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[policyabovepolitics]

Playing with real rose buds and rose geranium essential oil. #vegan #natural #soap #health #skincare #rose #skin #kingandbride

[policyabovepolitics]

[policyabovepolitics]

Russian PM Vladimir Putin holds a tranquilizer gun in 2008, when he (supposedly) helped wildlife authorities tag a tiger. Yesterday he tranquilized President Obama on Syria.

Thanks to the quick work of Vladimir Putin, there will almost certainly be no US attack on Syria.

Putin, as...

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[policyabovepolitics]

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[policyabovepolitics]

America needs Obama-care like Nancy Pelosi needs a Halloween mask.

Jay Leno. More (via jewishpolitics)

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[policyabovepolitics]

Matt Yglesias, a far left pundit for Slate, has recently found out the hard way something those on the right have been screaming for eons: it’s darn near impossible to start a small business under the thumb big government.

From Matt Yglesias via Slate.com:

Not that I expect your pity. I...

[policyabovepolitics]

Before you run out to get a tattoo of your baby or a loved one, you MUST check references and see the prior work. Make sure that the artist actually does portraits.

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[policyabovepolitics]

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[policyabovepolitics]

Sometimes... well most times, I wish I were the main character of my life... not just an accessory to aid other people's lives.

[policyabovepolitics]

by Captain Barak Raz, IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

I can’t believe i’m about to do this, but I feel the need to set some records straight.  I’m going to say, right off the bat, that I urge each and every one of you to check into all of this on your own.  Never compromise for secondary sources - A. because its late, i’m tired, and I’m fighting falling asleep at the keyboard and B. it’s just not a good idea, in general… besides, today we have the internet, and its simply not an excuse…

With that disclaimer/intro, let’s get to the point.

That’s right - some people are SO obsessed with their narrative and/or world views, they actually rewrite history.  not only do they convince themselves of inaccuracies, they actually try, and sometimes succeed, to convince others! Amazing…

So first, let’s remember only the most recent events leading up to this current operation - the 150+/- rockets in the 24 hours or so prior, the anti-tank missle targeting an IDF patrol that morning…

Speaking of anti-tank missles, anyone remember when one was fired on an Israel school bus, claiming a life and leaving many more injured? google it - it’s there alright.

Let’s also remember the explosive tunnel meant for an ambush or kidnapping last week… surely we should also remember the barrages that would happen every few weeks or so throughout all of 2012, or even the 12000+ rockets over the course of a decade…

Oh wait - some will start to say that all of this is a reaction to the maritime closure on the Gaza strip.  some even dare to use the word “illegal” - last I checked, international maritime sanctions (because thats exactly what they are) is actually a legitimate tool to prevent someone from trying to… wait for it… KILL YOU!

This was one of the excuses that some tried to use when challenging Cast Lead, the Dec 08-Jan 09 operation - which resulted from ROCKETS - yet again.

Someone might say it’s “resistance” against the “occupation” - which?  the one that ended in 2005? with the disengagement from the Gaza Strip? right before Hamas conveniently won elections? and then a year later, after a vicious and bloody civil war in Gaza killed (*literally*) its competition, FATAH, and consolidated all of its control on the Strip?

BTW - Hamas actually won the elections throughout the PA - meaning Gaza and West Bank, but the difference between the two places in 2006 was that the IDF was still carrying out counter-terror operations in one (West Bank) and not the other (Gaza) - posing a little bit of a problem for this terror organization-come-political leadership.

Back to my original thought - Let’s talk about rockets for a second - did you know that from the start of the rocket phenomenon (2000) until the Israeli disengagement (2005), a mere (?) average of 8 military projectiles (mortars/rockets) were fired at Israeli targets each month by Gaza terror groups?  Sad that 8 per month sounds like nothing today - even 8 is 8 too many…

After the Israeli disengagement, that number jumped up to an average of over 100 military-use projectiles (ie mortars/rockets) being fired at Israeli targets each month!!

Can you guess what happened after Hamas rose to power - yet another increase! Between January 2006 and the “tahadiyeh” of 2008, that number shot up AGAIN to well over 300 per month!!! (By the way worth looking up that word “tahadiyah” - also the word “hudna” - understand what “ceasefire” really means to Hamas and others out here)

Throughout that near year long “lull” in fighting, we still had a few hundred rockets - some here, some there - and can you guess what happened in the week (yes WEEK, not month) between its experiation and the launch of Operation Cast Lead? About 400 rockets and mortars… thats in one week, folks - until now, i’ve been talking monthly averages, and now i’m talking one week of people sleeping in bomb shelters.  after all, is 15 seconds really enough to wake in the middle of the night, wake your kid, and still make it to the safe room?

Back to Hamas - Can we see the correlation between Hamas and Rockets?

After Cast Lead, the number dropped - dramatically. Until slowly, as time went on between 2009-2012, the barrages happened more frequently.  Each time with a new excuse, and each time with a new “hudna” or “tahadiyah” ending it… until the next time someone chose to launch another barrage… leading us full circle to November 2012, where we began.

But… we’re not done yet.

As for Hamas - look up their charter and you’ll understand why I say: “enough said” - but in case that’s not enough, look up some of what they have done in the years PRIOR to their rise to power - the suicide bus bombings, the drive-by shootings, the IEDs… the trail they leave is long and bloody, leaving many good, innocent Israelis dead and injured.

On that note, let’s put military targets aside for a second, because after-all, soldiers are in fact the ones who defend their people, sometimes with their own lives - but Hamas doesn’t just target military targets, the overwhelming majority of its targets - from rockets, through suicide bombings, through drive-by shootings - have been civilians - in cafes, in restaurants, in nightclubs, at home, at school, and family events!

But wait, some might then say, its not about Hamas - its about the much bigger picture…

I mean, i guess we can go on forever about what came first, the chicken or the egg… but i can say that Palestinian terror was around long before Hamas was founded in the late-80s (think plane hijackings of the 80s, the munich olympics, etc.) and certainly long before the israeli occupation (think cross border terror attacks from then Egyptian-controlled Gaza or Jordanian-controlled West Bank)… and even long before Israeli independence! DYK that both Hebron and the Old City of Jerusalem were once cities with Jewish majorities, even before the arrival of modern Zionist immigration? yeah, that was before the murderous riots that left the Jewish residents of these cities either dead or on the run!!  As a side note, I hope you all know that Jews have been here consistantly since the last time there was a jewish state, some 2000 years ago (mainly in our four holy cities - Jerusalem, Hebron, Tsfat, and Tveriya/Tiberius).

It’s brief, it’s certainly incomplete, but this a good base to understanding some of the nonsense going on out there.

And as for the ridiculous claims of our intentions, our character, or our values as a people?? All I can say is Blood Libel or projection of what they wish they could do to us — maybe both, i don’t know.

All I know is, in this type of situation, where this is not only the situation with Gaza but in many ways with our entire neighborhood (enemies near and far, all calling to “whipe us off the map of history” and “drive us to the sea”) - It is an (unfortunate) necessity that we are strong, and capable of defending ourselves.  I fear the day that we can not.

Good night.

[policyabovepolitics]

DIVORCE AGREEMENT— WRITTEN BY YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENT The person who wrote this is a college student. Perhaps there is hope for us after all. THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY WELL PUT AND I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT’S BY A YOUNG PERSON, A STUDENT!!! WHATEVER HE RUNS...

[policyabovepolitics]

In response to incessant rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, the IDF has launched a widespread campaign against terror targets in Gaza. The operation, called Pillar of Defense, has two main goals: to protect Israeli civilians and to cripple the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. Here’s a recap of the third day of the operation.