I'm an Irish Girl, A Dubliner, with the 'Gift of the Gab' ... I like to talk & to tell you things. In Celtic times news, views and comment were carried from place to place by wandering Seanachaí ~ Storytellers ~ who relied on their host's hospitality and appreciation. I will need that from you too, as I venture to share Politics, Poetry, Laughter, Love, Life & everything in-between ... from Bog to Blog!!
Every year, College campus hate groups in Europe & the USA such as the 'Muslim Students Association' and 'Students for Justice in Palestine' join a festival of lies called “Israel Apartheid Week”, whose theme is that Israel is an apartheid state (actually, Israel is the most tolerant and diverse state in the Middle East!). Israel Apartheid Week has been covered in earlier postings in this blog. And, that its security fence is an “apartheid wall” (the security wall is a fence put up to keep suicide bombers out and has reduced palestinian terrorist attacks against Jews by over 90% since it was erected). The previous blogs on Jerusalem bus bombings, the Fogel Family massacre & others will supply you with figures & facts to back this up!
These hate weeks are designed to de-legitimize the state of Israel and soften it up for the kill. The declared goal of Hamas and the PLO is to “liberate” palestine “from the river to the sea” ~ in other words to destroy the Jewish state and push its inhabitants into the sea. The growing BDS movement on campus (BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, which are the steps the movement advocates taking against Israel for its purported policies of “apartheid”) is another element in the jihadist assault.
Until now, there has been no national campaign to counter this sinister agenda which has been financed by student governments and supported by academic departments. (At UC San Diego last year, one of the sponsors of the hate week was the Thurgood Marshall College, named after the famous civil rights leader, thus insulting both Jews and African Americans.) But this year, the David Horowitz Freedom Centre is sponsoring counter-protests on more than 50 college campuses, as part of its Islamo-Fascism Awareness Campaign. Taking inspiration from Jumanah Albahri’s admission of a genocidal agenda in her confrontation with David Horowitz at UCSD, the focus of this spring’s campaign will be Islamic extremists’ genocidal intentions and their campaign of lies during the genocidal Anti-Israel Apartheid Week. As the centrepiece of this counter-protest, student groups will confront the “apartheid walls” with walls composed of the lies that palestinians have aimed at Israel with the intention of destroying the Jewish state.
The website for the Wall of Lies has lots of historical & other information, but the short movie that follows is truly inspirational.
This short film by the David Horowitz Freedom Center that uncovers the lies of Israel Apartheid Week is below. It is excellent & the focus of this blog. Please Watch it!
On March 30th, 2011, Leftists, Socialists, and Islamists all around the world are demanding boycotts, divestment initiatives, and sanctions against the state of Israel. NOT because they oppose the so-called ‘occupation’ but because they are seeking the total annihilation of Israel. These dangerous idiots of the anti-Israel BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) campaign have planned a global boycott of Israeli products for the same day. Anti-Israel Protestors will stand outside stores, asking shoppers not to buy Israeli products. So I am asking you to make this date BUY ISRAELI DAY .... Use the opportunity to fill your 'fridge & freezer for Pesach. Incidentally the Jewish holiday of Vengence!!!!
Of course, I am not the only one! Celebrating Israel and purchasing everything with a “Made in Israel” label on it can serve as an antidote to this international boycott campaign being pushed by a coalition of anti-Israel organizations, said StandWithUs, a 10-year-old pro-Israel NGO. The group, which has chapters in several American cities, the United Kingdom and Israel, is urging schools, synagogues, community organizations and individuals to participate in its BIG (Buy Israeli Goods) Day. I will join them .... will you???
“We need to show the boycotters that their efforts are doomed. Let the boycotters know that when they call for boycotts of even one or two stores or products, they will face a much larger movement to buy Israeli goods,” said StandWithUs co-founder and CEO Roz Rothstein.
“We are telling people to go to their local stores, request the exact Israeli products being targeted and buy them out. Let store managers know they should keep Israeli products well stocked on the shelves.”
Opponents of Israel are promoting a very different message. Groups like 'End the Occupation' and CODEPINK are asking shoppers to avoid Israeli products. They are also calling on their sympathizers to push for a divestment from Israel as well as a boycott of academic and cultural exchanges. I am ALL for ending the occupation of Eretz Yisrael by Arabs ... this week!
The March 30th date (that is Wednesday of this Week) corresponds to "Palestinian Land Day" & according to the Global BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) Movement website, “the BDS national committee (BNC) is calling on you to unite in your different capacities and struggles to join the Global BDS Day of Action on Land Day, 30 March 2011, in solidarity with the Palestinian people’s right to self determination on their ancestral land.” Whose ancestral lands????
Originally launched in 2005, the BDS website features video of past protests in England, Spain, Sweden and Canada. Protesters, employing street theatre, song and dance, have targeted Toronto’s Mountain Equipment Co-op for stocking Israeli-made merchandise and Chapters Indigo, for the support of “lone soldiers” by Chapters principals Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman. Protesters have also targeted the Aroma Espresso Bar, a franchise of an Israeli-based cafe chain.
StandWithUs believes far more people support retailers who stock Israeli products than those who want a boycott. So do I!!
