The Israeli government has taken a sad but necessary step towards public diplomacy. The Prime Minister's Office has posted video of the yeshiva massacre on YouTube. The first one is the emergency call - made by a terrified boy - that alerted Israeli authorities:

And then the terrible aftermath:

This massacre is one of hundreds of deliberate attacks on Israeli schoolchildren that the UN can't quite bring itself to condemn. Because these little boys and girls, you know - they kind of have it coming. What are they thinking being all Jewish when they know very well that there are "frustarted" genocidal lunatics running around?

We're signing off until this coming Tuesday night. MR will not be updated during that time. See you then.

References:
* Israel posts clips on YouTube of Jerusalem yeshiva terror attack [Ha'aretz]
* Emergency call, March 7, Jerusalem [AtiyaRachel / YouTube]
* Stop the Terror, Stop the Bloodshed [AtiyaRachel / YouTube]
* UN Ignores Palestinian Attacks Explicitly Designed To Target Israeli Schoolchildren [MR]
* UN Almost Manages To Kind Of Condemn Yeshiva Massacre. But Not Quite. [MR]
* The Media Lies - Civilians In Gaza Mysteriously Appear In Desolate Warzones, Reappear In Media Coverage [MR]

Previously:
* Sderot Media Center Documenting Horror Of Palestinian Rocket Attacks On Israeli Schools And Hospitals (Plus: Dozens Of Children Treated After Qassam Hits Near Daycare)
* New Poll: "Overwhelming Majority" Of Palestinians Support Murderous Rampages Against Israeli Schoolchildren, Rocket Attacks Against Civilians (Plus: It's Israel's Fault)
* Hamas Responds To Ceasefire Proposal By Lobbing Missiles On Sderot Schoolchildren

First it was Democratic military guru Wes Clark and his disturbingly familiar "New York money people" theory. Some people at the time suggested that he was getting his dual loyalty ideas from tomes of rank anti-Semitism like Protocols. That was an overreaction. It turns out that this is just the way Democratic military experts talk:

Last week, Barack Obama's military adviser and national campaign co-chairman Merrill "Tony" McPeak accused former President Bill Clinton of "using divisive tactics and unfairly trying to question Barack Obama's patriotism." McPeak, a former chief of staff of the Air Force, previously supported Howard Dean and then John Kerry. He has campaigned for Obama and cut commercials claiming that Obama has the "right stuff" to be Commander in Chief. His job is to burnish Obama's image as a guy tough enough to be President... The interviewer asked McPeak: "So where's the problem? State? White House?" McPeak replied: "New York City. Miami. We have a large vote -- vote, here in favor of Israel. And no politician wants to run against it." Translation (as if it's needed): Jews -- who put Israel over every American interest -- control America's policy on the Middle East.

Thus does Obama continue his unbroken streak of filling his campaign with high-ranking advisers who are consumed by their burning desire to screw Israel - and failing to appoint a single one who isn't. We don't know of any reason to think that Obama is personally an anti-Semite. But he certainly seems more comfortable around the kind of people who sound like anti-Semites.

Ha'aretz's political correspondent Shmuel Rosner, by the by, seems to have developed a new habit of making awful pro-Obama arguments and choosing particularly absurd pro-Obama headlines. But we held off on concluding that he's totally in the tank for the most anti-Israel campaign evuh because he's historically been reasonably thoughtful and careful. His recent act of defiant pro-Obama pique was definitely suspicious:

Open anti-Semitic attacks are becoming something of a trend in the US. The recent drip drip drip of anti-Jewish violence contributes to a broader overall trend - the overwhelming majority of hate crimes in the US are against Jews:

Not only are anti-Islamic hate crimes way down, but they're a fraction of overall religious hate crimes. The overwhelming majority of such crimes target Jews, something CAIR and other Muslim groups don't seem all that concerned about. In 2006, a whopping 66% of religiously motivated attacks were on Jews, while just 11% targeted Muslims, even though the Jewish and Muslim populations are similar in size. Catholics and Protestants, who together account for 9% of victims, are subject to almost as much abuse as Muslims in this country.

You know why you don't hear about them? And why in all liklihood the numbers are lowballed? Guess:

"Hate crimes," specifically those occurring against Jews, are frequently omitted from such classification. Meanwhile, acts that victimize Muslims, regardless of their motivation, are usually reported as "hate crimes."... At about 6:20 last Tuesday, March 18, 2008, 25 year-old Uria Ohana, a rabbinical assistant, was assaulted by three Muslim men inside the subway station at Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street in Park Slope. As Ohana proceeded through the turnstile, 18 year-old Ali Hussein grabbed Uria Ohana’s yarmulke from his head; Ohana gave chase, and was assaulted by Hussein’s accomplices who were shouting "Alla hu Akbar"... The incident received very little media attention, and the motive was not initially recorded as a bias or "hate crime." "This happens frequently," admitted this source, adding that the pressure from Muslim special interest groups is much greater than from other similar organizations... He also stated that since 9/11, law enforcement officials have acquiesced to the pressure and demands by Islamic special interest groups to treat most crimes against Muslims as "religiously motivated," even in the absence of any proof. Acts such as graffiti randomly sprayed on a mosque, for example, is classified as a "hate crime." It does not matter that the mosque might be one of several buildings in a specific area that has been tagged or sprayed by vandals."

