Tag: Israel
Terrorist plot to blow up Jewish Synagogues in the Bronx thwarted
This news broke last night, but I was not in any mood to write about it.
Video Report, showing NY’s Mayor Bloomberg:
Four men were arrested Wednesday night in what the authorities said was a plot to bomb two synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down military planes at an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, N.Y.
The men, all of whom live in Newburgh, about 60 miles north of New York City, were arrested around 9 p.m. after planting what they believed to be bombs in cars outside the Riverdale Temple and the nearby Riverdale Jewish Center, officials said. But the men did not know the bombs, obtained with the help of an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were fake.
The arrests capped what officials described as a “painstaking investigation” that began in June 2008 involving an F.B.I. agent who had been told by a federal informant of the men’s desire to attack targets in America. As part of the plot, the men intended to fire Stinger missiles at military aircraft at the base, which is at Stewart International Airport, officials said.
“This latest attempt to attack our freedoms shows that the homeland security threats against New York City are sadly all too real and underscores why we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said in a statement. The mayor was expected to appear at 6:45 a.m. Thursday at the Riverdale Jewish Center morning services, joined by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.
The charges against the four men represent some of the most significant allegations of domestic terrorism in some time, and come months into a new presidential administration, as President Obama grapples with the question of how to handle detainees at the Guantánamo Bay camp in Cuba.
Rabbi Jonathan I. Rosenblatt, the senior rabbi at the Riverdale Jewish Center, a modern Orthodox congregation, said the police informed him on Wednesday evening that his synagogue was a target of the plot, as well as the Riverdale Temple, a Reform synagogue that is a short distance away, on Independence Avenue. The two buildings are about six blocks apart, each with a brick facade. Outside the synagogues on Wednesday night, the streets were eerily quiet.
Rabbi Rosenblatt said in a phone interview that he took the news with “shock, surprise — a sense of disbelief that something which is supposed to belong to the world of front pages and the evening news had invaded the quiet world of our synagogue.”
via 4 Accused of Bombing Plot at Bronx Synagogues – NYTimes.com.
Of course, the Neo-Conservative Blogs are all over this one. A couple of things to point out:
- There’s no proof at all, that these guys were connected to any sort of formal terrorist group
- They never were able to obtain any sort of real weapons
So, what we have here is a group of wanna-be’s who got caught. This is what, the second time? The first was the much hyped Fort Dix plot; which turned out to be a great deal of nothing. I am sure that the Conservative media and blogs are going to hype this for all it is worth. The liberal-controlled media; hopefully, will take a more reasoned approach to the situation and report the facts, and shy away from the hype.
Do not misunderstand me here. I personally believe that the war on terrorism, as George W. Bush rightfully called it, is quite real. However, I have a hard time believing that this group of bumbling idiots were a part of it formally. If anything, these guys were a group of morons who could not even make a pipe bomb; much less a damn bomb capable of causing any sort of real damage.
As to why they did it. These guys were upset about our involvement in Afghanistan. We can expect to see this sort of a thing, as that War progresses. Now the idiots on the far liberal left will try and say that this is why we should leave Afghanistan. Which any sane, rational person knows is foolish. We should not leave until Osama and his henchmen are dead and Al-Qaeda is formally defeated. Some say this is impossible. I believe nothing is impossible, if it is done correctly. The far left likes to bring up that Russia tried to fight a war in this region and ended up pulling out. I say; apples and oranges. Different kind of a war, and the Russians did not have nearly the Military that we have and the technology that we have today.
The good thing about all this is, that this terrorist cell was broken up and these idiots are going to jail. Thanks to the fine work of our men at the F.B.I. Good show guys, keep up the good work.
Update: …and then there’s the Libertarian conspiracy theorist angle. No wonder the Republicans think that most libertarians are kooks.
An Alternate View on Israel and Gaza
Is found here
The Southern Avenger says "Partisans Make Us Less Safe"
How support for both “financial security” and “national security” reveal partisan hypocrisy and make us less safe.
Guest Voice: How to Keep Our Kids Out of the "Trench Coat Mafia" by David Cloud
The following is written by a Fundamental Baptist Missionary, David Cloud; of whom a respect greatly. Please, keep this in mind when reading this. I present this for informational purposes only. As a disclaimer, the views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of this blog.
Updated April 23, 2009 (first published April 24, 1999) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) –
On April 20, 1999, two high school seniors filled with occultic hatred murdered 12 of their fellow students and a 47-year-old teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, before taking their own lives. The shooters also wounded another 20 students, some extremely seriously. At least one has never walked again and others have had long and difficult recoveries.
The Columbine murderers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, used shotguns, a rifle, a handgun, and pipe bombs in the attack. They laughed as they destroyed and mangled their victims. Witnesses reported that “they were just hooting and hollering, having the time of their lives.”
