31 March 2010

When Ben-Gurion said no to JFK

This superb article by Gerald Steinberg, professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University, recounts several cases in the history of US-Israel relationship when the Israeli government said "no" to the reigning POTUS for this or another reason. And the relationship survived. I would like to quote the conclusion:

The question, therefore, is not whether Netanyahu or any other Israeli leader can say no in the face of determined American pressure – there are enough precedents. Rather, the issue is whether Obama’s demands are dangerous enough to justify the costs resulting from an escalating conflict.

Regardless of the future course of this crisis, it has already highlighted the need for carefully considered priorities and policies on Jerusalem and on the wider questions of borders and settlements. These cannot continue to be based on short-term coalition politics or decisions attributed to minor bureaucrats. At least in this respect, Israelis can thank Obama for this crisis.
And two words from this conclusion require some special attention:

"Carefully": "with caution or prudence or tact".
"Considered": "Regard or treat with consideration, respect, and esteem".

Nothing to add.

Honeymoon tester? Wow, a dream job finally...

CNN sends you over to this Irish site that has a life-changing proposal:

We are looking for the right person (and their partner) to research and test out the most romantic and ultimate wedding and honeymoon destinations all over the world and then report back with their verdict (on the place, not the partner!) to their boss, 4,000 miles away. The Role:
  • Involves 6 months of travel
  • Remuneration: €20,000.
  • Travel and accommodation for you and your significant other to accompany you on this ‘horrendous’ assignment.
That's really a great deal. I wish I were available. And I can show them how to halve their travel expenses too...

30 March 2010

Baby Assad finds his real calling!

Well, mazel tov to Baby Assad, he is quite advanced in years to get somewhere, and finally he's done it!

Syria and Libya teamed up Sunday to pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to quit peace talks with Israel and return to violence, delegates to an Arab leadership summit said.
So, according to this news, Baby Assad is now a consultant. Good for him. As for you, whether you know this parable already or not, here it goes again:
This guy was receiving a lot of complaints from his neighbors, because his brassy tomcat was screaming and fighting all night, kicking over garbage cans and jumping all the female cats who happened by. The guy admired his cat , but the complaints and the threats were becoming too much for him. So one day he took the tomcat to a vet and had him neutered. Of course, the tomcat became relaxed, housebound and generally apathetic and sad.

One evening the guy sees his ex-tomcat cleaning himself, grooming his hair, whiskers and whatnot, clearly preparing for an outing.

"Where are you going", asks the man, "After all you don't have anything of import to do outside in your condition?"

"I am a consultant now", the cat proudly announces.
So, it appears that this old post was quite on the mark. Oh, and the same goes for the older one, the great colonel, he of many names...

And happy Passover, everyone!

Cross-posted on Yourish.com

Titivating Erik Menendez or Ricky Martin

Without further ado:

If you are not titivated enough, click on the picture to embiggen it.

29 March 2010

Hag Pesach Sameach - Happy Passover to all of you!

Jews, gentiles, believers and otherwise.

And a fabulous post O Come All Ye Gentiles! - about Passover, matzos and everything, old country included. Enjoy.

The Matzo Man image filched from Chrismukkah.

Oh Bibi, Bibi...

From Bibi's recent speech:

I have recently heard anonymous, unworthy remarks in the media regarding the American administration and the American president," he said. "I would like to make it clear: I find these remarks to be unacceptable.
The rest of the quote will be interspersed by my comments, so here:
They are from nobody acting on my behalf.
Could be, but why some of these remarks are ascribed to the members of his unruly staff? A day doesn't pass without one of the blabbermouth majority in Bibi's employ pissing on Bibi's parade.
Relations between Israel and the US are those between allies and friends and reflect longstanding tradition.
Yeah, true, if by that Bibi means the tradition whereby POTUS spits copiously on Bibi and Bibi tells us that it rained. This pattern dates from the Slick Willy's times, so by now it's a tradition, I guess...
Even when there are differences of opinion, they are differences of opinion among friends and will remain so.
The speaker didn't make it clear what exactly will remain so: the differences of opinion or the friendship. And I am not sure we really want to know by now...

Haveil Havalim-The Empty Seat At My Seder Edition

This edition is marred by the loss of Jack's grandmother.

28 March 2010

Professor Garson Hunter and his ilk: the people who teach our kids

I would warmly recommend to watch the clip below. The University of Regina professor Garson Hunter explains why he doesn’t support a scholarship for family members of Canadian soldiers.



Leaving aside the esteemed professor mumbling, stumbling and using all his puny debating skills to avoid answering direct questions, what do you say about the moral degeneracy of his position?

What do you think about him and, I am sorry to say, many of his like-minded peers that pretend to superior knowledge and understanding and do their considerable best to clone more of themselves - using our children as raw material?

And here is the glorious letter itself. Do your best not to barf when reading the keywords used by the scions of high education.

Via Louise.

Police vs life giver

Any human activity could be matched to an existing item in criminal code. For the exceptions there is police inventiveness. Like that new code: ROWD - Resuscitating Opossum While Drunk.

