TGIS

Thank G-d it's Shabbat in another hour.
Being able to avoid observing and discussing the daily decline of our economy and the continued planned assasination of the investor class is worth every moment of spiritual rest.The situation we find ourselves in, can drive you to drink,depression anger,frustration and finally capitulation. The sabbath allows you to bury your thoughts and concentrate on spiritual matters ,especially the welfare of your family and your people.
Unfortunately Sat nite. brings you back to economic reality.
On top of our domestic problems,we see a real lack of leadership on N. Korea,and battling Islamic fundamentalism.
Hamas everyday sends in rockets,and the US wants to know why Israel is not rebuilding Gaza.
Everyday Iran moves closer to nuclear operation and we talk about more talk!

Two more years until the mid-term election is a long time,and the Republican party has a humongous task ahead to get good candidates and reverse the huge Dem. margins.The Dems won, and they have 2,4,6 or 8 years to turn us unto a second rate power,economically and strategically.Hopefully the Senate Reps will not break ranks in the march to block socialism.

AIPAC / TAXES

In this day of reliance on computers,one becomes immobilized when the machine goes on the fritz,as mine did for 2 days.

It is a great victory for Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman the 2 former Aipac employees,who were indicted in 2005 for passing on secret information to Israel.The Judge in tough language,now upheld by a 3 Judge Appeals Court has forced the government to allow testimony that will show that
1-the information was public knowledge
2-was part of govt. policy to use Aipac as a conduit to Israel
3-lobbyists all over Washington routinely recieve this kind of information by the govt
4-public officials at the highest level of govt.,normally share such material as background with lobbyists and groups.
This is an opportunity for the Obama administration to finally drop the case
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MY HEAD IS SPINNING WITH TAXES-TAXES AND MORE TAXES.
THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE MAKING OVER $250,000 CAN PAY FOR THIS 4 TRILLION DOLLAR BUDGET.
THEN THEY WILL COME AFTER THOSE WHO MAKE $150,000 AND SO ON
NOW IS THE TIME TO CUT TAXES AND PUBLIC SPENDING.
WALL STREET IS GETTING WHAT IT DESERVES FOR RAISING SO MUCH MONEY FOR OBAMA

SEN. GILLIBRAND

FROM THE JEWISH TELEGRAPHIC AGENCY

Gillibrand: I won’t bend to Bibi
By Eric Fingerhut · February 18, 2009
New York's newest senator says she'll support the policy that she believes would be the best for Israel, no matter what Bibi Netanyahu thinks. In an interview with PolitickerNY, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) also says she's not opposed to diplomatic presssure on Israel:
In the Feb. 14 interview, Ms. Gillibrand said that the next prime minister of Israel -- based on the recent close election that has yet to result in the formation of a governing coalition in the Knesset -- would “probably” be the Likud Party’s Benjamin Netanyahu, a hawk who regards a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as naïve and unworkable.
“You never know: as the leader, Mr. Netanyahu may find that when he works with America, he may broaden his view,” said Ms. Gillibrand. “He may decide that in the best interest of peace is a two-state solution. That may well indeed be the path to peace.”
Asked if she would advocate that position in the Senate, Ms. Gillibrand said, “I will certainly offer what I think is the best policy, regardless of what Netanyahu says is what he wants to do. I will always be an advocate for the solutions that I think will be most effective.”
And as for the United States applying diplomatic pressure on its ally, Ms. Gillibrand wasn’t entirely against the idea.
“I think the president will use all the means and all the tools in his toolbox to reach a solution for peace in the Middle East,” she said, adding, “And if he offers positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement, that will be a strategic decision for the administration and our secretary of state.”

WHO ASKED HER TO BEND? IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF HER ELECTION CAMPAIGN?

BIBI / Sean Penn / A-G Holder

What is going on in Israel, is that Bibi did not learn the lessons of the past.He ran on a right wing platform,but wishes to govern from the center He forgets those voters who put together a majority number of knesset seats,that allow him to try to put together a coalition.
Israel is not a bannana republic.They should not be frightened by the NY Times,Washington or the EU.If he succumbs to Livni and Barak,he is doomed to failure again.


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Sean Penn who won an Oscar last nite, gave a political speech attacking the Californians who voted against gay marriage.He also praised this country that elected such a great President.He neglected to say how great this country is for honoring somones artistic talents, despite having political views repugnant to so many.

