Gaza Shoots Rockets

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Over the past few days there have been dozens of rockets shot into Israel from Gaza by Hamas.
A Hamas released video shows six rockets being shot very quickly in rapid succession from the middle of an urban residential area. The rockets seemed to be shot by a single rocket launcher capable of multiple rockets.

This kind of attack makes it very difficult for Israel to retaliate against the launchers simply because the rockets have deliberately and intentionally been positioned in the midst of civilians.
Luckily, no Israelis were hurt by these rockets.

But Gazans will be hurt.

Gazans will be hurt in two ways. The first is that Israel will hit back with helicopter gunships and fighter jets. The second and greatest injury to Gazans is the damage that was done to the reputation of Hamas when they publicized the fact that they shoot from populated centers.

That action is absolutely unacceptable in the world in which we live today.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Iran Has Sudan's Back

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Two Iranian naval ships arrived in Sudan yesterday. The ships are a statement of support. They are a gesture from Iran. They are the Iranian way of saying "Sudan, we have your back."

It all began last week when four mysterious planes attacked and blew up a Sudanese arms factory. Everyone but the CIA has said that the bombers must have been Israeli. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement and I do not anticipate any change in their comments.

Intel on the attack has it that the target was not necessarily the factory but the finished products housed near the factory and which were about to be shipped out to Hamas in Gaza - highly sophisticated weapons could do serious harm to Israel.

At the site when it was bombed were weapons imported from Iran and weapons that had made their way from Libya. In fact, some of those weapons may have been American and may have been given to Libya in order to oust Ghadaffi.

The strike was huge news in the Arabic world. Almost every leader and every media outlet shouted about Israel being a cancer on the region and a country that, on a whim, will launch an attack.
The most important note of this entire issue is not the Iranian ship's arrival. It is the idea that Israel is behind the attack.

If the attack came from Israel, it means Israeli planes flew 1600 kilometers to their target. That is 300 kilometers further than Fordow, the main nuclear underground facility in Iran. That would mean that four planes - three fighter jets and a coordinator plane, made the 1600 kilometer trip, destroyed their target, refueled mid air and safely returned home without being detected.
Believe me, Iran knows all this, the Iranians can do the math.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

A Circus Comes to Gaza

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

An Egyptian circus is now performing in Gaza. They plan on being there for an entire month.
Although the circus is not a government sponsored show there is no doubt that the Egyptian government approved and even helped them cross the border and set up their tents.

Because of certain issues, the circus is taking on a Gaza-like character. That means that no women from Egypt are in the show because there was great concern that the women would insult the sensitivities of the very religiously conservative Hamas. And because of the problems of bringing lion and a tiger into Gaza presented they, too, remain back in Egypt.

Tickets cost between $5 & $10. That might sound very inexpensive but it is still way too much for the average Gaza resident whose family lives on $2 per day. Over a million and a half people live in Gaza. It is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

The reports were that people came out of the circus smiling and laughing. Since most people living in Gaza have never seen a circus we should not take their critique too seriously. But laughing and smiling is always a positive.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

New Al Qaeda Videos for Egypt

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Ayman Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda, just released part one of eleven videos directed at the people of Egypt. In the videos Zawahiri gives Egyptians advice on how to complete their revolution. Zawahiri is actually an Egyptian.

He advises Egyptians to kidnap Americans: "I ask that all Muslims take prisoner citizens of countries that have attacked Muslims, because our prisoners will not be freed except by force, which is the only language they understand."

"I tell all of you who wish to purge Egypt of social injustice and corruption that the battle is not over." He said that only through victory can the Muslim and Egyptian people "achieve what they want - a government with Sharia law, proud, free and with social justice."

These videos will have an impact. Zawahiri is sending a powerful message to Egyptians and he will spur them on to plan more attacks against the United States. Zawahiri is a favorite son of Egypt's Islamist movement.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

England Says No to Strike on Iran

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

England has just said, clearly and categorically, that they will not support a strike against Iran.

