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POPSShould Barack Obama Have Skipped Europe And Gone Home? Yes, he was treated as an equal by a world leader. t was great theatre but the Frenchman came off as - how can I put this delicately - a complete clown. We'll see what happens in London but it'll be Gordon Brown hoping a little bit of the Obama magic rubs off rather than the other way round. And then there was the unseemly dispute with the Pentagon over Obama's abandoned plan to visit wounded American troops - something he could have done without. Perhaps the Illinois senator - who drew giggles from the assembled press when he had to point out in Paris that he was not the US president - should have flown back direct from Israel. The Presumptive - and Presumptuous - Nominee By Toby Harnden http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/07/the_presumptive_and_presumptuo.html
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POPSObama's Idol Status Overseas Many in Washington were scratching their heads while he (McCain) was traipsing through the jungles of Colombia last month. But then came the freeing of hostages held by the FARC Colombian rebels, and McCain looked, well, presidential. And really, that’s the whole point of these “fact-finding” missions – looking good for the cameras. Perhaps these work vacations by politicians are more sophisticated than they first appear. Maybe Americans appreciate the fact that their presidential candidates are traveling beyond the confines of America and seeing the world firsthand. Perhaps, but do not be deceived. These are trips staged to the finest detail, with little left to chance and happenstance. Obama and McCain know this, and they have treated it as such – an extension of their political campaigns. Why do you think the network anchors are along for the ride? It is surely not because of the news quotient that the “surge” is working.
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POPSAbout Obama’s Comments At The Holocaust Memorial And Museum continued; going without at home to help the fighting men overseas. Words matter. Perhaps my words in the post, Obama: WWII won by speaking out as one voice, were not adequate to portray the betrayal of America’s–and the worlds–greatest generation. Perhaps I am simply making too much of nothing. Sure, Obama will say, it was just a euphemism; of course he honors the sacrifices, blah blah blah. But I do not believe this is the truth. I believe that his words do mean something. His words assault the reality and remove the sacrifices. His words turn my grandparents and great uncles and great aunts into nothing, pushed aside in favor of modern liberal rhetoric with no goal beyond winning an election. Our greatest generation did not speak out. They fought; they sacrificed; they died; and, ultimately, they saved the world.
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POPSMessiah Lies About His Senate Committee Assignment John explains the rest: But Obama is not a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Obama just made that up so he could count the committee's action as one of "my deeds." If committed by a Republican, this would be a gaffe of historic proportions. Even a Senator as inattentive to his duties as Obama certainly knows what committees he serves on. For him to fabricate the claim, out of whole cloth, that the Senate Banking Committee is " committee," strikes me as another sign of Obama's megalomania. That, plus more evidence that he is totally at sea without a teleprompter. Illinois Senator's Record Of Inaction Leaves Him Discredited WASHINGTON, July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the Republican National Committee: As Chairman Of The Subcommittee With NATO Oversight, Obama Has Failed To Hold Any Hearings On Afghanistan:
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POPSNow Bush Is Appeasing Iran joined envoys from France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany in talks with Saeed Jalili -- Iran's nuclear negotiator and an Ahmadinejad confidant -- about incentives to give to Tehran. ven with record oil prices, mismanagement has driven the Iranian economy into the ground. On July 14, the Ministry of Housing reported an "historical" 125% rise in housing prices. The same day, Tabnak, a news Web site run by a former head of the IRGC, admitted foodstuff inflation had reached 50% annually. On July 8, 2008, a National Iranian Oil Company executive acknowledged in the Iranian press that, without significant investment in infrastructure, Iranian oil production would decline each year by 300,000 barrels a day. In the past month alone, Iranian workers have struck for unpaid wages at the Khodro automotive plant (which assembles Peugeots), the Alburz Tire Company, and the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane factory.
