WASHINGTON — The Bush administration launched several programs meant to test the U.S. military's capabilities in any war against Teheran. Officials said the programs were meant to defend the Gulf and destroy Iran's underground nuclear weapons bunkers.
"When the president said he has not taken the military option off the table, he means that there must also be a viable military option," an official said.
In one project, the U.S. Air Force intends to integrate a new 30,000-pound bomb that could destroy deeply-buried military targets in Iran.
Under the $2.5 million program, the new Massive Ordnance Penetrator, developed by Boeing, would be integrated on the B-2 stealth bomber. MOP was described as a GPS-guided weapon that contains more than 5,300 pounds of conventional explosives inside a 20.5-foot long enclosure of hardened steel.
The U.S. Navy has overseen a project to overcome Iran's swarm strategy, which involves the use of up to 100 speedboats to attack and destroy U.S. aircraft carriers and destroyers in the Gulf. Based on persistent 360 degree surveillance and command and control, Lockheed Martin has sought to establish a five-mile defensive perimeter for any U.S. Navy vessel.
DEDICATED TO EXPOSING DISINFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA AND TO PROMOTING UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS - WITH SHARP ANALYSIS AND BLUNT COMMENTARY. NO ADS. NO TIP-JAR. JUST THE TRUTH.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
WHITE HOUSE SOURCE SAYS IRAN WILL BE ATTACKED BY U.S.
From Epaminondas, at the Infidel Bloggers Alliance:
HAGEL QUITS - GOOD RIDDANCE
The Senator from France is packing it in. GOOD!
Let's compare this to the Lieberman situation.
In that situation, the Left NUTROOTS forced a primary contest between Lieberman and Lamont, and Lamont won the primary. But, Lieberman - THE HAWK - stayed in the race and won the election as an independent.
In this case, Hagel is so sure he's gonna get whacked by the RIGHT ROOTS (and has no chance in the general election), that he won't even stand for re-election.
NOW TELL ME, PLEASE: WHICH PART OF THE BLOGOSPHERE IS MORE POWERFUL?!
This also proves that Hawks DO have good electoral strength, and should NOT be so worried.
The claim that anti-war feelings of the electorate gave the Congress to the Dems is a lie.
It was Foleygate, Abramoff and Maccacca. And pork.
BTW: one of the nicest things about Chuckie Hagel splitting the Senate is that we no longer have to hear him referred to as "a leading member of the GOP" on Meet the Press .
AND WE DO GET TO HEAR FROM SENATOR LIEBERMAN!
Let's compare this to the Lieberman situation.In that situation, the Left NUTROOTS forced a primary contest between Lieberman and Lamont, and Lamont won the primary. But, Lieberman - THE HAWK - stayed in the race and won the election as an independent.
In this case, Hagel is so sure he's gonna get whacked by the RIGHT ROOTS (and has no chance in the general election), that he won't even stand for re-election.
NOW TELL ME, PLEASE: WHICH PART OF THE BLOGOSPHERE IS MORE POWERFUL?!
This also proves that Hawks DO have good electoral strength, and should NOT be so worried.
The claim that anti-war feelings of the electorate gave the Congress to the Dems is a lie.
It was Foleygate, Abramoff and Maccacca. And pork.
BTW: one of the nicest things about Chuckie Hagel splitting the Senate is that we no longer have to hear him referred to as "a leading member of the GOP" on Meet the Press .
AND WE DO GET TO HEAR FROM SENATOR LIEBERMAN!
The Latest Wicked Toon
We read:
"The dreaded cartoon of blasphemy of the week appeared in Tuesday's edition of the Columbus Dhimmi Dispatch, and pictures terror cockroaches scurrying across a map of the Middle East out of an Iranian sewer
Source
CAIR is on the case, of course.
Iran is busily trying to spread its influence throughout the Middle East -- by supplying arms and training to terrorists in Iraq and Lebanon, for instance. It is also threatening to annex Bahrain and has vowed to wipe Israel off the map. So the cartoon is based on reality.
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
"Truthers" and worldview defense
I had a bit of a laugh recently about the "worldview defense" research of Pyszczynski and friends. I could see no good evidence for his claim that conservative views arise out of a need to defend a worldview.
The evidence Prof. P. offers for his claims concerns attitudes. What students say about their views is the foundation of his theory. I replied by pointing out (among other things) that proper general population survey research into conservative attitudes does not reveal the correlations to be expected from Prof. P.'s theory.
There is however abroad these days one very strange set of attitudes: The attitudes of the "truthers" -- people who believe that the dumb but strangely clever George Bush conspired with the neocons, the Jews and various others to blow up the twin towers on 9/11. Apparently the twin towers were deliberately detonated by GWB rather than being knocked out by bin Laden's henchmen flying hijacked airliners. Some of the claims of the truthers have a superficial plausibility but all have often been debunked (e.g. here).
The interesting thing about truther theory is that, for all its vast implausibility, it is widely believed. According to a general population poll carried out by Zogby 42.6% of Democrat voters believe some version of it versus 19.2% of Republican voters. Nearly half of Left-leaning voters say they believe in a total absurdity!
So why do they do that? A simple answer: It is BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome). Bush is so hated by many on the Left that they cannot accept any evidence that might support his policies. Their worldview requires that Bush be (as they often say) akin to Hitler and the embodiment of all evil. That he might have had reasonable grounds for his overthrow of two aggressive Islamic regimes (in Afghansistan and Iraq) just cannot be accepted. Rather than accept that it is preferable to believe a total absurdity.
So if that is not worldview defense I would like to know what would be. It is worldview defense carried to the extent of an extreme mental pathology. So, as I have often previously remarked, Leftists are great projectors -- they attribute to others things that are really true of themselves. So to find out what is true of them, just listen to what they say about conservatives. Prof. P. was so alive to the phenomenon of worldview defense precisely because it fills the heads of many of his fellow Leftists -- and maybe even his own head.
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
The evidence Prof. P. offers for his claims concerns attitudes. What students say about their views is the foundation of his theory. I replied by pointing out (among other things) that proper general population survey research into conservative attitudes does not reveal the correlations to be expected from Prof. P.'s theory.
There is however abroad these days one very strange set of attitudes: The attitudes of the "truthers" -- people who believe that the dumb but strangely clever George Bush conspired with the neocons, the Jews and various others to blow up the twin towers on 9/11. Apparently the twin towers were deliberately detonated by GWB rather than being knocked out by bin Laden's henchmen flying hijacked airliners. Some of the claims of the truthers have a superficial plausibility but all have often been debunked (e.g. here).
The interesting thing about truther theory is that, for all its vast implausibility, it is widely believed. According to a general population poll carried out by Zogby 42.6% of Democrat voters believe some version of it versus 19.2% of Republican voters. Nearly half of Left-leaning voters say they believe in a total absurdity!
So why do they do that? A simple answer: It is BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome). Bush is so hated by many on the Left that they cannot accept any evidence that might support his policies. Their worldview requires that Bush be (as they often say) akin to Hitler and the embodiment of all evil. That he might have had reasonable grounds for his overthrow of two aggressive Islamic regimes (in Afghansistan and Iraq) just cannot be accepted. Rather than accept that it is preferable to believe a total absurdity.
So if that is not worldview defense I would like to know what would be. It is worldview defense carried to the extent of an extreme mental pathology. So, as I have often previously remarked, Leftists are great projectors -- they attribute to others things that are really true of themselves. So to find out what is true of them, just listen to what they say about conservatives. Prof. P. was so alive to the phenomenon of worldview defense precisely because it fills the heads of many of his fellow Leftists -- and maybe even his own head.
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
THE LEFT: COURTING CHINA
In both the U.S. and Australia, we are looking at pro-China Leftists leaders being elected in our next elections. Australia's Rudd speaks fluent Chinese and was praised by visiting Chinese President, Hu Jintao this week. Hillary Clinton is also into China up to her neck. I found a brilliant expose on the Clintons here with plenty of dirt on their filthy connections, including those to Communist China.While we focus (rightly) on the Islamic threat, many of us are ignoring that elephant in our midst, PRC, because at the moment, it seems to be behaving itself. But is it really the benevolent, pro-west, newly reinvented entity it presents itself to be?
GRAND SCALE HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
Chinese who have escaped to other countries such as Australia are blowing the whistle on some of the unspeakable atrocities being practiced on mainland China. This week, a relatively large crowd of 1000 activists assembled to protest the arrival of China's leader, President Hu Jintao, in Sydney, drawing the official complaints of Chinese government officials. (More)
It's pretty easy from the point of view of the west to ignore that wide-scale corruption in China means that the whole thing is a giant, white-washed rotting corpse.
China's image was temporarily damaged by the discovery of illegal slave labour in their brick factories; evidence of the kinds of human rights atrocities that few of us want to even contemplate. The pictures emerged of children and mentally-retarded people who had been abducted being used to labour in these hell-holes. But has the west already forgotten?
