I came across The Valley of the Whales, a fascinating sight in Egypt that appears to be a treasure trove of fossils of whale origins.
Among other things, they have found a complete skeleton of Basilosaurus.
Definately a “wow” in my book.
Category: Middle East
Hamas Messes with Da Mouse…AGAIN
They are doomed….I’ve always said? If you ever want to survive, don’t f&&^ with the mouse?
Well, Hamas has done it again, this time they’ve done the “Lion King“.
I’d sooner stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting “All gods are bastards”,* than mess with the mouse.
*Terry Pratchett, The Color of Magic
A Very Interesting Analysis of The Lebanon War.
Defense and Technology Tnternational has a very interesting analysis of the Israel-Lebanon war of last summer.
Their conclusion is that the Israeli military has become too dependent on hight tech precision strike at the expense of their traditional strength, maneuver warfare.
The money quote is, “In asymmetric warfare as in classic combat operations, fire is meant to support battlefield maneuvers – a battlefield cannot be secured by fire alone.”
It should be noted that the military that buys into this concept, standoff firepower operations (SF0) to the greatest degree, is the US military, and may be contributing to real problems in Afghanistan, where our allies clearly see us as bomb happy, and Iraq.
On the Rumors of Arafat Death from AIDS
On the radio today, I heard reports that Ahmad Jibril, leader of the PFLP has said that senior officials in Fatah have confirmed that Arafat has died of AIDS.
A quick goggle revealed no particularly mainstream reports of this. I know nothing of the provenance of Israel Today, the source of the above link, and Mr. Jibril would have a number of reasons to lie anyway.
That being said, I do have my definitive opinion on the significance of this report.
It has no significance at all.
What is significant about Yassir Arafat is that he was an incompetent, corrupt, and cowardly figure whose position in life derived from who he was related, his uncle was mufti of Jerusalem, rather than any abilities on his own.
He pretty much failed, and failed spectacularly at everything he did, though he did manage to spin things to his favor.
In a word, he is not the Palestinians George Washington, but rather he is the Palestinians George W. Bush.
Just When I Thought That They Could Not Get Any Stupider
Un-Dirtyword-believable.
This is so stupid, it shocks me, and I though I had become inured to stupidity flowing from Shrub’s mouth.
Bush cites Israel as model for Iraq
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 3 minutes ago
President Bush held up Israel as a model for defining success in Iraq Thursday, saying the U.S. goal there is not to eliminate attacks but to enable a democracy that can function despite violence.
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Still, he laid out in some of his plainest terms yet how to define when the U.S. presence in Iraq has achieved its goals.
“Our success in Iraq must not be measured by the enemy’s ability to get a car bombing in the evening news,” he said. “No matter how good the security, terrorists will always be able to explode a bomb on a crowded street.”
He suggested Israel as a model.
There, Bush said, “Terrorists have taken innocent human life for years in suicide attacks. The difference is that Israel is a functioning democracy and it’s not prevented from carrying out its responsibilities. And that’s a good indicator of success that we’re looking for in Iraq.”
It was likely to be controversial — and possibly even explosive — for Bush to set out Israel as a model for a Muslim Middle Eastern nation. Israel has been locked for decades in an intractable dispute with Palestinians in the neighboring occupied territories, a conflict that is viewed as a major recruiting tool for Islamic extremist groups like al-Qaida.
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I Hate This
It seems that any day of the year, you could put this story in the newspaper, and not be wrong, just either late or early.
Damn, damn, danm, damn.
Rockets fall on northern Israel – CNN.com
JERUSALEM (CNN) — At least two Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon landed near the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona on Sunday, police and Israel Defense Forces said.
Lebanese security sources later reported that another rocket fired from Lebanon never made it across the Israeli border and landed near an observation post operated by the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.
A representative from the U.N. force called the attack a “serious violation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and of the cessation of the hostility agreement” that followed last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah militants.
“An investigation is under way,” the representative said, asking all parties to “exercise maximum restraint.”
All three missiles were launched using timing devices, and a fourth rocket failed to fire and is being dismantled by the Lebanese army, the sources said. (Watch the aftermath of the rocket attacks Video)
Hezbollah quickly denied responsibility for the attack, Lebanese security sources said.
A Lebanese security source told the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, that suspected Palestinian gunmen carried out the attack.
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This is, of course, a bald faced lie. Nothing goes down in southern Lebanon without Hesbolla’s asy so, and they are not going to allow Sunnis (Palestinians) fo screw things up for them.
