© COPYRIGHT: Michael L. S. -- 2004, 2005, 2006
NO content of these pages may be used without my prior consent.
RECENT POSTS:
Introduction
Posted on: Thursday, June 17, 2004
Shalom aleichem! I've been wanting to do this for quite a while but never got quite to it. Tout d'abord: please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Michael. I'm twenty-five years old and currently "chilling". I've another year before I finish my Master's degree in Law. I'm doing this in Britain but am currently in Croatia. What afterward? Well, the options are really very many. There's anything from getting a job with an organization like the UN or ICC (not that either institution is really relevant any more after the war in Iraq but more on that later) to going off to a place like Colombia and living a peaceful life of comfort. I could also do a PhD in Israel... - who knows. I'd like to stay in Europe while my parents are alive but then it could be literally anywhere.
ANYWAY, more about me if and when needed. Ah, just one more thing: my moniker. Locham Yisrael means "fighter for Israel" in Hebrew. I'm not too politicized but the welfare of Israel is the issue closest to my heart hence the name. Though I'm not politicized in the usual "tribal politics" sense of the meaning, I AM opinionated. However, one of my struggles in life is always to form my opinions based on sound information and following an examination into all aspects and viewpoints of a particular matter. So, I am not a Zionist because I'm Jewish but because after months of study I came to the conclusion that a decent human being cannot but be a Zionist. (Note, before you jump at my throat for supporting Zionism, make sure you UNDERSTAND what Zionism exactly is. I will offer my view on this on another occasion.)
I tinkered with my new digital satellite equipment earlier today and discovered I had close to 500 channels. Oy vey! A more sobering discovery was that literally all of them, without exception, seemed to be crap. Of course, it's only the free ones; I'm sure the pay-per-view is better but I'm not paying for it. I watch little TV anyway. Well, the reason I mention this is that I came across al-Jazeera (Arabic which I regrettably cannot yet speak) as well as a host of other Arab channels. Now, I don't know if it just happened to be particularly eventful day today, but I was struck by how much coverage was accorded to Israel. Without exaggeration, every third sentence on every channel had the word Isra'el or Isra'eli or Philistini in it. These people are totally obsessed! It's a terribly sad state of affairs when nations which are so populous and disadvantaged in so many ways forever exercize themselves about a country the size of New Jersey or two thirds of Belgium or half of Bhutan. Is Israel TRULY such a huge threat to a Syria, an Egypt or a Saudi Arabia!? Of course it isn't. But we're hardly talking democracies here; the foregoing are anything from oligarchies to outright autocracies. And the age-old recipe for such regimes to hold on to power is to invent an enemy. I'll touch on this, too, at a later date. I've a feeling I'll devote quite a few paragraphs to this.
One last thing: Euro 2004 is in full swing. It's Switzerland v. England and Croatia v. France today. I hope the Swiss kick the teabags' arrogant ass though I realize there's not much chance of that happening. Here's to hoping though. (Yes, I do PROFUSELY dislike the Englishers for reasons I'll explain some other time.) France and Croatia? Well, don't mind either way really. Probably France because they'll then have a better chance to bitch-slap the English, what!
Well, I think I'll leave it here. I will try to update this as often as I can.
Kol tuv.
Posted on: Thursday, June 17, 2004
ב''ה
Shalom aleichem! I've been wanting to do this for quite a while but never got quite to it. Tout d'abord: please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Michael. I'm twenty-five years old and currently "chilling". I've another year before I finish my Master's degree in Law. I'm doing this in Britain but am currently in Croatia. What afterward? Well, the options are really very many. There's anything from getting a job with an organization like the UN or ICC (not that either institution is really relevant any more after the war in Iraq but more on that later) to going off to a place like Colombia and living a peaceful life of comfort. I could also do a PhD in Israel... - who knows. I'd like to stay in Europe while my parents are alive but then it could be literally anywhere.
ANYWAY, more about me if and when needed. Ah, just one more thing: my moniker. Locham Yisrael means "fighter for Israel" in Hebrew. I'm not too politicized but the welfare of Israel is the issue closest to my heart hence the name. Though I'm not politicized in the usual "tribal politics" sense of the meaning, I AM opinionated. However, one of my struggles in life is always to form my opinions based on sound information and following an examination into all aspects and viewpoints of a particular matter. So, I am not a Zionist because I'm Jewish but because after months of study I came to the conclusion that a decent human being cannot but be a Zionist. (Note, before you jump at my throat for supporting Zionism, make sure you UNDERSTAND what Zionism exactly is. I will offer my view on this on another occasion.)
I tinkered with my new digital satellite equipment earlier today and discovered I had close to 500 channels. Oy vey! A more sobering discovery was that literally all of them, without exception, seemed to be crap. Of course, it's only the free ones; I'm sure the pay-per-view is better but I'm not paying for it. I watch little TV anyway. Well, the reason I mention this is that I came across al-Jazeera (Arabic which I regrettably cannot yet speak) as well as a host of other Arab channels. Now, I don't know if it just happened to be particularly eventful day today, but I was struck by how much coverage was accorded to Israel. Without exaggeration, every third sentence on every channel had the word Isra'el or Isra'eli or Philistini in it. These people are totally obsessed! It's a terribly sad state of affairs when nations which are so populous and disadvantaged in so many ways forever exercize themselves about a country the size of New Jersey or two thirds of Belgium or half of Bhutan. Is Israel TRULY such a huge threat to a Syria, an Egypt or a Saudi Arabia!? Of course it isn't. But we're hardly talking democracies here; the foregoing are anything from oligarchies to outright autocracies. And the age-old recipe for such regimes to hold on to power is to invent an enemy. I'll touch on this, too, at a later date. I've a feeling I'll devote quite a few paragraphs to this.
One last thing: Euro 2004 is in full swing. It's Switzerland v. England and Croatia v. France today. I hope the Swiss kick the teabags' arrogant ass though I realize there's not much chance of that happening. Here's to hoping though. (Yes, I do PROFUSELY dislike the Englishers for reasons I'll explain some other time.) France and Croatia? Well, don't mind either way really. Probably France because they'll then have a better chance to bitch-slap the English, what!
Well, I think I'll leave it here. I will try to update this as often as I can.
Kol tuv.
ARCHIVED ENTRIES:
LINKS: