This post should be about the apex of Israeli public diplomacy that is the Maxim spread of hot Israeli IDF chicks. Instead Solomonia (channeling a post from Israel Midnight Cafe, brought hist attention by Daniel In Brookline), decided to ruin it for everybody with a post dramatically illustrating the sheer evil of Palestinian suicide bombers.

Anyway, here's the link to the Maxim spread. Keep in mind while you're being blown away by the sheer hotness that, at any point on any day, seething and resentful Palestinians could snuff out any Israeli - and find themselves excused by an international media eager to find fault with Israel for a seemingly infinite catalog of Arab and Muslim atrocities.

References:
* CNN Tries To Describe Maxim's Israeli Hottie Issue, Fails To Adequately Convey Sheer Hotness [Video] [MR]
* Israeli Beauty [Solomonia]
* Palestinian terrorist attack murders young woman, injures 40 [Israel Midnight Cafe]
* Daniel in Brookline

Previously:
* Israeli Troops Are Not Nazis, Criticism Of The Right Edition
* IDF Is Confused About Whether They're Allowed To Kill Terrorists
* August 5, 2006 IDF Sacrifices Its Commandos to Minimize Lebanese Civilian Casualties

We generally avoid putting up video montages - especially video montages set to somewhat vapid American pop-rock. But both this video and the selected pictures are really well done:

Unless we're mistaken, that first picture of Tel Aviv is inside the Azrieli Towers. And we're not mistaken - the kind of trauma induced by trying to get in and out of that parking lot leaves cognitive scars that simply don't go away.

References:
* Israel - See What it Really Looks Like [CheckItOutNowNYC / YouTube]

Previously:
* Tributes To Ofra Haza [Video]
* Matisyahu Doing His Jewish Reggae Thing [Video]
* Zionist Hip Hop - Shai 360 During Taglight 2007 [Video]

Could UNIFIL fail in a way that is any more epic a fashion than their current crash course with uselessness? Increasingly, the answer appears to be not really, no:

Syrian arms smuggling serves two purposes: (1) it destabilizes the anti-Syrian Lebanese government by funneling weapons to the AQ soldiers who have been fighting the LAF (2) it stocks Hezbollah with weapons in preparation for this summer's war.

Of course, this isn't really a UNIFIL failure if you have the right frame of mind about UNIFIL's mission. It's true that they're not really doing much when it comes to stopping arms smuggling. But they are fantastic human shields for Hezbollah. So in a way - a way that the vast majority of UN nations seem to endorse - they're actually succeeding quite nicely.

References:
* UN report: Lebanon border with Syria in shambles [From Beirut To The Beltway]
* Lebanon Suddenly Discovers Syrian Arms Smuggling [MR]
* Syria Sending Weapons To Hezbollah For The Next War. Of Course They Are. [MR]

Previously:
* UNIFIL Involvement in 2000 Kidnapping Not News. Involvement of UNIFIL Soldier Who Thought of Lebanon as "Second Homeland", However, Is.
* Katyushas Hit Israel Two Days After UNIFIL Commander Promises Peace
* Israel Politely Requests That UN Allow UNIFIL Soldiers To Do Their Damn Jobs

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit

This is a set of lectures making the rounds among Islamists on YouTube and beyond. We got it into our RSS reader from over a dozen feeds and keywords. This guy is just fantastic - the way he alternates between quite certitude and vicious anti-Semitism is just sublime. You really should listen to how he brags about the Islamist infiltration of global media networks. It sounds... familiar. You don't really have to listen to the video - we include it for the masochistic fact-checkers among you. Although if you haven't had your dose of crazy today, here's ten minutes of it:

"There shall come after that military kingdoms". The Religious of Peace, ladies and gentlemen. Fortunately, "there's something coming after that". Unfortunately, it sounds a lot like "nuking Israel".

Bonus listening exercise: did you catch the part where he was like "until now, all the good Islamic revivals have been in Libya and Sudan?" Awesome.

References:
* The Future Of Our Religion by Dr Tariq Swaidan (12 of 13) [jubair22 / YouTube]

Previously:
* Pakistan Reluctant to Accept Israeli Disaster Aid, Just Like US State Department
* That Famed British Charm
* Amir Abdel Malik Back On The UC Irvine Campus

We certainly had no idea that this happened until we went through this week's LAFD blog posts:

We couldn't figure out what was going on, since as near as we can tell South Loring is a quite pricey residential area. So presumably the target would have been a single person or family - not exactly the high body count MO of modern terrorists. Local news to the rescue: some insane animal liberation lunatics firebombed a researcher's BMW. So that happened, and good times were apparently had by all.

But we're still kind of confused about why there was a terrorism incident in LA this weekend that didn't get much play.

