Motzei Shabbat - January 9, 2010

1. How Come No One Says a Word? - Egypt declares UK politician George Galloway persona non grata Headlines News Jerusalem Post and Commentary » Blog Archive » Egypt Does PR Right.



3. Israel - An Apartheid State? This article is from Ha'aretz, which is known to be well to the left of centre -Akiva Eldar / Is there really a difference between Israel and apartheid South Africa? - Haaretz - Israel News - it does not surprise me to see it published there.

I think that the author makes a huge and erroneous leap from the facts in first paragraph of the story to his apartheid analysis, as well as either missing, misstating or ignoring many other factors. There are a number of good responses to the author's points in the comments section below the article - they won't be hard to spot.

I have included the article here to show how easily Israelis (and Jews) attack themselves and that such material is readily available in a main-stream Israeli newspaper. If we are going to advocate for Israel, we need to be aware of this type of material to be able to meaningfully respond to it.

4. Never Paid Attention To This - Why Jews Hate Palin


5. Perspectives on Ariel Sharon - still in a coma, some 4 years later - Rip Van Sharon - by Seth Lipsky > Tablet Magazine - A New Read on Jewish Life.


6. Iran - Ahmadinejad: Iran will not fall on its knees | Iranian - Iran News | Jerusalem Post - oh, and by the way, we have no issue with the ordinary Iranian - it's the brutally repressive, genocidal, terrorist supporting thugs at the top we don't like (Hey "Ahmadinejad" - that means you!)




8. Conversion to Judaism - one of the really hot button internal Jewish issues, particularly as between Israel and North America - Return Conversion to the Rabbis – Forward.com - and the author is no left wing liberal, but the past president of the Rabbinical Council of America.


10. Probably Just An Isolated Incident - That is what Janet Napolitano would say - Mumbai Chabad receives threat JTA - Jewish & Israel News - I mean, who would attack a Chabad House in Mumbai?

And using Napolitano as my segue to the airline story, here are some related articles:



12. The Epitome of Grace - On Thursday evening, the Texas Longhorns and the Alabama Crimson Tide met in the NCAA national championship football game. On the 5th offensive play for Texas, Colt McCoy, their senior starting quarterback and likely the key to their chance to win, was injured and was unable to return to the game. Alabama eventually won the game and the national championship. Interviewed after the game, I though McCoy displayed remarkable grace in a terrible situation. I must say that I do not usually like it when a player or coach flaunts their religion in these types of interviews, but I found his comments to be sincere and low-key. Judge for yourself.

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Friday, January 8, 2010

1. If This is An Issue, What Hope Is There? Iran soccer chief apologizes for Israel greeting - CNN.com

2. While They're Open, Let's Get To The Truth About Pope Pius XII - Vatican unlocks its secret archives - thestar.com





5. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - The Deadly Price of Pursuing Peace

6. Airport Security - a variety of articles, including one from the Halifax paper with, naturally, a complaint - I can see the ACLU and their fellow travelers (no pun intended) going berserk over this:


Also, see this interview of Ed Koch:









12. Hockey News - To the chagrin of many, the Canadian National Junior hockey team lost the championship game 6-5 (in overtime) to a very deserving US team. This broke a streak of 5 straight gold medals for the Canadian team. While the games themselves are great (once the teams get on a equal footing - Canada beat Latvia in the opening game by an 18-0 score), the exclusive media coverage by Canadian sports channel TSN has come under a lot of criticism - Chris Selley: The five golden rules of broadcasting the World Junior Hockey Championships - Full Comment#commentmessage#commentmessage.

I love hockey, but guys.....it's a game....

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Sunday, January 3, 2010

The first blog entry of 2010 - I am afraid that there will be the same themes as last year, starting with.....

