RUTHFULLY YOURS

http://www.nationalreview.com/node/367540/print

A viral video making the rounds in December bore the very descriptive title “Ten Germans Try to Say the Word ‘Squirrel’” — and nobody seemed to think that it was racist or xenophobic, even though our Teutonic friends were being held up as figures of fun for something that is deeply embedded in their culture. Indeed, the Germans seemed to be as much amused as anybody else. The phenomenon is nothing new to students of linguistics: Not every phoneme exists in every language, and it is extraordinarily difficult for adults to process phonemes that are not part of their linguistic patrimony. Anglophone adults learning Sanskrit have a desperately hard time with the difference between aspirated and non-aspirated “d” sounds, just as somebody who had been raised hearing nothing but Japanese would find it difficult or impossible to distinguish between “r” and “l” sounds in English. Native speakers of non-tonal languages have a rough time with Chinese. Welsh, Romanian, and Dutch all contain sounds that are famous for being unpronounceable by the Anglophone. A “burro” is an ass, and a “burrow” is a hole in the ground, but your typical English-speaking person can’t tell one from the other.

This sort of thing is terribly distressing to Matthew Salesses, fiction editor at The Good Men Project, an online magazine, who published a hilariously self-parodic essay titled “Racism in the Classroom: When Even Our Names Are Not Our Own.” He began with this tale of pearl-clutching terror, his soul pierced by the unsettling childhood recollections of a classmate:

He described how, when he was a boy, he couldn’t figure out what a certain newscaster’s name was. The student complained that because the newscaster pronounced his name with a “Mexican” accent, he couldn’t understand it.

There are many possible explanations for this episode. But, racism?

Setting aside the sneer quotes around “Mexican” — as though there were no such thing as a Mexican accent — it is very likely that the boy complained that he could not understand the pronunciation of the broadcaster’s name not because he was a budding ethnolinguistic chauvinist but because he could not understand the pronunciation of the broadcaster’s name, any more than the typical English-speaking man walking the streets of Bakersfield can tell the शूर from the सुर. The story calls to mind a pained book chapter in which linguistic anthropologist Harriet Joseph Ottenheimer considers the famous Saturday Night Live skit in which a bunch of painfully correct Anglos in conversation with Jimmy Smits’s “Antonio Mendoza” use ever more lamely Hispanic-ish pronunciations of common English words and phrases — “Loh-HANG-ee-less” for Los Angeles, “kah-MAHRRR-oh” for the Chevy sports car, etc. Professor Ottenheimer writes that the skit expresses “the extreme ambivalence and complexity of ideologies about Spanish in the United States,” and she worries that under some interpretations Mr. Smits might be seen as “playing into the hands of anti-Spanish sentiment.” This discussion takes place under the heading “Mock Spanish: A Site for the Indexical Reproduction of Racism in American English.” Calvin and Hobbes takes a beating, too, when the racially insensitive stuffed tiger imagines himself as a fearsome potentate called “El Tigre Numero Uno.”

Nitpicking over which jihadists did what lets the Obama administration evade the real questions.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/367510/down-times-bengahzi-rabbit-hole-andrew-c-mccarthy

What was the commander-in-chief of the United States armed forces doing through the night of September 11, 2012, while he knew Americans were under jihadist siege in Libya? You won’t learn the answer to that question by reading the mini-book-length, six-“chapter” revisionist history of the Benghazi massacre cooked up by David D. Kirkpatrick and the New York Times.

The Times report is a labor of love in the service of President Obama and, in particular, the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign ramp-up. Former secretary of state Clinton, of course, was a key architect of Obama’s Libya policy. She was also chiefly responsible for the protection of American personnel in that country, including our murdered ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, and the three other Americans killed by Muslim terrorists — State Department technician Sean Smith and a pair of former Navy SEALs, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. Still, the Times is banking on your not noticing that in its laborious 7,500 words, Kirkpatrick’s account utters the word “Clinton” exactly . . . wait for it . . . zero times.

The word “Obama” comes in for a mere six mentions, four of which are impersonal references to the current administration. The other two are telling, though fleeting.

IF ONLY WENDY DAVIS HAD BEEN THERE…

And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah; and he said: ‘When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, ye shall look upon the birthstool: if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.’ But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive.

