The Inconvenient Truth

Islam - The New Dictatorship

2012-03-05T17:01:00.000-05:00

Fun Fact: Nationhood and Jerusalem: Israel became a nation in 1312 BC, two thousand (2000) years before the rise of Islam.

As the clouds darken, the arab spring, born a year ago, is quickly turning into a widening nightmare scenario that is enveloping all of Islam. While the world focuses on the evils perpetrated by the ridiculous assertion that Israel is an apartheid state, a vicious hybrid cancer is beginning to assert itself replacing old dictatorships with an old-new and even more intolerant evil. This is the horrorscope of the future quietly cultivated by the coalition of the extreme left and Islam. These are mostly intellectuals at our educational institutions, infusing their poison into our easily influenced and unsuspecting youth. Of course, financially sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood who provide the slow drip of oily venom.

Ex dictator, Saddam Hussein and his family members apparently made use of rape rooms to torture and shred opposition to their dictatorship. Or maybe they did it just for fun. Ezra Levant of the Toronto Sun writes that the Syrian army is using rape trucks to gang bang anyone they suspect or just happen to desire. Whatever shade of truth one might believe, clearly these dictatorships are barbaric in nature and need to be eliminated. But hold it! Who do we have on the other side in Syria? The opposition in Syria is being openly supported by Saudi Arabia, Al Qaeda, Hamas, The US, Europe and the elite media (hey, these revolutionaries use twitter, iPhones and Facebook - so they must be like us). Ring out the old and bring in the new.

When Mubarak went, betrayed by old friend Obama in the name of human rights and cheered on by CNN ("look at us.. we're making history"), leadership of the Sunni arab world and the arab spring automatically passed to American ally and oil supplier Saudi Arabia. He who pays the piper, calls the tune.

If we were to mention a country in which women have virtually no rights and are kept as virtual prisoners, unable to travel without the permission of a male guardian or relative, even if he is a child or retarded or mentally defective -- but also that there are separate roads marked for Muslims to drive on and for non-Muslims to drive on? Where one is not not even allowed to bring a Bible into the country. Would this be Israel the apartheid state? If we mentioned that the great humanitarian Hillary Clinton runs a foundation supported financially by this country, while encouraging "understanding" between faiths, we would be positive this was those "Jews using their money to run the world" as claimed by leftists like Haroon Siddiqui of the Toronto Star and others.

In fact, they have no free press, no elected government, no political parties. And the royal family allows the religious police to travel in groups of six carrying nightsticks, with which they freely and publicly beat women. Worse, religious police stopped schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building because they were not wearing correct Islamic dress. Seventeen schoolgirls were burnt to death. This must have taken place in that den of iniquity, Israel since it was reported by the self-acclaimed tower of morality the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1874471.stm Recently the religious police beheaded a woman for practising sorcery. Don't believe me... http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/saudi-woman-beheaded-witchcraft/story?id=15145041#.T1Tu91HYfHg

So really, what are the choices for Israel in this situation. Should they take the advice of our deep thinking intellectuals, who accuse them of a South African type apartheid (from a good distance let it be said) while conveniently ignoring all of the above? Mass murder, rape and genocide is a worst case scenario. Abbas represents the secular Assad type of governance, while Hamas represents the religious Saudi type solution. The more merciful option would be atomic annihilation (The shiite solution). A quick and easy holocaust as opposed to a long drawn out affair. The one state final solution now openly being discussed at Harvard University appears to be the way to go. They are correct in principle, wrong in substance. The two state solution is dead and buried. There is only room for one state in the area. Israel.

Watch and weep as the non-competitive economic world of Islam implodes.

If you are going through hell, keep going - Winston Churchill

The Miracle Continues....Walk Tall Israel

2012-03-02T15:36:00.001-05:00

1.First-ever Bedouin commercial solar field licensed

This is the first license given in Israel for a solar project involving the Bedouin community. The $30 million installation will be established on private land and some 80% of the costs will be funded by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) of the US government. The Public Utility Authority (PUA) granted the Bedouin community in the Negev a license for a photovoltaic installation. Read More http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4186700,00.html

2.Blackstone to make major investments in Israel

The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) will reportedly invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Israel, through a joint venture that it will set up with Markstone Capital Partners Group LLC. Markstone, headed by managing directors Ron Lubash and Amir Kess, will apparently become Blackstone's exclusive representative in Israel. Markstone will seek Israeli companies in which the two private equity funds will invest. Blackstone, with $166.2 billion in assets under management, is the world's largest private equity fund. COMMENT: Money Talks and BS walks.

3."Israel's gas reserves worth $130b"

Israel's natural gas reserves are worth $100-130 billion, in non-capitalized values, a senior official who accompanies Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday's visit to Cyprus said in a press conference. This valuation is the basis for the sovereign fund for oil and gas royalties that will be set up. He added that that the gas discoveries in Israeli waters could be double the known discoveries to date.

4.Goldman Sachs buys 10% of Viola Group

Goldman Sachs paid $20 million for the stake in Viola Group, which manages $2 billion in investments. Goldman Sachs is one of the biggest foreign investors in Israel. It acquires stakes in companies, mostly in high tech, and has made ten investments in Israeli companies to date. Sources inform ''Globes'' that it has invested over $250 million in Israeli companies in the past few years. COMMENT: Small potatoes right now, but when added up....Huge!

5.Israeli village for earthquake victims inaugurated in Turkey

Three months after an earthquake hit the Van region in Turkey and caused the death of hundreds and left thousands wounded and homeless, an "Israeli village" was inaugurated on Monday with 130 mobile homes donated by Israel to the Turkish survivors. '"Only true friends help with such speed and concern," stressed the Turks. Read more..... http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4189585,00.html

6.Unemployment rate at historic low in Q4 2011

The unemployment rate fell to an all-time low of 5.4% of the civilian labor force in the fourth quarter of 2011 from 5.6% in the preceding quarter, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. Tel Aviv had the lowest unemployment rate among cities with more than 100,000 residents, at 4.4% in 2011, down from 5.7% in 2010.

7.Israel named world's 2nd-best clean tech innovator

Going green, going strong: Israel is among the top-three nations worldwide that provide the best conditions for clean technology startup companies, a recent ranking by the CleanTech Group stated. Topping the list was Denmark, followed by Israel, Sweden, Finland and the United States.

Israel is one of the few countries in the world that truly likes and admires the United States.

Israel is the only country in the world where patients visiting physicians end up giving

the doctor advice.

Fun Fact: Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in the Koran

Israel - The Apartheid State

2012-02-21T12:31:00.000-05:00

This is for for all the deep intellectual professors and students intending to demonstrate against Israel and its apartheid policies during the approaching Apartheid week at Universities around the world.

"I wanted to build a good future for my family, but I failed," a weak Issam Abdallah Mohammed said in a videotaped statement. The refugee from the Darfur region of Sudan was trying to illegally cross the border from Egypt to Israel when he was discovered and shot by Egyptian border guards. Less than an hour after taping the statement, Issam was dead, succumbing to the wounds inflicted by the gunshots. Every year, thousands of refugees, mostly from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan, attempt the dangerous journey from their war-torn countries to Israel in search of economic prosperity and stability.

Very few make it, and the results of the failed migration can be seen in the morgue of the central hospital in the Egyptian port town of El Arish. On any given day, the morgue will be packed with the bodies of African refugees who died trying to make it to Israel. Every week, Al-Azazy combs the desert, searching for corpses, ensuring that they get a dignified burial. He has spent the past seven years helping the refugees. Many are enslaved and tortured and the women raped by the Bedouin tribes of the Sinai if they are unable to come up with large sums of money the Bedouin try to extort from them and their families, to smuggle the refugees across the border into Israel. As a result, many remain imprisoned in camps on the Sinai Peninsula.

This is all taking place in Egyptian territory with Egyptian border guards. The most interesting part of all of this, is that the Africans are not trying to get into that anti-apartheid entity, Gaza. Clearly they prefer to be treated like wild animals in Israel. They are not daunted by the fact that in Israel, Africans (and all dark skinned folks) have separate beaches, separate park benches, separate restaurants, separate buses and so on. It does not bother them that Africans (and all dark skinned folks) in Israel don't vote (only white Jews). It bothers them even less that tens of thousands of missiles are aimed and sporadically fired at Israeli population centres and that the new Hitler in Iran intends to fire an atomic bomb directly at them. Apparently they are prepared to risk being raped, tortured and imprisoned just to have the privilege of living under an apartheid regime.

So when the Israeli racists offer them a home in Syria, Egypt or any Arab Spring country where the sun is supposed to shine on the people, they refuse. According to African's, if you are a Sunni then you are in danger and if you are a shiite, also dangerous. But if you are neither, then you can kiss the world goodbye. What does this sound like to you? Religious apartheid? Don't take my word for it.

Abul Kasem: Islamists living in the West often portray Islam as a religion free of racism. However "even when a Black Muslim is entitled to enter Islamic Paradise, he will not enter it until Allah has turned him into a white person. Verse 20:102 says that on the day the trumpet is sounded (resurrection day), the sinners will be gathered together with blue eyes and black faces. On judgment day, Muslims will have white faces, white arms, and white legs." The rest of us are all going to hell. Yes, even Professor Pied Piper and his super intellectual followers!

As for the left wing Gay communities (QuAIA and co) who seem to think that their future existence is tied to the Palestinians, your destiny is by divine decree. According to the prophet, you aint going to heaven and you aint going to hell. Your death will be everlasting. No life beyond the grave. Maybe they should consider joining the Africans in Jerusalem, capital of the Apartheid State known as Israel. Inconvenient, but the truth usually is.

When truth is replaced by silence,the silence is a lie - Yevtushenko

The Peanut Gallery

2012-02-17T09:37:00.000-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

Fun Fact: Israel became a nation in 1312 BC, two thousand (2000) years before the rise of Islam.

1.An Egyptian judge involved in the investigation of foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Egypt indicated Feb. 8 that Cairo intends to try the 43 NGO workers indicted Feb. 5, many of whom are Americans. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is using the NGO investigation to signal to Washington that the council wants to manage Egypt's transition to democracy without foreign interference. The potential for U.S. aid workers to be imprisoned in Egypt has jeopardized the more than $1.5 billion in U.S. aid Egypt receives each year as well as the two countries' strategic relationship. PG: The Egyptians would not have taken this step unless they had the financial backing of the Saudi's. The Gulf states have recently gifted Egypt with $15 billion. The American aid is a pittance compared to this. Looks like the Islamic Spring continues to implode (For CNN, at least)

2.Saudi Arabia would launch a military nuclear program immediately if Iran successfully developed atomic weapons, The Times of London reported Friday. While Riyadh signed an agreement with the US in 2008 stating that it would only pursue nuclear power for civil purposes, the Saudi government is likely to abandon the deal if Tehran had a nuclear bomb. PG: So apparently the US concern is not only for Israel, as some would have us believe.

3.The Romney campaign is better at dismantling than mantling. They're better at taking opponents apart than building a compelling candidate of their own. They do not seem capable of deepening his meaning, making his stands and statements more textured and interesting. He comes across like a businessman who studied the data and came up with the formula that will make the deal. Read more http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203824904577212832724317096.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

4. MK Avi Dichter (Kadima) warned that Israel must prepare itself for an influx of Syrian Alawite refugees in the aftermath of Syrian President Bashar Assad's inevitable downfall. Speaking at the Shabbat Culture event at the Tel Aviv Museum, the MK explained that once Assad, an Alawite, is ousted from power, the country's Sunni majority will begin a mass execution of the minority Alawite sect. PG: Dichter was head of Israel's Shin Bet Intelligence. He is correct that Israel is preparing for this situation. Long live the Islamic Winter! The world is now seeing the real reason there is no peace in the Middle East.

5.Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in a video recording posted on the Internet on Sunday, urged Syrians not to rely on the West or Arab governments in their uprising to topple President Bashar Assad. In the eight-minute video, titled "Onwards, Lions of Syria" and posted on an Islamist website, the Egyptian-born Zawahri also urged Muslims in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan to come to the aid of Syrian rebels confronting Assad's forces. PG: What say you, Anderson Cooper, Barack Obama and co? The islamic spring working out for you? Or maybe for everybody but you.....

6.An Iranian man carrying explosives blew off his own legs and wounded four other people in two blasts Tuesday in Bangkok, Thai authorities said. Stratfor: Monday's events merely reinforce the existence of an already obvious campaign on both sides. But the remarkable aspect is the disparity between the two efforts. By and large, Stuxnet as well as the larger sabotage and assassination campaign against Iran have been consistently professional and effective. On the other hand, the Iranian counterattack has been repeatedly foiled or exposed as ineffective or even inept.

7.Iran's state-run Press TV says the country has cut oil exports to six European Union countries. It's not yet known which EU countries are affected. PG: The price of oil stays steady at $100 a barrel after the announcement. Interesting how the markets rate Iran in today's scheme of things.

8.Oprah Winfrey is exploring the Hasidic way of life on her new show. Shterna Ginsberg, 38, one of the women featured in the show, cynically addressed the infamous "hole In the sheet" myth, saying "that was how the more lenient Jews had sex, while the stricter Jews had sex through fax and email." She explained that according to Jewish law, there cannot be a partition between the couple. Read more http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4189744,00.html

9.CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook wants to make its Mac more like an iPhone. He said the next version of Apple's Macintosh OS, "Mountain Lion," due in late summer, would incorporate features from the software that powers Apple's hit mobile devices, Jessica Vascellaro reports on digits. In an interview at the company's headquarters here, Mr. Cook unveiled a new version of the company's Macintosh operating system that include Apple's messaging service, notifications app, gaming center, sharing features and integration with the company's online service iCloud—all pioneered for the iPad and iPhone, which use the software known as iOS. PG: We love Apple. Long live the one percent.

If you owe your bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem. But if you owe a million, it has - John Maynard Keynes

PG: And that, ladies and gentlemen is how we arrived at this point in time...

The Miracle Continues....Walk Tall Israel

2012-02-14T08:54:00.000-05:00

1.Israeli ‘to-do’ app voted best app of 2011

Any.DO, created in 2011 by Omer Perchik, Yoni Lindenfeld and Itay Kahana, was downloaded over 500,000 times during the 30 days following its launch. It was recently voted be best android app for 2011 by Techcrunch, followed by Lightbox and Amazon MP3. According to theAny.Do team, so far 2.5 million tasks have been added, with more than one million completed. There is an average of 100,000 tasks added every day, and 50 percent are added by voice command.

COMMENT: These kids never cease to amaze me.

2.High-tech investments set 11-year record

In 2011, 546 Israeli or Israel-affiliated high-tech companies raised a total of $2.14 billion from Israeli and foreign VC investors, according to a report by the Israel Capital Venture Research Center (IVC) and KMPG. This is the highest amount raised in the past 11 years since the dot-com crash last decade. The figure reflects an increase of nearly 70% as measured against the $1.26 billion raised by 391 companies in 2010.

3.McAfee: Israel tops cyber-defense survey

Israel, Finland and Sweden top the McAfee cyber-defense survey of leading experts' perception of a nation's defenses, with a score of 4.5 out of 5. The rankings are based on the perceived quality of a country's cyber-readiness - the ability to cope with a range of threats and attacks.
Israel tops the US, UK, Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands and Estonia (which was the target of alleged Russian cyber attacks several years ago) in the rankings, each of which received 4 out 5 points.

4.Better Place readies commercial launch

Israel will be the first country in the world to run an electric car network. Jerusalem will be the first city. The company's network includes 33 stations in operation or being built and 50 firms have ordered electric cars for their fleets. Better Place says that the service cost of its electric cars is more than 40% less than for gasoline powered cars, and that the insurance premiums for the electric cars is 20% less (about NIS 1,000). The electric cars fuel will also save consumers thousands of shekels a year. Read more: http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000723418&fid=1725

5.IAI Elta wins $150m Asian radar contract

The ELM-2032 radar system can identify moving and stationary targets day and night in all weather conditions. In 2002, the Israel Navy stunned the world when it intercepted in the Red Sea the Karine A, a ship carrying arms from Iran to Gaza, and towed it to the Ashdod Port. The state-of-the-art radar systems used in the mission are now being exported, and will be used by the air force of an Asian country. IAI completely refuses to name the customer, or the types of combat jets in which the radars will be installed, citing the contract's confidentially conditions.

6.Kazakh boy will walk again after surgery in Israel

A gifted 12-year-old boy from Kazakhstan whose cerebral palsy (CP) prevented him from walking independently has had a successful operation and is undergoing extensive rehabilitation at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tzrifin – at the hospital’s and the Foreign Ministry’s expense. COMMENT: Walk Tall Israel!

7.US Navy Puts More Bang Into Unmanned Fleet

The special warfare branch of the Navy's expeditionary warfare division is eying plans to arm its small fleet of unmanned boats with an long-range missile, branch chief Capt. Evin Thompson said. The missile -- known as the Spike -- is built by Israeli defense firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Thompson said during this week's Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International-sponsored symposium in Washington. COMMENT: Looks like Israel is doing its fair share.

We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free - Ronal Reagan

The Peanut Gallery

2012-02-09T19:18:00.000-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.What is U6 unemployment rate in the US? The U6 unemployment rate counts not only people without work seeking full-time employment (the more familiar U-3 rate), but also counts "marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons." Note that some of these part-time workers counted as employed by U-3 could be working as little as an hour a week. And the "marginally attached workers" include those who have gotten discouraged and stopped looking, but still want to work. The age considered for this calculation is 16 years and over. PG: The rate at end of January is 15%. That is the real unemployment rate in the US today. This rate has recently been as high as as 17%. So there is some improvement.
http://portalseven.com/employment/unemployment_rate_u6.jsp

2.Reports now indicate that thousands of armed Tuareg tribesmen who previously served in Gadhafi's military have returned home to Mali. The influx of this large number of well-armed and well-trained fighters, led by a former Libyan army colonel, has re-energized the long-simmering Tuareg insurgency against the Malian government. In mid-January, they began a military campaign to free three northern Mali regions from Bamako's control. PG: We wonder how many people have to die before the elite media understands their role in this upheaval.

3.Russia and China vetoed on Saturday an Arab and Western-backed resolution at the UN Security Council calling for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down over his bloody crackdown on a popular uprising. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday it had not been possible to work constructively with Russia ahead of the vote, even though military intervention in Syria - fiercely opposed by Moscow - had been absolutely ruled out.

4.From a previous Posting (Shadow wars): With all of this as background, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on Thursday, openly admitted the US had encouraged protests in Russia after Vladimir Putin's United Russia party held on to power in the most recent elections. "Human rights is a part of who we are. And we expressed concerns that we thought were well founded about the conduct of the elections," she said. The unfortunate timing of these public comments when she has the possibility of expressing her displeasure through other channels, certainly adds a little more spice to the brew. PG: Wonder why it was not possible to work constructively with the Russians? One might be forgiven for wondering why she doesn't flap her lips at the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia?

5.WSJ: Remember when the United Nations was going to be the new global venue for "collective security"? The place where the Obama Administration's faith in diplomacy and willingness to lead from behind would pay off in world solidarity against dictators and thugs?So much for that. On Saturday, Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-backed Security Council resolution supporting an Arab League plan to ease Syria's Bashar Assad from power. This is what happens when a U.S. Administration sees the world as it would like it to be, not the way it is. The surprise is that the U.S. should be so surprised.

6.Six key players in the Arab world, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, announced Tuesday that they have recalled their ambassadors from Syria. The six, which are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), also expelled Syrian envoys stationed in their capitals. PG: The chasm between Shiites and Sunni's is becoming more transparent every day.

7.Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's strategist provided the legal and religious justification for the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people, in a document published on conservative Farsi website Alef. The document, written by strategy specialist Alireza Forghani, outlined the reasons why, "In the name of Allah, Iran must attack Israel by 2014." PG: This is a good news/bad news story. The good news is that 2014 will definitely arrive. The bad news is that our friend Forghani will be unemployed, possibly hunting around for virgins who will be in short supply on this date.

8.Fatah and Hamas agreed that future Palestinian resistance to Israel will utilize popular and peaceful means, rather than military moves, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared Saturday. "The solution is the establishment of a state in the 1967 borders, and Hamas agreed to that, as well as to holding the elections on May 5, 2012." PG: According to Abbas, Hamas have now grown wings and converted to Buddhism. Next we will hear that Abbas has been appointed as official Hamas spokesman simply because he has the stronger ability to deceive the english language media. In arabic, they both tell the truth.

9. The Iranians are openly threatening Israel with annihilation by year 2014. This appears on official websites and is stated openly by Iran's leaders in any language you might wish to hear it. Many in the elitist far left media insist that Iran's nuclear plans are peaceful. While Iran threatens another holocaust, her ally Syria is perpetrating the mass genocide of thousands. Meantime these intellectuals continue to write books, articles and interview each other in the media. In the dormitories of our esteemed learning institutions it is quietly whispered that Israel, the Apartheid State is to blame and it's okay to be anti-Israel as long as one is not anti-semitic. A message from the Peanut Gallery: To threaten the survivors of the holocaust with another holocaust barely 70 years later, is clearly the act of unhinged madmen. And they are unhinged not because of the threat, but because of the possible reaction of those threatened.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds - Albert Einstein

The Peanut Gallery

2012-01-29T18:46:00.001-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.George Friedman: Should the al Assad regime -- or the Syrian regime without al Assad -- survive, Iran would therefore enjoy tremendous influence with Syria, as well as with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The current course in Iraq coupled with the survival of an Alawite regime in Syria would create an Iranian sphere of influence stretching from western Afghanistan to the Mediterranean. This would represent a fundamental shift in the regional balance of power, and probably would redefine Iranian relations with the Arabian Peninsula. This is obviously in Iran's interest. It is not in the interests of the United States, however. PG: The Saudi's are aware of this, so Iran shouldn't hold its breath as regards Syria.

2.Daniel Pipes on Egyptian elections: In contrast, the victorious Islamists, who despise democracy, made little effort to conceal their electoral success through fraud. Some of them went so far as proudly and unapologetically to assert that it's their Islamic duty to be dishonest. Tal'at Zahran, a leading Salafi, called the democratic system "infidel," "criminal," and "out of the Elders of Zion." He cynically observed that "it is our duty to forge elections; God will reward us for this." PG: Where is the elite media? How were 52 million votes cast when only 40 million were registered?

3. Brett Stephens considers an Obama victory in November to be a slam dunk: "What should readers who despair of a second Obama term make of all this? Hope ObamaCare is repealed by the High Court, the Iranian bomb is repealed by the Israeli Air Force, and the Senate switches hands, giving America a healthy spell of Hippocratic government. All perfectly plausible. And the U.S. will surely survive four more years. Who knows? By then maybe Republicans will have figured out that if they don't want to lose, they shouldn't run with losers. PG: Cannot argue with him. Another 4 years of Obama? Phew!

4.US President Barack Obama plans to accelerate the pace of American aid to Egypt, a top State Department official said on Wednesday, as the most populous Arab nation reaches a critical stage in its uncertain transition away from autocratic rule. Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats, part of a US delegation that held unprecedented talks last week with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, said Washington wanted to provide "more immediate benefits" to Egyptians, who earlier this month conducted their first democratic elections in decades. (Reuters) PG: Another four years of Obama...good luck with that America.

