BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

This is so beyond explanation other than the depraved indifference of Islamic society. And we want to be politically correct with them? Spare me. What sickens me even more -- is that I have heard American men who abuse make SIMILAR EXCUSES FOR THEIR ABUSE. However, at least a raped woman here doesn't end up in jail. Right? No -- if her abuser's got money, friends in high places or pull with the courts, she's not believed either. Abused Afghan women end up in jail A woman fleeing domestic violence or rape often ends up guilty Trafficked across the border from Pakistan with her 3-year-old son, Rukhma was handed to an Afghan who raped and abused her, then beat the toddler to death as she watched helplessly. He was jailed for 20 years for murder, but Rukhma ended up in prison too. Rukhma, who doesn't know her age but looks younger than 20, had put up with her mistreatment for three months last summer before seeking protection and justice from authorities. Instead she wa

A very interesting article from JPost: by Gil Troy Passover remains a beloved Jewish holiday, with the Seder one of the most popular Jewish rituals in Israel and North America. But the bitter hametz controversy about outlawing selling un-kosher-for-Passover products in Israel highlights a central contrast between the Israeli and American Jewish experiences. Most American Jewish identity is voluntary; much Israeli Judaism is compulsory. Most Israeli Jews approach Judaism as a rigorous system of rules and faith reinforced by God and the law. Although only 20 percent of Israelis define themselves as religious, one recent Ynet survey estimated that 71 percent of Israeli Jews believe in God. Keeping God central to Judaism, as Jews traditionally did, defines Judaism by its commandments. Even many Israelis who break the commandments still perceive Judaism as rooted in God's law. Moreover, living in a sovereign Jewish state, much Israeli Judaism becomes involuntary, either compulsory or au

Ben Goldfarb Director, Paradigm Shift Communications We sometimes think we understand other people's motives, and more often than not, we condemn others for their words and actions. Perhaps we need to change the way we look at the world. The Talmud states that we don't see the world as it is but rather as we see ourselves. The founder of the Chasidic movement, Rabbi Israel Ba'al Shem Tov (1698-1760), takes this notion one step further. He suggests that we look at the world as if looking in a mirror. When we see good or bad character traits in others, this is simply a reflection of who we are. This concept is illustrated beautifully by the following story: A traveler approached the gates of a city and, before entering, asked about the nature of its inhabitants. The guard asked him what the people were like in his hometown. The man described in no uncertain terms all the negative attributes of his former neighbors. The guard said that the people in his city were iden

I got my undergrad degree in English Literature. That included a heck of a lot of writing of long essays and reading some really dry books. I did my senior thesis on Herman Melville. Yeah, I like to do things the hard way. When I first moved to New York 29 years ago I did a lot of reading on the subway. I spent most Friday nights either at The Strand downtown or Coliseum Books ( which used to be at 57th & Broadway) . There were regulars there, we didn't even know each other's names but we did know what certain people liked to read. One night a nice, older man came up to me in the Philosophy section at Coliseum and said - "Ayn Rand. The section's over there. ( pointing ) You need to read her." So I sidled on over. First one I grabbed was Atlas Shrugged . I was transfixed. I tore through the book, written the year I was born, with vigor. While heading to an evening gig I was reading it on the subway and a man leaned forward across the aisle and said

I considered backing McCain. Really. I did. But then 2 lightbulb moments sent me screaming for fresh air (or as fresh as it gets in NYC): 1. During the 2000 campaign, Bush/ Rove's operatives had 'robo-callers' making calls to voters in the Deep South saying things like "did you KNOW that John McCain has an illegitimate black baby?" Just a short time later, during Hurricane Katrina, President Chimpy was in Arizona giving McLame a birthday cake. McCain was hugging and kissing him so much I figured McCain was gonna give Chimpy a "Lewinsky" next. After being crapped on like that - McCain is now Chimpy's BFF. Party or no party, that's whoring. Rove Posse went after not just McCain - but his FAMILY. McCain just bent over and took it and is now in bed with the Neocons to get his ass elected. Not on my vote. 2. John Hagee. Enough said. (BTW - McCain, after saying he was "proud" to have Hagee back him; daring to show his face in New

Gillerman's being polite. Carter being a bigot is a drop of the harm he's done to Israel. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday called former President Jimmy Carter "a bigot" for meeting with the leader of the militant Hamas movement in Syria. Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, "went to the region with soiled hands and came back with bloody hands after shaking the hand of Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas," Ambassador Dan Gillerman told a luncheon briefing for reporters. The diplomat was questioned about problems facing his country during a wide-ranging discussion with reporters lasting more than an hour. The briefing was sponsored by The Israel Project, a Washington-based, media-oriented advocacy group. The ambassador's harsh words for Carter came days after the ex-president met with Mashaal for seven hours in Damascus to negotiate a cease-fire with Gaza's Hamas rulers. Carter then called Mashaal on Monday to try to get him to

