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Written by Rondi
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Tuesday, 31 January 2012 19:30 |
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For those who believe snark is an invention of our age, rest assured 'tis not the case. I think the mistake we make now is using snark all the time. It is far more effective when used with discretion -- as in the case of this letter, from a freed slave to his old master. The old master, it seems, wanted his now-free slave to come back and work for him again and sent him a letter requesting as much. The newly-freed man replied. Read it and laugh at the glory of the use of language from someone who was not very educated (apparently, he dictated the letter). But boy, could he make his points.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 19:30 |
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Written by Rondi
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Tuesday, 31 January 2012 09:39 |
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...or perhaps in not enough places.
The president of the German parliament on Friday called on Germans to actively stand up against all forms of right-wing extremism, speaking on the 67th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
"It is these people who set an example and demonstrate courage," Bundestag President Norbert Lammert told lawmakers in a speech commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The memorial day falls on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945.
In his speech, Lammert mentioned the series of murders blamed on a neo-Nazi cell uncovered in Germany last fall, saying that hate and violence were unacceptable. He also cited current research that shows 20 percent of German citizens are latently anti-Semitic.
"In Germany, that's 20 percent too much," he said.
It's 20 percent too much anywhere, of course. I do commend Germany on their ownership of their horrid past -- can't say the same for, say, France.
And while right-wing extremists are one place to look for anti-Semitism, I would say much, if not most anti-Semitism in the past ten years (longer, actually) has been coming from the left. I've got some relatives who are positively creepy in this regard. And if you check out your average anti-war/Occupy protest I would wager virtually anything that you'll see placards about the evils of Zionism and Israel and those tentacled Jews with their endless amounts of power and influence.
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Written by Rondi
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Monday, 30 January 2012 14:55 |
...I post this picture.
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Last Updated on Monday, 30 January 2012 15:00 |
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Written by Rondi
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Friday, 27 January 2012 14:35 |
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Today is the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. I've been reading a lot of Primo Levi in the past few months. Here is his memory of the first Red Army soldiers he saw during the liberation, four young men on horseback:
It seemed to us, and so it was, that the nothing full of death, in which we had wandered like spent stars had found its solid center, a nucleus of condensation: four men, armed, but not against us: four messengers of peace, with rough and boyish faces beneath their heavy fur hats.
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Last Updated on Friday, 27 January 2012 14:38 |
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Written by Rondi
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Thursday, 26 January 2012 21:24 |
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It's been a year since Tahrir and like many, I have felt -- cliche about to be used -- that the Arab Spring has morphed into a creepy Islamist autumn. That said, I have not doubted that my friend, Mood Salem (aka, the Sandmonkey), has been sincere is his desire to bring about a free and peaceful Egypt for everyone. So I was not surprised when I read this today:
Mahmoud Salem, a recent parliamentary candidate and Egyptian blogger who goes by the moniker Sandmonkey, filed a lawsuit with the general prosecutor’s office last week against Salafi cleric Yasser al-Bourhami for incitement against Egypt’s minority Christian community.
“Disdain for religion, specifically Christianity, is something the Islamists completely abuse as a tool to terrorize the people they disagree with,” Salem told Egypt Independent.
“If there’s anyone practicing hate speech, it’s those Salafi sheikhs against Egypt’s Christians, yet nobody does anything about it. I’m not the first person to file a lawsuit against them, but nobody follows up and investigates it,” he added.
Salem said he chose Bourhami due to his repeated demands that Muslims not buy products from Christians or greet them on their holidays.
Good stuff, Mood, but...please be careful. You are not in Boston anymore.
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