The John Batchelor Show For Jan 4th

It's Sunday night, and that means it's time for John Batchelor!





Here is his website.





The show starts at 7pm Eastern, and continues for six hours of the best radio you will find anywhere, as only John Batchelor can deliver it with his stable of experts...




And here is where you can listen to the show live online:



New York, WABC-AM 770 7-10PM ET;
Washington DC, WMAL-AM 630 7-9PM ET;
San Francisco, KSFO-AM 560;
Los Angeles,KFI-AM 640;


Schedule for Tonight: (all six hours are on the same link now)

The first two hours are below to whet your appetite:



"Gaza Starts Grim-Looking Year" Special.


705P ET: John Gapper, Financial Times, with Simon Constable, DowJones, co-host, re how the credit catastrophe of 2008 points to mrket failures, gloom, and a kind of numb fear similar to the families robbed by the Pied Piper, re the coming cars crash, newspaper/magazine crash, retail crash. In '09, Not Much to Cheer About Either

720P: Kerry Grace, Wall Street Journal, with Simon Constable, DowJones, re the delayed fuses of rotten mortgages, theft, brown lawns, ghost towns, wrecked families, accelerated despair, in the U.S. housing market that looks to become black humor in the new year. "My house is worth half what I bought it for!" "You still have a house?" Home Prices Slide; 
Confidence Hits Low

735P: Professional Roundtable Harry Siegel, Politico.com , with Diana West, author, Jim McTague, Barron's, re the political prospects for Congressional catastrophe in the new year with a majority party in the White House; re the Blago appointment of the combative and clever Roland Burris ("...neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."), re the Paterson/Kennedy/Bloomberg/Cumo quartet in NY; re the 111th Congress.

750P: Continued re the Franken/Coleman imbroglio, re the best and worst political events of the year.


805P: Ethan Perlson, Benjamin Sarlin, DailyBeast.com, re the Gaza War hits Facebook, re Gaza and the Hamas war on the web, at Facebook, Twitter and the new tools of the information age, re the viral bashing of Israel, re the viral boosting of Hamas propaganda and the usual storybook fiction of Palestinian victimology.

820P: Bob Zimmerman, author, re the 2008">second least active sun since records were kept and what a lack of sunspots means; re Space X; re NASA vs the Obama Team; re the space race in 2009, re best and worst space moves of the year.

835: Financial Professionals, with John Tamny, RealClearMarkets.com, Simon Constable, Dow Jones, Aaron Task, Yahoo Finance, the Why 2009 Will Be Worse Than 2008, Worldwide, a Bad Year Only Got Worse Paulson says crisis sown by imbalance

850P: Continued, Unemployment Insurance: A Safety Net in Need of Repair - Another Boneheaded Move Ahead from The Fed Obama, Deflation & Recovery Mutual funds suffer $320bn outflow

905P: Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents Major Jewish Organizations, from Jerusalem, re the Gaza crisis and the Hamas War on Israel; re the limitations of the IDF operations, re the Egyptian cooperation with Israel, re what does Cairo want?

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The Newest Timelord Speaks

If you are like me, you've never heard of Matt Smith, the next actor tapped to play the TARDIS-piloting Timelord. Well, here he is speaking about his new role, which begins in 2010:

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Sderot, An Israeli Town Under Attack

This is what the IDF is in Gaza trying to stop.

This is what the anti-war protestors encourage Hamas to do to innocent civilians.

This is what moral equivalence leads to.

This video was released on Christmas Eve of 2007.

Where were the lefties protesting the murder and terrorization of the civilians in Sderot?

If they really cared about what they call "human rights", they would be in the streets just the same for the actions of Hamas when they terrorize and murder civilians instead of giving aid and comfort to terrorists, as can be seen in this article from the Palestinian Al Manar website:

Israeli massacres in Gaza for the ninth consecutive day drove millions across the globe to protest against oppression, criminality and bloodshed. 
 
World capitals witnessed massive rallies in solidarity with the Palestinians suffering in Gaza Strip. Demonstrations have been held since the beginning of the Israeli massacre that has claimed the lives of more than 485 Palestinians and injured 2,500, calling upon the international community to act responsibly.
 
The UNSC failed for the third time to issue a statement calling for a stop of the Israeli war. 
 
Hundreds of thousands of Turks demonstrated outside Israeli and United Nations missions in Istanbul and Ankara Sunday, protesting Israel's ground offensive in Gaza, CNN Turk news channel reported. 
 
Waving Palestinian flags, “stop the war placards” and chanting anti-US and anti-Israel slogans, the masses defied a very cold and snowy weather to express support to Gaza and to denounce the Israeli invasion of the densely populated region. Turkish party leaders and representatives condemned in their speeches the international and official Arab silence as to the genocidal war in Gaza. 
 

