Dishka's total lack of interest while she flips through the book is all kinds of disaffected hipster awesome:

Exit question: is it really the case that the only problem in our life is that we're not the guy dancing with Tasha? Could be, could very well be.

Shabbat shalom everybody

References:
* Lip sync is dead [tasha / YouTube]

Previously:
* Video: Tasha Fridays, Two For One
* Tasha and Dishka Fridays - Mmmm. Beer.
* Tasha and Dishka Fridays - Go Cry, Emo Kid [Video]

Here's the really unseemly thing about these vicious, genocidal Islamic lunatics - total ingrates:

What does a misguided American administration have to do to get some love from these people? They kept Israel leashed during the entire war - no attacks on Lebanese infrastructure being used by Hezbollah, no attacks against Hezbollah infrastructure that was connected to the government, etc. Israel couldn't get Nasrallah while he was in Beirut because Israeli attacks on Beirut were - wait for it - being strongly condemned by the State Department. And still nothing.

Not that we're surprised. If Hezbollah ever acknowledged that the IDF would have dismantled them but for the US, people might ask just how close the IDF actually came? Answer: very close. So close that Nasrallah is not sure he wants to test his luck again. Of course, Iran might make him anyway - depends on how much heat they're feeling for their nuclear program - but wouldn't someone who's constructing a slick museum about his "divine victory" want to ride Allah's good graces all the way into Tel Aviv?

Incidentally, there are some particularly zealous anti-Israel leftists who really, really wish that Hezbollah had achieved a great military victory. You know what the problem with that is? The part of history when Nasrallah was crawling to Arab leaders begging them to have the US call the IDF off.

References:
* Hezbollah's Creepy New Museum [TNR]
* Hezbollah Probably Lost the War, But They May Never Have Been In It To Win [MR]
* Nasrallah: Hezbollah Doesn't Want Another Great Victory Over the Zionists [MR]
* Hezbollah to Arab Countries: We're Losing the War. Quick, Someone Impose a Ceasefire. [MR]

Previously:
* Mere Rhetoric: Nasrallah Is More Honest About Iran Than The British Press
* Hezbollah To Lebanon: Nice Country You Got Here... Be a Real Shame If Anything Happened To It
* Olmert: Hezbollah Got Trounced

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers
* Israpundit

Allah reports that there are to be house parties held throughout the land in celebration. MR will even be holding our own house party in support of the campaign. Except by "house" we mean "bar" and by "party" we mean "tab". But it will be in support of the campaign - upon that you can rely.

Hey, what do you think the odds are that the AP writeup included a drive-by slam at Jeri Thompson? Answer: Yes:

"Consternation about the active role of Thompson's wife, Jeri."
"Consternation about the active role of Thompson's wife, Jeri."
Where have we seen that line before?

Oh yeah, earlier this week when the AP used the exact same line to trash Jeri. This isn't scandalous or anything, but it does show a certain degree of total mind boggling laziness on the part of AP hacks. If you're going to try to get a meme to congeal, the least you can do is not use the exact. same. line. We're not asking for objectivity here. Just a little effort.

Seriously - this line was so obviously a poorly written awkward smear that we bolded it the last time that the AP dropped it into their "news reporting". And now they did it again - because apparently no anti-Republican smear is too ham fisted to use just once.

References:
* Report: Fred plans to announce plans to announce — on September 6th; Update: Confirmed [Hot Air]
* Thompson to Announce Bid Sept. 6 [AP via Forbers]
* Fake Fred! Campaign Launch Video Hits YouTube - Complete With Charming "He's A Nazi" Clip [MR]

Previously:
* Stupid Journalism Tricks: The NYT's Atttack On Jeri Thompson Is Sexist Even Though They Quoted Other People
* NPR In Denial About Sexism On the Left, Gets MR Exactly Wrong On Jeri Thompson
* Meet Jeri Thompson, the Powerful Republican Consultant That Grassroots Liberals Will Be Attacking As A Bimbo

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers

Did the Democrats really stack the GAO surge report by asking if the Iraqis had "completed" the benchmarks? Really?

