Colin Powell: Talk to terrorists, Israel

Colin Powell proves that it’s a good thing he’s not running the show any more. He thinks it’s okay to deal with Hamas, in spite of the fact that Hamas reiterates at every opportunity its wish to destroy Israel.

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday the international diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East should find some way to talk to Hamas.

“I don’t think you can just cast them into outer darkness and try to find a solution to the problems of the region without taking to account the standing that Hamas has in the Palestinian community,” Powell said in a radio interview.

He said Hamas, which controls Gaza, is not going away and enjoys considerable support among the Palestinian people.

“They won an election that we insisted upon having,” Powell said. “And so, as unpleasant a group they may be and as distasteful as I find some of their positions, I think through some means, the Middle East Quartet… or through some means Hamas has to be engaged.”

Okay, actually, I agre with that last quote. By all means, engage Hamas. Use tanks, bombs, missiles, and lots of ordnance. Because that is the only kind of engagement that the organization understands, and it’s the only kind of engagement it deserves.

What part of “We’re going to destroy Israel” doesn’t Powell get? Because I’ll be happy to explain it to him in words of two syllables or less. Here: Hamas hates Israel. Hamas wants to destroy Israel. Hamas also hates Jews. Back to second sentence.

If you think I am exaggerating in any way, I suggest you read the Hamas charter, which includes references to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and quotes the part of the Koran that talks about killing all the Jews.

The Zionist plan is limitless. After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying.

Sure. Talk to them. You’ll get really far, farther than anyone else has ever gotten. Say, how’s that deal to get Gilad Shalit out of Hamas hands going? Not so good? Well, what about that army Hamas is working on? Think it’s just for peaceful purposes?

Shyeah. Talk to them. Right. That’ll work.

Posted in Hamas | 4 Comments

97 degrees in the shade

Tig went out for all of fifteen minutes. He headed straight for the water dish when he got inside, and I expect he’s going to stay indoors until the heat breaks. The Magical Maine Coon Cat Coat doesn’t work in all weathers. It can’t defeate humidity.

I’m not planning to go out until much later myself. I have a wireless thermometer that now says it’s 97.9 degrees in the shade of my patio. It’s fluctuating about half a degree or so every few minutes. But really—the difference between 97 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit is, well, negligible. Hot it hot. And today, it is very hot in Richmond.

Update: And less than an hour later, it’s twenty degrees cooler. A front moved through, bearing nasty thunderstorms.

Posted in Cats, Life | 1 Comment

Calling Dr. Who fans

Do any of my readers follow the Dr. Who show on Sci-Fi Network?

Would you be willing to record the next three episodes and send the tape/DVD to me? My niece is a big fan, but she’s at Interlochen for the next three Fridays, and her father is one of those people who can’t figure out how to make a VCR work with his TV/cable setup. No chance of taping from that end. And as I don’t carry digital cable, I can’t do it for her.

If you can tape the show, please send me an email. Sorena will be very happy to come home from music camp to three Dr. Who episodes.

Update: Thanks, I’ve got someone helping me become the Best. Aunt. Ever.

Wait ’til she comes home from camp and I give her the episodes. She’s going to be so happy.

Posted in Television | 4 Comments

Hamas readies its army

A disturbing report from an IDF source:

Hamas, the officer went on to say, had established a full-fledged army, consisting of four brigades, corresponding to the different sections of the Gaza Strip. The brigades were made up of a number of battalions and platoons. In addition, Hamas had smuggled in the past two months over the twenty tons of explosives via the Philidelphi Corridor from the Sinai into the Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, the officer claimed that the group had obtained anti-tank missiles, as well as an unknown number of anti-aircraft missiles. Hamas also reportedly possessed old models of Katyusha rockets, and they were working to improve the range of their cache of Kassam rockets, he said.

‘They have an organized military,” the officer said, adding that the total number of infantry had reached some 13,000 recruits. “They have the manpower, they have the training, they have the motivation; the principle is creating a balance of deterrence against Israel,” he said.

