Judaism boils down to a 3500-year-old debate about what happened on Mount Sinai and what we're supposed to do about it. Judaism is not set in stone; it is to be reinterpreted by each generation. All that's required is a continual smashing of your false idols (iconoclasm), a refusal to pretend you know who or what God is (abstract monotheism) and being nice to people (social justice). In a sense, Judaism isn't a religion at all, but a way human beings can get over religion and into caring about one another.

Two millennia of being treated as a despised race might convince any people that it's true. Ironically, Jews were being persecuted, at least in part, for their very refusal to accept such false boundaries. Local gods, ethnic purity and national religions meant nothing to this amalgamation of formerly disparate tribes. Moses' wife was black, for God's sake. How much clearer can the story get about race not being the issue here?

The Reform movement was a great idea when it arose in the 1800s in Germany. Judaism was built to be reformed. Problem is, some of the reforms were designed for little purpose other than to make Jewish worship look less weird to any Christians who might happen to drop by. So a spirited, participatory free-for-all was turned into Jewish church: Rabbis put on robes, stood on a stage in front of the room and engaged in boring, monotone responsive readings with the congregation. All the atrophied dullness of Christianity, only without the salvation.

Worse, this induced what Freud would call "regression and transference." The audience of spectators regressed to a childlike state and transferred parental authority onto their rabbis, who became more like priests administering the religion to their congregants.

Should Iran be left to its own devices, it is possible to predict that in the foreseeable future the Spiritual Guide will assume a role similar to that of the British monarch or the president of a country ruled by an elected prime minister. Ultimately his authority will be transformed to one of a purely moral and symbolic nature while effective rule is assumed by the popularly elected institutions of government.

It's likely that some of the Satmar chasidim with whom [Orthodox Jewish poet Matthue Roth] prays wouldn't take kindly to linking tefillin and sadomasochism.

Michel, Belgium's outspoken foreign minister who sharply criticized the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, stands accused by a small opposition party for approving arms shipments to Nepal.

Bart De Wever, a party official for the Flemish nationalist party NVA, told VRT radio the suit targeted "Louis Michel's own hypocrisy as his policy decisions run counter to human rights."

Michel last year approved the sale of 5,500 machine guns to conflict-torn Nepal. The deal was criticized because Belgian law bans arms exports to countries engaged in civil war.

About four years ago, the community purchased a flat in Ta’ Xbiex, which could be converted into a synagogue.

We have a room where the women pray, and another for the men (the orthodox separate men from women to concentrate better on prayer). We also have what we call a “kiddush” room, for the blessing of the wine and the bread, and a room for the prayer books. It is enough for our small community - it could not be better.

Since our synagogue in St. Ursula Street, Valletta, was demolished in 1995, the community had been without a synagogue. We held services in private homes. But we could not continue like this. Despite warnings about the impossibility of raising enough funds to own a house of prayer, we started collecting money and lobbying. Everybody in the community has given. We have also had foreign angels, like this American man who gave us the half of the cost. Funds were eventually found within two years, it was unbelievable - a miracle.

By whose authority do our three political leaders – the President, Prime Minister and Opposition leader – give a public display of support to the Palestinian cause? How dare they – our representatives – take the liberty on behalf of the Maltese people, in ways that are decidedly undemocratic, unethical, and uncalled for? Are they aware that, aside from the political class and the usual small but noisy peace-screaming groups, the rest of the country is howling in protest?

[...]

Peace? What is peace? Everybody talks of peace almost like it was that shining star temptingly within reach when, in truth, stars are unreachable. Mouthing the right words won’t get anybody any closer. Wearing ridiculous Palestinian emblems and marching in the streets under Palestinian flags and anti-Israeli slogans, even less so. Peace is anti-nobody; pro-tolerance at all times. That Valletta march was anything but a march for peace. It was a protest march, period.

As a matter of fact, the typical Jew is clever, quick, perceptive, industrious, able in all economic and financial affairs, in short – successful. On the flipside, the typical Arab is lazy and confined to religious idiosyncrasies, with violence and intolerance at the hub of his culture. Arabs loathe the Israelis in very much the same manner they harbour anti-American sentiments. They are the embodiment of all they would have liked to be.

"I do not know whether I am living in a democratic country anymore. Everyone can speak freely against the Israelis, against the European Union, against the government but one can't dare to speak against the Palestinians.

