Chit Chat

By Ted Belman

From now on comments on every post must relate to the content of the post.

Comments that don’t relate to the post must go here.

Any person who contravenes this demand will be put on moderation. Also their offending comment will be trashed.

The reason for this demand is so that people who want to read comments which pertain to the post, don’t have to wade through the chatter.

Everyone will be happier.

April 16, 2020 | 7,625 Comments »

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  1. I wish there were an edit button, I have to add something. Being pro Russia and advocating for Russia is fine. When opera singer Anna Netrebko was briefly canceled for being for the invasion of Ukraine, I thought she should be able to continue to sing in American and European opera houses, because free speech and she’s Russian after all. The Russian-Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa was also canceled for the same reason, although she is an American citizen, but still, free speech. I don’t want to write a long, moralistic screed about the obligations of citizens and visiting artists, but the main thing is, Ritter shills for Putin because he’s being blackmailed, and Putin has supplied him with girls for many years. Ritter has worked for the American government in sensitive positions, even though he knew his sex life would make him easy to blackmail. Netrebko and Lisitsa have opinions but are not perverts and traitors, they are good musicians, not weapons inspectors or Marines.

  2. @Reader, no doubt Jane Fonda said the same thing in Hanoi, it was just the politicians, not the people. Praising the American people while sucking up to terrorists is still treason.

    Ritter is like the main character in The Blue Angel, his sex addiction has led him to lower and lower depths of degradation. Even though I’ve despised him for a long time, this video shocked me.

  3. @ketzel2

    Scott Ritter made a pro-American speech, as far as I could tell, sure he flattered the Chechens but he wanted to show that it is just some politicians, not the American people, who are a problem.

  4. @Peloni & Ted

    Dennis Ross one of the greatest failures in the history of diplomacy. Why does anyone even quote what he says. He is a two stater whose ideas for Israel are a full blown disaster.

  5. @Ted

    But it’s not a world of reality

    Says one of the fools most intimately associated with the failures of the old Conception as one of the most recognizable Peace Processors whose efforts brought only war and destabilization instead of peace. Ross needs to get the latest firmware update as he demonstrates that he has learned nothing from the one-trick pony which he has helped force on Israel for decades and which October 7 has led to steeling the Israelis against such follies going forward. What Ross describes as the “world of reality” is simple capitulation to the US demands without consideration of the threat which doing so will leave Israel and the Israeli people. I wouldn’t say that he is living in a world of his own, but it is certainly not a world of reality, no matter how many times he tries over and over again to push the narrative that there is no other choice. In fact, the choice he espouses is national suicide to the rape, torture and slaughter of the entire Israeli public. I think it is time for him to go sell crazy somewhere else as he has done too much damage to be lecturing anyone about what is and is not reality.

  6. “As for Israel’s current extremist government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Dennis Ross says Israelis can’t expect the United States and other global powers to accept ministers who envision kicking Palestinians out of Gaza and rebuilding Israeli settlements there. “They are basically saying, ‘We will control Palestinians forever, and they will simply accept it.’ And it also is a vision that suggests that somehow Israel is a superpower and doesn’t need anyone else. People like [Bezalel] Smotrich and [Itamar] Ben-Gvir are living in a world of their own. But it’s not a world of reality.””

  7. @Reader

    Israel pressured to fast-track Bnei Menashe immigration after missile kills seven
    Approximately 5,500 members of the Bnei Menashe community currently reside in India, waiting for the opportunity to start new lives in Israel.
    Israeli government discussing fast-track on immigration for Bnei Menashe

    Well, so much for India. And Thank God for Israel!

  8. DM Gallant in Gaza: The Feeling that We Are About to Stop Is Wrong
    By
    David Israel –

    Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday entered the Gaza Strip together with Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Amir Bar’am to conduct a situation assessment with the fighters of the 99th Division led by Brigadier General Barak Hiram.