DEFECTIVE CHINESE MADE PRODUCTS STARVING OUT LOCAL MANUFACTURERS
We could philosophize about the loss of work for our own factory workers as companies moved offshore to China. However, is the vast army of Communist working poor really manufacturing to international standards? We only really started to question whether cheap Chinese goods were all that when it was revealed that many of these products were found to be defective, even poisonous. (More) Here are a few examples:
Mattel plans to announce a recall today of lead-tainted toys from China, its third such announcement in about a month, according to three people with knowledge of the recall.
The recall of Fisher-Price and parent company Mattel-brand products includes nearly 800,000 Barbie accessories, GeoTrax trains and toy bongo drums, according to the sources, who didn’t want to be named ahead of the announcement.
Children can get lead poisoning from sucking on or swallowing toys or jewelry with lead. Lead can cause learning and behavior problems and even death.
Mattel to recall nearly 800,000 more toys
China is host to almost half of the world’s malware-infected Web sites.
According to a report released Monday by antivirus company Sophos, China–including Hong Kong–hosted 44.8 percent of the world’s infected sites in August. The U.S. ranked a distant second, hosting 20.8 percent of sites that contain malicious code.
More.
Starbucks has been working with coffee farmers in China’s southwestern Yunnan province to help them meet sourcing standards and has sent coffee shipments to the United States for testing, Starbucks China President Wang Jinlong said at the Reuters China Century Summit on Tuesday.
The embarrassment to China caused by one defective export debacle has resulted in the execution of at least one official (and probably others behind the scenes). Personally, I don't feel comfortable with summary scapegoating and executions at the drop of a hat to relieve the embarrassment of some Communist Party official.
The question is, will the west continue, to their detriment, buying the cheap, inferior products from this corrupt rotting corpse and put their own manufacturing industries out to pasture?
CHINA'S ANTI-WEST ALLIANCES
And more to the point, is China really our friend? We can't forget that China has in the not so distant past been embroiled in anti-west activities involving Russia and Iran, check here and here for more.
More recently, "the Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June in the most successful cyber attack on the US defence department, say American officials."
(H/T - Trajan) More
The major Leftist candidates in the next elections of both Australia and the U.S. are both oh-so-progressive with their intimate links and parlaying with the leaders of Communist China. But what exactly are these would-be leaders putting us in bed with? Can we really trust a viper (and China's not the only viper in the partnership here)?
SOURCE
Cross-posted here
DUKE ELLINGTON
WEEKEND WITH THE ARTS: MORE JAZZ - THE QUINTESSENTIAL AMERICAN ART
There's more to life than war, taxes and politics - and a lot of it's more fun, too!
Besides, the arts - ALL ARTS, not just fine arts - are a big part of what our liberty is for, and what we're fighting to defend!
That's why every WEEKEND, here at THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, we post on some of the cultural things we're into, things we think you might also find entertaining, enriching, and stimulating. And who knows: We just might turn you on to something cool.
This weekend, I give you the music of Duke Ellington:
There's more to life than war, taxes and politics - and a lot of it's more fun, too!
Besides, the arts - ALL ARTS, not just fine arts - are a big part of what our liberty is for, and what we're fighting to defend!
That's why every WEEKEND, here at THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, we post on some of the cultural things we're into, things we think you might also find entertaining, enriching, and stimulating. And who knows: We just might turn you on to something cool.
This weekend, I give you the music of Duke Ellington:
Friday, September 07, 2007
HOW DOES CHUCK SCHUMER SLEEP AT NIGHT?
Let me be clear. The violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge. The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes from Al-Qaeda said to these tribes, "We have to fight Al-Qaeda ourselves." It wasn't that the surge brought peace here. It was that the warlords took peace here, created a temporary peace here.--Chuck Schumer on the Senate Floor
I heard this yesterday and was beyond livid. We are supposed to believe Democrats support the troops when they say outrageous things like this??? The thought of these people running the country in 08 is beyond frightening.
BUSH FORGES MULTILATERAL CLIMATE COMPROMISE AT APEC
BUSH GOT THE GOT DEAL HE WANTED AT APEC.
I think that AGW is bunk, but politically it's safer for mainstream politicians to forge a course of moderation rather than attack the eco-nutsies head-on (at lest until AGW has been completely discredited - which will probably occur in the next year or so).
AND THIS IS WHAT BUSH HAS JUST DONE. And he's thereby landed another knockout punch to the idiotic KYOTO TREATY (which the US Senate voted down 98-0 in 1998!).
This proves - once again - that Bush is no militarist/unilateralist CHIMP (as the MSM and Left would have you believe), but an extremely able politician who can and does lead an administration which successfully uses multilateral diplomatic approaches when feasible.
WIRE STORIES HERE AND HERE.
I think that AGW is bunk, but politically it's safer for mainstream politicians to forge a course of moderation rather than attack the eco-nutsies head-on (at lest until AGW has been completely discredited - which will probably occur in the next year or so).
AND THIS IS WHAT BUSH HAS JUST DONE. And he's thereby landed another knockout punch to the idiotic KYOTO TREATY (which the US Senate voted down 98-0 in 1998!).
This proves - once again - that Bush is no militarist/unilateralist CHIMP (as the MSM and Left would have you believe), but an extremely able politician who can and does lead an administration which successfully uses multilateral diplomatic approaches when feasible.
WIRE STORIES HERE AND HERE.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER - PART 44 - CHOMSKY AND THE JIHADISTS
WHEN BIN LADEN PRAISES CHOMSKY, IT'S NOT A ONE WAY STREET.
CHOMSKY AND ZINN ARE "INTELLECTUAL" HEROES TO THE LEFT.
JUST AS RAMSEY CLARKE AND JIMMY CARTER ARE POLITICAL HEROES.
AND MICHAEL MOORE AND SEAN PENN ARE ARTISTIC HEROES.
AND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE LEFTISTS IS AN APPEASER OF JIHADO-TERROR.
AND THE JIHADISTS KNOW THIS, AND THEY ARE GRATEFUL.
ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO THINKS HIGHLY OF ANY ONE OF THESE MEN HAS SOME SERIOUS THINKING TO DO - 'CAUSE THEY ARE SCUM.
Democrats Not Following Orders
It seems a new Osama tape has surfaced and bin Laden is really pissed with the Democrats.
Don Surber says not.
I think it is well past time that the Democrats made up their collective minds and decide whose side are they on.
Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values
"People of America: the world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there."Well my Democrat friends, are you going to follow bin Laden's orders or not?
Don Surber says not.
After a month-long vacation, Democrats returned to the nation’s capital this week, an army in disarray. They left in August confident that Republicans would go home, get chewed out about the war, and raise the white flag. Instead, the Surge worked and the Democrats are losing it.It appears that Osama is waiting for that same kind of leadership.
S.A. Miller at the Washington Times reported:Rank-and-file Democrats in Congress are criticizing the party’s leaders for allowing the White House to sap momentum from the antiwar movement during the August recess.
“The White House is taking great advantage of the Democrats not pushing back,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, California Democrat and co-founder of the antiwar Out of Iraq Caucus.
“We need bolder steps from the Democrats,” she said. “The people of this country are waiting for some leadership — some bold leadership — from the people that they elected to be the majority of the House and the Senate.”
I think it is well past time that the Democrats made up their collective minds and decide whose side are they on.
Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values
IS OSAMA IN CHITRAL PAKISTAN?
CBS NEWS - (VIA HOT AIR):
HERE ARE SOME PICTURES - ONE FROM A BLOG WHICH NOTES THIS:
But informed sources tell CBS News U.S. intelligence believes Osama bin Laden is hiding out in the Chitral district of northern Pakistan. A number of reports from human sources, including some alleged sightings, have put him there, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.I THINK IT'S ACCESSIBLE BY STEALTH BOMBERS CARRYING THE BIG STUFF.
None of the reports has been independently confirmed, but there are enough of them to persuade intelligence analysts that it's his most likely location.
Chitral is a remote, rugged area governed by tribes that will not allow even the Pakistani army to operate there.
HERE ARE SOME PICTURES - ONE FROM A BLOG WHICH NOTES THIS:
Chitral an introductionLet me take you to one of the most hidden destinations of the Pakistan, which is still an enigma to the rest of the world, lying in the lap of Hindukush and Hinduraj, Chitral, a pearl, an abode of mountain gods, a castle of fairies, a region with numerous mysterious names due to its remote, difficult and unique location in the rugged high mountains of north, shaped like a bowl, facing the invaders from all over the world for centuries.
Chitral , with its lush green valleys, rugged lofty snow covered peaks, aggressive waters, amazing landscape, trout filled streams and rivers apparently one of the best travel destinations in the world.
