Toilets, Pigs, Meatballs And Location

An exploding toilet story. Nice.

Pardoning the, uh, witch.

Meatballs recipes and art.

Mozart for pigs.

Location, location, location.

Condi And The Palestinian Bunny Hop

The problem, according to Hamas’ Islamail Haniyeh is Condi Rice:

Gaza City: Palestinian Prime Minister Esmail Haniya of Hamas on Monday accused US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of bringing a ‘perilous vision’ to the region, shortly after she announced plans to join an Israeli-Palestinian summit in the coming weeks.

Rice, who is in the Middle East in hopes of restarting peace efforts, is trying to ’sedate’ the Palestinians with promises of easing Israeli restrictions while really serving Israel’s interests, said Haniya.

“She is bringing a perilous vision that everyone should be wary of,” Haniya said.

“It seems obvious the Bush administration will not exert any pressures on Israel to offer any substantial concessions to the Palestinian people.”

Rice is seeking to bolster the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in his standoff against Hamas.

Those efforts include more than $80 million (about Dh293 million) in assistance to Abbas’ Presidential Guard.

Haniya called the aid to Abbas ‘dangerous’ and said it would only worsen recent infighting between Hamas and Abbas’ Fatah movement.

Rice said yesterday she will bring together the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the coming weeks for a summit dedicated to exploring ideas for an eventual Palestinian state.

The announcement came after Rice met with President Hosni Mubarak in the southern Egyptian town of Luxor, following a three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Rice’s talks were aimed at breathing new life into stalled Mideast efforts.

We noted and asked earlier today:

Does anyone seriously believe that the pious and noble words, spoken with such reasonableness in European languages by the Palestinians, can disguise their continued refusal to accept Israel’s existence? Does anyone really believe that the promises to destroy that nation and her inhabitants, made with the regularity of the muezzin’s call to prayer, are not relevant?

Real dysfunctionality is never hard to recognize- unless of course, that dysfunctionality is mirrored by others equally as dysfunctional.

American foreign policy in the Middle East has been consistent.

• Cessation of hostilities and terror
• Secure borders.
• Diplomatic recognition of Israel.

What exactly is one sided and unfair? What possible reason could the Palestinians have for not going along with the plan? In doing so, the floodgates of foreign aid, investment and all kinds of benefits would open.
And the ‘Bunny Hop’ goes on.

Deceit, Dysfunction And The Dance Of The Left

Larwyn gave us a heads up to Atlas Shrugs’, MSNBC: Blames Jew Lobby For Carter’s Mental Illness, in which he points to a Nora Roberts interview with recent Carter Center supporters that have resigned with publication of Carter’s recent book. Apparently, America and American interests in the Arab world are being undermined by

“the hateful Israeli occupation [that] has undermined our image across the Arab world.”

So wrote Philip Weiss, the author of MondoWeiss. Pamela links to two posts by Mr Weiss, both of which are breathless excoriations of American policies and American Jews that support Israel.

Out of necessity, Mr Weiss eschews facts and reality so as to come across as ‘reasonable’ and ‘thoughtful.’ Content and accuracy matters to Mr Weiss. It is about the appearance of his deliberate distortion and deceit that matter most. Former President Bill Clinton was roundly applauded when he went on Fox News and ’showed them.’ So what of he lied? So what if he distorted the truth? None of that mattered because Bill Clinton put on a good show, and of course, he meant well.

Like his truth distorting predecessors Philip Weiss’ efforts will prove to be futile. Notwithstanding the truth that Mr Weiss believes with the fervor of a religious zealot enveloped in ecstasy that if he can exclude some facts, they become irrelevant or non existent. That is like saying ‘if they can’t identify me in the photographs, I’m not really a pedophile.‘

America and Israel are not the problem in the Islamic world despite the nightly newscasts and the Stalinesque ‘useful idiots’ like Philip Weiss who insist that is the case. Addressing the the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will not transform racist, dysfunctional and corrupt societies overnight.

