UN PREDICTABLY SUPPORTS RECOGNIZING PLO AS A STATE, SORT OF

At least 139 countries voted willfully for this farce, though it doesn't really change anything, and is more related to PLO infighting. As a result, it'll hopefully backfire. The Wall Street Journal (via Hot Air) says:

[T]he vote offered a showcase for an extraordinary international lineup of support for the Palestinians and constituted a deeply symbolic achievement for their cause, made even weightier by arriving on the 65th anniversary of the General Assembly vote that divided the former British Mandate of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab — a vote that Israel considers the international seal of approval for its birth…

A major concern for the Americans is that the Palestinians might use their new status to try to join the International Criminal Court. That prospect particularly worries the Israelis, who fear that the Palestinians might press for an investigation of their practices in the occupied territories.

Another worry is that the Palestinians might use the vote to seek membership in specialized agencies of the United Nations, a move that could have consequences for the financing of the international organizations as well as the Palestinian Authority itself. Congress cut off financing to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known as Unesco, in 2011 after it accepted Palestine as a member. The United States is a major contributor to many of these agencies and plays an active role on their governing boards.

And it's time to stop funding such horrendous operations since it's a complete waste of taxpayers' money. But don't be sure that the Obama administration will actually do this themselves. Susan Rice, who's been celebrating her newest diplomatic "victory" has said at least one right thing:

Today’s grand pronouncements will soon fade. And the Palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed, save that the prospects of a durable peace have only receded…

[T]oday’s vote should not be misconstrued by any as constituting eligibility for U.N. membership. It does not. This resolution does not establish that Palestine is a state.

The United States believes the current resolution should not and cannot be read as establishing terms of reference. In many respects, the resolution prejudges the very issues it says are to be resolved through negotiation, particularly with respect to territory. At the same time, it virtually ignores other core questions such as security, which must be solved for any viable agreement to be achieved.

The Muslims under Fatah's rule may be celebrating now, but that could all change when they discover that indeed, nothing is really different even now.