tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60864592024-03-08T00:00:44.526+02:00AbbaGavThe opinions of a dad from Israel. Blog includes political and cultural issues from Israel, the Mideast, the US, sometimes even the whole world, all tossed your way with just a dash of humor, and sometimes just outright silliness.AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.comBlogger822125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-71923771694186313062008-08-24T05:03:00.002+03:002008-08-24T05:14:06.255+03:00Wow, This Blog is Still HereIt's been almost two years since I've posted -- how's that for a blogging interval?I'm almost shocked this blog is still here. Thanks to Jack for reminding me that I used to blog. I can't say I'm back and blogging, but who knows. Right now, I'm on a vacation in the US and had a few free minutes that have otherwise been in short supply, so I thought I'd make a test post to see if I still AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1159912180112472232006-10-03T23:37:00.000+02:002006-10-03T23:53:23.866+02:00Haveil Havalim #88 Is UpHaveil Havalim #88 is up, and so is my new blog -- or at least enough of my blog so that I can start posting again.So please, click on over and help get the new version of AbbaGav (www.abbagav.com) off the ground. Tell your friends. Tell your acquantances. Teach your dog to use the mouse. I need readers, page-hits, or at least mammals that know how to use a browser.I'd also like to remind youAbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1159704107992714522006-10-01T13:50:00.000+02:002006-10-01T14:01:48.020+02:00AbbaGav's Blog is MovingYou may have noticed that my blog was down for the last three or four days. I did too.Although the problem arose at a slightly inconvenient time (with Yom Kippur approaching, and Haveil Havalim #88 scheduled to be here at AbbaGav this week), I took it as a sign that I've put off moving to a "real" blog platform for too long.No longer. I'm opening up a new blog site, still the same old AbbaGav AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1159225073810706622006-09-26T01:52:00.000+03:002006-09-26T02:02:07.613+03:00AbbaGav Goes To Crossing-Guard SchoolAll right, so Rosh HaShannah explains why I didn't blog for the weekend. But what about Sunday night? What's my great excuse for that, for leaving you all for a third straight day with nothing but an elaborate "Jews are the problem" puppet show in my comments section for entertainment? (The kind of puppet show where lots of puppets seem to be talking, but there are really only one or two AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158930327709042612006-09-22T15:59:00.000+03:002006-09-22T16:05:30.500+03:00It's Not Actually "Holocaust Denial"Calling it Holocaust denial makes it sound almost benign to me. Take Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for instance. When people call him simply a Holocaust denier, it sounds to me as if he is inadvertantly being misdiagnosed as being merely in psychological denial, unable to believe something so horrible could actually have occurred -- heck, I think a lot of us would prefer that kind of AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158783849282699692006-09-20T22:51:00.000+03:002006-09-20T23:24:09.786+03:00Wanna Watcha Weasel?It's fun, and educational too! In case you're not sure whether a little weasel watching would be for you, here's a little sample of what the Weasel Watching Council came up with last week.We weasel watchers, as you know, vote each week on two categories of the week's best writing: one winner selected from posts by members of the Watcher's Council, and another non-Council winner from posts AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158732423168641042006-09-20T08:58:00.000+03:002006-09-20T09:07:03.360+03:00"Muzzling" RosieSalon.com's gossip column echoes a weighty question: GOP trying to muzzle Rosie?Over at her blog Deadline Hollywood, Nikki Finke reports that the Republican National Committee's (maddeningly unreadable) Web site is out for Rosie O'Donnell's blood, perhaps signaling the beginning of some kind of campaign against the new 'View' co-host. Under a headline 'Dems' 'Rosie' view on the war on terror. AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158610011744248192006-09-18T23:00:00.000+03:002006-09-19T20:55:34.203+03:00Looking On the Bright Side...Sure, Iran may be only several months away from acquiring a nuclear weapon. And of course that means Iran may also be precisely several months and one day away from using it.Sure, the Pope has sent a message that religion and violence don't mix, and been greeted with an Islamic response not unlike the retort one would expect from Moe if Curly complained he was too violent -- pick two AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158439682141933172006-09-16T23:59:00.000+03:002006-09-17T01:42:42.416+03:00The "Death to the Pope for Calling Us Violent" ProtestsThe Pope's statement that there is no place for violence in religion and his corresponding pointing to Islam's ideology of Jihad has well and truly ticked off a few people, from New York Times editorialists to rank and file Palestinian terrorists. Many Islamist activists are so perturbed that they've taken to the streets to proclaim their seething anger at the Pope for questioning their AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158323862215756182006-09-15T15:37:00.000+03:002006-09-19T23:53:50.586+03:00Muslim anger grows over Pope’s remarksVia MSNBC:Pakistan's parliament unanimously condemned Pope Benedict XVI on Friday for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam and demanded he apologize.The Vatican has said Pope Benedict did not mean to offend Muslims with remarks he made in Germany this week about Muhammad and holy war.In a speech, Benedict quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor as saying,"Show me just what AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158158136100667092006-09-13T17:33:00.001+03:002006-09-13T17:35:36.143+03:00Obvious Prisoner Abuse -- Withholding Hair Care ProductsBefore:I hope you didn't think that was natural, because...After:Palestinian Hamas lawmakers during an Israeli military court hearing in the West Bank town of Ramallah, September 12, 2006. (Stringer/Reuters)Oh the inhumanity!Looks like Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch is going to have to come down here and give a certain Zionist somebody a little talking to about obligations under InternationalAbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158097807681926562006-09-13T00:39:00.000+03:002006-09-13T00:50:08.180+03:00Haniyeh Is an Idiot, or Thinks Somebody Else IsHaniyeh is an idiot, or thinks somebody else is -- maybe even us readers. How else to explain the reactions he seems to expect to some of his pronouncements? I say this based on his recently announced agreement to the general idea of talks with Israel (or whatever), so long as those talks don't involve his Hamas government in any way:Asked by Reuters if the new administration would negotiate AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158095449311821332006-09-12T23:42:00.000+03:002006-09-13T00:10:50.576+03:00The Council Has Spoken!Last week's results from the Watcher's Council are now available at the Watcher of Weasels site.In the council competition for posts by members of the council, there was an incredible three way tie for first place that had to be broken by the Watcher. The eventual worthy winner was Sundries Shack with "It’s Not a War. It’s a Trendy Buzzword!" If you haven't used the word "fascist" with intent AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1157970919004521152006-09-11T12:56:00.000+03:002006-09-12T07:18:13.430+03:00Angel M. Pabon and the 2996A few months ago I told you about a memorial project to honor the memory of 2996 souls stolen from us five years ago today, on 9/11. Today, on the anniversary of his death, as my part in this memorial, I honor Angel M. Pabon.I never met Mr. Pabon. Angel. But I've learned a bit about him in preparing this tribute. Enough to feel his loss. Enough to remember that everyone who died that day had suchAbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1157909033996410352006-09-10T20:13:00.000+03:002006-09-10T20:23:54.076+03:00Time Travel in 100 Words or LessLaurence Simon of This Blog is Full of Crap fame is also the proprietor of a podcast devoted to "100 Word Stories" -- stories completely told in 100 words, or less. Each week he has a contest for anyone to contribute by the Friday deadline an audio recording of their own story on that week's topic, and then readers vote for the stories they like most.This week's topic for the 100 Word Story AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1157727252909206392006-09-08T17:54:00.000+03:002006-09-08T17:56:03.706+03:00The Russians Mean BusinessFrom Haaretz: A high ranking Russian source said on Friday that Russia will halt the construction of the nuclear reactor it has been building for the Bushehr nuclear power plant on Iran's Gulf coast if Tehran expels inspectors from the United Nation's atomic energy watchdog.But of course, so long as Iran leaves the inspectors in place and continues building their map-wiping nukes quietly in AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1157659606783349532006-09-07T22:19:00.000+03:002006-09-07T23:06:47.276+03:00Cooking Egyptian Lentil Soup with RachelOnce again I frittered away an evening I should have spent blogging. Doing what, you ask? (go ahead, ask, I want you to.)I was cooking Egyptian Lentil Soup with