Rubin Reports By Barry Rubin

PJ Media  "So [Sarkozy] went to Netanyahu with a proposal: Israel would accept unilateral independence for Palestine and Sarkozy would get Israel something from the Palestinians (perhaps recognition of a Jewish state?).
"Netanyahu played along a bit but, of course, knew that Sarkozy wouldn’t get anything from the Palestinian Authority. Sarkozy’s idea — like that of virtually all the well-intentioned or bad-intentioned, naive or cynical, friendly or hostile to Israel busybodies who think they are going to make peace — just didn’t make real sense. At any rate, Sarkozy thought he had something from Israel that he didn’t. His UN speech implying he wanted to support unilateral independence was certainly bad from Israel’s standpoint."

Charles Krauthammer: The 2011 elections: A split decision

Charles Krauthammer  "The 2011 off-year elections are a warning to Republicans. The 2010 party is over. 2012 will be a struggle.
"To be sure, Tuesday was not exactly the Democrats’ night. They did enjoy one big victory, repeal of government-worker reform in Ohio. But elsewhere, they barely held their own. The bigger news was the absence of any major Republican trend. The great Republican resurgence of 2009-10 has slowed to a crawl."

#Occupy the whole country

Rick Moran:  Another day, another death at an Occupy encampment  "The experiment in a "new way of living" by OWS protestors is gigantic failure. Ignorant of basic hygiene, unable to govern even a couple of hundred people, the OWS movement is revealing itself to be a toddler's idea of how to organize a society. (No baths! No washing! No brushing of teeth! And we get to sleep outside in tents! What could go wrong?)

"As in Oakland - and everywhere else - the OWS protestors have worn out their welcome."

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/politicalcartoons/ig/Political-Cartoons/Occupy-Oakland-Jail.htm

Smithsonian 'Sent Representatives' to Collect ‘Occupy' Memorabilia to 'Document Spirit of American Democracy'   From the comments to this post:

What do you suppose they collected? Lets see, drug needles, used condoms, feces and urine bags, hate America litreture, dirty diapers, just to mention a few. Thats one exhibit I will not visit. Cut Our tax dollars to the Smithsonian, let them get donations. (Reprinted as written)

Occupy Denver Protester Tries to Explain.. Something   "Andrew Staroska from TruthAboutBills.com had an interesting conversation with an Occupy Denver protester on Saturday. Flag burning, police brutality and freedom of speech were .. um .. - just watch.."

Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and you’ll end up in the middle of the Occupy Denver Crowd as well   ..."Update 3: adding video to the stream and I should make this point: I did not see any violence by the Denver Police, Chuck claimed it and a local blogger said there were incidents in the past that were iffy. I can not confirm any reports of violence, I’m only reporting what I saw, and informing you of what people have said. My own experience with the officers at blogcon have been entirely positive."

Iran and the US

From Big Peace: Failing to Deal, Dealing to Fail: US Response to Iran Aggression Fumbling, Tepid  "The inflation of the Administration’s rhetoric at the expense of action has not deterred Iran in the slightest in the past. The U.S. lack of leadership seems to have been welcomed by our ostensible allies, who appear quite happy to be only secondary targets of the Islamic Republic. The failure to respond appropriately to the Quds Force assassination plot bears serious consequences. When a DEA agent foils a plot on American soil and the link to the Quds Force is clear, policymakers can no longer backtrack and wax dubious about the extent of Iranian terrorism on at least three continents. They can no longer ignore it."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2011/11/09/93479

No more guessing about administration stance on military strike against Iran    "What is it about these guys that they feel it necessary to tell the enemy what we will or won't do? They informed the Afghanistan Taliban we were going to leave and even gave them a date certain. Now here's the Secretary of Defense telling Iran they can relax, no worries, all we're going to do is try and slap more sanctions on your country.
"I'm sure the Iranians are quaking in their slippers over our threats to take them to the UN again."

