Shmuel Rosner likes Obama...RonMossad, not so much

While it may shock avid readers of the RonMossad blog, in addition to being one of the last liberals in America I also get a lot of my mainstream news from such "liberal" media outlets as haaretz.com and cnn.com. One of the frequent contributors to the haaretz English website is "chief US correspondent" Shmuel Rosner. In fact his "Rosner's Domain" link is listed in the main navigation bar ahead of "Diplomacy," "Defense," "Jewish World," "Opinion," and everything else. So clearly, he's pretty high up there.

Rosner reports on many American topics (as one would expect the "chief US correspondent" for a major Israeli news outlet to do) that may have a bearing on the day-to-day life of Israelis. One of the topics he has been covering recently is the impending American election in a feature called The Israel Factor: Ranking American Presidential candidates.

This feature ranked possible American candidates on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best for Israel, 1 being the best for Mordor. Not-so-surprisingly, Rudolph Giuliani blew away the competition topping out at 8.88 (the contest was updated monthly until September when it was apparently dropped). Hilary Clinton averaged in the mid to upper 7's. McCain was about the same. Interestingly, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee both ranked in the mid-6's although the "Israel Factor" main site has a new headline at the top of it entitled: The panel doesn't believe Huckabee's pledge to 'stand by Israel'.

In any case, Barack Hussein Obama scored very low (low to mid-5's) when compared to other front runners. This of course never seems to deter Jews from lining up for this "uniter" (where have I heard that word before? Something about being a uniter, not a divider...hmmm) of Americans who promises an end to partisan politics.

On many levels this is completely understandable due to the fact that the upcoming election is for the president of the USA and not the Prime Minister of Israel. And since many, if not most of Jews are staunch Democrats, loyalty to the Party dictates that the only real choice is between Obama, Clinton or Edwards. Clearly voting for a candidate based first and foremost on your Party has been a cornerstone of American politics since the days of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. It certainly makes more sense than say...voting based on who would be best for Israel/Jews (which as we've covered before is the same issue).

However, Rosner is not the typical Jew living in America. He works for an Israeli newspaper. His column/blog specifically deals with this one specific aspect of American politics. Partisanship, Social Security reform, Healthcare, none of these problems should matter to him because he specifically reports on the aforementioned "Israel Factor" of the candidates.

You would think then, that he would pay better attention to his own material.

In an article entitled: Barack Obama backs Israel remaining a Jewish state Rosner spells out in his usual tongue-in-cheek fashion that contrary to Obama's dismal ranking in his own special feature and despite the fact that many Jews have been "concerned over his cool policy toward Israel," we needn't worry because after all Mr. Obama does in fact back Israel as a Jewish state.

Here's the actual quote Rosner refers to that leads him to believe this:

The Palestinians would have to reinterpret the notion of right of return in a way that would preserve Israel as a Jewish state. It might involve compensation and other concessions from the Israelis but ultimately Israel is not going to give up its state.



First of all, I didn't know that we needed anyone's backing or that the future of Israel "remaining" the Jewish homeland was ever in question. At least not by our friends.



Secondly, he's not saying that he "backs" the Jewish State...inasmuch as Hamas and Fatah have to just accept the harsh reality that "Israel is not going to give up its state." Which again, I'm not sure when that offer was ever put on the table.



Finally, Fatah and Hamas don't need to "reinterpret the notion" that they have any right of return, because it just DOES NOT EXIST. There's nothing to reinterpret. In actually, what's going on here is that B. Hussein Obama is giving CREDENCE to these concepts where Israel may not be a Jewish state, may give up its soveriegnty or may give the Palestinians the right of return (which effectively ends the state of Israel as the Jewish Homeland). He is responding to non-existent concepts which only serves to add legitimacy to them.



FOR EXAMPLE:

Italian gangsters needs to reexamine their methods for loan sharking. They need to reinterpret what they can realistically accomplish as bookies.

WRONG.

The Mafia does NOT need to reinterpret its goals...it needs to ABANDON them. It needs to be disbanded and the perpetrators of these crimes be put in jail.

Just like there's no discussion to be had with criminal loan sharks, nor is there to be a discussion with criminal murderers. Just like the end result of acheiving financial success as a result of criminal activity is not a viable option, so to is the result of acheiving political success as result of criminal activity NOT a viable option. In both instances, opening the door to a discussion of terms only opens the door to compromise.

And there's just nothing to compromise here.

So to Jews who are going to the polls:

This election is not for the Prime Minister of Israel. It is for the President of the United States of America. Those of you who are unconcerned with how the President of the USA views Israel/Jews need not take heed of these comments.

However, those who do - which I THINK includes Mr. Rosner - MIGHT want to rethink your position.

A date which will live in infamy

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives: yesterday, December 7th, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.

Full speech audio

Sons of bitches...

69 years ago today

November 9th/10th, 1938.

Secret
Copy of Most Urgent telegram from Munich of November 10, 1938, 1:20 A.M. To:
All Headquarters and Stations of the State Police
All Districts and Sub-districts of the SA
Urgent! For immediate attention of Chief or his deputy!

Re: Measures against Jews tonight

Following the attempt on the life of Secretary of the Legation vom Rath in Paris, demonstrations against the Jews are to be expected in all parts of the Reich in the course of the coming night, November 9/10, 1938. The instructions below are to be applied in dealing with these events:

1. The Chiefs of the State Police, or their deputies, must immediately upon receipt of this telegram contact, by telephone, the political leaders in their areas -- Gauleiter or Kreisleiter -- who have jurisdiction in their districts and arrange a joint meeting with the inspector or commander of the Order Police to discuss the arrangements for the demonstrations. At these discussions the political leaders will be informed that the German Police has received instructions, detailed below, from the Reichsfuehrer SS and the Chief of the German Police, with which the political leadership is requested to coordinate its own measures:

a) Only such measures are to be taken as do not endanger German lives or property (i.e. synagogues are to be burned down only where there is no danger of fire to neighboring buildings).
b) Places of business and apartments belonging to Jews may be destroyed but not looted. The police are instructed to supervise the observance of this order and to arrest looters.

c) In commercial streets particular care is to be taken that non-Jewish businesses are completely protected against damage.

d) Foreign citizens - even if they are Jews - are not to be molested.

2. On the assumption that the guidelines detailed under para. 1 are observed, the demonstrations are not to be prevented by the Police, who are only to supervise the observance of the guidelines.

