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Why We Go it Alone

Max Boot reports on the mockery masquerading as the free world's military. Our allies are weak as kittens. 

I already knew that.  But it's worse than I thought.

Alternatives to Google

100 of 'em. 

The Wilhelm Scream

The "Wilhelm Scream" is a motion picture special effects scream used over and over again in many movies and especially favored by George Lucas.  The complete story can be found here.

Here's a video compilation of the scream being used in films over the past 50-odd years:

The Second Edition of the JPix Carnival

It's at Bagelblogger, and I have to say, I was blown away by the great pix from sites all over the world. My poor pitiful pix plainly pale in comparison.  Take a look.

More Giuliani

In his mayoralty (mayorship?) of NYCity, Giuliani took conservative political principles and showed what happens when they are made to work.

From My Emailbox

Alisa received this from her husband and kindly passed it on to me.  I thought it was well done and wanted to share it here.  I agree with every word. (Thank you, Alisa!):

"Why I'm Proud To Be A Jew"

With war raging in the Middle East, with global terror reaching new heights, with global anti-Semitism on the rise, I thought it might be a good time to reflect on why I'm proud, more than ever, to be a Jew.

I'm proud to be a Jew because Jews don't kidnap.

I'm proud to be a Jew because Jewish education does not consist of teaching martyrdom and hatred.

I'm proud to be a Jew because my religious leaders and religious services don't whip me into a frenzy to kill others.

I'm proud to be a Jew because in the middle of a war, Jews still demonstrate and protest to protect the rights of the Arab-Israeli minority to voice their opposition to the war.

I'm proud to be a Jew because even when Israel is wrongly and falsely accused of killing innocent civilians, Jewish leaders apologize immediately for any loss of life-instead of celebrating these deaths by passing out candy and shooting celebratory gunshots into the air.

When the world accuses Israel of massacre in Jenin-when the world accuses Israel of bombing civilians on a Gaza beach-when the world accuses Israel of shooting a child cowering against a wall-when the world accuses Israel of bombing a Lebanese apartment building killing 56 civilians- when all of these accusations turn out to be totally false to be vicious anti-Semitic lies-and when all along I knew in my heart that these stories just could not be true-and I'm later proven to be right-then I'm proud to be a Jew.

I'm proud to be a Jew because the Israeli Army is so, so good, that when it takes more than four weeks to wipe out a sophisticated enemy who has prepared six years for this war, the world criticizes the IDF for not getting the job done quickly.

I'm proud to be a Jew when my army, the Israeli army, drops leaflets and makes calls to Lebanese citizens on their cell phones to warn them to evacuate before bombing begins.

I'm proud to be a Jew when the democracies of the world talk about fighting the war on terror, but only Israel is left alone to bear the burden of eradicating Hezbollah, the proxy army of Iran and Syria.

I'm proud to be a Jew when entire Israeli towns in the North- Nahariya, Kiryat Shimona, Safed, are reduced to ghost towns due to the constant shelling, and yet not one looter has appeared to empty out the property of others.

When Israel must defend its very right to exist, when it must fight a well armed enemy representing the Islamic fascists, as President Bush has called them, when Israel must conduct this war on terror with its hands tied behind its back so as not to take an innocent life lest the media have something true to report, that it must fight this war of survival under the cloud of "disproportionally", as if thousands of Katusha rockets falling on its citizenry is somehow "proportionate"- when Israel simultaneously pushes back these threats both in the North and in the South under the added pressure of a biased media, then I'm proud to be a Jew.

I'm proud to be a Jew when the Edinburgh Scottish film festival tells an Israeli director to stay home although his film is being screened and the director says, "No, I'm coming."

I'm proud to be a Jew because Mel Gibson is not a Jew.

I'm proud to be a Jew when the UN's Human Rights Commission consists of countries like Syria, Libya and Iran and Israel is not asked to join.

I'm proud to be a Jew when magician David Blaine announces his trip to Israel next week to entertain the children living in bomb shelters and tells the press he's doing it to encourage other performers to stand up for Israel and its right to defend itself.

I'm proud to be a Jew when a Russian/Israeli businessman single-handed creates not one but two tent cities on the beach to house Israelis fleeing the North and provides shelter, bedding, food and drink, showers and bathrooms-all done without red tape in a matter of 24 hours-to house over 6,000 Israelis, one of whom described it as a "poor man's Club Med."

I am proud to be a Jew when Israelis on the left and on the right support the government's decision to fight-when 97% of the country is united in its own defense-when Israeli's from Jerusalem give shelter to families from Haifa-when food from the Negev is donated to feed soldiers at the front-when the IDF deploys soldiers on special assignments to deliver diapers to shelters and to entertain and calm the frightened children.

I'm proud to be a Jew when the three weeks preceding Tisha B'Av (*) reminds us of the terrible things we have endured as a people and as a nation-and yet immediately thereafter, Hashem offers us consolation, redemption and hope-plus the promise that we shall defeat our enemies, that we shall endure. We shall persevere.

Shalom!

