Today's State Department daily brief (8-2-06) provides more details and developments from last evening's Fox News interview with Condi Rice. 

Don't be disheartened by the hype, slants and negative (above/under) tones  across today's MSM headlines, op eds, radical Arabic news and liberal blogs.  The diplomatic process is moving toward achieving a "sustainable peace." 

The United States and France are playing lead roles in negotiations.  Details on the selection and logistics for an International peace-keeping force have been underway since a late-July meeting in Rome.  France, Turkey and Sweden will likely send initial peace-keeping troops into Southern Lebanon.   

Condi Rice's prediction that a cease-fire and lasting settlement will come "within days, not weeks" is most likely a nearly-done deal ..... 

Don't let the stage lights blind you.  The cast of players is already set.  All that remains is a tweak of the script.

Washington – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says a cease-fire and lasting settlement in the three-week-old conflict between Israel and Hezbollah likely will come within "days not weeks."

"I still believe that if we really put our minds to it and work that this week is entirely possible. Certainly we're talking about days not weeks before we are able to get a cease-fire.  It's time to end the violence," she said in an August 1 interview with PBS television.

She said there should be a cease-fire as soon as it is clear that the U.N. Security Council has formulated a resolution that will support the extension of Lebanese government authority over the entire country.

After intensive discussions in the region with Israeli and Lebanese leaders, Rice sent the matter to the Security Council where U.S. and French diplomats are working on a resolution that would provide for a sustainable ceasefire, introduce a multinational force to support the Lebanese army in south Lebanon, and create a "sustainable and durable" peace that allows Lebanon's government to operate effectively throughout its territory.

In New York, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said August 2 that diplomats are working intensively to resolve their differences on the resolution.

"There is near complete agreement on the fundamental political framework that has to be put in place," Bolton said.

The differences are "in approaching a cessation of hostilities and how to make it permanent" the ambassador said.  "This is significant because it underlines the fundamental notion that we do not want to see a return to the status quo ante."

"I don't think that a cease-fire without more is sufficient to lead to a fundamental change to the situation in the region.  But the precise way that this will be done, how many resolutions are involved remains to be seen, in part, because things are changing on the ground as well," Bolton said.

Any Security Council action must lead to a substantial change in the region, he said.

Rice said she does not expect to see a complete change in the political and security situation in south Lebanon before a cease-fire is declared, "but you have to have expectations that that will be the case.  It has to be clear to everyone that that's the basis for a cease-fire or for a cessation of the hostilities.  It has to be clear to everyone that armed groups can't just be allowed to operate in the country in the way that they did."

Rice said Hezbollah has been operating as an armed state within a state.  "That fact has to be dealt with," she said.  "You can't have a state within the state, an armed state within the state.  The Lebanese government has to have full authority over its territory; it has to have full authority over all arms and armed people."

The secretary told Fox News in a separate interview that the Rome conference of the Lebanon Core Group resulted in a consensus that there must be an international stabilization force sent to Lebanon to help the government extend its authority to the south and "get rid of that vacuum into which Hezbollah has flown."

The council is discussing the nature of the multinational force, but a meeting of potential troop contributing countries set for August 3 has been postponed.

How a cessation of hostilities and cease-fire are worked out will determine the size, composition, and mandate of any peacekeeping mission, Bolton said.

Two different kinds of forces might be needed at different times, he noted, "because the situation at the outset when a force might go in might well be substantially different than one six months later and over the longer term."

Rice said the multinational force would not enter Lebanon until a cease-fire is in place.

The secretary expressed sorrow at the civilian casualties on both sides of the conflict.  She called Israel's July 30 bombing in Qana, Lebanon, which killed dozens of civilians, many of them children, a "terribly tragic circumstance," but added, "the fact is, unfortunately, these terrorist organizations are very much bred into these villages and it's very hard to root them out."  (See related article.)

"I do think that sometimes the very, very tragic pictures and the toll in human lives has an effect on people.  But I think we have to acknowledge that the important thing is to keep clear about what your strategic goals are," she said.

White House press secretary Snow defined that goal as a situation in which "Hezbollah ceases to operate as an independent militia in the southern part of Lebanon."

