How is it possible that the German people are in love with these …things?

Tsk-tsk:

Americans Still Not Eating Enough Fruits And Vegetables

British Diet Still Too Salty Says Agency

The Nation magazine salutes the “lineup” of antiwar college students seen at recent demonstrations:

Almost all major campus antiwar groups are working closely with veterans, through groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War, and bringing them to speak on campus at teach-ins. Iraq vet and Bowdoin student Alex Cornell du Houx recalls his unit receiving a CARE package in Iraq from Bowdoin College Democrats and a Bowdoin peace activist group. “When the other guys in my squad found out where the food came from, they reacted very positively,” says du Houx, now working for a CDA media team. “It changed their perception of the College Dems and peace activists.”

Four years ago numerous polls found that students, like the majority of the population, overwhelmingly supported the war. Now students, more than any other age group, oppose the war. Without doubt, student antiwar activists are more sophisticated and coordinated than ever before.

 Then comes the big question, namely:

whether the movement can ignite the silent antiwar majority on campus. It remains to be seen if the legacy of the Class of Iraq will be one of acquiescence or resistance.

Based on anecdotal evidence,*** it’s easy to predict: acquiescence—total acquiescence. There is a revulsion toward war as the terrible cost of it is displayed to us on our TV screens, but is no anti-war movement, except in the fevered imaginations of the netroots and their cheerleaders.

Based on a recent study, which found that today’s college students are narcissistic and obsessed with making lots of money, I’d say it’s even easier to predict acquiescence.

——————

*** My children were raised among the glowing embers of leftism in downtown Manhattan. One of them is studiously apolitical, not to say anti-political (a not infrequent result of indoctrination). The other one currently attends one of the premier left-wing colleges in the United States. Believe me: there is no anti-war movement on American college campuses. There is, however, a deep love of all things hedonistic: like, for instance, eating great food, and cooking it.

The Palestinians get a unity government and the BBC gets word that its correspondent Alan Johnston, kidnapped in Gaza a week ago today, is “okay.” No word on his whereabouts, though. The representatives of the Beeb are, understandably, still nervous:

Middle East Bureau Editor Simon Wilson, in the company’s first news conference since the abduction, said the BBC had no direct contact with the kidnappers, and didn’t know what the abductors’ motives were.

“We are receiving assurances that people believe he is okay,” Wilson said. “We are grateful for those assurances, but we are disappointed that we still don’t have any firm knowledge of his whereabouts seven days after he was kidnapped.

The story is inching its way into the news cycle. ETP’s Rachel Sklar and CBS’s Public Eye both pick up the story that was in today’s Guardian.

Meanwhile, here are the headlines at Google News as of 4 p.m.

BBC correspondent Alan Johnston is ‘OK’
Gulf News, United Arab Emirates - 7 hours ago
Gaza City: The British Broadcasting Corporation said Monday it has received assurances that correspondent Alan Johnston, kidnapped in the Gaza Strip a week …
Pressure grows to free Johnston Guardian Unlimited
Johnston’s father appeals for his release Gulf News
Johnston, ‘almost a Gazan’ Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
CNN International - Ynetnews
all 86 news articles »

Gaza: BBC Reporter Now Missing a Week in Gaza
Carib Journal - 7 minutes ago
Alan Johnston, 44, was abducted at gunpoint by masked men last Monday. No ransom demand has been made and no one has claimed responsibility for the …

Gaza: Gunmen ambush UN convoy in bid to abduct agency chief
SomaliNet - 39 minutes ago
… Relief and Works Agency Gaza field office, was travelling came five days after the kidnap at gunpoint of the BBC correspondent in Gaza, Alan Johnston. …
Irish UN official escapes kidnap attempt in Gaza Unison.ie (subscription)
all 92 news articles »

If you’re a 21st-century holy warrior, the world is your oyster, courtesy of the Internets. Should you decide to embark upon this path, here’s a primer on how to wage “media jihad”:

“Raiding American Forums is Among the Most Important Means of Obtaining Victory in the Fierce Media War… and of Influencing the Views of the Weak-Minded American”

Indicate You Are an American

“Invent Stories About American Soldiers You Have [Allegedly] Personally Known”

And my personal fave:

How to Make Americans Feel Frustrated With Their Government

“You should enter into debate or respond only if it is extremely necessary… Your concern should [only] be introducing topics which… will cause [them to feel] frustration and anger towards their government…, which will… render them hostile to Bush… and his Republican Party and make them feel they must vote to bring the troops back from Iraq as soon as possible.”

Hey! I think it’s working!

Rubbing my eyes, I note that the current Supreme Commander of NATO in Europe has given Israel an A+ grade as a “model state” and foremost ally of the United States in the Middle East.

Craddock, speaking before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee in Washington Thursday, said Israel consistently and directly supported U.S. interests by means of security cooperation and understanding U.S. policy in the region.

He commended the stability of Israel’s government and said Israel was a model state that encouraged democratic ideals and pro-Western values and economics.

Craddock also said Israel was the main beneficiary of U.S. security aid funds and was a “critical military partner” in what he called “this entangled seam of the Middle East.”

Craddock’s comments were unusual for a senior officer in the U.S. military, especially compared with his predecessor, U.S. Marine Corps General James L. Jones, who retired from EUCOM around three months ago. The hearing Craddock spoke at is an annual event. Jones, in his address a year ago, ignored Israel.

No doubt this will come as a deep disappointment to some and as a great morale boost to others. They know who they are.