Hizbollah Rearmament

After last summer's war between Israel and Hizbollah (NOT Lebanon, as is so often misstated) the UN passed Resolution 1701 which required it to place a peacekeeping force south of the Litani River in Southern Lebanon to prevent Hizbollah guerrillas (or might properly the Iranian army) from reoccupying the area, and from preventing the continued resupply of Hizbollah with Iranian arms.

In a report released yesterday, even the UN had to admit that this was a total failure.

Not only has Hizbollah fully reoccupied the area on Israel's northern border, but they have actually TRIPLED their stockpile of missiles.

Worse, the new missile technology gives them a range of 250 Kilometers. This enables them to hit Tel Aviv, Israels most populace city.

This is just another example of why Israelis' have such little faith in the UN and it's processes. Aside from the almost continuous anti Israel resolutions, on the rare occassion when there is a resolution that might help, it is inevitably not followed.

Israelis have been, and remain convinced, that another Northern war is inevitable.

Political assassinations by the Syrians continue in Lebanon, systematically removing any anti Iranian, anti Syrian, anti Hizbollah politicians.

In fact, it has become almost a guaranteed death sentence for someone to speak out about the influence of Hizbollah.

The Debates

I have generally avoided, as I usually do, watching the Presidential candidates debates this year.

I find them incredibly frustrating b/c, as anyone who has ever participated in a debate knows, they are not real debates. They are simply just questions being posed and then 2 minute, or 30 second stump speeches.

I don't know if I am idealizing things, as I seem to remember these exercises in futility as always being somewhat empty, but they seem to have gotten worse.

Last night, the only real answer I heard was actually from Governor Bill Richardson on the question of healthcare.

His response was the only one that provided a specific plan. For every 2 Years of National Service the doctor or nurse provides, they have a year of tuition paid.

This was one of his ideas for the runaway cost of healthcare - i.e. by making it possible for the doctors to avoid going into the practice of medicine at almost 30 years old hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

What seems to happen with every other question is simply that the candidates answer back that yes, it is a problem, and yes, I will do something about it.

On this issue (medical care) for example, every Democrat just parroted back that we need national health care.

Now, I happen to vehemently disagree with this idea, but even if that is your opinion, that is not an answer.

How would you nationalize it? A government insurance co? Regulated Doctors fees for every office visit and procedure?

Government owned hospitals and clinics? Government owned pharmaceutical co's? Government run medical schools?

It all sounds like socialism to me, and a guarantee for the collapse of the quality of medical care.

I'd love to hear responses from my foreign friends about this (i.e. the debates).

I have always heard that the national program in Britain is avoided by all who can afford to do so. i.e. those that can afford private physicians use them exclusively because of the lack of quality of the national program in Britain.

Mt. Everest - pimping a friend.

Last fall, I was flipping through the usual suspect channels for me - Discovery, History Channel, TLC, etc., when I came across a show in the middle of the first episode that looked pretty interesting.

The show was called "Everest: Beyond the Limit".

What attracted me initially was that it promoted itself as the first time cameras had been planned to be brought to the summit of Mt. Everest (video cameras).

For those that don't know what has been going on in recent years, Everest has at once become much more dangerous than in the past, and much more frequently conquered. And the two go hand in hand.

As with so much in this world, money has largely been the culprit. There is a mini industry of expedition leaders, who, for a large sum, will lead a full technological assault on the world's highest peak. Which, btw, is still getting taller every year.

As a result, there are now many more people on the slopes during the spring climbing season, most of whom are not qualified to climb it.

So, many more die. THe worst year was 1998 during which 11 climbers perished (I believed) including the man who was considered to be the world's greatest mountaineer.

You see, near the peak of Everest, you are considered to be in the "death zone". You are so high, that even climbing WITH oxygen masks, your body basically shuts down. You can't eat or drink, so you start to catabolize your own body, and even with the oxygen, many people suffer altitude sickness.

The truth is that most of the fatalities occur on the descent, as what they call "summit fever" the adrenaline of trying to reach the top, gets you there, but then the fact that it is more difficult to descend kills so many.

