Security sources have disclosed that the belief amongst most intelligence agencies is that a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attack, using a so-called dirty bomb, is now inevitable.
Today, Palestinian terrorists are claiming they already have.
A roundup of blog reaction and analysis to the SCOTUS decision on Guantanamo. Ed Morrissey thinks we’ll see more terrorists shot on the battlefield.
“…since the notion of having the servicemen who captured these prisoners forced to appear to testify to their “arrest” is not only ridiculous but would require us to retire combat units as a whole whenever their prisoners appear for trial. Congress needs to correct this issue immedately.”
Michelle Malkin has lots too, as expected. More – Andrew Cochran predicts this will turn out to be a “huge political gift to President Bush”.
The American economy, still sputtering along.
The new snapshot of gross domestic product for the January-to-March period exceeded the 5.3 percent growth rate estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The upgraded reading – based on more complete information – matched economists’ forecasts.
The stronger GDP figure mostly reflected an improvement in the country’s trade deficit, which was much less of a drag than previously estimated.
Hill Times;
While the United States sleeps, the unelected Chinese government has publicly stated it is increasing its military budget by nearly 15 percent a year, an eye-opening figure. But the report makes it clear that the true figure is vastly higher: “Estimates place Chinese defense expenditure at two to three times officially disclosed figures.”
Share yours in the comments.
“Ed Morrissey thinks we’ll see more terrorists shot on the battlefield.”
Well that’s a silver lining to this cloud.
But they would be of more use if some were captured and allowed to sing like a houbara bustard.
The reason they weren’t shot to begin with was so they could be interrogated so intel about terrorist attacks can be obtained in the hope of stopping attacks.
I presume it’s never the judges and their families that are attacked or “justice” would look a lot different…
If these terrorist creeps can’t be detained they should be shot before capture.
“An Alberta judge has ruled that a construction company discriminated against a man when it fired him from an oilsands project after his pre-employment drug screening tested positive for marijuana.” via Nealenews
Does this mean that we have to treat the trolls and lefty pot heads as disabled? The world (and Canada) is going to hell in a handbasket.
i would much rather hire a casual pot smoker over a booze guzzling, impaired driving, wife beating liquorbag…..where’s the test for that?
Here’s a thought for the trolls to chew on.
I believe it was Golda Meir that said words to the effect:
“There will be peace in the Middle East when the Palestinians love their children more than they hate the Jews.”
Well, in the United States (and Canada for that matter)…
There will be (political) peace (and quite possibly peace in the Middle East) when the Leftists/Marixists/Moonbats love their country (and their children and others’ children) more than they hate George W. Bush.
Doug, do you mean when they AGREE with Bush?
loving your children means having them used as cannonfodder? I think not.
Now if Bush et al would go to the front lines(not secretly but ready for battle) and lead by example I may rethink my statement–until then–why are my children less important than those of Bush or other ‘leaders’?
Sounds like there gearing up for a war to me.
Taiwan anyone? With all out internal problems & traitors operating openly. I figure they think where to weak to defend ours, or anyone else’s interests.
If I where Japan I would be spending fast & hard on the military. Its pretty plain where in a war era now.
The fact 30 % of Chinese will be male with a corresponding lack of Women is scary enough. Add in a young military with no sexual outlet is terrifying.
Plus they may think we will never be this ripe , to take what they believe is there’s. This while we allow Natives to act like terrorists & in the US there are folks who would rather see America die & be under the Chinese boot. Socialism must increase is the rallying cry.
George,
That was more of the more stunted and asinine comments I’ve seen.
George W. Bush is not an infantry soldier. Neither a head of state nor a general usually sees the front line. This is just the way it is. It’s childish to state that you have to lead the charge “over the top” to have legitimacy.
And for the record, you wouldn’t have to sacrifice so many “children” (and I’m sure the battle-hardened soldiers who make up the military really appreciate being called children) if the west didn’t have to walk on eggshells while fighting. In the past, if there was a choice between minimizing civilian death and minimizing the deaths of your own soldiers the civvies be damned. Now the west sacrifices its own on behalf of ungrateful enemy civilians.
