Thursday, July 29, 2010

No Jews Allowed!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle



Will be the motto of the Palestinian State. Not just living in the land, but no Jews are to visit, or be a part of the multinational force that Abu Mazen Mahmoud Abbas demands wants to defend patrol the borders.  This mean the proposed international force would have to discriminate against its Jewish personal.
If a Palestinian Authority state is created in Judea and Samaria, no Israeli citizen will be allowed to set foot inside, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said this week in a meeting with members of the Arab League. The PA chairman also stated that he would block any Jewish soldiers from serving with an international force stationed on PA-controlled land.

"I will never allow a single Israeli to live among us on Palestinian land,” Abbas declared.

Abbas addressed the Arab League during a discussion over the possibility of holding direct negotiations with Israel. Like Abbas, Arab League members agreed to direct talks in theory, but only if a number of “measures and conditions” were met.

"The agreement depends on what will be discussed [in Israel-PA talks] and the manner in which negotiations are conducted,” said Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin-Jassim bin-Jabor al-Thani.

Abbas has demanded that Israeli completely freeze construction for Jews in areas east of the 1949 armistice line, including north, south, and east Jerusalem, and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commit to creating a PA state with borders based on the armistice line. Until those conditions are met, Abbas has said, the PA will not negotiate.

Read the full story here.
Binyamin Netanyahu will sit down any time, any place.  Abu Mazen Mahmoud Abbas demands concessions before hand.  Not really wanting peace.  Not wanting anything not handed to him on a silver platter.

And what did Barack Hussein Obama promise him?  Everything he demands.  I do believe so.

Alan Grayson's Greatest Hits DVD-on Taxpayers' Dime

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


Hat tip to Hot Air


"Who needs campaign funds?"


Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the reigning Fousesquawk 2009 Jerk of the Year, is pushing hard to keep his Golden Penguin in 2010. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Grayson is using his congressional franking privileges to produce a DVD "highlighting" his first term and send copies to 100,000 households in his district at a cost (to the tax-payers) of some $73,000.

"Ah wunnerful, ah wunnerful, ah!"

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-grayson-sends-dvd-20100728,0,7129697.story

Here is Grayson's "blockbuster" DVD entitled; "Getting things done for you.":

 


I sure hope those 100,000 households in Grayson's district enjoy that DVD. They and the rest of us are paying for it.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Frank Rich Distorts Sherrod Story

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Frank Rich


New York Times writer Frank Rich is a liberal ideologue who never lets truth get in the way of his ideology when he writes his op-eds. In yesterday's column in the NY Times, he puts his own spin on the Shirley Sherrod fiasco.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/opinion/25rich.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=frank%20rich,%20july%2025,%202010&st=cse

Rich, of course, makes reference to the errors committed by the White House and the NAACP, but like all liberals, the real wrath is reserved for Andrew Breitbart and Fox News. Watch as Rich implies and leaves it to the reader to infer:

"The smear might well have stuck if the white octogenarian farmer saved by Sherrod
24 years ago was no longer alive and if he didn’t look like a Norman Rockwell archetype. Only his and his wife’s testimony to her good deeds on CNN could halt the lynching party. Tom Vilsack, the secretary of agriculture who fired Sherrod without questioning the video’s patently spurious provenance, was far slower to reverse himself than the N.A.A.C.P. Good for him that he seemed genuinely chagrined once he did apologize. But an executive so easily bullied by Fox News has no more business running a government department than Ken Salazar, the secretary of interior who let oil companies run wild on deepwater drilling until disaster struck. That the White House sat back while Vilsack capitulated to a mob is a disgraceful commentary on both its guts and competence. This wasn’t a failure of due diligence — there was no diligence."

Excuse me, Mr Rich, but you are misleading the reader. You are trying to leave the impression that Fox News drove this firing. They did not. By the time Fox News ran the story on TV, Ms Sherrod had already been forced to resign. Bill O'Reilly, in running the excerpted tape, stated that Ms Sherodd "must resign immediately." (The next night after learning of the whole video, he apologized.) When Sean Hannity followed O'Reilly on the air Monday, he announced the firing, which was then breaking news. Glenn Beck urged caution without seeing the while tape for its full context. If anyone "bullied" Vilsack, it was the White House.

Secondly, the only mob that Tom Vilsack capitulated to was allegedly the mob at the White House who were (according to Sherrod's conversation with Cheryl Cook), demanding her immediate resignation "since it was going to be on (Glenn) Beck that evening". Finally, since the full tape came out, Fox News has reacted appropriately, conceding that Sherrod's description about helping the white farmers was not racist. Did they err in not waiting for the whole speech to emerge? Sure. Everybody did, myself included as a blogger. The NAACP's error was worse since all they had to do was review their own video.

Then Rich goes on to try and make the case that it is the Republican Party that is racist because of their association with the Tea Party. To support that argument, he drags in that Capitol Hill protest and repeats as fact that several people in the crowd were hurling racial slurs at black congressmen, though no tape can be found to substantiate it despite a $100,000 reward by (yes, the boogey man) Breitbart.

Rich, of course, is a skillful writer who can write sentences that leave a definite impression with the reader. Here he leaves the impression that Vilsack was bullied by Fox News to fire Sherrod when he clearly was not. In the same thought, a few lines down, he refers to "a mob" in such an artful way as to leave the reader with the impression that "the mob" was Fox News when it was really the White House.

Is this what they teach in journalism school?

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Gaza Mall Iron Dome

By Findalis of  Monkey in the Middle


From the Sderot Media Center


By Jacob Shrybman
As an everyday person and member of the general public, aren't you tired of being lied to?

This past Saturday night the Gaza Strip had a grand opening for its new shopping mall called "Strip Mall." As the world continues its chastising of Israel, the nation that uprooted its citizens and got at least one rocket per person it uprooted in return for its sacrifice for peace, Gazans including the over 10,500 that received Israeli medical treatment in 2009 can enjoy the new goodies of the "Strip Mall."