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POPSTerrorists' Assignment: Protect Barack Obama The Israeli Defense Forces, working with U.S. security coordinators, will protect the main West Bank highway Obama's convoy will use to approach Ramallah. Security for Obama will be largely turned over to the Palestinians once he enters Ramallah, although security plans are being heavily coordinated with the U.S.
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POPSHezbollah Welcomes Terrorists & Jew-Killers Back Home The deal was brokered by UN which assigned German Gerhard Conard of Germany as a mediator between Israel and Hezbollah. "There are still many more to be done. I hope the release of Corporal Schalit and the Palestinian prisoners will also be realized as soon as possible," Ban said. "This is an important aspect, humanitarian aspect of Security council resolution 1701", he added.
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POPSUPDATE: Israel Moves Prisoners, Bodies Ahead Of Swap
Although polls show Israelis solidly endorse the exchange, many see Kantar as the embodiment of evil. In the dead of night on April 22, 1979, Kantar and three other gunmen made their way in a rubber dinghy from Lebanon to the sleepy Israeli coastal town of Nahariya, five miles south of the border. There, in a hail of gunfire and exploding grenades, they killed a policeman who stumbled upon them, then burst into the apartment of Danny Haran, herding him and his 4-year-old daughter out of the house at gunpoint to the beach below, where they were killed. The attack is seared in Israel's collective consciousness because witnesses recounted that Kantar shot Danny Haran in front of his child, then killed her by smashing her skull against a rock with his rifle butt. Israel held on to Kantar for decades, hoping to use him as a bargaining chip to wring some information about missing Israeli airman, Ron Arad. Hezbollah relayed a report to Israel about Arad........
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POPSFeckless To Reckless, Pelosi Should Resign But she's not fooling anyone. In playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the speaker has moved beyond the incompetence and irresponsibility that have characterized her leadership to date. President Bush, however, isn't about to be suckered into releasing the reserves just long enough for pump prices to fall by Election Day, thereby saving Democrats' skins so they can carry on their drill-nothingism for an additional two years. The president needs to do two things with Pelosi's proposal: First, tell her "no," unless she comes up with a plan to open up more drilling. Second, expose it for what it is — a bid to paint Bush as the problem to distract from her own sorry record. borders on recklessness, something we cannot tolerate in such dangerous times.
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POPSRussia Objects To US-Czech Shield: Iran Flexes It's Missiles What a missile defense system in Europe would do is restore the ambiguity inherent in the American deterrent posture even in the event Iran has nuclear weapons. If the Ayatollahs cannot rely on their missiles penetrating the defense, they are faced with possibility that America could actually destroy it utterly, leaving no time for Teheran to even deploy shipping container bombs, in response to any attack Washington considered sufficiently offensive. The Ayatollahs could persuade themselves that Washington mightn’t but it would have to admit that it could. And that doubt might make all the difference. Because of the value that comes from the ambiguity of what the US may do to an adversary if the acts we seek to deter are carried out, it hurts to portray ourselves as too fully rational and cool-headed. ‘This essential sense of fear is the working force of deterrence. That the US may become irrational and vindictive if its vital interests are attacked
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POPSMahmoud The Fauxtographer Update: This image, part of a framegrab from an Al Alam television broadcast of the launch (apparently taken at approximately the same time from a slightly higher elevation) makes it pretty clear which missile was conjured from borrowed pixels.
