Saturday, December 26, 2009 - Motzei Shabbat

1. Boxing Day - Today is "Boxing Day" in Canada. According to Wikipedia, the name of the holiday

"...derives from the tradition of giving seasonal gifts, on the day after Christmas, to less wealthy people and social inferiors, which was later extended to various workpeople such as labourers and servants.

The traditional recorded celebration of Boxing Day has long included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, the needy and people in service positions. The European tradition has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown and there are some claims that it goes back to the late Roman/early Christian era.

In the United Kingdom it certainly became a custom of the nineteenth century Victorians for tradesmen to collect their 'Christmas boxes' or gifts in return for good and reliable service throughout the year on the day after Christmas."

However, for me, today is "Boxing Day" in another sense. Reading today's Halifax morning newspaper, I came across this little ditty;
"N.S. postal worker to join Gaza march

Nova Scotia postal worker Toni MacAfee is spending the Christmas holidays in Gaza.

Ms. MacAfee, the Atlantic region education and organization officer with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, is part of a Canadian delegation participating in the Gaza Freedom March. More than 1,300 activists are expected to travel from Cairo to Gaza to witness the devastation from last year’s Israeli invasion, a union news release states."


I was so upset that I felt like putting on some boxing gloves and throwing some haymakers. However, since I fight better with words, I composed this letter to the editor:

Some Context Please

To The Editor:

Isn’t it just special that a CUPW representative is traveling to Gaza on a “Freedom March”? The union news release that was quoted refers to the so-called “Israeli invasion” a year ago, but somehow omits the 10,000 or so rockets fired from that very Gaza at Israeli civilian targets from 2001-2009, including after August 2005, when there was no Israeli presence in Gaza whatsoever.

By the way, when the CUPW representative returns, be sure to ask her to talk about the freedoms of speech, religion, press and assembly she experienced in Gaza, not to mention her observations regarding the roles of women and trade unions. And finally, please ask her to comment on the steel fence that Egypt is building on its border with Gaza, the sole purpose of which is to keep the Palestinians out of Egypt.


2. Oh Please - Lebanon, which is under the thumb of Syria and Iran, has a spot on the UNSC? UN gift for Iran - Israel Opinion, Ynetnews.

3. Iran Update - As usual, lots of entries here:
4. Jimmah's Apology - Some interesting perspectives:


6. Another Separation Wall - This doesn't make it to the MSM either - Shhh…Mubarak is building a wall - Hudson New York.

7. Gilad Schalit - Can you imagine any other country that allows itself to have a similar dilemma - Opinion: When killers go free | Op-Ed Contributors | Jerusalem Post and Pajamas Media » Israel’s Shalit Dilemma.


8. Efraim Halevy - I read his book "Man in the Shadows", which I found interesting but not scintillating. Here is an interview from the year-end issue of the Canadian newsmagazine MacLeans - Maclean’s Interview: Efraim Halevy - The Interview - Macleans.ca

9. Wise Words - The West has work to do

10. Pope Pius XII - Should the World War II-era Pope be designated as a Saint? Why make him a saint? and Commentary » Blog Archive » Vatican’s Pius Plea Does Little to Help.








For while it’s certainly true that one shouldn’t bring a gun to a snowball fight, it’s even less advisable to bring a snowball to a gunfight. This was the District of Columbia, after all, where people have been shot dead on far less provocation than being smacked in the puss with a snowball.


18. LipDub - From Boston University (where my daughter is a freshman - or is she a "freshperson"?) The man shown at the very start is Dean Kenneth Elmore - one of the coolest university administrators I have ever met!

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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousDecember 29, 2009 at 11:45 AM

    Why indeed has CUPE dismissed any concerns about the Jewish loss of life and the events that led up to the Gaza incursion? Why is the Jewish community not more vociferous? Why are we still playing the morally superiour card by refraining to protest about their ways of life? Why is the media reluctant to post the hairy stuff found on Arabic sites that are terrifying so that the Canadian public can have a more balanced pictures about why we are so disturbed by their agenda? Your words are precise and to the point but are they being heard? My fear is that the hype and momentum that they engender makes sure that the truth about them is never known because well intentioned citizens get caught up in the moment and by the time they wake up it may be too late. A.S.

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