June 19, 2010 - brief motzei Shabbat blog

1. A New High In Low - Today's Halifax Herald contained one of the most inflammatory letters to the editor that I have read anywhere - it is offensive on any number of levels, but apart from the ridiculous recitation of history, what I found the most offensive was the way he appropriated his grandfather's murder in the Shoah (since his grandfather died at least 65 years ago, what are the odds that he ever knew his grandfather?), but especially that of thousands of other Jews, as a vehicle to defend NDP Deputy Leader (and apparently Head Moron) Libby Davies (here is a brief review of the story for those who are unfamiliar - Libby Davies' Helen Thomas moment). In any event, here is the letter:
"Speech not so free

When I read of an NDP member of Parliament being forced to apologize for saying Israel has occupied Palestine since 1948, I cannot help wondering how my grandfather, Bela Szego, who died in Mauthausen concentration camp along with thousands of other Jews, would have reacted to the story. I like to think Bela, who was a journalist, would have been as outraged as I was that in a country that supposedly allows free speech, political correctness counts for more than historical fact.

Palestine has been an occupied country since 1948, when the state of Israel was unilaterally declared by a small group of Jewish settlers in defiance of the tenets of the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The declaration proposed a Jewish homeland in Palestine, but with the proviso that the people already living there should not be displaced.

In the years following that arguably illegal act, Israel has expanded its borders, displaced thousands, built up a nuclear arsenal and sent paid assassins across the world to murder those it considers its enemies. It defies UN decisions, public outrage and common humanity.

But we must not say such things!

Eric Hamblin, Halifax"

I wonder if he would evoke the memory of his grandfather so readily to defend, for example, Mark Steyn or Ezra Levant. I entirely doubt it. Or, what would Mr. Self-Righteous Indignation say about this - Pajamas Media » In an England Suburb, Teaching the Kids Jihad and Jew Hatred

2. New School Peace Activists - Here is a video of the "briefing" being given to the "peace activists" on the Mavi Murmura before it set sail for Gaza. I guess these guys are members of the new school of peace activists - peace and humanitarian concerns have nothing to do with it.



By the way, watching these automatons react to their briefers makes me think of this scene from the movie "Stripes" - if only they were as harmless.


3. Good Riddance - José Saramago, Nobel Prize-Winning Portuguese Writer, Dies at 87 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com and David Frum: Death of a Jew-hater | Full Comment | National Post. As far as I am concerned, I hope he died an agonizing painful and lengthy death. I am just sorry that he did not take some of his friends with him to hell. I think I've made myself clear on this one.


4. More UN Hypocrisy - this is a big help - U.S. taxpayer money sent to pay UNRWA salaries in Gaza ends up going to Hamas - Jihad Watch - do not get me started on UNRWA.


5. Ab-so-lutely Correct - Hamas is the elephant in the room - Pajamas Media » The Distorted Gaza Debate: It’s About Hamas, Stupid.




7. John Robson - I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Robson, a columnist for the Ottawa Citizen, on two occasions in Ottawa - A cancer on the political left « Canadian Jewish Congress.

8. It Ain't Easy Speaking Up For Israel These Days - but this former Spanish Prime Minister had the courage to do so - CIC Scene » Former PM of Spain: Support Israel – If It Goes Down, We All Go Down - unfortunately, the people who really need to hear this are deaf and stupid.






11. Sir Elton John - kudos for not knuckling under to the boycott pressure - Elton's human jukebox.


12. Great Clip - in item 2 above, I included a clip from the 1981 movie "Stripes". Here is another great scene from that movie - by the way - here is a trivia question - who is the guy at the 2:36 point of the video clip - not his name but the role for which he was most "famous"?



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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

1. The Return Of Dry Bones - unfortunately, during all of the hoopla arising from the "Freedom Flotilla", the fantastic Israeli cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen (better known to the world as "Dry Bones") was away on a well-deserved vacation. I mean, if people did not take vacations because something might erupt regarding Israel - well, people would just never take vacations.

In any event, I am glad he is back on duty. Welcome back to the fight!




4. Support From An Unlikely Source - don't they say that "the enemy of the enemy is my friend?" Pajamas Media » Israel Must Continue Gaza Blockade, Says … Mahmoud Abbas?

