Locham Yisrael - לוחם ישראל

Farewell... - Sorta

2011-04-29T12:23:00.002+03:00

Well, I have been absent for quite a while, but that's because I was finally convinced to open a Facebook account (oy vey!). Since I DO have something resembling a life and can hence not be bothered to regale both sets of my fans, I'ma have to discontinue one of these illustrious media. Since updating this one is more time-consuming and since I--after all--AM a child of the generation expecting instant service and gratification (within certain contexts!), I'll be focusing on Facebook. I'll still post here at times, but very infrequently.

Anyway, my Facebook page:

CLICK HERE!!!*

* Authorization required. Term & conditions apply ;-)

Hava nagila!!!

2011-02-11T19:35:00.000+02:00

I had an acquaintance of mine aver today that "they will end up regretting it."

Well,I don't think America ended up "regretting it" when it fought off the yoke of British tyranny. Nor did France for having overthrown the despicable monarchy. Nor did "East" Germans. Nor did hundreds of other nations and peoples the world over who just wanted to be free.

Sure, what comes after a revolution is often--though not always--worse that or the same as what there was before it (q.v. Iran or dozens of African nations). But you have to start somewhere. Democracy, liberty, equality, and the rule of law usually have to evolve. Newly freed people have to reach the maturity required to have a genuinely democratic system.

Congratulations to the people of Egypt and I hope their time "growing up" is quick and painless.

Mabrouk!!

Tunis, Tunis

2011-01-15T04:19:00.003+02:00

I thought to write a few words in light of the recent developments in Tunisia.

I am profoundly sad about what is happening there. I vacationed in Tunisia a few years ago and it is BY FAR my favorite M.E.N.A. destination; indeed, easily one of my top spots globally. It's beautiful, tidy, civilized, with lovely, educated and moderate people. It's the only place anywhere in the region where I felt comfortable enough to wear a kipah and disclose I was a Jew. I also met a delightful Tunisia lady a year later who is still a very good friend and who--despite having worked as an Islamic teacher--has been undergoing the conversion process to Judaism as a result of meeting me and who will stand before the bet din later this year.

Anyway, the regime will change though whether the country transforms into a democracy remains to be seen. More importantly, the events there must have every two-bit despot in the Middle East shaking in their boots. Dictatorships always fail. Today it's Ben Ali, tomorrow it will be the execrable Qadafi, the day after the loathsome Al-Sauds. I just hope they are not replaced by something worse: Africa and places like Pakistan being the most chastening examples.

I sincerely hope the situation resolves itself in the best way possible for that wonderful country...

When Knights Disappoint

2010-12-03T09:58:00.003+02:00

I received an email from the Simon Wiesenthal Center earlier today, alerting me to an article its leaders had published in the Wall Street Journal. Below is the response I dispached.

Dear Sir or Madam:

I write to express my severe disappointment with your most recent communique in which you address, inter alia, the campaign to boycott Israel by the Presbyterian Church and others. Let me make it clear ab initio that I am an Israeli patriot and that, while I detest wars, Israel is the only country in the world I would ever even consider fighting and dying for.

However, Israel's behavior in the past several months is legally and morally indefensible. In the context of the "settlements freeze issue," the obstinacy, hubris, perfidy, not to mention blackmail and extortion, exhibited by our current administration are unparalleled. Even Iran does not deport itself in that manner, which is saying a lot. Since the inception of the conflict in the Middle East in the early 20th century, and even much before, we unquestionably had the moral upper hand. We have now lost it. The refusal to engage the Palestinians (who have had a comparatively moderate, functioning and effective government in the West Bank for a few years now) by insisting on pursuing the settlement enterprise--which any fool recognizes is ultimately doomed--is fast turning us into a genuine pariah, and rightly so. Whereas I have been able to readily defeat our adversaries' arguments on just about any topic in the context of the conflict they would raise (including the "humanitarian" flotilla, which was overflowing with armed terrorists), I am at a loss to even explain, let alone defend, Israel's acts on the settlements issue. Stubbornly persisting with Jewish construction on land that simply has no realistic chance of remaining under Israeli control in the long term is mind-boggling. It has nothing to do with Israel's security. Even if it was perfectly legal, which is at best highly dubitable, such construction is a monumental folly.

My issue with the SWC is that you have turned from a venerable institution fighting the most righteous cause in modern history, into a campaign outfit, pursuing an ignoble agendum. Defending Israel's right to exist and protect itself is one thing. Espousing the cause of some religious zealot who wants to live in a trailer in the midst of a hostile population on a piece of land that legally does not belong to him is quite another.

Nor does invoking some god or other help matters. There was no god anywhere in sight when half my family was being exterminated by the Nazis. If there is any type of god out there, which created the universe ex nihilo, he/she/it is quite certainly not bothered about what color flag flies over a miniscule speck of land on a tiny planet during this exiguous period of time, all of which are less than a drop in the ocean compared to the infinity of space and time.

I am now forced to withdraw my support from SWC. If you return to the vision of the late Simon Wiesenthal and return to the valiant Zionist cause, I will reinstate my support. Until then, you are no different from those insane hooligans spitting and shouting "Nazi" at our security personnel trying to evict them from their pathetic hilltop trailers.

Sincerely, &c.

Lessons from Robben Island

2010-09-18T09:39:00.002+02:00

According to many reports recently surfaced, Nelson Mandela was livid upon learning that Tony Blair would join the U.S. in the Operation Iraqi Freedom one of whose goals was the deposition of Saddam Hussein.

Now, Saddam was a brutal oppressor, responsible for the deaths and other types of destruction of lives of millions of people. He was a the head of a minority regime repressing the majority population. Shouldn't that sound familiar to Mandela? I wonder if he would have been equally enraged if Reagan and Thatcher had decided to effect a regime change in old South Africa while he was rotting in prison. Hypocrite.

This proves yet again that stupidity is not just the preserve of the lesser mortals, but that eminent individuals, too, can evince traits of dumbassness. Actually, Mandela's compatriot and comrade, Desmond Tutu, is another perfect example.

With "Friends" like those...

2010-09-13T17:52:00.002+02:00

I just had the misfortune (or masochism) to watch a few old episodes of "Friends." Now, it's not one of my favorite sitcoms by a long shot - the top spot goes hands-down to "Everybody Loves Raymond" - but it's suitable for some light entertainment. Nevertheless, Rachel Green's character managed to annoy me to the point of actually swearing at the T.V. set! She embodies everything I despise about the archetypal Western woman, being a disloyal, cuckolding, manipulative, self-absorbed, hypocritical, ignorant, shallow bitch. Her uxorious "partner" Ross is, if that's possible, even more infuriating because he actually keeps coming back for more crap that Green dishes out to him by the shovel at every given opportunity. But the MOST execrable aspect of it all is the scriptwriters' portrayal of their, ahem, "relationship" as the epitome of romance and as something to aspire toward, which the dumb audience just laps up.

E unum pluribus?

2010-09-12T15:39:00.000+02:00

Yesterday’s anniversary of the Islamofascists’ opening shot in its war against freedom was described as the most divisive yet in the United States.

And it’s true. Yesterday WAS divisive and do you want to know why? 9/11 is "divisive" because the bleeding-heart liberals in America equate tolerance with appeasement and pandering.

As most of you know, I don't have time for religion, whether "pastor" Jones’ or "imam" Abdurauf’s, but fact is that Islam is the most belligerent and intolerant mass philosophy present in the world today. Plus, its adherents and apologists demand concessions and treatment they are not willing to reciprocate.

Xians (and Jews, Hindus and others) are prohibited from even assembling in Saudi Arabia (a couple of years ago mutaween stormed a private house where a handful of Indian Xians had gathered for a private prayer meeting, brutalized most of those present, jailed them and then deported them), let alone constructing a building; yet "they" want to construct an Islamic center practically on the site of mass murder committed in the very name of Islam. And they're assisted in it by individuals supposedly advocating freedom and coexistence. The mind boggles.

I hope that one day all artificial borders among human disappear, including states, nationalities, religions, etc. In the meantime though, respect and acceptance among the different groups has to be a two-way street.

N'OUBLIONS JAMAIS!!

2010-09-11T11:17:00.003+03:00

The Islamofascist threat is greater today than nine years ago and so are the complacency and naivete of all too many people

With age comes wisdom...

2010-09-10T17:21:00.002+03:00

Fidel Castro has averred that he had made mistakes and that the socio-polito-economic system (i.e. Communism) that Cuba has espoused for a half century is flawed. It's a great pity he had not realized that at the time of the missile crisis, which nearly destroyed the world to further that disastrous ideology. How close the human race came to its self-destruction in the battle of freedom against dogma!

Comrade Castro also vituperated Ahmadinejad for the latter's anti-Semitism and invited him to try to perceive things from the Israelis' point of view.

Kudos to him for having the courage to abjure his most hallowed precepts upon reflection and realization they were wrong. Very, very few people are gallant enough to do the same, let alone publicly. Castro, just like my hero, Dr. Sharon, deserves utmost respect for this act of sagacity and bravery.

Here's hoping that more people - both in positions of power and the ordinary "plebs" - take to introspection and reevaluation of their "truths," and, hopefully, realize that doctrine - particularly the bellicose types - is a waste of time and a waste of life.

We are going on a...summer holiday

2010-09-05T18:50:00.004+03:00

No more working for a...week or two...

...or five, in my case! By popular demand, here are a few snaps from my island haven. The reason I seem to be wearing the same apparel is that all the photos were taken over only two days. The third and fourth photo depict my "compound" while in the last picture, it's the terrace of mi propio apartmento I'm sitting on.

Wasati bi-la wasatiya!

2010-08-24T21:29:00.005+03:00

The "imam" behind the plans to open a mosque at Ground Zero (more or less) is hardly ever made mention of without tacking the epithet "moderate" next to his name. Indeed, in recent weeks he went on a U.S.-taxpayer-sponsored jaunt of the Middle East ostensibly to convince the locals to abjure extremist Islam a.k.a. Islamofascism.

Now it turns out that this "paragon" has been going around averring that the U.S. had killed more innocent people than al-Qaeda scum.

He neglects to add that, whereas the U.S. never set out to murder as many innocent people as it could, the Qaeda animals did and do precisely that.

It just goes to show there is no such thing as a "moderate Muslim."

* * *
A proposito, remember the battalion of liberal bleeding-hearts who whipped themselves into a frenzy a year and a half ago during Operation Cast Lead (which was, BTW, a resounding success by all accounts) over the "unimaginable" "suffering" visited upon the Palestinians in 3Aza by the "criminal" Israel? The violent protests, their ugly faces contorted with acrimony and odium? The pleas for help and the high-profile "aid"-convoys? Come to think of it, remember the Turkish and dozens of other flotillas carrying supplies more recently for the "starving" Palestinians?

Well, hundreds of million of Pakistanis are now experiencing a genuine disaster and undergoing suffering that Palestinians haven't witnessed in their worst nightmares. Yet, where are all the do-gooders with their specious buenos sentimientos?

It seems suffering can only be deemed serious if Israel is somehow involved... - on the imparting side, of course.

* * *
On a personal note, my vacation in the island paradise draweth to a close betimes. It'll be back to the sandpit in a week or so. But, B"H, some very exciting things are in the pipelines for me within the next several months, so watch this space!

A mosque? A MOSQUE?! A M-O-S-Q-U-E!?!?!

2010-08-17T23:02:00.002+03:00

Osama - sorry, Obama - appeared to support the building of a mosque practically on the site of the 9/11 atrocity. What next: "Discover Islam" booklets being sent to the relatives of the 9/11 victims?!? Wouldn't THAT be the "progressive" and uber-"tolerant" thing to do!

First of all, no mosque should be permitted to be constructed anywhere in the West until the Arabs get their heads out of their asses and allow the same kind of religious freedoms for all faiths and none in their countries. Until the Catholics can build a cathedral in Riyadh or a Muslim become an atheist in Algeria without repercussions, they can cordially fuck off with their mosques out of New York and elsewhere.

Secondly, to even consider building anything Islamic anywhere near 9/11 demonstrates no virtue or principle except pure unadulterated idiocy. The architects of such a plan I can just about understand: Muslims are not exactly illustrious for their sensitivity toward non-Muslims’ sensibilities. But their supporters, particularly among the Democraps, should be either jailed or deported to Iran for being so fucking dumb. Let them spread their wisdom and illumination THERE.

George W., we miss you!!!

B'3ezrat hashem!

2010-07-16T19:36:00.002+03:00

Two news items caught my keen, cynical eye today. The first is the proclamation issued in the name of supposed 2.5 million Muslim users of Facebook "threatening" to desert Facebook. Why? Because Facebook apparently removed four pages with Islamic/Islamofascist content. They promise to make good on the threat unless Facebook accedes to their demands of which there are several. One is that the removed pages be reinstated. That is - in light of the fact that Facebook has all kind of crap on it, a lot of it offensive -, in fairness, not all that unreasonable.

The other 2-3 demands concern banning any and all anti-Islamic content. Now, let me get this straight: They want the freedom to proselytize their stone-age religion urbi et orbi but any criticism thereof should be muzzled to protect their "feelings." This type of belligerence, hubris and rank hypocrisy are what have turned previously tolerant people, such as myself, if I dare say so, into admirers and supporters of the Bush administration's unstated Weltanschauung. I now fully endorse the latest initiative by the Dutch parliament member Geert Wilders to awaken the people of the West to the dangers of unbridled Islamofascism by promoting a pro-freedom alliance.

I do not seek a destruction of Islam. I do, however, firmly contend that an Islam that is not secularized and neutered in the same way Xianity has been over the past three or so centuries is INCOMPATIBLE and ANTAGONISTIC vis-a-vis the values and life as practiced in the vast majority of the non-Muslim world. We ARE talking about a clash of civilizations and, having been living in Muslim countries for the past several years, I can speak from first-hand experience.

Anyway, if they end up leaving Facebook, I say: Goodbye, good riddance, don't let the virtual door hit your smelly ass on the way out, and STAY OUT! Insh3allah ;)

* * *

On another notion, Argentina just legalized gay marriage. I have something of a problem with that.

I have nothing against gays. I am not interested in the nature or nurture polemic because it is irrelevant. A person is homosexual and that is that; I fully accept it and think neither more nor less of that individual. I have a problem with "gay pride" parades in the same way I'd have problems with "straight pride" parades: Scantily clad freaks sticking their tongues down each other's throats while gyrating as if possessed and contorting their bodies, faces and voices is not a spectacle that edifies or empowers any human being, of whatever sexual orientation.

I divagate. I propose that marriage itself is an outdated concept and, rather than allowing it to take different forms as far as its constitution, I suggest that it be abolished altogether. If the economic systems calls for it, let two people be rewarded thru tax breaks, etc. by simply registering their union. Let that union be opened to two individuals, of whatever parameters, including sex. A few years or decades from now, who knows, perhaps the societal views change to such an extent that such a registered union could be opened to include more than two individuals.

