ON MY SILENCE

Sorry everyone - the few of you who honor me by visiting this blog now and then... The last few weeks have been absolutely hectic for me. I had no time and no heart to put into my little corner here.

I believe things are getting back to normal. More to come soon.

I seriously miss this. Amazing how it gets under one's skin. Or mine, for that matter.

ON ABORTION

With all that's been going on in the abortion realm (the South Dakota Abortion Ban Law, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, and more recently indications that the state of Mississippi is also preparing to ban abortion as well), I decided to do some reading on the topic and familiarize myself further with the issues. So I can argue better - it goes without saying...

I came across some very interesting religious explanations in support of the pro-life movement. The rationale behind these explanations hold special interest for me. In my next posting, I will concern myself with pro-life arguments of a different nature, that is: non-religious.

As we all know, Christians (and in this group I am taking the liberty of including both the Catholic and the evangelical Christian churches) view abortion as murder; this view stems from their belief that life begins at conception, and it is also based on the premise that: 1, it is wrong to kill innocent human beings; 2, fetuses are innocent human beings; 3, hence, it is wrong to kill fetuses. This website has a bit more on the issue.

Buddhists are usually against abortion as well. They argue that the Pali Canon states that life begins at conception. And let's not forget that Buddhism is a religion that places life - any sort of life - above all else. More about this here.

In Islam, it is all about the woman's life. In the event the mother's life is endangered, abortion is permissible (the "lesser of two evils" argument). Also, it is interesting to note that although the Qu'ran condemns the killing of born and unborn children, most Muslim scholars agree that a fetus becomes human only after 120 days since conception. Therefore, most traditional Muslim jurists allow abortions performed during the first 120 days. The basis for this stance can be found in the Hadith (check number 9 at this link).

And finally we get to the Jewish approach to abortion. According to Judaism, the value of the fetus's life is below that of the woman's in cases of danger to the latter. The reasoning flows very much like a self-defense argument, one in which, in the event the mother's life is endangered by the fetus, there is a dispensation for the mother to exercise her right (and duty) to self-defense by aborting the fetus. The woman becomes the victim of a perpetrator, in this case her own fetus. The same applies during labor - if the physicians determine that childbirth would be life-threatening to the mother, the baby is to be aborted/sacrificed.

Still, if it is possible to save the mother's life by maiming the fetus, then abortion is not allowed (and please bear in mind this is orthodox Judaism we are talking about here). The origin of this position can be found in the Mishnah (Ohalot 7:6)

However - and here is the catch - once the baby's head emerges, personhood kicks in. Killing this newly born person then would be murder according to Jewish halacha, and obviously forbidden.

Of course, these views conform to the orthodoxy of the above mentioned religions. Within each of them, there are varying views depending on the degree of religiosity.

Needless to say, most of those who oppose abortion do so on religious grounds. Anti-abortionists also have specific attitudes relative to sexuality, feminism, and teenagers rights. I'll bite my tongue for now, except I must say that one thing I cannot stand in the pro-life movement is the pretense of self-righteousness and moral superiority - especially within the religious communities.

Let's see if the rest of the pro-life movement is any better.

ROBERTSON, OUT OF CONTROL

Pat Robertson is indeed a character. Of late we have had endless supply of mini-scandals and blunders and apologies, all coming from him.

And in his most recent faux pas, he charges that radical Muslims are satanic. Someone needs to put a muzzle on him, and I am dead serious about it.

One cannot help but think the man is a lunatic, and I believe he is. The problem is, he is a very rich and influential one. His popular The 700 Club television talk show has a large audience in the United States and Canada, and it is also broadcast in other countries. And to make matters worse, he is a strong supporter of a "Greater Israel" and has even been awarded the State of Israel Friendship Award from the Zionist Organization of America.

Shame on them all.

STILL ABOUT INDIA, IRAN AND NUCLEAR REALITY

In light of my previous post, I think it is interesting to include here a link to this article by Robert Kagan. Kagan is a monthly columnist with the Washington Post, in addition to being a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a fellow at the German Marshall Fund.

It is a very pragmatic piece, written by someone who obviously knows what he is talking about.

A NEW BED IN THE MAKING

Once again, El Presidente is making a big bed - and we will all have to lie in it long after he is gone from the White House. We could very well name this bed "The Selective Breaking of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) When Suitable".

