We have no vested interest in securing Clinton’s “classified” information from exposure. Every last piece of it should be exposed–especially her role in turning Haiti into a sweatshop haven & using the suffering of Haitians for the personal enrichment of her family.
Daily Archives: August 19, 2015
Who invented algebra?
The things you learn from snooping around Zionist Facebook sites. I thought it was historically undisputed that Arabs invented algebra–especially since the word is from the Arabic “al-jabr” meaning “reunion of broken parts.” But when I read a snide refutal on a Zionist Facebook wall, I went to Wikipedia which is owned by a committed Zionist feted in Israel.
Wikipedia’s posts having anything to do with Palestine or Israel are notoriously dishonest but I figured on the question of algebra they’d play straight. Wikipedia claims algebra is from Babylonian not Egyptian mathematics–& anyway the Egyptian guy who made mathematical history was Greek.
A little more googling around & I found this gem: according to the book Mathematics Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Mathematics, “Throughout these 3000 years, the Greeks, Indians, Chinese, Muslims, Hebrews & Christians seem to have done no more than present their own versions of solutions to linear & quadratic equations, which were well known to the Babylonians.”
I’m perfectly willing to grant Greeks, Indians, & Chinese played roles in the development of algebra invented by the Babylonians. But if Arabs played no role, why did they get to name it? Was it like a booby prize? And how does religion enter into all this? “Muslims, Hebrews & Christians” had their own versions? Not in the Bible. Does algebra show up in the Quran?
Mariah Carey cashing in on the Holy Land
Mariah Carey performed in Tel Aviv yesterday. When asked about it at a press conference, she admitted no one from BDS had appealed to her not to perform. That might not be oversight on the part of BDS supporters so much as recognition of a hopeless cause–another case of knowing when to save your breath.
Carey is romantically involved with Australian billionaire, James Packer, a media & gambling mogul associated in business & politics with Arnon Milchan, the Israeli movie producer who worked secretly for Israeli intelligence on arms deals, including for Israel’s nuclear arms program. Through Milchan, Packer became personally associated with Netanyahu & actually bought a villa next to the Netanyahu’s mansion in Caesarea, halfway between Haifa & Tel Aviv. Carey & Packer dine at the Netanyahu residence when visiting Israel.
Both Milchan & Packer attended Netanyahu’s controversial speech to the US Congress last March. It’s not known whether Packer’s Zionism is a personal commitment or a business decision. The distinction is really irrelevant.
After Sinead O’Connor honored BDS & canceled her performance in Tel Aviv, she claimed her normal performance fee is 10 grand but that she was offered 100 grand to perform in Israel. Carey, who admittedly is more the superstar, earned $500,000 for her single concert yesterday. Her average fee is not known but the entertainment magazines considered the amount exorbitant. TMZ website used the headline “Cashing in on the Holy Land.” Happy singer Pharrell, scheduled to perform for apartheid in Israel & South Africa next month, normally earns between $125,000 & $175,000. It’ll be interesting to see what he gets next month croaking for apartheid.
You don’t have to pawn your soul to support Palestinian justice. Build the economic, cultural, & academic boycott of Israel.
(Photo a Getty/TMZ composite from TMZ website)
Unraveling the Matisyahu fiasco
The controversy over Matisyahu performing at Rototom Sunsplash would be the very definition of fiasco. It also makes quite clear that Israel is going to make things ugly for BDS. To unravel the fiasco we have to know who Matisyahu is, what Rototom Sunsplash is, why the big guns of world Zionism got involved in a reggae concert, & why headlines claim “Canceling Matisyahu performance ‘clear case of anti-Semitic discrimination’” & “Jewish musician banned from Spanish music festival because he’s Jewish.”
