Monday: Hili dialogue

October 21, 2024 • 6:45 am

Welcome to Monday, October 21, 2024, and National Apple Day, presumbly in honor of the harvest. But the only apple I really like is a crisp, tart, Granny Smith.

It’s also Back to the Future Day, for Oct 21, 2015 is the Day Marty and the Doc travel to, Check Your Meds Day, National Mezcal Day, Reptile Awareness Day, International Day of the Nacho,  World Bolognese Ragù Day, and National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day (just get a pumpkin pie or a plain cheesecake instead). 

From Bon Appetit, here are six chefs making their ultimate nachos. They all look great:

Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the October 21 Wikipedia page.

Da Nooz:

*Salman Rushdie’s case, in which Hadi Matar is accused of trying to kill the fatwa-burdened author, was set to begin about a week ago (Rushdie lived, of course, but was blinded in one eye and one of his hands is nearly useless). But a judge delayed the trial on the grounds of insufficient continguous ethnicity:

The author Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed and blinded in one eye two years ago by an attacker who rushed him onstage in front of hundreds of people, will testify at the man’s trial, prosecutors said on Friday.

The assailant, Hadi Matar, is charged with second-degree attempted murder and assault with a weapon in connection with the August 2022 attack, in Chautauqua County, in western New York. Prosecutors say the attack, during which Mr. Rushdie was stabbed about 10 times, was premeditated. Mr. Matar has pleaded not guilty.

The trial, which could last up to seven weeks, had been scheduled to begin on Tuesday. But on Friday, a state appeals court judge granted a defense request to delay the trial while the court considers a separate defense motion to move it out of Chautauqua County.

Nathaniel Barone, a public defender who is representing Mr. Matar, said it was important that the proceedings be moved “to preserve my client’s right to a fair trial,” which, he added, was impossible in Chautauqua County because of the publicity surrounding the case and the lack of a local Arab American community.

. . . Mr. Matar also faces federal terrorism charges, including providing “material support and resources” to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia in Lebanon. He and his family moved from Lebanon to the United States when he was a child. He was living in New Jersey and working at a clothing store at the time of the attack.

Prosecutors said on Friday that Mr. Matar had declined to resolve the federal and state charges with a single plea agreement. Jason Schmidt, the Chautauqua County district attorney, said he was seeking to convict Mr. Matar on the top charge, second-degree attempted murder, which carries a potential sentence of 25 years to life.

. . . Mr. Rushdie had lingering injuries as a result of the attack, including losing the sight in his right eye. When he made a surprise appearance at the PEN America literary gala last year, his voice was weak and he was noticeably thinner.

There’s little doubt that Matar will be convicted, as he was mobbed and apprehended during the attack.  What puzzles me is that they granted a stay to study whether there weren’t enough Arab-Americans in that area of New York. Do they think that those who aren’t Arab-American will be unfair to the defendant. And, after all, it’s the judge, not the jury, who levies the sentence after a conviction.

*Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the Berkeley School of Law at the University of California, has a NYT op-ed called “College officials must condemn support for campus violence” (archived here). This is a hard problem that some of us are debating on campus:

About 1,000 people attended a rally on Oct. 8 commemorating the first anniversary of the Hamas attack at the University of California, Berkeley, where I am the dean of the law school. About half appeared to be students. Many of the protest signs were explicit in their endorsement of the violence on that day a year ago: “Israel deserves 10,000 October 7ths,” one said. “Long Live Al-Aqsa Flood,” another said, using the Hamas name for the Oct. 7 attack.

At the clock tower at the center of the Berkeley campus, a large banner was hung proclaiming “Glory to the Resistance.” It displayed an inverted red triangle used by Hamas to mark Israeli targets.

Across the country at Columbia University, the group Apartheid Divest posted an essay calling the Hamas attack a “moral, military and political victory.” The group also rescinded its criticism from last spring of Khymani James, a student who had said in a disciplinary hearing that “Zionists don’t deserve to live” and “Be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”

Indeed, in its statement, the group declared, “We support liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance.” It also said, “Where you’ve exhausted all peaceful means of resolution, violence is the only path forward.”

