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Total number of comments: 437 (since 2012-06-28 19:03:21)

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  • Charting the 'peace process'
    • Roya December 2, 2012 at 7:09 pm

      Many believed these oppressed people, starting from scratch, would demonstrate how Man could live in an ideal state whose example would restore the principles of freedom and humanity to the bruised and disillusioned post-war world

      Excuse me? Zionism was founded in the late 1800's, well before humanity got "bruised" and "disillusioned" from any world wars. This remnant of hasbara doesn't cut it here.

      Zionism always was, and still is, a colonial project. Nothing more.

  • Migron eviction: Israel evacuates 300 settlers
  • Israel's lone soldiers: Come for the perks, stay for the war crimes
  • Rudoren writes up settler/colonist leader as 'worldly, pragmatic' wine-lover
    • Roya August 19, 2012 at 9:10 pm

      Also Rudoren recently wrote this lovely infomercial encouraging Americans to go enlist in the Israeli army. I stand my ground.
      On the bright side, Nima Shirazi dissected that infomercial here.

    • Roya August 19, 2012 at 8:21 pm with 1 replies

      Great idea. Did she reply?

    • Roya August 19, 2012 at 8:06 pm

      Colin that wasn't a response to your idea about emailing her. I think that's a great idea, and I definitely don't see any downsides to it.
      My comment was a response to your thought that she "might unleash a bombshell. It could happen..." I just don't see the point in sharing this optimism since I have been given no reason to do so. The CEO-publisher-chairman (one extremely powerful man), vice chairman, opinion editor, and executive editor of the NYT are all Jewish, as is Rudoren. While I don't personally know each of them nor the roots of their souls, I do know that mainstream American Jewish opinion is pro-Israel, and I also know that NYT has a consistent track record of being pro-Israel. And even if Rudoren wanted to come to her senses, she would have to answer to the Jewish-dominated NYT bureaucracy. So you see, I don't care to waste any hopes that Rudoren will do a 180, and I will continue to have this mindset until there is a tangible reason not to.

    • Roya August 18, 2012 at 9:16 pm with 8 replies

      Rudoren might unleash a bombshell. It could happen…

      Colin did you not read this article? Do you really think that the New York Times would hire a non- or anti-Zionist "progressive" Jew as the Jerusalem bureau chief? Seriously? What gives you this optimism, I'd like to ask. And am I supposed to applaud and throw a party because there may exist some weak hope that this woman just maybe, maybe, maybe will come to her senses and express a glimmer of truth about Israel from time to time, knowing full well that such weak but well-deserved criticism would be coupled with an equal or greater criticism of the oppressed Palestinians? No thank you, I'll stay away from the foolishly optimistic camp unless she gives me good reason to think otherwise.

    • Roya August 18, 2012 at 4:02 pm with 17 replies

      Funny, I remember when Phil wrote a glowing profile on Rudoren when she first got the job, painting her as some closet anti-Zionist who would actually do the NYT some good. Nope, not quite.

  • Los Angeles should say no to segregation, and say no to Veolia
  • 'Al Jazeera' reports Syrian regime committed Houla massacre in effort to ignite sectarian conflict
  • Democracy Now, interviews with Phyllis Bennis, Trita Parsi on Israel's threat to attack Iran
    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 8:10 pm with 1 replies

      Wow I did not know that the Iranian president was named AKKKHHHHHMENIJAD. Apparently Iranians all around the world have been pronouncing his name wrong all these years....Thank you for letting us know Michael Scott Bornstein "Oren"!! 30:55

    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 7:57 pm with 2 replies

      CloakAndDagger, I sort of agree with your analysis. If Israel attacks Iran, I agree that Iran would likely not take any direct action against the US, but I also think that there is a good possibility that Iran may not take direct action against Israel either. Iran does not fear an Israeli strike too much, as Israel is not capable of carrying out a sustained attack, and the attack it is capable of would do limited damage. Also, world opinion would turn against Israel and make Iran look like the victim, and Iran would want to play that card, which would be ruined upon retaliation. But if the US were to kowtow to Israel and attack...

    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 7:49 pm

      Thanks Divest but I think we need to boycott Israel regardless of war. Apartheid states aren't worth investing in.

  • 'NYT' publishes op-ed saying there are 'too many Palestinians and Arabs' in Israel
    • Roya August 19, 2012 at 2:17 am

      Ms. Abulhawa it's awesome to see you posting here!

    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 7:43 pm

      I'm highly disappointed (understatement) too, godthankingatheist.

    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 3:37 am

      i agree that the palestinian opposition to immigration is not that different from the rightwing opposition to immigration lefties oppose in the us today.

      If this is to say that Palestinian opposition to immigration in the years leading up to '48 is akin to right-wing American opposition to immigration, I beg to differ. There's a difference between immigrating in order to integrate within an established society and immigrating in order to colonize, and the Jews made it clear that their intentions were the latter. I don't see why anybody would consider it wrong for any group to resist colonization just as I don't see why such resistance or opposition would be attributed to racism. If the Swiss were to decide to colonize Canada tomorrow, I'll bet that the Canadians would resist even though their corresponding majorities are of the same race.

    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 3:21 am

      Surely, Phil, you realize the irony of this argument. Part of the Arab case against Israel was too many Jews in the Holy Land. We’re OK with them as a small minority, but not in any real numbers where they might want sovereignty and rule over us.

      I don't know, maybe it could have had a little something to do with an understandable fear that the foreigners were gonna take over, as suggested by both British and Zionist actions? When you find a group that will happily accept colonization, hophmi, do let me know. Deal?

    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 3:20 am

      The sooner this country is minority-majority, the better off we will be.

      And the sooner this country's alternative media becomes the mainstream media, the better off we will be.

    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 3:18 am

      Mooser, I once saw a bumper sticker that had a picture of pilgrims, and underneath it read, "Puritans: America's first illegal immigrants," so don't fret about your forebears. :)

    • Roya August 14, 2012 at 9:49 pm

      I first encountered Aaron David Miller at a panel at the Woodrow Wilson center with Trita Parsi and Efraim Sneh. He disgusted me then, and he disgusts me now.

  • Boston airport security program rife with racial profiling has Israeli links
    • Roya August 14, 2012 at 11:17 pm

      Well to start off I would not abuse disabled people. link to youtube.com My next step would be to not blacklist solidarity activists to keep them from coming to witness the Palestinian tragedy. Then I would not demand for passengers' passwords and then go through their emails. And that's just the beginning.

  • Mearsheimer: 7 reasons Netanyahu & Barak might like war with Iran
    • Roya August 18, 2012 at 8:30 pm

      Iran has long advocated for a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East as well as nuclear disarmament of the entire world, Colin, so there's no need to speculate about Iran's views. Israel is the rogue state here.

    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 8:55 pm

      Because Bibi said so.

