#i really wish i could do something to get the israeli government to listen to palestine's cries. i feel ashamed of being israeli.

[furcoveredinblood]

.

[kafkasmelomania]

June 5, 2021: American Queers by SuperKnova

*Bandcamp here

SuperKnova is SO cool. Did you know that she not only writes all her songs and records all of her songs completely by herself but also taught herself how to produce and master music so that she could have total creative control? That’s really impressive! What’s also cool about her is that she’s setting an example for people who feel like outsiders in the music scene, especially queer people of color. She talks about that in this article, which is really good and something that you should definitely read:

Only now, as SuperKnova, Ellie is beginning to finally overcome the impostor syndrome that influenced her artistic confidence for the majority of her professional life. “I had a degree in music and I still felt like I wasn’t a real musician”, she looks back on her younger self. Today, Ellie strives to create “more of these media images, the ones [she] never had growing up” in all of her work.

She also discusses why she wants to be a role model in this article:

She also said her art is intentional. She hopes to make the kind of art she needed but never found in the world while younger. Whereas other artists might balk at a role model designation, Kim somewhat embraces it, or at least embraces the responsibility, actions, and intentions of someone set on giving voice to populations often ignored.

“Half of what I do as SuperKnova is create interesting, creative music. But I want to create the art I wish I had growing up as a closeted trans teenager growing up in a transphobic community, to be like queer therapy,” Kim said. “I never started this to be some mainstream thing like Justin Bieber or Ariana Grande. I want to make the art for my community and then if people outside of the community like it, great. If not, they don't need to listen to it.”

Also! She has a Tumblr! You can follow her at @superknovamusic.

Because it’s Pride Month:

Here’s some queer history from around the world, not just the United States.

Here are some LGBTQIA+ GoFundMe campaigns: Rent Fund For Black LGBT Family, Help Roze get somewhere safe (Non-Binary LGBTQ), Survival and Gender Affirming Needs for Black Enby, College Fund for a Black Trans Woman, Tito’s top surgery and recovery fund, Omi’s Transition Fund: Health, Housing, & Security, Help Emmett Pay for Emergency Surgery

If you’d like to get involved with stopping the atrocities against Palestine, here’s where you can start (text in bold for readability):

This Carrd is full of information, petitions, and places to donate.

Here are some organizations to which you can donate. This post now includes a list of corporations to boycott.

Here is some information about the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and a list of other organizations.

Decolonize Palestine has an FAQ about Palestine here.

This is a list of actions you can take (somewhat UK-specific). This is a reading list of texts with more background information.

UK petitions: This is a petition for the UK government to formally recognize the State of Palestine. This is a petition to introduce sanctions against Israel. This is a petition to condemn Israel for their treatment of Palestine and Palestinians.

Here’s the Wikipedia overview of the current iteration of the crisis.

If you’re curious about the United States’s involvement: this is a report about U.S. foreign aid to Israel. This is the Wikipedia page for Palestine-United States relations and this is the Wikipedia page for Israel-United States relations.

Here are some perspectives from on the ground in Gaza. This is also explains why spreading the Palestinian point of view. is so important.

This is one Jewish person’s explanation of the conflation of Jewish identity with the modern Israeli state. They mention the Nakba, which is important – per Wikipedia, “the Nakba, […] also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, was the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people.”

This Vox video gives a brief overview of the conflict from its inception until the present day, although it’s from 2016, so it’s not entirely up to date. This CrashCourse video does the same, and I think it’s actually a little better than the Vox video because within the first minute they shut down everyone who claims that this is a religious conflict. That video is also not entirely up to date, as it is from 2015.

This post has some resources with information about the history of Palestine, Israel’s occupation of Palestine, and updates about the current situation.

Do you like podcasts? Here are some podcast episodes about Palestine.

Here are some miscellaneous resources for helping Palestine.

Black lives matter and here are some ways you can get involved in the  fight against racism, specifically anti-black racism (text in bold for readability):  

This Linktree and this Carrd are full of ways to confront and fight against anti-black racism: places to donate, advice for protesting, educational resources.

This post is specifically about Daunte Wright and how to help his family. This is Daunte Wright’s memorial fund.

The  Minnesota Freedom Fund is doing good work, and since so many people have been recognizing that work and donating to them, they ask that you  instead donate to Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, the Racial Justice Network, Communities United Against Police Brutality, the Minneapolis NAACP, the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minneapolis, and the Black Immigrant Collective. You can also donate to the Bail Project, which operates in multiple states.

Other organizations to which you can donate are the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Okra Project, the Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative, For The Gworls, G.L.I.T.S., the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, the Black Trans Travel Fund, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and the Black Trans Femmes in the Arts Collective.

GoFundMe: Justice for Breonna Taylor, In Memory of Jamarion Robinson, Rent Fund For Black LGBT Family, Esperanza Spalding’s BIPOC Artist Sanctuary, Survival and Gender Affirming Needs for Black Enby

(via https://open.spotify.com/album/3HAKCGSBK2CdNR94iSKMLS?si=ifgUe8PhQrC8Q4ipuGqGqQ)

[hatari-translations]

I’ve been asked to translate this pre-ESC interview, which is pretty interesting! Since it’s eight minutes long and a lot of text, I’m not going to transcribe the whole thing, just translate/summarize what is said in the same vein as my translation of the People Behind the Costumes documentary.

Dramatis personae

The other people with Hatari in the interview there are:

- The host is Gísli Marteinn Baldursson, long-time talk show host. He’s also been RÚV’s Eurovision commentator for a good few years now.

- Bjarni Benediktsson (usually nicknamed Bjarni Ben), finance minister. Yes, the same one whose baking ad they were parodying that one time. Yes, he’s still finance minister. No, actually, after the 2016 election he was prime minister for a bit, until that government imploded because of more scandals, and after that election we just didn’t have a government for a while as none of the possible complicated multi-party coalitions worked out, until the Left-Green movement sold their souls to get together with the Independence Party and he got to be finance minister again. Independence Party voters are distressingly loyal and also like 20-25% of the country for some reason.

- Brynhildur Guðjónsdóttir, actress.

- Salka Sól Eyfeld, actress.

(I don’t watch this show, so I have no idea why on earth this is the combination of people he had on that night.)

English translation

The video starts with Gísli Marteinn interrupting something to introduce new guests, and explaining that this is being taped in advance because by the time it’s aired Hatari are going to be on their way to Tel Aviv. He introduces them as “the joy and pop band Hatari, or the dystopian electronica band Hatari”. Matthías, Klemens and Einar walk in with bottles of SodaDream that they offer to everyone, and Einar very deliberately squeezes in next to Bjarni Ben instead of with the rest of the band.

Everyone expresses their delight at getting to try SodaDream, and Klemens suggests a toast. Gísli Marteinn expresses his wishes for them to do well abroad, Bjarni Ben agrees.

Gísli Marteinn: “Welcome home, Einar, from the tour with Vök! Did that all go well?”

Einar stares silently into the camera.

Gísli Marteinn: “Right, Einar... he’ll just go over that later.”

Matthías: “He’s being punished.”

Gísli Marteinn is amused, then goes over how now it’s all about Hatari, a wonderful band, who won Söngvakeppnin and is currently working on bringing down capitalism. “How’s that going?”

Matthías: “It’s going well. Of course we have the loyal support of voters and our sponsors, and listeners, so we believe that as the momentum builds, we will succeed.”

Klemens agrees that they’ve built a lot of support and they’re planning to build up more; Matthías says they’re very flattered and touched by what they’ve achieved.

Gísli Marteinn: “Well, when you’ve gotten the finance minister himself on board with your anticapitalism, victory is clearly in sight.”

Matthías: “Yes. It’s basically in the bag.”

Gísli Marteinn goes over how they’re heading off soon and there’s a lot of interest in Hatari. “Are you feeling any stage fright? You know you’ll be followed everywhere out there, and everyone wants you to do something really brilliant and clever, do something, say something...”

