Handy Glossary of Terms

The great Victor Davis Hanson has provided a handy vocabulary for the war in the Middle East.

The Vocabulary of Untruth

A "ceasefire" would occur should Hezbollah give back kidnapped Israelis and stop launching missiles; it would never follow a unilateral cessation of Israeli bombing. In fact, we will hear international calls for one only when Hezbollah’s rockets are about exhausted.

"Civilians" in Lebanon have munitions in their basements and deliberately wish to draw fire; in Israel they are in bunkers to avoid it. Israel uses precision weapons to avoid hitting them; Hezbollah sends random missiles into Israel to ensure they are struck.

"Collateral damage" refers mostly to casualties among Hezbollah’s human shields; it can never be used to describe civilian deaths inside Israel, because everything there is by intent a target.

"Cycle of Violence" is used to denigrate those who are attacked, but are not supposed to win.

"Deliberate" reflects the accuracy of Israeli bombs hitting their targets; it never refers to Hezbollah rockets that are meant to destroy anything they can.

"Deplore" is usually evoked against Israel by those who themselves have slaughtered noncombatants or allowed them to perish — such as the Russians in Grozny, the Syrians in Hama, or the U.N. in Rwanda and Dafur.

"Disproportionate" means that the Hezbollah aggressors whose primitive rockets can’t kill very many Israeli civilians are losing, while the Israelis’ sophisticated response is deadly against the combatants themselves. See "excessive."

Anytime you hear the adjective "excessive," Hezbollah is losing. Anytime you don’t, it isn’t.

"Eyewitnesses" usually aren’t, and their testimony is cited only against Israel.

"Grave concern" is used by Europeans and Arabs who privately concede there is no future for Lebanon unless Hezbollah is destroyed - and it should preferably be done by the "Zionists" who can then be easily blamed for doing it.

"Innocent" often refers to Lebanese who aid the stockpiling of rockets or live next to those who do. It rarely refers to Israelis under attack.

The "militants" of Hezbollah don’t wear uniforms, and their prime targets are not those Israelis who do.

"Multinational," as in "multinational force," usually means "third-world mercenaries who sympathize with Hezbollah." See "peacekeepers."

"Peacekeepers" keep no peace, but always side with the less Western of the belligerents.

"Quarter-ton" is used to describe what in other, non-Israeli militaries are known as "500-pound" bombs.

"Shocked" is used, first, by diplomats who really are not; and, second, only evoked against the response of Israel, never the attack of Hezbollah.

"United Nations Action" refers to an action that Russia or China would not veto. The organization’s operatives usually watch terrorists arm before their eyes. They are almost always guilty of what they accuse others of.

As always, read all of Dr. Hanson's piece. He does an admirable job clarifying the conflict.

The other desideratum is the destruction of Israel itself. Iran promised to wipe Israel off the map, and then gave Hezbollah thousands of missiles to fulfill that pledge. In response, the world snored. If tomorrow more powerful rockets hit Tel Aviv armed with Syrian chemicals or biological agents, or Iranian nukes, the "international" community would urge "restraint" - and keep urging it until Israel disappeared altogether. And the day after its disappearance, the Europeans and Arabs would sigh relief, mumble a few pieties, and then smile, "Life goes on."

And for them, it would very well.

Hating Jews and Americans

How Hating Jews Transformed Into Hating Americans in a translation from Watching America;

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the fundamental catchword of the surviving leftist regimes has been anti-Americanism. But this is recent. Historically, Europe has been anti-Semitic; a deceptive term since in reality we are talking of a phobia against Jews [the Arabs are also Semites]. Since the days of the New Testament during Roman times, blaming the Jews has been the preferred method of explaining all of the bad things that occur on this planet: we Hebrews live among you and we are alike, but we also have differences, that's why we are ideal for being chosen as scapegoats.

After the World Wars, Europeans, Russians and American redrew the Middle East map, uniting ethnic groups, mixing sects, and anointing easily-controlled monarchies. In its beginnings, what has become Israel was colonized by people who were clear social idealists; that is why in the early years of independence, Israel was seen with affability by the entire Western world, and with deep hatred by its Muslim neighbors, who swore to never recognize the State of Israel and to eliminate the Jews from the region.

Now these theocratic dictatorships are ideal allies for all powers that want to fight the hegemony of the United States. Therefore, to be a true leftist is necessarily to hate North America and its main partner in the region, Israel. And hating Israel is the less grotesque way of being anti-Semitic and at the same time to hold a more refined opinion that is shared by Europeans.

A third of the member-states of the U.N. that are officially Muslim are not democracies and do not respect human rights; but these countries have a quarter of the world's population and territory, as well as the largest petroleum reserves. That explains why the largest number of U.N, [General Assembly] resolutions have been against Israel and not the governments that torture their opponents, maintain women in a state of slavery and mutilate their genital organs, execute homosexuals, don't allow freedom of religion or expression and harbor terrorist groups. It is illustrative that European governments and their supposed intellectuals, feminists and defenders of gay's rights, don't come out in defense of the only nation in the Middle East that agrees with the basic Western elements of coexistence.

It is important to emphasize that there are Israelis and Jews of every nationality who promote peace and the self-determination of the Palestinians, while not a single voice of protest is heard from any Islamic representative when terrorist attacks strike civilians in Israel. If there are only about 15 million Jews in the entire world, how can it be that 1.5 billion Muslims all seem to think in exactly the same way?

