Category: Uncategorized

I found this imaginary LA public transport map, created by Damien Goodmon, on the LA Curbed site.

Like most Angelenos, he understands the crucial role of the 405 as the main transportation artery of the Southland. If one were to build a train to carry commuters from the San Fernando Valley to the South Bay, life in LA would improve immeasurably.

If every corner of the city were serviced by Mr. Goodmon’s proposed system, we would see a marked improvement in air quality. That alone is reason to pursue this idea.

Though President Bush frequently mangles words, his own ineloquence does not rob him of the sharp and lasso armed ability to wrap the rope around the neck of rogue terrorists, both independent and state sponsored, who pursues nihilist objectives under Allah’s banner. “Islamic fascist” is not a description thrown out lightly.

While Arabs and the European left are cheering the “defeat” of Israel for failing to end the armed rocket mad militias of South Lebanon, the governments of Iran and Syria may have demonstrated to the world that their own support for terrorists is evidence of why there must be regime change in Damascus and Tehran.

As the Jerusalem Post writes:

“Indeed, by transferring advanced rockets and weaponry to Hizbullah, Teheran and Damascus have just unwittingly proven one of the Bush Administration’s central contentions regarding the need for preemptive action against rogue states in the global war on terror.

The two countries have demonstrated that they are ready and willing to share missile systems with a terrorist organization, thus strengthening the case that they must be prevented from obtaining weapons of mass destruction at all costs.

This very point was at the heart of an important speech made by US President George W. Bush last October in which he outlined America’s strategy for fighting terror across the globe. Speaking at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, Bush made clear that, “we’re determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to outlaw regimes, and to their terrorist allies who would use them without hesitation.”

Furthermore, he stated, “Any government that chooses to be an ally of terror has also chosen to be an enemy of civilization. And the civilized world must hold those regimes to account.”

THUS, BY supplying weapons to Hizbullah, Syria and Iran have inadvertently provided concrete evidence for all the world to see of just how dangerous the combination of “outlaw regimes” and their “terrorist allies” can be.

In this respect, Israel is fortunate that the conflict erupted when it did, because had it occurred in another five or ten years, who knows what types of horrific weapons might then have been found in Hizbullah’s arsenal.

And so, by inciting the start of hostilities last month in an effort to divert the world’s attention from their nuclear program, Iran may actually end up achieving precisely the opposite.

Through their actions, Iran has just made the case, better than the most eloquent of Washington press spokesmen ever could, as to why they pose a grave and immediate threat to the entire free world with their obstinate pursuit of nuclear weapons. And it is this very same argument, which the Iranians have just unwittingly bolstered, that Bush may one day soon choose to make in justifying the need for possible military action against Iran to stop their drive toward nuclear weapons.

All along, Bush has been a strong supporter of Israel. Maybe it’s a cynical move, designed to bring Jews into the Republican Party, but perhaps the President can look ahead, and see that the only Levantine government by the people, for the people and of the people has its capital in Jerusalem. It is also the only country that sits at the very precipice of extinction. If it dies, not only the Jews will perish, but the entire concept of Western freedom, liberty and enlightenment.

Here are some samples of the reaction of British Muslim “leaders” to the arrests of
local terrorists seeking to blow up airplanes (courtesy of The Guardian):

It’s About Lebanon, Stupid:

But Fahad Ansari, of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, was more sceptical. “I think you will get cynicism from the community,” he said. “Over the last few years we have seen many high-profile raids like this plastered over the press to terrify the public. We have seen it time and time again. It has been hit and miss on too many occasions. It is causing a lot of mass hysteria.”

He suggested that the raids could even have been timed to distract attention from criticisms of the government’s stance on the Lebanon crisis.

“There has been so much pressure on the government, it could be a way of diverting attention away from its policy on the Middle East.”

Don’t Make our Young Muslims Mad:

Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, who has in the past been critical of some foreign-educated imams, said: “We appreciate that our country is under threat from terrorist activity and we want to be part of the solution to this difficulty. We appreciate that the police have an extremely difficult job but there is a risk of adding fuel to the fire and increasing anger, resentment and mistrust and so diminishing cooperation.

“No one would be more worried than our community if these suspects are British-born and educated. We constantly preach that they should not be misled by these terrorists, but if the government refuses to acknowledge the contributions its actions have made, what more can we do collectively?”

Tampons and Tempers:

“One youngster said to me this morning, ‘look, Tony Blair goes on holiday and the next thing you know they close all the airports’,” said Mr Mogra, an imam in Leicester. “I mean, people are asking what kind of liquid are they talking about? What is all this about electronic car keys and women’s sanitary towels? The measures being adopted are making a mockery of the seriousness of the situation.

“The youngsters are trying to laugh it off. Another said that we all know the human body is 75% liquid.

“What I think is, we have to be extremely cautious about the measures being taken. People are cynical about the timing and critical about the way this is being done. People are supportive of the need for security in our country, but they’re fearful of their front door being kicked down by the police at 3 o’clock in the morning.”