A Pennsylvania man attempted to resuscitate "a road-killed opossum," state police say. But this was one possum who wasn't playing possum -- the ugly creature remained dead. Troopers responding to the scene in Oliver Township on Thursday determined that Donald J. Wolfe, 55, of Brookville, was drunk, according to the police report.
Now try to explain to a gendarme that all you wanted is to give the poor critter a chance. Try to get some sympathy for your humane endeavor.
Wolfe will be charged with one charge of public drunkenness, police said.
This is what you get in exchange...

We're all Donald J. Wolfe now!

27 March 2010

Walt and Mearsheimer and Kissinger's realpolitik

An excellent essay Walt and Mearsheimer: Kissinger's disciples? by Bob from Brockley.

And re realpolitik as it applies to USA - Israel ties: anyone who seriously considers that USA will support Israel a minute after US geopolitical interests diverge with these of Israel, should have his/her romantic head examined.

Sandra Bullock Pregnant This Year?

This is a headline I've slavishly copied from here. I consider it being remarkable by itself, but it's left standing by the following quote from the same post:

According to the interview, Sandra Bullock is happy to become pregnant, but that is not the only way she is thinking about becoming a mother.
This one really stumped me. Is there any other way to become a mother?

26 March 2010

Netanyahu reaches understanding with Netanyahu

This takes some deciphering:

Hefez said that Netanyahu had reached a "list of understandings" on policy toward Palestinians with U.S. President Barack Obama in their talks in Washington.
And then:
Spokesman Mark Regev said that when Hefez said understandings had been reached, he was "articulating the Israeli position, he is not articulating a joint position".
Yeah, well, let's schlep out the confusion sign:

P.S. The mere fact of Bibi reaching understanding with Bibi is also encouraging enough: so far it didn't happen.

We are all prophet Muhammad's heirs!

Me too, me too!

When the machinery fails

TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has not yet experienced such surge in candidates for the security screeners' positions.


Details.

25 March 2010

So did Bush use Clinton's shirt as a handwipe?

Focus at the 13th second or so:

Outsmarting History

Had the so-called lunatics of the 2008 McCain-Palin rallies been caught saying that, in the course of one day, an Obama presidency would seize one-sixth of the private sector and describe East Jerusalem housing as "undermin[ing] mutual trust” and “expose[ing] daylight between Israel and the United States,” we’d have choked to death on headlines about “playing with fire” and “the politics of fear.”
A provocative and interesting article by Abe Greenwald in Commentary Magazine.

Don't you think that there's an enormous difference?

Even after reading this?

How to make a tapeworm barf?

Simple: show him (her?) the Sad Little Man With Huge Ego

Scrotie McBoogerBalls and Catcher in the Rye

If the narrative here is true, it must have been pretty funny indeed.

24 March 2010

In defense of my mixed feelings

I keep returning to the excellent post Defending history by Peter Ryley aka The Fat Man on a Keyboard. In this post Peter reflects on the article by Dovid Katz who protests the recent attempts by the Baltic countries to obfuscate their complicity in the Holocaust and willing cooperation with the Nazis. Says Dovid Katz:

In the case of the countries in the far east of the European Union, the Baltics (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), there is a reluctance to own up to any complicity with the Holocaust.
Reluctance is a very delicate term for outright denial, I would say. Add to the list Ukraine, where haloing of nationalist movements, largely cooperating with the Nazis, is in vogue, and Moldova - to lesser extent, and the list of Soviet republics where the extermination of Jews was started by the eager locals as soon as the Soviet Army left, even before the German troops invaded, will be almost complete.

The desire to rationalize their complicity in Nazi genocide by equating Hitler with Stalin is quite easy to understand. Keep your people in denial for a long enough time, and here goes the history. Add to this the creeping and gradual rehabilitation of all kinds of Nazi collaborators, and in a few years the whole history of Eastern Europe in XX century will be good for the undertakers.

Significance of the Hitler = Stalin formula, though, goes beyond the pathetic attempts by some countries to rewrite some episodes of their history.

It is impossible to disagree with Peter when he states:
Certainly both Fascism and Communism were totalitarian, but the specifics of their historical roots, the source of their support, motivation of their supporters and their ideological aims were markedly different. The trouble is that the term is often not used analytically, but as abuse or simply for playing a game of guilt by association.
It is impossible for me, being Jewish, to forget that the Nazi Germany was a place where the arguably singular decision to exterminate a whole nation was put into a calculated and methodical execution, with no equals. Many a revisionist of history today tries to obscure this fact by (correct) references to mass murder of other nations, but still - no other nation but Jews was a target for total extinction. Even Romanies (Gypsies) were executed by the Nazis selectively (only nomadic ones).

It is impossible as well for me to forget that the Soviet Red Army and its millions of fallen soldiers was the chief protector of the Soviet Jews and I shall never stop being grateful for it.

And yet... For me, neither an historian nor a philosopher, there is a strong emotional aspect to this impossible and wrong Hitler = Stalin equation. Yes, some of my relatives were murdered by the Nazis (and by the above mentioned local collaborators as well). And yes, I shall never be able to watch a documentary about Holocaust to the end, my heart being torn by the sheer evil shown on the screen and by the love to the people who perished.

