Author Archive | David Bernstein

for not pulling rank to get tickets to a sold out movie. His gentlemanly behavior is in stark contrast to that of former veep Al Gore. He once sent his secret service detail to “ask” a friend of mine to leave his seat at a movie in D.C. “because you are sitting where the vice-president […]

That’s the question that some opponents of Israeli military action are asking defenders of this action. In fact, I’ve been asked this question directly more than once. The idea, obviously, is that given that the number of Palestinian noncombatants killed by Israel exceeds the number of Israeli noncombatants at immediate risk from Hamas rockets, to […]

At the end of a long rant on Gaza, Glenn Greenwald writes: Especially in the American media, there is a constant focus on the effects on civilians from the rocket attacks on Southern Israelis — as well there should be, since that is an important part of the debate. But everyone should also be permitted […]

The government, fed up with rebel attacks and failed diplomacy, and rejecting international calls for further negotiations, is invading a densely populated terrorist stronghold, vowing to crush the terrorists, who claim to represent a liberation movement of an oppressed ethnic group, once and for all. The United Nations has rushed to condemn the government in […]

This seems to be an opportune time to link to this comprehensive, scholarly analysis of international law and the conflict between Israel and Hamas, written before the current fighting, but still quite relevant. The authors are attorney Justin Reid Weiner and Professor Avraham Bell. (I’m not opening comments, because it’s likely that only a tiny […]

Ha’aretz: The IDF has made frequent use of what is known as “knocking on the roof”: Militants are warned by phone when a residential building used to store arms will be bombed, and told to vacate the premised together with their neighbors. The weapons caches are hit only after the residents leave. Hamas has tried […]

Here are my 2008 predictions from last December: (1)John McCain recovers to win the Republican nomination. (2)Ron Paul does better than expected, and is one of the last three candidates left in the race. He then runs a third party campaign, drawing enough support from McCain, especially in the Mountain States, to throw the race […]

for Glenn Greenwald to tell us what would be a “proportionate” Israeli response to the launching of hundreds of missiles at its civilian population from Hamas-controlled Gaza, as opposed to what he calls Israel’s current “massively disproportionate response.” In other Greenwald news, just to keep track of who is engaging in what Greenwald calls “juvenile […]

From the listing for 833 22nd Street South, Arlington, VA: “A Charming house witch has been updated …”

Here’s James Wolcott’s vain attempt at starting a post highly critical of Israel with some humor: “In angry retaliation for the house arrest of Bernie Madoff, Israel has launched a hellacious air assault against Hamas in Gaza …” Get it? Madoff’s a Jew! Israel is a Jewish country! Israel is retaliating for the arrest of […]

Glenn Greenwald, I take it, will not take me up on my offer of a free vacation to Sderot. My offer was specifically in response to his claim that Israel is engaging in a “massively disproportionate response” to the shelling of southern Israel from Gaza. He obscures the issue by writing: That “argument” is the […]

Boy, am I already getting tired of hearing this. The basic claim is that since the thousands of rockets that Hamas has lobbed into southern Israel have caused relatively few death and injuries–just some deaths and injuries, along with massive panic, children living in bomb shelters, thousands of shock victims, etc.–Israel has no right to […]

The Madoff ponzi scandal is, in a way, surprising only because of its size. A friend of mine (who happens to be a plaintiffs’ lawyer) and I were talking a while back about how much of “retail” Wall Street has been built on sharp practices, albeit perhaps not illegal ones (though there is plenty of […]

In an era of faceless organizations owned by other equally faceless organizations, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC harks back to an earlier era in the financial world: The owner’s name is on the door. Clients know that Bernard Madoff has a personal interest in maintaining the unblemished record of value, fair-dealing, and high ethical […]

The National Journal has published its latest poll of leading political bloggers. The results: Majorites of left-leaning and right-leaning bloggers both agree that Obama will bring “a little” change to the way Washington works. A majority of the Left and Right agree that partisan divisions next year will either stay the same or increase. Lefties […]