This evening's headlines as they appear on the Drudge Report....I'll stick with this horse for now, he's on a roll.

US STOCKS END FIRST POSITIVE YEAR SINCE '99...

Most States No Longer Facing Budget Deficits...

New Jobless Claims Lowest of Bush Tenure...

James Zogby decides that the Bush administration manipulates news to suit it's interests. Now, it's not news to anyone that each Administration broadcasts only that which will show them in a good light, but it takes some skill to create an argument which has little to no merit.

Lest anyone forget the power of incumbency, President George W. Bush delivered a few reminders in the past few weeks. The capture of Saddam Hussein and the announcement that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi had agreed to open his country to weapons inspections demonstrated that ability of the occupant of the White House to generate positive and transformative news.

So...apparently there's no difference between doing positive things (which I assume is good) and generating positive news stories (which is the same as manipulating the news, which is bad). Now that's a Catch-22!

The other irony, is that this supposed Arab-American feels comfortable criticizing the news apparatus in the U.S. in a news source from Saudi Arabia, which is not known form it's freedom of the press. What was his motive for contributing this piece? Will Arabs feel more sympathy or hate for the American people who can't see how ignorant they really are?

I also always enjoy (whether from the left or the right) anyone who claims to be the only person in America not duped by the media.

This is pretty unusual for a mainstream generally non-poltical comic strip. Check out this "Pearls Before Swine" strip from 12/28 that describes a family's over a suicide bombing.

Sounds like the company that makes M&Ms has a pretty cool promotion lined up for '04.

The Archbishop of York has some harsh words for Tony Blair regarding his decision to go into Iraq. He urges people to "spend more time praying for Tony Blair". Part of the Archbishop's reasoning for thinking Blair needs help is that he seemed to attack only one bad guy, therefore the war was illegitimate.

Referring to Iraq, he said: "We still have not found any weapons of mass destruction anywhere. Are we likely to find any? Does that alter the view as to whether we really ought to have mounted the invasion or not?

"Undoubtedly, a very wicked leader has been removed, but there are wicked leaders in other parts of the world."

Can someone please explain to me the moral basis for this argument based on Christian theology? I mean, why give hunger relief to Ethiopians when there are other countries where people are starving? Right?

Don't touch us you filthy Jews!

Iran rebuffs 'Zionist' help

Until recently, I thought that reports of this subtle type of bias were perhaps biased in and of themselves. But when it's so easy to find...take these two recent NY Times headlines:

Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian in West Bank Clash

Suicide Attacker Kills 4 in Blast at Tel Aviv Bus Stop

Notice how in the first article the perpetrators (Israelis) and the victim (Palestinian) are clearly pointed out in the headline. The second headline could be Slavs killing Vietnamese - you wouldn't know from the headline that a Palestinian terrorist killed any Israelis.

It's always upsetting when this type of thing happens where you grew up. Technically, I grew up in the town next door, but even so...from Pearl River in Rockland County, NY. They still actually call this town "Pearly White". Not many minorities there.

Damaged menorah brings support

Ah-nold is getting into the Jewish thing with Chabad. Here's a picture of the Governator doing the hora!

I'd like to place a phone call to the Oxford English Dictionary and propose that they use this example to define avarice - from an article about the new upscale Lake Las Vegas communities.

More often than not, however, any resemblance to the Mediterranean is accidental. Lois and Don Borsack's 10,000-square-foot $3.5 million Tuscan-style villa, for example, has 22 televisions, seven electric-flame fireplaces and a dog park with built-in misters not to mention an elevator with paw-activated buttons.

Instead of a formal dining room, a motorized glass table sits in the middle of the living area; it is raised and lowered at the push of a button, to accommodate cocktails or dinner. There are four kitchens, although the house has only three bedrooms. "The ironic part is, I don't remember the last time we cooked," said Ms. Borsack, the retired owner of a chain of luggage stores.

You know I'll accept the doggie elevator as an extravagant convenience. But 22 TVs! Four kitchens and they don't cook!

Did I mention the sin of pride as well by having the balls to advertise their disgusting waste of money in a newspaper read by over a million people? I'm almost thinking of joining the Socialist Workers Party.

And here's the kicker, this family made their money by selling their company, El Portal Luggage (a business owned by their parents/grandparents since 1936), to Wilson's Leather in 2000 which turned around and closed all the stores a couple of years later. Who knows how many hundreds of people lost their jobs so that the Borsacks could have their doggie elevator.

Congratulations Lois and Don!

I have seen several letters to the editor today basically stating that the fact that the government raised the alert level to Orange means that we're not safer and that Howard Dean was correct in saying that the country is not safer with Saddam Hussein having been captured. (Which is just another way of saying "Bush lied"). Here are some excerpts:

From the Dallas Morning News:

Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is being loudly attacked for suggesting that the capture of Saddam Hussein hasn't made us any safer.

Then I pick up my morning newspaper yesterday and read that the homeland security threat assessment has been raised to orange (the second-highest level) and that Tom Ridge says we're now in greater danger from terrorist attack than at any time since 9-11.

So, let me see if I have this straight. Howard Dean is wrong because capturing someone who didn't have anything to do with 9-11 and who didn't even have any weapons of mass destruction makes us safer, even though we are now in greater danger from the people who did attack us?

Sorry, but I think Dr. Dean has got it right. We aren't going to be safer until we finish the job with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. The invasion of Iraq was an unrelated, bloody and expensive diversion from our real goal.

Lori Senesac, Dallas

----------------------------------------------------------------

From the New York Times:

Re "Terror Alert Is Raised to `High,' Increasing Scrutiny of Travelers" (front page, Dec. 22):

If, as President Bush claims, the world is safer now that Saddam Hussein is in custody, then why has he raised the nation's terror alert from elevated to high? It is disappointing to me that such questions of Mr. Bush go unasked, and unacceptable that they go unanswered.

Over the past week, Mr. Bush's pundits have slammed Howard Dean for stating that the world is no safer after Saddam Hussein's capture than it was before. Yet, based on this weekend's developments, isn't it clear that Mr. Bush agrees?

Shame on us, as Americans, for allowing an administration to continually say one thing and do another!

SUZANNE RUSSIAN
Metuchen, N.J., Dec. 22, 2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

First of all, no one was claiming that the U.S. would be safer from specific threats by all global terrorist organizations immediately after the capture of Saddam Hussein. This may be a bad analogy, but 60 years after Hitler committed suicide, there are thousands of neo-Nazis and many acts of violence and murder have been committed in Hitler's name or honor. His country's surrender did not also mean the beginning of a peaceful world without war. That does not mean that the world is not better off without Hitler.

And you know what, maybe we are a little less safe in the short term. But does that invalidate the long-term struggle to replace tyranny and terrorism with freedom and debate in the Middle East? Americans as individuals sure weren't safer the days after we declared war on Japan and Germany, and over 400,000 died in the following 3 1/2 years in helping to defeat the forces of evil.

Secondly, it is funny how the Bush critics are using his own creation, the terror alert system, against him. If the Bush administration did not create the alert system as a safety measure how would the Bush-haters know when it is less "safe" in order to criticize the president? That's like criticizing the states that have developed the Amber Alert system for not doing more to prevent child abduction, the proof being that they have to use the Amber Alert system.

Finally, here's another analogy - there are probably more automobile accidents than ever before (over 6 million in 2001) - but tens of thousands of lives have been saved because we are prepared for them with seat belts, airbags, crumple zones, etc. We're safer not because the driving environment has changed so much - it's that our little metal capsules that we travel in are designed better against catastrophe. Well due to the Bush administrations efforts, we have been trying to design this capsule that we call America a little better - while at the same time trying to eliminate the outside forces that would try to do us harm. Will we ever know that we are safer or are allocating our resources appropriately - I'm not sure. But at least we're doing something, and not waiting for the United Nations or the EU to come protect us.

An article in today's Clarin (Argentina) reflects the continuing economic problems in Israel and the better situation in Argentina.

