hmmm... haih.. tersilap..

.

conflict..?

not really one actually.. just..

i'd rather say.. i start to think a lot of things when thing like this happen..

can't fulfill ones hope.. is quite a blow.. especially when that one person is dear to me..

and when the voice is clearly sound disappointed, i can't even say a word ..

pastu..

mula la tak dapat tutup mata.. tak dapat tido... haih..

hmmm....

i know.. it was my bad.. sorry.. maaf..

..





to akak : jgn komen pape.

.

hari-hari yg x produktif berterusan -

huhuh.. da lama tak update blog.

ingat nak bajet minimum satu post sebulan..

bukan takde topik nak tulis.. masa duduk sesaje banyak gile dlm kepala..
tapi bila start, baru taip satu ayat dah jadik malas gile. last2 jadik draft je.. ahaks :P


Anyway,
ramai orang cakap muke aku iras2 dgn abah aku. (kira aku anak bapak eh?)
Kalau balik terachi, even pakcik2 yg aku tak kenal pun, tgk muke aku, tau aku anak Zaimi cucu Zainudin. Hohoho.

Dulu masa tgh jalan kaki siap ada pakcik tu bg tumpang ride kete dia lagi. Dia cakap, dia stop kete sebab dia tgk muke aku cam abah aku. tengs pakcik ;D.

Kalau balik kg abah kt labu pun camtu jugak. org2 sana kenal muke aku. Kesian diorang.. sebab aku pulak tak ingat muke2 diorang semua..


Tapi, abah aku rajin. kalau nak kata aku ikut abah aku, nape aku tak rajin eh?

Mama selalu komplen, "cuba follow abah hang tu, rajin buat kerja.."

So, i guess kerajinan tu dtg dari disiplin diri sendrik la yek? kan best kalau ikut genetik. heheh. :P




erk, sebenarnye tgh wat keje nih, camne boleh terlalut kat blog lak nih. adeih.
huhu, so, wassalam~

*tgh dlm proses merajinkan diri, demi masa depan. Gambatte, myself ~~~

:)

legaaaa ^^

......

heee~ :) :) :) :)

hari ni habis dah sem ke-7 aku... menandakan dah cukup 3 tahun setengah aku berada kat bumi matahari terbit ni.. Ntah apa la yang aku dapat dalam 3 tahun setengah ni, aku pun.. errr.. tak berapa sure lagi.. huu...

pengalaman .. kot. pengalaman berada kat tempat orang.

tapi hari ni aku tak nak masuk pasal pengalaman..
sebab aku tengah hepi. yippie. suka. suki. heee~~ ^.^

alhamdulillah.. kerja2 lab aku dipermudahkan.. ditambah dengan sensei @ supervisor yg baik hati... tak pernah marah aku.. huhu..

Tambahan pulak, esok dah officially start cuti aku. hehehe... Isnin pulak dah balik Mesia.
(7 sept~ 27 sept)

Semalam.. tengah pening2 wat keje programming alah tu, boleh lak aku terpesong wat keje lain. ahahah... Rasa cam mimpi, tapi bila cubit pipi, sakit. ahahah. faceboook.. facebook... huhuu...

huuu... anyway, lega rasa hati.. dah terlepas dua beban... huu...

dah bole tido puas2 hari ni, semlm tido sejam je. =P

thanks~

fuuhh....tak sangka

post ni diedit dari draft asal..

sengaja aku simpan tarikh ni..

3 & 4 september.

sebab, tarikh ni la.. aku dapat jawapan..

tarikh aku tau.. aku... tak bertepuk sebelah tangan :D

terima kasih.

rupanya aku tak angau sorang-sorang. hahah. adeih :P






















adios~
nanti2 cite dlm post lain. hik3 :>

Obsession..

Obsession and Love.

Just how to differentiate them..?

oo Allah may You guide us ..

.

Teringat kisah lama... (1)

.
.Teringat kisah lama...

Semester ni, kerja aku sibuk untuk wat programming je. (tak sibuk pun sebenarnya.. cuma kena siapkan je.. hehehe..) . Programming ni, dengan mulut mmg senang, dengar cikgu cakap, cepat je paham konsep dia. TAPI, bila cuba buat, baru tau sape timun sape durian... Mula la error itu ini, tak tau silap kat mana, kalau sangkut mmg lama lah sangkut tuh..