We're inclined to agree with Hitchens that you don't just quit because things are going poorly...

... but that doesn't excuse this transparent - and, frankly, pathetic - little stunt. How did they possibly think that they could get away with this? How are they getting away with this? Chalk another one up for the contemptible misery of the domestic political press corps.

More and more of our commentary on Democrats is getting reduced to just an disbelieving "really?", italicized for emphasis. This could be because our writing has deteriorated or it could be because Democratic stunts are becoming ever more shameless. Probably little of column A, little of column B.

References:
* A Pathetic Preemptive Strike [Weekly Standard]
* Hitchens on Iraq [Hoover.org / Google Video]
* This Is Simply Surreal. Congressional Democrats Are Refusing To Support the British Hostages Kidnapped By Iran. [MR]

Previously:
* [Video] What You Get When You Vote For Democrats - Empowering Conspiracy Theory Wackos
* Tell Me Again About How Democrats Can Be Trusted
* Memo To Democratic Jews: "US Engagement In The Peace Process" Is Bad For Israel, Barack Obama Edition

Wrap your mind around this: the NYT is actually not burying the lede on the IAEA's report of massive Iranian advancement in the development of weapons-grade nuclear material. Of course, just about everybody else has found an anti-American, pro-Iranian spin in the report: "yeah, but they're slowing down the new ways that they're violating UN resolutions". But for some reason, not the NYT. Wonders never cease:

Then they go on to say that the rate of increase is slowing, which they understand is not particularly comforting. If Iran keeps slowing down in how fast they're violating UN sanctions, they might almost not be building any more centrifuges after they reach 25,000 or so! super!

But compare the NYT's take - which does nothing except point out that Iran is continuing to engage in activities that violate UN sanctions, but is violating them in new ways more slowly - with the reports from other MSM sources:

AP: UN agency hails Iran's nuclear progress
PRNewswire: Latest Report From IAEA on Iran: a Reason to Ratchet Down Threatening Rhetoric
IHT: U.S. and ElBaradei at odds over Iran's nuclear program
Fars: IAEA Report Dismisses US Charges against Iran

The Fars report is expected of course. But it's still kind of eerie on how the spin from most Western media sources exactly matches the spin of the Iranian state-controlled press. And by "eerie" we mean "predictable."

Then again, does the AP really count as "Western" any more?

UPDATE: The NYT is getting all kinds of "credit where it's due" accolades from the center-right blogosphere this morning. Eh. Must be a Friday.

References:
* Iran Expanding Its Nuclear Program, Agency Reports [NYT]

Previously:
* Are You Kidding?!?! AP Coverage Of Israeli Hit On Hamas Terrorists Is Frustrating.
* AP: IDF Murders Civilian Who Innocently Wandered Up To His Roof In the Middle Of A Firefight
* Associated Press: "We are all Hezbollah" is Not Anti-Israel

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit

It's Friday, the real news is depressing, and this has a connection to our most recent alma mater. Plus it brutalizes the LA Times, which around here makes it pure media critique gold:

Multiple links embedded in the original, but we're going to make you click through as a small way of making up for our somewhat lax interpretations of fair use. The problem with those Annenberg School sinecures, by the by, is that eventually they expect you to produce something. Trust us on this. You can put it off for a year or two, but eventually they make demands for "papers" and "progress toward your [sic] PhD." Or so we've heard.

References:
* Who Has to Try to Kill Themselves in this Town to Make the Front Page? [Kausfiles]

Previously:
* Slate's Negative Review of 300 Provides Countless Reasons To See The Movie
* I Wish I Had An LA Times Subscription, So I Could Cancel It
* Maybe the Dumbest Slate Headline Ever

We know that AIPAC has been under a ton of pressure lately, what with all their studious and correct not caring at all about Walt and Mearsheimer's "the Jews have brainwashed good Christian boys and girls" hysterics. And so we've made this:

This map starts at AIPAC and goes to the row of Israeli markets and bakeries on Fairfax. Inside these markets and bakeries there are shelves and shelves of decent hummus. If you're from AIPAC, nota bene: this hummus does not resemble the "hummus" from your events in appearance, texture, color, or taste. This is not a coincidence. You're welcome.