Cientos de argentinos regresan al pais por la crisis en Israel - Hundreds of Argentines go back home because of the crisis in Israel

(My translation below):

Felisa Schwalb is 58 years old. She arrived in Israel in October 2002 as part of a wave of immigrants that, until that year, included 6,300 Argentines. Now she feels disillusioned. She and her husband had work in Argentina: Felisa was a massage therapist and her husband made and sold home and bath products. "If we decide to come to Israel it is for our grandchildren and our three children. But it turns out the children are unhappy and the saddest part is that, despite our love for the place, we can't be against our son's decision to go back to Argentina".

Felisa is one of the Argentines - between 600 and 1,000 according to sources - that, having immigrated to Israel to escape the crisis in Argentina, have now begun to return to their country of origin due to the lack of work and the insecurity in the area due to the "Intifada" or Palestinian rebellion.

It's about immigrants of Jewish origin that arrived in Israel taking advantage of the Law of Return and that couldn't deal with the problems of the Israeli economic crisis it was reported yesterday in the newspaper Ma'ariv.

The people that have returned to Argentina are part of the contingent of 7,000 Argentines that arrived in Israel in the last two years, as part of a vast program of the authorities of the Jewish state. To attract them, they were given financial help over and above the normal benefits given to Jewish immigrants.

Daniel, a 35 year-old with his tickets for his return to Argentina in his hand, told Clarin: " I though it would be difficult, but it was worse than I thought."

Like his mother, Daniel sees the danger of bombings as secondary. "The main problem is the lack of work", he maintains. The young immigrant clarifies by saying that "in Israel there are good people, but there are also some bad ones". He alluded in this way to employers who took advantage of immigrants like himself to lower costs and increase profits. Beaten down by these distasteful events and pained to leave his siblings and parents in Israel, Daniel explains how he couldn't get integrated and in perfect Hebrew says: "Here I'm not Daniel, but my identity number".

Israel has brought in more than one million immigrants in the last three years, the majority from the ex-Soviet Union, although the armed conflict with the Palestinians since September 2000 has dealt a fatal blow to the economy of this country, that is living through it's worst recession in 53 years.

According to Ma'ariv, the rightist government led by Ariel Sharon has not answered the needs of Latin Americans for work, a situation that was studied today in a special session of the parliamentary Commission on Immigration.

The newspaper highlighted that the conditions leading to the decision of hundreds of immigrants to return is the profound economic recession in Israel and the bettering of the same in Argentina since Nestor Kirchner's arrival as president.

"we go from one job to another for minimum wage. And that's when there is work because there are times when we don't even have that", according to an Argentina immigrant, who is married and the father of three children, that in Buenos Aires was the owner of a clothing store. According to this immigrant, who lives in northern Israel and asked not to be identified, "I was here for months without telling my parents in Buenos Aires that I didn't have a job, because I was ashamed."

Many Argentine immigrants are used to saying that "if we have to be poor, we prefer to be poor in Argentina, where at least we understand the language".

Rabbi Mauricio Balter, head of the Argentine community in Kiryat Bialik, told Clarin that "the situation in Israel is very difficult. Today - heexplainss - jobs areheldd by Russian immigrants, in groups that are difficult to penetrate.". And therefore the pain continues for those who return: "In Argentina at least we know how to get by in poverty".

In the spirit of American independence, General Wesley Clark seems to be reaching back to the infamous "Don't Tread on Me" motto.

Better not mess with Clark

I wonder if this is actually true - and if so, who did he mean by "we"?

Bush declares: "We must get rid of Arafat"

Eevn if no one is reading this, and the thought isn't original, there's just something I have to say.

24 is one of the best TV shows ever. We're 1/3 of the way through the second season after becoming "catch-up" fans.

Kiefer Sutherland is my hero.

This is just too funny. Even though I can't verify that the lead quote comes from Michael Moore, it's obviously what every anti-war person was pushing for.

I've been pretty mean to Michael Moore lately, but I think he's finally changed my mind:

"Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator, and I hope he's removed as soon as possible. But nonviolently."

Good idea! First we'll coax Saddam out of his bunker with a trail of delicious candy. Then, once his belly is full and he's all sleepy and happy, we'll calmly explain that we don't approve of what he's been doing and it's not very nice and we wish he'd stop. And he'll be like, "Whoa, I never thought of it that way. You guys are my friends! I like you!" And then everybody will hug and cry, and then get a little embarrassed about crying, and then make some jokes to cover up being embarrassed. And then a beautiful rainbow will appear, and a shy unicorn will walk down it, and Saddam will ride the unicorn to the North Pole, and he'll spend the rest of his life helping Santa make wonderful toys for all the good little girls and boys, and there'll be hot chocolate, and, and, and, and nobody will ever ever die again for any reason ever. THE END

Thanks to Jackie's Au Currant blog for the link.

I'm not sure exactly where I stand on this, but there's a big to-do in my local school district about a kid who handed out candy canes with a note about their origin which is supposedly based on Christian worship. The school is using various rules (no passing notes in class and no candy distribution) to get around the issue of whether this would be considered proselytizing or not.

As an important step in our recovery from 9/11, I have to post this link for the historical record.

Architects Unveil Revised Freedom Tower Design

Once again, PETA takes to child abuse to get it's message across. They have taken to handing out comic books to children with the title "Your Mommy Kills Animals".

PETA activists - including cuddly, costumed raccoons and foxes - are making guest appearances outside performances of The Nutcracker across the country this holiday season with a cheeky message of compassion. As children arrive to see the "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy," some will be unaware that their mothers are already starring in a real-life horror story! PETA will be there to greet any fur-clad moms and their children with their newest anti-fur leaflet-PETA Comics presents..."Your Mommy Kills Animals!"

Kids will see the bloody truth behind their moms’ pretentious pelts. Accompanied by graphic photographs of skinned carcasses and animals languishing on fur farms, children will read: "Lots of wonderful foxes, raccoons, and other animals are kept by mean farmers who squish them into cages so small that they can hardly move. They never get to play or swim or have fun. All they can do is cry-just so your greedy mommy can have that fur coat to show off in when she walks the streets."



Why do these stupid, stupid people have to do such offensive things to get their otherwise valid point across?

The Escapist comes to life! If you've read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (which wo the Pulitzer several years ago), you will be happy to know that the fictitious comic book series around which the book revolves is actually going to be published.

It seems that Jewish oriented comics are starting to become big business - or at lease some kind of business.

As the Forward article also states - "the Magen Davids are out from underneath the Spandex costumes. Comic book legend Joe Kubert has created a graphic novel about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, various X-Men flaunt their Jewish identities and master storyteller Will Eisner has produced "Fagin the Jew."

What are these Democrats smoking? No wonder Madonna endorsed Wesley Clark the other day - they must have the same dealer.

Clark: Bush lacks will to find bin Laden

Is there anyone else other than (G-d forbid) future vistims of terror who would be more ecstatic if Bin Laden were caught? What balls it takes to say, and I quote, "If I'd been president, I would have had Osama bin Laden by this time".

There can be no comment that would do this article justice:

Saddam's capture literally kills woman in Jordan

Thank G-d this woman hadn't been a red Sox fan. Oh the humiliation!

I think I'll hold off on believing this until I see Michael Jackson in a bowtie, but here it is:

JACKO FINDS ISLAM

Chirac Wants Religious Attire Banned in Public Schools

It seems like the French solution for rising religious tensions is to hide the fact that people are religious and/or different. So now, instead of exposing immigrants to French history and culture, they will be driven into religious schools who will teach children about why they need to be different from the "regular" French people.

This just proves the point that the French are stuck on themselves and cannot accept that others have anything to offer.

I wonder if someone comes to school with a large crescent, cross or Jewish star on their arm - will they be forced to remove it?

How embarassing is this? On QVC, a man demonstrating a $200+ telescoping ladder falls off the ladder while demonstrating how wonderful it's supposed to be.

OK, here comes my cynical moment of the day. Hillary Clinton thinks we are being hasty about our desire to turn over power to the Iraqis by July. Is this becuase that would give a major boost to the Republicans in time for the election and deprive the left wing of her party to complain about our not getting out of Iraq? What is the Democrat position - stay in or get out?