Matthías: “Sure. Well, stage fright we can deal with. It’s more the tension over how this contest is being held where it is. The contest is a beautiful thing, in that it’s about peace and unity, but it’s being held in a country marred with conflict and disunity. And we said we’d use our agenda-setting powers to put those issues on the agenda, and that’s quite a project.”

Gísli Marteinn: “So are you sticking with... do you have a plan for how you’re going to do that?”

Matthías: “Well, plans A, B, C and D. I change my mind on which daily, but yeah. Yeah. It’s all according to plan.”

Klemens: “Of course, we get all our answers sent to us from Svikamylla ehf. every day, so we just take it day by day.”

Gísli Marteinn. “Right. But this is a massive affair, I mean, you’re bringing an entire media organization with you, Icelandic [sic] Music News.”

Matthías: “Very true. The most honest news organization in the country.”

Gísli Marteinn: “It’s wonderful. Very honest. They really prioritize honesty.”

Matthías: “Yes.”

Klemens: “...in the history of Iceland.”

Matthías: “Trust and courage.”

Gísli Marteinn talks about the costumes, and Matthías explains about the collaboration with creative studio Döðlur. Gísli Marteinn says Einar is there “all fired up” (it’s a bit hard to translate this phrase, “í miklu stuði”, which is literally more like “in a great mood” but really here means something more like oh, yeah, he’s doing exactly what he does best, awesomely). Klemens thanks SodaDream for sponsoring them.

Brynhildur says it’s very good sparkling water, but still kind of disappointing. Salka asks “Because it’s not champagne?” Brynhildur points out that no, it’s in the ingredients, and Matthías confirms: “Oh, yes, it’s carbonated water and disappointment.”

Gísli Marteinn goes over how we know 90% of the nation will be watching them compete in the semifinals (Icelanders are very passionate about Eurovision), hoping they’ll qualify, and asks if they’re as preoccupied with how they do.

Matthías: “How we do is important, but the other thing [i.e. putting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the agenda] is more significant. We didn’t necessarily expect to get this far, and we don’t really know to what extent we could hope for victory, and haven’t really known that from the start. We’ve tried to use our agenda-setting powers, as we keep repeating, but we just wanted to ask - well, we hope people at home will ask themselves, and I’d not least like to ask all of you here, not least you, Bjarni, being in the government - about these issues, don’t you think it’s right to go out there and put these issues on the agenda, and recognize Palestine as an independent state? We are, after all, one of the countries who do so, and I’m proud of that.”

Gísli Marteinn: “Right. We’re one of few nations who recognize both, aren’t we? Well, what do you say on the couch?”

Bjarni: “Well, I think there’s no question that we should participate, and I personally always believe in dialogue, and I don’t believe in exclusion and burning bridges...”

Matthías: “Do you think Palestine should be recognized as a state?”

Bjarni: “That, on the other hand, is an entirely different issue, and I passed on that vote when that happened. It’s a process that’s had a very long buildup, but it was handled by parliament, and...”

Gísli Marteinn: “Well, the official policy of the Icelandic government is...”

Bjarni: “...a two-state solution, yes. But it’s very important to have peace on both sides of that border, and in recent years we’ve often discussed Israel and Palestine in parliament, and I think the location of the contest this year should absolutely not prevent Iceland’s participation. I think that’s ridiculous.”

(I think Einar is staring extra-hard into the camera throughout all this.)

Gísli Marteinn asks the actresses if they were on the boycott wagon. Salka says she never really formed an opinion, but she heard out both sides, and she’s very happy with Hatari’s act and was rooting for them from day one; she’s not worried about them out there and thinks they’ll make the Icelandic nation proud, and she hopes they’ll let their voices be heard.

Brynhildur: “We’re sending well-educated, well-informed and beautiful young people who know exactly what they’re doing.”

Salka: “I trust them 100%.”

Gísli Marteinn starts trying to wrap things up, and Klemens interrupts for some closing words: “Shouldn’t we clarify the message of our song a bit? We consider it to be a dystopia, and it’s a contemplation on power and powerlessness, hope and hopelessness, and if we don’t come together and forget to love, then hate will prevail. And that’s a message that should be heard in Israel and Palestine, as well as elsewhere in the world.”

I think this was pretty brilliant, because honestly I had no idea that Bjarni Ben was reluctant to recognize Palestinian statehood but Hatari sure just used their agenda-setting powers in this talk show interview to establish this for everyone watching.

[schraubd]

In Relating to our Black Allies, Jews Need To Stop Being Babies

Every toy for babies is basically the same. There is a button to be pressed, or some other simple action -- a bop or a shake or a slap. The toy emits a sound, squeak, or noise. The baby is happy beyond belief, and presses the button again. The sound repeats, and the baby is (somehow) just as ecstatic as the first time. Rinse, wash, repeat forever. Sometimes I feel like, in our relationship with the Black community, the Jewish community remains in infancy. Because we are constantly behaving like babies, and we need to cut it out. Here's the play: we find a Black person. We ask them to condemn antisemitism (Farrakhan is always a good target). They comply. We are delighted. We press the button again. They make the condemnatory noise again. *clap clap clap*. Oh, what could be more fun? And again and again and again we go, pressing the button on our fabulous condemn-antisemitism toy. Until eventually, our partner doesn't want to play anymore. Maybe they're concerned at the disproportionate attention Black antisemitism seems to receive. Maybe they want to talk about something other than antisemitism. Maybe they just don't like being used as a toy. So we press the button, expecting to hear the delightful sound of a condemnation of antisemitism, and ... it doesn't come. And then, like a baby, the tantrum begins. "How could you not condemn a monster like Farrakhan?" "Don't you care about Jews?" "If anyone asked me to condemn a racist in my community, I wouldn't hesitate!" Bawl bawl bawl. A moment's reflection shows how juvenile these demands are. There are plenty of actions by the Israeli government I oppose as wrongful or even (in some cases) prejudices. And I condemn them, often. But I would not accept anyone's entitlement to have me do so "on demand", like a speak-and-spell, any and every time I wished to present myself in a public space. That sort of behavior -- and it does happen (remember Matisyahu in Spain?) -- is rightfully deemed antisemitic. So we should understand how our parallel demands in the Black community are rightfully understood as racist. In Faces at the Bottom of the Well, Derrick Bell recounts an incident where Rep. Charlie Rangel was asked on television to condemn some antisemitic remark by Farrakhan. He did so, while also expressing frustration at the sense that Black Americans "have to carry around their last statement condemning Farrakhan" like a passbook in order to be accepted into civil society. Yet this is the effect of our infantile mode of relating to our Black peers. Whenever they swing into our orbit, we reach out and press the button, waiting for them to say those magic words for us. I'm not saying that there is no antisemitism in the Black community, and I'm not saying there aren't Black people who really do apologize for Louis Farrakhan's antisemitism. This post isn't about them. This post is about people who know full well that Farrakhan is an antisemite, and have never given any indication they think otherwise, but just resent being asked to say so over and over and over again. So to be clear: What makes a Black person an ally to the Jewish community is not that they stand ready to be pressed as a button whenever a Jewish person needs to hear the comforting sound "Louis Farrakhan is an antisemite." That's an unreasonable, frankly infantile demand. But too often it seems characteristic of how Jews relate to those in the Black community we wish to see "allyship" from. There's one other element of this analogy that I think it's important to bring forward. The reason babies love these toys is not just because they appreciate the sounds that they make. That's part of it, but just as important is the toy's testament to the baby's ability to manipulate the world around them. They can tell that when they push this button, that results -- and for an infant who generally can't really cause things to happen in the world (no matter how much they might want to), that's a really nice feeling. When it comes to antisemitism and eliciting a response to it, Jews are in a similar boat. We very much want people to respond to our calls; to condemn antisemitism when we ask them to. But for the most part, the world doesn't listen to us. When we, say, ask Mike Huckabee to not make gratuitous Holocaust comparisons, he flatly rejects the demand and snarls that "Israel and Jewish people need to make friends, not insult the ones they have." Like infants, Jews are constantly made quite aware that we are for the most part sitting at the mercy of people bigger and stronger than we are. So, when there is a spot in the world where, when we say "condemn antisemitism!", something actually happens, there is something understandably exciting and delightful about it. It is an exercise of power by people who typically feel powerless. A similar dynamic explains why sometimes there might seem to be outsized attention to Jewish racism. For the most part, condemnations by communities of color of racism instigated by White Americans fall on deaf ears, for it is a feature of Whiteness in America that they are if they wish impervious to such demands. And likewise, it is a feature of Jewish vulnerability that we are not so impervious and that therefore at least sometimes, in some spaces, we can be compelled to answer. That, I imagine, is a delightful rarity. So perhaps it's understandable why those attacking racism so often seem to draw from the Jewish well. But if it still feels like an exploitation of Jewish marginal status, that's because it is. And likewise, the reason we're able to get some Black leaders, some of the time, to condemn antisemitism on cue is because of racism. The comparative vulnerability of a Black American versus a, say, Mike Huckabee means that they have to be responsive to these sorts of demands in circumstances where others don't. The constant call to "condemn antisemitism" exploits that vulnerability -- which is to say, it exploits Black marginalization. And that exploitation is reasonably resented. If the only way we relate to our Black allies is by asking them, again and again, to condemn antisemitism, we don't actually have a relationship as allies. We have a relationship that could be fulfilled by a tape recorder. True allyship is bidirectional. It involves giving as well as taking, and it involves learning new things, not just repeating the same homilies over and over again. Most importantly, a genuine allyship involves trust -- trust to know that one's partners oppose antisemitism even when they're not saying out loud. Trust that they've got your back even when they're operating in precarious circumstances, where sensitivities are on edge and tensions run highest. And unfortunately, right now, it seems that trust is lacking. Can that lack be laid entirely at the feet of the Jewish community? No, it can't. But do we have our share of the blame? Yes, most certainly. I get, obviously, why it feels good to hear Black people condemn antisemitism. And I get the social conditions which make it easier to focus on Black people who do or don't criticize Louis Farrakhan compared to tackling the far more entrenched, but far more dangerous, iterations of antisemitism in Congress, in churches, among Soros-conspiracymongers and White supremacist murderers. But such pleasures are cheap, and we are not babies. It's time for the Jewish community to grow up. via The Debate Link http://bit.ly/2VXNNOF