But then, my other relatives, having escaped the horrors of the Nazi genocide machine, were thrown into GULAG for no other crime than the desire to reach the socialist heaven or for a wrong joke told to a wrong person. I, myself, have my (short-lived) belief in communist ideals extinguished after learning enough from people who have seen the other side of the Soviet "heaven", from the great books like GULAG Archipelago and The Great Terror. I know what would have happened to my family and many other Jewish families, hadn't Stalin croaked when he did, about the trains already being prepared and the slow extinction already awaiting the Soviet Jewry.

I vividly remember the greyness and the incessant daily lie that was called Soviet Union, the mental oppressiveness of the regime maintained by liars for unbelievers. I shall be forever grateful to the powers beyond the Iron Curtain that forced the regime to its knees and liberated millions of people in Eastern Europe and Asia to choose their own way of life. Unlike many a Western "intellectual", I shall not badmouth or try to diminish the struggle of millions of people in the West who contributed to the victory in the Cold War, nor will I deny, like some morons tend to, the mere reality of the Cold War.

It is indeed, as Peter states, vitally important to keep our history right. With different forces trying to "revise" some facts according to their ideology, religion or simply desire to avoid the shame, the history should be kept from many different attempts to rewrite it. Whether it's a creature of David Irving's ilk that whitewashes Hitler or Seumas Milne with his creeping revision of Stalin's butchery or Baltic states' leaders wiggling out of guilt - the vigilance in protecting history from all of them is an endless task.

As for my personal view: I'll hate Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and a few others with the same intensity. Even if it's historically incorrect.

And I believe (no, I know) that I am not contradicting anything in Peter's view.

Anne Curtis Swimsuit Malfunction photo

Will definitely not appear here, but you can watch this parakeet:

Breath slowly and shallowly, your excitement will abate in a few minutes. It's a promise.

23 March 2010

A man sells his guitar. Hurry!

It's an acoustic Lowden F32c. Whatever that means. Not knowing from guitars, I can only advise you to go and buy it as long as it's available.

Oh, yes, it's in London. Nothing to do about it, I guess.

Syrian driver shot dead in E Budapest

Update: This post has to be refreshed, due to a sensational new link.

In a possible sequel to the Dubai assassination, Israeli spy planes flew uninvited and unannounced over Budapest, Hungary, the same day a Syrian man was shot to death in his car, Hungarian media reported Thursday.
Uhu... no doubt, providing air cover to the whole operation...

At least it answers the question about the mode of transportation the assassin used after the deed.

As they tell it:
A 52-year-old Syrian man was shot dead in Budapest while he was waiting at traffic lights in his car on Wednesday, police told MTI. Several shots were fired in the attack after which the gunman snatched a briefcase from the car and fled from the scene in Budapest's eastern 16th district, police spokesman Oszkar Sass said. MTI's correspondent at the scene said the victim of the shooting had been driving a luxury car.
Here is the rotten fruit of globalization: a Syrian driver in (I bet) a German car, shot by an Israeli (Mossad, who else?) assassin using a Russian gun (to throw the investigation off), who got away with his victim's Italian luxury briefcase. In Budapest, of all places.

What else would we like to know? Oh, yes: will the assassin take his rented French Renault to the airport or burn it? And what kind of plane will he/she take to the next destination: US-made Boeing or French-British-German-... Airbus?

Oh, and let's not forget the question about the number of parts produced in China in both of the above mentioned planes.

Ah, and what about the Dubai police chief to investigate this case...

And...

From a pessimist to a pessimist

While we both hope it will never happen.

OBAMA, 2012…

I’M SORRY…”

“FOR NOT STOPPING IRAN’S NUCLEAR BOMB PROGRAM AND THREAT TO USE IT AGAINST ISRAEL …”

Which would have prevented the 2011 Iran/Hezbollah/Hamas nuclear attack on Israel killing 200,000 Israelis and the Israeli response killing 5,000,000 Iranians.

“… I JUST THOUGHT EAST JERUSALEM CONSTRUCTION BOUNDARIES WAS THE MORE IMPORTANT ISSUE.”



By Howard Rotberg.

22 March 2010

Hurray to Google!

Yep.

Richard Landes on Goldstone Report in MERIA Journal

The first part of this two-part article explores the pervasive flaws that mar the UNHRC's "Gaza Fact-Finding Mission Report." It focuses on an interlocking combination of problems: 1) its failure to investigate seriously the problem of Hamas embedding its war effort in the midst of civilians in order to draw Israeli fire and then accuse Israel of war crimes; 2) its astonishing credulity concerning all Palestinian claims, contrasted with a corresponding skepticism of all Israeli claims; 3) its harsh judgments on Israelis for war crimes (i.e., deliberate targeting of civilians), contrasted with its resolute agnosticism concerning Hamas intentions. The result is that Goldstone actually participates in Hamas' strategy and encourages the sacrificing of their own civilians.
Part One: A Failure of Intelligence
The second part of this two-part article explores two main themes: 1) How journalists and human rights NGOs created the body of information Goldstone largely replicated, and 2) the role of intimidation and advocacy on journalists, NGO workers, witnesses, and judges. It concludes with an analysis of how such a systematic misrepresentation of events repeatedly occurred and the dangerous results for the very cause Goldstone espouses--the protection of civilians and the human rights culture.
Part Two: A Miscarriage of Human Rights

21 March 2010

How much does it cost to insult George Galloway?

