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17 Mar 2011 11:09

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Politics: Applying for Hillary’s job? Sarah Palin’s heading to the Holy Land

  • While we’ve had a Sarah Palin moratorium on the site for the past two months, and we’re not looking to end it, we’d like to think Palin making a “diplomatic” run to Israel to speak to Benny Netanyahu is news. So we’re going to post it. Because, hey, this will probably be the only Palin-related topic we post about Sarah until she announces she’s running for president. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Mar 2011 11:26

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World: Israel captures weapons-loaded ship with Liberian flag, blames Iran

  • Iran is the source of all evil in this region. It finances, supports, encourages and supplies all the terrorist organizations operating here.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu • Pointing the finger after the Israeli military found a ship headed from Turkey to Egypt loaded with weapons, which the Israeli government believes was headed to Gaza. “The source of the weapons is Iran, which is trying to arm Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a text message (which is apparently how Bloomberg interviews all of its sources these days). The ship had a Liberian flag. So, let’s see … a ship heading from Turkey to Egypt, with a Liberian flag on it, has ties to Iran? Wait, what? Last month, an Iranian ship headed through the Suez Canal to Turkey – the first time that’s happened since 1979’s Islamic Revolution. Also worth noting – Israel says that Turkey is completely uninvolved in the current incident. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Feb 2011 12:03

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World: How does Mubarak feel about Egypt’s move towards democracy?

  • He called up an Israeli lawmaker just before he resigned to speak his mind a little. To put it simply, Mubarak feels, much like many Israeli officials, that a move towards democracy in Egypt will give rise to extremism. “He gave me a lesson in democracy and said: ‘We see the democracy the United States spearheaded in Iran and with Hamas, in Gaza, and that’s the fate of the Middle East,'” said Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a former Israeli cabinet minister. “‘They may be talking about democracy but they don’t know what they’re talking about and the result will be extremism and radical Islam.'” In other words, Mubarak is all grumblecakey about the rise of democracy in the country, which he feels will hurt the region more than help it. And yes, we said “grumblecakey.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

11 Feb 2011 18:07

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World: One country not cheering about Mubarak’s exit: Israel

  • The Muslim Brotherhood has already said they won’t be committed to the peace treaty. I don’t see a military conflict with Israel. But the whole regional order of the last 30 years will be totally shattered.
  • Former Israel ambassador to Egypt Eli Shaked • Expressing his, and by extension his country’s fears over losing a major ally in the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak. Unlike the United States, Israel never turned away from their longtime ally in fear of what would come for Egypt after. Their biggest fear? While they don’t expect another war in the region, they fear the possibility that the Muslim Brotherhood, a group they feel would be against Israel, would gain a foothold in Egyptian politics. There’s a point where diplomatic concerns becomes a poor reason to diplomatically block a country’s freedoms, and most countries feel we passed it. Israel apparently didn’t. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Feb 2011 22:22

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U.S.: UC-Irvine’s Muslim Student Union caught in free-speech battle

  • People are afraid to be seen as with us. It’s like they went after them, how do we know they aren’t going to come after us next? Everyone is afraid and looking over their shoulder.
  • UC-Irvine Muslim Student Union leader Hamza Siddiqui • Discussing the charges against him and ten other members of his group. See, the Muslim Student Union (which had been criticized by Jewish and Israeli groups in the past for its overly-in-your-face approach to the issues) repeatedly disrupted a speech by Michael B. Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, last year. After the speech, the group was suspended for a quarter. It seemed like the scandal died, until the students involved in said protests (three of which went to UC-Riverside) were charged with disturbing a public meeting and conspiring to do so. While the Muslim Student Union perhaps overplayed its hand by trying to drown Oren out for the entire speech in an organized manner, charging them with a misdemeanor seems perhaps a tad anti-free-speech. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2011 20:33

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World: Wikileaks cable: Israel favored Omar Suleiman to replace Mubarak

  • 2011 Omar Suleiman, a diplomatic figure closely associated with Hosni Mubarak (but mostly unknown to the Egyptian public) was appointed as Mubarak’s vice-president – and potentially leader-in-waiting – to the anger of many Egyptians.
  • 2008 A newly-released Wikileaks cable suggests that Israel heavily favored Suleiman were Mubarak to die or become incapacitated: “There is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of Suleiman,” the wire said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Feb 2011 09:30

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World: Egypt pipeline explosion: Terrorism, sabotage or something else?

  • Was this terrorism or something else? This unexpected pipeline explosion in northern part of the Sinai Peninsula has disrupted the gas flow from Egypt to Jordan, and some suggest it might be meant as a larger message to other Middle East countries (namely Israel). Egypt supplies Israel with nearly 40 percent of its natural gas supply. source
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30 Jan 2011 11:48

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World: Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu speaks out about Egypt crisis

  • We are anxiously monitoring what is happening in Egypt and [elsewhere] in our region. The peace between Israel and Egypt had endured for over three decades and our goal is to ensure that these relations continue.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu • Speaking to his cabinet about what’s happening with their allies to the south. And of course, Netanyahu has reason to be worried – his country’s relationship with Egypt has a stabilizing effect on the entire region which could go away if things go the wrong way. This is the most we’ve heard from anyone in Israel about the Egypt crisis – Israel officials have otherwise been warned not to speak about the diplomatically-troubling situation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jan 2011 10:24

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World: Some Egypt details from the U.S. State Department’s scorecard

  • yes While not fully operational, U.S. intelligence notes that mobile phone service has been partially restored in the country. (Whew.)
  • yes Turkish Airlines confirms that it’s still operating in Egypt, but other flights (the Delta flight from JFK to Cairo) are no longer taking place.
  • no Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not allow any of his country’s officials to speak on the crisis in Egypt. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jan 2011 15:32

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World: Robert Gibbs on the U.S./Egyptian military aid situation

  • We will be reviewing our assistance posture based on events that take place in the coming days.
  • Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs • Offering some more context as to what the U.S. plans to do with the military aid that’s going to the country. Those U.S.-supplied guns don’t seem like quite a good idea now that they’re aimed at protesters, do they? Some more guarded words from Gibbs: “There is a verty important opportunity for the Egyptian government to address grievances that have been in place for a number of years.” Obama’s folks are certainly doing a lot of pussyfooting today, aren’t they? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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