Muslims upset over Danish Cartoons

One does not have to look far to see hateful misleading cartoons about the West. It is a safe bet to say the majority of cartoons published in Muslim countries, that relate to the West and the US in particular, are nasty hateful things.

Look at some of the cartoons published in AlJazeera

And remember that practicing non-muslim religions in those countries are forbidden (try bringing a bible into Saudi Arabia)

They attack churches...

Death warrants are issued when you write anything 'insulting' Islam. (Remember "The Satanic Verses")
They fly off the handle when cartoons depicting their religion are published.

The Danish paper Jyllands-Posten first published the 12 cartoons Sept. 30. The drawings included one showing Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a lit fuse. Another portrayed him with a bushy gray beard and holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle. A third pictured a middle-aged prophet standing in the desert with a walking stick, in front of a donkey and a sunset.

Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, favorable or otherwise.

• Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador and initiated a boycot of Danish products
• Gunmen briefly took over the EU office in the Gaza
• Libya closed Demark Embassy

And a search for cartoons of Jews by Muslims will not be pretty either. Until they start treating others like they want to be treated - then they will not be treated like they want.

Michelle Malkin has more on this

Hamas Realizes looming cash dilemma

The EU's warning that the subsidies paid to the Palestinians is in jeopardy has hit home.

Ismail Haniya, a Hamas leader, said in Gaza on Monday: "We call on you to understand the priorities of our Palestinian people at this stage and continue the spiritual and financial support in order to push the region towards stability rather than pressure and tension."

Haniya, who headed Hamas's list of candidates, also appealed to the so-called Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators - the United States, the EU, the United Nations and Russia - to talk to the group without preconditions.

Push the region towards stability? Their winning (hence the Palestinan's votes) has raised the tension. Hamas needs to do either:

• Find other sources of cash from those who maintain the same beliefs
• Recognize Israel's right to exist.

I do not expect the second to happen. Considering the enormous cash flows coming into the oil exporting countries (Russia included), it is time to find someone else to finance yourselves.

The United Nations secretary-general has said that a Hamas-led Palestinian government must commit to non-violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of existing peace agreements if it is to maintain its level of financial support.

Kofi Annan, speaking for the Quartet of would-be peace-making nations after their meeting in London on Monday, also said the group must set up a government that is committed to the rule of law, tolerance, reform and sound fiscal management.

Annan said it was "inevitable that future assistance to any new government would be reviewed by donors against that government's commitment" to such principles.

Shortly after Annan spoke, Al-Arabiya satellite channel in the Middle East reported that Hamas had rejected demands to disarm and recognise Israel.

You do not see overwhelming support for North Korea - mainly because the policies of North Korea do not match the West's. Yet the North Korean people are suffering.

Abu Zuhri said the Palestinian people were being punished for exercising their democratic right.

"The Quartet has punished the Palestinian people for having cast their vote."

No the Quartet has not punished the Palestinian people for having cast their vote.

WindsOfChange has a interesting article titled "HAMASTAN"

The main points are that the EU and US will deny funding to the Palestinian Government, that will cause a cash shortfall, and the Government will now get its funding from less 'desireable' means (i.e. Radical places like Iran and Saudi Arabia)

While true that the revenue will shrink up if the EU and the US deny funding, one thing must be considered though. Part of Hamas's political apeal was the do not have the reputation as being corrupt. If you cut down on the corruption in Government, a given amount of money will go further.

But how will those who are used to stealing money donated to the Palestinian people react to their
'gravy train' being cut off?

Fatah was wrong in their predictions - Hamas WINS

Hamas wins, and big time. Several questions arise. Of course the biggest is what happens now with the Palestinians relations with Israel and the West.

But the second question that came to mind - what was the major reason for choosing Hamas?
To get the corrupt PA out, to take a harder line (or even a rejection of the idea) in peace with Israel, or to bring an Islamic rule over the people? I feel that the media will focus on rejection of the PA's corruption. But if that is not true then things will get worse.

Iran's fundamentalist leaders have to be happy as hell. And now Syria is in a better position to dictate their wishes. Why? Because the top Hamas leaders are in Syria.

