News For Your Pseudo-Zionist Blues

Salon has had a successful week (and I apologize for not writing things up earlier). The best article delved into the world of politicized birthright trips Jewish-Americans receive to visit Israel.

What frustrates and saddens me about the birthright trip is that it is DECIDELY political, and also discriminatory. The very name itself promotes an exclusive agenda; people have the right to visit Israel for free based on being borne into a Jewish family, perpetuating the very cultural privileging that the Jews were once victim to.

Further, the trip quickly turns into a political ploy, rather than an authentic reason for individuals to reconnect to their identity. See this thinly hypocritical remark by one of the directors of Birthright Israel:

Taglit bats off any accusations of having a political agenda. “I don’t think it’s political for Jews to support Israel,” says Mark. “It should be an integral part of every Jew’s identity.”

In a nutshell, Israel is not a political subject for Jewish people because Jewish identity should intrinsically include support for Israel. So, in essence, politics is having different opinions which is not possible for a Jewish person to have about Israel.

In another interesting interview, Salon talks to internet celebrity Maddox. He’s pretty funny and semi-competent, which is always a plus. But the best is the reactions from firehose feminists who freak out about his over the top humor. Let us all show that over the top tolerance leads to being humorless whales.

If you watched the news, you’ve probably wondered why America has seemingly been pushed around by Iran. The direct correlation is that the war on Iraq has severely debilitated America’s and the West’s in general ability to stand up to Iran in a tangibly strong manner (ie. with military capabilities). The BBC evaluates this and America as a ‘soft power’ in response to Iranian threats.

Oh, and a sheep thinks its a dog. And, it likes football.

News To Make Your Crew Cut Blue

In the world of the obvious, Gary Weiss at Salon writes about how the Enron case didn’t and won’t alter the behavior of executives inclined to commit corporate crime. My response on Salon was as follows:

… But a lot of this seems, frankly, OBVIOUS. There is little incentive not to commit crime when you are an executive. And the problem is not the executives, but that the crimes committed have little penalties, and would willing be committed by someone else. In economic terms, there is too much opportunity cost (read: money), to not commit a crime that is at best lightly punished.

I don’t want to condone any behavior, but regardless, you cannot expect much out of people who have gained their positions with a combination of intelligence and greed.

Also at Salon, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks about Israel, his letter to Bush and Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Synopsis: Zionists, Zionists, Jews, Zionists… oh and also Jews.

The good news about a new Dutch political party: part of their platform includes “”includes ideas for other areas of public policy including legalizing all soft and hard drugs and free train travel for all.” The bad news? It’s being formed by a group of pedophiles. In a quality quote about pedophilia, “A ban just makes children curious,” Ad van den Berg, one of the party’s founders, told the Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper.

Oh, also, there’s a new Laguna Beach shoot off beginning tonight on MTV. I will be sorely disappointed if I don’t see the bare body of an over-developed California teen 1 minute into the show.

News to Tell Who’s Stupid: Your Friends or You

Do you have an idiot friend who likes the Da Vinci Code? Are you someone’s idiot friend that likes the Da Vinci Code? You or said idiot friend should then be directed to a New Yorker review of the Da Vinci Code movie. Some highlights include:

There is also Silas (Paul Bettany), a cowled albino monk whose hobbies include self-flagellation, multiple homicide, and irregular Latin verbs.

There has been much debate over Dan Brown’s novel ever since it was published, in 2003, but no question has been more contentious than this: if a person of sound mind begins reading the book at ten o’clock in the morning, at what time will he or she come to the realization that it is unmitigated junk? The answer, in my case, was 10:00.03.

Should we mind that forty million readers—or, to use the technical term, “lemmings”—have followed one another over the cliff of this long and laughable text?

Do you have an idiot friend who plays make believe on Sunday mornings? Are you someone’s idiot friend who prays to make believe entities on Sunday morning? Then you should consider this, and this:

And in the humourous piece of the day, the Onion has some good solutions for the immigration issue. A viable Mexican economy? What the hell would anyone gain from that?

Oh, and a public service announcement for those Americans who have no problem with the NSA’s telephone data-mining program…

News for Sasquatches & Consultants

There is an excellent on-the-ground article about the descending situation in Gaza and Palestine in Salon today. My favorite passages illustrate the effect of sanctions and the price of democracy for the average Palestinian leading up to what appears to be an emerging civil war:

“Honesty should count for something, and anyone who doesn’t think all the Fatah guys aren’t also hoping to get the chance to push the Israelis into the sea is dreaming. And this kind of honesty translates into governance. Hamas was elected primarily because they’re semi-competent technocrats who give the impression that they’ll steal a hell of a lot less and do a hell of a lot more for the average Palestinian than Fatah…

“And the Palestinians’ reward for throwing out a bunch of corrupt hoodlums in favor of a more honest bunch? The U.S., Israel and the E.U. cut off aid or block earned tax revenue and now the public sector of Gaza — or about 70 percent of the workforce — hasn’t been paid for months. And this was one of the poorest and most densely populated parts of the world to begin with.

So everyone is cranky. The streets were filled with unpaid, heavily armed volunteers, which left everyone massively on edge all week. And after a day of rest for the funeral for the innocent victims of the Israeli attack, Fatah and Hamas went at it full bore.”

My response on Salon was “I enjoyed this article a lot, and I think this helps realize that blanket sanctions against Palestine are ineffective, and worst, destabilizing. Instead of promoting moderation, Western sanctions have choked away medical supplies, food, and salaries, basically making life unlivable for many in the region. Unfortunately, this has had the opposite effect on the extremism America was hoping to stifle — Fatah and Hamas have both shown a vigilance to militarize in an environment where they are fighting for scraps. It is unfortunate that in the politics of the Middle East, our actions are harming the average Palestinian and reinforcing the extremist beliefs we seek to defeat.”

Ever wondered why the Democratic Party has sucked since LBJ? Well, the answer is not that in the face of aggressive Republican corruption they are spineless cowards (surprise!). It’s those god damn consultants(and they are overpaid to boot).

And for the two ironies of the day: a Saudi textbook (after the intolerance was removed), and a recent scientific study showing no link between marijuana smoking and lung cancer.

News to puke on your shoes

Salon has an opinion feature about the Israeli plan to unilaterally decide the final borders between Israel and Palestine. Trouble is, unilateralism has not, and will not ever work in the Middle East. History has proven if anything, decisions made and enforced by one party will facilitate violence from the other. But as usual, history is easy to ignore when you have a short-term mindset…

Business week has a truncated but interesting interview with Woz, the cofounder of Apple. He’s coming out with a book about his celebrated life as the programmer behind the magic of the Apple I and Apple II. In the world of nerds, this guy is a hero, mostly because he didn’t compromise his values in his rise the way many believe Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and similar personages did.

Speaking of Apple, Nike and Apple announced a deal today with Nike+iPod Sport Kit, “a wireless system that allows Nike+ footwear to talk with your iPod nano. Using the Sport Kit, information on time, distance, calories burned and pace is stored on iPod and displayed on the screen; real-time audible feedback also is provided through headphones.” They’re basically getting all 1984 on our shoes, and maybe, just maybe, someone from the NSA will tell you to walk your fat, unpatriotic ass faster in the middle of ‘Taking Care of Business’ during your workout.

Oh, and today’s sign that the apocalypse is coming upon us: Namibians call for Brangelina baby holiday. I could write something, but I’m pretty positive I’ve lost the will to live already.