Did Qana Building Collapse 8 Hours After Airstrike?

The IDF is claiming that the building in Qana which collapsed and killed over 50 people didn't collapse until 8 hours after it was struck by Israeli warplanes.

If that's true, why were people still in the building?

(Note: The rescue worker in the photo to the left of this article is the same one that Richard North shows in his post on Hezbollah propaganda, as mentioned in my previous post.)

Hezbollah Propaganda

Check out this post by blogger Richard North at EU Referendum (thanks to OpinionJournal for the link and heads-up) showing how Hezbollah uses the tragic events in Qana and the dead bodies of children to create propaganda.

WARNING: The images are shocking, sad, and unpleasant.

OpinionJournal disagrees with North's analysis of photograph time stamps, but the staging of the photographs is still obvious.

Video: Hezbollah Firing Missiles from Residential Areas

Check out these videos showing Hezbollah firing missiles from residential areas in Lebanon and hiding their truck-mounted rocket launchers in homes.

Good stuff.

(On the same page, also check out the leaflet the IDF dropped over southern Lebanon giving prior warning to citizens to evacuate.)

Independence and Freedom

Independence and freedom mean more than being able to pierce our tongues, write songs lambasting our President, or move from state to state without governmental approval. Independence also means being free of the influence of oppressive, crazy governments across the globe who control the oil spigots we depend on for economic survival.

Without oil revenue, the troublesome nations of Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia would be powerless. They have produced nothing the world wants. Their governments and civilizations are based on 8th-century rules. Their women are oppressed. They have no freedom of the press or freedom of religion. Many of their leaders want to submit all humanity to the rule of Sharia, by any means necessary.

Let's stop the madness. We can start by creating more U.S. based sources of oil. Let's allow off-shore drilling and oil exploration in ANWR.

But that's a short-term solution. Long-term, let's start a massive Manhattan-Project or moon-landing-type enterprise towards energy independence. I don't care what source of energy we explore: solar, biodiesel, nuclear, coal, or ethanol. Heck, I’d even support development of the flux capacitor and the Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor.

The project could be similar to the X Prize contest that produced SpaceShipOne. There are probably a lot of budding Burt Rutans out there, just waiting for their chance to produce the next big energy source.

We have to regain our independence so that we Americans, not the mullahs, dictators and monarchies of the Middle East, control our future and our destiny.

Hezbollah is SO Cool

Check out this article by Hannah Allam of McClatchy Newspapers.

Ms. Allam suffers from Tom Swift syndrome - overuse of adjectives and adverbs, always to the advantage of Hezbollah and the disadvantage of Israel.

Here are some wonderful quotes from her article (the emphasis is mine):

Hezbollah guards armed with shiny machine guns reappeared at their posts at the mouth of Beirut's southern suburbs Tuesday...

"Shiny machine guns"? Why not just "machine guns"? Or just "armed Hezbollah guards"?

If anyone doubts that Hezbollah still rules its crumbling urban fiefdom, spokesman Hussein Naboulsi offers foreign reporters daily tours in defiance of the Israeli drones that hover overhead.

"In defiance". Makes Hezbollah seem pretty powerful, doesn't it?

And what about this?

"Despite all the air raids, despite the destruction, despite the killing of civilians, we're still here," Naboulsi said triumphantly Tuesday from a patch of rubble. "We're still here, standing on our feet with our heads held up to the sky. And we will resist."

Hmm. If Ms. Allam ever loses her job as a journalist, I'm sure she could quickly find one writing Hezbollah recruitment posters.

Hezbollah's ability to regroup so quickly in a place where acrid smoke is still rising from fresh targets illustrates the futility of Israel's initial aim of dismantling the militant network.

What a Negative Nelly this reporter is.

The group operates 14 schools, whose students typically fall in the highest percentile of standardized testing scores, and three major hospitals, and it funds several smaller clinics.

In Ms. Allam’s eyes, Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization, but runs the best schools this side of the Euphrates. Maybe we should turn Washington State schools over to them so our children have a better chance of passing the WASLs.

Ms. Allam ends her love-fest with the following:

Few visible remnants of Hezbollah operations remain in the south, around Beirut or on the main highway that links the capital with Syria: The charity bureaus, the political offices, the homes used by the group's iconic leader, Hassan Nasrallah, are all gone.

Those darned Israelis. All they do is bomb “charity bureaus” and “political offices”. Ms. Allam neglects to mention the rocket launch sites, arsenals, and staging areas that are also now gone.

Sigh. It makes me wonder, what DO they teach journalism students in college these days?

Why Microsoft's Zune Will Fail

Microsoft recently announced that it's going after the iPod with a new product family, brand-named "Zune".

Zune’s initial marketing attempts seem ill-advised. Their Coming Zune website is creepy, with a splash page showing a big unshaven bald guy and a Tom Thumb-like midget stroking a rabbit. There is also a Zune "blog".