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(PRESS RELEASE) Stand in Support of Israel Petition

Hat Tip to KR for bringing this to my attention:

AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE (ACLJ) encourages you to sign petition in support of Israel.

Add your name to the group of people who have already signed using the Internet!  CLICK HERE

Stand in support of Israel

Radical Islamic terrorist threats from Hamas and Hezbollah continue to escalate.  Any threat against Israel is a threat to freedom — and freedom attacked anywhere is freedom attacked everywhere.  Israel is our friend and ally.  We must form a united front and stand in support of Israel and their fight for freedom ... NOW.  Please read the form carefully and declare your membership with the ACLJ by signing the Proclamation for Solidarity below.

Proclamation for Solidarity with Israel

The Israeli Consulate
Knesset
Israeli Citizens

We proclaim our unwavering support to defend Israel's FREEDOM AT ALL COSTS!  If freedom is attacked in any country or nation ... it is attacked in every country and nation.  That is particularly true in Israel — we will not sit idly by while terror reigns in the Middle East and the persecution of Christians continues in Gaza and the West Bank.  We fully believe that true freedom and peace can only arise after the terrorist infrastructure has been eliminated.

We, the undersigned, in solidarity with the State of Israel, pledge our support in the fight against terrorism.  Moreover, as friends and allies, we will not settle for anything less than preserving freedom.  We stand with you, Nation of Israel!

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Hypocrisy Recognized

SWAC Girl has collected some quotes from around the blogosphere on the meme of hypocrisy.

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What Really Happened in The Middle East

Watch a larger, more readable flash version of this presentation at The Terrorism Awareness Project.

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Congressman Ron Paul Is An Idiot, (Part 3,293)

My mole in the local Ron Paul group sent this video to me:



Sigh. What an idiot (and moral coward) this guy is when it comes to foreign policy.

Since this is Sunday (and you know who is running the multimedia center, again) here is a verse for Congressman Paul and his supporters to ponder:

Revelation 3:16 (King James Version)

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Source: Bible Gateway

And Ron Paul is forgetting that he is being neutral in a war that has seen Hamas commit war crimes daily for ten years now...

He is an Enabler of Jihad and a Dhimmi...a willing partner to the war crimes committed by the terrorist organization Hamas...with blood on his hands.

Here is another video about the rocket attacks, including the little nugget that the charter of Hamas calls for the elimination of Israel and replacing it with an Islamic State...



Dr. Paul, you destroy any chance of your economic agenda from seeing the light of day with your very poorly thought out positions, which give aid and comfort to Hamas, an enemy of mankind and freedom.

Shame on you!!!

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Al-Manar TV Loaded Poll Question of the Day

I was checking out the various Arab news websites, and I found this beauty of a poll question regarding the current Gaza situation:

Source: Al Manar-TV (run by the terrorist group Hizbullah)

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An Update on Day 9 of Operation Cast Lead

Here are the various reports I have found and wish to preserve on the 9th Day of Operation Cast Lead:


First, a word of Wisdom from the blogger at the Muqata:

12:35 PM Foreign News services are quoting Al-Jazeera and Hamas "news" sources about all sorts of bad things going on regarding IDF soldiers. The IDF spokesman has authoritatively debunked some of them, and are looking into others. Be advised -- reports based on Al Jazeera and Hamas are for psychological warfare and do not necessarily reflect reality of planet Earth.

Source: |The Muqata|, in Day 9 of the War, Sunday, January 4, 2009



My blogging is just a snapshot of what i find, and here are some of the sources that are providing much more in depth coverage than I ever could...

The Muqata, and today's live-blogging and Twitter Account


Israelly Cool, and today's live-blogging


Israel Matzav, reports the death of Hamas terrorist Hussan Hamdan and has some raw raw video of the IDF in action.


The Elder of Ziyon, who has this video on the plight of the Gazans:




Jerusalem Post



Ha'aretz


One Jerusalem

Here is a Public Service Announcement to all terrorist-loving lefties to remind you why Israel sometimes is forced to target mosques, homes and even ambulances...they are used by your friends, the Palestinians, as staging areas for troops, weapons and, in the case of ambulances, as troop carriers (notice the bold UN markings on the ambulances):


You can be rest assured that when terrorists are killed in these situations, they are stripped of their weapons and magically transoformed into civilians.
Pamella Geller brings us a report on times Square being filled with Pro-Hamas terrorist sympathizers. Rober Spencer found more terrorist sympathizers in Washington, DC.

Now, to some coverage of the war...

From Ha'aretz come this analysis:

The international community, headed by the U.S. and Egypt, is giving Israel time to carry out the ground offensive in Gaza, so it will severely damage Hamas' regime. The rationale behind such a move is that a weakened Hamas would improve the chances of achieving a stable agreement in Gaza once the fighting subsides.