The officer also noted that over the past two years since the disengagement, several hundred Palestinians had traveled from Gaza to Iran to receive training. In one case, the officer said, a Palestinian who trained in Iran was responsible for training 400 Palestinians upon his return to Gaza.

That’s the bad news. The good news, the officer says, is that Israel can take out Hamas—if she does it soon.

Claiming that Hamas has jumped light years since Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, a high-ranking IDF officer said that there was currently a limited window of opportunity for Israel to confront the Hamas threat in the Gaza Strip.

“There is an opportunity today since the world has not yet become accustomed to the new Hamas entity, and Hamas has not yet fully completed strengthening it’s military capabilities,” the officer said, adding that Israel was on a “collision course” with the Islamist group.

“The Gaza Strip is a boiling pot, the fire underneath is fueled by [a poor]economy and [an Islamist ideology] and the lid over it is Israel,” the officer was quoted as saying by Israel Radio. “Hamas is currently not acting against Israel because it is not in the group’s interests, but one must not mistake this with the organization’s ultimate goals,” he added.

[…] According to the officer, the IDF has the necessary capability to stop Hamas, and all that was needed was the go-ahead from the government.

Of course, the worse news is that the world will consider any move against Hamas a “disproportionate” “incursion” into Palestinian territory. But the worst news, of course, is that Israel is led by Ehud Olmert. Don’t count on the IDF taking out Hamas anytime soon.

Posted in Hamas, Israel | 4 Comments

Say it with humor

The Protocols, a song by, well, an Elder of Zion.

You should read the comments. They’re filled with remarks by morons who think this song isn’t parody.

Posted in Humor, Jews, Music | 1 Comment

Desensitized to religious offenses

You know, sometimes, I don’t even care anymore about what used to get me apoplectic. Like the addition of an old prayer (sanitized for the modern day) to the Catholic mass. The one where they pray for the conversion of the Jews.

ROME – The most senior official in the Vatican after the Pope on Wednesday suggested that a highly controversial prayer for the conversion of the Jews could be dropped from the re-introduced Latin-language rite.

Speaking at a news conference, Holy See Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was asked about Pope Benedict’s recent decree allowing a wider use of the old Latin missal, or prayer book, that was phased out after the reforms of the so-called Second Vatican Council which sat between 1962 and 1965.

Some Jewish leaders have sharply criticized the decree, which revived the possible use of a passage from the old Latin prayer book for Good Friday calling for Jews to be converted.

[…] The Good Friday prayer asks that God remove the “veil” from Jewish heart so that they would recognize Jesus Christ.

Bertone said the prayer that many Jews have found offensive could be substituted with one introduced into church rituals in the 1970s and which makes no reference to conversion of Jews.

“This could be decided and this would resolve all the problems,” said Bertone, who was speaking near the northern Italian area where the Pope is on a mountain holiday. His news conference was televised live.

I just can’t seem to bring myself to care what Catholics pray about during mass. Nobody listens to the whole thing, anyway. I seriously doubt most Catholics are even going to notice what the priests are saying by the time they get to that one. I’ve been to several Catholic weddings, complete with full mass, and I have to say, they were the most boring weddings I ever attended. In fact, by my third one, I’d figured out how late to arrive to miss the mass altogether and get there in time for the wedding ceremony. I never told the bride and groom, just slipped in near the back while they were busy with their vows. And believe me, I’d do the same again if I ever got invited to another Catholic wedding.

Fastest wedding I ever attended? My cousin’s. Jewish. Second-fastest? My brother’s. He was married by the mayor of his town. In his own living room.

Besides, I’ve started trying to think of a way to start a new, modern, evangelical Judaism movement. I think it’s time I started actively soliciting my readers to convert to Judaism. We effing rock, man. We’re Number One. The parent religion! Before there was Islam… before there was Christianity… there was… JUDAISM!

Talk about your classic formula! Convert to Judaism! Our weddings are cooler and not at all boring! Plus, you get to ride in a chair during the reception!

