Saturday, May 28, 2011 motzei Shabbat

1. Borders, Lines, Swaps and Such - there isn't much doubt that the fallout from the recent series of statements and speeches - President Obama's State Department speech, Prime Minister Netanyahu's comments following his meeting with the President, the President's speech to AIPAC, and Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress - have clearly dominated the news.


Everyone has an opinion, and in a moment, I will link to a variety of them for you to read and consider. In the meantime, here's my opinion, which is rather simple.



If there is ever to be peace between Israel and her adversaries, it has to be the end result of direct negotiations between the parties. You simply cannot have third parties, even influential friends, bargain on your behalf - especially if they are trying to publicly force you into making major concessions. And Israel gets pushed around by everyone - it is about the only nation in the world whose mere existence and legitimacy is constantly questioned, that is subject to incredible double standards, and is regularly demonized on an unbelievable scale.

Israel wants peace. I do not doubt that for a minute. Her critics who don't believe that are, in my opinion, one or more of stupid, naive, disingenuous, or liars. If the Palestinians want peace, then they should do something positive. They better make some real, demonstrable and measurable concessions (such as Israel made by giving back the Sinai to the Egyptians) and stop trying to get everyone to do the hard lifting for them. And they'd also better understand that Israel (as a Jewish State) is here to stay and that there are certain realities that come with that - such as, for example - any right of return (to the extent one truly exists) is a dead letter issue.

So Netanyahu stood up for Israel. So what? He's the Israeli Prime Minister after all. And he had to say what had to be said - that the Jewish people have been getting the short end of the stick (to put it very mildly) for thousands of years - and enough is enough. The President and the world have to understand that it is very easy to sit in some sort of distant ivory tower and preach how to others how to behave and live while they are sitting next to a host of groups and nations that want to destroy you and will do pretty much anything they can to achieve that goal. It is a vastly different thing to live in the tough neighborhood.



If the world doesn't like Jews who stand up for themselves, then all I can say is - life sucks, doesn't it?

And to quote Forrest Gump - "That's all I have to say about that."



2. Opinions Of Others - here is a large variety of opinions and commentary from others on these recent events, all of whom are probably much smarter than me.
3. Speaking Of Borders And Such #1 - How about America returning to its pre-1845 borders? It would set a good example for the world. ISRAELI PM URGES THE US TO RETURN TO 1845 BORDERS WITH MEXICO…….





4. Speaking Of Borders And Such #2 - time for a musical interlude...or three. There are lots of songs about borders - here are three of my favorites.







5. If You Wondered How I Voted In The 2011 Canadian Federal Election - these links will give you a clue.

6. End Of The World Update #1 - [sarcasm on] I love even the remote possibility that the nuts who run Iran might get nuclear weapons [sarcasm off] - Pajamas Media - Ahmadinejad’s Team Expects Arrival of 12th Imam … on June 5 and Iran continues to flex its muscles.


7. End of the World Update #2 - At least this guy doesn't control an aspiring nuclear power..... Preacher says he was 5 months off, Judgment Day will occur in October - thestar.com

8. Blame The Jews! It's the hip thing to do!




10. Israel's Loving Neighbors Part 1 - Israeli theater group cancels show in Turkey after threats from Islamic groups - Jihad Watch -Oh, and Turkey - if you are paying attention, read this - Taking the War on Terror to a New Level

11. Israel's Loving Neighbors Part 2 - I debated whether to post this, but in the end I decided to do so. I believe that after decades and decades of hatred and lies about Israel, Jews (& the Arab leadership themselves) being rammed into ears of the Arab people, this is not an untypical thing to expect - I guess you have to admire recognize the honesty.....




13. Jerusalem - the capital of Israel - If I Forget Thee, O Jerusalem


14. What About That Arab Spring Thing? - How's that working out for you?


16. Rafah Border Reopens - I don't think this is a good thing - Egypt opens Rafah crossing after four year... JPost - Middle East

17. A Little Of This And A Little Of That - cleaning out the vault - there is some very interesting stuff here.
18. Dylan Turns 70 - Bob Dylan turned 70 this week. I know that he is not everyone's favorite, but he is a favorite of mine. Here he is singing what I think is his best song - Like A Rolling Stone - and many others agree. Happy Birthday Bob!

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