In Rhode Island, the Brown University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine posted this on Instagram: “Al-Aqsa Flood was a historic act of resistance against decades of occupation, apartheid, and settler colonial violence.”

Here’s the controversial part:

We should expect — and demand — that campus officials respond to a celebration of Hamas in the same way they would to a Klan rally praising racist violence. The speech of those celebrating Hamas is protected by the First Amendment on public university campuses, and at private universities that choose to adhere to free speech principles, because there is a right to express all ideas, even very offensive ones. But that does not mean universities can or should do nothing.

Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits colleges receiving federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. This includes prohibiting harassment, including when there is a hostile environment.

I agree that producing a climate of harassment is against the law, but violating free speech is also against the law—at least in public colleges. So what do we do when there are campus demonstrations that may create such a climate? Is one demonstration like those above enough to do it? Do they have to be in classrooms, or will multiple demonstrations in the open air produce such a climate. This is truly a slippery slope.

*The IDF has released footage showing Sinwar and his family scuttling down the tunnels under Gaza on October 7 of last year.

The Israel Defense Forces released footage Saturday evening showing now-slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar fleeing with his family and extensive supplies into a tunnel complex below his home in Khan Younis on the night before the October 7, 2023, onslaught he orchestrated, casting Sinwar as a cowardly commander who chose to hide underground in luxury conditions and prioritize his own survival throughout a year of war with Israel in Gaza.

The release of the material, which the IDF said was recovered from Gaza several months ago, came amid attempts by some supporters of Hamas to portray footage of Sinwar throwing a stick at a surveillance drone in his final moments as proof of a heroic death by a leader who fought until his last breath.

For the past year, according to the IDF’s intelligence, “Sinwar hid most of the time underground in the area between Khan Younis and Rafah, and came out only to escape, accompanied by bodyguards and with documents, certificates, weapons and money in his possession,” the military’s spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference.

“Even on the eve before the brutal massacre, Sinwar was busy with his survival and the survival of his family,” Hagari said, showing the footage and speaking first in Hebrew before delivering brief remarks in English.

“A few hours before the massacre, Sinwar and his family escaped alone to the tunnel,” Hagari said.

He didn’t lose any time!  Here’s the video; I wonder how the IDF got this footage. Are there cameras in the tunnel? Here’s the IDF’s spokesperson showing the declassified footage, taken one day before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Sinwar was first at Khan Younis, then moved to Rafah things got too heated.  He was killed in Rafah, the place where Biden and Harris told Israel they were not allowed to go.

Note the $32,000 Hermes handbag toted by one Mrs. Sinwar. I presume that humanitarian aid intended for Gazans paid for it.

More:

He said the IDF’s offensive in Khan Younis prompted Sinwar to flee to Rafah, where he then hid in a tunnel built for Hamas VIPs in the Tel Sultan neighborhood.

“The complex had everything he needed, television, food, sofas, beds, means of communication and control. We found his DNA sample on a tissue there, with which he blew his nose,” Hagari said.

He even had a plasma television! I’m actually surprised that he didn’t manage to get out of Gaza during the war, but perhaps he wanted to sit it out, hoping that Hamas would win.  Too bad for him. . .

*Speaking of Israel (yes, again), Israel is upset because somebody—probably an American—leaked Israel’s secret plans to attack Iran in reprisal for that country’s recent missile attack. From CNN:

The US is investigating a leak of highly classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran, according to three people familiar with the matter. One of the people familiar confirmed the documents’ authenticity.

The leak is “deeply concerning,” a US official told CNN.

The documents, dated October 15 and 16, began circulating online Friday after being posted on Telegram by an account called “Middle East Spectator.”

They are marked top secret and have markings indicating they are meant to be seen only by the US and its “Five Eyes” allies — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

They describe preparations Israel appears to be making for a strike against Iran. One of the documents, which says it was compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plans involve Israel moving munitions around.