References:
* Israel And AIPAC: We'll Respond To Walt And Mearsheimer When Their Vicious Anti-Semitism Gets Sophisticated Or Relevant (Plus: MR Is Suspicious About Leftist Pro-Mearsheimer Enthusiasm) [MR]

Previously:
* Sen. Clinton Takes Temporary Hardline Stance Against Iran... At AIPAC Meeting
* FBI Sets Up Jews, J. Edgar Hoover Proud
* Anti-Israel Censorship Watch - Walt and Mearsheimer Redux

Hey, just in case anybody is keeping track at home - yes, Palestinian terrorists are still trying to commit mass atrocities:

The soldiers of every other country on the planet would have shot the boy dead where he stood rather than risking their own lives. Every other country on the planet. The French? You think the French would risk their precious little hides just to prevent a teenage boy from killing himself? Let alone soldiers from the vast majority of the Arab world, who last we checked were strafing Palestinian refugee camps with helicopters to the total silence of the rest of the world. As to who cares more about the lives of Palestinian kids:

That incident was reported across the planet, by the by, as an implicitly vicious attack on Palestinian children. The part about how Hamas had assigned them to pick up rocket launchers so that they could be reused to attack Israeli schoolhouses and hospitals - that part got left out a bunch of times, mysteriously.

References:
* IDF troops foil suicide attack near Gaza border [JPost]
* Lebanese helicopter strafes militants [JPost]
* World Approves Of Israeli Defense Minister's Promise: We Will Kill 10 Terrorists For Every Soldier Killed, "Negotiations Are Out Of the Question" [Video] [MR]

Previously:
* Palestinian Tech Innovation: New And Better Suicide Belts
* Children Suicide Bombers
* AP Bias Alert Level: Obvious (Grandma Suicide Bomber Edition)

This appeared in the Hot Air headlines earlier this week, and is hereby rescued in all of its sheer awesomeness:

The Danger Room article goes on to point out that defense companies have been promising us these things for three decades, and that we shouldn't expect any field-operated laser rifles any time soon. Which is kind of like giving a kitten a cute little ball of string and then taking it away, all while pointing and laughing. Sadists.

References:
* Tactical Laser Flashback [Danger Room]

Previously:
* Thursday Military Tech - Soldiers In South Korea's Automated Army
* Thursday Military Tech - Self-Healing Invisibility Shields
* Thursday Military Tech - Blowing Things Up From the Inside Of A Helicopter

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers

We'd like to thank the State Department for keeping the IAF leashed during Lebanon II, the United Nations for stopping the war just as Israeli soldiers were getting poured across the border, and pretty much everyone else for the fantastic job they've been doing with Iran:

Of course, any significant Hezbollah attack would now also send the IAF to Syria's doorstep. So at least Russia's not also pouring offensive and defensive weapons into Syria. We're not too worried. The UN was very clear that they would prevent any arms smuggling to Hezbollah, if only Israel agreed to withdraw behind the border.

References:
* J'lem worried by Iranian owned anti-ship missile [JPost]
* Syria Modernizing Its Airforce With Russian Help - War With Israel On The Horizon [MR]

Previously:
* And the Wheels Come Off - (3) Russia
* Russia: Hamas and Hezbollah Aren't Terrorist Organizations. We Have No Objections in Principle.
* 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:
* The Astute Bloggers
* Israpundit

Sometimes when Iran talks about wiping out six million Jews, it seems like 1938. Sometimes when they're rebuilding their military and bringing it to par with the rest of the planet, it's more like 1933:

Happy Thursday.

