The Jew in the Box

I don't know if you have come across the phrase "The Jew in the box"recently, but it has been all over. The mother of ravaj is proud to note that CNN, Time magazine, The New York Times and NBC's Today show have all shown an interest in the latest exhibition at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. It is actually called "The Whole Truth:  Everything you always wanted to know about Jews". A sister of ravaj happens to be one of the curators. We are proud of her. While it is a pity that the media have fixated on one element out of thirty showcases in the exhibition, at the same time the international exposure has probably helped the profile of the museum. If you wish to form an opinion of your own, and are unable to visit Berlin before September, here are a number of links for various commentaries to help out:


Museum defends 'Jew in a Box' exhibit by CNN_International

version viewable by American viewers may be found here.

A story from the New York Times is here. This is a quote from it:

"Michal S. Friedlander, a curator at the museum and an American-born German Jew, said that most of those who criticized the show had not actually seen it. 'That's the whole point, what's appropriate and what's inappropriate and letting people come to their own conclusions.'"

btw, having always considered this sis to be a bit of a Luddite, I was delighted today to discover that she has at least one blogpost to her name!

Benjamin Weinthal's report and review in Foreign Policy may be found here.

Time magazine online

Criticism in the Jewish Daily Forward

Last for now, a link to an interview on the Today Show in the USA on the NBC channel. If you want more, you're on your own!

Favourite Oscars

Many of the media have been mildly distracted today, turning briefly away from the story of the South African athlete who shot his girlfriend towards a little awards ceremony taking place tonight in Los Angeles. I thought I'd add a little to the mix and thus present for your delectation and delight some other famous Oscars:

This is the Oscar Fish. Surely you recognise Astronotus ocellatus? It's a species of fish from the cichlid family and has many common names including Oscar, Tiger Oscar, Velvet Cichlid or Marble Cichlid.

If you are an amateur radio ham, you may have heard of the satellite OSCAR. No?

To be honest there don't seem to be any other particularly interesting Oscars. Except of course for the one and only, and my great favourite, Mr Wilde. As a teenager, I was so enamoured of him that I wrote a little poem of celebration

Am I in ernest when I say
That of puns I read as a child
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills'
Always drove me wild.

I am still waiting for the day when knowing Oscar Wilde's full name will be the answer to a vital quiz question. Meanwhile, I am always entertained by his wit. This quote seems apt for the end of this piece:

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go."

More Arrests at the Kotel

Anat Hoffman wrote the following this morning:

"A unique gathering happened this morning at the Western Wall. During Women of the Wall's usual Rosh chodesh prayer service in the women's section of the Kotel, we were fortunate to be supported by some very special visitors. Veterans from the IDF's famed Paratrooper Battalion 66, the men who liberated the Western Wall in 1967, were with our supporters in the men's section. These men are living legends and among Israel's modern heroes.

It was only after the prayer service was over and the paratroopers had left that the police detained ten women, including myself, for committing the crime of wearing a tallit at the Western Wall. This group included two Conservative rabbis who were supposed to meet with Natan Sharansky today to discuss the Kotel issue, one Reform rabbinical student who is 8 months pregnant, two congregants from the Reform congregation in Kiryat Tivon, and several other women. As of this writing, we have all been released without restrictions."

This happens every month now, and perhaps it's no longer news for many people. Nevertheless these women continue to fight for our right to pray equally. Perhaps this month there may be a little more interest because there is a minor celebrity tangentially involved, i.e., the comedian Sarah Silverman, currently in London to promote her latest venture, has tweeted her support:

"SO proud of my amazing sister @rabbisusan & niece @purplelettuce95 for their ballsout civil disobedience. Ur the tits! #womenofthewall"

There is a report of the morning's events in HaAretz. Of particular interest is the quote from one of the paratroopers, Yitzhak Yifat, well known from his place in the centre of the famous photo taken at the liberation of the wall in 1967. As he stood in the men's section with other male supporters he said:

"I decided to come here to show my support for all those who wish to pray at the Kotel whatever way they wish, so long as they are not doing anything immoral ... It breaks my heart that the ultra-Orthodox have decided the Kotel belongs to them."

Happy Birthday Grand Central!

Grand Central station (officially known as Grand Central Terminal) in New York City will be 100 years old this month. It is one of my favourite places in which to wait if one has to wait for a train. I've experienced an impromptu Carly Simon concert in the main hall, walked within the giant glass windows at the far end, and am pretty sure that I once saw Kay Francis on her way to platform 220.

Happy birthday Grand Central!



Celebratory events for the year listed here.
Let Wikipedia tell you more about it.
Odd tidbits about Grand Central here.
festivities began last week - report here.
100 facts for 100 years via the Daily Beast

Save the Bees Update

It's been a while since anything about bees appeared on this page I know. However, 2013 began with some excellent news for the bee community:  two giant DIY/garden centre companies have agreed to stop stocking products containing pesticides linked to the current decline of the bee population! Well done B&Q and Wickes ... now who shall be next?
(Read about it here.)

The insecticides in question are called neonicotinoids. And yes, they are chemically related to nicotine. No good for humans, and no good for bees. Who knew?!

