Wednesday, November 22, 2006

In search of Yids... Pt. 1

It's amazing how much we can learn by actually listening to our old relatives. You know, the ones who go on and on despite pleas to stop.

I called my grandmother's (older?) sister today to see what I could learn about the family. Actually, it started a few weeks ago when I asked my mother some random questions about the family history, mostly out of curiosity, not to open up this whole can of worms.

My mom told me that her sister had a bunch of family documents, but when I e-mailed her, she refered me to Aunt Catherine (my great-aunt). So I called a woman I haven't spoken with since my grandmother's passing in 1998 when I was 16 and had more important things to think about than my ancestry.

So I finally got a moment to talk with Aunt Catherine and here's what I was able to find out. Wait: first a preface. My family is largely atheist/secular/Christian/Jewish, in that order. Of course my matrilinial ancestry is all Jewish; in fact, I'm pretty sure my grandmother set the precedent in marrying a goy. How I learned it, two (unrelated) families came here from Germany in the 1800s, and stayed very close. So close, that the two families intermarried (all kosher here).

Today's conversation with aforementioned aunt brought the following news: A woman named Ann, who survived the Holocaust along with her older sister, was married to a Wallerstein (great-grandfather's family). So she was sent to the U.S. to live with the family here in order to escape Nazi death camps (I'm filling all this in) and brought with her information about the rest of the family, both in Germany (I'm not sure if there are too many) and in Israel.

Apparently my uncle, while traveling to Israel not too long ago, met someone on the plane with the family name, and figured out that the guy is related! My uncle, by the way, was studying medicine in Germany when the Yom Kippur War broke out, and he went to Israel to volunteer as a medic in the army!

On my great-grandmother Ruth's (my namesake)side, the history is in good hands with Ruth's great-neice, who married a man from the other family I mentioned.

My great-aunt, in the meantime, is going to send me copies of family documents, which there are boxes of. The other stashes of goodies are housed in L.A., Kentucky and Philadelphia. Looks like my road trip might be worthwhile afterall.

At age 23, here's what one phone call told me about my rich ancestry and modern whereabouts:

1. I have extended family in Israel and possibly Germany.
2. We have a lot of practicing Jews still! And Zionists! Basically, my grandmother's family is the only major Goy-esque branch.
3. Three people hold documentation to the family history.
4. The family name was a result of Napoleon forcing people to take last names to make it easier to tax them. My G-G-G-G(or whatever)-grandfather chose to honor his hometown, and was evermore called Wallersteiner.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Small country gets ink in small paper

This evening before class, against my better judgment, I picked up a copy of the Spartan Daily. The cover story appeared to be about playing with puppies (a safe topic, see my previous post), a credit union, some fundraiser, a series of technology speakers and the possibility of banning Skype on campus. I shuffled through the paper fairly unimpressed, but forgiving because the semester has just started. The usual opinion piece dominated page two, and page three was the normal injection of sports. The news jumped to page four, filled with the rest of the campus stories. Generally, the remainder of the paper is filled with wire stuff, as was the case today. And there it was: Israel! From puppies to Israel. Hmm. It's not like there weren't any other wire stories, like a massive E coli spinach recall? I understand that including global events is fun and exciting, but whatever happened to all those great things we learn in j-school about localizing events?

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Matisya-who?

I keep telling people that I got to spend the weekend with Ultra-Jew Matisyahu. Wha? They say.
Honestly I didn't even know about the guy until a little while ago, but then I pitched it to my editor that I should do a story, and lo and behold, I'm like a paparazzi chasing the guy down.
But I found him-- at the Berkeley Chabad, then saw him in concert, then hung out with him at a low-key Q&A at the Berkeley Hillel. What can I say? Berkeley just has cooler stuff going on.
So here's the skinny:
Yes, he IS a legitimate Jew. And he rocks live. His wife is an intelligent, beautiful woman. His baby boy is adorable. What's there not to love? Some people just have it all. And to boot, he's a nice guy.
Check out Oy Bay! for complete coverage.

From hash to HaShem (working title)

Matthew Miller, a self-described “white suburban teenager,” grew up in White Plains, New York to Reconstructionist Jewish parents. He describes his teenage years as being filled with drugs and treif, (non-kosher food) and listening to hip-hop and reggae.

Today, Matthew Miller is Matisyahu Miller, an observant Chassidic Jew and top selling artist on Sony-BMG label, is performing across the country to Jews and non Jews alike. His most popular song, “King Without a Crown,” made it to number seven in the Billboard charts.

In early September, the artist walked onto stage at the San Jose Civic Auditorium in a black coat and fedora, singing to more than 2,000 fans of all ages and backgrounds. Some teenagers showed up just to hear good music and have a turn in the mosh pit. Others felt more connected to Matisyahu’s connection with God.

Elisa Becerra, who was raised Christian, says Matisyahu’s music moved her to seek a deeper connection with God, through Orthodoxy. “You feel like the music is speaking directly to you,” Becerra says. “He just has a way of making people feel good.”

Devorah Witt, an Orthodox Jew visiting from Jerusalem, says Matisyahu’s music goes beyond good tunes and inspiration. “I think his music is actively bringing Moshiach,” she says.

Eli Altschuler, a Modern Orthodox Jew from Los Angeles, disagrees. The music is sincere, Altschuler says, but it doesn’t further his own religious convictions.

“He has given the Lubavitch a lot of strength,” adds Avi Blumenstein.
“As a person he’s very inspirational to people worldwide.”

In the Bay Area, however, Matisyahu may be strengthening the religiosity of young Jews. The mere presence of the reggae superstar, whose songs fill teenagers’ MySpace pages and mainstream radio stations, has inspired impressionable youths to show their Jewish pride.

David Linder, a 16-year-old from Saratoga, dons a kippah “for respect” and proudly announces that he skateboards to Matisyahu’s music on his iPod.

“He’s like a role model to me,” Linder says. “You never see a Jewish guy getting up there and doing reggae.”

Linder and a group of friends buy Matisyahu T-shirts to wear at the show, and argue over who gets the title of “biggest fan.”

Matisyhau’s San Jose performace included his hit “King Without a Crown” and “Jerusalem.” Many of the words are difficult to understand because of the reggae style of singing, but some of the messages come across loud and clear.

Matisyahu performs “Youth,” a song without strong religious undertones that calls for young men to “make their demands.” Longtime friend and fellow Yeshiva student, Zalman Shimon Wircberg, who is accompanying the Millers on tour, jumps onstage and does Chasidic-style dancing with Matisyahu. The crowd demands two encore songs, and the concert ends well past midnight.

Shabbos

In the days preceding the show, Matisyahu spends Shabbos as any other devout Orthodox Jew, quietly finishing his prayers at the house of Berkeley Chabad Rabbi Yehuda Ferris, while dozens of loud Jewish fraternity members drink wine. During the meal, Matisyahu receives praise after praise about his music, and he accepts each compliment with a “thank you.” It’s hard to imagine this quiet, humble Chasid getting onstage and singing his heart out to thousands of fans.

On tour with Matisyahu is his wife Tahlia, who is due with their second child in November, and son Laivy Yitzhak, 1. The family travels with him when they can, and Tahlia has her own thing going on—she teaches a class on intimacy to young Jews. The Miller family travels from Chabad house to Chabad house while on tour, taking every effort to be observant. It’s not hard; you just have to know what to look out for, Matisyahu says.

“When you have your mind made up to do something, you can do it,” he says.

But Matisyahu wasn’t always so directed. For much of his teenage years, he pursued music under the alias “MC Truth” with the group MC Mystic’s Soulfari Band in the New York area. After years of listening to reggae, indulging in marijuana and following the band Phish, he was left feeling soulless and wanted to get out of a life that was “limiting.”

“I started thinking about the world in a different perspective,” Matisyahu says, and he started a gradual process of becoming more religious, which stemmed from a “yearning to go back and communicate with HaShem.”

It was a hard decision for Matisyahu, but he credits the friendly and funny Chabad emissaries for making the transition to being an observant Jew easier. His family took it hard, he says, and they thought it was just another youthful indiscretion.

