Monthly Archives: August 2009

Cash for clunkers program buying SUVs

Posted on 08/07/2009 by Meryl Yourish

Here’s a big surprise: The ostensible reason for the Cash for Clunkers program—to get gas guzzlers off the road and replace them with better-mileage vehicles—is achieving exactly the opposite of what it set out to achieve. And the government, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, The One | Tagged | 1 Comment

Huzzahs for Hussam

Posted on 08/07/2009 by Soccerdad

Reading Isabel Kershner’s Fatah postpones elections but Extends Conference, I wonder if I’m missing anything. Kershner informs us that the younger members of Fatah want a greater say in its governance. Are they more moderate? She doesn’t tell us. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Bias, palestinian politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Friday SNB

Posted on 08/07/2009 by Meryl Yourish

(That’s Snark News Briefs, to those of you who haven’t been paying attention.) Fatah blames Israel for Arafat’s AIDS: Not really. Fatah refuses to even consider the idea that their dead (and unmourned) leader did not die because of Israeli … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Movies, News Briefs, palestinian politics, Pop Culture | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

A moment for John Hughes

Posted on 08/07/2009 by Meryl Yourish

John Hughes was THE writer/director of the 1980s. He didn’t just create his own genre and influence millions of American teens, he launched the careers of a host of actors. He died yesterday of a heart attack. A native of … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Welcome to World Hypocrisy 101

Posted on 08/06/2009 by Meryl Yourish

Say, folks. Let’s take a look at the ongoing peace talks between two sides of a country that’s been occupied for 35 years. “We haven’t set a timeline,” Alexander Downer, the top U.N. official on the war-divided island, said in … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Double Standard Time, The One, United Nations, World | Comments Off

Ethnic smearing

Posted on 08/06/2009 by Soccerdad

Earlier this week, Israel evicted a group of Palestinians from a building in Jerualem. The New York Times reported: Thirty-eight members of the Ghawi family were removed from six apartments that made up one of the houses. There are 17 … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | 2 Comments

HRW: Even condemning Hamas shows their anti-Israel bias

Posted on 08/06/2009 by Meryl Yourish

Human Rights Watch finally released a report condemning Hamas for firing rockets at civilians. Several questions come to mind, and NGO monitor asked them: Why did it take HRW 6 months to issue a report that covers no new ground … Continue reading →

Posted in Hamas, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

Well, that explains a lot

Posted on 08/05/2009 by Meryl Yourish

I’m getting something like 40% of my traffic from feeds now. I don’t mean referrers from people like Sammy and Elder (though I am very grateful to them both). I mean from people getting my posts via their newsreaders. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Site news | 6 Comments

Wednesday SNB

Posted on 08/05/2009 by Meryl Yourish

Human rights, shmuman rights: The U.K. is perfectly fine with backing an economic pact between Syria and the EU in spite of its “concerns” about Syria’s human rights violations. Because after all, the almighty Euro is more important than the … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israeli Double Standard Time, Syria, Television, The One, World | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

After 20 long years they let them out of the home

Posted on 08/05/2009 by Soccerdad

In the NYT Isabel Kershner reports in Abbas Urges ‘New Start’ at Fatah Conference : The day was filled with contradictory messages reflecting the disarray in Fatah. A huge poster on the wall bore the legend “Resistance is the legitimate … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, palestinian politics | Tagged | Comments Off

Tuesday SNB

Posted on 08/04/2009 by Meryl Yourish

Gush Shalom: With friends like these… The background: Israel is looking into making it illegal for foreign countries to fund organizations that actively work against Israel, such as Breaking the Silence, the discredited organization that uses anonymous soldiers without any … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Lebanon, Politics, The One | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Fatah con 2009

Posted on 08/04/2009 by Soccerdad

The players Barry Rubin wrote an informative roundup of the personalities who will be participating. Most importantly he observed: Of the Fatah Central Committee’s seventeen surviving members, only three can be classified as relative moderates. At least seven can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Derangement Syndrome, palestinian politics | Tagged | Comments Off

The Fatah convention: War is peace

Posted on 08/04/2009 by Meryl Yourish

Mahmoud Abbas, the “moderate” leader of Fatah, declared today that the Palestinians reserve the “right” to “resistance.” But of course, he mouthed enough platitudes so that the anti-Israel media can pretend that he wants peace. “Although peace is our choice, … Continue reading →

Posted in AP Media Bias, palestinian politics, Terrorism | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Monday SNB

Posted on 08/03/2009 by Meryl Yourish

Fatah old guard: Hey, we’re old, we’re rich, we’re corrupt, and we ain’t movin’: The old guard won’t let the young guard horn in on their territory. Not surprising; the old guard has its lovely villas in the West Bank … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel, News Briefs, palestinian politics, Politics, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism | Comments Off

The Nanny State: Alive and well in the U.K.

Posted on 08/03/2009 by Meryl Yourish

What if, instead of taking children out of the homes of lousy parents (drug addicts, alcoholics, abusers), there was a way you could monitor the family 24/7 and try to influence their behavior that way? Do you think that American … Continue reading →

Posted in American Scene, World | 2 Comments

Worth every penny of “free”

Posted on 08/02/2009 by Soccerdad

In “Free marriage counseling” Thomas Friedman offers advice how to repair the currently strained American Israeli diplomatic impasse. The operative word is “free” because that is exactly what Friedman’s advice is worth. Friedman simply strings together his past positions and … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | 3 Comments

New Fatah platform: More violence against Israel

Posted on 08/02/2009 by Meryl Yourish

Fatah’s new platform reads just like the old one. Actually, it’s not really a new platform. The only thing new is Fatah putting in writing its desire to cozy up to Iran, like Hamas, probably so the Palestinians will like … Continue reading →

Posted in palestinian politics, Terrorism | Comments Off

Iran plane crash cause: Exploding bomb parts

Posted on 08/02/2009 by Meryl Yourish

The plane that crashed in Iran two weeks ago that killed everyone on board crashed because it was carrying arms to Hezbollah. According to the sources, the aircraft was carrying a large number of modern fuses composed of 2 kilograms … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Terrorism | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Obama’s outreach: Not quite far enough

Posted on 08/01/2009 by Meryl Yourish

The Saudis told the Obama administration, well, effectively, to stick it where the sun don’t shine. Saudi Arabia on Friday sharply rejected American calls for gestures towards Israel, a central component of US efforts to pave the way for peace … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Saudi Arabia, The One | 2 Comments

Caturday

Posted on 08/01/2009 by Meryl Yourish

I found my camera, and so, kitty pics. Tig’s toys were restored to him after my horde of Latina women came and went last week. And Tig rediscovered the toys of his childhood (and young adulthood). I caught him in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cats | 2 Comments