Saturday, July 31, 2010 - motzei Shabbat

1. A Sad Tragedy - This past week, the IAF suffered a terrible loss when a helicopter crashed during training exercises in Romania. 6 members of the IAF, together with a Romanian observer, died in the accident.


May the families of the victims know no further sorrow, and may they be comforted among the mourners of Zion.
2. Winston Churchill - this opening segment is intended to provide some context for the following segment (He Ain't No Winston Churchill).



For my money, Winston Churchill will always be England's greatest Prime Minister. He may have been an old-fashioned imperialist, he may have been wanting on domestic issues, and he may have liked the bottle too much - but when the free world needed him, he stood as a bulwark against Nazism and in and of himself was as important as the service personnel, ships, tanks, aircraft weapons and ammunition needed to defeat Nazism.

From being an early and consistent critic of the policy of appeasement of Hitler's Germany to his inspirational leadership after the French Army and the British BEF had been obliterated in the blitzkrieg in the summer of 1940, some 18 months before the United States entered the war, I suggest that Churchill can easily be regarded as one of, if not the most important, saviors of modern western liberal democracy.

The Churchill story is obviously far too long to detail here, though for a good overview of his importance in the period leading up to and including World War II, I refer you to this tribute.

These famous quotes (among many) illustrate his fierce determination:
  • An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
  • You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
  • We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
  • Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
  • If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.
  • It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.
  • From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.
  • I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.

3. He Ain't No Winston Churchill - Not everyone can be a Churchill. Every country has its share of average leaders, below average leaders and above average leaders. Some countries are even fortunate enough to have a Churchill, Lincoln, Roosevelt or Ben-Gurion.

But I regret very much to say that David Cameron, the current British Prime Minister, apparently falls into the below-average category, at least when it comes to matters of foreign relations. He certainly ain't no Winston Churchill.

Cameron, who became Prime Minister on June 2, 2010, heads Britain's first coalition government since World War II. He is a member of the Conservative Party - the party of Margaret Thatcher.

This past week, Cameron has caused 2 major foreign affairs crises for his comments about Turkey and Pakistan. His comments about Turkey - which were unnecessarily fawning and subservient to start with - of course managed to contain a shot at Israel - and were exacerbated by the comments of Tom Phillips, the British Ambassador to Israel.

Here are a number of good links on the subject:
I will close this section by quoting from Professor Barry Rubin in the last link above. He puts the run to the ludicrous idea that Israel's defence of her right to exist breeds radicals in the Palestinian world
"Here’s the truth: revolutionary forces that use terrorism, preach a totalitarian ideology, create dictatorships, and have genocidal goals are responsible for war and conflict in the Middle East.

No matter how intensely Western democracies flagellate themselves, no matter how much they appease and concede, that basic and deadly fact will not change. No, let me correct the end of that sentence: the cost will become more dangerous, bloody, and deadly.

Speaking of alligators, it was another Briton, Winston Churchill, who said that an appeaser is someone who feeds the alligator--ok, nitpickers, I know he said crocodile but they differ only in the roundness of the snout--in hopes that it will eat him last.

Our problem is that contemporary appeasers also hope the alligator will eat us first."
4. Moonbat Season - lasts all year round, unfortunately. Here are simply the latest examples - Alan Dershowitz: Moonbats Against Israel


5. There's No Business Like Shule Business - I'll say! Here are some links to do with Judaism and Jewish religious issues:
"I will end with a request to readers. If you agree with my views or share my concerns, do not simply succumb to the temptation of sending this article to another member of your synagogue. Take to the trenches and face outward. Knock on the door of your gentile neighbor or officemate and say: Remember, Joe, how I used to go along with all your sarcastic criticism of Israel? Times have changed, Joe. My people are in trouble, and there are things I must do even at the risk of testing our friendship. I want to tell you how strongly I feel about Israel, what is factual and what is malice in what you hear, and why our world will not be the same without that tiny, shining spot called Israel."
7. My Position On This Hasn't Changed - A former guard at the Belzec extermination camp has been indicted in the deaths of 430,000 Jews - Nazi suspect indicted in Germany and The Last Nazi Trial?: Former Death Camp Guard Indicted - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International.

I do not care how old this guy is, how mentally competent he is, or how infirm he may be. When the Nazis murdered 6,000,000 Jewish me, women and children, they did not care about any of that - so it seems to me that once it is established that he is who is he alleged to be, that true justice for this bastard is to be subjected to the same fate as those the Nazis murdered. Then he can rot in hell for eternity.


8. Iran - What can one say? Now they are blaming Zionists (because of course they have no issues with merely Jews) for tainted cigarettes.....Iran: The Marlboro Man is a sneaky Zionist - Jihad Watch. Also see these other links about Iran - Charles Krauthammer: Iran starts to feel the heat Full Comment National Post and Faster, Please! » The Brothel Named Iran.



9. North Korea - speaking of lunatic states, this story makes me think of the old saying (which appears in various forms) that you can tell a lot about a country by how they treat their disadvantaged. In this case, you can tell a lot about a country by the way it treats their sporting representatives - North Korean football team shamed in six-hour public inquiry over World Cup - Telegraph.


Someone might validly criticize Western countries for idolizing their sports stars - but this is ridiculous.