There is no justification for the deaths of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, just as there is no justifying the fact that they are used as human shields and that Islamic governments harbor terrorist groups. Israel has given up territory, has exchanged prisoners and has proposed peace, but has received only bombs and death. When leftists attack Israel just to be against the United States, they justify the cruel social injustices in the Islamic world, and the anti-modernity in which they [Muslims] remain mired because of its wealthy rulers. Negotiating with kidnappers is to surrender beforehand.

Why does Russia insist on crushing the Chechen separatists? Why does China keep Tibet? Why does England maintain Ulster? Why doesn't Spain give independence to the Basques? Why doesn't India withdraw from Kashmir? And finally, how would Brazil or Venezuela act if the FARC entered their territory to claim it?

The original text in Spanish is also provided.

Wake Up!

Stop kidding yourselves.

Obsession: What the War on Terror is Really About

This movie is from HonestReporting.com. You can order a DVD.

Iranian Response Set For August 22

On August 22nd the Iranians will respond to the appeasement offer of the West has made for them to stop enriching uranium.

Robert Spencer has a good idea of what that response will be.

I pray that he is wrong. If he is right, Iran stands a good chance of being reduced to a smoking glass lined pit.

Timeless Judenhass

Michael Medved has an excellent piece on his blog at Townhall.com.

Bashing Israel and Timeless Bias

Like most American Jews of my post-Holocaust generation, I’ve never suffered significant harm from anti-Semitism. Sure, I’ve experienced the random rude remark, or expression of distaste, or hints of ethnic and religious hostility, but Jew-hatred in no way has interfered with my success, happiness or sense of well-being in this grand, glorious and good-hearted nation.

Recent debates about the Middle East war, however, make it inescapably clear that anti-Semitic attitudes remain a significant factor for an embittered minority of Americans, emerging with special force at times of stress. When callers to my talk radio show insist that Israel remains at fault for the current fights in Gaza or Lebanon, traditional Jew hatred (or delusional psychology) probably plays a role in the analysis.

It doesn’t matter that Israel withdrew from both areas—occupying no square inch of Gaza, nor of Lebanon’s internationally recognized territory. It doesn’t matter that the Israelis endured daily Qassam rocket attacks from Gaza, and frequent (and much more deadly) Katyusha rocket assaults from Lebanon: even if Israelis go to war to defend their innocent civilians, for some people it’s still the Jews who must be at fault. The instinct for “blaming the Jews” flourishes alongside the similar instinct for “excusing the terrorists” – as long as their chief targets happen to be Jews.

Callers to my talk show have fingered the long-retired Henry Kissinger, Paul Wolfowitz (head of the World Bank), AIPAC (The America Israel Public Affairs Committee), the Illuminati, “international bankers,” “the Rockefellers”(in the mistaken belief that they’re Jewish and somehow connected to Israel),” “the media elite,” and other traditional anti-Semitic bogeymen in their efforts to discredit the Israeli response.

Go read all of this excellent post.

Major Drug Smuggler

For the first time the top police chief in Japan has alleged that North Korea, in 2002, smuggled amphetamines into Japan. And, it was not a criminal or group of criminals, it was the criminal North Korean government.

From the Japan Times, North Korea government smuggled drugs: NPA chief

The commissioner general of the National Police Agency has said the North Korean government was involved in smuggling several hundred kilograms of amphetamines into Japan in 2002.

"It is a case where North Korea was involved as a state," Iwao Uruma said.

This is the first time the nation's top police chief has alleged the North Korean government has been involved in drug smuggling.

In May, police arrested several people, including Woo Si Yun, 59, an alleged South Korean drug dealer, on suspicion of smuggling the amphetamines into Japan using a North Korean freighter in 2002.

The crew of the North Korean ship is believed to have dropped the drugs into the Sea of Japan off Shimane Prefecture on four occasions between June and November 2002.

Smugglers successfully recovered them using a fishing boat in three of the four cases and brought the illicit cargo to a port in Shimane.

In the fourth case, they failed to pick up the amphetamines, which drifted ashore in adjacent Tottori Prefecture, the police said.

"Relevant evidence so far prompts me to believe all the amphetamines confiscated were manufactured in North Korea," Uruma said.

"Amphetamines made in several factories in North Korea made it to Japan through several routes."

Police authorities also said Friday they have determined that the chemical composition of the amphetamines found in Tottori was all but identical to that of amphetamines they seized in the Pacific off Kochi Prefecture in 1998.

The Japan Coast Guard has concluded the North Korean boat apparently involved in the failed 1998 smuggling attempt was identical to a refitted North Korean boat that sank in 2001 after a shootout with a Japan Coast Guard vessel.

What a pathetic excuse for a government.

Hezbollah Prevents Evacuation

It is no secret that Hezbollah hides behind civilians, hoping that they will die when Israel attacks Hezbollah sites or responds to Hezbollah fire. They count on the world blaming Israel for those deaths. This is happening as it is driven by a liberal, anti-semitic press. The truth is, it is a (real) war crime for a nation to place its aggressive military sites in civilian areas or use civilian homes to hide military personnel or equipment. Hezbollah is not a nation, so it appears that they are off the hook. Also, the liberal press will always blame Jews over terrorists.

Here is another example of Hezbollah arranging human shields for itself.

