Israel Under Attack

More about human shields

2006-08-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Whether it's Hizballah of Palestinian terrorists, the same style shows:

A different view from Lebanon

2006-08-13T01:25:00.000-07:00

THE ABDICATION OF LEBANESE LEADERS.
State of Denial
by Michael Béhé

Beirut, Lebanon

The politicians, journalists and intellectuals of Lebanon have, of late, been experiencing the shock of their lives. They knew full well that Hezbollah had created an independent state in our country, a state including all the ministers and parallel institutions, duplicating those of Lebanon. What they did not know--and are discovering with this war, and what has petrified them with surprise and terror--is the extent of this phagocytosis.

Full article on THE NEW REPUBLIC website...

Through the eyes of a relief volunteer

2006-08-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is a partial translation from a blog in Russian.
Here is the original.

"
Friday, 08/04, 9:30am
---------------------
...While still in town, we started hearing non-stop blasts that have come to accompany the locals' lives 24/7. A blast can of the "bad" kind (missiles) or the "good" kind (artillery). To tell the to apart by the mere sound of a boom, you need some considerable experience. To calm our nerves down, we attributed the blast we heard to the "good" kind, for otherwise it would be "howling", too. Suddenly, instead of the muted thunder, we heard a high-pitch whistle, right by us. "Shimon, was that still us?", I asked very quietly. "No, that was them", Shimon uttered even more quietly, and immediately hurtled the car aside, pulling over, breaks shrieking, by the nearest bus station.
Dropping bags, phones and armored vests, we fell out of the car onto the hot asphalt and crawled under the concrete benches. The pounding was so close, you could think the rockets were landing right behind your back. Lyosha and Shimon were reciting "Shma Israel" ("Hear Israel" - the prayer) under their breaths and aloud. Ancient mechanisms that used to protect our prehistoric ancestors from predators and natural disasters, pushed my body, unsafe in that fickle shelter, out into a mode of fast running. My breathing became frequent and deep, my heart was pounding in the soles of my feet, muscles became tense - my poor body couldn't understand, why on earth wouldn't the poor mind let leap into the nearest cave. Apparently, it knew nothing about rockets. Having spent several minutes in that fashion (during which, by the way, cars kept passing by nonchalantly), Shimon concluded: "No, that was still
us. But very near."

- Friday, 08/04, 7pm
---------------------
"Home", at last! We've got a royal shelter - spacious, bright and deep, as if it were made to last a nuclear war, with a TV set, two workout machines, two air-conditioners and three grandmas, giving it a homely ambiance. Soon enough, me and Masha are cooking pasta on a portable burner, jumping once in a while when it pounds too loudly.
Then we light up Shabbat candles on an upside-down pot: two little candles, and two big once. We pray hastily, blessing the bread and the wine, but we don't get to start the Shabbat dinner. A convoy has arrived: ten cars, three tons of food! All that needs to be unloaded, sorted out, and ideally, delivered ASAP. Everybody but me leaves to meet the convoy, I'm staying on the phone. But I, too, am overwhelmed
with emotion and pride for those who put everything aside and drove to another city in the middle of a night, risking their lives and not sparing time and effort, just to help other people, strangers. I'm grateful to all of them, to each and every one."

-------------
...A woman shows up with a child in her arms. The kid is clearly way beyond cuddling age. At any attempt to talk to him or offer a toy he cries aloud. His eyes wild, hazy. I'm wondering who will be dealing with all these cases a year, two, ten years after the war ends.

-------------
... Masha, Israel and myself are getting out of this ashes and smoke filled city. The bus is taking us away from the black mountains and artillery blasts. It's taking us to a place where there are cars on the streets, not tanks. Where you don't have to divide sounds into "good" and "bad" ones. Where you don't have to breathe fresh ashes every night. Where living people do not sleep under the ground. That other world is one and a half hour away, by a public bus. How small, how inconceivably, devastatingly small it is, this country of mine."

The infamous Reuters photo scandal

2006-08-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

Media hacks and tricks made easy:

Photoshop and beyond, or anything goes

Barrage of Haifa video

2006-08-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

A view from within

Major Roi Klein

2006-08-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted from israelnorthblog.livejournal.com )

The least we can do for the man, who sacrificed his life in such a heroic fashion, is to tell his story.

Major Roi Klein, the deputy batallion commander of 51th batallion of the Golany infantry brigade, from the Eli settlement, was the highest ranking officer between his soldiers in Beit Jbeil. During the combat, he noticed a hand grenade thrown at his men. Since there was no time to evade the effect of the upcoming explosion, he threw himself onto the grenade so as to block the shards and thus save his men. His sacrifice was not in vain. His men, who thus survived the battle, told later that he cried out "Shma Israel" as he jumped at the grenade.

Roi Klein, a true hero in the age of anti-heroes worship, was burried at the day he turned 31.

It is told of him, that he was an excellent saxophone player and a brilliantly spiritual man, who completed cum laude his engineering degree. He hiked with friends in Afrika, he had a captivating laughter. All his friends say he was a quiet, gentle man. His widow wishes their children to grow up just like him.

May he rest in peace.

Instead of lighting a candle, please pass the story on. He deserves much more than that, but that's as much as we can do.

The Lebanese Tragicomedy

2006-08-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Jihad a.k.a. Mein Kampf

2006-08-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

This movie should be shown everywhere around the globe for free. It concerns YOU directly. This is not propaganda, and it is not against Islam as such by any means. It just forces you to open you to open your eyes.

http://www.obsessionthemovie.com/