Friday, March 28, 2014

Read it - but take an Aspirin first

Do you know what? Take two.

From Sameh Naiem Fouad.


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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Video intimo de Neymar e Bruna Marquezine

Is not to be found here, with all its consequences. However, another pair of lovebirds definitely is:

Jackdaw -

Enjoy and relax
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Why dozens of ethnic Somalis in Scandinavia are embracing jihad - indeed?

The CNN article that asks that question is pretty mealy-mouthed, as expected. The usual litany of several cases, when young Norwegians of Somali extraction decided, seemingly inexplicably, to turn to violent ways of Jihad and went to Somalia or other hot spots to fight for various jihadist outfits, doesn't carry with it any attempts to explain the phenomenon. It carries, though, some mandatory politically correct sentences like:
Most have been grateful for sanctuary but a very small minority have become radicalized, especially among those who came to Europe as children.
It is like the cold air of the Northern Europe carries with it some Islamist bug that preys on youngsters. Or some such inane Sci-Fi scenario. Not a word about the people who do the brainwashing, other people who finance it, who provide the necessary contacts and means to travel to the training/brainwashing camps. It is like some intricate set of taboos infests the media in all that concerns the spread of Islamism in Europe.

So all you get after reading such piece of mushy writing is a question: why does anyone bother to publish it at all?

The only benefit of publishing it so far for me was a comment by a (seemingly) Norwegian commenter who, at least, feels bad about the situation:
As a Norwegian, this article really aggravates me. Not only do we shoulder an economic burden by agreeing to accept asylum seekers, we also take on a great social burden as they assimilate to different degrees. There is of course responsibility to be held by the host country in helping Somalis and other asylum seekers integrate, but this responsibility is largely accepted by Norwegians. We do not expect perfect assimilation and have for a long time been promoting tolerance of cultural and social differences. Given that we are doing 'our best', taking on a burden we do not have to take on, and providing a better life than they could have in their war-torn states - I find it appalling that these same people we are helping are using the more fortunate circumstances we provide as a base to plot terrorist attacks against us. It is simply inhuman and inexcusable.

Who do they think they are? When their country fell apart, who accepted them? If their family had not been allowed in to Norway, would the Quran have provided them with food and shelter? When they fly to Yemen and 'broker weapons deals', who do they think put them in the position to purchase a plane ticket?
Good questions all. As for the last sentence of the article:
But Scandinavia's intelligence services remain concerned about a terror pipeline to, and from, east Africa.
I would suggest that Scandinavia's intelligence services take the finger out and start looking closer to their homes. A good part of the answer is at home, gentlemen. Cause the worm is in the apple and not skulking around it, as you may suspect all that time.
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Watchers Council Nominations Putins Winter Olympics Edition

Council Submissions

Honorable Mentions

Non-Council Submissions


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Sunday, March 23, 2014

What to read during my upcoming vacation

I mean what you have to read, of course, I shall try to have none of it, this is a vacation for crying out loud. So start with this:

Iran Ready to Walk Away from Nuclear Deal Now?

Where David Gerstman describes the sordid state of a sordid affair.
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Politics: when your eyes deceive you

The headline says in huge bold black letters US, EU see new hope for Iran nuclear talks, but the picture of the hopeful person under the headline looks like that:


Something must be wrong with one of the two, doesn't it? 

The only item of wisdom relevant to the issue presented above is the one issued by the first (and so far only) artificially synthesized intelligence being, the Russian Kozma Prutkov:
If you see a "buffalo" sign on an elephant's cage, do not trust your eyes.
So there.
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Saturday, March 22, 2014

You were saying?


OK, if you really insist.
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Watchers Council Nominations Schmoozing With Dictators Edition

Council Submissions

Honorable Mentions

Non-Council Submissions

 


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Without our traditions, our lives would be shaky...

...And what tradition is more traditional than good old blood libel?

This ancient ballad comes to us courtesy of BBC and Steeleye Span. Lyrics has been modified somewhat - "Jew Daughter" became "lady gay", but the song is still pretty good.
 
