Sam's Experiences on the Net - by Samuel Cohen, Read my opera Blog

Sam's Experiences on the Net - by Samuel Cohen

Dahab: the Cohens Again!!
Egypt: Non-denying Holocaust book

Book published recently in Egypt gives, for first time, truthful picture of Nazis' crimes Itamar Eichner ynet

A new book which does not deny the Holocaust and the number of Jews murdered in it has been published in Egypt in recent days, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.

The book, "The Holocaust of the Jews – concentration camp, Auschwitz Birkenau" was written in Arabic and is 325 pages long. The author is Dr. Ramsis Otz.

The book is bases on research carried out in the West and in the countries of the former Soviet bloc, and presents the truthful and known picture regarding what took place in the concentration camp – a first for Egypt.

The book includes the set up the camp, the Nazi plan for the destruction of the Jews, means of genocide, the incinerators, injuries to the bodies of the victims, Joseph Mengele, Rudolph Hess, the women and children in the camp, and more.

Sources in the Israeli embassy in Egypt say that the book has high importance due to the strengthening of voices in Egypt and the Arab world which deny the Holocaust, doubt the number of Jews murdered, and attributing the Holocaust to Zionist media manipulation.
In addition to that, few of the studies in the Arab world and specifically in Egypt address the Holocaust and the death camps in the way that the book does. The author used terms in the book such as mass destruction, forced labor, and Holocaust.
Dahab and the Cohen's
One person who will most certainly not be returning to Sinai in the near future is 18-year-old Gdalia Cohen, who was dining in a fish restaurant in Dahab when terror struck and suffered a shock in light of the difficult sights. Only last week, Cohen lost his grandmother Marcel Cohen in the Tel Aviv central bus station terror attack.

Holocaust Day יום השואה

Pictured here are Jews being terrorized by Nazis in Salonika, Greece on July 11, 1942. In what became known as “Black Saturday”, 9,000 Jewish males from the ages of 18-45 were forcibly assembled at Liberty Square in the city’s central square. About 2,000 were sent to do forced labor for the German army.

The Wars are continuing

E-Passport Oracle Microsoft and Linux. Nokia. Todays Stories. S.C.
Oracle's Linux Push Is a No-Brainer
April 17, 2006 By Lisa Vaas
Oracle wants to cook up its own stack, based on Linux and has pondered purchasing Novell as a quick way to get its own Linux flavor to kick-start the project, Larry Ellison recently told the Financial Times.
That's a no-brainer. Oracle has been pushing Linux like mad for some time. Small wonder, given that it provides Oracle users who run on Microsoft's operating system and applications with an alternative stack.

The IOUG (Independent Oracle Users Group) recently put out the results of a survey showing that only 7 percent of 812 surveyed Oracle shops run exclusively on Oracle, with the Microsoft product set being the closest contender at these sites: Seven out of 10 respondents support SQL Server.


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Oracle's Linux push has paid off, with Linux in the coming year set to unseat HP-UX as the dominant operating system on which to run Oracle technology, according to the IOUG's survey.

Forget IBM and DB2; Microsoft is Oracle's most threatening rival.

Microsoft's control over the Windows operating system and its applications have given it a complete stack for some time now.

More recently, Red Hat's announced acquisition of JBoss means that it, too, is set to be a serious threat to Oracle, given that it has grown that much closer to offering a complete stack.

So why not buy Red Hat? As Ellison told the Financial Times, the price was just too steep, particularly when you're talking about open-source—in other words, free—software.


"I don't see how we could possibly buy Red Hat... I'm not going to spend $5 billion, or $6 billion, for something that can just be so completely wiped off the map," Ellison was quoted as saying in the FT. He also said that he had considered making an offer on Novell.


Novell is too expensive as well. Why pay billions for Novell SUSE Linux when there are much cheaper and more deployed Linux distributions out there, with robust communities in place, to be had for probably what would amount to a few million?

I had a recent conversation with Richard Monson-Haefel, an analyst with Burton, in which he told me that Ellison is likely telling us he doesn't have to buy a company with a huge existing open-source presence.

Instead, Ellison likely wants to buy an existing variation of Linux around which Oracle can build a community.

Second Page: Strong contenders.

Ubuntu and Mandriva are two strong contenders, Monson-Haefel believes. They're both on the Top 10 Linux distribution list.

