The long build-up to Annapolis, together with Rice's many trips to the region, have given birth to a new verb in Israeli government circles: "lecondel," based on Rice's first name. People say that they don't have time to "lecondel" - meaning, to come and go for meetings that produce few results.
"And what you've at least got now in Palestine and what you've at least got in Iraq now is contestation between healthy political forces and more radical forces.- Dr. Condi Rice, Interview with the Dallas Morning News, November 9th, 2007
Hamas loved it when it could run the streets, faces covered, toting a few guns, and no responsibility for what happened to the Palestinian people. They were the great resistance force, and their only purpose in life was to threaten Israel."
coulter: But Judaism, as I explained -- Christians accept the Old Testament. Jews don't accept the New Testament, so, you know, as long as we're playing this new sport of "he who is offended first wins," if anyone's going to be offended by anyone else's religion, the Jews believe that my savior, a Jew, was a raving lunatic, and you don't see me sniffling and crying.
MEDVED: OK, be --
COULTER: Somehow we manage to get along without slitting one another's throats.
MEDVED: OK. Be careful, because I'm sure this is gonna come back. You don't really want to say -- because Jews do not -- traditional Jews do not really believe --
COULTER: Well --
MEDVED: -- that Jesus was a raving lunatic.
COULTER: I'm glad you don't mention it, but I think you have to.
MEDVED: OK, can we avoid getting into that particular argument, Ann, because -- no you don't.
COULTER: OK, except that my point is I'm not sniffling and crying. These are -- this is what the Old Testament and the New Testament are. You're the chosen people with, you know, Moses taking you out to the desert. We believe all that, all that. The Old Testament anticipates a Christ.
MEDVED: OK, we're coming --
COULTER: You say we --
MEDVED: Hold on. Hold on --
COULTER: -- got the wrong guy.
In an interview on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Cheney said that in the course of researching her husband's genealogy for her new book, "Blue Skies, No Fences," she discovered that the two public figures share an ancestor eight generations ago.
"Think about this," Mrs. Cheney said. "This is such an amazing American story that one ancestor, a man that came to Maryland, could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths as Dick's and Barack Obama's."
...
But Obama's family ties to the Bush administration don't stop with Cheney. According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times last September, Obama is also an 11th cousin of the president himself. The two share a 17th century Massachusetts relative.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- National Clergy Council president and chair of the Committee on Church and Society for the Evangelical Church Alliance, the Reverend Rob Schenck (pronounced SHANK), released this statement today in response to author and commentator Anne Coulter's remarks on the Danny Deutsch Show:
"Anne Coulter may do many things well, but one thing she definitely does not do well is theology or Bible scholarship. Anne's comments to Danny Deutsch were inaccurate, inappropriate and a disservice to the Gospel. Anne needs to unequivocally apologize for entering an arena where she is inept. It's time for Anne to humble herself and admit she blew it."
Schenck, who grew up Jewish and converted to Christianity 35 years ago, holds degrees in Bible and Theology, Christian ministry and Divinity. A conservative Christian, he holds ministerial affiliation with the Evangelical Church Alliance, America's oldest association of Evangelical clergy.
Jews also make up seven percent of the current House of Representatives, 13 percent of the Senate, and, according to John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, authors of "The Israel Lobby," roughly 100 percent of George W. Bush's foreign policy advisers. One hopes that Mr. Forman's co-religionists have the wisdom to ignore his demand for the shunning of Miss Coulter as the Israel lobby's petulant demand for a third Middle East war, this time in explicit defense of Israel rather than U.S. national security, already has the potential to severely divide America's Jews from the rest of the country, Christians and nonChristians alike.You might recall Mr. Day from such doozies as comparing the solution to America's Immigration numbers to Hitler's solving of the 'problem' of Jewish numbers in Germany.
America is still quite friendly towards Jews, but the incessant attacks on Christianity by the likes of Deutsch, Forman and Abe Foxman have grown increasingly tiresome. Given this irritating behavior, and the historical fact that Jews have worn out their welcome in literally dozens of countries over the centuries, it is the height of foolishness for a small number of misguided individuals to demand that 80 percent of the American population remain silent about the tenets of its religious faith. Christians are dying for their faith in the Sudan, in North Korea, in China, Vietnam and Myanmar; they are not about to shut their mouths simply because a few Jews in the media disapprove of their beliefs.