And so there is a degree of foot-dragging in the diplomatic efforts to reach a cease-fire. The most visible sign of this was the decision to postpone the United Nations Security Council discussion on Gaza planned for Monday.

Source: |Ha'retz|, in ANALYSIS / International community giving Israel time to weaken Hamas in Gaza



And here are a couple of excerpts from Yahoo! News:

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Militants in the Gaza Strip fired 25 rockets and mortar rounds into Israel on Sunday, lightly wounding one woman, as Israeli troops pushed deeper into the Palestinian territory, an army spokesman said.
One of the rockets directly struck a house in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which has borne the brunt of the militant fire from Gaza. One woman was lightly wounded, medics said.
Twelve of the rockets were the longer-range Grad rockets, which fell without causing casualties near the city of Ashdod, Israel's second-largest port, and communities of Ofaqim and Netivod, the army said.

Source: |Yahoo! News|, in Dozens of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel


and this from Lebanon:

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanese security officials say police forces have fired tear gas at scores of demonstrators who tried to reach the U.S. Embassy compound north of Beirut.
They say the demonstrators were protesting Israel's ground attack on the Gaza Strip.
The officials say about 250 demonstrators tried to cut through barbed wire placed by Lebanese police on a road leading to the U.S. Embassy in the northern suburb of Aukar.

Source: |Yahoo! News|, in Demonstrators try to reach US Embassy in Beirut


The UK Telegraph has this from the fighting in Gaza:

A column of Israeli tanks, backed by aircraft, pushed deep into the territory, and Israel's navy prevented travel along Gaza's coastal road, witnesses said, effectively cutting the enclave in half.
In initial fighting, Israeli ground forces killed eight Gazans, five of them gunmen, bringing the Palestinian death toll since the start of an air campaign on Dec. 27 to more than 450, Palestinian medical officials said.
Israel said 30 of its soldiers were wounded, two seriously, since the start of the ground assault and that Israeli aircraft struck more than 45 targets, including arms smuggling tunnels, weapons depots and mortar squads.

Source: |UK Telegraph|, in Gaza siege: Fierce fighting as Israel's troops battle Hamas in the streets


And here is a report of IDF troops dividing Gaza into sections (the entire article since i can't link to individual articles on that website):

Early Sunday afternoon reports are speaking of the Israeli military dividing the Gaza Strip into different sections. Al-Jazeera television is reporting that IDF armored personnel carriers are moving in the area where the Netzarim Israeli settlement had been until the Israeli pullout from Gaza in 2005. The army has taken up a position in the Zeitun neighborhood, thereby cutting Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, from the central and southern Strip.

A Kol Yisrael reporter monitoring reports said army bulldozers were said to have paved a path for the tanks to travel through the area.

Israeli artillery was being fired into Bet Hanun, known as a location for launching rockets at Israel, in the northern Gaza Strip. Al-Arabiyeh television was reporting heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in the Bet Hanun area.

Al-Jazeera in English was reporting that IDF soldiers were going house-to-house in various places and detaining suspects.
According to that report, IDF troops entered the border area between Gaza and Egypt, in the southern strip.

Israeli troops were also said to be in the area of the Dahaniya airport, and exchanges of fire were reported there.

Israel is saying that it has no information regarding any Israeli soldiers that may have been abducted. Hamas seems to be backtracking from its earlier claim that it had kidnapped two soldiers, with a spokesman evading a question when he was asked about the claim, saying instead that Hamas would kidnap soldiers if the military operation continues.

Meanwhile, Hamas was continuing to fire rockets into Israel, at late Sunday morning six Kassam and Grad rockets were fired into the western Negev. One rocket landed and exploded in the southern outskirts of Ashkelon, three rockets landed in the Eshkol region, and two in the Netivot area. One person was lightly hurt from fragments in those latest firings.

The head of Gaza rescue and emergency services is saying that since Saturday night, some 30 Palestinians have been hurt in the Israeli atatcks, most of the casualties are said to be children.

He says that since the beginning of the operation just over a week ago, the Palestinian death toll is 470, including more than 80 children and about 45 women.

Al-Arabiyeh was reporting that eight Palestinians were killed in an IDF attack on a school in Bet Lahiya. Al-Jazeera reported that 12 people were killed in that attack.

The Reuters news agency quoted medics in Gaza as saying that five Palestinian civilians were killed and 40 were wounded in a shelling in a Gaza City shopping area.

The cabinet held its weekly meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday because that's where military hedaquarters is located. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the ministers that he had requested from the defense establishment to report to him on the number of rocket launchings that have taken place in the areas of Gaza where Israeli ground troops are now operating and that he was told that the number he received was 220 during the last week alone.

