I don't watch much news on TV or video -- reading is faster than listening -- but I gather that RT, formerly Russia Today, is a Russian government-paid news network in English. And it was big news when a couple of American on-air personalities on RT criticized the Russian government over Crimea.
On TruthDig, Max Blumenthal and Rania Khalek track down the role of Jamie Kirchik in one of these incidents:
How Cold War-Hungry Neocons Stage Managed RT Anchor Liz Wahl’s Resignation
One obvious aspect of this is how everybody on both sides have long histories with everybody else. Blumenthal, author of Goliath, a book about how Israel isn't actually the plucky little David fighting the giant Palestinian juggernaut, is the son of Clinton consigliere Sidney Blumenthal. (Heck, I can vaguely recall being denounced by young Blumenthal as an anti-Semite for, of all things, an article of mine celebrating the Jewish contribution to the Christmas song genre.)
James Kirchik, winner of the 2006 National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Excellence in Student Journalism award, is one of the former bright young things of long-time New Republic supremo Marty Peretz, a lineage of one-time ambitious young fellows that include Andrew Sullivan and the teenage Al Gore.
There are lots of interesting linkages in Blumenthal's article, such as Victoria Nuland.
Getting totally off track, I've always been impressed by how Peretz overcame his inclinations and went forth and multiplied to perpetuate the race, so I looked up what his two kids are doing. It turns out that Jesse and Evgenia Peretz are that rarest of contemporary movie-making duos, the Sibling Act. (Wachowskis not included in this count). There are lots of creative Brother Acts (Coens, Farrellys, DuPlasses, etc.), but the recent movie Our Idiot Brother starring Paul Rudd was directed by Jesse Peretz with a screenplay by his sister Evgenia Peretz and her husband.
Well, on the plus-side of the column, one should note that Blumenthal's book is a fairly brave endeavor. Just look at the negative reception that it has been getting from the usual suspects:
ReplyDelete"The event in question featured Max Blumenthal, who was being interviewed about his book on Israel, Goliath, by Peter Bergen, the well-known writer on war-and-terrorism topics. (Bergen is also a New America fellow; the latest of his many books is Man Hunt, about the Bin Laden raid.) In the week before the event, items like this one in Commentary had said that New America should not provide a platform for what it claimed was destroy-Israel hate speech. Some members of the board got personal email pitches to the same effect.
I wasn’t involved in inviting Max Blumenthal, but having read his book before the session and now having heard him speak, I am glad that New America and its president, Anne-Marie Slaughter, stood by their invitation. That was the right call on general free-speech principles, and also because this book should be discussed and read.
The case against Goliath, summarized here, is that it is so anti-Israel as to represent not journalism or reasonable critique but bigoted propaganda; plus, that in being so anti-Israel it is effectively anti-Semitic."
James Fallows
(http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/afraid-of-free-speech-on-many-fronts-pen-google-china-em-goliath-em/282105/)
Calling Israel the plucky little guy is a bit like calling the Ulster Scots the underdog.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. It seems that Kirchick is an alum of RADIO LIBERTY....
ReplyDeleteJames Kirchick (/ˈkɜrtʃɨk/; born 1983) is a reporter, foreign correspondent and columnist. Kirchick attended Yale University and wrote for its student newspaper, the Yale Daily News.[1] He is a fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington;[2] prior to this he was writer-at-large for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.[3]
Seems that Kirchick is keen on taking the fight for homosexuality to Africa:
ReplyDelete"U.S. Should Fight Anti-Gay Africa
Homosexuality is illegal in 35 African countries. On MSNBC, Daily Beast correspondent James Kirchick explains how American financial muscle can be used to help change these policies."
1/ So I clicked on the link to find out what you wrote about what Blumenthal said about you way back and the first comment (from 12/9/08) reads :
ReplyDelete'Max Blumenthal looks like he should be poisoning spies for Putin'
Again, that's from 2008. Not bad.
2/ Here's that complete Blumenthal article:
maxblumenthal.com/2008/12/sailer-sailing-away-from-himself
He seems to have changed his mind over the past 6 years. Maybe it was those talks with Davids Duke and Irving that he mentions.