5.According to a report published by Spanish newspaper ABC on Monday and Tuesday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may only have 9-12 months to live as a result of his decision to prioritize presidential duties over personal health. Chavez's prostate cancer was reportedly discovered in January of 2011, at which point his prognosis was five years. Since that initial diagnosis, Chavez has repeatedly postponed treatments or skipped them altogether in the interests of concealing his illness and protecting his political position. PG: And as if to confirm this, the FT reports that Venezuelan bonds took a big jump upwards. Follow the money.

6.WSJ: Garden State Gov. Chris Christie has a message for the top 1% of income earners: Please occupy New Jersey. "I'm going to start going after a lot of these hedge-fund guys who are in Connecticut and New York and say, 'You're going to get a better deal with us,'" says the country's most important Republican not running for president. Mr. Christie's new tax-reform plan also offers an improved deal to the bottom 99%, which is why he may be able to move it through New Jersey's Democratic legislature: a 10% cut in tax rates across the board. PG: Watch and learn BO. First you control spending, then u cut taxes for all.

7.Three members of an Afghan Canadian family were found guilty of the "honor killing" of three siblings and a fourth relative on Sunday after a high-profile trial that has fascinated Canadians. "It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous crime," Canadian media quoted Judge Robert Maranger as saying after the verdict. "The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honour." PG: The judge said it all. While the Muslim organizations in Canada condemn this behaviour, they demand different aspects of Sharia Law be implemented here. I says to these people: If you cannot live here under Canadian Law, get the hell out of my country!

8.A government-run Saudi Arabian newspaper reports that for the first time in the conservative Muslim country, women will be allowed to attend soccer matches in one of the country's stadiums. Al-Sharq newspaper on Saturday quoted unnamed officials as saying that women will be able to watch the matches in a new facility that will be completed in 2014 in the western port city of Jeddah. PG: Sensational! It must be Hillary's influence. But women drivers? Never! Allowing women drivers in Saudi Arabia will tempt them into sex, promote pornography and create more homosexuals, according to some conservative Muslim scholars.

9.The Transportation Security Administration says screeners at New York's Kennedy Airport violated procedures when they asked two elderly women to show them medical devices concealed beneath their clothing. The action followed complaints by 85-year-old Lenore Zimmerman and 88-year-old Ruth Sherman that they were effectively strip-searched while traveling separately through the airport in November. Zimmerman had to remove a back brace, which was put through an X-ray machine. Screeners inspected Sherman's colostomy bag. PG: The stupidity of some of these TSA folks is mind boggling.

10.A man recently married his deceased girlfriend in a combination funeral and wedding ceremony. Chadil Deffy, also known as Deff Yingyuen, placed a ring on the finger of Sarinya "Anne" Kamsook, his girlfriend of 10 years, during the ceremony in Thailand's Surin province.
Read more: http://main.aol.com/2012/01/18/man-marries-dead-girlfriend-thailand_n_1213316.html?1326908244?test=latestnews

“I used to be sane, then I got better.” - Unknown

“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything” - Einstein

Under The Radar - Israel and Turkey

2012-01-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

So, according to the press, Israel and Turkey are mortal enemies. After the Mavi Marmara provocation, and the UN conclusion that cleared israel, Turkey cut its diplomatic ties to Israel. One would assume that that would be the end of that. But is it? Here at the Inconvenient Truth we traditionally look at what people do, not what they say. At the same time we follow the money to attempt to validate the actions. Since the break in diplomatic relations the following has caught the eye.

1.Israeli exports to Turkey in 2011 equaled exports to Germany, according to an analysis by Meitav Investment House Ltd. of Central Bureau of Statistics data, which show that exports to Turkey totaled $1.85 billion in 2011, 42% more than in 2010. Israeli exports to Turkey totaled $132.1 million in December 2011, 51% more than in the corresponding month. Imports from Turkey also jumped. Read more http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000717731&fid=1725

2.Despite the breakdown in diplomatic and military ties, the IAF continued to maintain an open line of communication with the Turkish Air Force to prevent potential misunderstandings when pilots from both countries encounter one another flying over the Mediterranean. This has been reactivated. Read more http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=250410

3.The State Prosecutor's Office in Israel said in its response to an appeal filed with the High Court of Justice that Turkish-Israeli relations remain special and vital despite the tensions. The State responded to an appeal against the government's decision to extend the arrangement according to which 800 foreign workers from Turkey will be employed by Israel Military Industries through a construction company. This appeared as a news flash in the top Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot, and was subsequently not followed up (but has been verified). Read more http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-4171152,00.html

4.Two weeks ago, The Turkish military attache to Israel attended an IAF briefing for foreign military officers at the Uvda Air Force Base on the sidelines of the IAF joint maneuvers with the Italian Air Force. The officer said that the IAF would also likely invite Turkey to participate in a large-scale international aerial drill that it will be hosting in Israel in 2013.

5.In a brief notice to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), IAI announced that it has signed a four-year $1.6 billion arms deal with an Asian country. The country requested to remain anonymous. Rumour has it that Turkey was that country, but since we follow the money this will be confirmed (or not) over a period of time through the numbers.

6.ANKARA, Turkey - An epic French documentary about the mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime has appeared on Turkish television to mark international Holocaust Remembrance Day — the first time the film has been aired on public television in a majority-Muslim country. State television TRT's documentary channel showed the first episode of filmmaker Claude Lanzmann's "Shoah" late Thursday — the eve of the day of remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. The film has been subtitled into Arabic, Farsi and Turkish by the Paris-based Aladdin project

With strengthening ties to Greece and Cyprus as a background, we are witnessing a crawling improvement in relations between Israel and Turkey. Even though, according to most of the media the crisis is full-blown, nothing stays the same and it will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Since life is growth and motion, a fixed point of view kills anybody who has one - Brooks Atkinson

Israel - The Miracle Continues....

2012-01-16T07:15:00.000-05:00

1.Israelis develop cancer 'cluster bomb'

Israeli medical researchers say they have developed a new technique for blasting cancer tumors from the inside out which reduces the risk of the disease returning after treatment. Tel Aviv University Professors Yona Keisari and Itzhak Kelson are about to start clinical trials of a pin-sized radioactive implant that beams short-range alpha radiation from within the tumour. Read more http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4166115,00.html

2.Israel's unemployment rate falls to all-time low

Israel's unemployment rate fell to 5% of the civilian labor force in October 2011, an all-time low, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. The unemployment fell from 6.2% in January to 5.6% in May and 5% in October.

3.Israel, The Third Nation on the Moon?
Won't Israels neighbors be jealous? but what else is new............

If all goes according to plan, by December 2012 a team of three young Israeli scientists will have landed a tiny spacecraft on the moon, explored the lunar surface, and transmitted live video back to earth, thereby scooping up a $20 million prize (the Google Lunar X Prize), revolutionizing space exploration, and making the Jewish State the third nation (after the U.S. and Russia) to land a probe on the moon. And they’re doing it in their spare time. Read more..http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f1b_1301625399

4.Israel, Cyprus sign defense agreements - reports

The agreements were signed during the official visit to Israel by Cypriot Minister of Defense Demetris Eliades, at the invitation of Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, who said Cyprus and Israel share common values and wish for peace with their neighboring countries. Eliades also said that the natural gas reserves found in the exclusive economic zones of Cyprus and Israel opened a new chapter in relations between the two countries.

5.IAI signs $1.6b arms deal

In a brief notice to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), IAI announced that it has signed a four-year $1.6 billion arms deal with an Asian country. It did not name the customer or the systems that would be sold, but said that advances would be paid in exchange for guarantees in the same amount. The customer requested to remain anonymous.

COMMENT: There are probably only two Asian countries who might request this anonymity. That would be China or Turkey. Countries that have made their deals with Israel publicly, are India and Russia.

6.Tamar partners sign two gas contracts for $1.2b

Delek, Isramco, Noble Energy, and Alon Gas signed to contracts with private power companies owned by Edeltech and Turkey's Zorlu. Edeltech had previously signed a gas supply contract with Egypt's East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG) in 2009, with deliveries due to begin in June 2012. Edeltech has apparently decided not to rely on Egyptian gas, which is currently not flowing due to attacks on pipelines in Sinai, and signed a deal with the Tamar partners.

7.Women Now Majority in Israeli Justice System

More than half of the 646 judges serving on the benches of Israeli courts are women, and Israel’s Labor Court is also presided over by a woman, Nili Arad, with women comprising just over 60 percent of the labor court judges. Israeli female judges vastly outnumber their American counterparts, where in the U.S. roughly one fifth of federal judges are women, while at the state level that number goes up to only 26 percent. Read more http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspxc=ewJXKcOUJlIaG&b=7712195&ct=11580271#.Tw96OJjYfHh

COMMENT: What say you Hillary?

8.Israeli company produces cancer vaccine

Vaxil BioTherapeutics, a biotechnical company based in Ness Ziona, near Tel Aviv, has produced a ground-breaking therapeutic vaccine for cancer patients which could prevent about 90% of cancers from coming back. Read more http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4170853,00.html

COMMENT: Clearly Israel has declared war again....this time on cancer.

The future is not something we enter, it's something we create - Leonard I. Sweet

The Peanut Gallery

2012-01-16T07:02:00.001-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.House minority leader Nancy Pelosi has her own remedy for the jobs dearth: Extend unemployment benefits. "It injects demand into the economy," she insists. But if regulations lead to greater employment, "the economy should be in danger of overheating right about now," Investor's Business Daily noted. PG: The shallowness of some of these politicians is seriously under-estimated.

2. James Dines: Obama believes government-created jobs will lead to stronger economic growth. Thus the so-called "jobs bill" he's touting. The president has his economics upside
down. In real life, the only reliable way to produce permanent jobs is through private investment that increases economic growth. The point here, which has eluded Obama, is that growth comes first and jobs follow. PG: I suppose that all one needs is a smile and a turn of tongue to be president. Most folks don't see past that.

3. PMW: In response to yesterday's PMW video-bulletin which showed the PA Mufti's speech that Muslims' destiny is to kill Jews, YouTube has frozen PMW's account. All PMW videos are working except this one but the account is frozen and PMW cannot upload new videos for the next two weeks. Check this out http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=452&fld_id=452&doc_id=6099
PG: Anybody who still believes these folks intend anything but genocide, needs a therapist....and quickly!

4.The uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi last year may be over but the militias remain in place. The National Transitional Council (NTC) and its army have not been able to persuade the militias to join the new armed forces, nor have they been able to rein them in. PG: The Libya of today is made up of different gangs who come out at night, looking to stir the pot. So what was all the cheering about? Lawlessness and disintegration. From the frying pan and into the fire.

5.In recent weeks there have been significant signs of a rapid deterioration in relations between Iran and Turkey. This centers on growing Iranian resentment of the critical position that Ankara has adopted towards continued violent oppression by Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian security forces of that country’s popular uprising, while ignoring warnings from Turkey, the Arab League, and other countries to find a solution to the crisis. PG: The arabs will never accept either Turkey or Iranian leadership as long as Saudi Arabia has oil income.

6.A Swedish professor suggested Israel was behind the bloody terror attacks committed by Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik this past July, stirring up controversy in the country.
Research professor Ola Tunander of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) published an article in the Norwegian academic journal Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift in which he called to further examine Brevik's motives. The Swedish professor linked the bombing at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem carried out by the Irgun on July 22, 1946 to the same date of Breivik's attack. “We have discussed the right-wing extremist Israeli and Judeo-Christian side of Breivik’s network, Israel’s interest in disciplining Norway, and Israel’s celebration of bomb attacks. In this respect, Breivik’s attack appears to resemble a new king David Hotel attack: July 22nd,” he said.

PG: How intellectually deep Professor. This one really takes the cake. Hey Swedes, this deranged specimen is teaching your kids! PRIO director Kristian Berg Harpviken was left with a feeling of "considerable unease". Really?

7.SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – A 10-year-old Wisconsin girl saved her mom's life using CPR skills she learned watching the drama series "Grey's Anatomy." Madisyn Kestell and her 12-year-old friend, Katelynn Vreeke, began using the life saving techniques they had seen on the hit show on Kandace Seyferth, when they found her on the ground suffering an asthma attack and unable to breathe, The Sheboygan Press reported. http://worldasthmafoundation.org/girl-saves-moms-life-using-cpr-learned-watching-greys-anatomy-fox-news.htm

We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid - Benjamin Franklin

Under the Radar

2012-01-09T20:03:00.002-05:00

Saudi Arabia and this US administration are attached by the hip in a game of power where both sides are using each other for differing reasons with a little financial handshaking thrown into the mix. For the US it's of course the old story again. Control of the oil supply. For the Saudis, the spread of Sunni Islamic power, employing its subsidiary the Muslim Brotherhood. Lets look at the facts. Under the guise of democracy, the Islamic Spring has given birth to three elections. All the elections in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt have resulted in a Muslim Brotherhood victory. Dictatorships are being replaced by religious and anti-democratic dictatorships, all at the behest of The US. One may ask why? First some background.

There are about 1.3 billion muslims worldwide. They are generally divided between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Iran sees itself as the leader of Shiite Islam while Saudi Arabia is regarded as Sunni Islam's ringleader. Both countries are oil producing, and both employ their financial resources to advance their ambitions. The bigger picture shows the divide quite clearly. The Sunni's are supported by the West, while China and Russia lean towards the shiites. In fact China and Russia lean towards any anti-US entity. Odd man out is Pakistan where internal rivalries need to play out with everybody competing in this game.

World Shiite population is about 200 million or 15% of Islam. They are aggressive and competitive in their search for dominance in the Islamic world. Iran's search for a nuclear weapon is the perfect alibi for the US to bolster its Allies in the persian Gulf while at the same time securing the oil passages with a massive military presence in the area. Its also pretty good for business. Just recently the American's inked a $30 billion arms contract with the Saudis. This September the Financial Times reported that planned American arms sales to the Persian Gulf will amount to $123 billion: A $67.8 billion package for Saudi Arabia, $35.6 billion for the United Arab Emirates, $12.3 billion for Oman and $7.1 billion for Kuwait.

So the strategy is for the US to get involved in a war or two, create enmity between the sides, withdraw her forces and then supply the party(ies) involved with arms. And of course, all the time spouting lip service in the name of freedom and world peace. According to the media, Israel and the palestinians can create peace in the Middle East, if only they would take the advice of Tom Friedman of the NY Times and his allies in Hollywood. So while the media creates the illusion of hope and optimism and the academic intellectuals create villains and heroes, the real business is taking place under the radar, hiding in plain view. And what are some of the realities?

1.The US fully supports the Islamic Spring basing its position on the philosophy of human rights and democracy.

2.The US fully supports the downfall of a selective number of tyrants as long as the tyranny is not Saudi Arabia or its satellites in the Persian Gulf.

3.The Muslim Brotherhood has won democratic elections in all three of the countries where the Islamic Spring has prospered. A striking similarity to Hamas winning an election in Gaza.

4.The ongoing revolution in Syria can only have one ending. The fall of Assad and his replacement by the Muslim Brotherhood. Thousands of Sunni muslims serving in the Syrian army are defecting to the opposition, daily. This would also be a huge blow against Iran.

5.When rioting began in Bahrain recently, the US State department called for peaceful elections. However, when the Saudi's intervened militarily and executed some of the troublemaking Shiites, Hillary was strangely silent.

The big question is why? There are a few possibilities, depending on the level of belief in conspiracy theories. The obvious conjecture is that Obama grew up in Afghanistan, has sympathy for Islam and this ties into his far left ideology of socialism and world revolution. In short, he is promoting the far left/Islamic coalition. My take is that this a little over the top. Obama is first of all, a politician (A Chicago politician at that) and ideology would be a lesser priority to him. The 2nd option could be that the The US is creating a Sunni coalition to offset the withdrawal of US Forces from Iraq. The withdrawal has strengthened Iran's presence in the straits of Hormuz. This coalition would also include Turkey, with Israel as a silent partner.

From the Saudi point of view, A US-Sunni (Saudi) coalition would strengthen their leadership role in the region and serve as a bulwark to confront Iran. This coalition would however also create unease in Israel with regards to the re-election of Obama as president for a second term. The man has not made a secret of his disdain for the Jewish State. From a financial point of view, the Islamic world is struggling to compete in a world vying for food, water and raw materials. The only question mark is whether these unproductive systems of government implode or explode. For now, this is something that works for all as long as the oil(y) glue holds them together.

If even 50% of what Brigitte Gabriel says is true, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. She is a lebanese Christian who spent most of her childhood in a bunker in South Lebanon. They say that hell hath no fury like a women's anger.... http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid949801312001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAACEco_Vk~,9bOat4XcfB_88ri1a3UMdKnLpH9aM8Fv&bclid=0&bctid=1271237687001

“Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by [Adolf] Hitler… Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers.” - Yosef Qaradawi (Spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood)

The Miracle Continues - An Israeli Hero

2011-12-28T17:44:00.001-05:00

Not too many people have heard of Haran Wolfovitz Yaffe. To us at the Inconvenient Truth, Haran epitomizes the partnership between Israel, the Jewish People and Israel's supporters the world over. Haran was hit by an anti-tank missile during the last Lebanese War while on a rescue mission. The medics had given him up for lost, but his team refused to give him up. His legs were gone and a gaping hole was where his stomach was. They stuffed his intestines back into his stomach and rushed him to Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa. And so begins a story of bravery and heroism that embodies the miracle that is Israel.

Dear Islamist.....While you are sitting in a cave, smoking hookah, plotting the downfall of the infidels and dreaming of all those virgins, please consider the following. Haran Wolfovitz Yaffe grew up in Amirim, a vegetarian community situated in the Upper Galilee in Northern Israel. Like all Israeli's he served in the IDF for 3 years, and like all Israeli's he worked for a living and continued to serve his country. I would tell you that he created a web based start up company in 2005 with more than 70 employees. However, out of respect for your limited ability to comprehend, will avoid details. What I will tell you, is that he recorded a music album in Hebrew. An ancient language spoken by the palestinians three thousand years ago and stolen by Zionist trickery.

In the summer of 2006, the Second Lebanon War started and Northern Israel was bombarded by your relatives, most of whom today are enjoying the pleasures of paradise. The village where Haran grew up was showered by rockets and when a rocket hit his neighbor's house, he joined the front lines as a part of a rescue mission. On August 10th, 2006, the pursuit of Haran’s music career was abruptly put on hold. That morning as he was returning to the Israeli border, he was hit by an anti tank missile after a night of battle. Are you paying attention mr. islamist? Take another puff, we're getting to the good part.

Rushed by helicopter to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Haran was near death and lapsed into a coma. While in a coma, his first single, “Boker Tel Aviv” was released in an attempt to wake him up. On the 10th day of his coma, the song was played for the very first time on Israeli radio and miraculously, Haran opened his eyes. Doctors gave him no chance of survival due to the extent of his multiple injuries. These injuries damaged his vascular and nervous systems and he had suffered from a substantial loss of muscle mass of his abdomen wall.

Armed with humor and vigour, Haran faced his injuries fearlessly with an unwillingness to give up. While recovering at Beit Halochem, Haran was visited by his army unit. After moments of discomfort, Haran turned to them, glanced at what was left of his body and said "I've always wanted my d-k to reach the ground!" After spending two years in recovery and rehabilitation, he became the voice of disabled veterans.

But that was not enough for Haran. He studied Liberal Arts at Columbia University, while serving at the Israeli Consulate in New York. Today he is back in Israel and has re-launched his music career. At the same time he is working on a new venture aimed at the way music is being published and distributed. Whoops, lost you there mr islamist. I know....you despise stories with unhappy endings or where the bad guy wins. Get used to it. It will be coming to a theatre in your area soon.

Sincerely Yours

Another Jew

We are aware that this blog is read by many of Israel's enemies. Our new years message to them is simple. Israel is a country of heroes. As long as there is one Haran standing, you will never succeed.

People are like stained glass windows: They sparkle and shine when the sun's out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light within - Elizabeth Ross

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

Israel - The Miracle Continues....

2011-12-23T19:36:00.000-05:00

1.Demographic threat? Not according to statistics

The common perception that in a few years there will be more non-Jewish Israeli newborns than Jewish ones appears to be detached from reality. According to Immigration Authority data published by the Yedioth Ahronoth daily on Wednesday, the number of Jewish newborns in Israel has increased by nearly 20% since 2001, while during this time the number of Muslim and Christian newborns has dropped by five and 10%, respectively.

2.Israeli wins gold at World windsurfing Championship

Lee Korzits is the only Israeli to win 2 world champion titles. For the second time in her career, she won a gold medal in the ISAF World windsurfing Championships in Australia. President Shimon Peres told Korzits that if he had long enough arms he would reach out and hug her all the way in Australia. Calling Korzits's achievements unprecedented, Peres told her, "You're amazing, the nation loves you."

3.Anobit nears Apple takeover for $300-400m

Flash memory storage developer Anobit Ltd. is expected to announce soon that Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) will acquire it for $300-400 million. "Globes" named Anobit one of Israel's most promising start-ups for 2011. Apple's first major investment in Israel.

COMMENT: Once upon a time, a deal this size would make headlines in every Israel/Jewish media outlet. Today its pretty ho-hum.

4.Apple to set up Israel development center

Aharon Aharon will head Apple's first ever development center outside of its California headquarters. Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) has decided to open a development center in Israel focusing on semiconductors. The decision was taken even before the company entered into talks to acquire Herzliya-based flash storage solutions provider Anobit Ltd..

Comment: Looks like Apple has made a decision as regards Israel.

5.'Israel to export natural gas to India'

Israel has offered to export natural gas to India, according to a Monday report in the Indian daily Economic Times. Negotiations for the gas deal are set to intensify when India's foreign minister visits Israel in January, according to the report. India currently receives most of its natural gas from Gulf countries such as Qatar and Oman, but the country is still experiencing gas deficiencies. Plans for a major India-Iran gas deal soured following a recent Indian condemnation of the Iranian nuclear program at the UN.

COMMENT: And the People of Israel were upset with Moses for choosing this area....

6.US earmarks $235 million for Israel's defense systems

Washington is to allocate an unprecedented sum for the development of anti-missile safeguards, including David's Sling and Arrow systems. This unprecedented sum comes at an unexpected time, while the American government is dealing with large budget cuts, including at the Pentagon. This budget, however, is not considered to be part of the American aid to Israel, but rather, goes towards military cooperation between both countries, with each one allocating a similar amount in developing anti-missile systems.

COMMENT: Note the subtle change in emphasis. No longer aid but now "military cooperation". Why the change, one may enquire? Elementary my dear Watson - The US is now INVESTING in the Israeli arms industry, for the same reasons that Apple, Intel, Google and others are investing in Israel. Its an excellent investment for them! US aid to Israel amounts to $ 3 billion per annum, of which $2.5 billion is immediately invested back in the US. So please take note Ron Paul and Co., you need to be clear on who is aiding who.

