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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Saturday night links - and lots of them

From Ian:

LATMA: Post chronological Islamic history and a Rosh Hashana greeting (very funny Judith Butler skit)



Israel’s window for action against Iran ‘is getting much smaller,’ says Ambassador Oren
‘The issue is not whether we trust the US,’ says Israel’s envoy to Washington. ‘The issue is our responsibility as a sovereign Jewish state
"In a telephone interview from his Washington offices on Thursday, Oren — a former paratrooper who fought in the 1982 Lebanon War; author of “Six Days of War” and other highly regarded works of history; and now three years into the post of ambassador — was at his diplomatically polished best."

The abandonment by Charles Krauthammer
“The Obama policy is in shambles. Which is why Cordesman argues that the only way to prevent a nuclear Iran without war is to establish a credible military threat to make Iran recalculate and reconsider. That means U.S. red lines: deadlines beyond which Washington will not allow itself to be strung, as well as benchmark actions that would trigger a response, such as the further hardening of Iran’s nuclear facilities to the point of invulnerability and, therefore, irreversibility.”
"This is beyond feckless. The Obama policy is a double game: a rhetorical commitment to stopping Iran, yet real-life actions that everyone understands will allow Iran to go nuclear.
Yet at the same time that it does nothing, the administration warns Israel sternly, repeatedly, publicly, even threateningly not to strike the Iranian nuclear program. With zero prospect of his policy succeeding, Obama insists on Israeli inaction, even as Iran races to close the window of opportunity for any successful attack.”

Palestinians Have Launched 9,000 Rockets at Israel Since Gaza Pullout

IDF Poster: These are our neighbours

Gunmen attack Sinai HQ of MFO peacekeeping force, four injured
Islamist gunmen burst through perimeter fencing, firing heavily, bring down observation towers; Egyptian troops arrive to try to restore order
"The headquarters of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai was attacked on Friday night by dozens of Bedouin Salafi gunmen, Israel’s Channel 2 News reported.
Dozens of gunmen, in some 50 vehicles, surrounded the base and then 60-70 of them burst in, storming into the base amid heavy gunfire."

BBC is full of liberals afraid to mock Islam (says veteran of the BBC)
"A respected BBC broadcaster has claimed television is dominated by ‘liberal sceptical humanists’ who laugh at Christianity but are afraid to mock Islam.
Roger Bolton, a former editor of Panorama, said an obsession with human rights over religious beliefs had left corporation bosses out of touch with the public."

Riot News:
Australia: Arrests made after police officers injured at anti-Islamic film protest in Sydney CBD
Syndey Riots Video



Rabbi Says Media Must Answer If Reports That Jews Made Anti-Islamic Movie Aren't True
He calls the spreading of false information "blood libel," which could result in more violence against Jewish people.

The eight dumbest things said about free speech this week

CNN Ignores Real Goal of Cairo Riots: Freedom of Blind Sheik

Obama Covers Posterior, Suddenly Complies With War Powers Resolution

Israel a ‘prisoner’s paradise,’ says American cable series
MSNBC’s ‘Lockup: World Tour’ visits the Jewish State and passes an encouraging verdict
"Not only does Israel maintain fewer prisoners per capita than most Western countries, but released inmates achieve high levels of reintegration into society. Recidivism rates in the US and Europe hover at 75%, with rates in Israel as much as 20% lower. Israeli prisons themselves are less crowded than in most countries, in part due to the release of thousands of Palestinian “security” prisoners in recent years.
A thread running through Lockup’s Israeli prison interviews is the ability of education, skills-development and job placement to prevent repeat offenses."

With neurotechnology, the lame don’t just walk — they race
Neurotech, the science of putting together man and machine, is set to be the next big breakthrough area for Israeli technology
"How was she able to finish the marathon — or for that matter, even walk? Lomas was able to accomplish her feat thanks to a special hi-tech walking brace suit, called the ReWalk, made by Israeli company Argo Medical Technologies. Lomas’ accomplishment is notable not just for itself; it also sheds light on what has until been on less well-known area of Israeli activity in life sciences, neuroscience and neurotechnology."


From Zvi:


"Israeli President Shimon Peres,89, has a vision: position Israel not only as the “Startup Nation,” but also as the Brain Nation. “There is no doubt that brain research in the next decade will revolutionize our lives and impact such major domains as medicine, education, computing, and the human mind, to name but some. Moreover, it will not only relieve the suffering of patients of such debilitating diseases as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, but it will also engender large economic rewards as well.”"
It's really nice to see incredibly talented people working together on an ambitious dream.
(and he's clearly very serious about this)
"Southeast Asia's largest telco SingTel is eyeing investments and partnerships in Israel, especially in the multimedia space, as part of its ongoing transformation to diversify from its core carriage business to becoming a provider of ICT services....He pointed out that the telco had set up a S$200 million (US$163 million) venture capital fund, Innov8, in 2010, which it could tap on to invest in startups...."For many of these people in emerging markets, the only way advertisers have access to them is through mobilephones," he pointed out to ZDNet Asia in an earlier report, referring to how people in such countries were more likely to own handsets than own television sets or consume media through other forms."
He got a few things right about the intense debate and a few things right about the history, but what is striking is how little the author understands Israel, its culture, its people, its history, its leaders and its reality. And yet he feels comfortable "teaching" people his completely nonsensical version of reality.
And of course, toward the end, he throws in a pile of complete balderdash in which he blames Haredi soldiers for the purported killing of Palestinian civilians, after he claims that rabbinic councils have called for such (another complete fiction).
"Israel has the second-highest percentage of 25 to 64-year-old people attending higher education among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member states, according to a just-released report."
"A deaf Lebanese boy who crossed the barbed wire fence into Israel was handed over to U.N. peacekeepers Friday.
Security sources said 10-year-old Mohammad Hasan Fadel Jawad had crossed the barbed wire fence facing the southern Lebanese village of Rmeish Thursday afternoon.
They said Israel handed over the boy to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at the border town of Naqoura Friday morning.
UNIFIL in turn handed the boy over to the Lebanese Army, who returned him to his parents in the border town of Aita al-Shaab."