Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Open thread

For the sheer heck of it.

Not that they have been so successful, but its nice to know they are there when needed!

(This is a "random" image from the Internet.
Literally. I typed in "random" at Google Images and chose the first picture. Although these numbers sure don't look random!)

Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Over Sixty years have passed since the United Nations General Assembly voted on the historic resolution that would have put an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Resolution 181 called for the establishment of a Jewish and an Arab state. Its title was: "Plan of Partition with Economic Union". It envisioned two states for two peoples, each fulfilling a distinct national aspiration.
The Jewish people adopted the resolution and established the State of Israel. The Arabs rejected it and led to war.
What happened in the ensuing years is much different from the resolution's original intent. While much has changed, the ironies of history summon similar circumstances today.
Today, again, we are the middle of the lake. There is no sense in rowing back. Continuing forward will show how near we are to the shore of peace.
Mr. President,
A year prior to Israel's declaration of statehood, its first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, called me, a young man from a Kibbutz, to serve in our national defense.
Since then, I participated in Israel's dynamic realities: the building of security, striving for peace. So, I need no book to learn the history. I witnessed its miraculous unfolding.
We went through seven wars. All have paid heavily. Tears still flow down the faces of bereaving mothers.
Remembrance Days fill the air with silent prayers of widowed families who lost young boys and girls in battle. They are, today, at the same age, but lifeless.
Israel turned military victories to a peace process, knowing that the cost of life renders imperfect peace superior to perfect victories.
We have also achieved two peace agreements. The first with the largest Arab country, Egypt. The second with the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan.
All the land, water, and natural resources that fell in our hands through war, were repatriated after peace was signed. Our countries can now offer remedies to other disputed areas.
But for peace, the call in our region is to repair the damaged environment and wounded land leading to poverty.
If we shall not overcome the desert, the thirst, the pollution - they will overcome us.
Joint ventures can meet this call. Nature does not carry a national passport.
With the Palestinians, we negotiate full peace. Both parties agreed to building a Palestinian State side by side with Israel, living in peace, security and respect.
We tried to conclude the negotiations this year. It will take longer. But, I believe it can be accomplished within the next year.
We agreed to progress in spite of possible changes that may take place in the leadership.
Gaps have been narrowed through negotiations. Particularly the territorial ones. But, peace is not just a matter of territorial compromise.
Rogue politics reject peace even where territorial dispute was resolved.
In Lebanon, we implemented resolution 425. Yet Hizbullah paralyzed the country and cut the road to peace.
From Gaza, we withdrew completely and dismantled our settlements. Hamas responded with a bloody takeover and turned the strip into a basis of rocket fire.
These militants carry no positive alternative - but the agonies of Job.
They added kidnapping to bombings, bringing strife for innocent families. From this important stage, I call for the immediate release of Gilad Schalit. The son of Aviva and Noam. A peace-loving family.
This honored assembly should make his release top of its agenda. Holding a hostage in Gaza determines its isolation and further deterioration.
Mr. President,
At the center of this violence and fanaticism stands Iran.
It built a danger to the entire world. Its quest for religious hegemony and regional dominance divides the Middle East and holds back chances for peace, while undermining human rights.
Iranian support for Hizbullah divided Lebanon. Its support for Hamas split the Palestinians and postpones the establishment of the Palestinian State.
Yesterday, on this very stage, the Iranian leader renewed the darkest anti-Semitic libel - the protocols of the elders of Zion. An attempt to bring to life one of the ugliest plots of history.
Their despicable denial of the Holocaust is a mockery of indisputable evidence, a cynical offense to survivors of the horror. Contradictory to the resolutions adopted by this assembly.
Iran continues to develop enriched uranium and long range missiles.