UK MP's Majority Vote for Same-Sex Marriage

It's not over yet, but Equality in Marriage is one step nearer being law after it got through the first vote in the House of Commons yesterday. If you are on Facebook, you can keep up-to-date with what's happening on the Out4Marriage page here.

today's reports on the event include

The Independent
The Guardian
and even the Daily Mail eventually covered it :-)
NB the Mail includes a complete list of the MP's who voted against

UK Same-Sex Marriage Vote

Tomorrow Parliament will vote on a bill to allow same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom. Obviously the ravaj is totally for such a law. Remember this? If you agree, there is still time to contact your Member of Parliament and let them know that you would like them to represent you in this matter!

Meanwhile, I cannot decide the balance between feelings of cynical amusement and utter disgust upon hearing that the top Tories who went to Downing Street yesterday to try and talk the Prime Minister out of supporting the bill were focussing on the damage they thought it would do to the party's 2015 election prospects rather than any moral convictions they might have had. Viz the Sun headline "Tories:  Gay Marriage is Election Disaster".

Blood Libels and Antisemitism in the UK

This is the top half of a cartoon by Gerald Scarfe that was printed in the Sunday Times newspaper last weekend, 27th January. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is pictured building a wall that imprisons people - presumably Palestinians - between the bricks. The mortar he is using appears to be made from blood. The caption at the bottom read, "Will cementing the peace continue?"

This is a country that still believes in freedom of the press, and one doesn't have to agree with Scarfe's perspective. However, to have published this on International Holocaust Memorial Day seems at best utterly bad taste. At worst some have accused him of antisemitism. News International mogul Rupert Murdoch apologised via his Twitter account saying that a "major apology for grotesque, offensive cartoon" was owed. Scarfe apologised for the "very unfortunate timing" of the publication, and insisted that he was not antisemitic. In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle, he said that his drawing "was a criticism of Netanyahu, and not of the Jewish people:  there was no slight whatsoever intended against them."

I am inclined to believe that this is what he believes. I do think, however, that there is a bit of a problem with the imagery he used. The bloody mortar evokes imagery of the blood libel that has haunted Jewish communities across the world since medieval times. It originated with the false claim of Jewish guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus; and developed into the even more false belief that Jews used the blood of murdered Xians (especially children) in their rituals, e.g., that it is a vital part of the recipe for Passover matzah or the filling for the hamantaschen pastries eaten at the festival of Purim. This blood libel has been the excuse for premeditated physical attacks on Jewish communities for centuries, and is thus a somewhat sensitive subject. To use blood imagery and expect it to be seen outside that context is ingenuous. Nevertheless, this does not automatically make it antisemitic.

Roy Greenslade has a good article in today's Evening Standard where while arguing for freedom of the press he also reminds us of the responsibilities of the author and the editors. He writes about Scarfe and Steve Bell of the Guardian:

"Though I doubt whether the cartoonists meant to be anti-semitic, complainants would surely say this is the point - unintentional racism is as unacceptable (arguably worse), than intentional racism. It was undoubtedly thoughtless and neither man can plead naivety. They are veterans in a craft that exists in order to offend."
(The rest of Greenslade's article is here.)

In the end, I would say that what happened was thoughtless, but not antisemitic. In the Guardian, Anshel Pfeffer points out that:

"There is absolutely nothing in the cartoon which identifies its subject as a Jew. No Star of David or kippa, and though some commentators have claimed Netanyahu's nose in the cartoon is over-sized, at most this is in line with Scarfe's style (and that of cartoonists) of slightly exaggerating physical features."
(the rest of the Guardian article is here)

There are enough people in the world who hate others and promote that hatred - we do not need to increase their number by adding Gerald Scarfe to their cabal.

Killer Cats

A Science reporter on the BBC website reports this week that

"Cats are one of the top threats to US wildlife, killing billions of animals each year ... they are responsible for the deaths of between 1.4 and 3.7 billion birds and 6.9-20.7 billion mammals annually"

Stray and feral cats are mostly responsible, but pet cats do their part also. In fact, domestic cats are currently blamed for the global extinction of 33 species.

Read more about these utterly vicious killing machines here. As for me, if I were to consider writing an article about a dangerous creature currently threatening the existence of hundreds of species on the earth, I think I might focus on

                                                                                                                        homo sapiens ...

The Duelling Elmoes

It's Monday. It's cold and icy outside. It's nowhere near going-home-time. I think we need to get some love from the red furry beast itself. (thanks to SLynn for being the other hand).

qv

The Duelling Brandos

&


The SNL Dueling Brandos
(close your eyes and listen)

Anger and its consequences: Julie Burchill in the Guardian

Julie Burchill has been published in the media since my teenage years. While I do not always agree with her, I have found her writing to be thought-provoking on issues that are important to me. She is currently in the news for being accused of transphobia. Her close friend Suzanne Moore was attacked for a comment made in an essay about women's anger. Ms. Burchill has used the Guardian page 'Comment is Free' to defend her friend. This is loyal.  This is also very angry. There may be a noble ambition behind the piece, but there is much to question about the way it was done. For example, she wrote:

"To have your c0ck cut off and then plead special privileges as women - above natural-born women, who don't know the meaning of suffering, apparently - is a bit like the old definition of chutzpah:  the boy who killed his parents and then asked the jury for clemency on the grounds he was an orphan."

Read the rest of it for yourself here.