.....ooh I hate programming....

Tengah pening kepala sebab tak leh carik punca error tu, aku teringat satu kisah lama..
Takde la lama sangat pun akceli, maybe dalam 13 bulan kot...

____________________________________

Masa tu aku tengah ada kat lab komputer, dalam kelas Mechanical Design. (Kelas tu buat design benda 2D n 3D). Biasanya dalam kelas2 yang ada komputer ni aku online YM guna WebMessenger ;p


Nak dijadikkan cerita, hari tu hari last kena siapkan projek final 3D kitorang untuk sem ke5. Semua budak dalam kelas tgh kelam-kabut nak siapkan kerja diorang, termasuklah aku sekali.. banyak lagi tak siap waktu tu, dan masa makin suntuk.

Then YM berbunyi.. menandakan ada org hantar msg. Aku berenti buat kerja sekejap.
Oh, Cik D yg hantar msg rupanya..

(Cik D (bukan nama sebenar) ni member lama aku, selalu jugak la aku sms dia masa sebelum fly dulu, pastu masa kt jepun nih rajin kacau YM dia malam2 . Mostly kami berkontek via net je..)

Kami bertegur sapa sikit. Aku YM macam nak tak nak je, ye la, tgh menggelupur kejar masa waktu tu. Sampai la satu ayat tu...

'ehsan, u tau sy ada kakak kan? she's pregnant...'

Aku ter stop buat 3D kejap... Kakak dia belum kahwin lagi rasanya...

'My mom n dad still tak tahu lagi.. What should i do...?' , dia sambung lagi..

Adussss... aku tepuk2 dahi.. Dalam banyak2 masa, kenapa time ni pulak.......

Aku tgk member aku sebelah aku yg tgh rajin kira2 kerja dia, pastu aku tergelak. Gelak yg entah kenapa terkeluar....

Then aku fikir2 kejap, 'If i am actually in her shoes, would i tell this to anyone?'. Benda2 macam ni... perlukan courage yg sangat tinggi untuk bgtau kat kengkawan kita.. tambah lak dekat sorang member berlainan jantina yg cuma sekali bersua muka..

Aku tak tau nk concentrate kat mana satu masa tu..........

Kami ber YM sket2, ckp pasal beberapa benda concerning the topic,
Sambil2 tu aku cuba gak sambung wat 3D bertuah tu... sampaikan aku rasa finally dia bosan tunggu reply aku, and dekat2 hujung kelas tu, dia offline ..

At the end of the class, aku terpaksa jugak hantar projek 3D aku yg tak sempat siap tu. Good thing is ramai jugak budak jepun lain yg tak siap sama2 dgn aku.

Alhamdulillah aku berjaya lulus kelas tu walaupun sekadar cukup2 makan..

Cuma, sejak hari tu, aku lost contact dgn Cik D...

Cuma sekali je, dia hantar satu baris msg, bgtau apa yg family dia putuskan nak buat..
Then Cik D dah tak pernah online lagi.. Semua msg2 yg aku hantar pun dah tak pernah di reply..

____________________________________

Its been a year, tapi isi YM tu sampai sekarang still lekat kat kepala ni.. ( WebMessenger takde archive..). Kat mana dia, apa yg dia buat skang, apa2 pun aku da tak tau..

Cik D, wherever you are, hope you are doing fine..




.

Mak n Ayah? Ibu n Bapa? Mama n Abah?

Tadi, masa tengah susun2 gambar yg nak di copy dari friendster untuk masuk ke facebook, tiba2 seorang rakan lama (Cik N, bukan nama sebenar) menghantar msg YM….

===============

Cik N: salam ehsan...dat day u want 2 ask me someting...wat is it?

al ehsan: salam

al ehsan: pekabar?

al ehsan: ooo

al ehsan: yg tu…

(We had some brief chat…)

Cik N: k

al ehsan: baru2 ni hg rajin online tgh mlm ek

al ehsan: cuti ke?

Cik N: ak kat hometown XXX nie...cuti weekend je la blk ada tahlil

(Em? Tahlil? Aku bermonolog sendirian. Tadi pun baru je balik dari majlis Yaasin, sebab ada mak member meninggal. Oh, well… )

al ehsan: oo

Cik N: hmmm ehsan, hang tau kan abah ak just passed away 2 weeks ago?

