Wednesday, July 20, 2011

1. Thank You - thank you to the people who have taken the time to respond to the request in the last edition of this Blog. The responses took a number of different forms, and were uniformly encouraging.

2. This Date In History - Just as an aside, it came to me earlier today that July 20 is the 67th anniversary of the failed von Stauffenburg attempt to assassinate Hitler in the Wolfsschanze, the Wolf's Lair, his East Prussian command bunker near Rastenburg, as well as the 42nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.


The von Stauffenburg assassination plan was the subject of the 2008 movie Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise. I thought that the movie was fairly accurate historically. However, it gave me the impression that the military and civilian figures who tried to kill Hitler in this plot and take over Germany were altruistic heroic resisters to Hitler and his Nazi agenda.


In my opinion, while the conspirators were brave in some fashion, their real intent in attempting to kill Hitler was more likely to facilitate making a separate peace with the Western Allies, avoiding the total physical destruction of Germany and the German Army, maintaining a dominant role for Germany in Europe, and absolving themselves of their own war crimes. I doubt many of them strongly objected to the war against the Soviet Union, for example, or to Germany's military or racial policies (even if they may not have agreed with the physical destruction of the Jews and others regarded as being untermenschen). In any event, as we know, the plot failed, pretty much all of the conspirators were subjected to farce show trials and then murdered in a nasty fashion, and the Second World War in Europe continued for close to another full year, resulting in untold more death and destruction.


3. Those Pesky Jews #1 - this is extremely well done - hard to argue with these facts, those that doesn't stop the usual suspects from doing so (shout out to "AI" - no, not Allen Iverson - for this one).



"In Nazi Germany people were imprisoned and even killed for trying to fight anti-Semitism. In America we are free to fight it, but too many of us choose to ignore this hate that dares not speak its name. Anti-Semitism is real, it is murderous, and it is very much with us today. Speak the truth and shame the devil. Whatever your religion, your politics, your views about Israeli policy, fighting anti-Semitism is part of what it means to be a decent human being."
6. Those Pesky Jews #4 - Minister investigates anti-Israel blogging during office hours Canada News Ottawa Sun. I may not like what this guy (who works as a financial and business development advisor to the Canadian federal Heritage Minister) has to say, but I suppose that in Canada (as in Israel) he has the write to express himself as he wants as long as he doesn't breach any applicable laws and as long as he does it on his own time using his own resources. In any event, check this out - some serious weasel words here, in my humble opinion:

"In an entry last year to NDP MP Libby Davis, Zimmo called Israel a rogue state, accused it of piracy and murder, and called B’nai Brith a hate group. Zimmo didn’t deny writing the entry, but said he couldn’t remember if he worked that day."

7. The "Palestinians" And Their "State" - things are ratcheting on the diplomatic side regarding the Palestinian bid for statehood. Here are a variety of links:

"There is no historical, institutional or legal basis on which to recognize a Palestinian state today, except as a kind of “virtual state,” which exists in some fashion in the imaginations of various parties but which has no tether to reality. In the West Bank, Palestinians crucially depend on Israeli cooperation to function. Other more modern aspects of statehood, such as respect for human rights, freedom and a functioning democracy - all of which are required of other countries seeking recognition - are sadly lacking in the Palestinian case."


8. This "Deserves" Special Mention - 6 in 10 Palestinians reject 2-state solution... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics - read this finding - if it is accurate, would you give these people a state beside yours?

Seventy-two percent backed denying the thousands of years of Jewish history in Jerusalem, 62% supported kidnapping IDF soldiers and holding them hostage, and 53% were in favor or teaching songs about hating Jews in Palestinian schools.

When given a quote from the Hamas Charter about the need for battalions from the Arab and Islamic world to defeat the Jews, 80% agreed. Seventy-three percent agreed with a quote from the charter (and a hadith, or tradition ascribed to the prophet Muhammad) about the need to kill Jews hiding behind stones and trees.


9. In Remembrance - very poignant and well-written. Remember the fallen and what they died for... JPost - Opinion - Op-Eds. This applies as much to me as anyone else, but boy is it easy to tell the Israelis what to do when you do not live in Israel, send your children to the military and so on. I think that these rabbinic students have spent too much time in a politically correct ivory tower and are dangerously naive.


10. Poor Hugo - Chavez Imperiled | FrontPage Magazine - OK, I'm shedding crocodile tears for the bastard......


11. Syria - the descent deeper into hell continues:
12. Kobi Oz - my cousin recently returned from a trip to Israel absolutely raving...........about Kobi Oz and his new album - OK - I am showing my age - his new disc - Psalms for the Perplexed - here is one video - "Escalator" (with subtitles):

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