To the Palestinians - you have made your voice heard. Prepare for the consequences (be they good and / or bad)

Palestinians Vote

Today was the day. This time it was not all about Arafat, which in my opinion is a good thing for the Palestinians. Arafat pretty much ran the show; the current parties running do not have as much carisma - so they actually have to work with each other. Comprimise is a good thing.

AlJazeera reports that Fatah estimate they won 46% of the vote shortly after voting ended.
Now how do they know that? Do they have the same system that the US media uses for elections? Polling people after they leave voting? If true does being asked how you voted scare the voters? If so would they actually say they voted for someone different than they actually did?

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Hanyah says the US has no right to interfere in Palestinan affairs. I agree. But the EU and the US have the right NOT to give money to the new Palestinian Government if neither do not like the makeup of the Government. Plain and simple. Hamas has not taken the destruction of Israel off their charter. The EU and the US do not agree with that so that is the price. Russia, China and the Arab countries can pick up the bill.

The PA's stopping independants from running was not a good thing. We have had the same issues in US elections, where a third party running was accused of harming one of the main two political parties chances. But I never agreed with the complains of a third party running in US elections, and I don't agree with the PA stopping independants from running. If Hamas would have run, then so be it. If that made the Government too hardline for peace to hold - then the Palestinians are directly responsible for the harsh outcome.

Good luck Palestinians

They say it so it must be so: Maybe if they used the mosque's for non-violence, then they wouldn't be raided

They say it so it must be so: Maybe if they used the mosque's for non-violence, then they wouldn't be raided

Remember me ranting about this?

Well check out this Cache found burried at mosque in Bani Dahir (Iraq). This was found on Dec. 29th, 2005.

German archaeologist Susan Osthoff involved in scam in Iraq?

Interesting story that I missed until tonight. She was held 'captive' in Iraq for a month. Ransom is paid (supposedly by German Government) - and she shows up 'after release' in the German embassy with some of the Ransom money?!?!?

This I am going to have to watch!

Tide turning on al-Qaeda in Iraq?

The Government still has not been formed in Iraq. It is a good thing that no one party won enough votes to form a Government by themselves. Had that happened the situation would have been worse, because the Sunnis would have certainly felt left out.

Now the parties have to work together - and that means some deal making.
And the Sunni insurgents are turning on the foreign animals who kill indiscriminately.

No matter where you stand on the war, this (costly in terms of lives lost) has opened an opportunity for the Iraqi citizens to decide their future.

Let us hope that both the insurgents and the pro-government people stop looking at what can they get out of the current deal making, but how to shape their country's future. Their descendents are the ones who will inherit the ramifications of their deals. Make the choice for your children and their children.

If the support for further bloodshed ebbs, progress can be made.
And when you call for the US to stop occupying your country, make similar demands that Iranian agents leave (and stop meddling.) Iran does not want your country to be strong again, and is doing things to keep it that way.

IDF Chief of Staff predicts a clash between Hamas and Fatah

Dan Halutz was speaking at the annual Herzliya Conference.

He predicts that Fatah will not allow Hamas to win. Given a clean election it is highly likely Hamas would win. The Palestinians are tired of the rampant corruption of the PA.

But - as he points out - violence will also be directed against Israel too.

So here is how it works:
Your neighbors 'A' and 'B' get into a fight.
They attack you - even though you have nothing to do with it.

Kinda maddening isn't it?

The Left's Wacked out Campain to Manipulate Amazon.com reviews

Michelle Malkin has a great post about the manipulation of reviews on Amazon.com
Seems the left is trying to stifle people reading anything they disagree with.


Something to watch !

NSA monitoring inside the US

The Washington Post had an article yesterday about both the Democrats' and Republicans' calls for the wiretapping laws to be revisited.

The Democrats were all over the story when it broke, as a means to further their political ambitions. But (dumb ass - I open my mouth when I shouldn't) Osama bin Laden's latest 'threats' did not help the case against the wiretapping.

This is a touchy subject for Americans - as our constitution was written to protect the citizens against the Government (remember the saying "... Power Corrupts, Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely...")

But times are different. We are fighting back against forces that do not abide by Internation Laws concerning warfare. We are fighting external enemies as well as their 5th columns within our land.

