Diary of the Mad Pigeon

The iRack!

For my newest readers, no, I'm not against the war in Iraq; rather, I'm against how it was initially planned and prosecuted (too much optimism, too few troops, too little cultural understanding, not enough cowbell, etc...).

That said... I gotta admit I thought this was funny...

Flexibility is the key to...what?

This is downright diabolical. I mean, using retarded women as unknowing, human smart bombs is wrong, and offends us, but the bad guys are pretty smart. The bombers didn't really know what was going to happen, and people already considered them a non-threatening part of the landscape. The fact that the targets in question were pet markets is additionally cruel, but you gotta imagine the anti-insurgent propaganda possibilities: "They use retarded women as bombs...against markets full of people and puppies (ok, birds)."

There was also a whole load of dead pigeons lying around after the attack.

Then again, we could all just sit back and watch dog-riding rodeo monkeys.

Godwin's law and Palestine

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Mohammad Amin al-Husayni was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem during the height of the Third Reich, and collaborated closely with the Nazi regime on an issue of mutual interest: the extermination of the Jews. He was particularly involved with Nazi operations in the Balkans, where Muslims from Bosnia and Serbia were actively recruited for the Waffen SS.

As a matter of interest, the Grand Mufti was also a cousin of Yasser Arafat, whose real name was Abd al-Rahman abd al-Bauf Arafat al-Qud al-Husayni. Arafat later shortened it for public consumption, in order to conceal his kinship with the old Nazi collaborator. However, he continued to revere his relative, referring to him privately as “my uncle”.

Granted, the sources are much in disagreement as to whether Arafat was an actual blood relation of the Grand Mufti or not, but there you go, one such source notes, Arafat may have been a counsin or nephew of the Grand Mufti, or merely refered to him as an "uncle" in the patriarchal social ties cultural sense (hey if my godson can call me "uncle" though we're not blood relations, or I can call close friends "cousin" this is something that makes perfect sense to me...)

So much for the Godwin's Law violation of a few days ago....if were going to talk about or even talk around Nazis, then let's at least talk about some real ones....

Palestine's history of bad leadership extends back much further than 40 years...

More Notes on Palestine

Remember the video I posted called , "The Wall?"  Well, check this [PIGEONED] out...

Israeli 'Economic Warfare' to Include Electricity Cuts in Gaza
Washington Post:  Saying they were waging "economic warfare" against the Gaza Strip's Hamas leaders, Israeli officials told the Supreme Court on Sunday that the military intends to start cutting electricity to the Palestinian territory and continue restricting fuel. The statements by Israel's state attorney, outlining Defense Ministry plans, came in response to a lawsuit filed by Israeli and Palestinian rights groups.

The organizations are asking the Supreme Court to make Israel end fuel restrictions that caused power blackouts in the Gaza Strip this month. The activists argue that the restrictions constitute collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5 million people and violate international law.   

The United Nations said the fuel cuts deprived about 40 percent of Gaza's people of running water and compelled Gaza to dump untreated sewage into the Mediterranean. Hospitals relied on generators.   CONTINUED

Hamas helps Egypt tighten Gaza border
CNN:  Egyptian and Hamas security forces began sealing parts of the Gaza-Egypt border Monday to stem the flow of Palestinians into Egypt, which has dropped off since last week's border breach.  The security forces erected barbed wire barriers and constructed metal fences along extensive stretches of the 4-foot-wide wall that separates Egypt and Gaza.  More Hamas security personnel manned the border area on Monday than last week. They took a more active role in policing the flow of traffic.

Thousands of Palestinians continued to cross into Egypt through other areas of the damaged border walls, but in much lower numbers than last week, when the border was overrun by tens of thousands of Gazans.  Palestinian militants, acting with the approval of the Hamas leadership, blasted through parts of the wall Wednesday. That allowed tens of thousands of Palestinians to flood into Egypt for supplies and medical attention unavailable inside Gaza because of Israel's clampdown on its borders.  CONTINUED

Abbas, Hamas seek upper hand in Gaza border dispute
Reuters:  The European Union on Monday raised the possibility of sending its monitors back to Gaza's breached border with Egypt and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sought to rally Western support to sideline Hamas.

However, any such redeployment of EU border monitors seemed remote for the time being, as Hamas fighters cooperated with Egyptian forces to patch up the frontier barrier the Islamists blasted open last week to puncture an embargo tightened by Israel in response to rockets fired from the Hamas-run enclave.

Hamas's action at Rafah let hundreds of thousands of Palestinians pour into Egypt to stock up on supplies -- a coup for the Islamists in a factional struggle with Abbas that saw them seize control of Gaza in June, prompting the virtual sealing off of 1.5 million people and departure of EU monitors.

