<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938</id><updated>2011-04-21T14:43:54.692-07:00</updated><category term='siniora'/><category term='world bank'/><category term='privatization'/><title type='text'>Zimplistic</title><subtitle type='html'>Simple but Effective</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>21</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-4661185628516365779</id><published>2008-02-20T05:16:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-09T22:57:48.295-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Mossad memorabilia</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__EXhsRwQQh4/R7wqHvAfNeI/AAAAAAAAABY/pOMB5ig_t0w/s1600-h/tsafrir.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__EXhsRwQQh4/R7wqHvAfNeI/AAAAAAAAABY/pOMB5ig_t0w/s400/tsafrir.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169052784680449506" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In 20 Years from now, we will see the post of a similar creep standing proud in front of memorabilia from the Cedar Revolution era with a few large plates for the major cedar top revolutionaries "Al Ra'iss El Chahid", Saad Hariri, Siniora, Joumblat and some coasters for Carlito Eddeh, Dory Chamoun, Dottor Souhaid and some plastic pens for most journalists in AnNahar, Mustaqbal and the rest... And maybe a placemat for Nayla.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not to forget, that Solange Gemayel who is in the frame to his left is today a deputy in the Lebanese parliament, she ran on the list of "Sheikh Saad-Ud-Dine Al Hariri" in Beirut and she's a member of the parliamentary majority supported by Saudi Arabia, United States, France etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P.S.: The guy in the plate on the right is Masoud Barazani's father.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-4661185628516365779?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/4661185628516365779/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=4661185628516365779' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/4661185628516365779'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/4661185628516365779'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2008/02/mossad-memorabilia.html' title='Mossad memorabilia'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__EXhsRwQQh4/R7wqHvAfNeI/AAAAAAAAABY/pOMB5ig_t0w/s72-c/tsafrir.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-1000498569462819861</id><published>2008-01-09T04:33:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-09T04:43:48.130-08:00</updated><title type='text'>senseless, arrogant, racist, idiotic cedar revolutionary hatches pearls of wisdom</title><content type='html'>نايلة معوض تسأل عن اى نموذج يريده اللبنانيون هل هو غزة ام دبي؟&lt;br /&gt;Posted on 2008-01-09 @ 13:47&lt;br /&gt;اعتبرت وزيرة الشؤون الاجتماعية نايلة معوض ان الخلاف في لبنان ليس خلافاً على السلطة بل هو حول الكيان اللبناني والوجود المسيحي فيه.&lt;br /&gt;وفي هذا الاطار طرحت معوض سلسلة تساؤلات عن "اي نموذج نريده غزة ام دبي؟"، "الالتحاق بسوريا وايران ام الالتحاق بالمحور العربي الدولي".&lt;br /&gt;ودعت معوض المعارضة الى تلقف المبادرة العربية "لكي لا تكون شريكة لشاكر العبسي"Translation:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"The minister of social affairs Nayla Moawwad considered that the current struggle in Lebanon is not a struggle over power but over the Lebanese entity and the christian presence in it, and from this perspective, Moawwad pondered "what model do we want, Gaza or Dubai?", "Aligning ourslves to Syria and Iran or aligning ourselves to the arab-international axis". Moawwad asked the opposition to embrace the arab initiative so it won't be a partner to Chaker Al-Abssi."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It never occured to this racist bigot and her comrades in the cedar-revolution that the people in Gaza do not have any other choice BUT to be in Gaza!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-1000498569462819861?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/1000498569462819861/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=1000498569462819861' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/1000498569462819861'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/1000498569462819861'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2008/01/senseless-arrogant-racist-idiotic-cedar.html' title='senseless, arrogant, racist, idiotic cedar revolutionary hatches pearls of wisdom'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-2729366191484076552</id><published>2007-10-18T12:17:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-10-18T12:21:37.009-07:00</updated><title type='text'>One of the mysteries of the universe: Bush administration can't wrap its mind around the reason why Lebanon and Israel are at a state of war!</title><content type='html'>حديث لوكيل وزير الدفاع الأميركي للسياسات الخارجية إيريك أدلمان (LBC)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:48  أدلمان: اختيار الرئيس المقبل هو من اختصاص الشعب اللبناني&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:47  أدلمان: حماية النواب خلال الإنتخابات الرئاسية من مسؤولية قوى الأمن&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:47  أدلمان: لبنان يحتاج دولة قوية وحكومة تمثل كل الشعب وتمسك بالجيش&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:46  أدلمان: أرسلنا 45 حمولة من الذخائر والأسلحة خلال معركة "البارد"&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:45  أدلمان: لم نكن لنطرح موضوع التعاون بين وزارتي الدفاع &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;لولا تأكدنا ان الجيش تابع للحكومة المنتخبة شرعيا&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:44  أدلمان: العملية العسكرية في "البارد" شكلت ضربة قوية للمجموعات التابعة للقاعدة&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:43  أدلمان: ألمانيا تتولى مسألة حماية الحدود اللبنانية ونحاول المساعدة&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:41  أدلمان: نأمل أن يدرك الجميع ان ما من ضرورة لاستمرار المجموعات غير الجيش في حمل السلاح&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:40  أدلمان: نعتمد الشفافية في مساعدتنا للجيش&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:39  أدلمان: هدفنا تدريب وتجهيز الجيش للدفاع عن لبنان والمحافظة على الأمن الداخلي&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:38  أدلمان: &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;لا أرى سببا يجعل من لبنان وإسرائيل عدوين&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:37  أدلمان: &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;نحاول تطوير استراتيجية الجيش اللبناني&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:36  أدلمان: الجيش اللبناني خاض معركة "نهر البارد" بشكل ممتاز&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:36  أدلمان: &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;بحثت في لبنان إنشاء عمل ثنائي بين وزارتي دفاع لبنان واميركا&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:33  أدلمان: الوضع مستقر في ظل القرار 1701&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:33  أدلمان: نحاول خلق ظروف لقيام دولة قوية في لبنان وحاولنا خلال حرب تموز خلق ظروف لسلام طويل الأمد بين لبنان وإسرائيل&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:31  أدلمان: المساعدة هي لحكومة لبنان وشعبه&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:31  أدلمان: الجزء الأول من المساعدة وصل في الصيف والخريف لمساعدة الجيش في الإنتشار الواسع وتطبيق القرار 1701&lt;br /&gt;18oct 21:30  أدلمان: نوفر مساعدة للبنان على مضلى السنتين الماضيتين&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-2729366191484076552?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/2729366191484076552/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=2729366191484076552' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/2729366191484076552'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/2729366191484076552'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/10/bush-administration-playing-dumb-again.html' title='One of the mysteries of the universe: Bush administration can&apos;t wrap its mind around the reason why Lebanon and Israel are at a state of war!'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-6300119893795956560</id><published>2007-10-10T16:34:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-10-10T16:34:41.956-07:00</updated><title type='text'>حسن نصر الله لا يرى «عدواً» إلا إسرائي</title><content type='html'>http://www.assafir.com/Article.aspx?EditionId=760&amp;ChannelId=16993&amp;ArticleId=864&amp;Author=%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84%20%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;لكم هو ساذج وبسيط السيد حسن نصر الله...&lt;br /&gt;فجأة، تسقط الهالة التي تتوّج رأس هذا «القائد المجاهد» لينكشف كم هو غريب عن «اللعبة السياسية في لبنان»، التي لها أربابها وأساطينها من المحترفين الدهاقنة: إنه صريح، مباشر، لا يعرف أصول اللعبة، فلا يداهن ولا يكذب، ولا يزوّر الوقائع، ولا يعلن غير ما يبطن، لذلك فإن تصيّده أمر في غاية السهولة..&lt;br /&gt;.. ولأن إسرائيل هي «العدو» الوطني والقومي للبنان، بالنسبة للسيد حسن نصر الله، فهي ـ بالبديهة ـ مصدر كل أذى وكل شر يصيبه، كدولة، كشعب، سواء في عمرانه واقتصاده، أو في تخريب العلاقات بين أهله بتقسيمهم بين «معادين» و«محايدين» أو خصوم لخصومهم بما يقرّبهم من خانة الحلفاء!&lt;br /&gt;ولأن إسرائيل هي العدو المؤهل والقادر على إلحاق الأذى بلبنان واللبنانيين، تستوي في ذلك الاغتيالات الفردية (وقد طالت مجاهدين من رفاقه قبل أن تطال غيرهم ممن يظلون من أهله ويظل حريصاً عليهم، وعلى عوائلهم ومن يمثلون، حتى لو خالفوه في الرأي وفي التوجه السياسي) أو الحرب الإسرائيلية الشاملة على لبنان بإنسانه وعمرانه..&lt;br /&gt;ولأن إسرائيل هي العدو فمن الطبيعي أن تكون ضد الاستقرار في لبنان، وأن تعمل ما وسعها الجهد لتخريب التوافق الوطني وزعزعة الوحدة الوطنية، بالدسائس والمؤامرات والاغتيالات... أو حتى الحرب، إذا استدعى الأمر أن تحقق بالحرب الشقاق الداخلي الذي يأتيها بالأرباح ذاتها!&lt;br /&gt;أما وأن السيد حسن نصر الله ساذج وبسيط، فهو يفترض أن الرد الفعلي على الحرب الإسرائيلية، سياسية كانت أم عسكرية، إنما يكون بتدعيم الوحدة الوطنية، وبترسيخ التوافق الوطني في لحظة فاصلة كالتي يعيشها لبنان عشية الانتخابات الرئاسية، التي تحين بينما أهله مختلفون إلى حد الافتراق والتقاطع والخصومة القابلة للتحوّل إلى فتنة..&lt;br /&gt;لقد رفضت الموالاة، على امتداد عام طويل، كل العروض والمبادرات التي هدفت إلى إنجاز تسوية منطقية وطبيعية جداً لانسجامها مع ثوابت الحياة السياسية اللبنانية: رفضت إعادة صياغة الحكومة بما يعيد إليها التوازن المفقود.. وفرضت على البلاد شهوراً من المماحكات حول «الوزير الملك» و19 + 11 أو 19 + 10 + ,1 ثم حول وزارة الوحدة الوطنية 17 + 13 (بعد إقرار المحكمة الدولية) كمدخل للتوافق على الرئيس بل العهد الجديد بمؤسساته جميعاً.&lt;br /&gt;ثم إن الموالاة هوّلت بانتخاب «الرئيس الوفاقي» العتيد بالنصف زائداً واحداً، كونها لا تملك أكثرية الثلثين... مما يعني أن يسقط الدستور شهيد اغتيال أخطر من كل ما سبقه من اغتيالات، لأن الجريمة موصوفة، تقع جهاراً نهاراً، وأمام عيون العالم أجمع، ومرتكبها يتباهى بفعلته مؤكداً أنه إنما ينصر الديموقراطية ويحقق السيادة والاستقلال!&lt;br /&gt;ولأن السيد حسن نصر الله ساذج وبسيط ولا يتقن فنون المناورات والخداع الحربي إلا في مواجهة العدو الإسرائيلي، فهو قد عاد يلح على «الرئيس بالتوافق»، فإذا استحال تحقيق هذا الهدف الطبيعي، فلا بد من الذهاب إلى الحد الأقصى: أي الاستفتاء الشعبي.&lt;br /&gt;لقد افترض أنه يقدم حلاً بديلاً كمخرج من الأزمة الخانقة التي يتسبّب فيها تعنت الموالاة، المتهمة بأنها تستعين بالخارج على الداخل، وبأنها تنفخ صدرها بأخطاء المرحلة السورية التي كان معظم قادتها اليوم من كبار المنظرين لدوامها، بالأمس، وهو أقل ما تفرضه إفادتهم من مغانمها..&lt;br /&gt;والسيد حسن نصر الله الساذج والبسيط مسكون بهاجس العدو الإسرائيلي وحربه المفتوحة على لبنان (وعلى فلسطين، «بحكومتيها»، وعلى سوريا، بل وعلى أي جهد مقاوم أو مناصر للمقاومة أو حتى الصمود) فإنه يرى شبح إسرائيل وراء كل ما يسيء إلى لبنان ويهدد استقراره، خصوصاً، أو ما يؤذي العرب في حاضرهم كما في مستقبلهم.&lt;br /&gt;وبديهي أن يرى لإسرائيل مصلحة في اهتزاز الاستقرار أو حتى في نسفه، وبالتالي فماذا يمنع من أن تكون وراء بعض الاغتيالات السياسية، لتخريب الجهود المبذولة من أجل التوافق وتجاوز الخصومات والقطيعة بالتفاهم على العهد الجديد بعنوان رئيسه؟&lt;br /&gt;[ [ [&lt;br /&gt;السيد حسن نصر الله بسيط وساذج. إنه لم يدرك بعد أنه قد ارتكب «الخطيئة المميتة»، وأن الحكم «بعزله» قد صدر، وأن الاستمرار في محاصرته سياسياً هو المدخل الطبيعي للسيطرة على «العهد الجديد»...&lt;br /&gt;والقرار بفرض «الحصار» و«العزل» وبالتالي تعطيل الوفاق عبر المشاركة في تثبيت العهد الجديد، برنامج حكم وشخص الرئيس وصيغة الحكومة، هو قرار دولي، بمشاركة عربية معلنة..&lt;br /&gt;فطالما لم يمكن، ولا يمكن في المدى المنظور تجريد المقاومة من مشروعيتها الوطنية ومن&lt;br /&gt;تراثها الجهادي، فلا أقل من فرض الحرم على مشاركتها السياسية، ليس فقط في السلطة القائمة، بل في السلطة المقبلة أساساً..&lt;br /&gt;ولا بد من إظهار قائد المقاومة وكأنه غريب عن «تقاليد الحياة السياسية»، بل غريب على السياسة في لبنان، وطارئ عليها، وإذا أمكن دمغه بطابع أنه «هجين» أو «مهجّن» فلا بأس!&lt;br /&gt;حتى الاعتصام السلمي الذي أراده هذا الساذج ومن معه، تعبيراً عن الاعتراض وإصراراً على الوفاق، أمكن للسلطة ومن معها أن تصوّره «أخذاً للبلد كرهينة، وتعطيلاً لمصالح الناس، وسبباً في الأزمة الاقتصادية التي تداني إعلان الإفلاس العام»!&lt;br /&gt;الاعتصام في ألف متر مربع، مقابل سرايا الحكومة، كمظهر حضاري للاحتجاج، والتذكير بمشكلة سياسية حادة، كادت تفجّر البلاد بأهلها، بات هو العنوان الفاضح للإخلال بكل أسس التوازن الوطني والوفاق وإرادة العيش المشترك واتفاق الطائف... وصولاً إلى ركائز الدولة ومقوماتها!&lt;br /&gt;صار الاعتصام السلمي، الذي يرمز إلى وجود مشكلة سياسية جدية تهدد النظام والوحدة، تهديداً للشراكة والوحدة والنظام.