Zbird -

BTW, if you are interested in my thinking how this crisis can be put on the road to resolution, we can talk, but privately.  

Francois:

All sarcasm and no arguments. But that only sells for a very short time as an opening salvo. Now its time to rip me apart.

>> I won't even go into your claim that "formal languages and formal grammars is pure math," since I think it's funny enough to let it stand on its own.

Why not? You think its funny, so we laughed with you, now its time for you to stop your sarcastic clowning and actually say something smart, like why formal languages and formal grammars are NOT math.

Go! 

Joey,

I think Jewcy should  interview this guy and give him a fair chance to show us what it is to be a Black American Jew. I say, in fairness, we owe his at least that much for all the cars he was asked to park at our Bar-mitzvas..

Well, let us separate food safety issue and kosher issue, because they have nothing to do with each other. Kosher is not kosher because it is healthy or better food. Kosher is a purely religious concept with divine reasons behind it that were never revealed to us and has nothing to do with any nutritional, food safety or any other human logic.

That said, I also want to say that genetically altered food and genetics in general will be a very fertile field for media to make people buy papers, as it can be made as scary a subject as one's imagination allow. Knowing how limited and naive the imagination of our science and mathematics deprived journalists is, I am thinking to fill the void one day.

Tam, ta ta-aam! "An angry ex-husband injects lady with genetic engineering drug that will make her future children half-pigs"!

In my honest opinion, however dull the subjects of pollution, chemical additives and especially hormones in food are, they are far more dangerous than the genetically altered corn, rice or wheat. But these boring and OLD hazards of course are not as sexy as "England allowed human-cow hybrids!" Tam - taa - taaam!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to interrupt this beautiful conversation because of death in my family. However fun it was talking to you guys, this is it for me for awhile.

Best wishes to everyone.

Ok, I know I am calling the whole crowd's wrath on myself, but this is what I think:

1. I would gladly sign this petition on clauses 2 and 3. I believe, as clause 2 implies, that ADL has no business in denying Armenians their natural right to interpret their history the way the nation sees it. I also believe that an apology to the Armenians for such a insolent "valuation" is a proper and timely thing, as clause 3 expresses.

2. On the first clause I disagree, because I subscribe to the same logic that third parties should neither validate nor deny any such claims without serious international legal investigation undertaken. It may feel good to do that but it is immature and criminally naive for a third party to accuse a nation of genocide with international legal authorities silent and the defense of the accused party not being thoroughly investigated. I am not a lawyer, I am a scientist and not a big fan of excessive legalities at all, but in this case, the Western standard of innocent until proven guilty must be applied in some way.

As a Jew, I also believe that many of the signatories here are happy to sign such a petition because it make them feel good and turn away from our own responsibility of illegal occupation of Palestine, the apartheid system that we installed there and how we in may ways deny our own deeds against Palestinian civilians that they also call genocide and from which we benefit - israelis directly and Diaspora Jews - indirectly. Also it is easy for us, as Americans, born or naturalized, by signing such petitions top look compassionate and progressive, rather than take a look at the Native American genocide and the terrible condition it leaved them into from which we all benefit on a DAILY basis.

Hadar - 

I was making a point that it is obscene to discuss Israel's, who has an almost superpower range military and a sizable nuclear arsenal, "perception" of its own survival (which is a very good business too, if you take into an account  that such a much propaganded fear makes many Diaspora Jews and US Congress very generous) when she actually OCCUPIES and subjects to REAL survival the whole neighboring people.

I mean, the psycological  suffering of a torturer may be very real, but I'd rather discuss the suffering of his actual victim that is being water-boarded in the same room even as we speak.

Regards. 

Anonymous (Columbo) -

Yes, where the hell is the pool? And bathing suits! We want to see Orthodox Jewish girls in skimpy bikinis! Oh, yes, and he does not look at all like he was 10 years out of school! Liar! And his wife! How can one be sure that she is Korean? She looks Chinese or may be Japanese! How do we know? Its all lies, damn lies! 

Jordie,

"Lay off my Mom"?? 

With all due respect, and I really mean it - but this is - I am very sorry, childish. 

This reflects a very common wishful thinking on the part of Israelis.

Palestinian society had to break down and slug it out internally because the level of corruption and collaboration-ism was rotting the core. Civil wars, however terrible from humanitarian point of view, in the end, make the society better fit to face its problems. The way I see it - normally, democracy is not a good option for an occupied nation. When you are occupied, you are better off mobilizing everything into one fighting force. After you liberated yourself, fire your generals and select a Parlament. But thee is a  uniqueness of the situation here, and it is due to unique geographic position. The two sides of the Palestinian Civil War, because of the geography, are separated and instead of slugging it out on a battlefield, has to fight it by COMPETING for the "Hearts and Minds" of their coutrymen.  This is de-facto quite a democratic situation and may be we are witnessing the first democratic Civil War in human history. 

We will see two rival sides getting stronger and stronger on a daily basis by having to attract the people on the other side. None of the sides will be able to afford internal corruption or external collaboration.

What Israel does not want to see is that instead of having one weak, corrupted., disorganized pseudo-democratic enemy who nobody wanted to help, it will have two strong, well-organized and militarized, ones. Any attempts of Israel to help Abbas will make the reluctant Sunnis to help Hamas, even if they hate to do this. In such a competition both sides will become stronger and stronger and one day they will combine their power against their real enemy. Anyone who is well familiar with the fights on a schoolyard know how long it takes for fighting brothers to unite against a third party.