Shady business

The lampshade fell off the table light in our living room because the fabric joining it to the metal top had decayed.   It was over 20 years old and because the fabric of the shade itself was fluted, it gathered dust.  So I threw it out and decided to buy a new shade for the stand that is a beautiful purple porcelain wide twisted structure.  I went to a nearby store and bought a nice replacement shade for NIS 150 ($40) (without fluting).

But, this is where the story really starts, because the new shade was a completely different construction from the old one.  The old shade which was American, had a metal top that was level with the top of the shade with a central hole in it that was attached to a metal structure that supported it.  The new one had a metal part with a central hole that was level with the bottom of the shade and needed no metal support, and the hole was much bigger.

I thought I could finesse these major differences and started to fool around with the electrical parts, but I quickly realized that not only was the old electrical fitting into which the bulb goes, much too small to hold the new shade, but it was also broken.  I also discovered in trying to remove this fitting that to unscrew it I had to remove the bottom cover of the stand and unscrew the screw nut from underneath inside the stand, but I could not get my hand and arm all the way up into the stand, it was too long/high. So I gave up and took the whole thing into the store where I had bought the shade and showed the owner the problem.  He said he could fix it and I asked him to replace the elctrical parts too.  He charged NIS 50 for the work and NIS 50 for the parts, total NIS 100 ($26).

When I came back a few hours later it was all done, and looked good, but he had not yet attached the shade so that I could take it home more easily in two pieces.  When I got it home and attched the shade I found that the electrical fixture at the top that holds the shade and the light bulb was loose.  It jiggled around, and it became looser as I touched it. I discovered that the screw nut inserted underneath inside the stand to hold the electrical fixture in place was too large.  I inserted my hand all the way up inside (and got a mark around my arm where it was too large to enter) but the nut would not stay on. I thought I would have to take the whole thing back to him again, but then I realized that I could simply remove the electrical part and take that back and show him that the screw nut did not fit.

I did this and he immediatley replaced it with one that did.  So then I had to reinsert my arm into the stand again and replace the screw nut onto the base of the electrical connector and using a long thin headed plyers (not being able to see what I was doing inside the stand) I managed to place the screw nut on the thread and tighten it.  Then I put the shade on and screwed on a light bulb and voila, there was light!

I could have bought a new lamp for the price, but there is pleasure in knowing that I managed to get it fixed (with some help) and I kept the beautiful stand.  But, my advice would be, if this happens to you, stick the old shade back on to the metal top and make do.

Lame Duck’s Swan Song

In his speech last night lame duck US Secty John Kerry tried hard to persuade us that he is a sincere and strong supporter of Israel. Then came the “But…”  From the outset he made two fundamental mistakes.

• First he showed that he is neutral between the two sides, but they are not equal. Israel is a sovereign state and a US ally, while the Palestinians are a violent, intransigent anti-American gang. Instead of giving a speech about how he is going to resolve the tragedy of Syria, where the US has lost all influence to Russia, the lame duck US Secty. of State used his swan song speech before leaving office to justify his and Obama’s fundamental opposition to Jewish settlement in the Holy Land.  Why? Because it might disrupt the “two-state solution.”  But, there is no two-state solution because the Arabs have definitively rejected it.  Ask Hamas, ask Fatah, ask Abbas, in fact ask any Palestinian, “are you willing to recognize Israel and live side-by-side in peace?” and the answer (90% of the time) will be a resounding “no.”  So let’s be realistic, this speech was nothing more than an attempt to justify deserting Israel and taking the Palestinian side in the UN Security Council vote and in giving this speech he dug himself deeper.  How dishonest, what moral relativism, what shallow liberal self-deception.
• Second, he stated categorically that there is “no viable alternative” to the Israel-Palestinian conflict than the hallowed “two-state solution.”  But, evidently there is, the Palestinians favor a one-state solution named Palestine, and more and more  Israelis have come to believe that the only way to resolve the situation is a one-state Israeli solution.  That is why opinion in Israel has swung to the right and why PM Netanyahu and a right-wing government has been elected here.

