Taki! I think you blew the ADL man of the year award again.

Mr. Taki - Truly, I most often admire your writing style, and respect your [often] wonderful life experiences and insights.  I really do.  So I bring no animus when I say that by taking a one-sided view of this issue, you decrease your own credibility.  By ignoring the very real concessions Israel has offered and chances it has taken for peace, and the [often] violent answer it has gotten in reply, you only leave the reader with the sense that you come to this with preconceptions, thus limiting the value of your comments.  Is Israel perfect?  Far from it.  But nothing - or most things - are not black and white, and you deprive yourself - and the readers - of deeper insights and possible areas of hope, by ignoring the nuances and subtleties of this terrible conflict.  Presumably, there is some reason many, many Americans, of all stripes, find something to admire or respect about Israel [as indeed even Mr. Pat Buchanan did in an article this past week or so], while acknowledging its faults.  Now, if I may end on an unrelated matter - your recent article on a ‘life in NY’, about your neighbor who grew up before your eyes, was quite remarkable and moving.  I hope you will find the time and energy to bring more such life lessons to your readers.  Thank you.

With all due respect N: There isn’t a lot to respect about Apartheid Israel and it’s amen corner in this country. If you want respect, quit killing Palistinaians stealing their land.  Get out of Palistine it isn’t yours . Even Bush and Olmert realize that Israel can’t survive without peace.

Washington does a lot more than “bow humbly.” All of the politicians with the exception of Ron Paul are totally punked out to Israel. The Lobby’s only apprehension is that Obama might develop a gag reflex.
It’s a shame Patrick Foy no longer writes for your site since his background knowledge were certainly more profound than Arnaud de Borchrave’s.
There is a solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict but American co-dependency with Israel prevents any possiblity of the establishment one secular multicultural democratic state with equal rights for all citizens.

Taki,
Have you noticed that you and Raimondo seem to be the only writers left, who stll keep to the site’s original purpose of telling truth to the neocons without mincing words?

Yes, Taki,
Have you noticed that you and Raimondo seem to be the only writers left, who stll keep to the site’s original purpose of telling truth to the neocons without mincing words?

The rest is sports politics and narcissistic drivel about the infinite fascinations of conservative identity.  S1959 is about to pass and an attack on Iran is pending and this site is waylaid by a very cleverly orchestrated 52 pickup about the heroic Raimondo’s support for Obama.
Get Foy back please

Don’t worry about your critics, Taki: the Zionist State is self-destructing as a result of the ticking time bomb of Arab demographics. Because of the Zionist refusal to negotiate for peace on the basis of the return of lands they can’t control infinitely, Israel is destined to become a TRUE apartheid state, just before it is swallowed up by the sea of Arab hatred and resentment that (justly) swirls around it.

Anyone who thinks that Benjamin Netanyahu is a superhawk is truly clueless. Bibi is a security-Zionist who gave up Hebron and other parts of “the West Bank” for empty promises.
And don’t give me the spin that the international press carries this lie, because the libtards call Bush a conservative and a nationalist too.

Back in the real world, Israel has been giving up territory, not expanding. Gaza has been ceded as has 50 of the West Bank. And all Israel has gotten was a wave of terrorism, now followed by rocket bombardment of Israeli cities. Given a chance, the “Palestinians” chose a government dedicated not to a Two-State solution, or even a liberal single state solution, but the conquest and subjugation of Israel (and Spain....)

But for those who see Israel in terms of Neoconservatives, then facts are just plain irrelevent.

With all due respect RonL. Israel is just making a number of walled resevations to contain and harass the real owners of the land the Palistinians. The whole purpose of the zionists since Israel’s founding is to steal as much of the neighborhood as possible. They have never given up on their goal of squeezing out the Palistinians from all of historic Palistine. There are sane Jews who want an honest settlement on all issues. Lets hope they win.

“With all due respect RonL. Israel is just making a number of walled resevations to contain and harass the real owners of the land the Palistinians.”
1. If Gaza is a walled reservation, wouldn’t the same have been true for 1966 Israel?
2. Real owners? Most “Palestinians” are less indigenous than the Israeli Jews. And I’m not bringing up a theological argument. Between 1890 and 1945, more Arabs and Muslims immigrated than Jews. The dying Ottoman Empire resettled Bosnian Muslims, Albanians and Circassians (Cherkas). Arabs from Egypt and Syria came to take advantage of the improvements and jobs created by the Jews and British. Then after 1948, when Gaza was Egyptian and the West Bank Jordanian, there was even more migration.

