Jay Bookman

By The Corporal

December 28, 2008 5:49 PM | Link to this

Jay

Good article.

These terrorist groups (and countries) seek nothing but the annhiliation of Israel. Every pretend peace effort on the terrorist’s part is nothing but a ruse toward that goal.

Israel’s motto: NEVER AGAIN

By getalife

December 28, 2008 5:53 PM | Link to this

Don’t start none, there won’t be none.

By AJC/DNC Management

December 28, 2008 6:41 PM | Link to this

The Israelis got the goons from Hamas on tape setting up rockets in civilian neighborhoods so of course the lib is on the side of the Jew’s for just this one occasion.

How about it though, pretty cool seeing the IDF beating the Jihad media at its own game.

By Rich

December 28, 2008 6:51 PM | Link to this

“terrorist countries”? can you please give us a definition Jay?

The only country in mideast where you MUST change ur religion to obtain the nationality is… Israel The only country attacking innocent civilians is… Israel (terrorist organizations like Hamas & Hezbollah aren’t governments…)

I cannot believe you close your eyes each time something like this happen in a part of the world you don’t care (outside USA to sum up) The treatment the palestinians receive is no different from APARTHEID. you’re not jew, you’re a low life.

By Rich

December 28, 2008 7:00 PM | Link to this

Did you see the images of hospitals full of hurted or dead children? Jesus… how can you agree with that??

My grandfather died during WW2 fighting against the nazis, i cannot believes the WW2 victims’ sons are now acting like nazis. OPEN YOUR EYES!!

By Chad Harris

December 28, 2008 7:12 PM | Link to this

I totally agree with Jay and most conventioinal wisdom. Israel had no real choice, but regrettably Hamas is not going to stop terrorism until it’s wiped from the face of the earth. I don’t see any peace solution with them. They believe in the most intrepid way possible, that they have to eliminate Israel.

For all you Blago fetishest/fantasizers who play out here what you can’t make happen in the real world.

Fitzie the Fitzie Fitz (famous for thowing fits in pre-indictment or pre-trial press conferences where he sometimes loses the case and has in his terrorism prosecution ventures) just sent a letter to the Illionis Senate Impeachment Committee requesting that they don’t subpoena Rahm Emauel, Valerie Jarrett, Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Nils Larsen (the Financial Advisor advising Sam Zell on Wrigley Field) to testify.

Here’s the letter from Fitzy the Fitzy Fitz or as he requests you call him, his Fitzness:

http://static1.firedoglake.com/28/files//2008/12/081226-special-investigative-committee-letter-12262001.pdf

If you’re not happy with Fitz’s course of action, his number is on the letterhead and you could sign on as Special Advisor to Fitz.

Fitz obviously had no choice. No prosecutor wants significant parts of their case and their witnesses cross examined by amatuers (some of whom aren’t attorneys prior to a possible trial), particularly when the coverage would be wall to wall and whatever spills would be absorbed by the jury pool and would also be an advantage for Blago’s attorney Ed Genson.

The Commitee has agreed it will not subpoena per Fitz’s request.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-blagojevich-impeach-28dec28,0,1793912.story

By Chad Harris

December 28, 2008 7:29 PM | Link to this

60 Minutes is doing Barack Obama again, and I’m sure all you Palin voters won’t want to miss a nanosecond of it.

Brett Farvre probably played his last NFL game, and his last pass was ironically a forward pass behind the line of scrimmage. Given his shoulder’s status, I doubt if he announces it’s over next week, that he’ll come back a third time.

He’ll graduate to the broadcast booth, making near the same money, without people jumping on top of him coming from ectopic directions he didn’t expect.

Thanks for a years of incredible play. That was one helluva guy who got away from the Falcons, but at the time it looked like Glanville made the right move.

By The Corporal

December 28, 2008 7:40 PM | Link to this

Rich

You have your right to an opinion but I can’t blieve how you are ignoring history. Israel has granted concession after concession for **over 50 years and nothing works. There is one reason.

The Arab/Muslim world (in general not all) wants the total distruction of the State of Israel. They want it gone.

Israel has to play hardball. They have no other choice. Terrorism is like cancer …. it must be totally cut out or it will destroy you.

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

NEVER AGAIN !

By RW-(the original)

December 28, 2008 7:45 PM | Link to this

Chad Harris,

There’s nothing wrong with someone making a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage. The problem for Favre is that it was his second forward pass on the same play and the second one was from beyond the line of scrimmage.

What a great day for football. The Jets, Cowboys, and Cheatriots have all been sent packing.

By Chad Harris

December 28, 2008 7:47 PM | Link to this

Rich—

When’s the last time someone continued lobbing missles into your living room and you said “Thanks, bring some more.” Your car or your neighborhood or your office or the schools where your kids go? That’s what Hamas has continued to do. And there are plenty of Israeli citizens who are Arabs. What planet are you typing from?

