Mid east

[ralphwiggum 6]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Bernadotte @ Nov. 13 2002,01:43)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Would you happen to be in Darrell Issa's district?  I don't know much about his politics.  Was there any other reason he might have been targetted besides his grandparents being Lebanese?<span id='postcolor'>

i doubt if there are any other. one of his targets was a lawyer(arab) who was known as human rights activist, AFAIK.

[E6Hotel 0]

I'm in his district but don't follow local politics, being a non-resident. If memory serves, it was a case of militants being militant; i.e. Jewish terrorists trying to jump-start the JDL by targeting Arab-Americans.

Just goes to show ya there are sphincters on all sides.

Semper Fi

[Badgerboy 0]

On a lighter note, this always makes me chuckle

Our Dumb Century

[Othin 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Badgerboy @ Nov. 12 2002,20:59)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">On a lighter note, this always makes me chuckle

Our Dumb Century<span id='postcolor'>

I love The Onion.  In the same vein, as what Badgerboy posted, Northern Irish, Serbs, Hutus Granted Homeland In West Bank

[Bernadotte 0]

I'd like you to meet Gary and Andrea Cooperberg.

The Cooperbergs wish to sell their apartment.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">It is a lovely apartment in which we raised our five children. If you are looking for a good place to live and raise your children, you cannot do better than Kiryat Arba. The schools here are the best in the country, because the teachers really care about the children.

The only reason we moved is because we fell in love with the new cottages being built at the entrance to Kiryat Arba. They are a bit expensive, but we have chosen to invest in our future here. We have no doubt that Kiryat Arba and Hebron will continue to develop into a major Jewish city in Israel.<span id='postcolor'>

Unfortunately, what Mr and Mrs Cooperberg refuse to accept is that Kiryat Arba and Hebron are not in Israel. And that nearly every nation (including the USA) regards their presence there as a breach of international law, eventhough their home was built with US taxpayer assistance.

EDIT:  Almost forgot to mention, those wishing to make tax deductible contributions to help the Cooperbergs and to enable them to continue there work in in the Palestinian territories can send their checks to:

Project Shofar, Inc.

P.O. Box 181191

Casselberry, FL 32718

Hmmm... isn't that a US address?

OK... time to reveal a BIG secret about how nearly anyone can make a small fortune.

Step 1:  Make the Aliya and become an Israeli citizen willing to live in a West Bank settlement.  (really not difficult)

Step 2:  Get a US taxpayer sponsored "resettlement" loan from the Israeli government to buy/build a home.

Step 3:  Wait until a comprehensive Middle East settlement is reached, in which settlers will be paid HUGE sums to give up there homes.  (Some have estimated the US taxpayer's contribution could be $200 Billion.)

Step 4:  Payoff the loan and score an enormous profit.

Thank you Uncle Sam.

[Badgerboy 0]

I'm already packing my bags....

So technically, if all the poor American families that can barely support themselves convert to the Jewish faith, they can move to Israel, and THEN get support from the US taxpayer!

Disturbing...

[Bernadotte 0]

You don't even have to be an American to qualify. Not long ago, during the financial crisis, the Israeli government was encouraging Argentinians to emigrate.

[Bernadotte 0]

Regarding Argentinians:

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Today, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor decided to award a special package of absorption benefits to immigrants from Argentina in a one-year directive, promulgated for the year 2002. This measure was undertaken due to the gravity of the situation in Argentina.

In the context of this operation, the Government will award each family approximately $20,000 in additional assistance for the acquisition of an apartment (two thirds as a loan and one third as a grant). The Jewish Agency, for its part, will award an initial absorption allocation of $2,500 per family.<span id='postcolor'>

Thank you Uncle Sam and all the hard working US citizens out there.

LOL

[theavonlady 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Bernadotte @ Nov. 18 2002,15:36)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Thank you Uncle Sam and all the hard working US citizens out there.<span id='postcolor'>

Little facts Bernadotte chooses to ignore.

[Bernadotte 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (theavonlady @ Nov. 18 2002,14:50)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Little facts Bernadotte chooses to ignore.<span id='postcolor'>

Loan guarantees?  I'm not talking about the billions in US loan guarantees, which indeed cannot be used in the Palestinian territories and which are not a burden to the US taxpayer.  I'm only referring to the $3 billion in aid which Israel gets each year directly from the US taxpayer and which your info source chooses to ignore.

Your source also chose to ignore the 1984 Cranston Amendment, which guarantees Israel annual economic aid not less than the amount Israel owes in annual debt interest and principal payments.  I guess that turns all those loan guarantees into a US taxpayer liability after all.

