Fausta's Blog

That’s Yasser Arafat, creator of modern terrorism, smiling down on the leader of the free world.

After raising $160,000 for his Reclaim America PAC, Marco Rubio’s shaking water bottles with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel:

Awesome. Rubio & Netanyahu twitter.com/jacktink/statu…

— jack tinker (@jacktink) February 20, 2013

Stay thirsty, my friends!

(h/t Babalu)

Terrorist Ahmed Jabari buys the farm,

Details at The Other McCain.

Again,

A friend had a relative who owned a pharmacy in the former West Berlin that hit a bonanza selling consumer goods (“Shampoo. Soap. Vitamins. Tylenol.” Plus toilet paper, Kleenex, and tampons) when the wall came down.

Thousands of people traveling to Cuba take “Shampoo. Soap. Vitamins. Tylenol.” The island-prison doesn’t have a good supply.

Now it’s the Iranian delegation’s turn:
While Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad soaks up Manhattan high life, his underlings go on shopping spree at discount chains Payless, Costco, Walgreens and Duane Reade
Visiting delegation rack up on shampoo, soap and vitamins. One visitor debated dropping $40 for kids’ shoes at Fifth Ave. Payless

Bargain-hunting members of the huge visiting delegation eagerly visited a Costco, a Payless shoe store, a Walgreens and a Duane Reade in recent days while hunting for discount products in short supply back home:
Shampoo. Soap. Vitamins. Tylenol.
…
The trip to a Harlem Costco secured an assortment of wholesale shampoos, while a drugstore visit brought more than a dozen bottles of vitamins and Tylenol.

Good thing he didn’t try to stock up on Benadryl or he may have been busted. But moving right along, Mahmoud continues to imitate his fictional counterpart,

While the Iranians scrambled for the staples of most Western bathrooms, their Holocaust-denying boss remained comfortably ensconced in midtown’s posh Warwick Hotel.”
Three personal chefs were at Ahmadinejad’s beck and call, and the Iranians booked two full floors in the luxury hotel, where suites can go for $1,600 a night, according to a hotel employee.
The cooks brought in their own food, and the president’s men dined on the second floor.

As I write this post, Netanyahu is asking to “draw a clear red line” as the only peaceful way left to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons.

Let’s hope the world does.

[video added]

UPDATE,
In the Shadow of Ahmadinejad’s Hotel, via Instapundit.

The Lid has the full speech,

Jennifer Rubin:

Without specifically criticizing President Obama in his speech in Jerusalem, Mitt Romney delivered a blow to the Obama campaign’s frantic efforts to defend the president’s hostile stance toward the Jewish state simply by saying: “It is a deeply moving experience to be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.” The Obama administration can’t even say that much, a sign of how reflectively protective of the Palestinians’ sensibilities is this president. Of course, Jerusalem is the capital. It was declared so in 1948. The Knesset is there. The disposition of its bordersis a matter for final status negotiation, but only an uninformed or virulently insensitive administration would be unable to distinguish the two.

In a bit of cleverness the Romney team sent out the text of the speech with this header: “Mitt Romney today delivered remarks to the Jerusalem Foundation in Jerusalem, Israel.” That is a deliberate dig at this administration. which has repeatedly put out documents suggestingthat Jerusalem isn’t in Israel and has attempted to scrub from the White House Web site the reference to Israel’s capital.

Romney’s speech paid tribute to America’s historic relationship with Israel. (“Different as our paths have been, we see the same qualities in one another. Israel and America are in many respects reflections of one another.”)

It also was a forceful rebuke to Obama on a number of levels.

• on Iran
• on Obama’s notion that because he’s been supportive of Israel with military assistance he can be credited with a good record on Israel
• on Egypt, so “the new government honors the peace agreement with Israel”

Legal Insurrection has video,

Barry Rubin looks at the speech (h/t Power Line),

What was especially interesting was Romney’s list of five factors that brought together the United States and Israel: democracy, the rule of law, a belief in universal rights granted by our Creator (a reference to the Declaration of Independence and a subtle rebuke to Obama’s frequent omission of that divine attribution), free enterprise, and freedom of expression.

And then Romney added something that might become one of his most important lines in the months to come: Capitalism was the only economic system in history to raise people from poverty and create a huge middle class.

Full text and video.

