Kvellin' Around the Christmas Tree

by Laura Rosen Cohen
Laura's Links
November 27, 2019

https://www.steynonline.com/9884/kvellin-around-the-christmas-tree

Using only shampoo, a broom and a table, this 82-year old grandma subdued a home intruder all by herself. The SteynOnline team salutes her.

Welcome to the post-Mark Steyn Christmas Show edition of Laura's Links. And oh, ho ho ho, what a show it was! As you already know, Mark Steyn has an incredible network of political, scientific, musical and artistic friends from all around the world. For Christmas, he brought together and directed an absolutely stellar ensemble of talent. For those of you who weren't able to be there in person, you're in for a real treat when it airs closer to the holidays!

Until such time, I can tell you the venue was charming and very French and of course Montreal is loads of fun. And when I say loads of fun, I am primarily referring to excellence in smoked meat sandwiches, the much more fashionably dressed women and men than any North American city except possibly NYC and the generally much more masculine looking men who are mostly bearded (!!!!) but I'm excluding any and all hot shot imams in that equation, mmmkay?. It's a much more flirty and vivacious culture as well. What's not to like except that it's in Quebec? Alors....

Also, I must tell you that Santa Claus personally swung by from the North Pole to Montreal and dropped off a very special gift for your SteynOnline In-House Jewish Mother. Yes, an autographed copy of Douglas Murray's book! Of course I was devastated not to be able to be at the Douglas Murray part of the event (**waves to Mr. Murray in a very platonic, admiring, totally intellectual and completely not in any way whatsoever a girlcrush way**) but I pretty much squealed with glee when one of Mark Steyn's favourite elves pulled out the book out of Santa's YUGE red sack just for me! I was like are you elfin' kidding me!?!?!??! Wheeeeee!

Somehow, in between chatting with various Mark Steyn Club members and sharing his own secret recipe for Bûche de Noël with Mrs. Claus (don't tell anyone but it's because Mark lost an arm wrestling match with her), Mark also found the time to comment about voluntary population self-eradication Joe Biden smashing the living pulp outa domestic violence, trans athletes and Mann vs Steyn among other things!

But the news cycle never stops, not even for the Mark Steyn Christmas Show (crazy right??), so let's take a look at some of the news items that hit my screen over the past week.

North America:

President Donald Trump. Worst Hitler Ever.

There was a pogrom at York University in Toronto. Nothing like hearing the quaint folkloric melody of "viva, viva Intifadah" on Canadian campuses. Ain't multiculturalism grand? The intimidation and assaults of Jewish students will only stop when people start talking with their chequebooks.

Meanwhile at the University of Toronto, student radicals said kosher food was "pro-Israel" and then had to back down.

Amazingly not unrelated: the rise of the organized Muslim vote in Canada.

Also not unrelated: two ISIS "returnees" back in Ontario. Great.

Bloomberg's presidential logo is unveiled. What a bomb. Also, I'm sure Bloomberg news will be objective about all this.

The great Lord Conrad Black: Americans should demand an end to this impeachment absurdity.

My sistah from another mistah, Barbara Kay, on the current educational earthquake in the Western world.

Bike path terrorist only answers to Allah, you uppity dumb infidel sons of apes and pigs.

Jews and Israel

French Holocaust survivors celebrate b'nai and b'not mitzvah at the Western Wall. Mazel tov! (Editor's note: Laura's non-Jewish editor is here to tell you those are, in fact, the plural forms of bar and bat mitzvah. The more you know!).

Must, must, must read on Israel and its "Deep Shtetl", from the great Caroline Glick: The reign of the prosecution. Other thoughts from Powerline here. And a good clip here also via Bibi himself. Video of Caroline Glick explaining the situation here. (Really good stuff.)

From Tablet magazine: how Boomers ruined American Judaism.

Stupid Jews gotta keep on stupiding. Like these Jews for Jihad. Not stupid Jews over here.

Middle East

The groundbreaking Arab initiative to repudiate BDS.

Formerly Great Britain:

Shocking! Labour activist turns out to be excitable anti-Semite.

Prince Andrew apparently thinks he didn't do badly enough with the BBC interview and wants another.

