Israel

Three months ago, President Obama and his White House staff treated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pretty shabbily. The once key ally was left to his own devices, while the President withdrew to have dinner in private. Obama wouldn’t even allow himself to be photographed with the Israeli Prime Minister. It was an intentional slight by the President, since we know he goes out of his way to bow to the Saudi King and embraces Hugo Chavez.

Netanyahu's treatment should have been a wake-up call to Americans that Obama would not stand with Israel as he promised in the primaries; that he would instead reach out to Islamic forces that seek to destroy the only true democracy in the Middle East. It didn't take long for it to actually haappen. Yesterday, U.S. President Barack Obama hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House to ensure him that the fallout over the Gaza flotilla would not derail peace efforts.

I have written a number of How Low Can They Go? media posts at Partizane, but I haven't done one for a while. Most of America has pretty much reached the same conclusion: America’s Fourth Estate has ceased to be relevant. It’s the reason some formerly well-respected publications are on the chopping block; like The New York Times and Newsweek. They aren’t selling well, because people don’t trust what they’re peddling. They have lost the public’s confidence. 

 None of us really care who will buy them, because we know they won’t change unless the editor’s offices are purged and reporters clean out their offices for a hopefully long hiatus. Sadly, Americans have come to realize that the ones we were told to trust for the unvarnished truth can be easily bought. We have been treated to too many faux-journalists fawning over their heroes to believe they will cut us some slack. We have learned they can’t separate themselves from their own views and emotions to give us an impartial rundown of the facts. 

A young man named David caught people's attention this week, because he would not be silenced, despite the fact he was outnumbered by those who tried. 

Watching brave David made me very sad, but it also made me come to terms with what Progressives have wrought, and what they are attempting. (Have you been thinking along those lines? I certainly hope I'm not the only one.) 

It looks like Obama could be getting what he wanted - a new world order. From what we're watching taking place, it looks like Israel could be kicked to the curb, despite Obama's campaign speeches that promised otherwise. In less than 18 short months, his presidency has made major strides in solidifying his Progressive agenda. 

I came across a headline today:

'Celestial body' lands in Bat Yam

My perception:

 +  = 

Those of you that know me know that I like to troll the Internet. (I do it, because our news media has abdicated its role as the nation's gatekeeper.)  Anyway, I was trolling when I came across a story that led me to a video on You Tube that is introduced like this at that site:

Subscribe kekeke01

February 11, 2010 (more info)

The Israeli ambassador Michael Oren gets booed off stage by students of the University of California. Booed off stage just like he deserves to be.

The video is of a February 8th presentation by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California-Irvine. It was sponsored by the Middle East Studies Student Initiative. If you go to the You Tube site to view the video, you will find other videos dealing with the same subject and more than a few comments full of hatred and vitriol that most Americans would find offensive.

 Pertinent UC-I Background

In case you are not aware of it, the University of California-Irvine campus has what some call an annual May "hate-fest" against Israel and the Jewish people. In spite of outreach and tolerance projects, some members of the resident Muslim student population are joined by outside agitators and together they repeatedly threaten and assault Jewish students. For some unknown reason, the administrators at this campus can’t seem to get a handle on the problem. I’m not a Jew or a Muslim, but I am an American and I have trouble understanding how California is able to maintain sanctuary cities for its illegal Latino residents, but California, the City of Irvine, and the University of California can’t seem to offer any sanctuary for American or foreign born Jews.

So many things going on right now and so many things about to happen. First, let's go back to a 1943 Disney cartoon called Chicken Little.

That was a little parable about the threat of Communism, a threat we still face today. Sure, there's no more Soviet Union and no more Mao. China has adopted a sort of state-sponsored capitalism. The threat isn't from without, it's from within. The DNC was taken over by leftists* in 2007 and the first thing they did was change the rules that governed them. They changed them again at the RBC meeting on May 31, 2008, thus ensuring that Obama would win the Democratic primary. The sky fell and we ended up with president Obama.

From the BBC we get the story of a true ass.  Here

Makes me want to get my blaster out.

Record 11th divorce granted to Jewish Israeli man

A 50-year-old man from Jerusalem has been granted a divorce for the 11th time, a new Israeli record for Jews according to a Rabbinical court.

Israel's navy has intercepted a ship carrying hundreds of tonnes of Iranian weapons intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Israeli military has said.

The Antiguan-flagged vessel, Francop, was boarded 160km (100 miles) off the Israeli coast, the military said, and has been towed to the port of Ashdod.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8341737.stm

100 Miles of the coast.  Now we, the great and glorious US of A, would say that is well within our territorial waters.  But golly gee whiz, Israel is so tiny.  How can they go out 100 miles and seize a ship?

They can because they did.

I have not seen the news reports other than the BBC newsflash.  I don't know what people are saying but I bet there is grinding of teeth and biting of fingernails in the White House today.  Our President may, just might, have to make an executive decision on how to respond.  Or he can ask Congress.

You may have heard that the "Clunkers" auto rebate program has gone kerplunk, kerplooey. If not, there are a couple of articles about it here:

AP sources: Govt to suspend 'cash for clunkers' - Yahoo! Finance

‘Clunkers’ Auto Rebate Plan So Popular That It’s Broke - NYTimes.com

My wife and I tried to take advantage of that program by going car shopping this week. The program only became officially active starting July 24. I looked up the combined mileage of my wife's 1988 Acura Legend last week and the fueleconomy.gov site said 16 mpg. Based on that, we looked at cars that had a combined mileage estimate of 26 mpg or better to qualify for the $4500 tax refund. The car was for my wife so she drove 3 different Toyotas, a Corolla, the new Prius, and a new 2010 Camry. She really liked the Camry.

I'm very happy with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech today from the Begin-Sadat Center at Bar-Ilan University. It was a very well balanced speech since it managed to tick off just about everyone, though some admit it was a good speech. What I like about it is that Bibi stood up to Obama's bullying and didn't back down on the issues of Jerusalem or the settlements. He basically told Obama that if he wants to pursue a two-state solution, fine, but it's going to be on Israel's terms which are quite simple:

1. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas must recognize Israel as a Jewish nation-state.

2. Jerusalem will not be divided and must remain under Israeli control.

3. The Jewish settlements in the West Bank will remain, natural growth will happen within them, but there will be no additional land taken.

4. If a Palestinian state is formed, it will have to be demilitarized.

This Sunday, Israel's Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, will give a major policy speech at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He is expected to outline his vision for achieving peace with the Palestinians and the Muslim world. President Obama issued his views in a major speech recently at a university in Cairo. Obama's speech included a demand that Jews halt all building in West Bank settlements (villages), a demand that countered an agreement between President Bush and PM Olmert that served as the basis for Israel's agreement to pursue the "road map" to peace. That demand was echoed by Secretary of State Clinton.

Note...This post was originally written on Memorial Day, but never made it to Partizane.