Binghamton, NY -- Guess not.

Not only didn't we kill Zawahiri, but all 17 of the dead were just civilians. Looks like we should really start training with the IDF on how to properly make a strike against terrorist leaders...

posted by Ari @ 11:27 AM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- For Everything Else There's...

I'm just getting back online after what turned out to be a dead hard drive, and felt like sharing this video.

Click here to find out what's priceless.

posted by jbrzoska @ 2:10 AM Trackback Link 1 comments links to this post

Binghamton, NY -- Zawahiri dead?

CNN is reporting that in the latest US strike against Al Qaeda, we may have gotten Bin Laden's deputy -- Ayman al-Zawahiri. 17 (or 18 according to the AP) people in total have been reported killed, but hopefully we did our best to minimize civilian casualties (there are no reports as to whether or not those 17 were civilians). This is possibly the biggest blow against the entire Arabian terror network since Israel took out the head of Hamas, Aziz Rantisi.

Al Qaeda, The Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Abu Sayyaf, etc. all seem to be networked together with members shifting from group to group at different times and all refer to themselves as Fedayin Jihadists (holy warriors). For instance, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the current head of Iraq's Al Qaeda was longtime member of the Egyptian and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. And Zawahiri was the one who helped bring about the merger between the Islamic Jihad and Al Qaeda.

One thing that's interesting is that CNN calls all those terror organizations "militant groups." That's a little too PC for me.

posted by Ari @ 8:40 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Binghamton, NY -- What is Iran up to?

Today it was reported that Iran has removed the international seals on one of its nuclear research facilities and plans to resume its nuclear programme. Iran continues to claim that it is operating under IAEA guidelines and is just trying to develop nuclear power. However, a UN nuclear official has claimed that Iran plans to undergo some small-scale nuclear enrichment -- the first step in developing a weapon. Iran, of course, denies this.

Assuming for a moment that Iran is telling the truth, let's examine the situation a bit further:

1. According to the EIA, Iran controls 10% of the world's oil supply and is the second largest producer in OPEC next to Saudi Arabia. So that means Iran clearly should not have to worry about energy. Rather it should really look into cutting down on the 14% unemployment rate, or the 15% inflation rate by spending money on job creation and education rather than unnecessary energy programs.

2. Last November, Iran rejected an EU/Russian plan in which Russia would supply it with enriched uranium that would be used specifically for energy. Instead Iran has said that they will enrich their own uranium. I'm not totally clear on this myself, but from what I remember in chemistry, U-238 is regular Uranium that's not really too radioactive. U-235 is the stuff used for fuel. But U-238 is something like 99% of the world's supply of Uranium. Under certain reactions, U-238 can be transformed into either Plutonium-239 or P-240. Both can be used for fuel similar to U-235. But P-239 can also be used for weapons. And that's what the Europeans were going to keep away from the Iranians.

posted by Ari @ 1:10 PM Trackback Link 2 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- One Leader Up, Another Leader Down

My computer's still in the shop until later today or tomorrow, but I was able to borrow my sister's for a few minutes to give you a quick update on the health of a couple of prominent world leaders.

While Israeli Prime Minister Ariel has been upgraded from "at death's door" to "Schaivo-esque," our own Vice President, Dick Cheney, spent a few hours this morning in the hospital:

Vice President Dick Cheney was hospitalized briefly this morning after suffering from shortness of breath.

He returned home after a four-hour stay. Doctors said the problem resulted from medication he was taking for a foot ailment and was not related to his long-standing heart ailments, according to a statement issued by his office.

posted by jbrzoska @ 9:40 AM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post