As the article linked says, those originally jumping all over this issue do not want to be seen as failing to protect ourselves.

Iranians to test nuclear weapon in March?

Although I sometimes doubt Debka's claims, this story is in several places.

See UPI here.

Here is a possibilty - along the lines of India and Pakistan - If Iran detonates one, Israel follows suit. Israel has always maintained they would not be the first to introduce the weapons in the Middle East. But you have to think thru what that statement implies. Maybe their bombs are disassembled - and they will assemble one and do a test.

The Iranians really need to do something with their erratic president. His pronouncements as of late really do not go well if Iran goes nuclear.

Iranian officials removing their vast sums of money out of world banks

Seems they expect to be sanctioned.
One wonders how the Iranian people feel about the money their leaders have accumulated?
And the big question is why is the money in Secret Accounts?

Jimmy Carter seems like an idiot

He says a strong Hamas showing in the upcoming elections would moderate the organization.
He embarrasses me.

I bet their strong showing (unless there is significant fraud involved - which you can not rule out - Hamas is going to give the PA a serious ass kicking) will only embolden them.

And the so called 'peace process' will further stall. It is already dead in its tracks.

Carter should get out of the world stage.
As much as I disliked Clinton's domestic policies, as well as weak international stances, he would make a significantly better 'Diplomat' on the world stage.

The Palestinians and the Next Dilemma

I read with interest the opinion piece in Dar Al Hayat.

I agree with everything said with the exception of comments made at the end.
The author Maher Othman says ...

The blame in this embarrassing and risky situation lies primarily on the US administration as it is aligning with Israel regardless of its violations of the international resolutions and laws. It is also because President Bush accepts that the Israeli government adopts policies that lead to sever the links with the future viable Palestinian State territory according to his vision. The blame also lies on Israel itself, which strives relentlessly to undermine the cooling off drive Abbas has worked so hard to achieve. It had almost succeeded had the Israeli assassinations and arrests policy ceased.

I take issue with the line "It had almost succeeded had the Israeli assassinations and arrests policy ceased."
The policy did ceased, until Israel learned of more attacks against Israel. Since the PA would not do anything to stop them, Israel conducted these acts to protect herself.

Thereby, in my opinion, the PA bears responsibility for the resumption of the policies.

US Soldier guilty of abuse in Iraq

Aljazeera has the article (as do many other places - I just happen to see it there 1st)

But that is not what this post is about. I pose a question - What other countries would put their soldiers on trial for this?

And when you answer that question - consider the implications of what countries you can not answer yes to. In places of combat, for countries AND irregular warriors, those NOT on the list do not get the world wide condemnation the US does - why?

And what does that say about you, the reader, if you do not speak up?

Member of Hizbullah almost assassinated

Hussein Assaf was almost assassinated as he was starting a meeting with Shaikh Muhammad Yazbek. A bomb in this car expoded after he entered into the house.

Of course the Israeli's are blamed for this; Israel denys any involvement.

But who stands to gain from this (and possibly all the other attacks)?

• Israel - Possibly because Assaf was a trainer for Hizbullah's fighters. But what would this gain? Would this be a late 'punishment' for prior deads? Does not seem likely. Maybe to create more instability? I do not think so. But by blaming Israel (besides the usual 'Israel is the cause of ALL problems in the Middle East') Hizbullah is indirectly acknowledging that their organization either has spys in it and / or they have trusted members who do not believe in their cause.
  
• France - Only possible reason I could think of is if France wanted instability in Lebanon, to retain some influence. But I think France is actually working towards the opposite goal - to help stabilize Lebanon.
• United States - The US certainly does not see eye to eye with Hizbullah. Plus the US is working towards disarming the group. Although Hizullah and other groups do not (and can not) see that the US is trying, along side France, to help stabilize Lebanon. Another assassination is NOT stabilizing. Not on my list of suspects.
• Russia - The Soviet Union was one of the masters at this type of stuff. The Middle East is always accusing the CIA of all kinds of mischief, whereas the KGB was (and it's current incarnation) highly likely to be able to pull off something of this nature. Possible motive could be to destablize Lebanon. Why do that? I have a feeling the Russians do not want Lebanon to look towards France (and the US to a significately lesser degree) for support. But more likely rationale for me would be the hit was to help their allies (see below.)
  
