Prague spring? AIPAC is panicked by the recent spate of critical statements about Israel from Obama aides. It just issued a statement expressing "serious concern" about the comments and calling on Obama to defuse tensions with Israel now and put the onus back on Iran. Excerpt below.
The Obama Administration’s recent statements regarding the U.S. relationship with Israel are a matter of serious concern. AIPAC calls on the Administration to take immediate steps to defuse the tension with the Jewish State. Israel is America’s closest ally in the Middle East. The foundation of the U.S-Israel relationship is rooted in America’s fundamental strategic interest, shared democratic values, and a long-time commitment to peace in the region. Those strategic interests, which we share with Israel, extend to every facet of American life and our relationship with the Jewish State, which enjoys vast bipartisan support in Congress and among the American people.
The Administration should make a conscious effort to move away from public demands and unilateral deadlines directed at Israel, with whom the United States shares basic, fundamental, and strategic interests.
The escalated rhetoric of recent days only serves as a distraction from the substantive work that needs to be done to with regard to the urgent issue of Iran’s rapid pursuit of nuclear weapons, and the pursuit of peace between Israel and all her Arab neighbors.
We strongly urge the Administration to work closely and privately with our partner Israel, in a manner befitting strategic allies, to address any issues between the two governments.
haha i think the US must expel this bunch of immoral bunch of …. to Israel!
AIPAC is like the quintessential abusive spouse. No matter what the Administration does, no matter how tearfully they have to collectively say “I love you,” to Israel, it’s never enough to stop the bruising.
AIPAC is the biggest danger for the democracy.
Abe Foxman yesterday blasted the US government for pressuring the Israeli government.
How will these events transpire? Time will tell.
Will AIPAC send in a Monica Lewinsky to impeach Obama? Or is Rahm Emanuel the Monica Lewinsky of his time?
Will AIPAC advise Netanyahu to make a few adjustments to his cabinet?
Has it really been proven that Monica Lewinsky is part of any “plot?”
After all, if I were a fictional jewish cabal overlord, I would send an agent that is fully WASP and gentile.
I am with you, but let us be sure of our ground before we say such things, okay?
“After all, if I were a fictional jewish cabal overlord, I would send an agent that is fully WASP and gentile.”
Why bother when anyone who would actually imagine such conspiracies is obviously an unhinged antisemite?
Being capable of imagining a conspiracy can, but does not always mean, anti-semitism.
After all, how many conspiracies turn out to be true? More than you think.
However, going around speaking without real proof does make you sound unhinged, so that is why I urged him to caution.
I wasn’t trying to imply that there was a plot of any kind involving AIPAC or Lewinsky. My point was that the Lewinsky affair, regardless of HOW she ended up involved with Clinton, ruined his presidency. So, if someone wanted to deliberately do it, they could.
This is why I need to be President. I’ll be too busy locking myself in the Oval Office and remaking the country and the world in my own image to care about saucy little interns.
And while I wouldn’t say it was an AIPAC plot… one needs to take a look at Kenneth Starr generally, and Linda Tripp specifically.
What happened to Clinton is why I’m convinced that there will be an impeachment of Obama. Destroying any Democratic party President by any means necessary is an operational goal of the Republican party anyway. Destroying the first African-American President after successfully (and falsely) labeling him a “Muslim” and a “terrorist?” That’s too good for the Republicans to pass up.
And now they have AIPAC gunning for them.
Sorry, I mean “Muslim” and “socialist.” Although to Republicans and AIPACers, “Muslim” and “terrorist” seem to be used interchangeably.
Sunyata,
It has long been conjectured (and by good sources in some cases) that Lewinsky was a sayanim for Israel. Anyone who repeats it is not unhinged, but reading a lot.
If Operation Northwoods — truly a whackjob operation planned by the Joint Chiefs of Staff — discovered by James Bamford in 2000 in the US archives could be found to be accurate and true, AND prophesy 911, then anything is believable. No thinking individual is buying the ‘conspiracy theory’ angle anymore.
Exactly.
But if it was theoretically true, then they were fucking stupid to actually get a jewess to do the deed.
Sunyata,
That’s what a female sayanim is. ;-)
Why, Sunyata, when pointing that out publicly will only earn you Abe Foxman shouting you down as an anti-Semite?
I’ve not heard about this angle. I’ve always assumed Whitewater/Lewinsky had more to do with Republicans, rather than AIPAC. After all, it’s not as if Clinton did anything substantial to cross Israel — hell, his browbeating and arm twisting Arafat and then subsequently selling him out did wonders for Israel’s agenda.
And not to get caught up in useless details, but is Lewinsky even Jewish? Her last name is merely Polish, so unless someone can say with actual authority…
Because I won’t back down to the Abe Foxmans of the world, that’s why.
Well, and I don’t want to trivialize your bravery, Sunyata — and hell, I’d share in it — but the average Congressperson lacks that sort of bravery. Especially if their name is followed by “(D)”
Chaos,
The entire WH phone system was changed to an Israeli-run one that quickly changed names to hide that fact. The WH was supposed to be part of FTS2000/2001 (FTS standing for Federal Telephone System) but someone got to the WH during Clinton’s travails and fucked it up. I dont even know if the current WH is aware of it. I know I am because I worked on part of it.
This happened 1995/96.
While in all fairness, MRW, I’d need some more substance before I’d be willing to accept what you say (no offense intended, MRW, I hope you understand).
But, for the sake of argument and proceeding from what you say… my comment would be that the current White House would have to know about it, if it’s true. It’s simply that they don’t care.
Five words for you: Rahm Emmanuel, Chief of Staff.
No problemo, Chaos. ;-)
off topic- i feel that whack job should be spelled wack job. wacky means flaky or nuts. whack means to kill. if you are tony soprano giving someone a command to kill someone, that is a whack job. if someone is wacky, then that is a wack job. sorry for interrupting.
Well, to “whack” something originally meant to inflict a blow of great force. “Whack job” I think refers to the notion of brain damage as a result of physical trauma.
What are the reasons that Kenneth Starr and Linda Tripp need to be taken a look at, Chaos?
Is there a connection between Starr or Tripp and AIPAC? The only references on Google to that effect seems to be your comment here.
Patterns of past acts has an impact on how an entity is perceived.
Only in an hasbaric universe should any rational person accept uncritically the claims that a state that has used deception, assassination, false flag operations, provocations; and that has as part of its underlying philosophy (see Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall) the goal of militarily destroying an Other; is in ANY instance acting in good faith. Those elements — behaviors evidencing bad acts and a stated philosophy of using bad acts — should forewarn any thinking person that NO act or claim issued by that state is trustworthy.
People who scrub floors at night at MacDonald’s are subject to a background check. Would you hire someone who had a history of assassinations, killing civilians with internationally proscribed weapons, and spying on its friends, to babysit with your granddaughter?