(Uiks. Terkejut kejap aku. Takde dengar cite dari sesape pun. Patut la baru2 ni macam tiba2 lost kontek je..)

al ehsan: eh

al ehsan: tak

al ehsan: takde dengar pape

al ehsan: innalillah..

(Buntu seketika….. Cuma itu je yg termampu diluahkan..…)

Cik N: x pe

Cik N: ak now dah hilang doa abah n mama...doa yg paling mustajab skali...besaq sgt dugaan Allah bagi kat ak...sedih mama meninggal x hilang lagi my beloved abah plak tinggalkn i...tapi dun worry i redha n tenang ja hadapi sume ni..smp kdg2 i naik pelik plak dgn diri ni..bleh plak facing dugaan besaq cmni..i x dan nak balas jasa depa mcm kakak n abg2 buat..but life must go on kan..pape jadi pun i nak pastikan my ambition terlaksana mcm mana yg i dah ckp dkt abah n mama

Cik N: insya'Allah

(Hmmm… satu ayat panjang yg membuat aku berfikir… dan terfikir tentang 1001 perkara… Hmmm…. Camne aku nak balas ni….)

al ehsan: hmmmm... thats all thanks to your abah n mama punya didikan, dan juga doa2 diorang masa masih hidup dulu, yg buat hang dh jadi kuat mcm sekarang kan.

al ehsan: its just

al ehsan: aku tak tau

al ehsan: hang pun dah takde mak

al ehsan: cuma aku ada ingat pernah tgk hang ngan mak hang kat pasar XXX 4 thn lepas kot.

(Apa yg aku merapu daaa….)

Cik N: ya my mama passed away 5 years ago...

al ehsan: oo 5 thn ek.........

(Uiysh, lamanya usia aku di perantaun membuatkan diri ini hilang track masa…)

Cik N: oh really ak x perasan pun hg kat pasar XXX 2..awat yg hg x teguq ak?

al ehsan: aku nmpk dr dlm kete je

al ehsan: ala dah lama dh

Cik N: mama x de time end of 2004

Cik N: hmm x pe...i terima ja sume ni...as org islam kita kena redha la kan

(Alhamdulillah… dia masih mampu dan kuat hadapi kenyataan..)

al ehsan: kan

al ehsan: setiap yg blku tu ada hikmah yg kita mungkin tak nmpak kan

al ehsan: allah lebih sygkan diorang kan

Cik N: ya tapi ak x bleh tipu diri ak ak sgt2 need them esp abah, ak close sgt dgn abah...ak x rasa akn jmp guy yg sama cm abah ak..slalunya bila ak blk XX ak mesti chit chat dgn abah smp subuh...abah slalu bacakan ak kitab n tafsir..pendk kata ak ni daddy's girl la...mmg x de secret at al between us..tapi now ak rasa sunyi sgt sbb 2 ak online mlm2 b4 ni ak x dan nak surf net asyik smbg dgn abah ja..

(owh.. I see now why suddenly she appeared online tengah2 malam camni.. Aku lak)

Cik N: x pe la ehsan, ak dah sebak sgt ni x larat nak lap air mata dah..ak nak tido jap gi ak nak sahur skrg kan bln rejab..

(Uiks, jgn la nangis.. aku bermonolog lagi.. dan.. Puasa Rejab! Aku terlepas 1,2,3 hb! Sebab dah lama tak amalkan, jadi tak ingat…)

Cik N: k bye

al ehsan: mmm

al ehsan: jaga diri bebaik

al ehsan: thanks for sharing

Cik N: k tq bye

==============

Ia cumalah satu chat yg pendek, tapi isi dia dalam... cukup terasa. Camne perasaan bila takde mak n ayah? Benda2 yg jarang sekali terlintas di hati. Dulu masa sekolah menengah, fikiran sebegitu sebelum tidur cukup untuk membuatkan aku menangis. Pengaruh asrama? Maybe…

Anyway, berbuat baik lah dengan mak bapak korang sementara diorang masih ada.. Jgn sampai terlambat. Wassalam.

al-fatihah buat ibubapa Cik N..

Mentaati ibu bapa

BERBAKTI dan berbuat baik kepada ibu bapa satu perintah dan tanggungjawab yang wajib disempurnakan setiap individu bergelar anak tanpa mengira ibu bapanya itu beriman atau sebaliknya.