Kirchick has always been a pathetic attention-seeker. I recall him making a spectacle of himself on RT a while ago in what he claimed was an attempt to "shame the dictators". Other than mildly annoy the show's hosts and ensure he'd never get invited back, it accomplished nothing.
ReplyDeleteThere are 370 million people in the Arab league (and yes 95% of Arabs support wiping Israel off the map), who collectively are sitting on two thirds of the most valuable commodity in the world. Israel is a tiny sliver the size of New Jersey with only 8 million people. It's surrounded by hostile neighbors and every single international organization overwhelmingly supports its enemies.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to forget these basic facts, because Israelis are intelligent, honest and tough people. Arabs are inbred, borderline retarded, corrupt, and living in the middle ages. One side stands for civilization, law, order, science and prosperity. The other side, if isolated from the Western World, would go back to riding around on camels and cutting each others' head off in the desert.
It's exactly a David and Goliath story. One side's overwhelmingly bigger, more threatening and by all accounts should crush the other. But the other side utilizes technology, planning and organization to defeat his beastly and slovenly opponent.
@DR
ReplyDelete"But the other side utilizes technology, planning and organization to defeat his beastly and slovenly opponent."
I don't necessarily disagree with the buildup but the punch-line misses out "and lots of false flag terror attacks."
DR is right. Winning doesn't make you not a David it's a precondition to being a David. Furthermore the Arabs could have stayed out of the conflict and the Palestinians would have likely come to have been seen as an underdog possibly but the Arabs had to rush off into a fight they couldn't win and by their own actions make Israel into the underdog and a David.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, Max Blumenthal penned a book bashing Christian Republicans and was widely celebrated for doing so. He was on TV, profiled in magazines, reviewed in the NYTimes, etc...
ReplyDeleteAll the cool people enjoyed watching and laughing at his interviews with Bible thumpers at some convention. End of times, rapture, really funny stuff.
Then Max Blumenthal published a book about Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Blumenthal all of sudden is no longer hip. He has become a non-person.
Wow. Did anyone else notice Eli Lake's Menachem Begin t-shirt? I can't think of a better way to express your admiration for a statesman than to wear a t-shirt that places his dignified visage right between your ample man-bosoms.
ReplyDeleteAs for Israel being the underdog, it was clearly the underdog for the first thirty to forty years of its existence. Then it made peace with its neighbours, got nukes, massively qualitatively superior armed forces and massive military industry. When was the last time that the IDF was in direct conflict with an enemy that was an actual threat to its existence? 1973? Recently they've spent all their time taking potshots at Hamas and Hezbollah (a very worthwhile activity for which I applaud them) and trying to convince the US to go to war with Iran (not so much).
The fact that Mohamed from rural Iraq and Abdul in Dubai wish Israel didn't exist doesn't mean that they pose any kind of threat to it. You can't wish a country out of existence.
Basically, if David keeps winning, has the best-trained armed forces in the world as well as weapons that can wipe all his enemies off the map with the push of a button, he's no longer really David is he? The land and population differences just don't matter
The Wilson brothers would also make a good Brother Act.
ReplyDeleteBlumethal's co-author Rania Khalek also has an interesting article "How the Israel lobby is courting US Latinos."
ReplyDeletehttp://electronicintifada.net/content/how-israel-lobby-courting-us-latinos/13207
Two of Steve's favorite topics, together at last!
As for Israel being the underdog,
ReplyDeleteFirst, you have the strongest, wealthiest nation in history as your supporter who will not allow anyone to conquer you. You can't call yourself an underdog with that ace in the hole.
Second, the Arab armies have been shown to be incompetent. Arabs might make fine raiders, and undoubtedly are willing to die for the cause. But as the US discovered in 1991 and again in 2003, Arab fighters organized into Western armies are not that formidable. To call them a Goliath is an exaggeration.
Though it will never happen, I'd like to see the IDF take on an Oriental nation some day. I think they are are good force, but their opponents have been Arabs. Let's see how well they'd do against the East Asians.
Everyone knows the real David is Russia. Putin even has the pygmie short stature.
ReplyDeleteEveryone knows the real David is Russia.