 


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Friday, March 21, 2014

The two wings of Hamas

The story of the eastbound tunnel from Gaza to Israel continues to make waves, now in its political dimension.

The Gaza underground transportation initiative burgeoning for many years between Egypt and Gaza, was cruelly curbed by the Egyptian army lately.
Ali said the army was "dealing" with any building deemed a security threat in a corridor stretching from 500 metres to one km from the Gaza frontier. He said houses concealing tunnels used for weapons smuggling were a threat to national security.

The army had destroyed 152 tunnels since June 30, he added.
You can see that Egyptians don't show a proper attitude to the engineering talents of Gaza. So, frustrated by this lack of understanding and admiration, Gazan architects, engineers and contractors turned their attention to their eastern border. As a result, IDF has to cope with overzealous burrowing activities now and even have created a new unit for the purpose.

This post, however, is not about technicalities, rather about the way different wings of Hamas present their engineering efforts. USA Today managed to get together responses from both the political and military wings. First, the warriors:
A Hamas military spokesman in Gaza, Abu Obeida, was defiant over the tunnel discovery, saying on his official Twitter account that "thousands" more tunnels would be dug out.
And now the political wing:
Speaking to the BBC, Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior spokesman for Hamas, accused Israel of playing up the security threat "to justify the blockade and the continuous aggression on the Gaza Strip."
There is no need to comment on the incompatibility of these two responses, they follow the infamous Arafat's recipe of double tongue (or is it the new Palestinian-invented branch of dialectics?)

There is, though, a place to express a tiny bit of hope: since Hamas has successfully grown two wings - why doesn't it take off and fuck fly off in the general direction of the west, in the blue yonder?
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Galloway implicates Israel in Syria chemical weapons deaths



Of course, no one is (or should be) surprised. The only (side) thought I had me after watching that travesty was: William Joyce aka Lord Haw-Haw was reviled by British (and other) people and hanged as a traitor.

George (The Spiv) Galloway, on the other hand, is a member of British Parliament and a fairly powerful wheeler/dealer in British politics. Up to a point, of course, but still - isn't the difference in treatment these two receive somewhat amazing?
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Unleash your inner slob, men of the world: the life you dream about is healthy!


The picture should give you a hint about the topic. Yes, the slob in you, man, is not a destructive antisocial troll that will take you to Abaddon. Just the opposite: if you follow the slob's wishes, you are practically drinking from the fountain of youth and are certain to remain healthy, not to mention happy (which is obvious) till the day you will be called to check in the equipment to the higher power.

And I shall prove it to you immediately, using the wealth of material carefully and lovingly collected by a Russian journo, Maria Mikulina, for an online magazine Maxim. I should add, however, that in view of importance of the subject matter, I didn't blindly rely on Ms Mikulina's rendering, but went to the sources of the scientific info provided, so you wouldn't have to do it. Let's start, and don't miss anything - this post will change you life*!

Housework, stress and asthma

1. Saxbe, Darby E.; Repetti, Rena L.; Graesch, Anthony P., Journal of Family Psychology, Vol 25(2), Apr 2011, 271-281
Both wives and husbands who devoted more time to housework had higher levels of evening cortisol and weaker afternoon-to-evening recovery. For wives, husbands increased housework time also predicted stronger evening cortisol recovery. When both spouses activities were entered in the same model, leisure predicted husbands evening cortisol, such that husbands who apportioned more time to leisure, and whose wives apportioned less time to leisure, showed stronger after-work recovery.

2. Environmental working group: Cleaning Supplies and Your Health
People with asthma can be exceptionally sensitive to air contaminants, including those in ordinary cleaning products. A 2009 study led by Jonathan Bernstein, a physician and leading asthma and allergy researcher at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, measured worsening symptoms in asthmatic women after they had completed housecleaning tasks (Bernstein 2009).
This puts paid to housework.

