Can you say...

[Gonz]

And what does the President Elect have to say on these goings on in Gaza?

Considering he's not currently acting President, he should stay out of it. If he were to voice his opinion, it wouldn't be a problem but it could muddy the waters.

Seemed pretty close. What are we talking about then? You figure it all boils down to publicly celebrating as opposed to openly supporting?

Kinda a style thing?

Never mind. It's a reality thing. You wouldn't understand.

 

[spike]

You forgot to compare the Obamessiah's jones to the cigar habit Clinton had.

Yeah, cause that would be stupid.

 

[spike]

Never mind. It's a reality thing. You wouldn't understand.

It's obvious that you don't understand and that you just gave a completely transparent cop out as an answer instead.

 

[jimpeel]

Great picture. he looks way better smoking than when the Bush family smokes.

I'm sure you have plenty of pics of Bush smoking grass and snorting cocaine. Why don't you post a few so we can all enjoy them.

 

[spike]

Oh, were you under the assumption that Obama was smoking grass and snorting cocaine in that picture? That's kinda weird.

 

[MrBishop]

Day-10 Israel invading urban areas of Gaza

Heavy clashes on the outskirts of Gaza City between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on Tuesday left more than a dozen people dead as the Israeli navy pounded shore positions and ground forces pushed slowly into heavily populated urban areas of the Gaza Strip.Civilian casualties mounted and four Israeli soldiers on Tuesday were killed by "friendly fire," the Associated Press reported. Also on Tuesday, a Hamas rocket hit a house in Gadera, east of Ashdod, far inside Israel. No one was seriously hurt.

 

[jimpeel]

Thanks, Bish.

What the hell was that about? Musta gone loopy.

 

[MrBishop]

Wrong thread, Jim.

ADMIN: Cleanup in aisle 3

 

[spike]

 

[MrBishop]

40 killed in U.N. School - Gaza

Palestinian medics say at least 40 people have been killed in an Israeli attack at a United Nations-run school in Gaza.

It is the second report of an attack at a U.N. school in the territory Tuesday, the 11th day of Israel's offensive against Hamas militants. Medics say two people died in the other strike, several hours before.


Palestinians say civilians were seeking shelter in the buildings from the Israeli bombardment. Israel has accused Hamas of using schools, mosques and other civilian places to hide.

A U.N. official in Jerusalem told al-Jazeera that his agency had provided Israeli forces the coordinates (exact positions) of its buildings prior to the offensive and has now lodged a formal complaint.


The massive air and ground assault has claimed more than 600 lives, and the United Nations estimates one quarter of the victims were civilians. Many children are among the dead. Another 2,500 people have been wounded.

 

[2minkey]

nah bish that's just crazy muslim-arab propaganda. israel has always been painfully careful to avoiding injuring civilians, especially kids.

 

[Gato_Solo]

nah bish that's just crazy muslim-arab propaganda. israel has always been painfully careful to avoiding injuring civilians, especially kids.

Frankly, I think the whole premise of avoiding casualties a complete line of bullcrap. If you limit casualties, you limit the effectiveness of your army and make wars more likely, not less. After all...if the general public is not affected by the horror, then they don't know what to really fight for.

 

[spike]

nah bish that's just crazy muslim-arab propaganda. israel has always been painfully careful to avoiding injuring civilians, especially kids.

Yep.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJaPZLNLBu8

 

[Gonz]

So, if the mortars are coming from said schools, the return fire should stop? How about lodging a formal complaint against Hamas for shooting rockets into Israel from a school where there are kids & UN wussies?

 

[jimpeel]

nah bish that's just crazy muslim-arab propaganda. israel has always been painfully careful to avoiding injuring civilians, especially kids.

I agree. The terrorist groups like Hamas are masters of propaganda that would make Joseph Goebbels proud. They mingle among the general populace so they can complain how the enemy has slaughtered innocents. They launch attacks from places where retaliatory attacks will do the most collateral damage so they can use that damage to their advantage. They couldn't care less about the death and destruction to innocents as long as their propaganda goals are met.

 

[jimpeel]

Yep.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJaPZLNLBu8

From the video:

"As is often the case, his story of abuse by soldiers couldn't be verified."

 

[jimpeel]

Since we're posting videos, how about this one of the Israelis taking out rockets which are staged at -- you guessed it -- a schoolyard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN9WzUc7iB0

A school and zoo which have been booby trapped.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHhs9ihSmbU

And how about a few mortars being fired from a UN school. Ya think that those UN guys might have been a bit curious at the reports of three mortars being fired from their backyard? Or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmXXUOs27lI

Anyone else here curious as to why they choose UN schools to launch these rockets and mortars from? The answer is obvious.