Before Pesach two years ago, 'Not in Our Name', a small Jewish group that supports the boycott, marched outside a downtown LCBO. Dozens of Israel supporters, responding to a mobilization effort co-ordinated by the Canada-Israel Committee’s (CIC) Buycott Israel program, countered that demonstration by purchasing the store’s entire inventory of 150 cases of Israeli wine. Last October, when protesters demonstrated at Aroma’s Bloor Street cafe, sources told The CJN there was no effect on its business.
Sara Saber-Freedman, CIC’s executive vice-president, said “buycott” campaigns originated in Canada and have spread worldwide. “The broad concept is that the power of the pocketbook counters the boycott effort. The message needs to be that when you target Israeli goods for boycott, the consequence will be more sales, not less.
“It flips the effort to delegitimize Israel from something that is negative for Israel and attaches a negative consequence to boycotters ~ the opposite of what was intended.” I say LET'S GO FOR IT!!
Rothstein also said opponents of the boycott can visit http://www.buyisraelgoods.org/ for information about Israeli consumer products available by region.
Rothstein believes the boycott effort has backfired. “I believe they think they are making a difference. Really, what they are accomplishing with their hostile campaign is to coalesce the pro-Israel, pro-peace community into doing counter-campaigns. It becomes clear, when they do these flash mob dances at stores, that they do not advocate peaceful coexistence. They do this because it’s their way of going on the attack and working to isolate and demonize Israel,” she said.
Visit BUY ISRAEL GOODS Web site includes a store locator so people can find stores in their area that carry Israeli products. The BIG campaign is a partnership between StandWithUs and the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce. StandWithUs is encouraging Israel’s supporters to take videos and photos of themselves purchasing the products and submit them to big@standwithus.com.
StandWithUs created a flyer listing “Six Reasons You Should Oppose Boycotting Israel”. One reason, the flyer lists, is that boycotting Israel hurts the peace process by encouraging hard-liners and “does nothing to help the Palestinians improve their lives.” Shoppers should buy both Israeli and Palestinian products as “an investment in peaceful coexistence. “www.standwithus.com/flyers/pdfs/saynoboycottsflyer3.pdf
StandWithUs has released an online button promoting the campaign for supporters to post to their Facebook walls. A physical button is also available to pin on your clothes, attach to your key chain, etc. Pick it up from www.standwithus.com (limited to the continental US ~ I think!!)
THIS IS WHAT THE BDS CAMPAIGN STAND FOR .... LET'S DO OUR UTMOST FOR ISRAEL & DISMANTLE WHAT WE CAN SO THAT THEY FAIL IN THEIR GENOCIDAL PURPOSES .....
BIG NOT BDS ..... Buy Israeli Goods NOT Boycott, Divestment & Sanction!!!!
'BUYCOTT' THE BOYCOTT .... INVEST IN ISRAEL!!!!!!!
Let's defeat this Boycott by purchasing MORE Israeli Goods and INCREASING Sales !!!!!
CONSUMER BOYCOTT ~ Individual consumers can show their opposition to Israel’s project by participating in a consumer boycott of Israeli goods and services. A consumer boycott works in two ways: firstly by generating bad publicity for the offender and secondly by applying economic pressure for change. Pressurise supermarkets and shops into removing goods of Israeli origin – from their shelves. Encourage companies who make use of Israeli technology and components to find alternatives and join the boycott. Focus the attention of the world on Israeli occupation and apartheid and expose those who bankroll the Israeli regime; and to foster an environment in which it is unacceptable to promote Israeli policies.
ACADEMIC/CULTURAL BOYCOTT - Academic and cultural collaboration boosts Israel’s image on the international stage. By refusing to participate in cultural exchange, artists and cultural institutions globally can send a clear message to Israel that theiroccupation and discrimination against Palestinians is unacceptable. In particular, the academic boycott can have significant impact on the establishment that is responsible for promoting theories and knowledge necessary for the pursuit of Israeli policies of occupation and discrimination.
SPORTS BOYCOTT - To stop Israel from promoting itself as a “fair player” via the participation of its sporting teams and individuals in international and bilateral competitions and to raise public awareness about discrimination and occupation of Palestinians. Exclude Israel from sporting events and within global competitions such as the World Cup, Olympics etc. Promote Palestinian presence and right to participate in international sporting events as a way to support their right to identity and self-determination.
DIVESTMENT Encourage and pressure individuals, financial institutions and companies to shed their investments in Israel in order to curb the profits of Israel’s war and apartheid economy. To raise awareness about Israel’s policies and true nature among companies, and encourage them to use their economic influence to put pressure on Israel to end the discrimination and expulsion of the Palestinian people and the occupation of their land.
COOPERATION AGREEMENT SANCTIONS
The campaign against cooperation agreements with Israel targets free or preferential trade agreements, joint research and development agreements and projects as well any other sort of bilateral or multilateral agreements forged by Israel.
Aims
• Ensuring that Israel is not rewarded for its crimes with preferential treatments
• Curbing Israeli profits from its apartheid and occupation policies
• Acting as targeted sanctions, the end of cooperation agreements paves the way for a full scale sanctions regime.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SANCTIONS
Action at the level of local and regional governments aims to cut all ties between municipalities or regional councils and Israel at cultural, economic, and diplomatic levels. This can be achieved by passing measures or resolutions targeting Israeli produce, institutional ties and cooperation or investments and bonds the local government may hold in Israel.
