COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Sunday, February 02, 2014

Israel won't make peace! - Time for US Sanctions?




By Calev Ben-David Jan 29, 2014 1:43 PM ET

Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid said his country is nearing the “tipping point” where it could face crippling economic sanctions from Europe if it fails to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.
A recent Finance Ministry report “shows that if the negotiations with the Palestinians reach a dead end or collapse and we enter the reality of a European boycott, even partially, the Israeli economy will contract, and every Israeli citizen will be hit directly in his pocketbook,” Lapid said today at a Tel Aviv conference.
Lapid cited several European economic sanctions in recent years directed at products from Israel’s West Bank settlements, or local companies that conduct business over the 1967 borders on territory claimed by Palestinians for a future state.
One example was the decision earlier this month by Dutch asset manager PGGM, which oversees more than 150 billion euros ($204 billion), to halt investments in Israel’s top five banks because of “their involvement in financing Israeli settlements.”
Lapid said his Yesh Atid party, the second-biggest faction in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led government, would push for a two-state solution with the Palestinians “while maintaining the security and economic interests of the State of Israel.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Calev Ben-David in Jerusalem at cbendavid@bloomberg.net

198 comments:

  1. Israel has excellent relationships with both China and India. If it would shake itself loose from its neurotic dependency on the West, it could have even better relationships in Asia.

    As Britain did in WWII, Israel will have to suck it up and do what must be done to guarantee its security. That does not include committing suicide to please so-called anti-Zionists.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Moonlight Sonata

      Oh, as far American sanctions, dream on; although I think such sanctions would be highly useful. Israel needs to grow up and cut the cord of dependency.

      Delete
    2. Maybe instead of a "Judeo-Christian" myth they can foster a "Judeo-Buddist" myth and get the political and financial support Israel is currently accruing from the escatological hopes bound up with the former.

      Delete
    3. Your headline should read "Israel will not surrender"

      Life verse Economic relations with Europe?

      Israel will choose LIFE.

      But the good news? The Arabs have rejected peace numerous times and now? The Arabs are not capable of signing any agreement and sticking to it. They do not represent the will of their people, they are not reliable partners for peace treaties...

      So Ash, I'd suggest you not rely on making agreements with any arab group, ngo or nation.

      As for Israel? You should boycott it... (and when you lie in a hospital bed? make SURE nothing of your treatment is made in Israel)

      Delete
    4. Nope, don't wanna girlcott Israel WiO, they're just naughty boys who deserve to have their allowance taken away from them, lest American taxpayers be considered to be endorsing the occupation. After that, you and the Pallies can go to town on each other.

      Delete
    5. Sorry Ms T, I am sure your 15 cents a decade in contributions to the Jewish state will be missed, meanwhile your 50 bucks a year your increased energy bills that go to the arabs and the oil companies will continue.

      You always bitch about israel being on the tit of America, and yet YOU personally are sucking off that tit like nobody's business...

      Israel has advocated the reduction of economic aid from the USA over the decades to zero, what Israel now gets? Is military aid that helps balance the military aid that the USA gives to Israel's enemies.

      Delete
  2. Here's something that could keep Mr. Kerry constructively occupied.

    Assad 'armed to the teeth,' stockpiling weapons of mass destruction

    Sunday Times: Assad's regime accused of arming Alawite region despite agreements to destroy weapons.

    The Sunday Times quoted both Israeli and Russian sources as claiming that Syrian President Bashar Assad is stockpiling weapons of mass destruction in Alawite enclaves on the western coast of Syria.

    One source stated that Assad has turned over only four percent of the regime's chemical weapons and that the regime will miss this week's deadline to send all toxic agents for destruction abroad.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My ironymeter will bust if Obama insists we embark on an invasion to find Assad's weapons of mass destruction.

      Delete
    2. He won't, hence, the targeting of Israel as a diversion.

      Hamas and the MB are fighting Egypt in the Sinai. Lebanon is a few months away from full scale civil war. Iraq stands impotent against rebels and has lost control of its Kurds. Syria is no more. In none of these conflicts is Israel a party and goes unmentioned. The Muslims are in fight to the death to settle old scores and create new boundaries and Israel is not on their radar. There has never been a better time for Israel to assert itself.

      Kerry is obsessed with Israel. Three weeks ago, he tried to encourage a third intifada, but Abbas was not biting. This week he hopes to see more boycott action. That will fail as well. If Europe does decide to boycott in years to come, China, Japan, India, etc. will not. They will be more than happy to gain from Israel's store of knowledge, and pay for it. African relationships are also good and getting better.

      These veiled threats are good for Israel. Perhaps the leadership there will get with the program and start worrying about Israel and its goofy, needy relationship with an abuser. Who knows: Israel might get to work on getting its strategic air force up and flying and start selling same to interested clients.

      Delete
  3. Sanctions worked in South Africa; it has been counter productive to do anything to persuade Israel to negotiate in good faith. Israel doesn’t do “good faith”.Therefore the settlements keep being built and the Palestinians continue to lose out. Not putting pressure on Israel has been a disaster, yet, perversely, if the Palestinians see that the world is pressuring Israel towards their demands, they won’t easily reach a compromise which Israel can accept.

    The list of countries joining the sanctions or prepared to impose them against Israel is getting longer by the day. It will be a shock that is well deserved by an arrogant and lawless country.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not Canuckistan, assuredly.

      Delete
    2. Israel to Accept, Palestinians Reject Kerry Peace Plan

      Sunday, February 02, 2014 | Ryan Jones

      Related Stories
      Israeli Minister: We'll Have to Uproot Thousands of Jews
      Israeli DM: Kerry Fishing for Nobel Prize
      Expert: Israelis Don't Believe in 2-State Solution


      Topics:
      Peace Process

      Regional media reports over the weekend indicated that Israel is set to accept US Secretary of State John Kerry's framework proposal for reaching a final status peace agreement, while the Palestinians are looking to stall or outright reject the plan.