It is a dangerous bed, even though this is India - a friendly democratic nation - we are talking about. India (together with Pakistan and Israel) has declined to sign the NPT, but the United States is a major signatory. Which means the current administration should be respecting the treaty's definitions and sticking to them.

El Presidente, however, is trying to build a case on the fact that India is a peaceful nation and not an enemy of democracy; that India is an "exception". But if Congress agrees with him, nuclear trade between the United States and India could help further destabilize an already rough corner of the world.

Under this rationale of exception, what should stop a madman like Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from breaking every rule of the treaty as well (Iran is a signatory)? Not to mention that further developing its currently primitive nuclear program will give Iran an edge and definitely the means with which to try and really wipe Israel off the map (let's face it, the man is deranged).

But it is always good to remember that in the past there was plenty of nuclear cooperation between the United States and Iran (one might say that Iran once qualified as the "exception", no? A vicious cycle perhaps?). Some of the documents signed in the seventies under the auspices of then President Gerald Ford, now Vice President Dick Cheney and other equally powerful players can be found at this website.

Of course, this all changed after Iran became a theocracy following the 1979 revolution. But the damage was already done.

So it is 2006, and El Presidente is making concessions about India and bending the rules; Iran, without a doubt, will make the most of it. And although I am by all accounts an optimist, it is hard to believe that Iran truly intends to develop a peaceful nuclear industry. Not under this president and not under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (in 2005, he released an anti-nuclear fatwa, but then recently he also clarified that Iran will not bow to foreign pressure in what concerns its nuclear plans; plus, he is another madman himself).

So, the question remains - why is El Presidente making one more bed? We have many already. And soon enough the beds will outnumber us...

He should stay put, at least this once.

GOD BLESS CARTOONS

Governor Mike Rounds of South Dakota is high up in my list of least favorite American politicians. I am personally offended by his actions and words on this dreadful abortion law.

FIRE

I got some bad news last night: the offices of The Holocaust History Project (THHP) in San Antonio, TX were intentionally set on fire on March 6. Although there are no definitive leads as to who did this, arson investigators will continue to collect evidence.

This is terrible. THHP has been on the forefront of the online fight against Holocaust denial, and they were very supportive last year when I contacted David Irving and as a result got several tasteless emails from his followers.

If anything, it shows that THHP has indeed been doing a good job. These animals need to be caught though. I find it hard to believe anyway that any attack on an organization such as THHP would not be of an anti-semitic nature... And it cannot go unnoticed nor unpunished.

SOUTH DAKOTA STRIKES AGAIN

Is anyone surprised that the South Dakota abortion ban bill became law? I am not. Governot Mike Rounds always made sure we all knew how he felt about abortion and he acted accordingly.

South Dakota has now banned all abortions in its territory, even in cases of rape and/or incest. This is the conclusion of one chapter and the beginning of another: that of a series of battles on the constitutionality of such a law.

Surprise or not, this is a serious blow to all these women in South Dakota - about 800 a year - who seek abortions. They will not be able to do so in their home state.

I am shocked, I am sad, and angry as well. These people, who are they to make decisions about other people's private lives and choices? What is this pretense of self-righteousness? I am at a loss for words, so let me just quote Governor Rounds himself:

"In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society. The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children are the most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with them."

Enough said.

STUPIDITY

The problems of the world today could be simplistically reduced to one word - stupidity. Only stupidity would drive three Israeli Jews (seemingly, a couple and their daughter) to plant a series of small bombs in a Nazareth church, which obviously led to some rioting. Especially given the current political landscape of the region, meaning: the Hamas victory and fragile leadership in Israel due to Ariel Sharon's massive stroke a few months ago.

If in fact the couple has been treated in the past for psychiatric problems and had their children removed from their care by the government (as reported by the New York Times), then why are they out now, free to wander the country planting bombs? Especially if they threatened to bomb other churches in the past. Which they did. So the stupidity abounds, from every possible side.