Fatty food vs cancer
Researchers from the British Columbia Cancer Research Centre found that mice that ate a South Beach-like diet composed of 15 percent carbohydrates, 58 percent protein and 26 percent fat had slower tumor cell growth than mice that ate a typical Western diet of 55 percent carbohydrates, 23 percent protein and 22 percent fat.
So another myth - that of lean and mean diet - goes down the drain!



Spending a lot of time on your sofa

Is healthy, as it was proven.
After three months, the expedition is over: its 14 crew members have at last set foot on planet Earth again. They never really left it of course: they were all volunteers for the long-term bedrest experiment conducted by ESA, CNES and NASDA at the MEDES space clinic near Toulouse.

All have just completed a tour of duty of 90 days lying down, their heads tilted 6 degrees below their feet - an unnatural position that goes a long way to simulating some of the effects of weightlessness on the human body. Closely monitored by MEDES clinical staff, the volunteers have been simulating a long-duration space mission.
And the results? After undergoing a series of tests, it appeared that the participants' spirit was very high, they were calmer and more focused. So, if you care about your mental health, the horizontal lifestyle is for you!

Smoking against Parkinson's disease

Temporal relationship between cigarette smoking and risk of Parkinson disease
E.L. Thacker and others.
During follow-up, 413 participants had definite or probable PD confirmed by their treating neurologists or medical record review. Compared with never smokers, former smokers had a relative risk (RR) of 0.78 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.95) and current smokers had an RR of 0.27 (95% CI 0.13 to 0.56). On average, participants with more years smoked, more cigarettes per day, older age at quitting smoking, and fewer years since quitting smoking had lower PD risk. The relative risks and trends did not vary significantly by sex. The cumulative incidence of PD was lowest among participants who quit smoking at later ages. A 30% to 60% decreased risk of PD was apparent for smoking as early as 15 to 24 years before symptom onset, but not for smoking 25 or more years before onset.
No comments necessary.

Prolonged sleep reduces your weight

Simple and amazing at the same time:
Researchers at the University of Chicago found that dieters who were well rested lost more fat56% of their weight lossthan those who were sleep deprived, who lost more muscle mass. (They shed similar amounts of total weight regardless of sleep.)
There are another 10 or 12 benefits of sleep in that article, so read it all. And you know what to do afterward: take a nap.

Washing removes your skin's natural protection
And while keeping your skin fresh and clean is important, over-washing should be avoided, says Dr Nick Levell, consultant dermatologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. 'Many people wash far too much,' he says. 'If you have dry skin then you shouldn't wash more than twice a week unless you're visibly dirty or smelly.
Check. And keep this case in mind.

Coffee against Alzheimer (and Parkinson too!)

Here:
"Epidemiological studies first revealed an inverse association between the chronic consumption of caffeine and the incidence of Parkinson's disease," according to Mendona and Cunha.
And:
Later a few epidemiological studies showed that the consumption of moderate amounts of caffeine was inversely associated with the cognitive decline associated with aging as well as the incidence of Alzheimer's disease.
It gets better and better, but wait, there is so much more.

Made up bed and dust mites

Who is unfamiliar with the frightening pictures of this animal that infests your bed and endangers your health and well being? And what married man isn't thrown out of the bed in the morning, because "I must make up the bed!"? So there:
Research suggests that while an unmade bed may look scruffy it is also unappealing to house dust mites thought to cause asthma and other allergies. A Kingston University study discovered the bugs cannot survive in the warm, dry conditions found in an unmade bed.
Yeah...

Cursing helps to fight pain

This necessary tool in our arsenal was vilified by women (and some of the us, too) as long as people speak, I guess. However - Swearing Can Actually Increase Pain Tolerance:
Researchers from Keele Universitys School of Psychology have determined that swearing can have a pain-lessening effect, according to new study published in the journal NeuroReport.
Dirtmouth the pain, folks!

