…on the luxury shopping mall in Gaza.

David Cameron used a visit to Turkey to make his strongest intervention yet in the intractable Middle East conflict today when he likened the experience of Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip to that of a “prison camp”.

Um… let’s juxtapose that with a bit of reality, eh David?

This past Saturday night, the Gaza Strip marked the grand opening of its new shopping mall, known as Strip Mall. So as the world continues to chastise Israel over its “blockade,” Gaza residents (including the over 10,500 allowed intro Israel for medical treatment in 2009) can enjoy life at the fancy new shopping center.

Go kill some Jews.

The United States plans to offer more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after Israel’s invasion and to strengthen the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, U.S. officials said on Monday.

The money, which needs U.S. congressional approval, will be distributed through U.N. and other bodies and not via the militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, said one official.

“This money is for Gaza and to help strengthen the Palestinian Authority. It is not going to go to Hamas,” said the official, who asked not to be named as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton planned to announce the funding at a donors’ conference in Egypt next week.

I do not believe for one millisecond that this money will go 100% to aid, and not into weapons and ammo for Jew hunting, a favorite Gazan pastime.

I spent yesterday on the “wrong” side of the street, betraying all I believe in to walk amongst the pro-Palestinian terror supporters of Toronto. I didn’t do this by choice, but because I was asked by an American anti-terror organization to cover it from the “inside”.

The organizers of the rally (which mostly seemed to be sponsored by Toronto Stop the War Coalition) said there were 15,000 people in attendance. The real number was closer to about 10,000. But hey, it’s kinda like when they kill Israeli civilians: A few more or less are no big deal, let’s just use round numbers!

A bewildered and somewhat unwilling child wastes his Saturday doing what his mother wants him to do.

I arrived just as the dingbat head of Ontario CUPE, Sid Ryan, took the stage to tell everyone that he isn’t anti-Semitic, but that the evil Jewish-owned media in Canada just made it sound that way. Because they’re Jooooooos. And then he had the nerve to tell everyone that because he’s Irish and because Ireland had The Troubles, he totally understands the plight of the Gazans. Uh huh. So he basically just told the city that he’s pro-IRA terror, too. Way to go, Sid Vicious. Is there anyone you don’t want to bomb?

The Communist Worker party crowd was out, standing in solidarity with the anti-Semites. Oddly, so were the queers. Here’s a useful idiot for you:

I doubt very much if they realize they would be the first to go under an Islamic regime. If Palestinians tear down their wall, that wall will land on homosexuals. That’s what happens to them in Islamic states.

Let me just say that for the most part, the rally was peaceful and extremely well monitored by its own security people. Guys with Hezbollah flags showed up and were turned away, because they didn’t want the bad press. Mind you, they missed one:

Ok, maybe two. This girl was wearing her Nasrallha/Hezbollah banner on her hijab. I asked her to take it of and show it to me. I told her she was brave for wearing it. Her response? “Who cares, this is Canada. I can do what I want!” Too bad I can’t.

While they did their best to stick to chants like “Free, free Palestine” and “Palestine will never die!”, there were a few rogues who let their true feelings come through. Groups of people yelling “Allahu Ackbar” were quickly shushed by the organizers. Well, mostly. I have video, but can’t post it at this time.

One Islamic student group however spent much of the time screaming the following chant:

Viva viva Palestina
Viva viva Intifada

And then, the women in bags arrived. People I believe to be Toronto’s First Family of Terror, the Khadrs. Of course, it’s hard to say for sure because the women were covered head-to-toe in Islamic garb(age), but the little girl looked familiar. Unfortunately they had her dressed as a prop. I’m surprised they didn’t have the poor dear in a tiny suicide vest. Here is an image of her crying, obviously upset by the noise and chaos, not to mention the argument her mother was having with the organizers. Apparently the rally wasn’t radical enough for them. That’s what I gleaned with my rudimentary Arabic.

I didn’t want to be there yesterday. I knew of the rally via Facebook, but I had no intention of being there. The one last week made my ulcer bleed, it was so ugly. This week’s, though tamer, was worse for me because I had to walk amongst the hordes. When it was over and I had run through almost 6GB of recording, I felt I needed a shower and a pork chop, which is exactly what I had.

Author Pete Vere rewrites the union anthem to make Sid Ryan (head of CUPE) feel more comfortable in Toronto.

Hogtown Hezbollah forever,
Hogtown Hezbollah forever,
Hogtown Hezbollah forever,
For Israel must be wrong.

We march in solidarity with the yellow flag of hate.
As we lash out in Toronto, “Let us crush the Jewish state.”
We represent the left, and Jews and Nazis we equate.
For Israel must be wrong.

Hogtown Hezbollah forever,
Hogtown Hezbollah forever,
Hogtown Hezbollah forever,
For Israel must be wrong.

We have taken untold millions that we never toiled to earn,
As public service union chiefs, our Jewish members we spurn
We will pogrom academics, who in Israel did learn
For Israel must be wrong.

Hogtown Hezbollah forever,
Hogtown Hezbollah forever,
Hogtown Hezbollah forever,
For Israel must be wrong.

The Jewish Defense League is hosting a counter-rally tomorrow at Yonge & Dundas Square. Meet at 1:30 pm at the Southwest Corner of Dundas & Yonge, in front of the Eaton Centre. I will be there.