Meanwhile actual Nazi graffiti sprayed all over UCI Irvine's apartments is written off as a rent dispute. And self-declared terrorists targeting and running over Jews? That's just mental instability.

References:
* Two Anti-Semitic Attacks In Two Weeks In US Northeast [MR]
* Hyping Hate Crime Vs. Muslims [IBD]
* NY D.A. Source: Crime stats skewed on behalf of Muslims [Northest Intelligence Network]
* More Nazi Imagery on UC Irvine's Campus. Administration on Hate Speech: "One Person's Hate Speech is Another Person's Education". [MR]
* SF Chron Declines To Print Reports of Confessed Terrorist Motives. Loads Up "Mental Instability" Template Instead. [MR]

Previously:
* Anti-Semitism as Anti-Zionism
* MR Comments on Today's Search Terms
* Walt and Mearsheimer Publish Insipid Anti-Semiticish Book. MR Officially Takes Back Original "No Way They're Anti-Semites" Position.

A couple of years ago the Soviet Union fell and the Cold War ended. Among other radical changes in the global geopolitical order, Russia was supposed to stop counterbalancing the US by militarily bolstering Arab regimes in the Middle East. Somebody apparently didn't get that memo:

Russia and Egypt are expected to sign a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement this week that will boost Cairo's efforts to join a string of Sunni countries keen on developing nuclear potential and that government officials in Jerusalem believe is intended in part to offset Iran's nuclear program. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak traveled to Moscow for a two-day visit Monday, and the Russian wire service RIA Novosti quoted Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit as saying that the agreement would be signed during the visit.

This would presumably be one of several reactors that Egypt plans to build. At least there's no radical Muslim organization stationed in Egypt that might have an interest in stuffing radioactive material into a dirty bomb. And it's not like the whole country is one disgruntled general away from being the most dangerous country in the world.

References:
* Egypt to sign nuclear pact with Russia [JPost]
* Egypt To Build Multiple Nuclear Reactors [MR]
* Israeli-Egyptian Peace Not Really Working Out "Peacefully" [MR]

Previously:
* Smuggled Weapons Used To Kill Two Israeli Soldiers - Thanks Egypt (Plus: Hamas Still Bragging About The War They Started)
* Turns Out, Egypt Not Pro Israeli Security
* Egypt Uncovers A Single Smuggling Tunnel, Basically Calls It A Day (Plus: Egypt In Explicit Violation Of Security Agreements?)

The vast majority of Brits are checking out of the future:

Marriage rates in England and Wales have fallen to the lowest level on record, government figures published today have revealed. The proportion of adults who chose to marry in 2006 fell to the lowest level since marriage rates were first calculated in 1862, according to provisional figures published by the Office for National Statistics. In 2006, 22.8 men per 1,000 unmarried men aged 16 and over got married, down from 24.5 in 2005.

The absence of Anglo marriages is, however, being supplanted by a different style of courtship:

A quiet epidemic of missing teenagers has Britain questioning its multicultural beliefs and asking why authorities have not acted to protect these children. Only a few weeks after the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested that the British allow for shari’a courts for Muslims, a new study indicates as many as 4,000 or more Muslim teens and young adults simply vanish every year — forced into arranged marriages by family members through abduction, rape, and threat of death... As Der Spiegel notes, the most shocking aspect of this is how little outcry it has created in Britain. Teens simply disappear from school rolls, and no one thinks to question why.

Eh. There's really not much point in asking questions if people already know the answer. It's not like the children's schoolteachers don't know what's going on. They're just disinclined to interfere in these charming cultural practices. Multiculturalism, after all, is the essence of compassionate virtue. And of sophistication.

References:
* Marriage rates fall to lowest-ever level [Guardian]
* An epidemic of forced marriages in Britain [Hot Air]

Previously:
* We're Going To Miss Westminster Abbey - One In Ten "Asians" Support Honor Killings In Britain, "Political Correctness" Prevents Police From Stopping Them [Audio]
* We're Going To Miss Westminster Abbey - British Artists Terrified Of Muslim Lunatics, British Cops Apologizing For Muslim Lunatics
* We're Going To Miss Westminster Abbey - Blair "Rolled Over" On Saudi Weapons Corruption Because They Threatened "Another 7/7" (Plus: Saudis Buying Their Way Into The State Department Through Georgetown)

Hezbollah has spent the last few months desperately searching for an excuse to drag Israel and Lebanon into another war. And wouldn't you know it, they found one so good that they're openly bragging about how they're going to commit genocide against millions of Jews:

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Monday told tens of thousands of supporters in Beirut that Israel could be eliminated and that the prowess of its army had been exaggerated by "Zionist-American propaganda." "The Zionist entity can be wiped out of existence," Nasrallah said in his address via video link, referring to Israel. "Our nation is stronger now than ever before," he added. Nasrallah's speech was broadcast live at a rally marking the end of the 40-day mourning period for slain Hezbollah military chief Imad Mughniyah, who was assassinated in a car bombing in Damascus last month... Nasrallah also renewed his vow to retaliate for the death of Mughniyah. "The one who killed our commander must be punished. The killers must be punished and they will be punished, God willing," Nasrallah said, drawing cheers from the crowd. "We will choose the time, place and manner of punishment."