Oh, come on, not “Jewess”! Would you use the term “Negress”!
But then again, I believe Phil used “shicksa” the other day.
Well, if you guys want to have a race to the bottom, you can leave me out of it.
Gosh, wondering Jew, it’s nice to know we can count on you for incisive, cogent and relevant bullshit. Say, what’s grey and carries a trunk?
Mooser help me out. Comments here hit bottom a long time ago. It’s like Conspiracy Central.
It’s like you now have to google every name mentioned to check out their religious ancestry several generations.
“Comments here hit bottom a long time ago.”
There’s nothing like feeling firm ground under your feet.
Taxi, what Bruce is saying pretty much comes down to this: If you are taking the Arab’s side, there’s got to be something wrong with you. At the very least it must mean you love violence.
And of course, not liking or being suspicious of Israel is tantamount to throwing them into a gas chamber. You Suck, The Whole World Sucks!
Fuck you, Bruce. I already said I didn’t think AIPAC had anything to do with Clinton’s impeachment.
Stick to reporting facts and other people’s quotes. Your own attempts to formulate opinion are pure idiocy.
Yeah, Mooser that really is a brilliant distillation of what I’ve written.
I haven’t written anything in these comments about violence, so you are off on a great imaginary flight of fancy. Well, I did ask Taxi about his predictions of the game deciding great Middle East War that is on its way, sooner rather than later,but he refused to answer. I guess that makes one a pacifist in your book.
And if suspicion “of Israel is tantamount to throwing them into a gas chamber,” well I guess that makes me a kapo for a number of my postings on this site.
Bruce, seriously, can’t you just piss off? I’m actually getting close to using the “Report Abuse” button. This is the third time I’ve seen you descend into trolling in the Comments section.
Like I said, stick to reporting on what other people say. That’s apparently your strong suit.
Or at least, it used to be. Apparently you can write a decent article when you bother to take the time to sit down and proofread before deigning to post your pronouncements, but you aren’t cut out for “think on your feet” style blog posting. Bruce, you’re clearly not coping well when you have competition.
Stick to writing stuff with a byline (and an editor watching over your shoulder).
Bruce March 15, 2010 at 10:57 am
It’s like you now have to google every name mentioned to check out their religious ancestry several generations.
What’s that supposed to mean?
Chaos, so touchy. You know you can get thrown off Mondoweiss for using such language. Haven’t you read Phil’s rules?
I just asked you a question. You have to admit, your comment is very ambiguous. What do the ellipses represent?
What does the following mean:
And while I wouldn’t say it was an AIPAC plot… one needs to take a look at Kenneth Starr generally, and Linda Tripp specifically.
And I did just resort to facts. First, I googled AIPAC and Starr, and then I googled AIPAC and Tripp, and at the top of the list came your comment both times. Cuss out the Google search algorithm, not me.
What part of “I wouldn’t say it was an AIPAC plot,” is inscrutable, exactly?
Bruce,
You take Taxi’s comments from previous weeks and post them here out of context to support YOUR assumptions about his motives and then you have the chutzpah to accuse him of promoting violence.
Is that what passes for scientific research in your world?
And why did you single out Taxi? Surely, I have posted worse comments than his, both in context and out of context.
I was talking about legal malfeasance between Starr and Tripp, and about the general exploitation of the far right in the US having turned the responsible practice of impeachment into a tool of political assassination.
Idiot.
Avi,
I didn’t accuse Taxi of promoting violence. That was Donald. If you believe otherwise, please point it out. Otherwise, please withdraw you charge.
I don’t know whether the quotes from Taxi are out-of-context or not, and I didn’t making any assumptions about his motives. I asked him some questions to understand what is the context of his remarks and what are his motives for his call to action, but he refuses to answer. It’s his prerogative not to answer, but it is my prerogative to ask the questions.
Let me understand your view, Taxi and others here can question other people’s motives and quote them out-of-context, and that is okay. But if you believe somebody is doing that to them, it is unacceptable.
I was tired of some of the relentless ad hominem attacks on this site. They were being hurled at people who were not trolls, but just didn’t agree with Taxi and others. I found Taxi particularly obnoxious in some interactions, so using the method that passes for research in my world, I went through all of Taxi’s comments in 2010. They reinfored my view about Taxi’s contributions, and so I decided to take the gloves off and play by the same rules as Taxi and others.
On the subject of research, we had a lively exchange over the weekend about some historical claims made by Keith and backed by Shingo and others. I did what we do in my world, I spent several hours researching Keith’s claims and sources and then checked out other sources. I then presented some counter-factuals, but Shingo insisted that my counter-claims had no basis in the facts. Stupid me, I thought maybe he had done some research, and so I went to see if what he claimed is true. It turned out that the original source of Keith’s quote had been cut, and in fact that source actually was a basis for my counter-example. Did anyone admit there scholarship was wrong, no? They just avoided the subject. Tree criticized some of my statements, and I admitted that they were in error or were ambiguous, and so I corrected them and made them more precise. That’s what we do in my world. Personally, I thought the subject was virtually irrelevant, but I persevered because of the conclusions that were being drawn. Taxi dismissed it all as “neurotic one-upmanship ramble that goes on and on and on and goodness gracious great balls of bore.”
It’s interesting how my methodologies are fine when I am critical of Israel, American Jewish leaders or U.S. foreign policy, but say anything critical about remarks from some of the more emotional anti-Zionists at the site, and the attacks come fast and furious. Avi, I used the same research techniques in both cases.
Chaos, I’m not going anywhere.
Go and press that “Report Abuse” button, and convince the person at the other end that I am a troll. That will be amusing.
You don’t own the comments section on this site anymore. Get use to it.
Congrats. You just wrested the Complete Irony Award for the day away from Witty as well.
Just go away, Bruce. Seriously. Just go away. You’ve completely destroyed discussion on this thread from your very first post on this article. And if you don’t think we can’t read the timestamps on the comments and see what you brought to the table when you first showed up here today, you’re mistaken.
LOL! So that’s what this is about? Seriously. OMFG. Show of hands. Who here thinks I ever owned the comments section on Mondoweiss? Well, my hand’s not going up. Anyone? Anyone?
Do yourself a favor and don’t get into a dick measuring contest with a gay man, sweetie. You might get more than you bargained for. ;)
Okay. How anyone was suppose to conclude that from your botched sentence is beyond me. But then, I know, you and your friends here think I am an Idiot.
Oh believe me, Bruce, I suspect the consensus isn’t limited to just me and my “friends.”
Bruce,
You’re shadow-boxing with yourself.
Admit it, you don’t like me cause I was the first one to spotlight your pomposity and covert zionism. You wrongly thought just because you had an article published here on Mondo that you were entitled to go around ‘correcting’ people’s behaviors and thoughts. You’re a fucking (supposed) writer not a moderator, geddit it?! Several posters here tried to ask you to please stop being the thought-police and still you persisted trying to bombast people for being who they are.
Any wonder that you’re losing respect around here?
Fact is, all the regulars here know where I stand. I hate zionism and everything it stands for – I am also too tired of explaining why – been doing it for years – and the reasons are obvious and all around us.
Now that you know this about me in a nutshell, perhaps you can see the sanity of fucking off. You’ll never get anywhere with me on the issue of zionism.
My covert Zionism that you unmasked. You don’t know shit and you don’t take any time to find out. You hang out with your buddies here that agree with you all the time, and you want to keep the cozy relationship going.
Wasn’t it you just a few days ago demanding no censorship on the site? Quite a quick turnaround. Now you and some posters want to control what’s being said.
If you are “too tired of explaining why,” I understand. But remember this is the site that says it is “The War of Ideas in the Middle East.” It’s not your personal advocacy site.
Who has commented more than you, Chaos? I can’t tell whether you or Witty have the record, because there seems to be more comments from you about Witty than Witty has written himself. Would take ages to sort out.
I already showed one example this morning of you breaking into an okay discussion that someone was having with Witty because you had to get your two cents in about Witty, as if we haven’t heard your views on Witty hundreds of times.
And now you are making gay slurs? Chaos is that really necessary. Are you a homophobe too?
I believe it was asked whether Lewinsky was Jewish. She is by the way. Then we were told that we had to take a look at Ken Starr and Linda Tripp, for reasons that weren’t clear to me, but then I am an Idiot so maybe everyone else understood that comment. Trying to see why Starr, Tripp and AIPAC were mentioned in the same sentence, I googled both of them to see if there was a connection and whether they were Jewish, which seems to matter on this site.
Keep digging that hole, Bruce. Don’t let me get in your way. Heh.
Bruce wrote:
…and so I decided to take the gloves off and play by the same rules as Taxi and others.
It’s interesting how my methodologies are fine when I am critical of Israel, American Jewish leaders or U.S. foreign policy, but say anything critical about remarks from some of the more emotional anti-Zionists at the site, and the attacks come fast and furious.
So why are you critical of remarks by “more emotional anti-Zionists”?
And what exactly is your goal? What are you hoping to achieve? Are you doing it out of concern for the credibility of this website? Surely, the owners of this site are the ones who make such decisions. It’s up to them to decide.
However, if you yourself are emotional about Zionism to the point that some of its critics rub you the wrong way, then perhaps you are a Witty-lite version who would like Israel to merely clean up its act a little, without dismantling the entire Zionist apparatus that has brought about the ethnic cleansing of an entire people. If that’s the case, then you would certainly prefer a two state solution with Israel remaining Jewishly™ pure.
Did he post any anti-Semitic comments or are you merely fixated on him because he’s not a “member of the tribe”? If that’s the case then perhaps you should start a How Jewish Are You? competition.
Incidentally, you danced around my other questions and did not respond directly to many. You certainly pick and choose whatever is convenient for you.
I believe it was asked whether Lewinsky was Jewish. She is by the way. Then we were told that we had to take a look at Ken Starr and Linda Tripp, for reasons that weren’t clear to me, but then I am an Idiot so maybe everyone else understood that comment. Trying to see why Starr, Tripp and AIPAC were mentioned in the same sentence, I googled both of them to see if there was a connection and whether they were Jewish, which seems to matter on this site.
You seem to confuse conjecture with methodological research.
By the way, as someone who followed the Clinton fiasco back in the day (it’s been a whole decade, though) there was a connection between Tripp and Lewinsky and Starr, but I have neither the inclination nor the interest to refresh my memory by reading up on the subject just to prove a point. It’s a moot point, anyway.
Furthermore, you are the one who jumped to the conclusion that the mention of Starr, Tripp and Lewinsky was an implication that they shared the same religion.
Wondering Jew, “off topic- i feel that whack job should be spelled wack job. wacky means flaky or nuts. whack means to kill.” Then whackjob is the appropriate term for Operation Northwood(s).
turns out that whack job is indeed spelled whack meaning to whack off, and whack job in essence means jism.
Brucee,
You certainly hold the record for the longest, most convoluted and yes again, POMPOUS posts on this site.
Man – why does it take so many paragraphs for you to say absolutely nothing?!
Avi, these are all reasonable questions. Let me see if I can answer them all, but not necessarily in your order.
And what exactly is your goal? What are you hoping to achieve?
Besides hoping to avoid a military conflict with Iran and obtaining a serious reorientation of American Foreign policy, I would like to help find ways to achieve a just solution for the Palestinians based on their internationally defined rights. The latter motivates my working on Mondoweiss, but I believe it is also a useful venue to discuss issues related to Iran. My own view is that the “International Community” made a mess in 1948, and they have the obligation to clean it up. I’m not convinced anyone has the answers of how to achieve this, but it is worth discussing to try and figure it out.
Most of us accept that the mainstream media presents a distorted picture of the situation. One of the most valuable roles of Mondoweiss is that the postings provide info that is not found in the MSM. I have devoted a good amount of time scanning for material to post on Mondoweiss. I would hope that people who have not yet made up their mind can come to this site and learn enough to form an opinion.
Are you doing it out of concern for the credibility of this website? Surely, the owners of this site are the ones who make such decisions. It’s up to them to decide.
Yes, I am taking this stance in the comments out of concern for the credibility of the website. Do you think I acted today without discussing it first with Phil? Do you not think that Phil and I have discussed the comments section many times? I have not pushed him on this because I do know how overwhelmed and overworked he is, not to mention underpaid, and I realize he does not have the bandwidth to properly deal with the comments section. It is more than enough to keep the postings flowing. I don’t want to speak for Phil, so he will have to clarify his views himself as he chooses.
So why are you critical of remarks by “more emotional anti-Zionists”?
Once you get beyond agreement that the Palestinians need to have their rights enforced. There is still the question of what is a solution and how to get there. If the Palestinians believe they can fight their way to what they want, I am not going to tell them they are wrong. I may not agree with one they are going to put in its place, but thats an issue for another time. If the Palestinians need help, however, then we have to talk about realistic methods in the world as it is not as we would like it to be. And I am cynical about whether any nation is willing to go to bat for the Palestinians. Can anti-Zionists alone achieve a solution the Palestinians are able to accept?
Let’s look at the statements of Taxi that I asked about. Is it true that it is inevitable that a “big bad war [is] coming” that “will re-define the map of the middle east”? He also said that, “There is a definite collective understanding and will [among the Arabs] that a military solution to the Israeli problem is the only one left. It’s just a question of (short) time.” What kind of role are we suppose to play in these scenarios? What role are you going to play Avi? And does it matter what we do? Are we suppose to totally support “the Palestinians, Lebanese and Syrians” and Arabs in this upcoming war? And if the United States joins on the other side, to what extent are we suppose to oppose our government? Support the enemy? If these are just apocalyptic warnings, what is the purpose of making them.
