WHILE I WAS GONE

I've been away almost two weeks, and although there's been lots of news, not much of it is new or surprising.

Holocaust denier and advocate of Palestinian terrorism Mahmoud Abbas won the Palestinian "election" for President of the PA. His campaign featured calls for the "return" of 4 million Arabs to (destroy) Israel, a vow to defend terrorists (whom he called "heros"), a ride on the shoulders of murderers, the funnelling of $100,000 to terrorists, and a reference to Israel as the "Zionist enemy." The press labeled Abbas a 'moderate', dovish, 'a strong and courageous opponent of violence' and a "pragmatist who opposes violence." President Bush was quick to invite Abbas to Washington. Jeff Jacoby points out that Bush is ignoring his own standards. Charles Krauthammer asks whether we've learned anything. Danny Rubenstein calls Abbas, "Arafat in a suit."

Although the "election" really only featured one candidate, and was beset by fraud and violence, Jimmy Carter (seen here paying his respects at NYT's hero Yasser Arafat's grave) and John Kerry (seen here with his Palestinian "bodyguards") certified the "elections's" fairness. Big credit goes to Richard Gere who, speaking for the world, urged the Palestinians to participate in elections. To which they responded, "Richard Who?" Here's an article about some of the alleged humans Gere associated with.

Meanwhile, it appears that Palestinians are making increased the use of women and children in terrorist attacks. This must be due to the new suicide belt Barbie doll. Here's a picture of Fatah youth giving the Nazi salute.

Also, the Arab/Muslim world is rife with crazy conspiracy theories. My favorite is that Israel caused the deadly Asian tsunami by detonating a nuclear bomb in the Indian Ocean. Here are some more.

The State Department finally issued its report on Anti-Semitism around the world, but neglected to include any examples from the Mid-East. So I guess I shouldn't worry that Egypt is developing nukes. Too late to make it into the report, was the fact that Britain voted Israel the world's worst country.