Shiny happy dhimmi - #10

Ob-eds

152

Go Figure: Arab Boycott--Good For Israel, Bad For Palestinians
Back in June, I wrote about how Obama's plan to have Israel freeze building in the settlement was actually hurting Palestinian Arabs, quoting from an article in The Jerusalem Post:The phenomenon of Palestinians building new homes for Jewish settlers is not new. In fact, Palestinian laborers have been working in the construction business from the first day the settlements began in the West Bank.Today, Palestinian Authority officials estimate, more than 12,000 Palestinians are employed by both Jewish and Arab contractors building new homes in the settlements....He said that he and his colleagues working for Israelis earn almost three times what...

Forget About That Freeze On Israeli Settlements--How About That Freeze On Minarets In Switzerland? (
This freeze is arguably going to have a much broader impact in Europe--and beyond.The BBC reports:Swiss voters back ban on minarets Swiss voters have supported a referendum proposal to ban the building of minarets, official results show.More than 57% of voters and 22 out of 26 cantons - or provinces - voted in favour of the ban. The proposal had been put forward by the Swiss People's Party, (SVP), the largest party in parliament, which says minarets are a sign of Islamisation. The government opposed the ban, saying it would harm Switzerland's image, particularly in the Muslim world. [emphasis added]...

The deflated new york times hopes for obama
It's not just the Arab/Muslim world that's disappointed with President Obama, the New York Times is too. The Times has come to the belated acknowledgment - the Washington Post noticed this back in July - that the administration hasn't been very successful in the Middle East as expressed in Diplomacy 101. Peacemaking takes strategic skill. But we see no sign that President Obama and Mr. Mitchell were thinking more than one move down the board. The president went public with his demand for a full freeze on settlements before securing Israel's commitment. And he and his aides apparently had no...

Musical monday #119
(Almost) Every week Elie and I switch of hosting Musical Monday. We provide the lyrics, you guess the songs and the common theme they share. No googling and have fun. Elie still hasn't gotten all the answer for Musical Monday #118, so please check it out! ps if the theme related lyrics don't appear in the title, feel free to add them! 1. Along with Col. Jackson 2. He said, 'Son, now don't be silly' 3. It's just a photograph of someone that I knew 4. And with the slap of a hand 5. I'm ridin' with Lady Luck 6....

The non-freedom agenda
George W. Bush claimed to have had a "freedom agenda." His successor, President Obama has made a point of departing from the policies of predecessor. He's done it in a number of ways. Fouad Ajami explains why President Obama's mea culpas to the Arab world - about President Bush and America in general - haven't worked in The Arabs Have Stopped Applauding Obama: Steeped in an overarching idea of American guilt, Mr. Obama and his lieutenants offered nothing less than a doctrine, and a policy, of American penance. No one told Mr. Obama that the Islamic world, where American power...