Transvestites to Use Little Girls’ Room

* Personal note: This has NOTHING to do with the subject of my blog, but I thought it was important to get it out there. I never knew this was even an issue. Never thought about it. 

The line for the girls’ room just got longer.

 Men who live as women can now legally use women’s rest rooms in
New York’s transit system under an unprecedented deal revealed yesterday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority agreed to allow riders to use MTA rest rooms “consistent with their gender expression,” the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund announced yesterday.

The group filed a complaint against the MTA on behalf of a 70-year-old telephone repair technician who was arrested for using the women’s room at Grand Central Terminal.

The technician, who is assigned to the terminal by Verizon, was born Henry McGuinness but now goes by Helena Stone.

“I’m a 24-hour woman,” Stone declared proudly. “I just feel like a woman and I like to wear women’s clothes.”

The MTA would not comment on the settlement but Stone’s lawyer said it also includes mandatory transgender sensitivity training for MTA employees and a $2,000 payment to the technician for legal fees.

Michael Sullivan, Stone’s lawyer, called the settlement of the complaint with the Human Rights Commission a “milestone” toward recognition of the city law that prohibits discrimination against transgender men and women.

But some Metro-North riders at Grand Central yesterday were stunned by the ruling. “I would not like that,” said Gloria David, a retiree from
Connecticut. “I have nothing against gay men or drag queens, but they can use the men’s room. I just don’t want to go to the bathroom next to a man.”

One rider feared predators might dress as women and lurk in the women’s room. But Rena Gantz, 23, a college student, shrugged off the settlement.

“It doesn’t bother me because it is a reality,” she said. “If they believe they are women, they should be treated as one.”

From New York Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/news/v-echo/story/464637p-390955c.html

Israeli Education Minister Instructs Schools to Mark Kfar Qasem Massacre Anniversary

By Yuli Kromchenko and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents

Education Minister Yuli Tamir has instructed schools to devote time to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kafr Qasem massacre, in which border patrol troops killed 47 Arab citizens who were returning to their village from work. The anniversary will be marked on Sunday, October 29.Tamir has instructed schools to address the massacre itself and the events that occurred following the massacre, including the court ruling that a command can be termed “blatantly illegal,” and in such a case, a soldier must not obey it.

According to the minister’s directive, “The massacre and the trial that followed it have become milestones in the national psyche of Israeli society and have instilled in generations of commanders and soldiers a moral border one should abide by.”

The Education Ministry plans on adding relevant instruction materials onto its website, but none have been posted to the site thus far.Tamir decided to address the massacre in schools following a petition by the education committee within the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee.

TheMossawa
Advocacy
Center for Arab Citizens director, Jafar Farah, has even threatened to petition to the High Court of Justice if the massacre was not included in high school history classes, as was during Yossi Sarid’s term as education minister.

On October 29 1956, during the first day of the Sinai war, three border patrol troops received a command to shoot anyone who broke the curfew imposed on Kafr Qasem.

The troops shot and killed 47 of the village’s residents as they were making their way home from work, unaware of the newly imposed curfew. Among the dead were women and children.

The soldiers involved in the massacre were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, but received pardons. The brigade commander was sentenced to pay the symbolic fine of 10 pruta (old Israeli cents).

A memorial commemorating the massacre was recently raised in Kafr Qasem. According to the Kafr Qasem municipality, a museum dealing with the events of October 29 will open its doors to the public on the massacre’s anniversary.

A news conference held in Kafr Qasem on Sunday heard harsh criticism of the addition of Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman to the government.

Shauki Hatib, chairman of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, made a connection between Lieberman joining the government and the ’56 massacre. According to him, the massacre voiced a wish to expel the Arabs, and the same wish stands behind Lieberman’s plan to annex residents of an area known as the Triangle of Arab communities to the Palestinian Authority.

“He termed Lieberman’s party a “fascist party” and said that history shows that every fascist party initially spoke against minorities.

The Mossawa director called for renewed public discourse on the subject of the massacre and the connection between the massacre and the events of October 2000.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/778427.html

2 More Rockets Launched into Israel – 3 Total for Today

3 Qassam rockets launched today, which makes a total of 12 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel (not the territories) since Friday. Plus the five mortal shells from the weekend (not including the mortars thrown today at soldiers).

It’s a good thing we’re not at war with anyone right now.

