God Save Arizona

This time Ray Stevens shouts out about the hypocrisy over Arizona Bill 1070.

Missed Me!

There have been wild rumors reports flying around and out of Iran for the past few hours.  Was there an crude attempt on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's life, or is it just rumor?  You decide.

Report 1:  Jerusalem Post

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the target of a failed assassination attempt on Wednesday in the city of Hamedan in western Iran.

A handmade grenade struck one of the vehicles in a convoy accompanying the Iranian president. Ahmadinejad was not injured in the attack.

The vehicle carried journalists covering Ahmadinejad, several of whom were injured in the incident, television station Al Arabiya reported.

The blast took place in Hamedan as Ahmadinejad was about to address a crowd. He gave his speech as planned and it was broadcast live on state TV.

A source in Iran's presidential office denied the reports of the assassination attempt, Press TV reported.

Conservative Iranian website khabaronline.ir reported that one person was arrested in connection with the attack.

The Iranian president's car was about 100 meters away from the site of the blast, according to the report.

Report 2:  New York Times

TEHRAN — Iran rigorously denied reports on Wednesday that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been the target of a grenade attack.

Press TV, the state-run satellite broadcaster, quoted an unidentified “informed source” in the presidential office as saying the reports were false.

“Some foreign news sources published reports that a grenade exploded near the motorcade of President Ahmadinejad during his visit to the western city of Hamedan on Wednesday,” Press TV said. “The source denied the allegation, saying no such attack had happened.”

The denial came amid a confusing series of reports and rumors sweeping Tehran.

Earlier, Reuters quoted an unidentified source in President Ahmadinejad’s office as confirming that the Iranian president’s motorcade had come under an attack on Wednesday but he had escaped unharmed.

The source was quoted as saying that a homemade explosive device had exploded as the president was traveling from an airport in Hamedan to give a speech in a sports arena. One person had been arrested, according to the source quoted by Reuters.

William Yong reported from Tehran and Alan Cowell from London

If this was an attempt on Monkeyman's life, it was a very amateur attempt at best.  But what it really means is that the Green Revolution has gone from non-violent to violent.  Probably in response to the violence that was inflected upon the opposition during the upheaval of June 2009.

Routine Blood Tests Could Replace Colonoscopy

Every man or woman over the age of 50 dread the words from their doctor:  "We  are scheduling you for a routine Colonoscopy."  For those of you who don't know what Colonoscopy is, WebMD has a very good explanation:

Colonoscopy is a test that allows your doctor to look at the inner lining of your large intestine (rectum and colon). He or she uses a thin, flexible tube called a colonoscope to look at the colon. A colonoscopy helps find ulcers, colon polyps, tumors, and areas of inflammation or bleeding. During a colonoscopy, tissue samples can be collected (biopsy) and abnormal growths can be taken out. Colonoscopy can also be used as a screening test to check for cancer or precancerous growths in the colon or rectum (polyps).

The colonoscope is a thin, flexible tube that ranges from 48in to 72in long. A small video camera is attached to the colonoscope so that your doctor can take pictures or video of the large intestine (colon). The colonoscope can be used to look at the whole colon and the lower part of the small intestine. A test called sigmoidoscopy shows only the rectum and the lower part of the colon.

Before this test, you will need to clean out your colon (colon prep). Colon prep takes 1 to 2 days, depending on which type of prep your doctor recommends. Some preps may be taken the evening before the test. For many people, the prep for a colonoscopy is more trying than the actual test. Plan to stay home during your prep time since you will need to use the bathroom often. The colon prep causes loose, frequent stools and diarrhea so that your colon will be empty for the test. The colon prep may be uncomfortable and you may feel hungry on the clear liquid diet. If you need to drink a special solution as part of your prep, be sure to have clear fruit juices or soft drinks to drink after the prep because the solution tastes salty.

Dave Berry explained the Colonoscopy best:

I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy.

A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly thru Minneapolis . Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner. I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn”t really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote, “HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!”

I left Andy”s office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called “MoviPrep,” which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America’s enemies.

I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous. Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn”t eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor. Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes – and here I am being kind – like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.

The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, “a loose, watery bowel movement may result.” This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.

MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don’t want to be too graphic, here, but: Have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.

After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep. The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, “What if I spurt on Andy?” How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.

At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked.

Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep. At first I was ticked off that I hadn’t thought of this is, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.

Finish reading here.

One of the major reason to have a Colonoscopy is to detect Colon cancer at an early stage.  And we all know that early detection can save your life.  So we submit to the humiliation of a 17,000 foot tube being shoved where the sun doesn't shine.

Until now.

Now there is real hope.  Researchers at Tel Aviv University's School of Public Health and Maccabi Healthcare Services' Department of Medical Informatics have discovered that routine blood tests can provide an early warning for colorectal cancer.

Anemia, a common blood disorder characterized by low hemoglobin levels, has long been associated with those suffering from colorectal cancer. It doesn't happen suddenly, however - and Tel Aviv University researchers say they have found that gradually decreasing hemoglobin levels can actually indicate a potential for colon cancer years in advance.