3. On receipt of this telegram Police will seize all archives to be found in all synagogues and offices of the Jewish communities so as to prevent their destruction during the demonstrations. This refers only to material of historical value, not to contemporary tax records, etc. The archives are to be handed over to the locally responsible officers of the SD.

4. The control of the measures of the Security Police concerning the demonstrations against the Jews is vested in the organs of the State Police, unless inspectors of the Security Police have given their own instructions. Officials of the Criminal Police, members of the SD, of the Reserves and the SS in general may be used to carry out the measures taken by the Security Police.

5. As soon as the course of events during the night permits the release of the officials required, as many Jews in all districts - especially the rich - as can be accommodated in existing prisons are to be arrested. For the time being only healthy male Jews, who are not too old, are to be detained. After the detentions have been carried out the appropriate concentration camps are to be contacted immediately for the prompt accommodation of the Jews in the camps. Special care is to be taken that the Jews arrested in accordance with these instructions are not ill-treated...

Signed Heydrich,
SS Gruppenfuehrer

Instructions from Reinhard Heydrich



A Letter by a Firefighter

This letter was written by a retired fireman, who remembered "Crystal Night" in Laupheim (Germany)

The alarm went off between 5-5:30 A.M., and as usual, I jumped on my bicycle towards the firehouse. I had a strange feeling when I got there and saw many people standing in front of it. I was not allowed to go into the firehouse to take the engines out, or even to open the doors. One of my friends, who lived next to the Synagogue, whispered to me, "Be quiet - the Synagogue is burning; I was beaten up already when I wanted to put out the fire."

Eventually we were allowed to take the fire engines out, but only very slowly. We were ordered not to use any water till the whole synagogue was burned down. Many of us did not like to do that, but we had to be careful not to voice our opinions, because "the enemy is listening."

Only after one of the party members was worried that his house was going to catch fire, were we allowed to use water. But, even then, we just had to stand and watch until the House of Prayers was reduced to rubble and ashes.

In the meantime, the marshalls rounded up the Jews and dragged them in front of the Synagogue, where they had to kneel down and put their hands above their heads. I saw with my own eyes how one old Jew was dragged down and pushed to his knees. Then the arsonists came in their brown uniforms to admire the results of their destruction.

....Everyone seemed rather quiet and subdued... We had to stand watch at the Synagogue to make sure there were no more smoldering sparks. My turn was from 10-11 and 2-3 P.M. The brown uniforms paraded around to admire their work.

As I was watching the destroyed Synagogue and the frail old Jews, I wondered whose turn would be next!... When would it be our turn? Will the same thing happen to our Protestant and Catholic Churches!

A Personal Memoir By Michael Bruce
Michael Bruce, a non-Jewish Englishman, provided this eyewitness account:

...Hurriedly we went out into the street. It was crowded with people, all hurrying towards a nearby synagogue, shouting and gesticulating angrily.
We followed. As we reached the synagogue and halted, silent and angry, on the fringe of the mob, flames began to rise from one end of the building. It was the signal for a wild cheer. The crowd surged forward and greedy hands tore seats and woodwork from the building to feed the flames.

Behind us we heard more shouts. Turning, we saw a section of the mob start off along the road towards Israel's store where, during the day, piles of granite cubes, ostensibly for repairing the roads, had been heaped. Youths, men and women, howling deliriously, hurled the blocks through the windows and at the closed doors. In a few minutes the doors gave way and the mob, shouting and fighting, surged inside to pillage and loot.

By now the streets were a chaos of screaming bloodthirsty people lusting for Jewish bodies. I saw Harrison of The News Chronicle, trying to protect an aged Jewess who had been dragged from her home by a gang. I pushed my way through to help him and, between us, we managed to heave her through the crowd to a side street and safety.

We turned back towards Israel's, but now the crowd, eager for fresh conquests, was pouring down a side road towards the outskirts of the city. We hurried after them in time to see one of the foulest exhibitions of bestiality I have ever witnessed.

The object of the mob's hate was a hospital for sick Jewish children, many of them cripples or consumptives. In minutes the windows had been smashed and the doors forced. When we arrived, the swine were driving the wee mites out over the broken glass, bare-footed and wearing nothing but their nightshirts. The nurses, doctors, and attendants were being kicked and beaten by the mob leaders, most of whom were women.

Eyewitness accounts








November 9th/10th, 1938.




NEVER AGAIN.

The friend of my enemy...

Ok JEWS, have fun with this one...

Anyone familiar with the site:

http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm ? If you're not, you should be.

It's a great website that basically exposes politicians by compiling things they say and (much more importantly) their voting record to give you a real picture of where they stand...as opposed to just prepared speeches and soundbite nonsense. One great tool they have is a compilation of what special interest groups say about these politicians and how they rate them based on how much the politician conforms to their views.

Essentially it's a great way to see how much a candidate (or current Congressperson, governer, President, etc.) is perceived by a special interest group as a friend or foe.

So just for fun, I decided to do a little not-so-scientific study (amazing what a few hours of free time at work will allow you to come up with) on where the two main political parties ranked with the following Israel-related, "liberal" special interest groups:

Peace Action (based on a percentage, 1 out of 100)

American Muslims for Jerusalem (based on a scale of -16 to +11)

Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel (based on a scale of -9 to +10)

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (based on a scale of -5 to +6)

Using the information on Project Vote Smart, I compiled the ratings that each interest group gave each politician (ranging from both houses of Congress to individual governers) and seperated them by political party. Then with a little Excel magic I came up with an average for each party.

Peace Action

Democrats: 72.9% approval rating
Republicans: 22.4% approval rating

American Muslims for Jerusalem

Democrats: -2.59 approval
Republicans: -4.46 approval

Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel

Democrats: -2.12 approval
Republicans: -3.95 approval

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Democrats: -0.77 approval
Republicans: -1.43 approval

Source: Project Vote Smart

Ok, so clearly these groups favor the Democrats over the Republicans...although they're not really fans of either group (except Peace Action which really seems to lovelovelove the Dems).

But who are these special interest groups? Judging by their names, they appear to be your standard peacenik, end-war-now, justice-for-all, type organizations right?

Let's take a look at their views on Israel (and by extension the +/- 6 million JEWS who live there) shall we?

Project Vote Smart had links to three of the four groups' websites...two of which are apparently still operational.

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Peace Action

"Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel" did have a url but, unfortunately the domain is up for sale. I guess things didn't work out so well for them. I DID however, find a write-up on the founder Josh Ruebner on www.discoverthenetworks.org and this little article on the "People's Weekly World" newspaper's homepage.

