Obama’s Iran Promises: Security or Votes? � Commentary Magazine

Obama’s Iran Promises: Security or Votes? � Commentary Magazine: Given the problems a unilateral Israeli attack on Iran would entail, these assurances might be enough to dissuade the Netanyahu government from acting on its own. But given the contradictory signals the administration has been sending about the use of force on Iran and the differences between the two countries over intelligence on the threat that Lake reports, there is little reason for Jerusalem to be comforted by Obama’s promises. Israel’s leaders would be well advised to see this latest shift on Iran as intended more to convince American voters of the president’s good intentions than to make Tehran step back from the brink.

Obama’s pledges to Israel lack credibility for a number of reasons.

U.S., Israel Discuss Triggers for Bombing Iran’s Nuclear Infrastructure - The Daily Beast

U.S., Israel Discuss Triggers for Bombing Iran’s Nuclear Infrastructure - The Daily Beast: Matthew Kroenig, who served as special adviser on Iran to the Office of the Secretary of Defense between July 2010 and July 2011, offered some of the possible “red lines” for a military strike in a recent Foreign Affairs article he wrote. He argued that the U.S should attack Iran’s facilities if Iran expels international nuclear weapons inspectors, begins enriching its stockpiles of uranium to weapons-grade levels of 90 percent, or installs advanced centrifuges at its main uranium-enrichment facility in Qom.

Got To Get Jew Into My Life: Is Paul McCartney Converting For Nancy Shevell?: Gothamist

Got To Get Jew Into My Life: Is Paul McCartney Converting For Nancy Shevell?: Gothamist

While no one would confuse "McCartney" as a Hebrew name, Sir Paul does seem to have a thing for nice Jewish girls. His first wife, Linda, was a member of the tribe, and apparently Macca had talked about converting after marrying her, but "never got around to it." After a brief stint with shiksa Heather Mills, McCartney has once again fallen for a Jew, current MTA board member Nancy Shevell, whom he married last month. And this time, he's being a real mensch.

National Enquirer is reporting that Macca, who was baptized as a Roman Catholic but was "admittedly never very devout," promised Shevell that he'll convert to Judaism, as she takes religion rather seriously. The two reportedly spent the night before their wedding at Yom Kippur services, and McCartney apparently told his friends he'll be completing his conversion studies next year. Mazel tov, you crazy kids! Let's hope Shevell doesn't turn out to be a real Lady Meshugganah. Remember: All you need is l'chaim.

Guide for the Perplexed | FrontPage Magazine

Guide for the Perplexed | FrontPage Magazine: I have come to realize just how difficult it may be to decipher news about the Middle East, Islam, Israel, the Arab World, and all these powerful and explosive issues of our times for those who rely on such media stalwarts as The New York Times​, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the major television networks, cable news, etc. for their information. For example, how is a person to ascertain whether the slayer of a family is a terrorist or a militant or a gunman or an assailant or an activist or a freedom-fighter?

So, purely as a public service, I have organized the following glossary of the most pertinent terms and expressions, as typically used in the above-mentioned news sources. I hope, insha’allah, the reader will find it helpful to unravel the Gordian Knot of language that is today’s (and yesterday’s and tomorrow’s) Middle East!

IDF sets up Magic Wand Unit - Israel News, Ynetnews

IDF sets up Magic Wand Unit - Israel News, Ynetnews: The IDF is perparing to establish a new unit that will address missile threats on densely populated areas in central Israel.



After the deployment of the Iron Dome missile defense system, which has provided southern Israel with limited yet efficient protection from Qassam and Grad missiles, the defense establishment is forging ahead with developing the Magic Wand system, designed to thwart mid and long-rage missiles.

Personal info of 9 million Israelis stolen, available online

Personal info of 9 million Israelis stolen, available online: I think this incident just goes to show that no database can ever be 100 percent secure, but it must be extremely galling when your own country can't guarantee that the information it has stored on you will be kept safe and confidential - especially when that information wasn't volunteered but collected by default.

