tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60864592011-08-17T06:04:31.122+03:00The 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.comBlogger8221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-71923771694186313062008-08-24T05:03:00.002+03:002008-08-24T05:14:06.255+03:00

It'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.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1159912180112472232006-10-03T23:37:00.000+02:002006-10-03T23:53:23.866+02:00

Haveil 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 you

AbbaGavhttp://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+02:00

You 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.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1159225073810706622006-09-26T01:52:00.000+03:002006-09-26T02:02:07.613+03:00

All 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+03:00

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+03:00

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

Salon.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+03:00

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+03:00

The 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+03:00

Via 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+03:00

Before: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 International

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158097807681926562006-09-13T00:39:00.000+03:002006-09-13T00:50:08.180+03:00

Haniyeh 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.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1158095449311821332006-09-12T23:42:00.000+03:002006-09-13T00:10:50.576+03:00

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+03:00

A 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 such

AbbaGavhttp://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+03:00

Laurence 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+03:00

From 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+03:00

Once 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 finish

AbbaGavhttp://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+03:00

I 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+03:00

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+03:00

As 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+03:00

Last 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+03:00

Hurray! 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+03:00

We'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 on

AbbaGavhttp://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+03:00

Miriam 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+03:00

We'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.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156714436376807092006-08-28T00:02:00.000+03:002006-08-28T00:33:56.420+03:00

It's been another great week at the Watcher's Council, with some truly great posts nominated. I hope you follow the Council every week because its another way to find some of the best on the web all in one convenient location. You can check out the full results of this week's voting, but I'll whet your appetite first with a little taste of the top posts in both the Council and non-Council

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156712085028600912006-08-27T23:52:00.000+03:002006-08-27T23:54:45.060+03:00

I'd like to thank Snoopy the Goon from Simply Jews for tagging me with this meme. I know protocol demands that I whine and kvetch about having this indignity forced upon me, but actually, I don't mind that much.1. Name one book that changed your life: Jews, God and History by Max Dimont.2. One book you've read more than once: only technical books and little kids books (some of which I've read as

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156670350889479592006-08-27T12:15:00.000+03:002006-08-27T15:01:51.283+03:00

(UPDATE at bottom appears to indicate that, despite inconsistencies in reports and somewhat puzzling pictures, the attack in question may have indeed erroneously targeted a press vehicle without realizing it.)AP has rushed to press with more wild, unrebutted allegations of intentional Israeli barbarity without waiting to learn the facts, check for plausibility, or even note that such charges in

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156517018318357962006-08-25T17:32:00.000+03:002006-08-25T17:43:40.240+03:00

My Fridays are usually very busy, overscheduled with preparing for Shabbat and caring for kids, and this one was no exception. So, sadly, lack of time coupled with Blogger server downtime, leaves me without anything verbose to offer today.Instead, I'll just ruminate about one of the more enjoyable parts of my Fridays: basketball. During the rest of the week, the only exercise I get is the

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156448024548284322006-08-24T22:28:00.000+03:002006-08-24T22:33:44.636+03:00

First up, the obligatory thought about Hizballah, without which this just wouldn't be an AbbaGav post -- unless a substitute mention of Hamas would suffice instead.Did you read about Hizballah's latest terrorist-endearment tactic?Hezbollah has been handing out cash payments of up to $12,000 to people whose homes and business were destroyed by Israeli bombing during the 34-day conflict between

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156349878786853772006-08-23T19:16:00.000+03:002006-08-24T08:41:14.640+03:00

Will the gullible in the media ever tire of being used? Do they even care anymore? The world's spokesmen, especially those anti-Western among them, have learned that they can say anything to the media, absolutely anything. They can ramble on about death and destruction. They can proclaim their eternal commitment to the violent pursuit of this or that goal by any means necessary. It really

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156264987894659372006-08-22T19:33:00.000+03:002006-08-22T19:43:08.423+03:00

I ran across a few new Yahoo News Photos showing Palestinian military training exercises and decided to do a photo analysis, in case it was possible to glean any useful intelligence from them. Let's take a look:Palestinian security forces practice military skills during a training session in the West Bank city of Hebron August 22, 2006. REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun (WEST BANK)Okay, something isn't

