Who's Firing On Whom?
It seems to me that people tend to forget that Israel is not the aggressor here. Hezbollah was the aggressor. They are a bunch of street thugs who have always targeted civilians, continue to target civilians and are attempting to kill as many Israelis as they can.
Israel is in retaliatory mode. It's just that Israel has better weapons, and better surveilance and a stronger military. Of course, they are going to end up killing more people in their crossfire. Hezbollah fires their rockets from Lebanese neighborhoods into Israeli neighborhoods, and if they get lucky, hit a hospital or an apartment building. Israel targets the source of the rocket fire, those same Lebanese neighborhoods, and unfortunately the civilians, whom the Hezbollah are hiding behind, using as human shields, are the ones who get killed. According to
Honest Reporting:
Some 150 rockets have been fired at Israeli cities from Qana over the past 20 days. This IDF map traces how these rockets have been launched in 30 salvos at Haifa and other locations, including Nahariya, Ma'alot and Kiryat Shmona. To date, 18 Israeli civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded as a result of this rocket fire.
Hezbollah has been deliberately hiding behind and operating from within civilian areas in the knowledge that Israel does not deliberately target civilians. Thus, when a terrible accident such as Qana occurs, Hezbollah is presented with a propaganda coup, as is currently the case. Indeed, Australia's Herald Sun published damning photos "showing that Hezbollah is waging war amid suburbia. The images...show Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons. Dressed in civilian clothing so they can quickly disappear, the militants carrying automatic assault rifles and ride in on trucks mounted with cannon."
This is just a PR game for the Hezbollah, and that is one game they are winning. The graphic above says it all.
A Nice Family Photo
Hell's bells, ya gotta laugh................
They Are Eating Their Own....
"Conservative national security allies of President Bush are in revolt against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, saying that she is incompetent and has reversed the administration’s national security and foreign policy agenda," reports
Insight Magazine.
The conservatives, who include Newt Gingrich, Richard Perle and leading current and former members of the Pentagon and National Security Council, have urged the president to transfer Miss Rice out of the State Department and to an advisory role. They said Miss Rice, stemming from her lack of understanding of the Middle East, has misled the president on Iran and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
"The president has yet to understand that people make policy and not the other way around," a senior national security policy analyst said. "Unlike [former Secretary of State Colin] Powell, Condi is loyal to the president. She is just incompetent on most foreign policy issues."
The thing that totally astounds me about these fools - Gingrich, Perle, etc. - is that they assume, and Goddess only knows why, that dubya seems to know about leading this country, be it foreign policy or domestic affairs. Idiots. They're all dumbass buffoons.
Condi is no more incompetent than dubya. At least she can string a coherent sentence together. And, when I say coherent, I'm merely referring to her proper use of the English language. As for what she says, well yeah, I agree. She's incompetent.
They Both Make Me Sick
I came across this
WaPo QT video of a panorama of the destruction of a suburb of Beirut.
I'm having a hard time thinking about what is happening in Lebanon. But, I just keep having to ask, "Why the hell did Hezbollah kill and abduct Israeli soldiers, and start firing missles at northern Israel in the first place?" Isn't this something that's getting lost in the discussion? Maybe, I'm missing something, given that the pablum that we get from mainstream media tends to simplify issues into sound bites, boiling the world's issues down to a "he said, she said" scenario.
I really hate what the Hezbollah stand for, that being the
total destruction of Israel. Period. They had no provocation for their bombings. None.
But, it really saddens me that Israel's response has been so destructive. It's like pouring gasoline on a fire to put it out. Conversely, it angers me that Hezbollah keeps firing rockets into Israeli communities. Therefore, I continue to remain very ambivalent over the whole issue. Both sides suck. It's just easier for me to continue thinking that.
Israeli-Lebanon border prayer for peace (from
Global Gayz)
This Week's Obsession
Buying a new camera can be quite the obsession. I'd imagine that it wouldn't be quite as bad if I had a ton of money, could buy the best lens kit available and not feel like I'd be making a mistake. But, my budget is tight. Very, very tight. So, I obsessed. What camera? What lens? What if the lens isn't right? Should I see about some kind of deal on ebay? Should I upgrade to a dSLR? What about telephoto capabilities without the stabilized long lens of the dSLR-like Panasonic FZ30? On and on and on, I obsessed.