Free - Jewish National Fund GoNeutral Bootcamp, a crash course in JNF’s new activism campaign. Learn how to engage and energize your school, synagogue or community to take care of the environment while creating a connection to Israel and JNF. The program will take place at the Marriot East Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Please contact Debbie Scher to register for the program and for more information at dscher@jnf.org or (212) 879-9305, ext 298.Or, you can just blame the Mexicans like Michael Chertoff, a Jew who will doubtfully be attending.
To learn more about JNF's GoNeutral program visit us at http://www.jnf.org/goneutral.
GoNeutral Boot Camp Agenda - October 15, 2007; 4:00-7:00PM
Marriot East Hotel 525 Lexington Avenue (at 49th Street) New York, NY 10017
1. Opening with Blue Box Bob
2. Judaism and the Environment, the unique obligation Jews have to help.
3. Education on the Environment – PowerPoint presentation that will help you understand the problems we are facing and what we need to be doing about them.
4. Panel Discussion – “The Environmental Challenges faced by Israel and America; What JNF-KKL is doing about them.” (Go Neutral Advisory Board Members – Alon Tal, Tom Hoekstra and Michal Perle)
5. Overview of JNF Environmental programs and projects
6. Breakout Sessions to learn about speaking to synagogues, schools and other institutions on the environment and JNF.
"Illegal migrants really degrade the environment. I've seen pictures of human waste, garbage, discarded bottles and other human artifact in pristine areas," Chertoff said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "And believe me, that is the worst thing you can do to the environment."As if 'native' US Americans weren't a nation of litterbugs before the Mexicans came, not to mention all that rich middle eastern oil burning out the planet.
Her activism began grimly, when she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. "I feel that I got famous, I got cancer, and I lived to tell about it," she says. "Now let's spin this!" Cancer first brought her to Washington, where she teamed with Democrats and Republicans to win passage of Johanna's Law, signed by the president this year, to create a campaign to educate women and health pros about the early signs of ovarian and other gynecological cancers. In June, she created Cancer Schmancer, based in Northern Virginia, to promote women's health issues. Along the way, she says she won first lady Laura Bush's help and was rewarded with a nomination to be a special U.S. envoy on women's health issues. Her appointment is stuck in the usual bureaucracy, but she swears there are no skeletons in her closet. "I'm a good girl, I am," she says. Her further political goal: being a New York senator. "If Hillary wins," she tells us of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, "I want that seat!"
Argentina's president denounced Iran's lack of cooperation in solving a terrorist attack on a Jewish center.
Nestor Kirchner in his speech Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly denounced the lack of Iranian cooperation in solving the 1994 terrorist attack on the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires.
“I want to stress here, in the United Nations headquarters, that unluckily and until today, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not collaborated with the Argentine Justice,” Kirchner said.
AMIA President Luis Grynwald and Aldo Donzis, the president of the DAIA Jewish political umbrella group, president, both praised the “braveness and force of the speech.” Sergio Burstein, spokesman for the “Familiares” victims’ relatives group, praised Kirchner as well. Familiares has asked Kirchner to raise the AMIA issue at the United Nations.
From its Buenos Aires headquarters, the Simon Wiesenthal Center lauded Kirchners’ “eloquent” speech and sought cooperation from the international community in the search for justice in the AMIA case.
In November 2006, the Argentine Justice Department demanded that Interpol arrest five Iranians and a Lebanese citizen accused of participating in the AMIA bombing, in which 85 people were killed.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad followed Kirchner to the U.N. podium.
It didn't generate much in the way of media attention this week, but a bunch of religious right groups co-sponsored the first-ever "Values Voter" debate a few days ago for the GOP presidential field. The top four (Giuliani, Romney, McCain, and Thompson) stayed away, but seven other Republican presidential hopefuls cozied up to luminaries such as Phyllis Schlafly, Paul Weyrich, and Don Wildmon.
There were plenty of bizarre questions and answers, but one of the elements of the debate that stood out for me was, oddly enough, the song that got things started. Event organizers invited the Church of God Choir, from Springfield, Ohio, to sing "God Bless America" -- except the lyrics were rewritten. Instead of a song about "the land that I love," and "home sweet home," this version condemns the country, saying we've all turned against God, and that He won't bless us. It was a big hit among the conservative Republicans in the room.
(The lyrics are here.)
I'm trying to imagine the response if, say, Yearly Kos hosted a Democratic presidential candidate forum, which started with a rewritten version of "God Bless America" that disparaged the United States.