By Chad Harris

December 28, 2008 7:55 PM | Link to this

Yes. Sorry for the mistake RW. Some great games last week and this week. I hate lopsided games though, and was expecting a close one in Philly.

By LEO

December 28, 2008 7:55 PM | Link to this

you are one sick sob…ok that innocent children, women, and students are slaughtered by an overwhelming military force and which the other side has killed one Israeli ( oh by the way you probably have more gang killings in atlanta in a week than the damage Palestinians can do in months, should you start bombing urban gang areas in Atlanta?) I bet you are a Christian, and as Jesus said kill the DEFENSELESS CHILDREN YOU WILL GO TO HEAVEN, RIGHT. GO TO YOU KNOW WHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By et

December 28, 2008 8:26 PM | Link to this

I think Jay has hit the nail on the head. israel tries to avoid civilian casualties and hamas’s purpose in existing is to inflict civilian casualties. you cant rob a bank and then be upset when the police arrest you. if hamas stopped terror attacks and smuggling weapons they could run their little dictatorship uninterupted.

By Chad Harris

December 28, 2008 8:34 PM | Link to this

Leo—

Again spewing fiction. Missles have been lobbed into university parking lots killing students. Missles have been lobbed into Israel pareiod for years, and your bluster would quickly pale the first time a missle hits your street.

Whether the missles (and they’ve killed far more this year alone than one person in Israel) knock down a building, form a hole, or kill anyone, the threat is incredibly stupid to put up with, and Israel will put a stop to it.

Israelis have nearly all our high tech so they are as surgical as possible. The United States of America (look it up on a map) hasn’t always been able to be surgical in Iraq or Afghanistan by a long shot.

As the Corporal said, and I said earlier the mission of Hamas is to destroy Israel and to be a totalitarian power entity.

They have been given every opportunity to make peace and they refuse.

One of their favorite tactics is to operate from a building and then move in womeon and children at the last second so they will be casualties. Another is to operate from a hospital.

Hamas has been inflicting terrorism via missle lob and suicide bomb on Israel for years. They never stop; they just pause for a month or two, and they escalated the lobbing this time. There is no country besides Iran that has come out in support of Hamas—and the Ayatollahs don’t represent the mainstream of people in Iran anyway.

By the way, who are you quoting that is advocating “slaughtering innocent students yada yada yada…” What those of us who understand Israel resonding is that they are responding to prevent just that. Anyone who gets hurt in an Israeli response is a victim of the missle lobbing terrorist Hamas agenda.

By et

December 28, 2008 8:40 PM | Link to this

chad - you are right - dont get upset with people that slam a response to terror when more than 90% of those killed are in hamas. they are called idiots. the only people that support hamas are terrorists and people like jimmy carter who either are stupid, jew haters or have no idea what they are dealing with when it comes to islamic terror.

By Shawn-Earnest

December 28, 2008 9:13 PM | Link to this

When I was younger at the ages of 10-23 years old I would feel deeply for all these heterosexual parents of children dying, and the like of pregnant women and elderly innocent civilians, but in my current life experiences I tend not to care at all that eternal life is their new peace of mind.. After 23 years old i realized what the world really is, and how it is mastered and it is mastered by people like yourself, like you. You believe in this GOD that through you creates war, murder, rape, pillage, sell drugs for war efforts. Then you murder and torture small hairless boys that have not yet become a men yet, and have not decided what life is yet and you believe they are gay, cause they disagree with you and or none believers in your “Middle Eastern GOD. This is a pagan deity; “Mars - The God of war”. The Israeli One GOD, The Moslem One GOD, The Christian One GOD is the “God of War, a pagan God known as:
“Mars was the Roman warrior god, the son of Juno and Jupiter, husband of Bellona, and the lover of Venus. He was the most prominent of the military gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only to Jupiter. His festivals were held in March (named for him) and October -i.e. 9-11. Mars.” What I write here will not shake your faith; this is not what I am here to do. You are all the enemy of this planet that you have invaded thousands of years ago. The closest I get to GOD is the farmers almanac I rarely read or when I sit down to take a poop in the morning or whenever else I feel a need to do so. This is just the beginning to your end, and now nothing will stop this. The world is watching, people are aware of who you are now, they know what you are all about, they are standing in the streets protesting against you, and you are starting a world war hoping your mythological Messiah will ascend from the clouds and save you. but this will not ever happen. People have realized this zeitgeist and what they have become in your image and they do not like it. They no longer have to bend and become in your mythological moral ethical image, cause it is an ancient lie that make brother turn against brother for political economic greed and power. This is your last chance, I suggest you choose wisely or this presence will war against you and you will not win. We are the protesters, We are everything that points at you and tells you are wrong in all your conditional love and lies. This is your last chance, I suggest you take it. When we start over again you; the “International Federal Reserve Banks, and those who worship this One God’s of war will not be included. This will be your apocalypse and no one mythological messiah from the heavens will ever save you from your fury, your wrath, your missiles, your cities to dust, and this will be your end, and our beginning. You will destroy yourselves. My Enemies will destroy my enemies and my enemies I love as my brother, but I shall never war against them. They shall war against each other and a new world will begin, if their is a God it is Science outside ourselves and within us is eternal life. Lucidity in these dreams we trust that are the wise of heart and mind and this is who we are.

