tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-163983682024-03-23T11:10:50.752-07:00Seattle JewA personal blog by a Jewish guy living in Seattle, working at the University of Washington as a scientist, working on blood vessels while taking pictures, and commenting on science, religion, politics and other taboos.SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.comBlogger3082125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-38877042202223941502012-02-17T10:15:00.000-08:002012-02-17T10:15:55.345-08:00Genetic architecture of diet-induced obesity in the mouse<b><br />
***********HIGHLY RECOMMENDED*******************</b><br />
<div id=":yl"><wbr></wbr><b>******************************</b><wbr></wbr><b>*********<br />
Jake Lusis, UCLA,<br />
</b> <b> <br />
Genetic architecture of diet-induced obesity in the mouse<br />
<br />
Tuesday, February 21st </b> <b><br />
10:30 - 12:00pm<br />
<br />
ISB, 401 Terry Ave, first floor<br />
</b> <b> <br />
<br />
Everyone is invited!!</b> </div><span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-82791186917610637682011-02-27T10:14:00.000-08:002011-02-27T10:14:13.679-08:00<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leora-tanenbaum/female-rabbis-prohibited-_b_827082.html">FROM HUFF'n POST </a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEnAwjbm-sXs4gcJNm5MKyRHUSIHK2wP80hXZZMQbSiCJjNxgT5oWJyMZP1YZ1msciHDMz_G-faX03-Xu5CD6v4RtZDIj1Guxkl6c_iaFuEb7uLDcsTlkiMm-uZdzV-IJ7L_SKA/s1600/moment.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEnAwjbm-sXs4gcJNm5MKyRHUSIHK2wP80hXZZMQbSiCJjNxgT5oWJyMZP1YZ1msciHDMz_G-faX03-Xu5CD6v4RtZDIj1Guxkl6c_iaFuEb7uLDcsTlkiMm-uZdzV-IJ7L_SKA/s1600/moment.gif" /></a></div>In liberal Jewish synagogues across the country, women have achieved feminist success. They wear ritual garments. They read from the Torah. They are rabbis. But when you enter an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, you enter a gender time warp. Here, women do not count in a prayer quorum. They are not permitted near the Torah. In many cases, you would be hard-pressed even to figure out where the women are located, since they may be seated behind a curtain or wall, or upstairs in a gallery, far from the action. As Tevye the milkman would say, "Sounds crazy, no?"<br />
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In many synagogues, women cannot even hold a position of any meaningful leadership: The National Council of Young Israel forbids its 140-member Orthodox synagogues to elect a female president. <br />
If a female synagogue president can be prohibited, imagine the Orthodox Jewish reaction to a female rabbi -- a woman with religious authority. Two years ago, a prominent Orthodox rabbi in New York, Avi Weiss of the <a href="http://www.hir.org/" target="_hplink">Hebrew Institute of Riverdale,</a> in consultation with Blu Greenberg, founder of the <a href="http://jofa.org/" target="_hplink">Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance</a>, bravely broke with conventional Orthodox tradition and ordained Sara Hurwitz. Since the mid-1990s, at least three other Orthodox rabbis had followed their conscience and quietly ordained individual women. But Weiss was the first to ordain a woman publicly.<br />
Weiss never actually called Hurwitz "rabbi." Instead, Weiss coined a term, "maharat," an acronym of four Hebrew words -- <em>manhigah</em>, <em>hilhatit</em>, <em>ruhanit</em> and <em>toranit</em> -- which means a "female leader in Jewish religious law, spiritual matters and Torah." The word is cumbersome; it requires detailed explanation. Everyone with a passing familiarity of Judaism has at least some notion of the concept of "rabbi." But no one, not even those steeped in Orthodox Jewish culture and tradition, not even those of us immersed in the feminist world, can easily explain the definition or derivation of "maharat." When asked about the term, I typically reel off the Hebrew words that are its building blocks, then I translate them into English. I inevitably forget one of the terms, get confused and start again. The process is exhausting, confusing and off-putting. <br />
More troubling, "maharat" connotes a secondary status. For this reason, I opposed the title the instant I heard it. Created for women alone, and designed to differentiate women rabbis from "real" rabbis, the title evokes the bridesmaid who is never the bride. <br />
Last year, Weiss announced that Hurwitz had a new title: "rabba" (ra-BAH). This term, he said, would clarify that Hurtwitz is a full member of the rabbinic staff. A feminized version of the title "rabbi" made sense; Hurwitz has the same credentials as a male rabbi. She completed the same course of study required of male rabbis and works in the same capacity, with the same pastoral obligations.<br />
True, Hurwitz was not being called "rabbi," which Orthodox feminists prefer, because the term conveys the same authority and respect that men enjoy. But in the Orthodox Jewish world, change comes slowly. "Rabba" was close enough -- and the implications obvious enough -- to make those of us active in Orthodox feminism feel triumphant. Moreover, Weiss announced that Hurwitz would head a new seminary for women, Yeshivat Maharat, educating a future pool of women for the rabbinate, so that she would not be the one and only "rabba."<br />
So here you have a woman rabbi who cedes the status of rabbi to respect right-wing members of the Orthodox world. How did that wing react? By denouncing those with the audacity even to imagine that women could approach religious leadership. A March 2010 statement from Agudath Israel, an ultra-Orthodox organization of rabbis, threatened to expel Hurwitz's synagogue from Orthodoxy. The <a href="http://www.rabbis.org/" target="_hplink">Rabbinical Council of America,</a> one of the world's largest and oldest organizations of Orthodox rabbis, likewise pressured Weiss.<br />
After several weeks, Weiss retreated -- somewhat. He agreed not to ordain women as rabbis at Yeshivat Maharat and not to confer the title "rabba" upon the graduates. Turns out that Hurwitz is indeed the one and only "rabba." <br />
Last month, the most liberal Orthodox rabbinic group in the United States, the <a href="http://internationalrabbinicfellowship.org/" target="_hplink">International Rabbinic Fellowship</a>, which was founded three years ago by Weiss, together with Rabbi Marc Angel, voted down its first proposal to accept women as members of the organization. But at least the issue is on the agenda. <br />
The current state of affairs is immoral and shameful. There is no halakhic (Jewish legal) prohibition against female rabbis. A "rabbi" is simply a teacher and master of Jewish texts and law. Therefore, some of us are taking matters into our own hands. We don't have the religious authority to ordain anyone. But we recognize the rabbinic status of the handful of women who have been ordained by Orthodox authorities. <br />
We are also involved in independent prayer groups in which women and men lead together, even though they do not sit together. These groups are not egalitarian: women may not lead every part of the service. But women are encouraged to lead all parts for which there is no halakhic prohibition. In the <a href="http://www.yavneheastside.org/" target="_hplink">independent prayer group I attend on the upper east side of Manhattan, Yavneh</a>, women recite Hallel, one of the most beautiful songs of praise in the liturgy; women hold the Torah; women read from the Torah; women recite the blessing over the wine. <br />
Like Tevye from <em>Fiddler on the Roof</em>, we struggle with the concept that sacred tradition is fixed yet flexible. Everyone involved in religion -- any religion, in any level of observance -- knows that the key is to find the balance between tradition and modernity. <br />
<span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-73497014109052883352011-02-25T22:26:00.000-08:002011-02-25T22:26:00.408-08:00Jews still struggle to feel at home in Malmö<img alt="An anti-Semitic poster outside the Malmö synagogue; Fredrik Sieradzki" src="http://www.thelocal.se/articleImages/32094.jpg" title="An anti-Semitic poster outside the Malmö synagogue; Fredrik Sieradzki" /> <br />
<h1>Jews still struggle to feel at home in Malmö</h1><div class="tyda"> <div class="small dates"><span>Published: 16 Feb 11 </span><br />