They had planned to kill hundreds, but their larger bombs did not explode. They rigged bombs out of propane tanks attached to gasoline cans and strung them with nails to enhance the shrapnel effect and placed them in the cafeteria, planning to detonate them when the room was packed with students and teachers at the height of the lunch period. They planned for the ensuing fireball to collapse the second floor onto the lunch room and thus add to the mayhem. They also rigged similar bombs and placed them in their cars and set them to explode 45 minutes after the initial blasts, intending to turn the cars into fireballs that would kill more students, plus paramedics, police, reporters, and others who were responding to the tragedy. By God’s grace, none of the propane bombs exploded.
At least 75 people have been killed on public school campuses since the Columbine shootings. Between 1992 and 2006 there were 330 murders committed by students on school property. The carnage was perpetrated by self-centered, hateful, vengeful, foul-mouthed students.
Early news reports stated that the Columbine murderers were members of a loose-knit group of young people who wore long trench coats, black clothing, and other “gothic” attire and delved into occultic and violent themes, but part of this turned out not to be true. The teens were wearing trench coats the day of the mass murder, but they were not members of the so-called Trench Coat Gang. Early reports also speculated that the boys lashed out at athletes and other popular teens because they had experienced constant bullying and social ostracism. In fact, both boys had a fairly wide circle of friends and were the bullies rather than the bullied, and they did not target athletes or any other particular group. They hated everybody! “Dylan laughed about picking on the new freshmen and [others]. Neither one complained about bullies picking on them–they boasted about doing it themselves” (Dave Cullen, Columbine, 2009, p. 258). Eric went through his junior yearbook and defaced the photos of the majority of his fellow students, labeling them “worthless,” writing that they would die, or making an X over their pictures (Columbine, p. 257).
Continue reading “Guest Voice: How to Keep Our Kids Out of the "Trench Coat Mafia" by David Cloud”
The Southern Avenger on "Tea Parties vs. The Warfare State"
How in praising the tea parties one week, then defending President Bush on torture and his “War on Terror” the next, conservatives negate their alleged anti-government message.
Rep. Jane Harmon Recorded on Wiretap promising to intervene on AIPAC's Behalf
This story, if proven to be true. Could be extremely huge.
This one comes via CQ Politics:
Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department to reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington.
Harman was recorded saying she would “waddle into” the AIPAC case “if you think it’ll make a difference,” according to two former senior national security officials familiar with the NSA transcript.
In exchange for Harman’s help, the sources said, the suspected Israeli agent pledged to help lobby Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., then-House minority leader, to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections, which the Democrats were heavily favored to win.
Seemingly wary of what she had just agreed to, according to an official who read the NSA transcript, Harman hung up after saying, “This conversation doesn’t exist.”
This, by the way, is not big news, it was reported back in 2006:
They were widely reported in 2006, along with allegations that the FBI launched an investigation of Harman that was eventually dropped for a “lack of evidence.”
What is new is that Harman is said to have been picked up on a court-approved NSA tap directed at alleged Israel covert action operations in Washington.
And that, contrary to reports that the Harman investigation was dropped for “lack of evidence,” it was Alberto R. Gonzales, President Bush’s top counsel and then attorney general, who intervened to stop the Harman probe.
Why? Because, according to three top former national security officials, Gonzales wanted Harman to be able to help defend the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, which was about break in The New York Times and engulf the White House.
So, ol’ Alberto or as some like to call him fredo; figures he would save her skin, so she could defend his program.
Of course, Harman is doing the obvious spin and deny routine:
Harman declined to discuss the wiretap allegations, instead issuing an angry denial through a spokesman.
“These claims are an outrageous and recycled canard, and have no basis in fact,” Harman said in a prepared statement. “I never engaged in any such activity. Those who are peddling these false accusations should be ashamed of themselves.”
Yes, How dare they expose me as the crook that I am?!?!? I mean, can’t a gal be a little crooked without some johnny do-gooder opening his mouth and ruining my fun? 😉 😛
However, there are those that do not quite see it that way:
As for there being “no evidence” to support the FBI probe, a source with first-hand knowledge of the wiretaps called that “bull****.”
I read those transcripts,” said the source, who like other former national security officials familiar with the transcript discussed it only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of domestic NSA eavesdropping.
“It’s true,” added another former national security official who was briefed on the NSA intercepts involving Harman. “She was on there.”
So, it looks like Harman was caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar on this one here, and her buddy Alberto was running cover for her. How quaint.
Now I know, every Paleo-Conservative that reads this, is going to go; “Hey, Wow! AIPAC is caught in a scandal! Maybe we’ll get lucky and the Justice Dept. will finally bust these idiots and they’ll be ran out of Washington D.C. for good.” In fact, I have heard rumors that Pat Buchanan went into a full body orgasm, when he heard about this. 😉 Well, I hate to be the one to wee wee on your little parade. But, if you think for one minute that the Israeli lobby is not going to go down without a huge, and I do mean, HUGE fight; you are very highly mistaken. As most of you already know, AIPAC and the rest of them Israeli lobby have money; big money, as in “Donald Trump” kind of big money. As in enough money to stave something like this off and make them walk away smelling like a rose. What will most likely happen is, AIPAC will just say that it was rogue element within thier organzation and will deny that they knew anything about it. Now, Rep. Harman? I hope she’s got good lawyers! Because AIPAC and the rest of ’em will leave her out to dry. There always has to be a fall guy; well, in her case, A fall gal.