“The whole purpose of the zionists since Israel’s founding is to steal as much of the neighborhood as possible. They have never given up on their goal of squeezing out the Palistinians from all of historic Palistine.”

The Jews/Zionists are doing a piss poor job of it. In 1923, 3/4 of “Palestine” was loped of as Transjordan, where Jews could not live at all.
The Palestinians have a state. The issue is who gets what territory in the remaining 1/4 of the land.
Gaza is now safely Jew-free. That leaves 1948-67 Israel plus another 1/3 or the West Bank to the Jews. 83% is purely Arab and 79% is under Arab governance.

“There are sane Jews who want an honest settlement on all issues. Lets hope they win.”
Sane being what, Israel agrees to commit suicide slowly?
Hamas wants war to destroy israel. The Palestinian Authority, backed up by other Muslim states want the 1948 borders + the migration of 2 mi.llion Arabs to Israel, as well as future negotiations over much of the remainder of Israel. That is a phased-destruction plan.

71% of Israelis want to keep all of Jerusalem. only 29% or most Arabs and 1/7 Jews will discuss any partition of Jerusalem.

PS. Where do you live?

@ RonL, It’s disingenuous to claim that Gaza is “Jew-free”, when it’s blockaded and Israel is denying it water and power.

It’s disingenuous to say that Arabs control most of the West Bank, when the Israeli army flattens a negihborhood, killing women and children everytime it “suspects” there might be someone it doesn’t like in the vicinity.

It’s hard to feel sympathy for Israel when its army uses women and children as shields as it machine guns people it thinks may be a terrorist.  Oh, and Israel gets to define “terrorist”.

It’s hard to defend Israel when it uses cluster bombs on civilians in Southern Lebanon, despite its explicit promise to the US not to do so.

It’s hard to defend Israel when it spies on its benefactor, and sells the secrets it gleans to the Chinese.

It’s hard to defend Israel when it violates international law with its nuclear weapons and then want Iran to be bombed becuase it might be doing the same thing. 

These are some of the reasons Israel is losing support in the US

Attention: Dan

From: Patrick Foy

Thank you for the compliment. You and other clear thinkers of Takimag can still read my commentary at PatrickFoyDossier.com

This situation with “Israel” is not just ridiculous, but extremely dangerous for all parties concerned and humanity at large. Sharon, Cheney and G.W., and the “neocon” con men assisting them, have provided the ingredients for the perfect storm.

Indeed,

Patrick Foy

taki you are now the biggest anti semite...congratulations for standing up in the name of the constitution of the united states of america and taking a stand...its happening more and more these days, as americans start to realize that aipac has our politicians under their thrall.

go and shout it from the mountaintops, america is israels slave and her soldiers serve as cannon fodder for zionist aspirations.

Good news everyone: Al Gore was just awarded a 1 million dollar gift from an Israeli enviromental group. It is nice, after being in Israel’s pocket for decades, Al is finally getting some reward. Just like Pastor Falwell and his gift of a jet from Israel. By the way the jack above is me I fogot my new name.

RonL. I know real history, not fantasy written by Joan Peters and MEMRI. I even have a degree in it.What are you complaining about. The best deal the Palistinians can get now is 20% of the land. Quite a deal for seven million displaced people.

Look out 20 years or so and imagine the middle east. No matter who’s cause can be argued is more just, the simple demographic facts are against Israel, and that fact makes her motives in enlisting America in guaranteeing her survival dangerous. That is why AIPAC’s actions are so pernicious as originating from desperation.

I wonder what it is that politicians fear about AIPAC..Its just another lobby, so what do they know we dont?

Al Gore has always, as has his father, been in service to jewish interests. A certain Armand Hammer, Jew, gynecologist and millionaire made sure to rise both Al, and before that Al’s father, to prominence. Armand Hammer is the answer to the question why Al wouldn’t disclose what the initial in his name stands for.

It gets even more interesting when we learn that Armand’s father, Julius, was a doctor, a russian Jew and personal friend of Lenin. Julius Hammer was one of the top communist officials in the Soviet Union at the time. He was entrusted with the task of financing and starting a communist revolution in the United States. Armed with several million dollars he came to the USA but never seriously pursued the intended revolutionary goals. Instead he used the money to enrich himself.

