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Mornin' All !

Please allow me to showcase your commentary from this morning, JH2! Excellent, as usual!

What Arafat Really Wants
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/703605/posts

To hear CNN tell it, Yasser Arafat is a man of peace. A pacifist. In no way is he a terrorist. His motives are purely benevolent, bighearted, unselfish, benign. And well-intentioned. His struggle is humanitarian: The establishment of a "Palestinian" homeland. Winner of the Nobel Peace prize, the 'mild-mannered' Arafat believes fervently in peaceful co-existence with Israel, side-by-side -- the 'two-state' "solution".

If you believe that -- great: I've got a couple of nuclear subs docked near Phoenix, Arizona to sell you.

But this hooey isn't just CNN, unfortunately. In fact, it's 'Conventional Wisdom', or what passes for it in Washington. Dissenters are tarred and feathered as "extremists", "pro-occupation"; tow the line, or get branded a "warmonger", a "fascist" -- or just plain stupid.

As a spawning ground for myth, the Mideast is matchless.

The biggest myth of all: The balderdash that Arafat's goal -- his only goal -- is a "Palestinian" state.

It isn't. It's never been.

Proof?

Two years ago, Israel offered it on a platter. Clinton puppet Ehud Barak, then Israel's Prime Minister, bent over backwards; he begged and pleaded with Arafat: Please, please, Mr. Chairman, sign-off on the deal.

Under pressure from Clinton (who yearned for a legacy -- any legacy, but Monica), Barak went farther -- much farther -- than any of his predecessors would ever dare go. It was the most generous offer, ever. The plan gave "Palestinians" 95% of what they said they wanted: Self-government, sovereignty, contiguous borders -- the works.

The offer was rejected. Arafat walked away. Barak wanted peace at any price: Israel was rewarded with waves of homicide bombings -- planned by and paid for by Arafat.

That's the legacy of Camp David II.

To Arafat, the offer, generous as it was, didn't go quite far enough. Nothing short of total surrender by Israel would suffice. Arafat didn't want a deal, but a suicide pact -- from Israel.

Truth is, Arafat's real goal isn't peace, but genocide; he yearns, he craves, he longs for a sequel to Hitler --- another Holocaust. A fervid Arab Nazi, Arafat dreams of playing star role in this sequel. Upon the ruins of Israel, Arafat hopes to build a 'Jew-free-Zone -- his very own dream "state".

This is the media's dirty little secret. Thinking of Arafat as a Jew-hating Nazi doesn't sit well with CNN, nor like-minded elitists, for that matter.

Yet, that's precisely what he is. Among Adolf Arafat and his brownshirts, hatred of Jews is as rabid, as raging, as frenzied, as vehement, as violent as was Hitler's and associates. On anti-Semitism, the Third Reich had nothing on Fatah, Arafat's Murder Inc.

To Arafat, killing Jews isn't just a tactic; it's an ideology; slaughtering and butchering Jews isn't work, but pleasure; waves of homicide bombings brings waves of excitement, of joy, of pleasure, of sheer delight.

For Adolf Arafat, the only good Jew is a dead Jew.

Here's another myth: The notion President Bush believes a "Palestinian" state is possible under Arafat and co.

He doesn't. He never has.

Bush is no fool -- he knows what Arafat is after: The total extermination of Jews, not geographical realignment with Israel. Bush knows were that the case, Barak's offer would not have been rejected.

In Big Media, Arafat is cast as a burning idealist, a quixotic benevolent, a visionary who only wants peace with Israel; crusty at times, yes, but deep down, he's a peace-maker. Israel is portrayed as a militant, fascist regime, riding roughshod over the "Palestinian" people. In this media fable, Arafat is "victim", not terrorist. The "real" terrorist is Ariel Sharon.

Yet, ask yourself this: How many times has Arafat been invited to the White House? (Hint, hint).

In contrast, Sharon is a frequent visitor.

The White House, by all indications, is preparing a searing indictment of Arafat for its upcoming address on Mideast policy.

Bush's speech will be scathing, biting, stinging. Arafat will be raked over the coals, as he should be.

In a hint of what's to come, White House spokesman Ari Fleishcher Tuesday bluntly said that "The President has not seen anything yet from Yasser Arafat that gives the President confidence that...Arafat is the man who will take...[the necessary steps]".

The world again will be reminded that America stands foursquare with Israel. This will no doubt touch off a global conniption.

But el hombre de Tejas could care less.

"The President understands Israel has a right to defend herself", said Fleishcher.

Any questions?

Anyway, that's....