MILITARY SANCTIONS
Raise awareness among the general public about Israel’s extensive involvement in the arms trade and the role of the arms trade in the continuing occupation. Bring the debate about Israel´s nuclear and conventional weapons arsenal and its criminal use as well as the implications of arms trading with Israel into the mainstream of public debate. Pressure governments to implement a blanket arms embargo on Israel. Bring forward legal prosecutions of Israel’s war criminals and arms traders and companies supporting Israeli war crimes.
TRADE UNION BOYCOTT
A trade union boycott of Israel means that trade unions cut economic, social and political ties with Israel and build ties with Palestinian unions. Trade unions should respond to the BDS call that has, among others, been put forward by the major Palestinian trade unions. Palestinian workers are suffering under Israeli apartheid policies of exploitation that aim to bring in the profits necessary to maintain the occupation. Trade unions globally must transform workers solidarity into practice and ensure that they are not indirectly providing financial support to the Occupation by propping up the Israeli economy.
While seated in a hospital waiting area this morning I had a 'chat' with a kind old lady who brushed off Wednesday's Bus Bomb in Jerusalem with "Oh! it wasn't serious". I wonder how many people in the West think that??
The bomb, left in a suitcase near a bus stop, killed Mary Jean Gardner, 55, the only person to die in the attack which left up to 50 others wounded. What makes Ms. Gardner a little different to most of the 'usual' victims is that she wasn't an Israeli lady, in fact she wasn't Jewish either. Ms Gardner, was a Scottish lady, a Bible translator, who came to Israel at the beginning of this year to study Hebrew and took courses at Hebrew University.
She had come to Israel to hone her Hebrew skills before embarking on a translation of her bible into 'Life', one of the languages spoken in Togo, West Africa. Ms Gardner, who is thought to have been born in Africa herself, and whose parents are from the Grampian area of Scotland, had been staying and studying at the Homes for Bible Translators near Mevaseret Zion, close to Jerusalem, where she had been living with other students in a log cabin. Mrs Ronning from her accomodation, said students were taken from and to the Hebrew University by bus every day for their own security, but that Ms Gardner had a day off and had gone into town to meet an Irish friend who had just arrived in the city with a tour group. Ms Gardner was heading to a restaurant to meet her friend and happened to be passing the bus stop on foot when the bomb exploded.
"She was very excited to be seeing her friend from Ireland," said Mrs Ronning, "That friend is now broken hearted. She blames herself, saying if she had not come to Israel, she would still be alive. The shock of the evil behind the killing of civilians for the sake of killing is hard to take."
Yes, it is hard to take. Yet, It is only when non Jewish or Israeli citizens are involved that it hits home & the world seems to care. The Fogel Family massacred two weeks ago were ignored by the media. This foreign lady is not!
Ms Gardner's death comes nine years after another Scot, Glasgow-born teenager Yoni Jesner was killed in a Tel Aviv suicide bomb, carried out by Hamas.
THERE IS NO DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION & THERE CAN BE NO PEACE DEAL WITH 'PARTNERS' WHO WANT ONLY OUR ANNIHILATION!!!
Likud MK Miri Regev said that, "Israel must prepare for a second Operation Cast Lead and not allow the terror to continue out of control. Homes of the terrorists and those who sent them should be destroyed because terrorists' conditions in ...prison are too good."
Meretz faction chairman MK Ilan Gilon said that, "The terror attack in Jerusalem is a despicable act that awakens difficult memories. Israel cannot accept the renewal of terror in its cities and the murder of civilians. The terrorists must understand that the Israeli refusal to live with terror and the recognition that there is no choice but to strike back against it ..."
After davening and fasting for three days as in the Purim story, the Jews had to don armament and weapons and go out to defeat the Jew-haters of Shushan and the 127 provinces of King Achashverosh. We had to crush and annihilate these evil people who wanted to kill Jews, from babies to the very old, just because they were Jews. With foes like those who planted this latest bus bomb, THERE IS NO DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION!!
We face today enemies just as vile and ruthless as the ancient enemy facec by Queen Esther. We saw the Nazis come and defile, maim, and murder. They went on a mission to destory, to slay, and to exterminate all Jews, young and old, children, women, and babies. Today it is Muslem terrorists and Muslem armies. We have tried diplomacy for 60 years, with no rest from their perpetrations against us. Just as Hitler could not be stopped diplomatically, our enemies today cannot be stopped diplomatically. Our enemies see 'peace talks' when they war against us as weakness on the part of the West and Israel. It is part of their 'piece' plan ... not 'peace' plan! Evil such as this must be crushed. They have tasted too much blood, too much Jew blood, & they must be put down mercilessly. There is no diplomatic solution & Torah tells us clearly what to do to survive this scenario! We MUST do as Torah suggests & FIGHT to WIN. CRUSH & DESTROY our FOES. That is our protection & Ha'Shem's instruction for victory and for Life!!!