Once you’re in, we teach you the secret handshake and let you into the club that rules the world. Membership fee required.

Oh, and by the way, your Popeness? Go ahead and keep on praying for my conversion. Three words: Never. Gonna. Happen.

Update: Here’s a great site on converting to Judaism. It has guidelines, anecdotes, and is a fair beginner’s guide to Judaism as well.

Hey. Some of my best friends are converts.

Posted in Religion | 7 Comments

PIJ pretends to call for “calm”

Palestinian Islamic Jihad says they’ll stop sending suicide bombers into Israel. You can stop rolling your eyes now.

The Islamic Jihad may stop initiating suicide bombings inside Israel, according to Walid Abeidi, commander of the group’s military wing, the al-Quds Brigades.

[…] Abeidi, also known as Abu al-Qassam, said that “the organization is considering halting the suicide bombings in order to help bring both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to a mutual calm and ceasefire.”

According to Abeidi, the Islamic Jihad has no intention of thwarting the efforts to reach a truce between Israel and the Palestinians, as the calm will bring about an ease of restrictions on the Palestinian population, will relieve the residents’ suffering and will resume the financial aid, which will also be used to pay the salaries of hundreds of government workers.

“We are not interested in hindering an improvement in the situation of the Palestinian population. We hope this will be made possible as part of an agreement honoring the Palestinians’ rights and will take place as part of a mutual ceasefire and calm,” he said.

But of course, they left themselves the usual vaguely-worded out.

The al-Quds commander added that he hoped Israel would stop pursuing Palestinians and hurt innocent people.

“This is not said from a point of weakness, but from deep concern to the Palestinian situation and interest. The Islamic Jihad will decide on its stance in accordance with the developments, and any stance it decides on will be in favor of the Palestinian people.”

[…] “Israeli violations will be met with harsh responses by the organization’s fighters and the Palestinian resistance. This is our decision and it proves that all the talks in Israel on an external Iranian influence are nonsense,” Abeidi said.

So once again, PIJ says they “might” stop suicide attacks, but only if Israel stops trying to stop them from launching attacks on Israelis. In other words, don’t hold your breath.

You can start rolling your eyes again.

Posted in Israel, Terrorism | Comments Off on PIJ pretends to call for “calm”

The Transnational Old Farts Israel-Haters Club

Be afraid. Be very afraid. The Israel-haters and anti-Americans have a new club.

Nelson Mandela and five other senior statesmen will today form themselves into a team of international troubleshooters called “The Elders”.

The initiative, funded by Sir Richard Branson, will be launched in Johannesburg during celebrations marking Mr Mandela’s 89th birthday.

The former South African president, who spent 27 years behind bars during the apartheid era, is a figure with unparalleled moral authority.

The idea is that he will team up with Jimmy Carter, the former US president, Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary-general, Mary Robinson, the former Irish president, Desmond Tutu, the Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town and Mohammed Yunus, the Nobel Laureate and founder of the Green Bank in Bangladesh.

Okay, I don’t actually know much about Mohammed Yunus beyond his Nobel Peace prize for giving microloans to the poor (an idea which I wholeheartedly support) so they can create their own businesses and be poor no more. He gets a bye. But the others?

The membership of The Elders has been carefully chosen. Each one is a non-partisan figure with a rolodex packed with international contacts.

“This group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken,” said Mr Mandela in a statement.

Shyeah. I’ll bet they’re going to speak freely, and it will mostly be against Israel and the United States. Here’s a look at their previous [kaff] non-partisanship:

Mary Robinson, who led the UN Human Rights Commission during the infamous Durban conference: Anti-Israel. Anti-Israel. Anti-Israel.

Jimmy Carter, whose latest anti-Israel screed is a best-seller: Anti-Israel. Anti-Israel. Anti-Israel.

Nelson Mandela, who never met a Palestinian terrorist he didn’t like: Anti-Israel. Anti-American.

Desmond Tutu, who thinks all the world’s problems can be traced to the U.S. and Israel: Anti-Israel. Anti-Israel. Anti-Semitic?