  • Iran hysteria watch
  • Egyptian President Mursi orders Tantawi to stand down
    • Roya August 14, 2012 at 9:35 pm

      Citizen, I know what you mean. To vote on principle, or forgo principles to keep the worse guy from the presidency? We're on the precipice of another war, which at best would result in higher gas prices and at worst would culminate in nuclear warfare (all options on the table, baby). On the one hand, we have Empty Suit #1, who has by no means kept it a secret that his campaign is being kept afloat by a rabid Jewish fundamentalist (commonly known as a Zionist), and who goes over to a foreign country to promise foreigners and dubious dual citizens that the fate of this country rests solely in their hands. On the other hand we have Empty Suit #2, who immediately afterwards sends his dude (we'll call him Italian Guy) over to said foreign country to promise them that nuh-uh, he will bend over backwards (or forwards, whichever way you see this dirty love triangle) even more for said foreign country. Then again, rumor has it that behind the scenes Empty Suit #2 is sending his dudes over to said foreign country to beg them, to implore them, not to drag the "Great Superpower" into yet another war that could be disastrous for the kowtowing "superpower." And at least Empty Suit #2 is intelligent enough to try to pretend that he cares for you, the average American citizen. Empty Suit #1 doesn't even bother with this formality.

      As for me, I've decided to go with the latter option because I see this period as a state of emergency, with a lot more at stake than during past election years. I know Ron Paul can't win (this time, anyway), so I can either futilely vote for him or cut my losses and put my one vote for the man with an actual shot at the presidency and who is slightly less likely to drag us into an apocalypse.

    • Roya August 14, 2012 at 8:08 pm

      Tantawi = Military guy = America's puppet = Israel's puppet. So why are you happy about this biorabbi?? Surely the Muslim Brotherhood hasn't been infiltrated enough to make a Zionist happy about a surge in its power...

    • Roya August 14, 2012 at 12:56 am

      Israel and the US have every intention of keeping Iran as religious/fanatical as possible, so they can have them as an enemy and prevent the overthrow of regional Israeli/US hegemony.

      I agree with you on this in regard to Israel, but not entirely in regard to the US. Excluding the noecons, I don't think the government has any specific goals of their own for Iran. It seems to me that they don't care much about foreign policy except to do what is comfortable today, and what is comfortable today is to do what will get them re-elected tomorrow. From where I stand, it looks like the non-neocon members of government just robotically adopt the Iran policy handed to them by the neocons and other members of the Lobby in order to suit their personal and greedy ambitions. "Simple" as that.

    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 1:29 am

      The shock announcement over state television came amid an ongoing military operation in Sinai, where 16 soldiers were killed in an attack by militants last week.

      An NPR journalist went to the Sinai to investigate the so-called "military operation" and found no evidence of it. Instead, the locals were laughing it off, saying they had seen and heard of no such thing. If that's the case this may have something to do with Morsi's firing the military commanders. Maybe he ordered the offensive and they wouldn't budge and that was the last straw?
      NPR: Doubts Emerge Over Egypt's Offensive in Sinai

    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 1:16 am with 2 replies

      I had no idea that Mursi had the authority to do this.

      He doesn't. According to BBC:

      Under the interim constitutional declaration issued before Mr Mursi was sworn in, the president cannot rule on matters related to the military - including appointing its leaders.

      So we'll have to wait and see if Morsi gets his way. *cross fingers*

    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 1:11 am with 2 replies

      Will he blow it again if reelected?

      Yes. But Romney will be worse so in a few months I'm going to get over my gag reflex and vote for Obama even though the guy that belongs in the presidency is the "unelectable" Ron Paul. Cheers to democracy!

    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 1:10 am

      I am old enough to realize that there is much I don’t know, and that there really are puppet masters and illusionists and things are rarely how they seem. Otherwise, I would know with certainty that 19 men in a cave brought down the twin towers, even though many of them are still walking around alive today.

      I don't know about illusionists if by that you mean illuminati, but yes, certainly puppet masters. And re 9/11 the "9/11 Missing Links" documentary is a must-see.

    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 1:07 am

      For example, Qatar want Egypt to parch things up with Iran.

      Source please? And it otherwise seems to me that Qatar is singing from the same song sheet the US gave it; if anyone has evidence otherwise I'd be very happy to hear it.

  • Savage Geller bus ad hits San Francisco Muni
    • Roya August 15, 2012 at 7:38 pm

      A mini-ad which supports “Jihad” and questions Israel’s civilized status might not trigger the above mentioned statutes. (Consult a lawyer.)

      A lawyer may not even be able to help as the terminology of the NDAA is very vague when it comes to providing "material support" for "terrorist organizations." Hence the Daniel Ellsberg, Chris Hedges, Noam Chomsky et al. lawsuit against the government.

    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 8:32 pm

      Maybe we are seeing Israel justice migrating to the US.

      Great observation, ToivoS. Philip Giraldi commented on this as well.
      America Adopts the Israel Paradigm (intro):

      I recently read a fascinating article by Scott McConnell, “The Special Relationship With Israel: Is It Worth the Cost?,” which appeared in the spring 2012 Middle East Policy Council Journal. Even for those of us who have closely followed the issue of Israel’s asymmetrical relationship with the United States, Scott provides some unique insights. He observes, for example, that the result of the “special relationship” between the United States and Israel has been the wholesale adoption of Israeli policies and viewpoints by Washington’s policymakers and pundits. As Scott puts it, there exists “a transmission belt, conveying Israeli ideas on how the United States should conduct itself in a contested and volatile part of the world. To a great extent, a receptive American political class now views the Middle East and their country’s role in it through Israel’s eyes.”

  • StandWithUs' revisionist history train campaign
    • Roya August 14, 2012 at 8:02 pm

      MHughes976 your response makes me wonder, if there had been a Christian majority in Palestine rather than a Muslim majority, would the British still have endorsed the Jewish colonization of Palestine to the degree that they did? Would they have felt more sympathetic to the Oriental Christians or to the European Jews? Would they have been more protective of the Holy Land? Thoughts?

      And Phil, I've resigned myself to the fact that there will never be balance in the mainstream media so I don't have any expectations for them. Btw I enjoyed listening to your segment at the Scott Horton show yesterday.

    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 2:40 am with 4 replies

      Palestine during antiquity was a "demographically mixed region" that was "understood to be the homeland of the Jews throughout the period, though in fact housing a minority of them."

      But Palestine is also the homeland of Christianity, which makes it even harder for me to comprehend why there is not great outrage in the Christian world over the occupation and colonization of Palestine. If the Presbyterian Church doesn't value Palestinian rights enough to take a firm stand against the occupation, then, well, I can't respect that but I understand that the Presbyterians are not the first to bear the wrath of the Lobby. But I can't recall anyone at the assembly standing up to express outrage over the fact that Christians are becoming extinct in the birthplace of Christianity.

    • Page: 4
  • Richard Cohen and the Jewish man's burden
    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 10:14 pm

      I’d do like Towelly and choose both. Without getting drawn into the ’4000 years figure’ I’d say that until 1800, either circumstances weren’t propitious to achievement or that that achievement tended to go in directions that are no longer valued.

      Now isn't this a convenient excuse to keep your conclusion? It looks like you've arrived at a conclusion but want to omit or make excuses for any observations that point to the contrary.

      Then too, Jews and converted Jews did play a major role in the Muslim efflourescence — so it’s a bit of a distortion to see them as having lain utterly moribund until the European enlightenment

      Sure, there were periods in which Jews flourished prior to the 19th century but the argument that this proves or points to Jewish superiority just does not hold water, especially considering all of the non-Jewish achievements and contributions to civilization that were made prior to the 1800's.