For the past week, every time I got on the computer I was researching cameras. Ever since I trashed my camera by falling overboard with it (
Short Hiatus From Blogging, June 10, 2006), I've been obsessing about getting a new camera, what kind to get, should I upgrade to a dSLR, etc., etc., etc. However, I could not purchase anything until I got a reimbursement check from my employer to replace the camera, as I was working at the time it, and I fell into the drink.
I was hardly even following news events. Choosing and ordering a camera replaced any interest whatsoever that I would have otherwise had for blogging about politics. Every once in a while I'd read the news today, oh boy, and it was as depressing as ever. Nice to know that dubya is his consistantly stupid cockroach self. The blogosphere just had to proceed without me. I needed a new camera, after all.
Well, my money arrived this past week, so I bought a camera today. I upgraded to a Nikon D50, a dSLR that is so highly rated for an entry level dSLR, wherein the
dpreview site reviewer claimed it to be "a pleasure" to use. It was on back order, so it's not going to be delivered for 2-3 weeks.
A friend of mine uses a D50 when he doesn't feel like hauling around his D200. Geez, I wish I could have such decisions to make. A D200 costs $1,000 more than the D50. I'll not have such a dilemma. But, he really encouraged me to make the leap. But, not before I continued to obsess for at least another week.
Below is a photo I took a few years ago at the New York Botanical Garden. It was taken with an Olympus 2100, my handy dandy great camera at the time. I look forward to going back to there with my new Nikon, and see what kind of results I can accomplish.
The Buffoon's First Veto?
Dubya is poised to issue his
very first veto. Of course, the bill in question would be none other than federal funding for stem cell research. He refuses to admit that any embryos used for such research come from fertility clinics, wherein these unfortunate group of pre-human, undifferenciated cells are doomed for destruction in a garbage pail. This buffoon of a president cannot differenciate between a human and undifferenciated cells. He'd rather they get discarded without stem cell fanfare so that he can turn his back on scientific progress, fucking luddite that he is, and pander to the Religious Wrong.
The buffoon in chief would rather see all cells become human, so that there are enough bodies to fight his dumbass, self-serving wars. He doesn't care about human life. He cares about oil. Period. He's an oil man first and foremost. Period. He's the buffoon in chief second. He's a human being third. The way this buffoon acts, and actions do speak much louder than words, he doesn't give a rat's ass about the "sanctity of life", as long as that life gets to be born. Only the "pre-born" warrant his hollow posturing.
As I've stated in previous articles, including "
Do Nothing (but hate) Congress",
I do hope that all the repukes who advance this ban, albeit fruitlessly, will be forever prohibited from benefiting from any medical advances derived from this science. May these dispiccable repuke hatemongers suffer immensely from these dumbass displays of selfishness and self-righteousness.
Image from the heretik
Israel's Right to Defend Itself
I support it. I support any country's right to retaliate against the constant barrage of incoming missiles that Israel has had to endure day after day, month after month, and year after year. I do, however, question the ferocity of the retaliation. They are exacting a very heavy price against those who had nothing to do with the attacks.
Or did they? Hamas has garnered a stronghold in Gaza. Hezbollah secured its power in Lebanon. Between the two of them, they have been almost unilaterally supported by the Palestinian and Arab worlds. The Palestinian civilians voted Hamas into power. Doesn't that make them somewhat culpable in the activities of their party of choice? Like the republicans, the neocons have perpetrated all kinds of terror into the Middle East, and by some accounts, actually popped the cork on what is happening now. Doesn't that mean that the repugs should shoulder some of the culpability? I contend that they do. Republicans support terror the way anyone who voted for Hamas supports terror.
But, does that mean all Palestinians? No.
Does that mean all Republicans? Yes.
Does that mean all Americans? No. At least, I hope not. Goddess knows, I'm trying to uphold my disdain for all terrorists, be they American, Palestinian, Israeli, Al Qaida, or whomever.
Does the Israeli response to the Hezbollah missle strikes warrant the response that it is now raining down on Lebanon? I don't know. Israel is primarily going after military targets. They have tried to warn Lebanese before the strikes. Of course, there will always be collateral damage.