The Official Spokeswoman for the British Prime Minister David Cameron said that at this time there is no "clear and present threat," according to the English daily newspaper the Guardian.

She also said: "The government does not believe military action against Iran is the right course of action at this moment, though no option is off the table."

This shows a clear and dramatic difference in approach between the rhetoric emerging in the US presidential elections and the attitude and thinking of Great Britain. It is very clear that both US presidential candidates are talking of more effective sanctions - but they have only begun to rattle their sabers.

Then again, it could all be empty rhetoric by the American. It might be that both candidates want to appear strong and unafraid to stand up in the face of Iran's nuclear program … but rhetoric sometimes becomes reality and England has now publically said that they will not support the reality the United States is proposing.

MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Cease Fire in Syria

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

The ceasefire between rebels in Syria and Syrian forces loyal to Bashar Assad will not hold. Nonetheless, creating that ceasefire is a very important step.

It is important in that this is the first time that both parties have agreed on anything. And once has happened there is a road map for future agreements.

This ceasefire is intended to permit everyone to celebrate the Eid, the three-day Muslim holiday called Eid al Adhah. It starts today and is a celebration of the story described in the 2nd Sura, which mimics Genesis 22.

It is the story of Abraham taking Ishmael and binding him as a sacrifice, but in the end the father does not sacrifice his son.

All Muslims celebrate the Eid and it is said that 100 million animals are killed and eaten during these days. Agreeing to the cease fire now is a very significant gesture.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Problems in Iran

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Earlier this week the supreme court of Iran forbade their president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, from visiting the prison where one of his assistants is being held for insulting the Supreme Leader the Grand Ayatollah Khamenei.

And now, the head of the judiciary has publicly chastised Ahmadinejad for even thinking about visiting the prison and for taking his desire to go public.

The judiciary went public saying that the president does not respect or understand the separation of powers. They said that it is unfitting and wrong for the president to go to the prison.

What do we learn from this? We learn that Ahmadinejad is once again getting beaten back from his attempt to totally control the system and run over governmental bureaucracy and other powers in Iran.

We saw Ahmadinejad attack and then beaten back by the parliament and now we are seeing it with the judiciary. These are important lessons that do not bode well for the future of Ahmadinejad as president of Iran.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Lebanon Mimics Syria

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Lebanon is now experiencing the overflow of Syrian tensions. What is happening in Syria is happening in Lebanon now, but to a lesser extent.

Here is what is happening: In Tripoli four people were killed and dozens were wounded in a conflict between Sunnis and Alawites. That is an extract replica of Syrian tensions. Assad is an Alawite and his supporters are Alawites - but the rebels are Sunnis.

There's more: A senior intelligence officer was recently killed in Lebanon. Hezbollah has speculated that he was killed in order to spread the seeds of instability.

There is no doubt that the future of Lebanon is hanging in the balance and that both Syria and Iran have great influence over what happens there next. But so do Western forces - and so do Islamic forces.

Every group has special needs that they are imposing on the Lebanese people. Everyone wants what they want, and everyone is ignoring the obvious reality which is that the people of Lebanon need to learn to live harmonious lives together.

Lebanon has a history if civil war. When the different factions within Lebanon cannot work together they resort to fighting and killing each other. In Lebanon, history is repeating itself.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Egypt Convicts Journalist for Dissing Pres

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Yesterday an Egyptian court sentenced a TV anchorman to four months in prison for insulting the president of Egypt. Tawfiq Okasha was convicted but can still appeal his sentence.

Okasha, who owns Fareen TV network, has denied that he called Morsi a murder - but the court did not see it that way. Okasha's crime took place in the context of a broadcast during which he appeared to be offering commentary and in which he suggested that Morsi, the new president of Egypt, not go to the funerals of those soldiers killed by terrorist.

The implication was that were Morsi to attend the funerals the mourners would lynch him. The court saw this as an insult.