San Diego Reader | Hidden Pipeline, Secret Menace?

San Diego Reader | Hidden Pipeline, Secret Menace?: Some residents refer to it as the Sleeping Giant. An eight-inch-diameter Navy pipeline, carrying diesel and jet fuel from Point Loma to Miramar, lies beneath San Diego streets and canyons. Each year, 323 million gallons of fuel are pumped through the pipe at 800 pounds of pressure per square inch. The pipeline is 57 years old.

Missing Libya Missiles Find Their Way to Gaza Border - ABC News

Missing Libya Missiles Find Their Way to Gaza Border - ABC News: Some of the thousands of surface-to-air missiles that have gone missing since the collapse of the Gadhafi regime in Libya have now turned up just miles from the Israeli border.

Egypt: Planes patrol Sinai without Israel's consent - Israel News, Ynetnews

Egypt: Planes patrol Sinai without Israel's consent - Israel News, Ynetnews: Egypt's Air force chief dispatches warplanes to patrol border with Israel, despite peace treaty terms, MENA news agency reports; 'We do not need permission to increase our forces on our land,' General Reda Hafiz says

Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet

Computer virus hits US Predator and Reaper drone fleet: But despite their widespread use, the drone systems are known to have security flaws. Many Reapers and Predators don’t encrypt the video they transmit to American troops on the ground. In the summer of 2009, US forces discovered “days and days and hours and hours” of the drone footage on the laptops of Iraqi insurgents. A $26 piece of software allowed the militants to capture the video.

Israel to Assad: We Will Bomb Gaza, Whole of Lebanon if Tel Aviv Attacked - Naharnet

Israel to Assad: We Will Bomb Gaza, Whole of Lebanon if Tel Aviv Attacked - Naharnet: Israel has warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that should Tel Aviv be attacked, then it will retaliate by bombing the Gaza Strip and the whole of Lebanon

Gaza and Gas | FrontPage Magazine

Gaza and Gas | FrontPage Magazine: The Turkish-Israeli dispute over natural resources under the eastern Mediterranean’s seabed may soon enter a new and much more dangerous phase.

Last week, it appeared Turkey was going to make good on its threats to stop a joint Israeli-Greek Cypriot venture to explore for natural gas in Greek Cypriot waters and at the same time, militarily challenge Israel’s presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. But as the Texas-based Noble Energy company moved a rig from Israeli waters into position off of Greek Cyprus’ south-eastern coast to begin drilling, Turkish naval vessels and warplanes limited their actions to shadowing the transfer operation, keeping outside of Greek Cypriot waters and airspace. Turkey now appears resigned, at least for the moment, to halting the project through the offices of the United Nations (UN).

Showdown in Cyprus | FrontPage Magazine

Showdown in Cyprus | FrontPage Magazine: While world attention has been focused on a Turkish-Israeli military showdown over aid flotillas to Gaza, a possibly even more dangerous dispute is unfolding between Turkey and Israel-allied Cyprus. Tensions between the two countries are at their highest level in years, as the Greek Cypriot government in the divided island’s southern half went ahead with plans to have Texas-based Noble Energy start offshore exploration for natural gas in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Note to Erdogan: Nobody Likes the Turks � Commentary Magazine

Note to Erdogan: Nobody Likes the Turks � Commentary Magazine: In 1822, the Ottomans dispatched 40,000 Turkish troops to the Greek island of Chios with orders to kill all infants under three-years-old, all males over 12-years-old, and all females over 40-years-old, except those willing to convert to Islam. Some 20,000 Greeks were killed and the island was depopulated, eradicating a 2,000 year culture. Two years later, Ottoman soldiers burned the island of Kasos to the ground and killed 7,000 of its inhabitants. Eventually, Europeans navies dispatched by Britain and France, and a navy dispatched by Russia, intervened to stop the atrocities.

Greece: Wall to be built along Turkish b... JPost - International

Greece: Wall to be built along Turkish b... JPost - International: Minister says country can't take in anymore illegal immigrants; says barrier will be similar to wall built on US-Mexico border.

