OHHHH Those damn Seal Team 6 Angry Birds!!!!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Time to Garden
So it's time to start the garden! This is the first time I've worked the soil at the new house and man the soil and lighting sucks! In the fall we took 4 large trees down (I am still splitting that wood) and even without all the leaves forming, my garden is still considered 'partial sun.' The garden is about 40 feet by 25 feet. The soil is very clay based. I have added a yard of garden soil, 3.8 Cft of peat moss and about a yard of horse manure. Still I am weary of the quality of the soil. Last weekend Jaiden and I sowed seeds for arugula, kale, collards, radishes, and spinach. All are very easy to grow, but I would be surprised if they grow. A few days ago I also planted about 160 onions. I don't know what I'm going to do with all of these onions. I think I wont let some of them grow big and just pickle the small ones. I've been using wood chips to mark my plantings. Also I have two raised beds that this year I planted two rhubard plants, 5 horserashish plants and some garlic in. I'll have ot build some more raised beds because I have previously ordered asparagus which if I can grow it correctly will take over.
In the front of the yard I have planted two large Duke Blueberry plants and two red rasberries. the Blueberrys are already doing well since I had some pine wood chips to put in the hole. Blueberries love acidic soil and pine sap provides that. I have some more blueberries coming and will also plant them in the front.
It's all coming along. On saturday I pick up the bees for my hives. Anna and Hailee had made thier first batch of lip balm using bees wax. It came out pretty good. Alot cheaper than if we were to buy it.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Thrifty Northern Rednecks
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
My new project
So this is my first attempt at bee Keeping. Lynne bought me on of these Hive Kits from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm fro Christmas and I picked up the other one soon after. They are 8 frame shallow garden hives and I'll expand as my bee populations grows (which hopefully they will). Both of the hives are almost identical except one is using wax foundation and the other hive is using that plastic foundation. My bee's are being delivered in April from Georgia so I'll take pictures of us putting them in.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Unrest in the Middle East
I've been reading about the unrest in the Middle East, it's spreading from country to country, the protesters, and the violence. there is one thing I notices in all of these reports from 'reading between the lines;' NONE OF THE PROTESTS ARE ANTI-US! Those of us that have been around for a while are pretty shocked that none of these protesters have been blaming the United States for their problems.
So why aren't these protests anti-US? After all we supported almost all the regimes that are being ousted.
Perhaps its because of the success we had in developing democracy in Iraq! Perhaps, this might be a crazy idea, that by invading Iraq and setting up a democracy, other Muslim peoples realized that this could happen and what was going on in their country for years was wrong. Perhaps seeing all the development in Afghanistan has motivated the middle east to a better way of life. Perhaps this is also why we are staying out of it, we lit this fuse - and so far it seems to be a good thing, but only time will tell. Now if they will only get rid of Hezbollah.
Oh another thing, if you are a young 100 lbs, 20 something female reporter- do not let your boss deploy you to report from the middle of a middle eastern protest. Nothing good can happen. Men should be weary also. Here is a news flash- the people in the rest of the world cannot identify Katie Curic! They care about America's CBS news as much as America cares about the BBC and soccer. The rest of the world will treat Katie Curic just as they would anyone else.
So why aren't these protests anti-US? After all we supported almost all the regimes that are being ousted.
Perhaps its because of the success we had in developing democracy in Iraq! Perhaps, this might be a crazy idea, that by invading Iraq and setting up a democracy, other Muslim peoples realized that this could happen and what was going on in their country for years was wrong. Perhaps seeing all the development in Afghanistan has motivated the middle east to a better way of life. Perhaps this is also why we are staying out of it, we lit this fuse - and so far it seems to be a good thing, but only time will tell. Now if they will only get rid of Hezbollah.
Oh another thing, if you are a young 100 lbs, 20 something female reporter- do not let your boss deploy you to report from the middle of a middle eastern protest. Nothing good can happen. Men should be weary also. Here is a news flash- the people in the rest of the world cannot identify Katie Curic! They care about America's CBS news as much as America cares about the BBC and soccer. The rest of the world will treat Katie Curic just as they would anyone else.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Chishis
The larger one is about 35 lbs, the smaller about 25 lbs. I need to make some more with some less weight for the girls and wrist training. Because some of the exercises are pretty tough when using even a 25 lb chishi.
Next I need to make some makiwaras. I would like some to mount to the basement floor, but I haven't found any steel floor mounts yet.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
ICE STORM!
So wasn't that Ice storm nice yesterday?
After having about 20 inches of snow on the ground, we had to add another 3 inches of ice and slush. At least here in southern Rhode Island we were not like the rest of the state with flooded roads due to blocked drainage. However, my driveway is a sheet of ice.
My driveway sucks. It's crushed asphalt about 125 feet long with a 30 degree grade hill. So needless to say, if there is a little bit of ice, I'm not getting up to the house. So last night when I was returning home from karate, I turned to get up the driveway (thinking that it hadn't iced over yet) and slide right back down into the road. So here I was stuck perpendicular on the road, the backend of the truck stopped in a snow bank. After about a half hour of shoveling and some wood under the tires, I got freed.
Luckily the house is located on a dirt private road with only 5 homes.
After having about 20 inches of snow on the ground, we had to add another 3 inches of ice and slush. At least here in southern Rhode Island we were not like the rest of the state with flooded roads due to blocked drainage. However, my driveway is a sheet of ice.
My driveway sucks. It's crushed asphalt about 125 feet long with a 30 degree grade hill. So needless to say, if there is a little bit of ice, I'm not getting up to the house. So last night when I was returning home from karate, I turned to get up the driveway (thinking that it hadn't iced over yet) and slide right back down into the road. So here I was stuck perpendicular on the road, the backend of the truck stopped in a snow bank. After about a half hour of shoveling and some wood under the tires, I got freed.
Luckily the house is located on a dirt private road with only 5 homes.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The New England Snow Storm 27Jan2011
Wow did we get nailed with snow last night!
We woke up at around 1200 to the sound of loud hail hitting the roof. When we woke at 0600, there was 12 inches of snow on top of the already 12-15 inches of snow that had fallen earlier. The snow was not the light fluffy snow, but the wet heavy snow also.
We started clearing our driveway at around 0700. I have a pretty large snow blower, but we live on a hill therefore everyone has to follow me to get what the blower left behind. This way we can make it up the hill. It's still pretty tough. Especially with my truck which is just a two wheel drive.
After taking care of our drive way, we hit the back deck. We have two french doors that lead to the outside deck, and anyone that has these types of doors would tell you; if you don't clean the snow away in the winter, in the spring you'll be replacing the wood rot. They are nice doors and well made, but I don't want to take my chances.
Next I decided to go shovel my father in law out. Well after loading the snow blower in the back of the truck, I got stuck in a snow bank in the driveway. Don't ask how, but it took hours to get out.
So now its about 1300, I need some Excedrin. Hailee wants to go out tonight to eat for her birthday (Chinese buffet). We are supposed to have girl scouts and I have physical therapy at 1700.
