Three Days...

I'm back, and I'm going to be back with a vengence from now on.

Tomorrow, there will be a renewed full frontal assault on the left and their attempts to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people, and indeed, the world. Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, I don't care what party you call yourself, if you attempt to lie and mislead the American people, you will be called on it here.

Tonight, we're going to start with some very, very startling images, just a little something that should piss you off and make any of you Hamas supporters rethink your stand.



I hope this leaves you with pleasant feelings about supporting Hamas.

Black Hawk Coeur de Lion

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Three Killed, Others Injured Before Terrorist Shot Dead by Israeli Soldier, Police

A Palestinian bull dozer operator used his tractor as a weapon today, attacking pedestrians and vehicles in downtown Jerusalem, killing three people and injuring thirty, before being shot dead by a member of the IDF and an Israeli police officer. It's a scene that sounds like it could have come from a horror movie, but it happened on the crowded streets of downtown Jerusalem around noon Wednesday. A Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem was operating his bulldozer at a construction site, and suddenly turned his tractor into a weapon, attacking nearby pedestrians and vehicles, killing three women and injuring some thirty other people, overturning two transit buses in the process.

The driver, who reportedly had a criminal record and was the holder of an Israeli (blue) identification card, was shot dead by a SWAT officer near the old Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The terrorist was identified as 31-year-old Hossam Dawiath, a father of two from the village of Tzur Baher.

The terrorist continued on his killing spree, but a short while later a soldier and a SWAT officer jumped on top of the vehicle. The officer then shot the terrorist in the chest and leg and killed him.

The attack came with no warning; there was no indication that the man was going to go on the rampage today that took three lives. The dozer was from a nearby construction site for the Jerusalem Tram system.

I know that there are those who feel that Israel has badly mistreated the "Palestinians" in the period since the reformation of the nation of Israel. I know that there are those who believe that the nation of Israel has no right to exist in it's present incarnation simply due to the fact that Israel had not existed as a nation for nearly 2,000 years. Their claim is that Palestine has every right to oppose Israeli occupation of the region because they had secured the area and made it their own. But yet and still, there was never an established nation called Palestine. Since the diaspora of 136 AD, the region had gone without having an established governmental structure until the mass return of the Jews from around the world in the last century.

The Palestinian "problem" exists as much at the fault of the Arab nations as it does anyone else for not allowing their fellow Arabic people to do anything but live in refugee villages between nations, a position Palestinians found themselves in for the early on terrorist activities against the newly formed Israeli regime.

But Palestinian apologists won't hear any part of this, because they don't think the Israeli's should be back in their traditional homeland to begin with.

Let me take a moment to point out the hypocrisy in this mindset; I have heard the same people who will not allow for a the notion of a return for the Nation of Israel to their homeland turn around in the same conversation and demand that white Americans make apologies to blacks for slavery.

In any event, an attack upon an unarmed civilian populace is an act of cowardice, in my estimation. I sincerely hope that this isn't the beginning of a new trend of terrorist tactics to be employed by terrorist organizations.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Palestinians Under Attack...by Islamist Groups

For years the main stream media has pushed the notion of how the Palestinians have been treated harshly by Israel, often blaming Israel as the instigator in situations where the IDF has retaliated for actions against Israel. Now the situation has changed.

To say that there has been unrest in the Middle East for the past several decades would be as much of an understatement as to say that the Grand Canyon is a big ditch. We have discussed, in the past, such issues as the Balfour agreement, the wars between Israel and her neighbors, the very right of Israel to exist as a nation, and the plight of the "Palestinians." The main stream media has invested much time and energy driving the "blame Israel for all of it" bus that now, as thinks have taken a strong, radical, dramatic change in the Middle East, the detractors of Israel are remaining strangely silent, not reporting on the current situation faced by Palestinians.

Could it be that there is nothing that screams of media bias more than the silence of the media over the peril being faced by Palestinians as they find themselves in the middle of fighting between other Arabs?

Intense fighting broke out in Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp on 20 May between Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist armed group that had recently moved into the camp, and Lebanese armed forces. According to reports, 168 Lebanese soldiers, 42 civilians and 220 Fatah al-Islam members were killed before the army gained control of the camp on 2 September.

During the clashes, both sides put civilians at risk. Fatah al-Islam established armed positions in the camp and withdrew to them after attacking an army base. The army carried out heavy and possibly indiscriminate artillery shelling of the camp. The camp was largely destroyed. It appeared that after the army took control there was widespread looting, burning and vandalism of vacated homes and property. In December, the Prime Minister wrote to Amnesty International to say that the army was investigating the reports, noting that one finding was that the army had burned some homes to rid them of a poison spread by Fatah al-Islam.

Most of some 30,000 Palestinian refugees displaced from Nahr al-Bared relocated to Beddaawi refugee camp. They were allowed to return to Nahr al-Bared from October but the majority remained displaced at the end of the year. The camp remained off-limits to the media and local human rights organizations.

On May 10th, Johnny Simpson reported that al-Qaeda had declared war on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Fighting, which has been going on for over a year now, has spilled into Palestinian settlements, so far leaving several civilians injured or dead as a result of clashes between hostile factions. The civilian populace isnt safe when there is no fighting, however, as reports of abuse have become all to common place in Arab on Arab violence.

Scores of Palestinians were threatened, humiliated and abused by soldiers, often after being stopped at army checkpoints. Abuses included being stripped, being forced to lie on the road, and being beaten, kicked, hit with rifle butts, insulted and humiliated. In several cases individuals were reportedly whipped, given electric shocks and sexually abused.

Some 200 people were arrested and remained detained on account of their suspected involvement with Fatah al-Islam. Tens of these were reportedly charged with terrorism offences that can carry the death penalty. There were reports that some detainees were tortured or otherwise ill-treated.

So where are the news networks as these things are happening? The United Nations has done their usual with regards to incidents in the region where Israel is not involved for taking the blame: absolutely nothing (although they have passed a resolution for the investigation of the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others in 2005). Other than a few more local sources and outlets, there is very little being discussed about the Palestinian situation, now that it's not something involving Israel.



What does this say of the main stream media that they pick and choose which side to take in a situation, rather than objectively reporting the news? What does it say for us, as a society, that we allow ourselves to be so easily influenced as the many, by the few, rather than examining situations ourselves to come up with our own conclusions?

Opinion pieces, like those who write them, are just that. The opinions of those who write them. They, like all other forms of media, have their place and purpose, and as such, in setting forth to reach an audience, should do so responsibly. When reporting the news becomes so overwhelmingly influenced by opinion, however, there is no objectivity, there is no integrity of an unbiased reflection of events.

This is no new trend for the media. "Yellow Journalism" has it's roots in the late 1890's, during circulation battles between Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal, both of whom are blamed or credited, depending on your point of view, for drawing the United States into the Spanish-American War. Print media, and later on radio and television media, have continued to fall into a consistent pattern of employing such journalistic "tactics" in order to sell papers or garner ratings from listeners and viewers. In the process, someone always suffers the consequences for being the target of biased reporting.

This time, however, the law of unintended consequences factors in. The Palestinian refugees, a product of political and social manipulation and wrangling as well as yellow journalism, have been used for years as a thorn in the side of Israel, with Arab nations not allowing these people to come across their borders into their nations. As recently as this past spring, Palestinians breached a wall separating their villages from Egypt, opening a route for refugees to travel to markets in Egypt to shop and do business. The Egyptian response was to agree with Israel that Palestinian authorities reseal the wall, as a chaotic situation had ensued with the masses of people flooding into Egypt, some returning with weapons to their villages.

But this time, as violence continues to shift and wind it's way across the Middle East, the media is turning it's attention elsewhere, unable to blame Israel for the danger in which Palestinian civilians find themselves facing. The clear message sent by the silence of the media? "If Israel isn't to blame, it ain't news."

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Hillary Clinton Talks Tough to Iran

Hillary Clinton has made every effort not to make any firm or committed statements during her current campaign regarding her plans for policy with Iran concerning it's nuclear development programs. Today we see a different Hillary Clinton on ABC.

It's down to the wire in Pennsylvania. With voters heading for the polls today, the last ditch efforts to win the hearts and minds of voters for today's election was carried out yesterday. Or was that the end of it? Both candidates made appearances on ABC's Good Morning America this morning

Obama stated during his interview that he's had to say some "sharp things about Clinton" because of the attack campaign he said she has been running against him, stating, "You've always got to measure if somebody throws an elbow at you and after three or four times of getting elbows in the ribs, you know, at what point do you sort of say okay, you know, we -- we, we've gotta put a stop to that?" A far cry from what he said on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night when he said Clinton was doing him "a favor" by putting him "through the paces," comparing the campaign to spring training." Obama played basketball in school, a sport he still participates in today.

