Rubicon3

New Conspiracy Theory in Egypt

It Wasn't Saddam But His Double Who Was Executed

The Kennedy/Chavez/Chomsky Connection

God help us, where's the nearest barf bag?

Britney Spears...

...has been seen wearing a Star of David.

The Islamic Mein Kampf

From Front Page Magazine:

In a rational world, American universities would lead the way in exposing the noxious roots of Islamic terrorism. Instead of psychoanalyzing Rush Limbaugh or President Bush, they would devote their attentions to what makes terrorists tick. Readers of FrontPage Magazine are uniquely educated about the unholy alliance between academia and jihadists. Thus, we have launched the Terrorism Awareness Project -- www.TerrorismAwareness.org -- to educate college students directly.

In conjunction with the organization and website, we have produced the flash movie The Islamic Mein Kampf, as well as a scholarly pamphlet by the same name. Together, they provide a chilling and compelling testimony to the depths of bitter Islamic hatred and the threat a growing radical Muslim population poses to Europe, Israel, the United States, the Jewish people, and the world.

The Islamic Mein Kampf

A Palestinian Foreign Minister Speaks

1. A Palestinian Foreign Minister suggests to the Canadians that Israel be moved, in its entirety, to Canada because there's lots of open space there.

2. The Palestinian Foreign Minister then threatens Canada, saying it is "endangering itself" by supporting Israel.

3. The Palestinian Foreign Minister then asks his Canadian counterpart why the Canadians refuse to meet with himself and Hamas, saying "We are not man-eaters."

4. The Palestinian Foreign Minister then says, Hamas-members are not terrorists, but rather, freedom fighters, and that there is no difference between them and the French resistance to Nazi occupation during the second world war. 

Dreaming of The Great Muslim Empire, a Juden-free Middle East, magic carpet rides, and 72 virgins.

Teaching the Holocaust to 10 Year Olds

Part of the curriculum for the 4th graders at the Sunday school where I teach includes teaching the Holocaust.  I have such mixed feelings about this.  When I was studying for a Master's degree in education, I learned that it was a general rule that the Holocaust was not taught prior to 7th grade. The Holocaust Museum in Washington DC agrees, and they even have a small exhibit for 7th graders outside of the regular exhibit, which is set up to be sad, but not to the point that it is disturbing. 

One of the teachers I work with has been teaching Sunday school for over 20 years. She's Hungarian and has a million and one stories to tell the students about her parents' experiences; hiding from the Germans, harrowing train rides, and good people sharing food and helping them along the way.  She said that she has never had a problem with it, that she emphasizes good stories, stories with happy endings, stories that are uplifting.

But...the thing is, I don't necessarily agree that the Holocaust should be told as a happy or uplifting story.  Though some people helped, the majority did not. Families were torn, separated, people died horrible deaths, and it is an example of the worst that human nature has to offer.

I admit it's very possible that I am too negative and that the other teacher's interpretation is a better one than mine.  But as I told her,  I think the age of 9-10 is a very vulnerable time. Some children who made it through toddlerhood without seeing monsters under the bed, suddenly become very afraid of going to bed at night at this stage. Who wants to make that any harder for parents?  Why teach it then, when they are so vulnerable, and not able to understand?

The subject came up when the parents came in for back-to-school day at the beginning of the year.  Some of the parents of my students were pretty definitive about not wanting their children to learn about it yet.

The Hungarian teacher said she thought that too many parents over-protected their kids, and that while she'd had a few over the years who kept their kids home on the day when the subject was taught, the ones who were there to learn about it did just fine.

I told her that when I was growing up, my older brother and his friends told me that Hitler had the legs of pregnant women tied together and that they died in child birth, and that this really scared me. I didn't have nightmares, but I grew up feeling afraid of anyone who was not a Jew.  It seemed so random to me that Jews were hated for being Jews. I didn't understand it.  It made no sense.  What did Jews ever do?

I think it's a subject that needs a lot of explanation and a lot of context.  I don't want to influence the students with my fears and negativity, but at the same time, I want the subject to have the gravity and seriousness it deserves.

Hungarian teacher pointed out that maybe it is better if the students learn about it from me rather than from their friends or older siblings, which makes sense. Then from teaching the Holocaust and its commemoration (Yom Ha Shoah), the curriculum then turns to the celebration of Israel's independence day (Yom Haatzmoat).  Hungarian teacher says that the Holocaust leads perfectly into the celebration of Israel's independence, and I see her point there as well. 

Honestly though, I just want the children to feel proud of their background and to want to be Jewish out of love for Judaism, not out of fear that they have to band together against an evil Jew-hating world.

I view being a Jew as both a joy and a responsibility.  Traditionally, the responsibility aspect of Judaism does not begin until the age of becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Maybe before that time, we can feel free to emphasize the joy without guilt...? 