George (the Spiv) Galloway (see his depiction below) is a sensitive and easily offended soul. Not once has he resorted to the assistance of gendarmes or other security officials to remove an offender from his vicinity. More than once has he resorted to (willing) legal assistance to sue the offender for what he, George the Spiv Galloway perceives as offense. He is actually so sensitive that any objection to his politics, his way of life, his past associations with all kinds of characters (included, but not limited to, Saddam Hussein and his murderous and deviant baby Udai), causes him to become immediately and mightily offended.

The subject of this post is on the left.

With time, George the Spiv became so adept in this being offended business that by now he has, most probably, even developed a price list for the offense. We haven't seen the whole of it yet, but apparently his lawyers are able to issue a first shot across the bows of the offender in a jiffy. Since they are able to tell the offender in advance how much it will cost to settle the offense without going to the extremes (meaning without the intervention of Her Majesty courts of justice).

The (alleged) offender has the whole story for you to enjoy, so I wouldn't spoil it by retelling. Only - it will be interesting to see the price list in toto (it's the lawyers' slang for "the whole"). Maybe one can learn about hitherto unknown ways to insult George the Spiv. Such as wholesale price of insults, large quantity discount, the acceptable margin between the asking price (as stated before the judge) and the final one etc.

It will be also highly educational, not to mention exciting, to know why George the Spiv, being a person of power and affluence, has chosen to be represented by a shyster whose knowledge of English is inferior even in the eyes of this here blogger - see point 3 in terms of the offered settlement at the end of the document: "Legal costs to be access at the time of settlement". Bleh...

Is it cheaper that way, George?

Haveil Havalim #261 - ready and waiting

That is, for you to read all the goodies there. So what are you waiting for?

19 March 2010

Chinese grandmother, 101, grows mystery horn on forehead

Mystery, shmystery... The truth will out, even if it takes 100 years. Proof.

18 March 2010

Missed the EATAPETA day

Mea culpa. Missing a date like this is inexcusable. At least, as I've already reported elsewhere, I have consumed meat of two different animals on that date.

And now, to partially assuage my guilt feelings, a quote from C G Hill aka Dustbury (via The Texas Scribbler):

If God didn’t want us to eat animals, He shouldn’t have made them out of meat.
As a godless atheist, I would add "and should have equipped us with teeth suited for vegetables".

Michelle Bombshell Mcgee, Sandra Bullock and Jesse James

I am not in the habit of preaching to some people who lack common sense, not to speak about a smidgen of taste. So, instead, relax and watch this nice cormorant:

And notice: no tattoos and no fleas on this one!

17 March 2010

Cultural history and The Mark of Mahmud

For a person who, like I, is confusing Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan by now, while definitely having visited both places in his murky past, The Mark of Mahmud came like a light gust of wind, scented by a plethora of Eastern spices and other bewildering aromas. Enjoy.

Er... a word of caution, though: wine in both places was invariably atrocious at the time. But today - who knows?

Venezuela Earthquake - rumors on Twitter?

According to this, rumors of 8.2 earthquake in Venezuela are being spread on Twitter.

So far it doesn't seem to be true. Looks more like Comical Hugo's earthquake envy and his incessant attempts to blame CIA and the Big Satan in everything.

16 March 2010

Happy St. Patrick's day!

To all our readers and accidental guests to whom this nice holiday is relevant.

In related news (and many thanks to Lesley for helping me to discover myself finally): I've always wondered but now I know:

Read this. It is all coming back to me, in vivid details...

Los Angeles earthquake and Tiger Woods return

Are these two popular headlines related? After all, it's not clear what it is exactly that Tiger Woods is returning too...

15 March 2010

Tammy Obeidallah: a self-portrait of an "anti-Zionist"

This post is a sequel to the post Tammy Obeidallah, the Intifadagirl (A profile of an Anti-Zionist).

An attempt to draw a character is, of course, limited by the nature and limitations of external observation. The outcome is much richer when the object provides the missing details and colors, willingly and without coercion.

As expected, Tammy-O was very cooperative, providing a wealth of material that could keep a psychiatric department of a major hospital busy for many a sleepless night.Moreover, she brought with her several comrades in arms and even, in a single instance, a member of her family. Their devoted activity for about two weeks allows me to use their own quotes, without any commentary, to collate an excellent self-portrait.

A last remark: in this post I have chosen to use quotation mark around the "anti-Zionist". The whys of it will become clear to you as you read this post. So, without further ado (click on each snapshot for easier reading):

Picture (contributed by Tammy-O herself):

Somehow reminiscent... but I promised no comments.

Tammy-O the anti-racist and her superb logic

When one of her sidekicks finishes a discussion with:

And somebody finds it objectionable:

Or this exchange:




Tammy-O and her skills of debate


(continuation of the topic above, actually):

here comes a witty repartee:

and more:

And how about this pearl of wisdom:
Which witticism, of course, leads to:

Tammy-O on humor, religion and miscellaneous threats


Tammy-O the historian


Tammy-O and her supportive friends

Yep, the laugh we all had could have easily been "fetal"...

