Mere Rhetoric: April 2005 Archives

Chutzpa

I try to avoid blogging on domestic politics, but this is story has an Annenberg connection so I figure it's OK. Also, it's just so brazen:

Democrats have been using a web-based "calculator" to generate individualized answers to the question, "How much will you lose under Bush privatization plan?"...
In fact, the calculator is rigged. We find it is based on a number of false assumptions and deceptive comparisons. For one thing, it assumes that stocks will yield average returns of only 3 percent per year above inflation. The historical average is close to 7 percent. The calculator's authors claim that they use the same assumption used by the Congressional Budget Office. Actually, CBO projects a 6.8 percent gain.

I don't have enough game on the Social Security debate to confidently express a viewpoint one way or another. But I do know bold-faced lying when I see it (via Blogs for Bush).

Omri | April 20, 2005 8:05 AM |

Ignoring Inconvenient Facts

Barbara Sofer has a good article on chic academic denial of the Intifada. The Israeli presence in Gaza and the West Bank is regularly trotted out to justify all manner of Palestinian atrocities:

I was recently listening to a European professor, a pacifist with truly impressive humanitarian credentials, as she described the suffering of the Palestinians under "occupation." Suddenly I realized there was no mention of the war they launched in September 2000. We Israelis were cast as the familiar unrepentant evil empire, lacking sensitivity, and the sole source of Palestinian misery. Conspicuous by their absence were even the token recognition that Israel might have security concerns, and the usual nominal condemnation of terror.

Sometimes this scape-goating can become truly mind-bending. I was in a class where I made some glib and not-too-clever comment about Palestinians rejecting Oslo because "they just liked killing Jews too much" (obviously, this statement is enthymematic of a whole host of issues: Arafat's radicalization of the Palestinian street, deep-seated Muslim anti-Semitism, etc - but the point remains). And in response, the professor went on a tirade about "daily humiliation at checkpoints." The irony, not commented on by anyone in the class, is that this professor was essentially blaming Israeli checkpoints for the Palestinians refusing to accept a peace deal to tear down those checkpoints. Oh, those wily Jews - always undermining peace with their daily humiliations!
One of the most significant issues will emerge as the Intifada recedes into the past - and with it the daily Palestinian intransigence that caused it. It's going to be easier and easier for these professors to distort and outright lie to students about the true causes of the conflict. The academic Edward-Said style "Israel started the Six Day War so they could conquer Arabs" fabrications are already so popular and prevalent that, as images of Palestinian terrorism fade, we can be sure another generation of students is about to be raised with the lazy assumption that Israelis are barbarians who abused poor Palestinians as long as they could until something - certainly not Bush (!!) - made them stop.

Omri | April 19, 2005 4:10 PM |

Oh Give Me A Break

How totally, myopically obsessive can the Left get about denying that anything good resulted from the liberation of Iraq? Robert Wright in this morning's Slate:

[I]t's true that in a "flattened" world, dominoes can fall fast once they get started... Much of the inspiration for Lebanon's "cedar revolution" came from watching Georgia's Rose Revolution and then Ukraine's Orange Revolution.

Now lets see where Walid Jumblatt, one of the leaders of the Cedar Revolution but historically a prominent and powerful supporter of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, says they got their inspiration:

"It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq," explains Jumblatt. "I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world." Jumblatt says this spark of democratic revolt is spreading. "The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it."

Another favorite Leftist go-to is that while the Iraq war may have had some positive outcomes (less torture, less rape, more jobs, those kinds of thing), those were not the justifications that Bush initially gave the nation for going to war. More from Wright:

Friedman, of course, supported the war... But he supported the war reluctantly, and he supported it for the best reason, the reason Bush settled on retrospectively after most of his other reasons had collapsed: to create a market democracy in the Arab world.

First of all, I was shocked to find out that Bush only settled on that reason retroactively, given that many on the Left were turning out a stream of predictable, mind-numbing diatribes breathlessly revealing that Iraq was being invaded to spread free trade. See also: here and here and here and... well, here's the Google search.
And though they arguably belong in an institution, these lunatics do seem to at least have better research skills than Robert Wright. One of the reasons they thought that President Bush was using the preemption doctrine to spread free markets and free trade to every corner of the world is because President Bush said that he was using the preemption doctrine to spread free markets and free trade to every corner of the world:

Finally, the United States will use this moment of opportunity to extend the benefits of freedom across the globe. We will actively work to bring the hope of democracy, development, free markets, and free trade to every corner of the world.