References:
* YouTube - Iran unveils 'smart bomb' [StefanSchmiederer / YouTube]

Previously:
* Iran Test-Fires Dozens Of Nuke-Ready Long Range Missiles In "Great Prophet" Exercises
* Iran Elected To UN Human Rights Council, Appointed To Plan Anti-Racism Conference. Hey, Why Not?
* Purdue Nuclear Strategy Expert: Bomb Iran Now

Mainstream Israeli hip hop expressing themes of socio-economic egalitarianism and justice that the international left should be quite supportive of. For some reason they're not. Instead, millions and millions of ostensible social leftists march in the streets hysterically screaming about how the Jewish State has to be destroyed. Must be objective and dispassionate anti-Zionism driving the whole thing:

Translation note: "ha matzav" is "the situation," which is roughly idiomatic for "this situation in which the Palestinians and their Arab allies refuse to stop trying to wipe out millions and millions of Israeli Jews".

References:
* Subliminal:Live From Day to Day Chai Mi Yom Leyom (Eng subs) [davy1031 / YouTube]

Previously:
* The Kids, They Love Themselves Some Israeli Hiphop [Video]
* Afternoon Zionist Hip Hop - Divided and Conquered [Video]
* Miri Ben-Ari and Subliminal: God Almighty When Will It End [Video]

Pop quiz: what does Hamas hate more than "having their own people die slow, painful deaths"? If you answered "doctors", you're the big winner. Except in a particularly sad and tragic way:

Here is where we'd predict that Israel is going to get blamed by the UN, Red Cross, and global media for the soon-to-be-declared "Gaza health care crises". But we're going to try to avoid that: it's the obvious prediction, it's obviously going to come true, and then we'll have to hunt down this post for a "we told you so" follow-up. And those are both time consuming and depressing.

Then again, the new tags system makes things a little easier. One click on "intentional-humanitarian-crisis" - boom, instant crowing. Immediately afterwards: anger, sorrow, and vodka as the natural reaction to how blatantly Hamas can civilians and how predictably Israel gets blamed.

PS - Ibrahim Barzak (not our favorite person) got through an entire article without blaming Israel for something that's obviously not Israel's fault. Golf clap.

References:
* Hamas Shuts Fatah-Linked Gaza Clinics [AP]
* So This Is What Hamas Means By "Respecting Past Agreements" (Bonus: AP's Ibrahim Barzak Whitewashing Palestinian Terrorism Again?) [MR]

Previously:
* UN And "Gaza Businessmen" Agree: It's Israel's Fault That Hamas Has Intentionally Created A Humanitarian Disaster In the Gaza Strip By Blocking Food and Medical Shipments
* AP: Yup, Humanitarian Crisis Intentionally Caused By Hamas Is Still Israel's Fault
* Hamas Blocks Israeli Food Shipments, Intentionally Starves Gaza Civilians To Create A Humanitarian Disaster - Again!

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit

MR's ranking in Google searches for "male eyecandy linkbait" are starting to decline, which means it's time for another Equal Opportunity Michael Lewis post. After the last one, a representative of the fairer sex emailed that she didn't find him hot. That is obviously insane, since the break-the-mold women in this video find him hot. And they're too gorgeous to ever be wrong. About anything. Ever:

That little flirtatious episode with the medicine balls would have been slightly hotter without Lewis in the frame.

References:
* Israeli Hottie Wednesdays - Israeli Model Michael Lewis. Because MR Is An Equal Opportunity Link Baiter. [Video] [MR]
* michael lewis [zimbman / YouTube]

Previously:
* Israeli Hottie Wednesdays - Very Hot and Somewhat Bitter Israeli Chicks Go Clubbing [Video]
* Early Morning Chuckle - Coulter On the Dem Debate Edition
* Israeli Hottie Wednesdays - The Pick Sisters Have Something For Everyone [Video]

Because honestly, why wouldn't they?

Here's a video we haven't posted in a while. It randomly came over the YouTube feed this morning, so why not:

Luckily, the mid-level career civil servants at the State Department are sophisticated enough to understand all the benefits of funding people who openly declare themselves to be mortal enemies of the US and its allies.

