© COPYRIGHT: Michael L. S. -- 2004, 2005, 2006
NO content of these pages may be used without my prior consent.
RECENT POSTS:
- How To Talk To An Israel-Hater: Final Part; Gotovi...
- Bush V. Kerry; Part VI: How To Talk To An Israel-H...
- Achille Lauro; "Xian Zionists"; UNRWA Pussies
- And Part V of How To Talk To An Israel-Hater!
- How To Talk To An Israel-Hater IV
- How To Talk To An Israel-Hater III
- How To Talk To An Israel-Hater II
- Yom Kippur
- Correspondence Sequel
- New Year; A Gift From Me; Go Arik - Go Arik!!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice!
Posted on: Thursday, November 11, 2004
YASER ARAFAT IS DEAD.
HAVA NAGILA!!!
FINALLY, after four long decades, the Middle East can move on, unencumbered by the venality, deceit, obduracy and other antics of Arafat and his clique. This is truly a cause to be glad. Already there are unmistakable signs of a brighter future: the Palestinian leadership (composed of moderate, reasonable people like Messrs. Abas and Qureya) has not even attempted to insist on having Arafat buried in Yerushalayim but are making preparations to do so in Muqata which--having been Arafat's official residence (and candle-lit retreat
)--is one of the most logical places. Arafat had no more right to be buried in the eternal capital of Klal Yisrael than Osama Bin Laden has to demand his burial place be at the former site of the WTC in New York. The Palestinian leadership astutely recognized this and decided not to make it into an issue.
Is Arafat's death "big"? It is, insofar as he was an important factor in the Middle Eastern affairs for such a long time. Was he a big person? He was decidedly not. During the four decades at the helm of the Palestinian people, he has done absolutely nothing to improve the lot of these woebegone people. The progress of the Palestinians--political, social, cultural, economic and every other--under Arafat's management has been one great, big, round ZERO. Not only is the situation today no better than it was in eg. 1965, but it is actually worse in many regards. In 1964 only one generation of Palestinians and Arabs was poisoned with enmity toward Jews and Israel. Today, the venom runs right thru the psyche of the Arab existence. That venom is no longer politically-oriented either but has been "diversified" with various conspiracy theories, libel and slander (eg. Jews used Arab children's blood to make matzot or haMossad really brought down the WTC instead of al-Qu'ida). The prejudice against Israel runs so deep that the belief is already easily gaining credence that Arafat was actually poisoned by Israel. (Give it a few months and that slander will be right up there with "massacre" in Tantura or "genocide" in Jenin.
) Naturally, this means that changing the Arab mindset--which is one of the fundamental prerequisites for achieving peace--will be infinitely more difficult today than it would have been forty years ago. So, as a leader Arafat has failed, and his failure has been total, unmitigated and abject.
How was Arafat as a person, in terms of morals and ethics? He was an opulent murderer, purely and simply. He gave direct orders to murder hundreds of people, and deaths of further thousands have been ascribed to him. He killed Jews and Israelis. He killed even more Jordanians when he tried to stage a coup there and provoked a civil war. He killed Lebanese when he destabilized that country and eventually plunged it, too, into civil war. He murdered hundreds of Palestinians arbitrarily accused of "collaborating" with Israel. He even killed his own confidants when it was politically expedient to do so. (I will list some of Arafat's "accomplishments" here tomorrow.) One wonders if the interests of the Palestinian people were at all on his list of priorities. Then one learns that he is the fifth or sixth richest head-of-state/leader/despot on the planet, and one ceases to wonder. He traipsed around the world collecting millions of euros in aid: from the Saudis, Egyptians, USSR/Russia, European Union, UN and the USA. Not much of that aid ever trickled down to the ordinary Palestinian in the street. While over half the Palestinian people are finishing their sixth decade living in the squalor, misery and despondency of refugee camps, Arafat's wife Suhah rented a whole floor of an exclusive hotel in Paris at the cost of US$ 100,000 per month for rent only, courtesy of PA coffers. While the Palestinian economy is practically non-existent and while unemployed young men are turning to extremism and homicide bombings as a quick exit, Arafat's fortune is estimated to be at least US$ 3BILLION. And he didn't earn that working Nine to Five as PA chairman either!