He thinks Ubuntu in particular is a likely candidate to play the starring role as the Linux operating system in an Oracle stack.

Ubuntu, which has only been in distribution since 2004, is now cited as the most popular of all the distributions. It's based on what's considered to be the "unstable" branch of Debian and, according to Linux Forums, features "a fast release cycle, up to date and numerous packages, fast download mirrors, great documentation and even free shipment of CDs."

According to Linux Forums, it's unclear whether the distributing company, Canonical Ltd., makes a profit off the distribution, but that's reportedly not the main purpose or priority. Hence, its only "con" is considered to be an unviable business model.

A possibly unviable business model: That's one thing Oracle, one of the world's largest software vendors, would certainly be able to help with.

Besides it being an ideal target, Ubuntu also is darn flexible, serving both as a desktop and server platform.

"Ubuntu really makes a lot of sense" as an acquisition, Monson-Haefel said.

"It's a popular open-source platform, as well as being a desktop and server platform. If you want to create a full stack, that's an important element."


If you could buy the most popular Linux distribution for a figure in the low millions, compared with buying Novell for what could have amounted to billions, it's not too hard a choice, he said.

"I don't see where the hesitation would be," he said.

What do users think of all this? I would have thought I'd be hearing from users who would be leery at the idea of having Oracle control everything from the operating system on up through the database, management tools, middleware, development tools and applications.

But as Ari Kaplan, president of the IOUG, pointed out in a recent conversation, based on recent history, Oracle can be trusted not to lock anybody into an Oracle-only setup.

"Based on recent history, you can still run PeopleSoft on IBM or other databases," he said.


"It would be a mistake for Oracle" to do otherwise, he said. After all, it's a heterogeneous world, as the IOUG's survey pointed out, with Oracle users running Windows, Linux, HP-UX, mainframe—you name it.

It's up to Oracle to make the Oracle stack compelling from the customer's point of view, Kaplan pointed out. And that's not too hard to imagine, given that a company like Teradata has developed its database to be so tightly coupled with hardware and software and the operating system that Teradata also owns.

An Oracle stack: Tell me why this isn't going to pose a serious threat to Microsoft. Tell me why this wouldn't be a technology boon for Oracle users.

You'll have to spell it out, because from where I stand, it all looks good.

Lisa Vaas is Ziff Davis Internet's news editor in charge of operations.

Nokia:CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Wireless handset maker Nokia is hoping to speed the process of product innovation through a new research and development effort launched in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nokia and MIT officially opened a new joint research facility in MIT's Kendall Square neighborhood here April 20, telling media and analysts gathered for the event that the facility's existence will greatly improve the two organizations' ability to share breakthroughs in wireless technology.

The research center will specifically tap into work being conducted at MIT's CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory).

While Nokia has teamed with MIT for research efforts since as far back as the early 1980s, officials said the opening of the Cambridge research center will allow for the sort of daily interaction necessary to move development efforts forward at a rapid pace, and push some of those technologies into Nokia's products sooner.


U.S. Completes E-Passport Testing
By Roy Mark
April 20, 2006


Reporter's Notebook: Testing of biometric passports and e-passport readers is complete, and the United States plans to implement the readers for processing Visa Waiver Program (VWP) visitors by the end of October.

E-Passports contain an individual's biographic information and a digital photograph on a contactless chip embedded in the document. The Department of Homeland Security hopes biometric technologies will prevent the use of fraudulent or stolen international travel documents.

Travelers applying for admission under the VWP are allowed to enter the United States for up to 90 days for business or pleasure without obtaining a non-immigrant visa. Those VWP travelers that are issued a passport after Oct. 26 must present an e-passport to enter the country.

The State Department plans to begin issuing e-passports to U.S. citizens this summer.

Originally scheduled for implementation two years ago, critics have complained about the lack of documentation issued by the government. In particular, the security industry has questioned just how secure the information contained on the contactless chips really is.

DHS Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson says not to worry.

"We are adopting biometric, electronically-based and secure travel documents that are tamper-resistant, yet provide a very convenient way to move back and forth across our borders," Jackson said in a statement this week.

He added that the DHS recently completed testing e-passports and readers with Basic Access Control (BAC) at San Francisco International Airport.