[hilahorizon]

(This is gonna be a bit long, obviously you don't have to read it I just need to get it off my chest)

I definitely understand that, being Jewish is complicated anywhere and expressing opinions on Israel is even more. But like, you can see where I got the wrong impression from "I DO NOT SEE ISRAEL AS ANYTHING BUT GENOCIDE" and "ABOLISH ISRAEL BURN IT DOWN".

It's just that as a person who probably shares your progressive and leftists ideology, but has live through this conflict my entire life, I hate seeing the discourse on Israel being so oversimplified on both sides. You're right that anti zionism doesn't necessarily mean antisemitism, but also sometimes people use anti zionism as a euphemism for that and also like, not all Zionist are pro the occupation.

I do want to take a moment to make it clear why Israel is not colonial nor is it a dictatorship if you don't mind:

Colonialism, from the Stanford definition "colonialism usually involved the transfer of population to a new territory, where the arrivals lived as permanent settlers while maintaining political allegiance to their country of origin." You can see where this definition doesn't fit, can't you? Jewish people were not transferred here by some empire. They came here, because they were running from persecution or because they loved this country so much they were willing to abandon everything, or both. Or they were already here for thousands of years. We do not have a country of origin. The places we ran from did not consider us loyal to them, the opposite is true. Jews were always considered traitors and foreigners in their own countries. That's why they came here. Not to make a profit or subjugate people. In fact this whole conflict is pretty much Britain's fault but I won't get into that now.

Listen, my great grandfather was born in Romania. When he was 18 (!!) He fucking went on a one way boat to Israel. Alone. Illegally I should add. Because he was just that idealistic. And I'm glad he did that!!! You know why? Because in the next few years his ENTIRE FAMILY were murdered in the holocaust. You can't tell me he was a colonialist.

About the dictatorship thing, It's not like our democracy is the best in the world (and right now it's in danger because Bibi will dismantle the judicial system to save himself from jail) but we do have free and fair elections and like, most basic rights. Freedom of speech right to life and liberty etc you get it. I mean, sure we have lots of things going against it, but so does the US or any other democracy. No democracy is prefect. But saying it's a dictatorship means comparing it to countries like Russia or Iran which it ISN'T. The government isn't arresting protestors like crazy for example. I know because I went to loads of protests recently. And I do feel free to speak my opinion and do that. That's a sign of democracy. But again, all this is for now. This new government could really push this country to a fascist, religious, dictatorship. Which is what I'm afraid of!!! Which is why I'm making this post and talking about it!

Listen, I do not have the same fondness for Israel that my great grandfather had. I want to leave. And I know that if I and people like me leave, the situation will only get worst. But this election feels like the point of no return, not just to me but to many other leftist, lgbtq and Arabic people here.

And I wish I could just do that, but unlike you I don't have a non Israeli passport. I'm too much of an Israeli to have that (thanks great granddad). So it's not that easy for me or my family.

Guess what I'm trying to say is, even if you have done research and talked to people, which I commend you for that is not something most people do when it comes to this place, please consider that the discourse on this issue is so extreme and polarized, and think about your words and if they contribute to that polarization

Love how Judaism is trending but I've not seen a single post talking about how Israel will now be governed by a bunch of fascistic religious zealots.

Fuck Bibi! Fuck Ben Gvir! Fuck everyone who will take away me and my friends' rights in the name of "protecting the Jewish people and homeland"!

[ravensong67-blog]

Biblical Paraphrase and Hummus: Conversation with Dror Burstein on “Muck”

DECEMBER 8, 2018

MUCK, THE LATEST novel by Israeli writer Dror Burstein to appear in English translation — in this case, a dexterous, canny one by the poet Gabriel Levin — is not easily described. Among the residents of its battered world are an elderly book critic known to thrash young writers bloody, talking dogs, child-peddlers, blind falafel prodigies, security guards watching over imperial plunder at the silent edge of empire, a secret police operative posing as an angel in cheap plastic wings, and an elegant classical pianist who was kidnapped in central Europe and brought against his will to his home country, where he rules as king from his childhood bedroom. Also, history’s largest bowl of hummus. That’s a lot to think about well before the fact that the book is a close rewriting of several key passages from the Hebrew Bible.

Actually, so much of the book is derived from biblical narrative that when I reached out to Burstein by email recently, he told me, “I think the genre of Muck is not exactly a novel, but what is called Rewritten Bible or Biblical Paraphrase.” The novel retells the story of the biblical prophet Jeremiah, against the backdrop of the political developments described in Jeremiah, Lamentations, and II Kings — which, if you know your Bible (or think about the word “jeremiad”), does not bode well for our protagonist, his king, or his city.

Jeremiah is in many ways a fitting choice. He is probably the most historically knowable character in the Jewish Bible, a strong contender for having written not only the book that bears his name, but also Deuteronomy, the Torah’s final installment, which describes itself as having been “found” in Jerusalem’s temple. Jeremiah’s an anguished character, who endures his civilization’s precipitous decline under a corrupt and ineffectual government. He tells his neighbors they’re arousing their god’s wrath, which goes unheeded, and he sees his city burned as a consequence. And like Burstein, he’s a scholar, trained in the interpretation of law, making his name as a poet.

I reached out to the author, who lives in Tel Aviv, by email. The below conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

¤

IAN DREIBLATT: At its core, Muck is very much a retelling of the events leading up to the Babylonian exile, as they’re narrated in the Bible. Where did that idea come from?

