the Diamond Planet

Did you miss this piece of news?

According to the Washington Post:

Diamond planet discovered by astronomers
"A diamond-crystal planet five times the size of Earth and with more mass than Jupiter has been discovered in our own Milky Way galaxy.

An international team of astronomers led by Swinburne University of Technology in Australia spotted the exotic planet racing around a tiny star 4,000 light years away and published their findings Thursday in the journal Science.."-more

According to CNET:

Astronomers: We've found a planet made of diamond "Perhaps the biggest frustration for astronomers is that they can't get to the places that most interest them.

So please imagine the excitement--and vexation--of skygazers who believe they have discovered a planet that might just be the shiniest piece of bling out there.

Reuters paints a picture of astronomers who feel like someone who has just been offered 27 carats over their chocolate pudding.

For there seems to be a planet orbiting tightly around a small star just down the road (in celestial terms) from Earth that is "a massive diamond." -more

And from the International Business Times:

The Milky Way’s Diamond Planet
"Professor Matthew Bailes of Melbourne, Australia's Swinburne University of Technology and his team of international astronomers have discovered a planet made of diamond in our Milky Way galaxy.

An exotic planet that seems to be made of diamond racing around a tiny star in our galactic backyard

With a 64-meter radio telescope situated in Parkes, Australia, the team of scientists from Australia, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, discovered the planet as it orbits a pulsar. A pulsar is described as a small spinning star that emits a beam of radio waves, which are then detected by Earth's radio telescopes as radio pulses. The pulsar and the planet were located 4,000 light years away in the Serpens constellation, which is part of the Milky Way's stars. The astronomers supported this discovery with further observations with the Lovell radio telescope in the United Kingdom and Keck telescopes in Hawaii." -more

Bombing (2001)

Today's cartoon is from just ten years ago. Back then the Western powers were not bombing Libya. They were bombing Iraq. And yes, The Western Media did not get very upset about it.

The real war against Israel, back then as it is now, is waged by the biased Western media. And why we need organizations like my friends at CAMERA.

Hurricane Warnings

I love it when I can link two current news items together in one cartoon. Especially when they would seem to be totally unconnected.

Which is why I was delighted when, while watching all the sober, intelligent, American East Coast hurricane warnings, this cartoon occurred to me.

Arab Spring?

The latest, from YNet:

Egyptians plan million-man rally against Israel

"Facebook groups call for mass protest outside Israeli embassy in Cairo, as protesters demand ambassador be expelled, embassy be closed

Egyptian daily al-Youm al-Saba'a reported Wednesday that Egyptian citizens have created groups on Facebook and other social networks calling for "a million-man protest" outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo on Friday.

The protesters say the focus of the demonstration will be the demand to have the Israeli ambassador expelled from Egypt and Israel's embassy in the capital closed." -more

And this from the National Review:

Annals of the Arab Spring: Al-Qaeda Launches from Egypt to Attack Israel

"In Egypt, where the public has always been predominantly ant-Israeli — in contrast to the Mubarak regime, which was pro-American and maintained the peace with Israel — demonstrations against Israel have broken out. Crowds are burning the Egyptian flag and one demonstrator scaled the 15-story wall of the Israeli embassy, tore down the Israeli flag, and replaced it with an Egyptian flag. "-more

Revolution (1991)

Today's cartoon is from August 1991.

Twenty years ago this month, the world watched in disbelief at the takeover that brought about the unthinkable and incredible collapse of the Soviet Union.

So here we are twenty years later and the world is watching in disbelief at the takeovers that are bringing about the unthinkable and incredible collapse of the Arab dictators.

Which made me wonder about what revolution the world will be witnessing twenty years from now. ...in August 2031?!!

. . .and about whether I'll be doing a cartoon about it!

Egypt

Watching the chaos in the Arab World around us and the self-delusion of the media is no longer shocking.

Here in Israel the Glenn Beck rallies are getting absolutely no media coverage. Outside of Israel the media is presenting the Palestinian terrorist attacks inside Israel and the ongoing bombing of Israeli towns, buses and cars from Gaza as part of a tit-for-tat ho hum continuation of standard operating procedures in the Middle East.

