Kesher Talk: 07/28/2002

Friday, August 02, 2002

In Canada? Watch me on TV: I'll be on Global TV network news with Kevin Newman this evening, discussing child abduction hysteria. It is on at 6:30 pm in Toronto, I think.

Now, I am off to Pittsburgh for the weekend with my fiancee. We're having our Aufruf in my old shuel there. Becuase I am a wimp with little time, I have not memorized the weekly portion, so instead of reading from the Torah, we will have Aliyot.

Ciao.

Disturbing: Gil Shterzer has a ton of photos from the Hebrew University bombing.

And Tal G in Jerusalem notices that a certain dead white male has been airbrushed out of an important photo by the Palestinian Authority...

And Occam's Toothbrush and the Patio Pundit uncovered this sterling tale of our newest weapon in the war on terror: mothers.

Uplifting: In the Bay Area? Check out the Jewish Film Festival.

No noisy synagogues in our neighborhood! "Is a house of worship more like a country club, a dog kennel or a school? The answer could help federal judges decide whether a suburban Philadelphia township discriminated against a Reform Jewish congregation in a zoning decision."

The Associated Press (Jul. 31) presents a very strange case of zoning law dispute:

The long-running legal battle between Congregation Kol Ami and Abington Township moved to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 29, as a three-judge panel peppered lawyers with questions on equal protection issues.

The case may later test the constitutionality of the 2000 Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, designed to outlaw religious bias in zoning decisions. The law is being challenged in more than 30 cases around the country, but none have yet reached the U.S. Supreme Court.

Congregation Kol Ami, with about 210 families, wants to buy a 10.9-acre parcel in a residential neighborhood. The property, which boasts a large main house and chapel, has been used over the years as a family estate, a monastery and a convent. Its current owner, an order of Catholic nuns, wants to sell to Kol Ami, but the sale has been held up by the zoning fight.

Some neighbors oppose the sale, fearing increased noise and traffic.

In court July 29, Kol Ami's lawyer argued that a synagogue could have a similar impact on the neighborhood as a country club, which would be allowed to apply for a zoning exception in a residential neighborhood. Under Abington's 1992 zoning plan, country clubs, dog kennels and certain other entities can apply for the waivers, but churches, hospitals and schools are restricted to nonresidential areas.

"We can't have Talmud lessons, but we could have tennis lessons on Sundays," said Anthony R. Picarello Jr., a lawyer with the Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, arguing on Kol Ami's behalf.

OK, are synagogues loud? They don't have anything like church bells chiming. Jews are incessent talkers, but they're not going to be overrunning the grounds of a Reform synagogue at all hours, are they?

Maybe the residents will get lucky, and end up with a half-way house instead...

The race to dethrone McKinney is called a "proxy" war between Arabs and Jews:

Members of the Muslim American community are providing extensive support for Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.), defending the five-term incumbent against a challenge financed in part by Jewish leaders critical of her stand on Israel.

At least three-quarters of the $234,299 that McKinney has raised from individuals this year is from donors with Muslim or Arab American surnames, the great majority of whom live outside her district.

Meanwhile her Democratic challenger, former state judge Denise Majette, has begun raising large sums from Jewish donors alarmed by McKinney's comments on Middle East matters. Majette plans to spend $500,000 in the three weeks leading to the Aug. 20 primary, top aides said.

As a result, the Atlanta-based 4th District Democratic primary has to some extent become a proxy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the outcome a test of strength between the Muslim American and pro-Israel Jewish communities. (Washington Post)

And a new poll shows... well, it doesn't show much of anything, since the results show Majette and McKinney apart by barely 2 percent, well within the pathetic margin of error (+/- 6%):

A poll conducted by The Marketing Workshop for InsiderAdvantage, the parent company of Bill Shipp’s Georgia, shows Rep. Cynthia McKinney trailing her opponent, former state court judge Denise Majette, by a slim margin. In a survey of likely voters in the upcoming Aug. 20 Democratic primary, Majette led McKinney’s 41 percent to 39 percent, with 20 percent undecided. The poll was conducted July 29-31 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percent. The Marketing Workshop conducts surveys for major corporations and newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The poll indicated the potential of a significant Republican crossover vote in the primary. In addition, the poll suggests that McKinney has lost some support among both white and African-American Democrats. The poll was weighted to reflect the newly comprised district’s past composition of actual primary voters by race. (Bill Shipp)

And the Indepundit scours OpenSecrets for contributions to McKinney's war chest.

