Whilst “the great decider” relaxed & read the sequel to ‘My Pet Goat’ at his Crawford ranch & “aussie tony” soaked-up the sun in Barbados, day 29 of the latest round of state sponsored terrorism against middle east civilians unfolded …… 

* Israel's security cabinet voted in favour of sending more troops deeper into Lebanon towards the Litani river

 

* Israeli air strikes targeted Palestinian refugees for the first time at Ein el-Hilweh, Lebanon's largest camp. An air strike also killed five in the Bekaa Valley

* Israeli forces pushed deeper into Hizbollah territory in southern Lebanon, reportedly suffering 11 fatalities

* Hizbollah fired more than 160 rockets into northern Israel, including four into the West Bank. No casualties were reported

* Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets over Tyre & Beirut, accusing the Hizbollah chief, Sheikh Nasrallah, of "playing with fire"

* humanitarian efforts in southern Lebanon stalled for a second day

* the United States & France failed to agree on a UN resolution draft

* the death toll rose to least 1,005 Lebanese & 101 Israelis

* wearing white & trusting that God will watch over him in a war zone, the American Christian Evangelical leader Pat Robertson arrived in Israel to offer his support to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert & to tell him that the US Evangelical community is opposed to any plans to give up the occupied lands of the West Bank &

* for anyone who is still wondering “why they hate us”, take a look at the Fox News, as its "Dayside" audience laughs at the idea of Lebanese civilians dying, whilst one of them suggests Arabs have made up the idea of Israel bombing Lebanon & that the damage to buildings is a consequence of "faulty construction".

and in response …..

‘With his arm raised and fist clenched, Sheikh Hussein furiously expressed a sentiment rapidly taking hold here.

"We know who our first enemy is: America," he shouted before tearful mourners at a funeral Wednesday for 30 civilians killed by an Israeli airstrike on Monday. The white-turbaned sheikh led the crowd in a militant chant: "Death to America! Death to America!"

Even as Israel continues to pound Beirut's southern suburbs, and agreed Wednesday on plans to expand its four-week-old offensive as far as 18 miles into southern Lebanon, many here increasingly blame the US for its extensive military and political support for the Jewish state.

"Israel wants to stop the war, but America orders them to continue," the sheikh asserted later in an interview. "This is the American freedom?"

Moments before the first child was interred by weeping parents Wednesday, Israeli ordnance hit again at a building nearby; more strikes followed during burials. In the south of the country, as many as 10,000 Israeli troops continued their slow push north, against strong resistance from Hizbullah guerrillas.

And in Beirut's Shiyyah district, where the Israeli strikes Monday night took more than 40 lives - the largest single-event toll of the conflict - it was a day of digging.

Just after first light, Hassan Dirani pulled several stuffed teddy bears and toys from the rubble, shook off the dust, and gently assembled them on a slab of concrete, with a blonde doll on top. They were dolls his own children had given to families displaced by fighting in the south, who had sought refuge in this "safe" Shiite-Christian neighborhood.

For Mr. Dirani, his emotions were first about the children - three of his remained in the rubble. And second, they were about accusing the US of giving Israel a free hand to destroy Lebanon.

"Thank you, George Bush. Thank you for those 'smart' bombs," says Dirani, whose wife and surviving son were injured in the attack. "I want to ask George Bush: 'What did our children do to him?'"’

Lebanese Direct Growing Anger At US

 

Crikey!!! Faulty construction? I knew the folks back in the good old fatherland were being brainwashed but until I saw this I refused to believe it had gotten this bad. No wonder the world is shaking it's collective head in amazement at the attitude of America and it's citizens. How the bloody 'ell can America call itself a "christian nation"? Or do they maybe take the words of Jesus when he said "suffer the little children" as a command to make them suffer??? I am gobsmacked. For once words fail me.

You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation. ~~ Marian Wright Edelman

 

Members of Germany's opposition are calling for a suspension of arms deliveries to Israel until the end of the current conflict. Germany has a long history of providing Israel with weapons and their components.

As German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier continues his tour of the Middle East, opposition lawmakers and various political organizations at home are stepping up their criticism of Israel's military offensive in Lebanon which they view as disproportionate.

 

The Greens' defense expert, Winfried Nachtwei, said that Germany should stop all arms deliveries to Israel, arguing that Berlin was guilty of violating binding guidelines on the export of weapons to crisis areas. He added that any deliveries of weapons to the Middle East were politically harmful and not conducive to ending the conflict.

 

For the first time, a leading member of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Rolf Verleger, has also heavily criticized Israel's strategy, branding it a policy of violence. He said that the Jewish state was killing 10 Lebanese for every one Israeli killed and was destroying the infrastructure of a whole country indiscriminately.

 

The Central Council of Jews was quick to respond, saying Verleger's remarks were those of an individual and did not represent the views of the Council as a whole. 

 

 Germans Mull Suspending Arms Deliveries to Israel Amid Conflict

 

 

 

You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation. ~~ Marian Wright Edelman

From the New York Times

NEGOTIATIONS
U.S. Shift Kicked Off Frantic Diplomacy at U.N.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 13 — When Israel began its counterattack on Hezbollah one month ago, the Bush administration backed the Israeli plan to destroy the militia and its arsenal of rockets, resisting efforts by France and other allies to call for a cease-fire.

But as the assault wore on and it became evident that Hezbollah was a far more fearsome and skilled adversary than Israel had first thought — and as Lebanese civilian casualties mounted — American policy moved more urgently toward seeking an immediate political solution.

That shift, recounted by senior administration officials, led to one of the most dramatic bouts of diplomacy that the [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/14/world/middleeast/14reconstruct.html?hp&ex=1155614400&en=c96ac098ba68482f&ei=5094&partner=homepage|United Nations Security Council] has witnessed in years. Whether it leads to peace in southern Lebanon remains unclear. But what is certain is that negotiators in a half-dozen countries took part in a rare high-wire act.