      Israel's Channel 2 News reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are all prepared to sign off on a non-binding version of the proposals, which, among other things, recommends:
      •The division of Jerusalem, though without going into specifics;
      •A gradual Israeli withdrawal from most of the "West Bank," while retaining control over large Jewish settlement blocs;
      •A limited land swap to compensate the Palestinians for the settlement blocs;
      •Recognition of Israel as a "Jewish state"; and
      •Compensation for so-called "Palestinian refugees," but no "right of return" to Israel-proper.




      Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper last week quoted senior Palestinian Authority official Yasser Abed Rabbo as rejecting the American proposal as "Israeli ideas."

      Like his boss, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Rabbo has made the "right of return" for millions of Palestinians to Israel a non-negotiable point in the peace process.

      On the related point of recognizing Israel as a "Jewish state," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told his audience at a conference in Munich last week that he could never agree to such a condition, as doing so amounted to "asking him to change his narrative."

      Erekat went on to claim that his ancestors had lived in the region for "5,500 years before [biblical leader of Israel] Joshua Ben-Nun came and burned my hometown Jericho." Of course, such a claim means that Erekat and his Palestinian Authority colleagues are either liars, or are in possession of time-travel technology.

      You see, the Palestinians claim to be Arabs. They also rightly claim that the Arabs are descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael. And, as any casual student of history knows, Jericho was around long before the time of Abraham, meaning that the patriarch's offspring couldn't possibly have been around for the founding of the "oldest city on earth."

      Meanwhile, Abbas' envoy to Iran, Jibril Rajoub, avoided such flights of fancy, and went straight to making threats. "If the talks fail, armed struggle against [Israel] could be a strategic solution for the Palestinian people," Rajoub was quoted as telling Iranian media, emphasizing that Palestinians "never abandoned the solution of an armed uprising."

      Delete
    3. I won't participate in a girlcott of Israel because sanctions are designed to change the behavior of the target country. I just want to change the behavior of THIS country with respect to financial aid.

      Delete
    4. I doubt this, and hope it isn't so, but it came in my email box from Israel Today.

      Make of it what you will.

      Delete
    5. Name a country?

      Canada.

      I read just the other day the Canadians are set to get tough with the Israelis........

      Not

      In fact they may be Israel's best bud.

      Delete
    6. India doesn't seem a likely candidate.

      After all, they have vast experience with the moslems.

      Delete
    7. "The list of countries joining the sanctions or prepared to impose them against Israel is getting longer by the day."

      Yes indeed.

      In the last seven days there have been seven countries that have turned anti-Israel.

      In the last month, thirty.

      I just can't seem to remember them right now.

      Delete
    8. Farmer BobSun Feb 02, 11:32:00 AM EST
      Israel to Accept, Palestinians Reject Kerry Peace Plan


      The game has a piece being ignored: poor little Gaza. Has everyone forgotten that this tiny outlaw state is part of the PA? Gaza has cast its vote: there will never be peace with the Zionist entity - forever...and forever...and never forever...seriously...no kidding...If you laugh, I kill you!...

      Delete
    9. Ms T's hatred of Israel aside IF America sanction's Israel? America will lose more than Israel.

      Israel will then be cut loose to pursue it's own agenda and not tied to the strings America demands from it's aid.

      Egypt told the USA to kiss it's ass last year and more and more nations are cutting America from it's influence. (thanks obama).

      The good news? The islamic world is slitting each other's throat more and more and Israel will do what it needs to do to stay alive, no matter what a marxist in the Whitehouse demands.

      As for your opinion of "iAd" to Israel ms t? I;d be more concerned about how much you take from taxpayers every year for performing worthless, over priced duties....

      parasite that you are...

      Delete
  4. SkyEyes sez (on Usenet): Transfer of wealth? You mean like what's been happening with all the wealth going to the rich from the poor for the last 30 years? Like that?

    I have aunts and uncles and cousins in the Philippines who sew bags for twelve hour days, six days a week, and pull down about thirty bucks, in a country where the price of gasoline, clothes, electronics, and processed food is no cheaper than what we have here. They eat government-discounted rice and fish grown in neighborhood (barangay) fish ponds. And yet they are happy, and they have strong family ties. So when Americans get on the Internet and complain about inequality, I perceive this as very much like Princess Anne bitching that Princess Di has more diamonds in her tiara. This is not a left-right thing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This thread must be what Ash was working on when I viewed from above the bloggers blogging, the two days when I couldn't sign in, and saw Ash typing inanely while picking his nose. There was some woman in blue glasses looking over his shoulder and offering suggestions as he typed, as I recall.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Teresita RedingerSun Feb 02, 11:08:00 AM EST

    Maybe instead of a "Judeo-Christian" myth they can foster a "Judeo-Buddist" myth and get the political and financial support Israel is currently accruing from the escatological hopes bound up with the former.

    ******

    This comment is quite confused and senseless.

    It is the Jews that are 'fostering' the Christian doctrine of the end times?

    Please, paleeeze, go back to Taoism.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's the infamous Jewish mindmeld. Don't look, Bob, or you will lose your farm, I tell you!

      :-) Ding Hu Rothstein ... :-D)))

      I've Got You Under My Skin

      Delete
    2. My post doesn't specify who is fostering the myth.

      Delete
  7. .

    Faux Farmer Bob: This news ought to piss R2 off if anything is ever going to do so.


    You condemn them for learning quickly.

    The absurdity of federal farm subsidies gets worse still, as even non-farmers who moved into residential areas that once were farmland have received farm subsidy payments from the government, as have wealthy farmers who have received annual payments even when they are no longer growing the subsidized crop.