Julius Hammer wasn’t only a communist and a capitalist rolled into one, but he had a sense of humor too. He named his son Armand, so that when the son’s full name was pronounced it would sound like “Arm and Hammer”, an american communist organization.

Who’d think there was a straight line between Al Gore and Vladimir Ilich Lenin? In the stories about Satan’s son, Antichrist, it is always pointed out that Antichrist must give the outward impression of a successful and respectable man. Al Gore is a statesman and well respected in the world, although what he’s respected for is his “fight” against global warming. So he fights against the Sun, which is causing the global warming. The Sun, the source of light and life on this planet.

All that is left now is looking for “666”, the mark of the Beast on his body.

I apologize for interrupting your discussion as an ‘outsider’, but I think Taki’s view of Israel is influenced by disappointment in American foreign policy. Looking at the Middle-East from somewhere else than the United States, I think the issue is more nuanced than “Israel is the bad apartheid state”.

For instance, Algerians kill each other in armed conflict as often as the Israelis and Palestinians. Palestinians are not just captives of the Israelis, they are just as much tokens of neighbouring Arab dictators that love a good enemy. Gaza is as much blockaded by Egypt than Israel. Israel is denying water and power from the Palestinians in Gaza as in not giving them for free. The inhabitants of Gaza just don’t have money to pay for water and power. Which is not surprising, seeing that there are 1,5 million people living on a small patch of sand.

Hating Israel because of pro-Israel American foreign policy is like hating banking because of the policies of the Federal Reserve. It is the American people’s own problem that they have a stupid foreign policy.

Julius Hammer was also a convicted abortionist who spent a few years in prison. Ah for the good old days.

Taki can write very good articles when he writes about places he actually knows, such as New York.

Addenda to the observation of takimag drifting off the subject and answer to “Jet”:  some time ago Paul Gottfried posted an article that was quite stunning (look at the “long aside” at the end of the article). 
http://www.takimag.com/blogs/article/obama_and_his_repondents_and_a_long_aside/
I immediately posted a comment asking Gottfried to provide more details about his observation that editors of paleoconservative netsites are terrified of ADL and SPLC.  Particularly, I wanted to know whether he was referring to Spencer, and, if so, what are the implications to takimag’s impartiality and ability to be critical?  The response was swift:  my comments were deleted, and I was blocked from posting to the page. 

I do not see how my questions can possibly be understood as abusive or personal.  Considering what Gottfried wrote, a request for more details is very relevant and justified indeed.  After all, if he was talking about Spencer, that means ADL and SPLC are now censoring takimag, and they have achieved that feat without having to say a word aloud.  Furthermore, there are not that many paleoconservative netsites, and the editors of those I follow—Raimondo, Scott Richert and the Lew Rockwell team—do not seem afraid of ADL and SPLC.  This observation together with Gottfried’s refusal to provide details and the editor’s “allergic” reaction to my post raised troubling suspicions about whom Gottfried had in mind when writing his piece.  The absolutely astonishing “long aside” thus may explain takimag’s recent loss of its original focus.

Craig Senna: “Julius Hammer wasn’t only a communist and a capitalist rolled into one, but he had a sense of humor too. He named his son Armand, so that when the son’s full name was pronounced it would sound like “Arm and Hammer”, an american communist organization.”

Should he have named his son Sickleand Hammer?

Arnaud de Borchgrave’s a Count? He was a very approachable Count in 1981 when I walked up and introduced myself to him at an outdoor protest that he was covering in Washington, D.C. I don’t recall what we talked about, only that he was very friendly and forthcoming.

Gaza is as much blockaded by Egypt than Israel.

More fiction.

The US puts pressure on Egypt to keep the borders sealed, including threats to withhold aid if they don’t continue to do so.