5. Another Fine Passenger - No question, there were some doozies on that Flotilla - CAMERA: Gun-Running Bishop in Flotilla

6. Another Of My Favorites - the NDP - Prime minister, Liberals demand Davies resignation

7. I'm Not Sure This Is The Answer - Pajamas Media » Two Can Play at that Game: Israelis Boycott Turkish Goods - but it sure feels good in a small way. I like this - Push To Sanction Backers of Gaza Flotilla Gains Steam in U.S. – Forward.com - better.


8. This Seems Like So Yesterday - apropos my comment about vacations from item 1 above - George Jonas: Dubai assassination leaves terrorist dead, confusion alive | Full Comment | National Post

9. The Lovelies In the North - Let's not forget Hezbollah, another group of peace loving humanitarians (oops, I meant to say, genocidal thugs - darn computer!) Obviously, the head maniacal thug Nasrallah gets pissy when he does not get the full attention of the world.

10. And To The South - Our World: Hamas rises in the West





14. This Has Worked Really Well, Hasn't It - America’s more friendly face - World - Macleans.ca. Maybe the bloom is off the rose - Commentary » Blog Archive » The Left Disillusioned by Obama - follow the link and watch the Jon Stewart piece.


15. Sunday Bloody Sunday - some readers may be familiar with the U2 song of the same name. Well, it is based on a real event - the so-called "Bogside Massacre" of 26 unarmed protesters in Londonderry, Northern Ireland on January 30, 1972. An original inquiry largely exonerated the soldiers of the British Army, but a subsequent inquiry - just concluded - has come to the opposite conclusion. This subsequent inquiry (the Saville Inquiry) commenced in 1998 and lasted for 12 years until rendering its report earlier this week. Here is a link to the full report - Bloody Sunday Inquiry Website.


So maybe I missed it - but I did not hear any broad international uproar calling for UNSC action (yes, the Irish did request UN action) , independent investigators (the members of this latest report were all members of the House of Lords), and so on.



17. UN Watch - and the fantastic work of Hillel Neuer:


18. Life In The Fast Lane - and not The Eagles from Hotel California:

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

1. Some People Forget - not only was the Shoah an enormous act of deliberate mass murder, it was accompanied by plundering & theft on equally enormous proportions. Efforts have been made to reclaim stolen property, but one can imagine the difficulty involved (like responding to a question of producing a death certificate for someone murdered at Auschwitz). Further, most restitution has been minimal at best. While arguably the most famous example involved negotiations with the Swiss banks, there were dealings with other countries as well. This article tells the story of the dealings with the Dutch - Institute for Global Jewish Affairs – Global Antisemitism, Anti-Israelism, Jewish Studies.

Also noteworthy, if you have the time, are these books (among others on the subject):

2. Moron Alert - the deputy leader of the NDP is under fire for comments made about Israel and (naturally) captured on video. Video: NDP deputy leader faces backlash over Israel comments | Posted | National Post. What really scares me is that this person is the Deputy Leader of the federal NDP - she (a) is too stupid to refuse comment when she does not know what she is talking about (which she admits) and (b) is doubly stupid to make comment on video. This bears a startling similarity to Helen Thomas - she was not coerced or forced into saying anything - she was simply asked a question and she responded out of ignorance and naiveté. Are you telling me that if Jack Layton ever got elected as PM (yikes in and of itself) this lady is the proverbial heartbeat away?


I also do not think that her "apology" was much better than that which Helen Thomas mustered - seems more about covering her backside than apologizing for what she said. This is the entire text from her web site:

"June 11, 2010
Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to your June 11 editorial which refers to a video of me recorded last Saturday, and posted online (Hater's, Ottawa Citizen, June 11, 2010).

My reference to the year 1948 as the beginning of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory was a serious and completely inadvertent error; I apologize for this and regret any confusion it has caused.

I have always supported a two-state solution to the on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflict and have never questioned Israel's right to exist and the Palestinian’s right to a viable state.

New Democrats have long called for a peaceful, negotiated end to the conflict where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side with secure borders. This is a policy I fully support.

I reject the allegation that I hate Israel, and I reject the assertion that I said that Israel is illegitimate or an abomination. Neither are true.

Libby Davies
MP Vancouver East"

Sorry, Ms. Davies - try again. This time try not to cover your ass.

3. Maybe Libby Davies Should Speak About This - Ayaan Hirsi Ali: The West’s silent toleration of sexual subjugation | Full Comment | National Post - but only if she studies - studies - it first!