By CommunistAJC

December 28, 2008 9:17 PM | Link to this

Jay Bookman, Great piece.

By @@

December 28, 2008 9:33 PM | Link to this

jay? Did you write this piece and the one downstairs.

I now know what Santa brought you for Christmas.

A clearer perspective.

Good job!

By The Corporal

December 28, 2008 9:35 PM | Link to this

To Chad Harris

I am happy to see we agree on at least one thing. Maybe over time we will find others. All is not lost.

However, inspite of our logic on this matter, and though we agree on the subject and know in our hearts that we are right, there are others who have posted remarks pointing to us as vicious, child murdering nuts.

The lesson here is that when we disagree in the future on a given subject, let’s keep in mind that reasoned debate is always the best course over vitriolic attacks.

By Cherokee

December 28, 2008 9:47 PM | Link to this

Brevity, shawn-earnest, always strive for brevity.

By Wyld Byll

December 28, 2008 9:51 PM | Link to this

Well jay, I’m pretty sure Jimmy Carter doesn’t agree with you.

By sunshine and thunder

December 28, 2008 9:51 PM | Link to this

It’s amazing that Jay has gotten this one right.

Keep trying Jay. You never know when you might get another one.

By sunshine and thunder

December 28, 2008 9:55 PM | Link to this

I’m sure Israel has thought a lot about these words:

“In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Doron

December 28, 2008 10:08 PM | Link to this

The Gaza tragedy is not of Israel’s making. The casualty count in Gaza does not reflect culpability. In the last weeks, hundreds of Palestinian rockets hit Israeli towns. Israeli casualties were kept low by early warning sirens and bomb shelters - and the visuals of shattered cribs and living rooms prove this.

It is remarkable that Hamas has dug so many tunnels, but prevents civilians from using them as bomb shelters. Hamas deliberately fires from homes, schools and hospitals. It scores propaganda victories when Israelis or Palestinians are killed. This is especially the case when the media list Hamas militant casualties as “Palestinians” - falsely suggesting civilian dead. Initial reports suggest that the overwhelming number of dead are militants.

Israel’s dilemma is manifold. It faces groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, which are sworn to its destruction and the death of all Jews. Its southern cities have been paralyzed due to the rocket fire.

Yet Israel has to provide Gaza with supplies, since Egypt keeps the Egyptian Gaza border crossings shut, and does not allow supplies through. Hamas has consistently manipulated shortages by hoarding incoming supplies. Hamas media control in Gaza has allowed them to manipulate media stories, especially as their stringers serve all journalists in the strip.

When Israel tries to stop the rocket fire, it is castigated - both for protecting its citizens, and for Hamas’ policy of firing from civilian areas.

I hope and pray for a time when the violence will end. The root cause of the violence is decades of incitement and indoctrination. How different could things have been if Arab lands had uplifted refugees as Israel uplifted all the Jewish refugees from Arab lands.

By GOP is gone

December 28, 2008 10:19 PM | Link to this

Basically I weigh as being sick and tired of religion being the basis for violence and killing, on both sides. Let the rationalist be in charge for a change. Get rid of superstitions written by MEN, not prophets or gods or what ever you want to call them. We are all human beings living on a planet we need to share. Give atheists a chance , we do not need to kill you for your belief systems.

By AJC/DNC Management

December 28, 2008 10:30 PM | Link to this

By Rich December 28, 2008 7:00 PM Did you see the images of hospitals full of hurted or dead children? Jesus… how can you agree with that??

Notice how the terrorists receive no blame for setting up military camps and missile batteries among the civilian population?

Ever think that they might just do this on purpose so that they can get the left to whine and moan on their behalf?

And every time the left wails for them, do you not think they appreciate the assistance and know that producing a few more dead children will further help their cause?

Now think what would happen if the world came together and denounced them for being stupid, prehistoric slobbering savages, like they really are, instead of making them the idiot pinko cause and hysteria of the week.

Maybe they would get the message about their savage behavior?

Instead of the hope that someone from outside of their 12th century ruins was agreeing with them?

By getalife

December 28, 2008 10:47 PM | Link to this

It’s just their way to say Happy New Year.

By @@

December 28, 2008 11:01 PM | Link to this

Knowing that Hamas has done a lousy job of administering in Gaza, and has essentially been holding their citizens captive, I had to wonder if the attacks on Israel were politically motivated. Stratfor has satisfied my curiosity.

The first question is, of course, why Hamas chose to end the truce, opening the door to an Israeli attack. The answer might lie in upcoming Palestinian elections. While Hamas was a pure opposition party, it was an effective critic of Fatah’s governance. Having been responsible for Gaza for a while, Hamas now bore criticism for the state of Gaza, and thus the party’s popularity had slipped. Having failed to make significant inroads into the West Bank where Fatah dominated, and having drawn criticism for its administration in Gaza, Hamas saw its momentum blunted.