The prime minister said he was also turning to the mothers of the soldiers involved in the operation, and said, "I can look at each one of you in the eyes and say that the government has done everything before making the decision to enter into a ground offensive."

Olmert told the cabinet ministers that alongside the military operation has been an Israeli diplomatic campaign. He said that even Israel's best friends are concerned and troubled, but that a large majority, said Olmert, understand and support Israel. Olmert singled out US President George W. Bush for his statement that Israel must ensure that Hamas not only stops firing, but that it also won't be able to fire in the future.

Source: |Israel broadcast Authority|, in Jan4 2009 - 13:42 update (Israel Time)


And here is a report of Hamas terrorists shooting and killing Palestinians siding with the terrorist group Fatah:

Fatah officials in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that Hamas militiamen had been assaulting many Fatah activists since the beginning of the operation last Saturday. They said at least 75 activists were shot in the legs while others had their hands broken.

Wisam Abu Jalhoum, a Fatah activist from the Jabalya refugee camp, was shot in the legs by Hamas militiamen for allegedly expressing joy over the IDF air strikes on Hamas targets.

Source: |Jerusalem Post|, in Hamas moves on Fatah 'collaborators'


That is all I have for now. May this ground operation prove more successful for Israel than the one in 2006.

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Anarchists, Lefties, Flower Children and Terrorists Oppose Operation Cast Lead

I have found so much material on the Internet regarding this conflict that I have decided it would be best to break it up into two posts, one of the pro-terrorist websites, and the other on the conduct of the war.


First up is the opposition:

It is hard to believe that we share the same planet with these people...




If pictures are worth a thousand words, then video is worth much more. Here is a video of lefty anarchists. This was a demonstration in Tel-Aviv, Israel near the Sdeh Dov airport:

My favorite part is when these knuckleheads get arrested.

To give you an idea of how some of these people process information, here is an 'analysis' of the situation I found in the anarcho-communist website, Infoshop News. I am preserving the "analysis" in full because I get a kick when someone calls himself a communist and an anarchist who is for libertarian values in the same article:

Welcome to Infoshop News
Sunday, January 04 2009 @ 04:55 AM CST

On the Israeli war in Gaza

Thursday, January 01 2009 @ 01:38 PM CST
Contributed by: Anonymous
Views: 259
The number of Palestinian casualities is so high compared to previous Israeli attacks - 385 killed and more than 1,750 injured (these figures are valid as of 31 December). The majority of the Arab masses can just observe what is going on, filled with outrage and anger. This is due mainly to the general atmosphere of fear and their marginalization, strongly maintained by the ruling elites. Only a small minority of politically active individuals are participating in protests on the streets. They are mainly Islamic activists.

On the Israeli war in Gaza

by Mazen Kamalmazauthor
email: mazen2190 at gmail dot com

------------------------------------------------------------------
Anarchist communist analysis from Syria

The majority of the Arab masses can just observe what is going on, filled with outrage and anger. This is due mainly to the general atmosphere of fear and their marginalization, strongly maintained by the ruling elites. Only a small minority of politically active individuals are participating in protests on the streets.
------------------------------------------------------------------

The number of Palestinian casualities is so high compared to previous Israeli attacks - 385 killed and more than 1,750 injured (these figures are valid as of 31 December). The majority of the Arab masses can just observe what is going on, filled with outrage and anger. This is due mainly to the general atmosphere of fear and their marginalization, strongly maintained by the ruling elites. Only a small minority of politically active individuals are participating in protests on the streets. They are mainly Islamic activists.

This can be understood in two ways: Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest Islamic organization that enjoys an influential presence in the largest Islamic countries, usually in an illegal way. On the other hand, the left in Arab and Islamic countries has changed profoundly since the fall of the Soviet Union: a large part of it shifted from the traditional reformist policies of Stalinist parties to embrace the neo-liberal policies of the mainstream tendency of globalization, but have kept the same old tactics: looking for compromises with ruling elites, or promoting "democratic" change based primarily on neo-liberal policies and accepting American, or in general Western, intervention as the main way of imposing such "change".

To be fair, there is a tendency to create some influence by Trotskyism and, to a lesser extent, Anarchism; but these new tendencies are still very weak and elitist and lack any important presence or influence on the grassroots movements of the masses. In fact, the Arab masses are left to the propaganda of the Islamists. Liberal and the majority of former leftist intellectuals have opted to support the policies of pro-American "moderate" governments; while those leftists who consider themselves anti-imperialist have acted as mere supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah; they have failed to distinguish themselves from these Islamists, or even worse, failed to promote a real democratic and progressive approach and understanding of the ongoing fight.