Since according to Taxi it is “too late for a 2SS and a one state solution is impossible to work,” what are anti-Zionists proposing as a solution? Sending back the European Jews to Europe? What did he mean when he wrote, “Euro converts go back to where you came from – fuck that up instead?” Is that his solution? Is that your solution you want to put forward? Does it make me a Zionist if I state that isn’t going to fly? And then are more statements like that. Do you want me to list them all?
However, if you yourself are emotional about Zionism to the point that some of its critics rub you the wrong way, then perhaps you are a Witty-lite version who would like Israel to merely clean up its act a little, without dismantling the entire Zionist apparatus that has brought about the ethnic cleansing of an entire people.
I am not at all emotional about Zionism. I look at it analytically. I am more likely to be emotional about sloppy history, as I don’t like it from whatever political persuasion or source. What is the purpose of trying to prove that “Zionists” collaborated with the Holocaust in the Thirties, which seemed to be the important topic of the weekend? What is that going to gain?
If Richard Pape explains the motivations of “suicide bombers” or the context of their actions does that mean he is supporting terrorism? If I disagree with some of the explanations of Jewish and Zionist motivations in the Thirties and Forties does that make me a Zionist?
I guess what goes around comes around. Rather amusing you suggesting that I am a Witty-lite considering all the times I have criticized him here. I can assure you that if you read everything I have written here you would not conclude that I “would like Israel to merely clean up its act a little.” As for “dismantling the entire Zionist apparatus that has brought about the ethnic cleansing of an entire people” – I might only disagree with “entire”, not yet but not impossible – but I would also add that I don’t believe it matters what I would like. My likes are not going to determine whether there is going to be a two-state solution or one-state. Let the two parties figure it out under international arbitration. I’ve limited myself for the time being to trying to help create enough space that the Palestinians can make a decision within the world of what is possible.
Did he post any anti-Semitic comments or are you merely fixated on him because he’s not a “member of the tribe”?
I have not idea whether Taxi is a member of the tribe or not. All I know is that he is probably lives near Los Angeles. I asked him to provide some background awhile back when he was criticizing me while writing under a rather opaque handle. But he refused. It was his writings and his ad hominem attacks that caught my attention.
I really could less about playing How Jewish Are You? There are quite a few people on this site who avidly do play the game though. Do I need to provide you testimonies from my Muslim friends about my lack of Jewish fixations?
Whether any of Taxi’s comments are anti-Semitic, I have not made an evaluation. A number of them are very provocative though and I don’t see any reasons they have to be accepted or go unchallenged.
And incidentally I made an honest effort to answer all your questions. I responded to every e-mail notice that I received and I searched through the comments twice. So if I still missed any, let me know. Otherwise, please withdraw your dancing around your questions claim.
So Avi, you ask all these questions, and then you complain I haven’t answered them even before I have a chance. And then after I give you detailed answers Taxi writes,
You certainly hold the record for the longest, most convoluted and yes again, POMPOUS posts on this site.
Man – why does it take so many paragraphs for you to say absolutely nothing?!
So please either stop asking me questions if you don’t want the answers, or if you agree with Taxi’s take, then let me know and I can just provide you with blank paragraphs.
“After all, if I were a fictional jewish cabal overlord, I would send an agent that is fully WASP and gentile”
No, that’s what Clinton goes home to every night. No they had to offer him something exotic not to mention sorta zoftig!
Awww, aren’t not-so-veiled threats just charming?
Pretty ballsy. But I bet they get their way.
Gellian, that’s debatable now that the US military is involved. We’ll see.
So in Israel the pundits are blasting Netanyahu, in the US, it’s all Obama’s fault.
The whackjobs in Israel are not without planning ability:
“Israeli Historian: Israel Could Find Itself Forced To Wipe Out Europe”
link to politicaltheatrics.net
I would love to get a MP3 of this and have Shmuel tranlate.
Now admittedly, MRW, I’ve heard that some of these stories floating around about what Professor Crevald said are not accurate.
Although from what I have read, what he did have to say about Israel’s behavior does not shine well on Israel, or Israel’s future.
Damn if I didn’t forget to bookmark what and where I read, though. Sorry.
I remembered where I saw it, and was able to retrieve it from my browsing history.
link to richardsilverstein.com
The ‘Sampson Option’ is real, Chaos.
They even have nukes pointed at us.
It’s the friendless zionist mindset they’re trapped in that necessitates this.
I didn’t say it wasn’t real, Taxi. I’m merely lobbying for facts as facts. And in fact, I think Crevald still says as much as a possibility.
What is the source for Israeli nuclear weapons being pointed at the United States?
Right you are chaos – I just re-read and can see my misunderstanding.
I’ve often thought that Israeli nukes might have been brought into the USA in container ships and placed on or near rooftops (perhaps as “parts” of inside air-conditioning units). Say in lower NYC. The USA always acts so subservient that there might be a reason more powerful (even) than AIPAC. Remember how Israel uses the “special relationship” — to get favors. One favor would be non-inspected cargo entry (altho, since 9/11, it appears that they wouldn’t even need a special relationship to get uninspected cargo into the good ol’ USA).
Thanks for sharing your thought pabelmont. Do you have any evidence, sources, or anyone in the know making this claim? Or is this just a conjecture from you?
It sounds like you think the US-Israeli “special relationship” would survive Israel sneaking in nuclear weapons to the United States, say NYC. Is that what you believe? You are aware that the US has New York and other cities completely wired up to detect even the slightest traces of nuclear materials.
Some of you think Emma was a plant–why would Israel need plants to discredit the comment section here? I mean, come on, pabelmont–you sound like you’ve been watching “24″ a little too much.
I would love to see your source for this gem. The Jericho III can reach most of North America, but its a relatively new missile.
Israel did have missiles pointed at the Soviet Union, this is well documented in Seymour Hersh’s book the Samson Option, funny he forgot to mention they were also pointed @ US. Let me guess you got your facts from either counterpunch.org or pressTV LOL!
We all don’t watch Fox News as religiously as you do, yonira.
Yeah, nuking NYC would be a great idea, with NYC being the second largest jewish population center in the world.
Ugghhh the comment section is getting just ridiculous.
How can you even see it clearly, when you keep lugging all those straw men around?
Juuuust figured I’d put those little gems side by side. I figure everybody can draw their own conclusions.
Thanks, Chaos, for the clarification. I just read the Silverstein piece. Although, I thought the original reference was to a recent radio show featuring Crevald. Not checking now because i am eating pizza and the dog is going insane. ;-)
According to Richard Silverstein, the original interview (from 2002) was conducted in Dutch, not Hebrew.
MRW – Just saw your pizza-dog reply. Never mind.
You guys don’t even know what dog problems are, til you’ve met my Shirley. Or as we call her “Surly”. And she’s a music critic, too. I never get a break!