This should be a very interesting story to follow!
Finally! Something worth blogging about! 😀 😉 😛
Of Idologues, Realists and, uh, Neo-Cons. Seriously.
Over at The American Conservative, Daniel Larison writes regarding Jeff Goldberg‘s latest attempt at Conservative punditry:
The way to tell an ideologue from a realist, and the reason realists are not simply ideologues posing as something else, is that the ideologue will persist in a course of action long after it has failed and long after everyone knows it has failed because he thinks that his “values” demand it. Instead of “let justice be done, though the heavens fall,” the ideologue says, “I am right, and the world can go to hell if it doesn’t agree.” The ideologue is terrified of having to make adjustments and adapt to the world as it really is, because these adjustments reveal to the ideologue just how far removed from that reality he has become. The ideologue keeps redefining the justification for the policy, he keeps rewriting history to suit his own purposes, and he never accepts responsibility for the failure of his ideas, because he believes they have never been faithfully followed. For the realist, cutting one’s losses and reassessing the merits of a policy are always supposed to be possibilities, but for the ideologue the former is equivalent to surrender and the latter is inconceivable. In his greatest confusion of all, Goldberg manages to mix up realists with their opposites.
Gosh is he ever right. I have never quite understood the whole “Defend Israel to the death!” mantra that emanates from those Neo-Conservative cesspools. Only thing further I can add to that, is what was described above is basically what the George W. Bush Administration was for the last 8 years. Ideology that was out of touch with the rest of the World. Believe me when I say this; I am no fan of Islam or the Islamification of America. But Iraq was a unneeded diversion from the REAL war on terror that was in Afghanistan; even now, there are signs that we might just have squandered that opportunity.
The thing that I detest so greatly about the Neo-Conservatives is the whole, “You’re either with us or your an Anti-American” bit that was put on those of us, who felt Iraq was just wrong; that and the whole playing of the race card towards anyone that spoke out against the Iraq war or the Neo-Conservatives foreign policy stance. A foreign policy; that while it may have kept us safe in the short term, in the long term, it makes more hated, and more vulnerable to attack, both here and abroad.
This is why I go out of my way to identify myself with the Paleo-Conservative right, and not your “Weekly Standard” Neo-Conservative right. Because I disagree with the Bush Doctrine, the Iraq War and the whole idea of Christians aligning themselves with unbelievers; otherwise known as Jews, to support a Country that Christians, that is if they’re even truly Saved will somehow occupy once Christ returns for his Church. Which is pretty funny, considering the Bible says he will create a New Heaven and New Earth.
Just my two cents. 😀
Reality is a dish served cold
It seems that Israel is unimpressed by the hope and change montra of Barack Obama.
Via the Jerusalem Post:
“Israel does not take orders from [Barack] Obama,” Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) said on Monday, responding to an earlier statement by the US president in which he reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to all previous understandings between Israel and the Palestinians, including the process launched at Annapolis, Maryland, in 2007.
Erdan, who is also the liaison between the cabinet and the Knesset, praised Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Israel Beiteinu), who only last week said Israel was not bound by the Annapolis talks because it had never been approved by the cabinet or the Knesset.
“In voting for [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu the citizens of Israel have decided that they will not become the US’s 51st state,” said Erdan, who was representing the coalition in a Knesset discussion of Lieberman’s controversial statements. He added, however, that “Obama is a friend of Israel and the United States is an important ally, and everything between us will be the result of communication.”
As the title of the post states, reality is a dish served cold; the crew of the of the USS Liberty found this out on June 8, 1967. When Israeli forces supposedly accidentally bombed one of our ships during the six day war. I say “supposedly” because much information has surfaced in the last couple of years, that the bombing was totally intentional. Much, if not all of this information has been suppressed by the main stream media and by the United States Government up until very recently.
I have always held the opinion that Israel does not see the United States as an true ally. But more of a useful idiot. Because of the overwhelming support by Christian Zionists who somehow or another see Israel has their rightful home; which if someone actually did study their Bible and learn how to interpret it properly, they would see the Zionism is nothing more than a man-made lie to produce money for a sin-depraved Nation and for a group of people going to straight to hell for rejecting Christ as their messiah.
However, there is a good reason for the continuance of the furtherance of this manufactured lie; Money. The money raised by the Zionist shills is good for Church Business and good for the shills that peddle this idiotic doctrine. Having said all the that, it is good to see that for a change that one of Israel’s leaders has finally decided to speak freely about what Americas real role in Israel really is, instead of the well manufactured lie that they have been peddling to the Christian World for so long.
The Southern Avenger on "What Happened to the War on Terror?"
On the sixth anniversary of the war in Iraq, why are the loudest champions of the War on Terror no longer talking about it?