The person who brought the suit explained that Morsi is the new president of Egypt and if you insult Morsi, you insult Egypt.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Jordan Arrests Al Qaeda Cell

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Jordan prevented a huge terror attack. Eleven people, all members of an al Qaeda cell, have been arrested.

Jordanian media is clearly calling the suspects Islamic radicals and militants whose objective is to disrupt, destabilize and destroy Jordan. The terrorists were planning to attack Western diplomatic missions and Western style shopping malls and shopping areas in Jordan.

This is the same organization that perpetrated the horrific simultaneous attacks in November 2005 when they bombed three Western hotels, killing 60 people.

It seems clear that this time the group was trying to recreate the Benghazi attack in Libya in which they stormed the United States consulate killing US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other US embassy personnel.

According to official media, the now apprehended terrorists were planning to shoot rockets at the United States and British embassies in Jordan. The area around the embassies is full of foreigners and any of the buildings in the neighborhood would have made a good target.

At the same time another terrorists team was going to attack shopping centers housing Western stores and frequented by Western patrons. These are also stores where local Jordanians shop. Those locals are also targets of these terrorists because they are Jordanians who desire to assimilate into Western culture.
This arrest was an extremely important act. It both saved the lives of many people and kept the relationship between the West and Jordan very strong.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Libya Again

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

By all rights, Libya should once again be front page news. Not just because the presidential debate tomorrow night will focus on foreign policy. But more if not equally important is the reality that right now Libya is on the brink of civil war.

This morning 26 people were killed and over were 200 wounded in battles between militias loyal to former dictator Ghadaffi and official forces.

There are 140 tribes in Libya. Several get along and there are long standing treaties between them. But most do not get along. Most of them join forces only in order to protect themselves from other tribes whom they despise more than the tribes they made a pact with.

All the militias are brokered by way of families and tribal power, money and arms.

The only way to resolve the conflict engulfing Libya and to create stability is not by creating equality among the tribes but rather by supporting one set of tribal leaders over another.

It is the opposite of democracy but it is the reality. Only after a single, recognized, strong, accepted leader emerges will that new Libyan leadership have the power and capability to confront outside forces --- like al Qaeda.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Emir of Qatar to Gaza

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Gaza is getting a very important guest. That is, at least according to MAAN an official Palestinian news agency.

MAAN quotes Egyptian sources as saying that they have been informed that next week the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, will visit Gaza.

The Emir will visit with family and be accompanied by a large delegation.

All this comes after an announcement last week that the Emir will be giving Gaza $250 million dollars to help rebuild the infrastructure of Gaza.

This is the first visit of any Arab head of state to Gaza since Hamas took over in a coup in January of 2007.
Gaza is controlled by Hamas and many moderate Arab leaders have a strange and uncomfortable relationship with them. On the one hand they want to help Hamas, especially by side with Hamas against Israel. But on the other hand they do not want to support Hamas against the Palestinian Authority which is more mainstream.

Micah@MicahHaleprn.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Puitn: No Muslim Headdress in School

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed in on a major issue: Muslim girls wearing their headdresses to Russian school.

A major controversy arose when the principal of a school in a southern region of Russia told her students that they may not come to school wearing their headdress, called a hijab.

The teacher received complaints from parents. Then came a series of threats against her.

The Russian president made it very clear that the headdresses do not belong in Russian schools.
The main reason the principal and the president came out against the headdress is not out of discrimination.

Quite the opposite. Russia wants to integrate people into mainstream society and that can only happen through assimilation.

The problem is that forced assimilation seldom works.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Iran's Plan

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Iran has denied it, but the international press has been abuzz for the past few days. Der Spiegel broke the story.

Iran has a secret plan to initiate an oil spill in the Straits of Hormuz.

The spill would contaminate the water and force the Straits to close. Then Iran would use the situation as leverage and make promise to clean up the environmental mess - and the West would lift the sanctions against them.