&lt;br /&gt;صار الابتعاد عن أي مظهر مسلح، والحرص على السلم الأهلي، وتحمّل الاستبعاد والنفي والتشهير بالمجاهدين الذين قدموا دماءهم فداء لحرية لبنان واستقلاله، في مواجهة الحرب الإسرائيلية، تخريباً للسلم الأهلي وتهديداً للكيان وأهله..&lt;br /&gt;صار السيد حسن نصر الله، الإنسان الوحيد الذي لا يرى الشمس، بينما تحوم «الأم. كا.» الإسرائيلية فوق الأماكن المحتمل وجوده فيها ليلاً نهاراً، هو مصدر الخطر على السلم الأهلي في لبنان..&lt;br /&gt;صحيح «إنها مواقف وممارسات تتجاهل الأخوة وتتجاهل الشراكة، وتتعمّد التعطيل والإضرار بحياة الناس وبكراماتهم، وتتعمّد زرع الانقسام.. كيف نكون أهل دين ووطن وأمة، ثم لا يحزن أحدنا لحزن أخيه ولا يتألم لمصابه ولا يتضامن معه ويمعن في التعمية!».&lt;br /&gt;الكلام للرئيس فؤاد السنيورة، وحتى لا يذهب الظن بعيداً فنفترض أنه قاله في معرض التضامن مع «المحاصَر الوحيد» بالطائرات وأجهزة التجسس والتنصت وعملاء المخابرات الإسرائيلية، فإن دولته قد قاله في معرض الرد على كلمة الساذج البسيط السيد حسن نصر الله، في يوم القدس، مساء يوم الجمعة الماضي..&lt;br /&gt;ويمكن أن نستعير من كلمة الرئيس السنيورة، وهي مكتوبة، الختام العابق بالشجن: «ولئن بسطت إليّ يدك لتقتلني ما أنا بباسط يدي إليك لأقتلك. إني أخاف الله رب العالمين».&lt;br /&gt;فالإيمان، كما نعرف، هو السلاح الأفعل والأمضى للسذج والبسطاء من الناس كالسيد حسن نصر الله..&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-6300119893795956560?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/6300119893795956560/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=6300119893795956560' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/6300119893795956560'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/6300119893795956560'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post.html' title='حسن نصر الله لا يرى «عدواً» إلا إسرائي'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-7507347071264981719</id><published>2007-09-19T08:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-19T08:38:15.087-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Iraqi leader urges U.S. to cancel Blackwater contract</title><content type='html'>http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/19/blackwater.iraq/index.html&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on the U.S. government Wednesday to end its contract with Blackwater USA after a lethal shooting incident this week.&lt;br /&gt;art.scan.afp.gi.jpg&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blackwater employees patrol Baghdad by air in a February 2005 photograph.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Meanwhile, U.S. diplomats in Baghdad are banned from leaving the Iraqi capital's Green Zone for a second day after the U.S. government halted all civilian ground movements outside the heavily fortified section.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Iraqi officials have expressed outrage at eyewitness accounts that Blackwater contractors "initiated random and indiscriminate shooting at civilians" Sunday in Baghdad's Mansour area, according to an Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The ministry said Wednesday that at least 10 Iraqis were killed and 10 wounded -- all civilians except for a traffic policeman killed while rushing to the aid of a family caught in the crossfire.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;U.S. officials have not disclosed any casualty figures. The Blackwater USA contractors were guarding a State Department convoy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blackwater has denied the Iraqi government's account of events, saying its contractors "acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The North Carolina-based company added that "the 'civilians' reportedly fired upon by Blackwater professionals were in fact armed enemies, and Blackwater personnel returned defensive fire."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Blackwater employees are part of an estimated 25,000-strong corps of private military contractors who protect diplomats, reconstruction workers and government officials in Iraq.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"We see the security firms ... doing whatever they want in the streets. They beat citizens and scorn them," one Baghdad resident, Halim Mashkoor, told AP Television News.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"If such a thing happened in America or Britain, would the American president or American citizens accept it?" Video Watch why Iraq's Interior Ministry wants to suspend Blackwater's license »&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The State Department and U.S. Embassy officials refuse to offer any details on the incident, citing the ongoing investigation. But an initial State Department report said the convoy came under fire from eight to 10 people "from multiple nearby locations, with some aggressors dressed in civilian apparel and others in Iraqi police uniforms."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sources: CNN, The Associated Press&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The guards held off the attackers and called for backup, at one point finding their escape route blocked by an Iraqi quick-reaction force that pointed heavy machine guns at one vehicle in the convoy. A U.S. Army force, backed by air cover, arrived about half an hour later to escort the convoy back to the Green Zone, the report said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At a Wednesday news conference, an Iraqi military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Qassim Atta, blamed Blackwater for "a number of violations" over the past month, citing reported incidents in two squares in central Baghdad.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On Monday, the Interior Ministry announced it was suspending Blackwater's license and halting the security contractor's operations in Iraq.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On Tuesday, the State Department issued a warden's message advising that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad "has suspended official U.S. government civilian ground movements outside the International Zone" -- the formal name of the central Baghdad district that houses the embassy -- "and throughout Iraq."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said Wednesday it is not clear if the ban on civilian ground movement applies to the entire country or just Baghdad.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;En route to the Middle East for talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described her Monday conversation with al-Maliki regarding the Blackwater episode as "cordial."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rice said she expressed Washington's regret over the loss of life and "committed to him that we were as interested as the Iraqi government in having a full investigation, a transparent investigation."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;She also said the United States was working with the Iraqi government to make sure nothing such as this happens again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A U.S. congressional report estimates that 200 private security guards have been killed in Iraq.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In one of the more highly publicized incidents, four American Blackwater contractors were mutilated and killed in March 2004 in Falluja, west of Baghdad. Two of their bodies were hanged from a bridge over the Euphrates River, setting off two battles to reclaim the city from insurgents.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Several major newspapers in the Arab world tackled the Blackwater incident, with some treating it as a major story with accompanying comment pieces.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The London-based, pan-Arab daily papers, like Al Quds Al Arabi and Al Hayat, published the story on their front pages. They focused on Rice's phone call with the Iraqi prime minister and her "personal apology" -- not an official one -- for the incident.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Al Hayat wrote: "In an attempt to apologize for the Iraqis, Condoleezza Rice called the Iraqi minister and apologized personally for the killing of 11 Iraqis, and promised to take action and stop such things."&lt;br /&gt;advertisement&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Al Quds Al Arabi wrote: "A lot of analysts believe that the Iraqi government cannot stop issuing licenses to these companies as they provide security to diplomatic delegations, and a lot of Iraqi officials."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Al Khaleej, based in the United Arab Emirates, accused those behind the incidents of being members of the Israeli secret service, Mossad.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-7507347071264981719?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/7507347071264981719/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=7507347071264981719' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/7507347071264981719'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/7507347071264981719'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/09/iraqi-leader-urges-us-to-cancel.html' title='Iraqi leader urges U.S. to cancel Blackwater contract'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-632753539288795374</id><published>2007-09-19T08:15:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-19T08:19:11.089-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Congressman faces heat for comments on Jewish lobby</title><content type='html'>http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/09/19/congressman-faces-heat-for-comments-on-jewish-lobby/&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;WASHINGTON (CNN) – Rep. Jim Moran, D-Virginia, is under fire from members of his own party for recent comments claiming a major Jewish public action committee was behind the push to invade Iraq in 2003.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the September issue of the Jewish magazine Tikkun, Moran is sharply critical of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), saying "AIPAC is the most powerful lobby and has pushed this war from the beginning. I don't think they represent the mainstream of American Jewish thinking at all, but because they are so well organized… they have been able to exert power."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;AIPAC tells CNN it has taken no position on the Iraq war.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, was quick to dispute Moran's charge.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I think he certainly ought to retract the remarks, and indicate he believes that he was inaccurate on the facts," Hoyer said Tuesday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“His remarks…recall an old canard that is not true, that the Jewish community controls the media and the Congress," Hoyer added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A spokesman for Moran told CNN Tuesday, "It is not the Jewish people, but an organization aligned with the Bush Administration… that he critiqued."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In 2003, Moran apologized for saying Iraq would not have been invaded without the Jewish community's support. He survived a primary and got re-elected in 2004, but his latest remarks could prompt another challenge.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;– CNN's Brian Todd Contributed to this report&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-632753539288795374?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/632753539288795374/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=632753539288795374' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/632753539288795374'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/632753539288795374'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/09/congressman-faces-heat-for-comments-on.html' title='Congressman faces heat for comments on Jewish lobby'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-2882266002164814496</id><published>2007-09-17T02:55:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-17T02:56:20.477-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Alan Greenspan claims Iraq war was really for oil</title><content type='html'>Graham Paterson&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Greenspan on the 'irresponsible' Bush&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;AMERICA’s elder statesman of finance, Alan Greenspan, has shaken the White House by declaring that the prime motive for the war in Iraq was oil.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In his long-awaited memoir, to be published tomorrow, Greenspan, a Republican whose 18-year tenure as head of the US Federal Reserve was widely admired, will also deliver a stinging critique of President George W Bush’s economic policies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, it is his view on the motive for the 2003 Iraq invasion that is likely to provoke the most controversy. “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil,” he says.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Greenspan, 81, is understood to believe that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the security of oil supplies in the Middle East.