Another document says it is sourced to the National Security Agency and outlines Israeli air force exercises involving air-to-surface missiles, also believed to be in preparation for a strike on Iran. CNN is not quoting directly from or showing the documents.

A US official said the investigation is examining who had access to the alleged Pentagon document. Any such leak would automatically trigger an investigation by the FBI alongside the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies. The FBI declined to comment.

The leak comes at an extremely sensitive moment in US-Israeli relations and is bound to anger the Israelis, who have been preparing to strike Iran in response to Iran’s missile barrage on October 1. One of the documents also suggests something that Israel has always declined to confirm publicly: that the country has nuclear weapons. The document says the US has not seen any indications that Israel plans to use a nuclear weapon against Iran.

At least the media has had the decency (even CNN) not to reveal what Israel’s plans actually were (if they knew them). And I wonder if Israel will now change them.

*Good lord, Elon Musk is trying to draw in voters for Trump by holding a raffle, giving a cool million per day to anyone in Pennsylvania who signs his petition:

Billionaire Elon Musk said he plans to award $1 million a day to a randomly chosen voter who has signed his petition pledging to uphold the rights to free speech and to bear arms, stepping up efforts by his America PAC to boost Donald Trump’s presidential prospects.

Musk founded America PAC to register voters in swing states and persuade them to vote for the Republican over Democrat Kamala Harris. The splashy move by the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder stakes out uncharted territory in American politics and renewed critics’ questions about whether such tactics were legal.

Musk made the announcement at a rally Saturday night in Harrisburg, Pa., and gave the first check to an audience member. “One of the challenges we’re having is, like, how do we get people to know about this petition?” Musk said. “This news I think is going to really fly.”

America PAC said the winner will be drawn from Pennsylvania voters until Monday, and then will be open to participants in other swing states through Nov. 5. The group had previously unveiled an offer of $100 for Pennsylvania voters who signed the petition, and $47 for voters from other battleground states including Michigan and Wisconsin. The petition reads: “By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”

The presidential race is centered on Pennsylvania and about a half dozen other competitive races, where polls show the candidates neck and neck. A recent Wall Street Journal survey found Harris with slim leads in Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia, while Trump had a narrow edge in Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

If this isn’t illegal, it’s certainly unethical, for it’s nearly the equivalent of buying votes.  I don’t hate Musk as much as many on the Left do (he did, after all, prompt some great innovations), but I certainly think he made a bad misstep here, not to mention supporting Trump.

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is waiting for Paulina and her child:

Hili: If the buggy is here Paulina will soon come with Julia.
Andrzej: That’s not a given.
In Polish:
Hili: Jeśli tu jest wózek, to zaraz przyjdzie Paulina z Julią.
Ja: To nie jest takie pewne.

*******************

From America’s Cultural Decline into Idiocy:  This warning means that SOMEBODY TRIED TO REPLACE THE BATTERY AND SWALLOWED IT!

From ScienceBlogs; meatless sausages:

From Jesus of the Day.  Should you get a cat (or two)?

From Masih; about the more restrictive hijab laws in in Iran. For some reason I can’t embed this, but to see the video simply click on the screenshot below. There are English subtitles, and you can see a lot of Iranian women walking around unveiled, but also being harassed by nosy morons. Ceiling Cat bless the brave women of Iran!

I retweeted this noting that “Up to now campus protestors were not explicit in their admiration for Hamas. The mask has now slipped, and their hatred of Jews–for Sinwar wanted them all eliminated–is clear. Expect more of this at American universities.”

Guterres is an odious man; why is he head of the UN?

From my feed, an aging sheepdog gets a last run:

 

My friend in Berlin tells me this is not unusual:

From my feed. What’s up with this cat?

From the Auschwitz Memorial, one that I retweeted:

Two tweets from Herr Doktor Professor Cobb (Emeritus). He wants me to try the first one with my ducks, but I can’t play the mouth organ (sound up). The geese are mesmerized!