Once again, Microsoft seems like the nerdy kid at school who's trying too hard to be cool - sort of like the wannabe in Offspring's "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)". Well, actually, like Paul Allen smashing a glass guitar at EMP's grand opening.

I don't know if it's just me, but every time Microsoft announces a project like this, I can sense their marketing department trying to manipulate me. It just feels too corporate.

The beauty of Apple and the iPod is that:

1) Apple created the first digital music distribution model that works.
2) The iTunes and iPod growth is and has always been organic.
3) Apple is, well, cool.

In order to succeed, Microsoft has to:

1) Make their marketing feel sincere instead of corporate, greed-driven, and unoriginal.
2) Actually create new, interesting products instead of just saying "me too!"

Otherwise, they will always fail when going head-to-head against Apple.

Ya Gotta Love the AP

Trying to demoralize U.S. military efforts in Iraq isn’t enough for the folks at the Associated Press. Now they’re attempting to undermine the morale of the Israeli Defense Forces.

In his recent article titled “Israeli troops: Hezbollah a tough enemy”, Benjamin Harvey writes:

“Israeli soldiers returning from the front in Lebanon talk of battling an intelligent, well-prepared and ruthless guerrilla army whose fighters don't seem to fear death.

The troops describe Hezbollah guerrillas hiding among civilians and in underground bunkers two or three stories deep - evidence, they say, that Hezbollah has been planning this battle for many years.”

Except for the “intelligent” description, it’s not bad so far.

Ah, but here’s the next paragraph:

"It's hard to beat them," one soldier said. "They're not afraid of anything."

Here’s another uplifting quote:

“"They're not normal soldiers, you know," Sidorenko said. "They're guerrillas. They're very smart."

To be fair, it’s not a bad article. However, why not also write a related article titled “Hezbollah muhajaddin: Those IDF guys are some badass soldiers”?

CNN Loves Hezbollah

Last night, I watched the first half of a CNN Anderson Cooper special titled "Inside Hezbollah".

It was quickly obvious that CNN and Cooper love Hezbollah. Cooper described Hezbollah as a social and community organization first, and a militant organization second.

Right.

I wasn’t able to watch the second half of the show, so maybe Cooper recovered and gave a more balanced, accurate depiction of Hezbollah.

But somehow I doubt it.

Putting Middle East Violence in Perspective

The current violence in the Middle East depicts Israel as an aggressor who has responded in a “disproportionate” manner to Hezbollah’s kidnapping of 2 Israeli soldiers during an ambush which also killed 8 other Israeli soldiers.

Somehow, Israel is shown as the “Goliath” and the Arabs as the “David” in these stories.

Let’s look at the facts to evaluate this situation.

Here are the populations of Middle Eastern countries, courtesy of the CIA World Fact Book.

Israel: 6,352,117

Lebanon: 3,874,050

OK, so far it looks like Israel is the bully.

What about the rest of the Arab nations?

Qatar: 885,359
Kuwait: 2,418,393
UAE: 2,602,713
Oman: 3,102,229
Jordan: 5,906,760
Syria: 18,881,361
Yemen: 21,456,188
Iraq: 26,783,383
Saudi Arabia: 27,019,731
Iran: 68,688,433
Egypt: 78,887,007

So, let’s add it up:

Israelis: 6,352,117

Arabs who want the Israelis dead: 260,505,607

Hmm. Who’s the David and who’s the Goliath now?

The Woes of Fannie Mae

The AP posted an article today entitled Mortgage Giants Avert Potential Disaster.

That headline certainly caught my eye!

I have often said that the past decade’s unequalled rise in housing prices has been due to a systemic problem in our nation’s financial structure – specifically, the artificial stimulus to the mortgage market provided by the out-of-control Government-Sponsored-Entities (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Here are the interesting excerpts from the article:

A potential financial disaster that could have shaken the housing market was averted because regulators discovered accounting failures at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the new head of the agency that oversees the mortgage giants said Monday…

...but it still will take years to repair their internal problems…

I’m glad that the problems at Fannie and Freddie were caught early. However, knowing a problem exists does not equal solving the problem…

“The housing market is so important to this country," said Lockhart, who has headed the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight for about two months. "And to have it built on what turned out to be a shaky foundation could have caused significant financial problems."

Shaky foundation? Significant financial problems?

Problems were averted, he said, because the regulators acted to identify and order corrections at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together stand behind some 40 percent of the $8 trillion U.S. home-mortgage market.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are behind 40% of outstanding mortgages in the United States? And they were on a “shaky foundation”? Scary stuff.

Fannie Mae, the second-largest U.S. financial institution after Citigroup Inc. and the second-biggest borrower after the federal government, is restating its earnings back to 2001 — a correction expected to reach at least $11 billion.