British police women/men/persons/humans are the biggest losers on the planet. Police chief quits because of bad hair day (oh sorry, "hairstyle abuse").

Europe:

Denmark submissively turns into Third World sh&thole country.

Abandoning Malmö to its criminals (of no particular race or religion of course).

More on the price of migration to Sweden here.

The Netherlands cuts aid to Palestinian Authority over terrorist salaries. Good.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel goes to Auschwitz probably to get more ideas about how to ruin her country with anti-Semitic poison.

Fourteen years after the Mohammadoodle "controversy", Euroweenies keep on caving.

Kook Left, Wokestapo and Trans:

This is not a joke.

Collusion? I got your collusion right here!

Abusive perverts all around.

Hey you guys! Y'all are friggin lunatics!

The Wokestapo goes after Gwen Stefani's "Harjuko Girls".

Harvard, for the best and the brightest. And for the most awesome Anal and Oral Sex 101 and "Fatphobia" workshops.

Perverts all around. This seems to be a repeat theme with "educators".

The anti-human, anti-babies Economist: having children punishes women and their careers.

See no grooming, speak no grooming, hear no grooming.

Random:

Break-in suspect picks the wrong house and the wrong granny to mess with.

Human Grace:

WWII veteran Martin Gelb remains humble despite his lifetime of achievement.

Creating meaningful employment for those with special needs in America. Here as well.

Teacher adopts student with Down syndrome after his mom passed away from cancer.

A 107-year old woman's sole birthday wish was to hold a baby.

Proud son shares his father's World War II diaries.

A miracle! Boy injured in Mall of America attempted murder doing much better, walking perfectly but still needs your prayers.

Anonymous donor in Georgia donates 72 acres of land to horseback riding non-profit for the disabled.

Now off you go to comment, we look forward to hearing your thoughts!

If you'd care to join in with Laura's incessant fangirling of Douglas Murray and missed him last week in Montreal, you can join him and Mark, alongside a fabulous roster of special guests, aboard next year's Mark Steyn Cruise of the Mediterranean, setting sail from Rome October 5, 2020.

In the meantime, do let us know what you're thinking in the comments. Laura's Links also serves as the weekly open thread, so kick off your shoes and let loose about the stories she's included in her round-up, and perhaps those left out of the fun too. Commenting privileges are among the many benefits of membership in the Mark Steyn Club, which you can explore for yourself here.

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27 Reader Comments

Jennifer/Another Idahoan • Dec 2, 2019 at 16:03

Laura,

I missed the Douglas Murray event in Montreal as well, but managed to snag a signed copy, which I have been enjoying--though I'm not sure "enjoying" is the right word when it comes to examining modern culture!

I enjoyed meeting you briefly in Montreal, and I appreciate you delving through Twitter feeds and other articles and picking out the best! I especially liked Conrad Black's article.

Laura Rosen Cohen

Jennifer/Another Idahoan • Dec 2, 2019 at 16:34

Jennifer, lovely meeting you as well. It's really my pleasure and honour to be here and I'm glad you enjoy the links.

Laura Rosen Cohen • Nov 28, 2019 at 15:53

This is probably an opportune time to ask Mark again to write a Chanukah song. I don't think I could beat "Kvelling Around the Christmas Tree".

Rick Henwood • Nov 28, 2019 at 14:24

Don't know if anyone else has remarked on the fact that Israeli Establishment vs Netanyahu is a duplicate of U.S. Establishment vs Trump. Only the names are different.

Kathy Shaidle hope you are well.

King K • Nov 28, 2019 at 11:23

Laura: I notice how, through no fault of your own, the Human Grace section is always massively outweighed in number and scale by the, shall we say, less encouraging links and articles. I'm wondering what you think this bodes for humanity. Is it a long slow descent into hideous totalitarian darkness? Or is it some cycle between darkness and light that has a 50-50 chance of ending in either?

Laura Rosen Cohen

King K • Nov 28, 2019 at 11:58

King K, first of all, I'm glad you know it's not my fault! I think we first need to remember that for something to actually become an online news item, it first has to be reported, then written up and then published by someone or some outlet. Generally speaking in the news business "if it bleeds, it leads". And for whatever reason, bad news is more of a magnet for eyes (or clicks I guess) than regular, humdrum every day life stories or actually good stories.