They introduce a religion of fear, opposing the call of the lord in respect of life.
The Iranian people are not our enemies. Their fanatic leadership is their problem and the world's concern.
Their leader is a danger to his people, the region and the world.
He is a disgrace to the ancient Iranian people.
He is a disgrace to the values of Islam.
He is a disgrace to this very house, the United Nations, its basic principles and values.
His appearance here is already shame.
The Jewish People have known, throughout history, to stand firm at the face of evil.
Alongside the enlightened humanity we shall know to enable good and freedom to prevail.
Tehran combines long-range missiles and short-range minds. It is pregnant with tragedies.
The General assembly and the Security Council bear responsibility to prevent agonies before they take place.
Israel has shown that democracies can defend themselves. We do not intend to change.
Terrorism did not solve a single problem. It never has, and never will.
They will make the world ungovernable. If small groups of violent killers are allowed to threaten innocent masses, the world will be without order or security. A hopeless battleground.
The free world must unite to combat it.
Israel, on its part, shall continue to seek peace. We suggest immediate peace with Lebanon.
Israeli prime ministers indicated to Syria that for peace, we are ready to explore a comprehensive compromise.
In order to gain trust, and save time, we have suggested face-to-face meetings with President Assad: "Follow the successful example set by President Sadat and King Hussein".
We still await an answer.
I know there is a growing concern that peace is far away. My life-long experience provides me with a different point of view.
True, I have seen stagnation and regression in our journey. But, today, I can identify a road leading to the right direction.
In addition to the peace agreements, a series of summits took place - Madrid, Oslo, Wye, Camp David, Sharm and Annapolis. Their accumulated sum encourages a clear direction. In fact, Israelis and Arabs are marching towards peace.
After a long internal debate, Israel accepted the two state solution.
The Arabs replaced the three NOs of Khartoum (no peace, no negotiation, no recognition) with a peace initiative, inaugurated by King Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
I call upon the king to further his initiative; it may become an invitation for comprehensive peace, one to convert battlegrounds to common grounds.
I invite, respectfully, all leaders to come and discuss peace in Jerusalem, which is holy all of us. Where we all pray to the same lord, as offspring of the same father.
Israel shall gladly accept an Arab invitation at a designated venue where a meaningful dialogue may take place.
Mr. President,
We are facing a serious economic crisis. Maybe it has happened because we are rich and light with funds and poor and heavy with ideas. While we live in an era where science, not land, is the basis of economy.
Science does not stop at borders. Is not disturbed by distance.
Wisdom is not conquerable by armies. Knowledge diminishes discrimination because it operates through good will and transcends race, nationality and gender.
The Global dangers unite and divide us at the same time.
The dangers are the deterioration of environment. The shortage of water. The lack of renewable energy. The spread of terrorism and the increased poverty.
Divisions of the free world will increase them.
Unity offers the potential of alternatives. It will direct global investments to new areas and demanding challenges like health, security, education and environment.
The future is not in the hands of oil or gold. Intellectual assets, new inventions and superior education hold the key to our future.
In our region, border areas can become open economic zones. Enabling free movement of people, commodities and ideas. They may encourage tourism and build High Tech incubators. They will cultivate advanced agriculture.
Economic zones will provide a million jobs and produce billions of cubic meters of desalinated water. We started to do so. The first steps are promising.
The 21st century calls for pioneers. It is an opportunity to provide our children with peace and knowledge. Strength and friendship. It is their right. It is our moral obligation.
Mr. President,
The Jewish people are celebrating a new year. I would like to end with a quote from Rabbi Nachman of Breslav:
"May it be thy will to remove war and bloodshed from the world and perpetuate the wonders and greatness of peace.
All the inhabitants of the world shall recognize and know the truth: that we have not been placed on this earth to wage war and not for hatred or bloodshed."
Amen.
Shana Tova.
Thank you, Mr. President