Well, I guess here's another thing to add to the list of things that the left have predicted wrong about our handling of Iraq:

Germany Agrees to Help Relieve Iraqi Debt

Just days ago, we were being told that France, Germany and Russia wouldn't even think about forgiving Iraqi debt after we had snubbed them on the issue of awarding reconstruction contracts.

It's coming down to the point where all the Democrats are going to have to say that everyone will agree on is that the Bush administration could have planned the aftermath of the war better. I'm waiting for the candidate who then adds, "so that when we go into Iran/Syria/North Korea when I'm president, things will be different."

Is Israel ready to leave the Gaza strip? Sharon plans complete withdrawal from Gaza Strip

I like how the headline assumes that Sharon has that dictatorial powers to make that decision by himself. Perhaps "Sharon to propose" would have been more accurate.

For the record, I'm all for unilateral separation if Israel really doesn't need the land for security reasons.

I still say in the long term one of two things will happen. Either a wave of democracy will spread over the Middle East and combined with Arafat's death a liberal Palestine will be born (remember I said long term). Or, Israel will withdraw either unilaterally or through negotiation to something close to it's 1967 borders, then when attacked will drive most of the Palestinians out of the West Bank for good. If both happen at the same time, the Palestinians would eventually take up residence in democratic Syria, Lebanon, etc. I am not assigning good or bad to any of this - just trying to imagine what might happen.

Let's assume that you're a Democrat and you believe that President Bush invaded Iraq to make his friends richer than they already are. I would say that makes Bush truly evil as he was willing to have thousands killed (and there were supposed to have been tens of thousands more) to make a few bucks - I don't believe that's true, bit it's a belief and neither side can be proven for sure. But would he really delay capturing Saddam to wait for the moment of greatest political gain? Representative Jim McDermott (D) - Washington thinks so.

McDermott in Hot Water for Saddam Quip

Now that's just silly. As I've mentioned before, if there's a point of lower importance on the election cycle than mid-December, I'm not sure where it would be. This is what they call Bush Hatred - non-sensical conspiracy talk. Sort of like Howard Dean suggesting that Bush having known about 9/11 in advance is an "interesting theory".

I swear to you that I do want a Democrat alternative to Bush - I don't like a lot of his cronies. But I don't feel like the candidates leading the polls have any grasp on reality. You know when the economy is chugging along next year, after Saddam is tried and Osama is executed, it ain't gonna matter much anyway.

Making the desert bloom was pretty impressive, but then G-d said to the Jews, "Yeah, but can you make a gun that shoots around corners?"

Of course.

In case you're not sure what time it is - there's someone out there in the ether who's constantly working to keep you up to date. Check out this unique clock. Hat tip to normblog.

Could this really be the beginning of the end? Saddam is starting to open up.

U.S. Army Nabs Other Regime Figures

I started watching The Hebrew Hammer yesterday and got about half way through it. I don't think I've ever seen a movie with such low production values and horrible acting - however I'm sure that the actors were directed to go way over the top. It's only funny becuase they must have thrown in every Yiddish word and Jewish stereotype in the book with a sense of making fun of ourselves. This is not "Gandhi".

I don't listen to Lauryn Hill's music, nor am I Catholic, but I still think it's horrifically obnoxious to do what Lauryn Hill did - you don't accept an invitation to do a concert and then insult your hosts, whether you have a good point or not. Have a press conference announcing you're declining the invitation and state the reason why. Convince the other artists not to attend. There's so many other ways to protest. This is not exactly "constructive engagement".

US singer blasts Catholic Church at Vatican Christmas concert

Yasser Arafat is reported to be "saddened" by Saddam's capture. "President Arafat was sad to see an Arab leader in an humiliating position," according to a Palestinian official.

I can only hope that one day he is also discovered in a hole somewhere after being forced into hiding.

YES! YES! YES!

Saddam is captured!

Happy 60th Birthday dad!

Holiday Ad Has Hidden Hate Message

I actually got this flyer in the mail from Party City, but did not notice any anti-semitic message. Then, our rabbi mentioned it tonight at services although he said the company was able to pull back at least some of them. After returning home from shul it turns out we did not get one with the CC Hates Hanukkah message.

I didn't realize it was so widely known until I got home and started surfing.

The United Nations, global guardians of peace, have decided to formalize their strategy for promoting peace in the war-torn regions of the Middle East...

RUN AWAY!.....RUN AWAY!

While I usually don't like to name call, anyone who supports the idea of the U being some sort of buffer force between the Israelis and Palestinians has to be a complete idiot. Can you imagine the Israelis withdrawing to some pre-determined line and then the U going home after the first suicide bomb? For pets sake, they quit the Sinai 30 years ago after they felt threatened with violence and before anyone even lifted a finger against them.

Un mozo denuncia que no le dejaron servir la mesa a Bush sólo por ser musulmán - A waiter claims that he wasn't allowed to serve Bush only because he is Muslim

So read the headline in an article in Argentina's Clarin today. The article continues (with my translation following):

Agentes del servicio secreto presidencial de EE.UU. impidieron que un mozo sirviera la mesa en un hotel de Baltimore en la que se encontraba el presidente George W. Bush. La única razón, según denunció el camarero, fue su condición de musulmán, algo que no llegó a “compensar” cuando mostró sus credenciales de ciudadano estadounidense.

El hecho se produjo el viernes de la semana pasada, pero recién se conoció públicamente hoy cuando Mohamed Pharaon, el camarero presuntamente afectado, realizó la denuncia judicial. En el texto acusó a los agentes secretos de comportamiento "discriminatorio y racista".

U.S. Presidential Secret Service agents, impeded a waiter from serving the table at a Baltimore hotel where President Bush was seated. The only reason, according to the waiter's lawsuit, was that he was Muslim, something that didn't seem to matter when he showed his credentials as a U.S. citizen.

This happened on Friday a week ago, but it only became public today when Mohamed Pharaon, the waiter supposedly affected, produced the lawsuit. In the text, he accuses the Secret Service agents of "discriminatory and racist" behavior.

At first, I was surprised not to have heard about it. Was this a case of Evil Bush and his handlers squelching protest? I then did a Google search and came across this Chicago Tribune article from last Sunday, December 7th.

Muslim hotel waiter sees bias in removal

This article claims that Mr. Pharaon was asked by a hotel manager not to work - it doesn't mention that the Secret Service had anything to do with the decision. It also obviously was known almost a week ago, not yesterday as Clarin claims. I'm interested to see if we hear more about this, but it seems that Clarin is showing some anti-Bush or anti-American bias here, I'm not sure which.

I didn't realize until now, but the National Air & Space Museum just opened up a new second museum about 25 miles from the Mall in Washington. Apparently, here you can see the Enola Gay, the Concorde, one of the Space Shuttles and an SR-71 Blackbird among other things.

I don't know how exciting this place would be for my wife or daughters, but I can't wait to go.

New Air and Space Museum Dedicated in Va.

I've probably never heard lyrics to a song that had both an insightful rendering of the interaction between man and G-d, and potty-mouthed rebellion bullsh*t. The chorus of Pink's "If God were a DJ" goes like this:

If God is a DJ
Life is a dance floor
Love is the rhythm
You are the music

I love that! The rest of it is just crap. What a sad life this woman must have had.

I am really curious to find out what the real story is here:

Car explodes near Italian synagogue

Let's see...one of probably a very few Arab men in Modena, Italy happens to blow up his car and/or commit suicide in front of one of the few if not the only synagogue in that town. Coincidence? Possibly, according to the Keystone cops..er, I mean the local authorities. Could this be the work of....now let me see......oh, I don't know......SATAN?!?

Although my first instinct is to cry for the death penalty for the woman that did this, I guess we'd be better served if she spent the rest of her life locked in a closet in a day care center and only let out once a day to clean the toilets.

TOT KILLED FOR WETTING PANTS

I really, really hope that G-d has something special planned for children like this when they die or I'm going to open up a can of whoop-ass on someone in the afterlife. Parents who abuse and then kill their children are more abhorrent to me than even the terrorists who struck on 9-11.

Note to future parents - please don't name any of your children "Uniqua".

