Yourish.com

11/19/2009

SNB

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel, News Briefs, palestinian politics — Tags: — Meryl Yourish @ 11:00 am

Someone explain to China the meaning of “chutzpah”: China, the current occupier of Tibet, is telling Israel that adding new apartments to Gilo is an obstacle to peace. Because it’s not like they’re not occupying an entire nation that was really a nation before China took it over. Unlike the fictional nation of “Palestine.”

Erekat: Israel is not a partner for peace. Meryl: The record’s stuck. The record’s stuck. The record’s stuck.

State-sponsored British anti-Semitism: Britain’s Channel 4 just ran an “expose” on the influence of The Israel Lobby (da-da-DUM!). Wow, what state moneys can buy in Jew-hatred. They were charged with racial hate (or whatever that charge is in Britain) when they ran an expose on terrorists recruiting in British mosques. Any guesses on whether they’ll get charged with inciting racial hatred on this one? Shyeah.

Oh, no way this goes wrong: The CIA is launching a campaign to recruit Arab-Americans. If their screening is as strenuous as the FBI and the Army, we can expect a lot more Major Hasan incidents.

11/18/2009

Wednesday SNB

Filed under: Iran, Israel, News Briefs — Meryl Yourish @ 11:00 am

Ship with armed security team prevents hijacking: Wow, having armed security agents on board to fight off armed pirates stopped the pirates cold. Armed guards prevent piracy? Who woulda thunk it? And the pirates may very well be lost at sea or killed. World’s smallest violin orchestra queuing up now.

WTF kind of headline is this? Okay, you figure out what “post-election turmoil” means. The AP headline is “Iran sentences 5 to death in postelection turmoil.” The Iranian government sentenced five people to death whose only crime, apparently, was protesting the fraudulent election in June. So what’s the “postelection turmoil”? The fact that there was “turmoil” after the election (if you can call hundreds of thousands marching on the streets and shouting from the rooftops)? Were they sentenced for causing “turmoil”? Is the sentencing taking place in “turmoil”? Howsabout we change it to “Iran sentences 5 to death for protesting June election”? That would make it a hell of a lot clearer, and more truthful. Who writes these stupid headlines, anyway? Get someone better, AP.

Fight global warming with condoms. Seriously. The UN Population Fund says we can stop global warming by giving out free condoms and free family planning advice. See, if only there weren’t so many damned people, the world would not be suffering nearly as many ills. I propose eliminating only international bureaucrats. That’d fix the global warming problem in a hurry, since nobody else would really care about it.

Dogpile on Israelis! Dogpile on Israelis! The Gilo dogpile is on. Let’s see, the U.S., France, the UN and Britain–anyone else? Yeah, well, the suburb of Jerusalem will be building 900 new housing units. Deal with it.

11/04/2009

The election post-mortem

Filed under: News Briefs, Politics — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

The Chicago Way spreads to Senate Dem races: Or, “Nice seat you have there. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to it.” MoveOn.org and its sister and brother liberal groups are threatening moderate Democrats that they’re on their own come election time if they don’t jump the right way on Obamacare. Best part? The uber-libs are being ignored:

Moderates are not bowing to the liberal view of “how the world should be,” said Landrieu, adding that Democrats like her “want common sense to prevail.”

[...] The liberal blog Firedoglake.com said it was calling thousands of Nevada Democrats, urging them to support an opponent in the Democratic primary if Reid does not force a Senate vote on strong government-run coverage.

“I’m not aware of them,” Reid said when asked in a brief interview about pressure tactics aimed at him. “I don’t read blogs, I don’t listen to talk radio, I don’t watch cable TV.”

Yeah, that’s gonna work really well. My liberal, Democrat-voting mother did not vote for Corzine yesterday. Way to keep her on your side.

The spin is in, it’s not a win: The White House is pretending that losing the governorship in blue, blue NJ and back-to-red VA is no big deal. But they should.

Another worry: independent voters split overwhelmingly for the Republicans, though White House officials say their polling shows that President Obama enjoys essentially the same level of support among independents now as he did a year ago.

I’m an independent voter. I’ve been waiting for the Dems to woo me back. If Deeds is an example of their best, well—they’re not even trying to buy me dinner first. And oh yeah—the overwhelming majority of voters yesterday said that the economy is their biggest worry. Go ahead. Keep trying to pass Obamacare. Keep trying to spend money we don’t have. We’ll be seeing a Republican House and Senate before long.

Even the AP pointed out that Obama can’t pretend the race was no statement on him at all:

It’s also difficult to separate Obama from the outcomes after he devoted a significant chunk of time working to persuade voters to elect Deeds in Virginia and re-elect Corzine in New Jersey.

Yeah, you can’t go to NJ three times in two weeks, send your staff to take over Corzine’s election, and then say the race wasn’t a statement on Obama. Okay, well, you can if you’re lying, but y’know, we kinda caught you at it.

Virginia: An issues state, not a red state? The Times-Dispatch says Virginia voters are issue-driven, not party-driven. And the issue that concerned most VA voters yesterday? The economy.

An exit poll for The Associated Press showed that eight in 10 voters were concerned about the economy, and a majority of them backed McDonnell.

Further, economic jitters drove the votes of independents who make up one-third of the electorate. They broke to McDonnell nearly 2-to-1, according to the AP.

Be very worried, Democrats. It isn’t nationalized healthcare that the voters want. It’s jobs and security.

10/30/2009

Briefly

Filed under: Iran, Israel, Jews, News Briefs, The One, World — Tags: , — Meryl Yourish @ 10:00 am

Obama administration forces Honduras to let anti-Semitic nutjob back in power: So, the guy who said that Mossad agents were poisoning him is going to be back in charge of Honduras in some fashion, forced there by the United States and the OAS overriding Honduras’ Supreme Court decisions and the laws of the nation. Way to go, Obama! Way to work for the rule of law. Oh, wait. It’s the Chicago Way. I keep forgetting.

Awesome: Congressional nitwit puts private ethics investigation data on public website. You have to love the internet age, because people being people, there are still just as many idiots as there were before everything was online. Only now when they make mistakes, we get to see what’s really going on behind the scenes in Congress.

Postcards from the IDF: Yossi Klein Halevi on Israeli citizens’ receipt of a postcard that details how much time they have to get to the nearest bomb shelter in the event of a missile attack. A sobering read.

No. Ya think? Best headline yet on the Iran cheat-and-retreat strategy: “Iran accused of playing games on nuclear deal.” The Telegraph wins the Keen Grasp of the Obvious award for that one.

