PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN — Afghanistan has been drawing a fresh influx of
jihadi fighters from Turkey, Central Asia, Chechnya and the Middle
East, one more sign that al-Qaeda is regrouping on what is fast
becoming the most active front of the war on terrorist groups.

More foreigners are infiltrating Afghanistan because of a recruitment
drive by al-Qaeda as well as a burgeoning insurgency that has made
movement easier across the border from Pakistan, U.S. officials,
militants and experts say. For the past two months, Afghanistan has
overtaken Iraq in deaths of U.S. and allied troops, and nine American
soldiers were killed at a remote base in Kunar province Sunday in the
deadliest attack in years.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff,
warned during a visit to Kabul this month about an increase in foreign
fighters crossing into Afghanistan from Pakistan, where a new
government is trying to negotiate with militants.

Two U.S. officials said that the United States is closely monitoring
the flow of foreign fighters into both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Afghan National Army soldiers stand around the dead bodies of Taliban
militants after they were killed in a failed ambush on Afghan forces
in Qara Bagh district of Ghazni province on Tuesday.
Enlarge Image

Jihadist websites from Chechnya to Turkey to the Arab world featured
recruitment ads as early as 2007 calling on the "lions of Islam" to
fight in Afghanistan, said Brian Glyn Williams, associate professor of
Islamic history at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Williams has
tracked the movement of jihadis for the U.S. military's Combating
Terrorism Center at West Point.

Local Afghans in the border regions are increasingly concerned about
the return of the Araban or Ikhwanis, as Arab fighters are known in
the Pashtun language, Dr. Williams wrote in a CTC paper. He said there
were rumours of hardened Arab fighters from Iraq training Afghan
Pashtuns in the previously taboo tactic of suicide bombing.

Turkey also appears to have emerged as a source of recruits. Dr.
Williams estimated that as many as 100 Turks had made their way to
Pakistan to join the fight in Afghanistan.

"The story of Turkish involvement in transnational jihadism is one of
the best kept stories of the war on terror," said Dr. Williams, who
noted that al-Qaeda videos posted on YouTube mention Turks engaging in
the insurgency. "The local Afghans whom I talked to claim that the
Turks and other foreigners are more prone to suicidal assaults than
the local Taliban."

Dozens of Turkish Islamic militants have trained in al-Qaeda camps in
Afghanistan and taken part in attacks there, said Emin Demirel, an
anti-terrorism expert in Turkey. He said images of attacks on mosques
or Muslim villages provide propaganda for recruiting young Turkish
Muslims.

"Nowadays, they are effectively using the Internet to communicate with
fellow militants, and police have difficulty in keeping tabs on
several of the jihadist sites," said Mr. Demirel, author of several
books on Turkish Islamic militant groups. "Turkish courts sometimes
locally block access to one particular site, but it is still accessed
outside Turkey. Those websites eulogize fallen fighters as martyrs in
order to recruit among radical Muslim youths."

One example was Cuneyt Ciftci, the German-born son of Turkish
immigrants, who took the Arabic nom de guerre of Saad Abu Furqan. In a
video obtained last March by The Associated Press, the 28-year-old was
shown giving a final hug goodbye to some friends before blowing
himself up outside a U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan.

A Turkish news website, Uslanmam, said an Uzbek militant group called
Islamic Jihad Union claimed responsibility and eulogized Ciftci as
"the brave Turk who has left his luxury life in Germany and came here
to go to paradise."

Just a couple of weeks later, newspapers in Pakistan reported that
four Turkish nationals with suspected links to al-Qaeda had been
arrested by authorities on a bus. They were found with explosives,
ammunition and jihadi sites on their laptop computers.

Al-Qaeda's recruitment drive stems from a slow and steady resurgence
that started in 2002, according to Taliban sources.

"They are awake," said Qari Mohammed Yusuf, who Afghan authorities
confirm is a senior Taliban. "They have people going by different
names to other countries. They are coming and going easily. In the
last year, they have been organizing more day by day."

Al-Qaeda has financed the Taliban in both Pakistan and Afghanistan,
Mr. Yusuf said. In the chaos created by the Taliban groups, al-Qaeda
has been able to steadily recruit, re-establish its public relations
wing, plot new attacks and re-establish areas of operation on both
sides of the border.

