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Total number of comments: 78 (since 2012-01-04 23:34:53)

Denis

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  • Report: Palestinian prisoners reach deal to end historic hunger strike
  • The neocon machine
    • Denis May 15, 2012 at 2:04 pm

      Thanks for the links.

      Roger you on that last paragraph, and mostly agreed.

      As for the BB's -- there have been a number of "deals" like the one you cite where the msm says the deal was closed but the administration says no way. In one instance Obama was going to sell Bibi bunkbust conversion kits that would increase accuracy, but after Bibi insulted Biden by signing off on 1600 new apartheid housing units while Biden was still in BibiLand, Obama promptly diverted the conversion kits to Diego Garcia while they were enroute to Israel. I don't know if they are still on the island, or what.

      But my point is, Obama is playing a very difficult, incredibly dangerous game here. Not just with respect to the elections and a possible bloody regional war in the ME, but there are those who make a good case for the theory that Israel took out the Kennedy brothers because they were making trouble for Israel's (then) clandestine nuke operation. There is a lot of motivation not to show your hand in both poker and politics.

      So I wonder whether "seems" isn't the best any commentator can do. It's all smoke and mirrors. Always has been; always will be.

    • Denis May 15, 2012 at 12:00 pm

      So compare Iran today with Iran of 2009:

      They have not been bombed. They have multiplied their ultra-speed centrifuges many-fold. They now have uranium enriched to 20%. They are dug deeper into the mountains. They have imported sea-skimming cruise missiles from China and Russia.

      All of this because Obama has been able to keep the muzzle on Bibi.

      So how is it you see Obama as a neocon? Maybe Obama is out-foxing the American Zionists and winning re-election, too. If so, he will be the first president in 60 years to do that.

    • Denis May 15, 2012 at 2:50 am with 3 replies

      @DC: sold them long range fighter jets, as well as re-fueling tanker aircraft

      Could you source this, please.

      My understanding is that Israel doesn't have in-flight refueling capability, which is why a shot at Iran is so difficult tactically. Recall all that rubbish recently about Israel buying an airbase in Azerbaijan? Recall all that rubbish about Obama promising to sell the refueling aircraft if Bibi waited until after the elections? I think you've got some wires crossed here.

      Obama has withheld re-fueling aircraft to keep Bibi on a leash . . . or to keep him from striking the US, neither of which constitutes being a neocon.

      @DC:Obama has sold the same bunker busters to Israel. Uh. . .what bunker busters are you talking about? Obama sold Bibi GBU-55's in 2009 after it was too late -- Iran was already too deep for them to reach.

      Obama has refused to sell them the Big Blu.

      As I say, you might be thinking about the garbage Israeli msm reports about Obama agreeing to sell the Big Blu and refueling aircraft if Bibi waited until after the US elections to bomb Iran --- total BS.

      @DC: Obama has greatly expanded wars in Sudan, Somalia, and Syria --
      Another fact-check, please. I don't recall greatly expanded wars in any of these places.

      Your logic is circular. You claim Obama has done all of these things (many of which claims seem to be factually dubious) that make Obama a neocon, and the proof of that is (10) that Obama hasn't taken any overt acts in order to make himself look like a "reluctant warrior."

      The fact that Obama is determined that Iran will not get a nuke does not make Obama a neocon. All of the facts you cite (at least the ones that are valid) are consistent with Obama's very, very clear goal. They are not necessarily consistent with him being a neocon unless one plays that silly "reluctant warrior" reverse psychology game. You want neocons? The Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Feith/Wolfowitz dogs would have bombed the blue gesys out of Iran by now.

  • Thaer Halahleh, dying, tells the daughter he's never seen why he took a stand for human dignity
    • Denis May 16, 2012 at 9:45 am

      @Samuel: “When the [Arabs] love their children more than they hate [Israel] there will be peace in the Middle East.”

      My guess is that the Arabs hate Israel BECAUSE they love their children.

      What the Palestinians hate about Israel is the way Israel is destroying their children and their children's future, and for that we should all hate Israel the same way we all hated the Afrikaners and what they did to the South African indigenous people.

      Your view of live-and-let-live is great if you are on the side who is screwing everyone else. Sure, from the Israeli viewpoint it is better if the Palestinians just shut their mouths, stop their troublesome resistance, and move out of the way so Israel can take their lands, destroy their means of livelihood, arrest their children, and imprison indefinitely anyone who looks like a troublemaker.

      As far as your reference back to the Shoah, sorry, I don't buy that crap anymore. It was a tragedy; I accept that. It is a bottomless well of emotional material Jewish film makers can draw on to get rich; I accept that, too. But I don't accept that it is an excuse for the rape of the Palestinians. It is completely irrelevant to what is going on in the ME today. You people who raise the Shoah every time you want to justify Israeli apartheid are just exploiting the memory of all of those who lost their lives. Shame.

    • Denis May 14, 2012 at 9:55 am

      Samuel T: As a Father, I am troubled severely by the letter. I would wonder if my child would think that I wasn’t important enough or valuable enough in relation to a political cause.

      I guess if everybody felt that way, there would be no more wars and a lot more kids with dads. But given the present state of the stalled evolution of our species, and given this situation in particular, I think your position is ludicrous.

      Given your rationale, those young men who died at Normandy should have declined the invitation to participate with the excuse that they wanted to be able to raise their kids, in which case their kids would have been raised as Nazis. Counter-examples to your position are endless.

      Throughout recorded history young men have been willing to die in order to protect or to improve the lives their children will live. The whole point here, Samuel, is that these prisoners are willing to give up life so that their children's lives will be worth something.

      If you were in these Palestinians' position and were not willing to do the same for your children, then I question your right to call yourself a "father."

      My point is that the Palestinian propagandists do not honor these people -- and may damage their cause -- by concocting fraudulent, hyper-emotive, "letters" that they claim were written by the striking prisoners when they clearly could not have been.

    • Denis May 14, 2012 at 1:34 am

      @ritzl: It doesn’t matter one whit when he wrote it

      I agree with all of your sentiments after this clause and I absolutely detest the Israelis and their US taxpayer supporters for putting this Palestinians in this mess. But it does matter when he wrote it because he didn't write it at all. IOW, it's a fraud.

      You say he could have written it on day one. Think about that -- how could he know on day one how long this thing was going to go on? As ToivoS observed, Bobby Sands only made it 66 days. Nobody could start into a hunger strike and expect to be alive in 75 days, so there is no way he could write this letter and refer to the "75th day." This is where the Palestinians have goofed up their propaganda.

      Read the "letter:"
      “Lamar my love: I know that you are not to be blamed and that you don’t yet understand why your father is going through this battle of the hunger strike for the 75th day,"

      This letter is a fraud because it is being presented as if Halahleh himself was writing it on the 75th day. No way. That is where Annie's "hook" is, at least that's the hook the hasbara will get hold of.

      Also, I discount the idea that he wrote the letter because . . . hey, do you honestly think the IDF is going to let an inflammatory letter like this get out and hit the viral express? No way. I mean can you see the IDF guards see him writing this, read it, and say -- "Sure, dude, that's cool. I'll run it down to the post box for you." What did he do, write it under the sheets with a flashlight in the middle of the night of the 74th day and hand if off to a cockroach for delivery? Did he text it? Did he tape it to a bed pan and throw it out the window? C'mon. Common sense will tell you this is a fraud.

      Of course if this "letter" incites another bloody intifada before the fraud can be discovered, then whoever wrote it accomplished their goal. It's not the means; it's the ends.

    • Denis May 13, 2012 at 6:03 pm with 16 replies

      Much as it pains me to back up my nemesis, Annie, I agree completely that Norm's basis for complaint is waaay off.

      However, I would add this one objective observation: a person that is in his 75th day of starvation is not going to be capable of writing any letters, much less a letter that is as long or as complexly phrased as that one. Three explanations come to mind, I'm sure there are many more.

      1. The letter was written by someone else in behalf of Halahleh.
      2. The letter was written by Halahleh weeks ago in anticipation of this end and someone just filled in the "75 days."
      3. Halahleh is in a lot better condition than one would expect after 75 days because the Israeli doctors are pumping glucose and necessary vitamins into him.

      From some of the dumb stunts from Palestinian propaganda machine in the past, my guess is #1 and this will back-fire in their faces. Their gambit is: write an emotional letter that will incite an intifada before the msm figure out it's a fake.

      It is an agonizing moment for everyone but the brain-ded Zionists like Norm, and anyone can understand the Palestinian propaganda machine wanting to squeeze as much play out of it as possible. I just hope they haven't miscalculated.

  • Obama's Jewish liaison reached out to Orthodox group that coddles those charged with child abuse
    • Denis May 13, 2012 at 12:43 am

      @Philip: "the Jewish outreach director for the Obama administration"

      'cuse me?? Americans' tax money is supporting an Obama "Jewish outreach director"?? Are there Christian, Muslim, and atheist outreach directors, too? Buddhist? What is this Jewish outreach that needs directing? Why does there need to be outreach to any religion in a country that prides itself on very strict separation of church and state?

