Michael van der Galien
Michael van der Galien was born in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden in 1984. For as long as he can remember, he has been obsessed with the United States. When he was 17 years old, he started blogging - of course about America. His articles have been published at Big Hollywood, Pajamas Media, Hot Air (the GreenRoom) and Right Across The Atlantic. He's also an editor for the Dutch conservative blog, De Dagelijkse Standaard.
Video: ‘Innocent’ Freedom Flotilla Passengers Fire Live Ammunition at Israeli Soldiers
The narrative in the mainstream media is that the Freedom Flotilla passengers were innocent peace activists who were ruthlessly attacked by bloodthirsty Israeli Defense Forces. They did nothing wrong, Israel just decided to use violence against them out of the blue.
Sadly for the MSM there are now dozens of videos on the Internet that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the terrorists of the IHH disguised as peace activists attacked the IDF first, who then fought back in self-defense. One of these videos is the one below. It shows, its description at YouTube explains, how “IDF commandos, during the operation to redirect the Gaza flotilla, boarded the Mavi Marmara in the early hours of May 31st, 2010. When they attempted to board, activists, in a prepared attack, lynched the soldiers and stole two pistols.
“In this footage you can hear the radio exchange between soldiers on their way to the bridge and the IDF ship. The soldiers report encountering live fire and serious violence.” read more…
After Israelis rightfully fought back when they were attacked by so-called “peaceful protesters” on board of the now infamous Freedom Flotilla, Western progressives inside and outside the mainstream media cried foul. How could these aggressive and overbearing Israelis attack well-intentioned peace activists who only wanted to provide aid and comfort to “suffering” Palestinians in Gaza? It proved, they immediately said, that Israel does not want peace. No, all they want is to make the Palestinian people (most of whom are Jordanians, by the way) suffer as much as possible. Hence the United Nation’s “condemnation” of “Israel’s deadly raid.”
Although the above probably sounds logical and coherent to you if you’re a radical progressive anti-Semite lacking any kind of moral compass and suffering from (willful) blindness to reality, I’m afraid that the rest of us aren’t that easily fooled. When you look closer at the situation it becomes clear rather quickly that not Israel but the organizers are responsible for what happened. Their intentions were not even remotely honorable or peaceful. They wanted a scandal and when Israel didn’t take the bait, they attacked, thereby forcing Israel to react. When that happened, anti-Semites in the West quickly joined their Islamofascist friends in igniting a major media war against Israel.
When the “Freedom Flotilla” (more on its name later) set sail for Israel, Israel told the extremist organizers of this farce that they could deliver their goods to an Israeli harbor, from where they would be transported to Gaza by truck. In other words, it was not as if the Israelis didn’t want these products to reach Gaza. They even offered to help deliver them. The organizers, however, refused. After all, they didn’t want to help Gazans. All they wanted was to disgrace and humiliate Israel. read more…
Do you remember how ABC News, CNN, MSNBC, CBS and every other network were in love with Barack Obama back when he was still a mere senator campaigning for president? He could do no wrong. Well, all that has changed now that the Messiah has proved incapable of handling the BP oil spill:
The White House is seemingly making an increased show of pressuring BP, but President Obama is facing political heat from within his own party for what some say has been a lackluster response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The “political stupidity is unbelievable,” Democratic strategist James Carville said on “Good Morning America” today. “The president doesn’t get down here in the middle of this. … I have no idea of why they didn’t seize this thing. I have no idea of why their attitude was so hands off here.”
As former Bush adviser (and strategist) Karl Rove tweeted earlier today, linking to a piece he wrote for his website, the Gulf spill really is Obama’s Katrina. Similar to what happened to President Bush back then, it isn’t merely Obama’s political opponents who are criticizing him for mishandling the situation, but his staunchest allies and friends are doing so as well. read more…
So yesterday was the last episode of Lost, perhaps the most successful and according to many the best television series of the last ten years. I’m afraid I didn’t watch it myself, because I got bored with the show after its third season.
A lot of my friends, who did watch it, said they were sorely disappointed. The Washington Post, however, was clearly pleased by the show’s grand finale. If you did watch it, what are your thoughts on it? Did Lost‘s producers let you down or are you satisfied by how the show ended?
It’s popular these days for conservatives to criticize the defender of the poor and the oppressed, Robin Hood. Hood, they say, is nothing more than a socialist pretending to be a hero. He is, if you will, Karl Marx with a bow and couple of arrows. He steels from the wealthy and gives to the poor. It’s socialism in action, or so many contemporary conservative commentators argue.
Although I understand it that conservatives automatically oppose all those who dare “redistribute wealth” (or appear to), they are sorely mistaken to do so with Hood. Dismissing him as a Marxist is ludicrous and counterproductive; the former because he is actually a very American (classically liberal and conservative) hero, the latter because the audience will sympathize with him regardless of the criticism.
Hood’s anger is directed at ruthless oppressors, who came to power not because the people voted them into office, but because they were of noble blood. There is no democracy and no freedom in Hood’s Britain. These people can do whatever they want to, because they are not accountable for their deeds. read more…
Let’s pretend you’re a member of the mainstream media. Let’s also pretend you’re actually objective and willing to do your job to the best of your ability. Finally, let’s pretend that the White House has declared war on a woman who was governor of Alaska, but who’s currently nothing more than a TV commentator and FaceBook columnist. All she has to do to get their attention is to criticize them on national television, and before you know it they show true, sexist, face.