We’ll look at the Israeli ‘occupation’ in a bit, but for now, let’s look at the reality the

In Saudi Arabia, imams talk about how it is incumbent on Muslims to rape and take as slaves, Jewish and Christian women. Darfur is ignored as tens, if not hundreds of thousands die at the hands of the janjaweed, the Arab militias- and not before the women are raped as the janjaweed women sing in joy. That is not an American, Israeli or Jewish construct.

Iraq and Iran fought a war that resulted in the death of over a million people, many of them children, used as fodder by the Iranians. That war was not an American, Israeli or Jewish construct.

What is happening in Darfur, the massacre of Christians and Animists by Muslim militia, was not brought on by America or Israel. It has been going for years and and over 2 million have been butchered. The decades long war was not an American, Israeli or Jewish construct.

In Algeria, the GIA did not rape and dismember thousands of children because of America or Israel or Jews.

Saddam did not invade Kuwait, or threaten Saudi Arabia because of America or Israel or Jews.

Churches and Mosques in Pakistan are not set afire with worshipers inside because of America or Israel.

Poison gas was used in Yemen, in the 1960’s. The perpetrator? Our friends, the Egyptians.

It wasn’t the Israelis who massacred at the Sabra and Shatilla ‘refugee camps.’ That violence was committed by the Phalange Christians. After years of oppression, beatings violence and even rape by gangs of armed Palestinians, as a matter of course- a jihad, really- the Christians were exacting revenge.

(Ariel Sharon was found guilty of not anticipating the those events by the Kahane Commission. He was unaware of the rage of the Phalange and the extent of their persecution by the Palestinians that unleashed so much rage. He was unaware of the depths to which the Palestinians has sunk.)

Universal laws of decency no longer exist in much of the Arab world.

What happened in Sabra and Shatilla, Lebanon was not unique to Lebanon.

The civilized world understands the rule of law. The ideals of human rights are meant for all, rights that include free speech, a free press, and the need for rules that cross borders and languages.

The fact of the matter that Mr Weiss, et al, so desperately want to avoid is that today, we face an enemy that that uses hospitals and schools to shield terrorists, and Houses of Worship are used as armories. Children have become a means, used as human fodder, to throw in front of an enemy, as they are in Israel for propaganda purposes as they shield gunmen, or they become disposable chattel, as they were in Beslan.

Beheadings are celebrated with joy and the mutilation of corpses takes place within view of frenzied, dancing mobs.

Terrorists and rogue regimes are racing to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The Nazis attempted to hide their evil and deny it. The radical Islamists can’t be bothered.

None of those realities are the result of an Israeli, American or Jewish construct.

In plain view, they proudly pronounce their aims and intent. They want to subjugate us or destroy us. Officially appointed Arab government clerics reiterate these goals in mosques and on television. School curriculum educates from an early age, the Islamic destiny, to be fulfilled by a never ending Jihad.

These aren’t matters of debate or issues up for discussion. They are facts. In facing these realities, it is not enough to discuss them or even understand them. They must be dealt with. In doing so, we must be prepared not only to ask the questions, but to answer them clearly and unequivocally.

In a time and place where ambulances are used to transport murderers and ammunition, and houses of worship and schools are used to stockpile weapons, cultures clearly distinguish themselves- and no amount of media dancing can change that reality. Desperation is not the magical elixir that makes weapons, explosives and rockets appear out of nowhere. Neither does despair turn a whole society into one that supports and rejoices at the death of innocents.

Africa has had centuries of despair, and there are no suicide bombers that target innocents. Tibetans, long under China’s iron boot, have not resorted to suicide bombers that target innocents. The same can be said for many societies living under cruel circumstances.

Suicide bombers- and their ‘handlers’- are calculated, cold and vicious. They are cruel, well funded terrorists, with no regard to human life, including the life of their fellow countrymen. These behaviors are taught.They do not appear spontaneously.

Terrorists leaders and their enablers in this western society do care a great deal about themselves and are entirely focused on their own power, control and wealth.

The terror that has become an acceptable form of political expression has never been about a religious endeavor. It is the misuse of a religion, a calculated attempt to realign a religion to serve the needs of a few evil men. It is an effort that is succeeding, because there are people that are chained and in servitude and their willing, desperate search for an escape from their dark medieval prisons.