Anyway, as I was watching this show last year, I noticed that they were featuring one young guy in particular. He seemed a rather boisterous, happy go lucky sort. And as I watched it, I kept saying to myself "I know that guy!!!".

Well, by the second episode, I discovered it was an OLD friend of mine, that I had lost touch with 15 years ago. Tim Medvetz is his name.

Now Tim was an interesting sort. Always just skirting the law so to speak. An outlaw with a perfect credit score as I used to call him.

Tim was my lifting partner back in the old days at the Crunch Fitness on Bleeker Street in Greenwhich village where we used to work out next to Henry Rollins every day.

We were both much larger back then, but Tim is an enormous man anyway. 6'5" and a personality twice that size. As quiet and reserved as I am, he is loud and fun.

One of our other passions was Harley's. The last time I had seen Tim, I had taken a new job consulting for a chain of health clubs and he was going to ride his Softtail Classic to Rio. Which he did.

Seems that he moved to LA and began designing and building motorcycles.

On Sept. 10/11th, 2001 - yes 9/11 - he had a horrific crash on his Harley. The doctors first gave him little chance to live, and then even less of a chance to walk, let alone fully recover.

But recover he did. He made a promise to himself in his hospital bed that should he recover, he was going to climb Everest.

He now walks around with a steel plate in his head, dozens of titanium screws in his legs and a bizarre almost wire mesh waste basket contraption holding his spine together.

Of course, these items tend to get VERY cold in the subarctic temperatures of Nepal, let alone at the summit of Everest.

In addition, the best climbers tend to be small wiry types.

Tim began training after recovering from his accident, eventually summitting every peak around Everest.

And then, last season he began his quest on an expedition that just happened to be the one that was being filmed.

His trials and tribulations along the way made for extraordinary TV, as did the adventures of the other climbers, which included a double amputee, a South African trying to make it without oxygen and several others.

Well, last season, Tim became the star of this show because, despite everything, he's just one of those guys you just... like. He seemed to take over the screen.

At the end, however, he didn't make it. Less than 300 meters from the summit, he was stopped, when one of these less experienced climbers, a woman from another expedition, collapsed with altitude sickness directly in their path.

For several hours they were stuck on slopes of the summit, so close (yet 300 meters to the summit of Everest is 8 hours of hard climbing, to give you an idea of how difficult it is.) yet so far.

Finally, in danger of running out of oxygen, and with his partner beginning to suffer from altitude sickness - showing real signs of loss of cognizance - it's like being drunk or in a little trance - they had to come back down.

Well Tim went back this spring. And the new season begins tomorrow (Tuesday) night on the Discovery Channel.

I can't emphasize enough how riveting they make the climb. Even though it does not begin to cover the difficulties of the trek.

Beware the technogeek!!

I admit, I'm one of those pathetic souls who always has to have the best and newest.

What makes me even more intolerable though, is I actually wait until the second generation is out and then I get it cheaper and with the bugs ironed out. But of course, I have read about, tried it out, fondled it, etc. to no end.

Even worse, I am always in search of the "deal". Whether I grab it on E-Bay or what my latest scam has been, the Costco return.

With my computers, I tend to upgrade them piecemeal, adding peripherals to keep up with the Joneses and then after a few years breaking down and getting something new.

So, when I bought my current Dell, I already had a 15" flat panel that I had purchased for my previous computer.

Well, 15" just wasn't good enough anymore, so I bought a 17". A few months later, I noticed the 19"er's were now the price I had paid for my 17. Since I am a fanatic about keeping receipts and original boxes, returns are rarely a problem. So, I returned it to Costco and got the 19".

Soon, Costco online had a sale on 22"!!!! I returned the 19 and got the 22.

Geez, I now had a computer monitor bigger than the Television my Dad had his entire adult life as a successful NY physician.

But no, not good enough.

I had always known that the technology for LCD TV's would overtake Plasma, and that it was the same technology that was used for the computer monitors.