A-G Holder is getting deserved hits from all sides for his "coward" remark,which in light of his appointment is a joke.Nevertheless it would be nice for the Pres to comment on his ideas of a post-racial society, that has a black Pres., A-G and the two most recent Sec's of State. similarly black.This is in addition to the Black Congressional Caucus,and black chairman of the RNC and the Mass Gov. among a zillion black civil servants.
Take a look at tv commercials and sit-coms as well as other series, there are blacks in each scene.
The A-G is way off base, and owes America an apology.

Moses Feuerstein OBM

It is with a great deal of sadness that I learned this evening of the passing of Moses Feuerstein (zecher tzadik livrachah)
His passing is a great loss to the Torah community and American Jewry.As President of the Orthodox Union,his reputation as a great leader has remained to this day.Though I did not have the opportunity to serve under him,his accomplishments and leadership were legend.When I became involved and subsequently became President.he was there with support and advice,based upon his decades of public service in the OU,Torah education and the general community.
In 1958 after being re-elected to his third term as OU President,he traveled throughout the US on behalf of maintaining Mechitzot(seperation between mens and womens sections in synagogues)
In 1934 as a student at Yeshiva College he came up with the idea of a student newspaper.And thus,the Commentator was born.He was the first editor-in-chief.In Jan 2008,the Commentator still going strong dedicated a history of print at Yeshiva in his honor,noting that he was the first and greatest editor in the history of the paper.
He was a leader of the Brookline Mass. community.In 1930 he and his brother Aaron who ran the Malden Mills made a committment to Rabbi Leo Jung,that they would employ refugees in their plant,which they did.
He was a leader in Jewish education,and in support of Israel.
His calm and wise words for young leaders will be greatly missed.
May the almighty bless his family with only brachah in the future. May his mourners be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Israel.

a new ME policy

During the campaign,many of us who questioned Obama's pro-Israel credentials were assured by Democratic spokespersons,usually Jewish, like Cong. Wexler that the doubts were not justified.
Now we see a trend ,and it is not pretty.
The pending appointment of Chas W. Freeman as Chairman of the National Intelligence Board ,which presents with the CIA reports to the President is a serious problem.Ambassador Freeman was US Ambassador to Saudia Arabia from 1989 to 1992.A well known opponent of the US-Israel relationship,he believes Israel is a liability to our country.In1995 he attacked Israel as an "occupier".and decried Israeli violence against Palestinians.
In 2008 at MIT,, he stated that the US reflexively" supports right wing Israeli governments to undo Oslo.
President Obama has signed an Executive order allowing potentially hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza to resettle in US (including Hamas?)at a cost of $ 20.3 million dollars.This was published in the Federal Register on Feb 4(signed Jan 27)
He has taken a low key approach to Iranian nuclear provocations,even as France and Germany are publicly quite agitated.
He withdrew charges against the USS Cole masterminds.
He has behind the scenes paved the way for Hamas to be part of the Palestinian "team" with Abbas,even though they still refuse to recognize Israel,still have Shalit,still send rockets into Israel and have not stopped weapons smuggling.
He is prepared to deal with Syria,even as news from our experts confirm that nuclear material from N. Korea was at the destroyed site (which Israel attacked)
His UN Ambassador Rice,is likewise not a friend.
We should not expect heavy public attacks on Israel,just subtle quiet changes-not for the good,

Good behavior /.Wall St, / Livni /Hamas

I would like to thank my son Elli for the thoughtful blogs of the last few days.
I commented a few years ago, after visiting Disney that people of all walks of life,of different colors,and from different countries etc,are extremely polite to each other.This week on our cruise,with no evident tensions( EXCEPT PERHAPS THE STOCK MARKET),the same was evident.No pushing at the lines or in the elevators,etc.Too bad we can't all live like that all the time.

I consider myself resonably intelligent and a fast learner.However the current Wall Street debacle and the Obama steps to alleviate these problems with no success on the hoizon,makes me confused and somewhat nervous.The real psychological problem for this retiree,is that Obama and his people keep talking of doom and gloom,and the "experts" see no bottom.

I think we should consider Livni's public statements about refusing to join a coalition govt. not as the final word, but as a bargaining chip.Her Ministers will not like giving up their Volvo's.In addition as they get closer to decision time re: Iran, it would be poor politics for her not to be part of a "Unity Govt."
Barak would love to stay on as Defense Min.,however he has Peretz breathing over his shoulder to challenge him for party leader.
With Uzi Landau serving as No 2 to Lieberman,together with former Amb. Danny Ayalon,Lieberman had no room to play games with Bibi regarding who he wished to have Peres choose to form a govt.
The Israeli govt. by refusing to allow the border crossings to open without Shalit,is in effect placing severe pressure on Hamas,who have lost much support among the people.This is because they cannot rebuild Gaza without the supplies that have to pass from Israel into Gaza.

