Abbas Postpones Palestinian Elections - Again

(YouTube screenshot of Mahmoud Abbas from France 24)

Yesterday, Mahmoud Abbas, who is amid his third decade of his four-year term as President of the Palestinian Authority, postponed elections which were scheduled for next month until September 11, 2027. 

Quel surprise!!!

True to form, Abbas blamed Israel for delaying the elections and keeping him in power for all of these years. What suffering he has endured. 

For its part, France "regrets" Abbas' decision. Where it concerns the Palestinians, France regrets. Where it concerns Israel, France condemns. Indeed, French President Macron has been indulging Abbas going so far as to erroneously claim that Hamas does not operate in the West Bank. 

Not that Abbas needs much encouragement. After all, this isn't the first time Abbas has delayed an election. He previously did so back in April 2021 while also blaming Israel.

Assuming Abbas, who turns 91 next month, is still alive I have no doubt he will postpone Palestinians elections come next fall and blame Israel for it while France will be full of regret.

Guardians Overcome 0-2 Deficit vs. Chisox to Face Rays in ALCS; Brewers vs. Dodgers NLCS Rematch Begins Tomorrow Night

The Cleveland Guardians bested the Chicago White Sox 2-0 to win Game 5 of the ALDS. 

Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams struck out 12 batters over 5.2 innings pitched. Cleveland pitchers struck out a combined 21 batters - a new MLB record for a 9-inning game. In 1962, Washington Senators pitcher Tom Cheney struck out 21 Baltimore Orioles batters over 16-innings.

Jose Ramirez supplied Cleveland's only two runs with a 2-run HR in the fourth inning.

The Guardians overcame a 0-2 deficit to end the Chisox's dream season two years removed from losing a modern-day MLB record 121 games. Nobody expected the South Siders to be playing October baseball. 

Cleveland will head to St. Petersburg to take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS starting Monday night.

In the meantime, the NLCS rematch between the Milwaukee Brewers and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers begins tomorrow night at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

The Dodgers are seeking to become the first NL team to win three consecutive World Series titles. The Rays and Brewers have never won a World Series while the Guardians have not a won a World Series since 1948. 

While MLB's owners insist on a salary cap in order not to lockout the players at the end of this year, the Brewers have the 19th lowest payroll in MLB while the Rays & Tribe are 28th & 29th out of 30 teams, respectively.

Let us consider the possible World Series matchups.

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Cleveland Guardians vs. Milwaukee Brewers

Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

If the Rays face the Brewers, it will mark the first time since 1980 featuring both teams which had not won a World Series. That year, the Philadelphia Phillies bested the Kansas City Royals in six games.

Prior to 1980, the last time that had happened was 60 years earlier in 1920 when the Cleveland Indians beat the Brooklyn Robins for their first World Series title. The Robins, of course, are the Dodgers.

So, it would be the first World Series between these two teams in 106 years. But if the Rays vs. Dodgers, that would be the first time in 6 years.

With the Guardians & Brewers, it is between a team that hasn't won a World Series in 78 years and a team which has never won a World Series. 

Like many people, for me it's anybody but the Dodgers and there's a 3 in 4 chance of that happening. With that said, it is hard to bet against the Dodgers. While I would not care for another Dodgers' World Series title, it would be a triumph of historical significance for the NL. Not only would the Dodgers become the first NL team to win 3 straight World Series, it would be their fourth World Series title this decade.

Let the games continue tomorrow night.

El-Sayed, Israel, Iran & Ridiculous Hypotheticals

On Thursday evening, Abdul El-Sayed faced off against Mike Rogers in the Michigan U.S. Senate debate.

During the debate, WOOD TV8 political reporter Rick Albin posed this question to El-Sayed, "Who is the bigger threat to the United States? Israel or Iran?" El-Sayed called it "a ridiculous hypothetical." He then added:

Here’s what’s happening right now: our ostensible ally in Israel has lobbied us to go to war with Iran. We have watched as Iran has responded by bombing all kinds of countries in the Middle East and then choking off the world’s energy supply.