"In other words, what you want to do is comply with the conditions of U.N. Security Council resolution 1559," he said.  That resolution, adopted in September 2004, called for the disbanding and disarming of all independent militias in Lebanon.

"[U]ltimately, Hezbollah is going to be defeated through a combination of the desire to make sure that they don't have the military capabilities, but also they're going to be defeated politically," Rice said.  She added that she believes the Lebanese government is prepared to assume its responsibilities vis-à-vis Hezbollah and exert its authority over the entire country.

Security Council President Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng of Ghana said that the council is giving the United States and France time to work out their differences and is ready to meet at any time.

"We realize the urgency of the situation but have to face the realities on the ground," Effah-Apenteng said.

(Font changes are added for emphasis.)

  No one around here agrees with everything Ann Coulter sez, mind you.  While taking a hard left to many of her hard rights, we find her an entertaining and insightful read. I confess I own all her books and -- like it or lump it -- love her style in saying what she sez.  Her TV interviews are priceless.   (Do a search on YouTube.)

She takes no literal (or literary) prisoners.  Few (if any) political-social observers (she goes by lots of other names, too ....) can match her wit or spontaneity.  She's free-cable primetime compared with the talking heads and pundits who turn her profundities into headlines. 

A regular commentator on Fox News, she deserves her own 30-minute slot.   She could do stand-up. 

Wait. 

She sorta does stand-up already. 

In her email/newsletter (subscription info is available at link below), she shares the "cuts" from an interview she did with the Baltimore Sun.  Funny stuff. 

SUN: The last time we spoke, you told me you're routinely misquoted by newspaper reporters. What are a couple of the more egregious examples? Why does this happen?

A: It happens so much, I don't even keep track of it anymore. The last one I remember was when I said "cutting the tax rate on capital gains seems to have increased tax receipts for fiscal 2006, just as supply-side economics predicted it would." It came out in the paper as, "I worship Adolf Hitler and share all of his goals, especially the 'final solution' to the 'Jewish problem.'"

I have no idea how it happens, given the strict objectivity and rigid nonpartisanship of the American media.

SUN: The mainstream press is in economic trouble. Any comments on how they're reacting?

A: They are reacting with the same hysterical leftism that drove readers away in the first place.

SUN: Bill Keller said The New York Times published the Swift banking story because of the public's right to know. Do you think he thinks that? Why did he publish it? What is the job description of a metro daily newspaper editor?

A: I don't like it when people ask me if I meant what I said or wrote, so I'll take him at his word and assume that he really means what he said: that anyone who reads The New York Times, including our enemies, is entitled to information about secret government programs being used to track terrorists, which means he's either (a) a complete moron or (b) a traitor.

An editor's job is to edit, which should not be confused with "to release sensitive information that can help the enemy during a war."

SUN: Why is abortion sacrosanct to the left? Why have Democrats chosen this as their hill to die on? Why is evolution so important to liberals?

A: Because they basically want to depopulate the world of human beings, hence their love of abortion and their commitment to a belief system that does not distinguish men from lower beasts.

SUN: Have you encountered anyone on the left who has read "Godless" carefully and was willing to debate its points with you? How'd it go? Have any critics addressed the content rationally? If so, what did you think? If not, do you find it amusing?

A: Only one: Michael Eric Dyson. The rest just want to talk about why my skirts are so short and why I'm "mean." It's almost as if my critics are avoiding the issues I write about in the book.

Q: Does Hillary Clinton have a good chance in 2008? What are her strengths and weaknesses? What did her reaction to your "Jersey girls" comments tell you about her as a potential candidate?

A: Good chance of what? Coming out of the closet? I'd say that's about even money. Her strength is her first name; her weakness is her last.

SUN: Any comments on ...

A: Joe Biden: See my remarks on Neil Kinnock.

David Gregory: The man with no principles, no credibility and no last name.

Kofi Annan: That guy? Isn't he on the ground fighting with Hezbollah?

Katie Couric: The affable Eva Braun of evening TV.

Tony Snow: Cool guy.

Tom DeLay: How does Tom "soon to be acquitted and re-elected" DeLay grab you?

Rush Limbaugh: First runner-up for Mount Rushmore.

Joe Wilson: You mean Valerie Plame's clueless hubby? Whatever happened to that moron?

