This bites, get their soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, home in coffins while the Lebanese celebrate the return of terrorists. Gave them a hero’s welcome.

Five Lebanese militants freed from prisons in Israel in exchange for the bodies of two captured Israeli soldiers returned home Wednesday to a boisterous welcome from hundreds of cheering spectators.

The AP calls them militants not terrorists. A more recent update has more as in thousands more people cheering for the terrorists.

Five Lebanese militants got a hero’s welcome from tens of thousands of cheering Hezbollah supporters and kisses from the U.S.-backed prime minister Wednesday after being set free by Israel in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers.

U.S. backing doesn’t get you much nowadays. Even the President of Lebanon got in on the action.

“Your return is a new victory and the future with you will only be a shinning march in which we achieve the sovereignty of our land and the freedom of people,” President Michel Suleiman said in his address. “I congratulate the resistance (Hezbollah) for this new achievement.”

These aren’t nice people either that were released. Take Kantar for example.

Kantar was convicted in a nighttime attack that killed a 4-year-old girl, her father and a policeman. Although polls showed Israelis solidly endorsed the exchange, many see Kantar as the embodiment of evil.

Kantar smashed the little girl’s head in with his rifle butt.

“Samir Kantar is a brutal murderer of children and anybody celebrating him as a hero is trampling on basic human decency,” said Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli prime minister.

So what else is new, Palestinians do it all the time. Still do.

In the Gaza Strip, which has been controlled by the anti-Israel group Hamas for a year, people handed out sweets ahead of Kantar’s release. Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called the militant an “Arab nationalist hero.”

Barf! Anyone that brutally murders little girls is no hero. Wonder where the moderate Muslims are? The ones not celebrating those that kill innocents. Are there any?

And the poor families of the Israeli soldiers, their hearts are broken. Seeing the coffins on TV. Final confirmation their loved ones are dead. I’ll give the AP credit for actually naming them and quoting their families. For once.

An aunt of Regev’s sank to the ground when she saw the coffins appear on a small TV hooked up outside the soldier’s father’s house. Some 50 friends, neighbors and family who had gathered there sobbed, rocked back and forth in prayer, lit candles or tugged at their hair. “Nasrallah, you will pay,” several of the mourners vowed.

Totally different scene, tragic. My prayers are with their families. Read the whole article. There’s more dead bodies there. And body parts.

Gee, I wish someone would give me “hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash-stuffed envelopes.” Of course, then there would be the corruption charges to deal with. Olmert might as well get it over with and resign… for the betterment of his country.

“It’s hard to fathom what Olmert is trying to achieve by postponing his dishonorable exit from public life when it’s obvious to everyone else that his public career is over,” said the lead editorial Friday in the newspaper Haaretz.

Bout time too what with needing to deal forcefully with Iran and Hamas, Israel needs a P.M. that won’t be a wuss and botch it like he did with the war with Hezbollah only to agree later to a prisoner swap which is what he didn’t agree to initially which led to that war. Also need a P.M. not mired in corruption scandals. Back to that money.

In a stunning deposition in May, Talansky testified he handed Olmert hundreds of thousands of dollars in envelopes over the years and said some of the money went to pay for expensive cigars, hotels and other luxuries. Police suspect the cash was either for illegal campaign contributions or bribes.

Olmert’s backers note he has been written off before only to re-emerge intact. This is the fifth major corruption case against him, and few people had thought he would survive the fallout from his much criticized handling of the war with Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon two years ago.

How much corruption can he handle before it bites him in the rear? Dunno, maybe this time it will. This is good.

Nevertheless, the weight of the corruption probes taken together, combined with Olmert’s rock-bottom approval ratings and Friday’s highly embarrassing disclosures, is overwhelming. Olmert has said he will resign if indicted.

Bush and Congress are the only ones with rock-bottom approval ratings. Easier to get rid of an Israeli P.M. thou than any of those.

He’s also got some creative billing going for airline tickets and the like.

After police questioned the prime minister for two hours at his official residence in Jerusalem, the police and Justice Ministry issued a statement saying that Olmert, “while serving as mayor of Jerusalem and as minister of industry and trade, is suspected of seeking funding for flights abroad in his official capacity from several sources at the same time … including the state.”

…Police officials said Olmert also billed multiple sources for other expenses, such as hotels, on dozens of trips abroad — with the illicit funds amounting to some $100,000.