I appreciate that this gainsays the received wisdom that the family (i.e. marriage between a man and a woman) is the cornerstone of civilization and that many social problems today can be traced to the breakdown of that model. That model, it is advanced, should therefore be propagated now more forcefully than ever before as the one toward which to strive. I reject this for two reasons. Firstly, it is doubtful, to say the least, whether the perceived social disintegration really owes solely or primarily to the disintegration of the traditional nuclear family. There are a number of other facets to consider and attribute it to, not least of all the pervasiveness of the "progressive" media, the ascendance and ultimate perversion of the "civil liberties"/"human rights," technological developments, etc. Secondly, the society has simply changed too much as far as long-term expectations and planning. I would say, and I have only anecdotal evidence to support this, that the preponderance of the members of modern societies are so accustomed to instant gratification and the ability to dispose of whatever does not suit one's needs that this is translated to their attitudes toward their personal partners and mates. Marriage is simply not seen as a lifelong union anymore but as a seal upon something that one enjoys at the moment and expects him-/herself enjoying for some, indeterminate, time in the future, but which is by no means permanent and which can be rescinded at any time with few (mostly financial) adverse ramifications. (For my part, I still hope to find the perfect woman and stay with her "till death do us part" but I may be in the minority here.) What, then, is the point of forcing the perpetuation of the concept of marriage?

The Day Before Yesterday

2010-07-14T00:58:00.002+03:00

*sigh* "The Day After Tomorrow" - the movie, that is. Like "2012" and dime-a-dozen others, it incorporated every woeful cliche of the modern theater.

A "hero" with an I.Q. in quadruple digits who has a dysfunctional family but who is forced by circumstances to reevaluate his priorities and - willingly or not, wittingly or not - rebuild his family. Extremely powerful, dexterous and witty, often simultaneously.

A kid with an I.Q. in quadruple digits who has a difficult relationship with the "hero" but who is forced by circumstances to ultimately realize he/she really loves the "hero." Extremely dexterous and witty, often simultaneously.

A floozy attached to either the "hero" or the kid who has at least one near-escape from a certain death and/or watches/helps the "hero" or the kid avoid the same. Begins the movie with an I.Q. in double digits but progresses to high triple digits by the end.

An anti-"hero" with an I.Q. in negative digits but in a position of high power of authority over the "hero" who ultimately gets put in his/her place by the "hero's" wit, prowess or his/her own idiocy.

A close friend/associate of the "hero" who dies at some point in the epic (cue corny melancholic music) to either depict the "seriousness" of the situation or provide a stimulus to the "hero" to fight on. Either way, makes the "hero" even more badass and superhuman than before.

A politically correct cast or, just as often, a token African American and/or other minority representative.

A politically correct cause being portrayed. (Americans swamping the Mexican border!? Yank the other one!! (No pun intended!))

A flesh wound - all right, this was missing, kind of. One of the characters - can't remember which one as they all obviously made an indelible impression on me...NOT - did get septicemia or some shit at some point but that doesn't quite count.

I wish there was one major blockbuster movie in which the "hero" is a dumbass who does NOT ultimately succeed in accomplishing and even exceed the mission parameters. Why can't someone try to do something different, yea opposite, from the above jaded formula?!?

Roll On 2012!

2010-07-03T14:41:00.001+03:00

Watched “2012” the movie today, starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet and a host of other forgettables.

*sigh*

Painful. Excruciatingly painful. Stupid, trite, cliched, cheesy, corny, predictable, platitudinous, illogical, shallow. Other than some awesome special effects and computer-generated scenes of apocalyptic devastation, this movie is a two-and-a-half-hour abomination. An abortion of talent, intellect, mental stimulation... It's so dumb that it cannot even constitute mindless (literally!) entertainment. You know those movies that are so pathetically fatuous that you end up cheering for the bad guy (or, in this case, willing the "good guys" to all be obliterated)? This is one such instance, par excellence.

It was only the cuddly company off whom I could bounce my searingly cynical comments that prevented me incurring brain hemorrhage about a half hour into it.

If you have the slightest temptation to watch it, don't. Give it a WIIIIIIIIDE berth.

iBullShit 4G

2010-06-25T07:02:00.002+03:00

A new, fourth, version of Apple's iPhone was just launched. It has the capabilities and features that it should have had three years ago in its original iteration. Still, tens of thousands of losers have gone into a frenzy, camping out in front of Apple stores days in advance to be the very first to get the device. MOOOOOOOOOOO! There's clapping, whoops of joy and screams from both other customers and store staff when the first few get their hands on their iPhone and walk toward the exit. Never mind that in terms of its specifications, the phone is, at best, average in the today's market and that quite a few issues have already been reported. It's funny that, whereas once Apple aficionados were seen as enlightened freethinking nonpareils, today they're a far more amorphous herd than the dime-a-dozen beige-PC users ever were.

Next from Apple: One layer toilet paper without perforations but with an Apple logo. It's called iCrap. Available at $12.99 for a single roll, or $99.99 for a pack of eight, which includes a 128MB flash dongle. It's black in color, which no-one ever did before. Revolutionary! Members of the audience attending the pre-launch were fainting with ecstasy when Jobbs unveiled it and proceeded to demonstrate how to use it. It is predicted to fly off the shelves faster than any previous Apple product. iCrap 2G already touted; it will have two plies and be available in two colors: White and black. There are rumors that perforations might be introduced in the third generation issue.

Milk is good for the bone(r)s!

2010-06-12T18:02:00.001+03:00

Well, just when one thought Islam could not POSSIBLY get any more outrageous (as far as its violence, hatred, self-righteousness, risibility, misogyny, backwardness... - take your pick), one of its ranks awakens from his Neanderthal slumber and astonishes us.

The latest is a fatwa on grown men being given strangers' breast milk! You see, in Saudi and a number of other Wahabi-influenced locales, it is considered un-Islamic for an unrelated woman and man to be together alone in private. However, even in Saudi Arabia it is not possible to totally segregate unrelated men and women; various contexts call for their mixing and situations inevitably arise where a woman and man end up alone in private. Well, just to make sure it's all kosher - or, uhm, halal - one genius "scholar" came up with the idea that a man likely to have contact with an unrelated woman should be given her breast milk to drink, because that will render him her kin: They thus become relatives and can mingle with each other freely and Islamically. (Of course, since cousin-fucking is normal and even encouraged in Islam, one is not quite sure if this edict addresses the original “problem” effectively but that's another matter.) The trickiest part, on which eminent opinions diverge, is whether the milk is to be conveyed to the recipient(s) in a bottle/glass or whether the latter should imbibe it straight from the source. Believe it or not, there are those advocating the latter!

Now, this fatwa was not issued by some stick-in-the-mud rural imam who never traveled out of his inbred village in Qasim. Nay, it came from a highly-positioned Saudi GOVERNMENT official from the Al-Obeikan tribe (one of the highest ranking tribes in the Saudi system). To be fair, it was not entirely his idea: The pronouncement is based on one or more hadiths, i.e. stories and sayings of none other than PBUH himself. Then again, that coming from a guy who thought there was nothing wrong with fucking a 10-year-old girl is hardly astounding.

I can visualize several rather awkward conversations with my female colleagues during my time in the Magic Kingdom: "Well, it would be haram for me to enter your apartment for a glass of lemonade... - but if you let me suckle on your boob five times, we'll be all set if the mutawa turn up!" See, Deputy, if we'd only done that, that argument with the two Haia idiots in Jeddah would have been much shorter!

On the other hand, I see much potential here, given my current situation. I think I'll try it tomorrow! I'm pretty sure this only applies to Muslims though. Damn it! Where do I convert?! (Well, REvert.) In my bedroom, I guess.

Anyway, if you need more laughs - not that the above is a laughing matter -, take a look at these ten most absurd fatwas.

What Price a Life?

2010-06-11T21:14:00.005+03:00

Forty-five (45) dead and almost five hundred (500) injured: The toll of one day's worth of fighting in Kyrgyzstan. Did you hear about that on the news, other than in passing? Any five-hour-long special features, analyses, live satellite feeds, panel discussions a la 3Aza after the "aid" flotilla raid?

No?

Wonder why? Why, because Israel is not involved, of course! You see, dozens, hundreds, thousands of people may die in any one of the multitude of hotspots around the world on a given day (such as, say, the 600 people killed last week in Sudan), but if it's not Israel doing the killing, who gives a shit!

In like vein, I wonder if we're going to be seeing six-hundred assorted "humanitarians" organizing an "aid" convoy to Kyrgyzstan anytime soon. My bet is on NOT.

* * *

On another notion, the useless U.N. approved another round of sanctions against Iran the other day. Will they make a difference? Extremely unlikely. Let's face it: The Iranian regime is a bunch of belligerent psychopaths that has made no secret of its designs for the region. There is only one language they understand, and it's not the language of diplomacy. We need to bomb to kingdom come the Iranian nuclear and industrial facilities and, ideally, effect a regime change. Everything else is a waste of time and a display of weakness and fear.

And finally, a lesson lived is a lesson learned. I had personal contact with precisely eleven Iranians (knowingly) hitherto. Of them, ten turned out to be untrustworthy and dishonorable assholes, while the eleventh remains a lifelong friend (but then, they're not really Persian). This experience was confirmed by a lady shaping up to be my, ahem, girlfriend (a Sunni Gulf Arab). The lesson, therefore:

NEVER TRUST A PERSIAN!

Lecturing or pontificating?

2010-06-06T20:56:00.002+03:00

Get a load of this:

"In Dublin, hundreds of people joined a protest march [against Israeli paramilitary operation against the 'aid' convoy to 3Aza last week]. John Buckley, a college lecturer, said: ‘[...] The Israelis have no right to intercept ships in the middle of the sea and they have no right to implement the blockade. It’s completely illegal.’"

You would think a "lecturer" would have more sense than to parrot this outrageous bunch of drivel fielded by the "humanitarian" provocateurs. Intercepting vessels in international waters is perfectly legal, according to maritime law, for a variety of reasons. If it was not, things such as piracy and violating embargoes would be unstoppable activities.

Nor is the blockade illegal: The de facto state of Gaza is ruled by a regime, which is at war with Israel and which has regularly taken hostile actions against Israel (such as firing rockets indiscriminately at Israeli population centers, which actually IS illegal and which attracted nary a peep from the likes of this "lecturer"). The blockade of Gaza is no more illegal than the blockade of North Korea is or than a blockade of Nazi Germany would have been.

No wonder universities are churning out imbeciles if the students are getting their education from the likes of this John Buckley.

Humanitarianism galore... - but only if documented!

2010-06-04T15:33:00.002+03:00

There you have it, folks: The reporters and media can't join the "aid" vessel, so the organizers decided to cancel the whole mission. Proof positive, if one was needed, that the "humanitarian" "peace" "activists" do not have the interests of Gazans at heart. This is not about aid, suffering, inequity; nay, it is about a bunch of terrorists, terrorist sympathizers and gullible losers promoting their preposterous cause through a provocative publicity stunt.

Israel made two mistakes here: (1) It should have sunk the boats, not risked our soldiers' lives by having them abseil with paintball guns into a sea of bloodthirsty piranhas ; and (2) the Hasbara seriously fouled up here (as it usually does). The world is left thinking that those scumbags on the ships really were innocent benevolent civilians and Israel wantonly murdered them by the dozen.

I was asked yesterday to sign some sort of dumbass petition condemning the commando raid and pledge god-knows what amount to 3Aza. I told them to fuck off. In those very words. One of these days I'll have my head sliced off...

Great humanitarianism hath no man...

2010-05-31T16:34:00.002+03:00

So, up to two dozen "humanitarian activists" have been terminated by the Israeli commandos when the latter descended on the former's vessels illegally bound for 3Aza. There were six such vessels. On five of them no resistance was offered and no casualties were sustained. On the sixth the "humanitarians" attacked the boarding forces, resulting in six injuries to our soldiers and the aforementioned casualties among the "activists."

The self-righteous Euros are up in arms. Sweden, Greece and Spain (all bastions of left-wing lunacy) have recalled the Israeli envoys and something called "baroness" Ashton of the E.U. proto-state department is apoplectic with rage.

My questions:
(1) Since when does a "humanitarian convoy" include 600 "activists"?
(2) Since when does a "humanitarian activist's" equipment include knives, axes and bats?
(3) Why did the activists sail from Turkey and not from, say, Egypt? (Answer: The Egyptians, Palestinian Arab brothers, would not have allowed it. They'd probably have sunk the ships!)
(4) Why did the "humanitarians" not try to enter Gaza via Egypt? (Answer: (A) The Egyptians would not have allowed it, and (B) the "humanitarians" would have gotten no photo opportunity.)
(5) Why do the "humanitarians" no organize "aid convoys" to Sudan, Congo, Yemen and a dozen other places in far dire need than Gaza? (Answer: No Israel is the picture there, so no brownie points and no photo op.)

Face it: These are not kindhearted humanitarians who care about the welfare of the people of Gaza. They are shameless opportunistic hypocrites and terrorists who went on this expedition fully intent on physical conflict with the Israeli Army.

They got their just desserts.

"Elefnt" business...

2010-05-24T22:45:00.002+03:00

Came across a delightful story earlier today. An open-air jacuzzi in a hotel in Africa saw its water deplete daily despite being refilled regularly. The plumbers called in to investigate could not find a leak to explain where the water has been disappearing. Well, here's the culprit:

Star Trek

2010-05-23T21:07:00.002+03:00

I'm quite a fan of the Star Trek genre, to wit, the Next Generation and Voyager. The original series I found to be terribly anthropocentric and devoid of imagination, whereas D.S. Nine was boring as shit.

Anyway, so I was watching an early episode of Voyager the other day and one character retorted to a jealous boyfriend:

HOW CAN I ARGUE WITH SOMETHING THAT EXISTS ONLY IN YOUR HEAD?

And I thought: What a perfect way to view religion and its aficionados!

Hasta la nunca!

2010-05-11T21:07:00.004+03:00

Remember this from 13 years ago:

Or the way the hordes at the gates were baying for Neil Hamilton's head?
OUT! OUT! OUT!
Well, tonight it is Brown's turn. It is a feeling that defies description harking back to 13 years, the jubilant march into power by Blair and "New Labor," and now seeing them all wiped away... It also reminds me that I'm 13 years older *cringe* but that's a whole other story.

Anyway, I guess you gotta feel for Brownie. Blair, junior to him, snatched his prize right out of his hands (at least Brown always saw it thus); at last he got what he wanted after having to wait and fight off the piranhas for more than a decade and a half, and now it is all ending in tears, bitterness and rejection.

Ouch.

But hey, the fun ain't over yet! You thought it couldn't get worse? How's this - David Millibrained below is the leading contender to succeed Gordon Brown as leader of Labor, the main opposition faction in Britain:

Things did not get better!

2010-05-08T08:29:00.002+03:00

Remember 1997: "Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiings can only get BETTER!" with a triumphant Tony Blair practically floating on the hands of the stage-managed crowds into power? Well, yesterday that was supposed to happen to Cameron and the Tories.

So, the Conservatives won the election in Britain in terms of getting the most popular vote and the highest number of seats in the parliament but not even remotely securing an absolute majority of either. Incumbent prime minister Gordon Brown's Labor faction got 6% fewer votes and 7.7% fewer seats. The Liberals, despite much hype and great expectations many had had of them, acquired 57 seats, actually losing some on their previous tally. (We'll get back to this in a second.)

