Lebanon and On

What a mess in Lebanon. A little tree-trimming by the IDF turns into a cross-border firefight. We lose a commander (HY"D) and another officer is badly hurt. We kill a couple of soldiers and a journalist (no great loss there) in retaliation.

With the UN being unusually cooperative by officially confirming that UNIFIL had a) been notified of the tree clearing and b) had reported it to Lebanon, it really deals Israel the hand it needs to blow this into a full out diplomatic coup for Israel. All the pieces are in place to really cement Israel in place as the injured party, and get some valuable political capital it needs to deal with the ongoing worldwide Israel-bashing.

So here's an appropriate response. It's a little expensive, but definitely worth it in the long run:

1. Start massing troops on the border. The whole deal. Tanks, ammo, firebases, airbases. Make it a very public, very loud mobilization. 200,000 soldiers to start, minimum. Keep it going for two weeks. Make it look like we're heading all the way up to Tripoli.
   
2. Set Lieberman loose. Let him start a 'round the world tour of how Israel is going to kick the shit out of Hizbullah once and for all, and teach the Lebanese army a lesson they won't soon forget.
3. Get Ambassador Shalev to start making noise in the UN about Security Council sanctions. 45-minute tirade from the GA floor. Spit in the Saudi ambassador's face.
   
4. Fire Barak; this is his mess in the first place(Well okay, that won't happen but a boy can dream, can't he?).
5. When the UN, US, UK, all start clamoring for "restraint," Netanyahu wades into the thick of it and says, "Okay, I'll call off the war on the conditions that you:"
   
   1. Add Lebanon to the lists of US State Sponsors of Terror.
   2. UN Sanction of Lebanon in the UNSC for firing the first shot.
   3. Don't even flinch in September when the freeze is off. Not a peep, not a rolled eye.
   4. Trot out the old line "Israel has a right to defend itself" and play it like a broken record until everyone's saying it. (I'd love to hear that from Hillary's lips.)

There is really no way for Israel to lose this politically. Worst case scenario is we invade Lebanon. Again. Without two soldiers' lives in the balance, the IDF can visit some serious payback for 2006. Best case is that Israel regains its deterrent capacity. And we get to kill Hizbullies.

To the bereaved family of Lt. Col. Harari, I apologize deeply if this seems like crass opportunism. May his sacrifice not be in vain.

Turkish Overture in B-flat

Turkey working to prevent Lebanese sail to Gaza

According to Israeli officials, Ankara deems additional flotillas pointless after partial lifting of blockade on Gaza. 'Turkey wants to lower its profile, let diplomacy take its course,' official says

Officials in Jerusalem were surprised to learn that Turkey is working to prevent Lebanese ships from attempting to sail to Gaza in violation of an Israeli blockade on the Hamas-run territory, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Tuesday.

Israeli officials estimate that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who visited Damascus and Beirut last week, asked the Lebanese government to prevent the flotilla's departure as part of Ankara's efforts to ease tensions with Israel.

WTF? There is so much going on here... it's now Ankara, officials and the FM, not Erdogan, there's no demand of an apology from Israel, and Turkey just put the kibosh on the entire Free Gaza movement.

I'm guessing that in spite of Turkey's announcements that everything is fine and dandy, the warming relations with Greece and the multimillion dollar losses (real and potential) in revenue actually do matter to Turkey. In related news, while Israel lifted the travel advisory to Turkey, Israelis are staying away in droves. And NATO's pretty pissed that Turkey is sharing miltech with non-NATO countries.

Turkey has been described as a bridge between East and West. Right now, it's looking a little like this:

Not Even a Phone Call...

Jewish eastern Jerusalem houses gain approval

July 12, 2010

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A Jerusalem municipal committee approved the construction of 32 homes in a Jewish neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem.

The district planning and construction committee on Monday approved the construction for Pisgat Zeev a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Washington with President Obama, who is opposed to building in eastern Jerusalem.

So, without fanfare, screaming mobs, 45-minute tirades or rip-shit anger, Israel continues to assert its sovereign right to do whatever the hell it wants in its own capital, fuckyouverymuch.

Source

A Turkish Bath

Get this: Turkey is again demanding an apology from Israel for killing nine morons who brought knives to a gun fight.

