March 16, 2006
All things considered...
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Vietnam war deserter arrested 38 years on
Is this really the sort of thing the Bush Administration wants to encourage? 'Cause I can think of one or two guys who didn't serve all their time back then...
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:51 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
March 01, 2006
Essay topic to annoy right-wingers
Sir Isaiah Berlin, among others, noted that many conquerors have hailed from border regions of the states which they led to empire. Examples include Alexander from Macedonia, Napoleon from Corsica, Stalin from Georgia, and that guy with the mustache from Austria.
Relate this to George W. Bush being from Texas.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 28, 2006
Manpower shortage solved!
I stopped by the campus store to pick up a notebook and a couple of pens. Afterwards I noted that there was a little ad in the bag. Apparently, the National Guard gives you three free I-Tunes if you sign up, which will come in real handy in Iraq.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:51 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
January 31, 2006
Just wondering...
Coretta Scott King has been dead all day. Has she come out in favor of the Iraq War yet?
(I'm going to get in trouble for this, aren't I?)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:55 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
January 15, 2006
We've heard that before
The Advertiser: Expert says Bin Laden could be dead [16jan06]
Let's face it, the man's a cockroach. I won't believe he's dead until we have indisputable proof.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:16 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 10, 2006
Enjoy the survivor benefits!
al.com: NewsFlash - Army's "stop-loss" policy may have kept slain vet from retiring
Twenty years, five tours of duty, seven children, and they wouldn't let him go home. Until now. His wife's on duty too, though they graciously let her accompany his body home.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:37 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
December 15, 2005
This is really unbelievable
CNN.com - McCain, Bush agree on torture ban - Dec 15, 2005
How did it come to this? The President of the United States agreeing, reluctantly, only because his party was abandoning him, to a policy of not torturing people. It's disgusting that this is happening. What's more, they'll probably just ignore the ban.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:40 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 01, 2005
That's just great
2 Alabama Army reservists accused of hitting Afghans
We don't have enough problems in Iraq, we need our soldiers going around abusing prisoners in Afghanistan as well.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 21, 2005
Liberal hawks
There's been a lot of discussion in the liberal blogosphere lately about "liberal hawks" who supported the Iraq War and now are blaming the Bush Administration for screwing it up. I'm sort of a liberal hawk, if not of the type or stature of the type they're talking about, so I figured I should state my case.
My feeling that we should go to war wasn't justified by weapons of mass destruction, nor by the idea that we should go to war for democracy, nor by the idea that Saddam was uniquely evil. I (like almost everybody else) thought that Saddam had chemical and probably biological weapons, and maybe had some low-level nuclear programs running. But at the same time, I didn't think they posed a threat to U.S. interests. I never thought we'd get a working democracy out of this. It would be nice, but I figured the Bushes would wind up installng a western-oriented strongman who would observe the trappings of democracy -- an Iraqi Mubarak, if you will. And everybody knew perfectly well that Saddam was a butcher but not the worst of these.
My feeling was that we were already at war with Iraq. The last war never ended; we had been bombing Iraq off and on for over a decade, and they were shooting back. I also felt that the people of Iraq were having a pretty bad time of this. It was best to end the low-grade war and go in full-force, and end the misery. And I figured that Bush and Cheney always intended to go to war in Iraq, even before 9-11. So get it over with.
So, yes, I'm going to say that the Bush Administration's incompetence surprised me. I never dreamed that they couldn't figure out a way to declare victory and leave a puppet government in charge. I was wrong.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 09, 2005
Terrorist thought processes
CNN.com - Karachi blasts target food outlets - Sep 8, 2005
"Okay, who can we blow up. No Americans around? No Jews? No Europeans? No local Christians? Shi'ites on guard? Okay, let's just blow up a KFC and a McDonalds'."
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 21, 2005
Four more years! Four more years!