Here I am, struggling to gain 12-key facility, and good voice-leading, (oh hell, I’d be happy just to hit the chords, let alone create clever countermelody) and my dog is fighting me.
I doubt the Israelis can PR themselves out of this one with the American people (and world at LARGE) any time soon. To a lot of Americans, the Israelis have now fucked, without provocation, with American pride.
But this tide-swell of more Americans questioning the Israel/America status quo, joyous as it is, unfortunately does not not (yet) represent real policy shift.
The world of diplomacy allows you room to re-befriend another country in the blink of an eye. Politicians are constantly falling out then back in with each other overnight. Doesn’t matter their nationality. In their minds, this could be no more than a lone cloud on a sunny day. Tomorrow morning, corruption will still be rife. The interests of the people, which means the nation at large, will continue to be compromised in the Senate, in Congress, and down every corridor of power on Capitol Hill. Business as fucking usual.
But something new is in the air so suddenly and tomorrow it too will still be there. What would be cool post this Biden bitch-slap fest in Israel, is that for the next couple of years, events keep unfolding and exposing the criminal racism of zionism – eventually and SOLIDLY in the minds of our voters, linking all zionist treacherous activities in occupied Palestine to our tax dollar, thus making it necessary to debate the issue of Israeli Aid in the next election.
Let’s work to putting the issue of aid to Israel on the election table folks. Please plan to write to your congressional representative as often as you can in the next couple of years and show no fucking mercy and warn her/him against drinking anymore of that zionist cool-aid. Please talk (nicely) to whoever will listen about this deeply important issue.
Let’s just hope in the meantime, Natanyahu stays in power with Lieberman and co in tow. They serve us well because, unlike Kadima’s manicured fingers, they’re kak-handed and leave a stinking stain on everything and everyone they touch.
Taxi, what will make our congressmen realize we understand the issue is if we call the WH and demand that Israel be put under CENTCOM. That we’ve seen the map and Patraeus is right.
WH: 202-456-1111 or 1414,
Taxi,
I’m rather certain that my Congressman will not be moved by warning “him against drinking anymore of that zionist cool-aid,” especially in light of the effect other messages I’ve sent him have had. Since you are asking us to talk nicely, maybe you should propose some proper wording.
What is the purpose of your campaign to put Israeli aid on the election table? To cut off assistance to Israeli/Zionist racism or to weaken Israel militarily for the “big bad war coming” that “will re-define the map of the middle east”? Do you want military aid cut off because your sympathies will be “totally with the Palestinians, Lebanese and Syrians” in this upcoming war?
Since according to you it is “too late for a 2SS and a one state solution is impossible to work,” are you advocating neutrality in this upcoming war or do you want us to ally with the Palestinian-Lebanese-Syrian axis? By the way, is this axis going to be fighting alone or will there be other members in the alliance?
I’m not against campaigning against aid to Israel, but before joining your campaign would like to know what it is about.
This is as short as I could make it.
It’s not ‘my’ campaign Bruce. Everyone with a conscience does what they can, when they can.
It’s just the decent thing to do.
Did you write the quoted phrases in Bruce’s comment–the bellicose stuff about the war coming and so on? Because whoever wrote them, it’s pretty wrongheaded. The idea of another war in the middle east making everything fine and wonderful is dumb no matter who originates it. It’s popular with the American government, of course, but that’s no recommendation. It’s popular with some Israelis and Tom Friedman and other morons.
Anyway, another war is just going to leave a lot of people dead, and raise suspicions and hatreds to a higher level. And the idea that the US is suddenly going to side with Syria and the Lebanese and the Palestinians against Israel is sheer lunacy, even if one thought a war was a good idea.
Now if you just think the US should stop its support for Israeli oppression and war crimes, yes. I’m just wondering where the phrases Bruce quotes came from, because that’s not what I’d sign up for.
Well Donald, all the quotes come from Taxi here at Mondoweiss within the last few months. I have lots more for future reference in our discussions.
I didn’t say it was the decent or right thing to do.
I asked what your reasons were for asking us to join, especially since you insist the situation is all going to be solved by a big Middle East war and that it is “too late for a 2SS and a one state solution is impossible to work.”
Why should we bother then using our political capital on Israeli aid, when there are so many important issues in the United States we maybe can influence such as a burnt-out economy, an ever expanding militaristic foreign policy, and an incredible unequal income distribution?
Why shouldn’t we sit back and just wait for Israel to collapse as you suggested the Palestinians should do?
Donald & Bruce,
It’s clear that I’m on the side of the occupied and I support the will and wishes of the native majority of the region.
Make of this what you will but don’t expect me to fall for your pre-meditated and often suspiciously coordinated attempts at a bog-down-time-waste with your endless stream of pompous convolutions, inanities and blah blah questions. A dual pattern of behavior from you both directed not just at me but others. A form of subtle sabotage, most probably unconscious because both of you are both simultaneously in-love and tormented by zionism.
While simply, I rejected it totally.
No point in debating me on this, I’m never gonna shift from this position.
I’m not a Zionist. The cultural version of it, which you find in Judah Magnes and is mostly dead now, seems okay to me, but not that kind that actually led to the state of Israel. So that’s one straw man down.
“Pre-meditated and suspiciously coordinated” is delicious. I’ve been wondering just how paranoid people are being when they suspect others are secretly coordinating their responses. It’s not fair for me to judge the other people’s suspicions by you, unless others start voicing their thought that maybe I’ve been sent here by the Zionist overlords. So far that’s just you.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, I’ve noticed Bruce being bothered lately by some of the same comments that bother me. The bulk of my time here is spent, for better or worse, criticizing Witty for double standards on human rights issues, because I think that peace advocates who aren’t consistent on such things do a lot of harm and Witty is representative of a lot of people. But romanticizing violence is a disease you find across the political spectrum. It would not be good for what Phil is trying to accomplish would be for people to think that harsh criticism of Israeli human rights is tied in with adolescent notions of a Middle East war against Israel (supported by the US) that would bring justice. Yes, gun toting liberators of all stripes have such a wonderful record bringing happiness and prosperity to the Middle East it’s little wonder someone might daydream of launching a multi-pronged war against a nation with 200 nuclear weapons. That’s bound to turn out well.
Put another way, there’s more than one way to be stupid, something people often forget in politics.
Donald,
Zionism is still zionism by any other name. Calling your version of it ‘cultural’ doesn’t make a difference to the racist content in everything zionist. It’s like saying you appreciate the ‘cultural’ aspect of nazism – I hope you get this soon.
“I’ve been wondering just how paranoid people are being when they suspect others are secretly coordinating their responses”.
I observed a pattern, I reported it. You apparently wondered about it pre my comment. Who then is paranoid here?
You’re a confused amateur. You’re here either for therapy or sabotage.
