Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Arab cartoons blaming Jews for Pope statement

The Bahraini newspaper, Akhbar Al-Khalij, has taken the lead in publishing cartoons claiming Jewish control of the Pope and a Jewish-Christian conspiracy against Islam.

•September 18: Headline "The Pope." However in Arabic when it is read in a different vowelization it means the "Great Ink." The cartoon depicts a Jewish hand spilling the ink all over the "Muslim World's" Head.
•Sept. 17: Headline "The insolence against Islam continues." It portrays a caricature of a Hasidic man as a snake charmer with his flute luring out of a basket several snakes, one with the head of Pope Benedict and one with the head of President George W. Bush. Another shows a Cross and Star of David stabbing Islam, represented by a crescent moon.

•Sept. 16: Headline "The Vatican Pope insults Islam." It shows Jesus saying to Pope Benedict XVI: "With your words (speech) you have insulted me as did the Jews…" The Pope has in his hand the Jewish snake of strife.

Is this considered incitement to violence yet?

Muslim massacre of Christians in Damascus (1860)

From the Banner of Liberty newspaper, Middletown, NY, August 22, 1860. I fixed the obvious OCR typos but some I couldn't quite get.

The Massacre at Damascus. [Correspondence of the London Post.] July 16, 1860. On the llth instant, I forwarded to you, via Smyrna, a telegraphic dispatch giving an outline of the fearful tragedy which has just been witnessed, and which, when the last accounts left the place, was by no means finished, in Damascus. Since then, further details of this outrage have reached Beyrout from various authentic sources.

Damascus is the real capital of Syria, and is the largest city of Asiatic Turkey. It is considered by all Moslems a holy town, as from j departs and to it arrives, every year, the ho; or pilgrim caravan, to and from Mecca. The population of Damascus exceeds o which are Moslems, Christians and Jews.

Ever since the murder of the Christians by the Druses, in Lebanon, commenced, and more particularly since it became every day more and more evident to all men that the Turkish government showed partiality to the Druses, the more disreputable Moslems of Damascus began to be exceedingly insolent to the Christians. These low Moslems are t numerous, a very troublesome, and an exceedingly bigoted race, in all large Oriental towns and are tenfold more so in Damascus than in any place I know in Asia.

Hearing how the Government had everywhere not only sided against their co-religionists, but how it hat everywhere in Lebanon actually helped to be tray, if cot really to murder them, the Christians of Damascus were from the very outse downhearted and frightened, as well they might be, when threatened from day to day that the Moslems would rise and exterminate them.

Matters got worse and worse, the one party becoming daily more frightened, the other hourly more insolent, until at last, on Sunday the 8th InsL, when the Christians came out of their various churches, a mob of Moslem lads were busy in the streets, making crosses in chalk on the ground, and then stamping and spitting on the sacred emblem. But so utterly downhearted were the Christians, that they did not even complain to the authorities ol this wanton insult, On the contrary, all they did was to confine themselves still more strictly within their houses for the rest of the day.

What must then have been their astonishment on the Monday morning, to see these same lads who had made and spat upon the crosses on the previous day, sweeping the streets of the Christian quarter in chains, by order of the Turkish head of police. They at once supposed that this order must have been given for the very purpose of exciting a RIOT, and they were not mistaken.

At two PM three hundred of the lowest Moslems of Damascus, rushed, armed, into the Christian quarter, crying Slay the dogs of Christianity and immediately the work of plunder, burning and murder commenced. Achmet Pacha, Governor General and Commander in Chief of the field marshal in the Sultan's was at once informed of what had taken place. But, although he had at his disposal some eight hundred regular troops, and several field pieces, not a man nor a gun did he move. He never showed himself in the streets, nor took any steps whatever to stop the massacre, de- old story of Haabeyia, Kasheyia, Deir-el-Kamar and he had not troops enough to do any good.

The Russian Consulate was almost the first house attacked, and all those Christians who did not take refuge with the famous Algerfne chief, Abd-el- Kader (who has behaved most nobly throughout the ...) were murdered at once. But, although the affair might have been stopped the greatest ease, before dark on the Monday, wier that hour the mob increased in numbers every minute.

