But it seems the party will go on without him, attended by world leaders and celebrities untroubled by the dictator's absences -- and the murders and other human rights violations committed under Fidel's direction.

The ailing Fidel Castro was not well enough to attend the kickoff Tuesday of his 80th birthday celebrations, attended by hundreds of admirers who traveled here to fete him.

A government worker at the gala launch of the five-day birthday bash read a message which he said came from the Cuban leader. It said Castro's doctors had told him he was not in condition to go to the party at Havana's Karl Marx Theater where about 5,000 well-wishers gathered.

God grant that this be the last time that Castro celebrates a birthday or his Communist revolution -- and he mark the next ones surrounded by the fire and brimstone that surely await him in the next life.

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How long did it take for the folks from the Terrorstinian Anarchy to violate the new ceasefire? Two hours. And the Israeli response? Do nothing, in the hopes that the ceasefire will hold.

Let's go to the beginning.

The Israeli government agreed late Saturday to cease military operations in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a pledge by Palestinian armed groups to stop firing rockets into southern Israel, a tentative deal that leaders on both sides said could end months of violence in and around the Palestinian enclave.

The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, outlined the terms of a possible cease-fire in a telephone call to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, according to Olmert's aides. The proposal called for an end to the frequent Palestinian rocket fire that has killed two Israelis this month, suicide bombings inside Gaza against Israeli soldiers and the digging of tunnels used for smuggling money and weapons into the strip from neighboring Egypt.

Olmert's aides said the prime minister pledged in return to cease military operations in Gaza -- more than 250 Palestinians, most of them gunmen, have been killed since late June -- effective 6 a.m. Sunday. Israeli forces would begin withdrawing soon after from northern Gaza, where they have been operating for several weeks, if terms of the truce hold. [The Israeli military said early Sunday that it had withdrawn all of its forces from Gaza.]

Israeli and Palestinian officials warned that the next few days would determine the durability of the cease-fire, which does not extend to the West Bank. Similar agreements have been announced since Israel withdrew its settlers and soldiers from Gaza 14 months ago, only to collapse within hours. [There were reports of at least one rocket falling inside Israel after the cease-fire took effect, without reports of injuries.]

"It holds the potential for stability and quiet for both sides," said Miri Eisin, an Olmert spokeswoman. "Israel in that sense is hopeful."

And yes the "reports" of at least one rocket falling were true.

Israel has ordered restraint after Palestinian militants fired a salvo of rockets at the Jewish state, violating a fledgling ceasefire less then two hours after it took affect in the Gaza Strip.

The rocket strike threatened the ceasefire agreement that came into effect at dawn and in which militants promised to halt rocket attacks in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the impoverished coastal territory.

The Israeli army completed its withdrawal from Gaza shortly after dawn, a military spokeswoman said Sunday.

The armed wings of the ruling Islamist Hamas movement and the radical Islamic Jihad, both of which signed on to the ceasefire accord, each claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks which hit the Israeli town of Sderot shortly before 8:00 am (0600 GMT), causing no casualties.

The attacks, which were quickly condemned by both the Hamas-led government and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, marked an inauspicious start to the ceasefire which came into play at 6:00 am (0400 GMT).

But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, vowing restraint and patience in the coming days, said he had ordered the army not to respond to the attacks.

"We will show restraint and patience in order to give the ceasefire a chance," said Olmert, speaking at the inauguration of a school in the Bedouin town of Rahat in southern Israel.

"I took into account the possibility that ceasefires do not materialize immediately to their fullest extent without any violations," he added. "There are violations of the ceasefire on the Palestinian side, but I instructed the security establishment not to respond."

So let's get this straight -- despite signing on to the agreement, both of the major Terrorstinian factions have claimed responsibility for a new attack on Israel. And prime Minister Ohlmert sits around pretending he is John Lennon, singing "Give Peace A Chance". Fortunately, now Israelis were killed in this attack, but I have to wonder how many dead Jews it will take for the Israeli government to recognize that one does not negotiate with terrorists, but instead must exterminate them like the vermin they are?

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I almost glossed over this little snippet in a Washington Times column this morning.

Pandering, whether by bishops or government officials, invites contempt, not respect. Nevertheless, after a Saudi national was convicted in Colorado of keeping an Indonesian nanny as a family slave and sentenced to life in prison, the State Department dispatched the Colorado attorney general to Riyadh last week to apologize to King Abdullah for American justice and the 14th Amendment.

Now one can argue that this is spin on the incident, but I don't think it is.

Let's look at why a state AG was dispatched to justify the trial and conviction of a Saudi citizen on serious charges

The door to the palace swung open and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers found himself being escorted through a room that seemed about 50 yards long.

That room led to a second door and another room about 75 yards long.

At the far end, Suthers could see King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia stand up and begin walking toward him.

They met halfway. Photographers with the Saudi news media recorded the event.

Suthers had flown 19 hours from Denver to Riyadh to meet with the king, the Crown Prince and other Saudi officials at the request of the U.S. ambassador to explain how the U.S. justice system handled the case of Homaidan Al-Turki.

In June, an Arapahoe County jury convicted Al-Turki, son of a prominent Saudi family, on charges of sexually abusing an Indonesian nanny and holding her a virtual captive in his Aurora home. He has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, pending an appeal.

The case has become a major story in Saudi Arabia where the media, siding with Al-Turki, have portrayed him as the victim of a judicial system biased against Muslims.

For two days last week, Suthers tried to explain to Saudi leaders and Al-Turki's family how the system treated him fairly throughout his arrest, conviction and appeal.

