Guest Blogged by Winter Patriot
Your cold and humble blogger presents an assortment of clips from the war in Lebanon — and on the home front — since last weekend.
(And NO, I don’t expect you to remember this, because some of it happened before they arrested what’s-his-name? … you know … the guy who claims he … um … well … you know what I mean, don’t you?)
Saturday, August 12, 2006
BBC: Bush links Hezbollah and ‘plot’
“They kill civilians and American servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they deliberately hide behind civilians in Lebanon. They are seeking to spread their totalitarian ideology.”
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US officials say that if the plan had not been foiled, the subsequent attacks would have been the worst since those on Washington and New York on 11 September 2001.
Since the 2001 attacks, Mr Bush has said that the US is engaged in a global war on terror.
He says that as well as intelligence efforts to foil terror plots against US civilians, the ongoing military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq are part of that same battle, as is Israel’s conflict with Lebanon.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Zaman Online [Turkey]: Israel Undertakes Last Minute Attacks: 11 Dead
At least 11 civilians were killed in Israeli air strikes that were carried out while the Israeli cabinet voted to approve the U.N. resolution already approved by the Lebanese government.
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Hezbollah says it will stop fighting only when the last Israeli soldier has left the country.
Israel stepped up its attacks on the eve of the U.N. cease-fire deal.
Israeli aircraft attacked targets in more than 50 villages and towns, Lebanese security sources said, and bombs targeted civilian buildings and homes in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israeli aircrafts bombed Beirut’s southern Dahiye neighborhood destroying eight buildings and a mosque in two minutes.
The fighting between Hezbollah guerillas and the 30,000 Israeli troops in southern Lebanon continued Sunday.
Monday, August 14, 2006
National Post [Canada]: Shaky UN truce holds as Hezbollah claims victory
Although stuck for hours at a time in traffic trying to work its way around bomb craters and wrecked bridges, the mood of the human tide was festive.
Some travelers carried Hezbollah’s flags with its assault weapon logo, while others placed photos of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the windshields of their cars and shouted their love for the cleric to anyone who would listen.
On Monday, Nasrallah appeared on television across the Arab world to boast of a “strategic and historic victory, without exaggeration, for all of Lebanon.”
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U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking in Washington on Monday, said Hezbollah had “suffered a defeat,” because southern Lebanon was now going to be policed by Lebanese troops and a much stronger international force.
Israeli generals on Monday also met with Lebanon’s and UN military commanders to discuss how and when 30,000 Israeli troops would pull out of southern Lebanon.
Monday, August 14, 2006
UPI: Analysis: Lebanon — heroes and villains
In truth, neither side came out of this conflict really victorious, but then again, neither are they defeated.
Of the two protagonists, Hezbollah comes out of the fight looking better, having resisted the might of the Israeli army for an entire month. In June 1967 it took Israel six days to defeat the combined armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. And it took Israel 18 days to turn the tables on Egypt and Syria after the two Arab countries launched a surprise attack on the Jewish state on Yom Kippur in October 1973.
Hezbollah accepted the cease-fire because despite resisting the Israeli invasion and putting up a stiff fight for 31 days in a string of villages along the border — Khiam, Bint Jbeil, Maroun el Ras and others — and having fired close to 4,000 rockets into Israel, it is questionable just how much longer the Shiite militia, considered a terrorist group by Israel and the United States, could resist. Hezbollah has undoubtedly suffered heavy casualties among its fighters, though the group has not revealed exact numbers
Hezbollah can be blamed for the savage retaliation by Israel that caused much of the tatters in which Lebanon`s infrastructure lies today. The country`s bridges, roads, power plants have been destroyed, its economy set back some 20 years; a promising tourist season — one of Lebanon`s primary sources of income — lost.
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While Israel can also claim victory, overall, it`s a shallow one. Israel had intended to break Hezbollah`s back and humiliate the Shiite militia for having largely been responsible in bringing about Israel`s withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000, something Israeli politicians and particularly its military were not about to quickly forget, or forgive.
Overall, Israel came short of achieving its intended goal, that of crushing Hezbollah. A war that was meant to last a few days dragged into more than four weeks with the military suffering a high rate of casualties and heavy loss of equipment. Not to mention that nearly 1 million Israelis had to be evacuated from the north of the country to escape Hezbollah`s daily deluge of rockets, incurring a huge economic drain on the country.
Finally, for Israel, it sets a dangerous precedent. The country that was once seen as the unbeatable Goliath in the Middle East has suddenly become mortal.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
BBC: ‘Blame war’ looms for Israel leaders
It will be a war of recriminations and blame, but it will also be a struggle to determine the true lessons of the fighting in Lebanon.
It is a struggle from which few of Israel’s political or military leaders may emerge unbruised.
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The analysis of what went wrong and what went right has already begun in the Israeli press.
But this is only a prelude to what may come. There is a long tradition in Israel of searching, full-scale inquiries into national setbacks.
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Professor Shai Feldman, director of the Crown Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University, is a leading commentator on Israeli affairs and has spent most of the conflict in Israel.
“A full-scale judicial inquiry,” he believes, “is more likely than not.” But, one way or another, he says that the Olmert government’s handling of this crisis is going to come under huge scrutiny.
Any inquiry, says Prof Feldman, will not be about the principle of a strong response to the initial Hezbollah attack.
For that, there remains a strong consensus. But he sets out a range of searching questions for which, he believes, there will need to be answers.
What exactly did Israel’s military chiefs tell their political masters about what could be expected from an air assault against Hezbollah? When, a week or so into the conflict, air power was not halting the missile fire, why was the leadership’s learning curve so steep?
And why, he asks, when limited ground operations proved equally ineffective was the decision to mount a major offensive taken only a short time before a likely cease-fire?
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Times Online [UK]: Israel begins its search for a scapegoat
Ehud Olmert faced down a rowdy special session of the Knesset to answer critics who attacked his handling of the four-week war against the Lebanese militia.
Mr Olmert rounded on his attackers, hailing the UN Security Council’s resolution a success that would change the face of the Middle East and end a “state within a state†in Lebanon.
But even as the guns fell silent the barrage of criticism faced by the Prime Minister failed to subside, with growing demands for an inquiry into the military and diplomatic conduct of the crisis.
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Few were optimistic that the ceasefire would last, and there was much anger directed at Mr Olmert’s Government for failing to deliver on promises to eradicate Hezbollah’s missile threat, and for its conduct of the war.
“A ceasefire is necessary because the army has not managed to defeat Hezbollah militarily, but they failed because of the Government, not the army,†said Ishai Michael, 23, a computing student crowded into a shelter with fractious children, elderly women and Russian immigrants too poor to move south.
“I blame the Prime Minister and Defence Minister. Olmert doesn’t know how to organise an army — in the beginning he put all his hopes on the air force, then he called up the reserves too late.†Analysts believe that Mr Olmert and his Government face a rocky ride as the fighting subsides and reservist soldiers return home.
“I think politically he’s in trouble,†Professor Ephraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, said. “The whole war was mismanaged, in setting political goals and military strategy. It’s clear it was no great victory. Hezbollah fired 4,000 rockets and were only stopped by a ceasefire.â€
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
NYT: First the Truce, Then the Test of How Long It Can Last
One of the key questions to be answered by that conflict was neatly reflected in the ruined setting Mr. Fadlallah chose.
Will ordinary Lebanese come to agree with him, or will they ultimately blame Hezbollah for attacking Israel and thus bringing about the destruction of so many buildings, roads, bridges and lives?
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Haaretz [Israel]: Assad: Future generations will find a way to defeat IDF
“The resistance is necessary as much as it is natural and legitimate,” he said. Assad said this war revealed the limitations of Israel’s military power.
The Syrian leader also railed against the United States and moderates in Lebanon, declaring that the way to victory is via resistance to occupation, and “support for the resistance creates deterrence against aggression.”
Assad spoke at a conference of the Syrian Press Association, and his statements were often interrupted with enthusiastic applause.