BERBAKTI dan berbuat baik kepada ibu bapa satu perintah dan tanggungjawab yang wajib disempurnakan setiap individu bergelar anak tanpa mengira ibu bapanya itu beriman atau sebaliknya.

Dalam surah al-Isra', ayat 23 hingga 25, Allah menerangkan kepada kita supaya berbuat baik kepada mereka, maksudnya: "Dan Tuhanmu perintahkan supaya engkau tidak menyembah melainkan kepada-Nya dan hendaklah engkau berbuat baik kepada kedua-dua ibu bapa.

"Jika seorang atau kedua-duanya sekali, sampai kepada umur tua dalam jagaan dan peliharaanmu, janganlah engkau berkata kepada kedua-duanya sekalipun perkataan 'ah', dan janganlah engkau menengking mereka, tetapi katakanlah kepada mereka perkataan yang mulia.

"Dan rendahkanlah dirimu kepada kedua-duanya kerana belas kasihan dan kasih sayangmu dan doakanlah: Wahai Tuhanku! Kasihanilah mereka berdua sebagaimana mereka memelihara dan mendidikku ketika kecil.

"Tuhanmu lebih mengetahui apa yang ada di hatimu; jika kamu orang yang baik, maka sesungguhnya Ia adalah Maha Pengampun bagi orang yang bertaubat."

Melalui nas terbabit jelas sekali kepada kita, berbakti kepada orang tua bukanlah perkara yang boleh dibuat main-main dan boleh dipandang ringan kerana ia adalah suatu perintah yang mesti dilakukan.

Bahkan berbakti dan berbuat baik kepada mereka tergolong dalam amalan yang sangat disukai Allah. Ini sebagaimana hadis diriwayatkan dalam Sahih Bukhari daripada Abdullah, katanya:

"Aku bertanya kepada Nabi s.a.w, amalan manakah paling disukai Allah Azza Wajalla? Baginda menjawab, solat pada waktunya. Abdullah berkata, kemudian apa? Baginda menjawab, kemudian bakti kepada kedua orang tua. Dia berkata lagi, kemudian apa? Baginda menjawab, jihad pada jalan Allah."

Hadis berkenaan menunjukkan besarnya kedudukan ibu bapa dalam Islam. Berbakti dan berbuat baik kepada ibu bapa amalan terbaik yang patut didahulukan daripada perkara lain, termasuk berjihad.

Menurut al-Qurthubi, termasuk berbakti dan berbuat baik kepada orang tua ialah tidak mencacinya dan menderhaka kepada mereka.

Jika ibu bapa atau seorang daripada mereka menyuruh si anak, wajib anak mentaatinya apabila perintah itu bukan membabitkan perkara yang mengundang dosa dan kemurkaan Allah.

Kita mempunyai ibu bapa dan kita sepatutnya bersyukur kepada mereka. Dengan adanya mereka, kita lahir ke dunia dan dapat mengenal segala isinya, malah dengan jasa mereka kita mendapat kenikmatan berlimpah ruah.

"Bersyukurlah kepada-Ku dan kepada orang tuamu, hanya kepada-Ku kamu kembali." (Luqman:14)

Bagaimana bersyukur? Antaranya, kita memikul tanggungjawab terhadap mereka, dengan mengambil berat kebajikan mereka setiap waktu, memberikan bantuan serta menjaga dan mengambil tahu makan pakai mereka.

Sebagai anak, kita juga perlu menjaga hubungan dengan ibu bapa dan memastikan sentiasa akrab walaupun apabila sudah dewasa dan mempunyai rumah tangga sendiri.

Perbuatan derhaka dilarang sama sekali. Mereka yang menderhaka berdosa besar. Dalam satu hadis menerangkan derhaka kepada ibu bapa adalah dosa besar selepas syirik.

Diriwayatkan daripada Anas bin Malik, Nabi s.a.w pernah menceritakan mengenai dosa besar. Baginda bersabda yang bermaksud: "Menyekutukan Allah, menderhaka kedua-dua ibu bapa, membunuh dan berkata dengan kata-kata palsu." (Hadis riwayat Muslim)

Menurut hadis nabi juga, orang yang derhaka pada ibu tidak mencium bau syurga. Dalam satu kisah, sahabat Nabi s.a.w bernama Alqamah, seorang yang kuat beribadat, tetapi apabila di saat kematiannya dia tidak dapat mengucap syahadah kerana perbuatannya menyinggung hati ibunya, akibat terlalu cinta kepada isterinya.

