Nominee (and Early Favorite) for Photo of the Year

 

This is fitting:

On the right are the rockets being fired indiscriminately by Hamas terrorists at Israeli neighborhoods. … On the left are the IDF’s Iron Dome interceptor missiles…

This photo represents the clash of technologies, ideologies, and civilizations themselves. …

[Hat tip to Instapundit.]

I would add that it also displays rather effectively the battlespace between the fact-based world of rational, reasoned, intellectual honesty versus the pretend world of pseudo-events and fake news narratives.

See also:

THE AP GOES SGT. SCHULTZ

…After its customary warning to protect civilian life, the IDF took out the 12-story Jala Tower housing Hamas military intelligence offices as well as offices for Al Jazeera and the Associated Press. As far as I can tell from reports such as this photo-filled story in the Daily Mail, no lives were lost in the bombing.

[LINKED IN ORIGINAL:] AP CEO: “AP’s bureau has been in this building for 15 years. We have had no indication Hamas was in the building or active in the building. This is something we actively check to the best of our ability. We’d never knowingly put our journalists at risk.”

… Taking the AP seriously, I demand evidence that the AP didn’t know it was holed up with genocidal terrorists. If such proof is forthcoming, I demand proof that the AP is a bona fide news organization. …

Also, note that the AP cements its place in the not-intellectually-honest world with the straight-faced “We narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life” report that omits the fact that they avoided such a thing because they were given a warning BY THE ISRAELIS “to evacuate … before the place was destroyed.”

Some older but enlightening documentation worth your time to watch:

https://youtu.be/uL8ANySuSuk

Have a good day.

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  1. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    Meanwhile, on our own shores:

    Pro-Palestinian ‘Protesters’ Beat a Jewish Man, Sexually Assault a Woman in Unbelievable Scene

     

    • #1
  2. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    philo (View Comment):

    Meanwhile, on our own shores:

    Pro-Palestinian ‘Protesters’ Beat a Jewish Man, Sexually Assault a Woman in Unbelievable Scene

    It’s entirely too believable. Think of the no-go zones in Europe. Think of the regular kidnapping, rape, and forced marriage of young Christian girls in various Muslim-dominated nations.

    • #2
  3. Charles Mark Member
    Charles Mark
    @CharlesMark

    I am reliably informed that the projectiles coming from the right of the photo are mere “firecrackers”. 

    • #3
  4. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    Finchley Road, North London: Video: Mob of Muslims in cars with loudspeakers: “F*ck the Jews. Rape their daughters.”

    • #4
  5. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    philo: [CORRECTION: I believe the author of the original mixed up his right and his left. I must now fire my editor.]

    Please note the correction added to the post. 

    • #5
  6. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    philo (View Comment):

    philo: [CORRECTION: I believe the author of the original mixed up his right and his left. I must now fire my editor.]

    Please note the correction added to the post.

    And now see the correction to the correction. I should have stopped after the first pot of coffee…

    • #6
  7. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    In case there is any doubt, one should focus on the “I demand proof that the AP is a bona fide news organization” part of the linked Powerline post:

    Confirmed: the AP Is Incredibly Ignorant and Yes, Hamas Was in the Building

    … Obama official Ben Rhodes even pushed Hamas propaganda about the incident, saying he didn’t see the point of degrading Hamas in this case, and it was hard “not to conclude that the collective punishment of all people in Gaza is the point.

    According to the Jerusalem Post, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed his “unwavering support” for the AP, saying their reporting was indispensable.

    As I said last night, I’d take Israeli intelligence over the AP any day of the week, in terms of who’s more accurate here.

    Seems I was right, and the AP really is lousy at their jobs. …

    [Emphasis added]

    In case the emphasized parts aren’t clear enough, it seems both the official and unofficial parts of the semi-functioning US government should provide proof that they are not wholly owned by the same people that operate Hamas:

    …the U.S. was the only country to even ask Israeli officials about the building, … other countries were simply offering their support for their right of self-defense.

    • #7
  8. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    philo (View Comment): [From RedState Link:] According to the Jerusalem Post, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed his “unwavering support” for the AP, saying their reporting was indispensable.

    Reporting? I think he pronounced propaganda wrong: 

    ISRAEL SHARED INTELLIGENCE TO US SHOWING HAMAS OPERATED INSIDE BUILDING WHERE AP, AL-JAZEERA HAD OFFICES

    Exit quote:

    “The ability of the modern press to be oblivious to facts they don’t wish to know or might prove harmful to their narrative is so well established and the ignorance of modern journalists is so obvious that the idea that terrorists could operate with impunity right under their noses for a decade is as believable as it gets.”

