Took them a few years to recognize the awful reality... details.
Tehran believes the geometrical figures illustrating "2012" in the logo conceal the word "Zion," a term Iranian officials use to describe Israel and its government, which they do not recognize.Conceal? Maybe from a Persian kitty...
By now there is an almost worldwide consensus about the need to get rid of the dictator, a consensus bucked only by a few odious characters like Hugo the Comical Chavez, Fidel the Beard Castro and, not so strangely, Nicaraguan strong man Daniel Ortega. Even Mahmoud the Mad expressed his reservations about the other madman of the Muslim world (probably looking forward to remaining alone at the summit of madness).
While the world is buzzing and loudly supporting the idea of freeing itself of Gadhafi, the question of his replacement is sounding very quietly, if at all. And it's a pity, because some strange things are happening in the background almost unnoticed, while Libyans are fighting against the regime. A good sample is this article from CNN.
Meanwhile, Libya's deputy amassador to the world body, Ibrahim Dabbashi, indicated Saturday that he and fellow diplomats "support ... in principle" a caretaker administration to lead Libya under the direction of former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil.The former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil (or Mustafa Abud Al Jeleil according to Wiki) is rather an unknown entity so far. Even his career in Gadhafi's government is not yet documented (at least in English) for public. For the sake of fairness: he appeared as a good guy before the current uprising, in August 2010, when he "has reportedly taken a strong stance against arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention without trial". Good for him. His other anti-Gadhafi actions, starting with his resignation, all date several days after the revolt in Libya got serious.
"I have evidence that Gadhafi ordered the Lockerbie," Mustafa Abdul Jalil is reported to have told the newspaper [Swedish tabloid Expressen], though the article cited no specifics.Wow. So a hitherto unknown minister has evidence of a crime that, presented to appropriate authorities, can put the tyrant into hot (or even boiling) water indeed. This is a big deal. Or... but let's take it slowly. First of all, the tyrant in question is being deposed as we speak and, besides, he submits his readiness to die fighting anyhow. So, if the revolt succeeds, the newly surfaced evidence will hardly be of any value, unless we are talking about the history books. And anyhow there was little doubt that Gadhafi gave the order. Not that this knowledge prevented many a Western politico from exchanging spit with the bastard. But it was a side remark, let's go back to our interim chief.
There are still a great many things that are unclear about the Arab revolts. Israelis, for example, watch nervously to find out if the new Egyptian government will honor the peace treaty. One message, however, is shouted out loud and clear to “progressive” opponents of Israel in Europe and the USA. Unbelievably, nobody is talking about it:Want to know the secret, don't you? I guess so. Then read the whole article by Ami Isseroff.
The revolts exposed the dirty little secret of most Arab and Islamic regimes. It is a “secret” that almost everyone in the Middle East knows, and it turns all the dogmatic cant about “Zionist imperialism” and “Apartheid Israel” into ludicrous drivel.
From here:
Judge Goldstone's bold statement that punishing war crimes should be "on the basis of the equality of all nations before the law" is encouraging in view of the disproportionate focus on every little wart in Israel while ignoring real gross violations of human rights elsewhere. He said that this indefensible action by the HRC:Too late, I am afraid...
"fueled the long-standing and repeated complaints by Israel that the Human Rights Council and the UN in general are biased against it. They repeatedly rush to pass condemnatory resolutions in the face of alleged violations of human rights law by Israel but fail to take similar action in the face of even more serious violations by other States. Until the Gaza Report they failed to condemn the firing of rockets and mortars at Israeli civilian centers."
In dealing with the recent public statement by Hamas interior minister Fathi Hammad, who quoted figures of combatant casualties in the Cast Lead Operation that roughly match the 709 claimed by Israel. Goldstone said that Israel assumed that the 250 members of Hamas who were killed in police headquarters were combatants, but that this is not necessarily so. However, he continued that, if in fact, those police officers were members of the Hamas military wing the number of combatants who were killed would approximate the number claimed by the Israeli Government.
This will be the first for a Western leader addressing mainly anti-Israeli audience:
UK Prime Minister David Cameron told students in Qatar that some Middle Eastern rulers were using the Israel-Palestine conflict as a distraction from their own oppressive regimes.I was so excited by this quote that I even forgot to ask: who of the Middle Eastern rulers said that "Israeli blockade has turned Gaza Strip into a prison camp"?
You just have to enjoy this unique mutual support group of two:
As for branding Charlie anti-Semitic: it's early days still, let him either clean all the different kinds of junk out of the system or get back to the level he is used to function at. Then we shall see.
Some nifty statistics about the activities of this august organ:
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It's a good skit. No need for comments.