"Never will the throne of G-d ~ the Lord of Truth, Justice, and Love ~ be fully established until the seed of Amalek ~ the principle of hatred and wrongdoing ~ be destroyed forever (Pesiḳ., l.c., and Targ. Yer. I. and II. to Ex. l.c.). Henceforth "Amalek" became the popular term for Jew-hater. (JewishEncyclopedia.com)
Other Bus Bombings in Eretz Yisrael since 2000 ...... Bus Bombs KILL & Maim!
March 23, 2011 – A bomb explodes near the Egged no. 74 bus at the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, injuring around 33 people.
This had been the first in more than six years because of the erection of the Security Fence which protects Eretz Yisrael. This was slammed by the International media two weeks ago as being "Apartheid" !!
Aug 31, 2004 - Sixteen people are killed and 100 wounded in two suicide bombings within minutes of each other on two Beersheba city buses, on route nos. 6 and 12. Hamas in Hebron claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 11, 2004 – A bomb explodes at a bus stop in downtown Tel Aviv, killing one and wounding 33.
Feb 22, 2004 - Eight people killed and over 60 wounded, 11 of them school pupils, in a suicide bombing on Jerusalem bus no. 14A near the Liberty Bell Park. The Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jan 29, 2004 – Suicide bombing of an Egged bus no. 19 kills 11 people and injures over 50 wounded, 13 of them seriously in Jerusalem. The Fatah-related Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, naming the bomber as Ali Yusuf Jaara, a 24-year-old Palestinian policeman from Bethlehem.
Aug 19, 2003 - Twenty-three people killed and over 130 wounded when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated himself on a no. 2 Egged bus in Jerusalem's Shmuel Hanavi neighborhood. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Aug 12, 2003 – A teenage Palestinian suicide bomber detonates himself at a bus stop outside Ariel. Two people were killed and three wounded.
June 11, 2003 - Seventeen people are killed and over 100 wounded in a suicide bombing on Egged bus no. 14A in the center of Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 22, 2003 - Nine Israelis were injured when a roadside bomb was detonated next to a bus near Netzarim in the Gaza Strip.
May 18, 2003 - Seven people were killed and 20 wounded in a suicide bombing on Egged bus no. 6 near French Hill in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. A second suicide bomber detonated his bomb when intercepted by police in northern Jerusalem. The terrorist was killed; no one else was injured.
Mar 5, 2003 - 17 people were killed and 53 wounded in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus no. 37 in the Carmel section of Haifa, en route to Haifa University. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nov 21, 2002 – A no. 20 Egged bus in Kiryat Menahem, Jerusalem, explodes and kills 11, with some 50 wounded.
Oct 21, 2002 - 14 people were killed and some 50 wounded when a car bomb containing about 100 kilograms of explosives was detonated next to an Egged no. 841 bus from Kiryat Shmona to Tel-Aviv, on Route no. 65 toward Hadera. The bus had pulled over at a bus stop when the suicide bomber, from Jenin, driving a jeep, approached from behind and exploded. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oct 10, 2002 – A suicide bomber blows himself up while trying to board Dan bus no. 87 across from Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv, killing one and injuring about 30 people. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sept 19, 2002 - Six people are killed and about 70 wounded when a terrorist detonates a bomb in Dan bus no. 4 on Allenby Street, opposite the Great Synagogue in Tel-Aviv. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Sept 18, 2002 – A police sergeant is killed and three people wounded in a suicide bombing at a bus stop at the Umm al Fahm junction. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Aug 4, 2002 – A suicide bomb on Egged bus no. 361 travelling from Haifa to Safed kills nine and injures around 50 people.
July 16, 2002 - Nine people were killed and 20 injured in a terrorist attack on Dan bus no. 189 traveling from Bnei Brak to Emmanuel in Samaria.
June 19, 2002 - Seven people were killed and 50 injured - three of them in critical condition - when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded bus stop and hitchhiking post at the French Hill intersection in northern Jerusalem. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
June 18, 2002 - 19 people were killed and 74 injured - six seriously - in a suicide bombing at the Patt junction in Egged bus no. 32A in Jerusalem. The bus, which was completely destroyed, was carrying many students on their way to school. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
June 5, 2002 - 17 people were killed and 38 injured when a car packed with a large quantity of explosives struck Egged bus No. 830 traveling from Tel-Aviv to Tiberias at the Megiddo junction near Afula.
Apr 12, 2002 - Six people were killed and 104 wounded when a woman suicide bomber detonated a powerful charge at a bus stop on Jaffa road at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda open-air market. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.
Apr 10, 2002 - Eight people were killed and 22 injured in a suicide bombing on Egged bus no. 960, en route from Haifa to Jerusalem, which exploded near Kibbutz Yagur, east of Haifa. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mar 20, 2002 - Seven people, four of them soldiers, were killed and about 30 wounded, several seriously, in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus No. 823 traveling from Tel Aviv to Nazareth.
Mar 17, 2002 - A suicide bomber explodes himself near an Egged bus no. 22 at the French Hill junction in northern Jerusalem. 25 people were injured.
Mar 5, 2002 – As a bus enters Afula central bus station, a suicide bomber associated with The Islamic Jihad explodes in an Egged no. 823 bus, killing one and injuring a large number of people.
Dec 9, 2001 - A suicide bomber explodes a powerful bomb near a bus stop at the Checkpost Junction in Haifa. About 30 people were injured, most lightly and suffering from shock.
