Inside Israel's Secret Talks with Hamas - TIME

Having secured the release of kidnapped BBC correspondent Alan Johnston on July 4th, Hamas officials are now moving discreetly to negotiate freedom for another Gaza hostage — Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit, seized in June 2006 in a raid by Palestinian militants who had tunneled under the Israeli security wall around Gaza, is currently being held by kidnappers who include members of Hamas' own military wing, as well another radical group, the Popular Resistance Committees.

An investigation by TIME reveals a marked contrast in how the Israelis and Hamas view their complicated on-again, off-again negotiations over Shalit's release. The disconnect arises partially out of Israel's refusal to deal directly with Hamas, which they consider a terrorist organization. While some informed Israelis say they are 'optimistic' that Shalit will be free 'within weeks,' Hamas officials are far more cautious — one offered the glum assessment that bargaining could drag on for another year." (more)

'Hamas army' established in Gaza, intelligence source says - Israel News, Ynetnews

"Southern Command intelligence officer tells Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi that Hamas' military industry is being run in organized manner and developing in many areas. 'Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are controlled in Strip by Hamas army,' he says

Hamas' military industry is giving serial production numbers to the roadside charges and Qassam rockets it manufactures, a senior intelligence officer in the Southern Command told Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi during his visit to the rocket-battered town of Sderot on Monday.

According to the officer, intelligence sources believe that a real 'Hamas army' exists in the Gaza Strip and includes between 7,000 and 10,000 soldiers, who are being armed continuously with weapons smuggled through the Philadelphi route." (more)

Fragments from Floyd, Virginia: America's Roadside Bloomery

"America's Roadside Bloomery Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

I had a thought after I posted this image of Black Eyed Susans (and other flowers) taken yesterday on a Floyd County roadside. Here it is:

It would be neat for contributors from all over the country to offer their images to an aggregate gallery called Unplanted Gardens: America's Roadside Bloomery.

All images would include in their composition a road of some kind, just to place it, and then the wildflowers that grow there unplanted. Hiway department wildflower beds don't count.

Each image should be 72 dpi, max size of 800 pixels on the largest side. Information should minimally include the location, if possible some ID on the flowers, and any other pertinent or interesting information." (more):

Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq - Los Angeles Times

The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, newly released figures show, raising fresh questions about the privatization of the war effort and the government's capacity to carry out military and rebuilding campaigns.

More than 180,000 civilians — including Americans, foreigners and Iraqis — are working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to State and Defense department figures obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Including the recent troop buildup, 160,000 soldiers and a few thousand civilian government employees are stationed in Iraq.

The total number of private contractors, far higher than previously reported, shows how heavily the Bush administration has relied on corporations to carry out the occupation of Iraq — a mission criticized as being undermanned.

"These numbers are big," said Peter Singer, a Brookings Institution scholar who has written on military contracting. "They illustrate better than anything that we went in without enough troops. This is not the coalition of the willing. It's the coalition of the billing." (more)

Douglas Rushkoff on Judaism

IraqSlogger: Tribes Stockpile Weapons, Driving up Prices

Tribes in western Iraq, and in and around Anbar province specifically, have begun stockpiling different sorts of weapons, driving up the prices of weapons in the Iraqi market, al-Malaf Press reports in Arabic.

The agency writes that the alleged tribal buildup focuses on Kalashnikov rifles, in addition to other types of light and medium weapons such as mortar shells and launchers, PKCs and others.

Because the tribal arms buildup has reached unprecedented levels, the prices of arms have spiked to new highs in the area, al-Melaf Press reports.

One Kalashnikov in Anbar province goes for 750,000 Iraqi dinars (ID), while earlier an AK rifle could be had in Anbar province for less than 400,000 ID." (more)

More US Contractors Than US Troops In Iraq

The Big US Newspapers Finally Wake Up And Discover America's Private Army
By ROBERT Y. PELTON 07/04/2007 12:15 PM ET

Peruvian security contractors doze off beneath an American flag as they wait for helicopter transport in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, 19 February, 2006.


As predicted in Slogger, the print media pile-on on military contractors is in full swing. The latest big daily to weigh in is the Los Angeles Times with T. Christian Miller's revelation that there are now more contractors than soldiers in Iraq.

