The Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial ended tonight with a verdict of "not guilty." This meant Zimmerman was not considered guilty of 2nd Degree murder, Homicide or - in a last ditch effort by the prosecution - Child Abuse, for the beating Zimmerman took at the hands of the young Mr. Martin.
In my research in following the trial, I could not see a situation - based on the facts that were allowed to be presented, along with the testimony of both Trayvon's friend, or his neighbor, that led me to believe he was guilty without a reasonable doubt.
Too many twitter followers are up in arms because they feel Zimmerman should have been found guilty of something. Anything, really. After all, one man is set free while another loses his life. Hell, where's the fairness in that? I surely understand the frustration of the black community who feel that justice will never be served in this country as long as blacks continue to be profiled in crimes they haven't committed.
But this case was not about a white guy pointing out a black guy for murder. For one thing, George Zimmerman is Hispanic, and not some white "cop-wannabe," as the prosecution tried to paint him. As much as the Al Sharpton's and the Jesse Jackson's of the world wish this trial to be about race relations in America, the bitter truth is that race relations in America have been far better than any time in the past. Exception will be made for the 5 years we've lived with Obama, perhaps the most divisive President we've had since Woodrow Wilson.
Regardless how you slice it us, the jury understood the realities of the case and those realities were focused like a laser on the guilt or non-guilt of Mr. Zimmerman.
It's understood that for many years, far too many years, blacks have been targeted/profiled for numerous crimes they may have, or nay not have committed. Profiling is not necessarily wrong to profile someone who history has shown could be acting against societies best interest. One of the worst decisions this country makes is not following the Israeli method of profiling at airports.
In this case, there had been a number of burglaries in the neighbor. That does not make Martin guilty. He had every right as anyone else to be on public grounds, as did Zimmerman. Zimmerman, however, was hired by the town to be on the neighborhood watch patrol, simply because of these recent break ins. He sees someone who appears drunk (he was proven to have marijuana in his bloodstream) and, as he is instructed by is job, he attempts to follow him. Apparently, he didn't get back to his car fast enough and suddenly Marin, a 6'3" man-child approaches Zimmerman and they start to fight. Now, according to the lone eyewitness, Martin was straddling Zimmerman from the top and banging his head into the concrete street.
Let's stop for a moment and let the scene unfold here. At this moment, and remember, everything was happening rather fast, Zimmerman was losing badly. He was cut up badly on the back on the head and he had two black eyes. Martin was using MMA (martial arts) techniques to injure. Zimmerman had a choice, risk a major brain injury (in not death) from the pummeling he had been taking, or take out his (and this is vital) legally licensed gun. Zimmerman also feared that Martin could get the gun from him and use it against him. However he looked at the situation, it looked bad.
So what would you do? What if you were George Zimmerman? How easy it is for us to wax poetic about our own virtues and deny that we could never pull the trigger/ on the other hand, how many people have been murdered in the streets because they didn't have something to protect themselves. There is a reason why so many Black and Hispanic kids are lining the morgues in Chicago, a city with the toughest gun laws. Because as we all know, criminals follow the gun laws. By overturning the state's concealed weapon ban, the only new people who will be armed with be law abiding citizens who simply just want ti protect themselves and their families.
The jury was instructed to either find him "guilty of 2nd degree murder", guilty of 2nd deegree homicide, or "not Guilty of all charges. There are those uneducated fools who do not understand how the justice system works. You can't find him guilty or not guilty of any thing he was not charge for, So those who feel he should have gotten something just because, you are depressed and probably angry. AL Sharpton is angry - and he knows a few things about starting riots. If Sharpton's rhetoric causes any kind of disturbance, the MSNBC will have to share the blame. I'm curious also how the white house and Attorney General will as.
Sadly, the last 5 years of racial animosity has is reaching a head. Now is not the time for grandiose speeches about how the Cambridge Police Department aced stupidly. Now is the time for the President to finally act Presidential - for All American, Nut just the ones who look like his son.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Guilty, Innocent or Both?
Before judgement is handed down upon George Zimmerman, the jury is implored to understand a few things. First and formost is the idea of "reasonable doubt." In other words, the defendant may indeed be a miserable SOB who shot up his church in cold blood (not this case, obviously), but if there is "reasonable doubt" that perhaps it was someone else who actually did the deed, then the defendant must be found "not guilty."
In the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case, there is a great deal of doubt to sift through. Keep in mind yesterday's testimony where Bill Lee, the former Sanford, Florida police Chief, testified that he initially did not bring charges against Zimmerman because he felt they weren't warranted. It was only after pressure by the State and Federal government demanded charges be brought, in order to placate the Al Sharpton's of the world.
Look, in my humble opinion, I am glad I am nit the one deciding the fate of the defendant. However, be I on the jury, I would take those instructions of reasonable doubt very seriously.
The facts as I've read are that Zimmerman watched Martin and, based on recent burglaries, had a reason to monitor Martin. However, Martin did not like being followed and so he confronted Zimmerman and physically beat the snot out of him. The photos that NBC refused to show at first clearly show severe head trauma instigated by Martin landing numerous blows while Zimmerman was on the bottom of the pile. Sometime during this beating, Zimmerman drew his gun - whether he cognitively decided he needed to protect his own life, or feared Zimmerman would take it is a large part of the prosecution's case.
Considering Florida law, you are allowed to draw your weapon (assuming it is legally registered) in matters of self defense. The defense has shown that Zimmerman was, at the time, being beaten viciously by Martin. Keep in mind the testimony of John Good, who was the lone eye witness to the fight. He testified that Martin was on top of Zimmerman "MMA" style (mixed martial arts). This adds proof to the defense' case of self-defense.
So if this case seems to simple as a case of self defense, why is it so heavily driven by the media? After all, there are plenty of black on white crimes that do unoticed - some, like the case in Atlanta where last Tuesday in Atlanta, four young, black gang members beat a white man then threw him into traffic. He was hit and killed by an uncoming car. But that wasn't on Headline News because it does not fit the agenda of the liberal Obama media.
Since his election in 2008, race relations in American have suffered greatly. From the two Black Panthers standing guard, armed with billy clubs at a Philadelphia polling station to the Cambridge (Mass.) police acting "stupidly" (they weren't, although Obama served as judge, jury and executioner), to the giddiness of MSNBC in praise of the demise of white America during their newscasts, it's been almost comical in it's formation.
Again, I'm not calling Zimmerman innocent, or guilty. However, there seems to be such a large amount of reasonable doubt, I don't see how he can convicted - especially convicted of second-degree murder - a charge that needs the addition burden of proof that Zimmerman acted with a "depraved mind." Considering the evidence showing Martin beating the snot out of Zimmerman, that alone seems impossible to prove.
But this isn't going to be the verdict, even if Zimmerman is exonerated. Zimmerman will forever be chased and ostracized and on the run - not for what he's done, but for what the media has done to him. By doctoring audio and referring him as a "white Hispanic", so to stoke the race baiters (NBC) and demanding conviction before the facts (MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS and the White House), the media has long ago convicted Zimmerman. After all, it was Obama who stated Trayvon looked like "his son." If Zimmerman is cleared, will Obama take back the conviction? What about the murders of Channon Gail Christian and Hugh Christopher Newsom, Jr.? They were two white University of Tennessee students who were car-jacked, kidnapped, continually raped and mutilated by 4 young black men. Did Obama ever say if they reminded him of what my son would look like?
In 1994, O.J. Simpson was clearly guilty of murder, but due to the sensationalism of the trial, as well as the fear of riots in LA, Simpson beat the rap and was found not guilty. This time it's reversed. Yet race may well determine whether or not Zimmerman goes free. In 2013, will "reasonable doubt" even be considered?
In the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case, there is a great deal of doubt to sift through. Keep in mind yesterday's testimony where Bill Lee, the former Sanford, Florida police Chief, testified that he initially did not bring charges against Zimmerman because he felt they weren't warranted. It was only after pressure by the State and Federal government demanded charges be brought, in order to placate the Al Sharpton's of the world.
Look, in my humble opinion, I am glad I am nit the one deciding the fate of the defendant. However, be I on the jury, I would take those instructions of reasonable doubt very seriously.
The facts as I've read are that Zimmerman watched Martin and, based on recent burglaries, had a reason to monitor Martin. However, Martin did not like being followed and so he confronted Zimmerman and physically beat the snot out of him. The photos that NBC refused to show at first clearly show severe head trauma instigated by Martin landing numerous blows while Zimmerman was on the bottom of the pile. Sometime during this beating, Zimmerman drew his gun - whether he cognitively decided he needed to protect his own life, or feared Zimmerman would take it is a large part of the prosecution's case.
Considering Florida law, you are allowed to draw your weapon (assuming it is legally registered) in matters of self defense. The defense has shown that Zimmerman was, at the time, being beaten viciously by Martin. Keep in mind the testimony of John Good, who was the lone eye witness to the fight. He testified that Martin was on top of Zimmerman "MMA" style (mixed martial arts). This adds proof to the defense' case of self-defense.
So if this case seems to simple as a case of self defense, why is it so heavily driven by the media? After all, there are plenty of black on white crimes that do unoticed - some, like the case in Atlanta where last Tuesday in Atlanta, four young, black gang members beat a white man then threw him into traffic. He was hit and killed by an uncoming car. But that wasn't on Headline News because it does not fit the agenda of the liberal Obama media.
Since his election in 2008, race relations in American have suffered greatly. From the two Black Panthers standing guard, armed with billy clubs at a Philadelphia polling station to the Cambridge (Mass.) police acting "stupidly" (they weren't, although Obama served as judge, jury and executioner), to the giddiness of MSNBC in praise of the demise of white America during their newscasts, it's been almost comical in it's formation.
