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30. juli 2006
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Israeli bombing caused a total tragedy in southern Lebanon today, killing at least 34 children in the village of Qana:
Israeli missiles hit several buildings in a southern Lebanon village as people slept Sunday, killing at least 56, most of them children, in the deadliest attack in 19 days of fighting.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed "great sorrow" for the airstrikes but blamed Hezbollah guerrillas for using the area to launch rockets at Israel, and said he would not halt the army's operation. [...]
Israeli said it targeted Qana because it was a base for hundreds of rockets launched at Israeli, including 40 that injured five Israelis on Sunday. Israel said it had warned civilians several days before to leave the village.
"One must understand the Hezbollah is using their own civilian population as human shields," said Israeli Foreign Ministry official Gideon Meir. "The Israeli defense forces dropped leaflets and warned the civilian population to leave the place because the Hezbollah turned it into a war zone."
There is, however, the unfortunate situation that Israel is also targeting anything that moves on the roads in and out of the region, to prevent Hezbollah being rearmed or repositioning itself, making escape very difficult for the civilian population. The terrorist organisation indeed uses the population as human shields, as these press photos smuggled out of Lebanon demonstrate, but it remains a fact that it is the IDF that pulls the trigger.
In the grim calculus of innocent deaths against military objectives, there are now good reasons to question whether the Israeli strategy of mostly aerial bombardment is having much of an effect on Hezbollah's military capabilities. There are few signs of a reduction in the number of rockets and missiles fired into Israel. Clearly, Hezbollah is actively playing for horror pictures of dead children in the international media, and the current Israeli strategy plays right into the enemy's hands. Many are of the opinion that Israel is totally indifferent to the civilian cost to Lebanon. That is clearly not the case - if it were the casualties would have been many times higher, but the PR damage to Israel is now growing every day. It is true "the international community" denounces Israel at the drop of a hat, and that the Israeli government therefor has learned to ignore what we can call international opinion, but today's events should give room for some pause and a possible rethinking of Israel's strategy. If Lebanese civilians are paying the ultimate price, and Israel's bombing campaign is not even working, there are few arguments for continuing the operation in its current form.
Those who are opposed to Hezbollah in Lebanon itself are certainly moved in the wrong direction. The Lebanese government today angrily called off a meeting with Condoleeza Rice, who was forced to cut off her Middle East tour early with today's tragic events.
PS: Ehud Olmert says that the IDF will need another 10-14 days to finish the task in Lebanon. However, just today Sunday 140 Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israel, wounding eight people. I guess it is possible that the Israeli government knows something I don't, but so far there are very few signs of success in this mostly aerial campaign.
Update: David Bernstein argues the blame lies with Hezbollah, and that the one-sided condemnations of Israel will encourage terrorist organisations to keep using human shields.
Today, Israel leveled a building they were hiding in, which unfortunately also turned out to house many innocent children. So the Party of God gets a propaganda victory. Those who relexively condemn Israel when the Party of God's strategy works (and Israel inadvertantly kills civilians) are being worse than naive; they are encouraging not just the Party of God, but other terrorist groups, to use human shields in the future, as it proves to be an effective strategy.
That is a very valid point. However, I think my argument above stands. If these human costs do not actually contribute to an Israeli victory over Hezbollah, Israel is in fact playing into the terrorists' hands.
Bernstein also links to this page from Israel's foreign affairs ministry, which shows footage of Hezbollah firing missiles alongside civilian buildings.
6:05:34 PM 
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According to an article in the Observer, EU rules may require member countries to register and store the fingerprints of schoolchildren.
British children, possibly as young as six, will be subjected to compulsory fingerprinting under European Union rules being drawn up in secret. The prints will be stored on a database which could be shared with countries around the world.
The prospect has alarmed civil liberties groups who fear it represents a 'sea change' in the state's relationship with children and one that may lead to juveniles being erroneously accused of crimes. Under laws being drawn up behind closed doors by the European Commission's 'Article Six' committee, which is composed of representatives of the European Union's 25 member states, all children will have to attend a finger-printing centre to obtain an EU passport by June 2009 at the latest.
The use of fingerprints and other biometric data is designed to prevent passport fraud and allow European member states to meet US entry visa requirements, but the decision to fingerprint children has disturbed human rights groups.
I'd believe this would freak out just about anybody. EUrocrats have an enormous appetite for expanding their turf into every part of Europeans' lives, and these "expert committees" often demonstrate an amazing disconnect from the concerns of ordinary people. Nobody with any political (or social) sense would dream up a scheme requiring schoolchildren to be fingerprinted.
7:36:50 AM
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It's been all over the news today that Mel Gibson has been arrested for drunk driving. However, the real story appears to be much worse than that. The report says that when the star was pulled over, he was not exactly going quietly.
The actor began swearing uncontrollably. Gibson repeatedly said, "My life is f****d." Law enforcement sources say the deputy, worried that Gibson might become violent, told the actor that he was supposed to cuff him but would not, as long as Gibson cooperated. As the two stood next to the hood of the patrol car, the deputy asked Gibson to get inside. Deputy Mee then walked over to the passenger door and opened it. The report says Gibson then said, "I'm not going to get in your car," and bolted to his car. The deputy quickly subdued Gibson, cuffed him and put him inside the patrol car.
TMZ has learned that Deputy Mee audiotaped the entire exchange between himself and Gibson, from the time of the traffic stop to the time Gibson was put in the patrol car, and that the tape fully corroborates the written report.
Once inside the car, a source directly connected with the case says Gibson began banging himself against the seat. The report says Gibson told the deputy, "You mother f****r. I'm going to f*** you." The report also says "Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he 'owns Malibu' and will spend all of his money to 'get even' with me."
The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: "F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?"
The deputy became alarmed as Gibson's tirade escalated, and called ahead for a sergeant to meet them when they arrived at the station. When they arrived, a sergeant began videotaping Gibson, who noticed the camera and then said, "What the f*** do you think you're doing?"
A law enforcement source says Gibson then noticed another female sergeant and yelled, "What do you think you're looking at, sugar tits?"
We're told Gibson took two blood alcohol tests, which were videotaped, and continued saying how "f****d" he was and how he was going to "f***" Deputy Mee.
Also, disturbingly, the arresting officer was forced by his superiors to rewrite the report to omit the anti-Semitic tirades and much else. Of course, the original report has been leaked.
Gibson has apologised profoundly to all involved, but this is not going to do wonders for his career. Famously, his movie The Passion of the Christ was accused, I think unfairly, for being anti-Semitic. His father Hutton Gibson, however, has stated the Holocaust was exaggarated and repeated many classic anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. Publicly, Mel Gibson has said he does not agree with this. What he says when he is drunk is obviously another matter.
12:52:42 AM
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© Copyright 2006 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.08.2006; 17:39:05.
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