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Assad said that the United States’ plan for a “new Middle East” has collapsed after what he described as Hezbollah’s success in fighting against Israel, and warned Israel to seek peace or risk defeat in the future.
“They should know that they are before a historic crossroads. Either they move toward peace and the return of [Arab] rights, or they move in the direction of continued instability until one generation decides the matter,” he said. Assad defended Hezbollah, and criticized a UN cease-fire resolution for holding the Syrian-backed militant group responsible for the violence. “Israel is the one who is responsible,” he said. He added that Israel’s supporters in Lebanon – an allusion to the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority in Beirut – also bear responsibility.
During the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces surrounded Beirut within seven days of invading, he said. “After five weeks, it [Israel] was still struggling to gain several hundred meters of ground.”
Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier canceled a trip to Syria in protest of Assad’s vociferous attack and statements, calling the speech a “negative contribution that is not in any way justified in view of the current challenges and opportunities in the Middle East.”
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
AP | Sydney Morning Herald: Hezbollah holds ‘banner of victory’
Tehran and Damascus may be the biggest winners from the 34 days of fighting in Lebanon, buoyed by the ability of their protege, Hizbollah, to withstand Israel’s punishing assaults – and the new, widespread popularity of the guerrillas across the Middle East.
Hezbollah has been left hampered by the war’s resolution: The Lebanese army and international troops are to deploy in southern Lebanon, undermining the guerrillas’ domination of the territory and its ability to attack Israel.
But the Shi’ite Muslim movement appeared to be strengthened inside Lebanon – and Syria and Iran ridiculed US hopes for eliminating the guerrillas and belittled Israel’s high-tech military as useless against Hizbollah.
“The Middle East they (the Americans) aspire to … has become an illusion,” Syria’s Bashar Assad said in a speech in Damascus.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
NYT: Hezbollah Leads Work to Rebuild, Gaining Stature
“The government may do some work on bridges and roads, but when it comes to rebuilding houses, Hezbollah will have a big role to play,†he said. “Nasrallah said yesterday he would rebuild, and he will come through.â€
Sheik Nasrallah’s speech was interpreted by some as a kind of watershed in Lebanese politics, establishing his group on an equal footing with the official government.
“It was a coup d’état,†said Jad al-Akjaoui, a political analyst aligned with the democratic reform bloc. He was among the organizers of the anti-Syrian demonstrations after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri two years ago that led to international pressure to rid Lebanon of 15 years of Syrian control.
Rami G. Khouri, a columnist for The Daily Star in Beirut, wrote that Sheik Nasrallah “seemed to take on the veneer of a national leader rather than the head of one group in Lebanon’s rich mosaic of political parties.â€
“In tone and content, his remarks seemed more like those of a president or a prime minister should be making while addressing the nation after a terrible month of destruction and human suffering,†Mr. Khouri wrote. “His prominence is one of the important political repercussions of this war.â€
Defense Minister Elias Murr said Tuesday that the government would not seek to disarm Hezbollah.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Times Of Oman: War ends …. but not Israeli threats
“If the international community decides to ignore Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm it means that sooner or later we will return to war,†the official said.
UN Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the month-long fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, calls for the deployment of the Lebanese Army and a multinational force in south Lebanon as well as Hezbollah’s disarming.
“If the international community ignores a violation of the resolution, we would be forced to react,†the official added.
Although it has accepted the ceasefire deal that came into effect on Monday and silenced its guns, Hezbollah has made it clear it would refuse to give up its weapons.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
USA Today: Rice: Not U.N.’s job to disarm Hezbollah
That “political agreement” will be the responsibility of the Lebanese, Rice said in an interview with USA TODAY. In the past, the Lebanese government has been unwilling or unable to disarm Hezbollah, a movement that is now part of the government itself. A United Nations resolution on the books since September 2004 has called for all Lebanese militias to disarm.
“I don’t think there is an expectation that this (U.N.) force is going to physically disarm Hezbollah,” Rice said. “I think it’s a little bit of a misreading about how you disarm a militia. You have to have a plan, first of all, for the disarmament of the militia, and then the hope is that some people lay down their arms voluntarily.”
If Hezbollah resists international demands to disarm, Rice said, “one would have to assume that there will be others who are willing to call Hezbollah what we are willing to call it, which is a terrorist organization.”
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Toronto Star: Israel warns ‘war is not over’
“This war is not over yet,” Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told reporters at the United Nations yesterday.
The Israeli chief of defence staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, also said Israeli troops would remain in southern Lebanon until a robust multinational force arrived, even if that took months.
The Lebanese cabinet yesterday approved a plan to deploy its army to the south of the country starting today, a key point in the UN-brokered agreement, which ended 34 days of fighting, but there are no plans to use that army to try to disarm Hezbollah.
Officials of the Shiite militia told reporters in Lebanon yesterday that they had no intention of disarming but would melt into the population and not flaunt their weaponry, much as they had before.
They also said the Lebanese army had agreed not to diligently search for Hezbollah weapons caches.
Friday, August 18, 2006
BBC: Olmert ‘suspends’ withdrawal plan
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Mr Olmert was elected on a platform of withdrawal from some of the West Bank, while tightening Israel’s hold on large settlements and the Jordan Valley.
The BBC’s Bethany Bell in Jerusalem says the development comes at a time when support in Israel both for the withdrawal and for Mr Olmert’s government appears to be slipping.
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Speaking on Israel army radio the housing minister Meir Shetreet confirmed the report in the Haaretz newspaper that the pullout is now no longer at the top of Mr Olmert’s agenda.
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“I cannot say that the prime minister has dropped the plan. I don’t think he has reached such a conclusion.”
Our correspondent says there has been growing criticism of Israel’s political and military leadership in recent days, with many Israelis are asking what was actually achieved in the weeks of fighting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
The defence ministry has appointed a commission to investigate how the military campaign in Lebanon was conducted.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
AP: Annan says U.N. won‘t ‘wage war‘
“It is not expected to achieve by force what must be realized through negotiation and an internal Lebanese consensus,” Annan said in a report to the U.N. Security Council U.N. Security Council on implementation of the Aug. 11 resolution calling for an end to the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict.
Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown said countries needed to understand that the force wouldn‘t be offensive. “It‘s not going to go in there and attempt large-scale disarmament,” he said.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
The Conservative Voice: Israel-Hezbollah: Threading the Needle
The United Nations, by way of the United States and France, crafted a cease fire agreement – a peace treaty – and leveraged Israel into halting the destruction of the terrorist group Hezbollah. The United States has been at war against groups nearly identical to Hezbollah for three years. Yet when Israel has its heel on the serpents neck the world says ‘hold’ and Israel complied.
Just what was this war between Israel and Hezbollah? At face value, the likelihood that Israel would begin a bloody offensive over the capture of two Israeli soldiers when it has taken suicide bombings on its city streets and marketplaces seems remote. Yet that is exactly what the world sees as the cause for the latest flare-up in the Middle East. In fact many UN nations stated that Israel’s retaliation was disproportionate but it took weeks for those same members to agree to the wording of an equitable cease fire proposition.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Middle East Times: Israel abducts Hamas deputy PM
Israel has detained more than 60 Hamas officials since the June 25 capture of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas-led government condemned the new arrest as an attempt to destroy the Palestinian administration. “At 4:30 (0130 GMT) in the morning the soldiers came to our house and took Nasser,” Shaer’s wife Huda said.
Palestinian security sources said 30 army jeeps entered the West Bank town of Ramallah early Saturday morning and left immediately after the arrest of the 45-year-old Shaer, who is also education minister.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the arrest “as part of our fight against the radical Hamas movement,” which refuses to recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist and to renounce violence.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
BBC: Israelis detain Hamas deputy PM
He was held when troops burst into the house early on Saturday, his wife said.
The Israeli military confirmed the detention of Mr Shaer, who is a senior member of the governing Hamas movement, which does not recognise Israel.