Again, I'm not calling Zimmerman innocent, or guilty. However, there seems to be such a large amount of reasonable doubt, I don't see how he can convicted - especially convicted of second-degree murder - a charge that needs the addition burden of proof that Zimmerman acted with a "depraved mind." Considering the evidence showing Martin beating the snot out of Zimmerman, that alone seems impossible to prove.
But this isn't going to be the verdict, even if Zimmerman is exonerated. Zimmerman will forever be chased and ostracized and on the run - not for what he's done, but for what the media has done to him. By doctoring audio and referring him as a "white Hispanic", so to stoke the race baiters (NBC) and demanding conviction before the facts (MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS and the White House), the media has long ago convicted Zimmerman. After all, it was Obama who stated Trayvon looked like "his son." If Zimmerman is cleared, will Obama take back the conviction? What about the murders of Channon Gail Christian and Hugh Christopher Newsom, Jr.? They were two white University of Tennessee students who were car-jacked, kidnapped, continually raped and mutilated by 4 young black men. Did Obama ever say if they reminded him of what my son would look like?
In 1994, O.J. Simpson was clearly guilty of murder, but due to the sensationalism of the trial, as well as the fear of riots in LA, Simpson beat the rap and was found not guilty. This time it's reversed. Yet race may well determine whether or not Zimmerman goes free. In 2013, will "reasonable doubt" even be considered?
Sunday, July 07, 2013
This and That
If it were up to me, I would be relieved to discover Secretary of State Kerry was on his yacht when the Egyptian revolution took place. The farther from the scene the less likely his incompetence will show.
What does amaze me about the Kerry kerfuffle is how ridiculous a lie this was. No one bemoans Kerry for yachting. He can do whatever relaxes him, which is why you won't hear me criticize the well over 100 round of golf President Obama plays. So why lie about it - especially when it was so easily proven a lie?
To me it just shows how the Obama administration's fall back position is always to lie. There is no wonder why this presidency is mired with such cynicism.
Excuse me, but how is enhancing safety precautions during abortions the "road back to Jim Crow?"
I was just 5 years old when MLK was assassinated. However, I do remember the "coloreds only" signs at the Woolworth lunch counters and I recall vividly the race riots throughout 1968-70. What transpired against black people was far, far worse than this silly debate about same-sex marriage. No one is being lynched because of who they wish to have a license to marry. No one is disappearing and no one is being hosed down.
I have no horse in this race, being that I'm a heterosexual male. As far as I'm concerned, anyone can marry whoever they please. But the idea that it is a biblically approved union is simply dumb. 5,000 years of tradition does stand for something. You want to be "married?" Go right ahead. But why do you need to call it marriage? The truth is exactly as it appears to be. It's time to be honest about why calling it marriage is so freaking important.
So Israel is once again damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Protest signs in Egypt show Morsi with a Star of David on his head, in reference to his being a Zionist. Calling Morsi, or any other member of the Moslem Brotherhood a Zionist is equal to calling George Wallace an abolitionist. The Brotherhood is the sworn enemy of Israel and the Jews. It was hysterical seeing the Star of David superimposed on Mubarak's head. But Morsi? Seriously. No matter what Israel or the Jews do they are blamed for being the root cause.
Sadly, many on today's left feel the same way.
Does "tough love" always work? Why is it so hard for me to just say no? I have a situation where I am at a crossroads with my son. He suffers from Asperger's and depression. He has convinced himself that he is incapable and a total failure. As a parent, it breaks my heart to see him feeling this way. However, as a parent of a 19 year old, I am extraordinarily tired of the abuse I have received as his parent. No matter what good ideas we develop to move his future along, he fights with reckless abandon until he either gives up, or is given up on.
The sad thing is that he is quite intelligent. When he was younger, he was a math whiz. But for years it seemed he simply rested on his glory, and never allowed himself to be challenged. Now, in reality, he was never in the right program for a child with his special needs. On the other hand, he refuses to accept he is any different from anyone else and becomes angry when lumped into a "category" other than "mainstream." Te sad part is that he is simply fooling himself and setting himself up for failure and disappointment.
At this point, I have very few ideas left. Part of me feels like I should kick him out to sink or swim on his own. But the fact is he really has no discernible skill, nor any direction to turn. He will end up on the street. I can not do this to my child. On the other hand, for how much longer can he occupy my couch doing nothing but watching baseball?
I've contacted Sylvan Learning programs as perhaps a final option to get him to study for his GED. He was cheated out of a diploma by his school (they had assured me his program was set up for a high school diploma upon completion. But at the beginning of 12th grade, they informed us it was not going to happen. Sadly, my own illness came in the way of monitoring that the school had his on a GED path, which apparently, they did not.
The question now is what next? If Syvan is not the answer (and I really have no idea if they are), what do I do next? I'd still like to find him a tutor - I learned long ago that I am incapable of tutoring him myself. But the tutor has to be someone who not only knows the GED (easy part), but knows how to deal with an Aspie (hard part). Does there come a point where I have to see if he can sink or swim? We aren't talking about a normal, well adjusted young man.
I love my son fiercely and want what is best for him. But I am at my wit's end as to how to help him and being the physical mess I am, I'm not sure where to turn.
What does amaze me about the Kerry kerfuffle is how ridiculous a lie this was. No one bemoans Kerry for yachting. He can do whatever relaxes him, which is why you won't hear me criticize the well over 100 round of golf President Obama plays. So why lie about it - especially when it was so easily proven a lie?
To me it just shows how the Obama administration's fall back position is always to lie. There is no wonder why this presidency is mired with such cynicism.
**********************
I was just 5 years old when MLK was assassinated. However, I do remember the "coloreds only" signs at the Woolworth lunch counters and I recall vividly the race riots throughout 1968-70. What transpired against black people was far, far worse than this silly debate about same-sex marriage. No one is being lynched because of who they wish to have a license to marry. No one is disappearing and no one is being hosed down.
I have no horse in this race, being that I'm a heterosexual male. As far as I'm concerned, anyone can marry whoever they please. But the idea that it is a biblically approved union is simply dumb. 5,000 years of tradition does stand for something. You want to be "married?" Go right ahead. But why do you need to call it marriage? The truth is exactly as it appears to be. It's time to be honest about why calling it marriage is so freaking important.
**********************
Protest signs in Egypt show Morsi with a Star of David on his head, in reference to his being a Zionist. Calling Morsi, or any other member of the Moslem Brotherhood a Zionist is equal to calling George Wallace an abolitionist. The Brotherhood is the sworn enemy of Israel and the Jews. It was hysterical seeing the Star of David superimposed on Mubarak's head. But Morsi? Seriously. No matter what Israel or the Jews do they are blamed for being the root cause.
Sadly, many on today's left feel the same way.
**********************
The sad thing is that he is quite intelligent. When he was younger, he was a math whiz. But for years it seemed he simply rested on his glory, and never allowed himself to be challenged. Now, in reality, he was never in the right program for a child with his special needs. On the other hand, he refuses to accept he is any different from anyone else and becomes angry when lumped into a "category" other than "mainstream." Te sad part is that he is simply fooling himself and setting himself up for failure and disappointment.
At this point, I have very few ideas left. Part of me feels like I should kick him out to sink or swim on his own. But the fact is he really has no discernible skill, nor any direction to turn. He will end up on the street. I can not do this to my child. On the other hand, for how much longer can he occupy my couch doing nothing but watching baseball?
I've contacted Sylvan Learning programs as perhaps a final option to get him to study for his GED. He was cheated out of a diploma by his school (they had assured me his program was set up for a high school diploma upon completion. But at the beginning of 12th grade, they informed us it was not going to happen. Sadly, my own illness came in the way of monitoring that the school had his on a GED path, which apparently, they did not.
The question now is what next? If Syvan is not the answer (and I really have no idea if they are), what do I do next? I'd still like to find him a tutor - I learned long ago that I am incapable of tutoring him myself. But the tutor has to be someone who not only knows the GED (easy part), but knows how to deal with an Aspie (hard part). Does there come a point where I have to see if he can sink or swim? We aren't talking about a normal, well adjusted young man.
I love my son fiercely and want what is best for him. But I am at my wit's end as to how to help him and being the physical mess I am, I'm not sure where to turn.
Lost in the Sun
Every night I ask myself
That same old question: why?
And every day the answer
Seems more distant
I always knew the final
Truths lay just beneath
the lies
But I never thought they'd
Be this hard to find...
I never thought they'd
Be this hard to find...
Every time I try to put
This puzzle into place
There always seems to be
A piece that's missing
And through the eyes of someone else
I look into my face
And can't believe the sorrow
There I see
I can't believe this lonely man
Is me...
The faster we run
The further away the dreams
That we chase become
And lost in the sun
Spinning and turning
Blind in the burning
Light of day --
We have to turn away.
Every night I ask myself
That same old question: why?
And every day the answer
Seems more distant
I always knew the final
Truths lay just beneath
the lies
But I never thought they'd
Be this hard to find...
I never thought they'd
Be this hard to find...
The faster we run
The further away the dreams
That we chase become
And lost in the sun
Spinning and turning
Blind in the burning
Light of day --
We have to turn away.
Words and Music Dan Fogelberg
From the LP "The Innocent Age"
© 1981 EMI Music Publishing
That same old question: why?
And every day the answer
Seems more distant
I always knew the final
Truths lay just beneath
the lies
But I never thought they'd
Be this hard to find...
I never thought they'd
Be this hard to find...
Every time I try to put
This puzzle into place
There always seems to be
A piece that's missing
And through the eyes of someone else
I look into my face
And can't believe the sorrow
There I see
I can't believe this lonely man
Is me...