From ynetnews.com, IDF: Hizbullah preventing civilians from leaving villages in southern Lebanon

The IDF has found that Hizbullah is preventing civilians from leaving villages in southern Lebanon. Roadblocks have been set up outside some of the villages to prevent residents from leaving, while in other villages Hizbullah is preventing UN representatives from entering, who are trying to help residents leave. In two villages, exchanges of fire between residents and Hizbullah have broken out. (Hanan Greenberg)

The American press has not reported this yet as they cannot figure out how to blame the Jews or the Americans for it.

Of course the UN has seen this and is doing nothing, as usual.

Children's TV - Islam Style

Everybody knows that all good children want to become "martyrs" in jihad. After all, what can be more beautiful than killing Jews and Americans?

Egypt primes children for jihad

An Egyptian Islamic cleric working for the state ministry of religious endowment has used a children's television program to encourage young children to strive for holy war.

During program, made available by the Arabic translation service MEMRI , the cleric told a story about Muslim children in history keen
to "sacrifice" themselves and kill "infidels" for the cause of Islam.

"Let's listen to a very beautiful story to learn about the courage of a child, and how, when a child is brought up in a good home, and receives proper education in faith, he loves martyrdom, which becomes like an instinct for him. He can never give it up," Sheik Muhammad Nassar told children on the program, which aired on the Al-Nas television channel.

"This story, my friends, is a beautiful story. Abu Qudama was the commander of the army of the Muslims, when they fought the Byzantines. The Byzantines had a very, very large army, whereas the Muslims did not have many fighters. So Abu Qudama walked down the alleys and streets, among the poor, calling: 'Come join the Jihad,' 'Come join the Jihad,'" Nassar said.

'Take my boy to the jihad'

He continued: "A woman said to him: 'Abu Qudama, I have a boy. I will give him to you. Take him with you to war.' He asked: 'Is he still a boy?' She said: 'He is 15 years old, and his father was martyred in the previous war. Since his father's martyrdom, he sits day and night, praying that Allah grant him martyrdom.'"

The Muslim commander is described as "praising Allah" for receiving the child-soldier from his mother.

Describing the participation of children in jihad, Nassar said: "Sa'id shot the first arrow, killing one (infidel). With the second arrow, he killed another infidel, and with the third, he killed a third. Then he was hit by an arrow, and fell to the ground as a martyr. He achieved the martyrdom for which he yearned. A little later, he drew his last breath. Sa'id, the 15-year-old child, was martyred for the sake of Allah. He died happy."

What a lovely story from the RoP.

Ta Mok Meets Satan

The only sad thing about the death of this monster is the fact that he will not be available to testify against his fellow monsters at trial.

Khmer Rouge Leader Ta Mok Dies Ahead of Trial

PHNOM PENH—Ta Mok [born Ung Choeun - ed.], the 82-year-old former Khmer Rouge commander whose actions earned him the nickname "The Butcher," has died at a military hospital in the Cambodian capital.

Ta Mok, who died Friday, was being treated for high blood pressure, tuberculosis, and breathing complications, his lawyer, Benson Samay, said.

Widely known as a ruthless enforcer for Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, Ta Mok remained powerful for years after Vietnam toppled the Khmer Rouge. He controlled northern areas of the Khmer Rouge's remaining territory from his base at Anlong Veng.
One of two defendants in custody

After a split in the party, he declared himself supreme commander in 1997 and was detaining Pol Pot when he died.

Earlier this month, officials were sworn in for a long-awaited trial of those blamed for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people under the Khmer Rouge from 1975-79. Ta Mok could have provided key testimony against other defendants.

Only Ta Mok and former prison commander Kaing Khek Iev, also known as Duch, were in custody ahead of the trial, and many people fear that more defendants—all of whom are elderly—may die before they can be tried.

Ta Mok was one of the important leaders of the genocide.

Ta Mok is one of the Khmer Rouge leaders profiled in Seven Candidates for Prosecution by Steve Heder, which lays out the cases against seven top leaders.

Heder cites "significant evidence that Ta Mok…played a central role in implementing the Communist Party’s execution policies."

The only sadness in the death of this monster is for the 30,000 victims he is personally responsible for, and the other millions who were killed in other provinces under the Khmer Rouge.

North Korea May Face New Famine

Adherence to the Juche idea and a failure to develop any kind of market economy make North Korea susceptible to disasters that would not be disasters in a western country. Two major storms have caused flooding that has destroyed young rice crops in large areas of what little arable land North Korea has.

Floods may bring famine to North Korea

UPDATE: The above link does not seem to be reliable, here is a better one, Floods could push North Korea back into famine

Experts have warned that the North Korea people, who constantly battle food shortages, could be facing a famine after heavy flooding in key farming regions this month.

Two major storms over the past ten days have hit the impoverished country with some of the heaviest rainfalls in years just as it faces greater international isolation over missile tests this month and the prospect of less food aid from its major donor, South Korea.

"Conditions have never been that good in North Korea and this could push them over the edge again," said Peter Beck, an expert in Korean affairs for the International Crisis Group.

"This has increased the probability of a famine returning to North Korea," he said.

Up to 2.5 million North Koreans, or about 10 per cent of its population, died in the 1990s due to famines caused by droughts, flooding and mismanagement of the agriculture sector, the United Nations World Food Programme said studies have indicated.