The European Union, along with other international powers, has voiced concern about the welfare of people in Gaza under the Israeli-led blockade and the European Union on Monday agreed to consider renewing the mission to oversee traffic.  CONTINUED 

Furthermore:

Antitool writes:  The Palestinians have no-one to blame but themselves. They had their chance--many chances, in fact, and squandered every one of them.  On a trans-state level, sympathy doesn't count for beans. The tired old victim card just doesn't do it for me.

Amal Retorts:  So what you are saying is that because of some serious radicals, a whole population deserves collective punishment?  Hmmm, sound like anyone in history I know?

Antitool returns:  No, I'm saying that this is the result of 40 years of bad leadership.

Look at what the Jordanians--most of whom are Palestinan emigrants--did in that time. Jordan is an example of great progress in rather non-cooperative conditions. Compare that to the rampant corruption in the governments of Arafat and Abu Mazen. Look at the rejection of the 1998 peace plan by Arafat, for no good reason. Consider the frankly ridiculous refugee status established for the Palestinians in the UN. It's the first time in history that descendants of refugees can also claim a protected status. Note the completely irrational demands of the PLO, the connection of Fatah, Black September, and modern counterparts.

Can you honestly say that the Palestinians have acted in a rational fashion here, that they've made a good-faith effort to improve their lot and hold themselves/their leaders accountable?

Nice bait. Your observations remind me of the Romans, who, like the Israelis and any other state actor in history, behaved anarchically to defend their own interests. Does that sound like anyone you know? Perhaps Andrew Jackson, or Theodore Roosevelt?   

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I agree with both Antitool and Amal.

First, I fully understand Israel's lack of strategic depth means Jerusalem can't depend on defensive doctrine.  It's easy to conclude Israel is prosecuting heavy-handed tactics on Palestine as a whole when our neighborhoods aren't within mortar range.

That said, continuous offensive action does not create the conditions for peace:  I'd be angry, too, if I were a young moderate Palestinian who couldn't find work, put food on the table, or drink sanitary water.  In fact, I've written before that Israel needs Palestine.  The most peaceful years between the two was--not surprisingly--when the walls were down and they had a joint economic engine.  Prosperity begets peace. 

But the Palestinians aren't doing themselves any favors, and as Amal said it's the bad apples causing problems for the rest of the crowd.  Palestine will never get her act together if they remain split politically down the middle between pragmatic and unyielding.

Unfortunately, it's Hamas who's getting the grassroots and overseas support.  The above-mentioned moderate Palestinian--the one without a job and nothing to lose--is likely to view Hamas as the political wing that's actively doing something.  And sticking with that train of thought, if Abbas can't maintain harmony between the Palestinian territories, then what good is he?

A long-winded means of saying both sides should be slapped around for failure to come to the negotiating table, let alone without some concrete olive branches. 

But how do you help parties who bring non-negotiables to the negotiating table?  If I could figure that out, I'd be a shoe-in for the Nobel.

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Trackposted to third world county, DragonLady's World, Adam's Blog, Right Truth, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, A Newt One, Adeline and Hazel, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Middle East Mediation

USA Today:  Bringing peace to the Middle East has been a goal of every president since Harry Truman. Some, like Jimmy Carter, made significant gains. Others, like Bill Clinton, had fleeting successes but ultimately failed to achieve a lasting settlement. Now President Bush is plunging in with a final-year-in-office bid to broker a deal in which Palestinians and Israelis would live side by side in separate states.

The hard truth about what's needed has been clear for years. The core problems include how to guarantee Israel's security; how to divide Jerusalem, which both sides claim as their capital; how to compensate Palestinian refugees who were forced from their homes; and how to create a unified Palestinian state.  CONTINUED

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All the handshakes, shuttle diplomacy, boiler room politics, carrots and sticks, promises, and thinly veiled threats mean nothing if they only involve the senior policymakers:  just ask Yitzhak Rabin how individual citizens can react if they don't agree with a policy.

No, I'm not saying everyone has to join hands and exchange hugs for peace to work, but you need to start at the grassroots level.  Nose out what the different neighborhoods want, put your thumb on the pulse of local political players, get the word on the street.  That's the kind of efforts paying off in Iraq:  when the people feel like we're listening to them, not to just the whims of distant functionaries.

Sure, individuals might like the idea of a separate state, but odds are they want jobs first, with good schools, medical care and infrastructure.  Both sides need opportunity, not some vague slaps on the back at Camp David.

