Strawberry Chips

2004-06-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

As if the American media didn’t have enough to do with demonizing the U.S. military and all, they feel the need to join the just as whiny if not sometimes whinier Israeli left in bashing and demonizing the Israeli military. Okay, so what else is new... nothing, really.

In this Washington Post article, titled 'Breaking the Silence' on West Bank Abuse --
Israeli Soldiers' Exhibit Depicts Mistreatment of Palestinians by Troops, Settlers in Hebron, we are told of the plight of three poor young reservists (sniff...sniff...) who are questioned by the evil military regarding an exhibit they have organized that depicts the mistreatment of Palestinians by IDF soldiers using photographs and videotapes.

A statement issued by the military said the three men were ordered to provide testimony as part of an investigation into the "allegedly violent crimes against Palestinians and damage to Palestinian property" depicted in the show.

Yes. That’s because the IDF, just like the American military, investigates anything and everything that comes up that appears to be out of sync with their strict code of ethics - duuuh

Oh, but what are those big mean Israeli soldiers doing, really?

"The army wants to keep us quiet and scare us away," Micha Kurz, 22, said after what he described as seven hours of questioning by investigators. "They're not going to shut us up, because we have a lot to say, and they're not going to scare us off."

Here’s a clue for you, Micha: if the ID freakin’ F wanted to shut you and your friends up they would have done so already and you wouldn’t be talking to the nice reporter.

[Micha]Kurz, Yehuda Shaul and Yonatan Baumfeld, who finished their mandatory three years of active duty three months ago, assembled more than 80 provocative photographs taken by troops assigned to the volatile West Bank city of Hebron and created a video of soldiers describing humiliation and abuses suffered by Palestinian civilians at their hands, as well as those of Jewish settlers.

The article goes on, of course, to describe various and sundry evils committed by these soldiers against (of course) poor innocent minding-their-own-business Palestinians. Of course, it is never mentioned that the IDF always investigates any report it receives regarding one of its own abusing his or her “power” as a soldier (as I mentioned before) and the fact that only a miniscule portion of the Israel military ever does these sorts of things is completely glossed over. This obviously should remind us Americans of something.

Something sortof recent.

And, just like the brave American men and women fighing in Iraq and Afghanistan... what are our Israeli friends really doing that isn’t getting much mention?

How about stopping a homicide bombing from occurring - saving who knows how many lives. Yeah, that was Tuesday over there – the day before the three amigos were questioned about their little exhibit.

In a joint operation of the GSS and the IDF on Tuesday, a suicide bombing was thwarted in Jerusalem, after a Tanzim cell that was directed by the Hizbullah was exposed.
Yesterday (Wednesday) following concrete intelligence information, 3 Tanzim operatives were arrested in a joint operation of the GSS and IDF forces: Basal Pathi Metalek Hamdan, age 24, resident of Atzira Kbaliya, Alla Tzbiah Araff Aliwi, age 23, resident of Nablus and Ibrahim Ayash Ismail Abu Alaish, age 18, resident of the Balata camp.
.....

Following intelligence and operational activities, on June 22, 2004 a taxi was stopped at the Akraba checkpoint, near Nablus. During searches conducted by the forces inside the taxi, the forces uncovered a school bag which contained an explosive device weighing 10 kg, which was supposed to reach the suicide bomber. Traveling inside the taxi was the terrorist Muhamed Mufid Muhamed Abed Rabah, 23 year old, resident of Nablus.The explosive device was detonated in a controlled manner by sappers.
The terrorist- Abed Rabah told investigators in an initial interrogation in the area, that he was asked by a Tanzim operative from Nablus to transport the explosives to the A-Ram area for 500 Shekels.

Let’s see... Ten kilos is roughly twenty-two pounds. Put that on a crowded bus full of kids going to school or people going to work and I wonder just how many would be dead if the IDF and Israeli intelligence hadn’t been doing their jobs. Just how many deaths would that 500 shekels have bought? ucch. Neanderthals.

Yes, let’s focus on ten soldiers out of thousands who get their kicks out of being mean and nasty while the rest of the bunch risks their asses so that leftist idiots can endanger soldier’s lives with their drivel. Yeah. That’s right. And I’m not the only one thinking this way, either. And you know I’m not just talking about Gush whatever (sheten) over there across the pond. I’m talking about every last damn American whiner who gets their panties in a twist over a few soldiers harrassing (cause that wasn’t torture, people) some terrorists while the majority of the military is making us proud by doing its duty honorably. Hey morons.... how about remembering what happened three years ago one morning in September. It wasn’t a bunch of Americans flying those planes, you idiots. Do you want another three thousand people dead in a burning heap of concrete and steel? I didn’t think so. So shut the hell up and let these nice soldiers do their jobs. And you over there with Micha and his friends: shut your trap and be thankful you aren’t in pieces. Thank you.

2004-06-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

Inimicus Delenda Est

(or something to that effect)

As Al-Qaeda scum ratchet up the kidnappings and brutal killings of innocent people we all need to take a lesson from the Afghani militia:

Kabul — A senior Afghan militia commander alleged Wednesday that troops from Afghanistan's U.S.-trained national army beheaded four Taliban fighters to avenge the similar slaying of an Afghan soldier and a military interpreter.The killings occurred Monday in southeastern Zabul province, said Naimatullah Khan, the commander of government militias in the region. U.S. troops were not present at the time, Mr. Khan said.Afghan National Army troops sent to look for an interpreter and soldier who became separated from a combined Afghan-U.S. force found their corpses and severed heads on a mountainside, he said. Four Taliban fighters were later caught in a search of the area, he said.“The ANA soldiers did the same thing. They cut off their heads,” he said. He said the corpses of the suspected Taliban were left where they lay. He had no further details.

I hope to God a pack of dogs has crapped in unison on every last one of them.

You know, I recall not too long ago sitting up late one night watching the History Channel -- can't recall the name of the show -- but it had to do with terrorism... anyway... It just so happens that about 30 years ago (or so) there were some Russian diplomats who were kidnapped by a few knuckle-dragging terror monkeys. And what did the Russians do? Negotiate? Beg? Make promises to the evil scum bastards? Nope. They sent a few intelligence agents to find a relative of one of the terrorists and said terrorist received the hacked-up body of said relative via special delivery. Russian diplomats were released. Enough said.

So... enough stupid girly crap already. I want to see AP photos of Al Qaeda members running scared like little girls as our troops open up serious cans of whoopass on their turban-covered heads. I want these evil scumbags to be AFRAID of us. I want these terrorists crying for their mommies as we destroy every last one of them. I want every ounce of firepower we possess opened up on the whole lot of them -- and I at this point do not give a rat's ass who the cowards hide behind or what holy freakin' shrine they hide in: they must be destroyed. Period.

2004-06-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

Donald Rumsfeld did WHAT?? Oh no he didn't! No, really...he didn't. But here's the headline from the linked-to story that originated (I believe) in USA Today (oh, there's an unbiased news outlet for ya.):

Rumsfeld OK’d harsh treatment of suspects in U.S. war on terror

Oh, the horror! the shock! (collective gasp from the crowd)

Just look at the evidence, will you??

In an extraordinary disclosure of classified material, the Bush administration released 258 pages of internal documents Tuesday that portray harsh interrogation techniques -- including stripping terror suspects and threatening them with dogs -- as a necessary response to threats from al-Qaida terrorists.

I can't believe my eyes!! That's absolutely horrible. How could the evil Bush administration do such a thing.

Oh but wait a minute.... maybe he really didn't:

Though some of the memos argued that Bush had the right to approve torture, the administration said it had never done so, and pointed to techniques it said fell far short of torture. In a separate press briefing Tuesday, the Justice Department backed away from a memo written in 2002 that appeared to justify the use of torture in the war on terror. That memo argued that the president’s wartime powers superseded anti-torture laws and treaties.

Bush made his most explicit comments yet about the issue Tuesday: "We do not condone torture. I have never ordered torture. I will never order torture," Bush said.

Yeah. What he said. Travel all the way down to the last paragraph of the piece.... The evil memo in question was dated Nov. 27, 2002, and was one " in which Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved interrogation techniques that included "removal of clothing" and "inducing stress by use of detainee’s fears (e.g. dogs)."

hey wait... not finished...

Eventually, after military officers raised moral and legal concerns about the techniques and the Pentagon conducted an internal review, Rumsfeld issued revised rules for Guantanamo in April 2003 that omitted the stripping and use of dogs.

There. Told you he didn't.

2004-06-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

Speaking of things that irritate the hell out of me - take a look atthis little gem in which the United States has been once again forced to bend over and kiss Kofi Annan's ass. Oh, yippee. Now all of our so-called friends should be happy now that our soldiers will not be exempt from being tried as war criminals at the whim of whoever hates us enough that particular day. William Pace, head of the Coalition for an International Criminal Court, called it "a victory for international justice" and said U.S. concern about prosecution of American peacekeepers "was always exaggerated." Well, isn't that speshuuullll.

2004-06-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

Looks like good things really can happen to people who have spent most of their lives living in a drug fog: Bob Dylan has received an honorary Doctor of Music Degree from St. Andrew's University. oh, wheeeeeee. Let's take a look at just how honored Mr. Dillweed was to receive this degree....
Dylan, who received his doctorate alongside Harvard philosopher Hilary Putnam and biologist Cheryll Tickle, arrived 50 minutes into the 90-minute ceremony and did not address the audience of 180 graduating students and their relatives. But his silent — and sometimes yawning — presence onstage brought a strong dose of star power to the university's wood-paneled Younger Hall.
Dylan sat motionless and showed no reaction as a university choir performed a version of his early classic, "Blowin' in the Wind."

I guess the quaaludes had kicked in right about then.

2004-06-19T21:29:00.001-07:00

Regarding the ads at the top of my blog:

I'm ready to kick somebody's ass.

(If references to Mr. Ketchup are still up there, I'm sure you all know what I mean)

2004-06-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

As we all expected (and not in a good way), Paul Johnson, Jr.’s time ran out on Friday, June 18th and, therefore, his captors brutally murdered him in the same manner that the same sort of evil, vicious cretins murdered Danny Pearl and Nicholas Berg as well as countless others that have had the misfortune of ending up in the hands of one islamofascist group or another. I was just finishing my lunch Friday when I heard the news on the radio. What a horrible feeling to hear a story like that and get that sick feeling in a pit of your stomach because of what has happened, and then also get a twinge because you knew all along that it would probably happen even though you really didn’t want it to, and you feel like dreck because of the fact you knew about this horrible horrible thing – that it was going to happen - and that even though you and everybody else probably knew this man – this father, grandfather, brother, friend, and coworker - was going to be dead on Friday June 18, 2004 just two days before Father’s Day there was nothing you or anybody could do except wait for it to happen because what we were dealing with and what we are still dealing with now is something so evil it cannot be reasoned with, cajoled, stroked, coddled or peace-protested into backing away from its desire to destroy whatever and whomever stands in the way of its goal of being the controlling and dominating force on the planet.

Not Apache helicopters killing muslims. Not Israel occupying Palestinian land. Not a few soldiers out of hundreds of thousands “abusing” prisoners. Not any of those things, even though they are stated as such by these monsters, is justification for what they have been doing for so long to people like Mr. Johnson. Not even they themselves believe their own putrid little lies that this or that has caused muslims around the world pain and suffering and this is why they must kill us all. Even they themselves know that even if we sat on our hands and kept our mouths shut like good little sheep they would slaughter us one by one and laugh and shout praises to Allah as they did so.

Which is why today when I saw the news that there had been an airstrike in a neighborhood in Fallujah and there had been possibly twenty killed I felt no compassion for whoever it was that had died, because the house in question had been used by a terrible evil man who I wish had been in the house when it was turned into a smoking crater. The evil disgusting slime and his slime friends used the house – among innocent men, women, and children, no less - to store explosives and had most likely even used the house as a facility to use said explosives to build bombs which were killing our soldiers. I say too bad it wasn’t an Apache that delivered the strike. The strike was obviously aimed at al-Zarqawi, who has been responsible for hundreds of dead including the 35 dead in the most recent (as of this typing and posting) car bomb aimed at innocent Iraqis, but already the rumor mill has been churning and this precision strike has been labeled “revenge” for Paul Johnson, Jr. (so what if it was) and here: “Residents, however, accused the United States of striking twice - the second time after rescuers moved into the site trying to pull out victims.” our soldiers as well us all of us Americans here at home are being set up to play the part of “monster” yet again.

Yes, aren’t we all a bunch of horrible evil monsters. How dare we target a house sheltering terrorists who are building and planting bombs to kill our soldiers and innocent Iraqis. How dare we attempt to destroy evil terrorist scum whose goal it is to murder every last “infidel”. How dare we Americans and our gang of mean bully friends use whatever is in our power to fight and destroy them before they destroy us. Yes, we should all sit peacefully and blissfully unaware in our living rooms watching American Idol or some other ignorant-ass show while men in black masks sneak around planting bombs and looking for another throat to cut.