    In 2008, the "actively engaged" rule was put forth specifically to nip this type of fraud in the bud. As its name implies, only those who are "actively engaged" in farming are supposed to be receiving the subsidies. But, alas, when EWG released its updated database in 2011, they found no changes to the status quo.

    ["Despite this rule, subsidies still line the pockets of absentee land owners and investors living in every major American city. In 2010, 7,767 residents of just five Texas cities – Lubbock, Amarillo, Austin, San Angelo and Corpus Christi – collected $61,748,945 in taxpayer-funded subsidies. Residents of Lubbock booked $24,839,154 in payments, putting it at the top of cities with 100,000+ populations that are home to farm subsidy recipients. The phenomenon of urban residents receiving federal farm payments remains widespread and coast-to-coast."]



    Do You Have ANY Idea How Absurd U.S. Farm Subsidies Are?


    The Farm Bill is a sop for the rich and a means of buying votes. Little wonder the corruption that surrounds it.

    Never trust a faux farmer. They are all dicks.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ain't that the truth.

      Salt of the Earth, My Ass.

      More like Salt on the Earth.

      Delete
    2. And, just what the hell were doing as a plaintiff in that black farmer's discrimination lawsuit, eh?

      You looked ridiculous with all that black shoe polish all over.

      Nevertheless, you cashed the payout checks.

      Delete
    3. My dad was always complaining about that in the 1950's.

      The more things change...

      Delete
    4. This was meant for 'Farmer q', not Farmer Doug.

      Delete
    5. (the Faux Farmer Subsidies, not Q in Blackface.)

      Delete
    6. Blogger should allow us to properly rearrange the order of comments.

      More chaos is definitely called for.

      Delete
  8. Deuce stepping his/our own "Chink Ching" thread at a paltry 150 indicates a severe problem.

    What might he have contracted on his travels?

    (...I carried on and bulked it up to 163, at last count.)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Everything is riding on no evidence ever being found that Christie knew of it before the scandal broke. If that happens, he can kiss his 2016 hopes bye-bye. The woman he fired has in turn fired the Christie crony who was her lawyer. Uh-oh. She's got four kids and is a single mom who probably doesn't like it being under the bus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not your ordinary Bully.

      One FAT MF'... SOB Bully.

      Delete
    2. Possible Book Title:

      "Out from under One Fat Ass Butt"

      Delete
    3. :)

      I never did like Christie.

      He always reminded me of an overweight q.

      Delete
    4. ...with a dash more modesty.

      Delete
  10. A Satanist group will face legal action after performing a "Pink Mass" on the grave of the mother of Westboro Baptist Church's founder.

    http://www.christianpost.com/news/satanists-to-face-legal-action-after-desecrating-grave-of-westboro-baptist-founders-mother-100758/

    "Lucien Greaves, spokesman for the Temple, said in a statement to the Gauntlet that the event was held with the intention of changing Johnston into a lesbian in the hereafter.

    Bill Arlinghaus, owner of Magnolia Cemetery, would file charges against the Temple for trespassing and indecent exposure.

    "They are not welcome to perform disrespectful ceremonies. ... This is the actions of a few, and I don't want to give them overly too much attention because that's really what they're trying to seek," said Arlinghaus to ABC News 11."

    HA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Were you and Miss Fely members of the Temple back in the day, Miss T?

      Delete
    2. What happens at "A" School stays at "A" School.

      Delete
    3. I still can't believe, and don't, that you blew her off for Old Man Redinger.

      She was stunning.

      This Redinger character looks a little stunted to me.

      Delete
    4. I'd like you and/or Miss Fely readdress my Knox query in the previous thread, T.

      ...just search for "vixen"

      Delete
    5. Hell, I'd probly volunteer for a knifing if I could have one last piece of that.

      Delete
    6. "fishwife, gorgon; carper, castigator, caviler (or caviller), censurer, critic, faultfinder, nitpicker, railer, scold; belittler, derider, detractor; pettifogger, quibbler"

      ---

      I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment, but why quibble?

      Delete
    7. "Often the wives and daughters of fishermen, fish wives were notoriously loud and foul-mouthed, as noted in the expression, To swear like a fishwife. One reason for their outspokenness is that their wares were highly perishable and so lost value if not sold quickly."

      ---

      Probly suffered through a lot of tasteless bad puns, too.

      Delete
    8. Carper is good.

      Catherine Carper, I like that.......

      Delete
  11. Roger Waters rebukes Scarlett Johansson for SodaStream ties

    “In the past days I have written privately to Neil Young (once) and to Scarlett Johanson (a couple of times). Those letters will remain private,” he said. “Sadly, I have received no reply from either.

    Gee, I just hate when that happens.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to know he can keep a secret secret.

      Delete
    2. "Senior cop commits suicide over car accident horrors"

      ...I was gonna sign up, but that's why I never joined The Corps.

      Or "Corpse" to keep Rufus happy.

      Delete
    3. ...just keep tellin yoself it's no worse than alcohol, Barrack.

      (excluding DUI induced highway mayhem, domestic violence, and Bar Fights.)

      Delete
  12. .

    DougSun Feb 02, 12:16:00 PM EST

    ...with a dash more modesty.


    Some pineapple doodooheads from Maui accuse me of being condescending. Not true.

    Though I have read a little, try to keep up on current events, and can quickly use google to check facts, I don't believe I have any particular insight. The problem as I SEE here it is that in the valley of the blind the one-eyed is king.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll remember that.

      Never have taken compliments well.

      Delete
    2. If you had just one good eye, q, you'd at least have one particular insight, instead you don't have any good eyes or any particular insights.

      Delete
    3. .