Perhaps I am just not a good person to teach this subject.  My emotions are too involved, I have too many fears and I think too much.   

A Recommendation to President Abbas

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on the suicide bombing in Eilat:

"My position regarding this operation is that I do not accept it and I reject and condemn it. There was no need at all, and it does not benefit us at all. I do not think that this operation in particular will impact the calm between us and the Israelis in the Gaza Strip," Abbas said.

Mr. Abbas, you might do better condemning murder as being wrong rather than placing emphasis on the fact that there was "no need" for the bombing and that it did not "benefit" you.

(pause)

You do believe that murder is wrong, don't you? 

Les Miserables

The end of act one:

The finale:

As performed by the original cast. Fantastic!

Terrorist Murders in Israel Since 2001

During more than six years of Palestinian-Israeli violence, 540 people have been killed in 130 Palestinian suicide bombings. Some of the deadliest suicide attacks in Israel:

_ Jan. 29, 2007: A bombing at a bakery in the southern town of Eilat kills three.

_ April 17, 2006: A bombing kills 11 Israelis in Tel Aviv.

_ Dec. 5, 2005: An attacker kills five at a shopping mall in the coastal town of Netanya.

_ Oct. 26, 2005: A bomber kills five people at a falafel stand in Hadera.

_ July 12, 2005: Bombing kills five at a shopping mall in Netanya.

_ Feb. 25, 2005: In the first attack after a truce, a bomber blows himself up in crowd near a nightclub in Tel Aviv, killing four.

_ Aug. 31, 2004: Two bombers set off explosives in buses in Beersheba, killing 16.

_ March 14, 2004: Two bombers attack Ashdod port, killing 10.

_ Jan. 29, 2004: Bomber on a bus on Gaza Street in Jerusalem kills 11 people.

_ Oct. 4, 2003: Bomber kills 19 people at a seaside restaurant in Haifa.

_ Sept. 9, 2003: A bomber kills eight Israeli soldiers at a bus stop near an army base outside Tel Aviv.

_ Aug. 19, 2003: A bomber blows up a bus in Jerusalem, killing 23 people.

_ June 11, 2003: A bus bombing on central Jerusalem's Jaffa Street kills 17.

_ March 5, 2003: A bombing on a bus in Haifa kills 17 people.

_ Jan. 5, 2003: Two bombers strike the Neve Shaanan pedestrian mall in Tel Aviv, killing 23.

_ Oct. 21, 2002: A bombing on a bus in northern Israel kills 14 people.

_ June 18, 2002: A bomber kills 19 in southern Jerusalem.

_ June 5, 2002: A bus bombing near Megiddo Junction in northern Israel kills 17.

_ May 7, 2002: A bomb attack at a pool hall in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Letzion kills 15.

_ March 31, 2002: A bomber kills 15 at a restaurant in Haifa.

_ March 27, 2002: An attacker kills 29 people in Netanya during a ritual Seder meal at a hotel dining room at the start of Passover.

_ March 9, 2002: A bomber kills 11 at Jerusalem's Moment Cafe.

_ March 2, 2002: An attack kills 11 in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood.

_ Dec. 2, 2001: A bomber kills 15 on a bus in Haifa.

_ Dec. 1, 2001: Two bombers strike Jerusalem's Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall, killing 11.

_ Aug. 9, 2001: An attack at a Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem kills 15.

_ June 1, 2001: A bomber kills 21 people, mostly teenagers, at a seaside disco in Tel Aviv. 

Wanted: A Professor Who Can Teach...

...Europe what it means to be an ally.

One hopes they need US help again (no need to hope very long or hard - it will happen) in the future just so we can hem and haw and debate and criticize and worry them into a frenzy that we actually might not be there to save their sorry rear ends.

Background of the Suicide Bombing in Eilat

Eilat Suicide Bomber Crossed Egyptian Border - Revital Levy-Stein, Avi Issacharoff, Nir Hasson, and Jonathan Lis
The Islamic Jihad suicide bomber from Gaza who killed three people on Monday entered Israel through the border with Egypt, several dozen kilometers northwest of Eilat, a senior Israel Defense Forces officer said. An Israeli civilian who unwittingly drove the bomber close to the scene of the attack suspected the man was a terrorist and called the police. Two patrol cars rushed to the scene, but the bomber carried out the attack seven minutes after the call. The Israeli fatalities from the bombing were Haim El-Maliach, 32, Michael Ben-Sa'adon, 27, and Yisrael Samolia, 25, an immigrant from Peru. (Ha'aretz)

