Eliyahu Asheri – may he rest in peace
Barukh dayan emes. Eliyahu Asheri was killed right after he was kidnapped. The Palestinians claimed they would kill him if Israel did not end Operation Summer Rains – even though he was already dead and buried.
I am outraged beyond words.
Eliyahu Asheri (zt”l):
Mourners for Eliyahu Asheri (zt”l):
My sincere condolences to Israel and all in mourning because of this Palestinian barbarity.
From The Jerusalem Post:
“Asheri shot in head Sunday immediately after abduction” by Yaov Appel, Yaakov Katz, and Associated Press.
“Thousands attend Asheri’s funeral” by JPost.com Staff.
From the blogs:
Ace of Spades HQ: “Kidnapped Israeli Civilian Butchered By “Militants;” IDF Captures Several Hamas Leaders, Including Four Members of Parliament” by Ace.
Average Gay Joe: “The Palestinians murder an Israeli boy” by John.
Euphoric Reality: “Psalm 74 – For Eliyahu” by kit.
The Hashmonean: “IDF Southern Rain: Phase I (Visual Aid)”
Hyscience: “Israeli Civilian Executed By Palestinian Terrorists – Apparently “Guilty Of Hitch-Hiking””.
Innocent Bystanders: “Kidnapped Israeli Civilian Reportedly Executed” by SobekPundit.
Israellycool: “Operation Summer Rains: Day Two” by Aussie Dave.
Michelle Malkin: “ELIYAHU ASHERI: MURDERED; NOAH MOSCOVITCH: MISSING” by Michelle Malkin.
Vital Perspective: “Israeli Teenager Murdered by Palestinian Terrorists Laid to Rest in J’lem”.
Wizbang!: “Israeli Offensive into Gaza Widens” by Kim Priestap.
White House supports Israel’s right to defense
According to Vital Perspective:
The White House says that Israel has the right to defend itself. Tony Snow said “The hostage taking and the attacks by Hamas last weekend have precipitated the current events in Gaza,” and then added that Hamas should immediately release Cpl. Shalit. Snow then said “Israel has the right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens. In any actions the government of Israel may undertake, the United States urges that it ensures that innocent civilians are not harmed.”
Very, very good. I am proud of the White House for defending Israel and calling on the terrorists to release Cpl. Shalit. While others are condemning Israel, and Palestinians are pressuring their allies to have the UN condemn and put pressure on Israel to end its Operation, Israel needs support, and I for one would want my country’s government to express support for Israel. Good job, White House.
Once again, I highly recomment Vital Perspective, Sobek’s posts on Innocent Bystanders, and Israellycool for updates on the situation. The Jerusalem Post is also a good source of information.
Another important goal Israel should focus on during OSR
Israel must use Operation Summer Rains as an opportunity to take out any and all elements within the Gaza Strip that contribute to or enable Palestinians attacking Israel, especially Qassaam rockets. I believe they have been striking targets accordingly, but the effort must be widened.
Kill two birds with one stone: rescue kidnapped Israelis and take out the Palestinians’ attack capabilities.
Update: According to the article “Gallant: ‘Gilad Shalit is still in Gaza'” by Yaakov Katz and JPost Staff of The Jerusalem Post:
Although the mission to retrieve Shalit was the utmost priority, the IDF would also do all it could to prevent Kassam rocket fire, Gallant added. “Our main job is to defend the citizens of Israel who live in the south.”
Excellent. Exactly what I wanted to hear and from the perfect person. The article identifies Gallant as “OC Southern Command Maj[or]-Gen[eneral] Yoav Gallant.”
Watching events in Gaza
I am visiting Vital Perspective and Innocent Bystanders for current coverage on Operation Summer Rains, Israel’s operation against the Gaza Strip. Vital Perspective and Sobek at Innocent Bystanders have excellent updates and analyses of events as they happen.
Short sappy note for my readers
When I think about what Kos thinks of his readers – upset they might bring up the Kosola issue for his comments, and trying to squash the issue, and ordering them around, and basically being thankless and annoyed about them – I am reminded of the bloggers I read and of my own readers. I’d be livid if any blogger I read thought this way about me. Fortunately, every blogger I read treats his and her readers with respect, gratitude, and humor.