My two cents....
"JohnHuang2"

Good morning, everybody!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Food for thought regarding yesterday's SCOTUS ruling
that bans executing the mentally retarded (post #41):

SCOTUS Bans Executing Mentally Retarded
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/703352/posts?page=41#41

Excerpt:

On August 16, 1996, Daryl Renard Atkins and his friend, William Jones, were smoking pot and drinking beer at Atkins' house when they ran out of beer. They went to a convenience store to buy some more beer, only to discover that they didn't have enough money. Atkins volunteered to panhandle in the store's parking lot to get the extra money. Eric Nesbitt happened to walk into this situation. Atkins asked Nesbitt for some money to buy more beer. Nesbitt declined Atkins' request.

Too bad ... Atkins REALLY needed beer -- REALLY NEEDED BEER -- and so the only solution was to kill Nesbitt and take his money ... Less than ideal for Nesbitt, but Atkins got his beer and that's what is important ...

When the police came by to arrest him, Atkins tried to frame Jones. The mean-spirited Virginia prosecutors used this point in painting Atkins as more than just a threat to the public ... that, in their words, he was not only "dangerous," but "vile" ... ("Vile" ... What a mean thing to say !!!!) ...

< snip >

* Eric Nesbitt was a 21 year old airman stationed at Langley Air Force Base (So the bishops score a double victory : Saving Atkins and removing a cog from the evil war machine)

* Atkins shot Nesbitt eight times (Guess when you are mentally retarded, you don't know that one or two bullets are enough)

* When Nesbitt refused to give him money, a frustrated Atkins smashed a bottle over Nesbitt's head. Going through Nesbitt's wallet, Atkins was angered that there was only $60. Atkins and his drinking buddy, William Jones, hustled Nesbitt back into his car and took his keys. Abducting Nesbitt, they lead him at gun point to an ATM machine and forced him to withdraw an additional $200 in beer money.

* This wasn't Atkins' first run in with the law. Though only 18 years old, Atkins Atkins had at 18 prior felony convictions for such crimes as attempted robbery, robbery, carjacking, abduction, breaking and entering with the intent to commit larceny, grand larceny, maiming, and use of a firearm. Why wasn't Atkins rotting in jail ??? He was a minor and promised to reform.

* Once, for no reason the courts could determine, Atkins shot a woman through the stomach. Kids do the DARNDEST things ... Just ask Art Linkletter !!!!

* Atkins claimed the gun that was used on Nesbitt wasn't his ... A friend named "Mark," whose last name he didn't know and whose address he didn't know, asked him to hold it for the night ... "Mark," said he was going to pick the gun up in the morning, but Atkins now realized that "Mark" was trying to frame him for Nesbitt's murder.

* OPPS !!! --- The camera foottage from the ATM shows Atkins and Jones holding the gun to Nesbitt's head as Nesbitt withdraws the money. "Mark" nowhere to be seen ...

* Jones admits they killed Nesbitt because they worried that Nesbitt would be able to identify them. Jones wanted to just tie up Nesbitt and leave him in a field to die of starvation and exposure. Atkins thought Jones's plan was stupid (Retarded???), but agreed.

* Atkins knew the prefect place -- his grandfather's house out in the woods! When questioned by the police, Atkins could not explain how "Mark" knew about Atkins' grandfather's farmhouse. That "Mark" is a criminal mastermind !!!

* According to Jones, Nesbitt begged that they could take whatever he had as long as they don't kill him. Jones thought that all three had come to an understanding that Nesbitt would be tied up and left in a field, but that if he managed to survive, he would not testify against Atkins or Jones. The pair took "no more than two steps" away from Nesbitt when Atkins turned around and repeatedly shot him in the stomach (AGAIN WITH THE STOMACH !!!) ... Jones, trying to stop him, grabs Atkins, causing him to accidently shoot himself in the leg.

* Atkins and Jones get back into Nesbitt's car and Jones drives the cursing, bleeding Atkins to the hospital and, after splitting the money, dumps him there.

* Having to explain his gunshoot at the hospital emergency room, Atkins claimed it was a freak accident, but there were also signs of some kind of fight or struggle. Since it was a gunshot, as routine proceedure, the hospital notified the police, creating a chain of evidence that eventually convicted Atkins.

* The Virginia court was aware that Atkins was a little dim, but their standard was "can he tell right from wrong." A battery of psychologists concluded that he could.

* Jones got one-life sentence + 3 years for his role in Nesbitt's murder. Jones was orginally charged with three life sentences and possible execution, but the DA reduced it to one life sentence and removed the possibility of execution in exchange for Jones' testimony. The extra 3 is for illegal possession of a firearm.

From post #46:

Someone in the DC area should stand out in front of the Supreme Court with a sign that says "YOU'RE RETARDED."

I would be willing to bet that Scalia, Rehnquist and Thomas (the 3 in the 6-3
decision) would be willing to lead that rally!