I knew eventually that they would make the TV's accept multiple inputs, including RGB or computer monitor plugs on the smaller units.

Well that today happened a few months ago.

So, back went the 22" monitor (which I watched TV on anyway b/c I had installed a TV card and DVR in my computer!).

So, with the return of the 22" monitor, I also returned a 160GB portable hard drive I kept my porn on (oops, did I say that??!!) because I noticed that that price had dropped about 50% as well.

So, home came the 27" Flat Panel, Hi Definition HDMI imput TV/Monitor.

But wait, the dang thing wouldn't work right (volume troubles). So after a few tries and 2 returns, I got the GM of the local Costco to give me a $50 credit for my trouble which brings me to my present... drum roll please...

ridiculous, oversized, unnecessary... conspicuous... 32" Vizio Flat Panel, Hi definition computer monitor/TV.

I now watch Hi Def programming on one side and using the PIP can have my computer monitor on the other half of the screen.

Or, I simply never have to worry about the effects of age on my eyesight.

Geez, I can read emails from down the block the darn thing is so big!!

As to Hi Def TV, I have to admit, it is everything it is cracked up to be.

When connected with the new standard, HDMI cables, programming such as sports, or nature, that is televised in Hi Def is simply incredible.

Now, about that I-Phone.... the second generation is out any day now isn't it!!

Sometimes the law works; or - Another positive post about Arnie?

This week, here in the glorious Empire State, NY, governor Eliot Spitzer initiated regulations designed to meet agreements made with 10 other Eastern states to significantly reduce carbon emissions.

As most know, carbon emissions from automobiles contribute only about 12% of the Carbon emissions nationwide. The rest come from a variety of sources.

Here in NY, the auto # is higher, about 25%, but about 25% also come from power stations. That is the target of this recent regulation.

I say kudos to Spitzer and the rest of the governors (of course, the agreement was crafted by his predecessor, George Pataki, who, despite the lefts passionate hatred of him, was very good to the NY environment.)

So what about Governor Schwarzenegger? Well, this week he is going to file a lawsuit against the EPA? Why? In the past, California has led the nation in emissions requirements for automobiles. In order to pass requirements that exceed the EPA's a state needs to have a waiver granted.

For whatever reason, the EPA has refused to grant the most recent waiver. Rather than roll over, Schwarzenegger has said he will sue the EPA to force them to grant the waiver as the Supreme Court has already declared the EPA the purveyor of emissions regulation in the country.

The California emissions requirements are, of course, far more stringent than those nationally.

In this particular case, even better, is the fact that at least 22 states have announced that they will follow California's legislation in this regard.

Currently California requires all new cars to be what are known as LEV (low emission vehicles) with a large percentage of a fleet to also be ULEV and ZEV (Ultra Low and Zero, emissions vehicles).

Finally, as another kudo, NYC's health commissioner has been pushing to require chain restaurants to post calorie and content information about their food. A NY court ruled some time ago that the requirements were too strict with regard to what restaurants would have to do this. So, to satisfy the courts order, the commissioner has altered the legislation to include principally the large chain restaurants.

This legislation should get court review this week, and if it goes as expected be in place shortly thereafter. Good news for those who live in Mickey D's!!

Hillary reassesses the Bush Legacy

As I have often said, one of the things I decry about American politics these days is the simple inability for politicians of either party to ever admit that an opponent has a good idea.

Several years ago, when Bush put the idea of Social Security reform into the public debate, only to go down to an humiliating defeat, I said to my friends that he would be remembered by historians as the President that finally made this critical issue part of the public debate.

The Democrats ridiculed him and used this issue to help them win the midterm elections.

So, last week Hillary Clinton proposed individual 401K plans for every American, kicking it off with a $1000 donation from the government.

Strange, but I don't hear the democrats screaming about her sacrificing the futures of the American people.

It is a simple recognition that a program whose purpose was to help a depression torn country, has passed it's time.

There are several issues such as these that I think will ultimately be viewed quite differently by historians.

Another one, is the idea of unilateralism. That America should act to protect itself pro actively rather than defensively.