    General Hiram was recently the subject of harsh criticism over a NY Times quote regarding his actions in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, when he allegedly told his tank commander following negotiations with Hamas captors of Israeli hostages, “The negotiations are over, break inside, even at the cost of civilian casualties.” Only two of the 14 hostages survived the ordeal (The Day Hamas Came).

  9. The United States has denied a report that the White House refused a request by Israel to purchase Apache helicopters.

  10. @Edgar G.

    The only way not to lose your comments is to save them (sometimes even before you post them) in a Word file.

    Then you can always post them again, if necessary.

  11. @Bear Better to mention including Jews under Title VI and how he had to make it an executive order because the dems opposed it on behalf of our mortal enemies and how Biden delayed it by a year. And the Taylor Force Act and how Biden has been subverting it. I mentioned the latter to leftists who refused to believe pay for slay existed!

    Actually, it’s not uncommon for antisemites to have close Jewish associations.

    Wilhelm Marr was married to 2 Jewish women and a third who was half Jewish (they don’t say which half.)

  12. @Seb talk about irony I was defending Trump and his policies to a leftist I was in personal discussion with on the phone.

    I think I make constructive critique of him but the leftists flat out hate him with no governor to the hate! My favorite is when they call him anti-semite. I asked in response then does he hate his own daughter. The answer he does not view her as a Jew.

  13. Ted

    What happened to all my emails to Bear in Chit Chat??? They were published and on the site for hours. Now invisible

  14. @ Seb that is cute I give you credit.

    @Bear Bagel yer pardon but t’was a schmear.. Trump said he would like to debate Baden every night.

    It could only happen if Biden actually is directed to the podium or microphone and given an ear piece on what to answer or say.

  15. @Seb, I reported a fact (not a smear) that Trump chicken out in debating Haley, DeSantis…….

    It was smart I agree because he would have been “smeared” trying to debate more knowledgeable articulate rivals!!! He would have been exposed!! Just like Biden who ducks debates. In fact Biden will likely not debate the GOP nominee it has been reported.

    Would you not want Biden to debate Trump if they are their parties respective nominees. Trump would relish this because he is still sharper than the very senile Biden.

  16. @Bear Since you smeared Trump as a coward for not wasting his time debating candidates who don’t have a prayer, and referred to jumping chickens, I felt that one absurd post deserved three back – I’m not an eye for an eye kind of guy, more of a Hiroshima for an eye kind of guy, rather – so, I googled Jumping chickens and posted a video of jumping chickens and another of a shake and bake commercial from 1968 which are in moderation. The other post is of a heroic coward who rescued Jews during the Shoah.

    By the Way, there was a silly movie based on Coward’s exploits based on a book that ended before Auschwitz. “The Password is Courage.”
    Hogan”s Heros was clearly a silly tv show based on his exploits.
    And I wouldn’t be surprised if Stalag 17, the play, was, as well.

    Wikipedia also says he snuck into the IG Farben section and testified at the Nuremburg Trials but only says, “he claimed” because all the witnesses were dead and he didn’t know their names.

    My kind of Coward. And if Trump can be described as a Coward – incredibly – I’ll take that meaning of the word (you can tell I used to be a leftist, eh? 😀 )

    I remember learning about him from a Times Of Israel article.

  17. @Bear

    British soldier Charles Coward joined the British army in 1924, and served five years in India. During WWII, holding the rank of sergeant major, Coward fought on the French front; in 1940 he was wounded and captured at Dunkirk. He escaped from captivity several times, and was eventually incarcerated at the Monowitz camp near Auschwitz. During this period, Coward helped save a number of Jews. Known as the “Count of Auschwitz,” he had the idea of collecting precious chocolate and cigarettes from his fellow British prisoners, and exchanging them with Auschwitz guards for dead bodies. He substituted these bodies for Jewish inmates, who he helped to escape. On February 16, 1964, Yad Vashem recognized Charles Coward as Righteous Among the Nations.

    https://www.yadvashem.org/blog/president-of-israel-pays-tribute-to-righteous-among-the-nations-program.html

  18. On Dec 23, JPOST reported:

    The IDF has allegedly informed Egypt of its intention to occupy the Rafah border area and asked Egyptian soldiers to evacuate the area, Arab media reported.