Melihat keadaannya yang nazak, Nabi mengancam untuk membakarnya, tetapi apabila ibunya datang dan memaafkannya, azab yang menimpa Alqamah berakhir.

Peristiwa terbabit wajar dijadikan iktibar kepada semua di antara kita. Janganlah kerana isteri hak ibu terabai dan disebabkan suatu perkara remeh, tergamak meninggikan suara terhadap ibu sendiri.

Hayatilah sabda Rasulullah s.a.w yang bermaksud: "Reda Tuhan (Allah) ada dalam reda kedua-dua ibu bapa dan kemurkaan-Nya ada dalam kemurkaan kedua-duanya." (Hadis riwayat al-Tabrani)

berWuduk

Tuntutan wuduk secara sempurna membolehkan solat penuh khusyuk.

taken from http://www.bharian.com.my/Current_News/BH/Tuesday/Agama/20090202232715/Article

by Dr Juanda Jaya

DARIPADA Nu'aim bin Abdullah katanya, dia melihat Abu Hurairah berwuduk. Dia mencuci muka dan tangannya hingga sampai ke batas bahu. Kemudian dicucinya kedua kakinya hingga sampai ke betis. Sesudah itu dia berkata: "Aku mendengar Rasulullah SAW bersabda: Sesungguhnya umatku akan datang kelak pada hari kiamat bercahaya-cahaya wuduknya. Maka siapa yang dapat melebihi batas yang wajib, lebihkanlah." (Hadis riwayat Muslim)

Salah satu syarat sah sembahyang ialah mengambil wuduk dan wuduk yang sempurna membolehkan seseorang mengerjakan solat dengan penuh khusyuk.

Ketika berwuduk diharuskan membaca doa tertentu seperti berikut:

1) Ketika berkumur, berniatlah: "Ya Allah, ampunilah dosa mulut dan lidahku ini."

2) Ketika membasuh muka, berniatlah: "Ya Allah, putihkanlah (berikanlah cahaya) pada mukaku di akhirat kelak. Janganlah Kau hitamkan mukaku ini."

3) Ketika membasuh tangan kanan, berniatlah: "Ya Allah, berikanlah buku hisabku di tangan kananku ini."

4) Ketika membasuh tangan kiri, berniatlah: "Ya Allah, janganlah Kau berikan buku hisabku di tangan kiriku ini."

5) Ketika membasuh kepala, berniatlah: "Ya Allah, lindunglah aku daripada terik matahari di padang Mahsyar dengan ArasyMu."

6) Ketika membasuh telinga, berniatlah: "Ya Allah, ampunilah dosa telingaku ini."

7) Ketika membasuh kaki kanan, berniatlah: "Ya Allah, permudahkanlah aku melintasi titian Siratul Mustaqim." Ketika membasuh kaki kiri, berniatlah: "Ya Allah, bawakanlah daku pergi ke masjid, surau dan bukan tempat maksiat."

Berwuduk tidak saja diperlukan ketika hendak mengerjakan solat tetapi kita juga disarankan supaya berwuduk apabila hendak membaca al-Quran, mempelajari sesuatu ilmu dan ketika hendak masuk tidur kerana sesungguhnya wuduk dapat menggugurkan dosa kecil yang dilakukan dan menjadikan seseorang itu sentiasa berada dalam keadaan bersih di samping menambah keserian wajah.

Daripada Umar bin al-Khattab katanya: "Ada seorang lelaki berwuduk tetapi ada kakinya yang tidak terkena air selebar kuku. Dan hal itu dilihat oleh Nabi SAW. Disebabkan itu Baginda bersabda yang bermaksud: "Ulang kembali wudukmu dengan sempurna dan sebagus-bagusnya." Orang itu pun berwuduk kembali dan sesudah itu dia solat." (Hadis riwayat Muslim)

The Facts About Hamas and the War on Gaza

The Facts About Hamas and the War on Gaza - by Norman Finkelstein

"The record is fairly clear. You can find it on the Israeli website, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Israel broke the ceasefire by going into the Gaza and killing six or seven Palestinian militants. At that point-and now I'm quoting the official Israeli website-Hamas retaliated or, in retaliation for the Israeli attack, then launched the missiles.