Driver Who Picked Up Terrorist Considered Running Him Over - Nir Hasson
Yossi Voltinsky, the man who drove the suicide bomber in Monday's attack in Eilat, was "99 percent sure" his passenger was a suicide bomber. He considered crashing his car or running over the man but did not "because of the 1 percent chance that maybe he was innocent, maybe a crazy, how would I be able to live with that?" Voltinsky, a lieutenant colonel in the IDF reserves, said, "As soon as I looked at him in the rearview mirror, I saw that something was wrong - he wore a windbreaker zipped to the neck, with a big backpack strapped on. He kept one hand in his pocket, his eyes darted around, he was very nervous. He acted very unnaturally. I asked him where he was headed, he didn't answer, just motioned for me to keep going. I asked, 'Where are you from?' He didn't answer. I realized at that point I was transporting a hostile person, a terrorist or a robber."
    "I couldn't drive to the police station because it's inside the city, and I didn't want to go to a checkpoint because I knew that as soon as he saw soldiers, he'd blow up," Voltinsky said. He let the man out at the outskirts of the city and called the police. (Ha'aretz)

Family of Gaza Suicide Bomber "Very Happy" - Ali Waked
"The whole family was very happy when it heard that Muhammad is the hero who carried out the attack," said Naim Saqsaq, the brother of Muhammad Saqsaq, who carried out the suicide attack in Eilat. "We knew that he was waiting and praying for this moment. He always said, 'If only I could be a shahid (martyr), if only I could carry out an attack.' And here Allah gave him the privilege," said the brother. One of Muhammad's friends said he saw him for the last time on Thursday, and he looked different. "I am used to seeing him with a beard, but on this day he was cleanly shaven and had a short haircut."  (Ynet News)

In other news, Pat Buchanan is an {expletive deleted} who should burn forever in fahry pits of hail.

Geometry and the 7 Deadly Sins

Ingenius! Geometry was my favorite mathematical subject way back when.

Found here via Reddit.

The Palestinian State

Carolyn Glick writes:

In the world of international diplomacy few issues receive more wall-to-wall support than the notion that it is essential to establish a Palestinian state. Leaders worldwide are so busy speaking of how essential it is for a State of Palestine to be founded that none of them seems to have noticed that it already exists.

This state was officially founded in the summer of 2005, when Israel removed its military forces and civilian population from the Gaza Strip and so established the first wholly independent Palestinian state in history. Israel's destruction of four Israeli communities in Northern Samaria and curtailment of its military operations in the area set the conditions for statehood in that area as well.

And so it is that as statesmen and activists worldwide loudly proclaim their commitment to establishing the sovereign State of Palestine, they miss the fact that Palestine exists. And it is a nightmare.

Middle East Punditry

It was six men of Indostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach'd the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear,
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"

The Third approach'd the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," -quoth he- "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," -quoth he,-
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said- "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," -quoth he,- "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

MORAL,

So, oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean;
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

-John Godfrey Saxe

Hulk Hogan Meets the World of Orthodox Judaism - Updated

Update: Someone, somewhere sent a link out on some sort of an international mailing list, and people have been pouring in all weekend to see this video.  Friend or foe?  Like or dislike? Kosher or non? From the Hulk fan club? WWF? I have no idea.  None have left any comments here.  Maybe someone will read this and leave an explanation as to who or what is behind it?

Suicide Murder in Eilat

For the first time, a suicide terrorist detonated himself in the southern port city of Eilat. After he hitchhiked to the city, the man who innocently drove him called the police - but too late.
Three Jews were murdered, and five people were treated for shock.

Initial reports implied that the explosion inside a small bakery in Eilat around 9:45 AM was caused by a gas canister explosion. However, shortly after 10:30, the police abruptly issued an announcement saying that it was the work of an Arab suicide terrorist. The police announced that the murderer had entered the bakery carrying a large bag and detonated himself. Three dead were reported, in addition to the terrorist himself.

The Al Aksa Brigades of Fatah - an arm of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization - and Islamic Jihad have claimed joint responsibility for the murderous attack. In general, Fatah's Al Aksa Brigades has shared responsibility with Islamic Jihad for the terror attacks against Israel over the past two years.

Just three months ago, Fatah was one of four PA terrorist groups that called on Muslims worldwide to attack the United States "with no mercy."

Despite this, Abbas continues to enjoy the international reputation of a "moderate." Earlier this month, the United States pledged $86.4 million to bolster Fatah security forces under his control.

Israel also just recently transferred $100 million in tax monies to the Palestinian Authority. The National Union submitted a motion of no-confidence in the government on this backdrop.