Some of us here have been round the zionist block a few times dear Donald – we’ve seen the A-Z of zionist methodology.
Oh you are paranoid also Taxi. Now there is a conspiracy against you.
Donald at least you are fully aware, I don’t know you from Adam. But maybe we are both Mossad agents after Taxi. But then if we were Mossad agents, Taxi would be dead by now. Taxi isn’t dead, so we can’t be Mossad agents.
Let me see, I forgot, I am a limousine and Taxi is only a man-of-the-people taxi. But if I’ve ever read a pompous, arrogant elitist you fit the bill Taxi with this comment. You represent “the will and wishes of the native population of the region.” Who says, besides you? When did Palestinians give you the mandate to speak for them?
Last week you were claiming Rachel Corrie as your idol, and what was it, humanitarian mentor. I’ve read the letters of Rachel Corrie, and Taxi, believe me, you are no Rachel Corrie. I doubt Rachel ever made apocalyptic calls for war as you did. Rachel practiced non-violence. She also went over to Gaza and practiced her beliefs. You hang out at Mondoweiss and read the comments of Chaos4700.
There is no subtle sabotage here. You and some of your buddies on this site have had free reign in the comments section. You bully and ridicule anyone who disagrees with your ethical judgments or off-the-wall predictions and statements. Even now you can’t admit to Donald that you made the statements I quoted. You need to be challenged.
I have no intention of debating you further. That would be useless.
But I am going to call out all your inanities and your sophomoric psychological analyses of our motivations. You sound like Charles Krauthammer.
Never thought it would be this easy. Three questions and the guy refuses to answer any of them. Probably smart because if he did his reasoning would be even more revealed.
What’s that? I hear Taxi’s buddies coming to the rescue.
You just proved your convoluted self-important pomposity.
Thanks for that, Bruce, my old friend.
Like I said before, and will not repeat again, I won’t fall for your tedious attempts at time-wasting.
So I’ll just leave you and Donald to ‘intelligently’ discuss between you two how terrible and paranoid a punter I am.
Go ahead. Knock yourselves out. We’re all waiting for your valued comments with bated breath….
Sheesh.
It’s just another version of Emma, but more diffuse, Taxi.
And it’s all very well covered by No.3 (You Suck) and No.4 (The Whole Flushigginer World Sucks)
Bruce, you asked me for help, here it is: link to jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com
Only difference between Bruce and Emma is, I think Emma knew what she was doing, and made specific accusations about Hezbollah and anti-Zionists (well, specific in that she used the term Hezbollah). I don’t think Bruce knows what he is doing, so he has to rely on general indictments like “romanticising violence”. Maybe we can be generous and say it stems from Bruce’s desire to solve the I-P issues with nobody getting hurt. And why shouldn’t that be possible? ROTFL!
See Donald, the guy who doesn’t like to tell people what to think or do, is busy telling you want to do or think.
And rather to owe up to his own paranoid fantasies, he is now projecting them on you. How mentally unstable is that?
And if he hasn’t insulted you enough, he let’s you know you are a “confused amateur.” And then ends with “dear Donald.”But he is not an elitist mind you, just telling you what is objective reality.
And even if you thought of yourself as not being a Zionist, Taxi knows better, since he read the book the “A to Z of Zionist Methodology.”
I think we have found another Dr. Charles Krauthammer in our mist – everyone who disagrees with him is confused or has a mental condition.
Mooser,
I’m disappointed as I’ve always appreciated your “Ziocaine” analogies and many of your insights. Unfortunately, there also seems to be an “anti-Ziocaine” addiction. Too bad.
And before you decide I don’t know I am doing and charge me with making general indictments like on “romanticizing violence,” you ought to at least get straight who says what. That was Donald, not me. So where did I say that I-P issues can get resolved with nobody getting hurt?
You’ve been hanging out with the wrong crowd too long. You are getting as sloppy as them.
Anyone else notice how Bruce in no way sounds like he’s giving Mooser the same sort of Spanish Inquisition that Witty gives Phil Weiss?
Mooser, the “romanticizing violence” line is mine. It’s a common theme with me–that one thing you’ll find uniting some people on the left, right, and center is the idea that some group of guys with guns are heroes fighting for justice and truth and lots of other good stuff. Not that there’s never a reason for picking up the gun, but all too often the heroic liberators turn out to have been thugs. The Zionist fairy tale about heroic Haganah standing up to the Arab hordes is a typical example. But it is also found on the left.
As for the JSF “suck post”, I’m a fan too, but it’s not an all purpose get out of jail free card whenever someone points out that not all the war crimes committed in the I/P conflict were committed by Arabs or that violence isn’t the answer to this conflict. Besides, for the forseeable future Israel is going to be able to inflict much more of it and in the event that they ever think they’re going to lose a conventional war, that’s when you’ve really got to worry about the 200 nukes.
Bruce–I’m not too worried about Taxi’s insults. It’d be a little depressing if his way of thinking is the norm around here, but then that’s the internet for.
Taxi–There’s a difference between someone like Judah Magnes and someone like your typical Nazi. Comparing Magnes’s dream of Jews living in equality with Arabs (which is what this blog is about) with Nazism is, well, confused.
Forgot this–
“I observed a pattern, I reported it. You apparently wondered about it pre my comment. Who then is paranoid here?”
There’s been talk here lately about a commenter called “Emma” and the majority of those discussing it believe she was an agent sent here to spy or cause trouble. I was and am in the minority in taking her at face value until there is better evidence of her being a spy–your talk of “suspicious” this and that made me wonder just how far people are going to take these sorts of suspicions. It’s better just to argue with what people say–I’ve had my paranoid suspicions myself about a commenter at another blog, but didn’t voice them when I was arguing with the guy, because I had no evidence.
“that not all the war crimes committed in the I/P conflict were committed by Arabs ”
Oops. I meant that not all I/P atrocities were committed by Israelis. The vast majority of them were, but not all.
Taxi, stop being so patronizing. You know I am not your friend, and certainly not your old friend.
Here are more questions you can refuse to answer:
More of your statements:
The very idea of euros coming to the mideast to set up a state on someone else land is utterly unacceptable to me – i don’t care what religion these euros are.
Euro converts go back to where you came from – fuck that up instead.
Also, to use your native-American girlfriend as example is moot my dear. Though her ancestors were genocided, she is not a refugee because she has not be forced off her ancestral land and she certainly these days has human and civic rights that Palestinians can only dream of.
So exactly what is your solution for Israel-Palestine? Despite the fact there are several generation of Ashkenazi Jewish Israelis born in Palestine are you proposing they all be sent back to Europe? Or was this just heated rhetoric?
I noticed you live in in California. How many generations have you been in the United States, Taxi, and where did your family come from? Unless you are an American Indian or indigenous Mexican, are you willing to return from where your ancestors came? Is it totally unacceptable to you that Euros came to America and set up a state on other people’s land? Are you calling on all Americans of European stock to also return to Europe? Or is there a statue of limitations on genocide and land grabbing?
