A woman who was shot in the arm when she tried to protect her unborn child during July's deadly shooting rampage at the Jewish Federation offices here has given birth to a healthy baby boy, her publicist said Wednesday.

Charley Paz Klein was born at about 9 p.m. Tuesday in a Seattle hospital to Dayna Klein, 37. His middle name, which means peace, was chosen in memory of Pamela Waechter, who died in the July 28 shooting, said Howard Bragman.

Mazel tov!

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World outraged as Red Cross is not allowed access to kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

Not.

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L'Chayim to the Queen!

The Queen, together with His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, paid tribute to the British Jewish community on Tuesday night at a special reception at St. James's Palace, on London's famous Pall Mall, to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Jewish community...

To commemorate the occasion, Britain's chief rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, presented the Queen with a hanukia and Rabbi Tony Bayfield of the Reform Movement presented a kiddish cup to Prince Philip....

"The British Jewish community is intensely loyal both to Britain and to the royal family especially, and this was simply a way of saying thank you."

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Well, I guess that's one problem solved.

Africa Faces Growing Obesity Problem

A little sectarian verbal violence in D.C.

At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia's newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat James Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn't long before Bush found him.

"How's your boy?" Bush asked, referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq.

"I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President," Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.

"That's not what I asked you," Bush said. "How's your boy?"

"That's between me and my boy, Mr. President," Webb said coldly, ending the conversation on the State Floor of the East Wing of the White House.

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Pray for The Wiggles.

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Finally, something the left and right can agree on.

Don't like Christmas? Get a life - You may feel excluded by Christian symbolism, but you're in America. Work with it.

By Garrison Keillor

   

I find it odd that in describing this racially charged tragedy, the paper doesn't tell us the race of the various police officers involved.  I would imagine that if these guys were undercover in a strip club in a rundown part of Queens that at least some of the police officers would be minority.

Another paper does mention this fact - (Police Commissioner) Kelly emphasized that the five police officers involved were of different races: Two white officers, two black, one Hispanic.

And those were just the cops that fired their guns - there were two others.  Sounds like democracy in action to me.  I don't see how they can make this into a race thing.

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Via Gothamist, a copy of Yoko Ono's message of peace in the NY Times.  Beautifully written.

There's still a few days left, but it looks like US military deaths in Iraq this month are down about 40% since the Ramadan/US election push.

Many news outlets were reporting that our involvement in Iraq has now matched the time we fought in WWII.  What they haven't mentioned is that at this pace it will probably take us another 75 years or so to reach the same number of casualties at the current rate.  I'll take Iraq over WWII any time.  Oh, and don't we still have 100,000 or so troops stationed in Europe 60 years after the war?  And haven't we spent billions (trillions?) on the defense of Europe?  "Mission Accomplished"?

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It's a few days late, but just in case anyone hasn't heard about the black French policeman who protected the Jewish guys from a mob of raging neo-Nazi soccer hooligans here it is.

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Charles Rangel (D-NY) wants to make it "abundantly clear" that no one with a future would ever be dumb enough to join the army.  I'll just show this video to our white middle class IT supervisor whose brother served in the Iraq to see what she thinks, or maybe my folks' best friends, white upper middle class folks whose son also served in Iraq.

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I've said it once, but I'll say it again.  There are a lot of creeps in the LGF comments section, but where else can I go to get this stuff?

Jamal Miftah, a Muslim who lives in Tulsa, wrote a column for the newspaper Tulsa World condemning Al Qaeda and calling on fellow Muslims to reject terrorism.

In return, he was kicked out of the local mosque by leaders until he apologizes for his article—and threatened with violence by other members of the peaceful Islamic community of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

There's video from the local news.

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Jonathan Chait of the LA Times - So allow me to propose the unthinkable: Maybe, just maybe, our best option is to restore Saddam Hussein to power.

After the much reported cease-fire announced for Gaza, a handful of rockets were launched into Israel from Gaza.  Israel decided to give the Palestinians a mulligan.  More rockets were fired today.

Best headline : Despite rocket fire, Gaza cease-fire holds

WTF?!?  How many rockets can the Palestinians fire before it is no longer a cease-fire?    If Israel launched artillery against a Qassam launch site, would that not be a violation of the cease-fire?  Does somebody have to be killed first for the "cease-fire" to be broken?