Update: Even more data crunching and donation tracking from Unqualified Offerings.

Think of Israel: Bernice Lipkin has launched an online magazine, "THINK-ISRAEL." Her introductory articles include:

Are Arab spokespeople the equivalent of The Stepford Wives?

Sketches of two Jewish academics and a Rabbi, all of whom are prominent Haters of Israel: Steven Rose, Noam Chomsky and Rabbi Michael Lerner.

The unenviable fate of Israeli academic leftists.

and more

Holland tries to ban kosher slaughter: (Arutz Sheva) The government of Holland has banned kosher slaughter, becoming the sixth European country to do so. The local Agriculture Ministry informed Jewish community leaders there that they would no longer be permitted to slaughter cows in a kosher manner [shechitah] because of its "cruelty" to the animals. Deputy Foreign Minister Rabbi Michael Melchior, the former Chief Rabbi of Norway, says he is not convinced that concern for the animals is the real motivation behind the new regulation: "They simply don't want foreigners and they don't want Jews. I won't say that this is the only motivation, but it's certainly no coincidence that one of the first things Nazi Germany forbade was kosher slaughter. I also know that during the original debate on this issue in Norway, where shechitah has been banned since 1930, one of the parliamentarians said straight out, 'if they don't like it, let them go live somewhere else.'"

Melchior also says the cruelty accusations against shechitah are simply untrue: "The Torah forbids cruelty to animals, and the shechitah process ensures that the animal loses consciousness immediately. We have been dealing with this issue for many years, and there are many scientific studies that back us up."

M.E., a religious Jew from Holland, does not appear worried: "The main concern is whether there is kosher meat in the store or not... Of course the principle of the matter worries me. But I have heard on the inside that it was not done as a matter of policy, but rather just a few individuals who were able to convince the government to make this decision..."

Rabbi Melchior plans to organize a Foreign Ministry campaign to respond to the European lies being disseminated about the so-called cruelty involved in shechitah. He will also have to respond to such accusations here at home; MK Avraham Poraz of the anti-religious Shinui party has congratulated Holland on its decision, saying that shechitah is cruel. Melchior said, "It is certainly infuriating to see a respected Knesset Member plays into the hands of Jewish enemies and thus cause harm to the Jewish community in Europe. The lie that ritual slaughter is cruel simply shows a hatred for Jewish life."

(Washington Jewish Week) Jewish ritual slaughter of bulls was allowed to resume in the Netherlands. Dutch officials had halted the practice, claiming it caused unnecessary suffering, and drew up a proposal that would have restricted the Jewish community's freedom to choose which types of cattle to slaughter. The proposal was quashed, however, after Jewish leaders met last week with the Dutch agriculture minister and argued that the proposal was more restrictive than those in any other E.U. country.

Thursday, August 01, 2002

Stickin' it to the Sauds: A new article by me in The Forward on hybrid cars. Has anyone else tried these things? They're really cool.

Not with the Mossad: I just received an important clarification from the ICT regarding my Israeli Palestinian casualties article:

For the record, Don Radlauer is not a former head of the Mossad, and in fact, has never been affiliated with any Israeli security body. Mr. Radlauer is an Associate Researcher at the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism. Essentially, the Institute's Associates carry out research on an an hoc basis. In this capacity, Mr. Radlauer has also published articles on such topics as suspicious trading prior to the September 11 Attacks, and a Pilots View of the Hijackings. (see http://www.ict.org.il/articles/staffarticles.cfm for a breakdown of articles by author listed alphebetically)

The source of the confusion is no doubt the fact that the current head of ICT's Board of Directors is Shabtai Shavit, who is a former head of the Mossad. A glance at ICT's staff profiles (http://www.ict.org.il/institute/people.htm) shows that a number of our staff have served in various branches of the security services. The statistical significance of this is diminished, however, when one recalls that the vast majority of Israelis do serve a mandatory stint in the military. Those with a bent for research in security issues tend to gravitate toward academic institutes like ICT.