Graduate student Inbal Goldshtein, who works with Dr. Gabriel Chodick and Dr. Varda Shalev of TAU's School of Public Health and Maccabi Healthcare Services' Department of Medical Informatics, says that paying close attention to routine blood test results can be an effective screening system for colon cancer. Though some 50,000 Americans are expected to die from colon cancer in 2010, better screening leading to early diagnosis and effective treatment can significantly reduce those numbers, she says.

Goldshtein's study, recently published in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, shows that most patients with colon cancer have a history of consistently declining hemoglobin levels up to four years before being diagnosed with the disease. Until now, only a sharp decrease in hemoglobin levels was sought out as an indicator of colon cancer. But Goldshtein and her fellow researchers have discovered that it's the continuous long-term decline that may announce the onset of the disease.

Specifically, a declining trend of more than 0.28 grams per deciliter every six months over a four-year period was observed - and as a result, may serve as a warning of illness on the horizon.

Over 3,000 patients suffering from colorectal cancer participated in the study, as did 10,000 control cases without colorectal cancer. Goldshtein and her fellow researchers looked at data from each participant's blood tests over a ten-year period, retrieved from the computerized database of Maccabi Healthcare Services.

Though hemoglobin levels may vary in everyone as a result of aging, a distinct trend was discovered among participants who had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer during the study period. Approximately four years prior to their diagnoses, their blood tests began to show a continuous decline in hemoglobin levels.

For the most part, Goldshtein says, these warning signs went unnoticed: "In practice, a doctor will look at the final results, and see if the hemoglobin levels are within a normal range. But this is not accurate enough. It is important to look at the continuing trend of each individual. If a person experiences a consistent decline relative to his own average level, it may be cause for concern."

The benefit of this screening process is that it can be part of an routine physical exam. Current testing for colorectal cancer is often expensive and unpleasant – and many people who should undergo the test do not do so.

The next step, says Dr. Shalev, is to create an algorithm which will automatically detect suspicious declines in hemoglobin levels, advising physicians to send their patients for further testing.

Not only have the researchers at Tel Aviv University have an easier test for colorectal cancer, but Prof. Shamgar Ben-Eliyahu, head of Tel Aviv University`s Department of Psychology has a new drug  treatment.

Cancer surgery wreaks havoc on a body`s immune system and stress hormones exacerbate the problem. As a result, about half of those who undergo surgery for tumor removal experience a recurrence of cancer in the same region or other parts of the body.

A new clinical approach being developed and tested by Tel Aviv University researchers may be the key to making cancer operations more successful. Prof. Shamgar Ben-Eliyahu, head of Tel Aviv University`s Department of Psychology, has opened on a new frontier in cancer research: he is recruiting colon cancer patients for a new clinical study which will test a cocktail of drugs to prevent the negative effects of stress responses to surgery. If successful, it will help the immune system maintain its vigor and prevent the occurrence of new tumors.

Combining two widely-known medications that affect immune and stress responses, Prof. Ben-Eliyahu has developed a formula he hopes will keep an immune system strong and prevent the recurrence of cancer. Already tested in animal models, the compounds will be employed in a clinical trial in Israel, for which Prof. Ben-Eliyahu`s team is currently recruiting patients and funds. They hope to have 800 colon cancer patients participate in the trial, due to begin shortly.

Increasing survival 300%

Read it all here.

Medical advances to benefit the whole world, yet those who wish everyone to Boycott Israel would not give a second glance to using Israeli invented products or medical breakthroughs.  There is a word for them: 

"Hypocrites!"

Israel is one of the smallest nations in the world, with only 7,308,800 people.  (Less than the State of New Jersey with 8,707,739).  Every Arab nation, let alone Muslim ones, have a larger population. They have greater wealth, bigger universities, etc... And yet, with all their resources, all their money their best achievements are tainted with superstition and junk science.

Now you can make the decision to boycott Israeli products, professors, inventions etc.. or you can decide to use those wonderful inventions and discoveries to improve your life.

The choice is yours.

Wednesday's Hero: Lt. Dan Cnossen

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Aaron


Lt. Dan Cnossen

Standing on his own legs, Lt. Dan Cnossen used to be about 5 feet, 9 inches tall. Now on his two mechanical legs, he is roughly the same height.

Somehow, though, he seems to stand taller.

That isn't what the Topeka man would say. But while this is his story, it is often his mother's telling, and she can't believe how far he has come. His latest feat came late last month when he walked a six-mile race on his prosthetic legs.

You can read the rest of Lt. Cnossen's story here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Freedom Is My Religion!

Pat Condell does it again, even as the atheist community condemns him for his views and speaking out against Islam.

100,000!

Congrats to the Contributors and readers of Monkey in the Middle for going over the 100,000 hit mark!

The Royal Mail Deserves A Throne!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the loo, this comes up:

Yes the Turkish toilet also known as the Nile pan has found its way back into British Bathrooms, this time at the Royal Mail.

A ROW has erupted after Royal Mail introduced loos for Muslims at one of its biggest centres.

Special “Nile pans” have replaced two normal loos at one of the north’s largest post processing plants.

About half the staff at the Manchester Mail Centre are Asian but most cannot believe anyone asked for the hole-in-the-ground toilets.