This Sunday morning, EU's Senior Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton called for Israel to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip. On her last visit this past March 18th she was in such a hurry to get to Gaza that she didn't visit nearby Netiv HaAsara where a Gaza qassam rocket murdered Manee Singmueangphon, a thai worker. On this visit when she was so overwhelmed with seeing all the terrible sites of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, was she able to stop in to check the opening day sales at the "Strip Mall?"


This past Saturday as the Gaza "Strip Mall" opened Sky News reported on the "still dire" situation in Gaza. The article reads, "The blockade has meant that only basics like flour, rice and sugar have been allowed into Gaza from Israel." Isn't it funny how one does not see any of these items in the joyous pictures of the Gaza "Strip Mall" grand opening?

UNRWA President John Ging,said on the day of the Gaza "Strip Mall" grand opening said that the people of Gaza, "Can't afford to buy cans of Coca Cola from Israel." But they can afford new clothes, luxury hair products, and children's toys at the new Gaza "Strip Mall?"

Is John Ging kidding me? The UN gave nearly $200 million in aid to Gaza in just the six months following Operation Cast Lead. It only gave $10 million in aid to Haiti following the devastating earthquake- Wyclef Jean should be campaigning in Geneva not just on The Huffington Post.

To what humanitarian crisis are these international "aid" ships sailing to? Does the Libyan warlord dictator Qaddafi, who sent a ship this past week, own a store in the Gaza Strip Mall?"

As an everyday person and member of the general public aren't you tired of being fed these lies about Gaza. If you're not, take a day off and go shopping at the new Gaza "Strip Mall."
Jacob Shrybman is the Assistant Director of the Sderot Media Center,www.SderotMedia.org.il . Jacob grew up in Takoma Park, MD and now hosts elected officials from around the world and international media visiting the Sderot/Gaza region. He has been published in The Jerusalem Post, USA Today, The Huffington Post, YNet News, and appeared on several international television and radio stations.

It has been over a week since the Gaza Mall opened its doors,  Yet the world still cries out that there is an "Humanitarian Crises" in Gaza.  Can you say Double Standard?


by Ben Hartman
Anti-missile system is set to be deployed in Israel in November.

After passing its final operational test on Monday, the Iron Dome anti-missile system is set to be deployed in Israel in November, and residents living within rocket range of theGaza Strip are greeting the announcement with both relief and dismissal.

Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin, whose city was bombarded by Kassam and Grad rockets during Operation Cast Lead, welcomed the impending deployment of Iron Dome, which he said would make a significant improvement in the quality of life of his city’s residents.

“I very much hope that one of the Iron Dome teams will be deployed in Ashkelon, because it can ensure us protection,” Vaknin said on Tuesday. “We took hundreds of rockets and Grads in Cast Lead, so we deserve a system like this.”

Vaknin called the news “very positive” for Ashkelon and vowed that the defense system would increase the deterrence against Israel’s enemies, as well as feelings of security among the public. “It’s expensive, but what can you do, it’s for the sake of security,” he said, when asked about what many consider the platform’s prohibitive cost.

Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna’i said later in the day that Iron Dome would not succeed in intercepting all of the rockets fired into Israel. “It is more likely that it will intercept about 80 percent,” he told Israel Radio.

Vilna’i said that residents of Gaza-belt communities would continue to be threatened by rockets for “years to come.” He added that the IDF would not deploy the system along the southern border immediately, but would do so based on operational requirements.

Development of Iron Dome has cost over $200 million, and the program has come under repeated criticism because of its high cost. The system operates by identifying an incoming threat and then firing a missile to intercept it in mid-air. The missiles cost tens of thousands of dollars each, while the crudely-made rockets they’re meant to take down cost very little.

In an article on the CBN News Web site on Wednesday, Yossi Drucker, director of the Iron Dome project, said each Tamir missile would cost $100,000.

Military analyst Reuven Pedatzur is less than thrilled about the system, which he has referred to as “a scam.”

“If each missile we fire costs $100,000, and each Kassam costs $10, $20, then all they’ll need to do is shoot as many rockets as they possibly can until we go broke. Hizbullah alone is believed to have over 150,000 longrange rockets. We can’t afford this.”

Pedatzur called statements that Israel now has the means to solve all of its missile and rocket threats “nonsense and delusional,” citing the short flight time of most projectiles fired at Israel, and the time it takes for Iron Dome to identify and intercept a threat.

“The system can’t defend against anything with a range of less than four and a half kilometers, and also possibly projectiles with a range of up to 10 km,” he said. “It can’t protect Sderot or the western Negev because there isn’t enough time, enough range. The flight time of a Kassam is 14 seconds, and it takes Iron Dome 15 seconds to identify a threat and fire a missile.”

Pedatzur added that the system can’t target mortars, which were heavily used by Gaza militants during Cast Lead.

“Basically, the whole story, that they have solved the threats facing Israel, is nonsense, it’s delusional.”

Sderot resident and director of the Sderot Media Center Noam Bedein was similarly underwhelmed by news that Iron Dome was on its way to deployment, saying that it won’t provide protection to the western Negev town.

“Iron Dome is supposed to work only on objects fired from over 4 km. away, so those of us on the border with Gaza won’t be protected. Here in Sderot, everyone understands that it won’t protect the people.”

Bedein added that if the government was so sure about the effectiveness of Iron Dome, it wouldn’t have spent “half a billion dollars turning us into the bomb shelter capital of the world.”

Yaakov Katz contributed to this report.
Iron Dome is a joint venture between Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the Department of Defense.  Iron Dome is only one of the many joint projects being developed.

From Rafael about Iron Dome:
The Iron Dome is an effective and innovative mobile defense solution for countering short range rockets and 155 mm artillery shell threats with ranges of up to 70 km in all weather conditions, including low clouds, rain, dust storms or fog.

The system uses a unique interceptor with a special warhead that detonates any target in the air within seconds.

The Iron Dome radar detects and identifies the rocket or artillery shell launch and monitors its trajectory. Target data is transmitted to the Battle Management & Weapon Control (BMC) for processing. The threat’s trajectory is quickly analyzed and the expected impact point is estimated.

