Meaningful Prayer

I've always found the following to be the most meaningful part of the High Holiday Prayers:

We have joked about serious matters. We have ridiculed honest and dedicated people. We have tried to find a springboard for humor in every topic. By doing so we have made repentance very difficult, both for ourselves and the people entertained by our witticisms.

Of course, this excerpt does not actually appear in a liturgical text that is recited in the synagogue. It appears, rather, as an interpretation of one particular sin (among many sins to be confessed) in Mesorah Publications' High-Holiday Prayer Book. But these guys are perceptive, right? Maybe a little too perceptive. The guy who wrote this is definitely a smart-ass. Or at least a repressed smart-ass-wannabe.

This is progress?

oh, well. the sole remaining cool pillar of israeli society - army officers' right to sleep with as many female underlings as they can handle - has been unceremoniously politically-correctified out of existence. israeli president moshe katsav, who seems likely to be charged with the rape of two female employees, is the latest high-profile israeli leader caught with his pants down concerning, well, getting caught with his pants down. how the mighty have fallen:

A society built partly on the conscious effort to project an image of strength tended to overlook such harassment. In fact, a certain amount of male rakishness often added to a prominent man’s allure. The alleged womanizing by national legends like Moshe Dayan, for example, was considered part of their mystique.

But the ground is shifting rapidly under the feet of the current crop of leaders as a result of legal and societal changes. This week, the police recommended charging President Moshe Katsav with the rape of two former employees, the most serious criminal allegations ever made against an Israeli leader. And on Tuesday, Justice Minister Haim Ramon went on trial, accused of kissing a soldier against her will.

so, apparently, israeli society is changing. but lest we think that things have gone too far too fast, the Times is quick to mention one expert - Ms. Rina Bar-Tal - who "said she was hesitant to declare a social transformation in what was still a patriarchal society." Well, what better way to follow that introduction than with a direct quote from Ms. Bar-Tal? Glad you asked: “The law is there and the police abide by the law, and the infrastructure of our legal system is working...I see that as a very positive note.” oh, that makes sense. cause for a second i had thought a social transformation had been going on. am i the only confused by that combination of sentences? here's the whole paragraph for you.

But Ms. Bar-Tal said she was hesitant to declare a social transformation in what was still a patriarchal society. “The law is there and the police abide by the law, and the infrastructure of our legal system is working,” she said. “I see that as a very positive note.”

Nice.

On the Agenda...

yeah, i haven't posted in a while. lot of reasons. latest is that my laptop is broken. freaking lenovo; take an american company and run it into the ground. get the damn parts you fucking communists. ok whatever. but i haven't entirely abandoned this site and here's what i have on the agenda once my computer situation improves:

1) pictures from my trip to new orleans.

2) an analysis of how orwell's "1984" applies as well to islamic fundamentalism as it did to ideology of the old ussr.

3) various photos (probly some stunt doubles); including some relating to the story of how I almost became a murder witness in nassau county.

4) update on the domestic disputes i am currently involved in (do not [yet?] involve hitting people)

probly some other stuff too. but it'll take a while.