Murder With A Judicial Stamp Of Approval

The legality of starving Terri Schiavo to death has been certified by federal courts as well as the court in Florida. So what is all the fuss about? The law is the law!

That is exactly the problem. This particular Florida law, which considers a feeding tube as a life prolonging procedure, is a rotten law. The rabbis tell us that all of the wicked behavior of Sodom's inhabitants was anchored in Sodom's local statutes. Florida, by adopting such an evil law, has become today's Sodom.

It is interesting to note that Florida's legislature adopted this law only recently. This I learned from "The Title of Liberty" blog's timeline of the Schiavo affair:

April 6, 1999 - House Bill 2131 was introduced in the legislature by the Florida Elder Affairs & Long-Term Care Committee to amend Section 765 (Civil Rights) of the Florida Statutes. two weeks later, the legislature Committee on Judiciary recommended that House Bill 2131 should also change the Section 765.101 legal definition of life prolonging procedures to add: "INCLUDING ARTIFICIALLY PROVIDED SUSTENANCE AND HYDRATION, WHICH SUSTAINS, RESTORES, OR SUPPLANTS A SPONTANEOUS VITAL FUNCTION".

Oct 1, 1999 - Senate Bill 2228 (formerly HB2131) becomes law changing Section 765.101 of the Florida Statutes to include the above.

Jan 24, 2000 - Trial begins to decided whether to remove Terri's feeding tube.

Feb 11, 2000 - Judge Greer orders that Terri's feeding tube can be removed.

("The Title of Liberty" blog's post deals with issues of alleged impropriety and corruption in the Terri Schiavo case. If half of what is written there is true, not only is the law problematic, but those charged with upholding the law are also problematic. While this is certainly an important issue, in this post I'm dealing with the law itself from a Jewish point of view.)

As a Jew, I cannot accept the definition of Florida's Legislature. I have already quoted several times the excellent article on the aish hatorah web site explaining that providing one with sustenance is not a "life prolonging procedure." Florida's legislators have unwittingly permitted a murder to transpire in their state as far as Judaism is concerned.

Davening Mistakes

I thought that I would compile a list of mistakes that I've heard people make in davening. Here are few that come to mind:

1) The Praises of India: Hodu - means "praise!" when the second syllable is accented. Unfortunately, many put the accent on the first syllable. Then the word means "India"!

2) Praise vs. Splendor: When returning the Torah scroll to Aron HaKodesh I've often heard people say "Hodu (shuruk instead of Cholam) Al Eretz VeShamayim" (meaning "praise about the heaven and the earth") instead of "Hodo Al Eretz VeShamayim"(His splendor is upon the heaven and the earth).

3) Uber Chochoms: In the third "yehi ratzon" after the Torah reading on Monday and Thursday I've heard "lekayem banu Chochmei( as if there is a kamatz katan under the chet) Yisrael" instead of "Chachmei Yisrael". You got to be a real uber chochom to turn a patach into a kamatz katan.

4) The Grammar "Experts": This one is really weird: Shabbat morning in the kedusha of shacharit: "Kadavar Heamur(as if there is a segol under the hey) instead of "Kadavar Ha'amur."

If anybody out there knows of any other common errors, leave a comment. Maybe I'll learn about a mistake that I make. Thanks.

Sharon Rewards Supporters: Three New Ministers, Five Deputies

Arutz Sheva reports:

In a move described as "base corruption" by his opponents, Prime Minister Sharon has decided to appoint three new Cabinet Ministers and five new Deputy Ministers from among his loyal supporters.

I do not remember any Israeli politician giving payola so openly. It is my opinion that Sharon knows the Israeli MSM will not vigorously pursue such corruption as long as the expulsion disengagement policy continues.

Anti-Disengagement Bloggers Unite!

Israpundit is setting up a ring to unite all of the bloggers and web masters who are against disengagement. If you are interested in either active or passive participation in this informal ring, please contact Joseph Alexander Norland at israpundit@yahoo.com.

FOCUS: Bigotry and the Murder of Terri Schiavo

This is a must read. (Hat tip to Power Line.) Here's an excerpt:

Besides being disabled, Schiavo and I have something important in common, that is, someone attempted to terminate my life by removing my endotracheal tube during resuscitation in my first hour of life. This was a quality-of-life decision: I was simply taking too long to breathe on my own, and the person who pulled the tube believed I would be severely disabled if I lived, since lack of oxygen causes cerebral palsy. (I was saved by my family doctor inserting another tube as quickly as possible.) The point of this is not that I ended up at Harvard and Schiavo did not, as some people would undoubtedly conclude. The point is that society already believes to some degree that it is acceptable to murder disabled people.

Cosmic X Goes To A Demonstration

I did something yesterday that I haven't done for a while: I went to a demonstration. It was the 36-hour anti-disengagement demonstration that was being held near the Knesset. During the 1980's and the 1990's I went to a lot of demonstrations. I think that the first demonstration that I went to was to protest the infamous Ahmed Jibril deal in 1985 where the Israeli government released 1500 terrorists from jail in return for three soldiers that had been captured in Lebanon. This was Israel's first capitulation to Arab extortion, a foolish mistake that cost the Jewish people many lives. Many of the released terrorists returned to terror, initiating the first "intifada." I was also active in many of the demonstrations against the Oslo agreements. Since then, I have given up on demonstrations. I saw that the politicians that had orated at these demonstrations (Netanyahu, Sharon, etc.) later continued the same insane policies that they had spoken out against. The voice of Roger Daltrey singing, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" echoed in my mind.

I walked to the demonstration after work. The weather was nice. On the way I took note of one of the signs that winter is almost over: Wild barley stalks had sprouted up on the unpaved areas on the sides of the streets. I wanted to get to the demonstration by shortest path possible, which would have led me past the Prime Minister's office. Nothing doing! The police were out in numbers making sure that nobody could get near that area. (Here they were, I thought to myself, Israel's men and women in blue. Here were our policemen, those who work so hard to thwart terrorist attacks. Are these very policemen soon to play the role of Nazi storm troopers, throwing Jews out of their legally owned homes in order to make sure that the Gaza Strip is judenrein?) I had no choice but to go where the police would let me. This considerably lengthened the distance that I had to walk.