• Saudi Arabia - A Sunni dominated country. Their ally was killed (Harrari.) Sunnis and Shiites do not get along - just look at what the nut al-Zarqawi is doing in Iraq (trying to start a Civil War in Iraq). al-Zarqawi (Sunni) has no issues slaughtering innocent women and children if they are Shiite. I can not picture a motive that would hold water though.
  
• Jordan - Nope don't see any reason why
• Iran - Oh now we are getting somewhere. Their agents are in Lebanon, and have been for a long time. Not exactly nice guys either. There have been reports of Iran supporting the insurgency in Iraq. Why continue this? To help establish their hedgemony over Iraq, via their proxies. But this insurgency is killing mostly Shiites'. It seems to me that Iranian leaders care less about who is killed (obviously with Americans being top on their list) in the attempt to get rid of ANY force in Iraq (other than theirs.) Having a democracy next door would be a bad thing too. But their recent obsession with (diverting attention from their Nuclear Bomb quest) destroying Israel, stroking the hate flames of Hizbullah serves their interest. A major flare up in the south of Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza only serves Iran's and Syria's interests. The bloodshed will be that of the hated Jews, Lebanese and Palestinians, not Iranian (I do not get the impression that the Syrian regime is smart enough to realize Iran is using Syria for Iran's interests only.) So kill one of your own agents / allies, stroke the flames, your allies attack Israel (hate blinds reason), Israel retailates, and we have the cycle continue. A major escalation in the Middle East only serves Iran's and possibly Syria's interests.
• Syria - With the UN investigating the cowardly murder of Hariri, and the continous killing of Pro-Independance / anti-'Syrian Occupation of Lebanon' Lebanese, why not kill one of your allies to throw everyone off track? This way you can say someone else is doing the murders (AKA the US or Israel.) Might be possible.
  
• Lebanon - could this be payback for something Hizbullah has done within Lebanon (that we are not being told about) ? Interesting concept. Maybe some group thinks Hizbullah is partially responsible for the assassinations going on. Hmm that is a worthy thought.
  

So there are the suspects that might have a hand in this. For Muslims I am sure the top of the list of course is Israel. But I look at this from the who gains from the attack. I do not think Israel gains nearly as much from this as does Syria or Iran. And personally I think Iran gains more from this than does Syria.

ADMIN - Removed Haloscan Commenting and trackback system

I'm sorry that any comments posted using this system are lost.
I was frustrated by not being able to see when comments were added.

[ Update ] - It was frustrating to me, being a novice HTML person, to figure out where in the template the code was messed up. And Haloscan's forum instructions just made me go in and remove all Haloscan entries (in my template) that I could find - instead of spending precious time deciphering their instructions.

Wow France Does Have a Backbone

Chirac warned Islamo-facists that they risk a nuclear strike if they attack France.

He goes on further:

Chirac said state-sponsored terrorism has replaced the threats of the Cold War era.

"In numerous countries, radical ideas are spreading, advocating a confrontation of civilizations," he said.

I disagree with the state-sponsored terrorism having replaced the threats of the Cold War era.
The Soviet Union's puppets in the Middle East were already sponsoring terrorism - it was just one facet of many the Soviet Union tried to dominate the world with. It is just that the idea continued past the fall of the Communists in Russia.

But notice just how more belligerent Iran is getting (with their meddling in Iraq, Lebananon and elsewere) now that Putin is restoring dictatorship in Russia. The civilized world can not count on the Chinese and the Russians to make the right stand in the UN Security Council.
With China and Russia in their back pockets (and cash in China's and Russia's pockets) - Iran is defying the world and building the bomb.

So when the Neo-Cons in Tehran do something stupid and maybe attack Israel (in their evil quest to wipe it off the face of the earth) - then Russia and China will be responsible.

Maybe this is why Chriac made the statement - he knows that the UN is worthless in stopping Iran from building their bombs. And Iran could be crazy enough to start launching their new version of Global Jihad.

Islam a Religious Dictatorship?

A Senior Hamas Office just said so.