Hamas was much more effective as a combat party, fighting the Israelis, than as an administrative party, dealing with the intractable problem of Gaza. The longer it remained passive toward the Israelis and the longer it remained responsible for Gaza, the less attractive Hamas would be to Palestinians.

There’s more, but too much to bring over.

Couple of interesting pieces on the conflict in the WSJ’s opinion section.

According to the WSJ Hamas in Gaza sought to extend the truce but was overridden by Hamas in Syria who told them to escalate the rocket attacks on Israel.

I find that interesting since Israel and Syria have been negotiating a peace agreement.

By Shay

December 28, 2008 11:03 PM | Link to this

The Arab world will hold Israel responsible for deaths in Gaza. However, the real blame lies with Hamas, and its Iranian and Syrian backers - as well as Arab regimes that have indoctrinated for decades.

If Hamas did not fire rockets, there would be no counter attacks.

If Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing, there would be no shortages in Gaza. (Why must Israel provde all supplies to a group that calls publicly for endless war against Israel?)

If the Arab world stopped its blame the other mentality, and faced up to its role in Darfur, Hamas, the Arab-Israeli conflict, there might be a better chance of peace.

By Tom

December 28, 2008 11:14 PM | Link to this

The Israelis are always “responding” to something - real or imagined. And whatever evil is theirs, WE must support. Automatically. I spent 27 months as a Naval Attache in Israel. Will never forget what I witnessed day by day. How naive you are.

By @@

December 28, 2008 11:18 PM | Link to this

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni flew to Cairo to implore Egyptian leaders to urge restraint on Hamas, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told viewers of Al-Arabiyah Television that Israel had no interest in a military confrontation. If Israel was guilty of acting disproportionately, it was in its willingness to seek any means, even at the risk of its citizens’ lives, to resolve the crisis diplomatically.

Yet the U.N. Security Council abstained from condemning Hamas and convened only after Israel resolved to act. The U.N.’s hypocrisy, together with growing media criticism of Israel, is reinforcing Israeli concerns that territorial concessions, whether unilateral or negotiated, will only compromise the country’s security and curtail its ability to respond to attack.

By @@

December 28, 2008 11:24 PM | Link to this

Israel’s Gaza Defense The more damage to Hamas, the better the chances for peace.

I can see how that might work.

By Roger

December 28, 2008 11:35 PM | Link to this

Hamas (and more broadly the Arab world) don’t seem to care about the Palestinians except as cannon fodder against Israel. When Jordan had the West Bank and Egypt had Gaza (until 1967) they refused to help Palestinians - while Israel absorbed all the Jews from Arab lands.

Despite their massive oil revenues, the Arab world never fulfilled aid promises to the Palestinians. Most aid comes from the US and Europe. In a sense, the Palestinians are used mainly as a pan-Arab cause, distracting from the failures of Arab rulers. As long as this cynical manipulation continues, there is no chance of peace. This mentality also hampers development in the Arab world.

By @@

December 28, 2008 11:51 PM | Link to this

MOSCOW — For a decade, Russian academic Igor Panarin has been predicting the U.S. will fall apart in 2010. For most of that time, he admits, few took his argument — that an economic and moral collapse will trigger a civil war and the eventual breakup of the U.S. — very seriously. Now he’s found an eager audience: Russian state media.

He predicts that economic, financial and demographic trends will provoke a political and social crisis in the U.S. When the going gets tough, he says, wealthier states will withhold funds from the federal government and effectively secede from the union. Social unrest up to and including a civil war will follow. The U.S. will then split along ethnic lines, and foreign powers will move in.

California will form the nucleus of what he calls “The Californian Republic,” and will be part of China or under Chinese influence. Texas will be the heart of “The Texas Republic,” a cluster of states that will go to Mexico or fall under Mexican influence. Washington, D.C., and New York will be part of an “Atlantic America” that may join the European Union. Canada will grab a group of Northern states Prof. Panarin calls “The Central North American Republic.” Hawaii, he suggests, will be a protectorate of Japan or China, and Alaska will be subsumed into Russia.

Funny!

I can actually envision our leftists celebrating at the mere thought.

By AJC/DNC Management

December 28, 2008 11:59 PM | Link to this

“I think it’s great that Chicago still has two newspapers, and it would be a great disappointment to lose either of them,” said Tom Spees, 50, a health-information service director who was looking through a Sun-Times left by another customer at Merle’s coffee shop near a North Side “el” train station.

Yeah, a real disappointment, uh-huh.

The “conservative” Tribune is a shameful rag, a shell of it’s former self, just imagine People magazine that features Oblahmasan and only Oblahmasan with the occasional racist guilt trip intermingled within the Oblamasan coverage.