Naseer Ahmed al-Bahri, who was Mr. bin Laden's bodyguard until 2000,
said in Yemen last year that al-Qaeda has field commanders in
countries from Indonesia to Senegal.

BASELESS ALLEGATION for the sake of reporting only.  NO CONCRETE EVIDENCE can be shared and it is merely a hearsay and rumours only  - shahrul peshawar

The question raised here is, "Is there a possibility that there may be someone so disgruntled with themselves and so hateful of humanity in total that they would try and extinguish the entire species—that they would try to trigger a Doomsday?" What a silly question! And yet approximately 15% of mens cause of death between age 15 and 35 is to commit suicide and it is not uncommon for that person to take someone with them.

These suicidal deaths are presumably self motivated but in the case of suicide bombers most of them have been recruited, trained, armed, paid, brainwashed, motivated and even drugged before they do their dreadful deeds. There have been several who's bombs failed to explode, who were apprehended and later questioned. In that way it became known, with fair accuracy, what preceded the suicidal attacks. If the above statistics are valid for the rest of the world then we have, and always will have, a huge number men in the suicidal risk category who could be recruited into perpetrating these desperate actions.

There have been many mass suicidal events in history and to some degree many standard military actions seem like largely suicidal behavior of massed troops. If people are willing to perform these acts upon themselves, upon their friends and loved ones, upon their whole community and sometimes upon their whole city-state what is to prevent some small group or even individual from taking it upon themselves to destroy the entire species.

One could think about this for a while and without doubt come up with something or other, but I haven't and I won't because unlike the Hollywood moguls I believe that there are consequences to showing people how they might go about killing other people. Even thinking certain thoughts tends to bring about their being actualized and a whole self-help industry has been founded upon that principle. In the action phase of automobile racing for example the race car drivers are trained never look at the wrecks ahead of them on the track but rather they look at the safe places and where they want to go. That has been proven to be the best policy. That is a better policy for humanity to follow also. That course hasn't been implimented just yet but when it is it will probably be something rather like the Lifehaven Project. That is the open course to a possible future for humanity which needs to be aimed for and driven through.

Please note: the phrase "emerge naked from one of the plane's restrooms" is never followed by anything good. From the Associated Press:

Members of the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer were among those who grabbed the passenger near an exit door, FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said. Tie wraps were placed on the man, whose name was not immediately released. He was taken into custody in Oklahoma City and placed under psychiatric evaluation, Johnson said...

Craig Tornberg, the soccer team's general manager, said he confronted the man as soon as he saw him emerge naked from one of the plane's restrooms.

"I said he should get back into the bathroom and put on his clothes," Tornberg said after the plane landed in Los Angeles. "He said something strange to me. He said, 'I don't hear you. I don't see you.'"

Scenario:
Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.
1958 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2008 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1958 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2008 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1958 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2008 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario:
Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1958 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2008 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1958 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2008 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario:
Pedro fails high school English.
1958 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college
2008 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1958 - Ants die.
2008 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1958 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2008 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

This should hit every e-mail to show how stupid we have become!

Think about it !

See My Web Site For More 3DHumor.com

Hand or ear? Why not the whole head?

This time, Hamas’ poorly designed pink bunny (why do his whiskers meet at the back of his head?) did the unthinkable: he decided to steal money from his daddy. Unfortunately, unlike many other “children”, who at one point or another get away with this, bunny is caught and Muhammad-approved punishment needs to be given. The popular (why?) children’s show’s host then discusses whether he should have his hand chopped off or his ear. Everybody is upset at this latest installment, but I secretly think Hamas releases these tapes just to sit back and watch Americans get pissed off; if we’re all atwitter over the fluffy bunny we might forget about certain other things.

I suggest we go on the offensive instead, and send something back to them: “Barney in Beirut” we’ll call it, and we’ll have the dinosaur corrupt the exact same children Hamas is trying to brainwash. Fight fire with fire.

In other news, a Japanese couple has, over the past ten years, made a whopping $1,620 by selling tritium infused cell phone straps. “They shine for more than ten years!” the advertisement claims. What the ad forgot to mention: the reason for all that shimmer is they’re radio active. Oops. Over 5,500 straps have been sold since 2004, proving once again that, wherever they live, consumers don’t think. As long as it’s pretty, right?