Here's some more detail from the local paper - Court removed dead Yonkers tot from foster home

Seriously, if Whitney Houston is not the saddest case of someone having it all and then royally screwing up their lives, I don't know what is.

Singer Bobby Brown Charged With Battery

If there's a sadder case of someone who has had it all, totally destroyed their physical self, and still had it all, it's Ozzy Osbourne.

Ozzy Osbourne Recuperating After Accident

STOP THE PRESSES - PETA is an equal opportunity insulter! They're lead link on their website is to a campaign called "Santa's Not Coming This Year", with a picture of a thinned out Santa looking down into his trousers with a sad look on his face. After you click on the picture, you go to a goveg.com site with the full picture and tagline which includes the following "Milk can make you impotent - soy brings joy".

Gives new meaning to Santa's Not Coming - doesn't it? Ho! Ho! Ho!

Time for my obnoxious analogy of the day - but then again if PETA can compare animals to Holocaust victims I deserve to have my turn. What got me thinking were two unrelated articles - the first about John Ashcroft proposing legalization for illegal immigrants. (That has to do with wiping the slate clean and starting a new policy from scratch. Then there was the article about an animal-rights group who wants to prevent the homeless from receiving a gift of meat from a deer hunt. This has to do with the desire to do no harm to animals regardless of the benefits, either to other animals or human beings.

Let's say we all decided tomorrow to stop killing animals for food, clothing etc. What the hell would we do with all those millions of pigs, cows, chickens etc? Would PETA allow us to kill the one's we do have in slaughterhouses and start "fresh"? Do we have a population transfer and maybe move all the animals into Wyoming and declare it a human-free zone?

Can we do for the animals what we might do for illegal immigrants? Amnesty, then a freeze?

Just curious. I have to ask my wife - she's a PETA member.

I've been reading Andy Borowitz' "Borowitz Report" for a while now - sometimes you don't even have to get past the headline to realize that the guy is flat out funny.

"SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS GORE'S ENDORSEMENT OF DEAN: Transfers Nod to Bush in 5-4 Decision"

This is what we need to see more of in the media - let's see if this makes the evening news...as reported by the Healing Iraq weblog.

Iraqis march against terrorism.

I'm not sure if I would vote for any one of the Democratic candidates, but I think I can rule out Wesley Clark. In an interview on Monday's Hardball he says

"Well, if I were president right now, I would be doing things that George Bush can't do right now, because he's already compromised those international bridges. I would go to Europe and I would build a new Atlantic charter. I would say to the Europeans, you know, we've had our differences over the years, but we need you. The real foundation for peace and stability in the world is the transatlantic alliance. And I would say to the Europeans, I pledge to you as the American president that we'll consult with you first. You get the right of first refusal on the security concerns that we have."

Huh? We let the EU decide how we should go about protecting ourselves? From an American standpoint that's just outrageous. Please Mr. Chirac, can we attack Iran - Hizbullah just blew up the American Embassy in (pick a country). Please...

Just from a Jewish standpoint these are the people who when polled believed that Israel is the greatest threat to world peace and were afraid to release a report on anti-Semitism because it determined that much of it is rooted in the Muslim/Arab community?

Hat tip to Little Green Footballs on this one.

Thomas Friedman of the NY Times hosts a documentary on the Middle East on the Discovery Channel tonight at 10PM EST. The Times has a preview here.

This is just sad....a Palestinian mother of seven was arrested for being part of a suicide bomb plot. Here is one of her daughters. I haven't heard any comments yet claiming that she wasn't actually involved.



Palestinian Walaa Abu Thraa, 5, daughter of Latifah Abu Doar, 40, holds a picture of her mother in the northern West Bank refugee camp of Balata, adjacent to the city of Nablus Tuesday Dec. 9, 2003. Abu Doar, a mother of seven, had been arrested Monday by the Israeli army and is accused of carrying an 8-kilogram explosive belt which was intended on being used by Saliman Abu Ruis, 20, who was allegedly on his way to carry out a suicide bombing in Rosh Ha'ayin area, in central Israel. Abu Ruis and another accomplice were also arrested. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh).

Is there anywhere in Afghanistan where large groups of children do not hang out near suspected terrorists or weapons stashes, or are we just inept? Do we really have to bomb the sh*t out of an area fromt he sky to get one person?

Six Children Killed in Assault By U.S. in Eastern Afghanistan

Heroism in Brooklyn - PET SHOP SHOOTOUT

"A pet-shop worker whose store has been robbed several times turned the tables on a pack of armed crooks last night - grabbing control of an attacker's gun and shooting two of the bandits dead, cops said."

More nastiness in Brooklyn. NEW B'KLYN SWASTIKA OUTRAGE

In case you're interested in forming your own opinion instead of waiting for the ADL to tell you what to think, the official website for Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ is up and running.

If you're thinking the Geneva Accords are a good thing because at least someone's talking about peace - and the fact that a solution was arrived at means peace is within our grasp if only we would accept the necessary sacrifices....read Daniel Gordis' thoughts at Israpundit.... then come back to me. General warning - Israpundit, while comprehensive, is a little too likudnik even for me.

Mr. Gordis is no right-winger and is the author of a wonderful book, If a Place Can Make You Cry : Dispatches from an Anxious State

Irony - Palestinian terrorists, including a suicide bomber, were initially buried in a cemetery in an Israeli kibbutz.

The AP has written an article about Israel's latest hip-hop superstar who goes by the name of Subliminal and is outwardly right-wing.

The New York Post in it's cover story reveals the admission of an Iraqi colonel that WMDs were ready for quick deployment against coalition forces. Any declaration of the sort needs to be vetted for truth, but what's interesting is that the Post reports that this story comes from the Telegraph of the U.K., whose story is much more skeptical and contains contradictory statements by other Iraqi army officers.

Seems like the Post is doing a little political editing. Fair and balanced indeed, Mr. Murdoch.

One of the things that's great about college life is your exposure to different people, different ideas while at the same time going through the process of determining your own identity.

Since I went to U. of Penn, there has been a huge demographic shift towards South Asian students - many of whom I imagine are second generation Americans who have a lot to teach us about their cultures of origin. Having said that, I would have loved to have seen this performance at Penn's Winterfest:

Live music added to the festivities. Among the groups present was Atma, Penn's female South Asian a cappella group.

Atma performed several songs, including Vande Mataram and Alicia Keys' Gangsta Lovin'.

I don't know anything about Vande Mataram, but I would assume it may have been the first time it's been performed with Gangsta Lovin'. Actually, I don't know anything about Gangsta Lovin' either. I oughta go back to college.

It wouldn't be right if I didn't post links to items that made me feel sick to my stomach about being American as well as when I feel proud. I always like to give our military the benefit of the doubt, but this doesn't look good.

Afghan Villagers Torn by Grief After U.S. Raid Kills 9 Children

This was obviously unintentional, but if it was caused by negligence, someone should answer up and pay the price.

If you're not sure where Dennis Kucinich stands on the war in Iraq, you must see this video. Very simply, it accuses Bush of purposefully sending thousands of people to their deaths so that his "rich friends can get richer". I sure hope that the parents of all those soldiers that he lists as having been killed are voting Democrat next November - or he's in for a huge lawsuit.

Also, not that Kucinich shouldn't go for the jugular in his ads, but it clearly states that 50 coalition forces have died on average per month, then goes on to say if "current trends continue" there will be 2400 deaths in the next year. 50 times 12 to me is 600, but hey, I'm no CPA. Oh wait, yes I am! Actually it seems like he took the worst week or two of casualties and used that for his extrapolation. This of course assumes that things will remain the same or get worse - which is exactly the kind of Democrat doom and gloom that Republicans joke about.

By the way it would take about 80-90 years of fighting at this casualty rate to get us to Vietnam level statistics.

The term double standard is defined in this article - Tough New Tactics by U.S. Tighten Grip on Iraq Towns.

Here's what our troops are doing in Iraq:

"As the guerrilla war against Iraqi insurgents intensifies, American soldiers have begun wrapping entire villages in barbed wire. (Can you say security fence? - my comments).

In selective cases, American soldiers are demolishing buildings thought to be used by Iraqi attackers. They have begun imprisoning the relatives of suspected guerrillas, in hopes of pressing the insurgents to turn themselves in."

