Sunday, December 15, 2013
From Ian:
Linkage, Ltd.
Linkage, Ltd.
Obama believes that if the U.S. were to create a stable Middle East and forge a wide cross-Arab partnership of moderates -- which would supplant the dwindling U.S. presence -- the Palestinian issue must be addressed. Only by removing this stumbling block from the Arab world's agenda will key players such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt be able to increase their political and defense-related cooperation with Washington without undermining their stability.The Spirit of Apartheid: Why “Palestine” will not be an ‘Rainbow Nation’
But the linkage policy in this region has been a bitter disappointment. The American cold shoulder during the early Eisenhower years did not stop the USSR from setting foot in the region. The Baghdad Pact did not meet its objective and was never as big as it was supposed to be (see what happened to Egypt and Iraq). The economic incentives aimed at seducing the Soviets were an utter failure when it came to the East's activities in the Middle East and in Angola's civil war.
As for the Obama administration, even though Israel agreed to halt settlement construction in 2009 for a 10-month period, this did not help create the much-anticipated Sunni coalition. The legitimacy of the Sunni regimes in the area (and chiefly among them is Egypt) was eroded and ultimately imploded, but this was not a result of the impasse in the peace talks with the Palestinians. It was a consequence of the Arab Spring that reshuffled the deck.
In contrast with South Africa, which – consistent with Mandela’s vision – largely embraces its mix of whites, blacks, coloured, Asian and Indian populations (as well as Jews, Christians, Muslims and African ethnic groups such as Xhosa and Zulu), the new state of Palestine will almost certainly be entirely Arab Muslim. There will of course be no Jews and (if trends throughout ‘Palestine’ and the Arab Middle East continue) almost no Christians.Temple Mount high
All of this leads us to conclude that while Palestine will likely not become an apartheid state – as such state codified racism first requires the critical mass of racial diversity which they will not possess – it will become the kind of racial exclusivist state which Mandela and South Africa’s liberals found so abhorrent.
The real negligence on the Temple Mount is the unwillingness of the State of Israel to assert its full sovereignty there. Ever since Moshe Dayan squatted down with the Wakf on June 17, 1967, together with David Farhi, and symbolically returned the keys to the gates, the state has sensessly kowtowed to the most fanatical behavior.Palestine – European Union Embroiled In Financial Scandal…writes David Singer
Only in August 1967 did Dayan take the key to the Muhgrabi Gate back from Wakf head Hassan Tahboub, and military police were stationed at the entrance to the gate. Later, regular police assumed supervision.
Spending hundreds of millions of dollars supposedly supporting the salaries of public servants that no longer occupy those positions and doing nothing to arrest this expenditure – although knowing it was happening – indicates an appalling standard of financial irresponsibility for which the EU has become famous.In Sydney, A Motion Most Foul
This financial gravy train seems set to continue whilst:
1 Hamas and the PLO refuse to reconcile their differences
2 The PLO rejects any kind of settlement with Israel that entails Israel obtaining sovereignty in any part of the West Bank.
The European Union is on a treadmill from which it must now extricate itself.
The obvious solution is to make sure EU money gets to the most needy – not phantom employees who have been having a financial feast at European taxpayers expense.
This picture shows a grinning trio making a salute outside the Sydney Jewish Museum that is definitely not the Aussie Salute.A cynical disqualification
While the arm motion made by this trio is undoubtedly inexplicable to most onlookers it appears that it is, as the Times of Israel explains here, an abominable racist gesture that has recently caught on bigtime among Jew-haters in Europe. It is the "quenelle signal," we're told,
The photo that I've reproduced above is one of the truly shocking collection shown here which demonstrate the depths of depravity to which some people will sink in order to mock and vilify the Jews.
The University of Haifa decided not to give an honorary doctorate to Nobel Prize winner Professor Robert Aumann. The reason: His right-wing views, which contradict the left-wing, pro-Palestinian spirit of the university. We recently learned that the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee will reportedly discuss the university's law clinics' practices of late, a third of which have focused on Palestinian rights, including the rights of Hamas terrorists serving prison sentences in Israel.USF professor Stephen Zunes Duped
Aumann, a leading scholar of mathematics and game theory, does not need the University of Haifa's respect. His academic excellence does not require the university's affirmation, which is rather small by comparison. Every important international institution has opened its doors to him. Students the world over have flocked to Jerusalem to study under Aumann, learning the basic tenets of human logic.
Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies. He is well known for his anti-Israel rhetoric.Fail: Palestine Online store celebrates British Colonialism
You'd think the Chair of Middle East Studies in a large urban institution might have a working knowledge of the history, and geography of the region. After all, Prof. Zunes has traveled extensively in the area.
Yet Prof. Zunes recently posted this on his Facebook Page. Fail.
Umm, Stephen. One problem. Thats from Japan.
So there we have it - an " expert" in the Middle East mistakenly claimed photos from the Tobu World Square theme park in Japan (1/25 scale, incidentally!) were taken in Egypt
In their desperation to claim a cultural heritage, where none existed before, the Palestinian Online store is marketing jewelry created from "authentic" and "historic" British Mandate coins.British Pro-Jihad Islamist Anjem Choudary – Whose Network Is Regarded As 'Single Biggest Gateway To Terrorism'
By selling the jewelry made with this coinage, the Palestine Online store is celebrating the British Mandate and the colonial history of the region, as well as the historical Jewish ties to this land. Nice.