Technically his nation is weaker than ever but that just means that the Hezbollah-controlled international media will get better photos. Broadcasting pictures of "disproportionate" Israeli battlefield victories - it's apparently next best thing to crowing like idiots about Israeli battlefield defeats.

Isn't it weird how Israel's execution of Mughniyah has thrown Hezbollah into a blind genocidal rage? Because for years sophisticated foreign policy elites glibly repeated Hezbollah's propaganda about how there was no connection between the Lebanese "resistance" group and Iran's favorite arch-terrorist. Guess they got that wrong. Which is also weird, since this was a huge and really obvious relationship - and they're supposed to be objective experts.

References:
* Hezbollah Now Threatening To Start War To Protect Drug Dealers, Petty Criminals [MR]
* Nasrallah: The Zionist entity can be wiped out of existence [Ha'aretz]
* Meanwhile, Lebanon Is Kind Of Going To Hell - Good Job, State Department! [MR]
* Journalism Expert: Hezbollah Established Total Media Control By Threatening, Attacking Reporters [Video] [MR]
* Olmert: Hezbollah Got Trounced [MR]
* Obligatory Post About Iran's "Hezbollah Radiation Will Destroy Israel" Threat (Plus: Mugniyah Assassination Dramatically Demonstrates Absurdity Of Liberal Foreign Policy Sophistication) [MR]

Previously:
* Multiple Hezbollah Terror Strikes Set To Go Off This Weekend? (Plus: Arab World Ready To Cut Off Assad?)
* UN Peacekeepers Leaking Israeli Intel To Hezbollah
* Hezbollah Probably Lost the War, But They May Never Have Been In It To Win

No one can accuse them of not being honest about their intentions. Countdown to Obama declaring that Kurtzer isn't really an adviser begins... now:

Throughout the interviews for our book... we heard two recurring themes from current and former U.S. policymakers. First, we were told that the U.S., as the third party requested by Israelis and Arabs to play the role of 'honest broker' and mediator, needed to do a better job in addressing key asymmetries in the negotiations... The U.S. has demonstrated in the past the diplomatic will, capacity and skills to help willing parties achieve peace process agreements. These successes included the step-by-step diplomacy of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in achieving Israeli-Egyptian and Israeli-Syrian disengagement agreements in 1974-75; the role of President Jimmy Carter in helping to broker the Camp David Accords in 1978 and the Egyptian-Israeli Peace treaty in 1979; and the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991, brought about through the diplomacy of Secretary of State James Baker.

Carter has become so much like an actual breathing anti-Semite that even liberal Jewish groups will have nothing to do with him. And isn't it nice to see how Democrats like Kurtzer and Republicans like Baker can find common ground plotting ways of screwing Israel?

Being an "honest broker," by the by, means criticizing Israel for not making concessions literally as school buses are being blown up by terrorists. No, really.

References:
* Rosner's Guest: Daniel Kurtzer [Ha'aretz]
* Hey EU, Shove It [MR]

Previously:
* Obama Now Actively Channeling Rabid Anti-Israel Academics, Adopting Their Dumbest Anti-Israel Euphemisms
* Mel Levine's Defense Of Obama: He'll Make Obsessed Anti-Israel Lunatics Love The US. Presumably By Magic.
* Obama Draws Line In The Sand: Invading Israel OK But Calling Hillary A Mean Name Is A Firing Offense

We don't have much to say about this except that it's basically correct:

Speaking to reporters following a breakfast with US Vice President Dick Cheney, Netanyahu highlighted statements Livni made to Channel 2 on Friday about Jerusalem being on the negotiating table and called upon Shas to leave the coalition. "Don't let the negotiations continue," Netanyahu said in a message to Shas. "Don't let a Palestinian flag fly from the Temple Mount. Leave the government now." Shas head Eli Yishai's spokesman responded that Livni's office clarified after the interview that Jerusalem had not officially been raised in the talks. Netanyahu told Cheney it was not right for him to be leading efforts to prevent Iran's empowerment while advancing diplomatic talks with the Palestinians. Netanyahu told him that the two issues were connected because a deal with the Palestinians could lead to Hamas, Iran's proxy, gaining sovereignty over east Jerusalem.

Apparently this is going to be a day of really retarded arguments. "Had not officially been raised." Really? Really?

For what it's worth - Aryeh Eldad is sometimes kind of crazy but he's not beyond the reach of fundamental values and ethics. So the sooner he gets his new secular nationalist party off the ground the better. He's ostensibly got a plan to come after Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu from the right. Which will be nice because this is getting surreal.