2004-06-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

I have an observation (or perhaps more than one) to make regarding the recent announcement from the 9-11 Commission that “there is no credible evidence that links Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda and the September 11th attacks”. I have noticed that, first of all, evidence that could clearly be used to prove that there was such a relationship has been ignored or dismissed (eg – the Al-Qaeda-style terrorist training camp complete with airplane fuselage), and, second of all, that in none of the subsequent “news” stories or editorials have there been references to any direct quotes from President George W. Bush that specifically state that there was or is a link between Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda and the attacks on September 11, 2001. Why is that? I wonder. I do recall President Bush referring to Hussein as a madman, a dictator, a thug, one who supports terrorism and harbors terrorists. It seems to me that Saddam fit all the criteria for somebody that needed to be wiped off the face of the earth – that is, under the rules of the new “war on terror” which was not launched by us, but by those who attacked us. So why is it, that in one editorial after another, this commission is hailed as a bunch of heroes (out to save us from the evil Bush regime, no doubt) for pointing out the “truth” to the American people while the actual truth has been diluted, twisted, and even swept under the rug?

For example, in today’s Cinncinati Post (online) there is a blatantly and nauseatingly leftist editorial which opens in this manner: "The final report of the Sept. 11 commission is important on several fronts, not least of them its unflinching conclusion that the United States had no proof of a connection between Saddam Hussein, al-Qaida and the 9-11 terrorist attacks when President Bush decided to attack Iraq.
The commission report does say there was at least one meeting and perhaps more between Osama bin Laden and an Iraqi official in Sudan in the 1990s. But, it concluded, Iraq declined or ignored a request by bin Laden for assistance."

First of all, why would one call such a conclusion so “unflinching” if evidence to the contrary seems to have been so blatantly ignored? We all recall when President Bill Clinton authorized the bombing of what we all later thought was just an innocent pharmaceutical plant in Sudan. But hard evidence obtained by intelligence has shown that there were traces of a chemical – a precursor to nerve gas – in the soil at the site of the plant. This chemical was the type known to be used by only one country: Iraq. And just who was using the facility to possibly manufacture deadly chemical weapons? Al Qaeda. Perhaps such evidence does not directly link Saddam, Al Qaeda and the September 11th attacks, but it certainly does point to at least a link between the dictator and his regime and the terrorist network. Which is what President Bush talked about in his speeches before the war: not what this 9-11 Commission and its apologists are screaming about today.

In another oh-so-unbiased editorial in the online edition of the San Francisco Chronicle the writer states the following:

In other words, one of the arguments used to justify the invasion of Iraq is fiction. In the months before the war, the White House nursed public misconceptions that Osama bin Laden and Hussein were in league. President Bush exploited this misconception -- by continually linking Iraq and Sept. 11 in speeches -- to help built support for the war.

The writer of the editorial provides no quotes from any of President Bush’s speeches to support his statement. This writer merely makes an accusation and makes no attempt whatsoever to back it up with fact. On a separate but somewhat related note, the writer ends with a paragraph which begins with the following statement:

But the work of a respected, independent, bipartisan commission is valuable only if the people in power are willing to accept findings that conflict with their preconceptions.
(Respected by whom?)

I should point out something I found that seemed rather peculiar when I did a Google(tm) news search on this topic: these editorials along w/ others came up under “top stories” and were not labeled as “editorials”...causing them to appear at first glance to be actual legitimate news stories. The opinions of these people who apparently have their heads in the sand are being, in a way, presented as the gospel truth and are being forced down our throats until we accept them as fact. Paragraph after paragraph of various versions of the “Bush lied” and “we hate Bush” mantras are being distributed with the usual lack of supportive factual evidence. And all the while those of us who know the truth are being forced to sit and wait our turn like good little children.

2004-06-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

When I was a very little girl, my father served in the Army National Guard. I'm not sure what is was that he did - I know that he spent time at Fort Polk in Louisiana, and whatever it was had something to do with helicopters. Okay, so maybe that subject needs to be broached next time I have a chat with dad. Anyway, this was right in the middle of the Vietnam War. My mom and dad were newly married, had one child (me) and more little ones were soon to follow. Dad would have to leave home on weekends from time to time for what I assume were training excercises, during which mom wasn't too happy about the fact that he had to leave. I don't remember much about it and, because I was so young, I didn't have any concept of why those weekends were so important, or what was going on overseas or even what was happening in my own country. It seems that these days we have too many people with the same ignorance - except the people of which I speak are not 3 year old little girls.

One specific memory about that period of time stands out in my mind. I remember being about three years old, standing in my mother and father's bedroom and my father saying to me, "Don't tell mommy, but daddy has to go ride in a helicopter." A short time later, my mother walked in the room. The first thing I do is blurt out, "Daddy's gonna go in a helicopter!" Being just a little kid, I had no idea why daddy having to "go ride in a helicopter" was such a big issue. I had no idea why such a thing might upset my mother. But now, as an adult, and especially because the U.S. is in the middle of yet another war, I understand completely why even National Guard weekend training excercises are a cause of concern for wives, mothers, and children. I have an appreciation for those weekends my dad and other dads spent in fatigues and combat boots while their wives and children were at home wishing dad was home so they could go to the lake or to the park instead.

Unfortunately for the weekend-soldier dads and the full-time soldier dads of today there is not enough appreciation for the time they are giving in service to our country. There is not enough emphasis being given to the excellent work our soldiers are doing overseas that directly affects the security of our nation or the work that they have done that has tremendously helped the people of (for example) Iraq or the people of Afghanistan. No, too many people have their mind in "three-year-old-girl" mode. They swallow just what is given to them by the mostly biased-against-Bush-and-the-war media and do not take it upon themselves to learn and understand just what is really going on overseas and why such events affect them here at home. They know that a bunch of guys (and gals) are riding around in helicopters, tanks, hummers, jeeps, and APC's, but they don't take the time to understand where those guys and gals are going, what they are doing, and how much they are risking their lives and for what and why. They don't take the time to consider the fact that while they choose to dismiss the sacrifices husbands and fathers and brothers and sons and even wives, daughters and sisters are making both here and abroad, they are as ignorant as three-year-old girls of the fact that those sacrifices are being made for their own benefit.

My hope is that more people will gain an understanding and appreciation of the sacrifices made today as well as those made in the past. I hope that all the three-year-old little girls out there will grow up to appreciate what either their dads or other dads have done to serve this country and ensure our freedom and way of life. I hope that the ignorance so many seem to have chosen gives way to knowledge, and I hope it gives way to the urge to fight in even the smallest way for what this country stands for and what a bunch of dads will be fighting for overseas this Father's Day.

2004-06-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

Dear God, please, oh please I beg you do not let this woman become first lady of my country. Thank you.

Amen.

Unfortunately, it appears that most of the media is working against that wish... case in point this piece here by Emily Fredrix of AP regarding an upcoming interview which apparently aired tonight (ha! I didn't watch it!! ha ha ha) in which nurse fuzzy-wuzzy (gag) has a chance to stand on her soapbox and heap praise upon herself and her husband (hurl) and which makes no attempt to hide disdain for our president and vice president...

First by stating that Senator Max Cleland of Georgia was treated poorly by the Republican party because they "raised questions about Cleland's patriotism because of his position on legislation to create the Department of Homeland Security." Buried right after that statement one learns that Cleland wanted to add provisions to the bill that had nothing to do with homeland security.

Heinz-Kerry laments over Cleland's snubbing, who is described in the article as an Army captain who lost both legs and one arm in the Vietnam War, stating "Three limbs and all I could think was, 'What does the Republican party need, a fourth limb to make a person a hero?' And this coming from people who have not served. I was really offended by that. Unscrupulous and disgusting," No, what's really disgusting is that I can actually hear her voice in my head saying that -- and I haven't seen or heard the interview. Ms. Fredrix goes on to point out, in her unbiased and professional manner... Neither Republican served in Vietnam. Bush served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard, and Cheney received five student deferments from service during the war.

Kerry volunteered to serve in Vietnam and earned three Purple Hearts, and Silver and Bronze stars for his efforts commanding a swift boat on the Mekong Delta. Earlier in the campaign, opponents of Kerry had raised questions about his military service and whether he deserved the military honors.

(Somebody needs to remind Ms. Fredrix that it wasn't merely Kerry's opponents raising questions about his service but Vietnam Vets who served alongside him.)

Oh but wait. It gets better. I think this is what will cause pharmaceutical stock to rise sharply in the morning....

In the interview, John Kerry is asked about criticism of his wife, who has a reputation for being blunt and outspoken.

"When it's silly stuff, and a lot of it is incredibly unfactual, I get angry about it," he said.

Asked for three words to describe his 65-year-old wife, who is five years his senior, Kerry said: "Saucy, sexy, brilliant."

She responded: "I'm cheeky, I'm sexy, whatever. You know, I've got a lot of life inside."

aggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!

2004-06-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog....

I suck. I'm sorry I have ignored you for so long - but shit happens, and I have a life.

Not wanting to clog up the web with musings on the last 2 1/2 months that I have neglected, I will just ramble on about the last few days or so....

Let's see... found a story in the Washington Post: "Stern Warning on Sex With Minors
Pregnancies Spur Va. Campaign Aimed at Men" (Chris L. Jenkins - June 15, 2004) sorry, no link -- but you can find it on their online site today, if you register. Apparently, authorities plan to use taxpayer dollars to distribute cocktail napkins, coasters, postcards and maybe a few billboards with slogans like "Isn't she a little young?" emblazoned on them, to discourage men from having sex with underage girls. Yeah, like that's gonna work.

Virginia health officials said they became alarmed when they reviewed state studies showing that in 1999 and 2000, 219 babies born to 13- and 14-year-old girls were fathered by men over age 18. They also cited nationwide statistics that show that men older than 21 are three times as likely to father children with junior high school girls than are junior high school boys. And they want to curtail this problem in Virginia by handing out cocktail napkins?

Oh, and try not to spit coffee on your monitor while reading what this guy has to say...."What we're hoping is that men will start to check each other and basically say, 'Dude, she's 16 -- you shouldn't be with her,' " said Robert Franklin, male outreach coordinator for sexual violence prevention at the Virginia Department of Health. Franklin helped initiate the campaign.
Hey, somebody get me one of those coasters ... I need something to set my drink on.

Another Washington Post story: "For Freed Iraqis, Mixed Emotions" (Jackie Spinner - 6/15/04) describes the scene at Abu Graib prison as more Iraqi detainees prepare for their scheduled release. Many clutched elaborately woven bags made of the plastic packages of ready-to-eat meals. Some called out farewells to relatives and friends who would remain behind. Military police officers joked with the detainees and shook their hands. One MP gently warned, "I don't want to see you again, brother."
Finally, they walked out of the barbed wire enclosure, dumping weathered blankets and orange-and-rose-colored prison jumpsuits in separate piles and accepting $25 in cash intended to help them get back on their feet. Then they waited for the buses that would take them away from a prison that has become a dark shadow over the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

I think I'm gonna hurl.
With new regulations in place and new soldiers on guard, many of the detainees said Abu Ghraib was not the same prison it was when reports of abuse by U.S. guards surfaced more than a month ago. Certainly, they said, it bore no resemblance to the institution where thousands of Iraqis were tortured and executed by former president Saddam Hussein's security forces.
"The Army is good now," said Satr Sim Mohammad, 23, who wore a black fez with red stitching. Asked why he had spent time at Abu Ghraib, Mohammad smiled and shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I have a small problem." What? builds small IED's instead of big ones?

Other Iraqis did not consider US guards and the US in general so praiseworthy... but since they don't matter (because they suck, IMO) I won't reprint their quotes here. Go to the WPOST site and do that registration thing to read those.

And buried in somewhere toward the bottom of the article, we read an example of what our soldiers have to put up with while guarding these prisoners: As a female military police officer, [army specialist Elizabeth] Nierman has not had an easy time in the compounds. Shortly after she arrived in February, she said, she had a piece of brick thrown at her, splitting open her lip. About a week ago, someone hurled a container of urine at her. Spec. Nierman is 19 years old, by the way.
Victoria's Secret is having a big sale right now. Don't know why I threw that in.

And here's one that surprised me....really.... I mean, who'd of thought something like this would happen in Cuba? The uninitiated should keep this quote from Chris Perez of South Fla's Cuba Free Press Project fresh on the brain while perusing the paragraphs..."Keep in mind that nothing gets published in that newspaper without Castro's personal authorization," Well said, amigo.

And in our "BOOYAH" file we are pleased to find that ISRAELI FORCES HAVE SMOKED ANOTHER TERRORIST LEADER: An attack helicopter fired missiles at a car carrying Khalil Marshud, head of the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. An aide was also killed.

Of course, there's always the reaction... "In this assassination Israel eliminated all possibilities for a cease-fire. We won't abide by any cease-fire agreement, and we will avenge our leader's death," a spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said. Cease fire agreement? Oh, yeah... those are always rock solid.

More from the knuckle-dragging terror monkeys: The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have threatened to kidnap and execute Israeli soldiers and civilians, including women and children, to avenge a life prison term given to former West Bank Fatah chief Marwan Barghouti, Haaretz reported.
In a statement faxed to Reuters last week, the network said: "We urge all our fighters to kidnap Zionists, children, women and soldiers and sentence them to death."

