Psychologically unstable anti-Semite receives gun license in Australia

JTA reports:

A Holocaust denier who believes there is a Jewish conspiracy to eliminate other races received a gun license in Australia, despite being deemed a possible security risk.

Darryl Potts, an elevator technician at Parliament House in Canberra, had his pistol license revoked in 2009 by New South Wales police after he expressed white supremacy views.



But the New South Wales Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruled this week that even though Potts may hold offensive views, he is entitled to a firearms license -- despite a psychiatrist's assessment that he had the potential “to put public safety at risk.” Potts told the tribunal that he did not believe 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

Manny Waks, the president of the Jewish community in the capital, told JTA that “This is a concerning development for the Australian Capital Territory Jewish community. Based on the media reports, here we have a virulent anti-Semite who has been assessed by a psychiatrist as having the potential to put public safety at risk, possibly in legal possession of a firearm.

“It is no surprise that a number of community members, myself included, are concerned about this," he said. "We certainly view Mr. Potts as a potential threat to our community.”
Some 600 Jews live in Canberra.

Land slides across the world

Slide nearly devours 2 homes in Newport, Oregon

For the mountains may move, and the hills may shake; but My kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall My covenant of peace be removed, says Hashem, who has compassion on you.

כִּי הֶהָרִים יָמוּשׁוּ, וְהַגְּבָעוֹת תְּמוּטֶינָה--וְחַסְדִּי מֵאִתֵּךְ לֹא-יָמוּשׁ, וּבְרִית שְׁלוֹמִי לֹא תָמוּט, אָמַר מְרַחֲמֵךְ, יְהוָה

In Washington state, landslides closed sections of three state highways. In Portland, what started as a sinkhole washed away over 50 feet of Highway 22 near the Oregon Coast. Meanwhile, on Thursday the National Weather Service warned of further landslides as heavy rains are expected for western Washington, where soils are already saturated.

In the Phillippines, at least 60 people have been killed by floods and landslides, and 27 are missing.
On Thrsday, Phillipine weather authorities warned that a northeast monsoon and a wind convergence may trigger flash floods and landslides in thea areas of Eastern Luzon and Eastern Visayas.

In Brazil, in recent flooding and landslides that are now being called the country's worst natural disaster, over 700 have died and over 200 are missing. Here is a video of a man miraculously rescued after being buried alive in mudslides.

Russia calls for unified Palestinian state with East Jerusaelm as its captial

On Wednesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and King Abdullah II of Jordan vowed to work together to achieve an independent Palestinian state and boost energy cooperation. Before the talks, Medvedev announced: "I have told my Palestinian friends that the eventual target will be the establishment of a modern, unified and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital."

On Tuesday, Medvedev visited Jericho, where he met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. There he used the opportunity to call on Israel to stop building in Judea and Samaria. Medvedev said there would be "no progress" without an Israeli decision on "settlement building".

Medvedev and Abdullah also discussed ways to spur Russian investments in Jordan's nuclear industry. Russia's ZAO Atomstroyexport is one of three companies which is vying for a role in building Jordan's first nuclear reactor by 2019. The others include France's Areva and Japan's Mitsubishi. In recent years, Jordan signed nuclear cooperation treaties with Russia and nine other countries in preparation for its nuclear reactor. According to government estimates, Jordan has 70,000 tons of uranium deposits. (Bloomberg)

Floods hit South Africa

40 are missing in after heavy rains led to swelled rivers and flooding in South Africa and Mozambique, where thousands of homes were also destroyed, as reported on Monday.

30 countries are helping Iran build a nuclear bomb

The latest Wikileaks cable, published by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, reveals that Iran has been developing contacts in more than 30 countries to acquire technology to build a nuclear bomb. According to a French nuclear expert: "A race exists between the bomb and financial collapse."

This weekend, Iran is scheduled to hold major talks on its nuclear program in Istanbul with representatives from the major world powers.