Alcohol improves hearing

Moderate alcohol consumption and hearing loss: a protective effect.
In multiple logistic regression analyses controlling for potential confounders, moderate alcohol consumption (>140 grams/week) was inversely associated with hearing loss (PTA(.5,1,2,4 > 25 dB HL); odds ratio [OR] = .71, 95% confidence interval [CI] = .52, .97; where PTA is pure tone average). A similar association was found for moderate hearing loss (PTA(.5,1,2,4 > 40 dB HL); OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.32, 0.74). Alcohol consumption was associated inversely with the odds of having a low frequency hearing loss (OR = 0.61) or a high frequency hearing loss (OR = 0.60).
So have a few, do you hear?

Computer games improve the brain functioning

That:
A group of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have spent the past four years conducting a study that shows playing multitaking video games could improve brain fuction, both in the game and in real world tasks.
Say that you always suspected so, didn't you?

And now to the last, but far from the least:

Frequent masturbation can save you from prostate cancer

And more, for instance cure your hay fever:
Spring is here and with it come the woes of hay fever. Never fear, however, as there may be a quick and pleasurable treatment to clear those bunged noses, for guys at least a well-timed ejaculation.

That's what Sina Zarrintan, a neurologist from the Tabriz Medical University in Iran proposes, anyway. The logic behind the proposal is based on the fact that the nose and the genitals are both connected to the same part of the nervous system that controls certain reflexes the sympathetic nervous system.
Now to the main point:
Australian researchers questioned over 1,000 men who had developed prostate cancer and 1,250 who had not about their sexual habits. They found those who had ejaculated the most between the ages of 20 and 50 were the least likely to develop the cancer.
While bloggers, politicians and similar are excused from this activity, it being superfluous in their case, other men should take to it fervently.

Conclusion

If you are already a lazy, dirty couch potato, beer-swilling and coffee-guzzling smoker with a passion for oversleeping, fatty foods, unmade beds, computer games, cursing and abusing self like mad - you are on the right way to health and happiness. Actually, why would you need more happiness when you have all these things on the list - beats me.

And if you are still behind on all or some of these activities, make a list and try to correct your ways - ASAP, your health is in balance, man!

(*) Unless, of course, you are already following all these recommendations. Then you are, unquestionably, saved.
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Norman Geras RIP

The world will not be the same without Norm.

Our deepest condolences to Adele Geras, Jenny Geras, Sophie Hanna and all his near and dear we are not aware of.

Update: a blog normfest.org, newly opened as a tribute to Norm's life.
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Monday, March 17, 2014

That's what you do when you have to

Not for the first time, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz helped out at an accident scene, unconnected with the military. Apparently, he "had been on the way home from dinner when he passed a car that had collided with the safety rail. He and his security attach stopped to evacuate the driver from the car and began giving him medical assistance until paramedics arrived" The Times of Israel tells us here. The article details three other occasions when Gantz has done this, once when a woman in a restaurant had a stroke and fainted. He and his security detail provided medical aid until the parademics arrived.

The other two occasions were military-related. As the official IDF statement put it, That is exactly what an officer is expected to do when he arrives at the scene of an accident. Even if he is not in uniform, it is on him to do all that he can to help.

Or, in plain English, be a mensch and act like a good citizen.

Or as I say in the heading, that's what you do when you have to.

By Brian Goldfarb.
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Saturday, March 15, 2014

Money doesn't smell, right, Mr Weiss?

In preparation of this post, I have learned that the sentence "Money doesn't smell" was coined by Romans, as in "Pecunia non olet", which is the only useful tidbit from the whole story. Otherwise:

They say that there is a rich man with interesting progressive ideas (himself being kind of conservative):
The conservative Silicon Valley millionaire behind a new campaign to raise the minimum wage in California has received approving coverage from left-leaning media outlets despite his long history of funding anti-Israel activism and inflammatory racial research.

