Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Wednesday Potpourri

First, you can kiss the two-state solution goodbye. As you know, many serious thinkers, from the Biden administration to Tommy Friedman, have declared that the way to solve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is a two-state solution.

Now, the Wall Street Journal offers a cold look at reality. It turns out that the two-state solution is dead:


Most of the world has long agreed on what it will take to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has now brought the Middle East to the brink of a regional war that would almost certainly draw in the U.S. 


The U.S., Europe and many Arab governments insist the overdue answer is the two-state solution, under which Israel and a Palestinian state would exist side-by-side.


The snag is that Israelis and Palestinians no longer believe in it. 


The past 10 months have dealt the biggest setback in decades to the chances of a negotiated peace. The Hamas-led Oct. 7 killing of nearly 1,200 people in southern Israel and Israel’s devastating response, which Palestinian authorities say has left more than 40,000 dead in Gaza, have confirmed for both sides that their unwanted neighbor has no regard for their lives.


“Right now, Israelis and Palestinians do not believe that the other side are human beings,” said Khalil Shikaki, head of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah. 


Second, the Arab world expressed howls of derision at the latest Hezbollah attack on Israel. In retaliation for the Israeli murder of a Hezbollah commander, the fearsome terrorist entity struck an Israeli chicken coop.


The Jerusalem Post reports:


A Jordanian commenter added, “Iranian Hezbollah takes… 

revenge for Fouad Shukr and Haniyeh by striking an Israeli chicken coop, killing a number of chickens?!!”


Another Saudi user named Sultan commented ironically: 


“Hezbollah’s retaliation against Israel following the assassination of Fu’ad Shuker struck a chicken pen where firefighting teams began to extinguish the fire. The results of the bombing: the death of a rooster, two hens, and a young chick.


One user named Omar compared the high-ranking leader assassinated by Israel and Hezbollah’s response, showing the burning chicken pen. In contrast, another anonymous user named Adel wrote, “Hezbollah excels in its precision in killing chickens.”


Third, just in case you were meditating about the awesome power of the American military and the strategic brilliance of our commanders, the Houthi rebels in Yemen just sank a Greek tanker. Keep in mind that the American administration had declared itself ready to ensure open shipping lanes.


The New York Post reports:


Explosions rocked a Greek oil tanker drifting in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen after Houthi rebels set fire to the vessel following repeated attacks by the Iran-backed terror group — leaving critics charging the U.S. has egg on its face.


Footage of the burning tanker, the Sounion, was shared online by Houthi rebels in an apparent attempt to mock the US and allies supposedly protecting the Red Sea’s vital shipping lanes.


In the video, the terrorists can be heard chanting the group’s slogan: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam,” as the ship blazes.


Fourth, the latest from my alma mater, Brown University, has leftist student agitators working to find more ways to damage the school’s reputation and to devalue their degrees.


The agitators and junior terrorists have forced the university to vote on whether to divest from investments in Israel, as in Boycott, Divest, Sanctions.


Unfortunately for Brown, attorneys general in several states are suing the university. Hmmm.


Bloomberg reports:


The top law enforcement officials in 24 states warned Brown University of financial penalties if the school’s trustees vote in favor of a proposal calling for divestment from companies with close ties to Israel.


Some states have begun reviewing pension investment and contracts “to determine if Brown has already violated state law” by agreeing to allow the October vote, the attorneys general from Arkansas, Florida, Texas and other states told the university’s trustees in a letter Monday. Approving the measure would have “immediate and profound legal consequences,” they said.


I trust you are not surprised to see that the attorneys leading the charge are all Republican.


Fifth, you recall the extensive and persuasive report written by British pediatrician Hilary Cass. As it happened, she concluded that puberty blockers and other such treatments should not be given out. 


But then, the British Medical Association has decided to oppose the Cass report. As a result, physicians in once-Great Britain are resigning en masse from the BMA.


Billboard Chris reports on Twitter:


Doctors are leaving the British Medical Association in revolt at its opposition to the Cass review amid claims that the union has been taken over by an ideologically driven "vocal minority".


Hundreds of members, including NHS clinical leaders and former presidents of medical royal colleges, have gone public with their "dismay" at BMA leaders for voting to reject the Cass review — a report 4 years in the making which found that child transition wasn’t helping kids. 


Some have resigned from the union after up to 50 years as members, and others said that the BMA'S “abysmal" leadership was "increasingly bonkers" and "ideologically captured.”


Think about that one. Men and women who are supposed to follow the science, have been captured by an ideology, to the point where they have renounced their commitment to science.


Sixth, remember Don Lemon. Maybe you do; maybe you don’t. As it happened Don decided to do some man-on-the-street interviews recently, to assess the state of the presidential election.


Interviewed by Jen Psaki, Lemon explained that most people don't even know who Kamala is. Huh?


In his words:


For the most part in Pittsburgh, or the Jersey Shore, in Ohio, many people did not know who she was. They were not familiar with her. With him [Trump] they thought that he's better for the economy. That he brought money into the community, that he was on black people's side.


What does it mean? I leave that to you.


Seventh, is there anything Tim Walz has not lied about. Considering all the energy the left has put into making Donald Trump, and also G. W. Bush, out to be liars, it is a splendid irony that Gov. Walz turns out to be a serial liar.


And not just about his military service. Consider this. Walz claimed that the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce gave him an award for his work with the business community.


The Chamber wrote to him in 2006:


He never received such an award, however, which was outlined to him in a blistering letter from the then-president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, Barry L. Kennedy.


“We researched this matter and can confirm that you have not been the recipient of any award from the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce,” the letter addressed to Walz on Nov. 1, 2006, reads.


“I am not going to draw a conclusion about your intentions by including this line in your biography. However, we respectfully request that you remove any reference to our organization as it could be considered an endorsement of your candidacy. It should be pointed out, however, that the US Chamber of Commerce has endorsed your opponent, Congressman Gil Gutknecht, for his support of small business issues,” Kennedy continued.


Eighth, no one is surprised to see that the New York Times has run guest columns by Republicans. The Daily Mail seems to think it is especially significant, showing an erosion of support for the Democratic presidential candidate. I do not think so.


And yet, what does resonate is this column by a deputy opinion editor, column that is less than flattering about Kamala. Considering how much the media has rushed to gaslight the world about Kamala, this is significant.


The Daily Mail reports:


In sour commentary, NYT Deputy Opinion Editor Patrick Healy said he'd 'cringed' when former president Bill Clinton took the convention stage on Tuesday to claim that Harris would be 'the president of joy'.


How's that going to help the millions of Americans whose livelihoods are now at stake, Healey asked? And why has Harris failed to conduct a single interview or serious press conference since Biden stepped aside last month?


'Ultimately, she needs more voters in the swing states to trust her to handle the economy better than her opponent… Harris can't coast on "joy",' he concluded witheringly.


And yet, so far, she is.


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2 comments:

Randomizer said...

Point 1: I was under the impression that Palestinian leadership was committed to the destruction of Israel and had rejected two-state solutions in the past.

Point 2: Trump made some headway with the Abraham Accords. It seems like much of the Arab world is tired of opposing Israel.

SCOTTtheBADGER said...

She is more the candidate of Strength through Joy.