This was supposed to be a day off due to the snow?
We woke up at around 1200 to the sound of loud hail hitting the roof. When we woke at 0600, there was 12 inches of snow on top of the already 12-15 inches of snow that had fallen earlier. The snow was not the light fluffy snow, but the wet heavy snow also.
We started clearing our driveway at around 0700. I have a pretty large snow blower, but we live on a hill therefore everyone has to follow me to get what the blower left behind. This way we can make it up the hill. It's still pretty tough. Especially with my truck which is just a two wheel drive.
After taking care of our drive way, we hit the back deck. We have two french doors that lead to the outside deck, and anyone that has these types of doors would tell you; if you don't clean the snow away in the winter, in the spring you'll be replacing the wood rot. They are nice doors and well made, but I don't want to take my chances.
Next I decided to go shovel my father in law out. Well after loading the snow blower in the back of the truck, I got stuck in a snow bank in the driveway. Don't ask how, but it took hours to get out.
So now its about 1300, I need some Excedrin. Hailee wants to go out tonight to eat for her birthday (Chinese buffet). We are supposed to have girl scouts and I have physical therapy at 1700.
This was supposed to be a day off due to the snow?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
MTV, Viacom and Al Qaeda
Now I’m not one of these middle aged men that like to talk about the “Good Ol’ Days” when MTV used to actually play music videos. Nor will I ever state that my generation did not want to repel against our older generations by watching rock videos, wearing our hair long, or doing other counter culture acts, just to make our parents angry and to try to find our own place in society.
However, recently the shock reality shows on MTV do have me shocked. First off- there is no such thing as a reality show. These people know they are on camera, therefore they will act differently in order to gain fame and notoriety. They will perform on TV in an effort to get money and further contract deals. It is much like the person acting foolishly on stage when hypnotized, only to find out afterwards that the hypnotized person was fully conscience of their actions. Therefore there must be some reason people act this way.
MTV has crossed the line on these reality shows. It all started with the Real World, which was not real at all. How many people when they were 18-22 years old were put in a nice beach house with other 18-22 year old with the camera running? Nothing real about it. Of I have to mention the Jersey Shore, which there is enough written about the moral decline in that show. Teen Mom is another classy show. Now there is Skins which the FCC had actually had to censure on child pornography charges.
MTV had the audacity to state that these issues in the show Skins are real life situations that teens are facing. That might be true, but it does not give a TV Media cooperation like Viacom the right to profit and promote it. It comes to the question of is this art replicating life, or life replicating art. I believe it is both. Of course there are teen pregnancies and teen sex, but there are also teens believing that MTV is displaying what is the norm. Does the Jersey Shore depict these young people going to the doctor to get STD treatments? Does it show them losing their jobs since they cannot sober up to get to work? Of course not, because that is the REAL WORLD. That is reality TV.
Hence, MTV and Viacom has to be owned by someone wanting to undermine Americas youth, corrupt them, and damage the youths reproductive organs with STDs so there will be no future generations.
BTW- if you have a 3D TV, be careful watching the Jersey Shore, I have heard their STDs can actually make it through the cable lines.
However, recently the shock reality shows on MTV do have me shocked. First off- there is no such thing as a reality show. These people know they are on camera, therefore they will act differently in order to gain fame and notoriety. They will perform on TV in an effort to get money and further contract deals. It is much like the person acting foolishly on stage when hypnotized, only to find out afterwards that the hypnotized person was fully conscience of their actions. Therefore there must be some reason people act this way.
MTV has crossed the line on these reality shows. It all started with the Real World, which was not real at all. How many people when they were 18-22 years old were put in a nice beach house with other 18-22 year old with the camera running? Nothing real about it. Of I have to mention the Jersey Shore, which there is enough written about the moral decline in that show. Teen Mom is another classy show. Now there is Skins which the FCC had actually had to censure on child pornography charges.
MTV had the audacity to state that these issues in the show Skins are real life situations that teens are facing. That might be true, but it does not give a TV Media cooperation like Viacom the right to profit and promote it. It comes to the question of is this art replicating life, or life replicating art. I believe it is both. Of course there are teen pregnancies and teen sex, but there are also teens believing that MTV is displaying what is the norm. Does the Jersey Shore depict these young people going to the doctor to get STD treatments? Does it show them losing their jobs since they cannot sober up to get to work? Of course not, because that is the REAL WORLD. That is reality TV.
Hence, MTV and Viacom has to be owned by someone wanting to undermine Americas youth, corrupt them, and damage the youths reproductive organs with STDs so there will be no future generations.
BTW- if you have a 3D TV, be careful watching the Jersey Shore, I have heard their STDs can actually make it through the cable lines.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Sick day and Furnace
Well-
I wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I had to take a sick day.
However, since I'm a father and a homeowner, my day of rest and relaxing to get better was filled with furnace mishaps. On Wednesday I had to move some plumbing on the furnace. I have an oil furnace with three circulating pumps. Two of them are going to two different air handlers for the forced hot air (one in the basement, the other in the attic) and the third pump goes to the hot water tank.
So I had to move the return and supply going to the basement air handler, no big deal. I used CPVC and shark bite fittings. Took me about 20 minutes.
After wards I pressurized the system back to 15 psi (or so I thought).
The next morning when I woke- no heat and no hot water.
Turns out that the gauge on the furnace was broke and stuck at 15 psi. The filling valve that I was using to pressurize the system was stuck closed. So needless to say, I was never pressurizing anything! There was a little bit of fluid in the system, so the no water sensor never went off.
OH and to add to the fun, the supply going to the air handler in the attic froze. Luckily they used the old PEX piping so the pipes didn't break all it took was a space heater to thaw (I know Antone- not de-thaw. I had to get it correct since you are the only one who reads these) then every thing worked fine.
A word to the wise, if your heating system requires antifreeze, you should insulate your attic more. The attic in this house has R-30 everywhere including the attic floor. But not in the attic eves which I've been slowly insulating with the air baffles. I guess I should have done that sooner.
I wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I had to take a sick day.
However, since I'm a father and a homeowner, my day of rest and relaxing to get better was filled with furnace mishaps. On Wednesday I had to move some plumbing on the furnace. I have an oil furnace with three circulating pumps. Two of them are going to two different air handlers for the forced hot air (one in the basement, the other in the attic) and the third pump goes to the hot water tank.
So I had to move the return and supply going to the basement air handler, no big deal. I used CPVC and shark bite fittings. Took me about 20 minutes.
After wards I pressurized the system back to 15 psi (or so I thought).
The next morning when I woke- no heat and no hot water.
Turns out that the gauge on the furnace was broke and stuck at 15 psi. The filling valve that I was using to pressurize the system was stuck closed. So needless to say, I was never pressurizing anything! There was a little bit of fluid in the system, so the no water sensor never went off.
OH and to add to the fun, the supply going to the air handler in the attic froze. Luckily they used the old PEX piping so the pipes didn't break all it took was a space heater to thaw (I know Antone- not de-thaw. I had to get it correct since you are the only one who reads these) then every thing worked fine.