If the estimated rocket trajectory poses a critical threat, a command is given within seconds and an interceptor is launched against the threat.

The interceptor receives trajectory updates from the BMC via uplink communication. The interceptor approaches the target and uses its radar seeker to acquire the target and guides the interceptor within passing distance. The target warhead is detonated over a neutral area, therefore reducing collateral damage to the protected area.
The drawbacks to such a system are:

1.  Limitations of time.  It takes Iron Dome 15 seconds to respond, a Kassem 14 seconds.

2.  Each Iron Dome missile cost $100,000, a Grad or Kassem costs $10, $20.

3.  It is only 80% effective.  In the North Hezbollah can overwhelm the system with the amount of sheer numbers of rockets at their disposal.

While not the panacea both government are claiming, it is a lot better than the nothing that was there before.

Every day thousands of Israeli civilians live with the fear of an rocket attack from Gaza.  And the world doesn't care.  They are nothing to the world, less than animals to the media.

You can help change that.  When the idiots leftists cry that Gaza is under  siege, is a concentration camp, a prison, point to the Gaza Mall, the Olympic Swimming Poolor The Roots Club.  Ask where the money came from?  The concrete?  How do they stock the stores in the mall?  Or where the food for the restaurant  is delivered (Aren't the people starving due to there being no food in Gaza?  See the pictures here. Warning Graphic Pictures of the Gaza Crises! )?

But most of all, you can donate. The few dollars you send to the Sderot Media Center does a world of good.  It helps the people of Sderot cope with the daily barrage of rockets.  Did you know that over 85% of all children in Sderot suffer from PTSD?  There is no other place in this world that occurs.  Counseling for these children is expensive and the government can only help a few.  So please give.  It just takes a few moments of your time.  Just click here.

Thank you!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Shockeroo- Liberal Journalists Conspired to Squelch Jeremiah Wright Story

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Chris Hayes


If you want another example of how the liberal media tries to bury stories that go against their agenda, read this article by Jonathan Strong in conservative commentator Tucker Carlson's Daily Caller. It involves efforts by numerous liberal journalists to bury the Jeremiah Wright story during the 2008 election.

http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/20/documents-show-media-plotting-to-kill-stories-about-rev-jeremiah-wright/

One of the main players, Chris Hayes deserves mention. He writes for the left-wing The Nation and is one of the regulars on MSNBC shows like Keith Olbermann's Countdown and Rachel Maddow's show. Chris is always there to bash some conservative/Republican figure or cause because, he, like his MSNBC hosts, is a left-wing ideologue.

That's fair enough, but if Hayes (and others) is engaged in sweeping news stories under the rug and hoping they will die from inattention, he is hardly a professional journalist. He is more along the lines of a Dan Rather. Rather deliberately floated a story about George W Bush, based on forged documents, in a desperate effort to bring about Bush's electoral defeat. This story, if true, means that liberal journailsts tried to manage the news to bring about Barack Obama's electoral victory.

Of course, you can argue that Carlson is a conservative commentator, and therefore, the story is bogus. Perhaps. I would suggest, however, that we all should want to learn the truth beind this story. If true, then our media is in pretty sad shape.
But you knew that already, didn't you?

Didn't you?

Friday, July 16, 2010

Shame on the NAACP

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


As predicted, the NAACP, the once-proud civil rights organization, went ahead and played racial politics at their convention this week in Kansas City by issuing a (somewhat watered-down) proclamation calling on the Tea Party to cull its ranks of racists. Their head, Benjamin Jealous, "quoted" the recent Capitol Hill demonstration where black congressmen and women were allegedly called the n-word-even though no video of the incident can corroborate that claim. By choosing this low road, the NAACP has shown that it is no longer a credible civil rights organization, rather an arm of the democratic party.

Instead of getting on the public soapbox, would it not have been better for the NAACP to have organized a closed door meeting with leaders of the Tea Party or at least those people considered to be most influential within the Tea Party? Everybody could have aired their complaints, discussed the controversial incident, and come up with some sort of agreement or understanding that would act to unite-rather than divide our people. Perhaps, they could have even had that "long-awaited" public discussion about race that Eric Holder was talking about last year when he said America was a "nation of cowards" when it came to the racial issue. Speaking of Eric Holder, where's he been lately in the wake of all this New Black Panther Party controversy out of Philadelphia? Perhaps, he has joined his own Witness Protection program. At any rate, the NAACP chose the low road preferring to talk about "racist elements" within the Tea Party-elements they cannot document. Even if some fringe individuals were to be discovered showing up to a Tea Party rally, how can one condemn an entire movement because of the presence of a few kooks who happen to show up?

The NAACP has also been linked to reported efforts to have the Obama administration and the Justice Department drop all charges against the New Black Panther Party in the Philadelphia case-which was done. Had they any credibility, the NAACP would have urged prosecution to show their true commitment to voting rights since, historically, that was one of their main grievances in the days of Jim Crow. It would have demonstrated their commitment to the principle that the law works equally for all.

I also find it interesting that defenders of the action taken by the Justice Department have resorted to two tactics; first, to minimize the incident and claim that no actual harm was done; that it was an isolated incident, and that the NBPP is a tiny fringe group made up of kooks. (A tiny fringe group that has acted as bodyguards for that other famous kook, Cynthia McKinney, former congresswoman from Georgia.) The other tact is to attack J. Christian Adams as a disgruntled conservative and Bush supporter-without addressing his allegations. Now comes 24-year-old Newsweek writer David A Graham with an op-ed in which he also describes Adams and two other figures in this saga as...


WHITE.

It's a Perry Mason moment, folks.

The larger question which the media, Congress and yes, the NAACP should address is the alleged (informal) policy of the Justice Department not to prosecute civil rights violations if the victim is white and the perpetrator is black as in Philadelphia. This is a question that Deputy Attorney General Thomas Perez and Holder should be asked about before Congress under oath. It's also a question that White House officials who were present at any reported meetings on this topic should be asked under oath. Who might that be? We can start with Dep. Attorney General Thomas Perrelli, who actually signed off on the decision to kill the Panther case. White House visitor logs show that he had some meetings during the spring with Dep. White House counsel Cassandra Butts which coincided with the legal developments in the case. Of course, we have no record of what was discussed in those meetings, but I am confident that Mr. Perrelli and Ms. Butts can clear that up to the satisfaction of all...under oath.


