UMNO Youth held protests against Israeli counter-attacks against first-strikes by Hamas and Hezbollah. Gee, where was their strong stand against atrocity when Hamas launched over 1000 rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, or when Hezbollah launched shrapnel-filled Katyusha rockets into heavily populated Israeli cities? Oh, I get it.

It’s okay for Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinians, Arabs and others like them to attack and maim others, but it’s not okay at all for Israel and the United States to lay a finger on them, right?

That’s their standard of "human rights".

Day after day, we are only fed pictures of Lebanese civilians killed in the conflict. But we don’t ask why. We don’t ask why these civilians are in the line of fire. Maybe we did ask why, but we’d assume that it’s due to the Israeli’s inherent predisposition towards committing atrocities. Never once does it cross our minds that being a professional army that is fully accountable to external inquiry, and rated as one of the top five in the world, the Israeli Defense Forces certainly wouldn’t be so reckless and merciless, especially not in the face of media coverage that is already so anti-Israel.

We hardly realize that day after day while Israel carries out their offensive deep into Lebanon with the objective to destroy the Hezbollah organization, Israeli cities are coming under rocket attacks and terrorist strikes as well. It’s not a mere one-sided military response. It’s an ongoing battle with casualties on both sides. Israeli civilians end up being the victims of terrorist violence, while Lebanese and Palestinian civilians end up being the victims of Israel’s military response. Any responsible state government would have clamped down on non-regular non-state players (i.e. terrorists or ‘freedom fighters’ as they are called) and enforced a cessation of hostilities early on into the conflict. Instead, we have the leaders of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria basically telling Israel to "Bring it on".

And Israel’s taking the blame for calling their bluff?

It’s unfortunate that the Lebanese crisis have become so severe, with heavy civilian casualties. The Lebanese government, on the other hand, hasn’t been very cooperative either. Hezbollah, even worse, are using civilians as human shields. And the world over, most people are condemning the United Nations and Israel for not "stopping this humanitarian crisis". Where were these voices when Hamas and Hezbollah declared war on Israel and started launching terrorist attacks on civilian areas? The humanitarian crisis started there, back then, and not now. Are Israeli lives worthless compared to Arabs? Why is it that when tens of Israelis are massacred by terrorist attacks when they go about their daily business isn’t considered a massacre or a potential humanitarian crisis, but when the aggressors suffer human losses it’s the avenging victim who is at fault?

This is a mentality that we’ve seen all too often: Somehow, those terrorists and their sympathizers are of the belief that "It’s alright if I do it to you, but not alright if you do it to me". It’s an ideology that lacks the universal Golden Rule of "Do unto others as you would want others to do unto you". It’s alright if they label Buddhists as idol-worshippers, saying that Jews are damned by God, that Christians are cultists and pagans. But it’s not okay for others to say similar things about them. That would be considered ‘racism’ though it has nothing to do with race. That would constitute a phobic reaction of the hate-and-fear variety. That would constitute hate speech.

Anyway, back to UMNO Youth’s silly rally. Khairy was inciting anger towards the United Nations, saying that they didn’t take action against Israel.

Did he realize that in effect, he’s speaking out against international law, by saying that the United Nations should support an unprovoked attack against a UN member nation within internationally-recognized borders, bolstered by a declaration of war by the aggressors against the victim? The best that the United Nations can do is to ask Israel to tone down on the aggressions, and strong-arm Lebanon, Syria and Palestine into calling off their declaration of war. The United Nations definitely cannot condemn a transgression of international law as committed by these three aggressor states.

Here’s looking at the Lebanese crisis through the UN’s prism:

BEIRUT, Lebanon - The U.N. humanitarian chief accused Hezbollah on Monday of "cowardly blending" in among Lebanese civilians and causing the deaths of hundreds during two weeks of cross-border violence with Israel.

The militant group has built bunkers and tunnels near the Israeli border to shelter weapons and fighters, and its members easily blend in among civilians.

Jan Egeland spoke to reporters at Larnaca airport in Cyprus late Monday after visiting Lebanon to coordinate an international aid effort. On Sunday, he toured the rubble of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a once-teeming Shiite district where Hezbollah had its headquarters.

During that visit, he condemned the killing and wounding of civilians by both sides and called Israel’s offensive "disproportionate" and "a violation of international humanitarian law."