A word to the wise, if your heating system requires antifreeze, you should insulate your attic more. The attic in this house has R-30 everywhere including the attic floor. But not in the attic eves which I've been slowly insulating with the air baffles. I guess I should have done that sooner.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Why am I so self destructive?!
Why do I always do it to myself?
Hungry for lunch and I stop for the all you can eat buffet at Pizza Hut.
It's not that I am going to make a pig of myself and eat more than I need. It's that I know the food is gross, yet still something deep inside of me say stop.
Now all of you getting ready to pass judgement- you've been there. How many times did you eat at an 'all you can eat Chinese buffett'? How many times did you start off with a salad thinking "well this is healthy (even if the lettuce is rainbow colored)" and finish your meal with a few trips to the soft serve ice cream bar covering that chocolate volcano brownie thing?
BTW- off 95 in western CT there's an American-Italian-Chinese Buffet that serves great Baklava and is owned by some Jewish guy.
Hungry for lunch and I stop for the all you can eat buffet at Pizza Hut.
It's not that I am going to make a pig of myself and eat more than I need. It's that I know the food is gross, yet still something deep inside of me say stop.
Now all of you getting ready to pass judgement- you've been there. How many times did you eat at an 'all you can eat Chinese buffett'? How many times did you start off with a salad thinking "well this is healthy (even if the lettuce is rainbow colored)" and finish your meal with a few trips to the soft serve ice cream bar covering that chocolate volcano brownie thing?
BTW- off 95 in western CT there's an American-Italian-Chinese Buffet that serves great Baklava and is owned by some Jewish guy.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The day after the New England Snow Storm 13JAN2011
Yesterday was a good old fashion New England snow storm. It started snowing just after midnight on Wednesday 12 January. What was very bizarre about the storm was we awoke at 0330 to thunder and lightning. It was the large cloud style lightning that never seemed to reach the ground.
At about 0630 there was already 11 inches of snow on the ground. By the time the snow stopped at around 1400 (2PM) on 12 January we had a total between 15-18 inches of snow. I live in Hope Valley in Southern Rhode Island, other places in Northern Rhode Island were reporting up to 24 inches of snow during that time period.
The snow was also the very wet and heavy type. It was not light and fluffy, which made shoveling very difficult.
Almost all businesses, state and federal offices were closed during the storm. To my surprise, the mail was delivered during the height of the storm. The majority of schools in Rhode Island remained closed during the storm and the day afterwards. Only a few schools had a delay.
The state roads and highways were cleared quickly. The day after the storm all state roads were clear and the highway (RT95) was an easy drive into work. The back roads and the city roads were difficult and slippery the morning after the storm.
We are expecting snow again this weekend and possibly early next week. Add a few more inches to the already 24 inches of snow will make for some interesting times. Already there was a roof collapse in Norwich CT that displaced 10 families. Hopefully the snow will not hinder the Patriots-Jets game on Sunday.
At about 0630 there was already 11 inches of snow on the ground. By the time the snow stopped at around 1400 (2PM) on 12 January we had a total between 15-18 inches of snow. I live in Hope Valley in Southern Rhode Island, other places in Northern Rhode Island were reporting up to 24 inches of snow during that time period.
The snow was also the very wet and heavy type. It was not light and fluffy, which made shoveling very difficult.
Almost all businesses, state and federal offices were closed during the storm. To my surprise, the mail was delivered during the height of the storm. The majority of schools in Rhode Island remained closed during the storm and the day afterwards. Only a few schools had a delay.
The state roads and highways were cleared quickly. The day after the storm all state roads were clear and the highway (RT95) was an easy drive into work. The back roads and the city roads were difficult and slippery the morning after the storm.
We are expecting snow again this weekend and possibly early next week. Add a few more inches to the already 24 inches of snow will make for some interesting times. Already there was a roof collapse in Norwich CT that displaced 10 families. Hopefully the snow will not hinder the Patriots-Jets game on Sunday.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
snow storm 2011
Well the snow started falling about 100 pm last night in Hope Valley Rhode Island. It was little bizarre since at times we had lightning and thunder.
Right now everything is closed. the kids are home from school, federal and state offices are closed and there are parking bans throughout Rhode Island.
Glad we did not not lose electricity last night. I have yet to buy a generator and don't have any dry wood that I chopped. All of the wood I have is green so I had to purchase some wood last night. So far, so good. I might fire up the wood stove even if we don't lose power. Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Waiting for the storm to hit.
Well- it looks like we in New England are going to get our first big snow storm of the year. Some forecasts predict about 12 inches of snow between tonight and tomorrow. Other forecasts predict up to 24 inches. This will be our first bid snow storm in the Brightman house. The only thing I'm worried about is losing electricity. I have not bought a generator, so I might be regretting that soon. We have lost electricity before but only for brief periods. This storm caused quite a mess down south already with lots of power outages.
We do have a wood stove for backup heat, but it's a small soapstone stove. These stoves don't produce a lot of heat and just work on radiant heat. Still we could gather around that and I'll tell stories of Star Wars just like in Family Guy.
I think everything will be OK. This Brightman house does get a little scary being on top of a hill. The wind can be pretty awesome during a storm. And because of all the window, when there's lightning you think it's going to strike you in your bed. I am always jumping for my life during a lightning storm.
Just remember, all of this snow is because of global warming, or climate change, or global cooling, or the hole in the ozone, or the gay baby arctic polar bear being abused, or…..
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Humanity's most contagious disease- fashion!
We are social creatures. Being social creatures we tend to want to fit in and look like each other. We also want to give the appearance of a greater social status than what we actually have so we can impress our other advanced primates of our perceived status. We try to fit in through clothes and we increase our status through clothes. We have clothes for special occasions, we have clothes for work, we have clothes for play, we have our sleeping clothes, and we even have our special clothes that are supposed to attract our mate so we can remove these clothes.
It would be one thing if we just maintained the clothes we have, but we cannot. We have to continuously update these clothes, not because they need updating because of wear and tears, but because they are no longer fashionable. The clothes that we have are no longer 'allowable' to whatever fashion critic might see us in public. This even applies to our special mating clothes (that only our mate sees).
Nobody knows when these disease first effected mankind. Perhaps the average citizen in the middle ages wanted to look like royalty and mimicked the clothes the dukes, kings, and queens were wearing. Perhaps it goes back further, which I believe it does. The ice man that was found in the glaciers in northern Italy was estimated to be about 3000 years old. This man had tattoos on his body. Of course in the scientific journals we read about how the tattoos were a way to identify with his tribe, or a passage into some special religious ritual (all of this deep meaning stuff). My theory is that he most likely wanted to piss his parents off. He got the tattoos as some kind of teenage rebellion and then during the rest of his life, he regretted them. If he ever made it over the mountain, perhaps he would have found a Spencer gift shop and got some snake bite piercings.