Dan Rather: Reports of his contrition are greatly exaggerated.

Cynthia McKinney: One of the most intelligent Democrats in the country.

SUN: Any other wild, hippie-esque practices we should know about?

A: You mean other than the fact that I live in a filthy van with a dog, a gentleman I refer to as "my old man" and our daughter "Diversity Seagull," and we make our living weaving hemp baskets? No, not really.

SUN: How would your career be different if you looked like Molly Ivins?

A: I'd be a lot uglier.

SUN: Now that the "Slander/Treason/Godless" trilogy is finished, what's your next big project?

A: Finishing this interview. What are you, writing a book or something?

I don't know about THAT interviewer,  but I certainly hope Ann Coulter is!!!

You do.  That is, taxpayers do.

Is it fair that the ACLU receives legal fees for representing individuals who sue  government entities?

The overwhelming majority of Americans say NO!  You have the opportunity to speak up and help stop the ACLU from receiving your tax monies. 

Contact your legislators (list available at the link above) and sign a petition to STOP the ACLU! 

The Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution is meeting Wednesday.  Let your voice be heard!

Related link:  Stop the ACLU

Don't be distracted by MSM's nay-sayer headlines and the *BDS rhetoric from the cheap seats in left field.

While rioters in the Middle East (including cartoons and comments in  Detroit's Arab American News) sling racial slurs at Condi Rice, she remains focused on brokering a new plan for peace.

When pundits and politicians who have no suggestion or peace-plan of their own question her capabilities or the tenacity of GWB in confronting terrorism, she continues to work for peace.

(Oh yeah -- the reason Condi did not go to Beirut today?  Her French counter-part was already there -- meeting with the Syrians and Iranians -- while she met with the Israeli's and other parties ....)

Rice will present a resolution to the United Nations to expedite a cease fire as early as this week.  Concurrently, the Israeli Security Council has announced today that they will not accept a cease fire until an international force is in place and will expand ground operations in Southern Lebanon until that time. 

These two announcements are not necessarily contradictions.

Today, Rice announced "a merging consensus on a cease fire." 

What does this mean?  It means that, despite MSM's portrayal of Bush's proclivity for war, his diplomatic team has been actively advancing a peaceful resolve for the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict.

France has engaged Lebanon, Iran and Syria (the puppet and two powers behind Hezbollah) in talks and is projected to assume a major role in monitoring both the Lebanon-Israel and the Syria-Lebanon borders.

One primary component of the plan will be a legitimate United Nations peace-keeping force (estimated at approximately 10,000 soldiers) to monitor a no-fire buffer zone in Southern Lebanon, to secure Lebanon's borders and to aid in training Lebanon's Army.

Other components and conditions for a cease fire have not been revealed.  They will likely include the release of Israeli soldiers, disposition of the Shaba Farms region and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of militias (i.e., Hezbollah) in South Lebanon. 

Can Condi Rice orchestrate the beginning of peace in the Middle East?

Yes. 

How long will it take? 

Weeks, most likely.  At least until an International peace-keeping force is in place. 

Until then -- Israel will continue to push Hezbollah from Southern Lebanon.   And Hezbollah will continue to lob rockets and mortars into Northern Israel.

Is a Middle East peace finally near or even possible?  

Yes.

What better opportunity than for an authentic international peace-keeping effort at the Israeli-Lebanese border and possibly beyond? 

What better opportunity for moderate Arab states to collectively confront religious and political fanatics and to mediate the Jewish-Arabic conflict?   They -- and not the United Nations -- have the most at stake. 

What better opportunity than NOW to lay the cornerstone for peace -- lasting peace?

It is now or never. 

Few realize this more clearly than moderate Arabs.  Condi Rice -- though scorned by fanatics (including vestigial American fundies on the far right and left) -- also realizes this.

She will succeed.

* BDS:  Bush Derangement Syndrome.  "The acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency -- nay -- the very existence of George W. Bush."

Time out for a touch o' suth'en humah .

A like-spirited associate named Curly sends me jokes each day. 

Today's joke included this list.  Reprinted with apologies to anyone offended by my earlier post.  Honest.  No offense to anyone or any state located west of the Mississippi or north of the Mason-Dixon.

