Whoever did this is disgusting. From the Jerusalem Post: Rabin monument vandalized.

If there's anyone out there who's participated in one of those "US Out of Iraq - No Blood for Oil" protests, I hope you meet the poor souls in this video in the afterlife so that you can explain how you helped them by delaying the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Oh yeah, and don't foget these people, and these.

And if you are so inclined to believe that this is some Fox News style right-wing propaganda, here's a link on CNN to the same story. (Although they seem to have pulled it from their U.S. homepage at cnn.com where it was earlier - it's on their international site). Must be that we Americans are too sensitive.

Will someone explain to me how you get $1.8mm in severance pay for doing nothing?

From the New York Times: "Boston University's trustees and Daniel S. Goldin, the former NASA chief they had chosen to be the university's next president, parted ways today, with Mr. Goldin receiving what amounted to a reported $1.8 million severance payment for a job he was one day away from beginning."

Remind me not to send my kids to the Boston U. Business School.

Howard

If you've got a couple of hours to spare, here's a link to Little Green Footballs that itself links to a videotaped session of a Senate Subcommittee hearing on the education of Palestinian children that was shown on C-Span earlier today. I don't think the concern deals with the debate on teaching creationism versus evolution in biology class... (it's more having to do with the debate whether the Jews are more like pigs or monkeys?)

Here's a wonderful site with suggestions for Muslim mullahs to use for their Friday sermons. I like the part about "The Jews, who are the nation of pigs and monkeys, are nothing but a source of evil, corruption, tribulation and war.". All from the Religion of Peace. Does this site look like it was put together by poor people who are living a desperate life? Hardly.

I swear that I want to believe that this is not the majority Muslim opinion, I really do. But if you think this is the only site like this, you just haven't been paying attention.

Just saw an article about another poll that shows that our friends in Europe do indeed hate Israel (I'm being careful not to say Jews). According to a poll taken of European residents, 59% of respondents said that Israel is the biggest threat to world peace. I don't know whether to be upset or proud that a little country of 6 million, 20% or so which is not even Jewish can create such a fearsome image in the world.

That doesn't mean they're anti-Semitic or biased you say? OK. What exactly makes a country the "biggest" threat to world peace. Support of terrorism against innocent victims? I think the that supporters of radical Islam win that contest hands down (see 9/11, Bali, African embassy bombings, etc.). How about massive military might and visible placement of nuclear missiles? I don't think Israel is quite on par with the US, Russia, China or NATO in general to name a few.

What singles Israel out then as the worst of the worst? Could it be bias?

The fact is that Israel has had to spend most of it's 50+ years taking in millions of immigrants from the rest of the world because everyone treats the Jews like crap. And then that same world community turns around and says that Israelis are horrible because they don't lay down their arms and die, or better yet just go away. As my grandpa used to say----feh!

Just a note to all you Dennis Miller fans - he's going to have his own show again - this time on CNBC at a reasonable hour.

Norm Geras has a great entry in his blog dealing with anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism and the poisoned atmosphere of left-wing political discourse in the U.K. Believe me, our Democrats are fascists compared to the left-wing of the Labour Party. I wish I had the time to write entries at length, as he and others do.

I actually have to go to London on business shortly - I hope that nobody berates me in the street if they find out I'm a Jewish American.

This picture of George Bush is hilarious. The Drudge Report has it up now on the top of it's site and it's even funnier there.

He is risen, indeed.

I'm willing to listen if anyone has a suggestion other than the Death Penalty for this guy - Man Plows Stolen Pickup Through Motorcyclists on Highway; Two Dead, One Critical.

What I love is the last line of the article:

"Police early Thursday said they had no information on whether Pilgren had been jailed."

If the police don't know, who does? And if he's not in jail, will someone please let me know where he is so I can get out of his way?

On PETA - the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: I think any moral human being has to agree with their underlying premise - abuse of animals is horrible and abusing animals only to fulfill the human lust for pleasure is worse. Nevertheless I really dislike them. I dislike them even more for making me dislike them. It's hard to root for an organization that uses the Holocaust as propaganda and tries to indoctrinate middle-school children with a passion only the cigarette companies can match.

It's a damn shame.

If you think there needs to be a debate about the legality of radar detectors, how about the use of electronic traffic light changers. Hat tip to my brother-in-law.

This reminds me of a trick I've played on people once or twice (when it's safe to do so of course). If you find yourself in the passenger seat of a car while sitting at a red light, start a conversation with the driver. Before the light turns green, point to the light and say "it's green, go ahead". You'd be surprised how many people look at the light and because they trust what you said, start to cross the intersection even though they look up and see the red light themselves. Again, please don't do this in Times Square at rush hour.

Apparently there's a new sandwich chain that's expanding in the Dallas area called Cousin's Subs. According to the Dallas Business Journal, they're based in Milwaukee and are looking to open around 30 locations in the Dallas area. I didn't even realize that there was one pretty close to me - maybe I'll give it a shot...you can even get a coupon from their website. If you really like their food and are ready to quit that day job, they're having a franchising seminar in Addison on November 11th.