CNN.com - Top general: Army preparing for 4 more years - Aug 20, 2005
Apparently that was what they meant at the Republican Convention last year. Good to know.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 17, 2005
The summer of lightning continues
CNN.com - 19 Fort Benning soldiers struck by lightning - Aug 17, 2005
Bet they wish they were in Iraq. Well, not really.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 16, 2005
Finally a Bush Administration policy I can get behind
CNN.com - 'No-fly list' keeps infants off planes - Aug 15, 2005
Damn, it's not all infants. It's just those with similar names to terrorists. Still, it's a start. Maybe we can make "Osama" a popular baby name.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:17 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 01, 2005
Plus, there are the people shooting at you
On the other hand, it's probably more humid here.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 07:21 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 24, 2005
Oh, come on
CNN.com - Shooting victim's kin: Sorry not enough - Jul 23, 2005
I mean, he had it coming. He was wilfully swarthy, after all. Brazil, the Near East -- same difference. Also, in the picture accompanying this story, he has devil eyes.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:29 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 14, 2005
Expensive school
Army applying lessons from Iraq, general says
Um... Where, exactly, are they applying these lessons? Anyway, analogy alert!
When he talks to parents about their sons or daughters joining the Army, McNeill said they often say they don't want their children to die in Iraq. Though soldiers are dying in Iraq, McNeill said "the numbers just don't support that (likelihood)" for everyone who deploys there."We killed more people on the highways in Georgia on Memorial Day than we ever had," McNeill said. "I don't see these parents out there trying to stop kids from driving."
So join the Army! You probably won't die in Iraq! You might just be horribly maimed or psychologically scarred!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:47 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
July 07, 2005
Uh, sure thing, Ger
CNN.com - World leaders condemn attacks, offer support - Jul 7, 2005
Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, the political movement linked to the Irish Republican Army: "I condemn the bomb attacks in London this morning. I have sent a message of sympathy and solidarity to Mr. Blair and the London mayor, Ken Livingstone. On behalf of Sinn Fein I offer my sincere condolences to the victims and the families of those killed and injured and to the people of London."
Of course, the IRA usually called in their attacks before hand, but it's not like they've got clean hands here.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:38 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
The horror in London
At least 40 dead, and that number is expected to rise. Again, what can I say that others won't say better than I can?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:04 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
I don't know what to say
CNN.com - London rocked by explosions - Jul 7, 2005
I never do.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 20, 2005
I'm sure
CNN.com - CIA chief has 'excellent idea' where bin Laden is - Jun 20, 2005
Yes, he's somewhere in Asia.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:15 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 05, 2005
Apparently Joe Biden hates America
nbc13.com - News - Biden Wants U.S. To Shut Down Guantanamo Prison
Let's leave aside what really goes on in Gitmo for now. The real problem is perception. We're getting slammed from all sides on this, and not getting anything out of it as far as I (or anyone else) can tell. The only reason they keep the place open now is seemingly out of sheer bullheadedness. No surprise; that's the Bush guiding principle.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 31, 2005
Kentucky Fried Martyr
11 Dead in Pakistan Mosque Attack, Rampage | ajc.com
So al-Qaeda, or one of its satellite groups, has a guy blow himself up in a Shi'ite mosque. There's nothing new there, it happens in Pakistan all the time nowadays. But then, a mob decides that its answer to this outrage is to... burn down a KFC? Normally, that's done out of anti-Americanism. Don't tell me we're getting blamed for what al-Qaeda does now.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:16 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 03, 2005
The terrorist soccer player
Since the original story on Nizar Trabelsi has decayed, here's a version of it from CNN:
CNN.com - Footballer jailed at terror trial - Sep. 30, 2003
And, interestingly, it turns out that Trabelsi was involved in a more famous case, the Richard Reid attempted "shoe bombing":
CNN.com - 'Shoe bomber' jailed for 13 years - Apr 22, 2005
Trabelsi apparently was Reid's contact, and then tried to get another British loser to try the shoe bomb thing. This one didn't work either. It's somewhat fitting. Trabelsi is a soccer player, and everyone knows they have to use their feet and never their hands.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 29, 2005
What a huge surprise
Immigration arrested 17 undocumented workers at a Mobile chemical refinery in January. Then they called it a "victory in the war on terror". Except that none of the workers were terrorists -- they were just garden-variety illegal aliens. And yet they still say it's a "victory in the war on terror".
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:00 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 08, 2005
They meant to do that
al.com: NewsFlash - Army: Recruiting young blacks tougher now
Amazingly, young black men aren't eager to join the Army anymore, just because they might get shot at and killed in a war they don't support. The Army spins this as a good thing -- black people aren't joining the Army as disproportionately as before. It's intentional! Yeah, right.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:37 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
February 22, 2005
Is this a joke?