I urge the IDF to think of these assassinations like Pringles (tm) potato chips.... "ONCE YOU POP, YOU CAN'T STOP."

In other news... Bush has said "No" to an official White House endorsement of June as gay pride month. Homosexual activists are fuming. No, wait... I think the word is flaming.

Our friends the Saudis are at it again. They have imprisoned and tortured a Catholic worker from India for allegedly "preaching Christianity". Catholic officials say O'Conner, 36, has been tortured and threatened with death if he does not renounce his faith and convert to Islam. sick assholes. I have nothing more to say about that.

I don't really want to talk much about the Iraqis who danced in the streets around charred corpses after a car bomb exploded and killed five foreign workers (including one American) and 9 Iraqis. They need to be forced to scrape the burnt flesh and blood off the streets and what's left of the surrounding buildings with their fingernails.

A Somali-born man has been charged in a plot to blow up a U.S. shopping mall.
The four-count indictment, returned by a grand jury in Columbus, charges that Nuradin Abdi, 32, conspired with admitted al-Qaida member Iyman Faris and others to detonate a bomb at the unidentified shopping mall after he obtained military-style training in Ethiopia.
Abdi is also charged with fraud and misuse of documents by claiming that he had been granted valid asylum status in the United States. In fact, prosecutors say, he obtained that refugee document under false pretenses. I'd like to thank the people at Immigration and Naturalization Services for allowing me and my friends and family to feel safe and secure in our own nation.

2004-03-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

Reaction to Yassin's death (ding dong the sheikh is dead) has been cautious, squeamish, disapproving, and even condemning.... In this article Israeli Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi makes no apologies for the squashing of a really big bug.

"PA Chairman Yasser Arafat is not immune; no one is immune anymore. We should stop apologizing for defending ourselves,"

Reaction from Arafat and the PA is not surprising...

They've declared 3 days of mourning... Schools are closed.... flags are at half-staff....

And Arafat is really worried.
Earlier Monday, about 2,000 demonstrators gathered outside Arafat's headquarters, screaming for revenge and demanding to speak to the Palestinian leader. Arafat remained inside, apparently fearing he too might be targeted by Israel.
"He is like a man who was hit on the head because they killed Yassin and now they could kill him," said an aide to Arafat, speaking on condition of anonymity. "He feels his turn is next and he is sad and worried."

AWWWWWW BESS HIM WIDDLE HOWAT.

2004-03-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

BOOYAH.

The SHEIKH is dead.

IAF in a bad-ass helicopter gunship fired missiles at his car as he was leaving a mosque with some...errr... assistants (fellow terrorists) and killed him and his pals instantly.

Now, of course, Israel has to brace for what will come afterward.... For now, let us savor the moment....

for as long as it lasts...

and in the words of the great WWE wrestler Bill Goldberg....

Who's next?

2004-03-21T14:33:00.001-08:00

I had to come back in here and post this.

For those of you who hate clicking links and just want the jist of it....

This will make your eyes bleed:

AN EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD WHO SNORTED COKE THE DAY HER BABY WAS BORN HAS REGAINED CUSTODY OF THAT BABY BECAUSE OF THE (SO CALLED) INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT.

Most mothers whose newborns have cocaine in their system lose custody under state and federal laws. But the judge Friday cited the Indian Child Welfare Act in ruling that the 18-year-old should keep the child.

....

State District Judge John L. Sholden said state social workers failed to offer an expert on the mother's tribes - the Tlingit and Haida Indian tribes of Alaska - to testify on their customs and culture.

"This case concerns me because we had a very serious removal," Sholden said before ruling. "It pains me I have no other choice."

Since when is snorting coke when you've just given birth a custom of ANY tribe??

2004-03-21T14:33:00.000-08:00

FYI:

Since the beginning of the violence in 2000, 29 suicide attacks were carried out by youth under the age of 18.

Wanna read more? Click here to read IDF info regarding the exploitation of children by Palestinian terrorists

2004-03-21T14:08:00.001-08:00

I thought that this Jpost article was rather...how do I put this.... strangely written. Then I glanced back up at the by-line and noticed two names... something tells me that Margot and that other guy didn't exactly sit at the same desk to get this thing written.

I mean, how else would you explain why Abdel Rahman al-Derdaisi and others of his type were being described as Hamas activists? One of those "activists" was killed by the explosives belt he had strapped around his body.

In case you were wondering, that was six Palestinians killed in Gaza, three in Bethlehem. Three possibly innocent, as three were the wife, mother and sister of one of those 'activists'... I use the term "innocent" quite loosely.

2004-03-21T14:08:00.000-08:00

27 Palestinians and one Israeli peace-activist were wounded in clashes during anti-fence (translation: anti-Israel's security) protests near Harbata.

According to the article there were several hundred protesters. I'd be willing to be that there were much fewer than several hundred soldiers and police making sure things didn't get out of hand.

Eyewitnesses said police and IDF started firing tear-gas and rubber (some say rubber-coated) bullets "indiscriminately" (some people like that word a little too much). Hmmmm.... Police officials .... say security forces exercised the utmost restraint, and only retaliated when demonstrators began pelting them with stones. yeah, for some reason I tend to buy that version of the story more than the first one.

faster please.

2004-03-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

As if the terror attack was not sickening enough, Al-Aqsa issued a public apology for the killing of George Khoury, 21 -- stating that they had mistaken him for a Jew.

this piece describes Khoury's funeral, attended by thousands of Jews and Arabs, including Jerusalem's mayor and officials from the PA.

Khoury, a student at Hebrew University, was gunned down as he was jogging in French Hill. Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, claimed responsibility for the slaying, but later apologized, saying the victim was mistaken for a Jew.
A spokesman for the group said the assailants believed Khoury was a settler, "because he was in an area full of settlers. It was a mistake and we offer our condolences to the family." a MISTAKE. Whoops - we killed an innocent man - sorry 'bout that... thought he was someone else. knuckle-dragging hatemonkeys.

2004-03-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

DAMN!!--I MISSED IT!!

Tuesday, March 16

This is the one-year anniversary of the murder of Rachel Corrie, a young
American woman who stood in front of a house in the Occupied Territories
that was slated to be demolished. She was purposely run over by an Israeli
bulldozer. To commemorate her sacrifice for justice, Houston Coalition for
Justice Not War is sponsoring a vigil/protest from 5-7 p.m. at the Israeli
consulate, 24 Greenway, near the intersection of Wesleyan and SW Freeway.

D'ya think having pancakes for supper tonight will suffice?

2004-03-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

so sorry for the long and unexplained absence....

just one of those things that happens with parenthood, especially when you're an "exponential" parent such as myself

anyway...

thought I'd share this with all of you....

It appears that there are certain members of the Palestinian society that care about their children so much that they provide them with powerful explosives to carry into Israeli towns so that they, too, can become glorious martyrs while killing Jews.

how lovely.

2004-02-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

No doubt Israel-haters will use this story as yet another excuse for going to bed with terrorists; I prefer to use it to point out the humanity and fairness of really good people...

Hebron Police have detained three Israelis suspected of shooting at five Palestinian shepherds in the Arab village of Tekoa near the Jewish settlement of Tekoa in the Bethlehem area. ...

...Three of the Palestinians were taken to a local hospital and the others were treated at the site by IDF medics.

Yes, that's right. Israeli police have detained Israeli settlers suspected of shooting at Palestinians. And no, you are not going blind or insane - you read correctly... A couple of those Palestinians were even treated by members of the Israeli armed forces.

2004-02-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

How's this for fun....

Friday AM hubby leaves for England....

Friday AM mommy fixes breakfast for five kids...gets five kids off to school... rushes around doing laundry, dishes, etc. etc. etc.... picks up KFC for the food shelter....does the delivery... buys groceries... puts groceries away... hmmm... something is not quite right with the refrigerator... oh well.

Little one comes home.... little one is in the middle of loads-of-fun when-will-this-end ritual of potty training... mommy has to spend half an hour at a time in bathroom singing stupid tee-tee songs to make little one use the potty... mommy doesn't notice that there is still something not quite right with refrigerator....

three other kids picked up from school.... then one more comes home....

snacks eaten... cartoons watched.... messes made...now it's almost time to fix supper... what are we gonna eat? I'm starved...let's check the fridge for vittles....

hey... there's water coming out of the freezer... WTF?? uh oh the ice is melting... what gives... yellow pages to the rescue... call all 7 appliance repair places in the area... nobody can come until tomorrow (Saturday) morning (which is today, of course).... oh joy! pile kids into car... buy lots of ice... get ice chests out of garage and borrow one from the neighbors.... quick! save the ice cream!! save the beer!!!

repairman comes... yeah!! we're saved!! Damn thing's still not fixed... apparently he didn't have the right parts on the truck... and we're still screwed... until Monday...

and in the meantime the "ice runs" will continue.

2004-02-21T20:44:00.001-08:00

this is all a big joke and I'm gonna laugh my ass off when I hear the punchline, right??

Since the services Autistic kids receive in the public schools around here are either non-existent or laughable, I decided to take matters into my own hands and look for a place to take mine for speech and occupational therapy. After finally finding a good provider I began the endless chain of phone calls to our insurance company. My first phone call seemed promising, as I was assured by the service rep on the other end of the line that the kids' therapies would indeed be covered, and was even assured that we could get around their assinine "50-mile-radius" rule which requires we travel up to 50 miles from home just to get a FREAKIN in network provider. Happy, happy, happy me made a call to the therapy-center to be and to the pediatrician's office to begin the sordid mess that is referral and precertification and other such crap. Then me (still happy happy happy) gets news from insurance and intake girl at therapy place that service rep at said stupid insurance company has said..oh noooooo... we can't cover it. huh? So which is it? Are we covered or not? Do the kids get the therapy or not? (we're talking at least $1600.00 a month if it's not covered) More phone calls made. A (supposedly) more reliable contact person is found. Presto! We get precertification numbers to start evaluations and get on with subsequent therapy sessions. Blam! The bubble bursts -- the precertification numbers were given because stupid insurance company thought provider-to-be was "in-network" - althought NOBODY TOLD THEM THEY WERE. And to pour salt in the wound, I'm told that the rep in medical management (who know more about coverage, benefits, etc. than the service reps) has said that there is no coverage -- because (1) speech therapy under our policy is "restorative only" and (2) they need a "medical" diagnosis code. Apparently, being able to communicate enough to one day care for onesself is not necessary.
And then yesterday afternoon the mail runs... and amongst the junk mail and the bills are four letters from our insurance company.... two of each for the two kids.... from some woman from the medical management team assuring us that the therapy services would be covered and here are the precertification numbers...blah blah blah blah blah.... For some strange reason I kept those letters even though I know they aren't worth crap.

2004-02-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

yeah...long time no blog...I know.

sorry. been busy... you know... doing stuff.

I wrote in my last post that we were about to embark on the weird journey of being research-study guinea pigs... (squeak squeak squeak)... and three of us (me and the two "autties") were interviewed, tested and evaluated Friday for several hours. Okay, so I was the one interviewed and they were tested. It was interesting... the whole process and all - and this was only the first step. The fun part is when the phlebotomist comes to the house (I hope he or she was once a member of the WWF)

2004-02-04T10:41:00.000-08:00

Got some totally excellent news yesterday...

My family will be a part of this research project, which will possibly answer some questions regarding our two "autties" and (maybe) eventually provide answers for millions of families around the world. I signed up a month ago or so, and received the phone call yesterday. Funny, I had sortof forgotten about it -- you know, thinking we probably wouldn't be chosen - because there would be just "so many".....

I'm sure many of you are wondering why I'm so excited about something that has the words "possibly" and "maybe" attached to it. But you have to understand.... we parents of kids w/ autism are used to this sortof thing. You know, try this medication...it's not really approved for your kid's condition, but we can use it anyway... try this nutritional supplement - 30 percent have shown "improvement" (yeah, and 70 percent don't, and yet we parents think that's hopeful)... or worse: Mr. and Mrs. so-and-so, I'm Dr. Quack.... I'm going to squeeze your child's head so to "reposition" his cranial fluid... he'll be better in no time.
So genetic research done by actual scientists and testing administered by actual medical doctors sounds pretty promising to me.

2004-02-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

In case you all were wondering, I have been following the news regarding the latest revelations regarding WMD or no WMD in Iraq. My thoughts? (Oh, yeah, I'm sure you've been losing sleep waiting for this)

First of all, I think that there has been too much emphasis on the wrong thing. David Kay said in his report that he didn't believe that massive stockpiles of WMD would be found. He did not say in his report, nor has he ever said that he was 100% certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that we would ever find ANY weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Do I think that the issue of whether or not we had faulty intelligence needs to be addressed? you bet.

Second of all -- okay, see above, and let me add this: WMDs were not the sole reason we went into Iraq. Hussein was a threat to the US, and the rest of the world and even to his own people. Do the words "torture"...."mass graves".... "kidnapping".... "rape"....and "murder" mean anything to anybody?

Thirdly... see above, and in addition: the decision to go to war was, as I hinted at before, not based on one sole issue. It was a question of laying the cards on the table, looking at all the options, and deciding which would better ensure the safety and well-being of the citizens of the US and, for that matter, the entire world.