References:
* Statement Issued Regarding Domestic Terrorism Incident in Los Angeles [LAFD Blog]
* FBI Probes Attempted Attack On UCLA Researcher [CBS2]

Previously:
* Some Real Emergency Response In Los Angeles
* Public Security In Los Angeles Sucks Disgracefully
* Black Death Breaks Out In Los Angeles

While that may look like an interstellar insect explaining the new "rules of the game" to Earth's terrified leaders, it's actually an airborne weapons system with the capability of tracking and frying fast-moving objects. So totally harmless:

We dunno. It still looks like a hostile space ant to us. And what's more - you agree with us.

References:
* Political battles over the Airborne Laser [Crave]

Previously:
* Uhh... Did You Know That China Used ASATs Against The US?
* Neat! Experiment Spectacularly and Productively Fails To Explain Problems With Physics
* Neat: Ancient Pyramid Found... In Europe

Juan Cole has another insipid article out in a mainstream magazine. because he's such an expert, you see. It's filled with his typical faux more-intellectual-than-thou fantasies, all delivered with the kind of conceit that only someone who spends his life surrounded by sycophants can muster ("as most of my readers know - what a douche). . There's the mindbogglingly insane claim that Ahmadinejad never claimed to wipe out Israel - which is obviously a lie, but wow does the anti-Israel left love the warm blanket of sophistication that comes with being able to say "but Juan Cole says there's no idiom like that in Persian". There's the you've-got-to-be-kidding claim that Iran couldn't have threatened to nuke Israel because Iran doesn't have nukes yet - duh says your fashionable sophisticated Leftist. Etc.

But that's not what we're giddy about. This is what we're giddy about:

Here's a little bit of the speech that Ron Paul gave on the floor of the House during the Iraq surge debate that Nancy Pelosi held:

What government do you think he's talking about? We think it's Syria. But at least Juan Cole thinks he's a standup guy!

References:
* Ahmadinejad: "I am not anti-Semitic - Palestinians should Decide on Two-State Solution [Atlantic Free Press]
* California Bill To Divest From Iran Reaches Senate - Maybe You Should Call Some Folks [Video] [MR]

Previously:
* Juan Cole - Fraud
* Juan Cole is Intellectually Israel Politely Requests That UN Allow UNIFIL Soldiers To Do Their Damn Jobs, Part [Insert Big Number Here]

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers

Rick Richman and Mort Zuckerman agree. Mort Zuckerman has to take the McLaughlin Group to school on the broad support that Hamas has throughout the West Bank (hey, lets give Fatah some weapons! Hams will be able to use them...):

For a more rigorous and robust discussion of Palestinian intransigence, see the brutal dismantling of Carter that Rick Richman just published in American Thinker:

Also see the admittedly unscientific Palestinian opinion poll that Elder of Ziyon picked up. We keep telling Rick to stop being so generous - it's not a "serious misreading", it's the "willful obtuseness of a possible anti-Semite". But he's all about that "not jumping to conclusions" and "being reasonable" and "not slandering and smearing people" thing. To each his own, we suppose.

References:
* Is it wise to take sides with Fatah? (The McLaughlin Group) [Hoseinsharif / YouTube]
* Carter in Britain: There He Went Again [American Thinker]
* Hamas delusions [Elder of Ziyon]
* Is Jimmy Carter Just An Old-Fashioned Christian Fundamentalist, Anti-Semitic Bigot? [MR]

Previously:
* In Just Seven Short Paragraphs, Jimmy Carter Tells 2 Lies, Makes 2 Incoherent Arguments, Takes an Anti-Israel Stance that the State Department Mocks, and Just Generally Annoys the Hell Out of Us
* Jimmy Carter - Not Necessarily Pro-Nazi, But Not Categorically Anti-Nazi Either
* Bibi Takes Issue With Carter's "You're A Criminal For Not Helping Hamas" Accusations [Videos]

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers

She definitely - straightforwardly and without quotes - called them a "resistance movement". And that should be -and is - the the big scandal:

But - purely as a curiosity - we're trying to wrap our minds around the next paragraph. We honestly can't tell if the phrase "great resistance" is meant sarcastically or not:

We think that it is supposed to be sarcastic - the way it's phrased makes it seem like the person she's quoting was rolling their eyes when they talked about how Hamas members had their faces covered. Additionally, the use of "also" at the end makes it seem like the implication is that Hamas is piling incompetence on top of empty machismo. But then why include the part about "going after Israel" - unless that's also supposed to be a negative, so now it's empty machismo (the masks), stupidity (going after Israel, and incompetence. But then how do you reconcile that with the non-quoted, straight-forward use of "resistance movement" at the beginning?

Or that "military wing" nonsense, for that matter?

References:
* Interview With the New York Daily News Editorial Board [State Dept]

Previously:
* Iranian Cartoons Are Anti-Semitic and Racist (And Something Else Too... Kinda) [Video]
* Gadhafi Severs Ties With the Arab World, Declares That "The Jews Will Eventually Drown" [Video]
* Why Can't Condi Be More Convincing?