All the while the cost of oil would sky rocket. Der Spiegel said that the plan was called "Dirty Waters."
It makes sense but it will not work - Saddam Hussein attempted the same trick.

The oil spill scenario is something that the West has already considered. A much more likely scenario would be for Iran to strike tankers and military ships with their tiny, mini submarines and with their fleet of speedy rubber craft.

When that happens there is almost no way to trace source of the attack and it can take weeks to clear out a disabled tanker or war ship.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Debate - Unsportsmanlike Conduct

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

The 2nd presidential debate was at time very tense, it even made me uncomfortable watching it at certain moments.

Americans tend to enjoy debates that are properly conducted, where the sides show respect for each other.

That did not happen last night. The debaters appeared unsportsmanlike at times and it was, simply put, not nice. According to the rules that they both agreed to, the candidates were not even supposed to speak to or address one another.

In presidential debates, the more details are dispensed the less people are interested. People want platitudes and simplicity. They cannot understand numbers and have no interest in the details.

Simple points win in a debate, complicated points leave people wondering. Repetition after repetition after repetition does not hammer home a point, it makes people restless.

The debaters practiced the details, but the simplest lines were the most successful.

Like when Romney said to the audience "you know better than that" he was saying, you are living it you know the president is wrong.

Or like when Obama said "I find that offensive," referring to Romney suggesting that he campaigned instead of dealing with Libyan crisis.

Americans like a fight - a fair fight, and the 2nd presidential debate did not follow the rules.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Assassination Attempt in Egypt

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Yesterday on the website of Al Ahram, an official Egyptian newspaper, a very telling story was reported.

According to the report an assassination plot against new president Mohammed Morsi was foiled. The web report supplies the name and details about the person who was arrested. He is a 28 year old man from Alexandria named Mohib Ajar.

On the website it says that when authorities searched Ajar's home they found the president's itinerary for his visit Alexandria along with maps, routes and information about bomb making.

The telling part is that this was reported. And as many details as were given, that's how many details were omitted.

Egyptian security is sending a message. They are letting everyone know that they are aware of threats and that they are dealing with them. This was a deliberate announcement.

It was a warning: do not plot an assassination, you will be found out and you will be punished.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

New Al Qaeda Video

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:
Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the new head of al Qaeda, has released another video.

This video, like the video released last month, calls for actions against the United States. Last month's video by Zawahiri was probably the trigger that set the Libyan attack that assassinated the US ambassador Stevens and three others.

He is probably hoping for a similar strike now also.

In his message Zawahiri praised all those protesting and all those fighting insults against Mohammed. He called for zealots to "continue their opposition to American crusader Zionist aggression against Islam and Muslims".

Zawahiri refers to the United States as a Crusader and as the Zionist Crusader. The term Crusader resonates with all Muslims. According to their definition, it means that the US and Israel are only a short distraction in the history of Islam.

Like the Crusaders, Zawahiri is saying, the United States along with Israel will be defeated and forgotten. 

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Muslim Brotherhood Rabid Anti Semites

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Mohammed Badie is the head of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. He was elected to the position in 2010. His views are the views of the Brotherhood - and they are biting.

Recently, the Muslim Brotherhood sent out an announcement with his insight and posted the message on their website.

Badie issued a scathing attack against Jews. He said that Jews were spreading corruption and that Zionist only knows force.

"It is time for the Muslim ... to unite for the sake of Jerusalem and Palestine after the Jews have increased the corruption in the world, and shed the blood of (Muslims)."

The United States has made no comment about this diatribe. The new president of Egypt has said nothing.

Re Egypt: The significance is that these messages are playing to the extremes in Egypt and Morsi is from the same party as Badie and to disavow them would be difficult.

Re the US: The US cannot do business with a country and a leader that does not at least attempt to control this kind of racism when it is being used to galvanize the people is such a demagogic fashion.
I am waiting for the United States to respond. I am not holding my breath.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Bahrain Protests

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Riots and tear gas have again rocked the Arab island country of Bahrain.