So, I say to the smug little lefties with their snide little "I told you so's" spilling from their mouths....

EFF OFF.

2004-02-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

Ariel Sharon has announced that he will order the evacuation of 17 settlements in Gaza -- and despite protests from within his political party and from settlers and settlers' rights groups in Israel and abroad, vows to stick to his guns.

While I do sincerely feel sympathetic toward those who will have to pack up their belongings and leave their homes, I believe that such a move is a step toward establishing "facts on the ground" that will be to Israel's advantage in future peace negotiations. The PA and the assorted terror groups will be put to a major test through this extremely bold move on Sharon's part - and if they fail this test, they will have noone to blame but themselves. And if they fail, I say as far as removing any other settlements, or changing the course of the wall, or any other demands made by the PA and the left... ALL BETS ARE OFF.

As for reaction from those settlers' lovely neighbors from across the fence...(from this Jpost article
just a few miles and a world away in Gaza City, Palestinians celebrating the Eid Al Adha festival said they do not believe the settlements will be evacuated.

"Sharon is a terrorist, all his speeches are lies," said Wael Yusuf, a Palestinian police officer wearing khaki fatigues, carrying a Kalashnikov and eating orange cotton candy beside a park filled with hundreds of frolicking children.

Even if Israel did leave the Gaza settlements, it would not be enough, Yusuf said. Israel would also have to give back the West Bank, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and every other square inch of land it inhabits, he said.
Hussein Afana, 49, though equally skeptical, said he would be thrilled if the settlements disappeared. "We would start to trust (Sharon) and his government," he said.

Pray that people like Mr. Afana suddenly become a majority

2004-02-03T11:09:00.000-08:00

So far, 30 countries are voicing their objections to the World Court's hearing on the 23rd regarding the legality of the security wall.
"There are almost 30 countries -- 25 nations in the (European) Union, in addition to the United States, Australia, Canada and Russia -- that disapprove of the fact that the issue is being brought to the World Court in the Hague," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Ron Prosor told Channel 2 television.

This "points to the fact that enlightened democratic states believe the World Court is not the place to discuss this political issue," he added.

I would like to think that the fact that 30 countries are protesting the Hag means that 30 countries support Israel's right to build and maintain a security barrier to keep out terrorists.... but I wonder just how many are merely objecting to the forum iself and still believe Israel has no right to build such a barrier.

probably a stupid question.

2004-01-30T12:59:00.000-08:00

This weekend as we here in the US celebrate the Super Bowl with hours upon hours of good food, good drink, good friends, and football.... None of us should forget that the very same day is the one-year anniversary of the horrible disaster that claimed the lives of seven extraordinary people. They deserve to be never ever forgotten.

Another note regarding Thursday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem.... Bret Stephens of Jpost wrote a very powerful column regarding his experience during the aftermath. Bret's apartment is very near where the blast occured... and he personally witnessed some very horrible things... go here to read it. You have to be registered to view it, but registration is free and well worth it just to read this one article.

2004-01-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

I'm sure by now at this late time of day/evening that all five of you who read this blog have already read the reports regarding this morning's suicide bombing in Jerusalem.... 10 dead.... 50 wounded.... the bomber was a 24-year-old PA policeman.... (the Pals have wailed and wondered why their security officials are targeted...there's their answer)

And in the aftermath, Israeli defense minister Shaul Mofaz ordered Israeli security not to renew the closure of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip:

Mofaz explained that the decision not to impose a closure on Palestinian cities was made so as not to make the lives of the Palestinian public harder. He said that action would be taken specifically against terror organizations. Mofaz said that Israel is committed to a policy of "differentiating" between civilians and those who carry out terror attacks. At the time of the bombing, at approximately 9 A.M., Mofaz was meeting with U.S. envoys David Satterfield and John Wolf, to discuss easing conditions for the Palestinian population. The decision to refrain from imposing a general closure on the territories came despite opposition expressed by Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter, who recommended that stricter measures be taken.

I'm not sure what to say about that..... except that all the "easing of conditions" and "differentiating between civilians and those who carry out terror attacks" in the world isn't going to help matters..... the evil haters will hate and murder no matter what

2004-01-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Tennenbaum and three coffins return to Israel...

I'm sure I was the last of the bunch to finally sit down and read Jpost or any other report regarding the prisoner swap and the fate of the three missing soldiers and Elhanan Tennenbaum; okay - now I know... the bastards killed them. No joyful tearjerk reunions for three families who miss their young men will be happening in this particular story.... just three more funerals for a place that has too many damn funerals ...one right after the other....

I hate this whole prison swap idea... but as a small insignificant dot on the planet I don't exactly have a say in the matter...

THEY get 436 of theirs back... Israel receives one man and three boxes. It's not fair. dammit. just not fair.

2004-01-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

The Hag has ruled that 56 Islamic countries cantestify against Israel's security fence on February 23rd. That's a month from now, people.... in the meantime, ZAKA is readying a bus that was the target of a suicide bombing for transport to the international court.
Israel's Zaka (Disaster Victims Identification) is working to bring the shell of the bombed out No. 32 Jerusalem bus, on which a suicide bomber killed 19 people, including two schoolchildren, on June 18, 2002, to The Hague in time for the hearing.
Zaka spokesman Zelig Feiner said that his organizations is best suited to highlight the effect of bombs, thus graphically testifying to the rationale behind the fence.
It hurts to say this but I don't think it will do much good, given the audience they will be presenting this to.

But Phillipe Sands, lawyer at "The Hag", says that the international court is not biasedagainst Israel....or at least that's what he believes...
(jpost)Veteran lawyer at The Hague, Philippe Sands, said Thursday that he does not believe that the International Court of Justice is biased against Israel and that the court will issue a ruling that does not disregard political considerations surrounding the West Bank security fence.
Not biased. Okay, if you say so Mr. Sands. But I'm still trying to reconcile what is being said in that first paragraph with the following:
"This is an experienced court that understands that the law does not apply in a factual vacuum. It will understand that Israel has a legitimate interest in taking the minimum steps necessary to protect its population.
"They will also understand that the Palestinians have an entitlement to enjoy their territory fully and freely. They will have to find a way to balance competing considerations in light of international law," he said.
Sands said that Israel's counsel, Cambridge law professor Daniel Bethlehem, will probably have a difficult time defending the fence.
"I am sure that Israel appreciates, as its counsel must know, that the merits of its argument are not overwhelming," Sands said. merits of its argument not overwhelming.... hmm. can't get my brain around that one, sorry.

2004-01-22T07:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's the other one..... this one is from last week, so the news is still rather ummm..fresh.... you know, like just-dropped dung.... Law Society’s Weekly Roundup,
January 8-13, 2004

Israeli troops kill THREE Palestinians, including a child; they are:

1. Mahmoud al Kurd, 42
2. Fuad Jarwan, 18 and
3. Asad Khaliliyi, 31

excuse me, but an 18 year old is not a child.

Excessive use of force

Thursday, January 8, 2004

· Israeli troops killed Mohammad al Kurd, 42 from Tal al Sultan in Rafah; according to medical sources at Gaza, al Kurd was shot in the head and died instantly. Eyewitnesses stated that Israeli troops at Rafah Yam settlement had opened fire on Palestinian civilians fatally wounding al Kurd who was at home during the shooting

Friday, January 9, 2004

· Israeli troops shot and wounded Rami al Rimawi, 14 by rubber coated steel bullets in the head and leg. The Palestinian boy is from Beit Reema in Ramallah district; he was wounded during an Israeli troops’ raid on the village; he is currently receiving medical treatment at Ramallah hospital

Saturday, January 10, 2004

· Mohammad Hanini, 14 was wounded in the leg when Israeli troops raided Beit Fureek and opened fire on Palestinian civilians

Sunday, January 11, 2004

· Israeli troops opened fire on civilian population at Balata refugee camp wounding 5, including 3 children refugee camp... opened fire... yeah, and there weren’t any gunmen around firing at the troops...nope... just a bunch of old people and kids eating falafel. yep.
· Israeli troops shot and killed Fuad Jarwan, 18 from Beita in Nablus district; according to Jarwan’s brother, Israeli troops raided Beita and opened fire on Palestinian kids killing Jarwan while standing in front of his home. Medical sources in Nablus stated to Law that the Palestinian 12th grader was fatally wounded in the waist and the abdomen a 12th grader who was most likely just reading a book. usually happens in these cases. Seriously... just what was he doing and did he have anything in his hands while standing there like ohhh..I don’t know... an M-16? A grenade?? anything like that?? And what were other “kids” (who were probably 16, 17, 18...19....30 years old) doing at the time as well??

Extra judicial execution

On Thursday, January 8, 2004 Israeli troops extra judicially executed Asad Khaliliyi, 31 from Jaba’a in Jenin district. An eyewitness told Law Society that Khaliliyi was executed by undercover Israeli agents; he was hit by 18 bullets and died instantly. Khaliliyi, a Palestinian policeman, was married and had 4 children okay, sorry that he left 4 children behind... but being a policeman in this case doesn’t get you off – we’d all like to know just what else Khaliliyi was involved in and who he hung around with. I’m sure Israeli intelligence had good reason to smoke the guy.

Israeli troops’ incursions into Palestinian areas

Friday, January 9, 2004

· Israeli troops raided dozens of Palestinian homes in Hebron and searched them. Residents of the area told Law Society that the Israeli troops searched their homes and took personal information about them without any explanations okay, here’s a clue... if you hang around with those guys that wave those colorful flag things and wear those black things over their faces... that might be a reason for the IDF to question you. Just a thought.

Saturday, January 10, 2004

· Israeli troops arrested Midhat al Barghouthi, 19 from Kufur Ain in Ramallah district during a raid on the village so??

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

· Israeli troops raided Jaba’a in Jenin, which was under curfew, and arrested 3 of its residents AND??
· Israeli troops took over Naseef building in Nablus; according to Law’s documentation, the said building has been subjected to several Israeli raids and control since December 2001 and just what the hell is going on in that building? macrame classes??
· Israeli troops arrested dozens of Palestinian civilians and left wide scale destruction at Tulakrem refugee camp including burning 3 houses to the ground; the houses belonged to Nabeel Amer, Abdul Majeed Ghanim, and Abu Mohammad Shtiwi. Camp’s residents told Law that Israeli troops operating in the camp destroyed doors and burnt apartments’ belongings. The residents also stated that Israeli troops rounded up residents and left them in the open in cold and rainy weather for several hours

Collective punishment

Early Monday morning, January 12, 2004 Israeli troops besieged Mahmoud al Nawaja’s home in Yata, Hebron and rounded up its residents. The troops then shelled the house for two hours; Israeli bulldozers were brought later to complete the destruction of Nawaja’s home. Israeli troops also forced Nawaja to undress in the open despite the cold weather; they beat him before his family and arrested him
okay, so they go to arrest a terrorist...he refuses to come out.. when he finally DOES come out of the rubble they suspect he might be armed or “wired”...so they make him take off his shirt so they can search him safely.... he struggles and they have to whack him a few times before they can get the cuffs on him because he's being totally uncooperative and violent....yeah...that makes sense.

Human shields

Israeli troops raided Beit Omar in Hebron on Thursday, January 8, 2004 and arrested 3 Palestinian civilians. Yusif Awad, 65 told Law Society that Israeli troops broke into his home at 2 AM; they were searching for his son Adnan, 27 who lives nearby. The troops then used Awad’s wife who is 60 years old as a human shield in the arrest of her son Adnan (a taxi driver, married with 2 daughters).

On Friday, January 9, 2004 Israeli troops used Mohammad al Rimawi, 30 as human shield for more than an hour when they raided Beit Reema.

On Monday, January 12, 2004 Israeli troops used Abdul Kareem al Khalili, 51 as a human shield during a raid on al Khalili residence in Nablus; the troops arrested 4 members of al Khalili family
oh that’s so awful.. terrible... so’s becoming a human bomb, people...but I guess the IDF isn’t allowed to make arrests and do whatever they can to prevent that happening.

The siege and closure

On Tuesday, January 13, 2004 Israeli authorities prevented 360 Palestinian pilgrims from Gaza Strip from going to Mecca across Gaza-Egypt borders to perform the Hajj (Muslims’ annual pilgrimage). because their names were on a “list” of terror suspects and they were asking to travel to a country whose regime gives monetary and other support to the same terrorists that kill innocent Israeli men women and children.

The apartheid wall

On Monday, January 12, 2004 Israeli authorities placed 8-meter-high cement blocks in the middle of Abu Dis main road in Jerusalem thus depriving thousands of Palestinians commuters of entering Jerusalem. The cement blocks are part of the Israeli apartheid wall, which is being built around Jerusalem and the rest of the Palestinian territories.

Israeli troops also closed the road leading to al Walaja in Bethlehem on Sunday, January 11, 2004 with sand barriers.