That this was ever debated is one of the reasons that I think the modern Democratic party is so lost on foreign policy.

Every nation in the world acts this way. That a President actually had to enumerate this as a policy that changed America's course was pathetic enough, and indicative of our foreign policy gone wrong. This was simply returning to the basic idea of the entire purpose of a nation state - to protect it's citizens.

More importantly, both of these ideas are simply examples of why, even when you find yourself on the other side of the proverbial aisle, it is so foolish to universally reject the opposing parties policies.

Microstamping....

This post is liable to send those who have pegged me a conservative into paroxysms of shock.

Governor Schwarzenegger of California, earlier this month, signed into law a bill in his state requiring all semiautomatic weapons to be engraved with microstamping.

What is microstamping you ask? It is microscopic etching of identifying information on various parts of a gun, in particular the hammer, which leaves these marks on the bullet.

Obviously, this allows any bullet fired from a microstamped gun to be traced back to the weapon from which it was fired.

Why is this important? Current statistics say that 40% of all homicides in the US go unsolved every year.

A large portion of those are committed with semi automatic weapons, in particular hand guns.

OK, here's the part where you will all faint.

I have long believed that not only should all weapons be banned, but that even the manufacture of weapons should be banned. The only manufacturers that should be allowed are those licensed to produce weapons for the various military, law enforcement agencies, etc. and other weapons requirements.

What about the 2d amendment you ask? Well, the 2d amendment is perhaps one of the most commonly misread and misinterpreted amendment to the constitution. Second only to the "separation of church and state" (More about that one in another post).

The 2d amendment concerns itself with militias and included in that discusses the right of people to keep and bear arms. Why? Because militias of that period were principally composed of private citizens.

Be that as it may, this won't happen, so back to microstamping.

There is now, currently a bill being crafted in Congress to reflect the California bill. More in favor of it, I could not be.

What is amazing is that the NRA, among others, lobbied with millions against the California bill.

What in the hell are these people thinking? This form of ID'ing does absolutely nothing to infringe on this imaginary 2d amendment right, it simply gives law enforcement a better chance of catching criminals using new guns, falling under the requirement.

I generally abhor single issue politics and this is a prime example. The NRA is simply one of the the most nefarious, destructive influences in this country. Not to mention just about the most powerful lobbying organization in the country.

If, and when, this bill appears, write your congressman/woman in support of it.

Back from the (near) dead

My dear friends, I apologize for not responding on blogs the past week, and for no new posts, despite the voluminous activity in the international arena, and on our domestic political front.

I had a rather unfortunate health scare this week.
I had been on blood thinners, and I scraped my esophagus which caused me to bleed. I lost a significant amount of blood (estimated at between 4 and 5 pints) internally and have spent this week in the CCU.

I'm back though, and over the next week or so hope to catch up on all of your wonderful blogs, and post new articles here.

Sandy Berger and the mysteries of the Clinton's

Hilary Clinton has begun assembling her foreign policy team.

Not surprisingly it looks just like Bill's. Or should I say exactly like Bill's.

What is shocking, and dismaying, is the fact that included among these is Sandy Berger, Bill's former National Security Advisor.

During his tenure, I had no problem, necessarily, with Berger.

Bill Clinton accomplished zero, and I mean, zero, during his presidency. I am willing to concede it may have had to do with Monicagate. But, it was clearly not a real interest of his.

I am no fan of Madeline Albright, who Hilary has also brought back, but all of the people she is using, with the exception of Berger, fall in the mainstream.

So what is wrong with Berger.

Well, flash back 2 years. The 9/11 commission. Bill Clinton appointed Berger to be his representative to the committee.

As such, he needed to go to the top secret documents housed at the National Archives. As a former National Security Director, he had the highest security clearances available to a private citizen.

Berger was caught red handed removing top secret documents from the archives. This is obviously expressly illegal.

Worse, it was discovered that he had destroyed many documents, which, by their nature, are now gone for good.

What damage he did to the commissions findings we'll never know.

