Garry Trudeau deserves many thanks for truly supporting the troops.
‘Doonesbury’ comes to aid of Fisher House
Love him or hate him, Garry Trudeau, the man responsible for the “Doonesbury” comic strip, is doing his part to help wounded troops and their families.
Trudeau is donating all his proceeds from the sale of his newly released book “The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time” to the Fisher House Foundation. Also, Andrews McMeel Publishing, the book’s publisher, is contributing 10 percent of its take from the book to Fisher House.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Yup, there's still racism in the south. More south than you think though.
New Racial Gaffe in Mexico; This Time It's a Tasteless Stamp Set
In at least one other Latin American country with almost no black population (Argentina), this would not be seen as a big deal. Below is a product from one of the more popular local brands in Argentina, Blancaflor. Blancaflor oddly enough means "white flower" in English.
New Racial Gaffe in Mexico; This Time It's a Tasteless Stamp Set
In at least one other Latin American country with almost no black population (Argentina), this would not be seen as a big deal. Below is a product from one of the more popular local brands in Argentina, Blancaflor. Blancaflor oddly enough means "white flower" in English.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Monday, June 27, 2005
In The Army's Hard Sell, Bob Herbert is being totally disingenuous when he tries to show that Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld was initially unprepared for how long the "war" in Iraq would last. He quotes the secretary as saying:
"I can't say if the use of force would last five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that."
Secretary Rumsfeld was clearly talking about the use of force against the Iraqi military in the traditional campaign to liberate the country and evict Saddam from power. It's even more obvious when you read "Iraqi Army is Tougher Than US Believes" from commondreams.org, a liberal organization who tried to pursuade the public that our campaign would be significantly more difficult than the first Gulf War. Secretary Rumsfeld's comments were judged as, "ideologically driven and strategically ill-informed."
The war began on March 20, 2003 and Baghdad was captured on April 9, 2003 less than 3 weeks later.
-----------------
In addition, much is made of the fact that the Army has not met it's recruiting goals for the last several months. What is not taken into account is that these goals are calculated by simply dividing the annual target by twelve, regardless of the fact that the majority of recruiting success takes place in the summer after graduations.
Also, retention goals have been met or exceeded which would seem strange if those currently enlisted thought they were part of a lost cause.
While recruiting numbers for May were lower than hoped - something defense officials acknowledged was expected during the slow spring recruiting season - every service met or exceeded its retention goals for the month.
And as Secreatry Rumsfeld said yesterday, "the Army retention is going very well. In fact, it's higher for the people who've served in Iraq and Afghanistan than it is for the Army people who have not."
Another funny thing is that I've seen several articles mention that it's actually the strength of the economy in part that's causing the slowdown in recruiting, but that's another story.
"I can't say if the use of force would last five days or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that."
Secretary Rumsfeld was clearly talking about the use of force against the Iraqi military in the traditional campaign to liberate the country and evict Saddam from power. It's even more obvious when you read "Iraqi Army is Tougher Than US Believes" from commondreams.org, a liberal organization who tried to pursuade the public that our campaign would be significantly more difficult than the first Gulf War. Secretary Rumsfeld's comments were judged as, "ideologically driven and strategically ill-informed."
The war began on March 20, 2003 and Baghdad was captured on April 9, 2003 less than 3 weeks later.
-----------------
In addition, much is made of the fact that the Army has not met it's recruiting goals for the last several months. What is not taken into account is that these goals are calculated by simply dividing the annual target by twelve, regardless of the fact that the majority of recruiting success takes place in the summer after graduations.
Also, retention goals have been met or exceeded which would seem strange if those currently enlisted thought they were part of a lost cause.
While recruiting numbers for May were lower than hoped - something defense officials acknowledged was expected during the slow spring recruiting season - every service met or exceeded its retention goals for the month.
And as Secreatry Rumsfeld said yesterday, "the Army retention is going very well. In fact, it's higher for the people who've served in Iraq and Afghanistan than it is for the Army people who have not."
Another funny thing is that I've seen several articles mention that it's actually the strength of the economy in part that's causing the slowdown in recruiting, but that's another story.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
I'm not afraid to admit it - I think that I would be Orthodox if it were easier. Conservative Judaism is just too easy in America. Here we are constantly travelling great distances to and from work and living far from other family or community members. Also with Conservative Judaism you accept most of the same rules as the Orthodox without any of the guilt or ostracism if you don't follow them.
In Israel, the Conservative (Masorti) movement continues to struggle because it's so easy to be Orthodox, or at least benefit from the abundance of cheap Orhtodox institutions.
In Israel, the Conservative (Masorti) movement continues to struggle because it's so easy to be Orthodox, or at least benefit from the abundance of cheap Orhtodox institutions.
I sure wouldn't want to be there when the parents get that thick book of student loan payment coupons from the bank...
HARVARD GRAD'S DEATH FALL
A new Harvard graduate died yester day after a night of celebratory drinking with fellow classmates, when he accidentally toppled out a sixth-floor window of a friend's Upper West Side apartment, police sources said.
HARVARD GRAD'S DEATH FALL
A new Harvard graduate died yester day after a night of celebratory drinking with fellow classmates, when he accidentally toppled out a sixth-floor window of a friend's Upper West Side apartment, police sources said.
OK, today is my anti-NY Times day. In As Serious as a Heart Attack the Times call for banning a certain ingredient because it's not the most healthy alternative.
The ultimate aim, however, should be to end the widespread use of partially hydrogenated oils. As things now stand, the F.D.A. acknowledges that trans fats are unhealthy at any level, and yet maintains that the partially hydrogenated oils that contain them are basically safe. The agency can't have it both ways. Public health would be greatly improved if the F.D.A. prohibited their use.
Is the Times for banning smoking and other activities or foods that they consider dangerous or addictive? What about chocolate?
So now they are for the government taking our property whenever it pleases them and banning foods that we like becuase they are not healthy enough.
If Uncle Joe Stalin were running on the Democratic ticket in 2008, I'm sure he would get the Times' hearty endorsement. (I hearby invent "Goodman's Law" - the use of Joseph Stalin in any political debate is directly proportional to the author's knowledge of Godwin's Law)
One funny side note to the property rights thing - the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Connecticut city to transfer the rights of individual property owners to a real estate developer.
This ruling came almost exactly a year after this:
Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland (R) announced his resignation Monday, as his three-term rule collapsed after revelations that he had accepted tens of thousands of dollars of gifts from state contractors and top aides.
How the hell did the liberal Supreme Court justices decide to give so much power to the perenially corrupt and big business?
The ultimate aim, however, should be to end the widespread use of partially hydrogenated oils. As things now stand, the F.D.A. acknowledges that trans fats are unhealthy at any level, and yet maintains that the partially hydrogenated oils that contain them are basically safe. The agency can't have it both ways. Public health would be greatly improved if the F.D.A. prohibited their use.
Is the Times for banning smoking and other activities or foods that they consider dangerous or addictive? What about chocolate?
So now they are for the government taking our property whenever it pleases them and banning foods that we like becuase they are not healthy enough.
If Uncle Joe Stalin were running on the Democratic ticket in 2008, I'm sure he would get the Times' hearty endorsement. (I hearby invent "Goodman's Law" - the use of Joseph Stalin in any political debate is directly proportional to the author's knowledge of Godwin's Law)
One funny side note to the property rights thing - the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Connecticut city to transfer the rights of individual property owners to a real estate developer.
This ruling came almost exactly a year after this:
Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland (R) announced his resignation Monday, as his three-term rule collapsed after revelations that he had accepted tens of thousands of dollars of gifts from state contractors and top aides.
How the hell did the liberal Supreme Court justices decide to give so much power to the perenially corrupt and big business?
Another thing about that NY Times editorial.
The war has not made the world, or this nation, safer from terrorism.
First of all, this is as stupid as saying in February 1944 that World War II had not made the world safe from fascism. What kind of idiots feel they can determine the success of a war in the middle of the war, especially one which was predicted from the beginning to be a long slog? Did this take the Times by surprise? Is any war longer than 3 months a quaqmire? One can even argue that the only reason the war is still going on is becuase the liberal part of us (all of us) doesn't just want to bomb Iraq into the stone age and be done with it. I'm sure if we drove out or killed all the Sunnis the war would be over. Ending the war is easy. Ending it while trying to avoid punishing the local population unnecessarily and fostering hope for the future is, as liberals like to laught at, indeed "hard work".
Second of all, we haven't even had a terorrist pipe bomb go off in the U.S. in the almost 4 years since 9/11. How is that "not safer" in a country that experienced Oklahoma City, the two World Trade Center attacks and several embassy bombings where hundreds died in the decade prior to 9/11?
The Times should just have the guts to say "our soldiers lives have been wasted and their sacrifice means nothing and hasn't helped anybody. In fact they've made things worse."