You would think that Kim Jong Il would be interested in maintaining a good relationship with the countries that feed his failed country, but no,

He said Pyongyang's main benefactor China probably shipped North Korea far less food in the first quarter of this year than it did in the same period of last year.

South Korea has sent huge amounts of rice and fertiliser aid to North Korea over the past several years. But it has rejected the North's latest request for 500,000 tonnes for rice for this year, unless Pyongyang returns to stalled talks on ending its nuclear weapons programmes.

North Korea's Declaration of Independence

William S. Cohen, the former Secretary of Defense, has a few things to say about North Korea's declaration of independence.

Commentary: North Korea's declaration of independence

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On July 4, North Korea fired off six missiles, followed two days later by a seventh. Kim Jong Il, North Korea's repressive leader, was not celebrating America's independence holiday, but declaring his own independence from world opinion, while secretly craving American attention.

The international community responded quickly and with near unanimity, condemning North Korea's actions as dangerous and provocative.

The UN Security Council resolution, passed unanimously on Saturday after an 11-day impasse, showed solidarity among nations in demanding that North Korea return to the bargaining table rather than their missile launching pads. That North Korea promptly rejected this resolution demonstrated what we must be careful to avoid: that tough words followed by little action will likely produce North Korea's further contempt for those alarmed by its actions [I think that that is exactly what is going to happen. - ed.]. The international community must follow through on enforcing the sanctions called for in the resolution, and resort to stronger action in the Security Council if these measures are not enough.

Some now suggest that since the six-party talks have failed to bring about a successful negotiation to the persistent crisis generated by North Korea, the only alternative is for the United States to agree to engage in direct bilateral negotiations with the North Koreans. Why, it is asked, should we hold on to form and pass on the opportunity to participate in direct diplomacy?

The answer is that more than the size and shape of a conference table is involved. A willingness on the part of U.S. officials to meet with North Koreans in the context of the six-party talks should be encouraged. Initiating direct bilateral negotiations in response to provocative missile launches would be a mistake, as it would reward provocation and enable the North Koreans to blame the United States if the negotiations continue to end in an impasse.

Why is that so hard for liberals to understand? Give Kim what he wants and it will validate his behavior as successful.

His behavior is wrong on many levels. Besides the wholesale murder and starvation of his population, there is now the impetus for his neighbors to be more active in defending themselves.

Japan's desire to develop the means to actively defend itself in response to threats such as North Korea's provocations is real, growing and perfectly understandable. Japanese Defense Minister Fukushiro Nukaga last week reiterated Japanese policy that it has the legal right, even under its pacifist constitution written by the United States after World War II, to strike hostile missiles that are being prepared to launch against Japan, adding that Japan should debate what military capabilities it should possess for such missions. The number two official in Japan's government, Shinzo Abe, who seeks to replace Prime Minister [Junichiro] Koizumi this fall, endorsed these views.

Kim Jong Il needs to beware the law of unintended consequences.

Arab World has Had Enough

In an editorial yesterday in USA Today, Youssef Ibrahim explains how Iran has overplayed its hand and will not receive Arab support.

Finally, it seems, Iran has overplayed its hand

The attempt by Hezbollah and Hamas to drag the whole Arab world into their war with Israel in the past two weeks has drawn flak in the form of Arab public opinion that neither militant jihadist organizations anticipated.

Speaking in an unusually blunt tone, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain openly rejected what they described as unilateral "adventurism," telling both groups that they are on their own vis-a-vis Israel. More important, indications are surfacing that a long-silent Arab majority has had enough of being hijacked by extremists in its midst.

In a meeting of its 22 foreign ministers Saturday in Cairo, the League of Arab States did not mince words. "Behavior undertaken by some groups in apparent safeguarding of Arab interests does in fact harm those interests, allowing Israel and other parties from outside the Arab world (read Iran) to wreak havoc with the security and safety of all Arab countries."

Read the whole thing for details.

The sentiments of the Arab governments has everything to do with the Sunni/Shia conflict (they would still love to exterminate the Jews). Iran is now starting to find that they cannot continually undermine the Arab states and then expect support whenever they want it, even when it involves killing Jews.

Watch as Europe knuckles under to Hezbollah first.

Doomsday for Syria and Iran via Hezbollah

Charles has the story at Little Green Footballs.

Tel Aviv Attack Imminent?

Nasrallah Will Give Tel Aviv Residents One Hour to Flee

The unnamed sources are quoted by the Palestinian Authority-based news agency Ma'an as saying:

"The Lebanese resistance is preparing a retaliation parallel to Israel's military actions. Hassan Nasrallah will address the people of Tel Aviv and warn them to evacuate the city within one hour. As soon as the delay ends, hundreds of heavy missiles will start landing in the city, which has been divided into squares in order to let damage reach every inch of the city. An estimated 500 missiles are expected to land in Tel Aviv in a short period of time."

The Arab sources further said that the Hizbullah has been very careful in cultivating its public image, in order to increase the surprise effect of the planned barrage on Tel Aviv.

Well, here is some news for Iran and Syria from Dan Gillerman.
Video: “Doomsday,” says Gillerman, if Hezbollah hits Tel Aviv

A Bloody Nose for Iran

DEBKAfile is a web site written by people rumored to be involved with Israeli intelligence. They often write some pretty wild things, and are not always terribly reliable. Many people don't give them credit for better that 50% accuracy, but I think it is considerably better than that.