On the other hand, the strikes raining in to Sderot from Gaza and Northern Israel from Lebanon have had no such restraint. They were meant to exclusively hit as many civilians as they can take out. Same scenario as the Palestinian suicide bombings. There is nothing in the plans that call for striking military targets. Not when markets and theaters and restaurants and bus stations are the targets. That singular focus on civilian targets is what truly makes a terrorist a terrorist. To me, it's that simple.
The Israelis have a right to retaliate. Hezbollah deliberately crossed the border into Israel, killed some soldiers and abducted two of them. Yes, that was a military target, but they crossed the border to do it, and they did it completely without provocation. That's an act of war. It's that simple.
How many rockets was Israel supposed to endure from the Palestinians in Gaza until they finally retaliated? What was the threshold? Ten? Fifty? One hundred? According to some estimates, Sderot, which isn't even a disputed territory, has been subjected to an average of 20 each day, and more than 3,000 since Israel pulled out of the disputed settlements. According to this
Epoch Times article, written June 25, 2006,
The number of Kasam attacks on Sderot has increased since last August, when Israel removed all of its Gaza settlements in what has become known as "the disengagement." Some 3,000 Kasam rockets have landed in the area since April 2001.
Without a doubt, a lot more have been pouring into Sderot since this writing, and the Israeli reponse has been hard. They are targeting primarily Hamas militant targets. Who wouldn't? It gets real old real fast to have rockets fired at your home day after day, month after month, and year after year.
Israel has a right to defend itself from these attacks, in my opinion. Does that mean that I think that Israel is without sin regarding the Palestinians? I don't think so. The biggest problem is that Israel has a severely heavy hand, and retribution is severe. They admit it, themselves, and state that their objective is to deter such attacks. It's not working. With the mess going on in Iraq, the nuclear issues involving Iran, and the ineffectiveness of the dubya regime, Hamas and Hizbollah have become rather emboldened. The neocons popped this Middle East cork, and only the stupid refuse to believe that, or refused to believe of the possibility when the neocons wanted to march into Iraq to sieze Saddam and his oil. I suppose that's what happens when you have oil men controlling the country. Talk about a DOH moment........
Marriage Ban
An Amazing Find
I just found this article at
Jesus General, and I was flabbergasted. Truly. What an amazing find for the person who Jesus General attributes this find to,
Chris Floyd, though I cannot find the original article. Either way, kudos mon. This is striking:
For some reason, this also smacks right up against the recent reports by the
Southern Poverty Law Center that discusses how the military, in their quest to find enough troops, is recruiting hate groups. Very likely, they're also recruiting psychotics, as these above photo and FindLaw clip show, and assorted unfit for duty types. The military needs bodies to carry out their Iraq mission. We all know they've raised the
recruitment age to 42, in hopes of meeting their quotas. The US military is in
deep shit right now, and I'm sure the entire world knows it. Very scary stuff.
"George W. Bush Is Dead....
.....
to me". This is the title of
Mark Morford's column in SFGate. It's one of the best descriptions of what it's like to have dubya for president - what it's like for me personally, and what it's like for the rest of the sane world. I really do believe that those who still believe that dubya is a good president are either seriously insane or hopelessly stupid. Following is the opening few paragraphs. I really hope people read this article, pass it on to others, revel in some really good writing ability.
It is like some sort of virus. It is like some sort of weird and painful rash on your face that makes you embarrassed to walk out the door and so you sit there day after day, waiting for it to go away, slathering on ointment and Bactine and scotch. And yet still it lingers.
Some days the pain is so searing and hot you want to cut off your own head with a nail file. Other days it is numb and pain-free and seemingly OK, to the point where you think it might finally be all gone and you allow yourself a hint of a whisper of a positive feeling, right up until you look in the mirror, and scream.
George W. Bush is just like that.
Please go and read the
rest. It's really good. You won't be disappointed.
On another note, I will be out of town for a week, as of Sunday. A business trip to West Virginia. Beautiful countryside, a vacation of sorts, though I will be working rather hard, I'm sure. Sometimes, it's just good to get away.
It seems to me that people tend to forget that Israel is not the aggressor here. Hezbollah was the aggressor. They are a bunch of street thugs who have always targeted civilians, continue to target civilians and are attempting to kill as many Israelis as they can.
