Fast Times on Hebron Road: Harry Potter's 'Night Bus' vs Egged

Harry Potter's "Night Bus" vs Egged: See of you can spot the differences.

This is a great post on a new immigrant's blog about riding on Jerusalem's buses (which regularly break the laws of physics and kinetic energy, not to mention parcels in the aisle), and how fast the No. 8 can slalom through a turn:

Anyone at all familiar with the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling knows "the Night Bus." Israel's Egged bus line has its very own version of the Night Bus, albeit it has no shrunken heads, doesn't physically shrink and has no beds. Read it all.

Seriously worthwhile posts (nothing to sneeze at!)

Blogging was and will be light today, due to a scattered - but nasty - head cold-front moving in fast, as well as work projects (damned how they always go together like that, huh?).

In the meantime, two well-written, moving posts:

This week would have been my daughter's 21st birthday.

She won't be here to celebrate it, though. Five years ago, a Palestinian terrorist ended my Malki's life while she stood in line in the Sbarro pizza restaurant in the center of Jerusalem. Fourteen other innocent Israelis, including seven children, perished with her. One family was decimated -­ both parents and three of their eight children died.

That terror bombing elicited responses from leaders around the world. But not many. And certainly nowhere near as many as Israel's November 8th attack on Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip. That misfired artillery shell has unleashed a torrent of anti-Israel rhetoric both within Israel and beyond. After the first 24 hours, it drew 2,026 articles on Google. Fifty Sri Lankan civilians were killed in another artillery shelling that same day. By comparison, only 141 stories reported on their deaths.

Read more.

My audio report for The Jerusalem Post of that day's terror, can be heard in the podcast player on the upper rt-hand corner of this page.
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Breakfast in the Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem. Tables groan under the weight of endless plates and baskets of food. An American group of Christians sit together, clasp hands, say a prayer to Jesus and dig in. The women all wear ankle-length L.L. Bean style dresses with neat little capelets over their chests, and fabulous stiff white translucent bonnets on their heads. Hair is uniformly swept back into a tight, severe bun. Think of your 19th century local school marm. The men wear jeans and plaid shirts. They have beards without mustaches--Amish style. I learn that the men work in trades: carpenters, shoemakers, garage door installers, "honest labor."

"I'm Bother Peter."
"Are you Mennonites?"
"No, we are The Old German Brotherhood. And you are an Orthodox Jew. I can tell by your black beanie."

Read more.

JerusalemOnline news update: Nov. 29th (Video - Channel 2 TV)

• Nationwide union strike cripples country
  
• Palestinians brandish new rocket in West Bank
  
• Negev nuclear reactor leak worries gov't, residents
  

Click here or on image for latest
Israel Channel 2 news update

Israel At Level Ground in The Washington Post

The Washington Post's PostGlobal launches a new measure of world actors' ability to achieve shape our world.

From where you write, who's gaining power, who's losing it, and who is coming in fast from the outside?

Winners: Iranian hegemonic aspirations, whether in its nuclear abilities and political and strategic realms, namely an incremental, grudging respect for their power and influence by western European nations - and even the US, and a steadily strengthening Hizbullah/Syria/Hamas axis.

To read the rest of my reply, click here.

For more about this story, click here.

My previous PostGlobal entry is here.

'Peace breaking out' Index: Pals call Olmert's peace plan a 'conspiracy'

And the Kassams keep on coming...

From The Jerusalem Post:

In violation of a day-old cease-fire, terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip launched two Kassam rockets at Sderot Tuesday evening. The rockets landed in open territory and no one was injured in the attack.

"The IDF played only a partial role in the decision to reach a cease-fire agreement with the Palestinians," IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee earlier Tuesday.

From Israel National News:

According to new orders issued in the last 24 hours to IDF units operating along the Gaza Strip perimeter, PA terrorists positively identified as members of specific rocket-firing cells may be targeted for elimination by ground or air forces.

However, soldiers will require authorization from Southern Command officers before opening fire. The new orders modify IDF rules of engagement initially implemented in light of the recently agreed-upon ceasefire between the PA and Israel. In consultation with other senior officers, IDF Southern District Commander Yoav Galant issued the revised open-fire orders after PA terrorists fired Kassam rockets at Sderot on Monday.