-Author unknown

Windows Vista

I received the new computer a couple of days ago.  So far, I have to say that Windows Vista has neither struck me as particularly bad nor spectacularly good.  For all the fuss, the changes are kind of minimal, or at least they seem so to me - so far.  The new computer's processor is a speedy 2.33 gesuntehaits or whatever it is measured in. It is faster, and if it remains so and doesn't slow down with continual usage, that alone is worth a lot to me.  Blogging is very time consuming, and a faster speed really makes a difference.  Not that I take my blogging all that seriously.  This ain't no professional blog.  But that's even more reason to want a speedy computer.  Sometimes my hobby eats into the time I need to get the things done that I am really supposed to be doing instead of spending time babbling here. Which I enjoy, but as I tell my children, the most enjoyable thing in life is knowing that you are a person of responsibility who gets the things for which you are responsible, done.  And then I hand them a tissue so they can wipe their eyes after they stop laughing at the dorkmom. They actually agree with me, but I'd have to wrestle them to the floor and get them in a half-nelson with a knee pressed firmly into the small of the spine to get them to admit it.

The problems:

1.  Number one problem that I am having a bit of a hard time getting used to is deciding upon screen resolution.  This machine seems determined to get me to keep the resolution at the highest level.  Vista screen colors, by which I think they mean the palatte used in the Windows Vista theme, only works at high resolution.  That's not a big deal, but what is, is that screen becomes substantially more blurry as one decreases resolution.  The highest resolution, 1200 X 1900, while very sharp and crisp, makes all the fonts and pictures very small and more difficult to read.  But when I decrease it, things appear bigger but blurrier.  This was the case on my last computer (and on all computers, in fact) but not nearly to the same extent.

2.  Windows Vista is not compatible with iTunes yet.  iTunes reports that a new compatible version is in development and expected within 3 weeks or so.  I can wait.  I am not looking forward at all to transferring my music.  If I am reading things correctly, iTunes requires you to either transfer everything to CDs (extremely unwieldly if one has a lot of music) or else to somehow use the iPod hard drive in the transfer.  I printed out the instructions for that little maneuver and it came out to 11 some-odd pages and looks complicated as hell.  What a pain in the rear end.

3.  The new laptop is heavier than the old one.  I thought I'd had a 17-inch screen on my last laptop, and so ordered the same on the new one.  Turns out, my last one was only 15-inches.  Given the screen resolution thing, maybe a bigger screen is better - though I'm not sure how screen size works in conjunction with resolution.  But the thing weighs 9 lbs.  It's perfectly fine to schlep room to room, but I would not want to lug it through an airport.

4.  One feature of Windows Vista that is both good and bad is that they add another layer of protection in that asks you for permission to do just about anything on the computer.  Are you SURE you want to load that program?  Really sure?  Really, REALLY sure? Think carefully now, are you really, really REALLY sure?  You get asked security questions more often.  No biggie to me.  I will get used to it and I definitely approve of screening out viruses and unwanted visitors.

What do I like about Windows Vista?  Well, it's aesthetically pleasing.  Pretty colors, new sounds - all novelties that wear off after a few days.  There's a big welcome screen that I haven't decided whether or not I like yet.  I am keeping it there for now, but I imagine I will eventually do away with it.  It provides instant access to stuff I have no interest in, except for maybe the control panel.  Windows also belatedly has supplied a selection of widgets that sit along the right side of the screen.  You can have a clock, stock quotes, headlines, sticky notes and such - all things that one can get off the internet and place on any computer without needing Vista. Another cute little feature is that you can click an icon and see all of the open windows in 3-D, making it slightly easier to switch back and forth.  So, instead of opening and minimizing and opening and minimizing, you can keep everything open at once. 

I have not noticed anything else that is very different from Windows XP.  All in all, the swtch has not been a big deal, and I suppose I am getting used to the screen resolution thing.  A nice thing would be a feature to increase font size across the board while keeping the high resolution.  That may actually exist, but as I've always found with Windows, trying to find out how to do such a thing is damned near impossible, or else so time consuming that I don't want to bother.

This new machine will work out just fine, I suspect.  And in a few weeks, I'll go back to my old laptop to take a peek and will find it feels as foreign to use as this one does now.  You get used to whatever you work on, in my experience.

If any major problems crop up, I am sure I will whine about report them in this space.

 

A Platform I Could Support

It's very early, but so far, I like what Giuliani has to say.  His libertarian emphasis really appeals to me.  I don't really care much about Republican social issues, upon which the article below notes, Giuliani remains unfocused.  I probably disagree with most Republican views on social issues anyway - though certainly not to the point where I'd be willing to vote for a Democrat:

Mayor Giuliani is calling on the Republican Party to redefine itself as "the party of freedom," focusing on lower taxes, school choice, and a health care system rooted in free market principles.

Delivering a policy-driven overview of his presidential platform yesterday, Mr. Giuliani outlined the agenda in a Washington speech before a conservative think tank that sought to make clear distinctions between his vision and that of the Democrats, if not his rivals for the Republican nomination in 2008. The former New York mayor's proposed redefinition of the Republican platform would signal a shift away from any focus on social issues, on which Mr. Giuliani is much less ideologically aligned with the party.

Mr. Giuliani reserved his strongest criticism yesterday for Democrats, but he also said the government's handling of the war on terrorism had done "damage" to America's reputation abroad.

"We have to say to the rest of the world, ‘America doesn't like war,'" Mr. Giuliani said. "America is not a military country. We've never been a militaristic country," he added, saying national leaders have fallen into an "analytical warp" by defining the battle as a war on terrorism and not, as he deemed it, a "war of the terrorists against us."

Oh, yes.  Excellent point.  Here, here.

More than 200 scholars from Stanford University's Hoover Institution greeted Mr. Giuliani warmly, but a few had pointed questions for him. One audience member asked him to respond to a "deep concern" that his background as a mayor had given him little experience in foreign policy.