ReplyDeleteYep. On paper you'd think that China would be leading humanity's resistance to the borg. It's huge, completely independent, and has the second-largest economy in the world, soon to be the first. But the Chinese are so passive and boring that that role fell to Russia anyway.
"It's exactly a David and Goliath story. One side's overwhelmingly bigger, more threatening and by all accounts should crush the other. But the other side utilizes technology, planning and organization to defeat his beastly and slovenly opponent."
ReplyDeleteBy that argument, Jews and the policies they promote will also always play the role of David, even in a country like America. I don't buy that, though I know many of them certainly continue to see themselves that way.
Speaking for myself, I have no problem defending Israel, and typically do, but let's face it, the Israelis aren't exactly fighting with sligshots anymore. When one side has enough money and connections, I think they should drop the David pretensions.
That being said, losing your underdog status doesn't in and of itself make your cause any less (or more) just.
A bit of support for the idea that Russia's role as chief rebel isn't a fluke:
ReplyDeleteOf the three Rus' states (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) two are currently resisting. And Belarus started acting up on its own, before Putin came to power in Russia. In other words, Lukashenko and Putin are two separate data points. Basically, a virus was introduced into three separated-from-each-other batches of essentially the same medium. Two of those three quickly developed antibodies. Compare that ratio (2/3) with those recorded for other media, for example for Western Europe.
A few posts back a commenter linked to a video of the extremely lovely chief prosecutor of the Crimea, Ms. Poklonskaya. It turns out she's 34 years old! And is a single mother!
ReplyDeleteJames Kirchik, winner of the 2006 National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Excellence in Student Journalism award, is one of the former bright young things of long-time New Republic supremo Marty Peretz, a lineage of one-time ambitious young fellows that include Andrew Sullivan and the teenage Al Gore.
ReplyDeleteI remember Jamie Kirchick. He's the misanthrope who assassinated Ron Paul's character -- and democracy -- in 2008.
"Well, on the plus-side of the column, one should note that Blumenthal's book is a fairly brave endeavor. Just look at the negative reception that it has been getting from the usual suspects:"
ReplyDeleteWhat? James Fallows says there he's glad the New America foundation invited Blumenthal to speak. The book doesn't seem to have hurt Blumenthal's career at all.
“Neoconservatives have long had Russia as one of their main targets,”
ReplyDeleteAhhh, the brilliance of the SSFR or Sailer Strategy for Russia.
Putin and Russian patriots should cozy up to Zio-con Neo-cons.
It sure did wonders for American conservatism and the GOP. What can possibly go wrong?
Thanks for inormation)
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, WWT rages on....
ReplyDeletewww.cracked.com/article_20997_5-shocking-realities-being-transgender-media-ignores.html
Intelligence gathering means having to cast the net wide.
ReplyDeleteHere are a few blogs that are honest, because their authors do not lie to themselves. They believe there is no freedom without responsibility!
http://www.eureferendum.com/
http://wattsupwiththat.com/
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/
In that vein I would argue that Nonnie Mouse comments should not see the light of day & would urge Steve Sailer to block them. Posting comments without an identity shows a lack of courage. They are like schools kids chanting insults. Why tolerate them? Just banish them & deny them the oxygen of publicity.
"Interestingly enough, death was not the most severe punishment that could handed out. Banishment was the most severe. Banishment meant not only meant the defendant had to leave, the entire family had to leave. People didn't just move into new villages. They were not welcome. They stayed outcasts the rest of their lives."
http://www.westmifflinmoritz.com/Viking_Folder/Norse_government_conquest.html
Cordially.
I don't know how RT plays in the US but here in Britain it is well known that members of UKIP (anti-EU and libertarian party now placing 3rd in the polls but expected to come 1ST in the EU elections, it being our issue) have a far greater chance of getting reported by RT than the BBC.
ReplyDeleteNot that RT is particularly pushing us capitalist lackeys, just not censoring as the BBC do.
Dave Pinsen:"What? James Fallows says there he's glad the New America foundation invited Blumenthal to speak. The book doesn't seem to have hurt Blumenthal's career at all."