<span class="print"><span>Online: http://www.thelocal.se/32094/20110216/</span></span></div><div style="float: left; margin-left: 30px;"> </div><br />
<div id="articletext"> <div style="margin-top: 7px;"><strong><span>A year after claims about an exodus of Jews from </span><a class="nodec" href="http://www.thelocal.se/tag/Malm%F6">Malmö</a><span> made global headlines, many </span><a class="nodec" href="http://www.thelocal.se/tag/jewish">Jewish</a><span> residents still don't feel safe in southern Sweden, The Local's </span><b><span>Karen Holst</span></b><span> discovers.</span></strong><br />
</div><ul style="line-height: 1.3em; list-style: disc outside none; padding-left: 20px;"><li><strong><a href="http://www.thelocal.se/30884/20101216/">Jews warned about visiting southern Sweden</a></strong><span class="small"><span> (16 Dec 10)</span></span></li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.thelocal.se/29608/20101014/">US Jewish centre seeks ban on Malmö mayor</a></strong><span class="small"><span> (14 Oct 10)</span></span></li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.thelocal.se/24632/20100127/">Jews flee Malmö as anti-Semitism grows</a></strong><span class="small"><span> (27 Jan 10)</span></span></li>
</ul><span> The past couple of years have been turbulent for Malmö's Jewish community. A spike in anti-Semitic attacks in 2009 prompted a number of Jews to leave the city altogether, concluding they would never feel accepted there.</span><br />
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<span> Controversial comments by the town's long-serving Social Democratic mayor Ilmar </span><a class="nodec" href="http://www.thelocal.se/tag/reepalu">Reepalu</a><span> also put Malmö in the spotlight, drawing criticism from within his own party, as well as from influential Jewish organisations aboard.</span><br />
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<span> And in December 2010, the US-based Simon </span><a class="nodec" href="http://www.thelocal.se/tag/Wiesenthal">Wiesenthal</a><span> Center issued a warning urging Jews to exercise "extreme caution" when traveling in southern Sweden.</span><br />
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<span> While current statistics show a significant decline in anti-Semitic attacks in 2010 when compared to 2009, the nearly 3,000-member Jewish community in </span><a class="nodec" href="http://www.thelocal.se/tag/sk%E5ne">Skåne</a><span> continues to shrink.</span><br />
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<span> “People wonder if there will even be a Jewish community here in 10 years,” Fredrik Sieradzki, spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Malmö (Judiska Församlingen i Malmö), tells The Local.</span><br />
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<span> Despite the decrease in reported attacks, as well as community efforts to ease racist rancor, many of south Sweden’s Jewish residents continue to feel dangerously threatened.</span><br />
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<span> According to Sieradzki, many young Jewish families are relocating because they feel Skåne is not a safe area to raise their children. Coupled with an aging baby-boomer generation, there are few willing or present to take vacated leadership positions within many of the area's Jewish organisations.</span><br />
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<span> “Some of us feel there is no hope and we are losing people because of anti-Semitism,” he adds. </span><br />
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<span> Police reports show the number of anti-Semitic incidents nearly doubled in 2009 but have declined in 2010 by more than half. </span><br />
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<span> “We believe the number of attacks increased in 2009 due to the Davies Cup and two big demonstrations against Israel. Now the statistics show hate-crime against Jews going down dramatically in 2010,” explains Susanne Gosenius, a hate crime coordinator for Skåne police.</span><br />
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<span> Sieradzki argues, however, that the numbers may not reflect reality as many Jewish residents choose not to report every incident, such as intimidating slurs and other verbal attacks.</span><br />
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<span> “Maybe the numbers are lower or maybe not. It doesn’t matter because the feeling is the same – many of us cannot and do not feel at home here,” says Sieradzki.</span><br />
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<span> He points out that the severity of attacks is also intensifying. </span><br />
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<span> Last October a group of about 20 teenagers attacked the Jewish community’s residential education centre during a youth retreat.</span><br />
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<span> “The first night they shouted vicious, nasty slurs. The next night it escalated and they broke down the fence and were banging on windows and doors,” Sieradzki explains.</span><br />
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<span> “It was quite frightening.”</span><br />
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<span> Sieradzki, who applauded the nearby municipality of Vellinge for its swift response to the incident, also points out that the teenagers in the attacking group were not Muslim as many are quick to assume.</span><br />
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<span> “These boys were not Arabs. They were all Swedish. And I assure you the Jewish people are not attacking anybody.”</span><br />
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<span> Despite the year’s decline in reported attacks, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the largest international organization for Jewish human rights, nevertheless went ahead with its decision to issue a travel warning for Jews visiting southern Sweden.</span><br />
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<span> The move put Skåne to the same plane as countries that have experienced heinous, even fatal attacks and bombings on Jewish people, such as Turkey, Greece and Belgium. </span><br />
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<span> “We made a very serious statement by putting Malmö on our advisory list,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Center, tells The Local. </span><br />
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<span> “It’s a serious move and we hope to take serious measures to rectify it.”</span><br />
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<span> But the warning rankled some members of Malmö's Jewish community, who claim they weren't informed about the move ahead of time, and surprised local authorities as statistics showed that attacks were on the decline.</span><br />
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<span> “I can understand that Jewish people feel threatened in Malmö,” hate crimes specialist Gosenius explains. </span><br />
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<span> “We have a huge population from the Middle East, West Bank and Gaza and most (Jewish) victims describe their perpetrators as young Muslim men.</span><br />
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<span> “But I’m not sure the warning for Malmö fits. It’s a very drastic act.”</span><br />
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<span> Sieradzki has mixed emotions about the Wiesenthal Center's "surprise" advisory.</span><br />
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<span> While he understands the Center’s point, he argues the move may have been too severe and feels the Jewish leaders in Skåne could have helped moderate the message had they known about it.</span><br />
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<span> “They should have talked to us first,” argues Sieradzki. </span><br />
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<span> “We are trying to create an atmosphere in Malmö where we co-exist and I’m not sure that this travel warning is good.”</span><br />
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<span> Rabbi Cooper rejects the idea that the Center's warning came as a surprise, pointing to a meeting in Stockholm prior to the advisory where prominent members of south Sweden’s Jewish community were in attendance. </span><br />
