Links - 9th August 2017

Gaza on the Brink - "If you ask Palestinians in either Gaza or the West Bank who’s responsible for their suffering, most would probably say Israel. But what would they say if they were safely overseas and no longer needed to fear their own governments?... why have so many Gazans fled or tried to flee? The Palestinians Bar’el met had a uniform answer: Hamas. Not a single one of them even mentioned Israel in their responses... There are numerous UN agencies ostensibly devoted exclusively to helping the Palestinians, while human rights groups allocate disproportionate attention to this issue. In both cases, their only real interest in Palestinian suffering is finding some way to blame Israel for it. They couldn’t care less about protecting Palestinians from the abuses of their own government. That’s why they keep issuing reports accusing Israel of being the “key cause” of Palestinian suffering, as one UN agency put it this week, despite all evidence to the contrary... For Palestinians, blaming anyone other than Israel for their problems risks serious repercussions from either their own governments or vigilante groups affiliated with both governments... Blaming Israel is always the safest solution, even in cases where it’s patently untrue... the very fact that Israel is the one party no Palestinian fears to criticize is in itself a potent refutation of Palestinian claims that Israel is an oppressive regime. People who truly live under an oppressive regime are generally afraid to go on record criticizing it."

There Won’t Be Peace While the Power Is Out - "just like in Gaza, the Israeli taxpayer got stuck with the bill, because Israel cares more about Palestinians’ electricity needs than either the PA or Hamas does. If all this were happening because both governments were simply broke, it would be understandable. But in fact, both seem to have plenty of money for their top priority: incentivizing or directly funding anti-Israel terror. The PA, for instance, spent $129 million last year paying above-market salaries to convicted terrorists sitting in Israeli jails, and another $175 million a year in stipends for families of terrorists killed while trying attack Israelis. In other words, its entire debt to Augusta Victoria comes to less than 15 percent of what it spends on anti-Israel terrorists every year, while the “unpayable” portion of its debt to the IEC amounted to just over 40 percent of what it spends on those terrorists every year. So it’s not that it can’t afford to pay for medical care or electricity for its people; it simply considers paying terrorists higher priority."

Egypt 'starts flooding Gaza tunnels' - "The Egyptian military has begun flooding tunnels used by Palestinian militants and smugglers under the border with Gaza, reports say. It is the latest move by Egypt to destroy the tunnels, part of an offensive against insurgents. Excavators have been digging there for weeks to turn the area into what authorities say will be fish farms. Egypt has destroyed thousands of homes and evicted families from the border, where it is creating a buffer zone."
It's only wrong when Israel does it

Why Singapore’s Army Sang Israeli Songs - "Shortly after Singapore declared independence in 1965, the newly created sovereign city-state waited for military assistance from Egypt and India, but got no reply. It was then that Israel’s ambassador to Thailand and Mossad officer Hezi Carmel agreed to help... Singapore’s army, which is now considered one of the strongest in Southeast Asia, adopted a number of IDF practices, including its models of conscription and reserve service (and, for a minute, its marching songs). You know how it goes: ex-British possessions got to help each other out."

Look to Israel for a case study in proportional representation's flaws - "Israel is dogged by a perpetually hung parliament thanks to PR, which has regularly hampered leaders' attempts to push through controversial policies. In the words of Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser: "Designing policy in Israel is like writing poetry while standing on a ball."... Successive governments have paid dearly for forming coalitions with radical minority partners, especially when it comes to the perennial problems associated with the Palestinian conflict. Instead of Israelis having faith in one party to see out its full tenure without having the rug pulled from beneath its feet, reality has meant a constant battle between warring coalition members – often leading to mid-term collapse of governments and early elections. Too many cooks routinely spoil the broth – especially when many of them hail from the extremist, fundamentalist end of the political spectrum... Ultra-orthodox parties use horse-trading to siphon off a significant part of the national budget in order to fund their supporters' unproductive lifestyles (in which most adult males spend their days learning in seminaries rather than as members of the workforce). The unswerving loyalty of ultra-orthodox voters to certain political parties is repaid by their elected officials digging in their heels, time and again, whenever there are calls to reduce the over-generous funding of the religious sector."

Engineering student says Canadian school rejected him for being Israeli - "A Canadian trade school reportedly turned down an Israeli student applicant simply for being Israeli. Israeli civil engineering student and amateur carpenter Stav Daron, who initially spoke with Mako News reporter Ido Daniel, said that he applied to study at the Island School of Building Arts, a Canadian trade school specializing in wood construction and design"