References:
* Likud MKs are worried about Netanyahu's scandals [JPost]
* Abbas: That Deal We Just Signed That Would Give Hamas Billions Of Dollars Of International Aid And US Security Assistance? Total Accident. [MR]
* Yep, That Counts [MR]
* MK Dr. Aryeh Eldad: "Once The Terrorist Is A Patient... I Will Try To Save His Life" [Video] [MR]

Previously:
* Hamas Confiscates Aid Trucks, Promises To Deliver Them Some Time Later
* Hamas Blocks Israeli Food Shipments, Intentionally Starves Gaza Civilians To Create A Humanitarian Disaster - Again!
* Hamas Thanks "The Media" For Glorious "Victory" In Gaza [Video]

The PA just got $150 million in unprecedented direct aid after the State Department steamrolled over Congressional concerns about Palestinian terrorism. So now it's just about time for another unity government that gives Hamas access to all that loot:

Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have come to terms with signing a deal to revive direct talks after months of rivalry. The two factions reconvened in San'a on Sunday in an effort to hammer out a compromise over the future of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. "We, the representatives of Fatah and Hamas, agree to the Yemeni initiative as a framework to resume dialogue between the two movements to return the Palestinian situation to what it was before the Gaza incidents," the San'a Declaration said. The deal, which was signed by top Hamas negotiator Moussa Abu Marzouk and senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmed, also affirmed the "unity of the Palestinian people, territory and authority." The talks, launched last week by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, had come close to collapse several times.

No worries though - Israel just went ballistic so Abbas's people are saying that he signed the reconciliation deal by accident. Yes, really:

Top aides to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday distanced themselves from a Yemeni plan outlining a path to reconciliation with Hamas movement, and one said an Abbas envoy only signed the document because of a mixup... On Sunday, al-Ahmed and a senior Hamas representative, Moussa Abu Marzouk, signed a declaration that both accept a Yemeni initiative calling for the creation of a national unity government and the rebuilding of security forces loyal to that government instead of factions. On Sunday, al-Ahmed and a senior Hamas representative, Moussa Abu Marzouk, signed a declaration that both accept a Yemeni initiative calling for the creation of a national unity government and the rebuilding of security forces loyal to that government instead of factions. "There was a misunderstanding," Qurei told reporters Monday. "President Abbas was busy hosting Cheney, and Azzam tried many times to contact him (Abbas), but couldn't reach him. The talks were at the end, and time was pressing."

"Hey, while you're meeting with the US Veep - we're considering signing a deal officially linking you to a group of genocidal lunatics who are so crazy that not even the US State Department likes them. What do you think" - that was apparently too complicated to put on a note and physically hand to Abbas. They couldn't think up of an excuse that was less insultingly stupid? Really?

References:
* Mere Rhetoric: PA Responds To $150M In New US Funding By Explicitly Rejecting Israel's Right To Exist. Again. [MR]
* Fatah, Hamas come to terms [INRA]
* Israeli warning to Abbas over deal with Hamas [AFP]
* 'Signing of Yemeni proposal a mixup' [JPost]

Previously:
* Saudis: Now That Abbas Is Getting Land, We're Going To Reunite Fatah And Hamas (Plus: They Didn't Even Have Their Ear Pieces In At Annapolis)
* Abbas To Secure Position Against Hamas By Releasing 25 Hamas Soldiers. Wait, What?
* Abbas: Good Chance We'll Use Our US Security Assistance To Go Back To Killing Israelis

Yeah, that's why:

An American network provider Sunday said it had suspended a website that Dutch MP Geert Wilders had reserved to post his anti-Islamic film, which has sparked wide condemnation and fears of a backlash. "Network Solutions has received a number of complaints regarding this site that are under investigation," the provider said a message posted on the Internet... Computer experts have warned that controversy surrounding the movie could cause network mayhem once it is put online, if too many people try to view it at the same time.

Probably has nothing to do with the death threats they've certainly received and the DDOS attacks that have probably already been launched. The Dutch Muslim association, by the by, has filed suit to have the movie preemptively censored. This would be censorship above and beyond the total blackout imposed by Dutch television stations. Remember during the Cartoon Jihad when Western outlets cowered in fear and everybody with a brain said "this will become a slippery slope into totally banning criticisms of Islam?" And apologists for the vaunted Muslim Street said that it was just about the cartoons?

Turns out it wasn't just the cartoons.

References:
* Dutch anti-Islamic film's Internet site suspended [AFP]
* Netherlands Collapses, Will Ban Wilders Film Because Of Threats (Plus: Sarkozy Stands Up To Thuggish Intimidation, For Free Speech) [MR]

Previously:
* Yes, the Pope Is Catholic - Shut Up, He Understands Islam Better Than You Do
* Hey Gals, Check This Out - If You're A Female Student Who Tries To Have Coffee With Your Professor, He Might Have To Be Lashed To Pieces (Also: If Your Man Is Neurotic And Impotent, You Might Have To Die)
* Beit Hanoun Meme Watch - (1) "Rage and Tears" - Apparently Theats Of Genocide Are OK If You're Really Upset

You know how the left has been insisting - all the way up to right now - that Saddam had no ties to terrorist groups? And you know how that's totally retarded? It's really retarded:

Saddam Hussein's intelligence service collected information on dozens of sites in Israel, including airports, other transportation centers, as well as scientific and religious centers that were thought to be potential targets for attacks. Among the sources providing intelligence to Saddam's regime was Force 17, the security force of Yasser Arafat, which planned and carried out from its Ramallah headquarters attacks against Israeli targets. This information emerged following the release of documents captured during the American invasion in 2003 and made available as part of a West Point program to evaluate the lessons of the war in Iraq... A document from 2002, from the chief of staff of the Al-Quds Army, sent to the Karbala Division, orders each brigade to build a model of an Israeli town and practice taking it by force. Hamas representatives, including Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who was assassinated by the Israel Defense Forces in 2004, contacted Iraqi intelligence and asked to coordinate attacks against American and Israeli targets to delay the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.