"What makes you think that the mayor of New York City doesn't need a foreign policy?" Mr. Giuliani shot back, drawing a roar of laughter and applause from the luncheon crowd.

He said that as mayor, he was familiar with every aspect of foreign policy that affected the city in the 1990s, and he added that since he left office in 2001, he has made "91, 92" international trips to "34, 35" countries, often meeting with heads of state or top deputies. "It's something that I think I know as well as anybody else who's running for president, probably better than a lot," he said.

He also cited his company, Giuliani Partners, which he said has done business around the globe. "So I know the world," he concluded.
In his 30-minute speech, Mr. Giuliani focused more on policy than he has in many previous campaign stops. His speech was also notable for its departure from two cornerstones of his candidacy thus far: his record of reducing crime in New York and his experience leading the city after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Instead, Mr. Giuliani talked about taxes, education, and health care, saying they are areas where Republican ideas trump those of Democrats.

Democrats, he said, would want to raise taxes to pay the higher costs of a war. "That shows a dividing line, and to me, a misunderstanding of how our economy works," Mr. Giuliani said. He said that while Republicans believe that the American economy is "essentially a private economy," Democrats "really believe, honest, that it is essentially a government economy."

Sounds good.  Very good.

If only we could short circuit the process and hold the election right now.  Just imagine all of the back and forth, back stabbing, nasty campaigning, going on and on and on and on ad nauseum, we'd be spared...

Destroying Any Hope For Peace

The Israelis painfully moved out of Gaza during the summer of 2005.  Israeli soldiers cried as they moved people from their homes of over 30 years.  Thriving businesses were left, schools, houses - the Palestinians were given everything.  And what did they do? They destroyed the greenhouses, they tore down the homes, burned and desecrated religious sites.  And now this:

The ruins of two large synagogues in evacuated Jewish communities of the Gaza Strip have been transformed into military bases used by Palestinian Arab groups to fire rockets at Israeli cities, according to a senior leader of a Gaza militant group.

When Israel withdrew from the Gaza in August, 2005, it left intact 20 synagogues of the Gush Katif Jewish communities following an Israeli Cabinet decision against demolishing the structures. Immediately after the Israeli evacuation was completed, Palestinian Arabs destroyed most of the Gaza synagogues.

Speaking to The New York Sun from Gaza, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, Abu Abir, said the area in which the synagogues once stood is now used to fire rockets at Israel.

"We are proud to turn these lands, especially these parts that were for long time the symbol of occupation and injustice, like the synagogue, into a military base and source of fire against the Zionists and the Zionist entity," Mr. Abir said.

Mr. Abir blamed the Jewish state for the desecration of the Gaza synagogues by Palestinian Arabs, claiming the decision to leave the structures intact was part of an Israeli conspiracy.

Israel "left the synagogues behind so the world would see the Palestinians destroying them," Mr. Abir said.

They could have been turned into schools, hospitals or libraries.  They could have been used as a symbol of hope and friendship. A gesture of peace was made, and nothing, not a blessed thing, other than hatefulness was returned.

Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right, Here I am...

...stuck in the middle with you:

(Giving credit where it is due, at least Bush was able to identify the problem correctly and has tried, albeit imperfectly, to fix it.)

This Must Be Shared

Al "holier-than-thou" Gore is an energy hog:

Al Gore's Personal Energy Use Is His Own “Inconvenient Truth”

Gore’s home uses more than 20 times the national average

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

The Power of Makeup (Extreme Makeover)

Every ugly duckling, a swan.

Like to Read Good Blogs?

Shannon is blogging again.  This woman can write. 

She's been through a blow recently, and I've found that she has a great ability to describe precisely what she's feeling in a way that I can so relate to, though we are miles apart in age and background.  So, though it's a terrible cliche, I will say it anyway - I feel her pain.  To be young and sad is simply not allowed - especially in one so talented, thoughtful and bright.  But she's only sad because she allows herself to feel things deeply, and I can't fault her for that.

Shannon blogs about wideranging subjects from current events to movies to law and politics. If you like to read good blogs, go take a look.  I hope she receives lots of encouragement so she keeps writing.

The UN's Antisemitism

How to cure every ill in the world according to the UN's Dugard report: Stop "Judaizing" Israel. Hateful hateful stuff.

Fifty-nine Years

And the Arabs still can't get used to the idea of Israel's existence.  What is it going to take?

In the Arab Mind, Peace Equals Capitulation - Saul Singer (Jerusalem Post)

• As hard as it is for us to comprehend, we must accept that in the Arab mind, peace with Israel - far from success - still represents capitulation, humiliation and defeat.
• The Arab-Israeli peace that is a shining prize in Western eyes would be a source of shame and mourning for much of the Muslim world.
• In Western eyes, peace is so obviously desirable that the idea that it could be seen negatively is rarely considered. But try, for a moment, to look at the situation through Arab eyes. Peace would be the ultimate ratification of Israel's existence. It would be seen as an abject surrender to the West's bid to dominate the Arabs.
• The most pro-peace policy is the one that most convinces the Arabs of Israel's permanence. When it comes to a "political horizon," the problem is not that the Arabs cannot see a Palestinian state, but that they can see a Jewish one.
• The Arab world will settle for a Palestinian state only when it is convinced of the permanence of Israel.

Would rational minds not say, "enough is enough?" 

The truth is, when they accept Israel, they will win so much more than they will lose.   