It is clear that despite the promises of Hamas that are attributed to their Islamic religious teachings not to the facts on ground, Israel enjoys the upper hand and its forces, with their determination to inflict as many casualities and as much damage as they can on the one and half million poor residents of Gaza, can defeat the resistance in Gaza.

Pro-American regimes, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are doing everything they can to make the mission of Israeli forces as easy as possible; for example, the Egyptian regime is keeping the crossing points of Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip closed to humanitarian aid, in order to keep the people of Gaza facing hunger, darkness and cold, which can weaken their resistance and create resentment against the Hamas leadership. These corrupt dictatorships have today become the symbols of "modernity" with neo-liberals as their masters - the Bush administration and its first ally in the region, Israel, the butchers of Gaza; this proved to be the best propaganda that the Islamists have received in these days.

Of course, Islamic fundamentalists do not have real solutions, nor a democratic one, to the crisis, or even to the issues of fighting poverty or social injustice; but due to the weakness of the left here and its vague understanding, and of their proposed alternative for these issues due to the strong influence of Stalinism and reformism, these Islamists are now in the front line of the demonstrations against the American-backed Israeli aggression. This only reaffirms the importance of organizing anarchist propaganda and activities that can, by word and deed, demonstrate a new, libertarian alternative to both neo-liberalism and fundamentalism.

Source: |Infoshop News|, in On the Israeli war in Gaza

And then there is the lefty organization IndyMedia, which is Independent in word only. I call it LeftyMedia, the website where opinions to the left of the already leftist media get aired. Check out the Israeli version, and you'll see what I mean. And if is not enough, here is the world version.


Here is an article from the current front page of the lefty organization:

The Palestinian Resistance has issued calls to the peoples' militia to continue firing rockets against the invader. Preparations have been made for an urban guerilla war to defend neighborhoods of Gaza in case of a ground invasion.
Israeli and global Corporate media sources are "hinting" that a ground war will begin tonight, in a few hours.
Around 440 people have been killed in Gaza so far this week and almost 2,300 injured; the majority of them are civilians, children, non-combatants, and civilian Police.
Four people in Israel died from random Palestinian home-made rocket attacks; two of them are Palestinian Israelis.

Major demonstrations are taking place all over the world this weekend against the massacre and in support of the Palestinian people. Istanbul in Turkey, London, New York, Indonesia, Teheran, Cairo, Amman, Damascus and even tiny Cyprus plus cities within Israel itself are the scenes of multi-ethnic multi-national mobilizations of people against the US-armed Zionist war in Gaza.

An article in the JERUSALEM POST describes IndyMedia's coverage of the war as "unprofessional" and paints a picture of IndyMedia as being "in coalition" with "the large Arab networks". Which in the Western media is code language for saying "a mouthpiece of Arab terror":
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1230733119488&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The Israeli military is bombing Gaza with new technologies and tactics.

Sound bombs (giant versions of shock-grenades) are being used in some cases, supposedly to "warn away civilians" from homes that are being targeted and then the "real" bombs are dropped either from the air or fired by naval or ground artillery. Or delivered by missile. Also, neighbours of targeted homes in Gaza are receiving phone calls from the Israeli occupation forces urging them to run outside because their neighbourhood will be bombed in a few seconds.

Source: |Independent Media Center|, in Palestine War Enters Science-Fiction Realms

I will take issue with the proven lie that Hamas is using "home-made" rockets. The Grad-type rockets are made in China, and the Fajr-3 that Hamas has acquired from Iran are most definitely not homemade.

Here are the specifications of the Fajr-3:

Caliber: 240 mm
Length of rocket: 5,200 mm
Max. range: 43,000 m
Max. height: 17,000 m (at max. range)
Weight of rocket: 407 kg
Weight of warhead: 90 kg
Weight of HE content: 45 kg
Weight of system: 15,000 kg
Length travelling: 10.45 m
Width traveling: 2.54 m

And a more general spec list (converted to English units of measurement) for some of the other rockets used by Hamas:

Qassam 1: 1 lb and up to 3 miles
Qassam 2: 10 to 20 lbs and up to 6 miles
Qassam 3: 20 to 40 lbs and up to 7.5 miles
Grad: 40 lbs and up to 12.5 miles (Iranian, Syrian and North Korean-made)
Oghab: 154 lbs and up to 28 miles (Iranian, Syrian and North Korean-made)
Fajr-3/Ra'ad: 100 lbs up to 28 miles (Iranian, Syrian and North Korean-made)

So, remember that the people on the left are prone to spout propaganda without really checking their facts. I like to fact check everyone, most especially lefties since they can be proven wrong on their "facts" more often than others.

Here is a report from a pro-Palestinian website:

GAZA, (PIC)-- The IOF troops have committed Saturday fresh massacre against Palestinian worshipers in Gaza as Israeli warplanes bombed a local mosque in the northern Gaza Strip and demolished it over heads of tens of Palestinian worshippers inside, local eyewitnesses confirmed.