President Obama came to office hailed as the "post-racial president", the man who was going to unite us all. Instead, he and his adminisitration have badly divided the American people up to now along ideological lines. Now that divide is taking a dangerous racial turn as it appears increasingly apparent that he, Holder and others like the NAACP prefer to play racial politics at a time when we need it least.

Only Israel

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

A hit on YouTube with over 350,000 views, Yedida Freilich's song "Only Israel" speaks the truth louder than the meager words I can write.
A 22-year-old pianist from the Gush Etzion settlement of Neveh Daniel has become the latest YouTube phenomenon with her pro-Israel hasbara song “Only Israel.”

Yedida Freilich, a composition student at the capital’s Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, wrote the mournful piano ballad along with her father, Gabby, and brother Yuval, following the Gaza flotilla incident last month. In only two weeks, the video has attracted over 350,000 views on YouTube and turned Freilich into a celebrity in nationalist circles.

“The song transpired by chance,” Gabby Freilich told The Jerusalem Post this week from Australia, where he was visiting family. “One of Yedida’s projects in school was to compose a musical piece for a political song. As it happened, the assignment fell on the same week as the flotilla.”

Freilich said he was moved to write down lyrics after seeing the world’s reaction to the IDF raid on the Mavi Marmara, which left nine passengers dead.

The video clip of her moving performance on piano and vocals, with lyrics switching between English and Hebrew, is juxtaposed with images of Kassam rockets, St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, judge Richard Goldstone and the Mavi Marmara.

The lyrics decry the double standard Freilich says Israel faces when trying to defend itself, and includes couplets such as “Eight thousand rockets is no excuse / suicide bombers, it’s all just a ruse” and a Hebrew chorus of “Darfur is ignored, Russian troops in Chechnya, only Israel has no right to defend itself, because the world cares nothing about Jewish blood.”

“It was obvious to me that this was a hasbara [public diplomacy] song. Our efforts at explaining what happened with the flotilla were so appalling, and this did so well in explaining our positions, I knew it had to go on YouTube,” said Freilich.

He found a professional videographer, Daniel Sass, who volunteered his time, and together they chose the images and produced the clip.

Freilich insisted that the song appear with English, Hebrew and Arabic subtitles.

“I thought that it was important that the Arabs would be able to understand it,” he said.

“I think it’s a powerful song and a great tune. Yedida sings it from the heart. You can tell she’s involved in the lyrics and the performance, because it’s part of her life – her friends and her family are involved.”

Read the full story here.

Only Israel



Pass this on!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle



There came a racket at the Pearly Gates,
He was rattling them,
St. Peter stood aside, then with a flourished bow, he let the man in.
"The team is in such disarray, can you fix it?"

"Who'd you got?"  The man asked.

"We've got Joe in Center with Willie and Mickey as relief, Ruth in the field, Lou is on first, Jackie's at second, Ted is out in the left, Josh is catcher, Leroy is pitcher, Honus is our shortstop, and Eddie is at 3rd.

We would have Ty but he plays for the other side."  St. Peter told the man as he directed him to the ballpark.  "It has gotten real bad.  The other side beats us every time."

The man looked at the assembled team.  "You've got some fine talent here.  Who's managing?"

"Your friend Billy."

The man walked up to Billy, pointed his finger at him and shouted:


"YOU'RE FIRED!"


Rest In Peace George Steinbrenner.  Baseball will never be the same!




Special kudos for those who can name the members of the baseball team.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

White House/NAACP Involvement in Black Panther Dismissal

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


The Washington Times has done what few if any other media organs have done; they have published a time line of events involving the Department of Justice dismissal of charges against the New Black Panther Party thugs who showed up at a Philadephia polling place in the 2008 elections armed with para-military uniforms, billy clubs and plenty of racist epithets. This time line raises disturbing questions not only against Eric Holder's Justice Department, but also against any involvement in the White House and/or NAACP in the decision to dismiss that case.

The below editorial by Bryan Myrick of Redcounty.com in March 2010 has links to the article by the Washington Times and their January reporting of the timeline of events.

http://www.redcounty.com/obama-holder-and-black-panthers-post-racial-america/37625

One might ask why the mainstream media has not been all over this. (Then again, one might not.) Perhaps, that is the excuse Rep. Brad Sherman might have used two days ago at a town hall meeting in Reseda, California when he told his audience that he was "unaware of the case".


(Breitbart TV)

That is a preposterous statement. Sherman, a Democrat, is fully aware of the situation involving charges of anti-Semitism at UC-Irvine (of which I often write). To his credit, he has followed the situation carefully and made public statements critical of the university. Yet, he is unaware of the New Black Panther case? Well, if he doesn't read the Washington Times when he is in Washington or watch Fox News, how would he know? (That is meant sarcastically.)

But back to the Administration. If the (post-racial) White House got involved in this case, why? Perhaps, the key to understanding it lies in that old guy named Jeremiah Wright, who the majority of the nation chose to ignore during the last election.

And what about the NAACP, an organization that was born out of issues like black voting rights in the South? Why would they seek to have charges dismissed that are a mirror image of what black would-be voters had to endure before the Civil Rights era and the Voting Rights Act? As we speak, the NAACP is holding its annual convention in Kansas City and expected to issue a statement accusing the Tea Party movement of racism. If these reports are true, then the NAACP will be guilty of gross hypocrisy for the entire country to see.

How can the rest of the media ignore such a major story right under their collective noses?

(Don't answer that.)

Sunday, July 11, 2010

News From Sderot

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle


From the Sderot Media Center 2 important articles.


by Noam Bedein
Israel's legitimacy as an independent Jewish state is being undermined and threatened like never before, especially in Europe.

