Weekend (J)Blog Roundup - 2006-09-30
... so we said: "sorry Rabbi, it's just because of the hunger and the headache." And he said: "the Yom Kippur fast is a joyous fast - for one day we get to be like angels. Instead of food, drink, and bodily pleasures we get to wrap ourselves in white and spend all our time singing praises to the Divine". And we said: "Hold on. Muslim heaven is 72 virgins and 80,000 servants. Are you saying that when we go to Jewish heaven we'll be like 'who do we have to blow around here to get a steak and vodka' and they'll be like 'there are no blowjobs in heaven' and we'll be like 'it's an expression' and they'll be like 'there are also no steaks or vodka'?" And then the Rabbi said: "Don't kid yourself. You're not going to heaven. Now get ready to stand back up - it's called the Amidah for a reason."
Here's your pre-Yom Kippur (J)Blog Roundup. G'mar Chatima Tova to our Jewish readers, and to our non-Jewish readers: have fun with your "good food" and your "fine wine" on Monday. Sigh.
* Some people might not know this, but before Richard Landes became Richard Landes of anti-fauxtography fame, he was (and continues to be) a leading US scholar on public and theological understandings of religious apocalypticism and violence. Which means that an article-length post by him about the historical and political dynamics of the Papal jihad is that rarest of all things: a qualified blog post.
* Lynn-B from Incontext has a video "for those who need a break from the heavy, flagellatory brand of pre-Yom Kippur sanctimony". Yes please (next up: Lynn-B versus Anne-L catfight. Hot).
* Speaking of Lynn: the Center for Jewish Values is urging Bob Casey, the candidate that she supports and will be voting for, to repudiate the vicious anti-Semitism that's been appearing on MoveOn.org. To our knowledge, he has yet to do so.
* RightWing Nuthouse goes nuts (get it?) about people making light of the fake anthrax letter than he got. Memo to idiots targeting left-wingers with fake terrorist tactics: that's what the other side does. Whoever did this should be found, arrested, and beaten to within an inch of his life. And that's just for making us put up with the DKos and DU avalanche that's going to go on for the next month. After that, the law can have him for milder sentencing.
* This a little out of character for us, but explain to us why it's not OK for Democratic Jews to support a Democratic Muslim Congressional candidate who has repudiated his over-exuberant nationalist past and now seems to be on the right side of the war against political Islam? We're sympathetic to the argument 'a Democratic majority in general is bad for Jews because the Democratic base not accepts virulent anti-Semites into its tent' - but that's not the argument being made. Is there evidence the Keith Ellison is being disingenuous about his positions?
* Let's play this game: If French UNIFIL tanks and Israeli tanks faced off, who do you think would win? Do you think it would be the side that uses its tanks to fight wars? And what the hell is UNIFIL doing confronting Israeli troops? Shouldn't they be busy not disarming Hezbollah or something?
* Israel is giving money to Nigeria to build a mosque. As Ed Lasky points out, that's like what Muslims do for Jews, expcept for the part where Muslims desecrate ancient synagogues.
* It's so cute to watch Israeli right-wingers noticing that Shimon Peres - a Founding Father, hawk who sat at Ben Gurion's knee, and the shepherd of Israel's air and nuclear programs - cares about Israel.
* In a similar vein, it's so cute to watch Israeli right-wingers noticing that Benjamin Netanyahu - the man who gave Hebron to Arafat - sometimes supports negotiating with Fatah.
* Neo-neocon has a troll infestation. Mere Rhetoric? No trolls. Sad.
* Van at KesherTalk introduces us to the story of Anne Murphy, an Irish Catholic impregnated by her Jordanian lover and sent on a suicide mission that she, pregnant with their daughter, was unaware of. He booked her on an El Al flight from London to Israel and gave her a bag with a false bottom - that false bottom was filled with enough Semtex to blow the plane, and its 375 passengers and crew, out of the water. Heathrow security let her walk right up to the terminal, but El Al personnel found her behavior suspicious enough for another search. They discovered the hidden explosives and saved four hundred potential victims from dying in the name of the glorious Palestinian cause.
* JPundit has the results of a survey on High Holiday sermons. Mostly traditional stuff, but 5 percent will be talking about the War in Iraq. Want to bet what strain of Judaism those rabbis are from, and which side of the debate they'll take?
* This Saudi Arabian anti-terrorism wall is going to be a lot of fun.
* Pamela's Global Jihad Roundup provides the usual depressing mix of jihadism and Western apologism.
* IRIS has a subscription to a news service we don't, and passes on this stat: "As a result of a religious dispute, nearly 5,000 Christians were displaced and six were injured on September 20th, when Muslim rioters destroyed and torched at least 18 churches, 20 Christian homes, and 40 Christian shops in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa state in Northern Nigeria." It's the Occupation's fault.