Matisyahu is the stage name of 36-year-old Matthew Paul Miller, an American reggae/pop singer who has a certain obsession with being Jewish, who became Hasidic in his twenties, & the lyrics of his music reflect that. For many years he performed in a yarmulke & prayer shawl although he no longer is religious. He is however an ardent Zionist. His lyrics are all about love & peace but he publicly supported the Israeli commando assault on the Mavi Marmara humanitarian flotilla to Gaza in 2010 where nine activists were killed. As far as we know he’s remained silent on carpet bombing in Gaza. He tries to finesse Israeli crimes by playing stupid, by pretending he’s just a troubadour for world peace.
But in April of this year, he was the headline act at Declare Your Freedom, a concert at Tulane University in New Orleans, organized by Allies of Israel & Tulane United For Israel & run by Chloé Valdary, a well-known Zionist activist, & Maor Shapira, a veteran of the Israeli military. The concert promoted Israel saying: ” the only Jewish state is the realization of the Dream of Redemption for the Jewish people & the fulfillment of the Emancipation embedded within the Zionist Dream.”
Rototom Sunsplash is an annual reggae festival in a town north of Valencia in Spain which promotes itself with the hashtag #peacerevolution but apparently isn’t very selective about what that means. Not only did they invite Matisyahu but they included Capleton, a singer whose lyrics call for the murder of gays & lesbians.
BDS Pais Valencia, the local BDS group, appealed to Rototom Sunsplash organizers to cancel the performance of Matisyahu because of his public role in support of Israeli apartheid. There is no reason in the world why they should not have at a concert promoting itself as a #peacerevolution event. It’s only regrettable the local LGBT group didn’t know Capleton would be performing so they could boot his ass too.
This is where the fiasco begins. Rototom organizers–intentionally or not–escalated a simple disinvite into an international incident by demanding Matisyahu sign a statement supporting Palestinian statehood. Of course he wouldn’t sign the damn thing. There’s no indication this requirement was initiated by BDS Valencia. Their public statement calls for ‘ending the occupation & colonization of Palestinian lands, dismantling the apartheid wall, recognizing democratic rights of Israeli Palestinians, & the right of return for Palestinian refugees. No mention of a Palestinian state. No mention of Matisyahu being Jewish.
This is when Ronald Lauder got involved–as president of the World Jewish Congress (the leading international Zionist group deeply involved in establishing Israeli settlements in the West Bank & in promoting Israel as a Jewish-only state) & also as the owner of several cosmetic companies being boycotted under BDS.
This is when Zionist media & organizations went ballistic, accusing Rototom of anti-Semitism. This is when the Spanish government took time out from arresting protesters, evicting retirees from housing, beating back all African immigrants from their territories in Morocco, to denounce BDS for putting “into question the principle of non-discrimination on which all plural & diverse societies are based.” The line between fiasco & farce is often a thin one.
Today Rototom Sunsplash reversed its decision, apologized to Matisyahu, & invited him back to perform on August 22nd. You don’t get more cowardly than that. They can take that #peacerevolution hashtag & put it where the sun don’t shine. There is no word yet on BDS Pais Valencia’s response. But you can show your support for them at: s://www.facebook.com/pages/BDS-País-Valencià/117324538427908?fref=ts
As a postscript, many of the articles berating BDS for anti-Semitism showed six-year-old photos of Matisyahu in yarmulke & prayer shawl–so as to emphasize their accusation. This photo is how Matisyahu appears today.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Michael Jordan’s shabby million-dollar image
Super-athlete Michael Jordan testified in court today that he filed the lawsuit against a supermarket chain that used his image without permission (in a 2009 ad) to protect his image which is “precious” to him.
Jordan’s attorney told jurors Jordan’s name was worth at least $480 million to Nike & that each commercial use of Jordan’s name is worth over $10 million. Last year alone Jordan made $100 million from his image even though he hasn’t played basketball since 2003.
Actually his image has been shot to hell since the 1980s when he began shilling for Nike despite their use of sweatshop & child labor. He chose to become filthy rich rather than do the right thing. A man can’t live down the stench of that no matter how great an athlete or how much money they pile on. Precious to him is putrid in fact.