2007 Year in Review

From JibJab.com.  It's funny... becuase it's sooo true!

http://www.jibjab.com/sendables/274/in_2007

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Short Notes on Bhutto

BBC:  Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has ordered firm action to crack down on unrest following the death of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.  Mr Musharraf said looters "must be dealt with firmly and all measures be taken to ensure [the] safety and security of the people".  Some 38 people have died in violence that has broken out since Ms Bhutto was assassinated on Thursday.

Meanwhile, her party has rejected the government's explanation of her death.  A government spokesman said her head was slammed against her vehicle by the force of a bomb - but colleagues said she died from bullet wounds.  CONTINUED

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Man, what a week to pick for a holiday!

In fact, I was further caught off guard when I learned about the assassination hours after the fact.  The Hummingbird and I went to dinner with my brother Winter and his new wife C-Chan, and he asked me over a beer, "so, what do you think of Bhutto?"

I replied, "eh... well-educated, but with the sickly sweet smell of corruption?"

Winter made a surprised face, "no... I mean about her assassination?"

I returned, "her assassination?  Meh, I think Musharraf's going to get waxed first."

"But she was assassinated today!  Didn't you know?"

I think MOGS and Antitool will agree that there's nothing worse that can happen to an analyst than not knowing about a major geopolitical event.  I grabbed my arm rests and extolled, "what!  Today?  And I didn't know about it!?  I... I am ashamed" (Yes, said just like Jacques the Shrimp in Finding Nemo).

But in truth, I agree with most of the analysis I've seen so far across the wires.  I'm still surprised it was her before Musharraf, but I'm not surprised she was killed.

Hopefully she understood the risks when she stuck her head outside her bulletproof car.

On one hand it's a damn tragedy, especially when you roll in the entire up and down tapestry of the Bhutto family.  But on the other... wasn't she removed from office twice for corruption?  Of course, I'd take her on office over Nawaz Sharif any day, but in martyrdom I think people are forgetting her "other" legacy.

Regardless, we still have a nuclear power in flames this evening, which I suppose overshadows Mrs. Bhutto's late strengths and shortcomings. 

I'll be curious to see how her son and husband step up over the next few days.

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Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Is It Just Me?, Rosemary's Thoughts, Right Truth, Adam's Blog, The World According to Carl, Shadowscope, Stuck On Stupid, The Pink Flamingo, Cao's Blog, and Big Dog's Weblog, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Holy PR disaster, Batman!

As if shooting Iraqi civilians wasn't enough. Like I've said before, Blackwater sucks.

Death threats can actually be kinda funny...

Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs has recently received what has to be the funniest death threat I've ever seen (yes, funny death threats do exist, usually the perp's lack of command regarding the English language is the source of the humor)

We Got Mail!

Mon, Dec 17, 2007 at 11:42:18 am PST

Here’s one of those emails that’s so insane I suspected it was a hoax; but the IP address traces to the Arabian peninsula state of Oman, so it’s probably the real deal. Our admirer found us by searching Google for “lgf,” then used our contact form with a Yahoo return address and the subject line, “How dare you inflame the Al-Muslimoon”...

Allah Willing, thetime will come when flashes of fire will burn your belly to ash, your wife(your yahoodi whore) shall be a slave for the pleasure of the Al-Muslimoon. Inshallah, I will find yuo and killed you SOMEDAY YOU KUFFAR PIG, YOU SON OF THE APES AND THE SWINE ALLAH TA’ALLA SHALL ROAST YOUR ORGANS FOR THE PLEASURE OF THE MUSLIMS YOU SCUM FILTHEIR THNA THE COCKROACH, YOU K A F I R

Reminds me more of what you tend to see in the comments of You Tube and various left-tard websites, but there you go...

Speaking of You Tube, I remember what the raging wackjob reminded me of...SILENCE!!! I keel you!

Photo for a Generation

And generations upon generations.  We ain't out of the woods yet, might not ever be (such is hegemon), but to those who think it's all over and we lost, I don't think the fat lady's sung yet.  Of course, I doubt anything at this point is going to sway those who made up their minds from the word "go", but more importantly, here's a photo and a story from the right man at the right place and the right time:

A Muslim man had invited the American soldiers from “Chosen” Company 2-12 Infantry to the church, where I videotaped as Muslims and Christians worked and rejoiced at the reopening of St John’s, an occasion all viewed as a sign of hope.

The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. ” Thank you, thank you,” the people were saying. One man said, “Thank you for peace.” Another man, a Muslim, said “All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother.” The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers. (Videotape to follow.)

Mike Yon, keep it up bro.