Hmmm, seems like Israel has been criticized for doing some of these same things. And what's worse for the critics...

"So far, the new approach appears to be succeeding in diminishing the threat to American soldiers.".

The New York Times has introduced the position of Public Editor which sort of sounds like an ombudsman-type position. I already like the guy given that he admits, "I've hated the Yankees since I was 6."

I only hope that this person can help lead the Times back to truly being the "Paper of Record" instead of the Paper of Political Correctness.

I can't believe this is a real movie - The Hebrew Hammer. This is definitely something I plan to rent...and hope to G-d my neighbors don't see. Sure, it's probably funny for the gentile who knows Jews well and that it's all a joke, but what about those who barely know any Jews?

I guess I shouldn't pass judgement until I see the movie, but based on this review, I'd be nervous.

Back on December 3, I mentioned that we should have gone after Saudi Arabia before Iraq. U.S. News has a lenghthy report as to why they have been, and are, a greater threat to us than any other country on Earth.

I haven't been a regular reader of the weekly newsmags since I was a teenager back in the '80s, but between this report and the cover story on anti-Semitism in the 11/3/03 issue (which I did buy), I'm starting to think that U.S. News might not be bad to pick up in hard copy as a show of support.

OK - let's see if this makes as little sense to you as it does to me and Little Green Footballs.

The Times interviews a supposed member of the Iraqi "resistance". Here are some quotes from the story:

The religious principle is that we cannot accept to live with infidels. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, said, `Hit the infidels wherever you find them.'

"We will not allow them to kill Iraqis. I am speaking before God, on my behalf and that of the other mujahedeen."

It was hard to pin down any single motive for the fighter here, who said he served in the Iraqi Army for six years, ending in 1998, and who gave the nickname "Fighter for the Sake of God."

Hard to pin down a motive? I-S-L-A-M. He put Allah in his nickname! How blind is this reporter?

For my politically correct friends - just because the vast majority of Muslims are good does not mean that evil does not stem from those that claim to be practicing Islam or that Islamic tradition is not relevant to their motives. In the same way you can't separate Judaism from militant West Bank settlers, even if the vast majority of Jews do not believe that owning the West Bank is necessary for the Jewish people.

But wait a minute - I just got to thinking (no laughing please). If Jews for Jesus started terrorizing people while claiming they are Jews, does the true Jewish community have an obligation to stop them, criticize them or both? Therefore if "militant Islam" is committing innumerable outrages in the eyes of the majority of Muslims, what are the moral obligations and would we as Jews do the same? After all, many liberal non-Muslims claim that the terrorists really aren't Muslim or have "hijacked" the religion.

For my super politically correct friends, no I am not comparing Jews for Jesus to militant Islamists, although it would certainly make a lot of people's lives easier if both of those groups switched to mainstream religious observance.

Good shabbos!

No comment necessary.

If this story is indeed true, you have to say Merci to the French - whether you like it or not:

Bolivia Detains 16 Muslims on Terror Tipoff -Agency

LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivia's state news agency said authorities in La Paz detained 16 Muslims on Thursday after a tip-off from French police that some of them were planning to hijack a plane and attack targets in the United States.

Who would think to look for Bangladeshis in Bolivia?

UPDATE (in Spanish) from Clarin of Argentina - 9 people have been released due to lack of evidence. Below is my translation:

"Bolivian authorities have freed nine Bangladeshis that were detained yesterday in Santa Cruz on the suspicion that they belonged to terrorist organizations.

The Bolivian government's decision was announced by Alfonso Ferrufino a government Minister amidst confusing information regarding the number, motive and circumstances behind the arrest of the foreigners who entered by way of the Santa Cruz airport in the eastern part of this country.

Ferrufino said that after having received the complaint from the French Embassy in Bolivia, the security organizations of the country did not find sufficient proof to open a criminal case against these people."

Boy, this woman who claimed she was trampled in a Wal-Mart during a pre-Christmas rush for goodies sure fooled everyone. Even George Will based an entire column on her B.S. - Christmas Goes For the Jugular.

A new movie is opening tomorrow in NY and Los Angeles called "Monsieur Ibrahim". It stars Omar Sharif as an elderly Muslim man who becomes a father figure to a Jewish teenage boy in 1960's Paris. It gets an OK write-up in the NYT. As usual you can get links to just about every review in existence at rottentomatoes.com, most of which seem to say that the film is good but not great.

This is just great - Muslim prison inmates in an East Texas jail are being shown anti-Semitic and pro-terrorist propoganda masquerading as religious sermons. I can't wait until these people are released out into the community.

A thank you to Robert Riggs, the investigative reporter at CBS Channel 11 here in Dallas.

The NY Times has an article about the Alexis Keller, the Swiss man who helped create the forum for the creation of the Geneva Accord. The initial seed money that was used to sponsor, and now advertise the Accord comes from his father Pierre Keller.

The senior Mr. Keller is a former Vice President and current honorary assembly member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC does not recognize Israel's Magen David Adom for the following reason:

"The Movement's statutes list criteria for recognition, one of which is the use of a protective emblem authorized by international law (the Geneva Conventions) – a red cross or a red crescent. The MDA does not wish to use either of these."

Talk about Palestinian desperation - this woman felt she needed to run to the Israeli military for help. In a sane world you would never see a headline like this - Palestinian woman beaten for refusing to explode

Is the fact that President Bush was photographed holding a picture of a cooked turkey that was not served during his trip to Iraq REALLY an issue? Even if it was, is this supposed to invalidate the whole idea of the trip? Does the Washington Post really believe that he risked everyone's life and traveled an ungodly amount of hours to trick people for a photo op with a dead bird?

I mean FDR hid from the public that he was in a wheelchair for chrissakes.

You know, I've finally come around to the conclusion that President Bush made a big mistake by invading Iraq.

We definitely should have taken care of Saudi Arabia first.

I can't tell if they're misguided or just plain evil, but they are definitely our enemy. If Bush was going to have to take all this blood for oil crap, he should have at least gone to where the oil is and the source of funding for the spread of radical Islam. According to the Wall Street Journal, they'll probably wind up favoring China over us anyway in the long run.

How much more evidence do we need? Here's some more.

Torah, Protocols of the Elders of Zion...same thing. At least according to the director of the manuscript museum at the new Alexandria Library in Egypt.

If only the "apartheid fence" had been up, perhaps this child would have been spared.



The One Family Fund is one of the best places to get information on terror victims and to donate to help relieve the agony of their families.

Today I have a moral crisis - do I prefer to sound the alarm of Anti-Semitism or criticize the New York Times? Perhaps I can do both. The Times did have a front page article today about Attacks by Arabs on Jews in France, so I am glad that they are recognizing the problem and publicizing it. However, deeper into the article they report:

"Interior Ministry figures show that physical and verbal attacks against Jews plummeted to 96 in the first 10 months of this year, compared with 184 during the comparable period last year. Justice Ministry investigations into alleged anti-Semitic offenses for the same periods fell from 129 to 29."

So then it's not really a big problem anymore, is it? If these numbers are an accurate reflection of reality, or at least point to a very positive trend, then why is the Times raising the alarm now, a year or two too late?

It's been awhile since I've posted about the upcoming parsha (Torah portion) of the week. I have truly been neglectful in my study of Torah, one of the most important mitzvahs. Shame on me.

This week's portion is Vayeitzei which begins with the story of Jacob's ladder. When Jacob awakes from his dream of ascending and descending angels he declares "G-d is in this place and I did not know it"! Jacob may not have known this until just then, but the lesson that we have taken from him is that G-d is everywhere - not just in every place, but the essence of G-d is in every thing as well. Jacob's declaration was not meant just as a recognition of his immediate surroundings as being infused with G-d's presence but was a declaration regarding the entire world.

How often do we ourselves ignore the signs of G-d's presence in the world around us?

Stop reading. Take a look around. Think of your loved ones, the feeling of satisfaction you may have after recently finishing a meal, the wonders of the modern world in which we live today.