Thank's Uncle Sam.  

[Bernadotte 0]

By the way, did anyone happen to notice in the above announcement to the poor Argentinians, that Prime Minister Sharon is offering at least 20,000 dollars?

That's US dollars.

Not Argentine Pesos;

Not Israeli Shekels;

But American dollars.

Thanks Uncle Sam.

[PitViper 0]

umm.. that's simply a Jewish charity being run in the U.S. The only "taxpayers" paying for it are the ones who have voluntarily donated money to them (and then get it deducted from their taxable income as with all other charities in the U.S!.

[Bernadotte 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (PitViper @ Nov. 19 2002,17:52)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">umm.. that's simply a Jewish charity being run in the U.S. The only "taxpayers" paying for it are the ones who have voluntarily donated money to them (and then get it deducted from their taxable income as with all other charities in the U.S!.<span id='postcolor'>

Umm... what is?

If you are referring to the Cooperbergs' Project Shofar then you are correct, except that it is an Israeli charity being run with a US address to allow US tax deductible contributions.  Otherwise, I never said it was a burden to the US taxpayer.

If you are referring to Ariel Sharon's generous offer to the poor Argentinians then it is indeed paid by the Israeli government with the direct financial support of US taxpayers.

[Bernadotte 0]

Three weeks ago I asked...</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Bernadotte @ Oct. 28 2002,22:47)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">

Will Amram Mitzna be Israel's next Prime Minister?<span id='postcolor'>

Today he won the leadership of Israel's Labour Party.

He may not become Israel's PM this January, but he will get there some day.  He may even have a Nobel Peace Prize in his future... if he is not assassinated by a settler.

[Bernadotte 0]

Bernadotte's.....

Believe It or Not!

Iain Hook, a 54 year-old aid worker from Felixstowe Ferry in the UK, was shot in the abdomen as he emerged from his West Bank UN office trailer.  The IDF delayed an ambulance sent to his aid and eventually Mr Hook died enroute to hospital.  It is not known if the delay resulted in his death.

Palestinian medical officials said the bullets removed from Mr Hook's body were of the type used by Israeli soldiers.  The IDF denied using that type of ammo.

Latest version:

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Israel radio said Mr Hook was "hurrying out of the building, a mobile telephone in his hand, [and] a soldier thought it was an attempt to attack the soldiers".<span id='postcolor'>

Edit:  By the way, Mr Hook is survived by a wife and one son in the army, who is thought to be based in Colchester.

[bn880 5]

A Canadian woman of Irish descent was also wounded by an IDF soldier as she was in the middle of some dialogue with IDF forces. She reports that she was deliberately targeted. I will attempt to get a link to a full report...

Sorry, I don't have a link, looks like the media is being dumb again. Must be around somewhere, if anyone finds one please post it.

[Badgerboy 0]

It seems the IDF have a mandate to kill aid workers as well as stone throwing children now! (Don't the IDF teach their soldiers rules of engagement?).

And killing a foriegn national, working for the UN is bad enough, but there hasn't even been an official apology yet. If the IDF want to be taken serioulsy as a 'force for good', then their PR machine better get into action sharpish.

[Bernadotte 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Badgerboy @ Nov. 23 2002,18:17)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">If the IDF want to be taken serioulsy as a 'force for good', then their PR machine better get into action sharpish.<span id='postcolor'>

The UN shouldn't hold its breath waiting for an apology considering who the IDF has working in their PR department.

[Bernadotte 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (bn880 @ Nov. 23 2002,17:37)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">A Canadian woman of Irish descent was also wounded by an IDF soldier as she was in the middle of some dialogue with IDF forces.  She reports that she was deliberately targeted.   I will attempt to get a link to a full report...<span id='postcolor'>

Caoimhe Butterly being taken away with a gunshot wound to the foot.

She is a member of a peace activist group serving as human shields in the occupied territories.  They believe the IDF are more careful when there is a risk of causing non-Palestinian civilian casualties - not because they care more about non-Palestinians - but because the news media cares more about non-Palestinians.  I'm sure they are right, but she still doesn't get my pity. I'll tell you why.

I was in contact with her group until they started attracting the worst of the worst anti-globalist type hooligans.  I don't know if Caoimhe Butterly is a hooligan, but I do know that she refers to suicide bombings in Israel as military operations inside the borders of pre-1948 Palestine.  ...Dangerous rhetoric, if you ask me.

