Spider Pig Terror in UK.....

Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig, does what ever Spider-Pig does.
Can he swing, from a web?
No he can't, he's a pig.
Look out! He is a Spider-Pig!

But Perhaps in streets of UK, he can fly, and has far more super powers then any spider pig ever had.

A group of Muslims have opposed plans for a pet food factory to be built as possible pork emissions will violate their religious rights.

Sounds like some sort of radioactive emission... anyways, Mohammedians haven't found the Spider Pig through its track's on the roof yet, instead they smell Spider pig...

Butchers Pet Care could shelve plans for a factory in Coton Park, near Rugby, because angry Asian families have complained to their residents' association about pork smells drifting into their garden.

Anyways Muslim do expect the Spider Pig foot print on the roof's. The article further add's

Muslim residents in the area also claim the pork will effectively "rain down" on their homes and gardens.

Further the articles added...

"Our religion expressly forbids us to consume pig meat in any form.

"Because of the way in which this meat material will leave the factory and give that the area can be 'rained upon' we will be consuming pork via inhalation of this 'rain'.

"Not only that but our clothes will be contaminated by pork."

Hello? Contaminated by pork... I don't know, since when did the chimneys of a factory use "pig sprinklers". Normally the only things that come out of chimneys are:

1. A lot of smoke with poisonous gases
2. Ash

But... Pork?

Oh my! It seems something else to me.... Who will teach the Mohammedians, that Pig is a animal with a definite role inside food chain... The Sicken Ideology of Mohammedians is extending its Jihad from Human domain to entire animal kingdom ( anyways does they really consider Infidels as Humans? )

Further now the source of Spider Pigs, a 100 ft. long chimney...

"The owners of the proposed factory do not dispute the claim that meat extracts of pork will be pumped into the atmosphere via a 100ft chimney.

Several families have complained because of the smell of the pork, and also if the factory is cooking with it, pork particles and odour could rain down on them from the chimney at some point.

At first, I am not aware of a Chimney with water sprinkling system.... Beside this, I can only see ashes coming out of Chimney, and For sure no one is forcing them to eat Ashes, indeed the ashes if constitute to anything, then that will be "Air pollution"...

After settling, It will decompose again and enter the Food chain through the nutrients absorbed by Plants..

It further add's:

"A Muslim is obliged to be clean spiritually, mentally and physically.

I missed the real word, due to which Muslims are obliged for cleaning everything.... the world is Jihad.... Now if any Muslim is visiting this site, he will claim that I am hypocratic, and will explian us Smaller and Higher Jihad...

Butchers Pet Care could shelve plans for a factory in Coton Park, near Rugby, because angry Asian families

So the outrage was just because there were a big British conspiracy plan to bring Spider Pig to check Islam. Anyways, what I also like is that Multi-culti card of Mohammedians...

"It was something we hadn't taken on board before but it's definitely important and is a very delicate issue.

"If Muslims are unhappy about it, then Jews may complain for the same reason, and Hindus may complain because of their beliefs about cows being sacred animals.

"There is a significant Muslim element in our area, so there is a potential problem."

Perhaps one should consider this article before speaking such against Hindus... beside this I never came across any protest registered in west, where a Hindu or Jew had filed a court case against his co-worker for racial discrimination, because he was eating a pork steak/beef on lunch table...

anyways now the closing tags of the article, which perhaps supposedly had outraged all British Hindus, and they published this article projecting themselves as Muslims (this was the dirty work Zionist conspirator ;) )

We feel sure that there are other areas where this factory could be built that would not impact on us or others like us."

The Environmental Health Agency are investigating the potential affects, with a decision about the factory's future due in September.

The pet food company said there is an 'almost 99% guarantee' the smell of pork would not reach the Coton Meadows residential area.

A statement from Butchers Pet Care said: "The majority of our natural products are beef and poultry.

"Pork ingredients account for less than 10% of our range.

"At Coton Park we plan to introduce state-of-the-art odour extraction through the chimney stack.

"An environmental impact report has already concluded that emissions at the proposed Coton Park site should not have an adverse impact on air quality and odour levels.

"We would like to reiterate that we do not burn any animal materials."

Tell us what you think, Will you be offended from the ash coming from a factory, which is normally equipped with all instruments to electrostatic ally capture Ash particles? ...

Nissim Reuben at MJE

On Friday, Nissim Reuben came to speak at MJE. I attended the event with Irina, longdistancedancer, my dad, and other friends of mine. Mr. Reuben spoke of Jews in India, as well as the diplomatic connections between India and Israel. He mentioned that Gandhi was an antizionist, and this hurt the diplomatic ties between India and Israel for 40 years. Sadly, this manifests today in India's support for Iran. It is a grave concern of mine. India and Israel have been subtely friends for many years, particularly since Israel helped India win the 1999 Kargil War, and Israel helped India in 1962 its war with China. That said, diplomatic channels did not open until BJP was in power in 1992. Mr. Reuben stated that the connections between India and Israel have only become more deeply ingrained, even as Congress is now in power.

I am hoping that the event on Friday will only be a kick off to what I see as many future events between Jews and Indians. I see so much in common between Jews and Indians, and so much that can be learned from each other; hopefully in time others will come to my conclusion.

Cindy Sheehan in Union Square, NY

On Friday, I saw Cindy Sheehan protesting in Union Square. You can read more about the protest right here. At the protest, there were utter moonbats, screaming that Bush and Cheney will be impeached, and Sheehan will be the next president of the US. Yes, you read that right. I hope I did not cause you to spit out your coffee! The protest also drew many 9/11 "troofers."