Here is an interesting analysis of the various political interests at play in this war.

Bush Wants the Hizballah-Israel War to Give Iran a Bloody Nose

Since the onset of the Israel-Hizballah war on July 12, US president George W. Bush never tires of repeating that Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorists and that it is up to Syria to press Hizballah to stop shooting rockets at Israel.

His secretary of state Condoleezza Rice says she doesn’t see how an immediate ceasefire can solve the Middle East crisis.

UN secretary general Kofi Annan, playing along, is in no hurry to take a hand. “It will be a while before fighting ends,” he says calmly. And Germany’s Angela Merkel thinks the kidnapped Israeli soldiers should be returned before any talk begins.

Britain’s Tony Blair would like to put an international force into southern Lebanon, but Bush put him off none too gently according to an open mike at the G-8 summit. Anyway, south Lebanon already has an international force. It is called UNIFIL, and it has never stopped Hizballah firing a single cross-border shot.

All the world powers assembled in St. Petersburg for the G-8 summit agreed that Hizballah started the war as Tehran’s proxy terrorist arm. They picked up on the attitude of the US president, who is telling Israel: Let it run; but keep civilian casualties down and don’t kick too much Lebanese infrastructure.

Even Arab governments, which automatically fought any Israeli military action in the past, have formed a solid Sunni Muslim front, led by Saudi Arabia, which is content to watch the Shite Hizballah take a beating and the burgeoning Shiite assertiveness in the region squashed.

The Olmert government is eagerly exploiting this leisurely international climate to smash as much of Hizballah’s terror machine as he can before Washington holds up a stop sign. Monday, July 17, a clutch of would-be ceasefire brokers descended on Beirut and Jerusalem. None came with Bush’s nod, so they will not get very far.

That is just the introduction, there is much more. Read it all, it is fascinating.

Buy a Pizza for a Soldier or a Family

The IDF, in addition to defending Israel, is doing the world a favor as they destroy Hezbollah and Hamas.

Support these wonderful men and women as they fight to remove this scourge from the world. Buy them a pizza pie.

PizzaIDF.org

There are families in Israel who are temporarily displaced. You can buy them pizza as well.

Pizza & Soda for our Soldiers

Pizza & Soda for a patrol
1 pizza pie & 1 bottle of soda
(5 soldiers)
$16.95

Pizza & Soda for a section
2 pizza pies & 2 bottles of soda
(10 soldiers)
$31.95

Pizza & Soda for a platoon
6 pizza pies & 6 bottles of soda
(30 soldiers)
$89.95

Pizza & Soda for a company
18 pizza pies & 18 bottles of soda
(90 soldiers)
$269.75

A Full Month of Pizza
1 pizza pie & 1 bottle of soda each week for a month
(Tell us how many months, and you will be charged monthly.)
$61.95

Pizza & Soda for Gush Katif Families

Pizza & Soda for a family
1 pizza pie & 1 bottle of soda
$16.95

Cold Summer Fruit Soup
Cold Fruit Soup
(Minimum order of 5 portions.)
$2.89 per portion

Ice Cream
Large Cornetto/Drumstick Ice Cream
We drive our ice cream van right up to the soldiers!
(Minimum order of 5 ice creams.)
$2.89 per portion

Your gifts of over $250 are eligible for a US IRS tax deduction.

They also note that;

All our products are Kosher l'Mehadrin
allowing all soldiers receiving them to be able to eat them.
Delivery included in price.

If you prefer, you can send hamburgers instead.

BurgerIDF.org

Arab Reaction Muted

Here is a view that you have probably not heard yet. The Strategy Page has this story.

The War With Iran

July 16, 2006: Iran aside, there hasn't been a really noisy response from the Moslem world about Israel's military operations against Lebanon. Notably subdued is the response from the Arab countries; it's mostly been mumbling about the plight of the Palestinians and such. Could this mean that the principal Arab leaders are not all that unhappy to see Hizbollah get it in the neck? After all, most of the Arabs are Sunni, while Hizbollah and Iran are Shia. The exception that proves the rule is Syria, which has a Shia leadership. But most Arabs fear Iran, not because most Iranians are Shia, but because Iranians are not Arabs. Iran has been the regional superpower for over three thousand years. Iran is building nuclear weapons. Iran is backing Shia Arab factions in Iraq that would support turning Iraq into an Iranian ally. Also scary is the fact that Iran is currently run by a religious dictatorship. Most Arabs have noted how that worked in Iran, Sudan and Afghanistan and want no part of it. Worse, the Iranian religious leadership believes that they would do a better job running the Hejaz (the region of Saudi Arabia containing Mecca and Medina and the most holy places in Islam). For centuries, the Turks kept the Iranians out of the Hejaz. But who would keep nuclear armed Iranians out? Perhaps worst of all, what if Iran tried attacking Israel with nukes, and both nations went at it with nuclear weapons. Iran has loudly proclaimed its aim of destroying Israel, but Israel has nuclear weapons, and no desire to be destroyed. The Arabs would be caught in the middle of all this.

The Sunni Arab world always saw Hizbollah as an Iranian branch office on the Mediterranean. Hizbollah was also seen as one of the reasons the Lebanese civil war, that began in 1975, went on for so long (until 1990, when everyone called it quits, mainly because of sheer exhaustion). Sunni Arabs also take a dim view of how the Shia Alawite sect has controlled Syria (a majority Sunni country) for two generations. The Syrian Alawites hang on via subsidies from Iran. Sunni Arabs have always despised Shia, and would like to see the Lebanese and Syrian Shia put in their place (subordinate, very subordinate). Having Israel do a lot of the heavy lifting is seen as an added bonus.