Legend has it that in the olden days the Ginis, who were accused of any transgression, were sent to this land because it is surrounded by ring of high mountains and could be accessed through mountain passes which have little accessibility due to harsh weather conditions in winters.It is located in the north of N.W.F.P with its accessibility to rest of the Pakistan in shape of road from Peshawar through Lowari Pass (3200m) 365 Km 10 to 12 hours, and Gilgit by Shandoor Pass (3800 m) 425 Km 14 to 16 hours, as well as by plane 45 minutes from Peshawar but the flights are subject to weather, in addition it also has common borders with Afghanistan in the west with the provinces of Ningarhar, Nooristan and Badakhshan.
...
Accessibilty:
Chitral is connected to Peshawar, at the distance of almost 365 Km, 12 hrs drive through Lowari pass 3200 m, and to Gilgit through Shandoor pass 3800 m, 425 Km, 14 to 16 hrs drive.
But it is open to the rest of the world during summers and during the advent of winters because in winters the high passes are not accessible due to heavy snowfall and the flights are also subject to weather.
Places to Stay:
(Luxury Hotels )
Hindukush Heights - (Excellent location, Pakistan and Continental Cuisine) Owned by Prince Siraj ul Mulk Dolomoos Chitral, Ph: 0933-413151
Pamir Inn - (Nice location with lofty Maple Trees Garden and Restaurant) - Noghore Gardens.
Mid Range & Budgeted Hotels
Chinar Inn - (Nice Garden) - Owned by Famous Polo Player Nasir Ahmed Near Chitral Gol Bridge, Ph: 0933-412582
Hotel City Tower - (Reasonable prices, toothsome meals and excellent Terrace for full moon nights and Terichmir 7778 m View mornings)
Shahi Masjid Road. Ph: 0933-412912
Hotel Tourist Lodge - (Nice Garden &Restaurant)
Shahi Masjid Road.
Hotel Al farooq - (beautiful Terrace for nice views of Chitral),
an excellent place in The town for travelers,
Shahi Bazar, Chitral.
DASCHLE'S MENTOR PRAISES TERRORISTS AND ATTACKS JOOOOOOZE ON HIZBALLAH TV
WATCH THIS UNBELIVEABLE VIDEO OF FORMER DEMOCRAT SENATOR ABOUREZK - TOM DASHLE'S MENTOR.
THIS IS JUST MORE VIDEO PROOF THAT THE LEFT IS THE HOME OF ANTI-SEMITISM, AND ARE CODDLERS OF JIHADO-TERROR. FROM THEIR OWN MOUTHS. ON TAPE. ABOUREZK:
THIS IS JUST MORE VIDEO PROOF THAT THE LEFT IS THE HOME OF ANTI-SEMITISM, AND ARE CODDLERS OF JIHADO-TERROR. FROM THEIR OWN MOUTHS. ON TAPE. ABOUREZK:
"WHEN THE COLD WAR ENDED THE ZIONISTS LOOKED AROUND AND SELECTED ARABS TO BE THE NEW BOGEYMAN."YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP.
"CONGRESS IS AFRAID TO VOTE AGAINST ANYTHING THE ISRAEL LOBBY WANTS."
I MARVELED AT THE HIZBALLAH RESISTANCE TO ISRAEL IN THE LAST WAR."
DOES BIN LADEN'S NEW TAPE CONTAIN A NUCLEAR THREAT?
Last year, CNN's Amanpour reported that AFTER 9/11 Bin Laden had received a fatwa (legal/religious permission) to kill 10 million Americans. (CNN link here; CBS link HERE.)
WHAT COULD KILL TEN MILLIONS OF US? A big nuke in NYC. Or a few smaller nukes in a few cities.
WHAT COULD KILL TEN MILLIONS OF US? A big nuke in NYC. Or a few smaller nukes in a few cities.
This nuclear threat is not coming out of thin air; Bin laden brings up nukes in this speech:
Bin Laden comes close to offering a date for the tape with this by saying, "... just a few days ago, the Japanese observed the 62nd anniversary of the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by your nuclear weapons." The anniversary was on August 6.
I DON'T THINK HE BRINGS UP HIROSHIMA TO PROVE WHEN HE MADE THE TAPE. I THINK IT'S A NUCLEAR THREAT. I THINK HE'S SAYING THAT SINCE WE USED THEM ON OTHERS, IT'S OKAY IF HE USES THEM ON US.
Also in the most recent tape, Osama once again offers us a chance to convert. IN FACT, HIS SPEECH ENDS WITH THIS OFFER:
Also in the most recent tape, Osama once again offers us a chance to convert. IN FACT, HIS SPEECH ENDS WITH THIS OFFER:
"To conclude," bin Laden says, "I invite you to embrace Islam."According to many, these are requisite steps for him to take BEFORE nuking us. EXCERPT:
After 9/11, bin Laden received sharp criticisms from Islamist scholars that dealt with the al-Qaeda chief's failure to satisfy several religious requirements pertinent to waging war. The critique focused on three items: (1) insufficient warning; (2) failure to offer Americans a chance to convert to Islam; and (3) inadequate religious authorization to kill so many people. Bin Laden accepted these criticisms and in mid-2002 began a series of speeches and actions to remedy the shortcomings and satisfy his Islamist critics before again attacking in the United States.(JIHAD WATCH CONCURS WITH THE MEANING BEHIND THIS INVITATION TO CONVERT.)
I feel that the chief reason this tape is being released now is to pressure the Democrats in Congress to vote for immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.
I feel the second message is to his followers: if the Congress fails to vote for retreat, then detonate.
This may happen anytime after 9/11/07. Just a feeling. Based on these excerpts and my firm belief that Tony Blair was right when he said of the enemy, they are only limited buy their means, not by any morals. If they have nukes, then they will use them.
If not here, in the USA then in Europe, or the Green Zone, perhaps, or Kabul. Or Haifa.
UPDATE: THE DCIA'S ASSESSMENT IS AS SERIOUS AS MINE; (AFP):
(PERHAPS THIS IS WHY THOSE NUKES WERE MOVED TO BARKSDALE: TO READY OUR RESPONSE...???)
ADDENDUM: The fact that we have recently arrested several jihado-terrorists with TATP might argue against the idea they have any nukes - BUT MAYBE NOT: the enemy is made up of cells. The relatively minor cell in Germany was in communication with other cells in Pakistan; our NSA eavesdropping capabilities allowed us to pick up these calls and alert the Germans - in time.
But maybe the cells in the USA, the cells with nukes, are in such deep cover, and under direct control of AQ at HQ, so that they DO NOT USE CELLPHONES, and can only be given the go-ahead via videotape - from the big man at AQ-HQ himself....
UPDATE #2: The fact that nearly all of the al Qaeda websites which usually carry Bin Laden's video have shut themselves down is cause for concern. ESPECIALLY when coupled with the fact that the jihado-terrorist camps in Pakistan's tribal areas have recently emptied, too.
It's as if they are all going to ground in advance of a retaliation they are expecting will come soon.
***UPDATE #3: HOT AIR HAS EXCERPTS FROM THE TAPE. I found it interesting how STIFF Bin Laden sits - stiff and motionless except for his lips and an occasional head-bob UNTIL he says - (at around :22 seconds in the excerpt at HOT AIR/DAILY MOTION): "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, and the killer is killed."
This is EXACTLY when he lifts his right hand and makes the "okay" sign.
The right hand is the one which does deeds for God. Before he moves his hand, his right fore-finger is slightly raised (unlike the left hand, whose fingers are ALL touching the table) as if in anticipation for a rehearsed moved, OR A SIGNAL.
CIA director Michael Hayden warned Friday that Al-Qaeda was plotting fresh attacks on the United States aimed at sowing death and destruction on a massive scale.I HOPE BUSH RETALIATES TO ANY UPCOMING MEGA-ATTACK WITH APPROPRIATE FORCE: WE SHOULD TURN A LOT OF PLACES INTO SHEETS OF GLASS AND HEAPS OF DUST, AND THEN BLAST THE SURVIVORS BACK TO THE 8TH CENTURY THEY SO DEARLY LOVE.
His comments came just days ahead of the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks and as the US government said it was analyzing a copy of the latest video message said to have been made by elusive Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
"Our analysts assess with high confidence that Al-Qaeda's central leadership is planning high impact plots against the American homeland," Hayden told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
"Al-Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction and significant economic aftershocks," he added.
(PERHAPS THIS IS WHY THOSE NUKES WERE MOVED TO BARKSDALE: TO READY OUR RESPONSE...???)
ADDENDUM: The fact that we have recently arrested several jihado-terrorists with TATP might argue against the idea they have any nukes - BUT MAYBE NOT: the enemy is made up of cells. The relatively minor cell in Germany was in communication with other cells in Pakistan; our NSA eavesdropping capabilities allowed us to pick up these calls and alert the Germans - in time.