I was with a friend from Israel on Friday, and my friend asked me "Who are they?" I answered: "Don't worry about that. It's just a bunch of antisemites (they believe we fight only for Israel and Israel was behind 9/11). They prove America is a great and free nation, as they are saying the worst sorts of things, that America is behind 9/11, and yet do not face any sort of punishment."

Many people claim that mocking Cindy Sheehan is in poor taste, as this woman lost her son, and should be shown respect. I have the following to say to them:

Cindy Sheehan does not respect her son, and in fact she should be ashamed of the mockery of a human being she has become.

Her son fought and died for this country, and in response, she meets with those such as Hugo Chavez, who seek to destroy America. Her son is turning in his grave, at the way his mother is dishonoring his memory.

The fact that she is a mother and is so dishonoring her son is a double insult; it makes her the worst sort of a person out there. She is the sort of person who lets her son's grave go without a headstone, so she can use the money allocated for the headstone to protest against the country he fought and died for. She does this all while pretending to be acting in his memory, when really she was a communist and anti-American activist prior to her son going off to Iraq.

Remember these words next time someone castigates you for reeming into Sheehan. The fact that her son died in Iraq is exactly the reason that it is so deplorable that she does what she does. She is actively defaming her son's name, she knows she is defaming his name, and she does not care.

Read more about Sheehan right here.

Question in my mind...

One of my interest's are in psychological studies... and from psychological point of view, I know very less about Islam and ... the new Question came in my mind regarding Islam was from this news from daily mail arricle, in which a Arab Princesses was Thrown Off from the Plane to Cheers...

My Question to all of you is: What was the main reason behind the whole Drama?

Here are my guesses:

1. The Herd was without Burkha
2. Cattle's were too bitchy
3. How can a Muslima sit next to Infidel Man?
4. Something else? Share with us...

Please also consider the following comment from The Daily Mail before posting your decision:

I recently flew to Bangkok via Abu Dhabi with Ethiad Airways. There was chaos in Abu Dhabi as the air hostesses had to deal with arrogent men who refused to sit with their female relatives and Arabic women who refused to sit beside Western women. I felt so sorry for the air hostesses - they were treated dreadfully and their male Arabic conterparts were pretty unhelpful too.

By the way, Last wish of a Martyr can be seen here in this Youtube Video...

Have fun....

Thoughts about Judaism.

I was having lunch with a friend today, and I discussed how I did not fast on Tisha B'Av. I told her I did not fast for several reasons:

1. I only even found out about the holiday during my first year of law school, when I was told during my first meeting with the Jewish Law Students Association to write to the Board of Bar Examiners, because the July bar was scheduled during Tisha B'av. I had no idea what that entailed at the time. I found out more details concerning this holiday only after reading Jews, God, and History by Max Dimont, but in short...it is not something I grew up with and is a part of me.
2. I am not sure if the destruction of the temple is a bad thing. I know that the destruction of the first and second temples meant massive death, as well as the Jewish Diaspora and statelessness, HOWEVER, it also brought a rich Jewish legal tradition and the end to the 'cult of the temple.' The Sadducees had a Judaism ruled by ritual more than personal faith. They did whatever the high priest told them to do, and did not have any rich body of interpretive law. It was a religion with animal sacrifice as well as laws such as death for apostacy and homosexuality. This was not a Judaism that I would be proud of, or even relate to. And this is the Judaism that would return, at least theologically if a temple were to return. Is this something to aspire to? Again, I am not saying I am happy about the massive Jewish death that went along with the destruction of the temples (I want to reiterate that this remains a horrible tragedy); I just am wondering if the destruction of the temples was a good thing for the intellectual development of Judaism.
3. This brings me to point three. I told my friend that Judaism holds the temple can only be rebuilt if the messiah comes. Christianity holds that the end of days is nigh when the temple is rebuilt. I posited the following to her...what if the temple is rebuilt, and there is no messiah? Does this not completely undercut the very foundations of Judaism and Christianity? How can you be a believing Jew or Christian when one of the central tenets of your faith was just literally disproven in front of your eyes? My friend looked at me in wonderment; she is a Jain, and her 'religion' is actually more of a philosophy and way of life than it is a 'religion.' It cannot be outright disproven in the way that the 'big three' monotheistic faiths literally can be. But that got me thinking on a much deeper level...my friend never really understood the theology behind the messiah and end of days, and I described it to her as best I could. I described to her that Christians believe the end of days will happen when the Jews rebuild the holy temple, and I believe 144,000 saved Jewish people as well as all born again Christians will rise to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jews believe that the messiah coming means there will be a time of increased spirituality on earth or peace, love, and prosperity. Everyone will know the true meaning of Hashem's love. Eventually, Hashem will bring the dead back to earth, and heaven and earth will become indistinct.
   
   While I said that...I thought to myself..."Not only do I not believe this, but I sound like a crazy person saying it!"
4. What does it mean to be a Jew if you really have felt a spiritual presence and do think there is a divine energy in the universe, but do not believe in the messiah, one of Maimonedes's 13 Principles of Faith? Not only do I not believe, I see it as an outright fairy tale; in short, it is a positive lack of belief in this, rather than a simple apathy.
   
   If I really believe that a core tenet of Judaism can be disproven on earth...how does that impact the rest of Judaism?

The Nature of Good and Evil

I wrote about good and evil a while back, when I mused: What does it mean to be a hero? I also asked if and when terrorism was ever justified: do the ends ever justify the means?

Michael wrote a beautiful post today in the same line that I think deserves reading. I feel it rounds out the trifecta of these ideas. Please go over to his blog and read his discussion of good and evil... and bring Kleenex: the man is truly eloquent.