      Nevertheless, it has to be admitted that starting around 1800, Jews certainly exploded out of the starting gate as soon as they were allowed onto the track. That — as well as good ol’ IQ test results — suggests that on average, they are unusually intelligent as a group.

      East Asian countries have the highest national IQ's in the world. Does that make them superior too, or once again could this be a function of something else, such as a cultural emphasis on education?

      I once read a piece on the rather lackluster German intellectual performance since World War Two as compared to German achievement in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. That piece ascribed the decline to the leveling practices of German universities — but it seems to me that chasing off or killing all the Jews could also be the cause.

      Well I would stay away from that particular misleading news outlet as Germany is today one of the most prosperous nations in the world by multiple measures including economy and political leverage. Germany's infrastructure was destroyed by two world wars, but it still managed to become one of the world's top 4 economies in a matter of two decades, and it is now the largest economy in Europe. In June the German unemployment rate was 6.8%. Compare that to America's 8.2%. While the rest of the world has been suffering in a global economic recession, Germany's economy has grown by 3% in each of the last two years. I can't comment specifically on German "intellectual performance," but considering that intellectual performance and economy are inextricably correlated, I'd say that whoever tried to tell you that Germany is falling isn't very up-to-date with today's state of affairs.

    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 9:05 pm

      Now plesae explain why you insist on repeating he lie that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

      Or better yet, maybe he can explain why according to the Laws of Sassan Iran can't build a bomb for deterrence but others can. With the bomb, Iranians wouldn't be under existential threat like now. As he says, "It's called deterrence."

      By the way Sassy, as of last week Philip Giraldi predicts that Israel will bomb Iran before the elections. Your fairy tale dreams might come true after all! And ayy, ever thought of moving to Israel? With your moral compass and intellectual capacity you could be the next Shaul Mofaz! #treason

    • Roya August 13, 2012 at 5:05 am

      Krauss, you copied and pasted my last statement, indicating that you were going to write a response to it, but you didn't. Instead you just went on a rage about how Arab countries suck and how other countries don't and how the West can do no wrong and how imperialism has no consequences and how I'm a "caricature" for a "bitter Arab" and a mouthpiece for "Islamists" and whatnot. I will not ask why you deliberately distorted my words, but instead I will repeat my conclusion and elaborate a bit since you didn't get it:

      So perhaps instead of putting all the blame on Arabs for the state of affairs in their countries and advising them to “do better,” we should also put a good bit of well-deserved blame on our own Western countries and then tell our respective leaders to get the hell out of Arab countries. No?

      Did I say that Arabs bear no responsibility for the state of their countries? No. Did I say that the West bears all responsibility for the state of affairs in Arab countries? No. So what did I say? I said that instead of putting all the blame on Arabs, we should give some very well-deserved blame to the Western imperialists, who have been consistently and relentlessly interfering in the affairs of the Middle East for about a century. Why? Because (1) the Middle East is blessed with the curse of natural resources, and because (2) now it is apparently America's divine duty to protect the Zionists who decided to set up camp in the region. If you are going to deny these very true and uncontroversial facts, then you yourself are the conspiracist. Here is a little something from Al Jazeera on "How the West de-democratized the Middle East" to give you a crash course on Western intervention.

      And a note on "Islamism," on which you seem to have gotten a degree from the NYPD and/or Jihad Watch and/or Bernard Lewis: the rise of contemporary "Islamism" directly coincides with the era of interventionism in the Middle East. This is more than just mere coincidence--for example, in its initial years, Israel helped to spawn Hamas. Here you can read all about it at the Wall Street Journal. Not only is the article very bluntly titled, "How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas," but you will also see the following words, attributed to a former Israeli military official, written, "Hamas, to my great regret, is Israel's creation" and then you can read all about how Israel admits to assisting to create the "Islamist" Hamas as a "counterweight to the secular nationalists" of the PLO. Not only that, but according to Walt and Mearsheimer, "by refusing to negotiate with [Mahmoud] Abbas and making it impossible for him to deliver tangible benefits to the Palestinian people, Sharon contributed directly to Hamas's electoral victory in January 2006." This led Haaretz columnist Bradley Burston to comment, "If it appears to you . . . that Israel is Hamas' campaign manager in next week's election for the Palestinian parliament, few would argue--especially in Hamas."

      Another example, this one even more "shocking," and confirmed by Hillary Clinton herself on national television--the United States helped to create al-Qaeda. A little more insight courtesy of Wikipedia:

      During the 1970s and sometimes later, Western and pro-Western governments often supported sometimes fledgling Islamists and Islamist groups that later came to be seen as dangerous enemies.[Terror and Liberalism by Paul Berman, W.W. Norton and Company, 2003, p.101] Islamists were considered bulwarks against—what were thought to be at the time—more dangerous leftist/communist/nationalist insurgents/opposition, which Islamists were correctly seen as opposing. The US spent billions of dollars to aid the mujahideen Muslim Afghanistan enemies of the Soviet Union, and non-Afghan veteran of the war returned home with their prestige, "experience, ideology, and weapons", and had considerable impact.[Peter Bergen, Alec Reynolds (November/December 2005). "Blowback Revisited". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2007-11-09.]

      You can either do as the Zionists do, which is to deny reality, and rehash your above claims, or just accept facts as facts.

      And as far as your general perceptions on the Middle East and Islam, I would have thought that someone who knows the truth about Israel and Palestine and therefore knows not to trust the mainstream media, with its deliberate misperceptions and outright lies on Israel and Palestine, would figure that such disinformation would apply to the broader Middle East as well and in turn know not to trust the mainstream establishment on such matters. Apparently not. So from now I will try to not always give others the benefit of the doubt. "Thanks" for the reminder.

    • Roya August 12, 2012 at 9:59 pm

      Not only has Einstein on Israel and Zionism not been "discredited," but it has also received rave reviews from the likes of the very Israeli and very Zionist Avraham Burg.

      I’m still wiating on him to explain why he, as a someone who claims to be a devotee of sciene and evidence, continues to insist Iran is producing nukes when all US and Israeli intelliegcne agencies unanimously conclude otherise.

      Shingo, I hope you are a very patient person, as you will likely be waiting for millennia.

    • Roya August 12, 2012 at 9:44 pm

      Hostage, you have an impressive archive for every point. Can I ask how long you've been involved with the Israel-Palestine issue?

    • Roya August 12, 2012 at 8:40 pm with 4 replies

      I think Jewish achievement over the last two hundred years has been not merely remarkable, but incredible. I’m even perfectly open to the argument that it has a genetic basis — even if I’d rather not think of myself as belonging to the inherently dumber group.

      Colin, if I recall correctly you were one of those at the "Crisis of Jewish Identity" thread rebutting those who exalted Jews as a superior group. It's odd to see that you have had a change of heart in a matter of three weeks. Anyhow, unverified makes a very valid point. Jews have achieved quite a lot in the past two hundred years, but before that they were far outranked in achievements by others. So did their supremacy stay dormant for 4,000 years or could this recent surge in Jewish achievement be a function of something else? And you say that you are open to accepting that this "supremacy" may be genetic based on contributions you find incredible from the last 200 years. Jewish history is over 4,000 years long so you will notice that this accounts for just 5% of Jewish existence. So would you argue that this gene is a new mutation or one that has just stayed dormant for 3,800+ years?