Swelling list of demands fuels Israel protests - FT.com

Swelling list of demands fuels Israel protests - FT.com: "Israel’s social protest movement started with a tent on Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard and a few voices demanding affordable housing. In less than a month it has grown into a national phenomenon – and perhaps the most serious challenge yet to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Last Saturday, more than 250,000 Israelis took to the street to call for social reform. Tent cities have sprung up across the country, drawing in an ever-expanding cast of protesters – from students to pensioners, and Holocaust survivors to taxi drivers."

World's first 'printed' airplane takes to the skies | ZDNet

World's first 'printed' airplane takes to the skies | ZDNet: "The plane, called SULSA (Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft), was printed on an EOS EOSINT P730 nylon laser sintering machine, which fabricates plastic or metal objects, building up the item layer by layer.

Once all the components were printed, assembly took minutes, say the engineers. No fasteners were used and all equipment was attached using ’snap fit’ techniques so that the entire aircraft can be put together without tools."

The future of the black box flight recorder explored (Wired UK)

The future of the black box flight recorder explored (Wired UK): "The tragedy of Air France 447 might have been on the minds of executives from Bombardier, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer, when they announced in 2010 that their new CSeries narrow-body jets, scheduled to come to market in 2013, would be the first commercial airliners built with the capability to transmit telemetry data instead of merely recording it. The idea -- to stream black-box data in real time, either directly to a ground station or by satellite relay -- isn't new, even though there remains no consensus on whether to call it an uplink, which is conceptually accurate, or a downlink, which expresses the physical relationship of an aeroplane to the ground."

Sinai: From Buffer to Badlands | FrontPage Magazine

Sinai: From Buffer to Badlands | FrontPage Magazine: "arms shipments to the Strip have been surging…: everything that has been sent by the Iranians and their emissaries in recent years and was hidden by the Bedouins…has flowed freely into Gaza in the past five months. Meanwhile, new shipments arrived and were transferred to Hamas and Islamic Jihad without delay or a need to hide them."

Get a Free Snapshot of Your Car's Health - Popular Mechanics Reader Special - Popular Mechanics

Get a Free Snapshot of Your Car's Health - Popular Mechanics Reader Special - Popular Mechanics: "Are you wondering what part of your car will be the next to go south, and what it will cost to fix it? Or are you just curious why that pesky check engine light won't go off? At PM, we're bringing our readers a new and quick way to get a vehicle health snapshot, and know in advance what maintenance could be around the corner.

CarMD, the company that sells the inexpensive diagnostic tool by the same name, has amassed huge database of auto repair information. That info comes from two main sources: the hundreds of thousands of CarMD tools that customers have hooked up to the Internet looking for answers for why their 'check engine' light is on, and from thousands of professional mechanics CarMD keeps on retainer to provide those answers"

6 False Lessons Of The Space Shuttle - Atlantis Final Flight - Popular Mechanics

6 False Lessons Of The Space Shuttle - Atlantis Final Flight - Popular Mechanics: "The last space shuttle flight has now launched. And with Atlantis safely in orbit, many are reflecting on the legacy of the shuttle program, which lasted a little over three decades and for much of that time was at the center of America's human spaceflight program. While it was a magnificent technological achievement, and had many great accomplishments, it was a failure in the primary purpose for which it was built: to dramatically reduce the cost of access to space, and make such trips routine and safe. So as NASA heads into an uncertain future, many are drawing lessons from the shuttle experience to apply to policy going forward."

Barack Obama’s Top Ten Insults Against Israel | FrontPage Magazine

Barack Obama’s Top Ten Insults Against Israel | FrontPage Magazine

The Korean-Talmud Love Affair - - News - Israel National News

The Korean-Talmud Love Affair - - News - Israel National News: "Reports of the Talmud being a national classic in S. Korea have been floating around for years, but it’s now official: Students must study Talmud."