Ahmadinejad to Iranians: Be Fruitful and Multiply

Yes, you read right. Ahmadinejad has taken time away from making frightening anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-anything-that-isn’t-Arab statements and has instructed Iranians to multiply.  

Most Iranians have 2 children nowadays, an unofficial Iranian tradition that began due to the large rise in population in the 1980s after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. 

Ahmadinejad opposed to this tradition and has encouraged his people to have more than two children, claiming that the country of 70 million can easily hold another 50 million citizens.  He says that the west (western civilizations) has problems, and since they have a negative population growth, they are worried and afraid that if our population grows, we will rule them.” 

Those of you who can’t get a Greencard – you can move to Iran. They have room for another 50 million. I hear they have tons of oil there. J Gas will be cheaper.

For the full article in Hebrew, click here.

Murderer to Have Sex for 10 Hours

Yigal Amir, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s killer, will be meeting wife Larissa Trimbobler for a conjugal visit Tuesday. For those of you who don’t know, they married recently, having never met before the assasination.

The conjugal visit will take place on Tuesday at the Ayalon Prison. The conjugal visit will last 10 hours.

No security cameras will be monitor the room but the location will be secured.

What a shame. I’m sure the sex tape would sell even better than Screech’s sex tape (the dude from from Saved by the Bell…)

P.S. I know you are all dying to know what’s on the tape. It is supposed to be out next month, with Dustin Diamond receiving part of the profits (if you can’t beat ‘em – join ‘em!). I promise to keep you updated!

P.P.S. I have placed this post in uncategorized as well since it perfectly explains this entire post…

Most US Jews support Palestinian state

I agree. 

Annual survey conducted by American Jewish Committee reveals most American Jews back Israel’s efforts to achieve peace, but worry that conflict may lead again to war. Majority of respondents disapprove of American government’s handling of Iran’s nuclear threat; most believe anti-Semitism set to increase worldwide in coming years

Ynetnews, Published October 23, 2006, 17:04. 

While American Jews are highly supportive of Israel’s efforts to achieve peace, in the wake of the summer war with Hizbullah a majority remains skeptical about the chances for achieving an overall peace and worry that the conflict may lead again to a regional war, according to a new survey by the American Jewish Committee. Fifty-six percent of American Jews think Israel and the Arabs never will be able to settle their differences and live in peace, while 38 percent believe they will. Regarding the war between Israel and Hizbullah, 55 percent approved, and 35 percent disapproved, of the way the Israeli government handled the conflict in Lebanon in July and August. Similarly, 53 percent approved, and 39 percent disapproved, of the way the US government handled the conflict.

American Jews are evenly divided on the outcome of Israel’s summer war with Hizbullah, with 49 percent saying neither Israel nor Hizbullah emerged the winner, 2 percent saying both were victorious, 24 percent to Israel and 15 percent to Hizbullah.

Despite these mixed results, a majority of American Jews, 54 percent, favor the establishment of a Palestinian state, while 38 percent are opposed. These figures are consistent with AJC surveys since 2001.

AJC’s Survey of American Jewish Opinion, conducted annually since 1997, gauges US Jewish views on the Arab-Israeli peace process, terrorism, Iran, the war in Iraq, perceptions of anti-Semitism, social and political issues in the US such as energy and immigration, and Jewish identity concerns.

The complete AJC survey is available at www.ajc.org.

The complete Ynet article is available here.

Terrorist T-Shirt for Sale

Have any of you seen this new t-shirt? It’s great for a Halloween costume… just a few days to go. I think it’s horrible, though a friend of mine here at work thinks it is hilarious and he says he would buy it. If you take into consideration that on a normal day he looks like a terrorist to begin with, maybe that isn’t such a good idea. 

I chuckled at the shirt at first, too, and the site owners do have a disclaimer: “For all you morons who are just stupid, this t-shirt is a joke, a gag, and meant for fun. There are no real explosives. Harm is not our intent.”  I went on their website to see what else they have written, and to see if they have any comments on their site. Of all the comments on the page, none of them were from a city or country that has been the victim of a terrorist attack.  This got me thinking: you know how they say that African Americans can call each other the “N word” but other people can’t? Or how Jews can call Jews names, but others can’t?

Well, it feels to me that the only people who should be making fun of explosives belts are those in London and Madrid and Israel, not those in Boise, Idaho and Chicago, Illinois.