"The world's most phallic fashion accessory for men"

From NPR: (h/t EBoZ)

Yemeni men don't invest as much time and money as some American men do in finding the perfect cell phone, car, hunting rifle or flat screen TV. In this society, where tribal Arab traditions still dominate, men have a different method of showing off their wealth and social class — they wear short, curved daggers tucked into the front of their robes, in ornately embroidered belts.

Known locally as "jambiya," these ornamental knives may be the world's most phallic fashion accessory for men.

In the centuries-old market of San'a, Yemeni men who already proudly wear fine daggers, cluster around shop windows to gaze longingly at new jambiya blades.

The men browsing here explain that in Yemen, the jambiya is an important symbol of masculinity.

Mohammed Jassim was hoping to buy a $300 knife for his 14-year-old son in time for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that follows the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Jassim took a moment from appraising new blades to give some friendly fashion tips to a foreign visitor.

"If you wear a jambiya, it will be good," he said. "You will be more handsome and good-looking."

The knives are crafted in the winding back alleys of the Old City in San'a. Late at night, showers of sparks tumble onto the cobblestone walkways, as blacksmiths squat barefoot in cubbyhole workshops, hammering and grinding away at blades.

According to the locals, the best of these knives are sold at Abdullah al Azeri's shop.

Azeri sits cross-legged on the floor, buffing the handle of a 350-year-old dagger that he says is worth more than $25,000. He says his family has been in the knife business for more than 1,000 years.

"The handle is the most important part of the jambiya," he says. "The best ones are made of rhinoceros horn."

The export of the horns of the endangered rhino was banned long ago — a move that Azeri and his fellow jambiya enthusiasts resent to this day.

"If there is an offer for thousands of tons of rhino horn, I will buy them," Azeri's son Adel vows.

In the final days before the end of Ramadan, you can see proud fathers like Naif Mohammed tenderly strapping a new dagger, scabbard and belt onto the waist of his 7-year-old son, Bashir. Onlookers said the gift is a symbol of manhood for Yemeni boys.

Yemeni women toil at home, sometimes for months, embroidering the jambiya belts with golden thread. They then approach the shopkeepers dressed in all-concealing black robes, selling the belts out of plastic bags.

Yemeni knife-sellers say the jambiya should be drawn only as a matter of last resort.

Notice how NPR equates the Yemeni status symbol of a weapon meant to kill people with Western status symbols of cars or TVs, as if they are equivalent.

While it is an amusing article, it shows a serious shortcoming of Western perceptions of Arabs and Muslims.

People cannot understand Arab societies without understanding their obsession with the perception of manliness. So much of Arab and Muslim politics are affected by this mindset, and for gullible Westerners to pretend that "they are just like us" is to embolden them to not only use their symbols of violence in a symbolic manner.

No, they are not just like us.

It is not racism to point out that different societies think differently and act differently, that they have different priorities and different goals. The French and British do think differently than Americans, but their differences are tiny compared to the differences between the Western and Middle Eastern mindset.

This does not mean that all aspects of Arab culture are inferior to Western culture; there are some things that are admirable. The point is that they really are different and this fact must be taken into account when deciding how to negotiate with them.

Iranian nuke roundup - old news recycled

The EU has now officially stated that "Iran is likely to have the technical capability of arming a nuclear bomb" and that "Iran's nuclear program appears to be aimed at acquiring weapons." Also that "Iran is close to developing the ability to arm a nuclear warhead."

The IAEA said that Iran appeared to be making plans to add nuclear warheads to its long-range missiles. And also that "the IAEA has recently found evidence of 'foreign expertise' in Iran's nuclear research program, something forbidden by both UN sanctions and international non-proliferation treaties. And Tehran refuses to say whether it has 'specialized high-precision explosives of a type commonly used to detonate nuclear warheads.' The IAEA knows Iran once had such detonators and suspects it still may."

Well. it's not as if we weren't warned. Three years ago, Ahmadinejad ridiculed Western efforts to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions:

Ahmadinejad expressed confidence that the West will be forced to retreat in the face of the Iranian regime’s uncompromising stance, and he indicated that his government was emboldened by what it perceived as the West’s “feeble” reaction.

“God willing, the West will accept our position since Iran’s political power in the world is very great and in certain regions unrivaled. ...The West is very susceptible to blows and more feeble than it pretends.

“As time goes by, we will continue to move up step by step and we will not back down. When we start the fuel cycle, no doubt, everything will become different”.

Iran's game plan was explicit and they've followed it, unlike the blustering Western responses of partial and ineffective sanctions. Iran knows quite well that the West is paralyzed by its unwillingness to act without consensus, which can never happen as long as there is even implausible deniability and gutless EU diplomats for whom aggression is not a last resort, but an impossibility.

This morning's peaceful PalArab news

Another clan clash in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of an 18-year old.

Hamas continues to harass, arrest and torture doctors in Gaza. Yesterday they arrested a pediatrician.

Doctors Without Borders still refuses to comment on Hamas' campaign of terror against doctors. The only mention I could find on their main website was just noting the strike, implicitly blaming the doctors, and not a word about the arrests and assaults that have been well documented.

Egypt found another ton of TNT, plus hand grenades and mortars, in the Sinai, meant for Gaza.

Mahmoud Zahaar imitated Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, now saying that Israel has changed from an expansionist bullying state hellbent on enlarging its borders "from the Nile to the Euphrates" and instead it is a pathetically weak nation who is offering Jews money to leave territory, proving its imminent demise.