References:
* Report: U.S. Funding Hamas Groups (8/28/07) [The Bulletin]
* Cruel twisted evil Palestinians cheering 9/11 [rachdingue / YouTube]

Previously:
* US State Department: Lebanon Is Not Responsible for Hezbollah
* The State Department - Traitorous Incompetents or Incompetent Traitors?
* US State Department: By "Shun" Terrorist Governments We Mean "Not Shun"

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers

We're kind of fibbing in the hed, since that quote is only in reference to a specific part of the project. But if you want to get a sense for the incalculable loss that the human history will suffer - again - if they allow millions of Jews to be overrun, get to at least the middle where they go through the dozens of Israeli contributions to the current work at CERN. And if you have a couple more minutes, the very typical Israeli back and forth about budgetary matters is pretty amusing:

Takeaway 1: That basic faith in the progress of science and light and humanity - obviously the result of a warlike culture that needs to be cut off from the rest of the planet because they're just so damn Jewish evil.

Takeaway 2: When they say "scientists from all over the world," don't you think they're being just a touch overgenerous?

References:
* Scientists trying to reconstruct the Big Bang [DsuperJew / YouTube]

Previously:
* Neat - Israeli Nanobots To Revolutionize Medicine
* Israeli Universities Apparently Oppressing Other Universities in the Middle East
* Hey Ireland, Shove It

Two things. One: remember when Comedy Central wouldn't allow Matt and Trey to show a cartoon of Mohammad and everybody was like "this is an example of creeping sharia" and then it turned out that much of the media ended up self-censoring even the most benign Islam-related jokes? And how that last part was right now? Two: turns out, they really just hate Family Guy:

Manatees with idea balls, by the by, may be the funniest thing in the history of television. We will gladly defend that assertion.

References:
* Video: Steyn on the Opus non-controversy and “creeping shari’a” [Hot Air]
* Cartoon Wars (Exclusive [IGN]

Previously:
* This Will Not Be Our Last Bow
* PBS Documentary Controversy Demonstrates Why Bipartisan Screams Of Bias Do Not Mean That A Program Is Balanced. Or Wasn't Hijacked By Soft Islamists.
* Sephardic Rabbi Inadvertently Becomes Metaphor for Clash of Civilizations. Not in a Good Way.

We were a little worried that this would deviate from the "Hatikva played on weird instruments" theme that we've been building, but those shots of tubas at the end get it through the door:

From January 2007. And yes, obviously - it was a gorgeous day.

References:
* Israel Army General Graduation [jromanov / YouTube]

Previously:
* BREAKING: Major Injuries In Sderot Rocket Barrage. Children Wounded As Rockets Score Direct Hits On School and Home.
* Tuesday Hatikva On A Kinnor Lyre [Video]
* Shabbat Hatikva [Video]

Oh come on:

We're not saying that he's not Europe's second-best hope when it comes to growing a spine and holding on to what's left of its Western legacy - here's another article from yesterday that implies that he very much is. But really? Here's an article that the GLORIA Center's Barry Rubin, he of "knows something about Syria" fame, put out yesterday:

The article goes on from there. Suffice to say: engagement with Syria will not make them less crazy. It might, however, be just enough to get Syria not to attack the UNIFIL troops that France - brimming to the hilt with machismo - put in Lebanon to "sort things out". And now France has to go begging not to be attacked. This all seems familiar, somehow.

References:
* France's Sarkozy raises prospect of Iran airstrikes [Reuters]
* France tells Europe to pull its weight on defense [Reuters]
* Engage, Moderate, Split [GLORIA]

Previously:
* France To Disarm Hezbollah
* Israel Politely Requests That UN Allow UNIFIL Soldiers To Do Their Damn Jobs
* France to Lead UNIFIL

Cross-posted to:
* Israpundit

Seriously? This is what we're supposed to be caring about now? Memo to Abe Foxman: not your job. We don't care where anyone falls on this resolution. Right or wrong, totally symbolic or genuinely meaningful. We don't care. It might even feel very good in that insipid identity politics standing in solidarity with the oppressed kind of way, but it's not your job. Doesn't Mel Gibson have a movie or something coming out? What about evangelical Christians? If they're trying to help Israel, you better tell them to knock that off. Tool:

This and making lewd comments about pregnant ultra-orthodox schoolteachers. That's what we've got today. Can this month just end already please?