Meanwhile, Tina Brown’s Bankrupt Magazine Newsweek Calls Mitt Romney a ‘Wimp’ as they steal from themselves.

UPDATE:
Romney’s foreign travels/travails: telling the truth

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION — ROMNEY OFFENDS PALESTINIAN LEADERS

“If the United States wants to regain its status as a superpower, it will have to begin acting like one.”

My translation of this article: Please link to this post and credit me if you use it.
Thank you.

Israel Accuses Iran of Introducing Terrorism in Latin America With Chávez’s Support

EFE, translated by Fausta Rodríguez Wertz

Montevideo, December 6, 2011 (EFE) – Israel’s Vice-Prime Minister, Moshe Yaalon, stated today in an interview with Efe that Iran is creating, with Venezuela’s connivance, a “terrorist infrastructure” in Latin America for attempts against the United States, Israel and their allies.

“They mean to arm a terrorist infrastructure which will remain dormant, and at the right moment could attack American interests or targets in the USA,” and “Israelis, Jews, or any other country opposed to Iran’s political structure”, he stated. Yaalon, in Montevideo where he met Danilo Astori, Uruguay’s vice-president and other officials, used as an example of that hypothetical strategy the recently revealed plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the US.

He pointed out that that case, of which the US accused Iran, and which was denounced on November 18 at the UN General Assembly, is not the only one, as other past incidents show. “This type of terrorist infrastructure already acted in 1992 against the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and the AMIA Jewish organization in 1994,” also in the Argentina’s capital.

According to Yaalon, the strategy is framed by Tehran’s plans to “export the Iranian revolution, first to neighboring states”, like Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, or the Palestinian territories, and “later to the West.”

The Vice-Prime Minister, who in the 1990s was chief of military intelligence, explained that the information available to his country reveals that in Latin America “this type of infrastructure enrolls Muslim elements that live in the area, and is also supported by drug lords.”

“It is also backed by the diplomatic immunity that Iranian diplomats have in the region,” and “especially takes advantage of the way they are welcomed by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, and through that, it enters the entire continent,” he denounced.

For Yaalon, “the fact that Iranian passports do not require visas to enter Venezuela”, a country which broke relations with Israel over the Gaza situation, “opens the doors to all of Latin America.”

He said that he did not have direct evidence of links between those alleged Iranian terrorists and the Colombian FARC.

The Vice-Prime Minister also stated that he does not understand why Mercosur, the economic bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (with Venezuela in the process of joining), aims to sign on December 20th a trade agreement with Palestine. “What is the special meaning of the accord between Mercosur and Palestine, when the only things Palestine exports are missiles and terrorist acts?”, he asked.

However, he reminded us that his country has that same agreement with each of the same countries separately and with the bloc, and explained that he has attempted to explain to Uruguayan authorities his views of the Middle East situation. “I hope that we can build bridges that could lead us to a common point of view on this”.

Yaalon also pointed out that the attack on the British Embassy in Tehran demonstrates that “the enemy is not the State of Israel,” but “the West, the free world.”

He also warned that Israel aims to “convince” the Iranian regime to cancel its proposed nuclear weapons program, “but if this is not possible,” will pressure Iranians to “decide if they want to create the nuclear bomb or exist as a State.”

Talking about this year’s elections in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, he said, “democracy does not start or end with elections, but with education.”

“We were very encouraged to see people talking about freedom of expression, individual rights, women’s rights, on Egypt’s Tahrir Square. Those are democratic factors, but they were lost in the elections”, Yaahon deplored, as he compared the events with the 1979 Iranian revolution. EFE

End of translation.

Linked by Clarice Feldman. Thanks!

UPDATE, 12-9-11
The Venezuelan Embassy in Washington issued this comunique,

Statement

Venezuela Rejects Statements by Israel’s Vice Prime Minister

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects the statements issued by Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon in an interview during his visit to the sister Oriental Republic of Uruguay, in which he openly accused Venezuela of participating in plots to commit terrorist attacks.

Such abusive and tendentious statements, which come from the representative of a government that itself participates in terrorist attacks against the Arab peoples, are part of a continuous campaign of aggression against our people aimed at spreading these slanderous rumors in international media outlets, mainly in the U.S.

Additionally, these rumors are against a people, the Venezuelan people, who are playing a leading role in a peaceful, democratic and humanist revolution, and who have never used weapons to attack any people, neither create death and destruction.

