Now that the yuletide smarm has crested, and only the letdown is left (yes, I'm talking about the fact that many people did not get the pricy plastic crap for which they pined), I suppose I should mention what Christmas means to me.
Miserable weather.
Growing up in Valkenswaard (a small burg in the Dutch province of North-Brabant), the Christmas season was always marked by drear, fog, rain, gloom, mist, sleet, howling winds, and influenza.
And midnight mass.
We never went, but we could hear them. Our house was on the south-western corner of the market square, the Saint Nicholas church was diagonally opposite. Sometimes snow would muffle the sound, but more often not. The climate has changed, and the famous wintry vistas of the mediaeval masters have long ceased to be the dominant visual in the Netherlands.
Catholicism in the regions south of the three rivers has long been vestigial, a matter of pride and stubbornness more than anything else (except, of course, for pockets of verkramptheid such as produced that bitter anti-Semite former prime minister Andries van Agt).
Most Catholics remember that their parents and grandparents were more or less second class citizens, in practice barred from high position and public office, and with few avenues for education or advancement.
For two centuries after the eighty year war against Spain the church of Rome was banned, and services were held in secret. For that entire time, the Catholic hierarchy of the Netherlands was subject to Calvinist meddling and sabotage, except in nominally separate territories such as Ravenstein.
The regions of Brabant and Limburg were conquered territories (Generality Lands) administered directly from the Hague, not to be re-incorporated or granted rights until the remainder of both provinces had been freed. Which was not part of the program. Not until the nineteenth century did the Calvinists come to terms with the fact that over one third of the Dutch were, in fact, resolutely not Calvinist.
During that period, Catholicism survived. A stubborn and stunted folk-Catholicism, from the ground up rather than from the top down. Defensive, quiet, and hidden from official view.
Catholic faith flourished in the context of the Schutters Gilden - the militia guilds of the small towns and villages in the Meiery of Den Bosch. Most of the guilds were named after the patron saint of the community, and served as loan society, social safety net, and burial society, in the absence of other organizations. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, members invested generously in guild silver - plaques, beakers, and such like - both as a means of adding glory to their civitat, and to build capital. Many guilds consequently had impressive hoards of silver, the accumulation of generations.
Which, once the Catholic church was legal again, it energetically set about robbing.
The edifice of the church in Brabant and Limburg is founded upon priestly theft and official connivance.
One can perhaps understand why when the Pope visited the Netherlands, security precautions had to be better than when Hirohito came. Historically, the natives have a bone to pick. Rome betrayed them in the fifteen hundreds, in the sixteen hundreds, in the eighteen hundreds, and in the nineteen hundreds. And denied that they existed during the seventeen hundreds.
There is a history there.
The guilds still flourish, and still serve as the focus of much civic life. They have again amassed silver. The pride in Outer en Heerd (altar and hearth - the two fundaments of small town identity) is stronger than ever. The men of the guilds, on the feast-days of their patron saint still march into THEIR church, with their antiquated weapons and their banners, to the rolling thunder of war drums. It is truly a stirring spectacle.
It might be the only time many of them have actually been there that year.
They dislike the priest, regard the church functionaries as leeches, and genuinely despise the entire foreign branch of the church as thieves, meddlers, and arrogant busybodies.
But on Christmas eve, as per ancient custom, they will once more go to church. And utterly diminish whatever message the padre chose to deliver with the glory of their singing.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
LATKE RECIPE
Tis the season for fried food. No, not deep-fried turkey, even though I hear that it makes the tofu-like taste of that horrid creature actually palatable, nor corn-dogs or chimichangas, but latkes.
[If you want to fry other stuff, that is your own look-out. I wholeheartedly approve of deep-fat and mega-fryolaters. Or cauldrons of super-heated peanut oil on the Weber out behind the garage. And I keenly look forward to reading about your house in the newspaper. Go for it.
Just don't do tofurky - it tastes like crap no matter what.]
LATKES
One and a half pounds of potato (about four regular baking potatoes), peeled.
One large onion, peeled.
Half a dozen sprigs parsley, very finely minced.
Two eggs.
Salt, pepper.
Two TBS flour (preferably potato flour, but regular will do).
Grate potatoes and onions with a quick hand, squeeze out excess moisture in a sieve or doubled cheesecloth, and mix all ingredients together.
Heat some oil in a frypan, spoon in a couple of mounds of the latke batter, and flatten with a spatula or the back of the spoon. Fry crispy on one side, turn over and do the other. Drain on papertowels on a heated plate.
Do not make the latkes too thick - they will not cook through before turning too dark.
Do not make latkes too large - they will not hold together well.
Do not use olive oil - it has too low a burning temperature.
Serve with homemade applesauce: peel and slice some crisp apples, put in an enamel pan with a dash of calvados, a squeeze of lemon, a little sugar, and a pinch of Ceylon cinnamon. Cook on low till the apples can be broken up with a fork.
Or serve with Dilled Sour Cream: mix half a cup sour cream, one tablespoon finely snipped fresh dill, a few drops lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.
Drained yoghurt can be substituted for the sour cream.
Blackstrap molasses or Dutch appel stroop (thick stroppy apple syrup) are, though odd, also good. For homemade appel stroop simmer down some concentrated apple juice (some sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice optionally added) till thick and gluggy.
This is a reposting of my recipe from here:
GREASY EATS
I also provide recipes for bemuelos (sfganios), olliebollen (oil balls), and appel flappen (apple beignets) in that post.
[If you want to fry other stuff, that is your own look-out. I wholeheartedly approve of deep-fat and mega-fryolaters. Or cauldrons of super-heated peanut oil on the Weber out behind the garage. And I keenly look forward to reading about your house in the newspaper. Go for it.
Just don't do tofurky - it tastes like crap no matter what.]
LATKES
One and a half pounds of potato (about four regular baking potatoes), peeled.
One large onion, peeled.
Half a dozen sprigs parsley, very finely minced.
Two eggs.
Salt, pepper.
Two TBS flour (preferably potato flour, but regular will do).
Grate potatoes and onions with a quick hand, squeeze out excess moisture in a sieve or doubled cheesecloth, and mix all ingredients together.
Heat some oil in a frypan, spoon in a couple of mounds of the latke batter, and flatten with a spatula or the back of the spoon. Fry crispy on one side, turn over and do the other. Drain on papertowels on a heated plate.
Do not make the latkes too thick - they will not cook through before turning too dark.
Do not make latkes too large - they will not hold together well.
Do not use olive oil - it has too low a burning temperature.
Serve with homemade applesauce: peel and slice some crisp apples, put in an enamel pan with a dash of calvados, a squeeze of lemon, a little sugar, and a pinch of Ceylon cinnamon. Cook on low till the apples can be broken up with a fork.
Or serve with Dilled Sour Cream: mix half a cup sour cream, one tablespoon finely snipped fresh dill, a few drops lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.
Drained yoghurt can be substituted for the sour cream.
Blackstrap molasses or Dutch appel stroop (thick stroppy apple syrup) are, though odd, also good. For homemade appel stroop simmer down some concentrated apple juice (some sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice optionally added) till thick and gluggy.
This is a reposting of my recipe from here:
GREASY EATS
I also provide recipes for bemuelos (sfganios), olliebollen (oil balls), and appel flappen (apple beignets) in that post.
WHY YOU MIGHT WANT TO RETHINK CELEBRATING THE TRINITARIAN FESTIVAL OF GREED
Occasionally, I rip-off other people's fine texts. This is not because I have nothing to say (I would say something anyway), but because I like what they wrote, and I like people reading my blog, and I think it good to combine the two.
Read what the famous and infamous "THEY" wrote, on MY blog - It's win-win.
Today's featured rip-off-ee is Tzipporah, who suggests pertinent ways to 'discourage' people of the Jewish ilk from celebrating Christmas.
1. "Hey did you know that latkes, unlike that giant gingerbread cookie you're eating, have NO calories, so long as you eat them with applesauce? No, really, it's true -they cancel each other out in your digestive system."
2. "Wow, nice tree. Looks just like the one that caught fire and burned down Joshua's house last year. Oh, you didn't hear about that?"
3. "Oh, thanks for the gifts, but we follow the Hanukkah tradition of just giving gelt. But if that's what you like, I guess we'll just keep the $500 we were going to give you and go buy you some kitsch, instead."
4. (loudly) "Yes, sweetie, Aunt Mira IS just like the Hellenized Jews that got slaughtered by our heroic Maccabean ancestors. But it's really not nice to point that out."
SOURCE
This comment string:http://www.haloscan.com/comments/dovbear/2939109936100349944/?src=hsn
Appended to this post:http://dovbear.blogspot.com/2008/12/if-you-know-jew-planning-to-observe.html
On this blog that is very-well-worth reading :http://dovbear.blogspot.com/
TZIPPORAHTzipporah is a not-infrequent commenter on Dovbear's blog - and it seems as if her best moments are the short, snarky, and to-the-point comments that she leaves there.
This is unfortunate, because she has both a grasp of the material, and insightfull intelligence, and should be able to express both well independently and at length. But she has an infant, you see, and that takes away from her time - so much so that dimsum-like sparks, and the very occasional short piece, are all that we can expect from her for a while.
But just wait until the kid goes to school.
Tzipporah's own blog:http://www.midianitemanna.blogspot.com/
==========================================================
Note: The use of ilk in my intro: Not in a negative sense, but instead of the term 'persuasion'.
Persuasion, in my view, indicates a general system of beliefs which are adhered to by the persuadee. Much like one could convert to Buddhism, Idol Worship, Christianity, or Astrology-Witchcraft-Tarot Reading.
[Or even the latest crackpot faith: '700 Billion Bail-out Solves All Woes'. Which is probably better than self-castration followed by putting on black shirts, Nikes, purple sheets, and drinking phenobarbitol mixed with vodka. But hey, who am I to judge other people's weird avodah zara? If YOU like the black shirt and sneakers thing, go right ahead. Do it. It's cheaper than sucking the treasury dry.]
Judaism, however, includes membership in an ethno-culturo-religio-ritual unity. An 'ilk', in other words.
[So, in short: Jews are members of an ilk, somewhat Jewishy bloggers have a persuasion. ]
I consider myself largely Jewish-persuaded, but I am not a Jew, nor likely to become one.
I am too stubborn, and too much a skeptic to convert (i.e. to sincerely and formally assume membership of the 'ilk', and be accepted as a member).
And for those exact same reasons, I will not celebrate Christmas - I am too much a skeptic, and much too stubborn.
[Plainly stated, resolutely neither a member of any Trinitarian 'ilk', nor in any way persuaded by the Nicene credulity either.]