(Reuters)

Dead cows in Wisconsin

200 dead cows were discovered an a farm near Stockton, Wisconsin on Friday. According to the local Sheriff's Dept., the cows suffered from IBR - infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, a highly contagious cow disease.

As Whitley's Place points out, this is the first case of larger animals being affected by the phenomenon of sudden, mass animal deaths.

Beef and dairy farmers usually vaccinate their cows against IBR. What happened in this case is still unclear. According to the Dept. of Animal Sciences, IBR can persist in clinically recovered animals for years, and remain inactive until the animal is placed under stress. The Department's website about the virus also claims that there is no definitive clinical diagnosis for IBR. Apparently this has not prevented authorities from promptly announcing the cause.

Chile, Guyana recognize Palestinian state, Ecuador announces embassy

South America, orthographic projection / NASA

On Thursday Guyana joined Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Uruguay in the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, a move that nixes past agreements between Israel and the PA.

Guyana's Foreign ministry announced its recognition "in keeping with Guyana's long-standing and unwavering solidarity with, and commitment to, the just and legitimate aspirations of the people of Palestine for the exercise of their right to self-determination and to achieve a homeland of their own, independent, free, prosperous and at peace," Haaretz reports.

Last week, after meetings with Mahmoud Abbas at the new Brazilian president's inauguration the week before, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced his official recognition as well, after a resolution passed in the Chilean senate calling for Pinera to act. Pinera is scheduled to visit the West Bank in April.

This week Palestinian official al-Maliki also announced the opening of a Palestinian embassy in Ecuador.

Palin claims 'blood libel'

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

In a video posted on her facebook page, Palin claims: "Journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn.”

Noam Neusner, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, writes: “The term ‘blood libel’ is so unique, and so tinged with the context of anti-Semitism, that its use in this case -- even when Ms. Palin has a legitimate gripe -- is either cynically calculated to stimulate media interest or historically illiterate. It is therefore distracting to Ms. Palin’s underlying message, which is one of sympathy for the victims and outrage that she and others are being accused of inspiring a mass murderer.”

See Shirat Devorah for one take on the Sarah Palin phenomenon.

Anti-Semitic graffiti in Arizona predates shooting

On Friday, a day prior to the shooting of an openly Jewish congresswoman, anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered in Tartesso, AZ, 40 miles west of Phoenix. The shooting took place in Tuscon, AZ, 150 miles Southeast.

So far, no press is covering this story from Friday's The West Valley View, which was posted by the Canary in the Cole Mine blog. From the View, it sounds like police treated the graffiti as 'another case of those darn bored kids', rather than as a dangerous and serious hate crime, which happened one day before a deadly shooting of a Jewish congresswoman.

Where is the press?

The View reports: 

The resident, who asked that her name not be published because she fears retaliation, said she called police after unknown vandals "hit my neighborhood really hard" in late December.

"They broke street lights and several bricks in the wall," she said, claiming that police, in her opinion, have failed to give serious attention to the matter...

No suspects have been identified and criminal investigators have been assigned to look into the matter, Griffith added...

"Graffiti is a problem throughout the Valley and one the Buckeye Police Department has worked hard to overcome," he said. "This type of hate-based graffiti is particularly troublesome and will not be tolerated."

Griffith also conjectured the damage may have been sparked by juveniles who had too much free time because of the break from school for the holidays.

"Increased vandalism and other issues generally occur during times school is out of session," Griffith said.

Meanwhile, on Google News

November 29, 1947: Deja vu?

Today, the Palestinian Authorty is pressing for a vote to take place before Jan. 19th in the UN Security Council on a resolution demanding Israel to again freeze building in Judea and Samaria, which Israel gained control over after Egypt, Jordan and Syria instigated war in 1967. (Why did they instigate war then, if those were the desired borders?) The resolution also condemns settlement activity as illegal and as a "major obstacle" to peace.

In efforts to bring about a vote, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN (is that legal?) Riyad Mansour along with a delegation of Arab envoys met with representatives of the 15-member Security Council member governments, including India, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria. India's ambassador has reported no opposition to the draft resolution.

