Will the Only Government Leader Who HASN'T Been Offended by Obama Raise His Hand??

Obama: Differences Remain Between U.S., Israel Over Peace Process

DEVELOPING ...

President Obama said Friday that differences remain between the United States and Israel over the Middle East peace process, after he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House.

ORIGINAL STORY ...

The frosty relationship between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endured another test Friday, as the two met in the Oval Office following a bombshell policy shift by the U.S. on terms for Mideast peace.

Obama, in a sweeping address tackling the uprisings in the Middle East and the stalled peace process, stunned Washington and Jerusalem Thursday by endorsing Palestinians' demand for their own state based on the pre-1967 borders. The break with U.S. policy appeared to immediately aggravate the Israelis, who want the borders of any future Palestinian state determined through negotiations.

In a statement released late Thursday, Netanyahu said such a withdrawal would put at risk Israel's security. He effectively called on Obama to recant his latest demand.

"Israel appreciates President Obama's commitment to peace," the statement said. "Israel believes that for peace to endure between Israelis and Palestinians, the viability of a Palestinian state cannot come at the expense of the viability of the one and only Jewish state. That is why Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of U.S. commitments made to Israel in 2004. ... Among other things, those commitments relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines."

According to a report in the Israeli newspaper YNet, the prime minister was prepared for a confrontation with Obama Friday. Obama and Netanyahu have worked through a string of diplomatic challenges over the past two and a half years, but the president's Mideast speech presents a new hurdle. The U.S. had previously endorsed the concept of a Palestinian state, but not the demand for permanent pre-1967 borders, with mutually agreed land swaps.

The immediate concern among pro-Israel lawmakers and advocates was that Obama's speech will give Palestinians a new starting point in negotiations, rather than something to work toward over the course of talks.

Josh Block, former spokesman for The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, told FoxNews.com that Obama "repeats the error" made when his White House pressed the Israelis on settlement construction, granting the Palestinians more leverage in talks.

The talks have since stalled and Obama's Middle East envoy has resigned. Block said Obama's new position will not help matters.

"This strategic error is manifold, and undermines, not advances, the prospects for peace talks," he said in an email.

Obama is set to address the AIPAC conference on Sunday. Other Jewish advocacy groups, though, said Obama's position merely puts the U.S. on record in support of a plan that had a good chance of being the basis for a compromise anyway.

News Day Slowed by Tryptophan OD As Well?

THIS is a major news story??

Princeton students vote on alternate hummus brands

PRINCETON, N.J. – Princeton University students voted Monday in a referendum by a pro-Palestine student group on whether to expand the school's hummus offerings.

The student group Princeton Committee for Palestine wants university-run stores to offer alternative brands of the Middle Eastern chickpea dip because they say the only brand available is linked to human rights violations.

The brand, Sabra, is owned by PepsiCo and Strauss Group, and Strauss' website says it supports members of the Israeli military.

The group has been pushing for the university to boycott and get rid of its investments in companies that make donations to parts of the Israeli military that it says violate human rights.

Ilya Welfeld, a spokeswoman for Sabra, which has headquarters in Queens, N.Y., and Richmond, Va., said Sabra only makes donations in North America — and none of them are political.

But the Strauss Group, an Israeli food conglomerate, says on its website that it makes contributions for the "welfare, cultural and educational activities" of members of the Israeli military.

Students seeking the referendum made it happen by collecting 200 signatures. If the effort is successful, it would mean the student government would make a formal request to the Ivy League school's administration to provide additional brands of hummus.

The pro-Israel student group Tigers of Israel opposes the referendum. The group says the allegations raised by the other side are sketchy.

The results of the vote are scheduled to be released Friday.

The referendum was originally scheduled for last week but was canceled then because of a goof: The wording called for Sabra hummus not to be offered at university stores rather than for additional products to be sold, too.

WTF?  I got nothing!  I can't comment on a story this stupid!

It Always Comes Back to Israel,....

Israel and the Surrender of the West
One of the world's oldest stories is playing out before our eyes: The Jews are being scapegoated again.

By SHELBY STEELE

The most interesting voice in all the fallout surrounding the Gaza flotilla incident is that sanctimonious and meddling voice known as "world opinion." At every turn "world opinion," like a school marm, takes offense and condemns Israel for yet another infraction of the world's moral sensibility. And this voice has achieved an international political legitimacy so that even the silliest condemnation of Israel is an opportunity for self-congratulation.