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156249115636680172006-08-22T15:08:00.000+03:002006-08-22T15:18:38.573+03:00

Just a brief post from work to promise that this blog has not gone dark, and that I'll be writing again soon -- hopefully by the end of the day. But the power in most of my house went out last night, just when I was trying to blog something. It still isn't fixed, but hopefully the electricians will be finished drilling and banging and replacing parts and emptying my bank account later this

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156133452597781482006-08-21T06:16:00.000+03:002006-08-21T07:10:52.800+03:00

The results of another week at the Watcher's Council are in and once again the Council has honored some really great posts.In the Council section, in which each of the Council's twelve submitting members nominates his or her best post of the week, the voting was once again exceptionally close.The winning post this week is from Shrinkwrapped, A Questionable Assumption. Shrinkwrapped argues our

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156130168088700982006-08-21T06:12:00.000+03:002006-08-21T06:16:08.156+03:00

Saudi Arabia's online publication, ArabNews, is an often fascinating read. It presents news with the obligatory Saudi/Arab perspective, while at the same time showing amazing slices of Saudi life, with the pretty clear intent of exposing things which need to change. I often find myself torn between applauding and condemning their work, sometimes in the same article. Given the present respite

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1156048466891325912006-08-20T07:32:00.000+03:002006-08-20T07:35:50.626+03:00

I made the mistake over Shabbat of reading the newspaper, and now I'm so depressed that I'm reluctant to post anything for fear of bumming everybody out, majorly. So rather than post anything myself, I thought I'd bring in a guest blogger to keep things moving around here. Does anyone still remember the ultra-famous Dr. Jack Badofsky?About 20 years ago Dr. Badofsky made some ground-breaking

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155917476695781272006-08-18T18:47:00.000+03:002006-08-20T00:44:29.893+03:00

Daled Amos had a post itemizing numerous points illustrating the media's predilection for ignoring Israel's point-of-view in its coverage of the war between Hizballah and the Jewish State. A few examples:YNet News compares the CNN coverage of casualties in Israel and Lebanon and notes a:Highly unbalanced report mostly ignores plight of Israeli civilians, portrays Israelis as soldiers and

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155846232981098972006-08-17T23:21:00.000+03:002006-08-20T00:52:37.326+03:00

In a perfect world, the political pronouncements of the denizens of Hollywood really wouldn't be televised, publicized, or blogged about. Just ignored.Unfortunately, I've already sullied the purity of the AbbaGav brand by mocking and criticizing Hollywood and it's cast of rotating hunger strikers, not to mention Mel Gibson, Michael Moore, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and a cavalcade of stars. So when

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155753651838483802006-08-16T21:19:00.000+03:002006-08-16T21:40:53.036+03:00

Via Haaretz, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new French Foreign Minister (FFM) pronouncement:The French foreign minister on Wednesday called for Israel to lift is air, naval and land blockade of Lebanon, saying it was unnecessary with the UN cease-fire plan holding.This is great news! I sure hope this one takes a little longer to unravel than the last one, lest we are denied the time mere

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155743561163202612006-08-16T18:46:00.000+03:002006-08-16T18:52:41.463+03:00

According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel's Foreign Ministry is counting on keeping new missiles out of Hizballah's hands on the strength of an arms embargo on, well, somebody:According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, the two main tasks of the expanded force would be enforcing a "Hizbullah-free zone" in south Lebanon and an international arms embargo on Hizbullah. What does an arms

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155681040684716792006-08-16T01:30:00.000+03:002006-08-16T01:30:40.740+03:00

I've read quite a few posts recently from bloggers upset with Ehud Olmert's performance in this latest conflict that is even now likely only temporarily dormant. While each of these criticisms tears Olmert a new one in its own unique location -- not all of which I agree with -- I nevertheless concur with the overwhelming conclusion: the Olmert government has not done the job. Olmert portrays to

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155601356475842902006-08-15T03:01:00.000+03:002006-08-15T03:22:36.950+03:00

The UN spent decades passing resolution after resolution demanding Israel leave Lebanon. The Lebanese government insisted the cease-fire include terms for the withdrawal of Israeli troops. Hizballah itself claims the sole purpose for its founding -- and its continued existence even after Israel's UN-certified withdrawal in 2000 -- is to fight Israeli occupation.And now MSNBC shows us exactly