He who loses wealth loses much. He who loses a friend loses more. But he that loses his courage loses all - Miguel De Cervantes

The Peanut Gallery

2011-12-22T03:47:00.001-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.The New America -- "We are heading into what may be the dirtiest presidential campaign in history. The Obama campaign is planning to use the one billion it hopes to raise to portray the Republican nominee as a dangerous, heartless radical. That nominee is sure to respond with a withering counter-assault." - The Week magazine.

2. New York Times columnists Tom Friedman and journalist Roger Cohen, both Jews, as well as journalist Nicolas Kristof have been leading the charge in castigating Israel and unabashedly praising the Arab Spring. In a recent column, Kristof postulated that "conservative Muslims insisted that the Muslim Brotherhood is non-discriminatory and the perfect home for pious Christians – and a terrific partner for the West." PG: Amazing that these guys are still singing Kumbaya. What usually happens when these journalists are proven wrong and the catastrophe is upon us, they crawl back into a hole and disappear from sight.

3.Hillary Clinton: "This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people," Clinton was quoted as saying in a speech at Washington's Georgetown University. PG: A woman in Saudi Arabia was recently decapitated for "sorcery". Imagine Hillary making the same type of statement about US ally Saudi Arabia. (Who contribute millions to the Clinton Foundation).

4. President Obama had the option of leaving a small force of Americans in Iraq. By doing so, he could always have claimed to have done his best to prevent a complete breakdown of law and order in that country. By ordering a complete withdrawal from Iraq he has taken ownership of the decision to withdraw, so whatever happens in 2012, will be his responsibility. PG: Finally he is showing some form of leadership in a country starved of leadership. For his sake we hope this does not backfire, placing his election chances in the hands of the Mullahs.

5.Richard Russell of Dow Theory Letters: "It's now clear to me that Obama lacks the background, the experience and the courage to be president. Left to Obama, the government would run everything -- and probably run everything into the ground -- current example, the US Post Office. I was excited about Obama at first, but the more I see of him the less the excitement. He's very passive and worse, he's usually wrong."

6.When Obama took over for Bush in January of 2009, America was only $10.6 trillion in debt. In less than three years, the nation’s debt has ballooned past the $15 trillion dollar threshold.To put it in perspective, as National Review notes, the national debt has grown by a stunning $48,994.12 per second that Obama has been in office. PG: They say if you stick your head in the oven and your feet in the refrigerator, on average you will feel comfortable. Another way to look at the above is that during George Bush's presidency the debt grew from $5.7 T to $10.7 trillion, jump of 88%. During Obama's presidency only 40%. Bush was president for 8 years, while Obama only 3 years and counting. Go figure.

7.In the annals of coalition disputes, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s government is setting new standards: In the space of three days, his government leaked plans to arrest Vice President Taqiq Al-Hashimi on charges of terrorism, caused a key ally to begin boycotting parliament and sought permission to dismiss Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Al-Mutlak. Maliki is a shiite and the "terrorist" and the deputy prime minister are both Sunni Muslims. PG: And so it begins....

8.A rash of bombings hit Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 63 people in the first big attack on Iraq's capital since a crisis between its Shi'ite Muslim-led government and Sunni rivals erupted days after the US troop withdrawal. Most attacks were in mainly Shi'ite Muslim neighbourhoods. PG: And so it continues....

9.The Simon Wiesenthal Center asked UNESCO’s director-general Wednesday to suspend its sponsorship of a Palestinian children’s magazine, saying the magazine applauded Hitler for murdering Jews. The PMW report references an essay in the magazine by a teenage Palestinian girl. The girl wrote about meeting Adolf Hitler in a dream, who tells her that he killed the Jews “so you would all know that they are a nation who spreads destruction all over the world.” In the essay, Hitler tells the child to be patient regarding the suffering of the Palestinians at the hands of the Jews. PG: The SWC does tremendous work weeding out the planet's anti- semitic scum. Read more http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=250462

10.NEW YORK (Newswise) – The Wildlife Conservation Society tracked a southern elephant seal for an astonishing 18,000 miles – the equivalent of New York to Sydney and back again. WCS tracked the male seal from December, 2010, to November, 2011. The animal – nicknamed Jackson swam 1,000 miles north, 400 miles west, and 100 miles south from the original tagging location, meandering through fjords and venturing past the continental shelf as he foraged for fish and squid. PG: Now thats impressive!

Snowflakes are a fragile thing individually, but look at what they can do when they stick together - Fernando Bonaventura

The Peanut Gallery

2011-12-16T11:45:00.001-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Time Magazine man of the year Tayyip Erdogan: "Peace will not appear in the Middle East as long as state terrorism continues; as long as peace efforts are thwarted, and as long as bombs keep dropping on innocent children and people who are trapped in an open field, like prisoners in a penitentiary," he said, without mentioning Israel's name. PG: Perhaps the reason he does not mention Israel, is that he is talking about how Turkey systematically bombs the women and children of Kurdistan. The man is an ocean of morality.

2.The death toll from a blast in an Iranian steel factory has increased to eight, an Iranian news agency reported on Monday. Foreign media reports suggested earlier that the mysterious explosion was the result of sabotage in the plant, which is said to be processing North Korean steel used for uranium enrichment centrifuges. Iranian explanations for the explosion change by the day. PG: Third explosion in as many weeks. Fourth of July....

3.Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseyni Khamenei has ordered the arrest of a number of senior members of the Revolutionary Guards he suspects of planning to assassinate him, pan-Arab news Channel Al Arabiya reported Tuesday. "Some of those" detained had invited Khamenei to come and visit the same weapons depot near Tehran where a large blast killed 17 people, among them the head of Iran's ballistic-missiles program. PG:We wonder how these folks are sleeping at night?

4.DUBAI - Rights group Amnesty International has described as "deeply shocking" Saudi Arabia's beheading of a woman convicted on charges of "sorcery and witchcraft", saying it underlined the urgent need to end executions in the kingdom. Saudi national Amina bint Abdul Halim bin Salem Nasser was executed on Monday in the northern province of al-Jawf after being tried and convicted for practicing sorcery, the interior ministry said, without giving details of the charges. PG: "Informed sources" say she was caught in possession of Harry Potter books. Potter is banned in Saudi Arabia.

5.Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Friday that Turkey's recent, firm policies in the Middle East "have brought Israel to its knees" and isolated the Jewish state both regionally and internationally. PG: Leon Panetta seems to think that Israel isolated itself in the region. Obviously the Turks vehemently disagree with him. Even more obvious now is that the Mavi Mara incident that created the Israel/Turkey crisis was a deliberate Turkish provocation.

6.Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is refusing to pen an op-ed piece for The New York Times, signaling the degree to which he is fed up with the influential newspaper’s editorial policy on Israel. This might have something to do with the the fact that 19 of the paper’s 20 op-ed pieces on Israel since September were negative. And this after NYT columnist Thomas Friedman wrote that the resounding ovation Netanyahu received in Congress when he spoke there in May had been “bought and paid for by the Israel lobby.” PG: We are of the opinion that Thomas Friedman is a paid agent of the far left/Islamic coalition. NYT Shares are traded at the moment @ $7.50 a share, down from about $26 a while back. Looks like NYT will be joining CNN on that ride into the sunset.

7.It has already been established that Fox News has 4 times the viewers than CNN. The top 5 newspaper circulations are 1.Wall Street Journal 2.2 million 2.USA Today 1.8 million 3.New York Times 1.2 million 4.LA Times 600,000 5. San Jose Mercury 600,000. PG: The numbers speak for themselves.

8.The cracks are starting to appear in the Syrian army. Some Sunni members of the army have broken away and are inflicting casualties on the Assad forces. These are still small groups but are growing by the day. Hate to be the party pooper, but this civil war is going to be vicious. Even if the rebels are eventually victorious, best case scenario is a government run by the Muslim Brotherhood.

9. Before anyone gets too excited over the Russian election, the numbers tell a not too optimistic story. First of all, they show a strengthening of the right if one considers Putin to be the centre. Secondly, the minorities voted almost as one for Putin's United Russia Party. Consequently the "Russia for the Russians" parties strengthened. There appears to be a split between the Russian and non-Russian populations. So the demonstrations are from the left, but the electorate moved to the right. PG: This should be familiar territory to this administration. The Islamic spring had a similar format. Same mistakes...different day.

10.Time magazine person of the year was the "protestor". The Islamic spring, Occupy Wall Street and now the Russian Left. As it turns out, none of these protestors represent the majority of their populations (not even close). In fact, they do not and did not represent the so-called 99%. PG: The question now is crying out to be asked. Why do/did the Obama administration support all these groups. Are they stoking the fires of revolution? Maybe mismanagement? Possibly long term brilliance? Any ideas?

Always do sober what you said you would do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut - Ernest Hemingway

Shadow Wars

2011-12-15T22:01:00.002-05:00

A shadow war is exactly what the name reflects. Usually this combat takes place far from the public eye, and generally is not reported in the media because it is so difficult to confirm any of the facts. On occasion a relatively insignificant incident creates a situation whereby, if closely watched can set in motion events that are similar to a mystery novel.

One such event took place recently. Midnight, on the 26th of November, soldiers manning a Pakistan Army post on the Afghan border, detected a movement in a valley below. The checkpoint is 2 km inside Pakistani territory and located on high ground. After identifying the movement as armed individuals via night vision devices, spot light and flares, the soldiers opened fire. Shortly, they came under attack of an AH-64 US Apache helicopter, resulting in the loss of 24 lives. What caused a US helicopter gunship to attack a friendly outpost? More importantly, the events that follow will place the American war effort in Afghanistan under a cloud.

As it turns out, there are two types of Taliban operating in this region. A Pakistani Taliban and an Afghani Taliban. Who would have known? Pakistani intelligence is fighting a covert war against Pakistani Taliban while supporting their Afghan counterparts against the US. This might explain how bin Laden lived a few kilometres from Pakistan Intelligence headquarters, right under their noses. Anyway, back to the incident. Remember, its midnight and pretty dark in those mountains. The Pakistani's assumed that the movement was Pakistani Taliban and opened fire on US forces conducting a search and destroy mission in Pakistani territory. The Americans, always accompanied by air support called it in, and hence the tragedy.

A quick survey of the bigger picture reveals the following. American forces in Afghanistan are supplied via three main arteries. By air, via the Khyber Pass in Pakistan and the Northern Distribution Network through Russia. Pakistan, outraged by the mistake closes the Khyber Pass, and keeps it closed, in spite of US apologies. Supply by air is horrendously expensive and not a solution. NATO’s absolute reliance on Russian cooperation to keep the landlocked Afghan war going — has given the Kremlin a powerful bargaining tool.

And now the plot thickens. The U.S. government recently worked out agreements with its counterparts in Romania and Turkey to set up new missile defense systems — supposedly to protect Europe from a hypothetical attack by Iran. But the Russian regime is not happy about it, arguing that it would alter the nuclear balance of geopolitical power, and has become increasingly vocal in recent weeks. In addition, the Americans are in the process of negotiating and signing ballistic missile defence (BMD) agreements with countries in central Europe, much to the anger of Russia who have there own ambitions in the area. Don't forget that Russia supplies most of Europe and Turkey with energy.

It is doubtful that the Russians would go so far as to strangle NATO in Afghanistan, but there must be some nerves jangling at the Pentagon. A test of the new found Russian leverage will be in the coming days as Russia attempts to join the World Trade Organization. The American position will be of interest.

With all of this as background, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on Thursday, openly admitted the US had encouraged protests in Russia after Vladimir Putin's United Russia party held on to power in the most recent elections. "Human rights is a part of who we are. And we expressed concerns that we thought were well founded about the conduct of the elections," she said. The unfortunate timing of these public comments when she has the possibility of expressing her displeasure through other channels, certainly adds a little more spice to the brew.

Success is relative. It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things - T.S. Eliot

The Peanut Gallery

2011-12-11T06:23:00.001-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Egypt's top reformist leader Mohammed el Baradei said Sunday the liberal youth behind the country's uprising have been "decimated" in parliamentary elections dominated by Islamists and expressed concern about the rise of hard-line religious elements advocating extremist ideas such as banning women from driving. "The youth feel let down. They don't feel that any of the revolution's goals have been achieved," ElBaradei told The Associated Press. PG: He is absolutely correct. He is in good company together with Obama, Hillary and CNN.

2.Hamas in Gaza also came to power via "democratic" elections. So did Hizbullah in Lebanon. According to Poodle Panetta, US Secretary of Defence, Israel is responsible for its isolation. Obama initiated this Islamic Spring shaking hands with the same snake and then beat a hasty retreat (note that he hasn't taken the same track with the Saudi's and the Gulf States). Now he expects Israel to shake hands with the snake.

3.Growing panic in Iran? International schools in Iran have shut their doors after hardline students stormed the British embassy last week, stoking ordinary Iranians' fears that foreigners are about to pull out of the Islamic Republic ahead of a US or Israeli-led attack. Closure of foreign schools in Tehran prompts fears among Iranians; 'I and all my friends have stockpiled goods at home,' local resident says. PG: Ahminedejad threatened Israel with an atomic bomb and might have thought that Israel was terror-stricken. He needs to think twice before threatening the holocaust generations with another holocaust.

4.OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian imams plan to condemn the "misguided notion" of so-called honor killings in their Friday sermons this week, responding to the high-profile trial of a father accused of murdering his three teenage daughters, allegedly because they shamed his Afghan family. Sikander Hashmi: honor killings have absolutely nothing to do with Islam," PG: Then please explain why are there no laws against honour killings in the majority of Islamic countries? For example in the West Bank and Gaza, supposedly the most educated arabs in the Middle East? Save this fiction for the naive.

5.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton co-chaired a "High-Level Meeting on Combating Religious Intolerance" with the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Mrs. Clinton invited the OIC to Washington for a conference to build "muscles of respect and empathy and tolerance." Its charter commits it "to combat defamation of Islam," and its current action plan calls for "deterrent punishments" by all states to counter purported "Islamophobia". PG: This from the champion of woman's rights. Of course this has nothing to do with the fact that the Saudi's donate tens of millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation.

6. Hillary is on a roll. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on Thursday, openly admitted the US had encouraged protests in Russia after Vladimir Putin's United Russia party held on to power in the most recent elections. "Human rights is a part of who we are. And we expressed concerns that we thought were well founded about the conduct of the elections," she said. PG: Obviously Hillary has learnt from her boss. She runs to the press at every opportunity. One would have thought that by now she would have understood the old maxim "Choose your wars carefully" . As for "human rights is a part....", that's correct but only applied by a selective flapping of the lips.

7.SELIGER, Russia -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday accused the United States of acting as a "parasite" on the world economy by accumulating massive debts that threaten the global financial system. "The country is living in debt. It is not living within its means, shifting the weight of responsibility on other countries and in a way acting as a parasite," Putin told a group of pro-Kremlin youth in central Russia. PG: The lips are a-flapping.

8..George Friedman on Egypt: The most interesting thing that came out of this election is the fact that the Western media’s candidate for power in Egypt really lost, which were the secular democrats. The street protesters did not represent all of Egypt. They were a few hundred thousand. So the idea that that crowd spoke for Egypt, as was frequently said, was fairly preposterous. Right now I am still betting very much on the military holding power. PG: Time to say it out loud and clear. This US administration, supported by the Western media misinterpreted the situation in Egypt and are the direct cause of misery and hunger for untold millions. Applying leftist western ideology to this part of the world has unleashed the forces of darkness.

9.A senior Hamas source told the London-based Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper on Saturday that the Palestinian organization has joined the global movement of the Muslim Brotherhood. PG: Clearly they have a better understanding of the "Islamic Spring" than do the the western media.

10.Japan intensified its rhetoric against China's military, accusing Beijing for the first time of "assertiveness" and saying it needs to keep a closer watch on how China views the contested waters between the two countries. China has bumped heads with Vietnam and the Philippines over territorial claims in the South China Sea. PG: Interesting to note that the US, Philipines and Vietnam are holding joint military exercises in the South China sea.

It is not enough to conquer; one must know how to seduce - Voltaire

Brainless

2011-12-11T05:44:00.002-05:00

1.Obama's first election campaign add: " The 2012 election campaign is underway. This election will be decided not by what I do but by what you do". COMMENT: Wow! Really? I kid you not.

2.CAIRO - Egypt's elections commission on Monday lowered its turnout figure for the first stage of a parliamentary election, blaming a counting mistake that skewed numbers published last week. "The accurate percentage of attendance in the first round was 52 percent, not 62 percent," Abdel Moez Ibrahim, head of the elections body, told reporters. He said members of the commission's secretariat made the error, adding that he "was very tired" when he gave initial figures at a news conference last week. COMMENT: Abdel baby, you get an "A" for honesty and an "A+" for naivety.

3.Standing next to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the White House, Obama rejected an effort by Republicans in Congress to tie support for the $7 billion project to a payroll tax extension and insisted a final decision would follow a "rigorous" review process apart from politics. COMMENT: And the decision not to decide until after the elections is what exactly?

4.Syrian President Bashar Assad has denied responsibility for the killing of thousands of anti-government protesters. During the interview, the beleaguered Syrian ruler said that although he is president he does not “own the country, so they're not my forces.” COMMENT: And this fella is an educated doctor.....

5.Russian president Medvedev claims his twitter account was hacked. Whatever the case, Medvedev's Twitter shocker reads: "It has become clear that if a person writes the expression 'party of swindlers and thieves' in their blog then they are a stupid sheep getting f****d in the mouth". The tweet was deleted soon afterwards. COMMENT: I was wondering whether sheep in Russia have to be married to commit such inappropriate acts?

6.Saudi arabia has an anti-witchcraft unit.The unit, established in 2009, is charged with apprehending sorcerers and reversing the detrimental effects of their spells in the Gulf country.
When the severed head of a wolf wrapped in women's lingerie turned up near the city of Tabouk in northern Saudi Arabia this week, authorities knew they had another case of witchcraft on their hands, a capital offence in the ultra-conservative desert kingdom. Saudi Arabia takes witchcraft so seriously that it has banned the Harry Potter series by British writer J.K. Rowling. Abdullah Jaber: "In accordance with our Islamic tradition we believe that magic really exists. The fact that an official body, subordinate to the Saudi Ministry of Interior, has a unit to combat sorcery proves that the government recognizes this, like Muslims worldwide." COMMENT: What's to comment?

7.From Occupy Wall Street: "The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and aims to fight back against the richest 1% of people that are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future". COMMENT: They must be applying for membership of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses - George Washington Carver

Politically Incorrect

2011-12-07T06:24:00.002-05:00

Quite a few people might be upset by this blog. However, I need to say things as I see them. Most analysts would be careful of saying these things lest they be labelled as racists or bigots or whatever. Lets start with a challenge. I challenge anybody to show me a public speech made by any Arab leader of any arab state or entity, calling on his people to make peace with the Jewish State of Israel. The condition would be that the speech must be in Arabic. To be frank, if such a thing exists one could count the instances on the fingers of one hand.

Then of course there are three different words for peace in arabic. The three Arabic words translated as "peace" in English are salaam, hudna, and sulh. Two of these words are phony substitutes. Salaam is the peace of submission. It is the arabic word for submission and obedience and the peaceful intent is only for moslems or those who submit to Islam. Therefore salaam, Moslem peace, is not the absence of violence as it is for us, but the absence of disobedience. But then who would know that? (probably about 1.3 billion Muslims).

Hudna, the second Arabic word translated in English as "peace," means cease-fire, a temporary truce.The word most commonly used by Hamas.So when they propose a Hudna with israel, it's hailed in the Western media as a peace proposal. It is instead a tactical, temporary break in hostilities, giving Moslems time to re-organize, re-arm, then renew the Jihad against the infidels (non believers) when they can be most caught off-guard.

Sulh or Sulha the third Arabic term for "peace," means reconciliation and is the word they always refuse to use. The Encyclopedia of Islam describes sulh as a concept of Islamic sharia law: The purpose of sulh is to end conflict and hostility among believers so that they may conduct their relationships in peace and amity....In Islamic law, sulh is a form of contract (aqd), legally binding on both the individual and community levels. That these words matter is shown by Arab resistance to signing an agreement that makes it a binding contract using sulh. Even Sadat refused the word in the Camp David accords, and in spite of this, he was assasinated for his efforts.

Interesting that every arab on the planet understands the language but the Sean Penns and the Oliver Stones of the world, even if they are aware (not quite sure they are aware of anything...) of the nuances, continue to sprout their cockeyed belief that Israel is the source of all evil. Even more interesting are arab and muslim attitudes to people of colour, even though they (the people of colour) are muslims. Bare with me and we shall reach our politically incorrect conclusion.

It is true that the population of most North African countries is mixed, but it is not a secret that in these countries there is a gradation of human valuation that corresponds directly to skin color, with the most privileged status being accorded those perceived rightly or wrongly as being of "pure" Arab stock while those with the darkest skin and curliest hair are located on the lowest rung of the social hierarchy.

Arab racism is so deep it is inscribed in the fundamental semantic structure of the Arabic language. Till this day, the generic word or for a black person is the preface "abd," which translates as "slave," as in "Abd"-allah (slave or servant of God). This linguistic norm, among many other racially-charged ones, is an expressive constant which holds true for the entire Arab-speaking world regardless of dialect and orthography.

Arabs still generally regard the Darfur genocide as a public relations disaster rather than as a barbaric racist war against black people. I have not heard one word from all these foreign policy experts in Hollywood on this painful truth. Obviously it would be politically incorrect. We have yet to hear unequivocal condemnation of the Sudanese government's racist practices from Arab states. In Morocco, Tunisia, and throughout much of the Arab world, the only ticket to social visibility for blacks is soccer. Becoming a soccer star gives a black person access to coveted corridors of society and enables them to "marry up", racially speaking.

And I could go on and on. I have spent many evenings in conversation with arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza and they discuss the above truths without blinking an eyelid. I could go on for hours. We could discuss Durban 1,2 and 3. The zionism is racism BS. What about Israel the Apartheid State? Canadian universities are full of these enlightened morons. However, all of this pales compared to the above. Clearly this is a culture where dishonesty, racism and deception are deeply inbred. The pot calling the kettle black (Excuse the pun). All we have to do is listen to what they are saying in arabic.....and believe them. One morning, North America will wake up and the coffee will be cold.

The upside to all this? Islam is hostile to all religions. You know what they say about fooling all the people....

Dedicated to Thomas Friedman of the New York Times whose coffee is cold and he is asleep at the wheel!

Life's a bitch.You've got to go out and kick ass - Maya Angelo

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame - Anonymous

Israel - The Miracle Continues....

2011-12-04T07:18:00.001-05:00

1.Canada forging stronger defence ties with Israel

Canada and Israel are about to complete a number of defence co-operation agreements that will significantly tighten military bonds between the two countries as tensions grow over Iran's nuclear ambitions. And Defence Minister Peter MacKay refused Wednesday to rule out a mutual-defence agreement that would oblige Canada to come to Israel's defence should the latter be attacked. MacKay and his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak said they anticipate negotiations will be completed by the end of the year. "Israel needs strong, reliable partners, which Canada is certainly one," MacKay said. "I would argue they could not find a more supportive country on the planet." COMMENT: This is powerful and the stuff history is made of. God Bless Canada! Genesis 12:31 "And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed."