Stupidity abounds also in the recent meeting between Hamas and the Russians. Well, from the part of the Russians - it is stupid to invite Hamas over for a number of reasons. To say the least, it is a reminder of the Cold War relationship between the Soviet Union and the PLO. Why on earth would Putin try to revive that sort of glory? Not to mention that the visit is taking place amidst the uproar about the Iran nuclear situation, which is also linked to Russia. As of now, Hamas leaders are not scheduled to meet with Putin; but this could change, and that would be very, very stupid of the Russian president.

The visit turns out to be stupid for Hamas as well - Hamas leadership, soooo happy about being formally invited on a state visit by one of the major players in the world arena, was surprised shortly upon arrival with a chilly request to recognize Israel and dismantle its armed factions.

El Presidente, as we all know, continuously provides us with evidence that stupidity is indeed limitless. I mean, how stupid is the fact that he denied having been briefed on the precarious conditions of the New Orleans levees when the whole thing was caught on tape? Duh. El Presidente on candid camera...

How about David Irving? Without question, he holds first place for complete, indestructible stupidity (together with the Iranian president, another first-rate lunatic). From jail in Austria, he had the nerve and the dishonesty to deny the Holocaust all over again - even though during his swift trial he tried to pass as repentant and mumbled something about having been mistaken all those years... Right. That's really stupid, considering that there are those who are advocating a longer prison term than the three years he already got (as a reminder, I am against his sentencing, even though I despise the man).

Here in LA, a $1 million dollar Ferrari (one of only 400 ever made, and illegally brought into the US) hit a telephone pole in Malibu, mystery driver and all. There is plenty of stupidity here. First, who buys a $1 million dollar car?!?!? Second, who smashes an illegally imported $1 million dollar car into a telephone pole? In Malibu (talk about cliché)? Need I say more?

In my home country of Brazil, one of the recently stolen art pieces from a museum in Rio de Janeiro during the carnival festivities was put up for sale on an internet auction site for $13 million - on a Russian website. Er, um, it is a Matisse painting; it is not like it can go unnoticed. I thought this type of internet activity could be traced - oh well, maybe I am the stupid one. And in any case, who would be stupid enough to purchase a stolen Matisse from a Russian website? And isn't it also stupid to disclose this type of information to the press?

As an analogy (with concessions, of course) - during the Israeli Olympic team massacre in Munich in 1972, a very stupid and costly mistake was to let the police activity inside the Olympic village be televised by the news crews at the scene. The terrorists knew everything that was happening outside (including the German snipers on the rooftops) because they could watch it all on the television...

Now that was stupid. Tough competition here. Let's hope the podium is wide and long enough.

ALITO SHINES

Supreme Court Justice Alito Jr. was a little smarter than failed Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers (apparently not that hard, by the way), at least until a few days ago - he waited until he was comfortably seated at his Supreme Court bench to show his true colors.

And it seems these true colors range from religious conservatism to a troubling lack of political savvy - dangerous combination...

Recently, Alito sent a thank-you letter to Focus on the Family's James Dobson, a very strange and very powerful man who believes that homosexuality can be "cured" (meaning, he thinks homosexuality is a disease); he also manages to find a parallel between stem cell research and the horrific experiments conducted in Nazi Germany under the guise of science; and, he obviously is opposed to abortion and advocates pre-marital sexual abstinence.

The letter expressed Alito's gratitude for Dobson's support during the nomination and confirmation process, and in it Alito vowed: "as long as I serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me".

Now, the letter itself is slightly over the top, no doubt. But it appears that Alito also asked Dobson to convey his appreciation to all those who supported him as well. Which Dobson promptly did by sharing the letter with his audience at a recent broadcast of his daily show.

Aside from the fact that I doubt Alito sent such an enthusiastic letter to every single one of his supporters, the situation is a bit surreal. First, that was not the smartest of moves from Alito's position; and second, Dobson's decision to read the letter on worldwide radio is also a bit puzzling - even if this is all about "thank you" and nothing else, it could very well backfire and raise questions about Alito's loyalties and how those will influence his performance as a Supreme Court Justice.

Or we could just look at Dobson's choice of action as pure arrogance, especially when followed by this statement: "We do not yet know how these men (Alito and Chief Justice Roberts) will vote, but every indication is that they get it, they understand". He also added that their confirmation may be "just in time, because partial-birth abortion is now being considered by the Supreme Court."

I truly hope this is just an old-fashioned blunder. On all counts.