Finally I arrived at the demonstration. There they were, all of those fine people who had sacrificed so much to settle the land. Many of the youth had brought guitars and were strumming away. On the podium Chezki Sofer played a few Carlebach tunes. He sounded a lot like Carlebach, even taking a breath in the middle of a phrase just like R' Shlomo used to: "David Melech, (breath) Melech Yisrael, David Melech, Melech Yisrael..." Then, as is usual at demonstrations, I met an old friend. We've been friends since we were students at the Beit El Yeshiva many years ago. He still lives in Beit El. In 1982, he was in Yamit when the Begin government destroyed that settlement. We found a place to sit and started chatting. "I'm so upset, I can't believe that Sharon is doing this," he said. We talked about our families. Suddenly he looked at all of the youth and said, "You know, when they destroyed Yamit these kids weren't even born. I'm getting old."

I thought about the settlers that were being betrayed by the Israeli Government. I thought of others who were betrayed the Israeli Government: Jonathan Pollard, the soldiers of the South Lebanese Army, Arab collaborators from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip who were abandoned and murdered by the Palestinian Authority. The list goes on and on. I thought of my son who is almost old enough to be drafted. Suddenly I heard the Roger Daltrey's voice again echoing in my brain: "We won't get fooled again!"

Two More Schiavo Related Posts At Cross-Currents

Although the Terri Schiavo case is beyond our control, I feel that it is important that Torah Jewry make its voice heard. That's why I am happy to see two more posts at Cross-Currents dealing with the Schiavo case. See Terri Schiavo: My Dispute With Prof. Broyde and Death Watch.

Galileeblog in Gush Katif

Galileeblog has a post up about his visit in Gush Katif:

How could an orange shirt be so threatening? It is threatening because there is a fear of being found out in a big lie about who the people of Gush Katif really are. That fear is a road map for us to follow, revealing a serious weak spot that Sharon needs to protect – a place where pressure, if applied continuously and forcefully will leave him alone with his “plan” and the Jews of Gush Katif free of him and his evil decree. The more the truth is revealed and known about these good people and the more the demonization of them is debunked, the harder it will be to implement a tyrannical expulsion.

Read the rest here.

Taanit Esther and Taanit Terri

Today is fast day, Taanit Esther. Although the fast is less than one complete day, the hunger pangs can clearly be felt. I wonder, what is Terri Schiavo going through after being denied nutrition since last Friday?!

Update: Chana Meira also makes a Purim-Terri connection.

A Great Post For Purim

Check out Diamond in the Rough.

Anti-Expulsion Protests Continue

Anti-expulsion activists have once again captured the country's attention, blocking main intersections with varied degrees of success and bringing traffic to a halt on main roads across Israel.

Calev Ben-David Doesn't Get It

Calev Ben-David demonstrates that he doesn't understand the true Jewish postition regarding Terri Schavio in his article Snap Judgment: The Jewish right to die:

This is not to argue for any kind of "Jewish" position regarding the Schiavo affair, even if she herself were Jewish. Quite the opposite: Since the whole question of what Terri Schiavo's own desires were (or are) regarding her current condition is still in dispute, it is impossible to draw any general conclusions from this tangled and heart-wrenching case.

Despite that, Rabbi Avi Shafran, director of public affairs for the national Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel, publicly called on Michael Schiavo last week to "recognize that what a court may consider legal can still constitute a grave violation of a higher law," and asked him to "please allow your wife to continue to live... None of us can claim to know what constitutes a meaningful existence, and all of us have a responsibility to preserve even severely compromised human life."

Whatever Shafran or Agudath Israel's motivation for making such a statement, it's entirely inappropriate in this context. Of course individual Jews, be it in America, Israel or elsewhere, are perfectly free to decide for themselves, without reference to Jewish or any other religious sources, their own position regarding passive euthanasia. But partisan voices on either side of this debate have no right to distort traditional Jewish teachings on this subject in order to argue their side of this matter.

Now that we've read Ben-David's uninformed journalist's rant, let's read a true scholarly opinion from Dr. Daniel Eisenberg:

THE CASE OF TERRI SCHIAVO

Let us take the example of Terri Schiavo. She is not brain dead nor is she terminally ill. She is brain damaged and remains in what appears to be a persistent vegetative state. All of her bodily functions are essentially normal, but she lacks the ability to "meaningfully" interact with the outside world (although her parents claim that she does minimally respond to their presence and to outside stimuli).

Her impairment is cognitive and Judaism does not recognize any less of a right to treatment for one cognitively impaired than one mentally astute.

It is a denial of the Jewish ideal of the fundamental value of life that drives the forces that wish to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. While Judaism does recognize quality of life in certain circumstances (such as the incurable terminally ill patient in intractable pain mentioned above), the Torah does not sanction euthanasia in any situation. To remove the feeding tube from a patient whose only impairment is cognitive is simply murder.

We must ask ourselves when we view images of cognitively impaired patients such as Terri Schiavo whether the pain that we feel is Terri's or whether it is our own. While we may suffer watching movies of the severely brain damaged, it is our own thoughts of the horror of a life without cognition that drives us to project that pain onto the victim who may not be suffering at all.

Calev Ben-David should take his own advice with regards to "distorting traditional Jewish teachings on this subject."

Update: Yitzchok Adlerstein at Cross-Currents weighs in on "Rabbi" Calev's remarks:

(Agudah called it correctly, and issued a public appeal to Michael Schaivo to spare his wife’s life. For this, they have been accused of distorting “traditional Jewish teaching” by the world’s foremost authority on Jewish Law – the Jerusalem Post.)

The Unbelievable Horror

Life has become cheap in the good old U.S.A. A brain damaged woman is being starved to death under the auspices of the law:

TAMPA, Fla. Mar 22, 2005 — A federal judge on Tuesday refused to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, denying an emergency request from the brain-damaged woman's parents.

I do not have words to express my horror!

Terri Schiavo Is Being Starved To Death!

From BlogsforTerri:

A federal judge declined for now to order a feeding tube reinserted in Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman who has been in a vegetative state for 15 years.

U.S. District Judge James Whittemore, after hearing arguments for about two hours in Tampa, gave no indication of how soon he may act on a request by Schiavo's parents to order the tube inserted.

"I will not tell you when, how or how long it will take," Whittemore said.