2.Chinese, Israeli firms building water industrial park

A joint Israeli and Chinese team is building a huge Sino-Israeli International Water Industrial Park in southern China, a representative from the team told The Jerusalem Post at the WATEC water technologies exhibition in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. “Israeli companies have the most advanced technologies in the world and the purpose is to invite Israeli water companies into China and to explore the market in China,” said Victor Zhao, Chinese-based director of Ness Ziona firm Shirat Enterprises.

3.US, Russia and UK back Israel at Mideast meeting

In a boost to Israel, Russia joined the US and Britain on Tuesday in backing Israel's view that the Middle East cannot be turned into a nuclear arms-free zone without progress on regional peace. In a boost to Israel, Russia joined the US and Britain on Tuesday in backing Israel's view that the Middle East cannot be turned into a nuclear arms-free zone without progress on regional peace. The three nations – who are charged with registering new members to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty – also blunted Arab efforts to get them involved creating such a zone, telling an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting that was the sole responsibility of countries in the region. (AP) COMMENT: The times they are a'changing...

4.iPad app lets patients watch angioplasties live

Thanks to technology developed at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus, the relatives – and even the alert patient in the operating theater – will be able to view the whole process on their iPad screens. “This is the beginning of a new medical era,” said Kornowsky, who initiated the project. “Instead of [doctors] explaining to the patient and his family what catheterization is and telling them [after the procedure] what was done, they can now see it for themselves on their iPads in a totally visual, clear and professional manner. This is a different kind of experience that enables the performance of medicine at eye level.”

5.Israel, China Team up For New Auto Brand

Shalom Life: On November 28, Chinese auto maker Chery Automobile Co. along with Israeli holding company Israel Corp., announced their intent to launch a new automotive brand which will focus on the western European and Chinese domestic markets. According to a statement released by Qoros Automotive Co. - the name given to the joint effort between the two firms – Qoros plans to introduce a new compact sedan in Western Europe and China in 2013. The two corporations have invested $500 million in Qoros since it was founded in 2007.

6.Albanian PM: Ahmadinejad is the new Nazi

He may be a Muslim country's leader, but that doesn't stop him from voicing pro-Israel opinions. Albania's PM Sali Berisha views Iran as biggest threat to world peace, opposes Palestinian statehood bid. "Iran and its leader, Ahmadinejad, are the new Nazis, and the world must learn from the Holocaust and stop them before it's too late," Berisha says in an interview to Yedioth Ahronoth. "The Holocaust taught the free world's conscience not to let such a scenario repeat itself." COMMENT: Miracles never cease....

7.Israel Receives Award from South Korea

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday will award Dr. Ya'akov Cohen of the Hebrew University's East Asian Studies Department a top award for his work in advancing relations between Israel and his country. The award, called the Order of Civil Merit - Order of Magnolia, will be present to Cohen for “his contributions in advancing knowledge of Korea among students and his strengthening ties between Israel and Korea – as a Holocaust survivor, as former Israeli ambassador to Korea, and as a senior lecturer at Hebrew University.” Cohen is the first and only Israeli so far to receive this award.

When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it come off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Peanut Gallery

2011-12-04T06:18:00.003-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Did you know that congressmen are not liable to insider trading laws? Any congressman or woman can receive valuable information about something about to happen to a stock. This is why so many congressman enter service and leave it millionaires. The gift of legal insider information has rendered the majority of congressmen millionaires. Congressmen, in effect, ARE the rich and they are simply protecting themselves and guarding their insider trading millions. PG: hard to believe http://www.marketwatch.com/story/congressional-insider-trading-the-story-sticks-2011-11-16

2.DURBAN - The world is getting hotter, with 2011 one of the warmest years on record, a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday. Russia experienced the largest variation from average, with its northern parts seeing January to October temperatures about 4 degrees C higher in several places, it said. UN scientists said in a separate report this month an increase in heat waves is almost certain, while heavier rainfall, more floods, stronger cyclones, landslides and more intense droughts are likely across the globe this century as the Earth's climate warms. Read more http://www.jpost.com/Sci-Tech/Article.aspx?id=247497

3. Bret Stephens (WSJ) disagrees. "A funny thing happened on the way to the climate apocalypse. Namely, the financial apocalypse. The U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada and the EU have all but confirmed they won't be signing on to a new Kyoto. The Chinese and Indians won't make a move unless the West does. The notion that rich (or formerly rich) countries are going to ship $100 billion every year to the Micronesias of the world is risible, especially after they've spent it all on Greece." PG: We humbly admit being unqualified to evaluate. The only certainty is that the weather is changing, our kids are facing a massive debt challenge and in times like these it is good to remember there have always been times like these.

4.The Iranian government calls it the Family Protection Bill, but activists call it the “Anti-Family Protection Bill.” It would give men the right to take a second wife without the permission of the first, and it would enshrine a man’s right to have an unlimited number of temporary marriages, which can last from 10 minutes to 99 years. Those arrangements come from Shariah law and have always existed in Iran, but the Family Protection Bill would make them official. PG: These guys are obsessed with spreading their seed, on earth and in heaven.

5.The Times reported on Wednesday that the mysterious explosion that rocked the city of Isfahan two days ago struck the uranium conversion facility located just outside Iran's third-largest city. According to the British newspaper, satellite images clearly show billowing smoke and destruction, despite Iran's claim that no such blast had taken place. The Times quoted Israeli intelligence officials as saying there was "no doubt" that the blast struck the nuclear facilities at Isfahan and that it was "no accident."

6.There is a large quantity of disinformation with regards to Iran and its nuclear facilities. Contrary is no need for an Iragi type strike against the nuclear facilities in Iran. Unnoticed by the majority of the media, Israel, the US and the UK are waging a full scale war against Iran. This includes sanctions (which by the way are working) and cyber warfare in the form of the Stuxnet, and now the Duqu viruses. This is accompanied by a covert warfare machine (explosions and asassinations) which is wreaking havoc in the nuclear and missile facilities in Iran. Iran is also very aware that Israel leads the world with a technology known as EMP (Electromagnetic pulse). So if Adolf Ahminedejad thinks the Jews will go quietly, good luck with that.

7.US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta is once again scolding Israel. According to Panetta it is Israel who is isolating itself in the region and it is up to the Israeli's to get with the program and reconcile differences with Turkey and Egypt. As for the so-called peace process with the Palestinians he said "Get to the damned table!" PG: Election time in the US, so Obama will talk about how dedicated he is to Israel's security, and send his poodle, Panetta, to prepare the groundwork for after the elections. Don't shoot the messenger, he is only doing as instructed by his boss.

8.PG: We cannot ignore the hypocrisy of the above statements. It was Panetta himself, as the then head of the CIA, who warned Obama of the consequences of throwing Mubarak under the bus and thus kick-starting the Islamic Spring. Since then, under the guise of democracy we now see the non-democratic Muslim Brotherhood winning elections in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt. All of them aligned with Hamas. Definitely springtime for them. As for Abbas (the palestinian) to quote him at the UN "we will not recognize a Jewish State in Palestine, not now...not ever". So to compound the foreign policy mismanagement by this administration, they are now blaming Israel for the isolation. Pathetic.

9.And the poodle is now being followed by the other kowtowing ingrate, Hillary. She picked on several Jerusalem buses, used mainly by hareidi religious passengers who prefer separate seating for men and women as a matter of modesty. Although the courts have ruled that the seating is legal only if it is accepted by the passengers, and although the number bus lines involved represent a tiny fraction of Israel’s transportation system, Clinton pounced on the issue.
It's reminiscent of Rosa Parks," she said, referring to a black woman who refused to give up her seat to white passengers in the United States in the 1950s. PG: The tactic is becoming clearer. Get a life Hillary!

Be delighted that the future is unsure. Thats's the way it should be - Unknown

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame - The Anonymous Politician

The Peanut Gallery

2011-11-29T06:02:00.002-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Reuters: Medical sources in Cairo report rising death toll as police and military forces charge activists calling on ruling generals to hand power over to civilian gov't; military rulers say violence will not delay elections. At least 45 people are said to have died. PG: The majority of protesters were Muslim Brotherhood. We repeat: What is happening in Egypt has nothing to do with democracy. Its a face-off between the MB and the military, who have no intention of releasing the reigns of power.

2.A retired New York City police officer living in Florida has been ordered to take down his flag commemorating September 11 by his homeowners’ association, WPLG reports.
Wentz said he ran into Tower 1 and started pulling out people before the building collapsed. He said he lost 43 friends and colleagues that day. Wentz says he now has cancer, from breathing in all the particles during the cleanup of Ground Zero. "I will not take that flag down. That flag will remain up. I don't care how many fines they want to give me, I refuse to take that down," Wentz told the station. PG: I don't know whats happening to the US, but its time for Americans to take their country back.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/20/retired-police-officer-reportedly-told-to-remove-flag-honoring-victims-11/?test=latestnews#ixzz1eI3ySXD5

3.BEIJING—China had its first monthly outflow of foreign currency since 2007 in October, signaling that global investors are pulling out money on fears over the global economy and reduced expectations that the yuan will appreciate. Inflows of capital into China have been slowing in recent months as enthusiasm about the Chinese economy has cooled and as many global investors repatriate funds to meet liquidity squeezes in their home markets, economists say. PG: An important indicator

4.A new iPad app developed in Israel lets patients watch angioplasties live. Thanks to technology developed at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Israel, the relatives – and even the alert patient in the operating theater – will be able to view the whole process on their iPad screens.From now on, family members anxious about a patient undergoing a coronary catheterization or angioplasty with the insertion of a stent do not have to wait until the procedure is over to find out how it went. PG: We need to start a new blog "Only in Israel..."

5.Parliamentary elections in Egypt hailed by the media as historical. For the record Egypt has always had parliamentary elections under the watchful eye of the President. The only difference is that the Muslim Brotherhood is now participating and will likely win a majority. The MB have just won a majority in Morocco and the Islamists also control Tunisia. PG: There must be a trend here somewhere.....Looks like the Islamic Spring is on track.

6.Stratfor: How exactly the Egyptian parliament turns out is, of course, the main question on everyone’s mind. But the military regime does appear so far to have the controls in place to shape the results and allow for a largely weak and ineffective civilian face to be put on the government while keeping that core regime structure in place. PG: There are 18 million inhabitants in Cairo alone. The demonstrations in Tahrir Square numbered at most, 100,000. Despite CNN trying to create a different impression, it appears that the Egyptian street is sick and tired of the BS.

7.A large explosion rocked the western Iranian city of Isfahan, semi-official FARS news reported Monday afternoon. According to the report, the blast occurred shortly after 2:00 p.m. FARS did not reveal the cause of the explosion, which was large enough to be heard throughout Iran's third largest city. PG: The Iranians have since denied it. Within a week the Iranians have threatened Israel with 30,000 suicide bombers, 150,000 missiles, the targeting of Israel's nuclear arsenal and now are threatening NATO defences in Turkey. Meantime the bombs seem to be exploding in Iran. We are well aware that Iran's intelligence services follow this blog (most blogs that discuss Iran). So the Peanut Gallery can confirm for them that an explosion did take place in Isfahan and it wasn't an accident.

8.A Norwegian newspaper is reporting Anders Breivik will not stand trial for July's mass shooting and bombing attack in Norway. A psychiatric assessment out today concludes he is insane, and thus, not fit to stand trial. Instead he'll be sentenced to treatment at a psychiatric hospital. PG: Israel's jails are full of these lunatics, maybe Norway would take care of some them......

9.WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices are falling again in most major cities after posting small gains over the summer and spring, the latest evidence that the troubled housing market won't recover any time soon. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday showed prices dropped in September from August in 17 of the 20 cities tracked. Atlanta, San Francisco and Tampa posted the biggest monthly price declines. Prices in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix fell to their lowest home point since the housing crisis began four years ago.
Prices rose in New York, Portland and Washington.

Some days you're a bug. Some days you're a windshield - Price Cobb

Brainless

2011-11-29T05:28:00.003-05:00

1.U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he was deeply concerned about the continued euro zone crisis, blaming it on a lack of political will, and that market turmoil would continue until Europe has a concrete plan to deal with its debt woes. COMMENT: Look whose talking.....

2.Iran's armed forces chief of staff denies explosion that killed 17 Revolutionary Guard troops had any link "to Israel or America." Hassan Firouzabadi, quoted by the student news agency ISNA said "This recent incident and blast has no link to Israel or America but the outcome of the research, of which the incident happened as a consequence, could be a strong smack to the mouth of Israel and its occupying regime," he said. COMMENT: Israel needs a few more smacks in the mouth like that. Excellent research technique. Keep it up.

3.He was caught with his pants down. A pilot who accidentally locked himself in the bathroom of his LaGuardia-bound plane caused a terror scare last night when a helpful passenger with an accent tried to come to his rescue by banging on the cockpit door. The embarrassing comedy of errors began when the captain of a Chatauqua Airlines flight from Asheville, N.C., decided to take a bathroom break before landing. Read more www.nypost.com/p/news/local/flight_scared_tless_NCATGVoOq9V6WgWjVwszRJ

4.Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal hailed a new Palestinian partnership Thursday when they met in Cairo to discuss a reconciliation pact signed seven months ago, AFP reported. Mashaal said the two had turned a new page in relation to the Palestinian nation while Abbas, who heads Fatah, explained that "there are no more differences between us now." COMMENT: Give them five minutes........

5.A senior military advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned Saturday that Tehran would retaliate against an Israeli military strike by hitting back at nuclear facilities in Israel. Former head of the Guards' Political Bureau Brigadier Yadollah Javani said, "If Israel fires [a] rocket at one of our nuclear facilities or vital centers, it should know that any point of Israel, such as its nuclear facilities, would be a target for our rockets and we have [that] capability," Iranian news agency ISNA reported. COMMENT: If they have this ability then why do they need to build a bomb?

6.Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Mashaal:"Why should we be afraid? The Israeli enemy is trampling over the Palestinian people's rights on a daily basis, Israel continues to exercise its aggression and is hurting the Palestinian people's rights," he said. COMMENT: So what are Palestinian rights according to Hamas? Trample Israel....keep on trampling their rights!

7.Miley Cyrus is throwing her support behind the Occupy Wall Street movement with a video for a remix of her tune “Liberty Walk.” The singer used footage of real Occupy protests to create the clip. “This is dedicated to the thousands of people who are standing up for what they believe in…” read the words that flash across the screen at the beginning of the video. COMMENT: A modern day Robin Hood with a twist. Stealing from the poor little rich kids and lining her pockets at the same time, using technology created by the 1% (or 15%). This kid makes American banks look look like Hannah Montana.....

The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them - Queen Victoria

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame - Anonymous politician

Dear Mr. President.....

2011-11-19T10:32:00.000-05:00

This article from March has received thousands of hits...clearly it has struck a chord

MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2011

Dear Mr. President....

Dear Mr. President,
Many people are blaming you for the fire sweeping the arab world, and for the position the US finds itself today, both economically and politically. To be honest, you inherited a difficult situation. And to be brutally honest, you have mismanaged nearly everything on your plate. If any of this is incorrect, please accept my apologies.

At the beginning of your presidency you travelled to Egypt, embraced your long term ally, Hosni Mubarak and spoke with sincerity to the muslim world. I watched the speech. You then looked him in the eye and gave Mubarak a warm handshake. What followed is history. In the blink of an eye, Mubarak was thrown under a bus, insulted and humiliated by your excellency on national TV. This was preceded by the now infamous trip to Saudi Arabia. Imagine that, Mr. Obama, bowing to King Abdullah. The same king, who recently watched your (in his eyes) betrayal of his fellow dictator, Mubarak. I wonder what he must be thinking today? In fact, what are all US allies thinking today?

So why did Mubarak refuse to take calls from the White House? Unimportant you say. Not to US allies, its not. Maybe we are looking at the situation through CNN eyes. Could it be possible that Mubarak and the rest of the dictators have a pretty good idea of what is out there. For example, Sheik Yusf Quaradawi, the most important cleric in Islam banned for decades by Egypt returned to adoring crowds in Tahrir square. His most famous quote "Hitler put them in their place". (Please read further Dr.Harold Brackman's report for The Simon Wiesenthal Centre on The Brotherhood - outstanding).

Maybe, just maybe, Mubarak was well aware of some of the animals in his country who cheered his downfall by sexually assaulting Lora Logan during their celebration, screaming Jew, Jew, Jew! What you definitely do know, Mr. President, is that black peoples of all races are regarded as inferior class humans under Islam, in keeping with Adolf Hitlers Mein Kampf. You also know how many American lives have been saved by Mubarak's intelligence services in the war against terror. Your CIA would also have informed you that Mubarak was dying of a terminal disease.

So in case his excellency doesn't get it yet, lets try it from a westerners point of view. Democracy believes in two things. Peace and freedom. Democratic transitions tend to be the work of generations. …. Mubarak was an authoritarian leader, but he was prudent enough to understand his people's interest in peace (and his own interest as well). In fact, Mubarak was slowly building a middle class. Note all the doctors, lawyers and accountants at the demonstrations. His son, Gamal, was NOT a member of the military, and in his own corrupt way intended to continue the slow march to democracy. The Egyptian economy has been growing by 6-7% p.a. over the last years.

What should you have done Mr. President? ( a popular question often posed by many.) The answer is easy. You should have supported a transition to democracy led by your ally Mubarak. This could have been easily accomplished considering the man is ailing, had already announced his intention not to stand, and together with US aid as leverage.....Well, all it takes is leadership.... Worst case, Mubarak would have fallen, leaving the army in control. Todays situation. The difference being, sir, is that you would not look like a back stabbing, self serving politician being led by the nose by CNN and other "experts" in the media.

Lets jump to other decisions. The decision to press Israel to freeze settlements for ten months, using the old story used by your ex-allies in The Middle East, and by Tom Friedman of the NYT.. "The settlements are the key to the problem. Remove them and you will have peace", looks more ridiculous by the moment. Sane people mentioned that Israel had removed the settlements in Gaza and was rewarded when thousands of missiles were fired into the south of Israel. Bottom line, The Palestinian Arabs declared a "Day of Rage" against the US, last week, calling you "The black hands in Washington".The settlement freeze only made things worse, giving birth to further arab demands.Another success.

Economically, the decision to focus on your health plan and not on jobs and small business, led to a crash at the polls. Then along comes the new budget plan, and guess what? The plan is once again geared to spending and the next election. When will it become clear to his excellency that the vast majority of Americans are fearfull of a future for their children repaying this enormous debt, and prefer to take the pain now. Astounding that most of the planet have realised this. The "Nation of Islam" have realised this and see it as the right time to strike. The Chinese and Indians are watching in awe as US foreign policy crumbles. Yet you continue to zig zag all over the map trying to get reelected. You sir, are no Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan.

Some free advice, for what its worth, Mr. Obama. Try to clear the air on what you really think. How about statements to the world press that read something like this:

1. I, the president of The United States will do what is necessary to ensure the future of our children, even if it means that I am only a one term president.

2.The United States will not tolerate the rise of extreme radical islamic regimes under the guise of democracy, and will prevent this, using force if necessary.

3.Israel is not an Apartheid State and anybody who thinks so, is delusional.

4.The settlements in Judea and Samaria, as much as I oppose them, are not the reason that peace talks in that area have broken down. Rather, it is the Palestinian refusal to come to the table, that is the core of the problem.

5.The United States will oppose any regime in the Middle East that uses arms and terror to subdue their own populations, for example Libya, Hamas, Hizbullah, Syria and Iran. The leaders of these regimes should leave office right now!

6.The Israel - Palestinian "problem" was created by the dictators and tyrants as a tool to divert the attention of their oppressed populations from the real problem. Today we are witnessing the results.

And the kicker, Mr. Obama

7.The way forward economically, Is for Arab leaders to sign and enforce peace agreements with the only true democracy in the region, Israel. Imagine if all that money spent on weaponry was used for the good of the people.

Keep it simple and stick to the truth. Otherwise the most popular slogan in the next election will be "President Obama, you should leave...right now!"

The first rule of holes: when you're in one, stop digging - Molly Ivins

The Peanut Gallery

2011-11-17T23:01:00.000-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Iran admitted on Sunday that some of its computer systems have been infected by a new Stuxnet-like virus called Duqu. The virus was discovered several months ago and is believed to be a more advanced version of the Stuxnet virus which attacked Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility last year. Head of Iran's civil defense branch Brig.-Gen. Gholamreza Jalali told the official IRNA news agency that Duqu was discovered inside computer systems but that Iran had developed a way to contain and neutralize the malware. PG: Thats what they said about stuxnet. "Informed sources" say that Duqu is creating havoc in their computer systems.

2.Iran buries the 'architect' of its missile defense Western intel official tells 'TIME' that Mossad was behind missile base blast; Revolutionary Guard official's importance underlined by appearance of Khamenei at funeral, visit by defense minister. Iran on Monday buried a senior military officer it called the "architect" of its missile defenses, killed in a massive explosion at a Revolutionary Guards' arms depot that authorities said was an accident. PG: Cool tactic. Everybody focused on nuclear facilities and "bang" in a completely different place. We wonder how safe anybody in Iran must feel.......

3. The Bahraini government went public with the discovery of an alleged plot involving at least five Bahrainis traveling through Syria and Qatar on a mission to carry out attacks against government and diplomatic targets in Bahrain. Iran vehemently denied it was involved and portrayed the plot as a fabrication, just as they responded to the alleged plot against the Saudi ambassador. PG: The plot thickens.

4.The next day, the Iranian press reported that Ahmad Rezai, the son of Mohsen Rezai, who is the secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, a former IRGC commander and presidential contender, was found dead at a hotel in Dubai. The deputy head of the Expediency Council told the Iranian press that the son’s death was suspicious and caused by electric shocks, while other reports portrayed the death as suicide. PG: What makes one think that the covert war against Iran is intensifying?

5.Iranians traveling to Israel could go to prison for up to five years instead of only three months, after Iran's parliament revised an existing ban for such trips. The measure apparently reflects Tehran's security concerns over archenemy Israel. Iran claims to have dismantled several purported Israeli spy rings in recent years and arrested Iranians with alleged links to Mossad. PG: The holocaust Ahminedejad so fervently denies, will not be repeated in his lifetime.

6. South Sudan joins with Canada, and of course the left wing media is ignoring this development simply because it does not fit the ideology. The newly independent South Sudan is openly supporting the Jewish State and intends to open its new embassy in Jerusalem. Simon Deng, the South Sudan Delegate to Durban 3 shocked the audience "pointed out that while the UN has spent years adopting scurrilous resolutions against Israel, the body generally has ignored the Arab racists committing crimes against Black Africans far more heinous than those falsely alleged against Israel.

7.From 1955 to 2005, four million non-Arab Sudanese were murdered, seven million were ethnically cleansed, and hundreds of thousands, including Mr. Deng himself, were seized by Arab slavemerchants and sold into bondage to Sudanese and Egyptian Arab owners. Darfur was never a "tribal" conflict, as the UN long soft-pedalled it; it was Arab colonialist genocide against Black Africans. It took UN bodies 16 years to recognize what was afoot, and they did so then only at the behest of Jewish organizations in Israel and the United states. PG: The truth will out. You cannot fool all the people all the time.