But—but—this totally blows away the “European colonialism” argument! Genetic proof that Jews were from the land of Israel, and the man behind the science. (Of course, he’s a Jew.)

10/29/2009

Briefly

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel Derangement Syndrome, News Briefs, Religion, Terrorism — Meryl Yourish @ 12:30 pm

You can’t make this stuff up dept.: Okay, let’s be clear. When Israelis protested to the Turks that their portrayal of IDF soldiers as bloodthirsty murderers and rapists, the Turks said that it wasn’t meant to be harmful, and that they really love Israelis. Really. But when the Palestinians complained that it portrayed them in a negative light (the Palestinians murdered women the soldiers raped, in “honor” killings, well, that was enough to get the “content advisor” to resign in outrage. Of course, this makes perfect sense in a nation where 53% say they wouldn’t want a Jew for a neighbor, and where the Turks are cozying up to Iran and Islamists have essentially won the day.

Don’t worry, it won’t be determined an anti-Semitic attack: Two Jews were shot in the legs inside a synagogue in Los Angeles this morning, but I’m sure it will be determined that it wasn’t anti-Semitism. Violent attacks on Jews in America seem to always be the work of a lone, crazy gunman. I guess we should be happy this guy was not only crazy, but a lousy shot.

But he’s not a Democrat, so no one will care: Gunshots were fired at Lou Dobbs’ home while his wife was standing outside. So, someone who doesn’t like Dobbs’ stance on immigration tried to kill his wife? Nice. This is what you would call a case of domestic terrorism. The gunshot followed a series of threatening phone calls.

Religion of tolerance confiscates bibles: But yes, Islam is tolerant of other faiths. Just ask them. They’re confiscating the bibles because they referred to God as Allah. I’m trying to think if there has ever been a case where Israel confiscated bibles or korans. Hm. Thinking… no, give me a minute, I’m sure I’ll find an example… uh, no. I’m out.

Saudi Arabia joins the seventeenth century: The King had to step in and cancel a medieval punishment, but hey, those Saudis are really modernizing. They’re not going to give a woman 60 lashes with a whip for having worked on a television show where a man talked about sex. Except she had nothing to do with that show. The man, meantime, was sentenced to a prison term, plus lashes. So maybe the Saudis aren’t quite out of the fourteenth century yet. I wouldn’t know… when did Christians flog people for talking about sex in public?

10/22/2009

Briefly

Filed under: Gaza, Iran, Israel, News Briefs — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 2:00 pm

The Gold Standard Debate: Oh, to be at this debate. Richard Goldstone v. Dore Gold at Brandeis. I hope they televise it. Go get ‘im, Dore!

But the Gazans are living in crushing misery: The New York Times is calling Rafah a “shopping mecca,” even as Richard Goldstone, HRW, and the EU and UN insist that Gazans are starving, miserable, and oppressed. Cognitive dissonance? No. The narrative.

It’s on. It’s off. It’s on. It’s off. No, it’s Iran. Yesterday, the news was full of the Iranians accepting the draft agreement to let us enrich their nuclear fuel for them. Today, Iran did their usual thing and said, “What? We never said we’d accept that.” If Iran was a child, I’d put it in permanent time-out.

10/20/2009

Briefly

Filed under: Hamas, Iran, Israel, News Briefs, Terrorism, palestinian politics — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 11:00 am

Hamas’ truce cry: We’ll dismantle Fatah. Really, I just love the Fatah-Hamas relationship. It’s so good for Israel and the world. Here’s what a Hamas “spokesman” says about disarming:

“It is easier to dismantle the Palestinian Authority than it is to dismantle us, and we will take them apart before anyone thinks of touching us.”

Ah, the Hamas/Fatah truce. The snark simply writes itself.

Turkey, the friend of Jews—not. France’s Le Monde polled the Turks, and 53% say they would not want to live next door to a Jew. But really, the Turks luuurve Israelis. Truly. They do. Probably a little more than they love Armenians, but I wouldn’t want to lay odds on that.

Abdullah to Obama: Forget Iran, it’s not that important. Uh-huh. We shouldn’t concentrate on Iran, because the king of Jordan is tired of hearing about Iran, Iran, Iran. It’s the Palestinians that are the key to mideast peace, you see—not the country that’s trying to build nuclear weapons, murdering American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, funding terrorists in Israel, South America, and, well, all over the world, and oh yeah—violently repressig its own people. So yeah, really, Obama—what’s with the Iran obsession?

Bill Maher is a great big idiot: Want to laugh? Watch this video over at Hot Air, where Bill Maher, the world-renowned scientist, tells us how dangerous flu vaccinations are, and vaccinations in general. Biggest laugh-line: It’s not settled science, like global warming. Yes, he really says that. Like Allahpundit says, when Chris Matthews is your voice of reason—well.

10/19/2009

Snarkly

Filed under: Gaza, Israel, Media Bias, News Briefs, The One, United Nations — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 7:00 am

The Russians were for Goldstone before they were against it: Let’s see how this one plays out—Russia says it will not push the Goldstone report to the Hague from the Security Council. I will believe it when I see it. Oh, to be a fly on the wall during that session.

Obama abandons the victims of genocide: Now our president is turning his back on Darfur. He’s committing to a “softer” approach to Sudan. Because hey, it totally fits with the Obama foreign policy: Screw our allies, and give breaks to all our enemies. Even the ones that like to rape, torture, and murder with impunity. So, to the 78% of Jewish voters who voted for Obama, how’s that feeling about now? I mean, Jewish voters make up a large part of the save Darfur movements. Feeling proud of your guy, still?

Only Israel can violate UN resolutions: UNIFIL is still “investigating” those explosions in southern Lebanon, trying to determine if they’re in violation of UN Resolution 1701, which forbade Hezbollah from arming south of the Litani. But there is no such hesitation whatsoever in calling out Israel.

Williams said the use of drones was an obvious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and resolution 1701 “and not particularly helpful at a time of obvious tension in the south”.

Israel supplies evidence that Hezbollah is stocking arms, but UNIFIL must investigate. Uh-huh. No bias here. Move along. Nothing to see.

You know what isn’t brave? Criticizing Israel. Hell, everybody does it, and everybody seems to think that it’s a difficult thing to do. Jimmy Carter, Walt & Mearsheimer, and now, the president of Turkey. Because there’s so much negative impact from his countrymen for criticizing Israel. Now, if he stood up and supported Israel—well, that’d be very courageous. Also only in Bizarro World, so let’s not even pretend it might happen someday. It won’t.