Now my intentions are not to belittle someone who has a serious disease and compare them to the fashion disease. But it seems that we humans spend more money in our life time on keeping up with fashion than we spend on our medical insurance. It also seems to spread faster than most contagious disease. I think the popularity of 'crocs' spread faster than swine flu, and it infected more people! I never seen a media report on Crocs, I seen a lot on swine flu, yet it seemed more people had crocs than flu shots. Crocs might have done more damage also.
Perhaps the most infected by the fashion disease is the neediest. The youth especially the 20 something youth are very suspect to the fashion disease. At a time when in their life when they are already very pleasant to look at regardless, they spend tons of money (that they may not have) on trying to be more pleasant looking. Only to find out 10 years later that this fashion is out of date, they are losing their looks and in need of more fashion help, while they are still paying off the balances of hyper credit cards from buying the fashion from 10 years ago.
Of particular interest is the type of fashion that is uncomfortable, not practical, and wasteful. Is a pair of stiletto heels comfortable? Is a corset comfortable? To all the females reading this; I will let you in on a male secret: if we find you attractive in stiletto heels, chances are we will find you attractive without them.
Men: we too are victims. There are many men out there that have never worked out in their life, walking around with a TAPOUT shirt thinking they are a MMA star. How many guys out there had a “Big Johnson" shirt in the 1990s because you thought it was witty then got rid of them when your girlfriend found them offensive?
Let's face it; we all want to feel like we belong. But fashion is always a mystery. How is it that in one year everyone seems to be wearing shade leather boots outside their jeans, then the next years they are not? Was there some bulk email sent out? I was not on the distribution list, but my daughters were, so it cost me money!
It would be one thing if we just maintained the clothes we have, but we cannot. We have to continuously update these clothes, not because they need updating because of wear and tears, but because they are no longer fashionable. The clothes that we have are no longer 'allowable' to whatever fashion critic might see us in public. This even applies to our special mating clothes (that only our mate sees).
Nobody knows when these disease first effected mankind. Perhaps the average citizen in the middle ages wanted to look like royalty and mimicked the clothes the dukes, kings, and queens were wearing. Perhaps it goes back further, which I believe it does. The ice man that was found in the glaciers in northern Italy was estimated to be about 3000 years old. This man had tattoos on his body. Of course in the scientific journals we read about how the tattoos were a way to identify with his tribe, or a passage into some special religious ritual (all of this deep meaning stuff). My theory is that he most likely wanted to piss his parents off. He got the tattoos as some kind of teenage rebellion and then during the rest of his life, he regretted them. If he ever made it over the mountain, perhaps he would have found a Spencer gift shop and got some snake bite piercings.
Now my intentions are not to belittle someone who has a serious disease and compare them to the fashion disease. But it seems that we humans spend more money in our life time on keeping up with fashion than we spend on our medical insurance. It also seems to spread faster than most contagious disease. I think the popularity of 'crocs' spread faster than swine flu, and it infected more people! I never seen a media report on Crocs, I seen a lot on swine flu, yet it seemed more people had crocs than flu shots. Crocs might have done more damage also.
Perhaps the most infected by the fashion disease is the neediest. The youth especially the 20 something youth are very suspect to the fashion disease. At a time when in their life when they are already very pleasant to look at regardless, they spend tons of money (that they may not have) on trying to be more pleasant looking. Only to find out 10 years later that this fashion is out of date, they are losing their looks and in need of more fashion help, while they are still paying off the balances of hyper credit cards from buying the fashion from 10 years ago.
Of particular interest is the type of fashion that is uncomfortable, not practical, and wasteful. Is a pair of stiletto heels comfortable? Is a corset comfortable? To all the females reading this; I will let you in on a male secret: if we find you attractive in stiletto heels, chances are we will find you attractive without them.
Men: we too are victims. There are many men out there that have never worked out in their life, walking around with a TAPOUT shirt thinking they are a MMA star. How many guys out there had a “Big Johnson" shirt in the 1990s because you thought it was witty then got rid of them when your girlfriend found them offensive?
Let's face it; we all want to feel like we belong. But fashion is always a mystery. How is it that in one year everyone seems to be wearing shade leather boots outside their jeans, then the next years they are not? Was there some bulk email sent out? I was not on the distribution list, but my daughters were, so it cost me money!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Hezbollah
If anyone is intersted here's a paper I wrote on Hezbollah.
Introduction
Hezbollah is an Islamic military terror movement that traces its origin to Lebanon and Iran. They are referred to different names to include Hizballah, Hizbollah, Hisbullah or Hezbollah. Hizbollah referee to themselves as "the party of God." Hezbollah maintains a goal to spread Islam throughout the earth, destroy Israel and to rid the Middle East of western influences. Hezbollah is an umbrella terror organization that works closely with organizations such as Hamas, the Islamic Brotherhood, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and other terror groups with similar ideology. Hezbollah has also formed alliances with state governments such as Iran, Syria and Lebanon.
Hezbollah has been instrumental in influencing foreign policy within the United States and other countries. They have conducted terrorist attacks against western or Israeli targets which in turn have influenced these governments interest in the region. In recent years Hezbollah has extended their influence to beyond the Lebanese or Middle Eastern region. They have conducted terror attacks in Argentina against Israeli targets. It is believed that Hezbollah has established sleeper cells worldwide, even in the United States. It is difficult to detect these sleeper cells and it is estimated that they may be working with gangs such as MS-13 in the US and drug cartels in Mexico. Hezbollah has worked closely with the Iranian government and the government of Iran which has used Hezbollah as a sort of terrorist deference since the Iranian government lacks nuclear weapons deterrence. It is estimated that since the Iranian government has conducted military exercises with the Venezuelan government in South America, and Hezbollah has been included in past Iranian military exercise with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, that the Venezuelan military exercises have included Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s influence has spread worldwide and has helped to further the Islamic cause. They are staunch anti-Israel and anti-US. Even though they are attempting to legitimize themselves as a legitimate political party in Lebanon, they still preach, attempt, and practice Jihad against US and Israeli targets. Hezbollah’s strength and influence in the Middle East will continue to grow unless serious action is taken.
Hezbollah is and remains to be a strong umbrella terrorist organization with worldwide reach that must be dealt with in a stronger manner than sanctions and remaining on the State Department’s terror group list.
History of Hezbollah
The roots of Hezbollah can be found in the Lebanese civil war. The Lebanese civil war occurred during 1975-1990 during which times Israel (the Israeli Defense Force, the IDF) invaded and occupied Lebanon twice, first in 1978 and secondly in 1982. The Israeli IDF occupied southern Lebanon in an attempt to stop attacks from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which had been using southern Lebanon as a base. Israel was successful in removing the PLO from southern Lebanon during the 1982 invasion, but their occupation lit the fuse for Hezbollah to grow in popularity. The Israeli occupation and the successful Shiite revolution in Iran helped to provide a foundation for Hezbollah to recruit from.
It was during the second Israeli invasion that Hezbollah really grew into power. Hezbollah formed a close alliance with Hamas, Syria and Iran. Each was also trying to remove Israel and establish an Islamic government in Israel. Hezbollah had taken a strong hold of southern Lebanon to the north of Israel and Hama in the Gaza Strip to the south of Israel. Both organizations attacked Israel through terror and military actions.