What we do know is this. The documents must have been so dangerous to Clinton that Berger plead guilty rather than turn them over, or discuss with investigator's what they were.

As a result of his guilty plea Berger gave up his security clearance and was disbarred.

So Hilary is using as one of her top advisor's a man who cannot even get the lowest level of security clearance and is unable to even practice law. He could not hold a job in the White House as a result of the guilty plea.

This is truly shocking and shows a real lack of judgment to say the least.

The Wonders of DNA

In a fascinating story today, scientists revealed that they had successfully extracted DNA from the fossilized remains of Neanderthals.

As a backdrop: while it was originally postulated that Neanderthals were predecessors of modern man, in the last few decades it has come to be accepted that in fact, homo sapiens and Neanderthals were peers, that they existed at the same time, but that Neanderthals, who were better suited to life in the previous ice age, suffered as the earth warmed, finally dying out roughly 30,000 years ago.

However, the prevailing belief had been that one of the factors that made homo sapiens successful in the evolutionary sense the gene FOXP2, which is considered the basic gene for speech.

However, the scientists in Germany have now determined that the Neanderthals possessed this gene as well.

Interesting work has been done with this gene. There are current studies in which it has been given to mice. The rodents do not develop speech, however they make distinctly different sounds than those without the gene.

Perhaps even more fascinating is the fact that the scientists stated that they would soon be able to map the entire Neanderthal DNA.

What the ultimate meaning of the discovery is, is most likely this. Initially it was thought that Neanderthals and humans separated approximately 200-250,000 years ago, evolutionarily.

The new evidence indicates that they must have split perhaps as much as 100,000 years earlier than that.

So, the question becomes who was our common ancestor?

The concept of the original split derived because it was believed that after the split, humans developed this gene. Now, the realization is tht the split occurred after this gene was developed.

Isn't science amazing?

Nukes in Syria

Approximately a month ago, a squadron of Israeli fighter bombers left on a covert mission, destination Syria.

The route they took, had them flying directly into Turkish airspace. Clearly, they had received covert permission from the Turks for this maneuver.

In the quiet of the early morning, the Israeli's unleashed their payload, and safely returned home.

Little was known of the mission, and, in an highly unusual move, the Israeli Military censor forbade any release of information.

The United States government also knew of the raid, and said nothing. No information was given about the target, the purpose, etc.

Strangely, the only government to officially protest the Israeli action was not an Arab country, none of which said anything about the Israeli intrusion into Syrian airspace, but rather North Korea.

Fairly qucikly information did in fact leak out. The Israeli's had bombed a nascent Syrian nuclear installation, what was to be an exact replica of the North Korean facility that is now using the spent fuel rods of their nuclear energy plants to produce the enriched uranium for the production of nuclear warheads.

The Syrians, additionally, are generally accepted to have among the most advance missile systems in the region, having purchased the latest in Russian short and medium range missile technology.

The combination of these two factors made the message clear. The Syrians were the latest rogue state looking to produce short and medium range nuclear weapons.

Interestingly, the lack of protest from the rest of the Arab world clearly indicated that they were as afraid of the development as the Israelis and the Americans.

It seems the Bush administration, as a result of the quagmire in Iraq, felt powerless to do anything.

In the last few days, all of this has been confirmed, principally by leaks in the American press.

Muhammed al Dura

Many of you are undoubtedly unfamiliar with the name above but will remember the incident with which he is associated.

What is known as the "second intifada" or, according to the so called Palestinians, and Yassir Arafat, "The AL Aqsa Intifada" began after Ariel Sharon announced his intention to visit the Temple Mount.

This was before Sharon became Prime Minister, and in fact, was a political move to get his name back in the public eye for the next election, which of course, he won.

The Temple Mount is Israeli territory, but Israel granted religious authority over it to the Muslim Waqf, or commission, that had been in place before the Six Day War, even after the freeing of Jerusalem, in order to both demonstrate its commitment to religious equality and freedom and as an offering of good faith.

At various times non Muslims have not been allowed up there by the Waqf. I have been lucky enough to have been there and been in the Dome of the Rock.