DROR BURSTEIN: I wish I knew. All I can say is that I have been long interested in Jeremiah, as a person more than as a prophet. I think I was intrigued by him because I sensed his personality as one that actually existed, one I could have understood had he lived today. I cannot say the same for, say, Moses or Abraham. At some point I had an idea to import Jeremiah into the present and see what happens to him. Can he speak in the context of modern Hebrew? Will anyone listen? But also, what does he do for a living? Who are his parents? What does he eat? Bringing a prophet into the contemporary world is a nice idea, but answering all of these questions, and many more, is the stuff of the actual work of writing.

Despite its biblical narrative, Muck is shot through with concerns you’ve examined in your other books — family and lineage, astronomy and geology, the minds and rights of animals. These come up in Kin and Netanya — your two earlier novels in English — and I imagine in Pictures of Meat, which I can’t read until it gets translated. What are your most consistent interests?

I think I have a consistent interest in reality. Which consists more or less of matter and energy of all sorts: outer space, human and nonhuman creatures (viruses and bacteria included), vegetation (mushrooms included).

As for your first point, it’s true. I guess I keep painting the same picture, only the frame changes. I feel like a flame which catches a different candle every once and a while — some thick, some thin, some white, some red, et cetera. The drainage periods are of a flame that cannot find a candle to catch.

You’re hardly just repeating yourself — though in Muck you are, in a very direct sense, repeating aspects of a biblical narrative. Maybe it’s history that’s repeating itself?

To a certain extent, there are geopolitical similarities between Israel and ancient Judea. Nevertheless, for me, this is the least interesting part of writing, as it seems almost obvious. There’s no way around it if your hero is Jeremiah. Although the novel is local in many senses, it is also about every human culture with corruption, aggressiveness, greed, and fear, and every person who speaks against that, with almost no one caring to listen.

But nothing can repeat itself in the exact sense. Or perhaps only music can do it. Philip Glass’s fifth piano étude is an important piece of the soundtrack to Muck. This music, above all, repeats itself.

You’ve got me listening. Certainly it’s unhopeful music, fit for a dismal fate. But while Muck is in a sense a repetition, it’s not stylistically repetitive the way the étude is.

Repetitive prose has its charm. I used to like reading books like that, Thomas Bernhard especially. Today I’m not so sure about it. If I find myself writing in this manner, I stop.

It doesn’t take a prophet to foresee trouble for the Judea of your novel, a blundering and compromised state, too invested in its increasingly antiquated future to perceive the urgencies of its beleaguered present. I have the feeling you’re “contending with the past” here — is that a fair description?

I think of the relationship between our present world and the ancient one more in terms of a continuous metamorphosis. I mean, I don’t think most people learn from their ancient fore-parents, their history. I’m not sure there’s much “contending” with the past here. As far as our leaders are concerned, they are driven by certain basic urges and needs, which haven’t changed so much.

I really like your Jeremiah — he’s a sweet kid when we meet him, and he greets his fate admirably. To flesh out a vision of Jeremiah is to animate a person’s suffering, on some level. That seems difficult!

That’s life; suffering is part of the deal. The First Noble Truth. For Jeremiah, the “on some level” is a bit of an understatement. You touch something very interesting. If one doesn’t wish to write kitsch — or, to put it differently, if one strives toward reality — depictions of suffering are inevitable. Your question helps me understand why I feel somewhat alienated toward this book. I wish I could live and write in a place in which prophets are not needed. Another planet, I guess.

Speaking of suffering, the sudden death of Jeremiah’s younger sister is an important part of his backstory — even on a family level, his life is marked by tragedy. That’s not something mentioned in the biblical narrative; where did that come from?

I realized long ago that for me, there’s always some continuity between one book and the next. As I said, I keep painting the same picture. So, the sister is a continuation of a character from a novel I published four years before Muck. There’s always some unfinished business in a book, and I try to make up for what one book missed in the next one. Or perhaps I just need some fuel from my reserves to ignite a new drive.

The earlier book is Sun’s Sister, right? Are you done with the character now?

Yes, she’s died twice now. That’s more than enough.

Jeremiah’s family is complicated. One of my favorite scenes in the book is the short one in which his mother pulls out a secret idol she keeps of a female divinity and quietly venerates it. How do you see her faith?

Israelites have always worshiped many gods — otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a need for so many prophets. Jeremiah’s mother is just an ordinary woman in this respect. I don’t think her son would be outraged had he known about her small statuette. It’s almost like keeping a painting on your wall today and paying daily attention to it. The damage in Muck is done not by people who believe in other gods, but by people who believe too much in their own egos.

But wait: the biblical Jeremiah does decry Israelite devotion to “the Queen of Heaven,” and other apparently popular pagan divinities. He has kind of a hang-up about it!

You are perfectly right. I got carried away with my own rendering of Jeremiah. Of course, he would have gone berserk had he known of his mother’s outrageous idolatry. I understand now that she keeps her idol in a can mainly because of her son. That’s the risk in adopting an existing character. You tend to make them similar to yourself to some extent.

Another fascinating character is the literary critic Broch. He’s a sort of protean villain; his role shifts across the book, but he’s never good news. How do you understand his role in the story?

He doesn’t have a specific biblical analogue. You might say he represents the public, the world that won’t listen, but in a more active way. He doesn’t just refuse to listen, he actively tries to eliminate some voices. In a more practical sense, maybe he’s a manifestation of my own inner voice, trying to convince me to stay out of this absurd travail of prose writing.

As a poet, Jeremiah courts his favor somewhat. Your send-up of poetry scenedom is pretty spot-on. You certainly don’t seem too sanguine about the writing and publishing landscape you’re depicting.

There are some magnificent writers here, not to mention rest of the world. But generally speaking, literature as an industry needs rethinking. I don’t really want to get into this, but I can say that I don’t set foot in any of the big bookstores in Israel — spaces from which almost everything I adore about literature is absent. I have a fantasy of opening my own bookshop, in which every single book sold will be my own private and specific recommendation. I think it’s awful, selling books you detest or don’t care about. It’s really unethical. And this is the “natural” way of doing business in the book trade. I wouldn’t sell you a poisonous sandwich, would I?

I hope not! I once heard you say at the World Voices Festival, “We all know poetry is the only thing worth writing.”

Well, novels are necessary: you can’t express everything with poetry. Historical events, for example, are unfit for a haiku or even a whole book of haiku. But that’s a necessity, not an ideal form of writing.

Do we have a distorted view of you in the United States, because you’re primarily a poet, and what we’re reading here are the novels? Do you prefer writing one or the other?

I think that my best writing period was while teaching for a semester in Worcester, Massachusetts, in fall 2013. Removed from the outside reality of Israel, I’d thought I was going to finish Muck there. It turned out I didn’t even touch it. Instead, I took a lot of trips around New England, returning especially often to Walden Pond. It all ended up in a book of poetry that was published in the same year as the original Hebrew edition of Muck. I had to write the novel, but it didn’t give me much pleasure. I wanted to write those poems at Walden or Cape Cod. I’d rather have Thoreau as a friend than Jeremiah, and I’d prefer living in Concord to Jerusalem. But I guess I’m more useful here.

You’ve said that “the genre of Muck is not exactly a novel, but what is called Rewritten Bible or Biblical Paraphrase.” What’s the difference?

The concept of retelling a biblical narrative was borrowed from ancient books that do just that, like the Book of Jubilees from the second century BCE. What’s special about this genre is that it frees you from having to be the sole inventor of the whole plot. It gives you a clear frame in advance, then lets you find your own way. You know the ending, more or less, from the start, or at least you think you know where you’re headed. After writing a few novels in which I had to invent everything myself, rewriting another text came as quite a relief!

If there was some relief in not having to invent a whole plot, you surely paid for it with the high stakes created by your subject matter, right?

The stakes are always high in novel-writing. This was still slightly easier than building the whole thing from scratch.

Read anything great lately, besides 2,200-year-old biblical retellings?