How noble.
How the left remains unmoved.
How the left remains unworthy of the sacrifices of its warriors.
Warwick: Yes, and a variant of marxist thinking, i.e., the workers create all the value, the capitalists and entrepreneurs’ returns are stolen from the labourers.
It is a truly stupid infantile argument.
The other one I like is “Would you SEND your son or daugher into battle” notwithstanding they have to be legal adults to be accepted, and parents have no power to SEND them anywhere, least of all into battle if they don’t want to.
Can anyone tell me why Omar Kadr should be brought back to Canada from Getmo when he is charged with killing an American Medic in a forign country. I would think that this peice of s#1t should be held accountable in the home state of the soldier that he killed. If his lawyer is succesful this clown would probably be waliking our streets compliments of some leftie judge.
And to further George’s education: there is a lot less mortality on today’s modern battlefield by US soldiers than wars past because of smart weapons systems. The cannon fodder hyperbole doesn’t cut it.
Grasshopper, perhaps Palestinians need to AGREE less with Hamas and Hezbollah. Ya think? I mean, a thirty year relationship with them and what has it gotten them? Clean water, modern infrastructure, a high tech industry, good hospitals, full employment, modern agriculture? The idiots walked from the Oslo Accords. How dumb was that! That’s a long time to be losers, especially when you’ve had fat subsidies from other Arab countries, and keep blaming Israel.
penny – I don’t blame the Palestinians for rejecting the Oslo Accord. It didn’t recognize a Palestinian state, didn’t deal with borders, land rights and use of resources. It was merely an agreement to allow a municipal style of self-governance in the Palestinian areas. Not national governance, for Israel would retain all rights in those areas – eg border definition, resources, defence. Just municipal gov’t. That’s not a Palestinian state, but a town within a nation.
With regard to the US Supreme Court’s decision on Hamdan, which states that detainees must be tried in a civil court rather than military tribunals, I think that this shows that the Court hasn’t come to a clear definition of a terrorist, nor of the was on islamic fascism.
Scalia’s dissenting opinion, as always, is ‘right on target’. Scalia notes that on Dec 30, 2005, Congress enacted a law that said that “no court, justice or judge’ ‘shall have jurisdiction to consider the habeas application of a Guantanamo Bay detainee’. Legislatures, after all, make the laws. Not courts.
But, Justice Steven’s has overturned this, which is to say, that EVERY court..before whom a habeas application was pending..can hear it.
As Scalia says, ‘this conclusion is patently erroneous’.
Stevens is defining the terrorists as civilians and saying that a military tribunal cannot hear their petition; it has to be a civil court.
I think a lot of this argument stems from the fact that this new war isn’t between opposing nations and their military forces. It’s completely new. It’s an ideology, which is not held by any one nation. It’s a fascist ideology, coloured by its affiliation with a religion, invested with enormous emotional bonds, and intent on conquering the world by force.
Are they criminals? Are they soldiers? Are they civilians? Stevens is defining them as civilians who might be criminals. Congress was defining them as civilians who are terrorist, and a terrorist is engaged in military offensive actions.
Rising interest rates will prompt the U.S. economy to continue sputtering…more is the pity.
I think you are wrong on that, ET. The Accords were a process, not the final version, understood as that by both sides, to eventually achieve a permanent state for both Israel and Palestine. It was the best deal that had ever been put on the table – land for peace – for the Palestinians. Arafat walked. Keep in mind that there is no law anywhere that says a victorious country at the conclusion of a war, as is Israel’s position, has to give conquered land back. Every major war that Israel has been in was started and lost by the Arabs. Defeat is a bitch. Electing terrorism over any reasonable process is stupid.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/004523.php
Two things about today’s decision. We can legally hold these scum until the end of hostilities. A pretty bleak future for them. As I understand it, we don’t have to try these detainees. They can languish.