This became apparent during a short journey to Brussels and a nine-day speaking tour in Norway during the diplomatic crises of the Gaza aid 'flotilla'.

"It doesn't look good for Israel in the future if in this crisis, Israel loses support from friendly countries such as Spain and Italy" said a colleague who works as a political consultant of an Italian MP, (and asked not to be named citing security concerns).

At the European Parliament house in Brussels, the flotilla aftermath made one issue obvious: Israel had better start strategizing on focusing its talking points and PR in presenting the Israeli perspective to the last of the Europeans still willing to listen. Or else Israel risks becoming isolated like South Africa was in the last years of Apartheid.

"It is a dangerous situation when EU members choose to be blind, in order not to see and hear the actual facts," an Italian MP told me regarding the Israel's side presented to the EU Parliament house after the flotilla episode.


This observation was made while en route to a press conference where Efraim Halevy, former Israeli ambassador to the EU, was ' lynched’ by reporters, over the flotilla crises, and was raked over the coals by a REUTERS reporter. Ironically, the same REUTERS news agency had fabricated flotilla photos to present the image of 'peace activists' by splicing out the knives carried by the Turkish terrorists.

All this took place minutes before a Conference on Global Terrorism, where Mr. Halevy was asked by the Palestinian ambassador to the EU: "What about the serious accusation of the Swedish reporter about the stealing Palestinian organs by Israeli soldiers during the Gaza war? Why was that reporter kicked out of Israel for further investigation?"

The fact that questions like these about Israeli policies still ring in the international forums, reflect the depths of hatred and pure misinformation that is being cultivated in Europe--emanating from successful propaganda campaigns reminiscent of the Third Reich era against the Jewish people.

No matter what basic facts were presented and exposed to all about the Gaza aid flotilla, as so well presented by Law Professor Alan Dershowitz in his article- "Israel obeyed international law: Legally, the Gaza flotilla conflict is an open-and-shut case" it wouldn't matter because EU countires and their MP's have already been wooed to one side.

"The EU’s primary ‘case' against Israel in the EU Parliament regarding the flotilla crises, is with no doubt the killings’ in "international waters," according to Mr. Nuno Martines from European Friends of Israel.

Israeli PR is ticking at one minute before the END GAME, where there’s no looking back. It must refocus its main points and battles, when the Gaza/Palestinian narrative has had so deep an effect on people’s minds and hearts.

And this is the result of losing in the first battle in the Second Gaza Media War:

Case in point: a small briefing of the Israeli Ambassador to the EU took place in a local library in down town Brussels. This session was scheduled before the flotilla crises organized by the organization "Young Professionals of Foreign Affairs’ regarding the relationship between Israel and the EU.

Almost all the questions asked by young professionals in the audience at the meeting had a direct reference to the Holocaust or to Nazi Germany.

A young Italian woman's query was typical: "I admit I don’t know enough about the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, but how can you as people who experienced a Holocaust can let children starve in an humanitarian crises like Gaza is?"

A young staffer for a Belgian MP chimed in: "How can people who’ve been through so much only 65 years ago, ignore the sufferings of the Palestinians?"

And the last question,asked in a laconic, non-chalant manner - "Why should Israel keep its identity as a Jewish state? After all, we all remember the last European country that wanted to define itself on a nationalistic note, and look what happened in Germany from there..."

The people who assess the results of the Israel PR media war at this time must come to some immediate conclusions. It is vital that we work to promote the basic human rights as Jews and Israelis for self determination as a state. The time has also come to pioneer a proactive response to the Gaza narrative as Hamas has become a household term around the world.

Based upon this experience in Brussels, Israel must re-focus its time and efforts on outreaching to the thousands of young adult professionals who work as MP staffers to the 736 EU MPs of the EU Parliament house and the European commission. Sending young Israelis to conduct dialogue with Europe's up and coming generation is the most effective outreach that can be done.

As an Israeli who lives less than a mile from Gaza and experiencing the third 'cease fire' between Israel and Hamas where already hundreds of rockets have been fired towards Israel, I know that the times are difficult. The total number of rocket and missile attacks fired from Gaza towards Israel as of mid-June, has risen to 370 since the end of the military operation in Gaza, January 18, 2009. It is clear is that the security situation in southern Israel on the ground is very fragile, just as Israel’s image is in neighboring Europe. We need to do all we can to prepare for the inevitable battle of rocket/flotilla warfare, while simultaneously implementing a media strategy to retain our allies in Europe.

As Israel marks five years to the withdrawal of Israeli troops and civilians from Gaza Strip--the only nation in modern history that has ever given land for peace after winning a war--Hamas continues to find other means to wage conflict. Since Hamas militarily took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, the battle for Israel's right to exist has only increased. As of now, the Islamic regime of Hamas today, the only such terrorist organization in the world that controls an entire population of civilians thanks to international support, is doing all it can to win on the PR front.

It's seems as Gaza today is haunting us..

And here comes the next load of ships...
I personally have given up on Europe and the trash that lives there.  I firmly believe that within a  few years Europe will be living under Shar'ia Law as Dhimmis.  Too bad for them, the warning signs are there now.


Finding an Oasis of Israel Support Among Christian Zionists

by Noam Bedein
As the director of Sderot Media Center, I find it is important to speak at eye-level to university students and other young audiences and to present a first-hand account of Israel’s stand versus the Gaza narrative.

During my fourth visit to the Christian Zionist communities in Norway, where I was invited by a pro-Israel advocacy group by the name of MIFF, to take part in a media conference that took place in Oslo. As a resident of Sderot, I talked about what it is like to live under the constant threat of missiles fired from Hamas-ruled Gaza.

I defend Israel’s blockade of Gaza, as a legal and necessary measure against an entity sworn to Israel’s destruction and its removal that would lead to a flood of heavy Iranian weaponry, including long- range missile systems entering Gaza.

My visit coincided with Israel’s latest diplomatic crisis in wake of the Turkish-led Flotilla to Gaza that tried to forcefully break Israel’s naval blockade while posing as a self-described human rights delegation offering humanitarian aid.