I hope this clears up the confusion. I'm afraid that the question of bias is bound to arise due to the fact that ICT is an Israeli institute. The only answer to that is that, as a reputable academic facility, we endevour as far as possible to maintain our objectivity, as well as a healthy sense of self-criticism.

Sincerely,
Yael Shahar
Director, Internet & Database Project,
International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism.

The Amityville Horror: "Hamas spokesman Abdel Aziz Rantisi . . . said that terrorist attacks will continue until all Jews leave Israel." (Arutz Sheva)

Got that. Abdel did not say leave Palestine, but Israel.

Of course, if the Palestinians get their own state and military, Hamas will moderate... right?

Taking it to the ISPs: Andrew Aaron Weisburd shows how to fight the Intifada online.

The legal approach? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Jul. 23), decrying Israel's aerial bombing of terrorist leader Salah Shehada, wonders why Shehada was not just arrested, like any other criminal:

Israeli officials said they killed Shehada because Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat refused their repeated requests to arrest the Hamas leader. If that is so, why didn't the Israelis try to capture Shehada themselves?

A few days ago, Israel said it planned to put a prominent Palestinian, Marwan Barghouti, on trial in connection with deadly attacks on Israel. Similarly, if Shehada had been arrested and put on trial, a terrorist threat would have been neutralized, innocent people would now be alive and Israel would not be receiving the kind of worldwide scorn that its desperate and lethal attack has generated.

Explaining possible anti-semitism among Hispanic immigrants to the U.S.: Daniel Santacruz, a Hispanic Jew, worries about the results of the ADL's recent poll of American anti-semitism (which highlighted an uptick in it among Hispanics, but mostly recent Hispanic immigrants). Here is his article in the Jewish Press.

The difference the survey discovered in anti-Jewish feelings between the Hispanics who were born in Latin America and the ones born here is crucial. The Hispanics who immigrate here, from Mexico down to Argentina, are just expressing centuries-old views commonly held there: Jews are responsible for the death of Christ, they control the economy and the media, they are immensely wealthy.

But the prejudices discovered by the survey don`t necessarily mean hostility toward Jews. In New Jersey, New York and Florida it is common to see Jews and Hispanics working together, and violent incidents are nearly nonexistent. There has been some tension between hasidim and Hispanics in Williamsburg over housing, but the two seem generally to get along well. Although Spanish-language newspapers in the New York area have been critical of Israel during the second intifada, their rhetoric can`t be labeled anti-Semitic.

Political correctness hasn`t reached Latin America, so it`s common to hear a new immigrant refer to a Jew as "el judio." It bothers me, for example, when a clerk at a shop here in Teaneck says that "the Jew is on vacation" when talking about his boss, but I understand where he`s coming from.

The majority of Hispanic immigrants have never had contact with Jews in their countries of origin. The woman who cleaned my office at International Masters Publishers in Stamford, Conn., is a good example.

For five months we chatted in Spanish almost every day and I learned a lot about her and her family. Twenty-five years old and barely literate, she now lives in Westchester County. She came to the United States five years ago from a town near the Mexican city of Puebla. One day she asked me why I wore a kippah. When I told it was because her I am Jewish, she opened her eyes wide and smiled in disbelief: "Judio? Usted es judio?" (Jew? Are you a Jew?)

When I asked why she was surprised, she told me that I was the first Jew she had ever met. She told me she thought Jews were people who had lived only in the time of Christ and, like dinosaurs, were now extinct.

The reason why Catholics and Jews live worlds apart in Latin America is to be found in numbers and economic conditions. There are approximately 460,000 Jews in Central and South America, out of a total population of 519 million, most of whom live in major cities and belong to the middle and upper class. Most Hispanic immigrants, on the other hand, come from small towns or rural areas. Here in the United States the Jewish and Hispanics communities live separately, divided by a deep linguistic and economic barrier.

To the Hispanic immigrant, the Jew is a mysterious person, another gringo with peculiar ceremonies and, sometimes, strange dress.