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155509211453636402006-08-14T01:45:00.000+03:002006-08-14T09:35:17.273+03:00

Here are a few items to keep you reading while we wait to see what happens next.To start us off, the results of the latest Watcher's Council vote are in. The winning post among council members was a reflection on the meaning of recent films about 9/11 by Callimachus at Done With Mirrors, We Could Be Heroes:In part, we want to honor those thousands of lives, whether they were the uniformed heroes

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155424827598254602006-08-13T01:31:00.000+03:002006-08-13T02:20:28.076+03:00

Ok, so Nasrallah has somewhat, more-or-less, agreed to this delay-fire, but he's not happy about it:Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday that the militant organization would abide by the UN cease-fire resolution but continue fighting as long as Israeli troops remained in south Lebanon."We will not be an obstacle to any (government) decision that it finds appropriate, but our

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155421741254315482006-08-13T00:54:00.000+03:002006-08-13T01:29:01.436+03:00

I'm assuming they're still somewhere in Lebanon, because I sure as heck don't see them anywhere in the operative clauses of this break-through UN cease-fire capitulation. In fact, in the entire verbiage-soaked resolution, the kidnapped soldiers are only mentioned in the preamble:“PP3. Emphasizing the need for an end of violence, but at the same time emphasizing the need to address urgently the

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155406921051639952006-08-12T21:12:00.000+03:002006-08-12T21:22:41.663+03:00

The UK has named the terror suspects in custody so far over the aircraft bomb plot -- 19 of them in fact, a nice round number. Now, as the arguments continue over whether Al Qaeda was involved, it will be interesting to observe how many of the suspects bothered to study their famous terrorist training manual:At the beginning of the trial, once more the brothers must insist on proving that

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155313438243988372006-08-11T18:54:00.000+03:002006-08-11T19:25:36.850+03:00

It's amazing what blogging can do to a person. There I was, sitting in the dentist's chair, trying very hard not to leave permanent impressions of my fingers in the armrest while having my teeth tarred and feathered, and all I could think about was what to blog next. In truth, it wasn't that bad -- just a regular cleaning and gum stabbing which I would say I bore with remarkable courage despite

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155218877388031232006-08-10T17:07:00.000+03:002006-08-10T17:12:20.550+03:00

As I mentioned yesterday I've found that Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah is simply not in Hamas' league because of his serious shortcomings as a target for humor, mocking and ridicule. So today I'm going to follow up on what I speculated is the root cause for Nasrallah's humor deficiency -- his big but boring beard:I've come to the conclusion Nasrallah needs to dye his beard red, or maybe

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1155104693068488662006-08-09T09:21:00.000+03:002006-08-10T17:15:13.876+03:00

Blogging can both release tension, by being a good outlet to vent about all the outrages we otherwise keep bottled up -- especially during a controversial war. But it can also create its own tension. As the war has ground on into its fourth week and my blogging has turned to all-conflict-all-the-time mode, I find now that I'm carrying around a feeling that I HAVE TO POST on the war. If I

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154971547470797632006-08-07T19:55:00.000+03:002006-08-08T15:39:05.550+03:00

Moral relativism has been around a long time now, and while its inherent hazards as a practical philosophy have been readily apparent, its more esoteric decrees have sometimes seemed more ridiculous than dangerous.But now, at least in this controversial little corner of the world where I live, relativism's pronouncements are getting harder to laugh off. Especially the accusations of those who

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154846229395607902006-08-06T09:12:00.000+03:002006-08-08T19:34:50.743+03:00

Israel's refugees from the North still need help. Since I haven't seen a clause in the upcoming UN resolution providing tehm any international assistance -- or even recognizing their existence for that matter -- they really need any help we can offer.Here is a viwe of the situation from just my own city, Beit Shemesh, but I'm sure the situation is similar throughout Israel:Three weeks into the

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154814214987878202006-08-05T23:58:00.000+03:002006-08-06T09:10:59.386+03:00

