07.30.04 (2:28 pm) [edit]
[b][i]By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer [/i][/b]
JERUSALEM - Israeli police have begun a criminal investigation against nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu over interviews he gave to foreign media in an apparent breach of a court order, Israeli officials said Thursday.
The Justice Ministry said in a statement that Israel's security services believe that during the interviews with the British Broadcasting Corp. and the London Sunday Times, given shortly after his release from prison in April, Vanunu made references to secret material he was forbidden to discuss.
The statement gave no further details about Vanunu's alleged violations. It is possible Vanunu might face new charges that could eventually result in another prison sentence, but this could not be determined at the start of the inquiry.
Vanunu served an 18-year sentence for espionage and treason for divulging information about Israel's Dimona nuclear plant, where he worked as a technician. The details led experts to conclude that Israel a large nuclear weapons stockpile, though it has never acknowledged having one.
As a condition of his release, Vanunu was barred from speaking to foreign journalists.
In an attempt to circumvent those restrictions, the BBC interview was conducted by an Israeli journalist fronting for Sunday Times writer Peter Hounam, according to a Jerusalem court ruling earlier this month.
Hounam was arrested May 27 by Israel's Shin Bet security service on suspicion of espionage and spent a night in jail before being sent home. The Interior Ministry and the court barred him from returning to Israel.
In 1986, Vanunu gave Hounam photographs of the Dimona reactor that were published in The Sunday Times. Based on the pictures, experts said Israel had the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.
Israel's Supreme Court on Monday turned down a petition by Vanunu against the security restrictions, which also prevent him leaving the country and limit his movements locally.
Thursday's Justice Ministry statement said officials waited for the outcome of the court hearing before ordering the police inquiry.
[b][i]By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer [/i][/b]
JERUSALEM - Israeli police have begun a criminal investigation against nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu over interviews he gave to foreign media in an apparent breach of a court order, Israeli officials said Thursday.
The Justice Ministry said in a statement that Israel's security services believe that during the interviews with the British Broadcasting Corp. and the London Sunday Times, given shortly after his release from prison in April, Vanunu made references to secret material he was forbidden to discuss.
The statement gave no further details about Vanunu's alleged violations. It is possible Vanunu might face new charges that could eventually result in another prison sentence, but this could not be determined at the start of the inquiry.
Vanunu served an 18-year sentence for espionage and treason for divulging information about Israel's Dimona nuclear plant, where he worked as a technician. The details led experts to conclude that Israel a large nuclear weapons stockpile, though it has never acknowledged having one.
As a condition of his release, Vanunu was barred from speaking to foreign journalists.
In an attempt to circumvent those restrictions, the BBC interview was conducted by an Israeli journalist fronting for Sunday Times writer Peter Hounam, according to a Jerusalem court ruling earlier this month.
Hounam was arrested May 27 by Israel's Shin Bet security service on suspicion of espionage and spent a night in jail before being sent home. The Interior Ministry and the court barred him from returning to Israel.
In 1986, Vanunu gave Hounam photographs of the Dimona reactor that were published in The Sunday Times. Based on the pictures, experts said Israel had the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.
Israel's Supreme Court on Monday turned down a petition by Vanunu against the security restrictions, which also prevent him leaving the country and limit his movements locally.
Thursday's Justice Ministry statement said officials waited for the outcome of the court hearing before ordering the police inquiry.
07.30.04 (2:25 pm) [edit]
[b][i]By BURT HERMAN, Associated Press Writer [/i][/b]
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - Suicide bombers hit the U.S. and Israeli embassies Friday, killing at least two Uzbeks, news reports and police said.
A third blast hit the general prosecutor's office and caused "deaths," a Russian news agency reported.
The Interfax news agency said a man with an explosive belt on his waist detonated bomb outside the American Embassy and Uzbek security forces surrounded the compound, stopping all traffic. Israel radio said the attack on the Israeli Embassy also was a suicide assault and that one of the dead there was an Uzbek security guard.
The radio said all the Israeli personnel were safe inside the embassy building, while Uzbek security forces conducted searches in the area. The explosion occurred on the pavement at the entrance to the embassy, the radio said.
There is a significant Jewish population in Uzbekistan.
Interfax reported there were deaths in the explosion at the general prosecutor's office, citing an unnamed source at the office.
In Washington, a State Department official confirmed that the department had "received reports of a bombing outside the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent." The official had no information on casualties and said it was not clear if the embassy was the target.
The blasts come as 15 suspects are standing trial for a wave of violence earlier this year that left at least 47 people dead. Those attacks had included Central Asia's first-ever suicide bombings.
The 15 suspects have pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism, murder and religious extremism. They could face the death penaty.
They are the first to stand trial for the attacks that killed 33 alleged militants, 10 police and four bystanders.
[b][i]By BURT HERMAN, Associated Press Writer [/i][/b]
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - Suicide bombers hit the U.S. and Israeli embassies Friday, killing at least two Uzbeks, news reports and police said.
A third blast hit the general prosecutor's office and caused "deaths," a Russian news agency reported.
The Interfax news agency said a man with an explosive belt on his waist detonated bomb outside the American Embassy and Uzbek security forces surrounded the compound, stopping all traffic. Israel radio said the attack on the Israeli Embassy also was a suicide assault and that one of the dead there was an Uzbek security guard.
The radio said all the Israeli personnel were safe inside the embassy building, while Uzbek security forces conducted searches in the area. The explosion occurred on the pavement at the entrance to the embassy, the radio said.
There is a significant Jewish population in Uzbekistan.
Interfax reported there were deaths in the explosion at the general prosecutor's office, citing an unnamed source at the office.
In Washington, a State Department official confirmed that the department had "received reports of a bombing outside the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent." The official had no information on casualties and said it was not clear if the embassy was the target.
The blasts come as 15 suspects are standing trial for a wave of violence earlier this year that left at least 47 people dead. Those attacks had included Central Asia's first-ever suicide bombings.
The 15 suspects have pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism, murder and religious extremism. They could face the death penaty.
They are the first to stand trial for the attacks that killed 33 alleged militants, 10 police and four bystanders.
07.29.04 (4:52 pm) [edit]
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Thursday Israel would only reconsider the need for its "deterrent capability" when there is a comprehensive Middle East peace and its neighbors abandon weapons of mass destruction.
The Jewish state refuses to admit or deny it has nuclear weapons under a policy of "strategic ambiguity," but international experts estimate it has an arsenal of 100 to 200 warheads, making it one of the biggest nuclear powers.
Sharon noted that longtime foe Libya had agreed to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction and Iran has come under international pressure to come clean on its atomic program.
"It could be that one day when we arrive at a comprehensive peace and everyone disarms completely, we will also be ready to consider taking steps," Sharon told a meeting of his rightwing Likud party in Tel Aviv.
But he said Israel still faced an "existential danger" and that the United States, its main ally, had made clear the Jewish state "is not to be touched when it comes to its deterrent capability."
Mohammed ElBaradei, director the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, said Sharon told him during a visit to Israel earlier this month that he would be could discuss ridding the Middle East of nuclear arms but only as part of a broader peace process in the future.
However, this was the first time Sharon has made such a statement in public.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Thursday Israel would only reconsider the need for its "deterrent capability" when there is a comprehensive Middle East peace and its neighbors abandon weapons of mass destruction.
The Jewish state refuses to admit or deny it has nuclear weapons under a policy of "strategic ambiguity," but international experts estimate it has an arsenal of 100 to 200 warheads, making it one of the biggest nuclear powers.
Sharon noted that longtime foe Libya had agreed to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction and Iran has come under international pressure to come clean on its atomic program.
"It could be that one day when we arrive at a comprehensive peace and everyone disarms completely, we will also be ready to consider taking steps," Sharon told a meeting of his rightwing Likud party in Tel Aviv.
But he said Israel still faced an "existential danger" and that the United States, its main ally, had made clear the Jewish state "is not to be touched when it comes to its deterrent capability."
Mohammed ElBaradei, director the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, said Sharon told him during a visit to Israel earlier this month that he would be could discuss ridding the Middle East of nuclear arms but only as part of a broader peace process in the future.
However, this was the first time Sharon has made such a statement in public.
07.29.04 (9:26 am) [edit]
Now isn't that just the thing... With all the hooplah that "how dare Sharon say that (blah blah)" and some puffed up "Jewish leader" saying that the antisemitism problem in France is a load of bunk and all. Wow! These Jews must just be fantacizing a threat to their safety by remaining in france and that's why they must have moved to Israel. Those stupid Jews and their imaginary antisemitism! When will they learn to ignore it like the rest of us! :evil:
[line]
[b][i]By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer[/b][/i]
TEL AVIV, Israel - Just 10 days after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon enraged French leaders by urging France's Jews to leave for Israel, a group of 200 French Jews arrived to start a new life in the Jewish state, with Sharon at the airport to greet them.
Emerging from the plane, immigrants sang "Heveinu Shalom Aleichem," or "we bring peace to you," a traditional Hebrew song of greeting. A heavyset man with a beard, wearing a white shirt and skullcap, danced a jig, his arms above his head.
[b]Carol Ben Guigui, 41, carrying a little dog in her arms, said: "In five or 10 years, all the Jews of France will be in Israel because of anti-Semitism."[/b]
The group included 50 children and 55 university students, according to the Jewish Agency, the body that deals with immigration to Israel.
In a July 18 speech to visiting Jewish American leaders, Sharon told them that France was host to "the wildest anti-Semitism."
"If I have to advocate to our brothers in France, I will tell them one thing: Move to Israel, as early as possible," he said.
The French Foreign Ministry quickly issued a terse statement calling the remarks "unacceptable" and demanding an explanation. The next day, French President Jacques Chirac called on the Israeli prime minister to explain his remarks and said that until he does, Sharon would not be welcome in France.
Israeli media later reported that Chirac sent a message to Israeli President Moshe Katsav, saying he now considered the incident closed. Chirac's office could not confirm the reports.
About half of those who arrived on Wednesday's flight from Paris came under an Israeli government program initiated a year ago bringing French Jewish groups to Israel. The other newcomers also started planning to emigrate long before Sharon's speech last week, immigration ministry officials say.
France is widely viewed in Israel as biased in favor of the Palestinians. The French Jewish community — at 600,000 the third-largest in the world — tends to be strongly pro-Israel, creating friction with a Muslim population of almost 5 million.
The latest French Interior Ministry figures show 510 anti-Jewish acts or threats in the first six months of 2004 — compared to 593 for all of last year.
While France has strengthened security at Jewish institutions and enacted tougher punishments for people convicted of such crimes, a sense of uneasiness and betrayal has some Jews questioning where they belong.
According to the Israeli government, 7,024 immigrants have come from France since 2000 — from a low of 1,160 in 2001 to a high of 2,385 in 2002. In the first half of 2004, 647 French Jews immigrated to Israel.
Now isn't that just the thing... With all the hooplah that "how dare Sharon say that (blah blah)" and some puffed up "Jewish leader" saying that the antisemitism problem in France is a load of bunk and all. Wow! These Jews must just be fantacizing a threat to their safety by remaining in france and that's why they must have moved to Israel. Those stupid Jews and their imaginary antisemitism! When will they learn to ignore it like the rest of us! :evil:
[line]
[b][i]By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer[/b][/i]
TEL AVIV, Israel - Just 10 days after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon enraged French leaders by urging France's Jews to leave for Israel, a group of 200 French Jews arrived to start a new life in the Jewish state, with Sharon at the airport to greet them.
Emerging from the plane, immigrants sang "Heveinu Shalom Aleichem," or "we bring peace to you," a traditional Hebrew song of greeting. A heavyset man with a beard, wearing a white shirt and skullcap, danced a jig, his arms above his head.
[b]Carol Ben Guigui, 41, carrying a little dog in her arms, said: "In five or 10 years, all the Jews of France will be in Israel because of anti-Semitism."[/b]
The group included 50 children and 55 university students, according to the Jewish Agency, the body that deals with immigration to Israel.
In a July 18 speech to visiting Jewish American leaders, Sharon told them that France was host to "the wildest anti-Semitism."
"If I have to advocate to our brothers in France, I will tell them one thing: Move to Israel, as early as possible," he said.
The French Foreign Ministry quickly issued a terse statement calling the remarks "unacceptable" and demanding an explanation. The next day, French President Jacques Chirac called on the Israeli prime minister to explain his remarks and said that until he does, Sharon would not be welcome in France.
Israeli media later reported that Chirac sent a message to Israeli President Moshe Katsav, saying he now considered the incident closed. Chirac's office could not confirm the reports.
About half of those who arrived on Wednesday's flight from Paris came under an Israeli government program initiated a year ago bringing French Jewish groups to Israel. The other newcomers also started planning to emigrate long before Sharon's speech last week, immigration ministry officials say.
France is widely viewed in Israel as biased in favor of the Palestinians. The French Jewish community — at 600,000 the third-largest in the world — tends to be strongly pro-Israel, creating friction with a Muslim population of almost 5 million.
The latest French Interior Ministry figures show 510 anti-Jewish acts or threats in the first six months of 2004 — compared to 593 for all of last year.
While France has strengthened security at Jewish institutions and enacted tougher punishments for people convicted of such crimes, a sense of uneasiness and betrayal has some Jews questioning where they belong.
According to the Israeli government, 7,024 immigrants have come from France since 2000 — from a low of 1,160 in 2001 to a high of 2,385 in 2002. In the first half of 2004, 647 French Jews immigrated to Israel.
07.29.04 (9:14 am) [edit]
[b]Remarks of Senator John Edwards (As Prepared for Delivery) 2004 Democratic National Convention Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Fleet Center Boston, Massachusetts[/b]
BOSTON, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of remarks of Senator John Edwards (as prepared for delivery) at the 2004 Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, July 28, 2004:
Thank you. Now, you know why Elizabeth is so amazing.
I am a lucky man: to have the love of my life at my side. We have been blessed with four beautiful children: Wade, Cate, Emma Claire, and Jack.
My mother and father, Wallace and Bobbie Edwards are here tonight. You taught me the values that I carry with me in my heart: faith, family, responsibility, and opportunity for everyone. You taught me that there's dignity and honor in a hard days work. You taught me that you look out for your neighbors, you never look down on anybody, and you treat everyone with respect.
Those are the values John Kerry and I believe in, and nothing makes me prouder than standing with him in this campaign. I am so humbled to be your candidate for Vice President of the United States.
I want to talk about our next president. For those who want to know what kind of leader he'll be, I want to take you back about thirty years. When John Kerry graduated college, he volunteered for military service. He volunteered to go to Vietnam and to captain a swift boat, one of the most dangerous duties you could have. And as a result he was wounded and honored for his valor.
If you have any question about what he's made of, you need to spend three minutes with the men who served with him then and stand by him today.
[line]
You can read the entire speech transcript [url=http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/0...]here[/url]
[b]Remarks of Senator John Edwards (As Prepared for Delivery) 2004 Democratic National Convention Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Fleet Center Boston, Massachusetts[/b]
BOSTON, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of remarks of Senator John Edwards (as prepared for delivery) at the 2004 Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, July 28, 2004:
Thank you. Now, you know why Elizabeth is so amazing.