It's the kind of thing Fox News would jump all over -- and every Democratic candidate on hand would be asked whether they agreed with the song's lyrical condemnation of the country. Bill O'Reilly would tell us that "God Bless America" is fine the way it is, and it doesn't need to be rewritten by liberals to serve a radical political agenda. Admittedly, it gets tiresome to hear "if this were a Democrat..." but in this case, I think it's appropriate.
Fox, who is suffering from Parkinson's Disease, noted that his organization funds a lot of research in Israel.
"Disease is a non-partisan issue," Fox said. "We just look to whoever can help. What we are really about is getting people together to talk."
Nancy Goodman Brinker, a fund-raiser for cancer research and a prominent Republican Jewish activist, assumed her new job on Thursday.
Brinker, who founded the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation after her sister died of the disease, had previously served as Bush's ambassador to Hungary from 2001-2003. The former Dallas socialite and current Florida resident was easily confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 12.
"The president and I are absolutely devoted to working as hard as we can for the advancement of the Palestinian state"Okay, then.
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces arrested an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps – Quds Force officer in Sulimaniyah today.
Contrary to recent diplomatic initiatives, this individual has been involved in transporting improvised explosive devices and explosively formed penetrators into Iraq. Intelligence reports also indicate he was involved in the infiltration and training of foreign terrorists in Iraq.
The Quds Force is a covert action arm of the Iranian government responsible for aiding lethal attacks against the Iraqi government and Coalition forces.
He's blind, he's a psychologist with a Harvard Phd and a busy bio/cv; taught, published and practiced for 30 years; received "private" semicha (rabbinic ordination) a mere 4 years ago and serves as Rabbinical Associate at a reform congregation in Alpine, NJ. Who is democrat Rabbi Dr. Dennis Shulman?After growing up in a close-knit Reform community in Worcester, Mass., Shulman said, he arrived at Brandeis University as an undergraduate interested in a career in the rabbinate but switched gears after a crisis of faith prompted by the loss of a girlfriend to leukemia during his freshman year. More than 30 years later, after completing coursework at New York’s Academy for Jewish Religion, Shulman was privately ordained by a panel of rabbis led by Rabbi Jack Bemporad, spiritual leader of Chavurah Beth Shalom in Alpine, N.J. Shulman long attended the synagogue with his wife and his two grown daughters and now serves as its rabbinical associate.UPDATE: Here's a new article with a full-length interview - Dennis Shulman: Psychologist, Rabbi and Congressional Candidate
"And we're working toward the goal of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace. Prime Minister Sharon's plan to remove all settlements from Gaza and several from the West Bank is a courageous step toward peace. His decision provides an historic moment of opportunity to begin building a future Palestinian state. This initiative can stimulate progress toward peace by setting the parties back on the road map, the most reliable guide to ending the occupation that began in 1967. "Who said it?
"Islamic terrorists killed more than 500 Americans before Sept. 11. Many people think the first attack on America was on Sept. 11, 2001. It was not. It was in 1993," said the former New York mayor.Maybe it was the air in Pat Robertson's auditorium, who knows, but not too long ago, the Deity of Nine Eleven had said -
Giuliani argued that Clinton treated the World Trade Center bombing as a criminal act instead of a terrorist attack, calling it "a big mistake" that emboldened other strikes on the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia, in Kenya and Tanzania and later on the USS Cole while docked in Yemen in 2000.
"The United States government, then President Clinton, did not respond," Giuliani said. "(Osama) bin Laden declared war on us. We didn't hear it."
"The idea of trying to cast blame on President Clinton is just wrong for many, many reasons, not the least of which is I don't think he deserves it," Giuliani said during a stop in Florida. "I don't think President Bush deserves it. The people who deserve blame for Sept. 11, I think we should remind ourselves, are the terrorists - the Islamic fanatics - who came here and killed us and want to come here again and do it."Nevermind the fact, that the mayor of New York city in 1993 did nothing to improve the synching of the first responders, or improving their antiquated communications devices (that were still being used in '01) or increasing security and nothing like that. Naah, he was too busy chasing those pesky sgueegie men to worry about terrorism.
SECRETARY RICE: Mort, I fully accept that there are downsides to elections in immature political systems where democratic institutions haven't quite taken hold yet. The problem is I can't figure any other way to get the democratic institutions. I think that the -- my father used to say if you're on the horns of a dilemma, choose one; don't try to hang on both simultaneously.