The faster we run
The further away the dreams
That we chase become
And lost in the sun
Spinning and turning
Blind in the burning
Light of day --
We have to turn away.
Every night I ask myself
That same old question: why?
And every day the answer
Seems more distant
I always knew the final
Truths lay just beneath
the lies
But I never thought they'd
Be this hard to find...
I never thought they'd
Be this hard to find...
The faster we run
The further away the dreams
That we chase become
And lost in the sun
Spinning and turning
Blind in the burning
Light of day --
We have to turn away.
Words and Music Dan Fogelberg
From the LP "The Innocent Age"
© 1981 EMI Music Publishing
Thursday, July 04, 2013
Compromise at the Extremes
A lot
has been made about the Texas congresswoman who fillibustered the abortion law
that would require abortion to be illegal after 20 weeks (with numerous
loopholes in place). The logic of the law was two-fold; one, to insure the same
safe guidelines put in place in Pennsylvania, following the gruesome discovery
of Kermitt Gosnell's abortion mill, and #2, to act as a compromise between
those who are completely pro-choice and those to the other extreme.
However, because of how Roe v. Wade is written, there is no incentive for the left to ever accept any compromise on abortion. The fact is that most Americans agree that it should be legal. However, those who feel that way believe overwhelming of it's legality before 20 weeks. But once the fetus passes to 20-week plateau, the popularity of the law diminishes. At 25 weeks, on 16% of Americans believe abortion should be used (not including questions regarding the health of the mother.
Imagine how strong the left's case would be if they agreed to compromise? But instead of trying to bridge the enormous schism between the two extremes, the left refuses to grant an inch - even at the expense of credibility and threats of violence (towards Pro-Lifers).
To be honest, the right is almost always as guilty. However, the biggest difference is, as Charles Krauthammer explains, "Republicans think of liberals as naive and misguided in their policies. While liberals consider the right to be inherently evil." The irony, at least according to the always brilliant Thomas Sowell, is that the left has a far more difficult time accepting evil as a choice of life.
So the question is, what can we do about it? Sadly, our government at the moment is stoking the flames of division and extremes. As long as our President continues to fan the flames of discontent, no compromise will be feasible. Sad, but true.
This is also playing out internationally. On one hand, Egypt did elect Mohammed Morsi President in a free election. But truthfully, how really "free" was it? Numerous reports of viable threats made against Christians and secularists who came out against Morsi were greatly reported. Even today, a Coptic Church was burned to the ground because they support the opposition of the Muslim Brotherhood. A year ago, against sincere opposition here in America, Obama backed the coup which led to Mubarak's demise, even though he had been a friend and an ally. Obama considered the Morsi election legitimate because it was a seemingly free decision by the Egyptian people. However, there were two problems here. For one thing, Islamist threats against the Christians and secularists were not only warned, but systematically carried out of the course of the year. Secondly, Morsi barely won the election, yet began to govern as if he had an enormous mandate to turn Egypt into the latest caliphate.
Clearly, the Egyptian people do not wish to be the next Iran. Industry and tourism is a sense of tremendous pride for everyday Egyptians. Their hatred for Israel was tempered when they found a lot of financial incentives to remain on at least cool terms with her neighbor. But more importantly, the women of Egypt refuse to be herded as second class citizens, the way they are in every other predominately Islamic country.
Much to Obama's disappointment, the Egyptians will not soon forget it was Obama who took the lead in deposing Mubarak and supporting Morsi - an idealogical opposite of America, but not of the American President. This week's happenings in Cairo have transpired in spite of Obama and shows the true weakness of the US President. His legacy should be of one who was constantly on the wrong side of events in order to placate to his own weak foreign policy. The main stream media will praise him and claim Egypt is erupting because of Obama's Cairo speech 5 years ago. But he used that excuse for last year's revolution. It doesn't work both ways. Only a weak man uses the same excuse.
However, because of how Roe v. Wade is written, there is no incentive for the left to ever accept any compromise on abortion. The fact is that most Americans agree that it should be legal. However, those who feel that way believe overwhelming of it's legality before 20 weeks. But once the fetus passes to 20-week plateau, the popularity of the law diminishes. At 25 weeks, on 16% of Americans believe abortion should be used (not including questions regarding the health of the mother.
Imagine how strong the left's case would be if they agreed to compromise? But instead of trying to bridge the enormous schism between the two extremes, the left refuses to grant an inch - even at the expense of credibility and threats of violence (towards Pro-Lifers).
To be honest, the right is almost always as guilty. However, the biggest difference is, as Charles Krauthammer explains, "Republicans think of liberals as naive and misguided in their policies. While liberals consider the right to be inherently evil." The irony, at least according to the always brilliant Thomas Sowell, is that the left has a far more difficult time accepting evil as a choice of life.
So the question is, what can we do about it? Sadly, our government at the moment is stoking the flames of division and extremes. As long as our President continues to fan the flames of discontent, no compromise will be feasible. Sad, but true.
This is also playing out internationally. On one hand, Egypt did elect Mohammed Morsi President in a free election. But truthfully, how really "free" was it? Numerous reports of viable threats made against Christians and secularists who came out against Morsi were greatly reported. Even today, a Coptic Church was burned to the ground because they support the opposition of the Muslim Brotherhood. A year ago, against sincere opposition here in America, Obama backed the coup which led to Mubarak's demise, even though he had been a friend and an ally. Obama considered the Morsi election legitimate because it was a seemingly free decision by the Egyptian people. However, there were two problems here. For one thing, Islamist threats against the Christians and secularists were not only warned, but systematically carried out of the course of the year. Secondly, Morsi barely won the election, yet began to govern as if he had an enormous mandate to turn Egypt into the latest caliphate.
Clearly, the Egyptian people do not wish to be the next Iran. Industry and tourism is a sense of tremendous pride for everyday Egyptians. Their hatred for Israel was tempered when they found a lot of financial incentives to remain on at least cool terms with her neighbor. But more importantly, the women of Egypt refuse to be herded as second class citizens, the way they are in every other predominately Islamic country.
Much to Obama's disappointment, the Egyptians will not soon forget it was Obama who took the lead in deposing Mubarak and supporting Morsi - an idealogical opposite of America, but not of the American President. This week's happenings in Cairo have transpired in spite of Obama and shows the true weakness of the US President. His legacy should be of one who was constantly on the wrong side of events in order to placate to his own weak foreign policy. The main stream media will praise him and claim Egypt is erupting because of Obama's Cairo speech 5 years ago. But he used that excuse for last year's revolution. It doesn't work both ways. Only a weak man uses the same excuse.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Ten Great Songs From One Great Week
The songs the radio played this week in history
June 23-29, 1996
Khobar Towers Bombing - (June 25, 1996) The Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, located near the national oil company (Saudi Aramco) headquarters of Dhahran on June 25, 1996. At that time Khobar Towers was being used as quarters for foreign military personnel.
A huge truck-bomb was detonated adjacent to Building #131, an eight-story structure housing United States Air Force personnel from the 4404th Wing (Provisional), primarily from a deployed rescue squadron and deployed fighter squadron. In all, 19 U.S. servicemen were killed and 498 of many nationalities were wounded. Although Al-Qaeda has been described by some sources as the likely culprit, the official June 25, 1996 statement by the United States named members of Hezbollah Al-Hejaz (Party of God in the Hijaz) as responsible.
A November 13, 1995 car bombing in Riyadh led the U.S. forces stationed at Khobar Towers to raise the threat condition to THREATCON CHARLIE. Days after the attack, military commanders briefed soldiers and airmen at Khobar that the U.S. had received anonymous communications from an organization claiming to have carried out the Riyadh attack. The attackers claimed their goal was to get the United States' military to leave the country, and that Khobar Towers would be attacked next if troop withdrawal did not begin immediately. It was at this time that surveillance and other suspicious activity near the perimeter fences of Khobar Towers was noted by United States Air Force Security Forces, however, the forces were forbidden by the Saudi government to act in any capacity outside the perimeter of the compound, and the surveillance continued with near impunity.
The attackers were reported to have smuggled explosives into Saudi Arabia from Lebanon. In Saudi Arabia, they purchased a large gas tanker truck and converted it into a bomb. Al-Mughassil, Al-Houri, Al-Sayegh, Al-Qassab, and the unidentified Lebanese man bought a tanker truck in early June 1996. Over a two-week period they converted it into a truck bomb. The group now had about 5,000 pounds of plastic explosives, enough to produce a shaped charge that detonated with the force of at least 20,000 pounds of TNT, according to a later assessment of the Defense Special Weapons Agency. The power of the blast was magnified several ways. The truck itself shaped the charge by directing the blast toward the building. Moreover, the relatively high clearance between the truck and the ground gave it the more lethal characteristics of an airburst.
It was originally estimated by U.S. authorities to have contained 3,000 to 5,000 pounds of explosives. Later the General Downing report on the incident suggested that the explosion contained the equivalent of 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of TNT. The attackers prepared for the attack by hiding large amounts of explosive materials and timing devices in paint cans and 50-kilogram bags, underground in Qatif near Khobar. The bomb was a mixture of gasoline and explosive powder placed in the tank of a sewage tanker truck.
Initially, the attackers attempted to enter the compound at the main checkpoint. When they were denied access by U.S. military personnel, at around 9:43 p.m. local time, they drove a Datsun scout vehicle, another car and the bomb truck, to a parking lot adjacent to building #131. A chain link security fence and a line of small trees separated the parking lot, used for a local mosque and park, from the housing compound. The perimeter of Building #131 was approximately 72 feet from the fence line, with a perimeter road between the fence and building which was often used by military personnel for jogging. The first car entered the parking lot and signaled the others by flashing headlights. The bomb truck and a getaway vehicle followed shortly after. The men parked the truck next to the fence and left in the third vehicle. The bomb exploded three to four minutes later at approximately 9:50 p.m. local time.