Obama's Housing Plan/Karl Rove in WSJ

It goes without saying that Obama's housing plan, which he unveiled yesterday, is pure lunacy. If you haven't seen CNBC's Rick Santelli mock the plan, its a must see. Here is the link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1039849853.

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Karl Rove's excellent piece in today's Wall Street Journal gives more details to the issue I raised last night, in that appears that this White House is operating from the seat of its pants.

Anti-semitism in Tennis/Obama

Shaheer Peer, a top 50 tennis player, thought she would be participating in a WTA tournament in Dubai, UAE. Instead, UAE officials barred her from the country by refusing to grant her a visa at the last minute. The reason: Peer is Israeli. The excuse: the authorities were scared about security at Peer's matches. (Interesting that a dictatorship with no freedoms was afraid of protests in its country.) Whats clear is that the act of barring Peer from the country was an act of overt anti-semitism. Interestingly, four distinct groups of people could have forced UAE into allowing Peer to enter the country but did not.

1. The players: Not one player dropped out of the tournament to protest this act of anti-semitism. Not one. This is astonishing. Had this been an act of racism, there is no question that players would have dropped out of the tournament. And yet for anti-semitism, the players felt comfortable participating. Their participation in the tournament is a black mark against each of their careers.

2. WTA- The association which oversees the women's tour could have put a stop to this by telling Dubai that the tournament would be cancelled if Peer was not allowed into the country. WTA tour chief Larry Scott decided against this action since it wouldn't be fair to the other players. Shame on Mr. Scott and the WTA.

3. The sponsors- Barclays, which sponsors this tournament, and Sony Ericsson, which sponsors the WTA tour could have made a heroic stand by threatening to pull their sponsorships in responsone to Dubai's actions. Unfortunately, that did not happen. (The Wall Street Journal did pull its sponsorship of the tournament).

4. The media- American media has been amazingly muted regarding this outrage. There has been very little effort on the part of the media to ask the above groups how they can stand in the face of such discrimination.

One bright spot was the decision of the Tennis Channel to pull its coverage of the tournament. Tennis fans should consider how they should respond to this outrage, including avoiding tennis tournaments in the near future.

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Wake me up when President Obama delivers the "change" that he promised. Its becoming clear that Obama 's actions in office won't come close to his campaign rhetoric. Its painful to watch him try to learn on the job as our economy spirals out of control.

Syria-Pakistan

I neglected to add to Syria's list of "virtues", its association with N. Korea in trying to build nuclear weapons.Incidentally,N. Korea looks ready to fire off a missile.Diplomacy with them is the same as with Iran- long, arduous and untrustworthy.

It is disconcerting to read this morning that Pakistan has signed a deal with the Taliban,allowing them to use Islamic law in exchange for a truce in a major section of the country.Of course the Taliban who rigidly interpret the Sharia,will use the truce to consolidate their positions to attack US forces in Afghanistan.
More serious is the future of Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons,and which the world cannot allow to be captured by the Taliban-Al Queda.

My son Elli, if he has the oppportunity will blog the rest of the week as we go on a short cruise.

A new day !

We are in for a period where the US will have to relearn all of the lessons of history,because the President thinks that his eloquence can solve all problems.Thus Sen kerry is off to Syria and the word is out that we would love to talk directly to Iran.
We forget the humiliation we had under Pres. Carter as the Iranians held our diplomats as prisoners until Ronald Reagan was being inaugurated.We forget all the 4 country and EU talks, as well as UN resolutions against Iran all for naught.We conveniently put aside the fact that despite the last NIE report,Iran is getting closer by the day to a nuclear weapon.We don't hear the new administration talk about terror or the war on terror,or Iran being the prime source of funding and expertise for world terror.
It will take some time, bewfore it becomes clear that we cannot do business with Iran unlesss the Mullahs are out.In the meantime as we get closer to the end game,the Israelis especially Bibi, but I believe even Livni would come to the same conclusion,that they have to act unilaterally.
As for Syria the home of world terrrorist organizations,the feeder of Hezbollah,occupier of Lebanon, and partner of Iran,time after time they have embarressed our top diplomats who came seeking to have serious talks.Syria wants an unconditional Israeli surrender of the Golan,and then they may talk to them.Not lilely to happen.

