Of all the news this week, I most closely followed the closing of the PLO’s mission in Washington, DC.
The Palestinian leadership confirmed Monday the embassy would close soon, following reports of a leaked draft of a speech by National Security Advisor John Bolton last Sunday night that said the PLO mission would be shut down in the course of penalizing nations that seek prosecution against the U.S., Israel, or other allies at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Bolton, a long time critic of the ICC, indicated the following day at a summit for the Federalist Society that the measure against the PLO was both a sanction for its insistence jurists open an investigation into Israel, and for present unwillingness to engage the White House in its attempts at brokering an agreement with Israel.
First thing I’ll mention is that I have no special love for Israel. I’m not really a huge supporter of that country. From my perspective, our foreign policy in the region is far too suppliant to their needs and we don’t get much in return for all the trouble. That aside, I don’t much care what they do internally. It’s not our concern and beyond our ability to resolve anyway.
In that vein, I agree with the Trump Administration’s decision to close the PLO’s embassy. Yes, I know it doesn’t look good if we’re trying to look like fair brokers of a peace deal, but really, I have to wonder if we can do that or even should try.
The Palestinian people have had the most self-serving and irresponsible leaders on Earth for several decades now. I can absolutely believe that Israel behaves like an apartheid state and also acknowledge that an independent Palestine would be a complete disaster, right? The two opinions aren’t mutually exclusive.
If the Palestinian leadership doesn’t want to work with the US on a lasting peace deal with Israel, then screw them. The choice to doom their people to poverty and marginalization is theirs alone. It’s clear that they’re not getting the hint and even this step won’t convince them that they need Israel to make a deal with them than the other way around.
I feel bad for the Palestinian people, but I have to admit that I’m enjoying this current era of American foreign policy that amounts to, “We have no obligation to be nice or fair. Do what we say or eat a dick.”
Open thread with a twist! Let’s share and discuss news stories on the topic of the unfairness of life. Anybody got anything?
Guilty until proven Innocent.
The accuser’s RateMyProfessor page is gold. http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=1352705 From 2014: Christine ford is the worst educator I have ever experienced. Avoid taking her class and avoid any interaction with this person. I feel like she has something wrong with her and I am surprised no one has caught this. Also avoid fullerton’s MSW program as long as she is there. And…. Prof. Ford is unprofessional, lacks appropriate filters, and I am honestly scared of her. She’s made comments both in class and in e-mails, if you cross her, you will be on her bad side. I fear to think of the… Read more »
Mark Judge denies:
https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/09/16/exclusive-classmate-named-in-kavanaugh-sexual-assault-accusations-stands-by-denial-of-absolutely-nuts-allegations/
Why now?
https://www.breitbart.com/video/2018/09/16/tillis-why-on-earth-were-allegation-against-kavanaugh-not-discussed-earlier/
It was perfectly played by the Democrats. Sit on it right past the confirmation hearings, wait until the eve of the vote, then release the anonymous story, then have the person come forward five days before the vote, and ask to testify. Now either they postpone the vote, risking making it an election issue for 2018, and possibly losing the Senate and not confirming Kavanaugh, or ram through the vote anyway, giving liberals even more firepower for the mid-terms.
Anybody calls shenanigans on the Democrats, and suddenly it’s, “See, they really don’t care about women!”
It was 35 years ago, the accuser is shaky on the basic details of what happened, another witness says it didn’t happen, and it has nothing to do with whether or not he’s qualified to serve. She should be ignored.
I was curious. Here’s the history of SCOTUS Confirmation votes in the Senate. I wonder if we will ever have another unanimous vote again…or even one not closely aligned to party.
As long as the Supreme Court, rather than the states and people, is responsible for resolving all social issues that affect everyone then the process is guaranteed to be partisan and starkly divided.
look like trump is gonna declassify some of the russia investigation docs.
will this be a earth shaker. or a big nothing burger?