Rock bands now find moral imprimatur in canceling their summer tour stops in Israel (Elvis Costello, the Pixies, the Gorillaz, the Klaxons). A demonstrator at an anti-Israel rally in New York carries a sign depicting the skull and crossbones drawn over the word "Israel." White House correspondent Helen Thomas, in one of the ugliest incarnations of this voice, calls on Jews to move back to Poland. And of course the United Nations and other international organizations smugly pass one condemnatory resolution after another against Israel while the Obama administration either joins in or demurs with a wink.

(Or insults their leader by not having dinner with him,.....)

Helen Thomas Succumbs to Absorbine Jr Overdose,....

"I'll get you my pretty! And your little dog, too! Eh-heh-heh-heh"

Helen Thomas Retires Amid Fracas
White House correspondent done-in by comments on Israeli Jews

White House correspondent Helen Thomas retired today amid a brouhaha surrounding her comments that Israeli Jews should "go home," reports USA Today. The 89-year-old Hearst columnist had covered every administration since JFK's, but succumbed to intense scrutiny that included a White House admonition, being dropped by her speaking agency, and being asked not to give a high school commencement address. Thomas, the author of several books, missed this morning's White House press conference.

Obama Administration Steps on Israel's Neck Again!

Joe Biden steps up pressure on Israel over E Jerusalem

US Vice-President Joe Biden has again condemned Israel over a controversial building project, saying approval had undermined trust in the peace process.

Mr Biden was speaking after meeting the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah.

Mr Abbas also said the approval of 1,600 more Jewish homes in East Jerusalem threatened the peace process and called for it to be cancelled.

(snip)

In November, Israel announced a 10-month suspension of new building in the West Bank, under heavy US pressure. But it considers areas within the Jerusalem municipality as its territory and the restrictions do not apply.

Israel, deliberately or not, inflicted something close to a humiliation on the Obama administration and the words they chose in reaction reflected that, our correspondent says.

Vee Know Nuthink!

Israel says no proof it carried out Hamas Dubai killing
Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said there is no proof the Mossad spy agency carried out the killing of a Hamas commander in Dubai.

But he did not fully deny that Israel carried out the killing, citing its "policy of ambiguity" on such matters.

Dubai believes 11 "agents with European passports" killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

Seven foreign-born Israelis named as suspects say their identities were stolen and they were not involved. UK passports used were said to be fake.

France, Germany and the Irish Republic also said they believed the passports from their countries used by the alleged killers were false.

'Israel never confirms'

Hamas has accused Israeli agents of murdering their operative - a view shared by many commentators because Mossad has in the past used forged foreign passports in its operations.

But in Israel's first official comments on the affair, Mr Lieberman said there was no reason to blame Israel and Mossad.

"I don't know why we are assuming that Israel, or the Mossad, used those passports," he told Army Radio.

"There is no reason to think that it was the Israeli Mossad, and not some other intelligence service or country up to some mischief."

He did not outright deny Israeli involvement.

"Israel never responds, never confirms and never denies," he said. "There is no reason for Israel to change this policy."

How Soon Before the Untied Nations Denounces Israel Again?

From the BBC:

Israelis 'seize Iran arms ship'

Israel's navy has intercepted a ship carrying hundreds of tonnes of Iranian weapons intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Israeli military has said.

The Antiguan-flagged vessel, Francop, was boarded 160km (100 miles) off the Israeli coast, the military said, and has been towed to the port of Ashdod.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the arms were intended to strike Israeli cities.

In recent months Israel has stepped up efforts to combat the smuggling of arms to both Hezbollah and Hamas militants.

Hezbollah has not yet commented on the latest incident.

Iran and Syria have both rejected Israel's allegations.

Untied Nations Showing Their Anti-Semetic Roots Again!

From the BBC:

UN backs Gaza 'war crimes' report

The UN Human Rights Council has backed a report into the Israeli offensive in Gaza that accuses both Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes.

The report by Richard Goldstone calls for credible investigations by Israel and Hamas, and suggests international war crimes prosecutions if they do not.

Twenty-five countries voted for the resolution, while six were against.

Both Israel and the US opposed official endorsement of the report, saying it would set back Middle East peace hopes.