Unzs minimum wage campaign has led to favorable coverage in the New York Times and ABC News and has garnered praise from some on the left, including the Daily Beasts Michael Tomasky.
Peculiar, ain't it? But it is only an appetizer, because:
Unz has also contributed a combined $60,000 in 2010 and 2011 to Mondoweiss, an anti-Zionist blog, and awarded a $108,000 grant to Paul Craig Roberts, a former syndicated columnist accused of promoting anti-Semitism by the ADL.
Mondoweiss is a popular blog, founded and managed "from a progressive Jewish perspective" by a peculiar life form known as Philip Weiss. There are more recipients of Mr Unz's largess you can find in the article, but the most significant one for the purpose is If Americans Knew:
He contributed $10,000 in 2011 to If Americans Knew, an anti-Zionist group that advocates against U.S. aid to Israel...
The author of the article is doing a great favor to If Americans Knew (no links to that place, you can easily look it up), calling it simply anti-Zionist. It is led by one Alison Weir, an obsessed Jew-hater, whose likes are few and whose poisonous teachings and poisonous lies would be welcome (actually are welcome) in any neo-Nazi publication.

So, yes, Mr Weiss: Pecunia non olet indeed. Just don't inhale.

Hat tip: Adam Holland.
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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Never mind Orwell

Says Dick Stanley, with a very good reason:
Meanwhile, back in North Carolina where the NAACP is holding anti-voter id protests, youre required to have a photo id to come along and wave a sign.
Read it all, it is a short one, as Texas Scribbler prefers them.
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Rule 5: Civilizations, the clash of

 
Is it, indeed?



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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Ariel Sharon, RIP - the giant that left eight years ago

The man and his life story were both controversial. He changed allegiances in politics, changed his opinions and toward the end of his life succeeded to become hated both by the lefties and the righties, not to mention the Arab world, where saying his name was on par with mentioning Satan. Which means that he was going in the right direction.


Still, this is how I want to remember him: an authentic hero who loved his country and his people beyond everything. And, no matter how large was his share of mistakes, his deeds, his courage and his love matter more on the scale of his life.

RIP, Arik.

And a really good obituary by Marc Goldberg ar the Harry's Place: The Passing of a Warrior.
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Amnon Lord: Obama as a grand failure - or missing the great red herring.

An Israeli veteran journalist, Amnon Lord, published an article in the Hebrew edition of Maariv, titled American pundits: Obama as a grand failure. As a critical article on the behavior of the current US administration, the piece is scorching - and still it proves that Putin's maneuver succeeded beyond expectations to create and to put on our collective table a huge red herring that effectively sidetracked everyone.

Follows its translation (Google with my assistance) and a few remarks after that.

[Lede of the article]When Assad wins immunity, Obama is also expected to give legitimacy to Iran through meetings with Rouhani and through backing Putin's initiative to build another reactor.

Only a few pundits in the American media, who were loyal to President Barack Obama, continue to rationalize his political conduct on Syria last month and claim that it works correctly. His other supporters issue prophecies styled like that of Time magazine's Joe Klein, Obama is currently showing "breathtaking incompetence*". "In the process, he has damaged his presidency and weakened the nations standing in the world."

But among opponents of Obama there are those who have already gone far beyond the "unsuited for the job" and other explanations relating to the seriousness of the Obama administration. Norman Podhoretz, 82, who infrequently writes lately, was the first who dared to write what some people feel for a long time : the treatment of Syria is a failure, but this failure is a huge success of Obama's strategy to weaken - Yes, weaken ! - and harm the United States and its foreign policy .

Podhoretz wrote this about a week ago in the Wall Street Journal. He tied the deliberate sabotage, as he claimed, by Obama's of American foreign policy to what the American media was trying to whitewash and to hide for the past five years: his links with the radical anti-American left, his closeness to the preacher Jeremiah Wright, etc.

The treatment by Kerry/Obama pair of the chemical attack in Damascus contains in a nutshell the lack of basic morality that comes from what is considered "progressive", "humanistic" and "peaceful" ideals of global left in the form they get in U.S. In his desire to withdraw America for better world equilibrum and as an expression of moral relativism, Obama became a collaborator with the leaders responsible - each according to his contribution - for crimes against humanity. One is Bashar al-Assad, the second is his sponsor, defender and supporter, Vladimir Putin.