Please Judge Wittemore, make the correct decision, and make it fast! Terri is being starved to death, and a lack of a quick decision on your part is a death sentence for her!

Israeli 8th Graders Hate Hypocrisy

Israeli students are letting Sharon know that his version of "democracy" is a joke:

Israel's 8th-graders are scheduled to take a special test tomorrow on selected concepts in Jewish tradition, Zionism and democracy. Many students will be "boycotting" the democracy section, however.

In an initiative originating in the Yesha community of Neriah, many students have studied the material intensively - but will refuse to answer questions relating to democracy. Instead, they plan to write, "With a distorted democracy like the current one, we feel that we are unable to answer these questions."

New Yeshiva for Both Hareidi and Religious-Zionist Students

This is an interesting idea:

Amidst all the talk and efforts to bridge gaps between religious and secular youth, several rabbis decided that the time had come to bring together national-religious and hareidi-religious youth.

But what about political differences?:

Politics takes up a very small part of their time. "I discussed a little with some of the hareidi guys what they would do in the future – learn Torah or go to work," said Yehuda Shapira of Kokhav HaShachar. "And one time, we had a small debate regarding the question of the Prayer for the Welfare of the State. Each of us brought sources backing up his opinion, and at the end, each of us understood the other one's thoughts better. We also realized that at a certain stage, there's no further point in arguing... By the way, these discussions take place calmly and pleasantly – as opposed to the yelling you can hear in our Talmud arguments in the study hall. In fact, it is exactly that enthusiasm for learning that attracted me to this yeshiva in the first place."

Read more at Arutz 7.

Ha'aretz Comes Out Against The "Envelope Pushers"

I came across an unusual statement in an editorial in Ha'aretz today:

The Gaza Strip should be closed to visitors now. Similarly, all those who engage in violence, who push the envelope, who are working day and night to reignite the intifada in order to disrupt the evacuation of settlements by keeping the army busy with other tasks, must be arrested without hesitation.

Ha'aretz's lunatic leftist bias causes them to say a lot of strange things, but what's wrong with pushing an envelope?

A quick look at the Hebrew version answered my question. The Hebrew phrase in question "mesigei hagvul" which means "the encroachers." The translator goofed!

All of you envelope pushers out there can relax. Ha'aretz isn't against you!

New Hope For Terri

"Even if a sharp sword is placed upon one's neck, one should not cease praying."

Bush Signs Terri's Bill Into Law

President Bush signed emergency legislation sent to him by Congress early Monday to allow Terri Schiavo's parents ask a federal judge to prolong their daughter's life, capping days of emotional debate over who should decide life and death.

"In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws and our courts should have a presumption in favor of life," Bush said in a statement after signing the bill.

Get Ready For Jerusalem's Triple Purim

This year we'll be celbrating three days of Purim in Jerusalem. This is called "Purim Meshulash"(triple Purim).

Here's a link that briefly mentions the laws of Purim Meshulash. This link deals with Purim Meshulash in more detail.

Pro-Expulsion Rally A Dismal Failure

The Jewish sages said that "a lie has no legs." Sooner or later a lie is exposed. Saturday night the government's claim that most of the public support disengagement was shown to be an outright lie. A rally supporting Sharon's expulsion policies drew only 10,000 participants, some of whom were tourists from abroad according to Ha'aretz:

The rally began with a march from Rabin Square to Dizengoff Square, where the dais was set up. Among the marchers were a large number of young people, including representatives of Habonim youth movement from Australia.

Here are a few links covering the rally:

Only 10,000 show up for pro-expulsion march

Disengagement Rally Boomerang

'Israel is leaving Gaza' (Notice how utterly inappropriate this ynet headline is! It is a political slogan and does not describe the event covered in the article!)

10,000 attend pro-disengagement rally in Tel Aviv

Dear reader: As you read the links above, please take note of the mental gymnastics the rally organizers use to explain the low turnout. A classic case of cognitive dissonance.

It Looks Like A Nazi, Smells Like A Nazi...

A certain government wants to deport Jews from their homes in order to make certain areas judenrein. How will it quell unpleasent comparisons to a certain government from the past?

According to bills offered by MK Colette Avital and another Labor MK, a person using Nazi terminology or symbolism "lightly" would face a prison term of up to seven years.

This is not the first idiotic idea from Ms. Avital:

According to the Israeli news agency IMRA (May 19, 2000), Avital, a former Israeli Consul-General in New York told Israel radio that "she sees Israel foregoing control over elements of Israel's sovereignty in the entire country in favor of a larger entity incorporating Israel and a Palestinian state."

Du bist ein Idiot, Fraulein Avital!

Today Is A Fast Day

Today I along with many other Israelis are fasting until noon. We are praying that the Almighty will reverse the evil decrees of the present Israeli government to make the Gaza Strip and part of the Shomron judenrein.

As my stomach growls, I also pray for Terry Schiavo, that the evil against her will also be reversed, that she won't be starved to death. I just read a post by Captain Ed stating that "Terri never got the requisite testing to certify her as suffering from persistent vegetative state (PVS), and the doctor who has testified to her diagnosis has a long track record of right-to-die activism." How obscene!

I pray that the USA, the "land of the free and the home of the brave," the country with "liberty and justice for all", will respect the freedom and liberty of those who cannot speak for themselves. I hope that America will not start to slide down the slippery slope of euthanasia.

And let us not forget the people of Darfur!

"The Yinglele" Takes On Sharon

Check out Yingele's anti-disengagement post.

A Rachel Corrie Memorial

This post is in honor of paradigm moonbat Rachel Corrie.

As a public service, I'm reprinting the cartoon from the University of Maryland Diamondback Newspaper which drove the Islamofascists and the Dhimmi Idiots crazy:




Indeed, Rachel Corrie's life and death will be an eternal monument to stupidity.

And please check out this post at LGF:Corrie's Parents Sue Israel.

Update: Patrick has his own memorial at Clarity and Resolve including thoughtful text and biting graphics: Two Rachels.

Agudath Israel 's Public Plea For Terry Schiavo

Agudath Israel of America has issued a public plea to the husband of Terry Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman, to not remove the feeding tube keeping her alive.