Another kassam attack, another day of silence from the MSM: You won’t read about this kassam attack in the AP or Reuters until after Israel bombs a smuggling tunnel or three. Or unless Israel gets a rocket squad. Because it’s obvious that unprovoked attacks on civilians in Israel aren’t newsworthy—only Israel’s response to the unprovoked attacks. This is also one of those things that the Goldstone report didn’t bother to cover—you know, the reason why Israel went into Gaza in the first place. That’s unimportant. Well, maybe if it fell short and killed some Palestinians. I’m sure they’d blame Israel for that.

10/11/2009

Through the news snarkly

Filed under: Israel, News Briefs — Meryl Yourish @ 11:43 am

Hypocrisy watch, part 65,341: Jordan is really big on accusing Israel of violating human rights laws every time men under 50 are prevented from worshipping at al Aqsa (because they’re going there with the intent of rioting, but I digress). Without even mentioning the fact that men who commit “honor killings” in Jordan get slap-on-the-wrist sentences, how’s about this one? An Arab-Israeli man was arrested in Jordan for “speaking ill” of the king. It’s against the law to insult King Abdullah. Or Jordan. Well. I think Abdullah is a monkey-faced moron. There. Now I can never go to Jordan. I’ve broken Jordanian law. Well, I think Jordan sucks, which means I’ve just broken two Jordanian laws. It’s against the law to insult the country, as well. Yeah, way to walk the walk, dudes.

Proof that winning a Nobel prize doesn’t mean you’re smart: The Israeli Nobel Laureate in chemistry should probably stick to talking about science when she’s interviewed. Telling the Israeli media that she thinks all Palestinian prisoners should be released, regardless of how many murders they’ve committed, doesn’t make her look all that bright.

We’re going to reconcile, but separately: Fatah and Hamas may be signing the reconciliation agreement on separate days. The sheer comedy gold of that concept appears to have utterly passed them by.

A Buddhist Sukkot: Not really. Just the Dalai Lama visiting Washington’s largest Conservative synagogue to speak to 400 of his followers. He took some time after the speech to celebrate Sukkot with the rabbi and congregants. Barack Obama was not in attendance. He was over in the Chinese sukka across town.

09/18/2009

Briefly

Filed under: Hamas, Holocaust, Iran, News Briefs, The One, palestinian politics — Tags: , , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 8:01 am

Germans to Israel: Shut up if you want Gilad Shalit to come home. To be fair, he wants all parties involved to shut up, but really—this is what the mediator thinks is a necessary ingredient to getting Hamas to release their hostage for hundreds of convicted terrorists? A press blackout? Yeah, that’s what’s important.

Abbas to Obama: Stick it in your very big ears. Wow, look at what all those preconditions Obama demanded did for the peace process. It worked! The Palestinians now think they don’t have to do anything and Israel will be handed to them by the U.S. Great job, Obama! (Is it racist to say that he has big ears?)

If it’s Quds Day, this must be Holocaust Denial: And not just Holocaust denial from Ahmadinejad—his thugs attacked ex-president Khatami. Hey, if they kill Khatami, will Iranians rise up and not stop this time? Here’s what they chanted:

“Death to the dictators,” and “Not Gaza, Not Lebanon, We are ready to die for Iran,” chanted protesters.

The normal chant, if you have forgotten, is “Death to Israel” or “Death to America.”

If this is a holiday, it must be high terror alert in Israel: But gee, Obama told me that the Palestinians want peace. So did the Saudis. So do the Egyptians. Huh. Go figure. And 75,000 Muslims attended Ramadan prayers, unmolested, in Jerusalem—in their mosque deliberately built on the Temple grounds—that was not destroyed when Israel took control of Jerusalem. Exactly which of us is the Religion of Peace, do you think?

09/09/2009

Wednesday SNB

Filed under: Gaza, Hamas, Israel, News Briefs, Politics — Meryl Yourish @ 11:00 am

Very interesting… Ynet says Benjamin Netanyahu took a trip to Russia to discuss their selling of arms to Iran. The PM’s office says he never left the country. There are also rumors that Bibi visited an Arab nation that has no ties with Israel. Hm. Double hm. Regardless of which report is true, I think it’s proof that Bibi is working hard for Israel.

Ehud Olmert: It’s not just a river in Egypt. Ehud Olmert is defending the disengagement—still. Because it worked so well for Israel. Let’s see, four years later, Gaza has turned into Gazastan and is being run by Hamas, which is building up Gaza as a doppelganger of Israel’s border with Lebanon, complete with thousands of rockets. The Obama administration is completely negating any deals made with the Bush administration regarding settlement growth, which was part of the reason Ariel Sharon wanted to give up Gaza in the first place. The world now accuses Israel of keeping Gazans in a “giant prison,” ignoring the fact that Egypt closes its border with Gaza. So, yeah, the disengagement was an absolute success, if by success you mean “achieving the opposite of what you wanted to achieve.”

Awesome! I picked up the use of naming things “Fred” from a friend I knew ages ago. My wireless network is named Fred (”Connection to Fred: Excellent”). And now, NOAA has made me a very happy woman by naming a hurricane Fred. And Fred is being a bad boy, indeed. He’s up to a Category 2.

Gee, we couldn’t see that coming: Taxpayers are going to eat the auto bailout funds. It seems the brilliant minds in the government said that the auto companies would only have to pay back the funds if their stock prices reached—get this—a market value of over $10 billion more than it was when the bailout occurred. Because gee, the public is just so confident in the American automakers that they’re looking to add them to their portfolios. Yeah, we were had. Like anyone didn’t think otherwise?

09/08/2009

Tuesday SNB

Filed under: Israel, News Briefs, The One, palestinian politics — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 10:00 am

Still more dividends from the Obama speech: A Palestinian minister met with an Israeli minister last week, but that will be the last of talking until Obama forces Abbas to sit down with Netanyahu. Becauase now the Palestinians are refusing to talk with Israel on any level until all their demands are met. Yep, Obama set the bar for negotiations with Israel. No settlements, not now, not ever, and so, the Palestinians are refusing to talk with Israel until all activity is frozen, even construction in Ma’ale Adumim, which is never going to be part of the Palestinian state, and the Palestinians know this. Obama and Clinton very kindly handed the Palestinians the excuse they need to continue exactly as they’re going—which is the way that enriches them the most, of course.