I am a lucky man: to have the love of my life at my side. We have been blessed with four beautiful children: Wade, Cate, Emma Claire, and Jack.
My mother and father, Wallace and Bobbie Edwards are here tonight. You taught me the values that I carry with me in my heart: faith, family, responsibility, and opportunity for everyone. You taught me that there's dignity and honor in a hard days work. You taught me that you look out for your neighbors, you never look down on anybody, and you treat everyone with respect.
Those are the values John Kerry and I believe in, and nothing makes me prouder than standing with him in this campaign. I am so humbled to be your candidate for Vice President of the United States.
I want to talk about our next president. For those who want to know what kind of leader he'll be, I want to take you back about thirty years. When John Kerry graduated college, he volunteered for military service. He volunteered to go to Vietnam and to captain a swift boat, one of the most dangerous duties you could have. And as a result he was wounded and honored for his valor.
If you have any question about what he's made of, you need to spend three minutes with the men who served with him then and stand by him today.
[line]
You can read the entire speech transcript [url=http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/0...]here[/url]
Would you like some cream with that interview?
07.28.04 (7:39 pm) [edit]
After much deliberation, I have decided to start doing interviews. I figure it would be great to spotlight people around tblog and find out what they really think and who they really are. Since I've been interviewed by my local paper and another website on the net, I thought it great inspiration.
Therefore, I shall call it the [i]Tigress Papers[/i] where I get to the bottom of some of our local tblog and possibly other internet celebs.
If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this and get interviewed for the [i]Tigress Papers[/i], let me know! I will announce the name of the upcomming interviewee and people can leave questions in the comment box that they would like me to ask the interviewee or they can email them to me at Tigress_of_Red@yahoo.com. I will also make up some of my own questions to be asked as well. I will post the questions with answers from the interviewee as necissary.
You know how to contact me! Let's get this started! :)
07.28.04 (12:26 pm) [edit]
Very interesting . . .
[line]
[i]S Korean government had urged them to cancel march out of fear of anti-Christian attacks[/i]
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – About 600 South Korean Protestants have left for Israel where they intend to march and hold a rally for peace despite their government’s warning against possible anti-Christian terrorist attacks.
The group is made up of pilgrims from different Protestant denominations. Its plans for the “Jerusalem Jesus March 2004” include a mass rally and a march for peace in the Holy City and in some Palestinian areas from August 7 to 12.
Choi Paul, one of the organisers of the event, said that in light of the terrorist alert launched by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, people will convene indoor and the march will be shorter than anticipated (1.5 km instead of 5, or 1 mile instead of 3). “With the cooperation of the Israeli and Palestinian governments, we [shall] take the safety of the participants into the utmost consideration,” Choi said.
According to a South Korean Foreign Ministry official the pilgrims will also travel to other countries in the Middle East (Syria and Jordan) and Central Asia (Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) before going to Israel. The official did not provide further information concerning the trip but did say that the Ministry had instructed its missions in Middle Eastern countries to pay extra attention to the safety of its citizens, in particular asking for Israel’s collaboration.
In the wake of the murder of South Korean citizen Kim Sun-il last month at the hands of Islamist militants, the South Korean government called for the cancellation of the peace march out of fear that it might prompt terrorists to target Christian missionaries. For the same reason, it has been trying to discourage South Korean nationals from travelling to Iraq and neighbouring countries.
The terrorist group Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Unification and Jihad) decapitated 33-year-old Kim on June 22 following South Korea’s decision to send troop to Iraq. The same group went further and on July 20 released a public statement on its website justifying the young man’s decapitation on religious grounds: “We killed an infidel who was trying to spread Christianity in Iraq.” The statement also said: “This infidel had studied theology and was getting ready to serve as a missionary in the Islamic world.”
South Korea plans to deploy an additional 3,000 troops to Iraq making it the largest member of the coalition forces after the United States and the United Kingdom. (MR)
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=1211" title="http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=1211" target="_blank"http://www.asianews.it/view.p...
Very interesting . . .
[line]
[i]S Korean government had urged them to cancel march out of fear of anti-Christian attacks[/i]
Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – About 600 South Korean Protestants have left for Israel where they intend to march and hold a rally for peace despite their government’s warning against possible anti-Christian terrorist attacks.
The group is made up of pilgrims from different Protestant denominations. Its plans for the “Jerusalem Jesus March 2004” include a mass rally and a march for peace in the Holy City and in some Palestinian areas from August 7 to 12.
Choi Paul, one of the organisers of the event, said that in light of the terrorist alert launched by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, people will convene indoor and the march will be shorter than anticipated (1.5 km instead of 5, or 1 mile instead of 3). “With the cooperation of the Israeli and Palestinian governments, we [shall] take the safety of the participants into the utmost consideration,” Choi said.
According to a South Korean Foreign Ministry official the pilgrims will also travel to other countries in the Middle East (Syria and Jordan) and Central Asia (Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) before going to Israel. The official did not provide further information concerning the trip but did say that the Ministry had instructed its missions in Middle Eastern countries to pay extra attention to the safety of its citizens, in particular asking for Israel’s collaboration.
In the wake of the murder of South Korean citizen Kim Sun-il last month at the hands of Islamist militants, the South Korean government called for the cancellation of the peace march out of fear that it might prompt terrorists to target Christian missionaries. For the same reason, it has been trying to discourage South Korean nationals from travelling to Iraq and neighbouring countries.
The terrorist group Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Unification and Jihad) decapitated 33-year-old Kim on June 22 following South Korea’s decision to send troop to Iraq. The same group went further and on July 20 released a public statement on its website justifying the young man’s decapitation on religious grounds: “We killed an infidel who was trying to spread Christianity in Iraq.” The statement also said: “This infidel had studied theology and was getting ready to serve as a missionary in the Islamic world.”
South Korea plans to deploy an additional 3,000 troops to Iraq making it the largest member of the coalition forces after the United States and the United Kingdom. (MR)
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=1211" title="http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=1211" target="_blank"http://www.asianews.it/view.p...
Analysis: Michael Moore on Bill O'Reilly's Show
07.28.04 (9:29 am) [edit]
So hopefully everyone tuned in to Fox News last night to watch [i]The O'Reilly Factor[/i] where [b]Michael Moore[/b] was interviewed! Of course, if for some reason you did miss this momentous occasion, you can find a transcript (thanks to [url=http://larryconley.tblog.com]LarryConley[/url]) on Drudge Report [url=http://www.drudgereport.com/d...]here[/url].
That said, lets get to the post showdown analysis.
I thought, despite the yelling that occurred at one point, this was actually a pretty civil little intellectual "brawl." Just to state a quick fact, the interview was completely unedited ([url=http://therealspartacus0 07.tb...]therealspartacus007[/url ], I think you owe me 100 bucks! [i]Just kidding![/i] We soo should have shook on this!). They touched on a very interesting issue that we hear in rhetoric so often, especially here on tblog: the "Bush LIED" shpeil.
Watching these two people go head to head on this issue got me thinking. We don't really know what went through the mind of our president. Does anyone really think he's the devil incarnate though? Does anyone really think that he wants to kill off a butt load of our men and women in uniform? Me, I don't know. I'd like to not think so. I seriously doubt that the President of the united states would ever do that. It's unheard of, unlikely, and (i think) untrue. But, I've never met the guy. From what people have said who have met President Bush, like Ben Afflek for example (who was also on last night's show before Michael Moore came on), "He's a very kind individual" (I'm paraphrasing, of course).
I guess that actually brings me to Ben Afflek's interview. In the interview, he basically said all that [i]I personally[/i] believe in when it comes to politics (except geared towards the dems because Ben is a dem). Ben Afflek feels tied to the party because there's a lot he agrees with. However, there is a lot he disagrees with and he gave the example of gun control (Ben is for the 2nd amendment).
He also said it's really [i]not about parties, it's about people.[/i] You should never just limit things to your own party and you should not hate Bush and you should not hate Kerry. They're just people. You should vote based on who you feel has the best policy, not who you feel is the better person or not vote for because you think they're the more evil person or whatever. I think Ben Afflek and I are soul mates! <3 :wink:>
Getting back to the topic at hand with Michael Moore; he and O'Reilly were getting into it over the Bush lied thing. Moore says Bush lied, O'Reilly said it was a mistake; a terrible mistake, but a mistake. What's the difference? I guess it depends on your definition.
From what my understanding is, a lie means you know the truth but you are telling false information on purpose. Lies have to do with intent. If one lies, they intend to mislead.
So then what of mistakes? My understanding is that a mistake means that you thought you were telling the truth. Other people gave you the information which came from 3 or 4 different sources and they all jived. If you act on that information, thinking it's the truth and it is later found out to be untrue, it is a mistake because you intended to do the right thing and you thought other people had given you the truth.
Now whether or not you think what Bush did was like or simply a mistake is up to you. I have my opinions on the issue, I think that if there really are no WMD, it was a mistake. But I'll let you figure out your opinion for yourself. Mr. Moore seems to think Bush lied purposefully and evilly. Mr. O'Reilly believes it was a mistake and that the president was only acting on what information Putin, Blaire, and the CIA (plus whoever else) was telling him.
I think the major thing that we can learn from this momentous interview is that some people are set in their ways and will never change their mind. They think it's one thing and that's it, there's no convincing them otherwise. I think that shows us how not to be. We should all be open to all of the possibilities. Yes, we should always have out opinions, but we shouldn't be so staunch in those opinions that we are unable to learn.
Even though I'm sure that these two people, Michael Moore and Bill O'Reilly, detest where each other are coming from; at the end of the interview, they shook hands. No matter what your stance, you should always be able to be civil.
Please read the transcript and leave me some of your comments on this stuff and, please, take care of yourselves and each other.
Explaining the Arab-Israeli conflict through numbers
07.27.04 (12:09 pm) [edit]
[b][i]By Dennis Prager[/i]
http://www.jewishworldreview.com" title="http://www.jewishworldreview.com" target="_blank"http://www.jewishworldreview.... [/b]
For the many readers who have requested a brief synopsis of the moral arguments in the Arab-Israeli conflict, I offer the following list of numerical data.
Number of times Jerusalem is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible: over 700
Number of times Jerusalem is mentioned in the Koran: 0
Number of Arab leaders who visited Jerusalem when it was under Arab rule (1948 to 1967): 1
Number of Arab refugees who fled the land that became Israel: approximately 600,000
Number of Jewish refugees who fled Arab countries: approximately 600,000
Number of U.N. agencies that deal only with Palestinian refugees: 1
Number of U.N. agencies that deal with all the other refugees in the world: 1
Number of Jewish states that have existed on the land called Palestine: 3
Number of Arab or Muslim states that have existed on the land called Palestine: 0
Number of terrorist attacks by Israelis or Jews since 1967: 1
Number of terrorist attacks by Arabs or Muslims since 1967: thousands
Percentage of Jews who have praised the Jewish terrorist: approximately .1
Percentage of Palestinians who have praised Islamic terrorists: approximately 90
Number of Jewish countries: 1
Number of Jewish democracies: 1
Number of Arab countries: 19
Number of Arab democracies: 0
Number of Arab women killed annually by fathers and brothers in "honor killings": thousands
Number of Jewish women killed annually by fathers and brothers in "honor killings": 0
Number of Christian or Jewish prayer services allowed in Saudi Arabia: 0
Number of Muslim prayer services allowed in Israel: unlimited
Number of Arabs Israel allows to live in Arab settlements in Israel: 1,250,000
Number of Jews Palestinian Authority allows to live in Jewish settlements in Palestinian Authority: 0
Percentage of U.N. Commission on Human Rights resolutions condemning an Arab country for human rights violations: 0
Percentage of U.N. Commission on Human Rights resolutions condemning Israel for human rights violations: 26
Number of U.N. Security Council resolutions on the Middle East between 1948 and 1991: 175
Number of these resolutions against Israel: 97
Number of these resolutions against an Arab state: 4
Number of Arab countries that have been members of the U.N. Security Council: 16
Number of times Israel has been a member of the U.N. Security Council: 0
Number of U.N. General Assembly resolutions condemning Israel: 322
Number of U.N. General Assembly resolutions condemning an Arab country: 0
Percentage of U.N. votes in which Arab countries voted with the United States in 2002: 16.6
Percentage of U.N. votes in which Israel voted with the United States in 2002: 92.6
Percentage of Middle East Studies professors who defend Zionism and Israel: approximately 1.
Percentage of Middle East Studies professors who believe in diversity on college campuses: 100
Percentage of people who argue that the Jewish state has no right to exist who also believe some other country has no right to exist: 0
Percentage of people who argue that of all the countries in the world, only the Jewish state has no right to exist and yet deny they are anti-Jewish: approximately 100
Number of Muslims in the world: more than 1 billion
Number of Muslim demonstrations against Islamic terror: approximately 2
[i]JWR contributor Dennis Prager hosts a national daily radio show based in Los Angeles. He the author of, most recently, "Happiness is a Serious Problem".
© 2004, Creators Syndicate [/i]
Buy my stuff -- the eBAY way!
07.27.04 (9:59 am) [edit]
Ok, this is my second attempt to post this because tblog hates to work correctly.
Since I wrote out a big thing last time I tried to post this about what exactly I was selling, I lack the patience to try again too hard.
Here are the links to what I'm selling on wonderful eBAY ... !
[url=http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayIS...:MESE:IT]NEW!!! TEXTBOOK: Intro to Human Geography 7th Ed. bid now![/url]
Look for gingertiger83 on ebay for any other auctions that I post! :)
Now go out there and buy my stuff! ;)
Tonight on FOX!
07.27.04 (8:40 am) [edit]
Alright, I just felt it my duty to publicize this.
Last night while watching the [i]O'Reilly Factor[/i], Mr. O'Reilly announced in his "Most rediculous item of the day" that [b]Mr. Michael Moore[/b] will be on his show, the [i]O'Reilly Factor[/i] tonight!
You DO NOT want to miss this!
The [i]O'Reilly Factor[/i] is on Fox News 5pm pacific time and 8pm eastern. Check your local listings if you have Dish Network or are not sure what time it will be on in your time zone. Again, I repeat MICHAEL MOORE will me on the [i]O'Reilly Factor[/i] tonight, the evening of July 27th 2004!
Don't forget to tune in. I will be posting an article about this occasion on my blog tomorrow with reactions and overview. Don't forget to check back for that as well!
MTV & Your Vote: You're being DUPED!
07.26.04 (7:47 pm) [edit]
MTV's "Choose or Lose!" ...
Translation: "Choose what we tell you or else risk geekdom!"
Remember when MTV was about [i]music[/i]? Remember when MTV showed [i]music videos[/i]? Remember when MTV was fun???
Well, those days are gone.
Not only do they show programs like "Real World," "Pimp My Ride," and "Room Raiders"; they're also on a mission. MTV is on a mission to get you to vote! How noble!
Now don't get me wrong, I encourage young people to vote. I'm 21 and I vote. It upsets me when other people in my generation just don't give a crap about the issues. Everyone should VOTE!