      A rather muted and somewhat anemic response, Bobbo. Try a little harder next time.

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      Sorry, Dougo, should have added the smiley face.

      .

      Delete
    5. It was anemic. The Mo'e Flow is responsible. Was pissing in a bucket while writing.....couldn't tear myself away from the discussion.

      Delete
  13. .

    These veiled threats are good for Israel. Perhaps the leadership there will get with the program and start worrying about Israel and its goofy, needy relationship with an abuser.

    An abuser?

    Absurd, petty, and ungrateful.

    Since the US became the first country to recognize the State of Israel and especially since the Kennedy administration, the US has had Israel's back and been the best friend they could want, both politically and militarily. The US is probably the only reason Israel hasn't been saddled with sanctions in the past. The second veto the US ever uses at the UN was in defense of Israel. The US has used its veto in the security council over fifty times in support of Israel sometimes even in contradiction of its own stated policy.

    In 1976, Scranton, our UN ambassador, put forth a resolution that reflected U.S. policy against Israel’s alteration of the status of Jerusalem and establishment of Jewish settlements in occupied territory. Yet, when the resolution came to a vote the U.S. vetoed the resolution which had been passed unanimously by the other 14 members of the council. In the same year the US killed UN resolutions calling for recognition of Palestinians 'inalienable rights' for god's sake and in another case their right to 'self-determination' a subject we have heard much of here of late.

    Just as importantly is the aid the US has supplied to Israel and the commitment by the US to maintain Israel's qualitative edge over its neighbors.

    Abusers!

    Pure bullshit.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Palestinians consider their inalienable rights to be to hate, kill, and push Israel into the sea.

      Delete
    2. That's the UN for you, which we ought to get out of and get it out of our country -always huffing and puffing to give a group 'statehood' whose stated objective is to eliminate a UN Member State.



      Delete
    3. It's just the way they were raised.

      None of us are accountable after that.

      Delete
    4. Until the 1973 War, Israel used French, Russian, and other equipment. The US certainly did not have Israel's back. If you wish to chide me, get your facts in order.

      In 1973, Henry Kissinger knew of the Egyptian plan of attack and did not inform Israel, wishing to take Israel down a notch or two. Yeah, Henry had Israel's back alright, with a knife as a handle.

      You are so grossly ignorant of readily available facts that you are not worth the argument. Note: I did not say discussion or debate, since both require intelligence and specific knowledge.

      Buzz off!

      Delete
    5. .

      You dumb shit, where do you get your facts, The History of the World, from a Jewish Perspective?

      Read and learn about your buddies the Russians as well as US intervention in the '73 war and its cost to this country politically and economically.

      The War and its Consequences

      On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel’s forces in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. Despite initial Israeli setbacks, Kissinger, now both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, believed that Israel would win quickly. He feared that a rout of the Arabs could force the Soviets to intervene, raising their prestige in the Arab world and damaging détente. Thus, he proposed that the United States and the Soviet Union call for an end to the fighting and a return to the 1967 ceasefire lines. The Soviets, who were uneager to intervene on behalf of their clients, agreed, but the Egyptians rejected the ceasefire proposal. Wanting to avoid both an Arab defeat and military intervention, the Soviets then began to resupply Egypt and Syria with weapons. By October 9, following a failed IDF counter-attack against Egypt’s forces, the Israelis requested that America do the same for them. Not wanting to see Israel defeated, Nixon agreed, and American planes carrying weapons began arriving in Israel on October 14.

      With the American airlift underway, the fighting turned against the Arabs. On October 16, IDF units crossed the Suez Canal. Sadat began to show interest in a ceasefire, leading Brezhnev to invite Kissinger to Moscow to negotiate an agreement. A U.S.-Soviet proposal for a ceasefire followed by peace talks was adopted by the UN Security Council as Resolution 338 on October 22. Afterward, however, Kissinger flew to Tel Aviv, where he told the Israelis that the United States would not object if the IDF continued to advance while he flew back to Washington. When Kissinger returned to the United States, he agreed to a Soviet request to seek another ceasefire resolution, which the Security Council adopted on October 23. Yet the Israelis still refused to stop. On October 24, Brezhnev sent Nixon a hotline message suggesting that the United States and the Soviet Union send troops to Egypt to “implement” the ceasefire. If Nixon chose not to do so, Brezhnev threatened, “We should be faced with the necessity urgently to consider the question of taking appropriate steps unilaterally.” The United States responded by putting its nuclear forces on worldwide alert on October 25. By the end of the day, the crisis abated when the Security Council adopted Resolution 340, which called for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of all forces to their October 22 positions, and U.N. observers and peacekeepers to monitor the ceasefire. This time, the Israelis accepted the resolution.

      The 1973 war thus ended in an Israeli victory, but at great cost to the United States. Though the war did not scuttle détente, it nevertheless brought the United States closer to a nuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union than at any point since the Cuban missile crisis. The American military airlift to Israel, moreover, had led Arab oil producers to embargo oil shipments to the United States and some Western European countries, causing international economic upheaval. The stage was set for Kissinger to make a major effort at Arab-Israeli peacemaking.


      http://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/arab-israeli-war-1973

      Read the entire article and you might gets some context and a basic understanding of the US interests involved. US/Soviet détente and nuclear escalation in the balance and the US still has Israel's back despite the costs that ensued and the potential disaster it could have involved. Big risks for an ungrateful ally.

      And no, I don't think I will stand by while some pissant insults my country.

      .

      Delete
    6. Re: And no, I don't think I will stand by while some pissant insults my country.

      You are a punk. The internet allows you to insult with impunity, but you are a punk. That is why I alway picture you in a wife-beater and tutu.

      Delete
    7. .

      What nothing in rebuttal regarding the 1973 war? I was just getting started.