The freeze construction meme continues: And once again, the Arabs say that Israel must freeze all construction—of course, that includes in towns that will never be a part of the Palestinian state, such as Ma’ale Adumim—before any move will be made from the Arab side. Because so many moves have been made since 1967.

Elliott Abrams bitchslaps Jimmy Carter: I know Soccer Dad posted on it, but I can’t resist adding it to Snark News Briefs. Now this is a put-down.

The Obama speech: Get over it, people. So Obama’s going to give a speech to schoolchildren. Um. Have you forgotten how bored you were by long speeches? Please. This is not indoctrination. This is the president doing his job, which is to inspire children to work harder. Tempest in a teapot. He’s the president. He should be allowed to make speeches to students, and this sets a terrible precedent for all future presidents.

09/04/2009

Friday SNB

Filed under: Israeli Double Standard Time, News Briefs, United Nations, World — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 10:00 am

Never mind about those 16 deaths per month; war’s over: The outgoing UN peacekeeping head of the Darfur reason says the war’s over, because only 16 people per month are dying, as opposed to 130 per month last year. Two observations: One would think that when nobody’s dying, the war is over. Also, imagine them saying that about the Palestinians—even though fewer Palestinians are dying. Oh, and then there’s the 300,000 dead and millions displaced—but what’s the worst problem facing world peace? That’s right. Israeli settlements.

International pressure rises, but not on Iran: Funny, isn’t it, how the world can’t seem to find a way to pressure Iran into stopping work on its nuclear weapons program, but everyone is jumping on the STOP ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS!1!!1 bandwagon? France. Germany. And, of course, The One. Because it’s far more important to stop Israelis from moving into the eastern side of Jerusalem—the city that Jews built—than it is to stop Iran from getting the bomb.

He was for the settlements before he was against them: Netanyahu is going to approve building additions to the suburbs of Jerusalem (which is another name for “West Bank settlements”) before freezing settlement building. Countdown to outraged Palestinian reaction in one.

The fabled Arab love for their Palestinian brethren: Get out. The UAE is expelling all Palestinians from within their borders, regardless of whether they’ve lived their all of their lives. The Palestinian population of the UAE is about 140,000. And oh yeah—no reason was given. But hey, that Muslim umma? It’s really working for them, isn’t it?

09/03/2009

Thursday SNB

Filed under: American Scene, Israel, News Briefs — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 12:00 pm

And the SNB stands for Snark News Briefs, not Sinuses Now Broken (the reason I’ve been low on posts lately; damn those allergies and sinuses).

The Obama administration: Let’s threaten our ally some more! Let’s see. This is Netanyahu’s “moment of truth.” Netanyahu’s decision will “greatly influence ties” with America. It’s a “pivotal moment” for Bibi. And what, pray tell, is the most important decision that Benjamin Netanyahu will ever make in his life? Whether or not to freeze settlements. Because it’s not like Iran is trying to get nuclear weapons or anything like that. Once again: 78% of American Jews voted for this administration. It’s on your heads.

The rescue will be Tweeted: Some moron jumps off a Carnival cruise ship, gets rescued by a Disney cruise ship crew, and the rescue was Tweeted. I’m sure someday someone’s going to write a graduate thesis about this, but I find it interesting only because the idiot survived.

Manson follower gets the same choice she gave Sharon Tate: Susan Atkins, one of the Manson followers who murdered Sharon Tate, is dying of cancer and wanted to be released so she could die outside of prison. She was refused. Good for the prison. Atkins didn’t allow Tate to choose where she would die. Sounds about right to me.

09/02/2009

Wednesday SNB

Filed under: Hamas, Iran, Israel, News Briefs, The One — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

How to get around 1701: Say you’re supporting the Lebanese army. Iran is offering to shore up Hezbollah by selling arms to the Lebanese army. Since there is no UN resolution against arming the Lebanese army, I can see this one actually working. I wonder if this has something to do with the North Korean ship that was heading for Iran with arms and munitions.

Work accident kills two Hamas terrorists: No word on whether or not they were planting the bombs where the sun doesn’t shine.

Gilad Shalit’s release: Don’t hold your breath. Every time there is a rumor that the release is imminent, Hamas never fails to disappoint. Every time an Israeli says they will not pay too high a price for Shalit’s remains release, Hamas says without that price, there will be no release. And may I say: Bastards.

Arms and the Russians: Time magazine is reporting that Israel was behind the hijacking of a Russian ship in July—the one that the Russians say was filled with timber, and that two sources so far have said were filled with missiles heading for Iran. This is the second source to say that the ship was hijacked by Israel. One of those sources is a Russian journalist. Hmmm. Update: Ynet says the Russians hijacked the ship themselves. No wonder they told the EU source to shut up.

No joking about The One: Time magazine noticed how wussy comedians are regarding making jokes about Obama. Yeah, we kind of noticed that while he was on the campaign trail. Jokes? Obama? Sacrilege!

08/31/2009

Monday SNB

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Hamas, Holocaust, Israel, News Briefs, Pop Culture — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 7:00 am

Hamas getting confident; shelling Israel again: More shells into Israel. But when mortars are fired from Gaza into Israel, the mainstream media doesn’t pick it up until Israel fires back.

Hamas’ pre-emptive strike at the UN See if you can follow this: Hamas is protesting to the UN that it can’t teach about the Holocaust in UN-sponsored classes in Gaza. The UN is saying, “Huh? We’re not teaching it.” Hamas then says, “Well, you’re about to, so don’t.” The UN says, “No comment.” Um—what? Of course, the UN will cave. Watch for it.

Madonna—Bibi. Bibi—Madonna. Madonna’s going to meet with Bibi Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni while she’s touring Israel. Concerts, Kabbala, and Knesset. She’s a busy girl, is Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone.

08/30/2009

Sunday Snark News Briefs

Filed under: Hamas, Israel, News Briefs, Politics, The One — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 10:20 am

I’m shocked, shocked, that Gilad Shalit’s release is not imminent: Yeah, toldja so. I will believe that a deal is within reach when I see photos of Shalit being released to Egypt. Not before.

If only American prosecutors were this fair-minded: Olmert’s been indicted. I’d sure like to see some crooked American politicians get the same treatment (yeah, I’m talking about you, Richardson). Meantime, geez, Israel, can you get your politicians to stop stealing and bribing and doing all those illegal things? I mean, geez. At least we don’t have all that many presidents getting caught.

