Center of Attention
Jun 20th, 2007 | 19 responses
Libby Spencer believes that Michael Bloomberg will, most certainly, run for President. John Cole notes that “Bloomberg was, for all intents and purposes, the real RINO, and conservatism will not suffer with his departure, but the GOP sure was happy to have him around when he was with the party.”
Wondering what The Populist looks like? Go here to find out. And yes, if it walks a cult and talks like a cult, it most likely is a cult.
Andrew Sullivan notes that Maxim presents the hottest women from Israel’s Defense Forces.
That’s it: I want to convert to Judaism, move to Israel and serve in its army.
Did you know that Cindy Sheehan is a Syrian hero? I didn’t.
Hilzoy on onions and carrots.
And lastly, Ali Eteraz believes that Muslim fundamentalists suffer from a “colonized mentality.”
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19 Responses to “Center of Attention”
Michael, go visit. Hang out in swanky Tel Aviv spots and look pretty. You’re Dutch… They’ll love you. Matrilinial descent… We’ll make you jewish afterwards. All of the pleasure and none of the risk of the whole army thing. Enjoy!
thanks Idio, that surely sounds like a great offer
Thanks for the link. ya turkey.
You wouldn’t believe where I found that picture. someone posted to the comments section on my Myspace page and I thought, “oh this would be nice for my blog… I never thought anyone link to it. 
It captures one of the more happier moments in my life. I tell the story behind the picture over on my blog. I guess I should scan technorati more often, to see what’s being said about me. (This one of the many reason I miss wordpress… trackbacks!)
again, thanks for the rather silly link.
-TP
Aren’t, you know, ALL Israelis part of the army at one point or another? Finding the hottest women in the Israeli defense force is roughly equivalent to finding the hottest Israeli women, period.
I’ll take a bigger interest when they do a piece on the hottest male soldiers
Actually, no. The fact that universal conscription is a myth is one of the first surprises that I had when I embarked on my dissertation research.
Interesting Jason. I land in Israel in one week, I wonder just how many surprises I’m going to get…
Jason, there IS universal conscription. Just a lot of people get out of it… I think the number is around 75% of the population serves.
Under the controversial Tal Law, for example, Haredi may apply for an exemption if they are attending yeshiva, although there are specific units for those who wish to do both and the national religious community plays a strong role in the army. Israeli Arabs are exempt, except for the Druze. Then there’s the issue of exemptions based on failing physical and mental fitness profiles… something that has increasingly become a bone of contention in Israeli society as more and more elites and others look for ways out of service and granting of exemptions has become more lax. It used to be that the best and brightest strived for elite unit service, but now, not as much. There’s a concept in Israeli society called “protexia”, which essentially being well-connected to grease the wheel and get things done.
Unlike years back when an exemption from the army was an unbearable mark of lack of societal fitness and missing of a common bonding experience that translated into opportunities down the road, it’s becoming increasingly accepted in hi tech Israel — although elite unit service still opens incredible doors for people just as elite universities do so in America.
Also, how service is played out, is another story. Not everyone is in combat units. There are administrative, service, technology people, etc.
Nevertheless, universal conscription is very much on the books
By the way, Lynx, yes — I think you’ll find lots of surprises. Both good and bad. I hope you travel far and wide and see the good and bad and report back on what you’ve found after taking some time to digest it all. Maybe the powers that be will even give you a guest post
I’ve enjoyed your well-thought comments here…
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That’s it: I want to convert to Judaism, move to Israel and serve in its army.
Maybe you should, or is this just shallow rhetoric?
Idiosyncrat I will be staying mostly in Jerusalem though we may take a jaunt to some other area, assuming it’s safe. I would love to share what I see, but careful, once I get started it’s almost impossible to stop me talking LOL.
Just when I’m getting ready to push for an assignment in France, too…okay, I’ll let it be known I’d accept a trip or two to Israel as well.
What the IAF should do is purchase several copies of the IDF photos and then air-drop them on Gaza. On the West Bank, too, for that matter.
Hmm…Jewish women are usually thought of as being as feminine as Slavic women with facial hair. Nice to know there are exceptions.
Which Dim Presidential candidate is going to get the AFSCME endorsement? We know it’s reptilian-level, brain-stem-only, reflex-and-instinct favoring of the Democrats by that union. But which Dim will get the “honor”?
DLS Better AFSCME than AEI or Heritage. How is that cakewalk going? The chocolates from Iraq are bitter, not sweet.
I’ve known some very hot ex-IDF women (and some guys I wouldn’t mess with if I had a Howitzer), While she may not be sexy, who personifies sex more than Dr. Ruth, who was a sniper for Israel? She says she can still put a bullet through a target the size of a quarter.
Laura,
Personal attacks as well as vulgarity are prohibited by the comment policy posted below. Your comment has therefore been deleted.
I realize you probably felt you were responding to something you found offensive, but you should find ways of doing so that don’t involve personal attacks or vulgarity.
Lynx, you can’t just stay in Jerusalem. Israel is too small and the public bus and train transport system is too widespread and efficient for you not to venture out.
Yeah, Jerusalem is fascinating… You can spend weeks there just people watching and peeling back the historical layers. But it’s easy to get tunnel-vision into “Israel as Jerusalem” and there’s much more to the country. Go to Tel Aviv, for example, and you’d think you were transported to another world. Cosmopolitan, beach, women of Maxim… It’s 45 minutes to 1 hr away and even if you go for just an afternoon and evening out, just do it! Another mandatory day trip would be a pre-dawn hike of Masada and a subsequent visit to the Dead Sea…