And the region is falling into the hands of the Islamists.

Gaddafi (1999)

Today's cartoon is from 1999.

In 1999, Gaddafi escaped judgement by turning over two underlings to pay for his criminal murder of 270 innocent people eleven years earlier in 1988.

In 1988 Gaddafi had murdered all 243 passengers and 16 crew members on Pan Am Flight 103, which he had bombed. In addition he killed Eleven people in Lockerbie, Scotland, who died as large sections of the plane fell on the town and destroyed several houses.

It would have been nice if NATO had taken Gaddafi out back in 1988, or even in 1999, but they didn't. It would have been lovely if the people of Libya had rebelled against Gaddafi back then in protest against the terrorism executed in their name, but they didn't.

So why has NATO, on the pretext of enforcing a no-fly zone to protect the Libyan people, taken Gaddafi out in 2011? Who are the so-called "rebels"? Will Libya now fall into the hands of the Islamists?

Who knows?!!

Sinai

It began on Thursday with a number of coordinated murderous attacks on Israelis by teams of terrorists who had come from Gaza and had crossed into Israel from the Sinai peninsula. Israel responded, and Gazans launched a rain of missiles on Southern Israeli towns and cities. Egyptians then denounced Israel, attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo, and called for an end to the peace treaty.

The entire exercise, I believe, is part of the Iranian attempt to encircle Israel and take over the Middle East. Iran's Hezbollah forces are in Lebanon on our Northern border while Hamas, Iran's puppets in Gaza, are on our Southern border. Egypt seems destined to fall into the hands of Islamist forces.

Sinai seems to have gone from being demilitarized to being "remilitarized", and events are moving at break-neck speed.

I Spy

The latest from "Wireless Federation:

Apple found guilty of collecting location data from iPhones, fined (South Korea)

"The telecom regulator of South Korea stated that Apple stands to be fined a token $2,852 for collecting iPhone users’ location data, on the wrong side of the law.

Apple was also ordered by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) to right certain inappropriate practices; more so because Apple continued to collect data despite iPhone users disabling the location based service in their handsets.

According to Steve Park, Apple’s spokesman in Korea, Apple does not track locations of iPhone users, and they have never done so while they have no plan to do so in the future.

Even Google was ordered to take better precautions in protecting users’ data after the commission found that it did not encrypt users’ location data temporarily saved on smartphones although, the internet giant was not fined by the commission."

American Pressure (1996)

Today's cartoon is from August 1996, fifteen years ago this month.

Fifteen long years have gone by since I drew this cartoon. Jonathan Pollard is still in prison, and an American Administration is still trying to pressure Israel into betraying her own interests. These days America is pressuring Israel to apologize to Turkey about the 2010 flotilla incident.

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- "The Obama administration agrees with a formulation in which Israel would apologize to Turkey for the deadly 2010 flotilla raid without accepting blame, Ehud Barak said.

Israel's defense minister outlined the formulation, which would have Israel apologize to Turkey for "mistakes made, if there were any" in exchange for Turkey barring legal action against the Israeli troops involved, to reporters on July 28. Barak had spent the day in meetings with National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

He told reporters that the formulation arose in his meeting with Clinton, although it was not clear whether he or Clinton initiated the idea. Barak said the Americans made the case that "if you want to defend your soldiers, make this deal." -more

Spectator Sports 2011

The daily reversals on the Stock Market are serious business. They are signs of the economic crisis, a possible "double dip" recession or worse, the collapse of the Dollar, etc. . . . yes, there is much to say about the current situation of one day's sell-off panic and the next day's mini-boom. But at heart I'm a cartoonist, so the up down motion of the market reminded me of a tennis match. I couldn't resist, gave in to temptation, and drew today's cartoon. Superficial, but fun. . * * * Last minute notice: I'll be at the cartoon and animation festival at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque tomorrow presenting my Yale findings on the secret codes of antisemitism and explaining the detective work involved in finding them. I'll be speaking in English. The date is August 18 (Thursday) at 7:30 PM. There's a 37 nis entry fee. The TA Cinematheque is at 2 Sprinzak St. Tel: (03) 606-0800

For details click here. If you're in the neighborhood, come on over and say hello.

Cost of Living (1996)

Today's cartoon is from 1August 1996, fifteen years ago this month.

Unlike the Israel of 1996, the Israel of 2011 is protesting the stuff that back then we didn't protest.

* * * By the way, a number of fans have asked about the possibility of my speaking here in Israel. So in response I'll be appearing at the 11th annual Tel Aviv Animix Festival. It'll be at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. I'll be presenting my Yale findings on the use of secret codes of antisemitism in political cartoons and explaining the detective work involved. It'll be a shockingly educational experience (with a few Jewish jokes thrown in). I'll be speaking in English. The date is August 18 (this Thursday) at 7:30 PM. There's a 37 nis entry fee. The TA Cinematheque is at 2 Sprinzak St. Tel: (03) 606-0800

For details click here. Come on down and say hello.

In a Pub in London

When the mass demonstrations in North Africa were organized and coordinated through the use of social media and mobile phones, folks in the West were enthralled by the refreshing empowering of the formerly powerless.

The same techniques were then used to organize mass assaults on Israel's borders, and now the looter riots in the U.K.

And from California we're hearing about organized cellphone-coordinated attacks on San Fransisco's BART train system:

Officials block cellphones in San Francisco train stations

SAN FRANCISCO — "An illegal, Orwellian violation of free-speech rights? Or just a smart tactic to protect train passengers' safety from rowdy would-be demonstrators during a busy evening commute?

The question resonated Saturday in San Francisco and beyond as details emerged of Bay Area Rapid Transit officials' decision to cut off underground cellphone service for a few hours at some stations Thursday. Commuters at stations from downtown to the city's main airport were affected as BART officials sought to tactically thwart a planned protest over the recent fatal shooting of a 45-year-old man by transit police." -more

Economic Analysis

Watching the economic experts on TV, or reading their newspaper attempts to explain the wild ups and downs of stock markets from Asia to Wall Street and the collapsing economies in the Euro zone, doesn’t leave me any wiser, but it does remind me of an old Jewish joke.

The old joke is about a Jewish “curse” that goes “May you become so rich that every day you wake up in a different one of your many mansions, and are driven by one of your many uniformed chauffeurs in one of your many luxurious limousines to a different medical specialist. … and nobody should know what’s wrong with you!”

Every day we’re being diagnosed by a different “expert” and, as far as I can see, nobody knows what’s wrong …which reminds me of another old joke.

This old joke is about a guy who goes to a doctor and explains “my head is spinning, my throat is sore, I’m seeing spots in front of my eyes, and I’m covered in a strange yellow rash!” The doctor says “Hmm, have you had this before?” The patient replies, “Yes I have.” And the doctor says “Well, you’ve got it again.”

* * * To sum up, my analysis of the current world-wide economic crisis can be expressed with the punchlines of two old jokes:
"Nobody knows what's wrong with us" and "It seems to be happening again."

Social Justice (1998)

Today's cartoon is from 1998.
Back then there was a student strike.

I posted this cartoon because of the current wave of demonstrations, riots, and unrest spreading around the world. The front pages of the Israeli Hebrew papers are splashed with horrifying shots of London burning. Just a few days ago our front pages showed massive Israeli demonstrations and tent cities of protestors. Earlier I caught an American TV news show on my PC. They were covering a riot. And then there's the ongoing uprising in Syria

And how come the phrase "Social Justice" keeps popping up? I saw it in Hebrew at a Tel Aviv demonstration. And there were just those anti-austerity riots in Greece?!!

Something is going on. What do you think it is? I personally disagree with King Solomon in the 1998 cartoon. Sometimes it's not "one or the other" Sometimes it's both!

Credit Rating

The fun in drawing this cartoon was the writing of all those IOU notes.

I had so much fun writing the little IOUs, that trimming them to fit inside the cartoon frame would have saddened me. So I convinced myself that breaking the frame was "okay". In fact it made the cartoon "better" ...and hey, I'm the cartoonist! Nobody can tell me what to do!

So I had my fun! I wrote all those IOUs and just didn't stop ...like America.

Tisha Be'Av (2004)

Today's cartoon is a Golden Oldie about the Jewish memorial day called Tisha Be'Av.

Tisha Be'Av marks the date of the destruction of both of the two Temples, and a list of other bad-luck events in Jewish history. A day of fasting and introspection.

Today.

Israeli Demonstrations

According to the Jerusalem Post:

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz on Sunday said that the social protests Saturday against the rising cost of living were "impressive," saying that "there's a need to find solutions to both housing and cost of living" issues.

Steinitz, however, warned that Israel's current economic standing needs to be carefully guarded, pointing to the economic difficulties faced by the United States and many European countries today.

"We'll do what we can," the finance minister said, discussing possible solutions a ministerial roundtable set to be presented by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu later Sunday morning. "We can't live beyond our means," he added, saying that solutions must stay "within what we can [afford]."

One of the issues that will be discussed by the ministerial team, he said, will be the tax burden in Israel, "Taxes are on the agenda." He added that the issue is one of many that will be addressed in the coming two months."

Land for Words

According to the Christian Science Monitor:

"Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has reportedly agreed to the 1967 borders as a baseline for peace talks in exchange for Palestinians recognizing Israel as a Jewish state."- more

Apparently our Prime Minister would surrender land in exchange for a statement? Not even a promise? Just a statement? "Land for Words"?

When we surrendered Sinai we weren't that naive. We insisted on signed agreements! Of course the signer of those agreements is now on a stretcher in a court in Cairo, facing a possible death sentence, and the signed agreements have gone up in smoke, like the gas pipelines in Sinai.

Fund Raising (1991)

Today's cartoon is from August 1991.

I looked for a twenty year-old golden oldie and found this one.

Back then, the cartoon was about immigration, but as I look at it now it's about Jewish Philanthropy saving the day.

I laughed when I read the cartoon.

That's because right now I'm looking for someone to write a check for my new project. It is a project to reclaim Jewish history from the history-deniers.

The world now believes that it is the Arabs who are the indigenous people of the Land of Israel and that Israel is a colonial state. This required the erasing of 3500 years of our history in the land.

I have a plan to reclaim our history. It's code-named Project 3500.

So here I am looking for funding, and eager to be like the guy in the last panel of today's cartoon.

Reclaiming Our History

Antisemitism infects society with beliefs that define Jews as demonic, powerful, and a threat to the world.

The currently accepted and false belief is that the “Palestinians” are the native people of “Palestine” and that the Jewish State is an occupying colonial state.

This single fabrication is the main driving force behind the current wave of global antisemitism.

The remarkable success that antisemitism has now attained has been made possible by the new tactic of erasing 3,500 years of Israel’s history in the land prior to the establishment of the modern state in 1948.

The history of the Children of Israel in the Land of Israel, which was once common knowledge, has been deleted from our collective memories the way that the giant Buddhist statues in Afghanistan were obliterated.

In case you're wondering, I've got a plan. I'm about to launch a Dry Bones project to reclaim our history. If I'm right, it should be an interesting and effective push-back against the history-deniers!

I'm not ready to go public yet, but I'm going to need some funding. So if there's an angel or two out there who can help, drop me a line.

Christians (2001)

Today's cartoon is from August 2001. Ten years ago this month.

Last night the LSW (Long Suffering Wife) dragged me to a going away party for some Indian diplomats. It was in Herzlia Pituah, the little beach-side village that I live in.

She spent most of the evening chatting with lady friends from the International Women's Club, while I spent most of the evening with an interesting group of Israeli Christian Arabs who had driven down from Nazareth for the party. I naturally assumed that the ladies' table was engaged in light-weight gossip, while at another table, an Arab guy and I spent the evening analyzing the plight of Christians and Jews in the Middle East.

During our discussion I quoted a cartoon of mine from ten years ago. So I searched for it, found it, and posted it as today's golden oldie.

Your thoughts?

Watching America

Watching the U. S. debt limit crisis from outside of America is scary. The collapse of the American economy would pull us all down.

But watching America’s crisis from outside of America is scary for another reason. For much of the world America was a goal, a symbol of the future, the one world power, the world’s policeman. No matter how many times she disappointed us or frustrated us, we assumed that America would be there to lead the world.

It looks like “them days are gone forever."

What do you think?