Regardless, everyone should be able to agree that the transparency is a good thing. Whatever your opinion on Trump, it’s right to know why an American citizen who apparently did nothing wrong was spied on.
Mississippi State Police boycotting Nike over the Kaepernick ad.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/09/17/mississippi-state-police-other-agencies-ban-nike-products-following-controversial-kaepernick-ad
Nobody should buy Nike anyway. I’ve always considered them an especially evil corporation for using slave labor to manufacture their products and them marketing them directly to poor people in the inner cities at vastly inflated prices.
I think it’ll backfire on them. When you got to go back to when Kavanaugh was a 17-year-old punk kid to find anything (assuming it’s even true to begin with, which it doubtful), that’s proof you got nothing.
Life is unfair. A recent conversation of this very topic brings me back to this Quote from the TV series Babylon 5.
You guys don’t need the Dems help to make you look anti-women. You’re ticking off every one of the usual awful arguments, like it’s still the 80s or similar. My favourite is the immediate character assassination of the wrong person.
Blowing up in their faces?
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/18/politics/ford-letter-fbi/index.html
https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/09/18/feinstein-on-kavanaugh-accuser-fords-allegations-i-cant-say-that-everything-is-truthful/
Dictator eats so his people don’t have to:
https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2018/09/18/videos-venezuelan-dictator-nicolas-maduro-feasts-at-salt-bae-restaurant/
In Berkeley, taking care of the important things:
https://abc7news.com/food/vegan-mondays-coming-to-berkeley/4263636/
Meanwhile:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/09/17/inside-edition-crew-gets-robbed-while-reporting-on-san-francisco-bay-area-crime.html
I guess now we know:
https://tvline.com/2018/09/18/bert-ernie-gay-confirmed-sesame-street-writer-interview/
There’s nothing anti-woman about any of it. I don’t believe this particular woman about this particular accusation. I have every right not to believe her.
Ford doesn’t represent all women nor do the Democrats speak for all women. It’s time to knock out that mentality that they do.
I thought this already happened years ago. Is this really new or am I experiencing some Mandela Effect shit?
We on the right look “anti-women” to the left no matter what we do. Or don’t do. Or say. Or don’t say.
It just doesn’t matter.
It’s the left who truly mistreat women, while pointing fingers at the right in sheer hypocrisy.
Changing my screen name to better reflect reality.
A new persona and a new verb!
While I’m being anti-woman, can we acknowledge that the whole Miss America thing panned out exactly as expected? I just now realized that it was last week. Apparently few fucks were given and fewer people watched.
No kidding. I just NOW found out that it even happened. Sailed right under my radar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pKjzmUEoiY
Cue accusations Martina Markota is anti-woman.
Checking to see if I still have to enter my Name and Email every time I comment.
Yup. Still looking into this a bit more before I bother zoom.