The Church and some Jewish organizations, among them the Anti-Defamation League, have been holding dialogues and interfaith programs in Latin America since 1968, the first time a pope, Paul VI, visited there. His visit came on the heels of Nostra Aetate, an encyclical issued by the Vatican in 1965 that revolutionized relations between Christian and Jews.

But despite the Church`s good intentions and high-level meetings between Jews and priests, the old belief that Jews are deicides has not disappeared completely in Latin America. What`s worrisome is that it is espoused by both the uneducated and college graduates. Many times I heard from friends the Christian legend of the Wandering Jew, which says that Jews will wander perpetually because a Jewish cobbler drove Jesus away when he paused to rest by his door in Jerusalem while carrying the cross.

That anti-Jewish attitudes among Hispanic-Americans born here are less pronounced does not surprise me. The influence of the Catholic Church on public schools and universities here is negligible, and Catholic influence on the general culture has come primarily from Ireland and Italy, two countries with a relatively clean record in their treatment of Jews.

In Latin America, however, that influence came directly from Spain almost from the very beginning of the conquista. It remained unchallenged until the 20th century, when Protestant sects began attracting followers.

No Israelis dead, Arabs still dance in streets: Thousands of Arabs living in PLO-controlled Gaza City took to the streets last night to celebrate the deadly bombing at Hebrew University. Music blared from speakers as Arabs, both young and old danced and sang into the late hours of the night. Several men climbed on to the roof of a car and threw candy into the crowd. The scene was reminiscent of the party that erupted in the Arab street throughout Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and Gaza) following the September 11, 2001 attack on America.

All this, and none of the dead appear to be Israeli...

Update: Sorry, make that two of the dead are Israeli. I suppose that would count for them as worth celebrating. But they are probably more excited about the five dead Americans... though Hamas certainly seems to be wetting its pants about it...

Head in sand? Welcome to bombs in bush...: A fascinatingly obtuse article in the Christian Science Monitor (Jul. 31) declares we should "do nothing" about Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Marc Lynch insists that: Iraq poses no immediate threat; has no weapons of mass destruction; and has no links to Al Qaeda. He claims that the U.S. will be more respected if it does not go to war.

Oh, and Saddam will be removed if he makes one wrong move. But if Marc's analysis is to believed, what on Earth could that "wrong" move possibly be? Would Marc even believe it without his European friends telling him it was true? And who the hell is going to remove Saddam if we don't, since Marc has already explained that we are the only ones agitating to do so?

Still terrorized by numbers: My TechCentralStation piece from Monday is still generating controversy.

Part of that can be alleviated immediately. I forgot the link to the research in question, so here you go.

But the other part requires reason and logic.

I was just informed that Don Radlauer, the author of the ICT study, is a former head of the Mossad (the Israeli intelligence agency). My first reaction was, "holy crap!" But it does not change my evaluation one bit. Good research is good research, and if you take the time to analyze it you can usually suss out the wheat from the chaff. "Conflict of interest" and "bias" of any researcher is usually either blindingly obvious in their work or not really a factor.

Science and research must be weighed on its merits, unfazed by who produced it or who funded it. If you suspect the researcher of something cagey, fine. Act on that knowledge by scrutinizing the research. But don't throw it aside before you do so.

UPDATE: Radlauer is not the former director of the Mossad. See this message from ICT.

Should we invade?

"Alleged Seller Of Fake IDs Flees to Egypt," Associated Press.

If Egypt doesn't turn him over to us...

Smallpox vaccinations? Yes, please: The Bergen County (NJ) Record ran my smallpox vaccine article on Tuesday.

Wednesday, July 31, 2002

What it means: "I think the overriding sense of the whole [thing] is the realization that now I can't leave Israel, I have to stay. I belong here, I'm a Jew, this is our country. This sort of attack makes me want to stay here even more. They do these attacks precisely because they want us to leave. I think that leaving would give them the satisfaction of having their goal accomplished, and I can't let that happen."

--- Hebrew University overseas student Daniel Farahan (Indianapolis, Indiana) speaking with Arutz-7 Radio today after the terrorist attack on his campus today. He left the cafeteria three minutes before the explosion.

UPDATE: The link to the radio interview doesn't work, but here is a Ha'aretz story that talks with many other foreign students at the university.

