"They are working extremely fast"

The Naz says:

“One of the central reasons for creating Hezbollah was to challenge the Zionist program in the region. Hezbollah still preserves this principle, and when an Egyptian journalist visited me after the liberation and asked me if the destruction of Israel and the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem were Hezbollah’s goal, I replied: "That is the principal objective of Hezbollah, and it is no less sacred than our [ultimate] goal.” --2002

It must be so comforting for the Israelis knowing the UN stands guard on that fence while they sleep in their beds at night:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/31/wleb31.xml

"UN vehicles were in plentiful evidence yesterday, and at numerous points Lebanese soldiers scrutinized traffic."

This is awe inspiring peacekeeping work. Scrutinizing traffic, the one thing Hezbollah fears will prevent the realization of their dream to rocket Israeli citizens into submission. I'm telling you, we can't fund the UN enough. Paint our tanks white, wear blue helmets, and scrutinize traffic? Why don’t we try this with Iraq?

The Iron Triangle

http://iraqforsale.org/

Supposedly uncovers the connections between corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so.

Has anyone seen this film or desire to do so? Has anyone heard anything critical about the film?

The Committee of Grave Concern

What's one to make of those glasses? What’s one to make of these reports?

From Bill Gertz at the Washington Times:

“Intelligence photographs of North Korea's nuclear test site showed technicians playing volleyball this week near the tunnel where a nuclear device was unsuccessfully set off on Sunday. The facility where the test took place was identified by U.S. officials as a North Korean science and technology research center near the town of Kilchu and the northeastern coast. Very high-resolution satellite images obtained by the Defense Intelligence Agency showed the volleyball game being played near dormitories at the facility. The Japanese intelligence agency also had access to the photographs, and according to U.S. defense officials, they reported that a sports activity so close to a nuclear site was inconsistent with post-nuclear testing precautions, since the underground tunnel where the test took place was located several hundred yards away.”

And another report:

“Results from an initial air sampling after North Korea’s announced nuclear test showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from a successful nuclear detonation, a U.S. government intelligence official said Friday.”

Did they, or didn’t they?

Not to worry though. We have a piece of paper signed by North Korea over champagne and a smile and a handshake from Madeleine Albright herself that says that North Korea won't even work on a bomb. And can you imagine the impact sanctions will have on a country where many of its citizens boil grass or bark to avoid starvation. Cargo inspections and a cutoff of military and luxury trade will surely be enough to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. That will hit 'em right where it hurts.

Another note: I find it interesting that many will criticize the administration for unilateralism in its foreign policy, and that might have some merit, but yet, that's exactly what these same critics are calling for in demanding direct negotiations with Pyongyang beyond the six party talks. This is also the same cohort that deplores our policy with Iraq, but would like to see the 82 Airborne in Darfur tomorrow if they had their way. Why is it that they want to deploy the military only when US interests are not involved? What happened to consistency?

Prognosis: Saddle up, here comes the South East Asian arms race.

The Lobster Incident

Here are some shots from last weekend’s expedition to the Cape and the national seashore. View beach exercise video by Deb here.

Trio

The creature attacks

Warm bass from the Grundig

Jonathan Seagull paid us a visit

Surfers were a dime a dozen in surf that didn't seem to be all that spectacular for surfing. Kind of odd.

Slope

Leave me, go on, save yourselves. It's too far to continue.

UN Resolution 1701

Where can one get a baseball cap emblemized with Nasrallah? That's a must have if there ever was one.

I recently did a bit of reading of this ceasefire resolution passed by the Security Council that was drafted with the intent to end the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Keep in mind that a similar resolution was negotiated in 2000 that premised the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon at that time also.

1701 calls for, among other elements:

1. 
   Security arrangements to prevent a resumption of hostilities, including no armed forces other than the state of Lebanon or UNIFIL south of the Litani river (read: No Hezbollah near the Israeli border)
2. 
   No sales or resupply of arms and related materials to Lebanon except as authorized by its government (read: no re-supply of rockets to Hezbollah from Iran or Syria) (“If a real will exists to introduce illegal weapons (into Lebanon), neither UN resolutions nor military deployment will be able to stop their entry" --Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Sept. 2006)
3. 
   The disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon (read: Hezbollah)

Since the passing of the resolution, Hezbollah has repeatedly stated that it will not be disarmed. Lebanon has also stated that it will not disarm Hezbollah, and the UN too has indicated that UNIFIL forces will not have the role of disarming Hezbollah. Ironically, Israel was the only force committed to disarming this terrorist group in order to prevent rocket attacks against its citizens or the unprovoked kidnapping and killing of its soldiers within Israel. Yet, it has now relinquished that goal and withdrawn –foolishly, in my opinion— so that the UN and Lebanon can undertake the cause with pledged vacancy.

Kofi Annan stated back in August his staggeringly unrealistic feelings on the matter of the disarmament:

“I think the disarmament of Hezbollah cannot be done by force. It has to be a political disagreement between the Lebanese; there has to be a Lebanese agreement among them to disarm.”