Firas quotes some Egyptian sources as saying that yesterday's tunnel blast was not the result of Egyptian explosions but because some fuel in the tunnel ignited. Although it quoted Reuters and AFP, I could not find any article in the MSM confirming that, so for now those deaths will not count in my self-death count.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 190.

Arabs upset that non-Muslims tour the Old City

An interesting, and telling, article in Palestine Today (Arabic):

Israel is preparing to launch tourist activities in the walled Old City of Jerusalem, which goes back to the reign of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the legal and under a lot of effects and its holy places, Islamic and Arab Umayyad to the days of the first and entrusted warrior Saladin and the Mamelukes.

It appears that Israel wants to weave their own story about the history of Jerusalem and ignore the facts of history about the place of the city in the hearts of Muslims around the world, and the importance of Al-Aqsa mosque to them.

It is clear that Israel wants to interest Jewish, Christian and Western tourists and to marginalize the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and their contribution to the preservation of the heritage of the old city with distinction.

The article goes on to quote the press release about this tour, which I am reproducing here in the original English:

JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY BECOMES ISRAEL'S NEWEST NIGHTSPOT

Visitors to Jerusalem can now experience the holy city's remarkable sites in a whole new light with "Autumn Evenings in the Old City." The guided nighttime tours, combining live musical performances, stories and meetings with Jerusalem's fascinating inhabitants, take participants through the Muristan neighborhood, David's Citadel, Tekuma Park and the ancient "Jewish" and "Christian" Quarters on Mondays and Thursdays through October 30th.

Visitors are able to select from two tours- "The Storytelling Tour," featuring encounters with characters from the city's past and present, such as a British soldier and an "Effendi" and his followers; and "The City & A Song," a musical tour of the Old City including visits to the Cardo and Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue. Each tour culminates with a special musical performance with acts ranging in style from New Orleans jazz and Turkish folk to traditional Jewish and Arab songs.

"This is the very first time this kind of nighttime activity is taking place in the Old City," says Jerusalem Development Authority Director Reuven Pinsky. "I have no doubt that the awareness of the Old City as a place that can be enjoyed after dark will grow, bringing in many more visitors each and every day."

"Autumn Evenings in the Old City" is an initiative of the Jerusalem Development Authority in cooperation with the Jerusalem Municipality, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ariel Company. The tours begin at 6:30 p.m., free of charge.

It takes a bit of a stretch to imagine this night-time tour as being offensive to Muslims or Arabs. In fact, it includes mentions of Arab history and culture during the tour.

It is quite possible that the reason the Muslim quarter is not included in the tour is because there is additional danger to tourists at nighttime there.

Muslims often accuse Israel of "Judaizing" Jerusalem and of attempting to erase the history of Muslims there, but it simply isn't true. Archaeological sites as well as tours and history mention the Arab presence and history there prominently. To complain that the Al Aqsa mosque is not on the tour, when the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre are not either, is ridiculous.

The only people who are trying to erase history from Jerusalem are the many Muslims who categorically deny any Jewish connection to the city. Here we have yet another example of Elder's First Rule of Arab Projection, where Arabs accuse Jews of doing something that Arabs are much more guilty of.

The nutty ramblings of a madman

From reading the news reports on Ahmadinejad's UN speech one gets the impression that it was just another political speech at the UN, with some pointed attacks towards America and Israel but not much else.

Only when you read the actual transcript can you appreciate the sheer messianic and twisted craziness that this man is filled with.

Here are some parts of the speech that the mainstream media doesn't feel is very important.

First, the entire first half of his speech was a messianic religious rant, with nothing to do with politics:

In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful, all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the universe, and peace and blessing be upon our master and prophet, Mohammed, and his pure household and his noble companions. Oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam al-Mahdi, and grant him good health and victory, and make us his followers and those who attest to his rightfulness. [The UPI transcript had a comma between "make us" and "his followers" but the Mathaba.net version does not, and the comma doesn't make sense. Ahmadinejad is calling on everyone to become a Shiite. - EoZ]

...
Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, today I would like to talk to you about the main reasons behind the conditions ruling the world and the means to tackle them.

Of course, you're already aware of what I am talking about, but I think it is necessary to remind ourselves.