My first question, actually, is for the editor:  was this piece not proofed before publication? If it was, then presumably the Guardian considers the language and imagery used to be beyond reproach? If so, I'd like to know your definition of 'transphobic'.

My second question is for Ms. Burchill:  why did you not use your considerable journalistic experience to write a piece without such clumsy, obvious and insulting jabs at the general trans community. You are smart and witty enough to demonstrate your support for your friend without resorting to name-calling. Not to mention that the resulting furore has drowned out any valid points you might have made about the original response to Suzanne Moore's essay. I'm sadly disappointed in you, Julie.

here are some current links to various responses to the situation:

A poll in the Independent - did JB go too far?
Tim Stanley in the Telegraph - liberals being illiberal
Roz Kaveney Trans people response also in the Guardian via 'Comment is Free'
Daily Mail puts its own particular spin on the story
Pink News reports the story
HuffPostUK highlights Lynne Featherstone comment
Paris Lees writes a response in Diva magazine

Parshat Vaeira

Here are a few thoughts from last week's Liberal Judaism Thought for the Week about the Torah portion:

Parshat Vaeira

But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “Behold, the Children of Israel did not hearken to me. How then will Pharaoh hearken to me, seeing that I am of uncircumcised lips?” (Exodus 6:12)

The time has come for Moses to take his place as leader of his people. God tells him to go to Pharaoh and ask for the freedom of the Children of Israel.  They should be released from bondage and allowed to leave the land of Egypt. Initially, Moses chooses not to accept his mission. The excuse he gives is that since he was unable to persuade the Children of Israel to listen to him, what chance would he have of convincing Pharaoh? He claims he has a physical disability, he cannot speak.

The Midrash tells us that as a baby, Moses was tested by Pharaoh to see if he would be a threat to the kingdom. A golden cup and a blazing coal were placed in front of the child. He naturally reached towards the gold, but the angel Gabriel came down and moved his hand towards the coal. Baby Moses picked up the coal, put it in his mouth, and burned his lips. This was the explanation for his problem in later life.

Moses, however, uses an odd phrase to describe his speech impediment:  aral s’fatayim. Orlah is Hebrew for foreskin, an obstruction over the head of the penis. Thus we might understand the phrase as meaning his lips are somehow impeded by a metaphorical flap of skin. Rashi gives several examples in the Tanach of the root ayin, resh, lamed used to mean clogged or closed. This is to make clear to us that the ‘closing of his lips’ meant that Moses definitely had some kind of speech defect.

Other commentators consider this issue from a less literal perspective. Perhaps not wishing to speak is an example of the humility of Moses. Or this one flaw in Moses would prove that any person he persuaded would have been converted by the purity of the message rather than the sophistry of the speaker. Or that since he had not grown up within the slave community, he did not feel that he could speak for them. One thing is certain, though – Moses doubted his ability to say what should be said.

It is clear from myriad explanations through the ages, that understanding this moment in the history of our people always has contemporary relevance. In the Torah, God solved the problem by enlisting Moses’ brother Aaron to be the speaker (Ex. 7:1). Today we do not expect such Divine intervention. Yet one does not have to be a Moses to be faced with a situation when speaking up may make a difference. It could be something as fleeting as a homophobic slur, a racist remark, or a sexist comment made at work, on the Tube, or amongst our circle of friends. However, so often we also hesitate – is it appropriate? Will it make things difficult? Will it make a difference?

What is it that stops us speaking, and how may we overcome those fears and limitations in order to take our part in developing the world in which we live? While God may not provide us with an Aaron, we do have the resources of family and good friends. Their support can help to overcome the demons of self-doubt and uncertainty that stand in our way. Ultimately, though, the key is to find within ourselves the strength to take the chance. Our words may not be elegant or articulate, but they must be spoken. For while we are not obliged to finish the task, neither are we free to neglect it!

Bizarre News from the BBC

Let's see what might be newsworthy this morning:  UK peers suggest the decriminalisation of all illegal drugs ... 8-year-old girl shot dead in Jamaica ... Golden Globes winners ... and what is one of the top stories on the BBC web page?

Puppy thrown at German biker gang

A German student "mooned" a group of Hell's Angels and hurled a puppy at them before escaping on a stolen bulldozer, police have said.

Tha man drove up to a Hell's Angels clubhouse near Munich, wearing only a pair of shorts and carrying a puppy. He dropped his shorts and threw the dog, escaping on a bulldozer from a nearby building site. He was arrested later at home by police. The 26-year-old is said to have stopped taking depression medication.

After making his getaway on the bulldozer, he had driven so slowly that a 5 km tailback built up behind him on the motorway.. After driving about 1 km, he had abandoned the bulldozer in the middle of the motorway, near Allershausen. He continued his journey by hitchhiking.

"What motivated him to throw a puppy at the Hell's Angels is currently unclear," a police spokesman said. The puppy is now being cared for in an animal shelter.

O look, the Telegraph picked it up as well (here).

Did You Think I Wouldn't Mention It?!

My beloved Queens Park Rangers are unbeaten so far in 2013. I might mention that they have actually played some games as well. And I feel bound to refer to a recent match at Stamford Bridge.