Finally, and I swear I'll be done with this, I don't care why one thinks we went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but to totally ignore the brutality of the regimes we have replaced and the flowering democracies there reflects a disgusting "me-first", "who cares about the brown people" Western attitude of the worst kind.
The war has not made the world, or this nation, safer from terrorism.
First of all, this is as stupid as saying in February 1944 that World War II had not made the world safe from fascism. What kind of idiots feel they can determine the success of a war in the middle of the war, especially one which was predicted from the beginning to be a long slog? Did this take the Times by surprise? Is any war longer than 3 months a quaqmire? One can even argue that the only reason the war is still going on is becuase the liberal part of us (all of us) doesn't just want to bomb Iraq into the stone age and be done with it. I'm sure if we drove out or killed all the Sunnis the war would be over. Ending the war is easy. Ending it while trying to avoid punishing the local population unnecessarily and fostering hope for the future is, as liberals like to laught at, indeed "hard work".
Second of all, we haven't even had a terorrist pipe bomb go off in the U.S. in the almost 4 years since 9/11. How is that "not safer" in a country that experienced Oklahoma City, the two World Trade Center attacks and several embassy bombings where hundreds died in the decade prior to 9/11?
The Times should just have the guts to say "our soldiers lives have been wasted and their sacrifice means nothing and hasn't helped anybody. In fact they've made things worse."
Finally, and I swear I'll be done with this, I don't care why one thinks we went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but to totally ignore the brutality of the regimes we have replaced and the flowering democracies there reflects a disgusting "me-first", "who cares about the brown people" Western attitude of the worst kind.
The NY Times tries to rewrite the history of the war on terrorism before it's even finished.
Three Things About Iraq
The most cynical recent example was Karl Rove's absurd and offensive declaration this week that conservatives and liberals had different reactions to 9/11. Let's be clear: Americans of every political stripe were united in their outrage and grief, united in their determination to punish those who plotted the mass murder, and united behind the war in Afghanistan.
Bullsh*t. And Karl Rove knows it.
"I am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the United States," said Lee. "However, difficult this vote may be, some of us must urge the use of restraint." - Berkeley's congresswoman, Barbara Lee - October 2001
"I'm not so sure that President Bush, members of his administration or the military have thought this action out completely or fully examined America's cause," said McDermott." - Washington State Congressman Jim McDermott - October 2001
"Nearly two-thirds of Americans favor use of U.S. ground troops to carry out President Bush's war on terrorism in Afghanistan, according to a poll released Friday by CNN/Time." - CNN Poll - September 28, 2001
That tells me that slightly more than a third of Americans polled were against military action, even when bodies were still being pulled from the rubble. Now read the Times quote above again.
More from MoveOn.Org who claimed that 700,000 signed this on-line petition in the days after 9/11.
We implore the powers that be to use, wherever possible, international judicial institutions and international human rights law to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks, rather than the instruments of war, violence or destruction.
I was just thinking the other day - I belief that conservatives' primary emotions after 9/11 were fear and anger. What liberals felt were fear and shame.
Three Things About Iraq
The most cynical recent example was Karl Rove's absurd and offensive declaration this week that conservatives and liberals had different reactions to 9/11. Let's be clear: Americans of every political stripe were united in their outrage and grief, united in their determination to punish those who plotted the mass murder, and united behind the war in Afghanistan.
Bullsh*t. And Karl Rove knows it.
"I am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the United States," said Lee. "However, difficult this vote may be, some of us must urge the use of restraint." - Berkeley's congresswoman, Barbara Lee - October 2001
"I'm not so sure that President Bush, members of his administration or the military have thought this action out completely or fully examined America's cause," said McDermott." - Washington State Congressman Jim McDermott - October 2001
"Nearly two-thirds of Americans favor use of U.S. ground troops to carry out President Bush's war on terrorism in Afghanistan, according to a poll released Friday by CNN/Time." - CNN Poll - September 28, 2001
That tells me that slightly more than a third of Americans polled were against military action, even when bodies were still being pulled from the rubble. Now read the Times quote above again.
More from MoveOn.Org who claimed that 700,000 signed this on-line petition in the days after 9/11.
We implore the powers that be to use, wherever possible, international judicial institutions and international human rights law to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks, rather than the instruments of war, violence or destruction.
I was just thinking the other day - I belief that conservatives' primary emotions after 9/11 were fear and anger. What liberals felt were fear and shame.
What a pleasure to see Maureen Dowd's column replaced by Dining With Jeff by Patricia Nelson Limerick.
When I find myself puzzled and even vexed by the opinions and beliefs of other people, I invite them to have lunch. Multiple experiments have supported what we will call, in Jeff's honor, the Limerick Hypothesis: in the bitter contests of values and political rhetoric that characterize our times, 90 percent of the uproar is noise, and 10 percent is what the scientists call "signal," or solid, substantive information that will reward study and interpretation. If we could eliminate much of the noise, we might find that the actual, meaningful disagreements are on a scale we can manage....
But even if I dine alone, I'll still hold to the conviction that American citizens have the ability to explain themselves to one another, and to let friendship redeem the Republic.
Indeed.
When I find myself puzzled and even vexed by the opinions and beliefs of other people, I invite them to have lunch. Multiple experiments have supported what we will call, in Jeff's honor, the Limerick Hypothesis: in the bitter contests of values and political rhetoric that characterize our times, 90 percent of the uproar is noise, and 10 percent is what the scientists call "signal," or solid, substantive information that will reward study and interpretation. If we could eliminate much of the noise, we might find that the actual, meaningful disagreements are on a scale we can manage....
But even if I dine alone, I'll still hold to the conviction that American citizens have the ability to explain themselves to one another, and to let friendship redeem the Republic.
Indeed.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Why I don't like Oprah
French Luxury Store Apologizes to Oprah
Hermes has to apologize to Oprah for not letting her and her entourage into a store after closing time, and Oprah's planning on accusing them of racism - "her Crash moment" - as described by her producer.
Hermes ties are the only ones I wear for business and I look forward to buying a few more in the near future. I keep looking for one in what I call "George Bush blue".
In addition:
Winfrey's Chicago-based Harpo Productions confirmed that the daytime diva canceled a recent order for one of Hermès' Birkin bags following the incident. The exclusive purses can cost as much as $6,500, and Winfrey reportedly already owns a dozen of them.
The poor littly piggy got turned away from the trough becuase feeding time was over. Too too bad. I'm white and considerably well off and I still feel uncomfortable walking into a Hermes store. They're French for chrissake. You're supposed to feel unwelcome.
Just for laughs - Tom Cruise Kills Oprah
French Luxury Store Apologizes to Oprah
Hermes has to apologize to Oprah for not letting her and her entourage into a store after closing time, and Oprah's planning on accusing them of racism - "her Crash moment" - as described by her producer.
Hermes ties are the only ones I wear for business and I look forward to buying a few more in the near future. I keep looking for one in what I call "George Bush blue".
In addition:
Winfrey's Chicago-based Harpo Productions confirmed that the daytime diva canceled a recent order for one of Hermès' Birkin bags following the incident. The exclusive purses can cost as much as $6,500, and Winfrey reportedly already owns a dozen of them.
The poor littly piggy got turned away from the trough becuase feeding time was over. Too too bad. I'm white and considerably well off and I still feel uncomfortable walking into a Hermes store. They're French for chrissake. You're supposed to feel unwelcome.
Just for laughs - Tom Cruise Kills Oprah
For those of you who are still unsure why Israel really isn't a product of 20th century European colonialism, you must read this.
The short version:
Jews came to a land where they had a history and a population, they were not seeking to settle "unexplored" territory
Jews came not to acquire, but to escape genocide or second-class citizenship
Most Jews in Israel are descended from immigrants from the East not the West
Most colonial powers never agreed to various partition plans with the "native population"
The argument is not that Palestinians haven't suffered, just that to lump Zionism with traditional colonialism is way off the mark.
The short version:
Jews came to a land where they had a history and a population, they were not seeking to settle "unexplored" territory
Jews came not to acquire, but to escape genocide or second-class citizenship
Most Jews in Israel are descended from immigrants from the East not the West
Most colonial powers never agreed to various partition plans with the "native population"
The argument is not that Palestinians haven't suffered, just that to lump Zionism with traditional colonialism is way off the mark.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Kofi Annan writes a letter to those who mught be depressed by yesterday's USAToday poll which showed "satisfaction with the way things are going in the war on terrorism is at a new low: 52%, down from 75% in September 2002." You know they really mean "War in Iraq".
There's Progress in Iraq
Today I am traveling to Brussels to join representatives of more than 80 governments and institutions in sending a loud and clear message of support for the political transition in Iraq....