Finally, the mysterious "American Muslims for Jerusalem" didn't even have a homepage listed, but I assure you they DO exist (or at least they did in 1999 and 2001) based on this danielpipes.org article and this snopes.com writeup.

But hey, who wants to do all that reading anyway, right? Afterall, we DO live in a culture of soundbites. Lucky for you dear readers, I did the legwork for you...so here's some information and quotes from these "liberal" special interest groups...

American Muslims for Jerusalem

At its closed events, American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ) reveals its true colors, purveying precisely the kind of hate that might inspire a suicide hijacker.

The pattern was set at AMJ's first major event, a fundraising dinner in November 1999, which one participant has described as "crudely anti-Jewish." Speakers like Nihad Awad and Abdurahman Alamoudi vied with one another in verbally assaulting the State of Israel and American Jews. In particular, they spun an elaborate conspiracy theory about Jewish control of the United States and Zionist brainwashing of American Christians.


Source: danielpipes.org


In February 2001, the American Muslims for Jerusalem, a political group in Washington, called for a worldwide Arab boycott of Estee Lauder products. The group was acting in protest against Ronald Lauder, chairman of Estee Lauder International and Clinique Laboratories, because of his "activities in support of Israeli right-wing extremists."

Source: snopes.com

WOW! Great stuff! How LIBERAL of these guys! Zionist brainwashing? Yikes! I always thought that was the realm of right-wing, neo-Nazi, pro-dictatorship groups! Shows what I know! Note also, that BOTH of these events took place LONG before 9/11...and LONG before evil President Bush dared to invade a Muslim country and "destroy America's international credibility" - whatever the hell that means.

Jews for Peace in Palestine and Israel

Consider some statements and assertions made by Ruebner:

The Israeli army deliberately targets civilians and all soldiers in the territories are legitimate targets.
Israel commits "criminal acts, " like its "policy of ethnic cleansing that accompanied [the creation of the state of Israel in 1948]"
"Millions of Palestinians and their descendants have been dispossessed of their homeland and remain refugees to this day because their human right to return to their properties has been denied."
"Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people is a moral outrage and a blight on the soul of the Jewish people. The fact that Jews have been dispossessed and stripped of their dignity and human rights on numerous occasions in the past is not a license for Israel to do so to the Palestinians in the present."
Ruebner writes about "the daily humiliations, indignities, and human rights abuses to which Palestinians are subjected living under Israeli occupation, " which he calls "a brutal occupation" that involves "the blatant theft of Palestinian land."
Regarding the Camp David summit between Bill Clinton, Rabin, and Arafat, "Israel was ultimately the one to walk away from negotiations with Palestine. This left things at status quo. Status quo for Israel is a brutal military occupation killing off both sides of people."


Source: Josh Ruebner "profile"

All I'm going to say is, if there is a God in Heaven and He cares at all about me...I will someday be face to face with this guy in a steel cage match on PPV. Jackass.


US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

On July 2, the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted 431-62 ìto begin gathering data to support a selective divestment of holdings in multinational corporations doing business in Israel/Palestine.î

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation congratulates the Presbyterian Church (USA), whose Middle East Office is a member organization of our coalition, for its historic and courageous decision.

Please take a moment to call or write the Presbyterian Church (USA) and thank them for this important resolution. Below is contact information, compiled by Citizens for Fair Legislation, a member organization of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.


Source: US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation website

I don't even know where to get started with these cockroaches. I mean there's so much, check the main site if you really want to just absolutely DROWN in supposedly liberal anti-Israel rhetoric. Suffice it to say that one of the actions they endorse is a full boycott against Israeli business. All in the name of "liberalism" and "equal rights" for everyone. Oh and check out the list of "liberal" organizations who are allied with them.

And last (but certainly not least) the biggest Democrat fans of all...

Peace Action


Far from saving innocent lives, Israel's actions are escalating the violence and the deaths of innocent civilians. The US must take responsibility for the part it plays in allowing this violence to intensify through its own example, and by halting support for countries that enact this kind of aggression.

Violence has also been used by the Israeli Defense Forces against international human rights and peace activists. Attacking unarmed civilians is never acceptable. The courageous work of these monitors, as well as that of the Israeli and Palestinian peace movements, need support. They represent the best chance for a brighter future.

Israel is using US-supplied weapons against a population under occupation, peace activists, and the media, and not in self-defense.


Source: Peace Action website

Now, just to put it into some perspective...by DEFAULT ALL OF THESE "liberal" groups are supporting these guys





since THEY are or were the leaders of the population these groups are so in love with.

In conclusion...

The bottom line, is that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are the "party of terrorists" as either side would have you believe. However, it is no small coincidence that the special interest groups that ARE the representation of the terrorists have already hijacked the concept of liberalism and are doing all they can to fool us all that being a progressive means being anti-Israel and anti-Bush. THEY lump these topics together and when you get right down to it, these groups see the war in Iraq and Israel's continuing struggle for safety and security both as being injustices.

The fact that they OVERWHELMINGLY prefer Democratic leadership to Republican leadership (and the numbers are STRIKING) only further PROVES the fact that the true ideals of liberalism have long since gone out of style in the politicians' continuing struggle to maintain or re-gain power.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And the friend of my enemy is my enemy.

Neither the Republican or Democratic party is my enemy OR my friend, because I don't trust either of them. But based on these SIMPLE MATHEMATICAL statistics, it's clear to see who my TRUE ENEMIES perceive as the lesser of their two evils.

And based on the Democratic party platforms since at least 2003, I'm sorry to say that they are absolutely correct.

The definition of the word "liberal"

I'm a liberal. Yes I know, it's hard to believe...but that's only because lately people have forgotten what that actually means.

So here goes...straight from your good friends at Dictionary.com.

lib·er·al /--lɪbərəl, --lɪbrəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[lib-er-uhl, lib-ruhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective

1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.
2. (often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to a political party advocating measures of progressive political reform.
3. of, pertaining to, based on, or advocating liberalism.
4. favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties.
5. favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers.
------------>6. of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies. <-------------
7. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners.
8. open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
9. characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts: a liberal donor.
10. given freely or abundantly; generous: a liberal donation.
11. not strict or rigorous; free; not literal: a liberal interpretation of a rule.
12. of, pertaining to, or based on the liberal arts.
13. of, pertaining to, or befitting a freeman.
–noun 14. a person of liberal principles or views, esp. in politics or religion.
15. (often initial capital letter) a member of a liberal party in politics, esp. of the Liberal party in Great Britain.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Origin: 1325–75; ME < L l--ber--lis of freedom, befitting the free, equiv. to l--ber free + ---lis -al1]

And yet, somehow in today's world it has come (in many cases) to mean sympathy for this guy:



this guy:



yemach shemo v'zichrono

these guys:









and this guy:




I wish this was a joke.