Study: Swelling benefits hurt modernization
Someone's actually claiming that the problem with the military is that we're spending too much on personnel and not enough on whiz-bang weapons systems? Is this some sort of parallel universe?
This... cretin... thinks that $14,822 a year for a starting private is just dandy. No, he thinks that it's too much. $14,822 is more than enough to pay someone to go out and get shot at.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:20 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 10, 2005
Maybe it's a secret
Soldiers, families put on brave face
Hmm. Charlie Company of the 926th Army Reserve Engineering Battalion is deploying. It's not clear where. The commander says they're going to Iraq to relieve their sister company, but everyone else says they're going to Afghanistan. Perhaps he's pulling a surprise on them.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 09, 2005
I imagine
For some reason, people aren't all that wild about joining the Army when it means they're going to go to Iraq. Funny, that.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:01 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
December 21, 2004
You have got to be kidding me
Shelby, Spann oppose commuting Lindh's sentence
I am pretty certain that there's no way that Bush will let Taliboy go. But just in case he considers it for a second, Richard Shelby has written a letter in opposition. He was writing on behalf of the father of Mike Spann, the CIA officer killed in a prison revolt -- a prison revolt it's claimed Lindh knew of and did nothing to warn about.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:15 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 06, 2004
There is no terrorism in Saudi Arabia
CNN.com - Attack on U.S. Consulate in Jeddah - Dec 6, 2004
No Americans are known harmed at this time, but four non-American casualties have been reported. The attackers are holding hostages.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 29, 2004
The V-word
Ex-Army officer: `No exit strategy'
Hal Moore, co-author of We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young, Auburn resident, and big Roy Moore fan, mentions the war he was a commander in:
"If we had defeated North Vietnam and Hanoi had surrendered, we'd still have American soldiers there today, occupying that country, filled with land mines, AK-47s, rockets, just like Iraq. We'd still be supporting that country, and our men would still be dying there.""There was no doubt that we could overpower a third-rate, Third World armed force quickly, which we did, but then there was no plans for a morning after."
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 15, 2004
The Army? Dangerous?
nbc13.com - News - Military Probes Whether Unit In Iraq Refused Mission
A quartermaster platoon of reservists allegedly refused to go on a fuel supply mission because it was dangerous. What with it being a war zone and all. Their vehicles were in bad shape and they didn't have a capable armed escort. This is probably all Clinton's fault, unless it's all Kerry's fault. Maybe it's both.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:48 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
October 12, 2004
It's official
CNN.com - Source: U.S. tried twice to rescue hostages - Oct 12, 2004
George Bush is turning into Jimmy Carter.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 07:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
That's an interesting way to put it
CNN.com - Saudi once held by U.S. returns home - Oct 11, 2004
Since Yaser Hamdi was an American citizen born in the United States! "Was" being the operative word, since he was forced to give up his citizenship. I suggest that the Bush Administration might want to see if they can deport more people to their fathers' homelands. Focus on Democratic constituencies in key states, and you'll have this election in the bag.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 23, 2004
It's just a little unsafe
PM Promotes His Image of Mostly Safe Iraq
Boy, am I relieved. It turns out that if you're in Iraq, you almost certainly won't be blown up, or shot, or kidnapped and beheaded. Oh, sure, Fallujah is a horror show, but it's right next to Ramadi, where things aren't so bad. On average there's hardly any violence in Iraq at all.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 14, 2004
And another thing, nitwit...
TNR Online | Freedom Core (print)
How can anyone believe that Iraq is succeeding in drawing off terrorism less than two weeks after the Beslan massacre? What a jackass.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 13, 2004
Monday Moron Columnist
TNR Online | Freedom Core (print)
The flypaper thesis? Easterbrook is actually trying to revive flypaper theory? Yes. Yes he is.
What if the invasion of Iraq is having the unintended consequence of drawing terrorists and killers to that country, where our army can fight them on our terms?
