Hidden Nook
"Because in Cyberspace, no one can hear you scream."
Friday, June 30, 2006
The Last Post...
It has been fun blogging here for the past year or so. I've learned so much about blogging by posting here, and it has given me the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the field when it comes to how to not only write what you want, but also make money at it at the same time.
Unfortunately my passion for politics is more of a negative feeling rather than a basic passion of mine. The field is already getting crowded with great people (on the right and the left) so I do not see a great need to return here. I'll be closing down this weblog in order to move onto other interests of mine...
For all those who visited here in the past, thanks. For those who added me to their blog rolls, thanks. And if I've added you I'll probably be checking out your site from time to time.
For now though I'll be over on these blogs, some of them new, others not so new as they generally hold my interests and attention more. My four major passions in life are God, Space, Israel and Google. These up and coming blogs will hopefully reflect that.
- One Spirit: Poetry towards God
- Colony Worlds: God and Space...and the Human race.
- IsraGood (new): Detailing Israeli technology, culture and all things kosher.
- Inside Orkut: News, views and cultural taboos from inside Orkut's community forums.
- Blogger Delights: Exploring the blogosphere one weblog at a time.
- Picasa Fun: Discussing tips and techniques, and having fun with Google's Picasa.
- Darnell: My personal media journal.
Well, it sure has been nice, but unless you visit my other weblogs, you'll only see my past record here. That's all folks, and keep on blogging!
PS
Comments will remain open but moderated so don't fret if it doesn't show up immediately.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Another Dead Terrorist (Goodbye Al-Zarqawi)
[Expand Full Post] [Media Source*]
(Hat Tip: My Dad)My Dad informed me early this morning about an air strike that has indeed killed Al-Zarqawi. Here is more from Fox News.
(Fox News) Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al Qaeda in Iraq leader who led a brutal insurgency that included homicide bombings, kidnappings and beheadings, was killed in an airstrike on a building north of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi officials announced Thursday. [...]
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides Wednesday evening at around 6:15 p.m. local time in a bombing raid on a building in a remote area 30 miles northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province.
I would give more details, but Iraq The Model and Michelle Malkin have more details and analysis.
My personal feelings about Zarqawi can not be repeated hear (after all, this is a family site) although The Onion could give you hints about his future plans from talks with his affiliate jihadists. END
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Taking A Break
Yeah, I started to pick up this weblog again, but for those who are curious you can see this post for details. Selah!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Congress Members Arrested For Darfur Protest
[Expand Full Post] [Media Source*]
While government officials argue about the topic of the day, it seems that five fellow Congressmen decided to exercise their voices on a topic that few worldwide seem to care about--Darfur.(MSNBC) Five Congress members were willingly arrested and led away from the Sudanese Embassy in plastic handcuffs Friday in protest of the Sudanese governmentÂs role in atrocities in the Darfur region.
"The slaughter of the people of Darfur must end," Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., a Holocaust survivor who founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said from the embassy steps before his arrest.
Darfur is one of the major reasons why the United Nations is not ready to assume the helm as an "international government." Their lack of response is infuriating none the least and sadly our congressional leaders seem to have more courage to speak out against this tyranny than the entire international community.
(MSNBC) Four other Democratic Congress members  James McGovern and John Olver of Massachusetts, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Jim Moran of Virginia  were among 11 protesters arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor subject to a fine.
"We must hold the Sudanese government accountable for the attacks they have supported on their own citizens in Darfur," Olver said.
Dozens of demonstrators carried signs, some reading "Stop the slaughter" and "Women of Darfur suffer multiple gang rapes," in front of the embassy Friday morning.
Protesters cheered as the congressmen stood up for human rights, and demanded that the Sudanese government allow international troops to monitor the situation. Although that may be a noble idea, the UN has lost much of its moral voice because of the child rape issues.