Diplomats, according to Bloomberg, predict support from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, giving the Palestinians 14 votes, in what could be (b"H) Obama's first Security Council veto. According to a former Tony Blair aid, "“It is going to be a difficult call for the Obama administration, which is not inclined to want to veto resolutions." Middle East analyst David Gordon says that while  US ambassador Susan rice may attempt to water down the resolution to the point where the US will abstain, a US veto is more likely.

In 1970, Stephen Schwebel, who later became head of the International Criminal Court, said the following about Israel and the disputed territories:

Where the prior holder of territory had seized that territory unlawfully, the state which subsequently takes that territory in the lawful exercise of self-defense has, against that prior holder, better title.

On November 29th, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted 33 to 12 in favor of the Partition Plan, which recommended the termination of British rule over present-day Israel, and the partition of the territory into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. Following the vote, Arab countries declared war -- which, by the way is illegal too! -- against Israel, ensuing a conflict going on until this day.

Countries cast their votes as followed:

In favor, (33 countries, 59%):

• 30 countries (54%) initially in favour:
  • Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Belorussian SSR, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Sweden, South Africa, Ukrainian SSR, United States of America, Soviet Union, Uruguay, Venezuela.

• An additional 3 (5%) switched to in favor:
  • Haiti, Liberia, Philippines.

Against, (13 countries, 23%):

• Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen.

Abstentions, (10 countries, 18%):

• Argentina, Chile, Republic of China, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia.

Absent, (1 country, 0%):

• Thailand

The vote was generally celebrated throughout Israel and Jewish communities around the world: In Israel, the streetnames of the neighborhood Kiryat Yovel in Jerusalem are named after countries who voted in favor of the partition plan. 

Today on the other hand: why does Israel not have one friend it can count on in today's security council?

Clinton embarks on tour to strengthen ties with Arab allies

Last week, Hillary Clinton pow-wowed with South American leaders, many of whom have recently recognized a Palestinian state, at the inauguration of Brazil's new president. This week, Clinton departs on a six-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, in an effort to strengthen ties with Arab allies. According to one state department official, agenda items include the Arab peace initiative and attitudes of the region towards the Palestinian Authority and "peace" talks.

According to Foreign Policy, there is so shortage of personal ties this week. Before departing, Clinton paid a visit to Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who has been in New York since November for surgery on his back. And in a trip designed to promote democracy and security in the Arab world,  Clinton will participate in celebrations in honor of the 40th anniversary the reign of Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who, according to state department official, is 'a long time friend of the United States and a valued partner who has made enormous changes on the ground in his country over the last 40 years.'" You can read about the sultan's collection of super yachts, one of which contains an orchestra and a swimming pool, here.

Motzei Shabbat News Update from Israel

1. 20-year old sergeant Nadav Rotenberg of Ramot HaShavim was killed in action fighting Hamas terrorists on Israel's border with Gaza on Friday night, on the day of his parents' 26th wedding anniversary, after the IDF identified several terrorists planting explosives near the security fence bordering central Gaza. Another soldier was moderately wounded and three others sustained light injuries. A preliminary IDF investigation concluded that friendly fire was responsible for the death and woundings, when a mortar strayed and struck the soldiers for an unknown reason. An investigative team is currently looking into the circumstances of the incident.

2. Four mortar shells exploded onto a kibbutz in the Sha'ar HaNegev regional council district (map), killing three Thai workers on Shabbat. One shell struck the building in which the workers lived, and one of the injured is undergoing surgery following shrapnel wounds to his chest. The Al-Quds Brigades military wing of the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility on Saturday night for the attack. Another shell hit Eshkol Regional Council district later Saturday evening. No injuries or damages were reported. IDF: "We will deal with those who fired the mortars and those who sent them." (INN, JPost)

 3. A Palestinian man carrying pipe bombs and a knife, who approached a checkpoint yelling "God is great", was shot to death by IDF soldiers at the Bekaot checkpoint near Tubas, southeast of Nablus. (YNet)