It’s like it has been taken over by a bunch of starstruck teenage girls, sort of like 60 Minutes has been.

Why bother?

By The Corporal

December 29, 2008 12:10 AM | Link to this

To GOP is gone

I think sir you ignore history and in fact have it reversed. Most of the carnage in the history of the world has had nothing to do with religion.

Japan, Germany and Italy in WWII North Korea during the Koran War North Vietnam during the Vietnam War World War I Roman and Greek conquests Attila the Hun, etc., etc., etc.

Most of the world’s war’s have simply involved just plain old greed and conquest by one and sometimes both sides.

Plus, in my humble opinion, if you removed any type of belief in God, or faith, or the retricting influences of religion in general from the world, it wouldn’t be safe to step outside your house !!!!!!!!!!!

By AJC/DNC Management

December 29, 2008 12:15 AM | Link to this

Throughout the initial stages of the air operation, the IDF Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration transmitted messages to civilians in Gaza to stay away from Kassam launch sites and Hamas buildings and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the Jihad terrorists and their propaganda pinko media in the United States encouraged children to play next to the Kassam rockets so they could parade their dead bodies around and scold the hated Jews.

It makes them feel…………………..better.

ew

By Chad Harris

December 29, 2008 12:34 AM | Link to this

I just want to state that I can see Russia from Piedmont park, and that qualifies me as a foreign policy expert.

And when Putin rears his head even though he doesn’t have the title of Third President and Dmitri Medvedev does (well Sarah didn’t say that because she didn’t know it) but you know the rest of the idiot quote.

Two aspects of the Middle East Peace equation have always been significant.

Arafat was offered one of the best peace deals in history, and he didn’t make it happen.

During Arafat, instead of using resources for education and health, Arafat shared the wealth among an elite cadre of homeboys. In fact, he diverted $900 million in pubic funds to his own coffers while his Palestinian people lived in some of the worst conditions on the planet.

Like the McCains, who haven’t lived together since their marriage in fact-Cindy has had her slutty boyfriends in her building in LA, and McOldMan has had his slutty lobbyists in DC, the Arafats never lived together. Suha hung mostly in France—she was great at tearing up the Rue de Fauberg in Paris and dropping several hundred thousand in a few hours, kind of like Joe Nardelli’s wife when she ventures out of her Garmon Drive compound.

You know Joe—the homeboy of Cerebrus—they just took $17.4 billion of your money and you aren’t going to see it again.

Suha currently is getting a cool million a month from the PA (Palestinian Authority) budget—part of her negotiation when she provided access to her rat’s a* husband’s body.

The US (Bush) tried to shuffle the Palestinian deck as you’ll recall and it’s turned out badly—but you can’t blame them for trying to get rid of Arafat.

They did it however, based on Condi’s stupid talk when there is a crisis plan that’s characterized her as the least successful non-productive Sec State in history.

Arafat installed Abbas as a puppet and the US (Bush) stupidly believed this would work while Arafat held onto the levers of power.

Arafat squandered his money on the pig, Suha who lived with her boyfriends in Paris, and bribed his cadre to be loyal to him. His actual living quaters resembled a southwest Atlanta slum, Suha’s in Paris, not so damn much.

In 2003, a team of American accountants hired by the PA finance ministry began examining Arafat’s finances. The team determined that part of the Palestinian leader’s wealth was in a secret portfolio worth close to $1 billion — with investments in companies like a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Ramallah, a Tunisian cell phone company and venture capital funds in the U.S. and the Cayman Islands. The head of the investigation stated that “although the money for the portfolio came from public funds like Palestinian taxes, virtually none of it was used for the Palestinian people; it was all controlled by Arafat. And none of these dealings were made public.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted an audit of the Palestinian Authority and discovered that Arafat diverted $900 million in public funds to a special bank account controlled by Arafat and the PA Chief Economic Financial Advisor. It was, therefore, not surprising when Forbes ranked Arafat sixth on its 2003 list of “Kings, Queens and Despots,” estimating his personal wealth at a minimum of $300 million.

Arafat’s wife Suha reportedly receives a stipend of $100,000 each month from the PA budget. In October 2003, the French government opened a money-laundering probe of Suha after prosecutors learned about regular transfers of nearly $1.27 million from Switzerland to Mrs. Arafat’s accounts in Paris.

Suha was 46 years younger than her sugar daddy, but hell that goes on in the US all the time doesn’t it (see Cindy and McSame).

And what was an obscene footnote, was that the pig he was married to, both sybolically and literally negotiated

By Chad Harris

December 29, 2008 12:51 AM | Link to this

the pig Arafat was married to negotiated another $27 million in addition to her mil/month allowance so that the PA could ahve access to Arafat’s body and toss it around like a beach ball at a rock concert.

Suha has never been prosecuted for the misappropriation of money, and currently she lives with her boyfriends in Paris (as Cindy McSame lives with her boyfriends in her LA and 2 San Diego Condos where she currently owes back taxes. $200 million and $50,000 on her plastic kind of leaves her stretched).