A spokesman for the national Orthodox Jewish organization appealed to Mr. Schiavo to "recognize that what a court may consider legal can still constitute a grave violation of a higher law," and asked him to "please allow your wife to continue to live."

"None of us can claim to know what constitutes a meaningful existence," Rabbi Avi Shafran, the organization's director of public affairs explained, "and all of us have a responsibility to preserve even severely compromised human life."

The Surrealistic Spectacle

Leaders from some 40 nations attended the ceremony opening the $56 million Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem.

At the same time Sharon and the corrupt MKs from the Likud continue their preparations to make the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria judenrein.

And last but not least, the conflict in Darfur continues!

Sharon's Creeping Dictatorship

As Iraq strides towards democracy, Sharon and Co. creep towards dictatorship:

The government’s Assistant Attorney General, Shai Nitzan, said that it might be appropriate to keep Jews under arrest without indictment or trial as the date for executing the government’s plan to expel Jews from their homes in the Gaza region approaches.

Recovered "Vegetative State" Patient Kate Adamson Supports Terri Schiavo

During her early-afternoon speech Kate declared that "If they want to kill Terri they should have the guts to put a gun to her head" rather than condemn her to such a slow and painful death. She finished off by summing up the full import of the Schiavo case, saying, "The measure of a society is how they treat the least of us. Life is sacred or meaningless, there is nothing in between."

Read the story at David Limbaugh's blog.

Civil Disobedience Against Disengagement Blocks Tel Aviv Artery

This is probably just a taste of things to come in Israel. It looks like we are going to have a very hot summer! The Yesha Council condemned the protest. I'm so surprised!

Cosmic X Goes To The Movies: Ushpizin

Our teenage son Moshe called home and said that the community center is screening the film "Ushpizin" at 9:00. He wants his parents to come with him to see it. "All of his friends saw it and they say that it is a good film," my wife said.

Well, the first and last film that I saw in Israel was "Conan the Barbarian" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1982 at the Mughrabi theatre in Tel Aviv. That was before I was "religious." I was a tourist in Israel and my Tzabar Israeli cousin took me to see the film. The Mughrabi theatre, once a landmark in Tel Aviv, has since been razed. I have a few memories from that trip to the theatre. There was a sign informing the public that it is forbidden to eat seeds in the theatre. That was what Israelis ate in the theatre back then instead of popcorn. Was the theatre management afraid that the sunflower, pistachio, and/or pumpkin seed shells would end up on the floor, or were they were worried that the sound of all of the customers cracking open the seeds would drown out the soundtrack? Another thing I remember was that the film had Hebrew subtitles for those who did not understand English. There was one point in the film that was supposed to very serious and but the audience laughed their heads off. My guess was that the translation in the subtitles was incorrect and this is what caused the laughter.

That was, as I mentioned, the last time I was in a movie theatre in Israel. I do not know if they still eat seeds in the theatre and frankly I do not want to know. I was not too thrilled about the idea of seeing a movie, even if it was a Haredi movie, and even if it was being screened in the community center and not in a theatre. My wife must have read my thoughts so she said,"This is very important to Moshe. All of his friends in Yeshiva saw the movie and if he doesn't see it he'll feel that he's missing something."

So we went to see the movie. We arrived five minutes late and the community center was full of neighborhood residents who were already watching the film.
"I don't want to see the movie, we already missed part of it!" I informed my wife.
"Now is not the time to be a Yekke, this is important to your son!", my wife scolded me.

The movie was in Hebrew with English subtitles. I must say that I enjoyed the film. Too bad we missed the first five minutes! Here is a synopsis of the movie from www.ushpizin.com:

Jerusalem. Moshe and Mali, a poor childless Orthodox couple, find themselves penniless on the eve of the Jewish holy day of Succoth.
As they both pray desperately to the Lord to help them, the impossible happens. Their prayers are heard and they receive an unexpected charitable donation. However, a miracle doesn't come without a test, as two escaped convicts appear uninvited on the couple's doorstep, friends from Moshe's shady secular past.
Moshe and Mali believe it is another sign and that God will bless them with children if they follow the religious custom of receiving guests for the holy day (Ushpizin). They perceive the convicts as messengers, but God works in mysterious ways. The outrageous behavior of these unholy messengers and the havoc it brings to the Orthodox community will put Moshe and Mali's faith to the ultimate test.

I won't add anything else in order not to spoil the movie for those that have not seen it. All in all Ushpizin is a fine film. If you have to see a movie than it might as well be this one. By the way, I did not see anybody eating seeds.

The World Loves Dead Jews

This just in from Women in Green:

The World Loves Dead Jews

Tuesday, March 15, 2005, Yad V'Shem will be opening a new museum. Government leaders and dignitaries from all over the world, as well as UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, will attend the inauguration.

These are the same world leaders who immorally push Israel to deport Jews from their homes, and make suicidal concessions to Arafat's successor and loyal follower, the Holocaust denier Abu Mazen.

Women in Green will hold a vigil close to Yad V'Shem with signs which say:


"The World Loves Dead Jews, but hates proud Jews living in the Land of Israel."

"Deportation of Jews: Never Again!"


When and Where: Women in Green will conduct the vigil at 3:30 P.M. at the the corner of Herzl Boulevard and Shaarai Tzedek Hospital.

Jerusalem, March 15, 2005 Ruth and Nadia Matar

American Jews Get A Taste of The Sharon Dictatorship

American Jews visting Israel in order to express their support for Gush Katif, got a taste of Israeli police harassment democracy:

Helen Freeman, of Americans For a Safe Israel, wore an orange shirt supporting Gush Katif and told Channel One TV about the welcome she received from the Israeli Police: "They said, 'you have to be detained.' I said, 'that's a disgrace, why should I be detained?' And they said, 'well, because of your shirt'."

Read more at Arutz 7.

Ha'aretz Gives Hanan Ashrawi a Makeover

Ha'aretz has been called by some "the Israeli version of the New York Times." If they mean that both newspapers distort the news in accordance with their political bias, then I agree! Read this from "Camera" to see how Akiva Eldar at Ha'aretz whitewashes Hanan Ashrawi.

Book Reveals: New York Times Buried Holocaust News

From Arutz 7:

"Buried by The Times: The Holocaust and America's Most Important Newspaper," by Prof. Laurel Leff, has just been published by Cambridge University Press.