World’s tiniest violin orchestra, please: Security prisoners in Israel are getting canned food for Ramadan, instead of home-cooked meals. All together now: Awwww. Here’s a thought: Perhaps if you hadn’t taken part in terrorist attacks, you wouldn’t be suffering in jail during the holiday.

Gee, ya think? A commentary on CNN has a keen grasp of the obvious: Obama is losing the centrists. Hm. Take a far-left agenda, try to slam it through in spite of polls stating that Americans do not want nationalized health care, government takeover of the auto industry, or even a massive bank bailout, and what do you think is going to happen? Obama pretended to be a centrist during the election, thus hoodwinking millions of people who refused to look at his voting record. Now the mask is off, the emperor has no clothes, yadda yadda, etc., etc., and the result is Obama’s poll numbers dropping almost as fast as the stock market.

What if Chappaquiddick happened today? Duh. Kennedy’s political career would have died with Mary Jo Kopechne.

08/27/2009

Thursday SNB

Filed under: Iran, Lebanon, News Briefs, Pop Culture — Tags: , , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 7:00 am

He will fart in your general direction: Nicholas Sarkozy is threatening “severe” new sanctions on Iran if it doesn’t stop enriching uranium and trying to get the bomb. Yeah, like we haven’t heard that before.

No! Not the dreaded letter to the IAEA! Iran has gotten the non-aligned nations to sign onto a letter to the IAEA pushing for a ban on attacks on nuclear plants. Hm. This is a tough one. Israel is not a signatory to the NPT, but it is a member of the IAEA. But then again, the UN General Assembly, under which the IAEA was formed, is a powerless bunch of stuffed shirts with a proven anti-Israel agenda. Israel: Fear the letter! (And by the way, wussy little Iran, after threatening Israel in so many different ways, is running to the UN for protection. Baby.)

The obligatory “Shalit deal is imminent” mention: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We keep hearing that, and yet, Gilad Shalit is still not released. And while some of the things I’m reading do seem to be leading to an actual release, well, I’ll wait until I see some results first.

Hezbullah ascendant: Funny, I thought Hezbullah lost the election, and yet, Sa’ad Hariri, whose father was killed by Syria—which sponsors Hezbullah—says they’re going to be part of the government whether Israel likes it or not. (And a big nyah-nyah to you!) Hokay. Just remember, Israel has let Lebanon know that if Hezbullah attacks again, since they’re now part of the government, it will be considered an act of war by Lebanon. Which is why Lebanese villagers are turning on Hezbullah and throwing them out of their villages.

She was leader of the pack, and now she’s gone: Ellie Greenwich, the songwriter who gave us some of the most memorable pop tunes of the 60s, died yesterday. What would this world be without Da Doo Ron Ron and Do Wah Diddy Diddy? Not to mention Be My Baby and The Look of Love. Let’s all of us take a moment to let our hearts stand still (Da Doo Ron Ron Ron Da Doo Ron Ron).

08/24/2009

Monday morning snark news briefs

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Hamas, News Briefs, Religion, United Nations — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

The Talibanization of Gaza continues: Hamas is going to expel girls for not wearing head coverings and full-length robes to school. They’ve also begun to segregate the sexes. No icky boys teaching girls; no icky girls teaching boys. Anyone want to start a pool on when the Mutaween squads hit the streets?

A trip down memory lane: Remember this op-ed in the Times after Hamas took over Gaza? It’s titled “What Hamas Wants.”

We want to get children back to school, get basic services functioning again, and provide long-term economic gains for our people.

Our stated aim when we won the election was to effect reform, end corruption and bring economic prosperity to our people. Our sole focus is Palestinian rights and good governance. We now hope to create a climate of peace and tranquillity within our community that will pave the way for an end to internal strife.

The fox in the UN henhouse: I know you’re going to be shocked to discover that one of the “fact-finders” on the Goldstone Commission published a virulently anti-Israel letter insisting that Israel had no right to self-defense from Hamas rockets. And while I have the UN Watch in my blogroll, I have no hope at all that their letter will ruffle so much as a feather at the UN—your international home of anti-semitism masquerading as anti-Israelism.

Swedish paper double-dog-dares Israel to prove that they’re not harvesting organs: Yes, the Aftonbladet published a second article, this time with even more non-evidence: They went back and asked the Palestinians if they’re really, really, really sure that the IDF stole their son’s organs. Now that’s reporting!

08/21/2009

Friday SNB

Filed under: Israel, News Briefs, The One, United Nations, palestinian politics — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

There’s only time for Snark News Briefs this morning.

Soldiers won’t eat in front of Palestinians: That headline does not mean what you think it means. No, it’s not another damning report from another European-funded, Palestinian-staffed NGO about how IDF soldiers are humiliating Palestinians. It’s the fact that the IDF have been instructed not to eat, drink, or smoke in public while working in Palestinian areas on Ramadan. Once again, brought to you by the Better Than Them report, because many Israeli Arabs have no such compunctions respecting Jewish holidays like Yom Kippur.

David Miliband finds terrorism that he disapproves of: Looks like the Foreign Minister of Britain only condemns terrorism that doesn’t take place on his home turf. I’m shocked, shocked, to discover that he’s appalled by the hero’s welcome the Lockerbie bomber received in Libya. Those terrorists are simply going to have to learn to distinguish the good terrorism from the bad! (Footnote: What the hell did they expect? When has an Arab nation ever showed dismay at one of its own murdering hundreds of infidels?)

Top gun, but without the bad eighties hair and music: The IAF staged a competition over the Negev recently. And while one squadron won the competition, the real winner, of course, is Israel, especially in light of reports that Russia could sell fighter jets to Iran. Hey, I’m all for that. Better jets than missiles, because the IAF will do to the Iranian air force what it did to Syria—shooting down 80 Syrian fighters without a single loss of their own.

Must-read: The UNHRC Goldstone Commission will be presenting its biased report to the UN soon. Irwin Cotler has a must-read, in-depth series of articles at the JPost about how the report was rigged from the get-go. Part one. Part two. How biased was the assignment? So biased that even Mary Robinson said it was anti-Israel. Read in full recommendation.

Brilliant new Obama peace plan: Playground politics. Remember when you were kids, and you dared each other to do something? “You go first.” “No, you.” “I know! Let’s do it together!” That is the essence of Obama’s new peace plan. That’s right. Let’s make simultaneous actions. That will solve everything. So, will it work? Of course not. Not while the Palestinians keep getting support for their insistence that it is Israeli settlements that are preventing peace—not Palestinian intransigence and the unwillingness to recognize the rights to Jews to have a state in their ancestral homeland.