When Albin pressed El-Sayed, the most he would say was, "Both of them have proven dangerous in their own way."

Wrong answer!!!

The answer is Iran is a bigger threat to the United States than Israel. 

This is not a ridiculous hypothetical. Nearly half a century of history proves it.

As to El-Sayed's assertion of moral equivalence between Israel and Iran, at no time has he ever publicly criticized the Iranian regime.

El-Sayed has not criticized the Iranian regime for killing 30,000 of its own people late last year and early this year.

El-Sayed has not criticized the Iranian regime for sentencing singer Parastoo Ahmadi to be flogged for performing without a hijab. 

El-Sayed has not criticized the Iranian regime for holding Iranian American journalist Reza Valizadeah in captivity, let alone call for his release. 

Nor has El-Sayed criticized the Iranian regime for funding Hamas.

This is because El-Sayed reserves his criticisms for Israel. As such, he will never say Iran is a bigger threat to the United States than to Israel.

Nidal Malik Hasan Should Be Executed But Not in Front of The Whole World

Make no mistake. Nidal Malik Hasan should be executed.

After all a military jury sentenced Hasan to death in August 2013 for the killing of 12 fellow soldiers and a civilian while wounding more than 30 people at Fort Hood in November 2009.

Not only was it an act of terrorism, but it was also a crime against the United States. In other words, it was an act of treason as Hasan was inspired by American born al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki and was in communication with him in the months leading up to the attack.

However, I do not believe that Hasan should be executed for the whole world to see as the Pentagon plans to livestream the execution scheduled for December 3rd at the behest of Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense (or Secretary of War as he prefers).

Attendance at Hasan's executions should be confined to military prison officials, members of his family, members of his victims' families and a few media representatives. That's it. No one else needs to see his execution. This is not a spectator sport.

If this proceeds it will be the first public execution in the United States in nearly 90 years. Very few countries conduct public executions namely Iran, Afghanistan and Yemen. Oh yes, Hamas conducts public executions in Gaza. 

What good can come of livestreaming Hasan's execution? If this comes to pass it won't be the last public execution that we see in this country. If public executions are conducted by the U.S. military, then civilian execution at the federal and state level will surely follow. Could you imagine Christa Pike's botched execution being livestreamed?

I also believe the spectacle of public executions runs the risk of bringing back public lynchings. The next time MAGA doesn't get its way in an election, perhaps they will execute a police officer. Or perhaps on the next anniversary of the October 7th attacks, masked Hamas supporters will kidnap a Jew off the street and then stage an execution with anti-Semitic pogroms to follow.

The one consequence I don't think Hegseth, the Pentagon and the Trump Administration intend is that the return of public execution will spur public opposition to the death penalty. Although support for the death penalty has been slipping over the past 25 years, a majority of Americans still favor capital punishment. The spectacle of public executions in a supposedly civilized society will swiftly evaporate that majority.

By all means, carry out the Nidal Malik Hasan's execution. Justice will be served.

Broadcasting or livestreaming his execution (or anyone else's) does not serve justice. It only serves bloodlust, revenge, sadism and perhaps the greed to make money off it.

Navi Pillay Winning The Nobel Peace Prize is About Legitimizing Hamas' Mission to Annihilate Israel

The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize was bestowed upon Navi Pillay "for her efforts to promote peace and international law."

In reality, Pillay was bestowed with this honor for her role in accusing Israel of genocide in her capacity as Chairman of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. She served in this position from May 2021 through November 2025. During her time in this role, she defended fellow Commissioner Millon Kathori when openly complained about Israel being a member of the UN while asserting the "Jewish lobby" was controlling social media. Pillay also pointedly refused to characterize Hamas' actions as "terrorists" or engaging in acts of "terrorism".

Indeed, Pillay has long been hostile to Israel going back to her time as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights between 2008 and 2014. During her time in that role, Pillay oversaw the debunked Goldstone Report, appointed the notoriously anti-Semitic Richard Falk as the Special Rapporteur for the Palestinians, her promotion of the Jew hating Durban II and Durban III conferences and gave then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a platform to spew Holocaust denying conspiracy theories. 