Having sat through the Sunday game at home to Liverpool, where we were 0-3 down after 28 minutes, and utterly dire the rest of the time, I decided there was no way I was prepared to spend 60 squid to sit in the rain and watch us be thumped by the auld enemy.

this is a picture of Shaun Wright-Phillips. Throughout the season so far there has been a consensus that he should not be picked for the first team because he brings nothing to it. He only made it onto the Stamford Bridge pitch because Hoillett was injured early on. In this picture, SWP is scoring a goal.

Here is a better view of SWP's first goal for QPR. It turned out, in fact, to be the only goal of the game. This made his team-mates quite happy.

I must admit that when I awoke the next morning, I was pretty sure I had dreamt the whole thing. I'd been at home, happily watching David Attenborough's new programme about Africa. My mind and heart were full of  drongoes and meerkats. I was trying to drown out the inevitable massacre. And then the e-mails began arriving, and the texts, and the Facebook comments. What an incredible high, and so soon after the utter despair of the performance vs Liverpool. It is nights like this that keep us hooked. Come on you R's!

Happy 2013 from the ravaj!

Whether or not you celebrate 1st January as a New Year, it's always good to have an opportunity to clear the decks and start over. If I were to reduce all my hopes and wishes and plans to one central thought, it would be to hold dear and close those I love.

with best wishes for a healthy and fulfilling 2013!

Happy Birthday Omi!

The maternal grandmother of the ravaj was born on this day in Essen in 1913. Hard to believe that was 99 years ago!

Der Rattenfaenger is (not quite) 200!

It's a well-known fact that in London one is supposed to never be more than about 6 feet from a rat. That would be genus rattus rather than genus homo. It's an unpleasant thought, especially for anyone who's ever read any James Herbert novels. Thank goodness for the BBC News page! In a current article they utterly debunk this myth, proving that in fact at any given moment anywhere in the United Kingdom one is most likely a whopping 164 feet from a rat. Read it here.

NB I got all excited when the article noted that the Brothers Grimm story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, aka Der Rattenfaenger von Hameln was 200 years old this year. However, this may not be the case. although the first book of Grimms' Fairytales was published (as Kinder und Haus Maerchen) in 1812, I think that the Pied Piper appears in their next volume, Deutsche Sagen, which was published in 1816. In which case, we must defer all rat-related celebrations for another 4 years.

The Tory Tornado KO's Himself

The Huffington Post in the UK has reported that David Davies, the Conservative MP for Monmouth, has responded to accusations of homophobia following an interview he gave to BBC Radio Wales yesterday. On the radio, he said that:

"I think most parents would prefer their children not to be gay, knowing most parents want grandchildren if nothing else."

This was the comment that engendered the accusations. Personally, my first thought was to send him a turkey baster, and a copy of this article from the New York Times. However, in his defence, Mr. Davies pointed out that during his amateur boxing career he once fought a gay boxer. Apparently he posted a vid of the fight as proof. That makes total sense:  how to prove one is not a homophobe - show everyone a film of oneself punching a homosexual in the face. Nice one, Dave!

Piglet Magritte

It's dragging towards 4 pm on a dreary Monday. If you get a kick from cute pics of puppies and kittens, this is the page for you. I'm diabetic so that's no good for me. When I find myself in times of trouble, E. H. Shepard comes to me ... it's time for a Piglet picture!

Piglet was visiting the Magritte Museum in Brussels, when he noticed this mirror in a shop window.

A Time for Miracles

We are approaching the day of the winter solstice, when the sun is at its lowest in the sky (for those of us living in the Northern hemisphere) and the darkness of the night reaches its peak. Many religions and cultures have rituals and festivals of light at this time, as if by making and celebrating light we will bring the sun back up into the heavens. If we believe, we may perform this miracle. Don't knock it, it hasn't failed us yet! So Happy Advent, Chanukah, Diwali, Kwanzaa & St Lucia's Day!!

Speaking of miracle workers, what about this chap here:

Mr. Redknapp has arrived at QPR at a time of great darkness. We are looking to him to deliver us, and to bring the light back into our footballing lives. He is aware of the depths in which we wallow. In a recent interview, he noted that:

"Joe Royle sent me a message today, but I've never read the Bible, and it was about turning fish into whatever - a miracle is what he meant."

If Billy the Fish is available in the January transfer window, we hope Harry will sign him. Otherwise, we just hope Harry knows his tactics and man-management better than his Bible. Meanwhile, we wish him luck, because what we need now is defo a miracle.

Rant Rant Rant: Fingernails!

Fingernails are lovely things. Most of the time. You can paint them, scratch itches with them, turn the page with them, and use them to get difficult crumbs out of your keyboard. Eventually, unless you are Howard Hughes, you will need to cut your nails. You may hire someone to take care of your feet, such as the lovely Bastien Gonzalez (we love him because he once took on the almighty challenge of the feet of the father of ravaj). Fingernails are much easier, though, and usually you cut them yourselves. Or clip them.

Here comes the rant:  since when has it become the custom to clip one's nails in public? It's not that the act itself is vile, but rather that the clippings are allowed to lie where they fall. For example, just this week I saw a woman across the aisle on the plane, this morning it was the woman next to me on the Tube, and  the other day there was a woman on the top deck of the bus; all of them tending to their nails with no concern for their debris. It was utterly disgusting.

