It may very well be that this week was the week that Israel and the US put to rest former president Barack Obama’s policies and positions on Israel and the Palestinians.RTWT.
If so, the move was made despite the best efforts of Obama’s team to convince the Trump administration to maintain them.
The details of Obama’s policies and positions have been revealed in recent weeks in a series of articles published in Haaretz regarding Obama’s secretary of state John Kerry’s failed peacemaking efforts, which ended in 2014.
The articles reported segments of two drafts of a US framework for a final peace treaty between the PLO and Israel. The drafts were created in February and March 2014.
The article series is predicated on the assumption that Kerry and his team were on the precipice of a historic breakthrough between PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. But a close reading of the documents shows that the opposite was the case.
There are two reasons that Kerry had no prospects for reaching a deal.
First, he, Obama and their advisers were too hostile to Israel and its citizens to ever convince Netanyahu that Israel’s interests would be secured.
A February 2014 draft framework agreement, which was based on conversations Kerry and his team held with Netanyahu and his advisers, makes this clear. The draft includes Netanyahu’s demand that Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria not annexed to Israel would remain “in place” after the implementation of a peace deal, and presumably, become towns in the future Palestinian state.
In other words, Netanyahu demanded that the Israelis in Judea and Samaria whose towns would be located in the territory of “Palestine” would enjoy the same rights and protections as Israel’s Arab citizens enjoy.
Kerry and his team would have none of it. The February draft agreement notes, “[US] negotiators need to check with PM [Netanyahu] on whether he wants to [maintain this position]… They believe that if so, he will push strongly for ‘in place.’ ‘In place’ is inconsistent with US policy and therefore unacceptable to us as well as the Palestinians.”
In other words, the position of the Obama administration was that all Israelis living in areas that would become part of the Palestinian state must be forcibly removed from their homes and communities.
Haaretz reporters Barak Ravid and Amir Tibon recalled that in previous rounds of negotiations, the Palestinians – unlike the Obama administration – had not rejected this Israeli position out of hand. That is, in demanding the mass expulsion of Israeli Jews from their homes, the administration adopted a policy more extreme than the PLO.
Then there is the problem with the PLO...
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Burying Barack Obama's Legacy
From Caroline Glick, "Burying Obama’s legacy":
On Linda Sarsour’s Politics of Hate
She even more dangerous because of her out attractiveness. She's like a snake deceiving you in the name of the devil, she comes to you like a dove, only to bite you to deliver the hand of death.
At the Tablet, "On Linda Sarsour’s Politics of Hate and the Pathos of Her Jewish Enablers":
But keep reading.
At the Tablet, "On Linda Sarsour’s Politics of Hate and the Pathos of Her Jewish Enablers":
On Linda Sarsour’s Politics of Hate and the Pathos of Her Jewish Enablers https://t.co/NR5PDHabJT via @tabletmag— Joel B. Pollak (@joelpollak) June 18, 2017
Linda Sarsour is a progressive-media darling. One of Essence magazine’s “Woke 100 Women,” Sarsour was named a leader of the Women’s March that followed President Donald Trump’s inauguration, despite declaring that “nothing is creepier than Zionism”—though her wish to “take away” the “vagina” of clitoridectomy victim and human-rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, praise for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, upholding Saudi Arabia as a bastion of women’s lib, embrace of the terrorist murderer Rasmea Odeh, and claim that “Shariah law is reasonable” because “suddenly all your loans & credits cards become interest-free,” are all—at least in my humble estimation—definitely creepier.Why? Democrats have been poisoned by the seeds of self-hatred, and thus they'll let people like Sarsour do the work of Satan to destroy them. It's not difficult.
Yet Sarsour’s ride on the media wonder-wheel continues—thanks in part to Jewish individuals and organizations who embrace the idea that haters like Sarsour can’t actually hate them. Recently, the “homegirl in a hijab,” as a fawning New York Times profile described her, delivered the commencement address at the City University of New York’s School of Public Health. It was a strange choice on the part of CUNY, not least because Sarsour has zero professional experience in the field. Prior to the event, critics, many of them Jewish, called upon CUNY to rescind its invitation in light of Sarsour’s rhetoric and associations. A group of progressive Jews released an open letter in defense of Sarsour. “In this time, when so many marginalized communities in our country are targeted on the streets and from the highest offices of government” the letter solemnly declared, “we are committed to bridging communal boundaries and standing in solidarity with one another.”