References:
* Israel must get US Jews to back down, Turkey's envoy tells 'Post' [JPost]
* It's Tuesday, So the ADL is Concerned About Evangelical Christians [MR]

Previously:
* UC Irvine Gives Interview to Anti-Semitic Hate Group, Wonders Why Everyone Thinks There's Anti-Semitism on Their Campus
* ADL Thinks Real Hard, Identifies Religious Threat to American Jews - Christians!
* Evangelical Support for Israel - It's Not Because They Hate Jews

Hot:

Yeah, we have the same problem. Anyway, a couple of questions:

(1) Is Shas still in the government? What do these people do - other than like undermining principled centrist governments and taking money from left-wing coalitions, the latter in exchange for providing Knesset safety nets for misguided peace deals?

(2) Is there any way we can get this young woman's contact info?

(3) Shouldn't Shas be undermining Israeli democracy or something? Honestly, punishing women for being "immodest" - that's not really helping the "West vs. Islam" image that we've been trying to push.

References:
* Shas preschool seeking to fire teacher for 'immodest behavior' [Ha'aretz]
* Shas Has Brilliant Idea About How They Would Run Things If Israel Wasn't A Democracy

Previously:
* Ha'aretz Confused About Just How Great Peretz Is - Great or Super Great?
* Israeli Politics Roundup - 2007-05-07 - It's Futile No Confidence Motion Day In the Knesset
* Seriously, Get A Hobby

You have to hand it to them - the extra cleverness of the registered 'imwithfredblog' username adds a touch that would otherwise be lacking from this political smear job. Inquiring minds want to know:

(1) who in the Thompson campaign needs to get fired for not having the basic common sense to snap up relevant domains and usernames?
(2) Is this evidence that the Thompson campaign isn't ready to launch?
(3) Are they ever going to be ready to launch?

In other Fred-related news, it seems like the press has finally settled on an anti-Jeri meme they're ready to go with:

So that settles that. This lovely little editorializing brought to you by the good folks at the Associated Press. And it's brought to you despite the fact that - as Allah pointed out yesterday - the recent news out of the campaign implies that her power is not really all that. Eh. They don't really worry about accuracy when they report the news - why should it be a concern when they're commenting while they're pretending to report the news?

References:
* Fred Thompson Campaign Launch Video [imwithfredblog / YouTube]
* Thompson Loses Another Staffer From Would-Be Campaign
* Journalists Confused - Is Jeri Thompson A Dumb Bimbo Or An Evil Genius? [MR]
* Fred thinking about October now?

Previously:
* Meet Jeri Thompson, the Powerful Republican Consultant That Grassroots Liberals Will Be Attacking As A Bimbo
* Stupid Journalism Tricks: The NYT's Atttack On Jeri Thompson Is Sexist Even Though They Quoted Other People
* NPR In Denial About Sexism On the Left, Gets MR Exactly Wrong On Jeri Thompson

Of course it was:

Israeli concessions on cultural rights spur Islamist aggression against Jewish legitimacy. Israeli concessions on cultural rights spur Islamist aggression against Jewish legitimacy. Israeli concessions on cultural rights spur Islamist aggression against Jewish legitimacy.

There are tribes of natives living in the Amazon who have never heard of Judaism, Israel, or the Temple Mount who still understand the current religious and cultural situation better than Israeli concession negotiators.

References:
* Archeologists slam authorities over Muslim dig [JPost]

Previously:
* The LA Times: "Islam gets concessions; infidels get conquered." Ummm... Wow
* Wonderful Story Of Jewish-Muslim Cooperation On Temple Mount Destroyed... By Radical Muslims
* Hamas Trying To Infiltrate Temple Mount

Of course it was:

Security concessions to what counts as the Palestinian center spur armed attacks against Israeli civilians. Security concessions to what counts as the Palestinian center spur armed attacks against Israeli civilians. Security concessions to what counts as the Palestinian center spur armed attacks against Israeli civilians.

This is like potty training a peace negotiator.

References:
* Sderot: Man moderately hurt by Kassam rocket [JPost]

Previously:
* Palestinian Civil Society Watch - If We Asked You "What Do Death Threats Really Mean", Would You Call Us Sarcastic?
* High Ranking Member of Moderate Fatah Party Wishes Every Day Was 9/11 (Bonus Outrage: US Trained Him!)
* Tell Us, President Abbas, How Can We Help You Today?