Some members of the Asian community are said to prefer squatting and the lavs are common in China, Turkey and Iran.

But others are seeing red and say the porcelain thrones are a nightmare to clean and have caused a cultural divide.

One member of staff described how cleaners had refused to touch the foreign toilets as they had been left in such an awful state.

I could well imagine the sight and smell that these 7th century wonder toilets can produce.  It would be disgusting to say the least.

She said: “The toilets were put in over the last six to eight weeks. We’re all shell-shocked. They have taken out two blocks of toilets and taken one from the men’s and one from the ladies and replaced them with these pans.

“Most of the Asians here are Muslims. It’s a great mix of people here and we all like that. We all get on great but now everyone’s frightened to broach the subject.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “The washroom facilities we provide in Manchester are intended to meet the needs of all our employees.”

I wonder if these idiots in the government went out to the homes of the Muslims "Asians" who work for them and removed the standard toilet and replaced it with the hole in the ground.  Perhaps they could put them outside in a special building.  They would feel right at home.

I feel that Great Britain is lost.  They will do anything, accept any stupidity to further their idea of multiculturalism.  Even if it means giving up the flush toilet in favor of the hole in the ground.

Sderot- The bomb shelter capital of the world

For the last week rockets fired from Gaza have been a daily occurrence.  Although they have caused limited damage to property and no one has been hurt or killed. (Frayed nerves and a couple of neurotic cats.)  It is only a matter of time before someone is killed.

A Grad rocket fired by Gaza terrorists hit an open area near a residential neighborhood in Ashkelon on Friday morning. No physical injuries were reported, although several people suffered shock and required medical attention. A vehicle was also damaged.

Ashkelon had experienced relative quiet following the Cast Lead counterterror operation in Gaza in early 2009.

The attack follows an attack last week that was carried out using an imported rocket more sophisticated than the short-range “Kassam” rockets produced in Gaza. In that case, the rocket failed to explode, and no injuries were reported.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has followed a policy of quick response to attacks from Gaza. Air Force planes have demolished smuggling tunnels and weapons factories in the region following previous rocket attacks.

Sderot is the only town and the Western Negav is the only region in the world, where missiles are fired towards civilian population in the 21st Century.--Sderot Media Center

If you are planning a visit to Israel, plan a side visit to Sderot.  You can contact the Sderot Media Center for a tour.

No child should have to endure this.  Please help!

No Jews Allowed!

Will be the motto of the Palestinian State. Not just living in the land, but no Jews are to visit, or be a part of the multinational force that Abu Mazen Mahmoud Abbas demands wants to defend patrol the borders.  This mean the proposed international force would have to discriminate against its Jewish personal.

If a Palestinian Authority state is created in Judea and Samaria, no Israeli citizen will be allowed to set foot inside, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said this week in a meeting with members of the Arab League. The PA chairman also stated that he would block any Jewish soldiers from serving with an international force stationed on PA-controlled land.

"I will never allow a single Israeli to live among us on Palestinian land,” Abbas declared.

Abbas addressed the Arab League during a discussion over the possibility of holding direct negotiations with Israel. Like Abbas, Arab League members agreed to direct talks in theory, but only if a number of “measures and conditions” were met.

"The agreement depends on what will be discussed [in Israel-PA talks] and the manner in which negotiations are conducted,” said Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin-Jassim bin-Jabor al-Thani.

Abbas has demanded that Israeli completely freeze construction for Jews in areas east of the 1949 armistice line, including north, south, and east Jerusalem, and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commit to creating a PA state with borders based on the armistice line. Until those conditions are met, Abbas has said, the PA will not negotiate.

Read the full story here.

Binyamin Netanyahu will sit down any time, any place.  Abu Mazen Mahmoud Abbas demands concessions before hand.  Not really wanting peace.  Not wanting anything not handed to him on a silver platter.

And what did Barack Hussein Obama promise him?  Everything he demands.  I do believe so.

Wednesday's Hero: Warrant Officer John W. Hermann

Warrant Officer John W. Hermann (Pictured Right)
7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st MLG


A Marine warrant officer received the Silver Star on July 15 during a short ceremony in Afghanistan. On Feb. 26, 2008, then-Staff Sgt. John W. Hermann, an explosive ordnance disposal technician, accompanied a team with Company B, 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, on a combat reconnaissance patrol through Dahaneh, a village in southern Afghanistan held by Taliban forces.

While on the patrol, the team came under a barrage of fire from rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, machine guns and small-arms fire. Hermann, according to the award citation, jumped out of his vehicle with another Marine and ran toward a group of entrenched fighters.

You can read the rest of Warrant Officer John W. Hermann's story here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived.

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Gaza Mall Iron Dome

From the Sderot Media Center

Gaza "Strip Mall"- Did the EU's Ashton check the opening sales?

By Jacob Shrybman

As an everyday person and member of the general public, aren't you tired of being lied to?

This past Saturday night the Gaza Strip had a grand opening for its new shopping mall called "Strip Mall." As the world continues its chastising of Israel, the nation that uprooted its citizens and got at least one rocket per person it uprooted in return for its sacrifice for peace, Gazans including the over 10,500 that received Israeli medical treatment in 2009 can enjoy the new goodies of the "Strip Mall."