Late in the evening about 300 soldiers were sent to put a stop to the outrage, but very shortly joined in the plundering; such as did not do BO actually used their arms to massacre the Christians. The whole Christian includes some of the finest palaces to be found in the soon one moss of flames; for this there is the positive authority of a European eye witness, who was hiding in the neighborhood all that fearful the Christians tried to escape from the flames, they were thrust back on the burning piles by the bayonets of the Turkish regular troops. However, when we recollect that one of the military chiefs who commanded in Damascus was Osman Beg, the miscreant who but three-weeks previously had delivered up at Hasbeiya up- wards of fifteen hundred Christians to be massacred by the Druses, ail wonder at the conduct of the military ceases at once.

When our last advices from Damascus left that place, the whole Christian quarter had been utterly destroyed. Four thousand Christians bad taken refuge in the house of Abd-el- Kader, who defended them against all comers. Three thousand had taken refuge in the castle under the Pacha, and several hundred in the English consulate, which as situated in the Moslem quarter of the been respected. two thousand Christians, it was calculated, had been murdered, all in cold blood, and the estimated of valuables, was, '00 sterling.

From Aleppo the news is bad. They had not heard of the Damascus massacre, but fully expected, almost every hour, the MOSLEMs of the town to rise on the Christians. Captain Paynter, of her Majesty's ship Exmouth, senior naval officer here, has despatched her Majesty's ship Mohawk to Latakia and Alexandretta, so as to pick up and save fugitives from MOSLEM fanaticism.

In Beyrout the panic among the native Christians has been something fearful yesterday and today. They are embarking by hundreds in the different merchant steamers to Alexandretta, Alexandria, Corfu, Malta, and even for England. Nearly all the French and English merchants are sending away their families to Europe. All trade is stopped for the present. Syria has had a blow from which she will not recover for sixty years.

In Alexandria, all the refugees that have fled there lave been very handsomely treated by Said Pacha, who'gives food to the poorest, money to many, houses to all. In Beyrout, the English and Americans have formed a fund to relieve the poor, who have fled to this place in thousands; the French have done the same; the Sisters of Charity have relieved hundreds every day with food; the French, English, Russian, Austrian and Prussian consuls (to say nothing of the American missionaries who daily feed three hundred) give bread, cooked meat, rice, clothes, to several hundreds of these poor, starved, burnt out peasants.

Adb al-Qadir is credited with saving some 12,000 people in this incident, and was rewarded by France for his acts.

A total of 7,000-11,000 Christians were massacred in total during 1860 in Syria.

The Pope is a Zionist tool!

You can't make this stuff up!

Unless you are a rabid Jew-hater, that is.

Benedict XVI: Zionist Double Agent
Joanna Francis

It should be obvious to everyone now, that we Catholics who have figured out that the Vatican is under Zionist control, have been right all along. They labeled us “extremists,” “sedevacantists,” “ultra right-wingers,” “fascists,” “Nazis,” etc. But when the Jews and their useful idiots have to resort to hurling those epithets at you, it usually means you’ve hit upon the truth. Well, we Catholic “extremists” have the Zionists’ number and we have been calling them on it for a long time. Now, maybe the rest of the brainwashed Christians will wake up.

It’s really not difficult to understand why Benedict XVI is encouraging emnity between the Catholics and the Muslims. All you have to ask is: cui bono? (who benefits?). The Zionists, of course. The Catholic Church was always their biggest enemy. So naturally the Jews were going to do anything and everything to get it under their control. It took almost 2,000 years, but it finally happened in 1958. The Jews pulled off a coup d’eglise with the election of Freemason Angelo Roncalli (John XXIII) to the Papacy. Immediately upon his election, the media began calling Roncalli ”Good Pope John.” Be careful when the Jewish controlled media praises someone, especially a Catholic, that means that person is working for them. Contrast the media’s love affair with the post-1958 popes with their hatred of all pre-1958 popes, up to and including Pius XII (who died in 1958). They accuse Pope Pius XII of having been a Nazi, which really means that Pius XII actually thought he was the Pope of the Catholic people and did not realize that he was supposed to be working for the Jews! I have figured out that whoever the Jews hate, you can bet your bottom dollar, that person knows the truth about the Jewish agenda. The converse is also true: whoever the Jews love, that person is a traitor to the Christian people and is really a Zionist tool.