The only time the McCains are ever together is when there is a campaign, and since the Arizaona Senate campaign isn’t nationally covered, you aren’t going to see it.

By Chad Harris

December 29, 2008 1:05 AM | Link to this

We probably agree on a number of items, Corporal.

We probably disagree on how effective the administration has been this past 8 years.

People say things on blogs that they’d never say in real conversation and that’s because everyone likes to vent.

I pretty much ignore it when someone says I’m a child murderer, and I point out it’s not cool to sit there while people lob missles into your neighborhood.

I’ve followed Israel’s history (and their defensive military posture) very closely since they became a nation in 1948 although I wasn’t following it closely then but if you look at the whole picture, Israel has done it’s best to live peacefully. They’ve endured the bombings and attacks we all know about their entire history, and only have gone to war or been the agressor when they felt they were backed into a wall (and attacked brutally). In contrast to what Arafat did with the money, Israel has built state of the art education, research, defense (of course with help from the US) and they make cutting edge medical discoveries, and software programs adopted by the US all the time.

Georgia (the state) has been shopping for some resources from Israel.

I bet we agree on Caroline Kennedy and I don’t want Holder as AG and I don’t want Hillary as Sec State although there isn’t much I can do about either.

Kennedy has had the arrogance to now say that if she’s not appointed by Paterson in a few weeks, she won’t run in 2010. That says it all.

This is a woman to lazy to bone up on issues, take stands, and interview.

After she made a fool of herself at the New York Times the last part of the week, her “people” set up meetings where different organizations and the press were invited to take written quesstions and she chose a small fraction and gave meaningless answers to them.

She’s hired a PR Agency run by one of Bloomberg’s top guys, and refuses to say she’d support the Dem against him when he runs for a 3rd term.

Kennedy refuses to release financial infomration and she has tapped a source of money that’s endless since she got off Macaroni the Pony.

She has contributed zero money to Dems in the state of New York. She gave $2500 to Hillary who refunded the money when Kennedy came out for Obama (without uttering a word other than a prepared sound byte—just basically waving with her uncle on a podium

By Jon

December 29, 2008 1:31 AM | Link to this

To those who have posted comments here crying about Arab victims, I have a question:

Where were you a week ago, two weeks ago, two months ago, when Arab rockets where targeting Jews and deliberately targeting civilians, and Israel was not responding?

Where were you two months ago when Islamic murderers killed Jews in Bombay, for no other reason than that they were Jews?

Where were you a few years ago when Hamas suicide bombers blew a couple of dozen Jewish girls to pieces in a pizza restaurant, murdered scores at a Passover seder and scores more at a wedding reception, simply because they were Jews?

The answer is that you were nowhere. By your silence, you indicated your acceptance of those actions. By choosing to make your voices heard only now, that Israel has finally responded, you make it clear that only some victims matter and you reveal yourselves as hate filled racists.

By GOPs is gone

December 29, 2008 5:32 AM | Link to this

No Corporal,

I think I will stay with reason, not fantasy.

More violence and bloodshed has been done in the name of different Gods over the millineums than for pure greed.

By GodHatesTrash

December 29, 2008 7:16 AM | Link to this

@@, I’ve always said Lincoln was wrong.

By spankmonkey

December 29, 2008 7:24 AM | Link to this

Funny you should pick this subject, as the other day I was thinking of your blog in terms of the conflict.

Your wingnut posters here send thier little rockets over, full of hyperbole and blind partisan hate. And then scream like stuck pigs when retaliated on. Much like the Arabs. Sometimes they shoot thier hate-missles from heavily populated areas just so the return fire will kill innocents, so as to “justify” shooting more… Just like the Arabs. Innocent lives and collateral damage are pawns with which to make a political point, no more, no less… just like your local wingnuts…

That being said, It’s all a PR battle. Once Israel finds a way to show the palistenians the true nature of HAMAS, maybe the tide of public opinion will trun against HAMAS. But the Arab mindset is a bit whacked. They think that if they shoot rockets from a school, and the school is destroyed by return fire, that they become the victims here (much like your local wingnuts), and the Arab public laps it all up. Have you ever tried to do business with a person of middle eastern descent? They love to haggle, and are very dishonest even in the simplest of business transactions. (a lot like the wingnuts) It’s thier culture.

I’m sure a lot could be done to ease the everyday lives of the Palistinians, but the HAMAS and Jihadists will not allow it because that would erode their power base, thus rockets are fired from schools and hospitals in the hopes of retaliation, so they can scream like stuck pigs about it… (just like the wingnuts…)

This conflict isn’t about god or land, it’s about power, once the suffering of the individual is abated, those that hold it will have less of it.

By spankmonkey

December 29, 2008 7:42 AM | Link to this

The Corporal either hasn’t studied history before the 20th century, or he wants to ignore the truth.