(Shemos/Exodus 1 15-17)
Gay Anti-Israel Buddhist Claims Pajama Boy Critics are Anti-Semitic

THE EXPERIMENT WAS A SUCCESS
Mogoeng Mogoeng was appointed by Nelson Mandela as a judge of the North West High Court. Then Jacob Zuma, the ANC’s president, appointed him Chief Justice. Zuma had been on trial for rape, so you could see why he wanted a rape friendly Chief Justice.In another case, Mogoeng wrote,

“One can safely assume that [the accused] must have been mindful of [the victim’s] tender age and was thus so careful as not to injure her private parts, except accidentally, when he penetrated her. That would explain why the child was neither sad nor crying when she returned from the shop, notwithstanding the rape. In addition to the tender approach that would explain the absence of serious injuries and the absence of serious bleeding, he bought her silence and cooperation with Simba chips and R30.” Meet South Africa’s “Child Rape” Friendly Chief Justice

Pro-Crime Liberal Politician Beaten Up by 2 Black Women over iPhone

WE MUST ENGAGE WITH AL QAEDA TO STOP AL QAEDA
“Alienating the Islamic Front puts the U.S. at risk of losing any leverage or influence within the armed opposition,” he said. “It’s not about whether they are good guys or bad guys. The Islamic Front is the only counterbalance to extremists in Syria. The U.S. must recognize that.”At this rate in a year we’ll be told that we have to support the Al Nusra Front as a counterbalance to ISIS. There are probably foreign policy experts out there already arguing that we should engage with the “moderate” elements in the Syrian Al Qaeda to counterbalance Al Qaeda in Iraq.

McCain’s Fave Syria Lobbyist says US Must Support “Bad Guy” Islamic Front

MY GOODNESS, MY GUINESS

In 2001, there were less than 2000 Muslims in Ireland. Now there are nearly 50,000. By 2020, there will be an estimated 100,000. By 2043, Islam will be Ireland’s second largest religion.

This is the horrifying power of demographics. A few people in the door with a large birth rate become an occupying army in a short matter of time.

Irish media has reported that Dr. Ali Selim, a leader in the Irish Muslim Brotherhood, has made comments praising the concept of “martyrdom.”

Mr. Selim attracted a great deal of local media attention in September 2006 when he told a newspaper interviewer that, ideally, he would like to see Shariah law adopted in Ireland in the “event of a Muslim majority.”

Islam to Become Ireland’s 2nd Largest Religion

http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/

CLIMATE DENIERS DENY THE CLIMATE
This summer, MainStream Last First attempted to bring attention to the threat of melting ice by crossing the Northwest Passage in a rowboat. The effort was dubbed as a voyage made possibly only by climate change. Instead it also ran up against the ice that wasn’t there.
The entry concluded: “Our message remains unaffected though, bringing awareness to the pressing issues of climate change in the arctic.”
In the spring, another Warmist expedition set out to cross Antarctica and “make a decisive contribution to our understanding of the effect of climate change upon the poles.” It lost its leader who came down with frostbite and whose evacuation was delayed by a blizzard.

AL SHARPTON’S TAX SITUATION EXPECTED TO IMPROVE DRAMATICALLY
Al Sharpton is celebrating Bill de Blasio’s appointment of Zachary W. Carter as the chief lawyer of the City of New York.
The announcement by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio regarding the appointment of former Judge Zachary W. Carter as Corporation Counsel for the City of New York is an unprecedented and huge step for progress.
Facing an escalating federal probe into his charity’s finances, the Rev. Al Sharpton now has his own muscle: former Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter. Sharpton said Thursday he hired Carter – a respected ex-prosecutor – to represent him and his National Action Network because he thinks the probe has become politicized.
Sharpton and NAN owe several million dollars in back taxes, but Sharpton attributed the problem to a fire at his Harlem headquarters that destroyed many records.

IT’S DE BLASIO TIME
Another Imam identifies Askia as a former Nation of Islam member and the testimony summary states, “Contrary to plaintiff’s allegation, Imam Askia does not find NOI beliefs to be offensive. Imam Askia is well acquainted with Minister Louis Farrakhan and agrees with many of his teachings.”
The Nation of Islam’s official platform of beliefs include a rejection of integration (an ironic sentiment considering Bill de Blasio’s interracial marriage which the Nation of Islam is opposed to and once called for prohibiting) and claims of white racial inferiority calling white people “potential humans who haven’t evolved yet”.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/01/03/the-jewish-state-and-the-story-the-palestinians-hold-dear/

In her “Memo from Jerusalem” in theNew York Times, Jodi Rudoren asserts that “in recent weeks,” Benjamin Netanyahu has “catapulted to the fore” an issue “even more intractable than old ones like security and settlements: a demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.” She reported it is now a “core issue” in the current negotiations and that “critics” say Netanyahu raised it as a poison pill:

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has repeatedly said that the Palestinians will never agree to it, most recently in a letter to President Obama last month. The Palestinians … contend that recognizing Israel as a Jewish state would disenfranchise its 1.6 million Arab citizens, undercut the right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees and, most important, require a psychological rewriting of the story they hold dear about their longtime presence in the land.