Terror organizations and terror supporters are using our own language to defeat us. Suicide bombers and terrorists are now ‘military factions,’ while those that plan and pay for the crimes are now referred to as ‘political factions’- as if patterning themselves after legitimate political organizations will somehow camouflage their identity and objectives. Ever dutifully, the media parrots these ridiculous assertions as credible.

We are still working on the premise that we in the west are somehow contributory to the problem of a radical and global radical Islamist agenda. We have allowed ourselves to be ‘dumbed down,’ in an attempt to negotiate our way out of an impossible situation. We have convinced ourselves that we are dealing with adversaries whose primary objective is political because they want to be perceived as having a political agenda as opposed to any other kind of agenda.

Sooner or later, we’re going to have to deal with reality and deal with the problem clearly and substantively– and we’re not going to be able to talk our way out it. Until the Arab world deals with the reality that we are not their biggest problem, they will not achieve real freedom. Democracy may be imperfect, but it is a whole lot better than anything else out there.

Here are some of the facts of about the Israeli ‘occupation’ Mr Weiss and Nora Roberts desperately want to pretend don’t exist:

The ‘occupation’ of Gaza and the West Bank did not originate as an exercise in Israeli ‘aggression’ against her neighbors.

In 1967, Egypt kicked out UN peace keepers from the Sinai Peninsula. They massed troops on Israel’s borders and threatened her destruction. Radio broadcasts at the time, monitored and recorded, exhorted Arab troops to an orgy of destruction, rivers of blood and rape- literally, emphasizing such behavior was the Islamic destiny. Syria followed suit, massing borders on Israels northern flank. The Gulf of Aqaba was blockaded (an act of war in itself) and despite pleas from Israel to Jordan’s King Hussein, he too was to enter the fray. He mobilized his highly regarded and British trained army to a high state of combat readiness.

In response, Israel called up it’s armed forces and reserves and on June 5, 1967, launched a preemptive strike against Egypt, Syria and Jordan- all of whom had massed troops, armor and aircraft on her borders.

It was over in 6 days. By then, Israel has crossed the Suez Cana and had taken Gaza and had made their way to the Suez Canal. (Israeli General Moshe Dayan said, “Give me 12 hours and I can be in Cairo.” Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed). Syria lost the Golan Heights (their soldiers were chained to their positions, literally) and Jordan lost the West Bank and Jerusalem.

From the moment the hostilities ceased, Israel offered the land back in exchange for peace, secure borders and mutual recognition. The Arab countries said no and ratified three ‘No’s’ in The Khartoum Declaration of 1968. ‘No‘ to the cessation of hostilities, ‘No’ to recognition and ‘No‘ to negotiations.

There was a conscious decision made that the violence directed at Israel would not cease until that nation and her inhabitants were destroyed. Their words, not ours.

What Israel found in the West Bank and Jerusalem was liberated was appalling. Despite repeated promises and agreements made to the international community, Jordan had never allowed Jews to their holy sites and Houses of Worship- and for good reason.

Under the Jordanian (now Palestinian) administration, every single Jewish House of Worship in Jerusalem was destroyed- all of them. Untold numbers of ancient tombstones were ripped from the Mount Olives Cemetery and were deliberately desecrated. Thousands were used to line latrines and thousands more were used as sewage conduits by the residents and the Arab occupants of Jerusalem.

The area in front of the Wailing Wall (now claimed as a Muslim holy site), the most sacred of Jewish holy sites was turned into a garbage dump, some 60 feet deep, by some estimates. Yes, there are photos and other documented evidence of these realities.

Much has been made of Israeli ‘treatment’ of Palestinians, so let’s examine that.

When the Israelis entered Jerusalem, they found the few Christian schools allowed to function, forced to teach the Quran to their students. They found unreliable electricity at best, few schools (girls were forbidden to go to school), virtually no health care infrastructure (or health care practioners) and a non existant economy that was reflected in the gross poverty of a non emplyed population.