    • Roya August 12, 2012 at 3:27 pm

      Exactly, Blake. I mean, how much do an Egyptian, Austrian, and Argentinean Jew have in common? Likewise, how much do a Filipino, American, and Iraqi Christian have in common? The only way that the Israel project has been able to work out so far is by uniting different Jews with vastly different cultures and histories through an enmity towards a common "enemy." If Israel ever finds "peace" with the Palestinians, the project will be in danger, and the leaders know it.

    • Roya August 11, 2012 at 8:47 pm with 1 replies

      LOL Colin. How'd that go down with your neighbor? When he tried to resist did you call him a "terrorist" and infiltrate the American government to turn public opinion towards you and against him?

    • Roya August 11, 2012 at 6:01 pm with 2 replies

      Atheist, this "Sassan" character is a broken record. He said this exact same line a few weeks ago to justify ethnic cleansing. He also always introduces himself the same way, "I am . . . science and reason." He probably just copies and pastes from the handbook Sohrab Ahmari (the Ahmad Chalaby of Iran) gave him, no use engaging him.

    • Roya August 11, 2012 at 4:46 pm

      Krauss I'm not understanding what you mean by saying that the Arab "people have chosen" the direction of their countries. The only Arab countries I can think of where "the people have chosen" their leaders are Lebanon and now Egypt and Iraq and supposedly-but-not-really Syria. As far as Egypt, I have more hope in the "Islamists" that the people put in power than I did in the non-"Islamist" kowtowing Puppet of All Puppets Mubarak. As far as Lebanon, when Mr. Bush was in power he helped put in place a government of his liking, which in itself indicates that the Lebanese people did not fully choose their leaders. Besides, for the past century Lebanese politics has been a quagmire dictated and/or heavily influenced by the French, British, Americans, and Israelis. Same goes with (perhaps all?) other Arab nations. American imperialism has its fingerprints all over the Middle East including in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, etc. where the leaders are NOT chosen by the people, in large part thanks to the US, and before that it was the British and the French with their fingerprints all over the Middle East, putting in leaders that were again NOT chosen by the people.

      And frankly, as long as the United States (or any other country) is an empire, and as long as its Middle East policy is dictated by Israel, Arab countries will not be able to choose the direction of their countries. Imperialists do not like democracies in other parts of the world, because democracies are not as easily controlled as dictatorships. And God forbid a country in the Middle East do something crazy like nationalize its own natural resources industry! When Iran tried to pull that trick (how dare they?), the nice MI6 and CIA took out the democratically elected leader. Had imperialists not done that, Iran would likely be a democracy right now. That was 59 years ago but things have not changed since then. I was listening to a recent interview with Cairo-based American journalist Adam Morrow at the Scott Horton Show (I think it was this one), and at the very end he says that the US will never let Egypt become an independent nation. Never. Because geopolitically, Egypt is the most important Arab state. It straddles both the resource-rich regions of the Middle East and Africa, possesses the Suez Canal, which is vital to international trade, and shares a long border with Israel, which, to the treasonous dudes in Capitol Hill, is reason enough to extend imperial tendencies to Egypt. If Egypt or any other Arab country ever tries to become independent, the West will put them through hell. Just look at how Iran has been treated.

      So perhaps instead of putting all the blame on Arabs for the state of affairs in their countries and advising them to "do better," we should also put a good bit of well-deserved blame on our own Western countries and then tell our respective leaders to get the hell out of Arab countries. No?

    • Roya August 11, 2012 at 3:52 pm

      Freddie if you really want to talk about Israeli contribution to IP in the United States then we can also talk about this:

      During the spring of 1984 American trade associations, companies and industries provided input solicited by the International Trade Commission and US Trade Representative for development of a classified 300+ page report on proposed duty-free entry of Israeli products into the US market. In August of 1984 the Israeli Government and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) obtained copies of the classified report Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty Free Treatment for U.S. Imports from Israel, Investigation No. 332-180.

      Their possession and use of the data contained in the classified report represented the first in a subsequent string of actions denying adequate and effective protection of intellectual property (IP) rights of US industry. This is in violation of the Treaty of Paris and the superseding WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). The International Trade Commission solicited and compiled trade secrets, internal costs, market share and other confidential business information from interested parties under the firm understanding that the data would be considered “business confidential” and used primarily by the USTR to negotiate the most favorable deal for the United States. In 1984 only fifteen numbered copies were circulated to key parties under tight control and scheduled destruction schedules.

      The FBI launched an investigation into how AIPAC obtained and circulated copies of the classified report during the most critical negotiation period. The ITC confirmed in 2008 that the Israeli government also obtained a copy of the classified report. Industry groups such as the US Bromine Alliance obtained verification from the ITC on November 1, 1984 that all of their most closely guarded trade secrets had been obtained by AIPAC (see appendix).

      In the following quarter century Israeli manufacturers and the Israeli government have continued to systematically violate US IP rights. In the case of American military and defense systems, Israel has a long history of reverse engineering, copying, manufacturing and exporting unauthorized versions of US systems. In doing so, Israeli manufacturers have not only deprived American manufacturers of revenue and US workers high paying jobs, but also negatively altered the strategic and tactical military balance of power. US taxpayers who subsidized the research, development, and deployment costs for weapons have witnessed the tragedy of US military personnel facing weapons on the battlefield from illicitly manufactured Israeli systems obtained by rogue states.

      The American pharmaceutical industry has recently faced systemic industry-government violations of IP rights in the form of an ongoing IP “trap” in which confidential clinical dossiers are purposely misused. While US pharmaceutical industry representatives insisted that Israel remain on the USTR Priority Watch List for the past four years, no effective action has been taken against egregious behavior. The Israeli government regulatory agency solicits patented data and formulas under the auspices of granting approval of drugs for the Israeli market. It delays the approval process while data is obtained by Israeli drug-makers. These manufacturers then commercialize cutting edge US innovations world wide. Israeli IP laws have been purposely weakened and placed out of sync with major industrial countries that all permit longer patent terms so inventors can recoup investments in new drugs before patents expire. The short periods left to recover investments have left US pharmaceutical manufacturers at a major disadvantage to Israeli generic drug manufacturers benefiting from global sales enabled by ever weaker IP protection. US consumers and taxpayers funding medical research are indirectly subsidizing the clinical dossiers upon which Israeli generic drug manufacturers capitalize by selling back into the American market.

      The US-Israel Free Trade Area is unique among bilateral FTAs in that it has been marked by years of industry and grassroots protests from various US associations. A comparative analysis against other bilateral FTAs confirms why they have been right to protest. The US-Israel Free Trade Area has been manifestly negative for American workers and businesses by undermining the system of rules based global trade. The burden from the ongoing Israeli commercialization of US IP is most clearly reflected in the bilateral trade deficit.

      Since 1989 US-Israel trade has shifted from rough import/export parity into a permanent Israeli surplus and a $71 billion cumulative trade deficit for the US (adjusted for inflation). Among all active bilateral US free trade agreements it is the only agreement producing multi-billion dollar deficits every year since 1997. Indeed, the US has significant surpluses with most other bilateral FTA partners. The Israeli disregard for rules based trade is also now financing and enabling ancillary activities that threaten US national security and regional stability.