Among the book's key findings, according to The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, are the following:

* Holocaust news was consistently relegated to the Times' back pages. Of the 1,186 articles that the Times published during 1939-1945 about Europe's Jews, only 26 (about two percent) of them appeared on the front page, and even those articles "obscured the fact that most of the victims were Jews."

* New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, an assimilated Jew of German descent, feared that the newspaper would be engaging in special pleading and thus deliberately downplayed news of the Holocaust and the Jewish identity of the victims.

* The Times only rarely published editorials about the annihilation of Europe's Jews, and only once ran a lead editorial about the Nazi genocide.

* Because of its importance, the Times helped set the tone for the rest of the media's coverage of Holocaust news; the Times "might have been able to help bring the facts about the extermination of the Jews to public consciousness ... [instead,] the Times helped drown out the last cry from the abyss."

* When the Nazi death camps were liberated, the Times' coverage downplayed the fact that the victims and survivors were overwhelmingly Jews.

Save Darfur

This is not distant history. It's happening in our generation and under our noses:

According to the findings of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, January 25, 2005,

"government forces and militias conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement, throughout Darfur. These acts were conducted on a widespread and systematic basis ... The vast majority of the victims of all of these violations have been from the Fur, Zaghawa, Massalit, Jebel, Aranga and other so-called 'African' tribes."

We will not be partners to this by keeping silent!

Will Terri Schiavo Starve To Death?

I can't believe that this will happen in "the land of the free and the home of the brave." Starving an invalid to death? Unbelievable and so sad! I recommend that everybody take a look at www.terrisfight.org, especially the videos of Terri. For a Jewish view on the issue see Should Terri Schiavo Live or Die?:

Her impairment is cognitive and Judaism does not recognize any less of a right to treatment for one cognitively impaired than one mentally astute.

It is a denial of the Jewish ideal of the fundamental value of life that drives the forces that wish to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. While Judaism does recognize quality of life in certain circumstances (such as the incurable terminally ill patient in intractable pain mentioned above), the Torah does not sanction euthanasia in any situation. To remove the feeding tube from a patient whose only impairment is cognitive is simply murder.

Let's hope that this cruel murder by starving will not take place!

The Ongoing Massacre In Darfur

Patrick at Clarity and Resolve has raised his voice several times against the massacre of Sudan's native blacks by Arabs and the world's indifference. What can be done? The UN is impotent. Will Bush bring in the US Army to protect the innocents or are US forces already stretched too thin? Does anybody have a suggestion what can be done? Our silence and indifference will come back to haunt us all!

Israeli Justice? Bwahaha!

I already blogged about the not so glatt-kosher plea bargain in the works for Liora Glatt-Berkowitz, the attorney from the Israeli Prosecutors Office. Haaretz reports that the plea bargain was accepted today:

Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Sunday morning convicted prosecution lawyer Liora Glatt-Berkovitch on leaking details on the Cyril Kern investigation to Haaretz in violation of obligations governing the duties of state prosecutors. Glatt-Berkovitch admitted to the charges against her. The more serious charges of fraud and dereliction of duty were dropped.

Glatt-Berkovitch was convicted as part of a plea bargain according to which she is to receive a suspended sentence and a fine of NIS 10,000.

The terms of the plea bargain dictate that Glatt-Berkovitch must leave the prosecutor's office and that her pension benefits will only be paid out starting in five years.

Excuse me while I puke. This is a disgrace! A slap on the wrist for "one of their own." For those of you who read Hebrew, read the talkbacks of enraged Israelis at the Yediot and Maariv web sites.

Some Volunteer Policemen Quit

Some volunteer policemen refuse to be part of Sharon's immoral schemes:

"For many years we have felt obligated to serve the State and the community in whatever way possible, in the clear knowledge and recognition of our importance in the efforts to enforce law and order in Israel.

"However, the Israel Police has now taken upon itself missions that can be described only as ethnic cleansing and the brutal expulsion of innocent Jews from their homes – acts that we see as standing in start contrast to the objectives for which we volunteered.

"In addition, we fear that it will soon turn out that we were part of a framework that took part in blatantly illegal orders, and we won't be able to say that we didn't know.

"We therefore announce, with great difficulty, that at this period we are suspending our activities in all frameworks having to do with Israel Police."

Read more here.

The Israeli Ghetto

A very sobering article by Yehuda Poch. Read it here.

Education Can Be A Matter Of Life And Death

Yesterday I read a very sad post by Yingele, "Rosh Yeshiva, The Sacred Job", one that every educator should read! What he wrote reminded me of a story that I heard/read a long time ago (Disclaimer: I don’t remember the source of the story and I cannot guarantee its veracity.):

The saintly Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen Kagan from Radin, a.k.a the Chafetz Chaim was one of the great rabbis of his generation, and Jews from all over the world came to Radin to seek his counsel. The Chafetz Chaim would receive everyone warmly. Once a very distinguished looking Torah scholar came to see the Chafetz Chaim. The Chafetz Chaim received him but refused to look at him. Instead, he stared out of the window as he talked to the visiting rabbi.

After the visitor left those who were present asked the Chafetz Chaim about his strange conduct. Why was it that he did not look at the visiting Torah scholar? What did this rabbi do to receive such a cold reception? The Chafetz Chaim answered that the visitor was the head of a Cheder (Jewish elementary school) in Russia. Many years ago he had a problematic pupil, and instead of rehabilitating the student, he threw him out of the Cheder. That young student's name was Leib Bronstein, who was later known as the infamous Leon Trotsky.

We all know what Trotsky did, and what the communists did to the Jews living in Russia and later on to the Jews living in all of the countries that came under the Soviet Union's influence. The Chafetz Chaim held this rabbi responsible for little Leib's spiritual demise and did not want to look at him. We learn from this story the great responsibility that rests upon the shoulders of an educator. He must make every effort to make sure that all of his students succeed. The educator who takes the easy way out by expelling problematic students from his institution is not really an educator.

The "Sanhedrin" Opposes Disengagement

A group of rabbis who are trying to reestablish the Sanhedrin have come out strongly against Sharon's "disengagement" plan. Some highlights from their statement:

* The disengagement plan, involving the uprooting of Jewish communities in Gaza and Samaria and the abandonment of these areas to a foreign entity, is in direct contradiction to the Torah of Israel, and is null and void. Future governments of Israel will have to re-conquer the areas in question.