Take time to thank G-d for everything you enjoy in life. Thanks to the vision of our forefather Jacob, there is no longer an excuse for us to ever say, "G-d is in this place and I did not know it!"

Here is a Reconstructionist D'var Torah on the same theme.

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Just as an aside, when I remember to say "Modeh Ani" in the morning when I wake up, it gives me a jolt of energy and a feeling of responsibility to "seize the day" that G-d has granted me. For those that don't know, this prayer in English translates into:

I give thanks to You, O God, eternal and living ruler,
who in mercy has returned my soul to me; great is your faithfulness.

When I woke up this morning in New York, this was leading the local news:

Nasty Signs of Bias

Actually, it may be even worse than that:

SWASTIKA HATE SPREE HITS CITY

The New York Times of course doesn't want to hurt the criminal's feelings, so their headline mentions POSSIBLE BIAS INCIDENTS REPORTED.

"The Most Wonderful Time of The Year" indeed. Bah humbug!

It's funny - this anti-Semitic incident happened near downtown Dallas around a month ago, and it is first seeing the light of day in the Dallas Morning News today. What I'm curious about is how the perpetrtaors knew this man was Jewish.

At the time I caught the tail end of a report about the incident on the local evening news, but it never made it into the newspapaers. Did they add this now becuase it was a slow news day? Were they waiting until they could interview the victim? Just curious - I'm not trying to insinuate evil motives behind delaying the story.

Is Syria actually helping to capture Al-Qaeda members? So says a Turkish news agency.

The Associated Press has an interesting article about how the Saudis are using interrogation methods similar to cult deprogramming to get information from Al-Qaeda members.

Now if only we can figure out a way to deprogram all followers of militant Islam (or militant anything) there'd be a lot of Nobel Peace Prizes to be handed out.

Can religious and secular Jewish children be educated together thus spreading mutual respect among the different branches of Judaism? There are currently about 1,300 such students in Meitarim schools in Israel.

I just thought this was interesting - there's an Israeli artist, Udi Aloni, behind much of the "wallscape" ads seen around the world, including all over Times Square.

I can't explain why, but the President's surprise trip to Baghdad for Thanksgiving made me feel good. At the same time, I know I'm not supposed to like Bush and maybe he wouldn't like me. But you know what, I can't put it any better than the Dallas Morning News did today. You'll have to trust me on this as it's not posted to their website, but the lead editorial is "Mensch in cowboy boots merits praise".

Regardless of what you think, there was no guarantee of his safely flying into Baghdad Airport (a DHL cargo plane was hit by a missile coming in just this past week), so to me he risked his life to bring some cheer to the troops. A mensch. If you are one to believe that he did this for a rise in the polls three weeks after election day and a full year before the next one, and after his last "Mission Accomplished" stunt brought so much criticism, then you are truly a Bush hater and good luck with the Howard Dean campaign.

Even when I moved to Teaxs last year, I never imagined that I'd have one of my neighbors offer to deep fry my Thanksgiving turkey for me. Well, they did and it was awesome - juiciest turkey I've ever had. I've been laughing at the thought of the same thing happening in a place like Brooklyn where I was born.

Well, these Brooklynites tried it, but it didn't quite turn out how they'd planned:

Women Burned Frying Turkey

Could Argentina become the next Turkey?

It seems as if some in the Canadian Muslim community are looking for more co-religionists to submit voluntarily to Sharia (Muslim Law). How will this be done? Sharia based arbitration boards (like Jewish beit dins I imagine) will be established and based on Canadian law under the Arbitration Act, Canadian courts must enforce the decision of the arbitration.

The Law Times of Canada reports here about these plans discussed at a recent conference of Canadian Muslim leaders.

I believe that U.S. courts allow for the enforcement of religious court rulings, but I imagine it's only when those rulings do not contravene secular law. I want to see what happens when an Islamic Advisory board adjudicates to force a woman to wear a burqa or let an "honor killing" murderer go free.

As conference organizer, barrister Syed Mumtaz Ali recognizes, "We are required by our own law to follow the laws of the country and to follow our own laws. We have a double obligation. You don't have to be the wisest man to see there will be conflicts. . . ." Mr. Ali is "the first lawyer to swear his oath of allegiance on the Koran."

Conflicts indeed.

This article in the Salt Lake City Weekly is ostensibly about the selection of a lesbian rabbi for Salt Lake City's largest Jewish congregation. However, in describing the different branches of Judaism at length it is probably one of the most comprehensive and even-handed articles about modern Judaism that I have ever read.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, this just doesn't matter, but the British Political Cartoon Society has just awarded there cartoon of the year award for a drawing of Ariel Sharon eating Palestinian babies. In fact, it's not even original in that it's an almost identical copy of a Goya painting.

This must be the famous dry wit of the British at work. At first I though it was a joke, and then I saw which cartoon won last year:

The government may be crying wolf, but there was definitely an extra guard posted outside my building's underground garage today.

From the "everything I ever needed to know I learned from cartoons" file:

According to the NY Times editorial page - "The International Atomic Energy Agency should pass a resolution condemning Iran's secret programs and demanding that the country prove that its programs are peaceful."

Let's just change some of the words around and see how it plays - "The International ACME Agency should pass a resolution condemning Wile E. Coyote's secret purchases of ACME products and demanding that he prove that its programs will not be used to catch the Roadrunner."

Also, there's that "demand" word again. How can you demand something if you don't back it up by physical force? Ask is more like it. Unless of course, the Times is saying they're willing to go to war with Iran over this issue.

Not.

Nothing to add here really - just a cool picture.

"The Concorde glided up the harbor before docking alongside the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum."

I wasn't sure what to think of the latest Michael Jackson saga, but if this article about the accuser's family is true - the legal system has more than "Wacko Jacko" to deal with.

There's a very interesting difference between the covers of Times columnist Paul Krugman's "The Great Unraveling" as sold in the U.S. versus Europe. Even the Times itself published an article about the difference.

Here's the U.S. version:



Here's the UK version:

I just sent the following letter to the New York Times' based on Frank Rich's op-ed piece, "When You Got It, Flaunt It".

Mr. Rich seems to imply that Bill O'Reilly cannot claim significant career achievement because he has commented that he hails from "lower middle class" Levittown when perhaps it was really "middle class" Westbury instead. In fact there is only a 10% difference in per capita income between those two places according to the Census Bureau. Regardless of his past address, by no stretch of the imagination did Bill O'Reilly come to his wealth and influence through a large inheritance or family connections.

In addition, I think there may a case of sloppy reporting. Mr Rich claims that O'Reilly "wrote that he had grown up in lower middle-class Levittown, N.Y. only to be corrected by Newsday, which reported that Mr. No Spin Zone grew up in Westbury, a middle-class suburb near Levittown". In fact a recent Newsday article just this week says that "O'Reilly claims Levittown; others say he lived closer to middle-class Westbury". Therefore it seems that Newsday is just reporting what others have said - Newsday did not, in fact, correct O'Reilly at all or do any research on either claim.

Very nice the way the BBC puts sneer quotes around the word killed in this article:

Israeli barrier guards 'killed'

Two Israeli security guards have been shot dead at the controversial security barrier being constructed by the Jewish state, medical sources say.

Given that the actual reportage says they were shot dead, one would assume that they were actually killed instead of "killed". Perhaps they think that Jews, like vampires, can't actually be "killed".

Hat Tip to Little Green Footballs.

UPDATE: It's been changed - they took away the quotation marks.

So how much do YOU like hockey? Enough to watch a game outdoors with 57,000 other fanatics in late November in Canada? As one of the spectators said:

“When I was 11 or 12 years old I remember my mom always said, ‘Put a tuque on, you’ll catch a cold,” Theodore said of his cap. “I just wanted to make sure she’s not going to say anything when I go back home, so I put a tuque on.”

Then I asked myself, what the hell is a tuque? Now I know and so can you.

The ultra-liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (otherwise known as the Ninth Jerk-It Court of Schlemiels) has decided that perhaps gunmakers should be held liable when people commit crime with guns. Now, I can never imagine owning a gun myself, but should kitchen knife makers be worried?