Nice, huh! Creative billing isn’t just limited to doctors double billing Medicare. P.M.’s do it too. Allegedly. Can’t convict the guy until the courts do. However, with regards to corruption, bet Arafat could have taught him a few tricks. Israelis have nothing on Palestinians in that respect.

So what did Iran do when we said there should be no more tests but go about testing more missiles of course.

Iran tested more missiles in the Gulf on Thursday, state media said, and the United States reminded Tehran that it was ready to defend its allies.

Washington, which accuses Tehran of seeking nuclear arms, said after Iran test-fired nine missiles on Wednesday there should be no more such tests if Iran wanted the world’s trust.

Iran sure seems intent on defying the West. Are they trying to provoke us into a war? Or is this a tit-for-tat provocation with Israel? Which may have the same effect. Expect more verbal sparring over the situation at a minimum.

Nothing has deterred Iran from enriching uranium, not diplomacy, not sanctions, not incentives. What’s to think it would behave differently regarding missile tests? I certainly don’t think it will.

Probably should turn on the news to find out the reaction to all of this sabre rattling. Somebody’s sure to comment. Did after the first missile launch.

What Iran did after the West offered incentives to stop enriching uranium.

Iran test-fired nine missiles on Wednesday and warned the United States and Israel it was ready to retaliate for any attack over its disputed nuclear projects.

I guess that means no, Iran’s not accepting the incentives. Now that wasn’t very nice, down right provocative. Of course, no provocation goes unnoticed. We responded well Condi did tying in the missile defense shield.

“Those who say that there is no Iranian threat against which to be building missile defenses perhaps ought to talk to the Iranians about … the range of the missiles that they test fired,” Rice said in Bulgaria.

Wonder what Russia will do considering it opposes the missile defense shield. The Euroweenies, at least one of them replied. Hey, they are in range if Iran should deploy missiles from offshore. We all are - think EMP attack if Iran goes nuclear on us. Offshore bombing of the worst kind. At any rate, our bases in the Middle East are in range.

“These are very dangerous missiles — that’s why the international community and not just Israel has an interest in blocking this escalation in a definitive way,” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in Ramallah, in the West Bank.

Nice of them to actually notice. Wonder what he considers definitive. Enquiring minds want to know. And of course, Israel responded. The very same Israel which Iran vows to wipe off the map.

“Israel does not threaten Iran, but the Iranian nuclear program, combined with their aggressive ballistic missile program, is a matter of grave concern,” Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said after the tests.

Gee, even Olmert is concerned. Wonder what Israel will do next cause I don’t expect anyone else will do something about Iran’s threat sides bloviate. Maybe slap on a few more sanctions if they feel so inclined. That’s it. Military action is so not happening. From our side anyway.

Seems details about Iraq’s proposal for keeping U.S. forces here past December have been leaked to the AP.

The Iraqi proposal stipulates that, once Iraqi forces have resumed security responsibility in all 18 of Iraq’s provinces, U.S.-led forces would then withdraw from all cities in the country.

After that, the country’s security situation would be reviewed every six months, for three to five years, to decide when U.S.-led troops would pull out entirely, al-Adeeb said.

They’re halfway there, 9 provinces. Wonder where our troops would go when we withdraw from the cities. The desert? No posts in the Green Zone? A lot can happen in six months time. Dunno about that. Just cause violence is down doesn’t mean it will stay down if we leave. After all, it was the surge that worked to turn the tide.

But there is some face saving and they allow a little leeway here. Not much but a little.

The proposal, as outlined by al-Adeeb, is phrased in a way that would allow Iraqi officials to tell the Iraqi public that it includes a specific timetable and dates for a U.S. withdrawal.

However, it also would provide the United States some flexibility on timing because the dates of the provincial handovers are not set.

We’ll see how it will fly with the Bush administration. McCain too is not that keen on a timetable. I imagine Obama would be overjoyed to get us out of Iraq. Ever the optimist, I expect massive deterioration in conditions once we do.

We’re definitely in bear territory now, and not the furry kind either. The Dow just keeps sinking.

The stock market’s pullback, which accelerated in the final hours of the week’s last full trading session, left the Dow Jones industrial average officially in bear market territory, with the blue chips having fallen more than 20 percent from their October highs.

…The Dow fell 166.75, or 1.46 percent, to 11,215.51, the lowest close since August 2006. It now stands 20.82 percent below its Oct. 9, 2007 record of 14,164.53. The last bear market ended in October 2002.

And oil just keeps rising, what with the tension between Israel and Iran, no surprise either.