Strike!

I woke up this morning to learn that Israel is enduring the sort of general strike that I believe the United States has never endured in the history of its nation. All of the public sector employees are on strike...the airport is mostly closed, trains, buses, ports, banks, hospitals have limited service, museums and universities are closed. That is just for starters. Feel free to read more about it right here.

To sum it up...Israel faces an enormous daily threat from Gaza in the south and Hizballah in the North. On a daily basis, the Arab world speaks of its annhilation. And yet on top of this, the economy has ground to a halt due to this strike. Frankly, if there WERE to be an attack, it would be now.

Frightening times we live in. I hope this strike is resolved ASAP.

Winograd to address alleged war crimes during last year's Hizballah war

Read more about another aspect of Winograd right here.

Personally, I think this is great idea. I think Israel should honestly look at whether it committed 'war crimes' or not. But in turn, let's see the press publicize the fact that Israel is such a strong democracy, that it is willing to have a commission examine this issue. I also would love to see a commission examine Hizballah's war crimes. Maybe Winograd will do that?

Predictions...(and you do not need to be a swami to figure this out)...

• The report will find at least some 'war crimes' committed by Israel as war is hell and there are always war crimes committed during war. You cannot win a war without committing war crimes.
• The report will also address Hizballah's war crimes (which are much more serious, as they, unlike Israel, purposely aimed for civilians and in fact started the conflict).
• The media will ONLY highlight Israel's 'war crimes.'
• Olmert and cronies will remain in power, after all, Olmert said recently that Kadima will remain in power and he will be PM - despite his 0% approval rating. He will remain in power, no matter what Winograd says.
• Israel will not be praised for being such a strong democracy, that it even is willing to be this critical of itself.

These are my predictions, but I assure you that one does not have to be gifted with supersensory perception in order to figure these things out.

No Words, Just Emotions

And we all know each other, and we all are connected with strings of humanity...
and will always be behind you, to support you... In this fight against fascism...
waiting for you to come back, and will stand with you in every movement...
Yes, i am proud of you... and I miss you...
I Love you!

Fisking a New York Times Article

The original article can be found here.

Now for my Fisking...

Fatah Militants Lay Down Arms to Bolster Abbas
By ISABEL KERSHNER

See, the goal is to bolster Abbas, not peace with Israel

NABLUS, West Bank, July 19 — Scores of West Bank Palestinian militants taken off Israel's wanted list as a gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas are handing in weapons and signing pledges to cease violence against Israel, saying they want to give Mr. Abbas a chance to consolidate his rule here.

The goal is again to have Abbas consolidate his rule, NOT PEACE.

Interviews and encounters with more than a dozen members of the gun-toting, notoriously unruly Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, associated with Mr. Abbas's Fatah faction, indicate that at least in the West Bank they are taking an open-ended timeout.

Open-ended time out = hudna. They are not even pretending it is more.

"Everything must come to an end," said Mahdi Maraka, an Aksa Brigades leader from Al Ein refugee camp here in Nablus, a traditional hotbed of Fatah militancy in the northern West Bank. "There are two tracks, the political and the military. Now is the time for the political stage."

Note: he said "NOW is the time for the political." That necessarily implies that in the future it will be time for the military.)

Nasr Kharaz, 31, an armed militant and spokesman for the Brigades in the West Bank, said, "The military wing of Fatah has stopped armed resistance at this stage."

Note: he said "At this stage."

The Aksa Brigades, which first appeared in 2000, was one of the driving forces of the second Palestinian intifada. It was built by Fatah's grass-roots leadership with the backing of Yasir Arafat as a nationalist force to rival the Islamic militants of Hamas in the armed struggle against Israel.

At the height of the intifada, the brigades — thought to number in the hundreds — carried out scores of shooting attacks on Israeli civilian vehicles and moved on to suicide bombings inside Israel.

But in the occupied West Bank (RT: Note how casually the NYT throws in 'occupied West Bank'...priceless!) in recent years, they have mostly confined themselves to engaging Israeli soldiers who have come looking for them on their turf. (RT: This is a lie. An al aqsa fighter hit Eilat only a few months ago.) Associates of one of the Brigades' chief architects, the jailed but influential Marwan Barghouti, say even they support the amnesty. In Gaza, by contrast, a more aggressive spirit of armed resistance lives on. There, men affiliated with the Aksa Brigades are still firing rockets at Israel.

In the West Bank, Hamas has been adhering to a unilateral ceasefire for its own reasons, its militants underground. All the recent suicide bombings in Israel have been carried out by the extremist group Islamic Jihad.

NOTE: Hamas is the same as Fatah in the West Bank, and Fatah is the same as Hamas in Gaza)

For both Israel and the Aksa Brigades in the West Bank, the emerging cease-fire is an experiment. The disarmed gunmen say they know exactly where their weapons are and who is safeguarding them. (RT: That is rich!) And Israel could always draw up a new wanted list.

But some of the Aksa militants say that the seven years of this intifada have achieved nothing, (RT: Shocka, are they actually non-delusional???) and all of those interviewed said they want to give Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of the embattled Fatah faction, a chance to negotiate an independent Palestinian state.

"We didn't want to be obstacles in the way of the national project," said Ibrahim Sahli, a senior Aksa commander for the northern West Bank better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Jabal, or father of the mountain.

The fatigue of war colors some of the men's conversations. Inside Preventive Security headquarters in Bethlehem, an Aksa member named Khalil Abayat, 45, grinned widely, his face deeply tanned. He said he was five years on the run, "moving from one mountain to another, one cave to another," (RT: I thought caves were like the Four Seasons to them?) sheltering in abandoned houses, with only fleeting visits home to his wife and 12 children.