Don't use Chinese privilege to shame me - "In the recent flame war unwittingly initiated by the influencer (Ellie) who panned the food at Ramadan bazaar and suggested her followers give it a miss, a Twitter user accused her of assuming that the bazaar was there for her “privileged Chinese ass”. Aside from my bewilderment at the fact that an opinion on food could take on ethnic connotations, that comment got my (Chinese) hackles up. I’m peeved that the incident was turned into a racial debate, when clearly, it was simply a matter of ignorance and insensitivity. On this point, I’m prepared to throw myself to the wolves (i.e. trolls) and align myself with Xiaxue in saying that I feel the influencer should’ve stuck by her guns... when did it become the done thing to pull the race card to shame someone into recanting a perfectly legitimate personal opinion?... Does being Chinese make us the poster children of privilege? Because being the majority, I was told that we’re lucky to be insulated from being discriminated against. Someone tell that to Ellie."
It's a lot sexier to shame people for being "racist" than to actually make a coherent argument

Man drinking pint while fleeing terror becomes symbol of London spirit

London attack: CNN accused of ‘fake news’ over ‘staged’ anti-ISIS protest in viral video - "In a video uploaded by user @markantro on Monday, CNN anchor Becky Anderson can be seen standing to one side while police and TV producers assist a group of Muslim women assemble a makeshift memorial featuring flowers and protest signs. “Look at all the people around me here, behind me here, sad about last night but hopeful for tomorrow,” Anderson says in the news clip. “On the left here, Londoners came to help hurt, behind me you can see a sign here, hashtag ‘turn to love’, hashtag ‘for London’, hashtag ‘ISIS will lose’, and flowers left in remembrance of those who left their lives.” The original uploader described it as “#fakenews”. “CNN creating the narrative,” he tweeted. “Note the white police officers leaving before the CNN shot & the Asian officers coming in. They then left after they went off air! Amazing thing is, I was getting called a ‘weekend warrior’ by several journalist [crews] while filming this.”"

Margaret Court: Tennis is 'full of lesbians', says Australian Grand Slam legend - ""When I was playing there was only a couple [of lesbians]," Court said. "But those couple that led took young ones into parties and things. What you get at the top is often what you'll get right through that sport.""

Aiswarya Ashln on Twitter: "Walked into Pizza Hut and they said non muslims can't eat here until 8:30, lol at our country honestly"
Malaysia Boleh!

Indigenous knowledge systems can help solve the problems of climate change
Comments: "Sorry but aboriginal Australians did not live 'completely sustainably' as you say, they were responsible for a number of megafauna extinctions, mainly because the fecundity of said fauna was so low"
"Piffle. We already KNOW that we can heal climate change if we reduce our numbers to less than a million, roam in small groups as hunter gatherers and return to the stone age."
"Interesting facts, but they really have no place here. This is about identity and feelings, and other stuff. Hope and justice. If you want facts, data, history and logic, I suggest you take your elitist attitude over to a scientific journal." (this didn't seem to be a parody)
"So reduce life expectancy back to 30 something and infant mortality up to 50%, problem solved."
"Yep. And chuck the disabled onto anthills"

Baby boomers caused millennials' destructive spending habits - "Millennials are threatening dozens of industries. They don't buy napkins. They won't play golf. They aren't buying homes or cars. And they're not even eating at Buffalo Wild Wings."
Apparently industries are entitled to our money

Why Wonder Woman's Ending Doesn't Work - "Few would deny that Wonder Woman is a good film. It’s the best entry in the DC Extended Universe by a wide margin, offering up some intense action underscored by impressive central characterisation – Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman and Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor gives us the best superhero love interest ever put to screen. In fact, Patty Jenkins’ direction is so assured that she manages to make the character’s electric theme from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice work in a 1917-set adventure. However, that only gets us two-thirds of the way. Just as undeniable as basic quality is that the ending’s a major deflation, letting down Diana Prince and Trevor, and reaffirming several systemic problems with the franchise."

Batikhäxor: Swedish feminists accused of widespread sexual exploitation of young refugees - "The “Batikhäxor” are the explosive new scandal rocking Sweden. Swedish social service workers tend to be older women that are outspoken advocates of socialism, feminism, multiculturalism, ect. It is now being alleged that many of these women actually get involved in social services in order to have sex with young immigrant men. Some Swedish media outlets are even accusing these women of “exploiting teenagers” for sex. These women are being called”Batikhäxor,” which is sometimes translated into English as “Dye Witch.” It is a derogatory Swedish slang term for an unattractive woman who is an outspoken advocate of feminism and political correctness. Similar to what is called a “Social Justice Warrior” in the USA, but specifically for older women. The ongoing double-murder trial of Johanna Moller has brought the scandal to the forefront. Moller is accused of having an Afghan refugee murder her husband and father. During the trial, it has been alleged that she routinely plied underage refugees with drugs and alcohol and had sex with them. She even took naked pictures with them, which were leaked to the press. Swedish commentator Ann Heberlein says that she personally knows of numerous cases of female social workers having sex with young refugee men"

Report: Swedish Women Prove Their Tolerance by Having Sex With Refugees - "another Swedish woman has been exposed as performing lap dances for “child refugees” (migrants in their 20’s and 30’s) and having “intimate relationships with them at an asylum centre in Åmål. Volunteers working at the Calais migrant camp in France before it was demolished were also accused of having sex with migrants by other charity workers. A whistleblower who worked at the Calais camp said women were having sex with “boys believed to be under the age of consent,” as well as prostituting themselves out to several different sexual partners every day. The founder of CareForCalais, a volunteer charity, also left her husband for a relationship with a Tunisian migrant who later ripped her off for thousands of pounds. Clare Moseley began a relationship with the migrant after she had “promoted her charity’s no sex with migrants policy”."