Congress will now be forced to legislate that Al Qaida is outside the scope of the Geneva Convention and so it will go until it gets worked out.
Have you read the Oslo accord? It called for a 5 year intermn Palestinian state followed by a permanent one (after more negotiation in the 5 year period). It was the best deal since they rejected UN resolution 181. The Palestinian response to Oslo? MORE TERRORISM. These people are the victimizers not the victims.
I trust you’re being sarcastic there, John.
Yes, I’ve read the Oslo Accords. In my view, the powers given to the Palestinians were effectively municipal; education and culture, health, social welfare, tourism, direct taxation for these issues.
The basic issues were not referred to; namely, refugees, borders, settlements, security, in other words, the very infrastructure of a state was left open.
It wasn’t ‘land for peace’ because no land, ie borders or settlers issues were in the Accord. It was a municipal style of governance in the villages where they were dominant; ie, you certainly wouldn’t have them dealing with those issues in the settlements in the West Bank!
The exact quote is “except: external security, settlements, Israelis, foreign relations, and other mutually agreed matters”. The Palestinian Authority had no say in these issues.
So, I simply am not convinced that this was a constructive offer. The basic issues were, as always, left open to negotiation. And we know that these negotiations tend to go nowhere.
John, no, it made no mention of a Palestinian state. There is no reference, in the Accord, ever, to this phrase. Never. You can’t have a state without borders. It referred only to governance over internal issues, such as education, health, tourism.
With regard to the Supreme Court decision, it muddies the issue. What is a terrorist? A civilian or a military agent? We’ve never really been involved in a war that was based around terrorism.
I don’t mean ‘terrorism’ as a tactic of war, as in Vietnam, as in ‘freedom fighters’ for these involve nations. I mean a military campaign that is not carried out by a nation and its military, but is carried out by a non-national ideology.
I think that the Supreme Court, except for bright lights like the dissenters, Scalia etc, trapped themselves within the old, outdated definition of war. As you say, Penny, Congress will have to move in and legislate on terrorism. But, they already DID legislate, as Scalia points out, and the Supreme Court ignored it.
revnant:
30% male? ie 70% female? wheres the shortage of women? surely you mean 30% MORE males, ie about 60 – 40 split m – f.
this is because of 2 things: ultrasound (whut gender be da fetus) and ‘safe’ abortions: female???? aaggghhh!!!! slice it out !!!!
way to go china !!!
when this happens in india the women get ‘rented’ out for housecleaning, companionship and sex.
Golda Meir. just about the only foreign leader I ever ahd any respect for. except the previously noted Harry S Truman. emphasis on ‘Tru(e)’
also, any word on what the chinese are defending themselves against? ah yes, taiwan. all the more reason for the taiwanese to acquire a couple dozen nukes. maybe at a premium from the n koreans. gotta go down fighting !!! and when the other guy is MUCH bigger than you, its ok to fight dirty.
lets see if this great inflammitory posting gets put on hold. is this blog now part of the cheque clearing system?
Reader Tip via Lady at The Shotgun:
This is brilliant, on a bunch ‘o levels:
http://www.glumbert.com/media/rave.html
We’ve never really been involved in a war that was based around terrorism.
And why I’m not surprised at the SCOTUS decision. It’s the start of legally and legislatively focusing our thinking on the Geneva Accords and their limits in the WOT.
I don’t think Bush lost anything here.
Personally, I think the little raggedy-assed jihadi lost big today. Now his fate will be an increased “shoot rather than capture” policy in the field or rotting in detainment until hostilities cease. The one last terrorist dead! We are talking a life sentence with no parole, poor suckers.
I see your point, penny; I agree that it’s important to change our perspective from the focus on ‘nations’ and their military wars, to a war based around an ideology.
I also took a look at Andrew Cochran’s post, provided by Kate above. He seems to be on the same track, saying that the US legislature will move on this.
So, it can be viewed as a kick-start to a new infrastructure that strengthens the capacity of nations to deal with ideological terrorism.
Another of the unending stream of messages to the nation’s ugly, middle-class, fat, louts from the Elites of Canada.
