Nasty Israel

     Professor Israel Shahak has the extensive details.  Includes these sad details

This means in practice that if members of a Peruvian tribe are converted to Judaism, and thus regarded as Jewish, they are entitled at once to become Israeli citizens and benefit from the approximately 70 per cent of the West Bank land (and the 92 per cent of the area of Israel proper), officially designated only for the benefit of Jews. All non-Jews ( not only all Palestinians) are prohibited from benefiting from those lands. (The prohibition applies even to Israeli Arabs who served in the Israeli army and reached a high rank.) The case involving Peruvian converts to Judaism actually occurred a few years ago. The newly-created Jews were settled in the West Bank, near Nablus, on land from which non-Jews are officially excluded.

and

There are so many laws and regulations in Israel which discriminate in favour of the persons defined in Israel as those 'who can immigrate in accordance with the Law of Return' that the subject demands seperate treatment. We can look here at one example, seemingly trivial in comparison with residence restrictions, but nevertheless important since it reveals the real intentions of the Israeli legislator. Israeli citizens who left the country for a time but who are defined as those who 'can immigrate in accordance with the Law of Return' are eligible on their return to generous customs benefits, to receive subsidy for their children's high school education, and to receive either a grant or a loan on easy terms for the purchase of an apartment, as well as other benefits. Citizens who cannot be so defined, in other words, the non-Jewish citizens of Israel, get none of these benefits.

New Life Church of God the Almighty Ain't He Grand

     Soldiers of Christ is the name of the new Harper's peice on Colorado Springs and Pastor Ted Haggard.  From the people who have brought you Jesus Plus Nothing (on Doug Coe and "The Family"), Harper's Magazine and Jeffrey Sharlett.  Sharlett, it turns out, is in charge of this neat site, which you can check on a more regular basis, The Revealer.  However, I'm not sure his killing buddhisness is all that.

Parliamentarian Request

     Hopefully, out there among you is someone who is, or knows, a parliamentarian.  If you'd like to see some of my work on the matter, revolutionary (of course), just click here, which is my (tortured?) discussion of my contribution (should it turn out to be original) to voting theory.  Yes, I plan to make it the default mode for setting the agenda in my e-ssembly system, as I found nothing really requires much control (say, by a Chair/Speaker/Majority Leader) as has been supposed.

     Still, things will proceed with the best possible choices if any interested parties make themselves familiar with Internet Relay Chat. 

     By the way, a list of McLean's papers, most I am finding interesting (although I lack some of the required background in Social Choice Theory), can be found at his webpage.

Voting

     Reading Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen now, by the author of the most unusual Voting in Medieval Universities and Religious Orders. 

Iraq Inc.

     Supported by the websites WarProfiteers.com or CorpwWatch.org, author really makes a powerful case that, despite what you think of the decision to go to war, the amount of war profiteering is outrageous.

Media Reform PBU22

     Journalists, most kinds at least, are like teachers and government officials; they are public servants.  It is simply not surprising that the best and the brightest are attracted to other professions which earn one greater respect and remuneration, e.g. the law, medicine, banking, and, for the time being, computers. 

     An election-based government operates in a cycle.  Someone is elected, they do things, we hear about it, then we vote.  This entire process breaks down, in generally tragic ways: if good people stop running, if we no longer hear about what they do with a critical eye, or if we stop voting.  It is hard to imagine a government prevented from doing anything, but it is hypothetically possible.  Journalism is how people have traditionally heard things about what is going on.

     The media criticism business got its start, as far as I can tell, back with Reed Irvine and "Accuracy in Media."  This was a John Birch Society friendly group which bashed the media for its pro-Democrat Party, soft-on-Communism stances back in the 1960s (UPDATE: It still exists even though Mr R Irvine died in November of 2004).  I don't believe much of the criticism was valid, but I do believe there has always been an "establishment press" league of news outlets friendly to the administration.  The Executive, Judicial and Legislature were all in the hands of Democrats at that time, so it is (regrettably) to be expected that a pronounced pro-Democrat bias existed in the news.  Similarly, now the major TV outlets produce numerous pro-administration peices.  For example, I am led to believe that, before the Iraq War, the number of pro-war interviewees on the networks and cable news shows numbered 800, while the number of anti-war interviewees numbered six.

     Now Media Matters for America, and for a decade or more now FAIR illustrate on a regular basis the shoddy, pro-corporate, pro-Republican biases of the media. 

Resurrected Website

     Last night at dinner I thought I'd put up my pre-war (a couple post-April 9th comments) website here.

     Maybe I was thinking of WhateverItIsI'mAgainstIt's new archive blog Whatever It Was, I Was Against It.