You might think that this recent MEMRI video, indexing literally millions of refugee camp residents who will accept nothing less than the complete eradication of the Jewish state, shows why continued conflict is inevitable...

... and you'd kind of have a point. It's true - for the last sixty years, the Palestinians have been handing down keys to houses that no longer exist from father to son. Anything less than a glorious and bloody rampage will fall short of what they need to regain their honor in their pathological little minds. But sixty years seems positively normal compared to what's going on with Spain:

That is quite simply insane.

References:
* Children of Palestinian Refugees Talk about Possible Return [MEMRIVideo / YouTube]
* Citizenship call from Spain's uneasy Muslim past [Reuters]

Previously:
* Mark Steyn Mocks, Laments James Baker
* The Saudi Peace Iniative: A Discrete Way to Destroy Israel, Based on an Ethical Lie
* People Who Say That Abbas's Referendum Endorses a Two State Solution are Either Ignorant or Lying

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit

They're so retarded:

Will someone please explain to these idiots how wind works?

PS - the poll also shows that only six percent of Palestinians support US policy in the region. That must be because the US hasn't given them enough aid or insisted on a two-state solution over the years. Apparently, in addition to wind, gratitude has also been pushed out of the curriculum in Palestinian schools. Wonder what replaced them...

PPS - other countries that have eyebrow-raise inducing negative opinions about the US: Jordan (aid recipient), Egypt (massive aid recipient, including military aid), and Turkey (NATO ally and aid recipient). Hmm...

References:
* Palestinians back Iran bomb [YNet]

Previously:
* That Can't Be True - Oh Wait, It Is
* How Do You Say ''Ungrateful Bastards'' In Arabic?
* Is It Worse To Be A Rude, Ungrateful Traitor?

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers

Meryl points out that it must have taken an almost inhuman act of will for the AP not to blame Israel, and we suppose baby steps are to be applauded. This is still confusing drivel:

That's in the second paragraph, which is where many of the people who didn't stop reading after the lede stop reading. The bottom of the next paragraph, however, has this little tidbit:

Which kind of begs the question: if Gaza's Christians have been living in peace with Hamas, what's been causing the steady flight? It's not the "occupation of Gaza" that, contrary to implications and slips by media outlets, doesn't actually "exist" in "reality".

The truth, of course, is that Gaza Christians have been getting firebombed for months if not years. And they're certainly not going to the West Bank, because they've been getting firebombed there too. In fact, as far back as 2005 Christians were already complaining about organizing anti-Christian violence in Palestinian areas.

Which makes this next part about a mythical Muslim-Christian Palestinian convergence that's been derailed particularly stupid:

We kind of think that the "secular Palestinian state" ship left the port when the Palestinians started electing radical Islamists who sought to impose sharia in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But maybe there's a nuance we're missing.

References:
* AP notices Gaza's Christians are in danger, does not blame Israel [Yourish]
* Convent Damage Unsettles Gaza Christians [ABC]
* BBC Slips, Proves Liberal Gaza Occupation Fetish [MR]
* Gaza Internet Cafes and Christian Bookstore Bombed - No One Knows Who Did It! [MR]
* Video: Palestinian Christians Being Attacked, Firebombed Out Of The West Bank (Bonus: Sharia Law In the Palestinian Constitution) [MR]
* Few, Isolated Palestinian Muslims Apparently Hate Christians Too [MR]

Previously:
* Hamas Takeover Triggers Open Attacks On Christians In Gaza
* Oh No! Not the "All Religions Are Violent" Argument!
* Hamas Popularity Growing. Overwhelming Number Of Palestinians Want Elections. Hmmm.

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers
* Israpundit

The interview that we did yesterday morning on Prof. Doug Hill's show is now online. You can find it on his Campus Talk Show blog or download it directly. The Israel stuff starts at about the 30 minute mark, although there's an earlier discussion on conspiracy theories that you might find interesting.

Lessons to us for the next interview: (1) as Judith has suggested we try as a life plan: take a deep breath once in a while, (2) don't bring up a Marxist theory of ideology on a recorded radio show, or at least don't identify it as such, (3) break the habit of filling space with "uh" - perhaps this could be merged with #1, (4) break the habit of describing things as "ironic" when they are quite simply not.

References:
* Campus Talk

Previously:
* Google Trends: Lots of People in Irvine Have Weird Tendency to Sound Like Anti-Semites
* Two Videos: Daniel Pipes Shouted Down At UC Irvine - UCI Administration Proud Of Insane Muslim Student Union Hate Speech
* UC Irvine Muslims React to Anti-Terrorism Memorial

MR is Fred territory, but we know that some of you are die-hard Rudy fans. You'll understand your folly sooner or later (somewhere around the time that Thompson wins the Republican nomination, we expect) - but in the meantime, we want your pageviews too. So here you go:

Nothing that we really disagree about and lots that we agree emphatically with. But he wasn't on Law and Order, so no go.

