Thank goodness this mystery is finally solved!
But notice how seamlessly the War on Drugs and the War on Terror are conflated in the story. These Israeli Arabs were conspiring to smuggle drugs, and that is all the proof you need to tar them with the terror brush!
Hey, it's not their fault the best of the good stuff comes from the Bekaa, which is Shia territory in Lebanon... therefore Hezbollah territory.
The think tank here at Falling Downs was all over this story when the shit first hit the fan, and we opined at the time that if Arab Israelis didn't reach out to their brothers in the Bekaa, Jewish Israelis would be denied some of the best hashish in the world!
Leave them alone already!
They're doing a public service!
Showing posts with label Hashish in Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hashish in Israel. Show all posts
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
IDF soldiers busted "hot-boxing" in troop-wagon
Blame that Bekaa Valley Blonde! Well-wasted IDF conscripts stumble out of their armoured Jeep somewhere in the West Bank after spending an afternoon passing the bong around with the windows rolled up. There hasn't been this much smoke on four wheels since the original Cheech and Chong movie!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
How to tell who's who among America's Middle East allies
Ain't that a brain teaser?
First question is, what allies do we have in the Middle East?
Well, one of course. Our best friends in the Holy Land.
Then there's our besties in Saudi Arabia.
Any others? Well, there's all those Gulf statelets. They don't really count as independent countries. They are essentially Saudi protectorates.
Egypt? Guess that went down the drain with Mubarak.
Jordan? Hmm... maybe. But their poor King is busy trying to be friends to everybody all the time, and when push comes to shove he's not going to be a very reliable ally. Besides, what does Jordan bring to the table besides a vote at the UN?
So America has two allies in the Middle East.
Israel and Saudi Arabia. The only democracy and the biggest oil exporter.
The only democracy costs America an arm and a leg and a prothesis every year just to keep them on the friend side of the ledger. They cost the US a lot of money.
We need them to keep an eye on our only other ally, the House of Saud. We love the Saudis. They rob us blind with their over-priced oil but at least they're decent enough to buy a lot of weapons from us, and that's one of our few viable exports.
If America could break its addiction to Middle East oil we could unfriend both of them.
And America would be a better, richer, safer place.
First question is, what allies do we have in the Middle East?
Well, one of course. Our best friends in the Holy Land.
Then there's our besties in Saudi Arabia.
Any others? Well, there's all those Gulf statelets. They don't really count as independent countries. They are essentially Saudi protectorates.
Egypt? Guess that went down the drain with Mubarak.
Jordan? Hmm... maybe. But their poor King is busy trying to be friends to everybody all the time, and when push comes to shove he's not going to be a very reliable ally. Besides, what does Jordan bring to the table besides a vote at the UN?
So America has two allies in the Middle East.
Israel and Saudi Arabia. The only democracy and the biggest oil exporter.
The only democracy costs America an arm and a leg and a prothesis every year just to keep them on the friend side of the ledger. They cost the US a lot of money.
We need them to keep an eye on our only other ally, the House of Saud. We love the Saudis. They rob us blind with their over-priced oil but at least they're decent enough to buy a lot of weapons from us, and that's one of our few viable exports.
If America could break its addiction to Middle East oil we could unfriend both of them.
And America would be a better, richer, safer place.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The flawed arithmetic of Iron Dome
Much has been made of the Iron Dome system's success in shooting down missiles being fired into Israel from Gaza. "Success rate of 90%" became conventional wisdom on the basis of a couple of dozen successful intercepts of home-made rockets.
In February 2012 Major General Aviv Kochavi, head of military intelligence, stood at the front of a packed auditorium at the Herzliya Conference and announced that at any given moment at least 200,000 missiles were pointed at Israel.
News reports of the time sourced at least 150,000 of those missiles in Iran. The rest can safely be assumed to be in Southern Lebanon or in Gaza itself, in the hands of more sophisticated people than the rogue elements who routinely fire their home-made Qassams at every opportunity.
The supposed 90% success rate has given the Likud gang justification to declare full speed ahead in ordering more Iron Dome batteries, so that every corner of sovereign Israel might be protected. Ten to fifteen additional batteries should do it, they claim.
As usual, the Likud enablers in the US Congress wasted no time in climbing aboard this initiative. Last week Congress introduced the Iron Dome Support Act, intended to financially support the spread of Iron Dome systems across the Holy Land.