Miller had to use FOIA’s to pull some of the numbers but even then, some large companies are still off the radar and official sources differ drastically on the actual count. It’s an article designed to promote more questions than answers among readers as the public begins to ask, “Who are those guys?” (more)

Ayman Sez: 3rd Interview

"I give the good news to ... all the world’s oppressed... that a new dawn is about to rise... over a mankind liberated from the Caesars of the White House, Europe and the Zionists."

America threatened by violent lesbian gangs! - FoxNews

The Evening Bulletin - U.S. Supplies More Weapons To Abbas

The Evening Bulletin - U.S. Supplies More Weapons To Abbas

Olmert considering transfer of military equipment to Fatah - Israel News, Ynetnews

Olmert considering transfer of military equipment to Fatah - Israel News, Ynetnews

Hamas seizes US weapons - Israel News, Ynetnews

Hamas seizes US weapons - Israel News, Ynetnews

Abbas: "Raise Rifles Against the Israeli Occupation" - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Arutz Sheva

Abbas: "Raise Rifles Against the Israeli Occupation" - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Arutz Sheva

In Mauritania, Seeking to End an Overfed Ideal - New York Times

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania — At the Olympic Sports Stadium here, a collection of dun-colored buildings rising mirage-like from the vast Sahara, about a dozen women clad in tennis shoes and sandals circled the grandstands one evening in late June, puffing with each step.

Between pants came brief explanations for their labors. “Because I am fat,” said one, a dark-eyed 34-year-old close to 200 pounds. Another, a 30-year-old in bright pink sneakers, said, “For myself, for my health and to be skinny.” It is a typically Western after-work scene. But this is the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the mirror opposite of the West on questions of women’s weight. To men here, fat is sexy. And in this patriarchal region, many Mauritanian women do everything possible — and have everything possible done to them — to put on pounds. (more)

For African-Americans, folly of this war hits home - The Boston Globe

By Derrick Z. Jackson, Globe Columnist | May 9, 2007

MILITARY SOCIOLOGIST David R. Segal was asked Monday over the telephone what he hears in his surveys of soldiers. He quoted an African-American veteran of the Iraq invasion and occupation: "This is not a black people's war. This is not a poor people's war. This is an oilman's war."

Gregory Black, a retired Navy diver who last year started the website BlackMilitaryWorld.com, said that quote sums up what he too hears from African-American veterans of Iraq.

"African-Americans detest this war," Black said yesterday in a phone interview. "Everybody kind of knows the truth behind this war. It's a cash cow for the military defense industry, when you look at the money these contractors are making. African-Americans saw this at the beginning of the war and now the rest of the country has figured it out. It's not benefiting us in the least."(more)

ABC News: No Men Allowed: All-Female Beach Opens

On the Italian Adriatic coast, where romance reigns and beachcombers bask in the sun, the notorious Latin lover looks for his prey and he hunts his conquest with chat-up lines. The women are fed up.

"We run away from Italian men," said Tiziana Andreoletti. "They're such a drag."

And it happens all the time. Boy meets girl and boy annoys girl. So, the Italians have enacted an interesting solution to this problem. They have created a beach strictly for women. No men, children or loud disco music are allowed. (more)

Ayman Sez:

Gayest soccer ref

Everybody Loves Mahmoud

Isn't that Iraqi president Jilal Talibani palling around with Iranian president Ahmadinejad.

Chavez visits Iran again, hope is still alive.

In West Bank, Hamas Is Silent but Never Ignored - New York Times

In West Bank, Hamas Is Silent but Never Ignored

A crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank has led to concerns that all religious activities and institutions like this soup kitchen in Hebron will face higher scrutiny and more difficulties.

HAWARA, West Bank, June 26 — A new code was born here overnight. No one, it seems, belongs to Hamas in the West Bank anymore. Everyone now is an “Islamist,” a word that neatly, and maybe more safely, shears the religious from party affiliation amid the uncertainty of a Palestinian people newly divided.