Professors for a Strong Israel (PSI) : Today's link of the day comes from Chuck, head of the Jewish Internet Association. He passed on this profile PSI:

PSI is an organization of Israeli professionals who are a contradiction of the idea that scientists, academics and intellectuals are found solidly in the political left wing. Since their founding in 1988, PSI membership has grown to include hundreds of professors, researchers, and scientists encompassing all major academic disciplines and institutions in Israel. Diversity is encouraged; the only membership requirement is a doctoral degree.

The group believes in three basic principles:

1. The Land of Israel -- including Judea, Samaria, Gaza, and the Golan Heights -- is the Homeland of the Jewish People.

2. Jewish heritage and national values should constitute the basic elements of Israel's educational and legal systems.

3. A free market economy -- without political favoritism and with minimal government intervention -- is the best way to enable Israel to achieve its economic potential.

As the intellectual group of the conservative National Camp in Israel, PSI has been very active and influential in Israeli politics, especially in bringing about the election of Benjamin Netanyahu as Prime Minister. PSI has been a consistent and effective voice against the Oslo process, accurately predicting the dangers in the Oslo process that are now widely recognized.

PSI members contribute regularly to the issues debate on the subject of Israel. Many of their publications are listed on the PSI website in the sections titled Commentary, PSI Statements, and PSI in the Media.

12.5 %

My weblog owns 12.5 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?

French President calls American Jews slaves of Israeli government: American Jewish groups are outraged over French President Jacques Chirac’s reported accusations this week that they are under orders from Israel to wage an “anti-French campaign.”

“Chirac’s very accusation — that Jerusalem directed orders to American Jews — is reminiscent of ancient anti-Semitic stereotypes of worldwide Jewish conspiracies,” said American Jewish Congress President Jack Rosen. “I’m surprised that Chirac was so callous in protesting France’s lack of anti-Semitism that he invoked that classic canard.” Rosen also called the remark a “smokescreen” to hide the reality that the previous French government took no action against hundreds of violent anti-Semitic acts.

Chirac made the comments in a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on Monday, according to Ha’aretz. During the meeting, Chirac also rebuffed Israel’s request that Hezbollah be placed on the E.U. terror list. (JTA)

UPDATE: OpinionJournal put it best: "Hey Jacques, here's a tip: If you don't want to get a reputation as an anti-Semite, don't go around complaining about Jewish plots!"

America's great secret: "According to the latest reports, the chances of a US attack on Iraq is gaining widespread support in Washington. And according to the New York Times, the new secret plan is a surprise attack on Baghdad, taking the capital first, and then expanding the attack outward using a couple hundred thousand men. Remember, according to the New York Times, this is our new 'secret' plan. So don't tell anyone. It's just for us Americans." (Jay Leno, last night)

Israelis ready for Iraq war: Laurie Mylroie forwards this translation from Israel's second largest Hebrew newspaper, Ma'ariv:

July 30, 2002
[Tel Aviv, in Hebrew, p. 11]
[Report by Yo'av Limor: "'Iron Wall' To Be Alert Code in Event of Missile Attack"]
[FBIS Translated Text]

"Homat Barzel" [Iron Wall] -- this will be the alert code to be used by the IDF Home Front Command to warn the population of a missile attack on Israel.

The IDF has recently stepped up the preparation of the home front in anticipation of the expected US attack on Iraq. Security officials
estimate that Saddam Husayn will order his army to fire long-range missiles at Israel, including some outfitted with chemical and biological warheads, already at the beginning of the US strike.

In "quiet contacts" held recently with the heads of the US Administration, Israel asked a forewarning of several days prior to the strike to be able to prepare for the possibility of missiles being fired on Israel's civilian population. The issue was raised by the prime minister, the defense minister, and the chief of staff in their visits to Washington.

Sources in Israel affirmed that a forewarning of a mere several hours --as prior to the US attack on Afghanistan -- would be insufficient. The IDF foresees a public "avalanche" on the gas mask distribution centers in case of an emergency. Therefore, it has trained some 3,000 reservists, who would be called up at once to help the centers increase distribution to over
50,000 gas masks a day.