Medical sources in Gaza confirmed to the PIC that the air strike on the mosque killed 16 Palestinian citizens, many were children, and wounded 60 others, many in serious condition.

The raid on the mosque wasn’t isolated as the Israeli warplanes bombed and flattened around 11 mosques in Gaza without paying attention to the sanctity of those places.

According to eyewitnesses in Beit Lahia city where the massacre took place, tens of Palestinian worshippers were performing their Maghreb (sunset) prayer when an Israeli F-16 war jet dropped tons of bombs on the mosque.

Close to 500 Palestinian citizens were killed and nearly 2500 were wounded in the continued Israeli carnage in the Gaza Strip that entered its eighth day amidst unexplainable silence from the international community.

Source: |The Palestinian Information Center|, in Israeli war planes bomb mosque in Gaza during prayers

According to the story...the Israeli F-16 dropped "tons of bombs on the mosque". I can debunk that without breaking a sweat. Israel is hitting these targets with typically one guided munition. If the report is accurate, and there was a large explosion, it was likely from the weapons and rockets being stored in the mosque, like in this video.

Here is a report on a rally in Charlotte by a local lefty, dancewater:

My first rally of the year - a rally for peace in Gaza. This rally was in Charlotte, NC. I first heard about it on New Year's Day, and emailed some friends to see if they wanted to go - one friend did, so we left for Charlotte about 9:30 this morning. We were expecting a rally that lasted an hour, and thought it would start at noon. It did not start until 1 PM, and it included a march and a second rally. We left to go home at 2:30.

Source: |dancewater|, in Charlotte Rally 01-03-09
I love the Nation of Islam guys that dancewater is hanging out with. Way to go girl. You sure do know how to pick 'em, don't you?

Here is a flower child moment I found in the HuffPo:

Today is a day to cry for Israel. Today is a day to cry for the Palestinians. Today is a day to cry for all of us.

Today is a day of war.

War anywhere, at this point in our history, is an action that threatens peace everywhere. Particularly when it comes to the Middle East. From its spiritual significance to its political significance, it is humanity's hot spot. It always has been and probably always will be. It's where all the rivers of human perspective meet, to become either a cauldron of hatred or an ocean of love.

While it might be tempting to "take sides" between Israel and the Palestinians, spiritually there are no sides to be taken. God does not give us victory in battle but rather lifts us above the battlefield. As a generation, our moral imperative is to end war period, to somehow move beyond the idea that war is an acceptable means of solving problems. Anything less then that makes us attitudinal conspirators with a line of probability leading to nuclear catastrophe.

Source: |Marianne Williamson|, in Towards a Miracle in the Middle East
I can hear this nut singing "Give peace A Chance" as Sharia Law forces her to wear a burqa in public one day.

And another lefty, Errington Thompson has this to say:

It appears to me that Israel is trying to get a few last minute licks in on Hamas before Obama gets into office. I don’t think that Obama will give Israel the free reign that the Bush administration has given Israel. Obama and the United States will always be a close friend of Israel but that doesn’t mean that we have to support everything that Israel does.

Source: |Where is the Outrage?|, in Israel invades
A huge part of Errington Thompson's problem is that he suffers from the disease of assuming everyone has moral equivalence...and whatever comes from a Judeo-Christian viewppint is immediately suspect. This man, a surgeon mind you, does not become outraged over the firing of rockets by Hamas into civilian areas on purpose. Would he, I wonder, feel any differently if he were a surgeon in Sderot? In a recent post he wrote " They are wildly firing rockets and really hitting no one." Really? I wonder if he would mind if I shot at his home from a distance, and on rarely hit his home, and maybe injured him or the other occupants of his home randomly...would he have the same attitude? I think not. His hypocrisy stinks to high heaven, and like any good lefty...he has rationalized the world to match his worldview. I wonder if he would toss aside the ramifications of a rocket with a 90 kg warhead hitting near people...if he would shrug off the shrapnel wounds if someone near and dear to him were hit...instead of it being just a Jew who was hit?

It is these insane positions of the left that lead me to believe that they are a greater danger to our Republic than the Islamofascists, the Russians, and the Chinese. They are the people marching in Gramsci's War on the West with their Cultural Marxism.

The next two years will be crucial for conservative Republicans. We must marshal our forces, and be prepared to begin our own "march through the institutions". The sad thing is, I see nothing in my colleagues that suggest more than a remnant are willing to undertake such an endeavour. So be it, fortune favors the bold, and we must be bold indeed.

This is all of the nonsense from the left I can stand to report on for now. Next up...the news of the ground offensive...

