http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054275.html

about Rice writing it...yeah cause Haraatz said that Zipi was helping on the wording wanting to water it down towards Israel.Thurs/Fri night.

Israels already come under fire just a yr ago about the Lebanon war and faced war crimes on that front...

But I think after reading this-the good cop/bad cop routine is really jsut a genuine rift between Ohlmert and Zipi..(they don't like each other-she led investigation of Ohlmert about the war of 06)

I do in fact think, that Ohlmert is unstable, out of control-and world opinion had shifted against war..

Lebanon war ended in a UN resolution..Israel didn't want this to end on UN resolution..(my guess)upcoming elections/war-all about saving face to voters.

Had heard rumor online that Ohlmert may be prolonging war...to putoff elections and hang on to his seat...

(and why maybe the rift beginning..)

Ohlmert may also be fearing warcrimes from this..and he knows would be easier to prosecute him if out of office (putting off inevitable)..

One things for sure...Ohlmert looks panicked..grasping at Bush like a drowning man for support...

for the response.

I don't know how unstable anyone is, but they don't seem to know what the impact here is. The State Department does. Huge gaffe given what's happened.

Whenever one of our esteemed commentors uses the term "islamofascist," I am compelled to dismiss the writer as an idiot, a propagandist for AIPAC, or Norman Podheretz... or all of the above.

-- pointus

Give credit where credit is due. The Islamofascist meme is nowadays being generated wholesale from the David Horowitz Freedom Center and their infamous Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/islamo-fascism-awareness-week/

Ohlmert giving the impression of bravado now..

I'm sure he was beggin for his life Fri though..

(I mean, even Livni was helping write it/knew how the vote was goin down...she must have realized how out of control O was- to UN and world-stage-knew US only ones could stop him-perhaps she knew he is prolonging purposely?)

Yeah--it looks really bad..on everyone..

omooex said,

The fact is that I have never seen a pro-Palestinian argument that required me to make a judgement about what Jews are like, or what they own, or what Israelis are like or whether they are racist.

Very well said and well worth repeating.

Jestaplero said,

My concern is this: the prosecution, as well as the defendants, is entitled to a fair trial, under our rule of law. It's not fair to the prosecution to suddenly change all the rules on them, to their great disadvantage, 7 years into the process.

You have made some thoughtful points but this is a terrible argument. This isn't a tennis ladder. Nobody cares if a prosecutor has an undefeated season, especially one that is shocked that throwing a racquet at your opponents head might be against the rules.

If you are looking for sympathy, play the "it isn't fair to the victims of 9/11" card. Prosecutors are paid professionals, and while I loathe playing the "real world" card, dealing with changing rules and requirements at the last minute is what people in the real world like to call Monday.

I thought you all might enjoy some late-night hilarity. Joe the Plumber, in his new role as "war correspondent" in Israel, is claiming to bring a refreshing lack of bias to his work. In one of his first acts of unparalleled reportage, he accosted an Israeli reporter with these penetrating questions:

JOE: The story here is people are being killed and the media's slanting it and trying to make it Hamas is, uh, as far as, that Israel's being bad. Do you believe Israel is bad?

REPORTER: Do I believe it?

JOE: Yeah, do you?!

REPORTER: I'm Israeli, so...

JOE: So answer the question!

REPORTER: No, I don't think Israel is bad.

JOE: Do you think Israel has every right to protect itself?

REPORTER: Yeah.

[pause]

JOE: You do?!

REPORTER: Yeah.

JOE: Have you said that on air?

REPORTER: I'm just a reporter.

This is taken from an article at HuffPo. In the comments section, we have:

"I've got a great idea! Why doesn't Joe the Plumber go to Iran and poke Akmadinajad with a sharp stick?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/12/joe-the-plumber-fights-wi_n_157239.html

Oh, man, oh, man. I have to laugh.

I would love to see some video of his war corresponding if it is available somewhere. Maybe next he will uncover the hidden truth by asking an Israeli if they have a right to exist.

OT: You cannot make this shit up.

Goddamn. You're right.

That's so pathetic that even SNL would walk away from it.

Jesus Christ.

From a poster at Naked Capitalism--

A wonderful short film that is well worth watching. An incredibly well executed six and half minutes. Great music.

MORE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8aFxk0aUuU

(see sig)

Not to interrupt your "Obama is a Neo-Con" rant, Glenn, but it could have been this, from October of 2007:

Iran's Top Leader: We Will Pursue Nuclear Activities Regardless of Sanctions

TEHRAN — Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday that the country will pursue nuclear activities outside international regulations if the U.N. Security Council insists it stop uranium enrichment.

"Until today, what we have done has been in accordance with international regulations," Khamenei said. "But if they take illegal actions, we too can take illegal actions and will do so."

Seriously Glenn, get back on track. 2009 has not been a good year for Unclaimed Territory. Focus on FISA and exposing Chickenhawk pundit hypocrisy, which is where you shine. Your Israel and "Obama has a cult" nonsense just makes you sound goofy. You're becoming a shrill, hysterical cartoon of what you once were. Not every will live up to the perfect Glenn Greenwald Standard (tm) of dispassionate, unbiased, unemotional thought clarity.

Perhaps people already knew this so my shock may seem naive, but WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"All these topics are subject to review by Israel's chief military censor, who has -- in her own words -- "extraordinary power." She can silence a broadcaster, block information and put journalists in jail.

"I can, for example, publish an order that no material can be published. I can close a newspaper or shut down a station. I can do almost anything," Col. Sima Vaknin said Wednesday."

"The Associated Press has agreed, like other organizations, to abide by the rules of the censor, which is a condition for receiving permission to operate as a media organization in Israel."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002876486

The article implies that only certain information can be censored. However, this youtube clip indicates that the censor has broad authority to censor anything they care to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJaPZLNLBu8