BY ZELL MILLER Monday, September 13, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT

My critics in the national media are working overtime trying to paint me as an angry nut who got the facts all wrong in my speech to the Republican National Convention. Since there's not enough time to challenge all of these critics to a duel, let me set the record straight here and now.

First, the anger. A lot has been said about my angry demeanor. I've made enough speeches to know that you're supposed to connect with the audience by telling a joke or a humorous anecdote or some amusing tale. It's a tried-and-true formula that I've used for most of my life. But this was not a normal speech in a normal time.

I'm sure your(sic) aware of the proposed ban on all religious symbols in France. I'm genuinely interested in your opinion on it.

But first, some background on the topic:

On 11 December, a Commission to reflect the application of the principle of laicité appointed by President Jacques Chirac, published its conclusions on secularism in France. The commission recommended, among others, to draft a law on laicism and to include in it a provision stating "clothing and signs manifesting some religious or political adhesion are forbidden in schools. Forbidden religious clothing and signs are conspicuous signs such as big crosses, veils or skullcaps." Medals, small crosses, David's star, Fatimah's hands or small Korans are not considered signs manifesting religious affiliation. President Chirac endorsed the proposals of the commission in his speech of 17 December.

The recommendation of the commission to ban headscarves and other religious symbols from schools triggered prompt opposition from three French Christian Churches -- the Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Churches -- as well as from the Muslim and Jewish communities. Strict separation of the state and religions has been pronounced state policy in France since 1905.

Read more for my opinion on the matter!



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"The Europeans," explained MP Schroeder, "supported the Palestinian Authority with the aim of becoming its main sponsor, and through this, challenge the U.S. and present themselves as the future global power. Therefore, the Al-Aksa Intifada should be understood as a proxy war between Europe and the United States."

But wait- there's more!

"It is an open secret within the European Parliament that EU aid to the Palestinian Authority has not been spent correctly," MP Schroeder said during a recent address in New York. "The European Parliament does not intend to verify whether European taxpayers' money could have been used to finance anti-Semitic murderous attacks. Unfortunately, this fits well with European policy in this area."

So many Europeans protested being called anti-Semites by Sharon after their holding back on the EU anti-Semitism report, but it too verifies that the EU, both parliament and people, are stricken with an anti-Semitism problem.

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=119115&contrassID=3&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0

The EU's previously withheld report on anti-Semitism

a Chronology of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe

Rules of Statesmanship and Warfare:

1. Know your friends from your enemies
2. Know which of your enemies are potential friends, and pursue all avenues for peace.
3. Know which of your enemies are intractable enemies, and wage war against them mercilessly.
4. It matters little what people say, it's what they do that counts.

sometimes attributed to Menachem Begin, but I can find no reputable source to prove that. Honestly, I've repeated it often enough that I sometimes think I wrote it.

You can make peace with three groups of people:

1. People you defeat.
2. People who have defeated you.
3. People who are potential friends.

Conflicts resolve when both parties expect the same outcome. This is true on both a personal and state level.

Third and Lastly:

Using an entertaining movie to illustrate a larger point sometimes falls flat, because after all, life is not a Hollywood movie.

That's the telegraph story.

For anyone attempting to find evidence to justify the war in Iraq, the discovery of a document that directly links Mohammed Atta, the al-Qaeda mastermind of the September 11 attacks, with the Baghdad training camp of Abu Nidal, the infamous Palestinian terrorist, appears almost too good to be true.

Now, Abu Nidal was operating with Hussein's blessing, or else he wouldn't have operated for very long inside Iraq's borders. Hussein was a friend of Arafat and paid over $35 Million USD to the families of suicide bomber terrorists.

Read on for more!



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