Remember Nick Robertson? He is the CNN reporter who took viewers on a lovely tour of southern Lebanon courtesy of a nice Hezballah man. Well, it seems that the same terrorist-sympathizing idiocy has taken hold of the world's other big news network, the BBC.

While listening last night to a BBC interview with Nawar al Sahili, a Hezballah party member of the Lebanese parliament, I was treated with not only the same old Islamist meme professing a love for Jews in theory, but a hate for the Jews who live in Israel today, but also a few good whacks on Christians in America, courtesy of the BBC reporter. A couple brief interludes went like this...

BBC: Now doesn't your policy open you up to charges of anti-semitism?
 
NaS: No. Listen my dear friend. It is not Jews that we are against. It is the Zionists...the Zionist leadership that we are against.

BBC: Doesn't Hezballah wish to implement Sharia law all over Lebanon?

NaS: No, my dear friend. We have Muslims, Christians, Catholic, Orthodox working together. Christians are know Shi'a and most support the resistance.

BBC: Now let's turn to the religious aspect of this...Many, especially in the United States, say that this a larger, global religious conflict between Christians and other world religions or something.

From there is goes on a bit longer. I'm not sure which is more appalling, that the reporter allowed a major Lebanese politician qua terrorist further the anti-zionist but pro-Jewish lie, or that the reporter himself tried blaming the whole thing on Bible-thumping Americans. It really does show the whacky ideology of much the media elite. Forget the fact that Christians, even fundamentalist ones, have yet to launch giant rockets into Tijuana for the sake of co-opting Mexico into a large Christian, biblical state. Forget the fact that it is a teeny-tiny minority of American Christians who hold to this whole apocalptic let's raze the Arab world and make way for Jesus idea. In fact, it is a rather large contingent of Muslims, especially the Hezballah ones, who ruthlessly fight for a Sharia-ruled world, in and out of the Middle East.

The elites can have all the fun they want with the End of Days Christians. Now is not the time for that. Now, like it or not, it is radical Islam which is using force to forward their ideology, not the Christian Coalition. What's more, I don't know a single Christian in office who believes America should be at war for the sake of the Second Coming. There are 23 Hezballah members of Lebanese parliament whose unity charter states that they must annhilate Israel for the sake of building a greater Islamic world, or Umah. Even the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmendinejad has time and time again urged this transformation and he wants to hasten it with nukes.
 
Reporters like the BBC stud and Nick Robertson sell out to terrorist propagandists for a couple of reasons. Because they're reporters they are supposed to believe that nobody is right or wrong. It's facts, only, mister! So for them there's little difference between Hezballah leader Nasrallah and Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister. Deep down, they probably do despise and hate Hezballah for the terrorists they are. Rightfully so, may I add. But they must, at all times, maintain a guise of absolutely unbiased journalism. They end up looking like sympathizers.

Secondly, it's a darn good scoop. And because journalism is all about the big scoop these days, it has become perfectly acceptable to let a terrorists tool around with you because you are getting a major scoop. The kind that will launch you into the journalistic limelight. So it doesn't matter what al Sahili & Co. really say as long as you're the man on the other end of the tele or microphone. That's why these jihadists can get away with articulating such rubbish as the idea that Jews are okay, as long as they stay away. Here we call that racism. If you try to murder them, we call that racist murder. I suppose at the Beebs, CNN, and the New York Times, it's better known as "resistance." Let's hope the west can put up their own resistance against such ninny-minded moral silliness.

     For the third straight year, Denver-Boulder, according to Forbes magazine, is the best place for singles. Seriously.

I know, I know, I thought it was a joke, too. But, no, apparently based on general coolness, culture, affordability, nightlife, singles life, online dating, and jobs outlook, Denver takes the pre-wedding cake. As Forbes reports:

"Denver residents are energetic, educated and incredibly active--professionally, recreationally, philanthropically and socially--all of which make Denver attractive to single individuals looking to meet people, get involved or just have fun,"says John Hickenlooper, Denver's mayor.