      A tax-payer funded religious outreach director of any sort seems to be flying perilously close to violating the 1st Amendment separation of church and state doctrine.

      To be honest, I have never understood how successive administrations could send billions of tax-payer money to support a Jewish state without violating the separation doctrine.

      Any country that proclaims itself an Islamic state, or a Jewish state, or a Christian state, etc., should be cut off from any US financial or military assistance. (That includes North Carolina.) You can't aid a country that is based on a religion without aiding the religion.

  • Biden gives Israel the green light on Iran in speech to rabbinical convention
    • Denis May 8, 2012 at 7:20 pm with 1 replies

      "They will not both be around two years from now, and my bet is that Ahmadinejad is gone.”

      Sounds like a blatant threat to the life of Ahmadinejad to me, which would be a violation of the Geneva Convention, I'm sure. If there has ever been a country who has a valid reason to build a nuke to protect itself from mad nuclear dogs looking for a fight, it's Iran.

      Good history lesson on Truman. " [He] recognized the nascent State of Israel on May 14, 1948, just eleven minutes after it declared itself a nation."

      Wasn't there a twist to this story where because of a time zone mix up Truman sent the congratulations before Israel actually made the declaration?

  • Why no condolences from Obama to David Cameron?
    • Denis May 9, 2012 at 12:30 pm

      Bingo.

      Remember that open mic moment w/ gone-down-in-flames Sarkozy? After Sarko called Bibiyahoo a moron or something, Obama's response was "I have to talk to him everyday." Like, wtf is the most powerful man in the world doing spending time everyday with the misfit megalomaniac leader of a nuclear rogue joke of a "democracy" like Israel, I ask you. That time could be better spent doing Rush Limbaugh interviews or cleaning up after Bo.

    • Denis May 8, 2012 at 4:10 pm with 1 replies

      This is likely a call Obama would have made on his own cell, which he famously has refused to give up. Out of respect for Cameron, you're not going to see references to this call in the press or in any WH logs.

      The situation is likely the opposite of what's suggested. The inference is that Obama and Cameron are on a much closer level than Obama and Bibi Yahoo, to whom condolences on a personal loss must be exploited publicly for whatever AIPAC value they may have.

  • Olmert says 'superior powers' -- U.S. Israel lobby-- took him out in 2009
    • Denis May 5, 2012 at 9:39 pm

      @jwp: the most alarming aspect of which is how easily the US media unquestioningly kowtow to these fanatics

      Um . . . the US media ARE the fanatics.

      @jwp: legions of spineless Congress men and women, who appear incapable of judging what is not only in the US interest, but also the Israeli interest.

      Um . . . "appear" is the operative word. The million$ going to Israel, some of it comes back to help the spineless legions.

      @Phil: I'm waiting for Olmert to say what Americans don't want to hear, that the Israel lobby hurt Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992.

      Is it any mystery that Obama does his kosher step'n-fetch-it routine telling the world he has Israel's back? It is disgusting beyond description that such a tiny country has more influence on American politics than a state of comparable size, say, Massachusetts. The founding fathers would puke.

      Just stop and think how different the I/P conflict would be today if Carter had been re-elected, and then ask yourself . . . where forsooth* was Clinton, speaking of spineless.

      *Euphemism for "the f&ck"

  • I always knew Nana was Jewish, but it only came up once
    • Denis May 8, 2012 at 4:40 pm with 1 replies

      Keith, I know, I know . . . you must be over 60, too.

      Yes, I'm a Black, Jewish, racist, trouble-maker imam, but I'm glad a few of you have seen my point. It's an important one.

      The homogenous humanizers commenting above want to pretend we are one big, happy species with no distinct racial characteristics or talents -- at least none that you can talk about in polite, politically correct company. I don't do polite, politically correct company.

      When you look back at the history of America's heterogeneous culture, you can just about dissect it into the bits and parts that each of the races and ethnic groups contributed. It's like gumbo; if you try you can taste each component.

      In my opinion, the bits that have made America most loved around the world are those where the skills and talents of the Blacks and Jews complimented each other so well: 4/4 music with complex (i.e. African-derived) beats [jazz, blues, RR, . . .], sports [sans hockey], entertainment.

      If you white folks can't see that, that's OK. But it's also OK that you can't jump or dance.

    • Denis May 6, 2012 at 2:51 pm with 2 replies

      Pearls to swine. Why do I waste my time? You are obviously not comfortable with the thought that American Jews should be proud of the contributions they have made. Shame on you; try to stop loathing yourselves.

      I am intrigued that there is no comment on the speculation that there will be an antisemitic blow-back onto American Jews if Israel farts its nukes on the world.

      Good that we are in agreement on the main point. Perhaps you American Jews in the crowd need to think about this before it happens. Better proactive than reactive, as "they" say.

    • Denis May 6, 2012 at 12:46 pm with 32 replies

      It saddens me that there should be American Jews that would hesitate for a second to talk about their heritage and lineage. And I guess my sadness is more because of what it says about their environment and conditioning than what it says about them.

      I would think any American would have an amazing sense of pride at having a Jewish lineage. As a thought experiment, what if you could remove from American culture everything that has been contributed by Jews and Blacks. You would still have an Anglo/Hispanic/Asian residue, but think how flaccid it would be compared to what America is. While not denying that Jews and Blacks have contributed independently, the effects of the combination of their talents have been immense. The huge impact Blacks have had on American culture, most of which has been post-WWII, would not have been possible if Jews hadn’t recognized their talents and promoted them. What would America look like without the “moon-walk” or Muddy Waters. We'd still be playing just Mozart.

      As an American ex-pat who has lived mostly in Canada and New Zealand, to my mind, it is the Jews and the Blacks more than anything that sets America apart from the rest of the world, with special reference to the Commonwealth countries, our closest cousins, none of which have any culture at all if you remove what they imported from America. After centuries of patient struggle against horrible discrimination, the Jews and Blacks both finally found a level of acceptance and tolerance and freedom from bigotry in America that allowed them to “do their thing.”

      What worries me most is that Nana’s past of discrimination could become American Jews’ collective future if they get caught in an antisemitic blow-back that would surely result of if the nuclear rogue Israel keeps going in the direction it’s going in and precipitates a nuclear war. Somehow, the Israel-firsters have to be identified now so that it is they, and only they, among American Jews, who are held responsible should the worst happen.

      I am reminded of Hebrew University professor Martin Van Creveld’s comments in 2009 regarding the way Israel has every major European city targeted: “We have the capability to take the world down with us. And I can assure you that this will happen before Israel goes under." In which case, any surviving Nana’s might want to keep mum on who their father was.

    • Denis May 6, 2012 at 12:01 pm

      And then watch it again. Speaking of Jewish grand-mothers, this flick almost defines the term.

  • Growing chill between Obama and Muslims could prove a headache in November
    • Denis May 4, 2012 at 11:38 am

      Yeah, nice try, Opti. More vote-for-me spam.

      Voting Green Party is the same as not voting, at least as far as the I/P issue goes.

      Not a single word about Palestine on the GP platform page you link to. So what's the point within the context of this discussion?

    • Denis May 3, 2012 at 7:56 pm

      Very well researched and written, Alex. Thanks.

      Wow, I had no idea Muslims could swing Fla. I am shocked. I would not even have guessed they have the numbers to substantially influence Mich. even though it's their stronghold. How frustrating it must be to have votes but no candidate. I agree w/ maggie, they are stuck w/ baby-face Obama, who is no longer running on change and hope.

      Obama knows the Muslims have no other choice. He also knows the Jews don't have the votes to influence the outcome of national elections, but they have the dollars, and that's the huge multiplier that no other demographic has. Per capita, the Jews' political influence is huge.

      If you're one of those Bedouin's in Alice Walker's excellent video, that's bad news. Because unless American politicians flip-off AIPAC, take up the West Bank cause, and lean on the Zionists very hard and very soon, those Bedouin's are doomed. They are Israel's Comanches.

      My only (slim) hope w/ Obama is that after this election cycle, he won't need the AIPAC money anymore and he can do in his last term what he could not possibly do in the first. I also hope this thought keeps Bibi up at night.

  • Video: #Flagwoman protester raises Palestinian flag on Israeli military vehicle outside Ofer prison
    • Denis May 4, 2012 at 11:32 pm with 1 replies

      talk
      Add this one to your list. link to something-stinks.com

      It shows how the IDF photoshopped the Mavi Marmara incident to put a long knife in the hand of one of the "terrorists." Harretz then perpetuated this propaganda shot. Disgusting.

      I was taught: Never believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see. (But, of course, everything on the web.)