Neither political party can thus form a majority government and both depend on a coalition with or, at a minimum, support from the Liberals. Brown is clinging on for dear life and refuses to vacate his residence, as is, in fact, his legal right: The sitting premier has the right to a first shot at forming a new government. Nick Clegg of the Liberals had said though that he would first talk to the party with the parliamentary majority. So, not Brown.

Oy vey zmir!

Well, I used to be a diehard Tory up until and quite a bit after their crushing defeat in 1997. I then switched to the Liberals, right around 2003/2004, either of which could be described as my annus horribilis. But I digress. When Brown succeeded Blair - whom, to my belated credit, I could never stomach, what with all his fakery - I took to him for the whole of 2-3 months before realizing he was as big an asswipe as Blair had been if for somewhat different reasons.

Tories' Cameron came to the scene at some point, I doubt anyone remembers when, and he began harping on about "change," but it was very obvious very early on that the only "change" he had in mind was replacing Labor with his Conservatives. Forget about proposing any measures to deal decisively with soaring crime, a failing public education system, a diabolical national medical care system, a societal disintegration (involving everything from seditious immigrants to a violent underclass), a shambles of a social security system (which means that it is as profitable to stay at home doing jack as it is to go out and work, and of which millions of the lumpenproleteriat and other deadbeats have been happily availing for years), the crapulent Europhobe vs. Europhile jousting, and so back and so forth. Most of his proposal were stunts, gimmicks and vacuous escapades to portray himself as e.g. "green" (cycling to work and having his chauffeur follow him by car) or "caring" ("hug-a-hoodie"). But I divagate again.

After my brief flirtation with the Liberals, I decided I didn't really care anymore. When this election started going down, however, I wanted to see Brown and Labor out but I was not overly concerned about who would replace them. The first electoral debate - which Clegg nailed - and the subsequent nauseating assaults on the Liberals in the right-wing media changed that. The more vociferous those attacks got, the more they endeared Clegg to me. Plus, he had some good policies: Slimming down Britain's defense expenditure, making a firm and positive stance toward the E.U., having a clue about how to deal with immigration, etc.

Anyway, the election happened; I stayed up all night to watch the results streaming in (yeah, sad), and here we are. For any deal to be sealed, Clegg demands, inter alia, a reform of the electoral system. The extant system hails from the Victorian era and means that a defined district (constituency) returns the one person who courts the most votes. So, if we have an extreme situation of four candidates who score thus:
Candidate A - 10,000 votes
Candidate B - 9,999 votes
Candidate C - 9,999 votes
Candidate D - 9,999 votes,
Candidate A is returned to represent that district even though at least 75% of the electorate did not vote for him/her!

The Liberal faction is deeply unhappy with that. And who can blame them! This time around, they garnered 23% of the popular vote but attained 9% of the parliamentary seats. A system that produces such a result is anomalous, inequitable and unrepresentative. In a word: Undemocratic.

The Liberals are totally right to demand it be changed and, if the Tories and Labor had any moral fiber in them, they would want the same. But, of course, all they crave is power and to hell with morality and fairness.

You see, if Britain adopted the proportional representation system or any system that roughly translated the accumulated number of votes into a corresponding number of parliamentary seats, it would mean that Britain would likely never again have a majority government, as there was only one time in the past 130 years that a political faction gained more than 50% of the popular vote! So, Labor would invariably have to form a coalition and would hence be beholden to another party (most probably always the Liberals) and the Tories would likely never see themselves in government again as there is no way they would find any faction large enough with which to form a coalition. So, both Labor and the Conservatives would prefer to retain the old way of doing things, even at the expense of disenfranchising a huge part of the electorate.

The Liberals are now putting the screw on both of them and militating for a change. The Tory-supporting media are vituperating them for it, depicting the situation as a small "loser" faction holding a triumphant Cameron to ransom.

What bullshit.

Fact is that after thirteen years of a thoroughly abysmal Labor government, which ruined Britain to such an extent that many of its aspects are unrecognizable from even just a decade ago, and I don't mean for the better, the Tories should have cruised to a landslide victory. But they didn't. They didn't capture the public's imagination, address the public's concerns in a comprehensive and realistic manner, or present themselves as much other than new New Labor. Rather than sneering at and lambasting the Liberals who did absolutely nothing wrong in this campaign or election, why not ask how come the Tories failed so miserably?!

I expect there'll be more to come on this.

* * *

The election itself was the main theme last Thursday but there was a glittering sideshow, too: Hundreds of people being turned away from the polling places because too many people had shown up, because they had run out of ballots, because the ballots had misprints, etc. Britain thus proudly joins the illustrious ranks of the Third World in yet another way.

Mmm, good... Feels good... Is good... Real good... Tastes good... MIGHTY GOOD!

2010-05-06T20:51:00.003+03:00

Shalom rav!

Well, a "friend" took a few photos of me the other day and I thought they turned out surprisingly flattering, so I am pleased to share a couple with y'all.

Oh yeah, there are elections going down in Britain. Hoping the Liberal Democrat faction does well but I'm guessing Labor will end up second. The Conservatives are sure to win, if not outright. I'll post my cogitation on the matter when I've caught up on the sleep I'm bound to miss tonight waiting for the results to be called!

MLS: LL.B., M.A., LL.M.

2010-05-02T18:48:00.002+03:00

Well, my dear gentlemen and dearer still ladies, I finally did it: I got my second master's degree, this one being in Law. Public International Law, if you please. Actually, I was awarded it at the end of last year but, due to legendary modern British efficiency, I only today received the diploma, transcripts and fliers advertizing all manner of outrageously expensive services (note to University of London: TACKY!), q.v. brass copies of the diploma, frames costing a couple of hundred bucks, etc. Six years overdue (I started studying for it way back - in, what was it, 2003, 2004? - but got, erm, sidetracked, let's say, in Bedford) but better late than never. Barukh gural, when there's a will there's a way and all that.

Now on to my third one: M.S. Computer Science, and then probably a doctorate. In what, vous demandez? Yeah, I'll get back to you on that.

Only a few more months till my glorious vacation in my new apartment in Tenerife. The swimming pool awaits and I may have a go at bocce as well. I just hope I don't get run over again in the meantime. That would suck major ass! My knee is now back to normal; I'm doing everything I used to and then some *wink wink*

~Shavu3a tov!

למה שונאם אותנו?

2010-04-11T18:32:00.003+03:00

Lamah son'im otanu - why do they hate us?

That question has been on our minds since pretty much the dawn of the Jewish nation. Fact is that, pretty much wherever we ever went, throughout history, sooner or later the indigenous population would turn on us. In best case scenarios they'd place restrictions on our clothes, movements, ownership rights, etc. At their worst, well, we know.

According to newest reports, the number of recorded anti-Semitic incidents is at the highest since modern records began. Oy vey! Well, the world has always been anti-Semitic and that is not going to change. Even if we collectively walked into the crater of an active volcano never to be seen or heard from again, the goyim would manage to find a fault in us.

Not all of it can be waved away as anti-Semitism, however. Even highly decent, intellectual people are turning against us. Why? I suggest two reasons: Firstly, the image of Anne Frank is fading away and being supplanted by the image of that abhorrent Avigdor Lieberman, which means that we are no longer seen as the underdog but, in all too many cases quite rightly so, as the bully. And not just any old bully but an arrogant, intransigent one.

Secondly, our "hasbara" is useless. When is the last time you heard someone articulate an erudite and comprehensive position of the Israeli side? The media are full of various (pro-)Palestinian "spokesmen" and "eyewitnesses" enumerating our "atrocities"; what alternative point of view do we ever proffer? Just pro forma statements by military media liaison officers, regurgitating the predictable platitudes way past their expiry date and generally replete with insipid drivel no-one takes seriously. Even if we had proper hasbara though, if actions contradict words, it is futile. I fear we may have reached the point at which even the most sensible and logical explanations cannot suffice because we are engaged in acts that are so absurd and unacceptable to any right-thinking person as to be inexplicable. What we are doing in the West Bank has nothing to do with Israel's security, never mind our survival as a people and state, but are detestable acts of a territorial occupier subjugating the other side.

Face it: We have to reach a final settlement with the Palestinians, and fast. Not for the benefit of the world - the world will find something else to hate us for very soon afterward - but for our own sake. Our presence in the sh'ta7im is a cancer that will eventually consume us.

We've got visual!

2010-03-07T20:48:00.002+02:00

Well, due to popular demand (O.K., two requests), here are a couple of photographic updates. I still seem to have my youth though I'm beginning to look more distinguished and experienced (or should that be jaded).

I've gotten a spare tire around my waist having been out of commission for three months following the goddamn accident but I'm back on my bike--figuratively AND literally--so I should get back in shape, be'3ezrat gural, in not too distant a future.

Yes, I've taken to sporting pocket squares, mostly in outrageous colors. Come on, you know it was only a matter of time!

En passant, I feel as if I have tarried long enough at my current locality and am contemplating relocation betimes. Whither should I head next? Answers on a postcard, please!

More god-bothering... - or god-blathering?

2010-02-28T16:54:00.002+02:00

I heard a somewhat novel argument advanced today as yet another god-botherer tried to convince me I was trippin' by rejecting the notion of an almighty, etc. Thus spake this one (paraphrasing): God is neither good nor bad, neither just nor unjust, replete with neither goodness nor evil. He just IS. He gives to all precisely what they require to be able to progress on the path to knowing him. There is no point in praying to him or beseeching him because he is not there to listen to and answer petitions but to evaluate deeds.

Well, it got me thinking, only because it is so much more intelligent than the usual spiel propounded by the god-freaks: "You have to do X, Y and Z because god wants you to. How do I know? He said so. Where? In the [Torah, Bible, Qur'an, etc.]. How do I know it's for real? Why, because the [Torah, Bible, Qur'an, etc.] says so!" Ah, the original petitio principii!

Anyway, so I cogitated a full ten seconds on the postulate aforesaid before it dawned on me just how great a pile of bullshit it was. God is there to evaluate deeds? According to what criteria, if I may? "He" gives a life ranging from a crappy ten-second-long existence to a baby somewhere in Africa to a 90-year-long life of sumptuousness and luxury to a guy in America. Some people cruise through life with nary an upheaval whereas others go through unimaginable traumas and privation on a daily basis.

Would one sine qua non of any god not be that he/she/it/they be EQUITABLE? Is the enormous disparity in the qualities of life past, present and future on earth not precisely the OPPOSITE of equitable? Is it hence equitable to JUDGE people who are playing totally different games by the same rules? Or are the rules different according to the quality of life endowed? If so, why: Is THAT equitable?

Sorry but, try as you might, there is no logical or material evidence of the existence of a supernatural intelligent being, which is in constant and active interaction with the world. It may exist - absence of evidence is not evidence of absence - but given that our daily lives are devoid of an impact of its existence, its existence itself is, for all intents and purposes, immaterial.

Q.E.D.

Confucius say: FUCK OFF ALREADY!!!

2010-02-27T16:40:00.003+02:00

Well, something called the chief of police of Dubai - a guy who makes Inspector Clouseau look like Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes combined - graced us with another appearance today. Here he is:

Doesn't he just inspire you with heaps of confidence? Heaven help you if you ever need police help in Dubai!

He spent the past couple of weeks showcasing his detective skills on a daily basis. Practically every day he revealed footage of yet another individual suspected of "murdering" or abetting the "murder" of a 7amas scumbag. None of his discoveries implicate the Institute in the killing in any way, let alone prove anything, but let not that get in the way of a good "Jooz-dun-it" story.

Anyway, so today the raghead directly challenged the director of the Institute to either confirm or deny Israel was involved in the dispatch of Al-Mabhouh who, remember, was a senior member of a terrorist organization and actually proven to have been directly involved in a number of murders of innocent people. That is quite funny because the Emiratis refuse to recognize the State of Israel, i.e. to them Israel--and hence presumably the Institute, as an organ of Israel--do not exist. Why is he addressing someone who "doesn't exist"? It's a logical fallacy. Ya3ani.

This is getting boring, and the West is, again, playing along instead of letting the matter drop. An arch-terrorist was terminated. Mazal tov and yishar ko7ahem to whoever did it. Let's spend a few days celebrating and then get back to work.

Whoever did it sent an unequivocal message: Fuck with Jews and sooner or later you WILL be found and you WILL be canceled. The monkey in Tehran, the asswipe in Lebanon and a few others would do well to take good note.

Cre(a)ti-nism

2010-02-25T22:54:00.002+02:00

A leading scientist in the Israeli government has assailed Darwin's theory of evolution, and averred that children should be taught alternative hypotheses on the origin of life. Yes, you see where this is going. Goddidit.

Empirically speaking, evolution is obviously false. After all, any, even the briefest, survey on the state of the human kind will show that most members of the human race are still monkeys (well, apes, technically).

How else does one explain, inter alia, believing in and worshipping an imaginary being, and actually convincing oneself that he/she/it/they talks back?

Even without delving into the absurdities of individual religions, the very notion of there being a supernatural intelligent entity with omniscience and omnipresence, which is in regular active interaction with the world is preposterous beyond words.

Bowing to air as opposed to a tree is a question of degree of lunacy, not type. It's tantamount to one day deciding you are no longer being stalked by unicorns but by horses.

Is the theory of evolution the be-all and end-all in answering the multitudinous questions about the origins of life? No. It has many holes and does not answer more than a few of the more recondite facets of nature. However, it is continuously updated and subjected to scientific scrutiny. Is it possible that our entire reality was created by a supreme being? Yes, though that possibility defies reason and invokes far more questions than it answers. Howbeit, even if it is true, there is a massive logical hiatus between that postulate and the fundamental tenets of global religions past and present.

Creeping Toms

2010-02-13T14:29:00.003+02:00

So, the supreme Muslim organization of America has decreed that Muslims should not be subjected to full-body scans at airports because that contravenes some vaunted Islamic precept. Ah yes: "Islam highly emphasizes [modesty] and considers it part of faith."

I guess we infidel perverts who do not object to being scanned are all a bunch of bestial exhibitionists who have no shame or modesty. The hubris of these people is just stupefying.

Well, I say: If you don't want to be scanned, then walk, drive, take a bus/train, swim or stay at home. But fly you ain't. We should not be wasting yet more resources to accommodate these people who, you will recall, are the main reason heightened airport security measures became necessary in the first place!

Climate Change: A Hoax?

2010-02-06T09:54:00.002+02:00

The palaver over the putative climate change has been, ahem, heating up for the past few years. The frenzy over the extent of human damage to the planet and the urgency of remedying this has repeatedly reached new heights. The Environment(tm) had long been coopted by the "unwashed masses" as a pet issue (think hippie communes) but only relatively recently did it enter university campuses and become a focal point of activism of dumbass students who equate enlightenment and wisdom with non-conformism, rebellion against all things traditional and angry self-righteousness.

