Flotidiots lied, no humanitarian aid. What a surprise.

From YNet:

Navy forces boarded two vessels attempting to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip on Friday and towed them to the Ashdod port in Israel. All 27 pro-Palestinian activists onboard the ships will be transferred over to the police and Immigration Authority and later expected to be expelled from the country.

IDF officials remarked that they did not find any weapons or humanitarian aid onboard the ship. The troops boarded the vessels without any resistance and no one was hurt, the military said.

Since the flotidiots have always vastly exaggerated their "humanitarian" cargo, this is no surprise.

It is a spectacularly boring story.

Read More

Latest Latma

Didn't have a chance to watch it yet, but here it is.

Read More

The burqa mermaids

From ANSAMed:

The shapes of the mermaids that embellish the fountain of Zeus in the centre of Alexandria have been deemed "inappropriate" by the Salafist Al Nour (Light) party, which decided to "veil" them completely with a sheet during a meeting yesterday evening.

The incident, which was reported by the website of the Al Masri Al Youm newspaper, has unleashed a wave of comment and disbelief on Twitter, where the paper posted pictures "before and after the niqab" of the fountain of the sirens, upon which an enormous placard carries the words: "Egyptian women devote themselves to their husbands and their nation".

Political leaders of the party, which is at the head of a coalition of Islamist parties that will stand in the forthcoming Egyptian elections from November 28, had recently announced that they were against the statues, deeming them contrary to Islamic tradition, the newspaper reports. "Covering a statue of sirens will certainly lead us to Paradise. I can't wait," was the ironic reaction of one Twitter user.

Here's the before and after picture (right to left :) )

(h/t jzaik)

Read More

An implicit threat by the PA

From Reuters:

The Palestinians will not accept anything less than full U.N. membership and do not want an upgrade to an observer state in the world body, their foreign minister said on Thursday.

Riyad al-Malki's remarks suggested the Palestinians would not seek such an upgrade once their bid for full state membership meets its widely expected fate -- failure due to opposition from the United States and other governments.

"We do not want, after all of these struggles, sacrifices, and efforts by the entire Palestinian people, to accept an observer state in the United Nations. We will not accept less than we deserve: a full member state," he said.

Now, what exactly does that mean?

When a person says that something is unacceptable, there is an implied "or else" clause. It implies that Palestinian Arabs, who frame themselves as having nothing they can bargain with, will do something that will make people regret a decision of not giving them their full demands if they do not get what they want.

What is the "or else"?

Or else they will dissolve the PA? They will start a new intifada? They will ask Iran to start a war on their behalf? They will go back to their 1970s heyday of international airline terror? They will write nasty op-eds in Al Jazeera? Mahmoud Abbas will resign?

For a people who claim they are so desperate, they have no problem speaking as if they hold all the cards. There is a very real contradiction between their twin public positions of "we are helpless" and "you better do what we demand."

What is the implied leverage that Mahmoud Abbas has on the world to act like a mafioso?

---

Of course, Reuters being Reuters, rather than ask the natural follow up question "or else what?" they find some self-proclaimed "expert" to minimize the threat:

"This reads like a tactical move," said George Giacaman, a political analyst. "It could be directed toward the Americans, the Israelis, to show flexibility, but I would not view it as a final position."

What Reuters doesn't say is that Giacaman is at Bir Zeit University.

Read More

Blame Israel! (video)

An entertaining video that should be up for consideration in the Hasby Awards, from The Land of Israel.com:


(h/t jzaik)

Read More

Overnight open thread

I'm still traveling and very busy. Things will still be slow on the blog through the weekend.

So here's another awesome and thrilling open thread!

Read More

Airbrushing history (poster)

A poster based on this post.

The same series of stamps included Jewish and Christian shrines, as the British tried to make them as even-handed as possible. But you will have to look long and hard to find any Palestinian Arab textbook that includes, say, this stamp from the same time period:

Oh, sorry, I forgot: for the past few years the Palestinian Arabs have pretended that Rachel's Tomb is a mosque, not a Jewish holy site.

And the guardians of culture and history at UNESCO have enthusiastically supported this complete fabrication of history.

Read More

Sinai is now a huge arms market

This article is subscriber-only from the GeoStrategy Direct page, but here it is via Posterous:

Collapse in Libya, Yemen transforms Sinai into major arms market
TEL AVIV - Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has turned into a huge weapons market. Officials said a range of weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles, could be acquired cheaply. "If you want to buy today a mortar or a machine gun or even a MANPAD [man-portable, air defense system] all you need is a few dollars and you get it," Israeli government counter-insurgency adviser Nitzan Nuriel said.

Nuriel said weapons have flooded Sinai from neighboring Libya as well as Yemen. He said the arms have been used to establish an Al Qaida presence meant to attack Israeli and Western interests in the region.