    • Denis May 4, 2012 at 11:03 pm with 3 replies

      Samuel, you’ve done well. You’ve made a century post out of this. And while I am supportive of your faux righteous position in the name of objectivity, and while, like you, the emotional knee-jerkers on both sides of the I/P line get up my nose, I have to conclude nevertheless that your position is specious. That is because your running commentary on the vid is really goofed up. I mean, it stinks like that skunk-truck. I am amazed that in 109 responses no one here has challenged your assertions of what is in the video. Forgive me if I do.

      Your suggestion that enormous amounts of time could have passed between what you call “edits” is absurd. First, you can tell by the flow of the action that this was not a 30 minute event regardless how many breaks in the vid there were.

      Second, one can tell by how slowly the vehicle is moving and by referencing it’s position against the background that these “edits” as you call them are most likely the videographer taking his/her finger off the button momentarily while changing position and/or to conserve memory and/or to conserve battery. We all do that. To interpret something nefarious in that is to suggest that you may be an IDF plant working the blogs to do damage control. My speculation is about as supported by any facts as yours. IOW, you are bullsh*tt*ing.

      You make a big deal of the paint splatter. You say you know the “pinkish trail” is solvent. You don’t. What? You have an HPLC that can analyze an online video for solvent? You say you know the splatter is fresh. You don’t. You are bullsh*tt*ing. The paint bomb could have been thrown by Judah in 164 BC for all you know. Later you conclude that “the authorities were provoked by a spray bomb.” You could not possibly conclude that from the paint splatter . . . or the video. Your certainty that a spray bomb provoked anyone suggests that you were there, and we are back to the IDF plant hypothesis. And you are running out of cred.

      You ask why the male protestors didn’t climb the skunk-truck. What does that have to do with the authenticity or validity of the vid?

      You claim that “a man” grabs one of the IDF guy’s rifle. You are bullsh*tt*ng here on 2 counts. 1) It is clearly the woman in the grey dress and blue scarf that reaches in and tugs the strap of the rifle with her left hand while videoing with her right. There is no man grabbing a rifle. And, 2), the rifle is not grabbed. Not even touched. But I agree with you – the lady grabbing the strap could have been a dangerous move.

      Your running commentary totally ignores the percussion device that goes off at 35, clearly indicating other IDF guys out of view. It also totally ignores the pepper-spray in the face from 4 inches away, which would get you good and sued in Canada.

      There is one very essential part of the video missing, which you don’t explicitly comment on. That is from the time the brave young woman is on top of the skunk-truck to the time she is shown running away. We don’t see how the IDF got her off the truck. It would be interesting to know why that essential part is missing. But from the mere fact that it is missing, we can’t conclude anything about the woman or about the IDF. So that point is moot.

      Your conclusion that this was not an example of civil disobedience beggars rebuttal. Only the IDF would not see this as civil disobedience. Durn, we're back to the IDF plant AGAIN. I'm beginning to think it might be true.

      All up, I would say your cred is busted, dude; your anti-propaganda propaganda smells like a skunk-truck. I still side with you on how the more uncivil regulars on this site are apt to show their baser side toward anyone they disagree with. Instead of blowing ad hominem stink-bombs at you, they ought to analyze the plethora of errors in your argument and respond to those. But we've all got our own way of expressing ourselves, and the stink-bombs are usually easier to spell.

      And as an aside to Daniel Rich who says “If I wasn’t married, I’d propose to this woman in a heartbeat” I’d suggest that you are in serious need of a marriage counselor, a therapist, and a cold shower, but not in that order. I’m speaking from experience. Last time I proposed to a woman on an Israeli skunk-truck, it turned out to be a complete disaster. She said "yes" and we both got pepper-sprayed.

    • Denis May 2, 2012 at 4:07 pm with 2 replies

      @Annie: thanks for adding to the attention denis. i find your ad hominems extremely amusing.

      Pleasure's all mine, Annie. Always delighted to return a favor.

    • Denis May 2, 2012 at 11:40 am with 18 replies

      Samuel, please . . .abide.

      On this blog, the term "objectivity" means, and only means, hatred of Israeli apartheid. The regulars here have a common viewpoint and, as you can see, they will not tolerate any comments that challenge that viewpoint or that are contrary to it.

      As you have seen, Annie is the queen-bee and she will be quick to insult you, fire off pithy ad hominems, and non-sensical, cryptic slurs of 5 words or less. Just ignore her sniping. It has no substance and is not worth responding to.

      But, by and large, the motives are honest even if the techniques are not, and the collective effort has helped balance in some small way the constant, droning, Israeli propaganda machine. We come not to praise Israel, but to bury apartheid.

      Of course you are right. The video was edited. We do not know what was left out. But these people would never, ever admit that obvious fact because it denigrates their overall message.

    • Denis May 1, 2012 at 9:57 pm

      Of course, all of you who responded to my earlier post are absolutely right. Ms. Ramadeh and those with her are wonderful, inspirational young people, hence my despair that main-stream Americans couldn't care less.

      I don't think that it is a large leap to see those same Americans as the enemy of these young people even more than the IDF clowns with the point-blank pepper-spray and sewage spraying skunk-trucks. Were it not for $100 billion in Americans' support over the last 6 years, there would be no Israeli apartheid. It should be called American-Israeli apartheid.

      One would think that in hard times Americans would at least care about their money being wasted, but they don't because they only see what successive administrations in Israel, US, and msm want them to see. Thank you, Michel Oren and the US/Israeli spin-machine.

    • Denis May 1, 2012 at 2:03 pm with 5 replies

      This is a Palestinian woman pepper-sprayed. No blood. No death. No lasting damage.

      Please explain why anyone would expect these images to have anymore of an impact on normal, head-in-the-sand Americans than the Israeli point-blank murder of American Furkan Dogan (The Mavi what??) or brutal murder of American Rachel Corrie (Gaza what??). Which is to say: ho-hum. I mean, the Americans barely even blinked an eye at the dozens of deaths caused by the Israeli attack of the USS Liberty.

      As long as the Israeli-firsters control the dialogue, there will be no outrage and Americans will just keep feeding the beast until it turns on them.

  • Major olive producing village ordered to uproot 1,400 trees by May 1
  • Ozick, anti-Palestinian polemicist, is shortlisted for a big prize
    • Denis April 28, 2012 at 1:35 pm

      Is it possible for a misogynist to be a woman?

      Deep questions, all. And, as always, it depends on what your definition of "is" is.

  • The new landscape: big media cover former Palestinian P.M.'s obit for two-state solution
    • Denis April 24, 2012 at 10:44 am with 4 replies

      ". . . quoting former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia as saying the two state solution is dead. Well not exactly; but he said Israel killed it. So I guess that means it's dead."
      Like . . . huh?

      AP: "Israel captured the territories in the 1967 war."
      While it may not be new news, it is worth mentioning that AP and WaPo are propagating this Israeli line that the territories are now Israel's in spite of a number of UN resolutions condemning that position.

  • The five assaults of Lt Col Shalom Eisner
    • Denis April 22, 2012 at 4:37 pm with 1 replies

      As appalling as this wanker's actions are, even more appalling is the support for him in Israel. The story behind the story tells more about Israel than the story.

      Cries that Eisner be promoted.
      link to israelmatzav.blogspot.ca

      Phony claim by phony "ISM under-cover activist" Lee Kaplan that the Dutch dude had a knife. [Note the most important link goes nowhere.]
      link to israelnationalnews.com

      Kaplan's work is reminiscent of the knife photoshopping by IDF in the Mavi Marmara incident.
      link to something-stinks.com

      Petition to reinstate Eisner.
      link to petitionbuzz.com

      I know we should not be surprised that there are Israelis supporting this out of control Cossack, but, still, it's hard to believe people can be this sick.

  • Video: Senior IDF officer smashes peaceful activist in the face with his M-16
    • Denis April 16, 2012 at 3:30 pm with 1 replies

      Predictably, Haaretz looks around for a story to balance the IDF thuggery story and what they come up with is "Israel Border Police beat, detain 9-year-old Jewish boy in Hebron" The only grounds for balance is the number of lines and the size of the headline. The substance is vapid. The writer, Chaim Levinson, must not have much to work with, either in substance or skills.

      "A Border Police officer choked the boy, and held him in the air for approximately 10 minutes." Held him in the air for 10 minutes? Beg pardon?

      When was the last time a Palestinian kid getting "detained" was reported by the Israeli msm? Any nonsense to divert attention from IDF thuggery will do.

    • Denis April 16, 2012 at 11:13 am with 13 replies

      People with tiny testicles wielding way too much localized power. Must be a real release for Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner to plant the butt of an M-16 in the face of an unarmed, non-violent, non-resisting peace activist.

      For those, like Annie, who beat up on me for my previous comments about the self-control of the IDF guys raiding the Palestinian home, perhaps you can now appreciate the difference between the choices being made at the level of person-to-person interactions. It was a choice of some Lt. Col. like this nematode that ordered the raid of the homes. It was the soldier's choice to behave in a non-violent way in carrying out the orders. I did not see any malice in the eyes of that soldier.