On the other side are the usual right-wing types who, even if the sea level reached their 12th story apartment, would not accept that, hell, something IS happening to the world climate. To them the entire climate change issue is one big hoax, perpetrated by the third world (sorry: The "developing countries") intent on bilking the West by demanding yet more billions to tackle the "problem." I am surprised they are not steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the danger of asbestos, too!* They have been emboldened by the leaked emails and some prominent scientists' admissions that the threat of global warming and its projected effects have been exaggerated or manufactured in parts.

The world IS getting hotter and the weather has been showing extremes as of late. Now, much of it is natural and the Earth is not nearly as hot as it was at various times (Panonian Sea, anyone?) even over the past millennium (vineyards in Scotland). So even if every single glacier were to melt, the Earth would not find itself in a situation never experienced before. But to assert that pumping out millions of tons of man-made toxins into the air, rivers and seas has no effect on the environment, including the climate, is so preposterous as to defy common sense. So, true: There is no impending disaster with sea-levels rising x meters in x years, but likewise we would be well advised to curb unnecessary emissions and ensure those we cannot eliminate are filtered and purified to be as environmentally-friendly as possible.

* Astonishingly, the hack fronting the crapumentary I talked about in my previous post (v. infra), somehow managed to retrieve two old windbags in Australia who are obstinately refusing to accept government compensation and move out of a former asbestos mine village, long ago vacated by all their neighbors. The situation is so bad that the Australian government has even erased the place off all maps and any visitors who happen upon it are advised to not stop to explore. But the two are staying put, by Jove! The AU$ 40,000 compensation is an "insult." (That money would be IN ADDITION to relocating them and providing gratis accommodations.) Well, even our sterling "reporter" had to admit he saw the government's point of view (duh!) but he could still not resist depicting the couple as noble underdogs in a quixotic battle. Because, hey, what's more "progressive" than sticking it to The Man(tm), right? Even if it does land you with lung cancer!

BBC = BS

2010-02-05T22:23:00.004+02:00

Just finished watching a three-part "documentary" by the B.B.C. entitled "Tropic of Capricorn." It follows a reporter as he traverses the countries straddling the Capricorn. Usually I LOVE travelogs. I still remember very fondly the several produced by Michael Palin years ago, and the National Geographic Channel's are above par.

But this must be one of the most irritating broadcasts I ever saw. The guy did not visit a single place en route without adverting to some great malady befalling or about to befall the locality. They were all the usual liberal pet issues: Someone exploiting someone or something else. So, there were governments roughing up helpless traditional small communities, descendants of colonialists mistreating the natives and, of course, the sine qua non: Evil big businesses devastating The Environment(tm). Global Warming(tm) got its mention at the end of the second part, but after one and a half hours of arched-eyebrows, perma-frowns of feigned concern and platitudinous but persistent indoctrination, that was only to be expected.

A group of "indigenous people" (not "natives," you see: Very un-PC) in one hamlet caviled about lack of medical and educational provisions (read: Government neglect). In a village some way down the road members of that same tribe had been offered relocation into a settlement with proper social care provisions, but this time some villagers leveled accusations that the government was trying to evict them. See: One just can't get it right. A bit later on, in a settlement established by the government, the inhabitants are opting to live in mud huts rather than the brick houses provided. That is shown to be oh-so quaint and charming. I suppose in the sequel of this crapumentary they'll go back and film the settlers crying about their mud huts' roofs leaking and it will be, yes, the government's fault! And don't even get me started on all the bullshit about the Australian Aborigines. It's not good if they are left to their own devices; it's not good if the government intervenes.

In short, whichever continent, whichever nation, whatever problem: It's the West's fault. Even the Chinese (who are infamous for not giving a hoot about human rights or environmental concerns, including across their thousands of projects in Africa) escape the pillorying and are actually portrayed in a favorable light.

Whereas I would have loved to have seen footage of the landscape as well as the urban centers visited (say, Winhdoek or Tulear), a third of the time was wasted on unremitting interviews with various campaigners and "victims."

An excellent opportunity totally squandered.

Pathetic.

Frogs in Haiti

2010-01-22T18:45:00.002+02:00

So, the United States has been vituperated for "occupying" (or rather, "neocolonizing") Haiti. The French have led the chorus of disapprobation with Brazil and the usual suspects, such as Venezuela and Cuba, joining in with much gusto. Apparently, a French plane carrying humanitarian aid was refused landing permission at the ravaged Port-au-Prince airport and had to be diverted to the adjacent Dominican Republic.

I don't get it. The U.S. was the closest to the disaster zone and it had far more material and human resources and experience than any of the said whiners. In a sudden crisis it is imperative that a firm leadership is established without delay for prioritization, organization and channeling purposes. Was the U.S. supposed to waste a week setting up a multinational committee that would take three days to decide on anything? Should the hundreds of airplanes en route to Haiti have just landed when and where they pleased? Give me a break.

The U.S. was one of the first to respond with concrete and essential types of assistance. As, for that matter, was Israel with its state-of-the-art field hospitals and search-and-rescue teams. Both countries got pummeled by hypocrites conducting their "struggle" for "world justice" from the armchairs in front of their computers.

Yes, still alive...

2009-06-24T10:36:00.003+03:00

Shalom samea7!

I am very much alive, thank you for your concern, everybody. I haven't written all this time for a number of reasons: (1) I am still in the Middle East, in a place that censors the Internet, I am here incognito and it would not be a good idea for anyone to figure out that M.L.S. is Locham Yisra'el. Geddit? (2) My disappointment with and cynicism vis-a-vis politics have reached depths never before attained. We just got a government in haAretz composed of sleazeballs, opportunists, racists, zealots, liars, losers, spineless cretins, all lacking wisdom, vision or scruples. The jerkoffs on the other side are not much better: The P.A. has all but imploded although it's pursuing whatever goals it has far more assiduously and prudently than Israel (q.v. the resoluteness with which the P.A. has been battling 7amas and other terrorists in the West Bank), talks with Syria have been mothballed, Lebanon is as big a mess as it's been for decades, if not worse still, Iran is a loose cannon and no-one seems to have the guts to deal with it (notwithstanding the various black ops being executed there regularly)... - not a pretty picture. (3) I don't have very much to say. There's plenty of news, to be sure, but I just can't be bothered. B'emet, I started this blog after I had undergone a profoundly challenging experience in my life, and then maintained it in a rather illogical but certainly petulant attempt to keep alive a channel of communication--even if one-sided--with a girl I loved inexorably at one time. (Don't ask me to explicate this: I don't think I could even if it served a purpose.) I suppose I had hoped she would continue visiting it and reading slivers of my boundless wisdom in her moments of weakness. Would she perhaps realize what/whom she had chosen to say goodbye to? (We didn’t fail because of another man!) Let's stick with that theme, shall we?

I left Europe back in, when was it?, spring of 2006. My first port of call was the Gulf, to wit, Oman. I had by then largely gotten over C. but my heart intermittently niggled at me and made me bethink myself of our times together, the what-ifs and all those other things that a sensible person invariably feels would best be forgotten for good. Shortly upon my arrival I met B. Those familiar with the story will immediately recognize her as my dear Omani princess. (And I do mean a princess: Hers is one of the top families in the Sultanate, with brothers and uncles who are Cabinet members, ambassadors, etc.) We spent the most magical, wondrous half year together, and then a few more months when we met in Europe and elsewhere. How and why it didn't work out is a long story, and quite irrelevant, too. Let us just say the episode cemented my loathing of religion and all it stands for, and yet endowed me with the knowledge that we, as human beings, can very much get along together. During and after our relationship I was replete with the peacemaking, "du-kiyum" fervor. Lamentably, it was not to be.

After Oman, I departed for a country where I stayed for two years, and which caused most of my convictions and, I would go as far as to say, values to change. Why? Simple. I got to know Arabs.

To be continued...

Happy "Jerusalem Day"!! hehehe

2008-09-26T17:33:00.002+03:00

This is an image depicting one of the many demonstrations that took place all over Iran today in honor of what they call the "Jerusalem Day." It was the usual orgy of odious tirades, vacuous slogans and idle fantasies, and all the usual suspects were there to remind us how Israel--having survived for 6,000 years against all odds--would be extirpated anon.

Anyway, the photo that piqued my interest. I cannot bring myself to stop staring at this inbred creature in the front row, the ass-that-passes-for-his-face distorted in blind rage, giving up his weekend afternoon to join a rally about a matter that in no way concerns him.

And I wonder: How is it that Iran, the home of the Persian people, one of the cradles of human civilization has turned into a land of savages...?

Just a few comments...

2008-09-17T00:34:00.002+03:00

Shalom everybody!

Yes, my online presence has been in something of a state of abeyance and that's because, to be totally honest, I can't be bothered with this. I've been traveling a lot, wheeling and dealing, spinning sh'qalim, and generally enjoying life.

A few items caught my attention in the past few days so let me proffer my--most caustic--reactions:
(1) A former prisoner of Guantanamo Bay has been bitching about what an iniquitous treatment he had had to endure there. He's even cashing in on his mawkish story by way of a book (memoirs?). As I was reading the two linked extracts I couldn't help wondering what the hell kind of treatment I'd be receiving at the hands of one of them. You think they'd let me have a Torah?

So, we shouldn't be like they, I hear you say. Sorry, that kind of argument doesn't wash with me anymore. If you're in a boxing ring, you play by the boxing rules; not by the rules of, say, chess. Does it vex me that we should be maltreating so bestially a human being who may be innocent? It does. But. Having spent the past few years in several Arab countries and having observed our adversaries in action, I cannot say I overly care. I'll pay perfunctory lipservice to the activism abjuring incidences of Guantanamo abuse but my principal sentiment will be "Hey, look at what they do to our prisoners."

(2) "Archbishop" Desmond Tutu of South Africa has averred that Israel may have committed a war crime when we shelled Beit Hanun in 2006. All the media picked up on the story and lapped it up. As a side-note, he added that the Palestinian assholes who were unremittingly pounding Israel with the qasamim may also be guilty and should be prosecuted. (Naturally, that part got the briefest of mentions in most media outlets, something the archbish would well have known would happen.) Apart from the fact that Tutu does not hold any credentials granting him authority to declaim on matters of ius in bello, what business is the matter of his? Here he is onanizing on 19 people killed in a single, inadvertent incident two years ago. Why doesn't he fuck off to, say, the Congo where over 1,000 people die every single day? Better yet, why doesn't he fuck off, period.

(3) More from our Avrahamic "cousins": Mickey Mouse must die, says Saudi Arabian cleric. I think the title says it all. And these are the people we're meant to be coexisting with. (And no, this is not some nutjob imam of a two-bit mosque in some poxy Nejd village; this is a senior figure of the Saudi establishment.) Freaking hell, if they want to kill a cartoon character, can you imagine what they would do to people these inbred morons consider to be "unclean"?! (That would include all non-Muslims and a fair amount of Muslims, too.) Remember this when you hear for the umpteenth time what a beautiful religion Islam is, a creed of peace. Puh-lease.

(4) Good news for the end. The Jewish genius that made the desert bloom scintillates again. This time we've invented "tree-homes." Basically, while the Muslim world is busy issuing fatwas against drawn mice on T.V. (don't forget: Tom & Jerry is a Zionist conspiracy!), we are continuously finding new ways to improve the lives of the entire humankind.

Here endeth my lesson for to-day.

3od avinu 7ai!

2008-05-09T11:53:00.003+03:00

Shalom shalom everyone!!

On this joyous occasion, let me list some of Israel's achievements in its 60 glorious years. Don't forget: This is a country the size of New Jersey but with a much smaller population and significantly harsher climate.

Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.
Israel has the world's second highest output of new books per citizen.
Israel holds more patents per person than citizens of any other nation.
More than 85% of solid waste in Israel is treated in an environmentally-sound way.
Israeli companies all pioneered voicemail, SMS and other cellphone services. (Amdocs, Comverse, and Nice Systems)
Israel has the highest concentration of high-tech industried in the world, in relation to its population.
ICQ, the technology behind AOL Instant essenger, was developed in 1996 by a team of four young Israelis.
Israeli start-up company, TransChip, developed the first high-resolution camera that fits on a single chip, for use in cellphones.
Israel is one of only eight countries in the world capable of launching its own satellites into space.
Israeli engineers developed the first cellphone at Motorola lab in 7aifa, its largest research center in the world.
When earthquakes struck in western India and Turkey, Israel sent entire field hospitals, including medicall staff and equipment, to treat injured civilians.
Israel has the third largest number of companies trading on Wall Street, after the U.S. and Canada.
Israel has more engineers and scientists per capita than any other country.
Seamless lingerie sold by Victoria's Secret is made by the Israeli company Tafron; it also akes seamless garments for Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Banana Republic, and Nike.
Intel's high-speed processor Centrino was developed in Israel, as was Microsoft's Windows XP operating system.
American industry giants, such as GM, Ford, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin, manage their manufacturing using software from the Israeli company Technomatix.
Israel's Given Imaging developed a video camera so small it fits inside a pill, which you can swallow. The camera helps doctors diagnose digestive tract diseases.
An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administrations of medications, thus reducing the risk of human error in medical treatment, which kills 7,000 patients annually in the U.S. alone.
A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that cause acne bacteria to self-destruct without damaging the surrounding skin.
Israel developed the first fully-computerized, radiation-free diagnostic scanning device for breast cancer.
BabySense, an Israeli product aimed at preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), is saving babies' lives throughout the world.
According to the Guiness Book of World Records, Israel has the highest number of solar-powered water heaters per capita.
CheckPoint, an Israeli company, pioneered Internet and network security technologies, such as the firewall.
The first PC anti-virus program in the world was developed in Israel in 1979.
Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation: 109 per 10,000 people.
An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar power plant in California's Mojave Desert.

Happy birthday, my beloved Homeland!

Osama--oops, I mean Obama--surges ahead

2008-02-14T02:13:00.002+02:00

So, Sen. Obama has gained considerable momentum and is far from the inconsequential underdog he was a few short months back. Once seen as the "inevitable choice," Hillary Clinton's campaign is in a state of disarray, indeed, in freefall. Hussein Obama has gone so far as to claim primacy in the contest and has issued calls for the Democratic faction to coalesce around him. So confident of an eventual nomination is he that he spent a considerable portion of rhetoric taking aim at Sen. McCain, the all-but-crowned Republican nominee.

One espies these developments with amazement and sadness. Certainly, it is amazing for an African American to have reached this stage when barely a few decades ago "niggers" were sitting in the back of buses, were not allowed to use public libraries and attended separate schools in large swaths of the United States. This progress is so giddying that one is tempted to endorse him just to "cock a snook"--as the English would say--i.e. give the finger to the racist America of old. Besides, his success would enthrone the U.S. once and for all as the land of liberty, opportunity and justice for all. Doing so though would be a mistake.

Let me come clean: I don't like the guy. A large part of the reason for this is that he has garnered support thru soundbites and style, rather than concrete policies and substance. Listen to his speeches: It's all about change. Even disregarding the fact that change for the sake of change is myopic at best, "change" is not a policy! Change what, from what, to what, with what, how and why are policies... - but you will not get these details from the Illinois senator. In fact, according to at least one background investigation, he has been exceedingly careful since his early days in politics, not to step on anyone's toes on controversial issues. He conveniently missed a welter of important votes (one most recently on whether Iran's revolutionary guard should be designated a terrorist organization, a vote, which had a broad cross-party Congressional support).