      Israel's leading duty free export to the American market—precious stones, metals and coins—has grown under the FTA preferences to 20.6% of the total US import demand. But the value chain of Israel's leading export leaves a trail of violence, corruption, and property theft. LLD Diamonds Ltd., owned by Israeli-American Lev Leviev exported $417 million in cut diamonds from Israeli to the US in 2008. Leviev has been cited for human rights abuses in Angola and Namibia where Leviev companies source rough diamonds. Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups have documented how Leviev revenues finance illegal settlement construction in the Israeli occupied West Bank. Leviev's overseas activities not only violate international law, but also US foreign policy initiatives against illegal Israeli colonization. Preferential Israeli access to the US market under the FTA enables LLD Diamond's illicit activities.

      In summary, the flawed process that produced the US-Israel Free Trade Area was itself a violation of the IP of American industries. The USTR and ITC are partially culpable for failing to secure sensitive US information that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Israel had no right to obtain, possess or utilize. The subsequent pattern of ongoing violations and negative outcomes for American stakeholders place this trade agreement in the column of the types of “failed programs” that President Barak Obama has promised Americans he would reevaluate. IRmep does not join previous Section-301 petitioners seeking further investigations, consultations with the Israeli government for regulations changes, hearings or requests for WTO “process” compliance. Given the serious and growing nature of the national security threat, regional impact and threat to rule of law, and heavy burden to US industries and workers, this petition provides the evidence and rationale for immediately suspending the US-Israel Free Trade Area as allowed under Section 301. Suspension should continue until such time as Israel's legal and regulatory systems are developed enough to engage in legitimate, rules based bilateral trade with the United States. Given the long term and highly damaging history of IP violations, an in-depth damage assessment should be performed in order to negotiate appropriate Israeli compensation for affected US industries and workers.

    • Roya August 11, 2012 at 2:53 am

      You have such a way with words, Fredo. I for one appreciate your ability to predictably spout abhorrent streams of nonsense at any given time. Not all of us have such admirable skills.

    • Roya August 10, 2012 at 9:35 pm with 1 replies

      Agreed. American Jews are proportionally over-represented in the finance and economic sectors. The economy is in shambles right now. American Jews are proportionally over-represented in the political sphere. American foreign policy is a mess. Jews are proportionally over-represented in American mainstream media. The mainstream media establishment can correctly be called the mainstream disinformation establishment. While this in itself does not prove a causal relationship, and I think it's important to recognize Jewish achievement, I also believe that acknowledgement of (partial) responsibility in un-achievements should be acknowledged alongside recognition of achievements.

    • Roya August 10, 2012 at 12:35 pm

      Palestinian Americans' response to Romney, miraculously published at the Washington Post: The Palestine Romney Doesn't Know. The comments are even more interesting.

    • Roya August 10, 2012 at 12:32 pm with 7 replies

      Cohen argues that Israel far outranks the entire Arab world in U.S. patents.

      LOL so what. Now everybody's supposed to run to the US to get a patent? Other countries are sovereign too, you know, and I'm sure they even have their very own patent systems.

  • Missouri mosque burning: Imam says 'tragedy' will not 'stop us'
  • Can you pass the Hezbollah quiz?
    • Roya August 11, 2012 at 5:11 pm

      The Palestinians are at war with Israel and refuse to make peace, that is what justifies Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

      This is how this sounded in my head: link to youtube.com. Everything you say is starting to sound like that, Freddieboy.

    • Roya August 10, 2012 at 12:43 am

      Last time I checked, Gaza City was not part of Lebanon. So none of Hezbollah's business.

      Funny. Last time I checked, Bethlehem was not part of Israel. So none of Israel's business. Maybe someone should let Bibi darling know, since Israel's been occupying Jesus's birthplace for 45 years (WWJT?)!!! So really, Fredo, Israel has set the rules, and the rules are that there are no rules. So no whining about what Hezbollah or Hamas or whoever did or didn't do.

    • Roya August 9, 2012 at 9:48 pm

      You can bet we (the U.S.) know...

      Thanks for the clarification Fred. It seems you've figured out that when Ziobots say "we" it is usually (rightly) assumed that "we" means "Israel," the primary country of Ziobots' allegiance.

    • Roya August 8, 2012 at 8:48 pm

      Also might be useful to add that Israel had been planning the war for years and that the capturing of the soldiers was by no means the pretext for war, just the excuse Israel had been waiting for to make the massacre seem legitimate in the international stage.

    • Roya August 8, 2012 at 4:53 pm

      Hmm and can you shed some light on what proportion of Lebanese Druze are favorable to Israel? And where that "alliance" stems from?

    • Roya August 8, 2012 at 3:34 pm

      Taxi, I would love to see a novel too! (or at least a personal blog to share more of your stories, pretty please?)

    • Roya August 8, 2012 at 1:53 pm

      So the are entitled to their own army because it is a confessional government?

      They are entitled to their own army because Israel keeps using Lebanon as a punching bag and the Lebanese government and military is powerless to do anything about it, so it's up to Hezbollah to defend the country. If you are so concerned about Hezbollah then perhaps you can write a letter to Bibi telling him to stop fucking with Lebanon. And Palestine too while you're at it.

    • Roya August 7, 2012 at 9:55 pm

      So there are Zionist Arabs now? Wow they are must be a new species-care to give any example of such rare birds?

      Iraqi Jews are Arabs. Tunisian Jews are Arabs. Yemeni Jews are Arabs. Libyan Jews are Arabs. Eyptian Jews are Arabs. And they are even Arabs when they arrive in Israel, at which point they are stripped of their culture and history.

    • Roya August 7, 2012 at 9:32 pm with 2 replies

      Hezbollah from a Lebanese Christian's point of view: link to indymedia.org.uk

  • Trapped
    • Roya August 6, 2012 at 5:31 pm

      I think this particular line truly signals changing times: "However, if our shortsighted leaders miss this opportunity, the same fair and equal principles should be applied to one state for both peoples."
      Before this, every time I heard/read Burg speak or write he always strictly advocated for a two-state solution. Slowly but surely, the one-state solution is becoming more mainstream.
      I wonder how the ADL is going to deal with him now.

  • Syrian crisis moves into the camps: 20 Palestinians killed in Damascus refugee camp
  • Settler car bomb near Ramallah redoubles 'price tag' attacks
    • Roya August 5, 2012 at 3:15 pm

      Of course we will be told these are Jews gone mad.

      Precisely. Just as we were told that the American soldier who got drunk and massacred Afghan women and children just "snapped."

  • AEPi Sigma Pi Stands with Israel?
    • Roya August 5, 2012 at 10:05 pm

      Also interesting to note that American University is a Christian university. This perhaps explains why this chapter has a lower Jewish-to-non-Jewish ratio than usual, but even if it were a "Christian Zionist" university it would be ridiculous for any university-affiliated organization to require students to pledge allegiance to the "Jewish state."

    • Roya August 5, 2012 at 3:09 pm

      Ironic that the university is American University and the fraternity pledges devotion to Israel. I wonder if they also pledge devotion to America...? But thanks Benjamin.

