Saturday, April 2, 2011 - motzei Shabbat

1. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise - you know, like Gomer Pyle would say it.



And some commentary:
(from the time to the issue of the Goldstone Report)

This reminds me of the countless criticisms of Israel - too many to mention - but like the "oops if never really happened" Jenin Massacre - where the truth only comes out later when the heat of the moment has passed and most no one cares - or bothers to read the other side of the story. More evidence that the famous Winston Churchill quote I have referred to before- "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" - is 100% correct.

2. Syria - things continue to develop here
(not so fast.....)


5. Dubious Distinction - The Most Islamic Community in Europe - I am not criticizing people who believe in Islam - I am criticizing people who move to another country and utterly disrespect the customs and values of that country - the liberal democratic values that our veterans fought and died for (and continue to fight and die for to this day). Try this on for size:

"The most influential Muslim in Leicester is Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh-ul-Haq, a hard-line Muslim cleric who runs the Al Kawthar Academy, an Islamic school in the city. Ul-Haq, 40, is also the leader of a new generation of "home-grown" British Islamists who loathe Western values, support armed jihad and preach contempt for Christians, Jews and Hindus.

Ul-Haq, who preaches in mosques across Britain, outlaws television and music, and says football is "a cancer that has infected our youth." He is appalled by young women who want to get educated and go to university. He regularly praises the work of the Taliban and their attacks against British troops in Afghanistan."



I have said this before and I will say it again - Great Britain - which despite certain "warts" in its history like colonialism and imperialism - but which country doesn't have such warts? - is responsible for many of the best things in the world today - and which I would summarize simply as the rule of law, pluralism, personal freedom and respect for individual rights of property- and which played an absolutely indispensable role at the start of World War II as the last Western bastion of resistance to the Nazis until the United States entered the war - is slowly committing national suicide by the death of a thousand cuts - one day, it is going to "wake up dead" and find that the whole place has turned into a giant Leicester.


6. More Problems With Moral Equivalence - Koran Burning and Massacres - personally, I think that burning the Koran is stupid - but then again, I think that flag burning is stupid, as are such things as an award-winning photograph showing a crucifix submerged in the "artists" urine.


In any event, the fanatics who committed the atrocities in Afghanistan are solely responsible for what they did - period and full stop. They are only empowered by crap like what Luke Russert wrote - this whole politically correct, post-modern world seems to wallow in, among other things, an incredible inability to recognize any concept of personal responsibility and simply passes the buck and throws up barriers constructed of a million excuses that simply blame others.

7. I'm Not Sure How To Interpret This - Gaza Rights Group Says Militants Endanger Civilians - NYTimes.com - I'm sure that Hamas could not care less.

8. Passover Will Soon Be Upon Us - with the start of the Hebrew month of Nissan (not the car....) just days away, Passover is right around the corner. Here's a somewhat tongue in cheek commentary on this very important Festival of Freedom - Passover: The Marketing Miracle – Forward.com.

"A system where companies, like Facebook, can facilitate human rights violations when it is in their business interest is a system that needs fixing. Companies must be accountable. Human rights do not only apply when they are popular and can garner public outrage and media attention. Facebook’s responsibility to close a group advocating violence arose when the first complaint was made. The number of complaints should not matter, only the fact that the clock has started and Facebook should respond in reasonable time. I still believe we need legislation to make this the law."
10. UNIFIL - the proper name of this entity is the "United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon" - its mandate after the Second Lebanon War is 2006 was to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, including, among other things - "security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL as authorized in paragraph 11, deployed in this area".

UNIFIL's name should be changed to "United Nations Totally Clueless and Blind Force in Hezbollah-Land" - Thanks, United Nations! Israel uncovers 1,000 new Hezbollah military sites in Lebanon - most of which are south of the Litani River. Hezbollah's desire for peace war is palpable don't you think?

And don't get me started on these parts of 1701 - "full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of 27 July 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State" and "no sales or supply of arms and related materiel to Lebanon except as authorized by its Government"


11. Cultural Stuff - food, music, literature and film - Tablet Magazine is a great source for links with a Jewish perspective:

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