Crude oil hit a record $144.32 a barrel in after-hours trading after reaching a record settlement of $143.57, an advance of $2.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Energy Department reported Wednesday that U.S. crude oil supplies fell more than expected last week.

It’ll only get worse. With retirement not that many years off, things are looking rather bleak. I don’t like it very much.

I’ll like it even less if Obama gets elected and raises my taxes.

Let me get this straight, we won’t attack Iran cause it would burden our taxpayers and Israel won’t attack Iran cause it’s government is imploding but Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz if attacked (as reported yesterday on FoxNews). Iran’s foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, said (as reported by the AP) about being attacked:

“We do not foresee such a possibility at the moment. The Israeli government is facing a political breakdown within itself and within the region, so we do not foresee such a possibility for that regime to resort to such craziness,” he said. “The United States, too, is not in a position where it can engage in, take another risk in the region.

“Of course, there are people in the United States who are interested in that. But we think that the rational thinkers in the United States will prevent from that action being taken, and will prevent the imposition of another adventuresome act that would put pressure on the American taxpayers.”

So they feel free to pursue their nuclear program with blatant disregard for any perceived consequences. There are none in their opinion. And of course, they threatened to retaliate were the U.S. or Israel be so foolish as to attack Iran.

In Madrid, Iran’s oil minister warned Wednesday that an attack on his country would provoke a fierce response “that nobody can imagine.” Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said, however, that Tehran would not cut oil deliveries and would continue supplying the market even if struck by Israel or the United States.

I suppose that remark was to calm the oil markets after they threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, an action that would double the cost of oil and gasoline. And our response to said threatened closure of the Strait of Hormuz was it’s not happening.

A senior U.S. military commander said Wednesday that Washington would not permit Iran to choke off the Strait of Hormuz.

I suppose that too was to calm the oil markets. Which I doubt will be overly placated as reports filter in that they have a year before Iran has the capability to build the bomb. So Israel has to be thinking of doing something about those nuclear facilities. Track record, it has in the past even with Olmert in charge. I expect things to get interesting.

Mind you timing is everything. IMHO if Obama gets elected, expect no help from the U.S. if Israel should duke it out with Iran. So providing he wins, any action after election day would be a wasted effort. It just won’t happen. Iran will get their nukes. If the Middle East should implode before election day, McCain might stand a chance of getting elected if only to keep the cost of oil from going thru the roof. Why we might even realize there is a problem here and need a commander in chief that knows how to lead. You know, someone with actual experience here. I’m not getting my hopes up thou.

Cause I was in the midst of reading a juicy novel when not doing the church bit. This will be the seventh novel I’ve read so far this summer. I find reading rather enjoyable.

Also reading about Meryl’s exploits at the firing range. She did very well now all she has to do is practice with a variety of guns so she can decide what she likes. Brings back memories, haven’t shot the old S&W in ages.

And caught up with the news out of Israel which was depressing so I didn’t feel like ruining my very fine day with blogging about it. It boils down to their going to get their two soldiers back - dead - in exchange for terrorists who are very much alive. Bad idea, makes that whole war seem a waste. Looks like Hezbollah won. Expect more of the same in the future.

Oil hit another record high today, something to do with tension between Israel and Iran over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

U.S. light crude was up $1.76 at $141.97 a barrel by 9:57 a.m. EDT, after a record high of $143.67 a barrel.

If it came to war between the two, expect a lot more than oil going up. Whole Mideast could go up in flames. In the meantime, I have to fill up the gas tank and I’m not looking forward to that.

There’s been a slight hitch in the truce between Hamas and Israel, you know the one that has already been violated.

Israel will keep Gaza border crossings closed another day in response to Palestinian rocket fire that had violated a new cease-fire, the Defense Ministry said late Wednesday.

The decision came after Gaza’s Hamas rulers said they would not police other militant groups that break the truce that went into effect last Thursday.

They’ll keep firing those rockets and get away with it. Sortof. Israel’s closing the crossings will delay shipping in the goods every time that happens. Hamas is already crying foul on that one. Now if only Hamas can get the border with Egypt open, the humanitarian supplies (those rockets and other arms) can start flowing with impunity. Why have a truce (hudna) if you can’t take advantage of it? And Hamas will and I’m guessing Israel knows this as well as I do.

Negotiating with terrorists, ones commmitted to Israel’s destruction, is not a wise move and will bite Israel in the end. Olmert isn’t working in Israel’s best interests here.

