I enjoyed Benjamin's account of the radical change in his politics. Very readable, despite it's length, and very illuminating.
posted by Imshin 17:30

The Lesson and the Responsibility

Imshin, I was reading your views about the pornographic nature of the photos from Russia and normally I would agree with you 100% but I have just seen a horrific scene where a grieving mother was weeping over the bodies of her dead children. My wife and I were incensed but then it transpired that the local people had asked the cameraman to expose the murderous nature of Islamic fundamentalism!

It was then I remembered one of the most enduring images of horror of the 20th century...the little girl running down a road in Vietnam with her skin hanging from her scorched body. That image did more to galvanise anti war sentiment than all the mortality statistics combined. I think the fundamentalist bastards have shot themselves in the foot big style.

Sooner or later people have to realise that even if Israel had never existed the fundamentalists would still be killing in the Philippines, Kashmir [which kicked off in 1948 before Israel existed], Indonesia and East Timor, Russia and Sudan...Israel is the front line of our defence against these child murderers.
John

But why show over and over again, out of all the pictures, on all the channels, the bare breast of a young adolescent girl? Shameful.

I fear most people in the west will not learn anything from this horror. This is seen as a local matter, the direct result of Russian cruelty towards the Chechens.

Not till something on this scale happens in Paris, John, will people begin to grasp what is happening, maybe not even then.

The BBC kept saying last night something about Russian authorities seeing the hostage takers as responsible for most of the deaths. This drove me crazy.

THE HOSTAGE TAKERS WERE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY LAST DEATH IN AND AROUND THAT SCHOOL. Even if every child that had died there had been shot in the head by Russian soldiers, something that clearly didn’t happen of course, their blood would still have been on the hands of the hostage takers. Is this not clear? Is this not obvious? What is this sickness, this perverseness, to blame the deaths of these children on anyone but those murderous fiends who created this horror?

Update: More gems from the BBC:

European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels offered their condolences, but said the EU would ask Russia to explain how such a tragedy could have been allowed to happen.

BBC world affairs correspondent William Horsley says the EU statement implies concern not only about the behaviour of Russian security forces at the siege, but also about Moscow's reliance on harsh military force in Chechnya.

As I was saying...

Update update: And that isn't even the worst. Here's more about BBC nastiness.

posted by Imshin 09:49

Why did you come, tonight?
Asked the intriguing Expat Egghead (Where’s Cathy? Where’s Cathy? I kept wanting to ask him. Silly me.*). And I said, “Curiosity”, without thinking, not quite happy with my answer, even as I gave it.

There was a sense of community last night. This was clear, after the initial weirdness of fitting real people to what were previously just words on a screen. It has been there all the time, of course, this camaraderie. We are a community. And everyone who came knew this, and that is why we came – to meet old friends, at last.

*What I really wanted to ask the Expat (Adrian) was the big why (‘Are you mad?’) question. I wanted to ask a lot of people a lot of questions, but I’m not very big on mingling and asking questions. Just introducing myself, and demanding to know who you were, and then remembering this data amid the sea of new faces, was effort enough. Easier to just plonk myself down next to someone friendly and familiar and stay there.

So I came away with a feeling of not being completely satisfied. More ! More! Maybe next time we can do that thing I hear they do in singles parties – when you have to switch places every five minutes so you get to speak to everyone.

But how can I complain? Even if I didn’t get into serious deep discussions with everyone (with anyone?) I can now add to my memory storeroom - Rev. Huatou’s sweet, soft eyes; Rinat’s freshness and amazing smile (great Hebrew!); Allison’s ability to make me feel at ease (and then make me want to dive for cover by saying nice things about me to other people :-P ); Rebecca’s brightness and energy (Glad she was there, managed to get something off my heart - just in time for Yom Kippur); David, Zahava, and Yonah’s extreme heimisher-ness (Oh Yonah, to eat him up. What a smile, kein ein hora); Mich’s surprising familiar-ness, considering she lives in Canada (...actually went to Youngest’s Matilda school, would you believe it? Small world. I hope it’s okay to divulge this); Rahel's gentleness (watch out for those elm roots, you've got me worried now); Harry’s knocking me over by saying he had worked out who Bish was (clever clever clever); Brian Blum’s… wow - Brian Blum!; Dave’s not so ozziness (He doesn’t look anything like that koala bear); Civax’s deeeeeep greeeeen eyes; Shai not being at all what I expected; Jennifer being exactly what I expected (not fair, I’d seen her photo); Gil Ben Mori being so very English (the real thing, clipped BBC accent with just a hint of London); Lisa’s interesting story, oops… erm… never mind, (fun fun fun); Noa’s lovely red hair, warm smile, and oh, that gorgeous green top, I couldn’t tear my eyes off it (where did you get it?); Sarah cracking me up by introducing herself to everyone as Chayyei Sarah – a Torah portion (‘Hi, I’m Chayyei Sarah’) (and I so wanted to ask her about the fencing…);