Israel has detained about 30 MPs and a third of the cabinet since the capture of an Israeli soldier in June.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
AP: Israeli Commandos Strike In Lebanon
Hezbollah fighters battled an Israeli commando force that landed early Saturday west of the guerrilla stronghold of Baalbek, killing an Israeli officer and wounding two other Israeli soldiers deep inside Lebanon, Lebanese and Israeli officials said.
Lebanon said the raid was a violation of the Aug. 14 U.N. cease-fire, but Israeli officials said they reserve the right to attack to prevent Hezbollah from rearming.
Hezbollah said its guerrillas foiled the raid, but Israel said it force completed its mission.
The Israeli army said the commandos blew up a bridge used to smuggle weapons from Syria and Iran to Hezbollah. There’s speculation that Israel hoped to kidnap a senior Hezbollah official to use as a bargaining chip to win the release of two captured Israeli soldiers, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger from Jerusalem.
Lebanese security officials said three guerrillas were killed and three wounded, but a Hezbollah spokesman said there were no deaths among his fighters.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
IMEMC: Hezbollah gunmen say they foiled Israeli attack in eastern Lebanon
Lebanese security sources said that Israeli aircraft and commandos invaded on Saturday at dawn, the village of Bodai, west of Ba’labek in Al Biqa’ valley.
While air dropping paratroopers, the Israeli air craft shelled unidentified targets in the area.
Al-Manar TV that belongs to Hezbollah party, reported that Hezbollah fighters clashed with Israeli troops near Bodai and forced them to leave the area using military helicopters.
Al Manar added that the Israeli unit landed before dawn, the paratroopers were dropped with a military vehicles and drove into the village when they were intercepted by the fighters, who forced it to retreat.
According to Lebanese sources, three Hezbollah fighters were killed in the firefight.
Israeli military sources confirmed that infiltration attempt which marked the widest violation of the five-day-old cease fire that ended 34 days of war on Lebanon.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
AP: Israel Confirms Forces in Lebanon
The army said its commandos entered Lebanon “to prevent and interfere with terror activity against Israel, especially the smuggling of arms from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah.”
In Lebanon, Hezbollah said it foiled the Israeli commando raid early Saturday near its stronghold of Baalbek. But the Israeli army said the force completed its mission successfully, and that such operations would be carried out until a multinational force is in place to prevent Hezbollah’s rearmament.
Lebanese security officials confirmed a report on Hezbollah TV that Israeli commandos were dropped off by helicopter outside the village of Boudai west of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release information to the media, said the Israelis apparently were seeking a guerrilla target in a school. The officials also reported heavy Israeli overflights.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
AP: Israeli Soldier Killed In Lebanon Raid
Hezbollah said its guerrillas foiled the raid after a gunbattle, and the Israeli army said one soldier was killed and two were wounded, one seriously.
Witnesses said Israeli missiles destroyed a bridge during the raid the first major violation of the U.N.-imposed cease-fire that took effect Monday following 34 days of fighting.
The Israeli army said the special forces operation aimed “to prevent and interfere with terror activity against Israel, especially the smuggling of arms from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah.” It said the commando team completed its mission.
The army said such operations would be carried out until “an effective monitoring unit” of Lebanese or multinational troops was in place.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
WP: Israelis raid Hezbollah base
Hezbollah, which battled the Israeli military for 33 days until the truce took hold Monday, said its fighters encountered the Israeli commandos in a field near the town of Boudai, about 20 miles from the Syrian border.
The Israeli military, confirming the raid, said its commandos carried out the operation to interdict shipments of weapons and munitions to Hezbollah from Syria and Iran. The military said one Israeli officer was killed and two soldiers were wounded, one seriously.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora told reporters in Beirut that the attack was a “flagrant violation” of the U.N. cease-fire and that he planned to lodge a complaint with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Later Saturday, Annan said he agreed that the raid violated the cease-fire agreement and said he was “deeply concerned.”
Saturday, August 19, 2006
NYT: And Now, Islamism Trumps Arabism
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“I have more faith in Islam than in my state; I have more faith in Allah than in Hosni Mubarak,†Ms. Mahmoud said, referring to the president of Egypt. “That is why I am proud to be a Muslim.â€
The war in Lebanon, and the widespread conviction among Arabs that Hezbollah won that war by bloodying Israel, has fostered and validated those kinds of feelings across Egypt and the region. In interviews on streets and in newspaper commentaries circulated around the Middle East, the prevailing view is that where Arab nations failed to stand up to Israel and the United States, an Islamic movement succeeded.
“The victory that Hezbollah achieved in Lebanon will have earthshaking regional consequences that will have an impact much beyond the borders of Lebanon itself,†Yasser Abuhilalah of Al Ghad, a Jordanian daily, wrote in Tuesday’s issue.
“The resistance celebrates the victory,†read the front-page headline in Al Wafd, an opposition daily in Egypt.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Guardian [UK] : UN condemns ceasefire violations
The Lebanese government threatened to halt further troop deployments to protest what UN officials called a violation of the six-day-old ceasefire.
The office of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement, labelling the operation a violation of the UN truce.
Israel said Saturday’s raid was launched to stop arms smuggling from Iran and Syria to the militant Shiite fighters.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Haaretx [Israel]: Annan: IDF raid in eastern Lebanon is violation of cease-fire
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The statement said that according to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, “there have also been several air violations by Israeli military aircraft.”
“All such violations of Security Council resolution 1701 endanger the fragile calm that was reached after much negotiation and undermine the authority of the government of Lebanon,” the statement said.
“The secretary-general further calls on all parties to respect strictly the arms embargo, exercise maximum restraint, avoid provocative actions and display responsibility in implementing resolution 1701.”
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The ministry’s statement said the raid “does not breach the cease-fire and was an essential operation that aimed to prevent Hezbollah’s rearming.”
“The defense minister congratulates the fighters who attained the goals in a brave operation that was performed perfectly,” the statement said.
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Meretz party leader Yossi Beilin said on Sunday that the decision to carry out the raid in Baalbek put the cease fire at risk, and that the government’s judgment in this case was completely distorted.
“We can’t accept the terms of the cease fire, and simultaneously violate it, and remain in southern Lebanon. If government officials believe that it is not in Israel’s best interest to adhere to the UN Security Council-brokered cease fire – they should announce that the war is in fact not over, and instruct Israel’s residents to return to the shelters,” Beilin said.
Sources in Jerusalem said that Israel views the raid as “a defensive measure and therefore does not constitute a breach of the cease-fire.” According to the sources, Hezbollah fired at the raiding force as it returned from its mission, which was completed successfully.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Guardian Unlimited [UK]: Israeli raid in Lebanon ‘breaks’ ceasefire
But the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, claimed that the attack was intended to prevent the supply of new weapons and ammunition to Hezbollah.
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Envoys sent to the region by Annan have so far sent back positive reports, praising the efforts of both the Lebanese and Israeli armies to uphold their obligations under the recently passed UN Resolution 1701.
The Israeli commando raid thus took observers by surprise. The deployment of Lebanese forces and the eventual disarmament of Hezbollah have been a demand of Olmert’s government.
Early on Saturday, troops from the Matkal, a special-forces elite unit, launched a commando raid near the Hezbollah stronghold of Baalbek, in the Beka valley. During the ensuing firefight one officer was killed and two injured. Israeli reports said the commandos were in two vehicles unloaded from helicopters, and were on their way to attack the office of a Hezbollah official in the village of Bodai when they were intercepted.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
The Sunday Times [UK]: Army raid in Bekaa breaks ceasefire
Members of the elite commando unit 262, wearing Lebanese army uniforms, were dropped from CH-53 helicopters at dawn and encountered Hezbollah fighters near the village of Boudai, 16 miles west of the Syrian border.
One Israeli officer was killed and two others were wounded in the ensuing battle. A Lebanese security official said three Hezbollah fighters were killed and three wounded.
The commandos’ official mission was to disrupt the group’s arms supplies, but Israeli sources suggested that the troops might have tried to kidnap Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, 56, a senior Hezbollah cleric who lives in Boudai.