I will nevertheless be giving gifts this season. This is NOT in celebration of Christmas, but in very grudging acknowledgement of the tradition of skeptics, apikorsim, agnostikim, and atheists buying-in to the general custom, and overlapping our giftery with the Trinitarian Festival of Greed™.
[No, it's not festivus! There is no pole, there are no feats of strength - stop trying to win converts!]
It is a purely pragmatic approach. We do not wish to be burned at the stake, and there are no other convenient occasions to hijack.
We celebrate chocolate. And cynicism. And hugely uncomfortable weather.
Possibly also fine pottery.
But we do not have a tree-cadaver anywhere on the premises.
Read what the famous and infamous "THEY" wrote, on MY blog - It's win-win.
Today's featured rip-off-ee is Tzipporah, who suggests pertinent ways to 'discourage' people of the Jewish ilk from celebrating Christmas.
1. "Hey did you know that latkes, unlike that giant gingerbread cookie you're eating, have NO calories, so long as you eat them with applesauce? No, really, it's true -they cancel each other out in your digestive system."
2. "Wow, nice tree. Looks just like the one that caught fire and burned down Joshua's house last year. Oh, you didn't hear about that?"
3. "Oh, thanks for the gifts, but we follow the Hanukkah tradition of just giving gelt. But if that's what you like, I guess we'll just keep the $500 we were going to give you and go buy you some kitsch, instead."
4. (loudly) "Yes, sweetie, Aunt Mira IS just like the Hellenized Jews that got slaughtered by our heroic Maccabean ancestors. But it's really not nice to point that out."
SOURCE
This comment string:http://www.haloscan.com/comments/dovbear/2939109936100349944/?src=hsn
Appended to this post:http://dovbear.blogspot.com/2008/12/if-you-know-jew-planning-to-observe.html
On this blog that is very-well-worth reading :http://dovbear.blogspot.com/
TZIPPORAHTzipporah is a not-infrequent commenter on Dovbear's blog - and it seems as if her best moments are the short, snarky, and to-the-point comments that she leaves there.
This is unfortunate, because she has both a grasp of the material, and insightfull intelligence, and should be able to express both well independently and at length. But she has an infant, you see, and that takes away from her time - so much so that dimsum-like sparks, and the very occasional short piece, are all that we can expect from her for a while.
But just wait until the kid goes to school.
Tzipporah's own blog:http://www.midianitemanna.blogspot.com/
==========================================================
Note: The use of ilk in my intro: Not in a negative sense, but instead of the term 'persuasion'.
Persuasion, in my view, indicates a general system of beliefs which are adhered to by the persuadee. Much like one could convert to Buddhism, Idol Worship, Christianity, or Astrology-Witchcraft-Tarot Reading.
[Or even the latest crackpot faith: '700 Billion Bail-out Solves All Woes'. Which is probably better than self-castration followed by putting on black shirts, Nikes, purple sheets, and drinking phenobarbitol mixed with vodka. But hey, who am I to judge other people's weird avodah zara? If YOU like the black shirt and sneakers thing, go right ahead. Do it. It's cheaper than sucking the treasury dry.]
Judaism, however, includes membership in an ethno-culturo-religio-ritual unity. An 'ilk', in other words.
[So, in short: Jews are members of an ilk, somewhat Jewishy bloggers have a persuasion. ]
I consider myself largely Jewish-persuaded, but I am not a Jew, nor likely to become one.
I am too stubborn, and too much a skeptic to convert (i.e. to sincerely and formally assume membership of the 'ilk', and be accepted as a member).
And for those exact same reasons, I will not celebrate Christmas - I am too much a skeptic, and much too stubborn.
[Plainly stated, resolutely neither a member of any Trinitarian 'ilk', nor in any way persuaded by the Nicene credulity either.]
I will nevertheless be giving gifts this season. This is NOT in celebration of Christmas, but in very grudging acknowledgement of the tradition of skeptics, apikorsim, agnostikim, and atheists buying-in to the general custom, and overlapping our giftery with the Trinitarian Festival of Greed™.
[No, it's not festivus! There is no pole, there are no feats of strength - stop trying to win converts!]
It is a purely pragmatic approach. We do not wish to be burned at the stake, and there are no other convenient occasions to hijack.
We celebrate chocolate. And cynicism. And hugely uncomfortable weather.
Possibly also fine pottery.
But we do not have a tree-cadaver anywhere on the premises.
Monday, December 22, 2008
PRE-EMPTIVE BAH HUMBUG!
I dislike Christmas. I dislike the shopping season. I dislike the nudniks who dive headfirst into the shopping season as the be-all and end-all of their pathetic consumerite existences. But most of all, I dislike Christmas music.
There is something infernal about the same twenty songs played over and over again, in different versions as sung by different smarm-meisters, many of them small and shrill and cute, that eventually rots brains. You did not WANT to memorize these songs. After all, the words are uniformly sappy and vapid - but here you are, humming them to yourself or even whistling the tunes.
ALIENS!
It's all a dastardly plot. The multi-clawed crab creatures from planet nine are just waiting for your brain to turn to lime-jello under the influence of repetitious bad music, whereupon they will land and herd all of you into cattle pens. They need protein, you are meat. And, after the stress-damage to your cerebellum from saccharine lyrics, you are now very dumb meat. There is no sentience left, I can see the scrambled brain matter trickling out of your long-suffering ears. It has been replaced with sugar plums, and you, yes you, are now particularly sweet.
[The brain-fill sugar plums came from WalMart. They were made in China. By slaves in prison-camps. They contain dangerous chemicals. But they were SOOOOO cheap that you bought a ten-pound box for everybody in the trailer park. Which they will, as if addicted, scarf down entirely between xmas eve and new-year.s Then they will die. You will have killed them with that toxic sugar goo. As well as yourself, because you ate TWO boxes. At least. Doesn't it feel goooooooooood?1/]
Jingle Bells, sung in Chinese by teeny urchins, is particularly nasty.
I wished to purchase something in C'town over the weekend - something entirely unconnected with the Trinitarian Feast of Greed© - and fled before I accomplished my mission.
I wish to protest this horrid tradition. I keenly desire to see all cd's of holiday music banned, burned, bombed, and just generally splintered. Smashed by angry bears. Then set fire to.
I am fervently praying for power blackouts and magnetic disturbances. May the celebrants this season all get the bollocky pox.
There is something infernal about the same twenty songs played over and over again, in different versions as sung by different smarm-meisters, many of them small and shrill and cute, that eventually rots brains. You did not WANT to memorize these songs. After all, the words are uniformly sappy and vapid - but here you are, humming them to yourself or even whistling the tunes.
ALIENS!
It's all a dastardly plot. The multi-clawed crab creatures from planet nine are just waiting for your brain to turn to lime-jello under the influence of repetitious bad music, whereupon they will land and herd all of you into cattle pens. They need protein, you are meat. And, after the stress-damage to your cerebellum from saccharine lyrics, you are now very dumb meat. There is no sentience left, I can see the scrambled brain matter trickling out of your long-suffering ears. It has been replaced with sugar plums, and you, yes you, are now particularly sweet.
[The brain-fill sugar plums came from WalMart. They were made in China. By slaves in prison-camps. They contain dangerous chemicals. But they were SOOOOO cheap that you bought a ten-pound box for everybody in the trailer park. Which they will, as if addicted, scarf down entirely between xmas eve and new-year.s Then they will die. You will have killed them with that toxic sugar goo. As well as yourself, because you ate TWO boxes. At least. Doesn't it feel goooooooooood?1/]
Jingle Bells, sung in Chinese by teeny urchins, is particularly nasty.
I wished to purchase something in C'town over the weekend - something entirely unconnected with the Trinitarian Feast of Greed© - and fled before I accomplished my mission.
I wish to protest this horrid tradition. I keenly desire to see all cd's of holiday music banned, burned, bombed, and just generally splintered. Smashed by angry bears. Then set fire to.
I am fervently praying for power blackouts and magnetic disturbances. May the celebrants this season all get the bollocky pox.
Friday, December 19, 2008
MORONS! IDIOTS! POLTROONS!
In the past I have mentioned that I deal with teenage girls, and some adults who are not ready for primetime. This in the context of contacting customers and requesting that they hurry up and pay our past-due invoices.
[My portfolio of accounts include a fair number of small to medium sized retail stores. Hence the teenage girls. I did not choose the girls; they were hired by the retailers in question because they were friendly and non-threatening, unlike 'Spike', who also applied for the job - he's nineteen, twixt Goth and Deathmetal, and has multiple piercings and tattoos.]
Some of my customers, however, are bigger than that. And in consequence have employed people of even more marginal functionality.
Apparently invoices in the mid five figure range can only be processed by badly trained monkeys. Or morons, idiots, and poltroons.
AN E-MAIL CONVERSATION
11/24/2008
Hello Buffy,
I note that invoices 123456 and 124678 are coming due on the 29th and the 30th respectively. Please advise regarding payment.
Thanks.
---BOTH
There was no response.
12/10/2008
Hello Buffy,
Invoices 123456 and 124678 are now past-due.
Please advise regarding payment asap.
Thanks.
---BOTH
Again, no response.
12/11/2008
Why is this on credit hold?
---Moshe
Answer:
12/11/2008
Moshe,
Because they are past-due on two invoices.
Inv. 123456 due 11/29/08
Inv. 124678 due 11/30/08
Queries were sent to Buffy twice: the first time on November 24th, when I asked him to inform me about payment; the second time yesterday, when I reiterated that query and indicated urgency.
I courtesy-copied you, Throckmorton, and Brandee Wineslops on the second query.
---BOTH
To which Moshe replied:
12/11/2008
Spoke with Buffy. He said he has payment posted and we should see checks by next week.
---Moshe
Fast forward to today. Their last order was released based on expectation of payment for the two invoices which are now seriously past-due. And note that mail from Clogbucket City to civilization, even at this time of year, only takes five business days.
12/19/2008
Hello Buffy,
We have not received payment yet for the above captioned invoices (your purchase order nos. A98765 and B97643 respectively).
We were informed that payment was posted and that we should expect the cheques to arrive this week.
Please advise regarding cheque numbers and mailing date.
Thank you.
---BOTH
His response:
12/19/2008
Hi BOTH: I can’t give you any information on PO’s as my part of the system goes by invoice number. We are writing checks again on Tues.
---Buffy
Please note that the invoice numbers were in the subject line of all inquiries sent to Buffy. They were visible, and identified as invoice numbers, in Buffy's response.
[The PO explanation looks like a fob-off, and mention of Tuesday's cheque run suggests that the cheques have not been written yet, contrary to communication on 12/11/2008.