“My mom was going through a mental breakdown—‘he used to be into drugs, now he’s religious. I don’t know which is worse,’” Matisyahu recalls.

Matisyahu took Halacha (Jewish law) head-on in 2001, and left music behind for a while.

“I made a break from everything in my past,” he says. He thought music would play a role in his life like any other Orthodox Jew, through traditional Jewish music.

“I soon stopped lying to myself and realized that Jewish music sucks basically,” Matisyahu says. “And if I wanted to hear Jewish music, I was going to have to create my own.”

He says his music is based on genres he knew from the past—hip-hop and reggae—but with some of the Jewish ideas and concepts, and found inspiration in Chasidic songs and Sephardic melodies. He says he heard hip-hop beats behind the traditional niggunim.

Some of the same phrases cross over from reggae. Lyrics such as “fire descends from on high in the shape of a lion/ burn the sacrifice of pride and ride on to Mount Zion” can easily be compared to Bob Marley’s words.

Perhaps it is the timeless themes, or the novelty of a man in a black coat, tzit tzit and a fedorah twirling onstage, but whatever the reason, Matisyahu quickly went from performing in coffee shops in New York to selling out shows in world capitals.

Two years ago, as he was building a following and grabbing some media attention, he met Tahlia, a New York University student who contacted him to do a video. He kept bumping into her around town, and was intrigued. He recalls skating to mincha together, and was impressed by her spunk dodging in and out of traffic.

“I never saw a girl rollerblade like that,” Matisyahu says. “After two or three dates, I said, ‘this’ll work.’”

While his popularity grows, and he continues to inspire and touch fans from all walks of life, Matisyahu says even though the crowd he attracts isn’t your typical shul-going bunch, his music is an outlet for his own expression; making tunes is something he felt he needed to do.

“I like being out there and saying, ‘This is who I am,’” Matisyahu says.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

McManus stoops to new low

John McManus was leaked my e-mail and responded by sending me a personal e-mail lecturing me on the tenets of journalism.
You call yourself a professional journalist, he taunted. "You talk the talk..." he wrote.
This is all laughable to the innocent observer, sure, but this 50-something guy has actually taken it upon himself to try intimidate me! What a lost cause; I have experience combatting facists.
I gained special invisibility status at the Spartan Daily last term when my pro-Israel sentiment landed me in the hot-pot with certain opinion editors. My stories underwent special scrunity, and some were lost in the rush of things. At one point, when the worst facist editor was ready to print his 3,099th anti-Israel article the day after Yom HaShoah, I threatened to change one of my assignments (which had already been written and submitted) into a full-on pro-Israel piece. But they weren't having it, and instead appeased me by promising a future spot for a rebuttal. (A brief, but well-written response was printed the next week.)
My favorite was when I attended a anti-Zionist meeting, where I observed undetected until I asked the ring-leaders if their group had a name, and they finally caught on. They demanded I hand over my tape recorder and notes. I shot back with a shpiel on the First Amendment, but facists don't understand personal freedoms.
Then, after interviewing a Middle Eastern studies professor, she told a fellow professor (who was a favorite teacher of mine) that she was sure I was a Jewish Orthodox spy sent from Washington to infiltrate and sabotage her class. Oh? he asked, how can you tell? From her last name! the facist replied. (I might let the reader in on a little secret: my last name would have received a blessing from Hitler himself!)
Facists beware: You are right about one thing: Jews run the media. Mwahhhh haaa haaa!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Pot, if you look closer, that kettle is actually hunter green

Being a Jewish journalist is hard work! After a couple of semesters at San Jose State in the journalism department, I find myself in an awkward and full-time position of “inhouse critic” of the Spartan Daily, in a program where the credo is: if you aren't anti-Bush, you must be evil. Last semester I was challenged with two student editors at the Daily who weren't with Israel in any stretch of the imagination. They said and did some things that baffled me as a journalist. But after a few lost battles, I thought it best to lay down my sword and shield and move on with my life.
Alas, here I am again. This semester has barely begun and already I am considering bringing the armor back out of the closet, this time to quell the anti-Israel sentiment among faculty. Well, one to be exact. John McManus.
He teaches global communication to a room full of young and impressionable minds. It all started when he invited the Washington bureau chief of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, Yaron Deckel, to speak in his class about a different perspective of journalism. Little did the journalist know, he was walking into a lion's den. The professor and one or two of the students posed provocative questions about the “illegal security fence” and at one point McManus asked if Israel was illegally occupying Palestine.
The journalist, incredulous, answered, “I'm just asking, what's the best headline. I'm not trying to solve the conflict in the Middle East.”
The class laughed and the professor stopped trying to turn the lecture into a political brawl.
When I wrote both the preview and review article on the lecture, I took notes and submitted the articles to my then-managing editor, who was also present at the event. 'Nuff said.
A few weeks ago, an e-mail was leaked to me from this meshugenah professor in response to an offer by Hillel and the Israeli embassy to send speakers to the guest lecture to journalism students. He replied in an e-mail to the journalism faculty and staff:

“In the spring term I invited an Israeli journalist made available in a similar way -- through the Israeli embassy. I asked him to address a series of questions about global communication -- the topic of the class. He didn't discuss a single one. Instead, he turned the class into a propaganda session trying to persuade the students that Israel is unfairly treated in the U.S. press. That might have been a useful discussion were it based on data, but it wasn't. Several students found it offensive. And, of course, it was totally one-sided.”

To me, this response is completely counter-intuitive to objective journalism. To paraphrase the journalist who spoke: you bring the news, pleasant or otherwise. McManus is clearly reacting because he didn't like what he heard.
Ironically, McManus also guest lectures in other journalism classes. He came to speak in one of my classes well before this whole affair. He went on and on about oil, George W. Bush, and, of course, how Israel is responsible for a war. (Mel, looks like you have a friend?) I came to the same conclusion about him that he did about the journalist:
“In the spring term my teacher invited Professor John McManus. He was asked to address a series of questions about his failing website that attempts to be a watchdog on the media-- one of the topics of the class. He didn't discuss a single one. Instead, he turned the class into a propaganda session trying to persuade the students that Israel is the reason for the Iraq War. That might have been a useful discussion were it based on data, but it wasn't. Several students found it offensive. And, of course, it was totally one-sided.”
Looks like I'll have a few dents in the old shield and helmet by the time I graduate (if I haven't sabotaged my academic career but taking a professor head-on), but who will fill the post if I didn't?

Monday, August 21, 2006

A brief but cold shoulder

And here is an excerpt the chilly albeit diplomatic response: (You're thinking, this girl must be committing academic suicide by posting this! But what is journalism if not getting issues out into the open?)

"We have no agenda of inviting or dis-inviting anyone or the spokesperson from any cause."

I'd like to discuss it first with people in journalism and in the JMC first, because last time I tried to have an opinion and wrote about it, I was told not to bring internal e-mails into the blogosphere. Expect an opinion on the matter in a few days.

Oh G-d, here she goes again!

I have been told this took a lot of chutzpah to dispute the actions and words of SJSU journalism professor John McManus by offering this e-mail to the head of the Jourmaism and Mass Communications school, along with the faculty and some members of the community.

I hope it is not hopeless to stand up for the injustices we see in the world, no matter how small, large or futile they seem.

In an e-mail dated Aug. 21, 2006, I wrote:

Dear Dr. Briggs:

I was taken aback when I read the e-mail John McManus sent to the JMC faculty concerning the Israeli journalist that guest-lectured in his class last spring. I respectfully disagree with his plea not to feature any other speakers offered by the Israeli Embassy. As a journalism student, given the tense times in the Middle East and the pressing need to get as many views as possible, I think future reporters would benefit greatly from hearing speakers that offer a different analysis.