Dec 2, 2001 - 15 people were killed and 40 injured, several critically, in a suicide bombing on an Egged bus No. 16 in Haifa, Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nov 29, 2001 - Three people were killed and nine others were wounded in a suicide bombing on an Egged 823 bus en route from Nazereth to Tel Aviv near the city of Hadera. The Islamic Jihad and Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack.
July 16, 2001 – At a bus stop in Binyamina, two soldiers were killed and 11 wounded ~ 3 seriously ~ as bomb explodes in suicide terrorist attack. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 25, 2001 - 65 people were injured in a car bombing in the Hadera central bus station. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
Apr 29, 2001 - A car bomb blows up close to a school bus travelling near the West Bank city of Nablus. There were no injuries in the attack.
Apr 22, 2001 - A terrorist detonates a powerful bomb he was carrying near a group of people waiting at a bus stop in Kfar Sava. One person was killed and about 60 injured in the blast, two severely. The terrorist was also killed in the explosion, for which Hamas claimed responsibility.
Mar 27, 2001 - 28 people were injured, two seriously, in a suicide bombing directed against a northbound No. 6 bus at the French Hill junction in Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Feb 14, 2001 - Eight people were killed and 25 injured when a bus being driven by a Palestinian terrorist plowed into a group of soldiers and civilians waiting at a bus stop near Holon, south of Tel-Aviv.
Jan 1, 2001 - A car bomb explodes near a bus stop in the shopping district in the center of Netanya. About 60 people were injured, most lightly. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nov 22, 2000 – Two were killed when a powerful car bomb detonates next to a passing bus on Hadera’s main street, 60 others were wounded.
Nov 20, 2000 – Roadside bomb explodes alongside a bus carrying children from Kfar Darom to school in Gush Katif. Two people were killed and nine others, including 5 children, were injured, 5 of them seriously.
"You know what I feel like? .... I feel all the time like a cat on a hot tin roof."
Elizabeth Taylor, the violet-eyed femme fatale whose smouldering talent and eight marriages made her a legend of Hollywood’s golden era, died yesterday, Wednesday, in Los Angeles. She was 79. The two-time Oscar winner suffered from congestive heart failure and had been hospitalized since February. Her death marks the passing of one of the last great stars from the old studio system ~ a devastating beauty whose personal dramas were as captivating as her performances in “Cleopatra” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”!!
"I am Jewish because there is no other choice for me" ~ Elizabeth Taylor. She wasn't actually Jewish at all, but she was a Zionist!!
At the peak of her fame, she was the highest-paid actress in the world, lionized as the most beautiful woman on the planet, dripping with glittering jewels. Even after she retired from the silver screen, she remained in the public eye, making the race to find a cure for AIDS a cause celebre and raking in a fortune from her perfume business. But tragedy and torment tailed her like the paparazzi ~ she was widowed and divorced, the Pope among others denounced her wanton ways, and she battled drug, alcohol and weight problems. In a 1992 interview, she acknowledged that her life was at once charmed and star-crossed.
“I’ve been lucky,” she said. “Everything was handed to me. Looks, fame, wealth, honours, love. I rarely had to fight for anything. But I’ve paid for that luck with disasters. The death of Mike Todd and so many good friends, terrible illnesses, destructive addictions, broken marriages. All things considered, I’m damn lucky to be alive.”
Taylor was born February 27th, 1932, in London to American art dealers but moved to Los Angeles as a child. A friend’s suggestion she take a screen test launched her celluloid career. Small parts led to the starring role in “National Velvet” opposite Mickey Rooney, and at the age of 12, Taylor was a bona fide movie star with a long-term MGM contract. She made more than two dozen movies in the 1940s and ’50s and showed she had as much grit as glamour with back-to-back Oscar nominations for “Raintree County,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Suddenly Last Summer.” She finally took home one of the statuettes for her portrayal of a call girl in 1960′s “Butterfield 8″ and won a second for her tour de force in 1966′s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Off-screen, life was more tumultuous for her .... “What do you expect me to do? Sleep alone?” was her blithe & brilliant response!
She married and divorced hotel heir Conrad Hilton as a teenager, split from British actor Michael Wilding after five years, and endured the death of husband number three, film impresario Mike Todd, in a 1958 plane crash. Soon after, Taylor was romancing Todd’s best friend, crooner Eddie Fisher, stealing him away from America‘s sweetheart, Debbie Reynolds, and provoking public outrage. Her marriage to Fisher was as short-lived as it was scandalous. In 1961, she was cast in “Cleopatra” for the record sum of $1 million, and she fell hard for the love of her life, co-star Richard Burton. Their torrid extramarital affair drew scorn from the Vatican, but Burton proved to be THE Lovof her life. They spent 10 years together and adopted a daughter ~ Taylor’s fourth child ~ before divorcing, only to remarry months later and split again. Actually, "I never slept with a man I didn't marry", more relevant to her personal moral physique, perhaps??