He could have been used as a bargaining chip for the release of two Israeli soldiers captured last month.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
WP: Israelis raid Hezbollah base
Hezbollah, which battled the Israeli military for 33 days until the truce took hold Monday, said its fighters encountered the Israeli commandos in a field near the town of Boudai, about 20 miles from the Syrian border.
The Israeli military, confirming the raid, said its commandos carried out the operation to interdict shipments of weapons and munitions to Hezbollah from Syria and Iran. The military said one Israeli officer was killed and two soldiers were wounded, one seriously.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora told reporters in Beirut that the attack was a “flagrant violation” of the U.N. cease-fire and that he planned to lodge a complaint with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
IMEMC: Hezbollah gunmen say they foiled Israeli attack in eastern Lebanon
Lebanese security sources said that Israeli aircraft and commandos invaded on Saturday at dawn, the village of Bodai, west of Ba’labek in Al Biqa’ valley.
While air dropping paratroopers, the Israeli air craft shelled unidentified targets in the area.
Al-Manar TV that belongs to Hezbollah party, reported that Hezbollah fighters clashed with Israeli troops near Bodai and forced them to leave the area using military helicopters.
Al Manar added that the Israeli unit landed before dawn, the paratroopers were dropped with a military vehicles and drove into the village when they were intercepted by the fighters, who forced it to retreat.
According to Lebanese sources, three Hezbollah fighters were killed in the firefight.
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As you may or may not know, The BRAD BLOG is a fan of freedom and supports freedom of the press.
To the best of my knowledge, none of the reporters I have quoted above have met with physical harm this week. This is not to say they are not in danger; clearly they are all in danger. But they are stlill in more or less the same shape they were in last weekend.
A few other writers were not so fortunate this week.
The man who wrote the following article claims he was beaten, stunned with a taser, and arrested — in his own front yard, in Chicago!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
AFP: Zionist Media Lies Conceal Hidden Agenda Behind Israeli Invasion of Lebanon
These lies are designed to garner U.S. public opinion in support of the Israeli aggression in Lebanon, which is clearly illegal and disproportionate. Because these falsehoods are constantly repeated as truth […] it is necessary to point out the falseness of the fundamental lies upon which the Israeli aggression is based.
Lie No. 1: Two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped in Israel.
Based on this lie, Hezbollah, branded as a “terrorist” group by Israel, Canada and the United States, stands accused of having started the war. Unfortunately, both Zionist claims are bold-faced lies.
The Israeli version, however, which lacks any factual basis to support it, has been trumpeted by every media outlet, including the well-respected journalist Robert Fisk of The Independent (UK).
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Initial news reports from international wire services, based on a Lebanese police report, however, clearly indicate that the two Israeli soldiers were not kidnapped at all, but captured — inside Lebanon — after having crossed the border and infiltrated the Lebanese village of Aitaa al-Chaab. Furthermore, these first reports have not been retracted or proven false.
Indeed, the story that the Israeli soldiers were captured in Lebanon was reported by a number of leading international press services, including the German news agency (DPA), AFP from France, AP and UPI. This version of events, however, is never mentioned by the Zionist-controlled mass media outlets in the U.S.
Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA), for example, had 10 articles on this matter on July 12-13, 2006. All of them reported that the Israelis had been captured in Lebanon.
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“Israel’s military response by air, land and sea” to the provocation was “unfolding according to a plan finalized more than a year ago,” Matthew Kalman wrote in a July 21 article in San Francisco Chronicle.
“More than a year ago,” Kalman wrote from Jerusalem about the Lebanon campaign, “a senior Israeli army officer began giving PowerPoint presentations, on an off-the-record basis, to U.S. and other diplomats, journalists and think tanks, setting out the plan for the current operation in revealing detail.”
To set the stage, Ehud Olmert, the new Israeli prime minister, commenced his term with extremely violent and relentless terror attacks against the people of the Gaza Strip, which culminated in the fatal artillery strike that destroyed a Palestinian family on the beach.
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Lie No. 2: The massacre of Cana was caused by Hizbollah, which had fired missiles from the area.
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Lie No. 3: Israel does not target civilians or ambulances.
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Lie No. 4: “Israel would never target a UN force.”
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Lie No. 5: Hezbollah is a terrorist organization which Israel is fighting in the “war on terror.”
And the man who wrote the following (and much else too) claims he has left the country, forever:
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
BY THE LIGHT OF A BURNING BRIDGE: A Permanent Goodbye to the United States
In this life I have chosen not to die a martyr’s death. As I am learning every day, there are more difficult and demanding ways to write the final chapters of one’s life. I left the United States with one large suitcase, my laptop, and a backpack. I left behind my precious library, most of my clothing, my personal possessions, my guns, and a house full of furniture. I brought with me less than eight thousand dollars in cash and gold to start the final segment of my life.
My permanent exodus from the US was actually ordained thirty years –- to the month –- before I left for good on July 18th, 2006. It was thirty years ago that my then-fiancée, a career contract agent for the CIA, disclosed to me that “her people†were interested in giving a major boost to my career with LAPD if I would become involved with her “anti-terror†operations that involved “overlooking†(i.e. protecting) large drug shipments coming in while facilitating the movement of large quantities of firearms going out. I refused to compromise my ethics as a police officer and –- as I wrote on page 6 of Crossing the Rubicon – “that has determined the course of my life ever since.â€
Like all humans I want to hold on to dreams for as long as possible, even long after I know they will never come true. I have tried and sacrificed with every fiber of my being to change my country, but the plain fact is that the United States of America cannot and will never be changed from within. I recall the words spoken to me by a senior FBI agent in Los Angeles in 1986: “Mike, the world doesn’t want to be saved.â€
Stupid me. I still believe it does –- at least the parts of it that lie outside the US, Great Britain, and Israel; the real Axis of Evil.
Chistopher Bollyn writes about subjects that many persons consider controversial, unanswered questions surrounding the terror attacks of 9/11, electronic vote fraud, depleted uranium, MIddle East crisis. When three armed ment in an unmarked car spent a second day cruising his house, he called 911, and was subsequently roughed up and tasered by these fellows. Very disturbing, the treatment of Christopher Bollyn by police, who admit using a taser in his own front yard. Telling his wife they would arrest her if she took a picture? Taking him to the station and not letting him drink water for six hours? This is outrageous.
Six or seven people might want to call Lt. Rich Russo (847-781-2807) to inquire about this incident at Hoffman Estates, Illinois. He’s there today (Sunday).
A report of the incident can be found at AmericanFreePress.net.
You’re right Winter – the high point of the local news broadcast this morning was how – er – what’s his name toasted his escort on the plane with a champagne glass. None of the other items were mentioned!
Christopher Bollyn must be onto something BIG! Really BIG! Maybe it will increase sales of the best newspaper in America, the American Free Press.
Will we get the answers of exactly why Bollyn was targetted by Big Brother? Gee, could it be, because he writes about 9/11 and e-vote fraud?
I think we need answers to why Big Brother targetted Christopher Bollyn. And why Bushco bombed Al Jazeera on purpose. It’s a threat to freedom of the press. And they want to start prosecuting reporters now. Nazi Germany.
Maybe Bush will bomb LINK-TV or FSTV.
Remember when the GOP tried to infiltrate PBS recently? And it was exposed by Bill Moyers? Then the Republican Noise Machine smeared him? He’s a terrorist, I guess.
I subscribe to American Free Press, it’s a weekly newspaper that I believe has been smeared as being anti-semetic because they report on truthful news about Israel. If you report truthful news about Israel that the Israeli lobbies think doesn’t make Israel look good, they smear them as anti-semetic. It’s a good strategy. AFP is also leading the way with the truth 9/11 movement, and have been for years. In my opinion, they are conservative, but hate the neo-cons. And it doesn’t matter if they are conservative, if they are reporting unfiltered/uncensored news that no one else is, in their non-opinionated pieces.
