I am done with the translation of Nasrallah’s latest speech. You can read and download it from here. If you spot any technical (grammar, spelling, etc.) mistakes, please do let me know. I realize that the translation is not perfect, but given time constraints it’s the best I could deliver.
Just as I was uploading the file, I heard a noise (sounded like a boom) coming from a distance. It was relatively faint, but there was something strange about it (not sure what it was, but it seems I’ve gotten used to the different sounds of bombs); so I went to the balcony with a pair of binoculars, expecting to see smoke rising from the southern suburbs of Beirut. But no, there was no such smoke. Instead, what I saw was a big orange-reddish semi-circle “thing” well off into the sea beyond the southern suburbs of Beirut. I blinked, wiped my eyes, looked again. I’m not sure what it was. At first I thought it was flares shot from the gunship, but it was ON the sea, not in the skies, and it did not have the look of flares. It makes no sense that flares would be shot up just above the ship instead of the targeted areas… Maybe it was flares (I am still convinced it was something else, but not sure what exactly), who knows. I turned on the TV to see if any of the local stations reported this “strange sighting”, but apparently none had spotted it, or it’s just “regular stuff” that I was unaware of. Well, I suppose we’ll find out in the coming hours; and if nothing is reported then it means I will be adding a new description to my Lebanon war 2006 encyclopedia under “flares, bombs, and other such harmless stuff”.
I was watching scenes from Haifa. An Arab reporter said – and this was also confirmed by a BBC correspondent at the scene of the strike on an Arab neighbourhood – that she could not state the exact location of the strike because it was a “sensitive site”. Could it be that Israel deliberately places strategic (“sensitive”) sites next to Arab neighbourhoods? What does that make the Arabs of Israel then (other than resident aliens) – human shields? Or is Israel too moral to do that? Too moral not to open public shelters in Arab towns, too moral not to install sirens in Arab towns… And we have already seen Israel’s morality in Lebanon. Never mind, how dare I even think that Israel can ever use civilians Arabs as human shields?
And the innocent continue to die all over the place. While Olmert continues to grin and reassure the Israelis that he has everything under control. And Bush is riding his mountain bike in Texas.
Blogging the Middle East 
This is a vile post that disrespects the Israeli Arabs of Haifa. The katyushas hit the Arab part of a mixed neighborhood. It was downtown Haifa. There is nothing strategic there and the Arabs have been living there from before 1948. In the hospital where the wounded were brought the Arabs were shouting “death to Nasrallah”. He is just a terrorist. If you support him or invent stories to rationalize your support for him, you are just as vile as he his. You should be ashamed of yourself. I will circulate your hateful post between my Arab friends in Haifa. Hopefully one of them will meet you face to face one day.
It appears as if you might be a victim of high tech taqqiyah.
There is evidence of massive image fraud going on. Adnan Hajj has already been dropped by Reuters and now other images of purported ‘atrocities’ and Israeli bombings, jets, etc., are coming under scrutiny.
Like I said, it appears as if Taqqiyah has gone high tech. As my Syrian friedn noted, ‘The real naqbah has been video and audio tape.’
By the way, if the Israelis treat their Arab citizens so poorly, why do they all want to remain under Israeli rule?
It seems Walid Phares has more info.
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/08/reuters_hijacking_lebanons_ans.php
What a messed up world, all the name of God, Jews Moslemsmoand
and USA
Just thought I would pass this on- it suggests that Lebanon is only one step to a large objective for the US. I have no expertise- I am just passing it on. http://www.juancole.com/2006/08/one-ring-to-rule-them-wholesale.html
I have been wondering over and over again why the civilian casualties in Israel are all Arabs. It’s a mystery. What are the odds?
“I have been wondering over and over again why the civilian casualties in Israel are all Arabs”
Are you on drugs?
Do a google news search for Israeli civilian casualties.
Gee whiz, and I thgouht this would be hard to find out.
The Isreali civilian deaths, of course, have not been “all” Arab. As I’m sure you know, in the Galilee the population is about 50% Arab. In Haifa it was about 10% but is probably larger now due to evacuations. But it is appears true that there are not sufficient bomb shelters in Arab neighborhoods, although the sirens in Haifa, for instance, can be heard easily in the mixed neighborhoods, or so I’ve read.