In a media-hungry age, visibility is often regarded as proof of success. But this does not necessarily hold true in Iraq. Even when, as with last week's agreement, the results of our efforts are easily seen by all, the efforts themselves must be undertaken quietly and away from the cameras.
If we need Kofi Annan to cheer us up on Iraq, President Bush is obviously not doing his job.
There's Progress in Iraq
Today I am traveling to Brussels to join representatives of more than 80 governments and institutions in sending a loud and clear message of support for the political transition in Iraq....
In a media-hungry age, visibility is often regarded as proof of success. But this does not necessarily hold true in Iraq. Even when, as with last week's agreement, the results of our efforts are easily seen by all, the efforts themselves must be undertaken quietly and away from the cameras.
If we need Kofi Annan to cheer us up on Iraq, President Bush is obviously not doing his job.
Wasn't there supposed to be a truce? These are excerpts from just one article in Ha'aretz, the liberal Israeli paper.
In response to the string of deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis, the Palestinian Interior Ministry on Monday warned Islamic Jihad and figures in the Fatah movement against a further escalation in violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Two Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the past two days.
Islamic Jihad gunmen near the northern West Bank city of Tul Karm opened fire on a car carrying two Israeli civilians in an ambush early Monday, killing the driver, identified as Yevgeny Reider, 28, from Hermesh, and lightly wounding his 15-year-old passenger. The day before, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed by gunmen in the southern Gaza Strip.
Later on Monday, IDF soldiers arrested a female would-be suicide bomber at the entrance to the Erez crossing on the border with the northern Gaza Strip.
Khadr Adnan, an Islamic Jihad spokesman in the West Bank, said Monday the ambush attack didn't signal the end of the group's cease-fire with Israel. "We are still committed to calm," he said. (Ed. - ?!?)
In the morning ambush, the militants fired from the sides of a road near homes in the village of Baka al-Sharkiyeh, a few hundred meters from the Green Line border of the West Bank. The victims' car was driving from the nearby settlement of Hermesh.
Following the succession of attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis in the territories, the United States said on Monday that the PA must take immediate action against terrorist groups.
Several hours after the deadly West Bank shooting attack, IDF soldiers caught a female would-be suicide bomber at the entrance to the Erez border crossing on the edge of the Gaza Strip.
The would-be bomber, 21-year-old Wafa Samir Ibrahim, resident of the Jabalya refugee camp was dispatched by the Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades, a military offshoot of the Fatah movement, to carry out a suicide attack.
Ibrahim had been in the past to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva to receive medical treatment for severe burns she sustained from a gas balloon that exploded next to her six months ago. She needed to reach the hospital for medical tests.
The woman said she did not plan on carrying out the attack at the Soroka hospital but in another hospital, not specifying its name.
"There has been a very serious escalation in the number of incidents in the sector secured by the brigade, including mortar shelling, Qassam rockets and light arms fire. The [PA}, we can say, is not doing its part in preventing such incidents," Levy concluded.
Also on Monday afternoon, Border Police troops arrested a Palestinian youth who tried to stab yeshiva student in Jerusalem near their base in the city's Ma'alot Dafna neighborhood. The assailant's friend fled the scene with the knife and police were searching for him, Israel Radio reported.
Palestinian gunmen opened fire late Monday afternoon on an Israeli vehicle near the northern West Bank settlement of Paduel. There were no casualties in the attack, Israel Radio reported.
Police arrested Monday evening two Palestinian youths who threw firebombs at the Beit Orot yeshiva in Jerusalem's A-Tur neighborhood, the radio reported.
Militants hurled four more Molotov cocktails at an Israeli car driving northwest of Ramallah during the night, but no one was hurt in the incident, according to the report.
Also Monday night, Palestinian gunmen opened fire a number of times with light arms and mortar shells on IDF positions across the Gaza Strip. There were no casualties but one home was damaged by a mortar impact in northern Gaza.
In response to the string of deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis, the Palestinian Interior Ministry on Monday warned Islamic Jihad and figures in the Fatah movement against a further escalation in violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Two Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the past two days.
Islamic Jihad gunmen near the northern West Bank city of Tul Karm opened fire on a car carrying two Israeli civilians in an ambush early Monday, killing the driver, identified as Yevgeny Reider, 28, from Hermesh, and lightly wounding his 15-year-old passenger. The day before, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed by gunmen in the southern Gaza Strip.
Later on Monday, IDF soldiers arrested a female would-be suicide bomber at the entrance to the Erez crossing on the border with the northern Gaza Strip.
Khadr Adnan, an Islamic Jihad spokesman in the West Bank, said Monday the ambush attack didn't signal the end of the group's cease-fire with Israel. "We are still committed to calm," he said. (Ed. - ?!?)
In the morning ambush, the militants fired from the sides of a road near homes in the village of Baka al-Sharkiyeh, a few hundred meters from the Green Line border of the West Bank. The victims' car was driving from the nearby settlement of Hermesh.
Following the succession of attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis in the territories, the United States said on Monday that the PA must take immediate action against terrorist groups.
Several hours after the deadly West Bank shooting attack, IDF soldiers caught a female would-be suicide bomber at the entrance to the Erez border crossing on the edge of the Gaza Strip.
The would-be bomber, 21-year-old Wafa Samir Ibrahim, resident of the Jabalya refugee camp was dispatched by the Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades, a military offshoot of the Fatah movement, to carry out a suicide attack.
Ibrahim had been in the past to the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva to receive medical treatment for severe burns she sustained from a gas balloon that exploded next to her six months ago. She needed to reach the hospital for medical tests.
The woman said she did not plan on carrying out the attack at the Soroka hospital but in another hospital, not specifying its name.
"There has been a very serious escalation in the number of incidents in the sector secured by the brigade, including mortar shelling, Qassam rockets and light arms fire. The [PA}, we can say, is not doing its part in preventing such incidents," Levy concluded.
Also on Monday afternoon, Border Police troops arrested a Palestinian youth who tried to stab yeshiva student in Jerusalem near their base in the city's Ma'alot Dafna neighborhood. The assailant's friend fled the scene with the knife and police were searching for him, Israel Radio reported.
Palestinian gunmen opened fire late Monday afternoon on an Israeli vehicle near the northern West Bank settlement of Paduel. There were no casualties in the attack, Israel Radio reported.
Police arrested Monday evening two Palestinian youths who threw firebombs at the Beit Orot yeshiva in Jerusalem's A-Tur neighborhood, the radio reported.
Militants hurled four more Molotov cocktails at an Israeli car driving northwest of Ramallah during the night, but no one was hurt in the incident, according to the report.
Also Monday night, Palestinian gunmen opened fire a number of times with light arms and mortar shells on IDF positions across the Gaza Strip. There were no casualties but one home was damaged by a mortar impact in northern Gaza.
If you really wanted to know whether our fight in Iraq was in any way comparable to the Vietnam War, who would you ask? A university professor? An interpid war reporter who spent a few months in each place? USA Today is the first publication I've seen that asks the only people who really know. And they put it on the front page.
Vietnam vets in Iraq see 'entirely different war'
If there are parallels between Iraq and Vietnam, these graying soldiers and the other Vietnam veterans serving here offer a unique perspective. They say they are more optimistic this time: They see a clearer mission than in Vietnam, a more supportive public back home and an Iraqi population that seems to be growing friendlier toward Americans....
Miles says the biggest difference he saw was that, over time, Iraqi civilians grew more positive toward U.S. forces. He says he saw more people smiling and waving near his base here than there were 10 months ago when he arrived.....
On this day, there are a couple of reminders of Vietnam. One of the Iraqi marshlands near the Tigris River looks a lot like the Mekong Delta, Weatherhead says. They watch as the other helicopter swoops slowly over a village to drop candy and toys for the kids, as they once did in Vietnam.
Just like the Nazis, right Senator Durbin?
Vietnam vets in Iraq see 'entirely different war'
If there are parallels between Iraq and Vietnam, these graying soldiers and the other Vietnam veterans serving here offer a unique perspective. They say they are more optimistic this time: They see a clearer mission than in Vietnam, a more supportive public back home and an Iraqi population that seems to be growing friendlier toward Americans....
Miles says the biggest difference he saw was that, over time, Iraqi civilians grew more positive toward U.S. forces. He says he saw more people smiling and waving near his base here than there were 10 months ago when he arrived.....
On this day, there are a couple of reminders of Vietnam. One of the Iraqi marshlands near the Tigris River looks a lot like the Mekong Delta, Weatherhead says. They watch as the other helicopter swoops slowly over a village to drop candy and toys for the kids, as they once did in Vietnam.
Just like the Nazis, right Senator Durbin?
My wife the vet always says that animals are actually better than people. Well, some animals are certainly better than some people - that's for sure.