. . . and a baby seal rescue. I love it.

 

41 thoughts on “Monday: Hili dialogue”

  2. October 21st is also Trafalgar Day, upon which all good naval folk commemorate the battle and the death of Nelson. This requires a tot of Pusser’s Rum, and the toast “To the Immortal Memory.” Active and retired Royal Naval officers may give the toast sitting down, as they do the Loyal Toast.

    1. Going to a Trafalgar Night celebration tomorrow. I will expect to drink a fair amount of rum.

      Sodomy and the lash will be absent – I hope.

      Edit: The Battle of Trafalgar is one of the most important battles, if not the most important battle in the last 300 years.

      1. Near me are two long arterial roads originally surveyed through the backwoods by Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe. Many are unimaginatively named First Line, Second Line, Number Five, Number Eight Sideroad. But these two that cross in Oakville are named Trafalgar and Britannia.

        Enjoy your celebration.

        I recall the Yes, Minister episode where Sir Humphrey corrected Hacker that the purpose of Britain’s nuclear deterrent was to protect us not from the Russians but from the French.
        “The French?!” Hacker asked incredulously. “They’re our allies!”
        “Oh they are now. But they’ve been our enemies for most of the past nine hundred years.”

        1. Not to mention the original names of the township in which Oakville and the town of Brontë were situate: Trafalgar. Immediately southwest, Nelson Township.

  3. I am currently reading “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families” about the Rwandan genocide in 1994 (book written in 1998).

    This is a conflict (and an actual genocide) that couldn’t be further removed from that between Israel and Hamas/Hezbollah, but what is strikingly similar is the ineffectiveness of the UN. Complete chocolate teapots, even when its own members were rounded up and executed. They literally stood around and watched a million Tutsis get exterminated (and then many retributive crimes against the Hutus).

    It’s easy to think they’re anti-Israel, and I’ve little doubt they are, but they’re also just a bit shit.

    1. It is an excellent read – I read it when it came out. Amazing story, chilling. The Rwanda story is one of the more interesting and horrifying stories of late last century.

      There’s a lot to it: different tribes, shrinking land ownership with population increase, ID cards but in some ways the whole thing was about land and…well… “stuff”.
      Israel/Pal is a bit different bc it isn’t’ about land at all. It is about an Islamist death wish against a democracy.

      In understanding the middle east tribalism is important (like Rwanda, as you note), but religion is key. The desire to “cleanse” the Islamosphere of an embarrassingly successful non-Islamic state is the goal. And all its people.
      regards,

      D.A.
      NYC
      column: https://www.sdjewishworld.com/2024/10/19/oped-the-last-moments-of-yahya-sinwar/

      ps sorry, I’m a noisy guy today…. probably over my limit on comments. I’ll be quiet now.

    2. I always wonder what would have happened if the mission commander in Rwanda had pulled his surviving troops together and sent them out to start shooting anyone carrying a machete. “Mes amis, the UN and my own government are abandoning us and the Rwandan people to fend for ourselves. But we still have a job to do.” Who knows that the rabble wouldn’t have lost the stomach for it when confronted by armed disciplined foreign troops going one-shot-one-kill no matter how overwhelmingly outnumbered? Or did he know they wouldn’t have obeyed that order anyway? But if he had given it, they might have all died heroes. Isn’t that better for a soldier than disgrace?

      If this sounds far-fetched, consider the case of Capt. Edward Fegen in command of HMS Jarvis Bay who, facing overwhelming odds, died protecting a convoy of civilian merchant ships from a German heavy cruiser.
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Fegen

      1. Surely your would-be hero would be prosecuted for war crimes, as a butcher of African civilians? The argument that you’re preventing something worse is not even automatically accepted when police crack down on exuberant sports fans and no one dies.

  4. Regarding the Rushdie trial, you ask, “Do they think that those who aren’t Arab-American will be unfair to the defendant?” But there’s also the flip question: Do they think Arab-Americans are so morally bankrupt that they’d support the defendant’s crime?