This Sunday morning, EU's Senior Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton called for Israel to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip. On her last visit this past March 18th she was in such a hurry to get to Gaza that she didn't visit nearby Netiv HaAsara where a Gaza qassam rocket murdered Manee Singmueangphon, a thai worker. On this visit when she was so overwhelmed with seeing all the terrible sites of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, was she able to stop in to check the opening day sales at the "Strip Mall?"

This past Saturday as the Gaza "Strip Mall" opened Sky News reported on the "still dire" situation in Gaza. The article reads, "The blockade has meant that only basics like flour, rice and sugar have been allowed into Gaza from Israel." Isn't it funny how one does not see any of these items in the joyous pictures of the Gaza "Strip Mall" grand opening?

UNRWA President John Ging,said on the day of the Gaza "Strip Mall" grand opening said that the people of Gaza, "Can't afford to buy cans of Coca Cola from Israel." But they can afford new clothes, luxury hair products, and children's toys at the new Gaza "Strip Mall?"

Is John Ging kidding me? The UN gave nearly $200 million in aid to Gaza in just the six months following Operation Cast Lead. It only gave $10 million in aid to Haiti following the devastating earthquake- Wyclef Jean should be campaigning in Geneva not just on The Huffington Post.

To what humanitarian crisis are these international "aid" ships sailing to? Does the Libyan warlord dictator Qaddafi, who sent a ship this past week, own a store in the Gaza Strip Mall?"

As an everyday person and member of the general public aren't you tired of being fed these lies about Gaza. If you're not, take a day off and go shopping at the new Gaza "Strip Mall."

Jacob Shrybman is the Assistant Director of the Sderot Media Center,www.SderotMedia.org.il . Jacob grew up in Takoma Park, MD and now hosts elected officials from around the world and international media visiting the Sderot/Gaza region. He has been published in The Jerusalem Post, USA Today, The Huffington Post, YNet News, and appeared on several international television and radio stations.

It has been over a week since the Gaza Mall opened its doors,  Yet the world still cries out that there is an "Humanitarian Crises" in Gaza.  Can you say Double Standard?

Southern residents have mixed reactions to Iron Dome

by Ben Hartman

Anti-missile system is set to be deployed in Israel in November.

After passing its final operational test on Monday, the Iron Dome anti-missile system is set to be deployed in Israel in November, and residents living within rocket range of theGaza Strip are greeting the announcement with both relief and dismissal.

Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin, whose city was bombarded by Kassam and Grad rockets during Operation Cast Lead, welcomed the impending deployment of Iron Dome, which he said would make a significant improvement in the quality of life of his city’s residents.

“I very much hope that one of the Iron Dome teams will be deployed in Ashkelon, because it can ensure us protection,” Vaknin said on Tuesday. “We took hundreds of rockets and Grads in Cast Lead, so we deserve a system like this.”

Vaknin called the news “very positive” for Ashkelon and vowed that the defense system would increase the deterrence against Israel’s enemies, as well as feelings of security among the public. “It’s expensive, but what can you do, it’s for the sake of security,” he said, when asked about what many consider the platform’s prohibitive cost.

Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna’i said later in the day that Iron Dome would not succeed in intercepting all of the rockets fired into Israel. “It is more likely that it will intercept about 80 percent,” he told Israel Radio.

Vilna’i said that residents of Gaza-belt communities would continue to be threatened by rockets for “years to come.” He added that the IDF would not deploy the system along the southern border immediately, but would do so based on operational requirements.

Development of Iron Dome has cost over $200 million, and the program has come under repeated criticism because of its high cost. The system operates by identifying an incoming threat and then firing a missile to intercept it in mid-air. The missiles cost tens of thousands of dollars each, while the crudely-made rockets they’re meant to take down cost very little.

In an article on the CBN News Web site on Wednesday, Yossi Drucker, director of the Iron Dome project, said each Tamir missile would cost $100,000.

Military analyst Reuven Pedatzur is less than thrilled about the system, which he has referred to as “a scam.”

“If each missile we fire costs $100,000, and each Kassam costs $10, $20, then all they’ll need to do is shoot as many rockets as they possibly can until we go broke. Hizbullah alone is believed to have over 150,000 longrange rockets. We can’t afford this.”

Pedatzur called statements that Israel now has the means to solve all of its missile and rocket threats “nonsense and delusional,” citing the short flight time of most projectiles fired at Israel, and the time it takes for Iron Dome to identify and intercept a threat.

“The system can’t defend against anything with a range of less than four and a half kilometers, and also possibly projectiles with a range of up to 10 km,” he said. “It can’t protect Sderot or the western Negev because there isn’t enough time, enough range. The flight time of a Kassam is 14 seconds, and it takes Iron Dome 15 seconds to identify a threat and fire a missile.”

Pedatzur added that the system can’t target mortars, which were heavily used by Gaza militants during Cast Lead.

“Basically, the whole story, that they have solved the threats facing Israel, is nonsense, it’s delusional.”