Most of the deaths, however, have occured outside. Nonetheless, it is well documented that Israel does often treat its Arab citizens as “second class” (except when they win soccer games for them.) So, of course, it is Israel’s fault the Hizbullah rockets kill Arabs.
The irony, of course, is that it is these very Arabs that will eventuall, if not destroy Israel, I doubt they will want to, but one day will run Israel (if Hizbullah doesn’t kill them off.) The Israeli Arab population is the youngest in Isreal and has the highest birthrate. I think there are something like 17% right now? With projections that the Arab population will be majority in 20 or 30 years? (I’m doing this from memory so my numbers may be well off, but that is the issue that will cause massive change in Israeli (just as it did in Lebanon over the past 490 years. It’s the one thing people tend to forget: in democracies, demographics are king. Republics favor the breeders.
“All” meaning all Stellaa cares about.
By the way, the super-secret site where the Hizbullah rockets killed three Arab Israeli’s has somehow been leaked. According to http://www.haaretz.com:
“Three persons were killed and four others were injured, two of them seriously, when Katyusha rockets slammed into the Haifa neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas at approximately 8 P.M. last night.
More than 160 persons were treated for light injuries and shock after seven rockets hit different parts of the city; 29 rockets were fired at the city and its environs yesterday.
A three-story building where the Communist Party, Al-Ittihad, had once been housed, and which was empty, was severely damaged by a direct hit. Members of a family living next door suffered serious injuries from the blast.”
I whant tell you my point of veiw about this war, the war must end soon but not before the soldiers will come back home in one piece and only if un forcec & lebanon army will start protect the boarder.
People must understand that this war was not started if the hizbala was disarmed of weapon by the goverment of lebanon.
This a point of veiw from a citycen from israel that his home was bombed, we wont give up & we will remain strong, nothing wont brake us!!!!!!
Perhaps Hizbullah just hates old commies.
@ “e”:
Ohh, I did not know I should learn RESPECT FOR ARABS from AN ISRAELI of all people. An Israeli who uses Arabs as a tool to argue that HezbAllah kills Arabs too, and thus “he is bad”. You know what is disrespectful? That YOU and YOUR GOVERNMENT (not funding public shelters in Arab towns and neighbourhoods) distinguish IN DEATH, between an Arab and a Jew. Also, there was nothing disrespectful in this post, and that the Arabs were chanting “death to Nasrallah” is irrelevant here, as I was merely pointing out what more than one reporter said. I am not making up any of this. It was on ANB, Al-Arabiya, Al-Jazeera, AND BBC.
War causes death. As weapons have advanced war has caused continued increasing civilian deaths. “The increasing number of child victims is primarily explained by the higher proportion of civilian deaths in recent conflicts. In the wars of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, only about half the victims were civilians.
In the later decades of this century the proportion of civilian victims has been rising steadily: in World War II it was two thirds, and by the end of the 1980s it was almost 90 per cent.5” (UNICEF 1996 State of the World’s children report)
The only way to prevent such deaths is to prevent war. Once war begins, because of the destructive power of armies today, more civilians will die than soldiers fighting in the conflict.
Note: SCA stated “Hizbollah is another KKK, in their own words.” I asked him to show me where those words were so I could read them.
He has not been able to produce. I’m not surprised.
Too many of this guy’s comments as “fact” are nothing more than rascist-fueled tirades. It’s more than predictable now, it’s boring.
SCA,
if the Israelis treat their Arab citizens so poorly, why do they all want to remain under Israeli rule?. And the point is???
What is the point? Are we to believe that Arabs are not treated like second-class citizens in Israel?
Do you believe that Arabs are treated like second-class citizens in Israel, or not? It’s a simple yes or no.
With respect to the human shields issue as relates to Arabs in Israel, see various articles
by John Cook at jkcook.net, including “The Human Shields of Nazareth.” As the above opening commentary suggests, this is not such a one-sided issue.
It is not at all clear that Hezbollah is genuinely targeting civilians–rather than making life uncomfortable for those in northern Israel. I don’t think the Katushas are accurate enough for them to be used to target individuals.