Antisemitic Violence

Marked Rise in Attacks on Jews in Europe in 2006 - Amiram Barkat (Ha'aretz)
    2006 saw a substantial rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany, Austria and the Scandinavian countries, according to the Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism.
    There were 360 anti-Semitic incidents in France in 2006, compared to 300 in 2005. Russia recorded 300 incidents in 2006 compared to 250 the preceding year, and Austria saw a jump from 50 incidents to 83 last year.
    The Scandinavian countries saw 53 incidents in 2006, compared with the previous year's 35. The report cited a 60% rise in incidents in the Berlin area.

...January 2006 brought the shocking murder of French Jew Ilan Halimi. Bielski said Halimi's mother has recently decided to bring her son's remains to Israel for interment on the first anniversary of his death, next Friday in Jerusalem.

"There is no doubt the recent Lebanon war and the Qana incident led to the most severe incidents in the past decade," said Jewish Agency official Amos Hermon.

The gravest incident related to the war was the shooting at the Jewish Federation Building in Seattle, Washington last July, when staffer Pamela Waechter was killed and three other people were critically wounded.

The war engendered a wave of criticism in which Israel's deeds were compared to those of Nazi Germany. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claimed last August that Israeli aggression in Lebanon was "reminiscent of Hitler's fascist manner."

Montreal Mayor Stefane Gendron said in August that "Israelis are modern-day Nazis."

An editorial cartoon in a Norwegian newspaper showed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as the sadistic SS officer depicted in the movie "Schindler's List." Hermon noted that Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder included elements of historical Christian anti-Semitism in his book "God's Chosen People," including statements such as, "Don't worry, Israel will go to exile again," and, "We laugh at the idea that God chose one people ... gave them stupid stone tablets and a license to kill."

Other serious incidents in 2006 included the stabbing of synagogue-goers at the Chabad Center in Moscow in January. In a September shooting attack on an Oslo synagogue, no one was injured. The attackers were Islamic extremists who were aided by the extreme right; they had also planned to kidnap the Israeli ambassador, Miriam Shomrat.

Reflections Upon Reaching Old Age

GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,
   Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
   To-morrow will be dying.(highly recommended)

Jimmy Carter's History of Untruths

“This is the first time I’ve ever been called a liar,” said former President Jimmy Carter during his much-ballyhooed foray into the lion’s den of Brandeis University this week.

This, of course, is a lie.

I Am a Zionist

The first song - translation:

I HAVE NO OTHER COUNTRY

I have no other country even if my land is aflame Just a word in Hebrew pierces my veins and my soul - With a painful body, with a hungry heart, Here is my home. I will not stay silent because my country changed her face I will not give up reminding her And sing in her ears until she will open her eyes I have no other country even if my land is aflame Just a word in Hebrew pierces my veins and my soul - With a painful body, with a hungry heart, Here is my home. I won't be silent because my country has changed her face. I will not give up reminding her And sing in her ears until she will open her eyes I have no other country until she will renew her glorious days Until she will open her eyes I have no other country even if my land is aflame Just a word in Hebrew pierces my veins and my soul - With a painful body, with a hungry heart, Here is my home. With a painful body, with a hungry heart, Here is my home.

The second song:

JERUSALEM OF GOLD
by Naomi Shemer

The mountain air is clear as wine
And the scent of pines
Is carried on the breeze of twilight
With the sound of bells.

And in the slumber of tree and stone
Captured in her dream
The city that sits solitary
And in its midst is a wall.

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

How the cisterns have dried
The market-place is empty
And no one frequents the Temple Mount
In the Old City.

And in the caves in the mountain
Winds are howling
And no one descends to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho.

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

But as I come to sing to you today,
And to adorn crowns to you (i.e. to tell your praise)
I am the smallest of the youngest of your children (i.e. the least worthy of doing so)
And of the last poet (i.e. of all the poets born).

For your name scorches the lips
Like the kiss of a seraph
If I forget thee, Jerusalem,
Which is all gold...

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

We have returned to the cisterns
To the market and to the market-place
A ram's horn (shofar) calls out (i.e. is being heard) on the Temple Mount
In the Old City.

And in the caves in the mountain
Thousands of suns shine -
We will once again descend to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho!

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

A 93-Year Old Writer

What a rare find.

Our Pessimism

...is going to be the death of us.  Daniel Henninger writes in the WSJ:

The United States is talking itself into defeat in Iraq. Its political culture is now in a downward spiral of pessimism. In the halls of Congress, across endless newspaper columns, amid the punditocracy and on Sunday morning talk shows--all emit a Stygian gloom about America.

Yes, on any given day on some discrete issue (Prime Minister Maliki's bona fides, for example), the criticism of the American role is not without justification. But the cumulative effect of this unremitting ill wind is corrosive. We are not only on the way to talking ourselves into defeat in Iraq but into a diminished international status that may be harder to recover than the doom mob imagines. Self-criticism has its role, but profligate self-doubt can exact a price. 

