Friday, August 4, 2006

Israel, Mel Gibson, Google Earth, Vinod Khosla & more

Good to hear that Mel Gibson apologized sincerely for his drunken anti-Semitic outburst. This time his words sound genuine, as opposed to the slick "not enough" feel of his earlier PR statement. Let's hope he follows this remorse with heartfelt penitent actions; if he indeed demonstrates true change, the Jewish community should hold no grudge and forgive him.

It's very disappointing, however, to see so many Jewish Hollywood leaders remain silent on the issue. I don't know them personally, but come on folks - stand up for yourselves. Fortunately Gibson seems genuinely remorseful, but it's outrageous that these bigwigs simply brushed off the incident before hearing his apology. Well, at least one actor should be commended for his stance: No films with Mel says Rob Schneider.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Daniel Lapin agrees with my own statement that Gibson's ouburst is exponentially minor compared with the Jew-hatred in the Arab/Muslim world. Rabbi Lapin, in my opinion, goes too easy on Gibson, but his piece is still well worth reading.


In other news:

Victor Davis Hanson examines Western appeasement to today's Islamofascist threats, and directly compares it to that of the 1930s. This is an extremely important essay. Dr. Hanson's analysis is spot-on, and we *must* learn from our prior mistakes so to avoid them today. Anyone who values freedom, heed the warnings of this piece.

On a similar note, meanwhile, Caroline Glick analyzes Israel's lea
dership's mistakes over the past few weeks, and suggests a corrective course of action.

The Middle East, though, may not be the only source of international peril; ABC News reports on a German user of the Google Earth program who discovered a replication at a Chinese military base of the China-India border terrain. Could this mean China plans to someday attack India? It's no definite, but I certainly wouldn't discount it, given China's known expansionist ambitions. Of course, typical for a mainstream news outlet, ABC all but declares China's fully peaceful intentions. But naturally, they ignore the common sense question - if China won't attack, what's the point of the land? It's not as if, say, American military bases include terrain models of the U.S.-Canada border.

And speaking of the home front, here is a very encouraging article on alternative energy and ending America's addiction to oil. Sure, these articles are a dime a dozen, but this one is co-authored by Vinod Khosla, a founder of Sun Microsystems and partner in famed Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers. If you want a track record for results, Khosla is your man. I'd take his words very seriously.

Blog of the Day: Jewish Irani. Written by a Persian Jew who now lives (I believe) in the United States, this site is a strong advocate for Israel, freedom in Iran, and peace in the Middle East.

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