That can't be true, of course, because it would also mean that the Israel's partners for peace on the Palestinian side aren't interested in peace at all. And we've got hundreds of State Department statements that say exactly the opposite. To believe something like these explicit, black-letter captured documents you'd have to believe that the US was funding the Palestinians to the tune of millions of dollars at the same time that the Palestinians were conspiring to materially undermine the US military effort in Iraq.

And isn't it nice that major media organizations are still writing that "the study’s assessment of Iraq's lack of links to Al-Qaeda represents a final acceptance by the Pentagon that it was wrong to make such claims" when the study very much linked Iraq to AQ? It's almost like they've got an agenda.

References:
* Saddam Hussein had no direct ties to al-Qaida, says Pentagon study [Guardian]
* Media Reports Exactly Backwards On Saddam-AQ Links [MR]
* Saddam collected information on dozens of potential targets in Israel [Ha'aretz]
* Saddam Hussein’s son Uday plotted to send hit squad into UK [Times Online]
* Saddam supported at least two al-Qaeda groups: Pentagon Update: What it means

Previously:
* Josh Marshall, Liberal Sophisticate: Conservatives Should "Grow Up" About Ahmadinejad's Desecration Of Ground Zero
* The Denial of the Obvious By Reference to the Irrelevant: Center-Left Foreign Policy and Democratic Politics
* Chicago Palestinian Convicted of Spying For Saddam

Just kidding, obviously. "Harsh treatment" of Palestinians who breach international borders isn't a cause for consternation when it's not Israel:

Dozens of Hamas members who were arrested in Egypt after breaching Gaza's border with Sinai in January are being tortured and held in harsh conditions, a senior Hamas leader said Wednesday. Said Siam, former interior minister in the Hamas-led government, strongly condemned Egyptian authorities for the continued detention of the Hamas men. He did not say how many Hamas members were being detained... Siam said he was especially disturbed by the fact that the Egyptians were questioning the Hamas detainees about their activities inside the Gaza Strip. "The Egyptians aren't asking anything about what's happening inside Egypt," he said. "They have even been interrogating our men about the whereabouts of [kidnapped IDF Cpl.] Gilad Schalit." Siam said the Egyptians were also trying to get information about the movements of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and other leaders of the Islamic movement in the Gaza Strip. "These are the type of questions that only Israeli interrogators would ask," Siam said.

The irony being, of course, that international human rights organizations have ensured that Israeli interrogators would pretty much never get to ask those questions. Maybe if the Egyptians find out anything they'll let the Shin Bet know.

References:
* 'Egypt is torturing Hamas prisoners' [JPost]

Previously:
* Global Outcry As Palestinian Work Accident Kills Gaza Women, Four Year Old Girl
* Islamic World Explodes Into Riots As Fatah Targets Hamas Mosques, Imams
* Global Outcry As Egyptian Troops Open Fire On Palestinian Crowd, Wound 60

A little Friday palette cleanser. For what it's worth, we actually own one of these. Her name is Lambda. The chicks totally melt over her.

You understand we're talking about the robot? And that we're not joking?

Except for the part about the chicks really liking the creepy spider thing. That part may have been a bit of a fib.

References:
* Puppy Vs. Robot! Epic Battle For Territorial Domination! [demonbabydotcom / YouTube]

Previously:
* Today In We're All Totally Boned - Marauding Monkeys Attack, Murder Anti-Monkey Politician In His Home
* Sony's New Commercial Is Spectacular, Has Bunnies [Video]
* Ahmadinejad's Valentine's Day Greeting To The World [Video]

Typical everyday corruption, to be sure...

A top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was caught at a border crossing with 3,000 contraband cell phones in his car, bringing embarrassment for an administration already struggling with sagging popularity over stalled peace talks with Israel. The aide, interim Palestinian President Rauhi Fattouh, said Wednesday he was unaware of the illicit phones and cigarettes found by Israeli officials and blamed his driver of several years. But with cell phones and cigarettes selling in the West Bank for a premium over their cost in neighboring Jordan, the smuggling case could be a new snag for Abbas' Fatah movement.

... but this was what the State Department's position in 2005:

QUESTION: You mentioned the transparency within the Palestinian authority and now there is a new Palestian President. There is still a perception among the Palestinian people that the Palestinian authority itself is corrupt. Are you going to tie U.S. aid to a pledge from President Abbas to launch and anti-corruption drive?
SECRETARY [RICE]: There’s no doubt that we cannot be in a position of giving aid where there is not transparency. All of American development assistance in recent years, like the Millennium Challenge account for instance, insists on good governance as one of the prerequisites for the granting of American assistance. And so I would think that we would also expect good governance in the Palestinian territories if American aid is going to be flowing there.