“I don’t want to spend my life in jail!” a 35-year-old restaurant owner said, refusing to give his name after expressing pro-Hamas sentiments in an interview here.

Hamas, shrewd as it is deadly, has gone to ground in the West Bank, which is controlled now by its secular rival Fatah and supported by the United States, Europe and Israel as the territory with the only workable Palestinian government. more

Jennifer Loewenstein: The Triumph of US / Israeli Policy in Palestine

Jennifer Loewenstein: The Triumph of US / Israeli Policy in Palestine

IraqSlogger: Iraqi Insurgent Media: Strengths, Weaknesses

WASHINGTON (RFE/RL) -- The greatest strengths of the Iraqi Sunni-based insurgency's media strategy -- decentralization and flexibility -- are also its greatest weaknesses, according to a report released by RFE/RL.

The book-length report, "Iraqi Insurgent Media: The War Of Images And Ideas" by RFE/RL regional analysts Daniel Kimmage and Kathleen Ridolfo, provides an in-depth analysis of the media efforts of Sunni insurgents, who are responsible for the majority of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq.

Kimmage and Ridolfo argue that the loss of coordination and message control that results from decentralization have revealed fundamental disagreements about Iraq's present and future between nationalist and global jihadist groups in Iraq and that these disagreements are ripe for exploitation by those interested in a liberal and democratic Iraq. (more)

CBC News: On the Map with Avi Lewis - Gaza Underground Economy

CBC News: On the Map with Avi Lewis - Gaza Underground Economy

The Prison Poets Of Guantanamo

The Prison Poets Of Guantanamo Find a Publisher - WSJ.com

Hamas acted on a very real fear of a US-sponsored coup Guardian Unlimited

Hamas acted on a very real fear of a US-sponsored coup | Israel and the Middle East | Guardian Unlimited

Washington's fingerprints are all over the chaos that has hit Palestinians. The last thing they now need is an envoy called Blair

Jonathan Steele
Friday June 22, 2007
The Guardian

Did they jump or were they pushed? Was Hamas's seizure of Fatah security offices in Gaza unprovoked, or a pre-emptive strike to forestall a coup by Fatah? After last week's turmoil, it becomes increasingly important to uncover its origins. more...

What Hamas Wants - New York Times

What Hamas Wants - New York Times

Mike Gravel's Viral Video - Current TV

I do love uncle Mike, and I'm starting to really love CurrentTV.

Fidel's Last Victory - Current TV

This is a wonderful ten-minute doc that listens to apperantly common Cubans talking about how their country. The film maker does not seem to have any agenda and what the people say has, to my mind at least the ring of truth. Certainly worthwhile video.

Sharon Goes Native

Sharon shops for Islamic clothes in Ramallah, the capital of Palestine.

IraqSlogger: Photo of the Day: Little Sadrist Angel Boy

IraqSlogger: Photo of the Day: Little Sadrist Angel Boy

Danger Room - Wired Blogs

Wired Blogs

Robo-Snipers, "Auto Kill Zones" to Protect Israeli Borders
By Noah Shachtman EmailJune 04, 2007 | 12:04:55 PMCategories: Guns, Sabras

For years and years, the Israeli military has been trying to figure out a way to keep Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip from crossing over into Israel proper. The latest tactic: create a set of "automated kill zones" by networking together remote-controlled machine guns, ground sensors, and drones along the 60-kilometer border.

Samson_rcws

Defense News' Barbara Opall-Rome reports that "initial deployment plans for the See-Shoot system call for mounting a 0.5-caliber automated machine gun in each of several pillboxes interspersed along the Gaza border fence."

Connected via fiber optics to a remote operator station and a command-and-control center, each machine gun-mounted station serves as a type of robotic sniper, capable of enforcing a nearly 1,500-meter-deep no-go zone.

The IDF’s [Israeli Defense Forces] Southern Command is also considering adding Gill/Spike anti-tank missiles to extend the no-go zones to several kilometers, defense and industry sources here said.