* Sol calls our attention to liberals who can't understand why there are all these anti-Semites in the anti-War movement. We think it has something to do with carrying signs that say Nazi Kikes Out of Lebanon during anti-war marches. But what do we know?
* AK Sommer is having a birthday. This makes her, what, 29?
Here's your pre-Yom Kippur (J)Blog Roundup. G'mar Chatima Tova to our Jewish readers, and to our non-Jewish readers: have fun with your "good food" and your "fine wine" on Monday. Sigh.
* Some people might not know this, but before Richard Landes became Richard Landes of anti-fauxtography fame, he was (and continues to be) a leading US scholar on public and theological understandings of religious apocalypticism and violence. Which means that an article-length post by him about the historical and political dynamics of the Papal jihad is that rarest of all things: a qualified blog post.
* Lynn-B from Incontext has a video "for those who need a break from the heavy, flagellatory brand of pre-Yom Kippur sanctimony". Yes please (next up: Lynn-B versus Anne-L catfight. Hot).
* Speaking of Lynn: the Center for Jewish Values is urging Bob Casey, the candidate that she supports and will be voting for, to repudiate the vicious anti-Semitism that's been appearing on MoveOn.org. To our knowledge, he has yet to do so.
* RightWing Nuthouse goes nuts (get it?) about people making light of the fake anthrax letter than he got. Memo to idiots targeting left-wingers with fake terrorist tactics: that's what the other side does. Whoever did this should be found, arrested, and beaten to within an inch of his life. And that's just for making us put up with the DKos and DU avalanche that's going to go on for the next month. After that, the law can have him for milder sentencing.
* This a little out of character for us, but explain to us why it's not OK for Democratic Jews to support a Democratic Muslim Congressional candidate who has repudiated his over-exuberant nationalist past and now seems to be on the right side of the war against political Islam? We're sympathetic to the argument 'a Democratic majority in general is bad for Jews because the Democratic base not accepts virulent anti-Semites into its tent' - but that's not the argument being made. Is there evidence the Keith Ellison is being disingenuous about his positions?
* Let's play this game: If French UNIFIL tanks and Israeli tanks faced off, who do you think would win? Do you think it would be the side that uses its tanks to fight wars? And what the hell is UNIFIL doing confronting Israeli troops? Shouldn't they be busy not disarming Hezbollah or something?
* Israel is giving money to Nigeria to build a mosque. As Ed Lasky points out, that's like what Muslims do for Jews, expcept for the part where Muslims desecrate ancient synagogues.
* It's so cute to watch Israeli right-wingers noticing that Shimon Peres - a Founding Father, hawk who sat at Ben Gurion's knee, and the shepherd of Israel's air and nuclear programs - cares about Israel.
* In a similar vein, it's so cute to watch Israeli right-wingers noticing that Benjamin Netanyahu - the man who gave Hebron to Arafat - sometimes supports negotiating with Fatah.
* Neo-neocon has a troll infestation. Mere Rhetoric? No trolls. Sad.
* Van at KesherTalk introduces us to the story of Anne Murphy, an Irish Catholic impregnated by her Jordanian lover and sent on a suicide mission that she, pregnant with their daughter, was unaware of. He booked her on an El Al flight from London to Israel and gave her a bag with a false bottom - that false bottom was filled with enough Semtex to blow the plane, and its 375 passengers and crew, out of the water. Heathrow security let her walk right up to the terminal, but El Al personnel found her behavior suspicious enough for another search. They discovered the hidden explosives and saved four hundred potential victims from dying in the name of the glorious Palestinian cause.
* JPundit has the results of a survey on High Holiday sermons. Mostly traditional stuff, but 5 percent will be talking about the War in Iraq. Want to bet what strain of Judaism those rabbis are from, and which side of the debate they'll take?
* This Saudi Arabian anti-terrorism wall is going to be a lot of fun.
* Pamela's Global Jihad Roundup provides the usual depressing mix of jihadism and Western apologism.
* IRIS has a subscription to a news service we don't, and passes on this stat: "As a result of a religious dispute, nearly 5,000 Christians were displaced and six were injured on September 20th, when Muslim rioters destroyed and torched at least 18 churches, 20 Christian homes, and 40 Christian shops in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa state in Northern Nigeria." It's the Occupation's fault.
* Sol calls our attention to liberals who can't understand why there are all these anti-Semites in the anti-War movement. We think it has something to do with carrying signs that say Nazi Kikes Out of Lebanon during anti-war marches. But what do we know?
* AK Sommer is having a birthday. This makes her, what, 29?
