Rising again from under that bus

JJS

Well, Melanie, you saw it coming!Smoke, mirrors, sleight of hand, all manner of conjuring. And the "audience" will prove, by their enchanted stares, that PT Barnum was right all along when he said there's a sucker born every minute! Which leaves those few of us without blinkers to watch in a very different kind of disbelief.

Augustus

In a number of ways Obama has carefully crafted his centrist image to not reflect his flirtation with radical ideology, and his past alliance with radical activists. He was never a staunch supporter of Israel. His deception is similar to Arafat doublespeak. Arafat tolerated Israel when talking to Western media, but had the tongue of a terrorist when speaking in Arabic to radical Palestinian elements. He said what he needed to say to keep his position of power. Obama said anything to get elected, but his goal is to cut off oxygen to Israel, the only friend of the US in the region.

Conservative Cabbie

I have said that Obama's cabinet level appointments are a good start as far as I'm concerned, nothing to scare his non-supporters terribly. However, it is these lower level appointments, like this one, that are a little more concerning. Having said that, Power is at the moment only on the transition team so unless she gets a post Jan 20th job, then she is nothing to hit the panic button over yet.

Ian Parker

Power v Emanuel? Not much of a contest, really. Israel still has 'her man in the White House'.

Koestler

Thanks for this. I like the sound of this Power woman. Not only is she fairly accurate (if crude) in her assessment of Hillary, but she thinks we should cut off funding to Israel. Excellent. Of course, we should cut off funding to all those Arab regimes etc. etc. Time for a bit of healthy isolationism.
Won't happen sadly, but we can hope can't we.

Miranda Rose Smith

My idea regarding funds to the "Palestinians" is that the U.S. should cut off ALL funds to the "Palestinians"-and give the money to Jordan, which I've been saying for years is Palestine. Give all funds earmarked for "Palestine"to Jordan on condition that Jordan use them to absorb the "Palestinian" refugees. Jews who want to live in a Jewish homeland travel thousands of miles. "Palestinians" who want to live in a Palestinian homeland can manage to travel thousands of feet.

London Calling

Monday 1st December

Good Morning Melanie,

I think we should have jumped on that Bus instead and taken a trip down Memory Lane...

The birth of Israel and the Israel we now have today has lead us to the point of questioning. Where are we at?

We can argue away as to who and what would be best for Israel and the Palestinian people, but at the end of the line we still conclude that its as mess and a mess that needs urgent action to remedy.

It is the majority who wish for peace and the minority who unable to deliver peace and therefore I think it is time for fears and the past to be put aside and replaced with hope.

I do not claim to know the mind of Barak Obama or his intentions, however a fresh set of eyes may do us all justice when all else has failed and failed so terribly.

With respect...

Shy Guy

Koestler
December 1st, 2008 10:20am

Time for a bit of healthy isolationism.

On the contrary! Power has suggested attacking Israel in the past.

But I'm sure you'll be happy either way.

roGER

"...advocating the ending of all aid to Israel and redirecting it to the Palestinians, but also the need to land a ‘mammoth force’ of US troops in Israel to protect the Palestinians from Israeli attempts at genocide."

YES YES YES!

More POWER to Ms Power!

Koestler

Shy Guy(sic) "But I'm sure you'll be happy either way".
You seem very sure of yourself -when making assertions based on nothing. Still, easily done, if you have a radical predisposition to judge the motives of others. Get that seen to if you can. Good luck.

straightchris

Thanks for the good news! :)

stanley Jerusalem

Ian Parker
December 1st, 2008 9:19am

Power v Emanuel? Not much of a contest, really. Israel still has 'her man in the White House'.

What; like Amos Oz?
There's Israelis and there's Israelis mate!

Reg

Wonder how long it'll be before Obama returns to Jeremiah Wright's church, and pardons Tony Rezko.

And if Obama wins a second term, might we even find William Ayers operating in a government advisory position?

Verity

Reg - "And if Obama wins a second term, might we even find William Ayers operating in a government advisory position?"

You don't think he's already in the driver's seat?

Reg

Verity - "You don't think he's already in the driver's seat?".

Well, of course he is. But not overtly or officially.

Raised Eyebrows

When's Melanie going to talk about Obama's hawkish national security team.

Of course not, she might very from the same boring line she takes in every post then.

At least James is using his brain over on Americano...

Wolfram

Raised Eyebrows - I'm sorry you find the overthrow of Western Civilization boring. Some people are just so jaded these days.

And perhaps you'd make life a bit easier for the rest of us if you made your remarks a little easier to decipher.

Jerry

I watched Obama introduce his team for foreign affairs today. In response to a question about appointing Hillary Clinton to the position of Secretary of State, he did not deny accusing HC of merely having tea with foreign leaders as opposed to substantive contacts. Rather, he smiled, saying that the Press was going to have a field day with comparing his before and after election statements.

From this observation we learn that he maintains his radical left-wing ideology. That ideology encompasses the notion that "truth" is a worthless commodity, except in so far as it supports the goals of the revolution, whatever revolution happens to be extant that day.

From this approach to the value of truth, we learn that we will never, ever be able to know what he is thinking or why he is doing something.

From this approach we learn that "truth" is saved for the elite and that the masses are asses, to be manipulated at will.

Melanie, please continue to tell the truth as you see it. That way we can all have a fair crack at understanding the events that are befalling us.

