January 28, 2013

By Ted Belman

My daughter, Aliza, spent considerable time with me at the hospital. One of the more interesting conversations we had, had to do with a book she was reading, Why Nations Fail. The sub title of this book is, The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. It was written by James Robinson and Daron Acemoglu.

The subject came up because she wanted to share some ideas contained in it with me. As you may recall her area of expertise is third world development and this book was made to order for her.

In a nutshell.
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By Anne Hertzberg, GATESTONE INSTITUTE

While thousands were being butchered by the Assad regime in Syria, the Human Rights Council outrageously passed a resolution condemning Israel for the “suffering of Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan.” Of course, none of the actors at the HRC offered to take concrete steps, such as repealing Agenda Item 7, to end the systemic bias at there.

Another major confrontation is brewing between Israel and the United Nations. On January 29, Israel is scheduled for its quadrennial Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council (HRC). Following the March 2012 Council session, however, Israel’s foreign minister ceased all contacts with the HRC due to its obsessive bias and double standards targeting the Jewish State. As a result, Israel will not participate in UPR.

This has UN officials very worried, and for good reason. If Israel fails to show up for UPR, this may force the HRC to end the stranglehold of abusive regimes over the institution, and implement long overdue reforms.
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By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST

Exclusive: Iranian dissident-turned CIA agent Kahlili tells ‘Post’ if such a blow was given to Fordow nuclear facility, it harms Iran drastically; says Tehran “has decided to retaliate against Israel from Lebanon.”

Iranian dissident-turned CIA agent Reza Kahlili told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that an alleged blast at the Fordow nuclear installation in Iran is “the largest case of sabotage in decades.”

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization has dismissed reports of an explosion as “Western propaganda,” while the The Sunday Times cited Israeli intelligence figures as confirming the claim.
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By Daren Jonescu, AMERICAN THINKER

Hillary Clinton’s angry flip-out at Senator Ron Johnson during her Benghazi testimony was a charmed moment. All at once, before the whole world, one of the highest ranking progressive authoritarians on the planet spilled the beans — all of them — about the left’s modus operandi.

The revelation might be overlooked, however, if we focus too closely on Clinton’s easily quotable “What difference does it make?” The line as quoted merely shows Clinton to be a trapped liar trying to fake her way through an awkward moment with pomposity and bravado. In truth, however, “What difference does it make?” is merely a media-friendly ellipsis of her actual words. What she actually said, without the convenient editing, is far more telling.
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Were the recent elections an earthquaking change? An upheaval? A respected publicist’s analysis translated from the Hebrew “Besheva” weekly.

Atty. Elyakim Haetzni, INN

No, there was no earthquake, no upheaval. The left-center bloc cannot form a government nor can it block Netanyahu’s chances of doing so.

And even if President Peres tries his best to avoid it, he will be forced to give Netanyahu, albeit a Netanyahu whose wings have been clipped, the task of forming the next government.

And while a great many lessons will be learned from these election results, in this column, we will limit ourselves to elucidating how Netanyahu brought them upon himself.
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Proposal for regulating Bedouin settlements accepted; majority of illegal villages to be recognized, end to ownership claims; Bedouins say proposal ‘uproots numerous communities’

Ilana Curiel, Attila Somfalvi, YNET

The government approved on Sunday a set of recommendations for the regulation of Bedouin settlements in the Negev, thereby recognizing the legality of Bedouin settlments and offering monetary compensation in case they are relocated.  

Sources who are familiar with the process said the proposal, which was brought forth by Minister Benny Begin, stipulated that most Bedouin towns were to be recognized as legal. (Read more…)

Laura: Antisemitism is rampant in England. And this is happening at a time when that country is undergoing rapid islamization. You would think that the Brits would actually sympathize with the Jewish state at this point in time, but just the opposite is happening.

So spare me the phony European holocaust memorial ceremonies. As long as the European media, academia and government officials perpetuate these disgusting lies, historical revisionisms and blood libels against the Jewish state, and so long as European Mideast policies enable the modern day nazis in Tehran, Gaza, Ramallah, Cairo etc. against Israel, their words honoring holocaust victims and proclamations of “never again”, are completely meaningless.

Atlas Shrugs:

A Blood Libel against the Jews on International Holocaust Memorial Day This is the next level of the norming of Jew-hatred and the relentless propaganda war against the Jews. Where have we seen this before? Nazi Germany, of course, and all across the Muslim world. The horror. The British media elite have taken off their mask and outed themselves. It is consistent with their anti-semitic history. Balfour, Churchill et al were an anomaly in British history. The depiction of the security fence (below) was erected in response to daily homicide bombings targeted to kill Jews. This cartoon is a bloody lie, inspired by the nefarious propaganda campaigns of Joseph Goebbels. These grotesque messages of antisemitism and hatred of Jews continue to be transmitted by Muslim media in the Middle East as well (here).  Read the rest