Weather

Weather.com reported that we were going to receive 1-3 inches of snow followed by rain.  We actually received about 5-6 inches of snow.  I don't know whether it rained or not, but the snow was still very much in existence when I woke up this morning. Everything is about to turn into a big gloppy mess  - if temperature predictions are correct, we should be in the high 40s today and tomorrow and in the 50s by Wednesday.

And that's the DC area weather report brought to you by Gail.

In other news, for a complex set of reasons, middle son has decided that he is going to begin college early - this summer rather than in the fall. Maybe I'll begin speaking to him again one day.  I'll give it some serious consideration when he presents me with a few grandkids, I guess.   

Oh

These little guys are totally adorable. 

Snow Photos

All taken within the past hour. The snow continues to fall heavily.

 

Yup. That's Me.

According to experts, my personality type is : Adult Film Star Other people like me display these traits. They work in fast food resturants They suffer from bowel problems They go commando They listen to Brittany Spears Take the Ink Blot Personality Quiz at JokesUnlimited.com

Via The Other Side

Yay!!

Middle son was just admitted to Penn State - his first choice school.

Experiment in Sepia

Antediluvian Arabian Punishment

Saudi Arabia hangs and then publicly crucifies four expats

Saudi Arabia hanged and then crucified four Sri Lankan expats convicted of robbery and put their mutilated bodies in public display, according to the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry.

Human Rights groups have condemned the action by Saudi Authorities for executing without prior notification the men who were originally only sentenced to imprisonment.

“The execution of these four migrants, who had been badly beaten and locked up for years without access to lawyers, is a travesty of justice,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “International law only allows states to use the death penalty for the most serious crimes and in the most stringent of circumstances – and neither condition was met in this case.”

The Sri Lankan embassy identified the men as Victor Corea, Ranjith Silva, Sanath Pushpakumara and Shamila Sangeeth Kumara.

The men were convicted for armed robbery by the General Court in Riyadh according to a judgment delivered in October 2004, but Amnesty International alleged that the trial did not meet minimum international standards of justice.

The Sri Lanka Embassy in Riyadh, responsible for around 350,000 Sri Lankan migrants are estimated to be working in Saudi Arabia, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo had been closely following up this case and the Government presented two appeals for clemency first by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and subsequently by President Mahinda Rajapakse to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

The latter appeal was delivered by hand by the President’s Special Envoy Minister Hon. A H M Fowzie, Minister of Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development to Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh on 29th May 2006.

Amnesty International reported that Saudi Arabia has executed 17 persons already in 2007.

Cameras are Nifty

I love the close up lens.  Instant gratification - this took minimal effort:

I call it, "Colored pencils on glass."  Mainly 'cause that's what it is.

Tried out the tripod last night and the polarizing and density filters and the wide angle lens today. The night shots were nothing special - hardly worth the time it took to schlep the tripod outside and expose them.  Below is the sun surrounded by blurry details.  Eh, very so-so.  I'd give it an F+, with the plus only given for effort. I have some practicing to do:

Jewish Law and Torture

As always, Jewish law comes down on the side of individual responsibility and conscience.

As usual, it is likely that there will be dissenting Jewish opinions. As the old saying goes - - 2 Jews, 3 opinions.

Jewish law is subject to argument and thousands of years of interpretation, some of which may be remodeled with each generation as times and circumstances change. The point is to think, to study what came before, to discuss the opinions of the sages, to learn, to grow, and to listen to one's conscience. 

The "ticking bomb" scenario is a well-known ethical dilemma, and Rabbi Bleich's approach is quite different than the usual ones. In a "duty ethics" approach, some acts are considered absolute wrongs. Either they can never be sanctioned, or can only be sanctioned in the presence of a higher duty. So we would either prohibit torture categorically, or else weigh its harm against the interrogator's ethical duty of rescue. In a "consequentialist ethics" approach, the question is more quantifiable: does the benefit to the potential victims outweigh the suffering of the informant as well as the potential for ethical deterioration if torture becomes commonplace?

According to Rabbi Bleich, in Jewish law the hinge of the argument is the obligation of the informant himself to help others. In this surprising fashion, the sanction for torture becomes an expression of his humanity, rather than of his inhumanity. We are allowed to cause him pain precisely because we insist, despite his enmity, on viewing him as someone who has his own ethical obligations to his fellow human beings. This seems to me an innovative and uniquely humane way of looking at this challenging ethical dilemma.

Read the whole thing.

Oh, Don't Even Get Me Going

When push comes to shove, the majority of Americans are strong, brave and determined to win. 

May every soul sucking, naysaying, nattering nabob of negativity, "progressive," fracking granola-eating (oh hell, I like granola too, but you know what I mean), yellow-bellied, cowardly, anti-American, Eurocreepyphile, myopic, roadblocking, marching, protesting, Israel-bashing, multi-culti hypocrite who makes it appear differently to the rest of the world, fry in hell.

Here's how the majority of America, from the mountains to the prairies, to the oceans, white with foam, feels about turning tail and retreating from the battle in Iraq:

In a dramatic finding, a new poll shows a solid majority of Americans still wants to win the war in Iraq - and keep U.S. troops there until the Baghdad government can take over.

Strong majorities also say victory is vital to the War on Terror and that Americans should support President Bush even if they have concerns about the way the war is being handled, according to the survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies.

The poll found that 57 percent of Americans supported "finishing the job in Iraq" - keeping U.S. troops there until the Iraqis can provide security on their own. Forty-one percent disagreed.