8.Europe's sovereign-debt crisis has made U.S. Treasurys an attractive investment as a safe haven, despite Washington's own difficulties with overspending and big budget deficits. Of the $14 trillion in debt China is owed $1.1 trillion while Japan is owed $950 billion. About $4.5 trillion is owed to foreigners. The rest is owed to US institutions and investors. PG: One can almost feel the stress as foreigners look to invest excess funds. Europe or the US? The frying pan or the fire?

9.Not included in the $14 trillion (sorry, now 15) are US government guarantees to Fannie and Freddie totalling about $5 trillion. Who knows how much was guaranteed to Mutual funds, banks and corporations, also not included. PG: you can run but you cannot hide.

10. And of course, the kicker. The U.S. government is obligated under current law to mandatory payments for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The GAO projects that payouts for these programs will significantly exceed tax revenues over the next 75 years. The present value of these deficits or unfunded obligations is an estimated $45.8 trillion. This all adds up to about $65 trillion (give or take a few trillion). PG: Obama and congress are planning cuts of $1.5 maybe $2 trill. And Obama thinks that Europe needs a plan.

Time for belt-tightening.You can't live on a million a year anymore - Randy Newman

Israel - The Miracle Continues....

2011-11-14T09:44:00.005-05:00

1.IAI to set up US electronic defense systems co

The new company, which will be located in Maryland, will be part of IAI North America. ELTA Systems Ltd., based in Ashdod, is one of the world's leading electronic defense systems companies, which develops, designs and manufactures radar and electronic combat communications systems. He added that the decision was based on the positive experience gained by IAI's first subsidiary in the US, Stark Aerospace in Mississippi, which was established five years ago to manufacture and market Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and electro-optic payloads to North American customers.

COMMENT: CIA successes against Al Qaieda are thanks mostly to Israeli technology.

2.Ethiopian Israeli named Ambassador to Ethiopia

Rachamim Elazar, has been named by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Israel’s next Ambassador to Ethiopia, making him the first Israeli of Ethiopian descent ever to serve as an Ambassador for the State of Israel. Rachamim was one of the first Ethiopian Jews to make aliyah to Israel in 1972 at the age of 14.

COMMENT: Israel must be attempting to export Apartheid to Ethiopia.

3.This feels like a miracle

Parts of the Canadian government announcement issued Nov 10 as regards Canada's position on Israel at the UN: “This series of resolutions against Israel is generally one-sided, unbalanced and does not address the complexities of the issues, nor seeks to address the true actions and responsibilities of all parties. “As a package, the resolutions are unbalanced, lack references to terrorist activities carried out by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and others against Israel and are, thus, ultimately unhelpful to the cause of a lasting, negotiated peace.
“Rockets rain down on Israeli schools without condemnation in these resolutions.
“Israeli soldiers have been kidnapped and held without regard to international norms and standards. This, too, has not been reflected in resolutions over the years.
“There are important elements in these resolutions that need to be discussed, but they are drowned out by the unbalanced nature of the broad package of resolutions. “No other conflict area in the world draws even a fraction of the time and energy of member states—even though there are a number of long-standing and destabilizing conflicts that seem intractable.
“As a result, Canada has made a decision, based upon its principled foreign policy, to vote no or to abstain on this package of General Assembly resolutions on the Middle East.

COMMENT: Clearly Israel is not alone. A miracle in itself. God Bless you Stephen Harper.

4.Tamar partners in talks to export gas to South Korea

The partners are close to a multibillion dollar deal with Daewoo Shipbuilding to build and operate a floating liquefied natural gas terminal. The gas produced from the well will be cooled to minus 160 degrees Celsius for transport in liquefied gas tankers to South Korea. The price of natural gas in Korean is 2-3 times higher than in Israel.

5.Better Place raises $200m in third financing round

New investors in the electric vehicle venture include General Electric and UBS. Shai Agassi's electic car venture Better Place LLC has raised $200 million in its third financing round in the US from a consortium of investors and partners, nearly doubling the company's valuation to $2.25 billion (after money). The launch of the first nationwide electric car networks in Israel and Denmark is just months away.

6.Breakthrough: Israel Develops Cancer Vaccine

Vaxil’s groundbreaking therapeutic vaccine, developed in Israel, could keep about 90 percent of cancers from coming back. In a breakthrough development, the Israeli company Vaxil BioTherapeutics has formulated a therapeutic cancer vaccine, now in clinical trials at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem. If all goes well, the vaccine could be available about six years down the road, to administer on a regular basis not only to help treat cancer but in order to keep the disease from recurring.

A single idea can transform a life, a business, a nation, a world - Breakthroughs

The Peanut Gallery

2011-11-12T18:14:00.001-05:00

'Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.As the American withdrawal from Iraq nears, the majority Shia government in Iraq is arresting more and more Sunni Muslims. The balance of power in the area is shifting towards Iran and all eyes are on the Persian Gulf, more specifically the Straits of Hormuz. About 40% of the world's oil passes daily through the Straits. Iran has the longest coastline along the straits and when one adds Iraq......the recipe for a crisis is complete.

2.Don't look for a military strike against Iran either by the US (extremely unlikely in an election
year) or Israel. When and if Israel decides to strike, it won't be while there is media focus. As for the US, whenever the subject arises, they do the only thing open to them. They bluff. Imagine if the Iranians, in response to an attack, mine the straits of Hormuz. Apparently they have also been training suicide boats to attack oil tankers. PG: Think world financial markets and $300 dollar oil in an election year.

3.What would the Sunni reaction be to Iran manufacturing a nuclear device? Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran are deadly enemies and it is no secret that the Sunni world is hoping that Israel will do the job for them. If not, it is not inconceivable that the Saudis and Sunni Pakistan would agree to place nuclear weapons on Saudi soil (Pakistan has more than one hundred nuclear devices). PG: And for some or other reason, Obama felt that Afghanistan was of more strategic importance than Iraq.

4. Robert Kaplan: Iran is a crucial country. It fronts not just the oil-rich Persian Gulf but also the oil-rich Caspian Sea. No other country does that. It has a window onto Central Asia, which no other country in the Middle East has. So it’s enormously important. We are playing for high long-term stakes with Iran.

5.George Friedman: We have to also recognize that with their increased power in Iraq, with the probability that the al Assad regime in Syria — Iranian allies — can survive, and with Hezbollah in Lebanon, we are looking at a situation where Iranian influences could stretch from the Afghan border to the Mediterranean. This is an enormously dangerous situation and it’s not really about nuclear weapons. PG: So now we are beginning to understand why the Saudi's are funding the Sunni uprising in Syria. Let the games begin!

6.Against heavy odds, Egypt and Tunisia are trying to woo back tourists with campaigns making use of the social media, celebrities, new slogans and a dose of image re-branding. But they face an uphill effort as the smoke of revolution hasn’t quite dissipated and Europe, a key source of tourists, looks to be slipping into recession. PG: This is the reality of the Obama inspired arab spring. An economic catastrophe and the world is voting with its feet.

7.Daniel Pipes: Given a free choice, a majority of Middle Easterners vote for Islamists. Dynamic, culturally authentic and ostensibly democratic, these forward a body of uniquely vibrant political ideas and constitute the only Muslim political movement of consequence. But Islamism is the third totalitarian ideology (following Fascism and Communism). It preposterously proposes a medieval code to deal with the challenges of modern life. Retrograde and aggressive, it denigrates non-Muslims, oppresses women, and justifies force to spread Muslim rule. Middle Eastern democracy threatens not just the West's security but also its civilization. PG: Never a truer definition.

8.Adobe on Wednesday said it will no longer push its Flash software format for use in the browser programs that come with smartphones and tablet computers. Instead, Adobe will increase its support for HTML5, a collection of technologies backed by Apple and others such as Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. The fundamental dispute between the companies, which began collaborating in the 1980s, was who controls key technology standards.

9."Infression," a word invented by The Dines Letter, suggests that inflation and depression will occur simultaneously: an inflationary depression. This is a new virus cropping up in the international monetary system. Its feature is a flood of government money which attempts to inflate (because such inflation worked in the past), but the real purchasing power of people – adjusted for inflation – will decline.

10.The Arab League called on the Syrian army to stop the killing of civilians on Saturday and said it was suspending Syria from the regional body in a surprise move that turns up the heat on President Bashar Assad. PG: The majority of arab league countries are Sunni. They all voted on favour of the suspension while the Shiites voted against. So similar to the politically bankrupt UN. Not worth the paper it was typed on. Expect the violence to continue.

11. The United States is planning to bolster its military presence in the Persian Gulf as it withdraws its remaining troops from Iraq at the end of the year. Gulf countries have been disturbed by Iran’s growing reach in the area, a consequence of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Gulf countries are likely to welcome US plans to expand its military presence in the region.
The National (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), 6 Nov 11. PG: Huh? We didn’t see this in the American press. Obviously they are more worried about Herman Cain's sex life.

Thought of the day: Imagine if Adolf Hitler had possession of a nuclear bomb......

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor even the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change - Charles Darwin

Brainless

2011-11-12T17:28:00.000-05:00

1.Palestinians accepted to Unesco: "This vote is not directed against anyone, but represents support for freedom and justice," Abbas said in a statement to the official news agency WAFA. COMMENT: Freedom and justice means "we are alive and all the infidels are dead".

2.Arab League chief expresses "extreme astonishment" at decision by US to cut UN cultural agency funding following decision to accept PA. Arabi expressed his "extreme astonishment" at the decision by Washington and said "such an American step gives a negative indication of the possibility of success in the efforts to revive stalled peace talks," the statement quoted him as saying. COMMENT: "Extreme Astonishment?"Why? The US warned them up front. Oh I see..apparently when arabs threaten, they don't really mean it. What? No revived peace talks? Obviously another arab threat. Who cares?

3.More than two months after the fall of Tripoli, Libya's new leaders are still struggling to secure massive weapons depots, stop the smuggling of munitions out of the country and disarm thousands of fighters who brought down Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Libya's temporary leader, responding to increasingly urgent international appeals, said he can't do much because he lacks the funds. COMMENT: Libya has $160 billion in foreign exchange reserves, all freed up when Tripoli fell. Enuff said.

4."Israeli threats to attack Iran's nuclear sites are nothing but media propaganda," Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Tuesday. COMMENT: There they go again, judging everyone by themselves.

5.Sarkozy was overheard telling Obama about Netanyahu, “I cannot stand him. He is a liar." Obama replied, "You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day!" COMMENT: Two politicians discussing a third politician who has the audacity to feed them their own medicine. Great insight! Wonder where they get their info? Must be the CIA.

6.A senior cleric from Syria's Christian minority said "everyone loves" President Bashar Assad and that he was still the best man to enact reforms, despite his military crackdown on pro-democracy unrest. "He is the president, everyone loves him. Not just Christians, the Muslims too." COMMENT: Its amazing what fear can do to the brain.

7.Standard & Poor's mistakenly announced the downgrade of France's top credit rating on Thursday, frightening investors already anxious over Europe's worsening debt crisis. It contributed to the worst day for France's government bonds since before the euro was launched in 1999. In a statement issued nearly two hours after the fact, S&P said the message resulted from a technical error and not from any action it intended to take against France. COMMENT: That kind of a mistake costs a lot of people a lot of money. Any Lawyers available?

8.In response to reports of a possible Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Iran is threatening to mount an attack on Israel via the Syrian border. Some 30,000 Syrian and Palestinian men have spent the past three months training to infiltrate Israel in order to carry out suicide missions, the Iranian Fars news agency reported Friday. COMMENT: Wow! 30,000! Don't think there are enough virgins in heaven to satisfy this crowd.

Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid - John Wayne

The Peanut Gallery

2011-11-06T19:52:00.001-05:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Tunisian authorities have issued an international arrest warrant for Suha Arafat, the widow of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The justice ministry said she is suspected of involvement in financial corruption with the family of deposed President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
PG: Amusing that they claim to have a "Justice" ministry.

2.More than two months after the fall of Tripoli, Libya's new leaders are still struggling to secure massive weapons depots, stop the smuggling of munitions out of the country and disarm thousands of fighters who brought down Muammar Gaddafi's regime. PG: Another arab spring success story.

3.SERHANIYEH, Lebanon (AP) – Syria is planting landmines along parts of the country's border with Lebanon as refugees stream out of the country to escape the crackdown on anti-government protests, officials and witnesses said Tuesday. A Syrian man who stepped on a mine and had to have his foot amputated was the first known victim, according to a doctor at a hospital in Lebanon that treated him. The doctor asked that his name not be published for fear of repercussions by authorities. PG: Border control arab style. Thats all they have to offer their peoples. Hate, violence, fear and "Follow me, I'm right behind you!"

4.David Elazar: Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers. PG: Must be referring to the arab spring or to Greece, Spain and Italy or maybe to Occupy whatever. Intriguing how all this ties in with the extreme left - Islamic coalition.

5.On Thursday, Egyptian activists released a statement directed at the Occupy movement – which started in New York’s Financial District in September and has since spread to hundreds of cities worldwide – saying they are also fighting against a “1 percent elite” bent on stifling democracy and social justice. PG: I guess we have part of the answer. Interesting that without Microsoft, Apple and Facebook etc. they would all be sitting in caves smoking hookah.

6.Occupy Vancouver protesters say a young woman’s death at the Vancouver Art Gallery site shouldn’t be cause to force the closure of the three-week-long encampment. The woman, identified online as 23-year-old Ashlie Gough of Victoria, was found unresponsive in her tent Saturday afternoon from a rumoured drug overdose. PG: Rumoured? Are you kidding? One has to be pretty naive to be unaware of whats happening in some of these encampments.

7.The Arab League announced that they had reached an agreement with Syria to end the fighting. Under the Arab League plan, Syria's government agreed to pull tanks and armored vehicles out of cities, release political prisoners and allow journalists and rights groups into the country. PG: That didn't last too long. About 6 hours. These guys (no women) all sit around a table pretending that they are different from Assad.

8.Don't look for a peace process in the Middle East any time soon. The UN is as effective as the arab league. Since 1960 at least 80% of UN General Assembly emergency meetings have been about condemning one state - Israel. PG: Imagine that. Six billion against six million. So while the arab world disintegrates Israel goes from strength to strength. Truly a miracle.

9.The latest TV cable ratings show that Fox News has 4x as many viewers as CNN. O'Reilly has 5x more than Anderson Cooper, while Nancy Grace equals Cooper. Dr Drew equals Piers Morgan while Fox and Friends has close to 6x the viewing of American Morning. PG: Looks like CNN is fated to go the way of the arab spring (they coined the phrase) as they ride off into the sunset followed by the arab league and the UN.

10.Cupcakes may be addictive, just like cocaine. A growing body of medical research at leading universities and government laboratories suggests that processed foods and sugary drinks made by the likes of PepsiCo Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) aren’t simply unhealthy. They can hijack the brain in ways that resemble addictions to cocaine, nicotine and other drugs. “The data is so overwhelming the field has to accept it,” said Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “We are finding tremendous overlap between drugs in the brain and food in the brain.”

Integrity is non-negotiable. - Janet Plein

Preposterous Predictions

2011-11-05T19:55:00.000-04:00

SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 2011

Preposterous Predictions?
This blog is for fun. If 7 out of 10 predictions turn out to be correct, credit will go to the Peanut Gallery who constantly make unscientific forecasts.

1.The United Nations will not vote to establish a Palestinian State within the 1967 borders in September. The closest they will get, if at all, will be to vote for a Palestinian State, the borders to be decided during negotiations brokered by the US. All the surrounding noise is pressure by the international community.

2.Israel, surrounded by so much uncertainty and danger, will not succumb to pressure to withdraw from its present borders. How does the Jewish State make peace with animals that slit the throat of a 4 month old Jewish baby, and then witness how the local Palestinian population celebrates by handing out candies?

3.The Egyptian Military have no intention of relinquishing control of Egypt, with or without elections. They own 40% of the economic assets in Egypt, and it would be comparable to Obama announcing he won't be running for a second term.

4.The next major confrontation will be in the Middle East. No brainer. Take your choice, Sunni vs Shia, Islam vs Christianity or Fundamentalists vs Military. Sort of par for the course, when economic pressures create misery.

5.The Islam/left coalition of the deranged will slowly crumble while the silent majority look on dumbfounded at the Islamic World parading its true colours. Trust the peanut gallery, 6 billion people might not quite believe what they are seeing, but sooner or later it will register. In todays new world it's no longer possible to sweep the garbage behind a burqa.

6. And now economics. The food shortage we are seing now is just the tip of the iceberg. Food and water will become a major priority in some parts of the world.

7.Economic power will be shared between the BRIC (Brazil, Russia,India, China) countries and the West. Canada and Australia will benefit the most.

8.US interest rates will remain low for the forseeable future. Any rise in US rates will perforate the huge world debt bubble. Other countries will raise rates to combat inflation, thus strengthening their currencies. From this follows that the direction of the US dollar is long term down.

9.The federal reserve will continue to print dollars in June in some form or other. They might not call it QE3, but its the same thing. Gold will reach $2000 dollars an ounce, silver to hit 75 bucks an ounce and one asks when? The peanut gallery says..."as long as it takes".

10.Energy, not oil, will be in demand for as long as the eye can see. Therefore alternative energy will be the biggest game in town, with the dark horse being nuclear energy (believe it or not). And the slam dunk? Rare Earth Minerals!

Now is no time to think of what you do not have.Think of what you can do with what there is - Ernest Hemingway

The Peanut Gallery

2011-10-30T12:31:00.002-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1. The price of copper has dropped 30 percent since early August, reaching a 14-month low. Because businesses in China have been using copper as a financing tool to bypass the tightening of credit markets, the repercussions on the Chinese economy of a sustained drop in the copper price could be widespread. Because of loan restrictions by Chinese banks, Chinese companies have been taking cheap loans (this is allowed) to purchase massive amounts of copper on the world markets, storing it in warehouses and using it as collateral (80%) for credit to invest in other sectors. PG: This could be serious. Apparently all copper purchases out of China in the last 3 months were for this purpose.

2.Think about this.There are 1.3 billion muslims on the planet. About 20% of world population. They are gripped by civil wars, revolutions and terrorism. While this is happening, world equity markets have hardly blinked. No contagion. Greece (Pop. 11mil) wobbles, Europe gasps and world markets panic. PG conclusion: The world muslim populations contribute about zero to world productivity. Interesting how the far left and Islamic extremists have formed a coalition. Some would say that opposite parasites attract.

3.FT: The Rhodium Group, an economic consultancy, predicts Chinese groups will invest up to $1,000bn in overseas acquisitions over the next decade, with a big slice of this investment heading to Europe. Figures from Dealogic show the taste for Europe is already developing rapidly – with Europe accounting for a full 30 per cent of Chinese overseas m&a in the year to date, up from just 6 per cent for the same period last year. PG: The Chinese are using good economic and political sense, buying on the weakness.

4. The world's decline in fertilility has been staggering. In 1970 the total fertilility rate was 4.45 per family. It is now 2.45 worldwide and lower in some surprising places. Bangladesh's rate is 2.16 having halved in 20 years. Iran's fertility fell from 7 in 1984 to just 1.9 in 2006. Countries with below-replacement fertility include Brazil, Tunisia and Thailand.

5.The average life expectancy in the US in 1935 was 61. So FDR set the retirement age four years above the average life expectancy. So much for compassion. He (they) assumed you would work into what was for them advanced old age. Today life expectancy is 79 and within a few decades is estimated to be 90. Under today's laws one could retire at 62 or 65 or 67 and, if you just lived an average lifespan, get far more in benefits than you paid in. Remember, 90 will just be the average. So when someone suggests that the retirement age should be raised to (gasp!) 70 in a few decades, just smile and think back to what FDR would do.

6.Fun fact: In most of Mexico, one does not need a driving test to get a drivers licence. The Economist writes "Six out of ten road deaths worldwide take place in 12 countries, one of which is Mexico".

7.A closer look at the Chinese economy reveals that an astonishingly large part of what is going on today is investment in urban residential real estate, which is growing at more than 25% a year. This looks a lot like a real-estate bubble --with Chinese characteristics. As for debt problems, Chinese bank loans were 97% of GDP in 2008. Today they're at 120%. All of which makes us wonder if China's recent gloating at US misfortunes might just prove a tad premature. Niall Ferguson, Newsweek.

8. The Shanghai Exchange peaked at 5900 in Oct of 2008. Today it is at 2450, a fall of 58%. In comparison The Dow is down 13% over the same time period. The difference being that China has $3 trillion in reserves, while the US owes over $14 trillion, and can print and devalue its currency, almost at will. PG: Clearly this is an unannounced (US) policy decision which might eventually backfire since a country's economic strength is measured by the strength of its currency. In 2006 China's holdings of US treasuries were 70% of its reserves.
Today it stands at 43%. Follow the money.

9.The Beijing Power and Desalination Plant is a 26-billion-renminbi technical marvel: an ultrahigh-temperature, coal-fired generator with state-of-the-art pollution controls, mated to advanced Israeli equipment that uses its leftover heat to distill seawater into fresh water. The desalted water costs twice as much to produce as it sells for. Nevertheless the government is moving to quadruple the plant's desalinating capacity, making it China's largest. In some places, this would be economic lunacy. In China it is economic strategy. As it did with solar panels and wind turbines, the government has set its mind on becoming a force in yet another budding environment-related industry: supplying the world with fresh water.

10. Of the billions of dollars in cash that the U.S. shipped to Iraq during the war, "hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars . . . was stolen by senior Iraqi officials for their own personal gain," the Special Inspector General for Iraq reconstruction tells CNBC. That chunk of cash, a subset of the tens of billions the New York Fed has sent overall, became controversial over the summer because neither the New York Fed nor the Iraqi government would provide enough information to document what happened to it. PG: About par for the course in a corrupt region.

Nobody gets to live life backwards. That is where your future lies. - Ann Landers

Israel - The Miracle Continues...

2011-10-10T07:53:00.000-04:00

1.Elbit Systems sets up joint venture with Brazil’s Embraer

Elbit Systems president and CEO of Joseph Ackerman said, "The establishment of this jointly-owned company is a significant step for Elbit Systems and AEL, marking another milestone in our long-term operations in Brazil, a market which we consider of the utmost importance.

2.Israels foreign currency reserves edge up to record $78b

Israel's foreign currency reserves reached an all-time high of $78.08 billion at the end of August, $135 million more than a month earlier, the Bank of Israel announced today. To compare, Iran has $75b, Canada $64b, Australia $41b and Turkey $97b.

3.S&P upgrades Israel to A+

Standard & Poor's has upgraded Israel's long-term foreign-currency sovereign rating from A to A+ with a "Stable" outlook, four steps below AAA. S&P also reaffirmed Israel's local currency rating at AA-. S&P said, "The rating action reflects our view of Israel's improved economic policy flexibility as a result of strong growth and careful macroeconomic management… Israel is on a credible path toward continued government debt burden reduction and stronger external indicators." Read more http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000681132&fid=1725

4.Israel, Germany to save Lake Victoria

Israel and Germany on Monday signed a joint letter of intent for a first of its kind joint cooperation effort, with the goal of saving Lake Victoria in Kenya. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the second largest in the world and is being threatened by a severe ecological disaster. Half of the fish species in the huge lake have already become extinct. About 30 million people make their living from the seaweed filled lake that has low oxygen levels. Lake Victoria is one of the sources of the Nile, which is also suffering from the lake's ecological disaster.

