Today’s 5 Biggest Smackdowns

Smackdown:

1. the act of knocking down or bringing down an opponent; 2. a contest in entertainment wrestling; 3. a decisive defeat; 4. a confrontation between rivals or competitors

Here are today’s five biggest smackdowns.

1. Bashar Assad smacks down Syrian lawyers, doctors, intellectuals, and other educated professionals.

2. The International Criminal Court smacks down Libya.

3. Israel smacks down a boat headed to Gaza.

4. Melanie Phillips smacks down BBC’s Mideast editor, Jeremy Bowen.

5. Jeffrey Goldberg smacks down the NY Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief, Ethan Bronner.