Add to that a raft of sports teams, cultural haunts and a sizable college crowd, and it's no surprise that the Colorado metro finishes first. (Forbes Magazine 7/25/06)
 
http://www.forbes.com/singles/2006/07/24/singles-best-cities-cx_lr_06singles_0725intro.html

As a native and current resident of Denver I must, for a brief moment, disent. I wholly agree that Denver has plenty of jobs. And I suppose that Denver really is your place if your idea of nightlife is Starbucks, "culture," for you, is synonomous with "Broncos," and your ideal date is jointly shovelling our your neighbor's driveway, lovingly. If you think tofu, salad, and hot dogs is "fine dining," this may be your true home. And affordable? Please. Let me laugh that one off for a moment.

Most zany is the idea that Denver is cool. So much so, in fact, that Forbes rated Denver fourth out of some 30-odd cities. Fourth! Let me say, that after having visited such notorious dweeb vorteses like Houston, Albany, Cleveland, Orlando, Worcester (Mass.), Sacramento, and more, Denver is absolutely the most gauche of them all. We wear our severe lack of hip with a certain pride. For us, "dressing up" is wearing khakis with a halfway untucked polo--and most importantly--without the baseball cap. The cool guy is the fellow who drives an SUV with the hupcaps that continue spinning even after the car is stopped. That's Denver-cool. Denver cool is the guy who gets on the jumbo-tron at Coors Field and instead of dancing wildly or giving a big smooch to the stranger seated next to him, he stoicly glares into the jumbo-tron, unfazed, as if to say, "Big Deal! I've done this, like, a million times. At Pepsi Center, its like Where's Waldo. Except it's "Where's Jim." They actually are looking for me in the crowd there. I guess I'm just, well, you know, smokin' hot. Yeah. Smokin' Hot." That's Denver cool. Finally, you know a cool gal in the Mile High City when she orders a vente moccacino latte with whipped-cream, hazelnut powder, and a sprinkling of cinnamon laced with low-fat Sweet'n'Lo. But not too much cream. It makes her bloated. And...to go, please. Her Dodge Caravan is parked in the tow-away zone. She's babalicious, no doubt about it.

Okay, okay. There's some nightlife. Like on a Friday night in one section of downtown. And the jobs really are good. But Denver is not what the Forbes editors think. Here's why: Denver is uniquely situated, geographically and culturally, right in between the Midwest and the Mountain West. Denver is actually extremely flat and on the plains, but is buttressed by the Rockies. In our ambitions and aspirations, we are mostly western. We are rugged, self-reliant, and outdoorsy. But in our attitudes and lifestyle, we like to think of ourselves as westerners, but we are really much more midwestern: folksy, sensible, down-to-earth, moderately conservative, and proud. If you haven't heard, the vast majority of Denverites live in the vast suburbs, don't ski to work, don't ride their trusty steeds to the neighborhood saloon called "Steely Willy's," and are, contrary to western independence, fairly well-churched and family-centered.

Most of the city shuts down around nine or ten at night, most nights. Colorado has the seventh highest birthrate in the nation which makes family attractions much more germane than, say, bars and discos. You may have hear of our admirable lack of pretense. If you are wearing Armani in Denver I think the rule is that store owners mandate that you strip into North Face gear with flip-flops. Although we pretend to hate it, we actually love the idea of being a dusty old cowtown inaccesible to newcomers. But being principally friendly, you know, we would never say so. I suppose Denver would be your kind of town if you mainly like to work, go to church, watch football, mow your lawn, and golf/ski/bike/jog. While it is a bit dull here, it is not boring. There is plenty to do--for families and work-a-holics. This is probably one of the best places to have a family and a business. But for singles? Please. Stay home. That is, unless, of course, you happen to have spinning hupcaps and don't own a suit. And of course, you must own an SUV. Or, at least you must aspire to owning one as though if you lived your life without one, your life would be an utter, abject failure. If that's the case: welcome home, baby! Welcome home. Wanna help me shovel?

This Global War on Terror of ours has been progressing at a pace a little too quick to catch our collective breath, let alone sort out the significance of each and every terror event.  Nevertheless, even amidst the shooting in Seattle, Israel's fight for existence, and of course, the war in Iraq, there is really big news today out of Mumbai.  The July 11th train attacks in India were originally blamed on Kashmeri separatists.  But in a swing of events very reminiscent of the attacks on Spain (originally blamed on Basque terrorists rather than the obvious Al Qaida link), it appears, after all, Al Qaida was behind this month's Mumbai bombings.....