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Britain and America have always insisted the war had nothing to do with oil. Bush said the aim was to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and end Saddam’s support for terrorism.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-2882266002164814496?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/2882266002164814496/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=2882266002164814496' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/2882266002164814496'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/2882266002164814496'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/09/alan-greenspan-claims-iraq-war-was.html' title='Alan Greenspan claims Iraq war was really for oil'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-6289735542491688740</id><published>2007-09-17T02:50:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-17T02:52:49.607-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Madonna: I'm an 'ambassador for Judaism'</title><content type='html'>&lt;img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070916/capt.akcf80409160131.mideast_israel_madonna_akcf804.jpg"&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;JERUSALEM - Madonna toasted the Jewish new year with Israeli President Shimon Peres and declared herself an "ambassador for Judaism," local newspapers reported Sunday.&lt;br /&gt;ADVERTISEMENT&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The singer, who is not Jewish, arrived in Israel Wednesday on the eve of Jewish new year to attend a conference on Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Madonna met Peres at his official Jerusalem residence on Saturday evening and the two exchanged gifts, with Madonna receiving a lavishly bound copy of the Old Testament.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;She gave Peres a volume of "The Book of Splendor," the guiding text of Kabbalah, inscribed "To Shimon Peres, the man I admire and love, Madonna," the Yediot Ahronot daily reported.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A Peres aide confirmed the meeting but had no details.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"You don't know how popular the Book of Splendor is among Hollywood actors," Yediot quoted Madonna as telling Peres. "Everyone I meet talks to me only about that. I am an ambassador for Judaism."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Madonna, who was raised a Roman Catholic, has taken the Hebrew name Esther, and has been seen wearing a red thread on her wrist in a Jewish tradition to ward off the evil eye.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But her interest in Kabbalah in recent years has been criticized by Orthodox Jews, who say it is an abomination.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Other celebrities who flew in for the Kabbalah conference included movie star Demi Moore and her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, Rosie O'Donnell and fashion designer Donna Karan. Madonna came with her film director husband Guy Ritchie.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Haaretz daily quoted Kutcher as telling a group of Israeli businessmen and entertainers on Saturday that Kabbalah had answered fundamental questions in his life and made him a better actor.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rabbis who specialize in Kabbalah have criticized the interest by non-Jewish celebrities in the subject.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jewish tradition holds that Kabbalah is so powerful and complicated that only bonafide students may begin to approach it and then only after age 40. Among the elements of Kabbalah are mystical revelations drawn from holy books by recombination of letters and other signs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rabbis were particularly incensed by Madonna's song, "Isaac," about the revered 16th-century Kabbalist rabbi Yitzhak Luria, which featured on her 2005 album, "Confessions on a Dance Floor."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During her visit, Madonna plans to visit sites sacred to Kabbalists. It was not known how long she intends to stay.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Madonna paid her first visit to Israel three years ago on another Kabbalah-centered trip.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"I can't believe that I'm celebrating the new year with you in Israel," Maariv newspaper quoted her as telling Peres on Saturday. "It's a dream come true."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070916/ap_on_en_mu/people_madonna_13&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-6289735542491688740?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/6289735542491688740/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=6289735542491688740' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/6289735542491688740'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/6289735542491688740'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/09/madonna-im-ambassador-for-judaism.html' title='Madonna: I&apos;m an &apos;ambassador for Judaism&apos;'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-5609686549282037568</id><published>2007-09-14T14:43:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-14T14:45:17.216-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Giuliani Advisor: Raze Palestinian Villages BY Ken Silverstein</title><content type='html'>From Harper's Magazine: http://harpers.org/archive/2007/09/hbc-90001213&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On September 11, staffers for Barack Obama had a campaign ad taken down that had appeared as a “sponsored link” on Amazon.com’s web page for The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, the controversial new book by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. Obama’s campaign didn’t place the ad; it apparently appeared on the Amazon page because his campaign, like those of other presidential candidates, pay to have their ads pop up when people do searches for key words like “politics.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That same day, in the face of questions from the media, Obama’s campaign released a statement saying that while he had not actually read the book, its conclusions were “dead wrong” and that the senator “has stated that his support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, which includes both a commitment to Israel’s security and to helping Israel achieve peace with its neighbors, comes from his belief that it’s the right policy for the United States.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yet just five days earlier, Daniel Pipes–who, as I first reported here, has signed on as a foreign policy advisor to Rudy Giuliani’s campaign–essentially argued for war crimes against Palestinians, and there was no cry of protest from the media or anywhere else.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“Believing that if you don’t win a war, you lose it, I have long encouraged the Israeli government to take more assertive measures in response to attacks,” Pipes wrote on his blog on September 6.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;In a Jerusalem Post piece six years ago, “Preventing war: Israel’s options,” I called for shutting off utilities to the Palestinian Authority as well as a host of other measures, such as permitting no transportation in the PA of people or goods beyond basic necessities, implementing the death penalty against murderers, and razing villages from which attacks are launched. Then and now, such responses have two benefits: First, they send a strong deterrent signal “Hit us and we will hit you back much harder” thereby reducing the number of attacks in the short term. Second, they impress Palestinians with the Israeli will to survive, and so bring closer their eventual acceptance of the Jewish state.&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Geneva Conventions label collective punishments as a war crime. “No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed,” according to Article 33. “Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For the record, there’s much I disagree with in the Mearsheimer/Walt Book. But there’s something terribly wrong with the American debate on the Middle East when, due to public criticism, Obama’s campaign flees from an unintentional link to that book, while a Giuliani advisor argues for a policy of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians and his comments pass unremarked.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-5609686549282037568?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/5609686549282037568/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=5609686549282037568' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/5609686549282037568'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/5609686549282037568'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/09/giuliani-advisor-raze-palestinian.html' title='Giuliani Advisor: Raze Palestinian Villages BY Ken Silverstein'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-7027650040824375944</id><published>2007-08-26T19:58:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-08-26T19:59:07.115-07:00</updated><title type='text'>The Christian paradox: How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong</title><content type='html'>What it means to be Christian in America. An excerpt from this report appeared in August 2005. The complete text appears below.&lt;br /&gt;* * *&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. Twelve percent believe Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. This failure to recall the specifics of our Christian heritage may be further evidence of our nation's educational decline, but it probably doesn't matter all that much in spiritual or political terms. Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin's wisdom not biblical; it's counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Asking Christians what Christ taught isn't a trick. When we say we are a Christian nation—and, overwhelmingly, we do—it means something. People who go to church absorb lessons there and make real decisions based on those lessons; increasingly, these lessons inform their politics. (One poll found that 11 percent of U.S. churchgoers were urged by their clergy to vote in a particular way in the 2004 election, up from 6 percent in 2000.) When George Bush says that Jesus Christ is his favorite philosopher, he may or may not be sincere, but he is reflecting the sincere beliefs of the vast majority of Americans.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And therein is the paradox. America is simultaneously the most professedly Christian of the developed nations and the least Christian in its behavior. That paradox—more important, perhaps, than the much touted ability of French women to stay thin on a diet of chocolate and cheese—illuminates the hollow at the core of our boastful, careening culture.&lt;br /&gt;* * *&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Read the full article at Harper's Magazine, http://www.harpers.org/archive/2005/08/0080695&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-7027650040824375944?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/7027650040824375944/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=7027650040824375944' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/7027650040824375944'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/7027650040824375944'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/08/christian-paradox-how-faithful-nation.html' title='The Christian paradox: How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-563159056576092114</id><published>2007-08-26T17:06:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-08-26T17:08:31.235-07:00</updated><title type='text'>دعم الولايات المتّحدة للبنان: قراءة باردة لملفّ ساخن</title><content type='html'>هشام صفي الدين *&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;كيف يمكن مواطناً لبنانياً شريفاً (أو غير شريف)، مربكاً أو محايداً (هل للحياد أنصار في لبنان؟)، أن يقوّم حقيقة الدعم الأميركي الحالي للبنان ومقارنته مع الدعم الإيراني، من دون اللجوء الى لغة الاختيار بين قوى الظلمة وقوى النور، أو العالم الحر والعالم الأصولي، أو المقاومة والارتهان للعدو، أو النصر الإلهي والعدالة الدولية (شبه الإلهية عند البعض)؟&lt;br /&gt;إنّ تقويم أي تحالف أو علاقة بين دولتين أو قوّتين سياسيّتين (بعيداً عن المهرجانات الحاشدة والوعود المتلفزة والدموع) يقوم على قراءة موضوعية لمؤشّرين أساسيّين لهذا التحالف: التعاون العسكري (بالدرجة الأولى) والتعاون الاقتصادي (بالدرجة الثانية)، وإصدار حكم بحق هذين المؤشّرين يستند إلى النظر في ثلاث خصائص لهذا التعاون:&lt;br /&gt;1ــــ قيمة أو حجم الدعم&lt;br /&gt;2ــــ الأهداف المعلنة أو السريّة له&lt;br /&gt;3ــــ الشروط المرفقة به (نوعية هذا الدعم)&lt;br /&gt;ما هي إذاً حقيقة الدعم الأميركي للبنان في ضوء مراجعة دقيقة، وبالأرقام، لماضي وحاضر هذا التعاون وخصائصه بحسب مصادر الإدارة الأميركيّة نفسها؟&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;الدعم العسكري&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;لعلّ إحدى أهمّ نقاط الخلاف بين الموالاة والمعارضة في لبنان هي مصير سلاح حزب الله. لا يفوّت فريق 14 آذار فرصة للحديث عن بناء الدولة القوية القادرة على حماية لبنان (وجنوبه). ونزع سلاح حزب الله، بحسب هذا الفريق، هو إحدى الخطوات الرئيسة في هذا الاتجاه. فهل توفّر المساعدات الأميركية بديلاً واقعياً للقوّة الردعية (المجرّبة) لحزب الله؟