The ideology of Hezbollah can be found from Islamic teaching and the interpretations from Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. According to GlobalSecurity.org: Hezbollah is a radical Shiite group that "takes it's ideological inspiration from the Iranian revolution and the teachings of the Ayatollah Khomeini" (www.globalsecurity.com). Because of the close ties with Iran, operations against Hezbollah would mean operations against Iran, and operations against Iran would mean operations against Hezbollah. Hezbollah has trained with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard which is the radical military branch of the Iranian military that is controlled by the clerics, not the government. Action against Hezbollah is a battlefront that should only be attempted after Iraq and Afghanistan is fully secured and safe to act as a staging ground for coalition troops. However, action could awaken sleeper cells throughout the world.
]
Hezbollah’s Tools of Terror
Since Hezbollah’s beginning in 1982, Hezbollah has developed a strong gathering of support amongst the Shiite Muslim population, especially in southern Lebanon and Iran. Hezbollah is driven by the idea of umma. According to Azani, umma is the belief that the “Islamic community of believers will unite and restore Islam’s status as the leading factor in the world.” (pg 23). This umma means the reestablishment of Islam as a major world force, and the regaining of Spain and Portugal to Muslim land.
The Umma is conducted by two means: Dawa and Jihad. Jihad is the holy struggle against non Muslims. According to Azani there are many different types of jihad, for instance the internal jihad struggle, violent jihad, and non violent jihad. Many radical Muslims only consider jihad possible through violent means against non believers. This includes follower of Hezbollah.
The other part of the umma is dawa. Dawa means the invitations, propagation or call to Islam. Dawa is conducted by peaceful means by spreading the word of Islam and trying to convert non believers to Islam. Dawa is also conducted through charitable organizations, building mosques, community involvement, and getting involved in local government. It is the peaceful conversion of Islamic non believers to becoming Islamic.
Both of these techniques; Jihad and Dawa, have been and continue to be used by Hizbollah. Recently the growth of Hezbollah has developed into a political movement with gaining support in the Lebanese population. In a recent article on NPR Big East Goss how Hezbollah has gone from “bullets to ballot boxes.” Hezbollah has even established a theme park in southern Lebanon where children can play with military equipment, see mock battles, and captured Israeli equipment. This theme park is visited frequently by visitors from all over. This is another step in their dawa of winning over the populations to their beliefs and cause. The official Hezbollah website has many pictures of their religious leaders with children and the needy; it does not have pictures of the militia or the results of Jihad. If there are any pictures of militias or the aftermath of attacks, it is always from Israeli or US attacks and has children in the ruble. Their propaganda war against western forces is very apparent yet is still effective.
Other leaders of terror groups have expressed success in the dawa also. Osama bin Laden has expressed numerous times of his delight in the growth of Islam since the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden and others view their jihad as a catalyst of Islamic dawa.
Terrorist Activity by Hezbollah
Hezbollah has a strong history of terrorist activity. They have attacked US embassies in Lebanon, Israeli embassies in Argentina, and High jacked many airplane flights. It is also assumed by the US State Department that Hezbollah has trained terrorists that have been successful in attacks not listed. Also since the ideology of Hezbollah has gained in popularity in the Islamic world, terrorist attacks that Hezbollah did not claim responsibility for, may in fact have been motivated by Hezbollah teachings.
The following is a list of terrorist activities conducted by Hezbollah throughout the world since their inception in 1982:
• 04/83: Explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, 63 employees killed
• 10/83: Explosion at the U.S./French HQ in Beirut, 240 U.S. Marines and 58 paratroopers killed
• 12/83: Explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait
• 03/84: Kidnapping and murder of CIA Beirut Station Head William Buckley
• 09/84: Car bomb detonated at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait
• 12/84: Kuwaiti passenger jet hijacked en route from Dubai to Karachi, 2 U.S. citizens murdered
• 04/85: Explosion at the Zaragosa restaurant in Spain
• 05/85: Kidnapping of Terry Anderson
• 06/85: TWA passenger jet hijacked en route from Athens to Rome, U.S. citizen murdered
• 01/87: Kidnapping of Rev. Terry Waite
• 06/87: Kidnapping of American journalist Charles Glass
• 02/88: Kidnapping and murder of UNIFIL Col. Higgins
• 04/88: Kuwaiti flight KU-22 hijacked en route from Bangkok to Kuwait
• 03/92: Explosion at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, 29 civilians killed and 250 injured
• 07/94: Explosion at the Jewish community "AMIA" building in Argentina, 100 civilians killed, 200 injured
• 06/96: Involvement in attack on U.S. Army base in Saudi Arabia, 19 killed and 500 injured
• 10/00: Israeli citizen Elhanan Tannenbaum kidnapped
During the second Israeli occupation of Lebanon, Hezbollah took their Jihad overseas to Argentina and attacked Israeli targets. This displayed their willingness and ability to attack foreign targets successfully. Since the Israeli withdrawal of Lebanon, there have been no Jihad style attacks from Hezbollah. The most probable reason is the switch from jihad to dawa and the attempt of Hezbollah to gain world recognition and gain sympathy for their cause. .
The United States response to Hezbollah has been a mix of military actions, military responses, sanctions, and withdrawal from Hezbollah occupied lands. This has created a sense of accomplishments in the Hezbollah organization and throughout the Islamic community. Many Muslims believe that with enough harassment, westerners will eventually leave occupied territory. Many Muslims believe the US leaving Lebanon and Somalia in the 1990s is examples of their success.
The far reach of Hezbollah and the difficulty in linking Hezbollah to specific terrorist attacks is displayed in the 1983 embassy attack in Beirut and the 1992 embassy attack in Argentina. Both of these attacks were claimed by a group called the Islamic Jihad Organization and were based in Iran. The United States intelligence agencies have linked these organizations to Hezbollah. More specifically, the Israeli and US intelligence agencies were able to link both of these attacks to Imad Fayez Mughniyah who the US State Department said was a senior Hezbollah member is charge of intelligence and military operations. It is easy to see how difficult it can be to link umbrella terror organizations to specific terrorist attacks. Unless the intelligence agencies have been monitoring these groups very closely or the groups actually claims responsibility for the attack, it may never be possible to link the group and attack.
Hezbollah’s terrorist activity has focused on embassy bombings, airline high jacking and kidnapping. The large scale attacks, embassy bombings and airline high jacking occurred early in the forming of Hezbollah and we focused on maximizing effect and media coverage. This proved to be very effective to Hezbollah. They were able to further their cause and to display themselves as a martyr to the entire world. Since the Israeli embassy bombings in Argentina, Hezbollah has not participated directly in many terrorist attacks because they believe it might hinder their political power.
