podpolia

The international media is and world governments are currently pretending to be shocked that both Israel and anti-Israel protesters did what they said they would do, and that the inevitable clash happened. Amazing how little is being made of the “peaceful protesters” who attacked the Israeli troops, and how Israel had offered a peaceful solution whereby the ships would deliver their cargo to the Israeli port of Ashdod “and from there [the Israeli government] guaranteed that all humanitarian cargo would be transferred to the people of Gaza.” (Of course, this media circus was never intended to be about the actual aid – especially considering the actual situation in Gaza.) Both sides of the story are likely to come out eventually, but it likely won’t effect the narrative now being created. Probably unsurprisingly, the Israeli media seems to be the only ones who are actively contemplating what this might mean for the future.

More concerning overall is the situation that Israel has found itself in even before the current problems. The Obama administration in Washington is beginning to engage in dialogue with Hamas (which, the last time I checked, was still officially classed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization), and is oscillating rapidly on whether or not to support Israel’s status in regards to their nuclear power status. It’s no wonder that Israel currently feels the need for a more iron-clad assurance of its ability to defend against Iran. I wonder how soon Obama will realize that allowing Israel to be pushed into a corner in dealing with Syria and Iran could be a very bad thing.

Tomorrow (20 May 2010) is up on some calendars as “Draw Mohammed Day,” a movement largely popularized on Facebook. The most coherent explanation of what it is and why it’s being done that I have seen is this video:

(hat tip: The Jawa Report)

The concept is definitely getting some attention – the Pakistani government has blocked Facebook for the rest of the month for allowing the page to stay online. In the mean time, some Muslims are continuing the same things that sparked the backlash to the backlash:

I started to worry when Obama signed an executive order some months ago allowing INTERPOL to operate in the United States. Things like this are one of the main reasons why. While it still seems to be true that INTERPOL wouldn’t be allowed to arrest anyone on American soil, it’s still worrisome that the organization can convince banks to close your accounts and refuse to allow you to open a new one. While the director of INTERPOL in the US says that the executive order “give[s] them the same authorities and immunities that any international organization that’s based here in the U.S. has, nothing more, nothing less” (does anyone else find it odd that he’s the director and he refers to the organization in the third person plural?), it doesn’t quite ring true. Other international organizations aren’t very likely to shut down your bank accounts and threaten to arrest you, now are they?