Presence

Beating a Dead Horse

Barbaro was a horse. He ran races, people bet whether or not he would win. Sometimes he did, other times, he did not. He broke his leg, and now he's dead.

The world is pretty much the same. Get over it.

Documentary on the Resurgence of Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century

Last night (edit: Monday night), PBS aired a documentary entitled "Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence." It was quite an interesting show; despite my familiarity with most of the major incidents, such as various prime ministers making public anti-semitic statements, the overall affect of their presentation in documentary form was quite disconcerting and shocking. The NY Times has a review of the program.

Many of the clips shown during the documentary were from MEMRI.org and MEMRITV.org. Search MEMRITV.org for al shatat, the name of a documentary in which a dying Baron Rothchild discusses the Jewish conspiracy to take over the world, and Hasidim kidnap and slaughter a Christian child in order to obtain blood for their matzah. Or read this transcript from an Iranian TV special on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Or, for giggles, read this transcript of an Iranian TV show that claims Tom and Jerry (yes, the cat and mouse) was created to bolster sympathy for Jews:

The Jews were degraded and termed "dirty mice." Tom and Jerry was made in order to change the Europeans' perception of mice. One of terms used was "dirty mice"...Tom and Jerry was made in order to display the exact opposite image. If you happen to watch this cartoon tomorrow, bear in mind the points I have just raised, and watch it from this perspective. The mouse is very clever and smart. Everything he does is so cute. He kicks the poor cat's ass. Yet this cruelty does not make you despise the mouse. He looks so nice, and he is so clever... This is exactly why some say it was meant to erase this image of mice from the minds of European children, and to show that the mouse is not dirty and has these traits.

It's amazing, unbelievable and terrifying.

MEMRITV is an amazing site; in my opinion, they should be uploading their videos to YouTube to increase public awareness.

In case you missed it, the documentary will be airing again tonight (Thursday night/Friday morning) at 2AM (if you have a TiVO...) on WETA 26 (in Baltimore) and on Sunday on WHUT 19 at 11PM.

More Talmudic Logic

Remember the yeshiva bochur who called in a bomb threat to delay his plane from taking off without him? Well, he was indicted last week on one count of making a hoax threat, punishable by up to five years in prison. And he plead not guilty. So, did he or did he not call in a bomb threat? According to the article:

When questioned, Wells acknowledged calling in the threat after he and two friends traveling with him arrived about 15 minutes before the Jet Blue flight to Fort Lauderdale was scheduled to leave around 9:10 p.m. and was denied a boarding pass, Gates claimed.

I'm trying to figure out how that blibs a not guilty plea. I guess if you don't actually have a bomb, but pretend to, it's k'ilu you didn't even make a threat, since a threat is only real if you can back it up, otherwise it's just devarim b'alma. I'm also guessing there's some legal-eze at work here, but come on.

On a related note, this reminds me of the time I got a speeding ticket for going 48 in a 30, which was actually a 40 mph zone. When the judge asked me how I plead, I said, "Innocent." The judge looked at me and said, "You plead guilty or not guilty, I'll decide if you're innocent!" I thought he was going to throw me in jail, but I ended up getting off scott free. If I had plead guilty, the best I could have hoped for was a reduced fine with no points.

[Hat Tip: Aishel]

A Gemmorah Kupp

What does a bright, young yeshiva bochur do if he's running late and needs a few extra minutes to catch his plane?

Call in a bomb threat on the plane, of course! Shtark!

If found guilty, he could get several years in prison. Shkoyach!

Yeesh.

[via Ricky Ricardo]

George Lucas Sucks

Man, I hate George Lucas. Actually, hate doesn't quite adequately convey how I feel. I think utter and complete disgust, derision and contempt are more correct. George, you are a hypocrite, and a talentless, self-absorbed dilettante. There is no way I am buying this. NO WAY. George Lucas, you SUCK.

By the way, I called this.