Detention and maltreatment

· On Thursday, January 8, 2004 Israeli troops arrested three Palestinians from Silat al Harthiyi in Jenin and 3 Palestinians from Jenin refugee camp.
· Also on Thursday, Israeli troops broke into Mohammad Badran’s home in Beit Omar in Hebron and arrested him. The troops also attacked Badran’s mother, who wanted to kiss her son goodbye before being taken into Israeli custody, with rifle butts. The troops also searched Badran’s home and broke the television set
· And on the same day Israeli troops forced Atef Antari, 20 to undress in cold weather conditions I’m sure so they could search him for weapons and explosives.
· On Friday, January 9, 2004 Israeli troops arrested Ata Rmilat, 44 from Jenin refugee camp; Ata is married and has 5 children maybe he should have thought of those children and that wife before becoming involved in terrorism.
· On Saturday, January 10, 2004, Israeli troops arrested Rami Abu Rabee, 30 from Nablus’ old city
· On Monday, January 12, 2004 Israeli troops raided al Yamoon in Jenin and arrested 5 Palestinians
· Also on Monday, Israeli troops arrested Omar al Barghouthi’s wife Suhair, 43 (Omar al Barghouthi is currently held in custody by Israeli authorities) from Kober in Ramallah. the troops also arrested Mrs. al Barghouthi’s son and brother and isn’t Omar accused of being involved in a really big plot to kill a lot of people?? maybe I’m confusing him with another terrorist.
· Also on Monday, Israeli troops raided Birzeit and arrested 11 Palestinians
· Kayid Haron, 23 from Nablus was also arrested on Monday
· On Tuesday, January 13, 2004 Israeli troops raided Burqeen in Jenin and arrested 6 Palestinians

Attacks on paramedics

· Wednesday, January 7, 2004: Israeli troops attacked a Palestinian ambulance driver on Huwara roadblock
· On Sunday, January 11, 2004 Israeli troops held all Palestinian ambulances at Huwara roadblock –near Nablus- from 8 in o’clock the morning until midday
· On Monday, January 12, 2004 Israeli troops at Huwara roadblock tore 2 paramedics’ identity cards
and I’m sure there was good reason for all of this.

Jewish settlers’ aggression

On Friday, January 9, 2004

· Jewish settlers from Kharsina cut vine trees in farmland belonging to Abdul Rahman Sultan from Hebron. An eyewitness told Law that the Jewish settlers’ aggression occurred in dark and rainy night. hey..not cool...go trim your own trees. You know, they do have police that can take care of that...and gee, sometimes they actually do their jobs... but certain people can’t or won’t seem to believe that those policemen/women would give them fair treatment. Pity.
· Ziyad Sultan, 55 and Abdullah Sultan, 18 from Hebron were wounded when Jewish settlers hurled rocks at them. Sultan told Law Society that Israeli troops blocked the road leading to their neighborhood in Hebron with cement blocks; Jewish settlers gather in the area and hurl rocks on Palestinian passersby. I doubt that the soldiers were just standing around applauding. Many have been wounded (as in gotten the crap beat out of them) while trying to prevent and stop settler violence against Palestinian villagers

Saturday, January 10, 2004

· Hamza Da’na, 5 was wounded by rocks thrown at him by Jewish settlers in Hebron. okay, now that’s not cool. when little kids start becoming involved, you have to be just a little concerned, angry... and question just why a little one was hurt like that... what were the circumstances... was he among a crowd of others who were also throwing stones, etc...(at the settlers)...or was it just an “out of the blue” type of thing??

Law Society’s remarks:
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah... see the other posted report thingy...
1. Israeli troops continue to commit crimes against Palestinian civilians;
2. Israeli troop continue to use excessive force and heavy weaponry against Palestinian civilians;
3. Israeli troops continue to shell Palestinian residential quarters;
4. Israeli troops continue to use Jewish settlements as military outposts in shelling Palestinian residential areas;
5. Jewish settlers, protected and assisted by Israeli troops, continue to attack Palestinian civilians; and
6. The international community and the signatory countries of the 4th Geneva Convention have not intervened to force Israel to comply with the Convention.

Law Society’s demands

1. An open investigation in all Israeli troops’ killings of Palestinian civilians based on Article 146 of the 4th Geneva Convention;
2. Israeli government to stop its crimes and collective punishment against Palestinian people;
3. An international investigation committee to be formed based on UN Security Council’s Resolution number 1322 to investigate the Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories;
4. The signatory countries of the 4th Geneva Convention to meet and take action to force Israeli to comply with the Convention;
5. Place Palestinian civilians under international protection; and
6. The International Community to immediately put an end to the Israeli crimes against Palestinian people and to immediately implement the relevant international resolutions. hrrrrlllllffffff!!!!

2004-01-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

I think this is what we call "Fisking"??

whatever you call it... I get the LAW society weekly reports... and have never done this before but I sure have thought of it as I've sat and read through these and swallowed back down my most recent meal....

Now, bear with me, as this first one and then the next posting are both a week to two weeks old... the point is not how fresh the info is but what you do with the info here.Law Society’s Weekly Roundup,
January 1-7, 2004

Israeli troops kill ELEVEN Palestinians, including FIVE children; they are:

1. Mohammad Said, 16
2. Mahir Jaber, 27
3. Amjad al Masri, 15
4. Amer Arafat, 26
5. Rawhi Shuman, 22
6. Mohammad al Masri, 18
7. Ibraheem al Atari, 32
8. Abid al Kasas, 27
9. Taj Saif, 17
10. Mutasim al Hasan, 17 and
11. Hisham Kharyoosh, 22

They must be counting the 18 year old as a "child"... also....the two 17-year-olds could be considered adults in some instances. And lets find out the circumstances of their deaths.... shall we??

Excessive use of force

Saturday, January 3, 2004

· Israeli troops killed Mutasim al Hasan, 17 from Khan Yunis; according to Israeli sources, the Palestinian teenager was planting an explosive device on a settlers’ road when he was killed. yep, Mutasim is on the list....one of those POOR LITTLE CHILDREN that were killed by those evil soldiers....
· Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinian protesters in Beit Fureek near Nablus wounding seven. yeah, and just what were those protesters doing? throwing rocks at soldiers and trying to cut through the fence?

Sunday, January 4, 2004

· A Jewish settler is believed to have hit and run a number of Palestinians from al Ram; Mahir Jaber, 27 was killed in the attack. The Palestinian was left without any rescue for three hours. Jaber’s cousin Ahmad told Law Society that “At around five o’clock on Sunday evening, January 4, 2004, while Mahir Jaber, 27, Mohammad Jaber, 15, and myself “Ahmad, 22,” were on our way home from work, an off white Israeli registered GMC Savannah drove towards us and hit us; Mahir was thrown 20 meters away; he hit a rock and was killed instantly. Mohammad sustained shoulder and neck injuries and I sustained neck and abdomen injuries; the driver took off. People called for an ambulance and a Palestinian ambulance arrived. The Israeli ambulance was late. We were taken to Hadassah hospital in al Isawiyi by the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance; however, Israeli guards at the hospital prevented the ambulance from entering the hospital since it did not have a permit to enter Jerusalem. An hour later the injured were allowed access to hospital on stretches carried by Israeli medics. The treatment at the hospital was awful. The body of Mahir was left on the road for three hours. Mahir left a baby and a pregnant wife behind.” I can’t say I doubt this entire story... but I suspect some of it is exaggerated or embellished... especially the “fact” that they received poor treatment at the hospital. Some of the best docs in the world are at Haddassah

Monday, January 5, 2004

· Israeli troops killed Taj Saif, 17 from Beit al Ma refugee camp in Nablus; he was shot in the chest when an Israeli military jeep opened fire on Palestinian civilians standing at the entrance of the camp. 14-year-old Imad Fada was also wounded in the incident. Palestinian civilians doing what? Playing hopscotch? Or uhhhh “resisting”...? AND.... more importantly....was there gunfire coming from that direction BEFORE the soldiers opened fire... that of course, is rarely or never mentioned in reports like this.

Wednesday, January 7, 2004

· On Wednesday morning Israeli troops killed Ibraheem al Atari, 32 and Abid al Kasas, 27. According to Law Society’s information, Israeli troops raided al Kasas building in Nablus and forced its occupants, including Atari and Kasas, out on the street. Atari and al Kasas were taken behind the building and were shot dead. Al Kasas’ brothers and five other Palestinians were arrested on the same day. Most likely they were “wanted” ... I’ll wager a bet that a report from the Israeli point of view would state that they resisted arrest in some fashion – eg tried to run, or even pulled out weapons....

Extra judicial execution

On Wednesday, January 7, 2004 Israeli troops extra judicially executed Ahmad Kharyoosh, 22 from Tulkarem refugee camp. An eyewitness told Law Society that at 00:45 Israeli troops at the roof of a house in the camp shot Hisham in the head; he bled to death because Israeli troops stopped an ambulance coming to the rescue.
Gee, usually when somebody is errr.. extra judicially executed it means that they are terrorist scum plotting to kill innocent Jews... Israel just doesn’t do that crap without a reason – sorry.

Israeli troops’ incursions into Palestinian areas

Thursday, January 1, 2004

· Israeli troops raided Ausreen near Nablus and killed Mohammad Said, 16.
yeah, they outright just aimed right at him and killed him in cold blood...
or let’s take a drive to Reality City and look at it this way.... troops went into the village, there was uhhhhh “resistance”... troops returned fire... Mohammad caught in crossfire... or....if you really want to be cynical.... let’s say Mohammad was with his older brother in the thick of it all and died with a Kalishnikov in his hand.
Saturday, January 3, 2004

· Israeli troops operating in Nablus killed three Palestinians. According to Law Society’s field information, Israeli troops opened indiscriminate fire on civilians in al Sheikh M’salam’s neighborhood in the old city of Nablus killing Ahmad al Masri, 15; the Palestinian child was fatally wounded in the chest and back. okay, who fired first and do you really think the soldiers could see each and every person that might have been in the line of fire...
· Moreover, Israeli troops killed Amer Arafat, 26 and Rawhi Shuman, 20 when they opened fire on civilians at the city center and Gharnata Street. Mahmoud Abu Riziq from Balata refugee camp was shot and wounded in the leg. ditto
· Israeli troops opened fire on the funeral procession of al Masri, Arafat, and Shuman wounding 3. gee, how many in the crowd were waving those pretty green flags??
· Law Society’s field sources stated that Israeli troops demolished and blew up places underneath houses in al Qaryoon neighborhood in the old city of Nablus in search of wanted Palestinians; among the houses were Adel al Sarisi, Ahmad al Najar, and Ziyad al Ghaleeth’s houses. The troops also blew up what was left of al Shu’ibi’s houses in the same neighborhood. isn’t it nice to feel wanted?

Wednesday, January 7, 2004

· Israeli troops blew up an apartment in Betunia causing extensive damage to other apartments in the building where the apartment was located. yeah, and those evil Zionists messed up the weapon-smuggling tunnel, too.

Siege and closure

Large numbers of Israeli troops raided Tulkarem refugee camp on Saturday and imposed a curfew; a 21-year-old Palestinian was wounded in the Israeli raid. Moreover, 22 Palestinian university students were held by Israeli troops at Beit Fureek roadblock. yeah, dammit... and ain’t none of them are involved in any dadgum terror groups, neither.

The apartheid wall

Arafat Khalaf, mayor of Betunia, told Law that Betunia Municipality had received orders from the Israeli authorities of confiscation of dozens of acres of land in Betunia for the purpose of building the Israeli apartheid wall (separation fence). sorry, but that’s just the way it goes. you support terrormonkeys that kill innocent people you have to pay the price. get rid of the terrorists amongst you for good and we’ll talk about being nice-nice and giving you some of what you want.

Detention and maltreatment

· On Thursday, January 1, 2004 Israeli troops arrested three Palestinian from Tulkarem. AND???
· On the next day (Friday, January 2, 2004) Israeli troops arrested 5 Palestinians from Hebron, 2 Palestinians from Asira la Shamaliya near Nablus, and 2 Palestinians from Balata refugee cam, also near Nablus. SO????
· Also on Friday, Israeli troops broke into Thahir Abahra’s house in al Yamoon near Jenin and beat Marwan Abahra, 33 and held ten brothers until late at night.
· Tha’er Basha, 18 from Tulkarem was severely beaten by Israeli troops during a raid on the West Bank town.
· On Saturday, January 3, 2004 Israeli troops arrested 4 Palestinians from Dora in Hebron and 2 Palestinians from Jenin.
· On Sunday, January 4, 2004 Israeli troops arrested 7 Palestinians from Qalqilia.
· Also on Sunday, Israeli troops besieged al Yamoon mosque and showered worshippers with teargas grenades; a number of worshippers sustained severe cases of teargas inhalation. hey I thought the day of worship was on Friday... and just what sort of mosque is it anyway....
· On Wednesday, January 8, 2004 Israeli troops arrested 5 Palestinians during an incursion into Jenin refugee camp.

Exile

On New Year’s Eve, Israeli authorities sent Mustafa Abed, 40 into exile in Gaza Strip. Abed has seven children; he is accused of resisting the Israeli occupation.
"... accused of resisting the Israeli occupation." HE’S A TERRORIST, DUMBASSES.