That said, what's wrong with MTV jumping on the youth voice bandwagon? Well, let me tell you...
MTV participates in a kind of peer pressure and brain washing. According to MTV and what their programs impart, it's [i]cool[/i] to be pro-choice. It's [i]cool[/i] to be anti-Iraq War. It's [i]cool[/i] to be pro-gay marriage. It's [i]cool[/i] to vote for John Kerry. It's [i]cool[/i] to be a Democrat! It's [i]not cool[/i] to be pro-life or support the Iraq war. It's [i]un-cool[/i] and homophobic to be anti-gay marriage. If you vote for Bush, guess what? You've got a one-way ticket to nerdsville! If you're a Republican, you are sooo gonna be unpopular!
And just where do I get this crap from?
Straight from the donkey's mouth, of course!
Case in point; the John Kerry campaign special. Have you seen this? They followed John Kerry around as he made the rounds on his campaign trail. Showed what a [i]cool guy[/i] he is and how he [i]connects[/i] with today's youth. They had a segment where he was asked questions by "real" kids on the street. What's wrong with that?
Nothing. But where is the Bush special?
Ah, at the end of the Kerry special (during the credits), MTV said that they were cooperating with the Bush campaign to bring out a similar special to help kids understand both sides and help them learn about the issues. That was months ago when Kerry was doing primaries campaign work! I've checked my local listings. Where's the Bush special? No where! It isn't because the Bush camp was uncooperative. On the countrary, MTV claims that they are working with his campaign people. Still, my generation is saddened for not being able to hear both sides of the story.
What other gems can I find from MTV broadcasts? Ah, the little cartoonish propaganda commercials come to mind. Perhaps you've seen them? The one that really sticks in my craw is the one where you see a preacher standing before four people. (in order from left to right) A woman in a white dress, another woman in a white dress, a man in a tux and another man in a tux. All four people are just standing there, not holding anyone's hand.
All of the sudden, the animation makes them join hands with their marriage partner. Silly and homophobic you! You thought that the two (the man and the woman) in the center were going to join hands! HA! How dare you! The two women join hands and the two men join hands. Words flash upon the screen that say, "MTV: Watch and Learn."
"Watch and Learn"? I didn't know MTV was educational television. Wouldn't that make it [i]ETV[/i]?? And just what are we watching? A gay wedding ceremony. What are we to learn of this? Gay weddings are a-ok! Fear you not, MTV will teach you right from wrong!
Now if MTV had a cartoon of a black person being sent to the back of the bus and flashed "Watch and Learn" on the screen or had a dying Jesus on the cross and the words "Watch and Learn," how much do you want to bet that MTV would be in some deep sheit?
Thank heaven we have MTV to teach us the way!
Isn't that, like, soo fair and balanced er somethin'?
I also have a soft spot in my heart for MTV's Sex2k shows. Have you seen these? They talk about everything on these shows, from how "normal" it is to hit your lover with a bat while
All in all, if you're a sexual deviant who likes to hit people while you orgasm or dress up like a beaver and have sex with a stranger, MTV supports and encourages you.
They also had special that spent the entire hour talking about how gay marriage is about civil rights much like the 1960s battle for blacks to be allowed to drink from the same faucets as whites. I'm white and I'm insulted by that. How dare they minimize the horrid treatment of black people in our nation's sad and regretful past by likening the Gay Rights Issue to the Civil Rights Movement! You can pretend to not be gay. If you're black, you can't pretend not to be black. I don't see any signs on restrooms that say straights only! Do you? When did anyone ever enslave a gay person (aside from other gay people who are "into that kind of thing")? Why aren't more black people irked by this unfitting comparison?
And then there's some other public service announcements for their "Choose or Lose" campaign. It features a dorky white dude who's turned "pimpin'" when he decides to vote for "bling bling." I sheit you not.
This is merely a sampling of what MTV is showing you. There's SO much more! I wouldn't be so upset about all of this if MTV would show more than a quick, quiet, and slight mention of an opposing viewpoint!
In conclusion, MTV wants to tell you how to vote, who to vote for, and to have degenerate sexual practices. Oh yea, and they also think you're really stupid. Why else would they expect you to listen to them?
Please vote early and vote often. Please go out and look at the issues on your own. God knows MTV won't help you!
Just wanted to share . . .
07.26.04 (6:44 pm) [edit]
So today I got a good grade on a test that I took Friday that I thought I totally bombed out on. It was a good day and that was a nice surprise! I decided to just quickly share that with all of you because it's just such a great feeling.
Since today was such a good day, I will also re-write an essay I was going to post yesterday about MTV that was lost due to the computer crashing.
Stay tuned and I hope everyone is well! :)
You Can't Change My Stripes ...
07.25.04 (5:20 pm) [edit]
[b]. . . But you can change my layout! [/b]
Notice anything different about my Lair? Hehehe!
Thanks to the talants of [url=http://therealspartacus0 07.tb...]therealspartacus007[/url ]; who was smart enough to figure out the template code and controls so we could colaborate this beautiful revamp, a new look has been added to my site!!!!
I think it's simply dazzling!
Everyone should go over to [url=http://therealspartacus0 07.tb...]therealspartacus007[/url ]'s blog right now, read it, and leave him LOTS of nice comments!
Let me know what you think and leave me a comment below!! Feedback is greatly appriciated!!!
:D
Life Goes On
07.25.04 (12:55 pm) [edit]
So if you've noticed, I've not been blogging here in a bit of a while. At least not durring the week. My apologies. I am writing this as my explanation. I've been busy. School is getting more and more intense and I'm taking summer session classes in order to speed along my education. Thus, there's been more time for school and homework and less time for blogging.
Fear you not, I'm not going anywhere!
Things around here will be a little slow for a while because of my busy schedule. And I also apologize for not keeping up with some of my friends from around here's blogs. I will try to do my best to catch up on the weekends. Just bare with me.
The sane blogs that I do visit (the only blogs I leave comments on anymore) have my biggest respect and my greatest admiration. Just because I've not been able to make my rounds to you, please don't be upset with me. :) Also, please don't forget to keep checking back in here. I know that I've slowed down in my posts, but I have not stopped completely. There'll always be something fresh up here for your reading pleasure; be it my writing or articles from others that I choose to option here.
I do hope I continue to keep all entertained and as up to speed as I can!
Well, I better go take a look at what all of you have been writing! :D
French hutzpa
07.25.04 (12:46 pm) [edit]
[i][b]The Jerusalem Post[/b][/i]
Some of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's advisers and Israeli diplomats in Paris were at pains yesterday to try and temper Sharon's call on French Jews to come to Israel. They explained that it was only part of Sharon's regular call to the Jews of the Diaspora to make aliya and emphasized that he had praised the French governments' efforts in battling anti-Semitism.
They should have saved their breath. Sharon was unequivocal. After being asked a question about attacks on French Jews at a meeting with the leadership of the United Jewish Communities, the prime minister said, "If I have to advocate to our brothers in France, I would tell them one thing: move to Israel, as early as possible." Instead of making excuses, they should be backing up the prime minister's words.
In a normal diplomatic situation between two countries, one prime minister's suggestion to 600,000 citizens of another country to emigrate would indeed be an offensive gesture, rightly seen as interference in another country's internal affairs. But for the last four years, the situation between Israel and France has been everything but normal. And this is to say nothing about the French government's repeated efforts to intervene in Israeli politics.
In October 2000, President Jacques Chirac summoned an emergency summit in Paris with Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat in an effort to stem the outbreak of violence that started the current war.
Through American mediation, an agreement had been reached for an end to the fighting, but at the last moment Arafat refused to sign it. The French encouraged him to hold out for a better deal, including an international committee that would include France.
This exchange typifies the Franco-Israeli relationship. The Chirac government has assumed the role of the Palestinians' unwavering patron. Even recently, when longtime supporters like Terje Roed-Larsen have come to the conclusion that Arafat is no longer a viable partner for anything, France remains the only major country to continue honoring Arafat with high-level visits.
Three weeks ago, Foreign Minister Michel Barnier ended what had been a virtual diplomatic isolation by meeting with Arafat in Ramallah. He didn't miss the opportunity to urge Israel to stop building the security fence and allow Arafat to travel freely.
We understand that France does not see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an "internal" Israeli matter. But the defense of Israeli citizens from Palestinian terror is indeed our internal affair. If they wish to deliver pronouncements about it, fine, but what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
We also believe that the French government would do better to direct their efforts inwards. In 2002, Chirac insisted there was no anti-Semitism in France. Now he and his ministers are finally beginning to admit that they have a serious problem. Instead of preaching to Israel, the French should get down to dealing with their own homegrown intifada in which French Jews are the primary targets and French Muslims the primary aggressors.
Silence in the face of the mounting attack on Jewish communities around the world, most recently in Perth, Australia, and Wellington, New Zealand, where a Jewish synagogue and cemetery, respectively, were desecrated last week, is not an option for an Israeli prime minister.
Israel's declaration of statehood ends with an appeal "to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream — the redemption of Israel." But from the state's first years, it was evident that Israel's relationship with the Diaspora is two-way and its main responsibility is to provide a safe haven for the Jews of the world. First for the survivors of the Holocaust, and over the years for the refugees from the Arab world, for Soviet Jewry and for the lost tribe in Ethiopia.
Sharon's words might be unacceptable in the world of polite diplomacy but he was only carrying out his most basic duty as the leader of the Jewish state. We only wish Chirac would carry out his own basic duties with as much forthrightness.
Restore the Jewish genius
07.25.04 (12:43 pm) [edit]
[i][b]The Jerusalem Post[/b][/i]
It's been two millennia since Simon Ben-Shetah established schools across Judea and, as the Talmud recalls (Baba Batra, 21a), decreed that all children will be made to attend them.
Ironically, this measure - probably the first historical instance of compulsory education - was taken only a few generations before the Jews lost their sovereignty. Consequently, education became both an engine and a hallmark of the Jewish people's improbable survival during centuries of landlessness, dispersal, and persecution.
The fact that practically wherever Jews settled they hired teachers and set up classes for toddlers resulted in high literacy rates, when other nations kept literacy as the exclusive province of clergy and nobility.
The Jews not only popularized literacy, but also admired and rewarded intellectual excellence, with rich parents competing over the hearts of learned students for their daughters, even if such would-be grooms were humbly born.
Until the modern era, all this effort focused mainly on religious learning, but when the Jews began secularizing some two centuries ago, their heritage of curiosity, learning and ambition generated an explosion of academic excellence that for better and for worse has been widely associated with the modern Jew.
For decades, the State of Israel was no exception.
Here, too, Jews excelled, ultimately fueling success stories in research, invention, creation and enterprise, as institutions like the Hebrew University and the Weizmann Institute quickly established themselves as world leaders in science and technology.
In recent years, however, Israeli academe lost much of its shine, while at the lower levels, the decline of the school system drove down Israel's rating in international achievement tests.
According to the latest data, our highschoolers' accomplishments are below those of all the other developed countries, and also under some less developed ones.
One factor behind this trend is actually happy: The "integration" reform of 1968. Back then, children from underprivileged backgrounds were given an equal chance of entering the best high schools instead of being farmed off to vocational schools.
Yet the high ideals of inclusivity came up against an acute shortage of quality teachers. What was once a respected professional elite, degenerated in recent decades into a demoralized, underpaid and underqualified class of unionized workers.
In a money-motivated society, most of the students entering the teachers' colleges are those who had no hope of being admitted into one of the more prestigious colleges. Students have scant respect for these kind of teachers, and who can blame them?
The Education Ministry's Dovrat Task Force (see Pages 14-18) turned in its interim report three months ago. Its central recommendation is a total overhaul of the teaching force, now numbering an inflated 130,000. As a first step, 20,000 tired time-serving teachers will be retired and a new generation of teachers will be offered better, achievement-oriented pay, instead of today's salaries which are determined only by seniority.
Instead of working piecemeal schedules, they will spend the whole day at their schools, offering students additional, out-of-class tutoring.
Naturally, such revolutions are meeting with entrenched opposition from teachers, unions and bureaucrats. Still, in the interest of the future of the Jewish Genius, the Dovrat Reform must be implemented, lock, stock and barrel.
07.25.04 (12:41 pm) [edit]
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
The arrest on Friday of three Islamic Jihad members in the village of Tubas, southeast of Jenin, prevented a planned suicide attack in Israel, security officials revealed on Saturday. The three terrorists, arrested by soldiers from a reconnaissance unit of the armored corps, include the suicide bomber to-be, the man who recruited him and the man who planned the attack.
The three apparently planned to launch an attack in a petrol station in the northern Jordan valley- Beit She'an area. The suicide bomber was to have entered Israel from a Jordan Valley area where the security fence has yet to be completed.
In his interrogation with the Shin Bet, Shadi Nawaf Daraghme, 24, of Tubas, admitted he had planned to blow himself up in Israel.
Daraghme was recruited by Sama'a Rafik Daraghme, 19, who was also arrested Friday, together with Fares Mahmud Ahmed Tawafta, who planned the attack.
Security forces nabbed the terrorists' 15-kilogram explosives belt, which was blown up in a controlled explosion by IDF forces.
Security officials said that over the weekend 57 terror threats were registered.
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
The arrest on Friday of three Islamic Jihad members in the village of Tubas, southeast of Jenin, prevented a planned suicide attack in Israel, security officials revealed on Saturday. The three terrorists, arrested by soldiers from a reconnaissance unit of the armored corps, include the suicide bomber to-be, the man who recruited him and the man who planned the attack.
The three apparently planned to launch an attack in a petrol station in the northern Jordan valley- Beit She'an area. The suicide bomber was to have entered Israel from a Jordan Valley area where the security fence has yet to be completed.
In his interrogation with the Shin Bet, Shadi Nawaf Daraghme, 24, of Tubas, admitted he had planned to blow himself up in Israel.
Daraghme was recruited by Sama'a Rafik Daraghme, 19, who was also arrested Friday, together with Fares Mahmud Ahmed Tawafta, who planned the attack.
Security forces nabbed the terrorists' 15-kilogram explosives belt, which was blown up in a controlled explosion by IDF forces.
Security officials said that over the weekend 57 terror threats were registered.
Networks: Conventions bad; bug-eating good
07.25.04 (12:37 pm) [edit]
[i][b]Sun Jul 25, 5:19 AM ET
Brian Lowry, STAFF [/b][/i]
Despite bowing to no one in my admiration for Ted Koppel, the newsman's newsman has fallen prey to thinking inside the box -- a narrow-mindedness that also has gripped network news divisions, major sponsors and the Democratic and Republican national committees.
The Democrats mount their quadrennial convention this week, and grizzled broadcasters like Koppel insist it's destined to be a news-free John Kerry infomercial that merits sparse attention from the major networks. Eight years ago, Koppel walked out on the GOP's powwow to make precisely that point.
CBS News president Andrew Heyward articulated this theme to reporters last week, saying scaled-back coverage -- a mere hour in primetime on three of the four nights -- is more than sufficient.
While acknowledging CBS might miss capturing a seminal moment, he said, "The bigger risk is that we will spend a lot of time and a lot of money on something that has minimal news value."