Jimmy Carter was on Terry Gross' "Fresh Air" this morning saying that Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is "in many ways more oppressive than the system of apartheid in South Africa".  Sure the Palestinians have committed terrorist acts, but more of them have died in the conflict, so they are innocent!  And the Israelis keep women and children in prison (obviously for no reason whatsoever)!  Gross actually did ask some probing questions, but there was never a follow-up response to Carter's propaganda.  Carter's next book on the subject will probably talk about the "genocide" of the Palestinians.

I'm currently reading "Cross Country" by Robert Sullivan which is a mix between a diary, travelogue and history of cross-country travel in America.  I love to travel long distances by car myself, so the book is absolutely fascinating to me.  It's also bringing back some great memories of car trips we took as a family when I was young.  There is one section where the author writes about the history of motels and subsequently the first successful chain, Holiday Inn, founded in Memphis in 1952.  Here's a Time magazine cover from over 30 years ago.  Oh, the memories...

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Been enjoying much family time with brother-in-law and the wives. I'll just be thankful that we're all healthy and hope that everyone likes my rice pilaf and butternut squash tomorrow at the 'rents house.

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Buenos Aires park named for Yitzhak Rabin.

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The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday blasted Palestinian terrorist organizations for urging Palestinian civilians to protect terrorists whose homes had been targeted by the IDF.

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Does Michael "Kramer" Richards hate Jews too? Can this story be blown more out of proportion than it already is?

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Alan Dershowitz has too much respect to call Jimmy Carter a jerk, but it should be obvious after reading his post that it's exactly what Carter is. It's one thing to be an ignorant jerk, it's another to have all the resources of an ex-President of the United States at your disposal and produce anti-Israel propaganda.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Been enjoying much family time with brother-in-law and the wives. I'll just be thankful that we're all healthy and hope that everyone likes my rice pilaf and butternut squash tomorrow at the 'rents house.

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Buenos Aires park named for Yitzhak Rabin.

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The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday blasted Palestinian terrorist organizations for urging Palestinian civilians to protect terrorists whose homes had been targeted by the IDF.

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Does Michael "Kramer" Richards hate Jews too? Can this story be blown more out of proportion than it already is?

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Alan Dershowitz has too much respect to call Jimmy Carter a jerk, but it should be obvious after reading his post that it's exactly what Carter is. It's one thing to be an ignorant jerk, it's another to have all the resources of an ex-President of the United States at your disposal and produce anti-Israel propaganda.

I just lost a very long post, so now I'm even more outraged than I was before when I was first posting these entries.  As such, they will now be briefer and angrier.

The Saudis don't like that we punished one of their kin for slavery and rape.  F**k 'em.

These peaceniks want to protect terrorists?  I hope they die slow and painful deaths and at least have the sanity to let the children they are holding leave before the bomb hits.

These imams are offended that some people might be scared if someone says "Allah hu akbar" on an airplane, let 'em boycott.  Everyone who flies USAir can fly in peace at last.

(This wasn't my idea, but I can't remember where I got it).  The new UN Human Rights Council has now held three emergency sessions to denounce Israel in the five months of it's existence.  They've held two regular sessions in that time.  Perhaps they should make denouncing Israel the "regular" sessions and do away with the special sessions.

Qassam missiles kill two Israelis in Sderot in recent days.  These that are inaccurate, granted, but sent with the goal of striking in populated civilians areas. Another Qassam landed near a school this morning.

I haven't seen anything about this, which was buried in an article in today's Times:

After accounting for inflation, hourly wages for blue- and white-collar workers outside management level were 2.8 percent higher in October than a year earlier.

This was the biggest annual increase since 1998, when huge investments in Internet-based companies and services increased wages at the fastest pace since the 1970s. On a monthly basis, the 1 percent gain in real wages recorded in both September and October was the fastest in nearly 35 years.

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Yay team!

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse University professor Arthur C. Brooks is about to become the darling of the religious right in America -- and it's making him nervous.

The child of academics, raised in a liberal household and educated in the liberal arts, Brooks has written a book that concludes religious conservatives donate far more money than secular liberals to all sorts of charitable activities, irrespective of income....

"These are not the sort of conclusions I ever thought I would reach when I started looking at charitable giving in graduate school, 10 years ago," he writes in the introduction. "I have to admit I probably would have hated what I have to say in this book."

Still, he says it forcefully, pointing out that liberals give less than conservatives in every way imaginable, including volunteer hours and donated blood.

Are you this kind of Jew?

