Stay Above the Hype in the War

Everyone is guilty of it, I know I am, it is the attempt to stay informed and being subjected to questionable sources with obvious bias, so to stay informed, this post is designed to help people stay above the MSM nonsense.

United Nations

The United Nations has an agenda, and as we all know the agenda is $$$. If you think otherwise, remember, it was Kofi Annon's own son involved in Oil for Food. The Kofi Annon comment was over the top. Proof you ask? How about inconsistancy from the UN itself.

The Guardian pointed out that the UN base fired on 21 times before being destroyed. Actually, it has been fired upon a hell of a lot more than that. Since July 17th, the UNIFIL has done a good job being impartial in reporting what it sees. I for one will take their word for it, they are unarmed and stuck on a hill between two heavily armed armies fighting a war.

So in the spirit of taking their word for it, I would like to point out that in the same report filed from the battlefield about the attack on the UN outpost, it also included this:

It was also reported that Hezbollah fired from the vicinity of four UN positions at Alma ash Shab, Tibnin, Bra#, and At Tiri.

That comes out on the heels of this report from the former Canadian General in charge of the Canadian troop in Lebanon killed by the IDF air strike:

Retired Canadian Major General Lewis MacKenzie
"...the tragic loss of a soldier yesterday who I happen to know and I think probably is from my Regiment. We've received e-mails from him a few days ago and he described the fact that he was taking within - in one case - three meters of his position "for tactical necessity - not being targeted". Now that's veiled speech in the military and what he was telling us was Hizbullah fighters were all over his position and the IDF were (sic) targeting them and that's a favorite trick by people who don't have representation in the UN. They use the UN as shields knowing that they can't be punished for it."

I'll take the first hand word of a Canadian General who knows the soldier and talked to him just prior to his death over the UN anyday.

The UN reports, as linked above, since July 17th discuss lots of combat taking place at UN outposts, more than the MSM is reporting. It counts the incidents that occur everyday, who is doing the shooting, and gives good detail. It points out everything from artillary from the IDF hitting the UNIFIL outposts, and there is also a story of a UN peacekeeper being shot in the back by Hezbollah, and airlifted out to a hospital where the peacekeepers life is saved by Israeli medical staff. It is a daily read for those who want to know what is happening on the Blue Line.

Iran - Syria Involvement?

When the G8 statement condemned Hezbollah, but didn't mention Iran or Syria, neocons weren't happy. Well, details are beginning to emerge that indicate the US or Israel has no intention of doing anything about Iran or Syria, despite the supposed overwhelming proof the state dept has. Since we have an active Google Earth Community on ATS, this story is for you.

Basically it links to this article, which goes into details regarding weapons traffic to Hezbollah. Worth the read, because if Hezbollah continues to beat Israel in this war you may see someone standing in front of the UN presenting data on Iran-Hezbollah link.

Why do I think this is credible? Because Israeli Intel is infamous for knowing more than they say. I also think so because Lebanon seems very aware that Israel is spying and watching everything in that country.

Diplomacy

While the MSM is speculating that Bush is demanding a timetable, I think that is MSM news creation. Bush doesn't do timetables, because if he did the US would be out of Iraq by now. The most important thing people need to know about the diplomacy is the legal community is screaming no deal with Hezbollah, so the deal has to be with Lebanon regardless whether they are involved as a victim or an attacker.

Why? Westphalia. Actually, it has more to do with the Treaties of Münster and Osnabrück but the legal community is talking about the same thing. International Law, including all treaties since the 30 years Wars, depend on principles of sovereignty and equality among states. Without that, International Laws have no basis. For those who think George Bush has destroyed US law, it should be noted that if the US forces an international agreement with Hezbollah in some form, because Hezbollah is not a sovereign state, but indeed a non-state actor, the breakdown of Westphalia is basically the breakdown of international law.

While not yet on the neo-political circut on both sides, the legal community is all over this. And all this time you thought peace for this war is about Arabs and Jews, silly you.

BTW, diplomacy won't happen. Polls in Israel show 93% support for war while polls in Lebanon show 70% support for the kidnappings.

Staying Tactical and Strategic

Finally, two places you need to be watching; Stratfor and The Orange Room. Stratfor is a collection of retired super spies across the world, I think they are better informed than the CIA, but then again, I think the CIA is broken.

The Orange Room is a group of Lebanese bloggers posting updates from within Lebanon. If you want to get through the spin of Fox, BBC, or Israel, this is really the best way. Their daily threads are priceless for following events. My suggestion, don't sign up on the forums, they IP ban people they don't like, and you get all the info you need as guest.

Why Israel Doesn't Trust UNIFIL. A good backgrounder for why Israel doesn't trust the UN, well sourced.

Hope this helps you get Above the MSM Spin.

~Enjoy!

I would just like to point out that Koffis' son was not involved in anything to do with Iraq.

The company that he worked for did business with Iraq through the program, but he had nothing to do with that part.

He was PR working in Africa leaning heavily on his fathers name.

I'll stay above the hype... and not by listening to a failed political hack like Mackenzie or his media masters and their masters and their agents and agendas... I consider this thread a little "insight"-full and part of the hype. Already went fishin' for phish-ers once 2day, got 'em too.

Thanx,

Victor K.