Israeli - Egyptian Fences Make Good Neighbors, Iranian Paranoia Explodes Over Death of Obscure Professor

Eugene Robinson
Dana Milbank

"Color bias has always existed in this country. We don't talk about it because we think of color as subordinate to racial identification." - Eugene Robinson

"So Michael Steele thinks Harry Reid should watch his mouth. Honest Injun" - Dana Milbank

The fence along the border between the US and Mexico is maybe 1/3 built, years behind schedule, and millions of dollars over budget. It was supposed to be done before George Bush finished his last term in office, a 2000 mile long concrete and razor-wire barrier as a gift to the first Black President; I can still hear the good-old boys snickering in the background...

Israel has decided to step up to the plate and show us how it's done, they will be erecting a fence along the rest of the Egyptian - Israeli border. Officially, it is meant to: "... curb the flow of prostitutes, drugs and illegal workers into the country. In the more immediate term, it is another expression of Israel and Egypt closing in on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip." One has to wonder if there is a glut in foreign prostitutes in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv that is crowding out the local talent, enough to fence them out... So, Israel is more concerned about terrorist groups sneaking across the desert at night than drugs and prostitues.

Israel is also deploying its own shield of anti-mortar and intercepting missiles along the border, called Operation Iron Dome, which will intercept the more recent spate of missiles being shot over into Israel from Gaza.: "The message to Hamas from all of this is clear: the siege on Gaza will continue and even escalate from Israel and Egypt. In addition, in about six months, rocket attacks won't be as effective as they are today, since the Iron Dome system will be deployed along the border.


All of this together has put Hamas under a tremendous amount of pressure, and the IDF believes this to be the main reason behind the recent escalation in rocket attacks against the South. While the rockets are not being shot by Hamas cells, Hamas is allowing other groups - such as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees - to shoot into Israel and blow off steam."

Hamas is allowing dissident groups inside Gaza to blow off some steam, in case that frustrration grows and becomes directed at Hamas? They also have just called Fatah, whom they are supposed to have become reconciled with, a bunch of western-backed, Zionist toadies. I guess living inside the Gaza Strip would make anyone go insane. It's hard to cheer for the plight of the Gazans when their leaders are so uncomfortably ugly.

George Bush had called Iran, North Korea, and some other country by the catchy phrase Axis of Evil. Obviouslly losing something in the translation, Iran is now calling out "signs of evilness by the triangle of the Zionist regime, America and their mercenaries in Iran in this terrorist incident." They are referring to the bombing death of an Iranian physics professor outside of his house today, and Iranian authorities are saying that either Israel killed him or the US did, because of his ties to the nuclear program.

Except he teaches elementary particle physics and is not part of the nuclear enrichment program, so it makes no sense to blow him up into many, many particles. He was one of 240 professors who signed a petition before the last election supporting an opposition candidate, but he was not currently active in his opposition, so it doesn't make sense for his own government to kill him as a scapegoat. Because the bomb had to be triggered by someone nearby, it means that he had to have been the target. But why target a lowly, obscure academic who is not on any list as working in weapons development?

Depends on deep you want to go into paranoia. The honest answer is that we may never know, and he probably was mistaken for someone else. Unless, the Israelis are just screwing with their heads, letting them know they can get to whomever they want. Or the US is letting them know that this is now the second physics professor they have gotten to, having been accused of kidnapping "Shahram Amiri, who disappeared during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia."

Paranoids within the Iranian government may have decided tp kill two birds with one blast of semtex, getting rid of an opposition supporter while trying to drum up support for their nuclear program with the citizens of Iran; diverting attention away from the protests in an awful version of smoke and mirrors... Idon't know, whomever was responsible, and never rule out domestic family issues or local organized crime, the persons responsible are a bunch of sick puppies, again killing off an innocent for their own, dark reasons.

Its feared that the right wing extremists will use this as an excuse to crack down more violently against the opposition, and in that light, several members of the Bahai faith have been taken to trial for being tools of Israel during the last election results.


More on Sarah Palin...
and the for profit Tea Party Convention, from Politico: "But charging money to speak means that political celebrities aren’t raking in another valuable commodity: goodwill. Even those who charge for speeches typically appear for free before political audiences, in order to fill the favor bank. And those who can afford it, like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, always speak free.

“She thinks she’s coming to endorse the tea party movement, but most tea party people won’t be there because they can’t afford it,” said Anthony Shreeve, an East Tennessee tea party organizer who quit the convention’s steering committee. “The tea party movement is a grass-roots movement; it’s not a business, he said." You can catch Sarah's debut on Bill O'Reilly tonight, then have it dissected and made fun of tomorrow. It is just one more reason why John Stewart is watched so much...


Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will announce his candidacy for Governor this afternoon at 4:15 pm. However, all of the other national news media are announcing his decision as a done deal, meaning that his campaign has already leaked its first item... Sorry Scott, guess you'll have to wait four more years...