Well, that didn’t take long before the Palis started firing their rockets at Israel.

Palestinian militants fired three homemade rockets into southern Israel on Tuesday, threatening to unravel a cease-fire days after it began, and Israel responded by closing vital border crossings into Gaza.

Despite what it called a “gross violation” of the truce, Israel refrained from military action and said it would send an envoy soon to Egypt to work on the next stage of a broader cease-fire agreement: a prisoner swap that would bring home an Israeli soldier held by Hamas for more than two years.

It looked like Islamic Jihad was responsible for the rockets fired not Hamas, some consolation. They’ve got so many terrorist groups there, they can pass the blame around easily enough and keep firing.

So far, the truce is holding. On Israel’s side.

Meryl has lots more on the truce or lack thereof.

Will the cease-fire last?

Gaza’s Hamas rulers on Tuesday said they have reached a long-awaited cease-fire with Israel meant to end months of Palestinian assaults on Israeli border towns and bruising Israeli retaliation.

The announcement came shortly after Egypt, which has been trying to broker the truce for months, said the cease-fire would go into effect on Thursday. Israel refused to confirm a deal, but said a “new reality” would take hold if Palestinian attacks end.

How many milliseconds? Provided it’s true. Some have their doubts.

In Washington, the State Department declined to confirm reports of a truce, but said it was supportive of efforts to bring calm to Gaza and southern Israel while insisting that Hamas remained a terrorist organization.

“We believe that establishing calm in Gaza and elsewhere is a good thing and we’re supportive of Egyptian efforts and other efforts to achieve this,” deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters.

“But saying you have a loaded gun to my head but you are not going to fire it today is far different than taking the gun down, locking it up and saying you’re not going to use it again,” he said. “Even if this is in fact a true report, it hardly takes Hamas out of the terrorism business.”

Like us for instance. Not holding my breath. History is not on Israel’s side.

Gaza militants have been bombarding southern Israel with rockets and mortars for seven years. The rate of fire increased after Israel pulled its troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005 and stepped up further last year after Hamas wrested power from forces loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Fat load of good pulling out of Gaza did. Give them what they want and they attack even worse. Wonder if this truce, aiming at opening up border crossings and the like, is to allow Hamas to rearm so that they can attack with a vengeance come six months which is all this is supposed to last anyway.

Update: Cease-fire will commence 6 a.m. Thursday morning (11 p.m. EDT Wednesday). It’s official.

Well, this just might put the kabosh on any military presence in Iraq. If the Iraqis want us gone, we have to go. Doesn’t look good for us now.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared Friday that talks with the U.S. on a new security agreement were deadlocked, as Sunni and Shiite preachers spoke out against the deal that would enable American troops to remain in Iraq after year’s end.

Al-Maliki said negotiations will continue, but his tough talk reflects Iraqi determination to win greater control of U.S. military operations after the U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.

And we don’t generally like the military hamstrung by politicians, theirs or ours. Politicians screw stuff up. Case in point - PM Olmert was chiefly responsible for losing Israel’s disastrous war with Hezbollah a while back.

It will be interesting to see how and if they solve their differences. This may end up being a nonissue for the election if the Iraqis decide they want us gone. When, whether to withdraw, how many troops, how soon they leave may be decided well in advance of November.

Opening his mouth yet again, one President Ahmadinejad and this time it isn’t Israel he’s threatening. It’s President Bush.

Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called President Bush a “wicked man” Wednesday. Addressing thousands of people in this central city, he said Bush had set out to damage Iran but failed to halt its nuclear program and would not succeed in his goal of attacking the Islamic republic.

“This wicked man desires to harm the Iranian nation. (Bush) made plans, moved into Afghanistan and then Iraq, and announced that Iran was the third target,” Ahmadinejad said.

He’s got it backwards, it’s Ahmadinejad that’s wicked not Bush.

“I tell him … your era has come to an end. With the grace of God, you won’t be able to harm even one centimeter of the sacred land of Iran.”

Well, as of Jan 20, 2009, Bush’s era will come to an end. Naturally. Without help from Iran. Let’s hope it’s not followed by an Obama era. Only 222 more days left. Speaking of 222, I’m hosting Carnival of the Cats #222 Sunday.

This post at Hot Air says it far better than I could.

