Busy

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven't written much lately, I've been tied down with different things.

Hopefully I will be back on track later on this week.

On behalf of the Jewish New Year, I would like to wish all people reading this blog 'A Happy New Year & May you be Sealed in The Book of Life'.

Memorial of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin

A Memorial for Steve Irwin was held today in his family owned zoo.

The likes of Australian PM John Howard, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Cameron Diaz, The Wiggles, Larry King, Justin Timberlake, Hugh Jackman, Wes Mannion, Peter Beattie all spoke at the memorial. There were also moving tributes from his daughter Bindi, and dad, Bob.

His daughter Bindi said her own tribute from a sheet of paper in front of an image of her dad.

She said: "My daddy was my hero - he was always there for me when I needed him."

"He listened to me and taught me so many things but most of all he was fun.

"I know that Daddy had an important job. He was working to change the world so everyone would love wildlife like he did."

She said her father built a hospital and bought land to give animals a safe place to live and she wanted to continue his legacy.

"I don't want Daddy's passion to ever end," she said. "I want to help endangered wildlife just like he did."

"I have the best Daddy in the whole world and I will miss him every day," she said.

"When I see a crocodile I will always think of him and I know that Daddy made this zoo so everyone could come and learn to love all the animals.

"Daddy made this place his whole life and now it's our turn to help Daddy."

For links on the the occasion:

Article

Pictures

Videos:

Video 1

Prime Minister John Howards speech

Bindi's speech

Iran's Ahmanejad Loves NY!

That's one plane the terrorists got to blow up!

We have a visitor!

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran will be flying to NY within the next few days to speak at the 61st annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

He will leave on Wednesday morning on a visit to Senegal, Cuba and Venezuela before going to New York to attend the 61st annual session of the United Nations General Assembly.

On the first leg of his tour, President Ahmadinejad will pay a one-day visit to Senegal at the invitation of President Abdoulaye Wade who was in Tehran on June 24. He will hold talks on ways to expand cooperation with the West African state.

President Ahmadinejad will then go on to Cuban capital of Havana to attend the meeting of the Group of 15 and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.

He will then fly to the Venezuelan capital of Caracas to meet President Hugo Chavez. The two countries are to sign new cooperation agreements.

On the final leg of his current trip, President Ahmadinejad will address at the 61st annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Wait! Now is the time President Bush! He's either with us or against us! He's in our hands. Time to make an arrest!

Now's the time! Do we really need the UN?

Oh, and since your never going to capture him anyways, at least give him a T-shirt saying, "I Love NY!"

War on Terror, 9/11, Iran, Iraq & Kabbalah

Nowdays, everyone wants to know,

"What was Bin Laden thinking?"

"What is Ahmanejad thinking?"

"Why are they trying to kill us?"

I found a new and novel interpretation on the War on Terror.

We all know that the Terrorists are out for are souls more than our
bodies. They wish to convert us all to Islam. Why do they wish to do
it?

It is deep rooted in Ancient Mystical Arabian teachings.

I found a blog which tries to understand these teachings and the ultimate goal is to learn how to overcome it.

It can be found at Being Holy

Read the post titled, 'Osama's Missing Letter'.

Pictures of Sydney Harbour

Look at the pictures! Sydney Harbour in all its beauty, yet untouched by terrorists!

It looks like they're not so powerful after all. I mean, we are now five years after Sept 11 and they have not been able to attack Australia.

Australia, a country who supported the War on Terror, and I must say, one of the only countries who supported the War on Terror, has not been attacked.

Well, you may say that the attack in Bali was an attack on Australians, as those are the people who visit Bali. There is some credence to that, but what we also find is that the Australian national security councils are so far doing a better job than the USA.

Here are some more pictures of Sydney Harbour which I took while there on vacation:

Arrived at Last!

Hi Everybody,

I've been a little jetlagged lately.

I arrived last night at JFK Airport from Sydney Australia.

The flight was uneventful. I flew United Airlines, had a good seat towards the front of the plane. Plenty of legroom. There was only one slight problem. The travelling time was about 20 hours.

How I wait for the time when we will use space ships to fly to Australia!

I won't have time to write much till late Sunday, but I'll try to post tomorrow a few pictures I took of the Harbour bridge.

I'll be back on the usual track Sunday - Monday.

Sam

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin lives on in hearts of kids all around the world

I've been a little busy lately. I've been in Sydney, Australia and will be flying back to New York tomorrow, so I didn't have a chance to write an article. What I did do is bring you an article about Steve Irwin, famous Australian Crocodile hunter who was killed this week by a stingray.

