Monthly Archives: July 2006

Iran: No Part of Israel is Safe

As if we needed confirmation that much of the conflict in the Middle East has Iran at it’s root:

The speaker of Iran’s parliament warned Israelis on Tuesday that no part of their country is safe from Hezbollah attack.

The comments by Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel called into question Tehran’s official position that it is not involved in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“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.

I think we’ll know soon If Hezbollah can strike Tel Aviv. Their ability to launch a spectacular attack is being eroded quite rapidly.

Digg It

Michelle Malkin has launched a Digg campaign:

I encourage you to register and participate. One of the things I’ve noticed about the most buzzed-about user-generated sites–not just Digg, but also Slashdot, Metafilter, Fark, Del.Icio.Us, YouTube, etc.–is the dearth of conservative representation.

Why is that? Some lefties think it’s because most of the sites’ most passionate members are techies, and they theorize that techies tend to be more libertarian or liberal than conservative. Is that true? I don’t know.

Other commenters think it’s because most conservative Internet users/blog readers have day jobs/family life away from the computer, while the Kos Kidz and Kompany surf all day on and off the clock. Is that true? I don’t know.

If you take a look at the icons at the bottom of every Blogs of War post you’ll find Digg and most of the other social bookmarking sites listed. Digg is second from the left. Creating an account just takes a minute or two and aside from promoting Blogs of War (which is a worthy and noble cause IMHO) there are a lot of other benefits in using those services. Check ‘em out if you a haven’t already.

Dwight Silverman, tech guru at the Houston Chronicle, writes:

Not only can you vote for stories at Digg, but you can “unvote” for them by clicking a button marked “Bury.” Get enough “burials” and pages that were once marked as popular fall off the front page. Malkin links to a commenter at another conservative blog, Little Green Footballs, who says that there’s a “sinister burial campaign” on the part of liberals who click the Bury button on conservative-tinged stories, and urges that right-wingers respond in kind.

“Anyway this should be fun,” he says.

Uh, no. Watching true believers whack each other over the head with their fixed-in-stone worldviews is not my idea of a good time — particularly if it threatens to render useless a news tool that puts real power into the hands of users. This is first-cousin to the kind of selfishness that ruined Usenet with ugly flame wars and e-mail with scams and spam.

Kids, play nice, willya?

I get Dwight’s point but it’s worth noting that Digg’s architecture encourages this kind of idealogical warfare. They had to see it coming when they moved into the political arena. But, to be clear, I’m not suggesting that Blogs of War readers spend their days burying stories that they don’t agree with. The average Blogs of War reader is too busy for that anyway. Heck, lots of you are fighting a war. I’ll settle for you showing this site the occasional love with a Digg.

40-50% of Hezbollah’s Military Capacity Destroyed – At Least a Week of War Remains

This is good news:

Forty to fifty percent of Hizbullah’s military capability has been destroyed in the six days of the IDF counter-attack following last Wednesday’s Hizbullah raid in northern Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The IDF, it is understood, believes it needs another week or so minimum to achieve its military goals in terms of alleviating Hizbullah’s capacity to threaten Israel.

The IDF further believes, it is understood, that it will be given at least that long to continue its actions, in light of the G8 nations’ essential support for Israel and those nations’ branding Hizbullah and Hamas as being responsible for the current escalation.

It’s also pretty revealing, although not surprising, that Israel seems to have a pretty clearly defined (defined by the G8 and probably privately some moderate Arab leaders) window of opportunity.

Over 1,000 Katyushas Fired at Israel

I wonder if the media will repeat this number:

As the Katyushas fired at Israel pass the 1,000 mark – hundreds of other projectiles have also been fired – the IDF continues to bombard southern Lebanese villages from where the rockets are fired.

Now consider the kind of casualty figures we’d be seeing if the Israelis dropped 1,000 of their most powerful bombs on Beirut without any attempt to minimize civilian casualties. Or better yet, imagine the death and destruction that we’d be witnessing if Israel adopted the Hezbollah/Hamas model and decided to maximize civilian casualties.

Disproportionate force? I’d say Israel is showing disproportionate restraint.

PSA: Calling All Aggies

A quick break in the Israeli/Hezbollah/Hamas mayhem for a Texas Aggie in need:

Mark Musumba, a graduate student in agricultural economics at Texas A&M University, has one wish – to see his dying father one last time, in Uganda. With the help of John Hoyle, professor in the College of Education and Human Development, United Campus Ministry (UCM) in Aggieland, and many others, Mark may just get his wish.

UCM, Aggie Athletes Involved, the Corps of Cadets and other organizations around the community are joining together to plan the Mark Musumba Benefit 5K Walk and Run on July 29 to support Musumba and raise money to help defray his travel expenses to go home and see his father.

“My father sacrificed everything for me to come to the United States for an education,” Musumba said. “I am very close to my family, and I plan to return to Uganda when I complete my graduate work.”

A native of Mutundwe, Uganda, he came to the United States in 2001 to pursue an economics degree at Texas A&M. During his undergraduate career, Mark was an active member of Rudder’s Rangers, Gen. O.R. Simpson Corps Honor Society, and B-1 Company in the corps where he served as scholastic officer. He also tutored students at Stephen F. Austin Middle School in Bryan.

“Many of us have grown to know and love Mark since his arrival on campus over 5 years ago,” Hoyle said. “We are encouraging groups and individuals to sponsor runners to help fund the event. “Whether you want to run, walk or watch, your support is much appreciated.”

The benefit run/walk is scheduled for Saturday, July 29, at 8 a.m. on the south side of Reed Arena. There is no registration fee, but donations are welcome, Hoyle said. He advised participants to register for the run.

“As a member of his graduate committee, I have had the opportunity to see Mark grow both as a student and a person,” Hoyle said. “He deserves this chance and I will do whatever I can to help get him home.”

For more information on the Mark Musumba Benefit 5K Walk and Run, contact United Campus Ministry at 979-846-1221. To register, e-mail run4mark@aggieucm.org. Donation checks can be made payable to:

United Campus Ministry – Mark Musumba
P. O. Box 131
College Station, TX 77841.