6. 1979 - In many ways, I do not remember 1979 as a great year. Good news - I get to relive it in certain ways - VDH's Private Papers:: Our 1979




8. Predictable - the reaction of the EU and the US to the first Freedom Flotilla (terrorists included in the carriage fee!) guaranteed this would happen - Iranian flotilla leaving for Gaza.

9. How About Viva Las Vegas Instead? Viva Palestina: Islamist Ally | FrontPage Magazine


10. What The Peace Activists Apparently Do Not Know - Beyond Bigotry - Clifford D. May - National Review Online - Hamas does not like Jews! Nor does their sponsor Iran!



12. Does This Mean No Chinese Food? Pajamas Media » China’s Military Threatens America: ‘We Will Hurt You’ - this is a very serious issue.










18. More World Cup Stuff - some football (soccer) players are notorious for taking dives to draw penalties and have opponents disqualified - which leads to this topical feature - Brow Beat : Introducing the Dive of the Day.

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Sunday, June 13, 2010

1. American Liberal Zionism -while there have been fissures between Jews in Israel and Jews in America for a long time, lately, the divide has seemed to deepen (and at the best possible time!). Apart from the whole J Street scene, a recent flashpoint has been Peter Beinart's article The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment. This viewpoint is also evident in articles like:
These articles have lead to the following responses:
2. Gee, This Didn't Make the Local News - Egypt closes Gaza to Algerian aid - come on EU, open up your big mouthes. Hypocrites.


3. Speaking Of Which - Spain to EU: End Gaza blockade - hey - let's take a Freedom Flotilla to Spain to support the Basques.


4. Iran - Good old Nutjob and his Mullah Madmen must be loving all the attention being paid to the Freedom Flotilla and its fallout - keeps the attention off of them. Well, let's shine that spotlight back in Iran's direction






8. The Media - several stories here, most of which are related to fallout from the Helen Thomas story (which naturally, has resulted in threats being made to the Rabbi who simply asked the old antisemitic dinosaur a simple question - he was probably as shocked as anyone at the response)

"All Canadians can be proud that the country has a prime minister who does not grovel to the received international opinion on matters such as the Middle East. (He rendered the same service on the global-warming debate by not signing Canada prematurely onto one of the Doomdsay scenarios, that have become the subject of scientific reappraisal.) This is a huge improvement on the trendy pandering of Pierre Trudeau: the Third Way, North-South, his absurd arms-control proposals, facilitation of Castro’s war-making in Angola, veneration of the Nyerere economic miracle in Tanzania (a 90% decline in per capita income). On these matters, Stephen Harper has been a prophet with honour."
11. A Question - when you criticize Israel on things like Gaza, why aren't you also telling Hamas to smarten up? No answer? I thought so. Religious Rally Against Israel | FrontPage Magazine

12. Ayaan Hirsi Ali - I still remember her incredible dignity when confronted by the smarmy and condescending Avi Lewis. Robert Fulford: The threatening honesty of Ayaan Hirsi Ali Full Comment National Post and A wanderer from Islam with a message for the West - The Globe and Mail.


13. Sultan Knish - a really good blog - here are 2 really good recent articles - "Defending Yourself Only Makes Us Hate You More" and "How Not To Get Shot By A Soldier" - note - when I followed these links there seemed to be something wrong with the web page and I had to drag the page from right to left. It was worth the effort.


14. Good Question - Let's hear the lefties and their fellow travelers respond - Pajamas Media » If We Won’t Fight for Israel, for Whom Shall We Fight?. Also read this - Indispensable - by Lee Smith > Tablet Magazine - A New Read on Jewish Life.



16. Obama and His Guys - a number of articles about the President and, especially, the atrocious mess in the Gulf of Mexico.

17. OCD - Suspect made 17,000 prank calls - obviously due to "the occupation" - surprised that the UNSC, the UNHRC and the EU have not jumped all over this one.


18. World Cup - The World Cup is underway in South Africa. Yesterday, in a very anticipated match, England and the USA played to a 1-1 draw. The American goal resulted from pure human error on the part of the English goalkeeper. While there are Jewish players on the American team (The Scroll > Tablet Magazine - A New Read on Jewish Life), there are no Jewish players on the English team - could you imagine if the English goalie had been Jewish?? Here are some soccer/football related links:
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