Steve Irwin had such a profound impact on children that many parents believe his tragic death will be a landmark for kids in the way the deaths of John F Kennedy and Princess Diana were for adults.

Many younger Australians were grieving for the Crocodile Hunter as if they had lost a member of their own family, parents say.

"This guy has been in our lounge room for years," said one Sydney mother who has been consoling her tearful primary schooler since breaking the news the TV wildlife enthusiast had died after a stingray barb punctured his chest while filming off the Queensland coast.

She said her nine-year-old son Louis had repeatedly asked, "Is he really dead?" and then cried throughout the evening.

"He knows everything about the Crocodile Hunter, his wife Terri and their kids," said mother Maureen.

"It sounds corny, but he feels he does know the family.

"He has watched all the Crocodile Hunter DVDs again and again.

"He went to a school dress-up dance as the Crocodile Hunter, with little grubs sewn on his shirt.

"He wants to be a Crocodile Hunter when he grows up.

"He cried in the bath holding on to a toy crocodile.

"This is like JFK for kids, or Princess Diana - a young, popular person suddenly snatched away."

Daniel, 11, asked: "Why did it have to be Steve Irwin? Why couldn't it be someone older like Sean Connery?"

"It was as if he was part of the family," said Daniel's father Brian.

Kids and school groups were prominent among the one million visitors a year to Irwin's Australia Zoo park on the Sunshine Coast.

The host met many of them personally.

He dealt with something most kids love - animals - and he did it in an engaging, enthusiastic, almost childlike way.

"Most adults learn to curb their enthusiasm but kids saw him as an adult who never grew up," said one mother.

"A whole generation of kids grew up with him," said British wildlife author Nigel Marven, "and they love reptiles and snakes.

"His passion got kids interested in wildlife and nature."

"A lot of people presenting television just look at the lens and talk to the glass," said Irwin's producer John Stainton.

"But Steve has a unique ability to get through the lens and talk to you.

"He almost jumps into your lounge room."

Irwin's popularity with kids was compounded by DVD projects like Wiggly Wiggly Safari, when he teamed up with top children's entertainers The Wiggles.

Irwin had a cameo role in Eddie Murphy's film Dr Dolittle 2, and a character modelled on him appeared in the animated series South Park.

Then there was the Croc Hunter merchandise, including talking dolls and pinball machines.

Counsellors have urged parents to take their children's bereavement seriously.

"Parents should give them a chance to talk about their feelings," clinical psychologist Judith Locke told a Sydney newspaper.

Younger children were also saddened by Irwin's demise, even if they had not yet fully grasped the concept of death.

Typical was the response by four-year-old James who, after being told that Irwin had "gone to God", said: "But he's still alive on the TV, isn't he?"

The article is from the Sydney Morning Herald and can also be found at http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/its-like-jfk-or-diana-for-kids/2006/09/05/1157222122185.html

Iranian FM to Annan: We May Critisize Jews In Holocaust

Unfortunately, according to the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki there is only one thing which can not be critisized. That is Muhammed.

According to the Foregn Ministers spokesman, in discussions held with UN's Kofi Annan:

"Asked about reports that Annan had voiced concern in a meeting with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on the Holocaust exhibition in Tehran, he said, "Annan expressed his view on the exhibition.

"We also voiced our own stance.

"We believe the Holocaust is not a sacred issue that cannot be criticized."

----

The exhibition is of 200+ cartoons on the holocaust portraying the Jews in a bad light.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has drawn international condemnation for dismissing the Holocaust as a "myth."

Is Koffi Annan Nuts?

Is Kofi Annan Nuts? You be the Judge.

Here are some recent snippets of his press conferences in the Middle East with my comments:

Beirut, Lebanon, 28 August 2006 - Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Press Conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora:

I am urging my Israeli interlocutors to lift immediately the blockade on Lebanon and I am working with them and other international partners to ensure this is done.

How about first speak to the International Partners to arrange another force in South Lebanon and then ask the Israeli’s to remove the blockade?

And we must also address the issue of all other prisoners (Meaning, the terrorists).

Are there not enough terrorists who are free? Do we need to free more?

I must say I have been impressed by the respect that Lebanon has shown the Blue Line since the cessation of hostilities and the discipline that has been shown all round.

I guess according to the Secretary General, terrorists can be impressive from time to time.