&lt;br /&gt;1ـــــ قيمة هذا الدعم:&lt;br /&gt;منذ 1946 حتى حرب تموز 2006، لم يتلقَّ لبنان أي معونات عسكرية أميركيّة تذكر سوى بين عامي 1981 و1984، وهي فترة اصطفاف الجيش اللبناني الرسمي آنذاك إلى جانب قوى لبنانية متعاطفة أو متحالفة مع إسرائيل، والأهم أنّها فترة تدخّل عسكري أميركي مباشر.&lt;br /&gt;فبين عامي 1981 و1984، تلقّى لبنان معونات عسكرية أميركية بقيمة 148 مليون دولار، أي بمعدّل 37 مليون دولار سنوياً. وهذه المساعدات فاقت قيمتها ما تلقّاه لبنان في السنوات الـ34 التي خلت والتي تقدّر بحوالى 126 مليون دولار، أي بمعدل 3.7 مليون دولار سنوياً. (أكثر من 95% من كلّ هذه المعونات عبارة عن قروض لا هبات). بعد عام 1984 والانسحاب الإسرائيلي المجتزأ من لبنان، انخفض حجم الدعم العسكري الأميركي إلى أدنى مستوياته (بلغ حوالى خمسمئة ألف دولار سنويّاً حصرت في أغراض تدريبيّة).&lt;br /&gt;إنّ اغتيال الحريري، عكس ما قد يظنّه البعض، لم يحدث تغييراً جذرياً في هذه السياسة. فطلب الإدارة الأميركية لعام 2006 بلغ مليون دولار وللعام 2007 بلغ حوالى 4 ملايين دولار. إن الزيادة العملاقة أتت على وقع حرب تموز. فقد قدمت إدارة بوش طلباً طارئاً إلى الكونغرس بتقديم مساعدات عسكرية إضافية بقيمة 220 مليون دولار لسنة واحدة هي عام 2007.&lt;br /&gt;استنتاج: إنّ أيّ زيادة ملموسة لحجم المعونات العسكريّة الأميركيّة للبنان هي زيادة آنيّة ومرتبطة بوجود انقسامات داخليّة أو بنشوب حروب وصراعات ذات بعد إقليمي، وهي ليست وليدة تحالف استراتيجي زمني كذلك الذي يربط إيران بحزب الله. والأهمّ طبعاً هو أنّه حتى عند زيادة هذه المساعدات، فإنّ الأهداف والشروط المرفقة بها تؤكّد أنّها أبعد ما يكون عن المساهمة في بناء جيش لبناني قادر على الدفاع عن سيادة هذا البلد ووحدته وسلامة أراضيه.&lt;br /&gt;2ـــــ أهداف هذا الدعم:&lt;br /&gt;لا نعرف ما هي الوعود التي تلقاها العماد سليمان حول المساعدات الأميركيّة العسكريّة للبنان. لكن الوعود الملزمة للولايات المتحدة هي تلك المنصوص عليها في القرارات التي يتبناها الكونغرس لهذا الغرض، وبناءً على طلب رئاسي. وطلب المساعدات الطارئ لهذا العام والبالغ 220 مليون دولار شديد الوضوح بهذا الخصوص. فوزارة الخارجية الأميركيّة تعلن أن الهدف هو «إحكام السيطرة اللبنانية على الجنوب والمخيّمات الفلسطينيّة لمنع استخدامها قواعد لضرب إسرائيل»، و«لتحسين قدرات الجيش اللبناني لإجراء عمليات التجوال والمراقبة الحدوديّة».&lt;br /&gt;استنتاج: إنّ حماية لبنان بحسب إدارة جورج بوش تتمّ عبر ضبط قدراته على قتال إسرائيل، البلد الأكثر تهديداً لأمنه، والذي قام بمحاولة اجتياحه في السنة نفسها التي أعلنت الإدارة نيّتها مساعدة لبنان.&lt;br /&gt;3ـــــ الشروط المرفقة لهذا الدعم (نوعيّته):&lt;br /&gt;قد يفسر الهدف الأميركي الآنف ذكره على أنّه محاولة لمنع أي فريق غير شرعي من القيام بمهمة الدفاع عن الأراضي اللبنانية. لكن ماهية هذا الدعم لا تترك مجالاً للشك في أن تأسيس قوة شرعية (الجيش) قادرة على القيام بهذا الدور غير مطروح على برنامج هذه المساعدات. فأي دعم عسكري للجيش (حسب ما ينص قانون المساعدات) هو مخصص لبرامج تدريبيّة على أيدي شركات أميركيّة خاصة، ولتوفير قطع غيار وذخيرة، بالإضافة إلى آليات لأغراض لوجستيّة ومراقبة (285 مركبة هامفي Humvee و25 شاحنة ذات حمولة 5 أطنان). أمّا المعدّات والأسلحة التي تستخدم للدفاع عن أراضي أيّ بلد، كالصواريخ المضادة للطائرات أو الدبابات أو البوارج أو حتى الصواريخ الأقل تطوراً كالكاتيوشا، فهي ليست بأي شكل من الأشكال ضمن ما هو مسموح به حسب شروط هذه المعونات. في المقابل، فإن السماح لإسرائيل، منذ 1977، باستثمار جزء من المعونات الأميركية العسكرية في مشاريع بحوث لتطوير الأسلحة داخل إسرائيل كان أحد الأسباب الرئيسيّة التي أدت إلى تطوير دبابة الميركافا، السلاح الأساس الذي استخدم للغزو البري للبنان في الحرب العام الماضي.&lt;br /&gt;استنتاج: الاعتماد على الدعم الأميركي يعني تحويل الجيش اللبناني إلى قوات حفظ سلام في أحسن الأحوال وقوات أمن وقمع داخلي في أسوئها. وعليه، فإنّ السبيل الحقيقي الوحيد لتجريد حزب الله من سلاحه من دون تجريد أهل الجنوب من الضمانة الوحيدة للدفاع عن أرضهم، هو التحالف مع المناهضين للسياسة الأميركية كحلفاء حزب الله الحاليين.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;الدعم الاقتصادي&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;باختصار شديد، إن ماضي المعونات الاقتصاديّة الأميركيّة للبنان وحاضرها يتماهيان إلى حد كبير مع ماضي المساعدات العسكرية وحاضرها من حيث زيادة أو خفض قيمة هذه المساعدات. ومجدداً، شكّلت حرب تموز 2007، لا اغتيال الحريري، العامل الحاسم في الزيادة الضخمة لهذه المساعدات.&lt;br /&gt;1ـــــ قيمة هذا الدعم:&lt;br /&gt;قبل حرب تموز، بلغت المساعدات الاقتصاديّة الأميركيّة أعلى مستوياتها في النصف الأول من الثمانينيات (حوالى 52 مليون دولار عام 1983). وبين عامي 1986 و2000 تراوحت قيمتها بين 8 و15 مليون دولار.&lt;br /&gt;ارتفعت هذه المساعدات إلى معدل 35 مليون دولار سنوياً بين عام 2000 و2006.&lt;br /&gt;عقب حرب تموز، خصصت الإدارة الأميركية مساعدات طارئة للبنان بقيمة 180 مليون دولار، وقامت لاحقاً بطلب حوالى 300 مليون كمساعدات إضافية للعام 2007. (معظم هذه المعونات مكوّنة من هبات).&lt;br /&gt;2ـــــ الأهداف والشروط المرافقة لهذا الدعم:&lt;br /&gt;الهدف المعلن لهذه المعونات هو إعادة إعمار لبنان عقب حرب تموز. لكن تصريف هذه المساعدات مشروط بنجاح حكومة السنيورة في إقرار «إصلاحات» اقتصادية معينة. وبالفعل، وقبل أن يقرّ الكونغرس هذه المساعدات، أعلن السنيورة نيّة حكومته تقليص بعض الضمانات والمساعدات التي تمنحها الدولة لبعض القطاعات الاقتصادية.&lt;br /&gt;هذا بالإضافة الى احتمال خصخصة الكهرباء وخدمات الهاتف والاتصالات ورفع ضريبة القيمة المضافة من 10% إلى 12%، وإجراءات أخرى تهدف بحسب قوله إلى تقليص الدين العام البالغ قدره 40 بليون دولار والذي تبلغ كلفة خدمة فائدته حوالى 3 بليون سنوياً. وقد لقيت هذه السياسات معارضة داخلية أجبرت السنيورة على مراجعة توقيت تنفيذ هذه القرارات وكيفيته.&lt;br /&gt;استنتاج: إنّ هذه المعونات الاقتصادية الأميركية للبنان كانت ولا تزال جزءاً لا يتجزّأ من السياسة الأميركية النيوليبرالية المتّبعة حول العالم والتي تهدف الى إضعاف دور الدولة (التي تدّعي دعمها) وبناء الاقتصاد الحر غير المنضبط.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;خلاصة وعِبَر للمستقبل&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ما هو تفسير هذه السياسة الأميركية؟ الجواب بسيط.&lt;br /&gt;أوّلاً: قد يكون لبنان في نظر وديع الصافي «قطعة سما» لكنه في نظر صانعي السياسة الأميركية «قطعة مقايضة» على لوح شطرنج اسمه الشرق الأوسط. فلبنان لا يملك أياً من العوامل التي تشكل مصالح حيوية لدولة عظمى كحقول نفط أو ممرات مائية دولية أو قواعد عسكرية إلخ...&lt;br /&gt;وبالفعل، فإنّ رئيسين أميركيين اثنين فقط وصفا لبنان بأنه يشكل مصلحة حيوية للولايات المتحدة: آيزنهاور عام 1958 ورونالد ريغن عام 1983. وترافق إعلان كليهما مع تدخل عسكري أميركي مباشر في لبنان، لا في سياق رسم استراتيجية عامة للولايات المتحدة.&lt;br /&gt;ثانياً: لا تأمن الولايات المتحدة حلفاءها العرب الذين ينتمون الى اثنين من ثلاثة أنماط من الحلفاء، أولهما النمط الذي يتمثل بالقوى السياسية الحاكمة التي تمثل فئات معينة في بلادها وتملك سلطات محدودة ضمن دول تعاني عدم استقرار داخلي نسبي أو كلي. وهذه الدول هي كل من العراق وفلسطين وأفغانستان ولبنان.&lt;br /&gt;وسنجد أن سياسات أميركا العسكرية والاقتصادية تتشابه في هذه الدول، وهي بمعظمها رمزية أو موجهة نحو ضبط الاستقرار الداخلي وتصبّ في خانة الحسابات الضيقة والضارّة بمصالح شعوب هذه البلدان.&lt;br /&gt;ثانيهما يتمثل في الحكومات أو الأنظمة الديكتاتورية التي تمثل مصالحها الخاصة لا مصالح شعوبها وتمارس السلطة في دول ذات استقرار داخلي نسبي أو كلي. ويشمل هذا النمط مصر والسعودية والأردن. والمساعدات لهذه البلدان أكثر من رمزية لكنها محدودة ومشروطة.&lt;br /&gt;أما النمط الثالث فهو يتمثل في الحكومات التي تمثل مصالح شعبها (الأغلبية)، وهي ذات استقرار داخلي نسبي أو كلي. ويشمل هذا النمط كلاً من إسرائيل وتركيا. والمساعدات لهذا النمط من الأنظمة لها وزن وتأثير ملموس على قدرات وإمكانات هذه البلدان العسكرية والاقتصادية.&lt;br /&gt;إنّ هذه الخريطة والمراجعة لتحالفات الولايات المتحدة في الشرق الأوسط كفيلة بإقناع المشكّكين في لبنان بأنّ الإشادة بواشنطن والاعتماد عليها من أجل بناء قوّة عسكرية حقة هو إمّا جهل أو تجاهل للحقائق، وكلاهما تفريط بحقّ كلّ مواطن لبناني (شريف أو غير شريف).&lt;br /&gt;* صحافي لبناني كندي&lt;br /&gt;عدد السبت ٢٥ آب&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-563159056576092114?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/563159056576092114/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=563159056576092114' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/563159056576092114'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/563159056576092114'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/08/blog-post_26.html' title='دعم الولايات المتّحدة للبنان: قراءة باردة لملفّ ساخن'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-1656041210964895669</id><published>2007-08-26T15:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-08-26T17:46:02.382-07:00</updated><title type='text'>some people out there in our nation don't have maps</title><content type='html'>JUDGE: Recent polls have shown that a fifth of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MISS SOUTH CAROLINA: I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq -- everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should... our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. -- or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="353"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lj3iNxZ8Dww"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lj3iNxZ8Dww" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="353"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Reminded me of this old SLCHI TV show episode where they made fun of Miss Lebanon pageant: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="353"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iUYkON4NoBE"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iUYkON4NoBE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="353"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-1656041210964895669?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/1656041210964895669/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=1656041210964895669' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/1656041210964895669'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/1656041210964895669'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/08/judge-recent-polls-have-shown-that.html' title='some people out there in our nation don&apos;t have maps'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-1730081695279512789</id><published>2007-08-24T10:30:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-08-24T10:45:30.634-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='siniora'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='privatization'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='world bank'/><title type='text'>Somebody at the world bank must be barking hard at Sanioura to fulfill his other duties</title><content type='html'>So he gathers a militia shareholder, oger liban managers and some world bank under cover agents to discuss privatization at this very awkward moment...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;فؤاد السنيورة بحث في خصخصة قطاعي الكهرباء والاتصالات&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;بحث رئيس مجلس الوزراء فؤاد السنيورة في سبل خصخصة قطاعي الاتصالات والكهرباء وذلك خلال اجتماع للجنة البنى التحتية والخصخصة حضره الوزراء مروان حمادة، جان أوغاسبيان، جهاد أزعور، سامي حداد، بالإضافة إلى مدير عام مؤسسة كهرباء لبنان كمال حايك، مدير عام هيئة "أوجيرو" عبد المنعم يوسف.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-1730081695279512789?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/1730081695279512789/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=1730081695279512789' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/1730081695279512789'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/1730081695279512789'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/08/somebody-at-world-bank-must-be-barking.html' title='Somebody at the world bank must be barking hard at Sanioura to fulfill his other duties'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-5056583489101457442</id><published>2007-08-23T12:45:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-08-23T12:45:40.755-07:00</updated><title type='text'>End the Lack of Transparency in the Selection of Judges for the Hariri Court</title><content type='html'>End the Lack of Transparency in the&lt;br /&gt;Selection of Judges for the Hariri Court&lt;br /&gt;By Publishing the Secret List of the Nominees Immediately!  &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beirut, August 23, 2007: Dr. Muhamad Mugraby issued the following statement:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One month ago to the day, I called on the United Nations Secretary General and the Lebanese Minister of Justice to adopt a transparent process in the nomination for, and selection of, judges on the prospective Hariri Court. In particular, I called on the Lebanese Minister to make public the list of names of the Lebanese candidates he sent to the UN Secretary General under a secret letter. This morning, "Nahar Ash-Shabab" published an interview with MP and former minister Walid Jumblat in which he stated that he knew the names. He said that the list of names is not a secret and is "booby-trapped". Jumblat added: "I was astonished to discover that one of the judges is a Syrian agent".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I do not believe that Minister Jumblat did not know that Syrian General Ghazi Kinaan was directly involved with the appointment and promotion of high judges, including the president of the High Judiciary Council, and many of their assistants. Most of those appointees still occupy their posts, although it is possible that some of them may have changed the color of their allegiance due to the change of circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it is a very serious charge by such a knowledgeable and influential person to say that the list of proposed judges is "booby-trapped" and consists partly of Syrian agents. It makes it mandatory that the Minister of Justice publish the list immediately. Minister Rizk had in the past published the full list of the judicial re-appointments before it was issued and it has never been issued. If Rizk should refrain from publishing the list of names I call on Jumblat to publish the list he has.