I covered the discussion for the Spartan Daily, both as a preview before the event and a review afterward. I felt the journalist was professional and did cover the issues he was asked to cover. I discussed with McManus what he hoped to get out of the guest and I also spoke with the journalist on what he was going to talk about. According to my notes and my recollection, McManus said he wanted to bring a different perspective of journalism to the class and cover communication flows and how American media affects foreign media. (See "Journalist to discuss terrorism, Israeli elections" in the Spartan Daily archives, 4/27/06)

Deckel, the journalist, told me he was going to hold a discussion with the students on how to cover different types of events and issues, such as terrorism, Israeli elections and how U.S. issues are presented in Israeli media.

According to McManus, "he turned the class into a propaganda session trying to persuade the students that Israel is unfairly treated in the U.S. press."

This is very different from my conclusion, based on my own opinion and by talking with students after the lecture. Deckel held a very interactive discussion, asking students to come up with headlines for different situations and talking about the differences between an American and Israeli audience.

McManus stated in his e-mail that he asked the journalist to "address a series of questions about global communication," and that he "didn't discuss a single one," but according to my notes and recollection, he covered many of issues, including how American events are viewed in Israel, among other issues related to journalism and global communication.

At one point, when the speaker asked if there were any questions, McManus tried to get Deckel to answer political questions. He asked for Deckel's opinion on hot-button issues, such as the security fence. McManus asked something along the lines of: Isn't Israel illegally occupying Palestine? The journalist did not to get into a political discussion with McManus, and said, "I'm just asking, what's the best headline. I'm not trying to solve the conflict in the Middle East." Please see "Israeli journalist questions how Middle East news should be covered," Apr. 28, in the Spartan Daily archives online for more on what was discussed.

Additionally, I would like to add that when McManus was invited to speak in Stephen Greene's class on Apr. 19 on the topic of GradeTheNews.org and discuss evaluating different Bay Area news sources. Based on my notes and my recollection, McManus used almost half of the time to share his own political views. He made political commentary on the Iraq War, stating that it was to protect Israel, get back at Saddam Hussein and protect oil interests. Among his most interesting comments, he said if each journalist went by a code of ethics, like he should, "You'd be fair; if there's a controversy, you'd get both sides."

I am offended by McManus's e-mail as a journalism student and a working journalist. I find his words counterintuitive to being an objective journalist. I am available to discuss this further, please contact me at *** or by e-mail. I have CC'd Carmen Sigler, as I feel strongly that McManus's e-mail is wrongly accusing a respectable journalist of being unprofessional. I am also offering this correspondence as a rebuttal to his plea to JMC faculty to exclude speakers offered by the Israeli Embassy or other Jewish sources, so that journalism students can be exposed to all sides in any issue.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to a variety of guest lecturers this fall.

Sincerely,
Laura Rheinheimer

Links to Daily articles: Journalist to discuss terrorism, Israeli elections
Israeli journalist questions how Middle East news should be covered

*some alterations were made from the original e-mail to conceal personal information and correct grammar

Original e-mail

Here are words from the original McManus e-mail to the journalism faculty, which was in response to a list of speakers from Jewish sources made available to the School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

"In the spring term I invited an Israeli journalist made available in a similar way -- through the Israeli embassy. I asked him to address a series of questions about global communication -- the topic of the class. He didn't discuss a single one. Instead, he turned the class into a propaganda session trying to persuade the students that Israel is unfairly treated in the U.S. press. That might have been a useful discussion were it based on data, but it wasn't. Several students found it offensive. And, of course, it was totally one-sided."

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Too many Jews!

Who would ever think that a Jewish party in the city would be crowded? The party was shoulder-to-shoulder, and my friends and I took refuge at a small table and watched in awe at the passing balagan.

There was an open bar, and the bartender was not shy with the alcohol! He handed us a cup, inappropriately calling it a Long Island iced tea, when a more-suited name would have been: vodka in blue.

I swear half of J-Date was there.

There were people taking pictures, including this lovely (albeit highly airbrushed) picture of the girls. I look forward to many more, drinks for all!

Oh, the party is called "Second Saturday" at the Cellar on sutter Street in the city.

Israel Action Day

A day full of technology mishaps and heightened security!

An enlightened statement by Saratoga High sophomore, Ali Samuels, speaking about a two-week teen trip to Israel:

“Being a jew in Israel means being strong and sometimes tough.” Well-said Ali.

The Consul General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest, David Akov, endured poor sound quality when giving his update on the crisis (former crisis now, fingers crossed). He had just returned from the Holy Land, and saw first-hand what happened there.

Our problems are not going to stop with the ceasefire, he warned. “We will be in some kind of conflict either on the ground or in the media.”

I second that. A lot of Israel supporters and Israelis are afraid to be vocal, as if were a bad thing to supprt you country and people!

In an interview after the speech, Akov said the key is to get the moderate Arabs to effect change in their own countries. Let's start with expressing our disbelief at the arrest of a Lebanese man for chumming it up with some Israeli soldiers. Maybe he thought they were nice.

I saw a lot of the who's who of South Bay Jews, including Oy-Bay.org blogmaster "Oyster" and a friend (hat tip to you sir) and all the new friends I made at Congregation Sinai.

Diane Fisher, a strong presence and leader in Israel action and executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, was, as usual, directing traffic and orchestrating everything in general.

Best of all, however, was journalism guru and Supreme Master (now I'm just kissing up) Jerry Ceppos who instructed concerned citizens on how to write effective letters to the editor.

Of course, I crudely promoted myself and probably talked his ear off, but he had the job I want, so why not try to pick his brain?

Thursday, August 10, 2006

First "real" clip

I almost forgot that I am on a relentless campaign to promote myself!
I made it to the big time, my name in lights...
The Mercury News!
Find it here, but after a week, it is accessible only to subscribers.


The Mercury News
mercurynews.com

Posted on Wed, Aug. 09, 2006

Teens robbed at gunpoint at Willow Glen High School
By Laura Rheinheimer
MediaNews

Three teenagers who had taken a night-time dip in the pool at Willow Glen High School were robbed at gunpoint shortly after 10 p.m. Monday.

An 18-year-old boy, a recent Willow Glen High School graduate, and two 15-year-old girls, sophomores at the school, had jumped into the highschool pool and were getting out when two men jumped over the fence around the pool area.

The men were wearing black ski masks and were armed with handguns. One man put a gun to the head of one of the girls and demanded that the teenagers hand over their personal belongings, including money, cell phones and keys to a 2001 gold Chevy Tahoe owned by the 18-year-old.

The men jumped back over the fence and fled in the Tahoe, according to San Jose Police Department spokeswoman Gina Tepoorten.

A witness who was walking his dog near the high school saw the men jump back over the fence and called 911, according to police. The police responded, but despite a search that included the department's helicopter were not able to find the men. The Tahoe, which was equipped with an OnStar global positioning system,was found abandoned at midnight near Crescent Drive and Willow Street with some of the teenagers' personal belongings inside.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact the San Jose Police Department robbery unit at 408-277-4166 or contact Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP.

They're cheating on the propoganda war!

This whole propoganda war, which seems to be far more important than actual goings-on of war, is getting a bit too wierd.
As if there wasn't already enough subjectivity in choosing which photos to use, which shots to take, captions to use, etc, now there's Photoshop.
Here in the newsroom, next to the photo department, I hear the disdain of professional photographers who struggle to get someone to smile for a shot. They use Photoshop to sharpen images and crop them to spec. Would you ever doctor a photo, I ask? No, come one, we're professionals.
And so, the propoganda war, tipped in favor of, or rather tipped away from the favor of Israel. But it's no small wonder, really, because of two reasons:
1--Israel is scrutinized far too much to get away with bad photoshop work.
2--I'd think Israel wouldn't do that. Besides, what would they do? Triple the number of Katyusha rockets sailing through the sky?

Reality is bad enough, nobody needs to embellish it in order to get people riled up.

Just my thoughts.

Monday, August 07, 2006

The J (as in journalism) life.