Clinton, however, also appearing on Good Morning America, was asked how she intends to handle Iran and the growing concern over the Iranian pursuit of a nuclear program and their threatening stance against Israel, stating that were Iran to attack Israel: "I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran...In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them."

An interesting stance for Clinton, who last October wouldn't answer the question asked by moderator Brian Williams in an MSNBC debate as to what her "red line" would be "concerning when to, if to attack Iran."

Clinton at the time wouldn't answer the question, even when pressed by Williams, who had to come back at her after she gave a lengthy non-responsive answer.
"Respectfully, Senator," Williams said, "same question though: Do you have a threshold…?

Clinton would only say, "I want to start diplomacy….I am not going to speculate about when or if they get nuclear weapons."

Her current remarks are quite a contrast from that cautiousness.

Political posturing in an attempt to win votes and the nomination of the party, or a true statement on her planned policies for Iran? That's ultimately up for the voters to decide. However, given the team Clinton history of saying whatever seems to be expedient for the moment, one has to speculate that this sort of posturing is done with the same careful, calculated motivation of addressing an issue based upon public opinion polls.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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"Come with me if you want to live..."

It's no secret that I support Israel. I always have. I don't stand with the left in thinking that Israel should give up land for peace. They've done that all along and it never works.

I firmly and fully believe in the right of Israel to defend herself against the constant onslaught that they face. Every nation should have that right, no body of nations (re: the United Nations or the Arab League) should denounce a single nation for standing in defense of her citizenry.

NO OTHER NATION ON THIS EARTH would stand for years of attacks the way Israel has done and not go full throttle after their attackers.

That being said.

Remember the Terminator movie series? Arnold as a terminator cyborg from the future chasing after John Connor to kill him because he was the future savior of humanity in the first one, then sent back as a SECOND cyborg in the second and third movies to protect him from other terminator cyborgs. In the movies, the machines had risen to destroy humanity after becoming "self-aware" and determining that mankind had had our day.

Science fiction writers have often included the use of cyborgs and androids or other intelligent sophisticated systems in their writings. Be it the Robot from Lost in Space, Mr. Data from the Star Trek saga, HAL from 2001, or the Terminator himself (or my personal favorite, Tricia Helfer's Cylon character on the new Battlestar Galactica series), science fiction has blended the interaction of man and machine into our minds as common place in future society.

The future may be closer than we had expected.

Israel has announced plans to begin implementation of artificial intelligence systems into it's air defense network.

Israeli military leaders have begun early planning for a new, robotic defense system, armed with enough artificial intelligence that it "could take over completely" from flesh-and-blood operators. "It will be designed for... autonomous operations,' Brig. Gen. Daniel Milo, commander of Israel's air defense forces, tells Defense News' Barbara Opall-Rome. And in the event of a "doomsday" strike, Opall-Rome notes, the system could handle "attacks that exceed physiological limits of human command."

Current air defense systems have automatic tracking systems that will allow the weapon to acquire a target and then a human has to make the determination to fire it. This sort of system would take the human element out of the equation and make the weapon totally automatic and rely on artificial intelligence to make the decision of when and if to fire, other than one incident in South Africa in October where 9 were killed in an accident involving an automated weapons system.

Or had it become "self-aware?"

Definitely something to ponder, I think.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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On allegations of torture: BLAME CANADA! BLAME CANADA!

Torture has been an age old practice employed in gathering information and intelligence from ones enemies. It's roots go back as long as our history as a people, and the effectiveness of torture has been debated as long as there has been a practice of it.

Officially, the United States and Israel prohibit the use of torture as a means of gathering information from enemy combatants. Rumors and innuendos of torture of captive Islamic terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay have been debunked. Yet and still, the Canadian Foreign Ministry had distributed literature to it's diplomats listing both the US and Israel on a torture awareness training manual as part of a torture watch list.

The incident arose after a copy of the document had been forwarded to Amnesty International by lawyers who are working on a case involving allegations of torture of Afghan detainees by Afghan authorities after Canadian troops had delivered them into Afghan custody. Amnesty International has so far issued no statement on the matter.

The types of torture the document alleges the United States to be involved in include sleep deprivation, forced nudity, and isolation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, where one Canadian is being held under suspicion of acts of terrorism. One could logically conclude, if isolation is a method of torture, that the entire corrections system of the United States would be involved in the implementation of torture by the use of solitary confinement of prisoners.

Canadian officials, meanwhile, have quickly denounced the document and have called for the training manual to be revised, under pressure from both the United States and Israel.

Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said he regretted the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual, which also classified some U.S. interrogation techniques as torture.

"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten," Bernier said in a statement.

"The manual is neither a policy document nor a statement of policy. As such, it does not convey the government's views or positions."

Syria, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Iran, China, and Afghanistan where among other nations listed in the document.

The Canadian Foreign Ministry began it's work on putting together a training document after the US deportation of Canadian engineer Maher Arar to Syria in 2002, where he claims to have been tortured in a Damascus prison, after taking criticism for their handling of the incident.


If the "humiliation" of detainees at Abu Ghraig is torture, then I'm a Chippendale Dancer. Putting panties on their heads isn't torture. It's childish and ridiculous, yes, but I doubt very seriously it's going to leave anyone emotionally scarred for life. How many college frat boys have wandered around at beer swilling parties with their girlfriends panties on their heads? And they call that TORTURE?

Waterboarding, yes, I can see that as torture. But let me post this question: which is the more severe; waterboarding or beheading? Where is the outcry of the left at the beheading of captured westerners by the Islamic jihadists? Where is the outrage?

I'm sure that the detainees at Gitmo are feeling so very, very tortured and neglected by being encouraged to play baseball, being fed three square meals a day PREPARED IN A MANNER NOT TO OFFEND ISLAMIC HOLDINS, and being allowed to read the Harry Potter books and any other literature that they ask for. I'm SURE that they're TORTURED when we supply them with prayer rugs and copies of the Koran.

It's because of such BLATANT stupidity as this that I'm ALL FOR the idea offered by Stephen Kruiser to invade Canada. And when we GET there we're going to introduce them to FOOTBALL and BUDWEISER!

Torture my leathery arse.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Slapping a Bully in the Face

Remember the school yard bully? The kid that would take your lunch money? Smack you around because he didn't think you'd do anything about it? The kid that would call you names and laugh at you? The kid that backed down when the right person came along and socked him a good one in the eye?

Who were their victims? Pretty much anyone was fair game. I can remember being on the receiving end of it when I was younger. There were two very simple reasons for it. I was the new kid to the town (my parents had left the home town for a few years and I had started school somewhere else, then we moved back to my hometown and I was enrolled in it's school system), and I was scared. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't afraid of them. I was generally bigger than most of the people I was in school with, and in most cases stronger. I can remember tears of frustration at times from when I was a kid because I wouldn't hit back in my pre-high school days. I was afraid of me. Something down deep inside of me said not to let loose because I knew I wouldn't be able to control myself if I did. I knew it was going to take some severe restraint to hold me back if I ever did lay into someone, and I was right. The very last time one of the school bullies pushed (sometime around eight grade) I blacked out in the middle of throwing punches. My next memory was of being held back by some of my friends. It was the last time anyone messed with me. The next year, in high school, I discovered both weight lifting and Zen meditations, giving me two outlets for controlling a very, very hot and ugly temper.

New kids are often the target of school bullies, too. Or kids that have moved away and been gone for several years, then move back to a community. They have to come in and prove themselves to the instigators and agitators or suffer constant ridicule and harassment. That's no way to live. Just because the new kid is "different" from the locals doesn't give them any less right to be where they are, and be who and what they are.

When looking at the Middle East, this school yard scenario comes back to mind. Israel can be seen as the "new kid" in the neighborhood, having been forced from their ancestral homeland for so many centuries and having returned to it in the last century. Since their return to their ancient homeland, they've endured ongoing war and embattlement from their neighbors, many of whom have sworn to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth. Just weeks ago, Israel once again slapped the face of one of the bullies in the neighborhood, and the bully is still trying to figure out how to handle it.

From The Sunday Times
December 2, 2007
Israelis hit Syrian ‘nuclear bomb plant’
Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv and Michael Sheridan in Seoul

ISRAEL’S top-secret air raid on Syria in September destroyed a bomb factory assembling warheads fuelled by North Korean plutonium, a leading Israeli nuclear expert has told The Sunday Times.

Professor Uzi Even of Tel Aviv University was one of the founders of the Israeli nuclear reactor at Dimona, the source of the Jewish state’s undeclared nuclear arsenal.

“I suspect that it was a plant for processing plutonium, namely, a factory for assembling the bomb,” he said. “I think the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] transferred to Syria weapons-grade plutonium in raw form, that is nuggets of easily transported metal in protective cans. I think the shaping and casting of the plutonium was supposed to be in Syria.”