Down the line as we have indicated there will have to be disarmament but that is something that the Lebanese government and the people are going to resolve. There has to be a national consensus and a political agreement. If they come across weapons which are being used in a threatening way they may need to intervene. But other than that they are not going to go house to house searching for weapons; this is not their responsibility.

Well, MR. Annan, who is supposed to find the weapons?

I think we need to look at history and situations around the world. Many armed groups around the world have been disarmed. Many have been disarmed through political agreements and understanding, more through that route than through forcible disarmament. Most Lebanese would want to see a situation where the only authority in the land and the only gun in the land is under the control of the Government. So let's not kid ourselves and pretend that the only way to disarm groups of militia is through force. Look around you, look into history, I can give you lots of examples. And, some of the armed groups that you have unarmed are now in respectable governments. The IRA is one example.

With all due respect, what works with one terrorist group will not work for another. Try comparing apples to oranges – it’s more fun! Also, the IRA did not one the complete decimation of a country.

What happened here during the past six weeks should wake up the world and wake us up. What we need is to focus on the future and the longer term peace for the region. We need to tackle the root causes; we need to show that we do reenergize the Middle East peace process to ensure that what happened the past month in the past six weeks does not happen six months from now, six years from now.

Yeah, wake up yourself and let’s start the peace process again! Just don’t make the same mistake twice of trusting terrorists! Although, I would say it is quite hard to make a peace process without trusting a terrorist. We definitely got quite a problem.

Damascus Airport, Syria, 1 September 2006 - Prior to departure from Syria

To further assist in the implementation of resolution 1701 and this particular paragraph on arms embargo, the President informed me that Syria would undertake as soon as possible the following measures:
To establish, where possible, joint border patrols and control points with the Lebanese authorities.

To the Syrians: When you are joint patrolling, please don’t give weapons to the Hezbollah.


Tehran, 2 September 2006 - With Mr. Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran

SG: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I have just had a very good and constructive discussion with Mr. Larijani. As you can imagine, we discussed the nuclear issue as well as the many regional issues of concern to Iran and to the United Nations. I found the discussions helpful and it will come in handy as I move ahead with my work. And I need all the help I can because your region is keeping me and the United Nations very, very busy. Thank you very much, Mr. Larijani.
Sorry Mr. Annan, “I personally don’t find the Iranians helpful. They’re actually a pain in the ass.”

What Constitutes a Democracy? US? Mexico? Iraq? Iran?

What makes a democracy? Is it the will of the people?

What constitutes the will of the people? Is everything done by an elected government constituted to be the will of the people? If an elected government doesn't act according to the will of the people, would it still be considered a democracy?

When the people overthrow a government, is it considered the will of the people? If it will, was Communist Russia considered the will of the people? Would it then be considered a democracy?

This is the multi billion dollar question facing our world today.

When we say Iraq is a democracy, is it according to the will of the people? When we say Iran is not a democracy, are the people against their president? I would say not! So what makes them not a democracy?

Is democracy a term given to a modern day government, as long as such a government doesn't run afoul of other governments?

In today’s news, a similar question is raised:

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Vicente Fox was forced to abandon his last state of the nation address to Congress on Friday after leftist lawmakers alleging election fraud seized the podium and refused to let him speak.

Shortly before Fox was due to give his speech, dozens of legislators who support leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador marched up to the podium, some with banners calling the president a traitor to democracy.

"Faced with the attitude of a group of legislators that makes it impossible to read the speech I have prepared for this occasion, I am leaving the building," Fox said in the lobby of Congress before walking out.

"Whoever attacks our laws and institutions attacks our history, attacks Mexico," he said. "Mexico demands harmony, not anarchy."

Several hundred protesters marched within a few blocks of Congress, throwing rocks at riot police. But there were no major clashes.

They accuse the president of complicity in a massive fraud to give victory to conservative ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon, his former energy minister. But foreign observers and Mexico's top electoral court do not agree the election was rigged.

Let’s say it was rigged, would it be considered democratic?

Was not President Vicente Fox elected by the people? So how can his decisions be undemocratic?

Does the fact that the new president elect was appointed through elections and approve by an electoral court make the decision democratic?

Or do morals decide democracy? If it is moral, it is democratic, if it is immoral, it is undemocratic.

If so, Iran, who is immoral, is undemocratic and the US, who tries to be moral, is democratic.

But then, if a king is just, moral and acts according to the will of the people, will his government be considered a democracy?!

Feel free to give your feelings on this question.