But the brevity of his response hints that Buffy and reading-comprehension may have parted ways shortly after graduation from Clogbucket City High.]
My most recent e-mail:
12/19/2008
Buffy,
To reiterate: I am inquiring about invoice 123456 and invoice 124678.
On the eleventh of December I was informed that payment had been posted, and to expect the cheques to arrive this week. We have not received the cheques yet.
Can you give me cheque numbers and mailing dates please?
Thanks.
---BOTH
With all due respect to my fellow humans, many of whom are deficient in several ways and some of whom are utter defectives, and in consideration of the fact that a large number of the above captioned have against any and all logical expectation managed to find gainful employment, if I had my druthers I would prefer to only communicate with the aforementioned teenage girls regarding past-due invoices.
They are sincere. They are helpful. They are capable of understanding that questions need actual answers. And they are capable of stating "please hold a sec, I dropped my pencil', or asking how I spell my name.
Note also that this post is for Tzipporah, who excused herself from posting more on her own blog by writing:
"I have nothing to blog. My life is dull and empty, in between the moments of extreme chaos. Although some days there is chocolate. (cut) ... it's all complaints, and the people about whom I would complain know about my blog. So, I just stifle it and swear under my breath. "
See Tzipporah, I just posted one long screaming kvetsh-kretsh about emptiness and chaos.
It can be done. And it feels very good indeed to do so.
As commenter Spiros said: "You don't see lack of anything to write about stopping BOTH from posting, do you? I mean, he writes about people taking away his red swingline stapler, for heaven's sake! "
I want my red swingline stapler back, I want more chocolate, and I want forty days of torrential rain to hit Buffy in Clogbucket City.
I hope Buffy's backyard washes away in the flood and takes his begonias with it.
But basically, I just want to vent.
[My portfolio of accounts include a fair number of small to medium sized retail stores. Hence the teenage girls. I did not choose the girls; they were hired by the retailers in question because they were friendly and non-threatening, unlike 'Spike', who also applied for the job - he's nineteen, twixt Goth and Deathmetal, and has multiple piercings and tattoos.]
Some of my customers, however, are bigger than that. And in consequence have employed people of even more marginal functionality.
Apparently invoices in the mid five figure range can only be processed by badly trained monkeys. Or morons, idiots, and poltroons.
AN E-MAIL CONVERSATION
11/24/2008
Hello Buffy,
I note that invoices 123456 and 124678 are coming due on the 29th and the 30th respectively. Please advise regarding payment.
Thanks.
---BOTH
There was no response.
12/10/2008
Hello Buffy,
Invoices 123456 and 124678 are now past-due.
Please advise regarding payment asap.
Thanks.
---BOTH
Again, no response.
12/11/2008
Why is this on credit hold?
---Moshe
Answer:
12/11/2008
Moshe,
Because they are past-due on two invoices.
Inv. 123456 due 11/29/08
Inv. 124678 due 11/30/08
Queries were sent to Buffy twice: the first time on November 24th, when I asked him to inform me about payment; the second time yesterday, when I reiterated that query and indicated urgency.
I courtesy-copied you, Throckmorton, and Brandee Wineslops on the second query.
---BOTH
To which Moshe replied:
12/11/2008
Spoke with Buffy. He said he has payment posted and we should see checks by next week.
---Moshe
Fast forward to today. Their last order was released based on expectation of payment for the two invoices which are now seriously past-due. And note that mail from Clogbucket City to civilization, even at this time of year, only takes five business days.
12/19/2008
Hello Buffy,
We have not received payment yet for the above captioned invoices (your purchase order nos. A98765 and B97643 respectively).
We were informed that payment was posted and that we should expect the cheques to arrive this week.
Please advise regarding cheque numbers and mailing date.
Thank you.
---BOTH
His response:
12/19/2008
Hi BOTH: I can’t give you any information on PO’s as my part of the system goes by invoice number. We are writing checks again on Tues.
---Buffy
Please note that the invoice numbers were in the subject line of all inquiries sent to Buffy. They were visible, and identified as invoice numbers, in Buffy's response.
[The PO explanation looks like a fob-off, and mention of Tuesday's cheque run suggests that the cheques have not been written yet, contrary to communication on 12/11/2008.
But the brevity of his response hints that Buffy and reading-comprehension may have parted ways shortly after graduation from Clogbucket City High.]
My most recent e-mail:
12/19/2008
Buffy,
To reiterate: I am inquiring about invoice 123456 and invoice 124678.
On the eleventh of December I was informed that payment had been posted, and to expect the cheques to arrive this week. We have not received the cheques yet.
Can you give me cheque numbers and mailing dates please?
Thanks.
---BOTH
With all due respect to my fellow humans, many of whom are deficient in several ways and some of whom are utter defectives, and in consideration of the fact that a large number of the above captioned have against any and all logical expectation managed to find gainful employment, if I had my druthers I would prefer to only communicate with the aforementioned teenage girls regarding past-due invoices.
They are sincere. They are helpful. They are capable of understanding that questions need actual answers. And they are capable of stating "please hold a sec, I dropped my pencil', or asking how I spell my name.
Note also that this post is for Tzipporah, who excused herself from posting more on her own blog by writing:
"I have nothing to blog. My life is dull and empty, in between the moments of extreme chaos. Although some days there is chocolate. (cut) ... it's all complaints, and the people about whom I would complain know about my blog. So, I just stifle it and swear under my breath. "
See Tzipporah, I just posted one long screaming kvetsh-kretsh about emptiness and chaos.
It can be done. And it feels very good indeed to do so.
As commenter Spiros said: "You don't see lack of anything to write about stopping BOTH from posting, do you? I mean, he writes about people taking away his red swingline stapler, for heaven's sake! "
I want my red swingline stapler back, I want more chocolate, and I want forty days of torrential rain to hit Buffy in Clogbucket City.
I hope Buffy's backyard washes away in the flood and takes his begonias with it.
But basically, I just want to vent.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
DEATH BY NOODLES
Fellow San Franciscan blogger Snooky Wong proposes nine elementary rules of conduct on her blog, which, in my opinion, admirably state how one is supposed to behave in public.
You may wish to print them out and furtively reread them while on the bus or train, or at other times when you are unsure of the etiquette expected of you by your fellow-travelers.
In which case, it pays to laminate.
NINE RULES:
No. 1: I am not a cat.
No. 2: I do NOT want to rub myself all over with butter, and far less let anyone else do it.
No. 3: Redundancy is not witty.
No. 4: Redundancy is not witty.
No. 5: Exclamation points are a way of life - live with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No. 6: Monty Python is cool. Monty Python fans, maybe not. The jury is still out.
No. 7: With or without bagels, dating is seriously out of the question. I don't have time for that. There's just too much homework, and people could see us, and it would be too embarrassing, and boys have sweaty sticky hands. And ick. Seriously. Ick.
No. 8: I now know about ghee, but I'm never going to use it. Go read number two.
No. 9: Please keep all your greasy hands to yourself. I'm very very happy you're here, but no touching! Please see number two again. Ick.
You may peruse her blog here:
http://deathbynoodles.blogspot.com/
The post from whence these rules were lifted is here:
http://deathbynoodles.blogspot.com/2008/12/hot-buttered-weirdos.html
Please act appropriately.
============================================
Other blogs suitable for December reading:
Discernible Chaos
http://eclecticinfidel.blogspot.com/
Fog-loving Zionist, among other things.
It's not a dump truck, it's a series of Jews
http://seriesofjews.blogspot.com/
Two gentlemen of either leisure or high-school - you get to figure out which.
Jeremy Rosen
http://www.jeremyrosen.com/blog/index.html
A thoughtful rabbi. Perceptive, and insightful.
Midianite Manna
http://midianitemanna.blogspot.com/
Academe, a Baby, a Feline, and a Kohen. Go kvetch at her to be more blogsome.
On The Contrary: Judaism with Comments Enabled
http://adderabbi.blogspot.com/
Another thoughtful rabbi. You deserve it.
Suzy's adverts
http://suzysadverts.blogspot.com/
All about bad dates and living the Jewish life with a sexually insane roommate.
Treppenwitz
http://bogieworks.blogs.com/treppenwitz/
Blinding flashes of intellect, just a little too late.
And, as always, browse through the blogroll - it is there for your convenience (actually, it is there for MY convenience). There have been several additions over the past few months. Some are food related, many are not.
You will also note that in the manga section, Hello Kitty Hell is listed. It is not a manga blog, but I did not know where else to put it. It is copiously illustrated. You will laugh. You will cry. You will vomit.
Enjoy.
You may wish to print them out and furtively reread them while on the bus or train, or at other times when you are unsure of the etiquette expected of you by your fellow-travelers.
In which case, it pays to laminate.
NINE RULES:
No. 1: I am not a cat.
No. 2: I do NOT want to rub myself all over with butter, and far less let anyone else do it.
No. 3: Redundancy is not witty.
No. 4: Redundancy is not witty.
No. 5: Exclamation points are a way of life - live with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No. 6: Monty Python is cool. Monty Python fans, maybe not. The jury is still out.
No. 7: With or without bagels, dating is seriously out of the question. I don't have time for that. There's just too much homework, and people could see us, and it would be too embarrassing, and boys have sweaty sticky hands. And ick. Seriously. Ick.
No. 8: I now know about ghee, but I'm never going to use it. Go read number two.
No. 9: Please keep all your greasy hands to yourself. I'm very very happy you're here, but no touching! Please see number two again. Ick.
You may peruse her blog here:
http://deathbynoodles.blogspot.com/
The post from whence these rules were lifted is here:
http://deathbynoodles.blogspot.com/2008/12/hot-buttered-weirdos.html
Please act appropriately.
============================================
Other blogs suitable for December reading:
Discernible Chaos
http://eclecticinfidel.blogspot.com/
Fog-loving Zionist, among other things.
It's not a dump truck, it's a series of Jews
http://seriesofjews.blogspot.com/
Two gentlemen of either leisure or high-school - you get to figure out which.
Jeremy Rosen
http://www.jeremyrosen.com/blog/index.html
A thoughtful rabbi. Perceptive, and insightful.
Midianite Manna
http://midianitemanna.blogspot.com/
Academe, a Baby, a Feline, and a Kohen. Go kvetch at her to be more blogsome.
On The Contrary: Judaism with Comments Enabled
http://adderabbi.blogspot.com/
Another thoughtful rabbi. You deserve it.
Suzy's adverts
http://suzysadverts.blogspot.com/
All about bad dates and living the Jewish life with a sexually insane roommate.
Treppenwitz
http://bogieworks.blogs.com/treppenwitz/
Blinding flashes of intellect, just a little too late.