  • New round of Iran sanctions pressures Obama to move closer to Israel's 'red line'
    • Roya August 5, 2012 at 1:50 am

      Averroes, that was hasty (mis)reading on my part. Apologies. Also I agree with your points from 8:54 pm.

    • Roya August 4, 2012 at 5:54 pm

      @Bacon "It" is a pronoun. Pronouns are ambiguous. Also you get an "F" in tact.

    • Roya August 4, 2012 at 3:54 pm with 1 replies

      Consider the fact that the US hasn’t dared mess with North Korea after it obtained nuclear capabilities.

      No, aside from the fact that North Korea's nuclear capabilities are questionable, the US isn't going after North Korea because it does not pose a threat to the United States. Iran does not pose a threat to the United States either, as America's interests in the Middle East are limited to ensuring a steady flow of oil. The primary reason why the US is bullying Iran right now is because of Israel. And while Iran does not pose an existential threat to Israel, Israel is getting the US to go after Iran (1) because Israel wants to be the regional hegemon and (2) because it needs to divert the world's attention and create a Middle Eastern boogeyman while it creates "facts on the ground."

    • Roya August 4, 2012 at 3:28 pm with 2 replies

      Is Iran a weak, dirt-poor, and defenseless country? Let's put this Orientalism to the test.

      1. As far as weak: the reason Israel is so threatened by Iran is that it is the only country standing between it and regional hegemony. Most respectable politicians, journalists, analysts, etc. agree that Iran was the net winner of the Iraq War. Iran and Saddam's Iraq were enemies, and Iran took a seat as the US ousted Hussein for them, and then gave way to the rise of an Iraqi government that is very friendly to Iran. Aside from having a common enemy in the US, the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, is Shi'ite, which also gives a religious bridge to the Iran-Iraq relationship. Haaretz also seems to disagree with you, as according to them, Iran is a "regional superpower, even without nukes."

      2. As far as dirt-poor: this Iranian hotel does not look very impoverished to me. In order to witness Iran's dirt-poorness you may also take a guided tour of Iran, where they will take you through the dirt-poor and ancient cities of Shiraz, Isfahan, and Tehran. They may also take you to Mashhad or the religious city of Qom, which are also very dirt-poor. However I recommend that you go before Spring 2013, as chances are that by then you may be hit with Israeli and/or American bombs. :)

      3. As far as defenseless: one of the positive developments arising from the international sanctions that Iran has endured over the past 30 years is that it has becoming increasingly self-reliant and advanced, particularly in military technology. While Iran's forces cannot beat those of the US in a conventional war, Iran is very capable of bringing about disastrous consequences should it seek to if attacked. Here is Philip Giraldi's take on what war with Iran might look like. I'll give you a heads-up: it ain't pretty.

    • Roya August 4, 2012 at 2:49 pm

      I disagree. It doesn’t greatly increase the cost of oil

      Well reality disagrees with you:

      The price of oil spiked on Friday June 30, with experts attributing the nearly 10 percent increase in costs almost entirely on the loss of Iranian oil from the Western market.

      And June 30 was the day before the EU embargo took effect.

  • Romney's Jerusalem 'gaffe' illustrates the relationship between anti-Jewish sentiment and racism against Palestinians
    • Roya August 1, 2012 at 2:21 pm

      I wonder how the "Chosen" state would have turned out without American tax dollars and Congress/WH-sponsored diplomatic immunity.

  • To understand the history of Palestinian dispossession look to the words of Zionist and Israeli leaders
    • Roya August 6, 2012 at 5:07 pm

      When she said "Palestinians have a massive promotional propaganda" I rewinded 3 times to make sure I was hearing correctly. I was.

    • Roya August 1, 2012 at 2:27 pm

      Since the fall of apartheid about 1 in 5 white South Africans have fled the country,

      If that was supposed to make me shed tears over white supremacists who "fled" because they could no longer legally be white supremacists, you failed. And I won't shed a tear over Jews who "flee" New Palestine once Jewish supremacy falls either. Will you people ever stop with the "Palestinians like being oppressed by their Jewish masters" charade?

  • Why Obama shouldn't go to Israel
    • Roya August 8, 2012 at 5:04 pm

      Also Jon, according to Wikipedia a 2001 census of Beersheba (or Beer Sheva as you would have it) showed the population to comprise of 98.6% Jews and other non-Arabs, "with no significant Arab population." So really any claims of "no segregation" are utterly and absolutely foolish, as the city where you live has been ethnically cleansed of Palestinians to the point that segregation is a non-issue.

    • Roya August 7, 2012 at 5:55 pm

      Jon, Mark Regev is Bibi's official spokesman for English-speaking countries. He's on the news here all the time lying about how awesome and free and moral and normal Israel is, so by "pulling a Mark Regev" I meant, well, lying (or grossly exaggerating) about Israel. He replaced Miri Eisen in 2007, if you know who she is.
      While I haven't been to Israel and haven't seen the situation through my own eyes, based on footage, interviews, articles, stories, etc. that I've seen and read I find it hard to believe that there is hands-down "no segregation" as you put it. I mean, come on, racism/segregation is written in the laws (would you be allowed to marry a non-Jew if you wanted to?) so how am I supposed to believe that there is "no segregation" in Israel?And of course, racism is ubiquitous and can also be found in Arab, European, Chinese, Japanese, etc. countries, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to find such blunt, mainstream racism in most other countries. Does 63% of the rest of the world think that their minorities are "demographic threats"? I would say that instilling racist values in the Jewish population is one of the government's most invaluable tools in uniting the Jewish population--how else can you unite Chilean, Iraqi, and German Jews if not by telling them they have to fight together against one common enemy that wants to drive them into the sea?
      Even if there are not separate water fountains for Palestinians and Jews, and even if there are not separate lines at the airport for Palestinians and Jews (though I have heard that there are), does the country not divide itself in a de facto fashion? Miko Peled was born in and grew up in Jerusalem, but he did not meet one Palestinian until he moved to California in his 40's! And you may think that Israel is a normal, unsegregated society but what do Palestinians think? The Al Jazeera documentary that Blake posted shows that not even the Palestinian MK's see Israel the way you see it. You walk the streets in Beer Sheva with your head held high, knowing that the country belongs to you. But do Palestinians?

    • Roya August 5, 2012 at 11:26 pm

      As someone who is often in Israel and also the West Bank...

      Looks like we have a settler on our hands.

    • Roya August 5, 2012 at 11:13 pm

      Jon s, please do not pull a Mark Regev on us ever again.

      I live in Beer Sheva and every day I see Jews and Palestinians living together: at the malls, university, hospital, supermarkets and so forth. There's no segregation.

      One little subjective anecdote is supposed to compel us to shed reality? Polls paint a very different picture, particularly when it comes to "living together." From Haaretz:

      Sixty-eight percent of Israeli Jews would refuse to live in the same apartment building as an Israeli Arab, according to the results of an annual poll released Wednesday by the Center for the Struggle Against Racism.

      The "Index of Racism Towards Arab Palestinian Citizens of the State of Israel," conducted by Geocartographia, revealed on [sic] 26 percent of Jews in Israel would agree to live with Arab neighbors in the same building.