This quote, from a book, perhaps illustrates the situation better than any disquisition: "Obama is not a conviction politician. His supporters do not look to him to do something; they look to him to be something, to represent something." Oh dear...

"Yes, We Can!" is Obama's motto. We can... - WHAT, exactly???

Is it fair for such a person to prosper over a woman of stature, principles and a track-record to prove it? No. Which is why I fervently hope the Obama bandwagon gets derailed before too long. Having made two catastrophic errors in judgement in the past eight years, the American people can ill-afford to make another one. If they don't come to their senses in a hurry, we will have a septuagenarian hawk in the White House this time next year. That would be bad for the U.S. and for the world: From the economy, to the war on terror, to America's cultural supremacy.

Can we restore America's tarnished image to its former glory? With a Democratic president who actually stands for something and we know what that something is, YES, WE CAN.

El El Yisrael!!!

2008-02-13T14:00:00.002+02:00

Hayom kol Yisrael 7ogeget! We've offed another major scumbag: The deputy chief of 7izballah. All the menuvalim should be on notice that they are in our sights. The likes of Nasrallah, Meshal, A7madinejad, etc. have been screwing with the longsuffering Jewish nation for too damn long. There is no reasoning, negotiating or talking to them; they must be cancelled.

I am all for peace, as those who know me are well aware, but there will be no peace as long as the old guard keeps thwarting it. We need a lustration. Now.

3Am Yisra'el 7ai!!

They don't make 'em like they used to

2008-02-12T14:19:00.000+02:00

It appears competent homicide bombers are hard to come by these days. Just a couple of weeks after it came to light that the virile and leonine al-Qaida "fighters" had used mentally retarded women to do their dirty work for them in Iraq, in Afghanistan one schmoe exploded himself as he was putting on his explosive belt. He took out three of his buddies with him. In another incident, the would-be bomber managed to don his vest laden with explosives but then tripped, fell down a flight of stairs and went KABOOM!!

BTW, I've come across a hysterical Arab website called "Arab News." It's based in Saudi Arabia but it's in English. It's shamelessly biased but offers great insight into just what kind of sickos and retrogrades we're dealing with. I'll be visiting this subject in my future installments.

Shalom!

Hillary or Obama? Hmm...

2008-02-05T19:53:00.000+02:00

As we are all well aware, the Democrat Party's primaries are in full swing and, ensuing John Edward's withdrawal, it's a battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama. I have to confess to not having given much of a chance to Obama at the beginning nor did I view him as much of a threat. Hillary was always going to be a shoe-in choice. However, Obama has put up a formidable fight and seriously imperiled Mrs. Clinton's chances of competing against--what is almost certain to be--Sen. McCain in the Presidential election this November.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the key. We can talk about manifestos, agenda and even the candidates’ experience all we want. We all know who and what Hillary is. She may be divisive and she may be abrasive. She may well sell out to corporate interests the minute she walks into the White House. She though is a stateswoman with gravitas, a track-record of concrete policies and a voting record on issues that concern me and appeal to me. ("Me" being a social liberal.) Obama doesn't. He is young and he talks about effecting a change. Big deal. Who reading this can think off the top of their head what Obama actually stands for? I have read and heard a number of his speeches. Yes, rousing, inspired, invigorated... - just as many seasoned commentators have portrayed them. But that's ALL they are: Platitudes, clichés, ephemeral banalities. Other than being African-American, what are Obama's actual credentials? Whether those of us wishing for a utopian, color-blind world like it or not, his ethnicity IS a factor if only so as to prove that his success hitherto demonstrates what a long way the United States has come. That is not all it proves, however; it also proves America has not come far enough.

This isn't about sending any messages about the state, unity, priorities and principles of the Democratic faction. This is about fielding a candidate who can regain the White House from the Republicans whose excesses many feel have long gotten out of hand. The question, therefore, is whether Hillary or Obama can do it against McCain. If it comes down to Hillary and McCain, we can expect a historic battle of the titans. Polarizing though Hillary is unremittingly said to be, she has what it takes to beat a Republican contender. The American people are deeply disaffected and tired of Mr. Bush and his entire establishment. They crave change, which can be witnessed by the record-breaking numbers of people who turned out to participate in the Democratic primaries so far. But does this burning desire for change include a willingness to have an African-American president with recondite policies over a wealthy, Caucasian, straight-talking Vietnam vet? Well, that was really a rhetorical question.

Obama, nice enough a guy though he undoubtedly is, does not stand a chance against Sen. McCain. Unless we want four more years of a Republican administration, it is imperative we vote with our heads, not hearts. The bottom line is: Obama vs. McCain will yield McCain; Hillary vs. McCain will yield Hillary. The question to ask yourself is would you rather have Hillary or McCain as the next U.S. president?

The Monkey is at it again!

2008-01-31T07:31:00.000+02:00

Shalom shalom everyone!

So, our old simian buddy, Mahmud, has been shooting off at the gob again. Yesterday he prophesied that "the filthy Zionist entity [...had] reached the end of the line" and that "it ha[d] lost its reason to be and [would] sooner or later fall." Such sentiments are no doubt shared by many around him, including Iran but also the Arab world (the latter having really been the principal target audience of this diatribe).

Now, Iran is not a happy place: Despite boasting immense national wealth, which could easily transform the place into a Bahrain or Dubai, it is a cesspit of penury, gas-rationing(!), inflation, communist-style loss-making behemoths, religious coercion, ethnic cleansing (q.v. al-Ahawaz region), etc. Never mind that though.

His verbal defecation came as no surprise. What IS astonishing, however, is that many lap it up. They are blissfully unaware of the fact that the "Zionist entity" is not some phantom regime ruling the roost from afar; rather, it's a country of seven million people who--unless ethnically cleansed by a vastly superior adversary--are not going anywhere. He further forgets that the Jewish nation is today more numerous and stronger is every way that ever before in our 6,000-year-long history.

Or IS he unaware of the foregoing? Sure enough, he is a simpleton, unversed in general knowledge, never mind the finesse of sociology, economics, diplomacy, science and so on. However, not even to him is the reality on the ground totally recondite. Why does he spout such nonsense, then? For the same reason his Arab counterparts and clergy do: He needs Israel.

I'd still like to bomb his ass to smithereens though.

As for me, yes, I'm still very much alive and enjoying the good life... - the VERY good life

"Prince" Charles snubs Israel

2007-11-16T10:30:00.000+02:00

So, "prince" Chuck of England does not want to visit Israel in order not to give our image a "boost." Two questions:

(1) What the hell was Tzvi Hefetz thinking inviting this bozo to eretz haqodesh in the first place? The guy hasn't done a minute's honest work in his whole life and is nothing but a leech who hugs trees and fantasizes about being Camilla's tampon. And this clown would *enhance* Israel's standing!!?

(2) Haven't the Britishers done more than enough for (or should I say: to) Israel? Because of their colonialist callousness possibly millions of German Jews were gassed as they were barred from reaching the safety of the Palestinian Mandate, which was under the Teabags' control. As if that wasn't enough, following WW2, with the policy still in place, the English dogs arrested and interned or simply shot survivors of the natzi concentration camps. Having spent up to four years in death camps, hundreds of Shoah survivors languished three further years in British prisons in Cyprus or indeed in those same concentration camps (e.g. Luebeck) where they'd see their family and friends murdered by the natzim. And these are the subhumans we want visiting our country?!?

SWC, Squatters and... - Welcome Back!

2007-08-24T13:50:00.000+03:00

Shalom rav!

I'm back after a glorious month's vacation in north Africa. It's been my second time to visit the region and I ADORE the place, especially Morocco and--my all-time favorite--Tunisia.

Now, a couple of months ago I received an email from the Simon Wiesenthal Center whose sponsor, incidentally, I am. For reasons of brevity, I won't quote the text here but you can find it verbatim here.

I don't make a practice of taking issue with such a noble organization in public, but I felt compelled to respond to the original email and hereby share with you what I told harav Hier:

"BS”D

"Dear R” Hier:

"I write in response to the latest SWC communiqué dealing with the allegation that Israel is an apartheid state and that we engage in crimes worse than those of the natzim.

"While Israel is certainly NOT an apartheid state, while attempts to draw parallels between the actions of our armed forces and the natzim are abhorrent, and while the pro-Palestinian rhetoric is all too frequently laden with flagrant lies, it is a fact that our policies in the occupied territories ARE based on national/ethnic segregation.

"There is perfectly no legal or moral justification (religious perhaps but, then, religion can be used to justify just about any perversity) for colonizing those lands and corralling the “other” people living there in ghettos with only very restricted ability to travel among those ghettos, never mind anywhere else.

"The SWC has been doing sterling work in bringing natzi beasts to justice but memoranda of this sort threaten to undermine your credibility and cast an indelible shadow on your previously morally-impregnable campaign and accomplishments.

"Since most of the natzi criminals are now dead, may I suggest that the SWC transform itself into an organization combating injustice and racism generally? Of course, that includes the injustice and racism we ourselves perpetrate. For any endeavor, which accuses our enemies of a wrong but is blind to those of us who similarly wrong others is ab initio bankrupt. So, therefore, is your latest email.

"I do hope you consider this email and thank you for taking the time and trouble to do so.

"Kol tuv uvhatzla7ah rabah,

"Michael Steiner"

Doubt he read it... - but I guess it's the thought that counts.

I know some will see my riposte as that of a "self-hating Jew" or even "self-loathing Jew" (the latter, of course, far more a sign of how much THEY loathe me than how much they think I supposedly despise myself--always bear in mind that I wear a kipah proudly on my head whereas they hide it beneath ridicuous-looking baseball caps). But isn't it funny, in a very perverse sort of way, whence such broadside typically emanates? You see, whereas once survivors of the Shoah and their descendants were seen as the epitome of human suffering worthy of all respect and deference, we are now increasingly being reviled. Why? Because we recognize that suffering is not exclusive to an ethnicity and that tears of a Palestinian are no less real than those of a Jew.

Indeed, our detractors go so far as to dismiss us as "bleeding heart sentimentalists" and "confudes [sic] Jew-haters" who "think all suffering is the same." (These are quotes from actual messages I've personally received specifically in the context of being the child of a Holocaust survivor.

That some prick from Brooklyn who came to the West Bank to play cowboys and Indians (or, some prick from Brooklyn, period) should assail on those of us who fight for our right to realize our 2000-year-old dream to exist as a "free people in our land of Zion" while concomitantly being acutely aware of our moral and ethical reponsibilities is outrageous.

But that's the perennial problem with religious freaks: there is no truth but their worldview, and those who dissent... - well, we all know what happens or should happen to us. That's why I always say that 7amas and the squatters would become best buddies very soon if they lived with each other. Forget evacuating the squatters from the West Bank; leave them there: betimes they'll be playing checkers and smoking shisha with their Islamic counterparts. Heck, if you hear the religious squatters talking about their vision of Israel, you realize it mirrors the political and social arrangements of the illustrious Islamic Republic. (For enhanced authenticity, compare ayatollah Yosef's apparel with those of harav Khamenei.)

Freak Show

2007-08-05T01:52:00.000+03:00

Found out about this "White Nationalist" (own description) website today from the Guardian and just had to have a look. I do this kind of thing now and again but what made me want to mention this particular site here is the fact that it is laden with photographs--I like looking at people's photos--and, in particular, pictures of socialists, anarchists and other assorted pieces of work taking part in various protests and demonstrations in London.

Now, I wholeheartedly support a number of their initiatives (e.g. their loathing of Bush and his neoconservative dogma, their opposition to the war in Iraq, their uncompromising approach to racism, etc. However, as is visible from the photographs, such organizations invariably co-opt other "causes," too, for instance "Freedom for Palestine." (One notes that no freedom is called for the people of Western Sahara, Kurdistan, Chechnya, Tibet, ... - oh, you know the spiel.)

Then there are a few pictures denouncing the apparent kidnapping of "illegal" immigrants in Britain by the News of the World ("Kidnapping is a crime!" yells one). Ironically, these pictures are flanked by shots of protesters screaming against last summer's war in Lebanon. (Does one need reminding what/who, exactly, started that war?) It's such a pity that organizations founded for a noble purpose (such as the United Against Racism outfit) should have been adulterated by hypocrisy, anti-Semitism and espousal of discredited socioeconomic systems...

Anyway, the photos are endlessly funny, replete as they are with all manner of weirdoes, mutants and other freaks of nature. Apart from a few cute Middle Eastern chicks, the characterized are deformed, slovenly and repulsive. The presence of a "Women Against Waxing" activist does little to dispel the nausea. It made me feel as though I was in the audience at a Jerry Springer show!

See the lot here. (The site may be down so keep trying.)

Van of laughs

2007-07-23T22:05:00.001+03:00

This is without a doubt THE funniest video you're likely to see for a while.

(If you cannot see the video, click here.)

Stupid English "cops."

Enjoy!

Creation "Science"

2007-07-20T10:21:00.001+03:00

Anyone who has any doubt that we evolved--or, I should say, are STILL evolving--from apes should read this: "Honor" murderer's sadistic tactics.

Come to think of it, not even the lowest of beasts do this to their own.

Lost for words...

Time to bring out the violins again...

2007-07-05T21:06:00.000+03:00

By now probably the entire world is aware of the Madeleine McCann saga: the little girl who apparently got kidnapped in Portugal following a breathtaking demonstration of good parenting skills by her mommy and daddy who went a-partying while leaving their three kids unmonitored for more than a half hour at a time. As if the ensuing media circus wasn't enough, we today got plangent reports of another toddler gone missing in Nigeria.

Being the heartless S.O.B. that I am, I cannot help but be cynical about this. With all due respect to the parents' pain and all, but what the hell are these people doing in Nigeria anyway?! They, together with their superiors, subordinates, companies and all the accompanying infrastructure are there for the SOLE reason of making money and milking that woebegone African country for all it's got. There are obviously still some spoils left even after centuries of colonialist robbery.

Tell you what, you Limey dicks: if you don't want to have yourselves or your family members kidnapped and worse, piss off out of Nigeria. The Nigerian people should be the ones exploiting their natural resources instead of being reduced to spamming my inbox with a dozen emails every day promising me a cut of US$ 20million from some deceased general if only I give them my bank account details.

TEABAGS OUT!!!

* * *
There's increasingly tumultuous maelstrom in Pakistan. The government has finally gotten off its ass and decided to storm a masjid--hotbed of terror--located in the heart of the country's capital. However, the hundreds of soldiers deployed to deal with the ultra-religious losers holed in there were halted in their tracks after discovering dozens of innocent women and children being used as human shields. The leader of the "students" had earlier tried to flee the battleground disguised as a woman wearing a burqa.