      But malicious Semites like this Eisner is the reason for the growing international hatred of Israel, it's people, and it's apartheid policies. Of course, Bibi sees it as a useful message to the left: don't mess with Israel. But then Bibi is a malicious Semite, too.

      As a result of the inevitable extension of hatred by association, the US is making itself a target of this same growing hatred. After all those M-16s are US weapons.

      I hope the irony of this fat-ass being named "Shalom" will be lost on no one.

  • P5 +1 Iran nuclear talks went swimmingly! Netanyahu is fuming
    • Denis April 15, 2012 at 6:50 pm

      Shocking. I think the Olympics has finally driven the rest of the UK away. And soon it will be England, Scotland, and the UK and the Queen won't know who to send to defend the Falklands.

  • Israel lobby group committed to 'new media' uses mushroom cloud in tweet (updated)
    • Denis April 14, 2012 at 4:08 pm with 1 replies

      Yeah, Annie, well you obviously didn't see the original headline on this post.

      It was something like "Israeli group calls on Israel to nuke Iran" and the pic of the phallo-fungus-nuke cloud

      Thanks Phil for turning it down a notch. My BP peaked when I saw the original.

    • Denis April 14, 2012 at 10:16 am with 3 replies

      What is this, some sort of fighting hasbara with hasbara?

      The nuke pic is obviously meant to depict what will happen to Israel if Iran isn't stopped. If I understand your headline, and I hope I'm mistaken, you are contorting this into a "call" to nuke Iran????

      It's an attempt to terrify Israelis and to put pressure on the Iranian talks.

      Everybody needs to take it down a notch, dude.

  • When is someone going to lose his job for calling someone an anti-Semite?
    • Denis April 14, 2012 at 11:12 am with 1 replies

      Thank you, Philip. This is a very worthwhile conversation.

      I remember in 1982 when I began a post-doc at Harvard's BioLabs, every day I walked past the Harvard Semitic Museum on Divinity Ave. I was shocked when a friend pointed out that the Semitic Museum was supported largely by Arab money. Until then I had never realized that "Semite" does not refer to only Jews, it refers to, well . . . a) descendants of Shem, and/or b) those who speak one of the many Semitic languages. IOW, Palestinians, Arabs, Assyrians, Jews are all Semites.

      This is why I refer to the Middle East as "squabbling Semites." Basically, it's same-old, same-old internecine fighting that has been on-going for thousands of years but is now operating on a nuclear scale that threatens the entire world.

      But with respect to the slur "anti-Semite," given that the Palestinians are Semites, when Bibi sics the Occupation Forces on the Palestinians and rips down Palestinian homes, who is the anti-Semite?

      When Occupation Forces screw with Palestinians and make their lives miserable day in and day out, who is the anti-Semite?

      When Chuck Schumer advocates the "strangulation" of Palestine, who is the anti-Semite?

      When the IDF uses F-16s to execute Hamas guys in Gaza in order to precipitate a retaliation so the IDF can test drive Iron Dome, who is the anti-Semite?

      Somebody needs to take the term "anti-Semite" and push it down Abe Foxman's throat. Maybe then he'll stop being an anti-Semite.

    • Denis April 13, 2012 at 10:28 pm with 1 replies

      Thanks, Pixel. Brilliant, brilliant flick. Brilliant film-maker, Yoav Shamir.

      The intensity of pedo-propaganda those beautiful Israeli kids are exposed to is amazing. With that level of brain washing, not one in 10 of them will grow into adults with the sort of objectivity Shamir has to sort these problems out. The film shows so many pathologically twisted Jews, like Foxman, it's a shame to think that those young people will grow up to become more of the same.

      Shamir's grandmother was the brightest point of hope in the whole flick. Wonderful woman.

  • 'What do you want from a 5 year old girl? She threatens your state?': Israel raids a house in Nabi Saleh
    • Denis April 12, 2012 at 5:40 pm

      Taking it out of context, aren't you Annie. Here's the entire clause. Are you taking a cheap shot because it applies to you?

      "For all of you Israeli-haters who cannot bear to see an objective comment on IDF soldiers that might be construed as positive. . ."

    • Denis April 12, 2012 at 11:21 am with 3 replies

      re: joemowrey, inanna

      For all of you Israeli-haters who cannot bear to see an objective comment on IDF soldiers that might be construed as positive, let me note the following:
      I'm an ex-combat Marine, and I've seen plenty of how soldiers treat civilians in tense situations. I've also seen enough vids of IDF beating up on unarmed Palestinians. The IDF guys in this flick are behaving politely by any measure of comparison.

      Busting into a house in the middle of the night is done under orders. But the way you speak to the people inside is a personal choice and we should be encouraging this sort of self-control rather than knee-jerkers like the critics here who want to demonize everybody and everything associated w/ Israel. Your attitude is as culpable for perpetuating this mess as the die-hard Zionists'.

      As I clearly said, I don't condone the raid, but I certainly condone the self-control I see in that video. If you can't see it or can't condone it, you've got a real problem.

    • Denis April 11, 2012 at 10:03 am with 13 replies

      I am struck by a couple of things. First, how much English both the lady and the IDF use. Is it common in the area and in these interactions between IDF and Palestinians for them to communicate in English?

      Second, while not condoning a masked home invasion in the middle of the night, these kids are, basically, polite. They were sent there by some low-level officer, and are following orders. The IDF is full of pricks, and we often see those guys on videos beating up people or spraying them with mace. But there must be an equal number of IDF soldiers who know what they're doing is wrong and who don't want to be there.

      Had this patrol been Americans in Iraq or Afghanistan, the lady would have gotten a rifle butt in the face and that would have been the end of the video.

      Thank you for posting this.

  • Jewish press concoct threat against 200 Jewish students in Florida university
  • Book recounts Mike Wallace being attacked at NY party by Barbara Walters and Mort Zuckerman over '60 minutes' Israel coverage
    • Denis April 10, 2012 at 1:53 pm

      Wow, good one, Kathleen. Thanks.

      Serling hits on just about every one of the 5 filters from Chompsky's propaganda model.

      This interview was before Twilight Zone aired. I think Serling is too dismissive of his own program and efforts in the interview. We never missed an episode. This was the one, probably the only, example of intelligent TV in the 1950's. It got you thinking ... even the phrase "another dimension" made a 10 yr-old stop and think.

      Serling describes this era as TV at its nadir of mediocrity. But there was nothing mediocre about TZ; it's amazing how 50 years later I can still recall many of those TZ plots, but not a single plot from Lassie or Roy Rodgers -- not even the sexy new-born puppies episode.

    • Denis April 9, 2012 at 5:58 pm with 1 replies

      OK, Les, we'll bite... where did you read that? Are you implying that Wallace had a motive to report the unsavory truth about Israel because his roots are in Iraq?

      Wiki says his parents were Russian Jews, like the majority of Jews in Israel, actually, and the surname was Wallik. You're Iraqi Jew theory took me 10 seconds to fact-check. Care to give us your source? Maybe Wiki missed something.

      I believe the point still stands: Wallace was a Jewish reporter with the courage to say what needed to be said about Israel. An egregious majority of msm anchors are Jewish. How many of them have taken on stories like this one? If some one could please just give me a couple of examples of US msm Jewish investigative reporters or anchors taking on Israel over the Occupation, I'd be grateful. John King? Bernstein? Rivera? Couric? Chung? Safer? Simon? Blitzer? Koppel? Please, one or two objective stories re: Occupation. Most are, like Walters, about as objective as Bibi when it comes to Israel.

      We are back Annie's piece on Steves and the movie Peace, Palestine, and the Promised Land.

  • If you deduct the Israelites, Pharaoh's Egypt was actually a marvelous country
    • Denis April 8, 2012 at 10:29 pm with 1 replies

      What!!???? You mean this street goes 2 ways?? The Israeli Jews control the US government and the US Jews control the Israeli government??

      Wonder who's gettin' the sh*t end of this stick?

  • 'I've been duped' -- America's travel guide Rick Steves says our media black out the brutal occupation
    • Denis April 8, 2012 at 1:51 am

      Yes, that was an interesting graphic. It was surely taken from Chompsky's 5 filters idea -- 5? I think it's 5 -- and adapted to this particular situation. But I don't see how that filter idea explains why the US MSM is being absolutely deceptive while the UK MSM is reporting facts on the ground. One of those filters in the graphic represents the Zionists who control the US MSM, but nobody in the flick said a word about that. Like tree says, that's my "why" -- I didn't make it too clear.

      My answer to my why is that unlike in the UK, the US media are heavily controlled by people who want the Palestinians to give up, and GTF out. Who are these people? (Hint: Israel-firster Chas Schumer recently said he would "strangle" the Palestinians economically. I'll bet he could tell you exactly who these people are.) Need I say more?

