Israellycool

“If we show weakness in front of the enemy the expectations will increase but if we stand against them, because of this resistance, they will retreat.”

- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, vowing no weakness over international demands that Iran stop their nuclear work.

And this, my friends, shows the mindset of our enemies. Compromise is seen as weakness, and concessions just increase their expectations of receiving more.

For more on this topic, you can read this post of mine from almost three years ago.

The Third Annual Jewish and Israeli Blog Awards are on their way. The dedicated organizers have already put together a spanking new website, and seem to be progressing along nicely.

But of course, as Bagel Blogger explains, help would be nice.

We have managed to gain some good corporate Sponsors, more are needed.

Each day we sail forward solving navigation problems with our sextant, maintaining direction, resolving programing problems and trying to foresee other complexities before they arise.

We have the need of a creative and well versed writer for Press releases to the media.

There’s a cabin vacant for someone who is not scared of knocking on doors and asking questions, if you’ve got belief in your abilities and you’re looking for a challenge then climb aboard.

It’s only when you take on these responsibilities does the enormity of the situation and the work required become apparent. Akiva, Chaim and Aaron are putting together the graphics and website, there’s a need for a volunteer with possibly PHP experience.

The team could do with some motivated volunteers, if you’ve got a lot to offer including demands on your time, then jump aboard what is going to be the biggest promotional event of the Jewish Blogging World.

I can attest to the amount of work involved, which is a major reason why I decided to step aside for now. So please help if you have the time and inclination.

That would be him on the right.

Update: I feel a caption contest coming on…

More proof of The Snip’s health benefits:

Scientists say conclusive data shows there is no question circumcision reduces men’s chances of catching HIV by up to 60 percent ‚Äî a finding experts are hailing as a major breakthrough in the fight against AIDS. The question now is how to put that fact to work to combat AIDS across Africa.

The findings first were announced in December, when initial results from two major trials — in Kenya and Uganda — showed promising links between circumcision and HIV transmission. However, those trials were deemed so definitive that the tests were halted early.

The full data from the trials, carried out by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, were published Friday in The Lancet.

More proof that G-d has a sense of humor:

“This is an extraordinary development,” said Dr. Kevin de Cock, director of the World Health Organization’s AIDS department. “Circumcision is the most potent intervention in HIV prevention that has been described.”

Looks like former Survivor contestant Jonny Fairplay was in Australia protesting Dick Cheney’s visit.

..comes courtesy of the AFP:

Israel gripped by Syria war fears

Yeah, right. Them and which army? (ok, that would be the Iranian one, but the question was rhetorical).

Trust me, Israel is not gripped by any such fears. But don’t take my word for it. Read the article to which the headline is attached, and you won’t find much in the way of correlation between it and the headline.

A reported Syrian troop build-up near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has fuelled speculation in Israel about a future conflict, more than three decades after the two enemies last went to war.

Syrian armed forces appear to be moving closer to the armistice line as Damascus spearheads an unprecendented armaments drive, shrieked Israel’s Haaretz newspaper from its front page Thursday.

“The Syrian armed forces are being strengthened in a way unprecedented in recent memory with the help of generous funding from Iran,” wrote military affairs correspondent Zeev Schiff.

Brigadier General Yossi Beidatz, the head of military intelligence research, has also warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is preparing for conflict with Israel, possibly through Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel last year.

Haaretz said the main thrust of Syria’s armaments drive was missiles and long-range rockets, with its navy being bolstered by an Iranian missile similar to one fired by Hezbollah, killing four Israeli sailors last summer.

Syria is also close to concluding a deal with Russia to procure thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles, of the sort Hezbollah used to such lethal effect against Israeli armour last year, Haaretz reported.

“It appears that the Syrians have moved forces closer to the border (armistice line) with Israel on the Golan Heights,” wrote Schiff, noting similar movements prior to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

—-

Syria has test-fired ballistic missiles, such as a Scud-D surface-to-surface missile, which would put most of Israel within range, Haaretz reported.

Yes, Israel is paying attention to developments up north, but to state that we are gripped by fear is dishonest. As is the next statement from the report.

Israel is still smarting from its deadly pounding by more than 4,000 Hezbollah rockets that killed some 40 civilians last summer.

Actually, I think a more accurate statement would be that we are still smarting from our lack of a cohesive and effective response. We did not demonstrate to Hizbullah that attacking Israel means paying an extremely high price. Instead, they lived to fight another day and replenish their supplies for the next round. As for being pounded by rockets, this is still occuring on an almost daily basis, so we are unfortunately used to it.

One aide, Amos Gilad, said he saw no immediate danger of war but that Syrian weapons purchases highlighted the need for Israel to remain combat-ready.

“The fact that Syria is strengthening its military capabilities does not mean we’re going to be attacked tomorrow but certainly we need to be prepared,” Gilad told public radio.

“There is no danger of war. There is no deployment of forces indicating that Israel would be threatened by an offensive tomorrow.”

How the AFP’s Jacques Pinto reads into this that we are gripped by fear of war is beyond me. But then again, he has a French-sounding name, so he is probably well qualified to talk about the fear of actually fighting.