That crazy Olmert - he's just GIVING IT ALL AWAY. That's right. Jews just finished with Passover, the celebration of the release from the enslavement of the powers-that-be of Egypt. And the start of their journey towards the land of Israel which Hashem himself promised to the Jewish People. And now one political hack with a bad comb-over is going to just give it away for the PEACE which has been promised to Israel by people who NEVER KEEP THEIR PROMISES. What ever happened to "the best predictor of future behavior is past actions?" Stop the Insanity! Olmert tells Assad Israel will cede entire Golan for peace By Yoav Stern Syrian news agency "Sham-Press" reported Wednesday morning that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has relayed a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad affirming that he agrees to a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights in return for peace with his nation. According to the report, the message was passed on by Turkish Prime Minister Re

by Alfred Lord Tennyson Now fades the last long streak of snow, Now burgeons every maze of quick About the flowering squares, and thick By ashen roots the violets blow. Now rings the woodland loud and long, The distance takes a lovelier hue, And drowned in yonder living blue The lark becomes a sightless song. Now dance the lights on lawn and lea, The flocks are whiter down the vale, And milkier every milky sail, On winding stream or distant sea; Where now the seamew pipes, or dives In yonder greening gleam, and fly The happy birds, that change their sky To build and brood, that live their lives From land to land; and in my breast Spring wakens too: and my regret Become an April violet, And buds and blossoms like the rest. (photos taken in my front yard, plants planted and nurtured by myself and my children... spring courtesy of God)

Bush's Trojan Taco By Greg Palast Psst! George Bush has a secret. While you Democrats are pounding each other to a pulp in Pennsylvania, the President has snuck back down to New Orleans for a meeting of the NAFTA Three: the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of Mexico. You're not supposed to know that - for two reasons: First, the summit planned for the N.O. two years back was meant to showcase the rebuilt Big Easy, a monument to can-do Bush-o-nomics. Well, it is a monument to Bush's leadership: The city still looks like Dresden 1946, with over half the original residents living in toxic trailers or wandering lost and broke in America. The second reason Bush has kept this major summit a virtual secret is its real agenda. More important, the agenda-makers, the guys who called the meeting, must remain as far out of camera range as possible: The North American Competitiveness Council. Never heard of The Council? Well, maybe you've heard of the counselors: the chief

Police are looking for Yaser Said, and below is a video of pictures of the possible different looks that he may be using: In January, 2008 - Yaser Said performed an honor killing of his two daugthers, Amina and Sarah Said (may they rest in peace). The Lewisville cab driver had been suspected of abuse in the past, according to the Dallas News . He was accused of sexual abuse when they were children, and it was recanted later by them. Many feel out of intimidation by Said, the animal. During the funeral vigil, the girls’ brother took the microphone, saying his father did not kill his sisters. “They pulled the trigger, not my dad,” he said. What do you know? Misogyny and violence against women is being passed on to the young men - in this case, the girls' OWN BROTHER. Atlas Shrugs has her usual kick-a** take on it as well as some great graphics and links: This man brought his barbaric islamic practice from Egypt, tortured these girls for years. Beat them, raped them, kicked the

Jimmy - tell me -- what is it? It's SOOOOO confusing! Is it: Hamas & Syria Are Open to Peace or Hamas Has NO PLANS to Recognize Israel Jimmy - you truly are addled. The nuances of communicating with psychopathic savages seems to have eluded you. And you are seriously delusional. In short, you bought a lie. AGAIN!! And you now want to sell it to the rest of us? The one thing I have said here and on my other blog, and something I tell the abuse victims I work with - WATCH THEIR ACTIONS NOT THEIR WORDS!! Hamas and Fatah continue to fire on Israel, send suicide bombers - yet a couple of their flunkies say they "want peace?" And you believed them? PUHLEEZE!! Jimmy, the home called - time for your medication. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Senior Israeli officials were not the first to try to get out of meeting Jimmy Carter. A number of members of Bill Clinton's administration have already tried, including the former president and his wife the candidate; most members of Bu

by Nora Ephron 1. In order to foil a terrorist plot, you must first find a terrorist plot. This is not easy. 2. Not just anyone can find and then foil a terrorist plot. You must have an incentive. The best incentive is to be an accused felon, looking at a long prison term. Under such circumstances, your lawyer will explain to you, you may be able to reduce your sentence by acting as an informant in a criminal case, preferably one involving terrorists. 3. The fact that you do not know any actual terrorists should not in any way deter you. Necessity is the mother of invention: if you can find the right raw material -- a sad, sick, lonely, drunk, deranged, disgruntled or just plain anti-American Muslim somewhere in the United States -- you can make your very own terrorist. 4. Now the good part begins. Money! The FBI will give you lots of money to take your very own terrorist out to lots of dinners where you, wearing a wire, can record yourself making recommendations to him about possible

The videos below are a MUST WATCH!! Either come to my blog (if you're reading this on an aggregator) to view them or go to ObamaTruth.org If you can't see the embedded videos go to OBAMA TRUTH for more! Obama's fundraising collides with his rhetoric By Bob Secter Maytag workers whose jobs were shipped to Mexico serve as consistent characters in Barack Obama's stump speech. He employs their stories in railing against corporations that use trade pacts to replace well-paid union workers with low-cost foreign ones. It is a ready applause line for the Illinois presidential hopeful, one that he has been reciting almost verbatim since he was a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2004, when appliance giant Maytag was in the process of shutting a refrigerator plant here, putting 1,600 people out of work. But the union that represented most of those Galesburg workers isn't impressed with Obama's advocacy. It has endorsed his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Its leaders say t