Arafat was not a big man; he was a big piece of scum. The whole world is a nice, more floral and odorous place without that turd. Goodbye, Yaser Arafat (Y"ShU), and good riddance.
© INN
Oh, and commiserations to the few sane people left in America for the re-election of The Idiot to the Oval Office. I really feel for you.
Heyeh shalom!
Posted on: Thursday, November 11, 2004
ב''ה
HAVA NAGILA!!!
FINALLY, after four long decades, the Middle East can move on, unencumbered by the venality, deceit, obduracy and other antics of Arafat and his clique. This is truly a cause to be glad. Already there are unmistakable signs of a brighter future: the Palestinian leadership (composed of moderate, reasonable people like Messrs. Abas and Qureya) has not even attempted to insist on having Arafat buried in Yerushalayim but are making preparations to do so in Muqata which--having been Arafat's official residence (and candle-lit retreat
)--is one of the most logical places. Arafat had no more right to be buried in the eternal capital of Klal Yisrael than Osama Bin Laden has to demand his burial place be at the former site of the WTC in New York. The Palestinian leadership astutely recognized this and decided not to make it into an issue.
Is Arafat's death "big"? It is, insofar as he was an important factor in the Middle Eastern affairs for such a long time. Was he a big person? He was decidedly not. During the four decades at the helm of the Palestinian people, he has done absolutely nothing to improve the lot of these woebegone people. The progress of the Palestinians--political, social, cultural, economic and every other--under Arafat's management has been one great, big, round ZERO. Not only is the situation today no better than it was in eg. 1965, but it is actually worse in many regards. In 1964 only one generation of Palestinians and Arabs was poisoned with enmity toward Jews and Israel. Today, the venom runs right thru the psyche of the Arab existence. That venom is no longer politically-oriented either but has been "diversified" with various conspiracy theories, libel and slander (eg. Jews used Arab children's blood to make matzot or haMossad really brought down the WTC instead of al-Qu'ida). The prejudice against Israel runs so deep that the belief is already easily gaining credence that Arafat was actually poisoned by Israel. (Give it a few months and that slander will be right up there with "massacre" in Tantura or "genocide" in Jenin.
) Naturally, this means that changing the Arab mindset--which is one of the fundamental prerequisites for achieving peace--will be infinitely more difficult today than it would have been forty years ago. So, as a leader Arafat has failed, and his failure has been total, unmitigated and abject.
How was Arafat as a person, in terms of morals and ethics? He was an opulent murderer, purely and simply. He gave direct orders to murder hundreds of people, and deaths of further thousands have been ascribed to him. He killed Jews and Israelis. He killed even more Jordanians when he tried to stage a coup there and provoked a civil war. He killed Lebanese when he destabilized that country and eventually plunged it, too, into civil war. He murdered hundreds of Palestinians arbitrarily accused of "collaborating" with Israel. He even killed his own confidants when it was politically expedient to do so. (I will list some of Arafat's "accomplishments" here tomorrow.) One wonders if the interests of the Palestinian people were at all on his list of priorities. Then one learns that he is the fifth or sixth richest head-of-state/leader/despot on the planet, and one ceases to wonder. He traipsed around the world collecting millions of euros in aid: from the Saudis, Egyptians, USSR/Russia, European Union, UN and the USA. Not much of that aid ever trickled down to the ordinary Palestinian in the street. While over half the Palestinian people are finishing their sixth decade living in the squalor, misery and despondency of refugee camps, Arafat's wife Suhah rented a whole floor of an exclusive hotel in Paris at the cost of US$ 100,000 per month for rent only, courtesy of PA coffers. While the Palestinian economy is practically non-existent and while unemployed young men are turning to extremism and homicide bombings as a quick exit, Arafat's fortune is estimated to be at least US$ 3BILLION. And he didn't earn that working Nine to Five as PA chairman either!