* The decision to implement the uprooting will cause large numbers of Jews to transgress many of the Torah's commandments.

* The Government of Israel and the Knesset, in their present form and power structure, are institutions that have no authority according to Jewish Law to render decisions that contradict the Torah of Israel.

* No Jew is permitted to cooperate with the program of uprooting, in any way whatsoever.

* Any Jew – including a soldier or policeman – who supports the uprooting, whether directly or indirectly, whether by voting in its favor, or by giving counsel, or by supplying vehicles or materials, and certainly anyone who actively participates in the uprooting, thus transgresses a large number of Torah commandments, such as not standing idly by one's neighbor's blood (Lev. 19,17).

* The uprooting of the residents of the Gaza Strip and Samaria is a crime and an injustice to the residents, and places many other communities – in fact, all citizens of the State of Israel – in mortal danger.

Read more at Arutz Sheva.

Rabbi Ovadya Yoseph Calls Disengagement An Evil Plan

Shas spiritual Rabbi Ovadya Yoseph said Tuesday he wished Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would "receive a blow and die.” The rabbi described Sharon as evil and brutal.

Traveling in the Galil

My wife and I were in the Galil (Galilee) this week. Here are a few highlights from the trip:

1) Rabbi Meir's tomb near Tiberius.

2) In Tiberius proper Rabbanit Leah Kook was giving a class. My wife attended and really enjoyed it. I learned the daf yomi in Rabbi Dov Kook's Beit Midrash while she was at Rabbanit Kook's lecture.

3) The next morning I davened at the synagogue of the Tiberius' chief rabbi, Rabbi Orbach. There was and old Haredi Jew there, who I estimated to be at least 70 years old. His body was stooped, so bent over that the upper half of his body was almost parallel to the ground. I was astounded by the great effort that this man made to get to the synagogue in the morning and pray. Truly, he was a walking book of ethics. Afterwards I wanted to see Rabbi Dov Kook. I had heard a lot about his piousness. I entered his Beit Midrash, which was almost completely empty, as the morning service was long over. I asked a few students where Rav Kook was and they said he was still reciting the Amidah (the silent prayer recited standing up). I looked around and the only one davening was a relatively young guy, probably in his forties. I had expected to see an old rabbi with a long white beard! Since he was in the middle of prayer I could not talk to him so I left.

4) Chamei Teveria: Natural hot springs near Tiberius that are mentioned in the Talmud (Shabbat 40A) . There are two different buildings for these springs on two different sides of the street. One building has separate pools for men and women (this is the one I went to of course) and the other one is mixed. Upon entering I saw that not only Orthodox Jews prefer the separate pools. This place was full of Arabic speakers (I think were Druze, because some of them had the distinctive bushy Druze mustache. There were two pools, one 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and the other 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit). The sign above the pool said that it is forbidden to stay in the pool for more than fifteen minutes. Indeed, if you are not careful you can easily get dehydrated. (Isn't that ironic: to sit in a pool of water and get dehydrated?)

5) The Rambam's Tomb in Tiberius. This site includes the tombs of other famous Rabbis such as Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai and the "Shla."

6) Tzfat (Safed): Here I met an old friend of mine, B. Freedman, who told me that he was blogging. His blog is called Galileeblog and it is really good. Check out his hard-hitting commentary: Column: Jerusalem of Orange. I plan to be a regular reader of this blog.

7) After a short stroll in the Old City we went down to the cemetery where many famous rabbis are buried. A new concrete path with stairs and a railing make navigating through the cemetery much easier. The Spanish Inquisition caused indirectly caused Tzfat to become a center of Torah study, as many of Tzfat's great rabbis came from families that were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula. We saw the graves of Torah giants such as the “"Ari"” and the "“Mabit."” I was particularly moved to see the grave of Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch, the Jewish code of law. Further downhill, in the newer part of the cemetery, I shuddered when I saw the plot where the victims of the 1974 massacre in Ma'alot. How many more massacres of this kind have we suffered at the hands of the Islamofascists since?

8) The next and last stop was the tombs of Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai and his son Rabbi Elazar in Meron. You just can’t be in the Galil without stopping here.

It was a short but enjoyable trip. Kind of makes me hungry for more!

70 Years Since The Passing Of Sarah Schenirer

Click here to read the story of the founder of the Beis Yaakov School System. She was only fifty-two when she passed away on 26 Adar, 5695 (1935).

Withdrawal Chief's Son Says He'll Refuse Orders

In a bombshell interview here, the enlisted son of the police chief responsible for overseeing the withdrawal of Jewish settlements from Gaza and parts of the West Bank told WorldNetDaily he thinks the disengagement plan is "wrong," and he will refuse orders if his unit is called to participate in the withdrawal.

I Could Not Have Said It Better!

Here's a letter from Ruth and Nadia Matar that is certainly worth reading:




The MAJORITY of the Jewish People Oppose Disengagement


The Sharon Plan for Disengagement is clearly against what the majority of the Jewish People desire. That is why Peres and Sharon are opposed to a Referendum. It is the reason for the intellectual terrorism that the Sharon Government has recently introduced into Israel.

What is even clearer is that the present Likud faction which is keeping Sharon in power, are at the same time destroying the Likud Party. Sharon's action in incorporating the Labor Party into his present government, in order to stay in power, has turned tens of thousands here in Israel away from their former support of the Likud.

Since the Sharon Government cannot persuade the public that its overall security would be furthered by withdrawing from Gaza and northern Samaria, the Government must resort to suppression of freedom of expression and individual liberty. And that is clearly what is being done in Israel, and sadly with American support. Moreover, by turning over part of the Promised Land to Arab terrorists, the Will of the G-d of Israel, as repeatedly expressed in the Bible, is being defied and ignored.

President Bush professes that he is promoting the principles of democracy. He may be doing this everywhere else, but that certainly is not the case with regard to Israel. His actions speak louder than his policies in the Middle East. By permitting the action of the Sharon Government with regard to suppression of free speech and individual liberty, Bush is himself acting in an undemocratic manner, and against America's true national interests.

