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April 26, 2005
In bed with the Saudis
Jeff Jarvis looks askance at a photo of Bush holding hands with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, and his commenters are seething. Yeah, right, like no other administration ever "coddled" the Saudis. Sure.Nobody seems to have noticed the caption:
World oil prices fell following comments from OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia that it could increase output in the face of higher global demand.I call that effective diplomacy.
UPDATE: Malkin froths too.
Judith | 04/26/05 at 02:31 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - From Sea to Shining Sea
April 22, 2005
Filler
In the pipeline: updates on Pesach, Columbia U, divestment-from-Israel initiatives, and more. Right now I have some sort of stomach bug and I am trying to sleep it off so I can enjoy the seders tomorrow and Sunday.In the meantime, some Pesach-related entries from years past:
Judith | 04/22/05 at 05:17 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Chagim
April 21, 2005
Latest meeting of the recovering progressives support group
Amongst the "where were you on 9-11?" stories and the "screamed at and ostracized by liberal friends" stories, and the gossip about other bloggers, one topic at Monday's dinner was the addictiveness of blogging. It sucks up hours of your time before you know it. You feel compelled to post to keep up and also because you want to write about the blog posts you are reading. You try to get stuff done at home and office before turning on the computer because once it's on you get sucked into the blogosphere. You're even afraid to turn on the computer to check your email because once you do you will be inexorably drawn to fire up the browser and read blogs for hours.Continue reading "Latest meeting of the recovering progressives support group"
Judith | 04/21/05 at 03:44 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Life and how to live it
Next: The Chuck Manson You Never Knew
Jeff Jarvis is horrified at the idea of a 9-11 made-for-TV movie, especially since the producer is talking about "humanizing the terrorists." (I stole Jeff's title for the post, because it is perfect.) Lots of discussion in the comment thread, which also produced this gem by "Mumblix Grumph" which is almost worthy of Iowahawk:Continue reading "Next: The Chuck Manson You Never Knew"
Judith | 04/21/05 at 03:34 PM | Categories: WWIV
Blog roundup
Fletch changed the name of his photoblog to reflect the fact that he doesn't live in Austin anymore. But he's still doing Friday bird blogging.Ivan went back to Belarus for a visit.
The interview with the superfantastic Manolo of the Shoe Blog.
Everyone has online dating horror stories. Here's Ken's. He mentions "the 100-page colonoscopy that is the Eharmony profile," which I underwent about 6 months ago because I am one of those odd people who enjoy filling out psychological questionnaires, even the ones in women's magazines, but I can well understand most people, especially men, finding that an invasive procedure (at least for a colonoscopy you're sedated).
Reading Ken's comment, it occured to me that the eHarmony population is self-selected for the kind of narcissistic mental-zit-picking disguised as mature courageous self-examination which favors the earnest spiritually seeking therapist types they keep sending me. Like Ken and me, Donna has the wrong attitude for eHarmony.
Damian decides how to spend a million dollars (he doesn't have) on automobiles, thus introducing me to a $450,000 Mercedes.
Judith | 04/21/05 at 01:35 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Around the blogosphere
April 17, 2005
More good news for Jews
Previous good news entry here.Solomonia posts emails from people who attended a talk by veteran Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi, at Yale. The good news is that Ashrawi is getting so mellow in her old age that some more militant Palestinian supporters walked out in mid-speech. Read the whole thing - for those of us who remember Ashrawi steamrollering over every opposing debater for years on countless news programs, it is quite delicious.
Continue reading "More good news for Jews"
Judith | 04/17/05 at 09:48 AM | 4 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
Way cool stuff from a great height
Previous entry on this topic here.An enterprising blogger took advantage of the new Google map feature to post satellite photos of notable sites, like, oh, CIA headquarters, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Unisphere, Area 51, and lots of airplanes in flight.
I submitted the WTC site but he hasn't used it yet.
And of course I had to plug in the major residential milestones of my life.
Continue reading "Way cool stuff from a great height"
Judith | 04/17/05 at 06:57 AM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Amazing things
April 15, 2005
The right to eat
All entries on Terri Schiavo are here.The disability rights activist group Not Dead Yet lays out Eight things that need to happen to safeguard against non-voluntary euthanasia in the U.S. One of these is
A moratorium on the removal of food and water from people diagnosed in "persistent vegetative state" and "minimally conscious state" in the absence of new diagnostic processes discussed in recent medical journal Neurology, or a written advance directive/power of attorney by the person.In a recent feeding tube removal case in Queens, NY.