This one from the “Trans fat task force”. It has 2 chairs; one for trans and the other for fat.
Verdict: You are fat, obese, overweight, fatttt.
Next: The Cuticle/Hangnail Task Force. …-
Trans fat task force set to issue recommendations
CTV.ca – 28 Jun 2006
A federal task force report is to issue recommendations today on whether to impose an outright ban or trans fats in Canada or introduce stricter labelling rules. The Trans Fat Task Force, which was co-chaired … …-
google news
Right now American legislators (particularly on the right — who are in the majority) are desperately looking for some way to get back into our good favor after their abysmal failure dealing with the Mexican border.
That struggle continues.
This will give them an ideal opportunity to rally in concert with the outrage that will automatically be engendered on the part of conservative Americans. There’s a very good chance that this will work very nicely for the right.
In respect to the Red Chinese, the relationship between the US and Red China is always dicey, and the military point/counter-point continually goes on.
However, our technological superiority is still lightyears ahead of theirs irrespective of some of their gains.
I have a friend who up until a short time ago was one of the principals responsible for designing some of our military strategy for one of our services relative to the Red Chinese.
We are definitely in the superior position, and you need to think about the military element that the US uses to project force around the world.
Our capacity to project force, which is not primarily land based, is much more threatening to them than they are to us. You have to read between the lines a little here.
CAIR to Belile: Don’t Do Anything Stupid
Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) issues a veiled threat to Corporal Joshua Belile about releasing another version of his song “Hadji Girl:”
Belile said in a statement Tuesday that he plans to release a professionally recorded version of the song within a few weeks.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which brought Belile’s video to the attention of the Pentagon, cautioned against a release, spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said Wednesday.
“It’s a free country, BUT I don’t know that it’s the wisest choice. I would hope he would seek the advice of levelheaded friends and family and just put this sordid episode to a rest,” Hooper said. ..- via LGF
In reference to Maz2’s note on the Fat Task Force, if I may paraphrase Julia Child: if you’re afraid of trans-hydrogenated fatty acids, just use more butter. Trans fats occur naturally in animal products — primarily in the milk and body fat of ruminants such as cows and sheep — at a level of 2-5% of total fat. Also, you can use more lard too, and you can make trans-hydrogenated fatty acids at home simply by heating high Omega-3 oils, such as Canola, to about 500 F, and then cooling, about 10 times.
Remember, the four food groups are coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and lard.
Vitruvius; and don’t forget Pork Fat Rules down here in the south.
Not to put too fine a point on it, Texas Canuck, but (according to Wikipedia): “Lard is an animal fat produced from rendering the fat portions of the pig.” So, it seems to me that we shall be forced to agree.
I think one of biggest dietary problems we have today is that people don’t take the time to smell their food any more. I mean: stick your face in the plate and inhale deeply. (1) That starts the digestive process by stimulating the production of salivary enzymes important to effective mastication, (2) it’s half the aesthetic value of the food, which if missed will be overcompensated for by excessive consumption, and (3) you’ll never again accidentally take a swig of bad milk.
Oy, all this talk about the nanny state is making me hungry (well, that plus I haven’t eaten for twelve hours; another mistake people make: only eat after you actually get hungry). I think I’ll go fry some potatoes and red onions in lard and serve them with a cream of butter and green onion sauce and some fresh-cracked black pepper, with a little Swiss Appenzeller cheese on the side, a bottle of red wine, and for afters, a cigar, dark Swiss chocolate, salted Cashews, and a glass or two of port.
Mark Steyn has a comment on his blog, with HH, on the Supreme Court decision, and also, the decision on the NY Times deliberate leak of intelligence material.
I still think that a key problem is that the world hasn’t come to terms with a mode of warfare that is not nation versus nation, each with their own military, but is ideology versus ideology. And one of them uses civilians, who have been ‘fanaticized’ (??new word?)as its warriors. The Supreme Court is saying that they are civilians. But if one considers their actions, they are not civilian criminals.