    1. You don’t think, that there is at least a reasonable chance that a Arab American would be in support?

        1. That would be s “hung” jury. It would mean a new trial, if there are no alternative jurors available. Many trials have one or several “alternate” jurors who hear all evidence and are sworn in as jurors, but don’t have a vote in the proceedings unless one of the official jurors is excused.

    2. (From not-a-lawyer but someone who respects many of our lawyers, particularly the civil rights variety): It is not what you believe, it is about what can be done for your client…think about trump’s lawyers’ motions over the past few years. Lawyers in my extended family were like a Washington DC traffic jam – you couldn’t turn left or right without running into one. I recall an extended-family dinner time discussion back in the sixties regarding the numerous lawsuits recently filed against tobacco companies by cancer victims. One of my cousins said and the rest agreed that you really did not need proof, you just needed one “to hit” he said, and all the others would fall in line with it. That discussion has stuck with me all these years.

      1. Hadi Matar’s defense doesn’t need a trial venue with a sufficiently large Arab or Muslim population. They need only apply to have the trial moved to Berkeley or U. Penn. We look forward to student groups at these institutions issuing the demand that Mr. Matar receive an honorary degree—or perhaps immediate appointment as Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

    3. If they believe Rushdie was blasphemous, some devout Muslims (not necessarily even Arabs) might support the assailant.

      I would hope not many.

  5. Re: Musk and his give-away
    While I really don’t like the sound of it, I can’t find too much wring with it, given that you can reasonably vote Democrat even after signing the pledge (why call it a petition??). It is about as subtle as blasting political ads for those millions and probably about as effective. The only difference is that the money goes to average Americans instead of advertising agencies and media companies.

    Re: Hamas chants in Berlin
    I sincerely doubt that the translator gave the Intel to the police commander. Berlin might be a special case, but I think even their police would have shut that down. In Munich that would have been enough for batons and water cannons.

  6. So that’s what the “Would you like to win $1M” pop-up on my login screen was. I had no idea and didn’t click on it. Musk becomes more of a weasel by the day.

    But in counter to that, somewhere in PA there is a great billboard with Cheeto’s glowering red/orange floodlit eyes that reads below them HE’S NOT WELL. It looks like somewhere on I-70 to me. Does anyone know the actual location?

    Otherwise, I cannot fathom why college students don’t identify with the 10/7 victims. I sure as hell do. As I understand it, they were at something that could be likened to a Woodstock, promoting harmony between Jews and Muslims – something that ought to be seen as forward-thinking.

    1. The students see the world through progressive oppressor / oppressed lenses. The evil Zionists are the oppressors, and the downtrodden, just trying to survive Jew Killers are the oppressed.

      Regarding the free speech angle, I’m fine with allowing the campus protests in the name of free speech if the Jew haters agree to remove their white hoods (strike that, now they wear masks), do no damage, and are held to the same academic standards of other students. On the other hand, I do agree that it creates a hostile environment. I guess the test would be if the university would similar protests aimed at any other group or nationality. It’s difficult to see how Penn State would be OK if the graffiti was “Nathan Bedford Forrest Lives” with a drawing of a noose.

  7. Regarding the anti-Israel sign at the college:

    “Where you’ve exhausted all peaceful means of resolution, violence is the only path forward.”

    If they are referring to Gaza, then as we all know Israel unilaterally left the area and essentially gave the Palestinians a state. The Palestinians promptly elected a genocidal terrorist organization to lead it, started lobbing rockets into Israel, trashed the infrastructure, used billions of world aid to build tunnels for the terrorists, and basically turned the place into a fortress. And then broke a cease fire with a massacre of innocent Israelis.

    As usual, the protestors have everything backwards and upside down. The extent of the lies are such that I cannot dismiss this as mere ignorance…there is something much more sinister here than confused young people.

    2. ” then as we all know Israel unilaterally left the area and essentially gave the Palestinians a state.”