Lions Rescue, Guard Beaten Ethiopian Girl
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- A 12-year-old girl who was abducted and beaten by men trying to force her into a marriage was found being guarded by three lions who apparently had chased off her captors, a policeman said Tuesday.
Lions Rescue, Guard Beaten Ethiopian Girl
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- A 12-year-old girl who was abducted and beaten by men trying to force her into a marriage was found being guarded by three lions who apparently had chased off her captors, a policeman said Tuesday.
In NY again for business, staying across from Ground Zero. For some reason about 70 or so police cars, lights ablaze, have parked perpendicular to and up on the sidewalks across the street. Have no clue what's going on, but if I see anything, I'll let you know. Most of the copsare just standing around, so I don't know if this is a drill or if some VIP is coming for a late night visit. Even the President doesn't get 70 cars though...
All the cars just left, about ten at a time usually with a black car in the lead, lights flashing and sirens blaring going up Church Street. I have no idea what exactly they were doing. Maybe I never will.
All the cars just left, about ten at a time usually with a black car in the lead, lights flashing and sirens blaring going up Church Street. I have no idea what exactly they were doing. Maybe I never will.
To paraphrase- "Let them kill each other and let Allah sort it out"
Marines See Signs Iraq Rebels Are Battling Foreign Fighters
Marines patrolling this desert region near the Syrian border have for months been seeing a strange new trend in the already complex Iraqi insurgency. Insurgents, they say, have been fighting each other in towns along the Euphrates from Husayba, on the border, to Qaim, farther west. The observations offer a new clue in the hidden world of the insurgency and suggest that there may have been, as American commanders suggest, a split between Islamic militants and local rebels.
A United Nations official who served in Iraq last year and who consulted widely with militant groups said in a telephone interview that there has been a split for some time.
"There is a rift," said the official, who requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the talks he had held. "I'm certain that the nationalist Iraqi part of the insurgency is very much fed up with the Jihadists grabbing the headlines and carrying out the sort of violence that they don't want against innocent civilians."
The nationalist insurgent groups, "are giving a lot of signals implying that there should be a settlement with the Americans," while the Jihadists have a purely ideological agenda, he added.
So I guess we should be rooting for the insurgents now?
Marines See Signs Iraq Rebels Are Battling Foreign Fighters
Marines patrolling this desert region near the Syrian border have for months been seeing a strange new trend in the already complex Iraqi insurgency. Insurgents, they say, have been fighting each other in towns along the Euphrates from Husayba, on the border, to Qaim, farther west. The observations offer a new clue in the hidden world of the insurgency and suggest that there may have been, as American commanders suggest, a split between Islamic militants and local rebels.
A United Nations official who served in Iraq last year and who consulted widely with militant groups said in a telephone interview that there has been a split for some time.
"There is a rift," said the official, who requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the talks he had held. "I'm certain that the nationalist Iraqi part of the insurgency is very much fed up with the Jihadists grabbing the headlines and carrying out the sort of violence that they don't want against innocent civilians."
The nationalist insurgent groups, "are giving a lot of signals implying that there should be a settlement with the Americans," while the Jihadists have a purely ideological agenda, he added.
So I guess we should be rooting for the insurgents now?
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Bob Geldolf in the National Review Online via Time Magazine:
Live 8 (and Live Aid) organizer Bob Geldof in a Time magazine interview: "America doesn't have a lack of empathy; they just don't know the issues as well. Actually, today I had to defend the Bush Administration in France again. They refuse to accept, because of their political ideology, that he has actually done more than any American President for Africa. But it's empirically so."
Live 8 (and Live Aid) organizer Bob Geldof in a Time magazine interview: "America doesn't have a lack of empathy; they just don't know the issues as well. Actually, today I had to defend the Bush Administration in France again. They refuse to accept, because of their political ideology, that he has actually done more than any American President for Africa. But it's empirically so."
There is some sick stuff going on in the name of Jesus Christ.
Child sacrifices in London
Crucified nun dies in 'exorcism'
It's not the religion that's the problem, but it's the psycopaths who are allowed to claim that they are practicing the religion. People like this need to be rebuked by the relgious authorities and punished by the civil authorities which I assume will happen in all of these cases.
Child sacrifices in London
Crucified nun dies in 'exorcism'
It's not the religion that's the problem, but it's the psycopaths who are allowed to claim that they are practicing the religion. People like this need to be rebuked by the relgious authorities and punished by the civil authorities which I assume will happen in all of these cases.
Had Durbin said, "Why, these atrocities are so terrible you would almost believe it was an account of the activities of my distinguished colleague Robert C. Byrd's fellow Klansmen," that would have been a little closer to the ballpark but still way out. - Mark Steyn
Do you think any of our enemies read Al-Jazeera? US senator stands by Nazi remark. My only hope is that the Arab world pays as little attention to our politicians as we pay to theirs. I don't think that's the case though.
Do you think any of our enemies read Al-Jazeera? US senator stands by Nazi remark. My only hope is that the Arab world pays as little attention to our politicians as we pay to theirs. I don't think that's the case though.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
A while back, the NY Times published an article with specifics about how the CIA was transporting suspected terrorists to various places. There was much uproar in the Conservative community and in my own mind about the wisdom of this decision in a time of war.
The Times' new ombudsman, Byron Calame does an excellent job in seeking out the facts and explaining how the information was already available elsewhere and the details of the article were sent to the CIA for review.
The Thinking Behind a Close Look at a C.I.A. Operation
Personally I think the Times might want to mention all of this up front the next time they decide to publish information that would seem to compromise an active intelligence operation.
The Times' new ombudsman, Byron Calame does an excellent job in seeking out the facts and explaining how the information was already available elsewhere and the details of the article were sent to the CIA for review.
The Thinking Behind a Close Look at a C.I.A. Operation
Personally I think the Times might want to mention all of this up front the next time they decide to publish information that would seem to compromise an active intelligence operation.
(Almost) Everything You Wanted To Know About Conservative Judaism But Were Afraid To Ask.
It's a very long, thorough post at Jewlicious that provides excellent insight into the Jewish "third way".
Here's a snippet. I wonder what percentage of Christians of various denominations beleive somethnig like this - just substitute Torah for Old Testament.
…For Conservative Jews, the Torah is no less sacred, if less central, than it was for their pre-modern ancestors. I use the word “sacred” advisedly. The Torah is the foundation text of Judaism, the apex of an inverted pyramid of infinite commentary, not because it is divine, but because it is sacred, that is, adopted by the Jewish people as its spiritual font. The term skirts the divisive and futile question of origins, the fetid swamp of heresy. The sense of individual obligation, of being commanded, does not derive from divine authorship, but communal consent. The Written Torah, no less than the Oral Torah, reverberates with the divine-human encounter, with “a minimum of revelation and a maximum of interpretation.” It is no longer possible to separate the tinder from the spark. What history can attest is that the community of Israel has always huddled in the warmth of the flame.
It's a very long, thorough post at Jewlicious that provides excellent insight into the Jewish "third way".
Here's a snippet. I wonder what percentage of Christians of various denominations beleive somethnig like this - just substitute Torah for Old Testament.
…For Conservative Jews, the Torah is no less sacred, if less central, than it was for their pre-modern ancestors. I use the word “sacred” advisedly. The Torah is the foundation text of Judaism, the apex of an inverted pyramid of infinite commentary, not because it is divine, but because it is sacred, that is, adopted by the Jewish people as its spiritual font. The term skirts the divisive and futile question of origins, the fetid swamp of heresy. The sense of individual obligation, of being commanded, does not derive from divine authorship, but communal consent. The Written Torah, no less than the Oral Torah, reverberates with the divine-human encounter, with “a minimum of revelation and a maximum of interpretation.” It is no longer possible to separate the tinder from the spark. What history can attest is that the community of Israel has always huddled in the warmth of the flame.
Former Soviet prisoner-of-conscience to Amenesty International - "Are You Shi**ing Me?"
No American 'Gulag'
Several days ago I received a telephone call from an old friend who is a longtime Amnesty International staffer. He asked me whether I, as a former Soviet "prisoner of conscience" adopted by Amnesty, would support the statement by Amnesty's executive director, Irene Khan, that the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba is the "gulag of our time."
"Don't you think that there's an enormous difference?" I asked him.
"Sure," he said, "but after all, it attracts attention to the problem of Guantanamo detainees."
No American 'Gulag'
Several days ago I received a telephone call from an old friend who is a longtime Amnesty International staffer. He asked me whether I, as a former Soviet "prisoner of conscience" adopted by Amnesty, would support the statement by Amnesty's executive director, Irene Khan, that the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba is the "gulag of our time."
"Don't you think that there's an enormous difference?" I asked him.
"Sure," he said, "but after all, it attracts attention to the problem of Guantanamo detainees."