By 53 percent to 43 percent they also believe victory in Iraq over the insurgents is still possible.

Despite last November's electoral victories by anti-war Democrats, the survey found little support among voters for a quick pullout of U.S. forces.

Only 25 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement, "I don't really care what happens in Iraq after the U.S. leaves, I just want the troops brought home." Seventy-four percent disagreed.

The survey was conducted before last week's House of Representatives resolution repudiating Bush's war policies.

But by 53 percent to 46 percent, Americans said Democrats are going too far, too fast in demanding troop withdrawals.

You want freedom?  FIGHT for it, you pathetic cretinous morons.

I can call you any name in the book and feel completely safe.  Oh, you'd be brave online, but face to face, I am convinced I could beat the crud out of you - and I am a 50-year old woman.  Why?  Because if you had a shred of fight in you, you wouldn't want us to retreat.  When the going gets tough, the weak start kvetching and pewling about how the US is becoming a nazi state, and that they are losing their precious freedom.  And what freedom is that?  The freedom to hide from conflict.  The freedom to be cowardly.

I submit that every single anti-war American is a coward.  I base that upon the fact that retreat and loss of this war is unarguably bad for our country in every possible way - from the fact that it strengthens the enemy, it allows him to rebuild and regroup and come back stronger next time, to the negative way we will be perceived by the rest of the world for being too weak and ineffective to prevail.  If you won't fight for our good and for the good of our children and coming generations, then you are a coward. 

Period.  End of story.

So, it seems you are a minority.  But strangely enough, you are acting as if you are not.  The only reason you are able to do so is that you are supported by the mainstream media, who is as cowardly as you are.

The day the hands of the stronger, more courageous majority become tied by the weak and cowardly minority will be the beginning of the end for this country and for world freedom.

Britain is giving up.  And I see Denmark is withdrawing their 450 man (whoa baby) contingent. The cowards will whip themselves into a mouthfoaming frenzy, wanting to follow suit. And those of us who want to fight and prevail, do so to preserve the freedom of the naysayers to be able to publically express their misguided and stupid opinions.

Summary:

1.  We fight for freedom against the tyranny of terrorism and Islamofascism.

2.  Those screaming for their freedom (from having to fight along with us) stand in the way.

3.  They are a minority.

4.  The weak and cowardly minority may very well inexplicably succeed in hamstringing the strong and braver majority.

5.  Resulting in loss of freedom for all.

And thus, what should be simple black and white is turned to nuanced, mulicultural, politically correct mud. 

Just a Spoonful of SugarHelps the Antisemitism Go Down

Small packets of sugar bearing the likeness of Adolf Hitler and carrying Holocaust jokes have been found in some cafes in Croatia, prompting an investigation, the office of the state prosecutor said on Monday.

"The local district attorney in (the eastern town of) Pozega has opened an investigation and is currently looking at the matter," said Martina Mihordin.

The Novi List daily newspaper reported that officials at a small factory in Pozega have confirmed the sugar packs were produced on their premises.

The incident will embarrass the government which has been keen to play down the country's past links with Nazism.

Croatia's Ustasha regime sided with the Nazis in World War Two and enforced ethnic laws under which thousands of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies, as well as anti-fascist Croats, were killed in local concentration camps in 1941-45.

The Jerusalem-based anti-Nazi Simon Wiesenthal Center said in a statement it had protested the matter to Croatia's authorities.

Its director, Efraim Zuroff, expressed his "revulsion and disgust that such an item could be produced these days in a country in which the Holocaust not only took place, but was for the most part carried out by local Nazi collaborators."

"If nothing else, this is a disgusting expression of nostalgia for the Third Reich and a period during which Jews, Serbs and Gypsies were mass-murdered (in Croatia)," it said.

Lovely.  A lovely people, with lovely thoughts and lovely ideas.

As Spock Would Say...

Fascinating.

Mark writes:

So, if I were to ask you what British group had the first Number 1 American hit and the biggest British instrumental single record sales to date you would say The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, right?

Mark says you'd be wrong, and provides: The group, the YouTube song and some Trekkie trivia.

First Shots

First ever pics taken (by me) using a new close up lens attachment (a magnifying lens) on a Sony DSC-H5:

 

Close up of the lens storage bag, in case you are curious.

So far, I love the camera except for the problem that many have mentioned with it - very short battery life.  Carrying an extra set of charged batteries will solve that, though.  I took some pics in my bedroom early this morning before it became completely light.  It was incredible - the camera compensated (it was on auto - I had nothing to do with it) and the photos came out looking like they were taken in broad daylight.  Next experiment: Taking pics using only ambient light and no flash.

Tough week, Not Much Sleep...

Warning: Extremely annoying whining ahead.

The visit with daughter was great, but I am left tired and a bit on edge - - it was an extremely busy week. She may be coming home for good sooner than expected, and I suddenly feel like a woman giving birth prematurely.  I need a few more months to prepare!!!

Husband left for a business trip in Los Angeles early this morning, and took my beloved laptop with him. He has decided that he needs a portable computer because he does a lot of traveling for his job and his Blackberry is no longer sufficient.  So, he is going to use my laptop and I am to get a new one.  I can't very well complain - - but any sentence that begins that way is the beginning of a litany of complaints, of course. Complaint list:

1.  Husband didn't inform me that he wanted to take my laptop until the last minute. Daughter left yesterday (sob), husband will be gone until Friday (sob) and now my computer is gone too. (Sound of Gail falling completely apart) 

2.  We are left with two computers and three internet addicts in the house (me plus 2 sons) for 4 days.  They are younger and stronger than I, but I am much sneakier and more determined.