When I was young, Rabbi Hugo Gryn z"l told me that he would collect his nail-clippings and burn them, because his grandmother had told him that all the rubbish undisposed during his life would be waiting for him after death. I don't know about that, but Google did give me a couple of suggestions for the reuse of fingernail clippings:

1. they are compostable (as long as you remove the polish), since they are rich in protein.
2. if you cannot afford a Brillo pad (steel wool), put them in the foot of an old pair of tights and tie off the end. Voila - an inexpensive pot scrubber.
3. send them to Tim Hawkinson, a man who makes sculptures out of them

Ultimately, whatever you do with them, for goodness sake please do it at home. Thank you.

The Vatican Fights Back

Reuters news agency reports that in the wake of the U.S. states of Maryland, Maine and Washington extending the right of marriage to same-sex couples via a popular vote, the Vatican has responded by pledging never to stop fighting attempts to "erase" the privileged role of heterosexual marriage, which it called "an achievement of civilisation." The chief spokesman for the Vatican - Father Federico Lombardi - made the standard and expected arguments on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. Unfortunately, he also decided to perpetuate a popular canard by suggesting that if same-sex marriage is acceptable, "... why not contemplate also freely chosen polygamy and, of course, not to discriminate, polyandry?" (as quoted by, among others, the Chicago Tribune newspaper).

I still don't get why it isn't as clear as a clear day that those of us who wish to get married are utterly supporting the institution of marriage, not undermining it. Otherwise, why would we fight for it?! Furthermore,  it's not as if we are trying to deny the heterosexuals their right to marry. If marriage is so threatened, surely the first people to target are those hets who are daring to live together as husband and wife without the sacrament of marriage? Sigh.

Thank [your Deity of choice. Or not] that everyday people are using democracy to create equality.  I'm so happy that those Americans voted for equality, and I'm delighted that the blinkered religious hegemony has been thwarted. Onward we go!

PS  For a look at how the LGBT situation has developed in the USA, there's an interesting article here by Michael Lindenberger in this week's Time magazine.

United States Elections 2012 (i)

Awwwww.

Having lived abroad for the last 3 years, my perspective of the United States of America is once again coloured by a European filter. Nevertheless, I am still a registered Democrat, and last week faxed and posted my absentee ballot to be counted at the City Hall in Waltham MA.

The choice for me was not difficult. The Republicans generally seem so far to the right these days that a vote for them would be voting for my own death sentence. It's just so sad that so many are voting against a particular candidate instead of for someone. As my blogroller Echidne of the Snakes wrote recently:

"How should I put this best? Voting for Barack Obama is like choosing shingles. Voting for Mitt Romney is like choosing a terminal illness. I prefer the former, though naturally I'd love to feel perfectly healthy. But we are all going to have one of those two conditions, and in my view the Obama-condition is much more bearable and less dangerous."

It is also a bit scary that the entire election may rest on the way that the candidates respond to Hurricane Sandy. If Barack is Presidential, he may gain voters; and if Romney is not, he will sink. O well, at least it's a better basis for choice than who has the best hair (in London last weekend, Margaret Cho suggested that elections are often won by hair, e.g., JFK vs Nixon, Clinton vs Bush 1 and Ross Perot).

Thinking of those currently victims of the hurricane ...

Savile Scandal

Jimmy Savile was a DJ and broadcaster in the 1960's and 1970's. He was incredibly popular, and known to my generation as a weird but charitable man who made people's dreams come true in his show "Jim 'll Fix It". It turns out that he was a sexual predator who may have abused myriad young girls. A television programme recently revealed the alleged crimes of the star, who died one year ago today, and there has been intense media frenzy ever since.

We are shocked and disgusted by Jimmy Savile's behaviour, all the more so because we thought he had been a positive force in the charity world, e.g., raising c. £40 million for various organisations. What I don't understand is the hysteria engendered by this discovery. This weekend, the Guardian reported that dozens of celebrities are frightened that they will be implicated in the scandal. Also, the Catholic Church of England,

"... has contacted the Holy See to ask if the papal knighthood awarded to (Savile) could be removed"
(the rest of the article may be found here.)

How many priests within the church have committed similar crimes? Where are the public requests to the Holy See for action against those men? Do the leaders of the Church believe that making a big deal about one public figure will be compensation to all the victims of the everyday non-famous perpetrators? For crying out loud, turn that energy and interest to the parishioners who need your protection and support!

Meanwhile, what about publicist Max Clifford's comment in the Guardian article:

"I am hoping that the real predators are the ones we are going to find out about ... not people that were randy young pop stars in the 1960s, 70s and 80s even, that had women throwing themselves at them everywhere they went, because that is a whole different area and a whole different situation. No one had heard the word 'paedophile' in those days"

Since the women were "throwing themselves", the men had no power to resist? Ok, we know about rock culture, groupies, etc. I do get uncomfortable, though, with the inference that the women wanted it so that made it ok. It's not a question of my being overly PC here. It is to do with the current and past lack of protection for vulnerable people who come into contact with the entertainment world. It has always been the case that fame and celebrity seem to breed indulgence when it comes to immoral behaviour. There are no 'real' and 'unreal' predators. If lives have been damaged and destroyed by those "randy young pop stars", and speaking out about it might bring healing, why not? Except of course that is an utterly naive and idealistic perspective, since what will probably feed a call for such revelation is more likely to be the economic aspirations of the tabloids.