By then, however, Taylor’s star was on the wane. The ’70s were a blur of mostly forgettable parts & by that decade’s end, the movie icon was practically a punchline. Her weight had ballooned, she was addicted to pills and booze, and she seemed to spend as much time in the hospital as on the red carpet. She could have slowly faded into has-been obscurity, but in 1983, Taylor checked herself into the Betty Ford Center and emerged ready for another closeup. AIDS was sweeping Hollywood and had claimed the life of Taylor’s close friend, Rock Hudson, prompting her to embark on a crusade to raise public awareness and research money. Her efforts helped bring in millions, including a large chunk of the profits from her mega-popular perfumes, Passions and White Diamonds.
Taylor also found love again, during a second stay at Betty Ford in the late 1980s. This time her beau wasn’t a movie star or a millionaire but, improbably, a rough-edged construction worker named Larry Fortensky. With helicopters buzzing overhead, they got married in 1991 at the Neverland estate of her close friend Michael Jackson. There was a TV special to mark her 65th birthday, and she was named a dame by Queen Elizabeth in 1999. But frail health kept her mostly confined to her Bel Air mansion in later life. Taylor’s medical situation had always been precarious; she had more than 40 operations over the years and was even pronounced dead during a 1961 bout with pneumonia. She had a brain tumour removed in 1997. In 2004, she revealed she had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, which slowly starves the body’s organs of blood.
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) issued a statement of mourning for her yesterday, which listed a series of efforts Taylor made for Israel and the Jewish community, including her purchase of $100,000 in Israel Bonds in 1959, her participation in raising $840,000 for Israel in a 1967 London gala, and her cancellation of a visit to Moscow after the Soviet Union lashed out at Israel following the 1967 Six Day War. In addition, she was one of 60 prominent women to sign a statement in 1975 to then-UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, condemning the General Assembly’s infamous Zionism-is-Racism resolution. Taylor offered herself as a hostage when 104 Jews aboard an Air France airbus were held hostage by PLO terrorists at Uganda’s Entebbe Airport, from which they were rescued in a spectacular Israeli commando mission on July 4th, 1976, America’s 200th birthday.
She frequently visited Israel and met with its leadership, including Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1983. In 1987, she signed a petition seeking the release from Soviet prison of leading refusenik Ida Nudel. Elizabeth Taylor’s pro~Israel activism led to the banning of her films in several Arab countries. After she bought $100,000 in Israel Bonds in 1959, the United Arab Republic (now Egypt) banned all her movies.
My favourite movie of hers is the eponymous "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". I admired her as an actress & an ardent advocate for Israel. She said she wasn’t afraid to die, and catalogued her aches and pains with the same wit she once used to suggest the epitaph on her gravestone to read .... “She lived.” I like that a lot!!
Today, March 22nd, 2011, is the 80th birthday of William Shatner, best known as the original Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise. You can have all the arguments you want over who's the best Star Trek Captain (the answer is Kirk), but there's no arguing over the fact that Shatner set the stage for all the others. In spite of it's wonderful and cheesy 1960's vibe, Star Trek was a big deal, going far beyond what people expected from a network science fiction show. And the face of the series was William Shatner as the most memorable of the Captains in the franchise. He deserves a lot of credit for playing Kirk in such a way that over 40 years later, his mannerisms and speech patterns are still so recognizable.
In fact, the way this man talks is so unique that today is also "Talk Like William Shatner Day"!! Yup, his birthday has become a holiday. If you celebrated "Talk Like a Pirate Day" by saying Argh! and Aye! all day then today you should be talking with unnecessary pauses and.....accents in...the oddest places. I don't think there are many people out there, Star Trek fan or not, that wouldn't recognize the distinctive pattern of Shatner's speech. But it wasn't just his portrayal of Captain Kirk that won him a place in my heart. In 1966 William Shatner was cast in the role of Captain James T. Kirk in the sci-fi series “Star Trek”. Although initially the series success was fairly limited, causing the cancellation of the spaceship Enterprise crew’s adventures after its third season, this role influenced all his future life and became the one for which he’s best known.
Immediately after the end of “Star Trek” however William Shatner had trouble finding work, so that for a time he lived in a camper van on the road. During the 1970's anyway he managed to appear as a guest star in well known shows such as “The Six Million Dollar Man”, “Columbo”, “Kung Fu” and “Mission: Impossible”. In the 1970's “Star Trek” reruns led to the birth of a cult for this series and William Shatner began to appear at various conventions devoted to this show. There was even a project to create a new Star Trek television series but after a few years it was decided to produce a film, in which Shatner reprised his role as Captain Kirk. This film’s success led to the production of various sequels and Shatner was in them until the sixth movie, in which Captain Kirk dies.
During the 1980's William Shatner built a career that had nothing to do with Star Trek ~ becoming the star of the Police series “T.J. Hooker”, in which he was also a director of some episodes. In the ’90s Shatner produced the series “Tekwar”, where he was also an actor and occasionally a director. In T.J. Hooker, He played a tough talking veteran cop helping a rookie learn the ropes. He outran guys half his age, held on to the hoods of cars during high speed chases while holding a gun and banging on the windshield, and never failed to catch the bad guys. T.J. Hooker was cool.
In 2003 William Shatner started playing the lawyer Denny Crane in the series “The Practice” and later in the series “Boston Legal”. Actor James Spader (another god among men ) stars alongside. For this role Shatner won an Emmy in 2004 and 2005, when he also won a Golden Globe.
