The Jewmanist

Anti-gay forces in Florida have effectively stopped entertainment industry tax incentives for movies and TV shows with gay characters. Way to lose jobs! They say it has something to do with not being “family friendly”. Last time I checked, hate was not a family value. But perhaps fear is?

I have worked in the entertainment industry quite a bit and am originally from Florida…excuse me, that’s Miami. South Florida is a whole other lifestyle than the rest of the state.

This just seems to be shooting yourself in the feet. With the economy as fragile as it is with people begging for more job creation, doesn’t make a lick of sense to remove that large part of revenue generated by the entertainment industry. This could potentially upset enough people in the entertainment industry to not go to Florida at all for Los Angeles Lite. That is, except for Kirk Cameron flicks. And I’d doubt that he’d spend 75 million on any of his projects.

Teach the controversy! Oh, well, wait..

The chief scientist in Israel’s ministry of education, Gavriel Avital, “sparked a furor” by questioning the reliability of evolution and global warming, leading to calls for his dismissal, according to Haaretz (February 21, 2010). “If textbooks state explicitly that human beings’ origins are to be found with monkeys, I would want students to pursue and grapple with other opinions. There are many people who don’t believe the evolutionary account is correct,” he was quoted as saying. “There are those for whom evolution is a religion and are unwilling to hear about anything else. Part of my responsibility, in light of my position with the Education Ministry, is to examine textbooks and curricula.”

…

Hava Yablonka of Tel Aviv University told Haaretz that Avital’s statements were tantamount “to saying that space should be given in textbooks to the view that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it. It’s astonishing that the chief scientist of a government ministry can say such bizarre things.”

Hebah Ismail, an Egyptian-American Harvard Law student flew to Israel to do research on human rights. From the Harvard Law Record:

A warm smile and easy laugh reveal Hebah Ismail’s unthreatening, gentle personality. An American citizen, this 3L of Egyptian descent works with the International Human Rights Clinic on projects related to Bedouin land rights. Hebah wears a hijab. She still does not know which of one, or combination, of these characteristics prompted the immigration personnel at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport to deem her dangerous and deny her entry to Israel.

Profiling at it’s best…

After going through her computer, including the external hard drive, the line of questions continued. While most of those originally holding Ismail appeared rather young, a man in his 30s and clearly in a position of authority took over the interrogation.

Ismail recounts how this man introduced himself.

I know this story is a few days old, but- wow.

NEW YORK — Bicyclists planning a protest ride through New York City are calling it their “Freedom Ride” – free of clothing, that is. The removal of clothing during Saturday’s ride is meant as a protest over the removal of a bike lane in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

Bicycling advocates say the city erased the bike lane from the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood because some conservative residents were upset about seeing women in skimpy clothing ride by every day.

The conservative Jewish faithful say that’s not the issue. They say it’s about safety. A Bloomberg spokesman notes that there is another bike lane nearby that is separated from car traffic.

The naked protesters, meanwhile, will face some fierce weather Saturday: Forecasters are predicting snow and brisk winds.

[Read more.]

Well, if it’s all about safety, I get it. But really?