Of course I want all Israeli soldiers out of Lebanon, after the conditions for a durable peace are created, and the word "all" must be properly defined.A Hizballah cabinet minister has apparently made the Lebanese "government's" latest cease-fire demands of Israel:Hizbollah leaders have sworn to fight as long as Israeli soldiers remain on Lebanese soil. At least 10,000 Israeli troops are inside

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154694773277742412006-08-04T15:32:00.000+03:002006-08-06T07:34:36.263+03:00

As global calls increase for immediate MidEast peace, or at least for an Israeli cease-fire, France is taking the lead -- in time of war no less -- battling within the UN's peaceful halls, negotiating the terms of Israel's surrender:France is leading the effort at the United Nations for a cease-fire resolution and insists, along with other European Union member states, that a cessation of

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154694449087131682006-08-04T15:15:00.000+03:002006-08-04T15:49:25.933+03:00

As I explained last week, the main activity of the Wathcer's Council is nominating and voting on the web's outstanding posts each week. The nominations are divided into two categories: posts written by Council members, and, separately, top posts gathered from anywhere on the web. This week's results are in:The winning post among members of the council was written by some guy named AbbaGav and

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154608507067994692006-08-03T15:26:00.000+03:002006-08-03T15:35:08.880+03:00

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, after much careful deliberation, has finally come out with his solution to the problem of fighting between Israel and his proxy army, Hizballah:Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday the solution to the Middle East crisis was to destroy Israel, Iranian state media reported.This announcement surprised many reporters in attendance, who were

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154597825844485292006-08-03T12:37:00.000+03:002006-08-03T12:53:50.850+03:00

A woman holds a dove during a protest about Israeli attacks on Lebanon outside an office building housing the Israeli embassy in Manila August 3, 2006. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (PHILIPPINES) A final dove intended to carry the message that Hizballah should also cease bombing Israeli civilians was, in the end, not needed. The doves were later sacrificed on a symbolic altar of peace and their

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154590882620112622006-08-03T10:39:00.000+03:002006-08-03T10:45:29.493+03:00

Today is Tisha B'Av, a day of fasting and mourning the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Unlike Cindy Sheehan, for whom a fast or hunger strike consists of saying no to the extra hot fudge, Jews fast on this day with no food or water whatsoever, from sundown the previous night until sundown this evening.While I may come up with something later tonight, after the fast is over, for now I'll

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154536813562004422006-08-02T19:27:00.000+03:002006-08-02T19:45:17.160+03:00

AbbaGavNewsGeneva, UN Commission of Bad Satire and Ending OccupationIsrael in the docket again, as it goes forward with plans to endanger Lebanese civilians with top-secret passive missile defense system.A group of Arab, Islamic and European rights groups leveled harsh criticism today against Israel over rumors of a new top-secret IDF anti-missile technology called the Detonation-at-a-Distance

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154458399925702512006-08-01T21:50:00.000+03:002006-08-01T21:59:37.926+03:00

Only 24 hours in the day? Not by my calculations.Let's do a quick, back-of-the-envelope calculation to investigate the veracity of this common misconception in a completely unbiased and impartial manner. As we all know, there are 8760 hours in the year, or approximately 8750 if we round down conservatively to the nearest 50. Those 8750 hours are divided into the number of weeks in the year

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154342431702109202006-07-31T13:03:00.000+03:002006-08-01T00:24:44.300+03:00

Hizballah Entertainment News, July 31Iranian Embassy sub-sub-basement, Beirut, LebanonHizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah today released a statement exclusively to HEN lauding American filmstar, theologian and noted anti-Zionist historian Mel Gibson for his latest act of heroism. The Sheik, admitting he had always prefered George Clooney until now, was moved to speak out in support of the hunky

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154292443806938762006-07-30T23:39:00.000+03:002006-07-30T23:47:23.886+03:00

You are being led to believe that Israel's soldiers are a bloodthirsty lot who apparently can't restrain themselves from blowing up Lebanese civilians for fun and sport. Forget that the building in Qana was supposed to have been empty of civilians after days of leafletted warnings and unmistakable nearby attacks. Forget that this civilian area was the launching point for over a hundred missiles

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154239769880441242006-07-30T09:09:00.000+03:002006-07-30T09:31:23.630+03:00