my 9 year old daughter, Rachel. Why? (I'm just going to assume you asked.)Primarily because Rachel was hungry. That's probably a good enough reason by itself. The fact that she was patient enough to wait the time necessary to finishAbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1157568782306467012006-09-06T21:06:00.000+03:002006-09-06T21:53:02.696+03:00Reasons for Slow PostingI know, I know, most bloggers eventually have to post one of these "why I'm not posting enough" posts. But my excuses are real. Really.You see, I just got back from vacation last week, and my last three or four posts still haven't been enough to get rid of the rust yet. But this one here, this is the magic one that'll do the trick.Plus, this is the first week back to school for the kids. Oh AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1157401362326796452006-09-04T23:05:00.000+03:002006-09-05T09:46:23.403+03:00Can we get it out of our systems?Our vacation last week is now so completely over that we've even caught up with the residual loads of laundry and have the kids weaned off the chocolate cereal. The only thing that hasn't yet recovered from the vacation is my blogging. So, rather than attempt to fabricate one more meaningless post from a brain that still hasn't returned, I'm going to exercise the problem and get the vacation AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1157311980569910292006-09-03T22:32:00.000+03:002006-09-03T22:33:00.616+03:00Translating Khatami -- Don't Worry, He's ModerateAs the map-wiping rhetoric of Iran's President Ahmadinejad continues apace, let's take a brief respite from his doom and gloom and focus instead for a moment on the words of Iran's famous leading moderate, the previous president, Mohammad Khatami (AKA the former-Reformer). Obviously former-President Khatami needs a translator so I thought I'd volunteer for the job, free of charge:Former Iranian AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1157222968339612792006-09-02T21:49:00.000+03:002006-09-02T22:34:12.766+03:00The Council Has SpokenLast week's results from the Watcher's Council are now available at the Watcher of Weasels site.In another amazingly tight contest, the week's winner among council members was Gates of Vienna with Empire and Apocalypse, in which Dymphna takes an uncomfortable look at the worst-case scenarios:The tipping point may have been reached — one cannot say until after the fact. Will it be failure in Iraq AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1157114881660899312006-09-01T15:48:00.000+03:002006-09-01T17:01:35.150+03:00Israel Protected by Kofi-Secured Syrian Pledge to Rein in HizballahHurray! We Israelis can now rest easy on the issue of Syrian arms smuggling to Hizballah.Kofi Annan, taking time off from securing French pledges of troop support and Iranian pledges of whatever, has reeled in a big one: Syria has promised Kofi it will work with Lebanon to deal with the Hizballah arms-smuggling issue:U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Syria would step up border AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156965211350257492006-08-30T22:13:00.000+03:002006-08-31T21:59:28.770+03:00Top 10 Vacation Benefits for the KidsWe're still on vacation. While it's totally obvious this vacation is recharging the parental batteries (how could it not?) I thought I'd give a quick list of some of the many vacation benefits our kids are also getting out of this trip to Israel's north:Chocolate cereal for breakfast and barbecued marshmallows for dinner.Local dogs that know how to suck up to little kids, hoping to merit dibs onAbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156875789298872982006-08-29T21:23:00.000+03:002006-08-29T21:23:10.026+03:00A 5-Year-Old's Perspective on the WeatherMiriam and I were hiding under the shade of an umbrella at the beach."Right, Abba, on that planet closest to the sun it's too hot and we'd burn up?"I turned to Miriam and nodded."And right, on the farthest away planet it's so cold we'd freeze?"Another smiling nod."So in Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel) it's not so bad."Interesting observation for a 5-year-old. I still thought it was atad warm AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156747541717161512006-08-28T09:40:00.000+03:002006-08-28T09:45:41.743+03:00Off to the North for a Little VacationWe're going to take a few days off for a family vacation in the north of Israel before the new school year starts. With any luck, a little time off will also refill my blogging tank, which seems to have left this site running on fumes for the last little while.While there is a chance I may post some very small stuff from the Blackberry while we're away (just because I can) things will only get AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0