An American sentry, Air Force Staff Sergeant Alfredo R. Guerrero, was stationed atop Building #131. He witnessed the men, recognized the vehicles as a threat, reported it to security, and began a floor by floor evacuation of the building. His actions are credited with saving dozens of lives. Many of the evacuees were in the stairwell when the bomb went off. The stairwell was constructed of heavy marble and was located on the side of the building away from the truck bomb, perhaps the safest location in the building. For his actions, Guerrero was awarded the Airman's Medal, the United States Air Force highest peacetime award for valor. Another security measure is thought to have minimized damage; along the security fence were Jersey barriers, concrete barriers commonly used along roadways. These deflected the blast energy upward, and away from the lower floors of the building, perhaps even preventing a total collapse of the structure.
The crater remaining after the truck bomb explosion. Building #131 is on the right. The force of the explosion was enormous. The size of the explosion created an intense dust storm as the forces of the high pressure blast wave and the subsequent vacuum forces caused considerable damage in their own right. Several military vehicles parked to the left side of building #131 suffered no direct impact from debris, but were heavily damaged by the sheer intensity of the shock wave.
It heavily damaged or destroyed six high rise apartment buildings in the complex. Windows were shattered in virtually every other building in the compound and in surrounding buildings up to a mile away. A very large crater, 85 feet wide and 35 feet deep, was left where the truck had been and within a few hours was filling up partially with salt-water from the Persian Gulf, which is less than one mile away. The blast was felt 20 miles away in the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain. In the minutes following the blast, the residents of the complex evacuated severely injured U.S. military personnel from the area. With power out in many of the buildings near #131, the scene was chaotic and tense as little was known about the safety of the area from further attacks. Many residents later gathered in the local dining facility, set up as a triage center, and saw breaking news of the event on large projection televisions intended to bring news of events back home to the troops.
Music Charts:
#1 Single -- "How Do You Want It"/"California Love" by 2Pac featuring K-Ci and JoJo / featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman
#1 Album -- "Load" by Metallica
Other Events:
1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
1943 – Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis.
1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
1948 – The Berlin airlift begins.
1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
1991 – Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence from Yugoslavia.
2006 – Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, is kidnapped by Palestinian militants.
Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
The video showed the band floating on clouds in the night sky. It is based on the 1902 film Trip to the Moon by George Meiles. His name is the name of the ship at the end of the music video - the S.S. Meiles. This won 6 MTV Music Video Awards: Video of the Year, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction Best Special Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography. It was also nominated for Viewer's Choice Award and Best Editing. The line, "And the embers never fade in your city by the lake, The place where you were born" in a reference to Corgan's home city of Chicago. The song has an acoustic reprise on the single where Billy sings the line.
Counting Blue Cars - Dishwalla
This song is about a man who is on a walk with his child. They get into a deep yet child-like conversation about God. This was the only hit for Dishwalla, and it came at a time when "Alternative" music was big, with bands like Collective Soul and Stone Temple Pilots dominating the airwaves. The band's name comes from a Hindi term for a person providing cable television to a neighborhood.
Jealousy - Natalie Merchant
Merchant was lead singer and primary lyricist for 10,000 Maniacs, joining in its infancy in 1981 while she was a student at Jamestown Community College. The group recorded their album Human Conflict Number Five and performed a corresponding Music video at The Hotel Franklin and at Group W Westinghouse studios (Jamestown, New York) in 1982. Merchant sang lead vocals, and later played the piano as well, for seven studio albums. In 1993 she announced that she was leaving the group and then released the solo LP Tigerlilly, which spawned 3 top 40 hits.
Who Will Save Your Soul - Jewel
Jewel wrote this when she was 16. She traveled a lot in those days, and took a trip to Mexico where she hitchhiked around the country. She was amazed to see how many people looked like they were waiting for someone to save them. This was Jewel's first single. It was first released in 1995, and took a long time to find an audience. A year later, as female singer/songwriters like Sheryl Crow, Sara McLachlan, and Alanis Morissette became very popular, radio stations started adding this to their playlists and it became a hit. The album was reissued to meet the demand.
You Learn - Alanis Morrisette
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In this song, Morissette points out that everything in life is a learning experience. It's based on the saying "Live and Learn," which is a common way of dealing with negative events and accepting whatever life brings you. Alanis explained on her VH1 Storytellers appearance: "I wrote it during a time that I was very insulated, and had first just moved to L.A. I was prepared for perhaps the first time in my life to focus on things that were negative because I was always encouraged to focus on things that were positive, and that things like confusion and depression and those kinds of things were to be hidden or repressed. Having done that for so many years resulted in an explosion of sorts, so writing Jagged Little Pill was that explosion and a lot of things were very subconscious and that's why everything was relatively urgent."
Give Me One Good Reason - Tracy Chapman
Chapman makes a career out of '60s-style folk-blues rock, making her territory "folk revival," complete with the social and political message that also defined the Flower Power generation. "Give Me One Reason," then, is a straightforward blues love song, with a defiant slant daring you to argue with her to get her to stay. Amongst many signs of popularity, this song has appeared in numerous seasons of the TV show American Idol, selected by contestants as their performance piece.
Just A Girl - No Doubt
When playing this at a Virgin Megastore in Costa Mesa, California, lead singer Gwen Stefani's mother asked her not to swear because their relatives were present. When Gwen swore, her mother refused to speak to her for a week. For years the band was trying to get played on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, but were ignored. Finally KROQ began playing this song, and got massive amounts of requests for it, fulfilling the band's dream.
Missing - Everything But The Girl
This is the signature song of Everything But The Girl, a British duo consisting of Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn. They were students at the University of Hull when they met. She was a singer in the pop duo Marine Girls and Ben contributed a photograph to the cover of their LP. They wound up becoming inseparable, forming their own group in 1983 and getting married not long after. The name Everything But The Girl was inspired by an advertising slogan of Turner's Furniture, a popular store in Hull near the university. Watt and Thorn quickly became popular in their native Great Britain and began to gain popularity in the United States in 1990 with the release of the album The Language of Life, which produced singles that got airtime on VH-1. However, their career was almost ended when Watt contracted Churg-Strauss syndrome, an autoimmune disease which can lead to death. Watt ultimately recovered, but the prospect of his death contributed to this song's heartfelt lyrics. "Missing" was initially a minor hit on the pop charts and a bigger one on the Adult Contemporary charts. In 1995, they gave the song to producer Terry Todd, who remixed if for nightclubs. The new release was a big worldwide hit, ultimately peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, many of the band's fans greatly prefer the original release, which is the version that's usually performed now. They continue to record, but have cut back on performing to raise their children, whom they wish to provide with as much of a normal life as possible, which means keeping them out of the limelight.
Big Me - Foo Fighters
This song is about being dumped. Says Dave Grohl: "Girl meets boy, boy falls in love, girl tells him to f--k off!" The video is a takeoff on Mentos commercials. Mentos are mint candies that come in tubes. They are made in Europe, and the commercials had a campy feel that became a big part of pop culture in the US. In each spot, someone gets a moment of inspiration after eating a mint and is then able to overcome some obstacle. In one spot, a woman's car is boxed in, so she gets some burly construction workers to pick it up and move it for her. In another, a kid acts like a roadie to get backstage at a concert. The video shows the band in similar situations, solving problems with the aid of their own special candy called Foo-tos. Unfortunately for The Foo Fighters, Mentos make great projectiles and for years fans would throw the candy at them when they played this.
Follow You Down - Gin Blossoms
Spending ten weeks on Billboard's Top Ten when it was released in 1996, this song was written at the very end of the recording process for the Congratulations... I'm Sorry CD. Songwriter Jesse Valenzuela says, "We were working on the record, and I'd come home at night to my hotel room, and I had those chords, and finished writing by the time we got home. We'd already finished the record, but I had this great song, so I demoed it up and I sent it to my main A&R man, David Andaly, the great David Andaly, and he said, 'Why are you hiding this thing? Let's put it on the record.' So we went and recorded it right away."
BONUS TRACK
Macarena -- Los Del Rio
This was originally released on a local label in Spain in 1993, where it did fairly well. The next year, the American label BMG bought the Spanish label and set out to make "Macarena" a hit in America. They marketed an English language version to dance clubs and cruise ships, then released it as a single in 1995. It was a minor hit until the summer of 1996, when the Macarena dance craze hit America. The song went to #1 in July and stayed there for 14 weeks. Los Del Rio (Antonio Romeo Monge and Rafael Ruiz) are a Spanish flamenco-pop duo. They were inspired to record this on a trip to Venezuela when they spotted a beautiful flamenco dancer named Diana Patricia. When the song became a hit, she became known in Venezuela as "Macarena." This was the first hit for Los Del Rio since 1962 and their only hit in the US.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Ten Great Summer Songs From One Great Decade
Summer songs of the 80's
As summer 2013 approaches, I decided to take a break from listing the top songs from this week in rock history. Instead, we'll look back to the 80s and the summer songs that meant the warm air was approaching and the cool ocean breezes were so welcoming. Of course, there are far more than ten songs that hearken us back to those hot summer nights of the 80's. What I've done is pick one song from each summer during that decade.
I hope you like it.
All Night Long -- Joe Walsh (1980)
"All Night Long" was released as a single, in addition to being included in the legendary soundtrack to Urban Cowboy. It became one of Joe Walsh's four Top-40 charting songs in his solo career. The song also found its way onto a few sundry Eagles albums. Independent of the single's chart record, the soundtrack album made #1 on the Country Albums Chart, #3 on the Billboard 200, #2 on the Canadian RPM Country Albums Chart, and #21 on Canadian RPM Top Albums. Quite a bit of success for songs from a movie that cast John Travolta as a cowboy (inverting the concept of a "spaghetti western"), which makes about as much sense as casting John Wayne as Genghis Khan, and yet here we are still talking about it.