ReplyDeleteAnd Fallows notes how the Foundation was under considerable pressure from the Israeli Lobby not to have Blumenthal speak. Fallows was glad that the Foundation didn't give in.
ben tillman said: I remember Jamie Kirchick. He's the misanthrope who assassinated Ron Paul's character -- and democracy -- in 2008.
ReplyDeleteHunsdon said: Not only you, brother.
Anonydroid at 8:14 AM said: I think they are are good force, but their opponents have been Arabs.
ReplyDeleteHunsdon said: I cannot track it down now, but I have a distinct memory of reading an article where someone asked Moshe Dayan the secret of his military success. The answer? "Fighting Arabs."
Anonydroid at 4:58PM quoted Fallows: In the week before the event, items like this one in Commentary had said that New America should not provide a platform for what it claimed was destroy-Israel hate speech. Some members of the board got personal email pitches to the same effect.
ReplyDeleteHunsdon asked: Would this make Max Blumenthal not only a 'self-hating Jew' but a 'purported Jew' as well?
Somewhat OT:
ReplyDeleteTranssexual Occupy Wallstreet founder calls for Google to take over America:
Let Google take over America
Now wait a minute. The old story was that Israel/David was facing an Arab (that is Saudi $$) backed Palestinian Goliath.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you subtly distort things, you slyboots you.
As for Marty Peretz, his kids aren't Jewish according to Jewish law. I don't think Ann ever converted. But he gets to make his own rules and as long as no one tries to emigrate to Israel, where the rabbis have teeth, it doesn't matter.
BTW, that gay German who directs all those shitty blockbusters has a producer sister.
Let's take this WWG thing a bit further.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty obvious that we've got a new Cold War on our hands, but with a difference:
It has absolutely no popular support either here, or in in the UK. So, the population of the twin megastars of the Anglosphere are not enlisted. This is an entirely "elite" thing.
Further, Russia (with China as its ally?) now has a truly popular/populist message for the impoverished masses: We stand for home, family, and masculinity. The US stands for Coca-Cola & gay rights.
This, with the fact that most Americans & Brits are silently appalled by WWG, suggests that the Russia/China axis has a winner.
This whole thing makes me sick.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteA bit of support for the idea that Russia's role as chief rebel isn't a fluke:
Of the three Rus' states (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) two are currently resisting. And Belarus started acting up on its own, before Putin came to power in Russia. In other words, Lukashenko and Putin are two separate data points. Basically, a virus was introduced into three separated-from-each-other batches of essentially the same medium. Two of those three quickly developed antibodies. Compare that ratio (2/3) with those recorded for other media, for example for Western Europe.
I think you are underestimating Ukraine. They are not openly resisting right this second. Of the people (as opposed to the leadership), there are the westerners who hate the EU and US because they are Nazis and there are the southerners and easterners who dislike the EU and US because they are pro-Russian.
Of the leadership, the current junta in Kiev is dominated (though not officially led) by very radical nationalists who dislike the US, the EU, and the Russians. Right now, they are content to let the de jure leaders of the junta play pro-western because they think it gets them money and protection from the Russians. Whether, as a result, we are really calling the shots for that junta is yet to be seen. I suspect that once the hot phase of the confrontation with Russia dies down, the Nazis are going to be resistant to US/EU demands.
Gay are very large donors to the Democrats. This pro-gay posturing by John Kerry is done to butter them up so they contribute even more. I am sure Kerry could care less either way.
ReplyDeleteWe all know that America is full of upper income gays with oodles of disposable income. The Fed Guv in the DC region is heavily gay and lesbian. They love them Federal
A friend vacations near Rehobeth beach. He and wife went to a Lesley Gore concert there and the audience was full of gays. Turns out Gore is gay now and has her gay following. Those Federally employed gays are vacationing down in Rehobeth.
The Obama Admin super pro-gay stance reflects the DC region Federal workforce. State Department is heavily gay and for a long time
At least the Peretz kids had the decency to make the lead character in their "Silly White Beta Male" genre movie, Judd Apatow anyone, one of the tribe.
ReplyDeleteThe movie was financed by the Weinstein brothers and I thought it might be another "August: Osage County" where all the white Christian folks are either pill poppers , hillbilly heroin addicted, suicidal alcoholics, in-law adulterers, cousin/brother/sister incest fornicators , child molesters, or failed academic loser hypocrites who finally look for comfort through embrace and wisdom of their simple Native American housekeeper.