5.Forty Turkish companies eye Israeli

technologies

At least 40 Turkish companies have expressed interest in the new media technologies developed by Israeli companies currently being presented at the IBC Conference in Amsterdam. Israel Export Institute CEO Avi Hefetz said, "Watching the business conduct between Israeli companies and Turkish companies interested in their products, you would never believe that there is a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. People know how to make a distinction between the diplomatic crisis and business matters."

6.IEC to build $1.3b Chinese solar energy

project

Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) will build a $1.3 billion project of three photovoltaic solar energy arrays in northern China. IEC's board of directors approved the project, the utility's first investment in China, at its last meeting. As the project's chief contractor, IEC will not invest equity in the project. The project is also IEC's first investment in a solar energy project, and it is the utility's largest foreign project to date.

A single idea can transform a life, a business, a nation, a world - Breakthroughs

The Peanut Gallery

2011-10-04T00:52:00.002-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Its Europe, Greece and Europe. Thats all we hear in the marketplace these days. How about this for a REAL reason for a crisis? CNBC: China Warns of Trade War if U.S. Bill on Yuan Passes. An angry China warned Washington on Tuesday that passage of a bill aimed at forcing Beijing to let its currency rise could lead to a trade war between the world's top two economies. PG: Really not the time or place. The height of stupidity. Probably worse than the timing of Obama's Health Plan and a good reason to run for the stock market bomb shelters.... www.cnbc.com/id/44766724

2.A trade war might be the height of stupidity, but US pressure to revalue the Chinese currency is the height of hypocrisy. For at least four decades The US has systematically been borrowing from China and other countries and repaying that debt with devalued dollars. Now that the borrowing has ballooned out of control, they want to repay the debt with even cheaper dollars.....What a scam!

3.Honest Reporting Canada: In comments eerily reminiscent of Libby Davies of the NDP and Helen Thomas, formerly of Hearst News Service, Linda Sobeh Ali, the Charge D'Affaires for the Palestinian General Delegation to Canada, claimed in an interview on CBC Radio's "The Current" news program yesterday that Israel has been occupying territories since 1948, the year Israel declared its independence. In doing so, Ms. Sobeh Ali has essentially claimed that Israel has no right to exist. PG: This is continued confirmation that there never was a two-state option on the table.

4.The distance between arrogance and comeuppance sometimes can be rather short. Turkey's so-called economic boom was financed by massive short term loans, to the point where bank credit has ballooned out of control and the budget deficit is more than 10% of GDP. This credit bubble was used to finance the consumption party leading to Erdogan's recent election victory. PG: Even Advil will not fix this hangover. We are unashamed to admit that we will enjoy watching this one.

5.There is an old saying that it is easy to start a war, not so easy to finish it and it never goes as planned. The Cypriot government has to decided to search for gas in the Mediterranean, joint venturing with companies operating out of Israel. This prompted a threat from Turkey to use military force to prevent this. PG: This drop in the ocean could easily turn into a tsunami. Already Moscow has sent submarines in solidarity with Cyprus.

6.Iranian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani is currently on trial in Rasht, Iran. He has appeared in court three times this week and each time has refused to renounce his faith when asked to do so by the court. If he does not recant his Christian faith, he could be executed at any time (on or after Thursday, September 29). The 11th branch of Iran's Gilan Provincial Court has determined that Nadarkhani has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ. PG: The far left, for all their intelligence, still haven't worked it out. Whatever their beliefs, they are still infidels as far as Islam is concerned.

7.NY Mayor Bloomberg on Immigration and a border fence: "Bottom line, Perry is right and Romney is wrong." Perry is in favour of integrating illegals into the system, and states categorically that a fence is is not a viable solution to prevent illegal immigration. PG: Totally agree with Perry. Ask the Israeli's about fences in the Sinai and Rafiah (never mind Arizona and Texas). Obviously many Americans prefer to delude themselves judging by some of the reactions.

8. In a blunt assessment made as he was traveling to Israel, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Sunday that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the Middle East, and said Israeli leaders must restart negotiations with the Palestinians and work to restore relations with Egypt and Turkey. PG: Try this for "blunt", Mr. Panetta. When you were head of the CIA, your organization advised Obama NOT to throw Mubarak under the bus. Further, you are well aware that the palestinians have no intentention of honouring a 2 state solution with Israel. That this is just another political tactic to weaken the Jewish state. Even the lowly echelons at the CIA are aware of this. Welcome to politics....

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves - Abraham Lincoln

The Cat is out of the Bag!

2011-09-26T11:01:00.003-04:00

Anybody remember the Oslo accords signed in Washington by Rabin, Arafat and Clinton. The accords were also signed by Abbas, the present leader of the palestinian arabs. The details have faded, as has the writing on the accords. Israel gave a finger and the palestinians took the whole hand. Then in the year 2000, along comes Barak, the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, and at Camp David, in the presence of Bill Clinton, offered Arafat a state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital! Arafat rejected this out of hand and started a war.

Watching Bill Clinton on CNN recently, basically blaming Netanyahu for the impasse in negotiations with the palestinians, the most notable feature of the man was how badly he had aged. The thought lingered that perhaps he was having memory problems, and then I remembered the politicians creed....The public has a short memory. The Clinton foundation is financed in the most by Saudi Arabia. His once pro-Israel former New York senator wife is now Secretary of State. Its no wonder politicians give one a feeling of slime......

So they either rely on the public's short memory, or they make statements omitting relevant facts. For example, in the same year that Clinton and Barak were offering Arafat the whole cookie jar, Israel in the name of peace, withdrew from Lebanon. The same lebanon controlled today by Hizbullah and supplied by Syria and Iran.The same lebanon who fired thousands of missiles on Israeli cities. Not convinced? In 2005 israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in the name of peace. Gaza is today controlled by Hamas, islamic jihad, Iran and continues to fire missiles at Israel's southern cities.

CNN calls this selective memory "creating opinion by omission". It interferes with their arab spring agenda. Not quite sure who slithers more, a snake, the left wing media or Washington.

"We will never recognise Israel as a Jewish State, so quit asking". Who said that? Mahmoud Abbas said this only last week . The palestinian rep to the US says the palestinian state will be free of Jews. "Judenrein". The only conclusion is that they want a Palestinian State in place of Israel, not alongside Israel. By their own admission, the two state solution is dead. This author officially concurs. In fact, digging back into the past it should be quite clear that the two state solution was never an option! We further concur with hamas leader, Haniyeh who states it quite simply "...States are not built upon UN resolutions. States liberate their land and establish their entities,"(Reuters). Despite the UN resolution in 1948, Israel had to establish the state by force.

It might possibly be imagination, but their seems to be a distinct shift in perceptions as regards the Middle East.
The fact that the palestinians did not get the support they have automatically come to expect at the UN must have surprised them. Even certain arab countries pressed them to forego the bid (By Abbas' own admission).It looks like the arab spring has let the cat out of the bag and many countries are reconsidering their positions. The Quartet proposal that has just been tabled does not mention the 1967 borders or the settlements.

Mr Abbas and a few others like Erdogan and Ahminedejad can continue to flap their lips and contribute to global warming with a lot of hot air, but change, if it comes, will come on the ground. Mark my words, the world is changing, and despite the rhetoric, the change is not necessarily positive for the arab world.

In a time of drastic change it is the learners (adapters) who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists - Eric Hoffer

The Peanut Gallery

2011-09-21T09:15:00.003-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant

1.The US consumer price index, gained 0.4 percent in August when including volatile food and energy prices, after an increase of 0.5 percent in July. The so-called core CPI, though, gained 0.2 percent, which was in line with expectations. Consumers paid more for a range of goods and services last month, pushing up inflation and squeezing Americans' purchasing power. Compared to a year earlier, prices rose by 3.8%. PG: The so-called core rate is total nonsense. It does not include food and energy prices. What a sham. Another bill of goods.

2. James Dines:The United States will either be forced out of the Middle East, or quit it voluntarily in order to harmonize with the brand-new phenomenon of a suddenly frugal America. Sensing America’s departure, Turkey is already asserting leadership in the region. PG: Correction! Turkey is trying to assert leadership. The Sunni arab world (Turks are not arabs) probably trusts Israel more than they would the Erdogan hot air ballon.

3.They say there is a thin line between self-esteem and arrogance. Turkish leader, Erdogan seems to have lost all sense of reality. The man has the gumption to visit Egypt and explain to them why they need his advice on Israel. The Egyptians barely hid their contempt for this non-arab Turk, attempting to replace Egypt as leader of the Arabs. They informed him they would not recall the Egyptian ambassador to Israel. They then refused him permission to visit Gaza. Edogan's speech in Cairo to the arab world was not televised and his visit to Tahrir square was cancelled. With tail between his legs he moved on to Tunisia.

4. EU-candidate Turkey will freeze relations with the European Union if Cyprus is given the EU presidency in 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Anatolian late on Saturday. PG: Everone must be shaking in their boots. The Turkish leadership appears to be ignorant of how ridiculous their behaviour is construed.

5.The Palestinian attempt for membership of the UN, quite frankly is turning into a farce. So what is really going on here? It appears that this is nothing less than a leadership squabble between Haniyeh of Hamas who is opposed to the attempt, and the Palestinian Authority led by Abbas. Haniyeh: "No leadership has the right to toy with the Palestinians' rights or serve up concessions," he said. Haniyeh also criticized the PA for deciding to turn to the UN without holding consultations with the Palestinian factions first, noting this went against the Palestinian reconciliation agreement. PG:So at least 50% of palestinians do not support the move, and 100% do not recognise Israel as a Jewish State. The UN has become quite the parody.

6. The Palestinian envoy to the US says that the new Palestinian State will not allow Jews to reside. It will be "Jew-free". Last time the Jewish people heard that, it was in German "Judenrein" (Cleansed of Jews). PG:Anybody hear this in the left wing media? Doubt it. Imagine if Israel demanded all its muslim citizens leave.... Forget about a Palestinian State, regardless of what happens at the UN. Its what happens on the ground that matters. As long as the palestinian arabs do not recognise Israel as a Jewish state, its all UN lip service.

7.Emmanuel Navon: The mounting diplomatic tension over the upcoming UN vote on Palestinian statehood is somewhat puzzling since this vote already took place twice. On December 15, 1988, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution with an overwhelming majority (104 in favor, 2 against, and 36 abstentions) calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state on the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip. The General Assembly passed a similar resolution on December 18, 2008. The new resolution expected to pass in the General Assembly will thus be redundant. It will also be irrelevant since General Assembly resolutions are not binding in international law. PG: The move in the security council will either be defeated or vetoed. We believe that the palestinians are not as popular as they once were.

8.President Obama's approval rating has dropped to 41%. A drop to 35% would point to a crumbling of his base. So forget any foreign policy initiatives from the president. He will be focused on shoring up his base and concentrating on staes that are critical to his re-election. Finally, Obama has realised that it all boils down to jobs. Possibly too little, too late. PG: Unfortunately, the world continues to spin and nobody will be putting their plans on hold while Obama tries to put his election house in order.

9.In one century, world population has jumped sevenfold to 7 billion. How does this happen. One explanation is that the average age of the populations has incresed from about sixty to eighty years old in the developed countries, and from 40 to 65 years of age in the developing countries. So while more babies were being born, less folks were passing away. this might also be one of the reasons social security and medicaid find themselves with financial problems.

10.There is a misconception that the US days as a power are numbered. The peanut gallery hates to put a damper on the party, but the US is still, by far the world's largest economic and military power. Living in africa, one learns that the most dangerous animal is a wounded one. Some friendly and free advice to those celebrating....don't drink too much.

There is no education like adversity - Benjamin Disraeli

The Peanut Gallery

2011-09-12T09:04:00.038-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Tom Friedman does not think that the social security system in the US is a Ponzi scheme, or a pyramid. In answer to a question by Rick Santelli, he was adamant that it was not.They ended up calling each other idiots. This is the same Tom Friedman of the NY Times who believes that the arab spring signals the birth of human rights in the Middle East. At least he has stopped singing Kumbaya. For the record, the peanut gallery considers the social security system in the US to be a pyramid or legalised ponzi scheme, and anybody who agrees with Tom Friedman (on anything) needs to get his head out of his Silicon Valley.

2.President Obama announced his jobs plan on Thursday. Two questions. Why in two parts, first part to a joint sitting of congress and 2nd part to announce measures to finance the plan, not before congress. Only conclusion is that he is once again playing politics. Once the glitz fades, all we have here is another Chicago politician... and not a very good one at that. Secondly, why did it take him almost three years to come up with a jobs plan? And then he parades around as though he invented the wheel. PG: All the hype and spin around this president has become really tiresome. Stock market appears to agree with this description, tanking 300 points. whoops...sorry, that was because of Europe. So when the market goes up, its Obama, and when it tanks, Its Europe. Sound familiar?

3.The US is going to veto the proposed palestinian state if it ever arrives at the Security Council. Why, one asks? Its quite clear to all and sundry that this administration has no sympathy for Israel (You too, Hillary). Its simple. A win-win for Obama. Elections on the way, which is the simple answer. The real answer is that the palestinians have worked out that the president's foreign policy is a disaster. So the tactic is to remove the process from the Americans to the UN where they have an automatic majority, thus neutralising "citizen of the world" Obama and American involvement in the peace process. That is something that the Nobel peace prize winner cannot afford...another strategic failure. Thus the veto.

4. The media is at it again. The White House Council of Economic Advisors’ seventh quarterly report on the impact of the stimulus reports that the stimulus created or saved about 2.4 million jobs. The media jumps onthis plus for the stimulus plan and spins it for all its worth. What they conveniently forgot to mention is that each job cost the American taxpayer $280,000. If they had cut a cheque for $100,000 to every person employed during this period, they would have saved $427 billion. Mind you, these are Obama's economists, so who knows what the real numbers are.

5.An Egyptian mob attacks the Israeli Embassy in Cairo. This must be the arab spring that CNN promised. In fact, this is Egyptian democracy. Mob rule versus the military. Every day that passes, Mubarak looks more justified. PG:To all the worried souls...relax. The military controls 30-40% of the economy. Egypt's major industry that earns foreign currency is tourism. The military own and control most of the tourist spots in that country. So they will protect their investment while at the same time lining their pockets. That same foreign currency is used to purchase their staple diet - wheat (The pita factories are also owned by the army).
Therefore the only way forward is the peace treaty with Israel.

6.The Egyptian military-run firms hold strong positions in a wide range of key industries, including food (olive oil, milk, bread and water); cement and gasoline; vehicle production (joint ventures with Jeep to produce Cherokees and Wranglers); and construction, in which it benefits being able to deploy conscripts during their last six months of service. We're talking of clothing, we're talking of construction of roads, highways, bridges. We're talking of pots and pans, we're talking of kitchen appliances.

7.And if you are not yet convinced...The military also owns most of the valuable land in the country, including extremely beautiful beaches, and some of the greatest coral reefs in the world which were absolutely crying out for touristic development. The military gave private developers access to the land, and the developers made military officers shareholders in big tourist developments. No one knows for sure how many resort hotels or other businesses in Egypt are run by the military, which controls somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of the nation's economy, according to various estimates. Bottom line, officers in the Egyptian military are making "billions and billions" of dollars. The peace treaty with Israel facilitates this!

8.In the past two years, Turkish construction companies launched $7.6 billion worth of construction contracts in Libya, according to Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board, or DEIK. In Egypt, Turkish investment is longer term, with $3 billion of assets on the ground. Trade with Syria tripled to about $2.4 billion, between 2006 and 2010, as Turkish textile, pasta and other companies moved operations to Aleppo. PG:Great timing Erdogan. Good thing you have those bank accounts in Switzerland.

9.Erdogan is talking up a storm again. He is on his way to Egypt to try and improve his standing in the arab world and continues to flap his lips. contrary to what the nedia is saying, Turkey and Egypt are rivals for leadership in the arab/muslim world. The bad news for Erdogan is that Turks are not arabs, and that they have another major rival in Iran/Syria and Hizbullah. Fellow blogger, Lilac Sigan who writes 'The Other Side of the Equation' says it best: "So when you have nothing of value to sell to the masses, you can always sell hate. It worked well in Nazi Germany, and it’s working till today in Egypt, in Lebanon, in the PA and in many other places." PG:Erdogan is another one of those thugs who drags everyone down to his level and then beats them at it. The Middle East is facing difficult times in the months ahead. Israel is the least of his problems.

To succeed in the world, it is much more necessary to possess the penetration to discover who is a fool than to discover who is a clever man - Cato the Elder

The Peanut Gallery

2011-09-04T16:00:00.001-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV, Elaraby, head of the arab league. said that the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt can be amended, noting that the accords are "not sacred - they are not the Koran or the New Testament." In a jab addressed at ousted President Hosni Mubarak he noted that no one ever told Israel off under the old regime. "There were violations and they were ignored," he said. PG: Say what you like about Mubarak. He was a man of his word, and once he made a commitment to peace, he kept it with honour and dignity. Clearly something that the arab league finds abominable and foreign to its culture and breeding. Note that the Koran and New Testament are sacred.

2. Pakistan is on the verge of chaos. Infighting amongst different militia, representing rival ethnic groups in Karachi has led to hundreds of deaths in the past few weeks, leaving the local government weakened and at a loss of how to handle the situation. As the fighting intensifies and spreads, this country appears to be facing the possibility of a military coup. PG: This seems to be par for the course for most Islamic countries.

3.Stratfor: Yet another deadline has passed this week for the completion of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, which is staffed with Russian nuclear scientists. The Iranians continue to claim that everything is according to schedule and testing is proceeding. However, it’s much more likely that Russia will continue to string Iran along in this project, along with many others. Iran announced that it was filing a lawsuit against Russia after the latter backed out of a deal to deliver the S-300 strategic air defense system to Iran. Then, Iran announced that it was kicking Russian energy firm Gazprom out of a major energy deal to develop the Azar oil field project near the Iraqi border. No love lost between these two "allies".

4.The victory celebration in Libya is premature. As sporadic fighting continues, the battle may be won, but the war has just started. Eventually a pathetic NATO (six months to defeat Gaddafi's piddling army!) will have to withdraw and that will let loose the dogs of war....Presently, Gaddafi is the only circumstance uniting the opposition.

5.So Turkey is finally coming off the fence. And who is the first target? Israel of course. The UN Palmer report, basically clearing Israel of Illegal actions, has resulted in Turkey expelling Israel's ambassador and halting military purchases from Israel. News flash Erdogan. Israel quietly suspended military ties with Turkey immediately after the Marmara affair. As for diplomatic front, another Muslim country showing the world a temper tantrum akin to a kindergarten. Who cares? All the huffing and puffing leaves only the smell of bad breath.

6.Turkey sees itself as a potential leader in the Islamic world, competing with Cairo and Teheran. They have also been selling themselves as the mediating voice of reason in the middle east. Not doing so well in Libya and Syria, are they? As for the Israel-Palestinian process, they can kiss that one goodbye. Financially they have taken some big hits in Libya and Syria, while Israel has moved on to bigger and better things. Clearly the islamization thing is not working too well for them.

7.The first really serious competitor to Apple's iphone has arrived. The Galaxy S2 from Samsung is making worldwide waves and is about to land in North America. The galaxy has a 4.3-inch, Super AMOLED 800x480 screen, a dual core 1.2-GHz processor, fast 4G network connectivity, and a sleek, simple design evocative of the iPhone. By contrast, the iphone 4 has a 3.5-inch, 960x640 screen, a 1-GHz processor, and a slower, 3G connection. PG:What we need now is a good old-fashioned price war...

8.RUSSELL: The Keynesian philosophy is fast losing followers. Everybody wants to spend the other guy's money. Socialism lasts until the other fellow runs out of the money you want him to spend! Regardless of your wishes or abilities, you have to spend more money! We finally have arrived at the big picture - Everything has risk. Even during the Great Depression, "The dollar was as good as gold." And please don't forget that. The only problem was that nobody had dollars. Yes, this time it's really different. And maybe even worse!

9. Strange bedfellows. Germany and Russia are drawing closer to each other, mostly because Russia supplies Germany with gas and in return, Germany responds with hi-tech aid. As US influence wavers, Russia, a raw materials giant, is slowly expanding its influence in the former Soviet Union and Europe.

10. The US may be in temporary economic decline, but don't let anybody be fooled that US military power is in the same boat. The US military is stronger, by far than any of its nearest rivals. The US Navy controls international shipping lanes, allowing for International trade to take place without interruption and protecting free trade agreements. Something most people are unaware of. In fact, some of us take the Western way of life for granted, not realising what an important role the US plays in protecting our freedoms.

11. Imagine if the UN accepts a Palestinian State with the 67 borders. The Palestinians would then have to recognise The Jewish State of Israel. They would also have to give up their claim of the right of return. All this is making Hamas a very happy camper. PG: Israel has been through worse times and will power on. After all, the holocaust planted a mighty seed.

When you see a rattlesnake poised to strike, you do not wait until he has struck before you crush him - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Israel - The Miracle Continues...

2011-09-04T15:24:00.001-04:00

1.Israel helps stem global food crisis

As crops fail in Russia, as dust bowls replace fertile land in Asia and Central Africa, the issue of food security has leapt to the top of the world agenda. Israel, a desert nation once challenged by its arid geography and a population explosion, has developed a range of agriculture and water technologies that are already helping to feed the world and could provide solutions to many of these problems. http://matzav.com/israel-helps-stem-global-food-crisis

2.Israel Chemicals signs $490m Indian potash contract

The deal's price is similar to Israel Chemicals and other companies' latest potash contracts in China. In July, Israel Chemicals signed a $235 million contract with China at $470 per ton.

3.Chinese military chief to visit Israel

The Chinese military's chief of staff will visit Israel next week for the first time, the Israeli military said Monday, in what may signal a renewed warming of ties between the Jewish state and Beijing. Chen Bingde will be a guest of the IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the military said. Bingde's visit follows Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's trip to China two months ago. That was the first visit of an Israeli defense minister in a decade.

4.Israel to build fifth desalination plant

The Israeli Finance Ministry says it has granted a license for the country's fifth desalination plant, to be built in the coastal city of Ashdod.The ministry said Monday that Israel's five plants will together supply 75% of the country's drinking water by 2013. Mekorot Chairman Alex Wiznitzer says the plants will allow Israel to restore its natural water resources.

5.Rafael to double Iron Dome production

The Ministry of Defense is in talks to speed up production and procure the Tamir missiles, partly in view of the latest round of confrontation in Gaza. The Israel Air Force's two operational Iron Dome batteries are based at Ashkelon and Beersheva. They intercepted over 90% of the rockets that would have hit populated areas, over the past few days, including an estimated 25 Grad rockets.