Non-partisan my ass. I suppose the best thing I can say about this new “council of elders” is that with any luck, they’ll be dropping like flies due to their advanced ages.

Exit question: How long before their first anti-Israel statement is released? Let’s start a pool.

Posted in Israel Derangement Syndrome, World | 16 Comments

Palestinian terror continues; prisoner release on schedule

It’s a good thing that the IDF is pulling back on getting Palestinian terrorists. Because it’s obvious that the Palestinians are giving up terror. Well, if by “giving up terror” you mean “business as usual.

IDF troops discovered a five-kilogram bomb and arrested five Palestinians next to Ramallah on Wednesday.

IDF sappers defused the devise and the Palestinians were transferred for security interrogations.

Ramallah, Ramallah, Ramallah… gee, what’s Ramallah’s importance to the Palestinians?

Oh, right. It’s the home of their government. The place where they complain that Israel isn’t releasing terrorists fast enough.

Ziad Abu Ein, director-general of the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees, said the Palestinians should “not be overjoyed” with the expected release of 250 prisoners on Friday.

“Since (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert announced at Sharm el-Sheik that he would release the prisoners, Israel has detained 326 Palestinians,” he said. “This sort of attitude attitude invites extremism, instead of an attitude that will build a bridge for renewed understanding and trust between the nations.”

According to Abu Ein, some 11,000 Palestinians are still being held in Israeli jails, including 431 minors and 127 women.

“We hoped the Israelis would take the feelings of the Palestinian prisoners and their families into consideration and act with the aim of restoring the Palestinian public’s faith in the peace process,” he said.

Yes, it’s all about restoring the Palestinians’ faith in the peace process. Because they’re such a peaceful people.

An IDF outpost near Nablus came under gunfire Wednesday afternoon.

None of the soldiers were wounded, according to Army Radio.

And of course, there’s the inevitable nightly terrorist roundup:

IDF troops arrested 16 Palestinian terror suspects in the West Bank overnight Tuesday.

Ten of the detainees were arrested in Ramallah, while three were arrested in Bethlehem and another three in Hebron.

This is what Fatah wants to stop. Not the terror. The arrests. It’s the same-old, same-old. It’s not Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat any more. The players have changed. But the game is still the same, and it simply astonishes me that Israel falls for it. Every. Single. Time.

Posted in Israel, Terrorism | Comments Off on Palestinian terror continues; prisoner release on schedule

Spam Karma issues

Folks, regular commenters keep on getting put into Spam Karma’s spam queue. I don’t know why. I’ve had to manually recover comments every day for several days now.

If I can’t figure out why it’s happening, I may have to go to completely moderated comments. Which is far too much extra work.

If anyone out there knows more about Spam Karma than I, advice would be helpful.

Posted in Site news | Comments Off on Spam Karma issues

Our enemies, the Saudis

Did you see this story? Our friends the Saudis are responsible for nearly half the jihadis attacking Americans in Iraq:

Nearly half of the foreign detainees held in Iraq are Saudi citizens, and lists of their names were given to Saudi officials during a recent visit by an Iraqi delegation, national security adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie said in remarks aired Monday.

Al-Rubaie’s comments to Al-Arabiya television were made during a three-day visit last week to Saudi Arabia in which he met senior officials, including Interior Minister Prince Nayef.

“The Iraqi government says that nearly half of the foreigners in Iraqi prisoners are from Saudi Arabia. Hundreds of them are in Camp Bucca and other prisons controlled by coalition forces,” al-Rubaie said. He did not give a total figure of Saudi detainees.

But it gets worse. Hot Air quotes the LA Times:

With its own border with Iraq largely closed, Saudi fighters take what is now an established route by bus or plane to Syria, where they meet handlers who help them cross into Iraq’s western deserts, the senior U.S. military officer said.

He suggested it was here that Saudi Arabia could do more, by implementing rigorous travel screenings for young Saudi males. Iraqi officials agreed.