      As for your opinion of me, I'm sure it will set back a few weeks in analysis but eventually I'll get over it.

      My opinion of you is that you a poseur and a bully. You toss out bullshit and expect the natives to believe it. If they don't you fall back on typical bully tactics and call them anti-Semitic.

      You are pathetic.

      .

      Delete
    8. I guess the lesson is, Quirk, that one should always sell out an ally and friend if the price of gas is going to go to up?

      Delete
  14. q is now beginning to dress for his ride to and entry of Super Bowl Stadium. This is a long process, the makeup don't you know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What can we do to boost the TV Audience Worldwide?

      Delete
    2. I guess just spread the Good Word.

      Delete
    3. "Warren Sapp created headlines in New York when he ripped Michael Strahan's Hall of Fame candidacy. Strahan fired back and then Sapp offered on the Jim Rome Show to fight Strahan and "have a dose of it."

      But it appears the fued might be over. Sapp said Sunday that he saw Strahan on Saturday night and asked him to forgive him.

      "I saw Michael Strahan last night on my way going to [see] Derrick Brooks," Sapp said. "I walked up to him, I grabbed him and hugged him and wouldn't let him go. I said please forgive me."

      Now Sapp hasn't said whether Strahan actually agreed to do that but at least he's making an effort here.

      His comments were pretty personal and he definitely looked like the big loser in all of this.

      "When you stack it up, he only has four straight Pro Bowls and a mythical sack record that y'all still walk around like it's something to be praised," Sapp said earlier in the week. "I mean y'all have got to get off your high horse in New York and speak about the real. And when you really measure him up, he comes up short."

      Strahan didn't make it too personal when he fired back at Sapp but he did have a pretty strong, sarcastic response.
      "I am, I'm all hype," Strahan continued. "I lasted 15 years, all hype. I had 141½ career sacks, all hype. I was always a starter. I played left end, and that made me get sacks. My coaches kept putting me in the game because they felt it gave us the best chance to win, and that was all hype."

      Whatever the case it's irrelevant because Strahan made it in the Hall of Fame. And he beat out Tony Dungy, who was Sapp's coach and enters with Derrick Brooks who was Sapp's teammate.
      Strahan didn't speak with the media after the announcement of the 2014 Hall of Fame class."

      Delete
    4. Sapp is a Sap.

      ...and Strahan's standing in for Bradshaw.

      Delete
  15. .

    Philip Seymour Hoffman found dead from apparent overdose.

    From the Big Lebowski to Capote to The Master, the guy was a great actor.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  16. Who was he in the Big?

    Guess I'll have to watch it again, if I can find it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      He played the factotum for the rich (or not so rich) guy in the wheel chair.

      However, it's still worth watching it again.

      .

      Delete
    2. That OLD MF?

      Wow

      Always worth watching again, like Albert Brooks stuff.

      Delete
    3. The Wheelchair guy makes me a little uncomfortable when I admit similarities to someone quite close to me.

      Delete
    4. .

      I think you read it wrong. He played the gofer for the OLD MF.

      .

      Delete
    5. "He also said he was lucky he got sober before becoming famous and had the money to feed his addition."

      ---

      I was lucky because some teachers in grammar school taught me to check my work, and learn my addition.

      Delete
    6. Roger, your "factotum" was too much for my febrile brain.

      HE WAS GREAT!!!

      Delete
    7. I almost suffered a fever fit before I got to that box of Chablis.

      Delete
  17. Until the 1973 War, Israel used French, Russian, and other equipment. The US certainly did not have Israel's back.

    UN "Complaint over Israeli Aggression Against Lebanon" (S/10784), blocked by US veto September 10, 1972. You're welcome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Somebody filed a phony complaint in '72?

      Who was it, do you know?

      Delete

  18. Are Electronic Devices Making Kids Nearsighted- « CBS Pittsburgh


    Comic Books did me I think.

    "“I tell kids, I say, when you’re doing your homework, punch yourself in the chin,” Corcoran said. “The distance between the knuckles and the elbows is the perfect distance to be working. They almost feel like, oh, that’s a little further than I’m used to.”"

    ---

    In bed my knuckles were on my jaw, but the comics were about 10 inches from my face, I'm guessing.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Replies
    1. Who did you first?

      Donald Duck, Scrooge, Mickey?

      Goofy, perhaps?

      God forbid, Superman?

      The whole world wants to know......

      Delete
    2. Don was always my hero, but my classmates regarded me as Goofy.

      I "read" my brothers "Classic Comics" just so I could put on airs.

      Like Q.

      Delete
    3. sorry

      That being the case, it should be "r2"

      Delete
  20. ...off to the range with my daughter...Among other firearms I will be shooting will be the Jericho 941F. The Punk's country did not give that to me or Israel.

    The Punk's country never supplied from inventory a single tank to Israel. These were obtained on the black market and open market. Most were "vintage" that required a complete rebuild and gun exchange. In 1979 Israel introduced its own tank.

    The Punk's country never supplied a single aircraft to Israel until 1968. The French and Brits supplied lightly used aircraft prior to this.

    ...good shooting...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      You will notice that it is always 'the Punk's country' never 'Allen's country'.

      .

      Delete
    2. The Punk hasn't done much to make one proud.

      Delete
    3. .

      In what sense asshole? Did you read the Allen's statements? Did you read the response? Have you got anything intelligent to contribute about the Yom Kippur War and the US role in it? Do you consider the US an abuser of Israel?

      Please, don't stand there with your finger up your ass.

      Enlighten us.

      .



      Delete
    4. I'm sitting on my finger.

      Chill out!

      Delete
    5. .

      The Punk's country never supplied from inventory a single tank to Israel. These were obtained on the black market and open market. Most were "vintage" that required a complete rebuild and gun exchange. In 1979 Israel introduced its own tank.

