markinjapan's Open Salon Blog

The Traveler/Ha'aretz: "It’s the settlements, Stupid!"

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:05:42 -0400

The guy with the withered look in the stained purple dress is doing my work for me. In today's superlative failed blog post by lew, a post that has garnered a single comment and a single rate, he recommends reading Ha'aretz, a publication I've been reading for longer than he's been practicing his deceit and delusional hasbara:

"It’s the settlements, Stupid!

"Two recent polls show the Netanyahu government’s cumulative impact on Israel’s standing in the world. In the BBC’s poll Iran took the flattering last place with 55% of respondents seeing its influence on the world as negative. After that comes Pakistan with 51% and then North Korea and Israel tie for fourth place (from the bottom) with 50%. We are in lovely company, are we not?"

SNIP

"If you were to ask Netanyahu, Lieberman et al how this comes about, they would repeat their usual mantra: they hate us, no matter what we do; Israel’s existence is being delegitimized; these attitudes reflect anti-Semitic attitudes, and nothing Israel does has any impact on this."

SNIP

"Listening to the Netanyahu crowd’s mantras, I come to the conclusion that we must be living in different universes."

SNIP

" . . .how exactly will expropriating Palestinian land and building isolated settlements protect Israel? There has never been a good answer to this, and there isn’t one now. Netanyahu has done everything in his power to divert attention from the settlements and the occupation, hence his constant claims that Israel is hated, no matter what it does."

SNIP

"Netanyahu gave Israelis the impression that his speech at the UN in September 2011 was a resounding success, and that the ovations he received at the U.S. Congress showed that he could make the Palestinian issue go away. It hasn’t gone away, and it won’t. Opinion makers around the world are deeply unimpressed by Bibi’s good English and his suave demeanor. No diplomat or journalist I have spoken to believes Bibi’s adage that Abbas is the peace-refusenik. They think Netanyahu is unreliable and manipulative, and that his declaration of commitment to the two state solution is just an attempt to gain time.

To make things worse, members of Knesset from his party, the Likud, make a catastrophic impression when they speak in the media. Watching deputy speaker of the Knesset Danny Danon’s interview with Al-Jazeera is a truly dismaying experience: he stumbles through twenty five minutes contradicting himself time and again, trying to depict Israel as a bona fide democracy while defending the most anti-democratic positions. If you add Netanyahu’s catastrophic appointment of Lieberman as Israel’s foreign minister, one cannot really be surprised that Israel’s international standing is plummeting."

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/strenger-than-fiction/it-s-the-settlements-stupid.premium-1.433346

The traveler, lies, and the region's only "democracy."

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:05:53 -0400

In the traveler's latest post, he claims that my comment: "Are You really asking for integrity from lew, Kim? Good luck with that?" is abusive and a personal attack. Maybe he suffers from short (or long) term memory deficit.

If someone is caught lying, isn't that sufficient reason to question their integrity? To wit:

In October past, lew said:

"What more is there to say except, in response to his last question, if at anytime during that 64 years, the Palestinian leaders had come to Isrealileaders (sic) and sad (sic) that they were sorry and they wanted to be friends and decent neighbors and to live together in peace, then the nascent country of Palestine would now be, alongside Israel, a garden spot of technology and culture in the mid-East instead of what it is."

http://open.salon.com/blog/the_traveler/2011/10/30/mahmood_abbas_is_right

I cited the Jewish Virtual Library, of all places and quoted the following letter:

"LETTER FROM YASSER ARAFAT TO PRIME MINISTER RABIN:

September 9, 1993

Yitzhak Rabin

Prime Minister of Israel

Mr. Prime Minister,

The signing of the Declaration of Principles marks a new era in the history of the Middle East. In firm conviction thereof, I would like to confirm the following PLO commitments:

The PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security.

The PLO accepts United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.

The PLO commits itself to the Middle East peace process, and to a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides and declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations.

The PLO considers that the signing of the Declaration of Principles constitutes a historic event, inaugurating a new epoch of peaceful coexistence, free from violence and all other acts which endanger peace and stability. Accordingly, the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators

In view of the promise of a new era and the signing of the Declaration of Principles and based on Palestinian acceptance of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the PLO affirms that those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which deny Israel's right to exist, and the provisions of the Covenant which are inconsistent with the commitments of this letter are now inoperative and no longer valid. Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian Covenant.

Sincerely,

Yasser Arafat

Chairman

The Palestine Liberation Organization"

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/recogn.html

to which the traveler replied:

"I printed an opinion- mine- which you have somehow mis-characterized as a lie."

It is clear that this person has conflated opinion with historical FACT.

Most of my comments and thoughts are annotated. When I am broaching a sensitive subject, I often double source my contentions.