Radio Ga-Ga

So, apparently, a lot more people than I thought listen to Shalom USA. Yes, I was the "Greg" who called in towards the end of the show. For the few of you who weren't listening, the show's host, Jay Bernstein, mentioned something about Sri Lanka's rejection of aid from Israel. On a typical Sunday morning around 10:45 in the AM, I'm trying to get my kids to play something that allows me to nap on the couch without the house burning down; today, it just so happened, I was on my way back from Annapolis after helping my father install an ice heater, and so I was able to tune in. I've always enjoyed the show, but am usually not able to listen to more than a few minutes, and certainly unable to call in. Today, however, a long, open stretch of 695 lay between me and my couch, nights and weekends were free, and I was feeling a tad ornery after missing the segment with Alan Mittleman while installing said ice heater. And so, I felt the urge to speak up.

It seems, despite the fact that so many people seem to listen to the show, the line to get on the air is disproportionately small. My call was quickly taken, and I pointed out that Sri Lanka had, in fact, only rejected aid from Israeli military personnel, not from Israel, or Jews, in general. Jay then responded that, in any case, the military personnel rejected were competent and trained doctors with extensive experience in emergency situations, and the rejection was irrational and detrimental to their citizens' well-being. Jay's probably right, although I could, in some way, understand a country's reluctance to allow soliders from a foreign military with a low popular regard (independent of whether this view was founded or unfounded) to enter the country as a somewhat reasonable position, especially at a time when their infrastructre was ashambles after a sudden and unexpected tragic geological event, and their populace not readily controllable by customary methods. But I'm willing to concede the point.

I then made a somewhat cryptic comment about the Vatican, which I will now spin as having been a comment on the mistranslation of the article by the CWN, not the actual statement, of the L'Observatorio, which may or may not have been what I was originally talking about. More detail available from less muddled sources is readily available.

Lessons learned? Probably none, other than, apparently, only wackos actually call into the show (I'm fighting an inner impropriety demon not to make a joke here), and that if you call in the morning, expect to hear about it at mincha. Special thanks S.J. and E.L. for giving my face that special shade of red.

The absolutley most biggest incredibly shocking news of the decade

I can't believe it.

This isn't happening.

Who would have thought.

What will we do now?

Deep breath. Relax. Everything will be ok.

That's better. I think I'm going to make it.

In other news, apparently Ben has been visting Google, showing off his bling-bling.

Martian Teenagers Get New Play Toy

Looks like we lost another one to those pesky Martian punks. Why can't they just leave us alone and let us conduct our research?

I think its obvious that the real reason we're heading out that way is to put the hurt on these uncouth rapscallions. That's what you get!

In all seriousness, how hard could it possibly be to build a simple little interplanetary exploration robot, ship it to a neighboring planet, and do a few lousy experiments? What are we paying you people for?

Wacko Jacko

[via Protocols] WorldNetDaily: Report: Jackson converts to Islam:

Last night, on the eve of child-molestation charges being filed against him, Michael Jackson converted to Islam, reports the New York Post. According to the paper, the pop star became a member of Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam, and the conversion came with a shakeup in his personal staff.

I'm, of course, wondering if this has hurt his relationship with R. Shmuley. Does he still wear the red bendl?

We need answers people!

See ya' next Spring

More on our Niagara Falls jumper:

NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario (AP) -- A man who went over Niagara Falls with only the clothes on his back and survived will be charged with illegally performing a stunt, park police said Tuesday.

Kirk Jones, 40, of Canton, Michigan, is the first person known to have plunged over the falls without safety devices and lived. He could be fined $10,000.

Hopefully the money he'll make on the talk show circuit will offset his fine.

I like this part:

Among [those who have gone over Niagara Falls] was Steven Trotter, who made the trip twice: in 1985 in a barrel wrapped in innertubes, and in 1995, when he made the plunge with his girlfriend in another makeshift barrel. He said Jones' leap "cheapens the legend."

Poor Steven. Do I detect a hint of jealousy? Upstaged, are we?

Either way, they're all crazy. Pazzo.

Have a nice Fall

via Peninah: Man survives plunge over Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario (AP) -- A man survived a plunge over Niagara Falls with only the clothes on his back, witnesses said, the first person known to have done it without safety devices and lived.

Witnesses described seeing the man float by Monday in the swift Niagara River, go headfirst over the churning 180-foot waterfall and then pull himself out of the water onto the rocks below.