Update: Achem.

References:
* RUDY GIULIANI: Gaza Pullout Foreshadows Iraq Pullout [Politicstv / YouTube]

Previously:
* Democratic President Will Appoint Special Envoy To Coerce Israeli Concessions
* Meet Jeri Thompson, the Powerful Republican Consultant That Grassroots Liberals Will Be Attacking As A Bimbo
* Fred Thompson Oppo Research Strongly Correlated With Fred Thompson Winning Polls. Which He's Doing.

Bar Refaeli's Sports Illustrated picture was in the first ever Israeli Hottie Wednesday post. Back then it was just supposed to be a one-off thing, rather than the significant contribution to Israeli public diplomacy that it's become. And now we've come to this:

As promised, here's an interview about that very photoshoot. Don't worry - no one will judge you if you turn the volume down while you watch this. But you should know that it's not easy to find English-language videos for Wednesdays, so a little appreciation might not be out of the question. Plus, you love her accent:

Outside of Tel Aviv you say? Amazing - we would've pegged her as the middle daughter of a large Gush Katif family.

References:
* Bar Refaeli- pictures from sport illustrated [pussycaty / YouTube]
* SI Swimsuit 2007 Bar Refaeli [SIswimsuit / YouTube]
* Israeli Model Wednesdays - Photos: Israeli Model Bar Refaeli In SI Swimsuit Edition [MR]

Previously:
* Israeli Hottie Wednesdays - Shiri Maimon Is Not About To Shave Her Head
* Israeli Hottie Wednesdays - A Hot Israeli Chick On A Jetski [Video]
* Israeli Hottie Moran Atias Reminds You: Vote For MR In The Jewish and Israeli Blog Awards

Good to see they're putting that international aid - which tripled while Hamas was in power and has increased even more since the Hamas victory in Gaza - to good use:

Eh - it's probably cherrypicked. There's probably an entire nuanced context that we're just missing - if we knew it, we wouldn't think that international-funded Palestinian schools are a breeding ground for generations of terrorists. We would think, um, something else.

References:
* "International Boycott" Of Palestinians Actually Meant "Triple The Amount Of Aid". Of Course It Did. [MR]
* Teaching Palestinian children Martyrdom [pmwvideos / YouTube]

Previously:
* Hamas In A Minute and A Half [Video]
* More Hamas Mickey Mouse Fun - Video And Comments From Moderate Democrats Added [Video]
* What's All This Talk About A "Hamas Coup"? Hamas Was Democratically Elected To Control the PA, Remember?

A lot of the video is in French, but all of the interviews are in English. Also, the shiny shiny logos are self-explanatory. This was made for the Israeli MFA to promote investment in Israel, in a regrettable use of resources drawn away from showing the world Israeli hotties in bikinis. But perhaps variety is the spice of life. Make sure you catch the clip with the Cisco guy around 4:10:

We of course can't invest in Israel, because "credit card debt" is not valid international currency.

References:
* Invest in Israel [perfectvoices / YouTube]

Previously:
* World Medical Association Trying To Destroy Israeli Medical Network, Bleeding Edge Israeli Medical Industry [Video]
* Thursday Military Tech - Zionist Robo-Snipers
* More Hypocrisy From Anti-Israel Medical Boycott Advocates

The inability for critical self-reflection - bolstered by near-automatic anti-Israel scapegoating - is deeply ingrained in Palestinian culture. Even the people relying on the US for their very survival end up lashing out in blind irrationality. It's like the child who screams "I hate you I hate you" at weak-willed parents, knowing that the hysterical tantrum will cause them to give in:

Naturally, Abbas fired him and will replace him with someone smart enough not to say those things within earshot of journalists.

References:
* Abbas advisor says Hamas fighting collaborators [YNet]

Previously:
* New Fatah PM: We're Going To Give Western Aid To Hamas Terrorists In Gaza
* Fatah Security Strongman Dahlan: West Bank In Danger Of Being Overrun By Hamas
* LA Times Forgets To Mention Fatah's Responsibility For Today's Suicide Bombing

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit

We wish we could just invent things that make no sense and get them treated as "our side" of the story. "MR today claimed to be the best-read blog on the planet, but other bloggers cast doubt on that claim". That would be awesome. But alas, we're not Palestinians:

Naturally, this is a lie. All the Palestinians killed in the firefight were gunmen. Now why would we believe Israel and not the Palestinians? Mostly because we're able to ask questions like "hey, how would a 12 year old end up in the no-man's land next to the Gaza fence?" Unless he was actually one of the gunmen, which isn't exactly unheard of.

It is nice to see that the international media is paying attention to Gaza civilians though. For some reason that phrase hasn't come up much in the last two weeks - apparently no civilians in Gaza were getting killed during that time, huh?

Oh - and it's also nice to see that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades still have some fight left in them. Not enough to prevent Hamas from rolling over them, killing their leaders and dragging their bodies through the streets, and destroying their schools and homes. But enough to try to kill Israelis.