On the contrary, the Bolivarian Government of President Hugo Chávez maintains and fosters deep relations of cooperation, solidarity and fraternity with all the peoples of the continent and the world, which is widely recognized by Latin American and the international community, as was demonstrated once again during the historic foundational Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

As a consequence, Venezuela denounces and rejects these plans of manipulation that serve dark interests through lies and calumnies, and ratifies that its relations with the generous government and people of Iran are based on the pursuit of peace and development.

Caracas, December 8, 2011

Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs

The headline and lede read,
Report: Sarkozy calls Netanyahu ‘liar’
Microphones accidently [sic] left on after G20 meeting pick up private conversation between US, French presidents. Sarkozy admits he ‘can’t stand’ Israeli premier. Obama: You’re fed up with him? I have to deal with him every day!

Yes, this is bad enough. The real scandal, however, is this: The reporters went along with a request that they abstain from, well, reporting,

The surprising lack of coverage may be explained by a report alleging that journalists present at the event were requested to sign an agreement to keep mum on the embarrassing comments. A Reuters reporter was among the journalists present and can confirm the veracity of the comments.

A member of the media confirmed Monday that “there were discussions between journalists and they agreed not to publish the comments due to the sensitivity of the issue.”

He added that while it was annoying to have to refrain from publishing the information, the journalists are subject to precise rules of conduct.

“Precise rules of conduct”: don’t embarrass some on vital Middle East issues, but make sure to report that Herman Cain asked a woman out to dinner and stuck someone with a bill.

Mexico’s National Migration Institute (Instituto Nacional de Migración de México – INM) has released a study showing that illegal immigration from Central American countries through Mexico heading to the USA has decreased by 70% (h/t Silvio) due to organized crime.

Beltrán also stated that Mexican immigration to the USA has decreased by one third since its peak of 450,000 in the years from 2000 to 2005.

INM Commissioner Salvador Beltrán del Río explained that the decrease is due to the increased risks of human trafficking, extorsion and kidnapping faced by the immigrants from organized crime’s larger role in immigration.

The worst incident so far was in August 2010, when the Zetas kidnapped and murdered 72 immigrants in the northern state of Tamaulipas, which borders Texas.

Los Zetas, according to the US Justice Department, are involved in the aborted plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US which

also included plans to pay the cartel, Los Zetas, to bomb the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Saudi and Israeli Embassies in Argentina, according to a law enforcement official.

The national security threats from drug cartels are not limited to drugs alone.

It’s been a very busy day, but there’s always time for a roundup,
Prince Albert got married…in a maitre’d costume?

The Invisible Hugo Chavez “presided” over the bicentennial celebrations by staying indoors (he did manage a peek from the balcony). Whoever wants to be his successor better keep the army happy.

This woman is sick.

The Economic Case for Supporting Israel
America needs the Jewish state’s technology and innovation as much as it needs us.

The 25 Documents You Need Before You Die, explained in a simple graphic. That’s even if you are a South American dictator, too.

DSK and the death of the novel, via Gerard

Casey Anthony And Some Thoughts On The Criminal Justice System; I haven’t followed this story at all. As James Joyner says,

In a conversation over the weekend with my wife’s family, I was reminded again howunusual my interests are. They were discussing this case in some detail, including noting that some of their friends were DVRing the trial so they could watch every minute of it. Meanwhile, I have been only peripherally aware of the trial–and then only in the way that I’m aware of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and reality TV; that is, one can scarcely avoid hearing about them.

The Case of the Missing Ambassador:US Ambassador to the United Kingdom AWOL For Dinner Honoring Reagan

And, last but not least, Hitchens looks at the Boat People
Some questions for the “activists” aboard the Gaza flotilla.

UPDATE.
Advice for a Young Blogger: How to get a million or less hits on your blog over some unspecified period of time, maybe – and thank you to Doug for his kind words.

Three items,
God banned from funerals for war vets under Obama VA’s orders

UNBELIEVABLE! Obama Administration Puts Israel On List Of Countries That Support Terrorism

Is a bond market panic next?

From the White House, National Journal’s Marc Ambinder reports that Obama believes he can get the Republicans to cave on taxes if he first lets the bond markets panic in late-July. Obama then hopes that Wall Street and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will force Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to compromise, like he did on the FY 2011 budget deal earlier this year.

(h/t TigerHawk)