It’s the 23rd anniversary of 9/11

The New Neo Posted on by

Hard to believe, isn’t it? And yet easy to believe, because in many ways it seems a distant memory. Children who were born that day are turning twenty-three.

But the main reason for the feeling of distance, I think, is that it’s no longer shocking that 9/11 happened. At least, that’s how I feel.

Here are a few videos I’ve found in which people talk about what they experienced on 9/11.

RIP to all who suffered and died on 9/11, and comfort to their families. And may our nation and the world emerge into better times than we’re experiencing now.

More Hamas leaders killed by Israel

The New Neo Posted on by

Here’s the announcement [my emphasis]:

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck Hamas terrorists Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, Ayman Mabhouh, and Osama Tabesh in a strike in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, the military said on Tuesday.

The terrorists were operating within a terrorist command and control center embedded in a designated humanitarian area of Khan Yunis, the IDF added.

The military specified that Mabhouh was a senior Hamas terrorist, Abu Daqqa was the head of Hamas’s Aerial Unit in Gaza, and Tabesh served as chief of the Observation and Targets Department in the terror group’s Military Intelligence Headquarters.

The military further noted that all three had been directly involved in the October 7 massacre and had carried out attacks against IDF troops and the state of Israel.

Prior to the strike, the military assured that numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional means.

Terrorists love “humanitarian zones,” the better to maximize any civilian casualties when they’re hit – or even better, to deter Israel from trying to get the terrorists at all. I often wonder just how Israel gets its intelligence, although I assume it’s in many difference ways. But I believe much of it is human intelligence, either from Palestinian informers or from Israeli agents who are undercover in the neighborhoods.

Dueling Kamalas

The New Neo Posted on by

You can’t quite call it a flip-flop. That’s too mild a word for Kamala’s recent attempts at a 180. Recently a questionnaire surfaced which she had filled out for the ACLU while she was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic primaries, trying to outflank Sanders and Warren on the left. It revealed a number of extreme positions she held, or said she held (who really knows with the mutable Harris?):

A resurfaced American Civil Liberties Union questionnaire from when Kamala Harris was running for president in 2019 has revealed that she supports gender transition surgeries for detained migrants and that she wants to slash funding from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The document, which was first reported on by CNN, also asks then-Sen. Harris for her views on topics such as the U.S. prison system, D.C. statehood, abortion access and the decriminalization of drugs.

She also was for legalization of all drugs. On DC statehood, she wrote this:

Q:Will you commit to supporting D.C. statehood? If so, please describe your plan to achieve D.C. statehood.

Yes X No ?

Explanation (500 words): I have co-sponsored the Washington, DC Admission Act which would admit DC to the union, and will fight to pass it into law as president.

So she didn’t just vote for it, she was a co-sponsor. As far as I can tell she’s never taken it back, either.

Any regular reader of this blog knows that I’m no stranger to the idea that people can change politically. But I would have a bit more faith that Kamala Harris was one of them if she’d been giving speeches right along about her new positions; she most definitely hasn’t done so. And all she’s said about her supposed change of mind and heart is basically this sort of generic pap:

“The Vice President’s positions have been shaped by three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris Administration,” a Harris campaign adviser told Fox News this week when asked about her responses.

If Biden’s governance has been so very effective, then why is she running away from it? Her “explanation” doesn’t even make sense on the face of it. The only thing that’s really changed about Kamala Harris is that she’s the Democrats’ nominee for president, and she’s desperately trying to escape her former self.

The “ceasefire deal” dream dies hard

The New Neo Posted on by

Here’s the report:

Nearly one year after the initial attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists, the Biden White House questions whether the Iranian-backed group even wants to make a deal that would result in a ceasefire and the remaining hostages being released.

According to U.S. officials, the Biden-Harris Administration has come to terms with the fact that Hamas may never want a deal as the terrorist group continues to hold back on accepting negotiation terms since its initial attack last October. The attack killed 1,200 people, in addition to the six hostages that were found murdered last weekend, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, by Hamas.

Earlier this week, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met in the White House Situation Room with their national security team to discuss if a hostage-release and ceasefire deal is even possible — concerned that such an agreement is off the table.

“We still think the deal is the only way to save the lives of the hostages and stop the war. But the executions not only increased our sense of urgency but also called into question Hamas’ willingness to do a deal of any kind,” a U.S. official told Axios.

How stupid are they? Fools or knaves? Because it’s been obvious for more than twenty years that terrorists are not a “partner for peace” and in fact there doesn’t seem to be a Palestinian entity that is.

And why on earth would they be surprised at the murder of the hostages? Again, how stupid are they? Such murders are always a good possibility if Hamas – or any hostage-taker, really – doesn’t get what it wants in exchange for releasing hostages. Any fool could see that, too, right from the start. The hostages were always pearls of great price to Hamas if alive, but they were also useful not just to pressure Israel but to horrify it and break its heart and turn Israelis against the government when Hamas gets more brutal with them and publicizes that fact. Thus, the murders.