All of the conflicts he throws out there happened within the last 100 years, I know that, from the Corporals point of view, humans have only been on the planet for a couple thousand years, indeed the planet has only existed that long, but if one goes back beyond the 20th century history is rife with religion based conflict. The aptly named Crusades come to mind immediately.

By spankmonkey

December 29, 2008 8:00 AM | Link to this

I’ve got plenty to say about Israeli society as well…

There is an entire segment of the population that don’t work, won’t participate in compulsory military service, and recieve state welfare all their lives. All they do is study the Torah, reproduce and build “settlements”.

Maybe my tax dollars are going to military hardware for Israel, but that simply allows Israel to pay for the Ultra orthodox (described above), therefore my tax dollars are going to support them.

How can “conservatives” rail against welfare queens here and support state sponsered religious welfare over there? Especially when it’s our tax dollars supporting that?

By et gentin

December 29, 2008 8:41 AM | Link to this

spankmonkey - if you are worried about israels foreign aid package then you should be very upset that we have given iraq more money in a year than israel has gotten in 60. you should be upset that egypt has a similar $ aid package and are called allies in name only….

By AJC/DNC Management

December 29, 2008 8:48 AM | Link to this

By spankmonkey December 29, 2008 7:24 AM Funny you should pick this subject, as the other day I was thinking of your blog in terms of the conflict. Your wingnut posters here send thier little rockets over, full of hyperbole and blind partisan hate.

You haven’t fired off much more than a bottle rocket the whole time you’ve been here, spankie.

And you always get bombed for your troubles.

By T.J.

December 29, 2008 8:53 AM | Link to this

I’m sure a lot could be done to ease the everyday lives of the downtrodden americans, but the democrats and special interests (see NAACP) will not allow it because that would erode their power base, thus false accusations and grievances are fired from podiums and left-wing media in hopes of the sympathy vote. so they ring-a-ding-ding like a cowbell leading their cows to slaughter just like they’ve always done…(those democrats)

By spankmonkey

December 29, 2008 8:59 AM | Link to this

Iraq is a farce built upon a bed of lies, and by younger brother almost died there.

We bribe Egypt to stay out of it, and it seems to work. As far as I know there is not an entire segment of the Egyptian society that sucks off the teat of public coffers in order to spend thier entire life studying the Koran… But, no I don’t particularily care for my tax dollars going over there either. Let them ALL pound sand for all I care, we got some SERIOUS problems here at home that aren’t being addressed because we need to meddle over there… If Israel is the “promised land” where Jesus is going to make his return, then it matters not who lives there, no?

I do have an issue with the way Israel was formed, and with the settlement building, but what is is what it is, so they should all find a way to make it work. If we are to support giving Palestinians back “thier” land, then we must find a way to give Native Americans back thiers, and make reparations to the slaves, etc…

No, we need to move forward, not look backwards and dwell.

Gotta go to work now and pay my taxes so we can squander it in the mideast… and ignore sick and starving children here in the US.

By spankmonkey

December 29, 2008 9:03 AM | Link to this

Thanks for helping me make my point Andy.

By H

December 29, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this

I for once, agree with Jay Bookman. More emphasis needs to be placed upon the role of iran, which has pushed Hamas into open conflict with Israel. Many of the long range missiles that have been fired from gaza are Iranian made Grad missiles. What are they doing there? has Iran officially declared war upon Israel? As for Rich, he clearly has a Jewish problem. He probably feels empowered since he has come out of the closet and feels liberated to spew anti-Jewish invective

By H

December 29, 2008 9:07 AM | Link to this

I for once, agree with Jay Bookman. More emphasis needs to be placed upon the role of iran, which has pushed Hamas into open conflict with Israel. Many of the long range missiles that have been fired from gaza are Iranian made Grad missiles. What are they doing there? has Iran officially declared war upon Israel? As for Rich, he clearly has a Jewish problem. He probably feels empowered since he has come out of the closet of anti-semitism and feels liberated to spew anti-Jewish invective

By GaNative

December 29, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this

I tip my hat to the Israelis. War is War. Sure some innoncent folks are going to die, but that’s the price of war. Folks are always talking about how President Elect Obama will respond to defending Israel. Israel needs no protection from the U.S. The United States does nothing but talk. And if by chance the U.S. engages in a war, they fight the war on the terms of the opponent by sending in ground troops and fighting war as humanitarians. That’s why the U.S. experiences so many casualties. Israel takes matters in their own hands. They don’t fool around with asking permission from the United Nations. They go in and kick azz using their superior fighter planes and missles. They don’t send ground troops to fight the war on the terms of the enemy. The United States could learn a lot from Israel about fighting a war.