Sharon's visit ignited a firestorm. It started immediately with so called Palestinians raining rocks down on the Jewish worshippers at the "Kotel" or Wall, below the mount.

Riots broke out all over Israel, Gaza and the West Bank territories. Violence was endemic as the peace loving so called Palestinians protested a Jews right to be there. After all, according to the Muslim world, there never was a temple there, so no 10 commandments, no Kings David or Solomon, no Jesus and the money changers, etc. Strange, as these men are all considered prophets by the Quran, but lets not quibble over facts, shall we?

In the most famous incident, France 2 television broadcast what was supposedly the worst horror. A young boy, Muhammed Al Dura, was supposedly caught in crossfire between IDF troops and rioting Palestinians.

He ans his father were allegedly shot, and the boy killed.

Later, there were scenes of mass mourning and rioting over this incident, and video of Al Dura's funeral was shown.

As is ALWAYS the case when civilians are killed the IDF initiated an investigation.

Initially, they were reticence to announce the results of their investigation. Why? Because it revealed that Al Dura could not have been killed by Israeli bullets (no autopsy is allowed by Muslims). He was not in a position to be exposed to Israeli gun fire, which may not have even been present at this particular scene. But the IDF position, in a building several hundred yards from where Al Dura and his father sat, supposedly cowering, was not even visible from the IDF post.

So, the IDF was in a difficult situation. Reveal the results of it's investigation and continue the incredible violence that had erupted over the incident, having no one believe them anyway, or obfuscate and simply state that they did not believe that it could have happened but that they would ensure that it would never happen again.

The rioting, and suicide bombers continued to overwhelm Israel until the combination of the initial building of the fence, targeted assasinations, the death of Arafat and the election of Sharon as Prime Minister.

During this time however, an interesting phenomena was being noted by media watchers in the region.

It became known as "Pallywood".

The initial incident that caused some in the press to question Palestinian versions of events was among the most comical.

During what was supposed to be a funeral procession, the men carrying the pyre were so involved in their acting grief stricken that they dropped the allegedly dead body. Since they were being filmed by a press helicopter, they panicked and ran.

Imagine the surprise of all involved when the corpse also panicked, got up and ran away. A Miracle!!

As investigators looked further into these incidents, and alleged Israel atrocities, more and more of these staged events came out.

So finally, the events surrounding the Al Dura incident began to come to life.

It turned out, others, besides the France 2 cameraman had taken footage of the incident. What was seen on this footage was strange to say the least.

First, was a similar incident to the funeral that I just mentioned. Here, a man was being evacuated to an ambulance after supposedly being shot in the leg. He strangely uses this leg by climbing off the stretcher, to get into the ambulance, and then is seen again later in the video, back in the "crowd" (extras) running around with no sign of injury.

Just before the Al Dura incident, there is video of what looks like a director yelling for various "takes" of the crowd running, and a man firing machine gun bursts into a hole which would later be seen directly behind Al Dura and his father's position. IF that were the case, the Israelis would have been in position behind the so called Palestinians, not in front firing at Al Dura.

The video then shows that same area with this crowd laughing and milling around moments after this "firefight".

There is also the usual suspect of ambulances seeming to be ever present at what was supposed to be a spontaneous outbreak of violence. Ready at a moments notice to pick up "victims". Of course, once filled with the supposedly injured, they never actually go anywhere, but rather the "victims" get out so that they can be in the next "scene" and the ambulance is at the ready for the next take.

There are numerous other incidents on the videos that were also obviously staged.

Additional footage from the France 2 camerman was obtained and it appeared to contain much the same staged events.

It was then discovered that the camerman, like most "journalists" who provide the stories that you read about, was not an employee of France 2, but rather a freelancer well known for these fabrications.

Israel did not press the issue, feeling that they could not win in the court of public opinion. Even when the boy that was allegedly Muhammed Al Dura was seen alive. And no proof that there was ever anyone of this name.

Now, many years later, an interesting law suit in France is reaching it's conclusion.