From today's NY Times editorial page:
The Bush administration says 9/11 changed the rules and required the invention of new kinds of jails and legal procedures. Even if we accept that flawed premise, it is up to Congress to make new rules in a way that upholds American standards.
What happened to "everything changed after 9/11"? Maybe the Times is over it already. Bring the troops home, let all the suspected terorrists go, rescind the Patriot Act (passed in "days of angst") and keep those fingers crossed!
The Bush administration says 9/11 changed the rules and required the invention of new kinds of jails and legal procedures. Even if we accept that flawed premise, it is up to Congress to make new rules in a way that upholds American standards.
What happened to "everything changed after 9/11"? Maybe the Times is over it already. Bring the troops home, let all the suspected terorrists go, rescind the Patriot Act (passed in "days of angst") and keep those fingers crossed!
A brave Muslim leader- thank you Marzuq Abdul Jaami.
You can't flush the Quran away
G-d says in our holy book, "Soon shall we show you where you went wrong." The American people know the saying, "What goes around comes around." I'm not advocating for U.S. troops to abuse or punish anyone unless it's just punishment, but Americans have to keep in mind that sometimes prisoners need realignment. Maybe this is G-d showing them where they went wrong.
G-d says in our holy book, "He takes one man to check another man and He takes one nation to check another nation." I sincerely believe that G-d, after America was attacked, put America in the position to check the Taliban and other Muslim extremists who are misusing the Quran to terrorize people.
You can't flush the Quran away
G-d says in our holy book, "Soon shall we show you where you went wrong." The American people know the saying, "What goes around comes around." I'm not advocating for U.S. troops to abuse or punish anyone unless it's just punishment, but Americans have to keep in mind that sometimes prisoners need realignment. Maybe this is G-d showing them where they went wrong.
G-d says in our holy book, "He takes one man to check another man and He takes one nation to check another nation." I sincerely believe that G-d, after America was attacked, put America in the position to check the Taliban and other Muslim extremists who are misusing the Quran to terrorize people.
This about sums it up for me:
Guantanamo Bay and the War on Terror by Senator John Kyl
Democrats criticized the Bush Administration, alleging that the 520 prisoners are in "legal limbo," that "there is no plan exactly how they're going to be handled," that their "rights under the Geneva Conventions have been violated," and that they deserve some sort of a "trial" or they should be released. A big problem if true, but none of it is.
Assuming that there is such a thing as a human being that has some knowledge of terrorist leaders or plans, I have yet to hear a serious proposal as to an alternative method of making sure that this information is gotten and that those with the information don't retun to fight us. And remember "us" for a terrorist/insurgent primarily means civilians here at home or in Iraq, not the unifomred personnel of the coalition forces. Remember that the death toll just for 9/11, Madrid and Bali is still almost twice that of the coalition soldiers killed in over 2 years of war that we were supposedly horribly unprepared for! If only a handful of bad guys from Guantanamo (much less all of them) are released due to some technical legal error, they can cause more damage to Americans than the entire insurgency.
Things that make you go hmmm....If the Gitmo prisoners are innocent tourists as some have proclaimed, why aren't the governments of their 40 or so native countries fighting for the return of their inncoent citizens?
Guantanamo Bay and the War on Terror by Senator John Kyl
Democrats criticized the Bush Administration, alleging that the 520 prisoners are in "legal limbo," that "there is no plan exactly how they're going to be handled," that their "rights under the Geneva Conventions have been violated," and that they deserve some sort of a "trial" or they should be released. A big problem if true, but none of it is.
Assuming that there is such a thing as a human being that has some knowledge of terrorist leaders or plans, I have yet to hear a serious proposal as to an alternative method of making sure that this information is gotten and that those with the information don't retun to fight us. And remember "us" for a terrorist/insurgent primarily means civilians here at home or in Iraq, not the unifomred personnel of the coalition forces. Remember that the death toll just for 9/11, Madrid and Bali is still almost twice that of the coalition soldiers killed in over 2 years of war that we were supposedly horribly unprepared for! If only a handful of bad guys from Guantanamo (much less all of them) are released due to some technical legal error, they can cause more damage to Americans than the entire insurgency.
Things that make you go hmmm....If the Gitmo prisoners are innocent tourists as some have proclaimed, why aren't the governments of their 40 or so native countries fighting for the return of their inncoent citizens?
Here's a perfect example of why the Left can't be taken seriously. The latest "Bush lied, people died" rant is that the US used napalm in Iraq which a)is "internationally reviled" and b)was denied by US officials.
US lied to Britain over use of napalm in Iraq war
Mr Ingram said 30 MK77 firebombs were used by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in the invasion of Iraq between 31 March and 2 April 2003. They were used against military targets "away from civilian targets", he said. This avoids breaching the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which permits their use only against military targets.
Britain, which has no stockpiles of the weapons, ratified the convention, but the US did not.
First of all "firebomb" does not equal "napalm" although napalm is a firebomb. Criticism here goes to those managing the war for not admitting that MK77s are like napalm when asked if napalm was used, and to the Left for using the word "napalm" when they supposedly care about any firebombs which is more accurate but a less explosive word - pardon the pun.
Second there is no proof that MK77s were used either in large quantities or against civilians. If Iraqi troops were killed by MK77s I have no problem with that. Neither does the CCW (see above).
Third - it's pretty easy to ratify a treaty against using something when you don't have any to begin with. The worst that can happen is you use the banned item at a later date becuase the other had it and used it.
The US State Department website admitted in the run-up to the election that US forces had used MK77s in Iraq. Protests were made by MPs, but it was only this week that Mr Ingram confirmed the reports were true.
"Admitted" suggests that the State Dept denied using MK77s at all which is not at all clear here. Also the article states that information on the use of MK77s was made publicly available prior to the UK election and yet the claim is that the State Dept's own website wasn't credible!
In other words the real story is not that the US lied, but that the British Left was too disorganized to inform the public of these facts and the UK Defence Minister was ignorant about it altogether.
Surely there are greater war crimes by the US that the British Left can use to argue against getting their hands dirty with the Evil Empire. You know...summary executions, mass graves, amputations for stealing...oh wait, that's what we replaced.
US lied to Britain over use of napalm in Iraq war
Mr Ingram said 30 MK77 firebombs were used by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in the invasion of Iraq between 31 March and 2 April 2003. They were used against military targets "away from civilian targets", he said. This avoids breaching the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which permits their use only against military targets.
Britain, which has no stockpiles of the weapons, ratified the convention, but the US did not.
First of all "firebomb" does not equal "napalm" although napalm is a firebomb. Criticism here goes to those managing the war for not admitting that MK77s are like napalm when asked if napalm was used, and to the Left for using the word "napalm" when they supposedly care about any firebombs which is more accurate but a less explosive word - pardon the pun.
Second there is no proof that MK77s were used either in large quantities or against civilians. If Iraqi troops were killed by MK77s I have no problem with that. Neither does the CCW (see above).
Third - it's pretty easy to ratify a treaty against using something when you don't have any to begin with. The worst that can happen is you use the banned item at a later date becuase the other had it and used it.
The US State Department website admitted in the run-up to the election that US forces had used MK77s in Iraq. Protests were made by MPs, but it was only this week that Mr Ingram confirmed the reports were true.
"Admitted" suggests that the State Dept denied using MK77s at all which is not at all clear here. Also the article states that information on the use of MK77s was made publicly available prior to the UK election and yet the claim is that the State Dept's own website wasn't credible!
In other words the real story is not that the US lied, but that the British Left was too disorganized to inform the public of these facts and the UK Defence Minister was ignorant about it altogether.
Surely there are greater war crimes by the US that the British Left can use to argue against getting their hands dirty with the Evil Empire. You know...summary executions, mass graves, amputations for stealing...oh wait, that's what we replaced.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
One more knight before Shavuos.
UK Chief Rabbi Sacks knighted on Queen's birthday
Britain's Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks was knighted on Saturday, as part of the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth's official 79th birthday.
Sacks, who has served as chief rabbi since 1991, was knighted for his services to the Jewish community and to interfaith relations.
UK Chief Rabbi Sacks knighted on Queen's birthday
Britain's Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks was knighted on Saturday, as part of the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth's official 79th birthday.
Sacks, who has served as chief rabbi since 1991, was knighted for his services to the Jewish community and to interfaith relations.
I figured, you know it's been awhile since I read Daily Kos, but I thought I could handle it tonight. At the top was a link to Building Iraq's Army: Mission Improbable, which has to be one of the most dispiriting things I've read in awhile.
If this was the only information I had about our efforts in Iraq, I would believe:
The Iraqis all hate us
All Americans are ignorant and obnoxious
No American has ever helped an Iraqi
American soldiers don't care if their Iraqi counterparts live or die
Iraqis long for the return of Saddam Hussein
How can you not be against the war after reading this? I think I need a dose of Iraq the Model. What I do have to wonder is why the military would let these reporters travel with them for three days if there were so many problems that would be obvious even to the untrained eye? Is there forced embedding? Something doesn't smell right.