I cannot begin to describe the oasis of comfort I felt at the sight of the huge Israeli flags waving proudly from the terraces of pro-Israel Christians.

Where only moments before I felt so isolated, drowning in a sea of hatred while the massive negative media blindly turned against Israel, with every headline screaming “Israel massacres human rights activists”, these Chrisitan Zionists unapologetically took a stand for Israel. While European politicians were calling for a boycott on Israel - the Christian Zionists communities got together and made a point of purchasing products with labels “Made in Israel.”

My travels have exposed me to the pro-Israel Christian communities.

Being raised in an orthodox Jewish home, it has been somewhat of an experience for me to feel at home with the Christian communities. Yet, only they understand me when I point out that the Middle East conflict is a war of religions. These communities are completely familiar and in agreement with the Jewish people’s right to live in the Land of Israel.

Nancy and Doug's beautiful home in Lyngdall, Norway.

When I get up with the Bible in hand and say “here in this Bible is the word of God saying that the Land of Israel belongs to the People of Israel”. We have every right to live in Sderot and any other part of the land in peace and security". The audience cheers and says “Amen” and “Hallelujah.

It was New Year’s Eve, 2010, when I first met the presidential candidate of Zambia, Dr. Savior Chishimba. Savior, a devout Christian and staunch Zionist, came to Sderot to take part in the Sderot “Sderot Rally for Hope” - an initiative of the Sderot Media Center - commemorating one year to the “Cast Lead” military operation in Gaza, marching to the hope that the new decade will bring a halt to Qassam rockets from Gaza targeting civilians in Sderot.

Dr. Savior represented the African civilians who fell pray to acts of terror from radical Islamic forces during the last decade.

Saviour Chashimba at the Sderot Rally for Hope.

Nowadays, most African countries do not have diplomatic relations with Israel due to their succumbing to the Arab boycott and their oil dependency on the Gulf States.

Traveling to Africa, I was invited to speak at the Kenya Security Council and at two Kenyan universities where most of the students are Christians. I was received warmly and was able to talk openly about life in Sderot alongside Islamic terror and the necessity for a security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip. This was mentioned in context to the parallel threat facing Kenya and the importance of a security fence between Moslem Somalia and Christian Kenya where approximately 5000 Moslems infiltrate Kenya daily including radical Islamic elements who carry out terror attacks on Kenyan territory.

Our paths crossed again last March at the “Jerusalem House of Prayer” in Lusaka, capitol of Zambia where I was invited to speak. Savior said he was planning another visit to Israel and I invited him to join my family for Seder night.

Dr. Savior took me up on the invitation and indeed joined my family for Seder Night at my parents’ home in Efrat, Gush Etzion:

Savior took delight in the many rituals he witnessed at our Seder table. He enjoyed the taste of his first Matza and loved the idea of drinking 4 cups of fine wine! He followed with rapt attention the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and it was clear that he was familiar with the story.

Chashimba and Bedein at press conference in Lusaka, Zambia.

His parting words to us were his promise to renew diplomatic ties with Israel when elected president and to set up the Zambian Embassy in Jerusalem. “I plan to awaken the Christian majority in Zambia to the importance of having ties with the Jewish people in Israel”, he said.

“Whosoever blesses the Jewish people will be blessed and whosoever curses the Jewish people will be cursed. You see that all the nations are now coming out against Jerusalem and the Jewish people but you have nothing to fear because the Jewish people will come out on top!”

When he left, someone at the table declared: "Elijah the Prophet has come to give us good tidings!

Speaking to many Christian Zionist audiences all over the world, has led me to believe that in order to make a dent in world opinion that is currently stacked up against us, Israel’s leaders must enlist the help of our Zionist Christian allies. To do so, Israel must send out emissaries to these communities and provide them with advocacy tools so they can stand with Israel and the values it represents and to be prepared and effective in swaying world opinion away from the dangerous Jihadists who vow to destroy all Western civilization.
May G-d Bless the Christian communities world-wide who understand, love and support the State of Israel.  May they grow and flourish for many years to come.

Take a good look at those so-called Christian churches, the ones called Main Stream.  They are dying. The young people don't attend, the families stay away, they are dying.  They also don't support or recognize Israel's right to exist or the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland in our ancestral home.

The churches that are thriving have Zionists for their membership.  They will flourish and grow.

The Sderot Media Center is a voice to the world for the people of Sderot.  It exists only with the aid of contributions from people like you.  Please give.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Motor-Voter Registration-Another Scandal

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk


J. Christian Adams, the ex-DOJ lawyer who has blown the lid on the voter intimidation scandal at Justice, has also written an interesting piece in Pajamas Media about the so-called motor-voter law that enables people to register to vote in certain states as they get their drivers' licenses at the DMV.

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/lawlessness-at-the-doj-voting-section-told-not-to-enforce-purging-the-dead-or-ineligible-from-voting-rolls/?singlepage=true

There is another twist to this that deserves scrutiny. In California during the past several years, there has been a Democrat-led move to allow illegal aliens to obtain drivers' licenses, supposedly in the interest of having safer roads. Virtually every year, "One-Bill" Gil Cedillo, a Democrat from Southern California, introduces just such a bill.

It doesn't take a lot of intelligence to see what will happen if you have motor-voter registration at DMV coupled with allowing illegal aliens to get drivers' licenses.

"Uhhhhh......yeaaaah."

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Donald Berwick, Robert Gibbs, Redistribution and Rationing

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk



Robert Gibbs



President Obama is now making a recess appointment of Donald Berwick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid. The purpose of the recess appointment is clear; Obama wants to avoid a confirmation hearing on Berwick in which this man's ideas ands previous statements would be brought to the fore; namely, thet Berwick has expressed support for the idea of rationing health care to people based on their age and the whole cost-effectiveness of treating the elderly. He has also stated that any quality system of health care must involve distribution of wealth.

In the below White House press briefing this week, WH spokeshole (and professional comedian) Robert Gibbs treats reporter Fred Lucas like an errant school child (to the laughter of other reporters) when Lucas asks him if Obama agrees with statements made by Berwick.