6.Israel's trade with Turkey worth $2b in first half 2011

Israeli-Turkish trade rose 26% to $2 billion in first half of 2011 from $1.59 billion in the first half of 2010, the Federation of Israeli chambers of Commerce reports. Israeli exports to Turkey rose 39% to $950 million from $648 million, and imports from Turkey rose 16% to $1.05 billion from $907 million. Israeli-Turkish trade accounted for 2.6% of Israel's foreign trade in 2010.

COMMENT: Looks like money talks....However, there is no accounting for the stupidity of politicians.

Start by doing the necessary, then the possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible - Francis of Assisi

The Peanut Gallery

2011-08-25T15:53:00.011-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1. Six months ago President Obama called for Hosni Mubarak to go, and so began the CNN inspired "Arab Spring". This week large forces of the Egyptian army entered Sinai with Israeli approval. And why, one may inquire? Apparently the Sinai has turned into a major training ground for Al Qaeda and Hamas insurgency. The majority of Egyptians support the Muslim Brotherhood, while clearly the military have no intention of handing over power to anyone. Meanwhile Mubarak, terminally ill with cancer is placed on trial in a cage in Cairo.

2.The attack from Sinai by Palestinian terrorists on an Israeli civilian bus was perpetrated by an organization out of Gaza by name PLC. These guys are sponsored by Iran who are trying to divert attention from the Syrian civil war by creating a crisis between Israel and Egypt. The Iranian sponsored terror groups in Gaza apparently have more missiles in their possession than Hamas. So despite the quickly organised Hamas ceasefire (the Egyptians understand what the Iranians are up to), expect the spattering of missiles to continue.

3.Hillary Clinton is tooting her horn on the impending fall of Gaddafi in Libya. This will be heralded as a foreign policy "success" by the administration.....for about three days. Then the penny will drop. Gaddafi will be replaced by another lunatic supported by different tribes, and the instability will continue. Even if Gaddafi falls, beware of his sons and followers. Family honour has to be addressed. To all those professors and intellectuals who consider this to be a renewal of the arab spring, the peanut gallery wishes them success. So long as it does not cost the American taxpayer......

4.A senior US military officer says Iranian-backed militias present the most dangerous security threat for Iraq, outpacing al-Qaeda-linked terrorists there. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, the senior US military spokesman in Iraq, says the Shiite militias are working to keep the Baghdad government weak and isolated. He says decisions on the number and types of attacks by the militias are made inside Iran, including through ties with the powerful Quds force. The US will be withdrawing at years end. Get ready for the mother of confrontations. What a waste of money!

5.The civil wars in Yemen and Syria continue. In both countries, the army is in charge. In fact, right across the arab world, armies and dictators are in control. Whatever happened to the social revolution? The one inspired by the western media, facebook and twitter?

6.Obama, citizen of the world, still insists on calling for for the evil, nasty arab leaders to go. Regardless of the outcome, the PG does not see any real change on the ground. Arab citizens, starved of happiness, are taking the opportunity to have a spontaneous celebration, then, after waking up with a massive hangover they find that the world still looks the same. Americans might remember the "change" that was coming to Washington....

7.GE are moving their x-ray division to China. GE also signed a joint venture with China to build planes. The Chinese don't have the technology. According to the NY Times GE earned $14.2 billion dollars last year and thanks to some fancy accounting footwork, did not pay a cent in taxes. Okay, so why is the PG mentioning all this? Hold onto your hats folks....GE chief executive officer Jeffrey Immelt, heads up the President's (Obama) Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Tapping Immelt was supposed to provide the Obama administration with a business world perspective on job creation - not in China - in the US!

8.Bolstered by the development of a new stealth fighter, an aircraft carrier and a record number of space launches over the past year, China is on pace to achieve its goal of building a modern, regionally focused military by 2020, according to the Pentagon. In a report released Wednesday, the Pentagon said Beijing has closed critical technological gaps and is rapidly modernising its military equipment, all with an eye toward preventing possible U.S. and allied intervention in a conflict with Taiwan. PG: We wonder who's giving them a hand....

9.World markets are still volatile and will probably continue the volatility as uncertainty grips the financial world. One of the big questions on everyone's mind is "will there be a recession and if so, how deep?" One indicator is the price of copper (Dr Copper) which is pretty stable around the $4 mark at the moment, Indicating the possibility of a soft landing. A fall in the price of this metal would indicate at the least, a slowdown.

10.The earthquake that rattled a wide swath of the eastern U.S. this week may have been a blessing in disguise for a 75-year-old who regained his hearing after the 5.8-magnitude tremor hit. Robert Valderzak, of Washington, D.C., lost his hearing in a fall on June 19 -- Father's Day. Since then the cancer patient has been at the Virginia Medical Center using a special speaker phone and an audio device system to communicate. The earthquake rocked the region at 1:51p.m. local time. When it was over, Valderzak, who had sat in silence for two months, sat up in his bed and told his kids, "My hearing is back. I can hear everything, people in the hallway."

There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors - Jim Morrison

The Peanut Gallery

2011-08-15T11:37:00.000-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah demanded an end to the bloodshed in Syria on Monday and recalled his country's ambassador from Damascus, in a rare case of one of the Arab world's most powerful leaders intervening against another. It was the sharpest criticism the oil giant — an absolute monarchy that bans political opposition — has directed against any Arab state. PG:What a crowd of hypocrites. It is a badly kept secret that Saudi Arabia is behind the rioting in Syria as they try to break the Iranian strangle hold on the Iran-Syria-Hizbullah axis. Note that all the Saudi allies in the Persian Gulf have joined the Saudi's as the Sunni-Shiite split grows. Suits Israel

2.US-based financial rating giant Standard & Poor's announced on Monday that it was leaving Israel's credit rating at "A" along with a solid rating forecast. S&P did, however, downgrade Israel's US securities-backed credit rating to AA+, in accordance with its latest historic downgrade of the United States' credit rating.

3.Libya—As layers of intrigue and mystery have accumulated in the days since last week's murder of the Libyan rebels' top military commander, one point has come into clearer focus: The rebels' nascent government appears to be in disarray and factionalized, struggling to prove its democratic bona fides as it responds to its first major internal crisis. PG:This is the Libyan way. In a democracy, we vote and in Libya, the quickest way to the top is to simply shoot first.

4.Central banks have bought more gold in the first half of this year than in all of 2010 as a long-anticipated reversal in so-called "official sector" sales gathers pace, a gold group reported on Thursday. Mexico has led the charge this year in ramping up its gold reserves, buying over $4 billion of bullion in early May, while the International Monetary Fund has ended a one-year effort to sell down its stocks at the end of last year.

PG COMMENT: These geniuses sold most of their gold holdings at $400-$500 an ounce.

5.WSJ: General Electric Co. said it is moving its X-ray business headquarters to China to accelerate sales in the country's fast-growing health-care market, the latest sign of China's growing importance to the giant U.S. conglomerate. GE Healthcare, known largely for its diagnostic equipment such as CT scans and magnetic-resonance-imaging machines, has been increasingly focused on growth in emerging markets such as China, where governments are spending to beef up medical care.

PG COMMENT: Really? The real reason behind the move....A stable supply of rare earth elements, of which China controls 95% of world supply. These elements are essential to the manufacture of x-ray, scanning and imaging machines. Also the same reason General Motors moved its magnetics division to China.

6.SHANGHAI—China's yuan hit a fresh high against the dollar late Friday after the central bank guided its currency upward for the third straight day, marking the yuan's biggest weekly rise since it was essentially unpegged from the greenback last year. The yuan has risen 3.1% against the U.S. currency this year and 6.8% since June 2010, when China effectively ended its currency's peg to the dollar. PG: The move is part of a long term Chinese strategy to replace the USD as the world's reserve currency.

7.Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas intends to run for president, his spokesman confirmed Thursday afternoon, signaling a new addition to the contest for the GOP nomination that is sure to recast the race. PG: A definite candidate for president, and together with Jon Huntsman the only GOP candidates capable of running the country.

8.JOHNS CREEK, Georgia (Reuters) - Tiger Woods offered a tantalizing glimpse of his old self at the PGA Championship on Thursday before the erratic play that has dogged him through the past, winless, two years returned to wreck his opening round. PG: How the mighty hath fallen. Its quite the tragedy. We hope he discovers the strength to find himself. Golf without a firing Tiger is pretty colourless.

9.POQUOSON, Va. — A 9-year-old boy who left his wallet containing hundreds of dollars at a Virginia convenience store got it back after he posted a handwritten letter. The boy, identified only as Charlie, says he left the wallet on the counter while he was getting a drink. The boy's letter which contained his photo was posted on the store's front door. It said the wallet contained more than $300 the boy had saved, along with gift cards he got for his birthday. The letter ended with, "I hope whoever has it needed it more than me." Store manager Marvin Ward declined to give further details on the woman who returned the wallet.

10. Is Obama Smart? An article by Brett Stephens in the WSJ makes for interesting reading. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904140604576495932704234052.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read&mg=com-wsj

11.And to compound this opinion... Richard Cohen of the Washington Post: "He is the very personification of cognitive dissonance—the gap between what we (especially liberals) expected of the first serious African American presidential candidate and the man he in fact is." More amazingly yet Mr. Cohen goes on to say of Mr. Obama, who not long ago was almost universally hailed as the greatest orator since Pericles, that he lacks even "the rhetorical qualities of the old-time black politicians." And to compound the amazement, Mr. Cohen tells us that he cannot even "recall a soaring passage from a speech."

Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul - Mark Twain

The Downgrade

2011-08-08T04:35:00.003-04:00

The Inconvenient truth congratulates S and P on the downgrade of US credit to AA+. Probably the best thing that ever happened to this great country! How do we know that this is an excellent step? Just listen to the bleating coming out of Washington. Especially from White House "officials" and "sources". Finally somebody has given the establishment a wake up call. Ironically, the call has come from the same agency who, quite frankly, played a major part in creating this crisis in the first place.

We repeat and will continue to repeat. The White House is handling the economic crisis as if it is a facilitating tool in Obama's re-election, cheered on by CNN. Well, sorry to disillusion these folks. The situation is not about politics or elections or the Obama legacy. This is about our children. About future generations and about continued freedom and democracy. Let us not fool ourselves. The alternatives to a weakened US are not pleasant to contemplate. As for the "surprised" looks? S&P warned in April that they expect a cut of at least 4 trillion. The only surprise is that someone actually did what they said they would do. Something quite foreign to The Washington establishment.

If anyone was under the illusion that there exists a painless solution. Well, that illusion has now been ruthlessly expelled by the markets. As for the different political groups either claiming victory or pointing fingers, your political days are numbered folks. Pelosi and the Tea Party...nobody won. America lost. A black and white solution does not exist. S&P basically laid it out. Entitlements need to be cut and tax reform needs to be enacted. A balanced approach. The only missing ingredient is leadership. Voices in the background echoing "that's what Obama said....". That's right, he said it...and we repeat... The only missing ingredient is leadership.

As for the markets, it is doubtful that anybody will argue with the the now obvious fact that gold is the only honest currency. The US treasury continues to state that US treasuries are the gold standard. Actually, gentlemen, gold is the gold standard and if somebody had adhered to it over the last 40 years, we would not be having this crisis today. If the stock market continues downwards today, it will not be because of the downgrade. The downgrade is only a symptom, not the disease.This market had been crashing a while before the downgrade was announced. Probably because the business community took one look at the lack of leadership and the pathetic debt deal, realised that another crisis had been mismanaged and voted with their feet.

From a pure economic point of view, the downgrade should be the start of a more sane attitude to the debt and the deficit. If the president does not understand, that from this point on he has to lead from the front and not point a finger at all and sundry. That the source of the problem is the economy and jobs, not Libya, Afghanistan or his untimely health plan. That his election for a 2nd term is less important than the long term future of the American people, and that US influence has been considerably weakened as a result of mismanagement. Well then, expect more of the same turmoil we have seen thus far. The downgrade presents a clearing of the air. The possibility of a fresh attitude to economic challenges and an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and to begin the preparation of a platform that will allow our children a decent opportunity to build upon for a brighter future. The markets will be our gauge.

Don't expect anything original from an echo - Dunc Muncy

Take out your brain and jump on it - it gets all caked up - Mark Twain

Obama, the Markets and the Cookie Jar

2011-08-04T16:22:00.002-04:00

So now it is two and a half years later. President Obama can no longer hide behind the Bush legacy, a great smile and an excellent turn of tongue. Anybody remember the optimism that greeted his election? The time has come to speak clearly and truthfully. Maybe the American people distinguish between Democrats and Republicans, but for the record, history will only remember who was president at the time. To be fair, the man inherited a woeful situation which he then proceeded to aggravate even further. Hindsight is 20 20. However, The Inconvenient Truth has been pointing out his mistaken priorities, since inception.

1.The president's first act after inauguration was to promote his healthcare plan. MISTAKE. An expensive plan promoted by a left leaning, clearly wet behind the ears president, in the middle of an economic crisis. These types of plans, generally are promoted during an expansion of the economic cycle. What he should have been concentrating on, was job creation.

2.Still floating on a bubble of euphoria, confident that the oratorial prowess and big smile that brought him to power in the US would work for him in other arenas, he reaches out to the muslim world, extending a hand of friendship. MISTAKE. At a cost of sounding repetitive, shaking hands with a crocodile. Masterful speeches in Cairo and Indonesia. Bowing to the Saudi king in a show of "respect". CNN applauds.

3.Overpopulation, rising commodity and food prices (caused by a sinking dollar and QE), create economic pandemonium in Tunisia and Egypt. Quick as a flash, and sensing possible history in the making, he sacrifices old friend Mubarak on National TV. MISTAKE. (Arguably his biggest foreign policy faux pax). After all arrogant left wing intellectualism dictates "the people...the people..." So now "the people" have a sick and dying man on trial in a cage in Cairo. Imagine, Mr. president if you had supported Mubarak and pushed for peaceful change in Egypt? Clearly Mubarak understood the nature of the beast. The cage confirms it. The attack on Lara Logan by "peaceful" demonstrators, should have tipped you off. How does watching all this make you feel?

4.The "arab spring" sets off a horrific chain of events in the area, all violent. Civil wars erupt in Yemen, Syria, Bahrein and Libya. Once again, Obama decides to save the "people" of libya. MISTAKE. Two expensive wars are not enough. Clearly oblivious of the economic problems bubbling at home, he orders an attack on Gaddafi. After all, whats a few billion in this sea of debt? The next generation can pay it off.

5.Priorities. The Obama priority was the mission in Afganisthan, as opposed to Iraq. MISTAKE. A tripling of the forces in Afghanistan cost a fortune, and to what end? What is the strategic significance of Afghanistan? The Iranians are licking their lips at the planned American withdrawal from Iraq at the end of the year. With a Shia majority in Iraq, this leaves Iran holding all the cards in this country that strategically borders the Persian Gulf .

6. Of course, nothing would be complete without mentioning Israel. The Obama plan for Israel is based on the mistaken theory that the settlements are the core of the problem. MISTAKE. In light of events now taking place in the area, no need to comment on the stupidity of this policy. There is no cure for stupid.

7.For a full two years , the man had complete control of both houses. He was lord of the jungle. Did he begin the process of balancing the budget? MISTAKE. QE 1 and QE 2 increased the debt by over 2 trillion in two years. The Republicans conquered congress last November in a devasting defeat for Obama. Apparently unaware of the bubbling economic chaos and/or misreading the approaching political gridlock, he tries to find middle ground in a pathetic attempt to appease the right. MISTAKE. Its not about his place in history, his legacy, his ideology, his re-election or whose to blame. Its the economy old chap! Its about the American people and the next generation. But not to worry Barack, if plan A fails there are still another 25 letters.....

8.The markets are now speaking out loud and clear. The debt deal is what broke the camel's back. The last straw in the mismanagement of this great country. A mismanagement that began decades ago when the administration of the time cancelled the gold standard and placed a bucket of milk in front of the fat cat politicians. The markets will do what Obama and his predecessors clearly have not. You can take that to the bank!

Please read Dear Mr. President.... http://inctruth.blogspot.com/2011/02/dear-mr-president.html

Also please read Obama in La La Land http://inctruth.blogspot.com/2010/11/obama-in-la-la-land.html

And as for gold...There is no rush like a gold rush http://inctruth.blogspot.com/2010/10/there-is-no-rush-like-gold-rush_07.html

There is always one unexpected moment when the door opens and lets the future in - Graham Greene

Its not whether you win or lose, but how you place the blame - Anonymous politician

The Peanut Gallery

2011-08-03T05:00:00.001-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Ibrahim Qashoush's lyrics moved thousands of protesters in Syria who sang his jaunty verses at rallies, telling President Bashar Assad, "Time to leave." So when his body was dumped in the river flowing through his hometown, his killers added an obvious message: His throat was carved out. Qashoush's slaying underlines how brutal Syria's turmoil has become as authorities try to crush a persistent uprising. The PG continues to insist that Syria is in the throes of a civil war. Expect more death and chaos as the Saudis attempt to break the Syria-Iran coalition.

2.An exclusive Newsweek/Daily Beast poll of Egyptian voters portends Muslim Brotherhood influence, and trouble for the West, with this fall’s elections approaching. PG: 30% of Egyptians are illiterate. Its clear that the brotherhood will make a mockery of CNN's arab spring. The Peanut Gallery continues to declare that the arab spring is a political farce created to place a positive spin on this administration's disasterous middle eastern policies.

3.Mobs of ordinary Egyptians joined with soldiers to drive pro-democracy protesters from their encampment in Tahrir Square here Monday, showing how far the uprising's early heroes have fallen in the eyes of the public. Six months after young, liberal activists helped lead the popular movement that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, the hard core of these protesters was forcibly dispersed by the troops. Egyptians ganged up on the activists as they retreated from the square that has come to symbolize the Arab Spring. Expect a confrontation between the army and The Muslim Brotherhood!

4.Anybody remember Libya? Remember the western press cheering as "the tough guys" rushed in to save the "the good guys"? John Wayne and the 7th Cavalry doing it Hollywood style. Well, folks, as it turns out, this movie will probably run out of financing. The debt ceiling crisis simply magnifies the stupidity of the Libya decision. It also deepens the perception that most decision makers in the US, from the president down to the senate and congress are disconnected from the realities of a new world order that is slowly evolving.

5.A European study involving nearly 1,000 participants has found no link between cellular-phone use and brain tumors in children and adolescents, a group that may be particularly sensitive to phone emissions. The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, was prompted by concerns that the brains of younger users may be more vulnerable to adverse health effects—such as cancer—from cellphones. Children have a developing nervous system, and cellphone emissions penetrate deeper into their brains.

6.WASHINGTON—The U.S. for the first time formally accused Iran of forging an agreement with al Qaeda, a pact in which Tehran helps move money, arms and fighters through Iranian territory to the terrorist group's bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "By exposing Iran's secret deal with al Qaeda allowing it to funnel funds and operatives through its territory, we are illuminating yet another aspect of Iran's unmatched support for terrorism," David Cohen, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said on Thursday. PG: Are the Americans laying the initial groundwork for a strike against Iran?

7.The head of the Turkish armed forces General Isik Kosaner along with the heads of the ground, naval and air forces have resigned, broadcaster CNN Turk reported on Friday, apparently plunging NATO's second biggest military into disarray. The civilian government is trying to take control of the secular military for its own purposes. PG: This might takes years if not decades and emphasises the divide between secular and religious Turks.

8.Central banks are ramping up their gold buying as they seek to diversify their reserves away from the dollar and other beleaguered currencies. South Korea became the latest government to disclose a big bullion purchase, saying Tuesday that it recently bought 25 metric tons - more than doubling its holdings to 39 metric tons. Mexico, Russia and Thailand have also been major buyers in 2011.

9.George Soros sold all his gold holdings in the first quarter of this year, A year after calling it the "ultimate bubble". The price at the time of this inspired statement was below $1000 an ounce. On the other hand, John Paulson is still holding on tight to his gold. The peanut gallery maintains that gold, and the poor cousin, silver are in a primary bull market that is entering the blowoff stage. This is where phsycology takes over, so expect dramatic action in these markets.

10. The US debt deal is done. Lets look at the numbers. Ten years from now, at the present interest rate the debt should be $24 trillion. The present cuts reduce this figure to $22 trillion. A drop in the ocean. The markets crashed on the news. Probably because the business world had a good look at who is running the show, and voted with their feet. Meanwhile while everybody points fingers, history will only point to one individual. The commander-in chief Barack Obama. Amazing how this politician immediately takes credit for the good news but distributes blame for the bad news.

Yesterday's answer has nothing to do with today's problem - Bill gates

Israel-The Miracle Continues...

2011-08-03T03:47:00.002-04:00

1.Israeli Green-Tech Makes First Solar-Powered Window

Jerusalem, July 14 - Israeli innovators have launched the world’s first solar-powered window, a revolutionary breakthrough that could cut heating and cooling costs for homes and businesses around the world and lead the way to a future of clean, energy efficient, self-powered buildings. "Harnessing The Sun" is what Gonen Fink, CEO of Pythagoras Solar, calls his company’s clean-energy breakthrough. The company is part of a new high-tech trend in Israel focusing on alternative energy. In recent years, Israel has helped pioneer the production of electric cars, solar power, wind power, biofuels and more.

2.IAI teams with Dassault in French Air Force UAV deal

In a deal worth an estimated €300-400 million, IAI will manufacture the F-Heron TP in Israel, and Dassault will assemble it. The Heron TP is one of the world's most advanced UAVs. It has a wingspan of 27 meters (the same as a Boeing 737 airliner), an operating range of over 40 hours, a GPS system for very long-range operations, and avionics for all-weather and day and night operations. The Heron TP is the latest version of the Heron, which has been operational for many years by the IAF, and by the Luftwaffe, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force in operations in Afghanistan and other arenas.

COMMENT: In case anyone has forgotten, a reminder that there are only 7 million Israeli's.

3.Cabinet approves new NIS 1.6b Eilat int'l airport

The cabinet today approved construction of a new international airport for Eilat at Timna at a cost NIS 1.6 billion. The airport will replace the resort town's current airport, and will end civilian use of the airport at the Ovda Air Force Base.

COMMENT: With record amounts of tourists arriving every month in Israel, this was a natural step.

4.Israel's unemployment rate at all-time low

Israel's unemployment continued to fall in May 2011, reaching 5.7% of the civilian labor force in trend figures - an all-time low, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. The Bank of Israel recently commented on the encouraging labor market figures, saying that the economy was nearing full employment. This means that most of the civilian labor force that wants to work is working.

COMMENT: At full employment salaries will begin to rise (at the moment they are flat) and inflation could be a problem. Oh for problems like these!

5. Three countries interested in Iron Dome

"Israel Defense" reports that three countries are interested in procuring the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, which proved its operational capability earlier this year. Two Asian countries are actively examining the system, made by Rafael Advance Defense Sysytems and military representatives may soon visit Israel for a demonstration. A US expert team is due to shortly arrive in Israel to examine Iron Dome. "The Americans understand that this is the only solution against rockets and mortars threatening local forces around the world," the source said. One of Iron Dome's most important successes is its radar system. The radar can distinguish between threats to a populated area and incoming rockets that will hit open ground.

