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Post by artraveler on Apr 13, 2024 21:40:10 GMT -8
I have chatted with family and friends in Israel. All are well as of 0830 local time. In assaying the mood of the average Israeli the word, I am getting is pissed off. As much at the cowardly Biden Administration as Iran. Biden could have prevented this and the sob let it happen. I hope the old cocksucker drops dead.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 14, 2024 7:08:53 GMT -8
Agreed. It's appalling the administration's stance toward Israel.
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 14, 2024 8:48:07 GMT -8
This can be traced back to Biden completing what Obama started. Removing the numerous sanctions on Tehran and releasing billions of dollars to them opened the way to the present state of affairs.
That said, I can't figure out what Biden is trying to do now. He somewhat supports Israel, but he openly warms Israel not to be too hard on Hamas or Iran. He angers millions of Americans with his less-than-half-hearted support for Israel, but he still angers large numbers of Muslims in states such as Minnesota and Michigan, which he is afraid to lose in November. The man and people around him are clueless.
Last night's attack on Israel is ominous. I heard that Israel used about $1 billion worth of air-defense equipment last night. This cannot be kept up for a long time. Regardless of cost, it takes time to produce and replace those systems.
From a military point of view, Israel should search for and destroy the launching systems. This would make future such attacks more difficult, at least for a while.
Good to hear that your family and friends in Israel are well.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 14, 2024 9:12:54 GMT -8
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Post by artraveler on Apr 14, 2024 12:20:18 GMT -8
Israel has the ability for sea launched Tomahawks launched from Dauphin subs in th Persian Gulf. They can destroy the launch sites, or they can destroy the oil facilities on Karg Island. My option is the complete destruction of their oil producing ability.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 14, 2024 17:45:51 GMT -8
As long as they're killing Muslims and/or Muslim infrastructure in the Middle East, I'd sign off on it.
That sounds like bombast or hyperbole. But what I know is that Iran will not be afraid to use a nuclear weapon. These Muslim nations in the Middle East need to be looked upon as wolves who will be at our throat at the first opportunity.
We might not live to see a mini Third World War started by Muslims. But it is coming.
Take out an oil producing facility? Swat it like a fly.
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Post by artraveler on Apr 15, 2024 5:26:43 GMT -8
I still have limited contacts with Israeli intelligence. The word I am getting is that Iran informed the Biden administration of the attack and the intended targets through Turkey. If so, then this attack was no more than fireworks show. So, the attack was carried out with the full knowledge and approval of Biden. Ask yourself, does this fit the facts we know?
1. Prepositioned air and sea assets ready to bring the attack down 2. Knowledge of intended targets 3. Announced intention of attack 4. Apparent incompetence of Iran military 5. Sudden shift of Biden from mutual defense to Israel is on its own.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 15, 2024 6:46:46 GMT -8
So what you're saying is that Iran isn't ready for a full-scale war just yet...but shot off a few rockets to "save face."
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 15, 2024 8:54:33 GMT -8
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 15, 2024 9:31:44 GMT -8
I have been looking at his event pretty closely and the more one learns, the more it looks like what you say it is.
Iran has done this type of thing before. They make a big PR production for consumption by the Muslim street and when the time comes to act, they advise America what they are going to do. This was done with Trump once or twice.
The whole thing is looking more and more like a Wayang.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 15, 2024 10:36:15 GMT -8
Here's the music to go with the puppet show. Perhaps not my style, but then I didn't grow up with it. I could probably learn to appreciate it.
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 15, 2024 11:36:16 GMT -8
I heard a fair amount of this type of music in my travels to Indonesia and Malaysia. I like it. It is very relaxing to me. I don't recall ever hearing such a large group playing, but I did encounter groups of 2 or 3 musicians at various hotels and other venues. To my mind, the video looks like it was made in Bali, which was (is?) a stronghold of pre-Dutch culture. It is more Hindu than Muslim.