Ultimately, what President Obama is doing is nothing less than legitimizing a mass murderer responsible for gassing nearly 1500 people including hundreds of children. According to what develops in negotiations between John Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov, Assad will get immunity from possible attack on Syria and immunity from the court in The Hague. These gains - that will enable him to continue the slaughter - are achieved through the chemical attack! For this he really has to say "Spasibo" to Putin, as one of Israel's senior publicists has already mentioned.

Intellectuals among those who respond to the diplomatic horror that unveils before our eyes are muttering: this is how the life looks in the post - American period. The world order built after World War II is crumbling. But it is impossible to dismiss Obama's responsibility for the melee that carries off parts of the world in the absence of American leadership. We should expect now that Obama give further sponsorship and legitimacy to the Iranian leadership through direct meetings with the new President Hassan Rouhani.

Doing this, he will give a covert support to Putin's new initiative to build another reactor in Iran and to arm Iran with S-300 missiles. I mentioned last week that Russia preserves its provocation and disinformation instruments sharpened in its extensive toolbox. This past week we have seen a demo [of these tools]: Putin's provocative article in New York Times (and Ha'aretz) , which caused many Americans to want to "throw up" as a senior senator said.

At the same time Snowden, who acts now as an  agent on behalf of the Russians, released information harmful to Israel and intelligence that brews trouble between United States and Brazil. Russia's proxies are very well planted in the Western media. But it is still a "soft" campaign. Whoever keeps Iran under their wing will sooner or later push it to break through the nuclear threshold. Let's not allow the stink of old wars to hide the new wars Russians will try to ignite, using their old techniques . It would be another "successful failure", and expected one at that, by President Obama.

(*) The full text of the sentence is: "It has been one of the more stunning and inexplicable displays of presidential incompetence that Ive ever witnessed." Yep.

Now that you have read the article, you may (as I did) feel disturbed by some of its statements, disagree with the others - but you will probably agree with me that it's a strong one. Still, I have promised to show you the red herring.

This article, being an aggregate of several other articles that aim searing criticism (and more than that - accusations, if you mind the Podhoretz's piece), proves  beyond any doubt that Putin, with very little assistance from his buddy Baby Assad, succeeded in an endeavor he himself, probably, hardly believed in. Where the whole world was focusing on the relentless campaign of mass murder managed by Assad's regime for more than two years, ending the lives of more than 100,000 of his own people, no one talks about them now - not the Western pundits, at least. The hundred thousand** victims are swept off the table. It is as if they don't count anymore, being completely overshadowed by the Damascus gassing.

Look again at what Amnon Lord says "Ultimately, what President Obama is doing is nothing less than legitimizing a mass murderer responsible for gassing nearly 1500 people including hundreds of children." I don't blame Amnon Lord, he, like all other pundits, is seeing only the red herring created by Vladimir Vladimirovich. Mission accomplished.

Fairly soon we shall see the schedule of chemical weapons' transfer to "international control" published (but not necessarily adhered to), Baby Assad will get his "get out of jail" card, merrily turning back to his murderous daily tasks. Obama gets rescued from the "red line" crisis he created for himself, showing off now as a careful leader who is not prone to impetuous acts that could put Americans in the harm's way.

And finally, Putin will show off his new "peacemaker" crown, having succeeded in a peaceful mission where all others failed. And look hopefully in the general direction of Oslo.

And the mass graves will keep being dug and filled, again and again.

And this is the way this planet keeps revolving...

(**) The number itself is, probably, wrong by now. It is just that the "murder counter" stopped ticking, at least in the mass media, after the Damascus gassing. How many more Syrians died since the gassing? I don't know.
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Monday, March 10, 2014

A good question

Actually, an excellent one:
Everyone who has heard of Sabra and Shatila has heard of Ariel Sharon in relation to it. But how many people do you think know the names of the Phalangist leaders who actually commanded, led and carried out the massacre?