Chutzpah

Israeli politics is a contact sport.Everyone is entitled to join the fray, and if victorious claim the benefits.However, if you sit abroad ,such as in the US, it is difficult to understand why the non-participants should complain over the results.
I refer to the Reform and Conservative religious streams in the US,who are lamenting that Shas and the other Orthodox parties are joining hands in the negotiations for a new govt.Together they have 16 mandates ,more than Labor and more than Lieberman.The Reform and Conservatives have ZERO mandates, because they are foreign entities in Israel.
In truth the goal of these 2 foreign entities is to destroy the Chief Rabbinate,and allow their form of "Judiasm" to have equal billing.The problem is that the people ,even the non-orthodox will not buy into the concept of a Jewish religion with women "Rabbis",gay "Rabbis"and all the other "MODERN applications that these leaders have instituted.
Even the the non-orthodox want a bar mitzvah, wedding and burial according to the traditions of Moses(not Moses Mendleson)
Therefore these 2 movements don't compete.However every few months when the Jewish Agency is in town,their leaders issue statements attacking the status quo.In the end, no one except the Anglo-Jewish American press takes them seriously.Their point is that the concerns of American Jews have to be taken into account.In fact all politics is local,and they are not part of the local solution.
I long ago said,if half a million of their followers made aliya,they would be a part of the discussion.

American Mevinim

There are many democracies in the world,and part of that tradition is free elections.Each country has their own laws and traditions.and perhaps we Americans don't understand ,appreciate or feel comfortable with the individual methodologies.Of course, we are not perfect either.The electoral College,certainly can be criticized, as can the primaries vs the caucuses as representing the voters.
Nevertheless,as I stated previously we respect each democracy except one.
It is outrageous that American Jews and Jewish groups have a public opinion and try to interfere with the results of the Israeli elections. The ADL ,self -appointed Jewish spokesman congratulates Livni on her victory.K Street and the left warn Israel abour a right wing govt. The ZOA takes a opposite tack.All of this even before the official counts are in.
None of these groups or their children fight in the Army,pay taxes or have to worry about Grad missiles.
A coalition government in any country is a delicate task.This is even more so in Israel where the issues of Hamas,Hezbollah,Iran,Jerusalem ,the settlements,and of course the economy are matters of national survival.
Anericans who want to tell Israel where to go,left or right,should call Nefesh B'nefesh and make aliya.Barring that,its time for them to keep quiet and support the process.

Political Drama

WE ARE WITNESSING TWO HIGH STAKES POLITICAL DRAMAS ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE WORLD.
In Israel, the crazy electoral system has created a mish mash that should favor the right wing as Bibi tries to build a coalition.Placing the secular Lieberman and the orthodox Shas together,is something that only a Yaakov Neeman can accomplish.He is representing Bibi,and is the best lawyer-negotiator in Israel,known for the Neeman Commisssion on conversion.
Livni will offer the moon to get Lieberman on board.She would also reach out to Labor and Shas.
The problem for her is that Lieberman wants an end to Hamas,and she could not promise that.

Here in Washington,one gets the impression that the the Dems in the House,are trying to cross the red line that the 3 Republicans and Sen. Nelson of Nebraska have drawn.Their idea is that the Rep. will never fillibuster.
It's not over until the fat lady sings,and the White House flexes its muscle with Pelosi-Stay tuned to both developing stories.

Geithner / Bibi

All the talking heads on the cable shows give the President much credit for his news conference,interviews with the individual network anchors, and his campaign stops pushing the stimulus.
CNN had one consultant marvel that he "talked like an adult" comparing him to Bush.
I believe we are confusing being intelligent and GLIB with sound leadershiup and policy.
Today after so much expectation,the Sec. of Treasury presented a bland analyses of his bailout plan,going over well known problems,but without details,and the world markets reacted with a 4% sell-off.He had plenty of time to put together a detailed plan.If it wasn't ready,they should have held up any announcements for a few weeks.
Whether Obama learned anything from these past few weeks regarding Pelosi and Reid,remains to be determined.
I don't see the Dem. leadership inspiring the center in the economic arena. It is all campaign mode with FEAR.
The Pres. has to learn to answer questions in a 1-4 minute time period and not 10-15 minutes as he did Mon.

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What a blow to Bibi.Though he may still be PM,it will be a less stable govt., then had he won 32 seats as originally thought.Similarly a Livni administration, would be even more unstable. Lieberman is tough and will make mega-demands.Can either party satisfy him?