His brother and cousin were killed by Israeli forces and two of his sons are in Israeli jails. Asked if he is retiring from the resistance, he said: "Enough. I'm exhausted. I just want to rest." (RT: Rest for now, anyway)

In another room in the Preventive Security compound in Bethlehem, Amjad Khalawi, 35, told how he had let his hair grow to his waist since, as he put it, he "disappeared" in 2002. "I didn't see anybody and nobody saw me," he said. He looks forward to marrying the fiancée he has seen only once in those five years.

But for others, the politics are dominant. They want to aid Fatah, which is closing ranks, in its fight against Hamas, which violently conquered Gaza in mid-June. (RT: Yup, the goal is to fight Hamas...for now.)

After the takeover, Mr. Maraka, Abu Jabal and their foot soldiers took revenge in Nablus, burning and looting dozens of offices and institutions affiliated with Hamas. A month ago, when Mr. Maraka, 30, was interviewed in downtown Nablus, where he appeared with an M-16 machine gun and some armed cohorts in ski masks, he said that the moment Mr. Abbas "provides us with security from the Israelis, we won't need these weapons."

Last Sunday, with Israel seeking ways to bolster Mr. Abbas as a brake on Hamas, Israeli and Palestinian security officials announced that they had agreed on a list of 178 Aksa Brigades members to be offered immunity for past deeds; Mr. Maraka, Abu Jabal and most of their cell members were on it. Security officials would not say what any of the individuals on the list were wanted for, beyond saying that they had all been involved in "security-related activity against Israel."

Now we get to the truth. These men did not unilaterally approach Israel. Rather, Israel approached them, saying they will not go after these fights in exchange for a hudna, in their hopes to fight Hamas. Because the goal of Abbas AT PRESENT is to consolidate power against Hamas, this was agreed upon. In exchange, Israel does not go after the hardcore thugs. Handing in weapons is a joke, as one of them admit that he knows where his weapons stash is, but is not going to it now, because he is 'tired' and seeks to take a nap.

The gunmen signed a pledge (RT: Palestinian pledges have aaaaaaaalways been adhered to!) to give up all anti-Israeli activity, handed in their weapons and agreed to remain inside local Palestinian Authority Intelligence or Preventive Security compounds for a week and in their home cities for the next three months. (RT: Wow, they will be homebound for a week! That really shows 'em, huh?) They say they are now relying on Mr. Abbas and the authority for protection from Hamas.

If Israel is satisfied that the former fighters are committed to their pledge, they will be able to leave their fugitive lives behind and become salaried employees of the official security services from which most of them originally sprung. (RT: Oh right, and then when they go back to killing Jews, it will be an international incident if Israel dare attack these storied 'politicians.')

The deal has proved so popular that there is already talk of another list, and Aksa militants seem ready to line up for it. "I don't know anyone who doesn't want to be on it," Mr. Maraka said, speaking in a second interview on Thursday in his temporary billet: a former prison cell now equipped with a TV set, a fridge and a whirring fan, at the authority's intelligence headquarters in Nablus. Abu Jabal, a portly figure, speaking under a vine outside his home in Al Ein, said he was on a brief "vacation" from the Preventive Security headquarters in the city, where he was spending the week.

Both men were relaxed and joking, the weapons that had so long defined them conspicuously absent.

Ahmed Balboul, reputedly one of the most wanted men in Bethlehem, was not on the first list, but hopes to be on the next. Meeting openly in Manger Square, he came unarmed. "I could hand over five rifles for the cameras and buy another 10," he said. "Our intentions are more important than the rifles, and our intentions are turned toward negotiation." (RT: Wow! I had no idea it was so easy to get guns in the West Bank?! Who would have thunk it?)

Naturally, there is deep skepticism about how long any lull in the violence can last. (RT: A lull only means less attempts and/or successes at Jew killing than usual, not the lack of such activities.)

"In Palestinian history there are no beginnings and no ends," said Mahdi Abdul Hadi, director of Passia, a Palestinian research institute. "There are unfolding chapters, like waves in the sea." The Aksa men are swimming with the tide, he said, "but they don't know where it will take them." (RT: Again, honesty! Wow!)

Like the some other groups in the first intifada — the Black Panthers and the Fatah Hawks — and Fatah's military wing, Al Asifa (The Storm) before them, Al Aksa Brigades may yet reappear, or be reincarnated under different name. (RT: Nooooo, you don't say???)

Much will now depend on Israel's willingness to adhere to the cease-fire with Fatah and engage in a serious peace effort toward the establishment of a Palestinian state, many Palestinians say. (RT: That is right, if anything happens, it will be on Israel's head! When in doubt, know that the Zionazis are to blame!)

"Deactivating terrorists is a step," said Miri Eisin, spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "Let's see if it works, and if it does, we can move forward."

Whatever happens, said Qadura Fares, a Fatah politician in Ramallah and an associate of the jailed Mr. Barghouti, "there will never be a vacuum."

"It will be filled," he said, "with either dialogue and peace, or another round of confrontation."

Mr. Maraka, for one, is making sure that the next generation is prepared to continue the struggle if need be. At the intelligence headquarters in Nablus, he proudly showed video clips on his cellphone of his sons, ages 10 and 8, firing an Israeli Galil assault rifle and an M-16 on a barren mountainside. (RT: Such great parenting. I am at a loss over why he is not featured in 'Parenting Today.' He is just a paragon of good fatherly love. Please note that he is teaching Jew killing to his little kids using Israeli and American-made weapons, and earlielr pledged to not be violent. So touching.)