Sixty-four years ago today, Allied forces swept onto the beaches of Normandy to liberate France and put an end to Nazi domination of Europe. The D-Day assault comprised American, Canadian, and British forces, but the Americans led, and for the most part the Americans bled, especially on Omaha. This position of leadership and sacrifice heralded the emergence of America as the primary Western power, but on that day, no one could say for sure that we would succeed:

Go read the whole thing. We owe a debt of gratitude to those troops, many thousands who gave their lives to free Europe.

Hattip Meryl.

Syria is stonewalling just like Iran did.

Syria told a 35-nation meeting Thursday that it will limit what U.N. nuclear inspectors can see when they investigate allegations that Damascus has a hidden atomic program, diplomats said.

The main purpose of the planned visit later this month by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors is to investigate U.S. assertions that a target flattened in September by Israeli war planes was a nearly completed plutonium-producing reactor built with North Korean help.

Good for the Israelis. Imagine what would have happened if they hadn’t bombed it and it went live. Terrorist sponsoring nations should not have nuclear weapons cause they’d use them on Israel and the U.S. in a heartbeat. Main use of plutonium is nuclear weapons btw.

But the agency also would like more information on three other sites identified by U.S. intelligence as hidden nuclear facilities, possibly linked to attempts to produce atomic arms. Agency officials have said they hope for Syrian cooperation in that regard as well.

Diplomats already told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Ibrahim Othman, the top Syrian nuclear official, had said it would not let any IAEA probe extend beyond the bombed site at Al Kibar.

Figures, not that the IAEA is that effective but still. All suspected targets should be inspected. Or bombed by Israeli war planes, heh. Especially since…

On Monday, after IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei announced plans for the June 22-24 visit, diplomats and a nuclear expert told the AP that at least one of the three sites subsequently declared off limits by Syria may have equipment that can reprocess nuclear material into the fissile core of warheads.

If that isn’t reason for concern, I don’t know what is. Oh wait, I do. Them. Wonder what peace negotiations will consist of.

Doesn’t look like it’s in the offering over the long term. One of those al Qaida terrorists spoke out, this after Ahmadinejad spoke in a similar vein couple days ago.

Al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader called on Muslims to launch a holy war to break Israel’s economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, in an audio recording posted Wednesday on an Islamic militant Internet site.

In the 11-minute tape, a voice purportedly belonging to Ayman al-Zawahri says in Arabic that the “salvation of the Muslim nation is through the march of its sons on the path of jihad.”

An accompanying banner says the message was issued to mark the 41st anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, during which Egypt lost the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula, Syria lost the Golan Heights and Jordan lost the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Trying to minimize the shock of the defeat, Arabs have long called the war the “naksa” - “setback” in Arabic - but it remains a deep wound.

Setback? They lost pure and simple. Tried to destroy Israel then and they failed. I’d mark the anniversary by celebrating Israel winning.

Let’s hope Olmert doesn’t micro-manage the next war as he isn’t quite so good at these things. Let the military do it’s job and Israel will win that one too.

Remember Israel won, to the victor go the spoils. Israel should have kept all the territory it gained. It’s not too late for the Golan, hasn’t given that back yet.

Look who’s talking and spouting the same old rhetoric… none other than Iranian President Ahmadinejad.

Ahmadinejad spoke Monday at a ceremony honoring the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

According to IRNA, Ahmadinejad said that “criminal and terrorist Zionist regime” with a track record of “60 years of plundering, aggression and crimes … has reached the end … and will soon disappear from the geographical” charts.

Sounds threatening to me. Course, his anti-Israel rhetoric is nothing new but the soon disappear part is troubling.

And since Iran is allied with Syria, Israel better not give up the Golan Heights as it is strategic territory. Incidentally, that’s what Syria wants, not peace with Israel.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said during a visit to The United Arab Emirates on Monday that Israel’s agreement to withdraw from the Golan Heights was a prerequisite for the renewed peace negotiations between the two countries.

Once the Golan is gone, there’s nothing to bargain with. Israel, unlike Syria or Iran, has no desire to wipe it’s neighboring countries out of existence. Just bomb their nuclear facilities to protect it’s existence.

Someone’s wanting change in the government… of Israel.

Israel’s powerful defense minister on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down amid a burgeoning corruption scandal and threatened to bring down the government if the Israeli leader does not comply.

The ultimatum was the latest in a string of career-threatening challenges that Olmert has weathered during his two years in office.

If Labor Party leader Ehud Barak carries out his promise to withdraw from Olmert’s fragile coalition, new elections could usher in a government opposed to current peace talks with the Palestinians and Syria.