YouTube - ‪Latma presents: The Audacity of Dopes Band brings you "Guns, Guns, Guns!"‬‏

YouTube - ‪Latma presents: The Audacity of Dopes Band brings you "Guns, Guns, Guns!"‬‏

Greeks stop another Gaza-bound ship - Israel News, Ynetnews

Greeks stop another Gaza-bound ship - Israel News, Ynetnews: "Greek authorities have said that ships carrying activists destined for Gaza with aid for Palestinians were prohibited from leaving Greek ports."

U.S., EU Seek to Revive Mideast Peace Talks - WSJ.com

U.S., EU Seek to Revive Mideast Peace Talks - WSJ.com: "This intensified diplomatic activity is being driven by mounting concerns in Washington and Europe that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's push for a U.N. General Assembly vote on a state embodying the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem set for September could have far-reaching implications for Mideast stability. The Palestinians currently have the status of U.N. observers without voting rights but are hoping that a September vote would give them status as a sovereign member.

Such a vote would have only limited legal implications for the Palestinians, according to Western and Arab diplomats, and would likely pass by a wide margin. But there are concerns a yes vote could raise expectations among Palestinians, hopes that might quickly succumb to violent discontent among Arab groups if the actual creation of an independent state remains elusive."

State TV: Greek Socialists in power-sharing talks - Yahoo! News

State TV: Greek Socialists in power-sharing talks - Yahoo! News: "The protests in Athens and in the northern city of Thessaloniki, where another 20,000 people rallied peacefully, were part of a 24-hour general strike, the result of months of growing frustration over the country's slide."

White House Insider: Obama’s Rage Over Netanyahu Meeting: "What the F-ck was that?" | Newsflavor

White House Insider: Obama’s Rage Over Netanyahu Meeting: "What the F-ck was that?" | Newsflavor: "The essence of the president’s rage and embarrassment can best be summed up with him yelling out very loudly, “What the f-ck was that!?” That phrase was apparently repeated a number of times in the span of about five minutes, a time period in which Obama’s voice became “louder and louder” and culminating in Obama exclaiming, “Never again! Do you understand me? Never again!” Any response by Bill Daley back to the president, if given, was not overheard."

“Tsunami of September” | FrontPage Magazine

“Tsunami of September” | FrontPage Magazine

The Israeli Defense Minister is warning of the “tsunami of September” when the U.N. will vote on recognizing an independent Palestine. Spain will recognize a Palestinian state even before then. International pressure against Israel is ratcheting up, and at the same time, Fatah has buried the hatchet with Hamas and seeks to do the same with Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Dozens of countries support recognizing an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, including Russia, China, India, South Africa and the countries of the Arab League. Most of South America has already formally recognized a Palestinian state, and now Spain intends to join them before the September vote at the U.N. takes place. If a member of the U.N. Security Council blocks the recognition of a Palestinian state, there will be an international uproar. It is very possible that a stream of countries will follow in Spain’s footsteps and independently recognize a Palestinian state. This may encourage the Palestinians to unilaterally declare statehood, setting the stage for war.

Dispute Grows as Egyptian Gas Doesn’t Flow to Israel - NYTimes.com

In Israel, which depends on Egypt for 40 percent of its natural gas, the electric company has warned that customer rates could rise by 15 percent. Officials in the Israeli company that co-owns the gas line say the Egyptian government is afraid of popular opposition to Israel and the perception that Israel has had a sweetheart deal.

Dispute Grows as Egyptian Gas Doesn’t Flow to Israel - NYTimes.com

US: Hezbollah has more missiles than most states - Israel News, Ynetnews

US: Hezbollah has more missiles than most states - Israel News, Ynetnews: "Hezbollah is armed with more missiles and rockets than most states, according to outgoing US Defense Secretary Robert Gates. In a speech to the American Enterprise Institute, Gates warned against the Shiite group's arming methods and the possibility that it owns chemical and biological weapons, CNN reported Wednesday.