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POPSIt Must Suck Being Joseph "Yellow-Cake" Wilson IV Now! In his speech, Ambassador Joseph Wilson described himself as the investigator sent to Niger by the government and says the government sent him there and not the CIA (a lie). Wilson said there was nothing to the uranium story (another lie), described the US as "occupiers" of Iraq (a shocking statement at the time), and described a conspiracy to help Israel dominate the Palestinians. Joe Wilson repeated the lie for several years that the Iraq was not seeking uranium from Niger even though five days after Wilson's NYT op-ed, George Tenet put out a statement describing how the person the CIA sent to check out the Niger story (Joe Wilson) found that the Iraqis had indeed tried to open up trade talks, which were interpretted by government officials in Niger as an attempt to purchase uranium ore. AP Exclusive: US removes uranium from Iraq http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107ap_iraq_yellowcake_mission.html
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POPSBBC's First Warped Headline Before It Gets Changed Our Special One Year Analysis of the BBC demonstrated how its headline selection for stories focused on combat and terrorist attacks was inconsistent and favored the Palestinian side. Stories about Palestinian attacks never directly named the aggressors, headlines such as "Rocket injures dozens in Israel" were used. Indeed, even the latest BBC headline "Bulldozer rampage hits Jerusalem", is also fundamentally flawed, failing to attribute the attack to the Palestinian individual who carried it out. It was not the city of Jerusalem, the subject of the headline, that was murdered, but at least three innocent Israelis. For accurate coverage and the latest developments from Jerusalem on this breaking story, see English-language Israeli sources such as The Jerusalem Post, Ha'aretz and YNet News. You can also read the thoughts of HonestReporting's Backspin blog editor who happened to be in downtown Jerusalem at the time of the terror atttack.
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POPSTwo Die, 30 Injured As Attacker Rams Buses In Jerusalem two weeks after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza. A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters the group did "not expect it will influence the Gaza calm." Israel Radio described the driver as a 30-year-old Arab who was known to the authorities because of a criminal record. The attack was the first serious episode in Jerusalem since Palestinian from East Jerusalem shot dead eight students at a yeshiva school in March. Rosenfeld, the police spokesman, said the driver came from one of several large Palestinian villages in the East Jerusalem area. The earthmover appeared to have been driven out of a construction site on Jaffa Road. Hundreds of people were reported to have fled the area. "It could have been a lot worse," said Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman. Police referred to the driver as a terrorist but his motive and identity were not immediately made known.
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POPSMcCain vs. Obama On National Security that espouses the destruction of the State of Israel as its fondest wish and pledges undying enmity to the United States to possess the weapons to advance their malevolent ambitions." He also rejects "unconditional dialogues" with Iran. Obama has delivered messages on Iran that were more mixed. But that only makes diplomacy more important. If we must use military force, we are more likely to succeed, and will have far greater support at home and abroad, if we have exhausted our diplomatic efforts." In the same speech, however, Obama promised: "aggressive, principled diplomacy without self-defeating preconditions....Obama missed a vote on a controversial amendment offered by Sen. Jon Kyl and Lieberman that proposed labeling Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization . Obama called the amendment a repeat of the mistakes that led to war in Iraq; however, he had cosponsored an earlier bill declaring the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization
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POPS Scholars Make Finds In Search Of Nazi Archive The 50 million pages stored in this central German spa town since the mid-1950s previously had been used by Red Cross staff to respond to inquiries about missing persons or the fate of family members, and later to document compensation claims. The gray metal shelves and cabinets contain 16 miles (25 kilometers) of transport lists, camp registries, medical records, forced labor files and death certificates of some 17.5 million people subjected to Nazi persecutions. Taken together with written and oral testimonies and the transcripts of war crimes trials, the dry data at Bad Arolsen add texture to the known picture of the Holocaust, from the first concentration camps created within weeks of Hitler's rise to power in January 1933 to the defeat of Nazism in May 1945. "It was much more than I expected," said Trouve. investigative researcher Randy Herschaft contributed to this article from Bad Arolsen
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POPSThe Lava Lamp Candidate ElBaradei's New Brief, Same as His Old Brief The buzz circulating now is that IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei said on al-Arabiya that Iran could be months away from producing a nuclear weapon, as noted by AllahPundit at Hot Air and Jeff Stein at Congressional Quarterly. What's more, just about all analyses completely ignore Iran's pursuit of a plutonium -based weapon through external acquisition and production beyond Iran's borders and beneath the IAEA and Western international radar. Syria is only now entertaining the idea of limited and restricted IAEA inspections of the nuclear facility destroyed by Israel last September 6. This "only line of defense" claim comes from the same UN "nuclear watchdog" that has no enforcement mechanism and the same one that failed to detect and/or deter North Korea, India, and Pakistan from developing nuclear weapons. http://tank.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTg2MjNmOTc1YTkzMGI4YjA1YWE0MTYyN2Q0YzNiMjc=
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POPSThe Israeli "Dry Run"On Iran's Nuclear Facilities Looks like there would be a side benefit from an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities: the blind, toothless UN atomic "watchdog" -- Mohamed El Baradei -- promised to resign if Iran is targeted. US officials reported on Friday that more than 100 Israeli F-16s and F-15s staged a complex operation over the Mediterranean during the first week of June. The aircraft traversed more than 900 miles, about the distance from Israel to Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility; the exercise also tested the refueling of planes and helicopters tasked with rescuing downed pilots. El Baradei wasn't pleased. He warned that any attack on Iran would turn the entire Middle East "into a fireball." Russia's response: as Iran's preeminent nuclear technology supplier, Russia is concerned with its cash flow. It also warned Israel not to attack. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov instructed Israel not to use force, claiming there is no proof Iran is trying to acquire atomic weapons.