Yes, God knows the networks never waste time on stories with minimal news value -- unless your fascination with Donald Trump can actually be contained by his weekly appearances on "The Apprentice."
Indeed, a cynic might reference all the news-challenged cross-promotional fare the news divisions have covered voraciously -- from the "Friends" and "Frasier" finales to weekly evictions on "Survivor" and "The Bachelor."
Then there's the riveting programming viewers would be deprived of should the networks go wall-to-wall in primetime, eliminating "George Lopez" reruns, the incomprehensible dating show "For Love or Money" and the latest shenanigans on "Big Brother."
Still, we're expected to believe it's somehow dangerous for networks to be hoodwinked into devoting time to the conventions every four years during the summer. Moreover, even the infomercial aspect -- the messages that the parties and candidates choose to put forth -- proves instructive, as highlighted by MSNBC's Chris Matthews special "Picking Our President," demonstrating how significant these affairs used to be and the impact even peripheral speakers have frequently had.
I'm not suggesting the networks need to blow out their entire lineups. Yet in terms of public service, there's clearly more to be gained even from a blathering infomercial than a rerun of "According to Jim" -- especially since TV does such a half-assed job of covering politics, focusing less on issues than on yelling and poll-taking.
Besides, the major parties are spending unprecedented amounts on paid TV spots, which one might think would buy them extra consideration. In essence, broadcasters are saying, "We're happy to take your money without extending any kind of value-added bonus," which is less than Reebok and Ford have come to expect when sponsoring "Survivor" and "American Idol."
Far be it from me, however, to risk appearing cynical. My proposal is that the parties and networks simply haven't gone far enough in adapting these conventions to conform to current TV sensibilities and tastes.
Those aforementioned reality shows might light the path toward how to transform the conventions into a ready-for-primetime player. This will require tradeoffs in terms of decorum, of course, but it's not like the events don't jump to TV's tune already.
For starters, each convention could pick some loudmouth -- say, Pat Buchanan or James Carville -- and vote them out of the hall. Catering to local TV, organizers then could stage a high-speed chase outside the venue, or maybe through it.
Introducing a game element, NBC could unleash obnoxious "Access Hollywood" anchor Billy Bush (a George W. Bush cousin) on the convention floors, seeing how long attendees can endure talking to him as a clock runs in the screen's corner. Perhaps even fix up delegates from different states and send them out on a dinner date, returning the next night to see whether they hit it off. (Preferably said delegates will be single, but with the Democrats, you never know.)
Nor need the conventions be a money-losing proposition. Savvy sponsors should treat the showcase like a football halftime show, with the "Rolaids Party Platform Moment," "MasterCard 'Voting Is Priceless' Sweepstakes" and "Republican National Convention: Brought to You by Halliburton."
Hey, it's showbiz, baby, or didn't anybody notice Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason stage-managing for President Clinton and producer Don Mischer orchestrating this year's Democratic event?
Please, though, don't say this would be undignified. Speeches are already scheduled and calibrated to suit the networks, as is every shred of set design and imagery at the convention.
As for the political parties, to borrow a line from the sanitized basic-cable cut of "Scent of a Woman": "Forget you, too." Both have protested the lack of coverage half-heartedly at best, largely because the last thing they really want is meaningful analysis that might interfere with their paid advertising onslaught, where they can saturate the airwaves with slickly produced 30-second messages over which they have total control.
Apparently hoping to deflect criticism, ABC and CBS have outlined plans to provide gavel-to-gavel convention feeds via broadband or digital or some such, which ought to be thrilling to the seven people with access to it. NBC, meanwhile, can punt to MSNBC, which joins Fox News Channel, CNN, PBS and C-SPAN in providing expansive coverage.
"If I felt it was the only place people could see it, then it would be more of an issue," said Heyward in what's little more than a rationalization, since networks routinely pile onto stories blanketed by cable.
So just as the conventions once conveyed a sense of drama, with a little creativity they can again. Now get the torches out, and as they say on the dating shows, prepare for "an incredible journey," before the news divisions' last flicker of gumption fades to black.
07.25.04 (12:31 pm) [edit]
DUBAI, July 25 (Reuters) - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari accused regional satellite channels of inciting violence and hinted Iraq might stop Al Jazeera operating in the country.
"Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, al-Manar and al-Alam have all become channels of incitement and opposed to the interests, security and stability of the Iraqi people," Zebari told Al Jazeera television.
"There is strong talk from some Iraqi government officials about closing Al Jazeera. Unfortunately it is being manipulated by terrorist groups and we will not tolerate this biased coverage," he said.
Al Manar, is owned by Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah, al-Alam is Iran's Arabic-language television channel and Dubai-based Al Arabiya is mostly Saudi owned.
Al Jazeera, which together with Al Arabiya gained popularity among Arab viewers for its graphic coverage of the 2003 war in Iraq, denounced the allegations and said it would continue to cover news in Iraq.
"Al Jazeera condemns this method of dealing with the press and considers the allegations and threats as tantamount to incitement against the channel and its staff working in Iraq," the television said in a statement faxed to Reuters.
Dubai-based Al Arabiya could not be immediately reached for comment.
Al Jazeera unveiled a code of ethics earlier this month, pledging to adhere to honesty, fairness and balance.
Iraqi officials have previously temporarily limited operations of the Qatar-based channel and its competitor, Dubai-based Al Arabiya, accusing them of inciting violence.
The U.S. administration has repeatedly criticised Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya's coverage of Iraq claiming they were biased. Both channels have repeatedly aired footage of anti-U.S. attacks and statements from Iraqi insurgents and from kidnappers of hostages in Iraq.
[i]© Copyright Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of Reuters Ltd.
07/25/2004 15:41
RTR[/i]
DUBAI, July 25 (Reuters) - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari accused regional satellite channels of inciting violence and hinted Iraq might stop Al Jazeera operating in the country.
"Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, al-Manar and al-Alam have all become channels of incitement and opposed to the interests, security and stability of the Iraqi people," Zebari told Al Jazeera television.
"There is strong talk from some Iraqi government officials about closing Al Jazeera. Unfortunately it is being manipulated by terrorist groups and we will not tolerate this biased coverage," he said.
Al Manar, is owned by Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah, al-Alam is Iran's Arabic-language television channel and Dubai-based Al Arabiya is mostly Saudi owned.
Al Jazeera, which together with Al Arabiya gained popularity among Arab viewers for its graphic coverage of the 2003 war in Iraq, denounced the allegations and said it would continue to cover news in Iraq.
"Al Jazeera condemns this method of dealing with the press and considers the allegations and threats as tantamount to incitement against the channel and its staff working in Iraq," the television said in a statement faxed to Reuters.
Dubai-based Al Arabiya could not be immediately reached for comment.
Al Jazeera unveiled a code of ethics earlier this month, pledging to adhere to honesty, fairness and balance.
Iraqi officials have previously temporarily limited operations of the Qatar-based channel and its competitor, Dubai-based Al Arabiya, accusing them of inciting violence.
The U.S. administration has repeatedly criticised Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya's coverage of Iraq claiming they were biased. Both channels have repeatedly aired footage of anti-U.S. attacks and statements from Iraqi insurgents and from kidnappers of hostages in Iraq.
[i]© Copyright Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of Reuters Ltd.
07/25/2004 15:41
RTR[/i]
07.25.04 (12:27 pm) [edit]
JERUSALEM, July 25 (Reuters) - Palestinian militants fired a missile into a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, wounding four people at a community centre, the Israeli army said.
Military sources said they believed a rocket hit the building at Neveh Dekalim, at the heart of the main Gush Katif settlement bloc.
Emergency services said three were lightly injured while one of the casualties was more serious.
Palestinian militants regularly lob mortars and rockets into the Gaza settlements and nearby districts of southern Israel, but fatalaties are rare.
JERUSALEM, July 25 (Reuters) - Palestinian militants fired a missile into a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, wounding four people at a community centre, the Israeli army said.
Military sources said they believed a rocket hit the building at Neveh Dekalim, at the heart of the main Gush Katif settlement bloc.
Emergency services said three were lightly injured while one of the casualties was more serious.
Palestinian militants regularly lob mortars and rockets into the Gaza settlements and nearby districts of southern Israel, but fatalaties are rare.
07.25.04 (12:25 pm) [edit]
[i][b]By Inigo Gilmore in Jerusalem
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/2 5/wmid25.xml" title="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/2 5/wmid25.xml" target="_blank"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ne...
(Filed: 25/07/2004) [/b][/i]
Palestinian businessmen have made millions of pounds supplying cement for Israel's "security barrier" in the full knowledge of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader and one of the wall's most vocal critics.
A damning report by Palestinian legislators, which has been seen by the Telegraph, concludes that Mr Arafat did nothing to stop the deals although he publicly condemned the structure as a "crime against humanity".
The Israeli wall cuts through the Palestinian town of Baqa el-Gharbiya
The report claims that the cement was sold with the knowledge of senior officials at the Palestinian ministry of national economy, and close advisers to Mr Arafat. It concludes that officials were bribed to issue import licences for the cement to importers and businessmen working for Israelis.
One of the report's three authors, Hassan Khreishe - an independent legislator and long-term critic of Mr Arafat - last night called for the Palestinian cabinet to resign.
"Wealthy Palestinians with connections at the highest levels have been making millions helping Israel build this wall while Arafat and the Palestinian Authority have been urging people to fight against it," said Mr Khreishe, a council member from the West Bank city of Tulkarm.
"Why Arafat did nothing about it, we just don't know. These people are traitors who have brought shame on us, and they should be punished."
An official in Mr Arafat's office said: "We will not comment because this file has been closed and it is now in the hands of the attorney general."
Growing resistance to corruption in the Palestinian Authority is posing the most serious internal challenge to Mr Arafat's leadership. Last week, gunmen staged a number of kidnappings and attacks on security buildings in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated about high-level corruption and the appointment of Mr Arafat's cousin, Moussa Arafat, as security chief in the Gaza Strip.
The report reveals that the cement originally came from Egyptian companies which supplied it at a huge discount of $22 (£12.50) a ton to help rebuild dilapidated Palestinian houses or buildings bulldozed by the Israelis.
Between September 2003 and March this year, 420,000 tons of cement were allegedly sent to three big Palestinian companies. According to the report, however, only 33,000 tons were sold in the Palestinian market. The vast bulk was transported to Israel on trucks owned by the three firms. According to Mr Khreishe, the cement was then sold with a mark-up of at least $15 a ton - and possibly as high as $100 - making profits of well over $6 million (£3.4 million) for company executives.
The Legislative Council launched an investigation after Egyptian journalists stumbled upon business links between a German Jewish businessman and the Palestinian companies.
According to the report, on November 9 last year a letter was sent to Mr Arafat by the Palestinian Authority comptroller, revealing that open-ended import licences for the cement had been signed by Maher al-Masri, the economy minister.
The Palestinian Authority comptroller asserted in the letter that the cement was destined for the wall.
The letter was allegedly received and seen by Mr Arafat on the same day that he urged people to demonstrate on the first international "Day against the Wall". According to Mr Khreishe, Mr Arafat took no action to stop further imports, which continued for another five months.
Ministry officials said that Mr al-Masri was unavailable for comment. The minister was quoted on a Palestinian news website challenging the claims, although he conceded that some cement had been transported to Israeli businessmen. "There is an exaggeration," he said. "The goal is to distort my reputation."
He said that his own investigative committee found that only 14,500 tons of concrete were transported to Israel. He conceded that two ministry officials carried out some "suspicious administrative violations" in relation to the permits, and that there was not full co-ordination between the economy and finance ministries regarding the cement quota. The ministry had issued permits for 233,000 tons, he said, and had then cancelled permits for 65,000 tons.
The revelations in the report are highly embarrassing for Mr Arafat, who has been pushing the international community to condemn the 425-mile barrier, of which about one quarter has been built. Israel says that the barrier is vital to protect its citizens from suicide bombers and terrorist attacks. Palestinian leaders argue that it is designed to deprive them of a state, and is cutting off Palestinians from their land, schools, doctors and relatives.
Last week, the United Nations condemned the barrier and demanded that it should be torn down.
[i]© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004. Terms & Conditions of reading.
Commercial information. Privacy and Cookie Policy.[/i]
[i][b]By Inigo Gilmore in Jerusalem
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/2 5/wmid25.xml" title="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/07/2 5/wmid25.xml" target="_blank"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ne...
(Filed: 25/07/2004) [/b][/i]
Palestinian businessmen have made millions of pounds supplying cement for Israel's "security barrier" in the full knowledge of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader and one of the wall's most vocal critics.
A damning report by Palestinian legislators, which has been seen by the Telegraph, concludes that Mr Arafat did nothing to stop the deals although he publicly condemned the structure as a "crime against humanity".
The Israeli wall cuts through the Palestinian town of Baqa el-Gharbiya
The report claims that the cement was sold with the knowledge of senior officials at the Palestinian ministry of national economy, and close advisers to Mr Arafat. It concludes that officials were bribed to issue import licences for the cement to importers and businessmen working for Israelis.
One of the report's three authors, Hassan Khreishe - an independent legislator and long-term critic of Mr Arafat - last night called for the Palestinian cabinet to resign.
"Wealthy Palestinians with connections at the highest levels have been making millions helping Israel build this wall while Arafat and the Palestinian Authority have been urging people to fight against it," said Mr Khreishe, a council member from the West Bank city of Tulkarm.
"Why Arafat did nothing about it, we just don't know. These people are traitors who have brought shame on us, and they should be punished."
An official in Mr Arafat's office said: "We will not comment because this file has been closed and it is now in the hands of the attorney general."
Growing resistance to corruption in the Palestinian Authority is posing the most serious internal challenge to Mr Arafat's leadership. Last week, gunmen staged a number of kidnappings and attacks on security buildings in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated about high-level corruption and the appointment of Mr Arafat's cousin, Moussa Arafat, as security chief in the Gaza Strip.
The report reveals that the cement originally came from Egyptian companies which supplied it at a huge discount of $22 (£12.50) a ton to help rebuild dilapidated Palestinian houses or buildings bulldozed by the Israelis.
Between September 2003 and March this year, 420,000 tons of cement were allegedly sent to three big Palestinian companies. According to the report, however, only 33,000 tons were sold in the Palestinian market. The vast bulk was transported to Israel on trucks owned by the three firms. According to Mr Khreishe, the cement was then sold with a mark-up of at least $15 a ton - and possibly as high as $100 - making profits of well over $6 million (£3.4 million) for company executives.
The Legislative Council launched an investigation after Egyptian journalists stumbled upon business links between a German Jewish businessman and the Palestinian companies.
According to the report, on November 9 last year a letter was sent to Mr Arafat by the Palestinian Authority comptroller, revealing that open-ended import licences for the cement had been signed by Maher al-Masri, the economy minister.
The Palestinian Authority comptroller asserted in the letter that the cement was destined for the wall.
The letter was allegedly received and seen by Mr Arafat on the same day that he urged people to demonstrate on the first international "Day against the Wall". According to Mr Khreishe, Mr Arafat took no action to stop further imports, which continued for another five months.