"To the Jews who, in the sixties, envied the Black Power Movement; who in the nineties, envied the Palestinians who weep at Exodus but jeer at the Israel Defense Forces; who nod when Tevye praises tradition but fidget through the seder; who might take your curiosity to a dogfight, to a bordello or an opium den, but find ludicrous the notion of a visit to the synagogue; whose favorite Jew is Anne Frank and whose second-favorite does not exist; who are humble in their desire to learn about Kwanzaa and proud of their ignorance of Tu Bishvat; who dread endogamy more than incest; who bow their head reverently at a baptism and have never attended a bris - to you, who find your religion and race repulsive, your ignorance of your history a satisfaction, here is a book from your brother."

If so, playwright David Mamet (your brother) has a book you should read - The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-Hatred and the Jews

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I didn't post about this a few nights ago because I was exhausted.  Leftist/Muslim protestors rallied in front of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires to defend Iran.  Now of course I can't find the pictures of the rally complete with faces hidden behind scarves, Hizbollah flags proudly waving and wooden poles beating against the embassy fence.  Disgusting.

This however is the larger story in Argentina....

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner yesterday fired Luis D'Elia, head of the sub-secretariat of Land and Habitat, for backing Iranian statements that the judge's decision was unwarranted. D'Elia said his dismissal came as the result of pressure from Israel and the U.S., La Nacion reported.

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Who knew?  Paula Abdul revealed that she is Jewish and now she's dying to go to Israel. 

We had to replace our water heaters today and that gave me an opportunity to clean out the large closet that leads to the attic.  I found two old suitcase filled with stuff from my former (read: single) life - an ticket to the first hockey game at the Ice Palace in Tampa in 1996, license plates from cars I've owned in NY and Florida, souvenirs from a road trip I took to Toronto back in 1990 with a friend for his birthday, etc.  I also found a journal of memories that I wrote out on a plane trip back from Madrid in 1995.  I had gone there with my college roommates just for the hell of it.  The thing that strikes me about the journal, which I probably hadn't read since I wrote it, was how full of single, 30-year old guy angst  it was.  If it wasn't for the expressions of desire for all the women of Spain and a particular girl back home, I'd love for my wife to read it.

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Very interesting interview with Yigal Carmon, the founder of MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) on change in the Muslim world.  MEMRI was founded ten years ago to translate media and educational tools from the Muslim world into English so that people in the West would be more aware (or alert, as one might put it) as to what the people in that region are being told by their governments and religious leaders.

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The NY Times has a new blog called The Lede written by Tom Zeller, Jr.  Just looking through it briefly, it seems to be exactly what I would want the Times to be like in the future - it's uch more informative than reading the standard news articles because the stories have LINKS - wow, what a concept!  Welcome to the 20th century, NY Times.  I hope there's more of this.

'Tis the season.  Get your Hanukkah stamps here.  Thanks, Jewschool.



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So what do you think is worse, "cherry picking" intelligence, which at least means there were two alternative viewpoints, or ignoring intelligence altogether which is what the Democrats seem to have done in promoting their "phased withdrawal" strategy on Iraq?  Glenn Reynolds puts it best:

Did the Democrats know beforehand that this is what the generals thought? If so, were they dishonest in not taking it into account? Maybe they were relying on this sort of thing to keep from having to do what the MoveOn crowd wants, but what they know is wrong?

Or did they not know, making them clueless? Neither one's impressive. But since the big criticism of Rumsfeld, which led to his defenestration, was that he "didn't listen to the generals," what are the Democrats to do now that the generals have spoken?

A free Chick-fil-A breakfast entree to the first million people who enter.

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Go ahead, watch the video of Benjamin Netanyahu's recent speech to the United Jewish Communities conference in Los Angeles and try not to be worried. "It is 1938, and Iran is Germany".

And then if you have some extra time, watch a this recent speech by Ahmedinejad so that you get a flavor of what Netanyahu's talking about.

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Tonight on CNN (yes, CNN) -  Exposed: The Extremist Agenda hosted by Glenn Beck.

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Why the Jewish Democrats' claim that only 12% of Jews supported Republicans is probably way off the mark.  Jewish Republicans claim twice as much support.

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Trent Lott is back in the Republican Senate leadership, winning the number 2 slot in the minority party in a split vote.  I haven't seen or heard anyone who's particularly happy about this including Rush Limbaugh who let out a big sigh and repeated his "I'm tired of carrying water for these people" remark when it was brought up.  Personally I think the racism charge was way overblown but no one wants to see the old guard coming back.

Thank God the Republicans are out and we don't have to deal with this kind of economic catastrophe.  Core inflation drops by most in 13 years. 

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NOW they tell us.  Get Out of Iraq Now? Not So Fast, Experts Say  Am I to assume that the Times couldn't have mentioned the fact that the Democrats primary plan for Iraq is not supported by anyone either currently or formerly employed in the top ranks of the military establishment!