All governments concerned - even the regime in Damascus - have tried to maintain complete secrecy about the raid.

They apparently fear that forcing a confrontation on the issue could spark a war between Israel and Syria, end the Middle East peace talks and wreck America’s extremely complex negotiations to disarm North Korea of its nuclear weapons.

The political stakes could hardly be higher. Plutonium is the element which fuelled the American atomic bomb that destroyed the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

Critics in the United States say proof that North Korea supplied such nuclear weapons material to Syria, a state technically at war with Israel, would shatter congressional confidence in the Bush administration’s diplomatic policy.

From beneath the veil of military censorship, western commentators have formed a consensus that the target was a nuclear reactor under construction.

There are, of course, those who say that there is no sufficient evidence to support that the target was a nuclear facility. Whatever the case may be, Syria has been slapped hard and is scrambling to cover up the contents of the bombed site. Israel had information that showed that there was a threat to their sovereignty and security, and they struck.

I personally don't blame Israel for striking. Dealing with the torment of a bully is never fun, but sometimes, it has to be done.

Shalom, Israel.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Let's offer them the bullets to kill us, while we're at it...

It's time we consider giving some of our territory back over to the countries it used to belong to. Let's give England about a quarter of Washington, DC. New Orleans, let's see, we need to cede the French Quarter back to France. Seattle can go to Canada, Southern California we can give back to Mexico. Oh, and Anchorage, that definitely has to go back to Russia.

Think I've lost my mind and that I'm completely off my rocker? Think that I've worked too much this week and that I've been overcome by fatigue (ok, that one may be true, but still...). The United States wouldn't DREAM of turning any of these areas over to anyone else. These areas that I've mentioned are part of our nation, a part of US, part of our country, part of the whole of our people.

So...

Why would our state department even DREAM of having any PART of Jerusalem on the bargaining table for the Middle East peace conferences? Jerusalem is the traditional capital of Israel from time historic. It has no significance to Islam in any way, shape, manner, form or fashion other than to be a thorn in the side of the Jews. Yes, the Mosque of Omar is found in Jerusalem. Muslims argue until they're blue in the face about it being one of their religious places, but what's it built on? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller? THAT'S RIGHT, by golly, it's built on the location of the site that was the Temple of Solomon. Giving Palestinians access to Jerusalem and allowing them to make it "theirs" makes about as much sense to me as would living south of Lamar Avenue in Memphis and not locking your doors at night. Or during the day for that matter.

Hamas demands UN rescind '47 partition
By JPOST.COM STAFF

Hamas on Thursday called on the UN to rescind the 1947 decision to partition Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs.

The group said in a statement, released on the 60th anniversary of the UN vote, that "Palestine is Arab Islamic land, from the river to the sea, including Jerusalem... there is no room in it for the Jews."

Regarding the partition decision, Hamas said that "correcting mistakes is nothing to be ashamed of, but prolonging it is exploitation..."

And Syria, good old Syria, they want the Golan Heights. There's a very simple reason they want this piece of real estate, folks. It's very easy, VERY easy to set up small artillery and absolutely bombard pretty much any location in Israel that they want to target.

Saudi Arabia, those wonderful allies of ours? Their delegation refused to even shake hands with the Israeli delegation.

Anyone see a trend to all of this? Other than me? Yes, thank God, others see it as well, and are speaking out about it. Click this link to go to the American Center for Law and Justice petition demanding that our government do it's part to keep Jerusalem Israeli.

Unreal.

Israel is our ally, and they are struggling to maintain their national sovereignty. It's up to you, the American people, to speak loudly and demand our government help our ally to survive.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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A Disgusted General Speaks

We hear so much rumbling from some of our retired generals about the war in Iraq. The dinosaur media is quick to put a camera and microphone in front of them and give them a world wide audience so that they can condemn our policies and criticize our war efforts. Hat tip to Bill Shannon for forwarding us in email to the website the views of one of our retired generals who isn't aspiring to political ambitions.

The following can be found in full at Go-Patriots.com:

MIDDLE EAST IMPERATIVE
BY JIM CASH

I wrote recently about the war in Iraq and the larger war against radical Islam, eliciting a number of responses. Let me try and put this conflict in proper perspective.

Understand, the current battle we are engaged in is much bigger that just Iraq. What happens in the next year will affect this country and how our kids and grandkids live throughout their lifetime, and beyond.

Radical Islam has been attacking the West since the seventh century.

They have been defeated in the past and decimated to the point of taking hundreds of years to recover. But they can never be totally defeated.

Their birth rates are so far beyond civilized world rates that in time they recover and attempt to dominate again.

There are eight terror-sponsoring countries that make up the grand threat to the West. Two, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, just need firm pressure from the West to make major reforms. They need to decide who they are really going to support and commit to that support. That answer is simple. They both will support who they think will hang in there until the end, and win. We are not sending very good signals in that direction right now, thanks to the Democrats.

The other six, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea and Libya will require regime change or a major policy shift. Now, let's look more closely.

Afghanistan and Iraq have both had regime changes, but are being fueled by outsiders from Syria and Iran. We have scared Gaddafi's pants off, and he has given up his quest for nuclear weapons, so I don't think Libya is now a threat. North Korea (the non-Islamic threat) can be handled diplomatically by buying them off. They are starving. That leaves Syria and Iran. Syria is like a frightened puppy. Without the support of Iran they will join the stronger side. So where does that leave us? Sooner, or later, we are going to be forced to confront Iran, and it better be before they gain nuclear capability.

In 1989 I served as a Command Director inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex located in Colorado Springs, Colorado for almost three years.

My job there was to observe (through classified means) every missile shot anywhere in the world and assess if it was a threat to the US or Canada. If any shot was threatening to either nation I had only minutes to advise the President, as he had only minutes to respond. I watched Iran and Iraq shoot missiles at each other every day, and all day long, for months. They killed hundreds of thousand of their people. Know why? They were fighting for control of the Middle East and that enormous oil supply.

At that time, they were preoccupied with their internal problems and could care less about toppling the west. Oil prices were fairly stable and we could not see an immediate threat. Well, the worst part of what we have done as a nation in Iraq is to do away with the military capability of one of those nations. Now, Iran has a clear field to dominate the Middle East, since Iraq is no longer a threat to them.

They have turned their attention to the only other threat to their dominance, the United States. They are convinced they will win, because the United States is so divided, and the Democrats (who now control Congress and may control the Presidency in 2008) have openly said we are pulling out.

Do you have any idea what will happen if the entire Middle East turns their support to Iran, which they will obviously do if we pull out? It is not the price of oil we will have to worry about. Oil will not be made available to this country at any price. I personally would vote for any presidential candidate who did what JFK did with the space program---declare a goal to bring this country to total energy independence in a decade.

Yes, it is about oil. The economy in this country will totally die if that Middle East supply is cut off right now. It will not be a recession. It will be a depression that will make 1929 look like the "good-old-days".

The bottom line here is simple. If Iran is forced to fall in line, the fighting in Iraq will end over night, and the nightmare will be over.

One way or another, Iran must be forced to join modern times and the global community. It may mean a real war---if so, now is the time, before we face a nuclear Iran with the capacity to destroy Israel and begin a new ice age. I urge you to read the book "END GAME" by two of our best Middle East experts, true American patriots and retired military generals, Paul Vallely and Tom McInerney. They are our finest, and totally honest in their assessment of why victory in the Middle East is so important, and how it can be won. Proceeds for the book go directly to memorial fund for our fallen soldiers who served the country during the war on terror. You can find that book by going to the internet through Stand-up America at www.ospreyradio.us or www.rightalk. com.

On the other hand, we have several very angry retired generals today, who evidently have not achieved their lofty goals, and insist on ranting and raving about the war. They are wrong, and doing the country great harm by giving a certain political party reason to use them as experts to back their anti-war claims.

You may be one of those who believe nothing could ever be terrible enough to support our going to war. If that is the case I should stop here, as that level of thinking approaches mental disability in this day and age. It is right up there with alien abductions and high altitude seeding through government aircraft contrails. I helped produced those contrails for almost 30 years, and I can assure you we were not seeding the atmosphere. The human race is a war-like population, and if a country is not willing to protect itself, it deserves the consequences...

And he has SO MUCH MORE to say about the Bush administration, the Clinton administration, all the way back to the Nixon administration; it's an incredible read, and gives the insights of an incredible mind.

The bottom line is this: he's right on target with the things that he says, and he backs up the opinions of many Middle East analysts and observers. By his own admission he has nothing to gain politically by stating his observations, and his credentials are more than sufficient to back up what he says.