Read the whole thing for important details and come back to this page every day for a running update of the war.

The only people who think that this war was started by Israel are the liberals and leftists™ who believe that the existance of Israel is the problem, brought on by the NeoconChimpyMcHitlerHaliburtonites in the White House.

Israel must destroy Hizbollah to protect herself. She has the right to defend herself, to the disappointment of liberals and leftists™ everywhere.

Chutzpah from North Korea

North Korea, through Senior Cabinet Counselor Kwon Ho-ung, told a South Korean delegation that the Songun (military-first) policy of the North actually protects the South as well. All of those nuclear weapons are a big benefit to South Korea as well. Now, all South Korea has to do to show proper appreciation for this blackmail protection is disarm, kick out the Americans, drop the National Security Law, and feed them. The editors at the Chosun Ilbo have a few things to say about that.

WOW! What a good deal for the South Koreans. And to think that they have been worrying about the North unnecessarily for all of these years!

Paying North Korea to Laugh at Us

North Korean Senior Cabinet Counselor Kwon Ho-ung on Wednesday told a stunned South Korean delegation at ministerial talks in Busan that his country's Songun or military-first policy "“helps the security of South Korea too, and a vast majority of South Korean citizens have benefited from it."” North Korea's missile launches and nuclear weapons program are apparently a boon to us. The least we can do in return, Kwon indicated, is let our delegations visit "“sacred places"” in the North like Kim Il-sung'’s embalmed cadaver, suspend Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, and abolish the National Security Law. Oh, and deliver the 500,000 tons of rice and light industry raw materials we promised.

Amazingly, the South Korean government actually listens to this nonsense.

But it is equally absurd that our government continues to listen to this rubbish. The foreign and defense ministers originally wanted the talks cancelled, saying it is time for a firm response, but the president backed the unification minister's call to go ahead, saying it makes no sense to demand a solution through dialogue while canceling dialogue. Didn'’t the government anticipate what the North would do at the talks? If it didn't, it is incompetent; if it did but agreed to hold the talks regardless, it has betrayed the people.

The current Liberal government in the South will be replaced soon.

Rogue Activist Judges Get Spanked

Finally some members of the black-robed oligarchy recognize the people. Kevin McCullough at Townhall.com nails it.

High courts rebuke activist judges

Two rogue activist judges on lower courts in the states of New York and Georgia got the surprise slapped out of them this week.

It's about time!

Judge Doris Ling-Cohen of New York and Constance Russell of Georgia were sent stinging rebukes by their state's highest courts, and in cases that will be watched by other high courts in New Jersey, California and perhaps most importantly Washington. These women were given very clear lessons in judicial clarity and "We the People" rejoiced!

Judge Ling-Cohen knew when she issued the decision to allow marriage to be redefined in New York City that she had stirred up a hornet's nest. The very same afternoon my radio show organized communications with some of the 8000 church leaders in the New York metro to begin aggressive opposition to her unilateral mandate that defied the state's constitution. Mayor Michael Bloomberg also felt the sting; thousands of phone calls pouring into his office finally forced him to begrudgingly acknowledge that it was the city's responsibility to attempt to have the decision overturned. He also then promptly went to several homosexual advocacy groups and made it clear that he preferred the ideas that Judge Ling-Cohen had put forward.

In addition, at the beginning of PRIDE month, the Mayor went on-air for his weekly radio address and promised quick compliance if the state high court returned a verdict that defended the radical activists seeking changes in the state law. He promised that the city would "immediately begin performing so called 'gay' marriages." He also then added that should the decision go against the activists and for the families of New York, he would begin working to craft legislation in the state assembly to get voters to approve the redefining of marriage. (Good luck with that, Mayor.) I played the arrogant comments over and over the following Monday on my radio show and again thousands of calls poured into the Mayor's office.

The Court of Appeals, the highest court in the Empire State, answered all the involved parties with a 4-2 spanking of the activists and made perfectly clear that only the people of New York have the ability to redefine the institution of marriage, clarifying the division that exists between the judiciary and the legislature. It is notable that this case mirrored nearly to perfection its predecessor in the Massachusetts courts that eventually legalized a redefinition of marriage.

Georgia Supreme Court Justice Constance Russell arrogantly believes her fellow Georgians to be idiots;

Less than two hours later, the Georgia Supreme Court sent a much more recent decision by lower court Justice Constance Russell packing as well. In Russell's flimsy decision to overturn the will of seventy-six percent of the electorate in the state of Georgia, she attempted to assert that no single piece of legislation could address both the idea of "marriage" and "civil unions that bear an uncanny resemblance to marriage" in the same bill. She found that perhaps Georgia voters had been confused about what nearly 8 out of 10 of them had voted to approve.

Nice try—but no dice.

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously to overturn Russell and found that, in fact, Georgians were very well-informed about what they had decided to vote for. (You know that old fashioned idea of one man and one woman before God for eternity silliness ...)

Of course, both decisions are hated by liberals and therefore received spotty coverage in the media, but make no mistake, these decisions portend large in the upcoming decisions in New Jersey (which can't even seem to stay open), California (which seldom ever makes sense), and Washington. The Washington case being the biggest one of all.