Now, as to the reason why, the record is fairly clear as well. According to Ha'aretz, Defense Minister Barak began plans for this invasion before the ceasefire even began. In fact, according to yesterday's Ha'aretz, the plans for the invasion began in March. And the main reasons for the invasion, I think, are twofold. Number one; to enhance what Israel calls its deterrence capacity, which in layman's language basically means Israel's capacity to terrorize the region into submission. After their defeat in July 2006 in Lebanon, they felt it important to transmit the message that Israel is still a fighting force, still capable of terrorizing those who dare defy its word.

And the second main reason for the attack is because Hamas was signaling that it wanted a diplomatic settlement of the conflict along the June 1967 border. That is to say, Hamas was signaling they had joined the international consensus, they had joined most of the international community, overwhelmingly the international community, in seeking a diplomatic settlement. And at that point, Israel was faced with what Israelis call a Palestinian peace offensive. And in order to defeat the peace offensive, they sought to dismantle Hamas.

As was documented in the April 2008 issue of Vanity Fair by the writer David Rose, basing himself on internal US documents, it was the United States in cahoots with the Palestinian Authority and Israel which were attempting a putsch on Hamas, and Hamas preempted the putsch. That, too, is no longer debatable or no longer a controversial claim.

The issue is can it rule in Gaza if Israel maintains a blockade and prevents economic activity among the Palestinians. The blockade, incidentally, was implemented before Hamas came to power. The blockade doesn't even have anything to do with Hamas. The blockade came to-there were Americans who were sent over, in particular James Wolfensohn, to try to break the blockade after Israel redeployed its troops in Gaza.

The problem all along has been that Israel doesn't want Gaza to develop, and Israel doesn't want to resolve diplomatically the conflict, both the leadership in Damascus and the leadership in the Gaza have repeatedly made statements they're willing to settle the conflict in the June 1967 border. The record is fairly clear. In fact, it's unambiguously clear.

Every year, the United Nations General Assembly votes on a resolution entitled "Peaceful Settlement of the Palestine Question." And every year the vote is the same: it's the whole world on one side; Israel, the United States and some South Sea atolls and Australia on the other side. The vote this past year was 164-to-7. Every year since 1989-in 1989, the vote was 151-to-3, the whole world on one side, the United States, Israel and the island state of Dominica on the other side.

We have the Arab League, all twenty-two members of the Arab League, favoring a two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. We have the Palestinian Authority favoring that two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. We now have Hamas favoring that two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. The one and only obstacle is Israel, backed by the United States. That's the problem.

Well, the record shows that Hamas wanted to continue the ceasefire, but only on condition that Israel eases the blockade. Long before Hamas began the retaliatory rocket attacks on Israel, Palestinians were facing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza because of the blockade. The former High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, described what was going on in Gaza as a destruction of a civilization. This was during the ceasefire period.

What does the record show? The record shows for the past twenty or more years, the entire international community has sought to settle the conflict in the June 1967 border with a just resolution of the refugee question. Are all 164 nations of the United Nations the rejectionists? And are the only people in favor of peace the United States, Israel, Nauru, Palau, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Australia? Who are the rejectionists? Who's opposing a peace?

The record shows that in every crucial issue raised at Camp David, then under the Clinton parameters, and then in Taba, at every single point, all the concessions came from the Palestinians. Israel didn't make any concessions. Every concession came from the Palestinians. The Palestinians have repeatedly expressed a willingness to settle the conflict in accordance with international law.

The law is very clear. July 2004, the highest judicial body in the world, the International Court of Justice, ruled Israel has no title to any of the West Bank and any of Gaza. They have no title to Jerusalem. Arab East Jerusalem, according to the highest judicial body in the world, is occupied Palestinian territory. The International Court of Justice ruled all the settlements, all the settlements in the West Bank, are illegal under international law.

Now, the important point is, on all those questions, the Palestinians were willing to make concessions. They made all the concessions. Israel didn't make any concessions.

I think it's fairly clear what needs to happen. Number one, the United States and Israel have to join the rest of the international community, have to abide by international law. I don't think international law should be trivialized. I think it's a serious issue. If Israel is in defiance of international law, it should be called into account, just like any other state in the world.

Mr. Obama has to level with the American people. He has to be honest about what is the main obstacle to resolving the conflict. It's not Palestinian rejectionism. It's the refusal of Israel, backed by the United States government, to abide by international law, to abide by the opinion of the international community.