GOLDSTONE REPORT VOTE
For: Argentina, Brazil, China, Russia and 21 others

Against: US, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Ukraine
Abstentions: Belgium, Bosnia, Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Japan, Mexico, Norway, South Korea, Slovenia and Uruguay

No vote: UK, France and 3 others

The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, meanwhile insisted that now was the time to end the "culture of impunity" which continues to prevail in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

In contrast, the Israeli government had lobbied intensively against the resolution, saying the Goldstone report was biased against Israel and removed the right of nations to defend themselves against terrorists.


FOLLOW UP:

Atlas Shrugs has a superb report on how the Obamessiah is "disgusted" with Israel!

The MSM Missed Another One,....

No anti-Semitism or anti-Israel on the left, huh?

Jews Denounce Desecration Of Joseph's Tomb

By David Bedein, Middle East Correspondent
Friday, April 24, 2009

Jerusalem — On Thursday, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, decried Arab desecrations of Joseph’s Tomb in the town of Nablus.

Reports Thursday morning of a group of Israelis who went to worship at the tomb of this Jewish patriarch state that the tomb was covered in bootprints and swastikas.

In response, Nathan J. Diament, director of public policy of the Orthodox Union, issued the following statement:

“The Orthodox Union decries the desecrations of the holy site of Joseph’s Tomb and we call upon all people of goodwill to join us in condemning such acts of desecration of holy sites.”

Mr. Diament also warned this could serve as a precedent for what could happen if Israel relinquishes sovereignty over other Jewish holy sites, most notably in Jerusalem.

During the 1948-1967 Arab rule over the Old City of Jerusalem, 57 synagogues in the Old City were torched, and Jews were not even allowed to visit the Old City.

At Least SOME Nations Still Fight Terror

As the Obamistake flings apologia after apologia to the Third World,....

Confirmed: Israel, US Will Hold Massive Joint Exercise

By David Bedein, Middle East Correspondent
Friday, April 17, 2009

Jerusalem — Israel and the United States plan to hold a major ballistic missile defense exercise later this year called Juniper Cobra. The maneuver will jointly test three different American and Israeli missile defense systems.

Israeli defense officials said Monday the exercise is necessary to create a joint missile defense infrastructure in the event of a conflict with Iran akin to what existed in 1991, when American Patriot batteries shot down inbound Iraqi Scuds.

The Israel Air Force’s Air Defense Division, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Military’s European Command (EUCOM) have held the Juniper Cobra exercise for the past five years. The upcoming exercise is planned to be the most complex and extensive yet.

The exercise will include the newly developed Arrow 2 ballistic missile defense system as well as America’s THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and ship-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.

U.S. Missile Defense Agency director Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O’Reilly mentioned these plans during testimony that he provided to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense two weeks ago.

“The Juniper Cobra exercise between EUCOM and the IDF will be the fifth and most complex exercise yet designed,” Lt. Gen. O’Reilly told the subcommittee.

Last week, the Israeli Air Force held its 17th test of its Arrow 2 interceptor, shooting down a missile mimicking an Iranian Shihab ballistic missile.

And the Leftist, Anti-Semitic Piling-On Continues,..

More lies and BS bouncing about the leftisphere today:

From Suburban Guerrilla (and posted with glee):

From The Sunday Times
January 11, 2009
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is not self-defence – it’s a war crime

ISRAEL has sought to justify its military attacks on Gaza by stating that it amounts to an act of “self-defence” as recognised by Article 51, United Nations Charter. We categorically reject this contention.

The rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas deplorable as they are, do not, in terms of scale and effect amount to an armed attack entitling Israel to rely on self-defence. Under international law self-defence is an act of last resort and is subject to the customary rules of proportionality and necessity.

The killing of almost 800 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 3,000 injuries, accompanied by the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention, is not commensurate to the deaths caused by Hamas rocket fire.

For 18 months Israel had imposed an unlawful blockade on the coastal strip that brought Gazan society to the brink of collapse. In the three years after Israel’s redeployment from Gaza, 11 Israelis were killed by rocket fire. And yet in 2005-8, according to the UN, the Israeli army killed about 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza, including 222 children. Throughout this time the Gaza Strip remained occupied territory under international law because Israel maintained effective control over it.