What does it take to make those in power realize that they are acting against the basic beliefs of the Jewish People and its Ancient Heritage? We Jews have always passionately believed in our Promised Land, our Torah and our Bible. To depart from these basic beliefs, in which the majority of the Jewish People everywhere actually believe, requires something more than the present Sharon Government's promiscuous and unprecedented edicts. The same is true with regard to the recent poorly thought through, and undemocratic pronouncements of Sharon's Cabinet.

All politicians in a democracy are supposed to intuitively recognize that in order to win an election, they must act in accordance with the Will of the Majority. However, the Likud politicians in our present government refuse to act in accordance with this principle. Therefore, the decimation of the Likud, and the destruction of that Political Party, is most certainly assured!

Jerusalem, March 4, 2005

Ruth and Nadia Matar

Youth and Drug Abuse

As a result of Gonen Segev's admission of drug smuggling I started to think about the whole subject of youth and drug abuse. How have things changed in the last 25-30 years since I was a teenager?

I remember that in my time anybody with half a brain had enough examples to know that they should avoid heavy drugs. We all knew about the famous rock stars that had died from drug abuse. In the neighborhood that I grew up in (in suburban New Jersey) there was a youth that got heavily involved with drugs. He then traveled to San Francisco to be with all of the flower children, promptly overdosed and kicked the bucket. So I as a youth had plenty of reasons not to even consider heavy drugs.

Alcohol and marijuana were another matter. I don't think I know of anyone in my generation who didn't try these things at least once. This was part of growing up. Since I grew up in a good family in a good neighborhood, I never really felt a great need to change my state of consciousness. I was happy with my life, and any substance abuse was a social thing or a matter of curiosity.

In college I discovered another disadvantage to drinking. If you got drunk at night, the day afterwards was also lost in a hangover. I had come to college with every intention of succeeding and getting a degree, and I knew that excessive partying would prevent this. Unfortunately, there were some nights when I drank too much and found myself vomiting in the toilet. We used to call this "praying to the porcelain goddess."

Not everyone felt like me about this matter. I knew a guy whose motto was “"The three D's: The Doors, The Dead, and Jack Daniels." It didn't take this guy too long to fail out. Others partied almost continuously and when exam time came around they took "uppers" to help them stay up all night to study. I don't think these guys left the campus with diplomas in their hands either.

Towards the end of college I "discovered" Orthodox Judaism. Judaism teaches us that we must care for our body and not abuse it. There is however one day a year, Purim, where there is actually an obligation to drink more than usual. But this is an exception to the rule. Life is simply much too precious to be spent in a stupor.

The 1990s brought us some nice things, email and cellular telephones for example. The 1990s also brought us ecstasy pills. A new drug for a new generation.

Recently I was at a wedding where my wife and I met a youth that grew up in our Jerusalem neighborhood. He had fallen into the nasty world of drug abuse. Now he was trying to rectify himself and come clean. We sat at the same table. At the end of the meal we recited Birkat HaMazon (grace). I could see that he was having trouble with this task, something that even first graders can do. I don't know what drugs he had taken, but they apparently left a lasting if not permanent damage.

What a heartache for his parents! You bring a child into the world, you rear him, you nurture him, you give him your love and you give him your soul! Then you see him whither before your eyes! I thought of the family from my neighborhood in New Jersey whose soon overdosed. What grief, what sorrow! As a child I could not understand the magnitude of this tragedy for his parents.

Who is to blame? I point the finger at certain musicians and entertainers for making substance abuse "in." Of course, let us not forget the smugglers and the pushers who are willing to destroy the lives of our youth and to make entire families miserable in order to line their pockets with money.

Nobody is immune to this plague. I have heard that drugs have even found their way into some of the yeshivot.

How do we stop this pestilence? Besides prayer, I don't know what we can do. Does anybody out there have any suggestions?

If you are a youth that happened to surf in here, please take to heart what I have written. Drugs are not "cool", and they are not a way to solve problems. They only make problems worse. Don't give your money to the drug dealers and don't ruin your mind. Your whole life is still ahead of you!

DISENGAGEMENT - TRACK RECORD EXAMINED by Yoram Ettinger

1. Israel's 1993/6 disengagement from Gaza and 40% of Judea and Samaria established the pro-Saddam/Taliban PA, coinciding with the dramatic rise in anti-US Islamic terrorism, leading to the Twin Towers terrorism. Palestinian terrorists fought the US in Afghanistan and Iraq. Islamic terrorists compare Israel's disengagement to the US retreat from Beirut (1983) and Somali (1993).

2. IDF re-engagement with, and control of, Palestinian towns has sharply cut terrorism in 2004. Palestinian terrorism has targeted, mostly, Israel's pre-1967 area. IDF presence in/around Gaza protects, primarily, pre-1967 Israel.

3. In 1994 Israel disengaged from 85% of Gaza (and 100% of its population). By 1998 Israel disengaged from 40% of Judea & Samaria (and 95% of its population). It yielded unprecedented terrorism, facilitated anti-US and anti-Israel hate-education, smuggling and manufacturing of terror hardware, recruitment and training of terrorists.

4. 250 Israelis were murdered, by Palestinian terrorists, during 1988-1993. 1,700 Israelis have been murdered, by Palestinian terrorists, since the launching of the Oslo-driven disengagements (85,000 in US terms; 28 Twin Towers).

5. The 1994 disengagement created the largest terrorist base in the world, led/harbored by PLO graduates of terrorist camps in Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia. It is interpreted, by terrorists, as a retreat by the role-model of countering terrorism (Israel), and a reward to the role-model of terrorism (PLO/PA). It has inspired Islamic terrorism, which threatens pro-US Arab regimes (Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc.).

6. The 1995 disengagement from Bethlehem and Beit Jallah facilitated a takeover by Moslem terrorists, which has accelerated the flight of Christians.

7. The July 2000 disengagement from Southern Lebanon - following the loss of 21 soldiers in 17 months - propelled Hizballah to regional prominence (including in Iraq and Afghanistan), expanded Hizballah's role in Gaza and J&S, injured Israel's posture of deterrence and adrenalized Palestinian terrorism.

8. Egypt has inspired Palestinian hate-education and has encouraged the smuggling of terrorist hardware to Gaza. Its re-engagement with Gaza could unintentionally produce Israel-Egypt military confrontations (e.g. during hot pursuit of terrorists), dragging the US into unnecessary conflicts with both.