Sderot resident and director of the Sderot Media Center Noam Bedein was similarly underwhelmed by news that Iron Dome was on its way to deployment, saying that it won’t provide protection to the western Negev town.

“Iron Dome is supposed to work only on objects fired from over 4 km. away, so those of us on the border with Gaza won’t be protected. Here in Sderot, everyone understands that it won’t protect the people.”

Bedein added that if the government was so sure about the effectiveness of Iron Dome, it wouldn’t have spent “half a billion dollars turning us into the bomb shelter capital of the world.”

Yaakov Katz contributed to this report.

Iron Dome is a joint venture between Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the Department of Defense.  Iron Dome is only one of the many joint projects being developed.

From Rafael about Iron Dome:

The Iron Dome is an effective and innovative mobile defense solution for countering short range rockets and 155 mm artillery shell threats with ranges of up to 70 km in all weather conditions, including low clouds, rain, dust storms or fog.

The system uses a unique interceptor with a special warhead that detonates any target in the air within seconds.

The Iron Dome radar detects and identifies the rocket or artillery shell launch and monitors its trajectory. Target data is transmitted to the Battle Management & Weapon Control (BMC) for processing. The threat’s trajectory is quickly analyzed and the expected impact point is estimated.

If the estimated rocket trajectory poses a critical threat, a command is given within seconds and an interceptor is launched against the threat.

The interceptor receives trajectory updates from the BMC via uplink communication. The interceptor approaches the target and uses its radar seeker to acquire the target and guides the interceptor within passing distance. The target warhead is detonated over a neutral area, therefore reducing collateral damage to the protected area.

The drawbacks to such a system are:

1.  Limitations of time.  It takes Iron Dome 15 seconds to respond, a Kassem 14 seconds.

2.  Each Iron Dome missile cost $100,000, a Grad or Kassem costs $10, $20.

3.  It is only 80% effective.  In the North Hezbollah can overwhelm the system with the amount of sheer numbers of rockets at their disposal.

While not the panacea both government are claiming, it is a lot better than the nothing that was there before.

Every day thousands of Israeli civilians live with the fear of an rocket attack from Gaza.  And the world doesn't care.  They are nothing to the world, less than animals to the media.

You can help change that.  When the idiots leftists cry that Gaza is under  siege, is a concentration camp, a prison, point to the Gaza Mall, the Olympic Swimming Poolor The Roots Club.  Ask where the money came from?  The concrete?  How do they stock the stores in the mall?  Or where the food for the restaurant  is delivered (Aren't the people starving due to there being no food in Gaza?  See the pictures here. Warning Graphic Pictures of the Gaza Crises! )?

But most of all, you can donate. The few dollars you send to the Sderot Media Center does a world of good.  It helps the people of Sderot cope with the daily barrage of rockets.  Did you know that over 85% of all children in Sderot suffer from PTSD?  There is no other place in this world that occurs.  Counseling for these children is expensive and the government can only help a few.  So please give.  It just takes a few moments of your time.  Just click here.

Thank you!

Iran Is Building What?

Nuclear Fusion Reactors!

That is correct.  The nation that is noted for the multitude of scientific achievements such as:



You get the point.

So it comes as a great surprise when I saw this:

Iran studying nuclear fusion reactors

Iran's nuclear agency began studies Saturday to build an experimental nuclear fusion reactor, something that has yet to be achieved by any nation.

Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who also heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told a conference on the new research program that his agency has set an initial budget of $8 million to conduct "serious" research in the area of nuclear fusion.

Asghar Sediqzadeh, the head of the new fusion research center said Iran will take two years to complete these studies and then another decade to design and build a reactor.

"The scientific phase of the project effectively began today. We have already hired 50 experts for this purpose," he told state TV.

Iran is not known to have carried out anything but basic fusion research, but does have a nuclear fission program that the US and its allies believe is a front to build weapons which Tehran denies.

The United States, the European Union, China, India, Russia, Japan and South Korea signed an accord in 2006 to build a $12.8 billion experimental fusion reactor at Cadarache, southern France, aimed at revolutionizing global energy use for future generations.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, members have said no single country can afford the immense investment needed to move the science forward.

Salehi, Iran's nuclear chief, said Iran was willing to join any international grouping to offer its expertise to promote the project. However, he said Iran will go its own way should the world not welcome it.

"We are ready to enter into cooperation with any international group or country," he told the Iranian Student News Agency.

Salehi said it would take 20 to 30 years before nuclear fusion energy can be commercialized but that Iran seeks to make use of all the capacity inside Iran to speed up its research.

Nuclear fusion, the process powering the sun and stars, has so far only been mastered as a weapon, producing the thermonuclear explosions of hydrogen bombs. It has never been harnessed for power generation.

The UN Security Council has already passed four sets of sanctions over Iran's nuclear program on suspicions it is being used to produce weapons. Iran denies the accusations, saying its program is geared merely toward generating electricity

First of all some of the greatest minds in the world have been working on this for the last 50 years. And the best they have been able to achieve is 16.1 Megawatts (MW)  of power. Yet the Iranians say they can do it, and in less time and for far less money.

RIGHT!  Somebody check the woods.  The bears are constipated again.

You would be angry too if you had his problem!