Tammy-O and humility




Tammy-O and her exquisite manners

and more:


Tammy-O - sex quirks, coprophilia and (possibly) child abuse/brainwashing


And here it comes:
(I put "possibly" in the header above, since I am not sure that Opal is indeed Tammy's daughter. But if she is... doesn't it remind you something?)

Tammy-O: the final meltdown

You all have noticed how the pitch of Tammy's comments has been steadily rising. Here it comes to a rapture.


And then:

OK, by now, I hope, the picture is complete and could serve as an excellent addendum to Tammy's CV when seeking jobs... in Stormfront or Aryan Nations.

References: the snapshots used here were collected from three places: the post Tammy Obeidallah, the Intifadagirl mentioned above and two posts from Contentious Centrist aka Noga.

A medal better late than never

Yesterday the Prime Minister presented medals to two men who saved Jews and other persecuted groups escape the Nazis during WWII.
No, not our PM, who is busy extricating his arse from a swamp, only to get promptly sucked in by the next one.

More from Jams.

14 March 2010

Take George Monbiot, for example...

Not really, I wouldn't recommend to go that far. But when Shuggy rips into Monbiot (and some other people), one can only stand still and listen to the quiet buzz of his very special kind of a chainsaw.

Sublime, that.

HAARP, earthquakes and conspinut's mind

I've got to this post thanks to Lesley. The headline conveys the essence of the UFO Blogger discovery:

NASA Scientist : HAARP Causes Earthquakes

The idea is not original by itself, the subject is being chewed upon in many blogs, various militia and conspiracy sites etc. However, this specific post shows extremely well the kind of perverted "logic" applied by conspiracy nuts to everything they deem to be a sinister government's, Illuminati's, Elders', masons', Bilderberg's, you-name-it's, conspiracy.

The gist of the info collected by UFO Blogger is that some NASA physicists hope to create an early earthquake warning system based on electric disturbances in ionosphere preceding the earthquakes. The way our distinguished blogger's mind works, it performed an immediate mental flip-flop and here we go: HAARP is dealing with study of such disturbances and sometimes causing them on purpose - ergo, HAARP is causing the earthquakes.

Brilliant, ain't it? I bet UFO Blogger believes that wind is caused by the trees shaking, the boogieman is wetting his bed every night and the stork that brought him to his mom and dad didn't drop him head down into the hearth.

Well, I have some news for UFO blogger...

Say it again, please...

One of the stranger headlines I have ever encountered (BBC March 12, 2010):

Hmm...

Haveil Havalim Geulah Edition

Could be found here, and, in spite of the author's apologies its' quite an achievement. Enjoy.

Crocodile tears from the parents of Jihad Jamie?

Alec Rawls noticed something not quite right about Jihad Jamie's mother and father. Compare these two snippets from their Wall Street Journal interview:

Ms. Paulin-Ramirez's interest in Islam "came out of left field," said her mother, Christine Holcomb-Mott, in an interview at her home Friday, wearing a blue sweatsuit with a silver cross around her neck.
How out of left field?
Mr. Mott, a convert to Islam himself, says he went to Denver to find his stepdaughter but couldn't track her down.
This woman is married to a Muslim, but neither she nor her husband can grok where in the world their murder-plotting daughter/step-daughter ever got exposed to this worrisome religion that subducts so many of its followers into terrorism.

Their disgust at daughter Jamie sounds sincere, but their blatant dishonesty about how she could have gotten interested in Islam suggests otherwise. It is possible, however, that the Journal's paraphrase is not precise. If put on the spot, Holcomb-Mott would likely clarify that she has no idea how her daughter ever got interested in murder-cult Islam.

There is a way that this could actually happen: if Mr. Mott is some kind of multiculturalist do-gooder who converted to Islam in sympathy with the idea that "Islam was hijacked too" on 9/11. Such a person could have converted without comprehending the well established Islamic pedigree of violent aggressive jihad.

Don't scoff. This same "Islam is a victim too" sentiment is right now allowing a giant Mecca oriented crescent to be built on the Flight 93 crash site. After all, it would just be too horrible to reject the Crescent of Embrace memorial simply because it is in the shape of a giant Islamic crescent, not when Islam itself was amongst the victims on that terrible day. No, we must do the opposite and embrace Islam.

If Mott is thinking the same way, he has hardly gone any further than the Memorial Project. But then it seems that his step daughter took one step further still and actually read the Koran, with its endless commands to slaughter the unbelievers. Thus did an unhappy misfit finally find a home for the vicious vindictiveness that the religion of her birth had kept in check.

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13 March 2010

Jamie Paulin-Ramirez: is it a three steps program?

From here:

  1. Last Easter, Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, a 31-year-old mom with a $30,000-a-year job as a medical assistant, announced to her family that she had converted to Islam.
  2. A few months later, she began posting to Facebook forums whose headings included "STOP caLLing MUSLIMS TERRORISTS!"
  3. Now, she is in the custody of the Irish police, along with three other individuals, arrested as part of an investigation into a conspiracy to commit murder...
?

Observation of gender-related mobile phone usage

Warning: this post may be perceived as offensive to some overly sensitive persons of female persuasion. Please refrain from attacking the author before you finished reading it.