Support for Anat Hoffman & Women of the Wall

In Jerusalem, at the Western Wall aka the Kotel, a Jewish woman was arrested last week for the crime of singing the Shema, i.e., praying. Her name is Anat Hoffman. She is currently the Director of the Israel Religious Action Center aka IRAC.

Click to learn what is actually illegal according to Israeli law

Background to the issue of a pluralistic group of women praying at the Wall may be found here.
There is also a 2009 story in the NY Times here.
An American perspective from the Jewish Journal may be found here.

Here are some links to the latest part of the struggle for egalitarian status in prayer at this site:

Why I was arrested for praying at the Western Wall via Huffington Post
Anat Hoffman after arrest in Haaretz
Police shackle Anat Hoffman for saying Sh'ma at the Kotel by Debra Nussbaum Cohen in the Jewish Daily Forward

Rabbi Laura Geller talks about Anat and Henrietta Szold
A view from the Velveteen Rabbi
Who has the right to pray at the Western Wall by Rabbi Daniel Brenner
What is the textual source of Kol Isha? by Rabbi Judith Abrams

There was a live webcast with Anat this evening. The most popular question for her was - how may we help to support her and the work of Women of the Wall? She replied with the following suggestions:

1.  sign the petition to liberate the Wall on the IRAC website.  The link is here.
2.  visit the Women of the Wall website
3.  buy the WOW tallit - Anat used some of the funds to pay her legal fees, and said that she loved the idea that the subversive act of wearing a tallit also supports the struggle in Israel
4.  Organise a Rosh Chodesh service outside the Israeli consulate in your home town
5.  Write your sentiments in the Jewish and the Israeli press
6.  Persuade your Israeli relatives to vote for measures to change the situation in Israel
7.  Donate financially whatever you can!

@kungfujew18 trawled the Twitterverse for us to bring this selection of Tweets sent during the webchat

You can join in also via projects such as
Hear O Israel: The Global Sh'ma Flashmob
Reclaim and Liberate the Kotel

btw, there were two other women arrested alongside Anat!

Colosseum Piglet

It's been a while, Piglet fans. Here is a shot from his recent visit to Rome. It was his first time there, and the first thing he did on his first day was to check out the most iconic place in the city - the Colosseum.

NB it's totally worth 30 Euro for a 3-day pass called the Roma. Not only do you get free travel on bus and train, but also it lets you walk past the 2-hour queue to get into the Colosseum and enter immediately!

Gotcha!

O Obama! It hurts, y'know. Look at him in this pic - he's laughing in our faces. Those of us who put our trust in you cannot understand how general opinion after the first debate is clear that Romney "won". Since there seem to be myriad citizens of our country that cannot see how utterly bonkers he is, we need you to be strong.

It breaks my heart that people will make such an important decision as the choosing of a President based on surface impressions, rather than listening to what is being said and figuring out what is true and what is a lie, what is factual and what is spin. Your guys gotta get your into shape here, c'mon!

Yom Kippur 5773

This may be a cheesy jpeg I found via Google, but at the same time it does convey a lot of my thoughts and feelings as I prepare for Yom Kippur.

I suspect that the foundations of peace and happiness are to be found in our selves. As we do the work that heals our emotional wounds, we have fewer issues to act out upon others, and more energy to put towards positive thoughts and deeds.

Thus may I wish us all the strength to make necessary adjustments in our attitudes and behaviour so that the next days and months may be different from those that are done.

with all best wishes for a Shana Tova

We Wuz Robbed! Again.

Tough time to be a QPR fan. Still in the Premiership. New players signed from teams like Inter Milan. Ale Faurlin back early from his cruciate injury. Problem is, we just cannot win a match. O well, early days ...

Nina Bawden R.I.P.

The author Nina Bawden died last month. Most of those who know her remember her novel "Carrie's War"about children evacuated to Wales during WW2. The obit in the Telegraph is as interesting as usual, and may be read here. If you have neither the time nor the inclination to enjoy it, at least please peruse the following paragraph:

"She won another scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford, where she switched from French to read PPE. There she went out to tea with the 17-year-old Richard Burton, then an RAF cadet on a twe-term short course, and "would have flirted more enthusiastically if it had not been for the horrid boils on the back of his neck"."

Boris Johnson is Out4Marriage

You may think that a man who in 2001 wrote in his book "Friends, Voters, Countrymen":

"If gay marriage was OK ... then I saw no reason in principle why a union should not be consecrated between three men, as well as two men; or indeed three men and a dog."

would not necessarily be someone to highlight in our campaign. On the other hand, is it not possible that Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson may have evolved since then? And the current Mayor of London is an important person to have on our side. So welcome, Boris, to Out4Marriage!