I'm not saying that the part of the political spectrum that we affectionately refer to as the moonbat Left is smarter than Robert Wright. But their hatred of everything Bush does seem to lend them a certain zeal in research that Wright's softer anti-Administration blinders prevent him from emulating.

Omri | April 19, 2005 1:07 PM |

Well That's Your Opinion

This is Iran's response to Israel's (I thought) very polite request that they cease constructing genocidal weapons:

"Comments by officials of the Zionist regime are not worth an answer," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. "The Zionist regime is not eligible to express any ideas since it is the source of tension, crisis and trouble in the region."

What he really meant to say is that "The Zionist regime is not eligible to express any ideas since they're Jews", but that's neither here nor there.
Instead, focus on the idea that this is Iran accusing Israel of destabilizing the region. Sharon has repeatedly made it clear that Israel is not going to attack Iran. Which is just like Iran promising not to attack Israel with nuclear weapons, except the opposite:

One of Iran’s most influential ruling clerics called on the Muslim states to use nuclear weapon against Israel, assuring them that while such an attack would annihilate Israel, it would cost them "damages only". The speech by former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani failed to catch the attention of the western press but made waves in the Middle East.

It'd be funny if the Europeans didn't think it was true.

Omri | April 19, 2005 12:09 PM |

Neat

How totally beyond cool is this:

Thousands of previously illegible manuscripts containing work by some of the greats of classical literature are being read for the first time using technology which experts believe will unlock the secrets of the ancient world.
Among treasures already discovered by a team from Oxford University are previously unseen writings by classical giants including Sophocles, Euripides and Hesiod... the faded ink comes clearly into view when placed under infra-red light... thousands of remaining documents, which will be analysed over the next decade, are expected to include works by Ovid and Aeschylus, plus a series of Christian gospels which have been lost for up to 2,000 years.

I can't wait.

Omri | April 19, 2005 12:06 PM |

The World's Most Moral Army

Israelis are such cold-blooded colonialist murderers that they've established new rules of engagement that they're going to get Israelis killed:

Israel Defense Forces brigade commanders in the Gaza Strip earlier this week complained to Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon about the stricter rules of engagement under the tahadiya, the period of calm instilled by the Palestinians, warning they could lead to terror attacks against Israelis.
Since the tahadiya began at the end of January, the IDF altered its rules of engagement in the territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip, easing harsh measures previously employed to counter terrorist infiltration threats... the IDF almost completely prevented infiltrations and killed many terrorists.

In other news, Saudi Arabia is actually celebrated for attacks on terrorists that are conducted with something less than surgical precision.

Omri | April 19, 2005 8:12 AM |

Oh The Jokes

Palestinians have responded to loosened restrictions by hiding guns in girls' panties. No jokes on this one - I've done a poll, and apparently none of my jokes involving loosening, hard things, or girls panties are funny. So you'll just have to use your imagination.

Omri | April 18, 2005 4:10 PM |

Now They're Just Being Unoriginal

Another day, another attack by Mahmoud Abbas's party on Mahmoud Abbas's government:

In the third incident of its kind in recent days, Fatah gunmen stormed the offices of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Jenin, accusing the Palestinian Authority of failing to pay the families of security prisoners held in Israel... Led by Zakariya Zubeidi, commander of Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, in Jenin, some 40 gunmen also blocked traffic in the city's main square for several hours.

Meryl has game on the whole thing being for show, so I'd just like to chime in with the observation that it's not a very good show. A little creativity now and then certainly couldn't hurt them. Maybe instead of trying to destroy Palestinian political institutions, how about try not to destroy Palestinian political institutions? Change things up a bit, is all I'm saying.