Disclaimer: no men or women were harmed during research and preparation of this post.

Introduction

While many a general observation was published on various phenomena related to use of cellular phone by women (such as choosing the same ringtone in 80% of the cases, frantic search for the ringing phone in the depths of that bag etc), no detailed analysis was performed on specifics of the undoubtedly complex interaction between a woman and her mobile.

This research concentrates on one single aspect of the multifaceted woman-phone interaction. Its purpose was to establish the reasons for the calls to a cell phone of a specific person remaining unanswered in 80 to 90 %% of the cases.

The statistics were collected during close to 10 years.

The person under observation reviewed the results and, while some of her comments were censored due to highly personal contents, the essential data wasn't challenged.

The structure of the following report is fairly basic: it contains three main parts:

  • Conditions under which the phone call wasn't answered (total of 80 to 90%%)
  • Conditions under which the phone call was answered (total of 10 to 20%%)
  • Conclusions
1. Conditions under which the phone call wasn't answered

1.1 Forgotten at home

1.1.1 Charged and switched on
1.1.2 Charged and switched off
1.1.3 Uncharged
1.1.4 Connected to the charger and switched on
1.1.5 Connected to the charger and switched off
1.1.6 Left at home on purpose (cause I am not taking my bag with me this time)

1.2 Not forgotten at home

1.2.1 Uncharged
1.2.2 Charged and switched off (by mistake)
1.2.3 Charged, switched on, left in another office
1.2.4 Charged, switched on, ringing not heard due to phone being deep in the bag
1.2.5 Charged, switched on, ringing heard but was too late to the phone to answer
1.2.6 Charged, switched on, ringing heard but busy (on the office phone)
1.2.7 Charged, switched on, ringing heard but couldn't answer due to sitting in a meeting

2. Conditions under which the phone call was answered

2.1 While driving (without a headset, which act carries a stiff fine in this country)
2.2 No reasonable explanation, the intangible and unscientific element of good luck has to be introduced. In general, this element is hardly of any importance due to extremely low percentage of this case.

3. Conclusions

Proven effective as means of establishing outgoing communication (when charged and switched on), mobile phones have yet to prove their effectiveness as a bi-directional wife-husband communication tool. Some science fiction authors mull on the possibility of implanted cell phones powered by heat of the human body. This could be the ultimate answer to the issue raised here. However, this theory remains to be validated in the field, and no doubt some new obstacles will be encountered.

Women Drunk When Bear Bit Off Fingers at Zoo - so what?

This was a headline to go with the story. And the lede ads "Investigators say the 47-year-old had a blood alcohol level of .16 - twice the legal driving limit." Probably aiming for a new offense: BWUI (Bear Watching Under Influence). Or is it that the alcohol-soaked fingers are irresistible to bears?

Not at all clear to me why this aspect is so important in this case.The headline that could have described the case better wold be: "Women Stupid When Bear Bit Off Fingers at Zoo".

In related news - Health Gestapo strikes again:

The legislation, which Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, introduced on March 5, would fine restaurants $1,000 for each violation.
What is the violation? Using salt in food preparation. Notice how Mr Ortiz stubbornly uses "sodium" for what we used to call "salt" for thousand years... First they come for the smokers, remember? Then for the diners. Now it's eat your food unsalted... bleh.

12 March 2010

Iranians and Turks with fake Israeli passports

I have read first two reports: by Kateland and by colleague Elder of Ziyon, both based on a Maariv article (in Hebrew). The essence of the reports is that:

...three Iranians were caught at an airport in Seychelles trying to use stolen Israeli passports. The Iranians were sent back on a flight to Nairobi, Kenya, from where they came.

Seychelles authorities passed the information to Israeli authorities, who found that the passports were stolen from Israelis who traveled to Thailand last year.
The general concern, which I fully share:
Israeli authorities fear that this was the precursor to a terror attack in the archipelago, which has been advertising heavily to attract Israelis on Passover vacation this year. Charter airlines now go directly to Seychelles from Israel.
Maariv also carries an attractive picture of the island:

I am not sure, though, about its relevance, but why not? In addition, Maariv claims that 15,000 (fifteen thousand) Israeli passports disappear every year. Wow...

Anyhow, I have decided to wait for a while with that story, and indeed, a new article in Ynet (in English this time) looks somewhat better researched.
In the past few weeks, more then 10 Iranian nationals were caught carrying forged Israeli passports, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Wednesday. The information came from reports relayed to Israeli embassies in Japan, Thailand, and India. In the last several months, Pakistani and Turkish citizens were also caught with fake Israeli passports.
And the reason seems to be not necessarily related to the terrorism business, rather to business business:
The Israeli passport is considered to be one of the easiest passports to forge and can be purchased in Asia, and especially in Thailand's markets, for anywhere from USD 500 to 2000. The Israeli passport is in great demand because people carrying it can enter Asian countries without a visa.
Of course, the threat of terrorists using same passports for their nefarious purposes shouldn't be discounted. On the other hand, there is no need to exaggerate the situation, like Maariv had done, since:
In 2004, six hundred Israelis reported their passports stolen in Asia. In 2005, the number increased dramatically.
Still, it's a far cry from 15,000. Another article, from Sky News Blogs, seems to settle (at least) the issue of the three Iranians caught in Seychelles:
A Israeli government source has told Sky News it understands the incident happened but does not believe there was any terror threat. The Iranians are believed to have been refugees who were using the passports in order to enter the Seychelles with a view to travelling on to a first world destination in search of a better life.
I would say that in a case like this we shouldn't be too prissy and mind a few forged passports... like some other people I don't want to mention here. The more the merrier, I would even add.