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jumblat's charges are so serious that the list, once published, should be made the subject of open debate and honest scrutiny.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dr. Mugraby is the president of the Center for democracy and the Rule of Law and the founder of the Campaign for Judicial Integrity&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For further information: E-mail info@cdrl.org and visit http://www.cdrl.org/.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-5056583489101457442?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/5056583489101457442/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=5056583489101457442' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/5056583489101457442'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/5056583489101457442'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/08/end-lack-of-transparency-in-selection.html' title='End the Lack of Transparency in the Selection of Judges for the Hariri Court'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-3684158406775633258</id><published>2007-08-23T09:50:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-08-23T09:51:01.206-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Neocon dreams: Bush as President for Life</title><content type='html'>Exclusive: Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy&lt;br /&gt;Philip Atkinson&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Author: Philip Atkinson&lt;br /&gt;Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.&lt;br /&gt;Date: August 3, 2007&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While democratic government is better than dictatorships and theocracies, it has its pitfalls. FSM Contributing Editor Philip Atkinson describes some of the difficulties facing President Bush today.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy&lt;br /&gt;By Philip Atkinson&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;President George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2005 after being chosen by the majority of citizens in America to be president.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yet in 2007 he is generally despised, with many citizens of Western civilization expressing contempt for his person and his policies, sentiments which now abound on the Internet. This rage at President Bush is an inevitable result of the system of government demanded by the people, which is Democracy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The inadequacy of Democracy, rule by the majority, is undeniable – for it demands adopting ideas because they are popular, rather than because they are wise. This means that any man chosen to act as an agent of the people is placed in an invidious position: if he commits folly because it is popular, then he will be held responsible for the inevitable result. If he refuses to commit folly, then he will be detested by most citizens because he is frustrating their demands.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When faced with the possible threat that the Iraqis might be amassing terrible weapons that could be used to slay millions of citizens of Western Civilization, President Bush took the only action prudence demanded and the electorate allowed: he conquered Iraq with an army.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This dangerous and expensive act did destroy the Iraqi regime, but left an American army without any clear purpose in a hostile country and subject to attack. If the Army merely returns to its home, then the threat it ended would simply return.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The wisest course would have been for President Bush to use his nuclear weapons to slaughter Iraqis until they complied with his demands, or until they were all dead. Then there would be little risk or expense and no American army would be left exposed. But if he did this, his cowardly electorate would have instantly ended his term of office, if not his freedom or his life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The simple truth that modern weapons now mean a nation must practice genocide or commit suicide. Israel provides the perfect example. If the Israelis do not raze Iran, the Iranians will fulfill their boast and wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Yet Israel is not popular, and so is denied permission to defend itself. In the same vein, President Bush cannot do what is necessary for the survival of Americans. He cannot use the nation's powerful weapons. All he can do is try and discover a result that will be popular with Americans.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As there appears to be no sensible result of the invasion of Iraq that will be popular with his countrymen other than retreat, President Bush is reviled; he has become another victim of Democracy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By elevating popular fancy over truth, Democracy is clearly an enemy of not just truth, but duty and justice, which makes it the worst form of government. President Bush must overcome not just the situation in Iraq, but democratic government.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, President Bush has a valuable historical example that he could choose to follow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When the ancient Roman general Julius Caesar was struggling to conquer ancient Gaul, he not only had to defeat the Gauls, but he also had to defeat his political enemies in Rome who would destroy him the moment his tenure as consul (president) ended.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Caesar pacified Gaul by mass slaughter; he then used his successful army to crush all political opposition at home and establish himself as permanent ruler of ancient Rome. This brilliant action not only ended the personal threat to Caesar, but ended the civil chaos that was threatening anarchy in ancient Rome – thus marking the start of the ancient Roman Empire that gave peace and prosperity to the known world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If President Bush copied Julius Caesar by ordering his army to empty Iraq of Arabs and repopulate the country with Americans, he would achieve immediate results: popularity with his military; enrichment of America by converting an Arabian Iraq into an American Iraq (therefore turning it from a liability to an asset); and boost American prestiege while terrifying American enemies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He could then follow Caesar's example and use his newfound popularity with the military to wield military power to become the first permanent president of America, and end the civil chaos caused by the continually squabbling Congress and the out-of-control Supreme Court.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;President Bush can fail in his duty to himself, his country, and his God, by becoming “ex-president” Bush or he can become “President-for-Life” Bush: the conqueror of Iraq, who brings sense to the Congress and sanity to the Supreme Court. Then who would be able to stop Bush from emulating Augustus Caesar and becoming ruler of the world? For only an America united under one ruler has the power to save humanity from the threat of a new Dark Age wrought by terrorists armed with nuclear weapons.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-3684158406775633258?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/3684158406775633258/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=3684158406775633258' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/3684158406775633258'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/3684158406775633258'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/08/neocon-dreams-bush-as-president-for.html' title='Neocon dreams: Bush as President for Life'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-4467849105659038030</id><published>2007-08-23T06:12:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-08-23T06:12:49.789-07:00</updated><title type='text'>شباب "حزب التحرير" يكفّرون الأنظمة: لا نقف للنشيد الوطني و"فتح الإسلام" إخوان لنا</title><content type='html'>رضوان عقيل   "النهار"&lt;br /&gt;يرى العديدون ان تطبيق الخلافة الاسلامية أمر لن يتحقق وخصوصاً في ظل الانقسامات التي يشهدها العالمان العربي والإسلامي والتدخلات الأجنبية الأميركية والغربية التي ترعى هذا النظام أو ذاك، في وقت يشتد فيه طرح القطرية فضلاً عن إحياء عصبية المذاهب والطوائف والمناطق في أكثر من بلد، والعراق أبلغ شاهد على مسلسل التقسيم والفيديرالية في المنطقة.&lt;br /&gt;لكن "حزب التحرير" يرى ان تحقيق الخلافة الاسلامية ليس حلماً.&lt;br /&gt;يحضّر الشاب جهاد الداعوق (23 عاماً) لشهادة الماجستير في المحاسبة الادارية ويعمل في مكتبة، انتمى الى "حزب التحرير" قبل عامين بعد تجربة له مع بعض الجمعيات الاسلامية في بيروت.&lt;br /&gt;يتحدث بإعجاب عن مشروع حزبه وضرورة السعي والعمل الى تطبيقه في دولة الخلافة الاسلامية.&lt;br /&gt;ويقول ان "طبيعة الانسان هي البحث عن اقتناعات معينة، وقبل أن اهتدي الى الاسلام قرأت كتباً لمجموعة من الفلاسفة ثم بدأت في البحث عن الفكرة الصحيحة لكيفية تطبيق واقع الحياة. ووجدت الوضوح في حزبنا لذلك انضممت الى صفوفه".&lt;br /&gt;ويتناول الداعوق توافر شرطين للمرء الذي ينتمي الى حزب التحرير هما اولاً ضرورة الاقتناع بالافكار التي يطرحها الحزب. والثاني هو ان يفرض الشاب العضو نفسه على الحزب الذي يهدف الى عرض افكاره على الأمة والتفاعل معها بغية تحميلها هذه الافكار".&lt;br /&gt;ويطلق "التحريريون" على الشاب الذي يريد الانضمام الى صفوف حزبهم اسم "الدارس" في البداية وعندما تترسخ الافكار ويقبل بها يصبح في إمكانه تولي المهمات الحزبية.&lt;br /&gt;في 11 أيار 2006 نال "حزب التحرير" "العلم والخبر" من وزارة الداخلية والبلديات بتوقيع من الوزير بالوكالة وزير الشباب والرياضة أحمد فتفت.&lt;br /&gt;ومنذ ذلك التاريخ، ترتفع الاصوات التي تسأل عن الاسباب التي دفعت المعنيين الى الترخيص لهذا الحزب الذي يؤمن بمشروع الخلافة الاسلامية ويسعى اليها ولا يعترف بأي نظام سياسي.&lt;br /&gt;يقول عضو المكتب الاعلامي في الحزب عمر حمود لـ"نهار الشباب": "تشرّفت سجلات وزارة الداخلية اللبنانية بأنها سجلت اسم حزبنا بتوقيع من سياسي علماني (فتفت) في حكومة تحكم بغير الاسلام".&lt;br /&gt;واللافت في هذا الحزب ومسيرته انه يحمل أفكاراً يراها منتقدوه بعيدة التحقيق والمنال، لكنه على رغم ذلك يجذب اعداداً لا بأس بها من الشبان المسلمين في لبنان وخصوصاً في طرابلس وبيروت وصيدا ومناطق أخرى وهو لا يفرق بين منتسب وآخر على اساس الجنسية أو الدولة.&lt;br /&gt;ينتشر الحزب في أكثر من بلد على رغم الملاحقات الامنية وعدم اعتراف السلطات به. أسسه عام 1953 الراحل الشيخ تقي الدين النبهاني الفلسطيني الاصل والذي توفي عام 1977.&lt;br /&gt;انطلقت خلاياه في لبنان في منتصف خمسينات القرن الماضي ويرأس لجنته المركزية في لبنان الدكتور محمد جابر وهو شيعي من النبطية وأميره في العالم هو الاردني عطاء بن خليل أبو الرشتة.&lt;br /&gt;ينشط شباب "التحرير" في المساجد والجامعات ويمتازون بالحفاظ على مبادئهم واهدافهم مهما تعرضوا للضغوط السياسية والامنية، خصوصاً قبل نيل حزبهم "العلم والخبر" إذ كانوا عرضة للتوقيف والملاحقة من الاجهزة الامنية، وكثيراً ما "ترددوا" الى السجون ومراكز الاستخبارات اللبنانية والسورية قبل عام 2005. وعلى رغم التحديات التي واجهتهم كانوا يصرون على توزيع المنشورات الخاصة بهم ورفع اللافتات في المناطق والدعوة الى عقد اجتماعاتهم في المساجد وفي مرات عدة نظموا تظاهرات وتجمعات في طرابلس وحيداً من دون ابلاغ الجهات المعنية.&lt;br /&gt;يركز الحزب على فرع الشؤون الطالبية والشبابية "نحن نتوجه الى جميع فئات المجتمع ونستقطب الجميع ولاسيما الطلاب". ولا يكشف الحزب عن أعداد الشباب المنضوين في صفوفه لاسباب تنظيمية خاصة، وبدا حضورهم لافتاً من المؤتمر السنوي الثاني للحزب الذي عقده في 12 آب الجاري في قصر الاونيسكو بعنوان "أنظمة المجتمع في دولة الخلافة الاسلامية المرتقبة".&lt;br /&gt;وماذا عن أنظمة البلدان "الاسلامية" القائمة هل في مرتبة التكفير؟&lt;br /&gt;يرد الداعوق "نستطيع القول انها أنظمة غير اسلامية، وكل نظام غير اسلامي حقيقي فهو كافر، أي بمعنى انه لا يطبق الشريعة الاسلامية بغض النظر عن الاشخاص الذين يحكمون ويتولون الاشراف على هذا النظام أو ذاك".&lt;br /&gt;الناشط في الحزب الشاب حمزة زيدان طالب جامعي من صيدا، وانضم الى "التحرير" متأثراً بزملائه في المدرسة علماً ان والده عضو فيه. ويبقى الامر الذي شدّه الى التعلق بأفكار الحزب هو ما يتعرض له المسلمون في العالم، وفق رأيه، من ظلم وذبح وإذلال، في أكثر من بلد فضلاً عن الازمات الاقتصادية. ويرى ان الانسان يسعى الى التغيير والحياة الفضلى، وأنا مسلم أحمل العقيدة الاسلامية والعقائد الاخرى في نظري باطلة".&lt;br /&gt;ويعتبر زيدان موضوع الخلافة الاسلامية أهم من أموره الحياتية ومستقبله "أنا أسعى الى التغيير الجذري وليس الى حلول الترقيع".&lt;br /&gt;ويتدخل زميله عبد الهادي حلاق (25 عاماً) ابن طرابلس الذي انهى دراسته الجامعية والتحق في صفوف الحزب قبل سبعة اعوام". يعترف حلاق انه لم يكن يقوم بواجباته الدينية المطلوبة منه، "ومنذ انضمامي الى الحزب تغيرت حياتي".&lt;br /&gt;ويدافع عن حزبه بقوة ولا يتوانى عن القول ان "ثمة فرضاً على كل مسلم أن يكون في حزب التحرير وفقاً للقاعدة الشرعية التي تقول "ما لا يتم الواجب الا به فهو واجب". ويقع الاثم على كل من لا يعمل لاستئناف الحياة الاسلامية ومن خلال نظرتنا الحالية الى كل الحركات الاسلامية، نرى ان حزبنا هو الذي يطبق الشريعة الصحيحة".&lt;br /&gt;ولا يرى حلاق في كلامه أي إقصاء للحركات والجهات الاسلامية الاخرى لا بل يكرر ان "حزبنا يطبق الشريعة الاسلامية الصحيحة وهدفنا اقامة الخلافة الاسلامية".