An allegation against France 2 received support in the French courts. The Justices hearing the case have now ordered France 2 to release the raw footage shot that day to the justices for review.

They have, to now, found against the station.

The only problem is that the justices may be unaware of the fabrications of the camerman and may not be able to pick them up (I admit that upon first viewing it is difficult as it is a staged gun battle with a lot of people running and screaming. It is only when you look that you see these things).

However, it is an indication that they do believe France 2 was complicit in a fabrication.

In addition, Israel has now finally stated unequivocally that the IDF had no involvement in the boys death. If there was indeed a death.

Hooray for Pallywood, hooray for Pallywood...

AL Qaeda in Sudan, from MEMRI

Following the uncovering of an Al-Qaeda cell in Khartoum, columnist Muhammad Hassan Al-Ahmad, a former editor of several Sudanese dailies, wrote in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that it is the conduct of the Sudanese government that has encouraged Al-Qaeda to infiltrate Sudan. The government, he wrote, has been spreading extremist propaganda and inciting jihad as part of its campaign against the deployment of international forces in Darfur, and it is this atmosphere that has inspired Al-Qaeda to operate in Sudan.

The following are excerpts from the article: ( 1 )


"Sudan has [recently realized] the danger posed [to it] by Al-Qaeda when the Interior Minister announced the arrest... of a [terrorist] cell that had been stockpiling weapons, ammunition and explosives in three hideouts in different parts of the capital. The minister said that the group had [operated under] the slogan of 'preventing foreign intervention [in Sudan].'The press reported that the explosives captured [in the hideouts] bore the name 'Ayman Al-Zawahiri,' [bin Laden's] number two man, and that some of them also bore the name 'Al-Qaeda between the [Blue and White] Niles [i.e., in Sudan],' and the words 'a present from Al-Qaeda.'

"[Following the exposure of the Al-Qaeda cell], the government asked the relevant authorities – the local media, the education institutions, and the authorities [in charge of] religious indoctrination – to conduct an open and honest dialogue with the youth in order to eradicate extremism in society.

"But this call came too late, because unfortunately, for over a year now, the state media and the most senior figures in the regime have been conducting an ongoing indoctrination [campaign], which included [incitement] to wage jihad against the international forces that are to be deployed in Darfur. It is noteworthy that the army and police force have held mass rallies in which they pledged to [wage] jihad against the international forces, and [even more so] against the '[foreign] agents' and 'traitors' who had supported the deployment of international forces in Darfur. The leaders of this campaign were [Sudanese] President [Omar] Al-Bashir, the defense and interior ministers, and the head of the security forces.

"The most serious fact of all is that some of the statements by those who spread this propaganda were aimed at intimidating the international community, by hinting that if international forces are deployed in Sudan, Al-Qaeda would immediately arrive there as well. Al-Qaeda, [for its part], did not hesitate to exploit this propaganda, and immediately began to warn against the arrival of the [international] forces, and announced that it was willing to fight the infidel forces and defeat them.

"A stream of bombastic announcements began to appear in the media, issued by religious jihad groups which, as a rule, are only encountered during the hours devoted to [programs of] religious preaching. These announcements all called for jihad and threatened the U.N. – to the extent that U.N. personnel in Sudan, especially in Khartoum, began to feel frightened. The government, instead of reassuring the U.N., made things worse by expelling [Jan Pronk], the organization's top representative in Sudan, from the country, on accusations of interfering in Sudan's affairs. [The expulsion was ordered] after [Pronk] wrote in his blog that Sudanese forces had suffered defeat in a battle with rebels which took place in Darfur while he was [visiting] the region.

"Now the government has woken up to the danger posed to the state by Al-Qaeda, and has asked the media, and the religious and educational authorities, to conduct an open and honest dialogue with the youth in order to eradicate extremism in society. This call is justified, but we think that the government should... first of all direct it to those among its members who are still riding the wave of [extremist] propaganda despite the discovery of the [terrorist] sleeper cells.