Ministry officials said that Mr al-Masri was unavailable for comment. The minister was quoted on a Palestinian news website challenging the claims, although he conceded that some cement had been transported to Israeli businessmen. "There is an exaggeration," he said. "The goal is to distort my reputation."
He said that his own investigative committee found that only 14,500 tons of concrete were transported to Israel. He conceded that two ministry officials carried out some "suspicious administrative violations" in relation to the permits, and that there was not full co-ordination between the economy and finance ministries regarding the cement quota. The ministry had issued permits for 233,000 tons, he said, and had then cancelled permits for 65,000 tons.
The revelations in the report are highly embarrassing for Mr Arafat, who has been pushing the international community to condemn the 425-mile barrier, of which about one quarter has been built. Israel says that the barrier is vital to protect its citizens from suicide bombers and terrorist attacks. Palestinian leaders argue that it is designed to deprive them of a state, and is cutting off Palestinians from their land, schools, doctors and relatives.
Last week, the United Nations condemned the barrier and demanded that it should be torn down.
[i]© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004. Terms & Conditions of reading.
Commercial information. Privacy and Cookie Policy.[/i]
07.25.04 (12:22 pm) [edit]
[i][b]RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writer
(07-25) 11:47 PDT JERUSALEM (AP) --[/b][/i]
Israelis joined hands Sunday and formed a 55-mile-long human chain that stretched from Gaza to Jerusalem, protesting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan as violence elsewhere left six Palestinian militants dead and five Israeli children wounded.
The Israeli children, housed at a community center, were injured when Palestinians fired mortars at the largest Gaza settlement, Neve Dekalim, according to rescue services and the military. The settlement is a frequent target of Palestinian rifle and mortar fire. The attack occurred just as demonstrators were heading home.
Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in the West Bank town of Tulkarem. Israel Army Radio said they were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, loosely linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
It was the bloodiest clash in the West Bank in a month. On June 26, Israeli forces ambushed Palestinian militants holed up in a tunnel in Nablus, killing seven.
Organizers expected up to 150,000 Israelis to form the human chain, about the same number as participated in a pro-withdrawal demonstration in Tel Aviv two months ago. Turnout appeared to be near expectations, with few gaps in the chain.
Israel Army Radio quoted police officials as estimating 70,000 people actually took part. Israel TV's Channel Two gave an estimate of 130,000.
The chain began at Nissanit, a settlement in northern Gaza, and stretched 55 miles along roads and highways to Jerusalem's Western Wall. Hundreds of rented buses carried people to various points along the route, and bullhorns signaled demonstrators to join hands.
"We came here to protest the program of expelling Jews from their land," said Avraham Yitzhaki, 54, from the Gaza settlement of Ganei Tal.
In Jerusalem's Old City, religious Jews prayed at Judaism's holiest shrine, then danced, clapped and sang patriotic songs before clasping hands.
Thousands of police officers patrolled the route, directed snarled traffic and tried to prevent any disturbances.
Sharon announced in December that he planned to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements by the end of September 2005. The plan drew such fierce opposition from hard-liners that he fired two critics in his own Cabinet, forcing him to search for a new governing coalition.
The decision also infuriated Jewish settlers who saw Sharon as their champion through decades of political fighting over building and expanding settlements in territories seized from Jordan, Egypt and Syria in the 1967 Mideast war.
"The government of Israel should not be displacing its own people," said Adina Giventer, who came to demonstrate from Haifa in northern Israel.
Many Israelis say the settlements reinforce Israel's claim to lands that are the birthright of the Jewish people. About 240,000 Jews live among 3.5 million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Other Israelis believe relinquishing the settlements is a precondition for reaching peace with the Palestinians. Polls show a majority in favor of Sharon's plan to abandon the Gaza Strip, which has less historical significance than the West Bank.
The human chain took months to organize. Volunteers enlisted on a Web site that sliced the route into seven segments. People were told which area they should travel to, based on the location of their home or workplace.
"We have a flood of people asking to take part in the chain. The numbers are much, much more than we expected," organizer Zevulon Halfon said. "Spreading out this force in such a short time really requires massive control."
The first person on the chain in Nissanit was Shamir Yitzhak, who was evacuated from the Gaza Strip when Egypt captured the area in the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948.
Six-year-old Yael Better, Yitzhak's granddaughter, marked the last link of the chain, placing her hand on the ancient stones of the Western Wall while more than 2,000 people in the courtyard sang the national anthem.
"I don't know if it will have any influence. But we at least want to show the government that this can't be given up easily," said Mordechai Better, Yael's father. "It's not something that can be removed in a minute. There are three generations here."
Also Sunday, in Gaza City, Israeli helicopters destroyed a two-story house in a crowded residential district. The army said the building housed a weapons workshop run by the Hamas militant organization.
Palestinian security officials said the house in the Zeitoun neighborhood was empty at the time of the strike. Two people, apparently passers-by, were taken to Gaza hospital with minor injuries, and two others were treated at the scene.
Also, Israeli troops expanded an operation near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, effectively taking over the entire town in an effort to prevent the firing of rockets on nearby Israeli areas.
[line]
[i]Associated Press reporter Peter Enav contributed to this report from southern Israel. [/i]
[line]
On the Net:
www.katif.net
[i][b]RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writer
(07-25) 11:47 PDT JERUSALEM (AP) --[/b][/i]
Israelis joined hands Sunday and formed a 55-mile-long human chain that stretched from Gaza to Jerusalem, protesting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan as violence elsewhere left six Palestinian militants dead and five Israeli children wounded.
The Israeli children, housed at a community center, were injured when Palestinians fired mortars at the largest Gaza settlement, Neve Dekalim, according to rescue services and the military. The settlement is a frequent target of Palestinian rifle and mortar fire. The attack occurred just as demonstrators were heading home.
Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in the West Bank town of Tulkarem. Israel Army Radio said they were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, loosely linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
It was the bloodiest clash in the West Bank in a month. On June 26, Israeli forces ambushed Palestinian militants holed up in a tunnel in Nablus, killing seven.
Organizers expected up to 150,000 Israelis to form the human chain, about the same number as participated in a pro-withdrawal demonstration in Tel Aviv two months ago. Turnout appeared to be near expectations, with few gaps in the chain.
Israel Army Radio quoted police officials as estimating 70,000 people actually took part. Israel TV's Channel Two gave an estimate of 130,000.
The chain began at Nissanit, a settlement in northern Gaza, and stretched 55 miles along roads and highways to Jerusalem's Western Wall. Hundreds of rented buses carried people to various points along the route, and bullhorns signaled demonstrators to join hands.
"We came here to protest the program of expelling Jews from their land," said Avraham Yitzhaki, 54, from the Gaza settlement of Ganei Tal.
In Jerusalem's Old City, religious Jews prayed at Judaism's holiest shrine, then danced, clapped and sang patriotic songs before clasping hands.
Thousands of police officers patrolled the route, directed snarled traffic and tried to prevent any disturbances.
Sharon announced in December that he planned to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements by the end of September 2005. The plan drew such fierce opposition from hard-liners that he fired two critics in his own Cabinet, forcing him to search for a new governing coalition.
The decision also infuriated Jewish settlers who saw Sharon as their champion through decades of political fighting over building and expanding settlements in territories seized from Jordan, Egypt and Syria in the 1967 Mideast war.
"The government of Israel should not be displacing its own people," said Adina Giventer, who came to demonstrate from Haifa in northern Israel.
Many Israelis say the settlements reinforce Israel's claim to lands that are the birthright of the Jewish people. About 240,000 Jews live among 3.5 million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Other Israelis believe relinquishing the settlements is a precondition for reaching peace with the Palestinians. Polls show a majority in favor of Sharon's plan to abandon the Gaza Strip, which has less historical significance than the West Bank.
The human chain took months to organize. Volunteers enlisted on a Web site that sliced the route into seven segments. People were told which area they should travel to, based on the location of their home or workplace.
"We have a flood of people asking to take part in the chain. The numbers are much, much more than we expected," organizer Zevulon Halfon said. "Spreading out this force in such a short time really requires massive control."
The first person on the chain in Nissanit was Shamir Yitzhak, who was evacuated from the Gaza Strip when Egypt captured the area in the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948.
Six-year-old Yael Better, Yitzhak's granddaughter, marked the last link of the chain, placing her hand on the ancient stones of the Western Wall while more than 2,000 people in the courtyard sang the national anthem.
"I don't know if it will have any influence. But we at least want to show the government that this can't be given up easily," said Mordechai Better, Yael's father. "It's not something that can be removed in a minute. There are three generations here."
Also Sunday, in Gaza City, Israeli helicopters destroyed a two-story house in a crowded residential district. The army said the building housed a weapons workshop run by the Hamas militant organization.
Palestinian security officials said the house in the Zeitoun neighborhood was empty at the time of the strike. Two people, apparently passers-by, were taken to Gaza hospital with minor injuries, and two others were treated at the scene.
Also, Israeli troops expanded an operation near Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, effectively taking over the entire town in an effort to prevent the firing of rockets on nearby Israeli areas.
[line]
[i]Associated Press reporter Peter Enav contributed to this report from southern Israel. [/i]
[line]
On the Net:
www.katif.net
This infamous act
07.23.04 (5:23 pm) [edit]
In 1975, Uganda, under the dictatorial leadership of Idi Amin, sponsored the Zionism is Racism resolution. On Monday, Uganda, under the more progressive leadership of Yoweri Museveni, was one of only 10 states that abstained from the United Nations General Assembly resolution against Israel's security fence. This is progress.
Then again, in 1975 the European countries opposed Zionism is Racism. This time, the EU voted as a 25-member bloc in favor of the anti-fence resolution. So much for the diplomatic boost Israel was supposed to get in Europe once the eastern states were on board.
What is the difference between the 1975 resolution and this one? On the surface, they couldn't be more different. Zionism is Racism forthrightly stated that Israel had no right to exist; that among the world's many nation-states and national movements the Jewish one was uniquely illegitimate.
The 2004 resolution says nothing of the kind: It reaffirms "the commitment of the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 borders." It condemns "all acts of violence, terrorism, and destruction." And it calls "on both the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to immediately implement their obligations under the road map."
Yet the real difference between the two resolutions really comes down to degrees of baldness. The 1975 resolution said Israel has no right to exist. The 2004 resolution says Israel has no right to defend itself, except on terms agreeable to the international community generally and the Palestinians particularly, which is tantamount to no defense at all.
What the European Union – Germany incredibly and inexcusably included – voted for this week, then, was this: Not the dismantling of the security fence, which they know perfectly well isn't going to happen, but for the right to decide on Israel's behalf how its citizens are legitimately to be defended. We are told that lethal incursions into the West Bank and Gaza Strip to stop the terrorism at its source are forbidden.
Now the non-lethal security fence is forbidden, too. What Israel can do, apparently, is capitulate to the Palestinians politically, retreat to the 1949 armistice lines, and defend itself as best it can within – and only within – those narrow borders.
Is this what the civilized world really wants for Israel? Is this what Germany really wants for the Jewish state? By this token, Israel would not have had a right to rescue its citizens taken hostage at Entebbe airport in 1976, on the grounds that the rescue violated Ugandan sovereignty. (The Entebbe analogy is particularly apposite because Idi Amin claimed not to be colluding with the German terrorists, just as the PA claims not to be colluding with Palestinian terrorists.)
We understand the European states would argue their vote for the resolution means nothing of the sort; thus the condemnation of terrorism and the line about peace and security within recognized borders.
But how can they put their names to a resolution that makes only the briefest and most nonspecific mention of "terrorism," while inveighing against Israel in highly specific terms? How can they simultaneously be in favor of a negotiated settlement, which implies compromise over the final disposition of the territories, and a legal verdict that claims that every inch of the West Bank and Gaza is Palestinian soil? How can they decently oppose a measure that demonstrably saves lives while taking none? Most importantly, what realistic alternatives does the EU offer Israel to mount an effective defense against Palestinian terrorism? What alternative, that is, other than assurances of Palestinian goodwill?
Had the General Assembly resolution not been merely a hortatory one, we suspect the EU may have been rather more reluctant to cast its votes against Israel. Championing the Palestinians at Israel's expense is easy as long as it's cheap, and as long as they know the US will come to Israel's diplomatic defense. In the meantime, we can only concur with Israel's able and eloquent UN ambassador, Danny Gillerman.
"Thank God," he said, "that the fate of Israel and of the Jewish people is not decided in this hall."
The Wall.
07.21.04 (9:24 am) [edit]
Courtesy HonestReporting.com....
Now let's talk about what's fair!
07.21.04 (9:19 am) [edit]
If this was America in such a war with Lebanon, what would be happening?
[line]
JERUSALEM - Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas killed two Israeli soldiers Tuesday in a cross-border clash. Israel responded by firing on guerrilla positions in southern Lebanon with tanks and helicopters, the army said.
The renewed fighting, the most serious in months, followed a Beirut bombing on Monday that killed a veteran Hezbollah commander.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the assassination, but the army denied it was involved.
Israeli military officials said Hezbollah started firing and called the shooting a "provocation." But Lebanese security officials said Israel was the first to shoot. and Hezbollah warned it would retaliate.
Israeli military censorship held up publication of the fact that two soldiers were killed for several hours, to give time to inform family members.
The Israel-Lebanon border has been relatively quiet since Israel ended its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in May 2000. Clashes in which Israeli soldiers and guerrillas are killed sometime erupt on the frontier, but the violence has not spread or expanded since the pullout.
Including Tuesday's deaths, 13 Israeli soldiers have been killed in cross-border confrontations since the pullout.
If this was America in such a war with Lebanon, what would be happening?
[line]
JERUSALEM - Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas killed two Israeli soldiers Tuesday in a cross-border clash. Israel responded by firing on guerrilla positions in southern Lebanon with tanks and helicopters, the army said.
The renewed fighting, the most serious in months, followed a Beirut bombing on Monday that killed a veteran Hezbollah commander.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the assassination, but the army denied it was involved.
Israeli military officials said Hezbollah started firing and called the shooting a "provocation." But Lebanese security officials said Israel was the first to shoot. and Hezbollah warned it would retaliate.
Israeli military censorship held up publication of the fact that two soldiers were killed for several hours, to give time to inform family members.
The Israel-Lebanon border has been relatively quiet since Israel ended its 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in May 2000. Clashes in which Israeli soldiers and guerrillas are killed sometime erupt on the frontier, but the violence has not spread or expanded since the pullout.
Including Tuesday's deaths, 13 Israeli soldiers have been killed in cross-border confrontations since the pullout.
07.21.04 (9:14 am) [edit]
They just love to crucify Jews ...
[line]
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution Tuesday demanding that Israel comply with a world court decision and tear down the barrier it is building to seal off the West Bank.
The vote was 150 in favor, 6 opposed — including the United States — and 10 abstentions.
The assembly's vote, like the opinion of the International Court of Justice, [b]is not legally binding,[/b] but both have symbolic value as international statements of support for the barrier's destruction.
They just love to crucify Jews ...
[line]
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution Tuesday demanding that Israel comply with a world court decision and tear down the barrier it is building to seal off the West Bank.