Of course, the list of speakers reads like a list of comedy club members (or prime candidates for a early morning meeting with a firing squad, depends on your mood). But then UN in later years is something of a comedy club, albeit too monotonous...
You have to read it, but even then it would be hard to believe:
Iran's president warned on Wednesday that the wave of protests sweeping the Middle East will spread to Europe and North America.And this is just for warm up, here is the main sketch:
Speaking on state TV Wednesday, the president also condemned Libya's use of force against demonstrators and urged Libyan leaders to give in to the demands of their people.The AP journalist who has written this article has taken it so seriously that he just had to respond:
The calls for solidarity with protesters across the Arab world came in stark contrast to its own actions to crush dissent at home. Two people were killed and dozens arrested in Iran last Monday when thousands of opposition supporters in Tehran and other cities took to the streets in defiance of a heavy security presence to back uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia that toppled their leaders.So what should we expect next from Mahmoud the Mad? Will he join the Third International now?
You have to watch the clip to the end, but it's less than 3 minutes. And educational too:
A few days ago I have posted a clip about the decision of my friend Andrew Ian Dodge to run for US Senate for the state of Maine. I do not understand, am not involved or interested much in the US internal politics, so the attraction of the whole story for me is rather personal. But as the time goes, one naturally develops some curiosity, since the news coming in from Maine is so exciting. Andrew's started the campaign with an impressive communique, rounded up by the interview you could see in the link in the beginning of this post and another one here.
And than IT started. By "IT", I don't mean Stephen King's (one of the most famous Maine citizens) probably best and scariest horror novel. After all, Andrew can cope with horrors on his own, since he dealt with the genre himself. I refer to the witch hunt that was started by assorted "patriots" and connoisseurs of another genre: that of defining what an ideal politician for their beloved Maine should look like. In short, the woodwork started to disgorge its contents, and in some ways Stephen King could take heed of and profit (in a literary way) from the proceedings.
I have compiled a few of the critical remarks and outright accusations, not to mention some stronger expressions that were already addressed at our contender. So here it goes:
I would really like to see pictures of all of you who base your votes on the appearance of the candidates. You must all look like Calvin Klein underwear models.Good point, Old Dame Fortune! I might go even further and say that these characters might happen to look more like used CK underwear, but I wouldn't...
We don't all dress like bums, have Wicca connections, weird sex stuff on our websites, hang out in dark bars, etc...Yeah, "we" use a photo of "us" taken in the pose of a deep thinker - very impressive and "we" are too straight for Wicca connections and undefined "weird sex stuff". And "we" obviously cross the street to avoid being caught near a dark bar, etc...
I think that the press would have a field day with him, just because of his connections over in England -- there's questions about whether he's a citizen or not.Leaving aside the stupidity of that sentence - how could one's British connections invalidate one's birth certificate? - Steve Martin not the comedian takes this idea even further:
I have a hard time with the Mainestream "press" in this State picking a NON-CITIZEN who is into witchcraft and weird sexual stuff as a spokesman for the "tea party" in Maine.Now the object of his cutting criticism became confirmed as a NON-CITIZEN. Case closed, and another birther affair is launched. Well, if it doesn't work with one's political enemy, it just might work with somebody of your own party...
The Libertarian Party is an uneasy partnership of convenience between Constitutionalists types and Libertines.Wow... libertines... what can one say? Mr Dodge must immediately rethink his dastardly sexual practices he no doubt indulges in all over the fair state of Maine. Or else... I would like just to inquire whether Steve Martin not the comedian has a slightest idea about the meaning of "libertine" - he is certainly feeble on the subject of libertarians too. Anyway, his ignorance doesn't bother him, and his next shot concerns Andrew the libertine:
Right now, the Libertines are speaking out more loudly and the press is glad to follow them around with baited breath hanging on their every word, because, again, the end game is world government, and Libertines have no real loyalty to a country they see as having been established on misguided principles.Only Steve Martin not the comedian knows how the sinister Libertines are connected to the world government, but we all know the kind of guys that connect everything they hardly understand to the world government, whatever it means to them. Don't we? The shadows of the black helicopters should be seen already over the best lobster ares off Maine coast, I say. And Steve Martin not the comedian doesn't stop here, he quotes from (unlinked source) another tidbit about Libertarians (or does he mean Libertines? who knows by now...):
We have taken to ourselves the Marxist-Leninist tool of agitprop.Of course, it makes our subject, on top of being Libertarian and Libertine, also a closet Marxist-Leninist... enough? By now all Mainers should already seek FBI / National Guard / Army protection from this monstrous Marxist-Leninist non-citizen Wiccan warlock, sexual deviant for the world government that hangs out in dark bars and dresses like a bum. And don't forget that ominous "etc."