YouTuber Laci Green Slams 'Everyday Feminism' for Publicly Excommunicating Her - "Feminist YouTuber Laci Green’s decision to reach across the political aisle and engage with individuals critical of her views has been met with a mixture of acceptance and skepticism—but mostly acceptance. Critics of progressivism generally embrace discourse and debate as productive pursuits. The same can’t be said of leftist feminists, who’ve taken to vilifying the popular YouTuber for “sleeping with the enemy,” both literally and figuratively. Green’s apparent closeness with non-social-justice YouTubers has led to misogynistic remarks reducing her to her sex, and stripping her of personal agency. This serves as the perfect example of how modern feminism isn’t empowering... “Liberal feminist card: REVOKED! Dialogue is OPPRESSIVE! There’s NO SUCH THING as hating men! Identity politics are VALID CRITICISM!” quipped Green on Twitter. “[I’m] looking forward to dragging all the blatantly anti-science bulls**t on this condescending ass website without feeling guilty”... “The witch hunts and censorship and labeling everyone a Nazi is actively hurting the causes feminists fight for,” replied Green. “[T]he silence is more harmful to feminism at this point [in my opinion]. My main beef with it comes from the sex [education] world. To me, caring about it means speaking up about toxicity within, even though that toxicity will likely turn itself on you. If you do decide to say something: my advice is to be as patient and self-aware as you can. Stay true to yourself, know what you stand for and who you are, and don’t let others bully you into silence on either side.”"

Elderly German Woman Fined 1,350 Euros After Sharing Anti-Migrant Joke on Facebook - "A 62-year old woman living in Berlin, Jutta B., had her home raided and arrested by police for the crime of sharing an image on Facebook captioned as “Do you have anything against refugees?”... Following the fine, the woman received a number of abusive messages from others on Facebook. A left-wing “anti-fascist” group, Anti-Fascist Action, has reportedly sent death threats to the woman."

Canada's New Law Lets Government Take Children Away If Parents Don’t Accept Their Gender Identity

Canada's New Law Lets Government Take Children Away If Parents Don’t Accept Their Gender Identity - "The Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act of 2017, also know as Bill 89, was passed in Ontario by a vote of 63 to 23, The Christian Times reported. The law, which replaces old laws governing child protection, foster care and adoption services, instructs all child services and judges, to take into consideration a child’s “race, ancestry, place of origin, color, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, disability, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.” Minister of Child and Family Services Michael Coteau, who introduced the bill, said “I would consider that a form of abuse, when a child identifies one way and a caregiver is saying no, you need to do this differently”... The child services in Ontario, Canada got into hot water back in April after it removed two foster children from a Christian couple’s home because they said no to lying to the girls that the Easter bunny is real"
How come children can opt to take hormone blockers which damage their health even if most non gender conforming children don't turn out to be transgender, but yet can't consent to sex?

At Evergreen State, Hand Gestures Are Microaggressions - "vergreen State College has become a total and complete clusterf**k, like if Tumblr kids did the French Revolution. The college has been shut down for three school days due to violent threats, as a mob runs the campus. Student protesters have managed to beat down the wills of the school administration so much, that they can prevent them from making any hand gesture at all because they believe it is a “microaggression.”"

Evergreen State Activists Demand Humiliating Video Be Deleted - "the activists demanded that the video of their campaign be taken down from the Internet—because they claim it was “stolen” by “white supremacists.” The video of the students’ shrieking arguments and attempts to bully the professor into agreeing with them made the rounds on social media, causing humiliation for both Evergreen and the student activists involved in the debacle. The mob demanded his resignation following the spread of the video"

When the Left Turns on Its Own - The New York Times - "Reasonable people can debate whether or not social experiments like a Day of Absence are enlightening. Perhaps there’s a case to be made that a white-free day could be a useful way to highlight the lack of racial diversity, particularly at a proudly progressive school like Evergreen. Yet reasonable debate has made itself absent at Evergreen. For expressing his view, Mr. Weinstein was confronted outside his classroom last week by a group of some 50 students insisting he was a racist. The video of that exchange — “You’re supporting white supremacy” is one of the more milquetoast quotes — must be seen to be believed. It will make anyone who believes in the liberalizing promise of higher education quickly lose heart. When a calm Mr. Weinstein tries to explain that his only agenda is “the truth,” the students chortle... photographs and names of his students were circulated online. “Fire Bret” graffiti showed up on campus buildings. What was that about safe spaces?... Shutting down conservatives has become de rigueur. But now anti-free-speech activists are increasingly turning their ire on free-thinking progressives. Liberals shouldn’t cede the responsibility to defend free speech on college campuses to conservatives. After all, without free speech, what’s liberalism about?"