And I don’t want to appear pro-Arab, I think we should be neutral. But the corporate MSM and our congress (both parties) and the white house are 100% pro-Israel, which doesn’t represent a recent poll which showed that over 52% of Americans would like us to remain neutral.
I am definitely not pro-Arab, but they are getting screwed by the MSM & the U.S. government. And I think our government’s pro-Israeli stance is not in the best interests of the people of the United States. Our congress is not representing us once again. We ship emergency weapons to Israel, and then claim Iran are terrorists for shipping weapons to Hezbollah. That’s hypocritical. Israel just broke the ceasefire, too. What’s the MSM saying about that?
Also, I read today the Israel “detained” (kidnapped is a better word) a high ranking democratically elected leader of the Palestinians. That is not right!!! Bushco says they’re spreading democracy in the Middle East, and then says nothing when one of their leaders is kidnapped. wtf??? And we are pressuring the Palestinians financially, because they democratically elected leaders that Bush doesn’t like??? That’s not spreading democracy! That’s saying “We’re spreading democracy, only if they vote in leaders WE like”!!!!!!!!
Clearly we have a macrocosmic incarnation of your basic ego-poisoning. It is immaterial to the ego what is so; the appearance of innocence and virtue being its only goal. So it’s a battle for who can appeal to popular prejudice the most effectively; not who is right or wrong, justified or unjustified, good or evil… while the actuality of the situation goes unheeded, unremarked. Any who would step in on the side of truth, of actuality, are dealt with most severely because it threatens the APPEARANCE of probity in the guilty.
We are not going to have a world that is safe for real humans until humans decide to deal with reality. Period. No more excuses.
Each of us must choose between putting up with the lies and standing for truth. When do we stop supposing that putting up with lies is less dangerous than standing for truth? When do we realize the death toll is exponentially higher, for all, while the lies fly, than when we stand up for truth?
SOMEBODY!!!!!! Answer me.
I’m glad you contiue to cover this story. It needs to be brought to the public’s attention and kept there. I just read this update to the Chris Bollyn story. Chris is a patriot who is not backing down. Good on ya, Chris. This guy has balls and knows how to use them!
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cg...cgi?read=92086
Sad that Mike Rupert left US to go to Venezuela….He left so fast, I wonder if he was on a hit list. He’ll be better protected there anyway. Bush is going down and he will fight to the last. Our elected leaders behave like common criminals..innocent until the last clink of the cell door. I just keep thinking about Chris Mathews saying several years ago..if this admistration had any faults, it would be vindictiveness. Not an exact quote. But the overkill with the slightest criticism is a psychotic mind, not good politics. That along with the high cost of gas, food and shelter. They’re going down and taking the repub. party with them.I don’t think corporate america is fairing so hot either. No money to buy stuff. LOOOOOVe Karma.
99 “Most people would rather die than think; in fact they do so.” — Bertrand Russell
How can this possibly be changed? Somehow people’s interests have to coincide with the interests of the earth and of peace — which, of course, they do in reality, but it requires some clear thinking to see it, I guess, and there is so much noise getting the attention.
Millions of people have died or even been willingly martyred for utter lies.
What a lousy answer to your question.
Thanks for trying, Arry.
The only, only, only way truth has a chance of being dealt with in the world is if it is acknowledged and heeded. It can’t be either of those things if it is not mentioned. Few though the truth-tellers may be, they are the reason anything good ever happens.
Call me suicidal, but I don’t want to waste any energy on anything that does not arc toward it. Getting more bullheaded about this daily.
Hi, 99, Arry –
Just dropped in before making it an early night. My baby brother and his family are arriving tomorrow from Toronto and I have oodles yet to do in preparation – as usual.
99, lies are death, and mankind since time immemorial has recognized this, personified it, wrestled with it and never, ultimately solved the conundrum that underlies it all: that yin/yang thing that identifies something by its opposite, reifies through contrast.
Perhaps it’s a quirk of human psychology, but we seem to be unable to transcend our materialistic conception of ourselves and our universe. Only when we do, I think, will we be able to contend truly successfully against evil, death, false entropies of all kinds. Like Ruppert, I speak constantly of the necessity of evolving. At this point it becomes an active conscious process requiring great personal engagement; and I’m quite certain most of us are just too distracted by day-to-day worries to expend the required effort.
But I’m trying my darnedest, studying, meditating late into the night (some of my most stunning breakthroughs happen in bed), you’re trying, Arry’s trying – most of the regulars on this blog are hard at it almost 24/7. So…
We do what we can. This answer isn’t exactly what the doctor ordered either. But it’s the best I could come up with on short notice. 😉
Agent99 – Better martyred for truth than for lies. I mean far better. (And a person doesn’t necessarily die for a lie in an instant. A whole life can be long, drawn-out life for a lie – what is that life worth?)
I feel the same as you. As we slide toward disaster, the confrontation of truth and lies becomes more essential by the minute.
Peg — As usual, short order or not, your posts show a deep intelligence and great heart. Evolving can be a rough go – that’s probably why so many people don’t think. Confronting reality entails evolution. Evolution entails giving up some cherished (although irrational and often childish) mental images and structures.
Me too. I have to check out of BB early tonight, too. I need to do a little regrouping.
Arry –
TU 🙂
We tend to forget that, on our deathbeds, all the sacrifices of true life for “safety” will be seen for what they have been, and the consequences to ourselves, our families, our neighbors, the world, of those choices, in their fullest extent, will also be known. What an agony to know the fullness of wasted life as you are about to die! Not even the agonies of death row, of execution, are THAT painful. Never on earth is there more remorse than in the only moment of true clarity most of us will ever experience. THEN shall we know the suffering and death we caused, and then it will be too late to stop that harm, to atone for that harm. THEN all we can do is feel it, and die.
So. It’s not a high-flown matter for saints to take up while we piddle away our hours, skulking behind our excuses. It’s a practical matter. It’s about quality of life: our own, and everyone else’s. And it’s about never experiencing the absolute worst that life can deal a human, that knowing that comes when death is so near. Very few are stupid enough to miss that cruel lesson, but many are stupid enough to get it.
Agent99 in #15 — You sure are right. It is a practical matter. It’s a matter of how you live.
Once someone has gotten to a point where he or she can honestly question, “What is worse – the act of dying or the agony to know the fullness of wasted life?”, then life takes on a new meaning and pessimism in the sense of “It’s all futile. What’s the use?” becomes absurd and meaningless. Ultimate questions are being faced and giving answers that lift a person out of the slough of despondency and into the practical moment. (The practical moment is called life.)
As Ian Schoales says, “I gotta go.”
You can mentally remove that first comma.
{Since you were so agreeable I did more than that! 😛 –99}
I really do “gotta go”.
“Most people would rather die than think; in fact they do so.” — Bertrand Russell
I always have trouble expressing what I mean but I will always try no matter:
If you identify with your “in-group” and are perhaps fed ill against an “out-group”, yet in your soul you do not actually preserve a true animosity toward that group, then you will experience cognitive dissonance—and you will therfore need to find a means to reduce it.
One way to do that is by ignoring your own reservations against the “out-group,” or “out-ideas” and continue to side with your own “in-group,” and “in-ideas” and follow the leader of this group or these ideas unquestioningly.
Maybe on the way, if the community or crusade lasts long enough, and there is no feasible means of escape, one can learn to ignore one’s own feelings altogether for the “good” of the mutual success of the “in-group.” (Dying rather than thinking.) Through either suppression (conscious decision to ignore) or repression (subconscious).
But in this there is peace, it is human nature, and perhaps is meant as a survival of the “community.” A sort of “numbing”?
Interestingly, and the point I like is, if the “in-group” and the “out-group” were are brought together to become a “team” through the pursuit of some mutual goal and were set up to “compete” against a third now called “out-group” then you would see animosity reduced (if not eliminated) between the first two in- and out- groups. That simple. (Does Israel fit this bill?)
