Monday morning briefs

So long, Turkey[s]! Israelis used to vacation in Turkey in the hundreds of thousands. Not anymore. They’ve shifted their tourist dollars to Greece. The irony meter is off the charts on this one: Turkey invaded, split, and colonized Cyprus, all while conducting the ethnic cleansing of the Greek Cypriot population. Sound familiar? Why, yes—it’s an occupation. So, the grand Mavi Marmara incident, the anti-Israel incitement, and the constant vilification of Israel by Turkey resulted in a 90% dropoff in Israeli tourism while Greek tourism is up 150%. That’s called “voting with your pocketbook.”

You stink, Ahmadinejad: I just like this one because it’s so weird and funny at the same time. It seems that the guests in Mad Mahmoud’s hotel didn’t like the odor of the food he had cooked for him by his Iranian chefs. So many jokes, so little time….

One if by land: Yes, the latest Gaza flotilla is composed entirely of people that are going to go overland to Syria, then sail to an Egyptian port, thus completely negating the Gaza part and [partly negating the flotilla part] of the protest. Now, there are those out there who may think that the protesters will be accomplishing their aims regardless. I will point out to them that in spite of the outcry over the Mavi Marmara, most activists have decided not to eff with the IDF. Hm. I guess we can call them Israel Defense Effers (and we mean that in the highest of praise).

Don’t hold your breath, Gul: Turkey’s president Gul Dukat (I’ve been waiting months to write that) says he’s waiting for Israel to apologize for the Marbled Marmalade incident. He also said that in olden days, it would have been considered an act of war. He’s wrong. It was an act of war, by Turkey, against Israel. Pardon me while I chortle at the thought of Turkey launching a war with Israel. They don’t have the money, the will, or the casus belli for it, and they know it. Can you say, “Bluster, bluster, bluster!” I knew you could.