    The IDF informed Egypt of its intention to occupy the border area on the “Philadelphi” Rafa route and asked the Egyptian soldiers to clear the border, as reported on Saturday in the Arab media.

    The report also stated that the IDF emphasized to the Egyptians that from now on, the IDF would not be responsible for the security of Egyptian forces in the area while the IDF is attempting to occupy the border area and emphasized that the military operation in the area will continue whether Egypt agrees or rejects it.

  19. On Dec 25, Netanyahu told the troops in Gaza:

    “I have two things to tell you: firstly we will do everything to protect your safety, your lives. We want [to complete] this mission but we want to protect you as much as possible,”

    “Secondly, we are not stopping. Anyone who talks about stopping — no. We’re not stopping. This was is going to go until the end. Until we finish them. No less than that.”

  20. @Ketzel2 Yes, well at the end of the day, I’m sure we’ll all vote for any of the people who say the right things against the people who say and do the wrong things, so if Haley or De Santis wins the primary most of us, I for one, will vote for her or him. But, I think Trump should and will win the primary. As Peloni demonstrated, he really is the only independent candidate and that’s why they are all out to get him. You know that when he speaks, he’s not just somebody’s mouthpiece and liable to change his position at any moment. He has an amazing record, for the most part. And he thinks outside the box. That’s why he got things done nobody else could. He’s a master strategist.

  21. This DeSantis/Trump issue reminded me of 1968. Senator Eugene McCarthy was the main antiwar candidate, and he got a lot of traction, especially among young people. So much traction that along came Bobby Kennedy (Sr.) to use the Kennedy brand to steal the issue, after McCarthy did the prep for him. McCarthy’s supporters, including me, saw Bobby as an opportunist.

    McCarthy would have been a great president, and he certainly had more gravitas and scholarly credentials than Trump. But I see a parallel. Trump did the work, and DeSantis rides in on his coattails. That in itself is bargain basement opportunism, what else is he capable of? That said, I’d vote for DeSantis if Trump weren’t available, it’s just important to note his character flaw. Trump did the work and then DeSantis tried to steal it. Shameful.

  22. @Reader In the short run, it can happen anywhere, Reader, as should be glaringly obvious. Even before Oct. 7:

    https://fathomjournal.org/israel-needs-to-talk-about-the-arab-riots-of-may-2021/

    Jews should definitely get out of Europe and come to either America or Israel. The handwriting is clearly on the wall there, except for Hungary, at the moment.

    The next Holocaust, if there is one, will be of Israel’s 7 million Jews and Jews in America are duty bound to stand by our brothers and sisters but we are hardly in the firing line anywhere near to this extent.

    It is true, however, that if there had been a Jewish state, Europe’s Jews could have left. Herzl was right.

    It could happen, someday, anywhere. Israel must be as invincible, as big, and as Jewish as possible for all our sakes, in the long run. You and I, of course, will be long gone.

  23. @Sebastien Zorn

    In any country Jews are aliens with citizenships who fool themselves into thinking that it is their country and they are the same as everybody else and it cannot happen here.

  24. @Reader or Felix Can’t remember which one of you demanded that I decide whether I am a Zionist Jew – news flash,I’m not an Israeli; I’m a fourth generation New Yorker and I never leave Manhattan if I can help it – or an American Imperialist.
    In the first place, I no longer accept the Marxist paradigm of Imperialism as the highest stage of Capitalism, Leninist, actually, which he borrowed from somebody else and I don’t hate my country. I love my country and I love my ancestral homeland and I don’t see a conflict.

    On the other hand, I guess you would see me as an American, actually U.S. imperialist, only Canadians call us Americans, 😀 , because I actually worked a number of times as a lobbyist at the Council on Foreign Relations that has a building in the East 60s.