9/11

Check out the most popular stories on cnn.com from today:

1 Woman recalls polygamous childhood
2 Criticism of Britney's body?
3 Online sleuths join Fossett search
4 Russians offered cars for babies
5 Kenny Chesney bounces back
6 Kathy Griffin to be censored
7 Dave guests on 'Oprah'
8 Sources confirm Israeli airstrike
9 AP: Bush to adopt Petraeus advice
10 Users weigh in on Petraeus



This stupid country...

Never forget.

Be proud of your heritage, or else...

One thing I'm a big fan of as an American, is freedom. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. Freedom to live. Freedom to choose. I don't want the government telling me what to do about anything, ever. Hell, I don't want anyone telling me what to do period.

However...what gets me is when parents (especially Jewish parents) act like their children should have the option to choose what to believe in and what is right and wrong. Now it's one thing to force an oppressive belief system on someone...but there does need to at least be be some kind of foundation of a family's religious and cultural beliefs, otherwise impressionable children grow up confused and become easy prey for cults and religious fanatics. This "laissez-faire" approach to religion seems to run especially rampant when Jews marry people who are not Jews themselves.

Which makes sense...after all if mommy celebrates Christmas and daddy celebrates Hannukka, what do the children celebrate? Christmas? Hannukka? Both? Neither? Or some awful "Chrismukka" hybrid-abomination. Often what happens is that parents teach their children nothing and let them figure things out on their own.

However, this trend is not limited to multi-religious/ethnic families. Many ultra-left, flower-children hippies grew up to have families of their own. And so as not to be hypocrites, many of them decided that to impose a belief system would go against the rebellious nature of their movement and instead they preach a culture of "open-mindedness" and "tolerance" to their children. I put these concepts in quotations because in reality the only tolerance these people exhibit is for everything that is NOT their heritage...but I digress.

Get a load of this moron (and his idiot parents):



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The path to faith often takes unexpected twists. In the case of Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, the road went through three of the world's major religions -- Judaism, Islam and Christianity -- and ultimately brought him to the FBI.

Born to Jewish parents who call themselves mystics, he grew up in what he calls the "liberal hippie Mecca" of Ashland, Oregon, a town of about 20,000 near the California border. It was in this ultraliberal intellectual environment that a young Gartenstein-Ross experimented with a radical form of Islam that eventually led him to shun music, reject women's rights and even refuse to touch dogs because he believed this was "according to God's will."

"I began to pray for the mujahedeen, for these stateless warriors who were trying to topple secular governments," he said.

His journey began in 1997, when as a junior at Wake Forest University, he began to examine his own spiritual identity after experiencing a couple of brushes with death caused by illness. "That kind of thing can cause spiritual discomfort and make you reevaluate what it is that you're living for," he told CNN in an upcoming documentary called "God's Warriors." Watch behind-the-scenes with CNN's Amanpour for the making of the TV special »

A college friend introduced him to Islam and he was intrigued by its peaceful message. (Editor's note: lolwtfomg) "Islam was a very simple faith and as I learned more and more about it, it seemed more and more fascinating to me," he said.

That fall, he called home to tell his parents he was planning to become a Muslim.

---------->"We felt it was OK," his father Moshe Ross said. "We were glad that he was going to study something and hopefully seriously. And we were happy with Islam."<------------

When Gartenstein-Ross returned to Ashland, he got his first taste of radicalization when an imam at a local makeshift mosque blasted Western society.

"His argument was that the West was so inherently corrupt, so inherently anti-Islamic, that if we stayed in this society, then inevitably our faith would be eroded," said Gartenstein-Ross, who chronicled his experience in a book called "My Year Inside Radical Islam."

The humble mosque would soon move to a hilltop headquarters in Ashland, thanks to financial support from a Saudi Arabian charity known as the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which has since been shut down by U.S. and Saudi authorities for alleged terror ties. Lawyers for Al-Haramain have denied those charges and have filed suit against the U.S. government seeking to have its name cleared.

Gartenstein-Ross said a man named Pete Seda, who ran the charity's local office, offered him a job. Seda became his mentor and within a few months Gartenstein-Ross said he found himself agreeing with extreme views. At Al-Haramain, he said he saw the religion which he had embraced for its tolerance become obsessed with rules and ideology.

"What I didn't expect was that over time my ideas would fall into line with theirs," he said. "I wasn't to shake hands with women. I wasn't to pet a dog. I wasn't to wear shorts that came up above my knees. But conversely, my pants legs couldn't be too long."

But at times, he still had doubts about some beliefs espoused at the mosque. Whenever he questioned the rules, his co-workers would tell him his own views were irrelevant. The view was that "your moral inclinations do not matter. All that matters is whether this is what's right according to God's will," said Gartenstein-Ross.

In 1999 he left his job at Al-Haramain for law school at New York University. Away from his co-workers, he was free to question the radical doctrines he'd learned in Oregon and meet with others about spirituality, including Christians.

-----------> A year later, he converted to Christianity and was eventually baptized in the Baptist church. <--------------

It was a decision he took extremely seriously because he said his colleagues at Al-Haramain had preached that leaving Islam was punishable by death.

"This conversion out of Islam toward Christianity was certainly not one I took lightly in any way, because I realized there could be repercussions from it," he said.

The Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation would come up in his life again, but in a very different fashion. His first job after law school was as a clerk with the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia. He had to undergo a background check and listed Al-Haramain as a previous employer. Soon, the FBI was quizzing him about the group.

Two years later, in 2004, federal agents raided the Ashland offices of Al-Haramain. When he learned of the bust, Gartenstein-Ross says he contacted the FBI. "I knew about some of Al-Haramain's contempt for U.S. tax law. I knew about the support these guys had for the mujahedeen in Chechnya," he said.

His mentor, Pete Seda, and another top Al-Haramain official now face conspiracy and tax fraud charges for allegedly helping provide $150,000 in funds meant for Muslim fighters in Chechnya. Lawyers for the group say it renounces terrorism, and in a lawsuit filed against the government last week, Al-Haramain says it's a "charitable organization that seeks to promote greater understanding of the Islamic religion."

