Check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw6lqle-Bq4

Denis Leary rips Mel Gibson during a Red Sox game!!!

Enjoy!!!

Am I missing something?

So under the leadership of Olmert and Peretz, Israel invaded Lebanon with the expressed intent of rescuing 2 kidnapped IDF soldiers and pound Hezbollah into submission. As remaining IDF troops evacuate southern Lebanon (pictured), I ask myself, in over a month of fighting, did Israel achieve her goals?

I remember taking a philosophy class at Carleton around the time of the Iraq war outbreak. We discussed the absence of morality in any war, and studied what's called the "7 principles for a just war". You see, back when war was fought in nice geometrical positions, one needed to meet these 7 criteria for the war to be deemed "just". Not moral or immoral, as war is amoral.

In discussing the Iraq war, we used the principle of "expressed declaration". Meaning, if George W. said he invaded Iraq to destroy the WMD's but his true intention was to take all their oil, that would not meet said principle and the war would be deemed unjust. So using this current escalation between Israel and Hezbollah and applying it the the aforementioned principle, we can honestly state that this past violence was unjust. Hezbollah still operates and will remain armed (as we learnt today). Our IDF brethren still remain at the mercy of our enemies. The kicker in this instance is that 90% of the Israeli popualtion (lefties and doves included) were in favour of the war at the start of the conflict, and Peretz and Olmert were as popular as any Israeli politician has ever been. Today, a mere 2 weeks later, Peretz and Olmert's approval ratings have plummeted, and there doesn't seem to be any concrete, tangeable, positive consequences to this recent offensive. It's simply a return to the status quo.

And where are our 3 kidnapped soldiers?

Ever wonder about......

I have chosen to refrain from commenting on the current violent emanations facing Israel and the West today. No mention of Hezbollah, Iran or Syria....no Olmert, Bush or Lahoud...no EU or UN or US or whatever.

Not that I won't comment, I just choose not to right now. What I will say, though, is that if you have a moment, visit youtube.com and search for Brigitte Gabriel (pictured above). You should be able to find her interview with Miles O'Brien on CNN. Watch it. I met Brigitte a few years back (we worked on a couple of Israel-related projects and speaking tours together), and I've been fortunate enough to keep in touch with her. Her story is incredible; Hezbollah threatened her life a few years back, and, apparently, since her interview, she has had her Lebanese citizenship revoked (not that she cares much, mind you). Her website is www.americancongressfortruth.com. But that's it about the War for now....

Changing topics....I have decided to move to Israel. The tentative date is June 1st, 2007. Now the plan is to learn at Aish for a while (like a year or two), then to take a step back and decide if I want to take my learning back to Canada, or if I want to stay in Israel for good. That's the plan.

What do Tracy Bonham, The Meat Puppets and Goldfinger all have in common?

Answer next week!