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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 23-Jul-2013
23-Jul-13 World View -- EU nations decide unanimously on sham condemnation of Hezbollah

Web Log - July, 2013

23-Jul-13 World View -- EU nations decide unanimously on sham condemnation of Hezbollah

Howdy Doody may be for sale

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

EU nations decide unanimously on sham condemnation of Hezbollah
Hamas commemorates the death of Helen Thomas
Howdy Doody may be for sale

EU nations decide unanimously on sham condemnation of Hezbollah

Hezbollah army saluting (EPA)

Hezbollah army saluting (EPA)

The fallout is continuing following the open support by Lebanon's terrorist group Hezbollah fighting on the side of the regime of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad. The announcement of this support, made last month by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has tremendously polarized the entire Mideast along sectarian lines, and has now driven the European Union, by a unanimous vote of the foreign ministers of the 28 nations, to declare Hezbollah's military arm a terrorist group.

The announcement supposedly means that Hezbollah can no longer raise money in Europe, assets can be frozen, and visas can be denied. However, the announcement is pretty much a sham, since it doesn't apply to Hezbollah's "political wing," which is indistinguishable from its military wing. According to a Hezbollah official:

"We don’t have a military wing and a political one. We don’t have Hezbollah on one hand and the resistance party on the other. Every element of Hezbollah, from commanders to members as well as our various capabilities, are in the service of the resistance and we have nothing but the resistance as a priority."

So if you want to donate to a terrorist organization, then just donate to Hezbollah's political wing, and your money will go right into the terrorist's pockets.

Hezbollah was formed in 1982 to oppose Israel's occupation of Lebanon at that time. The organization grew to be respected throughout the Arab world because it's a leader of the "resistance" to Israel's occupation of the Palestinian homeland. Even many Europeans refused to condemn Hezbollah until now, for exactly the same reason - they admired and supported Hezbollah's "resistance" to Israel. Hezbollah became a tool in the wet dream of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's hardcore leadership to become the new leader of the entire Mideast, and Iran has poured money and weapons into Hezbollah's hands, as well as into Hamas's hands.

Iran's wet dream could never possibly have been realized, as I've been saying for years, because there is no way that a Sunni group like Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood would ever agree to be led by Shia Iran. But Iran, Hezbollah, and Bashar al-Assad's Alawite/Shia faction in Syria formed what has been called a "Shia Crescent," that was admired in the Mideast because of its resistance to Israel.

Hezbollah itself perpetrated acts that caused many in the Mideast to hate Hezbollah more than they hate Israel. A major game-changer was the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's beloved former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, in which Syria and Hezbollah were implicated. (See "Massive Beirut explosion killing Rafiq Hariri puts Lebanon into state of shock" from 2005.)

For many Arabs, Nasrallah's announcement that Hezbollah would openly fight on the side of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria was the last straw. Al-Assad's regime has, for over two years, targeted innocent Syrian women and children in their beds and dormitories, making al-Assad himself a psychopath. Al-Assad's attempts to exterminate Sunni Syrians has caused a major split throughout the Mideast along Sunni/Shia sectarian lines, and then Nasrallah's announcement made Hezbollah a hated enemy of almost all Sunni Arabs, even those who opposed Israel.

Today, Hezbollah's militias are far more powerful than Lebanon's army, and Hezbollah is a powerful political force in Lebanon's government. But Nasrallah's announcement is also bringing sectarian violence into Lebanon itself, as we've been reporting in the last few weeks. Nonetheless, many of Lebanon's politicians, both for and against Hezbollah, are opposed to Monday's EU announcement because they fear that it will mean the end of European funding to any of Lebanon's projects, and will not stop Hezbollah's fund-raising at all. Daily Star (Beirut) and Al-Jazeera

Hamas commemorates the death of Helen Thomas

Lots of American reporters are mourning the loss of 92-year-old Helen Thomas, who covered the White House for 49 years. But she will also be missed in Gaza, where Hamas mourned her death for her strong pro-Palestinian anti-Israel views. When asked in 2010 whether she had any comments about Israel, she said, "Get the hell out of Palestine. Remember, the Palestinian people are occupied, and it's their land." She followed up by saying that all Jews should return to Germany and Poland, where they belonged. Ezzedeen AL-Qassam Brigades (Gaza)

Howdy Doody may be for sale

Howdy Doody puppet on display at Detroit Institute of Arts

Howdy Doody puppet on display at Detroit Institute of Arts

The bankruptcy of Detroit, Michigan, is forcing the city to sell its assets, and one of those assets is the collection of puppets in the Detroit Institute of Arts. It's estimated that the original Howdy Doody marionette puppet, which was acquired in 2001, could sell at auction for $400,000-500,000, though that would hardly make a dent in the city's $18 billion debt. The Howdy Doody show, which was one of my own favorites, ran on NBC from 1947 to 1960, and in fact for one show I was in the Peanut Gallery. "Let's give a rousing cheer, cause Howdy Doody's here. It's time to start the show, so kids let's go!" CNN

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 23-Jul-13 World View -- EU nations decide unanimously on sham condemnation of Hezbollah thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (23-Jul-2013) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 23-Jul-2013 23-Jul-13 World View -- EU nations decide unanimously on sham condemnation of Hezbollah

EU nations decide unanimously on sham condemnation of Hezbollah

Hamas commemorates the death of Helen Thomas

Howdy Doody may be for sale

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 23-Jul-2013
23-Jul-13 World View -- EU nations decide unanimously on sham condemnation of Hezbollah