Well, regardless of whether or not Republican congressman Paul Ryan made a similar statement, this is also what Berwick has stated (2008 in the UK). In the below video, Berwick speaks of redistribution of wealth.



In the below article, Berwick (in an interview) addresses health care rationing (see p2).

http://www.biotechnologyhealthcare.com/journal/fulltext/6/2/BH0602035.pdf?CFID=578


Mr Gibbs; let's forget about what Paul Ryan said on the topic and get back to Mr Berwick's statements on redistribution and rationing, OK?


"OK!"

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Planner of 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre Dies

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk








On Saturday, Mohammed Oudeh died in kidney failure in Damascus. His funeral was held in the nearby Yarmouk refugee camp, where his coffin was carried by a crowd of about 500 mourners. Oudeh (73) was also known as Abu Daoud. So who was this man Oudeh, and why was he given a hero's funeral? He was one of the key planners of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre that resulted in the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes and one German policeman. For that, Oudeh, unrepentent to the end, was given a hero's send off (above).

Here are some photos of Oudeh's handiwork in 1972.


Israeli Olympic team victims



During standoff at Olympic Village



Israeli team apartment




Fuerstenfeldbruck Airport after final shootout

That is what earns you a place of honor in the pantheon of Palestinian heroes.

4 JULY: DAY OF FREEDOM!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

1776

This is the date commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.




Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations often take place outdoors. Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions (like the postal service and federal courts) are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation's heritage, laws, history, society, and people.

Families often celebrate Independence Day by hosting or attending a picnic or barbecue and take advantage of the day off and, in some years, long weekend to gather with relatives. Decorations (e.g., streamers, balloons, and clothing) are generally colored red, white, and blue, the colors of the American flag. Parades often are in the morning, while fireworks displays occur in the evening at such places as parks, fairgrounds, or town squares.

1826

50 years to the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence first Thomas Jefferson (The man who penned the words) then John Adams died.  Without realizing that his friend Thomas had already died, John Adams' last words were:
"Thomas Jefferson survives."



1831

On this day, 55 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and 5 years after the deaths of both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, former President James Monroe died. Thus so far 3 American President have died on July 4th.




1976

As the American people went to bed on 3 July 1976 with dreams of the celebrations to come the next day, the men of the Sayeret Matkal, Sayeret Tzanhanim and Sayeret Golani were sent on an important mission to Uganda.  Their mission:  To rescue 105 Jewish and Israeli hostages being held by the PLO at Entebbe airport, Uganda.
On June 27, 1976, four terrorists forced an Air France Airbus to land in Uganda, in the heart of distant Africa. They quickly demanded that Israel release 53 convicted terrorists. The hijackers freed the French crew and non­Jewish passengers, while retaining 105 Jewish and Israeli hostages. A 48­hour deadline was set before executions would begin.

Faced with little choice, the Israeli government announced that it would enter into negotiations. This bought the precious time needed to consolidate a seemingly impossible military option. A new ultimatum was issued for 13:00 on Sunday, July 4.

The only airplane capable of a rescue operation was the C­130 Hercules. On July 1, the mission's overall commander, Brig. General Dan Shomron (later to become the IDF Chief­of­Staff), presented his plan to the IDF Commander and Israel's Defense Minister. The next day they all witnessed a full­scale dress rehearsal. The incredible was deemed possible.

Shomron's plan was based on several advantages that the Israelis had over the terrorists. The Entebbe airport at which the hostages were being held was built by an Israeli construction firm, which was able to provide Shomron with blueprints. Moreover, the released, non-Jewish hostages were able to describe the terrorists, their arms, and their positioning. As a result, the IDF decided to send in an overwhelmingly powerful force: over 200 of the best soldiers the army had to offer participated in the raid, all of them heavily armed.

Finally, the element of surprise was probably the biggest edge that Israel held. According to Shomron: "You had more than 100 people sitting in a small room, surrounded by terrorists with their fingers on the trigger. They could fire in a fraction of a second. we had to fly seven hours, land safely, drive to the terminal area where the hostages were being held, get inside, and eliminate all the terrorists before any of them could fire." The fact that no one expected the Israelis to take such risks was precisely the reason that they took them.

The aircraft took off at 13:20 on July 3 and headed south. Only then was the plan revealed to the Israeli Cabinet, which decided to let the operation continue. The lead Hercules carried the rescue force, led by Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu. It also held two jeeps and the now famous black Mercedes, a perfect copy of dictator Idi Amin's personal car. Two additional Hercules carried reinforcements and troops assigned to carry out special missions, such as destroying the Migs parked nearby. A fourth Hercules was sent to evacuate the hostages.

The air package also included two Boeing 707's. One acted as a forward command post. The second, outfitted as an airborne hospital, landed in nearby Nairobi, Kenya. The Hercules was escorted by F4 Phantoms as far as possible-about one­third the distance.

Skirting thunderstorms over Lake Victoria, the Hercules transports neared the end of the 7­ hour, 40­ minute flight. A surprise awaited them: the runway lights were on! Despite this, they landed undetected at 23:01 (local time), only one minute past their planned arrival time.

The soldiers freed the hostages in a lightning attack, killing all eight terrorists in the process. Tragically, force commander Yoni Netanyahu was killed as he led the hostages toward the safety of the aircraft; additionally, two hostages were killed in the crossfire inside the airport. The other squads accomplished their missions in virtually the same time as during the "dry­run." By 23:59 the planes were on their way home. The operation, which was predicted to last one hour, in fact took only 58 minutes.
1 IDF Commando was killed, 5 were wounded.  4 hostages were killed in the attack, 10 hostages were wounded.  7 Hijackers, and 45 Ugandan troops were killed.  11 Ugandan aircraft were destroyed.



July 4, a date that will always be associated with FREEDOM!!!!




HAPPY JULY 4TH!