I love this person!

Her views of the papacy are even more extreme than Ahmadinejad's, who is also blaming Israel and the US for the Pope's statements - but not the Pope.

By the way, the "news" source that this came from (indexed, of course, by Google News as being just as important as the Times of London) also includes articles denying the Holocaust. Not much of a surprise there!

Iran's supreme leader: Joos and US behind the Pope's statements

But of course!

TEHRAN - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday blamed a US-Israeli conspiracy aiming to sow conflict between religions for remarks by the Pope Benedict XVI on Islam and violence that unleashed a wave of anger across the Muslim world.
Khamenei said the comments were part of the same conspiracy that started with the US invasion of Iraq and has been hatched by great powers intent on creating crises between religions to "pursue their evil objectives".
"Leaders of the arrogant imperialists have already defined the links of the chain in this US-Zionist project by attacking Iraq," Khamenei said in comments broadcast on state television.
"The issue of the insulting cartoons and remarks of some politicians about Islam are different links in the conspiracy of the Crusaders, and the pope's remarks are the latest links in this," he added.
"This is the intention of those powers whose survival is dependent on creating crisis to pursue their evil objectives in the international community."
He said protests against the pope's remarks should be targeted at the "great Satan", the Islamic republic's traditional term for its arch foe the United States, with whom it has no diplomatic relations.
"Everyone should consider that in this case the great Satan is responsible. The direction of the attacks and objections should be focussed on those that benefit from these unfair remarks by the pope," said Khamenei.

PalArabs blame - who else? - the Joooos for church bombings

I'm surprised it took this long. Because everyone knows that Muslims just don't do anything wrong, ever, and they are always being framed by those sly Joooooos.

Palestinian nationalist and Islamic leaders on Sunday strongly condemned fire-bombing attacks against a few churches in the West Bank, calling the incidents “suspicious” and “incompatible with Palestinian and Islamic culture.” Three churches in Nablus, Tulkarm and Tubas in the northern West Bank have been attacked with fire-bombs by unknown perpetrators resulting in minor damage.
The mayor of Tubas, where a small Greek Orthodox Church was attacked, accused “suspicious elements,” a reference to Israeli Shin Bet (Israel’s chief domestic intelligence agency) agents of “ having embarked on this ugly act and criminal act.”

“It is either Israeli collaborators or some overzealous fools upset by the remarks of the Pope,” said Iqab Darghmeh (Abu Ahmed), in a telephone interview.
Sheikh Muhammed Hussein, the highest-ranking Muslim clergyman in East Jerusalem described the bombing as “immoral, unethical and injurious to Palestinian unity.”
“Those who perpetrated these acts don’t represent the Palestinian people. They are a gang of ignoramuses and fanatics, or suspicious elements.” In the Palestinian political lexicon, “suspicious elements” is an allusion to Israeli collaborators and informers.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Resistance group, Hamas, strongly condemned attacks on churches in parts of the West Bank, calling such attacks “criminal and harmful to the Palestinian cause.”
“I am sure that Israel is enjoying this. Israel always wants to create problems and divisions between Muslims and Christians. And those who committed these acts are only serving Zionist propaganda and goals,” said Yousuf Ibrahim, a Hamas spokesperson in the Bethlehem region.

“I am nearly certain that at least some of the perpetrators are Israeli agents.”

By the way, the "reporter" of this article accuses the English Al-Jazeera channel of being a Zionist enterprise and routinely compares Israel to Nazi Germany.

So his objectivity is beyond reproach.

The banner from a Jordan rally says:

Islam drove people from the darkness and into the light

Here are examples of that light.