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<span> “The analysis comes from the ground up,” says Cooper. </span><br />
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<span> “Experiences from Jewish members in Malmö and a previous colleague there led to what we did.”</span><br />
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<span> He stated that families should be able to go to any house of worship, whether it’s Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays, without fear of intimidation, violence or something worse.</span><br />
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<span> “People of faith, or no faith, should be able to walk on the street and feel equally protected. There is a climate of intimidation in Malmö and we need to take steps to address it,” says Cooper.</span><br />
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<span> In response to 2009’s hike in attacks, Malmö city officials created the Dialogue Forum to ease hostilities between Jews, Muslims, the Roma, and other victimized minorities.</span><br />
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<span> As the Forum's one-year anniversary approaches, the Jewish community believes the dialogue has had little effect.</span><br />
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<span> “It’s sad we have to have a group, and we do hope something good comes of it but there hasn’t been anything yet,” says Sieradzki, adding that the 6,000-member Islamic Centre, of their own initiative, recently invited members of the Jewish community to their mosque.</span><br />
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<span> Mayor Reepalu, who was also singled out by the Wiesenthal Center last year for comments about the city's Jewish community in which he "blamed the situation on the Jews themselves as the community did not 'distance itself from Israel,'" according to the Center.</span><br />
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<span> While Reepalu refused to be interviewed for this article, he has undertaken efforts in the last year to make amends and further understand the hostilities Jewish people encounter in Malmö through meetings with Sieradzki and other Jewish community leaders. </span><br />
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<span> Since then the 15-year mayor has invited members from the Simon Wiesenthal Center to Malmö, although an exact date for the visit has not yet been set.</span><br />
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<span> “I can confirm we are coming to Sweden and we are coming next month,” says Rabbi Cooper. </span><br />
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<span> While the agenda for the meeting is still being hammered out, the focus will likely be on improving the situation in southern Sweden. </span><br />
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<span> The meeting will be also accompanied by a seminar on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.</span><br />
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<span> "It’s good that something is happening," says Sieradzki. </span><br />
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<span> "There are Jews is Malmö. We live here, we are here to stay and we won’t gain anything by attacking each other."</span><br />
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</div></div><div class="author"> Karen Holst (<a href="mailto:news@thelocal.se">news@thelocal.se</a>/08 656 6518)<br />
</div><span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-2005283896071313932011-02-21T09:04:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:04:09.969-08:00HuckabeeHere is the beginning of my post. <span class="fullpost">And here is the rest of it.</span><br />
<div class="story-toolbar"> <ul class="toolbar-main"><li class="num-comments"><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49750.html#comments">30 Comments</a></li>
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</ul></div><div> <div class="slideshow"> <img alt="Former Arkansas Gov. and former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee looks on a section of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site in Jerusalem's Old City, Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. | AP Photo" height="328" src="http://images.politico.com/global/news/110217_huckabee_wester_wall_ap_328.jpg" title="Former Arkansas Gov. and former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee looks on a section of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site in Jerusalem's Old City, Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. | AP Photo" width="605" /> <div class="slideshow-components"> <div class="caption close-this" id="caption_3955">Mike Huckabee saw Orthodox Jews for the first time at Jerusalem's Western Wall. | AP Photo <span class="close-button" title="close this caption">Close</span></div></div></div></div><div class="byline"> By <a href="http://www.politico.com/reporters/BenSmith.html">BEN SMITH</a> | 2/18/11 10:52 AM EST </div><div class="story-wrapper"> <div class="story-text resize"> A parade of Republican presidential hopefuls is making its way to Israel, signaling the candidates’ seriousness about foreign policy and national security and their hawkish approach to terrorism. As POLITICO recently reported, “A stop in the Jewish state is becoming as critical as an early trip to Iowa or New Hampshire.”<br />
But while Mitt Romney and Haley Barbour check the Israel box and move on, Mike Huckabee lingers. This month, the former Arkansas governor spent two weeks in Israel on his 15th trip to the Jewish state, during which his suggestion that the Palestinians go find their own state in some Arab country prompted a settler leader, Dani Dayan, to announce that he is praying Huckabee will be elected president.</div></div><br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49750.html#ixzz1Ec7V6wsj" style="color: #003399;">http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49750.html#ixzz1Ec7V6wsj</a>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-15651623026092327462011-02-20T17:28:00.000-08:002011-02-20T17:28:31.034-08:00Who I am ...<a href="https://www.23andme.com/you/haplogroup/maternal/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignleft" height="72" src="https://23andme.https.internapcdn.net/res/6594/img/public/logo.png" width="105" /></a>Last Xmas, the genome company, 23andMe had a sale! $100 for a genome. My wife and I ordered our done and the results are in!<br />
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I am a VERY weird bird!<br />
<br />
<i>Paternal side: Locations of haplogroup R1b1b2 circa 500 years ago, before the era of intercontinental travel. R1b1b2 is the most common haplogroup in western Europe, where its branches are clustered in various national populations. R1b1 was confined to Iberia and southern France during the Ice Age. R1b1b2a1a2b is characteristic of the Basque, while R1b1b2a1a2f2 reaches its peak in Ireland and R1b1b2a1a1 is most commonly found on the fringes of the North Sea.</i><a href="http://handbill.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SMS-dad-genome1.png"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-3045" height="267" src="http://handbill.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SMS-dad-genome1.png" title="SMS dad genome" width="662" /></a>[/caption]<br />
<br />
<a href="http://handbill.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/cro-magnon.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3047" height="149" src="http://handbill.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/cro-magnon-300x232.png" title="cro magnon" width="192" /></a>Lets start with the paternal side. Paternal Haplogroup:R1b1b2a1a2d. By family stories, I knew we were from Andalus, that is pre 1492 Spain. . That story is confirmed here. <br />
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What is surprising is that we "begin" .. that is start ... from a few ancestors only 17,000 years ago .. the time of the last ice age. We have origins from the North Sea. Sounds like some Viking got to some ancestor and passed on his genome. The other fun idea is that we may be related to the <b><i>Cro Magnons</i></b>, the first modern people in Europe and believed by some to be the direct ancestors of the Basque!<br />
<i>,</i><br />
<i>The Maternal Haplogroup, U1b, is part of Haplogroup R. <span style="background-color: yellow;">R arose in southwest Asia not long after humans first expanded beyond Africa. </span>It eventually spread throughout Eurasia, giving rise to most of the major haplogroups of Europe as well as one – haplogroup B – that was involved in the migration of people from Siberia into the Americas</i>.<a href="http://handbill.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/sms-genome-maternal.png"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-3046" height="268" src="http://handbill.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/sms-genome-maternal.png" title="sms genome maternal" width="666" /></a>[/caption]<br />
Mom's genome is VERY different. We appear to be related to the first folks who left Africa, 60,000 years ago!<br />
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Of course this raises an intriguing question. If my genome is half Viking and half African, if some of my closest relatives are indigenous to South America, South African, and my paternal family name is Negri, am I now legally a Hispanic or an African-Australian-American?<br />
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</dd></dl></div>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-11392360671688144652011-02-06T09:40:00.000-08:002011-02-06T10:44:43.234-08:00Egtypt: SuperBowl Sunday<a href="http://i%20want%20the%20egyptian%20people%20to%20win%20their%20revolution.%20and%20i%20say%20this%20as%20an%20israeli.%20%20bradley%20burston,%20blog%20at%20haaretz%20%20i%20want%20our%20neighbors,%20the%20people%20of%20egypt,%20to%20show%20us%20how%20it%e2%80%99s%20done.%20i%20want%20you%20to%20show%20us%20the%20last%20thing%20we%20expected%20to%20see.%20because%20it%20is%20only%20when%20we%20see%20our%20best%20consensus%20assessments%20proven%20dead%20wrong,%20when%20the%20wholly%20unanticipated%20stuns%20us,%20when%20the%20inconceivable%20turns%20overnight%20into%20the%20inevitable,%20that%20change%20comes%20to%20this%20place./">Egypt on THE-Ave.US</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9o2GO35Pojvsf7xZrobPqNbyyMXTOWFt5qHBmDSeoJRH8d2Q7tiD0nhwMp7qR63R_MAN6wP8FMBD5GHYELyfvuYqFKVvmza0qG8fQoNqSd_Yzy6s86EubatoHMsNzQ80f8ecfw/s1600/egypt+crowds+comp+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9o2GO35Pojvsf7xZrobPqNbyyMXTOWFt5qHBmDSeoJRH8d2Q7tiD0nhwMp7qR63R_MAN6wP8FMBD5GHYELyfvuYqFKVvmza0qG8fQoNqSd_Yzy6s86EubatoHMsNzQ80f8ecfw/s640/egypt+crowds+comp+5.png" width="640" /></a></div>Wouldn't it be wonderful if we are seeing the dawn of the first Arab democracy?<br />
<br />
There is an historic irony here. Islam's explosion out of Arabia under Umar, was more than a military conquest. The Byzantine empire was a rotten relic of Rome. It fell to a more rational, more "modern" system inspired by the Prophet's time as the chief magistrate of Medina. From the beginning of the conquest, the forces of Islam, brought the rule of a law and a sense of classlessness quite alien to the Bishops and Bureaucrats of Roman Christendom. Islam offered a system based on equality and opportunity, at least for those willing to accept the Prophet's new religion.<br />
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For many Muslims, including Malcom X, that sense of community, that sense of fairness is Islam itself. As flawed as Iran is, Khomeini's vision was to build a modern democratic state on the principles of Medina. Is al Qaeda's reticence the result of their fear of true democracy arising in Egypt?<br />
<br />
I have never been to Egypt and am sure that the Egyptians I have met represent a very special sample of the population. Still, there is something Jeffersonian about what is happening in Egypt.<br />
<blockquote><address><a href="http://handbill.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Ayman-al-Zwahiri.png"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2382" height="300" src="http://handbill.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Ayman-al-Zwahiri-285x300.png" title="Ayman al Zwahiri" width="285" /></a><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-06/al-qaedas-strange-silence-on-egypt/?cid=hp:mainpromo1">by Bruce Riedel at Daily Beast</a></address><address></address></blockquote><blockquote>There is a famous Arab saying that the dog barks but the caravan moves on. In <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsmaker/upheaval-in-egypt/" target="_blank">Egypt</a>, the caravan of change has moved fast this winter, but one of the dogs most expected to bark has been silent so far. Al Qaeda’s number two, <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-05-20/ayman-al-zawahiri-al-qaedas-no-2-broadcasts-on-al-jazeera-after-long-silence/" target="_blank">Ayman Zawahiri</a>, who has spent his life fighting Hosni Mubarak and calling for a revolution in his homeland, has yet to comment in public on the momentous events in his native land. His silence is probably temporary. But it shows al Qaeda’s top leadership is under significant pressure in Pakistan today from the American counter-terrorism offensive ordered by President Obama two years ago.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-06/al-qaedas-strange-silence-on-egypt/?cid=hp:mainpromo1"><i><b>read more</b></i></a></blockquote>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-5591435018626394242011-02-06T09:33:00.000-08:002011-02-06T09:33:58.267-08:00SuperBowl Sunday: EgyptCAIRO — Sunday's meeting was the broadest representation of Egypt's fragmented opposition to meet with the new vice president since the protests demanding the immediate ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak began on Jan. 25. The regime agreed not to hamper freedom of press and not to interfere with text messaging and Internet. The opposition groups represented included the youthful supporters of leading democracy advocate Mohamed ElBaradei, who are one of the main forces behind the protests.<br />
The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group, and a number of smaller leftist, liberal groups also attended the meeting, according to footage shown on state television.<br />
<div class="contin_below" style="display: none;"> <div class="content margin_auto"> <div class="arial_11 bold float_left color_a1a1a1">Story continues below</div></div></div><div class="adver_cont_below"> <style type="text/css">
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</style></div><span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-977947049549328762011-01-24T17:29:00.000-08:002011-01-24T17:29:25.969-08:00Miracle of the Fried Host<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.samefacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/17622-miracle-of-the-desecrated-host-sce-paolo-uccello1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="355" src="http://www.samefacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/17622-miracle-of-the-desecrated-host-sce-paolo-uccello1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Paolo Uccello, <em>The Miracle of the Desecrated Host</em>, 1465-69, panel 2. A Jewish pawnbroker has bought a consecrated host from a venal priest and is frying (i.e. torturing) it in a pan. Transubstantiated blood from the host is dripping from the pan and seeping under the door.) </td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-37646200155780917912011-01-11T23:52:00.000-08:002011-01-11T23:52:31.492-08:00Is This Where I Turn the Other Cheek?<div class="mainContent"> <img alt="Jews Killed Jesus" class="closepanel" height="400" src="http://www.godhatesfags.com/photos/jewsandisrael.jpg" style="float: left; height: 400px; margin: 10px; width: 300px;" width="300" /> <br />
<div align="center" style="padding: 10px;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="padding: 10px;"><strong>AN OPEN LETTER TO THE ELECT JEWS</strong><br />
<strong><em>The Jews Killed Christ! They Have Never Repented! </em></strong><br />