Alisa, at last, finally we meet, dear Alisa;

and Gil, Gil, Gil. How I miss his clear voice.

There was just one person I didn’t get round to, and the curiosity was just killing me. By the time I had noticed him, I had finished most of my beer, and somehow couldn’t find it in me to go and butt into the conversation he was having and demand to know who he was. My bad, as Meryl says, I think.

Now, who have I forgotten? Who will never link to me again? I beg forgiveness. I'm amazed I've remembered this many. Anyway, Adrian promises to publish the list, so I'll soon know how well I've done.

I loved meeting you all. I had a wonderful time, thank you all, and special thanks to whoever came up with the location. Excellent choice.

Update: Here's the list. I did very well.

He's not on the list, my mystery man. So who was he? Beard, blue shirt, yarmulka, slim, medium height, could have been wearing specs, I'm not sure, came with wife and baby. Anyone?

posted by Imshin 18:41

I am very upset, no, I am extremely angry, about the gleeful coverage of the Russian hostage situation, by the cable news channels. Again and again, they are showing unedited footage of naked children coming out of that school. This is pornography.

It’s not as if they care two figs about those poor kids. If they cared they wouldn’t show it, like they stopped showing the people jumping out of the WTC.

I will not supply a link. No news service deserves it.

I’ll write about last night when I’ve cooled down. I’m too agitated right now.

Update: ‘Hostage situations going very wrong have happened in the West too’, says the expert on Sky News, citing Waco, among others.

I try to think of any hostage situation that did not go very wrong, besides Entebbe, that is. Terrorist hostage situation I mean, not your random, fruitcake seeking attention hostage situation.

I am sickened by this awful story, sickened and saddened beyond words.


posted by Imshin 14:41

Blog Meet tonight. Oh dear, all those people. And Bish has a meeting so I can't take him to hide behind.
posted by Imshin 18:26

Benjamin was there. Here is what he saw.
posted by Imshin 20:10

Brrrrrrr.
I know.

Via Eric the Unread (I read you, dear)
posted by Imshin 16:51

Every Israeli mother’s nightmare. Probably not just Israeli mothers. This makes me feel weak in the knees.
posted by Imshin 16:28

What about the democratic right to hold different views?
I accept that American elections are really none of my business, even though their outcome will probably have more impact on my life than on many American lives, moreover, I really understand very little about American politics, but I just don’t get certain aspects of these demonstrations in New York.

The impression I am receiving is that the people demonstrating, some violently, don’t want a political party and its supporters to hold a convention in New York… erm… because they see things differently?

Whatever happened to “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”?

posted by Imshin 16:20

I’m sorry I don’t have anything moving to write about today’s murders. I just don’t. I used to take writing about these events on this blog very seriously, because I knew a lot of people would pop in to see if I were still alive. But writing about a pigua means feeling it, living it, in a much deeper way than otherwise, and I don’t really want to do that.

You get this heavy feeling after a pigua and I don’t want that feeling to linger. There are those whose lives were taken; I hear there were children among them. There were those who survived but whose lives will never be the same. There are the families of both kinds. Life for them now becomes a desperate struggle to cope.

I don’t want to wallow. What I really want to do is go out on my bike. Today I bought a little light for riding at night, in the bike shop on the corner by work. I already have a flickering red light that goes at the back. Today I got a yellow light for the front.

It’s late. The girls are starting school tomorrow. What do I do with all this energy? I don’t want to wallow. And they’re in bed, bags ready, favorite clothes neatly folded, waiting for tomorrow morning.

It’s decided. I’ll go.

Update: Hey R.T., I mended my first flat! You'd have been proud. Your words of wisdom, 'It's just a bike', were a great source of comfort!

posted by Imshin 21:48

16 Murdered in Beer Sheva; at least 91 wounded (figures updated)
Two buses drove out of the central bus station in Be’er Sheva this afternoon, and blew up at nearly the same time, as they entered the center of town. 16 people were murdered; over ninety were wounded, many severely.