Urgent -- Foreigner (1981)
The group wanted a "Junior Walker-style" sax solo for this record. When they took a break from recording, one of the members read in New York newspaper The Village Voice that Walker was performing that night mere blocks from the recording studio. Walker accepted their offer to play, and the recording of the sax solo was swift and without a hitch. Before recording this album, two members of the group left, trimming the band from six members to 4. This, along with the fact that it was their fourth album, explains the title, 4.
Eye In The Sky -- Alan Parsons Project (1982)
The rumor has it that this song gets its theme from George Orwell's 1984, which revolves around a dystopian future where citizens are constantly monitored by a totalitarian world government. However, even the official page of the Alan Parsons project which talks about this song doesn't mention any connection. There is also nothing in the lyrics to connect it with this novel - those of us who have actually read the book know that there are no specific references to "eyes in the sky" i.e. satellites and such, but just cameras and telescreens everywhere. Meanwhile, the lyrics make no reference to Big Brother, Ingsoc, Newspeak, proles, ministries, Room 101, and so on, which is common jargon in the book. So, let's just say this is unconfirmed, and caution people about making snap judgments regarding a novel which has become such a potent counter-culture icon in exactly the same way that Guy Fawkes became counter-culture fashion.
Come Dancing -- The Kinks (1983)
Ray Davies wrote this nostalgic song about his older sister Gwen. It describes how guys would take her out dancing, only to be frustrated at the end of the night when all they would get for their efforts (and money) was a kiss on the cheek. Clive Davis, the president of Arista Records, disagreed with Davies' choice of this as the album's single. However, he allowed to be released even though he thought it "a ditty" and too slight to be the smash hit it became. The song was the group's biggest American hit since "Tired of Waiting for You" also reached #6 in 1965.
Missing You -- John Waite (1984)
Waite wrote this song about an ex-girlfriend in order to help him get over the hurt he was feeling about their break up. While he sings, "I ain't missing you at all," we know that he really is. In 1979, Waite was lead singer of a group called The Babys, and had a hit with "Every Time I Think Of You."
The Search Is Over -- Survivor (1985)
This was written by Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan, who were Survivor's primary songwriters. Peterik told us: "The Search Is Over started as a title in my notebook. A lot of times, I'll write down a phrase that just sounds like something. I may have gotten it from the news - the search is over for the missing whatever. A lot of times, you don't know what the title means until you live it or someone you know lives it. It wasn't about my life as much as a friend of mine who had a girlfriend - really a play pal throughout their growing up years - and never thought it could be anything more than that. It was looking him straight in the face that this was the girl of his destiny, and he looked everywhere to find that dream girl only to come back to the sandbox. This couple is still married and going strong. It became kind of an allegory to looking for what is obvious; having it in your hand and you being too close to even realize it."
Mad About You -- Belinda Carlisle (1986)
This was the first solo hit for any of the Go-Go's, who broke up in 1985. Carlisle's former bandmates Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin contributed to the Belinda album. This catchy love song is about being crazy about your partner. The title had some traction as a hook: in 1992, a successful TV show called Mad About You began airing on NBC.
Alone -- Heart (1987)
This was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. They are a very successful songwriting team who have written several other #1 hits, including "So Emotional," "Like A Virgin" and "Eternal Flame." Most of their songs start with a lyric Steinberg comes up with. Kelly writes most of the music and sings on the demos. Steinberg and Kelly met the Wilson sisters for the first time when they were invited to the studio where this was being recorded. Kelly, who was an experienced session singer, ended up singing high harmony parts on the record.
Sign Your Name -- Terence Trent D'Arby (1988)
Next to "Wishing Well," this was the biggest hit for Terence Trent d'Arby, who changed his name to Sananda Maitreya in 2001. Says Maitreya: "It came from a dream where Sade asked me to write a song for her. It was inspired by a dream and seeing Sade perform at Live Aid in the mid-'80s."
The End Of The Innocence -- Don Henley (1989)
The line about "Beating ploughshares into swords" is a distortion of Isaiah 2:4 in which Isaiah describes the end times: "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." The "Tired old man that we elected king" is a reference to US president Ronald Reagan. There are a lot of political overtones in the song, as Henley strongly opposed Reagan's agenda.
Summer songs of the 80's
As summer 2013 approaches, I decided to take a break from listing the top songs from this week in rock history. Instead, we'll look back to the 80s and the summer songs that meant the warm air was approaching and the cool ocean breezes were so welcoming. Of course, there are far more than ten songs that hearken us back to those hot summer nights of the 80's. What I've done is pick one song from each summer during that decade.
I hope you like it.
All Night Long -- Joe Walsh (1980)
"All Night Long" was released as a single, in addition to being included in the legendary soundtrack to Urban Cowboy. It became one of Joe Walsh's four Top-40 charting songs in his solo career. The song also found its way onto a few sundry Eagles albums. Independent of the single's chart record, the soundtrack album made #1 on the Country Albums Chart, #3 on the Billboard 200, #2 on the Canadian RPM Country Albums Chart, and #21 on Canadian RPM Top Albums. Quite a bit of success for songs from a movie that cast John Travolta as a cowboy (inverting the concept of a "spaghetti western"), which makes about as much sense as casting John Wayne as Genghis Khan, and yet here we are still talking about it.
Urgent -- Foreigner (1981)
The group wanted a "Junior Walker-style" sax solo for this record. When they took a break from recording, one of the members read in New York newspaper The Village Voice that Walker was performing that night mere blocks from the recording studio. Walker accepted their offer to play, and the recording of the sax solo was swift and without a hitch. Before recording this album, two members of the group left, trimming the band from six members to 4. This, along with the fact that it was their fourth album, explains the title, 4.
Eye In The Sky -- Alan Parsons Project (1982)
The rumor has it that this song gets its theme from George Orwell's 1984, which revolves around a dystopian future where citizens are constantly monitored by a totalitarian world government. However, even the official page of the Alan Parsons project which talks about this song doesn't mention any connection. There is also nothing in the lyrics to connect it with this novel - those of us who have actually read the book know that there are no specific references to "eyes in the sky" i.e. satellites and such, but just cameras and telescreens everywhere. Meanwhile, the lyrics make no reference to Big Brother, Ingsoc, Newspeak, proles, ministries, Room 101, and so on, which is common jargon in the book. So, let's just say this is unconfirmed, and caution people about making snap judgments regarding a novel which has become such a potent counter-culture icon in exactly the same way that Guy Fawkes became counter-culture fashion.
Come Dancing -- The Kinks (1983)
Ray Davies wrote this nostalgic song about his older sister Gwen. It describes how guys would take her out dancing, only to be frustrated at the end of the night when all they would get for their efforts (and money) was a kiss on the cheek. Clive Davis, the president of Arista Records, disagreed with Davies' choice of this as the album's single. However, he allowed to be released even though he thought it "a ditty" and too slight to be the smash hit it became. The song was the group's biggest American hit since "Tired of Waiting for You" also reached #6 in 1965.
Missing You -- John Waite (1984)
Waite wrote this song about an ex-girlfriend in order to help him get over the hurt he was feeling about their break up. While he sings, "I ain't missing you at all," we know that he really is. In 1979, Waite was lead singer of a group called The Babys, and had a hit with "Every Time I Think Of You."
The Search Is Over -- Survivor (1985)
This was written by Jim Peterik and Frankie Sullivan, who were Survivor's primary songwriters. Peterik told us: "The Search Is Over started as a title in my notebook. A lot of times, I'll write down a phrase that just sounds like something. I may have gotten it from the news - the search is over for the missing whatever. A lot of times, you don't know what the title means until you live it or someone you know lives it. It wasn't about my life as much as a friend of mine who had a girlfriend - really a play pal throughout their growing up years - and never thought it could be anything more than that. It was looking him straight in the face that this was the girl of his destiny, and he looked everywhere to find that dream girl only to come back to the sandbox. This couple is still married and going strong. It became kind of an allegory to looking for what is obvious; having it in your hand and you being too close to even realize it."
Mad About You -- Belinda Carlisle (1986)
This was the first solo hit for any of the Go-Go's, who broke up in 1985. Carlisle's former bandmates Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin contributed to the Belinda album. This catchy love song is about being crazy about your partner. The title had some traction as a hook: in 1992, a successful TV show called Mad About You began airing on NBC.
Alone -- Heart (1987)
This was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. They are a very successful songwriting team who have written several other #1 hits, including "So Emotional," "Like A Virgin" and "Eternal Flame." Most of their songs start with a lyric Steinberg comes up with. Kelly writes most of the music and sings on the demos. Steinberg and Kelly met the Wilson sisters for the first time when they were invited to the studio where this was being recorded. Kelly, who was an experienced session singer, ended up singing high harmony parts on the record.
Sign Your Name -- Terence Trent D'Arby (1988)
Next to "Wishing Well," this was the biggest hit for Terence Trent d'Arby, who changed his name to Sananda Maitreya in 2001. Says Maitreya: "It came from a dream where Sade asked me to write a song for her. It was inspired by a dream and seeing Sade perform at Live Aid in the mid-'80s."
The End Of The Innocence -- Don Henley (1989)
The line about "Beating ploughshares into swords" is a distortion of Isaiah 2:4 in which Isaiah describes the end times: "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." The "Tired old man that we elected king" is a reference to US president Ronald Reagan. There are a lot of political overtones in the song, as Henley strongly opposed Reagan's agenda.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Sorry, but no top ten list today. I'm recovering from some minor surgery on my arm and I've not had the ability to research and post a list for this week. As you should know (if you follow this blog), I have been on dialysis for 9 months. To get access to my blood, I have a temporary dialysis port in my right shoulder. The key word being "temporary." I've already have had to have the port reopened 4 separate times.
