Israeli war crimes?

Of course, the way the media portrays Israel's war on Gaza, you might think the Israeli's are purpertrators of the Geneva Convention. The Wall Street Journal on January 10 published an article entitled "Israel is Committing War Crimes” by George Bisharat, who wrote that "Israel's current assault on the Gaza Strip cannot be justified by self-defense. Rather, it involves serious violations of international law, including war crimes."

Just for those of you who are wondering, Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines war crimes as follows: "Willful killing, torture, or inhuman treatment, including...willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health,...taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly."

What war crimes have they committed exactly? Bombing houses where they had explicitly given warnings to the residents to evacuate? Maybe we can accuse Israel of war crimes for bombing mosques. Surely that is a blatant war crime, even when that mosque was used to store weapons and supplies used to terrorize Israeli lives, and its only occupents were terrorist themselves. Wait a minute! I know what the liberal media is convicting Israel of. They bombed the UN HQ in Gaza. Again, wait a minute, what they failed to mention was that the bomb hit near its headquarters, and that nothing was actually destroyed (which by the way, had terrorist holding hostages, and firing rockets from the building). In fact soldiers went in on foot, risked their lives, and freed the UN HQ from terrorist. As far as I can tell, Israel did not commit any war crimes, as stated by the Geneva Convention.

Maybe we can accuse Israelis of war crimes for bombing buildings where civilians live. Even though, again, they were warned. Thing is, most Gazan citizens stand behind Hamas. Obviously, because they elected Hamas into power over the rival, Fatah, in 2006. Another important fact to take into consideration, that isn't mentioned by the media (which is leftist in itself, and despises Israel, and will use and abuse any facts to fit their biased agenda), is that these civilians willingly put themselves into harms way. Instead of evacuating or going underground, they became human shields for Hamas militants. They know that by doing this it will create an international uproar against the Israelis, and ultimately help in destroying the "Evil Zionist regim."

The world fails to see this however. We live in a politcaly correct society that contradicts itself. As mentioned before the media is leftist. They hate anything conservative, and of course will do anything to make people see their biased agenda (the conservative media does the same). However, all I ask is that the facts be presented. No conservative or liberal agenda. Fact #1: Hamas has called for the destruction of Israel.
Fact #2: For over 8 years, rockets have been fired into Southern Israel (Sderot, and the Negev), making no distinction between civilians and military personel.
Fact #3: Hamas makes no attempt to hide their desire to destroy Israeli life. Hamas TV (al-Aqsa TV, December 28, 2008) recently showed pictures of Hamas fighters shooting at Israel with skulls dripping with blood in the background. Captions for the program included "Let them Taste Violent Death” and "Send Them Hell, Qassam Missile."

These facts are disturbing. Again I ask, why then is Israel labeled as the Warmongers? It seems to me that most of the warmongering comes from the extreme Islamic party of Hamas (sorry for all the PC people out there, yes I do believe extreme Islam is a problem, and have no problem in calling it how it is. I speak the truth, and will not sugar coat anything.) All Israel has done is tried to protect their civilians, which any sovereign nation has a right to do. They have not tried to colonize or expand to other nations, as other countries have done. They simply want to live peaceably, however, they are prevented in doing so by Islamic radicals.

Here are some more facts for you to chew on (these facts are taken from an excerpt of Rotem Yacobi's article in the Ynet news, titled "Citizen of the Free World.")
"I ask myself the following questions: does the world know that the IDF calls and warns civilians before it strikes their homes, used as Hamas arms caches?
Does the world know that in response to this, Hamas men place women and children on the roofs of buildings, because they know the IDF won't target them? Does the world know that the IDF takes care of humanitarian needs and supplies medicine, food, and medical services to the Palestinians? Does the world know that Hamas men fire from within population centers and turn civilians into human shields?
Does the world know that while we fight for our legitimate right to live in peace and security, Palestinian patients receive dedicated treatment at Israeli hospitals? Did the world hear about the 20 cases where Palestinians exploited their health problems in order to attempt to carry out terror attacks? I ask myself, where was the world more than a year ago, when Hamas men massacred Fatah men and innocent members of their own people?" (end of excerpt)

I ask that the truth be told. While there may have been individual cases of mishaps and mistakes that were made during the Gaza invasion, do not label Israel's decision to go into Gaza to stop the attacks, a war crime. Defense is not a war crime. If you want an example of war crimes, look at Ahmadinejad's Iran, Saddam's Iraq, the genocide in Darfur, or the Sandinista's actions against the citizen's of Nicaragua.

