Sir Prince William!

Oddly enough, there's lots of news. For a Tuesday.

Hamas and Israel agree to a cease fire according to the Beeb. CNN reports that a truce is near completion and would go into affect in as little as three days. The article on the BBC notes that Israel is still "looking to see if this is serious".

Hamas came to power after elections in January 2006 displacing Fatah. In June of the same year, Corporal Galid Shalit. a dual French-Israeli citizen, was abducted. After this, Israel threatened the Palestinians by saying that the "sky will fall" if he was harmed. Many negotiations have been made over the past two years. Even the Catholic Church of Gaza and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter have tried to negotiate for Shalit's release.

Since the rise of Hamas and the kidnapping Shalit, Israel has restricted supplies of gasoline, diesel and electricity to Gaza, limited the amount of food and other goods entering the strip and made it virtually impossible for manufacturers and farmers in Gaza to export anything to the outside world.

Israeli officials have said these measures are intended to pressure Hamas to stop its members and other factions from firing mortars and rockets into Israel.

Prince William has been made a member of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. His official title will be Royal Knight Companion. The Order was established in 1348 by King Edward III. The numbers of the Order are limited. There are only 24 Companions.

William is in the midst of completing two months of intense Naval training. Next Week he will begin to serve on the HMS Iron Duke in its patrols of the Carribean.

The President of France, Nikolas Sarkozy, has announced that France will rejoin the Command of Nato. Then President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of the Command structure in 1966 in a bid for independence from the US dominated Western treaty. With this announcement comes also the news that 50,000 defense jobs will be cut and the Intelligence community will be boosted.

Special Effects master Stan Winston died yesterday. He had struggled with Mulitple Myeloma for the past seven years. He recently worked on Iron Man and was also contributing to projects such as GI Joe, Avatar, and a forth coming chapter in the Terminator series of films. Stan Winston was known for intergrating practical effects (sometimes known as in-camera effects) with the the more recently developed Computer Generated Images, or CGI. He has been awarded four Academy Awards for his efforts in such projects as Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Jurassic Park.

Yeshiva Shooting

Very confusing information coming from Jerusalem. According to witnesses, one, possibly two, infiltrators entered the dining hall in a Yeshiva at around dinner time Israeli time and opened fire. At this time, the numbers of deceased is misleading with the number listed at different sources anywhere from 4 to 7. There are unconfirmed reports that one of the gunmen (if there were two) was wearing some form of explosive. This happened around 1.45 Eastern time. According to Jerusalem Post, the school in question is the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva located in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood, a very religious neighborhood with many yeshivas.. The article also states that approximately 40 people are wounded and that the two gunmen are dead. CNN is reporting that there is celebration in Gaza over the attack. It has been a relatively long time since Jerusalem has witnessed incidents of this magnitude.

Though Palestinians are celebrating the crime, with intense gunfire near the Prime Minister's home, it is unknown who the gunmen were or whether this was politically motivated. Israel had launched forces in Gaza last week but withdrew them on Tuesday. There has also been no claim of responsibility. Though it may appear to be clear that is a retaliatory strike against Israel, it may not be. It may be a school shooting like the ones we have suffered through here in the US as well as in other nations of the world.

Links: Ynet, Jpost

Earlier today, here in the United States in Times Square, New York, there was an explosion at an Army recruiting office. Some believe a cyclist is was recorded passing by the office not long before the blast may be involved if not the bomber. The explosion happened at 3.39 Eastern time this morning. No one was injured.

Israeli Army Radio with the Ambulence service backing it up have increased the number of dead to 8. CNN has also just reported that two bombs went off within moments of each other in Baghdad.

FUBAR on SNAFU

Heh. Interesting day today. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (محمود احمدی‌نژاد) visited Columbia University in New York. He was invited to the campus to speak before going to the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow. Its likely that the speech he gave today will be what he'll give tomorrow.

He questioned why the Palestinians should pay for the crimes of Germany. He also said that he thought the way the US managed the world is wrong.

Before he got the chance to speak, the president of the University, Lee Bollinger, had plenty to say, much of it insulting, about the leader after defending the school's decision to host Ahmadinejad on Good Morning America today. He said "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator". He also told the president that there is no reason to research the holocaust: "The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history".

Despite he past claims that Israel should be wiped off the map, he would not go so far as say that here. The likelihood he would not escape New York City with his life or something like it may have been a motivation for the omission. He did comment that the Palestinians deserve self-determination and free elections. To read more on this, there's a large article on CNN.