The European Union is afraid to issue a report on anti-semitism in Europe because it found that Arabs and Muslims are the main culprits. There also seems to be some discussion as to whether beating a Jew is anti-semitism if you claim you're upset at Israel.

"When the researchers submitted their work in October last year, however, the centre's senior staff and management board objected to their definition of anti-semitism, which included some anti-Israel acts. The focus on Muslim and pro-Palestinian perpetrators, meanwhile, was judged inflammatory."

I guess if Israel leaves the West Bank and Gaza, Muslims won't need to blow up or torch synagogues and schools in Turkey, France and the Bronx anymore.

Great news! The PATH station at the World Trade Center site will be re-opened this Sunday. I really wish they would have designed the new station entrance in the form of a giant middle finger - pointed at Mecca of course.

Iraqi insurgents are now using donkeys and dog carcasses to deliver or hide explosive devices.

I am totally against the use of animals in such a heinous way. However, I do agree that they can be put to good use to promote military objectives by less violent means. For example, what if we trained 1,000 parrots to sing God Bless America in Arabic and released them into the Sunni triangle. Then, when the insurgents try shooting the birds, they will reveal their positions and we can kill them.

Laugh if you must, but it can be done. I knew I should have been a military strategist instead of a CPA.

The finalists for the 9/11 Memorial Competition have been released to the public. Spend some time. Reflect.

My inital favorite is "Dual Memory" - just beacuse seeing the victim's faces made me cry. That's what this memorial is about - not the buildings. No matter how big a hole in the ground you leave or make into a pond or a park, it will never capture the enormity of what was physically destroyed.

I'm no Jewish Defense League or Kahane Chai supporter, but the Chief Rabbi of France has basically announced that Jews must go into hiding to protect themselves against attack. I would like to provide some links to my fellow Jews in that country which might provide a better alternative that is acceptable, as I understand it, under Torah law:

Wal-Mart

E-Bay France

And a little history from Amazon.fr

Here's France's formula for controlling anti-Semitism. Invest $8bn in Muslim neighborhoods. I guess that French Muslims must have the same level of despair and hopelessness as the Palestinians - which as we all know is the primary cause of anti-Semitism in the world.

I'm sure that in the near future we will hear Muslim parents telling their children, "See we have a new school in our neighborhood - now we don't need to beat Jews in the street anymore!".

The New York Times, in an effort to discredit the Bush Administration, quotes two army officals under the banner "Few Signs of Infiltration by Foreign Fighters in Iraq"

Follow this twisted logic - becuase "most of the attacks on our forces are by former regime loyalists and other Iraqis, not foreign forces" and that it one region the army "had captured perhaps (only) 20 foreign fighters trying to slip into the country" therefore it's impossible that Bush could be telling the truth about 1,000-3,000 foreign fighters in Iraq. What does who perpetrates these attacks and a slow trickle of recent arrests translate into a headcount of the existing population of foreign fighters already in Iraq?

If the U.S. Border Patrol arrests 100 Mexican illegals this month, does that disprove that there are millions already living here?

The Times then claims that "the White House has been suggesting that foreign fighters are continuing to enter the country" in order to link "the war in Iraq to the global campaign against terror".

First of all the White House have said that foreign fighters and terrorists have been infiltrating Iraq for a long time and are still trying to get in, not that they are still successful at getting in since obviously we've tightened the border patrols in recent months.

Also, according to an MSNBC report on November 4th: "Senior American officers in Iraq believe foreign fighters are involved in the insurgency now along with Saddam loyalists, but have no firm reason to link them to al-Qaida or any other international terrorist group. Asked at the Pentagon last week about fighters in Iraq from other countries, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said between 200 and 300 people believed to be foreigners have been captured, with a “high percentage� from Syria and Lebanon." That's only who's been captured - Add a multiple for those who haven't been and you easily come to the 1,000 to 3,000 estimate.

Somehow the Times has twisted a story about the success of our border controls in Iraq to prove that the Bush administration is "lying" for the sake of expanding the war on terrorism.

Are there words to describe the evil behind torching a Holocaust museum? Once the police find the people who did this - and they will becuase the arsonists are probably idiots - what kind of programs could possibly exist to transform these "people" into human beings?

It's funny, I've read several reviews about "Full Court Miracle", a new Disney Channel production involving a down on their luck Jewish academy basketball team who hires a down on his luck African American to coach them. They all seem to like it (in the B, B+ range), but they also tend to say it's schmaltzy and predictable. Also, something which I can't stand (a la CBS and Reagan) - this is "based on" a true story. If the real story is so heartwarming, why fix it?

Ironically, it's first showing is on a Friday night, so religious Jews won't be able to watch until it's in repeats.

One of ours showing his respect for the press corps. Did Dan Rather ever elicit this reaction in Vietnam? Hat Tip: Little Green Footballs.

I don't think this is considered free speech - is it? I mean, can't they be arrested and hanged for treason of some sort?

There's a pretty obvious line between protesting your country's actions and supporting the enemy directly with funds, and these people have crossed it in a Fonzie-like leap over the bodies of their countrymen.

Italian group backs Iraq fighters

Another house in my new hometown has been designated as a historical landmark. In the article, there is a description of how the home, built in 1898 was lovingly restored by the current owners.

It kind of makes me wonder if anyone would ever want to preserve the modern homes we live in now. Can you imagine the articles 100 years from now? "Mr and Mrs Smith were meticulous in replacing the early 21st century Corian countertops and garden wallpaper in the kitchen. Perhaps most fascinating was the reconstruction of the 'entertainment center' where the original owners used to watch something called 'television' and play music on 'stereos'. Luckily, much of the orignal Bose wiring was found in the attic....."

What type of card do I get my wife for World Toilet Day, November 19?

Although I love you tenderly,
I have to say that when I pee
I would do so more merrily
If the seat you would leave up for me.

Copyright - Go Blog and Multiply 2003

A new group in England called Shechita UK is trying to prevent the ban of ritual kosher slaughter in that country. Many animal rights organizations in Europe are trying to ban kosher slaughter, as they believe non-kosher methods are more humane (although there is conflicting science on the matter). PETA seems to have nothing to say about this - I guess they're against killing animals for food whatever the method. Here are some other links of note on the subject:

Europe's new face of anti-Semitism: 5 countries now ban production of kosher meat

Fear over European Kosher bans

Halal and Kosher slaughter 'must end'

Swiss retain kosher slaughter ban

Another sensless death in New York, although the cause is stupidity, pure and simple.

A Merchant Marine Cadet Is Killed While Subway Surfing

INHUMAN BASTARDS. How else do you describe car bombs attacking synagogues on the Sabbath? And one of these was attacked for the third time in 10 years! How do the congregants have the balls to pray there without having a team of green berets outside?

I wonder if the Turks will agonize over this for years just as we Americans do over the bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama church over 40 years ago? I doubt it.

UPDATE: Perhpas a miracle? "It appears that no one inside the synagogue was hurt," said journalist Andrew Finkel, adding that most of those killed were passersby." Not that I'm glad that passersby were killed, but wow.

James Lileks has a great quote regarding George Soros' comments about President Bush's America and his support for Howard Dean:

"I was tempted to write about George Soros comparing Bush and America to the rise of the Nazis, but I’ve just had it with these people. I’m more interested in those who ride the coattails of their rhetoric. I want someone to ask Dean this question in the Presidential debate: “Governor Dean, one of your wealthiest backers has compared America in 2000s with German in the 1930s. Do you agree with this analogy?� The only acceptable answer to my ears is “No, I don’t.� Period. "

I have to say I'm kind of glad that the head of the ADL's Interfaith Affairs is leaving. He's the one who's been responsible for all the fire and brimstone surrounding "The Passion", Mel Gibson's upcoming biography on the life of Jesus which some claim to be anti-Semitic.

I am always very uncomfortable when those "in the know" try to tell the public whether something is good or bad before a final product is completed. I also agree that Mr. Gibson got more publicity from the ADL's outrage than a full-page color add in the New York Times. I do believe this was an attempt at censorship which we should never stand for under any circumstances. How the ADL decided to take on one of America's most beloved male actors regarding material that couldn't be seen by the public at large is beyond my comprehension.