The vote was 150 in favor, 6 opposed — including the United States — and 10 abstentions.
The assembly's vote, like the opinion of the International Court of Justice, [b]is not legally binding,[/b] but both have symbolic value as international statements of support for the barrier's destruction.
"Girly Men"
07.19.04 (5:35 pm) [edit]
[b][i]"You have got to be sh--ing me!" --Me, upon reading the morning's news headlines[/b][/i]
That's right, the respectful Governor of our beautiful state of California is officially ridiculous, in case you weren't aware. The esteemed Governor Schwartzeneggar of the state of California called people "Girly Men."
What the F---?
Look, Mr. Schwartzeneggar, this isn't some Hollywood movie set. You are an elected government official. We talk like adults here.
What kills me is the people who say that he does not have to apologize. [i]Are you mental??[/i] First off, he should not have said that in the first place. Secondly, where does he get off? This is the same Ahhhnold Schwartzeneggar who wants to change the law so that foreigners (as in those not born in this country) can be president. This is the same Ahhhhnold Schwartzeneggar who thought he'd make a great politician. It's also the same Schwartzeneggar who groped women on movie sets and is most famous for "I'll be back."
And now, he can't separate the Hollywood movie set from the Governor's podium.
Conduct unbecoming, Mr. Schwartzeneggar.
I'm sorry, but I for one hold my politicians to higher standards. This is unacceptable behavior from a Governor or any adult. It's offensive not only to the people whom he was speaking to/about. It's insulting to the people he is supposed to be in charge of.
Of course, I also didn't vote for Ahhnold. I voted for someone I thought more apt and able to carry the weight of this job.
Was I surprised that, even though it was a campaign promise that Mr. Schwartzeneggar would ensure that education would not be touched in his reform plan, education was the first thing to get ass raped? No. Am I surprised that Mr. Schwartzeneggar called other elected officials "Girly Men"? Not that much.
What surprises me more is that the masses still love him as a governor because he's the charming actor who played in [i]Kindergarten Cop[/i] and [i]Terminator[/i]. It also somewhat surprised me more that people even voted for him in the first place.
I don't know about you, but all intelligent citizens of California and beyond should be as, if not more, outraged as I.
07.19.04 (11:50 am) [edit]
[b]Stem Cells from Human Umbilical Cord Blood Show Ability to Form Bone, Nerve and Heart Cells
Monday July 19, 9:04 am ET
Novel Unrestricted Somatic Stem Cells (USSCs) offer potential medical breakthrough[/b]
BOSTON, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- ViaCell, Inc., a cellular therapy company dedicated to enabling the widespread application of human cells as medicine, and the International NETCORD Foundation, the leading international network of public umbilical cord blood banks, today announced the publication of a peer- reviewed article in The Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM). For the first time, using novel cells found in human umbilical cord blood, researchers have shown the ability to grow bone, cartilage, hematopoietic (blood), neural, liver and heart tissue in in vivo studies. The article is entitled, "A new human somatic stem cell from placental cord blood with intrinsic pluripotent differentiation potential" and is available in the July 19, 2004 issue, vol. 200, no. 2, of JEM.
Dr. Peter Wernet, the President of NETCORD, commented, "To our knowledge, we are the first group to demonstrate that neonatal somatic stem cells can be robustly expanded in vitro under pharmaceutical conditions to very large numbers and can differentiate, in vivo, into a number of tissue types and take on the properties and specific functions of the cells in those tissues." This discovery was made by Dr. Wernet, Dr. G. Koegler and scientists at ViaCell.
This article describes the isolation and expansion of ViaCell's proprietary USSC from human umbilical cord blood . This cell type can be expanded in number under culture conditions published in the article. The USSC has demonstrated a capacity to turn into several different cell types in vivo, including brain, bone, cartilage, liver, heart, and blood cells. Previous experimental and clinical work has demonstrated the presence of blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells in cord blood. While USSC therapies in humans have not been demonstrated, ViaCell believes that USSCs found in cord blood are capable of reconstituting multiple other organ systems, including brain, bone, cartilage, liver, and heart. This scientific work was performed by the University of Duesseldorf in a collaborative relationship with ViaCell's German subsidiary and was supported financially by the state of North Rhine Westfalia.
Dr. Brent Davidson, division head of obstetrics and gynecology at the Henry Ford Health System, commented that "thousands of families have banked stem cells from umbilical cord blood in the United States. While considerably more work is required, I believe that the demonstration that these cells using the non-controversial umbilical cord blood stem cell are able to differentiate into a broad range of tissues could prove to be a significant scientific advance. I am particularly encouraged that the results provide a proof of principle for use in many common illnesses possibly affecting a large portion of the population. "
Dr. Masood Khatamee, the executive director of the Fertility Research Foundation and clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University's School of Medicine commented "The data demonstrating that umbilical cord blood contains stem cells capable of reconstituting multiple organ systems like the brain, bone, cartilage, liver and heart validate the importance of recommending the option of cord blood preservation to all of our patients. These data make it clear that cord blood stem cells have the potential to treat diseases that impact nearly every family."
About NETCORD
The NETCORD Foundation is a network of non-profit public cord blood banks in the U.S.A., Europe, Israel, Japan, and Australia, which have already provided thousands of cord blood stem cell grafts for patients worldwide. NETCORD has established specific quality standards in collaboration with the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) in North America on the collection, cryopreservation, storage, and release of cord blood units.
To assist transplant centers in direct searches of compatible cord blood units, NETCORD has established an on-line search and allocation program, the Virtual Office (VO). This program allows real-time searches of compatible and available units, facilitating the rapid identification of the best possible cord blood transplant for any given patient worldwide. More Information on NETCORD can be accessed at http://www.NETCORD.org
About ViaCell
ViaCell, Inc. (http://www.viacellinc.com) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to enabling the widespread application of human cells as medicine. The Company is developing a pipeline of proprietary product candidates intended to address cancer, certain genetic and cardiac diseases and infertility. ViaCell's portfolio of proprietary technologies include Selective Amplification technology and the USSC. The Company's lead stem cell therapy product candidate, a cord blood-derived stem cell therapeutic, CB001, is currently in a Phase I clinical trial. ViaCell offers expecting families the option of preserving their baby's cord blood stem cells through its Viacord business (http://www.viacord.com)
This press release contains statements that have forward-looking implications, including statements regarding: the potential for medical developments that will ultimately permit the expanded therapeutic uses of stored cord blood, such as the potential of USSCs to reconstitute organ systems in humans and to have an impact on a variety of human diseases. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risk that ViaCell is unable to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to conduct clinical trials with USSCs or other technologies or to continue current clinical trials of CB001; that human clinical studies in USSCs, if they occur, will not validate these projections; and that ViaCell is unable to obtain required regulatory approvals to commercialize these product candidates. We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. The results from the study are promising, but preliminary. The risk of failure in, and the cost of, developing human therapeutic products are extremely high. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the statements.
CONTACT:
Media, Justin Jackson of Burns McClellan, +1-212-213-0006, ext. 327, or
jjackson@burnsmc.com, for ViaCell, Inc.;
or Marc D. Beer, CEO of ViaCell, Inc., +1-617-603-4631, or
mbeer@viacellinc.com;
or Dr Gesine Kogler, Institute for Transplantation Diagnostics and Cell
Therapeutics, Heinrich-Heine-University Medical Center, +011-49-211-811
6794, koegler@itz.uni-duesseldorf.de;
or Dr. Peter Wernet of The International NETCORD Foundation, +011-49-211-
811-9545, peter.wernet@uni-duesseldorf.de
[b]Stem Cells from Human Umbilical Cord Blood Show Ability to Form Bone, Nerve and Heart Cells
Monday July 19, 9:04 am ET
Novel Unrestricted Somatic Stem Cells (USSCs) offer potential medical breakthrough[/b]
BOSTON, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- ViaCell, Inc., a cellular therapy company dedicated to enabling the widespread application of human cells as medicine, and the International NETCORD Foundation, the leading international network of public umbilical cord blood banks, today announced the publication of a peer- reviewed article in The Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM). For the first time, using novel cells found in human umbilical cord blood, researchers have shown the ability to grow bone, cartilage, hematopoietic (blood), neural, liver and heart tissue in in vivo studies. The article is entitled, "A new human somatic stem cell from placental cord blood with intrinsic pluripotent differentiation potential" and is available in the July 19, 2004 issue, vol. 200, no. 2, of JEM.
Dr. Peter Wernet, the President of NETCORD, commented, "To our knowledge, we are the first group to demonstrate that neonatal somatic stem cells can be robustly expanded in vitro under pharmaceutical conditions to very large numbers and can differentiate, in vivo, into a number of tissue types and take on the properties and specific functions of the cells in those tissues." This discovery was made by Dr. Wernet, Dr. G. Koegler and scientists at ViaCell.
This article describes the isolation and expansion of ViaCell's proprietary USSC from human umbilical cord blood . This cell type can be expanded in number under culture conditions published in the article. The USSC has demonstrated a capacity to turn into several different cell types in vivo, including brain, bone, cartilage, liver, heart, and blood cells. Previous experimental and clinical work has demonstrated the presence of blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells in cord blood. While USSC therapies in humans have not been demonstrated, ViaCell believes that USSCs found in cord blood are capable of reconstituting multiple other organ systems, including brain, bone, cartilage, liver, and heart. This scientific work was performed by the University of Duesseldorf in a collaborative relationship with ViaCell's German subsidiary and was supported financially by the state of North Rhine Westfalia.
Dr. Brent Davidson, division head of obstetrics and gynecology at the Henry Ford Health System, commented that "thousands of families have banked stem cells from umbilical cord blood in the United States. While considerably more work is required, I believe that the demonstration that these cells using the non-controversial umbilical cord blood stem cell are able to differentiate into a broad range of tissues could prove to be a significant scientific advance. I am particularly encouraged that the results provide a proof of principle for use in many common illnesses possibly affecting a large portion of the population. "
Dr. Masood Khatamee, the executive director of the Fertility Research Foundation and clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University's School of Medicine commented "The data demonstrating that umbilical cord blood contains stem cells capable of reconstituting multiple organ systems like the brain, bone, cartilage, liver and heart validate the importance of recommending the option of cord blood preservation to all of our patients. These data make it clear that cord blood stem cells have the potential to treat diseases that impact nearly every family."
About NETCORD
The NETCORD Foundation is a network of non-profit public cord blood banks in the U.S.A., Europe, Israel, Japan, and Australia, which have already provided thousands of cord blood stem cell grafts for patients worldwide. NETCORD has established specific quality standards in collaboration with the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) in North America on the collection, cryopreservation, storage, and release of cord blood units.
To assist transplant centers in direct searches of compatible cord blood units, NETCORD has established an on-line search and allocation program, the Virtual Office (VO). This program allows real-time searches of compatible and available units, facilitating the rapid identification of the best possible cord blood transplant for any given patient worldwide. More Information on NETCORD can be accessed at http://www.NETCORD.org
About ViaCell
ViaCell, Inc. (http://www.viacellinc.com) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to enabling the widespread application of human cells as medicine. The Company is developing a pipeline of proprietary product candidates intended to address cancer, certain genetic and cardiac diseases and infertility. ViaCell's portfolio of proprietary technologies include Selective Amplification technology and the USSC. The Company's lead stem cell therapy product candidate, a cord blood-derived stem cell therapeutic, CB001, is currently in a Phase I clinical trial. ViaCell offers expecting families the option of preserving their baby's cord blood stem cells through its Viacord business (http://www.viacord.com)
This press release contains statements that have forward-looking implications, including statements regarding: the potential for medical developments that will ultimately permit the expanded therapeutic uses of stored cord blood, such as the potential of USSCs to reconstitute organ systems in humans and to have an impact on a variety of human diseases. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risk that ViaCell is unable to obtain the regulatory approvals necessary to conduct clinical trials with USSCs or other technologies or to continue current clinical trials of CB001; that human clinical studies in USSCs, if they occur, will not validate these projections; and that ViaCell is unable to obtain required regulatory approvals to commercialize these product candidates. We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. The results from the study are promising, but preliminary. The risk of failure in, and the cost of, developing human therapeutic products are extremely high. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the statements.
CONTACT:
Media, Justin Jackson of Burns McClellan, +1-212-213-0006, ext. 327, or
jjackson@burnsmc.com, for ViaCell, Inc.;
or Marc D. Beer, CEO of ViaCell, Inc., +1-617-603-4631, or
mbeer@viacellinc.com;
or Dr Gesine Kogler, Institute for Transplantation Diagnostics and Cell
Therapeutics, Heinrich-Heine-University Medical Center, +011-49-211-811
6794, koegler@itz.uni-duesseldorf.de;
or Dr. Peter Wernet of The International NETCORD Foundation, +011-49-211-
811-9545, peter.wernet@uni-duesseldorf.de
JibJab.com and Hilarious Political humor
07.19.04 (9:06 am) [edit]
Ok, so I first saw this on Fox News. They showed a clip with about half of the movie.
It takes pot shots at everyone in this little flash animation. I highly recommend it as a must see.
JibJab.com
07.19.04 (8:30 am) [edit]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)- Vandals smashed historic headstones and cut a swastika into a lawn at a Jewish cemetery overnight, authorities said Friday. The attack came just hours after two Israeli men were imprisoned for passport fraud and labelled spies by the New Zealand government.
Wellington Botanic Gardens manager David Sole said the Jewish section of Bolton St. cemetery near the center of the New Zealand capital was a sea of broken marble and overturned tombstones when he visited Friday morning.
"People are speculating the attack may have been sparked by the two Israeli men and the passport case," a council spokesman said, speaking on usual condition of anonymity.
Jewish Council President David Zwartz said there was a direct connection between the case and "people here feeling they can take it out on Jews."
"It seems to me that it's Israel-bashing one day, Jew bashing the next day," he told National Radio.
Rabbi Antony Lipman said the desecration on the graves, some of them 100 years old, had shocked New Zealand's Jewish community.
"We hope Wellington is not going the way of some other communities in the world, where this has unfortunately become a frequent occurrence," he said.
Rabbi Lipman said he made no connection between the Israeli men sentenced to six months in prison in Auckland Thursday and the smashing of the headstones.
"Only the criminals who have done this would know their own motive," he added.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was "not an open and shut case" that the attack was linked to the spy case.
"We condemn without reservation people desecrating graves, it is a horrible thing to do," she told National Radio.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)- Vandals smashed historic headstones and cut a swastika into a lawn at a Jewish cemetery overnight, authorities said Friday. The attack came just hours after two Israeli men were imprisoned for passport fraud and labelled spies by the New Zealand government.
Wellington Botanic Gardens manager David Sole said the Jewish section of Bolton St. cemetery near the center of the New Zealand capital was a sea of broken marble and overturned tombstones when he visited Friday morning.
"People are speculating the attack may have been sparked by the two Israeli men and the passport case," a council spokesman said, speaking on usual condition of anonymity.
Jewish Council President David Zwartz said there was a direct connection between the case and "people here feeling they can take it out on Jews."