      At the end of the film I did not see many good suggestions for how to turn this around. God love those Israeli Jews who are trying so hard. But to me the secret lies entirely in the US. If those kids could get their hands on all of the rocks in the Holy Land, it would not be enough to get the IDF off their back, but the voters of this country could shut the Occupation down in a matter of months.

      Use the internet to identify and out those media honchos who are responsible for the dis-information. There is moral high-ground here waiting to be occupied. (Boy, am I preachin' to the choir now.) Knowing that they have been systematically lied to will encourage people to take the attitude most of us here have developed: pure distrust of MSNBC, ABC, CNN, ..... Look at Rick Steve's response. Look at this Trayvon Martin media mess. Who needs US MSM? I get better, more accurate news about events in the US from the UK's lowly Daily Mail than anything I can see in the US MSM.

    • Denis April 7, 2012 at 8:16 pm with 15 replies

      @hughsansom: NPR and PBS have shown no spine
      @Annie: response from the bigwigs
      @Pamela: what kind of hornet’s nest he is walking into

      This is what I don't understand: why are we using these euphemisms?

      Of all of the blogs following the Occupation, none is more objective, or straighter-talking than this one. So why are we now dancing around the core issue with respect to what's going on with the US MSM?

      Go back and look at the vid Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land. 55 minutes of bashing the US MSM for not reporting objectively on the Occupation. Not one time do they ask "Why is that?" How can you possibly begin fixing a problem without discussing its cause?

      Not one time do they or the commenters here shine the light on the elephant in the room: The Zionists control the US MSM -- and even that is a euphemism.

      Why is that topic still taboo? Someone please provide one single explanation that makes more sense. Isn't the very fact that the MSM reporting is so disgustingly slanted with respect to the Occupation sufficient evidence to prove this point?

      Prediction: Mr. Steve's has a very rough year ahead of him. Because he is so popular and so well known, if the Israeli government perceives him as an "existential threat" there will be consequences. I think most MSM reporters understand that.

  • Connecticut Senate hopeful calls congressman a ‘whore’ for AIPAC in televized debate
    • Denis April 6, 2012 at 6:30 pm

      @ Annie: Something like Marcy Winograd's insurgent campaign against Rep. Jane Harman in California two years back.

      Yes, and probably w/ no better results -- Winograd was dead last at 6% in the primary. Although Goldberg once featured her in The Atlantic, one struggles to find any reference to Winograd or her message now.

      Because Americans have been so "shielded" by the MSM about the truth in Palestine, Whitnum's diatribe, however objectively justified, is ahead of its time. And being ahead of one's time is indistinguishable from being wrong.

      But I love what she's doing. She's in the fray and doing more than all of us keyboard tappers combined. Her campaign may be doomed by her message and her style, but I'm sending her $50 to help keep her going as long as possible.

  • How to win friends and influence people -- to bomb Iran
    • Denis March 29, 2012 at 4:28 pm with 1 replies

      As ever, depends on what your definition of "is" is. (I loved that guy.)

      Israel's schtick is effective if it is a diversion for grabbing Area "C" and other misadventures and crimes against the Palestinians. While most of the web and MSM get diverted by these sabre rattlings ad nauseum, Bibi, Danon, and the gang continue pushing "legislation" to annex 61% of the West Bank.

      When I first read that Perry piece, I thought surely this is another Borat spoof.

      LogoPhere.com gives 6 very good reasons why this whole Azeri landing strip theory is ludicrous. #1 of which is the 200 Iranian fighters and thousands of missiles that would turn Azerbijan's 8 airstrips and capitol Baki into a moonscape as soon as the first Israeli fighter showed up on a radar screen.

  • Bloomberg warns BDS will lead to 'massacres' as Park Slope Co-op holds initial vote on boycott tonight
    • Denis March 27, 2012 at 3:25 pm

      @hophmi: Care to say what was error-laden about it?

      Sure, below is a cut/paste from the revised article. Sophomoric errors of fact. This is NYT, after all.

      Correction: March 24, 2012
      An earlier version of this article erroneously stated that Liz Roberts was a member of the Park Slope Food Co-op B.D.S. board. Ms. Roberts is an activist with the Park Slope Food Co-op Members for B.D.S., but no such board exists at the Park Slope Food Co-op. Additionally, an earlier correction in this space wrongly stated that the Park Slope Food Co-op did not have a board; it does. Additionally, the first name of Nechama Marcus was misspelled.

      @hophmi: Once again, you’re whining because you’re upset your extreme political cause is not supported by any mainstream voice.

      Very good point. All the mainstream voices are controlled by you Manifest Destiny Zionists, just like Congress is. Having shut down or dominated the MSM discourse in the US by ownership and financial control, you Zionists then crow about how the Palestinian cause "is not supported by any mainstream voice."

      Go ahead -- I can see your next comment coming before you can get your fingertips on the keyboard: "ANTI-SEMITE!!!" SAFBII . . .

    • Denis March 27, 2012 at 11:29 am with 4 replies

      Good point, hophmi

      You've got Kirk Semple's error-laden drivel on Mar23 presenting the "fair and balanced" view that nobody at the Coop gives a crap about BDS. Semple is more interested in reporting what the people have in their shopping baskets.

      Then, the day before the vote is scheduled, NYT runs the anti-BDS piece ostensibly reporting the politicians' positions.

      Oh, please, stop whining all of you people who care about the Zionist rape of Palestine.

  • StandWithUs manufactures boycott of Jewish deli in Olympia
    • Denis March 22, 2012 at 9:39 pm with 2 replies

      Phan, if Jacobs were ever to refer to me as the most evil man anywhere, I would be delighted. Job well done.

      @Hava's comment: No, I think there’s been other contacts with [SWU], but I can’t give you any dates or context or anything, you know, because they’ve been involved in Olympia for a while. So I don’t remember when my first contact with them was or who it was.

      IOW -- SWU and Hava go back a long time.

      This whole Kitzel's thing looks like a SWU -- i.e. Israeli govt -- operation. I would love to see where their funding came from. For them to open an Israeli goods outlet right smack in the middle of the SWU attack on OFC -- and say she didn't know anything about it -- well, . . . . you tie the pieces together.

      We need the Electronic Intifada to check this one out, too. They've already pretty well demonstrated that the Israeli consulate was funding the lawsuit.

      Anyone in Olympia who is serious about BDS needs to avoid this place like the plague. Besides, after what SWU did to OFC, any business that deals w/ SWU ought to be picketed and boycotted.

  • Those killed in Gaza have a name, and each has a family that grieves for them
    • Denis March 21, 2012 at 2:37 pm

      @ optimax "my sentence with the qualifier “SOME” in it"

      I don't know if it was your intention, but the fudge-word "SOME" is often used in a sentence like yours to cover up the fact that the writer cannot name a single person, or instance, or example, but just wants to stir up a controversy. Other cover-up words are "many" and "most." They usually signal that the writer is blowing bubbles.

      Let's say, arguendo, that you have a concrete example in mind, say some lout from Newark, NJ, who actually said such a thing. So what, unless you are trying to imply that the sentiment is a common one in the US? If you have data or examples that indicate the sentiment is prevalent, give them to us.

      I would be both delighted and grateful if you would provide us with all of the examples you can substantiate of Americans saying that being anti-Bates is being anti-American. I think we should put their names out there for the public to see, and I will applaud your efforts sincerely. But if you are just throwing out fiction to gain attention, bugger off.

      Thanks for the movie suggestion. I think in the Bales context a more appropriate movie might be Causalities of War, based on the true story of US servicemen Tony Meserve, Thomas Clarke, Herbert Hatcher, and Antanio Diaz kidnapping, raping, and murdering a Vietnamese girl, Pham Thi Mao. The movie ends on their conviction and so it doesn't show how they eventually got off virtually scot-free or had their sentences reduced to a wrist-slap. Most servicemen accused of atrocities face no penalty, which is why these atrocities keep happening. As a lawyer and an ex-combat Marine following this Bales story, I find that fact of life very disturbing. I'm sure you feel the same way.

    • Denis March 21, 2012 at 12:43 am with 1 replies

      Optimax: "There are some who say being anti-Bales is anti-American."

      Please don't try to project such statements onto the whole country. There are idiots in every country. Many Americans are very upset.

      Speaking of upset Americans and the names of victims, there's a list of the Panjawi Massacre victims at: logophere.com

      Here's what the blogger had to say:

      "Even those of us who are non-religious, or anti-religious, or atheists, or agnostics, or whatever sometimes pray in response to tragedies like these. We pray, like everyone else, because it is the only possible way we could hope to affect the outcome. I pray for Mr. Wazir and the other surviving family members who are now condemned to the quiet, burning hell of waking up every morning for the rest of their lives without their loved-ones. And I pray, also, that there is another Hell, an appropriately painful and eternal one, waiting for Bobby Bales, and anyone else responsible for this massacre."

  • Israel will attack Iran-- and Obama gave tacit approval (Haaretz)
    • Denis March 16, 2012 at 8:10 pm

      What's that??