Omri | April 18, 2005 1:11 PM |

Mere Rhetoric Has Lots of Good Ideas

The Ha'aretz editorial staff wants Sharon to coordinate the disengagement on the same day that Akiva Eldar makes fun of Israelis for thinking Abbas is weak (two things about the whole Abbas not being weak thing: (1) yes he is and (2) make sure you check out Lynn B's to read it is to mock it coverage of the Eldar story). But back to the Ha'aretz editorial, which closes (with a heavy-handed, overly dramatic flair) on their best argument:

Those who fear pictures of Hamas members flying their flags over the houses of settlers as a sign of victory should themselves produce a ceremony as it should be held, for all the world to see, in which an Israel Defense Forces officer takes down the Israeli flag, and a Palestinian officer raises the flag of his own nation.

I have a different way to prevent Hamas members flying their flags over the houses of settlers. Raze the settlements on the way out. They can raise their flags over rubble - that'll be more symbolic of the future Palestinian state anyway.

Omri | April 18, 2005 1:05 PM |

Turning Over a New Leaf Watch

What's the quickest way to get integrated into the new Palestinian government working to make peace with Israel? Threaten to kill Israelis!

Members of the armed wing of Hamas, Izzadin Kassam, have expressed their readiness to join the Palestinian Authority's security forces, Palestinian legislator Abdel Fattah Hamayel revealed over the weekend. This is the first time the PA has declared its intention to recruit Hamas activists to its security forces.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders warned that their groups would resume their attacks on Israel unless all security prisoners were released. The threats were issued during demonstrations in the Gaza Strip in support of Palestinian prisoners.

UPDATE: Of course, there's an argument to be made that they're just emulating what their already-integrated Fatah friends do.

Omri | April 18, 2005 12:58 PM |

That's Kind of Funny

Everyone take out a pencil. Math question. How evil does an Islamist regime have to be before it has to ban Al-Jazeera for being too far left?

Iran barred Arab TV broadcaster Al-Jazeera from operating in the country, accusing it of a role in recent protests by Iran's Arab minority in the southwestern city of Ahvaz.

Don't think about it too long, you'll hurt yourself.

Omri | April 18, 2005 12:52 PM |

Figures

Why is the liberal Establishment so upset with the Bolton nomination? The WaPo's Dana Milbank offers a revealing slip:

Most Republicans skipped the hearing, leaving Democrats largely unchallenged as they assailed Bolton's knack for making enemies and disparaging the very organization he would serve.

George Shultz a story from back when he was Secretary of State:

When an ambassador had made it through the hurdles of nomination and confirmation, I invited him or her to my office and said, "Before you can leave, you have one more test. Go over to that globe and show me that you can identify your country." Without exception, the ambassador-to-be spun the globe and located the country to which he would be posted.
One day, the late Mike Mansfield, already many years our ambassador to Japan and an old friend from my previous times in the cabinet, came in for a visit just before he was to return to Tokyo. I told him about my little test and said, "Mike, how about you?" He and I laughed, and he went to the globe. Mike put his hand on the United States and said, "Here’s my country."

This is the kind of West-Wing-ish story that everyone in Washington DC knows (West-Wing-ish because it's the kind of trivia that always finds its way into inane, sanctimonious West Wing dialogue). So we can assume that Milbank has heard about it - what's that they say about the differences between hearing and listening?

Omri | April 18, 2005 12:06 PM |

Hey Gals, Check This Out

Not content with getting massively bad press for murdering "immodest" women in the Middle East, Islamists are also conducting honor killings in Europe - this time for having babies with dirty non-Muslims. Extra "what a bunch of disgusting primitives" points for killing his sister [That's the second time you've called Islamists primitive today... you should be more original - or buy a Thesaurus last time it was an adjective, this time it was a noun... there's a difference]

Omri | April 17, 2005 11:04 PM |

Equal Opportunity Terrorists

Call them baby-killers, call them animals, call them primitive barbarians - just don't call them un-ambitious! In the same day, JPost has stories about Palestinian terrorists trying to kill Palestinian leaders and trying to kill Israeli rabbis. And the wannabe murderers are just so charming!

Zubeydi told the crowd he was ready to march on the offices of local parliamentarians. "In half an hour, if we find any of them in their offices there will be blood and then our only language will be the bullet," he said.