Begging the immediate question: can we have back the $150 mil that Rice just cleared for the Palestinians? Because we know somebody who's pretty grumpy about the whole thing.

References:
* Abbas Aide Caught With Contraband Phones [AP]
* Interview With Andrea Koppel of CNN [State Dept]
* U.S. and Palestinians sign $150 million agreement [Reuters]
* IMPEACH BUSH [Boker Tov Boulder]

Previously:
* The Palestinian Deprivation Myth - Maybe If They Spent More Of Their Massive Aid Packages On Medicine and Less On Their Own Bank Accounts...
* Quick Three-Minute Overview Of What Hamas Was Saying Just Before They Were Elected [Video]
* Mere Rhetoric Evaluates Palestinian Opinion Poll, Walks Away Unsurprised

This video of the Navy's new toy has been floating around for a while. Which makes it not at all less spectacular:

But if it's a railgun then what causes the not un-intimidating fireball of awesomeness?

One big question this video begs is, what causes the giant fireball? Rail guns are supposed to be powered solely by electricity, and don't use explosives of any kind for propellant. Babb told PopSci the answer: The flames are from pieces of the projectile disintegrating; the 7-pound slug is jammed so firmly between the rails that when it’s fired, pieces shear off and ignite in the air. There’s been some speculation online that the flames come from some sort of gas that’s been used to increase conductivity. Wrong: The EMRG uses no secondary propellant - just electricity.

They shear off, you see, and ignite in the air. That's what they do.

References:
* Navy's Record-Breaking Railgun Shot [noahmax6000 / YouTube]
* Navy Tests 32-Megajoule Railgun [Pop Sci]

Previously:
* Thursday Military Tech - The IDF's Tavor Assault Rifle
* Thursday Military Tech - The Totally Awesome Israeli Jets Of Operation Orchard
* Thursday Military Tech - Zionist Robo-Snipers

The first was last week when a molotov cocktail was thrown at the home of a Jewish Agency envoy...

A Molotov cocktail was thrown Saturday into the home of a Jewish Agency envoy residing in Rhode Island in the north-eastern United States. The envoy, who was home at the time, was immediately evacuated to a nearby hotel following the incident. The incident took place at 2 am (local US time) when a Molotov cocktail was throw through the living room window of the envoy's apartment. He was in a different room at the time, and was therefore not injured. The Molotov cocktail set a nearby yard on fire, but firefighters dispatched to the scene easily extinguished the flames.

... and yesterday a Brooklyn rabbi was surrounded and attacked by six Muslim men screaming Allahu akbar:

Rabbi Ohana, assistant head rabbi of Chabad-Lubavitch of Massachusetts, was about to get on the F-Train at Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street in Brooklyn. The young Muslim assailants grabbed rabbi Ohana's yarmulke (skullcap), and when he went to them to get it back, they beat him and shouted, "Allahu Akbar." One of the Muslim attackers ran away into the street and was hit by a car... He was arrested by police. But three to four other Muslim assailants--whom you can bet will attack other Jews--escaped and are free.

Not for nothing, but if these were Muslims being beaten CNN would right now be asking if the country is erupting into a wave of anti-Muslim violence. Of course if these were Muslims being beaten that'd be a much rarer event than an anti-Semitic attack.

References:
* US: Molotov cocktail thrown into home of Jewish Agency envoy [YNet]
* "Religion of Peace": Krystallnacht, USA? - Five Muslims Beat Jewish Rabbi in Brooklyn [Debbie Schlussel]
* The Myth Of The Anti-Muslim Hate Crime Wave [CQ]

Previously:
* Anti-Semitism as Anti-Zionism
* If Anti-Zionism Isn't Supposed to Be Anti-Semitism, Someone Should Probably Tell the Anti-Zionists
* Anti-Semitism As Obsession (The "What Would Make You Care About That" Question)

Remember that time last week when Abbas said that he's reconsidering a two-state solution and then Congress naturally responded by putting a hold on that assistance?

Mr. Abbas spoke with pride of violence he had waged in his past, suggested that terrorism could start anew in the future, and essentially backed away from repeated statements that he "recognizes" Israel's right to exist. A top congressional appropriator, Foreign Operations Chairman Nita Lowey, said flatly, "President Abbas' recent statements cast doubt on his willingness to take the steps necessary for peace with Israel."... Just one day after news of the interview shocked key legislators and staffers... the administration sent over its request for $150 million in direct cash assistance to Abbas' PA. "What were they [administration officials] thinking sending over the request the day after Abbas announces he's open to re-starting terrorism and doesn't really recognize Israel's right to exist?" asked one miffed Hill staffer.

And then the State Department brought inordinate pressure to bear on Congress and got them to release the funds? And then at the same time Fatah announced that they're more or less officially rejecting the Jewish State's right to exist?