Yes, just like I had anticipated, it is hard work being a journalist. But I am loving every minute of it.
All the dribble babble coming out the mouths of the people at the SD seems so juvenile at this point. I hear about those who graduated and going off to mostly Bay Area newspapers for jobs. GOYA! Far off places call me even before my time is up.
I knew a group of guys who used to watch videos of them goofing off in high school, they eyes glazed over with nostalgia thinking about the "good old days."
Really? High school?
And then I see people go off to college, graduate, and instead of going out to seek their fortune, they take a job either at the college or where they are dealing with college kids.
School is just a passage to discover who you are, what you love and who you want to be. It's like the birth canal; you shouldn't want to stay there.
And now I can honestly say I've had a taste for what the big abyss is going to be like. Sure it's a bit overwhelming, but I am certainly grateful it's not commanded by some talentless group of puffed up boys who somehow landed manager positions. If I wanted to surround myself with bullies who get off on power, I would have joined the force.
I'm quite skeptical of the motives behind wanting to stay in that transitional phase, full of uncertainty and a bit of recklessness in many ways.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

The clips amass

New stories come out every Wednesday in the Willow Glen Resident.

Check out a new one at the Willow Glen Resident.

Let me know if you want to be included in the weekly e-mail.

More than crazed men involved in this conflict

First of all, a disclaimer:

I am not trying to write an op-ed here. I read something on Haaretz that I thought was insightful. My view on the Middle East crisis is an ever-forming one.

But I do think that a bunch of crazed men, lacking a sense of humanism and rationality, are driving this conflict. Actually, I must say, I think female Israeli soldiers can be just as egomaniacal as the little boys smashing in windows at the U.N. building in Beirut.
Ben Curtis/Associated Press (from the NY Times, Sunday, July 30,2006)

This letter is from someone who probably has a better grasp on Lebanese society than men who readily take up arms to kill their neighbors (as in Israelis).

From http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/743696.html (I will fix links ASAP)
I only included a part of the article, and I highly recommend the entire piece.

An 'e-mail from Nasrallah'

By Tom Segev

A man named Nasrallah whom I don't know sent me an e-mail this week. I thought that he was from Beirut. So I asked, naturally, and with no little hope, if there were a connection. As often happens in dialogues with our neighbors - this was the wrong question to ask. He has no connection to that Nasrallah, he replied, probably in a slightly reproachful tone.

The man in question is Yousry Nasrallah, the Egyptian film director. Recently he had directed the film "Bab al-Shams" ("The Gate of the Sun"), based on the book by Elias Khoury. Nasrallah forwarded to me a public appeal from Beirut, composed by Lebanese theater director Roger Assaf. He's one of the best there is in that country, Nasrallah wrote.

Along with the pope, the French president, the German chancellor and, of course, Israel, Assaf denounced the alliance between Syria and Iran, which has nothing at all to do with the true interest of Lebanon and has brought disaster upon it. His language is poetic. He writes about his dreams of a better world - one in which the children of Israel won't grow up amid the spirit of hatred and nationalist-militarist hysteria, one in which Palestinian and Lebanese children won't grow up amid the spirit of vengeance. He and his friends live in the spirit of Plato and Gandhi and Albert Camus and other humanist philosophers and intellectuals, he said.

Yousry Nasrallah sent me a second e-mail in which he explained the background to Assaf"s letter: "In July 2006, there are people (maybe I should use the past tense) who are neither with Iran, nor with Syria, nor with Hezbollah, nor with Israel. People who do not want to be used by either of these powers as human shields or targets. People who have tried these past few years to build a new Lebanon that is free from all this."

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Type ones bring home the gold!

Check out how this team of type 1 diabetics rocked the race across the U.S.
Some links:
Team Type 1 blog
Team Type 1 Web site
Insulin Factor site
Some coverage of the event

Check this out, they broke records, too.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Actually, I'm more of a cat person

My previous post incorrectly stated that I have an affinity for canines. A more accurate description for my relationship with dogs would be: My policy on determining whether I like dogs is like the US policy on extradition: a case-by-case basis.

(Segway to Ze'ev Rosentein.)

One of the FBI's most-wanted drug lords, Israeli Ze'ev Rosentstein has been extradited to Florida to face charges of running an extensive drug ring that purportedly permeated countless American neighborhoods.

In December 2004, he was nabbed in Tel Aviv in connection with an undercover operation that resulted in the seizure of 700,000 pills of ecstasy in a Manhattan apartment in July 2001. Rosenstien was suspected to be the buck behind a large-scale drug operation after one of his co-conspirators sold a sample of the stuff to an FBI informant and was followed back to the apartment being used as a stash house.

The two men found in the apartment, David Roash and Israel Ashkenazi, were arrested and later pleaded guilty.

Rosenstien pleaded not guilty to the charges, but with his cohorts all taking deals and being convicted, his chances look slim.

In November, 2004, two Dadush brothers were willingly extradited from their cells in Israel, where they were serving sentences, to help build the case against Rosenstein.

Rosenstein made his first US appearance on March 8 after his extradition was approved.

Israel seemed happy to be rid of the head of the second largest underground operation which revolved around gambling, prostitution, drugs and violence.

Seven attempts on Rosenstein's life have been made, but like the attempts at his arrest, he always came away a free man. Rosenstein's operations added to the increase in violent crimes in Israel, something which Israelis felt relatively safe from.

Extradition, in this case in seen as an appropriate move. But some view extradition as a slippery slope, especially to the United States. The main concern is the death penalty. Another concern is that the US can't ensure a "jury of peers" for a Jew. In Southern Florida, this seems more likely than in, say the Midwest.

And in Rosenstein's case, the death penalty is off the board because he is being charged with conspiracy to distribute and conspiracy to import ecstasy, each which have a 20-year penalty. Even if he ends up serving for the rest of his life, he's certainly not going to be subject to the death penalty.

The death penalty contradicts the Eighth Amendment, exemption from cruel and unusual punishment, and I think no country should extradite its citizens to the US until it abandons its practice of the death penalty.

The US often makes promises in form of a diplomatic notice to not subject a suspect to the death penalty, but then the case goes from federal to state jurisdiction, where the state can determine its own policy.

International criminals beware: never commit a crime in Texas.

As for Ze'ev: I think Israel is capable of hearing the case and having the man serve his sentence (if convicted) in Israel. Sorry, but our prison system is hurting as is, I don't think we need to import criminals from other countries.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Semester ends with disappoinment and frustration

I'd say I'm ending this semester with a few less friends and a few more enemies, but who cares, anyway? People move in and out of this city, this university and the journalism program. I'm a nomad, afterall, and I know I'll be moving on as soon as I've gotten all I need from this place.

I just feel bad for those entering my situation.

Just a note on the goings-on of the Daily:

Ryan Sholin wrote an article outlineing some of the Daily's circumstances:

"Both advertising revenue and university funds pay to print the Spartan Daily, and our newsroom is housed in a university building. Most notably, the Spartan Daily is a class. Our advisers sometimes call this newspaper "the most public laboratory on campus."

For all those reasons, this newspaper doesn't call itself independent."

I have heard an endless number of complaints about the paper, many of which I brush off because anything short of "I love puppies" will likely be disputed by somebody.

The most compelling complaint, however, is that the Daily is not student-friendly. I knew this before I was on staff when I tried to submit a story to be published to then-executive editor and next term's copy editor, John Myers. I was given some harsh words about "I have 20 writers, how dare you think you have anything worth printing?" or so I took it as this.

To clear everything up: Students aren't encouraged to submit articles. Letters to the editor, yes, but "guest" columns are by staff writers. I guess the "guest" is there more for the spirit of things.

The other day, a letter appeared showing how a staff writer had completely botched the facts in an article about the Associated Students selecting a new legal counsel. The letter was printed, sure, but only with a next-day rebuttal from a former A.S. member saying the lawyer was just bitching and A.S. was right. (I find this funny because A.S. normally can't do anything right by the Daily, but when it makes the Daily look better, the editors will let it slide. But only once, OK, A.S.? We hate you!!!!)

This seems like a newspaper just doing what it should: accepting blame and reporting all sides of the story. But I bet if a the former executive editor (whose byline reads "special to the daily" *wink*), who had been following the story, had botched the facts, the letter wouldn't have appeared. The point is likely moot because he is a relatively thorough reporter with the exception of the insinuating headline that read something like: Minors drank at retreat. (It's fixed online, I might have the print copy). A small retraction was made matching the amount of consolation given.