And are you really insisting that American Indians (the descendants of the 10% that survived the White Man) have not be forced off their ancestral land, and that American Indians “have human and civic rights that Palestinians can only dream of.” I hope that Palestinians are dreaming of a better outcome than today’s American Indians. Except the right for some Indian tribes to own casinos in partnership with white capitalists, the American Indian still lives at the bottom of the American social system.
Yes, Chaos, showing off your reading comprehension again and your metaphorical brilliance.
Hmm, I pointed out that Mooser confused me with Donald, or else he has imagined some statements about violence which I never made.
Kind of like your imaginary Goldstone statements you attributed to me the other day.
And that is like Spanish Inquisition a la Witty?
You know, at least when Witty does this, at least there’s some grandeur to his wordcraft. I find myself mildly disappointed. This is kind of like being used to getting hosed down with champagne, and then somebody tosses a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon on you.
Bruce,
Your temperament is more suited as a guard in a prison camp than on a blog-board with too many challenging thinkers.
You’re constantly trying to ‘correct’ people’s behaviors – what’s that about?
What exactly are you compensating for here?
I make no apology for any of my statements regarding Israel or zionism – even when you purposefully list them out of context, I still support them.
Nothing you can do about that sergeant Bruce.
Take your self-righteous indignation and smoke it in someone else face – preferably in front of a mirror.
It’s interesting that Bruce chose to avoid answering my posts above.
I noticed you live in in California. How many generations have you been in the United States, Taxi, and where did your family come from?
And where pray tell does YOUR family come from?
“that not all the war crimes committed in the I/P conflict were committed by Arabs ”
Oops. I meant that not all I/P atrocities were committed by Israelis. The vast majority of them were, but not all.
What difference does it make who did what to whom at this point? Zionism is the underlying problem here whether you like it or not. To harp on the details is a cheap diversionary tactic to avoid acknowledging the big picture.
Taxi, you’ve made the point now a number of times. Please don’t change your behavior, carry on just as you have.
But I am entitled to my say just like you.
I can only answer one at a time. Probably haven’t seen them yet. Trying to take them as they come in, but can’t promise I can answer them all.
They were Jews from Poland, Russia, and some place that traded off between Russia and Hungary.
I have signed a pledge giving away my right-of-return to Israel, but I have no plans to give up my American citizenship. I have lived in Europe for twenty-five years, and currently spend a lot of time in Norway.
“What difference does it make who did what to whom at this point? Zionism is the underlying problem here whether you like it or not. To harp on the details is a cheap diversionary tactic to avoid acknowledging the big picture.”
This is actually getting funny. I should be angry, but the level of absurdity in this thread is off the charts. “Whether I like it or not”, uh? I happen to agree with you that Zionism is the underlying problem. I hadn’t really given much thought to “whether I like it or not”.
On big pictures, like it or not some people care about human rights issues because of human rights, not because it gives them an opportunity to choose sides in a war. Now one side happens to be the main villain, but it doesn’t make the deaths of other innocent people on the other side unimportant. Something I’d point out if this were a serious conversation, which it isn’t.
I’d advise anyone and everyone who values his or her neurons to get out of this thread now–it can’t be good being bombarded with non sequiturs and watching people spar with imaginary opponents.
And yeah, this is why I don’t necessarily accept that people around here can mind read whether or not a commenter is a spy. Veer in even the smallest way from a consensus of several people and the hysteria kicks in. Normal for members of the internet tribe and maybe normal for political activists of any stripe, but still ridiculous.
I believe I have answered all your questions now. Please let me know if I have missed any.
I’ve got a question — for Donald, actually.
Have you scrolled up the thread and seen who started this circus, and with what comment, yet?
There’s a specific point when this discussion got completely derailed. Where do you think it was?
No Sh*t, Chaos! Also, Can some state his opinions about Zionism without having to divulge their ancestry and family tree. That crosses the line on most blogs.
I have my own barometer measuring the changing tide. It’s planted firmly in the left camp and the so-called “peace’ or “anti-war” camps. On the day I see DailyKos, or FDL or Openleft or CrooksAndLiars broach the issue – on the front page – of how Israel is single-handedly bringing america to heel – is the day I’ll know the ground has really shifted. Not saying jewish left wing power is the only thing ruining it for America , just that it provides the leading edge on top of the many other ways America manages to ruin itself.
Why the left? because it’s where the jewish heavy hitting intellectuals, deep bleeding hearts and deeper pocket bankrollers are – right along with the jewish intellectuals’ fan clubs, heart throbs and little pockets. And jewish people provide a critical mass of the energy fanning the agonies of the left. They are much of the brain and a lot of the heart fueling dissatisfaction with the way things are – by which I mean the inexorable slide towards corporatism. But where needed, because of the overlap with tribal loyalty – and misguided affinities – even when the jewish connection itself is weak – the great jewish gestalt is missing in action when it is needed most.
To make it simple: neocons will be neocons – not much to expect there. And neoliberals are not far behind. Unbridled power for one, uninterrupted wealth for the other. But somewhere along the way there are true progressives, a sizable percentage of whom are jewish. And they are falling on a big chunk of “the job” – leaving progressivism to wail and flail about like a wounded animal – even as it is fighting it’s own care takers.
That is my barometer – and I believe it’s a good one. Let you all know when I see the needle moving – even if ever so slightly. Alas, I haven’t seen it happen yet.
Danaa,
I have a slightly different barometer.
The set of American Jews on the left which will speak out against Israel and the US-Israeli dysfunctional relationship are already visible. As you allude, they already make up an identifiable proportion of the left which criticizes Israel. From my observations over the last ten years or more, it is unrealistic to expect this group to expand greatly or quickly on its own. Other Jewish American liberals are already more critical of Netanyahu and Israel, but I would question the staying power. It will be all too easy to manipulate events to get them back into thinking there is a pending existential threat and they have to support the tribe.
My barometer measures when non-Jews, and in particular mainstream Christians, take the lead and get out in front on this issue, challenging the Jewish community. This is where change must come from. I know too many non-Jewish progressives unwilling to get engaged on this issue. Although many of the Christian churches have decent positions on I-P, internal conflict makes them reticent to go all out as they did in the Civil Rights movement.
Do you see any change in the needle of my barometer? I still see too little.
Well, you can google the on-going feud between the Presbyterians and the Foxmans
–seems that traditional church group (3 million of them) are demanding American Jews get more responsible instead of just repeating via their main organizations the usual hasbara while American keeps funding and backing at the UN Israel’s criminal activities. I’m surprised Phil hasn’t picked up that on this web site.