---

I hope you all enjoyed that good Fisking. The New York Times made it seem as if somehow Fatah is this peaceful and moderate organization... you look a little closer and realize how far from the truth that is.

The End of Harry Potter Begins

In a few short hours I will be setting off for London to get the final Harry Potter book.

It feels like only yesterday when i first read a Harry Potter book (after being nagged into it by a friend). I was hooked from the very first page of the very first Harry Potter book.

I have been on a journey like most Harry Potter fans. Willing Harry on in his struggle against Lord Voldemort.

I was expecting Rowling to take longer writing the final book, but she didn't. What lays ahead? Deaths of major characters, Snape's true colours being revealed or possibly left open to debate and of course Harry Potter's final show down with Lord Voldemort.

To those of you who are going to Harry Potter parties, then i wish you all a good time. And I hope no Death Eaters spoil the party with blurting out the ending! I should hopefully be attending Mugglenet's, Mugglecast that is happening in London. I shall return from London on Sunday, and will most likely have a full report posted within a few hours of being home. Or I may just read the Deathly Hallows all over again.

And finally, It seems the religious Jews in Israel don't want the Sabbath to be broken by bookstores opening up so people can buy the last Harry Potter book. BBC News Article JP Article

Hindu leads opening prayer at Nevada State Senate; Christian protestors heckle him

This is an example of acting against your very interests. A Hindu led prayers at the Nevada State Senate, and the response by (three) Christians was protest. Their words were:

“Lord Jesus, have mercy on us,” one shouted before he was escorted out. “We shall have no other God before you.”

All three were arrested. I am not sure if it is something arrest-worthy, the protest of Hinduism, unless they trespassed. This is a first amendment issue. But that is besides the point. The reason I am posting this is firstly to note with pride the American Jewish Committee's response: they said that a Hindu leading prayer promotes diversity, and they are 'deeply troubled' by the protests. I am proud of the way this leading Jewish organization immediately spoke out against intolerance.

The TRUTH is that Hinduism is not necessarily polytheistic, and even if it WERE (and there is a large body of evidence to suggest otherwise), Hindus are OUR FRIENDS, and major allies in the war against Islamofascism. It is ludicrous to alienate your allies at a time like this. At a time when Christians should be *mending fences,* this small group of nutjobs has decided it is better to burn bridges. What should be going on is more dialogue like this, and less heckling and castigating of the religions of allies. Now is not the time for that; moreover, there never is a good time for that.

I am aware of the constant reference in the bible (and Koran) to smashing idols, as well as reference of a war between early Jews (and Muslims, in the Koran) and idol worshippers, however, that specifically refers to the idol worshippers of that time. Those idol worshippers believed in human sacrifice and were, for the lack of a better word, barbarians. The war the Jews fought was specifically against the Canaanites, and was not a war of expansion. (beyond Israel) There is no directive in the bible for battles against idol worshippers worldwide. This contrasts from the Koran, which specifically calls for a Jihad against idol worshippers. (whether this is meant to have a present day implication is up for debate) With that said, the Jewish weekly prayers contain references about smashing idols (but basically requests Hashem to do so, and does not speak of Jews acting violently). So is there a theological justification for bigotry against Hindus?

My answer is no. Hindus are NOT idol worshippers in the original meaning of the term. They are some of the most humane people on the planet; there are even Hindus who are theologically vegetarian, out of concern for hurting any living being. This is in utter contrast from the practices of idol worshippers during the biblical age. Moreover, as far as I know, Hindus are NOT idol worshippers in the sense they are derided for, in that they do not believe there is literally a God inside an idol. Rather, they look at images of Vishnu and Krishna as fixed images to hold their minds upon as they pray to the God as represented by the idol. The following says it best:

It is not that Hindus worship their idols in vain. The idol is just a symbol, a form, with which the mind can be connected and concentrated upon. The ultimate reality is beyond the senses, beyond the known field of illusion or maya. All human activity including the positive and negative aspect of it is part of this great illusion from which man has no escape till he gains true knowledge.

More on this subject can be found here.

If Hindus are seen as idol worshippers according to their interaction with these statues, then one can just as easily point to Christians as idol worshippers, what with their crosses with Jesus in the church. In short, the bigotry against Hindus stemming from their supposed 'idol worship' has to stop.

And thus, I would like to reiterate this blog's support for Indians and of India. This nation and these people are to be aided, not denigrated.

How can 'peace' be achieved?

Abu Mazen (Abbas) is consistently put forward as a 'man of peace.' This is the same man with a phd in Holocaust denial as well as his funding of the 1972 Munich massacre. This is why I do not believe it wise to empower such a man.

What I am at a loss over is why people like Khaled Abu Toameh are not empowered by Israel. There *are* good Arab Israelis and Palestinians, and they are marginalized not only by Fatah/Hamas, but also by an Israeli government that does not send aid their way. If there is *any hope* for peace, it is NOT through Fatah or Hamas, it is through men like Khaled Abu Toameh. To that extent, I agree with some of the antizionists which hold that the Palestinians are in the position they are in because of Israel. No, directly, they are not, but Israel did help enable this to happen through a misguided idea that sending guns/weaponry to the worst elements of Palestinian society somehow will make the Palestinians more peaceful or moderate.

The root of the problem is Oslo, which placed power in the worst of the worst, Yassir Arafat. This man was not elected, and prior to Oslo, he was marginalized. Shimon Peres was an architect of Oslo, and he is at his old tricks again today.