According to a "high school journalism teacher" (what a pedigree!) the recent cover of The New Yorker is a context without context. Ted Spaniak, author of The Tribune's blind eye to The New Yorker cover thinks some accompanying text was necessary to contextualize "The New Yorker's aim of exposing right-wing fear mongering." I guess text is an appropriate means of creating context, but when considering a cubbyhole for the cover of The New Yorker in our media landscape, what possible ambiguity is there?

I wonder if Mr. Spaniak understood the dual-edged nature of his indictment of the Tribune editorial staff: "[It] makes me wonder how they ever earned journalism degrees." Not that you'd need a journalism degree to teach high school journalism.

CIA and Special Forces used the original Black Books as manuals of mayhem and sabotage. This is a further study into the dark art of improvised explosives and munitions. Learn how the guerrilla warfare specialist makes dynamite, RDX, canister grenades, antipersonnel mines and more. For information purposes only.

Download Link:

http://rapidshare.com/files/58112666/Black_Book_Companion.zip

Examines al-Qaeda's evolution and the emergence of the broader global jihadist movement--groups affiliated, associated, or inspired by al-Qaeda--and the threat that they pose to the United States and U.S. allies and interests. The authors conclude by setting out a four-pronged strategy to counter the jihadist threat.

Download Link:

http://rapidshare.com/files/58570889/RAND_MG429.zip

Examines violent terrorist groups that, while not formally allied with al-Qaeda, could pose a threat to Americans now or in the future and to the security of our friends and allies. The authors show how terrorists use criminal organizations and connections to finance their activities, and they identify distinct strategies to neutralize or mitigate these threats.

Download Links:

http://rapidshare.com/files/58573871/RAND_MG430.zip

Other than stepping all over these fantasies of American property ownership, I've been watching a lot of things: Shot-by-shot analyses of "North by Northwest" and "Notorious"... A comedy/musical hour with a fat tranny named Jackie Beat... A blind old blues guitarist at a bar... The Polo-shirted a Capella stylings of Hyannis Sound... With all this watching, you'd imagine I'd be out of the reach of trouble, after all, an audience is a passive structure. But you're wrong. I, your faithful and timid blogger, raised some feathers, ruffled some flags and almost got into a fight with a very indignant middle-aged Christian male-type inside the "First Federated Church of Hyannis"... a church of all places! Granted, saying "almost got into a fight" is kind of an absurd thing to say, like "she almost got pregnant", there's either physical violence or not. Jimmy McNally provided an insightful linguistic analysis concluding that the angry Christian male was really a "pussy", even though the Christian twice cornered me and threatened to beat me up. What would cause a respectable, bespectacled, polo-shirted cape-codding federated protestant to harass a stranger inside a church, in front of almost a hundred people?

Loud gay man sex? An abortion? Jeremiah Wright...? This time, the provocateur was art. With this week's silly controversy over a New Yorker Cover, it's kind of apropos to talk about art pissing people off. So here's the story... First off, many of you know that I have a pretty heavy doodling habit. My biochemistry notes had more doodles than writing. My fiction/playwriting notebook is essentially a doodle pad with random writing scrawled in the margins. In a way, I'm way more attentive when I doodle. A lecture may be very interesting to hear, but very boring to watch. Doodling complements an aural interest with a visual one. In case of a boring lecture, doodling keeps me from falling asleep.

In any case, I decided to put the little golf pencils and books behind the pews to use during the Hyannis Sound's a Capella concert... It made the entire concert much more appreciable than it would have been had I tried to look at singing boys in pastels from thirty pews away. Since there wasn't any scrap paper, I drew on the inside covers of the hymnals and Bibles. I was very well aware of the potential for sacrilege, but I was feeling slightly subversive (maybe I've watched too much Bunuel), I thought I'd "engage" federated church members with art. Besides, there is a fine line between expression and defacement, between art and vandalism. Ask Banksy. By the end of the concert, I made four drawings (including the drawing below) in two hymnals and in one Bible.

As me and my two Jimmy's got up to leave, the angry middle-aged Christian blocked the pew, the following exchange ensued:

"Have you been writing on the Bibles"

"Me? No..."

"Are you lying? Not that I am accusing you... but you have been accused..."

"Well... There are some drawings in the books."

"Did you make those drawings?"

"I made one of them..."