Fringe Funnies

Each year a host of one-liners from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival are voted upon and a Top Ten published. This year there appears to be one token funny woman. That sucks. The chosen few are:

10. My mum's so pessimistic, that if there was an Olympics for pessimism ... she wouldn't fancy her chances. (Nish Kumar)

9.  I waited an hour for my starter so I complained: It's not rocket salad. (Lou Sanders)

8.  I saw a documentary on how ships are kept together. Riveting! (Stewart Francis)

7.  Pornography is often frowned upon, but that's only because I'm concentrating. (George Ryegold)

6.  I took part in the sun tanning Olympics - I just got Bronze. (Tim Vine)

5.  I'm good friends with 25 letters of the alphabet ... I don't know why. (Chris Turner)

4.  You know you're working class when your TV is bigger than your book case (Rob Beckett)

3.  I was raised as an only child, which really annoyed my sister. (Will Marsh)

2.  Last night me and my girlfriend watched 3 DVDs back to back. Luckily I was the one facing the telly. (Tim Vine)

1.  You know who really gives kids a bad name? Posh and Becks. (Stewart Francis)

My favourite is defo number 5, but then it's the most subtle :-)   . Followed by number 3, for obvious reasons!

btw I presume that the only reason the winning joke works is because so many people know the names of the children. Otherwise, I would offer up Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.  His children are called:

Lara Lettice
Milo Arthur
Cassia Peaches
Theodore Apollo

Next to these names, I think that

Brooklyn Joseph
Romeo James
Cruz David
Harper Seven

look a bit tame, actually!

A Brief Mention of the Olympics

Ok, so Boris went a little over the top yesterday when suggesting that the Olympo-mania Geiger counter just went zoink, but the Games do begin tonight and it's kind of a big deal when it's in your home town.

So no complaints today about the transport system, or lack of ticket availability, or spoiled athletic officials. Instead, just watch this brief, informative and cheery history of the Olympics. Hurrah for the greatest show on earth!

Out4Marriage Continues to Campaign

With the news yesterday that Scotland is ready for gay marriage, and David Cameron's speech at 10 Downing Street in which he said once again,

"It's something I feel passionately about and I think if it's good enough for straight people like me, it's good enough for everybody and that's why we should have gay marriage and we will legislate for it"

you'd think enough already with the campaigning. However, it's precisely because Out4Marriage and its partners continue to keep speaking up that more and more public figures are aligning themselves with those working for equality in marriage!

I do have a particular concern, and that is the small percentage of women involved in this project. I would love to see more of us making videos, and cannot figure out why we are not. The guys fuelling the project with their energy and determination would love our input, support and leadership. If there is something about Out4Marriage that is not welcoming, and we're not getting it; please somebody let us know so we may learn and improve. Thank you.

Unspeakable Sadness

The heading says 'unspeakable' and then I try and say something. Israeli tourists blown up by terrorists in Bulgaria. Batman fans shot down in a Colorado movie theatre. We have no power to stop such things or heal those who suffer from them. And while ours heads know that compassion is what should be expressed, the impact of such deeds is more likely to engender fear for ourselves and a sense of our own powerlessness.

Time for that Yeats quote I think:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Wherever it is we look to for strength and hope, now is as good a time as any to ask. We must not live in fear. And we must find ways to have hope for our communities and ourselves.

Celeste Holm R.I.P.

ah, Celeste Holm. 95 is a bloody good innings. Most of the obituaries note that she really rose to fame as the original Ado Annie in Oklahoma, although Gloria Grahame got to play that role in the movie version. The Telegraph obit recalls Holm's audition:

"She was to sing before the composer, Richard Rodgers, and her agent advised her not to attempt any of his songs lest she get them wrong, nor any by his rivals lest she drive him wild. That narrowed the field alarmingly. So she resolved to sing Who Is Sylvia? which could not possibly offend. Sweeping up to the microphone, she tripped on the wire and ended in an undignified heap on stage. “Could you do that again?” Rodgers called. And that was how she landed the plum comic role in what was to be the most influential musical of its time."

She remains in my memory, however, for two reasons. She's the best thing in the film High Society (a glamorous remake of the Philadelphia Story, but who could ever remake something starring Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn/James Stewart at their most elegant?). And she won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in Gentleman's Agreement. Actually, that film made me so mad. It's clear that Gregory Peck should end up with her character, but instead they make his antisemitic fiancee reform so he can stay with her. Should've married Celeste!

Thank you for the joy your performances continue to give to me, and may you rest in peace.

Understanding Anger

“I recognised the connection between my anger and my will to live. My anger was my will to live turned inside out. My life force was just as intense, just as powerful as my anger, but for the first time I could experience it as different and feel it directly. In that first moment of surprise, I had a glimpse of something fundamental about who I am; that at the core of things I have an intense love of life, a wish to participate fully in life and to help others to do the same. Somehow this had grown large in me as a result of the very limitations that I had thought were thwarting it. Like the power of a dammed river. I had not known this before. I also knew that in its present form, as rage, this power was trapped. My anger had helped me to survive, to resist my disease, even to fight on, but in the form of anger I could not use my strength to build the kind of life I longed to live. And then I knew that I no longer needed to to it this way. I knew with absolute certainty that my pain was nobody’s fault; that the world was not to blame for it. It was a moment of real freedom.”

from 'Kitchen Table Wisdom' by
Rachel Naomi Remen MD

Maureen Dunlop de Popp R.I.P.

Another incredible and unsung heroine has died. Maureen Dunlop de Popp was an aviatrix par excellence. During the Second World War she was one of a pioneering group of women who flew the latest fighter and bomber aircraft with the Air Transport Auxiliary. The Telegraph obituary notes:

"With all ATA pilots flying the same aircraft and facing the same risks, Sir Stafford Cripps arranged that the female pilots should receive equal pay with their male colleagues and this small group of women rightly considered themselves as pioneers of sex equality. Many, including Maureen Dunlop, wished that they could have flown in combat, but this was considered a step too far and was forbidden. 'I thought it was the only fair thing,' she remarked. 'Why should only men be killed?'

