ISRAEL - IRAN - SYRIA - HAMAS - HEZBOLLAH - WWWIII?

The difference this go around is Hezbollah learned from the last war there... as evident in the fact they're still able to fire 100+ missiles per day into Israel even after all the air attacks. Air attacks aren't going to get the job done, it's going to take a full ground invasion unless Hezbollah gets worn enough that they are willing to cease-fire. So far they've shown to be a well structured force.

They are deeper and more entwined than ever into Lebanon, sadly.

I've just heard an interview with an 82-years old former policman in Haifa (originally from Germany, living since 1943 there).

He said that it's (quotation) "business as usual, as it was in all the wars before: the missile are got at night from the bunkers, shooting starts at about half past siy, seven; than the same again at aboz noon and at about late afternoon".
He felt very sorry for Lebanese civilians, since they had nothing to do with this war.

Yes, they don't fire the missiles at nite because it would be easy to trace where they originated.

You guys didn't listen to anybody about Iraq and it seems you are not going to listen to anyone while Israel pounds Lebanon back to Stone Age either. I know you and your ilk will be able to live with yourselves because you got your justifications down pat. Nevertheless...

CAN YOU HELP US , PLEASE!

Ten national/internatiol charities/relief organisations from Germany have started to help already - five of them already down there.
(Our local diocese has a long project in a South Lebanese village - but that had to be stopp: although Manonites, they had to leave to village before it was bombed.)


The Israelians, btw, didn't want any help.

Well your Democrat Party is trying out out-Bush Bush on this one. It's pretty hard to blame 'you guys' when it's 'your guys' who are talking like bigger hawks in supporting Israel in Lebanon while they continue to try to cut the legs out from under the new Iraqi government.

Pander and Run
By Peter Beinart
Friday, July 28, 2006; Page A25

After years of struggling to define their own approach to post-Sept. 11 foreign policy, Democrats seem finally to have hit on one. It's called pandering. In those rare cases when George W. Bush shows genuine sensitivity to America's allies and propounds a broader, more enlightened view of the national interest, Democrats will make him pay. It's jingoism with a liberal face.

The latest example came this week when Democratic senators and House members demanded that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki either retract his criticisms of Israel or forfeit his chance to address Congress. Great idea. Maliki -- who runs a government propped up by U.S. troops -- is desperate to show Iraqis that he is not Washington's puppet. And the United States desperately needs him to succeed because, unless he gains political credibility at home, his government will have no hope of surviving on its own.

Maliki took a small step in that direction this week when he articulated a view of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict quite different from that of the Bush administration. His views were hardly surprising: Iraq is not only a majority-Arab country; it is a majority-Shiite Arab country. And in a democracy, leaders usually reflect public opinion. Maliki's forthright disagreement with the United States was a sign of political strength, one the Bush administration wisely indulged.

But not congressional Democrats. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid demanded that Maliki eat his words or be disinvited from addressing Congress. "Your failure to condemn Hezbollah's aggression and recognize Israel's right to defend itself raise serious questions about whether Iraq under your leadership can play a constructive role in resolving the current crisis and bringing stability to the Middle East," wrote Reid and fellow Democratic Sens. Richard J. Durbin and Charles E. Schumer on July 24.

How, exactly, publicly humiliating Maliki and making him look like an American and Israeli stooge would enhance his "leadership" was never explained in the missive. But of course Reid's letter wasn't really about strengthening the Iraqi government at all; that's George W. Bush's problem. It was about appearing more pro-Israel than the White House and thus pandering to Jewish voters. . . .
MORE HERE

Lebanon entered the stone age voluntarily, Israel is simply making recognition of the fact official.

The place (Lebanon) was 85% Christian just decades ago, kind of like England and France are 85% Christian now. That seems to be the way the thing works....

Christians Fleeing Lebanon Denounce Hezbollah:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1673636/posts?page=9#9

As one comment on FR reads:

The Israelis will apparently be getting help however. It is refreshing to see at least some media reporting support for Israel and from Canada no less:

Thousands rally for IsraelSOURCE

For anybody who might have missed it, this is what Hezballah looks like:








The biggest difference I can see between these losers and German nazis is that the German nazis weren't into hiding behind civilians and UN posts.

Re UN posts: most of the unarmed observers - according to the Danish Army Staff - are withdrawn from their posts and will stay within the UNIFIL camps.

If the the Security Council listens to Foxfyre, those are withdrawn with a new resulution as well.

Can't ge tthe link to work Blueflame.

??? Explain how you tie me to this.

At least there's a reference to the 'peacekeepers' being unarmed that Advocate challenged awhile back.

Well, you said, they didn't do what they were paid for.
And I must be totally wrong if you didn't write that they should leave.

But I apologize for that remark.It has nothing to do with you and didn't say any negative about the UN in general and in Israel/Lebanon in special.

Sorry.

I have not said they didn't do what they were paid for on this thread or any other thread. I've asked what they were supposed to being doing. Nobody knows.