Here's a neat way to make a small difference in the world. You can also find out at the same time that either the New York Jets and Giants are among the least-loved teams in football, or New Yorkers are incredibly stingy. Go, make the free donation to Campbell Soup's Click-for-Cans campaign and you'll see what I mean.

Speaking of the Jets, can a new football stadium in Manhattan be in the works...for real?

Sometimes I think that Thomas Friedman is the most educated level-headed thinker on issues regarding the Middle East. There's other times like today, when I wonder what he's smoking. This is my first offical "fisking" of someone's work. If you don't know what that means, ask me in the comments and I'll be glad to tell you.

Friedman states that "One could easily do a revisionist history of 9/11 and show how it was simply the opening salvo in an attempted coup within Saudi Arabia - with the attack on America meant only as a bank shot to undermine one of the main supports of the Saudi ruling family." And the bombings in Africa, Bali, etc.? These were meant to threaten the Saudi royal family?

He writes further that "Some 26 years ago Anwar Sadat responded to the food riots in Egypt by going to Jerusalem to make peace with Israel." This doesn't seem to have prevented the Egyptian government from sponsoring anti-Semitism and producing miniseries based on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

But wait there's more - "The way to reduce these fires - which will only worsen with the growth of Muslim populations in Europe - is by forging a solution to the Palestine issue along the lines of the Clinton plan. Nothing would do more to extinguish this new anti-Semitism than an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal". Does he mean the deal that Israel accepted and the Palestinians rejected out of hand?

And now the piece de resistance - "Unfortunately, right now both the House of Saud and the House of Sharon prefer to buy time by relying on police rather than political initiatives. In the long run, this won't work. Both need to take on their Wahhabis: the Muslim Wahhabi extremists who are choking Saudi Arabia's future and the Jewish Wahhabi settlers who are doing the same to Israel. " First he compares the democratically elected Sharon to the House of Saud, then he compares ALL settlers to Wahhabi extremists. I don't remmeber the last time I read about a school in the settlements teaching children to hate their neighbors and declare holy war against all Muslims.

I wonder if he thinks the Palestinians should have a say in any of this?

I am NOT little!

"Today, we can say that these little people (Jews) are the root of evil" says Mikis Theodorakis, famous Greek composer as Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Education Minister Petros Efthymiou listen without reaction of any kind.

Another country to add to the Axis of Anti-Semitism with France.

I thought that Delta Airline's name for it's new short-haul subsidiary, Song, was silly. But "Ted"? What is United thinking? Why not Clarence or Jim Bob?

I'm sure that the celebrities mentioned in this article think that their fellow Americans are a caring people, willing to help others in times of distress; that we are strong defenders of freedom and human dignity.

However what they SAY is that we're all dumb as horsesh**. Nice.

Thanks to an editorial by Ted Rall, syndicated cartoonist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, I see that we've been wrong all along about Iraq - in fact we're just as evil as the Israelis! How could we have sunk so low!

It does fascinate me sometimes how someone who grew up in the same culture as I did has such a different view of the world than I do. We're not talking about having different ideas on how to fund Social Security - I mean seeing the U.S. government as evil and people who blow up Red Cross facilities as brave defenders of freedom? Talk about bizarro world....

Nicholas Kristof writes a rare commentary in the NY Times about how the left in this country are heading down the path to incivility and oblivion. From his op-ed piece:

In a fairly typical comment, one reader suggested that President Bush and his aides are "lying, cynical greedy pirates who deserve no better than a firing squad." At this rate, soon we'll all be so rabid that Ann Coulter will seem normal.

That's setting a pretty high bar for obnoxiousness. It's hard to find anyone can surpass it on either side of the political spectrum.

Until now, many in Saudi Arabia have supported terrorism against the U.S. since the ends justified the means. Now that they themselves are targets, their attitude seems to be changing.

This is why President Bush is right to call the current conflict a war against terrorism, not just a war against al-Qaeda. Unless terrorism in it's current form is stopped as a viable method of attack everywhere, things are bound to get worse for everyone on the planet. As opposed to the historical call against nuclear weapons use and proliferation which involves established states with some sort of desire for personal survival, the terrorists are actively seeking WMDs and don't care if they live to see the results of their use.

The U.S. isn't going to invade every country that disagrees with us, but if they support terrorists (and you know who you are), we're a-comin to git ya. The push for democracy is just the means by which we hope to deny terrorism a base from which to operate. It ain't altruism that's determining our policy.

As I walked toward the ferry that would take me to my hotel, I saw down the road this Traffic Light Tree. I'm still not sure if it's a sculpture or a working light, although I think it's the former. You can even see my office building in the background.

Cheerio from London, mate! Nothing much interesting going on here really. However, it is worth noting that the Michael Howard has been appointed as head of the Conservative Party (the Tories). He is the first Jew to head either England's Labour or Conservative parties - Benjamin D'Israeli who was prime minister had been baptized as a child.

Here's a quirk about the British parliamentary system that I love - the opposition party leader selects a "shadow cabinet" to mirror the existing cabinet appointed by the majority party. I think this would be a great idea for the U.S.

Well I'll be hopping the pond tomorrow and going to merry old England. Let's see what revelries await.....

Prince Charles accused of being homosexual (although British libel laws prevent the publication of much detail) and Is Charles Bisexual?

Cheeky council workers stunned motorists with rude road sign.

All kinds of excitement over Bush's visit the following week - most of it not good.

This is fantastic - a Church Sign Creator on the Internet. You know those signs you pass all the time with the cute sayings to get people to remember to believe in God and go to mass. This site let's you type in any four lines of text and it shows you what it would look like in front of a typical church. it's hard to explain, you just have to go there.

As much as I love books, I rarely spend a lot of money on "coffee table" books. Diaspora, though, seems like one of those that may well be worth it. Here's a nice write-up about it in my local paper, and here's the link to Amazon.com, where it's $30 off.

In constructing Berlin's Holocaust Memorial, is it just ironic or immoral that the company that made Zyklon-B (Degussa) plans to profit from the sale of anti-graffiti spray? To complicate matters, Degussa has supposedly been one of the most forthright companies regarding it's history of wartime activities. Read "The Price of Forgiveness" in today's New York Times.

Now, there could well be a very good reason for a Saudi man and unnamed female companion to be secretly videotaping a Jewish girls middle school, but I'm really stuck to think of a good one.

I would like to think that if I found this couple in my daughter's school that they would not have been able to make it to the parking lot, and boy had they better know how to speak English so that they could tell me exactly how far they would like me to shove that menorah up their....

But I digress.

I would most certainly stay abreast of the situation with the local authorities.

Last night I went to see Mary Blye Howe discuss her book "A Baptist Among the Jews" at the local JCC. I had read the book when it came out a couple of months ago and was intrigued by the insights that someone would have learning about Judaism not only from scratch, but with a previously held negative viewpoint.

What I found most interesting were her comments about how in many conservative Baptist churches, Jesus' break with the Pharisees and elders is taught as Jesus the Christian vs. the whole of the Jewish community as opposed to a Jew and his friends disagreeing with other Jews - therefore the thing about "all of us" killing Christ.

There was one woman in the audience who had the most obnoxious question of the night, basically accusing the author of not being able to love both the good in her Christian heritage and her newfound Judaism-based spirituality - telling her she had to choose one or the other but shouldn't claim to be able to enjoy the benefits of both. A lot of dirty looks followed, but no hissing. Mrs. Howe commented basically by saying that acceptance and sorting out of many ideas was better than rejecting everything outside of one's own immediate belief system regardless of what one believes.

In addition, I asked her what I could say to an evangelical Christian to get them to recognize me as a person practicing a valid religion instead of a target for conversion, and she said you can't do anything - they're to set in their ways like machines. That was very disheartening, but she herself had a very difficult time breaking away from that tradition herself and is still ostracized by a large segment of her own community outside of her particular church which is relatively liberal.

The best comment from the audience came when someone said that we should give the book to Children so that they can have a "Jew Among the Jews" experience since so few of us ever explore the various branches of our own faith.

There's a lot to learn here and it will reinforce your love and knowledge for the basic tenets of the religion as practiced by all Jews.