The angry Christian insisted on seeing this drawing of mine, so I showed him the saxophone player I drew behind the cover of a Bible, pictured above. To say the least, he was certainly "engaged" by the art. He found it an unspeakable act. He threatened to show the art to the church's administration and have me pay for the Bible's replacement (how that drawing makes a Bible "unreadable" or "nonfunctional" is beyond me).

"Why did you draw this?" Torquemada demanded to know

"It felt right with the music."

"Do you have an eraser?"

"No."

The Christian huffed and puffed, but then he thought of higher meanings...

"You know," he started "this is a very important weekend for me and I'm not going to get riled up by this... So I'm going to let this go... but if I ever see you at this church again -just talking to you is pissing me off... I'm going to kick your ass-"

"I don't understand why you are being so disrespectful," I interjected "I didn't draw anything vulgar... If I choose to express myself to God by drawing, why can't I?"

That didn't appease the Christian one bit, he huffed and puffed again. We tried to leave, but the Christian guy cornered me again at the sanctuary door, saying he ought to "express himself to God" by "kicking my ass". I ignored him and started walking away. He demanded that i never return and that I "get the hell out of here" before he "kicks my ass"... By then, Jimmy McNally took my hand as lovingly and queerly as he could and outside we went. We all had a good laugh over this, for a second, I was worried about getting into a fight. I am sort of relieved that I showed him the saxophone player in the Bible, rather than the drawing in the hymnal... The guy would have flipped two shits if he saw my portrait of a Virgin Mary holding a baby and a machine gun titled "Our Lady of the Guerrillas."

- s

Words above and video below posted by AlJazeeraEnglish

Part 1

Part 2

But Satan worshipping Nazi war criminals are bold with their lies:

Bold Lies: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5382067&page=1

For anyone who is either honest or intelligent, here is the final proof: If it happens on your watch, it's your fault. Despite the idiocy of the press, Presidents don't run the economy and have nothing to do with education. The President's one real job is to protect the nation from for attack like 9-11 and the invasion of illegals from Mexico. Bush has failed, and failed miserably on both counts.

Impeach Bush and his pet dog, I mean vice president, Dick Cheney.

PS...No I am not a democrat. For instance, I would not be caught dead voting for that Marxist Messiah, Hussein what's his name.

What if they have inserted undetectable chips into the prisoners/dead bodies? 

What if they have poisoned, Putin-style, some, if not all of the prisoners?

What if one of these prisoners has become a friendly (spy)? 

What if they are using these chips to track down Nasrallah? 

What if they bomb the welcoming rally and deal a harsh blow to the entire Hezbollah organization? 

And what if the Israeli government is bringing everyone together in mourning and hatred, thus fueling patriotism ahead of a strike on Iran?

Is it possible?  Sure.  Is it probable?  Unfortunately, no! 

But as I go to bed tonight, I can only pray that I awaken to a bombed welcoming rally, thousands of dead terrorists and supporters, and a complete invasion of at minimum, Southern Lebanon, laying the groundwork for a strike on Iran.  After all, you can't have Hezbollah launching weapons at you as you, Israel, attempt to dismantle Iran's nuclear weapons program.  And that is a likely scenario.  When Israel bombs Iran, Hezbollah will attack from the North, and hopefully, not with Saddam Hussein's missing WMD.  YEA, I SAID IT!

As for the bodies of the two Israeli soldiers, any chance that they were alive was doused by the government when they stated that the soldiers were most likely dead.  If they were dead, why confirm this?  And if they weren't, why sentence them to death?

Because the Israeli government did not want to raise Israeli hopes that the soldiers were alive and then receive their two dead bodies.  They would look weak.

Well, Knesset!  YOU ARE WEAK. 

WHY ARE YOU BUILDING A WALL TO STOP TERRORISTS?  YOU ARE COMMITTING SUICIDE ANYWAY?

Maybe, the Israelis don't want others to take credit for their own demise.  If the Israelis commit national suicide themselves, they can celebrate a National Masada. Oh wait. Who would be left to mark the ceremony?

You know I like the New Yorker and will pick it up from time to time, but Lord, what in the world were they thinking?  I'm the first to be down with creative license, and I totally understand satire, which is what the artist said he was doing when he created this work to go along with a pro-Obama article that was included in the magazine.  He said he was just calling attention to how the media has attached the Obama's since the primaries.  Didn't the Editor know that the average American would not get that this was satire, especially since it doesn't even have a heading which would indicate such?  I'm thinking they purposely knew how it would be received and used the cover intentionally in hopes of selling more mags.  I won't be buying it.

