Full Text can be found on the Tribute to the General I did many many years ago, back when this silly weblog was a silly website.

"And if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the Land from before you, then those of them whom you allow to remain will become spikes in your eyes and thorns in your sides; and they will harass you upon the Land in which you dwell." -- Numbers 33:55

and now:

"In the beginning, in 1948, we were 150,000 Palestinians; and today, we are 1,300,000 thorns in their sides and rocks on their chests." -- Sheikh Kamal Khatib, Deuputy head of the Israeli Islamic Movement, Northern Branch, on May 9, 2008 at the Naqba rally in Kafr Kana, Israel.

At least 21 Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck the western Negev on Saturday. A mortar strike filred by Hamas killed Jimmy Kdoshim, a 48-year-old Israeli civilian, as he was tending the garden of his home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

It was a moving statement about John McCain and the man he used to be, but as the saying goes, that was then, this is now. What John McCain did so many years ago is not reflective of the man John McCain is today. Today John McCain is someone who fought tooth and nail to block the release of classified POW/MIA documents, and surpressing those documents leaves his brothers in arms lying in hostile land in unmarked graves. On this issue, John McCain is no better than John Kerry, and if any of you so-called conservative republicans want to explain the difference between them, comments are open.

But hey... as long as you're listening to Karl Rove... you should listen to what he said in an interview with GQ magazine just last month...

Rove says Obama's reluctance to wear a flag pin on his lapel may translate as elitism to many blue collar democrats.

"That comment where he [Obama] said, you know, 'After 9/11, I didn't wear a flag lapel pin because true patriotism consists of speaking out on the issues, not wearing a flag lapel pin?’ Well, to a lot of ordinary people, putting that flag lapel pin on is true patriotism. It's a statement of their patriotic love of the country."

"I respect those who consciously get up in the morning and put a flag lapel pin on."

So sayeth Karl Rove. And... many of you conservative republicans said the same, and more, about Obama's failure to wear a flag in his lapel, so... take a look at John McCain on the campaign trail:

Feel free to post your excuses for John McCain in the comments, I could use a little humor right about now.

Ron Arad was born on May 5, 1958 in Israel. He is the son of Batya and the late Dov Arad, and is the oldest of their three sons. Arad, an air-force navigator in an F-4 Phantom jet, had just completed his first year of chemical engineering at The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa when he was called up for reserve duty.

On October 16, 1986, while on a mission over southern Lebanon, Lieutenant Colonel Ron Arad and his pilot were forced to parachute out of their Phantom jet due to a technical problem. While the pilot was rescued in a daring helicopter raid, Arad fell captive to terrorists belonging to the Amal organization.

About a year after his capture, Israel received photographs and letters from Arad’s captors.

Mustafa Dirani, the Amal security chief who allegedly captured Ron Arad when his plane crashed in Lebanon, reportedly broke away from the terrorist group in 1987, taking Arad with him. It is believed that Dirani then "sold" Arad to either Hizbullah or Iranian elements.

According to Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot, as recently as 2003, three former Iranian diplomats and intelligence officials living in Europe claimed that Ron Arad is alive and being held in a prison near Tehran.

These reports cannot be verified.

One of them claimed that Arad was being held in a secret, heavily-guard prison near Tehran in the late 1990's. He claimed that he had access to Arad's files, saw Arad several times, and even exchanged words with him.

According to this Iranian, Arad tried to escape from his captivity while in Lebanon and was shot and wounded by his guards. He claims that in mid 1994, Arad was transferred via Syria to Iran. He claims that before being transferred, Arad underwent an operation to paralyze his legs in order to prevent him from escaping, and that as a result, Arad is confined to a wheelchair. He also claimed that Arad was hospitalized twice for heart problems.

Twenty years later, we know nothing about the fate of Ron Arad.

Or do we?

Nick Berg's body was found decapitated on May 8, 2004 on a Baghdad overpass by a U.S. military patrol. Berg's family was informed of his death on May 10. Military sources stated publicly at that time that Berg's body showed "signs of trauma", but did not disclose that he had been decapitated.

On May 11, 2004, the website of the militant Islamist group Muntada al-Ansar [6] allegedly broadcast a video with the opening title of "Abu Musa'b al-Zarqawi slaughters an American", which supposedly shows Berg being decapitated.

Is Nick Berg dead? Yes, and likely beheaded afterwards, but is the man seen in the beheading video Nick Berg?