"It seems to me that it's Israel-bashing one day, Jew bashing the next day," he told National Radio.
Rabbi Antony Lipman said the desecration on the graves, some of them 100 years old, had shocked New Zealand's Jewish community.
"We hope Wellington is not going the way of some other communities in the world, where this has unfortunately become a frequent occurrence," he said.
Rabbi Lipman said he made no connection between the Israeli men sentenced to six months in prison in Auckland Thursday and the smashing of the headstones.
"Only the criminals who have done this would know their own motive," he added.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was "not an open and shut case" that the attack was linked to the spy case.
"We condemn without reservation people desecrating graves, it is a horrible thing to do," she told National Radio.
07.19.04 (8:26 am) [edit]
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday urged French Jews to flee the country to escape a rising tide of anti-Semitism, while acknowledging that the French government is fighting racial violence.
The latest French Interior Ministry figures show 510 anti-Jewish acts or threats in the first six months of 2004 — compared to 593 for all of last year.
"If I have to advocate to our brothers in France, I will tell them one thing," Sharon told visiting American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. "Move to Israel, as early as possible."
Anti-Semitic acts against Jewish schools, synagogues and cemeteries have risen in France in recent years, coinciding with growing tensions in the Middle East. Many attacks have been blamed on young Muslims.
"We see the spread of the wildest anti-Semitism there," Sharon said.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday urged French Jews to flee the country to escape a rising tide of anti-Semitism, while acknowledging that the French government is fighting racial violence.
The latest French Interior Ministry figures show 510 anti-Jewish acts or threats in the first six months of 2004 — compared to 593 for all of last year.
"If I have to advocate to our brothers in France, I will tell them one thing," Sharon told visiting American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. "Move to Israel, as early as possible."
Anti-Semitic acts against Jewish schools, synagogues and cemeteries have risen in France in recent years, coinciding with growing tensions in the Middle East. Many attacks have been blamed on young Muslims.
"We see the spread of the wildest anti-Semitism there," Sharon said.
Respectful Discourse
07.16.04 (12:58 pm) [edit]
[b]"Men are respectable only as they respect." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson[/b]
I have come to realize that in order to truly fix whatever problems we may have in our world we must come together somehow to do so. That all sounds very pretty, doesn't it?
However then, what would be the first step to achieving that "coming together"? What it comes down to is discourse. We must talk to each other. We must understand where we are all coming from. We must understand other people's opinions. At the root of that is respect.
Where has the respect gone, people?
You may hear someone talking, but are you really listening to what they're saying? I'm talking specifically here at tblog. And I will admit that, personally, there are people here that I have no desire to listen to anymore. We are all human. I respect that people do have differences of opinion, however, I don't have to agree with them. I guess that means I'm a facist. LOL, but some people already "knew" that because they claim to know what I'm talking about by putting words in my mouth.
The only reason why I care not to listen to certain people anymore is because, though I respect their difference of opinion, they do not respect mine. Yes, I may have (out of frustration) called names in the long ago past. I have made it my policy not to do this anymore and have stuck to it.
I wish others would take that respectful and mature step. Some have. No one is completely innocent of never insulting anyone. To try to say that is silly and transparently false. But to make the promise one day, cold turkey, to make the effort to stop the maddness, that is truely a step in the right direction. I congratulate those people who decided to do that. (I'm not asking for a pat on the back because I did it. I'm just saying that we must all, myself included give this a try.)
Those that have not, well I just feel sorry for them. I feel sorry that they have missed out on any further enlightening discussions they may have had with someone of a difference of opinion. I feel sorry that they have missed out on finding out who I am, truly.
There can be no discourse in less it has respect on the agenda first and foremost!
Among the people that I have some wildly different ideas from include Dragonbait22, therealspartacus007, and even whoisjohngalt. However, we stay tied together by our respect for one another and our ability to see that, though we are different, there is a lot we have that is much the same.
All and all, it's about 50/50. Half the time I radically disagree with one or more of them, and half the time I totally agree. Perhaps I even disagree with one or all of them more than half the time. Yet, these folks are true intellectuals because they stop to think things out. I commend them for their quiet genius.
As for those others who accuse, yell, name-call, spam sections on tblog, or what have you; I chose a long time ago to keep my discourse with them limited because I'd just prefer not to sink to that level. I welcome respectful discourse at all times forever and always.
As I've stated time and time again, you don't have to agree with all or anything that I say. You just have to be respectful of me as I must be of you. From the wars of the Middle East to the Abortion Debate to Legalized Prostitution and Gay Marriage. All of these subjects are deserving of addressing and are worth listening to the other side over.
Don't miss out on any Respectful Discourse with anyone.
Re-Post: Neighborhood Bully
07.16.04 (11:52 am) [edit]Of course this was written by the amazingly talanted and legendary Bob Dylan, otherwise known as Robert Zimmerman. . .
[line]
[i]by Bob Dylan[/b][/i]
Well, the neighborhood bully, he's just one man,
His enemies say he's on their land.
They got him outnumbered about a million to one,
He got no place to escape to, no place to run.
The neighborhood bully just lives to survive,
He's criticized and condemned for being alive.
He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have thick skin,
He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.
The neighborhood bully has been driven out of every land,
He's wandered the earth an exiled man.
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn,
He's always on trial for just being born.
Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized,
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize.
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad,
The bombs were meant for him,
He was supposed to feel bad.
Well, the chances are against it and the odds are slim,
That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him.
'Cause there's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back,
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac.
He got no allies to really speak of,
What he gets he must pay for, he don't get it out of love.
He buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied,
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side.
Well, he's surrounded by pacifists who all want peace,
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease.
Now, they wouldn't hurt a fly,
To hurt one they would weep,
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep.
Every empire that's enslaved him is gone,
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon.
He's made a garden of paradise in the desert sand,
In bed with nobody, under no one's command.
Now his holiest books have been trampled upon,
No contract he signed was worth what it was written on.
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth,
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health.
What's anybody indebted to him for?
Nothin', they say,
He just likes to cause war.
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed,
They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed.
What has he done to wear so many scars?
Does he change the course of rivers?
Does he pollute the moon and stars?
neighborhood bully, standing on the hill,
Running out the clock, time standing still.
neighborhood bully.
Fence Rulings: Democracy in Action
07.16.04 (11:00 am) [edit]
[b]Washington Post and AP relate only part of landmark Israeli Supreme Court rulings.[/b]
The legality of the Israeli security fence remains in the media spotlight, with two binding rulings issued by the Israeli Supreme Court last week, and an upcoming (July 9) 'advisory opinion' expected from the [url=http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww...]World Court[/url] at The Hague. At stake are two questions:
● Is the proposed route of the fence fair to both Israelis and Palestinians?
● More fundamentally, is the very construction of the security fence justified under international law?
Addressing the first question, the [url=http://www.honestreporting.co...]Supreme Court[/url] ruled that the fence should be re-routed in certain regions around Jerusalem to address humanitarian concerns. The army immediately complied.
Media reports were quick to convey this portion of the ruling. The [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com...]Washington Pos[/url]t granted it front-page status, and the [url=http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Wo...]Associated Press[/url] issued a broadly-published report.
But these same media outlets were remiss in bringing to readers' attention the much more fundamental, second ruling of the high court ― [b]upholding the fence's legal justification as a security measure.[/b]
AP sets the tone for their article with the opening phrase:
[i]Israel's Supreme Court sided with the Palestinians in a precedent-setting decision Wednesday, ordering the government to reroute part of its West Bank separation barrier near Jerusalem because it causes too much suffering.[/i]
And the Washington Post mentions the court's fundamental acceptance of the fence only as an afterthought ― in paragraph 18 of a 19-paragraph article ― stating that the court "did not find that the barrier was being constructed for political reasons, as Palestinians have alleged."
Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon Barak
Indeed, the court went far beyond that, issuing a landmark ruling that upholds the security fence's essential validity, and denies Palestinian claims that
[i][t]he security arguments guiding respondents disguise the real objective: the annexation of areas to Israel. As such, there is no legal basis for the construction of the Fence.[/i]
This was soundly rejected by the Supreme Court:
[i]We examined petitioners' arguments, and have come to the conclusion, based upon the facts before us, that [b]the Fence is motivated by security concerns[/b] ... Petitioners, by pointing to the route of the Fence, attempt to prove that the construction of the Fence is not motivated by security considerations, but by political ones. They argue that if the Fence was primarily motivated by security considerations, it would be constructed on the "Green Line," that is to say, on the armistice line between Israel and Jordan after the War of Independence. [b]We cannot accept this argument.[/b] The opposite is the case: it is the security perspective ― and not the political one ― which must examine a route based on its security merits alone, without regard for the location of the Green Line.[/i]
Yet the Washington Post downplays, and the Associated Press completely omits, this crucial part of the court's ruling.
Comments to Washington Post: letters@washpost.com
Comments to AP: feedback@ap.org
[The [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/0...]New York Times'[/url] Joseph Berger, on the other hand, should be commended for accurately representing the court's full ruling in his second sentence: "The unanimous decision by the three-judge panel asserted that Israel has a genuine security reason for building the barrier and can expropriate land in the West Bank for it."]
Last week's Supreme Court ruling demonstrated, perhaps better than any event in the recent past, the power of Israeli democratic process to address security vs. human rights concerns. The [url=http://www.honestreporting.co...]judges[/url] themselves emphasized the dilemma they faced:
[i]Our task is difficult. We are members of Israeli society...We are aware of the killing and destruction wrought by terror against the state and its citizens. As any other Israelis, we too recognize the need to defend the country and its citizens against the wounds inflicted by terror. We are aware that in the short term, this judgment will not make the state's struggle against those rising up against it easier.[/i]
This Israeli democratic process was in sharp contrast to a development on the Palestinian side last week. A Palestinian Authority organ called the 'Supreme National Committee for the Protection of the Right of Return' determined that Palestinians living in refugee camps [b]should not have the right to vote[/b] in local elections. The PA daily paper, [i]Al-Hayat Al-Jadida[/i] explained why:
[i]The committee justified its objection as protecting the unique status of the refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, considering them testimony to the crime that the occupation state made against our nation for 56 years. The committee warned of the dangers of integrating the refugee camps into the urban housing units. [via [url=http://www.pmw.org.il/]PMW[/url]][/i]
That is, the PA plans to deny democratic voting rights to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, so that this impoverished population can continue to be used by the Arab ruling class as a weapon to fight against Israel, as 'testimony to a crime.'
Consider the irony: The Israeli court issues a ruling out of concern for Palestinian human rights, while the PA's own ruling sets back Palestinian human rights.
This is the same Fatah-led PA under whose authority a [url=http://seattletimes.nwsource....]public lynching[/url] of an alleged 'collaborator' occurred on a Qabatiya street last week.
Washington Post columnist [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com...]Richard Cohen[/url] compares the Israeli Supreme Court decision with the U.S. Declaration of Independence's assertion of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Writes Cohen:
[i]The Israeli Supreme Court did something similar, although with more explicit language. "There is no security without law," it wrote.
[b]Bear this decision in mind, please, when next someone refers to the Israelis as "Nazis" or otherwise talks about the nation as if it were a thuggish dictatorship ...[/b]
The early Zionists wanted Israel to be a light unto other nations. The other day, it was.[/i]
As legal issues surrounding the Israeli security fence continue to make headlines, HonestReporting encourages subscribers to write letters to your local media outlets, emphasizing Israel's democratic struggle to balance security needs with human rights.
HonestReporting
[url=http://soccerdad.baltiblogs.c...]David Gerstman[/url] contributed to this HonestReporting communique.
07.16.04 (10:44 am) [edit]
To: National Desk
Contact: Stuart Roy or Jonathan Grella, 202-225-4000, both of the Office of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
WASHINGTON, July 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) today reiterated his strong support of Israel and its right to self-defense as the House passed a resolution deploring the political misuse of the International Court of Justice by the United Nations General Assembly.
"Israel is using every means possible to fight against the terrorist threat that surrounds her borders," DeLay said.
"Instead of using what little influence they have to counter terror, the U.N. has appeased terrorists by condemning a democracy for protecting itself," DeLay said. "The U.N. interjected their opinion on a political matter, where it didn't belong, by using the ICJ to make this dangerous ruling."
The non-binding ruling handed down by the ICJ last week was considered at the request of a majority of the U.N. General Assembly, despite criticism that the security issue is political, not legal. The General Assembly has planned an emergency meeting to review the ICJ's decision tomorrow.
[i]http://www.usnewswire.com
© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770[/i]
To: National Desk
Contact: Stuart Roy or Jonathan Grella, 202-225-4000, both of the Office of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
WASHINGTON, July 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) today reiterated his strong support of Israel and its right to self-defense as the House passed a resolution deploring the political misuse of the International Court of Justice by the United Nations General Assembly.
"Israel is using every means possible to fight against the terrorist threat that surrounds her borders," DeLay said.
"Instead of using what little influence they have to counter terror, the U.N. has appeased terrorists by condemning a democracy for protecting itself," DeLay said. "The U.N. interjected their opinion on a political matter, where it didn't belong, by using the ICJ to make this dangerous ruling."
The non-binding ruling handed down by the ICJ last week was considered at the request of a majority of the U.N. General Assembly, despite criticism that the security issue is political, not legal. The General Assembly has planned an emergency meeting to review the ICJ's decision tomorrow.
[i]http://www.usnewswire.com
© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770[/i]
07.16.04 (10:39 am) [edit]
Some more headlines...
[line]
To: National Desk
Contact: Burson Taylor or Jessica Boulanger, both of the Office of Majority Whip Roy Blunt, 202-226-7022
WASHINGTON, July 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Majority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.), a cosponsor of the resolution, today issued the following statement on House passage of H.Res. 713, a bill condemning the International Court of Justice's interference in the Palestinian- Israel conflict:
"With today's vote, the House has sent a clear message to the international community that the use of the International Court of Justice for advancing a Palestinian political agenda is unacceptable.
"Any effort by the United Nations to exploit this ruling will be equally illegitimate.
"The bottom line is this: The Palestinian effort to curb terrorist activity has fallen tragically short of its commitment under the Road Map, and Israel has a sovereign right to defend its citizens and its borders."
[i]http://www.usnewswire.com/
© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770[/i]
Some more headlines...
[line]
To: National Desk
Contact: Burson Taylor or Jessica Boulanger, both of the Office of Majority Whip Roy Blunt, 202-226-7022
WASHINGTON, July 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Majority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.), a cosponsor of the resolution, today issued the following statement on House passage of H.Res. 713, a bill condemning the International Court of Justice's interference in the Palestinian- Israel conflict:
"With today's vote, the House has sent a clear message to the international community that the use of the International Court of Justice for advancing a Palestinian political agenda is unacceptable.
"Any effort by the United Nations to exploit this ruling will be equally illegitimate.
"The bottom line is this: The Palestinian effort to curb terrorist activity has fallen tragically short of its commitment under the Road Map, and Israel has a sovereign right to defend its citizens and its borders."
[i]http://www.usnewswire.com/
© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770[/i]
07.15.04 (10:52 am) [edit]
People should read this and understand it!