      Forty-six percent of Jews would refuse to allow an Arab to visit their home while 50 percent would welcome an Arab visitor. Forty-one percent of Jewish support the segregation of Jews and Arabs in places of recreation and 52 percent of such Jews would oppose such a move.

      ....

      "Racism is becoming mainstream. When people talk about transfer or about Arabs as a demographic time-bomb, no one raises their voice against such statements. This is a worrisome phenomenon," Bachar Ouda, director of the Center for the Struggle Against Racism, said on Tuesday. The report covered the year 2005 and the center will, in the future, present monthly and bi-annual polls.

      ....

      During the course of 2005, 225 racially-motivated incidents directed at Arab citizens were reported to the center or in the media. The center believes that less than 20 percent of attacks or other incidents are ever reported.

      ...

      Seventy-five percent of the reports on racist incidents came from institutional sources such as government ministries, government companies or publicly-elected officials.

      The poll further revealed that 63 percent of Jewish Israelis agree with the statement, "Arabs are a security and demographic threat to the state." Thirty-one percent of Jews did not agree. Agreement with the statement was strongest among Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews and low-income earners.

      Forty percent of Jews believe "the state needs to support the emigration of Arab citizens" and just 52 percent don't agree with the statement.

      Thirty-four percent also agreed with the statement that "Arab culture is inferior to Israeli culture." Fifty-seven percent did not agree with the statement.

      Half of Israeli Jews express fear or discomfort when hearing people speaking Arabic. Eighteen percent of Jews said they feel hate when hearing Arabic speakers.

      Responding to the report, Hadash Chairman MK Mohammed Barakeh said racism against Israeli Arabs "is a direct result of official racist and discriminatory policies" dictated by the government.

    • Roya August 1, 2012 at 9:16 pm

      The "special relationship" exists because of the lobby. Take out the lobby and you end the parasitic relationship. This is why we must initiate a nationwide dialogue on whether the relationship benefits the host (hint hint, it does not) and Occupy AIPAC!

    • Roya August 1, 2012 at 1:54 am with 1 replies

      What's the Jewish end-times prophecy?

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 8:52 pm

      Are you seriously trying to tell us that Israelis are tame, civil, and harmless? Nice try, take that to Times of Israel. And why would they shed "Jewish blood" and add to the demographic threat when they have 2.5 million Palestinian punching bags to unleash their militant tendencies on?

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 8:45 pm with 2 replies

      Well the special relationship would end in a heartbeat if an Israeli killed the US president, so if Obama were to go to Israel, Israel itself would most likely make sure that these stray "reservists" did not come near him so I don't see the point in this hype about Obama's safety being endangered if he were to go.

  • Romney's racist bundler: J. Philip Rosen believes Palestinian society is 'pathological'
    • Roya August 2, 2012 at 7:43 am

      What's the point in discussing morality with a proud war criminal?

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 8:58 pm

      But Brad we already had a real fool running the US (he even got reelected!) and nothing changed except that our tax dollars kept on going to bombs destined for Afghani and Iraqi men, women, and children. What makes you think things would change this time around?

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 8:55 pm

      Good point Jeff.

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 8:55 pm

      Imagine for a second if the shoe was on the other foot. If Barack Obama had a well-connected, wealthy donor who had called Israeli society “pathological” and Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu “evil.”

      Well this would be the truth.

  • Romney, Netanyahu and that other campaign -- for war with Iran
    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 4:04 am

      Krauss I'm more skeptical about Netanyahu's attempts to 'downsize' their relationship. Israelis and their lobby try to be careful to make themselves appear less influential than they are to the American public.

  • CIA considers Israel the largest counterintelligence threat in the Middle East
    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 3:38 am

      A politician who cares more about America than Israel? Nonsense. Never happened.

      RON PAUL RON PAUL RON PAUL RON PAUL.

    • Roya July 30, 2012 at 7:49 pm

      I think there is that pro US circle I mentioned before in the CIA and some other gov agencies that are doing the leaking and they have a few friends in the press to help them slid the articles in the ms press.

      Agreed. From what I can tell the lower and mid-level agents in the CIA and FBI are patriots, but it's the upper level agents who have gotten to where they are by keeping their mouths shut and doing what they're told and in effect contributing to the national suicide efforts that Israel firsters are hell-bent on having the U.S. committing.

  • Romney visits Western Wall, ignores question, Does Israel have a right to annex West Bank
    • Roya August 2, 2012 at 7:04 am

      Sassan, having listened to bits of the interview it is crystal clear that you know absolutely nothing of post-1979 Israel-Iran relations and in the interview you even appear to be content with that ignorance. You referenced the Israel lobby though I doubt you know or care as an American what it has done to undermine American interests, and you've made it clear in your posts here that you couldn't care less about Palestinians. So for now put aside what Israel has done to the Palestinians and to the U.S., and put your self-asserted Iranian "patriotism" to the test. Go to your nearest Barnes and Noble, grab a cappuccino, sit down and flip to page 280 of Walt and Mearsheimer's book. Read on through to page 305. If afterwards you still have not realized that the Iranian government is not the biggest threat to the Iranian people, then I have nothing more to discuss with you.

    • Roya August 1, 2012 at 1:13 pm

      Fredblogs, how about the oppressors-victimizers-Israelis start by giving up terrorism and ending the occupation. It isn't paranoia, the Israelis, enough of them and in a very organized manner, really do hate Palestinians and want to hurt them (well, ethnically cleanse the land to be more precise).

    • Roya August 1, 2012 at 1:52 am

      Mr. Murky why don't you make your own blog instead of complaining about those that don't share racist and apartheidophilic views?

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 8:36 pm

      They have self-proclaimed Basiji and Hizbolli operatives on that site.

      Haha you're funny. You weren't complaining about Daily Beast moderation policies, you were at the Daily Beast complaining about another website's moderation policies.

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 11:31 am

      AllenBee how do you track people?

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 3:49 am with 6 replies

      (It could be another Sassan, in which case disregard this comment.)

      I can assure you it was the same one. He's all over the web--at PBS, Yahoo, complaining about moderation at the Daily Beast, getting scolded at RaceForIran, and all of this I've just come across while casually minding my own business in the past week.

      Btw Sassan, I'm surprised you're not drooling over Parsi now for last week's article at Open Zion.

  • The blatancy of apartheid
  • Neocon pressure group's latest salvo: attacking Obama for not visiting Israel
    • Roya July 30, 2012 at 3:32 pm

      Organ trafficking is nothing new for Israel: watch-Israel Kills Palestinians, Harvests Organs.

    • Roya July 29, 2012 at 11:06 pm

      I would say that the majority of Israelis are nowhere near to accepting the inevitability if not the advantage of a two state peace treaty. Nor are they near to accepting what such a two state peace treaty would inevitably have to contain. I think such a statement avoids the hyperbole and rhetoric that your statement contains.

      Translation, without the BS and formalities:

      Yes Roya, I agree with you, but I'm going to put it in a way that sounds like I don't agree with you because accepting reality is inconvenient for me as I like to think that everything about Israel is just beautiful and heavenly and oh golly, just perfect but I need to put it in a nice enough way that doesn't sound like I'm telling you to fuck off like I did last time so Phil will let me write more articles about how I feel when I ride buses in al Quds.