Judge Martin Ritholtz rendered his opinion in a case involving Lee Kahan, 86, an Orthodox Jewish woman. One question was whether Kahan�s �deeply held values as an observant Jew� were being breached by the actions of her daughter, so Ritholtz devoted a portion of his 17-page decision to a discussion of how Orthodox Jewish law regards feeding tubes.The rest of the article expands on that. Another explanation of halacha and feeding tubes, and more diverse views within the Jewish community, and a critique of that article.
Judith | 04/15/05 at 04:07 PM | 0 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Terri Schiavo
April 14, 2005
Academic Integrity and the Middle East: Jewish campus disagreements
Previous entries on this topic here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and description of the conference and speakers here.Predictably, the activism of the Columbia students who made the movie and raised the issues has put them at odds with the Jewish establishment on campus, which got nervous when the boat was rocked so hard. Predictably, the students of Columbians for Academic Freedom counter that they tried to "work within the system" and didn't get anywhere.
Continue reading "Academic Integrity and the Middle East: Jewish campus disagreements"
Judith | 04/14/05 at 09:35 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Israel vs. the world
The Feminist Sex Wars revisited
I've been reading blog eulogies for Andrea Dworkin, and remembering the Feminist Sex Wars of the early 80s, when the Dworkin-McKinnon anti-porn movement was in full swing. The anti-porn wing generated an opposition which became known as the pro-sex wing, whose most well-known theorists were Ellen Willis and Joan Nestle, and whose most well-known activists were Pat Califia and Susie Bright. (And when I say "sex wars" I mean the same level of vilification and vituperation and friendships and organizations torn asunder as we have seen over the Iraq war and Terri Schiavo.)Continue reading "The Feminist Sex Wars revisited"
Judith | 04/14/05 at 08:02 AM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Competing narratives
April 12, 2005
School propaganda watch
I posted previously about a biased and inaccurate middle school history textbook being piloted in Scottsdale, AZ.The good news is that the district in question received numerous complaints and at this time does not plan to continue using it.
The bad news is that this pilot study is only one of many attempts to introduce biased accounts of Middle East history (including erasing Jewish history in the region) to our public schools.
Continue reading "School propaganda watch"
Judith | 04/12/05 at 10:48 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Wackademia
Oy, more antisemitism watch
After a short break for good news, back to the muck. Previous entry in this series here. (But I will put up another good-news post soon.)Another British boycott of Israeli academics is gaining steam, this time recapitulating the Stalinist tactic of requiring a denunciation of colleagues as proof that an academic professes the politically correct view.
Continue reading "Oy, more antisemitism watch"
Judith | 04/12/05 at 07:25 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Israel vs. the world
April 10, 2005
Blog roundup
Sim Terror began today. Join in, if you want.Check out the latest edition of Havel Havelim, the weekly Jewish blog roundup. (Last week's edition is here.)
Mmmmm. Chocolate. (I have found that gourmet dark chocolate is a great dieting item, because it's so rich that a few squares at a time satisfy me for hours. YMMV.)
If Kevin Drum hadn't already jumped the shark half a dozen times, I would say this is his definitive shark-jumping moment.
Watching Team America in a German movie theater.
Yeah. . . .
Judith | 04/10/05 at 11:05 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Around the blogosphere
Divestment update
Solomonia tenaciously tracks the divestment issue and led me to most of the following stories:Dexter van Zile is spearheading a grassroots confrontation with the Protestant leadership over the initiative to divest from Israel.
He wrote a long deeply-researched report on the topic. He quotes their own theological resolutions back at them (powerful hypocrites really hate that!):
Continue reading "Divestment update"
Judith | 04/10/05 at 08:27 PM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Divestment watch
More reflections on Pope John Paul II
Previous entry about the Pope here.The Jewish Week captures the ambivalence of most liberal Jews, in an editorial with a sweet title: Mourning Our Younger Brother:
Continue reading "More reflections on Pope John Paul II"
Judith | 04/10/05 at 03:42 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Comparative Religion
April 10, 2005
Academic Integrity and the Middle East: the press controversy continues
Previous entries on this topic here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and description of the conference and speakers here. Campus-J's stringers at Columbia and Columbians for Academic Freedom are on the front lines of this controversy; check both . . . more »Judith | 04/10/05 at 02:39 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Israel vs. the world
April 08, 2005
Democracy watch
Previous entry on this topic here. (Some of the following links are a bit stale, my apologies.) . . . more »Judith | 04/08/05 at 05:50 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Nation-building
Thermal depolymerization, cont.