Thanks for the thread, Bunny

G'nad: Thank you for sharing and thank you so much for your service to our country. You are truly appreciated. God Bless You!

God Bless and Protect our Military!
God Bless America!

Thank you ma'am. You are too kind. Thanks for all your service to our Armed Forces. God bless ya!

Thanks for not posting any incriminating evidence!!!

Still on active duty as a Major at Headquarters Marine Corps...my first desk job, and it's killin' me...

Just consider it as the best way to get your tickets punched, Major…staff duty is good training. It could be worse,they might have put you at "8th &I". ;-)

Good morning to all from deep in the heart of the Metroplex.

Thanks for your service g'nad. I know that is never said enough to our servicemen. Looks like you are enjoying your service and that's the way it should be, I know I enjoyed mine.

SCOUTS OUT!

Should Colin Powell decide to step down and if Netanyahu doesn't win the election

I would love to see him take Powell's place!

Three Key Principles in the War Against Terrorism - Netanyahu

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/693346/posts

Excerpt:

The United States is well on its way to winning the war against terrorism because the United States, under President Bush, has espoused three clear principles.

The first principle is moral clarity. President Bush said in his remarkable speech right after September 11 that there are no good terrorists, only bad terrorists -- that terrorism is always evil. In saying this, he was saying that nothing justifies terrorism. It is important to state this point clearly and to elaborate on it, because the main weapon that terrorists use against the West is not bombs or guns, but moral obfuscation: "You're terrorists, because you kill civilians, too. America, Britain, Israel -- all are terrorist states." We must harden ourselves against this amoral and debilitating charge.

Terrorism is not defined by the identity of its perpetrator. Nor is it defined by the cause, real or imagined, that its perpetrators espouse. Terrorism is defined by one thing and one thing alone. It is defined by the nature of the act. Terrorists systematically and deliberately attack the innocent. That is a very different thing from the unintentional civilian casualties that often accompany legitimate acts of war.

For example, in 1944 the British Air Force set out to bomb the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen. The British pilots missed, and instead of hitting the Gestapo they hit a hospital and killed 83 children and four nuns. That was not terrorism. That did not make Britain a terrorist state. That was a terrible but unintentional accident of the kind that accompanies every war. But terrorists don't accidentally kill civilians. The deaths of innocents are not an unintentional byproduct of their strategy. Terrorists deliberately target the innocent. They intentionally cross the lines that define the conventions of war that have been developed, in accordance with basic morality, to try to limit and regulate conflict. They willfully try to kill as many innocent civilians as they can. And this is never justified, regardless of the cause.

Going back to World War II, consider this hypothetical: You're an American officer. You're fighting for the most just cause in history. But you come into a German village -- maybe even a village next to a concentration camp -- and you line up the women and children in that village and kill them with a machine gun. You have committed an act of terrorism. You have committed a war crime and you will be judged guilty and executed, and properly so. Not even the most just cause can justify terrorism. It is always illegitimate, always criminal.

Allow me to add one other observation -- I think an important one -- on this point. It is not merely that the goals of terrorists do not justify their means. In addition, the means that terrorists use tell us something about their real goals. We can see this very simply by looking at what happens when terrorists come to power. They don't establish free societies. They don't establish governments that respect human rights. They establish dictatorships that trample human rights. It's the same whether we look at Cuba or at Iran or at Libya or at Afghanistan under the Taliban. Terrorist movements may talk about fighting for democracy and freedom, but if they're in the business of terror, you can bet they plan, when they come to power, to grind human rights into the dust.

Great to get to know you G'nad - thanks Snow Bunny.

Some days I don't find anything I want to post here, others (like today) they're ALL

suitable for posting, LOL! I thought this was an amazing story. But I've always been
fascinated by anything above the clouds!

Largest Asteroid in Years Misses Earth - "We never saw it coming"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/703675/posts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An asteroid the size of a soccer field whizzed by Earth at a distance much nearer than the Moon, the biggest such space rock in decades to get this close, scientists said on Thursday.

Asteroid 2002MN was not detected until Monday, three days after its closest approach on June 14, when it got within 75,000 miles of Earth and was traveling at a speed of some 23,000 miles per hour, astronomers said.

It is now several million miles away, according to Brian Marsden of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics' Minor Planet Center, which tracks asteroids.

"It's the largest (asteroid) we've seen at that distance in the last several decades," Marsden said in a telephone interview.

The last time any asteroid came this close was in 1994, according to the Near Earth Object Information Center in Britain.

The big rock, with a diameter of roughly 50 yards to 120 yards, would not have caused global catastrophe if it had struck Earth. That would take an asteroid of several miles diameter.