This is obviously good news for Rafael, the Israeli military-industrial success story that is profiting mightily from Dome-mania. But in what sense is it good news for the people of Israel?
It isn't, and here's why.
A single Iron Dome battery costs in the range of 50 million US dollars, before missiles and installation. The ten to fifteen batteries deemed sufficient will run into the billions once they are fully operational. The US Congress will soon face domestic headwinds if they think they can get away with bankrolling that. Sooner or later the Israeli taxpayer will be on the hook.
On the other side, a Qassam costs less than a thousand US$ to build. They can build them in perpetuity. A rocket costs less than a washing machine. Every time Iron Dome is engaged it takes at least two missiles at US 50,000 each and a billion dollar infrastructure to bring it down.
And quite aside from the absurd cost of defending Israel from home made rockets, Iron Dome isn't even intended to protect against the 200,000 much more sophisticated missiles Major General Kochavi was talking about in February, the missiles that will be unleashed in the event of a "real" war.
That's the enigma of Iron Dome; false promises, a false sense of security, massive profits for Rafael.
In February 2012 Major General Aviv Kochavi, head of military intelligence, stood at the front of a packed auditorium at the Herzliya Conference and announced that at any given moment at least 200,000 missiles were pointed at Israel.
News reports of the time sourced at least 150,000 of those missiles in Iran. The rest can safely be assumed to be in Southern Lebanon or in Gaza itself, in the hands of more sophisticated people than the rogue elements who routinely fire their home-made Qassams at every opportunity.
The supposed 90% success rate has given the Likud gang justification to declare full speed ahead in ordering more Iron Dome batteries, so that every corner of sovereign Israel might be protected. Ten to fifteen additional batteries should do it, they claim.
As usual, the Likud enablers in the US Congress wasted no time in climbing aboard this initiative. Last week Congress introduced the Iron Dome Support Act, intended to financially support the spread of Iron Dome systems across the Holy Land.
This is obviously good news for Rafael, the Israeli military-industrial success story that is profiting mightily from Dome-mania. But in what sense is it good news for the people of Israel?
It isn't, and here's why.
A single Iron Dome battery costs in the range of 50 million US dollars, before missiles and installation. The ten to fifteen batteries deemed sufficient will run into the billions once they are fully operational. The US Congress will soon face domestic headwinds if they think they can get away with bankrolling that. Sooner or later the Israeli taxpayer will be on the hook.
On the other side, a Qassam costs less than a thousand US$ to build. They can build them in perpetuity. A rocket costs less than a washing machine. Every time Iron Dome is engaged it takes at least two missiles at US 50,000 each and a billion dollar infrastructure to bring it down.
And quite aside from the absurd cost of defending Israel from home made rockets, Iron Dome isn't even intended to protect against the 200,000 much more sophisticated missiles Major General Kochavi was talking about in February, the missiles that will be unleashed in the event of a "real" war.
That's the enigma of Iron Dome; false promises, a false sense of security, massive profits for Rafael.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Defending yourself to death
It's business as usual in Gaza.
Hellfire missiles rain down on Gaza. Grad rockets rain down on Israel. Everybody on both sides claims the right to self defense.
This most recent exchange seems to have been triggered by the targetted killing of Zuhir al-Qaisi, chief of the Popular Resistance Committees, a Gaza militant group that generally defies Hama efforts to reign it in. In fact they see Hamas as having sold out. al-Qaisi was dispatched to his reward on Friday.
According to the IDF they had sound information that he was planning a major terror attack in the Sinai. I don't doubt that for a moment. There isn't a Palestinian radical group or terror cell that isn't riddled through and through with informants.
After al-Qaisi's demise it didn't take long for the retaliatory Grads to start flying out of Gaza. And then of course it didn't take long for the IAF retaliatory strikes against the retaliation. Everybody is retaliating now.
Everybody has the right to defend themselves.
Hellfire missiles rain down on Gaza. Grad rockets rain down on Israel. Everybody on both sides claims the right to self defense.
This most recent exchange seems to have been triggered by the targetted killing of Zuhir al-Qaisi, chief of the Popular Resistance Committees, a Gaza militant group that generally defies Hama efforts to reign it in. In fact they see Hamas as having sold out. al-Qaisi was dispatched to his reward on Friday.