Earlier this year, I caught him, again being lazy and sloppy with his words, and commented:

" you may scoff at my comment concerning 620 commandments or 613, and in your mind you are thinking why is this guy making such a big deal over seven commandments, and the answer, REALLY, is quite simple. It is indicative of the sloppy way you approach intellectual matters. Accuracy is irrelevant to you."

to which he replied:

"In this case, you have the wrong target. Since I have always been a secular Jew, probably since my circumcision, I can't imagine I would ever have mentioned anything about Hebrew Laws or Hebrew, so whoever mentioned the 600 or so thingies that you are clinging to as an insult, it wasn't me and it doesn't offend me."

When confronted with his own words, a second case of lying, he had no reply:

"Although Mizvahs are the complete set of rules (620 of them) - both positive and negative, given in the Torah, in casual usage, a mitzvah is a good deed. And these are important.

the traveler

NOVEMBER 18, 2011 05:42 AM"

In lew's "mind" secular jew means through an accident of birth, he is a jew in name only and need know nothing of the religion, nor the historical record of his lineage.

One might think a "COL, USA (Ret)" might be more careful with his words and contentions (or maybe not).

In his latest screed, he wishes to know why israel is singled out for criticism. I would ask why in yearly polls taken in Europe for years, the question as to the greatest threat to world peace consistently yield the result: A. america, and B. israel.

Furthermore, I apologize to those who have seen this visual representation of why much of the world views israel as such a mendacious threat to the world and the region:

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the world’s major sources of instability. Americans are directly connected to this conflict, and increasingly imperiled by its devastation.

It is the goal of If Americans Knew to provide full and accurate information on this critical issue, and on our power – and duty – to bring a resolution.

Please click on any statistic for the source and more information.
Statistics Last Updated: October 25, 2011

Israeli and Palestinian Children Killed
September 29, 2000 - Present

126 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians and 1,476 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis since September 29, 2000. (View Sources & More Information)

Israelis and Palestinians Killed
September 29, 2000 - Present

1,096 Israelis and at least 6,568 Palestinians have been killed since September 29, 2000. (View Sources & More Information)

Israelis and Palestinians Injured
September 29, 2000 - Present

10,792 Israelis and 59,575 Palestinians have been injured since September 29, 2000. (View Sources & More Information.)

Daily U.S. Military Aid to Israel and the Palestinians
Fiscal Year 2011

During Fiscal Year 2011, the U.S. is providing Israel with at least $8.2 million per day in military aid and $0 in military aid to the Palestinians. (View Sources & More Information)

Current Number of Political Prisoners and Detainees

0 Israelis are being held prisoner by Palestinians, while5,604 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel. (View Sources & More Information)

Demolitions of Israeli and Palestinian Homes
1967 - Present

0 Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians and 24,813 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since 1967. (View Sources & More Information)

Israeli and Palestinian Unemployment Rates

The Israeli unemployment rate is 6.4%, while the Palestinian unemployment in the West Bank is 16.5% and40% in Gaza. (View Sources & More Information)

Current Illegal Settlements on the Other’s Land

Israel currently has 236 Jewish-only settlements and ‘outposts’ built on confiscated Palestinian land. Palestinians do not have any settlements on Israeli land. (View Sources & More Information)

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http://www.ifamericansknew.org/

For a look at the current state of the region's only "democracy, we go to Ron HaCohen:

"Tel Aviv ‘Race Riots’ Reveal Much About Israel

by Ran HaCohen, May 28, 2012

"The “race riots” in Tel Aviv last week — a mass demonstration that turned into a pogrom against about 60,000 asylum seekers, an overwhelming majority of them from Eritrea, the rest mostly from Sudan (Darfur and South Sudan) and a few other African countries — gives a revealing glimpse into Israeli realities under the current fascist government.

The predominant speakers at the demonstration in the poor southern part of Tel Aviv, where most of the asylum seekers and migrant workers are concentrated, were two Knesset members: Michael Ben-Ari (of the far-right National Union), who urged the Jewish rabble to take law into its own hands (“the time for words is over”), and Miri Regev (Likud), who described the “Sudanese” (contrary to the facts, many ignorant Israelis subsume all Africans under “Sudanese”) as “cancer.”

Obviously, fascism always deflects public discontent by turning it against helpless minorities. But the alliance between the two Knesset members is revealing: whereas Regev is a coalition member, Ben-Ari is officially part of the opposition. Israel’s fascist coalition is in fact even wider than the 94 (out of 120) Knesset members it now includes, as it can rely on the support of the far-right opposition to carry out its policies. Netanyahu uses this quite often. When regulations or tradition stipulate the appointment of an opposition member to some official function, Netanyahu appoints someone from the far right, marginalizing the small liberal opposition even further.