This is the difference between a general who is a warrior and one who is a politician. George Patton, at the end of World War II, had the foresight to realize that the United States needed to deal with the Soviet Union RIGHT THEN, but the politicians would have none of it. The result of not listening to one of our warriors was decades of "Cold War" between the U.S.A and the U.S.S.R.

Who will we listen to this time? The warriors, or the politicians?

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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A Phoenix Rises in Zion

Breaking news, we will be watching this in the days to come.

Personally, and this is MY opinion, this is fantastic news for Israel.

Netanyahu sweeps Israel's Likud race

JERUSALEM - Benjamin Netanyahu easily defeated a radical Jewish settler in the race to lead Israel's hardline Likud Party on Tuesday, a party official said, boosting his ambitions to reclaim the country's premiership.

While Netanyahu's victory had been all but assured, a strong showing by challenger Moshe Feiglin could have shored up Israel's extreme right and hurt Netanyahu's efforts to rehabilitate Likud after it was trounced in national elections last year. Recent polls have crowned Netanyahu, Likud's leader since late 2005, as the front-runner for Israel's top job.

With more than 80 percent of the primary votes tallied, Netanyahu was out way ahead with 73 percent to Feiglin's 22 percent, party executive director Gad Arieli said. World Likud Party Chairman Danny Danon trailed with 4 percent. Final results were expected early Wednesday.

In his victory speech, Netanyahu made it clear that the race was a dress rehearsal for a much bigger contest.

"Tonight the internal contest ended, and as of tomorrow, we will focus our efforts on bringing a new leadership to Israel," Netanyahu told dozens of cheering supporters in Tel Aviv.

A telegenic politician and self-described hawk, the M.I.T.-educated Netanyahu speaks flawless, American-accented English. He's tough on defense issues and hands-off on the economy, but in recent months has been trying to position himself in the political center to try to lure moderate voters.

"It's clear that Netanyahu is a right-wing man, but a right-wing man who is always winking at the center," political commentator Hanan Crystal said Tuesday.

I am going to predict that there is going to be a firestorm of protestation and "slamming" from the dinosaur media. I predict that the dinosaur media will dig up every bit of dirt that they can to try to discredit Netanyahu as much as they can here in the U.S. I predict much grumbling from the United Nations.

I also am going to predict that Iran is going to start being far more cautious in how they go about things in the near future...

More to come as this develops.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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The words we aren't hearing

We often hear said that we aren't hearing enough from moderate or more "progressive" Muslims during this time of war and struggle with those extremist Muslims who are more interested in committing cowardly acts of terror in the name of the Jihad.

The dinosaur media does nothing to make things better, we have pointed out all too many times here and others have as well. Should it really come, then, as any surprise, that a Jewish information outlet would provide a voice of reason from the Muslim world?

From Aish.com:

Why I Admire Israel
by Farid Ghadry
As a Syrian and a Muslim, I have always had this affinity for the State of Israel.


As a Syrian and a Muslim, I have always had this affinity for the State of Israel. As a businessman and an advocate of the free economic system of governance, Israel to me represents an astounding economic success in the midst of so many Arab failures. I measure achievement not in terms of trade or dollars going in or out (Saudi Arabia is best at that) but in terms of scientific prowess that ultimately churns the economic engine of success.

While many Arabs view Israel as a sore implant, I view it as a blessing. I should provide an example of what I mean.

In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, we learned that friends of ours lost a daughter. Some ten days later, we visited them at their house with some other friends. Conversation surrounding the tragedy ensued and one of my dearest friends whom I have a lot of respect for objected to the story he heard about how the Israeli Ambassador to Washington, through connections, was able to have the body of Liviu Librescu delivered to his family, for religious reasons, before anyone else could have any access to their loved ones. He was fuming against the Ambassador more than against the authorities' unwillingness to deliver simultaneously the bodies of Muslims who also perished, in particular the Egyptian student Waleed Shaalan. I asked him "Did the Egyptian Ambassador call to have Shaalan's body delivered early to his family in accordance with our religious traditions?" He did not know the answer to the question but nonetheless kept fuming against the Israeli Ambassador. It was as if the Israeli Embassy did it to spite him or any other Arab. For me, it confirmed the admiration I have for a country that respects their own.

After some heated argument, almost all agreed that Arabs do not have any measure of respect for their own people (due mostly to lack of accountability) and that Arabs must embrace self-empowerment by learning how rather than why Israel begets results.

Israel's democracy and its economic prosperity are all needed in our midst in the hope that we can learn self-empowerment. It is not hard to imagine our young people learning about empowerment when they watch Israeli democracy on their television sets, but it is hard to imagine they will be able to apply it living under an authoritarian system of government. That is the reason why Arabs send their own young people as suicide bombers instead of nurturing them to grow and become citizens of the world so that one day they can use their connections to help their people like the Israeli Ambassador to Washington helped the Librescu family. How could they nurture them in an environment void of hope for their future?

Israel has, in less than 60 years, built an economy ten times that of Syria with one-fifth the population. How does one explain this fact? It is very simple: Israel is a vibrant democracy. For no fault of our own, Syria has suffered from one occupation after occupation, the latest being organically grown represented by the Assad family. One would think that a Syrian family occupying Syria is less harmful than the French occupying Syria. The truth is, it is much worse. The not-so-civilized Assad family uses much worse despotic techniques. The result is that not only Syrians suffer from lack of opportunities and stifling liberties but they also suffer from lack of hope, dignity, and pride as well; a good formula to create suicide bombers.

When the renowned Berkshire Hathaway of Omaha fancied to invest in the Middle East, it bought shares in Israeli industrial companies on the basis of merit. I do not know of any western investment company who has bought shares in Arab public companies except for the lucrative cellular business, which are unmanageable without western know-how and equipment. That does not mean it won't happen one day, but it will certainly not happen to any of the countries surrounding Israel any time soon (with maybe the exception of Jordan) as long as self-empowerment is absent.

It is said that approximately one third of all scientific Nobel Prize winners are Jewish. The ratio is mind boggling. One third comes from a universe of 15 millions Jews and the remainder two-thirds from the much larger pool of 6 billion-plus people. Arabs (mostly Egyptians) have two or three Nobel Peace and Literature Prizes (From a pool of 350 million people) but no Arab has ever won a Nobel in sciences be it chemistry, physics, or medicine. Any argument here as to why Israel is so important to the region?

The assertion made today by the likes of the ignorant Ahmadinajead, who aspires to wipe Israel off the map, and the violent Hamas, some members of which covet throwing the Jews to the sea, reminds me of the story of two factories built side-by-side. One is very successful and its employees take a good paycheck and the other is not so successful and its employees are economically deprived. The manager of the not-so-successful factory spends all his time striving to destroy the successful factory when he in fact should be spending his time learning and imitating the successful factory for his people to luxuriate in similar prosperity. If some of the Palestinians are not willing to learn (Many do want to imitate the success of the factory next door but are not given the chance to express their views or to be elevated to positions of power), we Syrians want to learn and imitate.

James A. Baldwin said: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." To me, any dispute over shared lands is secondary to bringing prosperity to my people.

This article originally appeared on www.reformsyria.org/blog/

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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A lesson for the leftinistras with BDS

I have stated on this blog and in face to face conversations I don't know how many times that I DO NOT blindly and completely support President Bush in everything he does. I know spree doesn't either; she is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT behind our troops and our war on terrorism, as I am, but that in NO WAY SHAPE MANNER OR FORM is a blanket support for the President.

Wanted to make that clear for all of you out there who mistakenly try to label the writers for this site as being "brainwashed" or incapable of thinking for ourselves.

That being said.

I don't know how many of you out there read Eli E. Hertz and his site at www.mythsandfacts.org but he has a GREAT open letter to President Bush that he sent out in an email alert today.

Well stated, and very much something to think about...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

To President Bush

Eli E. Hertz | July 17, 2007

I read with interest your remarks on the Middle East given on July 16, 2007 at the White House.

I appreciate your sincere commitment and devotion in promoting and advancing the creation of functional democracies and peace around the world - particularly your effort in the Middle East.

As one who devotes his time studying the Arab-Israeli conflict, and as a person of the Jewish race and religion, it became incumbent upon me to direct your attention to statements you made of which I found offending. Statements perceived as fact, but in reality are, in my humble opinion, misguided.

I would start with the notion that your administration will not 'do business' with terror organizations and those who call for the destruction of Israel, or at best, suggest to toss the "Jews to the sea."

This brings me to Fateh, the main faction of the PLO for whom Mahmoud Abbas is the driving force and was one of its founding members. This is the organization and leadership that the administration relies upon to bring functional democracy, freedom and peace to the region.

Mr. President, it takes little effort to learn what Fateh is all about. Its constitution calls under Article 12 for the "Complete liberation of Palestine, and obliteration of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence."