      I can hear Doug saying, 'Yea, what about that, punk'.

      More bullshit. The US supplied Israel tanks during the 1973 war.

      .

      Delete
    6. ...and you worry about Bob's condition.

      (shakes head)

      Delete
    7. .

      Not to mention Phantom Jets and other supplies.

      .

      Delete
    8. .

      And the old Dougster offers?

      Zip

      .

      Delete
    9. Care to compete in a Quiz on Phantom Facts?

      Delete
    10. .

      Answer the question, old timer. Do you consider the US an abuser of Israel?

      .

      Delete
    11. Iranians Fly Phantoms.

      What's that tell ya?

      Delete
    12. .

      This was 1973, Doug, against Egypt. Offer up something meaningful.

      .

      Delete
    13. Provide me a night with Knox, and I'll answer the question.

      Delete
    14. .

      Answer the question. Do you consider the US an abuser of Israel?

      .

      Delete
    15. .

      If you don't have the balls to answer the question, keep the fuck off my back.

      .

      Delete
  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. r2!!!

      Jeeze, get with the program!

      Are you ignoring my wisdom?

      Delete
    2. .

      Bob, I offer you the same chance as Doug to go on the record. Do you consider the US an abuser of Israel?

      .

      Delete
    3. Doug, get your finger out of your ass.

      ;)

      Calm down Quirk, you are starting to sound like r2.

      Just sayin'

      It was long ago. What happens next is much more important.

      Besides Egypt got the Sinai back anyway.

      Delete
    4. Not in the past. These days, under Obama, to some degree, yes.

      Thank you for offering me the chance.

      Delete
  22. Three hours till game time.

    The snipers are in position, the crowd is arriving, the gunships are overhead, the anti-aircraft batteries on alert.

    What fun !!

    I'm beginning to think the Super Bowl should just be played for TV audience, you get a better view, and no chaos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm bettin It'll beat Sochi for good vibes.

      Delete
  23. Talk about fighting the last war!

    We got ourselves a winner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...or a Madman.

      Be thankful for those Snipers on Superbowl Sunday.

      Delete
    2. I like the helicopter gunships best.

      Delete
    3. It's really insane, is it not?

      And all because of the Koran and our Moslem friends.

      Delete
  24. ".

    If you don't have the balls to answer the question, keep the fuck off my back.

    ."

    ---

    WELL!
    I NEVER!

    Over the line is simply that, over the fuckin line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's got his dick caught in the zipper of his Polar Bear suit, is all I can figure, and can't extract.

      Delete
    2. Somebody put a copy of "Hawaii" on his bedside stand, and got him in a snit.

      Delete
    3. That will do it, that and that stupid ground hog and his miserable prediction.

      Delete
    4. That stupid ground hop has never gotten it right about Hawaii yet.

      Some creatures are beyond learning.

      Delete
    5. It's the Hula, not the ground hop, idiot!

      Delete
    6. "head hog?"

      ...you're really going out of your way now to provoke q.

      Delete
    7. If I can't get head from Knox, I'm not taking it.

      Delete
    8. .

      Hmmm. Etiquette lessons from the blogs official 'c...' man. Gee, I'll have to give his wisdom all the consideration it deserves.

      As for

      I guess the lesson is, Quirk, that one should always sell out an ally and friend if the price of gas is going to go to up?

      No, the lesson is when someone has your back, covers for you, and incurs costs and takes risks in doing so it is then not only impolitic but worse ungrateful to then accuse that someone of being your 'abuser.

      .

      Delete
  25. Replies
    1. "Mr. Michener's entry in ''Who's Who in America'' says he was born on Feb. 3, 1907. But he said in his 1992 memoirs that the circumstances of his birth remained cloudy and that he did not know just when he was born or who his parents were."

      ---

      Wish I could have been so lucky.

      Delete
  26. quirk, our resident America/Israel history buff says:

    Since the US became the first country to recognize the State of Israel and especially since the Kennedy administration, the US has had Israel's back and been the best friend they could want, both politically and militarily.

    Quirk,

    Might I suggest that the US obligation in 1967 via the Straits of Titran caused the 1973 sneak attack? The USA might have been the 1st recognizer of Israel as a nation in 1948 but that didn't stop the USA from effectively banning arms sales from 1948 - 1960, Israel had to rely on France, England and others for weapons.

    You cannot look at a single war, 1973, without understanding HOW the war was caused.

    The USA's loyalty for it's friend, Israel has ebbed and flowed and of course, now receding.

    Aid to arab nations to counter the Soviets, providing free protection for the shipping lanes for oil all have been at Israel's expense.

    Cut all aid off to Israel, but stop providing aid and cover to OPEC.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But then r2 would have to admit that Fracking works!

      Delete
    2. ...and there's that Canadian Pipeline.

      Delete
    3. I seem in my answer to Quirk to have forgotten the weapons bans from '48.

      Therefore I'll go with the ebb and flow idea, and definitely say nowadays things are ebbing badly.

      I'm not sure what 'abuser' means in this context.

      Delete
    4. ...and try to think of something you could do to get a smile on that puss.

      Delete
    5. The minute he's out of office she's out of there.

      Delete
    6. .

      I'm not sure what 'abuser' means in this context.

      Ask, Allen. He was the one who used it speaking of the US. You often jump into a discussion without asking what precipitated it?

      .

      Delete
    7. .

      Cut all aid off to Israel, but stop providing aid and cover to OPEC.

      I would agree, but we both know that isn't going to happen. There is too much money involved in arms sales and for that matter wars. You can't sell more ammo and arms if the current one aren't used.

      .

      Delete
    8. .

      The USA's loyalty for it's friend, Israel has ebbed and flowed and of course, now receding.