There were no reports of casualties, police said. Only minor damage was reported.
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Thank goodness for that.
Israel Launches Spy Satellites
The fact that the increasing number of satellites will allow them to be used tactically now is VERY important.
I rather imagine that there will be applications in terms of real time intel in the disputed territories.
Israel’s successful launch of the Ofek 7 on Monday should not be taken lightly. While Israel has proven numerous times that it has the ability to independently develop, manufacture and launch satellites into space, the timing of Monday’s launch was difficult to ignore.
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But beyond the contribution the new satellite will make to IDF operations and to the work being done at Military Intelligence, it also places Israel at the forefront of global satellite development.
Israel is one of seven countries with independent satellite launch capabilities and is part of an exclusive club that includes the United States, France, Japan, China, India and Russia.
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Despite the tiny budget, Israel has had some great successes and last year doubled the US in the number of academic articles Israelis wrote about space and satellites. Ofek 7, defense officials pointed out, would work in conjunction with Ofek 5, launched in 2004 and would grant the IDF the capability to use the satellites as tactical tools during operations and not just strategic tools that gathered intelligence and assisted Israel in assessing its neighbors’ intentions.
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Things That Make You Say Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Once again, Hamas shows that it understands governance in a way that Fatah cannot.
Governance requires a near monopoly on violence, and Fatah just wants a near-monopoly on graft.
Hamas calls for Johnston’s release | Israel and the Middle East
Stephen Brook and agencies
Friday June 15, 2007The Islamist movement Hamas today demanded the release of kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston after seizing control of Gaza from rival Palestinian group Fatah.
Hamas, which has fought violent battles against Fatah for control of Gaza in the past few days, said at a press conference today that those holding Johnston should release him immediately.
“We will not allow his continued detention. We warn against not releasing him,” a Hamas spokesman, Abu Obeid, demanded.
Johnston, 45, was kidnapped in Gaza City more than three months ago.
Since then, nothing had been heard of him until two weeks ago, when a video of the BBC reporter was posted on the internet by a group claiming to be holding him, the Army of Islam.
In the June 1 video, Johnston said his captors were treating him well and that he was in good health – although it is still not known when the clip was filmed.
Thoughts On The Fighting in Gaza
My first thought is to paraphrase Henry Kissinger’s comment on the Iran-Iraq war, “Too bad they can’t both lose.”
I would add to that the thought that it would be nice if they broth could do it someplace where innocent women and children don’t get caught in the crossfire.
My second thought is about the consistent inability of the PLO and its successors and constituent parts to maintain military effectiveness against any sort of armed opponent.
Hamas has basically taken control of the Gaza strip in just a couple of days.
When one considers that Fatah has been in a position to arm and train its forces for 10 years more than Hamas, this boggles the mind.
Or rather, it boggles the mind until one considers the history of the PLO, Fatah, the PFLP, and the PLA (Palestinian Liberation Army).
The PLO has been consistently over marched by anything this side of a mean little kid with a pea shooter.
The performance of the PLO/Fatah in combat against any even vaguely organized military force makes the “speed bumps” of Europe, Belgium (WWI, WWII, Waterloo, and any other fight were people didn’t not want to break their own stuff) and Poland (A bunch of starving Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto held out longer against the Wehrmacht than the Polish army did) look like Georgy Zhukov’s armies marching on Berlin.
Hamas Seizing Control of Gaza Strip
By SARAH EL DEEBHamas fighters launched a fierce offensive on Gaza City Wednesday, firing mortars and rockets at Fatah’s main security bases and the president’s compound as the Islamic group appeared close to taking control of the entire Gaza Strip.
With fighting raging on rooftops and streets in nearly all corners of Gaza, residents huddled in fear in their homes.
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Hamas gunmen neutralized the main strongholds of the Fatah-linked security forces, ruling the streets and taking control of large parts of Gaza in the process.
Abbas’ forces – desperately trying to cling to their besieged bases in Gaza – lashed out at the president, saying he left them with no directions and no support in the fight.
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The mark of poor soldiers. They can’t do anything without orders.
Hamas, already in control of much of northern Gaza, seized the southern town of Khan Younis and began a coordinated assault on the town of Rafah, also in the south, security officials said.
The rout of the security forces was so bad that 40 Palestinian security officers broke through the border fence in Rafah and fled into Egypt seeking safety, Egyptian police said.
“What can I say? This is a fall, a collapse,” said Col. Nasser Khaldi, a senior police official in Rafah.
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