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POPSTop Ten Communist Jokes Competition 10) A KGB officer is walking in the park and he sees and old Jewish man reading a book. The KGB says "What are you reading old man?" The old man says "I am trying to teach myself Hebrew." 7) A man saves up his ruples and is finally able to buy a car in Soviet Russia. After he pays his money the he is told he will have his car in three years. "Three years!" he asks "What month?" "August" "August? What day in August?" He asks "The Second of August" is the reply "Morning or Afternoon?" "Afternoon. Why do you need to know?" "The plumber is coming in the morning." KGB says "Why are you trying to learn Hebrew? It takes years to get a visa for Israel. You would die before the paperwork got done." "I am learning Hebrew so that when I die and go to Heaven I will be able to speak to Abraham and Moses. Hebrew is the language they speak in Heaven." the old man replies. "But what if when you die you go to Hell?" asks KGB. And the old man replies, "Russian, I already know."
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POPSWhere Is Sgt. Gilad Shalit? Included in the petition was a handwritten letter from Shalit that the family received about two weeks ago. The court is expected to discuss the case on Sunday.
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POPSUS Diplomacy On Iran Amid Reported Israeli Attack Exercise "I can certainly understand that, given the fact that the president of Iran has talked about wiping Israel off the map," he said. "So Israel does see Iran as an existential threat. But again, I am going to have to kick any questions about what was intended by this exercise, what its purpose was, what they hoped to accomplish, to the Israeli government. They're the competent officials to talk about those issues." Israel staged a long-range air strike to destroy an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1980, and last September it bombed a facility in northern Syria said by some analysts to have been a reactor being built with North Korean help. Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but Israel and key Bush administration officials, among others, believe it is seeking a weapons capability.
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POPS Didn't Realize What He Was Saying? Once again, this suggests that there is too little adult supervision of a candidate unaccustomed to speaking on the world stage about issues in which there are lots of code words, indeed in which every word (e.g. “preconditons,” “immediate withdrawal”) has meaning to Americans’ foes and friends.
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POPSSarkozy's Plan For ME Economic-Diplomatic Union Hence it is interesting to note that, notwithstanding the neoconservative accusations that Europe is "anti-Israeli", EU-Israeli trade has seen a threefold increase in the last decade alone. This confirms the EU as Israel’s major trading partner and the number-one market for Israel’s imports—surpassing even the United States in volume. By adopting a strategy of constructive engagement in the Middle East through the MU, France and the EU could try—through the use of both diplomatic and economic resources—to achieve the kind of goals that the Bush Administration is trying to advance through the use of its military power: Challenging the status quo in the Middle East, while advancing the cause of peace and political and economic reform.