We witness these cowardly tactics employed very frequently, Beslan being, perhaps, the most tragic example. In the Palestinian territories, for instance, terrorists of every flavor hide behind civilians de rigueur. And yet, in their proclamations everywhere from masjid speakers at Friday prayers to video recordings to various propaganda fliers, these intellectually impotent underachieving unsexed pieces of shit brag about their putative gallantry, resolve and honor only to go hide behind a skirt (or, in this case, burqa) at the first sign of trouble.

Conclusion: Jihadis are chickenshit sissies.

You can quote me on that.

* * *
Finally, the news-wise ubiquitous "terror" "attack" on the Glasgow airport. Let's recapitulate: a couple of well educated, intelligent guys take a jeep and make a halfassed attempt at penetrating into the Glaswegian airport having at some point set the said jeep on fire. They manage to make ingress but then chicken out (reportedly because the jeep had not caught on fire) and are effortlessly subdued by a baggage cart handler. Subsequent investigation discloses that the jeep was supposed to ignite into a great conflagration further aided by a few canisters filled with gas (petrol) and ball bearings in the back. Piece de resistance, one of the "suicide bombers" had even written a suicide note with all the usual rhetorical trimmings. (No video with the flags, masks, Qur'anic verses, etc. though -- damn!)

Did anyone else notice--in photos later released--that the "canisters" were in fact heavy gas cylinders designed precisely to preclude an explosion in engulfed by fire? In other words, these two miscreants were dumb enough to utilize the single most fire-retardant container available to members of the public to effect a "ball of fire." And then, the two self-affirmed "martyrs" seemingly light the jeep with a match instead of, say, dousing it with gasoline in advance to ensure it really lights up. Last but not least, realizing that the plan is not going quite as envisioned, they shrug their shoulders, exit the vehicle and start flailing their arms about.

Who's banging whom in the brain here? Even my gay colleague from Oman by the name of Norman could've knocked up a more effective and foolproof plan than the antecedent in five minutes.

The whole story is so incredible that it beggars belief anyone could even briefly entertain its veracity. It's just another lousy production courtesy of the English "intelligence" services. But hey, it makes for great theatrics.

Panem et circenses, my friends.

* * *

And, in case you're wondering: yes, I'm in a bad mood.

Pass the popcorn please...

2007-06-15T16:06:00.000+03:00

Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is it. After the conquest of 3Aza by the crazy 7amas it is clear than any and all chances of attaining a resolution to the conflict have been obliterated for the foreseeable future. The Palestinians have destroyed their future with their own hands. Though I am hardly one to be readily given to pessimism, with the Palestinians now basically split into two entities, each headed by a recalcitrant and bellicose gang, no-one in their right mind would want to accost them even with a hello, never mind enter into negotiations on a geopolitical settlement with them. We are, therefore, resigned to decades, if not centuries, of conflict. While to us it will be but a perpetuation of the pesky inconvenience of having to live under semi-war conditions, it is of course the Palestinians who will continue to suffer. Their living conditions and situation in general are now more precarious than at any time since 1948 and is liable to exacerbate even further. Naturally, the assorted Jew-haters around the world will find a way to objurgate Israel for this, too--because, don't you know, everyone is responsible for the Palestinians' unremitting anguish except the Palestinians themselves--but the hard truth is that now, possibly more than ever before, the Palestinians are the authors of their own anguish.

And speaking of Jew-haters, those meaning to boycott Israel in the so-called "united kingdom" believe that the only solution to the conflict is a single state. Well, we all saw how successfully that recipe worked in countries such as the U.S.S.R, Yugoslavia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, U.A.R. and dozens of others... - and there you are talking about people who had a lot in common. In the case of Israel and the Palestinians we have two nations with diametrically opposite economic, societal, cultural, religious, linguistic, moral, historical and every other conceivable parameters. Not even a doorknob would be dumb enough to make a proposition to unite them but, then, those Teabags are so drunk and stoned that your average doorknob is a nuclear scientist compared to them.

Tell you what, you Limey imbecils: why don't you and, say, Iraq, Afghanistan or Nigeria join to form a single state, with one citizenship, institutions of power and freedom of movement? *thumbs-up* Five years later, if the experiment is deemed successful, we'll do the same with the Palestinians.

Fucking English shits.

Multiculturalism and multicretinism

2007-06-12T01:28:00.000+03:00

Read an article on a young woman brutally murdered for daring to love the "wrong" man: The kiss of death. These people are fucking animals, purely and simply. It makes perfectly no difference what religion or ethnicity they are: parents who happily decide to murder two of their own children are subhuman. No amount of torture is good enough for them but I certainly hope they drop a soap-bar while taking a shower in prison. Such barbarism, such sadism, such warped values... I am beginning to think the right-wingers are correct--in principle if not substance--about not wanting the likes of these cockroaches among them.

On another notion, remember where Saddam got most of his weapons from? Here's a reminder:

Well, that strategy obviously worked so well that Bush and his brilliant commissars thought it would be a great idea to do it again. In Iraq. Again. And this time they are arming people far worse than Saddam ever was. How must those poor young G.Is have felt disbursing advanced weapons to people they KNEW would use those weapons to try to kill them in a matter of hours?

Does the stupidity of U.S. intelligence--THE single biggest misnomer in human history--know ANY bounds?!?

It's good to talk...

2007-06-11T16:27:00.000+03:00

So, immigrants to Britain are told that they need to learn English and that official local government documents, fliersand other crap they churn out should not be translated into three dozen different languages at a huge expense.

Well, isn't that rich! These abhorrent Teabags traipse and settle their pasty asses all over the world, usually with a view to pilfering what their colonial forebears had left behind when they had to bugger off to their shitty island with their tail between their legs a half century ago. Prague, Dubai, Benidorm, Pataya and a thousand and one other places have been overrun by these pestilent limey hordes. But do you think THEY ever learn the locals' (or should that be: NATIVES') lingo? After years and even decades of tarrying there, their best effort is a wonrgly accented and mispronounced "hello." And not only that, but they have the effrontery to bitch about the "natives'" inimity and stupidity for not being able to English!

Really, if there's one nation on this planet, which makes me see red, it's the slimy limeys.

Wey down't neeyd now eh-joo-ki-shun...

2007-06-10T20:16:00.000+03:00

So, the "experts" are pushing for that crappy little island's pupils to be exempt from any and all kinds of testing until they reach the age of sixteen.

Lest you think whatever you last had for drink had something in it, let me repeat that: an "influential teaching body" *snort* is militating for "[a]ll national exams [to] be abolished for children under 16 because the stress caused by over-testing is poisoning attitudes towards education[.]"

O_o

That is just so plain STUPID that I am lost for words. Wallah! So, in lieu of assaying to demolish that unmitigated idiocy, let me relate to y'all my own education experience.

I spent many of my elementary and secondary education years in Croatia (some in Belgium and Germany but that's beside the point). We had anything from five subjects in first grade elementary to seventeen subjects in senior high. In every one of these subjects (except, of course, Physical Education) we were tested on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, by way of quizzes, dictations, tests, exams and yes--shock, horror!--oral exams. (Oral examination or, I should say, interrogation, was as important--if not even more so--as written assessment.) We were at school from 0730 until 1300 hours AND had at least four hours worth of homework DAILY.

This country--in common with most other central and eastern European entities--had neither any league tables nor divisions (e.g. public/private, grammart/comprehensive and all that mishegos). All elementary schools (ages 6-14) were the same and followed one syllabus. Some specialization options were available at the secondary education stage (at the age of 14/15) but the core ten-ish subjects were taught at every institution to the same curriculum. That is still the case. (Actually, Croatia is the only country in Europe, which is THINKING of making secondary education compulsory, and that says a lot... - more some other time.)

If you got an "F" in a subject at the end of the year, you'd repeat that grade, end of story. There is absolutely NO WAY for a person to finish elementary education without knowing quite a bit about Mozart, Shakespeare, Renoir, the economy of Japan, the history of Babylon, the theory of gravity and its accompanying formulae, the protozoa and the human digestive system, the formula outlining the creation of glucose, quadratic equations, two foreign languages, and tons of other things.

Britain has for a while now been a nation of morons and now they're letting these fuckwits make them more retarded still.

Joo knaw wo' ah mayn? LOL ("Internal" joke that...)

Life is a horror movie

2007-06-10T19:17:00.000+03:00

A grueling article in the Torygraph today: a former U.S. Army soldier who actively participated in the most horrific torture of--per his own admission--largely completely innocent people bears it all. As revolting as the description of some of the techniques used is his disclosure about whence and how those methods were acquired: the Soviets, select despotic regimes littering the planet and... - the natzim. Yes, the natzim. The bulwark of "democracy," “justice” and "liberty" is using NATZI techniques in its war for freedom.

One is left speechless.

Despite the vehement opprobrium I showered on the incumbent U.S. administration once it had launched its illegal and despicable aggression on the equally despicable Saddam regime, following the latter's overthrow I was rooting for the good guys. I figured: what's done is done, let's rebuild Iraq. Following revelations such as the foregoing, it is very difficult for me not to sense a (shameful) satisfaction when I learn of the death of an American or "coalition" footsoldier. Shameful I say because many of those men are really boys who've been brainwashed and/or had little economic choice other than to enlist (I know, I know: not the best of sources. Believe me, I don't like them either but the info is genuine). The most tragic thing in all this is that the bastards responsible for this bloodshed--the real culprits--will never face justice and will continue living a life of luxury until their very end. Yo think that ghastly crooked-mouth Cheney will even want for anything? And how many lives has he irredeemably destroyed...

BTW, what do we do about an increasingly recalcitrant Russia? Well, what was done the last time there was a country with (1) weapons of mass destruction (and this time they really DO exist), (2) capable of reaching certain entities in 45 minutes, and (3) headed by a ruthless dictator? Ya reckon the same thing's gonna happen this time round? Why not? Answers on an e-postcard please.

Shalom umvorakh...

A closed ku klux...

2007-06-09T01:14:00.000+03:00

The circle from being the victim of racism to being one has been closed: Jewish worshippers desecrate Muslim cemetery in West Bank.

These cretins must be expunged from the Israeli society and shipped off to wherever they came from. That this disgusting act should have happened under the auspices of Tzah"l makes it all the more disturbing.

UPDATE: A call has since been made for the Government to investigate this egregious act of vandalism and bring the perpetrators to justice as well as put safeguards in place to ensure it does not recur. Unfortunately, the call came from an Israeli Arab. Does this mean there is no Jew in Israel who is infuriated enough to want to kick those animals' asses straight to jail? Of course not. But it is disconcerting that the silent majority should remain as silent as ever.

Yisra'el sheli 7ogeget!!

2007-06-07T15:59:00.000+03:00

Two days ago was the anniversary of the glorious Six-Day War in which we routed three Arab armies (who were also being helped by four additional countries to varying degrees) in less than a week. I've selected two wonderful articles in honor of the occasion:

Legacy of 1967 Defeat Still Burns, and
40 years on, Israel remains a prisoner
And a lovely piece yet again exposing the world's hypocrisy: What if Israelis had abducted BBC man?

While vanquishing our enemies has over the forty years brought its negative ramifications to us, the effect on the Arab world seems to have been one of denial. The vast majority of Arabs are not obsessed with Israel or the conflict, but their hatred for Israel is latent at best and always visceral. This is true of people in southern Lebanon (whose anger at having had their land obliterated is, of course, misdirected) as it is of Arabs in places such as Bahrain who have never (knowingly) met a Jew, let alone are they in any way affected by this tiny state, my moledet. Their monstrous leaders (civil and religious) are still supremely successful at keeping the Arab's mind so preoccupied with this supposed blood adversary that she or he is blissfully unaware of those robbing, incarcerating and mistreating them blind at home. The only way that this conflict will ever have a chance of getting resolved is the democratization and, concomitantly, secularization of swaths of the Arab world. Naturally, since that is not in the interest of the ruling religious and temporal elites and since it is more likely that their overthrow would usher in the crazy jihadis, this will not happen any time soon.

As for us, despite all our ills, let us rejoice. Forty years ago, without anyone's help (remember, the U.S. was not aiding Israel in any way back then), we singlehandedly annihilated three armies many times bigger and stronger than ours. And in the intervening four decades, despite being a meager island in a sea of hostility, despite the island being almost entirely barren land, despite years of atritious terror attacks, despite SO many parameters stacked against us, we have grown ever mightier. We are today a state that can compete on an equal footing with and even outdo the most advanced countries in the world in terms of artistic, scientific, economic, agricultural, military, political and so many other achievements.

If I was religious, I would say that a higher force really has chosen us to be a special people in this world.

עוד אבינו חי - עם ישראל חי

7iz-bull-ah

2007-06-06T16:31:00.000+03:00

Lebanese soldiers have seized a truck full of 7izballah's weapons and other "freedom-fighting" equipment.

When will it dawn on the Lebanese that 7izballah is not their friend but their enemy?!? It does not fight for them or for Lebanon but for immoral and selfish interests of alien powers. Last year it caused the destruction of half the country by provoking a totally unnecessary war with Israel and now it is taking steps with the goal--as must be obvious to everyone--of doing so again sometime in the future.

I live in an Arab country, have an Arab girlfriend, love the Arab culture but sometimes the Arab stupidity and myopia astound me...

Rue Britannia!

2007-06-01T12:58:00.000+03:00

Listen y'all! if there's one, just one, news article you read this decade, make it this one: Firemen carpeted for not sleeping in chairs. You will NOT regret it or your money back... - double!

"The fire service replaced all beds in its fire stations with the reclining chairs at a cost of £130,000 under a modernisation programme. The firemen were not allowed to use them until they had been given health and safety training on how to sit on them."

(Make sure to also check Disused school kept lit to protect intruders.)

What a bizarre people...

How these inbred cretins managed to occupy and administer a quarter of the world I will never understand.

Peretz Shmeretz

2007-05-31T10:56:00.000+03:00

Our sar habita7on and s'gan rosh hamemshalah said today that Israel must accept Saudi plan as the starting point for talks. I agree with that but what exactly has he, as the second most powerful member of the incumbent administration, done in the year he has held that position to advance this principle? In fact, what has he done to exert any influence on the incompetent, idle and corrupt Olmert to make moves toward resolving the situation in the Middle East?

Absolutely nothing.

For all the resolve he's been selling the media about how those ghastly illegal settlements needed to be evacuated, how the qasamim had to be dealt with sensibly or how Israel needed to negotiate with the all and sundry, in reality his only mission has been to hold on to his seat as tightly as he could--on a par with every other government member.

3amir Peretz has been a failure and no-one is buying his nonsense any more than we're buying Olmert's hollow pronouncements. Peretz is out; now is the time for the rest of them to go, too.

Lubnan and al-Queda

2007-05-24T13:17:00.022+03:00

So, now it's Lebanon's turn to (again) have problems with the Palestinians. It seems the perpetual refugees there got bored and set up yet another terrorist outfit--this one linked to both al-Queda and the Iranians--, which turned its crosshairs to the Lebanese establishment (how evocative of the events preceding Jordan's Black September!). The Lebanese, for once, showed some balls and decided to uproot the terrorist infrastructure (does that phrase remind you of anyone? Yep, it's how Dr. Sharon described the Jenin operation five years ago). And so, in the evocation to end all evocations, the Lebanese army launched a full-out indiscriminate assault on the refugee camp saturated with tens of thousands of civilians of whom dozens proceeded to be killed. What does THAT remind you of? That's right: S&S.