And I've only visited South Carolina.  Enroute to Myrtle Beach.  Not to be confused with Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Carlsbad or Malibu  ..... <snicker>

A friend of somebody just moved from Southern California to South Carolina and he e-mailed this. He said they gave it to him at the state line.  If you are going to live or visit in the South, you need to know these rules:

1. That farm boy you see at the gas station did more work before breakfast than you do all week at the gym.

2. It's called a "gravel road." No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get dust on your Navigator. Drive it or get out of the way.

3. The red dirt -- it's called clay. Red clay. If you like the color, don't wash your car for a couple weeks -- it'll be permanent.

4. We all started hunting and fishing when we were seven years old. Yeah, we saw Bambi. We got over it.

5. Go ahead and bring your $600 Orvis Fly Rod. Don't cry to us if a flathead breaks it off at the handle. We have a name for those little 13-inch trout you fish for -- bait.

6. Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.

7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of mallards are making their final approach, we will shoot it. You might want to ensure it's not up to our ear at the time.

8. No, there's no "Vegetarian Special" on the menu. Order steak. Order it rare. Or, you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the two pounds of ham and turkey.

9. Tea - yeah, we have tea. It comes in a glass over ice and is sweet. You want it hot -- sit it in the sun. You want it unsweetened -- add a lot of water.

10. You bring Coke into my house, it better be brown, wet, and served over ice.

11. So, you have a sixty thousand-dollar car. We're real impressed. We have a quarter of a million-dollar combine that we only use two weeks a year.

12. Let's get this straight. We have one stoplight in town. We stop when it's red. We may even stop when it's yellow.

13. We eat dinner together with our families. We pray before we eat (yeah, even breakfast). We go to church on Wednesdays and Sundays and we go to high school football games on Friday nights. We still address our seniors with "yes, sir" and "yes, ma'am," and we sometimes still take Sunday drives around town to see friends and neighbors.

14. We don't do "hurry up" well. 

15. Greens - yeah, we have greens, but you don't putt on them. You boil them with salty fatback, bacon or a ham hock.

16. Yeah, we eat catfish, bass, bream (pronounced brim) and carp. You really want sushi and caviar? It's available at the bait shop.

17. They are pigs. That's what they smell like. Get over it. Don't like it? Interstate 85 goes two ways - Interstate 40 goes the other two. Pick one.

18. Grits are corn. You put butter, salt, and maybe even some pepper on them. If you want to put milk and sugar on them, then you want Cream of Wheat - go to Kansas. That would be I-40 west.

19. The "Opener" refers to the first day of deer season or dove season. Both are holidays. You can get pancakes, cane syrup, and sausage before daylight at the church on either day.

20. So every person in every pickup waves? Yeah, it's called being friendly. Understand the concept?

21. Yeah, we have golf courses. Don't hit in the water hazards. It spooks the fish and bothers the gators -- and if you hit it in the rough, we have these things called diamondbacks, and they're not baseball players.

22. That Highway Patrol Officer that just pulled you over for driving like an idiot -- his name is "Sir," no matter how young he is.

23. We have lots of pine trees. They have sap. It drips from them. You park your Navigator under them, and they'll leave a logo on your hood.

24. You burn an American flag in our state, you get beat up. No questions. The liberal contingent of our state legislature -- all four of them -- enacted a measure to stop this. There is now a $2.50 fine for beating up the flag burner.

25. No, we don't care how you do things up North/on the West Coast. If it is so great there, why not stay?  And no, we don't have an accent, you do.

eh. eh. eh. <snort>  No, I'm not laughing at anyone.  It's the context more than the content of the list.  Really. 

 Condi pensive ... Condi resolved ...Condi wary ... Condi awaiting a return trip to the Middle East this weekend .... Condi prepared to again broker the framework of an enduring peace ... Condi not-to-be-conned by false promises for peace.

Can she succeed?   I'm optimistic. 

She's too savvy not to make head-way toward an objective which no man or woman has achieved before her.

The Hezbullah faction (Syria, Lebanon, Iran, etc.) are waivering .... asking for a cease-fire ....   Let them beg, Condi.  Wait until it is time .... Let them beg, not from their knees, but from their bellies.