As for how it will achieve its goal to wipe Israel off the map, Fateh's constitution, Article 19, minces no words:

"Armed struggle is a strategy and not a tactic, and the Palestinian Arab People's armed revolution is a decisive factor in the liberation fight and in uprooting the Zionist existence, and this struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is completely liberated" [italic by author]

If this does not suffice, please review Abbas' words in a recent rally on January 11, 2007, to a crowd estimated at nearly 250,000 supporters. Abbas calls on Palestinians to refrain from internal fighting and to direct their guns only against Israeli "occupation."

He promises to "not give up one inch of land in Jerusalem" and he "considers the settlements illegal."

In his book, "the issue of the refugees is non-negotiable"

So as much for the partner.

And now to the "Occupation"

I notice with relief that you did not spell out who is the occupier and who is the occupant - just to make sure I will discuss the legal occupation under international law of Jewish settlers in the area known forever as Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.

In 1897 it was Benjamin Herzl, founder of modern Zionism who said: "Palestine is our ever-memorable historic home. The very name of Palestine would attract our people with a force of marvelous potency."

In 1917 it was Arthur James Balfour of Great Britain who declared:

"His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object ..."

In 1922 it was Winston Churchill (your hero), British Secretary of State for the Colonies that declared:

Jews are in Palestine "as of right and not on sufferance ... When it is asked what is meant by the development of the Jewish National Home in Palestine, it may be answered that it is not the imposition of a Jewish nationality upon the inhabitants of Palestine as a whole, but the further development of the existing Jewish community, with the assistance of Jews in other parts of the world, in order that it may become a centre in which the Jewish people as a whole may take on grounds of religion and race, an interest and a pride."

On July 24, 1922 it was fifty-one member countries - the entire League of Nations - that published the legally binding document "Mandate for Palestine" and unanimously declared:

"Recognition Has Been Given to the Historical Connection of the Jewish People with Palestine and to the Grounds for Reconstituting their National Home in that Country."

The "Mandate for Palestine," a historical League of Nations document laid down the Jewish legal right to settle anywhere in western Palestine, a 10,000-square-mile area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, an entitlement unaltered in international law and valid to this day.

On June 30, 1922 it was the joint resolution of both Houses of Congress of the United States that unanimously endorsed the "Mandate for Palestine," confirming the irrevocable right of Jews to settle in the area of Palestine - anywhere between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

"Favoring the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.

"resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United State of America in congress assembled, That the United States of America favors the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of Christian and all other non-Jewish communities in Palestine, and that the holy places and religious buildings and sites in Palestine shall be adequately protected." [The resolution was incorporated in the 1937 Palestine Royal commission Report, Chapter II, page 31]

On September 21, 1922 it was Warren G. Harding, President of the United Sates of America who signed the joint resolution of approval to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Mr. President, Palestine is a geographical area, not a nationality!

As a matter of fact there has never been a sovereign Arab state in Palestine. The artificiality of a Palestinian identity is reflected in the attitudes and actions of neighboring Arab nations who never established a Palestinian state themselves. Nor did the Arabs recognize or establish a Palestinian state during the two decades prior to the Six-Day War when the West Bank was under Jordanian control and the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian control; nor did the Palestinian Arabs clamor for autonomy or independence during those years under Jordanian and Egyptian rule.

Mr. President - Jewish "continuing occupation" that you speak about, is legal and endorsed by international law.

The "Mandate for Palestine" document defined where Jews are and are not permitted to settle. Article 6 of the Mandate clearly states:

"The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes."

The "Mandate for Palestine" document is the last legally binding document regarding the status of what is commonly called "the West Bank and Gaza." The September 16, 1922 memorandum (of the Mandate) is also the last modification of the official terms of the "Mandate" on record by the League of Nations or by its legal successor - the United Nations - in accordance with Article 27 of the "Mandate" that states unequivocally: "The consent of the Council of the League of Nations is required for any modification of the terms of this mandate."

Mr. President, political rights to self-determination as a polity for Arabs were guaranteed in three other mandates - in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. A forth Arab state east of the Jordan River - Trance-Jordan, came to fruition via the "Mandate for Palestine."

Mr. President:

300,000,000 Arabs in 21 'exclusive' Arab countries now occupy an area of 5,207,000 Square Miles, including all the principal Arab and Moslem centers.

6,000,000 Jews in 1 country now occupy an area of nearly 10,000 square miles [will fit into Lake Michigan with plenty of room left] in Palestine, and you Mr. President propose to reduce it even further.

This is an injustice and a grievous handicap to the continuous development and security of the Jewish State.

Thank you.

Eli E. Hertz
PO Box 941

Forest Hills, NY
718-544-8030

Sources:

The President speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070716-7.html

Commentary: This Land is My Land (Includes the "Mandate for Palestine" text at:
http://www.mythsandfacts.com/Conflict/mandate_for_palestine/Mandate_for_Palestine.pdf

A short presentation at:
http://www.mythsandfacts.com/Conflict/mandate_for_palestine/ThisLandIsMyLand.ppt

Mandate for Palestine, the legal aspects of Jewish Rights at:
http://www.mythsandfacts.com/Conflict/mandate_for_palestine/Mandate_for_Palestine.pdf

Mandate Document - British Archive.

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Israel Endures, and so does a Paladin...

I had started this piece as a reply to a discussion on Snooper's site. However, given my condition that spree refers to as "diarrhea of the mouth," I found it to be too long to put there, and decided to put it here instead.

Let me preface this piece by stating, for the record, that I am a Zionist. I have been a Zionist long before I truly knew what the term meant, or even that there was a term for it. As a child reared in a church upbringing, I can remember many of the stories and lessons of Sunday school teachings from very early in my life. I fell in love with the nation of Israel at a very young age, have spent my life as an advocate of modern Israel, once considered immigrating TO Israel to volunteer to be a member of her armed forces after having served my OWN country in OUR armed forces.

That being said, here is the piece that started out as a reply and wound up being a personal revelation:

The "holy wars" karen refers to are most likely the wars Israel fought in ancient times against such tribes as the Philistines, the Hittites, and the Canaanites (whom they defeated when they first began settling ancient Israel), among others. The Bible and tradition teaches that Israel was to destroy her enemies utterly and completely. There was a reason for this; from day one, Israel has been fighting for her very survival.

Is Israel indeed the chosen nation of God? Let's do a brief tracking through history, looking at things in a fairly non-specific manner.

Israel has survived, over the millenia, enslavement by the Egyptians, a division of the kingdom into the Kingdoms of Israel and Judea, captivity by the Babylonians, and the Romans, who dispersed the Jews from their homeland, from which they remained in exile until they were given leave, by Britain (who did little to nothing to help them, in actuality) to return TO the area known as Palestine in the late 1940's. In the time period between the Diaspora and the Return, the Holy Land has been ravaged by Arabic occupations and wars, the Crusades, which saw western Christendom establishing kingdoms and baronies of their own via mandate of the Church, the dispelling of Christendom by Islam, and finally occupation by the British Empire until the Jews returned, finally, home.

That's roughly six thousand years stuffed VERY tightly into a nutshell.

Six thousand years. The Babylonian Empire is gone. The British Empire is no more, they are now the British Commonwealth. The Roman Empire is gone, as is the Holy Roman Empire.

Israel has not only survived being spread among the nations of the Earth, she has returned to her home. She has survived.

Now, following this to it's logical conclusion, it would appear, indeed, that there IS something wondrous and special about Israel. Something that goes beyond the mere boundaries of a land. Israel is a people, a people set aside and chosen, a people protected BY the hand of a God who not only keeps and preserves them, but, as is shown clearly throughout the Bible, a God who chastises and punishes them when they are out of his will.

But you will notice that Israel survives, DESPITE so many attempts through history to eliminate this proud people from the face of the Earth.

Who then, are the infidels? I say to you that if there are infidels, if there are unbelievers, it would be those who are hell bent on the destruction of Israel. That would be radical jihadist fascist extremist Islam, at the top of the list. True "neo-Nazi's."

My mother's uncle fought under Patton during World War II. He was very quiet regarding most of his military service. He wouldn't discuss the war much at all, other than to talk about the French and Italian countryside and how beautiful the land was, and to say that MY generation would have to face the Nazi's again, because their message of hatred had spread beyond Europe into other parts of the world. Look to the Middle East, to Radical Extremist Islam, and their message.

Ossama bin Laden fancies himself, if one looks to both history and psychology, as being the Saladin of our lifetime. Saladin was an honorable man, a true warrior, a true leader. Saladin led his forces HIMSELF, in the open, and had no fear to meet his opponents face to face in meetings of truce, and on the open battlefield. Saladin would NEVER have dishonored himself by hiding in caves, in supporting acts of dishonor and cowardice of convincing others to blow themselves to hell in crowded places to kill innocents, pronouncing them martyrs to be rewarded in heaven.