The listeners to the sermon of Sheikh Ahmad Nimer - one of Hamas' leaders in Khan Yunis - could hardly believe their ears last Friday when he came out against Hamas' election campaign.

"Taking part in the elections is forbidden by Muslim law," Nimer said at a town mosque.

Same thing is spouted by the terrorists in Iraq.

I am not thinking that we can expect a peace deal anytime soon with Hamas' popularity in the Palestinians territory. But hey if that is what they want, a government run by neo-con Religious figures, then let them suffer.

Given all the money Iran and the other oil producing countries have (because of the gouging them and the Oil Companies are doing), they should be ample money available to subsidize the welfare state Palestine, given that the US and Europe will most likely end their Welfare Benefits.

Bin Laden threatens that an attack is in the planning stages against the US

He released a taped message. Now of course there are those (idiots) who believe that he did not murder close to 3000 civilians in the 9/11 attack. The seriously deluded people accuse the Mossad of the attacks.

So what is the best way for George Bush's administration / CIA / NSA to protect us?
Wiretap terrorists and their supporters phones?
or
hmm - can't think of anything - oh wait - try to assassinate them where they are BEFORE they get to the West. We can not trust our so called friends in the Middle East to rid the world of the scourge of the world.

AlJazeera truthfully declares why a Palestinian was killed

I am happy to see that the reason why the Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man was published.

He was throwing firebombs.

Maybe the Middle East should accept Non-Muslims

AlJazeera is running an opinion piece by Soumaya Ghannoushi, saying Europe should accept its Muslims.

Muslims in Europe and the US are accepted more than Non Muslims are accepted in Muslim countries. Europe and the US allow Muslims to bring their Quran. Last I checked, Christians were not allowed to bring their bibles to Saudi Arabia. Doesn't take much thought to realize how much acceptance Jews get in Muslim countries.

Where is the outrage about the terrorist's torture policy in Iraq?

You will not find it in the Arab press.

Where is the outrage about Russia's, China's, Iran's, Syria's, North Korea's ....

You will not find it in the Arab press.

Only thing you will find is the constant hatred of the US and Israel.

Why are they not complaining about this?

First they say innocent civilians are killed by missle strike....

But now Al jazeera is starting to report the truth. Terrorists WERE there.


Just so you all remember, here is how it works:
You attack us - we are going to fight back. When we have a Republican president, we are going to fight back harder.

End Of Story

The Soviet Union and Brezhnev are alive in Syria

Finally a Not So "Syria is Great" article on SyriaComment

Everyone has their own opinion, and the right to hold them. That is why I infrequently criticize the Blog SyriaComment by Dr. Joshua Landis.
In fact I have disagreed with his supporting of the Regime in Syria.

But this article I linked does not put Syria's best face forward - in fact it paints an alarming viewpoint held by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq Al-Shara'.

MEMRI has translated Michel Kilo's powerful article:
"Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq Al-Shara' is Subordinating Lebanese Sovereignty to Syrian Interests"
January 17, 2006 No.1071


Read the article. Seriously Read the article.

Having spent my high school and college years studying the Soviet Union, this is alarming to me.

I am for Hamas being able to participate in the elections

But if they join the Government then I also totally agree with the EU withholding their funding of the Palestinians. And I am TOTALLY against the US funding the Palestinian government too.

These people hate our guts. They danced in the streets when their fanatical brothers flew the airliners into targets in the US. Fine by me. You hate me, you do not get my money.

My opinion is Israel should allow the Palestinians to elect whomever they want as leaders. If they elect people who openly call for the destruction (which means murder for you left wing nuts) of Israel, then we know exactly what their position is. It will mean the end of the Road Map, the end of the flawed Oslo Process, the end of their State.

And when the terror attacks continue, including the rocket firing from Gaza, Israel should shell the Palestinian territories too. If the Palestinians fire rockets at civilians, the Israelis should shell civilian Palestinian locations too. Time to revert back to what the Palestinians live by - indiscriminate violence. Let them be on the receiving end of indiscriminate violence. Until they
renounce violence, stop the hate brainwashing they conduct on their children, there will be no peace.

Global Center of Terrorism

Interesting inverview done by the German Der Spiegel of Pakistani Scholar Ahmed Rashid.
He was interviewed after the July 7th bombings in London.