There are good Palestinians, and as long as Israel deludes itself into thinking an Arafat or an Abbas are part of the "good" Palestinians, there can never be peace. Thus, if one wants to achieve 'peace' in Israel, the first and most necessary place to start is to STOP favoring one group of terrorists over another, and to START looking at parties who actually are truly moderate, and backing them. If none such parties exist at present, then DO NOTHING. By all means, DO NOT send aid to those who wish to genocide Jews. Let the terrorists duke things out themselves, as their disagreement does not concern Israel. WAIT for a truly moderate party to arise!

Moreover, I had some thoughts earlier today. When Israel gives up land, I believe that the Arab response is to think that NO ONE would willfully just GIVE UP land that was lawfully their's. Thus, not only does giving up land make Israel look weak, it ALSO makes it seem as if the land was illegally held to begin with! (as anyone holding land LEGALLY would NEVER give it up without fighting to the death for it) When Israel gives up terrorists it is holding prisoner, I believe the Arab response is to see this as confirmation that the terrorists were 'political prisoners' to begin with, since surely NO ONE would be willing to let killers out to the streets to kill again.

Thus, all these measures which are supposedly done to further 'peace' are in fact doing the opposite: they ensure there will be perpetual war.

Eight things you did not know about me.

I have been tagged by MZ and the Bow-tied baron, and so here goes...

1. I did not care much about Israel or Judaism until about a year and a half ago, when a certain person (qrswave) made me aware of my Jewish identity through exposure to raving antisemitism. (Israel being behind 9/11, Zionists controlling the world, etc)
2. I have a scar on my left arm due to crashing a rental car in Canada. I picked up passengers to drive with me at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, after I missed the 1:15 am Wednesday/Thursday bus to Toronto. Thankfully, I purchased collision insurance!
3. I read the Jerusalem Post and Little Green Footballs pretty much every day. If I have a staple for the news, it is those two sources.
4. Arab taxi drivers love me and have asked for my number on numerous occasions. Because of my dark skin and hair, they assume I am Arab American. If I was interested in Arab American taxi cab drivers, I would have a harem of men.
5. Postcard shop workers as well as train operators also seem to love me.
6. I currently am taking Middle Eastern belly dancing classes. I find it to be incredibly fun, as well as a great workout. I am really excited that I seem to have gotten the "shimmy walk" down! The shoulder shimmy is my next project. I am thinking I may want to get the belly dancing skirt, with the rustle.
7. I have recently become active in the Jewish community, as well as active in Israel advocacy. I guess you could say I am no longer an atheist, though certainly I have not reached the ranks of "baalei teshuva." I go to services on Friday nights and Saturday afternoon, but I use electricity on Shabbat, talk on the phone, use the computer, and work out. (usually) I also am basically vegetarian (who eats fish), but even that I am not very strict about. I follow more, but not all, of the laws of Judaism, in a large part because it makes me feel good to do it. I feel more connected to Judaism by doing these things, even as I acknowledge this connection could be purely psychological. With that said, there is one form of meditation that I think Jew and non-Jew can appreciate. I wake up every morning saying "Mode Ani," and it feels great to say it! It essentially means "thank you G-d for giving me life." Think about how great that is...you wake up, grateful to be alive! Truly transformative.
8. I have a dream to take Jews to India, to tour the Jewish sites of India. I would also love it for Indians to tour Israel. I really see a future in an Israel/Indian partnership.

I tag...hmm...any eight people who want to do this!

Zionazis continue to target UNIFIL

A bomb hit UNIFIL - the UN Interrim Force in Lebanon, yesterday. The AP does not mention who planted the bomb, and so it must be Israel and the damned Zionazis, right? False flag, false flag!!!

/Zionist conspiracy theorist hat off

It is so obvious this was a Hizballah bomb, and they are rearming and making life miserable again for the Lebanese, a people who simply want to live their lives in peace. Anyone who is pro-Lebanese would see this and hate Hizballah for their attempts to destroy Lebanon. But sadly, far too many people out there are so blinded by their hatred of Israel, they do not realize they are Lebanon's worst enemies when they advocate in favor of Hizballah.

Shimon Peres asks for Israel to give up.

Israel faces a daily deluge of Qassam rockets inot Sderot, a city made worse after 'disengagement.' Israeli soldiers are still being held prisoner against international law; no medical attention is paid to them, no confirmation as to whether they are dead or alive. Hizballah is stronger than ever, and Hamas has taken over Gaza. (not that Hamas is really different from Fatah)

It is in this environment that Shimon Peres, newly minted president of Israel, decided Israel "has to get rid of the territories." In other words, Israel must simply give up. This is his 'brilliant plan.'

The man is a traitor to the Jewish people; what he did to Jonathan Pollard alone is so deplorable that it sickens my stomache.

I never thought I would say this...bring back Katsav! At least he only raped individual women, rather than the entire Jewish nation!

Continuing the theme of getting OUR OWN house in order first...

A few days ago, the Jerusalem Post wrote of a Canadian court case that upheld the ban on listing the birthplace of Canadian citizens born in Jerusalem as "Jerusalem, Israel." Feel free to read more about this case right here.

A federal policy that bans Canadians from listing Jerusalem, Israel, as their birthplace on their passport does not violate the Charter of Rights, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal has ruled.

In 2006, Eliyahu Veffer, a 19-year-old Canadian citizen born in Jerusalem, requested that the minister of foreign affairs list Israel as his country of birth on his Canadian passport. His request was rejected, and last week a three-judge panel ruled against his appeal.