&lt;br /&gt;و"يستولي" زميله الداعوق على الكلام ليطلق الجملة الآتية: "سجل من لا يعمل لاستئناف الحياة الاسلامية فهو مقصر لا بل آثم". أما حمود فيطلق بسهولة حكماً مثل "شربة الماء" دليلاً على الاقتناعات التي تحكم تفكيره ومنهج حزبه. ويرى ان "كل الدساتير في العالم كافرة وغير اسلامية بما فيها الدستور اللبناني".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;النشيد الوطني&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;وما صحة انكم لا تكترثون للنشيد الوطني اللبناني؟&lt;br /&gt;يرد حمود ببساطة "نعم نحن لا نقف للنشيد الوطني اللبناني لان المسلم يجب أن يسيّر اعماله وفق أحكام الشرع. والنشيد في لبنان يمثل النظام القائم واتفاق سايكس - بيكو، وفي اختصار أنا لا أكترث لهذا النشيد من قريب أو بعيد، هو لا يعنينا". ويضيف "ما يهمني ان لا أحرج أمام الله وعلى الذين يقفون لهذا النشيد عليهم أن ينتبهوا أنهم يقفون الى ما يمثل تقسيم الأمة".&lt;br /&gt;ألا يشكل لكم الامر احراجاً في المناسبات التي تشاركون فيها؟&lt;br /&gt;يجيب حمود "ما نفعله هو مدعاة فخر لنا لا أكثر ولا أقل".&lt;br /&gt;لكن حمود يحفظ كلمات النشيد الوطني لكنه لا يحبذ تعليمها الى أولاده "لاننا عندما نقول كلنا للوطن فهذا الكلام يخالف بديهيات الاسلام في قوله تعالى إنا لله وإنا اليه راجعون (...)".&lt;br /&gt;كذلك لا يرى حمود الوقوف الى راية "لا اله الا الله واجباً" وهذا "الامر ليس فرضاً ولا نراه واجباً شرعياً لكن يجب احترام هذه الراية وكلماتها وتقديرها والعمل بها".&lt;br /&gt;لا يجد "حزب التحرير" بلداً اسلامياً أو عربياً واحداً يطبق الاسلام، ويعتقد حمود ان النظام في المملكة العربية السعودية التي ترفع على علمها الاخضر شعار "لا اله الا الله" يشبه نظام حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي في سوريا لجهة "عدم تطبيقهما النظام الاسلامي وفي درجة عمالتهما الى الغرب الكافر". كذلك لا يعترف الحزب بايران "لانها تطبق نظاماً جمهورياً".&lt;br /&gt;وثمة ملاحظات عدة لـ"حزب التحرير" على الحركات الاسلامية سواء كانت سنية أو شيعية ولا يوفر المؤسسات الدينية التابعة الى الانظمة. ويرون على سبيل المثال تنظيم "الاخوان المسلمين" نسيجاً من السلطة في بلد ما ويمثل المعارضة في بلد آخر أي انه لا يسير على نهج واحد في البلدان التي ينتشر فيها.&lt;br /&gt;ويجيب حمود ورفاقه "نحن نتلاقى مع كل الحركات الاسلامية بقدر ما تتلاقى مع الاسلام ونبتعد عنها بقدر ما تبتعد عن الاسلام".&lt;br /&gt;لا يعارض "حزب التحرير" في الوقت نفسه اقامة حوارات مع منظمات شبابية لا تأخذ الاسلام منهجاً أو سلوكاً، لكن المنتمين إليه يرون ان "العلمانية سبب بلاء الأمة".&lt;br /&gt;ويميز الحزب بين الدور الذي لعبه "حزب الله" في مقاومة اسرائيل "لأنه حق على الأمة مقاومة اليهود، وولائه الى النظامين السوري والايراني لأنه من الحرام شرعاً التعاون مع أنظمة لا تحكم بما انزل الله".&lt;br /&gt;وما هي نظرتكم الى تنظيم "فتح الاسلام" الذي يقاتل الجيش في مخيم نهر البارد؟&lt;br /&gt;يجيب حمود "ننظر اليهم انهم مسلمون وهم اخوان لنا، وقد يكون غرر بهم. لكننا نرفض ما قاموا به ضد افراد الجيش اللبناني وضباطه سواء كانوا من المسلمين أو من النصارى ولا نقرّ بما قاموا به. لكن في المقابل فإن الجيش لا يقوم بأعمال شرعية في المخيم من خلال تدميره وتشريد عائلاته&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-4467849105659038030?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/4467849105659038030/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=4467849105659038030' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/4467849105659038030'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/4467849105659038030'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2007/08/blog-post.html' title='شباب &quot;حزب التحرير&quot; يكفّرون الأنظمة: لا نقف للنشيد الوطني و&quot;فتح الإسلام&quot; إخوان لنا'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-115533086615601195</id><published>2006-08-11T14:14:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2006-08-11T14:14:26.166-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Israel National Sport: Crimes Against Humanity - Referee: The World.</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabih/211944768/" title="Photo Sharing"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.flickr.com/65/211944768_53b9f9cb5c.jpg" width="400" border="0" alt="Israel National Sport: Crimes Against Humanity - Referee: The World." /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Beirut neighborhood “Chiyah” massacre (Top Left)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On August 7th, and without any prior warning, Israel executed 40 people with a pin-point strike on their residential building. Witnesses at the scene, said they only could see heads and hands sticking out of the rubble.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Ground Zero before and after (aerial photos)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These photos have been circulating for a week now, it’s the Beirut southern residential neighborhood that Israel dubs “Khizballah bastion” so it can bestow on itself the traditional self-righteous “license to kill”: Due to a shortage in ammunition, only 100 buildings have been flattened by today, but the US replenished their stock in laser guided missiles and now they’re ready to continue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The neighborhood housed Hizbullah command buildings, Hizbullah TV and the apartment of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. All considered legitimate targets by Israel and all could have been ‘accurately’ targeted with the legendary pin-point accuracy, yet being the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel chose the democratic destruction: “if you destroy one, all should go”. This area housed 20,000 Lebanese citizens who are now without shelter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;A glimpse inside a CRIMINAL mind:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;People don’t have to hold arms to be punished, if they even dare to live next to somebody opposing Israel (In English and Hebrew that means Terrorist), their lives will be destroyed without prior notice! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you’re puzzled and seeking an explanation, the mighty army’s CRMINAL ZIONIST UN-BRAIN is seeking by this to condition people not to object to Israel in the future, not to support those who object to Israel, not to even silently sympathize in the intimacy of their brains with those who object Israel.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The CRIMINAL MIND wants people to develop an instinct that not only now, but in 5, 10 or 50 years would drive them to DESTROY by themselves anybody who opposes Israel, and quickly before Israel comes and unleashes its wrath! Now, for those who would sadly suffer from the psychosis of opposing Israel themselves, the choice is obvious, they should commit suicide before the condition gets worse! The Jewish state is making it clear that Israeli revenge is even more painful than suicide!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;ISRAEL IS CALLING FOR A CIVIL WAR IN LEBANON and preparing for it the &lt;a href="#//www.flickr.com/photos/rabih/210544097/”"&gt;world public opinion&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;The same logic of destruction has been applied and extended to a wider growing circle of Lebanese communities, villages, towns and cities. By bombing various infrastructure, &lt;a href="#//www.flickr.com/photos/rabih/200389544/”"&gt;polluting the sea&lt;/a&gt;, blockading the country even for medicine, food and fuel, bombing and terrorizing other Sunni Muslim and Christian neighborhoods, Israel wants all Lebanese to know that killing your countryman entails a much lower cost than fighting Israel. Israel wants them to know that it’s not acceptable for them to even live 100 Km away from someone who opposes Israel. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This collective punishment technique is not new, it was practiced all over Palestine before 1948, it is widely used on the 1967 occupied territories (Gaza and the West Bank) and it was already inflicted on Beirut once in 1982! (and on Beirut Airport in 1968)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Despite the regular hypocrisy of covering up its crimes by saying they’re directed at the terrorists and their aids. The arrogance and impunity of the Criminal State is exceeding itslef. Today, and to cover up for their growing failure to win the real war against Hizbullah in the south, and in a flagrant tone, the CRIMINAL STATE rained leaflets declaring war on more neighborhoods of our capital, threatening to kill and dispossess more of our people and destroy more of our city. The &lt;b&gt;Indiscriminate Destruction Forces&lt;/b&gt; -simply- declaring that this time, they will target “Everybody”.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;This new fornication and screaming arrogance that don’t give a F*** about the International Laws of War or more essentially basic moral values are providing another documented crime against humanity which will unfortunately fall on the deaf eyes of the majority in our world! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We’re talking the same world that comfortably transitioned in one week from watching the world cup to watching the finals declared on our country and our people.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And we’re not talking here about a calamity caused by an act of God! But by a calamity caused by a handful of criminal minds and that could be stopped by making certain presidents and prime ministers of this world step on other prime ministers heads!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Israel is making a joke of your opinion and indignation, SHY PEACE RALLIES DON’T WORK!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---- &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;IAF drops leaflets over downtown Beirut threatening 'painful' response to Hezbollah attacks&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;i&gt;By The Associated Press&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Israel Air Force warplanes dropped leaflets over downtown Beirut on Thursday, threatening a &amp;quot;painful and strong&amp;quot; response to Hezbollah rocket attacks and warning residents of three southern suburbs to evacuate immediately.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;The Israel Defense Forces intend to expand their operations in Beirut,&amp;quot; the single-page leaflet read. It said the move came after statements from &amp;quot;the leader of the gang&amp;quot; - an apparent reference to Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who made a taped television address the night before.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;To the residents of Hay el-Sulloum, Bourj el-Barajneh and Chiah: For your own safety, you must evacuate those neighborhoods immediately, and evacuate every place where Hezbollah members or aides exist or carry out terrorist operations,&amp;quot; it read.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;You must know that the expansion of Hezbollah terrorist operations will lead to a painful and strong response, and &lt;u&gt;&lt;b&gt;its painful results will not be confined to Hassan's gang and criminals,&amp;quot; it added.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The leaflets were signed, &amp;quot;The State of Israel.&amp;quot;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-115533086615601195?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/115533086615601195/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=115533086615601195' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115533086615601195'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115533086615601195'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2006/08/israel-national-sport-crimes-against.html' title='Israel National Sport: Crimes Against Humanity - Referee: The World.'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-115511972841423680</id><published>2006-08-09T03:35:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2006-08-09T03:35:44.393-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Rosemary 'can lie in the church' gave a historical outlook about Lebanon made in TelAviv</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabih/210544097/" title="Photo Sharing"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.flickr.com/57/210544097_82659fe578.jpg" width="400" border ="0" alt="Rosemary TelAviv gave a historical outlook about Lebanon made in TelAviv" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was watching CNN in horror tonight as Rosemary (who can lie -it seems- even inside a Church) promised the viewers a historical outlook that has the potential to illuminate the whole essence of “the deal” of the Middle East problem, blow their minds away and make them smarter all at once!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The most genuine part, were the little “brainwash” sentences displayed on the screen as the episode went on. As an example: &lt;b&gt;“Country created from groups that had little in common”&lt;/b&gt;, as if the Lebanese were imported from Taiwan and Mexico and implanted stupidly together, and they have no history nor culture in common… So just like that! Ms. “can lie in the Church” found the problem and maybe the solution at the same time: Separate them! The problem is not the Israeli aggressor, it’s the Victim again!