"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Scottish National Party elects Muslim member to serve as First Minister

If you thought it was bad enough London has a Muslim mayor over in England, now Scotland has much higher ranking adherent to the Religion of Peace appointed to lead the local government (via Pamela Geller and Gateway Pundit):
Humza Yousaf on Monday was elected the new head of the Scottish National Party, promising in a speech to bring the party together, support citizens with the cost-of-living crisis and deliver independence from the United Kingdom.

He is slated to assume political leadership in Scotland following his nomination in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.

[...] Yousaf, currently Scotland’s health secretary, has served in government since 2012 and was considered the favorite in the race against Kate Forbes and Ash Regan.
What makes this a most chilling affair is that Yousaf deliverated a tirade 3 years ago in the Scottish parliament about too many whites in the government. And to think, that previous premier Nicola Sturgeon would sell out to transsexual ideology, only to have somebody like this elected by the SNP to lead the northern side of the UK. Her incompetency, some could surely argue, is exactly what brought this current fiasco around, because all that's occurring now is replacing one problematic politician with another, who's bound to be just as bad for women as his predecessor. Will the Scottish public protest? Something tells me this is sadly going to pass without many objections, in contrast to the previous topic that practically led to this misfortune. Forbes, who's a Christian adherent, was sidelined by the favorism that clearly resulted in Yousaf's election by the SNP's board.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Judicial reform process delayed

This was probably to be expected, sadly enough, all because some leftists in establishment took it upon themselves to do everything they could to bring the country to a standstill:
The head of one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Coalition partners, Otzma Yehudit, said on Monday he had agreed to delay the government's overhaul of the judiciary in exchange for a promise it would be brought after the upcoming parliamentary recess.

"I agreed to remove the veto to reject the legislation in exchange for a commitment by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the legislation would be submitted to the Knesset for approval in the next session," National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a statement. The statement also said that Netanyahu vowed that Ben-Gvir would get to head a new National Guard unit that would complement that Israel Police, for which he has no official jurisdiction over.

The statement said the legislation would be pushed to the next session of Israeli parliament in order to "pass the reform through dialogue," the statement said. Parliament will go on recess next week for the Passover holiday.

[...] As opposition spread, the head of the Histadrut labor union called for a general strike if the proposals were not halted.

Take-offs from Ben Gurion airport were suspended, while Israel's main seaports, banks and hospitals, and medical services were set to strike. Branches of Mcdonald's were also closed
.
That the airport staff would allow this is severely disturbing. It just shows how the left has such astonishing influence here for the worst. One of the coalition MKs is furious over the situation:
MK Tally Gotliv (Likud) on Monday expressed outrage over the decision to pause the legislation of the judicial reform, but made clear she would not disband the coalition because of it.

"The decision to stop the legislation is shameful and disgraceful, it's shameful in several aspects," Gotliv told Israel National News. "Perhaps all my friends from the right should remember the words of the sages, 'Say little and do much' and not the other way around, and it is unthinkable that after we unilaterally surrendered last week [by agreeing to a softened version of the bill on the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee], and I said that the entire reform would be taken off the table, [that we agreed to postpone the legislation]. I also said that the demonstrations would not stop and I that it was a protection payment for violence and extortion through threats."

"After all, all that is on the agenda is changing the structure of the Judicial Selection Committee, which may affect the appointment of two judges in the next two years – 12 percent of the judges of the Supreme Court, and for that they are setting the Ayalon Highway on fire? So what do we say in response? That we surrender to domestic terrorism. We don't know how to govern," she added.

Gotliv is not convinced by the promise that this is only a short-term stoppage and claimed that it is a "one-sided surrender, a surrender to actual terror, to all this promiscuous anarchism. I prefer that they tell me that to my face and not shame the people of Israel."
She's right that it's not going to stop here. There will doubtless be more obnoxious demonstrations by the left, along with potential strikes to paralyze the country, and this cannot be allowed to go unopposed.

Update: David Harsanyi says the judicial system as it currently stands in Israel is exactly what the American left wants too. He also cites some of the country's unfortunate history:
But the nation’s judicial system is even worse. Israel’s political system was created by leftists who envisioned a one-party state. From its inception, the nation’s socialists suppressed — sometimes violently — political opposition. And in the 1950s, a ruling Labor Party preempted the opposition from infiltrating the courts by empowering judges to veto appointees to the bench. This created a self-perpetuating, generationally cocooned judiciary that functions without any set of cohesive legal principles or oversight.
That's the tragedy that's been around for much longer than one may think, and has damaged this country's modern inception, easily for years to come.

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Netanyahu fires defense minister Galant

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Yoav Galant as his defense minister, because the latter decided to cause trouble for judicial reform, and even before that, he was underminining the army:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant following his opposition to the judicial reform, it was announced on Sunday evening.

Gallant made a dramatic declaration on Saturday evening calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt the judicial overhaul long enough to more deeply engage in negotiations with others to reach a compromise.

The prime minister told Gallant he lost his trust in the defense minister after he "went behind the government's back" on Saturday evening, while Netanyahu was visiting the United Kingdom. Netanyahu now has 48 hours to appoint a defense minister, as per Maariv.
It's for the best Galant goes out. It'll remain to be seen who the next defense minister will be. But Galant's decidedly no loss, and won't be missed in the role. If he tries to hurt the government further even outside the cabinet proper, that'll be wrong, so let's hope Galant will respect and come to terms with his dismissal.

Update: Ruthie Blum explains how Galant hurt military order by allowing air force reservists to take political stances at the expense of the country's security.