And that’s a good thing. Olmert would give too much away and get nothing. Can’t have that. Wouldn’t be an Israel left if he did that. He’s given too much away already. Without talks. Without preconditions. Of course, the destruction of Israel is the goal of those Israel is negotiating with.

One of his little faults, taking money from an American. Doesn’t pay to have a foreigner finance one’s lifestyle. Methinks he needs to take lessons from Bill Clinton on how to do that.

More erudite commentary at Meryl’s. She’s better at this stuff than I am.

Nother thing about earthquakes, they are hazardous to your health especially when certain industries are located in the quake zone.

The disaster area is home to China’s chief nuclear weapons research lab in Mianyang, as well as several secretive atomic sites, but no nuclear power stations.

And you know what that means.

China has found what it termed 50 “hazardous sources of radiation” due to last week’s earthquake, a senior official said on Friday, though he insisted the situation was under control.

…”Thirty-five of the radiation sources have been recovered, and the location of another 15 has been confirmed, but they have not yet been recovered,” Wu told a news conference in Beijing.

“Three are buried in rubble and another 12 are in dangerous buildings, which staff cannot go into,” he added. “At present, tests from the scene show that there has yet to be an accidental release of radiation.”

Comforting that no accidental releases of radiation have been found, not so comforting that China has those secretive atomic sites. Who knows what weaponry they are creating.

This is bad news indeed.

Lebanon’s feuding factions reached a breakthrough deal Wednesday that ends the country’s 18-month political stalemate, but also gives the militant Hezbollah group and its allies veto over any government decision.

The deal, reached with the help of Arab mediators, was immediately praised by Iran and Syria, which back Hezbollah. But it appears certain to accelerate fears in the West over Hezbollah’s new power.

That is brain dead, giving a terrorist organization veto power over their government. Note it gives Iran and Syria power to control Lebanon via it’s puppet. And look who endorsed the deal.

In Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the Lebanese deal was an “example of regional integration for achieving stability and tranquility.”

Syria also promptly endorsed the deal, with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem saying “Lebanon’s security and stability are important and vital to Syria’s security and stability.”

Well what do you know, Iran and Syria natch.

The agreement, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, states that the factions “pledged to refrain” from taking up weapons to resolve disputes and that the “use of arms or violence is forbidden to settle political differences under any circumstances.”

How to prevent all out war, give in to the terrorists. Hmm, is that anything like appeasement? Why, yes it is. Exactly. Appeasement.

Guessing from news clips this will be Obama’s tactic for dealing with our enemies. Hey, as President, he’d meet with them, no preconditions, giving them legitimacy a la Jimmy Carter who we know is a huge embarassment to the U.S.. That’s the nicest thing I could say about Jimmy Carter.

So, now that Hezbollah won’t be using their arms against their fellow Lebanese, wonder what they will do with them. Considering what countries border Lebanon, shouldn’t be much of a stretch to figure that out.

But one part seems to have bothered people, most particularly Senator Obama. This part.

Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

Bush called it as it is, I see no problem with that. If we can’t see appeasement for what it is and where it leads, we are doomed. And seeing as Jimmy Carter was recently over in the Middle East all kissyface with Hamas, I think Bush speaking out against exactly that over in said Middle East was entirely appropriate. Have to undo the damage Carter did. Of course, Obama thinks Bush was referring to him. If the policy fits…

I thought John McCain had a good comeback to Obama’s perceived shortcomings.

“It shows naivete and inexperience and lack of judgment to say that he wants to sit down across the table from an individual who leads a country that says that Israel is a ’stinking corpse,’ that is dedicated to the extinction of the state of Israel. My question is, what does he want to talk about?” McCain said.

Maybe he wants to talk about stopping uranium enrichment but that’s been done before. Didn’t work. Sanctions didn’t work either. Ah, but talk does serve the purpose of giving Iran time… time to build a bomb or three. Enough to attack Israel and us. Hamas is no different, they only want peace to give them time to rearm for the next battle all the while lobbing rockets at Israel. Hamas is committed to Israel’s destruction too. Talk won’t change anything.

Like a bad penny or Michael Moore, he keeps mouthing off. He just can’t let Israel celebrate in peace.

Osama bin Laden vowed Friday to fight Israel for the liberation of the Palestinians, claiming their cause is at the heart of al-Qaida’s holy war with the West.

The terrorist leader’s third statement this year was released to coincide with the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary and came out as President Bush was wrapping up his visit to Israel to celebrate the occasion.