According to Jackson, BAC "enhances" the document security by preventing the unauthorized reading -- known as "skimming" -- of information contained on the e-passport.

"We have now successfully completed e-passport technology testing in a live environment. Working with Visa Waiver countries, we will begin to deploy these important security enhancements this year," Jackson said.

Your Tax Dollars at Work. Speaking of homeland security, the Government Accountability Office issued a report last month stating that the DHS and other government agencies still have no real plan or system in place to share sensitive, but unclassified, terrorist-related information.

"More than four years after September 11, the nation lacks government-wide policies and processes to help agencies integrate the myriad ongoing efforts ... to improve the sharing of terrorism-related information that is critical to protecting our homeland," the report states.

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 both call for improved information sharing between agencies.

"A large amount of terrorism information is already stored electronically in systems, but there remains an unknown quantity of relevant information not captured and stored electronically," the report continues.

"However, many users are not connected to these systems ... the information about terrorists, their plans, and their activities is fragmentary."

Perhaps the DHS could put it all on contactless chips.

Trading For Jobs. Being President Bush's United States Trade Representative (USTR) is proving to be a good career stepping stone for Republicans loyal to the White House.

Earlier this week, Bush nominated the current USTR, Rob Portman, to be the new director of the Office of Management and Budget. Portman replaced Robert Zoellick, who is now the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.

Bush nominated Deputy USTR Susan C. Schwab to replace Portman and used the occasion to tout his administration's free trade successes.

"Trade is one of the most powerful engines of growth and job creation. America accounts for about 5 percent of the world's population, and that means that 95 percent of our potential customers live overseas," Bush said in a Rose Garden ceremony Tuesday morning.

"So my administration has taken an aggressive agenda to break down barriers to American exports across the world."

Bush noted that when he took office in 2000, the United States had three free trade agreements in place. Since then, Zoellick and Portman negotiated free trade agreements with 11 countries with another 18 pending.

"Last year, the countries with which we have free trade agreements represented about 7 percent of the economy abroad, but about 42 percent of our exports," Bush said.

"Lowering trade barriers to the sale of our goods and services helps provide a level playing field for American workers and farmers and ranchers."

According to the American Electronics Association, U.S. high-tech exports increased by 4 percent last year with exports of $199 billion in 2005. Tech exports to China increased by 14 percent.

The bad news: imports from China increased by 26 percent.

נגמרו לנו הקרטונים Our Cardboards have finished.

Friday was Anat's Birthday and Queen Elisabeth 2 is 80 years Old.

Marcel Cohen 75 came to her Grandson Shmuel Cohens Wedding

The ninth victim in Monday's attack was identified on Tuesday as Marcel Cohen, a 73-year-old tourist from Nice, France.
Cohen was in Israel to attend the wedding of her grandchild and spend Passover with her family of 11 grandchildren, three daughters who live in France and a son who lives in Jerusalem.
She will be laid to rest Tuesday afternoon in Jerusalem and her three daughters will arrive in Israel after Passover which ends on Wednesday evening.
According to todays Maariv her Grandchild is Shmuel Cohen.
My Name.......!!!!