3.  I went online yesterday and impulsively bought a new Dell.  Eldest son said they had the best warranty - which you pay for, of course.  We'd been burned in the past when we bought him a new computer when he left for college.  We purchased it at Circuit City, and I bought their fracking useless and extremely expensive 4-year warranty, figuring with him living in a college dorm, traveling back and forth to class, coming home for visits, etc, it would be a good idea.  Well, son was in school for no more than a month when he spilled a cup of coffee on it and fried it completely. Oh, but we had an extended warranty!  Yeah, you are smarter than I am and already figured out the stupidity inherent in that thought, didn't you? The warranty did not cover accidents. One month old laptop - completely ruined, and no recourse. (He had to make do for the next couple of years with my husband's ancient Toshiba.  Husband is much nicer than I and gave it up without a whimper.  Then again, he barely used it, and didn't miss it). 

Forward to my order from Dell this weekend.  It costs a lot more, but THEIR warranty covers everything and anything that can happen to the laptop except for acts of nature like floods and lightning, or deliberate breakage as in losing it and throwing the damned thing against the wall.  So far have I've never lost it to that point...But they will replace it completely if, through any act of unintended stupidity or through any technical glitch, it should be rendered useless.

4.  I think I overpaid.  Or maybe not.  I don't know. I shopped impulsively because I felt pressed for time.  I do need a computer - I work on it, I keep track of stuff on it, I keep in touch with people on it, I read news on it, I shop on it, I blog on it and I am dependent upon it. And so I felt a sense of urgency.  And I thought that if I ordered it yesterday, I'd pay for fed-ex shipping and have it today. (Count up Gail's stupid mistakes that you find as you read though this.  Tally them up and be glad that you are smarter than I.  Whatever you do, don't tell me the total at the end.) 

I wanted that warranty, and I wanted Dell's technical support.  I looked online and read reviews, and everything seemed to say that this was a good computer.  After ordering the thing however, I kept reading and came across a little tidbit about Dell which I'd known but completely forgotten.  That is: They farm their technical support out to a foreign country which shall remain nameless in my attempt to be PC and not insult anyone.  The educated citizens of this place may very well be - ok , they are -  a technically adept people. They are bright, they are polite.  They WANT to help.  The one problem is - they don't speak intelligible English.   And anything that is done with them takes hours, and is complicated, and one is never quite sure that one is understanding what they are saying, what the problem is, or what to do about it.  I've dealt with them before, but I'd totally forgotten.

5.  Windows Vista.  I couldn't very well buy a new computer without also buying the latest OS software.  Damn, I should have gotten a Mac, shouldn't I.  I thought about it.  If I'd had a bit more time, I'd have gone down to the Apple store and really taken a close look - - but I recently read that though Macs are more user-friendly and less buggy, they are slower than PC are.

I want fast.  I can't stand slow computers.  I want that URL up there on my screen yesterday.  I do not want to be left drooling and staring at a blank screen and a spinning cursor for one moment longer than I have to.  And so, I decided against the Mac.

But now I have to learn a new OS.  And it's so new, they haven't worked all the bugs out of it yet. And I am left wondering if I've made a mistake.  And with this computer's warranty, I will never get rid of it, will I?  Anything that happens to it, it can be fixed or replaced.  I will never have an excuse to get anything different again.  I will forever be chained to Dell and their English-mangling tech support people.

(Alisa - that is called "computer claustrophobia")   

6.  I won't get the new laptop for over a week.  Now I've ordered it, I want it.  What's taking so long? Oh, they offer fed-ex shipping.  The only problem is, they apparently don't make the computer until you order it.  Or they are made, but everyone wants something different - processor, memory, software, etc, and so each must be finished to order.

I am certain this will not be the last of my griping.  Stay tuned for when the thing arrives. Last time around, I bought from a store.  I could see and touch the product.  I could lift it and see how heavy it was.  I have a feeling this new one is going to weigh a ton.  Husband, who is really such a good guy for offering to steal take my computer and buy me a complex unwanted replacement, will simply have to carry it for me when we travel.

I should have gotten the 12-inch screen featherweight ThinkPad instead of the Dell, shouldn't I?

Aaaargh.

 

Star Trek Alert

Oh dear.  I fear that I have revealed my true inner Trekkie nerdlike nature by reporting on every piece of Trek flotsam and jetsam that passes my way. Fortunately, you can't actually see me wearing my Vulcan ears as I post this latest.

The History Channel will be presenting 3 shows on Trek over the next week, begiining tomorrow.  One is called Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier.  The description from the website:

For forty years Star Trek has engrossed our imaginations and sent us on voyages across the galaxy. Through ten films and five series this entertainment juggernaut has become a pop culture icon and a window to our society. We will look at the impact that Star Trek has had on fans around the world. From the conventions in Europe and Las Vegas to the billionaire collector who scours the world for memorabilia, we will try to find out just what it is about this supposedly "silly" series that has meant so much to so many. Leonard Nimoy hosts.