    • #8
  9. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    philo (View Comment):

    Reporting? I think he pronounced propaganda wrong: 

    ISRAEL SHARED INTELLIGENCE TO US SHOWING HAMAS OPERATED INSIDE BUILDING WHERE AP, AL-JAZEERA HAD OFFICES

    From the Instapundit comments:

    “If US intelligence didn’t know already then they need to be shut down.”

    Agreed. And if the Secretary of State did not know… or if he did and still chose to participate in the propaganda play…then he should be removed from office for being as worthless as the warm bucket of piss that he is. (By the way, he was confirmed to that office via “bipartisan approval in the Senate, with a vote of 78-22.” By my count, that is roughly 28 Republican Senators who have some explaining to do as to whether we should believe they also aren’t worth a warm bucket of piss. It had better be a convincing case!)

     

    • #9
  10. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    Another valuable Instapundit post. Two important links:

    What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel.

    The Hamas Rocket Attacks Are Based on a Lie.

    And a bit of comment section wisdom that will do you well to remember in the coming days:

    Jew hating is the mother tongue of all collectivists. Scratch anyone ranting about the Jews, and you will find the same sort of denial of the individual and embrace of collective guilt. Communism and fascism are two sides of the same evil coin. Socialist claim to embrace the collective guilt of economic class but nearly always fall back to their mother tongue of Jew hating eventually.

    HINT: Recognize these fellows:

    Anti-Israel Protesters Try to Take on a Cop Car in LA

     

    • #10
  11. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Actually, I assumed that the stuff on the left was the low-or-no-tech Hamas rockets going wildly wherever they might end up, and the very directed stuff on the right was the high-tech and well-guided Israeli defense coming in formation to take out the Hamas rockets before they could do serious damage, maybe even by falling back onto civilians near where they were launched from.

    • #11
  12. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Actually, I assumed that the stuff on the left was the low-or-no-tech Hamas rockets going wildly wherever they might end up, and the very directed stuff on the right was the high-tech and well-guided Israeli defense coming in formation to take out the Hamas rockets before they could do serious damage, maybe even by falling back onto civilians near where they were launched from.

    The full quote is more informative:

    On the left are the IDF’s Iron Dome interceptor missiles twirling as their insanely advanced systems try to match the trajectory of the Hamas rockets to keep them from killing innocent people.

    • #12
  13. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    philo (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Actually, I assumed that the stuff on the left was the low-or-no-tech Hamas rockets going wildly wherever they might end up, and the very directed stuff on the right was the high-tech and well-guided Israeli defense coming in formation to take out the Hamas rockets before they could do serious damage, maybe even by falling back onto civilians near where they were launched from.

    The full quote is more informative:

    On the left are the IDF’s Iron Dome interceptor missiles twirling as their insanely advanced systems try to match the trajectory of the Hamas rockets to keep them from killing innocent people.

    But if the Hamas rockets are coming that straight and orderly, how much “twirling” should be required?

    • #13
  14. Charles Mark Member
    Charles Mark
    @CharlesMark

    philo (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Actually, I assumed that the stuff on the left was the low-or-no-tech Hamas rockets going wildly wherever they might end up, and the very directed stuff on the right was the high-tech and well-guided Israeli defense coming in formation to take out the Hamas rockets before they could do serious damage, maybe even by falling back onto civilians near where they were launched from.

    The full quote is more informative:

    On the left are the IDF’s Iron Dome interceptor missiles twirling as their insanely advanced systems try to match the trajectory of the Hamas rockets to keep them from killing innocent people.

    Remember the Scuds and the Patriots in Gulf War 1?

    • #14
  15. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    kedavis (View Comment):

    philo (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Actually, I assumed that the stuff on the left was the low-or-no-tech Hamas rockets going wildly wherever they might end up, and the very directed stuff on the right was the high-tech and well-guided Israeli defense coming in formation to take out the Hamas rockets before they could do serious damage, maybe even by falling back onto civilians near where they were launched from.

    The full quote is more informative:

    On the left are the IDF’s Iron Dome interceptor missiles twirling as their insanely advanced systems try to match the trajectory of the Hamas rockets to keep them from killing innocent people.

    But if the Hamas rockets are coming that straight and orderly, how much “twirling” should be required?

    I suspect it has a lot to do with the target identification, prioritization, and acquisition of fast-closing speeds and multi-bogie environments. It’s complicated man…

    • #15
  16. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    philo (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    philo (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Actually, I assumed that the stuff on the left was the low-or-no-tech Hamas rockets going wildly wherever they might end up, and the very directed stuff on the right was the high-tech and well-guided Israeli defense coming in formation to take out the Hamas rockets before they could do serious damage, maybe even by falling back onto civilians near where they were launched from.