Ben-Ari is a former (?) member of the Orthodox, fascist-racist Kach movement, which is outlawed in Israel and considered a terrorist organization in the United States. Miri Regev, on the other hand, was the spokesperson of the Israeli army during the Second Lebanon War (2006). Trained and experienced in lying and inciting against the “enemy from without,” she now turns her talents against the “enemy from within.” Just a few years ago, the far-right former Col. Effi Eitam defined Israeli Arab citizens as a “cancer,” now Regev is using — without any apology even in hindsight — the same image (quite popular among neo-Nazis against Jews, by the way) against asylum seekers."

SNIP

"What’s the sense of keeping thousands of people who cannot be deported to their failed home countries without a work permit, pushing them to hunger, theft, and robbery? Government spokesmen are quite open about that: “If we let them work, more will come.” We see again the “solution” traditionally suggested and implemented toward the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza: do not treat them well; dispossess them, deprive them of land, work opportunities, and human rights; and they’ll go away (or evaporate). And if — surprise surprise — they turn to violence, that’s even better: portray them as terrorists and “Let the Army Win.” After all, there’s no problem the Israeli army cannot solve.

The Economy Behind

But it’s not just ideology that is at stake here. Behind the scenes, economic factors play a huge role. While thousands of asylum seekers are pushed to starvation and crime, Israel opens its gates every year to thousands of foreign workers, mostly from Asia; entire branches of the country’s economy — especially agriculture and construction — depend on this cheap labor, since the Palestinian commuters were pushed out of the labor market to perish behind walls and fences.

The solution seems trivial: instead of importing new workers from the Philippines or China, Israel can give work permits to the asylum seekers already here. Why is this not done? We’ve already seen the official excuse. But the deeper reason is concealed. Take, for example, Miri Regev. Just a few days before railing against “the Sudanese cancer” in Tel Aviv, the very same lady tried to promote an amendment to the law that would reduce government’s regulation of foreign workers and give “manpower contractors” a free hand to import whomever they decide. How come? Well, unlike asylum seekers, who are often robbed and blackmailed by Egyptian smugglers but enter Israel free of charge, every legal migrant worker pays his Israeli “manpower contractor” thousands of dollars just for entering Israel. Asylum seekers come for free, but migrant workers are big money. Regev is a politician, and politicians are always aware of big money.

Remember Eli Yishai, the interior minister “specifically flagged as an instigator” against asylum seekers? During his time as interior minister, work permits for migrant workers have soared. His colleague in the ultra-orthodox Shas Party, former ministerShlomo Benizri, is now in prison, convicted of accepting bribe from a good friend — a “manpower contractor” — in exchange for inside information regarding foreign workers scheduled to arrive in Israel."

(more detail at the link)

http://original.antiwar.com/hacohen/2012/05/27/tel-aviv-race-riots-reveal-much-about-israel/

obama: a good and decent man!

Sat, 5 May 2012 08:05:36 -0400

Warrior in Chief

By PETER L. BERGEN

Published: April 28, 2012

"THE president who won the Nobel Peace Prize less than nine months after his inauguration has turned out to be one of the most militarily aggressive American leaders in decades."

SNIP

"Liberals helped to elect Barack Obama in part because of his opposition to the Iraq war . . ."

SNIP

"If those on the left were listening, they didn’t seem to care. The left, which had loudly condemned George W. Bush for waterboarding and due process violations at Guantánamo, was relatively quiet when the Obama administration, acting as judge and executioner, ordered more than 250 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2009, during which at least 1,400 lives were lost.

Mr. Obama’s readiness to use force — and his military record — have won him little support from the right. Despite countervailing evidence, most conservatives view the president as some kind of peacenik. From both the right and left, there has been a continuing, dramatic cognitive disconnect between Mr. Obama’s record and the public perception of his leadership: despite his demonstrated willingness to use force, neither side regards him as the warrior president he is."

SNIP

"Compare Mr. Obama’s use of drone strikes with that of his predecessor. During the Bush administration, there was an American drone attack in Pakistan every 43 days; during the first two years of the Obama administration, there was a drone strike there every four days. And two years into his presidency, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning president was engaged in conflicts in six Muslim countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya. The man who went to Washington as an “antiwar” president was more Teddy Roosevelt than Jimmy Carter."

SNIP

"Once in office, Mr. Obama signed off on a large increase in the number of C.I.A. officers on the ground in Pakistan and an intensified campaign of drone warfare there; he also embraced the use of drones or covert military units in places like Somalia and Yemen, where the United States was not engaged in traditional land warfare. (Mr. Bush, who first deployed C.I.A.-directed drones, did not do so on the scale that Mr. Obama did; and Mr. Obama, of course, had the benefit of significantly improved, more precise, drone technology.)"