Venezuela, Iran, Mexican Cartels and Hezbollah
In recent years Iran and Venezuela have formed a close alliance with the goal of removing US world dominance. Iran and Venezuela have conducted small scale military operations in Venezuela. Iran has contributed aid to Venezuela and has started to develop business in the South American country. There are claims that Iran (www.bretbart.com) has started to deliver short range missiles to Venezuela aimed at the United States.
It has long been speculated that a tie is growing between Venezuela and Hezbollah. According to Roggio two Venezuelan personnel have been noted by the US Treasury Department for their support of Hezbollah. “The US Treasury Department has added two Venezuelans to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists for their support of Hezbollah. Ghazi Nasr al Din, a Venezuelan diplomat, and Fawzi Kan'an, a businessman, both provide support for the Lebanese-based terror group.” Support by two people does not mean that the government of Venezuela supports or has conducted operations with Hezbollah, what it means is that a senior diplomat was caught overtly contributing money. This raises the question of how much covert funding is occurring.
According to Congress woman Sue Myrick (R-NC) she believes that Hezbollah is working with Mexican drug cartels on the US borders. Due to security reasons Congress woman Myrick could name the intelligence personnel that spoke of the Hezbollah linkages with cartels. Therefore much of the media coverage of her statements did not view her statements as creditable. However, this is a real concern. Drug cartels have provided funding for South American governments including Venezuela. Drug cartels have raised funds for Hezbollah (www.cns.com). Therefore it is safe to assume that Hezbollah cells are working with Mexican drug cartels and may be within the United States.
Conclusion
Hezbollah remains to have strong global presence regardless of US sanctions and being placed on the US terror list. They have spread worldwide and have developed ties with many Anti-US governments. Because of these close ties, Hezbollah is being used as deterrence against US attacks. The US inaction has allowed Hezbollah to grow in strength and popularity. This growth is due to Muslim perception of oppression from Israel and western powers. To overcome this perception Western governments will have to work closely with governments to rid themselves of these terror organizations while isolating governments that support them.
References
Azani, E. (2009). Hezbollah: The Story of the Party of God, From Revolution to Institutionalization. Palgrave Macmillian publishing NY, NY.
Byman, D. & Green, J. (1999). Political Violence and Stability in the States of the Northern Persian Gulf. RAND publishing NY, NY.
Ching, J. & Toiba, M. (2010). Hezbollah. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.cfr.org/publication/9155/Hezbollah_aka_hizbollah_hizbollah.HTML
Author unknown. (2010). Who are Hezbollah? BBC News. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://news.BBC.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4314423.STM
Author unknown. (2010). Hizballah. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/Hizballah.htm
Author unknown. (2004). Lebanon, party of god. world frontline. Retrieved 11 December from http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/lebanon/tl01.html
Author unknown. (2009). Understanding the History, Motives, Structure and capabilities of Hizbollah. Retrieved 10 December 2010 from http://vitalperspective.typepad.com/vital_perspective_clarity/2006/08/hezbollah_under.html
Author unknown. (2010). Hizbullah – the Party of God. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/320/324/324.2/hizballah/
Author unknown. (2010). The Lantern of Guidance. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://english.moqawama.org/
Elliot, J. (2010). GOP Rep: Hezbollah Partners With Drug Cartels To Infiltrate America's Southern Border. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/gop_rep_hezbollah_is_infiltrating_americas_souther_1.php
Gunning, J. (2008). Hamas in Politics, Democracy, Religion, Violence. Columbia University Publishing NY, NY.
Lyon, A. (2010). Hezbollah Theme Park Draws the Crowds. The Independent. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/hezbollah-theme-park-draws-the-crowds-2052895.html
Mora, E. (2010). State Dept: Hezbollah Raising Funds Through Drug Cartels in South America But ‘No Credible Information’ of Terrorist Operations There. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/67466
Roggio, B. (2008). US designates two Hiszbollah Operatives in Venezuela as Terrorists. The Long War Journal. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/06/us_designates_two_he.php
Introduction
Hezbollah is an Islamic military terror movement that traces its origin to Lebanon and Iran. They are referred to different names to include Hizballah, Hizbollah, Hisbullah or Hezbollah. Hizbollah referee to themselves as "the party of God." Hezbollah maintains a goal to spread Islam throughout the earth, destroy Israel and to rid the Middle East of western influences. Hezbollah is an umbrella terror organization that works closely with organizations such as Hamas, the Islamic Brotherhood, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and other terror groups with similar ideology. Hezbollah has also formed alliances with state governments such as Iran, Syria and Lebanon.
Hezbollah has been instrumental in influencing foreign policy within the United States and other countries. They have conducted terrorist attacks against western or Israeli targets which in turn have influenced these governments interest in the region. In recent years Hezbollah has extended their influence to beyond the Lebanese or Middle Eastern region. They have conducted terror attacks in Argentina against Israeli targets. It is believed that Hezbollah has established sleeper cells worldwide, even in the United States. It is difficult to detect these sleeper cells and it is estimated that they may be working with gangs such as MS-13 in the US and drug cartels in Mexico. Hezbollah has worked closely with the Iranian government and the government of Iran which has used Hezbollah as a sort of terrorist deference since the Iranian government lacks nuclear weapons deterrence. It is estimated that since the Iranian government has conducted military exercises with the Venezuelan government in South America, and Hezbollah has been included in past Iranian military exercise with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, that the Venezuelan military exercises have included Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s influence has spread worldwide and has helped to further the Islamic cause. They are staunch anti-Israel and anti-US. Even though they are attempting to legitimize themselves as a legitimate political party in Lebanon, they still preach, attempt, and practice Jihad against US and Israeli targets. Hezbollah’s strength and influence in the Middle East will continue to grow unless serious action is taken.
Hezbollah is and remains to be a strong umbrella terrorist organization with worldwide reach that must be dealt with in a stronger manner than sanctions and remaining on the State Department’s terror group list.
History of Hezbollah
The roots of Hezbollah can be found in the Lebanese civil war. The Lebanese civil war occurred during 1975-1990 during which times Israel (the Israeli Defense Force, the IDF) invaded and occupied Lebanon twice, first in 1978 and secondly in 1982. The Israeli IDF occupied southern Lebanon in an attempt to stop attacks from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which had been using southern Lebanon as a base. Israel was successful in removing the PLO from southern Lebanon during the 1982 invasion, but their occupation lit the fuse for Hezbollah to grow in popularity. The Israeli occupation and the successful Shiite revolution in Iran helped to provide a foundation for Hezbollah to recruit from.
It was during the second Israeli invasion that Hezbollah really grew into power. Hezbollah formed a close alliance with Hamas, Syria and Iran. Each was also trying to remove Israel and establish an Islamic government in Israel. Hezbollah had taken a strong hold of southern Lebanon to the north of Israel and Hama in the Gaza Strip to the south of Israel. Both organizations attacked Israel through terror and military actions.