Maybe there really is a Bizarro Iraq and the Washington Post reports from there and Fox News from regualar Iraq? Or vice versa?
If this was the only information I had about our efforts in Iraq, I would believe:
The Iraqis all hate us
All Americans are ignorant and obnoxious
No American has ever helped an Iraqi
American soldiers don't care if their Iraqi counterparts live or die
Iraqis long for the return of Saddam Hussein
How can you not be against the war after reading this? I think I need a dose of Iraq the Model. What I do have to wonder is why the military would let these reporters travel with them for three days if there were so many problems that would be obvious even to the untrained eye? Is there forced embedding? Something doesn't smell right.
Maybe there really is a Bizarro Iraq and the Washington Post reports from there and Fox News from regualar Iraq? Or vice versa?
There has been growing discussion about a "revenge attack" that Israeli troops committed against Palestinian policemen in February 2002 in response to a successful attack by militants which killed 6 Israeli soldiers.
Breaking the Silence is a website run by those who want to expose details about the "massacre".
The army as well as some of the soldiers involved defend the action.
"Among those targets were checkpoints manned by Palestinian policemen who facilitated the passage and actively assisted the terrorists who passed through this checkpoint to carry out murderous attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers," it said.
All in all not the most brilliant of operations on the face of it. But if no other similar situations come to light, I'll take this for what it is - a one-off exception based on human emotion that happened over 3 years ago. It will be interesting to see what a full-scale investigation brings out.
Breaking the Silence is a website run by those who want to expose details about the "massacre".
The army as well as some of the soldiers involved defend the action.
"Among those targets were checkpoints manned by Palestinian policemen who facilitated the passage and actively assisted the terrorists who passed through this checkpoint to carry out murderous attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers," it said.
All in all not the most brilliant of operations on the face of it. But if no other similar situations come to light, I'll take this for what it is - a one-off exception based on human emotion that happened over 3 years ago. It will be interesting to see what a full-scale investigation brings out.
Powerful lawmaker Charlie Rangel has provoked the ire of the Anti-Defamation League by likening U.S. military action in Iraq to the Holocaust of World War II.
The Iraq war "is the biggest fraud ever committed on the people of this country. ... This is just as bad as the 6 million Jews being killed," the 74-year-old Harlem Democrat insisted during a Monday radio appearance on the WWRL-AM morning show with Steve Malzberg and Karen Hunter. "The whole world knew and they were quiet about it because it wasn't their ox being gored."
When interviewer Malzberg challenged Rangel's analogy, the congressman replied: "I am saying that people's silence when they know things terrible are happening is the same thing as the Holocaust."
Is there any other way to read this other than suggesting American soldiers are just following orders like the Nazis? Are we looking to destroy Iraq or is it my imagination that we are spending billions to rebuild it? Are the members of the Iraqi parliament all kapos, dancing to the whim of Bushitler?
In reality, I don't think this is that big a deal and that it falls in the "bad analogy from a Congressman with diarrhea of the mouth" category along with Senator Santorum's remarks that the Democratic leadership were acting like the Nazi leadership. Santorum apologized even though what he said was meant to be a reflection on a handful of people and not every American that supports the war. I'll be waiting for a similar mea culpa from Rangel.
The Iraq war "is the biggest fraud ever committed on the people of this country. ... This is just as bad as the 6 million Jews being killed," the 74-year-old Harlem Democrat insisted during a Monday radio appearance on the WWRL-AM morning show with Steve Malzberg and Karen Hunter. "The whole world knew and they were quiet about it because it wasn't their ox being gored."
When interviewer Malzberg challenged Rangel's analogy, the congressman replied: "I am saying that people's silence when they know things terrible are happening is the same thing as the Holocaust."
Is there any other way to read this other than suggesting American soldiers are just following orders like the Nazis? Are we looking to destroy Iraq or is it my imagination that we are spending billions to rebuild it? Are the members of the Iraqi parliament all kapos, dancing to the whim of Bushitler?
In reality, I don't think this is that big a deal and that it falls in the "bad analogy from a Congressman with diarrhea of the mouth" category along with Senator Santorum's remarks that the Democratic leadership were acting like the Nazi leadership. Santorum apologized even though what he said was meant to be a reflection on a handful of people and not every American that supports the war. I'll be waiting for a similar mea culpa from Rangel.
Thanks to Cousin Debbie for this joke:
A Jewish couple is sitting together on an airplane flying to The Far East.
Suddenly, over the public address system, the Captain announces,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid I have some very bad news. Our engines
have ceased functioning and this plane will be going down. Luckily, I
see
an uncharted island below us that should be able to accommodate our
landing. However, the odds are that we will never be rescued and will
have
to live on the island for the rest of our lives."
A few minutes later the plane lands safely on the island. Morris turns
to his wife and asks, "Esther, did we pay our pledge to the yeshiva
yet?"
"No, Morris," she responds.
Morris smiles and then asks, "Esther, did we pay our
UJA pledge?"
"Oy, no! I haven't sent the check," she says.
Now Morris laughs out loud. "One last thing, Esther.
Did you remember to send our Temple Building Fund check this month?"
"Oy, Morris, I haven't sent that one, either." says Esther.
Now, Morris is practically choking with laughter. Esther asks
Morris,
"So? What are you smiling and laughing about?"
Morris answers confidently,
"They'll find us."
A Jewish couple is sitting together on an airplane flying to The Far East.
Suddenly, over the public address system, the Captain announces,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid I have some very bad news. Our engines
have ceased functioning and this plane will be going down. Luckily, I
see
an uncharted island below us that should be able to accommodate our
landing. However, the odds are that we will never be rescued and will
have
to live on the island for the rest of our lives."
A few minutes later the plane lands safely on the island. Morris turns
to his wife and asks, "Esther, did we pay our pledge to the yeshiva
yet?"
"No, Morris," she responds.
Morris smiles and then asks, "Esther, did we pay our
UJA pledge?"
"Oy, no! I haven't sent the check," she says.
Now Morris laughs out loud. "One last thing, Esther.
Did you remember to send our Temple Building Fund check this month?"
"Oy, Morris, I haven't sent that one, either." says Esther.
Now, Morris is practically choking with laughter. Esther asks
Morris,
"So? What are you smiling and laughing about?"
Morris answers confidently,
"They'll find us."
Friday, June 10, 2005
Last year I bought a fascinating book, "A Baptist Among the Jews" by Mary Blye Howe. I also went to see her speak at the local JCC about her experience on learning from scratch about Judaism twas and how she tried to convey that understanding to her Christian co-religionists.
Apparently, she's now converted.
Shavuot: One Night, Four Synagogues
After years studying the varieties of Jewish experience, a Jew by choice readies for her first Shavuot within the faith.
I hope she stops by my shul on Sunday night...I'd love to talk to her.
Apparently, she's now converted.
Shavuot: One Night, Four Synagogues
After years studying the varieties of Jewish experience, a Jew by choice readies for her first Shavuot within the faith.
I hope she stops by my shul on Sunday night...I'd love to talk to her.
Pope Benedict XVI - good for the Jews.
Pope Benedict XVI met in Rome on Thursday with some two dozen delegates from the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations – an umbrella body of major Jewish organizations – for a three-hour audience described by participants as "remarkable"....
Rabbi David Rosen, international director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, called the meeting "very remarkable" in its tone.
"Even at private audiences, it's a highly choreographed event," said Rosen, who had met with the previous pope nearly a dozen times. "But [Benedict XVI] basically made it one of the most informal private audiences I've ever experienced. It was as fraternal as one could imagine. The atmosphere was warm beyond my greatest expectations."
Pope Benedict XVI met in Rome on Thursday with some two dozen delegates from the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations – an umbrella body of major Jewish organizations – for a three-hour audience described by participants as "remarkable"....
Rabbi David Rosen, international director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, called the meeting "very remarkable" in its tone.
"Even at private audiences, it's a highly choreographed event," said Rosen, who had met with the previous pope nearly a dozen times. "But [Benedict XVI] basically made it one of the most informal private audiences I've ever experienced. It was as fraternal as one could imagine. The atmosphere was warm beyond my greatest expectations."
If I ever decide to live in Vermont remind me not to ask for the "CHAI18" vanity plate.
Local man fighting for JN36TN plate (That's John 3:16 to you and me).
Vermont regulations state that license plates are not allowed to have a combination of letters or numbers that refer to any language to race, religion, color, deity, ethnic heritage, gender, sexual orientation, disability status or political affiliation.
Local man fighting for JN36TN plate (That's John 3:16 to you and me).