And get this, the Palestinian cause is why he wars with the West. Not the cause of jihad against the decadent West, infidels we all be.

“To Western nations … this speech is to understand the core reason of the war between our civilization and your civilizations. I mean the Palestinian cause,” bin Laden said at the conclusion of his message.

“The Palestinian cause is the major issue for my (Islamic) nation. It was an important element in fueling me from the beginning and the 19 others with a great motive to fight for those subjected to injustice and the oppressed,” he said.

It is so important he waited over six years to tell us. Note during this time he released plenty of tapes and although he mentioned Israel in the past, I wasn’t aware he put so much emphasis on Israel. Of course, none of the Arab states particularly like Israel. Some even want Israel destroyed. Think Iran here, at least they are the most outspoken here. Ahmadinejad leaves no doubts where he stands.

I like this response.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel dismissed bin Laden’s message.

“We do not relate or pay attention to the words of this terrorist lunatic,” he said. “The time has come for him to be apprehended and pay for his crimes.”

That would be nice indeed. Too bad for them, all the Arabs not just this terrorist, that Israel will not be destroyed. Not going to happen. Ever.

Despite having Hamas and Hezbollah in it’s pocket, having the Shahab-3 missiles capable of destroying Israel and questionably a nuclear program which it vehemently denies and despite the rantings of it’s President, the latest being:

“The Zionist (Israeli) regime is dying,” said Ahmadinejad during a speech in northern Iran. “The criminals assume that by holding celebrations … they can save the sinister Zionist regime from death and annihilation.”

That is so not happening.

I’m thinking Israel’s nuclear program is far more advanced - more, bigger better nukes. Would obliterate Iran if it tried anything. Sides, Israel has a friend and ally in the U.S. at least until Jan 20 then all bets are off.

They always get it wrong, the MSM. Case in point.

While pursuing peace with Abbas, Israel continues to pursue Gaza militants involved in attacks on Israel.

Terrorists not militants, terrorists who attack and kill innocent Israelis civilians.

Hamas confirmed that a “leading commander” was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza on Thursday, and its military wing vowed to avenge the death of Nafez Manzur.

“The blood of our late commander will not be shed in vain,” the statement read. “We have the full right to respond in the time and place that we choose.”

Israel said Manzur was involved in the capture of Cpl. Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier seized in June 2006 after militants from Hamas and two allied factions tunneled under the Israeli border and attacked a military post. Two other soldiers were killed in that raid.

Seem to me airstrike and subsequent death of Manzur was justifiable retaliation for the attack and subsequent casualties the Israelis suffered at the hands of Palestinian terrorists. And further action on the part of the Palestinians should be reason for retaliation on Israel’s part. Seems like this could go on forever. Actually it won’t.

Schalit remains in captivity in Hamas-ruled Gaza as talks have stalled on swapping him for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Rather an unfair exchange, one innocent soldier for hundreds of terrorists, held in prisons for good cause. Release one of them and they would just commit more acts of terror on Israel. Release hundreds and results could be disastrous. No telling if they’d actually release Schalit. I have my doubts.

Well, it was for me, $3.439 per gallon for regular. Just filled up. Was $3.199 per gallon last time I filled up, same station, not quite three weeks apart. Expected to go higher too.

At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices rose another 2.1 cents Friday to a record national average of $3.577 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices have been following oil futures higher, but are also rising due to concerns about whether gasoline supplies are adequate to meet peak summer driving demand.

Analysts expect gas prices to continue rising for at least another month to $3.70 to $4 a gallon. To a large extent, how high gas prices peak depends on what oil does.

Next higher grade was up there, they didn’t waste any time here raining the price. Why the rise? Today? Oh just this.

Oil prices rose sharply Friday on news that a ship under contract to the U.S. Defense Department fired warning shots at two boats in the Persian Gulf. Retail gas prices as expected rose further into record territory, nearing $3.60 a gallon.

Crude prices rose on initial reports that a U.S. ship had fired on two Iranian boats; the news raised concerns that a conflict between U.S. and Iranian forces could cut oil supplies from the region. A Navy spokeswoman said the origin of the boats was unclear.

Just what we needed, a provocative move by Iran. Not! Oil and gas prices are doing just fine going up on their own. Don’t need Iranian help.

The news was enough to send light, sweet crude for June delivery up to $119.55 before the contract retreated to settle up $2.46 at $118.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Least oil is still below $120 a barrel. Some consolation.

Wright keeps giving and giving… material for the media to play with.