08/13/2009

Thursday SNB

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israeli Double Standard Time, Movies, News Briefs, Politics — Tags: — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

Oh, so THAT’s why HRW released a report about Hamas: So they could accuse Israel of more war crimes. I was thinking it was more to do with being caught trying to bash Israel to the Saudis so they could get money out of the royals, but that was apparently only part of the reason.

Chavez cause-and-effect: Gee, let’s think. A nation’s president blames Jews and demonizes Israel on a constant basis. He pals around with Hezbullah, which is now said to be setting up camp there. His countrymen then perform more acts of anti-Semitism (including government-sponsored raids on Jewish centers). Somehow, I can’t figure out why that’s happening. How about you?

Oh, look: More Arab civilian deaths ignored by the world. Yemen is bombing marketplaces, but HRW isn’t getting its panties in a bunch over it. Why? Say it with me, folks: Because it isn’t Israel.

The AP notices that townhall protesters are average citizens: Oh, they push the “organized opposition” line in the first few paragraphs, but overall, they’re starting to notice that the anger is real, and that Americans don’t want socialized medicine. The media narrative is being broken. Except, of course, by the denizens of the New York Times op-ed page. This is a great thing. That healthcare bill is dead in the water.

Palate cleanser: Molly Ringwald’s tribute to John Hughes. It will make you go, “Awwwww.”

08/07/2009

Friday SNB

Filed under: Israel, Movies, News Briefs, Pop Culture, palestinian politics — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

(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 death rays, or Mossad poisons. Because it makes them far more popular to be able to blame Israel. And oh, hey—this kind of puts the lie to the people who insist that Fatah is moderating, doesn’t it?

Doggone it! My dad was not a dog! The Arabs have yet another grievance against America: A movie that insults Anwar Sadat by naming a dog after him. I swear, you simply couldn’t make this stuff up without having bullshit called on you. Don’t these people have anything else to do but get outraged over stupid things? I guess not, considering Egypt is a nation that lacks freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and a freely elected government. And then, you get a breath of fresh air when you least expect it:

Meanwhile, Sadat’s nephew Talaat Sadat reacted differently to the movie, and told Egyptian newspaper al-Shuruq: “It’s just a commercial film that is not worthy of a response.”

Stop doing the right things, Bibi! Israel’s prime minister visited the Tel Aviv club that was the scene of a horrible attack that murdered two young gay Israelis and listened to representatives of the Israeli gay community. That’s funny. I thought he was one of those religious zealots in the Likud that think gays are an abomination. What? People are spreading lies about him? No! You can’t mean it! Just because he’s acting like a good leader today doesn’t mean that tomorrow he’s going to come out and suggest gays should be stoned. (By the way, they’ll find the bastard who did this. This is the nation that tracks down terrorists years after their attacks. Give them time. They’ll get him.)

Because the world simply doesn’t have enough online games: Champions is joining the online gaming community. I absolutely refuse to say why I know what Champions is. I will only admit that Call of Cthulhu was an awesome game if run by a great gamemaster and peopled by decent players. Not that I know anything about it. Really. I don’t. (Detectives are so cool, don’t you think?)

08/03/2009

Monday SNB

Filed under: Iran, Israel, News Briefs, Politics, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, palestinian politics — Meryl Yourish @ 10:00 am

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 and Gaza. Someone’s got to keep stealing those billions from the idiots who send the PA aid money.

George Mitchell to the Times: Jew just don’t understand. (OK, I made up that last line, but it really worked, so go with it.) The Obama administration, having realized that everyone thinks their new policy on Israel sucks, is trying a PR offensive that goes like this: “You just don’t understand what we’re really doing.” Yeah, that always works. Tell people they’re too stupid to understand your master plan. It will definitely get them to like you. Hey, an offensive PR offensive! Double snark for the price of one! And oh, yeah: Mitchell says that when the Saudis say no-no, there’s yes-yes in their eyes. Oh, go read the whole thing. It’s a hoot.

Before you start hyperventilating about this, remember it’s the Times of London. I have yet to read an article about Israel, Iraq, or Iran in the Times that breathlessly hypes something like this that wasn’t absolutely wrong. So ignore it. The Times, remember, is the sponsor of Uzi Mahnaimi. I’m not buying that Iran can make a bomb yet.

Shocking news story of the day: Tanning beds cause cancer. Wow, whoda thunk that overexposure to UV rays would cause skin cancer? Did you know that could happen? I mean, really—who knew?

The end of the honeymoon for Obama: Well, it is on the CBS News website, which apparently publishes articles from The Weekly Standard. Huh. Conservative magazine writers on CBS News, Michelle Malkin in the roundtable on ABC’s This Week—what’s wrong with the MSM? Have they finally decided to actually present both sides of the issues to us?

07/28/2009

Tuesday SNB

Filed under: American Scene, Hamas, Israel, News Briefs, Syria — Tags: , , — Meryl Yourish @ 11:00 am

Mitchell reports to his master: I’m sorry, but that’s the way it looks to me. Mitchell is in Israel, talking settlements with Netanyahu, and he’s reporting back to Abbas that there’s “still a gap” in negotiations about what to freeze. Roll over, George! Play dead!

Another day, another mortar from Hamas: Gee, I thought they were building up their PR, not firing deadly weapons into civilian areas. And while they’re doing that, the peaceful, moderate Palestinians of the West Bank are still trying to murder civilians as they drive nearby. Funny how they never seem to come up when Obama is discussing obstacles to peace.

The real skinny on Syria: Tony Badran explains why Syria, contrary to the Obama administration’s view, is not the key to peace in the Middle East.

Alabama police tase a deaf and mentally disabled man for refusing to leave a store bathroom: Your police force at work, showing that not listening to police officers is a tase-able offense.

07/27/2009

Monday SNB

Filed under: American Scene, Israel, Lebanon, News Briefs, Politics, Syria — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 11:00 am

(That’s Snark News Briefs to you, buster.)

Weapons cache? What weapons cache? Lebanon is doubling down on the next war with Israel by (of course) siding with Hezbullah and insisting that the arms cache that exploded was arms “left behind by the Israelis.” Even the UN is unable to cover up this blatant violation of 1701. However, nothing will be done about it. You know it. I know it. The UN will manage to find a satisfactory excuse for allowing Hezbullah to keep arming south of the Litani, in violation of 1701, because, well, the UN is virulently anti-Israel. The Lebanese are placing themselves squarely at fault for anything that happens next. Old Chipmunk Cheeks has emerged (vocally, anyway) from his secure, nondisclosed location and threatened Tel Aviv. Not many people will remember this the next time Hezbullah invades Israel or sends rockets that way, and Israel goes after non-Hezbullah areas. But I will.

