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Sunday, 13 Aug 2006
Dear Nasrallah,
I am writing you this letter because I owe you sir an apology: I didn't support you or your blessed organization when this conflict started. Hell, even before that. And for that, sir, I was wrong, and I apologize. From this day forward I am the biggest Hezbollah supporter, ever. I will wear those T-shirts, I will wave your yellow flag, and go to every pro Hezbollah rally and chant with the chanters. I am converted now. You made a believer out of me, with your victory over Israel, which totally destroyed the legend of the Israeli army, just like it was destroyed in 2000 and 73. what a fuckin resilient legend, huh? It's like the Freddy Kreuger of legends. Everytime you kill it, it just keeps coming back. This is why I urge you to destroy it once and for all this time around, and not accept the cease-fire agreement.
You see sir, we in Egypt accepted a cease-fire agreement once in 73, and that is why Israel still exists, as many nasserites and syrians have told me repeatedly. Had we not accepted the cease-fire and continued fighting, we would've eventually liberated all of palestine. But alas, that pussy Sadat and his concern over war cost, the mounting casualty rates and that second army in the Km 101 have cost us that victory. Never again. We should learn from our mistakes sir. Every Newspaper I read in the middle-east and every arab satalite news channel, especially yours, keeps informing me of how much Israelis you are killing, how few men you are losing and how you are accomplishing what no arab country has accomplished and are winning this war against Israel, and you know how the arab media never lies and always tells the truth. What I don't understand is this: if you are winning, why stop now? I say continue fighting, until, god willing, you destroy the accursed zionist entity and liberate Jersualem. I am sure that your army of 5000 fighters and your 10000 rockets can do it. I have faith in you, especially after all the victories you have achieved, like having the israeli army inside of Lebanon again, right where you want them of course, and having your neighborhood in Beirut destroyed, which saved you all the demolition costs it would've cost you for the Hezbollah Paradise Towers project, which will provide every shia family with a luxury High-rise apartment in a premium Bierut location. It was a fantastic business decision I must say. Die with envy Christians and sunnis. You didn't think of that, did ya?
Oh, those christians and sunnis and druze make me sick, with their "support" on one side and their pushing for cease-fire the other side. If they really supported You and Your party, they wouldn't even called for a cease-fire. Everyone knows you don't call for a cease-fire when you are so clearly winning. Those people are defeatists and possibly zionists agents, especially that Jumbalatt. He even looks like a jew, with his nose and his hair and his dislike of Syria. So what if they assassinated his father, huh? Is that enough reason for him to be such a freakin traitor? Hell NO. He should be the first on the butcher's block that one.
However, it is quite impossible that everybody who is calling for a cease-fire is a zionist traitor. I think the problem is that those people don't have any dignity, or at least have the wrong definition of dignity. Don't be hard on them, god knows I was one of them before I saw the light. I always thought the definition of dignity was that you have a good job, a decent house, could afford your kids a decent living in a peacefull country with a future. What american zionist propaganda. Dignity is getting attacked due to the actions of your leader, to the point of losing everything, and still refusing to hold that leader
accountable. Dignity is having your entire neighborhood bombed, your children killed, and your only reaction is to dance in the streets like zulu warriors in support of Hezbollah. That's what dignity, pride and honor are all about. I get that now.
But we can help them get it too. Think about it: those people- cursed christian, sunnis and druze-who call for the cease-fire don't have dignity for a very good reason: Their houses are still standing. Hell, more than 80% of the country is still not destroyed. That's a lot of people without dignity oh great ayatollah Nasrallah, and we need to teach it to them. So please, for their own sake, continue bombing Israel from their villages and eventually those zionists will fall into your trap and bomb them as well, giving them instant dignity. Don't worry about any backlash on the short or long run. I mean, look at Nasser: He too entered wars against enemies far stronger than him, and caused the death of thousands of egyptians and the economic destruction of the country for decades to come. Do the people hate him? Noooooo. They love him, because he gave them dignity. Hell, your biggest supporters in Egypt keep comparing you to him, and they love you for reminding them of the dignity they feel whenever arabs die. Thank you for reminding them how it feels like to have dignity. Thank you.
And please, don't listen to those people who talk to you about the mounting lebanese civilian casualties due to Israeli bombing. Those people are idiots. First of all, you can't have an omlet without breaking some eggs. What? They thought liberating Palestine was going to be achieved with no people dying? Helloo, we have to kill 8 million jews to do it, and they are not big fans of getting killed. Deaths are inevitable. But, unlike them, our dead go to Heaven. Instant martyrs. Even the israeli muslims we kill are martyrs, as you said yourself. Those people are the same people who complained about the half a million iraqi children that died from malnutrition and lack of medicine from the sanctions imposed on the glorious regime of Saddam. They don't understand that Saddam gave them Dignity for breakfast, Honor for lunch and Pride for dinner as one Iraqi friend once told me, or that those half a million children are now playing in Heaven, after dying with the dignity that Saddam's rule gave them. But don't get mad at the ignorant my dear sir; they just don't know any better, since they don't understand dignity. Just like those arab leaders of ours, curse their names and faces.
Those so called leaders are all zionist american agents and have absolutely no dignity what so ever, as my nasserite friends have repeatedly told me. And you know what? They are right. A true arab leader, a leader with dignity, should immediatly go to war against Israel the moment they attempt to respond to your glorious and justified acts of resistance. Hell, they should throw all caution to the wind, not care about how unprepared they might be, or how such a war would effect the country economically, or even how many people would die because of it, and like Nike, just do it! A true leader shouldn't care about such trivial things like the welfare of his country or the safety of his people, as long as he engages in wars of dignity and inflicts some damages against the evil nazi zionists. That's what your glorious role model showed them, and the egyptian people have looked around, saw the peace and quiet we have been living in for the past 27 years and screamed: I DON'T WANT THIS HONORLESS PEACE! GIVE ME WAR! GIVE ME DEATH! GIVE ME DIGNITY. You are teaching all arabs what it means to be a leader with dignity, not one of those pansies that govern Egypt, Jordan or the arabIAN Gulf, with all of their sissy talk of peace, development and economic stability. What a bunch of pussies! Seriously! You will show them when you liberate Palestine. Oh yes you will.
And finally, don't listen to all of those poeple who talk about the difference in your army and the israeli army, and how they have superior weapons, like aircrafts and nuclear warheads. Those fools don't understand that you have the most powerful weapon of all: You have GOD ON YOUR SIDE. You even hinted at your special relationship when you omnipotently spoke about how the Israelis were going to attack in 2 months anyway, so it was a good thing to provoke an attack from them now while they were unprepared. Many people wonderd how you knew that, but only I figured it out: God told you. What? Do those people think he placed you as the leader of his party for no reason? HA! Foolish know-nothings! You have a close personal relationship with him. He talks to you and tells you stuff. This is why you don't do any filed fighting anymore, and reserve your energy for those TV appearances. You are in no hurry to die in order to meet him; he comes to you every night. And people wonder why the rest of the planet is in such bad shape: GOD IS BUSY, DAMN IT! He is occupied with making sure his party survives. And despite all that, you have those people who keep asking him for things like a better world, Justice and peace on earth, while he is busy helping you fight his chosen people. Don't people understand what Priorities mean anymore? People today man, I tell you, no manners!
And finally, If those negative defeatists naysayers continue their misguided rhetoric, refusing to believe that God is really on your side and will hand you your victory on a plate of silver, I would like to remind them what your name means. You are called Nasrallah, which means God's Victory. Come on people. Do I have to spell it out for ya? God's victory, waging the war using God's party? You are so gonna win this. It's not even a discussion!
So please, dear great supreme leader Hassan Nasrallah, for all of those reasons, don't accept the cease-fire. Continue fighting, and the gates of Jerusalem are yours to pass through. I will be here, standing right behind you, well, in front of the Television really, but I will be cheering really really hard for every Israeli death you inflict for every 10 death they inflict upon your people. And I will also pray very hard for God to help you out more and hasten the destruction of Israel. I hear they are considering bringing back Bibi as Prime Minister, so it really shouldn't be long now, since he will do most of the damage for you anyway, probably all in God's plan of giving you that victory. He works in mysterious ways, doesn't he? Oh yes. Yes, he sure does. And his victory and total annihilation of the jewish people is nigh and will be on your hands, god willing. Just keep fighting Nasrallah, and keep firing those rockets. I am sure the Israelis will just roll over and play dead any minute now!
Your new supporter and faithful scribe,
Sandmonkey
August 13th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
Slightly overdoing it, aren’t we?
August 13th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
That is right, SM.
But you need to go a step further. I think you need to get on board, not only with Nasrallah, but with the progressives in San Francisco:
http://www.zombietime.com/stop_the_us_israeli_war_8_12_2006/
Remember when the left used to be against racism?
Ah…. those long gone halcyon days.
August 13th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
One of my favorite picks among the photos over at Zombie Time is the covert counter-protestor who claims “Israel broke my arm.”
LMAO.
August 13th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
Sam I can hardly count the times that I was on the floor with this one. Is someone spiking your lemonade? Can I have some? But seriously, you know I had an Aunt who used to say that G-d talked to her in the bathtub. Maybe if Nasrallah took a bath a bit more frequently, G-d would give him better advice…?
August 13th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
“But seriously, you know I had an Aunt who used to say that G-d talked to her in the bathtub.”
I knew someone who knew someone who claimed to have seen Jesus in his shower. Absolutely true (at least that he said it), not trying to make a joke.
August 13th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
cleanliness is close to godness, isn’t it?
sandmonkey (or SM, which ever you preffer), this is the second time I notice you mnetioning that there are 8 million “jooz” in israel. I would like to point out that there are only 7 milion citizen in the state of israel, out of which roughly 6 milion are jewish.
but seriously, I love it when you diss bibi. spoken like a true israeli lefty.
August 13th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
Hey, I am Israeli righty and Bibi is a scumbag. The man has repeatedly proven himself to be a corrupt, lying, incompetent opportunist good only for bullshiting at people.
August 13th, 2006 at 7:19 pm
My dear husband and I could barely get through that as we were dying laughing.
So does this conversion We’re so glad you are feeling more dignified and honourable now!! LOL.
Incidentally, in Russian “Nasralla” is a verb meaning “she shat on”. “Nasral” means “he shat on”. “Nasrat” means “to shit” - not to do “number two” but literally and repulsively “to shit”. Fitting, no? My cousins and I have been saying that “Nasralla has Nasral on all of Lebanon:. You can probably imagine the anti-communist poem that came from Nasr’s relationship with Khrustchev. Let’s just say the gist was that he enlisted Russia to shit all over Egypt. My mother-in-law still hasn’t forgiven Nasr.
Anyway..
You are a brilliant, fantastic Sandmonkey. Never stop blogging.
August 13th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Nadav,
That means that roughly 13% of the population is Arab.
Thank God Nasrallah has spent the past month bombing some dignity and honour into them.
August 13th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
Lazarus, I don;t think I over did it at all. I just echoed similar sentiments to the ones availble in the comment section of this article:
http://www.alarabiya.net/Articles/2006/08/13/26558.htm
And those people actually mean it! Just think about that for a second! Ok?
August 13th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
Well done Sandmonkey! You should be granted honorary Israeli citizenship.
August 13th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Holy monkey feces… that was great! Biting sarcasm … no … dripping sarcasm …
Also for your reading pleasure this or in the original french (fwench?)
Ok, that said, now that we have a (HAH!) ceasefire, who will help Lebanon pick up the pieces? We already know that no one is going to help the 1/3 of Israelis with disrupted lives. Would be great if the promise and delivery of the money was subject entirely to milestones on the way to dismantling hezb.
August 13th, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Mr Monkey of Sand,
After reading your blog.. I have decided.. leaders appointed by God.. they’re the way to go.. so I am currently burning my zionist israe… eezraaeeelee flag, and I’m going off to join the hizb’allah!! We must work together to bring all the Lebanese and Palestinians to heaven!.. wait.. I mean bring the Zionists to hell.. uhmm.. or is it free the lebanese.. and erase the eezraeeleees.. while oppressing palestine.. minor detail.. I’ll figure that one out after the war..
Khamenie who akabar!! and Nasrallah is his General (peace be upon them)
August 13th, 2006 at 8:19 pm
At least one person on al-Arabiya gets it:
“I am amzed that we always declare victory and our country is destroyed and over 1000 of our citizens are killed. Everybody is praising Hezbollah because they didn`t have to suffer and loose family members like the lebanese did. When are we going to start valuing people instead of some dream of defeating Israel? the whole wold is moving on and progressing and we are still dreaming about killing and destruction”
Quelle victory.
August 13th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
test
August 13th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
SM, from what I’ve been reading in the news, it seems like Hizbullah has taken your excellent advice to heart:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=109969
and
http://pajamasmedia.com/2006/08/if_you_are_men_threats_and_blu.php
I love good sarcasm, thank you SM!
August 13th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
Great post
ROFLMAO 
The al arabiya website has some english language contributions:
Such as this one:
“Sorry for typing in english, no arabic keyboard
Laith |13/08/2006 م، 06:45 مساء (السـعودية) 03:45 مساء (جرينيتش)
I think Hizbollah`s army should join the lebanese army in a special regiment or division, give their weapons to the lebanese army and use their experience from the war to train their country`s army how to defend itself in case israel fights again.”
Did these people miss something or were they not being told that Israel did not start this whole mess? There is no reason for Israel to bomb Amman. There is no reason for Israel to bomb Cairo. But there was a reason to bomb Beirut. And this does not ring a bell? Perhaps Israel is not the agressor but can actually make peace with its neighbours?
Sigh.
August 13th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
-”give their weapons to the lebanese army and use their experience from the war to train their country`s army how to defend itself in case israel fights again.”-
armies can’t fight like garillas, that’s the whole difference between them. an army can’t just take of it’s uniform, assimilate into the civilian population and lunch missiles into israel instead of actually defending the teritory..
August 13th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
I was totally laughing out loud.Out loud.No, seriously I love it, but you’re going to get us shut down, then again, all for the public good, so its cool. You’ve gotten some great comments here but how will this fare with Egyptian readers?
Honestly, if Arab nationalism had any sense in it it would sound like this. If anyone gave a damn about our countries, they’d all say the same. I think its that a good life seems so impossible, that we’re now in search of the abstract dignity. We have nothing to lose so we go in search of the meaningless and the unatainable.
When will people understand that I can be anti Hizbullah and anti Israel?
I dislike Israel, I just dislike Hizbullah more. And that is in no way racist against Jews or Shiites. It’s a freaking political opinion.
When will Arabs start focusing on their own deplorable states for a while and forget about freakin zionist conspiracies?
It is still a far way off, from a time when the general Arab public will understand Ma’moun Fendi, my dad, and SM.lol.
August 13th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
~~~~~10# The Sandmonkey Says:
August 13th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
Lazarus, I don;t think I over did it at all. I just echoed similar sentiments to the ones availble in the comment section of this article:
http://www.alarabiya.net/Articles/2006/08/13/26558.htm
And those people actually mean it! Just think about that for a second! Ok?
~~~~~
I couldn’t stop laughing over this posting. Now, with this comment, I’m scared….
Tse.
August 13th, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Yosra,
I get your post. I think that HA is hurting the Arabs more than it could ever hurt Israel and it’s a giant shame.
I’m wondering what you mean by “When will people understand that I can be anti Hizbullah and anti Israel?”
What do you mean anti-Israel? How does that manifest itself for you?
August 13th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
Great :)))
BTW: Does anybody know a trustworthy organisation which cares for reconstruction and economic development in South Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories without mixing help and martial ideology?
I have been looking for such projects for quite a while now but could not find anything else than organisations for emergency aid (which is no doubt very important but normally does not help the ordinary people to stand on their own feet).
August 13th, 2006 at 10:06 pm
Beautiful,
I’ll try to convince someone in Russia to translate and publish this, with respect to the copyright of cause. They have their own problems, with their Government pushing the dignity button, and the new wave of fascists (Dugin, Limonov - check out the flag at http://eng.nbp-info.ru/) pushing it even further. Very good statement, with its value valid well outside the Arab World as well.
August 13th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Emilie
Hizbolla runs charities. Since their work does not involve US arms sales or settlements or antisemitic acts of mass murder like we’ve seen in Beruit - you would probably get the best value for the buck through them.
You could also check with the Islamic Councils. Make sure you don’t end up with one of those CHalabi foundations.
Better yet - go to a Mosque and ask a cleric how to donate. Check with NOI. I don’t know if the red crescent is as corrupt as the red cross - but you can check that too!
Maybe Gush Shalom knows - but Gaza is undera news blackout. I am afraid to even imagine what is going on in that concentration camp. We’ve got the tail between their legs, part time warrior, full time racist, IDF, in a really bad mood because of the hard love the Lebonese resistance is sharing with them. THe Palestinians are defenseless, therefore take the brunt of Zion’s vain anger.
August 13th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Emilie; There are no construction efforts to improve the lot of the Palestinians. Doesn’t fit the program.
The Arab world is awash with petro-dollars. They could build schools, hospitols, factories, or anything they wanted in Palestine. They could make it the envy of the world and make the Israeli economy look pitiful.
But they don’t because it doesn’t fit their agenda. They need the suffering of lots of Arab people in the occupied territories so that the Israelis are the bad guys. And they need these bad guys so that the Arab population doesn’t look at their own pitiful lives and at the lowsy leadership they have.
The tyrants of the Arab world need to have somebody out side of their countries worse than their own people. And they need an evil boogieman to blame it all on.
Thus we have the “poor suffering Palestinians” and those nasty Jews that caused it all.
SM; great post!! Should be mandatory reading throughout the ME!!
August 13th, 2006 at 10:50 pm
Thanks for the information, Cadavre. Unfortunately, Hezbullah is not exactly what I had in mind when asking for an organisation which does not mix help and martial ideology; same with militant Palestinian organisations and their supporters.
What I am looking for is a foundation which supports ordinary people to reconstruct their houses, their farms, their small trade and commerce, etc. -in short: to get an income and become independent of alms.
Asking a cleric is a good idea, but unfortunately, those I asked so far could only give me adresses for emergency relief and intercultural exchange. Both are important but do not help the ordinary people to earn their livelihood.
August 13th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
thewiz, thanks for your information, too. So far as I have learned, several programs have spent millions to develop the Palestinian economics, financed by the European Community, the USA, the World Bank, etc. Unfortunately, none of those I know was really succesful.
It might be that “the Arab world” is not interested in Palestinians who work on the improvement of their economic situation. It might even be that many Palestininans or South Lebanese prefer to head for what they believe to be the otherworld paradise. But I can hardly imagine that there is nobody who would like to have a decent secular life. Even if there should be only a few of them, they deserve support. As I will hardly be the first who got that idea, there will be foundations which care for such projects. At least I hope so. Any hints?
