Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Israeli Cabinet Votes Against Loyalty Test

By Steve Hynd


A little bit of sanity out of Israel, and you have to wonder how much international pressure was exerted behind the scenes:



The Israeli cabinet has rejected a controversial proposal to require Israeli citizens to take an oath of loyalty to the Jewish state.

Under the plan, introduced by the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, citizenship would be granted only to those who swore allegiance.


The proposal angered Israel's Arab minority, which comprises 20% of Israel's population.


The plan can still be brought before parliament, but is unlikely to succeed.


The measure was thrown out by eight votes to three at a meeting of the Cabinet on Sunday.


The bill, which was a key part of former East European night club bouncer Avigdor Lieberman's election campaign, would have required citizens to pledge loyalty to Israel as a "Jewish, Zionist and democratic" state. Critics, rightly, pointed out that demanding the first tow automatically precluded the last. Freedom of religion - and of opposition to nationalist fascism dressed up in religious clothing - are hallmarks of any true democracy.



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2 comments:

  1. BJ BjornsonMay 31, 2009 at 7:59 AM

    Good news indeed. I still haven't seen anything on banning memorials to the Nakba yet. Hopefully that will get shot down as well. It doesn't improve the Israeli Arabs situation, but it at least keeps it from getting noticeably worse.

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  2. Peter G.May 31, 2009 at 11:26 AM

    Frankly I never thought this particular piece of idiocy had any chance of passing. I'm glad to see it was not a close decision. The right wing in Israel has a true talent for devising unproductive strategies for dealing with the Palestinians and just about everyone else.

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