From The Loop

Trapped in the Loop, the views of one Chicagoan manage to escape.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Iranian Speaker Threatens Israel

From the "We're neutral, honest, you don't believe us, hoorj Hizbullah" files, the Iranian Speaker of Parliament let one slip and AP is there to report it.
"The towns you have built in northern Palestine (Israel) are within the range of the brave Lebanese children. No part of Israel will be safe," Haddad Adel told thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators in Palestine Square.

More denial of the existence of the state of Israel, not that this is the first time an Iranian official has declared the real intentions of the Islamists. But the AP is right there with their parantheses to correct Mr. Speaker.

Explain This

I'm reading Laura Rozen's piece in the American Prospect interviewing Mark Perry, co-director of "Conflicts Forum". Mr. Perry mentions that the other co-director of the forum is Alistair Crooke. That name rang a bell.

It did when I reviewed my reading list. Frontpage Magazine had a piece that discussed Alistair Crooke's, a former MI6 agent and security adviser to the EU's Middle East envoy, activities in the disputed territories. Crooke conducted a secret meeting with the now deceased Shiekh Ahmed Yassin, spiritual founder of Hamas.

How did we learn about this meeting?
The veil of secrecy was broken, however, when the Israel Defense Forces seized a transcript of the meeting in November 2002 at the compound of the Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security Service in Gaza.

Why would the PA be in possession of a transcript of a meeting between Hamas and the EU Envoy's security adviser? Another tie between the PA and Hamas is revealed.

News on British Intelligence regarding Iraq-Niger?

Christopher Hitchens has a piece up at Slate about the Novak non-story. Read the whole thing for all the details. But Hitchens slips a blurb in about something I'm very interesting in reading.
Meanwhile, the evidence continues to mount that the original British intelligence on the Niger connection was genuine, and that Wilson missed it. And I have some more material on that, which I shall be sharing with you soon.

Do tell Mr. Hitchens.

lol, Podhoretz

Friday, July 14, 2006

FINALLY!!!

President Bush is vetoing a bill!

Break out the champagne. The President is vetoing the embryonic stem cell bill in a ceremony at the White House this Wednesday.

It's a two-for-one celebration. The President is killing a terrible bill and it's his first use of the Veto powers.

California Supreme Court Decision

This story caught my attention last night as it was scrolling by on the news ticker. The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of two California plaintiffs that their privacy rights were violated by Salomon Smith Barney when their phone calls to brokers from California to Georgia were recorded by SSB. Their rights were violated because SSB did not inform or seek consent of the California callers to record the conversation.

I used to work in the securities industry. I was responsible for the audio recordings. We recorded everything. Every call made to the order desk or the help desk was recorded. It didn't matter from where those calls originated. We recorded the conversation because we had to make sure that if there was any miscommunication we could go to the "videotape" to listen to the exact words.

We had major clients in California. Were they aware we were violating their privacy rights? I doubt it.

I'm curious if this case can be appealed to Federal court due to the interstate commerce involved. I imagine the General Counsel's office at SSB will do so.

The DCCC's Ad Source Material

Update below.


Source

This is the image created by the proprietors of chickenhead.com. Chickenhead.com is the creator of whitehouse.org. Browse on over to their site if you wish to view their exhibitionist humor. But before you do, ask yourself why the same image would show up in Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee ads?


Source

Send this one to your family? Good idea. My family would love to know that the Democrat Party is using source material from an array of sites that features such slogans as "Jesus was a Pinko Commie".

UPDATE: The DCCC has pulled the ad.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Kidnappings and Strikes: Iran's Psychotic Attempt to Buy Time

Last week's kidnapping of Gilad Shalit in the Gaza Strip appeared to be an isolated incident at the time. Hamas denied responsibility for the kidnapping, but was not apologetic for it even as the elected government of the Palestinian people. Hamas defended the kidnapping, thus condoning it, to use it as a way to negotiate the release of terrorists in Israeli jails. Again, this appeared to be an isolated squabble between Israel and Hamas.

That was until the strike in Northern Israel by Hizbullah killing eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapping two more. The strike inside Israeli territory was a blatant act of war by a so called militia that cannot be controlled by the government from within whose borders they thrive. If Lebanon cannot control a militia within its borders, then it cannot protest actions taken against the militia when it permeates offensive strikes against neighboring countries. Russia and France have condemned the Israeli retalitory strikes inside Lebanon. Note to Russia and France: pinch the critiques of Israel. The real problem here is the refusal by the Lebanese government to reign in the terrorists they harbor.

What seem like two independent strikes against Israel conjoin together when analyzed along side the negotiations with Iran to quell their nuclear program. Iran has delayed negotiations time and time again. They've deliberately stalled in order to buy as much time as possible. What could potentially buy them an infinite amount of time? Pull off some strikes against Israel to force an Israeli retaliation thus sending all the anti-Israel forces at the UN into a dizzy spin. The General Assembly will no doubt condemn the Israeli strikes and demand the matter be addressed by the UN Security Council. The same Security Council that is about to take up the Iranian nuclear issue.

The trend is blatantly obvious to any serious observer to Iranian foreign affairs. For years they have fought a proxy war against Israel's right to exist. They have NEVER been punished for their policy. In fact, western nations have pinch-hit for Iran at the UN to defend the proxy war.

Iran has now staked their nuclear program on a time table of war between their proxies and Israel. The affair will tie all the surrounding nations of Israel to the conflict by the presences of the proxies within each nation, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Egypt respectively.

What can be done?

Update: Bill Roggio says that a well known Hizbullah terrorist is likely behind the strikes gainst Israel.

Austin Bay notices the Boston Globe's Editorial Board and I are in agreement.

Charles Johnson is highlighting the implications made by "Little Arafat", of Hamas, from Damascus, regarding the previously alleged[ed. totally obvious from the beginning] cooperation between Hamas political wing and Hamas militant wing.

Robert Novak on Hannity & Colmes