Anthony

Raised Eyebrows, Melanie Phillips has already written on this blog extensively about the so-called 'hawks' in the Obama cabinet.

If you didn't already know, they've had their wings clipped for the last two years, which is why they're not hawks any more.

whoever

Well, don't you worry Melanie. Your network is strong enough to withstand the storm. Why not ask Dave Gaubatz if he has another idea to change public mood. And don't you worry about Obama.

An American

Obama is a die-hard socialist. He's moved his plan quietly forward for some 20 years with all the right backers. This guy isn't going to show his hand right away...look at all of his Clinton appointments so far. It makes him look fairly harmless...doesn't it?
His plan is to slowly change our laws to change our society. It's important to watch who he appoints to our federal benches and the Supreme court...his appointed judges will all be extremely liberal socialists who will do everything in their powers to undermine our Constitution. He intends to use these judges to 'change' America. Samantha Powers, while a concern, is a period at the end of a sentence compared to what Obama has planned for the United States.

Raised Eyebrows

Does Melanie not know what Power's other views are? She makes it sounds as if all Power cares about is screwing over Israel.

In fact most of her writings have focused on genocide and human rights - such events as Cambodia in the 70s, Rwanda in 94, and Bosnia in the 90s.

Now regardless of whether her views on Israel are wrong or distasteful, her work is hardly left-wing fringe mumbo-jumbo.

My point is, if Melanie's going to talk about someone she needs to fairly describe what it is she does and talks about. Rather Melanie seems solely interested in an individual's views on Israel - surely that produces something of a warped world view.

phil

Koestler I seem to remember a period of isolationism -didnt do you much good when hitler and Tojo decided to knock seven bells out of you - ,and the rest of us cannot forget 9/11-wake up man perhaps when we inhabit the moon you can getaway from things

Koestler

phil:
http://www.thornwalker.com/ditch/pearl.htm

FinanceDoc

Here's the interview where Power advocates for a mammoth US military force to "protect" the Palestinian Arabs.

You gotta love how Power implies that absent US intervention, Israel might commit genocide against the Palestinian Arabs.

As if Israel couldn’t have delivered that outcome 100 times over by now if genocide was the objective.

But of course, to understand where Power is coming from, one need only note that she is the /www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.aspx?GUID=1263A3AF-83FF-4A69-8F32-A7B1561DCBA6"> Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

snip

Lindh was a staunch defender of Arafat and advocated an economic boycott of Israel by the EU, a policy long desired by Eurabian politicians. Not surprisingly, the Anna Lindh Foundation draws inspiration from the spirit of Edward Said, the late dhimmi ideologue bent upon subverting Western culture, and values. The Anna Lindh Foundation endeavors to fight what it dubs “Fortress Europe” on Arab immigration issues, and to establish a totalitarian academic structure which alone will be entitled to teach and publish material on the Euro-Arab Mediterranean. It will also monitor the texbooks and university curricula for all of the EU. Moreover, the Foundation promotes the vision of a unified Euro-Mediterranean world where people are not even defined as being from the North or the South, (terms considered too provocative as they might evoke visions of a once-Christian North and a very Muslim South). The Euro-Arab continent will instead be populated by an amorphous mass called only “Us,” without acknowledged ethnic, national, or religious features.

Quelle surprise!

George Steiner

The handlers of Obambi know that it is important not to frighten the natives. If the natives became nervous the democratic majority will evaporate two years from now. In addition there is the minor point of re-election four years from now.

The left today is not interested in revolution but rather the slow march trough the institutions. This is done by slow deceitful apparent moderation. This has already happened to the Brits with the devious new labour. But the Brits only moan now in the Spectator. The British conservatives are a spent force of political pigmies.

In the US the leftwing handlers of Obambi are succeeding already. Notice the many compliments to the centrist moderation of the Obambi appointments.

Conservative Cabbie

Phil

I have some sympathies with Koestler on this one. If I was an American, I think I'd feel a desire for isolationalism too. How many times do they have to save the world before we start appreciating them?

An American

Conservative Cabbie,

Do you think that in the future Obama will come to the aid of a country being invaded?

He sure had other ideas when Russia recently invaded Georgia. In fact, he blamed Georgia for causing the incursion.

Frankly, I'm tired of the US being the world's policeman too. We're hated for it the world over...at least that's what our media tells us.

But history has shown that isolationism doesn't work either. It just brings on bigger wars. Republicans have fought small wars...putting out fires before they became too big. While Democrats procrastinate until they have to fight the big ones...WWl, WWII...Truman dropped the A bomb on Japan.

Yet Republicans are always the 'bad' guys. On the scale of wars, the Iraq war was a blip. And it kept our enemy busy elsewhere. But you wouldn't believe that if you listened to our liberal press and Congress.

I fear that history will repeat itself. That our liberal Democratic President and Congress will procrastinate, be weak and in the process... bring a really big world war to our doorstep.
Let's hope I'm wrong.

Conservative Cabbie

An American

There is some truth to what you say although the GOP aren't entirely without blame for America's isolationist policies leading to a major war. Henry Cabot Lodge and his Republicans in the senate's blocking of the League of Nations (and the ensuing isolationism) was partly responsible for world war II. As a Brit, the last thing I want is for America to be isolationist.We need America to be an active defender of freedoms, I just wish the west was more supportive.