It seems that the roots of problems align the way one views and perceives the world and humankind, as well as in the important issues of freedom, obeisance to God, and justice.

The world, humankind, freedom, and obeisance to God, and justice have been the utmost importance to humans throughout history.

One, the world. God Almighty purposely created the world. This world is the bedrock for the evolution and growth of a creature called man. And the laws governing the world and all other creatures are at the service of man's quest for loftiness.

The world should provide the needed opportunities for the fulfillment of the purpose behind man's creation. No phenomenon, creature, or, indeed, anything has been created in vain.

Together, they all pave the ground for the flourishing of mankind in a complex and purposeful system. And they are each one of the signs of God Almighty. All are his creations, and he is the sole creator and ruler of the world. All existence, including power, knowledge, and wealth come from him.

Two, humankind. God created the world for humans and humans for himself. He created humans from mud and in the soil, but he did not want them to remain in the soil and with animal instincts.

He kindled the light of guidance in their souls and asked them to rise from the soil to the heavens and to him, with the help of wisdom, prophets, and perfect men.

The world will ultimately disappear, but God has created man for eternity and has made them a manifestation of himself.

Creativity, mercifulness, kindness, knowledge, wisdom, zeal, concealment of sins, splendor, justice, bounteousness, generosity, greatness, love, glory, dignity, forgiveness, insight, kingship, and all other goodness and beauty are attributes of God.

God has not created humans for aggression, bloodshed, ranker, selfishness, and destruction.

He made humans his ... servants on Earth and has asked them to, on the one hand, make Earth prosper by using their God-given potentials, and to prepare the ground for the growth of divine attributes in all humans, and to provide all with a life of beauty, amity, freedom, justice, and goodness, and, on the other hand, in pursuance of this path, to prepare for a prosperous everlasting life endowed by God's mercy.

God has obligated humans to live divinely and socially, for it is only through social life and interactions with others that divine attributes may emerge.

Three, obeisance to God. God Almighty has tied their perfection and true freedom of humans to their devotion and obedience to himself. True freedom and obedience to God are in balance and, in fact, are two sides of the same coin. Obeisance to God means confessing to monotheism and obeying his commands and to be free from ungodly worship. Obeisance to God means the acceptance of the absolute truth, the absolute light, and the absolute beauty.

Obeisance to God means abandoning selfishness and animal instincts, power-seeking and aggression, surrendering to righteousness, justice, love, and perfection.

And in this way, humans can achieve their true freedom and flourish. They can grow and manifest divine attributes, have affection for others, stand up for justice, and fear no power or threat, and defend the oppressed.

In such an environment, one's freedom -- one's freedom will not impinge on any other's. Contention and conflict are characteristic of materialistic freedom and animal instinct. The essence of all divine religions and obeisance to God and true freedom is disassociating from oppressors and instead obeying and worshiping God.

Four, God is omniscient and knows all that is revealed or kept secret, and he is kind and merciful. All creatures are humbled before him and resign to his will.

God is alive and is the creator of the universe and all life. God loves his creatures and desires nothing but goodness, blessings, and perfection for them, and is against bullying, injustice, selfishness, and domination.

Four, justice. Justice is the foundation of the creation of humankind and the whole universe. Justice is tantamount to placing every phenomenon in its own place and providing humans with opportunities to actualize all their divine capabilities.

Without it, the order of the universe will collapse and the opportunity for perfection will fade away.

Without justice, it would be impossible for human society to taste real peace, beauty, joy, and happiness.

Justice is the main pillar of social life, and without it social life cannot continue or grow.

Humans need to know God in order to realize a prosperous society in this world, as well as to strive for a beautiful eternal life. And to this end, they first have to know themselves and strive for loftiness in themselves and their societies.

However, as long as the world is construed as closed, limited, and aimless, as long as eternal life is considered imaginary and illusory, and afterlife and the Judgment Day, as well as reward and punishment, are thought of as fictional and unreal, as long as morals and commitment to them are called backwardness and immorality, lies, deceit, and selfishness are considered desirable, and humans are limited to a materialistic life in this world, as long as attempts are made to replace obedience to God, and following his prophets, and true freedom with servitude to materialistic tendencies, and animal instincts, and servitude to oppressing human beings and contention reaches its pinnacle, as long as the aggressors, because of their financial, political, and propaganda powers, not only escape punishment, but even claim righteousness; and as long as wars are started and nations are enslaved in order to win votes in elections, not only will the problems of the global community remain unsolved, but they will be increasingly exacerbated.