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Matt Smith Named Newest Time Lord

Photo Courtesy BBC

So Matt Smith is the 11th Doctor Who. Not John Simm, David Morrissey, James Nesbitt, Russell Tovey, Paterson Joseph, James McAvoy or, thank the Lord, David Walliams. Not Amy Winehouse, Catherine Zeta Jones or Lesley Sharp, all of whom were - somewhat mischeviously - suggested by outgoing showrunner Russell T Davies. After months of agitated speculation, we now know that the universe's favourite - and until the plot demands it, its only - Timelord will next be played by an actor best known for a role as a New Labour researcher.

Matt Smith, 26, is the youngest actor ever to take the role of Doctor. Known primarily for playing Danny Foster in Party Animals he's also attracted attention for a striking turn as a son in an incestuous relationship with his mother in Polly Stenham's play That Face.

With his identity revealed on BBC 1 this evening, Smith said he was 'flabbergasted' to get the role. "I haven't slept", he said. "It's an iconic part of our culture… it has the status of Robin Hood or Sherlock Holmes and I'm taking it on. It's nerve-wracking and exciting, I'm flabbergasted. It's a huge legacy [but] I want to be brave enough to make my own choices."

Source: UK Guardian

I think that Matt Smith will be a fine addition to the Doctor Who franchise.

I didn't discover the Doctor Who series until the mid-eighties. 

My favorite Doctor is Sylvester McCoy and Ace is my favorite Companion.

Here is a tribute to both of them...

Those two had a chemistry that I don't think will ever be topped.

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The Hypocrites at the United Nations Call Emergency Session Over Gaza Invasion; Where Were They When Hamas Rockets Fell on Children?

In my personal opinion, there is no organization that has less of a right to exist than the United Nations. 

Here is the latest insanity from that puerile assemblage of thugs, murderers and dictators:

The United Nations Security Council has scheduled emergency consultations late Saturday to address the escalation of violence in Gaza.

The decision Saturday came after Israeli tanks and infantry rolled into Gaza in a ground offensive in a widening war against Hamas.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged key world leaders to intensify efforts to achieve an immediate Israeli-Hamas cease-fire that includes international monitors to enforce a truce and, possibly, to protect Palestinian civilians.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and several Arab foreign ministers were flying to New York over the weekend to urge the Security Council to adopt an Arab draft resolution that would condemn Israel and demand a halt to its bombing campaign in Gaza.

Source: Ha'aretz

Commentary

Where was the UN when rockets fell on the children of Sderot? Or does the UN not recognize Jewish children as human?

Observe in this video posted in May of 2007:



and this video from July of 2007:



I put before you the proposition that the United Nations has joined with the enemies of mankind.

I leave you with this video on the 15 seconds that the people of Sderot have to seek safety from rockets launched from Gaza:

Why is the world silent when Jews are killed, yet erupt in fury and indignation when they are forced to defend themselves? 

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Day 9 of Operation Cast Lead Begins With Ground Invasion of Gaza

I take a nap, and Israel finally moves into Gaza to begin its "rat-clearing" operation phase of Operation Cast Lead.

Here are the Israelis who are much closer to the scene than I am and are doing an excellent job covering the war...

Israelly Cool, today's coverage
The Muqata, today's coverage
Israel Matzav, [one], and [two]
three


This from the IDF Spokesperson's Office:




And a video report from CNN:




Yid With LID has a special report on the ground offensive:

Professor Barry Rubin is not only my friend and teacher but he is a Tel Aviv resident with his finger on the pulse of the Israeli Government. He just sent me this report about the Israeli incursion into Gaza:

On the Ground in Gaza By Barry Rubin

Israel didn’t want to attack the Gaza Strip from the ground or from the air. Hamas, which had long broken the ceasefire, canceled it altogether. Then it began large-scale attacks on Israel. This is a war of defense. And it is being conducted just 30 miles from here, Israel’s main city.

Source: |Yid With LID|, in On the Ground in Gaza A View From Inside Israel- Professor Barry Rubin


Here is an official announcement from the Prime minister's Office:

The Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs (the Security Cabinet) met yesterday (Friday), 3.1.09, in order to discuss the continuation of IDF operations in the Gaza Strip.

In continuation of the Ministerial Committee's 24.12.08 decision, in the framework of which approval was given to the operational methods that were recommended by the IDF and security establishment vis-à-vis action against Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza, the Committee decided to instruct the IDF to continue operations and proceed to the stage that includes a ground entry into the Gaza Strip.

The goal of the operation is to continue advancing the goals that the Government has set for the operation as a whole, including striking hard at Hamas's terrorism infrastructure and changing the security reality for residents of the south. IDF forces plan – inter alia – to take control of the launch areas from which most of the missiles that have hit Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod in recent weeks and months have been fired from.