Ideally, a permanent port would be implanted soon after dialysis starts. However, due to the many complications and illnesses I've dealt with over the past year, I've not been able to have a permanent line in. The surgery is called AV Fistula surgery, which combines an artery (A) with a vein (V). After the surgery is done (mine was done last Thursday), it then takes 2-4 months for the fistula to mature and be of any use. At that point, they will finally remove the catheter in my shoulder.
The surgery took about 2 hours and I was knocked out for all of it. But the result was a black, blue and bloodied arm that even now is throbbing. But it is hurting less than yesterday.
Hopefully, I'll get back to writing a top ten chart later this week. Thanks for your patience.
Ideally, a permanent port would be implanted soon after dialysis starts. However, due to the many complications and illnesses I've dealt with over the past year, I've not been able to have a permanent line in. The surgery is called AV Fistula surgery, which combines an artery (A) with a vein (V). After the surgery is done (mine was done last Thursday), it then takes 2-4 months for the fistula to mature and be of any use. At that point, they will finally remove the catheter in my shoulder.
The surgery took about 2 hours and I was knocked out for all of it. But the result was a black, blue and bloodied arm that even now is throbbing. But it is hurting less than yesterday.
Hopefully, I'll get back to writing a top ten chart later this week. Thanks for your patience.
Sunday, June 09, 2013
Ten Great Songs From One Great Week
The songs the radio played this week in history
June 12-18, 1966
Miranda v. Arizona Ruling - (June 13, 1966) On March 13, 1963, Ernesto Miranda was arrested, by the Phoenix Police Department, based on circumstantial evidence linking him to the kidnapping and rape of a 17 year old girl ten days earlier. After two hours of interrogation by police officers, Miranda signed a confession to the rape charge on forms that included the typed statement "I do hereby swear that I make this statement voluntarily and of my own free will, with no threats, coercion, or promises of immunity, and with full knowledge of my legal rights, understanding any statement I make may be used against me."
However, at no time was Miranda told of his right to counsel, and he was not advised of his right to remain silent or that his statements would be used against him during the interrogation before being presented with the form on which he was asked to write out the confession he had already given orally. At trial, when prosecutors offered Miranda's written confession as evidence, his court-appointed lawyer, Alvin Moore, objected that because of these facts, the confession was not truly voluntary and should be excluded. Moore's objection was overruled and based on this confession and other evidence, Miranda was convicted of rape and kidnapping and sentenced to 20 to 30 years imprisonment on each charge, with sentences to run concurrently. Moore filed Miranda's appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court claiming that Miranda's confession was not fully voluntary and should not have been admitted into the court proceedings. The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's decision to admit the confession in State v. Miranda, 401 P.2d 721 (Ariz. 1965). In affirming, the Arizona Supreme Court emphasized heavily the fact that Miranda did not specifically request an attorney.
This was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which passed 5–4. The Court held that both inculpatory and exculpatory statements made in response to interrogation by a defendant in police custody will be admissible at trial only if the prosecution can show that the defendant was informed of the right to consult with an attorney before and during questioning and of the right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police, and that the defendant not only understood these rights, but voluntarily waived them.
This had a significant impact on law enforcement in the United States, by making what became known as the Miranda rights part of routine police procedure to ensure that suspects were informed of their rights. The Supreme Court decided Miranda with three other consolidated cases: Westover v. United States, Vignera v. New York, and California v. Stewart.
The Miranda warning (often abbreviated to "Miranda," or "Mirandizing" a suspect) is the name of the formal warning that is required to be given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial situation) before they are interrogated, in accordance with the Miranda ruling. Its purpose is to ensure the accused is aware of, and reminded of, these rights under the U.S. Constitution, and that they know they can invoke them at any time during the interview.
As of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Berghuis v. Thompkins (June 1, 2010), criminal suspects who are aware of their right to silence and to an attorney, but choose not to "unambiguously" invoke them, may find any subsequent voluntary statements treated as an implied waiver of their rights, and which may be used in evidence.
Music Charts:
#1 Single -- "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones
#1 Album -- "What Now My Love" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
Other Events:
1774 – Rhode Island becomes the first of Britain's colonies to ban the importation of slaves.
1967 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson nominates Solicitor-General Thurgood Marshall to become the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
1977 – Convicted MLK assassin James Earl Ray is recaptured after escaping from prison 3 days before.
1983 – Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the central Solar System.
1994 – A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, blames recklessness by Exxon and Captain Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the oil spill to seek $15 billion in damages.
1997 – A jury sentences Timothy McVeigh to death for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
2005 – A jury in Santa Maria, California acquits pop singer Michael Jackson of molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo at his Neverland Ranch.
Sunny -- Bobby Hebb
On November 23, 1963, the day after John F. Kennedy's assassination, Harold Hebb (Bobby Hebb's bother) was killed in a knife fight outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated by both events and sought comfort in songwriting. Though many claim that the song he wrote after both tragedies was the optimistic "Sunny", Hebb himself stated otherwise. Bobby Hebb died in 2010 at age 72. Besides this enduring hit, his claim to fame is that he once headlined a tour featuring the Beatles. The Associated Press also reported that he became one of the first black artists ever to appear on the Grand Ole Opry. At the time of Hebb's death, "Sunny" was listed as the 18th most performed song in the BMI catalog.
Sweet Pea -- Tommy Roe
This proved to be a comeback single for Roe as it was his first Top 40 hit in two years and was recorded after he finished a stint in the army. Roe was known for his fun, upbeat Pop songs (often derided by critics as "Bubblegum"), and this one is no exception - it's about asking a girl to dance. Our hero succeeds not only in dancing with Sweet Pea, but also in bringing her outside for a walk where he asks if she'll be his girl. Roe wrote the song himself. The song was recorded in Los Angeles with some of the top studio musicians of the day: Ben Benay and Mike Deasy on guitar, Jerry Scheff on bass, Jim Troxel and Toxie French on drums, and Butch Parker and Mike Henderson on keyboards.
Solitary Man -- Neil Diamond
This was Neil Diamond's first charting single as a recording artist. In a 2005 Times Online interview, Diamond said: "After four years of Freudian analysis I realized I had written 'Solitary Man' about myself." According to David Wild, who interviewed Diamond for Rolling Stone, this was a turning point in Diamond's songwriting. When we asked David if Diamond's songs were personal or character-driven, he told us: "I think they're all personal for Neil - that may be part of the secret of his success. He's a deeply personal performer - a groundbreaking introspective singer songwriter since "Solitary Man" - who transforms himself into an exhibitionist onstage."
Sloop John B -- The Beach Boys
This is a traditional West Indies tune about a sunken boat. It was adapted in 1951 by Lee Hays of the Weavers (as "The John B Sails") and revived in 1960 by Lonnie Donegan. The Beach Boys' Folk music buff, Al Jardine, turned Brian Wilson onto the Kingston Trio's recording of the song. For their updated version, Wilson added elaborate vocals and a 12-string guitar part. He also changed some of the lyrics, including "This is the worst trip since I've been born" to "...I've ever been on" as a wink to acid culture. This was the biggest hit from their landmark album Pet Sounds. The album was the brainchild of Brian Wilson, and he got the title when Mike Love suggested dogs were the only creatures that would like it. To keep the animal theme, Wilson put some barking dogs on the album.
Paperback Writer -- The Beatles
Paul McCartney wrote this after helping some friends, including John Dunbar, set up the Indica Bookshop (in the basement was the Indica Gallery, where John Lennon eventually met Yoko Ono), in January of 1966. Paul was the first customer of the shop. This song was a sort of an homage to lots of authors, including John Lennon, who had already written 2 books: In His Own Write and A Spaniard In The Works. He also was thinking of the author Martin Amis, whom he had just developed a passion for.
You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me -- Dusty Springfield
Originally, this was a Italian song composed by Pino Donnagio. Springfield heard Donnagio perform it at the San Remo festival and asked her friend Vicki Wickham, who produced the British TV show Ready Steady Go, to write some English lyrics for it. With the help of Yardbirds manager Simon Napier-Bell, she did. In the book 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, Simon Napier-Bell is quoted as saying: "Vicki and I used to eat together, and she told me that Dusty wanted a lyric for this song. We went back to her flat and started working on it. We wanted to go to a trendy disco so we had about an hour to write it. We wrote the chorus and then we wrote the verse in a taxi to wherever we were going. It was the first pop lyric I'd written, although I've always been interested in poetry and good literature. We'd no idea what the English lyric said. That seemed to be irrelevant and besides, it is much easier to write a new lyric completely."
It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World -- James Brown
This song was recorded as if it was a sermon. It lists man's life enhancing inventions, but the singer admits he would be nothing without a woman. Brown developed the impassioned ballad from some lyrics written by a woman, Betty Newsome. Her words were derived from the Bible and her observations of some of her ex-boyfriends, including the Godfather of Soul himself. The song was originally called "It's A Man's World', but James Brown added the extra words to the title as a reference to the 1963 hit comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
I Am A Rock -- Simon and Garfunkel
This song is about a recluse locking himself away from the world. When he says, "I am a rock, I am an island," he means away from everything and everyone. It's far from autobiographical, as Paul Simon was doing his best to write a hit song with this effort, and didn't write it for himself. The use of the word "Rock" is interesting in that Simon considered himself a Folk singer, and didn't associate himself with Rock music. In the vast majority of songs with the word "rock" in the lyrics, it is used to imply music or lifestyle, but for Simon, it was just a piece of stone. He did the same thing in 1973 for his song "Loves Me Like A Rock."