I read a lot more than I can possibly post, but there are general themes and categories that resonate with me more than others. If you're asking for my personal view, I think that there are a great many evil humans who do terrible things, and have done so throughout history, but there is so much good and goodness in the world and I try to focus on that and be grateful to G-d for this life and all blessings.

Laura Rosen Cohen • Nov 28, 2019 at 11:07

I feel duly chastised, first I mixed up my wackadooodle Royal Princes (thanks, Sol) and then I needed my non-Jewish editor to outJew me on the b'nai and b'not mitzvahs. I may have to turn in my Jew card on that second one.

I'll have to consult with HQ about a proper form of penance. If I say three SteynAkbars and make a batch of latkes will all be forgiven??!?!

David Kelley-Wood • Nov 28, 2019 at 08:49

Caroline Glick (per the video) describes a dire situation in Israel, in which the system of government (maybe the country) is being seriously threatened by diabolical forces, and/or has already been undermined by them. I'm confused by the complexity of it all, but alarmed, and can't help but wonder where things are headed.

Laura Rosen Cohen

David Kelley-Wood • Nov 28, 2019 at 09:46

The Supreme Court, legal establishment, "Deep Shtetl", the arts, the media are completely on the political left. Unfortunately, a lot of leftist have infiltrated the security services and the higher ranks of the IDF. Most recent heads of the army have been political leftists and again it's because of internal, self-selection processes.

Josh Passell • Nov 28, 2019 at 05:28

The Worst Hitler Ever™, the Fake Fuhrer, just keeps getting it wrong. First, he keeps the promises of many presidential wannabes and actually moves the US Embassy to Jerusalem, thereby acknowledging its status as capital of the Jewish State. Now he goes and directs his Secretary of State to announce that it is the position of the United States that Judea and Samaria ought not be judenrein. Hitler would NEVER have done that; what kind of Hitler does this guy think he is? They just don't make 'em like they used to. Of course Hitler didn't have a Jewish daughter, son-in-law, or grandchildren, either.

Laura Rosen Cohen

Josh Passell • Nov 28, 2019 at 09:41

Josh, yah, he is messing up the Hitler thing sooooooooo badly. Especially the Jewish grandchildren. That is like the most Hitler thing about him!

Laura Rosen Cohen • Nov 27, 2019 at 20:49

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends. I'm certainly thankful to be here with you and to Mark Steyn especially for giving me the best safe space I could have ever dreamed of in my entire life as a writer.

Nicola Timmerman • Nov 27, 2019 at 18:49

Don't know where you get the time to winnow down all these stories, I just got caught up with the two week old interview of CBC commentator Rex Murphy with Jordan Peterson which is the debut interview on Rex's podcast. Hadn't followed Peterson since reading his 12 Rules for Life bestseller and seeing some of his youtube musings, but was amazed how ragged he looks. Partly because of anxiety over his wife's health and also because so many people look to him for guidance. He is overwhelmed by the number of people from all walks of life who just need a few words of encouragement. Something to remember in the Christmas season for sure.
Still dazed from deciphering Montreal's infamous multi-layered parking signs to find parking near the club, I didn't make the 'lien' from your introducing yourself before the Montreal show to Laura's Links. Congrats for your fine work.

Laura Rosen Cohen

Nicola Timmerman • Nov 27, 2019 at 20:50

Hi Nicola, thanks very much.

Kathy Shaidle • Nov 27, 2019 at 17:48

Wow, this was really deep, from the Tablet article:

"Before you teach them that Judaism is all about dissent—just look at the Talmud, one never-ending argument!—tell them that our father, Abraham, was the embodiment of faithful obedience, answering God's call by saying hineni, here I am."

As a philosemitic Gentile, I've heard all my life from Jews and non-Jews alike that arguing with God is the hallmark of Judaism. "Isn't it great? Check out Tevya yelling at God?!" and so on. Two Jews, three opinions. The desert island shul joke...

But when I read something like this, it makes me think that that "positive" attribute has veered too far into "negative" territory. I have actually heard Abraham's obedience held up as a role model for Christians far more often than for Jews, which seems really weird if you think about it.