To me this is one of the funnier headlines I've read in the New York Times in awhile - "Permanent Government to Be Formed, Palestinians Say". It made me laugh not because of the oxymoron of a Permanent Palestinian Government, but it reminded me of a song from the old Broadway show Guys and Dolls about the "Oldest Establsihed Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York"

For those of you in the Dallas area, Mark Davis from WBAP 820-AM will be speaking this Wednesday at 7:30PM at Temple Emanu-El about his one week trip to Israel back in August. You can see his diary from that trip along with some photos at his website.

I didn't really pay much attention to his radio show until I heard he was going there. However, both before, during and after his trip he sounded so excited that it reminded me about how I felt (and in some ways still feel) about my first trip when I was 16 on USY Pilgrimage. Of course it costs two and half times more to go now than it did in 1982!

I'll let y'all know how his presentation goes (assuming the wife lets me out of the house).

You know, if Yasser Arafat can win the Nobel Prize, certainly the Committee will have no problem if I suggest Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Danny DeVito. Do you think this is serious?....After Tony and Kofi fail, Brad and Jennifer try Mid-East diplomacy.

OK, one more chauvinist comment. When I was younger, I would pray to see a naked woman. Actually, it was worse - I would pray to see any part of a woman naked. How does a nebbish like Spencer Tunick, get 450 women to say, OK not only do I want to get naked in front of you, I want to do it on a cold hard marble floor that has been walked on by millions of pairs of filthy footwear for the past 80 years. Austin Powers, eat your heart out.

When I was in Little Rock yesterday, I went to the Central High School Museum and Visitor Center. If you're not aware, this was the place of one of the nastiest battles to integrate the nation's schools. I learned a lot of interesting facts such as that Arkansas' public universities were already desegregated at the time...that Little Rock built a new "black" high school so that they could show that the blacks would want to go there and not Central.

After seeing newsreels my whole life of the National Guard troops, the taunting of the new kids just trying to go to school, etc. it was really strange being there in person. Also, growing up in New York, Arkansas was like another world - somewhere I'd probably never see and couldn't imagine wanting to. It also felt awkward driving through what is obviously a poor African-American community to take pictures of something that must bring back such terrible(?) memories. Maybe that's what it's like for a non-Jew to visit Holocaust museums and the like. You almost want to apologize even though you weren't born when everything happened.

By the way, the Arkansas Governor's mansion, where Bill Clinton lived, is pretty much within walking distance of Central High. It is also strangely located in the middle of a poverty stricken part of town.

Say what you will about Bill Clinton, but the man was GOVERNOR of a state when he was 32! And he looked only 25! Man, no wonder he got all the chicks.

One of the principal targets of the Texas Republican's redistricting plan is U.S. representative Martin Frost - Democrat representing district 24. Representative Frost is THE pro-Israel representative from Texas and should be supported in the upcoming elections. According to the Dallas News, Representative Frost is not about to give up his seat, even though his district will now contain a significant Republican majority.

I've seen this man speak at AIPAC events and he's received numerous awards from the Jewish community. Let's hope he stays around, even if he has to run in another district.

I should have known that our cabin by th elake in Arkansas wouldn't have a telephone line, much less hi-spedd internet access. Posting his from a cafe in Hot Springs - will hopefully get back on tonight in a more modern setting.

Hope I haven't missed much - heard something about the Yankees being behind but that's rediculous......

Paul Krugman of the New York Times publishes the usual garbage about them (i.e., "the Muslim world") hating us (Americans and Jews) because of the policies of George Bush. I hate to have to defend Bush, but just as I'll say that Bill Clinton was unfairly attacked for political gain, anybody who says that Muslim countries hate us because of George Bush is an idiot. Think back to the OPEC Oil Embargo, the Iranian Hostage Crisis and the Beirut barracks bombing and I think you've got a pretty good legacy of acts of war against this country (unanswered mind you) while George Bush was still deciding what he wanted to do when he grew up.

Personally, if there are people who feel they need to use hate to advance their political agendas, my goal in life would not be to appease them or understand their motives, but to hate them back and kill them if they ever came near by wife and children. There is no room in this world for prime ministers of countries of tens of millions of people saying things such as "Jews run the world" and must be defeated. No excuses. For crying out loud, the guy is retiring soon - there is absolutely no need to have made those remarks. Krugman thinks Mahathir's just a shrewd politician. Hitler was playing to his constituents also because they had a crappy economy.

You know what, now that I understand why Hitler used anti-Semitism the way he did, I don't hate him anymore. He was just being reasonable after all! What else could he be expected to do with a country to run and all those evil Jews running the world ?!?

I want to throw up.

Update: I am glad to see there are others as outraged as I am: Once again, the hard work is done by Little Green Footballs.