UK Telegraph: Israel refuses to tell US its Iran intentions  "Israel has refused to reassure President Barack Obama that it would warn him in advance of any pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear capabilities, raising fears that it may be planning a go-it-alone attack as early as next summer."
...."The US leader was rebuffed last month when he demanded private guarantees that no strike would go ahead without White House notification, suggesting Israel no longer plans to "seek Washington's permission", sources said." Via Infidel Blogger's Alliance
The amateur in the White House has ruined another relationship with an old ally.
 
Bushehr nuclear power plant "...Russian specialists believed that it would be more practical to build two reactors from scratch rather than continue working on the reactor that had been abandoned by Siemens under pressure from the United States. The studies had been achieved by the time of Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev's visit to Tehran in December 2002."

Click here for photo source and info

Hundreds of Russians guarding Bushehr reactor  "Iranian officials confirmed the deployment of Russian military personnel and equipment and said Russia has also trained Iranian personnel to operate anti-aircraft batteries and identify and intercept unmanned aerial vehicles sent by the United States to monitor Iranian nuclear sites. The Russian personnel conduct both point and perimeter defense. Officials said the Russian guards man posts as far as 20 kilometers from Bushehr and conduct patrols as well operate anti-aircraft batteries."

Occupy Wall Street Gets More Violent

Heritage  "The true colors of the Occupy Wall Street movement are starting to shine through, both in actions and affiliations. The picture that is developing is one of increasing violence married with extremist affiliations that is anything but representative of the 99 percent of Americans the movement claims to stand for."

On the road again...

Tunnel Dweller indisposed for a couple of weeks and blogging will be a bit desultory. We will do our best, however and will be fully as committed to the cause as always. TD
Here is one parting shot, courtesy of  Rich Terrell:

Ann Coulter: David Axelrod's Pattern of Sexual Misbehavior

Ann Coulter  "The reason all this is relevant is that both Axelrod and Daley have a history of smearing political opponents by digging up claims of sexual misconduct against them.
"John Brooks, Chicago's former fire commissioner, filed a lawsuit against Daley six months ago claiming Daley threatened to smear him with sexual harassment accusations if Brooks didn't resign. He resigned -- and the sexual harassment allegations were later found to be completely false.
"Meanwhile, as extensively detailed in my book "Guilty: Liberal 'Victims' and Their Assault on America," the only reason Obama became a U.S. senator -- allowing him to run for president -- is that David Axelrod pulled sealed divorce records out of a hat, first, against Obama's Democratic primary opponent, and then against Obama's Republican opponent."
More...

http://conservativedailynews.com/2011/11/underground-railroad/

Remembering our veterans on this day

Veterans Day  "Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)"

American Thinker: Celebrate Veterans Day today  "The very foundation of America is being assailed by anarchists, atheists, socialists, communists and Marxists. It is time for all those who have taken government oaths to reaffirm and act upon them. Oaths taken before God are not to be entered into lightly. In this article, Mr. Jim O'Neill details actual oaths various members of the government currently take, and he provides some insightful observations about America's precarious situation and the need for unified action

Blackfive honors our veterans  "It doesn’t matter what a vet did during his or her service, it matters that he or she chose to serve and do whatever vital job they were assigned to the best of their ability. It isn’t about medals, it isn’t about glory, it isn’t about what job they did. It is about the fact that when their country called, they stood up and answered. They are all, every one of them, heroes.
"To all the vets out there – Happy Veteran’s Day."

Awesome video of Honor Guard serving at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier :

Below: Sentry at the Tomb of the Unknowns reprimands a laughing crowd. Good job, soldier

Scenes from Arlington  First this word from our sponsor....

Barry's Brats: Occutards ... God bless them

Neal Boortz  "After weeks of the Occutards protesting and banging their drums, their movement seems to have deteriorated. Violence. Destruction of property. Sexual attacks. Head and body lice. Now do you see why I’ve said from the beginning that they should be allowed to protest as long as possible? The longer they are out there, the more apparent it becomes that they are nothing but a bunch of destructive, whiny children – Obama’s Children – with nothing but mindless complaints and no rational solutions. If this is the face of liberalism, and by association the Democrats, then as Nancy Pelosi says, “God bless them.”
"Let’s add to their growing list of outrageous actions, in the name of the “99%.”"...More:

More Boortz on Barry's Brats:  "  Nancy Pelosi has a statement she wants to make about violent rhetoric:

"I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw this myself in the late 70s in San Francisco, this kind of rhetoric. ... It created a climate in which violence took place. ... I wish we would all curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements and understand that some of the ears that it is falling on are not a[s] balanced as the person making the statements may assume."