    The full quote is more informative:

    On the left are the IDF’s Iron Dome interceptor missiles twirling as their insanely advanced systems try to match the trajectory of the Hamas rockets to keep them from killing innocent people.

    But if the Hamas rockets are coming that straight and orderly, how much “twirling” should be required?

    I suspect it has a lot to do with the target identification, prioritization, and acquisition of fast-closing speeds and multi-bogie environments. It’s complicated man…

    Maybe so.  But I still like my interpretation better. :-)

     

    Also reminds me of this:

     

    • #16
  17. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    philo (View Comment):

    philo (View Comment):

    philo: [CORRECTION: I believe the author of the original mixed up his right and his left. I must now fire my editor.]

    Please note the correction added to the post.

    And now see the correction to the correction. I should have stopped after the first pot of coffee…

    “We apologize again for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked.”

    • #17
  18. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    It appears someone misunderstood the “no more masks” recommendation…regardless, his mask is off:

    Muslim CNN reporter: ‘The world today needs a Hitler’

    • #18
  19. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    philo (View Comment):

    It appears someone misunderstood the “no more masks” recommendation…regardless, his mask is off:

    Muslim CNN reporter: ‘The world today needs a Hitler’

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Too bad they already got Trump out of office…

    • #19
  20. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    philo (View Comment):

    It appears someone misunderstood the “no more masks” recommendation…regardless, his mask is off:

    Muslim CNN reporter: ‘The world today needs a Hitler’

    Never forget that Mein Kampf is a perennial best-selling in many Muslim nations.

    • #20
  21. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    While I do not like the stealth edits that can accompany a promotion to the Main Feed – there should always be some kind of indication documenting that a change occurred – I do appreciate the clean-up work done here: Thank you.

    [EDIT: Although, now that I look a bit closer, in the opening line of the original I had allowed that maybe this is not really a real “photo” and might be photoshopped or a composite of photos. It may not matter but I think that is important.]

    • #21
  22. Cow Girl Thatcher
    Cow Girl
    @CowGirl

    kedavis (View Comment):

    philo (View Comment):

    It appears someone misunderstood the “no more masks” recommendation…regardless, his mask is off:

    Muslim CNN reporter: ‘The world today needs a Hitler’

    Too bad they already got Trump out of office…

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I can’t “like” this…but it certainly is something that needs to be spread around for edification. Wow.

    • #22
  23. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    Powerline is now on the case with another picture:

    And footage from inside the AP / Hamas building before the warnings to evacuate came:

    • #23
  24. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    philo (View Comment): …in the opening line of the original I had allowed that maybe this is not really a real “photo” and might be photoshopped or a composite of photos. …

    On this subject from the Powerline comments:

    … Since the rocket motor trails all end in the same area, it’s likely rocket motor burnout (as noted below) over perhaps a 30 second or more exposure. The Iron Dome software would calculate a Predicted Impact Point (PIP), and send interceptors on only those targets whose PIP was in a defended area. …

    Maybe it is a single, time lapsed photograph. 

    • #24
  25. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Paul Stinchfield (View Comment):

    Finchley Road, North London: Video: Mob of Muslims in cars with loudspeakers: “F*ck the Jews. Rape their daughters.”

    I absolutely believe in the right to free speech. 

    I also believe that people should beat this mob with cricket bats until they change their ways.

    And that any of them who are not currently citizens should be deported forthwith. 

    • #25
  26. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    It’s a remarkable image. I’ve seen commentators note that it sums up the situation perfectly because it shows the imbalance in  abilities, which means one is required to sympathize with the brave, desperate people who lack the devilish ingenuity of the Israelis. A fiery fist of fury against a calculating, devious foe. To them, it’s the Polish cavalry charge against the Wehrmacht, except of course the Wehrmacht had the right idea.

    Imagine this scene in an alien-invasion movie: we’d cheer the rockets on the right. Outclassed, yes, but unbowed, one last barrage, a blaze of glory. If this happened in the first act of the alien-invasion movie, someone would call  President Morgan Freeman and inform him the attack had failed. But! If it happened in the third act, it would work, because a plucky non-conformist scientist with attitude (who’d been teaching at a local college before the Army interrupted his lecture to say “come with us please”) was thrown together with a brilliant but brittle ballistic-missile designer (Nicole Kidman), and they figured out that the aliens could not distinguish color, so if they painted the missiles pink, they would get through. This was initially met with suspicion by the General (Robert Loggia) who wondered if this was some gay thing, but in the first act his daughter had come out to him as gay and he was haunted by how he’d reacted before they’d lost contact with New York, and now he thinks, well, as long as it works, what matters is saving humanity, no matter how they define love, I mean, when you come down to it, I love my cigar. Give it a try.

    The swarm works, the aliens are defeated, there’s lots of whooping in the control room (four second close-up on Adam Baldwin), the General gets a call from his daughter who calls him “Daddy” for the first time in ten years, President Freeman sighs in grave relief. It’s an awesome 90s movie, and the picture above, used for the poster, is inevitably called “iconic.”

    • #26
  27. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    It’s a remarkable image. I’ve seen commentators note that it sums up the situation perfectly because it shows the imbalance in abilities, which means one is required to sympathize with the brave, desperate people who lack the devilish ingenuity of the Israelis. A fiery fist of fury against a calculating, devious foe. To them, it’s the Polish cavalry charge against the Wehrmacht, except of course the Wehrmacht had the right idea.

    Imagine this scene in an alien-invasion movie: we’d cheer the rockets on the right. Outclassed, yes, but unbowed, one last barrage, a blaze of glory. If this happened in the first act of the alien-invasion movie, someone would call President Morgan Freeman and inform him the attack had failed. But! If it happened in the third act, it would work, because a plucky non-conformist scientist with attitude (who’d been teaching at a local college before the Army interrupted his lecture to say “come with us please”) was thrown together with a brilliant but brittle ballistic-missile designer (Nicole Kidman), and they figured out that the aliens could not distinguish color, so if they painted the missiles pink, they would get through. This was initially met with suspicion by the General (Robert Loggia) who wondered if this was some gay thing, but in the first act his daughter had come out to him as gay and he was haunted by how he’d reacted before they’d lost contact with New York, and now he thinks, well, as long as it works, what matters is saving humanity, no matter how they define love, I mean, when you come down to it, I love my cigar. Give it a try.

    The swarm works, the aliens are defeated, there’s lots of whooping in the control room (four second close-up on Adam Baldwin), the General gets a call from his daughter who calls him “Daddy” for the first time in ten years, President Freeman sighs in grave relief. It’s an awesome 90s movie, and the picture above, used for the poster, is inevitably called “iconic.”

    You are really on a roll tonight!

    • #27
  28. Paul Stinchfield Member
    Paul Stinchfield
    @PaulStinchfield

    James Lileks (View Comment):
    It’s a remarkable image. I’ve seen commentators note that it sums up the situation perfectly because it shows the imbalance in  abilities, which means one is required to sympathize with the brave, desperate people who lack the devilish ingenuity of the Israelis. A fiery fist of fury against a calculating, devious foe. To them, it’s the Polish cavalry charge against the Wehrmacht, except of course the Wehrmacht had the right idea.

    Heh. Well said. But to complicate things further, part of the insane hatred of the Israel (and Jews in general) is due to the fact that by ancient tradition Jews are supposed to be contemptible worms, destined to always remain beneath the heel of the noble Muslims. For those lowly Jews to not only rebel against the divinely ordained Muslim overlordship (a crime deserving extermination according to Sharia law) but to actually win, and win so decisively, was an unbearable humiliation and a blasphemy against Holy Truth. It’s bad enough when Jews are richer and better educated, but to for them to be better warriors as well is the final straw.

    • #28
  29. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    Powerline has been busy today. First:

    THE AP GOES SGT. SCHULTZ: A CORRECTON

    Yesterday I rashly credited the Associated Press with cluelessness about holing up in the 12-story Gaza office building it shared with Hamas. I should not have done so.

    …I am calling for an independent investigation of the AP as a Hamas collaborator. The public deserves to know the facts.

    Next:

    TERRORIST PROPAGANDA, AP STYLE: A CASE STUDY

    …the article I wrote for the February 4, 2008 … took a look at widely circulated AP and Reuters photographs of Yasser Arafat allegedly donating blood to the United States in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

    …According to his Twitter account, Adel Hana has been a staff photographer for the Associated Press based in Gaza since 1993. According to me, the AP is still in the business of passing off terrorist propaganda as news.

    Finally:

    IN THE MIDDLE EAST, DISCREDITED MYTHS NEVER DIE

    The current round of violence that was initiated by Hamas firing thousands of rockets into Israel is depressing on a number of fronts, not least because we are once again hearing brain-dead shibboleths from the White House. After a four-year respite under President Trump, ignorance again reigns. Today Jen Psaki…

     

    • #29
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