August 13th, 2006 at 11:56 pm
The Salvation Army is legit, do they have a branch in Lebanon?
August 13th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
another great post SM. i was laughing my ass off till i realized that there are people out there that will read this post or other content like it and take it at face value. that kinda took the fun out of it for me.
the pictures that tommy posted of the san fran rally made my blood run cold. it’s amazing that the freedom’s of this nation can be used so revoltingly. but we have the first ammendment for a reason. my deep respect to the woman in the window with her little flag.
August 14th, 2006 at 12:34 am
Emilie,
I don’t know exactly but check out this site. It’s run by both Palestinians and Israelis. They may have a link or you may be able to contact someone there and they can put you in touch with someone.
http://www.mideastweb.org/
Unfortunately, the situation for the Palestinians is grim because most live in refugee camps, which are temporary by nature. So, I don’t know that people necessarily want to build until there is a permanent Palestinian State. But you can try.
August 14th, 2006 at 12:55 am
“Faithful scribe“?
Got a new job, Sandmonkey?
August 14th, 2006 at 12:58 am
[...] Nasrallah is always boasting about how Hezbollah is the “resistance.” And, according to the Sandmonkey, he’s being hailed as a hero all over the Arab media. Once upon a time, not so long ago, this was considered resistance: It was in Denmark, however, that Germans found out how fully justified the Foreign Office’s apprehensions had been. The story of the Danish Jews is sui generis, and the behavior of the Danish people and their government was unique among all the countries of Europe - whether occupied, or a partner of the Axis, or neutral and truly independent. One is tempted to recommend the story as required reading in political science for all students who wish to learn something about non-violent action in resistance to an opponent posssesssing vastly superior means of violence. To be sure, a few other countries in Europe lacked proper “understanding of the Jewish question”, and actually a majority of them were opposed to “radical” and “final” solutions. Like Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and Bulgaria proved to be nearly immune to anti-Semitism, but of the three that were in the German sphere of influence, only the Danes dared speak out on the subject to their German masters. Italy and Bulgaria sabotaged German orders and indulged in a comlicated game of double-dealing and double-crossing, saving their Jews by a tour de force of sheer ingenuity, but they never contested the policy as such. ….When the Germans approached them rather cautiously about introducing the yellow badge, tehy were simply told that the King would be the first to wear it, and the Danish government officials were careful to point out that anti-Jewish measure of any sort would cause their immedite resignation. It was decisive in this whole matter that the Germans did not even succeed in introducing the vitally important distinction between Danes of Jewish origin…and the 1400 German Jewish refugees who found asylum in the country…This refusal must have surprised the Germans to no end…The Danes … explained …that because the stateless refugees were no longer German citizens, the Nazis could not claim them without Danish assent…Thus, none of the preparatory moves, so important for the bureaucracy of murder, could be carried out, and operations were postponed until the fall of 1943….riots broke out in Danish shipyards, where the dock workers refused to repair German ships and then went on strike. [...]
August 14th, 2006 at 1:17 am
Not for nothing, but that fucking dog in SF with the sign about “Kikes” would have had his fucking ass kicked from here to next week, cops or no cops nearby. I would have pulled my gun, forced him into my car, and put a hurt on him with a few friends using a pair of pliars and a blowtorch.
August 14th, 2006 at 1:30 am
Jay and anonon: Thanks!
As the camps exist for almost 60 years now, some of their inhabitants might have ceased to regard the camps as temporary and engage to improve their present situation.
The salvation army does not seem to have a branch in Lebanon.
I hope te mideastweb can help with contacts. Any addidtional hints are welcome
August 14th, 2006 at 1:36 am
Yeah, SM. Loved the post, but I’m not laughing, either. Who was it during the Nuremburg trials that said something to the effect that it was easy to control a population by introducing a “straw man” enemy that could be hyped as threatening the national identity. It seems like 1984 is going to drag on until at least 2084…
August 14th, 2006 at 2:24 am
“I knew someone who knew someone who claimed to have seen Jesus in his shower.”
EVERY time I take a shower I see Jesus. A tad frisky in the morning sometimes.
August 14th, 2006 at 2:42 am
You aren’t very convincing, SM.
I didn’t see a single “Death to America” or “Death to Israel” in your entire post.
August 14th, 2006 at 3:20 am
go and get a job you have to much time on your hands
August 14th, 2006 at 4:26 am
I have never laughed so much!!! You are brilliant.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:05 am
The fodder continues. It looks like Nasrallah isn’t going to disarm in the south.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:13 am
Sandmonkey, I thought you might be interested in this quote from the Arab Times; thanks to Andrew Bolt:
“Unfortunately we must admit that in such a war the only way to get rid of “these irregular phenomena” is what Israel is doing. The operations of Israel in Gaza and Lebanon are in the interest of people of Arab countries and the international community.”
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/arab_times_praises_israels_war_against_hezbollah/
Would like to read the rest the rest of the editorial but the Arab Times seems to be having trouble with their system. Might be working later. (link in Bolt’s post)
August 14th, 2006 at 7:43 am
i feel sick after reading what you wrote , SM , it is better to know about politic before talking about it , what means to win or lose a war ? the US army in vitnam lost the war , does that means that vitnam destroyed the american army or occupied america in revenge? no, but winning and losing has a lot of meanings and criterias
a final word , we must have a good look about anything to understand it before talking about it
August 14th, 2006 at 9:44 am
SM, once again thank you for your read. I fear you are right on the ball about Bibi. You and Olehgirl might want to keep an eye on Lieberman though. He has been absolutely silent from day 1 till this morning and he is playing it very “stately” and waiting for the street to do the work - and it will, just read the talkbacks in the Israeli press.
Off the subject but for your erudition and my sensitivity on the subject you have inadvertently insulted my Zulu brothers. The Zulu are a decent, honourable and dignified people. The Zulu impi justifiably earned their reputation as fierce warriors and venerable tacticians on the battlefield defeating both the Boers and the British (Isandlwana). They fought on the battlefield. They did not hide in the kraal or dance to celebrate the demise of their enemies. They honoured their agreements and treaties. Even in defeat they retained their honour and dignity without losing their humanity. Whether as royalist Inkatha or as ANC they resisted colonial occupation and apartheid without resorting to terror (see for example the Inkosi Bhambatha uprising and note that Inkozi amaZondi’s first action was to evacuate and protect the civilians). To equate them to HB is to insult them. I know you didn’t intend to. You can forward your appologies to His Majesty, King Goodwill Zwelithini Ka Bhekezulu Ka Solomon Ka Dinuzulu. Hebk! Yusuthu. Hebe Yusuthu.
August 14th, 2006 at 9:50 am
42. benhoz:
America lost the Vietnam war because the western world had not yet understood the concept of “the good war/the bad war”, and, unfortunately, it seems that many have not made the destinction yet… Losing the war had nothing to do with getting beaten by the North-vietnamese army, but rather not enjoying the support of the citizens of the western world.
In any case, who is the loser in this war? The Israeles, who might suffer a worsening of their reputation and a slightly more aggresive attitude from the arab world or the Lebanese, who can look around at a land bombed decades back in time and completely under the thumb of an autonomous paramilitary group, whose greatest goal is to repeat the process as soon as possible?
August 14th, 2006 at 10:47 am
absolutely hilarious, don’t forget to post it now!
August 14th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Perhaps when Nassrallah comes out of hiding, oops, I mean when he resumes his position at the head of the actual fighters, someone will pass on your good wishes. Hezbollah was able , by hiding amongst the civilians and manipulating the world press, to withstand the might, well 7% of the might, of the Israeli army. Quite a victory or it will be for many in the Arab world. Maybe not to those who lost family, friends, or homes in Lebanon.
August 14th, 2006 at 4:03 pm
A spectacular victory for Nasrallah! Only 500+ of his comrades killed and only 2 billion dollars worth of damage. The Shia world has found a new hero, one who can yet again twist facts to suit their narrow agenda. My guess is this time some of those Shia peasants who will be living in cardboard boxes (aka post consumer recycled executive mini homes) might not be so quick to support the “Army of God”, from what I’ve read few Christians, Druze and others in Lebanon support this group and unless Iran ponies up real big bucks soon those poor idiots will start to see the fallacy of Hezbollah as their guardian angel.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:57 pm
Unfortunately, those living in cardboard boxes tend to make the best recruits for extremist organizations.
August 14th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
Nice job!
August 14th, 2006 at 7:05 pm
I loved it
Thanks.
August 14th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
Sandmonkey throwing sand at Nasalboy? For shame, you are ruining the hra-hray parties.
August 14th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
And those people actually mean it! Just think about that for a second! Ok?
Sandmonkey, in an era where extremism is normal, it becomes impossible to exaggerate for comic/satirical effect. As extreme as you get for the sake of laughs, there’s somebody who’s willing to push it farther — and IS DEAD SERIOUS.
August 14th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
“First of all, you can’t have an omlet without breaking some eggs.”
Omlet? Ehud Omlet? How dare you take the name of the Israeli PM in vain!
August 14th, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Emilie,
I don’t know of any charities in that part of the world that DON’T somehow have to pay a “tax” to whatever militia is active and operating in the area they are trying to help. If they don’t pay the protection money, their supplies get confiscated and their workers have “accidents”.
So, in answer to your question, there probably are no relief organizations in Lebanon that do not have to (or willingly) contribute some money to militias.
Remember, if in doubt, don’t give. Money to the wrong organization is worse than not giving any.
August 14th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
As a jordanian, I can assure you that many arab people, especially (but not only) in Lebanon, wished that Israel will do the dirty job and clear Lebanon of Hizbulla, which makes a huje damage to Lebanon - a beautiful and peaceful country. Hizbulla shot Lebanese people in the war and made them stay in the south instead of running away when they could, since they needed them as a human barrier in front of the israeli troops. it is an Iranian sponsered and not a Lebanese organization.
August 14th, 2006 at 7:46 pm
i hate israil and love Nasr Alla
August 14th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
sandmonkey, has your grandma told you that you have a career in journalism?
August 14th, 2006 at 7:54 pm
Brilliant piece!
August 14th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Way to go! What a pleasant suprise….I just knew there had to be Arabs out there who cared more for their own people and well, just living a normal life than they did for killing Jews and assorted other ‘infidels’….every now and then one or two appear, like you and Wafa Sultan I know there are others and I know its dangerous for you to speak out…but it is good and right that you do…
Please note there are those in Israel and in the West who will note Nasrallah and others boastful glee about having given Israel a thrashing to ensure it (the perceived thrashing) does not happen again and is repaid ten fold, no one likes to be humiliated, neither Arab not Jew, one would have thought that BOTH sides had grasped this by now…. this does not bode well for the next round….
August 14th, 2006 at 8:01 pm
I AM NOT TOO SURE NASRALLA CAN EVEN UNDERSTAND YOUR LETTER ….IF HE DID HE WOULD NOT BE WHO HE IS ….A BLINDED FANATIC
August 14th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
Right on the mark! All you missed was Global Warming!
August 14th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
“Question: Which country alone in the Middle East has nuclear weapons?
Answer: Israel.
Question: Which country in the Middle East refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections?
Answer: Israel.
Question: Which country in the Middle East seized the sovereign territory of other nations by military force and continues to occupy it in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions?
Answer: Israel.
Question: Which country in the Middle East routinely violates the international borders of another sovereign state with warplanes and artillery and naval gunfire?
Answer: Israel.
Question: What American ally in the Middle East has for years sent assassins into other countries to kill its political enemies (a practice sometimes called exporting terrorism)?
Answer: Israel.
Question: In which country in the Middle East have high-ranking military officers admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war were executed?
Answer: Israel.
Question Q: What country in the Middle East refuses to prosecute its soldiers who have acknowledged executing prisoners of war?
Answer: Israel.
Question: What country in the Middle East created 762,000 refugees and refuses to allow them to return to their homes, farms and businesses?
Answer: Israel.
Question: What country in the Middle East refuses to pay compensation to people whose land, bank accounts and businesses it confiscated?
Answer: Israel.
Question: In what country in the Middle East was a high-ranking United Nations diplomat assassinated?
Answer: Israel.
Question: In what country in the Middle East did the man who ordered the assassination of a high-ranking U.N. diplomat become prime minister?
Answer: Israel.
Question: What country in the Middle East blew up an American diplomatic facility in Egypt and attacked a U.S. ship, the USS Liberty, in international waters, killing 34 and wounding 171 US sailors?
Answer: Israel.
Question: What country in the Middle East employed a spy, Jonathan Pollard, to steal classified documents and then gave some of them to the Soviet Union?
Answer: Israel.
Question: What country at first denied any official connection to Pollard, then voted to make him a citizen and has continuously demanded that the US president grant Pollard a full pardon?
Answer: Israel.
Question. What Middle East country allows US Jewish murderers to flee to its country to escape punishment in the United States and refuses to extradite them once in their custody?
Answer: Israel
Question. What Middle East country preaches against hate yet builds a shrine and a memorial for a murderer who killed 29 Palestinians while they prayed in their Mosque.
Answer: Israel
Question: What country on Planet Earth has the second most powerful lobby in the United States, according to a recent Fortune magazine survey of Washington insiders?
Answer: Israel.
Question. Which country in the Middle East deliberately targeted a U.N. Refugee Camp in Qana, Lebanon and killed 103 innocent men, women, and especially children in 1996?
Answer: Israel
Question: Which country in the Middle East is in defiance of 69 United Nations Security Council resolutions and has been protected from 29 more by U.S. vetoes?
Answer: Israel.
Question: Which country in the Middle East receives more than one-third of all U.S. aid yet is the 16th richest country in the world?
Answer: Israel
Question: Which country in the Middle East receives U.S. weapons for free and then sells the technology to the Republic of China even at the objections of the U.S.?
Answer: Israel
Question: Which country in the Middle East routinely insults the US people by having its Prime Minister address the United States Congress and lecturing them like children on why they have no right to reduce foreign aid?
Answer: Israel
Question: Which country in the Middle East had its Prime Minister announce to his staff not to worry about what the United States says because “We control America?”
Answer: Israel
Question: What country in the Middle East was cited by Amnesty International for demolishing more than 4000 innocent Palestinian homes as a means of ethnic cleansing.
Answer: Israel
Question: Which country in the Middle East has just recently used a weapon of mass destruction, a one-ton smart bomb, dropping it in the center of a highly populated area killing 15 civilians including 9 children?
Answer: Israel
Question: Which country in the Middle East routinely kills young Palestinian children for no reason other than throwing stones at armored vehicles, bulldozers, or tanks?
Answer: Israel
Question: Which country in the Middle East signed the Oslo Accords promising to halt any new Jewish Settlement construction, but instead, has built more than 270 new settlements since the signing?
Answer: Israel
Question: Which country in the Middle East has assassinated more than 100 political officials of its opponent in the last 2 years while killing hundreds of civilians in the process, including dozens of children?
Answer: Israel
Question: Which country in the Middle East regularly violates the Geneva Convention by imposing collective punishment on entire towns, villages, and camps, for the acts of a few, and even goes as far as demolishing entire villages while people are still in their homes?
Answer: Israel
Question: What country in the Middle East is the United States threatening to attack because of fear that it may be a threat to us and to our allies?
Answer: Syria & Iran
It’s absolutely ridiculous to even suggest that Hezbollah is the aggressor in the current crisis occurring in the Middle East. If Hezbollah took Israeli soldiers then shouldn’t Israel show a little restraint in bombing Hezbollah buildings since its possible the soldiers are inside of them? There retrieval of two soldiers is being used as a pretext to destroy Lebanon as well as kill it’s civilians.
800+ civilians have died thus far with 2500+ injured. If you compare the American news media (Fox News, ABC, CNBC, MSNBC, CBS, etc.) to international news sources such as the BBC or CBC you realize that in the USA you’re being horse fed filtered and biased news.
The Israeli’s have over 11,000 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners in there prisons, including women and children so to make a fuss about two captured soldiers is at the least hypocritical. The post below is a perfect example of the targeting of civilians by Israel. Let me also remind you that these officers were never charged with any crime.
http://spikedhumor.com/articles/38051/Sad_World_We_Live_In.html
—————————————————————-
Palestinians, married to Arab citizens of Israel, can’t live with their spouses in Israel. The controversial law that prohibited Palestinians married to Israelis to move to Israel was challenged in court with 6 to 5 votes, Israel’s high court rejected the idea that the law violated the civil rights of Palestinians and Arab citizens of Israel. Israel authorities contended that letting young Palestinians into Israel posed too great a security risk. The law was introduced in 2002 to protect Israeli citizens from Palestinians entering the country under false pretext to carry out attacks. At the beginning of the Palestinian uprising, a few Palestinians who received citizenship through family reunification carried out attacks. Although the law was an emergency measure and only supposed to last for one year, it now seems to have become permanent. The court has been accused of upholding racist legislation by Palestinian-Israeli families, legislators and human rights activists.
Only Palestinian women over the age of 25 and men over 35 are eligible to join their families in Israel and eventually receive citizenship.
—————————————-
As the tv networks give unlimited airtime to Israel’s apologists, the message rolls out that no nation, least of all Israel, can permit bombardment or armed incursion across its borders without retaliation.
The guiding rule in this tsunami of drivel is that the viewers should be denied the slightest access to any historical context, or indeed to anything that happened prior to June 28, which was when the capture of an Israeli soldier and the killing of two others by Hamas hit the headlines, followed soon thereafter by an attack by a unit of Hezbollah’s fighters.
Memory is supposed to stop in its tracks at June 28, 2006.
Let’s go on a brief excursion into pre-history. I’m talking about June 20, 2006, when Israeli aircraft fired at least one missile at a car in an attempted extrajudicial assassination attempt on a road between Jabalya and Gaza City. The missile missed the car. Instead it killed three Palestinian children and wounded 15.
Back we go again to June 13, 2006. Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a van in another attempted extrajudicial assassination. The successive barrages killed nine innocent Palestinians.
Now we’re really in the dark ages, reaching far, far back to June 9, 2006, when Israel shelled a beach in Beit Lahiya killing 8 civilians and injuring 32.
That’s just a brief trip down Memory Lane, and we trip over the bodies of twenty dead and forty-seven wounded, all of them Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Israel regrets… But no! Israel doesn’t regret in the least. Most of the time it doesn’t even bother to pretend to regret. It says, “We reserve the right to slaughter Palestinians whenever we want. We reserve the right to assassinate their leaders, crush their homes, steal their water, tear out their olive groves, and when they try to resist we call them terrorists intent on wrecking the ‘peace process’”.
Now Israel says it wants to wipe out Hezbollah. It wishes no harm to the people of Lebanon, just so long as they’re not supporters of Hezbollah, or standing anywhere in the neighborhood of a person or a house or a car or a truck or a road or a bus or a field, or a power station or a port that might, in the mind of an Israeli commander or pilot, have something to do with Hezbollah. In any of those eventualities all bets are off. You or your wife or your mother or your baby get fried.