12. Wow - That Twilight Thing Is Sure Popular!


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Thursday, July 29, 2010 - A Light Night

Just an easy (for me to assemble) edition this evening that (except for some of the images in item 1) will largely take a break from the serious issues of the day.

1. Cartoons - I like many types of cartoons, from editorial/political cartoons, to cartoons that exhibit human foibles, etc. So, with that in mind.....





2. Baseball Video - I am not a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays. The club has returned the "love" by usually beating my favorites - the Orioles - there, I said it, I'm an Orioles fan!! - on a very consistent basis - thanks in part to plays like this - Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | BAL@TOR: Escobar makes a great behind-the-back play - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia.

3. Stupid Videos - seeing the first (which is not "real" but from a movie called "Never Back Down" made me think of the second, which is a classic movie excerpt:



4. Hated Sports Teams - 25 most hated teams in sports history - More Sports - SI.com -I agree with most of the list - the team on the list that I hate the most is probably the 1974-75 Philadelphia Flyers - not much more than goons with a few talented players mixed in.

5. Press Hop 2 - Man, one might actually think that what professional athletes do for a living is actually something more than entertainment:


6. The Finger - looks like there are some issues in the workplace:


7. A Convert? NBA Star Heads to Israel – The Shmooze – Forward.com - for some reason reminds me of the old basketball adage - "you cannot teach someone to be tall"

8. Shut Your Pie Hole - Jim Bunning is a former major league pitcher. He once pitched a perfect game. He is now a US Senator. Recently he was one of 13 Senators who did not sign the Senatorial letter supporting Israel. So when it comes to this - D.C. Sports Bog - Jim Bunning mocks Stephen Strasburg - I don't really care what he says. He's 0 for 2 as far as I am concerned.

9. Classic Seinfeld - from "The Blood"


10. All In The Family - an incredible show that was light-years ahead of its time. Saw an episode on late night TV the other night - classic stuff for sure!






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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

1. It's A Man's World (??) - there have been numerous recent stories in the media of male domination - Misogyny running wild



3. VDH Update - haven't linked to Victor Davis Hanson's stuff lately - nothing intentional! he is always good for a read.

4. And From One Of His Contributing Editors - VDH's Private Papers:: The Two Faces of the Ground Zero Mosque. Are people that blinded by political correctness, post-modernism, etc. to be this blind as to everything inherent in building a mosque at such a site? And to think - Muslim leaders (and others) reacted with outrage when George W. Bush referred to a "crusade" against terrorism. That politically incorrect comment does not even make it onto the lowest level of the same outrage chart.


5. Iranian Sanctions - Canada toughens sanctions against Iran and EU tightens screw on Iran with extra sanctions. While I think that the way of the world today is that sanctions have to be employed before other steps can be taken, I do not think that they have been imposed soon enough. I also doubt that they will work.


6. Yes, But The Damage Is Done - Stone apologizes for 'Times' comments. This is like the opposite of a hockey scrap, where the second guy always gets caught. Stone's initial comments were the "draw" - the apology isn't "newsworthy" Or to put it another way, take this famous quote from Sir Winston Churchill and make the appropriate analogy - "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on".



8. Add Syria And Iran To The List - 'If Hizbullah strikes, we hit Lebanon' - seems like a natural & sensible strategy to me.


9. Canada's Radical Left - There is an old saying that if you can't something nice about someone, then don't say anything at all. So if someone asked me about Naomi Klein (or, for that matter, her husband Avi Lewis), I guess I would not say anything. Eye on a Crazy Planet: McCarthyism from Canada's Radical Left

11. What Freedom Of Speech Really Means - according to the JournoList idiots, it means that we are free to speak what they wish us to say - Pajamas Media » Did I Get ‘Journolisted’? - and why is this issue not getting a lot more attention?


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Monday, July 26, 2010

1. In Case Anyone Cares - The truth about the Gaza jihad flotilla - Jihad Watch


2. Probably Not - the fetish for flotillas goes on, including a close friend of the President:


4. Quick Update From Professor Barry Rubin - RubinReports: Briefing in a Minute: The Middle East Right Now

5. Rural Quebec And The Jews - The Jewish rural experience





8. Goings-On in Jordan - Jordan, Dr. Peace and Mr. Apartheid



10. Oliver Stone Hits Bottom, Keeps Digging - Ron Radosh » Oliver Stone Reaches a New Low: Anti-Semitism

(Nice guy to pal around with, speaks volumes about who Stone is)

(....as does this)


12. The Conversion Issue - So even when there is relative quiet in Israel - "relative" being the key word, there is controversy. The issue, which I hope I am stating correctly, is that there is a new piece of legislation that purports to give authority over conversions to Judaism to the Israeli chief rabbinate, which is an Orthodox Jewish body. Presently, no such authority exists. The issue is that there are large numbers of Jews in Israel who were able to emigrate due to the Law of Return - but many of these Jews may not meet the requirements of the Orthodox rabbinate. Further, there would be no recognition of Reform or Conservative conversions, which are the most prevalent in North America. The matter has been deferred to the fall, but the issues remain. Here are some links:



14. Another Amazing Story About The Shoah - A new book by Christopher Browning deals with the issue of survivor testimony - Historic Shift. I have read one of Browning's earlier works - "Ordinary Men" - which is extremely interesting.




17. Something You Don't See Every Day - Standing up, and out, for Israel


18. I Found This Funny - from Iran - much better than hate.......

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