In November 2013, the U.K. nonprofit group Hope Not Hate published extensive research revealing that British Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary – head and co-founder of the banned extremist U.K. group Al-Muhajiroun, spokesman for the banned Islam4UK organization, and spiritual advisor to the banned U.K. Islamist group Muslims Against Crusades (MAC – has been encouraging young British Muslims to go to Syria to fight for Al-Qaeda. The report stated that the network of Al-Muhajiroun and its European partners has become the "single biggest gateway to terrorism in recent British history" and the largest in Europe that is recruiting foreign fighters to go to Syria. It also estimated that the network has sent 200-300 people to Syria.‘Tis the season for the BBC to avoid adopting other people’s anti-Israel memes
One of the less attractive features of the Christmas season in recent years has been its exploitation by politically motivated NGOs as a spring-board for augmented delegitimisation of Israel, with a dominant feature of those opportunistic campaigns being the deliberate conflation of present day Palestinians with the characters depicted in the Christmas story. For example, in recent years some charities have been selling blatantly political Christmas cards which portray Joseph and Mary as Palestinians and one-sided inaccurate representations of the anti-terrorist fence feature widely in seasonal merchandise.Knesset Weighs Bill that would Tax Anti-Zionism
An anti-leftist, anti-boycott bill which was discussed under the previous Knesset will come to the fore again Sunday, according to Maariv. The Knesset hearing will be headed by MK Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi/Jewish Home) and Robert Ilatov (Yisrael Beytenu).After storm and heavy flooding, Gaza receives fuel
The bill has sparked controversy for imposing a 45% tax on foreign donations to leftist groups. The goal of the bill is to "reduce the involvement of foreign entities within the affairs of the state of Israel."
While the rival Palestinian government in the West Bank can ship fuel to Gaza through Israel, Gaza’s Hamas rulers have refused to accept the shipments, saying they cannot afford a new tax.Appeasing Nuclear Tyrannies Doesn’t Work
Palestinian border official Raed Fattouh said Sunday’s fuel shipment was paid for by Qatar.
But just as the megalomania of the North Korean leadership always trumped any idea of their nation’s economic interests, the Iranian theocrats will always prioritize their vision of regional hegemony in which nukes will be complimented by their thriving side business funding international terrorism and their alliances with the Assad clan in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and perhaps a renewed friendship with Hamas in Gaza. And at the pinnacle of the Iranian system remains an autocratic cleric who dreams of destroying Israel and has no interest in détente with the West. Appeasing him and his minions is just as futile a task as Sherman’s previous efforts in North Korea.Start-Up GreenSpense Wins Prestigious International Cleantech Awards
Laugh all you want about the craziness in North Korea and pretend, if you can manage it, that their nuclear arsenal doesn’t pose a threat to the U.S. But the cost of playing the same game in Iran will be even higher. Appeasing or containing a nuclear tyranny run by hate-filled theocrats is as hopeless as was the attempt to do the same thing with one run by a Stalinist family gang. Though Obama, Kerry, and Sherman want the nuclear deals signed with North Korea to be thrown down the memory hole, they stand as an indictment against the administration’s current Iran policy.
12 billion aerosol sprays, gels and foams are manufactured annually; over 500,000 tons of gas (used as a propellant in aerosols) contribute to the expensive packaging and environmental danger of today’s aerosol canisters. An Israeli company, GreenSpense, has developed an eco-friendly solution to the challenges and dangers presented by aerosol containers.Hadassah develops new test for ‘Breast Cancer Gene’
GreenSpense’s Eco-Sleeve does away with the need for gas and pressurized-metal-canisters, used for sprays, gels and foam products, which make aerosols polluting, dangerous and expensive to pack. Made from innovative material using nanotechnology, GreenSpense’s Eco-Sleeve unleashes design creativity in packaging shapes and materials, providing a huge marketing and ecological advantage to producers, while reducing packaging and product costs and eliminating the use of harmful gas.
Israeli researchers, led by Dr. Asher Salmon, then Senior Oncologist at the Hadassah Medical Center, developed a blood test that reveals it is possible to predict the presence of harmful BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in otherwise healthy women using a novel technology called gene expression profiling. Women with a mutation in their BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have a significantly increased risk for developing breast or ovarian cancer. For many of those at risk, the disease may develop at an early age.Israel Corp.'s Qoros opens first European car showroom
Car manufacturer Qoros Auto Co. Ltd., a joint venture controlled by Israel Corporation (TASE: ILCO) and China's Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. has officially opened its first showroom in Europe in the Slovakian capital Bratislava.Israel’s folding car of the future
In the first stage Qoros will sell just one model - a sedan with a 1.6 turbo engine and the highest level of accessories. The price of the Qoros will be €20,960 but at a later stage a more basic model will sell for just €20,000.
If you’re looking for the future of urban transportation, take a peek inside a workshop near Rosh HaAyin, where a trio of engineers is readying Israel’s entry into the folding-car arena.
The City Transformer (www.citytransformer.com) quadricycle is designed as an electric two-seater that folds down with the press of a button from 1.6 meters to just one meter (3.2 feet) in width. Its 2.2-meter (7.2 feet) length matches the size of a motorcycle parking spot.
The entire vehicle will weigh about 400 kilograms (880 pounds), quite a difference from the 1,543-kilo Renault Fluence electric sedan that was sold in Israel through the now-defunct Better Place recharging network.