Seda on Wednesday voluntarily returned to the United States to fight the charges and entered a plea of not guilty.

As for Gartenstein-Ross, he is now a counter-terrorism consultant who works with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think-tank formed after September 11, 2001, that lists former FBI director Louis Freeh, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Sen. Joseph Lieberman among its "distinguished advisers."

He acknowledges his experience is atypical -- that most American Muslims are well-assimilated into American society and don't embrace radical Islamic ideas.

"There is a lot that's going right about Islam in the United States, and a lot of the conversations I've had with moderate Muslims and other Muslims in the past year-and-a-half have been encouraging in terms of what's happening with Islam in America," he said.

Source: CNN.com

YES! Another disgrace for the Jews!

Aside from this ho-hum story of yet another Jew being lost to the faceless masses of assimilation and a father/mother team who just didn't care enough to make an effort to stop it, what's really sad is the LEVEL of contempt they have for their heritage. Notice how HAPPY they were with Islam to the point that this clown's father, Moshe Ross, says he was just happy his son was studying "something."

Well why not Judaism? Why ISLAM? Or Christianity? Or ANYTHING. What is so terrible about our Jewish heritage that so many parents refuse to TEACH it to their children? Is it any surprise that if current trends continue, the secular Jewish population of the United States will be reduced by 93% in four generations??

The fact that this guy became a Muslim terrorist sympathizer is just the icing on the cake.

Parents, future parents, young single people...please please please take heed. If you do not raise your children to be proud of who they are and where they come from, or worse if YOU are not proud of who you are and where YOU come from, this is the result.

Help yourselves and help your children or future children. The only way to combat this stupidity is education. Sadly an hour or two of Hebrew school once or twice a week until your bar or bat mitzvah is not the answer. Learn how to answer questions from Christian and Muslim fundamentalists who will try to convince you to abandon your 3000+ year old culture in favor of their flavor-of-the-week, peer-pressure-fueled assimilated nonsense.

Understand what it means to BE a "Jew" rather than just being "Jew-ish."

Because it's all on us and our generation. Our generation of 20-somethings and 30-somethings and its impossibly-high levels of intermarriage may well determine the future of American Jewry, or lack thereof. And it all starts at home, with the parents. "We felt it was OK" indeed.

One of the things they drilled into my head in yeshiva was that when you affect one person, you affect an entire world of people. Why is this? Because you also affect his/her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. etc. all the way down the line. I happen to believe this. With that sobering thought - that knowledge that your actions will affect your children and countless generations of people that they interact with - the question becomes, quite simply:

How will you affect your world?

The European Union

Another post from last year's Israel/Hizballah war. Note the spelling of "Hezbollah" - which is the more accepted way of spelling it in English. After thinking about it I came to realize that the REASON the media was spelling it like that, is because the "correct" way (correct in quotations because it's hard to define the "correct" English spelling of a non-English word) includes the word "allah" in it. Because after all Hizballah means, "Party of Allah (God)" in Arabic. The reason the word is warped in this way, allah being turned into "ollah" is probably as not to offend Muslim viewers/readers. Which brings up another point about Political Correctness VS Truth that I may turn into a blog at another date.

In any case, enjoy hopping into the old time machine and turning back the page to July of 2006.


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It should come as no shock to avid readers of my blog (yes I know there's at least 711 of you out there somewhere) that I feel the need to communicate my opinions on Middle East politics and more specifically, the current outburst of violence in and around Gaza and Lebanon. Being as connected to the region as I am...and with my recent experiences there, I feel compelled to weigh in on the situation as it stands.

I'm enraged. Enraged at Hamas. Enraged at Hezbollah. Enraged with the Palestinians and with the Lebanese. The Syrians piss me off and so do the Iranians. Liberals, Conservatives, Christians, Muslims, whatever...everyone who isn't connected to this conflict from birth and feels the need to comment on it is generally uninformed and pointless to listen to. Americans, Russians who stand behind or condemn or whatever. The UN with all its blablablablab. WHATEVER. But you know who's the worst? The absolute worst????

The European Union.

Hezbollah murderers CROSS the border, kill Israeli soldiers (who for once aren't "occupying" anything), kidnap two of them and run off into the mountains of Lebanon...the Israeli military responds as this is the second time this NONSENSE has occurred in the past couple of weeks by bombing Hezbollah positions...to which they respond by LAUNCHING 120 ROCKETS into several Israeli populations centers...not military positions with civilian collateral damage...CITIES...20-30 kilometers behind the border with the SOLE intention of killing non-combatants. One lady gets blown apart while sitting on her balcony.

So the Israelis attack with tremendous force, bye bye international airport, bye bye Beirut-Damascus Highway, bye bye hundreds of Hezbollah targets all over Lebanon, hello blockade. Go screw yourselves.

And what does the European Union do? What leadership will the great continent of Europe provide during this tumultuous time?

"The European Union is greatly concerned about the disproportionate use of force by Israel in Lebanon in response to attacks by Hezbollah on Israel," according to a statement issued by Finland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency. "The presidency deplores the loss of civilian lives and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. The imposition of an air and sea blockade on Lebanon cannot be justified."

Oh, really? Disproportionate? Deplorable?

First of who the HELL asked you people? Seriously. Who asked? Was it the same people that asked you how you would handle the rise of Nazism? Great job handling that Europe, really. What a bunch of anti-semites. I cannot convey the absolute disgust I have with these self-righteous jerks. The mighty, cultured, continent of Europe. Example for the world. Birthplace of totalitarianism. Home of genocide and ethnic cleansing. If not for outside intervention, these idiots would have destroyed themselves and most of the world TWICE. And we're supposed to take their comments seriously?

So let me get this straight...if German militants on the border of France kidnapped French soliders and killed a few more and then fired 100 or so rockets at French cities on soverign French soil...let's say Marseille, Nice, Lyons and Cannes, what would France do? Would they go negotiate with the Germans and talk about all the beautiful cultural differences between the two nations? Or would they take swift, decisive action? Oh wait, I know what they'd do...they'd surrender and send their Jews to the ovens. This all happened already, about 60 years ago. So they're really not ones to talk, are they!