Bestowing Pillay with the Nobel Peace Prize helps to legitimize false claims of genocide while blessing to Hamas and other terrorist groups seeking to annihilate the world's only Jewish state. It has nothing to do with promoting peace and international law.

Thoughts on the ICE Shooting in The Bronx

(Screenshot from CBS News feed on YouTube)

This afternoon, ICE agents shot and wounded a man in his vehicle in an enforcement operation in The Bronx. A 5-year-old child was inside the vehicle during the shooting though he was not injured in the incident.

What is remarkable is this portion of the statement from DHS which reads, "During the incident, an ICE officer discharged his weapon and the criminal illegal alien was injured."

Nothing in the statement indicates that the suspect used his vehicle as a weapon or threatened the ICE officers let alone that the agent who fired the shots was in any danger.

It simply states the ICE officer "discharged his weapon" and wounded the "criminal illegal alien" as if that alone were sufficient justification.

The statement also claims, "ICE officers immediately rendered aid", but this is contradicted by witness testimony indicating it was NYPD who assisted the victim after arriving on the scene.

As usual, ICE conducted itself with reckless disregard for human life with the intent and effect to intimidate the community at large. Instead, ICE's actions only angered the community and rightly so.

Could The Yankees Replace Boone with Mattingly?

 

Last night, the New York Yankees were eliminated from post-season play after being swept in the ALDS by AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays. 

The Yankees did appear to have tied the game with a HR by Anthony Volpe but a fan in fact reached over the outfield railing to catch the ball. Alas, this is not 1996 and Jeffrey Maier wasn't there to save the Yankees. Volpe did get an RBI double, but it is as close as the Yankees would get.

Since taking over the managerial reins in 2018, Aaron Boone has led the Yankees to 8 post-season appearances in 9 years. His 790 managerial wins is 7th best in franchise history. But there have been no World Series titles to show for it. The Bronx Bombers last won it all in 2009 under Boone's predecessor, Joe Girardi.

Of Boone's 8 playoff appearances as Yankees skipper, the team has exited the post-season via the ALDS 4 times including the past two seasons after winning the AL pennant in 2024. 

Boone is under contract to manage the Yankees next season, but his seat is hot. A month ago, Zachary D. Rymer wrote in The Bleacher Report, "Nothing less than a title will make Boone's seat cool again."

While there is blood in the water, there are those who expect nothing to happen because Hal Steinbrenner is nothing like George Steinbrenner. In the first two decades, the elder Steinbrenner owned the Yankees he made 20 managerial changes including hiring and firing Billy Martin five times. However, since 1992, the Yankees have had only four managers - Buck Showalter, Joe Torre, Joe Girardi and Boone.

There is only one scenario under which I see the Yankees parting ways with Boone (and for that matter longtime Yankees GM Brian Cashman) and that is if they were to hire Don Mattingly as their next skipper.

After all, Mattingly played his entire 14-year MLB career in Yankee pinstripes. He is an experienced big-league manager stewarding the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins while being thrust into becoming the interim manager of the Philadelphia Phillies this season following a 9-19 start. Mattingly promptly turning the team back into a winner and clinching a playoff berth on the last day of the regular season before being shown the door in the NL Wild Card Round by the Atlanta Braves.

The Phillies, however, don't seem eager to bring back Mattingly despite his success and his popularity with the players. With that said, no one seems eager to manage the Phillies. Just ask Alex Cora. Although current Yankees bench coach (and former Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels manager) Brad Ausmus is reportedly being considered.

If this is the case, then the door is open for the Yankees to bring back Mattingly to the Bronx. Imagine if the Yankees traded Boone and Cashman to the Phillies for Mattingly and his son, Preston, who is the team's GM?

Or perhaps, Steinbrenner will continue to bide his time and leave Boone to manage this season and then replace him with Mattingly if they don't win in 2027. The only problem with that plan is that some other team might decide to make Mattingly their next manager.