Silence From Syria: Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil.

U.S. Air Force photo

This is a U.S. Air Force F-16, similar to the Israeli F-16s that struck Syria on 6 Sep 2007.

There are interesting developments in the middle east regarding the Israeli air raids in Syria earlier this month. I don’t remember hearing much about it, except that there was a wave of conjecture about what the target of the raid was. The Israelis have been pretty tight lipped about it, but the Syrians have been even more quiet, if that's possible. Wonder why?

There’s been some speculation that the actual purpose of the raid was to test the Syrian high tech ground to air missile defense systems.

The Syrians have recently spent about a gazillion bucks updating and bulking up their air defense systems, with what is supposed to be the latest technology from Russia. Check out this excerpt from the report:

"...take a look at the map of Syria: Notice how far away Dayr az-Zawr is from Israel. An F15/16 attack there is not a tiptoe across the border, but a deep, deep penetration of Syrian airspace. And guess what happened with the Russian super-hyper-sophisticated cutting edge antiaircraft missile batteries when that penetration took place on September 6th. Nothing.

El blanko. Silence. The systems didn't even light up, gave no indication whatever of any detection of enemy aircraft invading Syrian airspace, zip, zero, nada. The Israelis (with a little techie assistance from us) blinded the Russkie antiaircraft systems so completely the Syrians didn't even know they were blinded. Now you see why the Syrians have been scared speechless. They thought they were protected - at enormous expense - only to discover they are defenseless. As in naked. Thus the Great Iranian Freak-Out - for this means Iran is just as nakedly defenseless as Syria."
(Bold mine.)

So it was a message raid, a shot across the bow. And the message was very clear:

"Syria, you’re not as safe or formidable as you think you are. And Iran, neither are you. Have a nice day."

It’s a very interesting report. Read the whole thing. Also check out this article at Strategy Page.

Oh, I thought this Dry Bones cartoon was hilarious, too!

Message to Robbery Victims in Richmond, VA: Don't Shoot Back

Here’s a story about a Baskin-Robbins manager who’s facing charges of felony dangerous discharge of a firearm when his store was robbed last month.

Career criminal Jerome Davis, 43, entered the store brandishing a BB gun made to look like a 9mm handgun, demanding all the cash in the till. Manager David Fielding, with his own real hand gun in his waistband, handed over all the money. Then the robber ordered everybody to go to the back of the store with him.

When they reached the rear of the store, Fielding pulled his own gun and opened fire. He shot three times while Davis fled from the store, then followed the robber out into the parking lot and fired eight more times. Davis was later found dead a short distance from his home. No one else was hurt in the incident.

This occurred in a neighborhood in Richmond, VA where armed robberies have been spiraling out of control. The store had been robbed once before in recent months.

It couldn’t be determined if the shot that cause Davis' death was fired inside the store or out. Hence, the charge of reckless dangerous discharge instead of manslaughter. It carries a maximum sentence of 6 years in prison.

The public response to the charge against the store manager has been one of outrage against the prosecuting attorney, Michael Herring. A petition has been circulated in the neighborhood in which nearly 600 signatures have been gathered opposing the indictment.

Mr. Herring has been quoted as saying the petition didn't sway him in his decision to seek an indictment. He didn’t think the trial of the robber should have taken place in the parking lot of the store, but he's willing to accept the decision of the Grand Jury.

He didn’t think the answer to the problem of escalating criminal violence was more guns in the hands of the public. But somehow, disarming the victims seems to be the right thing to do. The man is clearly an elitist.

Message to criminals: Carry a real gun during the commission of your crimes.

Message to armed robbery victims: Don't shoot back, lest you be charged with a felony and face the prospect of serving a long prison sentence.

I think the Grand Jury should do their duty and refuse to return an indictment. This is ridiculous.