And, as always, browse through the blogroll - it is there for your convenience (actually, it is there for MY convenience). There have been several additions over the past few months. Some are food related, many are not.
You will also note that in the manga section, Hello Kitty Hell is listed. It is not a manga blog, but I did not know where else to put it. It is copiously illustrated. You will laugh. You will cry. You will vomit.
Enjoy.
NO NET NINETY TERMS EVER!
It looks like I have to restate this: I do NOT do net ninety terms. Ever.
Net ninety, for those of you who are not in business, means that you would have ninety days after invoice date to pay for what you bought. Net thirty is standard, net sixty is a rare privilege. These terms are relevant if you purchase merchandise, goods, or services.
PrePay, like self-service, gets you what you want, when you want it. The great advantage of always being on PrePay is that you really do not have to worry about your order being held-up at my end because you are past-due on your account. If your terms are PrePay, you are not past-due.
If you are not in business, OR you understand my point of view, this post is not for you.
It is for 'other' people.
NO NET NINETY TERMS EVER!
I don't care what cockamamie deal your franchise's corporate headquarters tried to float past all the other suppliers in this industry, I do NOT do net ninety. You should know that by now. Every time your good trade group, or whatever franchise you front, or even your catalogue broker, tried to weasel net ninety into the deal, I patiently and with great forbearance chewed them another one and sent them to therapy.
Net ninety does NOT exist in my world. Net ninety, like the fantasy birth of some saviour or other, is absolute heresy. Uttering the words net ninety in my ear, is enough to put you, and your account, and your relatives, friends, and all of your sheep and camels, into cherem.
Please remember that.
We know from net thirty. Sometimes we allow net sixty for certain deals. But never, ever, never in a thousand years, will we do net ninety. You should be ashamed of yourself for even doubting this. And you should be wracked with self-doubt, nearly convinced of your own low i.q. and your failure to be a sentient being. You are "special" - and you know it.
Suggesting that OTHER suppliers do allow net ninety is NOT relevant. I do not care what they do; they are very stupid. Their businesses are failing in droves every year. We will NOT follow their example.
If you cannot pay your bills in thirty days (or, exceptionally, in sixty days), you should fire your bookkeeper (even if she is your sister who has a drunken husband and five brats to support), and also reconsider your business plan. Something is wrong. We will NOT underwrite your insane optimism and lack of perspective.
Crazy I am NOT paid to be. Not in this field. My loopiness, though icing on my employer's cake, does NOT extend to terms. Some of you may already know that; I have your home phone numbers, and, in a few rare cases, I know where your children go to school or how big the swimming pool in your backyard is. Collection agencies are on my speed dial.
Do NOT tempt me.
There will NOT be any net ninety terms ever.
If you are still unclear on the concept, please reread this. And if you have to reread it several times more, may your eyes bleed from the effort, you heathen.
Net ninety, for those of you who are not in business, means that you would have ninety days after invoice date to pay for what you bought. Net thirty is standard, net sixty is a rare privilege. These terms are relevant if you purchase merchandise, goods, or services.
PrePay, like self-service, gets you what you want, when you want it. The great advantage of always being on PrePay is that you really do not have to worry about your order being held-up at my end because you are past-due on your account. If your terms are PrePay, you are not past-due.
If you are not in business, OR you understand my point of view, this post is not for you.
It is for 'other' people.
NO NET NINETY TERMS EVER!
I don't care what cockamamie deal your franchise's corporate headquarters tried to float past all the other suppliers in this industry, I do NOT do net ninety. You should know that by now. Every time your good trade group, or whatever franchise you front, or even your catalogue broker, tried to weasel net ninety into the deal, I patiently and with great forbearance chewed them another one and sent them to therapy.
Net ninety does NOT exist in my world. Net ninety, like the fantasy birth of some saviour or other, is absolute heresy. Uttering the words net ninety in my ear, is enough to put you, and your account, and your relatives, friends, and all of your sheep and camels, into cherem.
Please remember that.
We know from net thirty. Sometimes we allow net sixty for certain deals. But never, ever, never in a thousand years, will we do net ninety. You should be ashamed of yourself for even doubting this. And you should be wracked with self-doubt, nearly convinced of your own low i.q. and your failure to be a sentient being. You are "special" - and you know it.
Suggesting that OTHER suppliers do allow net ninety is NOT relevant. I do not care what they do; they are very stupid. Their businesses are failing in droves every year. We will NOT follow their example.
If you cannot pay your bills in thirty days (or, exceptionally, in sixty days), you should fire your bookkeeper (even if she is your sister who has a drunken husband and five brats to support), and also reconsider your business plan. Something is wrong. We will NOT underwrite your insane optimism and lack of perspective.
Crazy I am NOT paid to be. Not in this field. My loopiness, though icing on my employer's cake, does NOT extend to terms. Some of you may already know that; I have your home phone numbers, and, in a few rare cases, I know where your children go to school or how big the swimming pool in your backyard is. Collection agencies are on my speed dial.
Do NOT tempt me.
There will NOT be any net ninety terms ever.
If you are still unclear on the concept, please reread this. And if you have to reread it several times more, may your eyes bleed from the effort, you heathen.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
AHMED ABOUTALEB NEEDS A HOUSE
The honourable mr. Aboutaleb needs to find a roof over his head in Rotterdam.
Apparently burgomaster Ahmed Aboutaleb of Rotterdam is legally required to live in the city of which he is the mayor. The law allows him a year's grace in which to find a suitable dwelling for himself and family - he has twelve months in which to achieve the impossible.
[Note: Burgomasters in the Netherlands are appointed by the government, not elected. This detail is only slightly germane to the rest of this post. I made mention of mr. Aboutaleb's appointment here:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2008/10/dutch-and-their-missing-marbles-ahmed.html
Mr. Aboutaleb becomes Rotterdam's mayor on the fifth of January.]
This blog wishes him the best of luck finding housing in that town. Rotterdam is, to this blogger, the very arm-pit of Europe, and should count itself exceptionally favoured by his appointment. He is an intelligent, ethical, and very capable man, and one sympathizes with his quandary.
I myself would not wish to live in that place, and long ago resolved to avoid it like the plague.
[See this post:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2006/01/xenophobic-cheese-rotterdam.html
In this short piece I dump as much bile over Rotterdam as her natives do over everyone and everything else. They deserve it.]
Predictably, several persons writing in Dutch (and by so doing bringing disgrace to the noble language of Vondel and Brederode) have suggested precisely what Ahmed Aboutaleb should do, and where he should go. They were inspired to do so because mr. Aboutaleb is a Dutchman of Moroccan extraction - and the Netherlands is not nearly as tolerant as it would pretend to be.
[For an illustration of "not nearly as tolerant as it pretends" see this post:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2007/05/dutch-bigotry-moslim-gezin-wil-snel-weg.html
One example is given, several more are available. The list, alas, grows larger with each passing day. ]
I will not reproduce their appalling texts, but will merely state that if, one hundred years from now, people still read Dutch, they will not be rereading those angry comments, but will more likely be reading the prose of Abdulkader Benali, another talented Dutchman of Moroccan extraction - and one of the best Dutch writers of this generation.
Our literature would be poorer without him, just as Dutch society would be impoverished without the many talented Moroccans who call the Netherlands their home.
Her immigrants do her credit, her natives..... sometimes not.
Apparently burgomaster Ahmed Aboutaleb of Rotterdam is legally required to live in the city of which he is the mayor. The law allows him a year's grace in which to find a suitable dwelling for himself and family - he has twelve months in which to achieve the impossible.
[Note: Burgomasters in the Netherlands are appointed by the government, not elected. This detail is only slightly germane to the rest of this post. I made mention of mr. Aboutaleb's appointment here:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2008/10/dutch-and-their-missing-marbles-ahmed.html
Mr. Aboutaleb becomes Rotterdam's mayor on the fifth of January.]
This blog wishes him the best of luck finding housing in that town. Rotterdam is, to this blogger, the very arm-pit of Europe, and should count itself exceptionally favoured by his appointment. He is an intelligent, ethical, and very capable man, and one sympathizes with his quandary.
I myself would not wish to live in that place, and long ago resolved to avoid it like the plague.
[See this post:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2006/01/xenophobic-cheese-rotterdam.html
In this short piece I dump as much bile over Rotterdam as her natives do over everyone and everything else. They deserve it.]
Predictably, several persons writing in Dutch (and by so doing bringing disgrace to the noble language of Vondel and Brederode) have suggested precisely what Ahmed Aboutaleb should do, and where he should go. They were inspired to do so because mr. Aboutaleb is a Dutchman of Moroccan extraction - and the Netherlands is not nearly as tolerant as it would pretend to be.
[For an illustration of "not nearly as tolerant as it pretends" see this post:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2007/05/dutch-bigotry-moslim-gezin-wil-snel-weg.html
One example is given, several more are available. The list, alas, grows larger with each passing day. ]
I will not reproduce their appalling texts, but will merely state that if, one hundred years from now, people still read Dutch, they will not be rereading those angry comments, but will more likely be reading the prose of Abdulkader Benali, another talented Dutchman of Moroccan extraction - and one of the best Dutch writers of this generation.
Our literature would be poorer without him, just as Dutch society would be impoverished without the many talented Moroccans who call the Netherlands their home.
Her immigrants do her credit, her natives..... sometimes not.
Friday, December 12, 2008
SNIPPET
Dialogue overheard in elevator:
Blonde no. 1: "Wow, all those smokers. I used to smoke but I quit. Now I only smoke when I drink."
No. 2: "Me too! [...pause...] Of course, I go to a bar nearly every evening.... "
Blonde no. 1: "Thank G-d it's Friday, we get off early today."
No. 2: "Hey, wanna go have a drink after work?"
-------------------------
Somebody needs to teach those girls about the classic combination of a Martini, a good juicy steak, and ciggies. But they're probably vegetarians.
Besides, if it became common knowledge, beef prices might go through the roof.
Blonde no. 1: "Wow, all those smokers. I used to smoke but I quit. Now I only smoke when I drink."
No. 2: "Me too! [...pause...] Of course, I go to a bar nearly every evening.... "
Blonde no. 1: "Thank G-d it's Friday, we get off early today."
No. 2: "Hey, wanna go have a drink after work?"
-------------------------
Somebody needs to teach those girls about the classic combination of a Martini, a good juicy steak, and ciggies. But they're probably vegetarians.
Besides, if it became common knowledge, beef prices might go through the roof.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
KOSHER GUATEMALAN GIRLS!
The question was posed on Dovbear's blog "what to do if you suspect that the kosher meat on your table has been butchered and packed by 16-year-old Guatemalan girls forced to work 20-hour days under threat of deportation."