To begin ,I «have» to declare that I’m not an antisemic, I’m not a racist, a xenophobe,an homophobe, agoraphobe and the kind but I can say that sometime I’m quiet an humanphobe. Sez that, talking about Israel’s right to exist,without recognize the same right to others, talking about last weeks celebrations, talking about AIPAC,all that are ok but one thing stinks, and always gonna be so,and we know it and the Israelis know it even better. The stinking thing is about the circumstances in wish that county sow the day’s light:VIOLENCE
the same violence against the same people,with some variations, continus since, even after 60 years! To be balanced, as N.puts it,there’s violence from the other side too and then the rising question is:wish one is more legitimated?I’m afraid, despite the occasionally peace discources, that the problem gonna be resolved, one day, by the same means that created it;violence.the only difference that time is gonna be the level,degree and intensity of it.the principe behind that? simple; despite what they say, dispite what thay doing, the stain of the creation is inextricable and you can not fool everybody for ever. I just hope my feeling to be wrong.
p.s. Takis and Raimondo are, allmost all the time actuals and accurates...continue in that way, we need it.

Paul Gottfried,
I am still eagerly waiting for clarification:  whom did you have in mind in your discussion of editors of paleconservative netsites terrified about being in the radars of ADL and SPLC?

John McCain has now reputiated pastor John Hagee. It was hard, they had so much in common. Both men are adulters who dumped their wives and children, for youger prettier models. Pastor Hagee’s sin: He offended the Jews. It was all right for him to offend Catholics, who are at least 25% of the Republican vote. We must not offend Jews who are about 1% but control the party.

the Palestininans and now Syria are engaged in peace talks with Israel.  Israel has already made peace with Egypt and Jordan.

these Arab countries/entitites must see something most of the readers above don’t.

I’m one of those Americans (CDR, USN Ret.) who agrees with the late Secretary of State George Marshall on the fatal result of Lord Balfour’s “agreement.” I have no dog in the fight over there, and would rather we spend our tax dollars here than there.  An examination of the international weapons industry indicates that the U.S.A. and Israel produce more than half of the world’s instruments of destruction.  It is only Israel that has a weapons industry in the Middle East. Taki, your article is historically sound, and logical when measured against the US Constitution.

Paul Gottfried:
Still waiting for you to clarify whom you meant with the reference to editors of paleoconservative netsites terrified about getting into the radars of ADL and SPLC?  You must have read these posts, so we apparently have to draw a conclusion from intentional silence:  the answer is something you do not want to post at takimag.  It is not difficult to deduct the only answer which fits that bill.

More generally, there seems to exist a stark disagreement:  Spencer yesterday noted he wants takimag to be “a magazine for politics and culture, although I have been consciously trying to open up conversations about science” Taki’s original idea was “to shake up the stodgy world of so-called ‘conservative’ opinion. For the past ten years at least, the conservative movement has been dominated by a bunch of pudgy, pasty-faced kids in bow-ties and blue blazers who spent their youths playing Risk in gothic dormitories, while sipping port and smoking their father’s stolen cigars. . . .”

The difference is highly significant, because Taki’s original plan focused the site on a subject —a no holds barred, “calling a spade a spade” criticism of neoconservatives and their support groups—where there is limited competition and an abundance of controversial, well evidence-supported and politically extremely significant points to be made.  Furthermore, the site already has two of the leading writers on the subject, Taki and Raimondo.  As to “a magazine of politics and culture,” there is a massive supply of sites discussing these subjects, and many of those sites have several years’ headstart in building regular readership and name-recognition.  To succeed in this “market,” takimag would have to elbow aside all this well-established competition in the fight for readers’ time.  Intentionally or not (see Gottfried’s “long aside"), Spencer has put takimag into a near hopeless situation.  The predictable results of his approach are painfully visible in usage statistics.

Good article Taki!.....As an evangelical Christian, I’m tired of drinking the cool aid of Israel’s victim obsession, and now see them as the aggresser. AIPAC needs to be exposed as the #1 source of political influence and corruption in America!(How bout some news coverage on their spy trial?).....I’m now ammune to the charge of “Antisemitic”, and simply laugh at it as I also want Britain out of our lives on as Foreign Policy perspective!(I guess I’m now anti Anglo, in spite of the fact that my U.S. heritage goes back to Sherwood Forrest in the 1600’s!).....We need to start asking our Congressional Representatives if they have the reading comprehension skills to understand “Impeachment”!

Thanks Kari Konkola for your input.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As for 666, Chris Senna, that was most likely a reference to Nero, the first prosecutor of the Christians. Others say it was Caligula. Also it may be 616 instead of 666.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_Beast_(numerology)