Egypt's anti-Israel turn | Philip Klein | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner

 

The current military-led Egyptian government is already shifting to a more anti-Israel posture, announcing today that it would permenantly reopen its border with Gaza. The move puts Israeli civilians at greater risk by undermining the blockade on Gaza and making it significantly easier for the terrorist group Hamas to import weapons.

During the Egyptian uprising, there was a big debate on the right about what a new government would mean. In the wake of today's news, it's time to reconsider the myth that neoconservatives are primarily concerned with Israeli interests. In the case of Egypt, they cheered on protesters who put a new government in place that is already aiding Hamas and threatening Israel's national security.

Egypt's anti-Israel turn | Philip Klein | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner

Stephens: An Anti-Israel President - WSJ.com

Stephens: An Anti-Israel President - WSJ.com: "What, then, would a pro-Israel president do? He would tell Palestinians that there is no right of return. He would make the reform of the Arab mindset toward Israel the centerpiece of his peace efforts. He would outline hard and specific consequences should Hamas join the government.

Such a vision could lay the groundwork for peace. What Mr. Obama offered is a formula for war, one that he will pursue in a second term. Assuming, of course, that he gets one."

What Netanyahu Did Today � Commentary Magazine

What Netanyahu Did Today � Commentary Magazine

Has there ever been a moment like the one Benjamin Netanyahu had today following his meeting with President Obama? I can’t think of one. When has a president ever made a joint appearance with the leader of an ally in the wake of a controversial policy proposal, only to have that ally push back against him publicly? Netanyahu’s powerful—and surprisingly graceful, considering the context—remarks can be read in full here. The only moment that even remotely compares wasn’t a diplomatic one; it was when Elie Wiesel, during the dustup over Ronald Reagan’s visit to the Bitburg cemetary in West Germany in 1985, was given a Medal of Freedom and with beautiful understatement said to the president, “This place is not your place.” We got a glimpse of the Bibi that so electrified the world in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he was serving as Israel’s chief spokesman in the English language in this stunning passage:

We’ve been around for almost 4,000 years. We have experienced struggle and suffering like no other people. We’ve gone through expulsions and pogroms and massacres and the murder of millions.

But I can say that even at the dearth of — even at the nadir of the valley of death, we never lost hope and we never lost our dream of re-establishing a sovereign state in our ancient homeland, the land of Israel. And now it falls on my shoulders as the prime minister of Israel at a time of extraordinary instability and uncertainty in the Middle East to work with you to fashion a peace that will ensure Israel’s security and will not jeopardize its survival.

I take this responsibility with pride but with great humility, because, as I told you in our conversation, we don’t have a lot of margin for error and because, Mr. President, history will not give the Jewish people another chance.

It was very nervy of Bibi, and certainly opens him up to the charge of being chutzpahdik with Israel’s greatest ally. But what exactly did he have to lose? He faces a hostile president, but one who governs a country overwhelmingly supportive of Israel. Could things get worse with Obama than they were last year? And could things get better for Netanyahu if Obama finds he is paying a price for being at odds with the American people on one of the few foreign policy issues they care about?

Power Line - Friends and enemies

Power Line - Friends and enemies Of the commentary I have been able to read on Obama's speech on the Middle East yesterday, I think Caroline Glick's is the shrewdest. From a close reading of the text of Obama's speech, Glick deduces Obama's prospective support of the emerging jihadist political forces in Egypt and Tunisia, and elsewhere as well.

He said Israel has to concede its right to defensible borders as a precondition for negotiations;

He didn't say he opposes the Palestinian demand for open immigration of millions of foreign Arabs into Israel;

He again ignored Bush's 2004 letter to Sharon opposing a return to the 1949 armistice lines, supporting the large settlements, defensible borders and opposing mass Arab immigration into Israel;

He said he was leaving Jerusalem out but actually brought it in by calling for an Israeli retreat to the 1949 lines;

He called for Israel to be cut in two when he called for the Palestinians state to be contiguous;

He called for Israel to withdraw from the Jordan Valley - without which it is powerless against invasion - by saying that the Palestinian State will have an international border with Jordan.