The Daily printed a letter to the editor that read: "Dear editor, John Myers' Tuesday guest column on the lack of responsible conduct within the Associated Students is the most insightful opinion piece I have read ... "

Here's a little insight I have gained from writing for the Daily: the editorial staff repeatedly wrote pieces on what should happen and how A.S. should be more transparent and responsible. Myers went straight from the news stories to a "guest" column to say exactly what he had implied in his "news" stories:

"A new student government should have been elected to oversee $6 million of the San Jose State University student body's money."

I once overheard his homie asking if he was going to run for student government. What is this? If you can't join 'em, beat 'em?

I'm exercising my right to free speech to expose the Daily for the self-serving bunch they are (and likely will continue to be in the fall).

It can be seen by the way the editors are selected. The two faculty advisors ask the class to shout out the names of students to be on the three-person panel to advise on the executive editor process. These are either staff writers or graduating seniors.

The people running for executive editor apply and pitch a platform and someone is selected.

They then have free reign to choose the rest of the staff.

Interviews? Hmm, only in a pinch or for show. For the most part, it's "you're my homeboy, welcome aboard," or "you look good, you're hired."

Did I get this all right? I'm open for corrections.

Enough bitching. Here are some suggestions:

Have more of the staff of the J&MC overlook the Daily's activities. Like Greene and Mack (or his successor). Have more than the two advisors choose the editors. They are not immune to the "homie syndrome."

This committee should also select (or advise on the selection of) the rest of the editorial staff. If this is too much university control, then at least suggest that the executive editor give some sort of grammar test to the potentials.

After all, most of the work is correcting punctuation and grammar. The "news selection" process is mostly just ripping off Nacy Stake's news blips on the SJSU Web site.

The grammar intuition of next term's managing editor (all news stories go through him for the first round of editing) is to spell article as "artical."

And the new exec is already busy welcoming next term's writers. He apparently became confrontational with someone in the newsroom who was printing something before class. He gladly boasted his new title: I'm the executive editor!

<-- Daily photo.

In addition to all the duties of exec, he will apparently be enforcing J&MC printing policies as well. (Incidentally, there was next to nobody in the room, the whole affair was more likely about ego.)

I will be watching the Daily from afar next term, although I've been toying with the idea of staying on as a senior writer, if only to serve as in-house critic, but maybe not because my blogging about it has been something of a problem.

I was told that bringing internal dealings of the Daily into the public forum was taboo.

Holy shit. Hippo-crit.

All those arti-c-l-e-s calling for reform from other organizations are bullshit coming from the "band of brothers" that run the Daily.

I could go on and on... and I will... but I have finals.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Forget politics, let's dance!

I would like to state for the record that Israel is a nation, full of people and has social issues other than "the conflict."

The JSU had cake and cotton candy for Yom Hatzmaut and we had a visitor who insisted we were out to make a political statement.

He told us the answer is to fight racism! Yeah, OK, great. That's it, how could we miss it? New policy folks: ban all racism.

Back to the point: Israel is a country. There's more going on there than IDF soldiers and military strategies.

There are accomplishments and failures and social problems just like any other country. My comparative religions professor once told me that people hold the Jews to a higher standard, that they expect them to set a high standard for the rest of the monotheistic (and possibly beyond?) world.

Am I making a political statement if I am concerned with Israel's social issues?

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

My sentiment resonates with others

A clear and concise response to the infamous Israel column can be found on today's Spartan Daily.

A word on the effectiveness of criticism:

A political analyst observed, "The radical leftists in this country ... seem to have permanently disengaged from any meaningful political process. There can be passion from within the political process. Just because most of the apples are rotten doesn't mean we need to uproot the tree."

As a realist, I've come to the conclusion that many liberals have lost track of objectivity and have given way to emotion. A realist tries to think about what will and won't work, rather than polarizing issues and using extremes and ideals.

Also, I personally believe the people best-equipped to discuss and debate issues are the voting citizens of the country.

As popular as it is to bash Bush in Romania and Greece (the most recent places I have visited), I don't think it's as effective as dissent within the American citizenry.

In fact, it may be feuled by anti-American sentiment, whether justified or not.

Isn't anti-Americanism is a bad thing?

The political analyst I quoted before is right, though. What good is it when people with such passion disengage from the political process? How can they effect change from outside of the system?

The same holds true for Israel. Policy-makers respond to the citizens of the country. I'm not saying international opinion doesn't matter at all, but the members of the Kinesset will answer to their citizens first.

Is this unreasonable? Or would Israel-bashers have them respond first to the liberal babble coming out of the U.S. these days?

Is it hypocritical to have its citizens' interests at heart?

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Krav Maga comes to SJSU

Today the Jewish Student Union brought the people of Krav Maga back to campus by popular demand! At 3 p.m., several students convened near the barbeque pits to watch a demonstration by Everest Pepper, director of training for the Academy of Self Defense in Santa Clara, Calif. He showed students how to disarm knives and guns, get out of chokeholds and "fight dirty."

Krav Maga is the fighting system used by the Israeli Defense Forces and is considered highly effective.

Students said they enjoyed the demonstration and expressed they planned to take advantage of two free weeks Pepper offered them.

Spartan Daily photographer, Zach, came by and took some shots of the action. Check tomorrow's Daily for the pics by one of the best photographers on staff.

Judicial process at SJSU

The judicial process at San Jose State University has left many students feeling like they were unfairly punished. I am investigated several instances of students who have gone through this process. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to meet the person in charge of the judicial process when I wasn't "meeting" her.

I'll try to put this in the Spartan Daily if it pans out.

Keep posted.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Dancing Bear Guesthouse

A place to stay in Western Massachusetts:

From Dancing Bear Guesthouse Web site:

We are proud to announce the opening of the Dancing Bear Guesthouse Bed & Breakfast on August 1, 2006. Known as Bear Haven since 1997, the Dancing Bear will occupy the historic Moses W. Merrill homestead built around 1852 in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.

The Dancing Bear will offer comfortable lodgings in historic elegance with continental breakfast. The Dancing Bear is a five-minute walk to Shelburne Falls' many attractions including the world famous Bridge of Flowers; Glacial Potholes; Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum; as well as fine cafés, restaurants, galleries, bookshops, and antique stores.

For reservations after August 1, 2006, call (413) 625-9281 or email us at info@dancingbearguesthouse.com.

Philip and Edith Bragdon

Innkeepers

Happy for the debate

I originally posted a reaction to Albach's column. Although I have been asked for an explanation, I won't give one. The title of this blog is "a personal account..."
I am not trying to use this in a professional capacity. What are blogs for if not people's reactions to what is printed in the media?
When I decided to be a journalist, I accepted that what I put in print is going to be read (hopefully) and praised and criticized.
I did not become a journalist to reaffirm my views.
Likewise, I did not become a journalist to evangelize my views.
The opinion pages are for people like Albach who want to do political commentary. As a huge supporter of the First Amendment, that's where opinions should be. Bear in mind that comments and reactions will not always be what you want them to be. If you are looking for reaffirmation, join a niche paper. Work for a liberal publication where your audience will agree with what you write. And that's fine.
All opinions are valid.
I have been asked for a calm reaction to Albach's column.
I thought it was inappropriately timed. Albach claims to see no connection between the Holocaust and criticism of Israel, but this is only from his perspective. Many Jews do see the connection. The way I feel, and many supporters of Israel feel, is that Israel is put to harsher criticism than other countries.
No, I don't hate Indians, I was making an analogy. I'll change the analogy if someone was offended. I hate to see that I may have offended someone I have respect for.
There's a holiday coming up: Israeli Independence Day. I think this day would be a very appropriate day to criticize Israel's legitimacy.
If my opinion is going to be muted by my fellow writers, that's fine. I prefer to stick to the news section.
But I still retain the right to have an opinion, whether or not it's deemed justified by others.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Mission accomplished!

