News from Jerusalem...

I find it confusing that Olmert agreed to construct new settlements in the west bank. He did so well in ignoring the fools from the Orthodox side when he cleared out from Gaza. Anyway new settlements means a step back on the Roadmap to Peace.
I have no Idea why he suddenly approved on this and now when back door talks with Abbas is so close to commence. Perhaps its a final way to show muscle before the negotiations start? But I still don't see any point...

Meanwhile Islamic Jihad does everything in its power do disrupt the peace talks. according to Abu Ahmad, spokesman for Islamic Jihad. No surprised there.

Olmert says that military is allowed to surgically strike against rocket fire but to hold the ceasefire in general.

"In parallel, Israel will continue to maintain the ceasefire and work with the Palestinian Authority so that immediate steps are taken to halt the Qassam firings."
-Olmert

Hamas still refuses to recognize Israel but says willing to extend a truce for a complete withdrawal form the west bank.

in other words: nothing new on the eastern front, but at least they're not at each others throat al the time

Merry Christmas world:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6207427.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6207319.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/24/iraq.main/index.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/12/23/bank.robbery.ap/index.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/23/abbas.olmert.ap/index.html

In this hallowed night, I would like to turn your thought to the less fortunate. When you gather with your families, honor those who cant and forgive those who won't. 2000 years ago a man was born who proclaimed peace love and understanding and that is something to celebrate whether you pray to God, Allah or Buddha...

Forgive those who wronged you and remember the ones you love.
From me to you a merry Christmas

//Hrafn Steiner, Stori Kroppur, Iceland

The world never learns

The world will never learn its lesson about WWII. I think mostly because no one understands what the lesson is and what was made wrong.

Why is it important that we learn about WWII? Is it because the cruelty that took place in Nazi Germany and the socialist states? Well Partly yes.

What happened during the Second World War? If you ask that question to someone they will probably say: A lot of Jews where killed.

That is true. A lot of Jews where killed, about six million of them, along with an additional five million consisting of Political prisoners, gays, mentally ill, gypsies, Russian prisoners of war and many more.

That is horrible; to even beginning to understand how one could go trough with it is beyond me. But that is not what’s important. What’s important is how the world reacted: It didn’t do anything. Jews that fled to the US where denied entry and sent back, Jews that fled to allied countries where denied entry. No one cared, no one bothered. THAT is why we must remember the holocaust and that is a lesson that we obviously haven’t leaned.

Rwanda, Jugoslavia, Kosovo, Darfur

Do we know?

Yes we do.

Do we care?

Well, it is horrible… sort of.

Do we do anything to stop it?

Well… no.

Have we learned from WWII?

No

Will genocides continue until we take responsibility for the world?

Yes.

As a Jew I urge all to remember WWII. We do, we will never be healed from that scar. Memories are fresh in those, who still live, who survived the camps.

Denying it is to flee responsibility. Telling your selves that it was so long ago is to flee from responsibility. Closing your eyes and whishing it all away is to flee from responsibility.

Civil war in Palestine

The Palestinians are nearing a crisis. Tensions between the elected winning party, and terrorist organization, Hamas and President Muhammad Abbas party, Al Fatah, has during the recent days spiralled out of control. The 12^th of December the children of Tahaa Dalusha(ages six, seven and eight) where brutally murdered in the middle of the street. Unknown gunmen ran up to the car and peppered it full with bullets killing the children instantly along with their driver. One day later came the Al-Fatah retaliation. 13^th of December gunmen shot, and killed, a Hamas judge near the city of Khan Younis and now most recently gunfire erupted between Al-Fatah members and insurgents in a strike aimed at Ismail Haniyeh, the PM of the Palestinian Government. This time “only” a bodyguard was murdered. Sporadic gunfights between Al-Fatah supporters and Hamas has erupted al over Palestine during the last 48 hours and the situation is growing grimmer and grimmer.

Where is all the front-page news? Where are the live feeds? Palestine usually is a very hot topic (At least when Israel is involved) why haven’t I seen anything but small notices from TT or Associated Press? (Excluding a very strange article at socialisterna.org which blamed Israel and Israel only for the conflict)

I don’t want to claim that it is because the west likes to criticise Israel. I think it is because the west honestly doesn’t care. What difference does it if Arabs kills Arabs? They’re just animals anyway. Lets just hope that they’ll all kill each other so we’ll get rid of them.

Or maybe we are so afraid to realise that the Arab conflict is so much more than black and white and that there aren’t just two sides, but many? I don’t know, but I do know that this will probably be one of the most important times of the liberation of Palestine since 2000. If one side wins and finally we have a strong leader capable of controlling all of Palestine and all the different fighting factions I think we will have an entirely new situation when negotiations for a free Palestine begins.

To all who contribute to the silence of media concerning Darfur, Palestine and West-Sahara: Go f#%k yourselves

RIP Yangtze Dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer)

Before I continue on my global rant on everything I would like to take a few minutes of your time to remember our deer friend and co- mammal off the seas the Yangtze Dolphin which was recently proclaimed extinct by researches.

While I didn’t know the Yangtze Dolphin very well, I have never met with one, I do have a special relationship with one of its cousins the Bottlenose Dolphin (found mostly in the red sea)

The dolphins migrated from the Passific to the Yangtze River 20 million years ago and are mentioned in the Han Dynasty dictionary Erya. They where always few in numbers, never Exceeding 5000 in population

Farewell Yangtze Dolphin! You will be surly missed. You swim with god now in his endless oceans…

Iran sets new standard for freedom of speech

Ahmadinejad just held a conference in Teheran discussing the holocaust. Amongst the participants you could find former KKK leaders, and several other questionable figures from all over the world. Strangely the one thing they had in common was that they didn’t really represent any serious organ.

Ahmadinejad clams that the reason for this conference is to celebrate freedom of speech and, for that, I applaud him. It is wonderful to se that at least one man has a political strategy where nothing is considered taboo! The rest of the world can learn from Ahmadinejad and his amiable political ideology.

As for myself I’m heading straight for Iran, which from now on will be known as “the centre of liberty and freedom” in my blogg, to host a conference criticising the teachings of the Koran as well as workshops discussing women rights.

I really hope that Iran will solve these ridiculous accusations that Iranian bloggers where tortured and are now put in prison using questionable laws (link: http://www.humanrightswatch.org/english/docs/2006/12/12/iran14824.htm) because that’s just not true! Ahmadinejad would never allow something like that to happen

Next: Why Swedish media ignores Palestinian political unrest

ps. YES IM BEING IRONIC YOU MORONS IRAN IS AS MUCH A CENTRE OF FREEDOM AS BUSH IS A GENIOUS