I sometimes think that the left needs another shock; they simply don’t get what is going on in the world at the moment, and postmodern relativism has addled their brains to the extent that they no longer have any capacity to differentiate between good and bad.
I am not the apocalyptic type, and I don’t think that islamofascism can win. The reason is strange; but, it’s because it, as a social, political and economic system, is strictly tribal and cannot sustain an industrial economy and an industrial size population.
Imagine a globe operating like the Taliban. All the women shut in the house. No education for women. The only education for men is scriptures. No science, no technology. It won’t work with a global population of 6 billion.
Wow, thanks for the tip ET, I’d forgot it’s Thursday. Mr. Steyn’s on a roll in this one, not that that’s unusual. Here’s the link, folks: radioblogger.com/images/06-29steyn.mp3
“I think I’ll go fry some potatoes and red onions in lard and serve them with a cream of butter and green onion sauce and some fresh-cracked black pepper, with a little Swiss Appenzeller cheese on the side, a bottle of red wine, and for afters, a cigar, dark Swiss chocolate, salted Cashews, and a glass or two of port.”
Vitruvius, I’m with you on this one. The good news is that I’ve got one of those nanotechnology robot thingys on the drawing board. A couple of tweaks and it’ll be munching through arterial plaque in no time!
Alas, Brian, I shall have no need for your invention. After I explained to my dietician that I smoke, drink, don’t exercise, and eat rich foods, she opened my chart, looked at my blood test results for various lipids, fats, cholesterols, &c, and said to me, “This can’t be you, all these numbers are way better than average”.
I double-checked the labels on the reports, and indeed, it was me. She said, wow, genetics, man.
So you see the problem. The nanny-statists would like to dumb-down our habits to force each of us to the lowest common denominator, no matter our individual potential. If that’s what we want to do, why not shut down the universities because retards can’t do them? Or for that matter, why don’t we shut down the state itself, since at least some of its practitioners have been corrupt?
Let the Chinese “have” Taiwan, I for one am tired of spending our treasure and blood and then getting either sucker punched or kicked in the teeth.
While everyone else was blogging last night, my family and I watched a great “little” movie (two hours long): The World’s Fastest Indian.
For starters, making it more than worth the watch, Sir Anthony Hopkins pretty much carries the film and is in every scene. It’s based on the true story of Burt Munro, a Kiwi, who works passage to L.A. at the age of 68 where he picks up a jaloppy to get his 42-year-old Indian motorbike and himself to the Bonneville Flats where he’s intent on breaking a land speed record. He’s been working on the bike for years to hone its speeding abilities, with next to no resources, just his innate smarts and ingenuity.
‘Talk about David and Goliath. At Bonneville, his bike looks like–is!–a junk-heap compared to the souped-up, stream-lined racers of the other monied competitors. The odds are so stacked against the guy that Munro’s dream of setting a land speed record is ridiculed behind his back and, of course, seems utterly unattainable.
The rest is history. There are some really fine vignettes by actors and actresses you’ve never heard of. It’s a road movie, really, and full of little gems as provincial Kiwi meets America.
The best food is bacon, eggs, sausage, hash and coffee after a night of drinking far too many beers…
With that in mind, it’s gonna be a good long weekend!
If I forget to say it later, Happy Canada Day! Even to our pet trolls who hate our civilization and are trying to destroy it.
Toronto Sun says: Choose your side. The United Church of Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have chosen Muslim Islamist terrorists.
Stand With Israel.
…-
It’s Time To Stand With Israel
The Toronto conference of the United Church yesterday joined the Ontario division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees in calling for economic sanctions against Israel and a boycott of the Jewish state to protest its policies in the Palestinian territories.
Basically, both are calling on Canadians to choose sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Fair enough. We choose Israel, which cannot be expected to negotiate with a Palestinian government led by Hamas, a terrorist group whose founding charter calls not only for the destruction of Israel, but for the annihilation of the Jewish people.
