7/21 Middle East Live Thread

Middle East Live Thread ^ | 7/21/06 | me

[BurbankKarl]

An Israeli soldier scouts the area near the Israel-Lebanon border, July 20, 2006.

[jhp]

i think Rice's announcement today will be a good indicator of where this thing is going. My bet is she will announce a plan in line with what Dennis Ross had to say this am on fox. The Arab world will put together some force or provide a lot of support to Lebanon in order for them to move en masse to protect the border, however with word coming out of a mobilization of the lebanese armed forces to ward off "israeli aggression" i don't see this working in the short term. I just don't see Rice sticking her neck out too far just yet if a peace deal isn't in the works. Keep up the good work Alegra over in Iraq and continue to let us know what you hear on the ground over there (if you can)

[NewConservTexan]

"17:13 Rice to lay out U.S. plans for diplomatic solution to Israeli-Hezbollah fighting Fri. (AP)"

Rice [putting on her old NSA hat] "Diplomatic solution is easy. Hezbollah disarm NOW. After that we can discuss the rest."

[Allegra]

He deserves our prayers, regardless...

I agree. And if you could keep Nisreen and Sarah in your prayers as well, I'd appreciate it.

They are the wife and two-year-old daughter of my buyer who is Lebanese. They are in Tripoli and she is due any day with their second daughter. They're OK for now.

Our Lebanese buyer greatly admires the U.S., (thinks Bush is great) hates Hezbollah and hates terrorism. We are very good friends.

[sarasota]

Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhhh

[sarasota]

How well trained are these guys and in what areas of combat?

[Allegra]

What do you think of the rumors that the army will side with Hezbolla if Lebanon is invaded by ground?

From what we're hearing from Lebanon, it sounds like that's how it's going to go.

[jhp]

that's the problem, its a major committment to mobilize a nation for war and often times there is no turning back once you do, and i think the tendency will be for more nations (particularly Syria) to mobilize, it a domino/waterfall effect

[sarasota]

I say, "Good" to that headline. Israel doesn't want one and neither does the US.

[Allegra]

How well trained are these guys and in what areas of combat?

I don't know, but I'll ask. If I hear anything useful, I'll post it out.

[AdmSmith]

For those of us that fall asleep while searching for news to post here, this is a message from Saudi to think about:

Don't Trade in Stocks While at Work, Grand Mufti Tells Workers
Arab News


JEDDAH, 21 July 2006 - Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh, who is also the head of the Kingdom's Ulema Council, called on office workers to pay attention to their work and stop dealing in stock market shares during their working hours, reported the Al-Madinah newspaper yesterday.

"Workers who are lazy or who sleep during office hours breach the trust they are assigned with," Sheikh Abdul Aziz said.

He added that it was this sort of dishonesty that led to people's prayers going unanswered.

"An employee is entrusted with fulfilling his work. Employees should fulfill the tasks they are assigned with and be punctual in coming to and leaving work as instructed by their bosses.

"Coming late and being negligent and lax, failing to pull your weight and not fulfilling the public needs are breaches of trust," said the grand mufti.

He said workers take their full salaries and therefore should work their full contracted hours regardless of whether their bosses are around or not.

"If SR10 is deducted from their salaries then a worker will protest and demand an explanation. Why don't employees give a thought to the time they wasted in sleeping at work?" said the Sheikh.

He added, "There is a time and a place for sleeping. Office hours are for working. It is a breach of trust for workers to spend their office hours selling and buying shares through the office Internet.

"Workers generally say they are in a meeting or doing some other important thing while they sit locked inside their offices dealing in shares."

Sheikh Abdul Aziz added that it was the duty of superior officers to ensure workers fulfill their duties properly. The grand mufti further stated that taking pay for time spent doing personal things is "haram" (religiously unlawful).

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=85698&d=21&m=7&y=2006

[Fitzcarraldo]

Here's the story associated with that picture:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/03/ap/world/mainD8I0FN000.shtml

Officials: TV Satire Riots Taint Lebanon TV satire riots damage Lebanon's reputation as most tolerant Arab nation, officials say

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jun. 3, 2006

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press Writer

(AP) The spoofing of Hezbollah's leader on a popular TV program shouldn't have sparked street protests, officials said Friday.

Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad pointed out that "A Nation's Smiles" was famous for poking fun at politicians of all stripes. "If everyone were to respond this way, then we would all be in the street," she said..."

[SE Mom]

Interesting piece on today's NRO about our dear friend and CLEAR THINKER Bibi- mind you he said this months ago:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDliYjYwM2MyZDJjNjRmMzNkYWEzODI0ODdjNWY0NzQ=

Our security problems are not about to go away with the withdrawal; they will only begin.”

The prophecies of Israel’s former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have come to fruition, and proponents of the Gaza Strip pullout have a lot to answer for.

Written off as a reactionary right-winger by those who think that militant Palestinian minds can be swayed from the goal of the destruction of Israel, one can take note today of why Netanyahu so fervently opposed Israel’s Gaza pullout — and why he was right to do so.

“Gaza will be transformed into a base for Islamic terrorism adjacent to the coast of the State of Israel,” Netanyahu told the Jerusalem Post days before the withdrawal.

[Allegra]

Wow..I bet that is one young man with some mixed feelings right about now. God Bless him.

Yes, I feel for him. The only reason my buyer's not being called up through the Embassy here is because he is an only son. (I am very grateful for that!)

[sageb1]

My first answer? That Muhammad suffered from a personality disorder? I think that is obvious and if you have ever lived with someone like that, you can be lucky to make it through with your own life still intact. BTW, my friend was a genius, IQ off the charts, spoke 12 languages, wrote both prose and poetry, composed music, had a photographic memory, knew computers inside and out, was an historian...in short, he was brilliant. But there were certain things that would trigger him and he'd go off the deep end. (His pantry was organized A-Z and he refused to watch Monk).

[debg]

UPDATE: Germany: Iran President Letter Unacceptable On Israel

BERLIN (AP)--Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made no mention of his country's nuclear program in a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but made statements about Israel and the Holocaust that are "not acceptable," the German government said Friday.

"The letter contains...no statements on the Iranian nuclear program" and also doesn't address the current fighting in Lebanon, Merkel's spokesman, Ulrich Wilhelm, told reporters. He said it was devoted largely to criticism of Israel and its right to exist.

"It contains many statements that are not acceptable to us, in particular about Israel, the state of Israel's right to exist and the Holocaust."

Wilhelm didn't elaborate on the contents and said the German government didn't plan to release the text.

Snipped from:
http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=27760⟨=fra&NewsRubrique=2

[sarasota]

Oh my goodness. As we learned with the cartoon freak-out, these people react with hate anytime they don't like what's being said or heard.