Yeah! And what if the Good Fairy descends onto Iraq and turns all the terrorists into bunnies? Answer that, O Cynical Ones!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:33 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
I guess we're trying to save Fallujah
al.com: NewsFlash - U.S. bomb insurgent stronghold of Fallujah
What's the point? I ask this in all sincerity. I don't understand what we gain by this, and what we lose by it is all too apparent.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:14 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 11, 2004
"Everything has changed"
That was the story after 9-11. The old world was gone, there was no normal anymore. And after 3,000 dead, and a hole in the ground, and two wars being fought on the cheap by an Administration that can't admit that you have to make sacrifices if you want to fight a war... nothing changed. The situation may change. People never do.
I never bought that everything had changed. People underestimate the ability of human beings to adapt to anything. Everyone was in a state of shock for a little while there, but the effects soon began to wear off. Three years later, the United States is back to what passes for normal, in the midst of a political campaign straight out of the Atwater playbook. All we wound up with in the end was another thing for people to politicize.
U.S.S. Cole Memorial service, Oct. 2000
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:36 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 09, 2004
Murdering bastards kill wrong people
CNN.com - Deadly car bomb rocks Jakarta - Sep 9, 2004
There's your headline. All they managed to do was kill eight people who happened to be near the Australian Embassy. Some inside were wounded, but nobody was killed. I guess the security there is tighter than at nightclubs.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 05, 2004
I'm not particularly surprised
Herald.com | 09/05/2004 | Graham book: Inquiry into 9/11, Saudi ties blocked
Yikes. Bob Graham has a book coming out Tuesday claiming that two of the 9-11 hijackers got financial support from agents of the Saud government. And that the congressional investigation was blocked when it tried to look into the hijackers' ties to the Saud government. And he doesn't like Bush much.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:28 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 01, 2004
Some will even do their normal jobs
Alabama Guard activates 200 soldiers for Middle East operations
There are two units involved here. One, the 128th Medical Company, will do its usual work providing ambulance service. As for the other:
The 258th Chemical Company, from Springville and Gadsden, will shed its traditional duties as a decontamination unit to provide security at a military base in Germany. The unit will be supporting anti-terror efforts in the Middle East as a part of Operation Enduring Freedom, said Lt. Col. Bob Horton.
So we have trained decontamination workers who will instead stand around outside a military base in Germany, in order for the people who usually stand around can go to Iraq to get blown up. Make sense to you? If so, can you explain it to me?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
You're not invited
1st administrator of Iraq at UAH
Backstabbed general Jay Garner is going to speak to graduates of the Defense Acquisition University's program management office course, but the general public isn't invited. The Defense Acquisition University trains defense contractors, as you might have guessed. I had no idea there even was such a thing. Learn something new every day.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 27, 2004
Pretty awful story
Herald.com | 08/27/2004 | Marine's dad won't be charged
A Miami-area father, upon learning that his son had been killed in Iraq, got into the Marine van that had carried the messengers, poured gasoline all around, and set it afire. The van was destroyed, and he was severely burned. The Marines say that they won't charge him.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 26, 2004
I'm not sure if this is good or bad
al.com: NewsFlash - Britain arrests radical cleric al-Masri
Generally, I'm in favor of arresting the terrorism-enabling bastard. But it looks like the British courts are going to try him instead of shipping him to America. (We didn't already have him because of their law against extradition to a death penalty country unless the death penalty is waived.) Generally, European courts are far more lenient than ours, but Britain has a pretty strong suite of terrorism laws from what I know.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 19, 2004
Shorter Evil Little Troll
Sessions says troop shift helps Redstone
"Shutting down our unnecessary bases in Europe and Asia means we won't have to shut down our unnecessary bases here at home."
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 03, 2004
They'd never play politics with terror alerts
DHS raised the alert level due to reports that were three or four years old. Let's see, three years ago, attacks on targets in New York and Washington... Wow, the government's finally got solid evidence of al-Qaeda planning the 9-11 attacks!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:20 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 30, 2004
Terrorist logic
CNN.com - Two killed in Uzbekistan blasts - Jul 30, 2004
You don't like American policy or your government's adherence to it? Blow up the Israeli embassy! Following the initial principles of the common terrorist's mind, this actually makes sense. At any even, the embassy is unharmed as are all personnel inside, because the terrorists did a lousy job.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 22, 2004
Was this a Clinton policy, by any chance?