But maybe the cells in the USA, the cells with nukes, are in such deep cover, and under direct control of AQ at HQ, so that they DO NOT USE CELLPHONES, and can only be given the go-ahead via videotape - from the big man at AQ-HQ himself....
UPDATE #2: The fact that nearly all of the al Qaeda websites which usually carry Bin Laden's video have shut themselves down is cause for concern. ESPECIALLY when coupled with the fact that the jihado-terrorist camps in Pakistan's tribal areas have recently emptied, too.
It's as if they are all going to ground in advance of a retaliation they are expecting will come soon.
***UPDATE #3: HOT AIR HAS EXCERPTS FROM THE TAPE. I found it interesting how STIFF Bin Laden sits - stiff and motionless except for his lips and an occasional head-bob UNTIL he says - (at around :22 seconds in the excerpt at HOT AIR/DAILY MOTION): "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, and the killer is killed."
This is EXACTLY when he lifts his right hand and makes the "okay" sign.
The right hand is the one which does deeds for God. Before he moves his hand, his right fore-finger is slightly raised (unlike the left hand, whose fingers are ALL touching the table) as if in anticipation for a rehearsed moved, OR A SIGNAL.
IF THE RIGHT WAS AS LOONY AS THE LEFT,THEN...
THEY'D BE SAYING HOW SMART HILLARY IS FOR GETTING OSAMA TO RELEASE A TAPE NOW IN ORDER TO KNOCK HSU OUT OF THE HEADLINES!
The folks on the Left - most of whom are truthers - are actually questioning the timing of the new UBL tape. AND THIS IS THE BASE OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY.
Sheesh.
LIES OF THE LEFT - A RECAP
Here are a few of the lies of the left - lies which animate their worldview and dominate their politics:
The Left and the Democrats are obviously in fantasyland, and no good policy can ever come from that.
(BTW: ALL OF THEM HAVE BEEN DISPROVED! YET THE AVERAGE DEMOCRAT BELIEVES THEM ALL!)
- Bush stole Florida and the 2000 election.
- Bush stole Ohio and the 2004 election.
- Libby and the White House leaked Plame's ID to punish Joe Wilson.
- 9/11 was either an inside job, or the Bushies let it happen to allow them to perpetrate endless war.
- The Turkey was plastic.
- Bush lied about Saddam's WMD.
- Democracy for Iraq and the Middle East was an afterthought conjured up by Rove to validate the war after the WMD's weren't found.
- The Bush Tax Cut went mostly to the rich and hurt the economy.
- Bush had the worst jobs record since Hoover.
- Bush is a militarist and a unilateralist.
- Bush is an anti-little people/pro-Big Business stooge despite passing the biggest increase in federal education spending and in Medicare spending - and his attempt to pass a expansive immigration bill - (all liberal projects).
- Bush is in the back pocket of the Israel Lobby AND the House of Saud - simultaneously.
- Bush said Saddam was connected to 9/11.
- Bush used family influence to get into TANG and to get out, and this was covered up.
- Bush said the words "yellowcake" and "Niger" in his 2003 SOTU.
- Gitmo is a gulag.
- There was torture at Abu Ghraib and it was Rumsfeld's fault.
- Bush should have been attending soldiers' funerals like other presidents.
- There was rampant looting of the Baghdad Museum right under the noses of US troops.
- The Lancet report proved that we have killed 300 Iraqi civilians a week since the war began, and that this has otherwise gone completely un-reported.
- The Patriot Act is the biggest infringement of civil liberties of all time - and it's unnecessary.
- Canada and the UK and every other nation with taxpayer financed universal healthcare, have better healthcare than the USA.
- 45 million Americans are uninsured for heathcare, and this is a government disgrace which requires a government solution.
- The MSM is biased IN FAVOR of Bush.
- The Democrats won control of Congress because of the Iraq War.
- There is no global war on terror or jihadism
The Left and the Democrats are obviously in fantasyland, and no good policy can ever come from that.
MEARSHEIMER LETS THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG
John Mearsheimer, the disgraceful professor who co-wrote The Israel Lobby and U.S Foreign Policy with Stephen Walt, has let his tongue slip and show that he knows that his whole claim that Israel manipulates US policy is just a big lie. Camera found him talking to NPR's On Point series with Tom Ashbrook, and during the segment recorded here, when Ashbrook asked:
F. William Engdahl points out that Mearsheimer and Walt are State Dept. consultants. Obviously, they're more involved in decision making than they'd have people believe.
Ashbrook: The argument’s been made that Iran is Israel’s greater fear, so if the Israel Lobby were so powerful, why would the US have gone into Iraq? That’s not the number one Israeli concern. Is there a contradiction then John, in you having described Iraq as the result of Israeli lobby influence?So Mearsheimer replied:
Mearsheimer: No, Tom. It’s quite clear that in early 2002 – now remember we went into Iraq in March 2003. In early 2002 when the Israelis caught wind of the fact that we were seriously thinking about doing Iraq, that they came to Washington and told us that they would prefer that we do Iran first. The Israelis very clearly thought that Iran was a greater threat than Iraq. It’s not that they were uninterested in having us effect regime change in Iraq and Syria, it’s just that they preferred Iran.So thus, in that very same attempt to smear, he admitted the truth, that Israel had nothing to do with the decision to attack Iraq, and that this was the US administration's decision. So what's he trying to prove anyway?
But once they came to understand that Iraq would be the first operation, and we would subsequently deal with Iran and Syria, they embraced the idea of attacking Iraq, although they continually reminded us that we had to do Iran and Syria afterwards.
So what you see from early 2002 up until the war starts in March 2003 is that the Israelis are pushing us very hard, harder than other country outside the United States, to go to war against Saddam Hussein.
F. William Engdahl points out that Mearsheimer and Walt are State Dept. consultants. Obviously, they're more involved in decision making than they'd have people believe.
Rudd presents a friendly face to China
Kevin Rudd is of Australia's Left but is generally conservative. He is miles ahead in the polls. China is already hugely important to Australia so the story below can only be good. Being myself Sinophilic, I am delighted that Australia will be so well-represented by our future Prime Minister. My only hope is that Rudd understands economics as well as he understands Mandarin. His Arts degree does not augur terribly well for that but former Labor PM Paul Keating developed a good understanding of economics despite no formal background in it so there is hope
MANDARIN-speaking Kevin Rudd stole the show from John Howard on the day Australia secured a $45 billion gas deal with China. The Labor leader stunned President Hu Jintao with a two-minute recounting of his personal history at an APEC lunch attended by a "who's who" of Australian business. Mr Rudd spoke of his life as a diplomat in China, his love for the booming country, and his family's close ties to the region. Just a day after Mr Howard tied his fortunes to George W. Bush and the US, Mr Rudd made it clear that the rising Asian superpower was the focus of his affection.
Speaking fluently to the Chinese leader in his own language, Mr Rudd upstaged Mr Howard's announcement of Australia's single biggest export contract. A former diplomat with many years' experience in Asia, Mr Rudd gave President Hu a personal history of his links to China, drawing on the experiences of his wife Therese, his daughter Jessica, and sons Nicholas and Marcus.
Source
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
MANDARIN-speaking Kevin Rudd stole the show from John Howard on the day Australia secured a $45 billion gas deal with China. The Labor leader stunned President Hu Jintao with a two-minute recounting of his personal history at an APEC lunch attended by a "who's who" of Australian business. Mr Rudd spoke of his life as a diplomat in China, his love for the booming country, and his family's close ties to the region. Just a day after Mr Howard tied his fortunes to George W. Bush and the US, Mr Rudd made it clear that the rising Asian superpower was the focus of his affection.
Speaking fluently to the Chinese leader in his own language, Mr Rudd upstaged Mr Howard's announcement of Australia's single biggest export contract. A former diplomat with many years' experience in Asia, Mr Rudd gave President Hu a personal history of his links to China, drawing on the experiences of his wife Therese, his daughter Jessica, and sons Nicholas and Marcus.
Source
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
In remembrance of a great artist
Luciano Pavarotti, 1935-2007: "Luciano Pavarotti, whose glorious, unforced tenor voice and gusto as a performer helped redefine tenor stardom at a level scarcely seen since Enrico Caruso, died today at his home in Modena, Italy, after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer, his manager said. He was 71. ... After musical studies in Modena, Pavarotti made his operatic debut in 1961, in a production of 'La Boheme' at Reggio nell'Emilia in Northern Italy. Engagements in Amsterdam and London quickly followed, and he made his U.S. debut in 1965 with the Greater Miami Opera, stepping in as a last-minute substitute for an ailing tenor in Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor' on the recommendation of soprano Joan Sutherland. His career took off soon thereafter, as companies throughout the United States and Europe clamored for his services. He recorded voluminously as well, compiling a discography that according to his official Web site extended to 110 discs. ... Pavarotti is survived by his wife, the former Nicoletta Mantovani, four daughters and a granddaughter."