Bahrain is a tiny island country located in the Persian Gulf. It is a very rich country that suffers from Sunni/Shiite strife. The ruling class in Bahrain is Sunni and composes about 30% percent of the population while the vast majority, some 70%, is Shiite.

33 islands make up the country. The entire population is 1.2 million. The largest of the islands, called Bahrain Island, is a mere 34 miles long and 11 miles wide.

Since February of 2011 there have been tensions, protests and riots that have at times become violent. The Shiites want a role to play - but they are in a bind. Their backers are Iran and they do not wish to replicate another Iran in Bahrain.

The Shiite demonstrators want an equal footing with the Sunnis. One of the reasons the crisis began in 2011 is that Shiites were removed from their positions as civil servants, officers and professionals in the army because Sunni leadership was afraid that Shiites were gaining too much power.

The tensions continue and they will not stop. Local leaders have arrested Shiite organizers while Iran continues to support the demonstrations. The demonstrators have been fueled by the Arab spring.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Drone from Hezbollah Made By Iran

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

It is now clear that Hezbollah launched the drone that the Israelis shot down last week. The announcement came directly from Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah who said that they sent it and that the Iranians made it.

The drone was in the air over Israel for at least 15 minutes before it was downed.

There have been rumors that the aerial vehicle was a RQ-170 also known as the Beast of Kandahar. It is a bat drone, so named because it is almost 15ft long with a wingspan of over 39ft. It looks like a monster bat.

This is the type of drone that Iran hijacked out of the sky. Originally made by Lockheed Martin, Iranian engineers reverse engineered it.

Believe me when I tell you that whatever kind of drone it is, American drone specialists were on the first plane to Israel to reverse engineer it in order to determine the technology the Iranians were able to cull from their bat drone.

The big question is not what Iran saw via the drone but how the drone was controlled and how the material was transmitted back to base.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

More Terror To Come

By Micah Halpern

I'm Predicting:

The NYPD has announced that New York City is facing a major threat from Iranian agents. The NYPD is working hard to combat that threat.

The intel I am reading suggests that in addition to Iran, al Qaeda is setting its crosshairs on New York City and on other US targets outside the continent.

Under new leader Ayman Zawahiri, al Qaeda wants to continue the momentum of the Benghazi attack of 9/11. Zawahiri wants the entire world to know that al Qaeda is alive and active. He especially wants to hit the United States during election season and show how US policy strengthens al Qaeda, not weakens al Qaeda.

There is no doubt that teams have been dispatched throughout the globe to strike at US targets. Even after the US shores up sites there will be easy pickings - much like the Benghazi consulate.

The reality is that foreign diplomatic and business presences are not safe unless the locals step in to help. Neither the US marines nor special security can adequately protect the people or the compounds alone. Al Qaeda is counting on it.

Count on more attacks over the next five weeks leading up to the November 6th US presidential elections.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Elections In Israel

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

The word is that Israel may be moving toward new elections. Even Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that elections will probably take place in early 2013.

New elections will help Netanyahu and Netanyahu only. No one can challenge his popularity and no party will come close to getting the support that the prime minister and his Likud party have.

During the past few weeks, as discussions on potential elections emerged, people and parties across the board have paraded themselves before the PM trying to position themselves to ride the wave of Bibi's power and popularity.

If elections are held early next year Bibi Netanyahu and his Likud party will gain - and almost every other party will lose.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Iran Converts Uranium to Powder

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

A newly released UN report indicates that Iran has taken about 30% of their highly enriched uranium and turned it into powder.

Once it has been turned into powder it is almost impossible to transform the enriched uranium back into usable uranium, suitable for a weapon.

This move will be viewed as a major step towards appeasing the West and demonstrating that Iran has taken a positive step toward accommodation. It will help reduce tensions and slow down the pressure to strike against Iran.

Once again, we are witness to a masterful play on the part of Iran.

Iran is acting and reacting to pressure and sanctions. This move proves that Iranians have many available options. This is just one option - an option that most analysts had not even begun to think about.