However, if it had hit Earth, it had the potential to cause as much local devastation as a 1908 hit in Tunguska, Siberia, which flattened some 800 square miles of forest.

Asteroid 2002MN was first spotted by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research program, based in Socorro, New Mexico.

"It's a good thing it missed the Earth, because we never saw it coming," Steve Maran of the American Astronomical Society said in a telephone interview. "The asteroid wasn't discovered until three days after it passed its closest approach to our planet."

LINEAR is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's initiative to find 90 percent of all near-Earth objects, including asteroids, that measure .62 mile or more in diameter by 2008.

An asteroid the size of 2002MN may hit Earth about once every hundred years or so, and the planet may not have seen the last of this one, Marsden said.

"There is a slim chance it could hit in 2061," he said, putting that chance at about one in 100,000.

"At some level, it behooves us to look out for these things," he said.

Asteroid 2002 MN will be observable by some telescopes but it is getting fainter as it moves away, Marsden said.

Thank you for all that you do for our country, G'nad. May God continue to bless and keep safe you and your beautiful family.

Carrying on in the finest tradition of the Corps...
Thanks for showing us a little about yourself and your wonderful family!

I'm so glad to see you featured today, g'friend; nice to see all of these photos here. Especially like the one of you and Mrs g'nad's reunion! Those kind are always the sweetest. :)

Thanks for Your Service, g'nad!

And your family is adorable. Thanks for sharing them with me earlier. Have a great day. : )

GREAT profile Snow and g'nad.

Thanks for continuing to serve this Great Country, The Corps, Your Family; and Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

From an old squid, SALUTE!

This just came in today from the Mornin' News.......

Town to unveil likeness of hero - Audie Murphy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/703740/posts

Excerpt:

The memory of Audie Murphy as a hometown war hero soon won't be the only thing about him that casts a shadow over Greenville.

Starting Saturday, Interstate 30 drivers passing through Greenville will spot a tall, bronze statue of Mr. Murphy, World War II's most decorated combat soldier and a movie star in the '50s and '60s.

The statue of Mr. Murphy who received the Medal of Honor and every decoration for valor the United States offered will be unveiled in a ceremony at the Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum in Greenville, about 50 miles northeast of Dallas. The ceremony falls on Greenville's Audie Murphy Days, an annual Friday and Saturday celebration of Mr. Murphy's life that is scheduled close to his June 20 birthday.

"There's a patriotic feeling about a young man who did what he did in the war and was fighting for his country," said Leo Hackney, co-chair of Greenville's Sesquicentennial Committee. "It's amazing what he did."

The statue is the belated result of Greenville's sesquicentennial celebration in 2000, when leaders decided they wanted to build a lasting, meaningful symbol of Mr. Murphy and all Hunt County war veterans for generations to come.

"A hundred years from now ... they'll have some replica to look at that represents who came before them," said Jack Finney, co-chair of the Sesquicentennial Committee.

"We want our young people to know that people have sacrificed their lives so that you and I can be here and enjoy liberty."

The 10-foot statue, which rests on a five-foot granite base, depicts an actual war scene in France in 1945, where Mr. Murphy was personally credited with killing or wounding about 50 Germans and stopping an attack by enemy tanks.

Mr. Murphy's figure is hunched over, with his right foot perched on a pile of rocks. The statue will be lighted at night and will be surrounded by three flagpoles bearing an American flag, a Texas flag and possibly a city flag, officials said.

Soon after the statue is unveiled, work will begin on a wall engraved with the names of all Hunt County veterans who died in all wars, said Greenville sculptor Gordon Thomas.

"This statue is supposed to be a tribute and memorial to all of our veterans who have served their country in that capacity," he said.

< -snip- >

He received 33 awards for valor, even earning five decorations by France and Belgium for heroic fighting in nine major campaigns across Europe. When he returned to the United States, Mr. Murphy left for Hollywood and starred in 44 feature films, many of which were westerns. He also wrote poetry, several country songs and the biographical best seller To Hell and Back, published in 1949.

Thanks for all the time and effort you put into these daily threads, Snow Bunny. Your efforts and those who help you are appreciated. The welcome home and expressions of gratitude to old vets like myself, the words of encouragement to today's troops are a far cry from what I and several others experienced while traveling about in uniform during the Viet Nam era. Though never spit upon, I did receive a lot of looks of disgust from folks who shook their heads in contempt at those of us in uniform. No reply necessary, I just wanted to say thanks.

Thanks for you service to our country for the cause of freedom.
I enjoyed learning about your family and getting to know you better. (your son looks just like you). :)

Before 9/11 we had USA military in 140 countries around the world.
Due to 9/11 our military is expanding to more countries.
In fact US Military expansion is now the greatest in US history.
Please take a moment to e-mail someone in the military and say Thanks.