PD – thanks for pointing us to the article! That is very interesting indeed! Actually, Israel’s claims that it’s legitimate to target residential areas from where rockets are being fired – if accepted – would backfire, since Israel continues to set up military bases inside or next to population centers. Examples abound: Zar’it, Kiryat Shmona, Kfar Giladi, Shetula, Metulla, Misgav ‘Am, and many, many others. But as usual Israel insists that the arguments it uses apply only to its enemies; Israel’s attitude towards the U.N resolutions (in particular 1559) is a clear example of this kind of mentality. At any rate, one could argue – using the same arguments used by Israel itself, though it would apply MUCH MORE to Israel than to Lebanon, since HezbAllah has not destroyed all of Israel’s roads and bridges, thus leaving civilians with a way out, unlike what Israel has done – that it is the civilians’ fault if they are being killed; or, that Israel is using its civilians as human shields. You can turn this round and round however you want. But of course, most people will be outraged by such statements, when Israel is under the spotlight. That Israel is a state actor and HezbAllah is not (though it is part of the government) makes such a claim against Israel outrageous, but not the same claim against HezbAllah. Sure, and state terrorism is “different” than non-state terrorism. The dead look different? Sure, the corpses of ones who are killed by primitive (relatively speaking) rockets – sorry, missiles – might not be as blackened because chemical weapons are not used… Yup, it’s different. Definitely.
I will partake in a bit of sophistry. If Israel is a nation of an army of citizens are they not all military targets? If the rabinacal council issue a statement that there are no innocents during war does not this same rule apply to Israelis? This twisted logic of justifying murder for one side and not the other can be twisted to attack you.
I, personally deplore all war and violence. I find all justification to be idiotic. If Israel truly pursued peace with the elected governments of Palestine and Lebanon instead of pathological brinkmanship. Go ahead Israel, show us how much more civilized you are than us Arabs, enter negotiations honestly and don’t respond to your right wing extremists. Frankly, I blame the monotheistic fanatic cult of the vengeful god that is adored by both sides. The god of vengeance needs to be reigned in and the light of reason needs to be allowed to breathe.
Why do the Arabs not leave? Easy, cause if they leave they give up their right to their land and their nation.
An open letter to a demonstrator against the war on Lebanon
http://www.workersliberty.org/node/6708
Although written by Socialists, this is a fairly good analysis.
Anarchistian:
I sort of see it like this: Israel has its airpower-centered strategy which cannot genuinely
distinguish between military and civilian targets . And they are saying that any strategy an
opponent uses should allow their airpower-centered actions to clearly distinguish between military and civilians. Otherwise, that is the use of human shields–their enemy is playing unfair.
And then there are the leaflets, which provide Israel the “moral” cover for its terrorism. Shades of what happened in New Orleans last year, when people lacked the resources to flee.
I do think that Israel is just as culpable on this issue. We don’t hear about this because the location of various military-related installations are state secrets–and journalists mus respect. The reason for the original hush-hush with regard to the 12 reservists was for security reasons, as I understand it.
Chris, pay attention.
This is the second time I’m posting this link.
http://www.ict.org.il/articles/Hiz_letter.htm
There are lots more links if you need further clarification.
While I’m sure you are comfortable with ITBACH AL YAHUD! as a political and religious ideolgy, the rest of the civilized world is not.
That doesn’t tally with “another KKK”
Try this
http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-kuntzel-s05.htm
You were right- Hizbollah is not another KKK.
It’s worse.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=5673
You were right- Hizbollah is not another KKK.
u gotta be stupid to belive the crap that is in this article.
i m shia and man this not even close to what we belive and as for hizbollah i dont think they have plan of world conquest un like USA with its world conquest military budget
and as for the stuff Israel has pulled off makes me think that israel has imperial ambitions for the mideast then agian since the start of written history mideast has been on the conquest list of
all major powers. history repeats its self keep in mind israel was once strong before but
Stellaa (#20):
Interesting point which I don’t think is sophistry (though it is clever). A week ago had the
12 same individuals been killed at the kibbutz they would have been registered as civilian
deaths (even though they were potential reservists). Sunday death’s
were those of military reservists.