And his obsession with Zionism and Jews takes up a significant portion of the speech, not only the brief snippets quoted in the papers:

In Palestine, 60 years of carnage and invasion is still ongoing at the hands of some criminal and occupying Zionists. They have forged a regime through collecting people from various parts of the world and bringing them to other people's land by displacing, detaining, and killing the true owners of that land.

With advanced notice, they invade, assassinate, and maintain food and medicine blockades, while some hegemonic and bullying powers support them.

The Security Council cannot do anything, and sometimes, under pressure from a few bullying powers, even paves the way for supporting these Zionist murderers.

It is natural that some U.N. resolutions that have addressed the plight of the Palestinian people have been relegated to the archives unnoticed. ...

The dignity, integrity, and rights of the American and European people are being played with by a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists. Although they are a minuscule minority, they have been dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers, as well as the political decision-making centers of some European countries and the U.S. in a deceitful, complex, and furtive manner.

It is deeply disastrous to witness that some presidential or premier nominees in some big countries have to visit these people, take part in their gatherings, swear their allegiance and a commitment to their interests, in order to attain financial or media support.

This means that the great people of America and various nations of Europe need to obey the demands and wishes of a small number of acquisitive and invasive people.

These nations are spending their dignity and resources on the crimes, and occupations, and the threats of the Zionist network against their will.

Friends and colleagues, all these are due to the manner in which the immoral and the powerful view the world, humankind, freedom, obeisance to God, and justice, the thoughts and deeds of those who think they are superior to others and consider others as second-class and inferior, who intend to remain out of the divine circle, to be the absent slaves of their materialistic and selfish desires, who intend to expand their aggressive and domineering natures, constitute the roots of today's problems in human societies.

They are hindrances to the actualization of material and spiritual prosperity and security, peace, and brotherhood among nations. I explicitly state that the Iranian people and the overwhelming majority of the peoples and governments are against those deeds and perspectives of the world-domineering powers.

Establishment of justice requires people who achieve moderation and justice inside themselves and have restrained their domineering attitudes and actualized their attributes of self-sacrifice and are at the service of humanity.

The complete and full-scale manifestation of such characteristics can happen only under the rule of the righteous and the perfect human being, who is obedient to God and who was promised by the divine prophets.

Finally comes his implicit threats against America and his return to his messianic theme:

American empire in the world is reaching the end of its road. And its next rulers must limit their interference to their own borders. Today, the thought of hegemony quickly becomes a demerit.

And now a few words with the expansionist governments' ruling global relations. Be aware that living with obedience to God and carrying out his orders, compassion for people, and striving for the fulfillment of justice is to your advantage, too.

I invite you to return to the path of God, the prophets, and to the path of the people of the world, and to the truth and justice. The only route to salvation is a divine, straight path.

Otherwise, God's hands of power will emerge from the sleeve of the oppressed nations and will make your life difficult and will put an end to your hegemony.

Let's love the people of the world and respect their rights, rectify past behavior. This will benefit you and the human community.

The Iranian people are prepared, along with other nations, to help you be rescued from your current situation and to establish peace and prosperity.

My friends, fortuitously, opportunities are accessible. With the grace of God Almighty, the existing pillars of the oppressive system are crumbling. Great developments in favor of humankind, as well as its true and real rights, are on the way.

A golden and brilliant future is awaiting mankind. A global community filled with justice, friendship, brotherhood, and welfare is at hand and, as I have elaborated, a community which will tread the path of beauty and love under the rule of the righteous and the perfect human being, the one promised by all divine prophets, and the one who is the true lover of humanity.

A community that will be devoid of any fear, despair, and privation, such a community will soon be ours, the community promised by the great divine prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Mohammed, peace be upon him, is about to materialize. Let us, hand in hand, expand the thought of resistance against evil and the minority of those who are ill-wishers.

Let's support goodness and the majority of people who are good and the embodiment of absolute good that Imam of Time, The Promised One who will come accompanied by Jesus Christ, and accordingly design and implement the just and humanistic mechanisms for regulating the constructive relationships between nations and governments.

Oh, Great Almighty, deliver the savior of nations and put an end to the sufferings of mankind and bring forth justice, beauty, and love.

