Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Comment trail October 20-25

About Democrats vs. Republicans


@ Bob's: about Israeli cinema

On Juan Williams

Hammer visits the HolyLand and repeats cliches


Tragic Palestinians: Legalities

@ The Spine: Oy Vey, what did the rabbi say?

(Read what he said, here)

Sfirat Mlai (Taking stock) (Yossi Banai)

One state, two seas, one lake and malaria* too.
One perfect circle of sun
One wise nation of people full of specialness
One big headache and three headache pills
and six days and seven nights
One God our own God who presides over the heavens and the earth

One large immigration wave
and two thousand years of exile
two annual vacations and one free weekend
One day of victory
one day of defeat
one day of security
and thirty days of sick leave
Trumpeldor in the Galilee
and one concerto for flute
and half a dozen retired generals

One ancient people
two ministers without portfolio
the first is sad, the second - funny
One difficult childhood
years of attrition
and anyone who wants independence, be my guest

Five wars
one division
and one soldier playing backgammon

Five tired soldiers sleeping in a bunker
and seventy kids are laughing in the shelter
three Zion prisoners are freed
and one convict for life in his sixth month
The child's day, the flower's day and just a day
and still Hill 24 is not responding

One state, two seas, one lake, one tear and ... malaria, too.

_____

malaria is an awkward translation for the word "kadachat" in Hebrew that actually means high fever but in slang is supposed to convey a dismal condition, as at the time of the first pioneers to Israel who optimistically worked in draining the swamps and died like flies from malaria.

14 Comments:

At 1:14 AM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

America's National Public Radio just fired Juan Williams for what he said about muslims on Fox News.

as reported in the NYT, "...Alicia C. Shepard, the NPR ombudswoman, said at the time that Mr. Williams was a “lightning rod” for the public radio organization in part because he “tends to speak one way on NPR and another on Fox.”

Ms. Shepard said she had received 378 listener e-mails in 2008 listing complaints and frustrations about Mr. Williams. ..."

I hope I am one of thousands who just sent Ms. Shepard an email protesting NPR's bias, pointing out
"...I find it incomprehensible that you do not realize that people like me are tuning out instead of complaining. Do you not know that NPR's nickname is National Palestinian Radio?

I shall not be making my annual donation ... this year. Consider that my protest for NPR jumping off the cliff into this post-modern, transnational multi-culturalism that prizes political correctness and ideological frames instead of intellectual curiosity in the quest for a semblance of journalistic integrity, regardless of where it leads.

Your termination of Juan Williams will intimidate every real journalist who works anywhere. This is the flip side of McCarthyism.

National Public Radio is failing it's mission.

I weep for America."

My echo, inspired by your comments in the thread you have re-titled, "Oy Vey, what the rabbi said"

K2K

 
At 9:27 AM EDT, Blogger SnoopyTheGoon said...

Well, it doesn't have the same impact in English, as expected.

Just listened yesterday to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewOsHRa74Tk&feature=related

Cheers.

 
At 1:32 AM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

someday I shall be able to watch and listen to YouTube.

Yossi Banai has the seed for the 21st century version of Fiddler on the Roof?

Anyway, just read this, and wish Gerecht had posted it at TNR, but it will be much more widely read from the WashPo.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/21/AR2010102105937.html

"Juan Williams, the truthful dissident"
By Reuel Marc Gerecht
Friday, October 22, 2010

"...By being nice, we suggest that nothing within "Islam" -- by which I mean the 1,400-year-old evolving marriage of faith, culture and politics -- is terribly wrong. By being kind, we fail to provoke controversy among Muslims ..."

K2K

 
At 9:07 AM EDT, Anonymous WillJames said...

K2K, here's what I sent to NPR's ombudsman in reply to her defense of the firing:

It's tragic to see that anyone who expresses fear of Muslim terrorism is seen as a bigot. Your rhetorical question about how we would respond if Williams' comments referred to an Afro-American in a dashiki is unfair. Even at the height of racial tensions in the sixties and seventies, black Americans never engaged in random and wanton slaughters of their fellow Americans. Radical Islamists have done so, and continue to do so, and anyone who is NOT preoccupied by this is a fool.

By firing Williams you are declaring that any discussion of our fear and loathing of Islamic terrorism that might upset genteel viewers will not be countenanced. "Better dead than poorly bred"--a new motto for NPR?