I have said that if peacekeepers aren't equipped to keep the peace and observors don't observe, what good are they? Nobody has been able to answer that either or why it is important that they be in harms way in a war zone. And I have said that I object to paying people to do what seems to be a non-existent job if that is the case.

There is a huge difference between asking questions and making statements of fact.

I have enough trouble with people quoting me accurately but assigning the wrong context to my words. I sure object to being quoted incorrectly as well as out of context.

But apology accepted.

This slammonazi might soon get his wish. Rumor has it that the United States and Israel are close to having perfected the S (Slamnation) bomb, the chief ingredients of which will be compressed air and freeze-dried pork, ground about a hundred times finer than the flash powder used in flintlock hunting rifles. I think the basic idea is going to be to blow off an S bomb followed by a neutron bomb over places like Gaza or Bint Jmail, to ensure that all slammites within something like a five mile radius go straight to slammite hell.

The other rumor you hear is that the IDF will shortly be operating under a new flag, basically a Jewish Crusader flag with an orange-red star of David on a white field.

http://www.crusaderammunition.com

to the bluehelmets who died in the attack : may you rest in peace - you did a heroic job under the most difficult conditions !
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fom the australian boadcasting cororation :

"PM - UN observer safety in Lebanon compromised

[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1697876.htm]


PM - Wednesday, 26 July , 2006 18:14:00
Reporter: Mark Colvin
MARK COLVIN: Colonel Roy Grottheim is Deputy Chief of Staff at the UN observer mission and he joins me now from Jerusalem.

Could you begin by just taking us through exactly what you know about how this happened?

ROY GROTTHEIM: We were informed by the chief of the observer group in Lebanon - and that's one of (inaudible) old stations in Lebanon - that this patrol base, Khiam - that's the most northern patrol base along the blue line, the border between Lebanon and Israel - was hit by an aerial bomb yesterday evening between 10:30 and 11:30. And that there were four military observers, unarmed, killed.

Later yesterday evening and tonight we have found three of the bodies. They have not been identified and we are now searching for the fourth body.

MARK COLVIN: I understand that the bomb landed after there had been considerable shelling of the position. Did the UN observers try to contact the Israelis to say, look, we're here, stop firing, it's a UN post?

ROY GROTTHEIM: Yeah, they did through their channels, so this was forwarded to the Israeli defence forces, so that was done.

MARK COLVIN: How long was the shelling going on before that big bomb dropped?

ROY GROTTHEIM: The shelling was going on almost all day yesterday and it was more intensive yesterday afternoon and there was several firing (inaudible) as we pronounce it, and there was also artillery rounds within this patrol base.

MARK COLVIN: So if they were getting messages back through channels to the Israeli Defence Force, is that why Kofi Annan is suggesting that it appeared deliberate?

ROY GROTTHEIM: Yeah, I think that's why.

MARK COLVIN: And do you think that the United Nations will now accept what Ehud Olmert says, which is that it was not deliberate at all and it's extraordinary that Kofi Annan should suggest that?

ROY GROTTHEIM: You know, there will be an investigation done by the United Nations and also from the Israeli side there will be an investigation and we will see what the results will be after the investigations.

MARK COLVIN: Do you think that there's any way that the Israelis could not have known what they were doing? I mean there's reasonable visibility and that position has been known about for a very long time, hasn't it?

ROY GROTTHEIM: It has and it's very clearly marked, it's painted white and it's written "UN" with black letters on the position in several places, and the UN flag is there so it should be well known and it should be seen in the terrain quite well.

MARK COLVIN: What is your feeling now about the safety of your remaining observers? How many of them are there and are they safe to be there?

ROY GROTTHEIM: We still have patrol bases that are manned along the border and we are in constant contact with the IDF to tell them that they have to stop shelling into these patrol bases.

MARK COLVIN: But do you think that that will work? It didn't work yesterday.

ROY GROTTHEIM: No, and we are monitoring the situation on a permanent basis and if this will be ongoing we will go back to UN Headquarters in New York and inform them about the situation, and they have to take the decision if we are pulling out our service or not.

MARK COLVIN: Thank you very much for your time, Colonel Grottheim.

ROY GROTTHEIM: You're welcome.

MARK COLVIN: Colonel Roy Grottheim, Deputy Chief of Staff at the UN observer mission. He was on the line there from Jerusalem.



© 2006 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Copyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htm
Privacy information: http://abc.net.au/privacy.htm "

Some years ago, there was a rumor circulating that Islamic people who come into contact with pig fat are required to undergo an extensive two week purification process; otherwise they go to Islamic hell because they have been defiled with pork.

Now this was pure rumor, and I have never been able to verify it, but if true. . . . . .then why don't we just spray them with bacon grease or something every week or so and keep them busy purifying themselves and afraid to wage war?

Well, perhaps the Hezbollah do something similar and then the Israelian soldiers have to wait for a Rabbi to clarfy the situation ... ...

foxfyre wrote:

What non-rightwing media have you actually been following? Serious question. Yesterday, what was your reading/watching list? The suggestion you make above is so far from accurate or truthful that I'm quite befuddled at how you can make the suggestion in an educated forum and expect others to grant your credence. I'm NOT saying this to be mean.