Es iz a sehr tiefe un' shverre shailah, b'emmes.
[See this post:
http://dovbear.blogspot.com/2008/12/avi-shafran-and-new-york-times.html
And while you are at it, you might also want to read this:
http://curiousjew.blogspot.com/2008/12/kosher-quandary-ethics-and-kashrut.html
in which Curious Jew notes down what was said at the panel discussion about ethics and kashrus that Steg mentioned here:
http://boroparkpyro.blogspot.com/2008/12/ethics-and-kashrut-panel.html ]
Clearly, what needs to be done is that those girls be obliged to wear very long skirts, baggy and unrevealing clothing that covers them up to the neck and down to the wrist, with complete and modest hair coverings, so that they do not tempt a saintly Mashgiach with their vixenish ways.
If ALL women wore properly modest attire (longs skirts, long sleeves, high collars, and sheitlach), there would soon be peace in the world, the Arabs would start to disappear, and moshiach would come.
It is davka BECAUSE of the horrible modern standards of tzenua, and the unwarranted (possibly even goyish) criticism of frimme companies that do mitzvos like kosher schechting (while charitably providing employment for the unworthies from 'outside', nota bene!), that the world is the mess that it is.
And twenty hour a day employment certainly prevents those damsels from getting into any trouble. We don't even know what they are like - without 20hr a day supervision, who knows? Harlotry, witchcraft, Buddhism, murder, drugs, and unwanted Goytemalan babies! The world is bad enough as it is, please don't make it any worse!
I am, of course, assuming that the mashgechim are NOT working 20 hour days. Their job requires them to be alert and capable of training their eagle eyes on everything in the work place. For a twenty hour shift, at least three mashgechim are required, preferably twice that number to be on the safe side, and to act as a check on any possible licentious behaviour that the girls might engage in.
My respect goes out to the mashgechim at that meat-packer, as I find it hard to even calmly ponder undocumented underage girls working twenty hours a day, but they actually are exposed to them.
If my hands are sweaty at this point just thinking about it, they must be absolutely quivering!
They have my deepest sympathy.
Es iz a sehr tiefe un' shverre shailah, b'emmes.
[See this post:
http://dovbear.blogspot.com/2008/12/avi-shafran-and-new-york-times.html
And while you are at it, you might also want to read this:
http://curiousjew.blogspot.com/2008/12/kosher-quandary-ethics-and-kashrut.html
in which Curious Jew notes down what was said at the panel discussion about ethics and kashrus that Steg mentioned here:
http://boroparkpyro.blogspot.com/2008/12/ethics-and-kashrut-panel.html ]
Clearly, what needs to be done is that those girls be obliged to wear very long skirts, baggy and unrevealing clothing that covers them up to the neck and down to the wrist, with complete and modest hair coverings, so that they do not tempt a saintly Mashgiach with their vixenish ways.
If ALL women wore properly modest attire (longs skirts, long sleeves, high collars, and sheitlach), there would soon be peace in the world, the Arabs would start to disappear, and moshiach would come.
It is davka BECAUSE of the horrible modern standards of tzenua, and the unwarranted (possibly even goyish) criticism of frimme companies that do mitzvos like kosher schechting (while charitably providing employment for the unworthies from 'outside', nota bene!), that the world is the mess that it is.
And twenty hour a day employment certainly prevents those damsels from getting into any trouble. We don't even know what they are like - without 20hr a day supervision, who knows? Harlotry, witchcraft, Buddhism, murder, drugs, and unwanted Goytemalan babies! The world is bad enough as it is, please don't make it any worse!
I am, of course, assuming that the mashgechim are NOT working 20 hour days. Their job requires them to be alert and capable of training their eagle eyes on everything in the work place. For a twenty hour shift, at least three mashgechim are required, preferably twice that number to be on the safe side, and to act as a check on any possible licentious behaviour that the girls might engage in.
My respect goes out to the mashgechim at that meat-packer, as I find it hard to even calmly ponder undocumented underage girls working twenty hours a day, but they actually are exposed to them.
If my hands are sweaty at this point just thinking about it, they must be absolutely quivering!
They have my deepest sympathy.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
LAST NIGHT AT THE AIPAC DINNER
As was to be expected when AIPAC brings their traveling dog and pony show to San Francisco, both the pro-Israel and the anti-Israel camps showed up to demonstrate.
The displays of anger from both sides were impressive, the displays of sanity and rational behaviour far less so.
I had several conversations with members of the other side. Some were better than others.
Oddly, the good conversations were with people who identified themselves as Jewish, though they came in solidarity with the 'destroy-Israel' crowd.
A number of them voiced valid concerns.
My conversations with Arabs were far-less salutary - I listened to several of them working themselves into fits of rage, almost always culminating with 'destroy Israel', or similar sentiments. I doubt that any of them will ever acknowledge Israel's right to exist within secure borders, and a cessation of rockets, bombs, assaults. They are capable of homicidal fury, and several of them apparently do not believe we are human (which they expressed quite bluntly, with absolutely no possibility of doubt).
But a number of them did voice valid concerns.
There were chants conveying that Israel would be destroyed, wiped off the map, "liberated", expunged, punished, enslaved.
Not surprising.
Some of the slogans chanted by the other side reflected a depravity to which I had heretofore not been exposed - in particular, "Israel supporters watch your back, we will throw you down a shaft".
This refers to one of our core-members who was found dead last week at the bottom of an elevator shaft. I do not take the chant as an admission of guilt. But I do take it as a very clear expression of threat, demonstrating that there are indeed potential murderers (and undoubtedly some who have already realized that potential) among the Bay Area Arab population.
In consequence, I shall cease shopping at Arab stores, and only take cabs chauffeured by Sikhs. While I like many Arabs, I cannot trust them. There is far too much hatred and bigotry in their ranks.
[Bear in mind, I have also heard unsanitary remarks about black people from Arabs - to quote an Arab food seller in SF recently: "You really think they'll let that nigger be president? Back in Gaza we say if you buy a slave, first buy the whip. Bush already has the whip".
What that same individual said about Chinese people several years ago was just as appalling. And his friends all agreed with him at that time. Such people are no credit to their kind.]
I am both baffled and outraged that Jewish Voice for Peace, Bay Area Women in Black, and others of the attending collaborationists did not protest at the quoted chant, nor disagree with the hateful anti-Semitism in that as well as other chants. Their "resolute" presence supported those messages of hate. What part of murderous inclinations do they not get?
And, speaking of people who are not a credit to their kind, I will freely admit that a number of our people should have been shot with tranquilizer darts.
I shall have to suggest an 'International Zionist Conspiracy' budget allocation to that end. We might also want to invest in some straightjackets, for those of our supporters who just cannot grasp what we are trying to do, or why.
Kudos to the SFPD for putting up with some very odd behaviour last night.
I promise you guys there will be more of the same at some point.
The displays of anger from both sides were impressive, the displays of sanity and rational behaviour far less so.
I had several conversations with members of the other side. Some were better than others.
Oddly, the good conversations were with people who identified themselves as Jewish, though they came in solidarity with the 'destroy-Israel' crowd.
A number of them voiced valid concerns.
My conversations with Arabs were far-less salutary - I listened to several of them working themselves into fits of rage, almost always culminating with 'destroy Israel', or similar sentiments. I doubt that any of them will ever acknowledge Israel's right to exist within secure borders, and a cessation of rockets, bombs, assaults. They are capable of homicidal fury, and several of them apparently do not believe we are human (which they expressed quite bluntly, with absolutely no possibility of doubt).
But a number of them did voice valid concerns.
There were chants conveying that Israel would be destroyed, wiped off the map, "liberated", expunged, punished, enslaved.
Not surprising.
Some of the slogans chanted by the other side reflected a depravity to which I had heretofore not been exposed - in particular, "Israel supporters watch your back, we will throw you down a shaft".
This refers to one of our core-members who was found dead last week at the bottom of an elevator shaft. I do not take the chant as an admission of guilt. But I do take it as a very clear expression of threat, demonstrating that there are indeed potential murderers (and undoubtedly some who have already realized that potential) among the Bay Area Arab population.
In consequence, I shall cease shopping at Arab stores, and only take cabs chauffeured by Sikhs. While I like many Arabs, I cannot trust them. There is far too much hatred and bigotry in their ranks.
[Bear in mind, I have also heard unsanitary remarks about black people from Arabs - to quote an Arab food seller in SF recently: "You really think they'll let that nigger be president? Back in Gaza we say if you buy a slave, first buy the whip. Bush already has the whip".
What that same individual said about Chinese people several years ago was just as appalling. And his friends all agreed with him at that time. Such people are no credit to their kind.]
I am both baffled and outraged that Jewish Voice for Peace, Bay Area Women in Black, and others of the attending collaborationists did not protest at the quoted chant, nor disagree with the hateful anti-Semitism in that as well as other chants. Their "resolute" presence supported those messages of hate. What part of murderous inclinations do they not get?
And, speaking of people who are not a credit to their kind, I will freely admit that a number of our people should have been shot with tranquilizer darts.
I shall have to suggest an 'International Zionist Conspiracy' budget allocation to that end. We might also want to invest in some straightjackets, for those of our supporters who just cannot grasp what we are trying to do, or why.
Kudos to the SFPD for putting up with some very odd behaviour last night.
I promise you guys there will be more of the same at some point.
Friday, December 05, 2008
JEW-HATRED IS PROGRESSIVE - LIKE CANCER
Rabbosai, as an indication of the type of people who oppose Israel in the Bay Area, I wish to bring two things to your attention.
WOMEN IN BLACK
The first one is the remark made by one of the Women In Black at our counterprotest to their support for Hamas at the Montgomery Street Bart Station (a monthly event).
It was her demented idea of words-of-consolation, perhaps, or some misguided interpretation of the equitability of karma.
Pursuant the death of pro-Israel activist Dan Kliman, who may have been pushed into the elevator shaft by one of this woman-in-black's depraved associates or lovers, she said: "what goes around comes around".
"WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND"
Sweety, if that is true, it works both ways.
I may wish to address you on that issue the next time I see that puffy face with those mean little eyes. I'll have to stoop to your level.
STEPHEN PEARCY
The second is an e-mail we have received from one of the more high-principled members of the Sacramento-based Israel-bashers: STEPHEN PEARCY.
I reproduce it below.
From: Stephen Pearcy
Subject: :-)
To: sfvoiceforisrael
Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 10:39 PM
justice prevails in amazing ways
Stephen Pearcy, in case you didn't know, is the activist who displayed mock-ups of dead soldiers with nooses around their necks outside his Sacramento home in 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Pearcy_(activist)
He is a friend of Cindy Sheehan, and, it is alleged, artistic.
