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.