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POPSObama and Iran:The Democrats Modern-Day McGovern Judging from last week's address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Sen. Barack Obama doesn't want voters to see him as soft on Iran and its genocidal President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranians "understand - sometimes, it seems, better than a lot of Americans do - that if American power collapses in Iraq, if we abandon our allies" then "our position throughout the region will become much weaker and Iran's position much stronger," Lieberman added. The Senate - including well over half of the Democrats - voted for the amendment, which passed 76-22. Obama, who was absent, said he opposed the amendment because it could be used as pretext to invade Iran. Obama denounced Kyl-Lieberman as "reckless" and criticized his chief rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, for supporting it. However tough he tries to sound when talking to AIPAC, Barack Obama's real sympathies are with the George Soros/MoveOn.org wing of the Democrat Party.
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POPSSaudis Pushing U.N. Démarche Against Israel The dispute over oil appears to be part of a larger rift between the two countries, with a London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi reporting recently that relations have reached their lowest point in years. The Saudis seek strong American backing against Iran," Mr. Gold, a former Israeli U.N. ambassador who has written extensively on the kingdom, said. "They don't want to hear from Condi Rice about diplomatic progress between Abbas and Israel. They want to know what America is doing about Iran." The Saudis, he said, base their policies on their strong alliance with America — or on Arab consensus. When the Israeli government earlier this month announced that it was planning to build nearly 900 new housing units in Jerusalem, ecretary-General Ban issued a strong statement: Israel's "continued construction in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory" violates international law and Israel's obligations under the road map and the Annapolis process.
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POPSIsrael: Massive Rocket Barrage In South It was the first indication that the blast was caused by an accident, a claim earlier made by Israel "We deny any connection to this incident," IDF spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich had said, adding that the army had not been operating in the area at the time. Meanwhile, IDF soldiers opened fire at a car that approached the border fence in northern Gaza. The army said the Palestinians in the vehicle apparently attempted to infiltrate Israel. Earlier, three Palestinian gunmen were killed by IDF soldiers operating in Gaza. The army said that two gunmen were identified alongside the security fence near Beit Lahiya and were fired upon by Givati Brigade troops, who confirmed a hit. A third operative was killed in an IAF air strike in the nearby Jabalya refugee camp. Palestinian sources claimed that Fatah operatives had attempted to infiltrate an IDF outpost in the northern Gaza Strip and were killed in the ensuing gun battle.
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POPSMore Insanity From Columbia University When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Columbia last fall and made a similar claim ("In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country."), students laughed and booed. They recently, however, elected to award Massad the Lionel Trilling Book Award for making the nearly identical claim. Last year, Marty Peretz reported some good news: Columbia University had declined to give Massad tenure. Apparently, Peretz spoke too soon. After cries from the Middle Eastern Studies Department, the Provost agreed to appoint a second ad hoc committee this year. Will Columbia have the good-sense to banish him once and for all?
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POPSPersonal Carbon Ration Card For Every Citizen of tar-and-feathering anyone who dares question climate alarmism -- a key tactic in their effort to dupe the nation into consuming the green Kool-Aid. One event is an indisputable historical fact of hideous dimensions; the prophesied specter of catastrophic global warming, however, is just a politically driven fear scenario based on unreliable computer models and the wishful bending of the laws of climate physics. There is no comparison. Can anyone reasonably equate, say, the 31,000 U.S. scientists, engineers and physicians who recently signed a petition against global warming alarmism -- including Princeton theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson and Massachusetts Institute of Technology climatologist Richard Lindzen -- with the likes of neo-Nazis and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who constantly calls for Israel's destruction? But Krauthammer's adoption of the greens' most effective word weaponry nonetheless plays into their thought-shaping rhetoric.