CNN.com - Report: Bigger breasts offered as perk to soldiers - Jul 21, 2004
Breast implants, face lifts, rhinoplasty, even liposuction for free. Apparently, "the surgeons have to have someone to practice on." Just in case breast implants have to be put in in the field?
Not that I'm voicing disagreement with the policy. Not at all... Hee, "perk".
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:35 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
BEEP BEEP BEEP
CNN.com - Video shows 9/11 hijackers at airport - Jul 22, 2004
"I'm sorry, Mr. Moqed, but you've set off the alarm again. Will you please stand aside?"
[CURSORY WAND SCAN]
"Okay, you can go ahead. Enjoy your flight!"
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 21, 2004
Inflation
CNN.com - Militant group takes 6 civilians hostage in Iraq - Jul 21, 2004
I guess they got tired of picking off truckers one by one and decided to grab themselves a volleyball team's worth. They say they'll start beheading them if the truckers' companies don't withdraw from Iraq. I'm not quite certain how that's supposed to help the people of Iraq, but then I don't think that's high on the kidnappers' list of concern.
The militant group calls itself the Black Flags. Isn't that a bug spray?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:04 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Somebody needs a psychiatrist
Yahoo! News - Ala. Doctor Reactivated for Iraq War at 68
John Wicks is one. He's also 68 years old, and is going to Iraq. Wicks was told by a recruiter that he was going to somewhere in Europe to relieve a younger psychiatrist who could then go to Iraq. In other words, psych!
(Pointed out by Michael Bowen.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 17, 2004
Weirdo
Go back to Iraq? Marine can't wait
I knew the Marines were gung-ho, but eagerness to return to Iraq seems a bit much. Says his father:
"He is firmly convinced that when he went over there the first time, he personally saved the lives of 34 million Iraqis. He's an idiot, but that's my son. I guess I would rather him be a Marine than doing drugs or knocking over gas stations."
You know, those aren't the only options.
This is all meant in fun. I'm not dubious about this guy -- I'm awed. I have serious problems about the current adventure, but very few with the United States Marine Corps.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 15, 2004
"I can't say much for my surgeon's bedside manner."
Military gaffe adds to grieving mom's pain
The Army, doing what it does so well, sent a letter to Alabama Air National Guard Spc. Paul J. Bueche asking for feedback on the medical care he received after being injured doing repair work on helicopters. He didn't respond, but I'm guessing he didn't have a very favorable opinion of it, since he died. His mother is not amused.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 09, 2004
Private enterprise
CNN.com - Americans held over 'fake prison' - Jul 9, 2004
The Afghan "government" has arrested three Americans for running what's being called a "fake prison" out of a house in Kabul. Actually, the prison seems quite real, and had eight inmates. They just didn't have any authority to hold prisoners. The Americans say they just wanted to take part in the War on Terror. Their M.O. was to "arrest" anyone they saw with a long beard. Are we sure these aren't American government agents?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 08, 2004
Israel, the Republicans, and the Religious Right
As many of you no doubt know, a significant portion of Republican support for Israel is a result of Christian fundamentalism. This isn't about any fondness for Israel as such, or for Jews in general, but rather because of fundamentalist apocalyptic beliefs. They think that the end of the world is coming, and as part of this they think that there has to be a state of Israel in existence. That Israel, according to their (somewhat tortured) reading of the Revelation of John, will be destroyed, and the Jews will all convert to Christianity as a result. (Simplistic, but no more simplistic than the economic views of the GOP.)
I've been arguing with Alex about this for some time. He seems, in my opinion, entirely too comfortable with a Republican Party that bases its support of Israel not on the grounds of traditional Democratic support but rather on weird right-wing Christian grounds. I can't imagine being comfortable with this group of Christian Zionists, which include some of the most reactionary elements of the Religious Right.
But let's leave that aside. Let's look at the consequences of an Israel policy based upon Christian millenarianism. Consider, for example, the story of Eliot Abrams and the Christian Zionists. Abrams, the NSC's top man on the Middle East, had to go sit down with a bunch of fundamentalists to assure them that if the Israeli government withdrew from Gaza it wasn't a violation of the Covenant or something, and that there weren't any important religious sites in Gaza. The group he met with -- the "Apostolic Congress" -- believes that if Israel withdraws from Gaza Jesus won't come back.