Today scientists from The United States, the European Union, China, India, Russia, Japan and South Korea are working together at Cadarache, southern France, with a budget of $12.8 billion to solve this problem.  An Iran want the world to believe that with a budget of $8 million, and 50 rented "experts", the Iranians can achieve sustained nuclear fusion in a reactor?  Not for one moment does any rational person believe that it is nuclear energy the Iranians are after.

Well, maybe if this is the type of nuclear energy they are REALLY after:

Iran's True Idea Of Nuclear Fusion!

Rivers of Babylon

A new terrorist weapon? NO!

The new name of the next flotilla boat scow? NO!

A disco hit from the 1970's by Boney M and banned by the PA? YES!

1970s disco group Boney M performed at Ramallah this week, but the local music festival prevented it from performing one of its biggest hits, because it features the Jewish people's yearning for the Land of Zion, the Associated Press reported.

Lead singer Maizie Williams said Palestinian Authority concert organizers told her not to sing "Rivers of Babylon." The organizers said they asked for the song to be skipped, because they found it "inappropriate."

The song's lyrics are a loose paraphrase of Psalm 137. They include the lines:

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down;
yea we wept, when we remembered Zion.

When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Required from us a song
Now how shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land.

Spokesmen for the PA, and for Arab countries in general, tend to vehemently deny the connection between the People of Israel and the Land of Israel. Yet the Bible – the book that Western civilization is built around – is rife with thousands of verses that clearly establish the connection without any doubt. The Jews' yearning for Israel and the Divine commandment of settling in Israel are among the most central themes of the Holy Book, if not the most central one. Repeatedly in the Bible, G-d exhorts the Jews to obey his commandments or suffer banishment from the Holy Land. This week's reading starts with Moses' begging G-d to allow him to enter the land to which he led the Jews before he dies.

Extremist Muslim and Arab culture seems to find this rock-solid fact increasingly unbearable in recent years, and seek to deny it to the world, and to themselves as well, counting on repetition to make their contention believable.

"I don't know if it is a political thing or what, but they asked us not to do it and we were a bit disappointed that we could not do it because we know that everybody loves this song no matter what," Williams said. "I believe you should entertain wherever you are asked to entertain, whether it is Israel, whether it is Palestine, whether it is Lebanon, where ever it is, we go," she added.

The band, which was hugely popular in Europe and Israel some 35 years ago, performed its other big hits for hundreds of fans at the Palestinian International Festival.

Here are the full lyrics for the song:

Boney M - Rivers of Babylon 1978

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Required from us a song
Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land

When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Requiering of us a song
Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land

Let the words of our mouth
and the meditations of our heart
be acceptable in thy sight here tonight

Let the words of our mouth
and the meditation of our hearts
be acceptable in thy sight here tonight

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.

Rivers of Babylon

Toilets In Britain Get A Reprieve!

Just sometimes common sense prevails, and the idiots in charge bureaucrats have to reverse themselves.

About a week ago I reported that:

From next week, shoppers in Rochdale who push open the cubicle door expecting the reassuring sight of a modern, clean lavatory could instead be faced with little more than a hole in the ground.

Bosses of the Greater Manchester town's Exchange mall have installed two as part of an upgrade costing several thousand pounds after attending a cultural awareness course run by a local Muslim community activist.

Oh yes, the Dhimmis of Greater Manchester were all set to send their town back to the 7th Century.  But then calmer, more rational people prevailed:

Plans for Muslim-only loos at a major shopping center are going down the pan.

Outraged council chiefs have demanded British-style toilets are used instead of Middle East-style squat holes.

Town leaders in Rochdale moved into action after the Daily Star sparked a national outcry by ­revealing the plans.

Yesterday, managers at the Rochdale ­Exchange mall were set to cave in to pressure and abandon the scheme as a source said: “The decision is being reconsidered.”

Labour councillor Farooq Ahmed said: “I have been inundated with calls saying this paints the wrong picture of the Asian and Muslim community.

“I don’t know of any Asian or Muslim families with these toilets.”

The pans were first installed after Exchange Center management attended a “cultural” training course with community activist Ghulam Rasul Shahzad.

Finally the grown-up have taken charge.  It is about time.  Perhaps a visit from the Board of Health to that Muslim Center to demand their toilets enter the 21st Century.

It Has Been Just One Short Year

Since Obama said this:




It was followed by this:

The Beer Summit!

The height of the Obama Presidency!

 Now we have Shirley Sherrod, the rush to judgment from the Obama Regime, and the Mea Culpas. I have never seen a White House jump to conclusions so fast.  Ms. Sherrod was fired asked to resign due to the fact that Glen Beck was going to do a segment on her NAACP video (He never did that night.  In fact he came to Ms. Sherrod's defense the next day.).  It is nice to see that the White House's war on FOX News is over (FOX won!).


The video shown that caused the problem:




The full video:



It is too bad that neither the NAACP, the White House, or FOX News didn't view the second video before making that leap of judgment against Ms. Sherrod.  Both FOX News and the White House didn't have access to the full tape, but the NAACP did.  It is reported that the NAACP asked the White House to fire Ms. Sherrod.

What does the NAACP have to hide?