Oh yes, a lot. I’ve just finished Roland Barthes’s The Preparation of the Novel, translated into English by Kate Briggs. A must-read for anyone in the profession of prose writing. I was amazed and delighted to see Barthes extensively discuss Japanese haiku as a preliminary to novel-writing. Another great book is The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell, a biological meditation focused on one square meter of forest floor in Tennessee. Meticulously observed and very beautifully written. I wish I had the time to translate it into Hebrew.

The English translation of Muck is wonderful — nimble and resonant, managing a kind of code-switching that I imagine is more present in the original. Do biblical Hebrew and modern Hebrew bump up against each other in the book?

Yes. Gabriel Levin did great work. Actually, he suggested translating it into English in the first place. In the original, there is a continuous mixture of biblical and modern Hebrew, sometimes in the same sentence. The biblical phrases are not marked, and I invented some pseudo-biblical verses here and there too. I tried using biblical quotations that I thought would be intelligible to a present-day reader. It couldn’t have been easy to reproduce this idea, two layers of language merging into one textual flow.

Could we talk for a second about … hummus? Hummus plays an important role in this book — not only because it sets the stage for one of the most jaw-dropping events in the story, but because characters are often seen eating it. Not to put too fine a point on things, hummus has a reputation for both connecting and dividing the cultures of the Middle East. In Muck, it seems almost to be a kind of counter-muck — an exalted, nourishing goop. I confess, I have no question.

You’ve got a fine short essay on the symbolism of chickpeas here. I’m serious. Hummus is my favorite dish and has been for almost 40 years now. I reckon I’ve consumed tons of it. The scene in the book that features a “World’s Largest Hummus Bowl” competition, which might sound absurd, was taken from an actual ad I saw at a (hummus) restaurant in Abu Gosh, near Jerusalem. I mean, such a competition actually took place, some years ago. There is an official Guinness record for this. What’s more, after Israel had set the world record, the Lebanese overshadowed the Israeli achievement, weighing in at a mere four tons, with their own 11.5-ton bowl. You can read this all here. I’m not making it up.

What’s the best hummus you’ve ever had? Desert island hummus?

There was a place in Jaffa owned by Mr. Mustafa Kalboni. Unfortunately, he passed away, and his son, Sultan, embraced a religious life and hasn’t continued the business. I can testify that he was capable, culinarily speaking.

¤

Ian Dreiblatt is a poet, translator, and musician who lives in Brooklyn. His chapbook how to hide by showing in the age of being alone with the universe is recently out from above/ground press, and he is among the translators of Pavel Arsenev’s Reported Speech, out now from Cicada Press.

Source: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/biblical-paraphrase-and-hummus-conversation-with-dror-burstein-on-muck/

[nataliesnews]

Religious women want a non Jewish life saver  the murderer of Emil Greenschwieg says others will carry on his work, right-wingers vent frustrations at premier - The Times of Israel, 12.8.2020

12.8.2020 Weirder and weirder this country gets. I am actually doing very little, walking, swimming, friends, Spanish and Arabic….all of which nothing very exciting so this is mainly for those of you about the Israeli scene. A post on facebook which shocked me about a swimming pool in Jerusalem which had a sign up that that day the lifesaver was an Arab. The director said that as soon as he heard about it he had it taken down. But the reason it seems was not racism!!! But even stranger. Religious women had asked for a female lifesaver  but when there was not one they had asked for a lifesaver who was not Jewish. If a man is not Jewish he is less a man?  Go understand their heads.

I think it is well that the interview with the murderer of Emil Greenzweig so many years ago at a march of Shalom Achshav   below was published.  Those of us who took part in that march remember well the violence and curses against us as we walked. The next murder is on the line. And what easier way to do it than to take a hand grenade today and thrown it into the crowds at Balfour. I ask why  this man who is a murderer was freed and not given a life sentence. Of course by the way he now has his kippa on his head and says he stays whom,  eats and drinks and prays. To what God I would ask him.  Now I am sure the idea has been planted in the hands of his supporters. There are enough settlers who have the opportunity to obtain a grenade. Only yesterday some cars with supporters of Netanyahu actually stopped at the stand of those who have been there for weeks and attacked them physically. But it will be as it was with Emil and also with Rabin.  I doubt that even if this does happen anything will change. In the meantime all over the country there are demonstrations. I wonder that also in Caesaria a black curtain has been put up round the ancestral!! home of the Netanyahus and there are barriers all over to prevent demonstrations. I wonder how come no one has interviewed people of that area to ask how they feel about this.

 Peace activist’s killer calls anti-Netanyahu protesters ‘germs’ to be dealt with

Ahead of Saturday rallies, Yona Avrushmi, who in 1983 ‎lobbed grenade into left-wing rally, killing Emil Grunzweig, has no plans to attend but says others 'know exactly what to do'

https://www.timesofisrael.com/peace-activists-killer-calls-anti-netanyahu-protesters-germs-to-be-dealt-with/

Joining anti-Netanyahu protests, right-wingers vent frustrations at premier

While still a small contingent compared to majority of protesters, some who once voted for the Likud leader are making common cause with those on the left in calling for him to go

https://www.timesofisrael.com/joining-anti-netanyahu-protests-right-wingers-vent-frustrations-at-premier/

But sometimes there is something heartwarming. I wonder how the women who came in their black anonymous dress will manage not with Western dress. On the other hand I believe  that many Palestinian women here under this outfit are very modernly dressed and I remember once outside such an area seeing a woman drive up, park, get out very modern in her dress and put exactly that one. I just hope no one in her family ever found out

UAE helps reunite Yemenite Jewish family that was separated for 15 ‎years

'My soul felt reborn,' one relative says at Abu Dhabi airport ceremony; tweeting about reunion, Emirati FM Abdullah bin Zayed hails his country as 'homeland of coexistence'

https://www.timesofisrael.com/uae-helps-reunite-yemenite-jewish-family-that-was-separated-for-15‎-years/

I received in my bank account the 760 shekel which Netanyahu promised but first of all I know I will pay for it in some way and secondly I will donate the lot.  As many of my friends do. But I realise now in what security I grew up in. There were always financial worries of which I was very aware but never did I feel that I would lose my home and never did I think that I would go hungry of need clothing. And today listening to the news I think of the young people who are just starting out, the children who up to now grew up in the same security I did and who are now seeing a very different future. I think of people in their middle age  suddenly also having to confront a new reality and how the world has turned upside down. And I have now stopped asking…”Can this really be happening to us.” I just hoped it isn’t a case of “they said to her smile it could get worse” and she smiled and it did. Put gloomy mood down to just going off to town now for root canal work….. and it brings me back to the present as the dentist to whom I am going said to me, “Do you know  how much it will cost you”

Palestinians….and if they put up tents those are confiscated

 Don't say We Didn't Know 709

The Co-Existence Forum In The Negev's 2019 report shows that the government of Israel demolished 2241 Bedouin structures in the Negev!  88% of these demolitions were carried out by the structures' owners! They demolished themselves, for fear that if the state carries it out, they must pay the demolition expenses. In addition, in order to avoid the trauma of having police enter the village and evict the dwellers by force, they decided to demolish their homes with the same hands that had built them.

Importantly, the various governments of Israel have created a situation whereby all structures in the Bedouin villages of the Negev have been constructed illegally, Thus, any Bedouin in village who wishes to fulfill his basic human right of shelter, must break the law

 Natalie.

[catchcrows]

For the ask meme, whichever of the odd numbers that speak to you (or all of them lmfao)

“and lo, the odd numbers spoke unto them, saying, ‘prepared art thou, mortal fool, for the uncomfortable and intimate act of being known, knowing also that thou art utter shite at recalling any personal information on cue?’”