Look, there's no question but that any sort of peace settlement is going to involve Israel giving up any claim to Gaza. (Most Israelis don't even want Gaza.) But here's a significant portion of the President's base saying that they can't support Gaza withdrawal proposed by the Sharon government.
The fact is, leaving aside the Christian Zionist beliefs about the "complete Israel" (and a literal reading of the Bible would mean that Israel would not only have to control all of the current state, including the West Bank and Gaza, but most of Jordan and much of Syria) there's an important point to consider here. The majority of Israelis want peace. Most Americans want peace in the region. These people, the people the Bush Administration is sucking up to, are actively opposed to peace.
Remember, they want Israel to exist so it can be destroyed. A secure Israel at peace with its neighbors isn't what they want. They want an Israel surrounded by enemies. They want Israel to try and control the full extent of the ancient claim, and then for the Arabs to invade Israel and destroy it. That this isn't good for Israelis, or anybody else, doesn't enter into it. They're trying to force a prophesy to come to pass. Millions will die? Heck, they want the whole world to be destroyed.
Now, does this sound like a group of people you want on your side? Of anything?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:25 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
July 07, 2004
More pie for me!
Herald.com | 07/07/2004 | Jenne: Miami's hogging security cash
A car crash into a terminal at the Fort Lauderdale airport was, of course, Miami's fault. So says the sheriff of Broward County. If he got more security money, and Miami got less, this sort of thing wouldn't happen. And, gosh, why would the Miami airport need to be secure?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I'm sure they all deserved it
Sadly, No!: Children in Iraqi prisons
Torturing children. A special children's section at Abu Ghraib? This is what it comes to? If this is true, any soldier who participated should be court-martialed, and any member of the government who knew about it impeached.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 28, 2004
Wassef Ali Hassoun
CNN.com - Father pleads for missing Marine's safety - Jun 28, 2004
A reader emailed me pointing out that Cpl. Hassoun is originally from Lebanon and thus might well be a Christian. I doubted that because his middle name "Ali" would be unlikely for a Christian from what I know, but it does make it more likely he's a Shi'ite, and a Sunni extremist probably wouldn't consider him a Muslim anyway. (Juan Cole says that the population of Lebanon is about 40 percent Shi'ite, which would make it the largest group in the country. Hezbollah, of course, is a Shi'ite group.)
At any event, his father, Ali Mohammed Hassoun, not only has a transparently Muslim name but pleads with his son's captors in the name of the Prophet.
Under my limited understanding of Islam, even the usual terrorist murder of Christians and Jews (who are fellow People of the Book) is a violation of the commands of the Prophet. But that of a Muslim is certainly so. Not that terrorists are actually religious folk, but that's their excuse and a main root of their popularity.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:30 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
I feel really comfortable with this
The Supreme Court has refused to rule on Jose Padilla's case. In other words, it's not interested in sorting out whether the executive branch can, on its own authority, imprison an American citizen indefinitely, not allow him to talk to his attorneys, and basically do whatever it wants to with him as long as it says he's a terrorist.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:53 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
I don't know that much about Islam
washingtonpost.com: Group Threatens Missing Marine
I'll admit that. A layman's knowledge. But I'm pretty sure that the name of Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun is a pretty good indicator that he's a Muslim. And I'm fairly certain that good Muslims aren't supposed to kidnap, torture, and murder other Muslims.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:41 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Let's get out of here!
CNN.com - Iraq handover of sovereignty completed - Jun 28, 2004
Things are going so well in Iraq that we've handed things over two days early? Bremer then got on a helicopter and was never seen again.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 27, 2004
What can I say?
CNN.com - Car bombs kill 40 in southern Iraq - Jun 26, 2004
The grand adventure is a nightmare. Terrorists are getting their rocks off by beheading people who aren't even the people they have an argument with. The Bush Administration is getting ready to turn the whole mess over to somebody else and declare victory. Repeat as necessary.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 24, 2004
"A high level of collusion"
CNN.com - More than 80 killed in series of attacks in Iraq - Jun 24, 2004
If there were any doubt left, this removes it: there's a national anti-American movement in Iraq. And it's getting stronger.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:11 AM | Comments (3) |