Doc's Talk

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Nidra Poller

François Hollande was elected president of France on May 6 with a score of 51.6% to Nicolas Sarkozy's 48.4%. It was not the landslide that had been predicted before the first round, and it was not the photo-finish upset I had guessed at (or wished for) in my article. Officially inaugurated on May 15, President Hollande named Jean-Marc Ayrault as prime minister and took off for a rendez-vous with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. His plane was struck by lightning -- no joke -- and had to turn back. He arrived late, had to endure a formal welcome in a chilly drizzle, and stumbled through protocol, politely nudged and elbowed along the red carpet by his graceful hostess. Predictions, for what they are worth, are that Hollande and Merkel will reach a face-saving compromise. He will back down on his refusal to ratify the Eurozone austerity plan, and she will offer some sort of growth rider to placate the masses.

Meanwhile, sunny Greece is in free-fall and may or may not leave the Eurozone. The dollar-euro rate went from $1.33 to $1.27. François Hollande is visiting Barack Obama. And French media are torn between underwriting the promise of a giant Euro-wide shift away from austerity and an inkling that no one will pay for Hollande's "New Deal" of growth by public works projects.

Just before the president of France left for the United States, he and the prime minister presented their "exemplary" government: seventeen men, seventeen women, and a strong dose of diversities. The Franco-Moroccan Najat Vallaud-Belkacem is promoted from campaign spokeswoman to minister of women's rights and government spokeswoman. Her dual citizenship is a flower in the government's cap. She was, until December 2011, director of the equivalent of a Moroccan lobby. Justice Minister Christiane Tobira was once an activist for Guyanese independence. Cécile Duflot jumped so fast from Green Party chief to minister of territorial equality and housing that she came to the first cabinet meeting in tight plump jeans that clashed with the period furniture and gilded curlicues of the palatial Ministry. President Hollande is trying to fit a Scandinavian-style presidency into the pomp and circumstance of la République française.

The short-term fate of this government depends on the results of looming legislative elections. Twenty-six of the 34 ministers, including the PM, are standing for election. Those who lose must resign their ministerial posts. Further, if the Socialists and their allies do not win a majority in the legislature, President Hollande will be saddled with an opposition prime minister and cabinet -- known as "co-habitations" -- that will stop his program in its tracks. It's unlikely, but it could happen.
European countries are grappling with the impossibility of maintaining welfare states in an uncontrollable globalized economy while allowing mass immigration of non-qualified; non-integrated; and, to a large extent, hostile populations. François Hollande promises that justice will be done and prosperity restored now that Sarkozy has been kicked out. Interestingly enough, Hollande's (underestimated) net worth is over a million, and it's all in real estate -- no sign of investments in the free enterprise, innovation, and industrialization he is committed to promote. The rabble-rouser Mélenchon is worth two million. These humble servants of the people are in the same bracket as Nicolas Sarkozy, the "president of the rich."

The French-Arab springtime
François Hollande is welcomed by the media with a sigh of relief. The buzzword is "apaisement." He is a soothing president who will heal a populace that has been manhandled for five years by the bling-bling hyperactive divisive omni-president Nicolas Sarkozy. Hollande will restore justice and bring together a marvelously diverse population united by the values of la République. The French word "apaisement" (pacifying or soothing) is the source of the English word "appeasement." (But the appeasement we would apply to Chamberlain is "munichois.")

Apaisement is in the air. Clearly taking a swing at the outgoing Claude Guéant, incoming Interior Minister Manuel Valls declared that his ministry will not stigmatize any community. Apaisement in the banlieue. Martiniquaise George Pau-Langevin, undersecretary for educational success, will bring apaisement to the schools. We can count on Tobira for apaisement in the courts. The defense minister is going to do apaisement in Afghanistan by withdrawing French troops a year ahead of schedule. And Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius can be counted on for apaisement in the Middle East, n'est-ce pas? Turning away from Nicolas Sarkozy's tough stance on Iran, the new administration is enthusiastic about talks. Former Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard made a "private" visit to Tehran last week, purportedly without Hollande's prior consent, intention, or intervention. That visit takes place in the context of an international onslaught of op-eds arguing that Iran is a hair's breadth from agreeing to scuttle its nuclear arms program and snuggle into the arms of the international community, if only that aggressive state of Israel can be kept from spoiling it all. UNSC recognition of a Palestinian state is back on the French agenda.