“Are the Saudis using all means possible? Of course not…. And we think they need to do more, as does Syria, as does Iran, as does Jordan,” the senior officer said. An estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters cross into Iraq each month, according to the U.S. military…

U.S. officials remain sensitive about the relationship. Asked why U.S. officials in Iraq had not publicly criticized Saudi Arabia the way they had Iran or Syria, the senior military officer said, “Ask the State Department. This is a political juggernaut.”

Our friends the Saudis. Home of 15 of the 19. Origin point for Osama bin Laden, and the place where Wahabbism started and is still running full-bore. Billions of Saudi dollars go to Wahabbi madrassahs the world over, and fund mosques and schools even here in America. The ruling family is best buds with the Bushes and, Jimmy Carter has gotten tons of Saudi funds. They even hired a PR firm after 9/11 to try to make Americans think they’re our friends. The campaign failed miserably. We may be many things, Americans, but we are not stupid.

Funny. You never see the kind of slams by the left against Saudi Arabia as you do against Israel, and yet, Saud Arabia can legitimately be blamed for much of the violence across the globe today—and their citizens who came to this country murdered thousands of Americans.

I wonder what the difference is? Oh, right. They’re not Jews.

Posted in Terrorism | 1 Comment

The liars within and without

Israel is simply surrounded by liars.

First, of course, there are the Palestinians, who lie just about every time they open their mouths.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Wednesday denied a Haaretz report that said the Palestinian Authority wants the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to remain closed.

Erekat stated that the PA has requested the opening of the border on numerous occasions.

Haaretz reported on Tuesday that Palestinian sources said PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas asked Israel and Egypt to prevent the movement of people from Egypt to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, after Hamas’ mid-June takeover of the coastal strip.

The sources said that Abbas said if the crossing is opened, Hamas will be able to let in thousands of people without supervision into Gaza – including activists who could strengthen the group, which rival Abbas’ Fatah movement.

Then there is Syria, which insists that those weapons are getting into Lebanon some other way than via Syrian trucks crossing the border at night:

The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations has submitted a letter to the UN secretary general saying that Israel is fabricating evidence against Syria’s supposed smuggling of weapons to Lebanon.

Bashar Ja’afari told Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Syria protests the fact that the UN “adopted the fabricated claims that it received by Israeli intelligence sources.”

The letter also addresses a report submitted several weeks ago by Terje Roed-Larsen, the secretary general’s envoy to Lebanon and Syria, on the implementation of UN resolution 1559. The resolution requires the full withdrawal of Syrian troops and intelligence operatives from Lebanon.

Larsen wrote in the report that weapons are being smuggled to Lebanon through Syria. Though other UN reports have made the same claim – including a secretary general report and an independent investigation on the Syria-Lebanon border – Ja’afari demonstrated pointed contempt for Larsen’s report specifically.

Ja’afari requested that the information Israel passed on to the UN be discounted because it is “hostile” to Syria and occupies its land, he said. The fact that Israel has information on activities on the Syrian-Lebanese border, Ja’afari wrote, proves that Israel is violating UN resolution 1701, which ended last summer’s Second Lebanon War, by flying spy planes over Lebanese skies.

Shyeah. The Syrians pretend they want peace. But they don’t.

“Different parties have been used to send messages. This is not new. It has been going on for quite some time,” Regev said. The problem is not the lack of good people offering their good offices. The problem appears to be with the policy goals of the regime in Damascus.”

“While it is possible that they talk about peace, that’s all it is – talk. They are in fact playing the Israeli card cynically in attempts to solve their diplomatic problems with the countries of Europe and North America without any real intentions to change their relationship with Israel,” he said.

And Syria wants—as a precondition—the return of the Golan Heights.

He said several peace mediators had recently approached him to try to restart talks. “We told those delegations about our firm stance, the rejection of secret negotiations, because there is no need to hide anything from the people,” Assad said.

He added that Syria wanted written guarantees on the restitution of the Golan Heights, taken by Israel in the 1967 war, as a precondition to negotiations.