What's VERY troubling to me about the picture, in addition to the terrorist and Muslim depictions, is the return of the attitudinal angry Black woman stereotype via Michelle's tooted up lips, big afro, and AK 47!  I'm realizing more and more every day that media is purposely utilizing the negative stereotypes of Black women to hurt Michelle Obama and ultimately Barack.  Let's not forget, in addition to being an angry Black woman, she's a "baby mama"!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: July 14, 2008
10:02 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Sen. Barack Obama, speaking to the annual conference of the National Council of La Raza yesterday, pumped up the crowd by describing how Hispanic communities are "terrorized" by government immigration officers.

"When communities are terrorized by ICE immigration raids," Obama said, "when nursing mothers are torn from their babies, when children come home from school to find their parents missing, when people are detained without access to legal counsel, when all that is happening, the system just isn’t working, and we need to change it."

The crowd, quietly listening before Obama began his tirade, reacted immediately to the sentiment that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are terrorizing communities. Applause, shouts and cheering swelled through the audience as Obama characterized atrocities allegedly committed by government officials.

The segment of the speech that contains the inflammatory comments can be seen below:

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=69612

On his first day in office he will give our military leaders a new mission;  Withdraw from Iraq by the summer of 2010!  "Now, Prime Minister Maliki's call for a timetable for the removal of U.S. forces presents a real opportunity. It comes at a time when the American general in charge of training Iraq's Security Forces has testified that Iraq's Army and Police will be ready to assume responsibility for Iraq's security in 2009. Now is the time for a responsible redeployment of our combat troops that pushes Iraq's leaders toward a political solution, rebuilds our military, and refocuses on Afghanistan and our broader security interests.He will send 2-3 more brigades to Afghanistan.   He will also send more money to help find new jobs for those currently getting the income from opium farming

George Bush and John McCain don't have a strategy for success in Iraq - they have a strategy for staying in Iraq. They said we couldn't leave when violence was up, they say we can't leave when violence is down. They refuse to press the Iraqis to make tough choices, and they label any timetable to redeploy our troops "surrender," even though we would be turning Iraq over to a sovereign Iraqi government - not to a terrorist enemy. Theirs is an endless focus on tactics inside Iraq, with no consideration of our strategy to face threats beyond Iraq's borders.

At some point, a judgment must be made. Iraq is not going to be a perfect place, and we don't have unlimited resources to try to make it one. We are not going to kill every al Qaeda sympathizer, eliminate every trace of Iranian influence, or stand up a flawless democracy before we leave - General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker acknowledged this to me when they testified last April. That is why the accusation of surrender is false rhetoric used to justify a failed policy. In fact, true success in Iraq - victory in Iraq - will not take place in a surrender ceremony where an enemy lays down their arms. True success will take place when we leave Iraq to a government that is taking responsibility for its future - a government that prevents sectarian conflict, and ensures that the al Qaeda threat which has been beaten back by our troops does not reemerge. That is an achievable goal if we pursue a comprehensive plan to press the Iraqis stand up.

If a high value target such as Osama Bin Laden is found to be in Pakistan and Pakistan does not act, 'we will' destroy or capture that target ourselves.

Obama wants to get the respect back that we lost from our allies over the past 7 years, but leading and creating new coalitions.  He will "forge a new coalition to support Iraq's future - one that includes all of Iraq's neighbors, and also the United Nations, the World Bank, and the European Union - because we all have a stake in stability. And we will make it clear that the United States seeks no permanent bases in Iraq."

The billions of dollars we've spent in Iraq could have been used "instead on alternative sources of energy to grow our economy, save our planet, and end the tyranny of oil.  We could have rebuilt our roads and bridges, laid down new rail and broadband and electricity systems, and made college affordable for every American to strengthen our ability to compete."

Here is a video of some of the more important statements:

My opinion of the Iraq and Afghanistan war -- we'll probably be there till somebody finally yanks us out, the nations throw us out or forever.

The difference between President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama is -- Obama WANTS to eventually leave, the other two don't.  They want to claim the Middle East and make them Democracys.  In other words, "They have a Dream...".

I support a person that 'wants' to leave over any person that doesn't care whether we do or not.

