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:

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

1. Telling It Like It Is - Michael Ross: A friend for Hamas among Canada’s chardonnay socialists Full Comment National Post#comments#comments. I took the time to write to Mr. Ross to express my appreciation for his column, and received a very nice personal note in return. Please take the time to do so yourselves - it means a lot! By the way, Mr. Ross is also the author of The Volunteer - a very interesting read chronicling his time in the Mossad.



2. Speaking Of Useful Idiots - Commentary » Blog Archive » Annals of Useful Idiocy, Circa 2010 - this guy is no dummy (in terms of formal education at least) - his position is really unbelievable - I mean, shouldn't you know why you are protesting?
"Earlier in the interview, Spiegel asked Mankell whether he had ever been to Gaza (“no”), whether he knows the IHH and the Free Gaza movement that organized the flotilla (“not well enough to be able to form an opinion”), whether Hamas was a source of hope for him (“I don’t know enough about the issue”), and why he ignored multiple Israeli warnings that the ship could not proceed to Gaza (“At least they should have let us continue for another two hours, until we were just off the coast”)." (my emphasis)


4. Uh, Sir, Don't Use the Word "Regime" - but you from Syria, please keep on singing about the Israeli schoolchildren sucking the blood of Arabs - it's got a beat, and the kids can dance to it....Jonathan Kay: Syria’s hateful chutzpah Full Comment National Post. And the world says nothing.......


5. Well At Least He's Honest About It - not that anyone will listen - Gaddafi: "We await the day when Turkey joins the European Union to serve as a Trojan horse" - Jihad Watch


6. Call The UNSC - Use Of Disproportionate Force!! - The Associated Press: Officials: Border agent shoots suspect at bridge - oops - didn't involve the evil IDF - move along, nothing to see here.

7. This Is Queer, Or Should I Say Weird? - Pajamas Media » Nothing to Be Proud of: Madrid’s Gay Pride Parade Bans Israel. And I think back to Saturday where a young lady attended the anti-Israel rally in Halifax and proudly wrote out her sign right in front of me - see below:


8. Uh, Oh - I cannot help but think of the sports world, where shortly after a coach or manager gets a vote of support from the owner, he is fired. Blair: 'I am 100% on Israel's side'


9. Toronto The Good - don't worry - nothing can happen here - it's Canada - Pajamas Media » Toronto’s Love of Diversity Is Tested by Islamists


10. With Friends Like These, Part 1 - Bret Stephens: Israel and Its Liberal 'Friends' - WSJ.com

11. With Friends Like These, Part 2 - I guess that she really is "Hezbollah Helen". Hezbollah lauds Helen Thomas - Israel News, Ynetnews




13. Attention All Boycotters!! - Chicago, IL - A New Way to Treat Brain Cancer? -- VosIzNeias.com - developed in that evil rat's nest of Israel, so you better not use it. But don't worry, pretty much all of the boycotters don't have brains anyway.

14. Leave Us Alone - might the ivory tower types listen? It’s time to stop demonizing Israel - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News - after all, he is a prominent European philosopher - oh, but he's Jewish.


16. Flotilla Fatigue - I think that we are all suffering some fatigue from this story - nonetheless, it is a very important story on many levels, so here are some further links:

18. Yes We Can! - fall asleep while the President speaks.....

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

1. Birds of An Activist Feather - flock together. The usual tactics of people who do not have the ability to talk about something intelligently - bullying, intimidation and threats - Spain: Pro-Palestinian activists attack Israeli businessmen - Israel News, Ynetnews.



2. A Kernel Of Sense - Mottaki humiliated at European Parliament - from the usually Muslim-compliant and gutless Europeans. Wow.



4. Look In The Mirror - The current governmental leadership in Turkey, which has apparently anointed itself as Israel's moral mentor, has a few skeletons in its closet. First, the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Here is a useful FAQ summary about the subject.



5. Look In The Mirror Again - Or then there's the issue about the Kurds and their human rights. Hmmmmm - maybe these guys aren't as pure as the driven snow after all......


6. And One Last Time, Look In The Mirror - Then there's that troublesome issue of Cyprus......


7. I'm A Nutjob Speaks Again - 'Death knell for Zionist regime'









14. Hitch-22 - Christopher Hitchens has just published a new memoir - "Hitch-22". Here are some reviews, as well as his take on the Flotilla Story:


16. Salam Fayyad - too good to be true? The emergence of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is the best thing to happen to the Middle East in ages. - By Michael Weiss - Slate Magazine. Khaled Abu Toameh, whom I have had the pleasure of meeting and whose views I respect, thinks so, but perhaps not for the reasons you'd think - The Palestinians: Why Salam Fayyad Cannot Deliver - Hudson New York.


17. Death Of A Rabbi - Former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Eliyahu died yesterday at age 81. Rabbi Eliyahu laid to rest. According to press reports, he was a spiritual leader of religious Zionism. Various controversial statements were attributed to the Rabbi, such as that the death of some 230,000 people in Asia and Africa as a result of the 2004 tsumani was divine retribution for their government's support of concessions to the Palestinians, or that the murder of victims of the Shoah was caused by changes to Jewish ritual initiated by the Reform Judaism movement. I would speak out against a priest or imam saying something similar, so I will do the same here. If they are correctly reported, I think that those statements are outrageous and deeply offensive.


18. Today's Sign Of The Apocalypse:

Monday, June 7, 2010

1. See Ya!! - Don't call, and don't write. Longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas retiring - CNN.com - her outburst was inexcusable (she should have had the brains to keep her thoughts to herself) and her apology was anything but. Look at what she said:
"I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.”
Would she have allowed a politician to get away with such a mealy-mouthed pile of crap? I think not.


2. More Flotilla Fallout - This story still has the world's attention. Here are some current perspectives:
3. But If You Prefer Moving Pictures:







8. Ground Zero Mosque - This is really alarming. I mean, there's tolerant and there's tolerant. 'No Mosque At Ground Zero' Protest (6/6/10) : The Current Truth






10. World Cup Of Soccer - Nike's New Ad for the 2010 World Cup which starts next week.