The issue, however, was not recently “catapulted to the fore” by Netanyahu; it is an issue that long pre-dates him; and it goes to the heart of whether the “peace process” is about peace. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, picking up the story with the internal 2007 Palestinian memorandum entitled “Strategy and Talking Points for Responding to the Precondition of Recognizing Israel as a ‘Jewish State’,” leaked in the “Palestine Papers.” The memo contained the following instruction for Palestinian negotiators:

We recommend that the Palestinian negotiators maintain their position not to recognize or otherwise characterize the state of Israel as “Jewish”. Any recognition of Israel within a treaty or agreement should be limited to recognizing it as a sovereign state. It should not recognize Israel as a “Jewish state”, “state for the Jewish people”, “homeland for the Jewish people” or any similar characterization.

The reasons in the memo did not include “the story [the Palestinians] hold dear about their longtime presence in the land.” Rather, the memo warned that “[r]ecognizing the Jewish state implies recognition of a Jewish people and recognition of its right to self-determination.” The Palestinians did not want to recognize a Jewish people, a Jewish state, a Jewish homeland, Jewish self-determination, or any Jewish demographic considerations.

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?i

Evgeny Kissin, the 42-year-old prodigy pianist, rarely gives interviews • But there is a subject that compelled him to talk to the media — Israel, and the manner in which it is treated in the Western world • Last month, Kissin became an Israeli citizen.

Evgeny Kissin rarely gives interviews. The 42-year-old prodigy pianist, who was born and raised in Moscow and currently lives in London, prefers to express himself only while he’s sitting up against his favorite instrument. With one touch of the key, he produces a full, rich note, illuminating every chord in his own special interpretation.

Nonetheless, there is a subject that did compel Kissin to agree to talk to the media. It’s a topic that burns in his bones — Israel, and the manner in which it is treated by the western world.

Dissatisfied with mere statements, Kissin also took action. Last month, he was granted his request to become an Israeli citizen during a special event in Jerusalem. His blue Interior Ministry-issued identiy card and his Israeli passport were awarded to him by Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver. Also in attendance was Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, whom Kissin initially turned to in hopes of becoming an Israeli citizen.

“I’m a Jew, Israel is a Jewish state, and for quite a long time I have felt that even though I live here, Israel is the only country in the world that I can identify with completely,” he wrote to Sharansky in a letter. “If I as a human being and an artist represent something in this world, it is my people, the Jewish people, so Israel is the only country on the face of this earth that I would want to represent in my art and my public activities, irrespective of where I live.”

http://israeltheviewfromhere.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-lies-they-tell-at-stjamess-church.html

The lies they tell at St.James’s Church, Piccadilly, London

Yasser Arafat defied the Christian tradition in Bethlehem, which had been respected and upheld under Israeli authority, by appointing a Muslim governor and engineered a Muslim takeover of the city council. He then put his stamp on this town by converting the Greek Orthodox monastery, next to the Church of the Nativity, into his official Bethlehem residence.

At great risk to his life, Pastor Naim Khoury, of the Bethlehem Baptists Church, exposed the developing threats to Christians within the territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority. “People are always telling Christians to convert to Islam.”

His ministry is based on love and non-violence. He is also a strong advocate for Zionism based on God’s land covenant with Israel through Abraham.
Because of his views, his church has been bombed fourteen times, and he has been shot three times. He has been threatened by the Palestinian Authority to close the doors of his church which they consider as “illegitimate.”

This brave Christian priest needs and deserves the active support of church leaders worldwide. Instead, they boycott him and pick on Israel for their wrath, ignoring the human rights crimes of the Palestinian leadership whom they openly support. How twisted is that?

Elias Freij, the Christian mayor of Bethlehem at the time of the Oslo Accords in 1993, warned Israeli Prime Minister, Yizhak Rabin, to maintain control over his town. “Bethlehem will become a town of churches devoid of Christians if you transfer control to the Palestinian Authority.”