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 — One of the most resonant arguments in the debate over Iraq holds that the United States can move forward by pulling its troops back, as part of a phased withdrawal. If American troops begin to leave and the remaining forces assume a more limited role, the argument holds, it will galvanize the Iraqi government to assume more responsibility for securing and rebuilding Iraq.

This is the case now (?!?!?) being argued by many Democrats, most notably Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who asserts that the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq should begin within four to six months....

Anthony Zinni, the former head of the United States Central Command and one of the retired generals who called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, argued that any substantial reduction of American forces over the next several months would be more likely to accelerate the slide to civil war than stop it.

Phased withdrawal has been on the list of Democrat talking points at least as early as Jack Murtha's speech in November 2005 when he declared, "It's time to bring the troops home."  And who the hell is Carl Levin to anyone outside of Michigan.  Why do they make it sound like some new initiative?

I also wonder if all those liberals who praised Zinni and his colleagues will now back their calls for more troops.  I also heard an interview last night on NPR with Micahel Gordon one of the authors of Cobra II last night, the authoritative book that detailed and criticized the invasion and occupation of Iraq.  He said that he couldn't understand why anyone would think that reducing the troop level would make the situation on the ground better.

My dad just sent me this by e-mail. I had to post the whole thing.

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

The Honorable Paul S. Sarbanes
309 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC, 20510

Dear Senator Sarbanes,

As a native Marylander and excellent customer of the Internal Revenue Service, I am writing to ask for your assistance. I have contacted the Immigration and Naturalization Service in an effort to determine the process for becoming an illegal alien and they referred me to you.

My reasons for wishing to change my status from U.S. Citizen to illegal alien stem from the bill which was recently passed by the Senate and for which you voted. If my understanding of this bill's provisions is accurate, as an illegal alien who has been in the United States for five years, what I need to do to become a citizen is to pay a $2,000 fine and income taxes for three of the last five years. I know a good deal when I see one and I am anxious to get the process started before everyone figures it out. Simply put, those of us who have been here legally have had to pay taxes every year so I'm excited about the prospect of avoiding two years of taxes in return for paying a $2,000 fine. Is there any way that I can apply to be illegal retroactively? This would yield an excellent result for me and my family because we paid heavy taxes in 2004 and 2005.

Another benefit in gaining illegal status would be that my daughter would receive preferential treatment relative to her law school applications.

If you would provide me with an outline of the process to become illegal (retroactively if possible) and copies of the necessary forms, I would be most appreciative. Thank you for your assistance.

Your Loyal Constituent,

Pete McGlaughlin

I know no one's paying much attention now that it's a new fiscal year and the election is over, but in the first month of FY 2007, the US ran a deficit of $49mm, slightly more than the $47 million recorded last year. Both revenues and outlays were up about 12%.

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There's still 2 weeks left in the 2006 Hurricane Season which runs each year from June 1 to November 30. This is last year's record:

A record twenty-eight tropical and subtropical storms formed, of which a record fifteen became hurricanes. Of these, seven strengthened into major hurricanes, a record-tying five became Category 4 hurricanes and a record four reached Category 5 strength. Among these Category 5 storms were Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, the former the costliest and the latter the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record.

The current forecast for 2006 is 11 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes.

28 named storms down to 11. 7 major hurricanes down to 2. I'm still waiting for an explanation from the environmentalists.

Now I don't know what the future holds in store for us like Al Gore does. Maybe he was just looking at bad data. Being one of those nutjob religious types, I'll just thank G-d we haven't had any disasters like we did last year.

Here's some more from the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Renowned Scientist Defects From Belief in Global Warming – Caps Year of Vindication for Skeptics.

Let's face it - there is no way the average Joe or Jane can really know for sure what the heck is going on, so convincing people one way or the other is a pure sales job.

Remember the good old days when everyone was blaming President Bush for the shortage of flu vaccine?
Sen. John F. Kerry jumped on the flu-vaccine shortage yesterday with a new television ad blaming the situation on President Bush.
In what may be the first presidential campaign commercial dealing with the flu, the Democratic nominee is trying to portray the vaccine squeeze as typical of the president's mishandling of health care.

Well, this year there's so much of the stuff that they're probably going to throw a bunch away.

U.S. health officials said Monday they are worried that an abundance of unused flu vaccine this year may lead to millions of doses being thrown out, discouraging manufacturers from making as much in the future....