Friends, let's have a proper share in the establishment of that illuminated and promised divine age.

I thank you all very much.

To describe this speech, as the media has, as anything other than a crazed, messianic, anti-semitic screed is tantamount to lying about it. This is not a political speech; it is pure hate clothed in religious garb. To even imagine that the author of this rant will soon have weapons of mass destruction available to hasten the coming of his Mahdi is incredibly frightening, and the MSM missing the point of this speech is mind-blowing.

Quickies

5 were killed in a tunnel explosion in Gaza. Since it appears that Egypt set the explosion, these will not be counted in my self-death counts.

In a move that symbolized the Gaza/West Bank split better than any other, both governments chose wildly different days to celebrate Eid at the end of Ramadan. The PA says it starts on September 30th, Hamas says the 25th.

Finally, a purely anti-semitic anti-Palin screed in the Pakistan Daily site.

Ahmadinejad's anti-semitism and the MSM

Yesterday's speech by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the UN was the most anti-semitic speech given there since the infamous 1975 UN resolution that equated Zionism (with a small z) to racism.

While most of the mainstream media reported (as in this AP example)

Ahmadinejad accused “a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists ... (of) dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers as well as the political decision-making centers of some European countries and the U.S.”

very, very few took the small step to mention that this is a classic anti-semitic belief. The three that I found, outside of Jewish and Israeli media, were:

The New York Daily News:

From there, Ahmadinejad called up classic anti-Semitic canards and - without ever mentioning Israel or Jews by name - he attacked "acquisitive and invasive people" who dominate "financial and monetary centers."

The New York Sun:

On Israel he used Europe's oldest anti-Semitic language to blame "a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists" for "dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers."

And, most surprisingly, the Times of London:

In a rambling speech punctuated by anti-Semitic bluster, an emboldened Mr Ahmadinejad vowed not to bow to “illegal demands” to halt Iran’s nuclear activities which he defended as the peaceful pursuit of civilian energy.

...A rambling religious treatise gave way to a series of startling attacks on Israel and Jews in general, blaming them for all the world’s ills. “The dignity, integrity and rights of American and European people are played with by a deceitful group of people called Zionists,” he said.
The global financial crisis was the fault of “a small number of acquisitive and evasive people” who had taken control of the whole world order, he said, but predicted that this would soon change.

A few more media did quote various others denouncing the speech as anti-semitic (including Barack Obama,) but a huge majority is so cowed by the idea that anti-Zionism has nothing to do with anti-semitism - even when they are presented in historically identical ways - that they will dispassionately report the fact that the leader of a large nation, on the verge of nuclear capability, is single-mindedly obsessed with ending the rights of Jews to national self-determination.

Kudos to the few exceptions, and shame to the MSM for not drawing the very short line between Ahmadinejad's speech and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Autotranslation of the day

From Saudi Arabia's Okaz news agency, an article about a car accident:

Path General Hospital announced a state of emergency and alert yesterday morning following a traffic accident on the road [[in] Mrbp near Brownish Discharge led to the death of one person and wounding of 17, according to the available details.

Not my idea of a place to have a nice family outing, but to each his own....

"Free Gaza" freaks continue to show utter disregard for Gazans

The latest "Free Gaza" ship, called the "SS Hope," is scheduled to set sail from Cyprus on Thursday.

Now, they are sending some doctors, which sounds like the Freaks might for once actually be interested in helping the people of Gaza. But, alas, it is not true. According to the FG site, "Doctors and lawyers are going to Gaza at the request of the people of Gaza to assess the medical tragedy there and to talk to the people."

So the doctors will not do anything that existing NGOs in Gaza (Doctors Without Borders, the many UNRWA doctors) are not doing already. The lawyers will do, pretty much, nothing except feel important. The Arab Knesset member will give interviews as will other other "human rights" activists to the two Al Jazeera reporters on board.

But perhaps the most valuable person on the entire ship will be "Joe Fallisi (Italy) Opera Singer, Composer." Gaza is suffering from a severe shortage of opera singers and the poor Palestinian Arabs stuck there have expressed their clear desire for an operatic tenor to entertain them and move them to tears. Fallisi has already entered the Free Gaza song contest, and Fallisi - who, we are helpfully told, is a vegan - sings lyrics such as "Zionists, oppressors, tyrants will fall."

