The “response” to yesterday’s post, Monday Musings Returns, reminded me why I had put post titles like that into de facto retirement. Just like I have permanently retired the title Wednesday Wackadoodle, Monday Musings or any derivation thereof is now permanently retired. I was reminded, once again, that post titles matter, which–nevertheless–didn’t stop me from today’s less than stellar headline.
First, Sam Harris as quoted in this Why Evolution Is True (WEIT) post:
“Thousands of electronic pagers—and later, hand-held radios—exploded simultaneously, killing dozens and injuring vast numbers of jihadists. This attack, the ingenuity of which cannot be denied, has been widely criticized as a dangerous escalation, as a breach of the rules of war, and most ludicrously, as an act of terrorism.
But if this Trojan Horse operation was as precise as it appears to have been, then it ranks among the most ethical acts of self-defense in memory. There are no “innocent” members of Hezbollah—whose only contributions to human culture have been the ruination of Lebanon and the modern evil of suicide bombing. This Iranian proxy has been firing rockets into northern Israel since October 8th, in response to…well, nothing at all. Israel’s occupation of Lebanon ended a quarter century ago.
If the Israelis managed to target members of Hezbollah by turning their personal electronic equipment into bombs—without seeding such bombs indiscriminately throughout Lebanon—then they achieved a triple victory. First, they killed or maimed the very people who have been trying to murder them, and who have displaced 70,000 innocent Israeli civilians from their homes. Second, they marked actual jihadists among the survivors, presumably making them easier to capture or kill in the future—and, one can only hope, reducing their status in Lebanese society. And third, they have stripped away some of the glamour of jihad. The promise of Paradise is one thing; the prospect of living without fingers or eyes is another.
…If you are uncomfortable with an operation that precisely targeted a group of jihadists who aspire to commit an actual genocide, just what sort of self-defense on Israel’s part would you support?”
Second, from this WEIT post:
“Note that Israel, trying to defend itself by stopping Hezbollah, is of course being warned by many that they could escalate the conflict into a “full scale war” involving ground troops. What that really means is that Israel should just sit there and take the repeated, year-long onslaught of Hezbollah missiles and anti-tank weapons, responding tepidly but not mounting a large-scale defense that would seriously damage Hezbollah. Note too that Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, has been committing war crimes and violating a binding UN resolution (1701), with nobody ever criticizing Hezbollah for those war crimes. Has Hezbollah been taken to the International Court of Justice? Of course not! This is profound hypocrisy.”
Again, there are none so blind as those who will not see and far too much of the world is very blind about the conflict(s) in the Middle East.
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If you like aircraft then you will very much enjoy this Journeys with Johnbo post that features photos from the 2024 Fargo Air Sho (their spelling). I hope JS doesn’t mind my showing two of those photographs that he took.
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Yesterday included my 12th medical appointment or “unscheduled” visit since April 1. (Hopefully, you can interpret what an unscheduled visit might include.)
It is often said that growing older beats the alternative, but sometimes I am not so sure. While in each one of the litany of interactions with medical professionals I have been treated with compassion and courtesy, I would just as soon not have to have so many of them.
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On this day in 1948 Honda Motor Company was incorporated in Japan. Soichiro Honda (1906-1991) founded his company, that at first produced piston rings, in 1937. After one of his factories was bombed in World War II and another destroyed in an earthquake, Honda sold salvageable parts and machinery to Toyota and used the proceeds to start the Honda Technical Research Institute in 1946. That entity produced a motorized bicycle that was powered by Honda’s first mass-produced engine.
After the war, the Japanese government wanted to get its citizens to buy vehicles that were more like cars than bicycles. Honda was a little late to the game, perhaps, not producing its first four-wheel vehicle–the Honda T360 mini pickup truck–until late 1962. Of course, by 1964 Honda became the largest producer of motorcycles in the world. For a brief time my father owned a Honda motorcycle and my recollection is that he liked the bike.
Of course, my favorite Honda vehicle is one that was included in my Ultimate Garage 3.0, the legendary S2000.
Sadly, I could never actually own one of these as all 110,000 (60 percent of which were exported to the US) were equipped with a manual transmission. The condition of my left foot (both feet, actually) and my left knee would make using a standard manual extremely uncomfortable. I do know of a few conversions to an automatic transmission, but that is more time and money than I would want to spend. In all honesty, that would also ruin the idea of the car as built. Of course, if my wonderful wife and I won $50,000,000 or $100,000,000 in a lottery, then all bets would be off.
#Well?
#IStandWithIsrael!
#HondaS2000