The next - How William Shatner Changed the World (Sorry, but no, this show is not about his brilliant dramatic singing talent):

You've got a cell phone at one ear, an iPod at the other. You know that Blackberry is now a verb and Spam is not only canned meat. But just how did we get here? Blame William Shatner--yes, that William Shatner--Captain Kirk. We'll boldly go where few have gone before to reveal how scientists, inspired by the series, would revolutionize medicine and are surpassing the far-out vision of the future foreshadowed in Star Trek in the 1960s. From cell phones to computers to even leading-edge medical advancements, this 2-hour special explores how those sci-fi inventions have now permeated everyday life as we know it. Hosted and narrated by Shatner and based on his book, I'm Working on That, we'll meet the brightest minds of Silicon Valley and the Trek-inspired inventions that have help change the world.

And finally, Star Trek Tech:

For forty years Star Trek has engulfed our imagination and sent us on voyages across the galaxy. We'll take a look at the technology behind the gadgets used in the series such as phasers and communicators, and tell their stories from the people who knew them best--the actors, producers and prop men.

My recommendation:

Click the links provided to find out when the shows will air, watch them, live long and prosper.

New Toys and Things

I bought a new camera and am itching to try it out, but I haven't had the time.  Prior to the advent of digital cameras, I used an aperture-priority SLR Nikon.  I am and have always been a complete novice, and never got around to complete understanding of what I was doing, but I did know how to isolate an image and have it come out in sharp focus while the surroundings were blurred using a small f-stop/large aperture setting, and I had a fabulous long telephoto lens that looked supercool and brought far away bits of the world considerably closer, though my camera was not one of the more expensive models so the lens was far bigger and heavier than the body of the camera was, which made for a lot of shake and blur at times. I also liked to experiment with macro photography, and took lots of close ups of flowers way back when.  Never got very far with it and would love to try it again.   

It's hard to keep up with any hobbies when you've got three little kiddies buzzing around you who require constant attention, and so I stopped taking pictures other than vacation photos.  Eventually, I ended up getting an inexpensive digital point-and-shoot Casio, which actually took some nice pictures on occasion.  But I began to find it very lacking and frustrating in low-light situations.  One in particular was in a very old synagogue in Spain this past summer.  They had a "no photography" rule, but something in me felt very rebellious and I decided the hell with the rules.  Synagogues were denied to Jews, burned and torn down, Jews were ejected from Spain, etc etc, and damn it, I was going to take home a piece of one just because I fricking could.  It was mine as much as anyone else's. So, when one of the guards appeared to be elsewhere, I quickly snapped a couple of pictures.  Well, she saw the flash, and I was reprimanded quite severely (the old battle-axe) in front of a great many tourists.  And after all of that, the pictures didn't even come out well. 

But anyway, if I'd had a camera that could deal with low light, I could have taken a picture without a flash.  Possibly, I'd have needed a tripod though, because when you take a picture in low light you need to have a slow shutter speed and even the most steady hand isn't steady enough - it comes out blurred. No way I could have kept a tripod hidden...

If you aren't into photography, it all might sound very technical and mysterious, but I assure you, the level of knowledge I possess is not.  I learned it myself through reading camera manuals and a couple of photography books. I find the challenge of learning the equipment and manipulating variables to be fun - even when the results aren't so special. (More often than not, the results are not so special. Would I love to be able to do anyting even close to this...)   

Currently, I am very tempted to just go out and buy the telephoto and wide angle lenses that Sony makes for the camera I purchased, but I am wondering if, when we sightsee, I will have the patience to change lenses.  Actually, I know I will have the patience to change lenses, the question is, will my husband have the patience to stand around waiting while I do?  He will, but I will feel bad making him do it, and I will rush through shots because of it. 

I bought the new camera in preparation for our next trip (to Budapest and Prague) which will be coming up in about 6 weeks.  We will visit several old synagogues, and I intend to be able to photograph them.  I also dearly want to be able to take night shots.  I have seen some spectacular things at night when we've traveled, and shoot them only to end up with pictures that look like this:

I am thinking of getting a light weight tripod and maybe I will get the lenses too, and the polarizing filter. 

At this point in time, I have a devil on one shoulder saying "Do it!  Buy it!  Gimme gimme!" and an angel on the other saying, "Isn't it enough just to have the camera?  What are you doing spending so much money on something so frivolous?"

I will try to gin up the willpower to not buy the bells and whistles for now.  I'll use the camera for a couple of weeks first and...

Oh hell, who am I kidding? I'm going to buy the stuff.  I might as well do it now.

I honestly don't feel the need to spend lots of $$ on things.  And it's rare when I feel I have to have something to the point where I keep coming back to it and thinking about it. But I keep googling the lenses and tripods and cases and stuff and checking the prices and the specifications...Knowing me, when it reaches this point, I will not be able to resist. 

I am really looking forward to this trip.  It is the last fling before taking up serious parental duties again (in June) for a couple of years. For those following the story, daughter's visit is going very well.  I think she's going to be coming home for good.

Keeping all toes and fingers crossed that things go well. I can see many challenges and stumbling blocks in the road ahead.  Donations of wisdom, courage, strength, patience, and energy gratefully accepted.

The Worst Kind of Snow to Shovel

A layer of icy snow next to the ground, topped with a layer of wet, heavy snow, covered by a layer of crusted icy snow.

Blogger Conference Call With Netanyahu

Treppenwitz describes a very interesting blogger conference call with former Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu and provides an audio link so you can listen.

I like Netanyahu's politics and view.  He is extremely convincing about the dangers posed by a nuclear Iran, and in my opinion, he is better than most at seeing and describing the entire forest, rather than getting bogged down by individual trees. 