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POPSMcCain: Obama's Positions Are So Changey WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tried to please a pro-Israel crowd this week by saying that Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel and that the holy city should not be divided. That angered Palestinians, who claim part of the city, and Obama clarified his remarks to say that the fate of Jerusalem should be a matter for negotiation. That angered some Israelis and their U.S. supporters. By week's end no one was happy. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080606/D914QUV82.html
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POPSHouse Liberals Want About $60 Billion In Defense Spending Cuts But McCain could feel some discomfort because his campaign views Hispanics as a crucial voting bloc. His support for shifting emphasis from defense to social programs could help him appeal to that group. The calls of liberal groups and lawmakers come at a particularly awkward time for Obama. During a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Wednesday, Obama proposed sanctions on Iran that analysts viewed as far tougher than what he suggested before. Now Obama must balance tough talk on national security with the desires of many Democrats to slim American military power. Specifically, they want to steer money away from what they call “Cold War-era” weapons systems, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Liberals have also called for cuts to the ballistic missile defense program, the F/A-22 Raptor, the V-22 Osprey and the DDG 1000 Zumwalt Class Destroyer.
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POPSThis Day In Israel, 1967 The Six-Day War Began Seven months later, at a dinner at the LBJ Ranch in Texas, President Lyndon B. Johnson toasted Israeli Prime Minister Eshkol, saying: "That is our intention in the Middle East and throughout our world. To pursue peace. To find peace. To keep peace forever among men. If we are wise, if we are fortunate, if we work together-perhaps our Nation and all nations may know the joys of that promise God once made about the children of Israel: 'I will make a covenant of peace with them...it shall be an everlasting covenant.'"
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POPSA Ringing Endorsement From George Galloway You’ll have to go to Little Green Footballs to see his endorsement of Obama. Barack Obama has picked up another celebrity endorsement: British communist and terrorist sympathizer George Galloway. (Courtesy of MEMRI TV.) Now wherever did Galloway get the idea that Obama is his kind of guy? http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/30203_Galloway_for_Obama_Destruction_of_Israel
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POPSWas He Lying Then Or Now? I knew Barack Obama for many years as my state senator—when he used to attend events in the Palestinian community in Chicago all the time. I remember personally introducing him onstage in 1999, when we had a major community fundraiser for the community center in Deheisha refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. I have been proud to be a part of a strong, bipartisan consensus that has stood by Israel in the face of all threats... I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself in the United Nations and around the world. Lie: In January 2008, a Palestinian activist named Ali Abunimah described Barack Obama’s overnight switch from Pro-Palestinian activist to supporter of Israel.
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POPSU.N. Chief Meets With Ahmadinejad particularly the demand that it suspend its uranium enrichment. "We expect to hear that the secretary-general told the Iranian president that he was in violation of three Security Council resolutions, that he should comply with international demands to stop enriching uranium, and to stop the crazy talk," a spokesman for the American mission to the United Nations, Richard Grenell, said. Iranian officials increasingly are emphasizing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's prophecy that Israel will be erased from the map of the region, but the Western response has been muted. The U.N.-affiliated Food and Agriculture Organization is hosting the three-day food conference in Rome, where yesterday Mr. Ahmadinejad blamed the "bullying powers" for creating a food crisis and called for the formation of "an independent and powerful body" that would "justly regulate" food distribution. Mr. Mugabe, who critics say has single-handedly transformed his country from a food exporter into a starving n
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POPSFather Pfleger's Support For Farrakhan No wonder Barack Obama has not problem with the prospect of going on a "Great Haters of America" tour of the world. He appears to have no problem empathizing with their views of America-or Israel for that matter. Much more about Pfleger by David Kopel at Volokh Conspiracy and our own Rosslyn Smith.
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POPSObama Owns Appeasement Update: Newt Gingrich calls this a study in guilt: Instead, he got volcanically defensive, which suggests that even Obama sees the parallels between his everything’s-on-the-table approach and the Chamberlain diplomacy which resulted in dismantling Czechoslovakia. And if Obama considers discussion of foreign policy “divisive”, then he should hide himself right back to Academia. Guess what, Senator? Presidential elections focus on foreign-policy principles, and if you can’t defend yours, then you have no business running for office.
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