SCREW EUROPE. But then, why am I surprised by this stupidity when Jewish cemetaries are defaced all over Europe, Jewish schools are blown up and skinheads/Nazis make their presence known at soccer games all over the continent? And I'm not talking about during the 30's and 40's here...this is all going on in the 21st century. So the Europeans can go kill themselves. Again I say, go SCREW yourselves you Eurotrash anti-semites! And it's nothing new. The Crusades, the Inquisition, the pogroms, the blood libels...all the first massacres of Jews occurred in Europe, where was the outrage then? Where were the complaints of the "disproportionate force" when Hitler was slaughtering 6 million of my cousins? Where was the outrage? Where was the INTERVENTION? It was nowhere to be found.

For one...

simple...

...reason. And that is an old saying that's been around for generations:

Jewish blood is cheap.

Nobody will protect us, but us. We cannot rely on the rest of the world to defend us. If it all comes down again, we know that there is only one place we can turn to.

 

To the hundreds of thousands of Israelis sleeping in bomb shelters tonight, I feel for you. To the soldiers and pilots bringing hell to those that would gleefully cut our throats I am honored that my relatives are protected by you. To the Arab civilians living in fear of the death and destruction about to be heaped upon you...? Sorry guys, police your own and this crap wouldn't have to happen. Good luck. To the EU and the UN and all the other talking heads who criticize but offer no solutions...go screw yourselves you enabling, silent-partner, collaborators-by-proxy.

And to the people who started this mess? Don't worry, you'll get what's coming to you. All of you. And everyone that helped you. And hopefully it will be very, very painful.

Don't start nothin' - there won't be nothin'

Haifa/Qana

This blog was written during last summer's Israel VS Hizballah war. I thought it would be good to put this out on the general internet, in light of my recent trip to Israel (which I intend to blog about at my earliest convenience).

WARNING, the following article was written in tremendous anger. Please stop reading if you are upset by profanity, rage or lack of political-correctness. Actually, if that's true...just stop visiting this page at all.

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I was on my way to a company party today, sitting in Turnpike traffic...listening to Fox News and CNN on XM radio for updates on what's going on and I hear that Hizballah rockets hit Haifa. I was so mad about it, that I actually turned my car around to come home and write about it.

As of this writing 3 Israeli civilians are dead and 100 more injured...both numbers are "expected to go up" (aren't they always though?) as more bodies/injuries are being pulled from the rubble.

These were apparently "Fajr-5" rockets that carry around 200 pounds of explosives. Of course these specific rockets carried a few less pounds of explosives so these bastards could add some ball bearings.




Just so you understand what happens when something full of ball bearings explodes, these metal balls go flying all over the place, burning hot like bullets. The result




is that these bullets pierce human beings and if they don't kill them immediately, get lodged in their body. In the above photo, you can see an X-Ray from someone who was injured in the Bali Blast in Indonesia. In this case, ball bearings were lodged in the person's lungs, heart...and various other parts of the body. I can only imagine what this poor guy's face looks like.

Anyway, the point of all this...(if there is ever REALLY a point to war) is that these Fajr-5 rockets came from none other than Qana, Lebanon. You remember the town that just last week was bombed by the Israelis and 56...wait no, 28 civilians (I guess some people just happened to be counted twice originally...oops!) and sparked an international outcry. Nevermind that it took 7 to 8 hours for that building to collapse during which the people inside chose to stay and hope for the best (huh?)...that was in fact a terrible tragedy and an awful mistake by the Israeli Air Force. As proven today, they must have hit the wrong building and killed people who did not deserve to die. War is a very ugly thing, especially when innocent people die.

But this of course begs the question. If the attack on Qana, which again, was a complete disaster and an awful accident caused all this outrage...what about Haifa?

Israel accidentally hits civilians, apologizes for it, launches an investigation and pauses aerial bombardment of Lebanese towns/villages for some time.

The world reacts with outrage.

Hizballah DELIBERATELY targets the third largest city in Israel, collapses two buildings and kills civilians.

Where is the outrage?

They add ball bearings in an attempt to maximize the destruction and murder of innocent men, women and children.

Where...is...the...outrage...?

They celebrate in the streets and gloat that they are slaughtering innocent Jews, they praise the murderers who did this and gloat that they will continue to kill Jews.

WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE????

Today in Brussels there was a protest that condemned the IDF "overreaction" to the Hizballah attacks. All over the world people complain about the IAF "indiscriminate" killings of civilians (nevermind the leaflets, the pauses in the attacks to give people the opportunity to escape, the commando raid that put Israeli soldiers in danger so as not to bomb an apartment buidling full of civilians and Hizballah assholes) - does anyone expect similar demonstrations and protests about these Hizballah attacks?

COULD THESE HIZBALLAH ATTACKS BE ANY MORE INDISCRIMINATE???

I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM SOMEONE WHO PROTESTS ISRAELI BOMBARDEMENTS WHICH TARGET HIZBALLAH AS "INDISCRIMINATE WAR CRIMES" AND THINKS THAT HIZBALLAH DELIBERATELY TARGETING CIVILIAN CENTERS WITH ROCKETS THEY CANNOT FULLY CONTROL IS NOT INDISCRIMINATE MURDER. PLEASE SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS BS TO ME.

I'm begging you. Someone, anyone try to defend your position on this. I'd prefer you to do it in person but I'll debate you on the internet if I have to. Just please someone, bring it on.

I dare you.

Because underneath all the "peace-activism" and the hippie NONSENSE is a simple fact that these assholes in Brussels and anywhere else these protests take place believe that the Jews basically deserve what they get. They think that Hizballah are the "cool" rebels and the Israelis are the Evil Empire or something. They think this whole thing is like Star Wars or something. And while they'll never admit it...they think all this, because in their hearts they...believe...that...




...Jewish blood is cheap.


Everyday it becomes more and more clear what these "peace-activists" are really about. Everyday it becomes more clear what the rest of the world thinks. Everyday it becomes more clear that all we have is ourselves. And it kills me to think like this because I used to be such an optimist.

Now I'm just disgusted with everyone and everything.

As I finish this up...word comes in that the Israelis took out the Qana and Tyre rocket launchers that attacked Israel today. I hope it was very painful.

'til next time...