Drawing Three Conclusions from the Latest Mideast Violence - By Caroline Glick - The Corner - National Review Online

Drawing Three Conclusions from the Latest Mideast Violence - By Caroline Glick - The Corner - National Review Online

I think the violence that broke out this weekend on the Syria–Israel border is a clear indication that the revolutions in the Arab world are engendering more rather than less radicalism and instability in the region. I think they show that another Arab war against Israel is more likely now than at any time in the last 25 years, as Egypt, Syria and other countries reassess their options and come to the conclusion that war and other aggression against Israel serve their interests today in a way they didn’t in the past.

I think Israel’s response was weak and that Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who consistently fails to understand the nature of the gathering threats, should be fired.

And I think the Obama administration, which has thrown Israel under the bus in its efforts to appease the likes of the Muslim Brotherhood, Syria’s Assad, the Palestinians, and the nuclear-bomb-building Iranian ayatollahs, has contributed massively to the precarious destabilization of the region.

Athens Mulls Plans for New Currency: Greece Considers Exit from Euro Zone - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Athens Mulls Plans for New Currency: Greece Considers Exit from Euro Zone - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International: "Greece's economic problems are massive, with protests against the government being held almost daily. Now Prime Minister George Papandreou apparently feels he has no other option: SPIEGEL ONLINE has obtained information from German government sources knowledgeable of the situation in Athens indicating that Papandreou's government is considering abandoning the euro and reintroducing its own currency."

NationalJournal.com - The Secret Team That Killed bin Laden - Monday, May 2, 2011

NationalJournal.com - The Secret Team That Killed bin Laden - Monday, May 2, 2011 From Ghazi Air Base in Pakistan, the modified MH-60 helicopters made their way to the garrison suburb of Abbottabad, about 70 miles from the center of Islamabad. Aboard were Navy SEALs, flown across the border from Afghanistan, along with tactical signals, intelligence collectors, and navigators using highly classified hyperspectral imagers.

After bursts of fire over 40 minutes, 22 people were killed or captured. One of the dead was Osama bin Laden, done in by a double tap -- boom, boom -- to the left side of his face. His body was aboard the choppers that made the trip back. One had experienced mechanical failure and was destroyed by U.S. forces, military and White House officials tell National Journal.

Meet Keratea: Greece's War Zone | zero hedge

Meet Keratea: Greece's War Zone | zero hedge

One of the more interesting "war zones" that most have never heard of is not in North Africe, nor in the Middle East, but in Greece. Meet Keratea, a small city of 15,000 people located close to Athens, where after over 100 days of struggle between authorities and the broder population, the riot police has officially decided to abdicate the city to its fate in what is the first popular mini-revolution in the developed world.

As unemployment rises and austerity bites ever harder, tempers seem to fray faster in Greece, with citizens of all stripes thumbing their noses at authority. Some refuse to pay increased highway tolls and public transport tickets. There has been a rise in politicians being heckled and even assaulted. Yesterday, in Thessalonika, scores of activists were arrested after violent clashes with police." Meet the new and improved face of austerity: now in a small town in Greece, which is about to default all over again, and soon in many other places in the increasingly more insolvent European periphery.

The PLO’s game plan revealed: Why the Hamas/Fatah agreement is a sham | NewsReal Blog

The PLO’s game plan revealed: Why the Hamas/Fatah agreement is a sham | NewsReal Blog

Fatah and Hamas hate each other and have no desire to cede their respective power. They will keep things together just long enough for September and their hoped-for international recognition. This is exactly what they have done in the past.

And here is how the PA is planning to incorporate Hamas while pretending that “Palestine” accepts Israel’s right to exist:

Tirawi dismissed concerns voiced over the possibility that a future Palestinian government with Hamas in it will refuse to negotiate with Israel, saying that the Palestinian government will have “no say” in such peace talks, since “the only body allowed to negotiate with Israel on behalf of the Palestinian people is the PLO.”

So this is the game:

The PLO is the party that negotiates with Israel, and the party that officially recognizes Israel.