The guns will be based on the Samson Remote Control Weapons Station. And the pillboxes are supposed to be positioned "at intervals of some hundreds of meters along the border, " Jane's Defence Weekly observes. They'll be "protected and secured (alarms, sensors and steel doors) and feature retractable armored covers that protect the weapon station when not in use." more

Multicultural Stand-up Duo Serves Optimistic Take On Cultural Clash - Campus

Multicultural Stand-up Duo Serves Optimistic Take On Cultural Clash - Campus

The Best Public Services in the World

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Newsnight Home | The Best Public Services in the World This is a wonderful and surprising series. For me the shocker is that BBC claims the best public transportation system is in Portland!

The Arabs will never forgive us - Haaretz - Israel News

This is maybe the best, most realistic, most hopeful commentary I've yet read about the Eiddle East and war. An absolute must read!

US Mission Alert: Food, Convoy Problems

They say writing is the art of the telling detail. This is a telling detail.

Thank G#d, it's the best day of my life!

Gmail - CHASSIDIC STORY: G-d's Nourishment

Objectophilia, Fetishism and Neo-Sexuality: Falling in Love with Things - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

Objectophilia, Fetishism and Neo-Sexuality: Falling in Love with Things - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

Rudy's Surprise

Rudy Giuliani says he's never heard the claim that the US was attacked on 9/11 because we'd attacked Iraq. Guess he didn't read Bin Laden's 1996 "Declaration of War" against the US. Back then old UBL said:

"The youths hold you responsible for all of the killings and evictions of the Muslims and the violation of the sanctities, carried out by your Zionist brothers in Lebanon; you openly supplied them with arms and finance. More than 600,000 Iraqi children have died due to lack of food and medicine and as a result of the unjustifiable aggression (sanction) imposed on Iraq and its nation. The children of Iraq are our children. You, the USA, together with the Saudi regime are responsible for the shedding of the blood of these innocent children.

If Muslims did to us what we did/do to them, it would spawn American Mujahideen, like in the Reagan-era flick, Red Dawn.

Mortars hit aircraft at U.S. base in Iraq, police say - International Herald Tribune

Mortars hit aircraft at U.S. base in Iraq, police say It ain't easy to hit a helo with a mortar. The resistance fighters apparently destroyed one and damaged 16. Them Iraqis is good.

Bush and the Bulls

Betcha George Bush is rooting for the Chicago Bulls.

The bulls lost the first three games of their seven-game playoff series to the Detroit Pistons. They astonished fans and critics alike with the clumsiness of their game plans and the ineptitude of their execution. Sort of like how no one can believe the US with the most technologically sophisticated military in history can be doing so badly against a bunch of jihadis who can' t spell Nintendo.

Like the US in Iraq, the Bulls chances seem bleak. No NBA team as ever come back from losing the first three games to win a seven game series. Cue Harry Reid's observation that 'the Iraq war is lost.'

But the Bulls won game four forcing last night's game six which they also won. That was as encouraging to Bulls fans as the news that some Iraqis now reject Al Qaeda was to Bush policy supporters. You can almost hear Bulls head coach Scott Skiles saying "We're making progress."

If the bulls do pull this series out I can hear the president's speech now. "America is the Chicago Bulls of warfare! They said we were down for the count, that no nation had ever or could ever come back from the hole we found ourselves in. But through skill, hard work and really good shooting, we got the job done. " Bush will host the team at the White House, our coach will give the president a game ball which Vice President Cheney will blast with his shotgun.

Of course even if the Bulls somehow come back and vanquish Detroit, they'll have to win two more series to be the NBA champs. So if the miracle comeback occurs don't expect to see our coach landing on any aircraft carriers.

2 Face Forced Labor Charges in N.Y. | Chicago Tribune

Without the memory of slavery, where would Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson be? But that doesn't stop human trafficing from thriving in the US, Israel and around the world. Most of the time we don't hear about it but every now and then we get a peek into the world of modern massuhs. The Tribune has one about a wealthy facing forced labor charges in N.Y.

World Naked Gardening Day (WNGD)

Get ready! One (hopefully) sunny Saturday in 2008 we'll all be able to participate in World Naked Gardening Day! (WNGD) Do you REALLY love the land?