And the traitors will become heroes By Guy G. Stroumsa

http://my.opera.com/samc/ my other Blog

w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m


Last update - 08:54 17/04/2006And the traitors will become heroesBy Guy G. StroumsaThe well-timed publication - just prior to the Easter holiday - of the Gospel According to Judas Iscariot is an exciting event, not only in the world of the researchers but also in the minds of hundreds of millions who were educated to believe Judas Iscariot is the archetype of the traitor. Judas, a disciple of Jesus who turned him in to the priests and the elders according to the canonical Gospels, is perceived as having betrayed the messiah, and he is also called the son of Satan. Therefore he is identified with the Jews and hence, of course, has played a symbolic role in Christian anti-Semitism throughout the generations. The dramatic discovery has been published only now, but the text was discovered in Fayum, Egypt back in the 1970s, and has had many adventures since then. The excitement that the discovery is arousing is comparable to that aroused by the discovery of a new star by means of a powerful telescope - when a new technology (or luck) confirms the conclusion that the astronomers had reached prior based on calculations alone. After all, we have long known about the existence of this lost gospel and therefore it was possible to guess its contents, more or less. Good is evilIrenaeus, the Bishop of Lyons, was able to confirm in his major book “Against All Heresies,” written circa the year 180 C.E., the existence of a Gospel According to Judas Iscariot in one of the Gnostic sects, which he called the “Cainites.” The members of the sect interpreted the biblical figures in the opposite of the usual way: They considered the protagonists (like Noah and Moses) to be evil and the antagonists (like Korach and Cain) to be good. Moreover, the God of the Bible, the Creator of the universe, whom they called Hysteria (from the Greek for “womb” - this may be derived from the Hebrew epithet rahman, “merciful,” which is etymologically related to the word for womb) was perceived by them as evil. According to Irenaeus, these Gnostics’ antinomian approach led them to preach wild sexual behavior, aimed at disobeying God. When engaging in forbidden sexual relations, the Cainites were supposed to declare: “O, Angel, I am using your creation. O Ruler, I am carrying out your action!” The fact that Judas Iscariot, the traitor who handed Jesus over to his death, was the hero of this sect did not improve its reputation among the various Christian churches. In addition to the four canonical Gospels, during the first centuries of Christianity dozens of other texts were given that title and attributed to various disciples or associates of Jesus, including Thomas, Mary, Jacob and Phillip. Gospels were also written according to the Egyptians, Hebrews, the Evangelist of Truth and more. These evangelical books were defined before the end of the second century as apocryphal to the crystallizing canon of the New Testament, and their authors were labeled as heretics. Therefore most of them have not survived, or have survived only in translation - not in their Greek originals. The discovery of every such text helps us draw the portrait of early Christianity more precisely (or less vaguely). The text under discussion depicts a conversation between Jesus and Judas three days before Passover and the death of Jesus. Jesus reveals to his close disciple the secrets of the heavenly kingdom and asks Judas to hand him over to the authorities and thus “sacrifice the man that clothes me.” Only thus, with the help of Judas, was it possible to realize the divine plan. The true essence of Jesus is entirely spiritual: It is his soul, and it is imprisoned, supposedly, in his material body. This anthropological dualism was already present in the Orphic movement in Greece during the first half of the first century B.C.E. (“somo sema” - “The body is a tomb,” said Plato), and it is one of the building blocks of the radical dualistic interpretation of early Christianity. This kind of interpretation of Christianity was developed by the stream called Gnosis (“knowledge” in Greek), that is - knowledge of the secret of redemption, which is hidden from most people. This stream, in different forms and sects, was the main challenge to the crystallization of Christianity in the second century. Jesus laughsA striking characteristic of the new text is the fact that it depicts Jesus as laughing a lot. This is a laughter of superiority and scorn for the blindness of others - including his disciples, who do not understand the essence of things, nor the significance of their acts. This laughter is typical of the figure of the Gnostic Jesus, and is familiar to us from other Gnostic texts, especially those found toward the end of World War II at Nag Hammadi, south of Fayum. The Nag Hammadi “library” is comprised of approximately 50 Gnostic texts in 13 codices in the Coptic language (into which books had been translated from the original Greek). The texts had not been known beforehand. The discovery at Nag Hammadi, which is similar in importance to the discovery of the scrolls at Qumran, allowed us to understand rather precisely the processes of the emergence of the Gnosis and the details of its extensive mythology. The new text, along with three other texts that were found in the same codex, is a significant addition to the Nag Hammadi discovery. Jesus laughs at the sight of the stupidity of the “rulers” (Archons) - the angels of evil. These act under the command of the god Saklas (the Fool - related to the Hebrew word ksil), who is the God of Israel, the creator of our material and evil world. Saklas and his cohorts intend to crucify Jesus, but they succeed only in killing the material body, an empty shell that the spiritual redeemer succeeded in exiting before the calamity. Therefore Jesus laughs. Parallel to IsaacSome time ago I suggested the hypothesis that Jesus’ laughter in the Gnostic texts hints at constructing the figure of Jesus as a parallel to the biblical Isaac (whose name comes from the Hebrew root for laughter), who is also saved at the last minute from an attempt to sacrifice him. The new text supports this hypothesis, both because of the centrality of laughter and because it includes a probing discussion of sacrifice in general, and human sacrifice in particular. The possibility of seeing Jesus as an avatar of Isaac hints that the first Gnostics were Jews, and that at the basis of their interpretation stood the difficulty of acknowledging that the messiah died (and in such a humiliating way). The new discovery helps us draw a more precise picture of the complex religious situation that existed at the inception of Christianity. However, there is of course nothing in the Gospel According to Judas that brings us closer to the historical figures of Judas or Jesus. There is also no basis to the claim that had this text not disappeared for 1,700 years, Christian anti-Semitism would not have developed like it did. Judas is a positive figure for only one marginal sect, which was defined as heretical and whose opinions were considered false and shocking to the major Christian theologians as early as the second century. Furthermore, the Gnostics’ attitude toward the God of Israel as an inferior deity and the Prophets of Israel as his minions is a clear example of what can be called metaphysical anti-Semitism. Traitor or hero, evildoer or righteous - there are few options, but they are dizzying, in the relations between the Devil and God. Literature is perhaps able to absorb today some of the echoes of the early heresies, and thus Marcel Pagnol in his play “Judas” and Jorge Luis Borges in his story “Three Versions of Judas” succeeded in our own times in reconstructing the theology of the Gospel According to Judas: The Messiah only appears to be suffering, but in secret he is laughing and announcing, “In the Kingdom of Heaven, the traitors will become heroes.”