Speaking of Lebanon: The IDF built a Hezbullah city to train its troops for the next war. This, of course, is why the IDF will continue to succeed against Israel’s enemies. Well, that, and a little help from above.

U.K. groveling to Arab world: I’m currently reading Benny Morris’ 1948, and you know, the Brits haven’t really changed at all in regards to Israel. They’re currently expressing “regret” that they sold Israel arms that were used to defend herself in the Gaza war. It’s almost as if the Brits are really, really sorry they allowed any Jews to settle in their ancestral homeland at all. Oh. Wait.

U.S. groveling to Arab world: George Mitchell is in Syria, talking to the man who is responsible for the murder of American soldiers in Iraq, asking him to cut a peace deal with Israel. Here’s my prediction: Assad will not closed down the offices of Hamas and other terror groups in Damascus. He will not break ties with Iran. And he will not stop sponsoring Hezbullah and trying to run Lebanon. But he will, of course, blame Israel for the lack of peace in the Middle East, and demand the return of the Golan Heights, plus territory that never belonged to Syria in the first place. Why not? It’s worked all along. The world will not see Syria as part of the problem. Only Israel’s refusal to turn over the Golan. That would be the same Golan from which Assad’s father used to regularly shell Israeli civilians while they were working on their farms and living their lives.

Sarah Palin: Free at last. Sarah’s no longer governor of Alaska. Expect to hear even more from her now that her enemies can’t charge her every move with ethics complaints. Really, the SOB’s actually tried to say that her raising money for her defense against ethics charges was unethical. Can you say, “Set-up”? I knew you could.

Snakes in a drain: Just for something different, a 14-foot python was hiding in a storm drain in Florida. You know, the alligators are bad enough. I may never visit Florida again.

07/26/2009

Sunday snarky briefs

Filed under: Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, News Briefs, Religion, Syria, Terrorism — Meryl Yourish @ 9:13 am

Palestinian ERA watch: Hamastan continues apace, with the latest being a ruling by a Gaza judge insisting that women lawyers all wear hijabs. But remember, they’re doing it voluntarily, and it’s an empowering thing. There is no compulsion under Islam.

Sing Hallelujah for me, Lennie. Or: If at first you don’t succeed, try to force someone to accede to your point of view. The same jackasses who forced the cancellation of Leonard Cohen’s (mostly symbolic) concert in Ramallah are protesting his concert in Ireland. Why? Because they want him not to play in Israel. Once again, I must point out to these morons that a) Cohen is Jewish and b) Cohen is religious. Rotsa ruck, rokers. You’ll need it.

Settlement near on settlements? Really, there’s going to be a settlement on the settlement issue. (Why, yes, I like typing that phrase a lot. Settlement on settlements! Settlement on settlements!) Apparently, the Obama administration has wised up to the fact that if they’ve lost the Israeli left on Jerusalem, they really are taking the anti-Israel position. So there is some kind of freeze being negotiated that will not include “natural growth.” We’ll see how this goes.

Hi, my name is America, and I’m a terrorholic. Seriously? I mean, seriously? George Mitchell says the U.S. wants Syria’s help in solving the Palestinian-Israel problem? Because, it’s not like he doesn’t financially and materially support Israel’s enemies, so once again, I must ask: Seriously? This effer is responsible for the deaths of Americans in Iraq, the deaths of Americans in Israel by proxy via terror groups, and the deaths of Israelis all around. And Mitchell wants his help in making peace? Seriously?

That’s funny, I thought Hamas couldn’t control the rocketeers: The New York Times publishes an article profiling Hamas’ change from rockets to PR initiatives (see? They’re just like us!) and manages to prove, yet again, that Hamas controls utterly the firing of rockets and mortars from the Gaza Strip. But the next time there is a rocket attack and Israeli retaliates, watch for the Times to buy into the bullshit that it was a “rogue group” that fired the rockets. P.S.: They’re not fooling anyone. But everyone will pretend they are, since it’s always Israel’s fault.

Libya wants Lockerbie bomber freed on humanitarian grounds: See, here’s how it is. The poor terrorist is dying, so the fact that he murdered 259 people shouldn’t be taken into account as you consider his release from prison to die at home with his family. Because that’s how all 259 people died, right? Well, the ones on the ground, anyway. I have a suggestion. Free the bomber only if Muammar Ghadafi takes his place.

Well, that’ll piss off the left: 50 million Christians support Israel? Wow, that’s a lot. I can name one in particular that doesn’t (why yes, that means you, Jimmah Carter), and a few more like PCUSA’s leadership, but all in all, I think it makes a lot of sense for Christians to support Israel. Hello, parent religion here. (But you can’t call me Mom.) Just remember one thing, my Christian friends: Try to convert Jews and you’re grounded. (Everyone else is fair game.)

And I’m off to the gym.

07/23/2009

Thursday Snark News

Filed under: Iran, Israel, Movies, News Briefs, Pop Culture, palestinian politics — Meryl Yourish @ 9:00 am

Israel? What Israel? Fatah won’t recognize Israel, or stop “resistance,” and once again, Palestinians openly state that they only said they’d recognize Israel to get international approval (and billions to use against Israel). But this won’t show up anywhere in the mainstream media, of course.

Ahmadinejad vs. Khameini? I don’t know what to make of this, but man, I hope it means the rifts in Iran are deeper than we thought. Mad Mahmoud is refusing to fire his buddy, as demanded by The Supreme Leader. Get out some popcorn, boys and girls, because if this plays out badly, it’s going to be great for Israel and America.

Probably not what you think when you think “Men of Israel”: Hm. Gay pr0n starring gorgeous Israeli men. Well, it’s one way to make people think better of Israelis. (Ladies, the picture in the article is totally worth clicking through.)

What’s in a gnome? Apparently, garden gnomes raising their arms in a Nazi salute are not illegal in Germany. Good to know, just in case we ever utterly lose our mind and our taste and want to move to Germany, buy a house, and put a Nazi gnome in the front yard. (By the way, the picture in the first link makes you think the gnome is just waving nicely. Click here to see the Nazi salute.)