References:
* 11 killed in Israeli raids on Gaza [Daily Star]
* 'Gaza gunmen fighting IDF out of frustration' [YNet]

Previously:
* Hamas Trying To Turn Gaza Into A Humanitarian Disaster - They're Stopping Gazans From Getting Medical Aid
* Like Hezbollah, Hamas Uses Children As Human Shields
* This Summer's War In Gaza - Hamas Wastes No Time In Launching Rockets, Igniting War

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers

Apparently, families seeking to murder their daughters in Britain have gone from personally slicing the throats of their daughters to also hiring bounty hunters to do it when the daughters go into hiding. The BBC did a bit of an investigation on it, and it turns out that radical Islam might have something to do with it after all. But do check out the woman from the Muslim Council Of Britain who says that it has nothing to do with Islam and does the rhetorical equivalent of putting her fingers in her ears and saying la la la: "I don't see that anything anyone will say will shift me". No kidding:

"Infighting and political correctness" huh? "My father will kill me when he finds me". Awesome. No worries - more multiculturalism will fix it right up (via LIVERLADD )

References:
* BBC Report On Honor Killings [photonh2o / YouTube]

Previously:
* We're Going To Miss Westminster Abbey - Sharia Courts Established In Britain
* Massive Wave Of "Asians" Mysteriously Attacking Jews In Britain
* If Britain Won't Stop Radical Islam, Why Should Radical Islam Stop Being Radical?

Almost enough to make you think that those lunatic right-wingers have a point about the corruption of Israeli society. Almost:

Those of you that doubt the ability of scantily clad women to contribute to Israeli cultural diplomacy - e.g. Collette Avital - are directed to :35 in the video. Listen closely - the woman knows what she's talking about.

References:
* The Next Big Thing [reshettv / YouTube]
* CNN Tries To Describe Maxim's Israeli Hottie Issue, Fails To Adequately Convey Sheer Hotness [Video] [MR]

Previously:
* Israeli Hottie Wednesdays - Hey, That Maya Buskila Girl Is Kind Of Cute [Video]
* Darth Vader Tries To Buy Cigarettes on Shenkin St. In Tel Aviv [Video]
* It Turns Out, There IS A Way For Israeli Drivers To Suck More. Literally.

Starting about fifteen seconds after Lebanon II ended, Syria has been smuggling weapons into Lebanon to give to Hezbollah. Of course, they were doing it though civilian aid convoys during the war, but they dropped even some of those less than subtle pretenses when fighting stopped. But suddenly the Lebanese government is deeply concerned about that, because the weapons are going to the AQ forces that they're fighting:

This has all the feel of how weapons smuggling in Gaza suddenly became a problem when Hamas turned the weapons away from Israelis and toward Palestinians.

References:
* Syria Sending Weapons To Hezbollah For The Next War. Of Course They Are. [MR]
* Syria is Hiding Weapons in Civilian Aid Convoys. Of Course They Are. [MR]
* Saniora: Syria sending arms to Palestinian refugee camps [JPost]

Previously:
* Hezbollah To Lebanon: Nice Country You Got Here... Be a Real Shame If Anything Happened To It
* Lebanese Air Force To Go To War With IAF?
* Lebanon PM Has a Plan - Israel Will Stop Defending Itself, and Then Hezbollah Will Be Disarmed By the Make Believe Army that Exists Only in His Mind. Brilliant!

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit

No actual video with pretty moving colors this week. Just you, your speakers, and Enrico Macias, an Algerian-born French Jew of rarefied musical heritage:

Turns out, pictures not so necessary.

References:
* HaTikva [davy1031 / YouTube]

Previously:
* Shabbat Hatikva [Video]
* Tuesday Hatikva Has Feedback
* Tuesday Hatikva - Daniel Zamir Jazz [Video]

You'd like to believe that if reporters are being physically threatened into presenting a particular message - well, you'd hope that they would find a way to push back. At the very least, one would expect that journalists would do something other than wholeheartedly embrace the thugs who are threatening and attacking them. But as we've known for decades - and has CAMERA just got done explaining today - reporters physically coerced by Israel's Arab enemies end up endorsing and passing on those enemies' anti-Israel propaganda. Whether its through confiscating cameras, attacking reporters, or taking hostages - everyone from the PLO to Hezbollah has managed to control the press coming out of south Lebanon.

There's almost certainly going to be some kind of conflict in Southern Lebanon this summer, and you can be quite sure that the press will do their level best to match the mendacity with which they approached last summer's war. Prof. Marvin Kalb explains how Hezbollah simply outclassed - both institutionally and through violence - the self-appointed gatekeepers of the wold's information stream:

Had Palestinian thugs managed to grab two or three more cameras on 9/11, the world would never have known about Palestinians dancing in the streets. Had Iraq not been liberated from Saddam Hussein, we never would have known how CNN suppressed knowledge of torture rooms and mass murders. Just imagine what we'll know about Hezbollah after the next war ends.