IraqSlogger: Pentagon Bans YouTube, MySpace, Others

Our soldiers in Iraq are supposed to be fighting for, in addition to oil freedom but guess that doesn't count now that the pentagon Bans YouTube, MySpace, Others. Ah well, at lest the jihadis still have full web access.

IraqSlogger: Former Bush Admin Official Speaks Impeachment

First, the Bush insiders just got out. Then they tattled that the "intelligence" on Iraq was fake and now on IS a former Bush Admin Official Speaks Impeachment. ... and the noose tightens.

'Jewish women are seduced by Arab men.'

says one bearded malcontent as Rabbis protest joint Jewish-Arab event Ynetnews

Kosher workout in Jerusalem - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews

In Israel "health club is sometimes a euphememism for brothel. But my guess is that this kosher health club even the viruses wear yarmulkes.

Cartoons from the ME

Girl in a bubble

Yahoo! News Photo

Mickey Mouse - Hamas

Anti-Bush filler on Hizbollah TV

Internet Video Powered by CastUP

Iranian anti-Jewish satire

Internet Video Powered by CastUP

Saudiwomen & webcams

Internet Video Powered by CastUP

The results of the international cartoon contest (pen) Syria cartoon website2007

The results of the international cartoon contest (pen) Syria cartoon website2007

Mohammed Aladwani

Mohammed Aladwani

Al-Qaida No. 2 mocks Iraq pullout bill - Yahoo! News

Al-Qaida No. 2 mocks Iraq pullout bill - Yahoo! News

Nasrallah: Israel needs Olmert to quit | Jerusalem Post

Nasrallah: Israel needs Olmert to quit | Jerusalem Post

TheStar.com - Sports - Religion first for Jewish forward

TheStar.com - Sports - Religion first for Jewish forward

Bill Moyers Journal . Buying the War . Additional Interviews | PBS

This is a major must see!

Bill Moyers Journal . Buying the War . Additional Interviews | PBS

Get out of there - Israel Opinion, Ynetnews

Get out of there - Israel Opinion, Ynetnews

A religious role model - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews

A religious role model - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews

Catholic Church buries limbo after centuries - Yahoo! News

Catholic Church buries limbo after centuries - Yahoo! News

Harvard Proposes Curriculum Overhaul, Sciences, Religion, World Cultures Would Be Emphasized Under New Recommendations - CBS News

Harvard Proposes Curriculum Overhaul, Sciences, Religion, World Cultures Would Be Emphasized Under New Recommendations - CBS News

Popular Dinner Guest, "Idol" Castoff Sanjaya Malakar Has Big Following At White House Correspondents' Dinner And Parties - The ShowBuzz

Popular Dinner Guest, "Idol" Castoff Sanjaya Malakar Has Big Following At White House Correspondents' Dinner And Parties - The ShowBuzz

Say a Prayer

Farmyard furore as Five lets Rebecca Loos on porker

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1320989,00.html

Zombie Pigs

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=427963&in_page_id=1770

Israelis believed Nasrallah over Peretz

Nasrallah is a pretty amazing speaker. It's not shockinig that Israeli's trust him.

Executing Bush

The world can dream can't we?

We need to be part of the EU and NATO

Yeah, because geography is an islamist plot. But it's an interesting, if goofy idea.

Leiberman is like a more sophisticated Ross Perot.

Voila! A Car Powered By Air

The New Middle East

A nice little bit of video propaganda from Iranian TV.

Nasrallah Hopes to reach best outcome for everyone

I just love this guy.

Adapt or Die

The other hero of the anti-apartheid movement was PW (no, it doesn't really stand for "Pertetually White") Botha. He declared to the Afrkaaners back in 1978, years before US sanctions that apartheid had failed and that the must "adapt or die."

Book Argues for Retaking the 'Conservative Soul'

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6253752

War Porn

Black Islamists

Somalia has been taken over by black Islamists. Which is sort of like the NBA being conquered by Croatians; it's not really shocking just not what I expected. Even before 9/11 I thought of Islamists as Arabs, though I did notice Usama Bin Laden looks a lot like former NBA star Scotty Pippin. Lately I've been aware of Persian Islamists like Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who's a dead ringer for late Gilligan's Island star Bob Denver. I know Islam is a multi-racial religion nonetheless it is surprising to see that the leader of Somalia's Islamic Courts Union, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, could easily be mistaken for my cousin Willie Albert. And the young Islamic Court fighters walking around Mogadishu with their rifles remind me of the black panthers party members who patrolled my old Chicago neighborhood in the 1960's.