On Monday, he had strong words for Hezbollah, which crossed into Israel, captured two soldiers and killed eight others on July 12, triggering fierce fighting.

"Consistently, from the Hezbollah heartland, my message was that Hezbollah must stop this cowardly blending … among women and children," he said. "I heard they were proud because they lost very few fighters and that it was the civilians bearing the brunt of this. I don’t think anyone should be proud of having many more children and women dead than armed men."

"We need a cessation of hostilities because this is a war where civilians are paying the price," said Egeland, who was heading to Israel next.

At least 600,000 Lebanese have fled their homes, according to the
World Health Organization. One estimate by Lebanon’s finance minister putting the number at 750,000, nearly 20 percent of the population.

During his visit to Lebanon earlier Monday, Egeland issued an emergency appeal for $150 million to help Lebanon through the next three months. He told reporters in Beirut the money was needed to pay for food, health care, water and sanitation.

"Approximately 500,000 to 800,000 people have been affected by the conflict, of whom some have become displaced persons or refugees," a U.N. statement said.

The United Nations has contracted 100 trucks to deliver aid coming into Beirut around the country. Egeland said the U.N. hoped to send its first land convoy to Tyre on Wednesday. Similar convoys will be scheduled every second day after that. An international Red Cross convoy was expected in the city Monday.

Egeland said he was asking Israel for safe passage for aid ships to enter the northern port of Tripoli and the southern port of Tyre, which has been heavily bombarded. So far, Israel has loosened its sea blockade of Lebanon only to let ships in Beirut port.

"We’re hopeful that in the course of this week, you’ll see real progress on the ground. Lebanon has a right to be frustrated," he said.

He said the U.N. was also asking Israel to also guarantee safe passage throughout Lebanon.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees have flowed out of mainly Shiite regions — the south, the Bekaa and the crowded Shiite neighborhood of Beirut — crowding into cities including the southern port of Sidon, the remainder of Beirut and parts of the north and central mountains.

"We are particularly worried about the population in south Lebanon and the (eastern) Bekaa Valley. It’s here that they’re in the crossfire and from where they’re being displaced," Egeland said.

Continued Israeli bombardment makes the aid mission risky.

"Only cessation of hostilities can make it safe for us and our humanitarian colleagues," Egeland said.

Honestly, I really don’t want to see a refugee problem over there… because when it concerns Israel, refugees will still be refugees three or 100 generations later to "remind the rest of the world about Israel’s crimes".

"Human rights", what?

Pop quiz: If I purposely shot my own foot with a pistol, can I continue blaming the pistol’s "aggression" for this tragedy for years to come instead of admitting my own stupidity?

Images that have yet to show up in local papers

Here are some pictures to remind people that what’s going on is a two-sided affair, and not a one-sided "Israeli aggression" as people would like to believe.

Israelis at a refugee camp, evacuated from their cities that have come under fire from Hezbollah. Well, at least they look happy here, with some friendly pet dogs to play with.

The Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona up in smoke after being attacked by Hezbollah.

Israeli girl walks through what’s essentially an Israeli refugee camp.. makeshift tents and structures set up to provide shelter for Israelis fleeing from the terrorist attacks against their homes and cities.

Temporary shelters set up to house Israelis affected by the Hezbollah attacks.

An Israeli policeman inspect the site of a Katyusha rocket attack. These rockets carry metal splinters and ball bearings to inflict a maximum loss of human life. The rockets are not designed for precision strikes against structures and vehicles. They are designed specifically to maim and kill humans in densely-populated areas. They have no guidance systems, no aiming capabilities, and the warhead detonates upon impact to throw out shards of steel at supersonic speeds. Think of it as an airborne nail bomb.

Mourners carry the coffin of 48-year-old Christian Israeli-Arab Habib Awad. He is one of the many Israelis who have been killed by Hezbollah attacks.

The funeral procession of Shimon Glicklich, yet another casualty of Hezbollah attacks. The difference between Israeli funerals and Palestinian/Lebanese ones is that the deceased person is not made into a martyr and an object of hate-inciting propaganda.

The Israelis get their fair share of destruction, too, courtesy of Hezbollah. But of course, the scale of destruction in Israel is to a much lesser degree than what’s going on in Lebanon, due to the Israeli military’s heavy firepower and more advanced weapons (and their promise of a disproportionate response).