Not that actual suppression of news matters. There are literally photographs and satellite pictures of Hezbollah using roadblocks to trap civilian human shields and firing at Israel from civilian areas - and Salon still published an article praising and admiring Hezbollah for keeping civilians out of the conflict. So honestly, we're not sure why Hezbollah even bothers suppressing the news anyway.

References:
* Hamas May Be Suppressing the News -- So What's New? [CAMERA]
* How Hezbollah Manipulated The World [DsuperJew / YouTube]
* Hezbollah Unit in Tyre Trapping Civilians To Use As Human Shields [MR]
* Exclusive IDF Videos Show Hezbollah Shelling Israel From Civilian Areas [MR]
* Here's the Thing About the Anti-Israel Media: They Lie - Hezbollah Hides Among Civilians Edition [MR]

Previously:
* Siniora Asks International Media to Transmit Pictures of Israeli Atrocities. Which Is Kind of Like Asking Us to Keep Making Fun of Carter.
* Hezbollah Probably Lost the War, But They May Never Have Been In It To Win
* Hezbollah Threatens Tel Aviv - MR Gives You Tomorrow’s Pro-Hezbollah Media Spin Today

And why shouldn't they? They saw Hezbollah - at the time a member of the Lebanese government - commit an act of war. Then the saw the entire world rush in to (a) demand that Israel not go after the Lebanese government because for some reason it wasn't their fault (b) force Israel to fight under unrealistic conditions that enabled Hezbollah to use UN troops and Lebanese civilians as human shields and (c) then demand that Israel win under those conditions within a few weeks. So Syria has modernized its airforce with Russian help, made a show of coordinating with Iran for war, plainly declared that they're preparing for war, and - when none of that worked - bragged about defiling Israeli graves to give wanton insult. For those of you in the crowd who are either obtuse or professional diplomats, Syria is getting ready to attack Israel:

Seriously - why shouldn't they? They've seen that Israel can be attacked with impunity, and that the world will then rush to excuse the aggressor and blame the victim. For anyone to doubt that the vicious anti-Israel sentiment displayed in the UN is leading the region directly to war - that requires willful ignorance of an almost unimaginable scale.

References:
* Syria Modernizing Its Airforce With Russian Help - War With Israel On The Horizon [MR]
* This Summer's War With Syria, Iranian Coordination Edition [MR]
* This Summer's War With Syria - Syria Openly Brags About Preparing For War
* This Summer's War With Syria - Sucking Up To Dictators Doesn't Work Edition [MR]
* Israel's Military Intelligence Chief Warns of War This Summer [Newsmax]

Previously:
* Syria Enlists Santa Claus To Help Palestinians Kill Jews
* This Summer's War With Syria - Peace Deal Rumors Are Suspiciously Incoherent
* Syria is Hiding Weapons in Civilian Aid Convoys. Of Course They Are.

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit

It is as certain as anything can be in politics that the next Democratic President will appoint a Special Envoy to force Israel to make risky territorial concessions to the Palestinians:

That little bit about the Republicans is disingenuous on two levels. The first is that the Republicans who have a chance at winning generally err on the side of not giving terrorists the benefit of the doubt (Rudy, Fred!, etc). The second is that there's a radical difference between who a Republican would appoint and who a Democrat would appoint. The post Bush-I Republicans have tended to favor treating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a military problem, and so they send generals. The Democrats - well, their last guy thought that

References:
* A moment of clarity [Ha'aretz]
* I Don't Mean to Nitpick [MR]

Previously:
* Democratic Jews Now Just Fucking With MR
* Memo To Democratic Jews: "US Engagement In The Peace Process" Is Bad For Israel, Barack Obama Edition
* MR Has A Question For Democratic Jews: Are You Fucking Retarded?

Israeli and Jewish organizations are devoting enormous resources to countering the myriad British boycotts - from journalists and doctors and trade unions and academics - that have recently been leveled against the Jewish state. You know who doesn't have to worry about British boycotts? The Palestinians who strap suicide belts to British hostages and force them to plead for their lives in front of cameras:

It's almost like there's a double standard at work here. Or - even more unbelievably - that British animus towards Israel is being driven by something other than level-headed analysis regarding the genuine scope of imagined Israeli human rights violations.

While we're on the topic of hypocrisy, make sure you check out the photogallery of Hamas insanity that Anne has up at Boker Tov, Boulder. Safe for work and somewhat less nauseating than some of the other images that have come out of that train wreck - more "they're totally batshit crazy" than "that is a stomach turning and inhuman atrocity".