When A Man Loves A Woman -- Percy Sledge
This song is a huge part of music history, as it is the first #1 Hot 100 hit recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones and many other famous musicians would later record some of their classic songs. Sledge says that when he originally sang this, he had in mind Lizz King, his girlfriend for 3 years who left him for a modeling job in Los Angeles. Said Sledge: "I didn't have any money to go after her, so there was nothing I could do to try and get her back." This song had a completely different title and meaning when it started. Sledge recalled in a 2010 interview with Spinner: "When I wrote the song at first, it was called 'Why Did You Leave Me Baby.' And I changed it from that to 'When a Man Loves a Woman.' I just reversed it.
Paint It Black -- The Rolling Stones
This is written from the viewpoint of a person who is depressed. He wants everything to turn black to match his mood. The Rolling Stones wrote this as a much slower, conventional Soul song. When Bill Wyman began fooling around on the organ during the session doing a takeoff of their original as a spoof of music played at Jewish weddings. Co-manager Eric Easton (who had been an organist), and Charlie Watts joined in and improvised a double-time drum pattern, echoing the rhythm heard in some Middle Eastern dances. This new more upbeat rhythm was then used in the recording as a counterpoint to the morbid lyrics.
Sunday, June 02, 2013
Ten Great Songs From One Great Week
The songs the radio played this week in history
June 2-8, 1974
10-Cent Beer Night - This was a promotion held by Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians during a game against the Texas Rangers at Cleveland Stadium on June 4, 1974. The idea behind the promotion was to attract more fans to the game by offering 12oz. cups beer for just 10 cents each (regular price was 65 cents) with a limit of six per purchase. During the game, fans became heavily intoxicated, culminating in a riot in the ninth inning which caused the game to be forfeited due to the crowd's uncontrollable rowdiness and because the game could not be resumed in a timely manner.
Although the Indians had previously held such promotions without incident, beginning with Nickel Beer Day in 1971, a bench-clearing brawl in the teams' last meeting one week earlier at Arlington Stadium in Texas left some Indians fans harboring a grudge against the Rangers. In Texas, the trouble had started in the bottom of the fourth inning with a walk to the Rangers' Tom Grieve, followed by a Lenny Randle single. The next batter hit a double play ball to Indians third baseman John Lowenstein; he stepped on the third base bag to retire Grieve and threw the ball to second base, but Randle disrupted the play with a hard slide into second baseman Jack Brohamer.
The Indians retaliated in the bottom of the eighth when pitcher Milt Wilcox threw behind Randle's legs. Randle eventually laid down a bunt. When Wilcox attempted to field it and tag Randle out (which he did successfully), Randle hit him with a forearm. Indians first baseman John Ellis responded by punching Randle, and both benches emptied for a brawl. After the brawl was broken up, as Indians players and coaches returned to the dugout, they were struck by food and beer hurled by Rangers fans; catcher Dave Duncan had to be restrained from going into the stands to brawl with fans. The game was not suspended or forfeited, no players from either team were ejected, and the Rangers won 3-0.
Six days later, Cleveland's Ten Cent Beer Night promotion drew 25,134 fans to Cleveland Stadium for the Indians/Rangers game, twice the number expected. Many attendees arrived at the game drunk and/or stoned. The Rangers quickly took a 5-1 lead. Meanwhile, throughout the game, the inebriated crowd grew more and more unruly. Early in the game, Cleveland's Leron Lee hit a line drive into the stomach of Rangers pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, after which Jenkins dropped to the ground. Fans in the upper deck of the stadium cheered, then chanted "Hit 'em again! Hit 'em again! Harder! Harder!" A woman ran out to the Indians' on-deck circle and flashed her breasts, and a naked man sprinted to second base as Grieve hit his second home run of the game. A father and son pair ran onto the outfield and mooned the fans in the bleachers one inning later.
As the game progressed, more fans ran onto the field and caused problems. Ranger Mike Hargrove, who would later manage the Indians and lead them to the World Series twice in 1995 and 1997, was pelted with hot dogs and spit, and at one point was nearly struck with an empty gallon jug of Thunderbird. The Rangers later argued a call in which Lee was called safe in a close play at third base, spiking Jenkins with his cleats in the process and forcing him to leave the game. The Rangers' angry response to this call enraged Cleveland fans, who again began throwing objects onto the field. Someone tossed lit firecrackers into the Rangers' bullpen. In the bottom of the ninth, the Indians managed to rally, tying the game 5-5, and had Rusty Torres on second base representing the potential winning run. However, with a crowd that had been consuming as much beer as it could for nine innings, the situation finally came to a head.
After the Indians had managed to tie the game, a fan ran onto the field and attempted to steal Texas outfielder Jeff Burroughs' cap. Confronting the fan, Burroughs tripped. Texas manager Billy Martin, thinking that Burroughs had been attacked, charged onto the field, his players right behind, some wielding bats. A large number of intoxicated fans—some armed with knives, chains, and portions of stadium seats that they had torn apart—surged onto the field, and others hurled bottles from the stands. Hundreds of fans surrounded the outnumbered Rangers. Realizing that the Rangers' lives might be in danger, Ken Aspromonte, the Indians' manager, ordered his players to grab bats and help the Rangers, attacking the team's own fans in the process. Rioters began throwing steel folding chairs, and Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf was hit in the head by one of them. Hargrove, involved in a fistfight with a rioter, had to fight another on his way back to the Texas dugout. The two teams retreated off the field through the dugouts in groups, with players protecting each other.
The bases were pulled up and stolen (never to be returned) and many rioters threw a vast array of objects including cups, rocks, bottles, batteries from radios, hot dogs, popcorn containers, and folding chairs. As a result, umpire crew chief Nestor Chylak, realizing that order would not be restored in a timely fashion, forfeited the game to Texas. He too was a victim of the rioters as one struck him with part of a stadium seat, cutting his head. His hand was also cut by a thrown rock. He later called the fans "uncontrollable beasts" and stated that he'd never seen anything like what had happened, "except in a zoo"
Music Charts:
#1 Single -- "The Streak" by Ray Stevens
#1 Album -- "The Sting" Original Soundtrack
Other Events:
1812 – The Louisiana Territory is renamed the Missouri Territory.
1876 – An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after leaving New York City.
1919 – The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment, which guarantees suffrage to women.
1939 – The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps.
1986 – Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty for selling top secret US military intelligence to Israel.
1989 – The Tiananmen Square protests are violently ended by the People's Liberation Army.
1998 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
Please Come To Boston -- Dave Loggins
An accomplished singer and songwriter, and the first cousin of singer Kenny Loggins, Dave Loggins was best known for this song, which peaked at #5 on Billboard's Hot 100. In addition the song also topped the Billboard Easy Listening survey. Loggins also wrote "Pieces of April" for Three Dog Night, which became a top-20 hit in 1973. He has written material for Restless Heart, Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire, Gary Morris, Alabama, Toby Keith, Don Williams, and the #1 hit "Morning Desire" by Kenny Rogers. He recorded a #1 country song with Anne Murray in 1984 called "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" which won a CMA Award.
Sideshow -- Blue Magic
A visit into an antique museum was the inspiration to write a romance metaphor, which took about four months to finish. Composed by Vinnie Barrett and Bobby Eli (both collaborated on another Philly soul ballad "Love Won't Let Me Wait" by former Delfonics member Major Harris.), when record producer and guitarist Norman Harris heard "Sideshow", he said that should be recorded by Blue Magic. It was released on the album Blue Magic, became one of pop music's most affecting ballads and sold over a million copies, going to number one R/B and #8 pop in the summer of 1974. The song is noted for the introduction, featuring a repeat of the first 10 notes of a slow version of the "Gladiator's March", featuring one of the members from Blue Magic, acting like the Master of Ceremonies" declaring: "Hurry!! Hurry!!! Step right up and See the Sideshow for only 50 Cents". The follow-up was the similarly themed "Three Ring Circus". Some radio edits fade the song out several seconds earlier before the repeat of the Introduction in the Coda section, which also features a repeat of the chorus, due to the length of the song.
Rock the Boat -- Hues Corporation
The Hues Corporation was a Los Angeles band formed in 1969. They were a black vocal group comprised of Hubert Ann Kelly, St. Clair Lee and Fleming Williams and their name was a pun on billionaire Howard Hughes' corporation. This was arguably the first Disco song to hit #1 in the US. In an interview with Classicbands.com, Hues Corporation member St. Clair Lee said, "It was a song that you could do anything on. You could cuddle or you could get crazy if you wanted to. It was a love song without being a love song. But, it was a Disco hit and it happened because of the discos."
Annie's Song -- John Denver
Denver wrote this for his then-wife Ann Martell after their first separation and near break up of their marriage in 1974. He said that it was one of the fastest songs he ever wrote, composing it in about 10 minutes while he was riding on a ski lift in Aspen, Colorado. Denver was reflecting on all the joy he found in his marriage and his relief that they were back together. Wrote Denver: "Suddenly, I'm hypersensitive to how beautiful everything is. All of these things filled up my senses, and when I said this to myself unbidden images came one after the other. All of the pictures merged and I was left with Annie. That song was the embodiment of the love I felt at that time."