Let them be so desperate that they accept the conditions that will finally lay the cornerstones to peace. 

Be strong, Condi.  Be wary.  Be resolved.

Israel was sending messages every way it can to Damascus, telling Syria it does not want war with it. Former defense minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Home Front Commander Maj. Gen. Gershon Yitzhak, and the entire press said as much this morning. But at the same time, Army Radio reported that top officials from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were in Damascus this week for meetings with Syrian officials, Hizbollah leaders, and officials from the various Palestinian rejectionist groups based in Damascus. And Israeli public statements about the multinational force -- for which nobody is yet volunteering -- include mention of the need for some force with authority to monitor and prevent arms deliveries over the Syrian border into Lebanon.

The call-up of reserve troops -- enough, the army believes, to occupy Lebanon’s south -- is also being regarded as a message to Syria as well as to the international community to speed up its efforts to arrange a deal that satisfies Israeli demands. In other words, there are mixed signals coming from Israel about Syria, and with President George Bush constantly pointing out that the Syrians are to blame for the situation, no wonder the Syrian armed forces are said to be on high alert. Syria has hundreds of Scud missiles, able to reach anywhere in the country. There are reports that the army has deployed Patriot anti-missile missile systems in strategic locations, and the Home Front Commander said that his troops -- and all the emergency services from police to Magen David Adom that are subject to his command in case of an attack on the rear -- are prepared for attacks on the center of the country, a euphemism for Tel Aviv and its metropolitan area.

Condoleezza Rice, whom the Israelis did not expect back until the middle of next week at the earliest is said by Israel Radio to be planning to return to Israel and the region tomorrow night. Maybe she is carrying a more forceful message to the Israelis that the Finnish foreign minister was not kidding when he said that the G-8’s statement and the Rome Conference were not meant to give Israel a ‘green light’ to extend the fighting for as long as it wants. A top UN envoy to the region, Terje Larsen, meanwhile says that after meetings here he thinks that neither Israel nor Hizbollah are interested yet in a ceasefire. Hizbollah’s calls for a ceasefire that were heard yesterday have meanwhile faded.

Haaretz is reporting that there is a bit of a tussle between the Mossad and IDF Military Intelligence over just how much damage has been done to Hizbollah by Israeli operations. The Mossad reportedly says that Hizbollah has barely been scratched and can continue lobbing rockets for months into Israel. Military Intelligence meanwhile is saying that while the Shiite group has not been mortally wounded, it has been somewhat crippled by the incessant attacks on its command and control facilities, storage plants for munitions, and by rocket launcher hunters on the ground and in the air. Even the lethal combat in Bint Jebayel, where eight Israeli Golani soldiers were killed, is said to have been costly for Hizbollah. The IDF says Hizbollah lost dozens of fighters there.

Meanwhile, Israel’s economy can pay for the war, which is costing billions of shekels a week in lost manufacturing production, consumer consumption, damage to buildings, army expenditures, and all the related costs. Israel had something like NIS 15 billion in unspent money from its budget, has lowered its budget deficit to barely one percent of GDP, much lower than the 3 percent considered acceptable in advanced Western economies, and has nearly $30 billion in reserves held by the central bank.

But Israel cannot afford a war of attrition, not so much for economic reasons as for reasons of morale -- and domestic politics. It is one thing to ask a quarter of the population to stay in safety zones or bomb shelters for a month or even two. But if the fighting drags out beyond August, the management of the war will come under heavy criticism from politicians who will see an opportunity to attack Olmert and Peretz, and those politicians will be able to point to the estimated quarter million Israeli refugees from the north who have either fled their homes or are spending most of their time in shelters. The army says that it can move masses of troops into southern Lebanon and put an end to Katyusha fire into the north, simply by pushing Hizbollah out of the region. But that’s a guarantee of Lebanese national solidarity against occupation. Some in the army are saying that the threat of an Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon should force NATO to send its rapid deployment force to the area Israel just north of the Israeli border, where Hizbollah had troops right on the border fence, a stone’s throw, let alone a Kalashnikov shot, from Israeli tourists who enjoyed the green hills of northern Galilee for the last six years.