Let’s not underestimate the power of the human mind to want to relieve cognitive dissonance either by denial or “getting it” and changing opinions. We’ve seen some opinions change, thankfully.
This is, I think, one reason why an Inconvenient Truth resonates. This is how, I think, it will work. Teaching mutual respect. Keeping people informed.
I was guilty of waiting for a “Leader”. F%&k it! I’m pissed, frustrated and sick of heart. We need action plans to put people to tasks however small that will give us all a sense of doing something and add to the mix. Brad ,,WP,99 and others have tasked themselves and are making a diff. Many of the people who post here are obviously damn good researchers and contribute great info.. But how does Joe&Julie Schmoe get active and contribute. I will keep reading and digging here and elsewhere to stay abreast and informed but that is not enough. I do not need further enlightenment damnit. Yeah, I learn new info each day here and elsewhere but DAMN!!!! I want to swing at a friggin pitch. I finally got off my ass last yr and started trying to influence one person at a time who are still in the dark. It can be a real thankless and shitty task but what the hell I’ve helped awaken a few and a few think I’m looney. WTF good is it to watch the coming train wreck and be able to turn and say to your dipshit in the dark friend or neighbor “I have been aware for sometime this would happen”. It is time for overt action. I’m open for suggestions. If we don’t start soon I fear it will be too late come Nov. Ruppert, Bollyn and those we are not yet aware of are only the beginning. And yes I took my BP meds today so this is not a 200/100 rant. It is a howl of frustration and anger from reading the SOS everyday except it is getting worse. 99 I don’t have any better answer to your # 6 than ARRY, but DAMN I’m tired of reading and talking. Contacted my local Democratic Party to vol. for anything and the twits haven’t even answered my email with a “Hi Bye or Kiss My Ass”. Is anyone organising anything that will allow those of us with the will to push back? Send me the road map please!!!! I need to get from here to there!!!!!!!!!!!!
Peg C #11 said:
“…and I’m quite certain most of us are just too distracted by day-to-day worries to expend the required effort.”
The day to day requirements of live have become so overwhelming and demanding of our time that it is hard to find the time or energy to expend on what really matters in a holistic sense.
In many ways Kurt Vonnegut’s “Player Piano” has come to fruition. With the exception that we have become slaves to our “modern conveniences” rather than his vision of us being bored with them.
I sit here at my computer reading Bradblog and the links presented here, leaving my comments etc., yet I feel guilty that I should be in the other room interacting with my family.
I used to be able to go and sit by myself on a mountain top and adjust my perceptions of life and my place in the world.
Now with teenage kids always having somewhere to be and gas to get to my mountain top now equal to about 1/3 of my food budget, I haven’t been there since spring of 2005. (Not to mention that they have paved most of the road to it and it’s hard to find anywhere to park within a mile of the trail head. 20 years ago it was all mine even on a holiday weekend!)
Yet I do what I can to enlighten myself and hopefully at some point in some manner I can make a difference.
The Rise of Shrinking-Vacation Syndrome
Heres an article about a woman that will continue to inspire me to keep telling and learning the truth. Cindy Sheehan’s Rally Disrupts Rove’s Reception. Keep poking them with the truth Cindy! http://www.rumormillnews.com/cg...cgi?read=92086
99 #15 –
s
Exactly right-on. But despair is a losing, lost, option. Please stay “with the program.” We’ve GOT to win or all is lost. And hope is the only fuel…
Stay brave!!!
BB2 –
Our mountain-tops have vanished. I used to dream of them, in my days of eremitic yearning, when poems were reality. But now I am committing my body and my soul to TRUTH, CoMMUNICATION and the survival of this lustrous planet.
I’m not a kook. I am a realist on a crusade – as are all of you. Bless you.
That an activist gets beat up by cops, or that another activist thinks that he will see the ideal side of the world by moving to Venezuela (there’s a huge error in judgement) is not particularly a philosophic crisis. At least not for any activist with half a clue.
All it took for those cops to abuse that activist was for a couple of cops, maybe even a sargeant or a chief, to do it. It’s not “Big Brother” — it’s almost a random event.
The idea that “the US will never change from the inside” is patently absurd. Leftists are convinced of the evil of America on a scale that prevents them from, for instance, fighting for voting rights (because they don’t believe in the validity of elections). Their study of history is full of so many demons that they don’t recognize the real progress we are making, and have been making.
As for fleeing your technology, there is no salvation there. Use it, don’t lose it. And if you can’t get to a mountaintop because gas is $3.25, you need a new career, or some friends willing to pitch in.
Activists have to avoid hysteria like the plague. They have to avoid jumping to ‘final’ conclusions. And they have to avoid shoving history into their eyes like a sharpened stick.
“The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice.” — MLK Jr.
Words to live by. Venezuela, Ludditism, panic, ‘Big Brother’ paranoia, and sentimental thoughts on life are NOT going to save us. We need patient, tireless workers, not panicked exaggerators who can’t find a way to balance their lives because they feel backed into a corner.
Refresh yourself from the well of life. The next drinkable water is about a thousand years and millions of miles away. We shall overcome, and we can solve many of our problems, if we can keep our minds level in the face of all these insults.
MEP –
Go here.
“Our mountain-tops have vanished.”
Oh? I was at 8,500 feet last weekend for the Perseid shower, and it was INCREDIBLE.
• If you are upset about what is happening to nature, GO OUT INTO NATURE.
Reading about things can twist your mind if you aren’t careful. Go into nature, take the moment off, and discover again how integral you are to nature, and it to you.
We need to save nature. However, we cannot do so if we are ourselves disconnected from it. No other animal has that bizarre misconception.
Even with the global warming, even with the hurricanes, even with the earthquakes and extinctions, the earth is going to do just fine. It will remake these continents into one large continent, eventually. In your tiny life you can help the earth. Don’t mistake the need to provide that help as a reason to be depressed.
Live! If we can’t laugh GFH Bush into a prison cell, we certainly can’t cry him there either. I prefer to laugh him into prison, because really — this is all SO beneath our potential as human beings. All he has is money and power. How pathetic!
And the whole of nature is on our side in this fight. Turn off the self-pity that masquerades as sensitivity, and revel in your places as the walking dolphins you really are.
At least that’s my advice.
MEP-
Contact me at tom68-69korea@thecourbats.com and I will let you in on the Election Defense Alliance story and how you can put your rant and rage to excellent use.
We need bright frustrated people like you to take ACTION as part of a nationwide effort.
Email me with subject line I WANT TO HELP – ELECTION DEFENSE ALLIANCE
Hope I didn’t leave anybody with the impression I was losing it, or about to snap. That was last week.
Paul’s advice is sound, but I think he might be jumping to some conclusions, and maybe he doesn’t realize that a lot of men are flooded with the genetic need to DEAL WITH THREATS and, these days, are not finding ways to accomplish it.
Ginny’s link is good, and the one she left over at Daily Voting News rocks too. It connects to a panel full of radio show hosts, talking about the ways we might, in fact, DEAL WITH THESE THREATS.
#24…Paul in LA
There are far more incidents than the two you reference if you care to honestly look. Ruppert’s move south was not taken to “see the ideal side of the world”. Whether you like him or feel he’s full of BS it does not matter. The guy feels threatened and many people who have followed his story over the last few years do not doubt the probable existence of a real threat in this case. As to his choice of venue it would not have been mine under similar conditions, but to each his own. “…have a clue…” What information or reasoning due you base this comment on? If you have info that sheds light then please share it. And yes it could have been a couple of off the program cops, but “random event”? How do you reach that conclusion. I don’t buy that but you are welcome to your interpretation. Even “bad” cops do not go around and perpetrate this kind of BS randomly. Might they have had their own reasons? Yes but RANDOMLY?