SNIP

"What accounts for the strange, persistent cognitive dissonance about this president and his relation to military force? Does it stem from the campaign in which Mrs. Clinton repeatedly critiqued Mr. Obama for his stated willingness to negotiate with Iran and Cuba? Or is it because he can never quite shake the deliberative tone and mien of the constitutional law professor that he once was?

. . . yet many continue to see him as the negotiator in chief rather than the warrior in chief that he actually is."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/opinion/sunday/president-obama-warrior-in-chief.html?pagewanted=all

Ted Rall; a network of secret prisons & concentration camps

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:04:30 -0400

SYNDICATED COLUMN: The Pravda-ization of the News

Ted Rall

"No Context, But Propaganda Is Amusing

Try as they may to make the news as boring as possible, U.S. media outlets keep churning out hilarious “news” stories. Hardly a day passes without the release of some piece whose content is so ridiculous, its tone so absurdly credulous, that it makes us feel as if we live in a bizarre reincarnation of the propaganda-soaked Soviet Union.

Remember “Baghdad Bob”? Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraq’s information minister during the 2003 U.S. invasion, kept denying reality, insisting that Saddam’s regime was winning even as attacking tanks appeared in the background of his camera shots. I had a Baghdad Bob flashback moment earlier this week while listening to NPR’s afternoon news program “All Things Considered.”

“President Obama toured the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington today joined by Holocaust survivor, author and Nobel Laureate, Elie Wiesel. Mr. Obama said the U.S. must never again allow such atrocities to take place,” said Melissa Block."

Whaaaaa…?"

SNIP

"The implication is that Obama cares about protecting innocent people from state-run mass murder. That the U.S. has moral standing. But…but…

The U.S. is currently the world’s leading perpetrator of atrocities!

American wars against Afghanistan and Iraq have slaughtered at least two million people and injured many millions more. The U.S. maintains a network of “black site” secret prisons and concentration camps around the world. President Obama claims the right to assassinate anyone, including U.S. citizens, anywhere in the world, without having to explain himself to a court. We’re the #1 arms dealer on the planet. And, as a British newspaper has learned, the military maintains dozens of secret drone bases here inside the U.S., obviously for future use against the enemies of our increasingly oppressive police state."

SNIP

"The Obama Administration isn’t killing as many people as were killed during the Holocaust—but that’s not saying much. Does NPR think we’ve forgotten that the hands of our political leaders are dripping with blood? Or is NPR trying to compete with Comedy Central?"

SNIP

"When innocents suffer. Well, not all innocents, right, Mr. President? Like, we’re not supposed to lose sleep over the thousands of detainees—including children—in U.S. concentration camps at Guantánamo, Bagram, Diego Garcia, Thailand, and Bulgaria. All of who are, under U.S. law, innocent of any crime (because they’ve never been charged, much less convicted, in court)."

SNIP

"It’s bad enough to be fed propaganda. But at least make an effort when you lie. This crap is insulting."

http://www.rall.com/rallblog/

AND

Ex-CIA Interrogator: Obama's War on Terror Is Less Ethical Than Bush's

JOHN HUDSON2,389 Views9:45 AM ET

The former head of the CIA's Clandestine Service Jose Rodriguez says President Obama is waging the nation's war against radical Islam in a far more brutal manner than his predecessor President George W. Bush.

"We don't capture anybody any more," Rodriguez told 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl on Sunday. "Their default option of this Administration has been to ... take no prisoners ... How could it be more ethical to kill people rather than capture them? I never understood that one."

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/04/ex-cia-interrogator-obamas-war-terror-less-ethical-bushs/51712/

What a monster tsunami looks like

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:04:53 -0400

Despitethe fact that I have made references to radiation in food, repeatedly, and despite the fact that scientists know that the resuts of the Japan earthquake's radiation is slowly spreading world-wide, one of my dearest friends, here, has a relative planning to come to Japan to teach.

I've explained to her that numerous americans accepted the american offer to be sent to Seoul for free, despite Seoul being no picnic.

Okinawa has had an influx of american academics now looking for ways out of here

I hope this video will help dissuade her:

markinjapan's Open Salon Blog

The Traveler/Ha'aretz: "It’s the settlements, Stupid!"

"It’s the settlements, Stupid!

The traveler, lies, and the region's only "democracy."

Please click on any statistic for the source and more information.Statistics Last Updated: October 25, 2011

obama: a good and decent man!

Warrior in Chief

By PETER L. BERGEN

Ted Rall; a network of secret prisons & concentration camps

SYNDICATED COLUMN: The Pravda-ization of the News

Ex-CIA Interrogator: Obama's War on Terror Is Less Ethical Than Bush's

What a monster tsunami looks like

Please click on any statistic for the source and more information.
Statistics Last Updated: October 25, 2011