It seems the Palestinians can be expelled (q.v. Kuwait most recently, as well as Syria, Jordan and others a bit further back), discriminated against (pretty much every Arab country where they don't even have resident status), and massacred in refugee camps (QED) and outside (Jordan and Syria again), and few will give a hoot. But with one proviso.

IT CANNOT BE THE JEWS DOING IT!

See, "the world" gets its knickers in a twist about even the slightest infraction of the Palestinians' human rights when the same are directly or indirectly violated by Israel. I don't particularly have a problem with that because I believe everyone's human rights should always be respected. But that selfsame world demonstrates utter equanimity when it's someone else maltreating the Palestinians in ways worse than the most malevolent Israeli fascists would ever dream of doing. Even the likes of Baru7 Mamzer or whatever his name is "only" advocate ethnic cleansing by way of voluntary or otherwise population transfer. Not even he, the epitome of a racist Reich-wing religious shitforbrains, would dream of corralling a group of Palestinian civilians in a camp and shell the wit out of them. Yet, here are the Palestinians' "brothers," the Lebanese, doing precisely that and our hypersensitive world at best gives factual, balanced reports of what's going on or just ignores the whole imbroglio.

Peachy.

On the Home Front, the bored Palestinians of 3Aza, not having anything better to do and pining for the good old days of Israeli occupation, have been doing their best to invite Israel back into 3Aza by lobbing dozens of rockets a day across the border at S'derot. The denouement? Israel is now shelling 3Aza. The people are out of electric power, water or telephone. Oh, and al-Queda seems to have set its foothold in the area. Now, the Palestinians proved time and again that they are--with all due respect--incorrigible idiots. They missed countless opportunities to resolve their problems, both inside and outside of Israel and the territories; when faced with the choice of making a small compromise and attaining peace or continuing and exacerbating attrition (at which they had to lose by the ratio of about 98:2), they invariably chose the latter; when faced with the perfect opportunity to build a newly free portion of their country to be a heaven on earth, they chose to forgo inward investment, job creation, improvement of infrastructure, etc. and actually managed to aggravate their position and alienate those willing to help... And now, they are flirting with al-Queda.

WHY would anyone want to do that? Al-Queda are a bunch of losers. They've managed to stage a handful of high-profile terrorist attacks and they've killed a few thousand Americans. In response the Americans have demolished two rather large countries and caused the deaths of tens of thousands... - tens of thousands Arabs and/or Muslims, that is. If you had more brain cells than a doorknob, whom would you ally yourself with?

But hey! it's Palestinian logic we're talking about here so the question is not as simple as it appears.

And yes, not to forget: IT'S ALL ISRAEL'S FAULT!!!

Don't get me wrong: I'm really annoyed with Israel; deeply disappointed with our government and many of my compatriots; outraged by many aspects of the country, its establishment, institutions, etc. But (1) I loathe hypocrisy, and (2) I have no sympathy for people who don't want to help themselves. Much as Olmert and his bandit has disenchanted me, the Palestinians’ sheer imbecility has roiled me infinitely more.

Word.

One last word on al-Queda: the Americans say that Iraq is replete with its cells as well as with Iranian terrorists. Just one simple thought by way of riposte: THERE WERE NO AL-QUEDA CELLS OR IRANIAN TERRORISTS IN IRAQ BEFORE THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF 2003.

I'd like to say "I told you so" but what's the point? A country that, for all its ills, was stable and whose people lived relatively decently in many ways has been destroyed physically and mentally for at least two generations to come. Those who launched the egregious war will never be brought to justice in this world and they are still unrepentant. Big U.S. corporations are raping the country for all it has, which conjures up the images of the Britishers hauling off gold, diamonds and other commodities from India to their shitty island on huge boats leaving the place every single day for decades. And who's living better today: the Indians or Teabags? The same story is unraveling before our very eyes in Iraq. Instead of spending the rest of his life in prison, Blair is set to rake in millions of dollars by going on the lecture circuit in the States once he steps down as P.M.

At the same time, on average twenty Iraqis die like flies every single day.

Life is very cruel and unfair. I despise all human religions but all this flagrant iniquity makes me think there has to be a time and place where equilibrium is finally realized...

Oh yeah, more Brit-bashing is in the pipeline. Stay tuned.

Bring out the violins...

2007-04-07T22:58:00.000+03:00

The Daily Torygraph ran a lengthy article today about how "prince" William was saddened by the loss of a military comrade of his. Some Teabag toysoldier toots together with three--give or take a couple--of her buddies reportedly drove over a landmine and got themselves blown up. And oh, the lauds, commendations, eulogies and epitaphs that poured out on the Torygraph's site... Read it here. (AVISO: can also be utilized in lieu of potent laxative!)

Gee, someone pass me a tissue coz I done 'gin tuh crah!

O.K, ye say, ulay zeh 7ad miday! Well, I don't think so. Sure, it's heartbreaking to lose a loved one and I am certain the families--notwithstanding their foreknowledge of the risk involved, etc.--have lost their soul. But is this entire exercise not hypocritical and downright despicable? Has the Torygraph ever run a poignant expose on any of the literally tens of thousands of lives lost and hundreds of thousands of lives destroyed directly owing to the actions of the likes of the four exploded ones?

Tragic though as any instance of a life prematurely extinguished is, if the four had not gone into this phoney war to begin with, they'd now be biting chocolate bunnies' ears off.

So, spare us the drama.

En passant...

2007-04-07T04:29:00.000+03:00

So, the English navy "sailors" who had been caught by Iran trespassing its waters and subsequently released amid much commotion, posturing and politicking had a news conference at which they whinged about their supposed mistreatment at the hands of the Iranians.

Just a few points:
(1) If you enter a country's territory (including its waters) without due permission from its authorities--particularly if you are military personnel in full army gear and your country is at a state of heightened political tension with the other--, you can expect to be arrested, detained, interrogated, tried and very probably imprisoned before being deported... - if not indeed executed on charges of espionage.

Could one even begin to imagine what would happen if Iranian marines were to be caught in English territorial waters or, for that matter, anywhere outside the immediate propinquity of Iran?!

I'd say these "sailors" should be on their hands and knees thanking the Iranians and deity(ies) of their choice that they got off so lightly, instead of whinging like a bunch of female sexual organs.

(2) Ah, but they dispute they were ever IN Iranian territorial waters. En b'3ayah! I am certain we are all well aware of what Britain`s closest ally--the United States--does to its prisoners in places like Guantanamo and hundreds of secret interrogation centers the world over. And we also know that Britain takes a very active part in those activities, too. So, even if they were maltreated, this is but another example of the pot calling the kettle black.

(3) But were these toysoldiers really abused as they claim? Now, I am absolutely no fan of the Teh'ran Monkey but let's give credit where it's due! Iran frequently filmed the "sailors" and showed footage of them to the world. I can't speak for everyone, by my impression was that the men and woman in the footage did not look the slightest bit tortured or abused at any point. Perhaps a tad homesick but hey! don't do the crime if you can't do the time!

Why don`t the ghastly Teabags try selling their fairytales to someone else!

Here's something for you, you slimy limeys:

and while at it:

עוד אני חי

2007-02-09T12:14:00.000+02:00

I have not updated my blog for a long time by reasons of, what else, security. Will explain in my next posting. Suffice it to say I am more than well and life's, for once, going surprisingly swimmingly.

USA!! USA!! USA!!

2006-11-08T22:33:00.000+02:00

Didihearsome'unsaysom'un'bouthavin'a PAAAAAR-TAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!

AT LAST, after twelve years of darkness and six years of veritable Middle Ages, the United States has changed its direction. The Republicunts' rule of the Congress has come to an end and Mr. Bush's apparatchiks are slowly biting the dust (Rumsfeld was the first to go). In short, the once ironclad rule of the neo-conservatives--fanatical right-wingers (mis)informed by fundamentalist Xianity--is crumbling.

Some will say it is astounding that it should have taken such a long time for the American people to wake up from the stupor with which they have zombie-like been walking straight into the prison of a police state led by a mendacious and corrupt regime. The President and his clique led their country into a war predicated on nothing but lies; they abrogated nine out of ten Bill of Rights Amendments; showed utter disdain for the Constitution; chose conflict in preference to diplomacy; demonized and abused their opponents in the most dastardly ways imaginable... - tell me when to stop.

But you know what? If they had been doing that in other corner of the world, the neo-cons would still be running amok and waxing stronger. In the U.S. they just got voted out of office.

And that is why America is the greatest country in the world.

G-D BLESS AMERICA!!

Bye-bye, Olmert!

2006-11-02T15:35:00.000+02:00

Well, khevrey, apologies again for my tardiness. Let's get down to business.

It pains me immensely to have to do this but I withdraw my support for Qadimah. I knew ab initio that nothing would be the same without Dr. Sharon but I decided to give Olmert the benefit of the doubt. What are his "sins"?

(1) The Olmert administration officially suspended the pursuit of its flagship policy: hahitkonsut (which, basically, was designed to terminate the occupation of most of the West Bank). The excuse was that the security situation had deteriorated to the point where executing the hitkonsut was no longer practicable or desirable (e.g. the kidnapping of turai Gilad Shalit, the war in Levanon, etc.). That, of course, is a load of shtuyot. While the occupation most certainly is not the source of all problems in the Middle East, there is no excuse for perpetuating it. The people of Israel realized this before the election, which is why Olmert was voted in. (I will elaborate more on the occupation next time.) Nor did Olmert merely "suspend" it; there's little chance of the initiative being reanimated in the future and it is now as good as dead. Now, Qadimah was elected almost exclusively because of Dr. Arik Sharon's proposed policy of hahitkonsut. Olmert has betrayed the electorate.

(2) And speaking of turai Shalit, Aza has been under a massive armed onslaught for almost a half year now. The power has been cut off, food and medicinal supply have been disrupted, and rockets are still raining down on Sderot and Ashq'lon. Over a million people are being punished for the benefit of one khayal; and it is highly doubtful if Tzaha"l is any nearer to securing his liberation than it was June. While the operation was justified initially, it has now lost focus. No benefits are derived from it and the costs are exorbitant and mounting.

(3) Olmert has also failed to confront the blatant violations of law on the part of the settlers. He has done nothing to ensure that illegal settler outposts littering the West Bank are destroyed. Nor has he taken any steps to prevent and sanction settler escapades such as attacking Palestinian olive harvesters and vandalizing olive groves. The settlers are a huge blot on Israel, Jews and Judaism by their very nature. Letting them run rampant with utter impunity makes that blot indelible.

(4) The war in Levanon--while doubtless justified; I supported it myself--was conducted in a reprehensible manner. Something that was second-nature to Maj-Gen. Sharon is totally alien a concept to Olmert: if you decide to make war, go at it full-force; if you decide to make peace, put your utmost into it. Either way, don't do either half-assed but be determined and consistent until you achieve it. That is how Arik did it, in war and in peace. Olmert, on the other hand, waged a war in which the enemy was given three-day notices before attacks, in which international opinion(*) influenced and even determined the course of action on the field, in which footsoldiers' lives were risked and infantry units sustained massive casualties while aerial and other methods were available--all in order to placate that international opinion, in which the fight for the hearts and minds of the Lebanese people was never even begun, and which achieved one great big nothing.

(5) * Olmert's administration has succeeded in alienating much of the world favor and good faith toward Israel, which we had accrued in the wake of Dr. Sharon's Disengagement. Some of it has to do with the actions taken by the new government (q.v. supra) but much of it owes to a mind-boggling ineptitude of Israel's P.R. machinery, which one must wonder whether even exists. From the beginning of the Aza offensive, through the Levanon war to the daily Palestinian and our transgressions and both sides' responses, the administration has made almost no effort whatsoever to dissemble our side of the story. And, more tragically, it has failed to recognize the need to do so and its shortcomings in this respect. In the long-term Israel needs at the very least a satellite channel broadcasting 24 hours a day in Arabic, Persian, Pashtu, Urdu and Indonesian to the Muslim world. More immediately, Israel needs tame-looking spokespeople (preferably women) who can actually speak the language of the intended audience to go on a media offensive. A weekly press conference in Jerusalem doesn’t cut it. (All this, of course, in tandem with a change in policy for the better!)

(6) Another failure of Olmert and his government has been in the remit of bridge-building. Absolutely no progress has made on the diplomatic front whatever. Offers of negotiation from Siniora of Levanon, Asad of Syria, Abas of the P.A. and others--fine, they may have been less than ingenuous but that is beside the point--were all spurned, while concomitantly the old mantra is being regurgitated that we have no partner to talk with. Easily the most stupendously idiotic move came a few days ago when our sara hakhutz Livni declined an invitation from Qatar to come on an official visit. There went an opportunity to foster good relations with a moderate Arab regime. The government tried to wiggle its way out of that one by saying that Khamas representatives would be there and that Livni's presence would have legitimized them but in reality this imbecilic act defies all logic.

(7) The straw that broke the camel's back was the decision to include Liberman and his Yisrael Betenu in the government. For the uninitiated, Avigdor Liberman is an extreme right-wing fascist who has built his political career on anti-Arab racism and scaremongering, and who recently openly and officially advocated ethnic cleansing of Israeli Arabs as well as the institution of an apartheid system of citizenship. Olmert became prime minister on a diametrically-opposite platfom and that he should have included these menuvalim in the government is unforgivable.

Olmert and his gang have squandered the glorious legacy of Dr. Ariel Sharon.

Olmert and his gang must go.

Yasher Koakh!

2006-10-09T13:12:00.000+02:00

Shalom rav lkulam ulshanah tovah! Well, as promised, if a bit later than originally expected, here I am to report on my ongoings and goings on. So, sit back and enjoy the ride I'm taking you for. hehe j/k

I spent the past five or so months in an Arab country in the Middle East--of course, for security purposes I am not at liberty to disclose which one. Rather than delve into exposes and explications, I'll start by concluding: deciding to leave Europe is turning out to be the single best decision of my life. The place is, in a word, fantastic: the weather is glorious, the sea is readily available for one to refresh oneself in day and night (though a notch too warm for my liking, the people are incredibly friendly, warm, open and generous, the cost of living is lower than eastern Europe (I nearly had a heart attack when I walked into a store in Munich a few weeks back: a beach towel cost exactly THIRTY (30) times more in Germany than "there"), the salary OTOH is literally five times what I was earning in Czechia (and even that was way above the average Czech salary) and I work four hours a day! The country is very clean, safe, prosperous and "confident." The lifestyle, too, is wondrous: there are no rat-races or a daily chase of money, and the prevailing atmosphere is one of R&R. How do you fault this place? You simply can't.