The IDF has also finished drafting the procedures for updating and informing the public. The moment the report is received of a missile having been fired, a siren will be activated throughout the country, broadcasts on all television and radio stations will stop, and the public will be notified of the new alert code (replacing "Nahash Tzefa" of Gulf War fame), which will be read out by Oded Ben-Ami, a former IDF spokesman.

Hebrew University bombing: I was acutely nervous, since many of my family's friends teach there, but it seems unlikely they were involved. It is interesting how detached I can become about the bombings, since they've been going on for so long...

Below is the latest Jerusalem Post.com report. But please take note of the headline running just after the bombing story: "Israel gives Palestinian Authority NIS 70 million":

AT LEAST SIX DEAD, 50 WOUNDED IN HEBREW UNIVERSITY BLAST

An explosion rocked a cafeteria at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem at lunchtime Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding up to 70, rescue officials and media reports said.

Ilan Franko, deputy police chief of Jerusalem, said police are still checking whether the blast that occurred at about 1:45 p.m. was the work of a suicide bomber or an explosive placed at the site, possibly in a brief case.

At least six people were killed, said Israeli government spokesman Danny Seaman said. The Israeli rescue service put the number of wounded at about 70, nine seriously.

The Hamas terror group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement broadcast on Al-Jazeera Television. It said the bombing was in retaliation for Israel's assassination last week of Hamas bomb mastermind Salah Shehadeh in Gaza.

The explosion gutted the cafeteria of the university's Frank Sinatra Pavilion, which is the student union building, witnesses said. Channel 2 said many foreign students were about when the attack occurred.

The site of the blast is next door to the Rothberg International School, where about 80 pupils from the US and other Western countries arrived Wednesday to prepare for the fall semester.

Though classes are not in session, students are taking exams and the cafeteria was busy at the time of the blast.

"There was a terrorist and he blew up," a witness, identified only as Shai, told Army Radio. "There is a lot of chaos, a lot of police. It's a mess, there's a lot of wounded."

Sirens wailing, rescue vehicles rushed to the scene, swiftly removing bloodied victims. Sniffer dogs were checking to see if there were any additional bombs in the area.

The wounded were quickly evacuated from the scene and taken to Jerusalem area hospitals, Israel Radio reported.

Tuesday, July 30, 2002

Was I scooped? I made my first foray over to Meryl Yourish's page in a while; she seems to have left some choice words for me! Admittedly, I don't get around to all the blogs as often as I should - I'm a busy guy.

But I was not trying to "scoop" any bloggers on the ICT study of Israeli-Palestinian casualties. I'm sure I originally learned about it from someone's blog. But aside from an article in WorldNetDaily when the study was released, and one in CNSNews.com today, I'd seen no media coverage.

Mind you, Meryl found out about it in the Village Voice... so perhaps there was coverage I missed.

Howver, I have a slightly higher responsibility than the average blogger. In the work I do for STATS, if I'm wrong that means that STATS is wrong. The stuff I do for Kesher Talk is just me and my co-editors taking the blame. I had to take the time to pore over and analyze the study, which is why it took me so long to write about it.

Such is the life of an analyst.

As for the Thing being Jewish... I realize now that I was not the first to break the story in the blogosphere. So what?

And for anyone still listening, my last name (soon to be shared with my fiancee) is Fienberg, not Feinberg. Immigrants who did not speak English (or write that well, I presume) met incompetent American immigration officials, leading to the strange spelling.

Learn it, live it, know it.

Families of terror: They are now saying that Osama bin Laden's son is becoming one of the leaders of the Al Qaeda organization.

One of Osama bin Laden's eldest sons ... Hank bin Laden ... is becoming one of Al Qaeda's leaders ...

See, even in terrorist organizations, "Take Your Kids to Work Day" is very popular.

courtesy of Mike Sultan

GoodByeCynthia.com: According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a "group of political junkies... along Atlanta's northern Perimeter have put together an anti-Cynthia McKinney Web site encouraging Republicans to jump into ... McKinney's Aug. 20 primary against Denise Majette.