1. if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to?

read: pet shop of horrors - matsuri akino

watch: yu yu hakusho

listen to: the crow & the beekeeper (both by dessa)

3. list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with.

hxh: kurapika

ygo: bakura

the hobbit: gandalf

yyh: kurama and shizuru

5. do you think of yourself as a human being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do?

i had to double-back and make sure i understood the concept in general but tbh i’d say both. i define myself by my actions and the things that i do because i do them because they reflect and expand on the sort of person i want to be, even if that means that sometimes i’m not doing them for some greater-minded or zen reason but because i want acknowledgement or to be seen. idk i think separating either into a vacuum overlooks both how the world works whether we like it or not but also how humans as a species interact with it and each other

7. do you care about your ethnicity?

y’know, i used to care so much about it bc i was so desperate to find like, One Source Of Belonging? or no not even a place to belong but like, a concrete point that i could refer back to and be like “this is where i come from, these are my very clear-cut roots, i live in flagrant disregard of a lot of what being a member of this community and culture means bc some of it hasn’t updated with the times At All and now actively hurts people, but it’s mine”, especially since growing up i was always in-between communities and often joked about moving someplace i would always be identified as an outsider already bc that’s how i was gonna be perceived by my actual communities anyway (which is hilarious considering where i live now)

but lately i’m just.......idk, tired? maybe it’s just bc interrogating and coming to terms with and identifying with the stupid big number of ethnicities i belong to requires more nuance than i’m willing to put into it right now, or i’m just burnt out by the fact that there’s no way to be part of an ethnic group in an apolitical or amoral way (like, if i had a penny for every time as a jew i get harassed about israel like it’s my personal fault what a government in a country i’m not even a citizen of does to other people, regardless of my own opinions of how deep a well the israeli govt can fall down, i’d have enough pennies to walk right into another stereotype about jews). either way i try not to think about it very much at all lately and largely fail miserably at it lmao

9. are you an artist?

allegedly! i actually got an art scholarship in high school to go to uni but i don’t think i’ve Drawn™ anything in a very long time, and despite having a sketchbook that i literally just purchased in oxford burning a hole in my backpack, i am Afeard to start drawing again in earnest

11. describe your ideal day.

i don’t know about my Absolute Ideal Day bc that changes a lot, but today was pretty good and i enjoyed it and wish more days were like it. i went to the lab and got some stuff done, then went to the diner and ate my weight in sushi rice and now i’m sat at a coffee shop doing work (tbf i’m sat in a coffee shop bc i have a dreaded feeling that my landlady will be back home today, but also i just work a lot better when i’m not at home, so)

13. inside or outdoors?

both!

15. five most influential books over your lifetime.

idk if this means “of all books published in my lifetime so far, which do i think are the most influential in general” or “which five books have influenced me the most” so i’m gonna go with the latter bc it feels like it makes the most sense. also all of these are fiction in no particular order bc every nonfiction book i’ve read in the last 21 years has suddenly fled my mind

the girl who owned a city - o. t. nelson

the bartimaeus trilogy - jonathan stroud (yes i know there are four books now but ~back in my day~ it was a trilogy)

the orphan tales - catherynne valente

inkworld trilogy - cornelia funke

fire - kristin cashore

(this question was really interesting bc i was.......not quite expecting these books to be the ones that would be the answer to this question and when i started thinking about why they came to mind it got Very Existential fjdslkfa)

17. would you say your tumblr is a fair representation of the “real you”?

i......guess so? i mean i reblog stuff i’m interested in and i talk about my ridiculous shenanigans, so i suppose it’s fairly representative??

19. which Harry Potter house would you be in? or are you a muggle?

general friend consensus is that i’m either a slytherin or that mix thing that people started doing a while back? idk i’m not in the hp fandom but there was that test a while back and i was like a slytherclaw or something.

21. do you love easily?

i don’t think i do, but once i do love somebody i’m really at ease with telling them/showing it

23. how often would you want to see your family every year?

at the moment i see my mother and grandmother two or three times a year and bc of where i live and it’s like That’s Just How It Be™, especially considering we’re in contact literally every day via text/calling/etc. besides that, there’s a time limit when i do get home on how long they’re happy that i’m back and things are pleasant to us starting to get into the same old shit (or them starting the same old shit and me being too Tired™ to engage). that being said i have extended family that i don’t see for years at a time and i’m unbelievably alright with that

25. could you live as a hermit?

i absolutely could, but bc of the speed and surety with which i was like Hell Yeah i think it’s better for my mental health if i don’t fjdsklfa

27. do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the “real you”?

oh my god no

29. three songs that you connect with right now.

no plan - hozier

bremen - pigpen theatre co

grand canyon - the wind and the wave

[republicstandard]

The Guardian's Arwa Mahdawi Supports the Patriarchy and the Victimization of Women

Well friends, it is another day ending in 'Y' and that means there is another feminist moonbat screeching at the sky about guns. Actually make that two but Jessica Valenti doesn't count as newsworthy anymore. Sorry Jess.

Our kids are literally being shot to death by weapons of war, and the government continues to do nothing. ~ Jessica Valenti

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Yes, it certainly appears that after decades of creeping gun control and a Soros-funded PR blitz featuring Teen-Bop Against The Evil Guns that the mean ole gubbermint just isn't doing enough to restrict the rights of people to protect themselves. H.R.5717 is a figment of your imagination. Lex B from the Freebird Forum describes 5717 thus:

Over 10 states looking to institute risk protection orders which authorise the unwarranted seizure of firearms from “dangerous” individuals. People like ex-girlfriends, postmen, welfare agents, mental healthcare workers, family members and others can petition to have your guns remove from your possession without evidence for a minimum of one year and a maximum of a lifetime. This outrageous law is supported thoroughly by the NRA! A bill is being introduced to the federal government to disburse more funds to states which adopt this risk protection measure. Spread this to your family members, friends and acquaintances, whether liberal or conservative. This is one of the most dangerous laws I’ve seen in my lifetime.

If you were under any doubt that the gun control agenda is going ahead full steam, Trump or no, #MAGA or no, this is your wake-up call. The Guardian columnist cries out in pain as she strips your rights.

Staying with the Guardian, Valenti's compadre Arwa Mahdawi describes herself as a Palestinian-Brit in New York; three intersecting aspects of identity that would lead most sane people to be avidly pro-Gun if they had any sense.

British: Strict gun laws don't stop acid attacks, global jihad and criminals using guns.

Palestinian: Having no guns to shoot at the Israelis with is proving a problem.

New Yorker: self-explanatory.

I won't even go into Greater London without at least a fully licensed concealed carry soup-spoon. It's that dangerous these days.

So, what is Arwa's burning issue?

I wrote about how feminism is cynically being used to sell guns https://t.co/ZqEvupaUvG

— Arwa Mahdawi (@ArwaM) May 18, 2018

Yes, it's the heinous reality of all-American babes openly expressing their love for the Second Amendment (and by crimminy it is a beautiful thing- but we'll get to the ladies later). The bee in Arwa's bonnet is that pure, innocent and beloved feminism is being used -used!- to sell guns. Heaven forbid that a cult which has no problem selling pussy hats and infantilizing coloring books be co-opted by women with a different opinion about what a self-determined woman means in 2018.

We begin with the unfounded conflation between "women" and "feminism". It's very easy for feminists to then claim that they speak for all women when they use this simple rhetorical trick. Note: Feminism and women are not the same thing. Will Wheaton is not a woman as far as we know, but he is undoubtedly a feminist. So is that guy who just jumped the shark with Star Wars VIII, you know. That guy who will never know what credibility or talent is. There are probably other male feminists out there too, but who cares.

Firearms, it would seem, have become a feminist issue. Second amendment proponents and the gun industry are using female empowerment, and even the #MeToo movement, to sell their products and fight back against gun control.

Ladies, through feminism you can become empowered! So empowered. Just not empowered enough to take responsibility for your home and your person, because that is actually being exploited by the gun industry. Could you imagine the look on Harvey Weinstein's face if he pulled out his piece and Rose McGowan had pulled out a piece of her own, with a thicker barrel? If we take Mahdawi's view, it is probably for the best that she was raped by one of the most powerful people in Hollywood; because you just can't allow women to become too good at not being raped by the literal physical and financial embodiment of the patriarchy. Maybe I'm a bad feminist, but I fully support the right of all women to shoot rapists square amidships.