והיו הבוגדים לגיבורים
( מס' מילים - 919, מס' כתבה - 1261420)
מתוך חלק תרבות וספרו
מאת סטרומזה גדליה


אין בבשורה על פי יהודה, שהתפרסמה עתה, שום דבר שיקרב אותנו לדמותם ההיסטורית של יהודה או של ישוע.
גם אין שחר לטענה שאילולי נעלם חיבור זה במשך 1,700 מאות שנים לא היתה מתפתחת האנטישמיות הנוצרית
כפי שהתפתחה. יהודה הוא דמות חיובית רק לבני כת שולית אחת, אשר הוגדרה כמינות
אירנאוס, הבישוף של ליאון, יודע לספר בספרו הגדול נגד ההרזיות (אשר נכתב ב-180 לערך) על קיומו של
אוונגליון על פי יהודה איש קריות אצל אחת הכיתות הגנוסטיות, כת שהוא מכנה "בני קין". את דמויות המקרא
מפרשים אנשי הכת בצורה הפוכה: "הטובים" (כמו נח ומשה) נחשבים אצלם לרעים, והרעים (כמו קורח וקין) -
לטובים. יותר מכך: אלוהי המקרא, בורא עולם, הנקרא בפיהם היסטרה (רחם, ביוונית: ויתכן ששם זה גזור
מהכינוי "רחמן"), נתפש בעיניהם כרע. על פי אירנאוס, גישתם האנטינומית של גנוסטים אלה מביאה אותם לדגול
בהתנהגות מינית

From NYtimes

April 18, 2006
Suicide Bombing in Israel Kills 9; Hamas Approves
By GREG MYRE and DINA KRAFT
TEL AVIV, April 17 — A Palestinian suicide bomber carried out the deadliest attack on Israel in almost two years on Monday when he detonated his explosives at a falafel restaurant in Tel Aviv — an act that Hamas, which leads the new Palestinian government, called legitimate.

Nine people and the bomber were killed and dozens wounded in the blast, at a small restaurant that was hit by a suicide bomber just three months ago, on Jan. 19. In that attack, 20 Israelis were injured.

Though the bombing was carried out by Islamic Jihad, a particularly radical faction that is not part of the government, spokesmen for Hamas and the Palestinian Interior Ministry said the blast was a legitimate response to what they called Israeli aggression.

Similarly, Islamic Jihad released a video in which Sami Hammad, 21, from outside Jenin, on the West Bank, said his bombing was dedicated to the thousands of Palestinians jailed by Israel. "There will be more such operations," he said.

Even so, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the attack, reflecting a split in the Palestinian leadership.

Israel said it held the Hamas-led government ultimately responsible. "They are responsible because their leaders are encouraging these attacks," said Gideon Meir, a senior official at the Israeli Foreign Ministry. "It doesn't matter which group did this; it all comes from the same school of terrorism."

Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, urged the Palestinian Authority to condemn the attack, while the White House reiterated that it would have "no contact" with "a Palestinian government that encourages or tolerates terrorism."

Israel did not say how it would respond. But near midnight, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a metal workshop in Gaza City, causing damage but no injuries. The military said the shop was used to manufacture rockets that are fired at Israel.