Something that I learned from the Merrick Garland nomination – there are literally no hard and fast rules when it comes to SC nominations. The Senate doesn’t have to do shit and there is no burden of proof for either side. There doesn’t even have to be nine justices. When the rubber hits the road, all anyone has to do is make a couple of Senators queasy enough to change his/her vote. Nothing more, nothing less. This is a job interview and not a criminal trial. If they are not successful then the vote can go forward. There are no… Read more »
See, I agree with much of what you said in principle, pfluffy. But then there’s this: I can live with it. Whenever I see an opinion from Clarence Thomas I think “Long Dong Silver says …”. Next up, “Bart O’Kavanaugh says … “. It’s all good. It ought to be enough to try to delay a president’s nominees without destroying a man’s career and reputation over an unfounded allegation. This is exactly why I’m so disgusted by #MeToo. Republicans did pull some shit with Garland’s nomination and it was unusual (but not totally unprecedented). I don’t deny it. But they… Read more »
But they never tried to personally destroy him either. There was no need. Garland couldn’t even get lunch with a junior Senator. Republicans treated a “stand up guy” like kryptonite. Are you seriously contending that Republicans never trashed anyone’s reputation? I have no real emotion regarding Bart-O’s situation. I think that he did what she said he did. I would never in a thousand years suggest charging him with anything and I don’t even think it appropriate to impeach him on his current Federal gig. I do think that Republicans can and should do better. There have to be better… Read more »
There’s nothing anti-woman about any of it. Right, just another unfortunate coincidence that you’re so strongly on ‘that’ side of things. I don’t believe this particular woman about this particular accusation. LOL, you didn’t even character-assassinate the right person – it appears you just passed on (i.e. enabled) the immediate right wing take-down of this woman https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/far-right-news-sites-smear-california-professor-after-misidentifying-kavanaugh-n910471 Ford doesn’t represent all women nor do the Democrats speak for all women. It’s time to knock out that mentality that they do. Non-sequitur. We on the right look “anti-women” to the left no matter what we do. Or don’t do. Or say.… Read more »
This is exactly why I’m so disgusted by #MeToo. Some of the metoo stuff is sketchy. I felt bad for Ansari, who had what could be called a very bad date with someone sending wildly mixed signals. I am not a fan of the whole written contract before having sex concept. I think that there is still value in spontaneity and that women should understand that men might want to have sex with them and if they don’t want it back they should just say so. Buyer’s remorse is not rape. This is not what Dr. Ford is describing and… Read more »
Are you seriously contending that Republicans never trashed anyone’s reputation? No. I’m saying that they didn’t do it in the specific instance that you brought up. There have to be better guys available for this. No matter who, Democrats would still find someone to launch an unfounded allegation against him. Despite the numerous women who have come forward to speak well of Kavanaugh’s treatment of women both personally and professionally, there’s no way on Earth he should be denied a Supreme Court seat because of the word of a woman with highly dubious motives who can’t identify the month or… Read more »
Right, just another unfortunate coincidence that you’re so strongly on ‘that’ side of things. Yes, I’m on the side of believing that the women who know and have provably interacted with a man for several years are more believable than a single woman who can’t provide even the most basic details about an encounter she had with him over 35 years ago. Why do you hate all those women who say nice things about Kavanaugh, CM? LOL, you didn’t even character-assassinate the right person You’re right. That was a misfire. Of course, everything on the Web from the correct Ford… Read more »
I’ll throw in a quick defense here since I’m being character-assassinated by CM. Hey, speaking of new verbs, is that one? Here are some of my past posts that speak to my supposed hatred of women. http://www.ridiculousvikingstuff.com/2018/02/26/mona-charen-triggers-cpac/ Most Republicans want President Trump to succeed and are supportive of his agenda, but his attitude toward the women in his life–not simply women in general–is a black eye for Republicans. Melania is a beautiful woman, a wife and mother, and would have been successful in life whether or not she married the man she did. His treatment of her and his previous… Read more »
I guess now we know:
https://tvline.com/2018/09/18/bert-ernie-gay-confirmed-sesame-street-writer-interview/
I thought this already happened years ago. Is this really new or am I experiencing some Mandela Effect shit?
Yeah i get the same feeling, i swear there was a whole hub-bub, 10-15 years ago on this and it was accepted they were ina Gay Muppet relationship, with Ernie being an mentally challenged Gimp, and Bert being a Yellow power abuser type.
She isn’t credible. We have a bit of a perspective issue here. I start with the knowledge that this is not all that uncommon and I add up the supporting information. You do the same in reverse. I can just as easily say that his denials aren’t credible and I would be right. In this situation denials mean literally nothing. It is a stalemate and will be for the foreseeable future. She doesn’t want to end up getting charged with perjury. That is your interpretation and isn’t unrealistic. I can tell you though, that it will be excruciating for her… Read more »
It is a stalemate and will be for the foreseeable future. It’s not though. In the #MeToo era, the accusation itself is the objective. I know that you think that there is this database of women willing to debase themselves in front of the country for the Democratic Party, but I just don’t believe that is even remotely possible. No, there’s a collection of Democratic lawyers who locate, coach, and finance women to do this. All they have to do is find one who will agree to make some statements that are impossible to verify either way, it builds up… Read more »
Grassley read the Democrats the Riot Act and scorched Feinstein. She really did screw this up completely.