...Our slide to a national nervous breakdown because of Iraq is not going unnoticed. Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has been visiting across the U.S. this week. "I've been pretty worried about what I've heard," Mr. Downer said in an interview. Walking on Santa Monica beach Sunday before last, Mr. Downer said he encountered a display of crosses in the sand, representing the American dead in Iraq.

"What concerns me about this," he said, "is that it's sort of an isolationist sentiment, subconsciously, not consciously, and that would be an enormous problem for the world. I hope the American people understand the importance of not retreating and thinking the world's problems aren't theirs."

...The mood of mass resignation spreading through the body politic is toxic. It is uncharacteristic of Americans under stress. Some might call it realism, but it looks closer to the fatalism of elderly Europe, overwhelmed and exhausted by its burdens, than to the American tradition.

The state of the psyche of the American people is downright depressing.

[SMACK-SLAP-BOOM-BAM-THWACK]

TAKE YOUR ZOLOFT AND SNAP OUT OF IT, PEOPLE.

Persecution of Christians in Bethlehem

Bethlehem Christians Describe Muslim Persecution - Khaled Abu Toameh
A number of Christian families have described Muslim persecution of the Christian minority in Bethlehem after increased attacks over the past few months. Samir Qumsiyeh, owner of the Beit Sahur-based Shepherd TV station, said he has documented more than 160 attacks on Christians in recent years. He said thieves have targeted the homes of many Christian families and a "land mafia" has seized vast areas of land belonging to Christians.
    One Christian businessman said the conditions of Christians in Bethlehem had deteriorated ever since the area was handed over to the PA in 1995. "People are running away because the Palestinian government isn't doing anything to protect them and their property against Muslim thugs. Of course not all the Muslims are responsible, but there is a general feeling that Christians have become easy prey." (Jerusalem Post)
    See also Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society - Justus Reid Weiner (JCPA) (1.4M pdf file)

Americans Found Shot in Iraq "Execution-Style"

Four of the five Americans killed when a U.S. security company's helicopter crashed in a dangerous Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad were shot execution-style in the back the head, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Wednesday.

A senior Iraqi military official said a machine gunner downed the helicopter, but a U.S. military official in Washington said there were no indications that the aircraft, owned by Blackwater USA, had been shot out of the sky. Two Sunni insurgent groups, separately, claimed responsibility for the crash.

In Washington, a U.S. defense official said four of the five killed were shot in the back of the head but did not know whether they were still alive when they were shot. The defense official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

The helicopter was shot down after responding to assist a U.S. Embassy ground convoy that came under fire in a Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad, said a U.S. diplomatic official in Washington.

A second helicopter also was struck, but there were no casualties among its crew, said the diplomatic official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to make statements.

The doomed helicopter swooped into electrical wires before the crash. U.S. officials said it was not clear if gunfire brought the aircraft down or caused its pilot to veer into the wires during evasive manuevers.

Why on earth would they bother to shoot them in the back of the head, "execution-style", if they were DEAD? The victims were civilians - though they worked in security:

Blackwater USA confirmed that five Americans employed by the North Carolina-based company as security professionals were killed, but provided no identities or other details.

Jewish Blog Awareness Month

I have been remiss (my Jewish guilt-o-meter is in the red zone) in my lack of observance (the worst Jewish sin) of Jewish Blog Awareness Month ("They tried to kill us, they failed, let's blog").  You may have noticed (or not - my sidebar is like a three-ring circus) that in the sidebar of this blog, there is a sign acknowledging Jewish Blog Awareness Month (JBAM).  If you click on it, it will take you to a group Jewish blog where people discuss the ins and outs of JBlogging.

Chaim of the Life-of-Rubin blog came up with the idea of JBAM, and has suggested that we do an occasional round up of JBlogs and try to include one or two that we've never read before. So, squeaking through before the month ends, here is a JBlog round-up for your reading pleasure:

Bagel Blogger announces the inauguration of the JPIX Carnival.  This will be a collection of the best photographs of the Jewish Blogosphere.  Click here for the details.

Bookworm continues to think Jimmy Carter is a bad man, and provides fact-based evidence from a recent article written by Claudia Rosett.

Jeremayakovka provides a brilliant defense of why we fight this war written by a soldier who was subsequently tragically killed in Iraq. 

Alcibiades of Kesher Talk reports a recent story about which I meant to blog but didn't, so I am glad to be able to mention it here.  Yemenite Jews have been threatened by Islamic extremists to the point that they had to flee their homes. Also, Judith has some interesting thoughts on President Bush holding hands with the Saudis and the effect on oil prices.

At Musings of a Jewish Soul, a dialog about thinking about the existence of God.