"The level of the threat is much more dramatic than it was a year ago," Nuriel, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, said.

Western officials agreed. They said Al Qaida has been bolstered by both Bedouins as well as hundreds of Islamist insurgents who escaped prison during the revolt against the regime of President Hosni Mubarak in February.

"The common wisdom is that Al Qaida has been weakened by the Arab Spring when you make a global assessment, on an ideological basis," Lorenzo Vidino, a researcher at Switzerland's Center for Security Studies, said. "But I would have to concur that on a tactical level they have benefited in places like the Sinai."

The officials, who attended a conference by Israel's Institute for Counter-Terrorism in September, said their assessment was shared by new military regime in Egypt. They said the Egyptian military was concerned over the power vacuum in Sinai amid the collapse of Mubarak's security forces.

"They left spaces where there is no government authority and it is pretty hard for us to know what is going on," Dutch Foreign Ministry counter-insurgency director Frank Van Beuningen said.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon asserted that Iran was helping the insurgency network in Sinai. Ya'alon said Teheran was preparing for the fall of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and wanted to bolster other proxies in the region.

"Realizing that Assad's regime might not last for a long time they are already busy developing alternative channels to deliver arms to their allies," Ya'alon said. "They consider these surrogates not only as a tool for threatening Israel on a daily basis but also an integral component in their effort to deter Israel and the free world from taking harsher measures to make sure that they don't have the capability to develop nuclear weapons."

Israel has already approved an Egyptian plan to deploy thousands of soldiers, special forces as well as hundreds of main battle tanks in Sinai. But officials said Egypt has not shown the determination to eliminate Al Qaida and other insurgents.

"International cooperation can reduce the threat a little bit," Nuriel said. "At the end of the day you need strong response forces along the borders."

Read More

Iran says it will deploy ships in Atlantic Ocean

Lately there has been a lot of chatter about possible Israeli, or even UK and US, actions against Iran's nuclear program. I don't like reporting on rumors; there are reasons to be skeptical and there are plenty of others who are discussing this, not the least the Israeli media.

Beyond that, an Israeli missile test has been framed as a provocative act meant to send a message to Iran.

However, among all the arguments about whether Israel is being reckless and irresponsible, no one is noticing that Iran has ratcheted up tensions on their own - and the media ignored it.

From Tehran Times:

Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi confirmed on Monday that Iran plans to deploy naval vessels in the Atlantic Ocean.

“The Navy has a strong presence in the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman, Indian Ocean and international waters and soon it will be present in the Atlantic Ocean,” Vahidi said as he visited the manufacturing of a destroyer in Anzali port on the coasts of the Caspian Sea.

From PressTV:

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari says Iran will seeks to increase presence in international waters is in accordance with international law.

International waters belong to all countries and Iran's naval presence in the waters is in compliance with the international law, said Sayyari on Monday.

The commander pointed to the Iranian Navy's three-year presence in international waters and said that Iran's 16th fleet of warships is currently present in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, IRNA reported.

On October 9, the fleet of warships, which includes the domestically-built Jamaran destroyer and the Bandar Abbas frigate, left for the Gulf of Aden in line with efforts to provide security for Iranian trade vessels in the pirate-infested area.

Sayyari emphasized that as stated by the commander-in-chief, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iran has no intention of carrying out acts of aggression against any country and Iranian naval presence in international waters displays the might of the nation.

He highlighted the significance of Iran's naval presence to provide food, energy and sea trade security and said it would prepare the grounds for the country's development.

The Iranian commander questioned US presence in the region and stressed that regional countries are fully capable of establishing regional security.

Sayyari's remarks came as Iran's domestically-manufactured Jamaran destroyer docked at Oman's port of Salalah on Monday.

Sending ships to NATO territory? Sure sounds like a provocation.

(h/t Yoel)

Read More

Sorry, Al Jazeera, I won't join your program

One of the weird consequences of running a popular blog is that I get emails that are, um, interesting.

A couple of days ago Al Jazeera English asked me to record a short video message about my opinions on the lightweight Assad interview at the Telegraph.

I am writing as we are doing a report on the protests in Syria and the media angle to this story. One angle we want to look at is President Assad's interview with the British newspaper the Sunday Telegraph.

During one part of our report we open up the floor to people who may have an opinion on the report we are working on. These people are called our Global Village Voices. I came across your blog online and your knowledge of the subject would strengthen the analysis of our report. I am writing to see if you would be interested in recording a comment for us for our show.

If so, you could consider one of the questions below to help you frame your answer:

1) President Assad hasn't been talking to Western media, but he broke that rule when he gave an interview to the Sunday Telegraph. What was the significance of the interview and Assad's message?