Israel regrets… But no! As noted above, it doesn’t regret in the least. Neither does George Bush, nor Condoleezza Rice nor John Bolton who is the moral savage who brings shame on his country each day that he sits as America’s ambassador (unconfirmed) at the UN and who has just told the world that a dead Israel civilian is worth a whole more in terms of moral outrage than a Lebanese one.
None of them regrets. They say Hezbollah is a cancer in the body of Lebanon. Sometimes, to kill the cancer, you end up killing the body. Or bodies. Bodies of babies. Lots of them. Go to the website fromisraeltolebanon.info and take a look. Then sign the petition on the site calling on the governments of the world to stop this barbarity.
You can say that Israel brought Hezbollah into the world. You can prove it too, though this too involves another frightening excursion into history.
This time we have to go far, almost unimaginably far, back into history. Back to 1982, before the dinosaurs, before CNN, before Fox TV, before O’Reilly and Limbaugh. But not before the neo-cons who at that time had already crawled from the primal slime and were doing exactly what they are doing now: advising an American president to give Israel the green light to “solve its security problems” by destroying Lebanon.
In 1982 Israel had a problem. Yasir Arafat, headquartered in Beirut, was making ready to announce that the PLO was prepared to sit down with Israel and embark on peaceful, good faith negotiations towards a two-state solution.
Israel didn’t want a two-state solution, which meant — if UN resolutions were to be taken seriously — a Palestinian state right next door, with water, and contiguous territory. So Israel decided chase the PLO right out of Lebanon. It announced that the Palestinian fighters had broken the year-long cease-fire by lobbing some shells into northern Israel.
Palestinians had done nothing of the sort. I remember this very well, because Brian Urquhart, at that time assistant secretary general of the United Nations, in charge of UN observers on Israel’s northern border, invited me to his office on the 38th floor of the UN hq in mid-Manhattan and showed me all the current reports from the zone. For over a year there’d been no shelling from north of the border. Israel was lying.
With or without a pretext Israel wanted to invade Lebanon. So it did, and rolled up to Beirut. It shelled Lebanese towns and villages and bombed them from the air. Sharon’s forces killed maybe 20,000 people, and let Lebanese Christians slaughter hundreds of Palestinian refugees in the camps of Sabra and Chatilla.
The killing got so bad that even Ronald Reagan awoke from his slumbers and called Tel Aviv to tell Israel to stop. Sharon gave the White House the finger by bombing Beirut at the precise times — 2.42 and 3.38 — of two UN resolutions calling for a peaceful settlement on the matter of Palestine.
When the dust settled over the rubble, Israel bunkered down several miles inside Lebanese sovereign territory, which it illegally occupied, in defiance of all UN resolutions, for years, supervising a brutal local militia and running its own version of Abu Graibh, the torture center at the prison of Al-Khiam.
Occupy a country, torture its citizens and in the end you face resistance. In Israel’s case it was Hezbollah, and in the end Hezbollah ran Israel out of Lebanon, which is why a lot of Lebanese regard Hezbollah not as terrorists but as courageous liberators.
The years roll by and Israel does its successful best to destroy all possibility of a viable two-state solution. It builds illegal settlements. It chops up Palestine with Jews-only roads. It collars all the water. It cordons off Jerusalem. It steals even more land by bisecting Palestinian territory with its “fence”. Anyone trying to organize resistance gets jailed, tortured, or blown up.
Sick of their terrible trials, Palestinians elect Hamas, whose leaders make it perfectly clear that they are ready to deal on the basis of the old two-state solution, which of course is the one thing Israel cannot endure. Israel doesn’t want any “peaceful solution” that gives the Palestinians anything more than a few trashed out acres surrounded with barbed wire and tanks, between the Israeli settlements whose goons can murder them pretty much at will.
So here we are, 24 years after Sharon did his best to destroy Lebanon in 1982, and his heirs are doing it all over again. Since they can’t endure the idea of any just settlement for Palestinians, it’s the only thing they know how to do. Call Lebanon a terror-haven and bomb it back to the stone age. Call Gaza a terror-haven and bomb its power plant, first stop on the journey back to the stone age. Bomb Damascus. Bomb Teheran.
Of course they won’t destroy Hezbollah. Every time they kill another Lebanese family, they multiply hatred of Israel and support for Hezbollah. They’ve even unified the parliament in Baghdad, which just voted unanimously — Sunnis and Shi’ites and Kurds alike — to deplore Israel’s conduct and to call for a ceasefire.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these little excursions into history, even though history is dangerous, which is why the US press gives it a wide birth. But even without the benefit of historical instruction, a majority of Americans in CNN’s instant poll –- about 55 per cent out of 800,000 as of midday, July 19 — don’t like what Israel is up to.
Dislike is one thing, but at least in the short term it doesn’t help much. Israel’s 1982 attack on Lebanon grew unpopular in the US, after the first few days. But forcing the US to pressure Israel to settle the basic problem takes political courage, and virtually no US politician is prepared to buck the Israel lobby, however many families in Lebanon and Gaza may be sacrificed on the altar of such cowardice.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:21 pm
Now where did I put Hassan’s email address. I am certain that he would like to read this letter.
I will translate it on babble fish.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
Nasrallah would read the article but he’s too busy with his PBS like pledge drive to Iran and Syria looking for dinars to improve his recently modified fixer upper. I heard PBS was scheduled to begin principle filming in southern Beirut on a new home show called This Old Rubble.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
31 years ago, when the Lebanese civil war was at its height, the Syrians sent their army into Lebanon (invited, of all people, by the Christians). At the time, the then Minister of Defense Shimon Peres and his associates created hysteria in Israel. They demanded that Israel deliver an ultimatum to the Syrians, to prevent them from reaching the Israeli border. Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister, told me then that that was sheer nonsense, because the best that could happen to Israel was for the Syrian army to spread out along the border. Only thus could calm be assured, the same calm that reigned along our border with Syria.
However, Rabin gave in to the hysteria of the media and stopped the Syrians far from the border. The vacuum thus created was filled by the PLO. In 1982, Ariel Sharon pushed the PLO out, and the vacuum was filled by Hizbullah.
All that has happened there since then would not have happened if we had allowed the Syrians to occupy the border from the beginning. The Syrians are cautious, they do not act recklessly.
WHAT WAS Hassan Nasrallah thinking of, when he decided to cross the border and carry out the guerilla action that started the current Witches’ Sabbath? Why did he do it? And why at this time?
Everybody agrees that Nasrallah is a clever person. He is also prudent. For years he has been assembling a huge stockpile of missiles of all kinds to establish a balance of terror. He knew that the Israeli army was only waiting for an opportunity to destroy them. In spite of that, he carried out a provocation that provided the Israeli government with a perfect pretext to attack Lebanon with the full approval of the world. Why?
Possibly he was asked by Iran and Syria, who had supplied him with the missiles, to do something to divert American pressure from them. And indeed, the sudden crisis has shifted attention away the Iranian nuclear effort, and it seems that Bush’s attitude towards Syria has also changed.
But Nasrallah is far from being a marionette of Iran or Syria. He heads an authentic Lebanese movement, and calculates his own balance sheet of pros and cons. If he had been asked by Iran and/or Syria to do something - for which there is no proof - and he saw that it was contrary to the aims of his movement, he would not have done it.
Perhaps he acted because of domestic Lebanese concerns. The Lebanese political system was becoming more stable and it was becoming more difficult to justify the military wing of Hizbullah. A new armed incident could have helped. (Such considerations are not alien to us either, especially before budget debates.)
But all this does not explain the timing. After all, Nasrallah could have acted a month before or a month later, a year before or a year later. There must have been a much stronger reason to convince him to enter upon such an adventure at precisely this time.
And indeed there was: Palestine.
TWO WEEKS before, the Israeli army had started a war against the population of the Gaza Strip. There, too, the pretext was provided by a guerrilla action, in which an Israeli soldier was captured. The Israeli government used the opportunity to carry out a plan prepared long before: to break the Palestinians’ will to resist and to destroy the newly elected Palestinian government, dominated by Hamas. And, of course, to stop the Qassams.
The operation in Gaza is an especially brutal one, and that is how it looks on the world’s TV screens. Terrible pictures from Gaza appear daily and hourly in the Arab media. Dead people, wounded people, devastation. Lack of water and medicaments for the wounded and sick. Whole families killed. Children screaming in agony. Mothers weeping. Buildings collapsing.
The Arab regimes, which are all dependent on America, did nothing to help. Since they are also threatened by Islamic opposition movements, they looked at what was happening to Hamas with some Schadenfreude. But tens of millions of Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf, saw, got excited and angry with their government, crying out for a leader who would bring succor to their besieged, heroic brothers.
Fifty years ago, Gamal Abd-el-Nasser, the new Egyptian leader, wrote that there was a role waiting for a hero. He decided to be that hero himself. For several years, he was the idol of the Arab world, symbol of Arab unity. But Israel used an opportunity that presented itself and broke him in the Six-day war. After that, the star of Saddam Hussein rose in the firmament. He dared to stand up to mighty America and to launch missiles at Israel, and became the hero of the Arab masses. But he was routed in a humiliating manner by the Americans, spurred on by Israel.
A week ago, Nasrallah faced the same temptation. The Arab world was crying out for a hero, and he said: Here am I! He challenged Israel, and indirectly the United States and the entire West. He started the attack without allies, knowing that neither Iran nor Syria could risk helping him.
Perhaps he got carried away, like Abd-el-Nasser and Saddam before him. Perhaps he misjudged the force of the counter-attack he could expect. Perhaps he really believed that under the weight of his rockets the Israeli rear would collapse. (As the Israeli army believed that the Israeli onslaught would break the Palestinian people in Gaza and the Shiites in Lebanon.)
One thing is clear: Nasrallah would not have started this vicious circle of violence, if the Palestinians had not called for help. Either from cool calculation, or from true moral outrage, or from both - Nasrallah rushed to the rescue of beleaguered Palestine.
THE ISRAELI reaction could have been expected. For years, the army commanders had yearned for an opportunity to eliminate the missile arsenal of Hizbullah and destroy that organization, or at least disarm it and push it far, far from the border. They are trying to do this the only way they know: by causing so much devastation, that the Lebanese population will stand up and compel its government to fulfill Israel’s demands.
Will these aims be achieved?
HIZBULLAH IS the authentic representative of the Shiite community, which makes up 40% of the Lebanese population. Together with the other Muslims, they are the majority in the country. The idea that the weakling Lebanese government - which in any case includes Hizbullah - would be able to liquidate the organization is ludicrous.
The Israeli government demands that the Lebanese army be deployed along the border. This has by now become a mantra. It reveals total ignorance. The Shiites occupy important positions in the Lebanese army, and there is no chance at all that it would start a fratricidal war against them.
Abroad, another idea is taking shape: that an international force should be deployed on the border. The Israeli government objects to this strenuously. A real international force - unlike the hapless UNIFIL which has been there for decades - would hinder the Israeli army from doing whatever it wants. Moreover, if it were deployed there without the agreement of Hizbullah, a new guerilla war would start against it. Would such a force, without real motivation, succeed where the mighty Israeli army was routed?
At most, this war, with its hundreds of dead and waves of destruction, will lead to another delicate armistice. The Israeli government will claim victory and argue that it has “changed the rules of the game”. Nasrallah (or his successors) will claim that their small organization has stood up to one of the mightiest military machines in the world and written another shining chapter of heroism in the annals of Arab and Muslim history.
No real solution will be achieved, because there is no treatment of the root of the matter: the Palestinian problem.
MANY YEARS ago, I was listening on the radio to one of the speeches of Abd-el-Nasser before a huge crowd in Egypt. He was holding forth on the achievements of the Egyptian revolution, when shouts arose from the crowd: “Filastine, ya Gamal!” (”Palestine, oh Gamal!”) Whereupon Nasser forgot what he was talking about and started on Palestine, getting more and more carried away.
Since then, not much has changed. When the Palestinian cause is mentioned, it casts its shadow over everything else. That’s what has happened now, too.
Whoever longs for a solution must know: there is no solution without settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And there is no solution to the Palestinian problem without negotiations with their elected leadership, the government headed by Hamas.
If one wants to finish, once and for all, with this shit - as Bush so delicately put it - that is the only way.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:36 pm
Israel is following suit with the US on these “terror alerts” and using the false threat of terrorism to perpetrate horrific acts of barbarism on innocent peoples. Both nations love to talk about the war on terror when they are terrorists themselves. Israel started on Hezbollah (and every Muslim) not the other way around… They started through the ILLEGAL occupation and persecution of the country and people of Palestine, they started by always using their power to enrage people.. If someone came to my home, bulldozing it down and killing my family and leaving me homeless when they had no right and all the while were spouting resist crap about how they were the chosen peoples and deserved what was mine I would be MAD, This is what Israel does. If I had running water twice a week if lucky because the new invading illegal government hadn’t taken care of the dead sea and was now taking out the problem solely on my people while up on a hill looming above me was my old village, where out side my old house uncaring brainwashed Israel’s swim around in a pool with clean water that could save lives not a mile away I would be mad! And if I lived in Nablus or many others like it where everyone was put under home Curfew for 177 out of 300 days 2002-2003 (Just to mention one year), where I couldn’t go to the shops or take children to school I Would be mad. For all these reasons I can understand why at least one person saw the rest of the world not helping them from their oppressors and the futility of trying to face this giant army and thought “I can’t live with this oppression anymore” and decided perhaps the only was to stop this was to go out and blow himself up in around Israel’s, It’s not a clever morally right idea but IT MAKES SENSE when you have had your family killed and aren’t allowed even the freedom of moving or water half the time (I am saying that some people have it in them to do this not condoning it). What doesn’t make sense is the EVIL response of Israel, someone blows themselves up or fires a missile who comes from that village then Israel bombs the whole village, instigates sanctions and generally hurts as many Palestinians as it can and what does this do.. Makes more martyrs, more people join the cause, especially children who have lost their homes parents and have absolutely nothing to live for. This brings the rest of the word, especially the Muslim world as it is in close proximity in on sympathy… that is why Hezbollah fires those missiles because of the anger your people bring out in the rest of the world and in some of your own (such as Major Stav Adivi a member of Ometz Le’Sarev{Courage to Refuse) a large group of educated and decent Israel’s ). Hezbollah are extremists but so is the Israel government, of a much higher order. My heart goes out to those who have died on both sides the few in Israel and the many in everywhere around it, I feel for those that have to deal with the depleted uranium the Israel’s are bombing on the people of Lebanon and for those Israel’s who are quintessentially good but are so brainwashed that they do not understand that they are in the wrong. Also I feel ashamed for those who went through the holocaust, as I’m sure they would be if they saw what their children had become.
Massacres such as this one and that of Jenin are acceptable/understandable under no circumstances, when will Israel’s people put a stop to their governments barbarism and do something other inspire and give a target for the hatred of others…
August 14th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
Hezbollah is not a terrorist group. Hezbollah was created by an 18-year occupation on Lebanon; there was no Hezbollah before the occupation. This group of Lebanese civilians came together in order to fight Israeli occupation. You could not find a more justifiable means for self-defense, nor could you find a better description for freedom fighters. The actions of Israel are far more in tune with terrorism than the actions of Hezbollah. Why doesn’t Israel get off Lebanese land (Chebaa Farms) once and for all so that Hezbollah will leave them alone? So long as Israel illegally occupies Lebanese land Hezbollah have every right to defend their territory and attack Israel.
All the US and Israeli news love to point out how Hezbollah started this: What a load of crap. First of all Israel has NEVER respected the blue line. They have constantly fired across it in the past 6 years, killing mostly civilians, with little or no retaliation from Hezbollah. They are always violating international law by illegally entering Lebanese airspace and they NEVER fully retreated from Lebanese land. You say Israel have a right to defend themselves because Hezbollah APPARENTLY crossed the blue line into Israel to kidnap soldiers, well Israel have violated this blue line many times in the past…..so by YOUR logic Hezbollah had a right to defend Lebanon. So really the Israeli argument being put forward actually contradicts itself. Its funny how a little bit of misinformation and a lot of ignorance can completely change the way things are perceived.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
This is why I blame Israel and the US. Look carefully through the resolutions and then look at the assassination attempts at the bottom.!!!!!!
The truth is out there and will bite you in the face.
28. Resolution 111: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for raid on Syria that killed fifty-six people”.
29. Resolution 127: ” . . . ‘recommends’ Israel suspends it’s ‘no-man’s zone’ in Jerusalem”.
Partial List of Muslim Leaders Assassinated or Attempted Assassinations:
1950’s Sukarno, President of Indonesia
1957 Gamal Abdul Nasser, President of Egypt
1960 Brigadier General, Abdul Karim Kassem, Leader of Iraq
1980-86 Muammar Qaddafi, Leader of Libya, several plots and attempts upon his life
1982 Ayatullah Khomeini, Leader of Iran
1983 General Ahmed Dlimi, Moroccan army Commander
1985 Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadllallah, Lebanese Shiite Leader (80 people killed in that attempt)
1991 Saddam Hussein, Leader of Iraq
Reference:
Blum, William, “KILLING HOPE - U.S. Military and
CIA Interventions Since World War II,” Appendix III
U.S. Government Assassination Plots, page 453,
Common Courage Press, Monroe, Maine 1995. ISBN 1-56751-052-3
Very likely Victims :
April 4, 1979 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Leader of Pakistan, for pursuing making of Nuclear Bomb.
August, 1988. General Ziaul Haq, Military Leader of Pakistan.
1995 - Murtaza Bhutto, Son of ZUlfiqar Ali Bhutto, Anti-American would-be Leader - Pakistan.
March 25, 1975 - King Faisal of Saudi Arabia through his Nephew: Saudi Arabia for imposing 1973 Oil Embargo.
August 24, 1999. Mullah Mohammad Omar, in Kandhar, Afghanistan.
“À”List of Known Assassination Plots
1950’s Sukarno, President of Indonesia
1957 Gamal Abdul Nasser, President
2001 Since early this year more than 40 Palestinian leaders assassinated through surrogate Israel.
30. Resolution 162: ” . . . ‘urges’ Israel to comply with UN decisions”.
31. Resolution 171: ” . . . determines flagrant violations’ by Israel in its attack on Syria”.
32. Resolution 228: ” . . . ‘censures’ Israel for its attack on Samu in the West Bank, then under Jordanian control”.
33. Resolution 237: ” . . . ‘urges’ Israel to allow return of new 1967 Palestinian refugees”.
34. Resolution 242 (November 22, 1967): Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area. Calls on Israel’s neighbors to end the state of belligerency and calls upon Israel to reciprocate by withdraw its forces from land claimed by other parties in 1967 war. Interpreted commonly today as calling for the Land for peace principle as a way to resolve Arab-Israeli conflict
35. Resolution 248: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for its massive attack on Karameh in Jordan”.
36. Resolution 250: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to refrain from holding military parade in Jerusalem”.