I am a Zionist, yes, and have been all of my life, for as long as I can remember. The lessons of Israel's history, not just the religious messages, but the lessons of the people, the individuals, are as rich and meaningful today as they were when they were written so many millenia ago. Yes, there are lessons to be learned by studying other cultures, other religions, other societies, but Israel endures. Sampson, Gideon, David, and Solomon were my heroes long before Superman, Batman, Richard, Charlemagne, and even Saladin. I suppose there is no surprise, all these years after my initial teachings, that the great love of my life is a daughter of Zion. However, I also have questioned God for a number of years, at times questioning his very existence, let alone his divine will and purpose in my OWN life, my individual existence. Time has brought these questions; time, observation, experience, and situation. I'm in good company, I suppose, for I share that habit with the likes of David, Moses, and Jesus of Nazareth himself. I don't equate myself in ANY way with these men OTHER than that I do have questions which have yet to be answered. Perhaps there are no answers, not in the form in which we tend to think of them. I have maintained, after much reflection through the years and no small amount of studying Zen and practicing it's meditations when I was younger, that all true answers to such questions can ultimately be found within ones self.

A student asked me once, before one of my classes, when I was teaching, about my life before teaching. It took me a bit off guard, something that high school seniors are prone to attempt with their teachers, especially the ones who come back to their home towns to take interim positions after being away and out of contact with the "locals" for some time; I was an enigma to them. That I was known as having come into the teaching field later than most, having spent time as a soldier, a fireman, and a contractor, furthered the mystery about me in their minds even more, I'm sure. Most of their teachers, from the time they began kindergarten on through the years until their final year in school had been more "traditional," having gone from high school to college and then into their own classrooms to teach. I didn't fit into that mold. I weighed her question, which was honest and sincere in it's presentation, having been the subject of much discussion amongst my classes, and considered how best to answer her, and the others who had turned their attention to me awaiting my answer.

This is the basis of what my reply to her was:

I have lived my life largely on my own terms for as long as I have been able to do so. I have been and done everything I set out to do and to be, I have seen things of incredible beauty, I have seen things of absolute horror. I've been places and done things that I can never share with anyone, but those memories, those experiences, live within me every day of my life. I have seen life come into this world, I have seen life leave this world in the most horrible of manners. I have known the fear that comes with the closeness of death. I have saved lives, I have done otherwise at least once...

I have loved greatly and fully, and I have known the agony of love lost, and the rapture of love returned and the promise of tomorrow. I have known pain of the body, pain of the soul, and joy beyond measure.

At my lowest point, I had considered my life, and had asked myself, "Is there nothing more? Have I done all that there is to do?" I very nearly decided that I had, when three simple little words found me and shook me to my foundations, urging me to begin a climb out of my own personal hell back into the light. Those three little words were something special, precious, meant just for me, and they literally saved my life. With those words I began the most difficult assent of the soul that I have ever undertaken, and I continue it still, more confidently each day as I continue on this quest that I am meant to endure.

My students were silent when I finished, I know not what their thoughts were, or even if I had answered their question. Perhaps I left them wondering even more with my reply. I do know that it was the most honest answer that I could give.

Perhaps, in retrospect, I found an answer of my own as well. Perhaps my studies did more than instill me with a love and respect of a tiny little nation forged on the shores of the Mediterranean sea so long ago. Perhaps the chastising of a nation can equate to the trials of the soul of the individual, as well. Perhaps the will of God for me is to do exactly what Israel has done through the millenia; to endure. And endure I will, for I cling fast to that promise of tomorrow, and with each day the quest draws me closer to that for which my heart and soul long and yearn for.

Questing onward...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Taking a Stand against the United Nations

For several years now I've been a proponent of removing the United States from involvement with the United Nations. I see the organization as being a body that tries not to solve international problems through diplomacy and negotiation but as one that tries to become a governing body for the entire planet. I've also pointed out on numerous occasions how that the UN uses Israel as their "whipping boy" every time that the Israeli's do anything to defend themselves, blaming Israel for starting conflicts that have been brought to them by others.

Our world is by no means in a place for global governance. I doubt that it ever will be, given our cultural and social differences from country to country. Look at our own nation, if you need convincing. How many southerners are more than happy to "help a Yankee go home?" How many northerners look at southerners as being JUST like the Beverly Hillbilly's? California is referred to as "the left coast" because of their political views, not just because of their location on the map.

We DO NOT need to be as heavily involved in the United Nations as we are.

Mayhap our government is starting to realize this as well.

US House bars funding for UN rights council

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US House of Representatives moved to prohibit US funding of the UN Human Rights Council, derided by one member as a "poisonous talk shop," as part of a mammoth funding bill passed early Friday.

The United States has repeatedly expressed frustration with the council over its rules, targets for monitoring -- including US ally Israel -- and the way it conducts business.

The amendment, to a measure funding the State Department and US diplomacy, passed by unanimous voice vote, and prevents US funding for the overall United Nations budget from being used for the council's 15 million dollar annual operations.

"We were right to refuse to dignify that poisonous talk-shop with our membership, and we must refuse to support it with our tax dollars," said Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"By pulling its membership from the broader UN General Assembly without any membership criteria, the council has gone further than its predecessor in giving gross human rights violators the power to shape the international human rights agenda," Ros-Lehtinen said.

The council, of which the United States is only an observer, was formed last year to replace the discredited UN Human Rights Commission.

The United States earlier this week said it was disappointed by new rules adopted by the Human Rights Council and accused the fledgling institution of denying its own members voting rights

The 47 members of the Geneva-based council agreed to continue scrutiny of Israel and sought the abolition of independent rights experts monitoring Cuba and Belarus.

The United States said it was also concerned about what it called "procedural irregularities" employed to deny council members the opportunity to vote on the agenda.

In a statement, Ros-Lehtinen's office faulted the council for failing to condemn genocide in Darfur, the "sprawling gulag of North Korea" and political and rights abuses in Cuba, Belarus, Myanmar and Zimbabwe.

I believe in giving proper credit where it's due. A big "Well Done" to the House of Representatives for this one. Thank you for doing the right thing.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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The grass is always greener...

The late Erma Bombeck once wrote a book entitled The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Septic Tank. Humorous, witty, I wonder if the Palestinians are feeling any sort of humor and wit at their current situation as they lament not being under the protection and jurisdiction of Israel.

We told you about this situation in recent weeks with spree's posting this week "First They Came for the Jews", my posting on the 3rd entitled "The enemy of my enemy...?", and we revisit it today with hat tips to little green footballs and News Busters.

To refresh everyone's memory, there has yet to be a nation named "Palestine." The Dinosaur media has created in the public mindset the concept of a misplaced people living in refugee status since the middle of the last century; people misplaced by the creation of the nation of Israel. What the media fails to report is that in truth it was the Israeli people who had been displaced for CENTURIES and that they had returned to their homeland.

The "Palestinians" were squatters.

And now, after decades of the media making Israel to be so unfair to the Palestinians and being so harsh to them, where are Palestinians heading to escape violence in the Gaza Strip?

Israel.

From the Jerusalem Post:

Earlier, dozens of Palestinians arrived at the Erez Crossing in an attempt to escape the Gaza Strip and enter Israel. IDF soldiers shot into the air to try to prevent the approaching crowds from infiltrating through the security fence.

Many of the Palestinians arrived at the crossing carrying large suitcases and were planning to run away from the Strip following Hamas's takeover.

One young man shouted "bye, bye, Gaza," and waved as he walked through the covered walkway that leads to the Israeli side.

My my my my my what oh WHAT will the leftist anti-semitic dinosaur media DO now that Israel has been SHOWN not to be the bad guy here?

Katie Couric might just explode on camera.

One can only hope...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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The enemy of my enemy...?

Middle East politics is an amazing thing to follow. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something happens that absolutely changes the shape of everything that analysts and political scientists have speculated on and predicted.

Hat Tip to Moderate Voice for this amazing story that you won't likely find on the front pages or in the opening segments of the nightly news:

'We Are Facing a Second Nakba'-Reactions in the Palestinian Press to the Hamas-Fatah Clashes

By: C. Jacob

"The situation in the Gaza Strip, and especially in the city of Gaza, is scary. Murders are committed by the dozen, using every [conceivable] weapon... The murder machine, fueled by every conceivable type of hatred, is hurtling in every direction, all the time, everywhere... in the mosques... in the schools... [There are] executions... Leaders are attacked, and their families humiliated... Children and innocent civilians are being murdered..." Talal Okal, columnist for the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Ayyam, May 17, 2007.