I am certain that Iran has a number of other moves just like this one. And each of those moves will push back any move by the West to strike Iran.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Egypt Celebrates 1973 Victory

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Yesterday Egypt celebrated their victory over Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Egyptians refer to this war as the "October War."

This is an annual event and it is not an isolated commemoration. Monuments to the Egyptian victory over Israel in 1973 are displayed all over the country.

So, what is the big deal here? This celebration reveals much about how the Arabic world sees reality. You see, Egypt did not win the war in 1973.

Israel won that war. Egypt was so miserably defeated that Cairo, the Egyptian capital, was entirely encircled by Israel under the leadership of General Ariel Sharon.

Israel could have captured the city. They did not. They did not because they could never have policed and controlled Cairo.

How then could Egypt celebrate a victory that never happened? The answer lies in the Arab mindset. The Arabic world has difficulty understanding how they can lose to Israel - the interloper, the outsider, a non-Arab, non-Muslim country.

The Arab world cannot accept that Jews won and the great Arab nation lost. So they simply transformed the loss into a victory. And now they celebrate.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Christians Attacked in Egypt Again

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

For months now I have been shouting about what is happening to Christians in Egypt. They have been shot at. They have been chased out of their homes. Their homes and churches have been burned. They have been exiled.

The only reason for these horrific attacks is that they are Christians living in a Muslim state.
Today, literally minutes after Egypt's new President Mohammed Morsi promised protection to the Christians in Rafah, they were once again attacked.

Gunmen opened fire on a Coptic Christian home in Rafah with machine guns. They sprayed the entire house with bullets.

It is hard for us to understand why this is happening. Why are Christians being threatened and killed in Egypt and why are they not being protected?

It should be understood that in the Middle East minority rights are not protected by the state. Even if it is illegal to attack minorities seldom are they protected from the Muslims masses.

Minorities live in a balance and in fear that at any moment they can be attacked.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Conflict Over the Hajj

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have been engaged in a huge religious and political conflict.

The conflict surrounds the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. In that part of the world, one cannot differentiate between religious and political issues.

Saudi Arabia deported 1000 female Nigerian pilgrims from Mecca. The Saudis claim that the women were not chaperoned. After the issue had been resolved, Saudi Arabia airlifted all of those women who were deported and wanted to return to Mecca, back to Mecca. And they brought back even more.

It was a great insult to Nigeria done without consulting Nigeria. For the Saudis, it was a swift bureaucratic move. For Nigeria, it was an act of humiliation. Saudi Arabia publicly embarrassed Nigeria and their pilgrims, known as Hajji.

A new policy also emerged, one that the Nigerians agree with. The new policy as articulated by the Saudi National Hajj Commission says that:

"Female pilgrims who are above 45 years of age can perform the annual Hajj without guarantor, while those below the 45 years should have their guarantors indicated in their passports in the name of their respective Pilgrims Welfare Board's managements."

In the end 23,000 Nigerian Hajjis were brought to Mecca after this conflict as a peace offering to Nigeria.
For the time being the conflict between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia is on hold.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Abortion Activists Go To Morocco

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Flotillas have become a hot item in the guerrilla theater of international politics.
Women on Waves is an abortion advocacy program. They sail into places where abortion is illegal, counsel women and deliver day after pills that result in the abortion of fetuses. They engage in abortion education.

The group had been visiting Catholic countries including Spain, Portugal and Ireland. Now they have set their sights on the Arab country of Morocco where performing an abortion is punishable by 20 years in prison.
Morocco blockaded the port with warships to prevent Women on Waves from entering on their large ships.

But Women on Waves persisted and they slipped in by way of the port of Smir. They tricked the Moroccan navy and sent a small yacht instead of their much large vessel to entire the port. The activists never left the ship and did not attempt to step foot in Morocco.