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The guest was a former ambassador (David Mack I guess), who didn’t seem to interact much with her interpretation of the events but struggled bad to explain to her that Israel was the one attacking Lebanon, and that it didn’t start last month, but since 1968 when he was an ambassador in Lebanon and the Israelis  bombed the Beirut airport- version 1!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So as for the historical outlook of Ms. “can lie in the Church”, here are the main points:&lt;br /&gt;- The country was formed by the French in what was western Syria in the 20s&lt;br /&gt;- They placed a collection of people that have nothing in common together&lt;br /&gt;- The government is based on power sharing between people that have nothing in common and hence the problems!&lt;br /&gt;- Due to this ongoing struggle and from the beginning, Israel supported the Christians, against the Shiaas supported by Iran (I really forgot what she said about who supported the Sunnis, maybe Syria!) and hence the –dreaded- power struggle&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now for the history of Palestine (this one also good)&lt;br /&gt;- In the 1940's the Palestinians started fighting the Jews&lt;br /&gt;- The UN decided to partition Paletstine for Arabs and Jews&lt;br /&gt;- The Jews declared their independence&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And THAT'S THAT! Now the CNN viewers know the essence of the problem and can analyze the shit out of the last events for themselves and project the future so comfortably like little visionaries. So who volunteered this outlook for Rosemary and why stressing on these half-truths and full lies so much now! And how would these lead to any better understanding of the situation and Israeli aggression? Unless they do it in a very specific way that serves Israel’s ongoing effort at falsifying our history and justifying its anomaly:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- &lt;b&gt;Lebanon created from western Syria by France&lt;/b&gt; is carefully packaged as an answer to all the westerners that say that Israel was created by the British. And while the modern state of Lebanon was created by the French, recent Lebanon existed (with growing and shrinking borders) as a semi-independent entity since the 16th century (more detail in a later post) and populated by the present day Lebanese. In contrast, Israel's quasi majority of the population are 2nd or 3rd generation Israelis who were imported from Europe and who drove the indigineous population out and hence the worlds current largest refugee population sinde 1948: the Palestinians  &lt;br /&gt;- &lt;b&gt;Lebanon is unstable and is meant to disintegrate&lt;/b&gt;… So if a civil strife starts again in Lebanon (and TelAviv and NeoConSphere are at it! as they’re doing in Iraq)… Nobody objects if the partitioning solution imposes itself again (the famous Libanization of the 70s-80s). It’s the solution to stop the struggling people’s 86 years old misery &lt;br /&gt;- &lt;b&gt;The Israelis are not that bad!!&lt;/b&gt; It’s the Lebanese Christians who are ungrateful! Israelis helped them since the 1920s to balance their position in front of Shiaas who were supported by Iran. And now they’re siding with Khizbullah… Death to the terrorists and their supporters! (for those who are not familiar with the history of the region, neither Israel existed in the 1920s nor Iran had any influence on the Shiaa of Lebanon until the 1980s)&lt;br /&gt;- The awkward French placed a collection of people that &lt;b&gt;have nothing in common&lt;/b&gt; and on the top of that, they are &lt;b&gt;sharing power&lt;/b&gt; and THAT’S BAD! PLURALITY AND TOLERANCE ARE BAD FOR YOU, they don’t work! You need the Israeli model! And yes for spinning off new racist confessional states in the new Middle-East modeled after the Greater State of Israel (remember Ms. Rice birth pangs parabola – we feel it kick).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All this rimes well with the rising rhetoric in the media about the weakness of Lebanon or the army, and the carefully chosen words of the Israeli hypocrite to the UN about the same topic and the strength of Khizballah etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And as for Palestine:&lt;br /&gt;- The ‘European immigrated’ Jews seem to have been there all the time, the problems just started in the 1940s spontaneously. Given that the Palestinians are called terrorists all the time, the viewer is left to himself to deduce who were the bad guys then too!&lt;br /&gt;- The Palestinians began arriving (not driven out, not chased, not made refugees but arriving) in 1940s to Lebanon on their long honeymoon ever since&lt;br /&gt;- Israel declared its independence in 1948 and a bunch of old ladies saluted the flag and that’s that!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;----&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although the little show above might be petty and insignificant, it gives me the creeps because it is an indication that the Israel propaganda and political scheming machine is working again towards a civil war in Lebanon, and this is not naïve nor insignificant. Israel’s ultimate goal is to get rid of the “Palestinian question”, and it means first and foremost getting rid of the refugees and creating an outlet where it can drive out as many more Palestinians from the occupied territories as possible. Lebanon in a civil war again, is the ONLY possible solution for that to happen! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A conveniently “KhHizbullah-free” South Lebanon and a good multi-national buffer force between South Lebanon and Israel, will mean good conditions for the Palestinian refugees to stay where they are! They wouldn’t be able to attack Israel anymore as they would be attacking the Americans, French or other contributors to the force (if they still can attack by then). They wouldn't either want to exercise the right of return anymore as they will be given the nationality of whatever entity where they’re staying was named. This might also lead to a new chaotic Gaza implanted in the south of Lebanon and part of another forever un-alive state.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I’m not claiming here that Lebanon is problem-free, because as any nation, it has it’s own systemic problems and maybe more that the norm for most nations! However Lebanon is above all a “pluralistic” model that needs support and encouragement. It’s a model where the power is shared between different confessions who, most importantly share common values through their mixed families, villages and towns and through an ever booming culture and economy and a drive to resist oppression and defend their homeland.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lebanon could be a recipe for a Muslim-west conciliation or a “world at peace” contrary to the clash of civilization theories preached by the neo-cons and the Zionists behind them, it’s the proof that peace between Islam, Christianity and secularism can exist! And it’s the exact anti-model for the racist apartheid state of Israel and all other fundamentalist ideologies of this world -Zionism- not excluded.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The war against terror which is the hidden face of the “clash of civilizations” is being fought in Lebanon but not in the same sense that the Israelis are trying to give to it! For if this  pluralistic Lebanese model- is killed to relief a -racist Israeli model-, the next waves of "civil unrest" and clashes of civilization are going to happen in Paris and London and other cities around the world and these are going to involve more than a bomb in a subway! This blind support and endorsement of the democratic West (built over christian values) to an ever expanding Israel, while ignoring the simple principles of Justice, will fast forward us into the real global mayhem of civilizations! The West would have allowed the NeoCons to have made a self-fulfilled prophecy!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-115511972841423680?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/115511972841423680/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=115511972841423680' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115511972841423680'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115511972841423680'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2006/08/rosemary-can-lie-in-church-gave.html' title='Rosemary &apos;can lie in the church&apos; gave a historical outlook about Lebanon made in TelAviv'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-115498612988053936</id><published>2006-08-07T14:27:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2006-08-07T14:30:58.030-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Israel Salute Day - New York Shame Day</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabih/194306250/" title="Photo Sharing"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.flickr.com/69/194306250_37e10d6ce0.jpg" border="0" width="392" height="500" alt="Israel Salute Day - New York Shame Day" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Story (a bit of narration this time):&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Coming out of a subway station in New York City in June, I saw a nice blue poster announcing the Israel Salute Day Parade on the 5th avenue which I took as a personal invitation. I went to the rendezvous promising myself all kinds of wonderful encounters and amazing discoveries. Apart from a few small groups of Arab and Jewish anti-Zionist protesters, the 5th avenue and for as long as I could see was loaded with horrific &lt;b&gt;'hate'&lt;/b&gt; posters, racism and provocation ruled! A treasure trove for peace and love mongers…. I did not post these photos at the time (only this &lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabih/163924971/"&gt;one&lt;/a&gt;), for I didn't want to politicize my stream... The situation now obliges…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These photos are a testimony to the pure humanistic refinement and philanthropy of the Zionist culture. My comments, from top to bottom, left to right:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;1- Expel the arab not the jews:&lt;/b&gt; Yep, it's a flat ass &lt;b&gt;racist-hate&lt;/b&gt; message right on the 5th avenue in front of a million people and it's the whole point of any Israel actions. One of the finest Zionist traditions, the real code word for it being “population transfer”, it was practiced all over Palestine from 1880 to 1948 the date of the creation of the state of Israel, then with special variations since 1967 on Gaza, the West Bank and the Syrian Golan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;2 and 3- Signs carrying random American family names that immigrated to Israel and the slogan "Israel - Nobody blongs here more than you":&lt;/b&gt; Exactly, invite American Jewish families that are under no danger whatsoever to immigrate to Israel, give them subsidies, land and money – that’s why they would go anyway… Steal Palestinian land to provide them for illegal settlements, while at the same time, forbidding Palestinian refugees to return to their land under the pretext there’s no place for them... and think of creative criminal ways to drive out more Palestinians in the future, yep we said it in -1- Expel arabs!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;4- If not you then who? If not now, then when?:&lt;/b&gt; Uncle Olmert wants you!!! Come on you slacker!!! Get down on it! Go to the promised land of empty promises, go now! We need fuel for future wars, we need soldiers and we need people that want to die and people that want to vote… Go become proud as an Israeli and make Israel proud of you.... Turn off that TV you Israel-unlover… You can do it! you just have to believe in yourself strong enough!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;5- Israel fights the battle against world terror on the front lines:&lt;/b&gt; Hey you US citizens, don't you get it?!?! And you dare ask about your tax money, shame! Come on? Do you wanna fight terror yourself? No need to! Outsource to Israel, it’s cheaper... What Israel is for anti-terror is like what India is fo IT... We get a 1st class job done, ISO standards and all, all you need is to vote! (… and to pay)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;6- Israel = Peace &amp; Democracy, Palestinians = Death &amp; Destruction:&lt;/b&gt; Somehow there's a man and his wife that were made to believe that the world’s biggest apartheid regime is about peace and democracy (and luv)... For that kind of brainwash, I bow in front of the US media in awe... standing ovation... bravo!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The last sign deserves a special hint:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Israel is our future:&lt;/b&gt; All right, future for who ezactly sinior? US citizens, Eskimo, Jews? Actually, I believe it's our sad future here in the Middle East all confessions mixed and including the Jews duly invited to become the fuel of the Zionist wars to come… With such good US government support, Zionism will have the power to dispense on us as many joyful surprises as it has done in the past 120 years... It's our future and in our future, and we shall be congratulating ourselves for having such a merit and for being born so close to where it decided to “Aliyah” itself, for generations to come. Amen!