Introduction

The current wave of violent Hamas-Fatah clashes is one of the most brutal the PA has known, especially considering that it broke out only a short while after the signing of the Mecca Agreement, which was supposed to put an end to the mutual fighting. The large number of casualties, and the fear that has taken hold of the Gaza streets, have sparked intense protest among Palestinians and Arabs, with harsh criticism directed towards both the PA and Hamas.

Some consequences of the clashes are public statements by residents calling on Israel to reenter the Gaza Strip, and concerns regarding the effect of the fighting on the international community's faith in the Palestinians' ability to establish a state, to honor agreements, and to maintain peace.

Among the solutions proposed in the Palestinian media were to launch a third intifada, this time against those responsible for the internal chaos, and to bring in Arab or international forces to keep the peace between the Fatah and Hamas.

Does that sound like the peace that Palestinians had expected from not being under Israeli rule?
What would one expect the reactions to be from this situation? Not, probably, what you would think...

Who is Responsible for the Clashes? - Mutual Accusations by Fatah and Hamas
Fatah and PLO spokesmen accused Hamas of staging a coup against the Palestinian Authority and of trying to renege on the Mecca Agreement. The PLO Executive Committee issued a statement saying: "What is happening in Gaza is an attempted coup against the legitimate security apparatuses, aimed at imposing by force the legitimacy of the armed militias, and especially the legitimacy of the Hamas militia [known as the] Executive Force." It should be noted that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pronounced the Executive Force illegal immediately after its establishment." [1]

A statement issued by the Fatah Central Committee said: "Behind the mutual killing of Palestinian by Palestinian stand local leaders and field [commanders] from Hamas who are working to overthrow the national unity government and the Mecca Agreement." [2] In a similar vein, Fatah spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa accused Hamas of losing control over its armed militias. [3]

Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister Azzam Al-Ahmad demanded that all armed gunmen from both sides be removed from the streets, saying: "PA President [Mahmoud Abbas] issued a presidential decree proclaiming the Executive Force illegitimate only two days after its establishment was announced." On another occasion, Azzam Al-Ahmad called to dismantle the Executive Force, accusing its men of carrying out executions that were pushing the Palestinians to the brink of civil war. [4]

Yousef Al-Qazzaz, a senior Palestinian Broadcasting Authority official and columnist for the PA daily Al-Ayyam, wrote: "A strong smell of Al-Qaeda is rising from what is being done in Gaza by the [forces] of chaos, which are murdering Palestinian security personnel and killing innocent women and children [right] in front of Prime Minister [Ismail Haniyya] from Hamas, who is unable to restrain them." [5]

Hamas spokesmen, on the other hand, accused Fatah of collaborating with the U.S. and with Israel, and claimed that the revolutionary faction within Fatah was rebelling against the Palestinian government. In response to Azzam Al-Ahmad's call to dismantle the Executive Force, Hamas demanded that his immunity be revoked and he stand trial. Hamas Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said: "Al-Ahmad represents the Legislative Council and the Fatah party. How can he demand the dismantling of a legitimate police force?" [6] Hamas representative Ayman Tah asked: "Why doesn't Azzam Al-Ahmad speak of the Fatah's [own] executive force, about its illegitimacy and its massacre of residents? Why doesn't he speak of the presidential club, which has become an execution chamber for residents and which has made it licit to kill the [Palestinian] people?" [7] Another Hamas statement said: "Israel's jets did not hesitate to respond to Azzam Al-Ahmad's call to [come] and wipe out the interior ministry's Executive Force." [8]

Hamas also characterized the events in Gaza as a rebellion by commanders from the revolutionary faction within Fatah against the Palestinian government and against the agreements signed by Abbas and Haniyya. [9] Haniyya's political advisor Ahmad Yousef accused factions within Fatah and the security apparatuses of "following orders from the U.S. and Israel to escalate the violence. Both movements," he added," need a second Mecca Agreement in order to resolve the problems that still remain, such as the hierarchy within the security apparatuses and the appointment of an interior minister." Ahmad Yousef also accused the U.S. of strengthening Fatah at the expense of Hamas." [10]

Arab on Arab violence in the Gaza Strip? Is this what was expected with Israeli withdrawal?

The Clashes "Are Murdering the Palestinian Cause"

Al-Ayyam columnist Abdallah Awwad attacked both Fatah and Hamas: "Between one murder and another, between one kidnapping and the next... our leaders continue to sit in their [meaningless] seats and to speak of 'resistance,' 'liberation,' 'unity,' and 'return'... They are all liars. The weapons they wish to retain, [ostensibly] as the weapons of resistance, are actually weapons of internecine terrorism and murder... You are murdering the [Palestinian] cause, [our] people and [our] future... Oh murderers, you have ruined our world, castrated our nationalism, prostituted our resistance... You have turned our lives into hell. [In fact,] hell is preferable... Take your government, your militias, and your gangs and go to hell." [16]

Palestinian columnist Abd Al-Nasser Al-Najjar wrote in a similar vein: "Oh murderers in the streets of Gaza, we renounce you. You cannot have emerged from the womb of the Holy Land. You are despicable. You are chasing after [what is left] of our shattered government, [pursuing your own] interests... You are neither Muslims nor believers... Today, we are ashamed to speak out loud of our Palestinian [identity], when in the past we took pride in our Palestinian self-sacrifice, revolution and martyrdom. Oh you mercenaries, you have betrayed our dreams and murdered our promised state. [Our] enemies have used you as a Trojan horse. Oh murderers, you are the Satan of Palestine... Know that a bullet you fire in the Gaza street, no matter what your affiliation, will turn into a curse that will pursue you to your own graves. Oh murderers of Gaza... you have no place [among us] now that you have killed everything that is beautiful within us." [17]


Palestinian Officials: The World Perceives Us as a People Incapable of Establishing a State

Columnists also expressed concern that the fighting would affect the Palestinians' image in the eyes of the international community. Bassam Abu Sharif, who was an advisor to Arafat, wrote: "The situation in Gaza has reached the explosion point, and the Israeli message to the West and to Washington is 'do you really want these people to establish an independent state? If they are shooting each other [now], what will they do when they have a state? If they violate the agreements they have signed with each other and with the Arabs, what will they do with the agreements [they sign] with Israel?" [18]

Columnist and Palestinian official Yousef Qazzaz wrote: "To this very day, I do not understand why most of our senior [officials] are afraid to declare in all honesty that we - [our] government, [our] security apparatuses and the [Palestinian] people - have [all] failed in implementing the law and in maintaining security. We are immersed in the worship of chaos, in the destruction of our national institutions and our home. Why are we angry with those who say that the Palestinians are incapable of managing their country's affairs?" [19]

So what do the Palestinians see as a solution to their problems? Here's the surprise to this story:

Columnists: People in Gaza Long for the Return of the Israeli Occupation

Papers reported that some people in Gaza even want the Israelis to return to the Strip. Faiz Abbas and Muhammad Awwad, journalists for the Israeli-Arab weekly Al-Sinara, wrote: "People in Gaza are hoping that Israel will reenter the Gaza Strip, wipe out both Hamas and Fatah, and then withdraw again... They also say that, since the [start of the] massacres, they [have begun to] miss the Israelis, since Israel is more merciful than [the Palestinian gunmen] who do not even know why they are fighting and killing one another. It's like organized crime, [they said]. Once, we resisted Israel together, but now we call for the return of the Israeli army to Gaza." [20]

Al-Hayat Al-Jadida columnist Yahya Rabah wrote: "When the national unity government was formed, I thought, 'This will be a government of national salvation.' If a government that includes Fatah, Hamas, other factions and independents associated with [various] factions has not been able to save the day, it means that no one can, unless Israel decides that its army should intervene. Then it will invade [the Gaza Strip], kill and arrest [people] - but this time not as an occupying [force] but as an international peace-keeping force. Look what we have come to, how far we have deteriorated, and what we have done to ourselves." [21]

Palestinian journalist Majed Azzam wrote: "We should have the courage to acknowledge the truth... The [only] thing that prevents the chaos and turmoil in Gaza from spreading to the West Bank is the presence of the Israeli occupation [in the West Bank]... [as opposed to] its absence from the Gaza Strip." [22]

Bassem Al-Nabris, a Palestinian poet from Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, wrote: "If a there was a referendum in the Gaza Strip [on the question of] 'would you like the Israeli occupation to return?' half the population would vote 'yes'... But in practice, I believe that the number of those in favor is at least 70%, if not more - [a figure] much higher than is assumed by the political analysts and those who follow [events]. For the million and a half people living in this small region, things have [simply] gone too far - in practice, not just as a metaphor. [It did not begin] with the internal conflicts, but even earlier, in the days of the previous Palestinian administration, which was corrupt and did not give the people even the tiniest [ray of] hope. The fundamentalist forces which came into power [after it] also promised change and reform, but [instead, people] got a siege, with no security and no [chance of] making a living... If the occupation returns, at least there will be no civil war, and the occupier will have a moral and legal obligation to provide the occupied people with employment and food, which they now lack." [23]

Isn't it an amazing thing how that Israel has been so villainized for their treatment of the Palestinians? How long has the world blamed Israel for the plight of Palestine? Let me fill you in on a little clue that so many seem to forget or overlook. Ready? Hold on, this is HUGE. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A NATION CALLED PALESTINE. But how much terrorist activity has taken place in it's name? TOO much. Israel IS the Jewish homeland, historically as well as Biblically. And now the Palestinians recognize exactly what they had under Israeli rule, having suffered greatly since Israel withdrew from Gaza.