If you’ve been reading some of the other bloggers on a regular basis, Meryl for instance, you will know that this is no surprise. Security forces have been preventing such attacks all the time, every day. It is inevitable that sometimes they should slip through. Nothing has changed besides Israel putting up a fight to put an end to it all. The Palestinian Authority is quite happy for the bloodshed to continue.

This is the first time buses have blown up in the southern town of Be’er Sheva, though not the first terrorist attack in that town.

Why Be’er Sheva you may ask? Easy, NO APARTHEID WALL there! They haven’t got around to building the Peace Fence in that part of the country yet, so it is relatively easy to infiltrate from the Mount Hebron area.

posted by Imshin 16:51

Olympics – one last word.
There was something about the way those American track athletes were built that left all of us ladies breathless.

I hear the Americans weren’t all that popular in Athens.

They were eating their hearts out, those Greeks, that’s why. Iraq-shmiraq – forget it. They couldn’t help but see their lady folks drooling.

That old green-eyed monster is very bad for ones mental health.

Afterthought: Some lady bloggers don't like beach volley ball. I am led to understand that this is because they suspect men's motives for watching the women's games. What? They sincerely think women who watch the Olympics are watching the men just to see who wins? Hah.

posted by Imshin 22:52

The girls and I said our goodbyes to the summer vacation on a little overnight excursion to Jerusalem. What vacation? I ask. I worked all summer! But the girls start school again on Wednesday.

We stayed here, a friendly little B & B hotel. The girls loved it, because they said it felt ‘beitee’ (homelike). I liked it too. It had this lovely smell, for one thing, and I suppose because it really was beitee. I know the guy there, which is always nice. I’ve been meaning to go and stay there for a long time, but never seemed to get round to it.

The location proved very convenient for us, and there was no problem with parking. Next time we’ll take Bish, but that means Shabbat, which is less fun in Jerusalem, I think, when you’re secular.

One thing that struck me was that, because all the restaurants are kosher in Jerusalem, there are plenty of dairy places, which meant lots of choice for me, being a vegetarian. The restaurants all seemed to be full, by the way, and people sitting next to the windows. Nice.

Actually, talking about location, I managed to get lost with every turn. I do have a good sense of smell in Jerusalem, as I was there during my army service. What this meant was that every time I took a wrong turning I knew it immediately, but it was too late. We began the holiday with an unplanned tour (okay okay, we were lost) of Mea She’arim, no less.

To say we were not suitably dressed would be the understatement of the year, so it’s lucky we were in the car. I'm told that the residents can get rather unpleasant, when presented with the challenge of a bare female shoulder, or thigh. In our case it was mainly Eldest's unabashed Tel Aviv-style display of her midriff that worried me.

It was worth it though. The girls were fascinated. We do have quite a lot of religious people living in our area, even ultra-religious - it is possible to see bearded men sporting fur hats, shiny kaftans and knickerbockers passing our building on their way to shul on a Shabbat... er... Shabbus - but the girls had never seen anything like Mea She'arim.

Afterthought explanation: Our visit to Mea She’arim was not just a quick whip-through. We were actually stuck in a traffic jam in a narrow winding alley for about twenty minutes, long enough to read most of the pashkevils (ultra-Orthodox-style street posters) along the way. The interesting ones were dire warnings to women about the wig thing.

After twenty minutes stuck behind that nasty truck, I was convinced. No Indian wigs for me!

posted by Imshin 19:47

Mental note: Be careful who you say hello to in restaurants.
So the real story seems to be this: It’s the US that has been spying on Israel:

Newsweek magazine reported on Sunday that the FBI began investigating suspected Pentagon mole Larry Franklin after tailing the Minister of Political Affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Naor Gilon, who met an AIPAC representative for lunch. Franklin reportedly approached their table and engaged in a warm conversation with them.

(my emphasis)

Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t go to the Israeli-Anglophile BlogMeet on Thursday (in my Zoro mask), after all. I could very well finish the evening in the torture dungeons of the US Embassy on Hayarkon Street!

posted by Imshin 18:06

Well, that may be so, but my Shoosha is proving invaluable in the War Against Pigeons which is raging on my kitchen window ledge.

She’s not six months old yet. Imagine what she’ll be capable of when she’s fully grown.

Via Meryl.

posted by Imshin 09:55

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