The ideology of Hezbollah can be found from Islamic teaching and the interpretations from Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. According to GlobalSecurity.org: Hezbollah is a radical Shiite group that "takes it's ideological inspiration from the Iranian revolution and the teachings of the Ayatollah Khomeini" (www.globalsecurity.com). Because of the close ties with Iran, operations against Hezbollah would mean operations against Iran, and operations against Iran would mean operations against Hezbollah. Hezbollah has trained with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard which is the radical military branch of the Iranian military that is controlled by the clerics, not the government. Action against Hezbollah is a battlefront that should only be attempted after Iraq and Afghanistan is fully secured and safe to act as a staging ground for coalition troops. However, action could awaken sleeper cells throughout the world.
]
Hezbollah’s Tools of Terror
Since Hezbollah’s beginning in 1982, Hezbollah has developed a strong gathering of support amongst the Shiite Muslim population, especially in southern Lebanon and Iran. Hezbollah is driven by the idea of umma. According to Azani, umma is the belief that the “Islamic community of believers will unite and restore Islam’s status as the leading factor in the world.” (pg 23). This umma means the reestablishment of Islam as a major world force, and the regaining of Spain and Portugal to Muslim land.
The Umma is conducted by two means: Dawa and Jihad. Jihad is the holy struggle against non Muslims. According to Azani there are many different types of jihad, for instance the internal jihad struggle, violent jihad, and non violent jihad. Many radical Muslims only consider jihad possible through violent means against non believers. This includes follower of Hezbollah.
The other part of the umma is dawa. Dawa means the invitations, propagation or call to Islam. Dawa is conducted by peaceful means by spreading the word of Islam and trying to convert non believers to Islam. Dawa is also conducted through charitable organizations, building mosques, community involvement, and getting involved in local government. It is the peaceful conversion of Islamic non believers to becoming Islamic.
Both of these techniques; Jihad and Dawa, have been and continue to be used by Hizbollah. Recently the growth of Hezbollah has developed into a political movement with gaining support in the Lebanese population. In a recent article on NPR Big East Goss how Hezbollah has gone from “bullets to ballot boxes.” Hezbollah has even established a theme park in southern Lebanon where children can play with military equipment, see mock battles, and captured Israeli equipment. This theme park is visited frequently by visitors from all over. This is another step in their dawa of winning over the populations to their beliefs and cause. The official Hezbollah website has many pictures of their religious leaders with children and the needy; it does not have pictures of the militia or the results of Jihad. If there are any pictures of militias or the aftermath of attacks, it is always from Israeli or US attacks and has children in the ruble. Their propaganda war against western forces is very apparent yet is still effective.
Other leaders of terror groups have expressed success in the dawa also. Osama bin Laden has expressed numerous times of his delight in the growth of Islam since the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden and others view their jihad as a catalyst of Islamic dawa.
Terrorist Activity by Hezbollah
Hezbollah has a strong history of terrorist activity. They have attacked US embassies in Lebanon, Israeli embassies in Argentina, and High jacked many airplane flights. It is also assumed by the US State Department that Hezbollah has trained terrorists that have been successful in attacks not listed. Also since the ideology of Hezbollah has gained in popularity in the Islamic world, terrorist attacks that Hezbollah did not claim responsibility for, may in fact have been motivated by Hezbollah teachings.
The following is a list of terrorist activities conducted by Hezbollah throughout the world since their inception in 1982:
• 04/83: Explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, 63 employees killed
• 10/83: Explosion at the U.S./French HQ in Beirut, 240 U.S. Marines and 58 paratroopers killed
• 12/83: Explosion at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait
• 03/84: Kidnapping and murder of CIA Beirut Station Head William Buckley
• 09/84: Car bomb detonated at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait
• 12/84: Kuwaiti passenger jet hijacked en route from Dubai to Karachi, 2 U.S. citizens murdered
• 04/85: Explosion at the Zaragosa restaurant in Spain
• 05/85: Kidnapping of Terry Anderson
• 06/85: TWA passenger jet hijacked en route from Athens to Rome, U.S. citizen murdered
• 01/87: Kidnapping of Rev. Terry Waite
• 06/87: Kidnapping of American journalist Charles Glass
• 02/88: Kidnapping and murder of UNIFIL Col. Higgins
• 04/88: Kuwaiti flight KU-22 hijacked en route from Bangkok to Kuwait
• 03/92: Explosion at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, 29 civilians killed and 250 injured
• 07/94: Explosion at the Jewish community "AMIA" building in Argentina, 100 civilians killed, 200 injured
• 06/96: Involvement in attack on U.S. Army base in Saudi Arabia, 19 killed and 500 injured
• 10/00: Israeli citizen Elhanan Tannenbaum kidnapped
During the second Israeli occupation of Lebanon, Hezbollah took their Jihad overseas to Argentina and attacked Israeli targets. This displayed their willingness and ability to attack foreign targets successfully. Since the Israeli withdrawal of Lebanon, there have been no Jihad style attacks from Hezbollah. The most probable reason is the switch from jihad to dawa and the attempt of Hezbollah to gain world recognition and gain sympathy for their cause. .
The United States response to Hezbollah has been a mix of military actions, military responses, sanctions, and withdrawal from Hezbollah occupied lands. This has created a sense of accomplishments in the Hezbollah organization and throughout the Islamic community. Many Muslims believe that with enough harassment, westerners will eventually leave occupied territory. Many Muslims believe the US leaving Lebanon and Somalia in the 1990s is examples of their success.
The far reach of Hezbollah and the difficulty in linking Hezbollah to specific terrorist attacks is displayed in the 1983 embassy attack in Beirut and the 1992 embassy attack in Argentina. Both of these attacks were claimed by a group called the Islamic Jihad Organization and were based in Iran. The United States intelligence agencies have linked these organizations to Hezbollah. More specifically, the Israeli and US intelligence agencies were able to link both of these attacks to Imad Fayez Mughniyah who the US State Department said was a senior Hezbollah member is charge of intelligence and military operations. It is easy to see how difficult it can be to link umbrella terror organizations to specific terrorist attacks. Unless the intelligence agencies have been monitoring these groups very closely or the groups actually claims responsibility for the attack, it may never be possible to link the group and attack.
Hezbollah’s terrorist activity has focused on embassy bombings, airline high jacking and kidnapping. The large scale attacks, embassy bombings and airline high jacking occurred early in the forming of Hezbollah and we focused on maximizing effect and media coverage. This proved to be very effective to Hezbollah. They were able to further their cause and to display themselves as a martyr to the entire world. Since the Israeli embassy bombings in Argentina, Hezbollah has not participated directly in many terrorist attacks because they believe it might hinder their political power.
Venezuela, Iran, Mexican Cartels and Hezbollah
In recent years Iran and Venezuela have formed a close alliance with the goal of removing US world dominance. Iran and Venezuela have conducted small scale military operations in Venezuela. Iran has contributed aid to Venezuela and has started to develop business in the South American country. There are claims that Iran (www.bretbart.com) has started to deliver short range missiles to Venezuela aimed at the United States.