37. Resolution 251: ” . . . ‘deeply deplores’ Israeli military parade in Jerusalem in defiance of Resolution 250″.
38. Resolution 252: ” . . . ‘declares invalid’ Israel’s acts to unify Jerusalem as Jewish capital”.
39. Resolution 256: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israeli raids on Jordan as ‘flagrant violation”.
40. Resolution 259: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s refusal to accept UN mission to probe occupation”.
41. Resolution 262: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for attack on Beirut airport”.
42. Resolution 265: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for air attacks for Salt in Jordan”.
43. Resolution 267: ” . . . ‘censures’ Israel for administrative acts to change the status of Jerusalem”.
44. Resolution 270: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for air attacks on villages in southern Lebanon”.
45. Resolution 271: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel’s failure to obey UN resolutions on Jerusalem”.
46. Resolution 279: ” . . . ‘demands’ withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon”.
47. Resolution 280: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israeli’s attacks against Lebanon”.
48. Resolution 285: ” . . . ‘demands’ immediate Israeli withdrawal form Lebanon”.
49. Resolution 298: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s changing of the status of Jerusalem”.
50. Resolution 313: ” . . . ‘demands’ that Israel stop attacks against Lebanon”.
51. Resolution 316: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for repeated attacks on Lebanon”.
52. Resolution 317: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s refusal to release Arabs abducted in Lebanon”.
53. Resolution 332: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel’s repeated attacks against Lebanon”.
54. Resolution 337: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for violating Lebanon’s sovereignty”.
55. Resolution 338 (October 22, 1973): cease fire in Yom Kippur War
56. Resolution 339 (October 23, 1973): Confirms Res. 338, dispatch UN observers.
57. Resolution 347: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israeli attacks on Lebanon”.
58. Resolution 425 (1978): ‘calls’ on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon”. Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon was completed as of June 16, 2000.
59. Resolution 350 (31 May 1974) established the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the wake of the Yom Kippur War.
60. Resolution 427: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon.
61. Resolution 444: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s lack of cooperation with UN peacekeeping forces”.
62. Resolution 446 (1979): ‘determines’ that Israeli settlements are a ’serious obstruction’ to peace and calls on Israel to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention”.. Israeli settlements in the occupied territories thus declared illegal.
63. Resolution 450: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to stop attacking Lebanon”.
64. Resolution 452: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to cease building settlements in occupied territories”.
65. Resolution 465: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s settlements and asks all member states not to assist Israel’s settlements program”.
66. Resolution 467: ” . . . ’strongly deplores’ Israel’s military intervention in Lebanon”.
67. Resolution 468: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to rescind illegal expulsions of two Palestinian mayors and a judge and to facilitate their return”.
68. Resolution 469: ” . . . ’strongly deplores’ Israel’s failure to observe the council’s order not to deport Palestinians”.
69. Resolution 471: ” . . . ‘expresses deep concern’ at Israel’s failure to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention”.
70. Resolution 476: ” . . . ‘reiterates’ that Israel’s claim to Jerusalem are ‘null and void’”.
71. Resolution 478 (August 20, 1980): ‘censures (Israel) in the strongest terms’ for its claim to Jerusalem in its ‘Basic Law’.
72. Resolution 484: ” . . . ‘declares it imperative’ that Israel re-admit two deported Palestinian mayors”.
73. Resolution 487: ” . . . ’strongly condemns’ Israel for its attack on Iraq’s nuclear facility”.
74. Resolution 497 (17 December 1981) decides that Israel’s annexation of Syria’s Golan Heights is ‘null and void’ and demands that Israel rescinds its decision forthwith.
75. Resolution 498: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to withdraw from Lebanon”.
76. Resolution 501: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel to stop attacks against Lebanon and withdraw its troops”.
77. Resolution 509: ” . . . ‘demands’ that Israel withdraw its forces forthwith and unconditionally from Lebanon”.
78. Resolution 515: ” . . . ‘demands’ that Israel lift its siege of Beirut and allow food supplies to be brought in”.
79. Resolution 517: ” . . . ‘censures’ Israel for failing to obey UN resolutions and demands that Israel withdraw its forces from Lebanon”.
80. Resolution 518: ” . . . ‘demands’ that Israel cooperate fully with UN forces in Lebanon”.
81. Resolution 520: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel’s attack into West Beirut”.
82. Resolution 573: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel ‘vigorously’ for bombing Tunisia in attack on PLO headquarters.
83. Resolution 587: ” . . . ‘takes note’ of previous calls on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and urges all parties to withdraw”.
84. Resolution 592: ” . . . ’strongly deplores’ the killing of Palestinian students at Bir Zeit University by Israeli troops”.
85. Resolution 605: ” . . . ’strongly deplores’ Israel’s policies and practices denying the human rights of Palestinians.
86. Resolution 607: ” . . . ‘calls’ on Israel not to deport Palestinians and strongly requests it to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention.
87. Resolution 608: ” . . . ‘deeply regrets’ that Israel has defied the United Nations and deported Palestinian civilians”.
88. Resolution 636: ” . . . ‘deeply regrets’ Israeli deportation of Palestinian civilians.
89. Resolution 641: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s continuing deportation of Palestinians.
90. Resolution 672: ” . . . ‘condemns’ Israel for violence against Palestinians at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount.
91. Resolution 673: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s refusal to cooperate with the United Nations.
92. Resolution 681: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s resumption of the deportation of Palestinians.
93. Resolution 694: ” . . . ‘deplores’ Israel’s deportation of Palestinians and calls on it to ensure their safe and immediate return.
94. Resolution 726: ” . . . ’strongly condemns’ Israel’s deportation of Palestinians.
95. Resolution 799: “. . . ’strongly condemns’ Israel’s deportation of 413 Palestinians and calls for their immediate return.
96. Resolution 1559 (September 2, 2004) called upon Lebanon to establish its sovereignty over all of its land and called upon Syria to end their military presence in Lebanon by withdrawing its forces and to cease intervening in internal Lebanese politics. The resolution also called on all Lebanese militias to disband.
97. Resolution 1583 (28 January 2005) calls on Lebanon to assert full control over its border with Israel. It also states that “the Council has recognized the Blue Line as valid for the purpose of confirming Israel’s withdrawal pursuant to resolution 425.
98. Resolution 1648 (21 December 2005) renewed the mandate of United Nations Disengagement Observer Force until 30 June 2006.
Few of the vetos and their actual votes.
Vote: 13 in favor, 1 veto (US), 1 abstention.
The resolution strongly deplored Israel’s occupation of the Arab territories since 1967, and expressed serious concern with the Israeli authorities’ lack of cooperation with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General.
January 1976, S/11940
Vote: 9 in favor, 1 veto (US), 3 abstentions
The resolution called for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories since 1967, and deplored Israel’s refusal to implement relevant UN resolutions. It furthermore reaffirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.
March 1976, S/12022
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
In the draft, the Security Council expressed deep concern over Israeli measures to change the character of the occupied territories, in particular Jerusalem, the establishment of Israeli settlements, human rights violations, and called for an end of such measures.
June 1976, S/12119
Vote: 10 in favor, 1 veto (US), 4 abstentions.
The resolution affirmed the right of the Palestinian people to self determination, the right of return, and the right to national independence.
April 1980, S/13911
Vote: 10 in favor, 1 veto (US), 4 abstentions.
The resolution affirmed the Palestinian right to establish an independent state, the right of return or compensation for loss of property for refugees not wishing to return, and Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories since 1967.
April 1982, S/14943
Vote: 13 in favor, 1 veto (US), 1 abstention
.
In the draft, the Security Council denounced Israeli interference with local governance in the West Bank, and its violations of the rights and liberties of the population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The resolution furthermore called on Israel to end all activities in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
April 1982, S/14985
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
The draft strongly condemned the shooting of worshippers at Haram Al-Sharif on 11 April, 1982, and called on Israel to observe and apply the provisions of the Forth Geneva Convention, and other international laws.
June 1982, S/15185
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
The resolution draft condemned the Israeli non-compliance with resolutions 508 and 509, urged the parties to comply with the Hague Convention of 1907, and restated the Security Council’s demands of Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
June 1982, S/15255/Rev. 2
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US)
.
The resolution demanded the immediate withdrawal of Israeli and Palestinian forces from areas in and around Beirut, and that the parties would comply with resolution 508. It furthermore requested that the Secretary General would station UN military observers to supervise the ceasefire and disengagement in and around Beirut, and that the Secretary General would make proposals for the installation of a UN force to take up positions beside the Lebanese interposition force.
August 1982, S/15347/Rev. 1
Vote: 11 in favor, 1 veto (US), 3 abstentions.
The resolution strongly condemned Israel for not implementing resolutions 516 and 517, called for their immediate implementation, and decided that all UN member-states would refrain from providing Israel with weapons or other military aid until Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
August 1983, S/15895
Vote: 13 in favor, 1 veto (US), 1 abstention.
The resolution called upon Israel to discontinue the establishment of new settlements in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, to dismantle existing settlements, and to adhere to the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. The resolution furthermore rejected Israeli deportations and transfers of Palestinian civilians, and condemned attacks against the Arab civilian population. The Security Council also called upon other states to refrain from giving Israel any assistance related to the settlements, and stated its intention to examine ways of securing the implementation of the resolution, in the event of Israeli non-compliance
September 1985, S/17459
Vote: 10 in favor, 1 veto (US), 4 abstentions.
The resolution draft deplored the repressive measures applied by the Israeli authorities against the Palestinian population in the occupied territories, and called upon Israel to immediately cease the use of repressive measures, including the use of curfews, deportations, and detentions.
January 1986, S/17769
Vote: 13 in favor, 1 veto (US), 1 abstention.
The resolution strongly deplored Israeli refusal to abide earlier Security Council resolutions, and called upon Israel to comply with these resolutions, as well as the norms of international law governing military occupation such as the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Security Council also expressed deep concern with violations of the sanctity of the Haram Al-Sharif, and with Israeli measures aimed at altering the character of the occupied territories, including Jerusalem.
January 1988, S/19466
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
The resolution called upon Israel to accept the de jure applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War to the territories occupied since 1967, and to conform to the Convention. The resolution moreover called upon Israel to refrain from practices violating the human rights of the Palestinian people.
April 1988, S/19780
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
The resolution expressed grave concerned with the Israeli use of collective punishment, including house demolitions. It condemned the policies and practices utilized by the Israeli authorities violating the human rights of the Palestinian People, especially the killing and wounding of defenseless Palestinian civilians by the Israeli army. Called on Israel to abide to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and urged it to desist from deporting Palestinians.
February 1989, S/20463
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
The resolution strongly deplored Israeli persistence in violating the human rights of the Palestinian people, in particular the shooting of Palestinian civilians, including children. It also deplored Israel’s disregard of Security Council decisions, and called upon Israel to act in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention and relevant Security Council resolutions.
June 1989, S/20677
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
The resolution deplored the violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people, demanded that Israel would abstain from deporting Palestinian civilians for the occupied territories, and that it would ensure the safe return of those already deported. It also called upon Israel to comply with the Fourth Geneva Convention, and requested that the Secretary General would give recommendations on measures guaranteeing compliance with the Convention, and the protection of Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories.
November 1989, S/20945/Rev. 1
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US)
.
The resolution deplored the Israeli violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people, including the siege of towns, ransacking of homes, and confiscation of property. It called upon Israel to abide to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to lift the siege, and to return confiscated property to its owners. The resolution requested that the Secretary General would conduct on-site monitoring of the situation in the occupied territories.
May 1990, S/21326
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
The draft resolution attempted to establish a commission to examine the situation related to Israeli policies and practices in the occupied territories, including Jerusalem.
May 1995, S/1995/394
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
The resolution confirmed that the Israeli expropriation of Palestinian land in East Jerusalem was invalid, and called upon Israel to refrain from such actions. It also expressed its support for the Middle East peace process and urged the parties to adhere to the accord agreed upon.
March 1997, S/1997/199
Vote: 14 in favor, 1 veto (US).
The resolution expressed deep concern with the Israeli plans to build new settlements in East Jerusalem, and called upon Israel to desist from measures, including the building of settlements, that would pre-empt the final status negotiations. The resolution once again called on Israel to abide by the provisions of the Geneva Convention.
March 1997, S/1997/241
Vote: 13 in favor, 1 veto (US), 1 abstention.
The resolution demanded an end to the Israeli construction of the Jabal Abu Ghneim settlement in East Jerusalem, and to all other measures related to settlements in the occupied territories.
March 2001, S/2001/270
Vote: 9 in favor, 1 veto (US), 4 abstentions.
The resolution called for a total and immediate stop of all acts of violence, provocation, and collective punishment, as well as a complete cessation of Israeli settlement activities, and an end of the closures of the occupied territories. The resolution furthermore called for the implementation of the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement, and expressed the Security Council’s willingness to set up mechanisms to protect the Palestinian civilians, including the establishment of a UN observer force.
————————————————–
Kofi Annan, addressing Israel in a meeting of the UN Security Council, March 12, 2002
1 Israel Is Illegally Occupying Palestine
Under UN Resolution 242, Israel is required by international law to withdraw from all the territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem. The United Nation’s General Assembly has repeatedly condemned Israel’s occupation of the territories as illegal (see UN resolutions 338, 1397, and 1402, among others). Israel’s continued occupation of Palestine sanctioned and maintained by the US is one of the most serious obstructions to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
2 Israel Systematically Violates the Human Rights of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories
Each day, Israeli security forces in the West Bank and Gaza violate articles of the 4th Geneva Convention on Human Rights, an agreement that governs wartime rules of engagement and to which Israel is a signatory. Palestinian homes and agriculture fields are routinely demolished to make way for illegal Israeli settlements. Israeli soldiers regularly arrest and detain–often for years– Palestinians without due process. According to Amnesty International, members of the Israeli security forces regularly use torture and prolonged incommunicado detention against Palestinians.
3 Israel is an Apartheid State
Israel has developed an elaborate system of racial discrimination, embedded in its legal system, rivaling Apartheid South Africa’s laws. These laws include the Law of Entry, the Law of Return, the Citizenship Law, the Military Service Law, and a host of legally sanctioned, discriminatory rabbinical rulings. Palestinians are denied various welfare benefits, access to many jobs, and the leasing of homes and land controlled by government bodies. Electricity, sewerage, and roads are provided free to Israeli households, whereas many Palestinian communities in Israel, and especially in the Occupied Territories, have existed for decades without adequate services. Laws governing land ownership such as the Law of Acquisition of Absentee Property and the Law for Acquisition of Land blatantly discriminate against Palestinians. Indeed, land ownership in Palestine is more unjust than it ever wasin South Africa; at the height of apartheid, black people nominally `controlled’ 13 percent of the land, whereas in Israel the Palestinians control only 2 percent of the land.
Blockades, which allow settlers free movement but restrict Palestinians, have lost 100,000 workers their jobs. The Israeli government issues identification cards and car number-plates, color coded, which restrict travel for non-Jews. Palestinians in the West Bank are routinely prevented from traveling to the Gaza Strip because they have to travel through `Israeli’ territory. No significant industry has been permitted to develop in the West Bank or Gaza. Consequently, Palestinians are concentrated in the lowest paying jobs and form a super-exploited labor force for Israeli capital. The occupied territories import 93% of goods but export a mere 7% of what they produce. Palestinian exports to Western Europe are banned so as not to compete with Israeli exports. Ninety percent of Palestinian workers must travel to Jewish towns for employment.
Palestine has the RIGHT to defend itself. Go live in Palestine for just 2 weeks and tell me who is the one violating the laws
August 14th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
Israel has killed, more than 1000 Lebanese people so far. It has caused billions of dollars worth of damage to civilian infrastructure in an economically troubled country, and is holding all Lebanese people hostage. Unlike Hezbollah rockets, Israeli rockets are directed towards civilian areas with great precision. Israel is not attacking military targets!
“A highway that transports weapons from place to place” Are they justifying the bombing of all roads in Lebanon? Houses can be used to store these weapons too, let’s have Israel destroy all the houses in Lebanon… maybe some of those civilians they killed were hiding rocks they were considering throwing in the direction of Israel. I suppose that justifies the murder of those civilians.
In your community, when they convict a criminal, do they throw all of his friends and family in jail too? Hezbollah does not represent a majority of Lebanese people. In fact, the Lebanese government was attempting to disarm Hezbollah voluntarily before this crisis began.
Again, to be clear, Israel is attacking Lebanon not Hezbollah. The bombing of roads in the northern and most parts of Lebanon do not prevent the 10,000 rockets Hezbollah has in Lebanon from being fired at Israel, neither does the bombing of the fuel tanks at the Beirut airport or the electric station. Israel hasn’t been able to stop the regular missile attacks against it, even with all these roads destroyed. It has succeeded only in encouraging misery and panic on both sides of the border.
Israel’s supposed arch-enemy, the terrorist group Hamas, was founded and funded by Israel’s dominant Likud party and continues to be bankrolled to this day by political bodies pushing a one world government system. This is not my opinion and I am not breaking an exclusive story. It is a documented fact reported on by mainstream news outlets and admitted by respected individuals within the US and Israeli governments and intelligence agencies.
The objectives of Hamas dovetail with those of the Likud, no settlement at all costs. Whenever the prospect of a workable peace settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians arises, Hamas or one of their offshoots blows a bus, restaurant or a hotel to pieces. This gives Israel the justification needed to scupper any agreement and further entrench their occupation of disputed lands. All the outsider sees is carnage, death and a mainstream media that spins the issue so that these atrocities somehow represent the wishes of the Palestinian people.
The Globalists have no intention of settling the conflict and will likely use it several years down the line to initiate a near-apocalyptic third world war that will fully ensconce their wicked empire. The final phase is a stage-managed ‘clash of civilizations’ between the Arab world, possibly supported by China, and the west.
According to United Press International,
“Israel and Hamas may currently be locked in deadly combat, but, according to several current and former U.S. intelligence officials, beginning in the late 1970s, Tel Aviv gave direct and indirect financial aid to Hamas over a period of years.”
Israel wanted to radicalize the dispute by moulding Hamas into a fundamentalist militant crusade to ape the Khomeini revolution in Iran. So much so that Israel groomed potential Hamas leaders, pressuring Israeli authorities to give them licenses to set up food kitchens, clinics, schools, and day-care centers, to create a governing structure alternative to Arafat’s Fatah. These were known as ‘Village Leagues’ - and provided future Hamas operatives with a political and governmental foothold. This began in 1978 when Prime Minister Menachem Begin, himself a former terrorist leader, approved an application from Sheik Ahmad Yassin to license the Islamic Association, which would later produce a military wing, Hamas, in 1987. The Israeli Likud party propped up Yassin because they both had the same agenda, to destabilize Arafat’s Fatah.