Also coming to Sarsour’s defense was the Anti-Defamation League, which presumably stands against the defamation of women, Jews, and the Jewish state. “Despite our deep opposition to Sarsour’s views on Israel,” its head Jonathan Greenblatt said, before offering the following non sequitur, “we believe that she has a First Amendment right to offer those views.”
No one, of course, disputes Sarsour’s legal right to spout whatever vicious nonsense she wants. But there is nothing in the First Amendment that says Sarsour has a “right” to speak at CUNY, or appear on CNN, or publish an op-ed in the New York Times. As an organization ostensibly committed to fighting anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice, the ADL was under no obligation to defend a Jew-baiting, demagogic, foul-mouthed, sectarian bully—someone who, in fact, asserted that anti-Semitism is “different than anti-black racism or Islamophobia because it’s not systemic.” Not systemic? Tell that to the survivors of the most systematized effort at extermination in human history. If there is a more utterly mendacious claim that perverts the truth about humanity’s oldest, deadliest and very much “systemic” hatred, I’m not sure what it could be.
Still, Greenblatt—whose organization was once devoted to combating anti-Semitism—decided that it was better to side with his fellow progressives in public than risk his position on the team. Why?
This is an important question for Jewish Democrats, since the weird combination of communal masochism and personal arrogance that characterizes Sarsour’s self-appointed “Jewish allies” also makes for a particularly ineffective form of coalition politics—at least for the Jewish side of the equation...
But keep reading.
Andrew Essex, The End of Advertising
*BUMPED.*
Outtoday yesterday last week, at Amazon, Andrew Essex, The End of Advertising: Why It Had to Die, and the Creative Resurrection to Come.
Out
The Next Energy Revolution
A great piece, from David G. Victor and Kassia Yanosek, at Foreign Affairs, "The Promise and Peril of High-Tech Innovation":
Three trends are driving the new energy revolution: management, data analytics, and automation. https://t.co/ft3nbboy1O
— Foreign Affairs (@ForeignAffairs) June 18, 2017
The technology revolution has transformed one industry after another, from retail to manufacturing to transportation. Its most far-reaching effects, however, may be playing out in the unlikeliest of places: the traditional industries of oil, gas, and electricity.More.
Over the past decade, innovation has upended the energy industry. First came the shale revolution. Starting around 2005, companies began to unlock massive new supplies of natural gas, and then oil, from shale basins, thanks to two new technologies: horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking). Engineers worked out how to drill shafts vertically and then turn their drills sideways to travel along a shale seam; they then blasted the shale with high-pressure water, sand, and chemicals to pry open the rock and allow the hydrocarbons to flow. These technologies have helped drive oil prices down from an all-time high of $145 per barrel in July 2008 to less than a third of that today, and supply has become much more responsive to market conditions, undercutting the ability of OPEC, a group of the world’s major oil-exporting nations, to influence global oil prices.
That was just the beginning. Today, smarter management of complex systems, data analytics, and automation are remaking the industry once again, boosting the productivity and flexibility of energy companies. These changes have begun to transform not only the industries that produce commodities such as oil and gas but also the ways in which companies generate and deliver electric power. A new electricity industry is emerging—one that is more decentralized and consumer-friendly, and able to integrate many different sources of power into highly reliable power grids. In the coming years, these trends are likely to keep energy cheap and plentiful, responsive to market conditions, and more efficient than ever.
But this transition will not be straightforward. It could destabilize countries whose economies depend on revenue from traditional energy sources, such as Russia, the big producers of the Persian Gulf, and Venezuela. It could hurt lower-skilled workers, whose jobs are vulnerable to automation. And cheap fossil fuels will make it harder to achieve the deep cuts in emissions needed to halt global warming...
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Danielle Gersh's Scorching Weather Forecast
It won't be too bad along the coasts and in the L.A. and Orange County metro areas. But when you get inland, especially to the deserts, you're looking are very hot temperatures, and into the triple digits early in the week.
Just dish up a scoop of ice cream for your old man, and have a Happy Father's Day!
Here's the lovely Ms. Danielle, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
Just dish up a scoop of ice cream for your old man, and have a Happy Father's Day!
Here's the lovely Ms. Danielle, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:
Hadas Malka Murdered by 'Palestinian' Jihadist in Terrorist Stabbing Attack in Jerusalem
An evil and horrifying story, made all the more horrific by the BBC's initial coverage of the murder.
See Twitchy, "BBC deletes tweet about three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing; Now guess who did the stabbing."