Further, we urge Prime Minister Stephen Harper to continue Canada’s sensible policy of refusing to recognize Hamas and denying it foreign aid until it unequivocally recognizes Israel’s right to exist and renounces terrorism. …-
“While the US sleeps” ?!
Rummy just asked for $500 billion (about half of Canada’s total GDP) for defense, they are fighting two wars halfway around the world, and making noises about Iran, and these guys think the US is “sleeping”?
Geez, I’d hate to see them awake!
Vis a vis the United Church of Canada’s (UCC) latest idiocy:
It’s a funny thing: Every time I type United Church it nearly always first appears on the screen as “Untied” Church. Seeing as I used to write for an Untied (see?) Church publication, I used to type it a lot.
I was always tempted to leave the typo, as it is clear that the United Church of Canada has definitely lost its moorings: It’s untied from reality, definitely from Christianity as it’s been known and practised for the past two millennia, from the Christian Gospels on which the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches were founded–the two churches that amalgamated to form the UCC, in short, from common sense.
The UCC is the church of the lefties, feminists, pro-abortionists, gay rights, anything-goes Christianity. It’s actually spun itself into so many inconsistent, unChristian knots that it’s in an other-worldly orbit with no ties whatsoever to earthy reality, let alone Christian Truth.
The UCC stopped long ago asking “WWJD?”. (“What Would Jesus Do?”) Their questions now are: What would CUPE do? What would CAW do? What would the NAC do? What would Henry Morgentaler do? What would the UN do? What would Osama do?
A Church so untied to its original purpose, which was to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbour as yourself,” and which now worships at the false altars of utilitarianism, rights, and expediency in the guise of “the social Gospel,” will soon spin itself right out of existence, into the deepest, darkest reaches of no-God idiocy and lunacy.
Even the Toronto Star loves the Conservatives’ military procurement plans: “Canada’s military gets more mobile”.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1151617836064&call_pageid=970599119419
And they seem to want some firepower bought.
“The idea being promoted by the new Conservative government is to better configure the Canadian Forces to project force, as well as humanitarian aid, far from our shores. And now that Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor has addressed the mobility issue, he is focusing on buying assault ships, Stryker mobile gun systems and attack helicopters.”
Mark
Ottawa
Did you get an appeal for donations / funds from the LPC in your Email today?
Usually that sort of general request for funds points to one or two positive things or promises that will entice one to donate.
There is no mention of any promise, project, or positive purpose in the Liberal Party appeal.
I have never seen the Liberal Party so far adrift. Leadership seems non-existant. No imagination. No ideas. No hope?
The National Dipstick Party must be rubbing their hands in glee, contemplating no vote splitting in the next election drive. Damn! TG
Nova Scotia signs deal with Encana!
Encana… that name is familiar. It will be forever associated with:
NDP MP P. Nash, former ass’t. to CAW…CAW…CAW…Buzz…CAW… …-
“Mr. Morgan’s comments were deeply offensive, insensitive and out of step with Canadian values,” NDP MP Peggy Nash (Parkdale-High Park) said. “He had the opportunity to withdraw and apologize for his remarks to demonstrate to us his suitability. He refused; so we acted.” NDP.ca
Nova Scotia signs deal with EnCana
HALIFAX (CP) – Nova Scotia’s second offshore natural gas project is back on track with the Conservative government announcing Friday it had signed an agreement that outlines the framework for industrial benefits and royalty agreement with EnCana Corp. via canoe news
I really resent that Liberals think advancing anti-American ideas will lead to success at the polls.
Anti-American themes show up in their latest money appeal newsletter, [today, June 30/06].
===== quote part of the LPC Email ====
and half-hearted subsidies, Mr. Harper is aligning Canadian policy with that of George Bush’s United States.
Which of these Harper policies do you think most aligns Canada with George Bush’s United States?
* Cancelling Canada’s commitment to the Kyoto Accord
* Assigning Fixed Election Dates
* Catering to the NRA-style gun lobby
* Destroying the Kelowna Accord
* Tax increases for the poor, and tax cuts for the rich
* Arming Canada’s Borders
* Bowing to US Softwood Lumber Demands
Seven policies: Seven steps towards a Republican Canada.