I guess it is always the poets and artists that lead revolutions. And just to prove that the Palestinians don't have a monopoly on giving idiotic quotes to the press:

Shas chairman Eli Yishai complained that governmental officials were preventing the rabbi from receiving constant Shin Bet supervision. "Rabbi Ovadia Yosef deserves the same protection as former prime ministers," Yishai said. "The arrest is a warning signal that should not be ignored"

Former Prime Ministers are protected from Arab terrorism because they have valuable security information and their murder would be a devastating victory for Israel's enemies. Former Prime Ministers are protected from Jewish terrorism because Jewish terrorists have killed Prime Ministers in the past (a tragedy that some of Shas's electoral allies were not exactly un-complicit in). Yosef has no security information, and Jewish terrorists don't exactly have him in their sights. He's also kind of a lunatic (not a total lunatic mind you - just kind of one). Admittedly, he is a prominent political and religious figure who Muslim fanatics would love to kill, so he should have the same protection as high-ranking MKs - which the article seems to imply that he already does.
P.S. Speaking of Yigal Amir, how disgusting is it that there are groups of ostensible leftists trying to help him be happy. Is there some kind of "let him rot in jail forever" petition that I can sign?

Omri | April 17, 2005 11:03 PM |

Excuse Me While I Geek Out

Objectively, best. a cappella. ever. (Via a small victory).

Omri | April 17, 2005 11:03 PM |

Yeah Right

Lebanese authorities bravely captured two dangerous Israelis:

Lebanese authorities captured two dogs that crossed the border from Israel and were checking whether they were booby-trapped or carried electronic implants that could be used for spying.

Israel has satellites, drones, and intimidating human intelligence. They're not the ones going around arming animals.

Omri | April 17, 2005 8:05 PM |

Bastards

For years, people have been yelling their heads off about the Muslim Wakf's destruction of Jewish artifacts on the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. This issue is a particularly heated one, since denying the historical Jewish connection to Jerusalem is a political issue driven by a strong Islamist ideology with undeniable anti-Jewish undertones. And now Israeli archaeologists have discovered absolute proof that the Wakf has been intentionally destroying ancient Jewish artifacts from the Temple Mount:

A small group of Israeli archaeologists and volunteers sifting through piles of rubble discarded by Islamic Wakf officials from the Temple Mount into a city garbage dump have recently uncovered a series of history-rich artifacts dating back to the First and Second Temple periods...
The November 1999 destruction and removal of the antiquities in the wake of the mosque construction was later called "an unprecedented archaeological crime" by the head of Israel's Antiquities Authority... Straddled by political concerns and in flagrant contravention of the law, Israeli archaeologists from the Antiquities Authority have not been carrying out supervision for five years now at the bitterly contested site due to their concern about renewed Palestinian violence at the compound.

Imagine what would happen if Jews in control of Islamic mosques intentionally and flagrantly destroyed ancient Muslim artifacts. The international press would scream. The UN would investigate. Condemnations would be issued. Sanctions would be considered. But let a high Islamic official openly flaunt the law and destroy thousand year old relics, and the silence remains deafening.

Omri | April 15, 2005 1:25 PM |

Holocaust Denier Complains to Israeli Traitors about Israelis

The increasingly amusing and increasingly weak Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has taken to throwing hissy-fits when he gets picked on:

Abbas expressed anger Thursday over the "campaign" he claims Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has launched against him, saying it was intended to freeze negotiations between the two sides.
Abbas told members of the National Democratic Alliance party - MK Azmi Bishara, MK Jamal Zahalka, and MK Wasal Taha - who visited him, that the campaign was meant to lay the groundwork for freezing the diplomatic process after the implementation of the disengagement plan.

Poor baby. It goes without saying by now that the MKs that he was talking to - MKs who have ostensibly taken oaths to serve the state of Israel - provide a willing audience for anti-Israel ravings. They especially like hearing about how Israel is undermining the peace process when it's done in the context of Palestinians explicitly undermining the peace process:

The leaders of Fatah factions in Nablus threatened Thursday to end a two-month period of calm with Israel after a member of the movement's military wing was shot dead by Israel Defense Forces soldiers during a raid at the Balata refugee camp close to the West Bank city. An IDF source said Ibrahim Hashash, identified as a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was shot when he opened fire on undercover troops who were trying to arrest him.