From Pakistan:

From Iraq:

Iraqis set fire to an effigy of Pope Benedict XVI during a protest in the southern city of Basra.

I see the light!

And finally, here's an example of the "dialogue" that Muslims want to have in order to calm the situation, from our "moderate" Muslim friends in Indonesia:

Activists and supporters of militant Indonesian Muslim group Front for Defenders of Islam (FPI) shout slogans against Pope Benedict XVI during a demonstration in front of the Holy See embassy in Jakarta.

I'm not quite sure if the reasonable-looking Muslim holding this sign is completely aware of the subtleties of the Pope's speech.

Mere Rhetoric

Omri's blog is so damned good, it makes me want to pack up and leave the 'sphere. I have nothing original to add after reading him.

I don't even have time to read all of his posts. When does he find the time to write them?

Shana Tova wishes for the captives

Meitav Regev, niece of abducted Israeli soldier Eldad Regev, holds a greeting card for the Jewish New Year that reads in Hebrew 'Happy New Year Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser' before handing it over to a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross, in Tel Aviv September 17, 2006.

Religion of Peace damage report

So far, since Friday, there have been ten different attacks against six churches in the Palestinian Arab territories:

At approximately 05:40 on Friday, 15 September 2006, a bomb exploded in the Orthodox Church in al-Zayoun neighborhood near Omar al-Mukhtar Street in the center of Gaza City. The explosion destroyed the door of the Orthodox Youth Center inside the Church and a number of windows were broken. At approximately 14:00 and 15:30 on the same day, unknown persons threw two home-made grenade at the Church.

At approximately 12:00 on Saturday, 16 September 2006, 5 unknown persons threw a Molotov Cocktail bottle at the Biblical Church in Rafidya neighborhood in Nablus. Doors and stores were burnt, and walls were damaged. The same persons then fired another Molotov Cocktail bottle at the New Orthodox Church, causing similar damage.

At approximately 15:30 also on Saturday, a number of unknown persons fired a number of gunshots and then threw a Molotov Cocktail bottle at the wooden door of the Royal Church in Rafidya neighborhood in Nablus. The door was burnt.

At approximately 16:00 also on Saturday, 3 masked gunmen traveling in a civilian car fired at the office of the Council of Church Agents in the Orthodox Church in Gaza City. No casualties were reported.

At the same time, unknown persons threw a number of Molotov Cocktail bottles at the Latin Church in Rafidya neighborhood in Nablus.

At approximately 03:00 on Sunday, 17 September 2006, a number of persons broke the locks of the external gate of the Orthodox Church in the center of Tulkarm, and then broke the lock of the internal door leading into the Church. Soon after, they set fire inside the church, burning all of its contents. According to Daoud Metri Khar’ouba, the servant of the Church, the attackers stole some of the Church’s contents. The Church is the only one in Tulkarm, and only a 15-member Christian family lives in the town.

At the same time, unknown persons broke the northern window of the Orthodox Church in Tubas village, southeast of Jenin. They then set fire inside the Church. The northern part of the church was burnt, before firemen were able to extinguish fire.

Also, a 70-year old nun was shot and killed in Somalia, after a Somali Muslim leader called on the pope to be killed.

And a Christian was reportedly killed in Baghdad, where Muslim groups have threatened all Christians in the country.

This will cause the Christians to think twice before saying anything bad about Muslims!

Oh wait - it already has:

Father George Awwad, Greek Orthodox priest in the village condemned the attack and slammed the remarks of Pope Benedict XVI about Islam.

Awwad added that the Pope does not represent all Christians and called on the Palestinians to remain unity.

Several churches in Palestine also slammed the Pope's statement, Father Awwad said that “the Palestinians are brothers and sisters during bad and good times, tolerance in the common oxygen Christians and Muslims breathe here in Palestine. "

Just keep paying the Jizya and they'll be nice to you, Father Awwad.