Oh wait. I’ve made a mistake here. That wasn’t Nancy Pelosi talking about the occupiers. That is what she had to say about tea partiers ….. Sorry. More...

Thomas Sowell :  Democracy Versus Mob Rule  "Members of the mobs apparently believe that other people, who are working while they are out trashing the streets, should be forced to subsidize their college education -- and apparently the president of the United States thinks so too.
"But if these loud mouths' inability to put together a coherent line of thought is any indication of their education, the taxpayers should demand their money back for having that money wasted on them for years in the public schools."

http://zappatrust.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d433i55

American Thinker: 'Weak field' spanks CNBC liberals

C. Edmund Wright  "Putting aside Rick Perry's awful 53 seconds, the real story of the CNBC debate last night was how thoroughly the so-called weak field of Republican Presidential candidates collectively embarrassed the panel aggregated by the financial network.
"This was not lost on questioners Maria Bartiromo and Jim Cramer, whose demeanor change was obvious as the debate wore on. Meanwhile, in the post debate questioning, manchild Carl Quintenilla asked perhaps the worst question in the history of American journalism by trying to couch Herman Cain's "Queen Nancy" reference in light of his "problems with women." Puh-leeze."
....
"Carl Quintenilla tried to tie Cain's phrase "Queen Nancy" to his "problems with women" and just would not let it go. Carl, you are pathetic. I have to go now. I'm about the tear something up.
"Overall winners: Cain, Romney and Gingrich in some order. Overall losers: Perry and all questioners except Rick Santelli. Biggest loser would be the arrogant Jim Cramer and perhaps Quintenilla on his post debate performance."

"...this exchange between Newt Gingrich and (a rather scrappy) Maria Bartiromo was also pretty great.
"In it Gingrich blames the media for their shallow reporting of Occupy Wall St....an accusation that does not sit well with Bartiromo, who calls him on it. Newt does not back down."



Audience Boos CNBC’s Question About Cain Allegations

Marybeth Hicks on Socialist Protesters in America

Marybeth Hicks  "Call it an occupational hazard, but I can’t look at the Occupy Wall Street protesters without thinking, “Who parented these people?” "....
"There are some crucial life lessons that the protesters’ moms clearly have not passed along.
"Here, then, are five things the OWS protesters’ mothers should have taught their children but obviously didn’t, so I will:"   Keep reading...
....
Marybeth concludes her excellent column with this:

The truth? Your tattooed necks, gauged ears, facial piercings and dirty dreadlocks are off-putting. Nonconformity for the sake of nonconformity isn’t a virtue.
Occupy reality: Only 4 percent of college graduates are out of work. If you are among that 4 percent, find a mirror and face the problem. It’s not them. It’s you.

From Boiling the American Frog; Hat tip to Walt Stier, Santa Maria, Ca

Alan Caruba: What We Have Here is a Failure to Negotiate

Warning Signs  ..."The decision of the Democratic members of the Congressional Super Committee to refuse further discussion of revenue issues is a failure to negotiate."....
"When the news was reported on Wednesday that the Democratic members had walked away from the negotiation table, I picked up the phone to ask for his reaction.
" “We live in an era when the conventional wisdom is that compromise is the goal,” said Camp. “The real goal is a valid mission and purpose. What’s missing is that the committee as a whole is not focused on the real mission which is the best result for the American people and the nation. Instead, their goal is political gamesmanship, a massive over-reach by both parties to the negotiation.” "....
....
"Refusing to negotiate makes sense only if Democrats are positioning themselves to blame the Republicans for the failure to avoid another potential down-grade of the nation's credit rating. It's not the truth, but the truth is often a rare commodity in politics.
" “What we are witnessing,” said Camp, “is a textbook definition of incompetence.” "
(Emphasis added)

Below: there appears to be a theme here...

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/