A serious video that is seriously worth a look:Obsession: What The War on Terror Is Really AboutI'll make one point in anticipation of the morally relative challenge I fully expect from some who will watch this video. The video points out the stunning magnitude of Jihad's attacks throughout the world, and identifies -- with video after video of jihad's populizers -- the threatening ideological

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154214776509997122006-07-30T01:56:00.000+03:002006-07-30T21:30:59.250+03:00

The central pillar of Hizballah's military tactics is no great secret. You'd have to be blind not to see it -- or at least carefully averting your eyes from inconvenient truths. Alan Dershowitz, among the many who have discussed this, characterized Hizballah's secret weapon quite nicely:It should be obvious by now that Hezbollah and Hamas actually want the Israeli military to kill as many

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154212425378606382006-07-30T00:43:00.000+03:002006-07-30T01:33:45.430+03:00

Last week I was selected to join the Watcher's Council which is run by the Watcher of Weasils, presumably with the express purpose of watching weasils. Since my blog's primary activity is watching weasils, whether Hamas weasils or Hizballah weasils or UN weasils or the various weasils from the deranged and unhinged fringes of the far Left, this sounds like it should be fun. By the way, I do

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154103975625865402006-07-28T19:20:00.000+03:002006-07-28T19:26:15.663+03:00

YNet's Avi Cohen has Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah's response to Israel's claims of actually having killed some of his fighters.A number of bodies of Hizbullah operatives who were killed during combat against IDF troops in south Lebanon were transferred Thursday to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir. With the aid of military personnel, the institute identified the bodies

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1154044584277563212006-07-28T02:54:00.000+03:002006-07-28T16:55:35.986+03:00

I recently took a stroll through Yahoo's Mideast Conflict News Photos, as is my wont when I'm looking for something easy to blog about -- if you have a blog that deals even remotely with media bias, you owe it to yourself to wade in there at least once a week because those posts practically write themselves.You might think that I, a pro-Israeli blogger, would tremble and quake at the mere thought

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153976167050592462006-07-27T07:56:00.000+03:002006-07-27T20:31:19.450+03:00

While I haven't blogged about the UNIFIL post that was hit by Israel yet, I did enter this in my commment section yesterday regarding the incident that killed four UN peacekeepers:I agree, accidents happen, at least in the real world. Especially when Hizbullah has been documented to operate near and even collocate with UN bases. When in battle, return fire is called in against a missle location,

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153947174912296012006-07-26T23:52:00.000+03:002006-07-26T23:52:54.983+03:00

If this is what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad looks like when he's calling for a cease fire, I can't wait to see his face when he promises to open the Gates of Hell in revenge for the destruction of his nuclear weapons program. I have to give the man credit though. Even in the middle of an obviously excruciatingly painful cranial bleed, the man has the composure to keep his hand in Bill

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153858053583516492006-07-25T23:06:00.000+03:002006-07-25T23:07:33.636+03:00

I do my best to stay informed -- which means reading a lot of blogs, of course -- but there are still a few hidden truths in this world that I just don't get.Earlier today I happened to bump my brain on just such a low-hanging mystery. I was background googling another post I'm hoping to write later -- if I can stay awake long enough -- when I came across this gem, an oldie but a goodie from 2004

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153782076221745052006-07-25T01:59:00.000+03:002006-07-26T22:34:21.323+03:00

I've seen the pictures. I've read the hype and the headlines, too. Yes, I realize there is suffering not just in Haifa and Nahariya, but in Lebanon, too, and I really hate that it is happening. Most people in Lebanon, those not smuggling missiles and giving support to Hizbullah's attacks, have no part in this fight. Of course, neither do Israeli civilians living under Katyusha fire either.

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153685513362849372006-07-23T23:02:00.000+03:002006-07-23T23:11:53.460+03:00

As the world slowly settles into its acceptance of the inevitability of the imposition of international peacekeeping forces between Israel and Lebanon -- or rather, Hizbullah -- it's worth reviewing the performance of the current international peacekeeping force that has already been busy keeping, well, something  these past many years. This "force" that is supposed to be helping Lebanon enforce

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153487359477729612006-07-21T16:09:00.000+03:002006-07-21T16:38:42.106+03:00

If Nasrallah's violence were part of a national struggle against the entire state of Israel as we are so often told, how does one explain racist comments like this: Of the two Arab children from Nazereth who were killed by a Katyusha rocket on Wednesday, Nasrallah said they were 'martyrs for the Palestinian cause.'Martyrs. Why? Because they were civilians? No, he's killed other civilians.