It would be more effective if another "coalition of the willing" was formed and the group submitted a letter to Sudan to either end the slaughter or face a quick end themselves.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Israel Promoting Water Technology In China
[Expand Full Post] [Media Source*]
Besides defending itself from dangerous minds, Israel is steadily expanding its economy beyond the middle east, and into the far east.(Xinhua) Nine Israeli high-tech water companies headed by Israel National Water Co. voiced their interests in China's fast-growing water-treatment market at a Water Expo in Beijing on Wednesday. [...]
Israel is willing to share with China its wealth of experience in water management and production accumulated over the past seven decades, said Dr. Yehoyada Haim, Ambassador of Israel to China.
In response to dry weather and water shortages, Israel has developed a series of high-tech technologies including methods of desalination and irrigation.
When it comes to water technology, "the Jew knows best," especially since their nation is composed mainly of desert, mountains and an oasis that the Israeli citizens had to put together.
It would be nice if some of this technology was used in Palestine, (as they desperately need it). But with the Hamas government refusing to recognize the Hebrew state, that is probably an unlikely scenario--unless new elections occur. END
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
It Doesn't Pay To Be A Terrorist (Hamas)
[Expand Full Post] [Media Source*]
It seems that the Palestinian government led by Hamas is in serious financial trouble as they are not only banned from receiving Western aid, but also unable to access funds from middle-eastern nations.(Reuters) Aggravating the crisis, local, regional and international banks have balked at transferring Arab and Islamic donations to the Palestinian Authority, fearing sanctions by the United States which regards Hamas as a terrorist organization. [...]
Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have pledged emergency funds totaling more than $200 million. But the Palestinian Authority cannot access the money because local, regional and international banks have balked at making the transfers.
Bank officials say they fear Washington will impose sanctions on them or deny them access to banks on Wall Street which they rely heavily upon to conduct day-to-day transactions.
We live in a global economy and money is the blood that allows us to circulate those goods worldwide. If the Palestinians are going to eat (let alone create wealth) then Hamas will need to abandon its plans of destroying the Jewish state.
After all, what good is a gun if your belly is not full?
(Reuters) Hamas has been seeking access to foreign funds deposited in Egyptian bank accounts set up by the Arab League to aid the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority. [...]
"We understand the sensitivities in which the banks are dealing," [Finance Minister Omar Abdel-Razek] said. But he added: "We expect the banks to shoulder their responsibilities and to take some risks."
Contrary to popular opinion, not all Palestinians are bad, and not all of them seek the destruction of their Israeli neighbor. But as long as the leaders they elected continue to harbor ill will towards Israel, then the west has no reason to allow the government to survive off of donations and international welfare.
After all, would you give your neighbor food stamps if he refused to recognize your rights and applauded your destruction?
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Testing Blog Post
I am testing the features of a web publishing tool entitled Writely.com (owned by Google).
So far it looks really great, but hopefully I will be able to publish here and connect it to my weblog.
So far it looks really great, but hopefully I will be able to publish here and connect it to my weblog.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Hamas Has An Un-Kosher Dream
[Expand Full Post] [Media Source*]
You can not get more radical than this in the Holy Land. What Arafat dared to speak privately to his own people, Hamas is declaring its intentions to the world.
(Israel Insider) In an interview with the Chinese news agency, Xinhua, al-Zahar spoke about his "dream of hanging a huge map of the world on the wall at my Gaza home which does not show Israel on it."
"I hope that our dream of having an independent state on the entire territory of historical Palestine will be realized one day." This dream, he added, "will become real one day. I'm certain of this because there is no place for the state of Israel on this land."
Al-Zahar however does hint at the possibility of Christians and Jews living with Palestine--although it is pretty much doubtful how much freedom they would have underneath a democratic theocratic regime.
(Israel Insider) Al-Zahar declared that Hamas will not disarm its military wing, adding that the Hamas government will continue to support armed organizations opposing the "Israeli occupation." "Why should we disarm the militants while the Palestinian territories are still occupied? The people have to defend themselves," he said.
Al-Zahar, who is the overall leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, also called upon the international community to give the Hamas cabinet a chance to show it was "clean and transparent."
With words like these being uttered, a war is pretty much expected between Israel and Palestine--especially if Iran attacks Israel.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Google Courting The GOP?