      Too my horror, Jeff, I’m amazed that ALMOST NOBODY knows any of the facts you list, and I’ve written about in my column.
      The mainstream media here – and elsewhere f’ing Al Jazeera, have utterly inverted everything, including that fact.
      D.A.
      NYC

    3. They do know that using violence against the state justifies overwhelming violence in response, right? Even if elements in the state broadly share their policy goals it must crush insurrection or it loses its right to exist. That’s why Jan. 6 is considered to be such a big deal.

      Those who call for violence when peaceful means have failed to change minds must surely know that their resorting to violence doesn’t compel the state to say, “Oh. I guess they mean business then. Better give them what they want.”

  8. Donald Trump was giving a speech at Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania yesterday and praised Palmer’s putts. “He was all man. When he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there and said ‘Oh my God.'” This must be a first in campaign speeches.

    2. From what we know from Stormy Daniels, sounds like penis envy to me. What’s next? Campaign stops @ the John Dillinger Birthplace or the Milton Berle Museum?

  9. There have been reports lately that Biden administration officials believe that they’ve been lied to by Israeli officials—that Israeli officials can’t be trusted. (https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-said-to-call-netanyahu-a-fking-liar-after-israeli-troops-entered-rafah/). Yet not only did the U.S. possibly leak classified information regarding Israel’s plans to respond to Iran, Biden himself leaked that Israel will not go after Iran’s nuclear targets. (That is unless, of course, Biden purposely telegraphed false information in a game of N-dimensional chess, which I doubt.) This crisis of trust poses a real danger to both Israel and the U.S. as they operate in the region, as the two powers may no longer be willing to share vital information as readily as before. The problem will not be easy to fix.

    1. I don’t think they were ever going for Iranian nuke targets Norman. They’re too deep, too dispersed and the focus can’t be on production facilities, it has to be on the PEOPLE who make those bombs.
      Israel continues to target them everywhere.

      Always enjoy your comments Norman,

      D.A.
      NYC

      1. Very possibly, as many of the targets are hardened and out of range (deep under ground, as you rightly point out). My main point was about the Biden administration’s seeming inability to avoid discussing Israeli options and U.S. preferences in public, and the apparent dearth of trust between the two administrations. I hope that Israel and the United States are working to straighten that out.

        I enjoy reading your comments, too!

    2. The book with the details on Biden calling Netanyahu an effing liar is just out.

      “War” by Bob Woodward. Apparently it also has details on Trump.

      I just bought it.

  10. The Rushdie/Matar trial is amazing – the argument of his counsel.

    Years ago here in NYC I was a defense attorney for the poor and stupid (not a public defender, not THAT stupid) and the “ethno” argument here would have been absurd, almost racist. “Not enough Muslims in the jurisdiction” blows my mind.

    Mr. Matar btw, who lived all his (remembered) life in the US was radicalized on a trip to his parents country, Lebanon (Sth Leb) via Hezb. Of course.
    Fatwas, y’know, they come from the creator of the universe via an Ayatollah in Iran and a “prophet” 1300 years ago. So there’s that.
    I throw up my arms as I throw up my lunch.

    If you missed it yesterday…. my latest column, literary style, on the death of one of these merchants of misery and war.
    To wit:
    https://www.sdjewishworld.com/2024/10/19/oped-the-last-moments-of-yahya-sinwar/

    Syndicated from TheModerateVoice, this one with my old, embarassing pic.
    best,

    D.A.
    NYC

  12. “If this isn’t illegal, it’s certainly unethical, for it’s nearly the equivalent of buying votes.”

    I can’t comment as to the legality, but I have to hand Musk some credit: it certainly is a far less expensive way to buy votes than is student loan forgiveness.

    And if it is legal, then I agree with FX Kober above: it sure beats handing money to media companies, most of whom despise Musk.

    2. Student loan forgiveness didn’t cost Biden or Harris anything. It is our money that is being used to buy votes.

    3. It’s a publicity stunt; a million dollars would be a bit expensive for a single vote. American politics needs to be demonetised, with harsh spending limits.

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