And here is the problem, if you don't begin the politics of contestation because you're afraid of who might contest, then you're never going to get there. So yes, there are some downsides to the fact that over this long period of time, probably the most organized forces have been radical forces, not moderate forces. But if you say, "Well, we're going to wait until moderate forces organize so that they can contest the politics," you will -- you'll never get moderate forces because authoritarian regimes, authoritarian politics will continue to squeeze out the development of moderates. So I fully admit you may go through some rather uncomfortable transition, but I could make an argument to you about what happened in the territories, for instance; that it has been very interesting to see Hamas trying to come to terms with no longer being, really a resistance movement, but having to deal with politics.
A moderate Palestinian friend of mine said, "You know, they used to be the great resistance, running the streets with their faces covered and going after Israel. And now, they look like a bunch of politicians who also can't make the sewer system work." And they're clearly uncomfortable in that framework, which is part of why I think you see the military wing of Hamas trying to make this again about Israel and the Palestinians, not about the contestation of politics inside the Palestinian territories. So I admit it's uncomfortable, but I think it's also necessary.
President Bush extended a waiver on moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem just days before a Congressional vote on whether to urge him to move the embassy.
The White House released the text of the waiver of the 1995 law on Friday night, a "dead" time for news organizations and after the Jewish Sabbath had begun. Waiving the law, the statement said, "is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States." It adds: "My Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our Embassy to Jerusalem."
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote Tuesday on a non-binding resolution congratulating Israel on 40 years of reunifying the city and urging the president to make good on the 1995 law. The Senate is considering a similar resolution. Bush has consistently waived the law, as did his predecessor, Bill Clinton.
Front page Today's NYSun - Democratic Congress Calls out Bush to fulfill long unfulfilled campaign promise- to move the American embassy in Israel to the capital city of Jerusalem http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=55534&v=9246160811
- The Irony of it all -
The Praise for the resolution:
http://www.ou.org/public_affairs/article/ou_commends_introduction_of_jerusalem_resolution/
The Ignored, Unacknowleged Unprescedented Yom Yerushalayim American Snub:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/122430
The Other Ignored, par for the Course Snub:
http://jta-vip.mediapolis.com/cgi-bin/iowa/news/print/20070110Whynooutragefrom.html
In context, as used in campain, double standard, hypocrisy, etc.
http://www.jewishsightseeing.com/usa/campaign_2000/sd09-01jewish_voters.htm
the Republican Jewish Coalition cites a report in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz that "Al Gore has stated he would delay moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv until a final status agreement is forged between Israel and the Palestinians." "This is in direct conflict with the will of Congress which passed legislation mandating the move in 1995," the RJC [Republican Jewish Coalition] reports. "By contrast, Governor Bush has pledged that he would move the embassy to Jerusalem as soon as he was sworn in as President."
Republican White House hopefuls Thursday night frequently invoked the name of former President Ronald Reagan during the first GOP presidential debate but avoided mentioning the current president by name.Ten middle aged white men who seek desire to be annoited as his successor. Ten people who are members of the party which he leads as the supreme commander guy. Ten people who enabled him and gave him a free pass. And none of them can even say his name.
Until the final question, which specifically asked the ten candidates how they would be different from President Bush, the name of the commander in chief was uttered only once by a candidate, according to a transcript of the event. In fact, they mentioned Bush’s brother Jeb and his father George H. W. Bush as many times as the current chief executive.
After State Department Attacked Pelosi, Rice To Meet With Syrian LeaderUPDATE: Dovbear weight in his thoughts in "Terrorist Appeaser Alert."
Word of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) bipartisan delegation to Syria was first made public on March 30 during a State Department press briefing.
Spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, “In our view, it’s not the right time to have those sort of high-profile visitors to Syria… [W]e don’t think it would be appropriate for high-level visitors, even those from the Congress, to pay a visit to Syria right now.”
Apparently, one month later, the time is right to meet with Syrian officials:
A senior Iraqi official and a senior Arab diplomat say Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Egypt on Thursday or Friday.
It would be Rice’s first meeting with a Syrian foreign minister since she took over at the State Department in 2005, adding potentially significant bilateral talks to a regional session meant to help stabilize Iraq.
As Carpetbagger notes, “Literally just one month ago, the Bush administration said U.S. officials should not have contact with the Syrian government.” Vice President Cheney called Pelosi’s effort “bad behavior.” President Bush said Pelosi’s delegation was “counterproductive.”