Israeli electons / Sen Spector

Tomorrow ,everything that is wrong about the Israeli electoral system will come into play.Too many parties, a lack of local representation and the eventual jockeying for coalitions to create the next (unstable) govt.
Nevertheless we must remember it is the only true democracy in the region,and though we criticize,we do so as outsiders.
This election was an extremely negative campaign,though Lieberman at least emphasized loyalty to the State. Bibi did have a clear record of warning of the consequences of a Gaza withdrawal ,which came to pass.Kadimah it would appear would be the most pliable to Obama pressure to divide Jerusalem and give back the Golan.
If he does become PM, how long will it take for him to complete area A to prevent a return of the Arabs to Jerusalem.I recall when he was last PM, lobbying him on behalf of Ateret Kohanim to build at Ras-Al-Amoud to protect Ir David. Finally..finally he did it.
Israel needs election reform badly.It has been discussed in the past,and there are plans to accomplish electoral districts,so that an individual can vote for a local member of Knesset and not the Party list.The will is just not there from the entrenched leadership.

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Perhaps Sen. Arlen Spector will not seek re-election, and therefore can abandon the Republican Party and his state.If he does choose to run,it is time that a real conservative challenge him in a primary.

Netanyahu-Barak / Fear vs. hope

For the last 2 days,I have been pondering to myself the ills of the Israeli electoral system.Here is Bibi, ahead in the polls criticizing the early end of operations in Gaza,and at the same time publicly hoping that Ehud Barak would stay on as Defense Minister.
The fighting within the PM's office between Olmert ,Livni and Barak underscores the problems of having different parties running a war.
My hope was that Bibi would appoint from the many former Likud Generals to the Defense post.
Today Debka.com has an interesting analyses as to why Bibi's numbers are slipping at the expense of Lieberman.
Had the voters wanted Barak ,they could vote for Labor.Therefore the Barak approach of aligning Israel's interests with Cairo, ,and the premature cessation of military action have turned off many voters.
Barak emphasizes air power against the tunnels as an answer to Hamas rockets.a method he used unsuccessfully in Lebanon.
What price Avigdor Lieberman will exact to join the Govt,and will his ascendency bring about a Kadimah victory, we will see in a few days.

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Obama ran in "hope" and not "fear". Yet in the last 2 days his Energy Sec. has warned California will no longer exist in the future.The President says give me my package or its doom and gloom!
So much for the bright side of politics.

war on terror

Often times politicians talk in generalities or semantics.However Pres. Onama's avoidance of the words "war on terror" has real meaning.He claims the war concept makes it appear that we are against all Muslims or Arabs.Therefore he talks of Al Quaeda as the enemy.
Terror such as seen in Mumbai,Iraq, Hamas, Hezbollah and so on, represent an often not coordinated attack on our way of life,that has nothing to do with Ben-Ladin .It also has nothing to do with poverty or lack of education.
Years ago the Japanese terrorists who threatened Tokyo were well off and well educated.Today they have one common goal to destroy the West and return Islam to the Middle Ages.They seek to destroy Christianity and Judiasm.
This war requires economic,legal,political and military efforts. It is not a local criminal activity.Rather all the resources of our nation and the free world must remain mobilized to prevent another 9/11.
The Bill Moyers and Jimmie Carters of the world, by bending over backwards to be "evenhanded", in essence support terrorism.
A must read is the WSJ article by Judea Pearl on Feb. 3, 2009 entitled "Daniel Pearl and the normalization of evil"

Wall Sreet salaries

While I believe that compensation is a matter between corporation (boss) and employee,there is always an exception.Over the years we have seen huge salaries/bonuses on Wall Sreet,and have wondered about these levels of compensation.In the end,in capitalism, you get what the market will pay.Thus ballplayers get millions,because fans support the games and the sponsors of TV coverage kick in mega dollars..
No one even asks what is the compensation for the news anchors and talking heads who criticize Wall Sreet.Again the networks sell time,hope to draw listeners,and try to attract stars.
However,when a business fails,loses money and is about to take the American economy down with them, somehow it stretches the imagination that bonuses are in order.
Surely when these executives turn to Uncle Sam for public funding,the top management should be out,and stockholders should lose their equity.
To take billions from TARP,and turn around and frolic in Vegas,and give out bonuses is immoral.If these people want to leave-GOODBYE!
Maybe a few will get multi-=million dollar jobs elsewhere , but many won't.
The big winner will be Medical ,Dental and Law Schools,who will see an uptick in applications,as bright young students will realize that the multi-million dollar days on Wall Street may be limited for a decade.