Vermont regulations state that license plates are not allowed to have a combination of letters or numbers that refer to any language to race, religion, color, deity, ethnic heritage, gender, sexual orientation, disability status or political affiliation.
In Jewish law there is a belief that by preparing the dead for burial you are doing one of the greatest mitzvahs (good deeds) since the kindness can never be repaid.
If this represents the most unselfish of mitzvahs, how profound then is the wrong of grave desecration?
From Manchester, UK - Racist gang attack Jewish graves
About 100 headstones and graves were damaged at Rainsough Cemetery in Prestwich, causing damage put at nearly £150,000.
The damage was discovered on Thursday and reported to police.
Det Insp Simon Collier, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "I find it hard to believe that people could commit such a heartless offence."
I wonder of this has anything to do with the fact that a wealthy American Jew recently bought Manchester United, the NY Yankees of English soccer?
If this represents the most unselfish of mitzvahs, how profound then is the wrong of grave desecration?
From Manchester, UK - Racist gang attack Jewish graves
About 100 headstones and graves were damaged at Rainsough Cemetery in Prestwich, causing damage put at nearly £150,000.
The damage was discovered on Thursday and reported to police.
Det Insp Simon Collier, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "I find it hard to believe that people could commit such a heartless offence."
I wonder of this has anything to do with the fact that a wealthy American Jew recently bought Manchester United, the NY Yankees of English soccer?
Sunday, June 05, 2005
I did indeed call Howard Dean an a**hole not too long ago for which I have been rebuked by those who defend a more civil political discourse. That's OK - it turns out that there are at least two more polite gentlemen who took advantage of a much wider audience this morning to note their displeasure civilly.
Delaware Senator Joe Biden...
Asked about recent comments where Dean trashed Republicans as "evil" and said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay belongs in jail, Biden told ABC's "This Week": "He doesn't speak for me with that kind of rhetoric and I don't think he speaks for the majority of Democrats."
Former VP Candidate John Edwards...
Edwards also disagreed with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean's controversial comment in a speech to liberal activists Thursday that many Republicans "have never made an honest living in their lives."
"The chairman of the DNC is not the spokesman for the party," Edwards said. "He's a voice. I don't agree with it."
Delaware Senator Joe Biden...
Asked about recent comments where Dean trashed Republicans as "evil" and said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay belongs in jail, Biden told ABC's "This Week": "He doesn't speak for me with that kind of rhetoric and I don't think he speaks for the majority of Democrats."
Former VP Candidate John Edwards...
Edwards also disagreed with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean's controversial comment in a speech to liberal activists Thursday that many Republicans "have never made an honest living in their lives."
"The chairman of the DNC is not the spokesman for the party," Edwards said. "He's a voice. I don't agree with it."
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Perhaps you remember these lenghthy articles, part of a series that has been meant to single out Tom DeLay.
Probe of Abramoff and Nonprofits' Money Opens
DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card
Well, after several months of this - guess what? The Washington Post finds out that senior Democrats were the largest recipients of Abramoff's largesse.
Democrats Also Got Tribal Donations
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an associate famously collected $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees from six Indian tribes and devoted a lot of their time to trying to persuade Republican lawmakers to act on their clients' behalf.
But Abramoff didn't work just with Republicans. He oversaw a team of two dozen lobbyists at the law firm Greenberg Traurig that included many Democrats. Moreover, the campaign contributions that Abramoff directed from the tribes went to Democratic as well as Republican legislators.
Among the biggest beneficiaries were Capitol Hill's most powerful Democrats, including Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) and Harry M. Reid (Nev.), the top two Senate Democrats at the time, Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.), then-leader of the House Democrats, and the two lawmakers in charge of raising funds for their Democratic colleagues in both chambers, according to a Washington Post study.
Kudos for the Post for at least putting it on page 1 as they did the original stories which focused on DeLay.
Note: I am not trying to defend Tom DeLay as a person or politician, just pointing out what has seemed to be a focus on his misdeeds alone.
Democratic lawmakers who responded to inquiries for this article said that any money they received from the tribes had nothing to do with Abramoff. They were quick to say they did not know the man.
Sure.
Probe of Abramoff and Nonprofits' Money Opens
DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card
Well, after several months of this - guess what? The Washington Post finds out that senior Democrats were the largest recipients of Abramoff's largesse.
Democrats Also Got Tribal Donations
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an associate famously collected $82 million in lobbying and public relations fees from six Indian tribes and devoted a lot of their time to trying to persuade Republican lawmakers to act on their clients' behalf.
But Abramoff didn't work just with Republicans. He oversaw a team of two dozen lobbyists at the law firm Greenberg Traurig that included many Democrats. Moreover, the campaign contributions that Abramoff directed from the tribes went to Democratic as well as Republican legislators.
Among the biggest beneficiaries were Capitol Hill's most powerful Democrats, including Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) and Harry M. Reid (Nev.), the top two Senate Democrats at the time, Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.), then-leader of the House Democrats, and the two lawmakers in charge of raising funds for their Democratic colleagues in both chambers, according to a Washington Post study.
Kudos for the Post for at least putting it on page 1 as they did the original stories which focused on DeLay.
Note: I am not trying to defend Tom DeLay as a person or politician, just pointing out what has seemed to be a focus on his misdeeds alone.
Democratic lawmakers who responded to inquiries for this article said that any money they received from the tribes had nothing to do with Abramoff. They were quick to say they did not know the man.
Sure.
This is what passes for a legitimate news source on Google News. Not a general link to things Jewish (Jewwatch will always be at or near the top of that search), but the number 2 NEWS article found under the seacrh term "jewish".
THE WAR FOR ISRAEL - (and you thought the oil was for the U.S.). You are looking at the reason for the war against Iraq. This war is being fought for Ariel Sharon and for Israel’s strategic benefit!
Thats what Israel does. It has its intelligence organization, Mossad, carry out false flag operations and deceives others into attacking their enemies. In short they get others to fight their wars for them.
Israel is in the midst of its plan to use the United States military, which it controls, to conquer Iraq and divert Iraqi oil to the Haifa refinery via the Mosul to Haifa pipeline. The U.S. has built airbases at H2 and H3 (which stand for Haifa 2 and Haifa 3) to protect this strategic pipeline. The pipeline is intact, fully operational, and is being used to covertly send oil to Israel. Paid for with the blood of American soldiers that die in Iraq.
Iraq is being turned into another Palestine state for Israel.
THE WAR FOR ISRAEL - (and you thought the oil was for the U.S.). You are looking at the reason for the war against Iraq. This war is being fought for Ariel Sharon and for Israel’s strategic benefit!
Thats what Israel does. It has its intelligence organization, Mossad, carry out false flag operations and deceives others into attacking their enemies. In short they get others to fight their wars for them.
Israel is in the midst of its plan to use the United States military, which it controls, to conquer Iraq and divert Iraqi oil to the Haifa refinery via the Mosul to Haifa pipeline. The U.S. has built airbases at H2 and H3 (which stand for Haifa 2 and Haifa 3) to protect this strategic pipeline. The pipeline is intact, fully operational, and is being used to covertly send oil to Israel. Paid for with the blood of American soldiers that die in Iraq.
Iraq is being turned into another Palestine state for Israel.
A little joke to start off the week via Normblog (link on the right).
Abie and Sadie had a religious goods store on Delancey Street on the lower east side of NYC. The neighbourhood was changing. The Jews were moving to Westchester and the Hispanics were moving in.
"Abie, we have to move to Westchester," said Sadie.
"We can't", said Abie. "This neighborhood is our life. We've been here for thirty-three years. Maybe we can start stocking Catholic articles too."
Sadie says,"What? Catholic articles? Bistu in gantzen meshuggeh? [Are you completely crazy?] We're Jews. No Catholic articles!!!"
Well, a month passed and they sold nothing but two tallisim, three mezzuzahs and one set of tefillin. Now was the time to fish or cut bait.
Sadie agreed that they had to stock Catholic articles, so she said to Abie, "OK, call that Catholic supply house on Park Avenue."
Abie: "Hello, Catholic supply house on Park Avenue? This is Abie And Sadie's on Delancey Street. I want 100 autographed pictures of the Pope, 200 of those beads - what do you call them, rosaries? 500 crucifixes... and I need those things here tomorrow."
"OK, sir. I got your order. Let me read it back. 100 autographed pictures of the Pope, 200 sets of rosaries and 500 crucifixes. BUT - tomorrow we don't deliver. It's Shabbas."
Abie and Sadie had a religious goods store on Delancey Street on the lower east side of NYC. The neighbourhood was changing. The Jews were moving to Westchester and the Hispanics were moving in.
"Abie, we have to move to Westchester," said Sadie.