Yep, she thought that Georgians would be confused about the complexity of a man and a woman (one from each gender) being married.

Is it possible that the Oligarchy is starting to get the message that we do not want them to make law? I think that seeing strict constructionist judges like Justice Roberts and Justice Alito get to the Supreme Court may have woken them up.

Islamic Word of the Day - JIZYA

The Islamic word of the day is - Jizya.

Jizya is the tax that is levied against all non-Muslims living in an Islamic country. From Wikipedia, Jizya. Of course this is the politically correct definition.

Also, The Jizya Tax;

This illustrates that essentially, in an Islamic State, the non-Muslims are in a worse situation than prisoners out on parole, since they are still being punished -– they are not considered 'good, law-abiding citizens' however exemplary their conduct, but rather criminals given day-leave. Their crime is their faith. Moreover, their crime is capital in nature -– they deserve death. This demonstrates the unique character of the Jizyah tax - unlike Western taxes, payment does not grant equality and liberty to the payee, but rather merely permission for another tax period to live; failure to pay it results in death. Again, it is rather analogous to a convict on parole regularly visiting the police station or parole officer to register. This is different from the case of someone in the West who refuses to pay his tax for whatever reason; he is punished, though it must be stated not by execution, for breaking the law. The reverse is true with the Jizyah - the tax itself is punishment, and the payee lives in the permanent condition of being punished for his faith until he converts. Essentially, non-Muslims live under a permanent death-threat. [Read the original for footnoting - ed.]

Also, Jizya;

Fight those who believe not in Allah and the Last Day and do not forbid what Allah and his messenger have forbidden - such men as practice not the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the book - until they pay the tribute out of hand and have been humbled (humiliated). Surah al-Baqara 9:29

The idea that jizya is fair is often heard from Muslims. Some will even tell you that jizya is sometimes less than zakat, the alms tax that Muslims pay. This is a lie.

IslamOnline: jizya is "fair"

I have often encountered, in person and on radio shows, Muslims who claim that the jizya, the special tax required of non-Muslim dhimmis under Islamic law, was actually less than zakat, the Muslim obligation of charitable giving. This is patently absurd on the face of it, of course, since innumerable respected historians (including A.S. Tritton, Maxime Rodinson, and Bat Ye'or) have noted that it was money from the dhimmis, not from Muslims, that financed the early Islamic empires; indeed, Muslims paid nothing at all into the state treasury in the days when there were large populations (i.e., in Egypt and Syria) of conquered dhimmi Christians. Rodinson even points out in his biography of Muhammad that at certain times conversions to Islam were forbidden, as they were destroying the tax base! If the jizya had really been less than zakat, human nature being what it is, we would have seen large-scale conversions of Muslims to Christianity in the great Islamic empires -- but of course we don't, because who would want to exchange the position of the dominator for that of the dominated? [read the whole thing - ed.]

So there you have it. Jizya. Just another example of Islam's tolerance and fairness.

China Deceives U.S. on North Korea

The Washington Times reports on China failures;

Pentagon officials tell us China's government failed utterly to come through on private pledges to the Bush administration to halt North Korea's missile tests.

Worse, some officials say, it is likely Beijing deceived the United States about its efforts to dissuade North Korea from the apparent tests and that China may have tacitly backed the seven missile launches earlier this week.

"This demonstrates how impotent the Chinese are and the incredibly low level of influence they have over their North Korean brethren," one official told us.

A second official suggested that China deliberately misled the United States into thinking that it had prevailed on North Korea not to conduct the launches, which have triggered a regional crisis, led by concerns that Japan may impose sanctions.

Chinese government officials "at the highest levels" directly asked North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on several occasions during the past two weeks to turn off plans for missile launches, including the long-range Taepodong-2 that ultimately failed after 42 seconds into flight, the first official said.

"The North Koreans basically stuck their finger in the eyes of the Chinese and went ahead with the tests," this official said.

Yet, no one is prepared to do anything about North Korea, except the UN may decide to write a letter. With luck it will be a really nasty one.

Comments to be Moderated

I had been moderating comments for a while, but after a peaceful period, I turned moderation off. Almost as soon as I did that, a troll from Malaysia visited the comments for Malay Muslims Become Christians

I answered him the best that I could considering the time that I have available, but he is, as all trolls are, not an honest interlocutor. I tried banning him, but he has a dynamic IP, so I banned the ranges of both IPs that he has used to date. Rather than ban all of Malaysia, I will moderate comments.

*Sigh*

A "Progressive" Moment

BLACKFIVE has the story.

A New Low

Of course one had to read it there because Deborah Frisch's fellow freedom loving progresives had Jeff Goldstein' blog "protein wisdom" under two DOS attacks. He is back up and running now.

Read it all at Jeff's site, now that he is back online. More from the Tolerant Left

Deborah Frisch has lost her job over this, which is good, and now sees herself as the victim.

Remember, she was teaching your children and being paid with taxpayer money.

Oh, and she loves her country too.

I hope that she enjoys being a new internet verb.