I don’t recall anyone stating that the US can not be changed from the inside. I’ll have to look back but that one must have slipped by me. I think if you read you will find that people are advocating change and action. What problem do you have with that? And of course you had to throw in the ‘leftist” tag. You seem to assume quiet a bit of knowledge. I could continue but it’s late and I’m tired. I guess we read things with a different slant. I do not myself feel absurd, paranoid, panicked………..etc. Angry,, pissed off and such……..you bet. If your going to start labeling at least use some creativity.
Ginny and Leftisbest
Thanks I keep looking for groups in my area (Central Pa) to hook up with but most are operating out of Philly or the DC/Balt. area. I’ll check out your suggestions in the AM. Thanks again.
Agent 99 #28
Could we please leave my genetic code out of the conversation, I’m sensitive about my short comings.
MEP 😛
I think your genes rock.
99….#31
Dog gone it!!!!!! Now I’m awake again.
Good night all……….Yawn
Tonight, Monday August 21, 10:00 p.m. EST, Court TV is going to have a show about 9-11. The ad said it would cover things “they don’t want you to know”. Might be interesting, but I have no idea.
On Native Soil: The Documentary of the 9/11 Commission Report
Exposed: The Carlyle Group
WAR= $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Must watch vid !
http://www.informationclearingh...rticle3995.htm
How sad for the many in the world who are silenced and are not allowed to be themselves. How sad that we cannot hear them.
99 #10 OT
I have come to the conclusion “for now” that the truth becomes easier when we operate from our higher self. Life to me is really only good in that place. I guess I’m there in my mind about 2% of the time. No doctrine involved but a few basic truths. I honestly think the higher and the lower self do not mix. That one is operating in either one mode or the other although you might switch from one to the other quickly once aware of the different realities. The higher mode has an enormously powerful effect on the world and people around you if you choose to remain there. The real truth is not hard to take. The illusion is.
Raging at the hellish mirage infront of us is war. It requires a vast expenditure of energy to effect change this way. I should know as I’m also an expert rager when not in the higher place.
You will end up with ulcers so cheer up if you can 🙂
Peace and Light to you 99 and all Bradbloggers.
“Open Warfare Rages (Again!) On The Home Front And Abroad”
and we love it.
regards
The Bush Family.
Fighting them over there for profits over here .
Remember its not illegal if the President does it.
You know who calls people who talk about how our government’s policies are too pro-Israel to the detriment of us all? The same people who trust corporate news, the same people who called e-vote reporting “conspiracy theorists”, the same people who called reporting 9/11 was an inside job “conspiracy theorists”, the same people who make up the 30% Bush approval, the same people who think there’s WMD’s in Iraq……..etc, etc……….
Paul in LA #26 –
“Our mountaintops have vanished…”
I was speaking metaphorically, as I’m sure you could have gathered. I, who live in a tiny village on the rural Maine coast, couldn’t escape “nature” if I wanted to, which is the reason I live here in the first place!
What I meant was that we can no longer afford the luxury of dispassionate contemplation of the human condition, but must be directly involved with effecting the changes that so desperately need to be made in our society. Rampant materialism, distractionism, is the root cause of the tyranny we are now faced with – and it must be rooted out of the human psyche actively and with commitment on the part even of those who would rather remain intellectually aloof.
Peace to you 🙂
#39……….Peg C
Wish I could have found those words. Your response goes to the heart of the matter. We must engage the issues head on. The “luxury of dispassionate contemplation” should never be an option while people suffer. Thank you for putting it far better than I will ever be capable.
We are the Ones we have been Waiting for
Message from the Hopi Elders
“You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now return and tell them the Hour has come, and they must now consider:
– where are you living?
– what are you doing?
– what are your relationships? are they right relationships?
– where is your water?
Know your Garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
Do not look outside yourself for the Leader.
This could be a good time!
The River now flows very fast, so great and swift that some will be afraid, and will suffer much. Know that the River has a destination. We must now let go of the shore, push off into the middle, keeping our eyes open and our heads above water. And see who is there with you, and celebrate! At this point in our history, we must take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For, in the instant we do, our spiritual journey comes to a halt. The Lone Wolf’s time is over. Gather yourselves! All we do must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
FOR WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.”
Orabi. Arizona. Hopi Nation elders. 2000.
“There are far more incidents than the two you reference if you care to honestly look.”
Incidents do not a pattern make. There are any number of potential police corruption and malfeasance cases in the US, OR IN ANY STATE IN THE WORLD. If you want to trigger paranoia, Mission Accomplished.
I was maced in 2003. I’ve been thrown on the street and surrounded by shotguns. I’ve been handcuffed. All of these events in MY life were done by overreacting wingers who happen to work for the police.
So what. I don’t conclude on that basis that Big Brother is organizing these evils from on high.
“Ruppert’s move south was not taken to “see the ideal side of the world”. Whether you like him or feel he’s full of BS it does not matter.”
My point was that if you think he’s SAFER in Vz, you have no clue about S. America, and certainly not Vz.
“Even “bad” cops do not go around and perpetrate this kind of BS randomly.”
Of course they do. In 2003 we were confronted with a Stryker and a Sherman tank on Westwood Blvd. in front of the Federal Bldg. LAPD just stood back and watched as the tank turned its turret to face the protesters. How can that happen? It took all of a single Pendleton Marine, a handful of National Guard reservists, a pre-scheduled military recruiting event at the (nearby) VA, and some complicity on the part of the LAPD, mainly just standing back.
Was it a crime. You damn skippy. Was it a conspiracy from on high — maybe if on high means some dickwad in Karl Rove’s employ. Is it Big Brother? Hell no.
Did ANSWER ride the event for everything it was worth. They did. Did anything like that ever happen again? It DID NOT, mainly because the wigs at Parker Center probably FLIPPED when they heard about it.
“I don’t recall anyone stating that the US can not be changed from the inside.”
Direct quote: “I have tried and sacrificed with every fiber of my being to change my country, but the plain fact is that the United States of America cannot and will never be changed from within.”
Which is nonsense. Blacks will never get the vote; cities will never be integrated; gay marriage will never be legalized — I mean, I understand him being depressed, but I don’t think it is helpful to sell depression on AN ACTIVIST WEBSITE.
“I was maced in 2003. I’ve been thrown on the street and surrounded by shotguns. I’ve been handcuffed. All of these events in MY life were done by overreacting wingers who happen to work for the police.”
Oops, correction — I was peppersprayed by a civilian, but the PD did nothing to punish that felony.
I’m not saying we should put up with such actions; I am saying that I didn’t thereby conclude that I should move to Calcutta.
“Rampant materialism, distractionism, is the root cause of the tyranny we are now faced with”
By ‘materialism’ you mean people wanting to own more and more, otherwise known as avarice. Avarice is a human malfunction that has been with us for A REAL LONG TIME. ‘Distractionism’ is a crude term for the great preference of our brains for altered states. Sex and violence and technological carney shows are a permanent characteristic of our societies because they reflect basic brain functioning.
Can people become enlightened? Yes they can. And in contrast to the person above who describes a ‘higher self’ — that vertical path when mature turns horizontal and works tirelessly in compassionate political activity. Look to Gandhi for an example. Hiding out in the vertical self is irresponsible, albeit attractive.
“and it must be rooted out of the human psyche actively and with commitment on the part even of those who would rather remain intellectually aloof.”
I hope you have 1,000 years to promote that change. But for most of us, what we really need is justice on the basis of our laws, legal and fair elections, and enough people of good will coming back into their local society to impact the lives of others toward those truths. But the immediate needs are legal and political. Social change at a time of massive technological change, is definitely paddling upstream. People will play with whatever toy is invented. That’s just human nature. And if you feed them every day, a great number of humans will do NOTHING to respond socially to emergencies. They will hunker down instead.
It takes CONSCIENCE, and that is an individual state. Bishop Tutu said a great thing: “Protesting is not something you do — it is something you FIND YOURSELF DOING.”
I firmly believe in action and noise but also believe that by employing some spiritual truths then that action is more likely to succeed. Action associated with our higher being opens up the channels for sucess in any area.