An object lesson in Islamic paranoia

Iran's Mehr News has a hilarious editorial about the Pope kerfuffle complete with wacky conspiracy theories and a prime example of the Muslim tendency to equate free speech with a well-planned war on Islam.

Of course, if a pontiff declares war, then Islam is justified in killing a few dozen/hundred/million to defend itself, right?

Hat tip to Judeopundit.

The Pope’s new crusade
TEHRAN, Sept. 16 (MNA) -- Pope Benedict XVI’s recent irresponsible remarks about Islam and his apparent affront to Prophet Muhammad (S) indicate that the drum of the Crusades against Islam is being beaten again.

The increasing wave of Western offensives against Muslims, which began with U.S. President George W. Bush’s remarks and continued with the publication of disrespectful cartoons in a Danish newspaper, is part of a plot to start a new crusade against Muslims.

Undoubtedly, this propaganda is not accidental and purposeless, but rather within the framework of a comprehensive strategy to implement the theory of clash of civilizations put forward by U.S. theorist Samuel P. Huntington. [Yes, Huntington is the true evil force behind this war on Islam! - EoZ]

Regrettably, following the suspicious 9/11 attacks, the West is increasing the psychological and propagandistic pressure on Muslims to prepare the ground for the expulsion of Muslims from the United States and European countries. [A classic case of projection - because this is how Muslim nations would prepeare the ground for expulsion of infidels. - EoZ]

The Pope’s rude remarks are actually code words for the start of a new crusade, heralding a dark future in relations between Islam and Christianity.

Although the remarks show the Pope’s ignorance of the sublime tenets of Islam, it seems unlikely that the leader of the world’s Catholics would make such sensitive comments without consulting with cardinals at the Vatican who are experts in Islam.

If Islamic countries’ leaders had responded wisely to Bush’s repeated insulting remarks, such statements definitely would not have been repeated by Christian leaders. [I presume "wisely" means "with deadly actions like the cartoon riots, which will ensure that newspapers think twice before doing that again. -EoZ]

Meanwhile, soon after the Pope’s scurrilous remarks, Britain’s Daily Telegraph published outrageous insults directed at Prophet Muhammad (S) and Muslims.

The newspaper claimed that Muslim soldiers in the early days of Islam used to behead prisoners of war.

All this shows that some Christian leaders are still angry about the Christian defeat in the Crusades for Bait-ul-Moqaddas and are seeking to pit Islam against Christianity again. [News flash: Muslims don't control Jerusalem! -EoZ]

These provocations are meant to pave the way for the neocolonial powers to regain dominance over the oil-rich Middle East.

If this situation continues, the world will witness the mass expulsion of Muslims from Western countries under the pretext of the campaign against terrorism.

Another aim of such propaganda is to facilitate the implementation of the new Middle East plan so that the Zionist regime can become the Hong Kong of the Middle East and fill Islamic countries’ markets with Israeli goods.

This is the same new Middle East plan that former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Perez discussed with U.S. leaders after Israel and Palestine signed the Oslo Accords in 1993. Perez published his theories in a book with the same name. [Of course! The connection between the Pope talking about Islam and Israel sellings its Zionist goods to Islamic countries so so obvious in retrospect! Thank Allah that the Muslim nations are vigilant against this nefarious plan! -EoZ]

Although it seems that this plan cannot be implemented easily due to the vigilance of Muslims, the level of such offensives meant to force Muslims out of Western countries will increase, creating the prelude for a clash of civilizations. [It is equally obvious how Israeli goods in Muslim countries force Muslims out of Western countries! -EoZ]

Indeed, in view of the fact that religious wars have always kept nations in a state backwardness over the centuries, such a clash of civilizations would not benefit Christians or Muslims.

At this juncture, initiating a dialogue between the religious leaders of the West and the East is the only way to prevent a religious confrontation.

And as we have seen countless times, "dialogue" means "Muslims teach the world about Islam and don't listen to a word that anyone else has to say."

Also, the peculiarity of today's Muslims means that there would be extreme reluctance for any intelligent Muslim to rebut this absurd editorial or similar ones, because he would invariably be labeled a Zionist and someone who does not defend the honor of Islam and Mohammed adequately.

