22 thousand.That's a lot of lives...
The largest part of European tourists that are missing are from Sweden. There are even missing Icelanders. Over 500 missing Israelis. I don't know anybody personally. All I can do is feel horrified, and as usual when a tragedy occurs, feel relieved that "it wasn't me". At least not this time.
Dhimmi Watch and the Qur'ans excellent treatment of dirt.. err women
I've added two new links. The first is Mentalblog, and the second is Dhimmi Watch. It is actually taken from Jihadwatch, but I reckon it deserves its own link here.
For those of you who don't know:
Why Dhimmi Watch?
Dhimmitude is the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians. Dhimmis, "protected people," are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur'an's command that they "feel themselves subdued" (Sura 9:29). This denial of equality of rights and dignity remains part of the Sharia, and, as such, are part of the law that global jihadists are laboring to impose everywhere, ultimately on the entire human race.
The dhimmi attitude of chastened subservience has entered into Western academic study of Islam, and from there into journalism, textbooks, and the popular discourse. One must not point out the depredations of jihad and dhimmitude; to do so would offend the multiculturalist ethos that prevails everywhere today.
But in this era of global terrorism this silence and distortion has become deadly. Therefore Dhimmi Watch seeks to bring public attention to the plight of the dhimmis, and by doing so, to bring them justice.
The website had several interesting entries posted today, such as:
US Latinas seek answers in Islam; uncomfortable questions ignored
The Christian Science Monitor has a large feature about American Latinas converting to Islam: "US Latinas seek answers in Islam." (Thanks to all who sent this in.) It's easy to see why Jasmine Pinet would find "Hello, Sister" more appealing than "Hey, mami," and not want to be regarded as a sex object. But the idea that the Taliban originated the features of Islam that discriminate against women, and that a return to the Qur'an will help women assert their rights, is laughable.
The Qur'an, after all:
1. Likens a woman to a field (tilth), to be used by a man as he wills: "Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as ye will" (2:223); (well, what am I wasting my life at university for then??).
2. Declares that a woman's testimony is worth half that of a man: "Get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her" (2:282); (Hah! Well we wouldn't use the word "remind" here..).
3. Allows men to marry up to four wives, and have sex with slave girls also: "If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice" (4:3); Oh dear
4. Rules that a son's inheritance should be twice the size of that of a daughter: "Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children's (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females" (4:11);
5. Tells husbands to beat their disobedient wives: "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them" (4:34). Oh well that's only fair! (Yes, sarcasm..).
Geviha was writing about how blogging is lonely, and he asked readers to pin his guest map. At first I thought: Lonely he says. Well there's no need for such negativity! But then I placed my pin on my current location - a 103.000 square km island near the north pole. When I saw the little person representing myself, all alone on that remote island, it startled me a little. Due to the fact that my imaginative head keeps me occupied in a world filled with interesting people, places and things, I suppose I didn't realise how isolated I am.
In 9 days from now I will, in a matter of hours, be transported to another continent. So in a way, isolation is a state of mind. It can be everywhere, I suppose. Or can it?
Hasidic Gentile also placed a pin. He chose to place his pin on Norway. I have no idea why, and I'm still wondering about it.
Perhaps I shall get one of those maps as well. They are quite neat. In the meantime, check out the one on Geviha's site, in the lower right corner.
Update:
I stole Geviha's idea of a guestmap, so please put your pin!
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into villages and seaside resorts across Asia on Sunday, killing more than 5,600 people in six countries.
Tourists, fishermen, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water up to 20 feet high that swept across the Bay of Bengal (search), unleashed by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake centered off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra (search).
In Sri Lanka (search), 1,000 miles west of the epicenter, more than 2,425 people were killed, the prime minister's office said. At least 1,870 died in Indonesia, and 1,130 along the southern coasts of India. At least 198 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and 2 in Bangladesh.
Five Swedish children abducted by their Palestinian father more than six months ago and taken to the Gaza Strip flew back to Sweden for a dramatic Christmas Day reunion with their mother, their family and police said.
The children left from Tel Aviv's international airport and arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark, just after 9:30 p.m. (2030 GMT) Friday, their mother, Elizabeth Krantz. They arrived with their father, Ismail Nowajah, in Kungsbacka in southwestern Sweden early Saturday morning.
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Hmm. In the Swedish newspaper "Aftonbladet" the article covering this ended with saying "Och polisen säger sig inte heller ha något polisiärt intresse av fallet eftersom pappan inte längre är misstänkt för något brott", meaning that the police has no further interest in the case since the father is not suspected of any crime. Hello!! Earth to Sweden! The guy kidnapped his kids against their own and their mother's will and held them for half a year, and he's "not "suspected" of a crime"??? Is it me, or does this not sound right?