By GaNative

December 29, 2008 9:13 AM | Link to this

I tip my hat to the Israelis. War is War. Sure some innoncent folks are going to die, but that’s the price of war. Folks are always talking about how President Elect Obama will respond to defending Israel. Israel needs no protection from the U.S. The United States does nothing but talk. And if by chance the U.S. engages in a war, they fight the war on the terms of the opponent by sending in ground troops and fighting war as humanitarians. That’s why the U.S. experiences so many casualties. Israel takes matters in their own hands. They don’t fool around with asking permission from the United Nations. They go in and kick azz using their superior fighter planes and missles. They don’t send ground troops to fight the war on the terms of the enemy. The United States could learn a lot from Israel about fighting a war.

By The Corporal

December 29, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this

To Chad Harris

10-4.

To Spankmonkey

“War is a continuation of polictics through additional means.

Try doing some research. The number of people killed in the Crusades was miniscule compared to most wars. Overall in world history, religion has been a minor causation of world conflict.

Here are the major/minor causes of war:

Colonial
Imperial
Religious Dynastic
Trade
Revolutionary
Guerrilla Civil
Secessionist
Political
Monetaristic

Go to the following site and check out the numbers of people killed in the various conflicts in world history and you will see why you (and GOP) are incorrect on this issue ……….

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War

By Copyleft

December 29, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this

Sounds good to me, GaNative. If Israel wants to fight a war, let ‘em. It’s none of our concern.

By Alan Segal

December 29, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this

Re Israel’s striking back at Hamas: No country in the world would tolerate rockets being fired into their territory hence the response is entirely justified. It matters not that only a small number of Israelis have been killed. What are they to do? Wait until more are killed before eliminating the source? What’s more, Hamas operates in populated areas known to risk collateral damage. There’s not much concern for the innocent civilians there. I would also advise viewers to take with a grain of salt any video supplied by Palestinian sources. It wasn’t too long ago we were treated to the spectacle of a supposed dead Palestininan carried on a stretcher who fell off then promptly jumped back on under his own power.

A. Segal

By spankmonkey

December 29, 2008 10:37 AM | Link to this

Speaking of war and military strength, ya just gotta love the NeoCons

While they scared us with statements about mushroom clouds and goat herders, it would appear that China and Russia have been having a little tryst…

Welcome to Cold War 2008 style. While we focused our energies, capital, and troops on teenie tiny tyrants, the other superpowers of the world were laughing and aligning against us. That Putin has a good heart dontchyaknow?

What happens if Russia and China decide to take over the mideast?

By GaNative

December 29, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this

spankmonkey, I’ll tell you what happenes if Russia or China decides to take over the Middle East. The U.S. will issue a statement saying “You shouldn’t do that”, and they will simply tell us to Kiss My Azz like they do everytime they test a missle or nuclear warhead in the ocean. We’re in no position to mess with anyone that will use anything other than ground troops. Take Iraq for example. We have missles and fighter planes. The only way Iraq can fire a missle is stick it in a camels mouth, put his nuts on a rock and hit em with a sledge hammer. Yet we reduce ourselves to fighting on the ground with troops.

By Jeff Kalwerisky

December 29, 2008 1:12 PM | Link to this

The thugs who run Hamas have now learned the timeless lesson that “He who sows the wind, will inevitably reap the whirlwind.”

They chose to fire rockets at Israeli civilians and now scream that their civilians - never their so-called fighters - are being targeted by Israel.

They chose to abrogate a cease-fire which was saving the lives of their people and now they cry that the Israelis are retaliating against them.

They chose to smuggle in weapons rather than food for their people and now wail that those weapons are being destroyed together with those who carry the weapons.

They chose to burn down the functioning factories Israel left behind when they withdrew from Gaza and now they despair because there is neither work nor food for their people.

Their mindless hatred will always trump their desire for a better life and, like all tyrants, they will always choose disaster over better lives for their population.

Very, very sad.

By Toby

December 29, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this

I share Jay’s views. Hamas is just the latest in a long line of Moslem leaders who have inflicted suffering on the Palestinians. Egypt and Jordan siezed the land that should have been their state in 1948; the Arab world has kept refugees from the 1948 war in ignorance and poverty for 60 years. Most recently, Hamas has commandeered food and fuel from civilians to feed and equip its militias. Tunnels have been used to bring weapons and ammunition into Gaza but hospitals have been left ill-supplied and no bomb shelters have been built. The Israeli strikes have clearly been carefully planned and executed. Even the Palestinian propagandists admit that there are only a couple of dozen women and children among the hundreds of dead. There can be peace only when the Arabs accept Israel’s right to exist, as a Jewish state, in her people’s ancestral homeland. Were the Palestinians to turn from attempting to annihilate the Jews and begin to build a civil society, they would be received with open arms by the whole world, Israel included.

By Copyleft

December 30, 2008 9:29 AM | Link to this

It’s a nice thought, Toby, but the evidence and history suggest that Israel’s leaders won’t be satisfied until the Palestinians are eradicated either.

They certainly don’t show any more interest in allowing a “Palestinian state occupying their ancestral homeland” any more than the Palestinians seem accepting of a Jewish state.

Religious hatred will never die until the religious zealots themselves do… on BOTH sides. Then, and only then, can progress occur.