Now to the comic element of the story. From Ynet:
Another Iranian who was caught in Japan with a fake Israeli passport was caught when the name in his passport belonged to a female. The Iranian replaced the picture, but didn't bother changing the name.
Beef up on your Hebrew next time, doofus...

And from that Sky News blog - its headline says: Forged Passports: Is It Catching On?

Such naivety from a seasoned journalist... surely forged documents are as old as the first clay tablet... nay, as a first stone tablet... oh well...

Cross-posted on Yourish.com

Taking the U.S. for granted

Yep.

11 March 2010

BBC and Guardian: a stinky brew

In Israel they murder each other a great deal. The Israeli Defence Forces murder people because they don’t like their political style and what they’ve got to say and it only means that people more extreme come in and take their place…
This quote belongs to one Michael White, Guardian’s Political Editor. This is a part of an interview given to BBC Radio London. The linked article deals with the whole story, I have chosen to focus on the quote.

Since, I, you know, like couldn't kinda get my head around it. I mean, why do people get their knickers twisted about that darn quote? After all, we do murder each other somewhat plentiful. I am, personally, in the habit of doing one or two folks I encounter on the way to the grocery in the morning, in my flip-flops and sleepy. Just, you know, to warm up before breakfast.

As for rubbing out some of them characters whose political style I don't appreciate: sure thing. I mean, you see somebody with that shifty look of a person whose political style is off - what should you do but put some lead in his self? Ain't it natural, like, when a person needs killing?

Not that I am going to listen what they have to say, are you with me so far? Why should I? Here that Michael bloke got it seriously wrong. I be talking with him about that, up close an personal like...

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I hope that by now you see that I can also talk like a retard with the best of them. So why ain't I a Political Editor at that Guardian place yet?

Whither Iran Policy?

In "Whither Iran Policy?," (Commentary Magazine) Emanuele Ottolenghi sees signs that Obama's engagement policy with Iran may be coming to an end.

Could it be true? According to the Los Angeles Times, the U.S. administration may have changed its mind on the virtues of engaging Iran’s regime while giving the cold shoulder to its street opposition. As Paul Richter reports,

After keeping a careful distance for the last year, the Obama administration has concluded that the Iranian opposition movement has staying power and has embraced it as a central element in the U.S.-led campaign to pressure the country's clerical government.

Clearly, the administration is not about to embrace the rhetoric of regime change. Nor is it going to send an expeditionary force to oust the tyrants in Tehran. But perhaps there is a growing realization that something unprecedented has happened in Iran since June 12, 2009, and that the best hope American interests have rests on a change of regime carried out from the inside.
While this assessment might be true, it brings any realist to an inescapable conclusion: after a year of an active "engagement" policy vs Iran, the administration realized the futility of this naive approach and is switching to "do nothing" attitude. As is demonstrated very well in the rest of Mr Ottolenghi's article. And when he is saying "Still, it is too early for optimism", I can only admire his ability of understatement.

In the eyes of a pessimist: "Wither Iran Policy".

Andrew Ian Dodge about Tea Party and other stuff

My usual problem when posting something about Andrew is to choose some of his occupations and titles (since listing all of them will be a full day's job and the post will be too long). So, let's mention (in no particular order): blogger, writer, rocker and now a coordinator for Maine Tea Party Patriots. Yep, the much talked about and much maligned and/or admired Tea Party folks.

Not being a scholar of American politics, I have been trying to understand the Tea Party phenomenon, and to this end I found Andrew's interview with Harold Pachios (a Democrat, mind you) extremely helpful and informative. If I can point to an hour well spent by me lately, this was it. Highly recommended.

A technical point: the whole interview is better to be downloaded and then watched in comfort from your disk drive. 600+ MB, mind you, though.

Enjoy.

10 March 2010

Colleen R. LaRose aka Jihad Jane - an average housewife?

At least, according to her neighbors. I don't know, even her "secular" picture doesn't look "average" on the face of it (no pun intended):

Looks somehow different to me. And what can I say about her picture in the uniform?

Nothing. Well, almost nothing (you all are not going to believe that "nothing" coming from me, are you?).

So: enough with that "housewife" business. Idle brain is the devil's workshop, they say. The suffragists and then feminists fought a long and uphill battle for womenfolk's lib, and I am all for that. Go to work and be done with all this nonsense!

Galloway could be PM in new deal with Labour?

That's according to rumors (or rumours in this case) or, rather:...bizarre claims by RESPECT on Socialist Unity that Galloway has been canvassed by senior Labour Party officials on his views on joining them in a coalition government if there is a hung parliament. (Note, not a ‘hanged’ parliament.)

This could become what I would call a well hung government...