I'll admit, I am a fan of ham-handed, slam-the-enemy-down-with-a-fist methodology of world leadership - of course only carried out by those of whom I approve.  As far as I am concerned, the world could be run by the likes of Netanyahu, President Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and the writers of Commentary Magazine and National Review, and I wouldn't complain about a thing.

To me that means being intolerant of those who are intolerant (euphemism for beating the living cr*p out of them) until they become docile, peaceful, hold down a decent job, own a house and a stock portfolio, are contributors to world good, and no longer interested in being godforsaken evil-assed terrorists.   

No, I don't think we can get there by being nice to them anymore than the world could have been rid of WW2 fascism by interviewing Hitler on 60 Minutes and employing psychologists to help us "understand" the nazis and their collective childhoods.

Netanyahu makes the right noises, as far as I am concerned.  I have no patience for namby-pamby liberalism in a time of war. Shut them up and let the strong pro-active people get to work and do what has to be done. 

And that's my rant of the day.

Also:  Don't miss SoccerDad's commentary on the conference call as well as a report on another call involving Dr. Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the UN. He has links to posts from other bloggers who were involved in the calls as well.   

Haveil Havalim

Edition #106 is up at Random Thoughts.  Lots of great links regarding Jewish and Israeli issues.  Don't miss it.

Elie Wiesel Attacked in SF

Holocaust scholar Eli Wiesel attacked in S.F.

Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace-prize-winning Holocaust survivor and scholar, was grabbed and pulled out of a San Francisco hotel elevator last week -- and now police and Jewish groups are mounting a intensive search for his attacker.

A blogger boasted about the Feb. 1 incident on an anti-Zionist Web site based in Australia on Wednesday, prompting the first media reports. The blogger claimed he had been trailing Wiesel for weeks and wrote he intended to get ``a cornered Wiesel'' to come to his room and renounce the Holocaust on video. The posting also suggests the attacker was seeking publicity from the attack on the 78-year-old Wiesel.

Wiesel, a respected human rights activist, strong supporter of Israel and author of more than 40 fiction and non-fiction books, was in San Francisco to speak at a forum on conflict resolution. Of his books, he is best known for ``Night,'' a memoir of his experience in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

On Friday, San Francisco police described Wiesel's attacker as a white man in his 20s. A spokesman for the Anti-Defamation League, which is working to identify the attacker, said police believe the man is from the East Coast, not the Bay Area.

Wiesel was unharmed, and police were called shortly after the 6:30 p.m. altercation. Wiesel told police he was in an elevator, heading back to his room at the Argent Hotel, when a young man asked Wiesel if he could interview him about the Holocaust. Wiesel said yes, but suggested they go to the lobby. The attacker insisted that Wiesel go with him to his room and then grabbed Wiesel, pulling him out of the elevator and dragging him into the hall.

``Mr. Wiesel started screaming and was able to run away,'' San Francisco police spokesman Sgt. Neville Gittens said. Wiesel went to the lobby and police were called. Police then gave Wiesel a ride to the airport.

A Feb. 7 posting on ZioPedia.org, attributed to an Eric Hunt, describes a similar incident. Police have refused to identify a suspect. The Anti-Defamation League said a daylong search Friday turned up no Eric Hunt connected to anti-Semitic Web postings and that the name did not appear in files the organization keeps of those whom it considers to be potential extremists.

The Hunt posting reads: ``I had planned to bring Wiesel to my hotel room, where he would truthfully answer my questions regarding the fact that his non-fiction Holocaust memoir, Night, is almost entirely fictitious.''

And it adds that he ``planned on either getting Wiesel into my custody, with a cornered Wiesel finally forced to state the truth on videotape, getting arrested, or fleeing, and either way exposing . . . a genocidal liar.''

He also complained that Wiesel ``never called the police.'' Police were called but did not put out a news release.

Neither Wiesel, in New York City, nor his representatives could be reached for comment Friday.

Jonathan Bernstein, a spokesman for the Anti-Defamation League's local chapter, said the organization's researchers have been scouring the web for any clues to Eric Hunt's identity, but so far have come up empty.

Bernstein said ZioPedia is a well-known forum for anti-Semitic views. Calls and an e-mail to the site's registered owner, Andrew Winkler, who has been described as a founder of the Sydney-based Rebel Media Group -- the non-profit organization behind the blog -- were not returned.

Bernstein said his group finds the Hunt posting ``a little bit odd.''

The posting appears to be written by someone ``who is rather knowledgeable about the Holocaust denial movement, and not someone in his 20s.'' His speculation is that the posting may have been written by someone else using the attacker's account of the San Francisco incident.

Bernstein said the Hunt posting echoed writings of Robert Faurisson, a Frenchman who is considered to be Europe's leading anti-Holocaust scholar.

Bernstein said he could not recall any publicized incident of Wiesel being accosted previously.

``Security is kind of an issue for someone like Wiesel,'' said Bernstein, adding of Holocaust deniers: ``He embodies everything they are against.''

Light Blogging

My daughter is arriving this afternoon for a ten day visit.  Not sure how much time I will have to devote to blogging.  So if you come by and see little activity here, that is why.  I am not dead or ill or kidnapped by slavetraders. 

I am spending time with my delightful and delicious daughter.

The Syncopated Blog

I remember this tune being played as theme music for afternoon movies on TV way back when. It brings back memories of early childhood for me. 

Warning: Play at your own risk. It could remain in your head for the rest of the day.

Information on the piece may be found here.