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153458544335598422006-07-21T08:00:00.000+03:002006-07-21T08:09:04.373+03:00

Anyone other than commenter Rick remember who uttered this famous line challenging the received wisdom of proportional response? Here is the rest of what President Barlet said:BARTLETWhat is the virtue of a proportional response?FITZWALLACEI’m sorry.BARTLETWhat’s the virtue of a proportional response? Why’s it good? [beat] They hit an airplane, so we hit a transmitter, right? That’s a

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153427330282719562006-07-20T23:18:00.000+03:002006-07-23T02:57:55.606+03:00

The missiles have been falling on Israel's northern cities for a week now. That's a long time to stay in a bomb shelter. Especially for the kids. That's a lot of sleepless nights listening to explosions. Especially for the kids. Not surprisingly, many families are packing suitcases and travelling south to get away from the danger and the chaos -- anywhere else in the world and they might

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153411018386222892006-07-20T18:47:00.000+03:002006-07-20T19:32:52.226+03:00

Michelle Malkin's Shot of the Day:Scary. How soon can we surrender? What chance do we have against an enemy whose arthritic grandmothers even want to kill us -- and are packing the RPGs to prove it.Oddly enough, this picture reminded me of a story I heard a few years ago about venture capital and a bubble-era internet startup. Those were the days, back when the IAEA was still confidently if

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153346360575378362006-07-20T00:50:00.000+03:002006-07-20T12:59:48.803+03:00

Commenter and friend Yehoshua reminded me of a topic that is in the news right now that needs to be discussed:Here's a creative idea, Gav: why don't you do an analysis, in your inimitable fashion, of the craven idiocy behind the whole notion of "proportionate response" toward people who would murder every last one of us?I quote his comment first of all because it's a pretty good and succinct

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153291384286898152006-07-19T09:05:00.000+03:002006-07-19T09:45:21.090+03:00

The Jawa Report's coverage of a poll on the subject of lying has inspired me to raise the bar here at AbbaGav in terms of my journalistic ambitions -- of course, I'm never sure if I'm trying to jump over the bar or limbo under it. What I decided to do was present my own AbbaGavNews exclusive, scientific-ish-style poll, also on the subject of lying.So I sent out AbbaGavNews' crack research staff

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153216915803082082006-07-18T13:01:00.000+03:002006-07-18T21:26:08.120+03:00

Richard Cohen in the Washington Post explains that Israel's Greatest Mistake is existing, and suggests we Israelis solve his problem by allowing ourselves to be bombed out of this inconvenient state:'The greatest mistake Israel could make at the moment is to forget that Israel itself is a mistake. It is an honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpable, but the

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153168667684478462006-07-17T23:37:00.000+03:002006-07-17T23:47:42.593+03:00

Q: How many Barbaric Yawps does it take to screw in a light bulb?A: None because a barbaric yawp is a loud sound, not a thing.Q: Ok, so how many Barbarians who Yawp does it take to screw in a light bulb?A: None, barbarians didn't have light bulbs, they just lit the thatch roof on fire when they wanted to do a little reading before bed.Q: Ok, ok, enough. Stop kidding around. I need an answer to

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153115386171393862006-07-17T08:43:00.000+03:002006-07-18T01:01:04.163+03:00

Let's play that popular punditry pass-time, Who's the Idiot. The idea is we look at the opposing statements of various leaders in the spotlight and decide from our high and mighty throne of blogging wisdom which one is the idiot. Today I've found some Israelis who disagree about something -- who knew THAT could happen? The subject is whether or not to topple Hamas as the government of the

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153030619133183062006-07-16T08:47:00.000+03:002006-07-17T14:55:59.756+03:00

I hate to acknowledge it but I am getting a little old and out of shape for actual combat. Nevertheless, like most Israelis, I really want to do whatever I can to help out. So, I thought I'd use my blog for a little PsyOps against those nasty, brutish and short guys from Hizbullah.Attention, O fighters of Hizbullah, this post is for you, especially if you are a mid-level manager with some