Hizbollah, of course, can afford a war of attrition. The Iranian backing guarantees it $100 million a year, not counting the arms Iran sends via Syria. Hizbollah, practically by definition, is more interested in the struggle to liberate Jerusalem, let alone the Shaba Farms, than it is in the state of the Lebanese economy. The Shiites who want to be Lebanese first vote for Amal, not Hizbollah, which is Islamic first, even if it plays down its Shiite connection when campaigning in the Lebanese political arena. Meanwhile, while ‘moderate’ -- meaning autocratic -- Arab governments are expressing their anger with Hizbollah (not approval of what Israel is doing) the Arab ‘street’ is saying that it supports Hizbollah but is doing very little to show it. Even in Syria and Palestine, only a few thousand demonstrators have been mustered to show support for Hassan Nasrallah.

So, the rockets continue falling in northern Israel, Israeli warplanes continue striking at Hizbollah facilities in Lebanon, and there is still some close quarters combat going on in the south Lebanese villages where Israeli troops are trying to shut down Hizbollah operations. It will be only late next week before the reservists -- estimated at between 30,000-50,000 troops -- are even ready to be sent into action. By then, Rice will probably be back here, if not tomorrow night than later in the week, and this second visit doesn’t seem likely to be another fact finding mission to hear out the Israelis and the Lebanese. So far, there’s no indication she will reverse U.S. policy and make an overture toward Syria, which many believe the only way to get a lasting ceasefire, especially if she can yank Assad completely out of the clutches of Iran and Hizbollah. Nor is there any indication of a multinational force rapidly being put together. Hizbollah meanwhile is promising it would fight a NATO rapid deployment force, since in Hizbollah eyes, that’s the equivalent of a U.S. force.

 ... After a dead-to-the-world 13-hour nap, my fever seems to have broken.   Maybe it was the z-pack, maybe the infection simply turned on itself.  Maybe if I had not tried to work with a 101 degree fever this week, I'd have healed sooner .... Maybe. 

... There has to be a way to keep sinus infections and upper respiratory distress at bay when East Coast weather decides to proximate the Mojave Desert.

... Watched a movie during one (legally) drug-induced fog this week:  Crash.  I'll watch it again to be certain I like it as much as I thought I did.  While I recall that it reminded me of Grand Canyon, it brought back mixed memories of a 2-year lifetime I lived in California. 

... Although my condo was in a heavily-gated complex north of LA, the streets of gangs and thugs and night-life portrayed in Crash were one block away.  The winding mountain roads were about three miles away .... I didn't venture out too much alone at night.  Of course I was ghost-writing an autobiography at the time.  Two of my favorite day-time escapes were the consignment shops around Sherman Oaks and window-shopping in Northside Mall. 

No matter where you went, the food was great.  (I never knew how 'fornians stayed so slim with all those wonderful restaurants on every corner.  Constant Stress?  High pace of living?  Constant motion?) 

... On weekends, I preferred the serenity of camping in the hills southeast of LA.  Only distraction was the drive, of course .... 5 lanes at 80 mph has never been my favorite mode of travel, but when in Rome, etc.  I admit, however, my memory of CA freeways will always be tempered by waiting 4-hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic and NOT watching as emergency personnel removed the body of an Asian man who had hanged himself from an overpass.  I honestly tried to focus on the famous Hollywood hillside sign perched above the freeway that day ... And yes, I aways carried bottled water and food in the jeep ... problem was finding a bathroom ....  

The beach scene in CA didn't impress me.  (Forgive me, Coppertone.)  It was so ... so ... commercialized and uninviting.  I much prefer the postcard views.  Great restaurants, however ....

... When home for the weekend, I attended either an ecumenical church in Van Nuys or one in the hills above Chatsworth .... The music was always exceptional -- professional singers and musicians. Uplifting.  You could even sing along .... There was usually a social afterward.  I sometimes didn't know whether to shake hands or ask for an autograph.  Funny thing about [some] celebrities: they didn't seem to have a personal/private life .... They were always decked out in heavy make-up and dress-gold (know what I mean?)  