Let me make a point about your comments on war, violence, Israel as a “civilized” nation. I think, as we look back on what has happened a little in the future, Hezbollah will have “accomplished” two objectives: (1) helped to fashion a new resistance story based on both the continuing missile strikes over a month period and its ground resistance in southern Lebanon (it seems like the
Israelis are just going around in circles); and (2) allowed the world to see, what surely we will clearly see at a later point when the killing stops, in the form of leveled villages, destruction of infrastructure (factories, etc.), and, of course, civilian deaths, that beneath the civility, Israel
is the worst of neighbors, indeed, a barbarian. Can one imagine a web site, with the home page
as a graphic of Lebanon, where one can click on various locations to see the before July 12th
and after, say, August 12th? Quite a powerful tool to educate the world about war and violence!
We could have a complementary site describing the prison camp that
is called Gaza where Palestinians have been living since the capture of Shalit and the destruction of the power
plant. One can’t hide that forever.
Although the visible loser is, of course, Lebanon–caught between Iran on one end and the United States on the other end in this war of proxies (and clearly Bush was pushing for aggressive Israeli action)– the longer term loser (I would suggest) will be Israel–and also the US.
A source other than ‘americanthinker’ I think is necessary to back this up. It seems to be a highly selective geneology to me. At least, claims based on the claims of 1 contemporary writer and 1 book written in 1937 backed up by scattered quotes looks more like sorcery than intellectual investigation.
You are really making too much of religion in this. Yes, religion is used by extremists to justify all sorts of things, but unless relgion can be contextualized historically and politically, it’s not really understood. Anti-Semitism and intolerance was part of Christian ideology for a long time – and we still see the old Christ-killer card (Mel Gibson!). This has changed because of material events- religion is not transcendent. So if you want to talk about the current historical instance of Islam, you need to step out of the koran and tell us about contemporary precedents that nurture the views that so concern you.
u gotta be stupid to belive the crap that is in this article. – my first few sentences stated concisely!
Kam, Ben, Chris, SC&A:
Below is the URL for an article entitled Hezballah Primer from the Middle East Research and Information Project, a respectable enterprise.
Just a mite different from articles link to above.
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero073106.html
SCA,
This is the second time I’m posting this link.
I suggest that you keep posting this link over and over. Maybe someday, someone stupid enough will actually believe that it has anything to do with the KKK. If you meant this document to support your claim that, as you said, “HezbAllah is another KKK, in thier own words” (italics mine), I can only imagine that the document you read is not the link you gave.
Read it! Pay attention to the words. They have nothing to do with the racism of the KKK. Read it. You still have not delivered!
On top of that,
a) the document is more than 20 years old,
b) the Jerusalem Quarterly, the source of this link, doesn’t know who wrote it (!?),
c) they say it is inspired by a book written 27 years ago (!),
d) even HezbAllah doesn’t rely on this anymore (as noted by the Jerusalem Quarterly at the end of the document), and
e) Most of it seemed pretty reasonable to me.
At one point, they talk about never signing any agreement with Israel as it was they who stole their land. This is almost a word-for-word quote of your very own David Ben-Gurion: “Why should the Arabs sign an agreement with us? We stole thier land.”
It’s quite obvious that you have nothing on this one. Let’s move on, but thanks for trying.
Note:
SCA is either unwilliing or unable to answer the simple yes/no question of whether or not Arabs are treated like second-class citizens in Israel.
He hasn’t produced…again.
I am an american living in europe and I can pretty much assure you that this was one war too many for the american public. Both parties will do their best to ignore it as will the main stream media but judgement day will come in November. Neither party has a credible solution to current world problems and neither party has the will to force Israel to negotiate for peace in real way that would involve not getting everything they want. The US and Israel have succeeded in doing the impossible, uniting Shias and Sunnys along with most of the rest of the world in opposition to the US and Israel.
By the way, Anarchistian, you mention in your post that there was something orange, something burning that you didn’t know what it was. Just now, NewTV reporter reporting about Dahiyeh said that there was something above Hart Hreyk, something red, but she didn’t know what it was. Did you find anything new about it?
Oh, really? No, I didn’t find anything new about it; the one I saw was well beyond Haret Hreyk… It was on the sea. So I was guessing they were bombarding da7iye from the gunship, and that was the “fire” that resulted.