Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Comeuppance for Ami Ayalon
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/3061 go to web page
for links and photos
by Steven Plaut
Talk about comeuppance!
Ayalon on left, not to be confused with Mussolini, on right
Ami Ayalon, the ultra-leftist cabinet minister without portfolio (meaning
without a job) and composer of his own program for Israeli annihilation to
rival the 'Geneva Misunderstandings' program of Yossi Beilin, was almost
arrested this week in Holland for 'war crimes.' See this. Seems the Dutch
believed a local Palestinian terrorist who filed a court claim in which he
alleges that he had been 'tortured' by Ayalon when the latter ran the
SHABAK. Never mind that Ayalon is far better known for appeasing
Palestinians than torturing them and has never heard of a terrorist demand
to which he does not wish to capitulate.
Now the Israeli far Left has long been lobbying European anti-Semites to
arrest and try Israeli public figures as 'war criminals.' In some cases
Israeli officers were prevented from entering European countries lest they
be arrested, thanks to the campaigns of vilification by Israeli far
leftists against them. Consider the malicious campaign of Israel-hating
and Norman Finkelstein shilling leftist lecturer Neve Gordon from Ben
Gurion University against his own army officer Aviv Kochavi (see this).
General Kochavi had to cancel plans to study in Britain thanks to Gordon.s
false slanders against him (see also this)
Now the idea that far leftists themselves are now being targeted by the
Eurotrash Israel bashers is truly delicious. Indeed, if this new trend
continues, it could save Israel from destruction. Let.s send the entire
leadership of Meretz, Gush Shalom, Betselem, and Ben Gurion University to
Holland and let the local jihadocracy indict them all as war criminals! It
just might produce peace!
In photo, Israeli hero Aviv Kochavi, vilified by anti-Israel extremist
Neve Gordon from Ben Gurion University.
Completely unrelated Haaretz reports that a new movie has opened in Italy
about Jews who run around scalping anti-Semites. I do not know why I was
reminded of that.
See http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027043.html
2. The Putsch of Peres:
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=F2F2F9EE-6F4B-4624-83D5-6D827B053470
3. Haaretz econ editor bashes Braverman and Barak:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027060.html
The irresponsibility of Barak and Braverman
By Nehemia Shtrasler
Once, the Labor Party was the symbol of national responsibility. Today,
the responsibility is long gone and the party is busy with petty politics,
enslaved to its longing for power. It does not matter that the entire
world is being battered by a financial hurricane blowing in from Wall
Street, nor does it matter that the public is panicking and begging for a
new, stable government.
Ehud Barak has all the time in the world. What is important to him now is
how to leverage the present crisis to improve his image. For that, he is
willing to sacrifice stability, economic growth and employment. All for
another few votes.
Standing alongside Barak is MK Avishay Braverman, who has a clear price
tag for Labor's entry into the new government: increasing next year's
budget by 2.5 percent, or another NIS 2 billion - which will be spent on
worthy causes, of course. Braverman says this demand stems from the
expected economic slowdown. But in 2007 and early 2008, when the economy
was growing at a rapid 5 percent clip, Braverman said that precisely
because of this rapid growth, we should increase spending by 2.5 percent.
Then, too, of course, he was talking about very important causes.
In other words, it really does not matter whether the economy is growing
or slowing. It does not matter whether the economy is stable or the stock
market is collapsing. We must always increase, expand, spend, waste -
because that is what the public loves, that is what the pensioners want,
and they want it in large doses.
The Braverman-Barak explanation for why spending should increase during an
economic slowdown - in order to encourage economic activity - is an
antiquated one, based on an outdated Keynesian model from 1933. Since
then, everything has changed. That model was appropriate for a closed
economy, but today there is globalization, an open economy, free movement
of capital and worldwide competition. Nothing has remained the same since
1933.
The latest economic thinking holds that precisely because this is a time
of crisis and fears of recession, it is of the utmost importance to
increase spending only by the modest 1.7 percent already approved. That
would make it clear to the public that it has a serious and trustworthy
government, which stands behind its decisions and does not surrender to
the Labor Party's political needs.
The public is not as stupid as Barak and Braverman seem to think. The
public will not be mesmerized by the baubles the two plan to pass to out.
The public knows there is no such thing as a free lunch. It understands
that if the cabinet increases spending now, it will be unable to proceed
with the plan to lower income and corporate taxes, and then investments
will fall and the economy will retreat.
The public knows that next year's deficit is expected to be large, due to
declining tax revenues, and therefore, adding an additional burden now
borders on criminal irresponsibility.
The public even knows that if the government increases its expenditures as
a result of irresponsible pressures from parties such as Labor, the day
will come when a government will be forced to implement a "New Economic
Plan" that includes harsh decrees, raises taxes and eliminates everything
that had been added. We have been there several times already. Therefore,
the minute the cabinet raises spending, the public adopts a defensive
posture, cuts back on private consumption and investments - and turns an
economic slowdown into a serious recession.
Given the sensitivity of the global economy's current situation, credit
rating agencies will not wait even a moment before lowering Israel's
credit rating, should the cabinet dare to increase spending. The large
deficit resulting from such an increase would require a massive issue of
government bonds, and this would seriously harm the private sector, which
would be shouldered out of the capital markets and would thus be forced to
retrench. That in turn would lead to less growth and more unemployment.
A responsible government needs to think about the possibility, far-fetched
as it may be, that the global economic crisis will reach Israeli financial
institutions, too. Then, the government would be forced to reach deep into
its pockets and implement an expensive bailout plan. That is why it needs
to keep a few billion in reserve, and not waste them now on the political
ploys of Barak and Braverman.
Barak and Braverman believe that if they can just get NIS 2 billion, it
will be perceived as a political victory for them. But the truth is that
it will merely boomerang and hurt them politically, because the public
understands that a time of uncertainty and global crisis is not the
appropriate time for political extortion. The public will see the
"achievement" that Barak and Braverman are seeking as a gamble with
Israel's economy. Therefore, not only will it not gain them a few more
votes, it will bring them contempt and derision.
4. UCI Pogrom:
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=80A8FBA4-8EB8-49EA-9D4A-EE633653F7B0
5. A week late, but cute:
TASCHLICH (Tasch - leekh)
Sometime between Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur,(Day of
Atonement) it is customary to throw bread crumbs into a body of water as a
symbolic act of repentance, called Tashlich.
Most Jews do Tashlich the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah.
Family and friends gather together at the waterfront of a body of water to
"cast away" the sins of the past year and resolve to be a better person in
the year to come.
Occasionally, people ask what kinds of breadcrumbs should,(or might) be
thrown.
Here are suggestions for breads which may be most appropriate for specific
sins and misbehaviors...
For ordinary sins - White bread
For sins involving treason - French bread
For particularly dark sins - Pumpernickel
For complex sins - Multi-Grain
For sins of indecision - Waffles
For sins committed in haste - Matzos
For Tikkunies guilty of substance abuse - Stoned wheat
For committing auto theft - Caraway
For timidity/cowardice - Milk toast
For ill-temperedness - Sourdough
For silliness, eccentricity - Nut bread
For excessive irony - Rye bread
For taking unnecessary chances - 'Hero' bread
For war-mongering - Kaiser rolls
For dressing immodestly - Tarts
For lechery and promiscuity - Hot buns
For promiscuity with Gentiles - Hot cross buns
For racist attitudes - Crackers
For overeating - Stuffing
For indecent photography - Cheesecake
For raising your voice too often - Challah
For pride and egotism - Puff pastry
For sycophancy, ass-kissing - Brownies
For being overly smothering - Angel food cake