    Wellll, usually I played in the lobby, sometimes I played the wedding and the reception, as well. That’s were the big money was. I made as much as 2. 3 hundred dollars, for as many hours work! 😀

  25. @Seb, thanks for the interpretation! Short and concise!

    Do not agree with about the idol worship part. One can be a loyal to a person and not a worshiper of that person. The loyalty continues while the leader is acting according to the principles or policies one agreed with. If the leader strays from that path the loyalty maybe withdrawn.

    Idol worship goes much further! The one idolized can do no wrong!

  26. @Bear

    ” is this just a Trump loyalist movement in your views? “

    Which was the same as asking if it’s just idol worship. Peloni answered you. He didn’t ramble at all. He said no, it’s about policy. When the aims of the movement are achieved or become clearly unachievable, it will become irrelevant, like Gingrich’s “Contract with America.” But, if it fails, America will fail.

  27. @Peloni, first you made an assumption that I believe MAGA is idol worship. Maybe among some MAGA Trump supporters there is more loyalty to the King than the Kingdom (e.g. US Constitution). I do not think it is idol worship.

    I am sorry your answer is rambling! I do not think you answered my question.

    Does MAGA survive Trump as a movement?

    DeSantis has been vilified for daring to run against Trump. He is likely now destroyed as a future MAGA leader because of this. Those who treat Trump as a King not a past elected POTUS are causing harm to the conservative movement.

    I guess we will find out when Trump goes if a leader comes along who the Trump ONLY faithful will take to.

  28. 7@Bear
    It is an interesting question to consider and the answer is an important point to query. I honestly do believe that had the 2020 election not been overthrown and thus exposing the full extent to which the Reps were actually involved in delivering the power of the US govt to the totalitarian Dems, the movement might have died with Trump’s second term and what victories he had achieved – not because it was a movement of idol worship as you and other consider it to be, but because the reforms sought out by the movement would have been made, and like Gingrich found out when he fulfilled his contract with America, the pendulum always swings back. With the Dems and Reps being so completely associated with the devastation being wrought on America, I think the repulsion which Trump expressed in his first run for office will remain going forward, but there is a catch. If Trump does not win in 2024, it really won’t matter what Americans want, as the fall of the republic will be likely irreversible and the nation will be led by those Selected from above, no less so than was Rome after Caesar (don’t take that analogy too far). If Trump succeeds in winning the election, his number one priority will be to secure the return of govt chosen by consent of the governed. This is an important and vital must have for the Republic to be re-established and the will of the people to have any effect or relevance in the future. He will, for instance, have to fight the agenda which is being pursued by the Deep State allies in making it illegal to challenge election outcomes as was signed into Florida law by Desantis this last year.

    Once the Republic is re-established, the choice of pursuing the MAGA agenda going forward or allowing the swamp to slide back into power will be a choice determined by the people. For the power of the people to rest in the hands of the people, it will take an active electorate who is weary of losing that power for their children. For the power of the people to seep back into the hands of the powerful, the people will once more need only allow itself to be led, rather than to lead, by the powerful whose only interest is power and whose tempting tools are division and deceit. People are forgetful, which calls to mind the quote from Jefferson that “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants” – the reason such cataclysmic eras must be lived as we are living today is because people are poor students of history, too trusting of idolized leaders, and too timid to question why when emergencies are declared and their rights are infringed or simply negated.

    Perhaps this is not what you meant by your question, but fill free to pursue this conversation further if this is the case.

  29. @ Peloni or any other MAGA identifiers.

    Question Post Trump Era does MAGA live on as a movement is this just a Trump loyalist movement in your views? Meaning if Trump loses the election or wins and finishes his term does MAGA survive or just wither away?

  30. @Seb, in Israeli slang Turkish Coffee is know as Botz (Mud).

    I think they should just have renamed it Botz Yisraeli (Israeli mud).