The PA is only responsible for governing the Arabs in the territories, not with any foreign relations.

The PA, despite claims of being democratic, reports to the PLO.

The fake Hamas/Fatah reconciliation is meant to only address the PA, not the PLO. They won’t hold any elections until after September, if ever.

So the PLO will claim to still recognize Israel and be peaceful, as it will claim that from its perspective nothing has changed.

The instant that Palestine is declared a state that is recognized by the world, in part because of these assurances that it is a peaceful state that recognizes Israel, Hamas and Fatah (and all the other terrorist parties that decide to join the government) will immediately take over the PLO’s foreign affairs, as that is what nations do. The PLO’s foreign affairs role will be superseded by “Palestine.”

Who's fixing that airplane while you're getting groped? | Barbara Hollingsworth | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner

Every airline passenger knows the drill. Take off your jacket, shoes, watch and jewelry, cram your belongings into a plastic bin and stand in a long security line before meekly submitting to a naked scan or groping by latex-gloved agents of the Transportation Security Administration. Enduring such indignities, we’re repeatedly told, is the price we must pay for safety in the skies.

Yet there’s a very good chance that the mechanics who worked on the plane you’re just about to board weren’t patted down or fingerprinted. They might not have passed a background, drug or alcohol test. In fact, they might not even have a Federal Aviation Administration-approved license.

With the exception of American Airlines, which performs most of its fleet maintenance in the U.S., most of the major U.S.-based carriers outsource maintenance to places like China, El Salvador, Mexico, Chile and the Philippines, where security ranges from lax to nonexistent.  The danger of this widespread industry practice was highlighted in an April 6 report by the Transport Workers of America, Air Transport Division, which pointed out that  “At least one member of Al Qaeda was found working at a major maintenance facility in Singapore in 2003. The faulty procedures that allowed this lapse in security have not been addressed.”

 

Who's fixing that airplane while you're getting groped? | Barbara Hollingsworth | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner

The Ultimate Ally - By Michael Oren | Foreign Policy

The Ultimate Ally - By Michael Oren | Foreign Policy

Israel not only enhances America's defenses -- it also saves American lives. A kibbutz-based company in the Galilee has provided armor for more than 20,000 U.S. military vehicles. "Two days ago, my patrol was ambushed by insurgents using 7.62mm PKM Machineguns," David C. Cox, a platoon sergeant in Iraq, wrote the manufacturers. "None of the rounds penetrated the armor of the vehicle, including one that would have impacted with my head." Marine gunner Joshua Smith, whose Israeli-armored vehicle tripped an IED near Marja, Afghanistan, described how his unit "walked away smiling, laughing, and lived to fight another day." Military medical experts from both countries also meet annually to discuss advances in combat care. One such breakthrough was a coagulating bandage, the brainchild of a Jerusalem start-up company, a million of which have been supplied to U.S. forces (and even applied by a Tucson SWAT team medic to stanch the life-threatening head wound of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords).

Air France Flight 447 - Remus 6000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles - Popular Mechanics

Air France Flight 447 - Remus 6000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles - Popular Mechanics: "0 miles north of the plane's last known position." After Air France flight 447 disappeared off the Brazilian coast shortly after takeoff on the night of May 31, 2009, French aviation authorities were keen to find out what had gone wrong. To do that, they needed to find the wreckage, especially the plane's flight data recorders (black boxes). The only problem: The impact site was unknown.

To narrow the search, the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) called upon oceanographic experts from 11 institutes around the world to assess where the wreckage most likely lay, based on ocean currents and on the final position that the plane's navigation computer had automatically broadcast. Those experts produced a 750-square-mile search area about 50 miles north of the plane's last known position.

Read more: Air France Flight 447 - Remus 6000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles - Popular Mechanics

Closing Velocity: HISTORIC: Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense Intercepts Gaza Rockets

Closing Velocity: HISTORIC: Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense Intercepts Gaza Rockets: "The Iron Dome missile defense system on Thursday successfully intercepted for the first time two rockets that were fired at the Israeli city of Ashkelon from the Gaza Strip.