The bombing is also likely to intensify the almost daily exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.

The explosion ripped through the restaurant just hours before Israel's new Parliament was sworn in, and Ehud Olmert, prime minister-designate, told the legislators meeting in Jerusalem, "We had hoped to celebrate the Israeli democracy today in a different atmosphere, and now we are again forced to cope with murderous terror."

At the restaurant, tiles and wires dangled from the ceiling. The street was covered with shards of glass. Blood pooled on the sidewalk and speckled the sides of parked cars.

About 60 people were wounded, including two cousins, David Manshirov, 17, and Jahoun Ismilov, 17, who worked in the kitchen and were also hurt in the January bombing.

Mr. Manshirov said his family, which emigrated three years ago from Georgia, the former Soviet republic, was poor, so he had no choice but to keep working at the restaurant.

The restaurant is on a busy corner in a gritty section of Tel Aviv where many foreign workers now live. It is considered easier for a bomber to blend in with the crowd in this neighborhood than in other parts of the city. The street where the bombing took place, Neve Shaanan, has been hit by six suicide bombings in the past four years.

The restaurant — called The Mayor's Falafel — had placed a security guard at its entrance after the January attack. According to witnesses, the guard stopped the bomber on Monday and asked to see his bag. At that moment, the bomber detonated his explosives, the witnesses said. The guard was believed to be among those killed.

Islamic Jihad, which has rejected an informal truce observed by some Palestinian groups, has carried out eight of the nine Palestinian suicide bombings since the beginning of 2005.

Abu Ahmed, an Islamic Jihad spokesman, called the bombing "part of the national resistance against the Israeli crimes."

The blast was the deadliest in Israel since a double suicide bombing on Aug. 31, 2004. That explosion killed 16 people in Beersheba, in the south.

The Palestinian response to the latest bombing once again underscored the tension between Mr. Abbas, who opposes such attacks and seeks negotiations with Israel, and Hamas, which now controls the cabinet and the legislature, and has carried out the largest number of suicide bombings against Israel and rejects negotiations.

Hamas took control of the Palestinian Authority government last month after winning elections in January, and has largely abided by an informal truce for more than a year. But the group says it will not lay down its weapons and has not called on other factions to stop attacks.

Asked about the bombing, a Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said, "The resistance is a legal and natural reaction to the Israeli crimes, and the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves."

But Mr. Abbas said, "These kinds of attacks harm the Palestinian interest, and we as an authority and government must move to stop it."

The Palestinian ministries, controlled by Hamas, issued no such denunciations.

The new Palestinian government has been in office less than three weeks, but it faces urgent problems. The United States and the European Union regard Hamas as a terrorist group and are refusing to deal with any of its members, inside or outside the government.

The new Palestinian government is also struggling with a major financial crisis, which has been made worse by this isolation, and has been unable to pay last month's wages to its 140,000 employees.

The bombing brought a new round of Western criticism directed at Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

"The burden of responsibility for preventing terrorist attacks such as this one rests with the Palestinian Authority," said the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan. "We have noted reactions by several Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas, that defend or even applaud the barbaric act of terror committed in Tel Aviv today, as we have noted President Abbas's quick denunciation of it."

The Israeli security forces have barred Palestinians from entering Israel since March 11, according to the military. But Palestinian bombers have managed to slip into Israel despite such bans in the past and have frequently struck during holiday periods.

In northern Gaza, a 19-year-old Palestinian, Mamdouh Obeid, was killed Monday by an Israeli artillery shell, according to Palestinian medical workers, who said two other young men were wounded.

Qatar Funds for Palestinians

By The New York Times

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 17 — Qatar pledged $50 million in aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government on Monday, a day after Iran promised the same, a campaign by Palestinian officials to make up for the shortfall caused when the United States and the European Union suspended financial aid.

Arab governments have failed to meet earlier commitments.

9 killed in Tel Aviv blast. I was in Jerusalem when it was reported.