      Are you saying it's the Israelis who are the existential threat to everybody "downwind."

      When will the world see this? In 1973 Mier threatened to nuke Cairo if Nixon didn't come to the aid of the IDF, which was getting its butt kicked.

      Yes, my friend, I couldn't agree more. It is Israel that is the existential threat to everyone in the Middle East, and beyond. Noam Chomsky has quoted a US Army Col who has said the military is aware Israel could use its nukes on the US.

      And so the US gets its knickers in a twist over Iran, who doesn't even have that first warhead. The psychologists call this "displacement behavior."

    • Denis March 15, 2012 at 6:52 pm with 2 replies

      I'm with you, too, Fred.

      David Albright said it: we know Israel doesn't have the capability to attack Iran simply because they haven't done it. Israel does not go around advertising its intentions when it faces an "existential" threat. It doesn't even advertise AFTER the fact.

      This hyper-rhetoric is all choreographed for a reason. The challenge is figuring out what the reason is.

      Russia has already made it clear that an attack on Iran is an attack on Russia. When Omama says he has Israel's back, is that a message to Russia? I don't think so. I think he's just groveling for AIPAC shekels. He probably called Putin before making that comment just to be sure they're cool. Unless the Suez or Hormuz or Saudi Arabia are threatened, the super-powers are not going to square off over Israel or Iran

      Even if Iran is an existential threat to Israel, who else cares? What's Israel got that anybody wants? Bagels?

  • Another civilian massacre and the savagery of our soldiers
    • Denis March 18, 2012 at 10:56 pm

      FYI . . . that was a beautiful reply. Where did you come up with that?

      Thanks.

      I'll have to have a look at what you're saying and check back.

    • Denis March 18, 2012 at 11:04 am with 3 replies

      @ Hostage: The Court can still exercise its jurisdiction if members of the US or Israeli armed forces commit crimes on the territory of one of the many states, like Afghanistan, that are parties to the Statute. FYI, crimes committed on US or Israeli territory by nationals of a state party could also be subject to the Court’s jurisdiction.

      FYI, I believe you've got this wrong, Hostage. I note you don't support it with any authority.

      Last I heard the US and Israel are sovereign states. The whole point of sovereignty is being beyond any other power or jurisdiction. That sovereignty extends to the state's representatives abroad, including military, acting in the state's behalf. Unless the US has relinquished its sovereignty in these matters by means of a written statement -- which it has but has retracted -- then the ICC has no power over it.

      Could some foreign country, acting on an ICC warrant, arrest Bush or Obama while they are abroad and take them before the ICC . . . ah, yeah, sure . . .dream on. Think WWIII. Today, nuke stockpiles, essentially, is the bottom line of sovereignty.

      That is not to say that Bales could not have been charged with the murders and tried by the Afghanistan govt. under Afghan law. Soldiers do not have diplomatic immunity and, barring that, sovereignty does not provide immunity for criminal acts in foreign countries.

      But who in the Afghan police force or army was going to wade into the middle of the 3rd Stryker Brigade to execute the arrest warrant?

    • Denis March 17, 2012 at 1:07 am with 5 replies

      Hostage

      Both the US and Israel have "unsigned" the Rome Statute. They are no longer parties, and no longer bound by it. Can't imagine why . . . . the freakin' perps.

      Here is FN 3 to UN list of signatories. @ link to treaties.un.org

      "In a communication received on 28 August 2002, the Government of Israel informed the Secretary-General of the following:
      .....in connection with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted on 17 July 1998, [...] Israel does not intend to become a party to the treaty. Accordingly, Israel has no legal obligations arising from its signature on 31 December 2000. Israel requests that its intention not to become a party, as expressed in this letter, be reflected in the depositary’s status lists relating to this treaty."

      Here is FN 10.

      "In a communication received on 6 May 2002, the Government of the United States of America informed the Secretary-General of the following:
      This is to inform you, in connection with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted on July 17, 1998, that the United States does not intend to become a party to the treaty. Accordingly, the United States has no legal obligations arising from its signature on December 31, 2000. The United States requests that its intention not to become a party, as expressed in this letter, be reflected in the depositary’s status lists relating to this treaty.”

      The Palestinian National Authority has accepted jurisdiction of the Int'l Criminal Court, although it cannot be a signatory because it is not a country. Canada is a full signatory, which is just another reason why I left the US for Canada. I prefer to live in a place I don't have to be perpetually ashamed of.

    • Denis March 16, 2012 at 8:15 pm

      Nima, this is the most incredible online piece I have ever read. Your effort in assembling all of those links and quotes is greatly appreciated and admired.

      We now have news from the MSM that this sicko is Robert Bales, 38, SSgt. He has been whisked out of harm’s way — meaning away from any possibility of a local trial — and brought to safety in the US. His civilian lawyer is already working the MSM, spinning this kiddie-killer into the victim.

      It is amazing to me the way Americans go off like a 3000 mile long pipe bomb when a child is snatched off the sidewalk in Fla. or Calif, raped, and killed. And they should go off like a bomb. But kiddie killers in American uniforms plying their depravity in distant places . . . well, as Panetta said in Afghanistan this week: tsk, tsk, war is hell, let’s move on.

      Now the Army will spin this sick bastard into the victim. It was his third tour. His buddy was injured. His CO should have seen this coming. And, or course, the catch-all reason to pity him: PTSD

      OK, he’s sick. So turn him over to the Afghanis. Let him sit in an Afghani asylum for the rest of his life. This is not a military matter. It’s a civilian matter. If a mass-murderer had killed someone while stationed at Fort Lewis, he’d go on trial in a state court, not a military one. But that won’t happen. He’ll eventually get a rank-reduction for dereliction of duty.

      As sickening as the Taliban are with their stonings, brutal misogyny, Sharia-fueled violence against the Afghanis, it is even more sickening to realize that to these same people, US soldiers are worse. Talk about being between a hard place and a rock.

  • MSM jailbreak: Chris Hayes devotes 2 hours to conflict with panel of 2 Zionists and 2 Palestinians
    • Denis March 12, 2012 at 10:28 am

      I agree with all of the comments pointing out Chris Hayes' courage. It really does take courage, and that is outrageous when you think about it.

      Why in 21st century America, where the 1st Amend is still in effect, at least theoretically, does it take courage to speak out in a way that may be deemed critical of Israel?

      What does this guy, and other MSM pundits like him, have to be afraid of?

      Answer: Jews.
      As in Abe Foxman. Neocons. Alan Dershowitz or however he spells it.

      Answer: Idiots.
      The ones who will surely start screaming "anti-Semite!"

      Answer: Those in power in MSM
      The ones who can jerk him off the air in the wink of an eye.

      It reminds me of 1969 when a cop told me I had courage for dating a black woman. It was a veiled threat, of course, and I realized then what a fantasy the 1st Amendment really is. Chris Hayes needing courage is another example of the obvious.

      (BTW, I am a white male -- sort of cream colored, actually. My reference to dating a black woman won't make any sense unless I add that. Pink on the inside. )

  • Israel strikes Gaza, killing 11, injuring 16
    • Denis March 10, 2012 at 10:47 am with 36 replies

      From reading Harretz on this exchange you would hardly know it's the same event.

      This story: Local resistance in Gaza retaliated and showered nearby Israeli settlements with homemade rockets.

      Harretz: Since Friday, a total of nearly 100 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza.

      Harretz scrambles the timeline but makes it sound like the Gaza rockets precipitated the first Israeli attack.

      This article clearly states the exchange began with the Israeli attack on the Opel and that the rocket attack was in retaliation for the Israeli bombing that went on from 5 pm Fri to 2:30am Sat. So this implies, without stating, that the rockets didn't fly until after 2:30am Sat.

      But there's one thing everybody can agree on, by the time this is over, the Israeli's will have inflicted the most damage by a factor of 10 to 100 and will spin it so much we'll all be dizzy.

  • Freedom Funnies: ‘You Can’t Just Continue’ Part II
    • Denis March 11, 2012 at 11:41 pm

      Just a couple quick notes in response, Ethan. I know you're getting tired of me. Annie has already scraped me off the bottom of her shoe.

      Captain Israel:
      poorly done -- check.
      ugly -- double check
      espousing a hateful rhetoric -- oh, man, did you get that right.

      Favorite cartoonists:
      I hope you missed Shel Silverstein because you're too young to remember him. One of the most beautiful people ever to push a loaded nib across a sheet of paper. Different Dancers.

    • Denis March 11, 2012 at 2:46 pm with 3 replies

      @ Ethan: And then you end by pissing on my entire medium.

      Ethan, pah-leezzze. I was not “pissing on” your medium. Read what I said. . .

      I was pissing on your audience: people who think that reading comics is reading. Maybe comics like yours is the only way to get such people engaged in important topics. Most of them are, I suspect, teenagers or younger, which is why, in the context of Captain Israel, I have referred to such comics as pedo-propaganda.

