07 June 2006

Missiles, Reactors, and Bans on Falafel

Two news updates in a week? This is madness!

In Gaza in the last few weeks, the "Palestinians" have been engaged in a bloody and heated feud between Fatah, the "moderate" party that holds the presidency, and the Hamas government. Hamas has agreed to remove its militia from public places, but they apparently agreed to do that a couple of weeks ago and it only lasted for a couple of days. If it weren't for Mahmoud Abbas holding the presidency, the insane would be in complete control of the asylum.

Russia has issued a statement questioning American plans to put conventional warheads on Trident missiles; they claim that this could be a destabilizing factor in the international community. One must keep in mind, of course, that the Russian government isn't nearly as vocal about North Korean missile tests, and they've been assisting the Iranians in the development of their nuclear program. And, of course, this is completely ignoring the fact that our current problem with terrorists ties directly into a little destabilizing factor that we used to call the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

A Western proposal to Iran has allegedly introduced the possibility of the Iranians being allowed to enrich Uranium in the distant future, with international supervision, once they've unequivocally and completely eliminated the fears of the international community. Meanwhile, Australia is beginning preliminary research into expanding their nuclear energy program. I have no problem with Australia doing this; they're doing it publically, and their research into the issue ties into their desire to eliminate reliance on fossil fuel sources. The Iranians did it covertly, breaking treaties they were party to. It's all about the approach, and the Iranian approach reeks of bad intentions.

Some of you may have been following the developing story in Canada of a home-grown terrorist cell that was busted by the Mounties. They were apparently planning to hijack the CBC, blow up Parliament, and decapitate Prime Minister Stephen Harper. There are some pointed political cartoons at Raeside, Filibuster, and Cox and Forkum.

Secular Somali militias, backed by the United States, are preparing a counter-attack into Mogadishu. Earlier this week, the Islamic Courts Union, an Islamist militia with alleged al Qaeda ties, declared victory in taking control of Mogadishu. International observers believe that the ICU will be unable to form a government; somehow, I'm not surprised.

I know I don't post many stories about Iraq, since they're not exactly in the dark recesses of the media world, but this one caught my eye, and I couldn't pass it up. Islamist extremists in Baghdad have started an already-bloody campaign to ban falafel. Yes, you read that right. Their flaky justification is that flafel did not exist in the time of Mohammed; as the journalist who wrote the surprisingly-moderate article points out, Kalashnikov rifles, car bombs, and Islamist websites didn't exist during Mohammed's day, either. Hypocritical and illogical Islamists? Who'd have thought!

And the most important news of the day... Lycan Thrope is alive; he's just a lazy wanker, a label he will carry until he actually starts posting more frequently.

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