From the Indian daily  Mumbai Mirror:

Indian security agencies’ worst fears may be coming true. The latest man arrested for his suspected role in the July 11 bombings is said to be an al-Qaida apprentice. The suspect, Mujaheed Geelani, surrendered in Pune on Thursday.

Geelani is alleged to have helped recruit and train the 7/11 bombers. Geelani, intelligence officers say, was indoctrinated by senior Al-Qaida man Abu Zubaidah. “Zubaidah reportedly went through computer training in Pune before crossing over into Pakistan and climbing the hierarchy in al-Qaida,” an intelligence source told Mumbai Mirror.  (7/30/06)

It is already widely reported that Al Qaida has some dealings in Israel.  Can we all finally admit that this is a global war with one primary enemy, not some smattering of disaffected separatists, whackastani jihadists, and arab nationalists?  The reality is that there is a large chunk of the Muslim world, stretching from Bali to Bombay, Jerusalem to Washington, that is passionately committed to the ruthless annhilation of Jews and the infidels of the west.  In such serious times, we need serious leaders to guide us with clear moral leadership and purpose.  As the ' 06 election near, this is a little something to think about.

     Amazingly, there is nothing terribly significant to report from the Middle East.  Israel continues to cripple Hezballah infrastructure while the Iranian-backed terrorists continue to threaten and shell northern Israeli towns.  A grandmother and her grandson were killed earlier in a northern Israeli kibbutz.  There are, though, two notable developments.

1. Hezballah claims they can reach south of Jerusalem with rockets:

Israel believes Hezbollah has missiles that can hit most of Israel, and which could even strike Be'er Sheva under optimum conditions.

Iran supplied Hezbollah with solid-fuel, Zelzal-2 missiles with a 200-km range, but these are not very accurate, since they do not have a self-guidance system. (Haaretz).

This is significant mainly because Tel Aviv, the political, geographical, and demographic heart of Israel, is well within reach. 

2. Olmert is not really serious about this whole thing:

Sources in Jerusalem stated Thursday that as a condition for a cease-fire, Israel would demand that Hezbollah outposts be removed from the Israel-Lebanon border and that a buffer zone be created on the Lebanese side of the border. According to the sources, the aim of Operation Just Reward is to alter the balance of power between Israel and Hezbollah. (Haaretz).

Olmert clearly does not want to go into Syria or beyond.  This may mean, simply, that it needs to cripple Hizballah and Lebanon before taking care of the ultimate root of the problem (located somewhere between Damascus and Lebanon).  Or it may mean that Olmert is weak.  Or less likely, though possible, he doesn't have the political capital (much of the same reasoning goes into the debate about a US military operation in Iran).  Israel has played games like this for quite some time.  When finally, will it get the guts to go straight to the source?  The Israelis may need some help from America if Iran is involved, but Syria should not be so fearsome.  This weekend, particularly tonight and tomorrow's Jewish sabbath, will prove most telling (big things always happen in Israel on holy days--Yom Kippur war, Ilan Ramon's death over the skies of Texas etc.).  If Israel seems to be backing down by Sunday, chalk this up as a big win for Baby Assad and Tehran's Son of Zertzie.

This appears to be an escalation, albeit an expected one.  Nevertheless, nobody is quite sure what is to come next.  Damascus, of course, should be quaking.  Many on the Israeli left (and I might presume the American state department) would like to mainly see the striking of Lebanese weapons sights.  My thoughts: Syria is quaking for good reason.  There's much more to come from this than measly weapons sights. 

     Ordinarily on your first posting at a blog, it is customary to introduce yourself a bit.  Perhaps there will be time for that later.  Now, nothing else matters.  The world is at war.

    It is not entirely clear who is at war with whom.  Generally, it is Islamist totalitarianism against the West.  But even that breakdown is a little too simplistic.  The US state department is at war with conservatives.  Much of the West (the UN, mainly) is at war, and has been for some time, with Israel.  One thing is certain, Israel must push forward into Damascus and Tehran if necessary.  The US must provide any and all assistance if called upon.  This is one of those tenuous time in world affairs where you don't know what is happening exactly, but it makes you really scared, really nervous, but ultimately very resolved in the pursuit of what's right.  In times like these, nothing else matters.  This is, in the end, a matter of life and death.