Looks like I successfully insulted Banks. Woohoo! But unfortunately he was right about possible retribution for running my mouth. If only I had the opinion pages under my finger so I could "professionally" run my mouth.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Plea entered in Mardi Gras case

From the Spartan Daily
April 19, 2006

A San Jose State University student pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Monday morning at the Santa Clara County Superior Court to a charge of battery on a officer, stemming from a March 1 incident at a downtown Mardi Gras celebration.

Natasha Burton said she was heading home to Campus Village shortly after midnight when she was arrested for resisting arrest.

Burton filed a complaint with the SJPD internal affairs office alleging that Officer Shawn Rocha used excessive force on her.

According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office, she is being charged with a misdemeanor penal code 243(b), "battery on peace officer."

"The allegation is that the defendant slapped the officer or his person," said Michael Fletcher, supervisor of the misdemeanor department of the district attorney's office, in a phone interview.

According to her booking statement, she was arrested under Penal Code 148, which gives an officer the right to arrest somebody who "willfully resists, delays, or obstructs any public officer."

Burton said she was not informed that her charge was changed. Burton said the officer who drove her to the police station said the report stated Burton hit the officer's chest.

"The D.A.'s office can amend (the charges) any way they want," said Enrique Garcia, public information officer for the San Jose Police Department.

Burton's attorney, Kevin Reese, entered a plea of not guilty to Judge Mark Pierce at 9 a.m. Monday at the superior court.

Reese said he and Burton will return to court for a May 2 pretrial conference and will get a trial date soon after.

"The case may be settled by then, or they may dismiss the charges - hopefully," Reese said.

Fletcher said most misdemeanor cases are settled before they go to trial.

The prosecuting D.A. for Burton's case, Tony Piazza, was unavailable for comment.

"If the reports are an inaccurate account of what happened, it's in the defendant's best interest to settle," Fletcher said.

When a defendant pleads the charges before they go to trial, he can be punished less than the law proscribes, he explained. If the district attorney finds the police's account was inaccurate, the charges are dropped.

"If we can't prove a case or they're innocent, we dismiss the charges," Fletcher said.

Burton went to the Hedding Street courthouse accompanied by her mother, father, attorney and a member of the NAACP executive board.

Burton's mother said she has been in law enforcement for nine years in southern California, but requested her name not be used because of the nature of her work.

"I know she didn't do the things they said she did," said Burton's mother. "I'm looking for justice."

The Rev. Jeff Moore, an executive board member of the San Jose NAACP, was present in court "to make sure (Burton) is fairly treated." Moore said there is a deeper problem with how minorities are treated downtown.

"We want to make sure our black citizens of San Jose are treated fairly," Moore said.

Moore said he plans to talk to San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis about Burton's case.

"In the interest of justice, this case should be dropped," Moore said.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Jewish-Muslim tension at San Jose State

Find the Spartan Daily's coverage of this event here.

On Monday evening, Islamic Activist Amir Abdul Malik Ali and University of California-Berkeley Professor Hatem Bazian visited San Jose State University for a discussion on the historical beginnings of oppression from six to eight p.m. in the University Room of the Student Union.

The event, sponsored by SJSU Students for Justice and the Muslim Student Association, began with some tension when nine Jewish students and community members were present at the event, putting up posters and handing out postcards advocating Israel.

One poster, created by BlueStar PR of San Fransisco, read: "Where is the only place in the Middle East where women have the right to vote? Only in Israel."

After Students for Justice president Ali Rahnoma asked the Jewish students to remove their posters, the University Police Department arrived and asked that the posters be removed.

Some Jewish students took the posters off the walls and held them instead.

The first speaker, Bazian, began his speech by stating he is not an anti-Semite because he is Semitic.

According to the Miriam Webster dictionary, the definition of the term "anti-Semitic" is: "hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic or racial group."

While Bazian purports to be exempt from this term, it is clear he is not.

Beyond this hypocrisy, Bazian went on to use selected facts and figures to spin the issue.

"They want to erase Palestinians from history," Bazian said. This sounds eerily similar to the Iranian president's wishes for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

"Zionist Jews" and the "fundamentalist Muslims" could ping-pong back and forth all day making comparisons to other world events, but the one that gets me the most is the analogy of the Israelis to the Nazis.

Bazian likened the current Israeli government to the Nazi regime. He griped about how "the media gives stories about how violent Arabs are."

Bazian said under Muslim rule, Israel would have designated times for Jews and Christians to visit holy sites. He said they would be treated fairly.

Following what example? Is there a modern example of a peaceful Arab/Muslim country that treats Jews and Christians fairly? Christians in the West Bank already feel persecuted and synagogues were destroyed once Jewish settlers left Gaza.

In the true spirit of an "open forum," Bazian left once his speech was over.

"The second speaker, Ali, emphasized the concept of white supremacy fused with the notion of chosen people in relation to the attitude of the Zionists," reported the Spartan Daily.

This ignores a compelling bit of evidence: Jews, especially Jews in Israel are extremely diverse. This concept of "white supremecy" would work if you rely solely on stereotypes and misinformation. In Israel, the first people I saw were Asian Jews, followed by Eastern European, Ethiopian, Yemenite, Iraqi, Moroccan and Russian.

Last night I went to a Passover Seder that was conducted in Spanish and included Mexiacan, Hawaiian, Spanish and Bolivian Jews. You can find my srticle about it in the next Jewish Community News of Silicon Valley.

A "white supremecy" mentality just wouldn't fly with this group.

At the end of the discussion, Ali took questions from the audience. David Ben-Israel, a Jewish student studying business and international relations, asked several questions, to which people responded with hostility.

A man sitting behind Ben-Israel suggested the two "take it outside."

Tell me again how it's unfair when the media portray Arab Muslims as violent or hostile?

Some Jewish students react to the speakers

Some Jewish students expressed their disappointment at the SJSU-sponsored "Voices for Palestine" forum.

"I don't think the university should be sponsoring hate-speech," said Andrew Schwartz, president of the Jewish Student Union.

"They can talk about Palestinians' daily lives, that's fine. Just don't talk about killing Jews," Schwartz said.

Some students said they didn't think Mosaic Cross Cultural Center should have supported the event.

"What really got to me was when David Ben-Israel asked Mosaic, 'if this is a forum, why won't they let us speak?' She said, 'Well, if you don't like it, you can leave,'" said Jonathan Roth, a former SJSU student.

"Don't call yourself diversity-inclusive if you're not going to let other people speak up at an event, and especially don't tell them flat out they can leave."

Monday, April 10, 2006

Graduation so close, I can almost taste it

The other day I dragged my friend aside and forced him to fill out his graduation application. He's known for some time that he'll be graduating in December. I've only just figured it out.

What could possibly hold somebody back from graduating? Paying back student loans? As scary as that may be, I think $42 a month is feasible.

I worked in the 'real world' and trust me, all the phonies and fakes that infiltrate the campus are there, too. They graduated and got real jobs.

Thinking about my own situation, I can't wait. I'm almost ready to drop the whole bit now and go seek my fortune. A degree? My father, who holds a Master's, always said a degree got him nothing. My mother, who never finished her degree, thinks all her life's failures are because she is degree-less.

But, better safe than sorry.

Monday, March 13, 2006

On our way to "Google mastery"

From the J132 blog

By Laura Rheinheimer

In the 10:30 Journalism 132 class, we are honing our search skills, to say the least. Certainly everyone didn't come into the class knowing the ins and outs of, say, Alexa, but we all have a bit of knowledge on the giant search engine, Google.

As Professor Stephen Greene has said repeatedly, Google is "almost good enough." This is true. Consider you have a story to write that is due on Sunday. You slacked and didn't make all the necessary calls during the week when offices were open and sources for the story were available. You have one piece of information on the story. Can you google an entire story without ever having talked to sources? If the answer is yes, we are truly doomed and there's really no need for journalists. Fine, I'll admit it. This happened to me this week. I have an "almost good enough" story that was done almost purely from googling the specifics of the story and using notes from a previous story for the rest. I won't turn it in, though. Nobody will ever see it. "Almost good enough" is not good enough for a journalist.