Bolton Tidbit

     I've been paying some attention to the debate on the nomination of J Bolton to the position of Ambassador to the United Nations.  One can read lots of details of the story at the Washington Note by Democrat staffer Steve Clemons. 

     What you won't read at too-polite Mr Clemon's blog is about J Bolton's role in arming the murderous cops in Haiti.

Entrapment is Legal?

     Am I living in some fantasy 50s land? (Answer: Yes)  The FBI set up a fake company, which then offered money to some Tennesse legislators (including the uncle of Rep Harold Ford).  The sting has been going on for years.  My first thought is that the Feds targetted Tennessee, some years ago, because they thought it might be useful come election 2004.  That was only a few months ago, folks.

     And is entrapment really legal?

     I mean, I am concerned that Democrats were targetted by the (then) Ashcroft FBI.  Did they offer equal amounts to members of both parties?  Tennessee resident(native?) Bill Hobbs has extensive information here.  I haven't found any TennDems talking about it.

Dr William Schulz

     I've said before that this guy is actually a bit of a government tool.  I also mentioned that he is, without a doubt, entirely against torture.  Dr Schulz encourages foreign governments to investigate US officials, and to arrest those found guilty if they enter their countries for what has happened at Abu Ghraib and other detention centers.

     Dr Schulz, again, is only complaining about torture.  Dr. Schulz names Donald Rumsfeld, and numerous other lower people.

     Click on the Amnesty International's 2005 Annual Report on Human Rights to watch Dr. Schulz's remarks on Abu Ghraib.  The text of the report is available at the Amnesty site.

Could I Make A Request

UPDATE: This has all been moved here, thank you.

     Thanks to those who have checked out my other website.  I don't know many personally who come here, but, if you haven't already, please check out my proof on the nature of terrorism, available in the links to the left.  I also plan to add this bit, on the striking similarity between the Protestant-by-1561 map and the Germanic language map. so perfectly.

     I usually hate to be vain, but in this case I just so happen to be right.

     In case you were wondering, after I developed this theory, one of the first things I did was to try to give this information to the US Government.  I tried to get to the White House, but I didn't quite make it in.  First I met a junior guy, and, to the senior guy who biked up to me later, I said I had "important" information regarding terrorism.  Then I brought a CD to Senator Schumer's office, wrote a hand-written note inside Senator Clinton's office, and Representative Nadler wasn't in that day.

Various and Sundry Reasons

     I'm reading Jefferson's Manual on parliamentary procedure, along with Robert's Rules of Order, as a necessary part of my work on e-ssembly, and I came across this, now ignored entirely...

It is highly expedient, says Hatsell, for the due preservation of the privileges of the separate branches of the legislature, that neither should encroach on the other, or interfere in any matter depending before them, so as to preclude, or even influence that freedom of debate, which is essential to a free council. They are therefore not to take notice of any bills or other matters depending, or of votes that have been given, or of speeches which have been held, by the members of either of the other branches of the legislature, until the same have been communicated to them in the usual parliamentary manner. 2. Hats. 252. 4. Inst. 15. Seld. Jud. 53. Thus the king's taking notice of the bill for suppressing soldiers, depending before the House, his proposing a provisional clause for a bill before it was presented to him by the two Houses; his expressing displeasure against some persons for matters moved in Parliament during the debate and preparation of a bill, were breaches of privilege. 2. Nalson, 743. and in 1783, December 17, it was declared a breach of fundamental privileges, &c. to report any opinion or pretended opinion of the king on any bill or proceeding depending in either House of Parliament, with a view to influence the votes of the members. 2. Hats. 251, 6.

Today's E-ssembly Progress

     OK, I figured out how to stash and recover the voting data in a sensible way, and I think I've done got most of it coded, except I will need to add the recover bit for when you re-login.

     Hmm, other than that? I threw out an offer to Scott Ritter.  I guess I spent too long trying to debug the vote stash/recover to get much else done on e-ssembly.

Frist Stabbing Center In Back?

     A blog named ThinkProgress has this quote, supposedly from the National Journal (htaccess password protected).

Senate Majority Leader Frist will file for cloture on President Bush’s nomination of William Myers to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later this week, according to sources on and off Capitol Hill, wasting no time in testing the resolve of 14 Republican and Democratic senators who forced at least a temporary halt to the battle over Democratic filibusters of President Bush’s judicial picks.

     It's not entirely clear. 1. It just says 'sources.' 2. It, by itself, isn't necessarily a renege on the deal.  Part I(B) doesn't say no cloture can be made on Myers.

P.E.T.E., JOIN ME

     My new group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Embryos, needs new members.

     We are going to go to fertility clinics, get in, grab the petri dishes, then throw them out the front door as we scream "Free! You're Free Now! Run Little Humans!"