Comments on reads 1/15 II

US-Israeli military drill cancelled due to 'budgetary reasons'

Set for May, "Austere Challenge 12" was supposed to be the largest drill ever held between the two countries • U.S. Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey to arrive in Israel later this week to receive assurances from Israel that it won't strike Iran.

FP: Do you remember when I wrote that Israel looks more and more like Czechoslovakia and Obama like Chamberlain? Here’s another warning: If Obama is re-elected Israel should consider the US an enemy. Please do not count on the “support of Congress and the American people”, it won’t make a difference. And the Palestinians see it:

Palestinians consider ending peace talks, turning to UN

PA official says there will be only one more Israel-PA meeting before Quartet's January 26 deadline for resuming direct negotiations; Abbas may ask UN to demand end to settlement building as alternative to talks.

The Palestinians are considering ending the talks with Israel in Jordan and searching for other alternatives, such as asking the UN to demand an end to construction in the settlements, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Sunday.

What are the chances that Obama will veto it this time around?

 

Israeli officials reject report Mossad killed Iranian scientist

Time Magazine cites Western intelligence sources as saying Israel killed Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan last week • Iran blames U.S., Britain and Israel for assassination, threatens "tormenting" revenge.

FP: As I already suggested in a previous post, I would not bet against an attempt by the US to prevent hostile actions by Iran. The US is deterred by Iran and, as it usually does with allies, it is distancing itself from Israel (see previous) and signaling to Iran that Israel it’s on its own. Looks like the cancellation of the dril is further validation:

US EUCOM: Missile drill will take place later this year

Initially scheduled for April, "Austere Challenge" is billed as largest such joint drill ever; Israeli officials say drill was canceled amid concern it could lead to an escalation with Iran.

Now, what would you say, Iran perceives in all this?

 

Hezbollah rejects UN call to lay down arms

Hezbollah leader mocks U.N. concern over arsenal • Says Hezbollah needs weapons to confront Israel • U.N. chief Ban says he requested increased protection for international peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon.

FP: But of course, Hizb’allah know how ridiculous the UN is, and it sits on the UNSC!! Only the idiotic West relies on that monstruous atrocity.

 

67 percent of murder cases in 2011 involved Israeli Arabs

Joint effort by Public Security Ministry and police aims to improve individual and communal safety in the non-Jewish sector • Special police units stationed in predominantly Arab towns of Taybeh and Nazareth

FP: Culture is what it is and difficult to change. But, no doubt, it’s Israel’s fault, as an occupier.

 

Diaspora Jews join the cyberwar

Jewish hacker threatens to publish 30 million Arab email addresses • Hacker by the name of "Hannibal Lecter" will publish thousands of Arabs' email accounts daily for the next 55 years • Says he does not believe in publishing credit card information.

FP: As I already warned, we are not far from a first major disaster via the Internet which may bring the whole shabang down.

 

Ted Gup: Diss 'Like'

But having spent the last 30 years in the company of the possessed, I have come to view "like" as something more pernicious, a kind of carrier, like the flea that brings with it the plague. It is the byproduct of a culture that is loath to set standards, pathologically averse to confrontation, and prostrate in the face of precipitously declining verbal and writing skills. The endless cascade of "likes" is nothing more than the sound of our own collective dereliction, a verbal cue that we care less about our students and more about teaching to the test, conducting perfunctory self-assessments, winning student-evaluation pageants, and maintaining the illusion that all is well—the oral equivalent of grade inflation.

If we have succeeded in leaving no child behind, it is perhaps because we have condemned children to a common cluster of mediocrity, like, you know, unable to speak, and worse yet, unaware of the severity of their impediment. It is a form of cruelty, a velvet noose they will forever wear around their necks as they venture out into the world, presenting themselves in job interviews, addressing clients, patients, judges, customers, and peers, reminding one and all with whom they come into contact that, notwithstanding a diploma and high GPA, they have failed and, worse yet, we have failed them.

FP: Decline.

 

Casino plans sprout in US as states seek revenue

States have embraced casinos, after years of trepidation about their societal costs, for two simple reasons: a promise of a rich new revenue source, plus the possibility of stimulating tourism.

FP: More decline.