She was one of 164 female pilots and, during her 3 years with the ATA, she flew 38 different types of aircraft, among them the Spitfire, Mustang, Typhoon and the Wellington bomber."

The rest of the obituary may be found here.

There are and were so many unknown female flyers. Most people may have heard of Amelia Earhart. Some might have heard of Amy Johnson. I know my friend Emily's mother Carla. However, the only way interest in their lives might be engendered is if a major tv network created a smash hit series based on their lives. Any takers?

Brisfully Unaware

The concept of circumcision for an 8-day-old Jewish boy is thousands of years old. Fathers may faint and mothers may cry, but it is an unquestioned ritual at the traditional end of the spectrum of Jewish observance. It is a day of joy and celebration.

However ... I have never seen it celebrated in quite such a ridiculous way. Thus, words fail me.

The Nose (The Hours)

The movie "The Hours" is on tv at the moment. I am trying, again, to watch what is supposed to be a wonderful film. Nicole Kidman got an Oscar for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in this movie. But whenever she is onscreen, all I can do is try and see if I can recognise Nicole behind the prosthetic nose and the prosthetic accent. Mostly the nose, though. And then I see Julianne Moore and how small her nose is. And then Miranda Richardson appears and her nose is even tinier. I guess it's easier to obsess about the nose rather than think about how sad they all are.

Back to the nose ...

Road to Nowhere

Michael Winner writes a weekly column in the Sunday Times called "Winner's Dinners". This was the beginning of today's column:

"I hate Baker Street. It's a nothing street that starts near Oxford Street (another horror), goes in a straight line north, leads you one way or another to St John's Wood (don't like that either) and then goes on through Hertfordshire (nice), the north (strange) and Scotland (adorable) and ends up at the North Pole. I suppose, if it had the energy, Baker Street would carry on down the other side of the planet and go to the South Pole."

I don't know that I necessarily HATE Baker Street. After all, without it, my father would never have been able to become one of Holmes' Baker Street Irregulars. But it's defo a nothing street. A one-way road to nowhere. Can you tell me any of the businesses and enterprises that abut the tarmac full of double decker buses and taxis? Apart from the food chains and phone shops?
In the end, its reputation rests only on a fictional detective and a 1978 single by the late Gerry Rafferty. Am afraid I shall have to agree with Mr. W. Don't tell!

Triumph and Defeat

There's something about tennis ... it's a sport, a game, a pastime that can enrich one's life by engendering good health and fun. It can also be quite enjoyable on tv, especially when it is televised against the Jubilee weekend!

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the French #1 played yesterday against Novak Djokovic, the World #1 in the quarter-final of the French Open tournament at Roland Garros in Paris. The ups and downs of this match were quite heart-rendering (as the Omi of ravaj used to say). Tsonga didn't show up for the first set, and was trounced 1-6. Then somehow he clawed his way into a 2 sets to 1 lead. In the fourth set he had several match points, but couldn't put them away. And he lost the tie-break.

Djokovic was incredibly tough. The nearer to defeat he got, the harder he played. And it broke the will of Tsonga. He crumbled in the final set.

What I find so fascinating about this sport is the influence the mental state of the players ultimately has on the result. They are physically so fit and so talented and so experienced. What often tips the balance between losing and winning is their mental toughness. And that is what Djokovic had. At the start of the match I was rooting for the fairytale of the Frenchman in Paris. I decided that Djokovic was growing a goatee to hide his unfortunate resemblance to President Assad of Syria. But Novak won me over. It was mostly the power of his will to win. However, the piece de resistance was that in the middle of his struggle, he was able to applaud when his opponent beat him with a superior shot. More than once. There's nothing I love more than a good sport!

So bad luck Monsieur Tsonga, and well done Mr Djokovic. I hope you go on to make a proper Grand Slam.

King Bee or not King Bee

Adam Gopnik on the BBC website has pointed out that Shakespeare thought the bee in charge of the hive was a gentleman bee. He cites Henry V I:2

"For so work the honey-bees,
Creatures that by a rule in nature teach
The act of order to a peopled kingdom.
They have a king and officers of sorts;
Where some, like magistrates, correct at home,
Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad,
Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings,
Make boot upon the summer's velvet buds;
Which pillage they with merry march bring home
To the tent-royal of their emperor:
Who, busied in his majesty, surveys
The singing masons building roofs of gold,
The civil citizens kneading up the honey,
The poor mechanic porters crowding in
Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate,
The sad-eyed justice, with his surly hum,
Delivering o'er to executors pale
The lazy yawning drone."


He then very kindly did some Googling for us so we didn't have to:

"the bee sex confusion goes back at least to Aristotle, and was only solved in the late 17th Century, when Swammerdam found that the king was, so to speak, cross-dressing and really had ovaries."


For more details, the rest of the article is here.

Moving Right Along

Saw these lovely poppies in someone's front garden on the way to services yesterday evening. No camera can catch how deeply bloody red they were. What Jubilee weekend?