According to the IDF they had sound information that he was planning a major terror attack in the Sinai. I don't doubt that for a moment. There isn't a Palestinian radical group or terror cell that isn't riddled through and through with informants.
After al-Qaisi's demise it didn't take long for the retaliatory Grads to start flying out of Gaza. And then of course it didn't take long for the IAF retaliatory strikes against the retaliation. Everybody is retaliating now.
Everybody has the right to defend themselves.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Israel inks $1.6 billion weapons deal with Azerbaijan
Since the break-up of the former Soviet Union the central Asian republic has been courted relentlessly by the West. In return for access to their oil fields we've given them semi-official observer status at NATO and pretended not to notice that their practice of democracy has not evolved very much from the single-party Soviet era.
Presumably the delivery of state-of-the-art missiles and missile defense systems to this country on Iran's northern border is intended as a vote of confidence in the Azerbaijan regime. It's also intended as another poke in the eye for Iran. This is where the strategy of assuming that anyone who buys weapons from the West is automatically our "ally" is at serious risk of back-firing.
When the first breezes of Arab Spring wafted over the Urals last March the government wasted no time in ruthlessly snuffing out the voices of opposition. Does that make it a reliable ally? If and when hostilities break out with Iran, in which direction will those missiles be pointed?
Azerbaijan is a Shia Muslim country whose commitment to democracy is tenuous to say the least. While the pro-NATO orientation of the authoritarian government may be reassuring in some circles, the loyalties of the majority of the population would more likely lie with their Shia neighbors in Iran.
On the same day that the Israeli missile deal was announced the government also welcomed an official visit by the Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Armed Forces.
That's another ally we should never be too certain of.
Presumably the delivery of state-of-the-art missiles and missile defense systems to this country on Iran's northern border is intended as a vote of confidence in the Azerbaijan regime. It's also intended as another poke in the eye for Iran. This is where the strategy of assuming that anyone who buys weapons from the West is automatically our "ally" is at serious risk of back-firing.
When the first breezes of Arab Spring wafted over the Urals last March the government wasted no time in ruthlessly snuffing out the voices of opposition. Does that make it a reliable ally? If and when hostilities break out with Iran, in which direction will those missiles be pointed?
Azerbaijan is a Shia Muslim country whose commitment to democracy is tenuous to say the least. While the pro-NATO orientation of the authoritarian government may be reassuring in some circles, the loyalties of the majority of the population would more likely lie with their Shia neighbors in Iran.
On the same day that the Israeli missile deal was announced the government also welcomed an official visit by the Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Armed Forces.
That's another ally we should never be too certain of.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Getting high in the holy land
Well here's a spot of good news.
Whether you're a Christian or a Jew, planning a trip to the land of Abraham and Moses and Jesus doesn't mean you won't be able to take a toke of the weed 'o wisdom.
In the course of planning my own trip to the land of our fore-fathers I've come up with a bit of useful info.
Everywhere you go you can get the best of the good stuff just by asking around a bit. But you have to exercise a bit of discretion.
When you're coming in to the airport at Tel Aviv, everybody is so cheery and helpful you wan't to assume they're all pot-friendly. Don't fall for it. This is not the time to ask about scoring a bag of weed.
In fact, don't be asking for a "bag" of anything. It marks you as a tourist who wants to pay top dollar. Even when you are a tourist who is happy to pay top dollar, it makes no sense to advertise the fact.
Take your time. Get to know the locals.
Good things will happen.
Whether you're a Christian or a Jew, planning a trip to the land of Abraham and Moses and Jesus doesn't mean you won't be able to take a toke of the weed 'o wisdom.
In the course of planning my own trip to the land of our fore-fathers I've come up with a bit of useful info.
Everywhere you go you can get the best of the good stuff just by asking around a bit. But you have to exercise a bit of discretion.
When you're coming in to the airport at Tel Aviv, everybody is so cheery and helpful you wan't to assume they're all pot-friendly. Don't fall for it. This is not the time to ask about scoring a bag of weed.
In fact, don't be asking for a "bag" of anything. It marks you as a tourist who wants to pay top dollar. Even when you are a tourist who is happy to pay top dollar, it makes no sense to advertise the fact.
Take your time. Get to know the locals.
Good things will happen.
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