Roundup

The New Neo Posted on by

(1) Kamala Harris has finally managed to put up a policy page. It sounds as though it’s about what you’d expect: sparse, to the left, and heavy with anti-Trump material.

(2) I think it’s obvious to any thinking observer that the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was disastrous. Now the House has issued a report, and the news is being covered as basically Republicans pounce. You may recall, however, that it was this withdrawal that caused a segment of the US public to turn on Biden; that’s when his polls fell.

(3) Is Keith Ellison on Kamala’s short list for attorney general? You be the judge.

(4) The BBC hates Israel and reports very unfairly on it. But you already knew that.

(5) This obviously isn’t meant to be a pro-Trump cover, but it’s in the eye of the beholder:

On tomorow’s debate

The New Neo Posted on by

I plan to have a thread tomorrow to discuss the debate. But I just want to say now that, in addition to my usual dislike of debates, I have a special layer of anxiety about this one. Way too much is riding on it – way way too much, and those running the debate would obviously like Kamala Harris to do well. Plus, debates are not Trump’s strong suit.

Because this is probably the only presidential debate there will be this cycle, it takes on added significance despite the fact that – as is always the case – debates are not necessarily a good reflection of much of anything except sound bites and emotional perceptions including perceived attractiveness. Yes, debates do show a person’s ability to think on his or her feet and be clear about answers. But so much of a viewer’s take on that that depends on the manner in which questions are asked, what questions are asked, and the format (including the possibility of a favored candidate getting the questions in advance), as well as the way a biased and activist press talks about the exchanges afterwards and “fact checks” them.

Venezuela’s opposition candidate flees to Spain …

The New Neo Posted on by

… and has been granted asylum there:

Former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez arrived in Spain on Sunday after fleeing into exile in as part of a negotiated deal with Nicolas Maduro’s government that dealt a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his opposition campaign.

The surprise departure of the man considered by Venezuela’s opposition and several foreign governments to be the legitimate winner of July’s presidential race was announced late Saturday by Venezuelan officials who just a few days ago ordered his arrest. …

“His life was in danger, and the increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected, demonstrate that the regime has no scruples,” [opposition politician] Machado said on X.

“Let this be very clear to everyone: Edmundo will fight from outside alongside our diaspora.” …

But on the streets of Caracas on Sunday the mood was one of despair ….

Well they might despair. Venezuela, once a fairly prosperous country, voted itself into permanent leftist control decades ago and now those in charge will not relinquish their tight grip on the country even if the suffering citizens reject them. “Our democracy” isn’t democratic unless it serves the left’s cause. And since Gonzalez remained a threat as long as he was in Venezuela, he had to be threatened till he left the country.

The Venezuelan people have seen this play before:

Gonzalez joins the swelling ranks of opposition stalwarts who once fought Maduro only to throw in the towel and seek asylum abroad in the face of a brutal crackdown. In Spain, he joins at least four former presidential hopefuls who were imprisoned or faced arrest for defying Maduro’s rule.

Spain has been a major point of exodus for Venezuelans, particularly of those leading opposition to Maduro’s regime. They include Leopoldo Lopez, who fled to Spain to reunite with his family in 2020, and Antonio Ledezma, who left in 2017.

In addition:

Ever since the vote, he and Machado have been in hiding as security forces rounded up more than 2,000 people, many of them young Venezuelans who spontaneously took to the streets to protest Maduro’s alleged theft of the election.

Will they be treated better or worse than the J6-ers?

The entire article is worth reading. Here’s another especially interesting part:

Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, sought González’s arrest after he failed to appear three times in connection with a criminal investigation into what it considers an act of electoral sabotage.

Saab told reporters the voting records the opposition shared online were forged and an attempt to undermine the National Electoral Council.

I think the possible relevance to our own situation is obvious. The supposed crimes for which Gonzalez was being investigated include “conspiracy, falsifying documents, and usurpation of powers.” And then we have this:

Maduro asked the country’s high court to audit the electoral process. The Supreme Tribunal of Justice, stacked with Maduro loyalists, concluded on Aug. 22 that the vote counts published by the opposition were false and certified Maduro’s victory.

It has a certain familiar ring – or perhaps it’s a portent of things to come for the US. I sincerely hope not, but that’s my fear.

[NOTE: This article was written prior to the election, and it touts how secure the Venezuelan elections are. And if you read it you can see that the process of voting and checking IDs in Venezuela is a gazillion times better than ours. There are other vulnerabilities, however, which the government almost certainly exploited, having to do with authenticating the vote counts. Where there’s a will there’s a way.