Israel’s actions amount to aggression, not self-defence, not least because its assault on Gaza was unnecessary. Israel could have agreed to renew the truce with Hamas. Instead it killed 225 Palestinians on the first day of its attack. As things stand, its invasion and bombardment of Gaza amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s 1.5m inhabitants contrary to international humanitarian and human rights law. In addition, the blockade of humanitarian relief, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and preventing access to basic necessities such as food and fuel, are prima facie war crimes.

We condemn the firing of rockets by Hamas into Israel and suicide bombings which are also contrary to international humanitarian law and are war crimes. Israel has a right to take reasonable and proportionate means to protect its civilian population from such attacks. However, the manner and scale of its operations in Gaza amount to an act of aggression and is contrary to international law, notwithstanding the rocket attacks by Hamas.

And from some other Philly leftist garbage pile,....

Israeli strike on civilian house may be 'war crime' says UN
The United Nations has called for Israel to be investigated for war crimes over the shelling of a house full of Palestinian civilians which left dozens dead.

Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the attack, first revealed in The Telegraph, on members of the extended Samouni family in the Gazan town of Zeitoun "appears to have all the elements of war crimes."

Her remarks came after the International Committee of the Red Cross accused Israel of breaking the rules of war by failing to help the wounded in the incident.

According to the ICRC, four infant children were found too weak to stand after clinging for 48 hours to what ambulance crew believed to be the corpses of their mothers while Israeli soldiers were less than 100 yards away.

Under the rules of war, soldiers have an obligation to treat properly the survivors of combat.

Speaking to an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council Miss Pillay said Palestinian militants firing rockets into Israel was "unacceptable'' but that it did not justify alleged abuses committed by the Israeli army.

She said conditions currently being endured by the 1.5 million strong population of Gaza "constitute egregious violations of human rights".

"Accountability must be ensured for violations of international law,'' she said.

"As a first step credible, independent and transparent investigations must be carried out to identify violations and establish responsibilities.

"I remind this Council that violations of international humanitarian law may constitute war crimes for which individual criminal responsibility may be invoked.''

Israel has denied there is any humanitarian crisis in Gaza and said it is working in concert with international agencies and doing everything possible to reduce civilian casualties.

But,...let's remember that Hamas isn't just a terrorist organization chartered to the destruction of Israel, the replacement of the Palestinian Authority with an Islamist state on the West Bank and Gaza, and to raising "the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine," it is the legally-elected political party that leads the Palestinian Authority.

But, conveniently, the left overlooks THEIR atrocities while attacking Israel's right to self-defense!

A Post of Ponderous Thought

A quick thought before I hit the sack:

Is "cease fire" a Levant Arabic phrase for "time out, we've run out of ammo and need to smuggle more?"

Just wondering?

Blue & White!

This one,.....



NOT this one,....

Bomb Iran,..Bomb-Bomb-Iran,...

Ahmadinejad: Israel's Destruction Getting Close
Sunday, June 03, 2007

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday said the world would witness the destruction of Israel soon, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Ahmadinejad said last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah showed for the first time that the "hegemony of the occupier regime [Israel] had collapsed, and the Lebanese nation pushed the button to begin counting the days until the destruction of the Zionist regime," IRNA quoted him as saying.

"God willing, in the near future we will witness the destruction of the corrupt occupier regime," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying during a speech to foreign guests who attended ceremonies marking the 18th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who is known as the father of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has lost public support after Israel failed to achieve its goals during last summer's 34-day war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon — freeing two captured soldiers and crushing the militant group.

he war was sparked after two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah militants in a cross-border raid. The fighting ended with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire that called for deployment of U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel.

Ahmadinejad has made anti-Israel comments in the past.

In October 2005, he caused outrage in the West when he said in a speech that Israel's "Zionist regime should be wiped off the map."

His supporters have argued Ahmadinejad's words were mistranslated and should have been better translated as "vanish from the pages of time" — implying Israel would vanish on its own rather be destroyed.


The TrekMedic seethes:

Y'know,...we talk,..and talk,..and talk,...! We threaten to bore these third-world dictators with repeated visits by Hans Blix. We sanction them by the Useless Nations. We twiddle our thumbs until - BLAM! - Israel is nothing more than a glowing cinder along the Mediterranean coast. Then we react with justifiable might and get s**t on by the world community! Just stop it now. This loser needs to go - NOW!! How he goes is no care of mine,...just get rid of him with extreme prejudice!