Imshin has found a wonderful video of Paul Simon singing "Something So Right."  She posted it for her husband - hope she doesn't mind sharing it with us too.

Oceanguy isn't feeling well.  Wishing him a refuah shleima (complete recovery) asap.

See Jack of Random Thoughts attempt a world record for the post with the longest set of song lyrics ever.

Smoothstone reports that withdrawal from Judea and Samaria is once again being discussed with the Palestinian Authority. According to World Net Daily, negotiations have been taking place behind the scenes for the past few weeks. Why on earth would they consider such a thing, in this climate, with kassams from Gaza continuing to rain down?

SoccerDad revisits the Munich Olympic massacre and turns up some truly outrageous background information on Avery Brundage, then president of the International Olympic Committee.

Treppenwitz goes to India.  The usual excellent blogging ensues.

The latest edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival is up at Elisheva Blogs. You will find many truly delicious recipes.

Patti continues to soldier on through cancer treatment. Please visit her blog and wish her well.

Last but not least, the latest edition of Haveil Havalim is up at Yehuda's blog.  He has written a creative story as a way of showcasing all the posts.   

That's it for now.   

The State of the Union is a Disaster

Jules Crittendon writes the speech that George Bush ought to be giving tonight.

In a nutshell:

1.  Evil exists.

2.  We have to fight it.

3.  Americans don't want to fight.

4.  It's a disaster.

Academy Award Nominations

79th Annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif.  The ones I've seen are in bold.  Hard to have much interest in it when I've seen so few of the nominated pictures:

1. Best Picture: "Babel," "The Departed," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Queen."

2. Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"; Peter O'Toole, "Venus"; Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland."

3. Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children."

4. Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"; Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"; Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"; Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed."

5. Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, "Babel"; Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"; Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"; Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel."

A movie I saw last weekend that did not receive a nomination but I thought was worthy - The Painted Veil with Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber. It is based on a novel by Somerset Maugham, and takes place in China in the 1920s during a cholera epidemic.  Great story, great cast.

Beethoven: Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Daniel Barenboim

Barenboim both conducts and plays piano.

Terrorism 101

A refresher course in the basics:

The Root Cause of Terrorism - Joseph Farah
Lately, we've heard the root cause of terrorism is alienation, poverty, or the West's support for Israel. What do I think is the root cause of terrorism? It works. Those using terrorism do it because it achieves their objectives.
  The more Israel has acceded to the demands of terrorists, the more terrorism has increased. The more Israel has unilaterally retreated from lands won in hard-fought combat, the more emboldened its attackers have become. The more accommodating Israel is with the terrorists, the higher become the demands on the Jewish state by international busybodies who blame their own problems with terrorists on Israel.
    There are only two ways to stop the terrorism: Surrender and live under the domination of Islam, or soundly defeat the Islamic jihad. You can't talk to it. You can't buy it off. You can't understand it. You can't win it over with compassion. You can't reason with it. You can't negotiate with it. You can't bargain with it. You can't appease it away. You can't wish it away. (WorldNetDaily)

Lovely, Just Lovely

Italian church displays anti-Semitic exhibition

An exhibition of anti-Semitic paintings is on display at a church in Umbrian city of Orvieto in Italy.

One of the paintings displayed at the San Francesco Church portrays a Jewish woman baking sufganiyot (Hanukkah doughnuts) out of communion wafers.

"The church is filled with paintings portraying the Jews as bloodthirsty people desecrating the Christian religion,"the Roman Association of Friends of Israel said in a letter to Pope Benedict XVI.

Israeli Ambassador to the Vatican, Oded Ben-Hur, met over the weekend with Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, and expressed his shock over the exhibition.

Antisemitism Watch

Joshua Muravchik notes that the antisemitism that was once taboo in the US seems now to be an acceptable part of national debate.

Is Jew-baiting back?

Nazi Plunder

Only a fraction of what was stolen from the Jews during WW2 has been returned:

  80% of Nazi-Stolen Assets Missing - Matti Friedman
Only one-fifth of the property that was stolen from Europe's Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators has ever been returned, leaving at least $115 billion in assets still missing, according to a new study by economist Sidney Zabludoff, a former CIA and U.S. Treasury official. The study, to appear in the Jewish Political Studies Review, showed that before the Holocaust, Jews owned property in Europe that was worth between $10 billion and $15 billion at the time. Most of that was never repaid, translating into a missing $115 billion to $175 billion in current dollars, the study said. There is little chance of a new push for restitution because Western European governments feel they already did their share, Eastern European governments feel they are too poor, and the U.S. and Israeli governments are too preoccupied with other issues, the study said. (AP/Washington Post)  

Q: What Do You Find at the Intersection of Laughter and Tears?