The following article was written two years ago.  Had the Israelis followed my advice then, they would not be surrendering to terror as we speak. 

I hope you enjoy the read and comments are welcome.

-July 2006-

Facing a critical threat to its very existence, Israel must respond, once and for all, to the Iranian Hezbollah threat.  Israel, in fact, the world is at risk and the international community has failed once more in its quest to impede a global threat.  To be quite honest, the international community has not exactly failed.  They truthfully don’t care to succeed on Israel’s behalf.  But with rockets bombarding their cities and the potential of a new wave of homicide bombers littering the streets with Israeli body parts, the dismantling of Hezbollah is essential, with or without the support of the international community.

Israel’s war on Hezbollah is an important first step in its war on fanatical Islam.  If Israel prevails against this terror movement, the threat of Iranian terror will be greatly diminished.  But to accomplish its mission in Lebanon, Israel must ignore the cease-fire calls of the international community.  To see why the international community cannot be trusted in dealing with Hezbollah, one must only look at how they have dealt with its chief sponsor, Iran.

The Iranian President has declared the Holocaust a myth and has called for the destruction of Israel.  At the same time, the Iranian regime is developing nuclear weaponry under the disguise of a nuclear energy program.  This program is unnecessary due to Iran’s vast energy resources.  Nonetheless, with Israel as a sworn enemy of the state, the Iranians have clearly announced their position.  If given the opportunity, the Iranians will destroy the state of Israel.  Who will they turn to destroy next?   

Israel has unwisely deferred to the United Nations on the Iranian nuclear issue.  The Israelis believe that the United States and its allies can bring forth economic sanctions against the Iranians and force them to the negotiating table.  The same delusional Israeli policymakers believe that if negotiations fail, the United States and coalition partners will remove the Iranian nuclear threat militarily.  To illustrate Israel’s flawed logic, let us consider the respective positions of the United Nations Security Council’s veto wielding nations.

The Russian economy is booming only due to the high price of oil.  If the Iranian threat is neutralized, the price per barrel of oil will fall from its speculative peak and the Russian economy cannot sustain such an outcome.  In addition, the Russians are providing the Syrians with advanced weaponry for use against Israel.  And let’s not forget, the Russians are supplying the resources for the Iranian nuclear program.  Without Russian assistance, there is no Iranian nuclear program.  Has Israel forgotten who supplied the Arabs with their weaponry during the Israeli-Arab wars of the late 20^th Century? 

The Chinese won’t help either as they continue to seek new sources of oil for their economic engine.  As China begins to develop Iranian oil fields, do the Israelis honestly believe that the Chinese are looking out for the best interests of Israeli citizens when for economic reasons, the Chinese have abused and displaced millions of their own people?  

France and Great Britain, along with most European states, suffer from a culturally ingrained anti-Semitism which would be reason enough to comprehend their appeasement of Iran.   But Europe’s significant Arab community is a more valid explanation.  The militant views and actions of many European Arabs are an immeasurable threat to the continent.  Out of fear of inflaming domestic tensions, the Europeans prefer not to oppose any Muslim enemy.  In time, Europe’s map may read Londonstan and Paristine, but that is another issue altogether.  When this fear is compounded by European dependence on Arab and Persian oil and the European desire to increase exports to Muslim markets, European policy becomes understandable.  They have far too many business dealings with tyrannical regimes in the Middle East to care much for a few million Jews.  And of course, there is no sizable Jewish vote in Europe. 

Enter United States.  The United States has always stood by Israel.  Historic Israel is the birthplace and foundation of Judeo-Christian civilization and the United States will not allow for Israel’s destruction. However, Israel must not confuse American support for Israeli survival as a blank check.  American policies have and will continue to conflict with Israeli positions.  The United States holds a unique position on this planet as the lone hegemonic power.    It must position itself in a way that best suits its national goals and as a result of its dependence on foreign oil, that does mean a bit of appeasement to the Russians and the Muslim world.  It may not be just, but that is the reality.  The United States understands the threat, but it may not be willing to act just yet. 

Israel must learn that these international actors must preserve their own self-interests and more than likely, those interests are not concurrent with those of Israel.   The world may indeed view Iran as a threat, but it lacks a global consensus to act.  What is quite clear is that Israel must act unilaterally against its enemies, in spite of world condemnation.  The world community initially condemned Israel’s unilateral bombing of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear facility at Osiraq in 1981, but is secretly grateful to Israel for this action.  So too will the world, and especially Lebanon, be thankful for Israel’s actions against Iranian Hezbollah.