I want to thank you for stopping by, whether you comment or not. If you did not stop by, I likely would be taken by men in white labcoats for ranting to myself. Not exactly a very good sign of mental health. In seriousness, I am somewhat taken aback anyone would stop and read my rants.
I also appreciate learning from your comments.
So, again, thank you. I am honored you would stop by. Now back to the regular scheduled ranting…
Katsav lashes out against Israeli concessions
The President of Israel, Moshe Katsav, lashed out against Israeli concessions which have yielded nothing for Israel. He blames previous administrations of not preparing adequately before enacting their concessions, especially by
the abiding absence of an agreed “map of vital Israeli national and security interests” to guide policymakers.
According to an article in The Jerusalem Post by David Horovitz and Greer Fay Cashman, “Katsav: We got nothing from conceding”
In a startling departure from his usual resolute non-intervention in the internal governance of Israel, President Moshe Katsav has launched a scathing attack on a series of Israel’s recent prime ministers and governments for failing to “get anything in return” for the historic concessions they made in signing the Oslo accords, endorsing the notion of independent Palestinian statehood, and pulling out of the Gaza Strip. Because of this cardinal error, he said, Israel was today further from peace with the Palestinians than it would otherwise likely have been.
The whole article is a good read.
One the one hand, President Katsav has a point. Read the rest of this entry »
Israeli Armed Forces leave no man
From this post of Vital Perspective (emphasis added):
We just heard CNN question why Israel is doing this while Condoleezza Rice was urging diplomacy and an international mediation was underway. No government ought to negotiate with terrorists, including Israel. The terrorists had 67 hours to return Cpl. Shalit before any action was taken, and the Israelis don’t leave men behind.
After reading The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East by Abraham Rabinovich and Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Michael B. Oren, this point becomes very, very clear.
The Israeli Armed Forces do not leave their men behind. The only time they do so is when they most absolutely must. The Israeli Armed Forces have sacrificed men to retrieve those stranded. This emphasis on having Shalit returned alive – and going to war over it – is nothing out of the ordinary.
On Israel II
Israel has begun limited maneuvers against the Gaza Strip. Predictably, the Gaza Palestinians prepared by mining roads and placing other explosive devices. No one should be fooled into thinking these Arabs are peaceable people. If I remember correctly, Israel is attacking using the Air Force. (Israel has maintained control of the Gaza Strip’s airspace and waterspace – which is necessary to strike targets (airspace) and prevent the smuggling of weapons (waterspace) or other elements of support by enablers of Palestinian terrorism.)
I have no patience whatsoever with militant Palestinians. At some point, Israel will have to move into the Gaza Strip if only to eradicate the infrastructure that supports the continued shelling of Sderot. It seems to me that Israelis have more patience with these troublesome Palestinians, for which they (Israelis) should be commended.
Ideally, the Gaza Strip would be disarmed by the Palestinians, but that would never happen. The Palestinian National Authority is run by gangs and thugs – terrorists all of them. I am constrained by realities to recognize them as the Palestinians’ de facto government, although I abhor them and their violent ways.
It should be noted that Egypt is not very fond of the Palestinians. They have moved troops to its border with the Gaza Strip to prevent people from fleeing into Egypt. I would go so far as to say that relations between Israel and Egypt are far, far better than relations between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
Frankly, I’d like to see Egypt reoccupy the Gaza Strip. (Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip until Israel seized it in the 1967 Seven-Days War.) Better Gaza in the hands of Egypt than in the hands of Palestinians.
On Israel I
Evidently, Hamas and Fatah have agreed to a revised list of propositions on how the Arabs should resolve the Israel-Palestine dispute.
A spokesperson from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that this does not change a thing. It’s an internal matter, he said, which has no affect on Israel.
Note that none of the propositions states that Israel will be recognized. Also note that this list also promotes, if not commands, continued terrorist attacks.
This is not a list for peace with Israel. It’s a list to declare war.
Being law-abiding is dangerous to music collecting
I have had to give up downloading songs using P2P programs such as Limewire, Morpheus, et cetera. I feel so stranded.
At least I’m clear of breaking the law.
Time for some levity
After depressing you all with dire news of the Middle East, here are three videos, two from Putfile and one from YouTube:
Sinking! I think it’s hilarious.
Death Metal. An advertisement of some sort but that doesn’t matter. Shows that appearances can be deceiving.