"This applies especially to the defense minister, who held a press conference in which he welcomed the [deployment of an] international force, but then immediately began to threaten the international community. [He said that] he could expel [from the country] whomever he wishes – mentioning [as an example] the precedent of Jan Pronk – and declared that no force would [be allowed to] operate on the ground [in Darfur] except the African forces...

"What the government must do is set an example... by restraining the statements and positions of its members, which frequently contradict one another. As for the education and religious authorities, the government must order the education and religious affairs ministries to examine the [academic] and religious curricula, in order to make sure that they contain no extremism or incitement to violence. Radio and television broadcasts must also be examined, in order to reduce the amount of religious content, which far exceeds the appropriate level in some programs. As for the press, I believe that it is generally free of calls to violence.

"However, when it comes to the [various non-governmental] organizations, I think that the government must review the long list of organizations with religious names... and look into their identity, their plans, and their activities, in order to ensure that they do not incite to violence or support it, directly or indirectly.

"It was clear to everyone that the slogans found in the [Al-Qaeda] cell's possession were slogans against foreign intervention in Sudan, and that they [were inspired by] the clamorous government campaign against the international forces. A responsible government would not have declared war on the international community vis-à-vis such a controversial issue that has nothing to do with an attack on Sudan, or with any conspiracy against it – [contrary to what] the government initially claimed.

"It is unworthy for the government to evoke conspiracy theories to explain all its conflicts with other elements. The government seems to suffer from a complex called 'international forces [mania],' since it won't stop talking about the [U.N.] Security Council resolution, about how it [managed to] remove explosive articles [in the resolution] and articles that had been inserted [into it] as part of a plot to harm Sudan's sovereignty, and other such tales – all intended to justify its earlier clamoring [against the deployment of the international forces]. But the government has not taken into account that this approach encourages the belligerent slogans against the foreign intervention that are spread by the sleeper cells – slogans that [the government] is now trying to suppress.

"The crucial point is that Al-Qaeda has already arrived in Sudan. The question now is: do we have a way out? The government must hasten to find a peaceful resolution to the Darfur [crisis], and to resolve its differences with the [Democratic] Popular Front [Army] within the framework of a peace agreement. Above all, [the government] must make serious efforts to achieve national accord, instead of using the Reconciliation Committee, headed by General Siwar Al-Dhahab, as a meaningless banner that can be waved from time to time.

"[The government] must also free the political prisoners, revoke all laws that limit political freedom and freedom of the press, guarantee the holding of general elections on schedule, and ensure that these elections are fair and internationally supervised. [In addition, it must] stop hurling accusations at the international community."

HUH???!!!!

The UN Council on Human Rights recently concluded it's latest session.

As usual it was an anti Israel fest.

However, this year it took an unusual turn. More than just anti Israel, the Council seems to have now decided that the worlds greatest issue is persecution of the Muslim minority. Minority?

Below are some of the incredible statements made on the record by those righteous upholders of human rights that make up this ridiculous body (btw OIC stand for the Organization of Islamic Countries):

Egypt: The offensive publication of portraits of the Prophet Mohamed has highlighted the damage that freedom of speech if left unchecked may lead to, not only hurting the religious feelings of more than a billion people, but also their freedom of religion and their right for respect of their
religion.²

Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC: Terrorist acts carried out by non-state actors, in the name of religion, should be de-linked from religion to ensure freedom of religion for the peaceful followers of that faith.²

Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC: The international community must address the root causes of terrorism, such as the situations of grave injustice and repression involving Muslims, and conditions of poverty and lack of
opportunity, which fuel extremism and terrorism.²

Syria: Freedom of opinion had been utilized to humiliate Islam and to cause hatred and instigate violence.

Bangladesh: Freedom of expression cannot be absolute nor infinite. It must be exercised with respect and responsibility.

Iran: The right to freedom of expression is not absolute.

Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC: Islamophobia is also a crude form of anti-Semitism.

Algeria: There is an upswing in anti-Semitism that now targets Arabs and Muslims.

So, for years there was officially no anti-semitism, now there is anti semitism, except it is only anti Islamic!!!

Right, and the moon is made of cheese.