Am I hating women by pointing that out? Can’t keep track with these new rules.
https://twitter.com/NumbersMuncher/status/1042570400096501761
So much bias demonstrated in a single sentence.
That isn’t what I’m saying at all. I’m just saying that left-wing opinions don’t mean anything because they’re whatever they need to be according to whim, actual circumstances don’t matter.
See? In your view, he’s guilty. No bothersome trial or evidence needed. Thanks for making my point for me.
Given that the left are simply using Ford as a pawn in an attempt to get political power, and given that Hillary did everything she could to discredit Bill’s various accusers, given how Ted Kennedy got away with letting Mary Jo Kopechne slowly drown in his car, and so on and so on, how we the right look to the left doesn’t mean jack. You can keep acting like it should mean something, but it doesn’t.
I can just as easily say that his denials aren’t credible and I would be right. You’d be “right” in your own mind, sure. But not objectively right. The man has a long, clean track record. Ex-girlfriends have come forward in his defense, as have other women. The timing is suspect, being on the brink of his confirmation. She’s hazy on details, like WHEN it actually happened, and WHERE. There are too many “coincidences” to ignore, like the fact that her lawyer donated to the DNC, MoveOn, the Hillary campaign, etc., she’s a Trump-hater who donated to Bernie Sanders, her… Read more »
I’ll just throw out the possibility that she really was sexually assaulted at a party when she was 15 and the guy wasn’t actually Kavanaugh.
The Browns finally won a game after two-year losing streak …
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/09/cleveland-browns-win-finally-rally-possum-baker-mayfield-fans-reaction
Did anybody kneel???? It’s unimaginable that we would discuss football on an open thread without discussing the national anthem.
Did anybody kneel???? It’s unimaginable that we would discuss football on an open thread without discussing the national anthem. Here’s what’s awesome: I have no idea. I watched the game but, as far as I recall, nobody talked about it. Maybe everybody kneeled. Maybe nobody did. But, by the blessed rains of Africa, football was about football last night. And a team that hadn’t won a game in 635 days beat, on the strength of an exciting young quarterback prospect, a team that utterly dismantled my Lions on Monday Night Football a few weeks ago. Kudos to the Browns! It’s… Read more »
I think it makes sense though. She didn’t like the egomaniacal attitude she felt he had by kissing his biceps and showboating. By sacrificing his career for a cause, he showed a denial of ego and recognition of something greater than himself.
Of course, I think he’s a doosh too, but I think I understand why her attitude has changed.
By sacrificing his career for a cause, he showed a denial of ego and recognition of something greater than himself. That sounds reasonable. I’m still cynical. I think his kneeling wasn’t part of a greater plan but was simply a spontaneous (albeit sincere) gesture. He probably didn’t plan to become the hero that Gotham deserved but, once he couldn’t find work in the NFL, decided to take up the mantle. Put differently, I think he was cornered into the position. He may not regret how it has turned out but I don’t think, in 2016, if you had asked him… Read more »
Oh, I’m sure it wasn’t part of a plan when he started and I suspect that girlfriend of his is the one who put all this in head (there I go again, character-assassinating women).
However, sometimes people find their own “Road to Damascus”. They start off doing something and it turns into a bigger cause. No, I’m not comparing Kaepernick to a saint, just saying that whatever it is he has found himself in, he’s trying to make it count. And making millions of dollars at it, because why not?
It looked promising for, what, the first 10 seconds of the season.
By the way, I’m going to be in Ann Arbor the weekend of November 3. Believe it or not, we’re going to see Eastern Michigan (I somehow couldn’t convince my friends to take in the Wolverines this year). We got a house on north campus. Will you be around?