Those damn Nigerians just won't leave me alone

So I open my e-mail today and I see the 18th version of the classic "Nigerian royalty" scam that's apparently been around even before the internet. I get these things every month or two and always get a laugh out of them. Basically, these idiots want me (and all the other millions...aaaaaaand millions) of prospective suckers who get these things) to give them my bank account # so they can transfer some ridiculous amount of money into it. Like, "let us transfer 800 zillion dollars into your bank account and after two years you can keep 10% of it" or some variation. I don't even bother reading them anymore. I'm sure you can guess what happens next. They empty your account and disappear into the night. I actually heard a story that some American guy went to Nigeria to meet them and was never heard from again. Whatever, here's the actual e-mail I got:

From Barrister Ken O. Eme
Eme law firm legal practitioner.
Nigeria.
Email: barrken_01@yahoo.com.hk


Dear Sir,

Compliments of the season. Grace and peace and love from this part of the Atlantic to you. I hope my letter does not cause you too much embarrassment as I write to you in good faith. Based on the contact address given to me by a friend who works at the Nigerian embassy in your country. Please excuse my intrusion into your private life.

I am Barrister Ken O. Eme, the personal lawyer to late Mrs.
Stella Obsanjo, the wife of Nigerian president Olusegun Obsanjo. Who was the chair person of child health care of Nigeria. She died on 22nd October 2005 after undergoing surgery in Spain. I seek for a foreign partner who can work with us as to move out the total sum of us$21million Dollars (Twenty-one million united states dollars) this money was deposited on 3rd of October, 2005 on hold for five years in a security firm .presently the whole document covering the funds is in my possession and non of the family members or relatives is aware of this Transaction.

This must be a joint venture transaction and we must all work together. Since this money is still in cash, extra security measures have been taken to protect it from theft or seizure. I have personally worked out all modalities for the peaceful conclusion of this transaction. You are going to take 50ercent of the total sum after the truncation's as soon as I hear from you, I will give you all necessary details as to how we intend to carry out the whole transaction. Please, do not entertain any fears, as all necessary modalities are in place, and I assure you of all success and safety in this transaction.

Please, this transaction requires absolute confidentiality and you would be expected to treat it as such until the funds are moved out of this country. Please, you will also ignore this letter and respect our trust in you by not exposing this transaction, even if you are not interested.

I look forward to working with you. further information confirm via this website http://nm.onlinenigeria.com/templates/?a=5861&z=12


Reply me via email: barrken_01@yahoo.com.hk


Truly yours

Barrister Ken O. Eme.

No way!! $10.5 million!! It's like I won the lottery!!!!

Note by the way, the misspellings and poor grammar from the Nigerian lawyer. I guess that sort of makes sense though, seeing as how the reply-to e-mail is...in Hong Kong???

One of these days, I'm going to write to these morons and play along just to see how far they take it. I mean, how stupid do they think I am? Then again, I actually know someone who's brother fell for one of these retarded scams and got taken for $40,000 which was all he had in the bank.

Unbelievable.

Be all that you can be

So, one of the things we hear about the War on Terror is that it is an unfair burden on lower-class Americans because they oftentimes joining the military is their only option. Especially since they can't afford or can't get into college. We hear this all the time, that somehow if there was no war these poor, uneducated Americans wouldn't be over in Iraq dying, for no reason. Ok, no problem. Obviously, the United States Military is not the safest job in the world. Surely the people that join know the risks. Right?

Well no, at least not according to the people who tell us this stuff. According to the anti-war crowd, military recruiters frequently lie to prospective recruits. They minimize the actual dangers of the service and downplay the chances they'll go to Iraq. God damned evil military recruiters. Taking these poor Americans out of the jobs they could be doing without a college education and putting them into a deadly job where they risk their lies on a daily basis. Terrible.

But then I heard something about this TV show called Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. I never saw the show (which is about fishermen catching crabs in Alaska), but supposedly every year they have a near-100% injury rate. Meaning just about EVERYONE on these ships is getting seriously hurt (or KILLED) EVERY YEAR. And this got me thinking, if so many of our soldiers are so underprivledged, untalented and uneducated (which is an absolutely ridiculous notion by the way) that they agree to get shot at on a daily basis, what other jobs are out there that the army is the most appealing choice to them?

I thought about it a little. And the more I thought about it, the more I could not understand why someone would rather be around weapons and explosives (which are pretty god damn dangerous even when they're NOT being fired at you from 30 different angles in some back alley of Falluja) then say be a fisherman. I mean, ok so people get hurt on boats while fishing but it can't POSSIBLY be as bad as being in the middle of a combat zone...right?!?!?! I mean it CAN'T be. These guys have to be morons to think that they were less likely to die in the military than they would being garbagemen or steel workers or lumberjacks or some other job that doesn't require any post-high school education. Or even high school education because I keep hearing that so many of our soldiers are high school dropouts (again, ridiculous...but whatever). And not to go off on a tangent or anything, but when did becoming a high school dropout become something great un-preventable tragedy that they should be pitied or something. Gimme a break.

Anyway, getting back on topic, I figured I would settle this for myself once and for all. What are the odds that you will die if you join the United States Military? And how does that stack up against other "non-skilled" or "non-degree required" jobs that that apparently are the only other options for these people?

According to Wikipedia (which I hate and am only using because I verified the source material by checking with the Department of Defense), the United States Armed Forces claims 2,685,713 total servicemen and women of which 1,426,713 are considered "active troops."

These numbers include the following branches of the military:

United States Army
United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
United States Air Force
United States Coast Guard

Source: Wikipedia

According to the Department of Defense, as of 10 am on January 20th, 2007, 3,410 United States Military servicemen and women have died as part of operations related to the "War on Terror" - including Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Of those 3,410 soldiers 3,057 have died as part of the Iraqi campaign and the rest have died as part of operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Phillipenes and elsewhere. And of those 3,410 deaths, 757 of them were non-hostile deaths.

Example of a non-hostile death: Private Johnson slips in the shower on his military base and cracks his head open. The whole non-hostile deaths thing is something else that drives me crazy, because they include them in their calculations of people who are killed in Iraq (or Vietnam or any war) without bothering to tell you that 500 of those 3,000 Iraqi war deaths occurred while driving home drunk from the local hookah bar in downtown Baghdad (or some other non-combat related reason). But again, I digress...

Take 3,410 total soldier deaths since 9/11 out of the 2,685,713 and you get 0.0012696, or 0.127%.

Source: Department of Defense website

So, just a little more than one tenth of a percent of our armed forces have died in the past 5+ years due to all these horrible wars we've been fighting.

Therefore approximately 99.87% of soldiers have not gotten killed as a result of their job over the course of FIVE years.

