Sunday, May 19, 2002

posted by semmi » May 19 2:21 PM | 0 comments. A fascinating analysis of the typological thinking that defined the historical outlook of the Jews for many centuries, and an explanation of why the Jewish people has the image of itself as that of a people forever on the verge of ceasing to be. But the bad is not always the worst. To prepare oneself for the bad without preparing oneself for the worst: This is the spiritual challenge of a liberal order. [MetaFilter] A very fascinating article, and it shows why peace will never be possible as long as people's view of the world is distorted by ancient beliefs & prejudices. Inflexible, fundamentalist religious beliefs are the cause of all of the world's problems today. Religion needs to evolve along with the changing world. So what if certain religious die out? Many religions have died out in the past. On the other hand, I admire the Sunshine Cathedral, a Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), for their acceptance of other religions. Their spiritual hero for this week is Rabbi Baal Shem Tov (1700-1760), founder of the orthodox Hassidic sect. If every religion could be that accepting, the world would be much closer to peace. 9:46:08 PM    Comments []

Matthew Engel in The Guardian: US media cowed by patriotic fever, says CBS star. The White House was to blame for its failure to provide adequate information about the war, [Dan] Rather said. "There has never been an American war, small or large, in which access has been so limited as this one. "Limiting access, limiting information to cover the backsides of those who are in charge of the war, is extremely dangerous and cannot and should not be accepted. And I am sorry to say that, up to and including the moment of this interview, that overwhelmingly it has been accepted by the American people. And the current administration revels in that, they relish that, and they take refuge in that." He said his view of the patriotism differed from that of the administration. "It's unpatriotic not to stand up, look them in the eye, and ask the questions they don't want to hear - they being those who have the responsibility, the ultimate responsibility - of sending our sons and daughters, our husbands, wives, our blood, to face death." As I've said before, if our country is going to go to war on our behalf, torture suspected terrorists, tolerate collateral damage, and for that matter, execute death-row inmates -- if we are going to do all that, we damn well better know the truth about it. If we're too lazy, numb, frightened, or self-censored to ask the important questions and share what we learn with each other, we might as well sign over what's left of our civil rights right now. It will be a lot easier to lose them, than it will be to get them back. [Jake's Radio 'Blog] 12:52:22 PM    Comments []