"On paper you'd think that China would be leading humanity's resistance to the borg."
ReplyDeleteThe big difference between Russia and China at the moment is Russia is currently #1 target and so is being directly attacked and forced to defend itself. This allows China to do their thing quietly in the background.
If Russia goes down then color revolutions would start being funded in China (they probably already are but on a small scale for now).
Don't forget the Hess siblings who brought us such classics as Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. (Try to forget Gentlemen Broncos.) The sister also directed the recent Austenland, which though imperfect, had a lot of character and not a few good laughs.
ReplyDeletePutin and Russian patriots should cozy up to Zio-con Neo-cons.
ReplyDeleteNo, they should instead cozy up to the 100% non-Zio-oligarchs who direct Russia’s economy - because Putin has them "under control", and that of course means neither they nor their associates will ever, ever get the upper hand and exploit Russia or the Russians for their own nefarious purposes, even after Putin is gone. Why, even the notion of such a thing in any way, shape, or form is unprecedented!
"But the other side utilizes technology, planning and organization to defeat his beastly and slovenly opponent."
ReplyDeleteBy the way, in the Bible, it was Goliath who represented the side of technological advancement and organization. He was, after all, a trained soldier in an army equipped with swords and helmets and spears of metal, all of which was state-of-the-art technology back then. By comparison, David was a lone civilian (or at most a paramilitary) wielding Stone Age weaponry. There was little technology, planning, or organization on his end. His actions were spur-of-the-moment.
During the Intifada, Arafat tried to cast his side as being the "David" on the basis of the rock-throwing teenagers that were his pawns. The anti-Israel left lapped that up, and I’m guessing that had its effect on Blumenthal.
If this isn't a conspiracy, I don't know what is.
ReplyDeleteJews sure use a lot of buffers and fronts with names like 'freedom', 'democracy', 'justice', or whatever.
Jews justified this during the days of McCarthy blacklist when some communist Jews had to use fronts to work in Hollywood.
But they continue to use the same tactic today even though they are now in the position to blacklist people they don't like.
"Then Max Blumenthal published a book about Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Blumenthal all of sudden is no longer hip. He has become a non-person."
ReplyDeleteNot really. If you follow debates in leftie realms of the net you'll see that the hasbara brigades are getting thoroughly flogged.
Anonymous:"Let's take this WWG thing a bit further.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty obvious that we've got a new Cold War on our hands, but with a difference:
It has absolutely no popular support either here, or in in the UK. So, the population of the twin megastars of the Anglosphere are not enlisted. This is an entirely "elite" thing.
Further, Russia (with China as its ally?) now has a truly popular/populist message for the impoverished masses: We stand for home, family, and masculinity. The US stands for Coca-Cola & gay rights.
This, with the fact that most Americans & Brits are silently appalled by WWG, suggests that the Russia/China axis has a winner.
This whole thing makes me sick."
Again, no. The Anglo elite is backing the homosexual agenda. And the Anglo elite has been on a roll for 200 years. They will win.
Anonymous:"As for Marty Peretz, his kids aren't Jewish according to Jewish law. I don't think Ann ever converted. But he gets to make his own rules and as long as no one tries to emigrate to Israel, where the rabbis have teeth, it doesn't matter."
ReplyDeleteRight of return follows the Nazi definition of Jewishness, not the Orthodox Rabbinic. Anyone with one Jewish grandparent can immigrate to Israel.
Right of return follows the Nazi definition of Jewishness, not the Orthodox Rabbinic. Anyone with one Jewish grandparent can immigrate to Israel.
ReplyDeleteDoes being Jewish enough to be bankrolled by the Weinstein Bros count???
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteYes, I KNOW the Anglo elites are in favor of WWG. I'm saying that the silent majority isn't. This is not a war with popular support on the Anglo Side.
Capish?
A different Anonymous.
"Again, no. The Anglo elite is backing the homosexual agenda. And the Anglo elite has been on a roll for 200 years. They will win."
ReplyDeleteIf you stop lying do you drown?