It's hard to believe that the Associated Press still considers itself a hard news outlet.
Today's story on Governor Romney's speech in Israel is a case in point.
The headline says it all:'Romney comments at fundraiser outrage Palestinians'...in big red letters.
Apparently the governor, looking at the difference between Israel's development and surrounding Arab countries drew some obvious conclusions about th epart culture plays in prosperity.
So they quote Saeb Erekat, the right fork of Yasser Arafat's tongue, who ought to know personally about how cultural elements have impacted the 'Palestinian' economy.
"It is a racist statement and this man doesn't realize that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation," said Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"It seems to me this man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people," Erekat added. "He also lacks knowledge about the Israelis themselves. I have not heard any Israeli official speak about cultural superiority."
First of all, Area A is entirely under Palestinian control, not subject to Israeli checkpoints except where it's necessitated by threat of Palestinian terrorism. So is Gaza, which had no blockade in place (from both the Israeli and Egyptian sides,I might add) until Hamas took over and started shooting missiles at Israel.The people identifying themselves as Palestinians rule these areas. There is no occupation of the Arab occupied parts of Judea and Samaria (AKA the West Bank) in any realistic sense of the word.
Aside from the AP stacking the deck by linking Gaza and the Palestinian Authority ruled territory in the figures they site, here's a dirty little secret about why Israel is a developed, modern democracy while the Palestinian Authority and every other non-oil bearing Arab country isn't, and Saeb Erekat knows this pretty well, since he's one of the perpetrators.
All the Arab countries, including what passes for 'Palestine' are kleptocracies,where the leaders and those connected to them (including Erekat) steal their people blind.Fatah's Old Guard were gifted by the chief thief himself, Yasser Arafat,with monopolies on virtually every bit of economic activity worth mentioning, which is why Mahmoud Abbas, his two sons, and a number of others including Erekat are millionaires.
Stealing the aid money from gullible western donors became a sport a long time ago, which is where Sufa Arafat gets the money to live in the best hotel in Paris while a number of Palestinians still live in refugee camps.
"It's Israeli occupiers and Palestinians under occupation, and that's why Palestinians cannot realize their potential," Erekat is quoted as saying.
But if you look at the other Arab countries without oil wealth, you see the same pattern.It's not just the Palestinians. Call it the culture of corruption, if you like.
Even in the Arab countries with oil wealth, most of the money tends to stay 'in the family' shall we say.The Saudis are a classic example.
So Romney was entirely correct about a link between culture, prosperity and development: "And you look at Israel and you say you have a hard time suggesting that all of the natural resources on the land could account for all the accomplishment of the people here," Romney said, before citing another book, "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations," by former Harvard professor David Landes.
This book, Romney said in Jerusalem, concludes that "if you could learn anything from the economic history of the world it's this: Culture makes all the difference. Culture makes all the difference."
So what's the AP's response? Ra-aa-cism!
Another blatant whopper -
Romney flew to the Middle East from Britain, where he caused a stir by questioning whether officials there were fully prepared for the Olympic Games. A stop in Poland will complete his trip.
As I pointed out,Governor Romney never actually said the Brits were not fully prepared for the Olympics.
If this is where the dinosaur media buys it stories from to redact, is it any wonder so much of th emedia is so biased towards President Obama's re-election? And tilted against Israel?
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2 comments:
So, I completely agree with Romney on this (even if his numbers are off). But having an insanely wealthy man speaking in front of insanely wealthy donors about the relative wealth of two groups based on their income is just asking for bad press.
Instead, I wish he (or any politician, for that matter) would make an argument that focuses on artistic, not economic culture. Israel has writers, composers, theaters, orchestras, all manner of artistic endeavor. But what of the Palestinians, a people that worship only death? If children are sent to school to learn how to hate, why should we be surprised when their society turns into a cultural (and economic) black hole? For many people, the true worth of a society isn't solely based on economic metrics. I can assure you, this is a sore spot for many who are otherwise anti-Israel.
Why Romney keeps painting a bullseye on his face I'll never know. But he would have gone a long way to helping himself out here if he would have brought up this an argument, an argument which those on the left make all the time when they think no one's listening.
"Romney's comments at fundraiser outrage Palestinians." My first thought when I see something like that is "good for him!!" The Palestinians are a bitter enemy of America. The default position when faced with a bitter enemy is to defeat that enemy.
As far as implacable hatred and danger to America, the Palestinians are on the level of Nazi Germany. While the danger is the same as that posed by Nazi Germany or even greater, they are not the same as Nazi Germany nor or we the same country we were in the early 1940s. As such, the straegy for defeating this enemy will be different.
We can begin by cutting off all aid they receive from us. If Mr. Romney "outraged" them, this is a good start. Go Romney!!
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