A remarkable individual.
Most of the time he hides out in Berkeley, which offered him, and his wife Virginia, asylum.
Stephen, I can well imagine your "oh aren't I righteous smirk" as you typed that sentence.
You know, Stevie-poo, I really have to wonder whether you are dying your hair. It just doesn't look like it should be that vibrant a hue, considering that receding hairline.
JUSTICE PREVAILS IN AMAZING WAYS
For a lawyer, Stephen, you don't seem to have any understanding of justice. But that was already evident a long time ago. Even to the dysfunctional conspirators with whom you habitually associate. Unfortunately few of them have the decency to avoid ethically crippled trash like you and your wife.
I guess they need the company, eh?
DESPERATION MAKES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
I must confess that I am titillated, as ever, by your having met your wife (the former Virginia Johnson) when she was still in junior high school, the more so as you are eighteen years her senior.
The next time I meet you, you must really tell me all about that. It sounds delicious!
And I do rather admire mathematicians like the two of you, despite your social dis-graces.
======================================
NOTE: The e-mail address for Mr. Pearcy is also listed in Indymedia, as well as on notices for the October 27 protest, and at several other places. Don't bother sending fan-letters, as Mr. Pearcy does not habitually respond - he is shy and reclusive.
Instead, you may address your love and concerns to his some-time booncompanions Bill Lockyer and Cindy Sheehan.
What goes around comes around.
WOMEN IN BLACK
The first one is the remark made by one of the Women In Black at our counterprotest to their support for Hamas at the Montgomery Street Bart Station (a monthly event).
It was her demented idea of words-of-consolation, perhaps, or some misguided interpretation of the equitability of karma.
Pursuant the death of pro-Israel activist Dan Kliman, who may have been pushed into the elevator shaft by one of this woman-in-black's depraved associates or lovers, she said: "what goes around comes around".
"WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND"
Sweety, if that is true, it works both ways.
I may wish to address you on that issue the next time I see that puffy face with those mean little eyes. I'll have to stoop to your level.
STEPHEN PEARCY
The second is an e-mail we have received from one of the more high-principled members of the Sacramento-based Israel-bashers: STEPHEN PEARCY.
I reproduce it below.
From: Stephen Pearcy
Subject: :-)
To: sfvoiceforisrael
Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 10:39 PM
justice prevails in amazing ways
Stephen Pearcy, in case you didn't know, is the activist who displayed mock-ups of dead soldiers with nooses around their necks outside his Sacramento home in 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Pearcy_(activist)
He is a friend of Cindy Sheehan, and, it is alleged, artistic.
A remarkable individual.
Most of the time he hides out in Berkeley, which offered him, and his wife Virginia, asylum.
Stephen, I can well imagine your "oh aren't I righteous smirk" as you typed that sentence.
You know, Stevie-poo, I really have to wonder whether you are dying your hair. It just doesn't look like it should be that vibrant a hue, considering that receding hairline.
JUSTICE PREVAILS IN AMAZING WAYS
For a lawyer, Stephen, you don't seem to have any understanding of justice. But that was already evident a long time ago. Even to the dysfunctional conspirators with whom you habitually associate. Unfortunately few of them have the decency to avoid ethically crippled trash like you and your wife.
I guess they need the company, eh?
DESPERATION MAKES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
I must confess that I am titillated, as ever, by your having met your wife (the former Virginia Johnson) when she was still in junior high school, the more so as you are eighteen years her senior.
The next time I meet you, you must really tell me all about that. It sounds delicious!
And I do rather admire mathematicians like the two of you, despite your social dis-graces.
======================================
NOTE: The e-mail address for Mr. Pearcy is also listed in Indymedia, as well as on notices for the October 27 protest, and at several other places. Don't bother sending fan-letters, as Mr. Pearcy does not habitually respond - he is shy and reclusive.
Instead, you may address your love and concerns to his some-time booncompanions Bill Lockyer and Cindy Sheehan.
What goes around comes around.
HAPPY JEW-BASHING EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS
There are several protests scheduled for Northern California in the next several days. We live in exciting times. And aren't we lucky?
SUNDAY DECEMBER 7th (MORNING) - SACRAMENTO
The anti-AIPAC crowd, which includes some phenomenally psychopathic Israel-haters, will protest outside the AIPAC luncheon. Observe classic anti-Semites and their modern-age fanclub in action while dodging organic fruit and ignorant slogans! Fun for the entire family!
[We've met several of those people - oh boy are they sick. ]
SUNDAY DECEMBER 7th (EVENING) - SANTA CLARA
South Bay Mobilization intends to gather all the anti-Israel trolls outside the South Bay AIPAC dinner for hysterical behaviour. These folks are nearly as ungrounded in reality as the Sacramento crowd, but a bit more numerous and potentially violent.
[Evil by conviction, dangerous by design. Only some are medicated.]
TUESDAY DECEMBER 9th (EVENING) - SAN FRANCISCO
California's most anti-Semite-laden metropolis will host Middle East Children's Alliance, Tri-City Peace and Justice, Global Exchange, The Rebuilding Alliance, International Solidarity Movement - Northern California, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Bay Area Women in Black, as they stage what is probably their most popular event of the year: a daemonize Israel by destroying plate-glass windows and lying down in traffic die-in at the Hilton Hotel on O'Farrell Street at the edge of the shopping district.
[Think of it as a group-sex orgy for Jim Harris (hi Jim!) and you will not be far wrong. Welcome to San francisco; please expect evidence of dysfunctionality on a grand scale.]
Stay tuned for updates and reports.
Bli neder, I'll let you know if Jim Harris (hi Jim!) gets lucky.
But don't count on it.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 7th (MORNING) - SACRAMENTO
The anti-AIPAC crowd, which includes some phenomenally psychopathic Israel-haters, will protest outside the AIPAC luncheon. Observe classic anti-Semites and their modern-age fanclub in action while dodging organic fruit and ignorant slogans! Fun for the entire family!
[We've met several of those people - oh boy are they sick. ]
SUNDAY DECEMBER 7th (EVENING) - SANTA CLARA
South Bay Mobilization intends to gather all the anti-Israel trolls outside the South Bay AIPAC dinner for hysterical behaviour. These folks are nearly as ungrounded in reality as the Sacramento crowd, but a bit more numerous and potentially violent.
[Evil by conviction, dangerous by design. Only some are medicated.]
TUESDAY DECEMBER 9th (EVENING) - SAN FRANCISCO
California's most anti-Semite-laden metropolis will host Middle East Children's Alliance, Tri-City Peace and Justice, Global Exchange, The Rebuilding Alliance, International Solidarity Movement - Northern California, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Bay Area Women in Black, as they stage what is probably their most popular event of the year: a daemonize Israel by destroying plate-glass windows and lying down in traffic die-in at the Hilton Hotel on O'Farrell Street at the edge of the shopping district.
[Think of it as a group-sex orgy for Jim Harris (hi Jim!) and you will not be far wrong. Welcome to San francisco; please expect evidence of dysfunctionality on a grand scale.]
Stay tuned for updates and reports.
Bli neder, I'll let you know if Jim Harris (hi Jim!) gets lucky.
But don't count on it.
DAN KLIMAN
If you haven't already done so, please read Zombie's post about Dan Kliman. It is an excellent source for updated information on the case.
Zombie knew certain aspects of Dan better than almost anybody else possibly could - both had received death-threats for making photos and recordings of the hatred and extremism evident at protests in the Bay Area.
[Zombie is, according to reliable reports, on an extremist hit-list. This is the Bay Area, and we have more unbalanced people here than many other places.]
Zombie's post:
http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=110
Click: R.I.P. Dan Kliman.
Zombie's main page:
http://www.zombietime.com/
Click: zombietime.
[A great resource about public displays of insanity in the Bay Area - see mention of photos and recordings above.]
OyBay also posted about it:
http://oybay.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/the-unfolding-story-of-the-death-of-dan-kliman-zl/
Click: Unfolding story.
At this point the investigation continues. The SFPD have homicide investigators on the case, but still incline towards calling it an accident. Results will not be known for a while, and almost no information is being made public - that is standard procedure, by the way.
This may lead some to indulge in paranoid conspiracy theories - 'He was murdered for being a gay vegetarian rightwing leftwing purple-striped pro-Israel cat-lover from Mars!' - and others to worry about a cover-up. Both approaches are somewhat unnecessary.
And I note, pursuant thereto, that a previous post ( was Dan Kliman murdered? ) seems to have attracted some remarkable commenters. I am not entirely sure that absolutely all of them are sane. A few of them are probably dangerous.
Feel free to demonstrate where in the spectrum you belong.
===========================================
3:54 PM 12/05/08 update:
This article in the TimesUnion (Albany, NY) is informative.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=747007&category=REGION
There are a few details in that piece that I have not seen elsewhere.
Cinnamon Stillwell has also posted about Dan Kliman.
Here:
http://cinnamonstillwell.blogspot.com/2008/12/rip-dan-kliman.html
It is probably worth your while to bookmark Cinnamon Stillwell's blog, as there is often something interesting there.
http://cinnamonstillwell.blogspot.com/
Of course, if you are one of the anti-Israel trolls, you will not like what you find there. Oh well. Life is tough, isn't it?
Zombie knew certain aspects of Dan better than almost anybody else possibly could - both had received death-threats for making photos and recordings of the hatred and extremism evident at protests in the Bay Area.
[Zombie is, according to reliable reports, on an extremist hit-list. This is the Bay Area, and we have more unbalanced people here than many other places.]
Zombie's post:
http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=110
Click: R.I.P. Dan Kliman.
Zombie's main page:
http://www.zombietime.com/
Click: zombietime.
[A great resource about public displays of insanity in the Bay Area - see mention of photos and recordings above.]
OyBay also posted about it:
http://oybay.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/the-unfolding-story-of-the-death-of-dan-kliman-zl/
Click: Unfolding story.
At this point the investigation continues. The SFPD have homicide investigators on the case, but still incline towards calling it an accident. Results will not be known for a while, and almost no information is being made public - that is standard procedure, by the way.
This may lead some to indulge in paranoid conspiracy theories - 'He was murdered for being a gay vegetarian rightwing leftwing purple-striped pro-Israel cat-lover from Mars!' - and others to worry about a cover-up. Both approaches are somewhat unnecessary.
And I note, pursuant thereto, that a previous post ( was Dan Kliman murdered? ) seems to have attracted some remarkable commenters. I am not entirely sure that absolutely all of them are sane. A few of them are probably dangerous.
Feel free to demonstrate where in the spectrum you belong.