So if the "vast majority" of moderate Muslims indeed exist, they are as useless as if they didn't exist, because they will not lift a finger to stop the intentional escalating of rhetoric that their erstwhile coreligionists pretend to be railing against - out of fear.

Insane Muslims Protestors of the Day (9/16)

This peaceful Hamas "activist" disagrees with the Pope:

"Islam is not spread by sowrd," we are informed.

Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigades agree in this anti-pope rally:

Nowadays, it is spread by submachine gun.

More peaceful signs, as this Pakistani woman interprets his comments as a call for war:

Any predictions as to when one of these protests will turn deadly?

Insane Muslim Protesters of the Day 9/15 - The Hump of Islam

I really missed this feature.

Muslim students burn an effigy of Pope Benedict XVI at a protest rally in Allahabad, India, Friday, Sept. 15, 2006

That'll show the world that Islam is a religion of peace!

Diary of this week's PalArab self-violence

Monday:

Two bystanders were killed and 2 others were injured on Monday, 11 September 2006, when they were located in an area where armed clashes broke out between members of Fayyad clan and the Executive Force in Deir El-Balah refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip.

Tuesday:

Nuha Ismail Saleh, a 30-year old resident of Tal El-Hawa Quarter in Gaza City, was killed this morning by a bullet accidentally fired from a firearm mishandled by her husband... She is a mother of 3 children, and was killed by a bullet to the head accidentally fired from her husband's firearm. The incident took place at home as the husband, who is an officer in the Preventive Security Apparatus, mishandled his firearm.

Wednesday:

Maher Tawfiq Abu Salha, a 22-year old resident of Nablus, was killed by the explosion of a bomb he was preparing in Nablus. Maher Abu Salha, an activist in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was killed by the premature explosion of a bomb he was preparing in the Qeisareyya area in the old city in Nablus. Salha's body was torn to pieces by the explosion.

Four lawyers came under fire from gunmen on the backdrop of clan disputes in gaza City. Two lawyers were seriously injures in the incident. A resident of Rafah was injured in a clan dispute in the city. There were three other lawyers in the jeep. The gunmen got out of their vehicles and fired heavily at the jeep, especially at the back seat where the lawyers Samer Mustafa Ahmad (31) and Shadi Rabah Abed (25) were sitting. Shubair and the lawyer Ahmad Abu Aqlein were in the front seats. The shooting resulted in the injury of Samer Ahmad with two bullets in the head and mouth. Shadi Abed was injured by two bullets in the left shoulder and left foot. The injured lawyers are residents of Gaza City.

When Shubair tried to take the injured lawyers to the hospital in the jeep, the gunmen fired several bullets at the tires and punctured them. The injured were later taken to Shifa Hospital, where their injuries were listed as serious.

Shubair informed PCHR's fieldworker that the incident occurred on the backdrop of a clan dispute between members of Abed clan. He indicated that the target of the attack was Shadi Abed.

Thursday:

Mohammad Nour Methlej (55, from Gaza), a colonel in the General Intelligence Apparatus, and the child Mohammad Kamal Weshah (13, from El-Bureij) were brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir El-Balah. Methlej was suffering from a bullet wound in the back; and Weshah was injured by a bullet in the right hand. Methlej later died of his wound; while Weshah's condition remains moderate. Both were attending a wedding celebration in Bloc 10 in El-Bureij refugee camp. A young man started to fire during the celebration. He pulled the trigger before aiming in the air; and hit the victims.

A day earlier, the child Mona Mohammad Mohammad El-Astal (8, from Khan Yunis) was injured by a bullet in the abdomen as she was in her home. The injury occurred as gunshots were fired in a wedding celebration in a nearby house. The child was taken to Naser Hospital in Khan Yunis, where here injury was listed as moderate.

Friday:

Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a car in Gaza City in a drive by shooting that killed a top Palestinian security officer and four of his bodyguards, senior Palestinian security officials said.