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
Death From Above - Afghanistan
This is an AC-130 gunship - first used in Vietnam - taking out a terrorist base. It gives you a much different view of the war than you get from newspapers or even TV news.
If you would like to watch an enlarged version here is the YouTube address: Targeting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
I have had the honor of working to a very limited extent on some of our earlier infrared targeting pods. The video uses a FLIR camera to take the images. In many ways this is not dissimilar to stomping on ants. For the most part the ants do not have a chance.
I like Patton's version of how to treat the enemy.
"We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We're going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts."Here is George C. Scott doing the Patton speech with most of Patton's most colorful language censored. Here is an updated version with Iraq as the theme.
HT Joe Katzman at Winds of Change
Cross Posted at Classical Values
TERROR UPDATE DENMARK
Experts believe the fact that the volatile explosive TATP was already prepared indicates that an attack was imminent. Some even fear that the attacks would have been timed to celebrate 9/11. TATP is an acetone peroxide compound. Our readers should note that over 700 kilos of peroxide was recently seized during raids by German Police. bin Laden's upcoming videonewsrelease, closely followed by a concerted attack on the WWW could be precursors to the next attack. Regardless of what al Qaeda can bring to fruition - I am sure the West will survive. We are "kicking ass" in the battlefield. Unfortunately it's just too easy for a few fanatics to attack soft targets. The enemy must be defeated spiritually and intellectually. We have not even begun to truly address the ideological battle and the "politically incorrect" positions/actions that must be taken to emerge victorious and until we do the status quo will reign.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
DOES THE RIGHT-SIDE OF THE BLOGOSPHERE NEED A DAILY KOS?
NOPE. NOT AT ALL.
First off... FREE REPUBLIC gets more daily traffic than the Daily Kos.
Second off... The Kossacks elected NOBODY to Congress and made not one whit of difference on the least election.
If the Kossacks were en effective political machine worth emulating then we'd all be saluting Senator Ned Lamont.
A lot of big bloggers on the right are linking to Barnett's article in the Weekly Standard which makes the case that the Daily Kos is somehow successful:
Some people on the right fear that the left has developed an insurmountable advantage in harnessing the power of the Internet. While the Daily Kos, YearlyKos, and other bastions of online liberalism have clearly become power players, conservatives have no comparable entities. The right-wing blogosphere doesn't hold conventions, doesn't win the attention of candidates, and more important, doesn't move voters the way the progressive blogosphere does. The progressive blogosphere is a hotbed of activism; the most prominent outposts of the right-wing blogosphere stick to punditry.THIS IS ALL WRONG.
First off... FREE REPUBLIC gets more daily traffic than the Daily Kos.
Second off... The Kossacks elected NOBODY to Congress and made not one whit of difference on the least election.
The Dems won Congress because of Foleygate, Abramoff, and Maccacca. END OF STORY.
If the Kossacks were en effective political machine worth emulating then we'd all be saluting Senator Ned Lamont.
The fact that Lieberman carried CT proves that the Kossacks are strictly an intra-party phenomena, a gang operating strictly within the Left.
The fact that the SHAMNESTY was defeated - and Miers and the Dubai Ports deal - all proves that the right-side of the blogosphere is VERY powerful - AND DOESN'T NEED TO TAKE ANY LESSONS FROM THE LEFT.
AL QAEDA SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 15 IN ALGERIA
BBC:
At least 15 people have been killed and scores injured in a suicide bombing in Algeria, local security sources said.I WONDER HOW THE "ANTI-WAR" CROWD CAN BLAME THIS ON BUSH, OR THE JOOOOOOS OR THE NEOCONS?
The attack happened in the town of Batna, about 450km (279 miles) east of the capital, Algiers.
Witnesses said the attack apparently targeted crowds awaiting an expected visit to the town by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. ...
But Mr Bouteflika accused Islamist militants of trying to disrupt his policy of national reconciliation, which is aimed at ending 15 years of fighting between the army and groups trying to set up an Islamic state. ...
"Terrorist acts have absolutely nothing in common with the noble values of Islam," the official APS news agency quoted him as saying.
Mr Bouteflika later visited some of the wounded in a local hospital, APS said.
In April two blasts in Algiers killed at least 23 people and injured 160 - one bomb exploding near the prime minister's office.
A group claiming to represent al-Qaeda in North Africa claimed responsibility for those bombings.
Conflict broke out in Algeria in 1992 after a general election won by an Islamist party was annulled, resulting in a bloody civil war in which more than 150,000 people died.
Insecurity has been increasing in Algeria, and across North Africa, since the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) re-launched itself as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb at the beginning of this year.
NEW BIN LADEN TAPE - COINCIDING WITH 9/11 ... AND RAMADAN...
I GAVE A HEADS UP LAST WEEK - WARNING THAT RAMADAN WOULD BE STARTING ON 9/13 THIS YEAR. CONSPICUOUSLY CLOSE TO 9/11.
NOW WE HEAR UBL HAS A NEW VIDEO HE'LL BE RELEASING IN THE NEXT 72 HOURS.
COINCIDENCE? NOPE. NOT FOR RELIGIOUS FANATICS LIKE AL QAEDA.
I THINK THESE JIHADISTS WOULD GET EXTREME RELIGIOUS PLEASURE OVER AN MEGA-ATTACK TIMED TO COINCIDE WITH THEIR RELIGION'S #1 HOLIDAY.
THIS IS SIMPLY MORE PROOF THAT THEY'RE EVIL AND THAT THEIR CREED IS EVIL, TOO.
AS IF WE NEEDED ANY.
MORE HERE AT JAWA REPORT.
COMPLETE ROUND UP HERE - AT MEMEORANDUM.
NOW WE HEAR UBL HAS A NEW VIDEO HE'LL BE RELEASING IN THE NEXT 72 HOURS.
COINCIDENCE? NOPE. NOT FOR RELIGIOUS FANATICS LIKE AL QAEDA.
I THINK THESE JIHADISTS WOULD GET EXTREME RELIGIOUS PLEASURE OVER AN MEGA-ATTACK TIMED TO COINCIDE WITH THEIR RELIGION'S #1 HOLIDAY.
THIS IS SIMPLY MORE PROOF THAT THEY'RE EVIL AND THAT THEIR CREED IS EVIL, TOO.
AS IF WE NEEDED ANY.
MORE HERE AT JAWA REPORT.
COMPLETE ROUND UP HERE - AT MEMEORANDUM.
Tell Fred What You Think
Fred Thompson is in the race for President.
He has a real life blog up at his site where you can Ask Fred Questions.
If there is something you want to ask the Next President Of The United States, now is a very good time.
Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values
He has a real life blog up at his site where you can Ask Fred Questions.
If there is something you want to ask the Next President Of The United States, now is a very good time.
Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values
THE CLINTONS ARE HARASSING ME
"I know about the Salem Witch Trials; I could sort of identify with those witches." —President Clinton, speaking at Salem State College.Hillary Clinton's still the number one runner for the Democrats. I wonder what her latest antics will do to her image? Considering her 'conversations with (dead) people' back in the 90s didn't prevent her political ambitions - she's still at it today - maybe no damage at all.
The fact that she refuses to give back the dirty money from criminal, Hsu is telling in itself, but then the Clintons have never exactly been known for their principles. And now another story is emerging of intimidation and thuggery behind the scenes and one woman isn't backing down until the truth is out.
Kathleen Willey, the woman who says Bill Clinton groped her in the Oval Office, claims she was the target of an unusual house burglary over the weekend that nabbed a manuscript for her upcoming book, which promises explosive revelations that could damage Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
She was the target of the Clintons 10 years ago when she was to testify against President Clinton in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. A stranger approached her and threatened her against testifying.
"The theft of the manuscript early Saturday morning was suspicious", she said, coming only days after the first mainstream media mention of her upcoming book, which is expected to include accusations of campaign finance violations and new revelations about harassment and threats by the Clintons and their associates.
"Here we go again; it's the same thing that happened before. They want you to know they were there. And they got what they wanted. They pretty much managed to terrorize me again. It scared me to death. It's an awful feeling to know you're sound asleep upstairs and someone is downstairs."
The book, "Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton" by World Ahead Publishing, is due for release in November. Willey said the stolen manuscript was not the book's final copy.
SOURCE
Cross-posted here
IT'S THE JOOOOS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR GLOBAL WARMING!
I wondered when the fruitcakes would get around to this. It took a British fruitcake
Israel is an apartheid state," was the most often-heard charge, closely followed by calls for a boycott. The West should cut its economic ties with the Jewish state, the speakers urged, and engage the "democratically elected" Islamists now running Gaza.