We were talking to a pro-Israel activist a few days ago, and they were trying to convince us that Olmert had the capacity to really screw things up before the release of the Winograd or the restoration of sense to Israeli politics forced him out of office. We rolled our eyes because - honestly - Olmert? He's got the political capital of like, us. Turns out, screwed again!

Yeah, we've got nothing. Our understanding of the situation is that not even the Palestinians wanted to be given control of West Bank towns, because they know that they really suck at controlling West Bank towns. Oh well - and least Hamas will have somewhere to set up headquarters when they begin to roll through what's left of Fatah's infrastructure.

Here's the AP article via the WSJ. Abbas has apparently declared that he won't be satisfied unless Israeli concessions on land and prisoners are also coupled with concessions on refugees - and you know what that means.

You know what sucks about this idea? Everything. The next few months are going to be awesome.

References:
* Israel offers Palestinians control of Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin [JPost]
* Abbas and Olmert Meet to Discuss Agenda for Planned Peace Conference [WSJ]
* Arab League Refuses To Drop "Mandatory Israeli Suicide" Demands From Saudi Plan [MR]

Previously:
* Funny Anti-Olmert Commercial From Israel [Subtitled Video]
* Olmert Releasing Prisoners Now So He Won't Have To Release Them Later
* Olmert's Disclosure Of Israel's Nuclear Capability: At Wost, Harmless

OK, so you're going to hate this. Like really, really hate this. Not because it's pro-peace - which is a message that we of course endorse - but because of the really, really stupid way that it's pro-peace. Like cringe-worthy stupid. Like John Lennon "peace is here if you want it" soppy can't-we-all-just-get-along stupid. But it prominently features Sivan, who is currently sitting on top of MR's musical crush list. Ergo:

Serious takeaway: the group of rappers up on stage, by the by, are from the TACT label - the single biggest and most popular Israeli music label ever. They're singing about peace and stopping holy war. Now here's the Frontpage article about the overwhelming dominance of jihadi themes in popular Islamic hiphop. Obviously, the leftist sophisticates are right: it's not anything about Islam, it's religion in general that's the problem.

References:
* TACT FAMILY LIVE IN ISRAEL!!!!!!!! MUST SEEE [xomszrona1 / YouTube]
* Jihadi Rap [Daveed Gartenstein-Ross / FrontPage]

Previously:
* Shabbat Beauty - Zionist Hip Hop In Remembrance Of Yaakov Paz. A Momentary Song" [Video]
* Mere Rhetoric: Afternoon Zionist Hip Hop - Divided and Conquered [Video]
* Zionist Hip Hop - Shai 360 During Taglight 2007 [Video]

In a way they're absolutely right: when it comes to anti-Semitism Walt and Mearsheimer are total amateurs. They're still running the "we're being silenced argument" - even fanatical anti-Semitic imams have figured out that they sound silly screaming that from the podiums of talks they've been invited to give.

Anyway, JPost has a pretty decent article about how AIPAC and the Israeli government intend to counter Walt and Mearsheimer's The Israeli Lobby (subtitle: "how the Jews came from across the ocean, corrupted good Christian Americans, and tricked them into betraying their country"). The basic strategy: do nothing. Israel can't go around countering the claims of every vaguely disgruntled, largely discredited academic who discovers that "hey, these Jews make pretty good scapegoats". It's got all of its resources tied up dealing with the ones who are already on UN committees:

If you believe that Walt and Mearsheimer are beyond the reach of reason because reason has nothing to do with their book - and Walt and Mearsheimer are obviously beyond the reach of reason because reason has nothing to do with their book - then this seems like a pretty good strategy. What are you going to do? Point out that the US has acted against Israeli interests dozens of times? Talk about how the first crack in the wall of contemporary Israeli deterrence came when Bush I wouldn't let Israel respond to Iraq's missile launches? Go over the total inanity of their observations ("well no you see Professors, actually all interests have lobbies in Washin