Friday, July 2, 2010

Why There Needs to be a Naval Blockade on Gaza

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle



From the Sderot Media Center
The Family That Shows Why There Needs to be a Naval Blockade on Gaza

by Jacob Shrybman and Anav Silverman

Iris Twito, the mother of two sons injured by Qassam rockets in the city of Sderot, decided to grant an exclusive interview with Sderot Media Center, following the Gaza aid flotilla fiasco. "The entire world hates us," says Iris, "but they don’t know what we’ve been through."

The Twito family is a living testament for why there is a naval blockade on Gaza. "It’s not just Sderot that is under threat today, but the whole country," said Iris. "It is vital that we stop these flotilla boats because we cannot allow Hamas to terrorize our Israeli children."

Sitting on her patio in Ashdod, with a cigarette in hand, Iris recalls the most horrifying experience a mother can go through. Three years ago, Iris’s sons Osher and Rami, then eight and 19 respectively, were walking to an ATM machine in Sderot, when the rocket alarm went off. As the two brothers frantically attempted to locate a shelter in the middle of one of Sderot's main streets, the Qassam rocket struck meters away from the two.
Osher and Iris Twito three years after Osher was maimed by a qassam rocket.
(Photo: Anav Silverman/Sderot Media Center)
The exploded shrapnel sliced through the boys’ legs. Residents poured out to the street to help but another rocket alert went off, forcing everyone to flee to shelter again. Moments later, the ambulances arrived to transport the boys to the closest hospital, Ashkelon's Barzilai hospital located 20 minutes away from Sderot.

Amidst the flashing cameras at what was one of Sderot’s goriest scenes resulting from a rocket attack, Iris collapsed from the shock of seeing of her two sons lying next to each other, surrounded by a pool of their own blood. The entire city of 19,000 were subsequently shocked by the developments to follow.

The rocket attack left Osher in a coma for two weeks. The young boy had to go through intensive surgeries; his left leg had to be amputated, and doctors had to operate on a hole in his chest and his injured lungs. The older brother Rami's legs were also badly damaged and operated on.

After a year in the hospital, Osher was released in a bright red wheelchair. His right leg was still badly damaged, but a new artifical limb was fitted on his left.

"Osher goes to intensive therapy every week to this day to help adjust to walking again," said Iris. Osher, with big brown eyes and a freckled face, walks over to sit by his mother, slowly limping and murmurs hello.

Iris and her husband decided that it would be best to move the family from the heart of Hamas’s target city, Sderot, to Ashdod, Israel’s fifth largest city, that at the time located 40 kilometers (24 miles) away from the Gaza Strip was not under missile threat.

"But the rockets can reach Ashdod now too," Iris remarks fretfully. During Operation Cast Lead, Grad missiles, which are smuggled into Gaza from Iran, struck Ashdod playgrounds, kindergartens and homes, killing one Israeli woman at a bus stop and seriously injuring many more.

"Ashdod is not sheltered like Sderot" Rami explains. "Even our home doesn't have a bomb-shelter yet."

Rami, now 21 and married with two young daughters, a toddler and a baby, expressed how the last week and a half had been hard on the family. "When we heard that the flotilla from Turkey was heading to the Gaza port, we were very scared because we had no idea what kind of weapons could be on the ships."

As Iris’s youngest son, Osher, shyly cuddles up to his mother, Iris Twito reemphasizes the need for the Gaza naval blockade in order to protect innocent Israeli civilians like her family from future missile warfare.

"The government of Israel needs to ensure security for all Israelis and make sure that other Israelis are protected from the kind of tragedy that struck our family," said Iris. "Even Barack Obama at one time agreed with us. Osher met Obama two years ago," explained Iris, as Obama following the flotilla events said the territory's situation is "unsustainable." According to Iris, the US President after hearing the young boy’s harrowing story privately told him "I would do everything to defend my daughters from rocket attacks, if they were in your position."

As the Gaza flotilla was clearly only a provocation, carrying merely 10 thousand tons of aid, when Israel gave over 738,000 tons of aid in 2009 alone. This violent political stunt was only aimed at weakening Israel’s security and strengthening the Hamas military to put more families like the Twitos under threat.

Three years ago, Iris’s maternal instincts made her remove her kids from the daily horror of the Sderot rocket reality to what was a safer city. Today, under a larger missile threat, Iris’s maternal instincts are standing up against immense international pressure to lift the Gaza naval blockade implemented to protect Israeli children from going through what her two boys were forced to endure.
I find it strange that the world is quite silent about this child, yet screams in horror if a child in Gaza stubbs his or her toe.  Why are the children of Gaza more precious to the world than Israeli children?  Is it because Israeli children are Jewish with white skin?

The rockets have not stopped:
Gaza terrorists attacked the Western Negev Wednesday morning with a Kassam rocket before workers arrived, but it heavily damaged a packing house that was knocked out of operation. Workers who had not yet arrived at work remained in their homes in the Sdot Negev area, south of Ashkelon.

The explosion occurred around 4 a.m., seconds after the Color Red early-warning system shattered pre-dawn silence. The latest attack returned residents to the trauma of the constant spate of missiles explosions that have plagued Negev residents since the outbreak of the Second Intifada, also known as the Oslo War, in 2000.

No terrorist organization has taken responsibility for Wednesday’s rocket strike. Many of the packing house workers hurried to synagogue to recite the traditional prayer for their lives being saved from danger.

Last year’s Operation Cast Lead war against the terrorist infrastructure in Hamas-run Gaza severely reduced the number of attacks, but Hamas and allied terrorist groups have violated a number of declared ceasefire announcements.

More than 300 rockets and mortars have struck the Western Negev since the end of Cast Lead, and most of the attacks have been immediately followed by an IDF retaliatory strike. Most of the rockets have exploded in open fields, allowing a relatively calm atmosphere in foreign and mainstream Israeli media that ignore a large number of the terrorist attacks when no one is injured.

One major foreign news service reported this week that the Negev area has been "quiet" since the end of Cast Lead.
Once again I ask you, my truth seekers, to donate any amount you can to the Sderot Media Center.  The funds that they raise go directly to the people of Sderot and the Western Negev.  Just click here and follow the directions.

And please pray for the people of Sderot, for the peace that they deserve, and for the nation of Israel.