The Holocaust: From 'Never Again' to 'We Will Holocaust You'

Just in case there was any doubt that Israel is targeting civilians in Gaza, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai decided to clear things up. According to the BBC:

Speaking on Israel Army Radio, Mr Vilnai said if Palestinians increased rocket fire, they will bring upon themselves what he called a "shoah" - a Hebrew word for catastrophe, and for the Nazi Holocaust.

Nah -- he couldn't have said that, could he? I mean, the BBC doesn't give the exact quote, and, while they haven;t sunk quite as low as US mass media, they do have a spotty history. What was the exact quote?

The more qassam fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, they (the Palestinians) will bring upon themselves a bigger shoah because we will use all our might to defend ourselves (Source: Telegraph)

Nope, he actually said it.

Now some would assume that a threat to commit genocide would go somewhat noticed by the world, especially given how infrequently the word shoah is used in Israeli public life to refer to anything other than the Holocaust (nor, as I am being informed, in prescriptive policy making). And it ain't like this is some back-bencher. This is the Deputy Defense Minister, a high-ranking government official.

But no, CNN needs to have a fluff piece on Sderot. Not that I don't sympathize with the people of Sderot, but somehow I think that one death in nine months is not actually more significant than genocide. Crazy me.

Jimmy! Take me on a genocide tour.

An admission: Jimmy Carter has been conspicuously absent from this here blog. And I admit it: I have a certain fancy that stays with me for Carter, despite his Bono-esque Liberalism. It may have something to do with a certain speech he once gave, but I digress.

So what has Jimmy Carter done this time? Published a book with a provocative title that is completely unjustified by its text? Taken me on a genocide tour? No. Worse. CNN is reporting that, in an interview with the 15-time softball Cy Young Award winning Wolf Blitzer (yay newsvertising), Jimmy Carter said:

"Our country for the first time in my life time has abandoned the basic principle of human rights...We've said that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to those people in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo, and we've said we can torture prisoners and deprive them of an accusation of a crime to which they are accused."

Now let's think about this. Jimmy Carter was born in 1924, in the great state of Georgia. Think about it. Even in the most generous reading, in which the human rights he is discussing are specifically those of the Geneva Conventions, it is still somewhat, err, problematic.

Jimmy, take some advice from NewsBlues. Stick to what you are good at: building homes and winning Nobel Peace Prizes.