The UN and CNN strike again

On the homepage of CNN - a headline reads:

U.N.: "Israeli Cluster bombs an 'outrage'"

Quoting CNN:

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- A U.N. official has called it an "outrage" that Israel dropped cluster bombs in southern Lebanon.

"It is an outrage that we have 100,000 unexploded bombs" in southern Lebanon that will take a year or two to clear, said Jan Egeland, the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.

"Every day people are killed and maimed," he added. "Civilians will die disproportionately" and more children than Hezbollah fighters will be killed, he charged.

Responding to previous accusations, the Israel Defense Forces said "all the weapons and ammunitions used by the IDF are legal under international law and their use conforms with international standards."

The UN continues its absurd behavior. In Israel, we know that any bomb used is an outrage. This whole war was an outrage. We oppose use of force - but when humans become time bombs and the UN doesn't deem this an outrage - the UN has no right to call anything an outrage. NOTHING is more outrageous than the inhumane behavior and actions preached by dictatorships throughout the Middle East. The lack of basic human rights within these societies - that's an outrage! No freedom of speech?? Nah, not an outrage. Women have no rights and are abused? Again, definitely not an outrage.

What can I say.. I continue to lose faith in humanity with these blatant but subtle attacks that instill anti-Israel messaging.

The UN should be condemned in all forms and fashions as it fails in such obvious light to serve its duty in acting as an objective international governing body. I accept their anger, because we here in Israel are angry too - but we want the UN to show anger at the other side as well, and it is not.

Nasrallah speaks - 3 main points

1) It appears as if deterrence may have been restored based on some of Nasrallah's comments:

"We did not think, even one percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," he said in an interview with Lebanon's New TV station.


2) Contrary to my beliefs, Nasrallah seems convinced that there will not be a round 2 to this war anytime soon:

"Their displaced people are going back and they have started to rebuild the north. Someone who acts like that doesn't seem to be going to war. We are not heading to a second round."

3) And finally, Nasrallah made mention of possible negotiations for the release of IDF's kidnapped soldiers:

"Contacts recently began for negotiations," Hezbollah said. "It seems that Italy is trying to get into the subject. The United Nations is interested and the negotiations would be through [Parliamentary Speaker Nabih] Berri."

Read more about his interview here

Israel's list of failures

We are 5 days into the cease fire and it seems as if calm has been restored. Lebanese residents have been flocking to their homes, while Israeli civilians have been exiting the bomb shelters. The world is still angry, and it appears as if Israelis are angry as well.

"Our Government straight out failed and should be held accountable", a friend of mine said at dinner tonight. He was speaking in reference to Israel's recent military campaign.

I agree. I also believe that Olmert and Kadima will most certainly feel the pain as a result of this recent war. Public opinion has become harsh as of late and will become worse if this cease fire fails.

Looking back, there is no question that Israel has a long list of failures it needs to address. First and foremost the 2 "obvious ones" that let this war happen:

*** As one of the most of respected militaries in the world, the mere fact that 3 soldiers were kidnapped is absolutely unacceptable. The first kidnapping took place in Gaza, while the other two were kidnapped during Hizbollah's cross-border attack.

*** Lack of intelligence gathering up north has enabled Hizbollah to freely survey, scope, and strategize for cross border attacks. It has also allowed Hizbollah to build up weapon stockpiles. Since Israel's evacuation in 2000 from S. Lebanon, she had negelected to keep an eye on activity within S. Lebanon.


Then you have the failures of the campaign to eradicate Hizbollah, restore security, and establish deterrence.

*** While the number of Katuysha's hitting Israel should have been reduced by the end of the war, it actually peaked. I find this fact to be disturbing and I feel disappointed. IDF claims it destroyed over half of their stockpiles - but how can we be so sure?

*** Nasrallah lost many men, but at the same time gained many more new men. The war definitely resulted in newly gained support for Nasrallah and Hizbollah - resulting in an even more influential and legitimized terrorist group.