Spike Jonze’s Gap commercial. Very unique indeed.
Realities on the ground: Israel et al.
What was formerly the British protectorate of Transjordan and Palestine today exists in three separate entities: the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Israel, and the Palestinian Territories. The first is obvious. The second incorporates Israel proper, the West Bank (also known as Samaria or Shomron) (properly, parts of the West Bank), and part of the Golan Heights. Until last year, it also included enclaves in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Territories – called by a number of names by many people – includes the Gaza Strip and enclaves in the West Bank.
There are no “occupied” territories. There are, however, disputed territories Read the rest of this entry »
Kosola
Oy. This Kosola bit is spiraling out of control. Don’t people know thanks to the Internet one can’t hide anything anymore?
Corruption, astrology, blogofascism, accusing TNR of being part of the right-wing conspiracy (I’m part of the right-wing conspiracy, and their name hasn’t come up on our lists yet).
I was going to provide many links, but I got tired. protein wisdom has tons of stuff, including links and all.
Fun, fun, fun. Reality can be amusing.
Gay pride goeth before destruction…
Gay “[p]ride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). This post has been prompted by this post at the Ace of Spades HQ.
In most large (and perhaps even not-so-large) cities in The United States in summer/spring, there’s a “Gay Pride Parade.” Homosexuals of a variety of sexual fetishes dress up and march down streets, displaying their preferences to all who may pass by.
This season is almost as contentious among homosexuals as Marching Season in Northern Ireland is between Protestants and Catholics. Read the rest of this entry »
:-(
According to Jeff Goldstein of protein wisdom (this post), SondraK of Knowledge Is Power (this post), and Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs (this post), CAIR has complained to the FBI concerning a few blogs because of their anti-Muslim content. (I’ll save my anti-CAIR rant for later, but suffice it to say that all of its members should be afflicted with syphilis and die of rotted tongues.) Evidently the FBI has contacted these blogs.
I am so very, very offended. And depressed. And sad. Why hasn’t the FBI contacted me? Maybe I should call them and give them my phone number. Maybe they forgot to call me or misplaced my number. Or could it be that CAIR hasn’t complained about my blog? Oh, if that were true I would die of a broken heart! I’d be devastated and utterly forlorn! O, woe is I! woe is I! How shall I survive this vale of disappointment and tears? What use is it to have a blog such as mine and not be noticed and complained about by CAIR? What must I do to offend CAIR? Why are they tormenting me so?
Lucky Charles Johnson. He gets all of CAIR’s attention. *pout* I can offend imperialist hypocritical paranoid silly Muslims too, you know! *shakes fist*
Update: I corrected Charles’s name in the last paragraph. I incorrectly wrote “Christopher” instead of “Charles.”
Where’s the outrage?
A very moving, stirring, and infuriating post by Gateway Pundit: what really happened to Privates Kristian Menchacha and Thomas Tucker. (May God grant them eternal rest and peace.)
Indeed: where is the outrage?
*sigh* I’m still speechless.
“An Ugly Mindset”: Muslims’ beliefs about 9/11
Read this post (“An Ugly Mindset” on Isaac Schrödinger) to find out more about what Muslims believe about the events of September 11, 2001. Quite typical, sadly.
A hug for the President
Thanks to Dave at Garfield Ridge, I was able to come across a picture one may not see often. Graduating after six years from the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Gabriel Whitney was understandably overjoyed at his accomplishment. So much so that he gave a great big bear hug to the commencement speaker, who just happened to be President George W. Bush. Here’s a news article about the graduation. Here’s a news article about Gabriel Whitney. Below is the picture.
“Truth to Power”
The powers that be know the truth. Especially considering the wide range of sources they have access to that we don’t, they probably know it better than anyone outside the tight circle of powerholders. No need to waste their time with fantastical theories.
And Now For Something Completely Different
On his blog, Word Around the Net, Christopher Taylor has listed various types of comments in what he was called “Profiles in Commenting.” So far, he has 25 types. It’s actually quite an interesting read. Whenever he’d post a category, I’d read and see how it compares with what I have seen. (I also become a bit hypochondriac, if you will, in trying to see how my comments fit any/all types.)
You can access a list of the comments at this page.
Quite a unique and enlightening list.
Muslihoon 