Katie Hopkins tweeted her response today.
Also at the Jerusalem Post, "ADAS MALKA, KILLED BY TERRORIST AT DAMASCUS GATE, REMEMBERED AS LOVING, BRAVE WARRIOR."
See Twitchy, "BBC deletes tweet about three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing; Now guess who did the stabbing."
Sad news #Breaking as Police announce that Hadas Malka has died of her wounds in today's attack in #Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/XA8CYSzytH— Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) June 16, 2017
Katie Hopkins tweeted her response today.
— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) June 17, 2017
Also at the Jerusalem Post, "ADAS MALKA, KILLED BY TERRORIST AT DAMASCUS GATE, REMEMBERED AS LOVING, BRAVE WARRIOR."
Stunning Helen Flanagan in Salmon-Pink Bikini on Holiday in Spain
At London's Daily Mail, "Flanagan shows off her enviably lean figure in a pink bikini as she enjoys a fun-filled family holiday with cute daughter Matilda."
BONUS: At the Sun U.K., "OWN GOAL! Coronation Street’s Helen Flanagan accidentally flashes her bra as her top rides down in front of thousands of Celtic fans - The cobbles beauty laughed off the wardrobe malfunction as she took part in a lap of honor."
BONUS: At the Sun U.K., "OWN GOAL! Coronation Street’s Helen Flanagan accidentally flashes her bra as her top rides down in front of thousands of Celtic fans - The cobbles beauty laughed off the wardrobe malfunction as she took part in a lap of honor."
Violetta Komyshan at Premiere of 'Baby Driver' in Los Angeles
Glenn Reynolds, The Education Apocalypse
I read this one a couple of years ago, and it's great!
At Amazon, Glenn Reynolds, The Education Apocalypse: How It Happened and How to Survive It.
At Amazon, Glenn Reynolds, The Education Apocalypse: How It Happened and How to Survive It.
Phoenix Expected to See High of 110 Degrees Today (VIDEO)
Watch, at ABC News 10 Phoenix, "DANGEROUSLY hot this weekend!":
Actually, according to the report, it could 120 on Tuesday. But more at USA Today:
Added:
It will be dangerously hot Saturday as we're expected to see a high of 110.
Actually, according to the report, it could 120 on Tuesday. But more at USA Today:
— Beth Duckett (@Beth_Duckett) June 17, 2017
Added:
The NWS has already issued excessive #heat watches for Friday into early next week across the Southwest: https://t.co/sXoaAXBD3C pic.twitter.com/9Im1iOM0IT
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) June 14, 2017
A heat wave will arrive late this week in California and across the southwest US - here's how you stay safe https://t.co/asAP108BNk 🌡️☀️😓 pic.twitter.com/WdUfr2aETC
— NWS (@NWS) June 14, 2017
Reader Poll: Should Conservatives Disrupt Leftists?
The poll's at Legal Insurrection, "To disrupt like the Left, or not to disrupt: that is the question (Reader Poll)."
I've already weighed in, here, "Let's Not Parrot the Left, Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec."
I've added this comment at Legal Insurrection, in reply to Ms. EBL (who links this Instapundit post, which links AoSHQ):
I've already weighed in, here, "Let's Not Parrot the Left, Laura Loomer and Jack Posobiec."
I've added this comment at Legal Insurrection, in reply to Ms. EBL (who links this Instapundit post, which links AoSHQ):
Actually, Ace isn’t arguing we should use violence. He’s talking about boycotts and blacklisting. Yeah, let’s do that. He doesn’t say to violently shut down left-wing public performances like a bunch of special snowflakes. So-called conservatives have lost their minds. The vote here is running almost 75 percent in favor of shutting down speech — SPEECH — you don’t like. You want to parrot the left, conservatives? Are you going to start hitting antifa leftists over the head with bike-locks, like anarchist Eric Clanton up in Berkeley? No. Are you going to start throwing bricks through the windows of businesses, like the riots on Telegraph Avenue, simply because people like Milo are scheduled to speak? No. Or at least, I’m not. That way lies much more polarization and violence, which purportedly conservatives don’t want. So what’s it going to be?We won't have debates in this country if conservatives want to fight violent leftists with more violence. That's not what Ace was arguing.
Here's Jennifer Delacruz from the 11:00pm Weather Report Last Night
Following-up from last night, at 10:19pm, "Amber Lee's Hot Weather Forecast."