A bad week

I have been thinking all day about Obama as our new President.If we look at his performance on personell,legislative leadership and ability to lead,I believe he is in over his head.
He is a great orator,and terrific campaigner.However he never ran or administered anything.So we see sharp campaign rhetoric on ethics but "bubkes" on the ground.
Richardson, Geitner Daschle and the efficiency lady all with tax or legal problems. Former lobbyists being given free passes.
The Pres. backed down on Buy America, because it was not well thought out.
The House bill passed without a Rep. vote., and public opinion is turning against the stimulus.The Obama answer is to mobilize parlor meetings of citizens to support the package-like a fuller brush prersentation.
Question=how many of those people hosting parties know whats in the bill?
The Pres. appears poorly prepared to lead.
Today, Iran sent a satellite into space. and N.Korea threatesn to shoot an ICBM. The rockets fall in Gaza,and India=Pakistan-Kashmir are all powderkegs.
The Pres. is not the superman promised-,but so far he still has good will.However a few more days and weeks like this and the honeymoon will really be over.

Kill the vetting team / katrina / Jerusalem

Now with Daschle out, the next one that should go is the head of the vetting team.What were they thinking?
Obama talked of "change", however we get an administration of "d0-overs."Everyone is apologizing ,and everyone is the "ONLY" person in the USA that can do that job.
The lobbyist ban is a joke,and the Pelosi promise to clean up is an outright lie.Rangel who writes tax-law is still sitting at the helm with no sign of an ethics investigation.
Obama is finding out very quickly that it is much easier to campaign than to govern.

Oh yes remember the mega-criticisms of Katrina aid? Well how come millions are freezing without electricity or water, and the Obama team is hardly mentioned for a fair to poor response in the Ozarks?

If the reports that Livni promised Abbas to divide Jerusalem are true,then the election of Bibi is even more critical,

Affirmative Action / good-bad cops / Thomas Friedman

With a black Pres., Atty Gen.,Senator.Gov. many members of Congress,2 recent Sec. of State etc, perhaps its time to remove affirmative action as part of our lingo.
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Is Pres. Obama playing good cop-bad cop with the Republicans as he makes nice and allows Pelosi and Reid to be the bad guys?
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Thomas Friedman is obviously well traveled,intelligent and respected.Sometimes he likes to play Sec. of State,as when he publicized the Saudi initiative a few years ago.Now he comes up with a master "5 -State plan",which will go exactly where the Saudi plan is.
I cannot envision Saudi troops guaranteeing a Palestinian State(didn't Israel chase them out in '48?)
Mr. Friedman is as secular as they get,although in once talking to him on a plane ,I somewhat vageuly remember that he has a religious brother(chabad?) .
Mr Friedman has to understand,that although he may label traditional and orthodox Jews as fanatical or fundamentalist,every single day Jews throughout the world who have any religious feeling,pray that the third Temple will speedily be built on the Temple Mount. No Road Map,special envoy. or American President can change our beliefs ,or the eventual outcome.Pharoh could not prevent the Jews from leaving and the world cannot prevent Jewish destiny and eternity.
That the Arab wants to destroy us is a given.That we have to avoid being fooled by the niceties of diplomacy and political correctness is also a given.
Sad for me to say, but Rabbi Meir Kahane was right and people like me were wrong in thinking that Oslo etc would bring peace.Peace will come with the Messiah.Until then Israel must remain strong,and support Jerusalem as the undivided eternal Capitol,without any sharing with those who seek to wipe us out.

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Super Bowl, / Iraq / Daschle ? Hamas

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, and while I have no interest in the game (no sports interest since the Brookly Dodgers left Bkly) I find it amazing that the Pittsburgh schools will open late tomorrow since tonite is a late nite.
To me it sends the wrong signals regarding priorities and the elevated role of sports in our childrens lives.

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The election in Iraq has been completed without violence.Millions voted, and we hear little to say "Thank you Pres. Bush for the surge that worked".It looks now that the 16 months pullout was really a campaign slogan.

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Sen Tom Daschle earned 5 million dollars in the last 2 years.Much of it was from speeches to health related industries that he would relate to if confirmed.He was given a chauffeur driven limousine by ba rich friend, and forgot to pay income taxes.His wife is a lobbyist.
If he is confirmed by his former colleagues, then the whole process from vetting to confirmation is a sham.

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The rocket attacks continue,and the Iranianians similarly use hidden holds in ships to send explosives to Hamas.The war did not end the problem.