Attacks on paramedics

· On Thursday, January 1, 2004 Israeli troops attacked Palestinians protesting the construction of the Israeli apartheid wall at Budrus near Ramallah. Among the wounded were two Palestinian medics who were wounded by Israeli rubber coated steel bullets.
· Israeli troops also prevented Palestinian medics from rescuing wounded people at Budrus on Sunday, January 4. An ambulance sustained damage when Israeli troops opened fire on it at Budrus.
not much tears to shed over this one... I mean, sorry people got hurt and all and sorry those guys were prevented from doing their jobs.. life’s a bitch and all that... but I wonder just what sort of protest that was...

House demolition

On Friday, January 2, 2004, Israeli troops demolished Fat’he Sabarna’s house at Beit Omar in Hebron. Another house at Beit Omar was knocked down on Monday, January 5, 2004; the house belonged to Salih Nimir. okay... and who were Nimir and Sabarna?? might find out that they were linked to terror attacks... but you know, that’s just me.

Law Society’s remarks:

1. Israeli troops continue to commit crimes against Palestinian civilians; and Palestinian terrorists continue to kill innocent Israelis
2. Israeli troop continue to use excessive force and heavy weaponry against Palestinian civilians; and Palestinian terrorists continue to blow themselves up on crowded Israeli buses
3. Israeli troops continue to shell Palestinian residential quarters; and Palestinian gunmen continue to shoot Jewish settlers in their homes, in their cars, etc.
4. Israeli troops continue to use Jewish settlements as military outposts in shelling Palestinian residential areas; and Palestinian terrorists continue to put their own people at risk by using their own neighborhoods as launching pads for rocket attacks on Jewish settlements.
5. Jewish settlers, protected and assisted by Israeli troops, continue to attack Palestinian civilians; and see 1 thru 5
6. The international community and the signatory countries of the 4th Geneva Convention have not intervened to force Israel to comply with the Convention. and the international community blah blah blah has not intervened in any way to force the Palestinians to comply with each and every human rights and international accord blah blah blah THEY have pissed on.

Law Society’s demands

1. An open investigation in all Israeli troops’ killings of Palestinian civilians based on Article 146 of the 4th Geneva Convention; you know something, the IDF does a pretty darn good job of investigating everything that needs to be investigated.. I trust them before I trust the UN or anyone else of that nature.
2. Israeli government to stop its crimes and collective punishment against Palestinian people; see above section
3. An international investigation committee to be formed based on UN Security Council’s Resolution number 1322 to investigate the Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories; The signatory countries of the 4th Geneva Convention to meet and take action to force Israeli to comply with the Convention; FORCE?? HOW?? never mind... I really don’t wanna know.
4. Place Palestinian civilians under international protection; and
5. The International Community to immediately put an end to the Israeli crimes against Palestinian people and to immediately implement the relevant international resolutions. hrrrrrlllllffffff!!! (that was me projectile vomiting)

2004-01-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

Kosher culinary academy opens in Jerusalem...

Until three weeks ago, there has been nowhere that an Orthodox guy - or girl - can train to be a gourmet chef in a kosher environment. It was either a case of learning on the job, or studying somewhere treif; an experience that [Danny] Reicher could have done without.

(click the link to read more)

so.... when do they get their own Food TV special?

2004-01-20T12:50:00.003-08:00

This is why parents of autistic children such as myself all make such a big stink about what is happening in our children's classrooms, as well as the quality and quantiy of the therapeutic services they receive.

...the victim was autistic and couldn't communicate what happened

2004-01-20T12:50:00.002-08:00

At first I was touched and awed by this generous gift, but then the common-sense half of my brain got to work. Read carefully what the 1.5 BILLION dollars is to be used for. It apparently won't be providing shelter for the homeless, or building and stocking a soup kitchen or a food pantry to feed the hungry. It won't be building a shelter for abused women and children. The money will be used to build a recreation center. According to W. Todd Bassett, national commander of The Salvation Army: "She wanted to make a real impact, especially on low-income families."

Lesson: You CAN'T buy a clue.

2004-01-20T12:50:00.001-08:00

Still say there was no justification for the war in Iraq??

Looks like Libya has quite a nasty stash that is being dismantled even as we speak. An obvious direct result of the capture of Saddam Hussein by US Troops; you may recall that Dec. 19 Kaddafi cried "uncle" and stated that he was ready to disarm willingly. Let's hope that other murdering dictator scum soon follow suit.

2004-01-20T12:50:00.000-08:00

Bus Firebombed....

A bus full of Jewish schoolchildren is FIREBOMBED and only ONE stinkin' official comes forward and calls it "antisemitism"....

One community leader called the incident an apparent anti-Semitic attack, local police said on Tuesday.

One. Not all the community leaders coming together to scream loudly against this violent racist act against CHILDREN for pete's sake.... just ONE.

Note to Strasbourg community leaders:

Mangez de la merde chaude et mourez.

2004-01-20T12:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday yet another too-damn-young-to-die was lost, this time on the border between Israel and Lebanon -- Sgt. Maj Jan Rotzanski was killed and another wounded when an anti-tank missile was fired at an IDF bulldozer being used to clear explosives. The knuckle-dragging hatemonkeys got theirs courtesy of the mighty IAF.

quoth Mofaz: "One who speaks of peace negotiations better first put down his weapons and cease all the evil terror activity which we will never come to terms with." Oh....yeah....that's right...I for some reason forgot about those peace negotiation things...

wonder why

2004-01-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

my thoughts on the Iowa Democratic Caucus....

WHO THE F--- CARES

okay, next please.

2004-01-17T14:54:00.002-08:00

More thoughts on the Erez suicide bombing --

I found this at Imshin's place regarding the suicide bombing at Erez... you know, the young mother of two.... killed four people... turns out that she might have been pressured to commit the act because she was pregnant by her husband's cousin and her husband "encouraged her to be a suicide bomber so she would at least save the family’s honor." so, instead of being a shameful black spot on the family's history she'll be their heroine...and again innocent people are made to suffer punishment for her actions...

Imshin puts it eloquently here... “Now the real crippled Palestinians and the real sick Palestinians, who really do need to get treatment in Israel, will pay the price...[remember, she had faked having metal plates in her legs] It will be so much harder for them to get in. It’s the ambulance story all over again. But no one will remember that when the soldiers don’t let people through. They’ll blame the Israelis’ hard heartedness. No one will blame Rim Sallah al-Riashy. She’ll be the Shaheeda, the revered heroine, another number on Palestinian statistics of Palestinians killed in this war by the Israelis (yes, believe it or not, suicide bombers are counted by Palestinians and “peace” organizations as victims of Israeli hostilities).”

2004-01-17T14:54:00.001-08:00

Mars stuff...

A really good piece here regarding the significance of our Mars expedition...

At least one NASA scientist choked back tears of joy, and relief, after the robotic rover Spirit successfully rolled down a ramp from its lander and onto the dusty surface of Mars. It was as though Columbus had just set foot in the New World and sent home an urgent message about his discovery...

KEWL

click to read the whole thing...

And in other "space news"....

I'm sure you have heard that the Hubble Space Telescope is to be scrapped... in favor of bigger and better things....

According to the UPI report,
(UPI) -- NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe decided Friday to cancel a previously planned space shuttle mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, United Press International has learned.
The decision effectively condemns the Hubble -- which has been operating since 1990 -- to mechanical failure sometime in the next few years.
The mission, called SM4 -- representing the fourth shuttle visit to the Hubble since its launch in 1990 -- had been planned for sometime in 2005, after NASA resumed flights of the space shuttle fleet. The remaining three orbiters have been grounded since last Feb. 1, when shuttle Columbia disintegrated during its attempted re-entry into the atmosphere.
According to an internal NASA memo obtained by UPI, O'Keefe's decision was made for safety reasons and not budgetary concerns. Nor was the new space initiative, announced on Jan. 14 by President George W. Bush, a factor in the decision.

For some reason the very fact that they are denying in the article that this is/was not due to the President's new space initiative makes me think that it actually is... which is fine... I mean, the initiative is a good one...

anyway...more on the subject.... Last July, NASA scientists had gathered to discuss the future of the Hubble, which has become world famous for its ability to photograph distant galaxies and astronomical phenomena. Next year's planned servicing mission was seen as a way to extend the telescope's useful life for five or so years, until the next generation, Webb Space Telescope, was scheduled to become operational, in 2010. So, I wonder, will the Webb Telescope happen or is that on the shelf for now...(?)

2004-01-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

(with all deference, etc. to Meryl...)

Hulk....I mean....Mazel SMASH!!
(from the Jpost article:)

In what the avant garde might call a transgressive work of performance art, Israel's ambassador to Sweden, Zvi Mazel, wrecked Friday an exhibit in Stockholm's Museum of National Antiquities depicting a Palestinian suicide bomber.
Located in the museum's courtyard, "Snow White and the Madness of Truth" depicted a smiling Hanadi Jaradat, the Maxim restaurant suicide bomber who killed 21 patrons and staff as well as herself on October 4. Her photograph was placed on a little boat floating in a basin filled with water dyed red.

The reaction from the director:

Museum director Kristian Berg suggested that Mazel endangered those in the museum. "He pulled out the plugs and threw one of the spotlights into the fountain, which caused the entire installation to short-circuit and made it totally life-threatening," Berg told Swedish news agency TT, AFP reported. yeah, what EVER.

Now, I'm all for the arts and artistic expression... I'm I suppose fairly creative and all myself (being a trained musician) so I have a soft spot for that sort of thing. But when you glorify or at least minimize the tragedy of the murder of innocent people (as an example) I think that's where the "art" ends and disgusting perversity begins... (think Mapplethorpe)

2004-01-14T07:49:00.003-08:00

Suicide bombing at Erez...

Take a look at the titles of these two Reuters articles: the first one: Mother kills four in Gaza suicide attack... (Reuters) - A Palestinian mother of two has blown herself up at the main border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, killing four Israelis and wounding seven people. The militant Islamic group Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed joint responsibility for the suicide bombing, which they said was to avenge Israel's killing of Palestinians, and vowed to escalate attacks. The woman, identified as Hamas member Reem Al-Reyashi, 22, blew herself up in a terminal where Palestinian labourers from the fenced-in Strip were being put through Israeli security checks before entering a nearby industrial complex. Relatives said she had a 3-1/2-year-old boy and a girl of 1-1/2 years. Oh, wait... because she was a mother we're supposed to sympathize with her plight, right??? the poor torn woman... having to choose between killing Jews and raising her children. From the scene: "Glass and black smoke flew everywhere. Arabs were screaming, Jews were screaming," said a Palestinian witness, her clothes stained with the blood of others. A senior Israeli army officer said the dead included soldiers and at least one Israeli civilian. Security sources said four Palestinians were among the wounded.

The other article -- Bomber wanted to “become shrapnel” describes 22 year old Reem Al-Reyashi's "farewell video" during which she cradles a rifle and states "It was always my wish to turn my body into deadly shrapnel against the Zionists and to knock on the doors of heaven with the skulls of Zionists," As for her children: "God gave me two children and I loved them so much. Only God knew how much I loved them," she said. Yes, dearie.... you loved them so much that you blew yourself up and killed innocent people and took their mommy away. Now they will grow up to be just like you. You should be proud of yourself. Thank you for contributing to the Gene Cess-Pool, by the way.

2004-01-14T07:49:00.002-08:00

Say what you will about his motives, his actions, his beliefs...etc....

This is still sad. Tom Hurndall has died after being in a coma for 9 months...as you recall, he was the ISM activist shot by an Israeli soldier while in the Gaza strip.... as for those who insist on believing that the Israeli military and government turns a blind eye to this sort of thing.... After a full and independent investigation, charges have been brought against an IDF soldier in connection with the shooting of Mr Hurndall, and a trial will take place," [statement from Israeli embassy in London] said.
anyway... he was so young... I feel for the family.

2004-01-14T07:49:00.001-08:00

Iranian lawmakers vow to continue their sit in...

From the San Fran Chronicle:

Iranian lawmakers vowed to continue a sit-in protest Wednesday as President Mohammad Khatami struggled to resolve a crisis over the disqualification of reformist candidates in next month's election.
There was speculation that Khatami himself was considering resigning after the hard-line Guardian Council barred more than 3,000 candidates from the Feb. 20 elections, including about 80 lawmakers currently holding office.
In a meeting to consider Khatami's request, "the lawmakers unanimously voted to continue their sit-in until they achieve their goals," said Mohsen Armin, a prominent lawmaker who participated in the meeting.
About 90 lawmakers have gathered in the lobby of the legislature for five hours daily since Sunday in a sit-in demonstration against the council's move.
Armin said Khatami had asked lawmakers to suspend their sit-in for a week while he tried to resolve the crisis.
The elections are seen as a crucial test for Iran's reformers, whose popularity has waned because of their perceived failure to deliver on promises of liberalization.
Though well-liked among reformist youths, Khatami is increasingly seen as incapable of standing up to hard-liners who have used their control of unelected bodies such as the judiciary and the Guardian Council to block reform efforts. click the link to read more.

I wonder if they know the words to Lennon's "Power to the People"...

2004-01-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

I watched a very interesting program last night: Covert Action: Operation Iron Grip....DSC...also airs tonight 12 am eastern....(I think)....anyway, here’s the jist of the whole thing...