"We can't", said Abie. "This neighborhood is our life. We've been here for thirty-three years. Maybe we can start stocking Catholic articles too."
Sadie says,"What? Catholic articles? Bistu in gantzen meshuggeh? [Are you completely crazy?] We're Jews. No Catholic articles!!!"
Well, a month passed and they sold nothing but two tallisim, three mezzuzahs and one set of tefillin. Now was the time to fish or cut bait.
Sadie agreed that they had to stock Catholic articles, so she said to Abie, "OK, call that Catholic supply house on Park Avenue."
Abie: "Hello, Catholic supply house on Park Avenue? This is Abie And Sadie's on Delancey Street. I want 100 autographed pictures of the Pope, 200 of those beads - what do you call them, rosaries? 500 crucifixes... and I need those things here tomorrow."
"OK, sir. I got your order. Let me read it back. 100 autographed pictures of the Pope, 200 sets of rosaries and 500 crucifixes. BUT - tomorrow we don't deliver. It's Shabbas."
See the Western Wall in live streaming video! I think every shul should have a screen with this up on the wall next to the Aron Kodesh. If you register, they'll send you e-mails when special events take place at the Wall.
Just in case you were looking for it earlier this week - here's the now infamous San Francisco 49er training video.
What was intended as a humorous way of helping San Francisco 49ers players deal with the media has turned into a public-relations nightmare for the team, which is coming off a 2004 season in which it had only two victories.
An off-color video produced by the team's PR director featured racial jokes and nudity, and has infuriated team management and the mayor of San Francisco, who was also depicted in the video.
What was intended as a humorous way of helping San Francisco 49ers players deal with the media has turned into a public-relations nightmare for the team, which is coming off a 2004 season in which it had only two victories.
An off-color video produced by the team's PR director featured racial jokes and nudity, and has infuriated team management and the mayor of San Francisco, who was also depicted in the video.
If I read one more article about how thousands of my tax dollars are being spent investigating "Koran abuse" (yes they actually use that term) I'm going to scream.
Maybe the ACLU should go to the local Barnes & Noble and see how their copies of the Koran are handled. I have heard unconfirmed reports that infidels have placed "30% off" stickers on the the word of Allah! They are even placed in proximity to the Judaica section! Death to Barnes & Noble salesclerks, sons of monkeys and pigs!
Maybe the ACLU should go to the local Barnes & Noble and see how their copies of the Koran are handled. I have heard unconfirmed reports that infidels have placed "30% off" stickers on the the word of Allah! They are even placed in proximity to the Judaica section! Death to Barnes & Noble salesclerks, sons of monkeys and pigs!
Thank you Mr. Cirillo. Letter to the Editor in today's Dallas News.
Re: "Israelis fire on refugee camp," Tuesday news story.
The Associated Press article clearly identifies the Israeli target: "The violent Islamic Jihad said one of its cells, which minutes earlier had fired three rockets at an Israeli village just outside Gaza, was the target of the air strike."
I do not believe that The Dallas Morning News is normally guilty of bias in the tangled Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but in this case, your headline clearly was.
I couldn't find a link to the actual article - the Dallas News search engine is terrible - they should look at the NY Times site and hire whoever they use.
Re: "Israelis fire on refugee camp," Tuesday news story.
The Associated Press article clearly identifies the Israeli target: "The violent Islamic Jihad said one of its cells, which minutes earlier had fired three rockets at an Israeli village just outside Gaza, was the target of the air strike."
I do not believe that The Dallas Morning News is normally guilty of bias in the tangled Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but in this case, your headline clearly was.
I couldn't find a link to the actual article - the Dallas News search engine is terrible - they should look at the NY Times site and hire whoever they use.
Global Warming proponents discover that there is still some snow and ice in the Arctic.
It took 2½ years for polar explorers Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larsen to plan their trek across the Arctic Ocean.
But once launched, it took only three weeks for it to fall apart.
Amid a stretch of extraordinarily heavy snowfall, strong winds and broken and shifting ice, the two men from Grand Marais, Minn., who had hoped to become the first adventurers to cross the Arctic Ocean in summer, abandoned their expedition Thursday after advancing only 45 miles in 24 days.
Conditions were so treacherous, in fact, that the men, who had hoped to make the crossing to call attention to global warming and the receding polar ice cap, couldn't be picked up and airlifted out by helicopter until Friday.
When I plan my vacations, I try to travel based on weather reports and historical trends as opposed to weather theories. That being said it had never been 47 degrees on a late May afternoon in Boston as it was last week. I guess we're all losers.
As they say in Yiddish, "Der mensch trakht un Gott lahkht" - "Man plans and God laughs".
It took 2½ years for polar explorers Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larsen to plan their trek across the Arctic Ocean.
But once launched, it took only three weeks for it to fall apart.
Amid a stretch of extraordinarily heavy snowfall, strong winds and broken and shifting ice, the two men from Grand Marais, Minn., who had hoped to become the first adventurers to cross the Arctic Ocean in summer, abandoned their expedition Thursday after advancing only 45 miles in 24 days.
Conditions were so treacherous, in fact, that the men, who had hoped to make the crossing to call attention to global warming and the receding polar ice cap, couldn't be picked up and airlifted out by helicopter until Friday.
When I plan my vacations, I try to travel based on weather reports and historical trends as opposed to weather theories. That being said it had never been 47 degrees on a late May afternoon in Boston as it was last week. I guess we're all losers.
As they say in Yiddish, "Der mensch trakht un Gott lahkht" - "Man plans and God laughs".
Friday, June 03, 2005
Madonna has been named one of the most powerful Jewish Americans despite protestations from her spokeswoman that "Madonna is not Jewish."
J.J. Goldberg, editor of the Jewish weekly, defended its decision to include Madonna on the list saying, "She's a practitioner of the Kabbalah, so she's practicing Judaism for Christ's sake! Well, not really for Christ's sake, but she's probably the world's best known practitioner of Judaism right now."
Actually for me, it was the name "Madonna" that gave it away....
J.J. Goldberg, editor of the Jewish weekly, defended its decision to include Madonna on the list saying, "She's a practitioner of the Kabbalah, so she's practicing Judaism for Christ's sake! Well, not really for Christ's sake, but she's probably the world's best known practitioner of Judaism right now."
Actually for me, it was the name "Madonna" that gave it away....
Is it really true that the same liberals (read ACLU) who think it's OK to burn the American flag, will stop at nothing to embarrass the U.S. government over the gross human rights violation of mishandling of the Koran in front of a believer?
As some pundits have said - aren't we paying to give them the Korans in the first place? Since when is it a human right to have distributed to you religious material that you use as the rational for destroying the society that you are a prisoner of? Did we hand out special editions of Mein Kampf to German prisoners of war in WWII? Maybe large print for the older Nazis?
Captain's Quarters shares my thoughts:
If Saturday Night Live wrote a parody of American hypersensitivity in fighting a war on terror, I doubt they could create something more ridiculous than this. Can you imagine our grandparents having this kind of debate had an American guard pissed on Mein Kampf at a POW camp for German POWs?
Why are liberals who laugh at conservative Christians and try to eliminate all references to God from public life or teaching so willing to prove how righteous radical Muslims are and ensure they are provided with religious texts, halal meat, etc.? It must be that they are afraid of upsetting the Muslims as we know they don't worry about upsetting God. Fear does not lead to victory.
As some pundits have said - aren't we paying to give them the Korans in the first place? Since when is it a human right to have distributed to you religious material that you use as the rational for destroying the society that you are a prisoner of? Did we hand out special editions of Mein Kampf to German prisoners of war in WWII? Maybe large print for the older Nazis?
Captain's Quarters shares my thoughts:
If Saturday Night Live wrote a parody of American hypersensitivity in fighting a war on terror, I doubt they could create something more ridiculous than this. Can you imagine our grandparents having this kind of debate had an American guard pissed on Mein Kampf at a POW camp for German POWs?
Why are liberals who laugh at conservative Christians and try to eliminate all references to God from public life or teaching so willing to prove how righteous radical Muslims are and ensure they are provided with religious texts, halal meat, etc.? It must be that they are afraid of upsetting the Muslims as we know they don't worry about upsetting God. Fear does not lead to victory.
Wow. I just realized I haven't posted anything for about a week. Busy. Busy. Busy.
My all-time hero has started a blog of his own. No, it's not Ronald Reagan - that would be quite an accomplishment. It's not Natan Sharansky, although I admire him a lot. It's - Tom Terrific!
Do you know how hard it was to find a lefty Tom Seaver glove when I was a kid?
My all-time hero has started a blog of his own. No, it's not Ronald Reagan - that would be quite an accomplishment. It's not Natan Sharansky, although I admire him a lot. It's - Tom Terrific!
Do you know how hard it was to find a lefty Tom Seaver glove when I was a kid?
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