"Mr. Veffer has not been discriminated against in that his human dignity has not been invaded," the judges wrote. "Mr. Veffer still maintains the freedom to express his faith and his subjectively held views as to the status of Jerusalem, he is just not able to do so in his Canadian passport."

The decision maintains that the ban on listing Israel as the birth country alongside Jerusalem is not discriminatory, despite the fact that Israel is the only country that is banned from being listed when cities in disputed territories are concerned.

It is easy to be mad at Canada. I was ready to get in line to sing the "Blame Canada" song with everyone else, but then I thought...how can I blame Canada when in fact the same situation exists in the United States? How can I blame Canada when this issue receives so little attention to begin with, and any concern about moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and U.S. passports has pretty much been swept under the carpet?

I was researching this issue, and I found a wonderful article concerning the U.S. legal status of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Please read this. An excerpt:

In his first campaign for the presidency, George W. Bush repeatedly promised to move the United States embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the capital city of Jerusalem - a move long sought by the Jewish state.

Moreover, he said, he would do this immediately upon assuming office. He was courting the Jewish vote, to be sure - but he was also following an overwhelming mandate from Congress, where, as far back as 1995, an almost-unanimous bipartisan majority had voted in favour of the transfer.

Whether Bush's actions amount to a flip-flop is for the political pundits to decide, but it is a fact that Bush has never made good on his promise. For a president who appears to be uncompromising when it comes to refusing to coddle Palestinians, the question remains: why?

The article goes on...

Even then the department pushed a stubbornly biased policy of refusing to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

One bizarre result was that U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem have never been able to carry passports showing their birthplace as Jerusalem, Israel - only Jerusalem.

The situation continues today, even after G.W. Bush signed a law explicitly to change this, because, you guessed it, Bush flip-flopped on the matter. Surprisingly, the BBC has a great article on this issue. (maybe because Bush does not look so favourable?)

There is the political will to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem and change the place of birth for US citizens born in Israel (or at least was at various points during Bush's presidency). And yet, nothing happened.

The status quo remains, and yet many American Jews have the gall to blame Canada???

No. As an American, I say that we need to clean our own shop before we lecture ANYONE about theirs.

Zionazis fire rockets at Lebanese villages

Oh sorry...did I say "Zionazi"? I guess I wrote the headline in the way that delusional Hezby/Islamic fundie supporters would analyze the recent news.

The REAL headline is actually well written (shocka!) by Reuters:

Islamists fire rockets at Lebanese villages.

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - Islamist militants fired Katyusha rockets at Lebanese villages on Friday in a further escalation of their 8-week-old battle with the army at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Security sources said al Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam fighters fired about a dozen of the 107 mm rockets which landed several miles away from the Nahr al-Bared camp in north Lebanon, causing some material damage but no casualties.

Of course this is Muslims killing Muslims, so the world media will pretty much ignore this. Nothing to see here, moving on!

There is more to note in this article:

The military, concerned about being sucked into a war of attrition, has stepped up pressure on the coastal camp to force the militants to surrender.

But the well-trained and well-armed militants, some of whom fought in Iraq or trained to go to fight there, have so far rejected all calls to surrender.

I wish people would wake up and realize IT IS ALL ONE WAR! Those who attack Israel are linked to those who attack Lebanon and those who attack Iraq. It is not just about protecting Israel, and the sooner people realize that, the better.

Finally, I want all Culture for All readers to know that the camps in question that Fatah al-Islam are fortressed inside are Palestinian camps in Lebanon, where the Palestinians live in concentration camps - not able to come in or out. This article makes brief mention of the strange legal situation for the Palestinians in Lebanon, but then does not go much further:

A 1969 Arab agreement banned Lebanese security forces from entering Palestinian camps. The agreement was annulled by the Lebanese parliament in the mid-1980s but the accord effectively stayed in place.

In truth, the Palestinians in Lebanon are there due to a very cprrupt agreement between the King of Jordan and the then Maronite PM of Lebanon. Why? King Hussein did not want them, and the PM of Lebanon received a hefty bribe to take these people. He had no intention of making these people citizens, and instead consigned them to squalor. (Israel was blamed for this, of course) Then, after the 1967 war, Arafat and his cronies relocated to Southern Lebanon, and destablized the nation through various terror activities: sending rockets into Northern Israel, hijacking an El Al jet, and then they were granted a "state within a state" status through the 1969 "Cairo Agreement." This meant the Lebanese army had even LESS power to contain PLO terrorism (please note that it was Nasser who brokered this agreement), and it pushed Lebanon to Civil War even to a greater extent. For more articles about the history of Palestinians in Lebanon, please go here (written by someone biased against Israel, but still helpful), here, and here. For more information on Arab persecution of the Palestinians, please go right here.

Lisa Goldman Travels to Lebanon

I have read of Lisa Goldman's amazing adventures in Lebanon, and I must say, please take a look! She wrote it about here and here. This is an independent blogger who is connected to Sandmonkey, a personal friend of mine. I am rather positive she is no "Mossad agent," but of course that was Hezby's spin on this.

Speaking of Hezby...France, under Sarkozy, is acting rather France-like towards them. They want to have direct talks with Hizballah. Somehow this escaped the radar of the news AND the blogs...but it is distressing. I was so excited about Sarkozy, but then this.

With that said...can you blame France? Olmert wants to have direct talks with Syria (ostensibly to give away the Golan Heights), and announced it on the same day that Syria invaded Lebanon!

It seems there is simply a general tenor of defeat and surrender. People just do not seem to care that Hizballah is an organization designed to destroy Lebanon. It hopes to turn it into an Islamic fundie state! Moreover, Hizballah/Syria are behind the murders of any and all politicians who actually seek to better the lives of the Lebanese. Just in the last few years, Rafik Harriri was killed. Pierre Gemayyel was killed. Walid Eido was killed just a few weeks ago. Walid Jumblatt lives with round the clock bodyguards, fully aware of the assassination plots on his life.