<strong><em>Only the Elect Jews Will Repent, Mourn & Be Sealed and Delivered </em></strong></div><div align="center" style="padding: 10px;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.godhatesfags.com/letters/20090512_open_letter_elect_jews.html">Rev. Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church </a></em></strong></div><div style="padding: 10px;">This message is for the elect Jews still alive on this earth. All the nations are going to fight against Israel and persecute the Jews like never before in their history, until the indignation of the Lord is fulfilled. The elect Jews will be called, sealed and sanctified. These things must shortly come to pass and will happen fast. <strong>Listen up elect obedient Jews!</strong> You will have the seal of the living God soon! </div><div style="padding: 10px;">The fullness of the Gentiles is almost complete! The Antichrist Bloody Beast Obama is going to become king of the world. Obama-the-Muslim is a monstrous sinner before God, promoting abortion, sodomy, proud sin and blasphemy. He is fixated on making Israel yield to his demand for a two-state solution. Israel is a savage hypocritical nation of filthy sinners before God, disproportionately engaged in sodomy, abortion, pornography and idolatry, while claiming to be the chosen people. They are armed with nuclear weapons; and God has caused them to have a deep hatred for the Palestinians from eternity past. Israel has had the bully doomed-america running interference for her for decades; that is coming to an end! Then <strong>Obama will lead the nations against Jerusalem to battle</strong>, Zechariah 14:2.</div><div style="padding: 10px;"> We have the promises of God that these events must come to pass; and when they do – when we see “Jerusalem compassed with armies” – those who fear and obey God will lift up their heads knowing their redemption draws nigh. See Luke 21:20, 24 and 27. <strong>It is time for the elect Jews who have a heart to know their God to mourn and rejoice</strong>. The Scriptures say they shall look upon Christ “whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him,” Zechariah 12:10 and John 19:37. “Hath God cast away his people? God forbid!” Romans 11:1. He started a work and he’s going to finish it, by calling out his elect Jews from among a doomed world and doomed Israel, upon whom the wrath is come to the uttermost (1 Th. 2:14-16).</div><div style="padding: 10px;">Revelation 7 and 14 describe it. <strong>From twelve tribes, 144,000 children of Israel will be sealed; then shortly thereafter they will be standing in heaven</strong>, having been redeemed from the earth, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb, singing a new song that no man can learn but them! At Westboro Baptist Church we watch for the sealing of our Jewish brethren, who will be called, authenticated and delivered in a most amazing way. When that day comes we will rejoice! SO COME OUT FROM AMONG HER ELECT JEWS, and join the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ! We are your friends and brethren, we are eager to meet you; to oppose the Wicked with you; and to join Christ in the air with you, when he comes in power and glory to claim his own and punish the disobedient! See 2 Th. 1:8.</div></div>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-28903483959498469442011-01-09T11:40:00.000-08:002011-01-09T11:40:22.689-08:00Turning the other cheek, IIAgain, at HA, a commenter asks <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"Really SJ? I thought you professed to be a secular (rational) jew. Please help me understand.</blockquote><br />
I have never claimed to be a secular Jew. <br />
<br />
Despite the efforts of Christians to paint us as a religion, we are not now and never have been a religion.<br />
<br />
For the last 3500 years we have been a people .. like the Chinese, the Hindus, or the French.<br />
<br />
We are an ancient people, perhaps the oldest of all the world's peoples that have a continuity of culture and tradition.<br />
<br />
Part of our tradition is a religion, Judaism. That is as old as we are, and has evolved as much as we ourselves have evolved. The traces of our origins in the Torah are nothing less than a magical viewing glass into the origins of our people and our belie.<br />
<br />
In the 3000 or so years since the Torah was written, a lot has happened and we have had many wonderful teachers. Some of these are recorded as the prophets of our scriptures. Later we had teachers like Hillel, the great Pharisee whose teachings seem ti be the basis for the good parts of the words attributed to Jesus. <br />
<br />
Since Hillel, we have had Akiba, Maimonides, Halevy, Abravanel, Spinoza, Marx, Ricardo, Weizman, Gompers, Einstein, Rabin, ... and many more whose ideas stem from the root of the ancient Torah.<br />
<br />
If you do not mind Jewish pride, I see part of our history as being one of the great roots from which the tree of knowledge has grown. <br />
<br />
Oh yeh, and the prophet David Goldstein of HA, is one of the fruits on that tree. Eat him!SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-86714992887994554562011-01-09T11:20:00.000-08:002011-01-09T11:37:55.948-08:00Turning the Other Cheek, IOver at HA, a comment on the thread about Gabby Shabbat Massacre in Arizona, notes ...<br />
<blockquote>"I’m fascinated by the fact that it was a liberal, MBS @34, who first pointed outh that “an eye for an eye” was explicitly overturned by “turn the other cheek.”</blockquote><br />
This is yet another example of the intrinsic antisemitism of Christians. The Roman Bible did not "overturn" the Torah.By the time "the cheek" quote was supposedly at least 1500 years had passed.<br />
<br />
The context, by7 the way, was that we, the Jews, were split. Some of us wanted to NOT turn the other cheek and fight back at our Roman oppressors. Others said we should turn the other cheek. The same debate occurred two centuries later when many of us went willingly into Auschwitz. <br />
<br />
Giving the Roman bible credit for "overthrowing" Judaism is as disgusting as Christian claims to have brought civilization to he slaves of Africa.SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-72339408660825153252011-01-08T07:24:00.000-08:002011-01-08T07:24:25.406-08:00Washington is National Football Champion<h1>=<a href="http://www.spokesman.com/eagles/stories/2011/jan/07/eagles-are-national-champions/"><img class="story-photo" src="http://media.spokesman.com/photos/2011/01/07/srx_champs6_t600.jpg?856ec300371e7eb6c68d4b6246323600dd72ab5f" /></a> </h1><div class="photo-package"><br />
<div class="caption">The EWU Eagles celebrate the national championship game win over Delaware. They brought along a section of their red turf for luck.</div></div><span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-74100275893447508362011-01-03T08:59:00.000-08:002011-01-03T08:59:50.027-08:00<div class="articlecopy s6of12 fl"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/14/85/d7f723b6493f9d75b727aafa1159.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/14/85/d7f723b6493f9d75b727aafa1159.jpeg" width="311" /></a></div>David Noble Dies<br />
<a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/article/913434--david-noble-activist-and-academic-gadfly-dies-at-65">(from Toronto Star) </a><br />
........ The professor made headlines in Toronto in 2004 when he handed out a memo listing the names of directors of the York University Foundation, the school’s fundraising arm, and their links to pro-Israel organizations.<br />
After a bitter war of words with York, Noble, who is Jewish, sued the school for defamation. The case was due to go to trial next year. <br />
In 2006, he filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission against York for its longstanding practice of cancelling classes on Jewish high holidays such as Yom Kippur, saying it discriminated against non-Jewish students. <br />
York changed its policy before the case was heard.<br />
“Most people think Dave was just some kind of reckless angry man but there was so much to him,” said Doug Noble, his twin. <br />
“As a father, brother, friend, he was everyone’s rock,” he said, adding his brother believed in fighting for injustices that were “right where he lived. He couldn’t tolerate any wrong.” <br />
The two were very close and chatted almost every day, he said.</div><span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-67710121092555838152010-12-29T11:05:00.000-08:002010-12-29T11:05:53.444-08:00Forgive the Christians<div class="edit-comment" id="edit-comment1053972"><strong>Judaism </strong>is very different from <strong>Christianity </strong>but, under the sobriquet of "judeo-Chrsitianity" we too get blamed for the religious inolerance of American society. </div><div class="edit-comment" id="edit-comment1053972"><br />
Christian reformers, liberals, see that America is flawed by intolerance. coming from Christianity, these reformers assert that the problem is not intrinsic to Christianity buy afflicts all religions. Combine the idea of "Judeo-Christianity" with the bizarre idea that Christians have of forgiving themselves then Jews somehow share the blame for the evils of slavery, evangelism, etc.<br />
<br />
As a non Christian growing up in this society, my Paul on the road to Tarsus moments came when I realized that my own tradition really was not responsible for the evil side (or for that matter the good side) of Christendom.<br />
<br />
That epiphany is a major reason that I reject meaning laden efforts to lump Abrahamic religions or create a Judeo-Christian common faith.<br />
<br />
</div><span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-15477356534420338302010-12-27T18:20:00.000-08:002010-12-28T00:26:19.124-08:00A Medal of Some Honor, an AccoladeThis is an essay about an accolade I received from Thehim, a priggish liberal, self described as being Jewish by descent. I am , I suppose honored.<br />
<br />
Thehim hates me and showed that hatred, ironically in a thread devoted to free speech. He did this by deleting comments I made about why our buses SHOULD carry ads from a group opposed to Israel. The irony is comical but I decided to use this example of liberal censorship to write about bigotry, Jewish bigotry within our own community.<br />
<br />
Jews have always had people like Thehim. At the Passover Seder we discuss how to explain our traditions of freedom to "the son who knows too much." Some are just too smart to see the lessons of the exodus as a universal lesson we, as the Jews, an offer all mankind.<br />
<br />
In the previous century, before Hitler and Stalin, Jews of Germany and Russia were truly patriotic. Once being of Jewish ancestry was accepted, Jews by descent were amongst the most liberals of the Russians and Germans. Some became leaders in Stalin's Russia. Trotsky died for his enthusiasms. In Germany, betrayed by the Nazis, these Germans had to flee or die along with those whose Judaism was an identity rather than a history. <br />
<br />
Often today, Jews by descent are among our most liberal Americans. Some, like Alinsky and Gompers, led great social movements. Emmanuel and Axelrod are important figures in the Obama White House, the Passover Seder has become a new national tradition. Obama's own children attended Jewish preschools in Chicago and a cousin of Mrs. Obama is a prominent rabbi in that town. Three of the four liberals on the US Supreme Court are Jews. We, Jews by identity and Jews by descent, have good reason to be proud of our role in America.<br />
<br />
David Goldstein, the editor of the Horsesass and its founder, is another Jew by descent. Unlike Thehim, Goldy is proud of his origins and sees Jewish liberalism as a Jewish trait ... I spend a lot of time at his blog. Goldy writes insightfully about Washington State politics with a wit and challenge that is utterly missing from the rest of our media.<br />
<br />
Sadly, Goldy, aka David Goldstein, allows Lee to post as an associate blogger.<br />
<br />
"Sadly" is not because Lee can not write or, for that matter, because he hates me. That hate is a personal and unpleasant affair. My concern here is for Horsesass, David Goldstein's creation. Lee is no Goldy. Thehim can write. Unfortunately, unlike Goldy, Lee has little breadth and seems to have deep knowledge of on;y two things ... Thehim's ego and the drug wars. <br />
<br />
That mixture is toxic. Lee rarely posts on anything other than drugs . Withing the drug sphere, Lee is a devout with all the conviction of a religious fanatic. Where Billy Graham and George Bush obsess about Jesus on the cross, Lee obsesses about the five fingered leaves of cannabis. He is obsessed with marijuana.<br />
<br />
Lee supports legalization, like anyone with a rational knowledge of marijuana, But, Lee's support is a crusader. Give the platform of Horsesass , in Lee's priggish mind, marijuana is not just a recreational drug as much as it is salvational miracle. All opposition is evil, marijuana as far beyond science as the Eucharist is beyond the Big Mac. <br />
<br />
In Lee's world, cops and docs persecute helpless marijuana "patients" as if pot smokers were Christians in the arena. Imagine the cruelty this fanatic sees when a hospital will not let a marijuana user smoke just because weed is full of carcinogens and not very effective as a drug! Or imagine his vision of a pack of gun toting cops, arresting some innocent person one and discovering pot farm intended to only as medicine! Must be a plant! (pun intended).<br />
<br />
There is no other side to Lee's fanaticism. Lee went ballistic when I criticized Hempfest for featuring a medical student as if he were an expert scientist. This expert, against masses of evidence that the tars in MJ smoke are carcinogenic, claimed there were counteracting good in reefers because marijuana is a natural product. At first Lee insisted I was not at Hempfest until I posted a photo essay of my rather pleasant time at the festival. Of course Thehim was offended when I criticized the organizers for allowing kids to inhale carcinogen laden MJ smoke MJ good, anything else bad in lee's world.<br />
<br />
Like any other religious fanatic, Lee's bigotry goes on and on. He was a highly vocal proponent of Washington's assisted suicide act, aka "Death with Dignity." I opposed the bill because it imposes huge costs for the benefit of a tiny number of people who qualify for its definition of right to die. Beyond mere money, the act, now the law, threatens the current informal process of assisting terminal patients to die. "Death with Dignity" requires a legalistic, expensive review. Anyone opposed to suicide hates the terminally ill. Others, especially Joel Connelly of the PI, defended the rights of physicians who take the Hippocratic Oath to mean that they can not assist in others' deaths. There are no exceptions to Lee's orthodoxy. Joel, an Episcoplan of Irish descent, must be a Catholic fanatic. Lee insists that unbelievers, Catholics especially, are all evil. So, like me, Joel became a target.<br />
In short, Lee lives in a world where Nero rules and Lee nobly sides with those suffering under a mad ruler. Lee, clearly did not take psych 101.<br />
<br />
How did I become a target of Lee's ire? Most liberal Jews .by descent or history, are fervent supporters of Palestine. Extremists, generally who see their Judaism as only be descent, are fanatic on that subject, unable to see the fears of the Israelis or the unhidden legacy of the holocaust against the true sufferings of the Palestinian people.<br />
<br />
Lees' righteousness on this issue, led him to invent SJ the bigot. After the onslaught of a Muslim terrorist on a Jewish office here in Seattle, I questioned what the man has been taught in Islamic school. Of course, this made ME a bigot.<br />
<br />
SJ was stalking Lee, protector of the persecuted. Lee fantasized about masses of harassing emails. These visions culminated in his filing a (false) complaint against me at the UW, where (after an investigation cleared me) Lee was patiently told about the first amendment. Lee also instigated at threat against me that led to the UW and Seattle police asking if I wanted protection. I assured them that I did not think Lee was dangerous and that, other than Thehim, knew of no Muslim upset with me. <br />
<br />
Lee's going ballistic is .. well .. pretty funny. He debates using names .. I became his favorite "douchebag" and he insisted over and over again that he wanted intercourse with me. I thrust back, suggesting that though not gay, I found his interest in sex with me flattering. Humor did not prevail. <br />
<br />
When I made fun of Lee's obscenities, Thehim yelled at Goldy, the owner of the HA blog, complaining that I was stalking Thehim on the blog. So Goldy asked me not to post on Lee's threads.<br />
<br />
Recently, in a lapse of judgment, I did comment in support of a criticism (by Lee) of King County. The county had ordered removal of an anti-Israel ads from the Metro buses, Lee, of course, took offense and deleted my post... what follow is Lee responding to a question someone asked about how Lee could support free speech AND censorship:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://horsesass.org/?p=31890">SJ’s banning is the equivalent of a restaurant owner refusing to serve someone who is not wearing pants and throwing his own poop. It has nothing to do with free speech. He’s free to say whatever the hell he wants on his own blog or in Goldy’s threads, but he lost his privilege to post here after numerous warnings. If you want more details, feel free to email me separately.</a></blockquote>So, this is my accolade. <br />
<br />
If Lee does read this he is more than welcome to free speech on my blog.SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-70276809621953484372010-12-24T16:12:00.000-08:002010-12-24T16:12:44.035-08:00Another Lost Tribe.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.re-emergingfilm.com/Home_files/ReEmerging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://www.re-emergingfilm.com/Home_files/ReEmerging.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://www.re-emergingfilm.com/Home_files/ReEmerging.jpg">http://www.re-emergingfilm.com/Home_files/ReEmerging.jpg</a><br />
<span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-52043883109736295312010-12-24T12:31:00.000-08:002010-12-24T12:35:32.781-08:00Sofoklis Schortsanitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUZd7yZnsdG93XPU4bAfT2H_N1QGuaunOS6F2ls9LeFGvweY61Fzt2pgEpPUYzluNbI-oPSMWsnUXVD7yQtj5O4qq7iiJR1Kk5HAemrpC8k75y2S12YyjKVOVoEq_E2_VtnU9Mg/s1600/Macabee+Gree+Cameroinian.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUZd7yZnsdG93XPU4bAfT2H_N1QGuaunOS6F2ls9LeFGvweY61Fzt2pgEpPUYzluNbI-oPSMWsnUXVD7yQtj5O4qq7iiJR1Kk5HAemrpC8k75y2S12YyjKVOVoEq_E2_VtnU9Mg/s320/Macabee+Gree+Cameroinian.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofoklis_Schortsanitis#Pro_career">Sofoklis Schortsanitis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a>: "It was announced on August 5, 2010, that he signed a two year deal with the 5 time Euroleague champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Super League."<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Well at least this Hasmonean is not also a Syrian! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-27345122696860992292010-12-19T05:29:00.001-08:002010-12-19T05:29:43.954-08:00St. Barbara in Belarus<h2><br />
</h2><div id="spArticleTopAsset"> <div class="spArticleImageBox spAssetAligncenter" style="width: 522px;"> <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/bild-735341-162576.html"> <img align="center" alt="" border="0" height="250" hspace="0" src="http://www.spiegel.de/images/image-162576-panoV9free-svin.jpg" title="" width="520" /> </a> <div style="width: 522px;"> <div class="spPicZoom" style="top: 216px;"><a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/bild-735341-162576.html"><br />
</a></div><div align="right" class="spCredit">AFP</div></div></div></div><div id="spIntroTeaser"><strong></strong></div>Members of the Orthodox Church honored one of their most important saints on Friday -- the virgin martyr Saint Barbara, who died in Syria in 311 A.D. She's celebrated in eastern European countries on December 17, and part of the ceremony involves carrying a candle and an icon around to to neighboring houses. Here, a worshipper kisses a candle decorated with ribbons and paper flowers in the Belarus village of Bastenovichi, around 280km east of Minsk.<br />
<span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-84856168874621012502010-12-19T05:24:00.000-08:002010-12-19T05:24:52.978-08:00Kashrut v. Halal at McD!s<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/McDonalds_Halal.jpg/256px-McDonalds_Halal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/McDonalds_Halal.jpg/256px-McDonalds_Halal.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Next? Imagine hte Pesadicher Big Mac! Two lamb patties between three wafers of matzoh, no cheese, horseradsh special sauce.<br />
<br />
<span class="fullpost">Or maybe a drive through Eucharist? </span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-12718814133125412802010-12-16T22:25:00.000-08:002010-12-16T22:25:45.757-08:00Place this quote:<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_article_control_lblArticleBody"><span style="font-style: italic;">“The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade… are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order.” </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=199853"><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_article_control_lblArticleBody">Link here. </span></a><span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-36145680673565672842010-12-11T14:01:00.000-08:002010-12-11T14:01:53.377-08:00Do lawyers even care about their appearance as untruthful, paid flacks?Mark Madoff, 46, Bernard Madoff's eldest son, Mark Madoff, 46, was found hanging from a ceiling pipe in the living room of his SoHo loft apartment as his 2-year-old son slept in a nearby bedroom.<br />
Madoff, who reported his father to authorities, has never been criminally charged in the biggest investment fraud in U.S. history and has said he and his brother Andrew never knew of their father's crimes.<br />
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"This is a terrible and unnecessary tragedy," Madoff's lawyer, Martin Flumenbaum said in a written statement. "Mark was an innocent victim of his father's monstrous crime who succumbed to two years of unrelenting pressure from false accusations and innuendo."<br />
<span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-17482988972391820722010-12-09T00:02:00.000-08:002010-12-09T00:02:00.166-08:00Hannukah in Cuba<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3"><tbody>
<tr> <td bgcolor="#006f93" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 111, 147); border-top: 1px solid rgb(0, 111, 147);" width="43%"><div align="center"><a href="http://www.granma.cu/aleman/portugues/documento/ingles04/003.html" style="text-decoration: none;"> <b><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">C U B A</span></b></a></div></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(224, 224, 224); border-top: 1px solid rgb(224, 224, 224);" width="57%"><div align="right"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Havana. December 6, 2010</b></span></div></td> </tr>
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<tr> <td colspan="2" width="100%"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Raúl attends Cuban Jewish Community Festival <br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #004080; font-size: xx-small;">Alberto Núñez Betancourt</span></b></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">• PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz described as "a fortunate coincidence in dates, the Jewish people’s celebration and important passages in our history" during a meeting with members of the Jewish Community of Cuba, which took place in the Synagogue headquarters of their Community Council, on the occasion of the fifth night of Hanukkah, which in Hebrew means "consecration," a traditional celebration also known as the Festival of Lights.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="right"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <table align="right" border="0" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="AutoNumber3" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="100%"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="right"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <img alt="Raúl Castro Ruz" border="1" height="239" src="http://www.granma.cu/fotos%202010/diciembre/raul_castro-6diciem.jpg" width="227" /><br />
</span><b> <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;">Raúl lights the first of the five candles<br />
placed in the center of the room, in<br />
accordance with the fifth night of the<br />