But, All of these roles had no small amount of cheese to them, but they were fun and Shatner made them memorable. What makes William Shatner even cooler than Kirk or T.J. Hooker is that he doesn't look back and talk about these roles as though they were dated and cheesy and worthless. He doesn't make himself out to be some grand thespian who is so beyond those roles that he gives them hardly any note or credibility. He embraces those characters. So much so that he's made fun of himself at roasts, awards shows and countless appearances. This guy has won two Emmy awards and a Golden Globe and still he's able to not take himself too seriously. He carries this forward to this day in his latest tv foray "Shit my Dad Says" ..... though that is not great!
This is what I love about William Shatner. He mocks his own halting speech as Captain Kirk, jokes about his days on T.J. Hooker, and sings songs that make fun of his success. All this from an award-winning actor who is a talented man who has provided hours of entertainment for all of us.
"I don't give a Damn ~ Captain T. Kirk! ....... Happy 80th Birthday, William Shatner!
The horrifying massacre of the Fogel Family last weekend was not the first intrusion into the life of the Shomron community of Itamar, Israel, by murderous Arabs. In June 2002, a terrorist entered the pioneering settlement. And, Armed with an assault rifle and grenades, he barricaded himself in the home of the Shabo family, where he shot and killed the mother of the family, Rachel Shabo, and three of her seven children, Nerya, 15, Tzvika, 12, and Avishai, 5, as well as a neighbour Yossi Twyto, who responded to assist in saving the family.
Wounded in this frenzied attack were other children of the family, Asael Yonah ben Rachel, a 10-year-old boy (leg amputated above the knee), and his sister, Avia bat Rachel 13, with moderate-to-serious chest wounds. And, just like last weekend. media outlets in their reporting, when they deigned to say anything at all, spoke blandly of the killing of "Four Israeli Jewish settlers", coldly offering little detail as to what happened or how another Israeli family had just been torn apart forever by "palestinian" terror as they handed out candies in the streets of Gaza in celebration.
On the night of 20th June 2002, as the Shabos family prepared for Shabbat, an Arab terrorist burst into their home and opened fire. Rachel, the mother of the family, and three of her children, were killed. Another two children were injured. A neighbour who sought to break into the home to help was also killed. After more than an hour of exchanging gunfire with Israeli soldiers, the terrorist was killed. In the course of the exchange, the house caught fire and burned down. Yossi Tuito (age 40), who served as commander of Itamar's 'preparedness team', was also shot to death when he arrived at the family's house in an attempt to help. Yossi had worked as an educator in the first grade at the school in Elon Moreh (a nearby community), and had helped children at risk. The father, Boaz, and two of his other children were not at home at the time of the incident, and were not harmed. Another Jewish family torn apart.
But even this was not the only other intrusion into Itamar ....
In May 2002, a terrorist infiltrated the settlement through its surrounding fence. When he reached the basketball court of Itamar's yeshiva high school, he shot and killed 14-year-old Gilad Stieglitz and wounded another teen. The terrorist then proceeded to the yeshiva buildings, where he killed two more teens, Netanel Riachi and Avraham Siton. He continued firing toward the yeshiva buildings until one of the yeshiva's counsellors ran toward him and shot him to death.
Less than a month later, in June 2002, a terrorist entered the settlement again. Armed with an assault rifle and grenades, he barricaded himself in the home of the Shabo family, where he shot and killed the mother of the family, Rachel Shabo, and three of her seven children - 15-year-old Neria, 12-year-old Zvi, and 5-year-old Avishai. The terrorist also killed the community's security coordinator, Yosef Twito, when he arrived at the Shabo home hoping to rescue the family.
In July 2002, another "palestinian" armed with two knives broke into the home of David and Orna Mimran and stabbed them. They fought back ..... David Mimran was moderately wounded and his wife was slightly wounded. An army officer shot and killed the terrorist. As in the other cases, in this incident, the terrorist was able to access the settlement through the surrounding fence. A soldier was convicted of dereliction of duty while on guard, which the Israel Defence Forces said had made it possible for the terrorist to infiltrate the settlement. The soldier was sentenced to two months in prison. Was this really what made it possible?? Or was it the world's indifference?? Or worse. The worlds desire to push Israel into sacrifcing it's precious land for an illusory "peace" with a people who desire only our annihilation???
In August 2004, Shlomo Miller, who had replaced Twito as security coordinator of Itamar, was shot and killed by yet another palestinian terrorist. And yet again, there were waves of only silence from a world that cares nothing for the spilling of Jewish blood, or Jewish suffering!
Once again, last week the silence from the "civilized world" was deafening about Itamar's tragedy. Where it was sparsley reported they called the murderers ~ "palestinians" (no judgemental adjective) ~ whereas they called the Fogel family "hardened settlers". Who were they talking about...?? Baby Hadas, whose throat was slit from ear to ear while she slept? Or 3 year old Elad whose heart was punctured with a blunt knife???