I, for one, appreciate our painful quizzes on Internet searching. The Internet has undoubtedly made the work of a journalist easier, but as a result, more is expected of us. We must be able to search under pressure if we want to meet these demands. This is in addition to the time-tested method of "GOYA" that journalists live by ("get off your ass" meaning get out there and talk to people).

The invasion of the bloggers (I include myself in this insinuating term) has led to a new paradigm for journalists. The problem is that everyone is online. Every opinion, every issue, every side can be found on the Internet. You can take a position, no matter how illogical and ridiculous, and find sources to back it up on the Internet. An article in the College Hill Independent, an indy weekly publication by Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design students, stated, "It's amazing how the Internet lets all the crazy people find one another and combine knowledge and speculation."

How true it is.

Take a subject. Any subject. One that personally offends me is Holocaust denial. Look to The Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust to discover why the Holocaust was just a ploy to rally support for the Jews, but never really happened.


Another favorite is Creationism. You can find all the "scientific" evidence you need from sources found online. And pretty pictures to match, courtesy of Google Images.

According to the Institute for Creation Research’s John Morris, Ph.D. (a degree issued by Bob Jones University, I’m sure), the earth’s geologic strata was created during the great flood of Noah, not over millions of years of sediments accumulating under water as geologists generally conjecture.

I’m not knocking Google. It’s great. It has masked my procrastination and laziness on several occasions (barely). More than that, it has served as a way to bring people together, make information available and generally enlighten mankind. I was appalled when I found a young man in London who didn’t know how to go online. I promptly set him up with an e-mail account and tricks of the trade on surfing the Net.

"Being able to find things on the Internet used to be a nice skill to have, but how it's becoming more and more of a necessity," Greg Hughes said.

Who is Hughes? I don't know. I found him when I googled the term, "google master." However, I liked what he had to say, so I’ll make him a credible source. After poking around his blog, I can cite him as "Greg Hughes, a technology and security writer." Alright, maybe this guy is alright, but the point is not moot.

The point is a cautionary one. I think "Google Master" is a valuable, essential skill to have, but it does not serve as a replacement for real, investigative journalism. GOYA.

I've expolited this opportunity to provide a link to my blog. Also, I encourage everyone to push for having JMC sever space available to students to create Web sites.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

What you hear when you're listening

Standing in line at the Health Center, I heard a young woman's phone conversation. I wasn't merely eavesdropping, I was doing so intently. The English words were disguised and the letters all mixed up. But, as every good child should, I learned Pig Latin when I was young, and was able to determine that she was telling the person on the other end about her boyfriend's Monday night arrest. I understood that he was arrested for two outstanding warrants, but, she insisted, he was wronfully detained in regard to his involvement in a fight.

"Better be careful," I chided. "I understood every word."

She smiled at me and sort of shrugged apologetically. I was called to the nurses' desk.

I caught up with the woman after we had both finished in the Health Center.

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but it's my profession," I said. "You know I was there for the fight on Monday, and I got your boyfriend's name from the police report. Would you mind having him get in touch with me? I'm doing a story on it for the Spartan Daily and I'd like to get his side."

She went into how he was just trying to break up the fight and was arrested for unrelated charges.

And so I add this point to my previous story that never went into print at the Spartan Daily. (A good news bit and poor victim of two people's egos.)

Israel has no choice but to defend itself

Guest column
Laura Rheinheimer
Posted: 3/7/06

Can Israel be reasonably expected to negotiate a road map with a political party/terrorist group that opposes its existence swearing repeatedly that it will not back down?

Israel has a right and an obligation to defend itself. It is truly twisted to say Israel should continue to support an organization that has for years tried - and for all intents and purposes still tries - to effect the violent demise of an independent Israel with a Jewish majority. Expecting Israel to continue to support such an organization, whether they're legitimately elected or not, is a patent misreading of the complicated politics of conflict resolution.

The actions and words of Hamas speak for the intentions of the group. Article 13 of the Hamas charter states that initiatives and international conferences are not an option:

"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

Hamas stated that it refuses to amend its anti-Semitic charter that calls for the destruction of Israel. After the Hamas victory in the elections, Hamas said it would "absolutely never" recognize Israel. It's like asking Jews to negotiate with the Nazis.

Sharon would not have done any different than Israel's acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with regard to money. No rational Israeli leader would have continued the flow of money to Hamas before a complete recognition of Israel's right to exist and a renunciation of violence. To expect them to do any different, again, is folly.

Cutting tax revenues is not intended to "punish the Palestinians," it is intended to protect Israeli citizens. Many sing the praises of Hamas for providing services like education and healthcare to the Palestinian people, and view it as the reason Hamas was elected.

Hamas has provided some medical care and services but it was not elected for that reason. By most objective standards, Hamas was elected because Fatah was perceived to be corrupt, not because people know Hamas to be a pacifistic organization whose members run around strapping baguettes and brie to their chests. If anything, it's specifically because Hamas is anti-Israel - violently so - that it was able to come to power.

Hamas uses the educational system to indoctrinate Palestinian children. Ask Nonie Darwish, the daughter of a martyr, about learning jihadist chants in grammar school in Gaza.

"In Gaza elementary school, we learned hate, revenge and retaliation," Darwish said in a Feb. 14 discussion held at the Sainte Claire Hotel. "Criticism and questioning were forbidden."

Hamas continues to provide this "free" propagandist education.

To say it has abided by the ceasefire is false and contrary to Hamas' own statements. The ceasefire was an agreement between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made in early 2005. Hamas promptly said it was not party to the ceasefire, and said it would continue to pursue control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel.

Qassam rockets, unguided makeshift steel rockets developed by Hamas, have been consistently launched from Gaza into Israel, targeting civilians. The British Broadcasting Corporation credited Hamas with five rocket attacks launched into Israel in May in two separate attacks. Recent attacks in September, said to be the work of Hamas, were aimed at Israeli communities.

Instead of whitewashing Hamas' rampant anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism and ignoring the huge steps Israel has made toward peace, like the Disengagement Plan, Israel should not be held to a double standard if both sides are truly dedicated to their commitments.

Hamas is probably going to renounce violence, eventually, once it gets a real government established that has control over the Fatah-run security forces. It is totally unrealistic, however, to expect either Israel to keep funding what is still a terrorist organization or Hamas to up and renounce violence just when it has come to power.

It is true that the pursuit of peace has no room for extremists. Suggesting that extremist Hamas should be funded by the very people it is sworn to destroy is not a pragmatic approach.

Laura Rheinheimer is a Spartan Daily staff writer. Guest columns appear every other Tuesday.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Fight erupts in heated soccer match

By Laura Rheinheimer

A fight broke out between two soccer teams 9:30 Monday night in Spartan Complex 44B after members of the teams clashed in what was said to be an intensive match.

Shortly after starting the match, the "intensity of the game" erupted into a fist fight, said witnesses.

Two members of Associated Students, who were refereeing the game, said they called the university police department after the violence began.

A man was arrested in front of the Event Center at around 10 p.m.

UPD reported arresting Angel Serratos for an outstanding warrant.

The Freedom and Conquerors teams were playing against each other in the quarter-finals of the 2006 indoor soccer men's playoffs.

Several members of the Freedom team said most of the other team ran from the area, and said two men from the team were arrested.

Adil Asslam, of the Freedom team, said he was punched in the brawl.

Ismail Jorio, also of Freedom, said the fight began when a player from Freedom went for the ball and a member of the Conquerors "jumped on him and pushed him real hard."

"Both teams were involved," said an unidentified A.S. member who refereed the game.

"The games usually have really good rivalry," said another A.S. member who wrote an official report of the incident for A.S.

Students take on SJPD after alleged Mardi Gras incident

From the Spartan Daily
By Laura Rheinheimer
Date: 3/6/06
Section: News

Two female San Jose State University students have enlisted the help of the NAACP after filing charges against the San Jose Police Department for allegedly using excessive force during Tuesday's Mardi Gras celebration.

Natasha Burton and Sharetta Henderson have asked Rick Callender, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to help in their allegation of police misconduct on early Wednesday morning, when SJPD were attempting to keep crowds under control.