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1153016038444168582006-07-16T05:07:00.000+03:002006-07-17T16:06:49.876+03:00

Pacifism is a beautiful philosophy. The idea of large groups of people co-existing side by side and simply not hurting each other is a wonderful dream. As long as no one attacks anyone else, it makes perfect sense to maintain that pacifist utopian state.Unfortunately, we don't live in a pacifist utopian state, even if we close our eyes and pretend real hard. The illusion is ruined by the

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152993799227011612006-07-15T22:56:00.000+03:002006-07-16T02:05:10.660+03:00

A recent post at Little Green Footballs exploring some Lebanese responses to Hizbullah and the present conflict with Israel pointed out a number of comments such as this:Please no more empty words I beg of Israel not to back off!!!!!!Please ignore the world and really go after hizbalah.hizbalah is a foreign iranian/syrian implant in our beloved lebanon.wipe them out , kill their leaders one by

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152871821947342122006-07-14T12:18:00.000+03:002006-07-14T13:10:21.976+03:00

My biggest belated of the week is not yet having expressed my sympathy and support to the people of Mumbai, and to all Indians generally, in the wake of the train bombing attacks several days ago. The rapid pace with which other events elbowed their way into the never-ending competition for headline attention, and my lack of familiarity with the particulars of the situation in Mumbai are

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152800436610858092006-07-13T17:18:00.000+03:002006-07-13T18:48:43.376+03:00

In case you don't know, today is a Jewish fast day, the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz. For most adult observant Jews without health issues, or who aren't busy being bombed, this is a day for abstaining not only from food, but from all drink as well. That is how Jewish fasts work, since they are supposed to afflict the body and rouse one from complacency. As I sit here not eating and not

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152769558439770182006-07-13T08:45:00.000+03:002006-07-13T21:43:50.036+03:00

That's it, war has been chosen. Not like it wasn't enough yesterday, or the day before, but when Hizbullah brags of having 10,000 missiles on the border, and a Hizbullah missile kills a woman in Nahariya we can no longer hide from the truth, or relabel it as tension or border conflict so we can pretend it away:One woman was killed in and 11 others wounded when four Hizbullah-fired Katyusha

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152734984558214052006-07-12T23:09:00.000+03:002006-07-12T23:48:56.216+03:00

I've been struggling to find a humorous way to express my opinion about today's Hizbullah outrages, since that is the normal tone of my blogging, but at least for now I've given up. For the moment I'm going to resort to paleo-punditry, weighing in with what I think is going on regardless of whether I'm actually qualified to have even a clue about what is really going to happen. Feel free to

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152734071984736812006-07-12T22:53:00.000+03:002006-07-12T22:54:32.726+03:00

Courtesy of the amazing and amusing James Lileks we learn that Joel Stein, the same guy who made a splash with his big column about not supporting the troops, is back with an absolutely hilarious discussion of how he refuses to display the Stars and Stripes:So the reason I didn't want to put a flag outside wasn't because I disapprove of our international policies. It was because I didn't want to

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152720286031303482006-07-12T19:04:00.000+03:002006-07-12T19:21:27.280+03:00

I'm sure MSNBC would say it's just another one of those little unimportant and unintentional accidents that isn't worth worrying about, but exactly who do they think has committed an act of war here?What fraction of MSNBC readers will scan this headline and come away with the opinion that this is all about another Israeli "act of war" in which it invaded Lebanon just because a couple more

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152638665425276852006-07-11T20:17:00.000+03:002006-08-05T21:01:06.003+03:00

I thought he was holding a pita, but then I almost heaved. I didn't even think such a thing was possible -- who would imagine it could just fall off like that? I probably should do a caption contest on this one, but I really don't want to look at that photo on the front page of my blog for the next week or so. I can't promise I'll read them, but feel free to caption away in the comments.UPDATE

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152567826846809632006-07-11T00:42:00.000+03:002006-07-11T00:43:46.870+03:00