The Palestinian Authority is planning to mark Israel's 60th anniversary by calling on all Palestinians living abroad to converge on Israel by land, sea and air. The plan, drawn by Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Fatah operative and Deputy Minister for Prisoners' Affairs in the Palestinian Authority, states that the Palestinians have decided to implement United Nations Resolution 194 regarding the refugees... The initiative is the first of its kind and is clearly aimed at embarrassing Israel during the anniversary celebrations by highlighting the issue of the "right of return" for the refugees. Entitled "The Initiative of Return and Coexistence," the plan suggests that the PA has abandoned a two-state solution in favor of one state where all Arabs and Jews would live together.

Well fuck.

References:
* Abbas: Good Chance We'll Use Our US Security Assistance To Go Back To Killing Israelis [MR]
* Palestinian funding [Wash Times]
* U.S. and Palestinians sign $150 million agreement [Reuters]
* PA urges Palestinians to 'return' [JPost]

Previously:
* Holocaust Denying State Department Darling Accuses Israel Of "Holocaust" In Gaza (Plus: NYT Bias Right On Cue)
* Fatah: We're Going To Use Our New US And Russian-Supplied Weapons To Fight With Hamas Against Israel (Plus: Hamas Upgrades, Stockpiles Their Qassams)
* Israel Captures Terrorist Who Was Leading Abbas's Anti-Terrorism Forces

One explanation for this picture is that Swiss Foreign Minister Calmy-Rey agrees with Hirsi Ali and was just being a little extra cautious. Another interpretation is that Switzerland decided to punctuate their financial service to a wannabe Islamic empire with a nice little symbolic gesture of dhimmitude:

Iran and Switzerland on Monday signed a major agreement for Iranian gas exports to a Swiss company, in a rare energy deal between Tehran and the West as their nuclear showdown drags on. "Today we witnessed the signing of a gas contract between the two countries," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced at a joint news conference with his Swiss counterpart Micheline Calmy-Rey. Financial details were not disclosed but the contract between Iran's state gas firm and Switzerland's Elektrizitaets-Gesellschaft (EGL) Laufenburg reportedly envisages Iran supplying 194 trillion cubic feet of gas annually from 2011. Calmy-Rey said the deal was in full compliance with UN Security Council resolutions imposed against Iran for its failure to suspend uranium enrichment, a potential nuclear weapons-making process... The US has also protested the gas deal. "We have conveyed to the Swiss that major new oil and gas deals with Iran send precisely the wrong message at a time when Iran continues to defy UN Security Council resolutions," the US embassy in Bern said in a statement.

You might remember Calmy-Rey as the woman who invited Ahmadinejad to a Geneva conference so he could discuss "various perceptions of the Holocaust. That deal failed when people pointed out that it was kind of disgusting. This time around Switzerland managed to summon up sufficient cravenness to save the economy of a country seeking to murder millions of Jews.

Speaking of which - rumor has it that this deal was almost delayed too. When the Swiss dusted off their standard forms for underwriting genocidal lunatics they discovered - to their embarrassment - that no one had bothered to translate them out of the original German. So that presumably took a couple days.

References:
* Video: Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues with Alan Colmes about Islam [Hot Air]
* Hey Gals, Check This Out - Ahmadinejad Secretly A Pervert? [MR]
* Iranian-Swiss gas deal irks Israel [YNet]
* Swiss President Invites Iran To Offer "Various Perceptions Of the Holocaust" At Conference [MR]

Previously:
* Red Cross Not So Sure About This "Jews Joining Them" Thing
* Memo to World - Israel Not Occupying Gaza Any More. Please Stop Using That Excuse.
* Israeli Magen David Adom has to Get Approval - From Palestinian Red Crescent

The Palestinians are always warning somebody about something. Egypt had better not defend its border or else. Israel better not conduct archaeological digs in East Jerusalem or else. Olmert's announcement that Israel's policy on settlements would be the same as its always been is the newest cause for outrage:

The statements by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert saying that Israel would continue the settlements construction in east Jerusalem incited vehement repercussion among the Palestinians. Prior to a scheduled meeting between Palestinian and Israeli negotiating teams on Monday, Olmert said at a joint press conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Israel would not stop building homes in East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Har Homa, calling Har Homa an "inseparable" part of Jerusalem. The statements immediately drew criticism from all Palestinian circles... Khaled called on the Palestinian negotiation team "to take a serious decision and halt all contacts and talks with the Israeli side until the Israeli government stops all its settlement activities and other violations against the Palestinians."

Tools.

References:
* PFLP: Gheit must apologize to Gazans [JPost]
* Hamas warns Israel against digging beneath al-Aqsa mosque [Xinhua]
* Israeli insistence on settlement plan incites Palestinian repercussion [Xinhua]

Previously:
* Holocaust Denier Complains to Israeli Traitors about Israelis
* What if You Threw a Peace Party and Everyone Showed Up?
* Syrian Peace Process Attracts Fools, Vultures

The NIE report on Iran was hopelessly politicized. It was based on idiotic guesswork. It was part of a broader and sometimes illegal program - conducted by State Department washouts and anti-Bush military officials - to head off any action against Iran:

About three months ago, a federal grand jury issued a subpoena against him, ordering Risen to give evidence in court. A heavy blackout has been imposed on the affair, with the only hint being that it has to do with sensitive matters of "national security." But conversations with several sources who are familiar with the affair indicate that Risen has been asked to testify as part of an investigation aimed at revealing who leaked apparently confidential information about the planning of secret Central Intelligence Agency and Mossad missions concerning Iran's nuclear program. Risen included this information in his book, "State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration," which was published in 2006. In the book, he discusses a number of ideas which he says were thought up jointly by CIA and Mossad operatives to sabotage Iran's nuclear capabilities.