Scratch beneath the surface and it stays as glittering as it appeared to be prima facie. It is a Muslim country although much of the population--particularly younger people living in the cities --is nominally religious (not secular, however). I have to say though that people--men AND women--are grossly undersexed: I've had male students get hard-ons at CARICATURES of female legs (well, I can't vouch for the actual hard-ons but there was definitely an air of "excitement" in the room lol!!). At the same time there were female students (late teens and early twenties) who made little secret of what they wanted to do with (or "TO" lol) me, even in the presence of other girls. (They were usually on their best behavior if another male was present.) To illustrate: a beautiful married woman aged 22 put my hand right on her breast as she was attempting quite animatedly to emphasize a nonrelated point. Well, what can I say... - I wasn't offended. *grin*

Speaking of local ladies, they wear abayot and hijabim (if you don't know what they are: here and here) though no niqabim. I always found the hijab very sexy (particularly after my London experience with a behijabed girl on a bus lol!) and one's inability to survey the women's curves and shapes in absolutely no way detracts from one's ability to appreciate their pulchritude. B'emet, the majority of local women are stunningly beautiful: dark skin, gorgeous deep dark eyes, perfect faces, lush silk hair...bliss, :-) And yes, I have found myself a "little princess"--a real princess at that!--but more on that in my next installment.

For the moment though I am back in Prague for yamim hanoraim. It is great to see old friends again. There is only one thing that I missed in my Arab home: a Jewish community. And that one seemingly small lacuna cast quite a prodigious shadow on the otherwise entirely positive experience. Hopefully, one day Jews will be able to organize and assemble ourselves freely in that corner of the world, too. But anyway, we had wonderful tfilot here for rosh hashanah. As last year, they were organized together with the liberal schmiberal community. I wasn't overly ecstatic about that--which feeling did not diminish when I realized they had shlepped in this reconstructionist woman "rabi" to co-lead the RH tfilot (if, owing to the reconstructionist ideology, for the first day only)--but hey, that's the Prague Jewish community politics for you: if you don't get into bed with someone, you get kicked out of the house altogether. We got to use the Pinkhas shul as last year, which added to the occasion, especially for the solemnity of yom kipur. Yours truly was tasked with organizing the sifrei Torah and managing the ar"k, plus I blew the teqi'a gdola to mark the end of yom kipur. Then came shavu'ot and I was--by nes gadol--able to procure a lulav and etrog just in time for the holiday; a very limited number was shipped in from haaretz. I went to the Hochschul (Vysoka synagoga, part of the Zidovska Obec v Praze / Jewish Community Center) this morning for the shakhrit and--nes afilu yoter gadol!--was given an aliya. Next weekend is simkhat Torah and I am reading the first aliya, whereupon I return to the Middle East.

Here endeth the synopsis of my recent goings-on. *grin* More substance and depth later on, as soon as I've finished the mid-term essay, which I have to write as part of an MA program I am reading.

Lhitraot...

Aza and Levanon

2006-07-20T07:51:00.000+03:00

Shalom rav l'kulam. Thanks for all your emails, concern and kind wishes. Yes, I'm fine, having a great time and savoring wonderful experiences. Deciding to leave Europe is turning out to have been the single best decision I’ve ever made in my life. I will resume posting here in a couple of months' time, staring with a precis on the future of the Middle East, aided by a unique perspective, which the past several months have afforded me.

Security considerations notwithstanding, I have to comment on the newest developments in haaretz. My homeland is at war, it's as simple as that. This is not a skirmish or incident(s) but a war. And this war MUST and WILL be won.

To summarize: Israel withdrew from Aza in August, ult. The withdrawal was total: every last millimeter of occupied Aza was transferred to the control of the Palestinians, including Aza's border with third countries (scilicet, Egypt). Israel even left behind tens of greenhouses in the hope they would be utilized by the Palestinians as a stepping stone to providing jobs, fostering commerce... What was the Palestinian response? They destroyed the greenhouses. They instigated, literally, daily rocket attacks on schools, hospitals and other "targets" inside the State of Israel. Then they executed an attack on an Israeli Army post, which was not in Aza or anywhere near Aza. They murdered two soldiers(HY"D) and kidnapped a third, who had not been and were not serving in or anywhere near Aza. It was the straw that broke the camel's back: Israel decided it had had enough and launched a military operation in Aza.

And the world said: IT'S ISRAEL'S FAULT.

Six years ago Israel withdrew from Lebanon. The withdrawal was total: every last millimeter of occupied Levanon was vacated. Then last year Syria, too, withdrew from Lebanon. Lebanon was charged with implementing UNSCR 1559, which called on it to assert its sovereignty over all of its territory and disarm non-regular militia groups (read: Khizbolah). They didn't and they didn't. Throughout the six years Khizbolah intermittently opened up the northern front by firing at Tzaha"l border posts or rocketing selected northern towns and cities. Less than two weeks ago Lebanon was experiencing the best tourist season in over twenty years. Ten days ago, however, Khizbolah--which forms part of the Lebanese government--decided to resist the occup... - uhm, resist something or other, by crossing Lebanon's international border into another country and executing there a hostile quasi-military operation in which several Israeli soldiers were killed(HY"D) and two kidnapped. And this was the straw that broke the Home Front camel's back: Israel decided it had had enough and launched a military operation in Lebanon.

And the world said: IT'S ISRAEL'S FAULT.

Well, here's a sincere, heartfelt and great big
FUCK YOU,
MOTHERFUCKING ASSHOLES
to the world!

I DARE anyone to try to argue after all this that the conflict in the Middle East owes to Israel's occupation of the territories seized in the glorious Six-Day war. Shimon Peres encapsulated it thus: "They said 'land-for-peace.' We gave them land. They didn't give us peace." So, land is obviously not the problem.

The only country that has stood by us and not tried to whitewash terrorists' crimes has been the United States. They called a spade a spade: the Arab side attacked Israel unprovoked and Israel is defending itself. A friend in need is a friend indeed. And for that, I hereby declare my present and future support for the US, its President and its administration insofar as the international purview.

Have I gone right-wing? No. Other (previously) moderate people, however, may well have. If the Palestinian's, Arab's or Muslim's desire really is to end the occupation, then they are doing their level best to ensure that the occupation continues for much longer than necessary. Does anyone think there would be a majority in Israel in favor of the Hitkonsut after this shit? I still think Israel should withdraw from the sh'takhim. We should implement the Saudi plan with a few modifications. And the refugees and their descendants should be compensated. And Palestinians at makhsomim should be treated humanely and with dignity. But when they attack us from the territories, Levanon or elsewhere, as far as I care, drop a daisy-cutter on all of them and don't look back. If a thousand of them get killed, so be it. They fucking asked for it.

Am I angry? Does it show? Yes, I am. Furious. The Arabs have FAILED me. They have FAILED all of us who thought they could be talked to, negotiated with, reasoned with. They FAILED all of us who were convinced that, given the chance, they would eagerly build their economy, culture, society, commerce and lead normal lives. No, they have shown they're not interested in their welfare.

So neither should we be.

Lastly, a message to the world:

You think Israel with its precision military hardware is using "disproportionate force"? Are one hundred Katyushot daily launched at Israel's cities "proportionate"? Where should Israel direct its pinpoint missiles? Toward "military targets"? Where are these military targets? Hidden in civilian centers.

Israel doesn't target civilian populations. Khizbolah does.

Tell Khizbolah to wear uniforms and come out from behind civilians. Then the Canadians and Lebanese who don’t want to get bombed can figure out where not to be.

Am Yisrael Khai!!! The Jewish people live and will not be chased from our only homeland. We are not the same Jews that you, the world, kicked around for centuries.

G-d will bless us and deliver a decisive victory to our Tzaha"l.

Farewell...

2006-04-11T08:29:00.000+03:00

Well, after just over a year--interspersed with a month here and there--I am finally leaving the Czech Republic's capital--Prague. My time here has been eventful: I have met some wonderful people, made friendships which I'm sure will last a lifetime, and had quite a few experiences: some pleasant, some VERY pleasant , others less so.

The most disappointing aspect have been the Czechs themselves. I came here with the impression of Czechs imparted to me by my father. After the War, when the Allies liberated the natzi detention camp he was interned in, he was taken along with other children from the camp on a tour of central and eastern Europe. He forever regaled me with his reminiscences of the Czechs' warmth, friendliness, altruism, openness, particularly contrasted with e.g. the Poles or Slovaks whom he found sorely lacking in these virtues. I, however, discovered them to be everything but. Now, I've lived in quite a few countries in Europe, including Croatia and Slovenia. For the uninitiated, the latter two have an almost identical cultural, historical, economic and cultural background as Czechia. And yet, I found the people there to be invariably more virtuous than the Czechs.

So, what's my beef with them? I don't want to get into too much detail but the facet I found the most distasteful is the enviousness and avarice I encountered in almost every context of life in Prague. Put simply, when Czechs see that you have money, they immediately assume an attitude of very thinly disguised jealousy. And when they figure out you're a foreigner to boot, they simply hate you and they don't even try to disguise it. You see it in the way they look (read: glare) at you, the way they walk past you, the way they talk to you. I actually experienced a saleswoman not wanting to touch my hand and telling me to put the money on the counter! That was in Luxor: one of the biggest and somewhat exclusive bookshop in the state. You also become a target of backbiting, gossip and intrigue. Sure, one can find this everywhere--England, for instance, is notorious for its class consciousness. But in England one does not encounter this comportment in absolutely every sphere of life. You walk by a construction site there and you're liable to get a remark thrown at you by the low class construction workers. But then you go into Sainsbury's and are entreated with courtesy and professionalism. Aych, it's difficult to explain in words--one has to live it to understand how the foregoing is actually manifested.

On the plus side, I have to hand it to them: they are easily the most tolerant people in Europe... - toward Jews, that is. The Roma are another matter. And the food is good, for European standards. But most importantly, Czechia has a vibrant, if warring, Jewish community. It is the first place and time I ever got involved in a Jewish community to a significant degree. I'm still agnostic / humanist but the b'ney Yisrael, the ritual, the tradition are all very important to me. This I could experience to the fullest in Prague and jolly well I did.

In conclusion, I have no regrets and see my time here as positive. I now move onward to a new stage in life, outside Prague and indeed outside Europe. The one gaping hole left in my life is love. I have still not found it and this is my only big wish for the future. B"H it will happen, too. I do leave a big piece of my heart in Prague though: the girl I lost before I even had her; the desperation of wanting to be with her knowing fully well it would be impossible due to her background, etc.. I'll never forget S.

Yallah, zeh hu. For those in the know, my final words--citing those of Governor Schwarzenegger: "I just [made love to] her!! I just [made love to] her!!"

Shalom l'kulam. Kol tuv uv'hatzlakhah rabah.

For security reasons this blog is hereby indefinitely suspended.

* gloat * PAR - TAAAAAAAAAAY gloat

2006-03-30T12:03:00.000+02:00

In the words of a friend of mine upon hearing the election results:

WE'VE DONE IIIIIIIIT!!!

Israel is set to go down the road devised by Gen. Dr. Arik. While our Bulldozer may now be out of action--and we still hope for a refuah shl'mah--the legacy he has bequeathed us is certain to influence and indeed bind Israel's rulers for decades to come. This election was Arik's election and it marked his and his alone unadulterated victory. All those who cast a vote for Qadimah voted for Dr. Sharon and his vision. This has been our Melekh's penultimate coup--the crowning glory will come when he leaves us for a better place: he will have left an indelible mark on the People and State for generations to come.

I am also thrilled that the multifarious reich-wingers and other assorted fascists--particularly what's left of haLikud--have been shown where to go. That despicable Booby Netanyahu--who is synonymous with sleaze, mendacity and opportunism--suffered a crushing and, many of us hope, final defeat. If he had any decency, he would put his tail between his legs and bugger off from the political scene... - perhaps to take up that Italian finance ministry job, with which story he regaled us some weeks ago (it has since emerged that "offer" had been a joke, which made Boobiyahu look like an even bigger dunce). But enough about the sleazeball.

We await with great alacrity the implementation of mar Olmert's Hitkonsut. The Nation has given him a clear and unequivocal mandate to execute this proposal and, if everything goes according to plan, the damn settlers will finally be sent packing. The occupation has become a liability and we derive absolutely no benefit from it. Terminating it has nothing to do with attaining peace or doing something for or because of the Palestinians. We have to do it for ourselves. It is not a question of showing weakness. How is it weakness to dictate the terms and establish realities on the ground vis-a-vis your impotent adversary? It is not appeasement. How could it be appeasement when we seek nothing and know we will gain nothing from the Palestinians in return for Convergence? Our strength is not to be measured by the size of our territory; only the most insecure and machoisticly obtuse militate otherwise. No occupation in the history of the world has been successfully carried out in perpetuity and there is perfectly no reason to believe this one would be either. We do not need the sh'takhim; we don't need the cost of them, the danger of them, the divisiveness of them. A handful of religious zealots cannot and will not hold Am Yisrael the world over hostage to their perverse religious fantasies. And these fantasies, really, is what it comes down to when assessing why the occupation is ongoing. They and the idiotic chauvinism of some who think that giving up the territories somehow emasculates their (and Israel's) manhood. It's too silly a notion for words. Thus, the occupation bears no merits in terms of security, law or any other more temporal and logical considerations.

As far as the Palestinians, they can go to hell. The Radical Center to which I belong, but also much of the so-called left-wing, no longer care about reaching a negotiated settlement with them. We don't care about peace or coexistence. We want to separate ourselves from them. Let us withdraw from among them, build the fence between us and let them do whatever they want on the other side. They had numerous chances to alter the realities of the Middle East conflict and they successfully blew each one of them. Now they are ruled by intransigent and fanatical freaks whose latest escapade transpired yesterday at the PA assembly. Following the swearing in of the Khamas "government," a member of the former arose, waved the Qur'an as if he was on crack and proceeded to exclaim: "The Qur'an is our constitution, Mohamad is our prophet, jihad is our path, and dying as martyrs for the sake of allah is our biggest wish." (The assemblymen greeted this with a thunderous ovation and cries of "Allahu akhbar.")

All I can say is: MAY YOUR WISH COME TRUE!!

YISRAEL ROTZA KADIMA!

2006-03-27T21:46:00.000+02:00

The elections are upon us. The Israeli electorate goes to the polls tomorrow. The media have been flooded by all manner of editorials and contributions to the effect of how paramount these elections are; how they are a referendum on this or that; how they'll decide the future of haMedinah...

This site unreservedly endorses KADIMA and, without much ado, here is why.

Voting the Kadima ticket you vote for:
1-- Peace with the Palestinians; the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel will be closer to fruition.
2-- Social issues, health, and education will receive more emphasis.
3-- Equality between Jewish and Arab Israeli citizens will be prioritized. Affirmative action programs preventing discrimination of Arabs in the job market will assist this.
4-- The minimum wage will be raised to US$1000 a month net.
5-- On the religious front: recognition of pluralism in Judaism, such as the right of non-dati streams to exercise authority in family legal matters.

LADEREKH SHARON -- KADIMA YISRAEL!!!

INTRODUCTION

2006-02-12T01:56:00.000+02:00

This is the continuation of my old blog, which now serves as a memorial to my personal hero Gen. Dr. Ariel Sharon.

Of course, feel free to browse my entries in the previous blog spanning one and a half years by looking through the archives.

So, barukhim habaim!