$11 billion! That’s a chunk of change. But is it just the tip of the iceberg?

And what do exactly do they mean by the "second-biggest borrower after the federal government"?

Most people don't realize that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrow money to buy mortgages in the secondary market, then package those mortgages into Mortgage-Backed-Securities (MBS) to sell on the open market.

Who buys MBSs?

Pension funds, hedge funds, mutual funds, insurance companies…

So, Fannie Mae borrows money to buy mortgages so that money can be loaned out again as mortgages, which Fannie Mae borrows money to buy, so THAT money can be loaned out again...

Does that sound like a sound way to bolster home-ownership?

Congress created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to inject money into the home-loan market. They buy mortgages from banks and other lenders and bundle the loans into securities for sale to investors worldwide.

And that’s where they went wrong. The anomalous rise in home prices between 1998 and today are in large part due to the artificial amount of liquidity injected into the mortgage market by Fannie Mae’s irresponsible handling of its duty. According to the article, Fannie Mae was engaged “in a deceptive accounting scheme from 1998 to 2004.”

Hmm…that just about correlates with the explosion in housing prices…

Could there be a connection?

Hippies

"Hippies. They're everywhere. They wanna save the earth, but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad."
-- Eric Cartman

"Old hippies never die, they become Democrats and go into politics, journalism or Hollywood."
-- The Phantom Republican

"Don't trust anyone over 30! I mean 40! I mean 50! I mean...how old am I again?"
-- Ex-Hippie in 2006

"No billionaires in the White House! No billionaires in the White House!
(Pause)
What did you say Teresa dear? We're billionaires?
(Pause)
Billionaires in the White House! Billionaires in the White House!"
-- Imaginary John Kerry quote from the 2004 campaign.

Eddie's Done it Again

Eddie! Why?

He's done it again - alienated his Republican fans. In the latest chapter of VH1's "Storytellers", Eddie sings a sophomoric revision of the Phil Ochs classic, "Here's to the State of Mississippi", replacing the state, people, schools, cops, and churches of Mississippi with John Roberts, Alberto Gonzales, Dick Cheney, and President George W. Bush.

I like Eddie and I like Pearl Jam (Ten would be the one album I'd want if stranded on a desert island), but it pains me that they continue down this path. I agree with Eddie that the band should remain true to its ideals, but why not protest in a more subtle, artful way, instead of in an explosion of hatred and anger?

If they're going to go that route, why not direct some hatred and anger at the suicide bombers and car bombers in the Middle East who target women and children in markets, mosques, funerals, and coffee houses? Aren't these monsters worthy of at least one vitriolic song?

Pearl Jam used to be storytellers. The reason their debut album "Ten" is their best, is that it is full of great stories. Now they sound like angry children yelling "I hate you! I hate you!"

If Pearl Jam wants an example of a protest song that is effective and truly creates dialogue, it should turn to songs like "Alice's Restaurant." Arlo Guthrie's classic uses true storytelling magic, humor, irony, and ART to convey his message.

Those are the traits of a true storyteller.

Arlo's song was such a work of genius that even Richard Nixon was rumored to have owned a copy. Arlo wrote a song that everybody wanted to hear, thus ensuring that his message was widespread.

Do you hear that Eddie? I want to buy Pearl Jam albums. I miss you guys. Write something thoughful instead of bombastic, so that, even if I disagree with you, I'll want to rush out and buy your album.

Bubblicious

Here are three great photographs that illustrate the increasing inventory of real estate in the Washington DC area.







Thanks to the Bubble Meter blog for the photos!

P.S. In case you didn't know, those are realtor's "lockboxes", which contain keys to condos for sale. Realtor lockboxes are not to be confused with Al Gore's "lockbox" for Social Security funds.

Irish Media Bias?

Most people who say they "read" the newspaper, actually don't. When they say "read", they really mean "scan the headlines and glance at the photos."

The editors at all major media outlets are aware of this and understand the ease with which the public's opinon can be manipulated by which headlines and photographs are included with news articles.

Case in point:

In May, Finfacts.com posted this article titled "Late payments on US Mortgages rise; 29% of borrowers who took out home loans in 2005 owe more than the value of their houses."

The article talks about how Ben Bernanke, the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve is concerned about the rising number of mortgage delinquencies:

"US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said today in Chicago, that he is concerned about the rising number of home loan delinquencies in the US. His remarks coincide with a report in today's Wall Street Journal that soaring housing prices and aggressive mortgage lending have saddled American home buyers with ever greater levels of debt, and early signs are now emerging that more people are unable to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments."

Finfacts then chooses a photograph of President Bush announcing the nomination of Bernanke as Fed Chairman.

President Bush is not mentioned anywhere in the article, yet by juxtaposing the photograph with a story about people possibly losing thier homes, Finfacts has created a correlation between President Bush and potentially bad economic news.

Irresponsible.