Author Archives: Soccerdad

About Soccerdad

I'm a government bureaucrat with delusions of literacy.

Ready for a rumble

Yesterday I expressed skepticism that Fatah and Hamas were headed for a civil war. Maybe I was too quick. There are indications that things have indeed heated up. Whether they’ve reached a plateau or will continue to escalate remains to … Continue reading

Posted in palestinian politics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Israeli columnist: Hamastan is a good thing!

When I saw the following link at Ha’aretz – Aluf Benn: ‘Hamastan’ is prototyope for future Palestinian state, I was surprised. Benn is a committed leftist, and I was surprised that he was acknowledging the danger of strengthening Hamas. Then … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, Hamas, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Comments Off on Israeli columnist: Hamastan is a good thing!

Arab states don’t fulfill their commitments to the Palestinians

The Washington Post reports Arab Aid to Palestinians Often Doesn’t Fulfill Pledges. In 2002, when oil prices were hovering around $21 a barrel, nearly two dozen Arab nations joined to pledge yearly contributions of $660 million to support the Palestinian … Continue reading

Posted in Hamas, Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome | Tagged | 1 Comment

Is there a civil war brewing?

Elder of Ziyon was likely one of the first bloggers to note Friday’s bombing in Gaza, which brought the death toll of Palestinians killed by Palestinians this year up to 122. Israel Matzav wondered if there’s a harbinger of civil … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, Hamas | 2 Comments

Sen. Obama’s JPost interview

via memeorandum The Jerusalem Post interviewed presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama during his trip to Israel. Despite the praise, the editor David Horovitz gives the candidate: And on Wednesday evening, Obama answered my question about whether Israel has a right … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Diggin’ the digging

Ethan Bronner reports Museum Offers Gray Gaza a View of Its Dazzling Past It may sound like the indulgence of a well-fed man fleeing the misery around him. But when Jawdat N. Khoudary opens the first museum of archaeology in … Continue reading

Posted in Gaza, Israel, Media Bias | Tagged | Comments Off on Diggin’ the digging

The answer my friend …

Today Thomas Friedman takes from Texas to Tel Aviv. What would happen if you cross-bred J. R. Ewing of “Dallas” and Carl Pope, the head of the Sierra Club? You’d get T. Boone Pickens. What would happen if you cross-bred … Continue reading

Posted in Israel | Tagged | Comments Off on The answer my friend …

Qantas still hasn’t crashed

Qantas airlines had a pretty incredible save the other day The NYT reports: The jumbo jet, which carried 346 passengers and 19 crew members, landed safely on Friday and those on board left without injury. As a piece of fuselage … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged | 1 Comment

Hating Israel more than loving Palestinians

Today Nicholas Kristof pleads for Tough love for Israel? Before he gets to his conclusion though he writes: Granted, not everybody sees things this way, and discussions of the Middle East usually involve each side offering up its strongest arguments … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time, Media Bias | 4 Comments

The complain, cajole, concede cycle

The NYT makes this sound like a bad thing: Mideast Sees More of the Same if Obama Is Elected “What we know is American presidents all support Israel,” said Muhammad Ibrahim, 23, a university student who works part time selling … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | Comments Off on The complain, cajole, concede cycle

Veneer of tolerance

Late last week, the NY Sun reported that the recent Saudi sponsored conference on religion ended on a “sour note.” A statement read by the sponsoring organization at the end of the conference, wasn’t the same one that participants had … Continue reading

Posted in Religion | Tagged | 3 Comments

Horribly wrong part II

Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy’s Israel correspondent, lets all know where his sympathies lie, with Samir Kuntar. As Israel was getting ready to free Kuntar last Wednesday, the Lebanese militant told guards that he didn’t want to walk to freedom in a … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time | 2 Comments

Knocking off those who would help you

Before Tony Blair was at risk for an assassination attempt, apparently President Bush was. Two Arab citizens of Israel and four Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem were charged with planning to set up a network of Al Qaeda in Israel, … Continue reading

Posted in Israel | 2 Comments

The word of scum

Last week Elder of Ziyon noted a report by David Bedein, that Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev had been captured alive by Hezbollah, and concluded that, therefore, Hezbollah must have murdered the two. After some commenters (myself included) noted that … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Lebanon | Tagged | 1 Comment

Just one more iddy biddy concession and they’ll love you

Before Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in 2006, Thomas Friedman wrote a column, The Morning After the Morning After, in which he argued that the population of Lebanon would eventually turn on Hezbollah when it realized the costs … Continue reading

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged | 3 Comments