Ms. Jennifer wasn't up yet, but here she is now:
Ms. Jennifer wasn't up yet, but here she is now:
Scott Pelley Signs Off at 'CBS Evening News' (VIDEO)
I like Pelley.
I quit watching ABC News years ago, when Democrat George Stephanopoulos became one of the most important personalities at the network. And same thing for NBC, after the Brian Williams fiasco. Yeah, I know, Pelley's a leftist as well. But I've been watching CBS Evening News exclusively for this last few years, and it's fairly balanced --- or, as balanced as you're likely to get from the elite networks in any case.
Here's the lowdown, at the New York Post. It's cutthroat in that business, "Scott Pelley out of ‘CBS Evening News’":
I expect that's going to be more of the norm going forward. I prefer to filter what news I get through blogs and Twitter. It's that, or frankly no news at all, and that's hard for me, as a political science professor.
I quit watching ABC News years ago, when Democrat George Stephanopoulos became one of the most important personalities at the network. And same thing for NBC, after the Brian Williams fiasco. Yeah, I know, Pelley's a leftist as well. But I've been watching CBS Evening News exclusively for this last few years, and it's fairly balanced --- or, as balanced as you're likely to get from the elite networks in any case.
Here's the lowdown, at the New York Post. It's cutthroat in that business, "Scott Pelley out of ‘CBS Evening News’":
Scott Pelley is out at “CBS Evening News,” Page Six has exclusively learned.And by the way, I stopped watching any television news for about six weeks this semester, especially as the Russia conspiracy became too much to handle.
Sources tell us that “Poison Pelley’s” office was being cleared out Tuesday while the anchor was away on an assignment for the network’s news magazine “60 Minutes.”
We’re told he’s being shifted permanently to “60 Minutes.”
Insiders tell us that CBS News president David Rhodes “is making [Pelley] move to ‘60 Minutes,’ ” and that the pair “don’t get on.”
Another TV insider said that while Pelley’s ratings have been down, “There’s also been friction between him and [Rhodes].”
Added a source, “[Pelley] was pushed out of the ‘Evening News.’ It’s been coming for a long time. This could have been handled better — [Pelley] is away on a story, and they’re cleaning out his office. It’s not the correct way to treat the face of CBS News.”
I expect that's going to be more of the norm going forward. I prefer to filter what news I get through blogs and Twitter. It's that, or frankly no news at all, and that's hard for me, as a political science professor.
Amazon Buys Whole Foods for $13.7 Billion (VIDEO)
At Bloomberg, "Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 Billion."
There's talk now of breaking up Amazon under federal antitrust legislation.
I just want to keep blogging my Amazon Associates book business, lol.
At CBS Evening News, from last night:
There's talk now of breaking up Amazon under federal antitrust legislation.
I just want to keep blogging my Amazon Associates book business, lol.
At CBS Evening News, from last night:
New Erin Andrews Bikini Pics
At Bro Bible, "Erin Andrews in a Bikini is Something We Haven’t Seen, Well, Pretty Much Ever, Until Today."
And at RealClearHealth, "Erin Andrews Does Rare Bikini Photoshoot for Health Magazine: Fox NFL sideline reporter has battled health scares and sexism, but hasn't broken stride."
And at RealClearHealth, "Erin Andrews Does Rare Bikini Photoshoot for Health Magazine: Fox NFL sideline reporter has battled health scares and sexism, but hasn't broken stride."
Erin Andrews – Health Magazine USA July/August 2017 Issue https://t.co/ku9sWQyKJy pic.twitter.com/o8HrrGSjKD
— juststarz (@juststarz) June 15, 2017
Minnesota Officer Acquitted in Killing of Philando Castile
Man, did Valerie Castile let loose about the verdict. Righteous indignation!
Breaking News: The Minnesota officer who fatally shot Philando Castile was acquitted of all charges https://t.co/JmTnv4v7B4
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 16, 2017
'Mad as hell,' #PhilandoCastile's mother reacts to not guilty verdict: https://t.co/JFCN7XJDaA
— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 17, 2017
"My son loved this state. He had one tattoo on his body, and it was of the Twin Cities," Valerie Castile said. "My son loved this city, and this city killed my son."
Valerie Castile also addressed the crowd directly after leaving the courthouse, expressing her disappointment.
"The system continues to fail black people, and it will continue to fail you all. Like I said, because this happened with Philando, when they get done with us, they coming for you, for you, for you and all your interracial children," Valerie Castile said. "Y'all are next, and you will be standing up here fighting for justice just as well as I am."
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