Now we hope for a partner in the US, namely Pres Trump.  He sees the situation for what it is, an important US ally is being attacked and hounded by anti-Western forces on the ground and at the UN.  Let’s hope he responds resoundinglyin the opposite way to Obama/Kerry. There will be no Obama legacy in this area.

UN Anti-Semitism

The UN Security Council has not passed a significant anti-Israel resolution for at least 40 years, and this is because of the US veto.  But, in fact the last time the US veto was used was 2011. Make no mistake, this abstention by the Obama Administration on Resolution 2334 against Israeli settlements is based on political animus towards Israel and not on any real desire for peace.

US Ambassador Samantha Powers invoked the opposition of previous US Presidents of both parties to Israeli/Jewish settlements on the West Bank.  But, all those Presidents also supported direct bilateral negotiations between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs, and opposed an imposed solution decided by the overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian UN.  By crossing this line the US stabbed its ally Israel in the back, and by voting with such stalwarts as Venezuela, Malaysia, Senegal, and yes, New Zealand, Pres. Obama expressed his fundamental enmity to the Jewish State.  By abrogating this basic principle of fairness, this leaves Israel now to take whatever action it needs to in order to protect its own interests (the gist of this was published as a letter to the editor of The Jerusalem Post on 26/12/16).

Here is some analysis of the positions taken by the proponents of the Resolution:

• Israel as the sole sovereign successor of the British Mandate and based on international treaties after WWI, such as the San Remo Treaty of 1920 that divided up the Turkish Empire, Israel has every legal right to construct settlements on the so-called West Bank.  It is merely propaganda and opinion, not a legal judgement, that such settlements are “illegal” or an impediment to peace.
• Calling the West Bank “Palestinian Land” is factually incorrect.  Some parts of it are included in the Palestine Authority by agreement with Israel under the Oslo Accords, but the whole of this area is not “Palestinian Land,” any more than areas of the US are “Black Land,” just because Blacks live there.  There has never been Arab or Palestinian Arab sovereignty over this area.  Before Israel and before the British Mandate it was previously Turkish.
• There is no equivalent UN Security Council Resolution against any other country in the world, including Russia that occupies Chechnya and may other areas, China that occupies Tibet, Turkey that occupies Northern Cyprus, New Zealand that stole the land of the Maoris, and the US that stole the land of the indigenous inhabitants mistakenly called ‘Indians.”  Therefore this Resolution can be labelled anti-Semitic. When they all give their lands back then maybe Israel might consider doing the same.

As PM Netanyahu has pointed out, the UN is pro-Palestinian and is certainly not neutral on this issue.  For example:

• The UN Relief and Welfare Agency (UNRWA), an innocuous sounding name, but this UN agency  was established to support the Palestinian refugees, separate from all other refugees in the world that are supported by the UN High Commission for Refugees.(UNHCR).  UNRWA adopted its own definition of refugees different from that of international law used by UNHCR that defines a refugee as one leaving their homeland, not the UNRWA definition that includes all descendents of those refugees.  Because of this invidious definition the number of Palestinian “refugees” has swollen to supposedly over 5 million, while the number of refugee in all other cases in the world have shrunk.  In all other refugee situations, the refugees are required to apply for asylum in the country they first enter, but that does not apply to the Palestinians. Further, the US pays ca. 25% of the funds of UNRWA, thus helping to perpetuate the Palestinian refugee issue and the conflict.
• The Committee for the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinians (CIRP), is the only such Committee in the UN.  There is no Committee for the Inalienable Rights of the Chechens in Russia, or the Maoris in New Zealand, or the First Peoples in Canada, or the American Indians in the USA, or the Tibetans in China, or the Cypriots in Turkey – nor heaven forbid of the Jews in Israel – no, from throughout the world only for the Palestinians, who aren’t even a separate people, with no separate history, language, religion, only the fact that they are fighting the Jews.  If this isn’t anti-Semitism what is?

The ultimate result of this Resolution 2334 will only be to undermine the so-called “two-state solution.”  We hope that Pres. Elect Trump will soon restore the friendly relations that should exist between the USA and Israel, and make fundamental changes to the US support for the Palestinians (such as defunding UNRWA) and the UN itself.