As I said three months ago I used to work and eat at this place.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3240687,00.html
From Ynet in English:

9 killed in Tel Aviv blast

Passover terror attack: Huge explosion rattles shawarma stand at old central bus station area in southern Tel Aviv; scores wounded. Suicide bomber identified as Sami Salim Khamad, an Islamic Jihad member
Avi Cohen
(VIDEO) Terror disrupts Passover celebrations once again: Nine people were killed Monday after a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated himself at a crowded fast food stand near Tel Aviv's old central bus station, in the city's southern Neve Sha'anan neighborhood.
At least 68 people were wounded in the huge blast, which was heard kilometers away, including one person who is in criticial condition and nine others who sustained serious wounds. Two of the victims were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital, while a third victim died on the operating table.

The name of one bombing victim, Philip Balahsan from Ashdod, was cleared for publication Monday evening. Balahsan was at the site of the bombing with his two children. His family has been notified.

The explosion occurred around 1:30 p.m. at a shawarma stand, where a previous bombing took place. This time, however, the blast was much more powerful and deadly.

According to a videotape released by the Islamic Jihad in Jenin, the attack was carried out by Sami Salim Khamad, who entered Israel from the West Bank. Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades also claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to one eyewitness account, the terrorist entered the store and detonated himself when a security guard at the site asked him to open his bag for inspection.

A short while after the explosion, police forces engaged in a chase after a blue Mitsubishi vehicle seen fleeing the area of the attack carrying three people. The vehicle was stopped a short while later and the three suspects were taken into interrogation. Later, the suspects were released after it was established they were not connected to the bombing.
Yael Garti, who witnessed the explosion, told Ynet: "I saw people running in every direction. The shock was felt in neighboring buildings. Ambulances arrived within minutes. Many people gathered in the area."

The owner of a nearby store said that he is already used to the sounds of terror attacks, but that this time the explosion was extremely powerful.

"When we left the store, we noticed a lot of injured people on the floor. We rushed back to the store and shut it down," he said.

Brigadier-General Danny Chen, deputy commander of the Tel Aviv District, told reporters: "This is a strategic, sensitive and problematic place in Tel Aviv."

The previous terror attack in the area took place in January, when an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber detonated himself next to the same shawarma stand, wounding 32 people. Following the attack, the stand owners positioned a security guard in the area.
Throughout the Passover holiday, security forces were dealing with concrete terror warnings. Large forces were deployed across the country, in central junctions and in entertainment venues. However, there was no concrete warning regarding plans for an attack in southern Tel Aviv.

Immediately after the attack, security forces raised their alert level across the country.



Meital Yasur-Beit Or, Ali Waked, Efrat Weiss and Roee Nahmias contributed to the report

Why doesn't Israel Learn from Italy??

In Italy after many years of Political Crisis they created 2 Bloc'S Moderate Right Bloc and a Moderate Left Bloc of Political Paries.
From BBC:
Italy's centre-left opposition has won a narrow victory in the lower house of parliament, official results say.
It won 49.8% of the vote against 49.7% for the governing centre-right.

The head of the centre-left coalition, former Prime Minister Romano Prodi, told cheering supporters in Rome: "Victory has arrived."

But the outcome of the Senate vote is still unclear. And Mr Prodi's claim has been contested by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition.

Mr Berlusconi's spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti said his bloc would demand a "scrupulous" check of election ballots.


Today, we have turned a page... We will govern for five years
Romano Prodi

The winning coalition will automatically be awarded 55% of the lower house seats - 340 in total - under a new electoral law.
Mr Berlusconi's coalition currently has a lead of one seat in the Senate, with six seats voted for by expatriates still to be declared.

The centre-left Union says it believes it will win four of those seats, giving it an overall majority.

The lower and upper houses have equal power in Italy's electoral system. One bloc must win both to prevent parliamentary stalemate.

Acrimonious campaign

Mr Prodi told a crowd in central Rome: "Today, we have turned a page... We will govern for five years."


HAVE YOUR SAY
Neither of the two main parties impressed me
Roby, Treviso, Italy


But emotions were also high amongst the ruling centre-right bloc who faced losing power.
"This is intolerable. What is this? A coup? It reminds me of South America. Auto proclamation (of victory) is constitutionally illegitimate," Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said.

Mr Berlusconi, a billionaire businessman and media magnate, has been in office since 2001.

He has led Italy's longest-serving government since World War II, but the economy has proven sluggish for much of his tenure.

Voter turnout was high. More than 83% of the electorate cast a vote.