No, this was not a Hamas rally somewhere in the Palestinian territories. This was Brussels, where the European Parliament last week played host to the "United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace." If the conference title's inversion of the truth is reminiscent of Communist-style propaganda, this is no coincidence. The meeting was organized by the U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, a Soviet-era body founded around the time of the 1975 U.N. "Zionism is racism" resolution.
That anti-Semitic resolution was revoked in 1991 but the committee continued its activities in the resolution's original spirit. Speaker after speaker at the European Parliament on Thursday and Friday presented the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from an exclusively Palestinian perspective. Israel was accused of human rights violations while Palestinian terrorism and incitement went unmentioned.
The delegates invoked the Israeli occupation as the underlying cause for the conflict without mentioning the Palestinian rejectionism and violence that prevent further Israeli withdrawals. The "right of return" of millions of Palestinians, which would lead to the demographic destruction of Israel as a Jewish state, was upheld despite the official claim to favor a two-state solution.
Amid this standard-Israel-bashing, a few delegates managed to come up with a few innovative charges against the Jewish state. There was Clare Short, a member of the British Parliament and Secretary for International Development under Prime Minister Tony Blair until she resigned in 2003 over the Iraq war. Claiming that Israel is actually "much worse than the original apartheid state" and accusing it of "killing (Palestinian) political leaders," Ms. Short charged the Jewish state with the ultimate crime: Israel "undermines the international community's reaction to global warming."
According to Ms. Short, the Middle East conflict distracts the world from the real problem: man-made climate change. If extreme weather will lead to the "end of the human race," as Ms. Short warned it could, add this to the list of the crimes of Israel.
FULL STORY here
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
Israel is an apartheid state," was the most often-heard charge, closely followed by calls for a boycott. The West should cut its economic ties with the Jewish state, the speakers urged, and engage the "democratically elected" Islamists now running Gaza.
No, this was not a Hamas rally somewhere in the Palestinian territories. This was Brussels, where the European Parliament last week played host to the "United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace." If the conference title's inversion of the truth is reminiscent of Communist-style propaganda, this is no coincidence. The meeting was organized by the U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, a Soviet-era body founded around the time of the 1975 U.N. "Zionism is racism" resolution.
That anti-Semitic resolution was revoked in 1991 but the committee continued its activities in the resolution's original spirit. Speaker after speaker at the European Parliament on Thursday and Friday presented the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from an exclusively Palestinian perspective. Israel was accused of human rights violations while Palestinian terrorism and incitement went unmentioned.
The delegates invoked the Israeli occupation as the underlying cause for the conflict without mentioning the Palestinian rejectionism and violence that prevent further Israeli withdrawals. The "right of return" of millions of Palestinians, which would lead to the demographic destruction of Israel as a Jewish state, was upheld despite the official claim to favor a two-state solution.
Amid this standard-Israel-bashing, a few delegates managed to come up with a few innovative charges against the Jewish state. There was Clare Short, a member of the British Parliament and Secretary for International Development under Prime Minister Tony Blair until she resigned in 2003 over the Iraq war. Claiming that Israel is actually "much worse than the original apartheid state" and accusing it of "killing (Palestinian) political leaders," Ms. Short charged the Jewish state with the ultimate crime: Israel "undermines the international community's reaction to global warming."
According to Ms. Short, the Middle East conflict distracts the world from the real problem: man-made climate change. If extreme weather will lead to the "end of the human race," as Ms. Short warned it could, add this to the list of the crimes of Israel.
FULL STORY here
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
THE FOOD ADDITIVE PUTSCH
The food additive warriors have obviously got desperate but their last fling has won them the publicity battle by fraud. The extraordinary study below (Excerpt from The Times plus journal abstract) tells us NOTHING about actual food. Prior studies have not given the adverse effects hypothesized so this time they just gave kids cocktails of chemicals in fruit juice. And some kids were slightly affected by some of the cocktails.
But the procedure is scientifically amazing. Components of any complex process must be examined in situ if we are to draw any bottom-line conclusions -- witness the poor transferability of in vitro to in vivo results. It is entirely possible for a chemical to be deleterious in one situation or combination and not in another. And it is known that the interaction of chemicals in food is very complex. So this research tells us nothing about what effects the chemicals would have in their normal applications.
Furthermore, the practice of giving a cocktail of chemicals also renders the whole exercise a virtual nullity. For all we know, the adverse effects could all have been caused by just one chemical in the mix! Normal scientific procedure is one of control. We try to vary NOTHING BUT the one variable under examination. That is the only way we can be sure that any given variable has some effect. So this study tells us nothing about any of the variables concerned.
It is of course possible that the various chemicals have to interact to produce a deleterious effect but that just underlines how negligent it was not to test their effect in situ. If interactions are important, it is important to show that the interactions being examined are real-life ones.
Sadly, however, despite its scientific nullity, the study would seem to have given the food fanatics the ammunition to get banned many useful additives that make food safer and more attractive. That they published such irresponsible rubbish is however another blot on the escutcheon of Lancet and shows again what a political propaganda outfit they have become. The irrational Greenie nature-worshippers have been facilitated in another one of their Quixotic crusades.
Update:
I thought that a quote about the study preceding this one was pretty amusing:
A further limitation of the earlier study design was the observed 'placebo effect'. A large proportion of children in the first study were unaffected (or, in some cases, showed an improvement in behaviour) when on the additives mix, but showed worsening when on the placebo
What pesky results! The additives were actually good for some children!
Another amusing point: There were two additive mixes in the study below and only one had "bad" effects. But the one that had bad effects on the 3 year olds overall did not affect the 8 year olds overall and the one that affected the 8 year olds overall did not affect the 3 year olds overall! What the heck can anybody conclude from that?
By being very strict about which data they allowed into the analysis, the researchers find find both mixes to be bad in the 8 year olds but that simply underlines how marginal the effects were.
Looking at both the prior study and the latest one, it is hard to avoid the impression that the results were essentially random. That some results in the study below apparently reached statistical significance rules out only one source of random effects: small sample size. That is all that a test of statistical significance does.
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
But the procedure is scientifically amazing. Components of any complex process must be examined in situ if we are to draw any bottom-line conclusions -- witness the poor transferability of in vitro to in vivo results. It is entirely possible for a chemical to be deleterious in one situation or combination and not in another. And it is known that the interaction of chemicals in food is very complex. So this research tells us nothing about what effects the chemicals would have in their normal applications.
Furthermore, the practice of giving a cocktail of chemicals also renders the whole exercise a virtual nullity. For all we know, the adverse effects could all have been caused by just one chemical in the mix! Normal scientific procedure is one of control. We try to vary NOTHING BUT the one variable under examination. That is the only way we can be sure that any given variable has some effect. So this study tells us nothing about any of the variables concerned.
It is of course possible that the various chemicals have to interact to produce a deleterious effect but that just underlines how negligent it was not to test their effect in situ. If interactions are important, it is important to show that the interactions being examined are real-life ones.
Sadly, however, despite its scientific nullity, the study would seem to have given the food fanatics the ammunition to get banned many useful additives that make food safer and more attractive. That they published such irresponsible rubbish is however another blot on the escutcheon of Lancet and shows again what a political propaganda outfit they have become. The irrational Greenie nature-worshippers have been facilitated in another one of their Quixotic crusades.
Update:
I thought that a quote about the study preceding this one was pretty amusing:
A further limitation of the earlier study design was the observed 'placebo effect'. A large proportion of children in the first study were unaffected (or, in some cases, showed an improvement in behaviour) when on the additives mix, but showed worsening when on the placebo
What pesky results! The additives were actually good for some children!
Another amusing point: There were two additive mixes in the study below and only one had "bad" effects. But the one that had bad effects on the 3 year olds overall did not affect the 8 year olds overall and the one that affected the 8 year olds overall did not affect the 3 year olds overall! What the heck can anybody conclude from that?
By being very strict about which data they allowed into the analysis, the researchers find find both mixes to be bad in the 8 year olds but that simply underlines how marginal the effects were.
Looking at both the prior study and the latest one, it is hard to avoid the impression that the results were essentially random. That some results in the study below apparently reached statistical significance rules out only one source of random effects: small sample size. That is all that a test of statistical significance does.
Britain's food watchdog is warning all parents today of a clear link between additives and hyperactive behaviour in children. Research for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and published in The Lancet has established the "deleterious effects" of taking a mixture of artifical extras that are added to drinks, sweets and processed foods. It has led the FSA to issue the advice to parents who believe their children to be hyperactive that they should cut out foods containing the E numbers analysed in the study....
The results are certain to cause concern and it is likely many parents will remove or cut down on food and drink products that might provoke such reactions in their children. The problem for many parents will be how to police children's eating; although most foods are labelled, some sweets are sold loose in shops and school canteens. Schools can now expect to be inundated with requests for the ingredients of food and drink on offer to their pupils to be made known.....
