Fitna

I guess I need to add my 2 cents to the talk about this movie made by the Dutch member of parliament. For those that have not seen it the majority of the film consists of verses from the Qu'ran paired with speeches made by radical Islamic leaders. The verses are also paired with scenes from 9/11 and scenes from suicide bombings that took place in Israel. The later part f the film shows statistics pointing to the growth of Islam in Holland and in the world. This is paired with speeches by radical Islamic leaders where they talk about their quest for world dominance.

As a Jew I could not help but think how easily someone could take bits of text from the Torah to do something similar to the Jews. This guy crossed a dangerous line by using the religion to make a case against radical Islam. It will fuel those bigots who cannot or do not want to see the manipulation.  He seems to have a great fear of Islam taking over the world. I believe that is his motivation for making the film.

I hate radical Islam and all its bigotry and hate that they promote. This film however is the wrong answer to the problem of radical Islam. Hopefully his 15 minutes of fame will end and not in violence by either side. 

In Memorium

Our English bulldog, Max, died today.

He was the best dog ever. Hell, Max was the best friend ever.

He was old. He was eleven and a half years old and evidently for a bulldog, that's pretty damn old. He hadn't been doing well lately and there was nothing anyone could do for him but make him comfortable. Max went to sleep last night and I found him in his usual comfortable position this morning, but he wasn't with us anymore.

From the day we adopted him, Max was a character. He was so small I carried him home on the inside of my jacket because it was raining outside. I don't know if you've ever seen an English bulldog puppy, but they're three-quarters head and one-quarter body.

Max had more personality than 80 percent of the humans I know. His heart was huge, and pure. He demanded that you love him, and could never conceive of the concept that someone, either human or animal, might be put off by him. Being a male, other male dogs may growl at him, and Max would stand there wagging his piglet shaped tail with the attitude of, "Don't be mad at me...LOVE ME!" Have you ever seen a bulldog smile? Well, I don't care what you say. Max could smile.

He was a nurse. He knew instinctively when one of us wasn't feeling well and he would lay down next to us our use his best known cure...smelling our eyes. In Max's world, that was healing.

He was a clown. There are too many stories of the funny things he did, sometimes seemingly on purpose, that had us in tears of laughter. Charlie Chaplin couldn't have mastered physical comedy the way Max was able to. Someday I'll tell you the story of the frisbee.

He snored. He snored like an eighty-year-old man from the day he was born. Samantha found it soporifically soothing. I couldn't sleep if he was even in the next room.

He was stubborn, he was belligerent, he was self-willed, and he made those all into attributes. Something no human could pull off.

He was love defined. Max made it possible for our dog Elvis to find his home here, and Max saved a cat's life who we call Smelly and is also part of our family. Elvis loved Max. Smelly loved Max. And Max's opinion? Of course!

He was a friend. I know he fought to stay with us, but as "bulldogish" as he always was, he knew when it was time to go.

The phrase, "all dogs go to heaven" comes to mind about now. I gotta tell you. I believe that. And I also must say that I know there's a special place for Max in that heaven, and he's saying, "What's to eat?!"

There's going to be a huge, Max-sized hole in my heart from now on, but I'd never trade this pain for not knowing him at all.

Max was a great person. You shoulda known him.

Max Warady
September 1, 1996 - March 5, 2008



Submitted by Charley

The War

I had a wonderful Saturday with my family. As the day started to come to an end I turned on the TV and caught a special news bulletin. The rockets continue to hit Sderot and Ashkelon. We are fighting in Gaza trying to push the launchers back. Two soldiers are dead. The price of war. Make no mistake, this is war. I pray we kick ass and I worry because we have a prime minister leading us who is unfit for the job. As I watch the news I feel incredibly tired. I continue to watch the news like the people who stare at horrible train wrecks. I guess we just wait and watch and pray.