My new column, “The Final Solution to the Jewish State,” is about “archetype Amalekites,” who dabble in “Palestinian replacement theology, speak of the existence of Israel as a sin,” and promote “the concept of the Palestinian Jesus.” They are “pirating ancient Jewish history by superimposing Palestinian fiction on it,” and are “engaged in the ultimate identity theft so as to bring about the end of the Jewish state as we know it.”
Kenneth Lay, RIP
Ken Lay is dead at age 64—of a heart attack. That’s no surprise. While the smarmy, smart-aleck libertarian will mock those of us who think the man’s death was inadvertently caused by the state’s persecution, it is undeniably true that the heart reacts to stress like no other organ. “Broken-Heart Syndrome” is real and well-documented, confirm scientists at Johns Hopkins.
I stand by what I said earlier this year when the people’s prosecutor hoisted his pitchfork and lunged for this man: self-righteous and preening for the cameras, US government lawyers did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the men at the helm of this once-fabulous corporation intentionally made predictions that didn’t pan out, or that their exuberant optimism, which translated—if my recollection serves me—into aggressive bookkeeping, was intended to deceive and defraud.
Bill Anderson stated the case against Enron’s alternating CEOs best. In “Is Ken Lay Really a Criminal?” he wrote: “the case is not about what historically has been considered criminal behavior. Instead, Lay and Skilling were convicted because Enron became a colossal business failure.”
Best to sum the cause of death was Lay’s pastor. Said Steve Wende of Houston’s First United Methodist Church: “[Ken’s] heart simply gave out.”
Abu Mazen—A Man of Peace?
In my last column, “Qassam Rockets ‘R’ Us,” I pointed out that Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), Israel’s “partner in peace, signed an accord with Hamas this week that—supports armed action and terrorism against Israel and does not restrict ‘resistance’ to areas occupied by Israel in 1967.’ Retired Ambassador Yoram Ettinger offers a precis of this accord (known as the “Prisoners’ Document”), and fills in some of the blanks our media malpractitioners refrain from reporting:
Notwithstanding Abu Mazen’s seemingly moderate appearance, his embrace of the “Prisoners’ Document” has reaffirmed the fundamentals of his own hate-education: idolizing homicide bombers, the “claim of return”, terrorism and the inadmissibility of the Jewish State.
1. FIVE LEADING TERRORISTS compiled the “Prisoners’ Document”, which has been embraced by Abu Mazen: Fatah’s Marwan Barghouti, serving 5 terms of life imprisonment, Hamas’ Abd Al-Khaliq Al-Natsheh, Islamic Jihad’s Bassam Al- Saadi, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s Abd Al-Rahim Mallouh and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s Mustafa Badarneh.
2. THE GOAL of the “Document” is to restore coordination between the PLO and Hamas, while adhering to the fundamentals of the Palestinian attitude toward the “Zionist Entity”. The goal is not to advance peace with Israel, but to clarify that “Palestinian Unity” supersedes any agreement signed with Israel.
3. THE “CLAIM OF RETURN” by Palestinian refugees to the pre-1967 area of Israel is emphasized five times in the “Document”. The “Claim of Return” is a euphemism for the inadmissibility of the Jewish State.
4. THE STAGE-BY-STAGE POLICY, which was adopted by the PLO in 1974, has been reaffirmed. The “document” calls for the establishment of an independent Palestinian State in the “1967 area”, without withdrawing claims to the “Pre-1967 area” a provisional stage/accord.
5. TERRORISM IS ENCOURAGED by calling for the “widening the circles of resistance” and for the “release of all prisoners” held by Israel “by all means”. These prisoners are held for terrorism and not for theft and burglary. Precedents determine that the terms “by all means” and “resistance” are code words for terrorism, including the abduction of Israelis as bargaining chips.
6. HOMICIDE BOMBING IS HERALDED by urging support of “those who bore the burden of resistance, in particular the martyrs’ families”. “Martyrs” is a common reference, by Palestinians, to homicide bombers.
7. PLO-HAMAS COOPERATION IS HIGHLIGHTED by calling for the implementation of the March 2005 Cairo Accord, which was the latest in a series of PLO-Hamas understandings, engineered by Abu Mazen since the signing of the Oslo Accord. The understandings state that “Palestinian Unity” and Palestinian national claims—especially the “claim of return”—supersede any accord with Israel.
8. ABU MAZEN is the architect of Palestinian hate-education in schools, mosques and official media—the most authentic reflection of his vision, and a manufacturing line of homicide-bombing. Notwithstanding Abu Mazen’s seemingly moderate appearance, his embrace of the “Prisoners’ Document” has reaffirmed the fundamentals of his own hate-education: idolizing homicide bombers, the “claim of return”, terrorism and the inadmissibility of the Jewish State.
Griffin The Great
Celebrity, Hollywood, Media, Political Correctness, Pop-Culture, The Zeitgeist
While not very many smart people are genuinely kind, very many kind people are truly smart. As Oscar Wilde reminded us, “kindliness requires imagination and intellect.” In Kathy Griffin, my favorite comedian, imagination and intellect have combined to yield a great deal of kindness. Her visit to Iraq to cheer the troops lay bare just how kind—and perceptive—she really is.
Griffin’s interactions with the broken Sgt. Adkins—he had just survived a mortar attack that took the life of his fiance and best friend—were achingly sensitive. (She did, of course, ask him if they were giving him any good drugs.)
About the unnecessary war, she said: “The more I’m in an actual war zone, the more it’s just ugly. It’s not cool, it’s not a Toby Keith song; it’s not opening up a can of whoop-ass. It’s just horrible. I don’t know. Is it really worth losing so many of our own?”
Griffin’s account of the Iraq tour on her Bravo Blog is entitled, “I Came. I Saw. Iraq.” But just in case you get the wrong idea, she quickly clarifies parenthetically: “(Which is different than “I saw Iraq. I came.” Which did not happen. Because, like I said—that place is a s**t-hole.)”
I love her to bits.