The carefully dosed multicolor government is a faithful image of the population that rushed into streets and public squares all over France on the 6^th of May to celebrate the ousting of Nicolas Sarkozy and the election of François Hollande. As I remarked in my blog posting that evening, two Algerian flags waving smack in the path of the camera veiled and unveiled the newly elected president as he gave his speech at the Bastille. Flags from other Muslim countries were ostentatiously displayed by youths clustered around the base of the Place de la Bastille monument. Dozens of foreign flags were waved that night by uninhibited patriots. What did it have to do with the election of a French president?

Some of those foreign flags were edited out when videos of the festive scenes were broadcast the next day. Media commentary was unanimously indulgent. The flags weren't foreign; they were hyphenated, a harmless reminder of the multiple nationalities that compose modern France in all its diversity. While mainstream journalists remained up in the air, Khoutzpa TV touched ground and made contact with a Palestinian-flagged contingent. Their message is rough, brutal, and supremely arrogant. Israel has no right to exist, the Jews stole the country from the Palestinians, they play on European guilt to hide their sins. You can't have a country for just one religion. We saw what they do, it's on Daily Motion, Palestinian kids are going to school or to the mosque and the Jews throw stones at them, shoot them. A young man says, "We're going to go over there and kick ass. And if that doesn't work, we'll go with guns." Asked to give his name, he replies "Mohamed Merah." And he looks the part -- the same punk strut, the same cold-blooded ignorance.

Disappointed conservatives dismiss Sarkozy as a phony: he didn't stop legal or illegal immigration; mosque construction flourished; he didn't bring law and order to cities and villages; he didn't free enterprise, reform structures, increase productivity. They say he just talked and rushed around the world looking busy. Betrayed Zionists don't forgive him for the vote to admit Palestine to UNESCO, for badmouthing Bibi, singing the song about a Palestinian state being the sine qua non of Israel's security. Almost everyone faults him for inviting Gaddafi to spread his tents in Paris in 2007 and hosting Bashar al Assad for the 14 Juillet celebration in 2011. Some of those voters went over to the Front National on the first round, and only 51% came back to Sarkozy on the second. He needed a 75% crossover to be re-elected.

Many of these alienated voters are counting on an implosion of the UMP that will leave the field wide open for the ex nihilo creation of a genuine political right. It is more likely that the ousted majority will reshape without losing its grip. Those who remain loyal to Marine Le Pen think she will pick up the pieces and replace the devastated UMP. I think she has reached the peak of her potential and will start the downturn.

Tucked into a match between two fallible human beings with contrasting principles and styles stands a referendum on two propositions. 1. The economic crisis was caused by greedy speculators and will be reversed by stimulus spending and the restoration of social and economic justice. 2. Islam is not a problem; speaking ill of Islam is the problem. If we agree that Islam is a positive ingredient of our national composition, harmony will be restored.

It would all be so lovely if only we weren't at war. A wartime statesman asks for blood, sweat, and tears. Not "apaisement." But this war remains invisible to the majority of citizens. They want change. That was Hollande's campaign slogan. They want hope. That's what he offered them. They want the rich to pay for the food and drinks so the party will never end. They want evil to be a harmless word you can erase from the script. And anyone who says there is a war and it has something to do with Islam is labeled far-right and pushed right off the table. Men and women get voted in and out of office, but the ideas by which we survive or perish are not dismissed. The issues that tugged like a strong undercurrent in the depths of this election will re-emerge and demand further thought and better propositions.

Update: Seen from here, the Hollande-Obama meeting in the Oval Office was frank, cordial, and productive. The two presidents see eye-to-eye on growth. They share hopes that Iran will be firmly negotiated into abandoning its nuclear ambitions. They agree that the situation in Syria is unacceptable. They hope Greece will stay in the Eurozone. They are mutually concerned about al-Qaeda in the Sahel. And François Hollande expressed the fervent hope that he and Obama will pursue this fruitful collaboration for many years to come.

Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/../2012/05/francois_hollande_the_pacifier.html at May 19, 2012 - 10:26:36 AM CDT

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.