It’s time to shine a spotlight on Stephen Harper’s real agenda. More than ever, the Liberal Party of Canada needs your help to defeat this emerging threat.
Here are some ways you can make a difference right now:
1) MAKE A DONATION TODAY to the Liberal Party of Canada
========= End Quote=====
Sorry,
I will never donate to those who bash Generous Good hearted Americans while they hold off Jihadist terrorists bent upon our destruction. TG
BOYCOTT ISRAELI GOODS
Bunch of murdering criminals.
Just because you believe the lies told by the Zionists doesn’t make it true.
Bush got spanked by the Supreme Court, Now let the world spank Israel for their crimes against Hunanity.
http://www.adc.org/tom_hayes.htm
http://www.indymedia.org/en/2006/06/841451.shtml
I would like to see Israel recognize Palestine’s right to exist, end the occupation, and remove all settlements (that’s all settlements). Then, I’d like to see some kind of financial compensation vis-a-vis the ‘right to return’.
The Oslo Accords, remember, didn’t acknowledge a Palestinian State. They were just local municipal self governance over education, culture, health. Nothing to do with the land, resources, economy, boundaries.
Then, I think that the field would be equal. Both sides must acknowledge the other’s right to exist, but both sides must acknowledge a right to exist that is not within poverty. That is, Israel cannot keep the best lands and water for itself.
Fatah, to my knowledge, recognized Israel’s right to exist; Abbas currently repeats that axiom. But Israel has never recognized the Palestinian right to exist, and has instead, occupied and settled the lands set aside for the Palestinians – and has therefore, enabled the development of terrorist groups such as Hamas.
No, I don’t agree that ‘if you conquer someone in war, you keep their land’. That might have been operative in the medieval era when land resources were fought over, it might be operative in tribal regimes for the same reason. But modern warfare involves something else, namely, freedom. WWII was fought over freedom, and the Allies didn’t claim Germany, etc, as ‘their own’ after the war.
I think the only solution in the Israel-Palestinian conflict is for Israel to recognize that the Palestinian people aren’t some peripheral hang-ons of Jordan, Egypt or elsewhere (which doesn’t want to absorb them) but have a legitimate right to land – which they farmed for centuries. Acknowledge this right, acknowledge them as a state, end the occupation, remove the vast settlements – and enable the Palestinians to live and develop themselves. At the moment, they have no land, no farms, no economy – and of course, they turn to terrorism.
TG – I hope you are going to write to the Liberal Party criticizing them for that outrageous newsletter. I am going to – for I object to their relentless anti-Americanism, I object to their lies, I object to their manipulation.
I am strongly pro-American, for their innovation, their democracy, their individualism, their generosity to all in the world, and their courage in fighting islamic fascism all over the world. And I support Bush for his work in these areas.
I am fed up with the Liberal Party, its corruption, its manipulation, its lies. As has been pointed out, they simply haven’t change. How dumb do they think we are? The Kyoto isn’t about pollution, it’s a money laundering scheme.
So what’s wrong with fixed election dates? Because another country likes apple pie, and we like apple pie, is there anything wrong with that? Can’t people come to the same, logical conclusions about the benefits of policies? Next thing we know, the Liberals are going to say that we shouldn’t have elections, because Americans have elections…
Arming Canada’s borders? Good. That means that when a fugitive from the US/Canada, who has a gun, comes to the border, our border guards without guns, won’t leave their posts – as they do now.
I’m writing my letter now.
new kid:
I don’t know how old you are, but I’m 50, and I remember the late, great Flip Wilson (a comedian, for the younger set). He had an on-going routine about the “Church of What’s Happening Now, Baby”.
Apparently, the elders of the United Church (of which I was once a member) were so taken by the concept, they took it as the guiding principle of the church. I married a Catholic, and we are raising our two girls as Catholics.