[Expand Full Post] [Media Source*]
(Published on Blogger News)Apparently April fools is still 48 hours away (as of this post) and it appears that the search engine king is cozying up to the GOP.
For a company known to have stronger roots in the Democratic party than Hillary's own campaign staff, this news seems as a shocker from the Twilight Zone.
(CNET News) Google appears to have embraced the rules of the so-called K Street Project. For a decade or more, Republicans in Congress have used the K Street Project to strong-arm businesses to hire only Republican lobbyists and to make donations only to GOP candidates.
Google has hired Washington powerhouse lobbying firm Podesta Mattoon. Though known as a bipartisan firm, Podesta Mattoon will probably hand this account to Lauren Maddox, a former staffer for Newt Gingrich.
Google is apparently "teaming up" with the GOP in order to influence government policy, especially after their sting by bloggers and the government over the China issue.
(CNET News) "The folks I've talked to," Clark told The New York Times, "everybody recognizes that the employee contributions were weighted heavily toward Democrats, and they're waiting to see a course correction." (Since 2001, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Google employees have donated $361,294 to federal candidates, parties and political action committees, with all but roughly $10,000 going to Democrats or their allies.)
Despite their neutral approach towards search, Google is probably realizing that they are not making too many friends with the conservative party, with some bloggers refusing to click on Google Ads as it may support "Demville."
Google is hiring GOP lobbyists in order to help curb what it sees as emerging threats to its internet rights.
(NewsMax) Google's emerging army of advisers "would help it fight fires along several policy lines, including copyright law, access to the Internet and privacy issues like its successful court fight this month to narrow a Justice Department subpoena over disclosure of its users' searches," according to the Times. (Media Source*)
Although some may disagree, this is perhaps a wise strategy for Google. The search engine king must find ways to reach out towards the Republican party--especially if they win the Whitehouse again in 2008.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Four Options For Afghanistan
[Expand Full Post] [Media Source*]
(Published on Blogger News and Freedom's Zone)
Many, many moons ago Americans spilt their blood for a people living far, far away in the hopes that one day, peace and freedom would blossom in a land only known for violence and hate.
Unfortunately freedom (specifically freedom of religion) was not part of the "packaged deal" when Afghanistan was liberated, leaving the post-Taliban democracy with four options when it comes to the trial of Abdur Rahman.
(MSNBC) KABUL, Afghanistan - Senior Muslim clerics said Thursday that an Afghan man on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity should be killed regardless of whether a court decides to free him.
Abdul Rahman, a 41-year-old former medical aid worker, faces the death penalty for becoming a Christian under Afghanistan's Islamic laws. [...]
Diplomats say the Afghan government is searching for a way to drop the case, and on Wednesday authorities said Rahman is suspected of being mentally ill and would undergo psychological examinations to see whether he is fit to stand trial.
Facing pressure from abroad as well as within, the Afghan government has several options it can choose, each one with serious consequences.
- Execute Abdul: This would satisfy the "moderate voices" of tolerance, at least from the clerics who seem to have a better understanding of the brain than Afghan's psychologists (see next point).
Of coarse, this may cause the "return of the Taliban" as multi-national forces would be inclined to withdraw. - Declare Abdul Insane: This would satisfy most diplomats and relieve internal pressure. Although a nice loop hole, handing down a sentence like this would reduce the nation's medical society as to having the IQ of a box of rocks.
Even the Taliban were smarter than that. - Free Abdul: Would bring about many smiles across the west but probably increase terrorist recruitment levels ahead of the US military (but then again, so will the first option).
It may also cause religious riots--that is unless... - We Free Abdul via Koranic verses: Believe it or not, CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) has the best solution. This would establish freedom of faith in principle and alleviate the pressure to riot in the streets.
Only time will tell which door Afghanistan will choose, although the "insanity plea" will not hold up towards public opinion (Christian, Atheist and Muslim). Unless freedom to worship (or not) is demonstrated in the Muslim region, Abdul "Deja vu" could happen again in Iraq.
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