Suthers feels that the trip did some good, but he encountered several cultural differences that were as vast as some of the palace rooms.

Two examples became apparent right away.

"Under (Saudi) law, to prove a rape case, you need four eyewitnesses," Suthers said during an interview at his office Monday. "And they considered it inconceivable that an Indonesian maid was considered a competent witness in our courts."

Another significant difference is how civil and criminal courts mesh under Saudi law, making it possible for a victim or a victim's family to come to a financial settlement when it involves a criminal matter.

"They didn't understand how that wasn't possible here," Suthers said.

Oh, yes -- the need for four witnesses to a rape. Four male witnesses. For male Muslim witnesses, to be precise. Otherwise the victim is a whore and stoned to death. Ah, the civilized Saudi justice system!

And let us not forget that the perp in this case, refused to express remorse because his actions constituted "traditional Muslim behaviors".

That the Bush Administration, in the form of the State Department, would find it necessary to bring in a state's top prosecutor to explain that rape is considered a crime and slavery is banned by our Constitution is sickening. King Abdullah should have been told that he could settle for an explanation by a low-level legal attache from the embassy -- and the al-Turki family should have been told to go pound sand.

Or maybe they could have taken the approach proposed in this column in the Denver Post.

Surely a brief e-mail could have done the trick and saved taxpayers thousands:

"Guys, you simply can't keep slaves over here ... nope, not even sex slaves."

And while it was the Saudi government that picked up the tab for the trip, I'm still sickened. We don't need to make an apology -- in any sense of the word -- for our laws with regards to these two serious violations of human dignity. That the Saudis would insist upon one speaks volumes.

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The only way the government can survive is to keep the terrorists in it – but the terrorists want more influence or they are going to walk.

Cabinet ministers from Hezbollah and an allied party resigned Saturday, a decision that could cost the Western-backed government crucial support from Lebanon's Shiite Muslims.

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said he would not accept the resignations. He has the authority to order the five cabinet ministers to stay on, but it was unclear if his weak government could enforce the demand.

The resignations are not enough to bring down Siniora's government -- eight cabinet ministers must resign for the government to collapse -- but they could cost him support among Shiites, the majority sect in Lebanon, and make it difficult for him to govern.

The ministers of Hezbollah and the allied Amal party resigned because talks on forming a national unity government collapsed hours earlier, Hezbollah said in a statement broadcast by its al-Manar television station. Hezbollah accused the government of insisting on "imposing terms and premature results for negotiations," the TV station said.

Hezbollah, a Shiite militia that is by far the strongest political and military force in Lebanon, has been demanding at least one-third of the seats in the 24-member cabinet for itself and its allies. That would give them veto power over key decisions and the power to bring down the government if they disagreed with a decision.

Lebanon exists because of borders drawn by outsiders in the early 20tth century. As has happened elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa, the resulting borders have placed together groups that are traditional rivals with seriously different interests. The result has been states which are not truly viable entities. Thus Lebanon is a conglomeration of groups that have been unable to live together peacefully for decades. And when militias and terrorist groups hold more sway than the government authorities, then there is little hope for an end to civil strife – or conflict with Israel brought on by terrorist attacks by Hezbollah.

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The murderous tyrant will die like a common criminal!

BAGHDAD, Nov. 5 -- Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was found guilty by a special tribunal Sunday of crimes against humanity for the torture and execution of more than 100 people from a small town north of Baghdad 24 years ago. He was sentenced to death by hanging.

Hussein, 69, was led into the courtroom by seven guards and immediately sat in his chair, refusing to rise for his verdict until Chief Judge Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman ordered guards to force him to his feet.

"Long live the people!" Hussein shouted as the verdict was being announced. "Down with the stooges! Down with the invaders! God is great!"

Just before his appearance in court, one of Hussein's co-defendants, Awad Hamed al-Bander, the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, repeatedly bellowed: "God is great!" as he, too, was sentenced to death. "On the tyrants, God is great!" he shouted. "On the colonizers, God is great! On the agents, God is great!"

The verdict and sentence will automatically be sent to a nine-judge appellate panel for appeal. That panel has wide latitude to review the case and call for additional testimony, and it has an unlimited time to rule. But once it does, any sentence must be carried out within 30 days.

Celebratory gunfire rang out over Baghdad as jubilant Iraqis expressed their happiness with the outcome by racing to rooftops, front yards and windows to fire into the air. National television showed smiling Iraqis dancing in the streets of cities around the country, including in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, which technically was under an all-day curfew.

I'm curious -- are the Democrats in mourning yet? I know one is pretty upset.

H/T Michelle
Malkin

UPDATE: The New York Times isn't happy with the verdict or sentence. Why am I not surprised? Maybe they will deck the paper our in mourning black when the dictator is dead.

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Turkish secularists are protesting in opposition to Islamist influence in Turkey.

About 12,000 Turkish secularists marched in the capital on Saturday to protest against what they see as a rising Islamist influence under Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government, Anatolian news agency said.

The demonstrators, who represented 112 non-governmental organisations, shouted "Turkey is secular, will remain secular" and "Independent Turkey" and protested against Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has roots in political Islam.

Overwhelmingly Muslim, Turkey is governed by secular laws that separate religion and state.

Since winning 2002 elections, Erdogan's government has alarmed secularists by promoting an increase of religious schools, seeking to lift a ban on wearing Islamic headscarves in universities and government offices and filling senior government posts with Islamists.

I support this movement against further erosion of the constitutional secularism of Turkey. The difficulties that would be created by a NATO member falling under the sway of the same ideology that motivates our enemies in the War on Terrorism cannot be overestimated.

H/T Malkin

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