It has long been speculated that a tie is growing between Venezuela and Hezbollah. According to Roggio two Venezuelan personnel have been noted by the US Treasury Department for their support of Hezbollah. “The US Treasury Department has added two Venezuelans to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists for their support of Hezbollah. Ghazi Nasr al Din, a Venezuelan diplomat, and Fawzi Kan'an, a businessman, both provide support for the Lebanese-based terror group.” Support by two people does not mean that the government of Venezuela supports or has conducted operations with Hezbollah, what it means is that a senior diplomat was caught overtly contributing money. This raises the question of how much covert funding is occurring.
According to Congress woman Sue Myrick (R-NC) she believes that Hezbollah is working with Mexican drug cartels on the US borders. Due to security reasons Congress woman Myrick could name the intelligence personnel that spoke of the Hezbollah linkages with cartels. Therefore much of the media coverage of her statements did not view her statements as creditable. However, this is a real concern. Drug cartels have provided funding for South American governments including Venezuela. Drug cartels have raised funds for Hezbollah (www.cns.com). Therefore it is safe to assume that Hezbollah cells are working with Mexican drug cartels and may be within the United States.
Conclusion
Hezbollah remains to have strong global presence regardless of US sanctions and being placed on the US terror list. They have spread worldwide and have developed ties with many Anti-US governments. Because of these close ties, Hezbollah is being used as deterrence against US attacks. The US inaction has allowed Hezbollah to grow in strength and popularity. This growth is due to Muslim perception of oppression from Israel and western powers. To overcome this perception Western governments will have to work closely with governments to rid themselves of these terror organizations while isolating governments that support them.
References
Azani, E. (2009). Hezbollah: The Story of the Party of God, From Revolution to Institutionalization. Palgrave Macmillian publishing NY, NY.
Byman, D. & Green, J. (1999). Political Violence and Stability in the States of the Northern Persian Gulf. RAND publishing NY, NY.
Ching, J. & Toiba, M. (2010). Hezbollah. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.cfr.org/publication/9155/Hezbollah_aka_hizbollah_hizbollah.HTML
Author unknown. (2010). Who are Hezbollah? BBC News. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://news.BBC.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4314423.STM
Author unknown. (2010). Hizballah. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/Hizballah.htm
Author unknown. (2004). Lebanon, party of god. world frontline. Retrieved 11 December from http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/lebanon/tl01.html
Author unknown. (2009). Understanding the History, Motives, Structure and capabilities of Hizbollah. Retrieved 10 December 2010 from http://vitalperspective.typepad.com/vital_perspective_clarity/2006/08/hezbollah_under.html
Author unknown. (2010). Hizbullah – the Party of God. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/320/324/324.2/hizballah/
Author unknown. (2010). The Lantern of Guidance. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://english.moqawama.org/
Elliot, J. (2010). GOP Rep: Hezbollah Partners With Drug Cartels To Infiltrate America's Southern Border. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/gop_rep_hezbollah_is_infiltrating_americas_souther_1.php
Gunning, J. (2008). Hamas in Politics, Democracy, Religion, Violence. Columbia University Publishing NY, NY.
Lyon, A. (2010). Hezbollah Theme Park Draws the Crowds. The Independent. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/hezbollah-theme-park-draws-the-crowds-2052895.html
Mora, E. (2010). State Dept: Hezbollah Raising Funds Through Drug Cartels in South America But ‘No Credible Information’ of Terrorist Operations There. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/67466
Roggio, B. (2008). US designates two Hiszbollah Operatives in Venezuela as Terrorists. The Long War Journal. Retrieved 11 December 2010 from http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/06/us_designates_two_he.php
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A productive holiday season
Well this holiday season has been somewhat productive. Lynne finished painting the hallway, which came out really nice. I made the two outdoor chairs that I posted about earlier. Then I started my basement workbench. It's 2x3 construction with a 2x8 bench top. When I finish it will have two shelves on the top for me to start my seedlings in the spring (with grow lights). It didn't turn out too bad, it's nice and sturdy. Anyone with a fine eye will notice the one 2x3 that was bent. I didn't have the fine eye and had to offset that bent wood when I put on the top.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Hezbollah, MS13, Education and Celebrity Sex Tapes
As we start 2011 and say good bye to 2010, I would like to talk about some of the things I have written about in 2010. Yes, all of the topics mentioned in the title of this article I have written about. I have researched extensively on Hezbollah. I have submitted some pretty in depth papers to my professors on the rise of Hezbollah, how they affect us in the United States, their ties with Iran. I have interviewed Lebanese Christians that had to leave Lebanon. I have posted documents on all of my favorite writing sites about Hezbollah.
I have also written about the rise of MS-13 throughout the United States and their ties with Mexican drug cartel. I have discussed all about how money MS-13 makes gets funneled into Mexican drug cartels, into South America and into terror groups such as Hezbollah and Iran (Hezbollah does operate within the US and Mexico).
My passion is for education and training. It is what I do for my profession. I write extensively about training topics to help trainers become master training specialists. I write on adult education topics, androgogical principles, training techniques, etc.
Lastly there are celebrity sex tapes. Whenever a celebrity has some type of sexual scandal, it seems to be the only thing on the internet that makes money (including us independent writers that comment on it). Out of the articles I have written, perhaps the largest money makers have been my comments on Daisy De La Hoya’s nude photos (I don’t even know who she is, she wasn’t actually nude in the photo, I just happened to stumble on them), a Gene Simmons Sex Tape (never watched it, had no desire to, especially since he was about 50 at the time of filming), and some Cheetah Girl showing her butt to the camera.
In 2011, I have to remember that when the media is talking about some celebrity screwing up and displaying their private parts, that is their money maker. That just like me, they would like to discuss articles or items of meaning. But just like me, no one would pay attention.
I wonder how much traffic this article would get just because “celebrity sex tapes” is in the title? I also wonder how many people will read this and think that David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manger is actually writing about celebrity sex tapes?
I have also written about the rise of MS-13 throughout the United States and their ties with Mexican drug cartel. I have discussed all about how money MS-13 makes gets funneled into Mexican drug cartels, into South America and into terror groups such as Hezbollah and Iran (Hezbollah does operate within the US and Mexico).
My passion is for education and training. It is what I do for my profession. I write extensively about training topics to help trainers become master training specialists. I write on adult education topics, androgogical principles, training techniques, etc.
Lastly there are celebrity sex tapes. Whenever a celebrity has some type of sexual scandal, it seems to be the only thing on the internet that makes money (including us independent writers that comment on it). Out of the articles I have written, perhaps the largest money makers have been my comments on Daisy De La Hoya’s nude photos (I don’t even know who she is, she wasn’t actually nude in the photo, I just happened to stumble on them), a Gene Simmons Sex Tape (never watched it, had no desire to, especially since he was about 50 at the time of filming), and some Cheetah Girl showing her butt to the camera.
In 2011, I have to remember that when the media is talking about some celebrity screwing up and displaying their private parts, that is their money maker. That just like me, they would like to discuss articles or items of meaning. But just like me, no one would pay attention.
I wonder how much traffic this article would get just because “celebrity sex tapes” is in the title? I also wonder how many people will read this and think that David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manger is actually writing about celebrity sex tapes?
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