And the main challenge for all of us as Americans is to see through the lies."

Norman Finkelstein is author of five books, including Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, Beyond Chutzpah and The Holocaust Industry, which have been translated into more than 40 foreign editions. He is the son of Holocaust survivors. This article is an edited extract of the views of Finkelstein given at DemocracyNow.org. His website is www.NormanFinkelstein.com

How Israel's Propaganda Machine Works

How Israel's Propaganda Machine Works - by James Zogby

As in past Mideast conflicts, both the media story line and political commentary here in the U.S. has closely followed Israel's talking points on the war. This has been an essential component in Israel's early success and in its ability to prolong fighting without U.S. push back. Because it recognizes the importance of the propaganda war, Israel fights on this front as vigorously and disproportionately as it engages on the battlefield.

Here's how they have done it:

1) Define the terms of debate, and you win the debate. Early on, the Israelis work to define the context, the starting point, and the story line that will shape understanding of the war. In this instance, for example, they succeeded by constant repetition, in establishing the notion that the starting point of the conflict was December 19th, the end of the six-month ceasefire (which Israel described as "unilaterally ended by Hamas"). In doing so, they ignored, of course, their own early November violations, and their failure to honor their commitment in the ceasefire to open Gaza's borders. They also ignored their having reduced Gaza into a dependency, a process which began long before and continued after their withdrawal in 2005. Because they know that most Americans do not closely follow the conflict and are inclined to believe, as the line goes, "what they hear over and over again," this tactic of preemptive definition and repetition succeeds.

2) Recognize that stereotypes work. Because, for generations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been defined with positive cultural images of Israel and negative stereotypes of Palestinians, Israel's propagandists have an advantage here that is easy to exploit. Because the story has long been seen as "Israeli humanity confronting the Palestinian problem," media coverage of any conflict begins with how "the problem" is affecting the Israeli people. As Golda Meir once put it, "We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children, but we can never forgive them for making us kill their children." And so, it was not surprising that, despite the disproportionate suffering of the Palestinians, media coverage attempted to "balance" the story, giving an extensive treatment, with photos, of anguished and fearful Israelis and the impact the war was having on them. Early on, when media treatment mattered most, Palestinians were reduced, as always, to mere numbers or objectified as "collateral damage."

3) Anticipate and count on your opponent's blunders. Hamas' stupidity played into Israel's strategy. From the outset, Israel could count on the fact that Hamas would launch rockets and issue the kind of threats that Israel could then parley into sympathy in the West. Knowing that these would most certainly come, and could be exploited, was an advantage in their propaganda war.

4) Be everywhere, and say the same thing — and make sure your opponents remain as invisible as possible. Israel begins each war with a host of English-speaking spokespersons (many born in the West) available at any time for every media outlet (it's no accident, for example, that Israel has an "Arab" Consul General in Atlanta - that's where CNN is). The work of their propaganda operation, which spreads multiple spokespersons in venues across the United States with consistent talking points, guarantees success. At the same time, they are able to deny media access to Gaza, only allowing the Western reporters to operate near the war zone under IDF supervision, guaranteeing Israel the opportunity to shape every aspect of the story while removing the possibility of independent verification of the horror unfolding in Gaza.

5) Give no ground. Since half of the story will be determined by what political leaders say and do, the political apparatus in Washington is also pressed into service, ensuring that White House and Congressional leadership will "toe the line." Statements issued by Congress, therefore, reflect the talking points and, together, the Israeli spokespersons, the political commentators, and the Congressional statements serve as echoes of one another.

6) Deny, deny, deny. When events and reality break through, contradicting the Israeli-established narrative, creating stories that run counter to the imposed story line, the propaganda machine works overtime to deny, deny, deny (saying quite boldly, "Who do you believe, me or your lying eyes?"), and/or concoct a counter-narrative that shifts the blame ("We didn't do it, they made us"). In this instance, that means asserting that the death of Palestinian civilians is always the fault of someone else, or that reporters or their opponents are staging the photos of grief (as if to say, "Arabs don't really grieve like we do").

7) The last refuge…. When all else fails, point to a few examples of outrageous anti-Semitism, generalize them, suggesting that that is what motivates critics. It stings, and may be over-used, but it can silence or put critics on the defensive.

James Zogby is the Founder and president of the Arab American Institute