The study builds on tests conducted on the Isle of Wight in 2002 which were inconclusive about links between additives and hyperactivity. Julian Hunt, of the Food and Drink Federation said: "It is important to reassure consumers that the Southampton study does not suggest there is a safety issue with the use of these additives. In addition, the way in which the additives were tested as a mixture is not how they are used in everyday products.
Source
Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial
By Donna McCann et al.
Background: We undertook a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial to test whether intake of artificial food colour and additives (AFCA) affected childhood behaviour.
Methods: 153 3-year-old and 144 8/9-year-old children were included in the study. The challenge drink contained sodium benzoate and one of two AFCA mixes (A or B) or a placebo mix. The main outcome measure was a global hyperactivity aggregate (GHA), based on aggregated z-scores of observed behaviours and ratings by teachers and parents, plus, for 8/9-year-old children, a computerised test of attention. This clinical trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials (registration number ISRCTN74481308). Analysis was per protocol.
Findings: 16 3-year-old children and 14 8/9-year-old children did not complete the study, for reasons unrelated to childhood behaviour. Mix A had a significantly adverse effect compared with placebo in GHA for all 3-year-old children (effect size 0.20 [95% CI 0.01-0.39], p=0.044) but not mix B versus placebo. This result persisted when analysis was restricted to 3-year-old children who consumed more than 85% of juice and had no missing data (0.32 [0.05-0.60], p=0.02). 8/9-year-old children showed a significantly adverse effect when given mix A (0.12 [0.02-0.23], p=0.023) or mix B (0.17 [0.07-0.28], p=0.001) when analysis was restricted to those children consuming at least 85% of drinks with no missing data.
Interpretation: Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population.
The Lancet, September, 2007
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
FRED THOMPSON AND THE REPUBLICAN DEBATE
I was glad to see Fred Thompson on Jay Leno last night. I thought he did a great job. I'm looking forward to seeing him officially announce today.
THE FOX NEWS DEBATE
To be honest I wasn't that thrilled about watching the debate without Fred but I did anyway.
My Rankings:
1) Duncan Hunter--Best line of the night--"Thats one thing about our party, when our guys have problems like this they leave, they leave the Senate or the House. When the Democrats have problems like this they often make them chairman of their respective committees." Pure gold :-)!!
Awesome comment about what our soldiers have done in the Anbar province and how we leave Iraq in victory. Awesome praise of our men and women in the uniform.
Good answer to the Iran question.
2) Rudy Giuliani--He gave the best answer to the Fred question at the beginning of the debate. I loved his comment about the Democrat candidates needing on the job training.
Best answer to the Iran question.
My biggest disappointment in him was his comment about how if he wasn't running he would be endorsing McCain-gag!!
I thought he dropped the ball on the Family Values question.
3) Mitt Romney--For the first time I will admit that he did "look" very presidential at this debate. And he did get the most low blow questions. Yet, he was never able to respond well to them. I hadn't heard his comparison of his sons helping him to get elected to others' sons serving in Iraq (I was out of town). Wow!! Talk about a HUGE blunder.
Bad and confusing answer to the Iran question. Consensus with other nations? What if there is no consensus? We let Iran have free reign?
4) Sam Brownback--I think this picture says it all.
5) Mike Huckabee--No one seems to get why I strongly dislike Huckabee, I'm not even sure why I do, but he fails my gut check, big time!! He comes across as very condescending. Some have mentioned him as a VP candidate, I'm not even comfortable with that.
6) John McCain--The only thing he said that I was impressed with was his comments about cutting back on spending. Otherwise, he always looks uncomfortable. You get the impression that he isn't comfortable in his own skin. He also comes across as arrogant to me. His answer on torture was horrible, I still can't believe that even he buys into that belief.
7) Tom Tancredo--Angry and bitter, this guy is a total pessimist.
8) Ron Paul--The Ultimate nut job candidate who doesn't even belong at a Republican debate. Chris Wallace burned him big time when he implied that he was taking orders from Al Qaeda. Wallace also exposed Paul when he listed all the things that Paul would do away with such as the IRS, CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, Federal Reserve, Medicare....." Need I say more????
THE FOX NEWS DEBATE
To be honest I wasn't that thrilled about watching the debate without Fred but I did anyway.
My Rankings:
1) Duncan Hunter--Best line of the night--"Thats one thing about our party, when our guys have problems like this they leave, they leave the Senate or the House. When the Democrats have problems like this they often make them chairman of their respective committees." Pure gold :-)!!
Awesome comment about what our soldiers have done in the Anbar province and how we leave Iraq in victory. Awesome praise of our men and women in the uniform.
Good answer to the Iran question.
2) Rudy Giuliani--He gave the best answer to the Fred question at the beginning of the debate. I loved his comment about the Democrat candidates needing on the job training.
Best answer to the Iran question.
My biggest disappointment in him was his comment about how if he wasn't running he would be endorsing McCain-gag!!
I thought he dropped the ball on the Family Values question.
3) Mitt Romney--For the first time I will admit that he did "look" very presidential at this debate. And he did get the most low blow questions. Yet, he was never able to respond well to them. I hadn't heard his comparison of his sons helping him to get elected to others' sons serving in Iraq (I was out of town). Wow!! Talk about a HUGE blunder.
Bad and confusing answer to the Iran question. Consensus with other nations? What if there is no consensus? We let Iran have free reign?
4) Sam Brownback--I think this picture says it all.
5) Mike Huckabee--No one seems to get why I strongly dislike Huckabee, I'm not even sure why I do, but he fails my gut check, big time!! He comes across as very condescending. Some have mentioned him as a VP candidate, I'm not even comfortable with that.
6) John McCain--The only thing he said that I was impressed with was his comments about cutting back on spending. Otherwise, he always looks uncomfortable. You get the impression that he isn't comfortable in his own skin. He also comes across as arrogant to me. His answer on torture was horrible, I still can't believe that even he buys into that belief.
7) Tom Tancredo--Angry and bitter, this guy is a total pessimist.
8) Ron Paul--The Ultimate nut job candidate who doesn't even belong at a Republican debate. Chris Wallace burned him big time when he implied that he was taking orders from Al Qaeda. Wallace also exposed Paul when he listed all the things that Paul would do away with such as the IRS, CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, Federal Reserve, Medicare....." Need I say more????
Is Pavarotti's Death An Omen?
A great artist with great talents has passed - and thousands who were touched by his life and work will mourn him. You can find solace in his music or read about him elsewhere - because I confess I am no great fan or connoisseur of opera. Yet even someone with the feeblest appreciation of the art (like me!) would immediately recognize his greatness.
Is there any significance in his passing - now? Of course course his death has meaning to millions as individuals and various social groups (i.e. Italians, Opera Lovers etc.). I would also claim that his death may be an omen. The problem with premonitions, gut feelings, a sixth sense - is there is no way to scientifically test them...they either come true or they are forgotten. And if you believe the roulette ball will land on 18 that does not mean your belief will have any influence upon where the ball eventually stops - though it may influence where you place your bet! When I think back to August 2001 many great people died. I refer not only to famous people - I also remember a disproportionate number of relatives and friends passing. After 9/11 I felt like the grim harvest of August 2001 was more than just an omen - it seemed like an ingathering of souls for a struggle between good and evil. Now just as I write this I am reminded of a someone I knew who recently passed away - his life was as tragic as Pavarotti's was heroic - and physically he resembled Pavarotti - i.e. he was "heavy" and darkhaired. Is there some sort of supernatural symetry in this?( Obviously this is a subjective connection I create - there is no material connection between Pavarotti and this tragic soul.) So be aware of the signs that another battle between good and evil is brewing. For those of you who don't believe that there is any reason to heed the supernatural, please refer to the numerous material signs that evil forces intend to do harm. And those of you who do not believe in good and evil? Vote Democrat.
Global Warming Causes.....
We hear all the time that global warming causes this and global warming causes that. So what does a scientist have to say on the matter? Michael Schirber, a staff writer at Live Science reports.
I think this proves the science is settled. Any change in the environment is caused by global warming. You may now give Al Gore all your money.
Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values
H/T Commenter Mark R at Climate Audit
Since the late 1960s, much of the North Atlantic Ocean has become less salty, in part due to increases in fresh water runoff induced by global warming, scientists say. Now for the first time researchers have quantified this fresh water influx, allowing them to predict the long-term effects on a "conveyor belt" of ocean currents.That is not all that global warming causes. Let us look at another report from Catherine Brahic a writer at New Scientist.
Climate changes in the Northern Hemisphere have melted glaciers and brought more rain, dumping more fresh water into the oceans, according to the analysis.
Tim Boyer of the US National Oceanographic Data Center and colleagues compiled salinity data gathered by fisheries, navy and research ships travelling across the North Atlantic between 1955 and 2006. They found that during this time, the layer of water that makes up the top 400 metres has gradually become saltier.So there you have it. Global warming is the cause if oceans get saltier and global warming is the cause if the oceans are becoming less saline.