2) What has the Syrian government's media strategy been like? How has it evolved through the protests in the country?

3) How effective has the campaign of repression against Syrian media activists been?

Alternatively, feel free to formulate your own statement, our only request is that you stay to the media angle of the story. All you would need to do is a record a 30-40 second video clip of your answers.

The downside is that I would throw away my anonymity for 30 seconds of quasi-fame that would help an anti-Israel propaganda channel.

On the other hand, I could end up getting a few new readers - the types that watch Al Jazeera to begin with.

What a dilemma!

Read More

Another BDS Fail

Another Israeli industry doing quite well.

Israel’s net exports of polished diamonds totaled $5.83 billion from January through September—up 37.1 percent from last year—according to figures published by the Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.

The country’s net rough diamond exports increased 31.8 percent to $2.98 billion. Israel’s net imports of polished diamonds rose 48.8 percent to $4.17 billion in the first three quarters of 2011. Net rough diamond imports totaled $3.52 billion, an increase of 35 percent.

“The impressive recovery of the Israeli diamond industry is the result of very hard work on the part of the industry,” said Moti Ganz, chairman of the Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies, in a statement. “Despite the current uncertainty I am very hopeful that the full year figures will continue this positive trend.”

(h/t Dan)

Read More

A manly Palestinian Arab hero who murdered little old Jewish ladies

From Palestinian Media Watch:


Transcript:

PA TV host: "We are outside the home of the patient, heroic fighter who is resolute, overcoming his chains, desiring freedom - Abbas Al-Sayid, the lion of the prison cells."
PA TV host interviews released prisoner in the house of Al-Sayid:
Host: "[What is] your feeling now in the home of Abbas Al-Sayid - the leader, hero, defeater of the enemies, defeater of the dungeons, and lion under interrogation?"
Released female terrorist, Du'a Al-Jayousi: "He was an example and role model for us, we wanted very much to meet him."
Released male terrorist, Muayyad Al-Jallad: "I do not forget our neighbor and brother, Abbas Al-Sayid. He is the crown on our heads. Allah willing, we will soon rejoice for him over his release... He is honor to the nation, and there is no doubt that he makes us proud. Allah willing, he has enough patience and will... We are all familiar with his manly qualities of heroism and strength."
[PA TV (Fatah), Oct. 25, 2011]

Ah yes, those manly qualities of heroism and strength were powerful enough to manage to murder the mighty and strong Chanah Rogen, a 90 year old woman from Netanya, who had dedicated a couple of rooms at the Laniada Hospital in Netanya.

Even more impressive, this macho hero of Palestinian Arabs everywhere massacred a spry 86-year old, Frieda Britvich:

In fact, the Netanya Passover Massacre claimed 30 victims, whose average age was 68, and of whom 20 were over 70 years old. The victims, from the MFA site:

Shula Abramovitch, 63, of Holon- David Anichovitch, 70, of Netanya- Sgt.-Maj. Avraham Beckerman, 25, of Ashdod- Shimon Ben-Aroya, 42, of Netanya- Alter Britvich, 88, of Netanya- Frieda Britvich, 86, of Netanya- Andre Fried, 47, of Netanya- Idit Fried, 47, of Netanya- Miriam Gutenzgan, 82, Ramat Gan- Amiram Hamami, 44, of Netanya- Perla Hermele, 79, of Sweden- Dvora Karim, 73, of Netanya- Michael Karim, 78, of Netanya- Eliezer Korman, 74, of Ramat Hasharon- Yehudit Korman, 70, of Ramat Hasharon- Marianne Myriam Lehmann Zaoui, 77, of Netanya- Lola Levkovitch, 70, of Jerusalem- Sarah Levy-Hoffman, 89, of Tel-Aviv- Furuk Na'imi, 62, of Netanya- Eliahu Nakash, 85, of Tel-Aviv- Chanah Rogan, 90, of Netanya- Irit Rashel, 45, of Moshav Herev La'et- Clara Rosenberger, 77, of Jerusalem- Yulia Talmi, 87, of Tel-Aviv- St.-Sgt. Sivan Vider, 20, of Bekaot- Zee'v Vider, 50, of Moshav Bekaot- Ernest Weiss, 80, of Petah Tikva- Eva Weiss, 75, of Petah Tikva- Anna Yakobovitch, 78, of Holon- George Yakobovitch, 76, of Holon.

S.Abramovitch		D.Anichovitch		A.Beckerman		S.Ben-Aroya		A.Britvich		F.Britvich
Andre Fried		Idit Fried		M.Gutenzgan		A.Hamami		P.Hermele		M.Lehmann
Dvora Karim		M.Karim		E.Korman		Y.Korman		L.Levkovitch		S.Levy-Hoff.
Furuk Na'imi		E.Nakash		Irit Rashel		C.Rogan		C.Rosenberger		Y.Talmi
Sivan Vider		Z.Vider		Ernest Weiss		Eva Weiss		G.Yakobovitch		A.Yakobovitch

Out of millions of Palestinian Arabs in the territories, can we find 30 people - one for each victim - who are willing to publicly proclaim that  al Sayid is a monster?