A much, much broader program:

Underneath his otherwise empty campaign, at least Obama has managed to sell an image of honesty. And we didn't really mind when he was a touch hypocritical in his post-racial but somehow still racialized message of healing - because good for him for being able to walk that rhetorical line. But his campaign has gotten particularly annoying in their resort to insultingly bad arguments. These are the arguments that - no matter what side of the political spectrum you embrace - are just bad. Like when he was accused of stacking his campaign's shadow State Department with seething anti-Israel hacks and he responded by saying that (a) he hadn't done that and (b) he had pro-Israel people to balance out any anti-Semiticish advisers. And then his first answer and his second answer both turned out to be false.

He didn't write his speech. His campaign isn't modest. And now it seems like he's not even trying to stay in the ballpark of reality:

Not so much lies as a sort of slippery sleight-of-mouth. I'm starting to really dislike Obama. "Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation... came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land." Segregation was not "the law of the land" in the 1950s. It was the law in a minority of states. "For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger … occasionally … finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews." If, as Obama seems to be claiming, those are the sentiments only of Wright's generation, how come those whooping and clapping their approval in those sermon clips include lots of young people?

Brzezinski gets them in trouble on Israel? He's not an adviser - except he is.

Goolsbee gets them in trouble on NAFTA? He wasn't speaking for the campaign - except he was.

A pastor who preached to him for 20 years, baptized his children, married him to his wife, and provided the inspiration for his career making book is an anti-Semitic American-hating conspiracy monger? Just some crazy uncle who's really angry at Jews. For some reason that can't be discussed - because that would be divisive.

Bad arguments.

Not that this is stopping our Obama-adoring academic friends from hailing yesterday as the single greatest political speech of their lifetimes. These are people who were adults during the Challenger speech. So obviously all the snark about Obama's cult of personality is misplaced.

Not that Obama has a monopoly on staggeringly bad arguments. One might say that they're becoming endemic to Democratic Party advocacy. The delegate fight should be a welcome correction to that trend. Whatever the opposite of "correction" is.

References:
* Obama Defenders: What Brzezinski Guy? (Plus: That's Not Even Their Worst Argument) [MR]
* Obama's "Pro-Israel Advisers" Don't Actually Exist. As Such. [MR]
* The Politics of Hope Spin [NRO The Corner]
* Obama and "Making History" [NRO The Corner]
* Obama's Lies [NRO The Corner]
* Obama’s NAFTA Dance: Goolsbee “misquoted” [Hot Air]
* Chickenhawk v2.0: Gloria Steinem, Wes Clark shrug at McCain’s military service [Hot Air]

Previously:
* Obama Now Actively Channeling Rabid Anti-Israel Academics, Adopting Their Dumbest Anti-Israel Euphemisms
* Lebanon - Another Country Where Obama Can Make Things Much Worse
* Obama Really Getting The Hang Of Anti-Israel Diplomatic Code Words

Next to "what we had for lunch," this is perhaps the definition of a self-indulgent post that ought not be blogged. But please - no more action alerts about these:

* The new Nintendo game where you rescue Jewish kids from the Holocaust. The only thing that makes us think twice about not caring is that it puts us on the same side as the ADL - and on the issue of new communications technologies, no less. But still, don't care.

* Livni calling the Israeli-Arab conflict "the sexiest conflict in the world:"

"I know the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the sexiest conflict in the world and everyone wants to be involved," said Livni, who visited Washington earlier in the week. "I think the world should leave it to us. There is no need to push us. It is about our lives."

The only reason we might kind of care is that we wish we would have come up with it. It's an objectively good line. But we probably would have ruined it with some heavy-handed punchlining like "... and now the EU is trying to turn this State Department - White House - Arab League threeway into a full blown orgy." We just don't know when to leave the understated enthymeme alone. It's a stylistic flaw. We're working on it. And regardless, don't care.

* Merkel speaking to the Knesset in German. Don't care. Really.

References:
* Nintendo to Release Holocaust Video Game [Jewcy]
* Livni criticizes settlement plan [YNet]
* Standing ovation for Merkel in Knesset [AP]

Previously:
* ADL Thinks Real Hard, Identifies Religious Threat to American Jews - Christians!
* It's Tuesday, So the ADL is Concerned About Evangelical Christians
* Some Jews Are Very Stupid - LA Jewish Journal Edition

Yeah, we dunno:

Security forces are on high alert in Israel and at Israeli and Jewish institutions abroad before the end of the 40-day mourning period for Hezbollah terror chief Imad Mughniyah... The mourning period ends on Sunday... Israeli military officia