The Village Leagues were then infiltrated by the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet, which provided weapons training for the Palestinians and also created a network of thousands of informers. This funding and support continued even after the signing of the 1993 Oslo accords.
The deliberate insertion of a competing faction would dilute support for the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Current Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had a key role in the formation of this policy. After the first wave of suicide bombings began in 1994, Israel could also discredit the PLO by linking it with Hamas after every terrorist atrocity. The hard line Likud party could then increase its standing amongst the Israeli people by promising a brutal crackdown on Palestinian terrorism. Chaos and anarchy on the West Bank entails order – Likud’s order.
The US government correspondingly used the tactic of radicalizing a group or a country when it shipped millions of Islamic fundamentalist schoolbooks to Afghanistan under George Bush senior. The books encouraged violent jihad and the overthrow of the then secular Afghan government. This conditioned a whole generation to calmly accept the subsequent fundamentalist Taliban regime, which was put into power in 1996 by the CIA.
Of course, an even more plentiful supply of compliance from Israeli citizens is harvested from manufactured terrorist threats, a tactic used to perfection by the post-9/11 Bush and Blair governments. By managing both the Hamas leadership and perception of the group’s deadly potential in the media, the Israeli elite could frighten their people into living under a police state,
“Sharon is conducting a vicious psychological operation inside Israel, to secure popular support for a war by staging continuous terror scares. One Israeli businessman confirmed that almost nightly, Israeli police enter restaurants, hotels, shops, etc., ordering patrons to evacuate due to “bomb threats.” The businessman, a former Mossad official, was told by Israeli authorities that the scares are in almost all cases hoaxes, perpetrated to traumatize the public into accepting any anti-Arab military actions.” [Executive Intelligence Review]
Previous to Israel’s intervention, Hamas was a relatively dormant and sidelined minority group. According to UPI’s US government source, “The thinking on the part of some of the right-wing Israeli establishment was that Hamas and the others, if they gained control, would refuse to have any part of the peace process and would torpedo any agreements put in place.” The well-respected International Herald Tribune could only agree,
“It is well-known that, in its long war against Palestinian nationalism, Israel penetrated every faction and recruited a veritable army of Palestinian informers and collaborators.”
Secretary-General of the Palestinian Authority Tayeb Raheem went into further details by stating that Hamas cells existed within the Israeli army and security services, proof of which was documentation highlighting the fact that Islamic operatives were regularly entering camps such as Dahaniya that only Israeli collaborators were permitted to access.
The whole Gaza withdrawal thing was pure hypocrisy. Right on cue, those Turkish rockets started falling and “oh my, I guess we’ll have to reoccupy the place and over a million people squeezed into Gaza will just have to do without water or electricity or food.” Shades of the Warsaw Ghetto. “Oh and know what? Let’s go back and re-wreck Lebanon too. God knows, they just started to get back on their feet since they invaded twenty years ago.
For many centuries Jewish people have made plans to get back into Palestine and get their Israel, and finally found a way to get there. It sure helps to be the smartest and best-educated people in the world, they took control of the worlds finances and thereby worlds monarchs, but all in the maximum secrecy, as outlined and dictated by Amschel Rotschild and his descendants, up to Jacob Rothschild. (Read ‘The Rothschild’s’ by Frederick Morton, 1961)
This conspiracy has made sure multiple wars have started throughout history, one of the first to be the Franco - Prussian war, where The Rothschild’s used Bismarck’s banker Bleichroder to pressure him to start that war, in order to consolidate Rothschild’s power in both France and Germany. (Read “Gold and Iron” by Fritz Stern, 1977)
Later WW1 made sure England declared the Balfour Declaration. It is pretty odd that while all European countries lost big, the Zionists suddenly had this ‘Get Out Of The Diaspora Free’ card, and Palestine came under control of a country controlled, again by Rothschild (see Morton), and the Ottomans kicked out in 1918. The great migration began, but England didn’t release Palestine just yet because they faced instability in the area. So the Zionist invented terrorism, and started with bombings against the English, witch were supposed to be an ally.
Then we had of course WW2, and at the cost of a great number of Jewish casualties Israel became a reality in 1948. It is really strange to see Germany offered to let the Jewish people go in at least 4 separate occasions, but the Zionist leaders in control refused this, unless they could go to Palestine.
One Zionist leader (the no 2) said “One Jewish cow in Palestine is worth more than all Jews in Europe” and he lived by that as million died by that. It was clear Zionist leadership had no scrupulosity to sacrifice Jewish lives. (see ‘Neturei Karta’ website http://www.nkusa.org , a Jewish organization)
Then there was of course this USS Liberty incident in 1967, witch was by no means an accident, but a conceived plot by Israel and the American president to draw America into the conflict, perhaps even nuclear. Thank god it failed.
And then there was eventually 9/11. The terrorists made the biggest, stupidest attack one could ever imagine against a country that would surely eradicate them, but nevertheless they did it.
- 9/11 was an inside job, the American government knew everything, and hey…, again Zionists at the helm, because they control America.
2001 - Afghanistan. Muslim country 1
2003 - Iraq. Muslim country 2
2006 - Lebanon. Muslim country 3
next - Syria Muslim country 4
then - Iran Muslim country 5
Iran was supposed to be no 3, but that didn’t work, because the world opinion was against it. So they choose an alternative route.
And you guys just won’t leave a single stone unturned on this planet until you get your way. Even Holland was bullied into fighting this unjust war, they had to send troops to Afghanistan or face financial consequences and frozen assets in the Zionist controlled America. Again Jacob Rothschild in the end …. by his grasp on our banking system he can destroy their economy in a whim, just as with every other western country.
Stop this murdering. Don’t you know you loose so much goodwill you build up after ww2? Don’t you see the old hatred of thousands of years resurfaces again, all by your own hands?
And all for that one mountain with a temple, witch is a Muslim mosque right now.
You are supposed to get it only by the hands of your Messiah. I know for sure he won’t be very willing to help you as long as you keep on killing. Damn sure! God keeps an eye on everything, and sometimes somebody else is also damn intelligent.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
# 8 .. In meaningful conjunction with ‘Nasrallah’ properly parsed, is the definition of Al Quaeda - which colloquially and at the same time, aptly refers to a sort of small (and sort of primitive) kind of toilet. The alternate names well describe the fundamental relationship between the warring factions of the Religion of Peace. Very synchronistic, no?
See Al Quaeda defined here:
http://www.retortmagazine.com/content/06.04/id_article_salam.htm
August 14th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
yes..another pro-Israel article….GIYUS anyone??
August 14th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Brilliant! Simply brilliant!
August 14th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
Camp David Peace Proposal of July, 2000:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the Palestinians reject the Camp David Peace Proposal?
For a true and lasting peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, there must be two viable and independent states living as equal neighbors. Israel’s Camp David proposal, which was never set forth in writing, denied the Palestinian state viability and independence by dividing Palestinian territory into four separate cantons entirely surrounded, and therefore controlled, by Israel. The Camp David proposal also denied Palestinians control over their own borders, airspace and water resources while legitimizing and expanding illegal Israeli colonies in Palestinian territory. Israel’s Camp David proposal presented a ‘re-packaging’ of military occupation, not an end to military occupation.
Didn’t Israel’s proposal give the Palestinians almost all of the territories occupied by Israel in 1967?
No. Israel sought to annex almost 9% of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and in exchange offered only 1% of Israel’s own territory. In addition, Israel sought control over an additional 10% of the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the form of a “long-term lease”. However, the issue is not one of percentages - the issue is one of viability and independence. In a prison for example, 95% of the prison compound is ostensibly for the prisoners - cells, cafeterias, gym and medical facilities - but the remaining 5% is all that is needed for the prison guards to maintain control over the prisoner population.
Similarly, the Camp David proposal, while admittedly making Palestinian prison cells larger, failed to end Israeli control over the Palestinian population.
Did the Palestinians accept the idea of a land swap?
The Palestinians were (and are) prepared to consider any idea that is consistent with a fair peace based on international law and equality of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. The Palestinians did consider the idea of a land swap but proposed that such land swap must be based on a one-to-one ratio, with land of equal value and in areas adjacent to the border with Palestine and in the same vicinity as the lands to be annexed by Israel. However, Israel’s Camp David proposal of a nine-to- one land swap (in Israel’s favor) was viewed as so unfair as to seriously undermine belief in Israel’s commitment to a fair territorial compromise.
How did Israel’s proposal envision the territory of a Palestinian state?
Israel’s proposal divided Palestine into four separate cantons surrounded by Israel: the Northern West Bank, the Central West Bank, the Southern West Bank and Gaza. Going from any one area to another would require crossing Israeli sovereign territory and consequently subject movement of Palestinians within their own country to Israeli control. Not only would such restrictions apply to the movement of people, but also to the movement of goods, in effect subjecting the Palestinian economy to Israeli control. Lastly, the Camp David proposal would have left Israel in control over all Palestinian borders thereby allowing Israel to control not only internal movement of people and goods but international movement as well. Such a Palestinian state would have had less sovereignty and viability than the Bantustans created by the South African apartheid government.
How did Israel’s proposal address Palestinian East Jerusalem?
The Camp David Proposal required Palestinians to give up any claim to the occupied portion of Jerusalem. The proposal would have forced recognition of Israel’s annexation of all of Arab East Jerusalem. Talks after Camp David suggested that Israel was prepared to allow Palestinians sovereignty over isolated Palestinian neighborhoods in the heart of East Jerusalem, however such neighborhoods would remain surrounded by illegal Israeli colonies and separated not only from each other but also from the rest of the Palestinian state. In effect, such a proposal would create Palestinian ghettos in the heart of Jerusalem.
Why didn’t the Palestinians ever present a comprehensive permanent settlement proposal of their own in response to Barak’s proposals?
The comprehensive settlement to the conflict is embodied in United Nations Resolutions 242 and 338, as was accepted by both sides at the Madrid Summit in 1991 and later in the Oslo Accords of 1993. The purpose of the negotiations is to implement these UN resolutions (which call for an Israeli withdrawal from land occupied by force by Israel in 1967) and reach agreement on final status issues. On a number of occasions since Camp David - especially at the Taba talks - the Palestinian negotiating team presented its concept for the resolution of the key permanent status issues. It is important to keep in mind, however, that Israel and the Palestinians are differently situated.
Israel seeks broad concessions from the Palestinians: it wants to annex Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; obtain rights to Palestinian water resources in the West Bank; maintain military locations on Palestinian soil; and deny the Palestinian refugees’ their right of return. Israel has not offered a single concession involving its own territory and rights. The Palestinians, on the other hand, seek to establish a viable, sovereign State on their own territory, to provide for the withdrawal of Israeli military forces and colonies (which are universally recognized as illegal), and to secure the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the homes they were forced to flee in 1948. Although Palestinian negotiators have been willing to accommodate legitimate Israeli needs within that context, particularly with respect to security and refugees, it is up to Israel to define these needs and to suggest the narrowest possible means of addressing them.
Why did the peace process fall apart just as it was making real progress toward a permanent agreement?
Palestinians entered the peace process on the understanding that (1) it would deliver concrete improvements to their lives during the interim period, (2) that the interim period would be relatively short in duration - i.e., five years, and (3) that a permanent agreement would implement United Nations Resolutions 242 and 338. But the peace process delivered none of these things. Instead, Palestinians suffered more burdensome restrictions on their movement and a serious decline in their economic situation. Israeli colonies expanded at an unprecedented pace and the West Bank and Gaza Strip became more fragmented with the construction of settler “by-pass” roads and the proliferation of Israeli military checkpoints. Deadlines were repeatedly missed in the implementation of agreements. In sum, Palestinians simply did not experience any “progress” in terms of their daily lives.
However, what decisively undermined Palestinian support for the peace process was the way Israel presented its proposal. Prior to entering into the first negotiations on permanent status issues, Prime Minister Barak publicly and repeatedly threatened Palestinians that his “offer” would be Israel’s best and final offer and if not accepted, Israel would seriously consider “unilateral separation” (a euphemism for imposing a settlement rather than negotiating one). Palestinians felt that they had been betrayed by Israel who had committed itself at the beginning of the Oslo process to ending its occupation of Palestinian lands in accordance with UN Resolutions 242 and 338.
Doesn’t the violence which erupted following Camp David prove that Palestinians do not really want to live in peace with Israel?
Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in 1988 and re-iterated this recognition on several occasions including Madrid in 1991 and the Oslo Accords in September, 1993. Nevertheless, Israel has yet to explicitly and formally recognize Palestine’s right to exist. The Palestinian people waited patiently since the Madrid Conference in 1991 for their freedom and independence despite Israel’s incessant policy of creating facts on the ground by building colonies in occupied territory (Israeli housing units in Occupied Palestinian Territory - not including East Jerusalem - increased by 52% since the signing of the Oslo Accords and the settler population, including those in East Jerusalem, more than doubled). The Palestinians do indeed wish to live at peace with Israel but peace with Israel must be a fair peace - not an unfair peace imposed by a stronger party over a weaker party.
Doesn’t the failure of Camp David prove that the Palestinians are just not prepared to compromise?
The Palestinians have indeed compromised. In the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians recognized Israeli sovereignty over 78% of historic Palestine (23% more than Israel was granted pursuant to the 1947 UN partition plan) on the assumption that the Palestinians would be able to exercise sovereignty over the remaining 22%. The overwhelming majority of Palestinians accepted this compromise but this extremely generous compromise was ignored at Camp David and the Palestinians were asked to “compromise the compromise” and make further concessions in favor of Israel. Though the Palestinians can continue to make compromises, no people can be expected to compromise fundamental rights or the viability of their state.
Have the Palestinians abandoned the two-state solution and do they now insist on all of historic Palestine?
The current situation has undoubtedly hardened positions on both sides, with extremists in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories claiming all of historic Palestine. Nevertheless, there is no evidence that the PA or the majority of Palestinians have abandoned the two- state solution. The two-state solution however is most seriously threatened by the on-going construction of Israeli colonies and by-pass roads aimed at incorporating the Occupied Palestinian Territories into Israel. Without a halt to such construction, a two-state solution may simply be impossible to implement - already prompting a number of Palestinian academics and intellectuals to argue that Israel will never allow the Palestinians to have a viable state and Palestinians should instead focus their efforts on obtaining equal rights as Israeli citizens.
Isn’t it unreasonable for the Palestinians to demand the unlimited right of return to Israel of all Palestinian refugees?
The refugees were never seriously discussed at Camp David because Prime Minister Barak declared that Israel bore no responsibility for the refugee problem or its solution. Obviously, there can be no comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict without resolving one of its key components: the plight of the Palestinian refugees. There is a clearly recognized right under international law that non-combatants who flee during a conflict have the right to return after the conflict is over. But an Israeli recognition of the Palestinian right of return does not mean that all refugees will exercise that right. What is needed in addition to such recognition is the concept of choice. Many refugees may opt for (i) resettlement in third countries, (ii) resettlement in a newly independent Palestine (though they originate from that part of Palestine which became Israel) or (iii) normalization of their legal status in the host country where they currently reside. In addition, the right of return may be implemented in phases so as to address Israel’s demographic concerns.
Camp David Peace Proposal of July 2000
A Palestine homeland giving backs 90% of the settlements and even divided Jerusalem.
But what it was being offered to the Palestinians was an impossible deal that no Palestinian leader could possibly have accepted.
Israel propose creating a Palestinian state in most of the west bank and Gaza strip, but this state it was not going to have control off its borders, it was not going to have control off its air space, it was not going to have control over its only natural resource in that area (water) and it was going to be by brocaded and crisscross by Israeli settlements and Israeli roads, so it was going to be broke into at least 4 or 5 different pieces.
· No borders
· No air space
· No water
· No dismantling of Israeli settlements & roads.
It was a nominal Palestinian state within a effectively greater Israel.
It didn’t offer Palestinians an unimpeded access to their holy sites, and it didn’t offer Palestinians any solution to the 3 million Palestinian refugees who live in refugee camps under horrendous conditions.
Palestinians were offered what it was left.
The ongoing land expropriation, tree uprooting, road building (military posts)
Unfair water allocation by witch many Palestinians during summer and fall had approximately 2 hours of running water a week when next door they had a settlement with green lawns and swimming pools.
That’s why Yazer Arafat didn’t accept the treat.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
Bravo Sandmonkey! It’s nice to hear a unique voice out there, and not the parrots CNN and BBC have been shoving in our faces.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Nor hi,
did any israeli tourist which came to your country gave illnes to somebody there. Well I can asure you that neither did Saleem (jordanian worker in my place) and he was rather very nice to share a cup of cofee with.
It’s very nice having peace with you and for that matter Egypt also.
Beatiful countries with a lot to see and very nice people. i love this peace!
It makes my life easier and focusing on raising my kids.
We had many wars against each other and reason came up and your great king Hussein- may he rest in peace - was a great leader who had a vision of of your people living in peace.
Majority of the people here see peace as a trivial thing that is enforced absent! There are groups of people who do not want peace as they are fundamentaly raised. Hopefully we will solve this national arguing and come to the conclusion that peace is needed now.
I’m not a militant nor a pacifist. As a young boy I immigrated from Romania
a place wich did’nt like jews for a long time (and I’m not saying that they do now) but modern times hit even that country. One of my uncles said that he had nothing against my mother eccept she’s a jew and my grandfather used to cal me “jidan” - wich is very nasty way to call someone “jew”. I’m half christian and half jewish and came to be a zionist by the necessary events of war. I lost 16 good friends of mine in the 2 of the 18 years of occuping southern Lebanon. I cannot see but my sorrow in that matter but it raised hatered towards the hizballah.
I also feel sorrow for the Lebanonian citizens and many of them probably will never forgive for their lost in this war. Neither do we.
No peace can wipe away the sorrow.
I can’t belive that Arabs in general, though what you sayed, like Isrealis and neither can I say that do we like the idea of an arab walking on the street or getting on a bus. We are afraid of each other!
But peace should come as a reasonable act, if not for us then for the sake of our children and generations to come (for hopefully they should not know war nor greave).
Hizballah do not want peace in any case, they and hamas want us to experience sorrow, not caring if it is Isrealis, Lebanonians or might we asume as King Abdallah said: -one day in Jordan or any other country.. (not quoted).
Everybody has (aparently) to pay blood for one madman or two.
I do not know of a period of let’s say 40-50 years of silence in this area over the history, if it were to be Egyptians ,Hebrews, Asyrians, Macedonians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, the Mamluks, the Crsaders, Turks, English, Gremans.. (excuse me if i forgot somebody) that made their war here.
What can I say.. let’s hope for real peace, like the first peace ever in this region made by Saadat, Beggin, King Hussein and Rabbin, at least, for now, with Lebanon.
I want to visit there sometime. It has a great landscape and years of history
and a great mixed culture to see like no other in the middle east.