With the backing of Iran, Hezbollah terrorists crossed the Lebanese border into Israel, killing eight of Israel’s soldiers and kidnapping two, thus re-igniting the border conflict.  The Israeli military fired back at Hezbollah positions and the Israeli military is back in Lebanon.  The dream of peace along the Lebanon-Israel border that was promised by leftists everywhere has dissipated into smoke-filled air.  Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, forced upon Israel by the Four Mothers Movement was the catastrophic strategic move that allowed this to occur. 

When the Israelis left Southern Lebanon in the year 2000 under Hezbollah fire, the Israelis gave the Arabs what they had been seeking for decades, an actual Arab defeat of the Israelis.  This encouraged other Arabs, specifically, terrorist “Palestinian” groups, to continue their armed struggle.  As was witnessed in Southern Lebanon, Israeli society cannot sustain a prolonged conflict.  If the terror continues, the Israelis will run.  Based on this strategy, Hamas terrorized the Israelis out of the Gaza Strip five years later.

Another strategic mistake made by the Israelis was the policy of prisoner exchange.  By exchanging prisoners with Hezbollah and other terror organizations in the past, the Israelis only encouraged further kidnappings of Israeli citizens.  The theory goes, if you trade prisoners now, you will continue to do so in the future.  It is no surprise that Hezbollah (and Hamas) would abduct Israelis in the hopes of achieving such an exchange. 

The Israelis must stop fleeing these prolonged conflicts as this only encourages more terror.  The human toll is high, but the cost of failure is higher still.  The practice of prisoner exchange must end as well.  Israel must not pay attention to calls from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that an indirect prisoner exchange will free the abducted soldiers.   Who are they going to free?  Samir Kuntar?  Kuntar is a Lebanese terrorist who broke into an Israeli home in 1979 and smashed the skull of a four year old girl into his rifle after killing her father.  He is an Arab hero.  He certainly seems appropriate for prisoner release…

Israel must push on with its military operation to root out Hezbollah once and for all.  They should have finished the job two decades ago, but the international community applied too much pressure.     

And as expected, the international community, led by Europe, has already issued its condemnations of Israel regarding the current conflict.  But what right does a country like France have to lecture Israel regarding the proper way to defend the homeland?  If France became Israel’s model for defending the homeland, the Jews of Israel would need to become long distance swimmers quickly, as the Arabs would quickly push them all into the Mediterranean. 

The Spanish prime minister accused Israel of using “abusive force.”  For those who don’t know, the Spanish prime minister was elected on an anti-American platform.  Furthermore, the election took place days after the Madrid train bombings. And no, the Basques didn’t commit this terror.  Nor did the Jews, as many would lead you to believe. The bombings were the result of Islamist terror.  Instead of showing resolve and helping to alleviate the Islamist threat to the world, the Spaniards cowered and ran.  The Spaniards elected a man who campaigned to remove Spanish soldiers from Iraq!   That showed once and for all that terrorism doesn’t work.  Way to go Spain!  Oh wait…

Hypocritical Europe’s moral equivalency must, but unfortunately wont, end.  What is disproportionate force?  What happens when, not if, Iran develops its first nuclear weapon.  What happens, when, not if, Iran transfers the nuclear weapon through Syria, and into the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon.  What happens when, not if, Hezbollah launches it into Tel Aviv, killing hundreds of thousands of people?  What would be a disproportionate response?  Would it be disproportionate to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran?  Would it be disproportionate to attack Syria during transfer?  What about Lebanon?  How would Israel respond to a nuclear attack?  Would Europe advise against it? 

We must also remember that Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction were believed to have been transported to Syria and to Hezbollah’s strongholds in and near the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.  If indeed these weapons do exist, Hezbollah will use them.  What happens then?

In the current conflict, the Israelis have been relentless in their bombing of Hezbollah.  They have used precision guided weapons to limit civilian casualties.  This war, however, will take its toll on civilians.  Hezbollah stores and launches its weapons from civilian areas.  Its headquarters are concentrated in civilian areas, much like the so-called Palestinians.  To eradicate Hezbollah, the IDF must attack these civilian areas.  The IDF has dropped leaflets warning residents to flee the area due to imminent bombings.  Those residents that ignore this advice become collateral damage. 