2 More Rockets Launched into Israel

Palestinians launched two Qassam rockets from the northern Gaza Strip this afternoon from Gaza. One of the rockets landed in an open area outside of Sderot and the second in an open field near one of the Sha’ar Hanegev communities.

No injuries or damage reported.

This makes a total of three rockets today, 9 since Friday morning, not including Friday’s mortar shells.

Another Rocket Launched at Israel

Another rocket was launched from Gaza into Israel today, this time landing near a kibbutz near Ashqelon. No one was hurt. Residents of the kibbutz awoke this morning to the sounds of the color red alarm system, but did not have enough time to even reach a sheltered area before they heard the booms in the background.

Egypt Extends Arrest of 3 Caught Trying to Smuggle Arms to Gaza

One again, our southern neighbors have proven that in fact they are interested in maintaining peace in the region. This makes me happy.

Then again, they like having all of us in Sinai, too, so I guess we’re worth it.

Weekend Rocket and Mortar Shell Tally

So far this weekend, 7 Qassam rockets and 5 mortar shells have been fired at Israel, mostly hitting the town of Sderot. Sderot gets Qassams fired at it almost on a daily basis, and has been for years. For those of you who are wondering, Sderot is not what anyone would call “the territories” and were Israel to withdraw to the ’67 lines, Sderot would remain in Israel. That is, of course, other than those who think that Israel has no right to exist in the first place. 

In other “positive” news, Palestinian Foreign Minister al-Zahar stated during a Hamas rally that Israel is “an abcess” on the Middle East, which has no historical, religious, or cultural justification, and Hamas will never recognize the Zionist state. 

How are we supposed to make peace with a government that doesn’t recognize our right to exist? And as if that’s not enough, al-Zahar said yesterday that Hamas has not ruled out the option of kidnapping more Israeli soldiers to attain the release of Palestinian security prisoners held in Israeli jails. For the record, these prisoners they want released – they all have blood on their hands, meaning they either physically carried out a terrorist attack, were caught on their way to carry one out (which happens more often than Israelis would like to consciously recognize), or helped plan one. 

I’m sure that when we release this prisoners to Hamas (AKA a terrorist organization who has claimed thousands of Israeli lives over the years) they will surely place these people in jail. 

Right. 

Better late than later

I was going to start this blog in the summer after I finished my studies for my masters degree, but 5 days before my last exam, the war in Lebanon broke out. Since I worked 15- to 17-hour days during the war, I delayed opening this blog, even though its importance back then outweighs now by far. On the other hand, the situation was so volatile that perhaps it’s better this way, and now I can begin with a “fresh” start. 

A little about myself first. I am originally from Houston, Texas and I moved to Israel in 2001, in the middle of the second Initifada. Since I lived in Israel from the ages of 8-14, it didn’t seem weird to me anyway. I double-majored in advertising/public relations and print journalism, and I just finished my masters degree in political science and public communications. 

I decided to start this blog for several reason, but first and foremost to have an outlet for my frustration regarding the portrayal of Israel in the media and world-wide public opinion. Also, I think that most people with anti-Israel and anti-Semitic remarks are mostly un-educated. By uneducated I do not meet did not complete middle school or college. I mean these are for the most part people who have not received a balanced report of the on-goings in the Middle East, and more specifically Israel. Therefore, in addition to current events news about Israel, I will also be posting good news aboutIsrael. Scientific breakthroughs, venture capital investments, and any other cool things going on. 

Did you know that any time there is a natural disaster Israel is among the first countries to offer search and rescue assistance? Israel always sends its squads – among the best in the world – to assist, though its assistance has been declined by fundamentalist Muslim countries. I will also be having updates in the blog about old current events stories. You know the kind, where Israel is accused of massacring thousands of Palestinians (The “Jenin Massacre” in April, 2002), but later on, when official UN reports come out saying no such massacre occurred, no one hears about it because, at best, it is reported by the obituaries. Or Israel flat-out killing a 13-year-old child only to later find out that it was Palestinian gunfire that did the job.  I will address both these cases later on, especially the “Jenin Massacre” since it is one of my case studies in my thesis. 

DId you know that we have rockets fired at us almost every single day and have for years? Didn’t think so, but I’ll keep you updated about that as well.

I hope you find this blog interesting and informative. I very much welcome any questions and suggestions you may have, and if I have the information and knowledge, I will post a blog about the requested topic. Feel free to email me at realisrael@gmail.com with any comments or questions.