More Terrorism

The assassination of Russian Ambassador Karlov in an Ankara art gallery shows that all actions have consequences.  The Russian complicity in the bombing of Aleppo that has killed thousands of Syrian civilians was the ostensible reason for the shooter to take this action.  The fact that he was an off-duty Turkish policeman complicates the issue, but the IS has claimed credit.  It was also a move to disrupt good relations between the two traditional enemies Turkey and Russia.  But, this time, unlike the shooting down of the Russian fighter that occurred a few months ago, Pres. Putin has accepted immediately that this was not a Turkish Government sponsored attack and relations between Turkey and Russia have remained cordial.  In fact, Turkey has now joined with Russia and Iran in a peace conference in Moscow over Syria that may help resolve the Syrian conflict.  Notably absent from these deliberations is the USA.

Another major terrorist incident took place in Berlin when a man deliberately drove a truck into a crowd at a Christmas market adjacent to the central Friedrich Church.  Twelve people were killed and 50 injured.  One of the dead was an Israel woman and her husband was injured. This attack brought a strong condemnation from Chancellor Merkel; as well as stiffer security measures around Germany.  Apparently the wrong man was first arrested suspected of being the driver of the truck but he was released.  The perpetrator was a Tunisian man Anis Amri who entered Germany a year ago as part of the massive influx of refugees, but he was denied asylum and had not yet been deported.  One might ask why not, since he was known to the security services and has used several pseudonyms and false ids.  They just don’t get it, this is serious stuff, people are being killed, yet the European security services are still pretending.

They could at least surround all public places where crowds gather with concrete blocks to stop trucks being driven in and have trucks parked across all road entrances, as they do in Israel.  If a man is suspected of terrorist connections he should be detained, if he is denied asylum he should be deported immediately.  Only by taking resolute action can the toll of deaths due to terrorism be reduced. .Finally three days later the terrorist was shot dead by Italian police near Milan.  One must question how under the highest security he was able to travel from Germany to Belgium and through France to Italy.  With such incompetence, visiting Germany is not advisable.

 

 

The Russian Connection

Donald Trump won the US election fair and square.  All this fuss about the Russians affecting the election outcome because they supposedly hacked into the Clinton and the DNC e-mails is nonsense.

Everybody with any sense who would look at the evidence without sentimentality and bias knew long ago that Hillary Clinton was a criminal. Millions of people decided long ago that a US Secty of State who ignored stringent security laws and put US security and operatives in grave danger, whose chief aide was a former Muslim Brotherhood supporter whose husband was a promiscuous Congressman, smelt the odor of corruption long ago. Nothing any Russians did or could do would have changed that.

To suggest that FBI Director Comey was somehow complicit in sabotaging Hillary’s election is also nonsense, particularly after he decided against charging her, when it wasn’t even his positon to make such a decision.  Yes, it seemed that the election was all sown up by the powers that be, but in fact democracy worked and the people chose to change their government without violence.

The major difference between Clinton and Trump was that Hillary like a good liberal told people what they needed, while Trump told people that he would do what they wanted – reduce taxes, increase jobs, stop illegal immigration and make America great again.  No more apologizing and excusing the fact that America is powerful, no more taking a back seat and letting the rest of the world lead.

Obama Sabotages Israel at UN

Egypt brought a resolution last Thursday to the United Nations Security Council on behalf of the Palestinians against the Israeli settlements.  It is now clear that the US under Pres. Obama orchestrated this maneuver with enemies of Israel and behind Israel’s back. Obama is strongly against Jewish settlements on the West Bank, which he regards as “Palestinian Land” (which it is not) and therefore thinks the settlements are a danger to the “two-state solution.”   When it became clear that Pres. Obama might allow the resolution to pass without the usual US veto, PM Netanyahu appealed to Pres. elect Trump, who expressed his opinion on Facebook:

“The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed.  This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.  As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations.”

Trump also brought pressure to bear on Pres. Al-Sisi of Egypt so that Egypt then postponed its sponsorship of the resolution.