Journalist Jamie Francis of the St. Petersburg Times ran into Nick at a gym in Baghdad's old Jewish quarter less than a month before this video was released. Nick was a regular at the gym and well known by its owner. Francis described Nick's ivory skin and thin red beard, adding that Nick looked the part of a construction worker, and spoke of Nick's muscular build.

The victim in the video does not have ivory skin or a red beard, he is not muscular at all, is much smaller than Nick Berg and he looks nothing like Nick Berg. However, he does look a lot like Ron Arad.

Question: How do you know an islamist is lying?
Answer: His lips are moving.

The victim in the video did not stand up or even move his legs through anything that was happening. He sat on the floor, legs bent at the knees. When they flipped him over sideways, his legs did not move, the body just fell onto the floor. This lead some to believe that the victim was heavily sedated, however, this is consistent with reports that Arad had been disabled to prevent escape.

The quality of the movie is not consistent with today's technology, and voice-overs cannot be confirmed. The sound could easily have been dubbed over. Despite the lies perpetuated by CNN, the voice over on the video has been confirmed as Zarqawi.

Coincidentally, Arad was in news at the time of the release of the beheading video. His remains were being used as a negotiation tool by Hezbullah, who were seeking an exchange of live terrorists for his remains. Israeli intelligence and defense officials have said that another purpose of the recent spate of media reports on Arad is to try to remove Iran from the picture. Hezbullah of course is Iran's hit squad.

The same day the execution video was posted on the internet, Hezbullah announced they had located Ron Arad's grave in Lebanon. A short time later, they handed over a piece of bone supposedly that of Ron Arad's. The bone was proved to be fake a few days later.

I don't believe in coincidence. Remember, these are the same people who released photos of a toy marine, claiming to have captured another member of the U.S. Military.

I believe Nick Berg is dead, I believe that Ron Arad is dead. What I do not believe is that Nick Berg was the man in the video, I believe that man was Ron Arad. I believe the video was made years ago, and withheld to be released at an opportune time. I believe that eventually, it was decided that a "Ron Arad" beheading was less valuable than a "Nick Berg" beheading and that the timing of the release of the video was a "crime of opportunity." As Moshe Dyan once said, "The Arabs will never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."

I am not alone in my beliefs. You may look at the pictures, look at the video and draw your conclusion.

We may never know the truth behind the video.

When I think about Nick Berg and Ron Arad, I cannot help but think of Johnny "Mike" Spann who was attacked by a mob of Islamist prisoners and beaten to death, his body full of bites as though animals had been tearing at his flesh.

Know thy enemy.

After looking at Aliza "art," it seems more likely that Joe's wife is right, its a case of easy campaign finance, or... buy the politician's wife’s artwork in exchange for favors.

Our Father in Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first manifestation of the approach of our redemption. Shield it with Your loving kindness, envelop it in Your peace, and bestow Your light and truth upon its leaders, ministers, and advisors, and grace them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land, grant them deliverance, and adorn them in a mantle of victory.

Ordain peace in the land and grant its inhabitants eternal happiness. Lead them, swiftly and upright, to Your city Zion and to Jerusalem, the abode of Your Name, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: “Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the Lord your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers.”

Draw our hearts together to revere and venerate Your name and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah, and send us quickly the Messiah son of David, agent of Your vindication, to redeem those who await Your deliverance.

Manifest yourself in the splendor of Your boldness before the eyes of all inhabitants of Your world, and may everyone endowed with a soul affirm that the Lord, God of Israel, is king and his dominion is absolute.

Amen

To deny the Holocaust is the moral equivalent of taking upon yourself personal responsibility for it, as if you yourself participated in committing these atrocities against mankind.

Doesn't that look yummy!

A visit to the Guolizhuang Restaurant in Beijing is not for the faint-hearted. Here the menu consists almost entirely of penis and testicle dishes.

The photo above is a house specialty, "Henry's Whip," featuring sheep penis on stick, covered in mayonnaise and sweet cheese, served on a bed of lettuce.

Not to your taste? Well, you could order the sheep testicles on a bed of curry, or perhaps you'd prefer donkey penis served on a bed of lettuce:

There's also yak penis, dog penis (served with a cherry on top) or "a hotpot with 10 different penis-and-testicle selections served on an attractive, four-sided plate tower with little statues of animals," as well as "deer, snakes, horses, seals and ducks, among others."

If you decide on the dog penis, be sure to keep the bone. Its supposed to bring luck and protect the holder against "harmful influences."