To me, there’s quite a similarity between Bush and the Catholic church. I don’t necessarily agree with all their values, but I do agree with most of them, and perhaps more important, I have faith that they’re not going to change. The United Church is like John Kerry; every week, they change their minds.
I think it’s important for the institutions that govern our lives, like church and state, have a certain constancy to them. That’s why I like Stephen Harper; I don’t think he’s going to change his mind on the important things very often.
Russia, for centuries, has schemed/thirsted for a presence in the Mediterranean, even as far back in history with the struggle with the Byzantine empire, for control of the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. The Russian Bear is on the prowl, again.
…-
The Syrian Stake (Ruskie Alert)
Kommersant Russian Daily ^ | June 02, 2006 | Ivan Safronov
Russia is dredging the Syrian port of Tartus, where a maintenance station for the Russian Navy is located. Russia is also widening the port at Latakia.That may be evidence that Russia is considering Syria as a base from which to expand its influence in the Middle East. In that case, the maintenance station at Tartus may be converted into a naval base in the future for Black Sea Fleet warships when they are withdrawn from Sevastopol. A Defense Ministry source confirmed those plans for Kommersant. The source said that Moscow wants to form a squadron of ships led by the.. free republic
I’m with you, Kevin B. And I’m OLDER than you, so yeah, I remember the Flip Wilson line!!
The great strength of the Roman Catholic Church is its unchangeableness: It doesn’t let the tail wag the dog. If a truth was worth defending a thousand years ago, it’s worth defending now. Truth does not change, the human heart doesn’t change; human whims change, human understandings change, but God’s truths do not.
So, human beings get their knickers in a knot about the Roman Catholic Church upholding the sacredness of human life from conception to natural birth? “So what?” say the Pope and the RC Church. The RC Church doesn’t take its orders from the latest poll results or from the contrarians and the “progressives” and those who think that they are “evolving” into a species of a higher order than mere humans.
“New age?” asks the Pope and the RC Church? What’s new about it? All new-age beliefs are old heresies which the Church did away with long ago.
As you say, you many not agree with all of the “values” and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, but you and I know that in this ephemeral world, it’s going to hold the moral and spiritual line against all of the desecrations of this present darkness.
new kid:
As you say, the Church doesn’t care about polls. And it realizes that if it starts changing, it runs the risk of becoming as irrelevant as the United Church.
For example, I don’t have any particular problem with the idea of women priests. And I’m sure there are a great many other Catholics who feel the same way. But if the Church caves in on that, how can it resist caving on issues like abortion, gay marriage, etc.?
This is what bothers me about the secular humanists. There is nothing steadfast about them; they change their minds with the latest fad. The only thing they claim to hold sacred is ‘life’ – that is, once you’ve fully emerged from the birth canal. Then, you’re free to murder, rape, and rob without ever having to pay the ultimate price.
Today’s National Post had a story that shows the results of the sec-hum’s valueless philosophy. A young, white Canadian boy went through all the ‘phases’ the sec-hum’s tolerate – punker, goth, Satanist – and spent hours smoking pot and drinking. But after time, the human spirit in him saw that this empty value-free life was not worth living, and he went out desparately searching for something that said “Here is the right way to live, and here is the wrong way”. Unfortunately, he found Islamofascists, and for a time, was tempted to become a terrorist. Luckily, he has put that behind as well, and is now running a support group for new Muslims teaching them that terror is not a part of Islam. But there are thousands, if not millions, of other young people who feel the same emptiness, and who are ready victims for the Islamofascists. That’s the sec-hum legacy.
People have always yearned to know why we are here, what is our purpose, and what is the value of our lives. The sec-hum’s answers: “we’re just a by product of evolution”, “there is no purpose except happiness” – which in itself is not hateful, except that they often equate happiness with pleasure, which has lead to a society that is dripping with drugs and sex, and “the value of your life is the extent to which you value the lives of others more than yours”, which is just obscene.
I will fight tooth and nail to keep my girls out their clutches. The Church may not be perfect, but it’s a damn sight better than the alternative.