This isn't the first time they're demanding an apology. What part of "no" didn't they understand the first time around?

Listen, Erdogan, habibi, whatever it is you think you're going to gain out of this, you're already losing. That $2B in exports to Israel? Gone. Those tanks you want to stop Iran's expansion of the Emirate when he finally drinks the Kool Aid? Not happening. Modernizing those jets? Nuh-uh. Oh, and that $400M in chump change from the tourism industry? Israeli's are going to Greece instead. Now here's the biggie: energy, agriculture and irrigation projects estimated at $20 billion are at risk.

So, if we don't apologize for enforcing a legal blockade of our own territory, they're going to cut ties with Israel. They will no longer buy our military technology, host our tourists, sell Israel water and random consumer goods or work with us on a host of infrastructure projects. Oh and they'll piss off the US and a couple of other NATO allies in the process.

Yeah, that'll show us.

Pass the Kool-Aid.


Source
Source
Source

Lebanese Flotilla, Rhymes with 'Shatila' (UPDATED)

Sabra and Shatila, forever ingrained in every Israel-basher's memory as Israel's failure to protect avowed enemies from a little payback action from Lebanese Christians.

So now it seems some Lebanese women are going to send their own aid flotilla to the poor, poor Palestinians in Gaza who are suffering under the lash of Israel's Occupation. (But didn't they evacuate in 2005? Hey, shut up with that..)

Uh, hello? What about the Palestinians in Lebanon? You know, the ones who are still living in all those refugee camps, the ones who, two generations later, are still living off the UN? The ones that Lebanon refuses to integrate into their society, their fellow ethnic Arabs, what about them? Are you telling me that they have to sail hundreds of kilometers to find some Palestinians to fawn over? Is anyone going to call them on this?

This just in (6/18/10 7:14AM): Lebanon Postpones Granting Rights to 1948 Refugees - Again

B'tzelem's New Math

B'tzelem reported on the conditions in the Gaza Strip, using some pretty creative numbers. Let's have a look, shall we?

At the end of 2009, 93 percent of the wells were found to be polluted with high quantities of chloride and nitrates, far in excess of the World Health Organization’s recommended levels. The water supply is defective, and thousands of residents are not even connected to the water grid.

93% of the water is polluted water, and there's no typhus epidemic? No malaria outbreak? I man, contaminating the water supply is the first rule in siege warfare, true, but where's the obvious end result to that? Right, let's move on.

The prohibition on bringing in raw materials and on exports has led to the closing of 95 percent of the factories and workshops in the area.

95% of factories are closed. So that means if there are 100 factories, only five are open. Now, according to the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce, the last statistic we have to work with is from 1998, where there were 412 carpentry workshops employing 1002 workers (2.4 workers per 'factory'). Please note that they tout Israeli training as a benefit for investment consideration. OK, now let's take a look at that percentage, shall we? There are now, supposedly, only 20ish carpentry factories still open, employing 48 people. Hmm.. does that have to do with Israel's 'siege', or does that have to do with a glut in the market, overreported numbers, and every three people counting as a 'factory'?

As a result of Israel’s policy, 98 percent of Gaza residents suffer from planned blackouts lasting up to eight or ten hours a day.

The last time there was an Israeli 'blackout' in Gaza, tens of thousands of people took to the streets with candles, and the world decried Israel's 'collective punishment'. But now, blackouts last ten hours a DAY and there's nothing in the news? Really?


Forty percent unemployment, huh? I suppose I should feel bad about it, but then I remember that the people elected these leaders.

More that 70% rely on humanitarian aid? Guess they get it in the market (note the source of the website).

It's all a numbers game.

Source

Hearst Corporation Magazines

If you subscribe to any of these magazines, you pay for Helen Thomas' salary:

Cosmopolitan
Country Living
Esquire
Food Network Magazine
Good Housekeeping
House Beautiful
Harper's Bazaar
Marie Claire
O, The Oprah Magazine
Popular Mechanics
Redbook
Seventeen
Town&Country
Veranda

Be honest now, do you really need the next issue of O, The Oprah Magazine cluttering the box next to the toilet?

Call the subscription desk. Ask to speak to a manager. Put them on notice that if Helen Thomas retains her position, you will be canceling your subscription within thirty days. It's as simple as that.