Category Archives: Political Commentary

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, War Commentary

Ass Clown Alert

66 Comments

Glenn Greenwald and Gaza:

Putting aside the obvious strawmen (no one was arguing that there would “be no more Hamas,” or not a single rocket), what history has shown is that 3,000 rockets, missiles, and mortars landed in Israel in 2008 before the Gaza incursion, and that includes a lengthy cease-fire period. Since the end of the Gaza incursion, only about 200 projectiles have fallen in Israel from Gaza, and, I believe, none have caused physical injuries. Other commentators (but not Greenwald) have acknowledged that they were wrong about the efficacy of Israel’s military action.

But let’s repeat the initial point: Greenwald thinks that ANY military action that Israel may take against Hamas is illegitimate, and that Israel’s only proper response to whatever violence Hamas unleashes is diplomacy. If Hamas decides to adhere to its stated policy that its goal is the destruction of Israel and the exile of its inhabitants, and acts accordingly, Israel’s only resort is apparently to surrender.

And while we’re on the subject of Greenwald, here’s an interview with Greenwald in which he (a) claims that Israel’s boarding of a blockade-running ship violates international law because the ship was in international waters. Ruth Wedgwood, an actual expert in international law, then comes on to rebut him. I’m not an international law expert, and it’s not my cup of tea, but if you’re going to cite international law, you might as well get it right, and my understanding is that Greenwald is simply wrong here.

As was pointed out in the previous thread, if a ship is declaring an intention to run a blockade, it doesn’t matter where it is boarded. And the notion that this was piracy is ludicrous. Yes, this may have been a PR blunder of the first magnitude for Israel, but it wasn’t “illegal,” “piracy,” or a “massacre.” And of course, Israel is in the position of Caesar’s wife, and no matter what it does, other than surrender, it will be criticized.

[Update in the afternoon]

It’s Jenin all over again. As Mark Twain said, a lie will travel all the way around the world before the truth can get its boots on.

[Update a few minutes later]

Stopped clock alert. Joe Biden says that (unlike health care) the Israeli boarding was no big f’ing deal:

“[The Israelis have] said, ‘Here you go. You’re in the Mediterranean. This ship — if you divert slightly north you can unload it and we’ll get the stuff into Gaza.’ So what’s the big deal here? What’s the big deal of insisting it go straight to Gaza? Well, it’s legitimate for Israel to say, ‘I don’t know what’s on that ship. These guys are dropping eight — 3,000 rockets on my people,'” Biden said.

Between this, and the comments of the Secretary of State, it looks like the administration finally realizes that they went overboard on their own recent Israel bashing. This won’t make their leftist base happy.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space

I Got My Wish

9 Comments

Parker Griffith lost his primary. Unfortunately, he’ll just be replaced by another maroon:

Brooks said in that interview that he was opposed to the White House’s plan for NASA even though it may result in additional business for the United Launch Alliance factory in the district, citing concerns about having the private sector being in charge of unspecified “national security information”.

It’s unspecified because it’s complete bull hockey. Why won’t the press call these idiots out on things like this?

Political Commentary, Space

Florida Jobs Transition

5 Comments

The Florida Today is reporting that Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will be in Florida tomorrow to make an announcement with Lori Garver. I have it on pretty good authority that it’s to announce a twenty-million-dollar National Emergency Grant. This is over and above the forty million that Florida is supposed to get, and I think that it’s 2010 money, rather than 2011.

[Wednesday morning update]

I guess it turned out to be fifteen million, instead of twenty.

Political Commentary, Space

The Space Review Today

34 Comments

A lot of good stuff today. Editor/publisher Jeff Foust has a report on this past week and weekend’s ISDC in Chicago, with a focus on space entrepreneurs and the new NASA direction. A young Belgian engineering student says that NASA needs to take a lesson from LEGO in developing space architectures (I agree). Alan Stern says that any SpaceX setbacks this week should not, and likely will not be permanent. Finally, James McLane says that we should do Apollo to Mars. I demur in comments.

Political Commentary, Science And Society

Suing NASA

11 Comments

…over global warming. It would be nice to see Jim Hansen exposed in court for the fraud that he is.

Meanwhile, are we in for a mini ice age?

If Eyjafjallajokull induces an eruption of Katla, that event alone could force global temperatures down for 3 to 5 years. But there is much more at work here.

We have just exited the longest and deepest solar minimum in nearly 100 years. During this minimum, the Sun had the greatest number of spotless days (days where there were no sunspots on the face of the sun) since the early 1800s. The solar cycle is usually about 11 years from minimum to minimum — this past cycle 23 lasted 12.7 years. The long length of a solar cycle has been shown to have significant short term climate significance. Australian solar researcher Dr. David Archibald has shown that for every one year increase in the solar cycle length, there is a half-degree Celsius drop in the global temperature in the next cycle.

Using that relationship, we could expect a global temperature drop of one degree Fahrenheit by 2020. That alone would wipe out all of the warming of the last 150 years.

Better fire up those SUVs.

Political Commentary, War Commentary

They’re Not Against War

114 Comments

They’re just on the other side:

Upon boarding the ships, the soldiers encountered fierce resistance from the passengers who were armed with knives, bats and metal pipes. The soldiers used non-lethal measures to disperse the crowd. The activists, according to an IDF report, succeeded in stealing two handguns from soldiers and opened fire, leading to an escalation in violence.

Al Jazeera on Monday broadcasted footage from the Gaza flotilla’s lead vessel, the Mavi Marmara, showing Israeli Navy commandos boarding the ship. Helicopters could also be seen flying overhead.

“It was like a well-planned lynch,” one IDF officer said. “These people were anything but peace activists.”

As Claudia Rossett notes, this isn’t about peace, or freedom, or humanitarian aid. It’s about making a terrorist-supporting political statement, with the added frisson of killing Jews.

[Update a few minutes later]

Here’s more:

In a later search aboard the Marmara, soldiers found caches of bats, clubs, knives, and slingshots used by the rioters ahead of the IDF takeover. It appeared the activists were well prepared for a fight…

…It appears that the error in planning the operation was the estimate that passengers were indeed political activists and members of humanitarian groups who seek a political provocation, but would not resort to brutal violence.

They won’t make that mistake again.

[Late evening update]

A photomontage of “peace” activists.

And it’s time for Israel to stop playing Mr. Nice Guy.

It certainly hasn’t bought them much.