Emet אמת

Love

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the word as a guy? Is it kissing, sex, pleasure, self gratification? Love as defined by Webster’s is the following:
1. A strong emotion of regard and affection
2. Any object of warm affection and devotion
3. A beloved person
4. A deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction
5. Sexual activities between two people

Now I think we all could agree that when we say we love someone, we feel at least one of the emotions above. The problem is, in this day and age, we equate love with the last two. When we say we love someone, it usually refers to the fact you think they are good looking, a great kisser, or know how to pleasure you. Sadly, this is what most people think love is, when it really comes down to it. Then, as quickly as that “love” is found, we suddenly somehow lose it. Or did we ever have it?

This love I am talking about is a very superficial love. It seeks just the gratification of one person, you. As soon as problems or any complication arises, we see it as our vehicle of escape from an awkward or difficult position. For example, guys leaving their girlfriend because she is now pregnant, or what happens when you find out that they have been cheating on you? That’s even more of a reason to leave them, correct? WRONG!

Now, let’s take a look at what I think real love is. Yes I am a Christian (if you don’t like it suck it up), and it just so happens that I am going to take you to the love chapter of the Bible. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…

Love, true love, will be patient. If the girl wants to take things slow (and I’m not talking about sex), if you really do love her you will take things at her pace, so that she is comfortable. You shouldn’t ever force anything on her or sweet talk her into anything that goes against who she is or her beliefs. In doing this you show kindness, and you will be seen as a gentleman.

A real humdinger for me was the part that says love is not envious. At first glance I wondered how that could be if God is a jealous God, and after all, he does love us. After some research, I found that jealousy is what you get when you are being replaced by someone else. Jealousy in effect, should trigger a want and a desire to protect and woo the woman he loves. Jealousy should make us as guys hope and persevere and chase after that girl. That is what happens between God and His creation. He sees that our time and commitments are elsewhere. Most times though, if we see our girlfriend with another man, we let envy take place. Envy is resenting another for what they have. In a case like that, most guys just envy the other man for taking their girl, because he now, in effect, has someone they want. Envy leads to anger, resentment, un-forgiveness, bitterness, and hatred among other things. Envy destroys love, while jealousy can build it.

True love is not one of self gratification, as today’s society portrays it. Lets get one thing straight, you don’t have sex with your girlfriend because you love her…you do it because you just want to get some of that. You want to feel pleasure and satisfy your own needs. If you really love the girl, you would respect her and yourself enough not to jump at the first opportunity you have. If you really love her, why don’t you wait and marry her. Then after that you can have sex all you want. But please, don’t try to deplete the world’s supply of condoms before you get there!

Going back to the point I made about abstinence earlier, there are two types of love. Agape love and Eros love. Eros is the love that a husband and a wife show toward each other (not two men, or two women). It is human love that results in physical demonstrations.

Agape love however, is something deeper and much more profound. It is the type of love that God loves with. Agape love makes someone worthy by the strength and power of its love. Agape loves in such a way that makes the person beautiful. It needs no reason to love, it is a love that gives, and it shakes us when needed. Agape sacrifices itself, gives itself away, it dies to itself. Agape love seems so foreign to us, because it is the embodiment of respect, honor and totally sacrifice. These are three character traits that have all been but lost in our generation.

So let us show love with an agape love. Let us show them that they are worth our affection and admiration. Let us put these truths into practice. You know, most girls dream of the fairy tale love. This is where the seemingly perfect world is shattered. Then her hero and rescuer come to save her and sweep her off her feet. Though most guys don’t dress in tights and prance around on horses like in the fairy tale movies, we can take something more out of it. The prince NEVER oversteps his bounds. He is always respectful and looks to please his beloved. We can be that prince the girl is looking for. As guys we can show her respect and agape.

Agape

American arrogance and Islam

So everyone I talk to believes that Muslims are peace loving, co-existors, that only want the best for the world...most everyone, that is. There are very few people that actually believe in, and see the threat that this very kind of thinking. As Americans, we like to think that there is no evil in the world. As quoted by Joel Rosenberg in his book The Last Jihad, "To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it." Which is the point I want to make.

I personally don't believe Islam is a peaceful religion (if you don't like it, too bad...if you don't agree with me, and are going to complain about this post, well here is a little disclaimer *no one is making you read this!*). The only reason it seems peaceful, is because its believers, I think, are apathetic. If one actually sits and reads the Qur'an, you will see that Muhammed did, at first, preach peace and coexistence with the Christians and Jews at the time. However, after a series of wars, Muhammed all of a sudden changed his stance on peace...he flip flopped, if you will, kind of like John Kerry did in the 2004 elections (and as Obama has done already on some very key issues, on which he promised changed...stay posted for that blog in the near future.) After his displacement from Mecca to Medina, he basically said, "Forget everything I have said about living peacefully. You now have to give the infidels a chance to convert, if they don't, kill them." Now while this isn't the view of all Muslims today, it is the point of view of the so called "radical Islamist."

Now, while talking with many people, most say, "Well we really have nothing to fear. Those extreme views aren't shared by all muslims." This is the type of arrogance President Obama should have apologized for in Europe. This type of thinking shows classical American ignorance in the fact that everything is OK now and it won't happen again. Did you know that an increasing number of American Muslim youth would give thier lives for a jihad here in the USA? Look it up, the polls are there. So much for a nonthreatning religion...even the apathetic are waking up to the supposed truth of the Qur'an. Now while most Americans wallow in this type of thinking, Ahmadinejad is building a nuclear arsenal. He has threatened to wipe Israel and America off the face of the earth. No one believes him though. They all say he is a crazy man who shouldn't be taken seriously. We said the same thing about Hitler in the 1930's when he was threatning to kill every single Jew. Of course he didn't, but he did kill 6 million Jews. Will we still continue in our ignorance, stand by and do nothing, while this goes on? We as Americans need to throw off ignorance, and put ourselves in the extremists' shoes. Surprise!!! Not every one thinks like us! *GASP* Shocking, I know. So even though maybe even less than 1% of Muslims hold an extremists view (which by the way, 1% of 1.3 billion people is 13,000,000....still a butt load of terrorist), they believe that we have no right to live!

Have we forgotten the catastrophic events of 9/11? On 9/12 there was a united America. One that "Would never forget" the events of the day before. However, we have. We are yet again misunderstanding and therefore underestimating the threat of evil. We will eventually be blindsided by it. I mentioned before that Muhammed ordered all his minions to kill everyone who wouldn't convert. Well not surprisingly, a few years ago, one of Al Qaeda's top leaders extended an invitation to all Americans to convert to Islam. No biggie right? Wrong! Now according to them, since we are not converting, they have the right to kill us. Uh Oh.

But hey all our politically correct buddies don't really care. We are willing to "negotiate" (more like sign our death warrant) with Iran and other terrorist nations! All the human rights activists say that we need to care about their rights and wants....What about our rights? What about the rights of the 2,974 Americans that died in a smoldering burning heap of twisted metal and jet fuel? What about the rights of the families that were destroyed? What about the right of mothers and fathers that lost their sons and daughters? What about the rights of the children that lost their mother and fathers? We have the duty to honor them, to protect their rights first, and the rights of every single American.

Well of course this type of thinking is hateful to the rest of the world. So we now believe that we have to go sucking up to every nation and explain ourselves to them...especially to the French! What the heck, the French owe us. They've never won a war by themselves, save the French revolution, which was a civil war. As a matter of a fact if my history isn't wrong...if it wasn't for the so called "American Arrogance" (AA) and our right to defend our bases (Pearl Harbor), and our national soverignty, then Europe would all be speaking German right now. They should be grateful, but yet as Americans have done, now the rest of the world forgets their history. The only ones who haven't forgotten theirs though, are the extremist who declare Jihad on all who opose them....them and the Israelis. They remember when the world was as unsuspecting as before.

Now the extremist lie in wait, waiting for the perfect opportunity when the whole world is unsuspecting...then like a snake they will strike...again. They've already warned us that another attack is coming. They will hit D.C. and major American cities. What will we do? Are we going to sit back and continue in our apathy, or will we rise up and demand something be done?

I will never forget.

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