 

[spike]

I agree. The terrorist groups like Hamas are masters of propaganda that would make Joseph Goebbels proud. They couldn't care less about the death and destruction to innocents as long as their propaganda goals are met.

That describes the Israelis as well.

 

[jimpeel]

That describes the Israelis as well.

Tit for tat. Works for me.

 

[jimpeel]

This might answer some of the questions. It looks like they brought it on themselves.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479940,00.html

U.N. Agency That Runs School Hit in Gaza Employed Hamas and Islamic Jihad Members

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

By Joel Mowbray

The United Nations agency that administers a school in Gaza where dozens of civilians were killed by Israeli mortar fire last week has admitted to employing terrorists to work at its Palestinian schools in the past, has no system in place to keep members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad off its payroll, and provides textbooks to children that contain hate speech and other incendiary information.

A growing chorus of critics has taken aim at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in recent years, although momentum on Capitol Hill has been slow. But last week's incident, which Israel maintains was prompted by Hamas operatives firing mortars at Israelis from a location near the school, has prompted some lawmakers to scrutinize the U.N. agency.

Rep. Steve Rothman, D-N.J., introduced a resolution in the fall calling for greater transparency and accountability at UNRWA. The bill called on the agency to make its textbooks available on the Internet for public inspection and to implement "terrorist name recognition software and other screening procedures that would help to ensure that UNRWA staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries are neither terrorists themselves, nor affiliated with known terrorist organizations."

Rothman said he plans to re-introduce his UNRWA resolution in the coming weeks because, "as timely as this bill was before, it is even more timely now. It is urgent that Congress can be assured that U.S. taxpayer money is not being spent to support Hamas and its murderous activities."

A spokesman for UNRWA adamantly said that the agency is now free of terrorist connections. "We're composed of social workers and teachers," the official explained. "We take every step possible to have only civilians inside UNRWA facilities."

But the U.N. Personal History form for UNRWA employees does not ask whether someone is a member of, or affiliated with, a terrorist organization such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad. And there is no formal screening to ensure that employees are not affiliated with terrorist entities.

Asked about this, the UNRWA spokesman replied, "Palestinian staff sign an undertaking confirming that they have no political affiliations whatsoever, and have not and will not participate in any activities that would violate the neutrality of the U.N."

There is no formal enforcement, however, to monitor possible terrorist activities by employees after they sign the pledge at the time of hiring.

UNRWA official Chris Guinness told the Jerusalem Post this week that the agency screens names of new employees against the relatively small U.N. database of Taliban and Al Qaeda figures. Extremist Palestinians, however, are far more likely to belong to organizations, such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, that are not on that watch list.

In 2004, former UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen told the Canadian Broadcasting Company, "I am sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll and I don't see that as a crime." He added, "We do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another."

There have been several high-profile examples of terrorists being employed by UNRWA. Former top Islamic Jihad rocket maker Awad Al-Qiq, who was killed in an Israeli air strike last May, was the headmaster and science instructor at an UNRWA school in Rafah, Gaza. Said Siyam, Hamas' interior minister and head of the Executive Force, was a teacher for over two decades in UNRWA schools.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill say they are also concerned that terrorist propaganda is being taught in UNRWA schools. A notebook captured by Israeli officials at the UNRWA school in the Kalandia refugee camp several years ago glorified homicide bombers and other terrorists. Called "The Star Team," it profiled so-called "martyrs," Palestinians who had died either in homicide bombings or during armed struggle with Israel. On the book's back cover was printed the UNRWA emblem, as well as a photo of a masked gunman taking aim while on one knee.

There is evidence that students educated in UNRWA schools are much more likely to become homicide bombers, said Jonathan Halevi, a former Israeli Defense Forces intelligence officer who specializes in Palestinian terrorist organizations. Halevi has spent several years building an extensive database for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs of terrorist attacks by Hamas and other Islamic extremist groups.

Though he cautioned that estimates are tricky because the identity of an attacker is not always made public, Halevi estimated that over 60 percent of homicide bombers were educated in UNRWA schools. By comparison, roughly 25-30 percent of Palestinian students in the West Bank, the origin of almost all homicide bombers since the start of the intifada in 2000, attend UNRWA schools, according to the agency's figures.

A UNRWA spokesman strongly disputed any connection between the agency's schools and a greater likelihood of terrorist activity later in life. As proof, he pointed to UNRWA's "special efforts in our schools to teach tolerance, human rights and peaceful conflict resolution."

UNRWA sent an eight-page brochure to FOXNews.com that speaks about the group's tolerance, human rights and peaceful conflict resolution curriculum. But it makes no mention of tolerance toward Jews or Christians or of peaceful coexistence with Israel. Rather, it is geared toward student interaction, the rights students should expect in society, and learning to express emotions through acting, painting, and storytelling.