And all this talk about collective punishment in Lebanon is ludicrous.  Hezbollah serves in the Lebanese government, a government that has given Hezbollah full autonomy in Southern Lebanon.  UN Resolution 1559 calls on the Lebanese government to dissolve all militias within its territory, including Hezbollah.   The Lebanese government has refrained from doing so out of fear that it will cause another Lebanese civil war.  Sound familiar?  The Europeans do not want Israel to fight terrorists because its own Arab citizens may become angry.  The Lebanese do not want to reign in Hezbollah because its own Arab citizens may become angry.  The Europeans and the Lebanese government are fully content with allowing Hezbollah to attack Israeli military positions and fire rockets at Israeli civilians from time to time.  As long as the Jews are the only ones suffering, it is okay.   Those civilians who help Hezbollah are not innocent.  Yet, these same civilians are counted in the Lebanese death toll as innocent bystanders.  Still, Israel limits civilian casualties, usually at the expense of their own military goals. 

The Israelis already have the military capacity to wipe out not only Lebanon, but the entire Arab world.  They choose not to in hopes that a lasting peace will come.  This naiveté is a result of the utopian Jewish tradition of wanting to avoid conflict.  The Israelis need to wise up.  The only thing the Arab world seems to understand is force.  Israel mustn’t heed the warnings that its aggression leads to the creation of more terrorists.  Those inclined to be terrorists will become terrorists.  In any case, these warnings are coming from countries that fear Islamist terror (France) or Islamist revolutions (Jordan).  These countries are okay with terror in Israel as long as it is not exported to the rest of the world.  If Israel responds in self-defense, Muslims, specifically Arabs, may become angry and lash out at others.  

If Hezbollah would simply put down their primitive weapons and accept Israel, there would be peace.  If the Israelis would put down their advanced weapons, there would be continuous terror attacks in Israel.  And that is the essential problem that nobody wants to acknowledge.  Israel must not worry about condemnations coming from Europe!   If Israel’s military campaign ends as a result of international pressure and not due to the elimination of the terrorist threat, then Israel will inevitably cease to exist and the Israelis will themselves bear the blame.   If Israel is not willing to ignore these condemnations, it must be ready to accept condolences.  

While I am not personally offended by the newest cover of "The New Yorker," I do believe that the cartoon, featuring Barack Obama and his wonderfully stylish (and just generally wonderful) Michelle, is slightly problematic for a multitude of reasons.  While "The New Yorker" is meant to provoke thought -- in this case, a satire of the images of Obama and his wife that the far right and or uninformed wish to convey -- it is problematic due to the fact that the cover is entirely based in false beliefs, except for the fact that we have seen the Obamas bump fists.

Sketches and political cartoons from every era show that no one is really safe from being displayed in caricature form.  Just think of everyone fairly recently from Howard Dean and images of his screech to Al Gore and his lock box and yes, even completely tasteless images of John McCain as a POW.  However, while as disgusting or funny or just generally 'whatever' these images might be, they are usually based in some reality.  The reality of the "New Yorker" cover is just the reality of lies which is what makes it so tricky to a lot of people.

The fact of the matter is that pretty much any idiot can identify what this cover is trying to say.  I firmly believe that the majority are not going to look at the cover and think to themselves, "Obama IS a terrorist?!?!" Americans aren't THAT stupid.  The minority in the country who actually own the belief that Obama = Osama a) probably do not read "The New Yorker" or know what it is, b) would probably not vote for Obama to begin with, C) may very well not even vote at all (although it is not entirely safe to make this assumption).

At the same time, however, there are several right wingers out there who are trying to convey that very message.  Similarly, there are rhetorical slip ups that are causing people to recoil or cringe in certain ways.  Think of Matt Lauer calling Osama Obama... Notice the differences if you google "Barack Hussein Obama" versus simply googling "Barack Obama." Simply think of people's reactions to the fist bump... Something I actually found quite endearing.

All of those things are part of a recipe that allows for an image like the video below to become part of the cover for "The New Yorker":

The New Yorker is going to sell many many copies of this particular edition. I'm not sure how their company is doing but this should give them a major boost in quarterly revenue.

Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force totally looks like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed

Submitted by Eric