References:
* British Jewry in crisis [JPost]
* Suspiciously Inconsistent British Boycott Of the Day - Journalists Who Accuse Israel Of Endangering Reporters [MR]
* More Hypocrisy From Anti-Israel Medical Boycott Advocates [MR]
* UK Trade Union Demands Anti-Israel Boycott [MR]
* Israeli Public Diplomacy Expert : British Boycott Is Vicious Anti-Semitism [MR]
* Welcome Arab Quotes ... of the Day [BtB]

Previously:
* Britain Joins Most Of Europe, Asia In Embracing Hamas
* Bibi: "This Is Not One Of Britain's Finest Hours" [Video]
* We're Going To Miss Westminster Abbey - Sharia Courts Established In Britain

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers

We'll be on Prof. Doug Hill's UC Irvine radio program Wednesday at 9am to discuss matters both academic and political. Information, live stream, and podcast of undetermined and questionable utility are on the KUCI site - you have to scroll down a little to find it, or just search for "Campus Talk" in the page. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programing: Hamas is evil, Fatah is weak, most of the world is eager to ignore both of those realities, and posting half-naked Israeli hotties is the morally and pragmatically correct response to global anti-Semitism.

References:
* KUCI Talk Schedule

Previously:
* Jimmy Carter To Visit UC Irvine. Perfect.
* UC Irvine Muslim Student Union To Conclude Anti-Israel Week By Declaring "UC Intifada" For Palestine [Video]
* More Nazi Imagery on UC Irvine's Campus. Administration on Hate Speech: "One Person's Hate Speech is Another Person's Education".

Israel, of course, is solely and permanently under UN scrutiny for whatever the Human Rights Commission wants to condemn it for today. But it's not Israel that's murdering UN peacekeepers. And presumably - unless you're a lunatic anti-Semite and/or a Ron Paul supporter - it's not Israel that's launching rockets at Israeli schools and hospitals from South Lebanon. UNIFIL soldiers are helpless to protect themselves or prevent Iranian proxies from firing into Israel, and so Israel is politely requesting that the UN please try to stop sucking:

Of course, there are several UN members who are loath to expand UNIFIL's mandate. The controversy, we suggest to you, has to do with a fundamental disagreement about what the role of UNIFIL is. Some people - say, well-meaning American diplomats - think that UNIFIL is there to provide a buffer between Israeli and Lebanese forces. Other people - say, a majority of the United Nations - prefer UNIFIL soldiers to be human shields for Hezbollah. And lest you think we're exaggerating:

Yes. The current UNIFIL mandate - which requires them to enforce the recent ceasefire and allow the Lebanese army to control South Lebanon - does not allow them to intercept weapons bound for Hezbollah. Good to know that they've been equipped with what they need to succeed.

References:
* Six UN peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon car bombing [Ha'aretz]
* UNIFIL: We Suck. We Totally, Totally Suck. [MR]
* Israel seeks changes to UNIFIL mandate after attacks [JPost]

Previously:
* France to Lead UNIFIL
* UNIFIL Involvement in 2000 Kidnapping Not News. Involvement of UNIFIL Soldier Who Thought of Lebanon as "Second Homeland", However, Is.
* UNIFIL Given Authorization To Keep Sucking

The biggest video on the intertubes. Now the kids will think you're down:

You're welcome.

References:
* Dramatic Chipmunk [cregets / YouTube]

Previously:
* Israeli Hottie Wednesdays - Israeli Playboy Party [Video, Mostly SFW]
* Friday Funny - Shopping In Israel [Video]
* It's Time For Another Rant About the TSA - Hardline On 1oz Pepsi, Not So Much On Boxcutters [Video]

Last week we posted some rumors about how Tony Blair was about to be appointed the Quartet's lead negotiator. We were kind of unenthused, what with the whole "Blair has a nasty history of lying to Israel when he promises the Palestinians territorial concessions" thing. So we've got some good news for everyone: those rumors? Absolutely true:

The people who are supposed to run that Palestinian state - the one that Israel is supposed to cede territory to - have just shown themselves criminally incompetent when it comes to standing up to cheap thugs. Even better, there's a very good chance that Hamas won't have to militarily overrun the West Bank - they'll win it straight out in near-term elections. So obviously, Washington is pushing Jerusalem to establish a Palestinian state. Obviously, that's exactly what should be done.

References:
* Bush To Put Some British Guy Who Ignores Israeli Security Concerns In Charge Of Mid-East Peace Process [MR]
* Agenda for Palestinian Conference: Giant Gorilla What? [MR]
* Middle East mediators discuss Blair appointment [Reuters]
* Hamas Popularity Growing. Overwhelming Number Of Palestinians Want Elections. Hmmm. [MR]

Previously:
* Hamas Makes New Offer: They Still Won't Live Up To Any Of Their Obligations, But They Won't Murder Jews For A While
* Secretary Rice: Sure, Abbas Is Allied With Genocidal Maniacs. That Doesn't Mean We Shouldn't Help Him.
* Quartet Getting Iffy on Hamas, Media Still Confident

Hamas - desperate for any kind of win after what's increasingly emerging as a hollow Gaza takeover - is assuring everyone that their prisoner release terms are totally reasonable:

Except as long as they're demanding Saadat, we're sticking to our prediction that Olmert won't be able to pull it off:

We've also commented that a prisoner exchange deal would be the perfect time for Israel Beiteinu to bolster their rightist credentials by bailing on the coalition. And what do you know...