Ailing economy

Exit polls released straight after the voting ended, suggested that Mr Prodi's coalition had

Dumb Sherut Taasuka

The Machines were not working until I fixed the biometric Id.

Knesset women must form defensive wall against ultra-Orthodox- Yael Dayan ynet

Selective parasites
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3236416,00.html

Knesset women must form defensive wall against ultra-Orthodox
Yael Dayan

Last week's elections brought good news and bad news, news that may
even overshadow other results.



The best news of all is the disintegration of the Likud. A clear
majority has voted for "convergence," an end to the occupation and a
two-state solution, with or without negotiations.

That the country's social agenda has gained a strong voice is also
good news, but this news comes with a regressive, black cloud hanging
over it: A return to ultra-Orthodox extortion. Historically, in
Israel as in other countries – the combination of right-wing
nationalism and an orthodoxy that rejects human rights is the most
dangerous of all.


Social camouflage

The haredim (ultra-Orthodox) may wave the banner of "concern for the
weaker classes," but their concern is selective and parasitic. If
they were truly concerned for the public good, it would be okay. But
by using the camouflage of the word "social" they have managed to
hinder true solutions for the problems facing general society.

Government handouts cannot come instead of work. There is no
substitute for comprehensive education, respect for teachers,
professional training and rewards for working women, not even a
haredi deputy education minister or additional funds for an education
system that fails to teach citizenship or science.

We are all familiar with deceptive campaign promises, about the
overlap between party platforms and empty promises. But now it is the
day after. People who voted for the Labor or Meretz parties, or even
the Pensioners party, had no intention of bringing back the haredi
monopoly to our lives. Of burying the chance of having public
transportation on Shabbat, civil marriage, or equal rights for gays.

Misleading smiles

Therefore, the smiling images of Amir Peretz and Shas leader Eli
Yishai together, claiming to share a joint agenda – is misleading. A
joint agenda must include social equality, women's representation,
huge financial allotment to close gaps between Jews and Arabs,
support for cultural institutions and providing accessibility for
all.

At the end of the day the haredim – Shas and United Torah Judaism,
with outside support from the National Religious Party - must provide
for everyone. Special funds in exchange for their support here and
there for other sectors, rather than overall support for a different
Israel – a secular, liberal, normal, Jewish country of all its
citizens, one that guarantees equal rights and demands equal
responsibilities.



But the ultra-Orthodox reject all of these. This does not disqualify
them from becoming secondary partners in government, but they should
not have the set the government's direction.



Held hostage



The secular must be open about just why they have not used the vacuum
created by the disappearance of the Shinui Party to raise the flag of
freedom from religion and religious coercion. Their malicious
gloating, their "we told you so" and personal infighting turned off
many voters, and not only the remnants of the party that had the
arrogance to represent them.



Meretz, for its part, failed to place enough stress on its civil
reform platform. The Labor Party has never led a "social revolution"
for human rights or religious pluralism, thus giving the ultra-
Orthodox legitimacy on the basis of fighting for social issues and
the weaker classes. In doing so, they squandered a huge opportunity.



Now, we find ourselves – the Labor Party, liberals in Kadima and all
of Meretz – held hostage, yet again, to the Knesset's haredim.



They will decide vote after vote, including issues regarding
diplomatic matters.



Setting limits



I propose, even demand, that the incoming Prime Minister set a series
of basic principles for joining the government, including civil
reform and religious pluralism. Parties who fail to agree to these
conditions should be disqualified from joining the government.




The haredim will support the popular demand to include more medicines
in the national health basket, and we will demand public
transportation on Shabbat. At the end of the day, there is no reason
their voices should drown out ours.



Then there is the lonely women's voice in the current Knesset. Won't
the haredim work to oppose women's advancement and funding? We must
work to ensure "women's power," including equal pay, compensation for
child care, and funding for women's diseases. More than anything, we
must work to ensure comprehensive, free, quality education at a high
standard, rather than to become twittering fools opposite the
Knesset's haredim.



Shelly Yechimovitz, Dalia Itzik, Nadia Hilo, Yuli Tamir, Zahava Gal-
On, Tzipi Livni and Limor Livnat must form a defensive wall against
the distortions of male ultra-Orthodox MKs.



This is not the time to remain passive like sheep. The time for
action has come.



Yael Dayan is a former Labor Party Knesset member and head of the
Committee on the Status of Women