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POPSNBC Olympics Web Site Awards West Bank to “Palestine”
Today's Reuters story about Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's peace offer to the Palestinians gets wrong the basic history of Palestine. Under the proposal, Israel would return to the Palestinians some 92.7 percent of the occupied West Bank, plus all of the Gaza Strip In fact, it is impossible to "return" West Bank land to the Palestinians, as they never were the sovereigns of this territory. http://blog.camera.org/archives/2008/08/updated_reuters_rewrites_ruler.html Before 1967, when the West Bank came into Israeli hands, the territory was ruled (and annexed) by Jordan. Prior to that, it was under British rule. Before that, it was Ottoman territory. The Egyptians ruled for some time, as did the Mamluks, the Crusaders, Arab Caliphs, and a number of other ancient empires. But the Palestinians are not on this list. So while the West Bank could technically "return" to Jordanian or British sovereignty, it could not, however, return to Palestinian sovereignty.
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POPSSaudi Arabia bans sale of dogs, cats in capital This reminds me of the old joke, "Why do Baptists disapprove of sex? It could lead to dancing." This is an example of religious governance leading to interference in what should be totally secular areas of life. Of course we in the west pamper and coddle our pets, and often react with revulsion at the notion that there are places in the world where dogs are food animals. It's slightly more understandable in the case of dogs, because Islam considers them unclean, but that doesn't explain the ban on cats as well. The story about the Chinese emperor who cut the sleeve from a priceless robe rather than disturb his sleeping kitten has also been told about Mohammed. The article also fails to explain why the law applies only to men. If they realized that by allowing women to own pets, they have a privelege men don't, the entire fabric of Saudi society could come unraveled.
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POPSFour Points for Israel Excellent synopsis of Arab antipathy and hypocrisy, with links and references to further articles. Israel is now 60, and the arabs are still assholes.
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POPSAn Israeli in Kosovo Lots of Kosovar Albanians confirmed what Caspi is saying. “Kosovars used to identify with the Palestinians because we Albanians are Muslims and Christians and we saw Serbia and Israel both as usurpers of land," a prominent Kosovar recent told journalist Stephen Schwartz. "Then we looked at a map and woke up. Israelis have a population of six million, their backs to the sea, and 300 million Arab enemies. Albanians have a total population of eight million, our backs to the sea, and 200 million Slav enemies. So why should we identify with the Arabs?” “Israelis are okay,” said a waiter named Afrim Kostrati at a cafe named Tirana. “The conflict is not our problem. We are Muslims, but not really. We have respect for Israelis because of the U.S. I have good friends from there.” Good article by Michael Totten.
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POPSDr. Zack Overlooked as Anthrax Suspect This article is worth reading in its entirety. While dated 2002, it may have well been written yesterday, substituting the "suicided" suspect for what back then was Hatfill. The facts are relevant and suggestive. Dr. Zack seems to fit the profile of motive, means, and opportunity (access) , upon reading, then the now deceased. He is also a dual Israeli citizen with an obvious prejudice and gripe against Arabs, even if American citizens with whom he worked. Do not miss the anonymous letter to the FBI that called his Arab co-worker a "bioterrorist", which the FBI considered a hoax after investigation, and how close that sounds to the Anthrax hoax letters that said "Allah is great".
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POPSFrom Fallujah To Diyala, The Target Has Shifted As I have recently mentioned, many of the Sunni Awakening groups are holding out for more money, and threatening to rejoin the ranks of their previous insurgent groups, including AQI and the 1920's Revolutionary Brigade. Our own Alex Horton wrote an insightful post about this here. http://armyofdude.blogspot.com/2008/07/enemies-with-benefits.html It seems now that this unrest may be a sign of more to come in Diyala. The province is predominantly Arab Sunni but sizeable communities of Sunni Kurds and Arab and Kurdish Shiites live there.
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POPSDemocrat House "Apologizes" for Slavery This is but another stupid liberal attempt to pander to blacks for their vote this November. The trouble is, the United States Government had nothing to do with "forcing Africans into slavery". In fact it was Arab slave traders who did that. And it was the United States government who went to war to abolish slavery. This government doesn't owe negros an apology. It is the negros who owe gratitude to the United States for the bounty and opportunity afforded them. Another proof that liberals are unfit to run our magnificent country.
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POPSCultural Dubai Friday is the holy day in Islam, but it’s the day of drunk partying and sexual debauchery for Westerners. And there is almost no cultural integration between the locals and the foreigners. Compounded by all this is the fact that Dubai is a hereditary monarchy with no parliament. Ordinary people have no way for their voice to be heard except in the streets and mosques were fury is reportedly growing. A terrorist attack could be carried out by a disgruntled local—but not necessarily. Dubai’s high regional profile makes it a likely target for Al Qaeda, which now seems incapable of launching an attack in the West, and who could see Dubai as an easy chance to kill some infidels. Moreover, since Dubai is the Middle East’s cosmopolitan melting pot, and its experiment with Islamic capitalism could become the blueprint for surrounding Arab states, its failure would have dire consequences for the entire region.
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POPSIs Syrian President Assad Bluffing? something his country has always refused since it considered that Lebanon is just a Syrian province. This was a huge condition for the French who see it a pledge given by Damascus to Lebanese sovereignty. Fifth, Syria has, according to Arab sources, made a big "summer housecleaning" by eliminating dozens of prisoners at the Sidnaya prison. Among them, two leaders of Jund al-Sham, the Islamist organization linked to Syrian services. Sixth, according to the Kuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah, Syria also asked Hamas leaders based in Damascus to leave the Syrian territory. The latter could move into the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Hezbollah stronghold. Seventh, Syria is allegedly trying to break up Hezbollah. Al-Seyassah believes that Syria has resumed its contacts with the former secretary general of Hezbollah and one of its co-founders, Sobhi Toufaili. Syria wants to strengthen Toufaili's faction to weaken Hassan Nasrallah and divide the party.
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POPSAnagram Genius I tested my name and its' anagram was "A smug anarchism" so I decided to anagram that and got 'Amusing as charm.' ' Barrack Obama' anagrams to 'Amok crab Arab.' Ron Paul to "Our Plan". And 'John McCain' anagrams to 'Chic 'n' on jam.' Take it for what you will! lol.