Thursday, March 25, 2010

Soccer Dad

Soccer Dad

Petraeus: perry's oh for three

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 04:31 AM PDT

While it's clear that the administration wishes to foster the perception that Israel is a liability to American interests and the anti-Israel crowd is all too happy to feed that, it's not so clear that the source of this perception agrees. The American Spectator asked General Petraeus about his assessment to the Senate Armed Services Committee and he responded. First he dismissed the widely quoted story by Mark Perry: But on Wednesday, Petraeus poured cold water on the controversy, explaining in detail why "all three items...were wrong, frankly." Further: In addition, he explained that the quote that bloggers attributed to...

Biden's knee-slapper

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 04:13 AM PDT

Stand up comedian: Vice President Biden (h/t The Muqata last week): "I just got back from five days in the Middle East," Biden said. "I love to travel, but it's great to be back to a place where a boom in housing construction is actually a good thing," he said. Israel announced during Biden's visit that it had approved construction of 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem, a move which the U.S. called an "insult" due to its timing. (Haaretz) Israelly Cool observed: That's really funny, especially to those who have lost their homes and may stand to lose their homes...

"Ideological and vindictive"

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 04:03 AM PDT

via memeorandum Jackson Diehl, not someone I consider to be pro-Israel, nonetheless acknowledges what the administration is doing: U.S. pressure on Netanyahu will be needed if the peace process ever reaches the point where the genuinely contentious issues, like Palestinian refugees or the exact territorial tradeoffs, are on the table. But instead of waiting for that moment and pushing Netanyahu on a point where he might be vulnerable to domestic challenge, Obama picked a fight over something that virtually all Israelis agree on, and before serious discussions have even begun. As the veteran Middle East analyst Robert Malley put it...

Another diplomatic incident

Posted: 25 Mar 2010 03:06 AM PDT

In the wake of a vote condemning the Turkish genocide of Armenians, Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the United States. The conditions for the ambassador's return? Davutoglu set two conditions for Tan's return: The administration and Congress must show they will refrain from deciding what he called "our history," and the countries "should agree to develop our strategic alliance," he said. Why should we care? As a Muslim NATO member and a close U.S. ally, Turkey is crucial to efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and develop Iraq. President Obama visited the country almost a year ago and has broken a...
Posted by Soccer Dad at 10:07 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Soccer Dad

Soccer Dad

Sometimes anti-israel is anti-israel

Posted: 24 Mar 2010 04:13 AM PDT

Robert Wright sets up many straw men and knocks them down in Against pro-Israel. He cynically lists "symptoms" of being anti-Israel. Symptom no. 1: Believing that Israel shouldn't build more settlements in East Jerusalem. President Obama holds this belief, and that seems to be the reason that Gary Bauer, who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, deems Obama's administration "the most anti-Israel administration in U.S. history." Bauer notes that the East Jerusalem settlements are "entirely within the city of Jerusalem" and that Jerusalem is "the capital of Israel." That's artful wording, but it doesn't change the fact that East...

Musical <strike>monday</strike> wednesday #135

Posted: 24 Mar 2010 03:46 AM PDT

Elie and I alternated hosting Musical Monday every week - though this is the last one until April 12 due to Passover. This week is a bit different. First of all I haven't finished it yet. But the way Musical Monday works is that the players figure out the individual songs and identify a common theme. But, in a sense, this week's MM, the process then works backwards. Does that help at all? For the answers to Musical Monday #134 check here. 1) And Wendy's stealing clothes from Marks And Sparks. 2) Just promise me this: that you'll give me...

Forget ObamaCare--Israel Will Be A Big Issue In 2010 Elections

Posted: 24 Mar 2010 01:37 AM PDT

Support for Israel, and its implications for US foreign policy, is already emerging as an issue in the upcoming Congressional races shaping up this year. Republicans have an easier time backing Israel as part of their criticism of Obama's foreign policy in general and towards Iran in particular. Not so Democrats, who while they like to claim to be solid friends of Israel, must also deal with the increasingly vocal group among them that say pressure on Israel is the way towards peace.That might be reflected in last month's Gallup poll:Over the last five years, support for Israel has increased slightly...
Posted by Soccer Dad at 10:08 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Soccer Dad

Soccer Dad

Why is Gaza Getting More Aid Than Haiti?

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 07:51 PM PDT

So how are they doing over there in Gaza? After all, they are supposed to be under siege, with a blockade preventing necessary essentials from entering. On March 18, Jacob Shrybman, Assistant Director of the Sderot Media Center, wrote: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is set to arrive in Israel to visit the Gaza Strip amidst demands to end a so-called siege on the terrorist-controlled territory. Yet one has to ask what siege, or blockade, he is referring to, with 738,576 tons of humanitarian aid being transferred into the Gaza Strip in 2009. Moreover, the UN has provided $200...

Hillary's peculiar speech

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 04:07 AM PDT

Yesterday, Secretary of State Clinton addressed the AIPAC conference. A number of points she made were questionable. In her speech to AIPAC, she said: The inexorable mathematics of demography are hastening the hour at which Israelis may have to choose between preserving their democracy and staying true to the dream of a Jewish homeland," Clinton said. "Given this reality, a two-state solution is the only viable path for Israel to remain both a democracy and a Jewish state." This is dishonest. Charles Krauthammer observed in August 1997: Let's be clear. This guerrilla war is not about Israeli occupation. Ninety-eight percent...

The njdc doubles down

Posted: 23 Mar 2010 03:25 AM PDT

During the presidential campaign of 2008, supporters of Barack Obama and Democrats generally insisted that the candidate's commitment to Israel was unshakable. Those who questioned his commitment to Israel were deemed as dishonest or worse. Take this post at the NJDC's blog following the election: There will always be some Democrats who disagree with the Democratic party's positions on Israel. No Democrat agrees with the party on everything; we have every right as Americans to disagree. But when Republicans attempt to use those isolated voices to divide our community and achieve electoral success by smearing the Democrats on Israel, we...

MPAC.ie delighted over epic litigation

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 11:00 PM PDT

As you may have heard UP TO 95,000 descendants of the prophet Muhammad are planning to bring a libel action in Britain over "blasphemous" cartoons of the founder of Islam, even though they were published in the Danish press . . . [The lucky lawyer] said the descendants could argue that the cartoons -- which first appeared in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in 2005, sparking violent protests around the world -- were a direct slur on them. [...] The Times article explores the jurisdiction issue--is this the latest and ultimate example of "libel tourism" in Great Britain? I'm struck by the...

Holy to Three Faiths

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 09:42 PM PDT

There is certain statement, actually a cliche: Jerusalem, we are often told, is "holy to three faiths." It is holy, we might say, to Judaism and to every other religion derived from it. That's correct, isn't it--and even obvious? Muslims don't avoid pork, pray towards the east, name their children the Arabic versions of Abraham, David, and Solomon, and practice circumcision by accident, do they? There are various other ways to paraphrase that statement. If I were in the mood to really offend people, I could state Jerusalem is holy to all true Judaisms (all one of them) and a...
Posted by Soccer Dad at 10:41 PM 0 comments
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