Let's compare that to other jobs that people without college educations fall into:


Fishers and related fishing workers
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 118.4
(0.118% fatality rate)

Logging workers
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 92.9
(0.093% fatality rate)

Structural iron and steel workers
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 55.6
(0.056% fatality rate)

Refuse and recyclable material collectors
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 43.8
(0.044% fatality rate)

Farmers and ranchers
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 41.1
(0.041% fatality rate)

Electrical power-line installers and repairers
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 32.7
(0.033% fatality rate)

Truck drivers
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 29.1
(0.029% fatality rate)

Miscellaneous agricultural workers
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 23.2
(0.023% fatality rate)

Construction laborers
Fatality rate (per 100,000 workers): 22.7
(0.023% fatality rate)

Source: MSN Careers

Conspicuously absent from this list is "high-rise window washer" - I don't know what the fatality rates are for that job, but I can't imagine they'd be too much better than being a farmer.

And FYI - all those fatality rates for the other jobs are over the course of ONE YEAR (specifically 2005). So assuming they stay constant, you'd probably have to multiply them by five to compare them the US Military fatality rates. Or at least by four because obviously, since March/2003 the US fatality rates are way up.

Which works out to:

Fishers and related fishing workers - 0.47% fatality rate (over four years)

Logging workers - 0.37% fatality rate (over four years)

Structural iron and steel workers - 0.22% fatality rate (over four years)

Refuse and recyclable material collectors - 0.18% fatality rate (over four years)

Farmers and ranchers - 0.16% fatality rate (over four years)

Electrical power-line installers and repairers - 0.13% fatality rate (over four years)

Truck drivers - 0.12% fatality rate (over four years)

Miscellaneous agricultural workers - 0.09% fatality rate (over four years)

Construction laborers - 0.09% fatality rate (over four years)


So what's the conclusion here? Even during this supposedly terrible Vietnam-level disaster of a war in Iraq I'm still more likely to survive as a soldier, then I am as a fisherman, lumberjack, steel/iron worker, garbageman or farmer. And I have the same or slightly worse odds for survival than a truck driver,"miscellaneous agricultural worker" (whatever that is) or construction worker. If I do die, I get a hero's burial. And even if I don't agree with the politics of the war at least I died trying to protect my buddies in combat. Add in the health benefits, free college education and decent pay...

(especially when compared to what the average miscellaneous agricultural worker makes)

Where do I sign up?

You can't make this stuff up, folks

Straight from the "you can't make this stuff up file" - while waiting for the train after a rare Knicks win my friend says he wants to pick up a snack at Hudson News. So we go inside and I realize that my (admittedly humble) shot glass collection does not include one from New York City. So I go into the tourist section to pick one up and I decide I want one that has the Twin Towers on it. After searching around for a while...I finally come across an older shot glass that I assume (I HOPE) was made before 9/11.

Obviously this caught my eye...






Uneffingreal.


You just can't make this stuff up, folks.

Anti-Zionist = Anti-Jewish

For my first serious post, I figured I'd start off with something I already posted on an Internet forum. One debate that always seems to pop up is whether or not you can be anti-Zionist without being an anti-Semite (or anti-Jew, seeing as how the biggest anti-Semites today, are Semites).

The reason why all Jews MUST support Israel and why anti-Israel (anti-Zionism?) = anti-Jewish is the exact same thing is very simple.

1933-1945.

Well, not exactly...more like 73-2007.

Since the Romans scattered us to the four corners of the globe, we have relied on other nations to protect us, to shelter us. For 2,000 years our people migrated from country to country, from Asia to Africa to Europe to the New World in search of peace and freedom. Not freedom to vote or freedom to speak...just freedom to live. Let's not pretend that people only started persecuting Jews in 1948. In the end, every nation that promised to give us a home and guaranteed to treat us as normal members of society turned their backs on us.

The French took us in...they committed massacres against us. The Spanish took us in...they brought us the Inquisition. The Poles took us in...they put us in ghettos (which was probably the nicest treatment out of anyone). The Russians took us in, they started pogroms against us. The Muslims took us in, they treated us as second-class citizens and tried to forcibly convert us (although for a long time they were much better than the Christians). The Germans took us in...they assimilated us. And then World War 2 rolled around.

Who protected us during World War 2 when Hitler decided we were the scum of the Earth and needed to be exterminated? The Poles? No...they sold us out and then massacred the survivors who returned home. The glorious, cultured, French? They couldn't WAIT to surrender to the Germans and send us into the ovens. The Russians? Well sure they liberated the camps...and then promptly shipped us off to Siberian gulags for 50 or so years. The Americans and the British? Well...they did liberate us and allow us to live with the same freedoms as everyone else, but where were they during the war? Where were they when our grandparents came to them on ships as refugees as they fled the coming Nazi menace? Where were they when word of the astonishing massacres reached their governments?

Did they take us in? No, they turned us away because their "quotas" were full. Did they bomb the gas chambers or the train tracks that led to them? No, because they "couldn't spare" the ammunition. Everyone stood by and let it happen. Every nation in Europe has Jewish blood on its hands. And it surprised us because these were enlightened societies bound by the rule of law and morality.

But it shouldn't surprise us. It's nothing new. It's been going on since the Romans walked into Metzada and realized there was nothing there but dead bodies. We killed ourselves instead of fighting to the death. And our people have been kicked around by the rest of the world ever since. We have no one to rely on. No one will protect us, unless it serves their own interests. That doesn't make them evil, it just makes them human. The evil ones are those that seek to destroy us, as they always have, for the simple reason that we are Jews.

And that is why...when for the first time in over 2,000 years...there is an entirely independent Jewish state, with an independent Jewish army, that is powerful, we MUST support them. Whether we choose to live there or not. Whether we agree with the government's policies or not. Whether we believe we must wait for the messiah or not. We MUST support them. Because without them...when the world turns their backs on us again...who will be there for us? To take us in. To protect us.

Without a home...we're just nomads who have to hope and pray that others will protect us. With our own country, we are a nation. Proud, strong...able to control our own destiny. That's why it's simple.

Jews must support Israel under any and all circumstances. I don't care what your politics are, what your religious views are, we are all united in one way. We're all Jews and we can only rely on ourselves and each other.

All Jews must support Israel.

Simple.

Welcome to RonMossad Land

Hey everyone, welcome to my world.

Most of the blogs you read on the internet will be pointless, boring and just a way for the self-absorbed author to feed his/her need for attention. This will be no exception.

All I can hope for is that you, my dear readers will find my ramblings about this screwed up planet we live on (and occasionally my own personal life), entertaining/informative enough to keep checking back and feeding the aforementioned need for attention.

So now, without further adieu let's get the show on the road.