9. President Reagan: "History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap." Reaganism and the proposed Disengagement Plan (cut & run from Palestinian terrorists in Gaza and northern Samaria, while uprooting Jews) constitute an oxymoron.

An Afternoon In The Dentist's Office

The dreaded day arrived: My yearly visit at the dentist.

In many ways my dentist is exactly the opposite of me. She is a secular, leftist woman. In spite of our differences we get along quite well and I am a loyal patient. While my wife changes dentists about as often as she changes her socks (I'm exaggerating), I've been going to the same dentist for the last 18 years or so. She is a fantastic dentist and a very nice person.

I am such a coward! Even though I served in the army I fear going to the dentist more than I feared doing reserve duty. At least in the army you are standing up armed with a M16 and six magazines of ammunition as you patrol the border. In the dentist's chair you are lying down, unarmed and vulnerable, while the dentist is armed with a vast arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and various tools of torture!

The time for my appointment arrived. I walk into the office and ask her "How are you doing?"
"Thank G-d;" she answers. She may be secular but when she said "Thank G-d" I think she really meant it.

The dentist prowled around my mouth with her little mirror and the nasty hook shaped pointy tooth exploring tool. As she searched around my mouth I was dreading for the moment where she would find a hole with that hook shaped thing and cause my nerves in my teeth to send the "that hurts!" message to my brain. She looked at the fillings that she had done in the past and was quite pleased that her work was holding up so good.

"No cavities," she said.
"Praise the L-rd," I thought to myself.
"But you got a lot of plaque and stone on your teeth. You are not brushing well enough. We are going to have to do some scaling."

I was mentally prepared for that, as I figured that this would have to be done. She started work right away. I can't stand the feeling when she goes under my gums with that thing. I hate when the mixture of the blood from my gums and the water from the scalar causes me to choke when the suction tube is not in the right place at the right time. Every minute is an eternity.

For the dentist this is routine work. She talks nonchalantly with her assistant about other appointments and other patients while she is working on me. Fine, two can play that game. I'll think of something else. Let's see, what vegetables are missing from the refrigerator? Ouch! I still feel the scalar when she is cleaning under my gums.

"That's all, we're done," she says.
"Can I make out the check for the 10th of the March?", I ask. This is a well-known Israeli practice of managing the overdraft and making sure that the monthly salary will enter the account before the check is redeemed.
"Sure no problem. I am writing in my notebook to call you in a year for another appointment."
"Right. We'll meet again next year, G-d willing."

Congratulations To Daf-Yomi Learners

Yesterday was the day when thousands of learners of the daily page (daf-yomi) in Talmud completed learning the entire Talmud. For those who do not know, this is a task that takes seven years to complete. I also learn Daf-Yomi, but the group I learn with is about 30 pages behind schedule (not bad after seven years). I hope to post something when we finally complete the Shas (another name for the Talmud).

Prominent Rabbis Against Disengagement

The Rabbinical Congress for Peace

By the Grace of G-d Adar I, 5765

URGENT CALL BY MOST PROMINENT JEWISH LEADERS TO WORLD JEWRY TO DO EVERYTHING IN THEIR MEANS TO STOP THE MADNESS

An Urgent Call to All Rabbis, Jewish Communal Leaders, and Friends of Israel Throughout the World,

"For the sounding of wailing is coming from Zion: 'How have we been plundered? We have been shamed tremendously, for we have abandoned the land; our own dwellings have cast us out'" (Jeremiah 9:18)

Open your eyes and see what the government of Israel is planning to do:

Jewish communities that are more than three decades old will be destroyed;
Torah centers and yeshivos will be torn down;
Cemeteries where terror victims lie will be given over to the very hands who slew them;
Parents and grandparents, young children and flowering youth, will be driven from their homes; and
Businesses and corporations employing thousands will be closed.
A victory will be granted to terror.
Our enemies will celebrate in the streets and be encouraged to further acts of violence.

Jews throughout the land of Israel will be endangered when the bases of terror will be brought closer to their homes and thousands of terrorists will be set free. Success that our foes could never dream to achieve will be granted to them.

For what? What is being given in return? There are still terror alerts throughout Israel. Rockets and mortars are still falling on Jewish homes. Suicide bombers are still blowing themselves up in the heart of Israel murdering innocent Jews.

"Do not stand idle while the blood of your brother is endangered" (Leviticus 19:16). We must object by raising an outcry, fasting and giving charity. As in all times of difficulty an extra measure of Psalms including Chapters: 20, 83, 103 should be recited daily.

The emperor has no clothes. But the media in Israel are so slanted that they celebrate his parade through the streets while exposed.

You can help! Raise an objective voice. Speak in the name of our Torah and our Jewish tradition.

Tell the government to stop. Speak to your congressmen and senators. Let the media throughout the world know. Let an outcry be heard so that the heroes risking their lives and fortunes in Israel will take heart.

"They will contrive a scheme, but it will be foiled; conspire a plot, but it will not be realized, for G-d is with us" (Isaiah 8:10).

Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman, Rebbe of Sadigura and Member of Council of Torah Sages
Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Horowitz, Bostoner Rebbe and member of Council of Torah Sages
Hagaon Rabbi Binyomin Yehoshua Zilber, Member of Council of Torah Sages
Hagaon Rabbi Meir Mazuz, Rosh Yeshivas Kise Rachamim
Former Chief Rabbi and noted Kabbalist, Hagaon Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu

The Power Line Falls

What happened to those guys in Minneapolis that caused them to start to post pictures of partially dressed women on their blog? Has their readership gone down? I doubt it. Power Line is a great blog which I read and admire, but I'm really upset to see them publishing such pictures.

So Miss Israel won the Miss World Beauty Pageant. Sorry for not getting excited or feeling national pride. Actually I'm quite distressed to see what has happened to us as a result of our long exile. Why should a daughter of Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah want to strut half-naked on a catwalk in front of millions of viewers? Our matriarchs wouldn't have done it for all the money in the world.

I'm really sorry to see that some women do not understand that by exposing body parts that should be covered they are not being chic. They are degrading themselves. They are promoting a culture where men see women as a sum of their body parts and nothing more. Women, wake up!