August 14th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
israel is the biggest terrorist organization in this world
August 14th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
israel is the biggest terrorist organization in this world 123
August 14th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
israel is the biggest terrorist organization in this world 456
August 14th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
israel is the biggest terrorist organization in this world 789
August 14th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Great Blog Sandmonkey,
Nassrallah and his cohorts could defenitely be excused for considering themselves the victors in the current mess. The fate of this war was sealed once the Israeli government started pussy-footing on their goals , what with concerns of a major involvement in Lebanon at the back of their minds. However, the Hezbollah have stayed close to their stated objective- of coming out alive with most of their infrastructure(Not Lebanese infrastructure: That bit the dust sometime during the first week of the conflict) intact- a claim what no other Arab army could have claimed in all their wars with Israel.
Now that the war is over and done with, well atleast till round 2, I think its time for Iran to do something more than ship WW II-vintage-state-of-the-art military equipment and pay something substantial for the reconstruction of Southern Lebanon.
What with all the oil profits, I think that is the least they can do.
But will they? Don’t think so ! You see the Iranians only believe in making war and anything other than what directly aids the ’cause’ and ‘resistance’ will not find any sponsors.
So what about the Syrians pitching in?
You gotta be kidding. Last time we heard from Syria the ‘young’ Assad was busy trying to get a financial package from brother Ahmedinejad for services rendered.
So what about the other Arab states?
Egypt?
Ho!Ho! Ho! Who are you kidding
Jordan?
Didn’t they delvier that emergency medical supply during the war! Thats all they can afford.
Saudi Arabia?
They never trusted the Hezbollah and they never asked for permission. Why should they bother?
U.A.E?
Come again
So who will it be?
How about the Great Satan? After all the F-16s that the IAF used was made in the U.S. of A. so don’t they have some ‘moral’ responsibility?
Well, er … maybe…….. Besides Bush has already promised all support to the Siniora government. So what’s a few billion dollars here and there, and they can tell the sceptics in the Congress that Lebanon is somewhere in Iraq.
Well that sounds good. Doesn’t it?
That way the good folks down south only need to take to the road to tread on something American..
August 14th, 2006 at 9:02 pm
SM..brilliant….I can’ t stop laughing, and i wish the “she shat on” (russian for Nasrallah) will get a chance to read it, and fear for the life of the translator..ah no I dont! Yellow flags, Yellow tee shirts…what a fitting colour they chose.
August 14th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
“…You see sir, we in Egypt accepted a cease-fire agreement once in 73, and that is why Israel still exists…” ha ha ha - You meant that egypt army still exists because Sharon was denied to extermintae 3rd egiptiona army - you sucker!
August 14th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
Does any stupid idiot from this blog ever read the shit that other stupids post?
August 14th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
Cool Blog… checkout this anti-nasrallah vid when you get the chance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIjcWWvyrZ4
August 14th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
if any stupid idiot can read my post and don’t agree with them, you can send me an email here:
hypostatis@hotmail.com
I will read every one of them and I will post the answer here
August 14th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
Weeder and crows: Quit spamming the fucking comments. Try thinking for yourselves rather than doing the copy/paste talking points. Has it occurred to you that nobody’s going to sit and read your book-length “comments?”
Get your own blog, spammer.
August 14th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
Beth :
fuck you
August 14th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
The only true reason that Israel exists is because the Europeans wanted to get rid of the Jews.
1.-
.- They started talking about the 9/11 attacks but watch this and tell me if Israel is not guilty in part for those events in NYC.
http://www.shoutwire.com/viewstory/21586/Watch_This_Before_It_Disappears
2.-
That video when some guys burn a US flag supposed to be in South America is just bullshit, you can hear people saying something not coherent and then the name “America”.
I have been in most of the countries in Central and South America and I can assure you, nobody in those countries call the USA “America”, for all of them and myself, America is a continent not a country, they called the US (los Estados Unidos) and that’s what it means in Spanish
3.-
It really made me laugh when I saw they put in the map the terrorist attacks in Iraq, If you call the Iraqis “terrorist”, you are more stupid that what I thought:
They are fighting for their country, against an illegal invasion, what did you expected from them? Bend over and be fucked by an invader army?
4.-
If according to the interviewed, the Muslims are anti westerns, why don’t we see any Canadian flag being burned?, any Mexican flag being burned?, not even European flags, Latin American flags, you will see USA, UK & Israel flags, but why not any other flag?
Because our governments are not fucking them in their countries, Canada is not trying to put someone in the power in any country, either Mexico, nor the other Latin American countries, nor the European countries (just UK).
Al-Qaeda bomb in Spain was because Spain backed up Bush in Iraq and they send troops to combat in Iraq, other than that, they don’t give a shit about Spain.
And now that Spain slammed the bombing in Qana by Israel, the radicals are not going to do anything there.
5.-
Even saying that they are anti western is propaganda, they surely are anti USA, anti UK and anti Israel, they don’t give a shit about any other country as long as nobody fucks with them, and we don’t give a shit about their political life either, so we are even.
I don’t excuse or defense the acts of Hammas against Israelis, but neither the acts of Israel against Palestinians.
6.-
The radical extremist Muslims say that the USA is their enemy, their treat, because they want to conquer the world, but because the USA has interest in the Arab countries, (oil)
Iraq was not a threat to the USA. What the hell are they doing there?
Liberating them from oppression??
I don’t think so, none of them ask the USA for an intervention.
Why are they all around the world building military bases?
Who in their rational mind would like to have a huge bunch of fucking crazy marines ready to blow up everything close to you?
7.-
The fanatic Muslims who have some kind of power, tell people to hate USA, UK & Israel people for whatever reason.
They should be imprisoned for instigate hatred.
The ignorant people that can’t read, can’t do a research for information will follow them, but if the USA, UK & Israel go and kill some Muslims, that will breed the hate for their countries.
But is the same kind of shit in the USA, UK & Israel, the fucking warmonger of G.Bush is saying the same shit to the ignorant people that believe his moronic thoughts (either are you with us {USA, UK & Israel} or you are with the terrorist).
How come in the 21 century, the leader of one of the most powerful nations is capable to say so idiotic things, he must be fucking crazy to believe that ¾ of the world are full of “terrorist” and anyone who is against his opinion is a terrorist.
The same shit apply to your moronic warmonger Prime Minister; he is doing the same as Bush.
8.-
The part when some women dressed in black went into a house, is part of a Iranian police training for women, not any “terrorist” cells, I watched that video long time ago and those are the same scenes.
9.-
The musical video is just bullshit, a remix of videos and photos from TV news, but totally fake.
10.-
The video from Palestina when some people jump very happy after the news of 9/11 NYC is as bad as the one when suspected mossad agents were jumping very happy from the other side of the Brokling bridge in NYC on the 9/11.
Both are repulsive.
Check this:
http://www.shoutwire.com/viewstory/21586/Watch_This_Before_It_Disappears
11.-
The video from Iraq, when some civilians burn a civilian car with an USA citizen inside is lame, but what did you expected them to do when other country invades Iraq?
12.-
The video from Somali with the Blackhawk down incident has the same answer as before.
What did you expected them to do when other country invades Somalia?
13.-
This is a problem with religion fanatics, any kind of religion fanatic, no matter what religion they believe, are going to do stupid things against others in the name of their religion.
Same shit apply to Israel, if not, just tell me how many other countries have a religion symbol in their flags?
14.-
About the fragment of the documental of Michael Moore, I agree with him, there will be terrorist attacks always, but it’s not an imminent terrorist threat to the world right now.
If the USA, UK & Israel governments stop fucking messing with other countries in order to gain power, wealth or supremacy, this world is going to be a better world.
15.-
Funny to see a video from Nazi Germany here and realize that Israel has so much in common with them, than the radical Islamic people:
* Nazis & Zionists thought/think they are better than everyone else.
* Nazis & Zionists wanted/want to have the biggest army in the region
* Nazis & Zionists had/have a black history of invasion of other countries
* Nazis & Zionists wanted/want to extend their country borders and get all natural resources in the region
* Nazis & Zionists used/use political propaganda within their army
* Nazis & Zionists use their army as heroes (example IDF, why “defense” if they are always the aggressor, it should be IAF)
* Nazis & Extremist Muslims Militants use their army as heroes too.
* Nazis & Extremist Muslims Militants demonized/demonize the Jews
(But the Jews from Israel have invaded Muslim countries many times) that could be a motive for them.
* Nazis & Muslim armies raised/raise their right arm in the same way as Hitler did
So fucking what? That doesn’t mean anything, many armies around the world raise their right arm in the same way and they are not pro Nazis.
16.-
from the video with the Iraqi militias that killed a guy, again
What did you expected them to do when other country invades Iraq?
17.-
When they are talking about the “Islamic fascist” I agree with the fact that they are crazy, they act in their religion’s name, crazy people.,
18.-
We all know that Islamic radical people are crazy as hell, they should be imprisoned and every warmonger too, like your PM, Bush and Blair.
I’m going to ask you something;
If Israel knows those crazy radicals hate them, why in the hell Israel invades other countries every time?
Why do they add more oil to the fire?
Why do they kill Palestinians and treat Arabs in Israel like shit?
For the last 3 questions I would say; in order to instigate them.
19.-
WE HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE:
Again talking about the Nazis in WW1 and WW2 trying to conquer the world, it reminds me more the Israelis trying to have the power, as much as you show me Nazis, I will compare them to Israelis, because of the fact that both of them have/had invaded other countries in order to expand their territories and gain power.
The problem with you and most of the Israelis is that you have been brainwashed to believed that “”every Muslim in the world and every Arab”” is a extreme radical Muslim, and that is just as disgusting as the radical Muslims that say every Israeli is a pig
Now if you ask me who is worst, radical Muslims or Zionist Israelis, I would answer that both of them are despicable, none of them are better than the other, the two of them use different ways but both of them want the same at the end.
Power, control and their religion untouched.
———————————————————
The IDF Didn’t have a word of honor, they broke the 48 hours
August 14th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
[...] Sandmonkey pens a letter to Hassan Nasrallah. Allahu Akhbar! [...]
August 14th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
How I found myself with the Islamic fascists
By Jonathan Cook
08/11/06 “Information Clearing House” — – It occurred to me as I watched the story unfolding on my TV of a suspected plot by a group of at least 20 British Muslims to blow up planes between the UK and America that the course of my life and that of the alleged “terrorists” may have run in parallel in more ways than one.
Like a number of them, I am originally from High Wycombe, one of the non-descript commuter towns that ring London. As aerial shots wheeled above the tiled roof of a semi-detached house there, I briefly thought I was looking at my mother’s home.
But doubtless my and their lives have diverged in numerous ways. According to news reports, the suspects are probably Pakistani, a large “immigrant” community that has settled in many corners of Britain, including High Wycombe and Birmingham, a grey metropolis in the country’s centre where at least some of the arrested men are believed to have been born.
Britain’s complacent satisfaction with its multi-culturalism and tolerance ignores the facts that Pakistanis and other ethnic minorities mostly live in their own segregated spaces on the margins of British life. “Native” Britons like me — the white ones — generally assume that is out of choice: “They stick to their own kind”. Many of us rarely come into contact with a Pakistani unless he is serving us what we call “Indian food” or selling us a packet of cigarettes in a corner shop.
So, even though we may have been neighbours of a sort in High Wycombe, my life and theirs probably had few points of contact.
But paradoxically, that changed, I think, five years ago when I left Britain. I moved to Nazareth in Israel, an Arab — Muslim and Christian — community on the very margins of the self-declared Jewish state. In the ghetto of Nazareth, I rarely meet Israeli Jews unless I venture out for work or I find myself sitting next to them in a local restaurant as they order hummus from an Arab waiter, just as I once asked for a madras curry in High Wycombe. When Israeli Jews briefly visit the ghetto, I suddenly realise how much, by living here, I have become an Arab by default.
Living on the margins of any society is an alienating experience that few who are rooted in the heartland of the consensus can ever hope to understand. Such alienation can easily deepen into something less passive, far more destructive, when you find yourself not only marginalised but your loyalty, rationality, even your sanity, called into question.
As we approach the fifth official anniversary of the “war on terror”, the foiled UK “terror plot” has neatly provided George W Bush, the “leader of the free world”, with a chance to remind us of our fight against the “Islamic fascists”. But what if the war on terror is not really about separating the good guys from the bad guys, but about deciding what a good guy can be allowed to say and think?
What if the “Islamic fascism” President Bush warns us of is not just the terrorism associated with Osama bin Laden and his elusive al-Qaeda network but a set of views that many Arabs, Muslims and Pakistanis — even the odd humanist — consider normal, even enlightened? What if the war on “Islamic fascism” is less about fighting terrorism and more about silencing those who dissent from the West’s endless wars against the Middle East?
At some point, I suspect, I joined the Islamic fascists without my even noticing. Were my name different, my skin colour different, my religion different, I might feel a lot more threatened by that realisation.
How would Homeland Security judge me if I stepped off a plane in the US tomorrow and told officials not only that I am appalled by the humanitarian crises in Lebanon and Gaza but also that I do not believe the war on terror should be directed against either the Lebanese or the Palestinians? How would they respond if, further, I described as nonsense the idea that Hizbullah or the political leaders of Hamas are “terrorists”?
I have my reasons, good ones I think, but would anyone take them seriously? What would the officials make of my argument that, before Israel’s war on Lebanon, no one could point to a single terrorist incident Hizbullah had been responsible for in at least a decade? Would the authorities appreciate my comment that a terrorist organisation that doesn’t do terrorism is a chimera, a figment of the President’s imagination?
Equally, what would they make of my belief that Hizbullah does not want to wipe Israel off the map? Would they find me convincing if I told them that Israel, not Hizbulalh, is the aggressor in the conflict: that following Israel’s supposed withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000, Lebanon experienced barely a day of peace from the terrifying sonic booms of Israeli war planes violating the country’s airspace?
Would they understand as I explained that Hizbullah had acted with restraint for those six years, stockpiling its weapons for the day it knew was coming when Israel would no longer be satisfied with overflights and its appetite for conquest and subjugation would return? Would the officials doubt their own assumptions as I told them that during this war Hizbullah’s rockets have been a response to Israeli provocations, that they are fired in return for Israel’s devastating and indiscriminate bombardment of Lebanon?
And what would they say if I claimed that this war is not really about Lebanon, or even Hizbullah, but part of a wider US and Israeli campaign to isolate and pre-emptively attack Iran?
Thank God, my skin is fair, my name is unmistakenly English, and I know how to spell the word “atheist”. Chances are when Homeland Security comes looking for suspects, no one will search for me or be interested — not yet, at least — in my views on Hassan Nasrallah or the democratic election of a Hamas government for the Palestinians.
My friends in Nazareth, and those Pakistani neighbours I never knew in High Wycombe, are less fortunate. They must keep their views hidden and swallow their anger as they see (because their media, unlike ours, show the reality) what US-made weapons fired by American and Israeli soldiers can do to the fragile human body, how quickly skin burns in an explosion, how easily a child’s skull is crushed under rubble, how fast the body drains of blood from a severed limb.
Sitting in London or New York, the news that Gaza lost 151 souls, most of them civilians, last month to Israeli bombs and bullets passes us by. It is after all just a number, even if a high one. At best, a number like that from a place we don’t know, suffered by a people whose names we can’t pronounce, makes us pause, even sigh with regret. But it cannot move us to anger.
And anyway, our news bulletins are too busy to concentrate on more than one atrocity at a time. This month it is Lebanon. Next month it will probably be Iran. Then maybe it will be back to Baghdad or the Palestinians. The horror stories sound so much less significant, the need for action so less pressing, when each is unrelated to the next. Were we to watch the Arab channels, where all the blood and suffering blends into a single terrible Middle Eastern epic, we might start to make connections, and maybe suspect that none of this happens by accident.
But my Arab friends and High Wycombe’s Pakistanis have longer memories. Their attention span lasts longer than a single atrocity. They understand that those numbers — 151 killed in Gaza, and in a single incident 33 blown up in a market in Najaf, Iraq, and at least 28 crushed by rubble from an Israeli attack on Qana in Lebanon — are people, flesh and blood just like them. They can make out, in all the pain and death currently being inflicted on Arabs and Muslims, the echoes of events stretching back years and decades. They see patterns, they make connections, and maybe discern a plan. Unlike us, they do not sigh, they burn with fury.
This is something President Bush and his obedient serf in Britain, Tony Blair, need to learn. But of course, they do not want to understand because they, and their predecessors, are responsible for creating those patterns and for writing that epic tale in blood. Bush and Blair and their advisers know that the plan is far more important than the rage, the “red” alert levels at airports, or even planes crashing into buildings and plunging out of the sky.
And to protect that plan — to preserve the Middle East as a giant oil pump, cheaply feeding our industries and our privileged lifestyles — those who care about the suffering, the deaths and the wars must be silenced. Their voices must not be heard, their loyalty must be questioned, their reason must be put in doubt. They must be dismissed as “Islamic fascists”.
One does not need to be a psychologist to understand that those with no legitimate way to vent their rage, even to have it recognised as valid, become consumed by it instead. They seek explanations and purifying ideologies. They need heroes and strategies. And in the end they crave revenge. If their voice is not heard, they will speak without words.
So I find myself standing with Bush’s “Islamic fascists” in the hope that — just possibly — my solidarity and that of others may dissipate the rage, may give it meaning and offer it another, better route to victory.
Jonathan Cook is a journalist and writer based in Nazareth, Israel. His book, Blood and Religion: the Unmasking of the Jewish and Democratic State, is published by Pluto Press. His website is http://www.jkcook.net
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August 14th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
You know, Spammer Weeder, we could all do the same thing, copying and pasting articles (in violation of copyright, no doubt), in futile hopes of convincing others (LOL!), but there’s such a thing as ETIQUETTE, and besides, we don’t have to copy/paste what others have written because we understand the issues.
You obviously don’t understand the facts at all, and I suspect you couldn’t argue your way out of a wet paper bag. Otherwise you’d have something to say in your own words. It’s funny how people who spout your positions always have to repeat what others say, because you all are shockingly ignorant and uncurious about reality and logic. The best you can manage on your own is a weak “fuck you.”
Hilarious!
August 14th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Megan #81: “she shat on” (russian for Nasrallah)
I love it! LOL!
August 14th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Exactly - nasralla on russian means she shat on - thats fun to hear about new shit on tv.
Nasralla shity clown
August 14th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Sam can you do something about the socialist scum thats trolling your otherwise magnifacent blog?
August 14th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
i think you should write weekly in one of the worldwide magazins, although i’m afraid that it better be summarized. well, at least a half of this formate is enough, or else, many of the readers may renounce. anyway, i read it it all the way, endangering myself of tearing at least one of my lungs off, belly aching. nothing can describe better, the deafening truth & the sad absurd of the situation(or vice versa). i wish you all the peace & good healh, as you deserve.
