Bloomberg is no Giuliani

Michael Bloomberg is going to let Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s chief Holocaust denier (and President) visit ground zero.

This guy is no Rudy Giuliani, that’s for sure. Remember when Rudy kicked Arafat out of a concert for world leaders in NYC?

But the Mayor, explaining his decision yesterday, called Mr. Arafat a murderer and terrorist, and said he was not impressed by the fact that Mr. Arafat had twice been invited to the White House to sign the Middle East peace accords, or that he shared the Nobel Peace Prize.

“I would not invite Yasir Arafat to anything, anywhere, anytime, anyplace,” Mr. Giuliani said at a news conference yesterday. “I don’t forget.”

“…When we’re having a party and a celebration, I would rather not have someone who has been implicated in the murders of Americans there, if I have the discretion not to have him there.”"

Giuliani was criticized for his decision by the White House and others at the time, but looking back now, most people would agree with his decision 100%. Arafat was a cold blooded killer who had no business in any peace process.

With Ahmadinejad, Mayor Bloomberg has an even easier decision, NOBODY likes this guy. Persians living in the US & elsewhere don’t like him, sane Americans don’t like him, the world thinks he’s a clown. The only person who seems to embrace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is my fellow Jew and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

UPDATE: Rudy takes a stand

“Under no circumstances should the NYPD or any other American authority assist President Ahmadinejad in visiting Ground Zero. This is a man who has made threats against America and Israel, is harboring Bin Laden’s son and other al-Qaeda leaders, is shipping arms to Iraqi insurgents and is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. Assisting Ahmadinejad in touring Ground Zero – hallowed ground for all Americans – is outrageous.”

UPDATE2: The New York Observer blog linked to this post

UPDATE3: Ahmadinejad’s Ground Zero visit rejected

Is Carlos Slim Jewish?

Ever since I wrote about Carlos Slim, people have been running in to this blog by searching for: ‘carlos slim jewish origin’, ‘carlos slim jewish’, etc. I’m assuming that he’s not because only a tiny segment of Mexico is.

Does anyone know if Carlos Slim is Jewish?

Moving name giving ceremony

Last night part of shabbat services included a naming ceremony for a little girl. It was particularly moving because she was recently adopted. The Rabbi had the mother, grandmother, and aunt (mother’s sister), come up. They each read bits of the torah along with their wishes for the girl. All 3 women were moved to tears of joy. Between the little girl’s family and the rest of us, there was so much warmth in the room.

Music feature

I just added a music widget by Sonific to this blog’s sidebar. In short, it’s a jukebox which I will change from time to time based on songs and genres I’m intrigued with. Don’t worry, it’s not obnoxious the way some sites are, music will not play unless you specifically click the play button.

Lately, I’ve been exploring my Jewish identity, which is why the music player is set to play a song called L’cha Dodi.