Howard Dean Says Gay Marriage is Essential

Howard Dean, after trying to convince evangelical Christians that he shares their values and with the Demcratic Party trying to convince us that they are a "values oriented" party, says this;

Statement by Howard Dean on the New York Court of Appeals Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage

To: National Desk

Contact: Damien LaVera of the Democratic National Committee, 202-863-8148

WASHINGTON, July 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement in response to the decision by the New York Court of Appeals that the state constitution does not guarantee the right to marriage for same-sex couples, but that the state legislature could provide this:

"As Democrats, we believe that every American has a right to equal protection under the law and to live in dignity. And we must respect the right of every family to live in dignity with equal rights, responsibilities and protections under the law. Today's decision by the New York Court of Appeals, which relies on outdated and bigoted notions about families, is deeply disappointing, but it does not end the effort to achieve this goal.

"As that essential process moves forward, it is up to the State legislature to act to protect the equal rights of every New Yorker and for the debate on how to ensure those rights to proceed without the rancor and divisiveness that too often surrounds this issue."

----

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, http://www.democratsorg. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

How to Begin Dealing with Kim Jong-Il

J. Peter Pham, Ph.D., Director of the Nelson Institute for International and Public Affairs at James Madison University, has the answer for how to deal with Kim Jong-Il and the murderous North Korean regime.

"Don'’t Feed the Animals": How to Begin Dealing with North Korea'’s Kim Jong-Il

Given the inhumane nature of the regime in Pyongyang as well as its dangerously provocative and destabilizing pursuit of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), it is clear that the only sensible long-term policy strategy is one of regime change. Kim Jong-Il'’s ongoing tenure-—or, for that matter, his continued physical existence in this vale of tears where he has been the cause of a disproportionate number of tears-is in the interest of neither the international community nor the United States, to say nothing of the long-suffering North Korean people. This does not mean, however, that we should be preparing a military campaign, even if no options should be ruled out a priori. Rather, what should be done immediately is that the United States and its allies should stop any policies that help strengthen a rogue regime that we need to ease off the world stage sooner or later. In substitution, we need to adopt the same policies that the Central Park Zoo and every other zoological institution has in place to cope with the risks associated with having wild animals in close proximity to urban humans, most of whom have long ago shed the hunter instincts of their distant ancestors.

Dr. Pham tells us to keep the animals from roaming freely amongst the humans, not to feed the animals, and not to touch the animals. [Note to liberals, the reference to "animals" is only part of the metaphor being used. He is not calling Koreans animals. - ed.]

Dr. Pham pulls no punches. This piece is a good read.

Undoubtedly, the Dear Leader will bitterly resent a strategy that prevents him from trading abroad in the only product that his country produces that anyone wants (weapons of mass destruction) and thus receiving the means to purchase at home the loyalty of the party and military officers on whom his regime depends (food and other basic supplies) [while those not in the Party or the Military are denied food, the distribution of which is very closely controlled - ed.], while simultaneously denying him the international attention and stature that he believes himself entitled to and which he exploits for regime legitimization. So be it. The international community can ill-afford to continue indulging a tyrant in possession of nuclear weapons capable of striking South Korea and Japan and clearly pursuing the capacity to strike the west coast of the United States. Anyway, I recall no one at the zoo objecting that the poisonous snakes were kept behind glass-or caring what the snake thought of its surroundings.

Read it all.

A Wonderful Story

Saint Panteleimon the All-Merciful

From Ted Harvey, not Paul Harvey.

Effort to honor Planned Parenthood defeated.

After our meal, the executive director of the organization introduced the keynote speaker. I looked up and saw walking to the stage a handicapped young lady being assisted to the microphone by a young man holding a guitar.

Her name was Gianna Jessen.

Gianna said “Hello,” welcomed everyone, and then sang three of the most beautiful Christian songs that I have ever heard.

She then began to give her testimony. When her biological mother was 17 years old and 7 ½ months pregnant she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic to have an abortion. As God would have it, the abortion failed and a beautiful two-pound baby girl was brought into the world. Unfortunately, she was born with cerebral palsy and the doctors thought that she would never survive. The doctors were wrong.

Imagine the timing! A survivor of a Planned Parenthood abortion arrived in town just days before the Colorado House of Representatives was to celebrate Planned Parenthood’s “wonderful” work.

Read the whole thing and see how the fireworks flew!

The Democrats were not pleased. From the Denver Post,

Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, said he told the woman's story on the same day the House planned to consider a resolution to recognize the 90th anniversary of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains because, "I just wanted to put a face to this celebration."

But Kate Horle, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said "There's no statistical evidence that cerebral palsy has been caused by failed abortions."

Read both articles and note the difference in tone, the bitterness and pettiness of the pro-abortionists.

Kudos to Mr. Harvey.

UPDATE: James M. Kushiner over at Mere Comments has this story. Noting that...

Harvey's move drew a sharp rebuke from Democratic House Majority Leader Alice Madden.

"I think it was amazingly rude to use a human being as an example of his personal politics," Madden said.

...a Touchstone reader points out that liberal and Leftist™ groups do this with every issue that they push. They find a person with whom we can sympathize. The gay couple who cannot get State benefits, the poor woman who must abort (kill) her child because she cannot afford to raise it, the criminal who has "truly reformed". Always for issues of dubious moral value. When a Christian attempts to "put a face" on the tragedy of abortion by presenting a survivor who has lived a terribly difficult life the left™ reacts with ... outrage.

Pets in Uniform

I hope that y'all enjoyed the work out video. Now that I am back at the computer, I thought I'd share this with you.

Pets in Uniform

And now back to our regular programming