Creators of www.goodbyecynthia.com stress that their creation has no connection to the Majette campaign. But the Web site does solicit contributions that will be used "to ensure the defeat on Cynthia McKinney by communicating to the voters of her district the fact that another qualified candidate should go to Washington, D.C. in January, 2003." Among those in the creative circle: Mark Davis, a data processor in Gwinnett County with ties to several Republican candidates, and William "Bubba" Head, the first name in a Sandy Springs law firm.

The site includes a copy of McKinney's letter to Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, offering to make use of the $10 million the prince had offered to help rebuild New York City after the World Trade Center attacks. New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani had spurned the check."

Passover treats: Passover breadsticks?

Moment magazine has a bevy of photo howlers. My favorite is this restaurant ad.

Are those breadsticks made from matzo meal?

Knowing who your friends are...: The Israeli Consulate in Montreal will be closed due to Israeli Foreign Ministry funding cuts, though consulates in the United States will escape the budget knife. "In the end, the decision was taken not to close anything in the United States of America," said Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington. The budget ax fell on consulates in Montreal and three other cities, and on four embassies around the world.

"The idea was not to close anything in the U.S., because the United States is our closest ally and the work we do here is very, very important," Regev said.

It seems lamentations about no longer seeing Habs games in person and missing great pastrami were accidently cut out of the official statement.

Even the Chinese are getting in on the act: Israel has canceled plans for an exhibition in China of letters, photographs and essays by Albert Einstein because Chinese censors objected to a passage describing Einstein as a Jew who supported the formation of a Jewish state, an Israeli spokesman said today. According to news reports in Israel, at a recent meeting to review details of the Einstein exhibition, officials at China's Culture Ministry objected to a paragraph that described Einstein as a supporter of the Israeli state who was once offered the presidency of Israel by David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister. "The Chinese said, 'Let's delete the fact that he's a Jew because every Chinese knows it anyway,' " a diplomatic source said. "We thought that was ridiculous."

Religious merger of Hindus and Jews not working out so well: Hinjew leaders today conceded the merger of Hinduism and Judaism has not worked out as planned, as instead of forming a super-religion to fight off the common Islamic enemy, they have instead created a race of 900 million people who, no matter how many times they are reincarnated, can never please their mothers.

"On paper, this was a textbook alliance — two smaller competitors join forces to take on a larger adversary," said New Delhi resident Chandra Gopan. "But the synergies are just not there. For instance, I still believe I must pursue my own dharmic path to ultimate happiness, but when I get there, I just know my mother will find something wrong with it." (SatireWire)

Monday, July 29, 2002

Showers galore: My fiancee and I are back from a long weekend in Buffalo for her bridal shower. Much of her family turned out, as did my mother, who drove my Bubie and Nana in from Toronto. And a couple of my fiancee's friends came in from Ohio as well (just days after they got back from a much-delayed honeymoon).

As much as I was annoyed at being dragged along for the weekend as some kind of "trophy," it worked out fine. I got bonding time in with my brother-in-law-to-be and my father-in-law-to-be (sorry if all the hyphens make you woozy) and enjoyed meeting all the family folks.

We were showered with mazel and nachas, as well as lots of great presents ... I fear the responsibility for composing thank you notes, which I've been mostly dodging so far, will shift to my shoulders this time.

Oh, and my education in driving the stick shift car proceeded much better than expected. Except for a few instances of stop-and-go traffic jams along the way, I drove quite well. I'm still not sold on the manual transmission concept, but my fiancee's car performs magically at 80 mph, while mine can't easily get past 70...

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, by the numbers: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been marred by many casualties on both sides. Between the start of the second Intifada almost two years ago and the end of June, the war had killed 561 Israelis and 1,499 Palestinians. But a new study claims that these numbers obscure the reality of the conflict, combining combatants with the non-combatants and suicide bombers with their civilian victims. As much of the case swinging world opinion against Israel hinges on the perception that Israel has killed far more Palestinian innocents than vice versa, these numbers possess a political importance beyond simple accounting.

So go read my article on TechCentralStation today to learn more.

UPDATE: It seems I screwed up, and the most important hyperlink never made it into the story. The ICT study can be found here.

Kesher Talk

Friday, August 02, 2002

Thursday, August 01, 2002

Wednesday, July 31, 2002

Tuesday, July 30, 2002

Monday, July 29, 2002

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