===========================================
3:54 PM 12/05/08 update:
This article in the TimesUnion (Albany, NY) is informative.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=747007&category=REGION
There are a few details in that piece that I have not seen elsewhere.
Cinnamon Stillwell has also posted about Dan Kliman.
Here:
http://cinnamonstillwell.blogspot.com/2008/12/rip-dan-kliman.html
It is probably worth your while to bookmark Cinnamon Stillwell's blog, as there is often something interesting there.
http://cinnamonstillwell.blogspot.com/
Of course, if you are one of the anti-Israel trolls, you will not like what you find there. Oh well. Life is tough, isn't it?
Thursday, December 04, 2008
TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF DAN KLIMAN
Ways that you can help pay tribute to Dan Kliman's memory
Guest post by SF Voice for Israel
------------------------------------
To all members of our local Bay Area Zionist community, and to those around the world connected with us by e-mail:
On behalf of StandWithUs/San Francisco Voice for Israel, I want to thank so many of you who have sent your own expressions of grief and sympathy over Dan Kliman's untimely death. Many of you have asked about plans for a memorial service, since his funeral will be back in Schenectady NY. We are still awaiting word from his synagogue as to whether they are planning anything; if not, then we will organize something ourselves in the very near future and we will announce it on these same lists. We will also shortly post an online location where you can leave expressions of sympathy and remembrance that will be forwarded to his family.
In the meantime, the task that Dan was so devoted to--standing up in public for Israel in the Bay Area-- needs to continue. There are still too many occasions when those who wish to see Israel destroyed take their message to the public, when a pro-Israel presence is needed. So for those of you who have asked "what can I do to help", there are two things you can do.
The first is to donate to Stand With Us; as many of you know, San Francisco Voice for Israel serves as the Bay Area chapter of Stand With Us. You can do this online at http://www.standwithus.org/DONATE/, or you can send a check to StandWithUs P.O. Box 341069 Los Angeles, CA 90034-1069. Contributions are tax deductible. There is a place on the website donations page to note that this contribution is in Dan's memory.
The second is to join us this Sunday in Berkeley. Bay Area Women in Black (BAWIB) is a local anti-Israel group that was always a high priority for Dan to counter on the streets; it was so important to him that he, as an observant Jew, gave up attending most Shabbat morning services for the last several years to stand in counterprotest to them at the farmer's market by the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland. They will be holding a vigil this Sunday from 1 to 2 PM at the Ashby BART station, where there is also a farmer's market at that time.
Why was BAWIB so important to Dan? Because it especially rankled him that many of them are Jewish, and claimed to be protesting Israel in the name of Judaism. Because they claimed to be protesting for peace, when they condemned every action Israel has taken to defend itself against rocket attacks and terrorism. Because they routinely demonize Israel and apply double standards against the world’s only Jewish State while excusing any Arab crimes against humanity. Because they support the so-called "right" of return of millions of 4th generation descendants of 1948 refugees while they refer to ALL of Israel as "occupied territory". Because they stand together with anti-Semitic organizations. Not only that, but the one time that Dan was the victim of an assault by someone driving by a counterprotest, it was members of BAWIB who attempted (unsucessfully) to physically prevent the police from arresting the perpetrator.
This is an opportunity to stand in Dan's shoes, to be there because he can't. We will do what we usually do-- we will be there with Israeli and American flags and with pro-Israel signs, and pass out flyers to explain to passersby why we are there and what we stand for. BAWIB absolutely hates the fact that we are there, and nothing would have pleased Dan more than to see several hundred Bay Area Zionists show up to peacefully confront them. As counterdemonstrations go, this is pretty low-key-- they stand in silence, so they are not confronting us or yelling anything at us. (However, please also remember that while Dan devoted his activism to countering people such as this, they also were not responsible for his death, so we should not let our grief lead us to do anything beyond a peaceful counterdemonstration.)
This is not taking the place of a memorial service; we will not be making speeches about Dan or doing anything specific other than the grassroots Israel activism that gave such meaning to his life. Please join us. Look for the Israeli flags.
As always, feel free to make your own signs but please no signs or graphics offensive to any racial or ethnic group including but not limited to Arabs, Islam, or Palestinians. Signs in violation of our policies are not welcome.
Guest post by SF Voice for Israel
------------------------------------
To all members of our local Bay Area Zionist community, and to those around the world connected with us by e-mail:
On behalf of StandWithUs/San Francisco Voice for Israel, I want to thank so many of you who have sent your own expressions of grief and sympathy over Dan Kliman's untimely death. Many of you have asked about plans for a memorial service, since his funeral will be back in Schenectady NY. We are still awaiting word from his synagogue as to whether they are planning anything; if not, then we will organize something ourselves in the very near future and we will announce it on these same lists. We will also shortly post an online location where you can leave expressions of sympathy and remembrance that will be forwarded to his family.
In the meantime, the task that Dan was so devoted to--standing up in public for Israel in the Bay Area-- needs to continue. There are still too many occasions when those who wish to see Israel destroyed take their message to the public, when a pro-Israel presence is needed. So for those of you who have asked "what can I do to help", there are two things you can do.
The first is to donate to Stand With Us; as many of you know, San Francisco Voice for Israel serves as the Bay Area chapter of Stand With Us. You can do this online at http://www.standwithus.org/DONATE/, or you can send a check to StandWithUs P.O. Box 341069 Los Angeles, CA 90034-1069. Contributions are tax deductible. There is a place on the website donations page to note that this contribution is in Dan's memory.
The second is to join us this Sunday in Berkeley. Bay Area Women in Black (BAWIB) is a local anti-Israel group that was always a high priority for Dan to counter on the streets; it was so important to him that he, as an observant Jew, gave up attending most Shabbat morning services for the last several years to stand in counterprotest to them at the farmer's market by the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland. They will be holding a vigil this Sunday from 1 to 2 PM at the Ashby BART station, where there is also a farmer's market at that time.
Why was BAWIB so important to Dan? Because it especially rankled him that many of them are Jewish, and claimed to be protesting Israel in the name of Judaism. Because they claimed to be protesting for peace, when they condemned every action Israel has taken to defend itself against rocket attacks and terrorism. Because they routinely demonize Israel and apply double standards against the world’s only Jewish State while excusing any Arab crimes against humanity. Because they support the so-called "right" of return of millions of 4th generation descendants of 1948 refugees while they refer to ALL of Israel as "occupied territory". Because they stand together with anti-Semitic organizations. Not only that, but the one time that Dan was the victim of an assault by someone driving by a counterprotest, it was members of BAWIB who attempted (unsucessfully) to physically prevent the police from arresting the perpetrator.
This is an opportunity to stand in Dan's shoes, to be there because he can't. We will do what we usually do-- we will be there with Israeli and American flags and with pro-Israel signs, and pass out flyers to explain to passersby why we are there and what we stand for. BAWIB absolutely hates the fact that we are there, and nothing would have pleased Dan more than to see several hundred Bay Area Zionists show up to peacefully confront them. As counterdemonstrations go, this is pretty low-key-- they stand in silence, so they are not confronting us or yelling anything at us. (However, please also remember that while Dan devoted his activism to countering people such as this, they also were not responsible for his death, so we should not let our grief lead us to do anything beyond a peaceful counterdemonstration.)
This is not taking the place of a memorial service; we will not be making speeches about Dan or doing anything specific other than the grassroots Israel activism that gave such meaning to his life. Please join us. Look for the Israeli flags.
As always, feel free to make your own signs but please no signs or graphics offensive to any racial or ethnic group including but not limited to Arabs, Islam, or Palestinians. Signs in violation of our policies are not welcome.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
WAS ZIONIST ACTIVIST DAN KLIMAN MURDERED?
Not according the SF Police.
Quote:
"But as San Francisco police combed over the evidence Tuesday, investigators said this is what appears to have happened: Dr. Daniel J. Kliman, an Alameda physician and one of the Bay Area's foremost pro-Israel activists, stepped into an open elevator shaft by accident last week and died."
[SOURCE: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/03/MNVE14GCD6.DTL&hw=Dan+Kliman&sn=001&sc=1000]
However building management's statements cast doubt on that theory.
Quote:
"the building's manager insists the door must have been secured.
The elevator in that shaft was out of order at the time, building manager Brad Bernheim said. By design, doors to a malfunctioning elevator are clamped shut and can be opened only by a mechanic, said Erika Monterroza, spokeswoman for Cal/OSHA."
[SOURCE: same as above.]
There are suspicions that it was an opportunistic hate crime, though Police Inspector Matt Krimsky wishes to dismiss that possibility.
QUOTE:
"There is no indication of any foul play at this point, even though I've been getting calls from conspiracy theorists from everywhere, even someone who said they had information from a séance"
[SOURCE: same as above.]
He is supported in his 'doubts' by Penny Rosenwasser, a national board member of Jewish Voice for Peace who asserts: "I can't imagine anyone I know doing something like that".
[SOURCE: same as above.]
I CAN IMAGINE SOMEONE YOU KNOW DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT!
Penny, in several years of being on the pro-Israel side in the Bay Area, we have been threatened, punched, pushed, kicked, and spat on. ALL of us in SF Voice for Israel have experienced such things. Many of us have been followed. All of us have been photographed and insulted.
The amount of hatred which is evident at many anti-Israel events is outrageous. I can very well imagine someone you know, Penny, doing anything like that. I can think of several people on the other side who would jump at the opportunity.
The atmosphere created in the Bay Area by the anti-Israel side is such that it is very easy to imagine an opportunistic attack. Those who in a sense of misguided "fairness" vociferate for the Palestinians, support and nourish extremists. Never more so than when, in "solidarity" with their Palestinian brothers and sisters, they stand alongside protestors yelling 'death to the Jews' in Arabic, or promising at the top of their bull-horned lungs to wipe Israel off the map.
Don't lie, Penny. Your type have indeed stood there. You did not object. You did not say anything more balanced and rational to counterweigh the rabid anti-Semitism of your comrades. Nor did you stop them yelling their homicidal hatred. You were proud to stand with Al Awda, International Answer, and supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Jewish Voice For Peace, Bay Area Women In Black, and similar patsy organizations, are the enablers of anti-Semitism in this part of the world. Students for Justice in Palestine, Al Awda, and International Answer thrive on the encouragement they receive from such groups.
If Dan was murdered, you are all guilty of that murder.
NOTORIOUS ZIONIST FOUND DEAD UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
There are excellent reasons for doubting that Dan Kliman's death was entirely accidental.
As follows:
*Dan was very well-known to the other side, his picture was posted on several sites identifying him as a Zionist "conspirator" and one of the lead-activists in the Bay Area.
*He had received several death-threats over the years - he was known by name and address.