But then four other members of the UN Security Council, namely Malaysia, Senegal, New Zealand and Venezuela, re-introduced the resolution on Friday, and with Egypt voting for and the US abstaining, the resolution passed 14-0.  This is a major blow to Israel and means that the Palestinian maneuver to outflank Israel at the UN has succeeded in isolating Israel.   It remains to be seen what the Trump Administration will do when it gets into office; but as Trump tweeted after the vote, “Things will be different at the UN after  Jan 20.” It also remains to be seen how Israel will react to this outrageous Palestinian provocation.

The basis of all previous UN resolutions required direct negotiations between the two sides, and now that that has been breached, Israel may feel that it is free to do what it needs to do to respond.  This could even come to annexation of the West Bank, thus scuttling the two state solution altogether and causing the opposite of what the resolution sponsors wanted.  But, that remains to be seen.  There is no doubt that the passing of this resolution is a game changer.  Shame on Obama, he finally showed his true colors!

The Lessons of Camulodanum

We are not used to thinking of the Barbarians as freedom fighters.  Yet, that is the role they are cast as in a series of programs entitled “The Barbarians Rising,” on the History channel that charts the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.  The Empire had expanded to a huge size, conquering and controlling territory from Britain to Persia.  Yet, its very size was its undoing.  Both from a military and administrative point-of-view it had expanded beyond its capabilities.

The first sign of Rome’s undoing came in Britain, where the Romans had in their typical fashion defeated and ruthlessly suppressed the indigenous Celtic tribes. Queen Boudica (or Boudicea) of the Iceni tribe was humiliated by flogging and her two daughters were raped. Then the Romans destroyed the center of the Druids on the Isle of Mona (Anglesey). The Celtic tribes of the northeast then rose in revolt under the command of Boudica and they defeated the Romans and sacked the town of Camulodunum (Colchester) which was the first major defeat of the Romans. They then went on to capture and destroy Londinium (London) and Verulanium (St. Albans) and  altogether killed as many as 70,000 people and dealt a heavy blow to the Roman Empire.

The head of the Roman armies in Britain, Paulinus, after the campaign in the North returned toward Londinium, but was too late so save it from being sacked by Boudica.  He then avoided fighting the Celts because he was outnumbered three to one, until he carefully chose a field of battle that would give his legions maximum advantage.  The Romans then defeated the less well-organized Celts at the Battle of Watling Street and as many as 70,000 Celts were massacred.  Thereafter the Romans ruled Britain with an iron fist until they were forced to withdraw in 410 ce. But, they never managed to defeat the Celtic tribes in central Wales, Scotland and Ireland. (later Britain was invaded by Germanic tribes, the Angles and Saxons, from 449 ce, then the Vikings from 793 and was finally conquered by the Norman French in 1066).

In Northern Europe the Germanic tribes proved too much for the Roman legions and a line of demarcation then stretched across Europe, from Hadrian’s Wall in northern Britain and along the Rhine and Danube rivers.  Thus the expansion of the Roman Empire was halted. But, then the Huns under Attila swept in from Asia and proved unbeatable, so the Goths and Visigoths led by Fritigern made a deal with the Romans who allowed them to cross the Danube into Roman territory (in what is now Romania and Bulgaria).  But, the Romans treated them like slaves and kept them hungry and imprisoned in camps.  This eventually led to an uprising under Alaric, who eventually sacked Rome also in 410 ce.

This very brief retelling of the decline of Rome has a general lesson.  Empires such as those of Rome, Britain, Austro-Hungary, the Arabs, Turkey and the USSR eventually are destroyed by the uprisings of subject peoples.  Just as the indigenous Britons fought against Roman domination, so we indigenous Jews will continue to fight against Arab attempts at domination.

A New Approach

For the past 50 years there has been a fictional “peace process” in the Middle East between Israel and its Arab adversaries based on the concept of a “two-state solution.”  Yet there has been no improvement in the situation. There is no sign whatsoever that this approach, from what used to be called “land for peace” based on UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967, to George W. Bush’s Road Map for Peace of 2002, to Pres. Obama’s slant towards the Palestinians, is ever going to produce any positive results whatsoever.

Actually the situation has worsened, with the Palestine Authority that was set up under the Oslo Accords doing everything it can to undermine and destroy Israel, first using terrorism and now using international agencies such as the UN to delegitimize and defeat Israel.   And Gaza that is now under the Hamas terrorist regime firing rockets into Israel whenever it feels like it and preparing for the next war.