"First of all I am not a racist. But I have my views on all that happens around the world. I am in favour of the Palestinians to have a country of their own and live in peace. Why not? They have the right to believe in whatever they want because that is part and parcel of life.

"But what applies for the Palestinians, applies for everyone. In this case the Israelis have the same rights. In this war, which unfortunately looks like to be an ever ending one, the Palestinians are being made as if they were the sole victims."

Ms Zammit Endrich also said that when there is a war between two parties and the scales are turning completely on one side, as if the other is some kind of saint, when that is not the case, someone has to stand up and say so.

"I know that many people believe that the Israelis are not the Satans in this conflict. I believe that both have their right and wrongs. So when I wrote the article I wanted to show some sentiment for the underdog in this matter.

Simone Zammit Endrich is too intelligent to actually believe that there exists a typical Arab or a typical Jew or a typical Maltese. In the same measure I believe that she cannot be so banal as to imagine that Arabs can be characterised by " laziness and a confinement to religious idiosyncrasies." This is simply her aversion to Arabs and to Arab culture seeping out of her pores. It may also be a genuine form of phobia. It certainly is not grounded in fact or even in common perception or experience. Although, come to think of it, I have come across Englishmen who believed that the Maltese were all whoremongers similar to the dozen or so they had met around Greek Street in Soho!

The "Anglo-Saxon" model promoted in particular in the United States and the UK and advocated by many freedom of expression organisations, is that only the narrowest restrictions which are absolutely necessary should be imposed. Restrictions should only be imposed when there is a clear danger of imminent violence arising from the speech and there is no other reasonable means of preventing that violence. Otherwise, it is strongly argued that the best antidote to speech is more speech; intolerant speech can be countered, ridiculed and shunned by tolerant speech. Since it is improbable that expression in the media, particularly the print media, could directly incite violence, such expression should be excluded from hate speech laws.

In continental Europe, however, the legacy of the Second World War is still strong and European legislation and practice are directed to penalising speech which it is feared might promote hatred.

This time opposition came not from human rights and advocacy organisations but from the Judges' Club, whose membership includes approximately 10,000 judges. This week, Zakareya Abdel-Aziz, head of the Judges' Club, announced that the club's general assembly has decided not to apply for registration under the new NGO law. A majority of the judges in all 28 branches of the Judges' Club voted not to comply with the new law. The last day for NGOs to apply for registration under the law in order to maintain their status as legal entities was 4 June.

[...]

Abdel-Aziz insists that there is no going back. Although he emphasised that the Judges' Club has not been exposed to any administrative intervention or harassment from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the organisation is not immune from potential intervention given that the new law gives extensive powers to the ministry. He said that in 1969 the board was dissolved by the ministry after members of the Judges' Club issued a statement in which they blamed Egypt's defeat in 1967 on the lack of democracy in the country and called for an end to dictatorship. The ministry reacted swiftly by dissolving the board and appointing a new one. This action, Abdel-Aziz says, "undermines the principle of the independence and integrity of the judiciary."

African commodities and raw materials are processed in wealthy nations and then resold by companies and corporations in those nations at prices many times greater than what is paid to the producers, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Tuesday night at a well-attended reception just hours after his meeting at the White House with President George W. Bush.

"The value of the coffee market is 70 billion dollars," he said. "We coffee producing countries get 5 billion. Who takes the remaining 65 billion? -- somebody else!" said Museveni, whose laughter accompanying the comment only partially hid the seriousness of his point. "Africans are being donors but they do it in ignorance."

...the dissidents' statement, published in an Iranian newspaper today, said: "Considering individuals to be in the position of a divinity and absolute power ... is open polytheism (in contradiction to) almighty God, and blatant oppression of the dignity of human being.

"People (and their elected lawmakers) have the right to fully supervise their rulers, criticise them and remove them from power if they are not satisfied."

Tehran was somehow calm last night but some serious battles have started in other cities like Ahvaz & people of Azerbaijan have also some plans....& generally the support of Police has been great, actually they never do anything against people & all that violence is from Basijis & members of Allah's group, that have no special uniform but you can recognize them from the dirty appearance & their hateful bear & way of wearing... I also heard that yesterday in one of Northern streets girls took off their veils & started chanting & policemen were even encouraging others to join them!