However, for the sake of openness it must be stated here and now that the neighbors of Dodge family have noticed that their dog refuses to partake of lobster, spare ribs and cured ham - in short, any non-kosher items that any other dog will gladly kill for. We are not saying more on the subject - let those who are able to make their conclusions. And, incidentally, to make their peace with what is expected to happen to Maine...
Stole the headline here, so check it out there.
An outlandish idea, what? Unless... as a lawn ornament, after being stuffed. But I don't have a lawn.
Update: SWMBO told me we do have a lawn and I need to get out more and get a life. OK.
Now you know whom to thank for the garbage your kids (or your own self) are dragging in from the street.
Hat tip: Louise.
Norm offers a challenge to physicists and/or philosophers. The challenge stems from this article that says, between other things:
Some physicists have theorized that only universes in which the laws of physics are "just so" could support life, and that if things were even a little bit different from our world, intelligent life would be impossible. In that case, our physical laws might be explained "anthropically," meaning that they are as they are because if they were otherwise, no one would be around to notice them.Not belonging myself to the two categories Norm is addressing, I still feel a need to throw in my half penny.
Seems to me that I am getting a headache from the endless repetition of the topic in the media. It become so trite that more astute editors succeeded to express two polar opinions in a single article. Check out this headline from WaPo:
It's a roll of the dice, creating a fully democratic Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood could become a dominant force.I have an idea: why don't we all just wait and see?
The news didn't come as a big shocker:
Scientists working at a site in Somerset, England, have found the first evidence of cannibalism in the British Isles, including the use of skulls for drinking cups, according to a study published Thursday by the Public Library of Science.After all, who of us can claim with any level of confidence that his ancestors didn't partake... So Brits could now join the rest of er... humanity.
"New analyses of human remains from Gough's Cave demonstrate the skilled post-mortem manipulation of human bodies," write researchers Silvia M. Bello, Simon A. Parfitt and Chris B. Stringer with London's Natural History Museum and University College London.So what all the others, unwashed heathens that they are, knew as simple down to earth cannibalism, was in the British Isles "post-mortem manipulation of human bodies".
The Birthright (Taglit) program is one of the shining successes of the Zionist movement. Birthright offers free trips to Israel for Jewish young people in the hope that seeing is believing. Though it has probably not been able to fully exploit its potential, there is no doubt that Birthright brings Jewish young people closer to Israel and to their Jewish heritage and closer to an understanding of the achievements and challenges facing Israel.So all's well? Yes, but then there is J-Street... Read the whole article by Ami Isseroff. You will enjoy it, or your money back...
Norm comments on Žižek's approval of liberty-seeking Egyptians. Precise, short and painful.
He concludes with:
From which one may infer either that Žižek has now had a change of heart, or that he says whatever suits the moment, or that democracy for him is precious except when it isn't.I would offer a fourth explanation: Žižek doesn't really care about being correct or consistent. What he cares about is the visibility value of his verbal shenanigans.
This headline caused me some concern:
Bipartisan House Coalition Hopes to Cut Money for Second F-35 Engine
Does it mean that from now on the prime USAF (and IAF, incidentally) fighter jet will have to do with one engine only instead of the two planned?
Well, at least there is some duality in the House Coalition, it being bipartisan...
We are used to laugh at our own IDF (and some other) spokespersons, but here comes one that leaves them in the dust.
Israel Defense Forces soldiers shot and killed three Palestinians near the Gaza Strip border zone on Thursday, said Palestinian medics who recovered the bodies.Then there follows an IDF spokesman's version:
An IDF spokesperson confirmed that the troops had opened fire after observeing the Palestinians approaching the security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip attempting to plant explosives.Of course, the Gazzan counterpart couldn't leave the scene without a parting shot:
A spokesman for the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine - a small group that only rarely carries out attacks - sent a text message to reporters identifying one of the men as a member of the group " killed during a mission carried out by our military wing."And...
Palestinian identified the men who were killed as aged 20, 25 and 29, and said all three were unarmed fishermen.(Emphasis mine).
Andrew Ian Dodge - a rocker and writer turned politician recently, officially announces that he is filing papers with the FEC and running for the United States Senate against Olympia Snowe. He sits down with Jarrod LeBlanc of Maine Web News to discuss the launching of his campaign.
Notice that he feels quite comfortable with his war paint (the three piece suit) and he is going to prove to some people that Maine is about more than Stephen King* and lobsters. Maine could and should rock!
Good luck, Andrew!
(*) Nothing against Stephen King, mind you.
I am a great believer in treatment by 2x4 - as in "using exaggeration to convey your point". Still, the only universal truth is that there aren't universal truths. Orwell didn't corner the universal truths market too, and sometimes... but it was just a universal disclaimer.
Otherwise - what Terry Glavin says.