Arafat was not a big man; he was a big piece of scum. The whole world is a nice, more floral and odorous place without that turd. Goodbye, Yaser Arafat (Y"ShU), and good riddance.
Al-Jazeera has reported that a "bitter fight [has] broken out over who should control [Arafat's] fortune, estimated to be between $4.2 billion and $6.5 billion." Other estimates are lower...
Al-Jazeera's is probably the highest estimate of Arafat's wealth, with others ranging between $300 million and $3 billion. A report by Forbes magazine in March of 2003 reported that Arafat was rated #6 on the list of the world's richest "Kings, Queens and Despots." A CBS report last year stated, "U.S. officials estimate Arafat's personal nest egg at between $1 billion and $3 billion."
It is widely known that Arafat purposely blurred the line between money given to the PLO, the Palestinian Authority and himself, and that it will not be easy to separate them once his death is finalized. Al-Jazeera reports that he owns a number of hotels and holiday resorts in Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, and Austria; is the main shareholder in two cellular telephone companies operating in Tunisia and Algeria; and is in partnership in some of his businesses with Arab politicians and entrepreneurs such as Rifaat Assad, a brother of the late Syrian President Hafez Assad.
A CBS "60 Minutes" report of March 2003 gave many details about Arafat's fortune and how he mis-used it. Excerpts:
Yasser Arafat diverted nearly $1 billion in public funds to insure his political survival, but a lot more is unaccounted for. .. Although the money for [his] portfolio came from public funds like Palestinian taxes, virtually none of it was used for the Palestinian people; it was all controlled by Arafat. And, [accountant] Prince says, none of these dealings were made public... Martin Indyk, a top adviser on the Middle East in the Clinton administration and now head of the Saban Center, a Washington think-tank, says Arafat was always traveling the world, looking for handouts... "Arafat for years would cry poor, saying, 'I can't pay the salaries, we're gonna have a disaster here, the Palestinian economy is going to collapse,'" says Indyk. "And we would all mouth those words: 'The Palestinian economy is going to collapse if we don't do something about this.' But at the same time, he's accumulating hundreds of millions of dollars."
...Dennis Ross, who was Middle East negotiator for the first President Bush and President Clinton, and now heads the Washington Institute for Near East Policy [says that] Arafat's "walking-around money" financed a vast patronage system. "I used to see that people came in, you know, with their requests," Ross says. "'I need a phone. I need an operation. I need a job.' Arafat had money to dispense." ... All told, U.S. officials estimate Arafat's personal nest egg at between $1 billion and $3 billion... According to Israeli officials, [Suha Arafat] gets $100,000 a month from Arafat out of the Palestinian budget, and lives lavishly in Paris on this allowance. He also uses the money to bolster his own standing. Both Israeli and U.S. sources say those recent outpourings of support at Arafat's compound were "rent-a-rallies," and that Arafat has spent millions to support terrorists and purchase weapons.
Did he steal from his own people? "He defines himself as being the embodiment of the Palestinian people," Ross answers. "So what's good for him is good for them. Did they benefit? The answer is no. Did they lose? The answer is yes."
...[Much money was] sent to Switzerland, to the prestigious Lombard Odier Bank, for yet another secret investment account that held over $300 million. In a letter obtained by CBS News, [Arafat-aide Muhammed] Rashid tells the bank that the funds will come from Palestinian "taxes" and "customs revenues." ... Minister Fayyad says that this pot of money, too, was available only to Arafat. The Swiss account was closed out in 2001. No one really knows where that money is today...
The PLO's former treasurer told us he saw Saddam Hussein hand Arafat a $50 million check for supporting him during the first Gulf War. And there were other large gifts from the KGB and the Saudis. Ross says, "Arafat used to say to me, 'Where's my money? You need to go to the Saudis and get my money.' It was never the Palestinians' money." ...
© INN
Oh, and commiserations to the few sane people left in America for the re-election of The Idiot to the Oval Office. I really feel for you.
Heyeh shalom!
ARCHIVED ENTRIES:
LINKS: