The Swedish police had to destroy the object by controlled blast. Not much has been heard from the “peace activists” in the pro-Palestinian camp.

I bit early, but well… Shabbat shalom!

I’ve just seen two documentaries about the Hamas attack on civilians in Israel on 7 October 2023. This was the onslaught that sparked the war. Still, for some not-very-unknown reason, people on the hard left in Europe and America are filling the streets protesting against Israel. When Jews die, it’s sparks not feelings among pro-Palestinians. Instead, it’s all “from the river to the sea” and “resistance is not terrorism”.

When the far-right madman Anders Behring Breivik shot and killed young people at Utøya in 2011, no one marched in the streets with signs justifying racism. Everyone would detest people of did that. But now, when Jews are the victims, racist terrorism is suddenly justifiable. Further still, it’s suddenly fine to call for a second Holocaust. For some reason, all people are of higher value than Jews.

On 4 February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg, a college guy in Massachusetts, was a bit drunk and began typing code. Two decades later and politics is out, while impersonal video feeds are in. At least, these are the trends according to The Economist. It’s hard to imagine what the last twenty years would have been like without Facebook and the social media that followed.

Sweden’s main radio station reports that a terror attack has been planned by Iran. The aim was to murder at least one Swedish Jew.

While mainstream leftists are marching with anti-Semites in the streets in Europe and America, the true cause of the Israel-Gaza conflict goes unnoticed. This is the core, the very reason for the conflict, as reported by the Jerusalem Post:

A striking 89% of respondents from the Arab world expressed opposition to the recognition of Israel, marking a discernible increase from previous polls. This figure not only represents a nearly unanimous stance against normalization but also indicates a 5% rise in opposition compared to the results from the 2022 survey, where 84% were against recognition.

“The Pischa mountain restaurant in Davos, Switzerland, has sparked a police investigation after announcing it will no longer rent out snow sports equipment to Jewish guests,” Swissinfo reports.

“The Israelis drop these leaflets offering cash rewards to anyone who can provide the whereabouts of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar,” an anonymous woman tells a reporter. “I swear, if I knew where he was, I’d bring them Sinwar’s head for free.”

Read the full story at Times of Israel.

It’s absurd to see all these people with their “Free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea” stickers, thinking they are fighting fascism while excusing Hamas. I’m not fooled. Every time I see one of those, I know I’m watching a modern-day Nazi. A new generation finding an excuse for hating Jews.

The man who stood up to Putin’s dictatorship has been killed by Putin’s dictatorship. It’s sad, but not unexpected.

From the Jerusalem Post:

An Imam at the Belgian parliament last week began reciting a verse from the Quran that explicitly calls on Muslims to kill and take Jews captive.

The Quran excerpt is verse 33:26 from the Al-Ahzab Surah (chapter). It translates to, “ And He brought down those from the People of the Book who supported the enemy alliance from their own strongholds, and cast horror into their hearts. You ‘believers’ killed some, and took others captive.”

Yeah, I know what the pro-Palestinian loonies will say. “The poor imam only expressed frustration over occupation by evil Zionists.”

Scott Johnson on Putin’s murder.

Walking in the streets of Malmö and Copenhagen is depressing these days. “Free Palestine” everywhere, “Free the Hostages” are not to be found. Rallies with calls for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people are arranged on a daily basis. No one cares the slightest about the 1,200 dead in the bloodiest attack on Jews since the Second World War. Europe is once again fuelled by millennia-old anti-Semitism. The marches are not unlike those we saw in Germany ninety years ago.

After reading this article by Bryan Caplan, it’s astonishing that some people on the left still think fondly of Mao.

The constant travelling across borders comes with the job I have, but I really do hate the completely unnecessary stop all commuter trains between Copenhagen and Malmö have to make to allow non-existent border controls take place. It’s eating my free time for no purpose whatsoever.

“A UN attempt to deliver 10 convoys of food aid to northern Gaza over seven days was suspended earlier this week after trucks were looted by crowds, a driver was beaten and gunfire reported amid chaotic scenes,” the Guardian reports.

Israel warns UN Security Council that Iran is giving more weapons to Hezbollah. I figure it’s unlikely that the UN will care much about it as there are no Jews to blame for this.

It’s a bit early in the day, but Shabbat is here in a few hours.

Ah, the circus that is American conservatism today.

Some things I never knew I had to fear.

“Hamas has systematically embedded its terror infrastructure inside and under civilian areas in Gaza as part of its human-shield strategy,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari says. “IDF troops discovered that most homes in Gaza have terror tunnels underneath or weapon caches inside, and the majority of schools, mosques, hospitals and international institutions have been used by Hamas for their military operations.”

So, finally, have all the bitter autocrats approved Sweden.

Don’t know much about Kid Rock, but it feels nice to hear someone in the entertainment industry criticising Hamas.

“Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Monday warned against the ‘catastrophic consequences’ of any Israeli attack on Rafah, south of Gaza, during his speech at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council,” Arab News reports.

Let’s take a look at the human-rights violations in Saudi Arabia, as listed by Amnesty International:

• Executions are on the increase. Saudi Arabia executed 196 people in 2022. On 12 March, the authorities killed 81 men in one day—the single largest mass execution in recent decades. The country ranks as the second highest for use of the death penalty.
• Women are widely discriminated against. Women and girls remain subject to discrimination in law and in practice. The male guardianship system was enshrined into law in 2022, and means that women must have a male legal guardian—and they cannot choose who this is.
• Many are tortured while detained. In 2022, Saudi Arabian authorities arbitrarily detained Ethiopian men, women and children for up to 18 months in inhumane conditions and tortured and otherwise ill-treated them before forcibly returning them to Ethiopia.
• Migrant workers treated poorly. According to the Interior Ministry, there is a consistent crackdown on foreign nationals, with 479,000 being returned to their home country out of 678,000 arrested.
• Crackdown on free media and press. The Saudi authorities control domestic media and journalists can be imprisoned for a variety of fake crimes.
• No free speech. Many of Saudi Arabia’s prominent and independent human-rights defenders have been imprisoned, threatened into silence, or fled the country.
• Unfair trials. Trials against people are often grossly unfair and courts impose long prison sentences. People are often held in solitary confinement without any communication.
• Travel bans. Many are given travel bans, meaning they are unable to leave the country.
• Forced evictions. Over half a million people in the city of Jeddah have been forcibly evicted and their homes demolished.
• No protests. Protests and demonstrations are illegal. Those who defy the ban face arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment.

It’s old news by now, but last week, the Bundestag passed new legislation that will allow limited possession and cultivation of cannabis in Germany. Some good news in these illiberal times.

The underground routes run for about 10km and pass under a hospital and a university, Jerusalem Post reports.

It’s not my day.

Things are heading in the right direction.

“The sex of human and other mammal babies is decided by a male-determining gene on the Y chromosome. But the human Y chromosome is degenerating and may disappear in a few million years, leading to our extinction unless we evolve a new sex gene,” Jenny Graves, Professor of Genetics at La Trobe University, writes.

The solution? Becoming more like rats.

An Illinois state judge has barred Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s Republican presidential primary ballot because of his role in the insurrection at the US Capitol in 2021, Reuters reports.

I understand the reason, but these court actions only enhance Trump’s sense of victimhood. Besides, in a democracy, people must have the right to elect idiots to represent them.

European press loves articles about Israel being an authoritarian apartheid state, but facts show they are wrong. A new survey from the Pew Research Centre reveals massive support for democracy among Israelis.

The Jerusalem Post reports that, at one university, signs with the “Zionists not welcome” slogan were scrawled on dormitory doors with arrows pointing to mezuzot. So, don’t tell me the far left’s “Palestinian activism” is anything but pure anti-Semitism.

The Guardian reports that Russia’s dictator Vladimir Putin, in his big, annual rant, told NATO countries that we risk provoking a nuclear war if we send troops to fight in Ukraine. How many times can he cry wolf? Putin knows he couldn’t win a nuclear war. No one can. Nuclear armoury is for scare tactics only.

David Marchese has interviewed an author who has written about being a sociopath. The article is published by the New York Times. Interesting and fascinating topic.