A: Yiddish

My new favorite insult: "shtik fleysh mit oygn"

My Little Guy is 18

It's a big birthday for the little kiddie on the left and typical mommy, I've been feeling like I want to bawl my eyes out all day. (He finally went out with friends most likely to escape me coming up to him, grabbing him in a maternal death-grip and saying, "Noooooo!!  Noooooo!!!  Not yet!!!" every 5 minutes)  The one in the middle is going to turn 23 soon, and the little girl on the right is 15.   Oh, to go back, for just a day...They were such delicious children.

What does the brand new adult want for his birthday? 

A cigar, a porn flick and a snifter of brandy.

He always was such a joker.

He will get a new laptop to take with him to college in the fall.

Commentary Has a New Blog

I think I will be spending time there.  Right off the bat I found a very interesting review of a review of the Bible. I think it is David Gelernter who has written this piece. The blog doesn't make it clear, but I saw his name in the URL belonging to the entry.

What does a person get out of just sitting down and reading the Bible with no background, no context, and no Rabbinic commentary? A secular, uneducated Jew reads The Book and gives his impressions. Gelernter, an observant and learned Jew, comments upon them.  As a half-educated Jew, I can understand enough to wince at my own glaring errors.  Before I send you on to read the rest, here are the last two sentences of the essay which you may want to keep in mind: "Blogging the Bible is illuminating in more ways than one. Enjoy it, but read at your own risk."

In an ongoing, multi-part series called Blogging the Bible on Slate, David Plotz offers comments on his first reading of large parts of the Hebrew Bible. At his best he is superb. He is selling innocence and a new viewpoint—two commodities you might have believed the world was fresh out of when it comes to the Bible, the mightiest text of all, most famous and most exhaustively-studied book known to man. Yet, amazingly, it is all new to Plotz, and his loss is our gain: we experience his fascination, excitement, and occasional joy alongside him as he discovers the narrative genius and moral profundity of the good book.

...his most serious error is to misrepresent the very process of Jewish Bible reading. He calls himself a “proud Jew” (more power to him); he acknowledges the immense quantity of rabbinic Bible commentary (in the Talmud and midrash) of which he is ignorant. But he fails to grasp that normative Jewish authorities do not read the Bible alongside the Talmud but through the Talmud. Thus he includes, for example, the usual tiresome stuff about all the death sentences imposed by Biblical law. But as Judaism reads these verses, there are no death sentences in the Bible: the Talmud (for better or worse) erects such elaborate procedural protections for the accused in capital cases that it virtually rules executions out. Which has been pointed out innumerable times before.

Read the whole thing

A Great Description...

...of the best show on TV.  Though I don't know if I buy into the supposed parallels with conflict in today's world. I watch it for the sci-fi drama: Man vs humanoid machine in a future where man is close to extinction and has forgotten where earth is.

The lie is a specific evil which man has introduced into nature.  All our deeds of violence and our misdeeds are only as it were a highly-bred development of what this and that creature of nature is able to achieve in its own way.  But the lie is our very own invention, different in kind from every deceit that the animals can produce.  A lie was possible only after a creature, man, was capable of conceiving the being of truth.  It was possible only as directed against the conceived truth.  In a lie the spirit practices treason against itself.
- Martin Buber, Good and Evil, pg. 7

The Saudis Threaten to Send Troops to Iraq - - UPDATED

Man, it's about fricking time. Excuse me, but Joseph H. Christopher, where the hell have they been?  Of course, the Saudis are merely threatening to send troops if the US "surge" or whatever you want to call it, fails.  In my opinion, they should have been there with us from the get-go.  Stability in Iraq actually does concern them directly.  The world is filled with cowards:

Saudi Arabia believes the Iraqi government is not up to the challenge and has told the United States that it is prepared to move its own forces into Iraq should the violence there degenerate into chaos, a senior U.S. official told NBC News on Tuesday.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal made no effort to mask his skepticism Tuesday about President Bush’s proposal to send 21,000 more U.S. troops to Iraq to stem sectarian fighting.

“We agree with the full objectives set by the new plan,” Saud said at a joint news conference in Riyadh with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is traveling in the region selling Bush’s plan. “We are hoping these objectives can be accomplished, but the means are not in our hands. They are in the hands of the Iraqis themselves.”

The means can't very well be in your hands, when your oil-slick weasly appendages are located miles and miles away. Get in there and get down and dirty with it, Your Royal-oily$$-ship.

UPDATE:  SoccerDad sent me some interesting information with regard to this post.  Apparently, the possibility of Saudi involvement in Iraq in order to protect the Sunni minority if US forces were to leave has been brought up before. Nawaf Obaid, an adviser to the Saudi government, managing director of the Saudi National Security Assessment Project in Riyadh and an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, wrote the following for the Washington Post in November of 2006:

In February 2003, a month before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, warned President Bush that he would be "solving one problem and creating five more" if he removed Saddam Hussein by force. Had Bush heeded his advice, Iraq would not now be on the brink of full-blown civil war and disintegration.

