Category Archives: The War

Seeing the Palestinian Authority clearly

Posted on May 12, 2011 | Comments Off on Seeing the Palestinian Authority clearly

Aljazeera’s journalistic objectivity is debatable, but even a stopped clock is reliable twice a day. As in this piece decrying an alleged Israeli  aim to swap Israeli arabs for peace with West Bank Palestinians. Two Israeli arabs are candidly quoted about why they would fight deportation:

“‘[Israel] is a Western country, it’s more developed, there are more options, less corruption,’ said Ismail Athmani, 34. ‘And I was born in Israel. I’m not leaving.’

“But the economy wasn’t the only reason why Baqa al-Gharbiyya residents said they prefer Israel to Palestine. Several described the West Bank as a police state, and said that – despite the discrimination they face – they prefer the level of political freedom in Israel.

“‘It’s bad in the West Bank. We have family there, we hear things. The police in Palestine, you can’t talk about politics unless you’re in the most closed-off place. Otherwise you die,’ Athmani said.

His friend Abu Mokh leaned across the table to interrupt him. ‘Not die,’ he said with a rueful grin. ‘You just disappear.'”

Funny how Obamalot and its “diplomatic” mouthpieces can’t seem to see (and certainly never will say) what Israel’s “peace partner” really is.

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Posted in Israel, Obamalot, The War

So where’s the proof?

Posted on May 6, 2011 | Comments Off on So where’s the proof?

So far we only know that the White House and the Pentagon insist that OBL is dead. They got him. Obamalot fulfilled the promise Bush Jr. made in 2001. The American people, wanting it so badly, stood up and cheered. A bit prematurely.

Now Obamalot won’t release the pictures. Too gory. Spiking the ball, etc. Could it be the commandos messed up the dead guy’s face to the extent that the pictures prove nothing? Seems so. Mighty dumb of them to be so careless.

We’ve already heard that the DNA “match” is familial, rather than a true “match.” OBL had only a half-sister, whose DNA the government has, and apparently none from him or his parents. So all the feds can say with certainty is that the dead guy was a member of OBL’s extended family. Hardly definitive.

None of which is getting much ink, of course. The Democrat media is more than happy to take the word of the government, and ridicule those who won’t. Against all past experience, starting with Watergate. Ah, but that was a Republican, see. We can trust Democrats. Well, not all of us do.

UPDATE:  This will certainly be enough for some. I’d still like to see our proof.

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Posted in Afghanistan, Obamalot, Science/Engineering, Scribbles, The War

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Forgetting the freeing of the slaves

Posted on May 5, 2011 | Comments Off on Forgetting the freeing of the slaves

The new U.S. Army recruiting commercial, a paean to West Point, ROTC and the OCS, is stirring. But it skips from Washington to Teddy R. and onward, missing Grant, Sherman. The freeing of the slaves, guys! No big deal?

I suppose there’s just too many Southerners in the Army these days to want to risk bringing up bad memories of civil wars, etc. Hardly their fault. Too many wimps on both coasts won’t join.

As a onetime Army recruiter, I know the Army was never much good at making commercials. But (except for losing those good Union boys, the blacks as well as the whites) this one is pretty fair. At least they haven’t dumped the good Army Strong music.

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Posted in Civil War, The War, Troops

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Israeli Centurion MBT

Posted on May 3, 2011 | Comments Off on Israeli Centurion MBT

It was chilly up there on the Golan Heights in late March when I posed beside this Israeli Centurion, a mainstay of the IDF Armored Corps on the Golan in the 1973 war. It was parked at a memorial for the 679 Reserve Armored Brigade which lost 98 men and two score tanks fighting a superior force of Syrians.

The Centurions have been replaced by Merkevas, but the old British tanks are remembered for the accuracy of their 105mm main guns and the way shells from Syria’s Russian T-62s ricocheted off the Centurion plate. Which is why, although the Israeli Armored Corps also purchased U.S. M-48s and M-60s, they bought more of the Centurions and preferred them.

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Posted in Israel, Science/Engineering, Scribbles, The War

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Stuxnet is to laugh

Posted on May 1, 2011 | Comments Off on Stuxnet is to laugh

Islam makes you stupid, indeed. Thus the Iranians continue to prattle about their coming nuclear capability, even as the reported Zionist computer virus continues to cripple their nuclear plant—with forecasts of more to come. It’s much better than bombs, and a lot safer for the pilots, too.

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Posted in Blogosphere, Israel, Science/Engineering, The War

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Paris By Night

Posted on April 28, 2011 | Comments Off on Paris By Night

Found another good, melodic duet by a Vietnamese man, Manh Dinh and a woman, Y Phung. I decided to look for a possible YouTube video of them performing. Found it (their love ballad begins at 2:10 here, at the Houston Grand Opera, no less) and I noticed, hey, that guy’s wearing an ARVN uniform with jump (or pilot?) wings.

All these thirty-six years after the ARVN (the Army of the Republic of (South) Viet Nam) fled their Northern cousins, the communists?

Turns out to be a performance of Paris By Night, a video series of variety shows featuring 1960s-era Vietnamese ballads from Saigon nightclubs, and some new material.  Like a Broadway or Las Vegas show. The tapes have been produced and sold throughout the world’s Vietnamese refugee community, particularly the Viet Kieu, the Vietnamese Americans, since 1983.

The communist government of Viet Nam considers them a “reactionary cultural product” and tries to block them from sale in the People’s Republic, but they reportedly still get through to the interested via the black market.

The theme of many of the songs is the lost war, hence Manh Dinh (much too young to have been in the war) wearing full ARVN, including U.S. Army jungle boots. It makes sense. Many of the refugees, at least the initial waves, were middle- and upper-middle class urban South Vietnamese. The intelligentsia. With enough discretionary income to buy videos. And to be sentimental about what was, and was not to be.

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Posted in Library, Music, The War, Viet Nam

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IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade

Posted on April 26, 2011 | Comments Off on IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade

Used to be, in the American army, it was “smoke ’em if ya got ’em,” and almost everyone did. And almost everyone had a Zippo lighter, too.

Nowadays, when the American army is so PC that it can’t stop murderous Muslims from joining its ranks and shooting up its bases, smoking is discouraged and the Zippo has gone the way of running in boots. Well, that part never made a whole lot of  sense. Except, in combat, you might not have time to stop and put on your running shoes.

So what’s the point? And why the picture? That’s a Zippo, right there. And it’s emblazoned with the insignia of the 7th Armored Brigade, which commands the tank formations in the Israel Defense Forces. And they do smoke in the IDF, like just about everyone else in Israel. Well, a lot of them do. Besides, I like to annoy the anti-smokers on the intertubes.

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Posted in Israel, The War, Troops

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