What would you do?
Well, the answer is, or should be, obvious: You ask the White House why they’re arguing so much with this former governor and you explain to your readers that, from the looks of it, she has the president and his advisers scared to death.
Luckily for President Obama and his friends, however, the American MSM is far from objective. They don’t care about reporting and about explaining to the audience – most of whom are also eligible to vote, let us not forget – that, whether you like it or not (and I’m neutral), Palin has become a force to be reckoned with. read more…
Former Governor of Alaska and the most prominent conservative woman in America, Sarah Palin, once again succeeded in taking her left-wing enemies in the media by surprise. How, you ask? Well, not only did she have the courage to defend Arizona’s tough new immigration law on an appearance earlier today on Fox News, but she even went so far as to say that all other border states should adopt the exact same law.
That’s bad enough from a progressive perspective, of course, but there’s more: She and the Fox news host she spoke with even had the audacity to point out that Mexico’s president was hypocritical beyond belief when he criticized Arizona’s law recently while visiting the White House, because his own country’s immigration laws are, in the words of Palin’s sparring partner, “one of the toughest immigration laws in the world. If you’re a Central American trying to get a job in Mexico, good luck, you have a much better chance of getting a job as a Mexican in the United States than you would in Mexico. So the point is, it just reeks of hypocrisy here.”
“That’s exactly what I was going to say,” Palin responded. “The hypocrisy there is glaring. American laws are quite humane compared to Mexico’s immigration laws.” read more…
One of the best conservative commentators in Europe, Theodore Dalrymple, wrote a great article for Pajamas Media about the crisis in Europe and especially Germany’s reaction to it. As usual with Dalrymple, the article provocatively entitled “Reawakening German Nationalism: What Could Go Wrong,” is sarcastically written, funny, direct and, most importantly, largely correct.
Dalrymple’s main point is that nationalism has suddenly become political correct and accepted in Germany. This while Germans didn’t want to have anything to do with it after World War II.
The reason? read more…
Sixth grader Greyson Michael Chance is the latest YouTube phenomenon. After the video below was uploaded to the popular video sharing website and seen by millions of Internet users, Chance was invited on Ellen DeGeneres’ television show. Record labels – always on the lookout for talents – quickly approached him as well, and the 13-year old ended up signing with one of them.
Watch the video of Chance performing Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” at Edmond’s Sixth Grade Festival: read more…
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has had enough with the left-wing attacks on her state after its legislature passed a now controversial law to curb illegal immigration. She was especially irritated by a joke President Obama made about this law at the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Back then Obama said, once again proving he has sense of humor: “We all know what happens in Arizona when you don’t have ID — adios, amigos.”
“It’s fair to ask whether he intends to be the Commander-in-Chief or the Comic-in-Chief,” Brewer shot back yesterday when announcing the launch of a website aimed at educating the United States about her state’s new law. “Since the president’s joke was so inappropriate, I suppose, if I wanted to join in the comedian game, I could suggest that he should not give up his day job.”
Although the above made perfectly clear what she thinks of Obama, Brewer wasn’t quite done yet. “Unfortunately, though, he isn’t doing very well at that one, either,” she added as a punchline. read more…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warns Germany might withdraw from Euro and says that the EU could collapse.
Europe’s finance ministers are panicking: they’ve done everything in their power – or so they believe – to save the Euro, yet the currency is becoming worth less and less. They don’t understand what’s going on, they’ve pumped billions into the Euro and into Europe’s failing economies, yet the European stock markets continue their free fall.
The European Union bailed out Greece, signaled its willingness to bail out other failing states as well if necessary and created a 500-billion emergency fund for the Euro. As Brussels expected, European stock markets recovered immediately after the different rescue plans were announced, and the Euro seemed to recover.
Well, the party lasted exactly one day. After that, the stock markets and the European currency continued their free fall as before. The Euro is now worth a mere 1,236 USD; the lowest point since 2008 when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. In other words, Brussels’ expensive plans have been in vain. There’s no way around it: our money has been wasted. read more…
Ruben, covered in blankets
Ruben, the Dutch boy who was the sole survivor of the terrible plane crash earlier this week in Tripoli, Libya, has gone back to the Netherlands. He wasn’t able to do so before today because he had to receive treatment in a Libyan hospital.
Although Ruben’s survival is absolutely miraculous, he did lose his mother, father and older brother. It seems that he will now be raised by his uncle and aunt.
Meanwhile, he is at the center of a major media scandal in the Netherlands. The country’s largest newspaper, the Telegraaf, proved that its longtime critics are right when they say that the newspaper’s editors have no sense of shame whatsoever. They had the audacity to sensationalize both the crash and Ruben’s suffering. The nine year old was hospitalized and his relatives had not yet told him that his parents and brother had died, because the shock would have been too great considering his physical weakness. The Dutch and Libyan governments tried to shelter this child from the media, most of whom showed that they actually have some morals and left him alone. read more…
