Saturday night links

From Ian:

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Into the Fray: Fatuous, feckless Friedman

‘Robbed Cossack’: Hebrew idiom for a villain who complains about the wrongs (imaginary or not) done to him that he has done to others.
"Friedman’s bile and bias are evident in his attempt to belittle Israel’s technological achievements and entrepreneurial culture; and his chiding Romney for comparing it favorably with the Palestinian culture. Although he does acknowledge that “Israel today is an amazing beehive of innovation [and] something Jews should be proud of,” he attributes this – in the best “you didn’t get there on your own” tradition – in large measure to “an influx of Russian brainpower [and] massive US aid.”

Now Playing on PBS: Why America Should Support a Nuclear Iran

"Leave it to the taxpayer-supported Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) to provide a forum for such a fatuous viewpoint. On July 9, the PBS “Newshour” program’s Judy Woodruff moderated a discussion with Mearsheimer and former Defense Department official Dov Zakheim over Waltz’s proposition.
Mearsheimer posited, “I think there’s no question that a nuclear-armed Iran would bring stability to the region, because nuclear weapons are weapons of peace.” He assured viewers, “They have hardly any offensive capability at all.” In that regard, Mearsheimer and Waltz point to the Soviet-American nuclear standoff. However, their superficial theorizing makes no distinction between Soviet ideology and the aggressively messianic beliefs of the Iranian regime."

Media Coverage of Israel is Simply Insane

"This media coverage that Israel is faced with cannot be perceived rationally, it is simply insane. Perhaps the Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky had the answer when he wrote “Instead of Excessive Apology” in 1911: “We constantly and very loudly apologize…. Instead of turning our backs to the accusers, as there is nothing to apologize for, and nobody to apologize to, we swear again and again that it is not our fault… Isn’t it long overdue to respond to all these and all future accusations, reproaches, suspicions, slanders and denunciations by simply folding our arms and loudly, clearly and calmly answer with the only argument that is understandable and accessible to this public: ‘Go to Hell’?”

Hamas freeing of al-Qaeda-linked terrorist may explain Sinai travel warning

"Al-Maqdisi, an Egyptian previously residing in Gaza whose real name is Hisham al-Saidni, is the head of Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, an Islamic extremist group that also is believed to have kidnapped, and killed, Italian peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni in Gaza in April 2011. The release of al-Maqdisi had been one of the conditions set forth by the terror group when it seized Arrigoni."

U.S. Extradition Request Denied for Daqduq

“Hezbollah terrorist mastermind and killer of American troops Ali Mussa Daqduq was in U.S. custody in Iraq and could have been transferred to Guantanamo Bay years ago.
Instead, the Obama administration decided to let an Iraqi court try him. In a development that should come as a shock to no one, Daqduq has been cleared of charges, and the latest U.S. extradition request has been denied. The Associated Press reports the unrepentant terror leader might be back out on the streets before the end of Ramadan”

Criticism In Iran Over Children Attending Public Executions

"Jafar Mohammadi, editor of the moderate conservative website Asr-e Iran, wrote in an article that the public's appetite for this activity was a sign of social sickness. He also warned that allowing children to watch executions could cause them irreparable damage, and urged the authorities to intervene to keep them away."

Prosor: 'Trio of terror' must be held accountable

Israel's ambassador to United Nations tells General Assembly that Syria, Iran and Hezbollah pose most immediate threat to international peace and security
"Prosor referred to Syrian President Bashar Assad's inclination to blame others for his own wrongdoing, saying "behind every rock and building in Syria, Assad sees not only Israelis, Brits, and Frenchmen – but also Saudis, Qataris, Kuwaitis, and Turks. He says that the slaughter in Syria is a Western and Arab Conspiracy — and has nothing to do with him personally."

The Popular Front Against Iran

“Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Saudi Arabia’s rulers bury their differences to fight the Shiite enemy”
“In this alliance lies partial deliverance for Egypt from its heavy burdens. There is of course that older way—that volatile mix of anti-Americanism, authoritarianism, and escape from reason that wrecked the country and its place among the nations. The Egyptian state thus has a choice to make. It can take up anti-Zionism and jeopardize the peace with Israel secured for it by Anwar al-Sadat and maintained by Hosni Mubarak. Or it can awaken to the threat of Iran. An Egyptian alliance with Saudi Arabia is the beginning of wisdom—a necessary, though hardly sufficient, condition for Egypt finding a way out of
its crippling past.”

DCCC Apologizes to Adelson for “Untrue” Attacks
“A few weeks ago, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee accused top Republican donor Sheldon Adelson of personally approving and profiting off of prostitution at his Macau casinos. It wasn’t the smartest move, since their charge was based on unsubstantiated allegations from a disgruntled employer who’s been suing Adelson for years.”

Netanyahu Gave Romney Letter Calling for Pollard Release

Angola and Israel Advocate to Strengthen Cooperation

“On his part, the Angolan chancellor expressed the goal of his three-day visit to Jerusalem is to continue with the bilateral cooperation in health, agriculture, science and technology and the formation of Angolan experts.”

Why Raoul Wallenberg’s centennial matters

"The Swedish rescuer, born 100 years ago Saturday, was the ideal the Western world would like to have lived up to during those dreadful war years. More than an icon of the Holocaust, he exemplifies the standard of humane behavior to which the Western world aspires"