 
At 9:27 AM EDT, Blogger EscapeVelocity said...

If a black news analyst expressed a fear of KKK members, would there be a problem?

black Americans never engaged in random and wanton slaughters of their fellow Americans. --- WillJames

This is false. The wider Left, apologized for the Black Militants. Violence against property and institutions were more common, but also against melanin defecient people, and for that reason alone. In fact, we still have racially motivated crime against white people in this country....the vast majority, people of color on white.

This is one reason why Leftists are hesitant to criticize Islam, because their whole PC house of cards will come crashing down around their ears.

 
At 4:19 PM EDT, Blogger EscapeVelocity said...

NPR's firing of Juan Williams, and Juans response questioning whether government funding of NPR should be ended....just put this question on the 2010 MidTerm election roster....with Tea Partiers everywhere fightin' mad.

Oh boy, NPR just stepped into a big pile of Stalinist Shinola...and the Anti Communist are ready to pounce.

Some of that hard logic and fact based analysis from the conservatives he has been hanging out with at Fox News must be rubbing off on Juan. He has left the Leftwing plantation on several issues, and the Massas dont like it.

 
At 8:48 PM EDT, Blogger EscapeVelocity said...

Hey Noga,

How is that Destructive Criticism of Israel treating you these days?

 
At 10:13 PM EDT, Blogger The Contentious Centrist said...

What are you talking about?

 
At 10:58 AM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

WillJames: seems NPR's 'contact the ombudsman function' crashed on Thursday :) You can follow more of my comments through Chait's link that CC added to this post. (wherein I am blasted for suggesting a comparison to Stalin's Russia, although I now think Putin's Russia more apt)

I have now read many different opinions/analyses, and it does seem as if Williams' presence on FOX was the core issue.

The backlash is both inside NPR, and also coming from the member stations, who were blindsided.

Regardless of the reasons, everyone agrees the firing was very badly handled.

Hey CC, you really stuck a thistle under roid's skin in the Palestinian thread. He goes ballistic when he has no acolytes, even dizzy Molly.

I am being NPRed in a different Chait thread - on the GOP shutdown of government. Sophia is pleading for people to vote Dem. I explain why I am voting for my liberal Dem congressman but not for Sen Schumer as a way to send a protest message, and even Sophia misses the point. They call me ignorant, not knowing a single basic fact. It is sad that TNR has so many educated literate people who can not revel in independent inquiry and dialog.

sigh.

K2K

 
At 5:23 PM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

just wanting to stop holding my breath until after the US elections because I really do think that O will take his revenge on Israel, no matter what the outcome. There is too much going on (under-reported) in support of the growing Carter wing of the Democratic Party, which now includes Bill and Hillary.

It is beyond comprehension that Jerusalem would be Hamas' trophy...

K2K

 
At 6:27 PM EDT, Blogger EscapeVelocity said...

Im talking about the Western Left's bringing the evil Nazi capitalist colonialist imperialist racist Israeli Jews and their equally vile country into their line of Deconstructive Critical Theory fire.

 
At 6:28 PM EDT, Blogger EscapeVelocity said...

And before anyone jumps the gun, that is not my description of Israel...but the Western Lefts.

They have similar views on Euro Christian peoples and nations...and have been using the same modus operandi on these peoples and nations for decades.

 
At 1:25 PM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can not access the Palestinian tragedy thread, page 2, so, shall suggest here my increasing suspicion that Obama's obsession with settlements plus the absence of a unified, credible Palestinian leadership was, all along, the road to unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state without defined borders, supported by the UN General Assembly.

Of course, I prefer to think it was the hubris of belief that the O really could wave his magic wand and bring enduring peace to the Middle East.


Let us know if you find a way to streaming outside of TNR. Sounds like he is also about to let his subscription expire. I have two more months.

K2K
K2K

 
At 9:12 AM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

the cousin of the brother-in-law gets slapped, thanks to J-Street, with an open letter from, wait for it, Jews with "dual-loyalties" :)

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/379553

Rep. Ackerman is not the only longtime incumbent surprised by, oh, the nerve of being challenged for their silence.

p.s. I responded to your last comment in the Palestinian tragedy thread.
K2K

 

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