The Committee decided that the timing of the plan's implementation would be determined by the security establishment in accordance with its operational judgment; this was determined for this evening (Saturday), 3.1.09.

The Ministerial Committee further instructed the IDF to prepare for additional stages of the operation and to maintain alert in other areas, and, to these ends, to mobilize the necessary reserve forces – tens of thousands of soldiers.

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Tzahi Hanegbi and Opposition Chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu have been informed of the foregoing.

Source: |Prime Minister's Office|, in Security Cabinet Decision on the Continuation of IDF Operations in the Gaza Strip


And here is Victor Davis Hansen has a piece on the Gaza Rules:

For several prior weeks, Hamas terrorists had been daily launching rockets into Israeli towns that border Gaza. The recent volleys of missiles had insidiously become more frequent — up to 80 a day — and the payloads larger. Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists were reportedly supplying their own training and expertise.

These terrorists point to the Lebanon war of 2006 as the proper template for provoking an Israeli counter-response that will bog down the Israeli Defense Forces in the streets of urban Gaza and ensure that Palestinian civilians are harmed on global television.

Watching both this week’s war and the world’s predictable reaction to it, we can recall the Gaza rules. Most are reflections of our postmodern age, and completely at odds with the past protocols of war.

First is the now-familiar Middle East doctrine of proportionality. Legitimate military action is strangely defined by the relative strength of the combatants. World opinion more vehemently condemns Israel’s countermeasures, apparently because its rockets are far more accurate and deadly than previous Hamas barrages that are poorly targeted and thus not so lethal.

If America had accepted such rules in, say, World War II, then by late 1944 we, not the Axis, would have been the culpable party, since by then once-aggressive German, Italian and Japanese forces were increasingly on the defensive and far less lethal than the Allies.

Second, intent in this war no longer matters. Every Hamas unguided rocket is launched in hopes of hitting an Israeli home and killing men, women and children. Every guided Israeli air-launched missile is targeted at Hamas operatives, who deliberately work in the closest vicinity to women and children.

Killing Palestinian civilians is incidental to Israeli military operations and proves counterproductive to its objectives. Blowing up Israeli non-combatants is the aim of Hamas’ barrages: the more children, aged and women who die, the more it expects political concessions from Tel Aviv.

Source: |IsraPundit|, in The Gaza Rules


And Pamela Geller has this:

The beauty of the whole world grand mal seizing with Jew hatred is ..... it doesn't matter what you do. If you shut off a lightbulb or you carpet bombthe rats' nests it's the same condemnation, so carpet bomb the rats' nests. Of course Olmerde, Barak and Livni do not have the moral courage (or any courage for that matter) to do what must be done.

When I was on the conference call earlier this week, I asked what was the objective of the war - to disarm Hamas or to take take out Hamas? If Hamas's objective is to destroy Israel, disarming is not enough?

The answer was a diplobabble, roundabout - response - disarm Hamas. In order to disarm Hamas, you have to disarm Iran. In order to neutralize Hamas, Hamas must be crushed (and Iran must be disarmed).

If Olmerde/Barak/Livni do not have the courage of their convictions, they have no right to send precious Jewish lives to their death .... for naught.

Source: |Atlas Shrugs|, in GROUND OP: IDF TROOPS IN GAZASTAN


And it appears that Israel will have rare support from the European Union:

(IsraelNN.com) The European Union (EU), whose rotating president is from the Czech Republic, voiced rare support for Israel's ground incursion while United States President George W. Bush said he opposes a "one-sided ceasefire." France opposed the Israeli counterterrorist offensive.

"At the moment, from the perspective of the last days, we understand this step as a defensive, not offensive, action," said Czech EU presidency spokesman Jiri Potuznik.


Karl Schwarzenberg, the President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council and Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, is scheduled to visit Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority Sunday through Tuesday.

United States President George W. Bush, in his weekly radio address, put the blame for Israel's retaliation squarely on the shoulders of Hamas. "This recent outburst of violence was instigated by Hamas -- a Palestinian terrorist group supported by Iran and Syria that calls for Israel's destruction," the president declared.

"In response to these attacks on their people, the leaders of Israel have launched military operations on Hamas positions in Gaza. As a part of their strategy, Hamas terrorists often hide within the civilian population."

Source: |Arutz Sheva|, in EU Backs Israel's Ground Invasion, US Opposes 'One-Sided' Truce

I would like to end this post with a wish for God to protect the soldiers of Israel as they go in harm's way to protect the people of Israel.

Here is a prayer for the IDF stolen from David Bogner:

Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Force, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.

May Hashem cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighting men from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor. May He lead our enemies under their sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is Hashem, your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you. Now let us respond: Amen.

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Office Sports: Segway Skiing

Hat Tip: Jesus Diaz, in Gizmodo

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