*The pro-Palestinian side has often either used violence or threatened to do so - Dan was assaulted several times.
*The building where he was found was where he was taking Arabic classes; there were NO classes that week.
*Several members of the other side also take Arabic classes - that is one of the few schools in the area where Arabic is taught, and there is a constantly changing roster of Israel-haters studying Arabic there.
*The defective elevator had been secured so no one could enter it.
I am not going to jump to any conclusions just yet. But I am almighty curious.
And until the police PROVE that it was an accident, I have to suspect that Dan was jumped by pro-Palestinian opportunists, who knew who he was, that the building was nearly empty, and that they would not soon have so excellent a chance to "get that Zionist".
Dan was hated. And he was alone in a place frequented by many of his enemies.
Quote:
"But as San Francisco police combed over the evidence Tuesday, investigators said this is what appears to have happened: Dr. Daniel J. Kliman, an Alameda physician and one of the Bay Area's foremost pro-Israel activists, stepped into an open elevator shaft by accident last week and died."
[SOURCE: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/03/MNVE14GCD6.DTL&hw=Dan+Kliman&sn=001&sc=1000]
However building management's statements cast doubt on that theory.
Quote:
"the building's manager insists the door must have been secured.
The elevator in that shaft was out of order at the time, building manager Brad Bernheim said. By design, doors to a malfunctioning elevator are clamped shut and can be opened only by a mechanic, said Erika Monterroza, spokeswoman for Cal/OSHA."
[SOURCE: same as above.]
There are suspicions that it was an opportunistic hate crime, though Police Inspector Matt Krimsky wishes to dismiss that possibility.
QUOTE:
"There is no indication of any foul play at this point, even though I've been getting calls from conspiracy theorists from everywhere, even someone who said they had information from a séance"
[SOURCE: same as above.]
He is supported in his 'doubts' by Penny Rosenwasser, a national board member of Jewish Voice for Peace who asserts: "I can't imagine anyone I know doing something like that".
[SOURCE: same as above.]
I CAN IMAGINE SOMEONE YOU KNOW DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT!
Penny, in several years of being on the pro-Israel side in the Bay Area, we have been threatened, punched, pushed, kicked, and spat on. ALL of us in SF Voice for Israel have experienced such things. Many of us have been followed. All of us have been photographed and insulted.
The amount of hatred which is evident at many anti-Israel events is outrageous. I can very well imagine someone you know, Penny, doing anything like that. I can think of several people on the other side who would jump at the opportunity.
The atmosphere created in the Bay Area by the anti-Israel side is such that it is very easy to imagine an opportunistic attack. Those who in a sense of misguided "fairness" vociferate for the Palestinians, support and nourish extremists. Never more so than when, in "solidarity" with their Palestinian brothers and sisters, they stand alongside protestors yelling 'death to the Jews' in Arabic, or promising at the top of their bull-horned lungs to wipe Israel off the map.
Don't lie, Penny. Your type have indeed stood there. You did not object. You did not say anything more balanced and rational to counterweigh the rabid anti-Semitism of your comrades. Nor did you stop them yelling their homicidal hatred. You were proud to stand with Al Awda, International Answer, and supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Jewish Voice For Peace, Bay Area Women In Black, and similar patsy organizations, are the enablers of anti-Semitism in this part of the world. Students for Justice in Palestine, Al Awda, and International Answer thrive on the encouragement they receive from such groups.
If Dan was murdered, you are all guilty of that murder.
NOTORIOUS ZIONIST FOUND DEAD UNDER SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
There are excellent reasons for doubting that Dan Kliman's death was entirely accidental.
As follows:
*Dan was very well-known to the other side, his picture was posted on several sites identifying him as a Zionist "conspirator" and one of the lead-activists in the Bay Area.
*He had received several death-threats over the years - he was known by name and address.
*The pro-Palestinian side has often either used violence or threatened to do so - Dan was assaulted several times.
*The building where he was found was where he was taking Arabic classes; there were NO classes that week.
*Several members of the other side also take Arabic classes - that is one of the few schools in the area where Arabic is taught, and there is a constantly changing roster of Israel-haters studying Arabic there.
*The defective elevator had been secured so no one could enter it.
I am not going to jump to any conclusions just yet. But I am almighty curious.
And until the police PROVE that it was an accident, I have to suspect that Dan was jumped by pro-Palestinian opportunists, who knew who he was, that the building was nearly empty, and that they would not soon have so excellent a chance to "get that Zionist".
Dan was hated. And he was alone in a place frequented by many of his enemies.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
BORUCH DAYAN HA EMES
Daniel J. Kliman was found dead yesterday at the bottom of an elevator shaft in the building where he was taking Arabic classes. He is believed to have fallen down the elevator shaft on Tuesday evening 11/25/08.
There were no classes last week. There were very few people in the building at the time. The defective elevator was "secure".
It is still unclear how this happened.
Dan was supposed to fly to Israel last Thursday.
DANIEL J. KLIMAN, 38 YEARS OLD.
Dan was a founding member of San Francisco Voice for Israel, who tirelessly worked to promote a fair and balanced image for Israel in the Bay Area, regularly facing the threats and insults of anti-Semites and anti-Israel activists for several years.
Dan was a friend, a leader, and an inspiration. And Dan was a colleague, companion, and comrade in so many protests on behalf of Israel.
We, his friends and community, are going to miss him. May his memory be a blessing to all who knew him.
There were no classes last week. There were very few people in the building at the time. The defective elevator was "secure".
It is still unclear how this happened.
Dan was supposed to fly to Israel last Thursday.
DANIEL J. KLIMAN, 38 YEARS OLD.
Dan was a founding member of San Francisco Voice for Israel, who tirelessly worked to promote a fair and balanced image for Israel in the Bay Area, regularly facing the threats and insults of anti-Semites and anti-Israel activists for several years.
Dan was a friend, a leader, and an inspiration. And Dan was a colleague, companion, and comrade in so many protests on behalf of Israel.
We, his friends and community, are going to miss him. May his memory be a blessing to all who knew him.
Monday, December 01, 2008
PAKISTAN TERROR CONNECTION
From The Times of India:
MUMBAI: "There were 24 of us who took one-year training in camps organised by Laskar-e-Taiba at Mansera and Muzzarafabad in Punjab province of Pakistan. Ten of us were later handpicked for the Mumbai operation,'' said Ajmal Amir Kasab during interrogations.
According to sources, Kasab, 21, the only terrorist arrested by the Mumbai police, told his interrogators that Abdul Rahman, an ex-soldier popularly called Chacha, had given them training.
The sources said Kasab explained that the training was divided into seven phases.
"He said the first phase was of ‘very hard physical training’ of three months which included running 10 to 15 km. The next three months were for marine training like swimming, surfing, diving and boating in high seas. The rest included arms and ammunition training,'' said a source.
After the training was over, they were sent to Mumbai for a "short internship'', Kasab is believed to have told the cops. This was the period when the accused did the reccee of the city and even went to the five star hotels (Taj and Oberoi), the sources said.
Sources said the Mumbai operation plot was planned in Karachi some six months ago. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said,"We are closely working with the all the central agencies who have earlier handled such situations.''
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ex-soldier_trained_terrorists_says_Kasab/articleshow/3776975.cms
PAKISTAN A SOURCE OF TERRORISM
The Pakistani connection was evident from the very first hour. Such a level of organization pretty much proved that the terrorists had been trained elsewhere, and had been supplied by a hostile foreign nation. The idea that this was put into play by home-grown terrorists is laughable ab initio, and something that only a Pakistani could believe, or could want to believe.
Nor was this an Al Qaeda operation
Paki hatred of India is well-known, as is Paki sponsorship of terrorism.
Mounting this attack was not cheap and took many months to prepare. The entire operation could not have been kept secret for so long unless the security agencies of another country were in on it from the very beginning, and both the base and the training were in that other country.
That other country can only be Pakistan. The funding probably came from both the drug trade being run with Afghan opium by the ISI, and from wealthy Arabs. The logistical support must have been Paki military, the approval was by powerful Paki politicians with ulterior agendas, the cover through a corrupt and co-opted police force.
Certainly there are enough lashkaris and wahhabis in Pakistan, in positions of power, that Pakistan absolutely has to be suspected.
No other government is as likely a suspect.
Or even a possible suspect.
MUMBAI: "There were 24 of us who took one-year training in camps organised by Laskar-e-Taiba at Mansera and Muzzarafabad in Punjab province of Pakistan. Ten of us were later handpicked for the Mumbai operation,'' said Ajmal Amir Kasab during interrogations.
According to sources, Kasab, 21, the only terrorist arrested by the Mumbai police, told his interrogators that Abdul Rahman, an ex-soldier popularly called Chacha, had given them training.
The sources said Kasab explained that the training was divided into seven phases.
"He said the first phase was of ‘very hard physical training’ of three months which included running 10 to 15 km. The next three months were for marine training like swimming, surfing, diving and boating in high seas. The rest included arms and ammunition training,'' said a source.
After the training was over, they were sent to Mumbai for a "short internship'', Kasab is believed to have told the cops. This was the period when the accused did the reccee of the city and even went to the five star hotels (Taj and Oberoi), the sources said.
Sources said the Mumbai operation plot was planned in Karachi some six months ago. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said,"We are closely working with the all the central agencies who have earlier handled such situations.''
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ex-soldier_trained_terrorists_says_Kasab/articleshow/3776975.cms
PAKISTAN A SOURCE OF TERRORISM
The Pakistani connection was evident from the very first hour. Such a level of organization pretty much proved that the terrorists had been trained elsewhere, and had been supplied by a hostile foreign nation. The idea that this was put into play by home-grown terrorists is laughable ab initio, and something that only a Pakistani could believe, or could want to believe.
Nor was this an Al Qaeda operation
Paki hatred of India is well-known, as is Paki sponsorship of terrorism.
Mounting this attack was not cheap and took many months to prepare. The entire operation could not have been kept secret for so long unless the security agencies of another country were in on it from the very beginning, and both the base and the training were in that other country.
That other country can only be Pakistan. The funding probably came from both the drug trade being run with Afghan opium by the ISI, and from wealthy Arabs. The logistical support must have been Paki military, the approval was by powerful Paki politicians with ulterior agendas, the cover through a corrupt and co-opted police force.
Certainly there are enough lashkaris and wahhabis in Pakistan, in positions of power, that Pakistan absolutely has to be suspected.
No other government is as likely a suspect.
Or even a possible suspect.
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THERE WILL BE A TEST!
None of the people to whom I spoke in Mandarin today were dumb or stupid or senile or loud or discorteous or out of their mind or bad temper...