6.Israel wins gold in Math Olympiad

Israeli students won five medals, one gold and four bronze, in the 52nd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), which concluded in Amsterdam on Friday. The instructor and head of the Israeli delegation, Lev Radislevsky, added: "We are very proud. We have a very talented team and we believed we would have great achievements in the Olympiad."

COMMENT: We are all very proud, Lev. Well done and keep the flag flying high. This comes on the heels of The Israeli physics team winning two gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal on Sunday at the International Physics Olympiad for high school students, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand.

Chains do not hold people together. It is threads, the threads and textures of their values, which sew people together through the years - Camille Corda Lee

The Peanut Gallery

2011-07-25T01:15:00.006-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.In preparation for next year's presidential election, young women across Russia are showing their support for Vladimir Putin by literally ripping their clothes off, reports The Independent. The video campaign has been launched by a group called “Putin Army,” which is reportedly offering an iPad to whomever submits the best video. The group posted the first video clip this weekend and asked other “young, smart and beautiful” girls to “tear something off for Putin.”

2.Syria on Monday officially announced that it recognizes a Palestinian state on 1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its capital, according to the semi-official SANA news agency. Now the only question that remains: Who will recognise the Syrian regime?

3.Should Iran succeed in filling a major power void in Iraq a country that touches six Middle Eastern powers and demographically favors the Shia, Iran would theoretically have its western flank secured as well as an oil-rich outlet with which to further project its influence. When or if the US withdraws its military as planned at the end of 2011, Iran will then replace the US as the most powerful military presence in the Persian Gulf, with the ability to threaten The Straits Of Hormuz and the supply of oil to the west.

4.As the world deals with attempts to deliver aid, Gaza's residents are preparing for the inauguration of a new luxury hotel. The hotel, called Moby Dick, will be inaugurated in the coming days, and Gazans hope it attracts not just Hamas men but also Western tourists. If they do arrive, they'll be able to enjoy luxurious banquet halls made of marble and stone, first-class restaurants and a shining swimming pool. A resort village with swimming pools and restaurants opened in Rafah several weeks ago, and another restaurant is planned off the city's coast. PG: Read more about these hypocrites... http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4096055,00.html

5.Believe it or not! Saudi Arabia has an anti-witchcraft unit. When the severed head of a wolf wrapped in women's lingerie turned up near the city of Tabouk in northern Saudi Arabia this week, authorities knew they had another case of witchcraft on their hands, a capital offence in the ultra-conservative desert kingdom. Agents of the country’s Anti-Witchcraft Unit were quickly dispatched and set about trying to break the spell that used the beast’s head. Dont believe it? Then believe this...They have banned the Harry Potter series by British writer J.K. Rowling, rife with tales of sorcery and magic. These people wear suits and and are honoured guests at the White House.

6.The military establishment running Egypt’s interim regime is discreetly moving to ensure that the army retains its influence over Cairo’s post-revolutionary government. PG: Told you so! The Associated Press quoted Maj.-Gen. Mamdouh Shaheen, a member of the council that is leading the constitution-drafting process, as saying this week that the country’s next constitution should safeguard the army against the “whims” of a future president – in effect asking for the armed forces to be given virtually complete independence.

7.Apple may have opened only four stores in two cities in China so far, but unbeknownst to the company, they are already expanding elsewhere in country. A local store in Kunming featured a glass exterior, pale wood display tables, a winding staircase and giant posters displaying the iPad 2 and other Apple products, plus a neatly organized accessories wall. “This was a total Apple store ripoff—a brilliant one,” the blogger wrote. She called it “the best ripoff store we had ever seen.” Photos show employees in blue shirts and Apple-emblazoned name tags similar to those worn by Apple Store employees in Beijing and Shanghai. PG: Integrity, Chinese style.

8.In April, India delivered the bad news to U.S. defense contractors that they weren’t going to get an estimated $11 billion contract to deliver 126 multi-role fighter jets to New Delhi in coming years. Boeing and Lockheed Martin were in the running to provide India with the fighter jets, as the country boosted its defense budget to $32 billion. The rejection will come as a blow to the US after President Obama's visit to India in November 2010 in which he hoped to boost trade between the two countries. The PG notes that nobody is buying the big smile any longer.

9.Teheran - An Iranian physicist was shot dead by a motorcyclist in Tehran on Saturday and Iran's student news agency ISNA quoted an unnamed police official as saying the man was a nuclear scientist. Being a nuclear physicist is a dangerous business in Iran today. We wonder if they are being compensated danger pay.

10.One thing I know about Americans, they are great adapters. Americans can adapt to vicious ground fighting, Americans can compete in deadly "dog fights" at 15000 feet in the sky. American farm-boys can out-soldier the most hardened, veteran Nazi fighters. Americans can sweep the skies of the German Luftwaffe. Americans can adapt to anything if it means survival. And to bring it to the present, I believe that Americans will adapt to the coming years of the great deleveraging and the ongoing financial crisis.

The future? The things that got us here will not get us there - Peter Drucker

Canada, Obama and Islamic Jihad

2011-07-19T11:04:00.000-04:00

On July 8th, 2011 The Peanut gallery Stated: The United States has decided to resume formal contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, a senior US official said on Wednesday, in a step that reflects the Islamist group's growing political weight but that is almost certain to upset Israel and its US backers.

COMMENT:First step is to throw Mubarak under the bus. Second step is the above. keep it up Obama. If you think this goes unnoticed, you are mistaken.

Tarek Fatah is an Indian muslim. His words ring out loud and clear. Please find the time to listen to his speech.

http://www.livestream.com/ideacity/video?clipId=flv_fd017d81-dc18-42cc-821a-18b86fdea840

The Peanut Gallery

2011-07-18T12:28:00.046-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.Nancy Grace: "As the defense has their champagne toast after that 'not guilty' verdict, somewhere out there the devil is dancing tonight." Her words, and even though she might be considered a dangerous virus, the peanut gallery finds it hard to argue with her.

2.Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the U.S. is within reach of defeating al Qaeda, promising a concerted campaign following the death of Osama bin Laden to eliminate the network's remaining top leadership in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and North Africa. The peanut gallery: What nonsense. You kill some and others pop up to take their place. In a world of political anarchy, hunger and over-population, terrorism can be temporarily subdued but not eliminated or defeated.

3.China's National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday said that the consumer price index in June surged by 6.4% from a year earlier. That was a jump from May's 5.5% rate and close to the high hit three years ago. Another reason for gold to continue its rise.....

4.In the face of the sagging economy, Bernanke is already talking about more quantitative easing or QE3. This should come as no surprise to followers of the the peanut gallery. The stock markets took it in their stride, but gold and silver took a mighty jump upwards. PG: Gold is no longer a hedge against the US dollar. It is a hedge against dishonest manipulations by politicians and "experts" in the currency markets.

5. And now we hear that Moody's, the rating agency are putting the US credit rating on review for a possible downgrade. The world is so crazy at the moment that even a bombshell like this is regarded as par for the course. The peanut gallery: Wake up folks. This is a serious business. Once again we state that gold is the only honest currency in town!

6.A sign of the times? A home listed for a record $150 million has sold—at a steep discount. The 57,000-square-foot Los Angeles mansion built by the late television producer Aaron Spelling closed for $85 million, or 43% off its asking price.

7.Facebook yesterday launched its new mobile application, "Facebook for Every Phone", based on software developed by Israeli start-up Snaptu Ltd which Facebook acquired for $60-70 million in March. This was Facebook's first acquisition in Israel. The application provides fast and easy access to simple mobile phones (i.e. not smartphones such as iPhones and Androids) that lack advanced operating systems. Israel clearly has decided to buy into CNN's arab spring, while Informed sources in Teheran point out that this is irrevocable proof that Israel is behind the rioting.....

8.Richard Russell will be 87 years old this week. One of the planet's really great and truthfull investment advisors. "During World War II I fought with young men (hailing from all over the nation) who were ready to die for freedom and Democracy and America. Who in Congress could match these young men today?" Happy birthday Richard!

9.Qatar has pulled out its ambassador from Syria and closed its embassy after attacks on the compound by militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, diplomats in the Syrian capital told Reuters on Monday. The PG predicts that as US influence in the region declines, the rift between Sunni's and Shiites will widen into confrontation.

10.Apparently if one leans to the left, global warming is a threat to the planet. However if one leans to the right, like Michele Bachmann, then one is supposed to claim that global warming is a myth, manufactured by a bunch of leftists. Many rightist members of the PG would vigorously disagree with this cynical political myth. Nothing political about global warming. Step out of your air conditioned office, Bachmann!

11.James Dines: "Japan understandably is turning against nuclear power, but their subsequent absence of air conditioning since the closing of 34 reactors, has led to an increase in deadly heatstrokes in addition to the reduced availability of elevators. Merkel likewise announced shuttering all of Germany’s nuclear power plants, while China is accelerating building them – and even using some atomic-power plants as 'currency' by donating them to emerging nations – thus ensnaring them as dependents into its new geopolitical order." PG: Thats right folks, its all about shortages and survival.

I always loved change, something new. Change is a challenge, an excitement - Dawn Sibley

The Muslim World

2011-07-18T11:18:00.001-04:00

1.Iran's judiciary has arrested Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, an ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on unspecified charges, an unnamed official told the semi-official Fars news agency on Thursday. "Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh was arrested a few hours ago," Fars said. Malekzadeh resigned from his position as deputy foreign minister on Tuesday.

COMMENT: Believe it or not, Ahmadinejad is considered a liberal in Iran......

2.On the backdrop of difficulties in appointing a prime minister for the Palestinian unity government, the Fatah and Hamas governments have reached an "acquiescence" to have their governments in Gaza and Ramallah continue functioning as usual until they turn to the UN General Assembly in September, a Palestinian source told the Ma'an news agency. The information was confirmed by a senior official in the Gaza Strip. (Elior Levy)

COMMENT: Same old...These guys are going nowhere....fast.

3.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Israel to recognize a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. He said that the PA has recognized the State of Israel, and so Israel should respond in the same coin. Abbas, who spoke at the Dutch congress, called on the Jewish state to return to the negotiating table to discuss the plan outlined by US President Barack Obama. (Elior Levy)

COMMENT: Say it in ARABIC Abbas. Who said that the more blatant a lie......

4.Four Hezbollah members have been indicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Lebanese media outlets reported on Thursday. Members of the UN backed tribunal met Mirza on Thursday and handed Lebanese attorney general the 163-page report, which includes four arrest warrants against Hezbollah members.

COMMENT: Not worth the paper....Hezbollah heads governing coalition with majority.

5.The Iranian military smuggled new deadly munitions to its allies in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent months in order to accelerate the US withdrawals from these countries, The Wall Street Journal reported

COMMENT: American deficits will hasten US departure from these countries, and it won't take long before a power struggle develops. Turkey (Sunni) are quietly supporting the Sunni's of Iraq, while Iran are supporting the Shia in that country. Look for slowly developing confrontations and new alliances as Turkey comes off the fence to challenge Syria and Iran.

6.The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday offered an aid package worth $3 billion to Egypt, the state news agency WAM said. The agency said that UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan ordered the setting up of a $1.5 billion fund to support small and medium projects in Egypt. He also ordered the allocation of $750 million for infrastructure and housing projects for youths and $750 million in loans for various projects. (Reuters)

COMMENT: Another Sunni vs Shia scenario. No democracy here. Egypt just refused an IMF loan for the same amount. I wonder if the Americans are getting the message? So far the Gulf Kingdoms have given about $15 billion in aid to Egypt.

A closed mind is like a closed book: just a block of wood - Chinese proverb

Israel - The Miracle Continues...

2011-07-08T12:01:00.002-04:00

1.Israeli scientists develop 'virtual cane'

Yissum Research Development Company Ltd, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem presented a major new innovation – a virtual cane that will significantly improve the orientation and mobility of sight-impaired people. Unlike a white stick that can give the blind input from only a meter away, the device can function at a much shorter distance and up to some 10 meters in all directions. Dr. Amedi said the device can also distinguish between smiling and sad faces and can be used for research on how the brain flexibly changes upon receiving input and on brain reorganization in the blind.

2.Israeli TV series TLV sold to six countries

Broadcasting rights of the TV series, "TLV Doing Tel Aviv" have been sold to six European countries: Germany, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Poland and France."TLV Doing Tel Aviv" is a reality drama show that follows four young people who move into an apartment together in central Tel Aviv. Each one of them is given the chance to join the entertainment and communications industries.

3.Treasury raises $400m from Asian gov't fund

Today, the Israeli Accountant General's Office implemented a $400 million, one-year, private offering to one of the world's largest Asian government funds. Goldman Sachs, which is currently serving as the head market maker for Israel government bonds, was the underwriter. "The current offering was implemented at the request of the Asian investor, who is considered a strategic global investor in capital markets. This will be its first investment in Israeli government bonds," the Ministry of Finance's announcement said. China's sovereign investment fund, CIC, and Singapore's sovereign investment fund, Temasek, are among Asia's leading government funds.

COMMENT: Bottom line. An Asian Goverment is purchasing Israeli bonds to the tune of $400 million. The third large purchase from Asia and a first as regards an Asian governing body. This is a huge development!

4.May sets all-time high for travel to Israel

Travel to Israel reached a new all-time high in May with the arrival of 268,000 international tourists staying more than one night – a 5% increase compared to May 2010. Also, approximately 1,168,000 tourists arrived in Israel between January and May 2011 – 4% more than the same period last year. Cruise travel to Israel was also expected to reach a new all-time high in June with the confirmed arrival of 50,000 tourists and crew docking in the Israel port cities of Ashdod and Haifa.

COMMENT: Eat your hearts out BDS, BS and others. Looks like the silent majority is thumbing something at you. Nothing more sobering than the numbers. Just a few years ago, a million tourists per annum was regarded as an achievement.

5.Israel Chemicals wins $235m Chinese potash deal

Israel Chemicals Ltd. will sell potash to its Chinese customers at $470 a ton, $70 a ton higher than prices to China during the first half of 2011. Under the terms of the current contract, 500,000 tons will be delivered in the second half of 2011 for $235 million (about NIS 800 million). ICL reported that since 2010, it has broadened its customer base in China, and sells potash directly to Chinese fertilizer producers and distributors.

6.Defense consumption in 2009: 6% of GDP
From 1956 to 1975, the defense consumption expenditure grew at a quick pace of 15-16% a year. In 1973 (the year of the Yom Kippur War), the defense consumption reached a record level of 31% of the GDP. In 2009, the defense expenditure reached 6% of the GDP, after falling 1.5% in 2008 and 2.7% in 2009. In comparison, US spends 4.7%, Russia 4.3%, Saudi Arabia 11.2% and China 2.2%.

COMMENT:Israel's defence expenditure in 2010 was $13 billion (in comparison, Saudi spent $43 billion) and defence exports amounted to $7 billion. Truly an achievement of almost miraculous proportions.

7.Arabs represent Israel in Special Olympics

Tennis players Muhammad Kunbar of east Jerusalem and Jafar Tawil of Beit Safafa played alongside Jewish teammates in the Special Olympic Games in Athens last week. The Israeli Arab athletes, both 20 years old, played with Elad Gevandschnaider, 22, of Be’er Sheva and Tamir Segal, 34, of Katzin. This event marks the first time in history that Israeli Arabs represented the country at the Special Olympics.
COMMENT:The hypocrisy of the academic left-Islamic coalition is mind boggling.

To create a vision, people have to get beyond their current inhibitions-they have to dream - Jack Wells

The Peanut Gallery

2011-07-08T10:46:00.002-04:00

Statements, comments and forecasts that have no substance, but just might turn out to be relevant.

1.The United States has decided to resume formal contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, a senior US official said on Wednesday, in a step that reflects the Islamist group's growing political weight but that is almost certain to upset Israel and its US backers.

COMMENT:First step is to throw Mubarak under the bus. Second step is the above. keep it up Obama. If you think this goes unnoticed, you are mistaken.

2.The Gaza Flotilla: Despite the mysterious sabotage, and Greece's announcement that it will not allow ships to sail to the Gaza Strip from its ports, the flotilla activists are as determined as ever to break the naval blockade. Message from the peanut gallery: Fizzle..pop...fizzle..fizzle... the world watches as these morons (probably more left wing media participating than activists) look more pathetic every day.

3. Assad, supported by Iran and Hizbullah, is still waging a civil war against against Sunni muslims supported by Saudi Arabia. The peanut gallery believes that Assad will hold onto power as long as the army supports him. Look for cracks in the army hierachy for an indication that this situation is changing. The flashpoint might be the Sunni dominated city of Hama.

4..ONONDAGA, N.Y. -- Police say a motorcyclist participating in a protest ride against helmet laws in upstate New York died after he flipped over the bike's handlebars and hit his head on the pavement. State troopers tell The Post-Standard of Syracuse that 55-year-old Philip A. Contos of Parish, N.Y., was driving a 1983 Harley Davidson with a group of bikers who were protesting helmet laws by not wearing helmets. No comments from the peanut gallery...

5. So you think the world is changing? India's health minister has derided homosexuality as an unnatural "disease" from the West. The comments Monday by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad at a conference on HIV/AIDS in the Indian capital echoed a common refrain in the conservative country that homosexuality is a Western import. "Unfortunately this disease has come to our country too..."

6.Climate change may be the last thing that leaders of revolution-riddled countries in the Middle East want to deal with now. But before long, experts say, the problems caused by rising global temperatures could disfigure the land they are fighting over. From disappearing snow in Lebanon to rising seas threatening Bahrain to flooding in Tunisia and Egypt, climate change already is giving the Middle East and North Africa a good deal to worry about. And those who work in the region note that governments -- struggling to maintain power and in some cases engaging in all-out warfare with their citizens -- are losing valuable time needed to adapt. If you snooze...you lose.

7.The U.S. released 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of an international effort to make up for disruption in Libya’s oil production. The price at the time was $95 a barrel and immediately fell to $89 a barrel. Today, less than a month later, the price is well above the $95 mark. The peanut gallery smells a political rat in this suspiciously cynical move.

8.The U.S. economy barely added jobs for the second month in a row in June and the unemployment rate rose to the highest level this year, adding to concerns the labor market will take years to recover. Unemployment now stands at 9.2%. The peanut gallery urges Barack Obama to make even more inspiring speeches.

9.Remember Prince, the rocking pop star? This is what he has to say about islam: "It's fun being in Islamic countries, to know there's only one religion. There's order. You wear a burqa. There's no choice. People are happy with that." This from the fellow who sang "'23 positions in a one-night stand" and a song celebrating a rendezvous with a "sex fiend" who likes to "grind." He must be smoking some real weird stuff.

Some people should have their tombstone inscribed "Died at forty. Buried at 80" - Bob Moawad

Israel - The Apartheid State

2011-07-06T14:00:00.001-04:00

1.Muslim police officer ascends to new heights

Deputy Inspector-General Jamal Hakroush on Wednesday became the first Muslim police officer to ascend to his rank in Israel. He was recently nominated to the office of deputy chief of the Traffic Department. "It's a position I have been waiting for, and it offers many challenges," Hakroush told Ynet in an interview. "I am proud of Israel Police for choosing me based on my qualifications and nothing else."

2.Bedouin sheikh jailed for imprisoning, raping girl

The Beersheba District Court on Wednesday sentenced a Bedouin sheikh to 13 years in prison for imprisoning, raping, and beating a teenage girl because she violated "family honor". The girl's uncle, convicted of kidnapping her, was sent to prison for five years.

COMMENT: What a culture! Read the full story - not for the meek. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4082814,00.html

3.IDF's 1st female major-general appointed in official ceremony

Brigadier-General Orna Barbivai was promoted to the rank of major-general and appointed as the head of the IDF Personnel Directorate at an official ceremony at Tel Aviv's Hakirya base. Barbivai said that her appointment is "a clear statement of equal opportunity." Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who was in attendance, called it "an exciting moment for the entire Israeli society."

COMMENT: Any bets on whether western media reports this? Hey, Amanpour, "Woman Power" is fine as long as it isn't Israeli woman power....right?

4.1st woman commands sniper platoon
Among the graduates of the Ground Forces officer course Wednesday at the Officers' Training School (Bahad 1) was one Second Lieutenant Noy, a combat soldier in the Caracal Battalion who made history by becoming the first female officer to command a sniper platoon. Read more http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4089028,00.html

COMMENT: To the left wing media...If you don't report it....it never happened. One has to be a female suicide bomber who murders a few kids to become a heroine.....right?

5.Hamas arrests man for styling women's hair

The Hamas government in Gaza has arrested a man for violating a recent legislation that prohibits men from styling women's hair, the BBC reported Wednesday. The report said that following the arrest, many male hairstylists could be found loitering at the entrance to their salons, terrified of being detained as well. The ban joins similarly befuddling laws such as the one prohibiting women from smoking hookah pipes and riding on motorbikes driven by men.

COMMENT: How long can the academic left continue their partnerships with these guys? They look more ridiculous by the day. Wonder how many of the female gaza flotilla activists (?) have ridden on a motorbike driven by a man....heaven forbid!

If your mind isn't open, please keep your mouth shut - Sue grafton

Follow The Money

2011-07-06T13:27:00.001-04:00

1.The US bond market is ten times the size of the stock market. This bears watching. In the first quarter, foreign central banks purchased only 16% of issuance. The Fed purchased 200%! (The figure is correct). In other words, the Fed's activities have masked the exodus of foreign central banks including China from these auctions. So who else is the Fed purchasing from? Clearly this means that domestic banks are *huge* net sellers of Treasuries. Scary? I'm scared, but have always been a financial chicken....

2. Posted a while ago, but worth repeating: Its finally happening. The Financial times reports that China has become a net seller of US treasuries over the last 4 months. According to FT, the Chinese are purchasing European Govt. Bonds. This comes after confirmed reports that Russia has reduced its US treasuries holdings from $175B to $125B in the last 7 months.

3.Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said Tuesday that China is prepared to help European Union countries with sovereign debt issues, Chinese state media Xinhua reported. "In the future, as we have done in the past, we will support Europe and the euro," Wen added.

COMMENT: Don't you just love the terminology "China is prepared to help....". Good guys eh? No such thing as something for nothing.

4.The possible departure of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner once an agreement is reached with Congress to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling would signal the end of an era: Geithner is the last member of President Obama's original economic team still with the administration.

COMMENT: This departure is more worrying than the others. Geithner was Obama's confidant. I wonder what he knows that we dont. If all he sees is Obama's failure as a leader, we know that already. Even his buddies at CNN are struggling to put a positive spin on their hero.

5.Throughout history the nation who leads the world (Spain, Holland, Britain, USA) possesses two items: (1) A huge hoard of gold, (2) The world's most powerful military. A very smart writer who I follow says two things are inevitable (1) devaluation, and (2) war. Another brilliant writer says he is only sure of one thing -- lowered standards of living in the USA in coming years (at least for a decade).

6.A sign of the times: USA Today where "More children now live with grandpa and grandma. The latest census figures show that in 2009 7.8 million children in the US live with at least one grandparent, up from 4.7 million in 1991.

Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it - Don Harold