*** Time will tell whether or not such incidents can take place again with UNIFIL securing the border. As long as Syria and Iran roam freely, the Hizbollah will certainly find ways to attack Israel - the question is how and when. Hizbollah is not afraid of Israel, even after Israel's latest reaction to a cross border attack.

Other major failures include the inability to kill Nasrallah, bring back the soldiers, and improve public relations (media war).

The bottom line:
Israel fought this war instinctively and did not think through her actions deeply enough. In one way this is ok - to throw off the enemy and quickly turn the defensive into an offensive. However, as we see today, we performed poorly in terms of destroying Hizbollah bunkers, weapons, and even soldiers. The lack of strategic and even tactical planning is apparent today and some are beginning to question the intelligence capabilities of the IDF.

Ehud Olmert, Israel's newly elected Prime Minister had to show his nation that he will not tolerate such incidents, and that he has a firm hand when it comes to Israel's security. Unfortunately, Olmert is new to the international community as well and attempted to fight a "safe" war - a war from the skies. Olmert wanted to see the least amount of civilian casualties on Lebanon's side as possible (to show the world his righteousness), while preventing Israeli soldiers from risking their lives on the ground.

Many think that if Ariel Sharon was active - the war would have been conducted much differently and more efficiently. You can't say this for sure, but we have learned that Ehud Olmert, Dan Halutz, and the Kadima party need to revisit their strategies and learn from their major mistakes quickly. Otherwise, we'll see a new elected leader and party very soon.

I am fairly skeptic of this cease fire. I believe that Hizbollah is recruiting new soldiers, getting new weapons from Syria/Iran, and getting ready for their next attack. UNIFIL will fail to regulate and disarm Hizbollah - and before you know it the UNIFIL forces will once again either aid Hizbollah, or will simply turn a blind eye to Hizbollah.

We will have another incident in the near future - the question is will Israel learn from her mistakes this round, and come back stronger next round?

Time will tell..

Sympathy for the Devil

If you are a Rolling Stones fan, you certainly know the song "sympathy for the devil". While the song is incredible, it appears that public populations worldwide actually gain and generate sympathy for the devil.

This is an article I wrote to provide a hollistic picture of the situation in the Middle East with intentions of enlightening and educating the public - who in many cases refuse to acknowledge why today's events took place. Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with Bush's war agenda.

Here are a few paragraphs from the article: [Read the full version here]


I know that it's very simple to sit down in your home in front of the TV, appalled by the images shown, frustrated by the seemingly reality of abusive force, ignorantly pleading for the violence to end and for the diplomatic efforts to begin. To you apologetic liberals, please try to understand the nature of this current situation and the complexities surrounding it. We know war is bad and that diplomatic solutions are the way to go. But for over 20 years Israel has been the target of destruction by Hizbollah and its supporters. Hizbollah's charter calls for the destruction of Israel; and so all text books, rhetoric, teachings, and media focus on the very one topic - Israel's destruction.

Unfortunately, the world agenda doesn't call to show concern for this tragic reality. The world doesn't care about the people of this nation until Israel drops bombs on them. If they truly cared about these people - they would have made noise over the past 25 years as Lebanon has been fully "OCCUPIED" by Syria, and has completely lost its sovereignty to her. I guess the liberals tolerate occupation, murder, and disregard for human rights if its amongst two Arab nations.

In the US partisan based political sphere, we know that liberals tend to automatically disagree with Republicans, for the sake of opposing the "right". Liberals today have forgotten what it means to be a liberal, once defined as; Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded.

Liberals are not acting up to this definition. In fact, they are doing quite the contrary. Today's definition of a liberal has become something resembling the following:

Favoring nations who practice policies of oppression executed by ruthless dictatorships, open to new methods of violence, and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of the terrorists; including their narrow mindedness.