See that? POTUS?! What a weird name, right? Well it's a new channel on subscription satellite radio service XM radio. This channel is on number 130 and will likely have a 14 month or so life. This will take it through the election of the President of the United States next November. That's right, POTUS stands for the President and his (her) title. After previews and such it has finally gone on the air. Yay!!! If you're a subscriber, tune in!

Recently, maybe today, there was a story about protest songs. Back in the day, there were heaps of songs protesting the Vietnam conflict. One such song was "Save the Country" by the 5th Dimension. Apparently, there is a line in the song that refers to the Kennedy's:

"Come on, people
Sons and mothers
Keep the dream of
The two young brothers

Take that dream
And ride that dove
We could build the dream
With love, I know"

It made me pause. I forget, and I think many people do, how much of an affect the Kennedy's had on the country. I dunno...

Marcel Marceau, the famous French mime, died at the age of 84, on September 22nd. He left no last words.

Back on this day in 622, Muhammad completed his pilgrimage or Hegira. This would be the first on many for Muslims. It continues today and is a major tenet for Muslims the world over.

In 1664, the Netherlands surrenders New Amsterdam to England. It is now known as New York.

In 1890, The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints denounced polygamy with purpose being Utah becoming a state. It never goes truly out of practice and the debate around the practice continues to this day.

On this day in 1906, US President Theodore Roosevelt made Devil's Tower the first national monument.

In 1957, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower orders the 101st Airborne to go into Little Rock to enforce desegregation at the high school there.

And in 1991, Nirvana released their album Nevermind. Rock music would be never be the same.

عصر بخی

Asr be kheyr!
(That's "Good Evening" in Farsi)

"What we've got here is failure to communicate"

Could it really be possible? Is Iraq in a civil war? Or are they just playing? When is this administration going to wake up and smell the shit they've been shovelling? Don't answer that...

Colin Powell, former Secretary of State, and before that, Chairman of the Joint Cheifs of Staff (shouldn't that be cheives?) and he was also National Security Advisor to Reagan. Anyways, he has kind of been the voice of reason in the Republican Party. But that should not surprise anyone. He's the most moderate man in public service aside from John McCain, though McCain is starting to look a little too red. Regardless, he's one of those rare men: he can see both sides of the issue and look at things objectively. Now, if only we could get more journalists like him. He opposed going into Iraq as we did and has even been known to call Neoconservatives "fucking crazies" (I have a source). He's pro-choice and for affirmitive Action. When he resigned from his jpb as Secretary of State, one cannot help but wonder (at least, I can't) that it had something to do with his 1) dragging his heels on Iraq, 2)stating that we needed UN backing before going into Iraq not to mention the nation's support and 3) calling neocons "crazies" even if they are. They're crazy! What do you think they will do to you?

Yeah. That Guy. By the way, check out that cheesy grin. Sort of scary that a retired General can smile like that. (Note: Do not get the high resolution picture on Wikipedia. There is no reason to see anyone at a resolution of 2400x3000. NO ONE!)

Colin Powell has come out and said Iraq'a in a civil war. Just admit and move on. Current NSA dude Stephen Hadley said "We're clearly in a new phase characterized by an increase in sectarian violence that requires us to adapt to that new phase". Well, I'm glad that cleared up. Since no one in the White House will say it. It might look bad. But even Iraq's government is shirking this detail. Hadley also said "The Iraqis don't talk of it as a civil war. The unity government doesn't talk of it as a civil war". Because there is no clear grab for power or territory, its not a civil war. What the hell was the British Civil War? They fought for power thereby control of the country, i.e. territory. Ugh...

Moving on because stupidity is depressing. Fiji might have another coup. Sweet! Lets have some action! Apparently, the Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase wanted to offer leaders of the 2000 coup some amnesty. He had two bills presented to the parliament proposing that. Commodore Frank Bainimarama, leader of the Fijian military forces, was a little ticked. He asked for the MP to resign in mid October. In return, Qarase tried to sack him. It didn't work. Now, New Zealand and Australia, both a bit concerned over possible instability in the region, have arranged talks, but negotiations have been unsuccessful.

The military began "practicing" in case of international intervention. But it looks more like preparation for overthrow. And the residents know it. They are stokpiling goods and cash. Even if there isn't a coup, they may destroy their small country's banking system. Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain have expressed concern about travelling there and Australia is pulling workers out of its embassy there. Wait and see!