CIA operatives come across Mohammed Kalif who is on their “list”... Kalif is in Mexico to meet w/ another on the “list” to acquire anthrax and set of bio weapons across the border in the US somewhere in CA. Didn’t watch from the beginning to see any disclaimers, but this scenario is entirely possible. Very eye-opening in light of the fact that Vinnie the Fox is asking for open borders, and Bush seems willing to give so many illegals the green light to stay here. And if those borders are opened up.... just WHO is going to be responsible for their security?? US!!! WE ARE!!! it will be the United States and its armed forces – police – national guard – that will be required to police those borders.... to provide security and freedom of movement for people whose government can’t or won’t do their own damn jobs.

I’m almost tempted not to vote for a presidential candidate in the next election. I’ll change my mind completely if GWB removes his nose from President Fox’s butt crack.

end of bitch session No. 1

2004-01-13T11:03:00.000-08:00

I thought this was interesting...
The Israel Palestinian coordination office has initiated the creation of a joint industrial zone near the Sharon region that will join Israeli entrepreneurs and Palestinian workers.

The area, south of Tulkarm, is planned to provide jobs to unemployed Palestinians, on one hand, and raise security by raising living standards, on the other.

This may be a good idea -- but not a great one, IMO... because it is trying to address Israel's security problem in the wrong fashion; those that pose a threat are not necessarily a threat to Israel because of their standard of living.

2004-01-13T10:49:00.001-08:00

Those mean Israelis are at it again...

Preventing 386 Palestinians from making the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.... you know, that place that is so tolerant and peaceful.... the country with such a benevolent and generous government, that tolerates religion of all kinds and abhors attacks against innocent people and never once has supported terrorism...yeah, that one. Gosh, whatever could Israel be thinking....

Meanwhile, in reality land, during the last couple of days... a number of Palestinians have been arrested, a gunman was shot by soldiers, a Palestinian woman was arrested for trying to stab a female IDF soldier, a would-be suicide bomber was arrested, and a fire bomb exploded on a bus on a road in the West Bank... yeah, I'd say they all deserve to make that pilgrimage.

2004-01-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

speaking of mars....

Some mars pics have come in... kinda kewl, huh?

2004-01-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

To the moon, Alice!

Interesting analysis of Bush's proposed plan to someday colonize the moon and eventually travel to mars....
There are quite a few who think it's not such a good idea... including The Lunar Republic Society: The Lunar Republic Society, which offers lunar land claims for sale over
the Internet to raise funds for space exploration, hopes to help finance
permanent communities on the moon by 2015. The organization has sold 400,000
acres of such claims since its inception in 1999 and has reportedly received
overtures from India and Russia, which both seek financial assistance for
future space missions

risky ?? yes. expensive?? yes.

worth it?? hell yes.

2004-01-08T12:54:00.002-08:00

quit not publishing my posts.

2004-01-08T12:54:00.001-08:00

okay here's another one... this one is really good with coffee

Easy Breakfast Apple Strudel

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls (or any other type);
1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, combined well;
1 tbsp butter or margarine;
either: 1 cup apple pie filling OR 1 cup chopped apples (about 3 medium, peeled, cored, chopped)
1/4 cup chopped and roasted pecans (optional)
*note: the pecans can be roasted ahead of time, or they take only a few minutes in a pie plate in your 375 degree oven.

Preheat oven to 375 deg.

(Skip "step 1" if you are using apple pie filling and merely proceed to "step 2")

Step 1
Combine the apples, the butter or margarine and one to two tablespoons of the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a saucepan and cook on medium heat until apples are soft and juicy. They will need to cook about five minutes; remove from heat when done. While the apples are cooking, you can perform "Step 2".

Step 2
Open the can of crescent rolls and unroll the rectangles of dough without separating the individual triangles. You should end up with two rectangles containing four triangles each. Place the rectangles, long sides matching, on a baking sheet or jelly-roll pan and pinch all seams together so that you end up with one large rectangle measuring approximately 12" long and 8" high.

Step 3
Liberally sprinkle the dough with cinnamon-sugar. About 2" up from the bottom (the edge facing you), spread about 1/2 cup of the pie filling or apple mixture so that it forms a narrow line along the dough. Sprinkle with a little bit of the roasted pecans, and fold bottom edge of dough over the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Next, spread another 1/2 cup of apples or apple-pie filling about 2" from the top edge of the dough, repeat with the pecans and then fold over the dough. Sprinkle the top of the entire thing with more cinnamon-sugar mixture. You should end up with a nice rectangular "package" of dough. Pinch ends to seal.

Step 4
With a sharp knife, make three diagonal slashes in the top of the strudel. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Step 5
Fight off family members as you attempt to eat the whole thing by yourself

2004-01-08T12:54:00.000-08:00

don't feel like posting news stuff...

maybe a couple of recipes.

I love playing in my kitchen...

here's one for the troops and the good old USA

Three Cheers for the Red White and Blue Cheesecake Bars

Crust:
3 cups Graham cracker crumbs;
1/3 cup granulated sugar;
1 1/2 stick (12 oz) butter, melted;

Filling:
3 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened;
1 cup sugar;
4 eggs;
1 tbsp lemon juice;
1 8 oz carton of sour cream;
1/2 cup each chopped dried cherries and chopped dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 325.

Combine the Graham cracker crumbs and 1/3 cup sugar in a bowl and gradually add melted butter - stir until it begins to form a ball. (You might end up not using all 12 oz of the butter - that's okay) Then, using your hands, pack it all together in a ball and press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9"X13" baking pan. Set the pan aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and lemon juice with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Fold in sour cream and stir until nicely blended. Stir in dried fruit. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the filling is set and not "jiggly".

When baking is complete, remove from oven and set on rack to cool for at least 2 hours. Then cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill (the longer the better). Cut into bars and serve...or be a selfish pig and eat it out of the pan with a big spoon.

2004-01-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

Sex, Lies and Murder....(in Iraq)

Sorry. That's kindof cheesy of me to use that particular title for this particular story....

all I can type as far as commentary while still sitting here with my mouth hanging open in disgust and disbelief is

Oh...my.....God.

2004-01-06T07:56:00.000-08:00

This story(nationalreviewonline) brough tears to my eyes. Can you imagine being part of a family in Iran right now? Especially in Bam... with the constant reminder that your own government - responsible for your security and ultimately your well-being - cares nothing for you at all? And that they would rather see you and/or your family members, you neighbors, and friends die than step away from their culture of hate?
As aid workers and aid are being turned away...Iranians were becoming angrier by the day as the mullahs arrogantly
refused help from countries like Israel. A cab driver in Tehran was
heard saying: "What nerve these mullahs have to turn away aid offered by
the Israelis...those poor people over there are constantly dealing with
those suicide bombers, who are probably financed by the clerics of the
Islamic republic of Iran, and yet they are kind enough to offer us their
aid and these audacious zealots over here threaten to attack them!" Mr. Taxi Driver, sir...it ain't probably. But bless you for speaking in such a manner.

2004-01-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

There has been a horrible plane crash in which 148 passengers and crew members on an Egyptian 737 have all died. The search has apparently been extremely gruesome, as the plane hit the ocean at a very high rate of speed; only parts of bodies have been found.

2004-01-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

so sorry for the long absence... more to do than blog during the holidays, and the kids are still not back in school [sigh....]

So much happened since I last posted -- I think unfortunately the biggest story was the earthquake in Iran. I found (and still find) myself awestruck at not only the sheer devastation it created, but also the miracles that have taken placelike this one - a 95 year old woman pulled from the rubble nine days after the quake. And she was alive! I will never cease to be dumbfounded by the audacity and the sheer nastiness and hatefulness of the Iranian regime, either. They not only snubbed heartfelt aid from Israel but also have refused a US humanitarian mission - all to fuel their racist, hateful political agenda.
In the meantime, President Bush has put his foot down and made a few demands of the Iranian government, who responded by demanding that the US
...abandon efforts to undermine Iran's clerical establishment if it wants to see an improvement in ties between the two countries...(Reuters). How do you say "kiss my ass" in Farsi??
In the meantime, the all-benevolent, wise and wonderful Iranian regime is pressuring Israel to disarm. According to Iranian FM Mr. Kharrazi, "International pressure should be applied to Israel to eradicate its weapons of mass destruction, as this would be in the interest of the whole region," Sorry, try again, Mr. Kharrazi. Try phrasing your answer using the NON anti-semitic/racist/fascist side of your brain next time. But thanks for playing.

2003-12-22T15:54:00.000-08:00

I see the terror monkeys don't give their victims a rest even during the holidays....

two IDF soldiers were killed in Gaza, and meanwhile, an Israeli border policeman was shot in a drive-by shooting near Hebron. Shitheads.

And what else were the losers up to? Beating up Egyptian FM Maher....with shoes, of course. Apparently Minister Maher is an evil collaborator and must be stopped at all costs. Inshallah he will die a slow death as we beat him with our filthy shoes....

Meanwhile... a Senior Hamas Member was caught in Nablus...also mentioned in the article: IDF investigating the shooting of a 6 year old boy in the Balata refugee camp. Meanwhile, the IDF Spokesman said the army is investigating claims that Muhammad al-Araj, six, was shot and killed by IDF gunfire in the Balata refugee camp on Sunday.
Palestinians said the boy had stepped outside of his home and was eating a sandwich when he was shot. IDF officers said a bomb had been thrown at soldiers from behind a wall in the area and that they had then fired warning shots in the direction of the wall. I bet you can guess which part(s) of that story will NOT be aired on Al-Jazeera.

And last, but certainly not least...

An absolutely mahhhhvelous wonderrrrrific Hanukkah present for some used-to-be very sad and worried but now happy families in Israel.... Four Israeli hostages were released by their Colombian captors. Benny Daniel, 23, and Orpaz Ohayon, 22, of Ma'aleh Adumim, Ido Guy, 26, of Haifa, and Erez Atawil, 24, of Herzliya were all in good health except a few minor problems, and had spoken to family members.... and just WHY were they captured in the first place??...to raise awareness about the alleged hardship inflicted by outlawed right-wing paramilitary factions and the army on the mainly Indian inhabitants of the Sierra Nevada. (sorry... I don't think most of us were paying much attention to that Indian thing.... we were worried about those other people you kidnapped and held against their will.)

2003-12-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

A Hanukkah story....
(by Emily, age 7)

(let's see if I can remember it verbatim...here goes...)

"Okay, Hanukkah was about this story, or well, it was a really old story where they had these people that had this menorah and the lights went out. They didn't have any lights so they lit the candles on the menorah and they thought it would go out the next day. But then next day it didn't go out and then the next day after that its still didn't go out and then the other next day it still wasn't out either and so there was another and another and another day until it was eight days and then after that the lights came back and the menorah went out.

And that, my friends, is the story of Hanukkah. Sortof.

So, to Gil, Imshin, Tal, Alisa, Meryl, Ribbity, Lair, and the rest of the tribe - have a happy and blessed one.

2003-12-18T07:36:00.000-08:00

In honor of the holidays....

The following is a recipe that has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. My mother got the recipe from a really good friend who now resides in New York (has for many years). It's called "Jewish Coffee Cake" and for those of you wondering, I have no idea why it's called that -- and what the hell makes it Jewish and why we eat this cake at Christmas when that isn't even a Jewish holiday. My family is weird, okay??

Jewish Coffee Cake

3 C sifted flour; 2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
2 sticks margarine; 2 C sugar
4 eggs; 1 pint sour cream
2 tsp vanilla

streusel: 1/2 C sugar; 2 tsp cinnamon; 1 C chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 (F). Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs one at a time and stir until well-blended. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together and stir into mixture until well incorporated. Pour into greased tube pan.
Mix together the streusel ingredients. Sprinkle on top of the batter and either leave "as is" or swirl into batter. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until done.

Enjoy o<|:o)}

2003-12-18T07:23:00.000-08:00

@#*&$ Schools....

I posted a couple of weeks ago about my irritation/annoyance/frustration with my oldest's current classroom situation. There was that meeting, which brought what I thought were going to be at least a couple of changes, maybe good.... Then this week I find out that all week he isn't going to the language arts class he began and was doing so well in and seemed to be helping him be more focused and do whatever other crap they had him doing in the self-contained classroom. I got note after note in his school to home/home to school communication notebook about how he was unfocused, noncompliant... pushing classmates... etc.. then I find out yesterday they had pulled the schedule from under him... because the aide was absent and of course, the school couldn't or wouldn't (?) find a replacement/substitute.... I'm wondering why the hell I wasn't told about this. I could have gone to the freakin' class with him.
You see, when you give an autistic person a schedule - be it a 4 year old little kid, a 12 year old boy soon to be teenager, or a 30 year old man or woman, you sure as hell better stick to that schedule and if you have to change it you better explain yourself re-e-e-aaa-a-a-allly well or plan to suffer the consequences. Some "autties" can deal with it better than others - but its usually best to avoid confrontations (like furniture flying across the room or shoving everyone in the room, or loud screaming tantrums). Andrew is usually okay when his schedule changes -- slightly. But in this case, I was told he enjoyed the new class (which was only one class period) so he probably resented the change. Yes, people with autism can resent, be pissed off, etc.... believe me, they can even hold a grudge. Anway, I think we (teachers, staff and I) are supposed to have what they call an ARD meeting sometimes soon after the Christmas, I mean Holiday, I mean Winter Break. We'll see what sortof good that does. (hmph)

2003-12-17T09:05:00.001-08:00

Been piddling around again....

found a new site in my wanderings about the net while I should be doing other more useful things... Its by another mom who apparently gets to have fun being stressed out by the same things us other moms do. (if that last sentence made sense to you, you have children. Somewhere.) I'll do the adding to the margin thing later on that one, too. I will say, though, I do NOT approve of the Howard Dean 2004 "button" in her margin... blecch...ptui... but, hey, to each his own, or "her" own, in this case.