Israel Is Causing Unlimited Suffering In Gaza!

With thanks to Elder of Ziyon (I understand his Protocols are very popular in the Muslim world.).

Oh the humanity, the suffering, the 25% off of sneakers!  A new indoor Mega Mall just opened in Gaza.




I guess that the builders of this mall got the concrete to build it the same place they got the concrete for the new Olympic size pool, and the money to build it from donations to feed the starving children of Gaza.  Children that have been starving for the past 2 years.

How much longer do these dying children have before an amusement park is built for them?  After all, it has been over 2 years since Israel started its blockade siege and not a single child has died because of it!

Something must be done soon!  People are beginning to question the facts of the siege.

Wednesday's Hero: Ernie Pyle

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Greta

Ernie Pyle
August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945

Ernie Pyle is oft considered the best, and most loved, war correspondent in American history. Pyle's involvement with the military began early in his life. He wasn't even 18 years old when he joined the Navy Reserve, but because WWI ended soon after he only served for three month.

After he dropped out of Indiana University he began his career in journalism when he worked for a local Indiana paper for three months after which he got a job at The Washington Daily News. In 1928 he became the countries first aviation columnist. Pyle stayed on at The Daily News until 1942 when America entered WWII.

His style of writing during this time was different than anyone else was doing. Pyle wrote from the perspective of the Soldier. A style that won him popularity as well as the Pulitzer.

On April 18, 1945 Ernie Pyle was killed on Ie Shima, an island off Okinawa Honto when he was hit by enemy fire. He was riding in a Jeep with Lt. Col. Joseph B. Coolidge when a machine gun began firing at them. They stopped and ran for a ditch. Pyle's last words were to Lt. Col. Coolidge when he asked him "Are you all right?"

Upon his death, Ernie Pyle was buried with his helmet on, the Army, Navy and Marine Corps were all represented at his service and he was one of the few American civilians to be awarded the Purple Heart.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Flight 93 father: ground zero mosque is the SECOND mosque being built on a 9/11 site

Pamela Geller, who is leading the fight against the ground zero mosque in New York, has posted the following letter from Tom Burnett Senior.

To our fellow 9/11 families and to all who are concerned about the Ground Zero mega-mosque in New York:

We want everyone to know that the Park Service is right now building an even larger Islamic victory mosque atop the Flight 93 crash site. Many of you were outraged in 2005 when the Crescent of Embrace design was unveiled to be a half-mile wide Islamic shaped crescent:


Left: 2005 publicity shot of the Crescent of Embrace design. Right: typical Islamic crescent and star, viewed from a similar angle.

Few people know that this giant crescent actually points to Mecca, or understand the religious significance of this orientation. A crescent that points the direction to Mecca is a very familiar construct in the Islamic world. Because Muslims face Mecca for prayer, every mosque is built around a Mecca direction indicator called a mihrab. The classic mihrab is crescent shaped. Here are the two most famous mihrabs in the world:


Left: the Mihrab of the Prophet, at the Prophet's mosque in Medina. Right: the mihrab of the Great Mosque in Cordoba Spain.

Face into the crescent to face Mecca

As with the Medina and Cordoba mihrabs, a person facing into the Crescent of Embrace will be facing Mecca. In the image below, superimposed red lines show the orientation of the Flight 93 crescent. The green qibla circle is from an online Mecca-direction calculator:


A person standing between the tips of the crescent and facing into the center of the crescent (red arrow) will be facing almost exactly in "qibla" direction (the Muslim prayer direction). You can verify the qibla direction from Somerset PA using any number of on-line Mecca-direction calculators.

To be precise, the Crescent of Embrace points 1.8° north of Mecca, ± a tenth of a degree. The final construction drawings alter this orientation slightly, so that instead of pointing a little less than two degrees north of Mecca, the actual crescent will point less than three degrees south of Mecca. Such small deviations from Mecca are insignificant by Islamic standards, which developed over a period of more than a thousand years during which far flung Muslims had no accurate way to determine the direction to Mecca.

The Park Service does not call the Crescent of Embrace a crescent anymore. Now they call it Circle of Embrace, but the only actual change was to add an extra arc of trees (planted to the rear of a person facing into the giant crescent) that explicitly represents a broken off part of the circle. The unbroken part of the circle, what symbolically remains standing in the wake of 9/11, is just the original Crescent of Embrace. It is still a giant Islamic shaped crescent, still pointing at Mecca.

This is the Park Service's official explanation for the design: the terrorist attacks are depicted as smashing our peaceful circle and turning it into a giant crescent. A clearer depiction of Islamic victory is hard to imagine, so no one should be too surprised that the damned thing points to Mecca, and actually turns out to be a mosque.

Other mosque features

Mosque design is based on a dozen typical mosque features, every one of which is realized in the Crescent/Circle design, all on the same epic scale as the half mile wide crescent-mihrab. Note, for instance, that the 93 foot tall minaret-like Tower of Voices is topped with another Islamic-shaped crescent, akin to the crescent-topped minarets seen in many Islamic countries:


An Islamic shaped crescent, soaring in the sky above the symbolic lives of the 40 heroes, which literally dangle down below. In Islam, there is only heaven and hell. Symbolic damnation?