The case of Alexander Litvinenko (the pictures at right are him: Before and After his poisoning) gets even bigger. Let me give a brief rundown on this man. Alexander Litvinenko was once a KGB (КГБ (Committee for State Security)) agent (as was Vladimir Putin). Later, he worked for the FSB (ФСБ (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation)). In 1998, he began making accusations of killings, extortions and so forth. Eventually he'd spend some time in prison. While awaiting trial in 2000, he fled to Turkey and rejoined his wife, Marina, and son, Anatoly. He had no passport but he managed to make it into the United Kingdom on Political Asylum. He wrote a couple of books detailing how the FSB blew up apartments to further give rise to oppositition of the Chechen rebels and help Putin win election. He became a citizen if the UK in October of this year.

He had received papers from Mario Scaramella concerning the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. She was shot in the elevator of her apartment building on October 7th. On November 1st, the day he acquired the documents, he also met with two former KGB officers. But Oleg Gordievsky, a long time friend of Litvinenko's, believed the poisoning happened at the flat of a Russian friend. He had tea there before meeting Scaramella (who has since gone into hiding) at Itsu, a sushi restaurant, in Piccadilly.

He is believed now to have been poisoned with Pulonium 210. This is a highly rare substance that an only be made in a nuclear reactor. And the half life on it assures that it was not stolen from stores that the USSR had and were easily taken after the collapse. Yegor Gaidar, a former acting Primie Minsiter under Boris Yeltsin, was found unconscious in Ireland on Novemeber 28. His health is not good and raises even more suspicions after Litvinenko's November 23rd death. A Post Mortem examination is scheduled for today and there has evidnce of radiation has been found on two British Airlines planes.

Well, I need to do some back on this day stuff. There were a lot of important things that happened through out history on this date. For example, The November Uprising of the poles against the Russian happened November 29, 1830. In 1890, the Meiji Constitution took affect in Japan. Yugoslavia became the Federal people's Republic of Yougoslavia in 1945 (aka they became Commies).

In 1967, Robert S. MacNamara resigned as Secretary of Defence amidst bungling of that era's quagmire, Vietnam.

And finally....You see that map at the top? that is the United Nations Partition as devised in 1947 for Palestine. Today, in 1947, the UN voted to go forward with partition. A month later, the Arab League met in Cairo to devise their own military solution to partition. We now have Eretz Israel (ארץ ישראל) and Palestine (فلسطين‎ ). Someone actually asked me where the name Palestine came from. Its from the Phillistines. They have long since been gone but their name still continues.

✡

Just when you think you're doing the right thing

NASA reversed its decision to bring the shuttle inside after Hurricane Ernesto began to weaken. It is expected to be making landfall about a few hours ago. The storm never returned to Category 1 strength.

In Brazil, a baby was born weighing a hefty 14 pounds! The girl also was 23 1/4" long. Apparently she has three older brothers who all weighed in at over 9 pounds at birth. The mother is well (good for her!) and is diabetic.

Following up on Sunday's fatal crash in Kentucky, the FAA acknowledged that there was a violation. Last November new regulations came down the pike stipulating that there should be two (2) controllers in the control tower to do two (2) jobs: monitoring the radar and communicating with taxiing aircraft. At the time of the crash, there was only one on duty. When there is only one, monitoring the radar needs to be handed over to the FAA's Indianopolis center. Evidently, the blame lies with the FAA.

How did I miss this one? The leader of Hezbollah Sheik Hassan Nasrallah actually admitted that he was surprised by Israel's response. He never believed that Israel would counter-attack them in such magnitude. He even went so far as to say "if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not". In Israel, there has been widespread speculation that Hezbollah had been truly surprised by the reaction in Israel. He also went on to say that he and Hezbollah welcome peacekeeping troops in Lebanon. His behavior leads some to believe he is mending fences (or bridges...) with the Lebanese people and expecially, the Lebanese government. More than likely it's true. He needs people to believe he regrets the loss of life (however righteious some believe it was) and the destruction of so much property. He needs them to believe he is sorry.

On this day back in 1990, the Soviet Republic of Tatarstan (Республика Татарстан) declared independence. It was unsuccessful and remains a Russian Republic. Tatarstan is historically the land of the Golden Horde. For more information about Tatarstan and other relatively unknown Russian Republics, go here.