It is sickening & anti semetic to employ euphemisms thus in language. The Nazi's did it when they proffered "Special treatment" to Jews and used language to cover attempted genocide. The 'palestinians' use it to cover an anti semetic land grab of Eretz Yisrael. If a tree falls in the forest and no one heard it fall, did it make a sound? Conversely, if a terror attack occurred and it didn't make the news, did it really take place? These tactics have been used before ....... And, of course, the media failed to mention that Hamas has described the attack as a “heroic operation” while sweets and candies were handed out in Gaza in celebration.
Those who profess to deplore violence and killing on both sides of the Israel-Palestinian equation are giving the lie to their pious hyperbole by remaining conspicuously silent on the slaughtering of this Israeli family. No words of condemnation about the deaths of these innocents at the hands of terrorists have been heard from the usual human rights groups, the same faction that is so quick to vilify Israel for defending itself from terrorist attacks,or scream when Palestinian citizens lose their lives during a retaliatory foray by Israel.
Remember Rachel Corrie, a foreign tresspasser who was responsible for her own tragic death. The World does ....... The Fogels were a Family Slain while they Slept!!! The World does not care to mourn!
There is no other conclusion to draw ~ when the deaths of Jewish innocents go unmourned and unacknowledged, it is because some believe Jewish lives do not count. It is hard to escape the feeling that had similar attacks occurred in, say, London or Paris, rather than a religious settlement in Samaria, the reaction would undoubtedly have been quite different.
Where's the outrage? Why is the world silent about the slaying of a three month old Jewish infant? The Silence has been Screaming Anti-Semitism at me all week!!!
On Friday night, March 11th, 2011, "palestinian" terrorists of the Fatah broke into the home of an Israeli family, the Fogels and murdered the parents and three of their young children. What type of person slashes the throat of a three month old baby from ear to ear while she sleeps???
It is important to understand that this brutal and heinous act of violence is not an isolated incident. It is crucial to recognize there is a whole culture behind the terrorism.
Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us!
Thousands of Israelis turned out at the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem on Sunday for the funerals of five members of the same family killed Friday night in a brutal attack in their home at Itamar, in the Shomron, Israel, 30,000 to the Funeral itself & it is estimated that up to 50,000 Israelis have visited the resting place of this massacred family thus far.
Speakers at the service spoke of the tragedy that took place and how it cannot be allowed to break the spirit...... and determination of the Jewish people to settle and live on the land of Israel.
Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger told mourners that “the murderers did succeed, but only in uniting us.” “No one can remain apathetic” after this event, he said.
Metzger cried out that Itamar needs to become a city that is a mother of Israel in response to this event. “Another neighborhood, that’s the answer. More building, that’s the answer,” he said.
The chief rabbi repeated the phrase, “In Yehuda, we will always settle and Jerusalem from generation to generation.”
Ya’alon predicted that the murderers of the Fogal family will have city squares named after them and be honored by PA. In light of this, he said that any agreement signed with the Palestinians isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
As revenge for the death of Udi, Ruth, Elad, Yoav and Hadas Fogel, “we will live, we will continue to build and to plant, we will continue to grip onto the land of Israel: in Itamar, in Beit Hagai, in Hebron and in Jerusalem, everywhere and any time,” Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said Sunday, speaking at the funeral of the Fogel family in Givat Shaul.
“More construction, more life, more hanging onto the land. This is our answer to the murderers, so that they know they haven’t gotten the better of us. We will awaken our right to build anywhere and at anytime. Construction in Israel is not a retaliation or revenge for the victim,” Rivlin said.
“You were a symbol of the allegiance of the Zionist, the Jew, the Israeli. Despite all the difficulties, you believed and you overcame the hardships.”
I will just add that the Media are not reporting on this as Major News. I know there have been some major world events this weekend too, but it is distressing in the extreme that the media gave more column space & airtime to 500 new homes being constructed in the Shomron that this massacre of a young Pioneer family. How is that more controversial or newsworthy ..... Does the world care nothing for Jewish Blood??? Apparently not! Where is the International Outcry here??? I remember the outcry following the death of Rachel Corrie, a tresspasser who was responsible for her own tragic death. This is a Family Slain while they Slept!!!
I have a huge problem too with what media coverage there was of this horrible massacre. They call the murderers "palestinians" (no judgemental adjective) whereas they called the Fogel family are "hardened settlers". Who were they talking about...?? Baby Hadas, maybe? Or 3 year old Elad???
It is sickening & anti semetic to employ euphemisms thus in language. The Nazi's did it when they proffered "Special treatment" to Jews and used language to cover attempted genocide. The 'palestinians' use it to cover an anti semetic land grab of Eretz Yisrael. If a tree falls in the forest and no one heard it fall, did it make a sound? Conversely, if a terror attack occurred and it didn't make the news, did it really take place?These tactics have been used before ....... And, of course, the media failed to mention that Hamas has described the attack as a “heroic operation” while sweets and candies were handed out in Gaza in celebration.
"Never again will Jewish children stare in fear begging to be spared. Never again will we let our enemies determine the fate of the Jewish people and we will able to protect our sons" ~ IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi. We will not lie down & die for an uncaring world!!!
If one Jew is injured, we are all injured. We share the same neshama. May Ha'Shem bless Tamar Fogel & her brothers, now orphaned by this attrocity. May Ha'shem comfort all of Itmar and the surrounding region among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. And may the Blood of the Fogel Family be Avenged!