And for you, here’s an analysis of Jewish humor and Hollywood that says they draw
their inspiration from being the outsider amidst the dominant culture. Unlike Phil,
it seems the Jewish powerhouses in comedy and film have not awakened to the fact
Jews are a major part of the Establishment, both in culture and government and education: link to jewishjournal.com
Maybe the Daily Show’s occasional skits on Israel-USA and the I-P conflict is the first sign that Jewish American comedy is going to Daylight Savings time?
Yes, I’ve been following the Presbyterians. I wanted to do a posting on Rabbi Hier’s smear of them, but did not get around to it. Too busy discussing the important issue of Rabbi Wise’s lobbying on immigration policies in the Thirties with the commenters here.
The push back from the Presbs was rather mild. It seems we will have to wait for their actual announcement later this year to see if they are going to step it up.
The Methodists also have some great statements, but it seems hard to get any of the actual churches to take the subject up (for example with their Congressmen.)
This is going to be a trickle down from the military brass to the troops. Then it will flow from the troops to their spouses. These spouses are going to mention it in their churches. It will be a slow move but that’s how it’s going to flow. And when a military spouse says that the head of her husband’s military command has identified Israel at a threat to her husband, no amount of jerry-rigging Israel as the future site of the end times, or rapture, is going to make her willing to support Israel as a good guy.
Stars and Stripes, among many others, just printed the story so the attempts to discredit the story didn’t work. You could see the influence when Laura Rozen called the author, who blogs at her old haunt, Foreign Policy, a “former Newsday stringer and consultant to Yasir Arafat” when she repeated the story. I thought it was pretty tacky of her.
Well, dalybean, did you catch Paul Woodward’s further explanation of Mark Perry’s FA piece, in which he quotes Mark Perry?
link to warincontext.org
here is Random House’s bio for Perry:
MARK PERRY, writer, reporter, and foreign policy analyst, has published articles in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including The Nation, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times, and New York Newsday. His critically acclaimed books include Four Stars: The Inside Story of the Forty-Year Battle Between the Joint Chiefs of Staff and America’s Civilian Leaders; Eclipse: The Last Days of the CIA; Fire in Zion: The Israeli-Palestinian Search for Peace; and Lift Up Thy Voice: The Grimke Family’s Journey from Slaveholders to Civil Rights Leaders. Perry lives in Arlington, Virginia.
What books has Rozen written? Jealous, much?
I like the trickle-down assumption and I think the issue of another ally endangering the efforts of the troops is a very serious. I would assume AIPAC will try to sweep this under the rug, but how the military operates is something they do not necessarily have control over. I’m not sure, but the military is not like the Congress.
I wonder if AIPAC would really be that hard to neutralise – they obviously have a history of not acting as a friend of the US. Who could condone that? This came out a few days ago but not a peep from media anywhere:
link to prnewswire.com
AIPAC is really shafting the American people; most of them don’t even know it:
link to alethonews.wordpress.com
GREAT LINK, Sumud.
This is a great link from Sumud’s linked page to bookmark: link to IRmep.org
Obama administration with the largest numbers of ‘Israel-firsters’ in US history – is coming up with such rhetorics to divert the world’s attention from its next war for Israel – Islamic Iran and buy time for more new Jewish settlements to Judeoized Jerusalem and the West Bank. One doesn’t need a PhD in Western history to find out who controls the European and North American continents.
Israel through its control over the White House, Congress and Senate – has access to all US military bases (more than 200) in Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Kosova, Germany, Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Morocco, etc. Israel, thanks to Abbas, control offshore Gaza, which Israel Navy uses for the current total blockade of Gaza – in addition to Israel’s exploitation of offshore oil and fishing industry which is vital source of income for 1.5 million Gazzans.
Just remember, Obama is no JFK or even Malcolm X.
link to rehmat1.wordpress.com
Rehmat – are you aware of this website
link to german-foreign-policy.com
Several months ago, in the wake of Angela Merkel’s visits to Israel and the Arabian Peninsula, it was reported that Germany would proceed with sale of submarines to Israel, with tubes that were capable of being retrofitted to launch nuclear missiles, and which were intended to be deployed to the Persian Gulf.
Simultaneously, the linked website reported on Germany’s investment in numerous projects on the Arabian peninsula:
Off topic, but this is a good link–
link
It’s Isaac Asimov, very much sounding like Mondoweiss at its best. He acknowledges anti-semitism in the US, while also saying it didn’t hurt his career and that blacks were far bigger victims of prejudice in the US, and then criticizes that sacred cow Eli Wiesel for his blindness, and then look at the argument he had with his friend Avram Davidson. The only thing missing is a mention of the Palestinians themselves (which is peculiar, given everything else, but maybe Asimov didn’t know enough about the issue).
Oops. The word “link” correctly functions as a link–the blue words after that do not, but it sure looks pretty, doesn’t it?
After the linked word use [/a] to stop the linked text (using instead of brackets, of course. If I used the signs with something the computer recognises as HTML, it will not appear in the comment, so I substitute brackets in examples.
Mooser, everyone has been following your instructions here and there, but you need to be really clear that the [ ]s must be replaced with .
AIPAC is publicly lobbying on behalf on a foreign state. Why exactly are they not required to register as a foreign lobby? Why do they still have tax exempt status when they are brazenly violating yet another American law?
Foreign Agents Registration Act
***
Why do we still give stacks of cash, which we have to borrow from China and Europe, to give to an incredibly ungrateful Israel?
A Conservative Estimate of Total Direct U.S. Aid to Israel: Almost $114 Billion
***
Total U.S. aid to Israel is approximately one-third of the American foreign-aid budget, even though Israel comprises just .001 percent of the world’s population and already has one of the world’s higher per capita incomes. Indeed, Israel’s GNP is higher than the combined GNP of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza. With a per capita income of about $14,000, Israel ranks as the sixteenth wealthiest country in the world; Israelis enjoy a higher per capita income than oil-rich Saudi Arabia and are only slightly less well-off than most Western European countries.
from The Strategic Functions of U.S Aid to Israel
***
Note that this direct aid is a fraction of the total outlay of American support. See Mearsheimer and Walt, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy for a more thorough accounting. It is available in many county libraries, and can be easily found on Amazon with a title search.
Everybody? Do yourselves a favor and look at Bruce’s contributions to this particular blog discussion. Track it by time stamp. See what he started, every time?
That’s right Chaos I am on the offensive. You know like you have been for 4500 comments on this site. What’s wrong with that?
Should I be impressed? Scared? Angered? Aroused? Help me out, here.
Bruce,
Remember what is important to you and stick to that. Nearly certainly your reasoning on that is the result of years of observation and reflection.
The rancorous left and left-right (as distinct from the thinking and compassionate left), will bait you.
Its more of an interrogation than an inquiry.
LOL. Seriously, just…. LOL.
I think this is what is meant by, “jumping the shark.”
Congrats, Bruce. You have the support of Witty and all of his devoted followers behind your perceptions of Zionism.