The Air that I Breathe -- The Hollies
This was written by the songwriting team of Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood shortly after they moved to Los Angeles. Before Hazlewood's death in 2001, they wrote songs for many artists, including Johnny Cash and Olivia Newton-John. In a 1992 interview on BBC radio, Hammond said: "When you listen to the song, you'd think this is a show stopper, and lyrically, you'd think I wrote it probably for the most beautiful woman that ever existed in the world. And in fact, "The Air That I Breathe" was written for quite an ugly person actually, I mean ugly outside, physically outside. She wasn't a great looking girl, but she was a terrific person inside. She was warm and kind and... This person was the person who gave me shelter in Los Angeles, when I didn't have any place to stay. I had no money, I had no Green Card, I couldn't work, I could have been a homeless. I sat down with Mike Hazlewood, and I said "Mike, this is what's happened to me, and this is the person." And I think Mike came up with [the line] "the air that I breathe." More than my story, it was because we lived in LA, and for the first time in our lives, we were introduced by smog. And every time we woke up, we'd look at the Hollywood Hills, and there was like a yellow monster up there. And I think that was his reason for coming up with [the line] "the air that I breathe". My reason was a love story, his was ecology or whatever you want to call it, you know. But it worked."
Already Gone -- The Eagles
This is one of the few Eagles songs not written by the band. It was written by songwriters Jack Tempchin and Bob Strandlund, who were friends of the band. Tempchin also helped write "Peaceful Easy Feeling," as well as co-writing numerous Glenn Frey solo records. Tempchin sent this to Frey, who had just come off of a relationship, so the lyrics about getting over a breakup were probably meaningful to him.
Billy, Don't Be a Hero -- Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
This song is about a guy who goes off to war, and despite his fiancé's pleas to stay safe, volunteers for a dangerous mission and is killed. The girl receives a letter telling her that Billy died a hero, which is specifically what she asked him not to do. This song sold more than 3 million copies and earned a gold record. Four more Top 40 singles followed for Bo Donaldson and the The Heywoods: "Who Do You Think You Are," "The Heartbreak Kid," "House on Telegraph Hill" and "Our Last Song Together." Peter Callender and Mitch Murray wrote both this and "The Night Chicago Died," for Paper Lace. Among the other songs the duo wrote together were Vanity Fare's hit "Hitchin' a Ride" and Georgie Fame's UK chart-topper "The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde."
(I've Been) Searchin' So Long -- Chicago
From 1969 to 1978, Chicago was a remarkably consistent band, putting out an album every year, as well as placing numerous singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Of course, after a 3 year hiatus from the charts, the band returned to the tremendous success they had enjoyed in he '70s with a string of big hits in the '80's. This song, written by James Pankow, and sung by Peter Cetera, was their 13th consecutive top 40 track.
Sundown -- Gordon Lightfoot
A lot of people thought Lightfoot wrote this about his wife. In an April 1975 Crawdaddy magazine article, he explained: "All it is, is a thought about a situation where someone is wondering what his live one is doing at the moment. He doesn't quite know where she is. He's not ready to give up on her, either, and that's about all I got to say about that." Lightfoot is rumored to have written this about the stormy relationship with his one time girlfriend Cathy Smith, who was later sentenced for delivering a lethal dose of heroin to John Belushi.
Band on the Run -- Paul McCartney and Wings
McCartney wrote this song in response to drug laws that criminalized him and his friends (including fellow "bands on the run" The Eagles and The Byrds). "We're not criminals," he explained. "We just would rather do this than hit the booze - which had been a traditional way to do it. We felt that this was a better move." Shortly after the Band On The Run album was released, McCartney told Melody Maker: "The basic idea about the band on the run is a kind of prison escape. At the beginning of the album the guy is stuck inside four walls, and eventually breaks out. There is a thread, but it's not a concept album." Asked if this was a reference to Wings escaping from The Beatles, he replied: "Sort of – yeah. I think most bands on tour are on the run."
BONUS TRACK
The Entertainer -- Marvin Hamlisch
One of the classics of ragtime, it returned to top international prominence as part of the ragtime revival in the 1970s, when it was used as the theme music for the 1973 Oscar-winning film The Sting. Composer and pianist Marvin Hamlisch's adaptation reached number three on the Billboard pop chart and spent a week at number one on the easy listening chart in 1974. The Sting was set in the 1930s, a full generation after the end of ragtime's mainstream popularity, thus giving the mistaken impression that ragtime music was popular at that time. The Recording Industry Association of America ranked it #10 on its "Songs of the Century" list.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
The Unfairness of it All
What chance is there really for peace to develop between the Arabs and the Israelis? I ask not to be a wise-ass, but to make a viable point. The answer depends on who you ask. On the Israeli camp, they are divided between what they hope could happen and what reality has told them won't happen. And on the Arab side, the division is between subjugation of the Jewish enemy or outright ethnic cleansing.
There are numerous truthful websites that tell the historically accurate history of the creation of the State of Israel. So repeating it all now will just take up too much time. But for a good read on Israel's supposed occupation of Palestinian land, Professor William Jacobson (from Legal Insurrection) has posted The historical fiction of Israel’s “occupation”. It's definitely a must-read.
But let's say you are new to this issue and want to know who to believe. On one hand, you can look around and see what has been going on in countries with large Muslim populations. Recent riots in Sweden, soldiers beheaded in the streets of London, civil war in Syria, Boston Marathon bombing, continued sectarian violence in Nigeria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan, and nuclear ambitions in perhaps the most unstable and dangerous country in the world, Iran.
It isn't Israeli Jews that are blowing up people. It isn't Jews killing Christians at will throughout the Middle East. It isn't Israeli Jews who are perpetually angry and homicidal. You won't see a Jew saw off someone's head, or eat his heart on video.
So one one hand, one sode has proven to be less than human when it comes to getting along with the neighbors.
One of the stupidest arguments I hear from the uninformed masses (usually, it's those who are protesting for leftist causes) is that Israel is an apartheid country. Aside from these people needing a dictionary, they also need a serious civics lesson on just how Israel can be like South Africa, when the State of Israel openly allows free elections (and has numerous Arab members of the Knesset), allows for Arabs to join the military and allows Muslim women to dress as modestly as they want. In Israel, any Muslim can receive permission to worship where he wishes and can build his own Mosque, should he desire.
By contrast, Jews are not allowed to enter Saudi Arabia, nor are Churches allowed to be built. Christians in the Kingdom and not allowed to congregate, much less open a church. Of course, unlike in Saudia Arabia, Israeli and Arab women are equally allowed to drive a car - with or without a male companion.
So who is the Apartheid state?
Since the end of the 6-Day War - a war that was forced upon the Israelis when Gemal Nasser and Hafez Assad decided to mobilize on the Israeli border in preparation for an attack - Israel has been forced into negotiating away land for a promise of peace. The blueprint was created by Israeli Prome Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. For his troubles, he was soon assassinated by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. While we in the west look at Sadat as a man of peace and his death a tragedy, we no longer look at his assassins with any disgust or distrust,
Since the end of that war, Israel has made numerous concessions that eventually led to the Camp David Accords, where PLO leader Yasser Arafat was offered what he claimed to have wanted. Of course he accepted it at the ceremony. But Arafat had another plan and that was to start up a second Intafada.
If looked at closely, it would appear that the whole world is upside down. The center of this has been the Middle East for the last 50 years. Ever since Israel was victorious in the Six-Day War, she has lost consistently in the court of public opinion. While she was the new, underdog nation, Israel was the darling of the political left. But once she was forced to use her strength - to avoid annihilation - she lost that underdog status and began the left's public enemy #1.
Only when Israel concedes and gives away land - for the scant hope for peace - does the left begrudgingly accept her legitimacy. No other nation in the world has had to face such a war of lawfulness, nor such a widespread campaign of misinformation and vicious slander. Of course, much of this is due to the fact that the Arab lands control OPEC and the majority of oil worldwide. Due to the need for cheap crude, many nations bow to the will of the Saudis and their allies (and in the case of Iran, their enemies, as long as they are Muslim). In addition, the largest bloc f nations in the UN is the Islamic bloc, which automatically gives voice to over 50 countries in their fight against the tiny Jewish nation.
The obviously solution would be for the Arab nations to accept Israel and her right to be a Jewish nation. After all, there are 22 Muslim nations and no one seems to have any issue with that. But that would mean their scapegoat would disappear. As long as they have a common enemy the blame all the world's problems on, they keep the focus off of their failed governance.
In the past 35 years - since Begin and Sadat sat together - Israel has returned the Sinai, Gaza, southern Lebanon and the governing rights of a majority of Samaria (the West Bank). Each time for the Palestinian promise of peace. And for what? Not only is there still no peace, the Palestinians still refuse to even accept the land that isn't in dispute. There is no "State of Israel" on any Palestinian map and the textbooks (that, by the way, are funded by Israel and the United States) still call for the removal of the "Zionist identity", while calling Jews the "children of apes and pigs." As long as the Arabs continue to incite their children to hate Jews and consider Israel to be illegitimate, there can not possibly be peace in the Middle East.
Sadly, while the Obama administration knows this, they continue to placate to the idea of peaceful coexistence between Israel and the Arabs. To his defense, Bush wasn't all that much better. In appearance and reputation, Bush was far more friendly to the Jewish people. But in reality, the only real difference is Obama is far weaker in stature. Bush and Obama were both friendly to the Arabs (Obama's bow and Bush's embrace of the Saudi king).
Until we have a leader in America who isn't afraid of upsetting the politically correct and (America needs you, Harry Truman!) telling the Arabs to play fair, nothing will be done to solve the Mideast problem. Israel has given about all she can give. It's clear to anyone with a brain (and without an agenda) that Abbas and the Palestinians have no desire to negotiate what they feel will eventually be given to them. In the mean time, the Arabs of Samaria and Gaza will continue to live in squalor. There's a reason no other Muslim nation took in the refugees of the 1948 and 1967 wars. By leaving them to starve in refugee camps, they continue to fester the hatred they need to delegitimize Israel.
That doesn't leave much to be hopeful. But it's certainly unfair.
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