      I agree with the ebb and flow comment; however, in the end the US was there for Israel as I pointed out with my comments regarding UN support and keeping Israel not only armed but armed with a qualitative advantage over its neighbors.

      .

      Delete
    9. "ones"

      Consider hiring an adult overseer.

      Delete
    10. .

      Might I suggest that the US obligation in 1967 via the Straits of Titran caused the 1973 sneak attack?

      You have made this comment before and I disagree with it. It is a one-sided comment and viewed strictly from the Israeli point of view. The US supported the assertion that Egypt's closing of the Straits was a precipitating factor in the '67 war and they condemned it. However, you seem to think that the US should have sent troops in to open the straights ignoring the fact that the US had bigger fish to fry at the time, the Vietnam War being one of them and the Cold War being another. The US was hardly in a position to start a nuclear confrontation over the Straits of Tiran.

      .

      Delete
    11. "Tiran"

      I should get paid for this.

      Delete
    12. IN THE END? there is not an end...

      But let's review. America pulled the rug out of Egypt, supported the moslem brotherhood and hamas, is funding al queda in syria, overthrew Libya, forced Israel to accept a meaningless UN resolution on Lebanon and now? Helping Iran go nuclear.

      the story aint over... it's not the end yet....

      Delete
    13. Notice I waited 'til q quoted WIO's typo.

      Point taken.

      Delete
    14. "But let's review. America pulled the rug out of Egypt, supported the moslem brotherhood and hamas, is funding al queda in syria, overthrew Libya, forced Israel to accept a meaningless UN resolution on Lebanon and now? Helping Iran go nuclear."

      ---

      What's not to like?

      Four More Years!

      Delete
    15. .

      Might I suggest that the US obligation in 1967 via the Straits of Titran caused the 1973 sneak attack?

      Sneak attack?

      This kind of goes along with Allen's statement

      In 1973, Henry Kissinger knew of the Egyptian plan of attack and did not inform Israel, wishing to take Israel down a notch or two. Yeah, Henry had Israel's back alright, with a knife as a handle.

      I would like to see the attribution on that statement as I have never seen it before although I have seen statements that would contradict it. But the real question, even if there was any possibility the statement was true, would be what would Israel have done with the information, if anything. After all the 'sneak attack' was hardly a secret.

      Egyptian war planning was precise and methodical. The Egyptians had met with heads of Arab states and coordinated support. President Sadat met secretly with Saudi Arabian King Feisal on August 23, 1973, to inform him of the planned attack and to get cooperation in the form of an Arab oil boycott. [1] The combined Egyptian-Syrian air-force, reinforced by squadrons from Iraq, Libya and Algeria as well as some North Korean pilots, outnumbered the Israelis 2 to 1. Deficiencies in armor were compensated by huge numbers of hand-held Sagger anti-tank missiles. To compensate for Israeli air-superiority, Egyptian and Syrian armor would stay under the protective umbrella of the Soviet SAM-3 surface to air missiles, stationary installations that depended on ground radar stations. The canal was lined with two huge earthen embankments, on the Egyptian and Israeli sides. To cross effectively, the Egyptians would need to make holes in the embankments. Experiments showed that the most efficient method of destroying the embankment was the use of water cannon. 450 huge water cannons were acquired from Germany. Specially engineered Soviet pontoon bridges were purchased for use in crossing the canal. This activity was partly covered by the announcement of a training exercise, Tahrir 41. This provided cover not only against Israeli intelligence, but also to keep the knowledge of the attack from Egyptian soldiers. Very few in Egypt knew they were about to go to war.

      None of this activity, the preparations, the procurement, the training or even the announcement on September 11 on Cairo Radio that Egyptian President Sadat and King Hussein of Jordan were "discussing the preparations for the fateful battle against Israel," made any impression on Israel's intelligence assessment. The Israelis ignored a specific and detailed warning by King Hussein of Jordan, delivered in secret, as well as CIA warnings. Repeated announcements by Sadat that war was imminent had come to naught, reinforcing Israeli opinion that he was bluffing. After the swift victory of 1967, Israel intelligence and military were over sure of themselves. In May and August, Sadat had mobilized the Egyptian army in apparent readiness for an attack. Israel mobilized, but the attack never occurred. Either these were deliberate bluffs, or Egypt had been deterred by Israeli mobilization. However, each of these mobilizations was costly, and Israel was reluctant to undertake another mobilization for yet another false alarm. Moreover, a carefully nurtured Egyptian double agent, code named "the in-law," had also convinced Israeli intelligence that Egypt was unready to go to war, and continued to disseminate disinformation up to the outbreak of hostilities. In the last days before the war, it was no longer possible to hide that fact that families of Soviet advisers were leaving. Egyptians were certain that Israelis knew by now that there would be war, and this was relayed by the double agent, but nonetheless ignored by Israel. On the day before the attack, the agent transmitted the false information that the attack would begin at 6 PM. In fact, the attack was to begin at 2 PM, and the Israelis lost four hours of warning.


      http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/YomKippurWar.htm

      .

      Delete
    16. .

      But let's review. America pulled the rug out of Egypt, supported the moslem brotherhood and hamas, is funding al queda in syria, overthrew Libya, forced Israel to accept a meaningless UN resolution on Lebanon and now? Helping Iran go nuclear.

      I have been as big a critic of US policy in the ME as anyone. It has been ad hoc and chaotic. Under Obama, it has turned on a dime with seemingly little concern for unanticipated consequences.

      Right, now US policy seems to be to tell its allies there that it is time to leave the nest, the US no longer has plans to back you up with boots on the ground this much to the consternation of some of its 'friends' there. However, how long this will last after 2016 no one knows.

      That being said, 'in the end' does anyone really believe the US won't continue to support Israeli interests in the UN or for that matter that they won't continue to supply Israel with the weapons it needs to maintain a qualitative advantage over its neighbors?