Something tells me that if I would do such a thing, or somebody from a real country (as opposed to the 2 made up choices of i) never neverland, ii) palestine), we simply wouldn't just get away with it. And more importantly, even if we would get away with it, people would at least acknowledge that we had done something wrong.
I am going to allow myself to say that Ismail Nowajah, like countless other palestinians, is having his crime ignored, "because he's palestinian". Not because people love palestinians. No. Lets not live in denial here. Everybody hates Arabs, C'mon. My grandmother is scared of them. But because they have "issues" with Jews (especially Israelis), they have become the world's darlings, putting their behavior above the law, even in a "civilized" country like Sweden.
Palestinian crowd waits outside a polling station during municipal elections in the West Bank town of Jericho
Photo: AP
Hamas made a strong showing in local elections in the West Bank, the first time the Islamic terrorist group competed at the polls, according to preliminary elections results obtained Friday.
Elections for local councils were held in 26 communities on Thursday, with more than 140, 000 eligible voters choosing among 887candidates, including 139 women. Of the 360 local council seats, 16 percent were reserved for women.
According to preliminary results obtained by The Associated Press, the ruling Fatah movement won a majority in 14 towns, while Hamas took control in nine communities. In two, a joint Hamas-Fatah slate won. The outcome of the vote in one community, Yabed, was not immediately available.
However, Hamas officials said they had won a majority in at least 17 local councils, based on reports from their election observers.
My Obiter Dicta's Jeffrey is attending an annual conference of The Association of Jewish Studies these days. As some of you might know, Jeffrey teaches Jewish and Talmudic studies at the Bar Ilan University. Although I was not surprised to read what he had to say about some of the attending scholars, I still felt the need to mention some of it:
..I met a close friend who is by no means a Likudnik. (He still likes Barak.) He was beside himself. He reported that every single speaker did nothing but spew venom about Zionism and Israel. We're not talking about people who hate Sharon/settlers/Yesha etc. We're talking about academics who want to dismantle the State of Israel and lecture (viz. preach) against it's very right to exist. My friend told me that one presenter summed things up by saying that he views his job as being the destruction of the Zionist narrative, with which Jewish students enter his class.
He also makes an excellent point when he says:
The self-appointed task of these Jewish academicians is to destroy the Jewish national identity of the unsuspecting student. In the 1930's 'progressive' College Professors saw their sacred task as being disabusing their students of their belief in God and their attachment to Judaism. Now it's the turn of Zionism and of the State of Israel. Someone should contact Sander Gilman and urge him to add a chapter to his classic work on judische selbst-hass, Jewish Self-Hatred
Well I know nobody's going to read this, since you're all real busy celebrating Christmas, but as a devoted blogger, I will blog even if I'll only I have one reader!
Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Bethlehem under heavy security late Friday for Christmas celebrations, where he was greeted by cheering crowds.
It was the first time a Palestinian leader has spent the holiday in Jesus' traditional birthplace in four years. (Jesus, was probably born in Nazareth though, but nevvvvermind). Beginning in 2001, Israel barred Yasser Arafat from celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem.
Since then, a seat in the front row of St. Catherine's Church on Manger Square was left symbolically empty and draped in an Arabic headdress during the Midnight Mass in respect for Arafat.
The celebration gave an important boost to Abbas, who is the front-runner in Palestinian presidential elections next month. He received a loud ovation when he arrived and was mobbed by Palestinians whenever he appeared in public.
Abbas, a Muslim, also stopped into a mosque to pray.
"We ask God and wish that all the religions in this country will live in peace and security," Abbas said. "I hope next year will be much better than the previous ones."
"We extend our hand to the Israelis. We want to negotiate, to reach peace - a peace built on justice and right," Abbas told a meeting in Bethlehem on Friday evening.
(Ehrm sure, with the condition that you all commit suicide by drowning yourselves in the sea).
Sabbah called on Israelis and Palestinians to put the violence of the past behind them.
"Our situation continues to be a situation of conflict, violence, insecurity, fear, military occupation, the wall of separation, of imprisoned cities and demolitions," he said.
"Palestine and Israel must conquer the evil of violence ... and give birth to a new society of brothers and sisters in which no one controls the other, no one is occupied by the other, no one causes insecurity for the other, no one takes liberty from the other," he said.
(And no one blows the other one up?? I'm no expert, I'm just asking...).
And they say it's Israel that doesn't want peace? How on earth can one define stabbing a mother of four to death in the neck as "freedom fighting"? I'm horrified that there are those who would actually attempt to find "logic" to support it.
Police: Murder of woman near Green Line was act of terror
By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Police have determined that the murder of an Israeli woman in Moshav Nehousha near the border with the West Bank on Tuesday was in fact a terrorist attack, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.
The body of Ariela Fahima was found at the entrance to her home by her 10-year-old daughter. The 39-year-old mother of four had been stabbed in the neck.
Police sources said Tuesday that they did not know if the attack was carried out by one or multiple attackers.
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