Ok, so it's a cheap shot. Think about it, though. The liberal movement was created to oppose such governments and policies - and in the USA, it succeeded in establishing civil liberties and rights movements throughout the past 50 years in order to achieve gender equality, ethnic and religious tolerance, and to gain open mindedness. Israel is one of the first governments to have a female leader in Golda Meir, has Arab members of the government, and represents an economy based peace seeking society.

I simply find it ironic that Liberals are the ones who end up defending (usually with blind eyes) organizations like Hizbollah, Hamas, Jihad, PLO, and nations like Iran, Afghanistan and Syria. It is because of these organizations and dictatorships that millions of humans are being oppressed, with complete disregard to basic human rights. Imagine living in a society where women have no rights whatsoever. Or better yet, a society whereby your head is castrated for criticizing your government. I had once written an article about the shift of agenda and behavior within the liberal movement - characterized by the phenomenon of unconditional self-critique. Liberals have made it a point to disagree before even attempting to understand the nature of the problem. If the Republicans believe in A, "we the liberals" are automatically going to believe in B.

European nations such as France and Germany, and people within the USA and other democratic nations have, with or without choice become ambassadors of sympathy for the devil. The devil, in this case is being represented by those who seek to destroy Israel and Jews. So much guilt lies within these so called liberal populations that through media (images) and PR trickery, viewers are easily manipulated in their way of thought, resulting in a completely irrational state of mind.

How can a nation claim that Israel is using "disproportionate" force when defending itself from a barrage of attacks? The reason is due to the de-legitimization of Israel's existence which is a re-occurring theme amongst extreme Muslim radicals and liberal nations.
Who would have thought? Liberals and Muslim extremists in the same camp?

Awful. Dreadful. Absurd. Disturbing.

Am I surprised? No. Not really. We live in a world where only 70 years ago human beings stood by and "listened" with open ears to the hints of Hitler and his thoughts about Jews - with absolutely no action taken until nations were completely conquered and destroyed and 6 million Jews were systematically murdered. Oh gee wiz, that only took place 70 years ago? Is it so incomprehensible that such a grave incident can take place again? With current anti-Israel sentiment sky-rocketing worldwide, we have a similar WWII formula in place: a crazy nutcase publicly calling for Israel's destruction, millions of brainwashed people that believe in this objective, and the deceived world sitting by quietly focusing energy on other matters.

Keep showing sympathy for the devil, and before you know it we'll be in the midst of another holocaust. With 15 million Jews comprising less than 1% of the world's population, Jews and Israelis now have a new enemy to face; the new Liberal movement.


[Read the full version here]

The power of the liberal press

It is known how much of a vital role the press and media plays when documenting history and attempting to relay major events in real time. Every player in the game has an interest to serve - no matter what. There will always be bias, which contradicts the idealistic nature of journalism - objective reporting. That concept certainly doesn't exist in today's world.

Whatever the reasoning may be doesn't matter - it's what the reality has become that matters: A global mass campaign of anti-Jewish reporting influencing public perception resulting in loss of rationale, ethics and morals, and increased anti-Jewish sentiment.

Julie Burchill has taken the liberty to expose the anti-Jewish nature of the British press. She used to work for The Guardian and had this to say:

"Even the women's magazines have gotten in on the act, with lots of first-person eye-witness accounts of British citizens fleeing the Jewish jackboot. Then turn the page and you'll often find a shocked article about honor-killing or forced marriage, Muslim-style. That Israel is fighting the frontline war, on behalf of the freedom and civilization of all of us, against the very real evils of shari'a law never seems to occur to these bleeding-heart ignoramuses.

Over at Channel 4, Jon Snow interviewed an Israeli diplomat with all the finesse and objectivity of a neo-Nazi spraying a six-foot swastika on a wall. Of the rockets which murdered Israeli civilians in the town of Sderot, he said "Rockets, pretty pathetic things - nobody gets injured." This was gleefully picked up and proclaimed by The Guardian, the newspaper I left some years ago in protest at what I saw as its vile anti-Semitism.