Israel caved in to international pressure, handed over Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority and, for the middle class Christian residents, their lives became threatened, and the mayor’s warning became the current Christian nightmare.

www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/INTO-THE-FRAY-The-gutting-of-Zionism-336966
Future historians are likely to point to the current government as inflicting the most devastating blow to the spirit of, and the belief in, the Zionist enterprise.

True leadership is tested on the ability to uphold decisions, hard as they may be. We were not elected to lead the State of Israel in order to make easy decisions.
– Binyamin Netanyahu, December 30 Politics in Israel is indeed stranger than fiction. It certainly is more grotesque and macabre than most literary plots of deceit and betrayal.

Beyond belief

The spectacle unfolding before our eyes over the past several weeks in Israel’s theater of the politically absurd defies belief. We see an elected government supported by a ruling parliamentary coalition composed almost entirely of incumbent legislators, who built their political careers on opposing precisely the policy that they now seem powerless to prevent, and, in some cases, are even complicit in promoting.

So once again, a situation is emerging in which we have an Israeli government, whether willingly or unwillingly, embracing – or at least facilitating – the very policy its electoral constituency expected it to prevent.

Prime Minister Netanyahu achieved political prominence largely because of his fierce, and well-argued, opposition to Yitzhak Rabin’s adoption of the Oslo Accords. Yet, inexplicably, after all his criticism has been vindicated, he has embraced a policy even more concessionary than that he excoriated Rabin for.

Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon has been a fierce critic of the two-state-idea, articulating positions totally at odds with the policy proposals being discussed under the current Kerry initiative, whose underlying rationale is that Israel’s frontiers should be based on the indefensible pre-1967 lines. True, Ya’alon has recently come out with strong statements opposing the essential rationale of the ongoing negotiations. However, he has been unable to halt the continued erosion of Israeli positions, much less change the focus of the negotiations to anything remotely resembling the ideas he expounded – correctly – as vital to Israel’s minimal security requirements.

What started out as a sad story about the tragic death of a young diplomat may turn out to be a warning not to young diplomats, but to countries which host them.
http://www.jewishpress.com/author/lori-lowenthal-marcus/

On Wednesday, Jan. 1, an explosion went off in the home of Jamal al-Jamal, the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic. Al-Jamal was severely injured by the blast. He received lethal wounds to his abdomen, head and chest, and died within hours at a local hospital. Jamal’s residence was located in the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Prague. Those facts are not in dispute.

But how Jamal was killed remains a question. The initial story was that he must have triggered a safety device meant to destroy classified documents if an unauthorized person opened the safe. In fact, if you check the stories in the mainstream media reports about Jamal’s death, you would be confident that Jamal mistakenly triggered a safety device on on old safe.

But there were conflicting reports about the safe Jamal had just opened when the blast occurred.

Amid rising anxiety, CRIF President Roger Cukierman tells journalists his group shouldn’t be seen as an annex to the Israeli embassy

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/157686/new-look-for-crif

Tablet Magazine is a project of Nextbook Inc. Copyright © 2014 Nextbook Inc. All rights reserved.

In mid-December, France’s President François Hollande held a reception at the Elysée palace in honor of the 70th anniversary of the CRIF, as the umbrella organization of French Jews is known. Hollande, whose delivery is often wooden and halting, was unusually at ease with his guests and made sure to note in his remarks that he was celebrating “by extension, all the Jews in France.”

The abiding impression of President Hollande’s substantial address [1]—close to 20 minutes—was that the république of diversity could not ask for a better element than the Jews. At a time when thorny issues of immigration and integration of the growing Muslim population threaten to disturb the peace in France, Hollande expressed appreciation for a community that is both an integral part of the history of France—the CRIF, he noted, was created in 1943, during the Nazi occupation, alongside the Conseil National de la Résistance—and, by virtue of the tens of thousands of North African Jews who arrived in France in the 1960s, a model of integration. Hollande also renewed his public promises to combat the rising tide of anti-Semitism that plagues Jews in France today, and he spoke about his November state visit to Israel, describing the country as a refuge. “Your attachment to Israel is normal,” he said. “You don’t have to apologize for it.”

And yet that appears to be what the president of the CRIF, Roger Cukierman, is doing. At a private luncheon with a handful of journalists one week before the anniversary celebration, Cukierman—a banker—outlined a “new look” for the organization, which he previously headed for two terms, starting in 2001. During the six-year hiatus between the end of his last term, in 2007, and his re-election this past spring, he said [2], the CRIF has come to be seen “an annex to the Israeli embassy … an association of right-wing fascists notorious for their unconditional support of the Israeli government.” That image, he went on, “does not correspond to reality.”