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino suggested Pelosi was visiting to “have a photo opportunity and have tea” with Syria’s prime minister.
The supreme irony: two weeks ago, President Bush reportedly pulled Pelosi aside after a meeting and “told her he did not criticize her recent trip to Syria.” Bush told Pelosi “in an unsolicited comment that it was actually the State Department that criticized her.”
A New York Times editorial urging enhanced congressional campaign-donation disclosure rules begins by stating that “Congress is still haunted by the black hat and easy-money grin of Jack Abramoff…”
It’s worth noting that the Forward cracked the mysteryof this black hat that is, apparently, still haunting Capitol Hill way back in January 2006: It’s a $200 Borsalino Como II fedora purchased by Abramoff from Brooklyn’s Bencraft Hatters.
Jewish American Heritage Month, 2007 A Proclamation by the President of the United States of AmericaEmphasis mine, irony implicit.
The faith and hard work of Jewish Americans have played an integral role in shaping the cultural fabric of America. During Jewish American Heritage Month, we celebrate the vital contributions of Jewish Americans to our Nation.
Throughout our history, Jewish Americans have contributed to the strength of our country and the preservation of our values. The talent and imagination of these citizens have helped our Nation prosper, and their efforts continue to remind us of America's gift of religious freedom and the blessings of God's steadfast love. Jewish Americans have worked to promote civil rights and build bridges of mutual understanding among the world's religions. Their deep commitment to faith and strong ties to family enrich our country and set a positive example for others.
This month is also a time to recognize the sacrifices of Jewish Americans who serve our Nation in the Armed Forces. These brave men and women are dedicated to freedom's cause, and all those who live in freedom live in their debt.
Jewish American Heritage Month is an opportunity to honor the accomplishments of Jewish-American citizens and to remember that our Nation is a melting pot of cultures. I join all Americans in celebrating the rich Jewish heritage and the many ways Jewish Americans contribute to a bright future for our country.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do herebyproclaim May 2007 as Jewish American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities to honor Jewish Americans across the country.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first. GEORGE W. BUSH
So this week's lost posts follows a few months of blog fatigue, but that didn't stop us from numerous nominations for the current Jewish & Israeli Blog awards (not to be confused with the recent now erroneous "alternative" jewish blog contest).
The first round of voting opend a couple of days ago. The awards seem to be saturated with more sub categories than netscape community pages.
The Town Crier has several nominations (not such a phenominal feat for the initial round) including several in the "best post" category for which voting has not yet been enabled.
In the mean time, show the love for The Crier:
The party, as parties involving adolescents often do, got a little out of hand. Photos were snapped, some of which were wholly inappropriate, especially for the students of a New York area yeshiva high school for girls. One sophomore in particular got rowdy, taking suggestive photos of her partially exposed body, according to a number of those present at the party.Virtual Values, Real Victims Students and administrators at Jewish schools grapple with pitfalls of online social networking.
That should have been the end of it. The girls at the school, whose name is being withheld to protect the offending student, should have gone home and let the memory of the evening slowly dissipate. It should have been a passing moment.
But the rowdy girl posted a photograph of herself on Facebook, the popular online social network. Another girl, one with an axe to grind, according to several students familiar with the incident, downloaded the photograph of her nemesis and had it sent to the school’s administrators. A few weeks later, the girl who had taken the photo — who had been accepted to the school on probation — left the school, enrolling instead in a public high school, according to a source with intimate knowledge of the situation. The Facebook posting seemed to contribute to her leaving.
“This was just a fight between two girls, and it should have stayed that way,” said one student at the school who asked to remain nameless.
Other students at the school, however, disagree. “The Facebook thing just made [the girl’s situation] worse,” said one student, “but it’s not like she didn’t have any other problems at school. The posting was just the last straw, that’s all.”
An inexcusable gaffe should spell an end to his candidacy: The former Wisconsin governor's remarks about Jewish tradition reveal him to be unpresidential. If Tommy Thompson's presidential run isn't over, it should be... [Full Text]Wow. It is scathing, and its not even a Jewish Weekly.
"Look, in his defense, Simon felt Chris was cynically deflecting his criticism," a FOX executive explained. "It was unfortunate... he clearly was unaware the camera was on him when he rolled his eyes, and he was hardly making a rude gesture to the victims."