All across the board, Lebanese civilians are referred to as "civilians" where Israeli civilians are referred to as "Israelis" - an eerie and sinister difference pointed out by the non-Jewish stand-up comic genius Natalie Haynes, and one which very few people appear to have noticed - even me, until then.

In fact the tone in papers as diverse as the "liberal" Guardian to the right-wing Daily Mail has been repulsively similar; look, look, the Israelis are as bad as the terrorists! Worse, in fact, because they've got America behind them! Even the normally sensible Matthew Parris in the normally sensible Times wrote: "The past 40 years have been a catastrophe, gradual and incremental, for world Jewry. Seldom in history have the name and reputation of a human grouping lost so vast a store of support and sympathy so fast."

The catastrophe he refers to is the State of Israel itself; you'd really think, reading this, that the years leading up to the creation of the Jewish state were, in fact, a right royal romp in the park. Instead of the Holocaust. "

Read the full article here

Cease-fire resolution upon us?

It looks like the resolution was modified to meet more demands on both sides - and it could be in effect within days.

Read the resolution and understand what both parties are agreeing to.

As Gillerman was quoted saying, "this movie has been produced by Iran, directed by Syria, and acted by Hizbollah - and is coming soon to you."

While this war will certainly make it to the US and Europe, I firmly believe that the sequel is scheduled to be released in Israel even sooner. Hizbollah, Iran, Syria, Hamas and the PLO all still share the same objective: completely destroy Israel.

This cease-fire will give them all a chance to recoop, and launch another vicious cycle of violence with the aid of media outlets and the international community. We left 6 years ago, tolerated hundreds of missiles, abided by the resolution, but still fell under attack. Why?

The word of Hizbollah is worthless and meaningless. The world doesn't see this - but they will. And when they do, they will admit their deception and apologize for their ignorance. Sort of like during WWII.

Why you should watch FOX, and not CNN

I'm not a Republican. I'm not a Democrat. I selectively watch my news channels - and have no problem criticizing FOX news for its hard-lined right wing nature.
At the same time, I have no problem criticizing CNN for its extreme nature, majorly influenced by Arabs.

What happens is that people are used to watching a certain channel, be it CNN, for their stance on political issues is more closely aligned with Democrats. In other words, very few Democrats will watch FOX news which is a Republican heavy outlet.

Whatever is displayed through CNN becomes a reality for viewers, without even considering the possibilities that what they are seeing is in effect distorted.

Here is evidence of what I mean:

"CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson admitted that his anti-Israel report from Beirut on July 18 about civilian casualties in Lebanon was stage-managed from start to finish by Hezbollah. He revealed that his story was heavily influenced by Hezbollah’s “press officer” and that Hezbollah have “very, very sophisticated and slick media operations.”

When pressed a few days later about his reporting on the CNN program Reliable Sources, Robertson acknowledged that Hezbollah militants had instructed the CNN camera team where and what to film. Hezbollah “had control of the situation,” Robertson said. “They designated the places that we went to, and we certainly didn’t have time to go into the houses or lift up the rubble to see what was underneath.”

Robertson added that Hezbollah has “very, very good control over its areas in the south of Beirut. They deny journalists access into those areas. You don’t get in there without their permission. We didn’t have enough time to see if perhaps there was somebody there who was, you know, a taxi driver by day, and a Hezbollah fighter by night.”" [read more here]

I have a serious problem with this behavior. A distorted reality and truth is being purchased by empathetic and sympathetic viewers worldwide, and focus which should be on Israel's defensive, has quickly become focused on Israel's offensive.

FOX News has my vote in its coverage of this current conflict. It understands and sees truth as it is, without Hizbollah, a terrorist organization, pulling the strings.

CNN - excellent work on your desire to portray reality as Hizbollah wants the world to see it - you have turned intelligent people into ignorant creatures.