What is needed is a major change in strategy, a move away from this “two-state solution,” that is the PC term loved by all liberals and leftists, to a more pragmatic solution.  Such a potential solution that might be considered by the incoming Trump Administration might be instead of exerting pressure on Israel to make unilateral concessions to the Palestinians, do the opposite, put pressure on the Palestinians to make concessions to Israel.  Note that not only are the Palestinians the weaker party, but they are anti-American, they supported Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Qaddafi in Libya and Hamas is allied to Iran.  Such a change in strategy might result in a one-state solution, in which Israel annexes the West Bank (Judah and Samaria) and the Palestinians for their eternal intransigence and enmity get what they deserve – nothing.

Resolute Action

The Palestine Authority is planning to bring a legal case against the UK Government for the promulgation of the Balfour Declaration in 1917 (!), that played a key role in the formation of the Jewish State.  First, this Declaration was included in the Treaty of San Remo in 1920 that divided up the former Turkish Empire and second it formed the basis of the Mandate for Palestine that was granted to the UK by the League of Nations in 1922 and that was ratified by its successor the UN when it was formed after WWII.  Many in Britain are worried about this court case, that asserts that the UK Government had no right to grant “a Homeland in Palestine for the Jewish people.”  But, here is the answer of PM Theresa May in a recent speech:

“It is one of the most important letters in history. It demonstrates Britain’s vital role in creating a homeland for the Jewish people. And it is an anniversary we will be marking with pride.”

—British Prime Minister Theresa May on the upcoming centenary of the Balfour Declaration

May also called Israel “a remarkable country” and “a beacon of tolerance”—noting the “crucial” ties between the two countries.  This is the kind of resolute public support for Israel that has been missing in the US for the past 8 years of the Obama Administration

This week the first two of 50 F-35 advanced fifth generation fighter jets from the US arrived in Israel.  Each plane costs m$100 and the deal is financed by the b$3 that the US grants to Israel every year for the purchase of military hardware in the US.  The Obama Administration made this deal.  Although this might seem contradictory to Obama’s general attitude towards Israel, nevertheless this is a great deal for the US manufacturer McDonnell-Douglas.  After all it has to sell these jets to subsidize the US purchase of them.

Last week PM Netanyahu paid a visit to the two central Asian Republics of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.  In speeches and press conference with the two presidents Netanyahu emphasized that these two countries are both Muslim states, and he pointed out that this has not prevented the development of excellent and reciprocal relations between them and Israel.  If they can do it why can’t other Muslim countries.  He stated that this was the beginning of a new era of relations of Israel with other countries, including many in Africa and the Sunni Arab States.

The projected move of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital Jerusalem is another anticipated resolute action by the incoming Trump Administration. If it happens it will bring US relations with Israel in line with those of all other countries, where the capital is determined by the host county, not by the political decisions of the US.

The Market booms

During the recent election it was forecast that if Hillary Clinton won, the US stock market would first go up and then drop precipitously.  But, if Trump won, it was forecast that the opposite would happen, the market would first drop and then go up significantly.

The reasons given were that Clinton was a known politician and people would have some confidence in her governing, but after her spending on more entitlements increased (as with Obama) then the market would suffer.  But, with Trump, the initial decrease would be due to lack of confidence in his experience in government, yet his pro-market business approach would subsequently lead to a market rise.

Well, Trump, as you know, won, and the predicted has happened.  The market took a one day drop of over 800 points.  But, since then it has been gradually climbing, and as Trump has staffed his appointments with experienced businessmen, such a Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchen, the market has risen sharply.  In fact, the market has risen to previously unknown heights, with the Dow Jones Index going over 19,000 points for the first time in history, and it is now approaching 20,000.

For anyone invested in the US market (or anywhere else) this is very good news.  Not only is the US market robust, but the US dollar has gained ground and is now stronger than for some time.  This increases the value of the US economy and as Trump promised, will help to make the US great again.  Everything else depends on a strong economy and Trump is fulfilling that pledge even before taking office.