Do you know their names?

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Sunday, March 9, 2014

On Hassan Rouhani's US trip: Christiane Amanpour out, Ayatollah Khamenai in. And no afterglow...

What was shaping up to become a love story of the century, ends with a squeak, if the same CNN that invested so much in raising the expectations, is to be believed:
But Khamenei felt uncomfortable with aspects of the trip, he said in a speech at a graduation ceremony for army officers in Tehran.

"Some of the things that took place during the trip to New York were not quite desirable," the official Fars News Agency quoted him. They were "inappropriate," Iran's English language broadcaster Press TV reported him saying.
Oh well, maybe the next round of "engagement", relentlessly pursued by the current administration, will be more successful. Of course the gentle chiding Rouhani got from his boss is less surprising than CNN's reference to Press TV - the most anti-Western, antisemitic, conspiracy-mongering and hate-exuding outfit east of the Red Sea. Mind-boggling really how low the high and mighty can fall.

Nevertheless, it might be interesting to know what are these "things that took place and were not quite desirable/inappropriate"? But I guess, Mr Rouhani will be told about them in detail next time he is called for a chat with the chief. And then told again...

One thing, however, we can guess about Ayatollah's own trip, to that graduation ceremony he gave a speech at: something was seriously wrong there:

Wasn't the fish off, General?

And, speaking about speeches and things going wrong: that was a wondrous editorial NYT fired off at Bibi recently, after his speech in UN. One generally expects an editorial, especially from so august a leader of progressive journalism and all that is dear to us, to take a stance and to be firm on it (while, of course, being gentle at the same time, as is fitting the progressive and aug...). Instead, the piece is full of incomprehensible bumbling and mumbling:
  • OPENING: During an aggressive speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel used sarcasm and combative words... Bad, bad Bibi.
  • BUT: Mr. Netanyahu has legitimate reasons to be wary of any Iranian overtures, as do the United States and... Does he now? Thanks so much.
  • ON THE OTHER HAND: But it could be disastrous if Mr. Netanyahu and his supporters in Congress were so blinded by distrust of Iran that they exaggerate the threat... What threat?
  • YET: Even so, Iran hid its nuclear program from United Nations inspectors for nearly 20 years, and the country is enriching uranium to a level that would make it possible to produce bomb-grade nuclear material... Oh, that one...
  • AND EVEN: These facts make it hard not to view the upcoming American-brokered negotiations skeptically.... are you with me so far? Because I am losing it (the thread, I mean).
  • STILL: But Mr. Netanyahu has hinted so often of taking military action to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon that he seems eager for a fight. Oh, so he is a bad Bibi again? Oh is he? Oy vey.
I quit at this point, being unable to cut through this thick and gooey mush that is supposed to be an editorial. What about you?
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Saturday, March 8, 2014

Israel furious with White House for leak on Syria strike - and other news

I don't really understand what is there to be furious about:
Israel is fuming with the White House for confirming that it was the Israeli Air Force that struck a military base near the Syrian port city of Latakia on Wednesday, hitting weaponry that was set to be transferred to Hezbollah.
After all, by now we should be used to the "accidental" leaks from over the pond. At least, we can comfort ourselves by the thought that the leak may have served some hitherto unknown interests of our big friend and benefactor. And, speaking of benefactors, from same article:

Hagel also announced that the US will fast-track delivery of six advanced Osprey helicopter-airplanes to Israel. Israel will get six V-22s out of the next order to go on the assembly line, and they will be compatible with other [Israeli defense] capabilities, Hagel said, anticipating delivery in two years time.
P.S. I hope it is clear to any reader that the picture in the middle of this post relates to the second half of it and in no way to the first.

