One third of Israelis "Strictly observant."

It may be bad for Middle East peace but it's great for the Rabbi business, a recent survey claims 80 % of Israelis say they observe "religious traditions."

CNN - Hamas founder sets Israel truce terms - October 7, 1997

Israel calls offer 'a positive change'
October 7, 1997
Web posted at: 10:43 a.m. EDT (1443 GMT) In this story:

* Offer to end suicide bombings
* Palestinian-Israeli peace talks resume
* Related stories and sites

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (CNN) -- Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of the Islamic fundamentalist movement Hamas, said Tuesday he would forge a truce with Israel that would end suicide bombings if Israel withdrew completely from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and removed all of its Jewish settlements.

"If Israel withdraws completely from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and it removes all of its settlements, I will make a truce with it. You have my word for it," he said.

David Bar-Illan, a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the peace overture was "a positive change" despite the "unacceptable conditions."

In the past, militants within Hamas have never indicated a willingness to negotiate. Instead, they have spoken of a "holy war" to establish an Islamic state in all of what is now Israel. more

Are suicide bombers kamikazes?

By Marylou Barry

Japan's former ambassador to Lebanon, Naoto Amaki, had a telling conversation with Hezbollah's Sheik Hassan Nasrallah shortly following al-Qaida's September 2001 attack on America.

"He told me, 'We learned how to do suicide missions from the kamikazes,'" Amaki recounted. "Nasrallah said the Shiites all commend the Japanese 'samurai spirit.'" But the ambassador rejected Nasrallah's twisted tribute.

Are shahids kamikazes? No way, say the real kamikazes. Now octogenarian veterans, Japanese kamikaze survivors deeply resent being compared to terrorists and don't hesitate to explain why. more

Hamas: Ceasefire for return to 1967 border - Israel News, Ynetnews

Come on, how can ya not love a jihadi with a comb over? more

Mashaal okays state with 1967 borders | Jerusalem Post

Hamas politburo leader Khaled Mashaal reiterated Wednesday that his group would not recognize Israel. In an interview published Thursday in the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat and cited by Maariv, Mashaal said he was willing to accept a Palestinian state within 1967 borders, as well as a hudna [truce] with Israel but not to recognize the "occupation." More

Greenpeace Strippers Disrupt Peres

Protestors led away from conference on nuclear Middle East at Tel Aviv University

Greenpeace activists who arrived Thursday morning at a conference on the nuclear issue at Tel Aviv University stripped in protest a few moments before the start of a speech by President Shimon Peres.

The protestors carried leaflets bearing the messages "strip the Middle East of nuclear programs" and "a new Middle East = clean from nuclear programs." They were briskly removed from the hall by security guards. more

World Court Rules Israel's Wall Illegal

Oh yeah, I forgot, it's a "barrier."

Ron Paul v Mike Huckabee on Iraq

Iraq Credits Iran for Helping to Curb Attacks by Militias - New York Times

No, it can't be - Iraq Credits Iran for Helping to Curb Attacks by Militias - New York Times

FOX News Porn

How can you not love FOX News Porn?

Articles of Impeachment against VP Richard Bruce Cheney

Taliban stronghold, 7 November 2007

The Green Bomb

Russia test world's most powerful non-nuclear weapon.



MOSCOW - The Russian military has successfully tested what it described as the world’s most powerful non-nuclear air-delivered bomb, Russia’s state television reported Tuesday.

It was the latest show of Russia’s military muscle amid chilly relations with the United States.

Channel One television said the new weapon, nicknamed the “dad of all bombs,” is four times more powerful than the U.S. “mother of all bombs.” More