One can only imagine how much he will lift the hearts of supposedly starving Gazans with his songs.

Because his ship sure isn't bringing any food.

Moderate Palestinian Arab negotiator threatens violence

From YNet:

The Palestinian chief negotiator with Israel cautioned on Tuesday that violence could erupt if peace talks collapse.

"The Palestinians will continue to negotiate. But, if the talks reached a dead end, what do we do? Capitulate? Resistance in all its forms is a legitimate right," said Ahmed Qureia in a message to newly-elected Kadima chairwoman, Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni.

So sweet that this moderate leader greeted the apparent next leader of Israel with such touching words, threatening that if she doesn't give in to all his demands, his people will resort to murdering innocent civilians, which he asserts is quite legitimate. In other contexts this would be considered blackmail, but in the Middle East this is business as usual.

One may be pedantic and recall the words of Yasir Arafat at the onset of Oslo:

The PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security.

The PLO commits itself to the Middle East peace process, and to a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides and declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations.

The PLO considers that the signing of the Declaration of Principles constitutes a historic event, inaugurating a new epoch of peaceful coexistence, free from violence and all other acts which endanger peace and stability. Accordingly, the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators.

It's almost as if the PLO and its PA subsidiary are filled with - violent liars whose promises are not worth the paper they are written on!

But, they are considered "moderate," so that makes it OK. Because, after all, Hamas and Islamic Jihad might act the exact same way but they are a bit more extreme in their initial demands, so of course the PLO and the PA are so very moderate and peace-loving in comparison.

The keffiyeh has become standard garb for anti-war activists across the globe and a chic accessory for urban hipsters -- a vaguely subversive, vaguely exotic all-weather neck warmer.

Do you think that Mahmoud's decision to join the hipsters will enhance or discourage the keffiyeh's use?

Tuesday PalArab press roundup

Another man was killed by falling into a smuggling tunnel. I believe that this makes 37 tunnel deaths this year.

One more was found dead of gunshot wounds in Deir al-Balah in Gaza.

An anti-Hamas news site is reporting more evidence that last July's beach bombing that killed 5 Hamas members and a girl was from internal fighting.

A previously unknown Gaza group is threatening to shoot rockets at the Rafah crossing and to kidnap Egyptian soldiers unless Palestinian Arab prisoners in Egyptian prisons are released.

All the Palestinian Arabic media is reporting that a website "funded by the Mossad" is offering a cash reward for the assassination of Samir Kuntar.

Once again, the priorities of people getting Eid gifts will not be poor people but children of terrorists, alive and dead.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 189.

Isn't it romantic?

The Israeli media is reporting on the apparent motivation of the driver in yesterday's terror attack: A broken heart!

The terrorist who rammed his BMW into a group of soldiers at a central Jerusalem thoroughfare late Monday night has been identified as Kasem Mugrabi, 19, from Jebl Mukaber in east Jerusalem.

Mugrabi, a resident of the same village as the Mercaz Harav terrorist who killed eight in March, wounded fifteen people before being shot dead by an off-duty IDF officer.

The assailant had no previous security record, police said Tuesday.

According to an initial police investigation, the 19-year-old wanted to marry his cousin, and when she refused his offer, he decided to carry out a terror attack, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.

Unrequited love has led to many a suicide in the West, and it is tragic that the ideas of Romeo and Juliet are such a part of our culture that lovestruck victims will sometimes kill themselves.

The Palestinian Arab culture, however, doesn't romanticize suicide - it romanticizes self-destructive mass murder. It is unthinkable to just kill oneself, because that adds shame and dishonor to your family.

Our young, pained Kasem Mugrabi seems to have been jilted and he responded with the Palestinian Arab concept of ultimate self-sacrifice - to kill oneself while trying to murder as many of the enemy as possible. A shameful act is thus elevated to an act of martyrdom, and the loss of a love on Earth is replaced by the concept of unlimited sex in Paradise.

Rather than hoping that the object of his desires would cry for him and regret her rejection, the terrorist can hope that she will be jealous that she didn't fall for such an honorable man - the same type of man who Palestinian Arab culture considers heroes.

This is the idea of romance in Palestinian Arab culture - a society where mass murder is celebrated so routinely that it becomes an attractive alternative for shamed people to become heroes.