Here is a piece from ST which mentions the gamelan. It is hard to believe that this happened to me forty years ago. The only bit which is not 100% accurate is the mention of my smoking a cigarette. In fact is was one of these. I was an occasional smoker at best/worst. Never smoked cigarettes. The Momentby Kung Fu Zu 1/23/15 The alarm blared on the bedside table. It was a cheap electric clock, which produced a loud irritating noise akin to a bleating sheep in heat. Half asleep, he reached over and swatted the clock’s button to stop the racket. Through bleary eyes he saw the red numerals 5:30. A glance at the window confirmed it was still pitch black outside. He lay still for a few minutes with no desire to rise. Not a morning person, he was drifting back to sleep when an inner voice commanded, “Get up! You have a flight to catch.” This roused him from the bed since, if he didn’t move, he might be stuck in the miserable place for another day. Throwing back the sheets, he switched on the bedside lamp. The harsh light hurt his eyes. Closing them quickly, he covered his face with a pillow to block the glare. After a few seconds, he lifted the pillow slightly, and re-opened his eyes letting them adjust to the light. Conceding defeat, he tossed the pillow onto a chair and sat up. The room was freezing, which further confirmed his experience that every building in the tropics was either an ice box or a sauna. Stumbling out of bed, he walked to the balcony door, opened it and stepped outside. It was humid, but not yet hot, a relief from the ice box inside. A light breeze stirred the air. He looked down over a small inlet where fishermen and amateur sailors moored their small vessels. Since there was no moon, it was too dark to see the boats clearly, but he could make out their mooring lights. The tide, washing gently against the shore, rocked the boats, causing their bells to softly clang out an odd sort of gamelan song. Their lights, moved back and forth, in rhythm with the bells. He left the balcony and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and shave. This took about fifteen minutes. Now fully awake, he went back outside to have a cigarette. The sky was no longer black, but it was still too dusky to see anything in the distance. He could, however, make out the outline of boats anchored in the cove. Swaying back and forth they brought to mind cradles. The thought made him smile. Warm air carried up the smell of the ocean mixed with a tropical perfume, part frangipani. He leaned back and enjoyed the quiet. After a couple of puffs, he put out the cigarette and went back into the room to shower and pack. It took less than twenty minutes to finish both, so he still had thirty minutes before he had to catch a taxi for the airport. Once again, he was drawn to the balcony. He stepped out at that moment, just before the dawn, when the sky is neither dark nor light. He could see clearly, but the harsh outlines encountered during daytime were muted. The effect reminded him of silk-screening as seen in films. Looking up from the water, he gazed out toward the East and was awed by the sight before him. Directly across from his balcony loomed the silhouetted of a gigantic mountain. Only twenty minutes earlier it had been too dark to notice, but now the contrast between the brightening sky and the black monolith was stunning. Although he had seen it before, this was the first time he had truly studied the mount. It was an almost perfect cone soaring into the heavens. Jagged fingers jutted out around the top giving it the look of a crown. Twenty or thirty miles distant, it seemed close enough for him to touch. He wondered what trick of optics was at work. Out of nowhere, he felt an electric, yet, calming sensation spread throughout his body. This was followed by a sense of peace and well being, such as he had never experienced. It engulfed him like a wave. The view of his mind’s eye narrowed, framing in sharp focus only the moment and place. The usual cacophony of plans worries and ideas, which normally cluttered his mind, disappeared. No single sense or perception overpowered another, all functioned together in perfect balance. The muted view of the mountain, the gentle wind caressing his face, the fragrance of the flowers and ocean, the music of the surf and ships’ bells were no longer discrete phenomena. All coalesced into a unified whole and he was part of it. He didn’t act. He didn’t think; about past or future, how or why, the meaning of life. It simply was. Almost imperceptibly, a distant sound began to intrude upon this bliss. The dissonance steadily grew and finally a loud ringing broke the spell. Brought back to world, he blinked several times before realizing it was the telephone. Reluctantly, he stepped back into his room, picked up the receiver and said, “Yes? No I’m up. I’ll be down in a minute or two.” Hanging up, he walked back and stared, wistfully, out the balcony door. The sun was up and the day would be a bright one. Across the cove, he could hear people, most likely fishermen, yelling at each other as if they were in different cities instead of three feet from one another. Things were back to normal. Gazing at the mountain, he sighed. He tried to understand what had happened, find some rational explanation, but couldn’t. The experience had been real but fragile, like a wisp of smoke in a breeze. Impossible to grasp. Turning his back on the scene outside, he picked up his bags, walked into the hall and closed the door behind him.