Reality is a very different canvas that the one Weiss, et al, present. There is no point in creating lists, because what the Israelis have given the Palestinians has been an endless excess of charity and ‘entitlement’ payments.

The Israelis have built an societal infrastructure that was non existent before the 1967. They built schools, roads, sanitation infrastructure, health care facilities and a functioning economy where none existed. This is not unknown to Israeli Arabs- more than once and on the record, they have reiterated their desire to remain under Israeli rule, as opposed to being under PA governance and their world renowned reputation for failure and corruption.

In point of fact, the Israeli ‘occupation’ of Gaza and the West Bank has been the most benign ‘occupation’ in history.

(It is not only Israeli Arabs that understand that reality. When the Israelis pulled out of southern Lebanon, there were those who made their unhappiness at that turn of events known. The Allawites, the clan to which the ruling Assad’s of Syria belong, made it very clear they did not wish the Israelis to leave)

After peace treaties were concluded with Sadat of Egypt, and King Hussein of Jordan promptly turned over Gaza and the West Bank to Arafat’s Palestinian Authority. For over 40 years the Palestinians have made a deliberate choice to embrace violence and to refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

The Palestinians have made a deliberate effort to destroy the ancient and proud history and legitimacy of Jews with deliberate malice. School curricula, media and religious dogma are all being utilized in concert, to demonize Jews, Israel- and America.

The Palestinians, have chosen to regard their struggle with Israel as a religious fight, a Jihad to eliminate the hated ‘Jews.’ Weekly mosque sermons (some broadcast on ’secular’ PA TV drive home that reality as they end with calls of ‘Itbach al Yahudi!’- ‘Slaughter the Jews!’ Often, that call is followed up with calls to ‘Slaughter the Americans’ or ‘Slaughter the Infidels!(non muslims). All this is a matter of public record and there is nothing Philip Weiss and his ilk can do to change those truths. That is also why the likes of Philip Weiss are ignored by policy makers and individuals that influence policy.

In age of destruction and deliberate genocide that is unparalleled in history, the Israelis have been remarkably restrained. If they really wanted to kill Palestinians, they have the firepower to do so. The rest of the Arab world never gave a damn about the Palestinians in the past, and they don’t really care about them now- and neither do Israel’s critics.

If Yasser Arafat did not rein in Hamas, Islamic Jihad, et al, we can safely assume those groups will not maintain even the appearance of self control and negotiate with Israel in good faith. Further, the idea that a government led by those who would send suicide bombers (including mentally disable children) into civilian populations, is capable of negotiating fair agreements with those they have sworn to destroy, is absurd. It is not unreasonable to assume that when ‘negotiations’ do not go their way, we will see another wave of suicide bombers.

Does anyone seriously believe that the pious and noble words, spoken with such reasonableness in European languages by the Palestinians, can disguise their continued refusal to accept Israel’s existence? Does anyone really believe that the promises to destroy that nation and her inhabitants, made with the regularity of the muezzin’s call to prayer, are not relevant?

Real dysfunctionality is never hard to recognize- unless of course, that dysfunctionality is mirrored by others equally as dysfunctional.

American foreign policy in the Middle East has been consistent.

• Cessation of hostilities and terror
• Secure borders.
• Diplomatic recognition of Israel.

What exactly is one sided and unfair? What possible reason could the Palestinians have for not going along with the plan? In doing so, the floodgates of foreign aid, investment and all kinds of benefits would open.

What possible motives- or pathologies, could the Palestinians have for remaining ‘on the dole’ and in the gutter? What demands are so onerous that they justify Palestinian inertia and failure?

Consider this: When the Israelis look for solutions to problems, they turn to other western democracies. When the Palestinians look for solutions to problems, they turn to the Arab world for advice and counsel. They gravitate to the most dysfunctional group of leaders in the world, despots, dictators and tyrants that distinguished themselves on the world stage by the magnitude of their failures. From Qaddafi to the Saudis, the Palestinians are only too happy to take advice from the smogasbord of some of the most dysfunctional leaders in history.

Dance, Philip Weiss, dance.