Jewish festivities.</span></b></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Raúl recalled that, 54 years ago on December 5, after the <i>Granma</i> landing, the <i> expeditionaries</i> were subjected to a surprise attack and engaged in their first combat, which represented a major initial defeat. But, 13 days later, the reencounter of one group of men with Fidel took place in Cinco Palmas, where the Comandante en Jefe, with only seven rifles and a great conviction of victory, affirmed: "Now we have won the war!"<a name='more'></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">On giving his heartfelt thanks for the possibility of meeting with those present, the Cuban president expressed his wish to meet again with the members of this community in Cuba, to talk about the fabulous history of the Jewish people.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Raúl also noted his satisfaction over the debates which began December 1 throughout the whole country to contribute to the improvement of Cuba’s economic model. "You, as part of the Cuban people, will also give your opinions."</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">After listening to the welcome message from Adela Dworin, president of the Jewish Community in Cuba, Raúl was invited to light the first of five candles placed in the center of the room in accordance with the fifth night of the Jewish festivity.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">As a memento of his presence at the meeting, the president of the Cuban Jewish Community gave him a Jumash, a compendium containing the five books of the Torah.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Those meeting recalled the visit by the leader of the Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz to the Council headquarters of the Cuban Jewish Community, made precisely during the celebration of Hanukkah on December 20, 1998.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The audience enjoyed videos and a performance of traditional dances and songs by children and young people from the Community’s Sunday school.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span><br />
<div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Also present at the ceremony were Caridad Diego Bello, head of the Office of Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party; Havana City Historian Eusebio Leal Spengler; guests from the Cuban Council of Churches; and Party and government officials.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-50753560878305886522010-11-21T09:29:00.000-08:002010-11-21T09:37:17.059-08:00Swedish Excellence in Soccer .. Can A Jew Kick Goals?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thelocal.se/articleImages/30342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="http://www.thelocal.se/articleImages/30342.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://www.thelocal.se/30342/20101121/">Well, ethnicity is blurring, look at the latest athletic hero from Sweden ...</a><br />
<br />
A spectacular strike by Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic was enough to give AC Milan a 1-0 win over Fiorentina on Saturday, moving them four points clear at the top of Serie A.<br />
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Turning to Ibrahimovic's moment of magic Allegri added: "That's par for the course for him to do that! He has other qualities rather than just physical..I don't know what Milan would be without him."<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rCcK-QYJcSU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rCcK-QYJcSU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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The article did not comment on Zlatan's origins, but the nose strikes me as a give away.<a href="http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4178304/you_dont_mess_with_the_zohan_movie_trailer/"> In fact, I think I remember seeing this Zlatan in a movie. </a>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-3918101844962399772010-11-14T08:37:00.000-08:002010-11-14T08:37:32.061-08:00And God Said ....<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nUZ8zs66auU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nUZ8zs66auU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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Be fruitful and multiply ..........<br />
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Posted by God at HA.SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16398368.post-84379905134095298752010-11-08T15:07:00.000-08:002010-11-08T15:07:32.690-08:00Peace Now Outscores AIPAC on Facebook.from an email:<br />
<br />
The <em>NY Jewish Week</em> wrote an important <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/ONVVNNCESW/6058999351" target="_blank">piece</a> Friday about APN’s success reaching out through Social Media:<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Social media is the new currency of political activism. And which Jewish group has the most in the bank?</em><br />
<br />
<em>No, it's not the AJC or the ADL. Take a look at <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/CSMYNNCESX/6058999351" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for the answer: it's Americans for Peace Now (APN), which currently has 17,039 Facebook users who "like" the pro-peace process organization.</em><br />
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<em>AIPAC, the big pro-Israel lobby, isn't far behind with 16,229 fans, but let's face it: AIPAC has a lot more resources to work with than little APN. An informal survey puts J Street in third place with 10,210 fans; most of the other Jewish groups active on Facebook are way down in the triple digits, if that.</em></div>I know there is a horse-race element to this report, but something very important lies behind those numbers. APN’s base is growing for three basic reasons: <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<strong>1) We have a message that people identify with. </strong>We believe in Israel. We believe in peace. We understand that pushing for a real peace effort is critical to Israel’s future. We know that caring for Israel doesn’t mean being heartless when it comes to the needs of the Palestinians. <br />
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<strong>2) We’re innovative. </strong>We’re building communities on <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/JAUCNNCESY/6058999351" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/HFQNNNCESZ/6058999351" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. We created a revolutionary <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/BKUTNNCETA/6058999351" target="_blank">iPhone</a> and <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/AFAENNCETB/6058999351" target="_blank">web</a> app that tracks settlement construction (by the way, an update to the iPhone app will be out any day now). We developed a <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/LUMANNCETC/6058999351" target="_blank">website</a> that integrates social media seamlessly. <br />
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<strong>3) We have you. </strong>APN’s supporters and activists care about this issue and are willing to take action so that our message is heard. Facebook is a <em>social </em>network where personal updates and information is shared among acquaintances. We wouldn’t have grown to 17,000+ fans if our supporters didn’t share our message with their contacts.<br />
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Our work is not finished. Peace talks are stalled. Settlements are growing. The occupation continues. We need you to keep pushing for peace. Help us to demonstrate – over and over again – that Americans want our government to press forward. Help us provide funding for those courageous voices in Israel that speak out against settlements and for negotiations.<br />
<br />
<strong>Here are four actions that you can take right now:</strong><br />
<br />
1) <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/LXBCNNCETD/6058999351" target="_blank">Get your friends to join this email list.</a><br />
<br />
2) <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/OUCPNNCETE/6058999351" target="_blank">Like us on Facebook</a>. Then ask your friends to join us.<br />
<br />
3) <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/GPDYNNCETF/6058999351" target="_blank">Write the new leadership of the House of Representatives. </a><br />
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4) <a href="http://capwiz.com/peacenow/utr/1/MSVHNNCEPB/KPTQNNCETG/6058999351" target="_blank">Make a financial contribution. </a> <br />
<br />
Believe in Israel. Believe in peace. With your help, our movement will get it done!<br />
<br />
Noam Shelef<br />
Director of Strategic Communications<br />
Americans for Peace Now <br />
<span class="fullpost"></span>SM Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849767590616329008noreply@blogger.com0