Obviously there are many clandestine and illegal abortions performed in Morocco. Like most Arab countries, Morocco is very conservative when it comes to these issues. They do not want it spoken about in public and family matters like this fall under the purview of Islamic law and tradition.

This flotilla will certainly alienate Moroccans on the street - even if the people themselves have participated in illegal abortions.

Private is private and what is done in private is neither done nor spoken about in public. In public, Moroccans toe the Muslim line.

 Micah@MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Iran Claims Hit by Cyber Attack

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Iran admitted that they were victim to an aggressive cyber attack on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The admission is unusual and was broadcast on local TV. Iran does not like to admit that their infrastructure is exposed to soft attacks like hacking and viruses.

Mehdi Akhavan Behabadi who is the head of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, a new committee organized to try to defend Iran from these hacks said "we had a heavy attack against the country's infrastructure and communications companies which has forced us to limit the Internet."

He continued, "All of these attacks have been organized. And they have in mind the country's nuclear, oil, and information networks."

Iran is constantly being attacked. Iran also operates the largest internet filter in the world blocking out whatever they deem to be improper. And recently there has been a huge uproar among Iranians because their government has been blocking Gmail.

This admission could be a simple deflection - nothing having to do with Iran is what it appears to be on the surface. The Iranians are blaming the US and Israel for cyber attacks like Stuxent and Flame and DUQU.
So yes, there are viruses and there are hackers hacking away at Iran. But this announcement could also easily be Iran's communication ministry deflecting responsibility for taking it too far and filtering their internet too much.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

HRW Attacks Hamas

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Human Rights Watch published a report today, it is entitled Abusive System: Failures of the Criminal Justice System in Gaza.

This report is a scathing critique of Hamas. It records how now, five years after Hamas ousted the Palestinian Authority from Gaza and control the area, they conduct midnight arrests, engage in prolonged torture and do not permit people to see lawyers for weeks and months after arrest - and all that just should not happen.

The report goes into great detail on how Hamas security police torture their victims.

Human Rights Watch has shored up its credibility. For years HRW relentlessly criticized Israel and turned a blind eye toward abuses elsewhere.

I for one was not surprised by the reports results. I was pleased to see that HRW finally realizes and is addressing the Hamas problem.

These abuses take place regularly. The report is only 43 pages long, but at least it comes forward and holds Hamas accountable for countless deaths and brutal torture.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Iran Shuts Down Gmail - Huge Backlash

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Last week Iran decided to shut down Google and Gmail. The decision came in response to the YouTube video mocking the Prophet Mohammed.

There are 32 million Gmail accounts in Iran. That is an unbelievable number given that the total population of Iran is 75 million. Iran is also one of the top 20 countries of users of Google.

People are starting to complain and the Iranians will probably lift the ban. Actually, it is highly placed officials who are complaining. Even members of parliament have complained to the communication ministry because they no longer have access to email.

In addition, people are spending huge amounts of money to scam the blockade and end around it using proxy sites that then deliver Gmail and YouTube service.

This may be just another small nail in the coffin of Iran. There is a basic rule in oppressive regimes. Do not mess with people's email. Read it, tap it, but do not deny it.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com

Morsi Tries To Take Regional Leadership

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

The lines have been drawn in the Middle East. Countries are assuming their positions. Tensions are on the rise.

Mohammed Morsi, the new president of Egypt, visited Turkey yesterday. He made it very clear that Egypt and Turkey are united against Syria and for the Palestinians.

He said: "Our common goal is to support other people who are standing up against their administrations or regimes, to support Palestine and the Syrians in their efforts."

This statement by Morsi draws tensions between those who support the Assad regime - principally Iran - and those who support the rebellion.

Morsi was also underscoring tensions with Israel. In this case, by saying that they are united in support of Palestinians he means that Egypt and the Palestinians are united in their confrontation with and isolation of Israel.

All of this sets a tone. By making these statements Morsi is trying to re-position Egypt back into the role of regional leader.

Micah@Halpern.com 

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah
To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com