[line]
WASHINGTON, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- A delegation of three prominent rabbis representing the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a 1,200-member organization of rabbis from Israel, Canada, and the United States, came to Washington today to discuss a "new approach" to peace in Israel and Palestine.
The delegation met with both Republican and Democratic Members of Congress and spoke to journalists at the National Press Club.
The message they brought was the same regardless of audience:
"As rabbis we love peace and pray for global peace, especially in Israel. Moreover, the teaching of the Torah obliges us to guide our followers to pursue peace, but for a true and lasting peace, not an artificial one. Silence on the part of rabbis in such an urgent matter of life or death is considered highly irresponsible."
Speaking for the group, Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky said:
"We are here as rabbis who are also American constituents. We are here specifically to share our concern about the adverse impact by the proposed disengagement plan from Gaza and proposed PLO State upon American values, security, and interests."
The delegation presented the Congressmen with a copy of the clear Ruling in the Jewish Code of Law Chapter 329 that it is absolutely forbidden to give up even one inch of land to non-Jews for it will increase bloodshed as we have witnessed since the giving up of Sinai. (Terrorists now use the territory they got back to build tunnels and the facilitation of smuggling explosives and missiles, including Egyptian-made missiles, and the intensification of terrorism, which destabilizes the region) and the Oslo accord (1,400 Israelis murdered, which is proportionately equal to 70,000 Americans).
When presented with this "new approach," Congressman Dan Burton (R- Indiana) responded, "This is not new -- this is the true approach that I embraced 10 and 20 years ago."
Concluded Rabbi Gerlitzky: "The Land of Israel is ours only because G-d gave it to us as an eternal heritage. We do not lay claim to the land because of our strength, our army, or our diplomacy. It is ours solely because it was given to us by G-d, the Holy Land of the Jewish People. Only such an approach will bring true peace and stability to the region."
[i]Source: Rabbinical Congress for Peace[/i]
People should read this and understand it!
[line]
WASHINGTON, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- A delegation of three prominent rabbis representing the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a 1,200-member organization of rabbis from Israel, Canada, and the United States, came to Washington today to discuss a "new approach" to peace in Israel and Palestine.
The delegation met with both Republican and Democratic Members of Congress and spoke to journalists at the National Press Club.
The message they brought was the same regardless of audience:
"As rabbis we love peace and pray for global peace, especially in Israel. Moreover, the teaching of the Torah obliges us to guide our followers to pursue peace, but for a true and lasting peace, not an artificial one. Silence on the part of rabbis in such an urgent matter of life or death is considered highly irresponsible."
Speaking for the group, Rabbi Joseph Gerlitzky said:
"We are here as rabbis who are also American constituents. We are here specifically to share our concern about the adverse impact by the proposed disengagement plan from Gaza and proposed PLO State upon American values, security, and interests."
The delegation presented the Congressmen with a copy of the clear Ruling in the Jewish Code of Law Chapter 329 that it is absolutely forbidden to give up even one inch of land to non-Jews for it will increase bloodshed as we have witnessed since the giving up of Sinai. (Terrorists now use the territory they got back to build tunnels and the facilitation of smuggling explosives and missiles, including Egyptian-made missiles, and the intensification of terrorism, which destabilizes the region) and the Oslo accord (1,400 Israelis murdered, which is proportionately equal to 70,000 Americans).
When presented with this "new approach," Congressman Dan Burton (R- Indiana) responded, "This is not new -- this is the true approach that I embraced 10 and 20 years ago."
Concluded Rabbi Gerlitzky: "The Land of Israel is ours only because G-d gave it to us as an eternal heritage. We do not lay claim to the land because of our strength, our army, or our diplomacy. It is ours solely because it was given to us by G-d, the Holy Land of the Jewish People. Only such an approach will bring true peace and stability to the region."
[i]Source: Rabbinical Congress for Peace[/i]
Islam
07.14.04 (4:41 pm) [edit]
I found this post on [url=http://trance750.tblog.com/]Trance750's blog[/url]. I thought it was definatly worth posting here. Excellent perspective here. Please go read Trance750's blog and leave comments.
[line]
When the World Trade Centers were attacked and reduced to a pile of dust at the hands of Islamic activists, I was hoping to see the followers of Islam denounce such a cowardly and henious attack. After all, we were always taught that Islam respects love and life and considers all life to be precious and sacred. While I did see a few Arabs openly condemn the attacks, most remained silent. The ones who did condemn the attacks were rather meek and not very enthusiastic in their condemnation. The message I was hearing from "Mainstream Islam" was "we feel sorry for the victims, but you had this coming a long time ago, and you deserved every single bit of it".
And in the process, Islam is touted as a religion of peace, love, and tolerance.
When Osama Bin Laden was gloating over the death and destruction and compared the destruction to that of winning a soccar game and claimed that Allah was pleased that many innocent people died, most people in the Arab communities refused to speak against such raw hatred.
And we were told, with much fan-fare, that Islam was a religion that promotes peace, love, and tolerance
When innocent children are killed, just so a "political statement" could be made, do we see "peace-loving Islam" condemn the attacks? No we see them dancing in the streets, passing out candy, and singing the praises of the terrorists.
And once again, Islam is promoted as a religion of peace, love, and tolerance
When car bombs explode in populated civilian sectors and when suicide bombers blow themselves up and everybody around them does "peaceful Islam" denounce such raw, unbridled hatred? No. They applaud them and call them "heros" and call the innocent deaths "justified" and the parents of the suicide bombers stay at home and wait for the money from "Uncle Saddam" and "Uncle Yasser". To Islam, it seems that sacrificing your own child just to get money, is an acceptable practice.
And in the process, the self-titled, and self-crowned "Holy leaders" of Islam claim their religion is about "peace, love, and tolerance".
When innocent civilians are openly targeted, does "peaceful Islam" condemn the attacks? No they praise the terrorists and claimed "Allah is pleased"
And in the process, Islam is placed on a high pedestal, and we are told it is a "religion of peace, love, and tolerance"
When suicide bombers attack schools, bus stations, marketplaces, or other highly populated civilian areas, the biased liberal medias of the world all turn a blind eye. When "peaceful Islam" wages wars on defenseless children and old ladies and other innocent civilians, the liberal medias all look the other way. When suicide bombers are sent out to kill themselves and many around them, the biased liberal-sponsored medias of the world look the other direction and act as if nothing happened at all, while the parents of the suicide bombers hide at their house, waiting for the promised money from "Uncle Saddam" and "Uncle Yassar".
But when Israel and the Western World tries to fight terrorism in their own back yards, the biased liberal media and Arab special interest groups portrays them as "the bad guy", and the Arabs and the Arab lobby groups all jump up and down and scream like so many packs of rabid hyenas and rabid banshee.
And at the same time, Islam is glorified as a "religion of peace, love and tolerance".
When President Bush declared that no country or person should be subjected to live in terror or fear, then the once-silent Arab Sectors decided to make their voices heard, loud and clear. But they did not praise Bush and his plans for a terrorist-free world. They shouted that we should simply allow the terrorists to do as they pleased, bomb where-ever they pleased, or kill whom-ever they pleased and to terrorize any place they so wished and should we try to interefere with the terrorist's plans for global terror and bloodshed we would "suffer the Wrath of Allah".
But Islam is a "religion of peace, love, and tolerance"....... Or so we were stupid enough to believe.
Fwd: A Message from the Jewish Community Relations Committee
07.14.04 (4:23 pm) [edit]
This came to me by email. Forward this to others!
[line]
From: jfc@jewishla.org
As you know, the International Court of Justice has pronounced Israel's separation fence illegal. The United Nations and the European Union will be receiving thousands of letters in the next 24 hours asking them to take action to enforce this decision. If you disagree with this decision and would like to send a note to the U.N. or the E.U. before they take action, a sample letter is attached.
If this reflects your views, you might wish to forward it -- or perhaps to modify as you wish and then send it to the addresses below.
Mel Levine
Chair Jewish Community Relation Committee
The Jewish Federation
Send this (or a similar note) to: ecu@un.org , civis@europarl.eu.int , info@curia.eu.int
COPY AND PASTE THE FOLLOWING...
When Israel builds a fence to keep out terrorists, the United Nations and the European Union are up in arms, even though it makes it difficult for terrorists to kill more Jews and murder of Israelis is down by 90%.
But when terrorists (proudly acting on behalf of terrorist groups around Israel, uncontrolled by Arafat) shoot (point blank!) an eight-month-pregnant Jewish woman and her four little girls, there is absolute silence from your organizations.
Reasonable men and women - including partisan supporters of one side or the other in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict may disagree about the wisdom of the "separation fence" or the proposed location of the fence, but the asymmetrical response of international institutions such as yours only lowers its standing among many people around the world.
If you think your indifference goes unnoticed, count the number of messages you will receive World-Wide in the next 48 to 72 hours on this subject.
Email I recieved: Summer treats for our wonderful soldiers
07.14.04 (3:19 pm) [edit]
I got this in an email so I figured it good to spread the word around! :)
[line]
Shalom from Yerushalayim.
In the past we at PizzaIDF.org have had the privilege of sending pizza and other treats on your behalf to the wonderful soldiers of the IDF. We have been sending meals right into tension-filled Gaza and to other volatile locations.
Our soldiers always love to know that people everywhere support and care for them. The following letter came this week:
http://PizzaIDF.org/IDF/letter01.htm" title="http://PizzaIDF.org/IDF/letter01.htm" target="_blank"http://PizzaIDF.org/IDF/lette... - it summarizes what your
contributions have achieved.
The Israeli summer is hot, this year in more ways than one. Our
soldiers continue to be on the front lines defending the people of Israel and Jews around the world; they are on the vanguard of safeguarding all freedom loving people from the global terrorism.
As you begin your summer vacation, spare a thought for our IDF
soldiers, away from home performing their duties on behalf of all of us. Cheer them up and also cool them down by sending them a treat of ice-cream and delicious cold fruit soup. You can also send pizza, burgers and cold soda. And most importantly, accompany your gift with your special greetings and gratitude.
Go to [url=http://www.PizzaIDF.org]PizzaIDF.org[/url]. Your gifts will be delivered to soldiers on duty out in the field, day and night, from Gaza in the south to the Golan in the north.
Once again thank you behalf of our soldiers,
Shimon
PizzaIDF.org
PS. We have created a new certificate which we can send on your behalf to honor your friends and relatives.
See a sample at http://PizzaIDF.org/certifica...
Please tell your friends about this way to help our soldiers:
http://PizzaIDF.org/SendToFriend.htm" title="http://PizzaIDF.org/SendToFriend.htm" target="_blank"http://PizzaIDF.org/SendToFri...
Your gifts of over $250 are eligible for a US IRS tax deduction.
Cartoon: SO TRUE!
07.14.04 (2:12 pm) [edit]
This cartoon perfectly sums up the unsurprising International Court's ruling from a couple days ago.
07.14.04 (9:48 am) [edit]
To: National Desk
Contact: Myrna Shinbaum of the Anti-Defamation League, 212-885-7747
NEW YORK, July 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called the actions taken by the Presbyterian Church USA to fund the missionizing of Jews and its call for divestiture from companies doing business with Israel "offensive and distressing."
In a letter to the leader of the Presbyterian Church USA, Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, and Gary Bretton-Granatoor, ADL director of interfaith affairs, wrote:
We were offended and distressed by the actions of the Presbyterian Church USA at your most recent General Assembly pertaining to Jews and Israel. Specifically, we cite the vote to continue funding the Avodat Yisrael Church, and other missionizing churches targeting Jews, and the "overture" or resolution calling for divestiture from Israel.
Targeting Jews for conversion to Christianity is an insult to the Jewish people. History has shown us that the backdrop for intolerance toward Jews in Europe, culminating in the Holocaust, was the absence of Christian respect for Judaism's legitimacy.
Your unbalanced and unfair characterization of the Jewish community's concern for the safety and security of the State of Israel is deeply troubling. To assert that there is a moral equivalency between the racist policy of apartheid and the efforts to protect the citizenry of Israel is unconscionable. To further suggest that the same technique used to break the racist policies of apartheid, that of divestiture, be employed against those doing business with Israel is to support that inaccurate and unjust moral equivalency.
The PCUSA's "overture" on Israel's security fence, which is characterized as "the Wall" as if we were referring to the Wall that once bisected Berlin, is unfair. This fence is a temporary measure which has proven to be effective in protecting innocent people from terrorist attacks. When these attacks cease so will the need for a protective barrier. That will only come about when responsible Palestinian leadership is ready to make good-faith efforts at negotiation and peace-making and call an end to terrorist attacks on innocent Israelis. Your overture makes no mention of the causes which led to the need to take drastic measures of protection.
The recent actions of the General Assembly calls into question the efforts of interfaith dialogue between Presbyterians and Jews. We have been taught that unless one knows what hurts the other, that person cannot profess love for the other. We are hurt and the need to share that hurt with you comes with the concomitant plea that we make the effort to learn to respect one another and return to a dialogue that is meaningful and transformative.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counte
To: National Desk
Contact: Myrna Shinbaum of the Anti-Defamation League, 212-885-7747
NEW YORK, July 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today called the actions taken by the Presbyterian Church USA to fund the missionizing of Jews and its call for divestiture from companies doing business with Israel "offensive and distressing."
In a letter to the leader of the Presbyterian Church USA, Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, and Gary Bretton-Granatoor, ADL director of interfaith affairs, wrote:
We were offended and distressed by the actions of the Presbyterian Church USA at your most recent General Assembly pertaining to Jews and Israel. Specifically, we cite the vote to continue funding the Avodat Yisrael Church, and other missionizing churches targeting Jews, and the "overture" or resolution calling for divestiture from Israel.
Targeting Jews for conversion to Christianity is an insult to the Jewish people. History has shown us that the backdrop for intolerance toward Jews in Europe, culminating in the Holocaust, was the absence of Christian respect for Judaism's legitimacy.
Your unbalanced and unfair characterization of the Jewish community's concern for the safety and security of the State of Israel is deeply troubling. To assert that there is a moral equivalency between the racist policy of apartheid and the efforts to protect the citizenry of Israel is unconscionable. To further suggest that the same technique used to break the racist policies of apartheid, that of divestiture, be employed against those doing business with Israel is to support that inaccurate and unjust moral equivalency.
The PCUSA's "overture" on Israel's security fence, which is characterized as "the Wall" as if we were referring to the Wall that once bisected Berlin, is unfair. This fence is a temporary measure which has proven to be effective in protecting innocent people from terrorist attacks. When these attacks cease so will the need for a protective barrier. That will only come about when responsible Palestinian leadership is ready to make good-faith efforts at negotiation and peace-making and call an end to terrorist attacks on innocent Israelis. Your overture makes no mention of the causes which led to the need to take drastic measures of protection.
The recent actions of the General Assembly calls into question the efforts of interfaith dialogue between Presbyterians and Jews. We have been taught that unless one knows what hurts the other, that person cannot profess love for the other. We are hurt and the need to share that hurt with you comes with the concomitant plea that we make the effort to learn to respect one another and return to a dialogue that is meaningful and transformative.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counte