Israel has indicated that if Hezbollah is not disarmed (as the resolution calls for, and as was the basis for Israeli acceptance of the ceasefire and withdrawal), it will resume operations in Lebanon to protect its citizens from cross-border rocket attacks.

The UN, in my opinion, is an utter failure in these matters, there’s no two ways about it. In fact, by failing to live up to its obligations both in 2000 and with the current crisis, it has assured that Israel will be drawn into conflict again with an enemy that has called for its very destruction. By becoming involved in conflict resolution without any commitment to employing the means to enforce such resolution, it has guaranteed that the conflict will be perpetuated.

Reality Testing: Notes from the Urban Underground

This is a poem a student shared with me last year. Be your own judge as to what this represents:

Bin laden didn’t blow up the projects it was you nigga tell the truth nigga.
I pledge no allegiance nigga fuck the presidents speeches I’m
Baptized by America n’ covered in leeches the dirty water that
Bleaches your soul n’ yo’ facial features drownin’ us in propaganda
That they spit from they speakers and if you speak about evil
That the government does the patriot act attract u to the type o’ yo’
Blood they try to frame you and try to say u as sellin drugs and
Throw a federal indictment on niggas that showed you love. Shit is run by
By fake Christians fake politicians look at their mansions and
Look at the conditions you live in, all they talk about is terrorism
On television they tell you to listen but they don’t tell you their mission,
they funded al Qaeda and now they blame the muslim religion
even though bin laden was a cia tactician they gave him billions of dollars
and they funded his purpose Fahrenheit 911 that’s just scratchin the surface

Bin laden didn’t blow up the projects it was you nigga tell the truth
Nigga, bush knocked down the towers, tell the truth nigga bush knocked down the towers
They say the rebels in Iraq still fight for Saddam but that’s bullshit
I’ll show you why its totally wrong cause if another country invaded
The hood tonight it’d be warfare through harlem and washington heights I would be fightin’ for bush or white america’s dream I’ll be fighting for my people survival and self-esteem, I wouldn’t be fightin for racist churches from the south my nigga I’d be fighting to keep the occupation out my nigga, you ever clock some1 who talked shit after Ronald reagan’s election mercenary contractors fightin a new era corporate military bankin on the war on terror
They controlin the ghetto with the fear of attack, tryin’ to distract
The fact they engineerin’ the crack so I’m trapped like lee malvo
Holdin a snipers rifle touch your kids and I don’t mean like micheal your body get sent to the morgue stripped down and innocent people get murdered in the struggle daily and poor people
Never get shit and struggle daily, this aint no alien conspiracy theory this shit is real written on the dollar underneath the Masonic seal

Em: I don’t rap for dead presidents, I’d rather see the president dead, its never been said, but I set precedents. Bin laden didn’t blow up the projects it was you nigga tell the truth nigga
Bush knocked down the towers

The Death of Shame

This past Sunday afternoon I went out for a bike ride on the rail trail that runs from my part of town into the next. It’s a 40 minute ride out and back again, and the selling point is that for the most part, one doesn’t have to compete with road traffic with the exception of several intersections between the trail and busy streets. I’ve actually taken video of most of this ride and posted it at the Youtube site linked at the right site of this blog, but that’s another story. One intersection between trail and road is so busy the town recently put up a set of lights so joggers and bicyclists could cross in better safety.

On Sunday, I stopped at this very intersection, pressed the button on the light to cross, and waited until it turned red and displayed the “walk” signal. When it did, I started to cross when out of nowhere came a speeding, Giganta-SUV that is forced to come to a screeching halt to avoid hitting me while he attempted to run the red light. He stops, stares at me and the situation that he just narrowly avoided.

Now one could imagine what he might say, if he felt compelled to say anything:

“Oh Jesus, sorry buddy, I was in a rush and didn’t see you or the light. Are you ok?”

Sure, I could accept that. Accidents happen. Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes. But what did he actually scream at the top of his lungs?

“Hey you ASSHOLE, thanks a lot!!!”

What??? Apparently, I’m an “asshole” because he runs a red light with his wife and kids in the vehicle and almost kills me in the process??? I’m thinking: great demonstration of character for the kids in the back seat; I’m sure they picked up some of the finer qualities of their Dad from this incident.

This is but one example of selfish behavior I see many commonly engaged in that puts other’s safety at risk without reason. Polls also reflect the awareness that American society is becoming more inconsiderate and uncivilized in its public interactions. I find this trend quite disturbing, but what I also find disturbing is the suggestion from some that I should just ignore it, or shrug it off.

What’s happened to people that instead of having at least some capacity to acknowledging their wrongs and errors, they respond with heated indignation against the very people they’ve trespassed against? I know it’s human to find it difficult to admit when wrong, but I speculate: does it have something to do with what the wider culture now teaches? Have the fields of psychology and sociology so explained away guilt as an unnecessary social “artifact” of tradition and religion that it becomes difficult for many people to aspire to humility and listen to their conscience? I get the sense that because science has defined away anything like a belief in a conscience, this destructive behavior is part of the resulting consequence.

Can anyone explain?