“We are the Ones we have been Waiting for”
Not that it greatly matters, but I don’t believe this phrase is Hopi in origin, I think it goes back at least 125 years to the Plains wars, as it refers to the unavailability of reinforcements in a desperate battle. I would tend to credit it to Sitting Bull or some other Lakhota warrior.
I think it was originally in quotation marks when it was referenced in that Hopi Elders’ message.
Paul in LA – I have always seen the phrase and the accompanying text accredited to the Hopi Elders. A web search turned up nothing older, but then, not everything is on the internet. If you really can find an older version, by all means please post it, so that I may give proper attribution.
Regardless of the origin, I’m assuming everyone got the meaning. I’m a bit of a loner myself, and most of the time I prefer the company of a good dog to any human. But as much individual effort as I have been putting into changing things, I’ve always found that I can do more when I know I’m not fighting alone. There are times when I’m damned tired, and MANY times when it’s hard not to just seclude myself back in my little valley and let the world turn without me – an easy thing to do, considering that there are days, sometimes WEEKS, especially in winter, when I don’t see or talk to anyone face to face outside of family. But as comforting as my solitude is to me, I can not in good concience stand by and do nothing, not when those who would destroy everything I believe in have grown so powerful and so selfish.
It wasn’t so long ago when we were just a few voices shouting in the wilderness, and the majority did their best to shut us down, calling us treasonous and unpatriotic, accusing us of hating our country and aiding the enemies of freedom. We’re in the majority now, and much of the credit for that goes to the fact that we didn’t give up. We’re fighting the good fight, and we’re fighting it TOGETHER.
Kindred spirits feed each other’s strength. I know those who read these words already know this, but my point is, the words I typed could be our anthem. We made the choice to lead the charge – we ARE the ones we’ve been waiting for.
I’m damned proud to be associated with all of y’all. You’re good people.
Now I know why looooooooooooooooooooong posts are in vouge …
just kidding … 8)
vouge is a pike … oh the mystery !!!!
Great thread…… Video I just found on WRH.com “They want your Soul” Lots of information for whats in store for our futures! Take a gander and let me know what you think. Seventeen minute play time. http://video.google.com/videopl...27220487922409
Paul in LA – I have always seen the phrase and the accompanying text accredited to the Hopi Elders. A web search turned up nothing older,”
That’s why I commented on it. I heard that phrase from Lakhota back in the 80s, and NOT associated with Hopi prophesy. And the Hopi did not fight the American or Mexican incursions so far as I know, though they do have a military tradition. I’ll stick with Sitting Bull until someone actually puts a name on the quotation.
There is considerable mixing of Lakhota with Navajo, and thereby Hopi, as a result of the Sundance. I would like to source the quote, but I don’t think the Internet will be much help on that.
Cheers!
“Regardless of the origin, I’m assuming everyone got the meaning.”
Well, not really.
When I heard the phrase, it was spoken among people who were ALREADY ‘fighting.’ It was not a statement that we shouldn’t wait for leaders — it was a statement about redoubling efforts already underway, finding solutions with what we have on hand.
I heard the phrase as, “We are the reinforcements we are waiting for.” It was a wry bit of information, akin to ‘pick up your sh*t — we’re moving.”
The shift of that from ‘don’t be passive or a lone wolf’ is considerable, though it’s such a cool phrase it can be used for that. To me, the phrase has always meant ALSO that we have to figure out how to stay in action over the long haul, because we are the heroes the people are waiting for. Don’t burn out! We need you to stay healthy.
Paul in LA — You’re really reaching. Of course, everybody got the meaning. “Not waiting for leaders” with no concomitant action is nothing. I’m sure everyone can see that. Kestrel specifically said that she sees the need for action. Those who are already fighting, redouble our efforts; those who have seen the necessity for action, join us.
I agree with much of what you are saying. As I’ve stated many times that the only way to truly act is within a state of total awareness (intellectual and sensual) of the detailed realities of the moment. And I understand the urge to bring to specificity to what appears vague and intangible. There certainly is the danger of taking a wrong track into self leading to a diminishment of political purpose.
Trouble is, I think you are barking up the wrong tree. Please don’t assume you are the only street-smart person here. You appear to be lecturing us in “passionate political activity”. Take a lesson from Native Americans and listen attentively and silently for awhile and then respond. I think you will detect a flower of passionate political activity blooming. I do.
I think we’ve done fairly well with Agent99’s very important and central question. Everything begins with a question. Everything ends in politics. (BTW, Miss P’s post #18 has some excellent starting points for a political “turn”.)
Or, maybe, one of my favorite quotes applies — “Everything begins in mysticism and ends in politics.” — Charles Peguy
Of course it is the principle of yin/yang, and it’s a ring, and it’s a snake eating it’s tail, but that’s the way of the world.
The Israeli lobby or Mossad would arrange to have Christopher Bollyn tAasered,.. harassed,.. falsely arrested,.. for writing the truth about Israel and not the standard propaganda release story Israel wants written. Fascist conduct from Israel – WTF. Apartheid conduct from Israel – WTF. The Jewish people suffered the indignities of German Fascism – How can they now go and practice this against other people without second thought or remorse ? Zionism = Fascism .
Did not see this Chris Bollyn story link.
“You’re really reaching. Of course, everybody got the meaning.”
Maybe I’ve been unclear. I don’t think that sentiment comes from the Hopi leaders who put out that prophesy. I believe the phrase predates that 2000 proclamation, and I think it was quoted in the Hopi prophesy, not originated.
Associating that with the prophesy has the definite problem that these prophesies are sets of local beliefs that are likely not shared by others.
“Those who are already fighting, redouble our efforts; those who have seen the necessity for action, join us.”
As I originally heard it, it was more about learning to put aside HOPE FOR RELIEF, which weakens the will during great trials.
“Trouble is, I think you are barking up the wrong tree. Please don’t assume you are the only street-smart person here. You appear to be lecturing us in “passionate political activity”.
No activist I ever met needed me to make them passionate.
“The Jewish people suffered the indignities of German Fascism – How can they now go and practice this against other people without second thought or remorse ? Zionism = Fascism”
Zionism predates the state of Israel and Nazism/Fascism. There are a great many racist zionists — as a racist movement it was RADICALIZED by the Holocaust, not enlightened.
Many of the Jewish people, and of the Israeli people, are PROFOUNDLY opposed to these actions by the radicals who control their government. The very same thing can be said for Iran, or the U.S., which is truly horrible. People want peace, but it just ain’t profitable to the warpigs.
Sorry if anybody wasted their time watching:
I would have called it:
Here’s one you probably haven’t heard. Some lady called the Thom Hartmann show and said she was sure she heard someone say that demolition charges were “built into” the World Trade center when it was constructed so it would be easier to take down when it was old.
I’m going to listen to Alex Jones to see what he thought about the Court TV movie.
*laughing* Well now here’s one origin y’all don’t have to worry about, because it’s one of MY old sayings (and though it’s used figuratively now, its origin was quite literal) –
Y’all stay here and argue about bait and which pole to use, meanwhile I’m gonna go catch some fish.
We all know why we’re here. Let’s not get lost in the distractions. 🙂
Larry, I watched the court tv docuentary on Native Soil,with my husband. Yep I called Bullshit so often my husband kept saying Why. Called a lot of the government witnesses LIARS, which they are. It boggles the mind that people will take this tripe as the definitive truth. People need to do their own research to come to the truth. I think the problem is sheer laziness. Wish it weren’t so but I think it is! You know what else I’ve been pondering, How many people will tell you the internet only publishes lies, is this the rot put out by the powers that be?Its the only conclusion I can come to. When in fact more truth is available everyday on the tubes then anywhere else. I wish the media would put Loose Change on the tube, Oh never mind
Laura:
Speaking of the internet, everyone be sure to call your senator and let him know you want Net Neutrality.
The “tubes” man is trying to wreck it for us, and there isn’t much time. I guess the only thing that will save us is the fact that the right wing crazies love it too.
I can’t imagine life with Comcast and AT&T in charge of what I get to know!