(oops...sorry...I screwed the link up the first time I posted. Fixed it. All better now.)

2003-12-17T09:05:00.000-08:00

I had to post this before I end my posting today and for the next few or several days (depending)... Some very powerful thoughts/statements from Iran:

Spare a thought for us -- first
Ebadi's wasted opportunity?

By Ardavan Bahrami
December 15, 2003
The Iranian

A few days ago I received an email from a friend whom I have never met
in person but have been chatting and exchanging views with on Iranian
current affairs. The email contained a note from an Iranian
gentleman/lady who had commented on Shirin Ebadi's Nobel Peace prize
speech.

The note was most refreshing and above all extremely courageous.
Consequently, my journalistic conscience told me that such a fresh
viewpoint should not be ignored. As I do not know this person nor does
my friend, I have taken the liberty to use the note and expand it
further, hoping many others could enjoy the comments.

To make it easier I shall call this person Hope! Hope's note starts by
saying,

"Shirin Ebadi's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance ceremony was a huge
opportunity missed for all the Iranians who have suffered human
rights abuses in the last 24 years of the Islamic dictatorship
in Iran. The reason for this is non-other than what seems to be
a genetic disease seen in a large number of older generation
Iranians who forget the plight of their own people but prefer to
take up the cause of others."

This is most distressing. In the past years and particularly in recent
events I have witnessed many Iranians who by large are indifferent and
not involved in political issues have suddenly shown concerns on US war
against terrorism by taking actions against the American
administration's policies or even have had the audacity of joining
groups or demonstrations in support of Palestinians!

Hope continues,

"1400 years ago a dispute broke up between two Arabs over a girl
by the name of Orayneb. One Arab was the ruling Khalif and the
other was the grandson of the Arab prophet. The two sides met
each other in Karbala and in the usual Arab custom, killed as
many of each other as they could, including the women and the
children. Now most of the Arab world has forgotten the incident
but many Iranians still mourn the event by beating themselves
and cutting their foreheads open with daggers. Yet there is no
such ceremony for any of our own heroes throughout 2500 years of
history, which has produced many heroic figures. We have no
national days to honour them; we have no ceremonies to
commemorate them or to teach posterity about the values of
putting Iran first and foremost. To give an analogy to a
non-Iranian it is as if the Jewish people forgot the victims of
holocaust and their own heroes and instead mourned the death of
72 German generals and soldiers at some insignificant battle.
Laughable wouldn't you say?"

At this point in time when our students have been most courageous in
their fight for democracy and secularism, one would have hoped that an
internationally recognized lady such as Shirin Ebadi would have taken
this unique opportunity and when the world media is focused on her
speech to express her concerns for the lack of freedom, mass executions
and the daily abuses of human right in our own country rather than
broadcasting Islamic Republic's foreign policies regarding America's war
against terror and Palestinians! Hope's views on Ebadi's decision to
forget her very own people whom she owes her Nobel Peace prize to; is
extremely disheartening.

"And so it was in the same tradition that Shirin Ebadi, forgot
about the plight of our own people, the massacre of political
prisoners in September 1988, the virgin girls who were raped
before facing Islamic execution squads to prevent them from
entering heaven, the imprisoned students and activists, the
forgotten war veterans who gave all they had to defend the
motherland, the poverty of Iran's street children, the youth who
have been publicly flogged, and instead what did she talk about?
The Palestinians, and those incarcerated in Guantanamo bay!

As if there aren't enough people already who are signed up to
their cause.

The older generation who got us in this mess with their extra
strong revolutionary zeal are once again keeping us trapped in
this Islamic dictatorship by putting our own people and our own
future at the end of the queue.

Perhaps one day they will learn that charity begins at home.
Let's free our own people first then worry about the terror
suspects incarcerated at Guantanamo. Or as Iranians continuously
chant in the street demos 'Let Palestine be, spare a thought for
us first'."

Here I would like to address Mrs. Ebadi and tell her that as a Nobel
laureate your duty is towards your own nation, which is going through
the darkest period in her long history. The Islamic regime has enough
resources to waste on fighting for Palestinian causes, building schools
and hospitals for the fanatics in Lebanon or Bosnia, or for that matter
protecting every undemocratic ideology. Today you can be the
loudspeaker for all those Iranian women and men, young girls and boys
who have lost their lives in Islamic prisons or are still suffering
daily tortures.

It is an honour to have an Iranian as the winner of such respected
prize, but if you today decide for whatever reason to side with this
regime reformist or conservative, your will have no respect in future
Iran among your very own compatriots. Please do not waste the
opportunity!

2003-12-17T08:38:00.000-08:00

For "auttie" parents...

just found a cool site, for those who have (or teach) kids with autism, speech delay, communication problems... Lots of neat interactive stuff I wish our schools' therapists had in their libraries.

I'll add the link over there in the margin later.

2003-12-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't already, go check out Michele's other digs - Raising Hell. Good for comiserating with other parents whose kids also fingerpaint with their own crap; and for those who have no kids: good for a laugh or two.
I'm sending the following in as my first official submission:

(usual spit/monitor/drinking warning applies)

The Faucet

This happened when my son Ethan was almost two years old. It was bathtime one night, and Ethan had just had his bath. He was standing on the little bathmat and I was drying him off. He was jabbering and talking about various things (you know, the usual - mommy, daddy, Barney, etc.) when all of a sudden he got really quiet. At the same time he looked down at himself - and then started to pee on the floor. He got really upset and looked at me and pleaded "Turn it off! Turn it off!" Needless to say, we used that one during potty training... "turn tee-tee on..... turn tee-tee off..." Worked like a charm (at least for him)

2003-12-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

Nice surprise Sunday morning...

Saddam finally captured.... now, what to do with him. I say give him over to the Iraqis and the rest of the people he tortured and killed for so long.

Unfortunately the attacks against our soldiers and the Iraqis who are working alongside them to rebuild their country are still being murdered by knuckle-dragging thugs... suicide attack killed at least 8 yesterday. Hey, google and find the story yourself I don't have the link handy.

In other news.... yesterday a Palestinian-Canadian was arrested for planning attacks against Jewish interests in Canada and other parts of North America....

Israel's military on Sunday charged a Gaza-born Canadian citizen with conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly planning attacks against Israelis and Jews in North America.
Jamal Akkal, 23, collaborated with the Islamic militant group Hamas to plan shooting attacks against Israeli officials traveling in the United States and bombings against North American Jewish interests, according to the charges. None of the attacks was carried out.

Apparently (allegedly) Akkal was (allegedly) in cahoots with Hamas -- (allegedly) recruited by Ahmed Wahabe. He (allegedly) received training as to how to shoot an M16 and also in bomb-making.

hmm.. says also that he (allegedly) raised money for his little project in mosques here in North America...

I wonder if said alleged mosques are under any kind of alleged investigation.

2003-12-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

Before I forget... as I sign off to enjoy what's left of my Friday and the weekend to follow...

Have a good weekend everybody...

and a heartyShabbat Shalom!to all the "tribe members" out there. (hat tip: Imshin)

2003-12-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

Knuckle-Dragging Thug Cretins Murder 10 year old boy...

Saw this from Worldnet Daily, had to pass it on as recommended reading.
For those who want the basic jist of what happened to the little boy... according to an eyewitness...

"...soldiers approached the 10-year-old, Haroun Balochzahi, and
grabbed his bike from him, insisting on a bribe. The boy did not speak
Farsi, the majority language, and responded by biting a soldier and
running. The youth was shelled with bullets in front of people on the
streets and died on the spot, ... prompting an immediate
reaction.

The people of Iran need our help. Quickly.

2003-12-04T11:35:00.001-08:00

I found this one at Shai's blog via Imshin. Please do not be drinking anything when you read it. Oh, and I almost swallowed my gum reading it, so-o-o-o ... that might be another warning right there.

2003-12-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

Don't let what appears to be a period of calm and quiet over yonder in the Mideast fool you.... according to the IDF there were around 25 attacks foiled in November... and Imshin says that two suicide attacks were prevented yesterday. One was heading for a middle school. How evil can you get. Shai has a good synopsis of how the IDF and Shin Bet were able to once again perform brilliantly at the right moment to save who knows how many lives... and points out what is, sadly, the attitude of much of the world when they glance Israel's way... The only downside to this (which thoroughly pales in comparison to the relief we feel that the attack didn't go through, but still) is that as far as the outside world is concerned, the situation around here remains "calm."

2003-12-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

Autism rant....

Okay... a quick post before I go about my daily grind...

Today I have a meeting - called a "staffing" at my oldest's school. (The oldest being one of my kids with autism.) I called the meeting, out of sheer exasperation one day after receiving a note from his "aide" that described an incident in which he slapped her during class.... Not exactly the kind of thing a parent wants to read. This was the last straw after much mulling over the fact that I have not been satisfied with what has been happening in his classroom so far this year, and the fact that I don't think this particular school and its administration (heck, the district as a whole) is doing much to further the education of kids like mine. He's twelve freakin' years old and maybe he doesn't speak very well...and maybe he can't answer questions when you ask him something....and maybe he still needs help with things like brushing his teeth and tying his shoes...BUT... there are other areas in which he is pretty intelligent, or at least teachable and he's being stuck with the most simplistic, assinine, elementary work in class... I hate seeing the stuff he brings home. (And you should see what I've observed in the classroom -- [rolling eyes]) Pisses me off, because I know he's capable of more. So I'll be making a few demands when I get in that conference room. (Those people aren't going to know what hit them.) I will, though, keep my cool and bite my tongue and be as diplomatic as possible - no sense in raising a big fuss and ruining my son's chances at a better classroom experience by pissing a bunch of people off.

2003-12-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

On the cleft palate abortion case...

It appears that an Anglican official will be able to challenge a police decision not to prosecute doctors who performed an abortion on a late-term baby with a cleft palate. There is a pretty good supporting opinion hereby Dani Garavelli of "The Scotsman".
This is one of those cases that hits close to home for parents of kids with special needs like myself, and a lot of my friends here at home. So which ones do you choose to get rid of so conveniently? Mine? Or maybe the ones who are wheelchair-bound? How about the ones with multiple disabilities... like the friend's son who is bound to a wheelchair and blind as well? And just what is a defect? An obvious deformity? Eyes too close together? A tendency toward nearsightedness or crooked teeth? Ears a little too big?? See.... it's a downward spiral. I don't particularly care to take that ride, thank you.

By the way, one of the girls in the flute section with me in Junior High school (now known as middle school these days) was a former cleft-palate baby. She had just a tiny scar on her upper lip as a reminder.

2003-12-01T14:22:00.000-08:00

From across the pond.... Anti-Israelism, Anti-Semitism, and just plain Anti-evolutionism...

(okay, so a few of those words just might be made up)

There was a lovely little
gathering in Geneva at which delegates from Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and other countries met to discuss just what they were going to do to bring peace to the Middle East. Hmm.... I guess the first step in establishing a peaceful and harmonic existence among all peoples in the Middle East is....

1) Have a slam Israel contest.... the winner gets...

THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE (which apologies to Shirin E.)

2) Forget that terror groups ever existed and more importantly... forget that they ever killed any innocent people...

3) Have the one of the worst US presidents ever to sit in the White House speak at your convention and not only slam Israel but his own country as well.

4) end the whole convention with a group hug.

Israeli and Palestinian ex-generals called for an end to fighting, Israeli and Palestinian singersperformed, and all the initiators of the agreementwent on the stage at the end for a massive group hug. (and you thought I was kidding)

Unfortunately, I don't think it will work. They didn't sing the "Barney" theme song.

Even more sick and sad.... an eleven year old Jewish boy was severely beaten by two of his Muslim classmates at an exlusive French secondary school. According to the article... "The headmaster has filed a lawsuit against the two aggressors..." Hopefully the lawsuit is a criminal one and not civil, otherwise, it will be just something else for maman et papan to take care of. After all they live in an exlusive part of town, n'est-ce pas? Aggressors, my left foot... more like knuckle-dragging cretins.

2003-12-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

And just what the hell are "Strawberry Chips"??

I have no clue, and I don't want to know.... as I really hate strawberry-flavored things. Too sweet, in a nauseating way. "Strawberry Chips" happens to be one of the many strange phrases invented and used by my oldest when he has become angry or frustrated. It's an autism thing. I'll talk more about that autism thing and other autism things later. And other things that are not autism things.... like things that frustrate and anger me to the point of yelling "STRAWBERRY CHIPS!!". (see, much better than other choice words I could yell, right??)

And I'll talk about nice things, too.... promise.