Anyway, a fascinating article for an outsider like me to read. Thanks Laura! (Although as usual I first checked out the Human Grace section first.)

Laura Rosen Cohen

Kathy Shaidle • Nov 27, 2019 at 20:53

((((((KATHY)))))))

I also thought the article was great. Also Jews sometimes forget that we are supposed to "Na'aseh V'nishma" which means first do-then understand. Or, through doing, one understands. We are supposed to listen, that's why the prayer is "Shema Yisrael"-listen, hear, Israel.

And I don't blame you for starting at the feel good stuff :)

Sol • Nov 27, 2019 at 17:37

It is remarkable that the "Arab Council for Regional Integration" suddenly appears as a ship passing in the night against the flotilla of the UK's Jeremy Corbyn and anti-Semitic crew; his emergent anti-Semitic allies in the US; and the anti-Semites of Europe. Starting with the Dayton Accords, Dennis Ross has seemed, from a distance, to be an exception in his genuineness, sincerity, and capability of brokering peace. And apparently longevity. Most other efforts in the Middle East are on shorter time-scales.

Kate Smyth

Sol • Nov 27, 2019 at 20:03

"... a ship passing in the night against the flotilla..."

My thoughts exactly, Sol - though you've expressed them far more eloquently. The "Intifada!" mob (video from the Canadian campus) reflects the momentum throughout the West, though mobs won't be necessary once the electoral impact prevails:

"It's considered politically incorrect to even acknowledge that the Muslim population – and therefore the Muslim vote – is increasing in Canada faster than other groups." (Anthony Furey also mentions Steyn.)

And interesting to read about European politicians on the stump - in Pakistan: "So many Norwegian voters have "second homes" of this sort in or around Kharian that Norwegian politicians have actually campaigned there."

PS. A great round-up by Laura, as usual.

Laura Rosen Cohen

Sol • Nov 27, 2019 at 20:54

Sol did you watch Corbyn's interview on the BBC? Mesmerizing.

Laura Rosen Cohen

Kate Smyth • Nov 27, 2019 at 20:55

Kate, I just read an article about how Iraq's foreign or defence minister is on the Swedish dole. And thanks for your kind words.

Kate Smyth

Laura Rosen Cohen • Nov 27, 2019 at 21:24

Reminds me of "Aussie Jihadists were on the dole" (20/2/15, Daily Telegraph): "The investigation has captured the records of 57 Australians who left the country before October last year to fight with the Islamic State. Of that number 55 have been confirmed to have been on welfare payments."

But I'm even more impressed by transnational economic jihad by office holders.

Sol

Laura Rosen Cohen • Nov 28, 2019 at 01:01

I missed it, but I wonder if he has made a calculation that there is a path to victory in his mostly unrepentant slogging-on or whether he's such a true believer that purity of foulness is more important than becoming prime minister.

Sol

Kate Smyth • Nov 28, 2019 at 07:48

Thanks - if you follow the logic it's anti-Semitic to admit "Intifada!" fanatics into your western country. The implication is that there's something Israel's doing to deserve it, otherwise peaceful western countries wouldn't purposely import a troublesome instigator of conflict.

I have hoped my fellow Americans would see the examples happening in the UK and Europe, or closer, and avoid repeating the mistakes; and to a slight extent it does work that way; but there's a hurdle of relevance.

Norway is innovative. Norway: now available in Pakistan!

Laura Rosen Cohen

Kate Smyth • Nov 28, 2019 at 09:48

Indeed, Kate one must have a begrudging admiration for at least this aspect of "transnational" economic development. So enterprising! So innovative!

Laura Rosen Cohen

Sol • Nov 28, 2019 at 09:48

I think he just does not believe he has said or done anything wrong. I don't think he has a clue why anyone would think he needs to repent or correct course.

Laura Rosen Cohen

Sol • Nov 28, 2019 at 09:50

And the glories and richness of Pakistan, Gaza, Kabul and Mogadishu among others are now all available in our local communities. Ain't diversity grand?

Sol • Nov 27, 2019 at 17:09

Prince Andrew...

Mark replies:

Thank you, Sol. Corrected.