August 14th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
what a moron …
August 14th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
Nice satire. What’s the nature of your beef with Israel?
August 14th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
Weeder,
“Jenin massacre”
bwahahahahahaha
August 14th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
[...] You see sir, we in Egypt accepted a cease-fire agreement once in 73, and that is why Israel still exists, as many nasserites and syrians have told me repeatedly. Had we not accepted the cease-fire and continued fighting, we would’ve eventually liberated all of palestine. But alas, that pussy Sadat and his concern over war cost, the mounting casualty rates and that second army in the Km 101 have cost us that victory. Never again. We should learn from our mistakes sir. Every Newspaper I read in the middle-east and every arab satalite news channel, especially yours, keeps informing me of how much Israelis you are killing, how few men you are losing and how you are accomplishing what no arab country has accomplished and are winning this war against Israel, and you know how the arab media never lies and always tells the truth. What I don’t understand is this: if you are winning, why stop now? Sittingbull @ 16:27 Catégorie(s): Médias [...]
August 14th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Sandmonkey, Amen!!! You said it all, dude.
August 14th, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Weeder has a selective command of the facts:
(1) Most of “Palestine” was given to the Hashemites to form (Trans)Jordan. Weeder has no objection to giving so-called Palestinian lands to them, huh?
(2) The reason 1/4th of all UN resolutions deal with Israel is because of the blatant anti-Western 3rd world ignorance of the countries that sprung up in the 1950’s adn 1960’s. Personally, I’m not too concerned with cannibals from Africa when they condemn Israel (think Idi Amin and Entebbee).
(3) Israel is not obligated to return land won in 1967. The Arabs rolled the dice and they lost. If they wanted a state on those lands, they had from 1948-67 to establish it. They waited too long — sorry. “Ya snooze, ya loose….”
(4) His list of ‘assasinations’ is laughable. No wonder 3/4ths of the Arab and 3rd world doesn’t believe the U.S. put a man on the Moon. These people will believe anything.
August 14th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
Except that that you are an idiot (in a good way) for writing all of this
Israel really didn’t do things right in lebanon , if we would act this way in the war of independance there would be no israel…
When people who fight us use shields we could instead of shooting at them get shields ourselves you know thoose big plastic things, not as advanced as the biological shieldes used by hizbolah but sometimes less technologicaly advanced civulazations prevail like the greeks and persians…
err and If I tried to write something like that Nasralls head would explode out of sheer amazement…….. so I really can’t do this if I give this man dignity now many people would not be given it by him he does great job at it…
August 14th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
Peace!
August 14th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
Priceless, Sandmonkey! Once more, you have created must-see-Internet.
Ah yes, Nasrallah the Wise. Nasrallah the Brave. Truly, the Arabs have had no greater leader since Nasser, who gave us the Gift of the Occupied Terrorities. Insha Allah, Nasrallah will keep pushing Israel’s buttons until there is a whole new set of occupied territories, with a whole new set of life-long refugees. Just think of all the fun that could be had then…why, we could hate Israel with double the vigor!!!
August 14th, 2006 at 11:10 pm
Weeder -
We’re so lucky that you’re sharing all those amazing (and correct) facts regarding Zionism, Israel and the like.
Of course, Israel IS to blame for all evils in this world. After all, they did plot every single act of war ever since Israel has been established. Hell, they probably provoked the surrounding Arab states of the region to attack them, in order to conquer those territories allocated to them by the UN resolution, back in 1947. They probably even encouraged Nasser to close the Straits of Tiran and to deploy the Egyptian army alongside the border, so they could start the 1967 Six day war. Moreover, they must have been the ones which convinced the Arab states to go to war in 1973, when at least some of them were targeting the annihilation of Israel. Israel’s objective of course, was to be on the brink of total destruction so that they could justify the launch of nuclear weapons at the so-called Arab aggressors. Israel would have emerged as a beaten state which hardly made it, but hey – the outcome is amazing – no more surrounding Arab states! Israel could have invaded those territories easily, as they really need those extra areas to inhabit that really fast growing population of theirs, which have no place in that small state, and to capture all those natural resources. Wow – we’re so lucky Sadat stopped the war in 1973! This way Israel couldn’t implement their crazy ideas!
And this last war – this is on top of the rest. Israel has requested the Hezbollah to use civilians as shields, and civilian facilities to hide and launch rockets from, so they could retaliate and kill civilian population, claiming this was “collateral damage”. Israel has also requested Hezbollah to launch 200 rockets per day at Israel’s civilian population, just so they could continue slaughtering all those innocent Lebanese. More over – Israel has actually caused the Hezbollah to kidnap those 2 soldiers (and kill the rest of them), in that ambush a month ago.
This provoked the long expected response discussed above, which was postponed all along since Israel withdrew from Lebanon. Originally, the Israel’s attack should have initiated back in 2000, when Israel plotted that the Hezbollah will kidnap those three soldiers (Israel also asked them to be executed), but the entire thing was put on hold, for a better plan – Israel could claim that the current 2006 kidnapping was not the first time, and make the war even more justified! The Hezbollah can be accused of terrorism and inhumanity because Israel has asked them not to allow Red-Cross personnel to visit them – this would make the perfect cover up. Now the Hezbollah is requested to disarm, and Israel could simply walk into Lebanon! You have to admin – those Israelis do know how to plan a war.
I agree with you – all of the above does require the Israeli army to rename itself from “Israel’s Defense Force” to “Israel’s Attack Force”. After all, they _are_ always the aggressors, and they are always invading other countries. Bastards.
Wait up! I almost forgot to mention, that we’re so lucky you’ve been a close observer of the Israeli (aggressive) army, so that you could have noticed that they have political staff which poisons propaganda into them soldiers and officers, just like the Nazis did.
I must admit – Israel does have the nerve to call that Ahmadinejad a Nazi, when all he wants is to develop nuclear capabilities in the name of Peace. What nerve do they have, when they so falsely claim he wants to develop nuclear weapons? Moreover – if they have Nuclear weapons – why can’t Iran? This peaceful, non-fundamental and loving nation simply seeks the means to defend itself from the Israeli aggression. After all, Israel has had Nuclear weapons for so long and has proved their intentions of using it (remember, the plot which was foiled in the 1973 war? Phew!). Ahmadinejad only speaks out loud what everyone else thinks – what does the US and Europe want with him!? Ah, yes, it’s the Jews who incite against him and Iran. His words regarding the dismantling of the Zionist regime are indeed words of Peace and by no chance pose threat to those rude Zionists. Of course, it’s another one of their plots, so they could either attack Iran by themselves, or convince the world to do it for them. Those war-mongers
Ha, we are lucky, Weeder, that you have shown us the light!
Samuel P. Huntington was a liar!
August 14th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
SM - can’t you impose a physical limit of 100 words in this part of your blog. If anyone can’t get their point over in about that, they probably don’t have any thing worth saying anyway.
August 14th, 2006 at 11:18 pm
Hezbollah is clearly a terrorist organization. Israel kicked their ass, and you guys are fucking idiots. Period.
August 14th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
Damn, Sam!
Very powerful piece, and a difficult read.
So bitter I almost choked on it, but well worth the discomfort.
As you said, the true horror is that others say the same things and mean them.
Hang in there!
p.s.: as nice as dialog is, you really should rip out the mega-page spammers. They smother conversation rather than contribute to it.
August 14th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
By “idiots” I meant you guys were funny, crazy, zany guys.
August 14th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
Weeder.
“Does any stupid idiot from this blog ever read the shit that other stupids post? ”
We do, just not from stupid idiots as yourself with stupid Goebels propaganda.
August 14th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
YAWN!
August 14th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
YOU HAVE BEEN MEGAPHONED BY THE PROPAGANDA ARMY - http://WWW.GIYUS.ORG
THE ZIONISTS WILL BE POSTING THEIR VIEWS SHORTLY!!
SUBVERT THE ZIONIST PROPAGANDA BY USING MEGAPHONE YOURSELVES!!!
August 14th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
The top ad on the left above the comments says “Meet Jewish Girls”.
Is this a plot?
August 15th, 2006 at 12:26 am
http://globalverm.blogspot.com/
I believe that I love you…yes, yes its love in completely non-biblical way.
August 15th, 2006 at 12:52 am
I know Weeder. Weeder lives in a one room apartment in a slum. He collects welfare and makes enough off it to afford an internet connection. He spends all of his spare time time (and he has a lot of it) drinking Mountain Dew and reading anti-semitic web sites. When he gets himself worked into a rage he holds his hand over a candle until it starts to tickle and screams “Kill all the Jews!”
I know Weeder.
August 15th, 2006 at 1:06 am
GREAT POST! This has to be an all time Sandmonkey classic.
August 15th, 2006 at 1:08 am
Man, this is one of the best articles I have read… you really hit the center of the idiotic fantasy carried out by Hezbollah and the bunch of loosers who follow them
August 15th, 2006 at 1:21 am
Heh. Fun piece, thanks for writing it, Sandmonkey.
Weeder — you could summarize everything said into three words. Yada.Yada.Yada.
Johnathan Cook has his head stuck so far up into his lofty ideals that he misses the muck that’s raising up to his neck.
I’ll go back to lurking now.
August 15th, 2006 at 1:44 am
we can forgive the arabs for killing our children.
we cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children.
we will only have peace with the arabs when they love their children
more than they hate us.
August 15th, 2006 at 2:29 am
golda meir,
“we can forgive the arabs for killing our children.
we cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children.
we will only have peace with the arabs when they love their children
more than they hate us. ”
I just saw you in hell a minute ago. Are you alive? And stop this bullshit, we all bullshit when we want to impress the West. Shut up and get down to work.
August 15th, 2006 at 2:44 am
“Rabin”,
That is one of the vilest and most cynical comments I have ever read and I imagine you are no fan of Israel. Your use of Rabin’s name for that comment is particularly misguided.
August 15th, 2006 at 3:23 am
lol@ Rabin, Golda Meir walked out of her grave for a moment, she needed to stretch her bones.
August 15th, 2006 at 3:25 am
Weeder,
You fell in an Israeli camp man! they live, eat and shit here on this blog.
August 15th, 2006 at 3:39 am
Weeder,
Son, I’m worried about this Jonathan Cook fellow. Reading his experiences harkened back to reading about Adolf Hitler - an outsider, never really fit into society very well, not very successful, living on the fringe. It’s a sad, sad thing.
Now, I live in the united states, not in England, and I know all my neigbours. They’re a bunch of really nice folks from all over the world. We all seem to get along. I don’t know how they feel inside, of course, but we visit with each other and we’re all friendly. It could be just me, but I think maybe they could use a little more of that American Melting Pot we’re always talking about in other parts of the world. I think getting people to talk more will make them feel less isolated.
That Jonothan fellow ought to get some help for his feelings of isolation. It isn’t healthy. And it isn’t healthy to blame your personal problems on the government or any other scapegoat. People who do that….well…Adolf Hitler.
August 15th, 2006 at 3:42 am
THE MEGAPHONE WORKS VERY WELL, RIGHT?
IS FUCKING RAINNING ZIONIST HERE
August 15th, 2006 at 3:48 am
Wow.
August 15th, 2006 at 4:40 am
Daisy,
Post #70: I had no idea about the toilet. How absolutely fitting. In Russian, “Nasrallah” really means shitting ON something - so you miss the toilet entirely. That’s what makes it disgusting. My understanding is that Hezbollah and Al Qaeda hate each other. Even more fitting.
Megan, - post #81: I never saw the connection between the yellow flags and the name. I always thought they yellow represented the yellow bellies of the cowards who talk a big game but hide behind grandma with the bullets go flying. But your point is better - more toilet humour. I love it!! All this can’t be a coincidence. I think God is trying to tell us something.
seriously, though. The guy is a cancer in the bellies of the Arabs - a great and storied people. Nasrallah is just a little shit.
August 15th, 2006 at 4:51 am
Basic definition of a strawman argument.
1: set up a weak, poorly reasoned, poorly constructed hypothesis.
2: knock it over.
3: Now scream to the highest mountain about how you were right when because it was knocked over.
Doesn’t make the argument valid, or reasonable, or correct. Just shows you can set up dominoes, and flick em down. Well it also degrades peoples opinions of your reasoning skills. If thats all you can do, you can’t be very bright.
Basic definition of a strawman UN resolution
1: set up a weak, poorly reasoned, poorly constructed resolution that ignores reality, takes a highly biased view
2: knock it out the door past the UNSC/UNGA by having your little block of fellow travelers weasel their way around reality, do the politicking bit.
3: Now scream to the highest mountain about how you were right when they pass the resolution, and how eeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllllllllll the joooooooooooooooooooooooooooooz are
Doesn’t make the resolution valid, or reasonable, or correct. Just shows you can set up political dominoes, and flick em down. Well it also degrades peoples opinions of your bloc’s reasoning skills. If thats all you can do, you can’t be very bright.
Its almost comic to see the “world body” spend 1/4 of its time harrassing 0.2% of the worlds population, because a substantial fraction of the 1/6th of the worlds population is so completely fucking insanely out of its collective minds. It would be funny, if it weren’t so sad.
What sad is that this world body condemns little Israel’s self defensive operations in Jenin where a grand total of 52 people died, while almost completely ignoring, and doing nothing about Darfur, Rwanda, Congo, … long list of others.
Whats sad is that this world body can never admit that Israel is in the right, and it is more often than not, while never seeming to have the courage or collective intestinal fortitude to condemn the atrocities funded and formented by Israel’s tormentors.
C’est la vie.
August 15th, 2006 at 5:22 am
Nasrallah must be kill!!!!
August 15th, 2006 at 5:32 am
“its almost comic to see the “world body” spend 1/4 of its time harrassing 0.2% of the worlds population, because a substantial fraction of the 1/6th of the worlds population is so completely fucking insanely out of its collective minds. It would be funny, if it weren’t so sad.
What sad is that this world body condemns little Israel’s self defensive operations in Jenin where a grand total of 52 people died, while almost completely ignoring, and doing nothing about Darfur, Rwanda, Congo, … long list of others.”
um…Kranky? What exactly to do you expect from Koffee? Dealing with Rwanda, Darfur, Congo, etc. would distract him from nepotism and bribe collection. Blaming the jooooz is a time honoured tradition.
August 15th, 2006 at 5:40 am
Either you are a comedian or an idiot. No doubt Hezbollah started this war. No doubt they are a terrorist organization (listed officially by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and Israel).
Hezbollah intentionally only targets civilian population centers. Israel has sent out leaflets to warn civilians and sent troops to get children out of buildings. It is Hezbollah that deliberately hides among civilians as human shields. THESE PEOPLE DO NOT CARE ABOUT LIFE–LEBANESE OR ISRAELI. They train children from age 5 or 6 and teach them the best thing they can do with their lives is be a suicide bomber. They hide among civilian people to so that 1) Israel will hesitate to shoot, 2) If Israel shoots, they evoke sympathy.
They are quite similar to the Nazis in that they are 1) a ‘political party’, 2) started a bloody war, 3) use propaganda, 4) have a television channel to spread their propaganda (Nazis used radio), 5) promise to rebuild their country, 6) hate-filled.
August 15th, 2006 at 5:44 am
SM
Briliant I thought I won’t not stop laughing.
Unfortunately I did when I read your comment about readers of Al Arabiya.
August 15th, 2006 at 6:15 am
It gives me hope to see that there are at least a handful of intelligent, educated people in the world who actually see this situation for what it is.
August 15th, 2006 at 6:28 am
[...] http://www.sandmonkey.org/2006/08/13/jumping-on-the-bandwagon [...]
August 15th, 2006 at 8:30 am
Well stated sarcasm! Makes one wonder if the arab muslim world read this; would anything click in their minds to make a positive change!?! Do they have the ability to see the light!?! Can they rise above their hatefull idealology and look in the mirror?
Hmmmmmmm …. that would be a peace dream come true!
August 15th, 2006 at 8:38 am
I only wish I’d had the time to read all the talkbacks…
SM- this is probably the best satire on the Lebanon situation I’ve read in a long time.
Your take on Bibi couldn’t've benn more correct. I’ve a friand who sais: “Bibi was right! we disengaged from Gaza and lo and behold- Kassams on Ashkelon!”. Well, duh- even a broken watch is right twice a day.
The bottom line is- all sane people just want their peace and quite- so they can come bach home to spread and suffer the little death that is mundane life… Let’s just leave each other alone- one generally tends to do more damage to oneself than eny outsider can.
Like you said, we Israelis do have a dislike of dieing. It manifests itself- oddly enough- in the form of beating-the-crap-outa-the-asshoe-who-tried-to-do-it-to-ya. People these days, I tell ya!!!
Keep the flame, SM!!!!
Itai
August 15th, 2006 at 9:44 am
Laughed and cried for 20 minutes, laughed and cried.
F.ck off zionists, f.ck off nasrallah, f.ck off war,
I wanna see you Prime Minister.
August 15th, 2006 at 9:53 am
*****For all of you Crows and Weeders out there:
Despite your mixing facts with false assumptions and detaching it from any integral contexts, let’s say for the matter of sake that all of your accusations are true!
But if you clam it to be so black and white you are no different than the ones you are up against, there is no other side in your POV…And so it doesn’t say anything meaningful except, as always, the quest of finding the real entity to blame which is surprisingly a land of Jews, one of the smallest countries in the world, but what a fuzz…
*One of the facts that do say something is that without the Zionists the UN would never raise the vote for 2 countries in so called Palestine (probably the British would have stayed).
*Another fact is that even if the Israelis would have lost in there independent war the Palestinians wouldn’t get there independence as the territory would have divided by Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.
If and when Palestinians get their independence eventually it will be because and not despite the Israeli being.
At last you need to look with open eyes at the goals and interests that are in the kettle because that the only thing that matters now, I can’t “unblind” the ones who choose to or forced to be…you will have to the math for yourselves…there are those that will not compromise of nothing but the destruction of another nation and have no shame to sign this on their flag.
Well… now at last, I think this following link will add some sense into you in more global POV:
http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480×360.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=null
August 15th, 2006 at 10:06 am
i can’t c how the heck u gonna support nasrallah from behind tv lol.
man ur so wrecked if u wanna support him,why don’t u join his party????
well i c ur no better than the arab leaders,as all u did was just mimicin some words u heard,while just fancyin em with some bad language,way 2 go man!
and by the way,in any religion u’ll get to find those who r good n others who r bad,so plz enough with the generalizations,
and i thought sheits r muslims,shud a muslim curse his muslim bro. even if he’s a sunni???is that what u’r told??
i don’t think that u get it right in ur mind,where’s ur manners?shame on u.
so enough with the hate words..
on 73,the war was in the desert mr. so rarely civilians were killed,but when it’s ur civilians specially the women n children who r bein killed,think u’d consider ceasin fire,oh or is it coz they ain’t ur relatives who’r dying???
one thing more,GOD is never busy.
