response 1 of 176:

Sep 24 16:23 UTC 2003

11:44   IDF troops arrest eight wanted Palestinians during operations
        in the West Bank

11:59   IDF troops arrest wanted Tanzim militant in Qalqilyah disguised
        as a woman

13:32   IDF demolishes Kafr Rantis home of suicide bomber who killed 7
        at Cafe Hillel in Jerusalem two weeks ago

13:14   Police to beef up presence at parks, places of entertainment
        during upcoming month of Jewish festivals

14:46   Belgium`s highest court throws out war crimes complaint against
        Ariel Sharon and case against elder Bush and Powell

15:03   Russian passenger plane enters Israeli airspace near [Red Sea
        port city of] Eilat, is led out by warplanes

15:26   Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin says militant group
        will not disarm or accept truce with Israel

16:44   Sheikh Ahmed Yassin denounces Bush`s speech to UN as declaration
        of war on Islam

18:49   French PM: there is room for improvement in fight against
        anti-Semitic violence despite drop in number of attacks

response 5 of 176:

Sep 24 17:47 UTC 2003

<FLAME> You are an insensitive clod, Siddhartha. This will never end until
the right people (i.e., those in a position to do somethig about it) start
caring. </FLAME>

response 7 of 176:

Sep 24 21:26 UTC 2003

*I* don't care, and *I'm* not a politician.  I guess that pretty much 
shoots your theory down, Sid.

response 9 of 176:

Sep 25 01:49 UTC 2003

You got the wooden shoe thing down straight?

response 11 of 176:

Sep 25 19:48 UTC 2003

re 5 AAAAAAAAAHH ARE YOU TRYING TO MESS UP WEB-YAPPII

response 13 of 176:

Sep 26 00:50 UTC 2003

Yeah, except it's spelt fibre.

response 15 of 176:

Sep 26 02:43 UTC 2003

Re #12: A military spokesman was quoted today as saying that the pilots 
would be punished swiftly.

response 17 of 176:

Sep 26 13:45 UTC 2003

        May this season of reflection and atonement bring you relief
from this greif.

response 19 of 176:

Oct 6 01:51 UTC 2003

No such luck.  On Saturday a suicide bomber walked into Maxim, a
beach restaurant in Haifa -- where Matt, my cousin Chana and I
dined just over a year ago -- and blew herself up.

19 innocent civilians were murdered, including 3 children and an infant.
10 of the dead were from 2 families. 4 Israeli Arabs were murdered.
Another 60 people were injured in the attack.

"Haifa is known for its generally harmonious relations between Jews and
Arabs", wrote the NY Times. It is on these beaches that in 1948 Golda
Meir begged the local Arabs not to flee from their homes but to remain
and help build a new state in which they would be full and equal citizens.
I think a scene in the movie "Exodus" depicts this. Those who chose to
leave, perhaps fearful of being treated as "collaborators" by the invading
Arab armies, are "refugees". Those who remained are Israeli citizens.

It is no surprise that, as the NY Times continues, "the restaurant is
owned by Israeli Arabs and Jews."

All of which is not lost on Islamic Jihad (who claimed the attack) nor
on the bomber, who came dressed like many of the Arab patrons.

The bomber, it should be noted, was a law student about to complete
her studies.

All of which underscores several conclusions:

1. Terrorism is not the province of the destitute who have no other voice
   (as if even that would justify the murder of innocents).  As we've
   previously discussed, 2 suicide bombers were the children of millionaires.
   Others were students with ostensibly bright futures. The poor know all too
   well that terrorism causes poverty and that they can't afford it. (Polls
   conducted by Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research show that
   the more educated are more likely to support terrorism while the poor are
   less likely.) All of which shows that the search to appease the "root
   causes" of terrorism (there aren't any necessary and sufficient conditions)
   is a misguided effort.

2. The "root cause" in this case is what some scholars, including the
   revisionist "new historians", refer to as "Palestinianism" -- short for
   Palestinian Arab rejectionism. Combined with Islam's indoctrination for
   self-sacrifice (Islam = Submission), we see parents who are happy to
   sacrifice their own children.  In this case, according to AP reports,
   the mother of the bomber accepted well-wishers and rejoiced in the glory
   of the event, saying it is the happiest day in her life, moreso than
   would be her daughter's wedding.  This conjures another Golda Meir
   episode, when she said that peace will not come until the Arabs love
   their children more than they hate the Jews.

3. Terrorists are against peace and peaceful coexistence. This is why
   they strike Haifa (and left wing "peace now" centers such as Kibbutz
   Metzer, where last year an Arab militant murdered 5 innocents, including
   a mother who was reading bed-time stories to her 2 children and then the
   children as they tried in vain to hide under the covers. That cold-blooded
   murderer was tracked down and killed by Israeli forces on Saturday.)
   Perhaps we can say that the "root cause" of this terrorism, like the 50+
   years of the Arab war against Israel, is the rejection of peace.

4. The PA must dismantle the terrorist apparatus that has been harbored in
   its midst since the start of the Oslo peace process. Until then, in the
   words of Feisal Husseini, it is just a "Wooden [Trojan] horse" meant to
   allow Arab terrorists access to Israel's heartland. Until then, as above,
   the "cycle of violence" will continue (for the terrorists even "justify"
   the next attack because the perpetrator of the previous attack was killed).

response 21 of 176:

Oct 9 08:33 UTC 2003

terrorists send their defecation outside their area. they ought to 
learn to switch hands now and then.

response 23 of 176:

Oct 12 21:53 UTC 2003

I think maybe no one read them.