In other Israeli-offensive news, this is an excellent post by Leah, an Israeli-American friend of mine.

Well here’s my question; where was the world’s outrage when a bomb from Gaza landed mere meters from my best friend’s house? Where was the world’s outrage at the Israeli civilians who were being “targeted”—if one can call blind firing of rockets into purely civilian areas actual targeting—for the past month? Is it all right to bomb Israeli citizens intentionally and wrong to bomb buildings in which Hamas terrorist leaders are holed up continuing their terror after warning the civilians to leave?

Where was the world while my best friend’s been “fixing up” her bomb shelter and worrying about her sons’ day care, because it doesn’t have one? Those children are not important…

…But how dare the world’s media use such biased coverage as to interview a Palestinian woman living in the hell that is now Gaza without talking also to an Israeli woman trying to save her kids? How can any use of force against Israel be counted and reported in said media as everyday behavior but a 5-day offensive to make that behavior stop be reported as unwarranted violence? Why must my country be asked repeatedly to be the lamb to the slaughter whenever it is faced with attack?

As usual most of the world shows such a blatant double standard with respect to Israel and frankly, everyone else that we tend not to even notice it and on occasion, like Hitler’s ‘big lie’ tend to think there must be something to it for so many to buy into it. In a way I suppose there is. Oil money and fear of terrorism by immigrants to western nations. But here are a few links which offer some clear as day thought on the matter. Of course, when the UN passed a resolution against Israel as the worlds worst actor in terms of women’s rights it was so laughable that most ignored it. But now we are down to the existential.

First, from www.thereligionofpeace.com 9 questions that should be answered before anyone can criticize the Israeli actions in Gaza. I could add quite a few myself but this is a nice list.

Next an op ed from the National Post on same subject. Pithy and spot on. It’s not that this is profound or hugely insightful. It’s that a Canadian national newspaper has the courage to make a clear moral stand. I wonder if we could find this in a British major paper or any other European one. It is worth reading even if most of us already know these facts.

As an aside,
there was an attack on an American Jewish center. I doubt this will be an isolated event. Look for more in Montreal.

Meanwhile the religion of peace advances it’s cause for world domination while nobody much notices.

The Swat Valley in Pakistan has been pretty much taken over by Taliban/Al Queda. A close look at a map and some thinking about US Canadian operations in Afghanistan plus rapidly rising tensions between nuclear neighbors Pakistan and India will show why this story deserves attention. Pakistan is losing a lot of territory to the Islamists. They are moving troops away from the allied areas and re enforcing borders with India. This creates opportunity for Islamist expansion on that front. I recently spent close to a hundred dollars I really do not have to buy a decent world map. It may have been the worlds first sub prime map loan actually. Who knew in high school physical geography would actually matter.

Also Stratfor reports more deadly mortar attacks by Islamist forces in Somalia killing ten people today alone. The amusingly named MILF continues to attack bomb and spread hatred and fear in the Philippines and the western media either ignores it or claims its a separatist group. It is not. It is a group of Islamic supremacy.

This article about Russia’s approach to Islam is quite good as well. It explains the little known use by Russia of Islamic proxy’s. The US likely did this as well during the cold war. Chechen’s where most likely funded by the US to annoy and distract resources of the Soviets during the cold war and we all know about Afghanistan and the Mujahadeen proxies for the US. However what should be evident by now to all of us is that this backfires. Not just sometimes but all the time to most of the world. Even Pakistan and Iran have used Islam as the tie that binds disparate tribes to try and create a national identity. We see how well that works in both places. Well, I suppose in a way you can say it does.

Here is an article albeit an older one from Jeff Jacoby at the Boston Globe on UN hypocrisy with respect to Israel. Lots of links as well and a good read. Perhaps the fact that this was written before even rumors of a retaliatory strike on Gaza makes it more meaningful.

This to paraphrase Dr. Wafa Sultan, is not a war of civilizations. Civilizations compete. This is a war of civilization against barbarism.

James Cohen for Girl on the right.

Here is a nice little clip of the Israeli Air Force taking out a number of Hamas trucks full of rockets. Quite satisfying to see even if I had hoped never to hear that song again. Even so it’s kind of funny. Good quote from the bard as well.

“Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee’

December 17, 2008 | Khaled Abu Toameh
PA Tortures Journalists

“This is not Israel, where you are allowed to see a lawyer.”

Over the past two years Palestinian journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been subjected to a systematic campaign of intimidation that has resulted in the death of some and the detention of others.

The campaign, which is being waged by both Hamas and Fatah, has received almost no attention from human rights groups and advocates of the freedom of expression throughout the world.

By contrast, when a Palestinian journalist is accidentally wounded by Israeli gunfire during clashes with Palestinians, the incident makes headlines in major media outlets in the US and EU.

What is most disturbing about the campaign of intimidation is the fact that it’s being spearheaded by the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. This is the same authority that is receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from American and European taxpayers’ money every month to build a proper judicial system and promote democracy and transparency among the Palestinians.

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Arafat memorial erupts into gunfire in Gaza

I burned myself on the irony.

Gunfire killed at least six people and wounded 80 today at a Fatah memorial rally for Yasser Arafat attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters of the defeated faction in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Wheee! He won the Peace Prize, ya know!