Sure. Because that’s how it happens. You lose territory in a war—territory from which you shelled civilians—continue to fund the enemies of the state that won the territory, constantly threaten that state, and then, in order to have peace with that state, you get the territory back.

Well, in the Dorktator’s fevered little fantasies, that’s how it happens. In reality, well, no. But the world will definitely blame Israel for not sitting down and making peace with Syria. That’s what happens when you tell a lie often enough. It becomes conventional wisdom, and accepted truth. Just ask the anti-Israel factions why the PLO came into being. They’ll tell you it was the occupation. If you tell them that it was founded in 1964, they won’t believe you.

And we come full circle. Lying. It’s the new truth.

Posted in Israel, Syria | 1 Comment

Simpson mania

File this under: You can’t make this stuff up.

Okay, the setting: There’s a 400-year-old giant chalk outline of a pagan fertility god in a field in England. Sensing a publicity moment, Fox hired the field next to the pagan god and put a giant painting of Homer Simpson (in his undewear) brandishing a donut.

The pagans are not amused.

Pagans have pledged to perform “rain magic” to wash away cartoon character Homer Simpson after he was painted next to their famous fertility symbol – the Cerne Abbas giant.

The 17th century chalk outline of the naked, sexually aroused, club-wielding giant is believed by many to be a symbol of ancient spirituality.

Many couples also believe the 180ft giant, which is carved in the hillside above Cerne Abbas, Dorset, is an aid to fertility.

[…] A giant 180ft Homer Simpson brandishing a doughnut was painted next to the well-endowed figure in a publicity stunt to promote The Simpsons Movie released later this month.

It has been painted with water-based biodegradable paint which will wash away as soon as it rains.

Ann Bryn-Evans, joint Wessex district manager for The Pagan Federation, said: “It’s very disrespectful and not at all aesthetically pleasing.

“We were hoping for some dry weather but I think I have changed my mind. We’ll be doing some rain magic to bring the rain and wash it away.”

But this is the capstone of quotes:

She added: “I’m amazed they got permission to do something so ridiculous. It’s an area of scientific interest.”

Okay. Let’s stop a moment and compare: 180-foot giant naked pagan, not ridiculous. 180-foot giant seminaked Homer, ridiculous.

D'oh! Homer vs. pagan god

Who says pagans have no sense of humor? Okay, well, besides everybody.

Update: Here’s a bigger picture. And here’s the Wikipedia entry explaining the giant’s origin.

Posted in Humor, Pop Culture | 8 Comments

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The end is online

Someone posted images of the final chapter of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows online.

I have no desire to read the ending before the novel is published, but be warned. If you don’t want to know, stay away from spoilers between now and the time you have the book in your hands.

Posted in The Catmage Chronicles | 7 Comments

Italian FM shills for Hamas

The Italian Foreign Minister thinks that Israel should stop isolating Hamas. This is what is wrong with people like him: They acknowledge that Hamas is a terrorist organization, then say that if we don’t “engage” Hamas, it might push them closer to—a terrorist organization. Really. The logic of that is utterly, well, stupid.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema said Hamas is a “significant and substantial” part of the Palestinian people, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Tuesday.

D’Alema expressed fears that isolating Islamic groups like Hezbollah and Hamas will push them towards international terror network al-Qaida.

“Hamas has carried out terror attacks, but it is also a ground roots movement,” he said.

Actually, Hamas is an Iranian-funded arm of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, but don’t let facts get in the way of your lack of knowledge.

“Not recognizing the government elected democratically is not exactly a lesson in democracy, and pushing such a group into the hands of al-Qaida is not in the international committee’s interest.”

The Taliban were not permitted to run for government in Afghanistan. Ba’athists were not allowed to run in Iraq. But in the terrortories, Hamas members were allowed to run against all advice from Israel and the PA. What, exactly, would be the reason for this?

Oh, right. Israel Double Standard Time.

So, you think this guy thinks the U.S. should sit down and talk with Al Qaeda? I’m betting yes.

Posted in Hamas, Israeli Double Standard Time, World | 4 Comments