Where's PETA when you need them?

UPDATE: OMG! They got me again!

Someone at the NY Times has a sense of humor!

Last week, a Chabad Synagogue in Miami Beach was burned to the ground, and last nght, a Chabad Synagogue in Parkland was defaced with swastikas.

On Wednesday, a Jewish schoolboy was the first to see three swastikas spray-painted on the Chabad of Parkland synagogue building at 7170 Loxahatchee Road. Someone also had spray painted "4 Hitler" on a nearby stop sign.

Last week, the Chabad of Miami Beach in South Beach burned to the ground.

Both incidents occurred during or just before significant dates in the Jewish calendar. The Miami Beach synagogue burned down during Passover. Vandals struck in Parkland just before Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day.

I've been to Chabad of Parkland, although it has been several years, and I was in Parkland just last June, to attend services for Pfc. Daniel Agami, who was killed while patrolling Iraq. Daniel's family were members of Chabad of Parkland.

To its credit, the Broward Sheriff's Office wasted no time in calling the parkland incident what it was, an "offensive hate crime of malicious vandalism." Meanwhile, the FBI had to be cajoled into an investigation of the Miami Beach incident, and it still refuses to call the torching of Chabad on Miami Beach a hate crime.

There can be no doubt that, as it moves further and further to the left, this Country is becoming more and more unfriendly to Jewish people. Despite the attempts by law enforcement to cover up these hate crimes by classifying them as vandalism, we Jews see them for what they are.

I take these attacks personally, I take all attacks on all Jews personally because I know what they lead to:

Today is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever-approaching thunder, which will destroy us too. I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.

In the meantime, I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out.

Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl, entry for Saturday, July 15, 1944

Never Again is being drowned out by "Chrad al Yahood" and I take that personally too. It means, kill the Jews, and when they say it, they mean to kill me, and my family. Like Anne, I see the wilderness coming too, and yes, even here, in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, I hear the thunder.

The photograph above was taken at the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach, Florida.

sheesh.

There's way too much drama coming at me from all points, and I guess I just needed a laugh, yannow?

CBS’s Simon to Israeli Air Force Pilot: ‘You Don't Look Like a Killer’

On Sunday’s CBS "60 Minutes," anchor Bob Simon talked to members of the Israeli Air Force and asked one pilot, Captain Omri, about air strikes in the Gaza strip in which civilians occasionally are killed:

It's a classic guerilla war. Fifty dollar rockets made in the back alleys of Gaza against Israel's $50,000 missiles. The Israelis will tell you that kind of expense buys precise weapons which limit collateral damage. But it also gives the air force the capability of assassinating their enemy's leadership. The Israelis call this "targeted killings"; the Palestinians call it murder. Have you hit any targets?

Simon then went on to say to Omri: "But I must tell you, your face, your manners, your demeanor, you don't look like a killer. And yet what you do a lot of the time when you're over Gaza, you're killing." The pilot responded: "I agree. I don't think I'm a killer. When I look at my face in the mirror, I don't see a killer."

What would you expect from a man who yearns to recapture the days when he was held hostage and beaten by those who imprisoned him because he found the experience to be more intense than taking drugs?

He's more than just a moron, he's a friggin' moron.

This is Bashir Ahmed's booking photo. Bashir is a Chicago man whose t-shirt advertises his preference for the hometown presidential candidate. Ahmed, 41, was nabbed for soliciting a prostitute and had his vehicle impounded.

H/T: The always wonderful Ozoab!

Our Father in Heaven, Rock and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the first manifestation of the approach of our redemption. Shield it with Your loving kindness, envelop it in Your peace, and bestow Your light and truth upon its leaders, ministers, and advisors, and grace them with Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our holy land, grant them deliverance, and adorn them in a mantle of victory.

Ordain peace in the land and grant its inhabitants eternal happiness. Lead them, swiftly and upright, to Your city Zion and to Jerusalem, the abode of Your Name, as is written in the Torah of Your servant Moses: “Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And the Lord your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers.”

Draw our hearts together to revere and venerate Your name and to observe all the precepts of Your Torah, and send us quickly the Messiah son of David, agent of Your vindication, to redeem those who await Your deliverance.

Manifest yourself in the splendor of Your boldness before the eyes of all inhabitants of Your world, and may everyone endowed with a soul affirm that the Lord, God of Israel, is king and his dominion is absolute.

Amen

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