The Flight 93 mosque needs to be stopped, along with the Islamic victory mosque at ground zero in Manhattan. May the fight against these two desecrations strengthen each other.

Sincerely,

Tom Burnett Senior
Loving father of Flight 93 hero Tom Burnett Junior

Pamela's Atlas Shrugs post includes a second letter from Mr. Burnett, thanking her for her help and passing on some information about the design selection process. (The vote for was 9 to 6 from a judging panel where family members were outnumbered 8-7 by left wing design professionals.)

Want to join our blogburst against the crescent mosque?

Just send your blog's url.

There is also an online petition that people can sign.

Contact information for the Flight 93 Memorial Project here.

9th Day of Av

The saddest day in Judaism.

The 9th day of Av (Tisha B'Av) begins at sundown tonight until sundown Tuesday night.  It is one of the 2 full fast days in Judaism (the other being Yom Kippur).  From sundown to sundown no food or water can be taken (There are exceptions for the ill, the young, the old, and pregnant women.).  Tisha B'Av marks the end of the 3 weeks of mourning.

Tisha B'Av is the culmination of a three week period of increasing mourning, beginning with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, which commemorates the first breach in the walls of Jerusalem, before the First Temple was destroyed. During this three week period, weddings and other parties are not permitted, and people refrain from cutting their hair. From the first to the ninth of Av, it is customary to refrain from eating meat or drinking wine (except on the Sabbath) and from wearing new clothing.

The restrictions on Tisha B'Av are similar to those on Yom Kippur: to refrain from eating and drinking (even water); washing, bathing, shaving or wearing cosmetics; wearing leather shoes; and engaging in sexual relations. Work in the ordinary sense of the word is also restricted. People who are ill need not fast on this day. Many of the traditional mourning practices are observed: people refrain from smiles, laughter and idle conversation, and sit on low stools.

In synagogue, the book of Lamentations is read and mourning prayers are recited. The ark (cabinet where the Torah is kept) is draped in black.

On Tisha B'Av every horrible thing has happened to the Jewish People.  Here is a short listing of them (Hat tip to Yid With Lid):

The First Temple was destroyed.

The Second Temple was destroyed.

Bar Kokhba's revolt against Rome failed.

In 1290 King Edward I expelled the Jews from England.

In 1492 the deadline for Jews to leave Spain, Convert or Die.

The beginning of WWI –which lead directly to the rise of Hitler.

1941 Hermann Göring ordered SS general Reinhard Heydrich to make all the necessary preparations for the Final Solution.

The first transports reached Treblinka and the extermination of the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto began on July 23, 1942, Tisha B'av.

In 1955 El Al Flight 402 was shot down over Bulgarian airspace on the 8th of Av.

The AMIA Bombing (Asociación Mutua Israelita Argentina) by terrorists in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which killed 86 and wounded more than 120, was on July 18, 1994, the 10th of Av.

In 2004, Barack Obama Gave the Keynote speech at the Democratic Convention on Tisha B'av and was crowned the heir apparent of the Democratic Party. He just might prove to be the most anti-Israel President ever.

The Disengagement from Gaza began on the 10th of Av 2005, leading to years of rocket bombardment from Hamas.

On the 17th of Tammuz in 2009 (the day the walls of Jerusalem were breached leading to the destruction of the Temple) US President Barack Obama called on Israel to give up its claims to the most holy part of the City.

The Week of Tisha B'av in 2009 President Obama sent four representatives to Israel, pressuring her to stop settlement construction, and not to attack a country (Iran) dedicated to destroy her before it becomes a nuclear power.

People have wondered why Israel hasn't tried to remove the Iranian threat these last 3 weeks.  Why take the chance of failure during the mourning period.  The wait of a few weeks will not hurt their chances of success.

Some tips of helping you with the fast:

Consulting a doctor before fasting. People with kidney problems, heart conditions, arteriosclerosis, problems with the coronary arteries, cancer, and recipients of kidney, heart or liver transplants should continue to take their medications as usual or risk worsening their conditions.

Pregnant women in the third trimester should not fast,

People who fast should try to remain in shaded and air conditioned places. The high temperatures expected throughout the US Tuesday mean that there is a heightened risk of dehydration. The first signs that the bodily systems are adversely affected because of lack of fluids are headaches and blurry vision. More advanced signs are difficulty in passing urine and, in some cases, pain indicating a kidney stone.

During the day that precedes the fast, large amounts of fluids should be taken in. Immediately before the fast, one should drink at least 1½ liters of liquid but limit the intake of caffeine, which is present in coffee, cocoa, cola and tea. Sweet drinks that increase thirst should be avoided, as should salty food like pickled vegetables and salted nuts. Complex carbohydrates with proteins and vegetables are recommended for those wishing to delay the onset of hunger.

Breaking the fast should be done with a light meal.

Tisha B'Av The Root of Destruction

To Be Rebuilt Soon!

Scroll down for newer posts.

The Enemy Within

Pat Condell rants again against Islam.  Not Muslims, but Islam.



Right on Pat!  Keep Ranting On!

Get your copy of Muslim Mafia here.