August 15th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Dude. I am so linking to this on my blog… Again - DUDE!
If you ever come visit Israel (or if it gets safe enough for me to come to Egypt) I would definatelly want to shake your hand.
August 15th, 2006 at 10:48 am
(BIG YAWN) Someone has a lot of time on their hands….how sad. Nasrallah is a hero! Long live Hezbollah!!
August 15th, 2006 at 10:56 am
Weeder,
The situation in Israel vis a vis its neighbors and the Palestinians has developed primarily through the constant, methodical and consistent attempt to destroy the state of Israel and its citizens - mainly Jews. Additionally, there is an overwhelming anti-Israle sentiment in the UN - due to the MUCH larger Muslim contingent - so the resolutions do not carry much weight. However, Israel has complied with some - especially at the beginning - and they were basically crammed up its behind.
I shouldn’t have to remind you that Jews/Israelis have been under attack since before 1929, but I guess this is something that gets conveniently pushed aside, or better yet, rationalized because the very prescient Palestininas “KNEW” that the nasty JEWS were going to take their land.
I shouldn’t have to remind you either that a terrorist group is defined not by its raison d’etre, but by its activities. Hezbollah, can get its people elected, can donate millions of Iranian dollars, and can even parade itself as a state within a state - but that doesn’t change its murderous tactics.
What all of you terrorist apologizers and appeasers are not willing to discuss is Israel uses every penny it can to grow, educate, heal, construct, manufacture and develop. This is evident in its universities, factories, patents, companies, educators, medicines, hospitals, and by and large in its free and open democratic society. On the other side you have the Palestinians, whose leadership has irresponsibly used very last cent, resource, effort and drop of sweat of its people to create a culture of death, martirism, destruction, murder and anti-semitism. Even Israel has spent much money and effort in creating a livable environment in the West Bank & Gaza. Hospitals, universities, schools, administration, roads, etc., etc.. All for what?
Murder, kidnapping, rocket attacks, shootings, stabbings, suicide bombings, bus bombings, school attacks, children murders, et. al. Not to mention Olympic assasinations, consulate bombings, etc, etc.. Bunch of ayatollahs screaming at millions - ” kill the Jews!!”. Yeah! Real civilized. Go on, cite all your figures and numbers to try and obscure the truth and hide the blood.
Bloody murderers! You are fostering terrorism and porposing a world controlled by a people that does not believe in justice or even such basic tenets as women’s rights. Get off your soap box and get a f__ing job.
August 15th, 2006 at 11:16 am
Emilie,
You sound like someone with very good intentions, I would suggest that you consider very carefully to what you propose to do, anyone that has lived in a refugee camp for 60 years has psychological problems, any “help” you were to give would be used for everything but what you wanted, there are hundreds of millions of $ donated every year for what you propose and the world is still on a treasure hunt trying to find the Arafat mega fortune. There culture, way of living, dress, religion, eating habits, lying, stealing and mentality are unique to them, I would, if I were you, consider “Charity begins at home” were you can see some thing for what you do, rather than throw you time effort and money into some cesspit.
August 15th, 2006 at 11:18 am
hell no!!!!!
how can you call that winning???
because nassrala is stiil alive??? beacuse you fire at israel everyday 170 rockets???
how abuut all the womans and children who you!!!
,yes you, who kiilded because all the rocket luncher you hide between them?????
i know that israel caught a hezbollah soldier and treat him in a hospital like human been
i bet that hizzbollah torture the 2 poor poor soldgier
August 15th, 2006 at 11:33 am
WOW WE WON ( HEZBOLLAH) THANK THE LORD GOD, WHAT A GOOD YEAR FOR THE GREAT PEOPLE OF LEBANON, FIRST WE GOT RIDE OF SYRIA NOW WE HAVE REALY BEATEN ISRAEL IN A HOLY WAR, AND OH SHIT, HERE COMES IRAN.
August 15th, 2006 at 11:40 am
OH yeah… SM that’s a great writ. Does anyone have Nasrallah’s e-mail? He really should read it. He might even broadcast it as evidence of fellow Arab support…
August 15th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Rose, honey, Go look up “sattire” in the dictionary.
Take it easy!
August 15th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
there’s no such thing OCCUPIED LAND !!
3000 years ago and most of time the Holy land was populated and owned by JEWS and given them by their GOD , and now it’s in their state call ISRAEL (the name that you, fashists, replace by ZOINISTS*).
the subject was invented by islamists as good reason to have pretensions to Israel and argument of fighting against it’s existanse.
Let’s call things by its name: Arab Islamists are LAZY and want to keep making $ from saling their only one main product: OIL.
They don’t want to work hard like israelis do and to make technological progress like Israel did.
They feel left on back positions of human evolution , technological progress, life style and wonder , how such small state like Israel did it in 50 years of it’s existanse as state (in addition to 3000 years they been there before), and Israel is the richest state in whole Middle east.
Sure, there are enough reasons to fashist like Ahmadi-Nijad or Nasrallah to want “Israel’s death” - they dont want to be left behind , they prefere to slow the evolution progress down by DESTROING , not by BUILDING and trying to get close to what Israel succeeded to build in 50 years.
* ZION means Jerusalem (check enciclopedias)
Jerusalem is an Israeli CAPITAL City ,
So you , assholes who call us ZIONISTS , besides ISRAELIs and ZION AUTHORUTY besides ISRAEL - understand the meaning of ZION ?
its JERUSALEM that WAS . IS and WILL be ISRAELI’s FOREVER !
August 15th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
I leave in Israel
I dont understand what did I do wrong to you
b u t s t i l l
you only wish to kill me
SAD !
August 15th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
It is really incredible how Arabs base themselves on three things only:
-LIEING
-HATING
-CRYING (really and not)
How can you believe that you win any war? Even this war you simply lost.
Of course we did not win as we should because we have a stupid government that you have influenced with stupid ideas through the money you invested in “peace associations”. But do NOT worry: the PEOPLE of ISRAEL is waking up and next time we will not care about all the civilians you use as shields.
Go to Hell!
August 16th, 2006 at 3:00 am
JimmyGasPipe and nottoobrite,
thanks for your hints. I guess both of you are right by pointing out that the object of support will hit plenty of snags and should be considered carefully. That is why I am looking for information about reliable reconstruction and development projects. I still have not found them. It seems that ordinary people in Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories get organized support only by emergency relief organisations and those who fish for inductees.
I guess nobody is very surprised that those fishermen have been quite successful in the last decades. Violent ideologies seem to find wide support mainly among the poor. Somebody who does not see a real chance to earn his livelihood tends to be vulnerable to almost anybody who tells him that there is one big enemy responsible for all the misery he experiences, and that paradise on earth is going to break out as soon as that enemy will be eliminated. Combine such a story with alms and the offer to exert power on subordinates, and you will have plenty of followers. I guess that is not specific to people of a certain denomination, culture or ethnicity. It is just human.
According to what I have seen so far, pittance does not seem to help much against that. It is important as an emergency relief. But as the exclusive long-run appliance, it tends to keep people in dependence and susceptibility to violent ideologies. That is why I would prefer to support reconstruction and development projects. Not the big size stuff à la “Here is your weekly food package, and there are the houses we built for you; now will you kindly get in there and keep quiet till we tell you what to do next.” Nor the governmental development projects feeding the pockets of corrupt politicians and officials either. What I have in mind is rather something like micro credits offered to people who come and ask for to rebuild their farm, to open a café, to buy a washing machine and start a launderette or the sewing machine they need to work as a tailor. Sounds ridiculous, doesn ‘t it? But such projects seem to work quite well in several countries, and perhaps they do or would do so in Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, too. If managed appropriately, they match the needs people express and are not about alms but help people to improve their situation by their own effort. That is what I would like to support. If people accept such a credit and spend it for something else or open their business and tolerate that violent zealots endanger it again, it is up to them. I just would like them to have their chance. For completely selfish reasons, by the way: I would appreciate it if my friends would not have to attend funerals on and off because their friends or relates in the Middle East were killed by lunatics.
The problem is: I cannot find such projects. With the exception of the notorious World Bank greenhouses, I have not even found information about washed-up ones. Nothing but summer schools for global peace, fishermen and their devotees and emergency relief projects, the latter having been applied for decades and probably be needed for another few generations.
Sorry for the rant, will not happen again.
Information about working or failed reconstruction and development projects are still most welcome
August 16th, 2006 at 10:18 am
LOL….but then sad….
Hiz may not have won, but Israel definitely lost.
The day of the cease fire I saw an internet headline quoting the Israeli defense minister Peretz (in and of itself farce worthy of Aristophanes) as saying “If they attack us [again], we will respond harshly”… and I thought to myself: this could have been (and was!) written a few days *before* the “war”! Like nothing actually happened! Not 24 hours into the ceasefire and they were already trying to erase it from our memory. How 1984 is that?
Now I wonder why I don’t give those guys much credit (moral credit. I hope that at least their spin doctors get paid very well for the excellent services they give provide)…
The great thing about government (and not just democracy) is that the people always get the rulers they deserve. This goes just as well for the Iraqis and their Saddam, the Palis and their Hamas, and the Israelis and their Olmert - weakness begets weakness, and if you allow yourself to be fucked in the ass, you better believe that someone will come along and start unbuckling his pants.
August 16th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
Dr. Avi,
Your post reminded me of a saying: In a democracy people get what they ask for…and they get it good and hard.
August 17th, 2006 at 12:18 am
[...] SANDMONKEY: “Jumping on the bandwagon: Dear Nasrallah”; and “Minbleed tackles the problem called Nasrallah!” …. (sandmonkey.org) [...]
August 17th, 2006 at 4:40 am
WRONG AGAIN - I mean seriously, do you proof read your blog or is it truly ranting???
Just so you know the definition of Dignity according to Websters dictionary (you know what that is right?) is “the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed”. Not the suburban capitalist B.S you try to cry about… Having a good job, being able to afford to provide for your kids, maybe send them to some expensive foreign school where they can learn how to really hate being an Arab, etc., etc…I can almost hear your sniveling all the way here.
So please, get your shit right…and if that means having to spend a couple of minutes proofreading, by all means do so. It’s bad enough that we have to read all the anti Arab propoganda you spout, the least you can do is make it factual!!!
August 17th, 2006 at 5:00 am
Hi Emilie:
With regards to your question #22: I agree that microcredits can be very very useful. Along those lines, there’s this site GlobalGiving, startedin the US by some very good people that aggregates small micro projects all over the world. There’s one listed that’s fits with your description:
http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/1600/proj1511a.html
Perhaps this would be a start.
August 17th, 2006 at 5:03 am
More on the project
“Economic Help for Palestinian Women Farmers:
Expand participating women olive farmers in rural areas in the West Bank. Offer much needed support to produce high quality olive oil, including training, appropriate farm equipment, proper containers, supervision, marketing & microcredit.”
The project contact person is actually in Egypt.
August 17th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
Gaza Mo
If we could get beyond your anger for a quick second….I think SandMonkey wasn’t addressing the definition of dignity. He was saying that he thought that Arabs were DERIVING that dignity from endless fighting rather than from education, innovation, contributing to society and taking care of their families.
In fact, you could make the case that the call to endless Jihad has killed more Arabs than anyone else and, therefore, can be considered anti-Arab in itself. Certainly concentrating on economic development and education, something SM appears to support over war in his blog, would enhance and save Arab lives. Thus, I believe your really can’t more pro-Arab than SM.
August 17th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
Emilie,
Dharmagirl’s post reminded me! Try the Grameen Bank. It started out in Bangladesh but has spread rapidly. If I’m not mistaken, Grameen Bank sparked the whole micro-lender movement.
August 17th, 2006 at 4:38 pm
Hi Anonon - yes, Mohd. Yunus’s story is incredible! I heard him speak last year and he’s also an amazingly humble person. Mohd. Yunus was an econ prof in Bangladesh- the whole microcredit started by him loaning a group of women in his village very small small sum (something like US$20 for 40 ppl), and realized that community/group pressure/responsibility helped the women to repay the loans. Thirty years later, Grameen has made loans to hundreds of thousands of the very poor (without collateral) and has an amazing loan repayment rate of >90%. Quite an incredible story.
Didn’t think that Grameen has any projects out of the South Asian countriesbut after your post, a google search turned up the following job posting:
http://www.seepnetwork.org/content/calendar/detail/3562
There’re two contacts there: one for the US-based Grameen Foundation, and another one mentions a Palestinian contact working with savings coops etc.
August 17th, 2006 at 6:52 pm
Dharmagirl - Mohamed Yunus is incredible. My husband actually knows him quite well because he went to high school in Bangladesh (his father was with the UN and they were stationed in Dhaka at the time). There, he conducted a huge (for a high school student) study of the Grameen bank, going to various villages - often with by Mohamed Yunus as their guide - where the Grameen Bank was operating and seeing for himself the difference that it made. That happened back in the days when the Grameen bank was still very small and still only in Bangladesh. I haven’t yet met him myself but my husband tells me that Mohamed Yunus is one of the most incredible people he has ever known. In fact, my husband was going to study history in college, but Mohamed Yunus and the Grameen Bank project had such a profound impact on him that he decided to study economics instead - which is how I met him. So, I guess, in a roundabout way, I have Mohamed Yunus to thank for my marriage!!!
Micro-lending is such a fantastic concept because it empowers individuals to achieve success and improve their lives. This, in turn, brings pride, a sense of dignity, a sense of achievement and kills hopelessness. Mohamed Yunus is a genius - the concept is so simple and yet so powerful.
I’m ashamed that I didn’t think of Grameen Bank sooner. Thank you, Dharmagirl, for reminding me!
August 18th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
dharmagirl and anonon: Thank you so much - the adresses are exactly what I was looking for! I am going to contact both of the organisations.
Microlending is indeed a great concept. So far as I know, its efficiency beats the usual alms and top down development stuff, and many of the projects seem to become self-supporting after a while. They help people to rebound instead of keeping them in dependence. Same thing with the saving clubs, but I do not know whether there is a tradition for them in the Middle East or whether they would work under the local circumstances.
BTW: Today I had a talk with somebody who works for a fair trade organisation. He is convinced that there is a reasonable market for high quality linnen garment in Europe. He is looking for people who produce linnen and linnen garment and would like to sell them in Europe. Now I do not have a clue whether flax can be cultivated in Lebanon and whether there are people who do so. But if there should be any and if they produce linnen in the same excellent quality as the Egyptian one I found years ago, please let me know - they could make a little fortune
Anyway: thanks again!
August 18th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
Emilie,
The efficiency beats everything because it’s the “teaching a man to fish” rather than “giving a man fish” concept. It allows people to create wealth, rather than living like serfs off the wealth creation of others. This ability to create wealth is the entire power behind the US “superpower” status (in a nutshell). It is a very powerful concept and one that the Grameen Bank is based on. I think Mohamed Yunus is a great man for bringing it to the third world. And, really, it takes so little!
I don’t know about flax. Agrarian economies are fairly remedial and I think that Lebanon has moved forward, although I don’t know. However, usually, micro-lenders don’t dictate the ideas. They allow the borrower to come up with the concept and then help them flesh it out and lend the necessary capital. They typically operate under the capitalist concept that the “man on the ground” will have a better idea of what is in demand than a centralized and detached body. Just contact the organizations and keep us posted.
Good luck!
August 19th, 2006 at 7:36 pm
My God, you’re a breathe of fresh air. But are you an egyptian really, I mean you just live there or are you really an Egyptian ??
August 21st, 2006 at 11:21 am
Sandmonkey
Sandmonkey recounts an interesting chat with his grandmother on the sanctity of the dead. It really makes my point about death porn being a Bad Thing™ far better than I have ever expressed it.
I, too, used to have a job which involved reading english…
August 21st, 2006 at 1:49 pm
Can I just ask this: If your comments are going to be over a screen, GET YOUR OWN BLOG… and Weeder, no one wants your email. You’re baiting to get attention, grow up.
Good post SM, as always.
August 27th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
[...] Shelby Steele, echoing the bitter conclusions of moderate Muslim bloggers such as the Big Pharaoh, Sandmonkey, and Raja; confirming the conclusions of knowledgeable commentators like Michael Young and Amir Taheri; and lending credence to Tony Blair’s incisive comments about misguided Western reaction the “arc of extremism” confronting us—and our beloved Western values, which we take for granted—cuts to the chase with his analysis of geopolitical reality: If this [Hezbollah vs. Israel] war makes anything clear, it is that Israel can do nothing to appease the Muslim animus against her. And now much of the West is in a similar position, living in a state of ever-heightening security against the constant threat of violence from Islamic extremists. So here, from the Muslim world, comes an unappeasable hatred that seems to exist for its own sake, a hatred with very little actual reference to those it claims to hate. Even the fighting of Islamic terrorist groups is oddly self-referential, fighting not for territory or treasure but for the fighting itself. Standing today in the rubble of Lebanon, having not taken a single inch of Israeli territory, Hezbollah claims a galvanizing victory. [...]
June 15th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
[...] Nasrallah is always boasting about how Hezbollah is the “resistance.” And, according to the Sandmonkey, he’s being hailed as a hero all over the Arab media. Once upon a time, not so long ago, this was [...]
June 15th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
[...] Shelby Steele, echoing the bitter conclusions of moderate Muslim bloggers such as the Big Pharaoh, Sandmonkey, and Raja; confirming the conclusions of knowledgeable commentators like Michael Young and Amir [...]
June 17th, 2008 at 3:05 am
[...] Shelby Steele, echoing the bitter conclusions of moderate Muslim bloggers such as the Big Pharaoh, Sandmonkey, and Raja; confirming the conclusions of knowledgeable commentators like Michael Young and Amir [...]
June 17th, 2008 at 3:18 am
[...] Nasrallah is always boasting about how Hezbollah is the “resistance.” And, according to the Sandmonkey, he’s being hailed as a hero all over the Arab media. Once upon a time, not so long ago, this was [...]
June 17th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
[...] Shelby Steele, echoing the bitter conclusions of moderate Muslim bloggers such as the Big Pharaoh, Sandmonkey, and Raja; confirming the conclusions of knowledgeable commentators like Michael Young and Amir [...]
June 17th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
[...] Nasrallah is always boasting about how Hezbollah is the “resistance.” And, according to the Sandmonkey, he’s being hailed as a hero all over the Arab media. Once upon a time, not so long ago, this was [...]
June 18th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
[...] Shelby Steele, echoing the bitter conclusions of moderate Muslim bloggers such as the Big Pharaoh, Sandmonkey, and Raja; confirming the conclusions of knowledgeable commentators like Michael Young and Amir [...]
June 18th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
[...] Nasrallah is always boasting about how Hezbollah is the “resistance.” And, according to the Sandmonkey, he’s being hailed as a hero all over the Arab media. Once upon a time, not so long ago, this was [...]