The gunmen, driving a sports utility vehicle, targeted a gray Audi belonging to Brig. Gen. Jad Tayeh, the head of international coordination in the Palestinian intelligence service, spraying dozens of bullets into the car, said Khaled Abu Hilal, interior ministry spokesman. Tayeh was killed along with four bodyguards.

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, though officials speculated that it could be an internal feud within the intelligence service. Security officials said the attackers took a black briefcase Tayeh was carrying.

That's at least ten dead this week. apparently, when they are deprived of the opportunity to kill Jews, they decide to kill each other.

But that shouldn't stop them from having their own state - nosireebob. They are a peace-loving people who just happen to shoot each other at weddings and in drive-by's. This is part of their culture and that culture should be celebrated.

Yippee!

We now know of 80 PalArabs killed by other PalArabs since late June, and who knows how many of the injured have succumbed in the interim.

No Jews, dogs (or cats) allowed

Gotta love the Saudis:

Saudi Arabia's Religious Police Issue Ban on Pet Cats, Dogs

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia's religious police, normally tasked with chiding women to cover themselves and ensuring men attend mosque prayers, are turning to a new target: cats and dogs.

The police have issued a decree banning the sale of the pets, seen as a sign of Western influence.

The prohibition on dogs may be less of a surprise, since conservative Muslims despise dogs as unclean. But the cat ban befuddled many, since Islamic tradition holds that the Prophet Muhammad loved cats — even in one instance letting a cat drink from his ablutions water before washing himself for prayers.

I always knew cats were evil!

Hezbollah rejects Amnesty report. It also admits it targeted civilians.

It is always fun to see terrorists try to justify their actions:

On Thursday, Amnesty International accused Hezbollah militants of breaking international humanitarian law by firing thousands of rockets into Israel and killing dozens of civilians during the war.
Hezbollah rejected Amnesty's charges.
However, Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah acknowledged his group targeted civilians in Israeli cities, saying it was a response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
"We do not deny that we have bombarded Israeli cities, settlements and infrastructure. But this was always a reaction," he said in an interview by telephone with Al-Jazeera. "It was a natural reaction. When a state is invaded, it must defend itself."

Fadlallah said Amnesty International probably came under American and Israeli pressure to issue a report critical of Hezbollah 's actions during the 34-day war, after issuing a similar report against Israel last month.
The firing of rockets into urban areas in northern Israel violated international laws that call for distinction between civilian and military targets, Amnesty said.
"Targeting civilians is a war crime. There's no gray area," said Larry Cox, Amnesty's executive director in the United States.
But Fadlallah rejected the charges.
"The act was begun by Israel," he said. "How could we confront the Israeli aggression? With roses? The resistance (Hezbollah) said that the bombardment of Haifa was in response to the bombardment of Dahiyeh (Beirut's southern suburbs)."

First of all, Fadlallah is considering Hezbollah a part and parcel of Lebanon's defenses, or else his statement "when a state is invaded, it must defend itself" makes no sense.
Secondly, by his logic, one is allowed to target civilians in reaction to an aggressive act. By that logic, Israel would have been perfectly justified in killing many, many more civilians, since they were reactiong to an attack on their territory.
Thirdly, it is interesting to note that he feels that the only reason that Amnesty International would dare to write a report critical of Hezbollah is because of pressure from America. And he is right! AI wrote scathing condemnations of Israel immediately after (and during) the war, and waited a full month before releasing a report on the most obvious Hezbollah violation of international law (they haven't yet found the time to write a report on using civilians as human shields.) So his anger that AI, normally in league with the terrorists, would dare to criticize the freedom-fighting darlings of the Left is quite consistent.
The Boston Herald notices Amnesty's reluctant condemnation of terror as well:

Does AI now recognize that, if it is going to be taken seriously, and hopes not be to broomed out of the room with its upcoming report on Israeli actions, there is no way it can ignore that blatant and purposeful crimes of Hezbollah?Is this the result of earnest introspection and a sense of proportionality or is it a matter of angling for position and credibility?