The seawater is probably becoming saltier due to global warming, Boyer says.
I think this proves the science is settled. Any change in the environment is caused by global warming. You may now give Al Gore all your money.
Cross Posted at Power and Control and at Classical Values
H/T Commenter Mark R at Climate Audit
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
PRINCE EDWARD VISITS ISRAEL
HAARETZ: 
I THINK HE LOOKS LIKE HER:
More on Alice:
Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex and the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth, arrived in Israel on Wednesday, in the first royal visit here in more than a decade.
But despite his high-profile four-day tour, the Prince's visit has been categorized as "private," meaning that still no member of the British royal family has made an "official" visit to Israel.
Prince Edward ... is the third member of the British royal family to visit Israel. Both his father, Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh and his brother, Prince Charles, have made unofficial visits to Israel.
The Prince was invited by the Israel Youth Award organization, a self-development group for Jewish and Arab youth that is affiliated with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award International Association. ...
During his visit, the Prince will tour Yad Vashem, where a tree has been planted in honor of his grandmother Princess Alice of Greece, who was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for sheltering a Jewish family in her Athens home during the Holocaust. He will also attend Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem with Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger.
I THINK HE LOOKS LIKE HER:
More on Alice:
The word "righteous" does not often arise these days in connection with the British royal family. But it was the key to an honor that PRINCE PHILIP, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, received in Jerusalem yesterday in the name of his mother, the late Princess Alice of Greece.
Princess Alice, a British noblewoman who married Prince Andrew of Greece early in the century, was designated a "Righteous Gentile" by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial organization in Jerusalem, for saving a Greek Jewish family from the Nazis during World War II. The princess, who died in 1969, at 84, helped several family members escape and hid others for more than a year at one of her residences in Athens.
Prince Philip received a medallion at Yad Vashem, then visited his mother's grave on the Mount of Olives.
Publishers Weekly:
FASCINATING.A chain-smoking, nearly deaf princess who ministered to the sick in Greek hospitals and soup kitchens, was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic at age 45, fancied herself a nun and sheltered a Jewish family during the Holocaust (for which she was posthumously given the title Righteous among the Nations, an honor Oskar Schindler also received), Alice is a biographer's dream.
Born under the watchful eye of her great-grandmother Queen Victoria in Windsor Castle in 1885, Alice married a Greek prince who was actually Danish, German and Russian. And while she was devoted to Greece, she and her royal in-laws were never fully accepted by their adopted subjects.
At age 84, she died in Buckingham Palace, where she lived at the end of her life at the behest of her youngest child and only son, Prince Philip, and his wife, Queen Elizabeth.
... Alice deserves to be known as more than just the queen's mother-in-law.
PAVAROTTI'S CONDITION WORSENS
Sadly, we may soon lose one of the greatest singers in Opera history:
His is, and always will be a great man of the art world.
Opera star Luciano Pavarotti's health has worsened and he is in a "very serious" condition, Italian media say.
Pavarotti, 71, has been suffering from pancreatic cancer and was released from hospital on 25 August after a series of tests were carried out.
He is now being treated at home in the northern city of Modena surrounded by family and friends.
Pavarotti had surgery for the cancer in July 2006 in New York and has not made any public appearances since then.
The tenor has undergone five bouts of chemotherapy since his cancer surgery last year, says our correspondent.
His is, and always will be a great man of the art world.
TWO FORMS OF SAVAGERY THWARTED IN GERMANY
First, there was another terrorist plot by al Qaeda operatives that was thwarted (may also be related to this report):
BERLIN - Three militants from an Islamic group linked to al-Qaida were planning "massive" bomb attacks against Americans in Germany when an elite antiterrorist unit raided their small-town hideout after months of police surveillance, officials said Wednesday.And that wasn't the only grisly case that was fortunately stopped. In Bremen, a plan to subject two infant girls to Islamic genital mutilation was stopped too:
Prosecutors said the suspects — two German converts and a Turkish citizen sharing a "profound hatred of U.S. citizens" — had military-style detonators and enough material to make bombs more powerful than those that killed 191 people in Madrid in 2004 and 52 commuters in London two years ago.
It was an anti-terrorism raid with a big difference.The police in Bremen did the right thing to stop the mother from subjecting her two children to such a sick, gruesome act. It's most definitely something that requires police surveillance just as much as terrorist suspects do.
Police in Bremen, Germany, raided an apartment recently not to arrest any terrorists but rather to prevent two of its occupants from being terrorized by another form of barbarism: female genital mutilation. In what has been described as “a first” by a German women’s organization, authorities in the northern, port city were able to intervene and thwart a planned, female circumcision of two girls aged one and four. The infants, taken into state care, were to have undergone the horrifying procedure in their 25-year-old mother’s native country of Gambia at a female circumcision ritual.
However, the girls’ German father discovered the mother’s gruesome plan when he returned home one evening and found two packed bags and his daughters missing. Very fortunately for the girls, their father was vehemently opposed to the hideous ordeal his wife of five years, whom he had married “according to Muslim law”, was planning for them. Already aware of the father’s fierce opposition to her scheme, the mother had hidden the intended victims among countrymen at another apartment, from which at least the one-year-old was slated to leave the next day for the West African country.
An ensuing, loud argument between the two parents about the mother’s scheme luckily drew a visit from the police, now keen on finding the two little girls. The mother, however, refused to help the authorities and was taken into custody for obstructing police. But other Gambian women indicated where the toddlers were hidden, leading to their timely rescue.
It is estimated that 30,000 women living in Germany have undergone female genital mutilation, most in their native countries, and are part of the one hundred and thirty million women worldwide who have suffered the same, tragic fate. In addition, three million females, mostly girls aged four to ten, but babies as well, undergo this savage “operation” every year, while in Germany alone as many as 5,000 girls are in danger annually of joining that number.
BEEHIVES THAT ARE 3000 YEARS OLD!
Archaeologists in Israel have found remains of ancient hivekeepings:
JERUSALEM - Archaeologists digging in northern Israel have discovered evidence of a 3,000-year-old beekeeping industry, including remnants of ancient honeycombs, beeswax and what they believe are the oldest intact beehives ever found.It's an amazing discovery, isn't it? That's how the old timers prepared their honey, probably even for Rosh Hashana!
The findings in the ruins of the city of Rehov this summer include 30 intact hives dating to around 900 B.C., archaeologist Amihai Mazar of Jerusalem's Hebrew University told The Associated Press. He said it offers unique evidence that an advanced honey industry existed in the Holy Land at the time of the Bible.
Beekeeping was widely practiced in the ancient world, where honey used for medicinal and religious purposes as well as for food, and beeswax was used to make molds for metal and to create surfaces to write on. While bees and beekeeping are depicted in ancient artwork, nothing similar to the Rehov hives has ever been found before, Mazar said.
The beehives, made of straw and unbaked clay, have a hole at one end to allow the bees in and out and a lid on the other end to allow beekeepers access to the honeycombs inside. They were found in orderly rows, three high, in a room that could have accommodated around 100 hives, Mazar said.
The Bible repeatedly refers to Israel as a "land of milk and honey," but that's believed to refer to honey made from dates and figs — there is no mention of honeybee cultivation. But the new find shows that the Holy Land was home to a highly developed beekeeping industry nearly 3,000 years ago.
"You can tell that this was an organized industry, part of an organized economy, in an ultra-organized city," Mazar said.
At the time the beehives were in use, Mazar believes Rehov had around 2,000 residents, a mix of Israelites, Canaanites and others.
Ezra Marcus, an expert on the ancient Mediterranean world at Haifa University, said Tuesday the finding was a unique glimpse into ancient beekeeping. Marcus was not involved in the Rehov excavation.
"We have seen depictions of beekeeping in texts and ancient art from the Near East, but this is the first time we've been able to actually feel and see the industry," Marcus said.
The finding is especially unique, Marcus said, because of its location in the middle of a thriving city — a strange place for thousands of bees.
This might have been because the city's ruler wanted the industry under his control, Marcus said, or because the beekeeping industry was linked to residents' religious practices, as might be indicated by an altar decorated with fertility figurines that archaeologists found alongside the hives.
BRITAIN'S BRAVE NEW WORLD
A British judge says that every British citizen and visitor to the island nation should be added to the national DNA database.
Sedley said he was aware his idea would be viewed as a dangerous breach of civil liberties.
"It is authoritarian measure to the extent that it demands people depart with some further measure of their autonomy and privacy and it has to be justified," he added.
Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said there were no plans to make the database compulsory for all residents and visitors for the foreseeable future.
"But no-one ever says never," he told BBC radio.
Super. More at Samizdata.
Greenpeace Knocks Wind Out Of Ted Kennedy's Sails
Cross Posted at Classical Values
H/T Instapundit