Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Remembering the Shoah (the Holocaust)

Today is the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest, and probably the most notorious of the Nazi death camps. In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated this day as International Holocaust Remembrance Day (IHRD), an annual day of commemoration to honor the victims of the Nazi era. Every member nation of the U.N. has an obligation to honor the memory of Holocaust victims and develop educational programs as part of an international resolve to help prevent future acts of genocide. The U.N. resolution that created IHRD rejects denial of the Holocaust, and condemns discrimination and violence based on religion or ethnicity.

Accordingly, today's blog posting is dedicated to the commemoration of the Shoah.



14. The Tragedy of the S.S. St. Louis - if you can, please check out the amazing St. Louis exhibit at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic


16. Tragic Pictures



18. Important Books & Movies (just a sample)




Posted by at 2 comments:

Sunday, January 24, 2010

1. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - 'Israelis stealing organs in Haiti' - Israel News, Ynetnews. Contemptible.







5. Oh Yeah, Iran - The beat goes on....


7. Speaking of Useful Idiots - JPost.com BlogCentral In the Trenches Useful idiots (term attributed to Lenin).


8. Halfway There - Now just call them what they are - Jihadists - Swedish "minister for integration": Jihadists "a ticking bomb in our society" - Jihad Watch


9. Interesting Study - Wahhabism and the First Amendment

10. No Problem? I Disagree - “I don’t think belief in God is a necessary component of being Jewish" Huh? No God? No Problem – Forward.com


12. Funny Advertisement - funny beer advertisement - watch to the end - but maybe only guys can understand this.


Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, January 17, 2010

1. Raoul Wallenberg - Why we remember Raoul Wallenberg - (PS - there are only seven honorary citizens of the USA - one of whom is Raoul Wallenberg).


2. MLK - Monday is Martin Luther King Day. King was a friend of the Jews, and counted many Jews among his supporters. Here are some interesting articles:

3. The United Nations - I spend a lot of time bashing the UN so as they say, "turnabout is fair play". Here is an article from FrontPageMagazine - which is usually harshly critical of the UN - that actually says something nice about the organization. The UN Shines in Haiti FrontPage Magazine. And this doesn't mean that I think any more of the UN (just see below).

4. More Iran - No shortage of material here, nor is there likely to be for a while:


And here's a GREAT headline:




8. Political Correctness Alerts - Check this out - Livid Americans blast back over Pearl Harbor snub - as well as this story from Berkeley, CA - what a surprise - Pajamas Media » Out-of-Control Multiculturalism at Berkeley High School.


9. Turkish Tempest - At a time when relations between Israel and Turkey are very tense, the last thing that was needed is a diplomatic row.
10. Just Try To Be Balanced, Just Try... - Commentary » Blog Archive » Honest Broker, Anyone?

11. Like I Say, Even A Good Story About The UN Moves Me Not - Blaming Israel First The Weekly Standard

12. Code Moron - Code Red on Code Pink


13. Victor Davis Hanson - Time for a dose or two of straight talk - Works and Days » Truths We Dare Not Speak and Works and Days » The Way Our World Works.



And check this out:


15. A Moving Story - in and of itself, a very moving story - Feature spotlight: Me and my rabbi, my rabbi and me In the spotlight Jerusalem Post

16. Not That There's Anything Wrong With That - or maybe, there is - Police force first Mr. Gay China pageant to close - The Globe and Mail



18. Exceptionally Clean Humor - and I mean exceptionally clean:


BONUS NFL COVERAGE - Want to play quarterback in the NFL? Think again:

Posted by at 1 comment:

Saturday, January 16th, 2010 - motzei Shabbat

1. Haiti - Yet another natural disaster has ravaged this country. The death and destruction appears to be at incredible levels. Among the countries rushing to give aid is Israel - I wonder if anyone will remember that the next time Israel is singled out for criticism?


2. Don't Stop On My Account - Hey guys, knock yourselves out!

3. Death Of A Hero - Miep Gies, the woman who helped the family of Anne Frank during World War II and preserved her diary, dies at age 100.



4. Works For Me! - Let the UN move to Dubai. And it makes a great target. And the terrorists and their supporters would not have to travel all the way to North America. Think of the saving in energy.



5. Another True Hero - The work of this Catholic priest is sad, but amazing.


6. OK, Who Wrote This Headline? - I mean, isn't this something of an understatement, perhaps the greatest of all time?

7. The Palestinians - Can't Obama and his staff see this for what it is? A very dangerous development.

8. I'll Bet They Don't Serve Booze - So here's an irony. Arab Terrorists operating an "airline". And a further irony - they won't drink alcohol, but will traffic in narcotics. Makes perfect sense. Do you think they do security checks?

9. Annoying Liberals - Here is one person's assessment of the 20 most annoying liberals in America today - certainly a "take no prisoners" approach.


10. This Is Funny - I guess that when you are the 12th man on the Ohio State Basketball team, you have some free time on your hands.

Posted by at No comments:

Monday, January 11, 2010

1. I Just Don't Get It - Jonathan Kay: B'nai Brith compares Vancouver's treatment of female ski jumpers to Nazi policies of 1936 - Full Comment - the basic story struck me as somewhat unfair in a very limited context, but the analogy to the Nazi policies of 1936 entirely escapes me. It also seems to me that to raise an issue in such a manner does serious damage to the rest of the agenda that B'nai Brith pursues.







4. And If You Believe This - I have a bridge or two to sell you - Commentary » Blog Archive » George Mitchell: “Fatah Believes in Nonviolence”



6. Another Israeli Innovation - While "they" come up with "underwear bombs" - Feature: Bugg off! Around Israel Jerusalem Post






10. Shouldn't There Be Some Sort of Credit? I mean, the UN let this stuff in Gaza go on for years, facilitated largely by the UNRWA itself. Some damaged buildings seems like a minor price for the UN to swallow. Israel Will Pay 10 Million to U.N. for Damaging Gaza Buildings – Forward.com



12. Just Like The World Forgets The Evil of the Nazis - Pajamas Media » Forgetting Communism’s Evils


13. Airport Security & Terrorism - Having seen airport security in action this morning at Stanfield International, I am really not sure what to think except that it looks like a huge waste of time and effort that does not really go after the problem. Here are some more perspectives on this issue:
14. Turkey - Turkey lashes out at Israel International News Jerusalem Post - more idiocy from Erdogan - the Iranians and Syrians use Lebanon like a conveyor belt to replenish Hezbollah, and all anyone can complain about is Israeli violations of their airspace and waterways.


16. And Now For Something Completely Different - Pajamas Media » Did America Bring Down the British Empire?

17. NBA - The League That Cares


18. The Patriots Had A Bad Day All Around - this is indicative of their woes. As is this picture:

Posted by at 3 comments:

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.

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)