07/22/2009

Tuesday morning snark news

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Gaza, Israel, News Briefs, palestinian politics — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 12:00 pm

Psych! Iranian Vice President Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, the man who said that Iran was a friend to all people, says it was all just a sneaky form of psychological warfare. Those wily Persians. They want us to think that Iran is friendly to Israel because—because—well, the theory breaks down here, but never mind. It’s still psychological warfare that shows the superiority of the Iranian regime. Excuse me while I snicker quietly over here. Update: Whoops, it didn’t work. The guy was fired.

Hypocrisy alert: Egypt lectures Israel on ethics. Really, can you stomach this bull? Egyptian negotiators are telling Israel that it is “unacceptable from a moral and human point of view” for Israel to demand the deportation of convicted terrorist murderers. This, mind you, is the country that regularly murders African refugees on its borders. Shoots them in the back, even.

Hizbullah to UNIFIL: How dare you do your job? Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll stop doing it. They’ll be back to their anti-Israel selves fairly quickly.

Red on Red: Hamas blew up a Dahlan wedding. Or maybe it was another Palestinian clan. You really can’t tell in that miasma of blood-debts and tribalism that is the Gaza Strip. What you can say is that it’s barbaric and cruel, and will not be covered by the same wire services that rush to cover every instance of a Palestinian stubbing his toe at an Israeli checkpoint.

I hate to say this, but the judge is right: Bill White, disgusting neo-Nazi, had his charges dismissed on First Amendment grounds. And I have to say that I have finally come to the conclusion that hate crimes laws are wrong. Which leads me to wonder: When the Senate hate crimes legislation is written into law, and they go after White again, will the new Supreme Court (presumably with Sotomayor aboard) find them unconstitutional?

I want my plan and I want it NOW: Whoops. Looks like Obama may have to wait for ObamaCare, after all. Even the Dems are pushing back at the plan. And tonight, a primetime news conference to interrupt—well, it’s rerun season, so who cares? If someone will pay me, I’ll listen to the news conference. No, strike that. I think I’ll watch it anyway—if Tapper’s there, there will be at least one great question. Jake Tapper is the best MSM journalist around today. If you’re not paying attention to him, you should be. He is one of the truly objective reporters on air or off.

07/21/2009

Tuesday Snark News

Filed under: Hamas, Israel, Lebanon, Movies, News Briefs, The One, United Nations — Tags: , , , — Meryl Yourish @ 7:00 am

Brits to America: The Israelis don’t listen to us. Meryl to Brits: You anti-Israel, anti-Semitic gits. Why should they?

Barry Rubin cut the bullshit: He did, really. (It’s okay, Barry, I put it back for you.) Seriously, click the link and read his latest essay. It’s one of his best ever.

UNIFIL watched as Lebanese invaded Israel: Okay, they weren’t terrorists—but isn’t it UNIFIL’s job to keep the two sides apart? What’s that you say? On days that end with a “y” it’s Israeli Double Standard Time? Yeah, I knew that.

Oh, please—Hezbollah “sympathizers”? The mainstream media is truly as stupid as you think they are.

A crowd in southern Lebanon threw rocks at U.N. peacekeepers over the weekend, wounding 14 of them in an effort to prevent the investigation of an explosion in the area, the United Nations said.

How many of this “crowd” you figure were Hezbollah soldiers? I’m guessing nearly all of them. Why? Read Michael Totten’s account of what happened when Christopher Hitchens ran afoul of Hezbollah thugs. That’s why.

Pop quiz! Who said this:

“One of the things that I know the blogs are best at is debunking myths that can slip through a lot of the traditional media outlets and a lot of the conventional wisdom,” he said, according to audio of the call posted on Web sites. “And that is why you are going to play such an important role in our success in the weeks to come.”

Your choice: A) Barack Obama. B) John McCain. C) Karl Rove. D) Joe the Plumber.

The answer: Barack Obama, on a call to liberal bloggers. He’s right, but about the wrong side. And while you’re posting against ObamaCare, don’t forget to call and write your Congresspeople.

I know you’re going to be shocked to hear this: NYDN found Harry Potter fans who weren’t happy with the movie. Please. Try to be strong and understanding—really. Not everyone liked the film. Wow, now that’s news!

07/20/2009

Monday morning snark news

Filed under: Hamas, Israel, Jews, Lebanon, News Briefs, The One — Meryl Yourish @ 8:00 am

Despicable, if true: Settlers burn Palestinian fields as a consequence of having illegal outposts removed. I have no snark for this, only contempt.

Labor to Israel: Netanyahu and Obama have their wires crossed, which is detrimental to U.S.-Israel relations. Meryl to Labor: Gee, ya think?

Swiss to Israel: Neutral on Hamas? Hey, they’re a major player. Hey, if the Swiss could stay neutral on the Nazis, why not with the Nazi’s heirs? It’s not like you have to take a stand anymore. Who’s going to invade Switzerland? And besides, there’s still the matter of all that Nazi-era Jewish wealth the Swiss have refused to investigate or give back, so it’s not like they’re doing anything unexpected here.

If the Palestinians fire on the IDF from Gaza, and Israel doesn’t invade, did it really happen? Of course, if the IDF goes into Gaza to kill Palestinian terrorists who are trying to kill them, the “cycle of violence” has been restarted and it is, of course, the fault of the defenders rather than the offenders. Just trying to give you the narrative before it’s even written.

Obama’s advisers: They’re as dumb as he is. Really. Read this:

President Barack Obama’s advisers are urging critics of their health care overhaul to wait for Congress to finish writing legislation before issuing verdicts.

Really? They’re voting on legislation without even reading it, and they’re telling us to wait until they’ve finalized a multi-thousand page bill? Oh, that’s not hypocritical at all, is it?

Obama’s approval ratings drop below 50%: Looks like you can’t fool most of the people most of the time. By the way, if you read the article, check the polling data. The Obamedia tends to skew the figures to say what they want them to say.

Hillary: I broke my elbow, not my larynx. See, I toldja there was no rift between Hillary and Obama. She’s not positioning herself away. She’s just as eager to bash Israel as her boss.

UNIFIL covering for Hezbollah, again: This is no surprise. The UN knew about the arms cache that exploded—months ago. I know you’re just as shocked as I am.

The source said UNIFIL had precise information about the cache and a number of other installations where Hezbollah is storing rockets, but that UNIFIL had done nothing.

And what’s the UN going to do about it? Why, what the UN does best.

A discussion is scheduled in the UN Security Council for late August on renewing UNIFIL’s mandate in southern Lebanon.

And that’s it for today. Time to go to work.

Powered by WordPress