The big concern, of course, is that Somalia's Islamists might have "links to al Qaeda" which no one wants. Then again, that claim comes from the Bush administration. Truth be told, if the Bush guys say somebody is al Qaeda it makes me wonder if they are really Presbyterians.

From what I read the Islamic Courts Union enjoys a good amount of popular support and a reputation for honesty. I hope they are able to bring some security and order to Somalia and keep al Qaeda out. But, if he wants to visit, I hope Somalia will still welcome former NBA star, Scotty Pippin.

Back to the Well

Core Values Class

Omert & Bush

English Only

"If we win..."

Running Circles

Ahmadinejad's Letter

Dear President Carter,

Just kidding Mr. Bush, I know you're the President now, or should I say, You are "The Decider."

But seriously, the Middle East is in deep camel doo and we need to mount our tallest two-humpers to help get it out. The question is, how can we improve understanding and relations between our two countries?


Over the weekend, Mrs. Ahmadinejad and I were watching satellite TV and saw this program, "Wife Swap," and it hit me, of course! Let's you and me trade countries for a week. Call it, "President Swap." You can come over here, inspect our nuclear facilities, and I could go there and do the same. By the way, does Homer Simpson really work for a nuclear reactor company? Do you think I could meet him? I could even try to pass some laws for you, through your Congress. From what I read, I doubt I'd be any less effective. Since both our countries are already bombing and shelling Iraqis, we wouldn't even have to switch generals.
I'm sure you'd enjoy discussing the scriptures with our supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, just as I cannot wait to dialogue with your Ayatollah, Pat Robertson. We are all reasonable men of G-d, that is, we all believe, "Thou shall not kill," is more of a suggestion.

Mr. President, I really think this could be big and I hope you'll consider it. Maybe we should see if Fox would film it as a reality show. I know you're in with them.

Allah O Akbar,

Your pal,

Mahmoud

PS - Just to show there are no hard feelings, please find, enclosed with this letter, a box of Iran's finest salted pretzels.

Gen. Michael Hayden

President Gore - Air Force Zero

President Gore

President Gore - Day 2

President Gore - Day 3

The Dress

RFC

New Kid on K Street

D.C. Democrats

Terrorvision

2006.03.20 -- Asymmetrical Breasts May Raise Cancer Risk

2006.03.20 -- Asymmetrical Breasts May Raise Cancer Risk

The First Suicide Terrorist

The first suicide terrorist was Samson. In the book of Judges, chapters 13 – 16, the Jews were oppressed by the Palestinians - I mean Philistines. For 20 years, Samson resisted that oppression like a one-man Al Qaeda. He killed random Philistinian civilians, and burned their crops and their stored grain. Then, fearing their wrath, he hid out in a cave. But like the USA after 9/11, the Philistines massed their armies and demanded that the Jews turn over the terrorist. Unlike the Taliban, the Jews complied. They went to Samson's cave, since of course they knew where he was, and demanded his surrender. Samson agreed but then was seized by the spirit of G-d and killed another thousand Philistine husbands, fathers and sons. He was finally captured due only to his weakness for Philistine women. Samson's suicide attack came at a huge party in honor of the Philistinian god of grain, Dagon. Maybe because Samson had destroyed so much grain, the revelers brought him in as part of the celebration. Leaning against a set of pillars that he knew would kill scores of innocent people, Samson's last prayer was that G-d would let him die along with his enemy. His prayer was answered and Samson, along with over three thousand people, more than died on 9/11, perished in a single act of violence. We, just like the Islamists, celebrate our favorite martyr - suicide terrorist - Samson. He is the poster boy for manly strength. We name luggage, weightlifting competitions and hair restoration products after him. We name our largest sons, dogs and most powerful machines Samson. And of course, Hollywood made a blockbuster movie staring the most studly he-man star of his day, Victor "I have bigger boobs than Anna Nicole Smith" Mature. We all admire strength, self-sacrifice and the triumph of the underdog. We all agree that some folks deserve a big bowl of whop-ass and we celebrate the men who dish it out. And we all remember that one nation's terrorist is another nation's media idol.