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Post by artraveler on Apr 15, 2024 17:11:07 GMT -8
The sky was no longer black, but it was still too dusky to see anything in the distance. I have watched the sunrise at China Beach and watched the sunset from Masada. Some of it has been tragic, some has been magic, but a good life overall. Looks like the surgery is set for tomorrow morning. You will hear from me in a couple days.
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 15, 2024 17:38:57 GMT -8
Let me give you an old theater wish for good luck. "Break a leg." Entertainers, being a superstitious lot, say the opposite of what they actually hope for.
Look forward to hearing from you later this week.
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 15, 2024 17:50:01 GMT -8
If you thing that was interesting, this will make you flip out from amazement.
There is much going on about which most Americans have no idea about. After Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iran had no choice but to respond. As is often the case in the Middle East, the response resembled the fixed steps of a minuet in which all dancers knew their assigned steps. Nobody wants a Rock-n-Roll dance in the Middle East except some crazies in Hamas, and some far right Israelis.
Let Israel focus on the job at hand and destroy Hamas. There will be plenty of time for dealing with others, if necessary, after that is accomplished. Frankly, I am beginning to wonder if the growing number of Islamists (Muslim Supremists) in the USA are not one of the biggest problems facing Israel, and America.
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Post by artraveler on Apr 15, 2024 18:02:49 GMT -8
Several years ago, I suggested that Israel could be the nuclear anchor of a mid East NATO.
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 15, 2024 18:28:09 GMT -8
Frankly, that would make more sense than the dog's breakfast that is modern NATO in Europe.
Unlike Europe, Israel doesn't freeload off the USA for defense. Israel takes defense spending seriously. Virtually, the whole population supports the military and has a loved one who has served in it.
In truth, the Middle East is much more important to our national interests than the Ukraine will ever be.
Of course, the Military-Industrial-Intelligence-Foreign-Policy-Security-State-Media-Tech complex are making plenty of money by soaking American tax payers for hundreds-of-billions to "supply" all sorts of garbage to the Ukraine.
But I am convinced there are more sinister reasons for the insane obsession that D.C., and others, has with the Ukraine. First, the Ukraine has effectively been a big money-washing machine for American politicians and bureaucrats for over a decade. I am not just referring to the Bidens. For starters, think John McCain, John Kerry, a number of embassy officials and "intelligence" operators. Americans have also built secret labs and military-like bases in the country. I am convinced these things are just the tip of the iceberg. The Ukrainian criminal partners of all those American vermin know where the bodies are buried. Just think of the documented information which they could publish on Crooked Joe Biden before the November election.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 15, 2024 19:54:16 GMT -8
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 16, 2024 6:11:53 GMT -8
You may have been channeling Hemingway. That's very well written. And not a comma out of place. Reading Charles Finch -- which is full of punctuation errors, run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, and just ill-formed sentences -- it's a stark contrast with what passes for prose these days.
What you had was some kind of transcendent or spiritual experience. I think this is what Buddhists spend their lives trying to achieve all the time. Maybe some do, but there seems a lot of play-acting in that religion/philosophy.
I was out on Green Mountain on Sunday. It was sunny and about 65. I was on my way back down after about 3 hours of ambling. I was exhausted. But I came upon the one quarter-mile or so of straight road where clear-cutting had revealed the entire panorama of the Olympic Mountains. I got off my bike and just took in the mountains and the sun for about 15 minutes. It was peaceful. There were no angel choirs but there is something about a mountain vista that evokes something.
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Post by kungfuzu on Apr 17, 2024 8:44:47 GMT -8
Whatever it was, it certainly was unique and memorable. A wonderful feeling of...peace, unity, wholeness, joy...I am not quite sure. But I could imagine being in heaven might be something like that, frozen in a timeless moment. It is one of those moments one would love to share with another person, but can't.
Yes there is. I wonder how much of this is a result of getting away from the noise and bustle of the crowd? Peace and quiet can have a wonderful way of allowing the mind to rid itself of clutter.
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