And happy (a little late, but still pink and frilly) birthday GC!

Now want food.

Do you know what it's called? Any sort of brand name? If we have a name, we're hoping the internets will work its magic.

Er, not off the top of my head. It's generally home made when I buy it, but I know there are companies that mass produce. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

I can't recall seeing any argument for Israel starting from a "Jewish=victims" setting written any time in my lifetime.

Again, I’m expressing myself badly. Prior to living in the Middle East, I was never surrounded by people who equated Jewishness with aggression, violence and possession of power. I did not say, or certainly I did not mean to say, that there was an explicit argument for the existence of Israel as Jewish=Victims. But in Britain we’re still acutely conscious of the whole World War II thing, and Jewishness is thus associated with the Holocaust fairly inextricably. Here, however, Jewishness is associated with Israel inextricably in the public consciousness.

Many countries in the Middle East flat out refuse to admit that Israel is even THERE. The National Education System in Egypt (which is one of the more open and liberal bits of the Middle East) pretty much sucks, and does not encourage the development of independent thinking. I don’t think most people have much understanding or interest in why Israel exists (keep in mind low levels of literacy, many children working rather than being in school, generally fairly Victorian conditions and education), but they consider the Israelis to be violent invaders.

My Teaching Assistant is a very nice, liberal, open minded bloke. We have excellent conversations about all manner of things, up to and including cliterodectomy. He watched the Anne Frank DVD with us, and when I got this angry letter from these parents I got him to phone them, because I thought they’d be more likely to believe him than me – he’s Muslim, they’re not going to assume he’s got some kind of Zionist agenda going on. He was really impressed by the DVD, and he told me that it changed the way he thought about things. Prior to watching this, and seeing primary sources, he had pretty much felt that, considering what he was seeing Israel do to Muslims on his doorstep, the Jews had pretty much deserved whatever the hell had happened to them during the Holocaust. And he’d felt that the Holocaust was used as a justification for anything Israel chose to do, and it frustrated him. Since watching the DVD (comprising readings from the diary, photographs of Anne and her family and friends, footage of the places and occasional bits of footage from German propaganda etc) he’d really been forced to recognise that these were just people, just normal people living their lives. It’s really made him reassess things. It's cool. Clearly the DVD had the same impact on this kid who's been indoctrinated with anti-Jewish sentiment at home, which is what pissed his family off. I'm actively encouraging them to come in to school, examine my teaching materials, watch the DVD and discuss their concerns with me. I think it might open their eyes a little.

Fay, you are a pedagogic badass.

It's cool.

That is very cool.

some of you only have 15 minutes left to celebrate

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and then again in other places...

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Pictures of my hubby doing his half-ironman triathlon are up. I don't know how he gets around on those skinny legs of his. He would like you to know that the clock does not correctly reflect his time, as they start that clock when the pros begin, and he started in a later wave.

Very cool!

Plei does not owe me anything. I on the other hand, still need to mke my reservations for the 4th.

Happy (belated) birthday, GC.

I think I like the black suit better, but it may be because of those incredible shoes.

I hope Jilli chose ringlets. That's what I was voting for.

Stephanie, I hope your situation works out in whatever way gives you the edge of confidence you need to kick ass and take names at the bar exam.

I've read, but can't recall anything else I ought to comment on. Today was day 6 of the death flu, kindly provided to me by my number one son. Thankfully, I felt reasonably human for a good portion of the day so I'm guessing I'm on the mend. That's a very good thing since I'm woefully behind in all my work. Also, my medication is making me jittery, which is why I am not yet asleep. I do plan on trying again at any moment now, though. Really.

Ick. I hope you feel better very soon, Deena.

Feel betterma vibes directed toward Deena.

Stephanie, the barnazi woman is freaking unbelievable. I hope you get this situation worked out so that it satisfies your needs, the baby's needs, and the requirements of the exam.

The black suit looks awesome, vw, and the shoes are fabu. Do we still say fabu? Or is it passe'?

Oh, and ringlets. Definitely ringlets.