    • Roya July 28, 2012 at 1:31 pm

      So the problem with Carter was that he tried to get both parties to chat at a nice wooden table and Obama meekly requested but did not carry out on a freeze on settlements that are illegal as it is under international law. So yonah do you agree with the obvious conclusion that peace is a taboo among Israelis?

    • Roya July 28, 2012 at 1:00 am with 5 replies

      Can an Israeli shed some light on why Obama is hated in Israel? I know some complain that he is "pro-pally" but really, your defense minister said there's never been a better U.S. president for Israel. Is it racism or his meek request for a settlement freeze....jon s or Avi_G maybe?

  • Stand With Us to run counter-ads to maps showing loss of Palestinian land
  • Canadian band attacked by Israel lobby group after playing song titled 'Apartheid'
  • One apartheid state, with liberty and justice for Jews only
    • Roya July 29, 2012 at 7:08 pm

      On the one hand, Hamas – considered a terrorist organization by Europe and America – has no weight in the political process, since it reject any kind of peace negotiation with Israel...

      The PLO also had no weight in the political process but that was because it was willing to negotiate with Israel. Israel has already made it clear to the Palestinians that negotiating is not going to get them a state, so is anybody really surprised about Hamas resorting to violence? When you silence the moderates you strengthen the hardliners. As Bradley Burston of Haaretz wisely noted, Israel was Hamas' campaign manager for the 2006 elections.

    • Roya July 26, 2012 at 6:03 pm

      Delusional Dayan writes, "Arabs called for Israel’s annihilation in 1967, and Israel legitimately seized the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria in self-defense."
      Conquering land requires offensive military force; it is an offensive act.There is nothing defensive about it. If Israel were truly defending itself in the '67 War, it would have focused on securing the land it had already conquered, not chasing after more. Hopefully the logical minority of NYT readers will pick up on this.

  • Adelson-backed ad campaign features Jewish Dem claiming Netanyahu represents 'all' Jews
    • Roya August 7, 2012 at 11:38 pm

      ultimately, he will have to chose between being a liberal or being a Zionist when he figures out that the 2 are mutualyl exclusive.

      Right on, Shingo. John Mearsheimer gave a speech at the Palestine Center a couple years ago about the inevitability of the one-state solution. He titled the speech, "The Future of Palestine: Righteous Jews vs the New Afrikaners" and stated that American Jews will soon have to choose between being liberals (righteous Jews) or ardent Zionists (the New Afrikaners) as Israel goes farther and farther down the apartheid road and as more people wake up to this reality. He predicts that most will choose being righteous, hence the inevitability of the formation of one binational state for all. I'm not so optimistic about Levine though...
      Here's the speech for those interested: link to thejerusalemfund.org

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 11:26 am

      I see you've missed the point. Oh well.

    • Roya July 31, 2012 at 12:32 am

      Roya, that’s an israeli newspaper, which was designed to lose money, cuz its free. its a bibi propaganda rag, think of that as a campaign donation.

      Dan, first of all if you've ever seen an advert you'd know that not all free things are "designed to lose money." And secondly, I know it's hard to believe, but Sheldon Adelson is an American. American born, American citizen, American educated, the works. Why should/would a regular American make a "campaign donation" to a foreigner? You asked for an example of Israel firsting coming at the expense of a business or career and I gave you one. While I noted that this did not come at the expense of Adelson's career (because when you have more money than the world has people, it's hard to go broke), it is still an example of an Israel firster hindering his business for Israel's sake. Wake me up when your denial phase is over.

    • Roya July 29, 2012 at 4:34 pm

      I have seen zero evidence of any “israel firster” driving his business into the ground on behalf of israel, or that his/her “israel firsting” has come at the expense of his/her business or career.

      Israel-firster Sheldon Adelson, founder of the daily and free Israeli newspaper and Likud mouthpiece, Israel Hayom (Israel Today), has lost $35-$70 million on the newspaper, which he ostensibly created with the purpose of raising Netanyahu's popularity. He is rich enough that this did not come at the expense of his career, but from a financial perspective it is hardly a wise investment; from an Israel-firster perspective it is a brilliant investment.

    • Roya July 29, 2012 at 3:07 pm

      Ouch Jonah. Must really hurt to think that not all Jews worship Israel. I'd recommend watching this (Jews in Iran –Australian TV) but that would be like adding acid to a wound, especially if you fast forward to 2:48 where an Iranian Jew says, "we are comfortably doing everything we want to do here” or 5:30 where the narrator notes, "In modern day Iran, there are virtually no cases of anti-Semitic violence of the kind you hear about in some parts of Europe."

    • Roya July 29, 2012 at 2:41 pm

      Thanks tree. I will definitely check out the books and would appreciate quotes from Segev if you wouldn't mind.

    • Roya July 28, 2012 at 1:26 pm

      Hostage do you have more examples?

    • Roya July 27, 2012 at 10:53 pm with 1 replies

      Relevant point Shingo, especially considering that now it is easier to cast a vote for the U.S. president from Israel than from the U.S..

    • Roya July 27, 2012 at 10:49 pm

      But if you leave now do you still get to collect on your $2,000? :O

    • Roya July 27, 2012 at 10:48 pm

      Theo, they wouldn't have him. Always remember, Israel is for the white man (so said the not very white looking man from Tunisia).

  • The occupation machine can't run on empathy
    • Roya July 27, 2012 at 9:57 pm

      The Holocaust was responsible for the deaths of way over 12 million people, I think you’re wrong.

      He's wrong on what--that we should remember the Nakba? Begin is rolling in his grave right now---how dare you belittle his accomplishments?

  • Susan Abulhawa demolishes Itamar Marcus
  • 'NYT' describes ethnic cleansing by another name
  • Is the mainstream press ignoring the Congo because there is no ‘Islamic threat’?
  • Israeli president: 'we shall stop' Syrian refugees at border
    • Roya July 23, 2012 at 4:21 pm with 1 replies

      "we shall stop them with the way any country defended her border"
      Please don't insult half of the world's population. It, people, it. Israel is an "it."

  • Yes, what about Syria?
    • Roya July 25, 2012 at 4:21 am

      You are either a shameless propagandist or suffering from serious paranoid delusions.

      It seems to me that anan was hired as a black propagandist. He's hurting the Zionist side so much with his ostensibly Zionist comments that it helps us.

    • Roya July 24, 2012 at 1:56 pm

      rws450 look up where Democracy Now! gets its funding and you will no longer be surprised.

  • It's a lie that Ahmadinejad took responsibility for Bulgarian attack
    • Roya July 26, 2012 at 12:42 am with 1 replies

      "Point out the propaganda Oleg." Well I made this request over 3 days ago and still no answer. Figured.

    • Roya July 25, 2012 at 3:37 pm

      subconscious, as you yourself are very aware,'redskin' has a very derogatory meaning in English, so when whining about a mistranslation you lose credibility by providing a mistranslation yourself.

    • Roya July 25, 2012 at 4:03 am with 3 replies

      subconscious, where are you getting this "a Zionist gynecologist at some juncture has castrated 8000 redskins” translation from? He does not say redskin. He says [American] Indian. I don't even know of a Farsi derogative for American Indian. Maybe you could inform me of one (or make it up) with your brilliant Farsi skills.

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