Hashash was responsible for tens of attacks on Israeli civilians, and was about to become a suicide bomber himself. What is Abbas's Fatah party doing defending him if they're so interested in peace? On that note, what is he doing in the Fatah party if they're so interested in peace?

Omri | April 15, 2005 1:23 PM |

Palestinian President Hates Reality, Blames Israel

While we're on the subject of Abbas's effete hissy-fits, check this one out:

Abbas on Wednesday rejected allegations that he was too weak to rule and accused Israel of waging a "propaganda campaign" against him and the PA during Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to the US... Abbas issued a statement in which he said: "The Palestinian Authority is strong"... The statement said Abbas was "extremely shocked" by the allegations against made during Sharon's visit to the US earlier this week.

Why would the Israelis say that Abbas was weak when he's so obviously not:

In a public opinion survey conducted by the Al-Mustiqbal Center in Gaza two weeks ago, 52 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Hamas in the upcoming elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council. Only 13 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Fatah. All public opinion surveys that have been conducted recently in the West Bank and Gaza indicate this trend.

Omri | April 15, 2005 8:23 AM |

Stupid Germans

Medienkritik, one of the best German political blogs, is pissed off about the idiotic anti-Americanism that has infected the highest levels of German political life:

A top member of the German Green party - Antje Vollmer, the highest ranking woman in Germany's parliament (and a real beauty by any definition) - accuses the U.S. government of an underhanded campaign against pedophile Catholic priests aimed at punishing Pope John Paul II for his opposition to the Iraq war...
Poland's participation in the Iraq war an attempt to weaken the Pope's "hinterland"? An anti-pedophile campaign as a veiled attempt to attack the pope's position against the Iraq war? Oh, those evil neocons...never shy about hatching dark conspiracies... it all fits in so nicely to the "World Scapegoat USA" way of thinking that has swept Germany's left.

This is part and parcel with SPD minister Andreas von Buelow's "theory" that either the CIA or the Mossad was responsible for 9/11. The mainstreaming of stupid theories should be a cause for concern - part of what constitutes a livable democracy is what is, by unspoken agreement, is excluded from discussion in the public sphere. Good speech might be the answer to bad speech, but when particularly virulent bad speech has to be answered some of the battle for a decent society has already been lost.

Omri | April 15, 2005 8:20 AM |

The LA Times Tells Us About Jews

With Sharon doing so much to withdraw from the territories, the LA Times is just going batty trying to come up with outlets for it's anti-Israel addiction. The longer you're on the wagon, the worse the fall. True headline:

Jews Target Caterpillar Shareholder Effort - Divesting stock because of Israeli bulldozing of Palestinian homes is unfair, some leaders say.

Lets see what Google (certainly not over-sensitive to Jewish concerns) has to say about "Jew":

The word "Jew" is often used in an anti-Semitic context. Jewish organizations are more likely to use the word "Jewish" when talking about members of their faith. The word has become somewhat charged linguistically.

Now, I don't think that Teresa Watanabe is anti-Semitic. She just has no reason to care about Jewish sensibilities - there is just no professional or institutional reason to take them into account. Say what you will about the ADL - and there's plenty to say - they just doesn't conduct the kind of outright intimidation and attacks that Islamic organizations like CAIR do). And if someone was going to start going after the LA Times for anti-Jewish bias there're certainly bigger, more directly dangerous fish to fry - and that's only if one has any energy left after the long work of catching the distortions and outright factual mistakes that the LA Times makes in regard to Israel.

UPDATE: Then again...

Omri | April 14, 2005 7:20 PM |

If I Could Do Her Job, I Could Do It Better

Incidentally, and this is neither here nor there, I think that any newspaper that wants to be taken seriously should have to know that Mahmoud Abbas is the Palestinian President and not, as Watanabe says, the Prime Minister (which is, of course, Ahmed Qurei). You should have to know who these people are before you write about them. And while I'm on the subject - why should Watanabe have Constitutional protections reserved for "real journalists" when she doesn't know who the hell the Palestinian Prime Minister is? Someone alert Mickey Kaus.