Black Chicago's Hamas

The Chicago City Council is considering renaming a one-block section of an inner city street for murdered Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton. The move is wildly controversial and the Chicago Police union is outraged that the city would honor a man who encouraged his followers to "Off the Pigs."

Remembering the Black Panthers, I understand why Palestinians voted for Hamas. First of all the headgear. The Panthers wore these tres cool berets just as Hamas leaders sport totally fashionable Islamic resistance baseball caps. But more importantly and even more fun, both the Panthers and Hamas behave like men. Like Palestinians on the West Bank, we on the west side of Chicago in the 1960's understood how violent and well-armed are our opponents, in our case the Chicago Police Department. Hardly a young man among us had not been harassed by cops for the sometimes capital offense of "driving while black." All of us who protested against segregation had been photographed by people we took to be cops and FBI agents out to intimidate us. But the Panthers behaved as if they were not afraid. They had their little shot guns and their little pistols. The Panthers were way into their second amendment rights. They were fools. Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were ultimately gunned down in their sleep by the axis of evil government agencies. But for a hot minute there, the Black Panther Party - they stood up to the bad guys. They were not trying to get along with injustice but shove it out of the way. They did not ask for acceptance. They demanded respect.

They appealed to our idealism. The party platform quoted the declaration of independence. They were the strong right arm of our ideals. Betcha anything that's how Palestinians feel about Hamas. Like us about the Panthers they say, "Call 'em terrorists, call 'em whatever you want but you can't call them late for the revolution. They're here, they're on our side and standing up for us. And besides, they got great headgear.”

The city of Chicago is naming but a single block for the Black Panther martyr Fred Hampton. But when it's official I can't wait to drive on it... then turn around and drive back.. then turn around and drive back...

Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoon Contest

The Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoon Contest makes me prouder than ever to be a Jew. Responding to the Prophet Muhammad cartoons, the Iranian newspaper, Hamshahri, has announced a Holocaust cartoon contest. In response to that call an Israeli publisher, Dimona Comix, has challenged Jews to create anti-Semitic cartoons to show that a) A confident people are not threatened by cartoons and b) when it comes to offending Jews, we will not be beaten on our home turf!

This how to fight a war. With deadly humor! Plus, for Jews this contest is like a vaccine. Its very existence both shows our strength and makes us stronger. I'm working on my entries now 'cause I want the promised first prize, a piece of that delicious matzah made from the blood of Christian children!

Fools

Publishing offensive cartoons of the prophet Muhommed was the foolish and thus right thing to do. We need fools, unwise people who behave as if there is nothing to fear. Look at the prophet Muhammed himself. He lived in Mecca, a polytheistic city. Common sense told you that rain and the fire were controlled by different gods. But here's Muhammed and his little band preaching this monotheism foolishness. Muhommed and his followers gang out of town. The same unwise abandonment of caution was true John the Baptist, Galileo, Bucky Fuller, Amelia Earhart and Chris Rock.

But without fools who go too far we'd never know how's far was enough.

It's why we pay fools to rush in where angels fear to tread.

And once a fool says the unspeakable thing it becomes fit for politie conversation. The foolish Danish publishers are the only reason the world is discussing Islam and art and humor and appropriate reactions. Other fools consecrate other discussions "Did you hear what that fool in Iran said about the holocaust?" or "Pat Robertson said something really foolish about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez."

Fools know we risk our lives and livelihoods. Everybody saw comedian Bill Maher lose his network series because of a foolish comment about 9/11. Yet we still say what we say and draw what we draw. We don't do it because we're brave or even trying to make the world a better place. We persist in foolishness just to see what happens, because we're fools.

We laugh at fools and that is the fools' greatest gift. Wise folks say comedy is a way of looking at life that makes happy endings seem inevitable. Only a fool would argue with that.