Amazing, that.

Read the whole story here. It boggles the mind. And it goes to show that Israel is not the horrible overlord that the dinosaur media and the U.N. paints it to be...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Israel Under More Attacks...Will the Media Blame Them Again?

Israel is a nation constantly under the gun. Not only from their active, shooting enemies, but from the media and indeed the United Nations. The UN has repeatedly shown their bias against this small nation in the Middle East, blaming Israel for problems when the Israeli's have returned fire or counter attacked against forces moving against them. The dinosaur media eats it up, each and every time, and according to them it's ALWAYS Israel in the wrong for fighting back.

Keep a watch over the next few days and see if it doesn't happen again when Israel responds to these latest attacks:

Israel threatens Hamas political leaders

By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM - Israel's deputy defense minister threatened Tuesday to target Hamas political leaders, calling them "terrorists in suits" after a rocket attack by the Islamic militant group killed an Israeli woman.

The harsh words were backed up by action. Israel airstrikes targeted two suspected arms caches and two Hamas bases. Later, an Israeli helicopter strafed a rocket launch site with machine-gun fire near the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. Palestinian officials said a total of 10 people were wounded.

The 31-year-old woman who died Monday night was the first Israeli killed by a Palestinian rocket since November, inviting a harsh response. Militants fired nine more rockets at Israel on Tuesday, slightly wounding two people, the army said.

Israeli leaders suggested that even Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas could be targeted in reprisals, with Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh calling Hamas' leaders "terrorists in suits" in a radio interview.

"We don't care if he's a ringleader, a perpetrator of rocket launching or if he is one of the political leaders," Sneh later told The Associated Press. "No one has immunity."

Wary of Israeli strikes, leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza have lowered their profiles, turning off cell phones and staying off the streets.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri threatened harsh retaliation if the group's leaders were attacked.

"Harming ... any of Hamas' leadership will cost the occupation dearly," he said. "This will mean responses." He did not elaborate.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the moderate Fatah, traveled from his West Bank headquarters to Gaza for talks with Hamas leadership in a last-ditch attempt to salvage a truce with Israel and rein in factional bloodletting between the two factions.

Abbas himself is seen as a potential target of Hamas. Witnesses said he entered the strip Tuesday evening in a motorcade of dozens of vehicles bristling with armed guards, while presidential security forces locked down central Gaza thoroughfares and marksmen staked out rooftop vantage points along the route to his seafront official residence.

Fatah officials said Abbas would meet Haniyeh but would not divulge the timing or location, citing security concerns.

After a six-month lull, Israel resumed airstrikes on militant targets in Gaza last Wednesday in response to heavy rocket fire. More than 40 Palestinians, most of them militants, have been killed.

Despite Israeli vows of harsh retaliation in response to Monday night's Sderot attack, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledged there is no quick solution for the rocket barrages.

Israel's high-tech military has not been able to find a solution for countering the crude homemade rockets. In the past week, more than 150 rockets have landed in and around Sderot, a town of 24,000 people about a mile from the Gaza border.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz told visiting European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana that Israel was holding off on launching a major ground offensive into Gaza in order to give diplomacy a chance to defuse the crisis, Peretz's office said.

The government evacuated hundreds of Sderot residents to hotels in other parts of the country for the Shavuot Jewish holiday, which began at sundown. The evacuation was orderly, and Israeli soldiers helped people board the buses.

Mechi Friederwitzer-Fendell, who immigrated to Israel from New York city in 2000 and has raised seven children in Sderot, said she is staying put. But she urged the government to get tougher still with the Palestinians.

"Maybe we should knock down some houses," she said. "They fire a missile and we destroy a few houses, let them realize that we can't stand for this."

Hamas' rocket attacks apparently have been aimed at triggering an Israel response that could unite Palestinians and end the infighting. Some 50 people were killed in the factional violence last week.

Ahmed Youssef, a senior Hamas official, said the group would consider talks on a cease-fire, if Israel first stopped its "mad attacks."

"The aggression must stop so we can talk about a comprehensive cease-fire," said Youssef, a top aide to Haniyeh. "The government is working on expanding the truce. This is a national interest."

Israel dismissed talk of a new cease-fire, saying Hamas never sticks to truces.

"Hamas ... is leading the violence," Peretz said. "We don't intend on stopping. We will stop at the point that the rockets stop."

To the dinosaur media, you are being watched. You are being scrutinized. You are under the microscope. Will you do the right thing this time and report this situation accurately? Will you stand up to the Islamic extremist's to whom you have been bowing down to the past several decades? Or will you continue to show your bias, your lies, your corruption and once again blame the Israelis as they retaliate for the strikes against their national sovereignty? We are WATCHING you, and you will be held accountable for your actions, as will the forces of evil driving the assaults against the nation of Israel.

Americans are starting to wake up to the truth, shaking off the shackles of complacency and apathy that you have enslaved them in for so long with your lies and biased reporting. The truth always comes out. The truth is coming out now, even as I write this...

The Sleeping Giant is reawakening.

And he's PISSED.

Shalom, Israel.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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Never Again

Has Europe learned nothing from the lessons of World War II? Is it so easy to slip back into a mindset that was deemed criminal and wrong at the Nuremberg trials when atrocity after atrocity was revealed?

France seems to have taken the mantle of ant-Semitism as we enter the 21st century. Hat tip to Atlas Shrugs for bringing this to our attention and forwards a call to boycott ALL things French; their wine, their perfume, their chocolates, everything.

What in the hell is WRONG with these people that they fall into the same trappings as Nazi Germany during the 1930's and 1940's? We have shown, in this country, our distaste for the lack of spine shown by the French government as recently as our latest military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.


"A few years ago, in 2001 for instance, I do not think we would have discussed an issue such as the one on our agenda. At the end of the 1990s, the Jewish community of France was living in peace. Worrying events did occur, however in the past three decades we never felt the Jewish community being questioned regarding its role within French society. The future of the Jewish community in France was simply not an issue. This situation has changed in the past three years partly due to the large amount of serious events that have occurred, pointing at a deep crisis within French society and due, too, to the comments made by intellectual circles, by the powers that be, by the media, by the public opinion and by the Jewish community itself. "

Why has this come to pass? Radical Islam.

"Many reasons brought to the current situation in France and in Europe, leading to anti-Semitic attacks. I want to highlight the fact that the revival of the new Intifada and the attacks against the Jewish community on the eve of Rosh Hashanah occurred almost simultaneously in September 2000. Synagogues, community centers and Jewish schools were attacked and a great number of buildings were destroyed or burned down. "

Still not convinced?

"A few words must be said about the media's responsibility in the reporting of the Intifada. The French media contributed largely to the deterioration of the image of Israel in the eye of the French public opinion. I remember the case of this young Arab immigrant living in a French suburb explaining he decided to attack a synagogue after a TV newscast showing the Intifada. From this point of view, the media coverage improved in the last months. CRIF, with the support of some intellectuals, helped improving the atmosphere through targeted actions on the media exposing the bias and subjectivity of their reports and their serious consequences on the public opinion and on the Jewish community. "

Read the article here.

The French government, as usual, pays lip service to the matter. In a recent address by Dominique de Villepin at the World Jewish Congress diner, he stated "France is pursuing a determined fight against anti-Semitism in our country and globally." There is significant evidence of anti-Sematism alive and well in France and the European Union as a whole for there to be more than just a concern.

What is to be done? As I said, it's boycott time again. Make the French wake up and KNOW that freedom loving people WILL NOT STAND for this. Make them understand that we defeated Hitler when most of France sat on its collective ass under surrender, and we will NOT let them become "Nazi France."

In the two words that I'm sure every Jew who reads this will understand, I say "Never Again" and call upon others to join with me in putting those two words upon their lips and in their hearts.

Also make sure to visit:
Never again.org. and for updated information keep track here.

[UPDATE]-11/24/06: Charles Krauthammer has an excellent piece here.

Once and always, an American Fighting Man

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