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I Apologize for being late, and Happy f***** Salute day to you and see you next year with bigger signs and more out in the sun bigotry.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;footnote:&lt;br /&gt;(For those who don’t know, Aliyah is the rise to mount Zion in Jerusalem, and one of the most romantic expressions in the Zionist dictionary… What it means in simple english is the biggest refugee case in modern history)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-115498612988053936?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/115498612988053936/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=115498612988053936' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115498612988053936'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115498612988053936'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2006/08/israel-salute-day-new-york-shame-day.html' title='Israel Salute Day - New York Shame Day'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-115487122062607779</id><published>2006-08-06T06:31:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2006-08-06T06:33:40.640-07:00</updated><title type='text'>"bigotry, lies and CNN" &amp; one good man who says Israel is a bomb-ocracy</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabih/203328260/" title="Photo Sharing"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.flickr.com/73/203328260_5ccfd06e29.jpg" width="400" alt=""bigotry, lies and CNN" &amp; one good man who says Israel is a bomb-ocracy" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some interesting comparison between stuff that went on CNN few days ago.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Condoleeza Rice&lt;/b&gt; the state secretary and senior evangelist for the new Middle East (not the &lt;a href="http://www.aztlan.net/oiltanker.htm"&gt;tanker&lt;/a&gt;) and after refusing to discuss a cease fire for 2 weeks, in an outpour of human like emotions so bravely declared:&lt;br /&gt;- Emotions are running high on all sides&lt;br /&gt;- I will stay in Jerusalem to work to end the fighting&lt;br /&gt;- I am &lt;b&gt;optimistic that a cease fire and comprehensible settlement (woohoo)&lt;/b&gt; would be achievable this week&lt;br /&gt;- I am deeply saddened by the terrible loss of innocent life&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;The amateur politician mayor turned prime minister&lt;/b&gt; (aka Olmert) not really caring about what Ms. Rice had to say, and after Israel having earlier declared a 48 hours humanitarian pause (which it broke after 1 hour), and in an outpour of hero like emotions and while cherishing so intimately in his little mind the idea of having already confirmed his place in bloody Israel history, so powerfully confirmed:&lt;br /&gt;- &lt;b&gt;No cease fire&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- No cessation of the operations&lt;br /&gt;- Widening of the military operation&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;…and the usual occasional last piece of hypocrisy:&lt;br /&gt;- We are not fighting against the people of Lebanon&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;George Bush the second&lt;/b&gt; and as if in a move that discredits his so suddenly peace-mongered state secretary and while frowning at his microphone and in an outpour of luminary like emotions and while his mind was attacked by powerful vibrations transporting him into the Eden of the new Middle East and engulfing his spine with the shivers of the sublime essence of democracy, so prophetically declared:&lt;br /&gt;- &lt;b&gt;No cease fire&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- &lt;b&gt;This is a crisis of democracy&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- Multi national force must be sent to Lebanon quickly so we can start providing humanitarian aid to Lebanon (and given that the dispatch of such force would take reasonably a couple of months, he gave his new pal Olmert a blank cheque for cashing Lebanese lives – at the current rate of 400 a week)&lt;br /&gt;- People fear democracy &lt;br /&gt;- I have visions for the new middle east (just around the rapture)&lt;br /&gt;- Hizbullah has to be defeated&lt;br /&gt;- I am working for a long term peace (yep nobody tried that one before! W is at it now)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Dan Gillerman&lt;/b&gt; the eloquent Israeli bigot to the UN and in an outburst of verbal diarrhea composed of witty-like remarks that smell like the essence of bullshit and in a move that will consolidate his rank within the Israeli foreign office and maybe secure a promotion, a better pay and maybe a political future, so despicably said:&lt;br /&gt;- &lt;b&gt;A cease fire is not into Israel’s scope of thinking&lt;/b&gt; (he’s the most eloquent)&lt;br /&gt;- Hypocritically apologized for the attack in Qana but then blamed it on Hizbullah (why did he apologize then?)&lt;br /&gt;- And then in a libano-philia-c outpour confirmed that ‘we must see that hizballah is totally disarmed’ so not only they can stop terrorizing Israel but also they stop terrorizing the poor and friendly people of Lebanon&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And finally, and to make my day after so many days of frustration at everybody who was interviewed by the media from Israel (doves and hawks alike).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Yonatan Shapira&lt;/b&gt;: A real decent and honest ex-pilot for the &lt;b&gt;Indiscriminate Destruction Forces&lt;/b&gt; declares the following to CNN:&lt;br /&gt;- Stop this crazy operation immediately&lt;br /&gt;- There is no military solution, we should sit down and speak&lt;br /&gt;- We are shooting at civilians&lt;br /&gt;- Pilots should be demonstrating and should refuse their orders&lt;br /&gt;- Since the 3rd day of the war, Israeli Pilots that I know are telling me they are waiting for Bush to stop the war &lt;br /&gt;- &lt;b&gt;Israel is not a democracy but bomb-ocracy&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you Yonatan from the bottom of my heart.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P.S.: CNN ran his interview only once… I wonder why! Hope as many people as possible in Israel have seen it.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-115487122062607779?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/115487122062607779/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=115487122062607779' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115487122062607779'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115487122062607779'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2006/08/bigotry-lies-and-cnn-one-good-man-who.html' title='&quot;bigotry, lies and CNN&quot; &amp; one good man who says Israel is a bomb-ocracy'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32132938.post-115462586274075045</id><published>2006-08-03T10:23:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2006-08-03T10:39:31.626-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Smart bombs and stupid people part 1: Targetting UN compounds</title><content type='html'>&lt;img src="http://static.flickr.com/60/198989176_b0c99ee553.jpg"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Israel Chorus Child, cheat sheet:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1- You can say anything you like as long as you get the last word, ALWAYS get the last word.&lt;br /&gt;2- Pretend you didn’t hear your opponents arguments, regurgitate the same answers ALWAYS. &lt;br /&gt;3- Play with the keywords, we have provided you with a rich dictionary of powerful keywords… other people like you are making them famous too! Think marketing and focus, the keywords ALWAYS win&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---------------&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;The keywords (TAGS):&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;terrorist, collateral damage, precision bombing, shred of evidence, allegations, pin point accuracy, lobbing missiles, mistakes&lt;br /&gt;---------------&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;The ultimate News Channel dialog:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Journalist&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;br /&gt;Outrageous news from Lebanon, 50 civilians killed by Israel in one day of fighting.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Israel Chorus Child&lt;/b&gt;: &lt;br /&gt;Yes but that's because &lt;b&gt;terrorists&lt;/b&gt; are hiding amongst civilians... It’s &lt;b&gt;collateral damage&lt;/b&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;J.: Oh my God, it's 100 already, many children... &lt;br /&gt;I.C.C.:  Yep we told you before, we're saying it again &lt;b&gt;TERRORISTS&lt;/b&gt;, tis’ all the fault of &lt;b&gt;terrorists&lt;/b&gt;... They were hidden and we had to 'smoke them out'... But we're using &lt;b&gt;precision bombing&lt;/b&gt;, you gotta give us that one! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;J.: Listen, it's 200 already, come on?!?&lt;br /&gt;I.C.C.: Nope, it's the terrorists, they did it again, no way you can blame it on us! Do you have any &lt;b&gt;‘shred of evidence’&lt;/b&gt; that Israel is targeting civilians or that they’re all civilians, maybe they're &lt;b&gt;terrorists&lt;/b&gt; dressed up as civilians!?!? huh! Don’t base your &lt;b&gt;allegations&lt;/b&gt; on news reports!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;J.: Duuuuude, it's flippin 300 civilians, children are 40%, are they blind or something, you said precision bombing, no?! &lt;br /&gt;I.C.C.: It's the &lt;b&gt;terrorists&lt;/b&gt; fault, are you deaf? And they should be glad it's just 300, coz if it wasn't for those &lt;b&gt;precision bombs&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;pin point accuracy&lt;/b&gt;, many more would be dead... many many more (and he shakes his head)… You should thank Israel for being so merciful! Do you have any idea how expensive and precise those &lt;b&gt;precision bombs&lt;/b&gt; are? We're bleeding here...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;J.: Look, it's 450 civilians already, is the guy aiming dyslexic? are you f**** counting? &lt;br /&gt;I.C.C.: It’s the fault of the &lt;b&gt;terrorists&lt;/b&gt;, they’re &lt;b&gt;lobbing missiles&lt;/b&gt; over the border, the &lt;b&gt;Indiscriminate Destruction Forces&lt;/b&gt; are a highly trained bunch of smart chaps... you can't find like them no where in the world, we’re the strongest… What you refer to as civilian deaths are &lt;b&gt;mistakes&lt;/b&gt;, &lt;b&gt;glitches&lt;/b&gt;, these things happen at war, come ohhhnnn (O’Reilly style)… why don’t you call these things by their name? 450 &lt;b&gt;glitches&lt;/b&gt; dead! And some of them are even small too, didn’t you say there were 40% children?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;J: But the U.N. got attacked too, is the guy aiming retarded? 4 peace keepers killed, the Israelis knew their position all along, they were communicating with them the whole time!? Kofi is mad as hell, he says it's been done deliberately... he says there's no other explanation!&lt;br /&gt;I.C.C.: &lt;b&gt;Israel has the right to protect itself&lt;/b&gt;, now you can't blame the poor 19 years old &lt;b&gt;Indiscriminate Destruction Forces&lt;/b&gt; solider who was pointing his laser gun at the building so the F16 could hit it... it was late, he was tired in enemy territory and confused, he's never been to a real battle before... he made a mistake and &lt;b&gt;lazed&lt;/b&gt; (exact terms) the wrong building, so WHAT, it’s the fault of the terrorists for hating us!! And… well, Kofi has always been a problem child and he’s getting old (whisper: we should get Bolton at this place). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;(the last dialog is a transcript of a dialog on Fox with a retired US army general)&lt;br /&gt;(I said retired not retarded)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And at the end, notice how the terrorists &lt;b&gt;lob&lt;/b&gt; their missiles and the &lt;b&gt;Indiscriminate Destruction Forces&lt;/b&gt; &lt;b&gt;precisely target&lt;/b&gt; the terrorists. And how no one seems to have a &lt;b&gt;shred of evidence&lt;/b&gt; that 450 civilians dead, 750,000 displaced, 4 Billion Dollars in civilian infrastructure damage is a deliberate act!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And shut up, he gets the last word: &lt;b&gt;Israel has the right to protect itself&lt;/b&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/32132938-115462586274075045?l=zimplistic.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/feeds/115462586274075045/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=32132938&amp;postID=115462586274075045' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115462586274075045'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/32132938/posts/default/115462586274075045'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://zimplistic.blogspot.com/2006/08/smart-bombs-and-stupid-peo_115462586274075045.html' title='Smart bombs and stupid people part 1: Targetting UN compounds'/><author><name>BulMij</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