Omri | April 14, 2005 7:20 PM |

Hey EU, Shove It

This story is making the rounds through the pro-Israel side of the blogosphere, and we're nothing if not anxious to fit in. Screw the EU:

A top European Union official held a secret meeting in Gaza with the leaders of Hamas, in spite of EU denials to the contrary, in which he praised the terror organization's work, blamed terrorism on "Israeli occupation," referred to Hamas militants as "freedom fighters" and failed to contradict claims Israel was responsible for the September 11 attacks.

When the United States tells Israel that they don't have to give away land to the Palestinians while the Palestinians are blowing up school busses, it's criticized for not being an honest broker. The take-away here is not so much that Europe's Middle East policy is under girded by the most vulgar anti-Israel scapegoating and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories - but more that implicit or explicit acceptance of that scapegoating and those theories is what it takes for the Arab world to accept you as an "honest broker" in the first place.

Omri | April 14, 2005 5:19 PM |

EU Population Races to Be More Anti-Semitic than Leaders

How does subtle, politically correct "anti-Zionist" anti-Semitism erupt into vicious and violent anti-Semitism? In the next generation that doesn't really understand why there should be a difference:

Banners with huge swastikas and the words, "Rome is Fascist"... appeared during clashes with police at Sunday's soccer match here. "This is pure violence and racism by people who probably don't even know any Jews," Pacifici said. Eighty-five policemen were injured, and there were 17 arrests and 259 subpoenas.

The problem with an official discourse that demonizes dark and shadowy Jews is that eventually people begin to believe it.

Omri | April 14, 2005 5:19 PM |

Hey UN, Shove It

I'm told that Israel is in constant violation of UN resolutions. That's because UN resolutions are passed by anti-Semitic criminals:

Today and Friday the United Nations Commission on Human Rights will pass resolutions on human rights situations around the world... Israel will be condemned in five separate resolutions, four more than any other country...
The United States and other democratic members of the commission...are out-voted by a coalition that includes Sudan, Saudi Arabia and... Cuba and Zimbabwe.

Seriously, if I'm looking for people to preach about strict adherence the rule of law, I'm going to go to countries that don't have legal system, (actually that's unfair - Sudan and Saudi Arabia regularly murder women for violating Islamic law, and Cuba has a rather large number of laws). And while we're being fair, it's important to note that it's not really the fault of the Commission that they have so many "facts" about alleged Israeli human rights violation - it's the General Assembly that appointed a special investigator who's only job, by his own words, is to be biased against Israel.

Omri | April 14, 2005 5:18 PM |

Words Are Funny Things

The realization continues to spread that Sharon's disengagement plan (not so great) will provide the political cover for the annexation of large parts of the West Bank (sweet!). Today's pupil is one Mahmoud Abbas:

PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas... did not make any public comment on the outcome of the meeting between Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. But one of his aides told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas was worried about what appears to be a tacit understanding between Bush and Sharon to annex large settlement blocs in the West Bank to Israel.
"Bush does not have the right to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians the future of the West Bank" the aide stressed.

Technically, I don't think that it was on the behalf of the Palestinians that Bush was negotiating - which I suppose might be part of the misunderstanding.

Omri | April 13, 2005 12:26 PM |

Hey Gals, Check This Out

The charity organization Hamas is doing charity all over the Gaza Strip:

Hamas has begun operating a "vice and virtue commando" in the Gaza Strip to safeguard Islamic values, Palestinian security officials and residents told The Jerusalem Post.
The new force, called the Anti-Corruption Unit, is believed to be behind the gruesome murder over the weekend of Yusra al-Azzami, a 22-year-old university student from the northern Gaza Strip. Her "crime" was that she was seen in public with her fiance.

I wonder if the whole "murder women who walk outside" thing is done by Hamas's political branch or their more well-known terrorist branch? Personally, I think that'd it be the terrorist branch, given their experience killing innocent women and children.
That last joke too predictable? How about Amnesty International blaming Palestinian violence against their own women on the Jews?