... Bad example:  a very successful rapper's girlfriend and their children lived in my complex .  There were always parties at the complex pool ... one of their kids (maybe 5 years old), was splashing around in a cheep ring float.  So the kid slips through.  Goes under.  No bobbing up and down.  Just goes under.  Mom sees the empty ring, squeals beneath ten pounds of wig, waves her 6-inch fake nails in the air, sloshes her drink down the front of her blouse, utters something as she wipes it off and sez: "Where's my baby???"  Does she jump in and grab the small body on the bottom of the pool?  Maybe put her drink down?  No.  Anyway, after being retrieved from the bottom of the pool, the kid was OK.  Coughed and sputtered a little, cried, reached and called to his mother.  She finally put her drink down.  Rather than clutching the child to her (as most of us would have done), she held him at arm's length -- to avoid getting wet -- as he continued to thrash for her to hold him ....  The epitome of contemporary celebrity motherhood, eh?   I pray not. 

... What did we do for fun?  Evenings around the pool (sans floating children) or warming in the hot tub were regular activities .... it was an international gathering, a totally ageless, engaging group of professionals, lifers and transplants, congenial folks -- similar to those you might meet in a community spot anywhere -- gossip, jokes, flirting, beyond flirting, eating often (bring a favorite dish on Friday nite), talking about sports, weather, the family, traffic, movies, new places to eat, etc., collecting $$ to order beer, pizza, etc., going to Denny's for breakfast at 3 am ....

... Once a month or so, I went to the comedy clubs in LA with another group of friends.  Fun evenings, actually.  Great talent and some elbow-rubbing with celebrities .... A few would slip away to snort a little coke or shoot up, maybe exchange uppers or downers, as the case may have been.  Most folks just drank lots.  I mean, lots.  Some didn't.  I didn't 'cause I don't. 

... So there I was in the early morning hours -- a designated driver in bumper-to-bumper traffic zooming north up the 5 toward the 405 and down a familiar exit.  Heading home on the freeway, humming California songs in my head ....  wondering if I would end up spending the rest of my life there.  And not wanting to ...

... Now, far removed from the California I both enjoyed and endured, I sometimes wake up at 3 am and get this urge to drive to Denny's.  I don't, however.  It's not safe to be out on the highway at 3 am around here, either.

....... to Michelle Malkin, Captain's Quarters and bunches of other bloggers who are following up on our post last night.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (20+ years) has obviously been sleeping with the enemy.

(Photo of the UN flag flying along side the Hezbollah flag is from Michelle Malkin's site -- with link to Harry's Place ... who also has links to links.....)

Any doubt now why Israel requested NATO forces as peacekeepers?

  ... to Little Green Footballs for this UNIFIL update that mainstream media  somehow overlooked:

Another UN position of the Ghanaian battalion in the area of Marwahin in the western sector was also directly hit by one mortar round from the Hezbollah side last night. The round did not explode, and there were no casualties or material damage. Another 5 incidents of firing close to UN positions from the Israeli side were reported yesterday. It was also reported that Hezbollah fired from the vicinity of four UN positions at Alma ash Shab, Tibnin, Brashit, and At Tiri. All UNIFIL positions remain occupied and maintained by the troops.

This Canadian radio report provides additional information ....

If these reports are accurate, it is little wonder that Israel asked that NATO -- not the UN -- be involved in securing the Israeli-Lebanon borders.

Stay tuned. 

This past weekend I reacted to the relative lack of liberal commentaries on the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict and Condi Rice's role in laying the cornerstone for "enduring peace."

Why are liberals either laying low or offering qualified comments?  I suggest, as do observers more knowledgeable than I, that they are first and foremost suffering from  *BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome).  They are also waiting for Condi's first boot to drop ... They want to hear those meeting with her in Rome react first ....

Ever wondered why band wagons have tail-gates? 

Meanwhile, I've been following news wires from Europe and the Middle East (op eds as well as news updates) and found this article by Barry Rubin notable for it's holistic overview of a new Middle East ..... Possibly you will also.

The Region: New Middle East

"The fighting in Lebanon punctuates some dramatic changes in the region that go far beyond these immediate events. These developments are going to be shaping events in the area for some time to come, even after the current shooting ends.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal.

If there is to be a new Middle East, Condi Rice must wield a firm resolve to lay the first cornerstone for peace.

*BDS: The acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency -- nay -- the very existence of George W. Bush.