[brgnorway 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">The Israeli army (IDF) has acknowledged that its troops shot dead a British UN worker during an Israeli raid on a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jenin on Friday. <span id='postcolor'>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2507105.stm

But as always they are not realy to blame. Funny thing is that they are constantly claiming gunmen were present, something looked like a gun, the victims were used as human shields by the palestinians etc.

Maybe the IDF soldiers should go to an optician or at least have a course in ethics.

Point is they don't give a damn about who they hit. A friend of mine was in the norwegian UN-force on the border between Israel and Libanon. Who do you think shelled them with artillery fire every now and then when they got pissed about the UN-forces? They never respected the UN-forces!

[Bernadotte 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (brgnorway @ Nov. 24 2002,04:41)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">A friend of mine was in the norwegian UN-force on the border between Israel and Libanon. Who do you think shelled them with artillery fire every now and then when they got pissed about the UN-forces? They never respected the UN-forces!

<span id='postcolor'>

Was your friend there in April 1996, at the time of the Qana massacre?

Someone in a Norwegian UN unit happened to be near enough to video the IDF shelling of the UN base in Qana.  The IDF had claimed it was an accident, however the video revealed that an RPV and helicopter were flying overhead near enough to be guiding the shelling that killed over 100 civilians sheltering in the compound.

The official UN report drew the following conclusion:

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">While the possibility cannot be ruled out completely, it is unlikely that the shelling of the United Nations compound was the result of gross technical and/or procedural errors.<span id='postcolor'>

In other words, those civilians were probably murdered.

[brgnorway 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Bernadotte @ Nov. 24 2002,07:51)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (brgnorway @ Nov. 24 2002,04:41)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">A friend of mine was in the norwegian UN-force on the border between Israel and Libanon. Who do you think shelled them with artillery fire every now and then when they got pissed about the UN-forces? They never respected the UN-forces!

<span id='postcolor'>

Was your friend there in April 1996, at the time of the Qana massacre?

Someone in a Norwegian UN unit happened to be near enough to video the IDF shelling of the UN base in Qana.  The IDF had claimed it was an accident, however the video revealed that an RPV and helicopter were flying overhead near enough to be guiding the shelling that killed over 100 civilians sheltering in the compound.

The official UN report drew the following conclusion:

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">While the possibility cannot be ruled out completely, it is unlikely that the shelling of the United Nations compound was the result of gross technical and/or procedural errors.<span id='postcolor'>

In other words, those civilians were probably murdered. <span id='postcolor'>

No, I believe he was there in -91 or 92. Anyway, this happend quite often.

I do remember the the Qana incident though. The picture in the norwegian papers of a man holding his baby in his arms was sickening. The baby had lost half of his head. It was a terrible thing - I'll never forget such an image of horror!

[Bernadotte 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (brgnorway @ Nov. 24 2002,09:o2)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I do remember the the Qana incident though.<span id='postcolor'>

I really wonder how many Americans remember it.  After all, it happened only 6 years ago.

Considering that the USA has 65 times as many people as Lebanon, then 100 civilians murdered in Lebanon is comparable to 6,500 in America.  But we all know how many innocent American deaths it takes to get the entire world's attention.

[brgnorway 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Bernadotte @ Nov. 24 2002,18:26)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (brgnorway @ Nov. 24 2002,09:o2)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I do remember the the Qana incident though.<span id='postcolor'>

I really wonder how many Americans remember it.  After all, it happened only 6 years ago.

Considering that the USA has 65 times as many people as Lebanon, then 100 civilians murdered in Lebanon is comparable to 6,500 in America.  But we all know how many innocent American deaths it takes to get the entire world's attention.<span id='postcolor'>

Nah, the people of Qana were probably HARBOURING terrorists.

[Bernadotte 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (brgnorway @ Nov. 24 2002,20:38)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Nah, the people of Qana were probably HARBOURING terrorists.

<span id='postcolor'>

Some of them were indeed Hezbollah fighters who had shot rockets/mortars at an IDF patrol in Lebanon - some fired from very near the UN base.  Over 800 villagers, fearing an Israeli reprisal strike, fled to the UN base for safety.  Among them might have been 2 or 3 Hezbollah fighters.

That's when the Israelis shelled the UN compound.  The first 17 shells targeted some houses 100 meters away.  Sixteen of those were 155 mm HE with contact fuses (building killers).   The second 17 shells were centered on the middle of the base.  Nine of those had proximity fuses (people killers).  All proudly sponsored by US taxpayers.