Thermal depolymerization, cont. My entry on this promising energy production process is here. Greg Hlatky has some caveats here and here. I am not in the industry and am speaking as an uneducated lay-person, so with that caveat, here are . . . more »Judith | 04/08/05 at 05:43 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: Tikkun olam
April 07, 2005
Your eyes and ears in Lebanon
Michael Totten gets all the fun assignments. He's in Lebanon with Spirit of America, reporting on the efforts to enable the regime change there to have a "soft landing," and taking lots of photos. Mary has more. This project . . . more »Judith | 04/07/05 at 03:25 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: WWIV
And now for something completely different: Good news
After many doom and gloom posts about antisemitism around the globe, it's time for some cheer. Senator Rudy Boschwitz, head of the U.S. delegation to the UN Commission on Human Rights, notes a small good sign: . . . more »Judith | 04/07/05 at 02:50 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Antisemitism watch
Public policy based on polls?
Some polls show that Republicans are deeply divided over federal power, But the Democrats might want to hold off on celebrating. Intermittant guest poster Catherine Johnson says about Dick Morris' political assessment of the Schiavo case: . . . more »Judith | 04/07/05 at 02:49 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Terri Schiavo
Antisemitism watch, one more time
Previous entry in this series here. The systematic anti-Israel propaganda of Human Rights Watch. David Bernstein deconstructs the irresponsible use of the term "Likudnik." (It's kinda like "Straussian" and "neoconservative.") The latest on the SOAS saga. . . . more »Judith | 04/07/05 at 02:39 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Antisemitism watch
April 04, 2005
Thermal depolymerization
First Ace links to a speculation about a huge spike in oil prices (which commenters scoff at), then Roger wonders whether to buy a hybrid, giving me a good excuse to promote thermal depolymerization. (I have no connection with . . . more »Judith | 04/04/05 at 06:49 PM | 5 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: Tikkun olam
Academic Integrity and the Middle East: the continuing controversy
Previous entries on this topic here, here, here, here, here, here, and description of the conference and speakers here. Campus-J's stringers at Columbia and Columbians for Academic Freedom are on the front lines of this controversy; check both sites . . . more »Judith | 04/04/05 at 07:36 AM | 1 Comments | 1 TrackBacks | Categories: - Israel vs. the world
April 03, 2005
Some reflections on Pope John Paul II
The Anchoress is the go-to blog for an enormous number of links to the life, death, and legacy of the Pope. Jeff Jarvis runs a close second. An unsparing assessment of his papacy, addressing every controversy: the ordination of . . . more »Judith | 04/03/05 at 12:28 PM | 2 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Comparative Religion
Afterthoughts and reverberations
All Terri Schiavo entries are here. Terri Schiavo was cremated today by the wishes of her husband, against the wishes of her family, following an autopsy yesterday (the results to be released in a few weeks). her husband plans . . . more »Judith | 04/03/05 at 12:22 AM | 3 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Terri Schiavo
April 02, 2005
Academic Integrity and the Middle East: More Letters to the Editor
I wrote the Jewish Week a letter in response to their inaccurate reporting from the Columbia U Conference on Academic Integrity and the Middle East. They didn't print mine, but they did print these last week, and another one . . . more »Judith | 04/02/05 at 10:43 PM | Categories: - Israel vs. the world
Buy a venti chai latte today
Speaking of divestment, Oxfam divested from Starbucks. Well, I never thought much of Oxfam anyway; they are darlings of Body Shop founder Anita whatserface, and they also published that horrible poster with the blood orange advocating that people boycott . . . more »Judith | 04/02/05 at 08:52 PM | 1 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: NYC
Divestment update
While some denominations have responded to arguments against divestment, others - the World Council of Churches, the United Church of Christ, and Disciples of Christ - are just beginning to consider divestment initiatives. The renewed peace process and disengagement . . . more »Judith | 04/02/05 at 08:39 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Divestment watch
Antisemitism watch - what else is new?
Previous entry in this series here. Historian Deborah Lipstadt has the blogging bug:posting notes and recording impressions of the Poland trip as well as, more recently, the C-SPAN controversy. Until this week, readers were able to post their responses, . . . more »Judith | 04/02/05 at 08:17 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks | Categories: - Antisemitism watch