He is quoted as saying that Pakistan is just playing lip service in stopping the Global Jihad against the West.

This quote really pissed me off:

Rashid: He is certainly in Pakistan because Pakistan has traditionally had the best infrastructure for al-Qaida. I don't think the Pakistani military knows where he is, but they aren't looking very hard either because they fear the military support they get from the United States would disappear as soon as bin Laden is caught.


The big fear is the US is leaning towards their traditional enemy: India. Of course if Pakistan stopped supporting terrorists who attack India, then the two countries wouldn't be (nuclear) enemies - but we can't have that because Pakistan must deflect attention away from their own internal problems by creating an outside enemy.

Pakistan's fear is the US will repeat what they did when the Soviet Occupiers of Afghanistan were sent home with their tails between their legs; leave Pakistan again.

Until the Middle East undergoes their own 'Enlightenment', the world is precarious close to a Nuclear exchange. It doesn't help that Russia and China do not have the backbone to stand on the right side of the issue, and help the West in the UN.

Hypocrisy in action.... Take 2

Pakistanis are protesting in the streets of several cities, chanting "Death to America" (another Iran in the works) over the attempted assassination of top murderous Taliban. Word on the web is the strike missed its target. But there have been conflicting stories about 5 bodies being dragged away from the target.

Here is the situation: The US strikes back at the evil people who are responsible for killing almost 3000 innocent people via suicide airline strikes. Of course to those responsible, killing infidels is justified by twisted, warped religious views.

Yet this very organization that was targeted, sends two suicide bombers into civilians in Afghanistan. 20 are reported killed and several dozen are wounded. What were the civilians doing to deserve this? The biggest group attacked was attending a festival, to watch a wrestling match. This was in the city of Spin Boldak, near the Pakistan border. The other attack was in Kandahar.

But there are no protests against the attacks against civilians by Muslims. Only protests against the justified attack by the US.

Hypocrites - May your God condemn you to eternal damnation.

Update - Check out the following article in Der Spiegel:
Local Insurgents tell of Clashes with Al Qaeda's Forces In Iraq
The link is to page 3. The following from the article:

For the next three days, Mr. Marwa searched through miles of lush farmland before he got to Karagol. When he was prevented from driving through the town by Qaeda gunmen, who shot at him on the road, he walked through orchards after dark.

He said a guide had led him to the house of a man who was known as a paid killer for Al Qaeda. The man consulted a notebook fat with names, but Mr. Marwa's relative's was not among them.

As he drew closer, a local insurgent warned him to stay away from Karagol, even if he was sure his relative was there.

" 'I advise you, if you know he's with Al Qaeda, don't go there,' " Mr. Marwa recalled the man saying.

Mr. Marwa finally found his relative in the local morgue. His legs bore drill holes revealing bone. His jaw had slid off to one side of his head, and his nose was broken. Burns marked his body. His knees were raw, as if he had been dragged.

"I was totally crazy," Mr. Marwa recalled. "A mad man was more rational than me."

I don't hear much Arab concerns about torture when the US isn't involved. Hmm why is that?

What a difference this highlights

Mehmet Ali Agca, the Muslim who tried to kill the Pope, has been freed after serving 20 years.

Here is the man who tried to kill the leader of the Catholic Church, already free. Whereas Muslims think it is their duty to kill infidels, just because they do not believe in Islam.

Yet the liberal Western press and Europe try to appease the 'peaceful' people.

Maybe if they used the mosque's for non-violence, then they wouldn't be raided

Aljazeera is reporting that the Sunnis are upset because of a raid on the Umm al-Qura mosque in Baghdad. The usual propaganda about this being an attack on Muslims and Islam is repeated.

The moment the insurgents use a location for their war making, then they take responsibility for anything that happens. Muslims do not respect Christian or Jewish places of worship, but you do not hear the civilized world making the same type of claims they do. (But then again how many Christian or Jewish places of worship are used as a santuary?)

Instead of protesting against the raids, maybe the Sunnis should protest against the use of Mosques for violence?

Palestinians disintegration

Mohamed Sid-Ahmed writes an opinion piece in Al-Ahram asking what remains of the Roadmap to the establishment of a Palestinian State. As I read it, of course it is all Israel's fault.