      Political comics are propaganda. People justify producing such propaganda or reading it on the basis that, well, it’s my position, which is obviously the right one, therefore, it’s OK to caricature the other side.

      In this particular case, are the words you ascribe to Ms. Jacir propaganda? Not if they accurately quote or paraphrase what she said. I would consider that a form of reporting.

      Is the caricature of the IDF guy propaganda? Of course it is. And it’s not something I think should be a part of a rational and honest discourse on the problems Ms. Jacir’s story raises.

      And so when you refer to this comic as a “non-fiction interview”, you are clearly misrepresenting what it is, unless that IDF soldier was a part of the interview. Your comic comprises more than just the words in the dialog bubbles.

      I have argued long and hard about the deleterious effects of SWU’s Captain Israel pedo-propaganda initiative. I would be a hypocrite to ignore the same tactics from the other side of the Israeli apartheid issue, your good intentions – or theirs – notwithstanding.

    • Denis March 9, 2012 at 5:59 pm with 6 replies

      @ Chaos: There is no discourse with Israel’s supporters.

      Except for someone trying to stretch my comment into grounds for a smear, I don't think any reasonable person would read it as referring to a discourse with Israel's supporters.

      Let me spell it out for you. What I had in mind was the discourse about the Israeli land-grab and the tragic way Israelis are treating and killing the Palestinians. IOW, the ongoing discourse between those of us who visit this site and who are trying to understand these issues so we can take actions we feel are appropriate, whether casting votes, sending Emails, offering financial support. . . whatever.

      Understanding the facts is hard enough with all of the conflicting assertions of what the facts are. My point is that adding fictional characters and fictional accounts to the mix is not helpful. Fiction only and always distorts truth based on the writer's/artist's perceptions of what the truth is, or what it should be.

      While the fiction may be beautifully executed and have immense aesthetic value, its validity as a medium for political discourse is questionable, in my opinion, whether it be Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1984, or Captain Israel. With respect to "funnies" specifically, this problem is greatly exacerbated as can be illustrated by reviewing the way "funnies" were used to depict Jews in Europe in the early part of the 20th century. How different was that from using fictional cartoons to depict Israeli Jews in a bad light in this century? I'm not saying there is no difference; I'm asking.

      The problem is, I believe, that "funnies" appeal to half-functional, lazy minds that can't be bothered sorting it all out. The kind of people who buy Playboy for the photographs and ignore the interviews with people like Malcom X and Ayn Rand.

      Ethan obviously saw my point and has clearly explained his, which I appreciate and understand.

    • Denis March 9, 2012 at 12:35 am with 5 replies

      The Israel Firster group Stand With US has a funny book, too. Have you seen it? Here is LogoPhere taking the mickey out of it.
      link to something-stinks.com

      I'm not sure I get this "funnies" approach. This is not humor directed a nasty human behavior the way Doonsbury was directed at the VN war. This is not discourse. It is one-way, forced projection. Of course this example is not nearly as bad as "Captain Israel," but maybe I don't see it as bad because the opinions being pushed in Captain Israel are grossly offensive to me, whereas these certainly aren't.

      But my point is political "funnies" that are not backed by humor strike me as propaganda. Maybe it's because I got so much of it shoved down my throat as a kid in the 1950's through Superman and WWII comics.

      Funnies should be funny, and using humor to fight apartheid or other malicious human behavior is a very, very difficult thing to pull off. It is sort of like I find Michael Moore's techniques revolting for their cheap tactics, biased tenor, and gross polemic, while Jon Stewart, making the same points, often makes me think as I laugh.

  • At last a leader, Obama fingers 'Israeli interest' in war
    • Denis March 7, 2012 at 11:32 am

      Thanks, Phil. A remarkably well done post. Blogging doesn't get much better.

      Not to say I agree w/ your optimistic view of BO.

      The dude is playing the 2-term shuffle. On one hand he has to keep Bibi off his back and the AIPAC neocons in play. On the other hand he has to scoop poop to the doves, who have the votes at the moment.

      When Greg Craig left the WH in 2009, we pretty will knew it was because BO had looked at the National Intel Estimate and, like Bush, thrown all American principles out the window. This man is 100% pragmatism.

      Nobody will really know what BO's position on Iran is until December. Bibi has 7 months to either entangle the US in an Israeli war with Iran or get a Republican in the WH. The war drums were not silenced by Omamma's speech. The most optimistic sign I've seen is the super-carrier USS Stennis leaving the Arabian Sea and returning home this week.

  • The Israeli case for war in 'The New York Times'
    • Denis March 1, 2012 at 4:53 pm

      "He has the assistance of the jingo media of the far right but also the mainstream media. "

      The word "jingo" here fascinates me. It means jingoistic, I guess, but jingoistic with respect to whom -- Israel or US?

      We all know he's doing the defensive euphemism thing: using "jingo media" to imply "Jewish media" in a way that will, hopefully, avoid the inevitable charges of anti-Semite. Go ahead and say it, dude. We're all thinking the same thing.

      I mean, this is a vital question. Whose rights and welfare are the US media -- right, left, middle -- promoting?? Certainly not the US'. I would like Obama to make a public statement as to how many US soldiers is an appropriate number for defending Israel, and how the US will benefit from that loss of life. 58,000 died for nothing in VN, so we can use that as a starting point. Do we go up, or down on that number?

      Backing Israel has never benefited the US. Not one time in 63 years. Backing Israel is a losing proposition, always has been. Time to get out of the way and let them stand on their own.

      Two years ago Obama promised Israel that if Iran ever threw a nuke at Israel, the US would respond in kind against Iran. Right promise -- wrong country. He should have promised Iran that umbrella, and if Israel ever fired the first nuke, the US would retaliate in kind against Israel. Then Iran would have no excuse to be building warheads and Israel could see the folly and danger of rattling their nukes. Policy of ambiguity, my tush. Remember the Liberty.

  • Netanyahu seeks Iran conflict, extremist reaction to knock out Obama
    • Denis March 2, 2012 at 3:17 pm

      Herein lies the real rationale for all the saber rattling: to take the world's eyes away from the Israeli rape of Palestine.

      Bibi will keep this fear mongering up for a few months while the IDF grabs more land on the WB and takes more shots at Gaza. Just watch this unfold.

      Remember how Reagan invaded Granada just as the arms deal was blowing up in his face? Same sort of thing -- divert the public's attention away from where the stink really is. It's a shell game.

      Obama is either being played as a sucker by Bibi in this shell game, or he is a part of it. But maybe Obama is smarter than Bibi and sees Bibi's game for what it is. Hopefully, he has a surprise for Bibi somewhere down the road.

      If Obama were to ink a treaty w/ Iran promising them a nuke umbrella and protection from Israel in exchange for Iran opening ALL of its nuke sites to IAEA, that would be an "October surprise" that would (1) make good on his promise to stop an Iranian nuke, (2) guarantee him reelection, and, (3) finally justify his Nobel Peace Prize. It would leave Bibi stinking in his own stew.

  • Judge strikes down lawsuit against Olympia Co-op boycott of Israeli goods
    • Denis February 28, 2012 at 10:30 pm

      " The plaintiffs could be ordered to pay $10,000 to each of the collective members and cover legal fees."

      Allison errs here in two important respects.

      First, there is no "could" about it. The statute says the penalty and fees "shall" be awarded. That means the judge has no discretion.

      Second, as noted repeatedly above, only the named defendants get the $10,000 grand each, not everyone in the OFC. But still, since there were 16 defendants and 5 plaintiffs, that comes to $32,000 per plaintiff. Ouch!! As LogoPhere says, maybe that's the reason it's called a SLAPP suit!!
      link to something-stinks.com

      The plaintiffs are Kent Davis, Linda Davis, Susan Trinin, Jeffery Trinin, and Susan Mayer -- “DDT-5.”

      Their lawyer is Avi Lipman.

      I think it's important to identify these people instead of just referring to "the plaintiffs." The point is they tired to wreak as much financial damage as possible with their SLAPP nonsense by naming past and present board members when all that was needed was one representative defendant.

      Now they are going to reap the law's wrath for their maleficent scorched-earth approach to SLAPP suits.

      Good. This is what you get when you shill for Israel in its attempts to victimize US citizens for supporting BSD, which is their right under the 1st Amendment. The last thing the US needs is Israel coming in and taking over the Constitution the way it has taken over Congress.

      "Free speech rocks!" -- Oprah Winfrey.

  • Israeli government sending 100 Israelis abroad to 'defend the state' during Israel Apartheid Week
    • Denis February 20, 2012 at 6:07 pm with 1 replies

      @ Mndwss: The right wing Israeli government sending 100 Israeli propaganda trolls abroad to defend the Apartheid state? That is free speech?

      Yes, sir/madam, in America it certainly is free speech.

      If you can't see that, you should spend a couple of hours with the First Amendment and the USSCt cases on point. I would suggest the flag-burning cases: Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989), and U.S. v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990).