Iron Dome's success Thursday marks the first time in world history short-range rockets were ever intercepted."

Israel’s Blessing | FrontPage Magazine

 

Despite the world of troubles facing Israel, a miraculous resource discovery has come to the land.

President Obama has dissed Israel, the UN is no friend, and the nations surrounded Israel are hostile. It took Moses 40 years to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the only land in the Middle East without oil—long a source of wry humor. But Israel, at last, has been granted an almost miraculous blessing.

First, in 2009, Israel announced the discovery of a major natural gas field off its coast in the Tamar region. Then at the end of last December, an immense natural gas discovery was confirmed in the Eastern Mediterranean within Israel’s territorial waters. It has the potential for making Israel a major energy exporter over the next decade while providing the country with possibly 200 years of natural gas. This could negate Israel’s plans to buy natural gas from Russia.

Noble Energy, Inc., a Houston-based company, made the discovery. It said drilling tests in its Leviathon field confirmed it was the world’s largest offshore gas find in the past decade and “easily the largest exploration discovery in our history,” said Charles Davidson, CEO of Noble, which has a controlling interest in the field. Leviathon is nearly twice the size of the Tamar field, also off the coast, discovered by Noble and its partners in 2009. The Leviathon discovery confirmed geologic models of the basin and “validates it contains significant natural gas resources,” Noble said. Chairman Gideon Tadmor of a partner company, Delek Drilling, said the field is “the largest gas discovery in deep water in the past decade. The field covers about 125 square miles, a story in Bloomberg News reported. The field could yield as much as 21.1 trillion cubic feet of gas, an independent engineering firm calculated, Energy-pedia news reported March 29.

Israel’s Blessing | FrontPage Magazine

ElBaradei: We'll fight back if Israel attacks Gaza - Israel News, Ynetnews

ElBaradei: We'll fight back if Israel attacks Gaza - Israel News, Ynetnews: "Former International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who had previously announced his intetions to run for the presidency of Egypt, said Monday that “if Israel attacked Gaza we would declare war against the Zionist regime.'"

Fukushima on the Med? � Commentary Magazine

Fukushima on the Med? � Commentary Magazine: "No sooner had an earthquake and tsunami unleashed a series of events that led to disaster for a Japanese nuclear reactor than Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey planned to erect nuclear power stations in an earthquake zone.

If a disaster occurred in Japan, if it is likely in Iran, why not have Turkey make the same mistake for a third time? “We are now counting the months, even weeks, before we start our project with Russia for the nuclear plant at Akkuyu [in Mersin, on the Mediterranean],” Erdogan told reporters last month."

U.N. Vote on Palestinian State Could Force Israel's Hand - NYTimes.com

 

JERUSALEM — With revolutionary fervor sweeping the Middle East, Israel is under mounting pressure to make a far-reaching offer to the Palestinians or face a United Nations vote welcoming the State of Palestine as a member whose territory includes all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority has been steadily building support for such a resolution in September, a move that could place Israel into a diplomatic vise. Israel would be occupying land belonging to a fellow United Nations member, land it has controlled and settled for more than four decades and some of which it expects to keep in any two-state solution.

 

U.N. Vote on Palestinian State Could Force Israel's Hand - NYTimes.com

Israel, The Third Nation on the Moon? - Daniel Freedman - Freed Thinking - Forbes

Israel, The Third Nation on the Moon? - Daniel Freedman - Freed Thinking - Forbes: "If all goes according to plan, by December 2012 a team of three young Israeli scientists will have landed a tiny spacecraft on the moon, explored the lunar surface, and transmitted live video back to earth, thereby scooping up a $20 million prize (the Google Lunar X Prize), revolutionizing space exploration, and making the Jewish State the third nation (after the U.S. and Russia) to land a probe on the moon. And they’re doing it in their spare time."

Israeli military maps Hezbollah bunkers - The Washington Post

Israeli military maps Hezbollah bunkers - The Washington Post