And from the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority:

'This is a conspiracy. This is a new maneuver. Olmert is speaking about the Palestinian state without giving details about the borders,' said Ghazi Hamad, a government spokesman.

And meanwhile, from eastern neighbors:

Jordan's King Abdullah II called for renewed efforts to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a speech Tuesday, a day before he meets the U.S. president, but he warned Jordan would not accept a deal that causes an influx of Palestinians.

The 'Global Power Barometer' shows the weight, direction of of int'l political power

A new feature from The Washington Post: The Global Power Barometer:

This contraption basically churns through thousands of op-eds from around the world and analyzes what the world is saying about key nations and ideologies. Are they gaining power or losing it? Are they in or out of favor?

The idea is to provide a quick visual snapshot of who is managing to affect world opinion day by day, week by week, and month by month. You can click through the graphic display to see a small sample of the thousands of articles from around the world that were used to make the calculations of the day.

This is an interesting item, but I wonder how the core analysis of what to include or leave out in compiling the database is accomplished.

Just guess which way Israel's arrow is pointing...

Break Free (Photo)

(Photo: Dave Bender)

Break Free. Photo shot of a sculpture located on the observation deck at Tel Aviv's swank Azrieli office towers. Security is tight there, due to the location, close to the Defense Ministry, and two guards approached me, asking for ID, and wondering what I was taking pictures of...

More photos of the office complex are here.

'Peace Breaking Out' Index: Ceasefire under the gun (Editorial Cartoon)

More about this:

• Here.
• Here.
• Here.
• Here.
• aaaand Here.
  

Olmert to Palestinians: 'I hold out my hand in peace'

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaking during a memorial
ceremony for David Ben-Gurion in the southern kibbutz
of Sde Boker on Monday. (AP)

Here is an excerpt of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's speech, given today in a memorial at the graveside of Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, at Kibbutz Sde Boker:

We started it the day before yesterday. We embarked on this path - and I hope that it will lead us forward towards the goal we all aspire to - peace, tranquility and mutual trust. We are ready and willing to pursue this path, and persevere until we reach the sought-after solution.

If a new Palestinian government is established - a government which will be committed to the principles of the Quartet, implement the road map and bring about the release of Gilad Shalit, I will invite Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] to meet with me immediately, in order to conduct a real, open, genuine and serious dialogue between us.

(...) If you demonstrate the necessary determination and discipline, you will find in us a ready partner. The State of Israel is a powerful State. Do not be fooled by our internal differences, our political rivalries or the gloomy atmosphere which we sometimes project.

In a violent battle, we will prevail, even if it is lengthy and even if it claims many victims; even if it involves compromises on comfort or quality of living, the State of Israel has proven its strength in the past and is prepared for it today.

Do not put us to another test, which will involve many casualties and destruction, and which will lead to total hardship and despair.

Read the rest here.

'Peace breaking out' index: Kassams hammer Sderot

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SOUND UP: TELETYPE (under v/o)

V/O (1940's-style radio announcer): "And here's the latest 'Peace breaking out' index for Monday evening, November 27th - two days into the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinians in Gaza again fired several Kassam rockets into nearby Sderot; there were no injuries or reported damage in the attack.

Meanwhile, as The Jerusalem Post reports:

Jenin Islamic Jihad leader, Mahmoud Al Saadi, threatened that his organization would carry out suicide bombings deep inside Israeli territory in response to Israeli violations of the cease-fire in the West Bank.

Al Saadi called on his counterparts in Gaza to reject the fledgling truce unless it covered all the Palestinian territories and warned that his group might launch a suicide attack on Israel.

And Haaretz informs us:

Israel Defense Forces troops in the West Bank shot dead at least one member of a militant group with ties to Gaza's Popular Resistance Committees early Monday, raising concerns that there could be a violent response from the Strip.

In the words of Omri at Mererhetoric:

Seriously, could we please do some sort of review of basic effing material existence here? A ceasefire does not "take hold" if there are multiple "Palestinian rocket attacks". That's not what ceasefire means, for crying. Out. Loud. That's the opposite of a ceasefire. That's "Israel not responding to Palestinian provocation"... maybe! But it's not a ceasefire, because - you see - fire hasn't ceased. It's just not what that word means.

SOUND UP: TELETYPE (under v/o)

This has been a "Peace breaking out" index update for Monday evening, November 27th. More background about the tremulous ceasefire is here.

SFX: DING!