When faced with examples of actual rape, the feminist mentality is forced into a paradox. What comes first? The victim, or the ideological need to subvert the dominant paradigm? In her own article, Arwa Mahdawi writes:

Shayna Lopez-Rivas, 23, who recently graduated from Florida State University, also bought a gun after being attacked. Lopez-Rivas grew up in an anti-gun household and always had a negative view of guns until she was raped on campus in 2014. “I had pepper spray, he had a knife,” she said. “I wasn’t fast enough or strong enough.” The first time she picked up a gun, Lopez-Rivas felt empowered. “As much as women are equal to men in every other way, the truth is that in a biological sense we’re not equal. They’re bigger, faster, stronger. We need to find something that is an equalizer. And for me that equalizer was a firearm.”

Arwa's response? Pure feminist sophistry.

It’s important to listen to women like Lopez-Rivas, who have found guns to be empowering. It’s crucial we don’t dismiss their experience. Nevertheless, it’s also crucial that we don’t let gun rights activists cynically exploit women’s rights to sell more guns. While firearms may empower some women, they kill a whole lot more.

Some wags out there might accuse Arwa Mahdawi of literally exploiting someone's rape to make her point in this very excerpt, but that would be uncouth. Correct, but uncouth. In the mind of the feminist, guns are simply part of capitalist patriarchy. There is no question that they are evil, and must all be destroyed- for the women. Actual rape victims like Ms. Lopez-Rivas who have been through hell on Earth are dismissed with a handwave; that they shouldn't be dismissed but, actually, dearie, even though if you had a gun you might not have been raped, the fact that guns also kill women means that you really should be quiet. Sisterhood, Yeah!

Live. Speak. Stand. Run. Carry with Confidence. Ladies, chances are your assailant is gonna be bigger, stronger and faster and that’s why you have @alexoathletica for your gun, your mace, or even your phone. Yeah, you’ve got it covered. #TeamTomi #alexoathletica #NotYourAverageGunGirl

A post shared by Tomi Lahren (@tomilahren) on Mar 22, 2018 at 5:54pm PDT

Hey, it's that Tomi Lahren girl from the TV who says stuff. Seems like she entirely agrees with the assessment of Ms Lopez-Rivas that according to the most horrifying field test imaginable, men are stronger than women and shooting a rapist is a good tactic that may prevent your rape. Mahdawi's response?

Much of this messaging seems to echo the NRA line that guns empower women.

Well Arwa, maybe -and I mean, just maybe- you could consider the possibility that the NRA are right, just this once? It is a very poor piece of thinking indeed to assume that your enemies are always wrong; not only is that almost certainly not true (except in the case of the Green Bay Packers) but it betrays a certain arrogance in that you consider your own position to be unassailable. Is it so far beyond the pale that the National Rifle Association might have a point?

In the aftermath of this year's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Loesch also defended guns by arguing that arming women would help them defend themselves against sexual assault. Framing gun rights as a feminist issue feels disingenuous and exploitative when there is a huge amount of research that shows women are more likely to be killed by a gun than saved by one.

Here is the crux of Mahdawi's case- it's one that has been drip fed into the cultural zeitgeist by virtually every liberal media outlet available; and generally it comes down to this utter mess of an assertion. Women are more likely to be killed with a gun than to save themselves with a gun. Therefore, guns are bad for women.

NEWSFLASH. Guns are bad for everyone. That's what guns do. That's why you want to be a competent gun owner when faced with someone with a gun or some other weapon who wishes to do you a mischief. The data this claim comes from appears to stem from this study by the anti-gun Violence Prevention Center. In it, the claim is made that a woman is more than 100 times more likely to be killed with a gun than to save herself with one. The message is clear; save the ladies, get rid of your guns.

Fortunately, it appears that the women of America are smarter than gun-grabbing feminists.

I have no apologies for my graduation photos. As a woman, I refuse to be a victim & the second amendment ensures that I don't have to be. pic.twitter.com/5CKmQobrMb

— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) May 15, 2018

I don’t take normal college graduation photos... pic.twitter.com/eI1NvLFYHs

— Brenna Spencer (@BrennaSpencer) April 7, 2018

Further, Mahdawi recognizes this truth. Female gun ownership is on the rise, and they are buying guns for self-defense. Even with the flawed comparison of all women killed by gun versus all women saved by gun on the table, the result is not less guns, in reality. It is more women making the smart choice that, in a world in which feminists have demanded equality even when there is none, self-defense is a personal responsibility.

According to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, women are more likely than men to say that the only reason they own a gun is for protection. While 27% of women say protection is the sole reason they own a gun, only 8% of men say the same.

Wyoming: 53.8% of people own Firearms Gun Homicide rate: 1.7 per 100k DC: 25.9% of people own firearms Gun Homicide rate: 18.0 per 100k https://t.co/VtRvV733Bp

— Andrew Quackson🇺🇸 (@AndrewQuackson) May 21, 2018

One might speculate that the breakdown of the nuclear family may have had something to contribute to these figures, which gall Mahdawi so much but please me immensely. It is my suspicion that perhaps if feminists had not been quite so keen on demonizing men and all we stand for that, perhaps, we may see far fewer spinsters needing to defend themselves with firearms; that would be a husband's job, after all.

The gatekeeping by the feminista media denizens is nothing short of anti-woman, anti-liberty hypocrisy. Of course, Mahdawi doesn't give a damn about rape victims, murder rates or women at all. This is a one-hundred-percent ideologically-driven poop-fling from the cheap seats; because it cannot be allowed to stand that pretty girls can responsibly promote responsible gun ownership in an era when pretty girls are kidnapped and murdered by MS-13. In the United States. In liberal Houston. By El Salvadorean Dreamers! It must be that the NRA hates women!

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Ok, let's wrap this one up. Mahdawi has in the past published overtly racist and misandrist articles, whatever this is:

Latest column is on frugality porn, LinkedIn broetry, and condom snorting https://t.co/NfhG0BiDP4

— Arwa Mahdawi (@ArwaM) April 4, 2018

And, of course, literally subverting other people's businesses that she is paid money to do a serious job for with SJW-lite nonsense.

am currently freelancing at an agency, drafting corporate manifestos. have amused myself by peppering manifestos with Black Panther quotes ('build bridges not barriers' etc). unfortunately this has now been found out...

— Arwa Mahdawi (@ArwaM) February 22, 2018

Now I feel bad about picking on Arwa. She clearly can't help it, the Kool-Aid is just too damn strong.

Go buy a gun today, ladies.

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[the-record-columns]

Aug. 2, 2017: Columns

Another column that is not about sports, exactly…  

Chief Wahoo, the mascot for the Cleveland Indians baseball team? Well, no, actually this was a souvenir bought by the late John Scorof's mother in Hawaii in 1943, given to Ken some years ago by John, and confused with the Indians mascot ever since.

   By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

Many years ago, circumstances caused me to be on the road at night on a fairly regular basis. During that time, to pass the time, I would often tune in late night AM radio. Sometimes I would pick up one of the large “clear channel” radio stations from up north, or sometimes I would listen to small market AM stations that would fade in and out as I drove along.

Of the small market stations, one of my favorite memories was of a preacher who was on every Friday night. As is sometimes said about gospel quartets, when he wasn't singing, he was selling. That is, asking for contributions to keep his program on the air. One evening as I rode across the flatlands of North Carolina, this preacher was making his plea for help and came out with, “Now folks, we are thankful for the checks you send in, but please make that a good check—it doesn't help much if I have to go down to the bank and pick it up because it bounced.”

Other nights I would listen to talk radio, although in those days, it was more about financial planning than politics, and then there was the occasional ball game I would pick up on.

Ball games. I have been to a million of them, with the large majority being youth games involving my children. For me basketball was the most fun to watch, soccer the least fun to watch, and baseball in between. Baseball moved too slow and the practices made the games look fast.