Everyone, from right to left, knows the answer. It would be very difficult to find those thirty people.

And that difficulty is a core issue in the entire conflict.

Read More

How complicit is Turkey in new mini-flotilla?

From Trend:

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said on Wednesday that there were no Turkish citizens on board of two ships which departed from Turkey for Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported.

When AA correspondent asked whether a two-ship aid flotilla departed from Turkey for Gaza, Unal said that two ships departed from Fethiye (town of Turkey's southwestern Mugla province) today, and both ships declared their destination as Rhodes.

There are no Turkish citizens on board of the ships each carrying 12 passengers, said Unal, adding that captains of the ships were Greek.

Did Turkey knowingly go along with the deception that the ships were going to Greece?

From the words of the flotidiots, it is unclear:

The activists told Haaretz that Turkish authorities requested they reduce the number of people on board, so not everyone was able to embark. They stressed that no particular organization was behind this new effort to sail to Gaza.

But that might just be for general safety reasons with nothing to do with Gaza.

And from Palestine News Network:

“Currently the Turkish Coast Guard is monitoring the ships,” claimed an Wednesday night report from the US Campaign to End the Occupation. But on Thursday morning, Michael Coleman, an Australian activist and teacher aboard the Canadian ship "Tahrir," said the situation had changed.

“Our Turkish escort is now out of sight and radar range,” said Coleman on his Twitter account.

However, it seems inconceivable that Turkey wasn't aware of a bunch of Irish and other foreigners showing up and taking a sail.

On the other hand, Turkey is not making a big show of support for the flotilla fools, and its actions seem to indicate that it is trying not to appear aggressive despite promises in recent months that it would send warships to protect any Turkish boats heading to Gaza.

Meanwhile, some of the mainstream media continues to push the lie that this is an "aid" flotilla. From The Australian/AFP:

Medical ships to test Israel blockade

TWO ships carrying medical aid and activists have set sail from Turkey in a new bid to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, pro-Palestinian activists have said.

Even Palestinian Arab sources admit the "medical aid" is symbolic, and that these ships are purely political.  For all we know, the $30,000 of "medical supplies" that they claim they are bringing might be a pillowcase full of counterfeit Viagra.

Read More

Video of Hamas celebration of terrorists - on horses

Last week I mentioned that Hamas planned a parade on Friday as another celebration honoring the released terrorists, and that it would include a "majestic procession" including forty horses.

The video of the event is online, complete with Hamas' martial music. It turns out that the terrorists themselves rode the horses - each holding a rifle.

Here's the video:



I think that this is another example of Palestinian Arab culture that UNESCO is so interested in.

Read More

Great new kosher Wall Street restaurant might close because of OWS

From The Gothamist:

The owner of the Milk Street Cafe, a big upscale food court that opened in June on Wall Street, has laid off a quarter of his staff, and he predicts he'll go out of business soon. Though he was doing well and on track to break even on his investment next month, the NYPD's barricades on Wall Street— put in place to keep out Occupy Wall Street protesters—have been killing him. Owner Marc Epstein tells us he's had to lay off over 20 employees, and his business is off 30% because Wall Street is a dead zone. Reached by phone today, Epstein says:

I have no opinion about the protesters' point of view. These barriers are killing my business, and everyone—the police, the protesters, the Mayor—has to understand the ramifications. The police decided the way to solve this was to put up these barricades, and I've approached every white shirt police officer here and said, "You are killing my business!" They say they're just following orders.

These barricades have created a siege down here on Wall Street that makes people not come here. I opened in June and hired 100 people and thought that was something good. I borrowed money, and the Trump organization took a risk with a little guy from Boston and signed the lease with me, and the bank loaned me money, and now I feel like a fool. I took such a risk here, and I'm collateral damage. My staff is collateral damage for other people's battles.

I've been to the Milk Street Cafe at Wall Street (in Boston as well) and it is an awesome place to eat. It is the largest kosher restaurant I've ever seen, and its food court layout allows it to serve both dairy foods (in the front) and meat (in the back), with separate kitchens that are not obvious. The selection of food is dizzying and I was looking forward to visiting it again.

But indeed, the last time I was there the barricades were up and walking up and down Wall Street was a frustrating experience. Barely two columns of people, going opposite directions, could squeeze past each other while the major part of the street is empty most of the time.

So a new small business owner is threatened by the idealists at OWS. Nice going, guys.

(h/t D)

Read More