Bad Brand

Israel is the worst ‘brand’ in the world, according to a poll that measured the international perception of 36 nations in a quarterly index.
…
“Israel’s brand is by a considerable margin the most negative we have ever measured in the NBI, and comes bottom of the ranking on almost every question,” stated Anholt.

No weaseling out this time

It’s official: I’m a conservative.

Deduction

I always miss the latest developments in my own field of knowledge, which is why I only managed to write a short introduction into anti-German thinking and then continued with smaller bits and pieces. So if the following is going to be some old stuff from the nineties, my apologies:

1. Presupposition: Germany lost its right to exist after WWII and the Holocaust, for details see the longer text I’m getting most of my nasty mail for.
2. If Germany = no right to exist, then German soldiers = no right to exist
3. If German soldiers = no right to exist, then German soldiers = should not go anywhere, including the Middle East

Yes, the Israeli government asked Germany for help in this situation for the main reason that it has run out of “friends” willing and able to help in the current situation (i.e. US and others being occupied in Iraq, changes of government or governmental policies after Islamist bombings in Europe). Yet Germany has contributed a lot to the current situation being as it is, which means it has helped to create a situation in which German soldiers appear to be a good idea for many Israelis.
One of the main tasks in Germany’s foreign policy at the moment: Reaping the moral yield for “helping Israel” (from killing Jews to “protecting” Jews out of “historical responsibility”) while maintaining good and profitable connections with Iran and other Islamic states in the region; using the window of opportunity which opened when it became clear that the US are not in the shape for more risky adventures, due to the current failure of “pacifying” Iraq.

Gnome vs. KDE Popularity Contest

Bored beyond recognition this morning, I admit:
Planet Gnome Linux vs. Planet KDE Linux

Gnome Look Linux vs. KDE Look Linux

Gnome Linux vs. KDE Linux

Epiphany Linux vs. Konqueror Linux

Gnome Linux sucks vs. KDE Linux sucks

Gnome Linux rocks vs. KDE Linux rocks

Metaphors from Hell

This thread has it all:

- political left/right in a circular view (extremes on both sides touch each other, Stalinists = National Socialists)

- multiplicating minus with minus = plus (enemy’s enemy)

- negating country you’re a citizen of = self-hate

- the true power in the background (who controls anti-Germans)

- declaring to leave the political left + saying you’re still communist = must be different persons

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A quick constructive point before becoming unconstructive again in future posts: Solidarity with Israel is not something which needs to nor should be constructed into something “leftist” or communist to make sense. It is a field of political acting which cannot be described adequately using these metaphors, as the reality of antisemitism is - at least to a great extent - independent of it. This also applies to the coalitions of people fighting antisemitism and those who want to destroy israel. If we have to use metaphors - I tend to be hesitant to utilize them, as they all too often stop people from thinking - pro-/anti-Israel is a different game, or you might draw the analogy of it being another dimension which is added to the dimension left/right.

Failure needs adequate planning

While I’m usually not a friend of detailed predictions, a few notes on what I expect to happen in Lebanon over the course of the next year:

- The UNIFIL troops that are going to Lebanon will be a joke. At this point it’s unsure if they will have the planned strength of 15.000, and it looks like they won’t be adequately equipped, trained or even ordered to prevent Hizbollah from doing anything.

- The Lebanese army has been a joke for many years.

- Nobody will seriously be ready, willing and able to stop Hizbollah from attacking Israel.

- Hizbollah will have time to amass new missiles.

- Missile attacks against Israel will happen.

- Israel will have to strike back.

- There will be even more UNIFIL soldiers available as meatshields for Hizbollah, than during the recent war.

- UNIFIL soldiers will die during Israel’s retaliation.

- The world will find a way to put the blame on Israel.

I’m going to review this post in a year, and we’ll see what will have happened by then. I’m actually hoping its title will apply to me rather than to the situation at Lebanon’s border.