Omri | April 13, 2005 12:18 PM |

Bastards

Seriously, this destruction of my childhood has to stop:

The "Cookie Monster" has been emasculated. The formerly fearsome monster is now a wimpy shill for healthy eating. His "C is for cookie" song has been replaced with a new song -- "A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food." God, what is the world coming to? That's like Lil' Kim singing, "I'm a sometimes slut." Program producers say with the rise in childhood obesity, "Sesame Street" is focusing on teaching kids about healthy foods.

Hey, you want to know how to make obese kids skinny? Stop feeding them.
This is almost as bad as when Disneyland closed the Country Bear Jamboree to make way for their commercialized Winnie the Pooh crap ride.

Omri | April 12, 2005 1:15 AM |

Liars

Sharon goes to Texas and just brings the place down. I mean, he just slays.
You want strategic depth? He's got strategic depth:

US President George W. Bush... strongly reiterated the US position that major Israeli population centers beyond the Green Line will remain in Israeli hands after final-status agreement.

No Right of Return you say? Sure:

Bush also reiterated the US position against the Palestinian demand for return of refugees, saying the US continues to be committed "to Israel's security and well-being as a Jewish state."

Money? Why not:

Bush said that the US would cooperate with Israel in developing the Negev and Galilee, a clear indication that there will be some US financial aid as a result of the disengagement plan.

An overall tone of affability and general agreement? Done:

While the road map explicitly states that Israel must freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth of settlements, Bush seemed to allow for some wiggle room in saying that he looked forward to working with Israel and "dialoguing with Israel" on this issue.

Or, more to the point (Google cache - JPost keeps deep-sixing useful articles by overwriting different articles on the same url):

[H]ad the meeting taken place in March, shortly after the Sharm summit and the London conference, Sharon would have come under heavy pressure to grant more concessions to Abbas as "confidence-building measures."... since Abbas has not taken any concrete measures to confiscate arms, or in any other way dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, Sharon will not be called upon to make any far-reaching gestures.

Given this, you would expect the international press to start toning down public expectations for Israeli gestures. That way, when Sharon refuses to make more unilateral concessions to the Palestinians, people will have a context for what's going on. Or at the very least, recognize that Sharon is getting something for the Gaza pullout so that annexation of the population blocs east of the Green Line won't come as a surprise.
AFP: Bush backs Gaza pullout, pushes Israel to stop settlement expansion
Rueters: Bush Cautions Sharon Against Settlement Growth
AP: Sharon dismisses Bush warning on settlement expansion
And of course the Los Angeles Times, doing a great job accurately conveying Bush and Sharon's understanding that Israel will annex West Bank settlements: Bush, Sharon to Meet as Tension Brews - Differences over West Bank settlements and pressure from rightist blocs at home may stir discord between allies at today's Texas summit.
This is typical Los Angeles Times anti-Israel coverage. The headline is technically true (there is a single West Bank settlement, Ma'aleh Adumim, which Sharon wants to expand but that Bush opposes) - but it manages to convey exactly the opposite of what is actually significant or correct. For the journalistically responsible way to write this story, see Aluf Benn's approach, which accurately picks out the significant headline PM: Settlement blocs to stay ours in any final deal:

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, speaking at a new conference with President George W. Bush in Texas on Monday, said large West Bank settlement blocs would remain in Israeli hands in the framework of any final status agreement with the Palestinians. "The settlement blocs will remain in Israel's hands in any final-status agreement no matter the repercussions entailed," Sharon said...
Bush, concerned about the progress of negotiations toward peace in the Middle East, asked Sharon both publicly and privately Monday not to expand the key West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim.

The problem with fair journalism is that it's often, well, fair. And that mitigates one's ability to whip up public indignation about Israeli "reversals" later on.

Omri | April 12, 2005 12:55 AM |

What do you get for the Air Force that has everything?

The best part of this article is the tone of disappointment in the lede:

There are no plans to purchase an additional six Apache Longbow attack helicopters or upgrade the older Apache models, senior air force officers said Sunday.

Because 18 of the most advanced attack helicopters in the world just isn't enough.

Omri | April 12, 2005 12:46 AM |