At any rate, with the advent of grown children it is rare for me to watch a baseball game except around the Playoffs or World Series. That may not be fair, but it is true.

How could anyone get hooked on baseball?

Well, I'll tell you.

A couple of Tuesday evenings ago, I was out working and had the radio on. I hit the scan button and up came 1100 AM with a Cleveland Indians playing the California Angels. I soon heard the score and it was 7-0 Indians in the second inning. Borrrrrr-ing. A cakewalk for Chief Wahoo and the Indian faithful. I was listening to the Cleveland network and they were patting themselves on the back and high-five-ing all around about their pitcher and the blowout they were enjoying.

So, mainly as background noise, I left the game on. However, the first thing I knew, the Angels scored 4 runs in the 4th inning. That was followed by 2 in the 5th, and 1 in the 6th. All of a sudden, boom, it was a ball game. All the back-patting and hoopla went to “...what the hell has happened?”

Well, now I was hooked. I actually changed lanes several times just to keep the signal where I could hear it all. There was no more scoring for what seemed like forever, No scoring in the 7th, 8th, or 9th innings. So, what started out as an Indians blowout was going to extra innings with the score still tied 7-7.

No scoring in the 10th. The Angels came to bat in the top of the 11th and went nowhere. As luck would have it, I had to make a stop during the Indians bottom half of the 11th. When I returned to the car and the game, I could not believe what was going on., The announcer was just saying that Indians player Edwin Encarnacion was coming to bat. Then I heard them say that the bases were loaded.

Well, you guessed it. Encarnacion proceeds to hit a walk-off Grand Slam home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Indians the win after all. The announcer was yelling to so loud he almost split the speaker on the radio.

So there. What began as a slow, boring game where all but the most faithful would leave early and put the kids to bed transformed into a game for the ages that will be talked about for years to come.

I suppose this is the place to insert the best known of all the Yogi-ism's attributed to legendary New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra.

“It ain't over 'til it's over.”

 Does the walker choose the path?

By LAURA WELBORN

I have spent the last 10 days in Washington State, trying to keep up with my very active outdoorsy adult children (and one very active 14-month-old).  

At one point I was hiking up and down one very steep mountain.  I slipped and fell on my rear end four times.  My son, Jake, said to me, “But Mom, you get right back up each time.”  

Somehow this reassured me on several different levels – one is that I could still keep up with them and a 14-month-old, and the other is that I do seem to have a certain amount of resiliency when I fall.

There are times when we all get knocked off our feet, even though we are trying to be careful, look where we are stepping and go slow.  There are lots of life lessons in all of this, but I think the concept of choosing paths and being intentional in your actions is worthy of noting.

Here are some thoughts towards the getting back up idea:

1.   The best time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it.  When you bring clarity into your life, you bring the best of yourself into everything you do – you tend to treat yourself and others better, communicate more constructively, do things for the right reasons, and ultimately improve the world you’re living in.  This is why praying or just meditating on some positive mantras, on a daily basis can actually make a real-world difference in your life.  Dedicate time every day to focus inward – mindfulness rituals, mantras, journaling, prayer, gratitude reflection, etc. – and bring clarity to your daily circumstances and decisions.

2.  When you stop chasing the wrong things, you give the right things a chance to catch you. It’s all about getting organized and conscious of how you are allocating your limited time and energy, so you can put yourself in a position to build the future you want.

3.  Stepping back and allowing certain things to happen means these things will take care of themselves, and your needs will also be met.  This form of letting go is not giving up.  It’s about surrendering any obsessive attachment to particular people, outcomes and situations.  It means showing up every day in your life with the intention to be your best self, and to do the best you know how, without expecting life to go a certain way.

4.  If you don’t intentionally carve out time every day to make progress, you won’t  –  without question, your time will get lost in the vacuum of excessive overthinking and distraction.

5.  Every evening before you go to bed, write down three things that went well during the day and their causes.  Simply provide a short, causal explanation for each good thing.

by focusing inward, dropping excess baggage, letting go of the uncontrollable, building sustainable daily rituals, and appreciating what’s going well, you give yourself the perspective and momentum needed to cope with the unexpected twists and turns on the path in front of you. And yes, oftentimes the immediate path chooses you, not the other way around.  And that’s not a bad thing either.

Some of the greatest outcomes that transpire in your life will be the ones you never even knew you wanted.  As long as you keep your mind open to new perspectives and yourself moving forward, there really are no wrong turns in life, only paths you didn’t know you were meant to walk.  And you never can be certain what’s around the corner.  It could be everything, or it could be nothing.” (Inserts from Marc and Angel Hack Life blog)

   Arabic broadcasting network funded by 

US tax dollars?

By EARL COX

Special to The Record

Ever heard of the Alhurra Network? How about Radio Sawa? Most will be shocked to learn that little known Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa cost American tax payers up to $700,000,000.00 (seven hundred million dollars) a year! What is the mission of this little known U.S. government-funded operation? On paper it is “to broadcast accurate, timely and relevant news and information about the region, the world and the United States to a broad, Arabic-speaking audience.” Sounds good until you ask questions. Broadcasting from Alhurra began in February 2004. The objective was to counter terrorist media campaigns designed to influence public opinion as well as to explain U.S. policies but Alhurra itself has become more about propaganda than accurate news reporting and while its budget is massive, its audience is not.

Alhurra is sponsored by the United States government and supported by United  States tax dollars yet broadcasts are not translated into English. What? I wish this were just a fairytale but it’s true. Alhurra is real and operates out of state-of-the-art studios located in the heart of Jerusalem yet few know much about this entity. I saw the operation with my own eyes. American tax-payers gift their hard-earned dollars to Alhurra for nothing - not even the privilege of listening to their broadcasts as they are not available to the English-speaking world. As convoluted as it sounds, Alhurra is regulated by a law that prohibits a government-funded news service dedicated to providing news to a foreign audience from broadcasting to the domestic audience of the United States.  Something is wrong here. Further inquiry revealed that this type of news service falls under the Broadcasting Board of Governors known as the BBG. The Smith-Mundt Act regulations were eased by the relatively recent passage of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act. However, the BBG still insists that it is only allowed to create programs for foreign audiences and the BBG “does not seek to change that.”

What is Alhurra sending out to foreign audiences that Americans and Israelis might find unacceptable? Apparently there is very little oversight regarding Alhurra’s reporters and commentators. There is not even a requirement for management to speak or understand the Arabic language. This month Brian Conniff gave up his position as President of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., and MBN is the governing body for Alhurra. He served from June 2006 until July 2017 yet during his lengthy tenure it is reported that Conniff could not speak Arabic and therefore could not understand any of the news and programs put out by Radio Sawa and Alhurra TV. To top it off, he had no journalistic experience.

A pro Publica investigator reported that Conniff once stood outside the door of an editorial meeting while the technical staff and reporters prepared for a broadcast halfway around the world. He could not understand what they were saying and no one offered a simultaneous translation. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.  Add to this the confusing funding structure of Alhurra and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. MBN is the non-profit corporation that operates Alhurra. The BBG (Broadcasting Board of Governors) finances the Middle East Broadcasting Networks through a grant. The BBG is an independent federal agency that serves as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters.

The U.S. Secretary of State is one of the members of the BBG. Alhurra TV, Radio Sawa, the MBN and the BBG look like they comprise one big and very confusing circle and, indeed, they do. According to a former U.S. Ambassador in Yemen and the United Arab Emirates William Rugh, “There is no adult supervision there (at Alhurra) by people who know what is on the actual broadcast. You need bilingual managers who understand both languages and cultures and understand journalism.” Alhurra’s and Sawa’s Arabic-language broadcasts are beamed only overseas. No one translates full broadcasts into English therefore it is impossible for non-Arabic speakers to know what’s going on air. Who is responsible for content oversight? Wouldn’t it make sense that a U.S. funded, Arabic-speaking network be accountable for the “news” and information they are distributing?