    • Denis February 20, 2012 at 11:11 am with 8 replies

      Good.

      Does somebody have a problem with this??
      Free speech is a wonderful thing.

  • Israeli police shoot international activist in the neck during weekly Nabi Saleh protest
    • Denis February 4, 2012 at 11:38 pm

      Please look at this vid carefully.

      At 0:38 one of these IDF cretins enters the view from the R and repeatedly fires at the people who are now at the top of the hill and are of no threat whatsoever. At 1:10 he dumps his empty shells, so we know he has unloaded what he had.

      This is precisely where the problem is: these morons who represent the boots on the ground and the fingers on the triggers. They have the same mentality as the German soldiers during Krystallnacht, the purge of Warsaw, et al. atrocities. These are the same people who committed those atrocities, and I suspect history will view them in the same way 50 years from now, but they should be despised in the present tense.

      Basically young men with no brains, their hatred of the "enemy" pumped up by their leaders and their hope for a promotion.

  • 'NYT' gives Israelis its magazine to make an attack on Iran 'normal'
    • Denis January 31, 2012 at 3:38 pm with 3 replies

      Like Clinton said, it depends on what the definition of is is. What do you mean by "in?" There have been dozens of unannounced DIV's -- design inspection verifications -- by IAEA over almost a decade. Does that constitute being "in Iran?"

      The point is that there have been no inspections since the damning IAEA Nov07 report, or even since the sanctions and saber rattling began. The last DIV was actually mid-October, 2011. And a lot of threats have passed back and forth since then, including the threat to shut down Hormuz, and an Iranian nuke electronic-trigger expert has been assassinated.

      That is precisely why this week's IEAE visit is so significant. The recent flexing of US naval muscle has clearly softened Iran in a way the sanctions and assassinations have failed to. If those inspectors get inside the heavy-water facility IR-40, it will be a virtual capitulation by Iran.

      If not, well . . . the ducks are being lined up. Amahdinejad & co. see that and they are sweating bullets. The only thing that can possibly save their bacon at this point, short of capitulation, is another move by Russia.

      Sorry, "bacon" is not the right word here at all. No offense meant to anybody. Let me try it again: The only thing that can save their collective kiester at this point is another move by Russia.

    • Denis January 31, 2012 at 11:55 am with 8 replies

      Reality check.

      Three weeks ago Obama sent the USS Abe Lincoln carrier group from Thailand to the Persian Gulf. It has just passed through the Hormuz. Two other carrier groups -- Stennis and Vinson -- are presently in the Gulf of Oman. An unprecedented naval build-up in any part of the world at any time, except for war.

      Obama has just sent 15,000 pairs of boots to Oman -- 30 miles from Iran. This is not embassy duty.

      Iran has been on full military alert since about October.

      UN nuke inspectors have just arrived in Iran, which would never happen unless Iran is sweating bullets. Recall all the UN investigations of Saddam -- aluminum tubes and the whole bit -- prior to Bush's attack. If the UN team concludes that Iran is on the road to a nuke, it will be the thumbs-up US/Israel needs to make its case for the post-war history books. This is the Colin Powell moment deja vu. Afterwards, they can say "oops."

      Obama wants to get re-elected in 2012 as much as Bush did in 2004. As long as it's viewed as being justified, going to war in a bad economy never hurt any president's chances for re-election. But Obama needs some sort of "independent" rationale (i.e., UN report) and media support, or else he just comes off in the short term as another war-mongering Democrat, like Johnson.

      Go back to Feb. 2003 and review the NYT's role in pushing the Powell UN-BS and, consequently, pushing the US into war and you'll be better prepared to understand what's going on today.

  • For just $502.42 you can bash Muslims in Columbus
    • Denis January 31, 2012 at 7:36 pm with 1 replies

      @Eva: Your ad in the Lantern – would you list Jews from Harward that ended up behind bars??? – if you would it’s free speech. If you would balk it means you are a racist.

      This very nicely epitomizes the general ignorance here as to what "free speech" means. It doesn't mean just that speech you agree with. It doesn't mean just speech that is balanced. Free speech is not limited to speech that is liberal or supports Muslims or Palestinians. Basically, assuming the 11 people referred to in the ad are private actors, as long as the statements made in the ad are not intentionally false, they qualify as free speech.

      If that offends you, you are living in the wrong country. Either leave or work to get the First Amendment revoked.

      Why has no one here attacked the statements in the ad on the ground that they are lies? That is the only valid ground for complaint.

      The ad names 11 individuals and for each individual the ad asserts that 1) they were associated with MSA, and 2) they are or were associated with terrorists or terrorist groups. OK, those assertions are crystal clear and unambiguous. The question is: are they true? Can anyone here provide any evidence that these statements are not true?

      For example: if Anwar al-Awlaki is leader of external operations for Al-Qaeda and is also a former MSA president of Colorado State, as the ad states, then those are two valid assertions of fact. If they are true then they are not hate speech but, rather, they are free speech that is entitled to 1st Amendment protection. If they are facts, then these right-wing nuts have every right to bring them to the attention of whomever they want to.

      OTOH, if these assertions about Mr. al-Awlaki are false, then he should be filing a defamation action.

      I don't like right-wing nuts like Horowitz and I don't like most of what they have to say, but I prefer them to left-wing nuts and PC pedants who try to control the dialog by mis-characterizing free speech as hate speech. That just burns my butter. And I say that as a lawyer who has fought his share of defamation and SLAPP suit battles.

      BTW, I spent 5 years as an undergrad at Ohio State. It is not a university, it is a football school. The difference would only be apparent to one who had the misfortune to attend a football school thinking they had enrolled at a university. If this ad were to be run in the student paper of an academic institution, it would generate huge amounts of dialog and probably backfire in Horowitz's face, which is precisely why, I presume, he chose a football school.

  • Breaking report: US/Israel military drill cancelled, after US tells Israel to back off
    • Denis January 15, 2012 at 6:34 pm with 1 replies

      It must also be noted that just 2 days ago the Pentagon announced that additional muscle is now headed for the Persian Gulf – 15,000 troopers to Kuwait and a second carrier, the USS Carl Vinson combat group, is to join the USS Stennis group. The CVN is actually now in the Gulf.
      link to imperialbeach.patch.com

      But that’s not all. . . according to the Facebook page for the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, it has just pulled out of Thailand. And Naval Today reports that the Abe Lincoln is “en route to support coalition efforts in the 5th Fleet AOR.”

      DEBKAfile is less ambiguous, they are reporting that the Abe Lincoln is headed to the Persian Gulf. It’s about 5000 nautical miles from Bangkok to Hormuz. At 30 knots flat out, she’ll be there next weekend, about Jan22. Three US carrier combat groups focused on a stretch of water 35 miles wide. Someone has said that a fight over the Strait of Hormuz would be like a knife-fight in a phone booth.

      It is becoming more apparent that Obama has given up the game with Bibi. It is Israel, not Iran, that has crossed some line. Israel is moving into strike mode and Obama is putting as much distance possible between the US and Israel and as quickly as possible by denouncing the killing of Ahmadi-Roshan and by cancelling Austere Challenge. At the same time he is busting ass to get as much firepower into the Gulf region as he can.

      My guess is that it will be more like days or weeks, rather than months, before the lid is finally blown off of this over-heated kettle in the Middle East. Events are moving very quickly toward three drastic show-downs: 1) between Israel and Iran; 2) between US and Iran; and, 3) between US and Israel. Only one of these show-downs will be diplomatic, the other two could lead to WW III.

      Somebody pass me that Mayan calendar. I want to have another look at it.

  • Adelson is giving Gingrich $5 million because of fear of Ron Paul -- Chris Matthews
    • Denis January 11, 2012 at 7:53 pm

      Philip: "you did not hear the word Israel in any of these immaculate perceptions."

      What a brilliant line.

      Paul doesn't have to win the nomination to get the US to stop bankrolling Israel's apartheid system. As long as he stays in the fight through the summer it will be enough time for his meme that the US ought stop sending billions to Israel to take hold. If he pounds this drum loudly enough, he may get ordinary people who have never given Israel a thought to wake up, look around at the financial mess in the US, and ask themselves "WTF is going on? Why is my tax money going there and not to my own child's education?"

      As Churchill said: Americans eventually make the right decision. It's just that they have to try all of the other options first.

      Paul's worry is not Adelson's money going to Gringrich. Paul's worry is pillion passengers carrying magnetic bombs. A US that no longer supports Israel is 100x more frightening to Israel than a nuclear Iran. Paul could easily be seen as an "existential threat" to Israel. And we all know what that means . . .

  • Captain Israel is back, and better than ever!
    • Denis January 7, 2012 at 12:10 am

      Yuk, yuk . . . yeah this SWU stuff really is funny for us adults. It's the kind of stuff that would make Goebbels smile.

      I like the way it was characterized over at logophere: "pedo-propaganda."

      That implies how sick Stand With Us really is.

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