More than 110 million doses — a record amount — are being made for the 2006-07 flu season. The previous record was 95 million in 2002-03. That year 12 million doses went unused and one manufacturer quit making shots.

Hey, wait a minute! The year before they were bitching about Bush, they made too much! You wouldn't know that from watching that 2004 Kerry ad...
In the ad, a narrator says: "Three years ago, medical experts warned George Bush that a dangerous shortage loomed. Instead of fixing the problem, production of the vaccine was sent to a factory overseas -- the vaccines were contaminated. Now Bush wants Canada to help, even though his own policies make it illegal for us to import medicine from Canada.
"Seniors and children wait. Not enough vaccines for pregnant women. A George Bush mess."
Just remember this when Kerry runs for President again in 2008.

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Full credit to the Borowitz Report:

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) found himself in the middle of another botched joke controversy today as the 2004 Democratic nominee for president misread a classic "yo mama" joke while making a speech to military cadets at West Point...

According to the plan, the Massachusetts senator was to entertain the cadets by saying, "Yo mama so stupid, it take her an hour to cook Minute Rice."

But inexplicably, Mr. Kerry decided to depart from his prepared remarks and instead told the cadets, "You're so stupid, you're going to wind up stuck in Iraq."

ABC's Rosie O'Donnell: "Don't fear the terrorists, they're mothers and fathers."

Once again, Rosie speaks up for the very people that would put her behind a veil if they didn't execute her first for being gay.

Once again, one of the most visible, well-known, well-paid names on daytime television complains that views like hers are being muzzled. If only. The view should do a show on real victims of persecution like Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, not to mention voices that were silenced by Muslims such as Theo van Gogh and Daniel Pearl. G-d knows I don't have time to list every single author, journalist or artist that has truly suffered at the hands of the true enemies of freedom which Rosie refuses to acknowledge as anything except misunderstood mommies and daddies.

I have nothing but contempt for that woman.

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My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm in Therapy

How could that not be funny?

Keeping Up With the Steins is coming in the mailbox.

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The people of Holland are planning to break the world record for simultaneous dancing at 11:15AM local time Thursday.  The campaign is looking to generate 230,000 participants to spend 5 minutes dancing in order to remind people that physical activity is necessary to fight obesity.  A TV ad is here - looks like "What a Feeling" will be the song of the day.

Even The Simpsons on Fox have gotten onto the "you gotta be an idiot to join the Army" bandwagon.  On Veterans Day weekend.  Nice work.  Here's the video.

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Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.

"One day the penny will drop for American Jews and they will realize they have no future as Jews in the US due to assimilation and intermarriage," he told The Jerusalem Post while in the United States to participate in the world's largest annual gathering of Jewish leaders.

Jews have no future in America and should all move to Israel, Jewish Agency Chairman Zeev Bielski said Sunday.

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Groundbreaking on the new Mets stadium which opens in 2009 will take place today.  Reports say that it will be called CitiField.  That's gonna take a whole lot of getting used to.

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I would love to see this.

In her new solo show DAI (enough), Iris Bahr explores the misunderstood Israeli psyche as manifested through various inhabitants of a Tel Aviv café, who unknowingly share their stories moments before perishing in a bombing. The souls Bahr brings to life -- a self-loathing Israeli New Yorker, an extremist West Bank settler, a jilted German trying to win back the affection of his Israeli lover, an aging Zionist, an American there to build a Rapture Information Center, a Palestinian intellectual, a Russian prostitute -- all seem to be struggling with a splintered Israeli identity, a conflicted attachment to the state of Israel, and most importantly, a personal inability to lead what they feel is a normal life. Whether their predicament is self-inflicted or brought upon them by the world at large, is a question for which they all have an equally passionate answer.

Here's more on the show from Jewlicious where I first read about it.

The play is also shocking because Bahr’s transition between characters is marked by a “suicide bombing.” The character collapses, the lights go out, and what seems to be a real recording of the sounds during such an event–destruction, crying, frightened yelling in Hebrew–plays in the background. During this, Bahr moves to the next of cafe tables set up on the stage and puts on some combination of hat, jacket, or shirt (as well as voice and accent–characters are convincingly male and female, Russian and Israeli) to signify the next character, who we meet that same moment a mere few minutes prior to that same bombing. Even once you know it’s coming, the “bomb” is extremely powerful. It arrives both out of the blue and at a moment when a character’s just about to do something, meet somebody, say something, and thus completely throws off the audience’s expectation for what might happen next. Suicide bombing is thus presented as something one cannot get used to, something fundamentally anti-human.