So apparently now the game is to see how much damage Olmert can do in the month before the Winograd Commission report comes out. And whether he'll get another chance at Hamas or Hezbollah before that happens - something that becomes ever more likely the more Hamas becomes isolated and desperate.

References:
* Foreign ministry: Hamas is weak [JPost]
* Details Of Shalit Deal Emerging. You're Not Going To Like It. [MR]
* Netanyahu: Releasing Fatah prisoners will be a big mistake [JPost]
* MR Prediction: Olmert Doesn't Have The Political Capital To Meet Hamas's Terms, Pull Off The Shalit Deal [MR]

Previously:
* This Summer's War With Syria - Peace Deal Rumors Are Suspiciously Incoherent
* Ehud Olmert's Love Of the Beautiful Game Endears Him To MR [Video]
* Olmert Rejects Palestinian Demands For Shalit

We're going to give you some highlights at the bottom, but you really should watch the whole clip. There's a certain pathos to hearing this tiny little boy chant slogans, recite the Koran and Hadith letter perfect, and wave his hand with utter and total certitude. Just think of what he could've been if he had been given Shakespeare and a compass:

For posterity's (and Google's) sake, here are some of our favorite parts:

There are points where you can tell that this could've been a really adorable kid. If he wasn't, you know, a tiny pathological sexist. Speaking of which - you think he actually understands what's going on when chicks wear skin tight trousers? Or do you think some other pathological sexist told him that women are disgusting to instill in him a really deep-seated antipathy towards women's bodies? We're thinking the latter.

And that part about innovation - honestly, we can't figure out why the Muslim world is centuries behind Europe. Total mystery. You think they have globes in this kid's elementary school? We're thinking no.

References:
* Without modesty or shame [tkassim / YouTube]

Previously:
* Hey Gals, Check This Out - You're Destroying Indonesia With Your Skimpy Clothing and Your Premarital Sex
* Hey Gals, Check This Out - Pathological Islamism in Germany
* Hey Gals, Check This Out - Bikini Rally Outside Australian Mosques

First it's a liquid. Then it becomes a solid. Then it forms into a telescope mirror. Naturally, there's a robot involved:

We recently figured out how to use a relatively elegant corkscrew that we received as a gift from a dear friend. God help us, that was a high self-esteem moment.

References:
* Scientists propose liquid lunar telescope [Crave]

Previously:
* Video: Neat - Blueprint For The 21st Century
* Water On Mars!!!
* What People Smarter Than You Are Acomplishing On Mars

JPost just sent out an email about the Shalit video, which they've embedded into an updated post about reactions. This copy has English subtitles, for those so inclined. Do keep in mind that part of the story is that the Hebrew he's speaking is mangled in places, providing conclusive evidence of coercion and scripting (as if you needed it):

Bastards.

References:
* Hamas releases recording of captured soldier's voice [JPost]
* Schalit [ahabec / YouTube]

Previously:
* Gilad Shalit Is Alive, Forced To Say That Hamas Is Letting Him Die (Updated: Shas Leader Calls For Direct Prisoner Talks With Hamas)
* It's Official: The Internationally-Recognized Palestinian Government Is Holding Gilad Shalit Hostage
* Details Of Shalit Deal Emerging. You're Not Going To Like It.

Given that most of what we understand about human nature makes negotiating with Iran a waste of time, the only alternative to all-out war seems to be economic coercion. The divestment movement is a huge part of that - Netanyahu has been criss-crossing the country emphasizing that it's the absolute last and best hope for non-militarily altering Iran's behavior. In California a bill to divest the state's holdings - AB 221 - has now reached the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee. The Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, Los Angeles is helping to lead the campaign to get the legislation passed, and instructions on contacting relevant public officials is here. Bonus video alert and information:

Yeah, but here's the thing that people just don't get - Ahmadinejad is just kidding about all that stuff. It's a ploy. And if you don't believe that, it's only because you're just not sophisticated enough. Get yourself an LA Times subscription, then you'll understand the world.

References:
* Mathematical Proof That Negotiating With Iran Is Stupid. Not Wrong. Stupid. [MR]
* One Jerusalem Conference Call: Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [MR]
* AB 221 is now in Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee [CJHSLA]
* Divest Iran AB 221 [transcommedia / YouTube]
* Things That Are Awesome About The Recent "Don't Worry About the Strange, Nazi-Like Iranian Behind the Curtain" LA Times / CFR Article [MR]

Previously:
* Bloggers' Conference Call With Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
* Video: BBC Explains Why Israel Has To Stop Iran
* Purdue Nuclear Strategy Expert: Bomb Iran Now