Yeah, Johnny Depp and I have a lot in common, and I'm not just talking about all the money and the adoring crowds. We're also linked by how our kids react when we hone our craft in their presence: Johnny Depp plays with dolls -- but his daughter critiques his performance. "Actually I do like playing with Barbies," Depp told the London Independent. "It's kind of a great thing to do with your kids

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152562229339235852006-07-10T22:26:00.000+03:002006-07-10T23:10:33.116+03:00

In the Jerusalem Post, Saul Singer asked an interesting question about the nature of Palestinian goals:Attacking Israel from territory that Israel has withdrawn from makes no sense in terms of the Palestinian message. If the Palestinians want Israel to continue to withdraw, why would they attack mainly from the areas they do control, rather than those they want to drive Israel from?Oddly enough,

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152543965763804692006-07-10T18:06:00.000+03:002006-07-10T18:41:46.126+03:00

We interrupt coverage of AbbaGav's personal life to bring you this fast-breaking story from Yahoo News...The moon is framed through the barrel of an Israeli 155mm mobile artillery piece in Nahal Oz at the border of Israel and Gaza strip July 9, 2006. Israel launched air strikes and artillery shelling against Palestinian targets across the Gaza Strip on Sunday and said it would continue an

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152475195735127882006-07-09T22:53:00.000+03:002006-07-09T22:59:55.760+03:00

With three kids under the age of nine, we are still in that phase of life where the cost of babysitting can overwhelm any other expenses when parents want a simple evening out -- but it's worth it.A three hour course in the finer points of making dim sum entirely from scratch is not a simple evening out.It is possible for a guy -- even a guy who likes sports and pizza -- to attend a cooking class

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152276437600053732006-07-07T15:39:00.000+03:002006-07-07T15:47:17.643+03:00

John Stossel recently shredded the idea that a demographic imbalance in a particular job automatically implies actionable gender discrimination on the part of employers. His centerpiece example is a highly amusing attempt by the U.S. federal government's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to prosecute a particular chain that hired almost exclusively female service staff:The business

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152212786945050072006-07-06T22:05:00.000+03:002006-07-06T22:06:46.713+03:00

This isn't a cliched joke -- or at least it's not ONLY a cliched joke. I'm also actually curious. I see photos of Palestinian policemen and militants alike, all running around with rifles and camoflauge, looking to shoot at Israeli soldiers, and I wonder what the difference is.A Palestinian police officer runs in the streets of Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, during an Israeli military

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152115036639311952006-07-05T18:54:00.000+03:002006-07-05T18:57:16.680+03:00

I'll describe the crime you pick the punishment. But don't peek at the answer until you've made your choice; that wouldn't be fair.A teenaged boy had a crush on a girl he knew. Lacking the common sense to simply ask the girl out, the boy instead chose another way to convince her to go out with him: one day, while she was walking to school, he snapped a photo of her with his cell phone's camera

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152046745114218902006-07-04T23:56:00.000+03:002006-07-04T23:59:05.163+03:00

A few weeks ago (courtesy of lgf) I came across the story of an amazing program to reduce violence and keep dangerous weapons off the street:Over 17,700 weapons were handed in during the first week of the national knives amnesty, the Home Office said. Machetes, meat cleavers and axes as well as knives were among the haul of 17,715 surrendered to the 43 police forces across England and Wales. Home

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1152023829659437872006-07-04T17:36:00.000+03:002006-07-05T00:03:09.616+03:00

It's no big surprise. I already know I have occasional problems with ear wax. Yes, yes, I admit it. I also have to have my ears shaved whenever I get a haircut and they like to trim my eyebrows, too. Let's just get it all out in the open right up front. My body is turning high-maintenance on me.But let's get back to the earwax for a minute though. I've recently been experiencing another "

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086459.post-1151939298234147572006-07-03T18:02:00.000+03:002006-07-03T18:08:18.236+03:00

Wow. I'm starting to regret having chosen this bad-rhyming gimmick for all of my Haveil Havalim notification posts. The rhymes are getting worse by the week.But at the same time the Jewish Blog Carnival itself just keeps getting bigger and better, and it really is worth a click. This week's issue of Haveil Havalim, the 76th in the series, is available at the IgNoble Experiment. Grab yourself a

AbbaGavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274186872772944260noreply@blogger.com0