On the other hand...
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Friday, March 7, 2014

The water proof: the facts, the myths and other animals

The main difference between a cat and a lie is that a cat only has nine lives.
Mark Twain
I wouldn't have posted anything on the subject, even after a somewhat shameful and over the top demonstration by Naftali Bennett and other members of his party. If you remember, the occasion for this demo was a misguided and uninformed remark by the European Parliament President Martin Schulz during his speech in Knesset.
In the Knesset - which German politicians have addressed before in their native language - Schulz said a Palestinian youth had asked him why Israelis received four times as much water per capita as Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

"I haven't checked the data," Schulz told the Knesset. "I'm asking you if this is correct."
And here comes the core problem. It is not only that Mr Shulz was misinformed, it is that the lies, promoted and so frequently repeated by the Palestinian propaganda and amplified hundredfold by their collaborators in the Muslim and Western media, become a de facto gospel even for people who, as Martin Schulz himself, are said to be the best friends of Israel ("An EU source who declined to be named said it was hard to find a more pro-Israeli politician in Europe than Schulz"). Just imagine what goes on in the minds of people who are not very pro-Israeli or what is done with these lies by the anti-Israeli crowd...

In this regard it is worth to mention an exceptionally positive article Israeli Water, Mideast Peace? in NYT. It is not every day that one sees such text in normally "critical" toward Israel media outfit. Besides mentioning the assistance with water sources and desalination Israel provided to pre-Ayatollahs Iran, the author delves into the current issues, such as the dire situation in the Gaza strip:
Because of geography and hydrology, the Palestinians water future is closely tied to Israels. In just the few years of Hamas control of Gaza, the water supply there has been polluted, and though no solution to its coming water crisis is likely without an Israeli role, Hamas has refused to cooperate with Israel.
And he makes a tentative step toward describing the general situation in the West Bank:
The Palestinians in the West Bank already receive much of their water from Israels national water utility and, sovereignty and symbolism aside, neither a two-state solution nor a continuation of the status quo will change that. Given their proximity to Israel, the Palestinians are likely to be among the few Arab winners in the water race.
However, the article shies from going too deep into the main issues. So, to seek some help with the truth of the matter, let's take a look at a thesis* titled The politicization of the Oslo water agreement written by Lauro Burkart a Swiss graduate of the Institute of International and Development studies in Geneva. The full text of the thesis could be found here. This article summarizes the main points:
The goals of the Oslo 2 water agreement have been reached regarding the quantities of water provided to the Palestinian population (178 mcm/year in 2006). The Oslo water agreement estimated that the needs would eventually be 200 mcm a year. The Joint Water Committee functioned well in the first years following signature of the agreement, but since 2008 cooperation has come to a halt

The facts disseminated by the Palestinians, international organizations and donors about the root causes of the water scarcity in the West Bank are incorrect.
Of course, dirty politicking is at the heart of the matter:
Burkart also interviewed Dr. Shaddad Attili, head of the PWA who was appointed in 2008. Attili, a Fatah member, is responsible for the de facto ending of the cooperation with Israel in order to bolster the Palestinian water rights claims. He did this to strengthen the position of Fatah after the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections.
Dirty is the word that best of all describes the waste water and the lack of treatment it receives from the "Palestian Authority":
One of the results of the refusal to cooperate with Israel is that almost all of the 52 mcm waste water generated by the Palestinian population flows untreated into Israel and the West Bank where it contaminates shared groundwater resources. Nevertheless, the Palestinians claim that Israel is blocking their waste water infrastructure. The facts are that most of the Palestinian waste water treatment and reuse projects have already received foreign funding and were supported by Israel.
Read the whole article, I shall end the quoting at this conclusion:
It is obvious that Attilis non cooperation strategy is connected to the overall change in strategy vis--vis Israel in 2008 by the PA. Water has become a weapon against the so-called Israeli occupation.
What else? Probably only this quote:
A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

Winston Churchill
(*) Israeli sources are not used on purpose.

Hat tips: Caitlyn Martin and E.S.
Copyright: Content on this web site, such as text, graphics, logos, button icons and images is the property of http://simplyjews.blogspot.com
The selection, arrangement, and presentation of all materials on this web site is the property of http://www.fergco.co