A Christian publication called Baptist Messenger reported that the church published a pro-Hamas, anti-Israel opinion article in a church bulletin in July.

Pro-Hamas a known terrorist group, hard to imagine any reasonable person would be pro-Hamas. a left-wing demagogue maybe, but not a reasonable person.

In addition, Trumpet Newsmagazine, of which Wright is the chief executive officer, published an article written by Wright in which he described the crucifixion of Jesus as “public lynching Italian style.”

“(Jesus’) enemies had their opinion about Him,” Wright wrote in a eulogy of the late scholar Asa Hilliard in the November/December 2007 issue, according to CNSNews.com. “The Italians for the most part looked down their garlic noses at the Galileans.”

He sure doesn’t know his history, Jews had a part to do with it too. Unlike Wright, we don’t hold it against either Italians or Jews what their distant ancestors did. And what an insult. Wright just can’t get it right. Doesn’t want to either. He. Has. To. Inflame. Understand there’s hours worth of Wright sermons that are equally incendiary. And of course, Obama was asked about this and his response was typical.

“I’ve, I think, talked thoroughly about, you know, the issue with Rev. Wright. And, you know, everybody, I think, who examines the church that I attend knows that it is a very traditional, conventional church,” he said.

He said Wright had made some “troubling statements and some appalling statements that I have condemned.”

Very. Traditional. Conventional. Church. Not in my playbook. Firebrand preacher, extreme left-wing demagoguery, not conventional. Catholic Church very traditional and conventional. Baptist Church very traditional and conventional. I could go on but you get the point. How he can believe that is beyond belief. More troubling, it brings into question Obama’s judgement. Even more troubling, the Wright stuff doesn’t seem to have affected Obama’s popularity if the poll cited in the article is to be believed.

The March 19-22 survey of 1,503 American adults found that despite the flap, Illinois Sen. Obama had maintained a 49 percent to 39 percent advantage over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Proof that people just don’t get it and/or the extreme left-wing has taken over the Democrats. If anyone wants to know where Obama stands on issues, should check out his voting record.

The cost of my Copaxone went up again, now at $1934.05 for a 30 day supply. Good thing I have insurance, couldn’t afford it otherwise.

There is a gap between when COBRA runs out and Medicare kicks in unless Social Security approves my disability then coverage can continue. I get on Medicare sooner too. Once on Medicare with the dreaded Medicare part D prescription drug coverage, I have around $4000 that I will have to cover myself. Have to start saving now.

I sure hope the Palis, Hamas in particular, and Hezbollah don’t get in a war with Israel cause then the cost will skyrocket. It is an Israeli drug.

Bin Laden just can’t keep quiet now, sticking his nose in the Palestinian situation. That after commenting on the cartoons and the Pope yesterday. Took him long enough considering how long ago they caused a stir in the Muslim world.

Osama bin Laden lashed out Thursday at Palestinian peace negotiations with Israel and called for a holy war to liberate the Palestinian lands.

A day after a bin Laden audio on a militant Web site threatened Europeans, Al-Jazeera TV broadcast audio excerpts attributed to the al-Qaida leader that urge Palestinians to ignore political parties “mired in trickery of the blasphemous democracy” and to rely on armed might.

“Palestine cannot be retaken by negotiations and dialogue, but with fire and iron,” he said.

…Bin Laden added that Palestinians who are unable to fight in the “land of Al-Quds” — a Muslim reference to Jerusalem — should join the al-Qaida fight in Iraq.

Just what we don’t need, a holy war. And Hamas has been arming as has Hezbollah were they to join in the fray. Trying to muck up Iraq too. Doesn’t like the surge apparently. Cause it’s working. Course, who pays attention to what bin Laden wants? He releases tapes and nothing happens.

This is interesting for all those that think Israel will take unilateral action against Iran.

Asked if Israel would act alone to stop Iran getting the bomb, Peres, a former prime minister who currently holds no executive power, replied: “Under no circumstance. We are not so imprudent as to concentrate the Iranian danger on Israel.”

“It’s a problem that the rest of the world must resolve. With the long-range missiles developed by Iran the problem is not only Israeli,” Peres added.

Think about it, if Israel did, it would paint a big bullseye on Israel ensuring Israel’s destruction. Or at least a nasty, bloody war. And definitely U.N. condemnation of Israel. The U.N. always condemns Israel no matter what it does.

So that leaves it up to the world, read U.S., to take action and if Obama becomes President, that so isn’t going to happen. Iran will get the bomb.