And what is this for? To those who support Hizballah, I ask you...what do you hope to accomplish? Do you really believe your problems will be solved if Lebanon becomes a Judenrein state? (yes, Lebanon has Jews, yes a goal of Hizballah is to kill EVERY SINGLE LAST JEW IN LEBANON!) Why do you believe the Lebanese should be held hostage to a brutal dictatorship (Syria - the nation that ultimately calls Hizballah's shots) that is totally cool with mass butchery OF THEIR OWN PEOPLE? Do you just enjoy savagery? Do you enjoy blood letting? Do you believe human life is worthless? Or are you going to tell me that this is really the work of the Zionazis? Are you really going to sell that bill of goods to me, someone who has a Lebanese Jew as a friend, and whose friend witnessed Syrian agents torturing his cousin to death? Who personally had to flee Lebanon because he is on Nasrallah's death list?

Is this your grand vision of Lebanon? Totalitarian Islamic dictatorship, Judenrein, women in burqas, constant prayer, no human rights, and no joy.

Seems pretty grim to me.

EDIT: I would like to add that Bush's stance on this is rather hypocritical. His administration castigated Pelosi's trip to Syria, and rightly so. But I ask: Why is there a U.S. Embassy in Damascus, and none in Jerusalem? Bush has had more than six years to correct this, and has done nothing. This stasis has gone on long enough. Bush is part of the problem...

...But with Olmert seeking direct talks with Assad...can you blame him? Shouldn't Jews take the lead in vigilance against monsters such as Assad? And when Jews DON'T take the lead (and decide defeat and surrender is the ideal policy)...it seems natural to me that others would agree and follow suit.

'Jon the Antizionist Jew'

I know I have been away for too long, but I have been struggling to figure out what I should write. What is my unique voice in this blogosphere?

I found something incredibly important to write about today.

Please read the following link.

The man 'Jon the Antizionist Jew' (what an abomination!) supports the man who gave away Israel's nuclear secrets to a British paper. He sees him as a fine individual, even a hero!

Secondly, he said this about the citizens of Sderot...

Now, please do not get me wrong; I have no ill will towards the people of Sderot or any other Israeli town or city; I wish no one to suffer, Israeli or Palestinian and I gain no joy when one does. But as someone that is a part of a Solidarity movement, I do have a problem with this event. Just look at the intent, that the people of Sderot should live just live the 'safe' citizens of Tel Aviv. I can imagine that the Euro-American settlers felt much the same way on the constantly expanding borders of the American frontier, vulnerable to attacks from the 'barbaric' violence of the natives, which of course, they were just defending themselves from, of course. But that is the way of the colonial settler society; the central, thoroughly ethnically cleansed homeland is much less risky than the rough borders of such activity, whether we are talking about Sderot and Tel Aviv or Little Bighorn and New York City. The problem in Israel/Palestine, of course, is that the hegemonic center and the frontier are right next to each other, and the monopoly of violence by the occupier/colonizer is not absolute like in the days of old (the solution- build a wall, lots of walls!).

And let's also not forget that this is not new; Sderot was built on/next to the ruins of the ethnically cleansed Palestinian village of Najd, and has, like many areas bordering Gaza and the OPT, has felt its share of violence from the conflict. But this is not surprising, just read the words of Moshe Dayan by the Gates of Gaza, who was a very logical Zionist of the old socialist-secular variety, but a colonizer like the rest;

Conclusion...

Jon the antizionist Jew is 'anti-violence,' but understands and condones the violence against citizens of Sderot. Israel itself is a colonialist nation, anti-democratic and evil to its core, and so this is what you can expect. And anyone who takes steps to bring down the state (Mordechai Vanunu, who gave nuclear secrets of Israel's) is a hero, and he is only a 'political prisoner' in Israel.

How do you combat this? We are not talking about logic. We are not talking about someone who uses reason. Isn't the only way to combat this to simply stop those without opinions (or weak opinions) from becoming another Rachel Corrie, or "Jon the Antizionist Jew"?

There is simply no dialogue with people of this ilk. There is only screaming and yelling. The ONLY way to combat these idiots is to, when they appear to have a point, show how they are wrong, systematically, point by point. Debunk and "fisk" them, line by line, showing where they are wrong. But do not do it with any hope of changing their mind...but rather, preventing the new generations of Corries and 'Jon the Antizionist Jews.'

Harry Potter the end of an era

So it's not long till the Deathly Hallows comes out. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand i'm really excited to see how Harry ends up winning and on the other i know this will be the last time i read a new Harry Potter book (unless Rowling changes her mind about writing more, though i don't hold out much hope). I came late to Harry Potter (a certain person nagged me into the reading them). I read the first book and was hooked from there. Rowling has blended in so many different elements into her books. From the Pure blood Wizard mania (similar to how the Nazi's saw the purity of German blood being ruined by even one Jewish relative), to choices showing who a person really is, rather than based on their blood or abilitys. So come the 21st of July i will be in London with a few other Harry Potter fanatics soaking up the atmosphere of waiting for the last book. I am planning on writing a report of the weekend for cultureforall, as it will make a nice change from what i usually drivel on about. If you are not a fan of Harry Potter then tough. I laugh at those who think Harry Potter promotes witchcraft, because it does not. The book is a good old fashioned good vs evil tale with lots of shades of grey in between. Rowling Interview from Friday: