Not.
Now, it's not even eight o'clock, and I have not yet had my breakfast, and I had no desire to touch a dead bird before, during, or after breakfast. Plus, the bluejays are incensed, and they are grouping around the patio and screaming at Tig. I figure they might decide to come after me, because they are nasty birds. Can't stand 'em. They were the only birds I wouldn't stop my brothers from killing with their BB gun when we were teenagers. So I get Tig inside, and the dead bird is sitting outside my door, and the jays are outside screaming, and I'm thinking that I can't leave the bird until I get home from work, what with ants and flies and things it will attract, and I do not want that on my doorstep.
So. Instead of having the time to take the windows off my Jeep and put the top down, I had to muster the courage to get a dead jay off my patio. I threw it under the fence in the back, threw out the paper towels and washed my hands (I insist on washing my hands after touching one of Tig's kills even if I haven't physically touched it), then went grumbling and grossed out to work. The jays were still screaming at Tig, who they could see through the glass door, when I left.
Cut to: Nine hours later, home from work and the market, and I open the patio door for the cats. Five minutes later, I hear the flock of bluejays screeching again. I look out the door, and Tig has brought back the dead jay. He found it where I had left it. Now I have to pick it up again, only now it's ten hours more dead, and I'm even more grossed out. This time, though, I get a bag, put it in, and throw it in the dumpster, where Tig, it is to be hoped, cannot find it. So far, he has not.
And now they're predicting thunderstorms. So the Jeep top stays up. Dammit.
Cats.
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Last week's blogs are archived. Looking for the Buffy Blogburst Index? Here's Israel vs. the world. Here's the Blogathon. The Superhero Dating Ratings are here. If you're looking for something funny, try the Hulk's solution to the Middle East conflict, or Yasser Arafat Secret Phone Transcripts. Iseema bin Laden's diary is also a good bet if you've never been here before.
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