Here's my rule: remarks that generalise to the negative properties of "Arabs","Jews", "Israelis" or other all-encompassing groups will be regarded as trolling by me and I will rate them accordingly. Others may do as they wish. Specific insults to posters here will also be regarded as trolling and rated accordingly. Ok? Open debate, but no personal insults and no racial slanders: this topic starts out hot and gets hotter.

You don't like it? Complain to the management.

http://www.juancole.com/2006/07/is-arab-spring-turning-to-dust-under.html

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia

What does Olmert and Bush have in common? One: they sing in perfect harmony about the glory of Israel wrecking Lebanon. Two: they were both taught by Ariel Sharon.

An especially repulsive "news" publication, the New York Sun, has a revealing comment on Israel's latest war. Bush, it suggests, imbibed the wisdom of the now vegetative general:

One of the remarkable features of America's own relationship with Israel during the last five or so years is the bond that obtained between Messrs. Sharon and Bush. The future American president had gained his first tour of the battleground from the Israeli general. The younger leader was more than an apt student. When Mr. Bush gained the American presidency and the war struck our own shores, he began put establish [sic] certain principles [sic] -- we will take the war to our enemies so as to prevent it from coming to our shores -- that fit well with the lessons learned from Mr. Sharon. They [sic] are no doubt among the principles Israel will be operating on in the coming days.

With 55 civilian deaths in Lebanon and a threat of societal collapse, that is well underway. And what a success it proved in Iraq!

The New York Sun may be on to something. As Sharon, Bush's "man of peace," arrived at the White House in June 2001, Human Rights Watch called for investigation of his war crimes in Lebanon.

Is that how the subject came up? Bush may have expressed concern, and Sharon reassuringly patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, son. You can too! I will teach you."

: Hizbullah is showering North Israel with rockets and tens are wounded and dying. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Health Ministry has declared that 65 Lebanese have died and 195 are wounded.

Saudi Arabia's statement yesterday that what Hizbullah is doing is far from resistance might just be a green light to Israel to eliminate the party's military base. That's scary because we are entering the unknown, an unchartered territory.(The Lebanese Bloggers

That's quite a silly bit of news. Intel is so secret it can be anything. That's the beauty of it i guess.
I don't know whether Emptywheel'assessment that this means they want a fight with Iran is a good one, but I am nevertheless surprise they want to associate Iran, Hamas, Hezbollad with one another. In military terms, they are not identical, are they?

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/07/13/D8IR6J401.html

If this has already been posted elsewhere, sorry.

Rien n'est gratuit en ce bas monde. Tout s'expie, le bien comme le mal, se paie tot ou tard. Le bien c'est beaucoup plus cher, forcement. Celine

So the latest Israeli onslaught of Lebanon is in full swing, and with the Israelis need for the water of southern Lebanon, perhaps this occupation of Lebanon may last longer than the last one of 22 years. If indeed Syria gave the green light for Hezbollah to cross the UN line in southern Lebanon and launch their attack on Israeli soldiers where they detained two soldiers and killed another eight, they have effectively handed the Israeli war planners an excuse for all out war against Lebanon. In addition, the Hezbollah attack, if indeed supported by Syria, would give the U.S. the ability to give a green light to Israel to attack Syria. We wait, watch, and hope that the bombs don't begin to fall on Damascas.

A reported 15,000 people crossed the Lebanese border into Syria on Thursday, seeking refuge from widespread bombings in Beirut, carried out by Israeli F-16 warplanes. Today, the situation continued, with reports of bombed petrol stations, police stations, and a hospital.

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