1. Iran - If anyone had any notional deadlines of December 31, 2009, well, the clock struck midnight a few days ago:
2. Lebanon and Syria - The Murdered Fathers Club


3. Airport Security - Stories abound on this issue resulting from the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack by a member of some unnamed religious group, from the "failure" of the Western airport security model, to the superiority of the Israeli model, to whether the Obama Administration is waking up, to the pros and cons of profiling.


5. Enraged Member of Unnamed Religious Group Attacks Cartoonist - Somali shot after allegedly attempting to attack Danish cartoonist - CNN.com - OK, I'll let you in on the surprise - "Buddy" was a Muslim.....hey - wait a minute, so was that guy up above in item 2 - is this a trend worth observing?




7. Another Useful Idiot - 2009 gave us the "Goldstone Report" - here is a good article from November that is well worth the read - The Goldstone Illusion | The New Republic



9. Catch-Phrases - Since I am not a big fan of political correctness, I am also not a huge fan of meaningless catch-phrases that often serve to do more than muddy an issue with imprecise language - The catchphrase of the decade. - By Ron Rosenbaum - Slate Magazine



11. Yale - Oh, to reside in an ivory tower - Pajamas Media » Yale Wimps Out Again

12. Winter Classic - In my opinion, one of the great things that the National Hockey League does is to play one game per year outdoors - previous games have been held in Edmonton (the so-called "Heritage Classic", where the temperature hit -30C with windchill), Buffalo and Chicago.

This year's edition was held at Fenway Park in Boston - Boston beat Philadelphia 2-1 in overtime.

Here's how they got the "rink" ready (after the obligatory commercial):

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

1. Iran (What Else?) - Lots of new unrest in Iran coincidental with the Shiite holiday of Ashura. The Iranian Government seems to be cracking down even harder. What will happen next?

2. Dry Bones - I often post cartoons by the Israeli cartoonist "Dry Bones" - his real name is Yaakov Kirschen - because they are so witty and often illustrate a serious point in a moment as well as could an exhaustively researched article that would take an hour to read and digest. But he is not just witty - he really understands the underlying issues - as, I think, is evident from this link to a current cartoon and explanatory article - Quiz - the Dry Bones Blog.


3. Terror in the Air - The (thankfully) failed airline terror attack on Christmas Day has led to a lot of controversy - especially as to (a) how this guy ever got on a plane and (b) how he ever got on the plane with explosives. A number of stories:

4. Robert Morgenthau - The long-time Manhattan DA retires - Interview With Robert Morgenthau: The World's District Attorney - WSJ.com - wonder what he thinks of the previous topic?


5. From The River To The Sea - The "occupation" ain't just about Gaza and the West Bank - ThreatsWatch.Org: RapidRecon: Palestinians: 'From The River To The Sea'.



7. "....But I'll Not Be Seen In Public" - live, from whatever rock he is hiding under at the moment, Hizbullah chief Nasrallah -Hizbullah leader: Israel used to do more than speak Middle East.

(the text is - "Your defenders are your destroyers")


9. Islamist Double-Speak? - I'm shocked! Pajamas Media » Shameless Islamist Doublespeak Rages On. Wouldn't it be a very simple thing to devote part of your intelligence budget to following what these guys say to their own people in their own tongue? Which is why organizations like MEMRI and Palestinian Media Watch are so valuable - provided that someone watches and learns.

10. IDF Kills Terrorists - is Bad!! - IDF kills 3 Aksa Martyrs Brigade men in Nablus Israel Jerusalem Post but see - Love of the Land: Double Edged. What do you expect when the US charged their own Navy SEALS for punching the terrorist accused of the terrible atrocity in Fallujah - that's right, punching - not waterboarding, not shooting, and not torturing - punching. Also see PA security forces arrest several W. Bank attack suspects Israel Jerusalem Post - oh, yeah - they let them go......


12. MNF Shocker - I would never have figured the Bears to have a chance against Minnesota this evening - but they survived a "patented" Brett Favre 4th quarter comeback to win very dramatically in overtime - here's the video of the winning play.

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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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