The major problem is Sharon's unilateral moves. But this is not the problem. The problem is the Palestinians never, ever did any part of their commitments. And the Arab press does nothing to hold the Palestinians in account. Here is a snippet from Mohamed's piece:

The roadmap was set up by four different entities: the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, constituting together what has come to be described as the Quartet. This new body tried to benefit from the mistakes of the past in order to avoid them in future. In this, it was inspired by three basic ideas. First, to make concomitant efforts with both sides to avoid that issues already settled be renegotiated. For example, as the Palestinians disband their armed organisations, the Israelis are required to freeze the construction of new settlements. Second, the establishment of a supervisory mechanism by the Quartet to assess the progress achieved. Third, to determine three consecutive confidence-building stages (until June 2003) during which a Palestinian state within temporary borders will be set up (until December 2003). During these stages, final borders will be negotiated in talks covering all the basic aspects of the conflict: Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, Israeli settlements, etc. The last stage, in which normalisation will have been achieved between the parties, ended on 31 December 2005. By the time the parliamentary elections are held, all the Israeli parties are expected to determine their final position towards the conflict as a whole.

See the part "Palestinians disband their armed organizations"? That has not been done. And because this hasn't been done you have the mayhem occuring in the Gaza right now. The Israelies have not stopped their settlement building, which I disagree with, but Israel HAS made jestures (leaving the Gaza) that the Palestinians have not receiprocated.

The bias of Mohamed is easy to see when you read his statement: "Even though Israel pulled out of Gaza last September, almost all of the West Bank remains under Israeli occupation and Israel continues to launch rocket attacks in Gaza."

There is a reason Israel launches rocket attacks into the Gaza. But you do not get told by Mohamed 'why'. And the 'why' is significant. If you only read the Arab press (which unfortunately many in the Middle East might do), then you will not understand why the Palestinians do not have a State yet.

Sharon's decision to vacate the Gaza strip was brilliant in my opinion. Some Israelies do not agree, and I understand from the perspective that more Israelies will die because of the evacuation. By leaving the Gaza, it is now up to the Palestinians to govern the area. And as we have seen they have failed miserably. But it also shows how unreliable the Egyptians are too.

The amount of weaponery that has now moved into the Gaza is entirely Egypt's fault. No one holds them accountable. Why is that? Do the Egyptian authorities want to see death and destruction continue? You ask me the answer is a very simple "Yes".

One of the things I am waiting to see in the Arab press is the acknowledgement that Israel's attacks on the militant Palestinians are defensive in nature. If the militants stop the killing, stop the planning, then Israel would stop the attacks against them. And until the Palestinians get their collective act together, they do not deserve a state. We do not need another State sponsering terrorism established. We already have the Granddady Sponser Iran.

Iran might have 4 nuclear weapons already

I do not think many people take Iran's denials seriously (not pushing towards building their own)
These 4 reportedly came from the Ukraine. Keep in mind the 12 cruise missles Iran got from Ukraine also.

Thinking back to the days when Russia and the US were in a standoff with 10's of thousands of nukes pointing towards each other, the one thing that stands out for me is the knowledge that the leaders of the Soviet Union were not crazed religious nuts.

President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad does not strike me as having a clear idea of reality.

Meanwhile, back home, Ahmadi-Nejad and his spiritual mentor Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi – both fanatical adherents of the apocalyptic Hojatieh - which promotes Armageddon, pain, suffering, oppression and misery to entice their religious icon, the 12th Imam to return sooner - based on a sufficient quantity of all these for him to bother, now move into the next phase of their power grab.

Given how small Israel is, I strongly feel that the state of Israel needs to incorporate Nuclear ballistic submarines in its arsenal. Using the German diesel subs just doesn't seem good enough.
If Israel had one or two Ohio class submarines at sea all the time, then the wackos like Ahmadi-Nejad can not be sure of taking out all the missles that would be used for a counter attack.

But let us not forget that the short sided thinking of the leaders of Russia and China are a major source of this problem. It is because of Russia and China we can not take Iran to the Security Council. Does make one wonder though - notice how the Islamofacists stated enemies are the US and Israel? Why not Russia and China too?