One hopes he won't make the same mistake again by ignoring the counsel of Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal, who said in a speech last month that "since America came into Iraq uninvited, it should not leave Iraq uninvited." If it does, one of the first consequences will be massive Saudi intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shiite militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis.

Over the past year, a chorus of voices has called for Saudi Arabia to protect the Sunni community in Iraq and thwart Iranian influence there. Senior Iraqi tribal and religious figures, along with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and other Arab and Muslim countries, have petitioned the Saudi leadership to provide Iraqi Sunnis with weapons and financial support. Moreover, domestic pressure to intervene is intense. Major Saudi tribal confederations, which have extremely close historical and communal ties with their counterparts in Iraq, are demanding action. They are supported by a new generation of Saudi royals in strategic government positions who are eager to see the kingdom play a more muscular role in the region.

Because King Abdullah has been working to minimize sectarian tensions in Iraq and reconcile Sunni and Shiite communities, because he gave President Bush his word that he wouldn't meddle in Iraq (and because it would be impossible to ensure that Saudi-funded militias wouldn't attack U.S. troops), these requests have all been refused. They will, however, be heeded if American troops begin a phased withdrawal from Iraq. As the economic powerhouse of the Middle East, the birthplace of Islam and the de facto leader of the world's Sunni community (which comprises 85 percent of all Muslims), Saudi Arabia has both the means and the religious responsibility to intervene.

...remaining on the sidelines would be unacceptable to Saudi Arabia. To turn a blind eye to the massacre of Iraqi Sunnis would be to abandon the principles upon which the kingdom was founded. It would undermine Saudi Arabia's credibility in the Sunni world and would be a capitulation to Iran's militarist actions in the region.

To be sure, Saudi engagement in Iraq carries great risks -- it could spark a regional war. So be it: The consequences of inaction are far worse.

It was meant to be an op-ed piece, but potential Saudi military involvment comes across as more of a definitive plan than an opinion on Obaid's part.

Then, in a very interesting turn of events, in early December the WaPo reported that Obaid was fired for writing the article:

Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it had fired a security adviser who wrote in The Washington Post that the world's top oil exporter would intervene in Iraq once the United States withdrew troops.

Saudi Arabia's government said last weekend that there was no truth in Nawaf Obaid's Nov. 29 op-ed column, which suggested that the kingdom would back Iraq's Sunni Muslims in the event of a wider sectarian conflict.

More than a little passive-aggressive anger here, as I interpret it:

"We felt that we could add more credibility to his claims as an independent contractor by terminating our consultancy agreement with him," Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, told the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.

And in no uncertain terms:

"There is no basis in truth to the article by the writer Nawaf Obaid in The Washington Post of November 29, 2006," the state Saudi Press Agency quoted an "official source" as saying last week.

Now, going back and re-reading the initial piece from MSNBC that I quoted in this post, I found a couple of clandestine-type references to unnamed "senior US officials" who wished to remain anonymous, and also to the fact that Condoleezza Rice was playing the mention of Saudi military involvement down. 

Not quite sure what it all means, but the entire story and reactions to it are very curious.  

In the Words of Emily Litella...

An opinion piece in today's Wall St. Journal asks the question, "What's wrong with vacational school?"  And I have to respond, well, nothing, of course.  Anytime you have an opportunity to learn how to vacation properly, it's a good thing.  Personally, I'd jump at the chance to go to Caribbean or European vacational school. Hell, I'd even be an instructor, if I could.

(Inspired by a typo.)

Things That Keeps Me From Doing Sunday's Lesson Plan

Studying the procrastination equation:

U = E x V / I x D, where U is the desire to complete the task; E, the expectation of success; V, the value of completion; I, the immediacy of task; and D, the personal sensitivity to delay

Contemplating the quintessential image of procrastination.

Looking for lost files.

Engaging in prevention.

Studying surprising findings.

And blogging, of course.

The Doomsday Clock Moves Closer to Midnight

I suppose this announcement is a good thing in terms of generating necessary discussion and coming up with preventative measures, but I fear it will also bring about certain undesirable side effects, including a loud and extremely annoying rattling of the cages of the moonbat contingent, followed by finger pointing at Bush, the US and Israel.

From Fox News:

The end of the world may be drawing a bit closer.

Scientists on Wednesday will change the time on Chicago’s Doomsday Clock based on what they say is the “most perilous period since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

They based their decision on countries increasingly seeking nuclear technology, the United States’ and Russia’s ability to readily launch 2,000 of their 25,000 nuclear weapons, as well as threats posed by