      .

      Delete
    17. TIRAN, fer Chrisesakes!

      Get it together.

      Delete
    18. .

      Sorry, old time. You lost me.

      Again.

      The point?

      .

      Delete
    19. If there were no end to Obama there would be an end to US support for Israel.

      Thankfully there will be an end to Mr. Obama.

      Delete
  27. Beta Blockers, Quirk, I'm tellin ya.

    See your Doc, pay the price, mellow out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Go away, Doug. Unless you have something meaningful to offer, let the adults talk.

      .

      Delete
  28. A top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards boasted Saturday that his forces have plans in place to attack the United States from within, should the U.S. attack the Islamic Republic.

    “America, with its strategic ignorance, does not have a full understanding of the power of the Islamic Republic,” Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami said in a televised interview. “We have recognized America’s military strategy, and have arranged our abilities, and have identified centers in America [for attack] that will create a shock.”

    Reports indicate that terrorist Hezbollah forces — allies of Iran — have infiltrated the U.S. and have mapped out targets.



    Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/01/iranian-commander-we-have-targets-within-america/#ixzz2sCbioFaU

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe America should declare surrender now?

      Delete
    2. Lot better plan than relying on those Phantoms.

      Delete
    3. This Hossein Salami guy interests me.

      It's almost lunchtime.

      And I'm not Jewish.

      Delete
    4. The Alawites are far more Christian than they are Muslim. And everyone's thought so since Muhammad. They just pretend to be Muslim to survive. Iran saw it in their interest to pretend the are Muslims and a couple decades got some flunky in Lebanon to declare them Muslims.

      Delete
    5. Ms T, again you don't know shit from shinola about what you speak of...

      "The Alawites, also known as Alawis (ʿAlawīyyah Arabic: علوية‎), are a prominent mystical religious group, centred in Syria, who follow a branch of the Twelver school of Shia Islam but with syncretistic elements. "

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alawites

      You have a pattern of shooting off your mouth about subjects you know nothing.

      Delete
    6. The Alawites are, believe it or not, the Phoenicians.

      Delete
    7. no once again you simplistic twit your grasp of the middle east is warped...

      do some research. the "Phoenicians's" descendants are scattered around the 6-7 nations and the coastal cities of lebanon were their main stomping ground...


      Delete
  29. Quirk: If you don't have the balls to answer the question, keep the fuck off my back.

    Balls are overrated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You got that right.

      Did you reply to my Knox request yet?

      I won't even ask to mount her back.

      Even tho Quirk seems to feel I'm accustomed to that.

      Delete
    2. Pope Goes To Mount Olive. Popeye Vows Revenge.

      Delete
    3. Spinach and Salami Salad for lunch.

      Delete
    4. .

      :)

      Where do you get these, T.

      Surely, you don't make them all up and hopefully you are not pen pals to some guy in prison.

      .

      Delete
    5. Why?

      Maybe when he gets out he can straighten her out.

      Delete
    6. I have a database of bumper sticker thingies. And don't call me Shirley.

      Delete
    7. Rat was banished shortly after disclosing his MS Notes trove of treasures.

      Delete
    8. Yeah, that's what I say. She's Miss T.

      Delete
    9. I'll take Misty.

      ...or Amanda

      Delete
    10. Not as big a scandal as when you weighed in at three hunnert pounds and were found to be purchasing Pork Chop Offsets from your own company.

      Delete
    11. Not that I'm obsessed, and if so, Shirley it's temporary.

      Delete
    12. I thought you were taking Miss Fely.

      Well good then, I'll take Miss Fely.

      Delete
    13. Why does that name remind me of Mr. Rogers?

      Are you Mr. Fely?

      Delete
    14. Miss T met this Redinger jerk in prison.

      >>>


      Teresita RedingerSun Feb 02, 05:32:00 PM EST

      Not as big a scandal as when you weighed in at three hunnert pounds and were found to be purchasing Pork Chop Offsets from your own company.<<<

      That was Mr. Quirk, purchasing the Pork Chop Offsets from his own company. The fine was three hunnert pounds. This happened in England.

      Delete
    15. Mr Feeny, I guess.

      Whatever.

      Delete
    16. Miss Fely is my sister. I have my rights.

      Delete
  30. The anti-aircraft batteries at the Meadowlands might open fire if Manning fumbles a snap.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After today, we won't have Quirk to kick around any longer, the snipers should take care of that.

      His diatribe here today is being placed in my lapser data base for analysis. It contains all the classic lapser elements. All that is needed now is for me to break it down into its various parts and publish my report.

      Delete
    2. These conversations will be the meat and drink of Lapser Studies for decades to come.

      Delete
    3. Don't bother.

      He's obviously flown over the Cuckoo's Nest.

      Delete
    4. .

      http://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/arab-israeli-war-1973

      http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/YomKippurWar.htm

      Right.

      When the old Quirkster starts linking to the US State Department archives and a Zionist website to make his arguments for him, you know he has gone off the deep end.

      And the references you guys have offered to dispute my position?

      Bob?

      Doug?

      Bueller?

      Lord you guys are dense.

      .

      Delete
    5. .

      Bob and Doug, the Beavis and Butthead of the Blog.

      What insight, source, link, argument, whatever, have you had to offer on the subject you intruded upon today.

      As far as I can see, ZIP.

      Instead, you merely wander around like a couple of Monty Python's

      Upperclass Twits of the Year

      Hard to take anything you say seriously.

      .

      Delete
  31. My dog has created more shovel ready jobs than Obama has.

    ReplyDelete
  32. NFL teams 6-766 since 2001 when trailing by 22+ points in second halves. Broncos 1-22.

    ReplyDelete