Stuckists, Shortists and some translation issues

A visiting Iraqi woman professor refers to the invasion as the "liberation" of Iraq. Hands shoot up in the audience among the host professors. "You must be referring to the 'occupation'". "No, the liberation". "There must be a translation problem" conclude the hosts.
The orthodoxy of our learned betters is to be admired as much as that of any religious fundamentalists. Just don't call them stupid...

Via Mick Hartley.

1995

Not a special year. Unless you read this funny article:

Visionaries see a future of telecommuting workers, interactive libraries and multimedia classrooms. They speak of electronic town meetings and virtual communities. Commerce and business will shift from offices and malls to networks and modems. And the freedom of digital networks will make government more democratic.
Or that one:
Yet Nicholas Negroponte, director of the MIT Media Lab, predicts that we'll soon buy books and newspapers straight over the Intenet. Uh, sure.
Yeah...

Via Texas Scribbler.

09 March 2010

Please help Dubai police chief!

This is to answer the invitation by the chief for all the suspects to present him/herself to the Dubai police for DNA tests:

Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim said on Friday that Israel should allow Dubai to conduct DNA tests on Israelis that Dubai suspects of participating in the assassination of senior Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January.
Since this invitation contradicts the other announcement by the police chief that Israelis are no more allowed to enter Dubai, the Elders' extraordinary emergency meeting decided to resolve the conundrum using postal services.

According to the Elders' directive, Israeli postal services will accept DNA samples for express shipment to Dubai police chief. To facilitate the process, post offices will provide unbreakable plastic containers for liquid samples and Ziploc bags for solid ones. It is up to the sender to decide on the nature of the sample. A tasteful packaging with pre-printed address will be provided, see for example a 3 kg package sent yesterday by yours truly:

In addition to the (real) name and address, the sender will include two photographs: one from the list of photographs made by various Dubai snooping devices and one as in real life. A confession letter will be appreciated but not necessary.

An important notice: the invitation is extended only to the members of the pre-confessed I was also a part of the Dubai Assassination Squad group and their relatives (for DNA match purposes). No copycat enthusiasts, please.

More on the subject by Elder of Ziyon.

When stare is worth a...

You decide what its' worth:

More where this one came from.

08 March 2010

Titanic? What Titanic, asks Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

"The whole Titanic story is a great lie. It was a plot by the Zionist movie mogul Cameron to make another blockbuster. But, Allah willing, we'll put an end to all this", stated Mahmoud the Mad.

Details.

02 March 2010

Blogging will be light this week

So, meanwhile, enjoy this:



And be of good cheer.

01 March 2010

Would you have Seamus Milne for lunch?

In the spirit of the slightly cannibalistic Purim this year, I would like to offer you a three course meal cooked chiefly using Seamus Milne, the Guardian's own Stalinist. So, without further ado:

Appetizer

Cooked by Norm:

If there's an anti-democratic organization or movement anywhere, an individual dictator or a tyrannical regime, then it's a safer than safe bet, because it's a certainty, that somewhere or other a commentator on the Western left (verkrappt section) will be telling you that the said organization or movement, dictator or regime, isn't as bad as all that. And it's a near certainty that one of the somewheres he or she will be telling you this is in the Guardian. You don't need three guesses, you need only one; it's Seumas Milne.
Garnish offered by Jams.

Main course

Main ingredient: St. Seumas and his article This is no ripping yarn, but a murder to fan more conflict.

This is not a ripping yarn indeed, so be warned, it's another long anti-Israeli rant by Seamus Milne. Thankfully, fisking of the article was made conveniently easy by the author, who started it with the following sentence:
Imagine for a moment what the reaction would be if ­Iranian ­intelligence was almost ­unversally believed to have ­assassinated a leader of one of the organisations fighting the Tehran government in a western-friendly state.
Imagine indeed. Actually, why should you bother stressing your overworked imagination: here comes a report by IHRDC - Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, on Iran’s state sponsored campaign of political assassinations abroad that says, among other things:
The regime’s campaign can be traced to nearly twenty countries around the world, from neighboring Pakistan and Iraq, to far-flung locations such as France, the Philippines and the United States. Victims specifically addressed in the two previous reports are but a sampling of the more than one hundred and sixty dissidents who dared challenge the clerical establishment’s grip on the country.
Do you read what I do: "a sampling of the more than one hundred and sixty dissidents"? Do you think Seumas M. would notice the difference between a political opponent, let alone 160 political opponents (to start with), and a confessed and proud killer? Nah...

I could provide a lot of (free) garnish, such as Iran's direct and indirect responsibility for terrorist acts all over the world, direct and indirect support - financial and military - of countless terrorist and fundamentalist gangs, but I think this dish doesn't need any of that. Tasty enough as it is. So, to

Dessert

It will be a bit muddy, but I hope you will enjoy the taste:
But muddying the waters was a statement from Dubai police on Wednesday that two of the people accused of belonging to the hit team departed by boat for Iran shortly after the murder – as unlikely a destination for a Mossad assassin as one could imagine.
Bon Appetit!

Cheeses, digestive and cigar not included in the price of the meal.

Now, lunch being served, may the sweaty chef straighten his back, look around and say (re St. Seumas): "What a f.....g* moron!"?

*Cause of Meryl, and all them rules...

Cross-posted on Yourish.com