12/23/2009

News Roundup

Posted by Andrew | Labels: , ,

News roundup for this snowy Chicago evening.

1. Despite vehement denials by the Israeli government and a diplomatic row between Sweden and Israel, it turns out that Israeli officials really did harvest the organs of dead Palestinians and Israeli soldiers in the 1990s.

2. Hewlett-Packard makes racist webcams that can only recognize and follow white people.

3. President Obama prank calls Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.

3 comments:

Bruce Kratky said...

Interesting. I saw a program on NBC about a Palestinian boy who was killed by a rubber bullet that was intended for an adult. In this case the Israeli government and medical teams asked the father if the heart of the boy could be harvested and given to a very sick girl that was about his age. The kicker to the story is that the little girl was the daughter of a settler! The Palestinian father was informed of this before hand and he still allowed the surgery. Without it the girl would have died. There was some time that passed and the father of the boy asked if he could visit and meet the little girl who was saved by the transplant. Initially the Jewish father was very hostile. However, over time his spirit softened and he allowed the visit. The video showed the uncle of the Palestinian father,this man an Israeli citizen of Palestinian descent, taking his nephew to the settlement and entering the home of the Jewish man. There is an extremely touching moment when the two men meet, the little girl gives the Palestinian father a gift, a hug, and a kiss. The settler father is moved to tears as is the Palestinian father. Yet, after the meeting... all returned to the way it was before. Incredible.

At least in the 90's the unethical harvesting was "equal opportunity" with both Israeli citizens, soldiers and civilians, and Palestinians and their loved ones being victims. If the charge was false that Palestinians were killed for their organs, something I can not believe, that would be terribly non-constructive. The covert harvesting is bad enough. Stoking passions if not anti-semitic. are at least sinful. I am reminded of how hundreds were killed in Arabic lands just because of a cartoon and more killed because of a bogus rumor about a Koran being flushed. Shame on those who intentionally stoke such passions. It is people like that who are responsible for the crime of blowing up the Golden Mosque in Iraq to stoke ethnic passions. We must not give those criminals voice.

Still, unethical medical practices by Jewish doctors, whether the intent was to do good and heal or not, is something that the victims of Dr. Mengela should have been more sensitive to.

9:43 AM  
Bruce Kratky said...

My iMac has a program called photo booth. Interestingly it does not follow my face when I try to use a feature where I can put different backgrounds on it and take photos of myself by the Pyramids, Niagra Falls, Hawaii and some such places. I can also use it with the webcam feature. I am supposed to be able to present myself as being anywhere in the world. It does not work for me, but it works for my two daughters K and A. Interesting. Kind of the opposite problem, if you know what I mean.

9:48 AM  
Bruce Kratky said...

Mr. Obama just cracks me up!

9:48 AM  

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