Callender said several of the women involved have been interviewed by the Santa Clara County civil grand jury about the incident.

SJPD arrested 25 people and issued 238 citations during the Mardi Gras celebrations in downtown San Jose. Four people were stabbed and several cars were vandalized Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, said SJPD public information officer Enrique Garcia.

Burton, a junior majoring in sociology with a minor in criminal justice, who said she wants to be a parole officer, was arrested on charges of resisting arrest in front of City Hall as she and others were heading to campus slightly after midnight on Wednesday morning.

Burton said her mother is a police officer in Southern California.

She and Henderson allege that the police used excessive force after telling the women to go home. Others in the group have made similar claims but say they will not file complaints against the SJPD.

SJPD spokesman Nick Muyo said Internal Affairs will run its course to "find out if there's any misconduct on the part of police."

On a video recorded by CBS Channel 5, a woman later identified as Henderson can be seen whacked on the leg by a nightstick.

Police have identified the officers involved but have not yet identified the witness seen on the CBS video, Muyo said.

What is crucial is what happened in the 15 minutes before the incident, said San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis in a CBS television interview.

The witness, who asked that his full name not be used, said he was the only witness to the incident.

"I saw it from beginning to end," said the witness. "They didn't do nothing to provoke the cops to bring out their billy clubs and knock that girl to the ground."

He said he saw a woman arrested after an officer beat her and was told by another officer to arrest her.

"They're cops - they're not supposed to do stuff like that," he said.

Callender said he reviewed four independent tapes of the women and police clashing in front of City Hall. He said an officer swung at Henderson and she swung back. Another officer swung from the top and barely missed Henderson, Callender said.

"The whole thing is dirty," Callender said. "There's multiple violations here. What you have is an issue of force."

In a meeting on Thursday evening with the women involved, Callender said Internal Affairs has not found one complaint valid over the past five years.

Callender said the problem is part of a deeper problem of the mistreatment of "black and brown" in the downtown area.

"This happens a lot," Callender said.

He said the NAACP will pick up a class action suit against the SJPD.

"I'd like to see that officer disciplined or removed from the force," Callender said. "I believe (Henderson) has a civil action. We have so many black and brown folks being arrested for resisting arrest. They don't understand it's a misdemeanor."

Callender said he will ask Police Chief Davis to drop the charges against Burton.

"It's really offensive to me as a woman who respects the law," Burton said.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Police accused of excessive force during Mardi Gras

From the Spartan Daily
Online exclusive
By Laura Rheinheimer
Date: 3/3/06 Section: News

Three San Jose State University students say police used excessive force during the Mardi Gras celebration earlier this week.

SJSU student Tasha Burton, who was arrested on charges of resisting arrest early Wednesday morning, has filed a complaint against a San Jose Police Department officer, alleging that he used excessive force when he restrained her near City Hall as she was leaving the celebration at around 12:15 a.m. on Wednesday.

Two other SJSU students, Sheretta Henderson and Andreana Bates, have already spoken with SJPD's Internal Affairs about the alleged police brutality, Bates said.

Officer Enrique Garcia, a spokesman for SJPD, said he "can't offer any comment on it" because there is an internal investigation on the allegations.

"We're really not in a position to judge anything," Garcia said.

The alleged incident occurred when violence erupted in downtown San Jose late Tuesday evening and into early Wednesday morning, which led to four stabbings, 25 arrests and 238 citations issued by the police.

Bates said that she plans on filing a formal complaint against the SJPD and thinks Henderson will do the same.

A tape recorded by CBS Channel 5 shows a group of female SJSU students in an altercation with police near San Jose City Hall and shows one of the women being visibly struck by an officer with a baton. The woman, later identified as Henderson, can also be seen arguing with officers before she was hit with the baton.

Bates said in a phone interview that she was struck by an unidentified female officer after being told by police to go home.

"It didn't hurt, but the fact still remains that she hit me," Bates said.

Burton said she was with the group and alleged that an SJPD officer swore at her, pushed her with a baton and beat her.

"He smashed my face into the concrete like I was a piece of trash," Burton said.

Burton said she was on Fourth Street headed toward City Hall to retrieve her friend, Kimberly Larry, when an officer stopped her. Burton said the officer told her that City Hall was "off limits" and swore at her.

"He was so angry at me right off," Burton said.

Larry said while one officer confronted Burton, another two "snatched me up by the hood and (punched) my back."

Burton said the officer started cursing at her.

"I'm a woman and I know my rights," Burton said she responded to the officer.

Burton said the officer became violent after she asked for his badge number and he pushed her down.

"It's really offensive as a woman who respects the law," said Burton, a junior majoring in sociology with a minor in criminal justice, who wants to be a parole officer.

She said her mother is a police officer in Southern California.

Burton said she was considering trying to work for the SJPD. After the incident, she said she is rethinking her career.

The group of eight women were walking on Fourth Street slightly after midnight when they clashed with police, said some of the women involved.

"It was so surreal, like something out of a movie," said Barbara Powell, a junior majoring in marketing, who claims she was pepper-sprayed by police but will not file a complaint.

Detective Sgt. Edward Schroder will head the Internal Affairs investigation.

Officer Erin Fong of Internal Affairs said the investigation will go through a process of steps, including scrutiny by the Independent Police Auditor office.

Discipline could be ordered if the case is proven true, said Fong. According to an Internal Affairs document, allegations can be proven if it is "more likely than not that the misconduct occurred."

Thursday, March 02, 2006

San Jose nightlife begins and ends on First Street

From the Spartan Daily
Online exclusive
By Laura Rheinheimer
Date: 3/3/06 Section: Entertainment

The bars and clubs on South First Street run the gamut for party-goers. In the past year, many of them have switched ownership and atmosphere. This semester's smorgasbord of venues offers new themes and some bars and clubs offer something for all types of celebrators.

Whether looking for a rowdy sports bar, high-energy dance club, cool night of billiards or urban experience, the South First Street establishments should meet the needs of the San Jose bar and club scene.


Scores Bar and Grill, 417 S. First St.

Scores Bar and Grill, formerly known as Zoe's, has an atmosphere that implies more than keeping sports tallies. The bar managers, two San Jose State University alumni, draw from their experience at other bars, engaging bar-goers in group shots and shouting.

On "Sunday Funday," David Brenner, a former SJSU Pike, got on a microphone and called for everyone to drink together.

"The bar is open now, but the real fun will begin when the mechanical bull arrives on March 14 for the grand opening," said Regina Evans, general manager of Scores. "For now, there's a boxing ring onstage, air hockey and dancing poles on the bar."

The management hopes to establish this newly opened bar as a hotspot for SJSU students.

"This is the only sports bar downtown for SJSU," said bar manager Johnny Escobar.

He says that students will always get a discount if they show their school IDs.

Scores is the "Coyote Ugly of San Jose," said Evans.


Sofa Lounge, 372 S. First St.

Up a narrow stairway, Sofa Lounge has the feeling of an old jazz club from prohibition times. The décor is part vintage, part modern, and the dimly-lit rooms lend to the urban feel.

The velvet couches and bed in the back room allow for people to lounge and escape the thumping decibels. The stage and bar in the front room make some nights feel like a crowded, trendy club.

Co-owner Tim Middlefield said he and partner Michael Borkenhagen opened the lounge a year ago for "people looking for a San Francisco vibe."

Sofa has varying genres of music on different nights of the week, including an '80s-themed Wednesday night and a jazz workshop on Sundays.

On Thursdays, the usually open area is split into two separate spaces for "Velvet Shop," when the front room tends to fill up and feel like a trendy, crowded bar, and the back room allows some breathing room.

Sofa, with a view overlooking the street, brick walls, modular furniture and modern wall art, captures the feeling of a bar on San Francisco's Fillmore Street.


Angels, 400 S. First St.

This high-energy dance club caters to professional partiers. The style and atmosphere of Angels feels like a dance club in Ibiza. From the glittering sign outside to the white leather seating inside, Angels presents a place for a hard-core club experience.

Angels Lounge is not for the weak-hearted. The techno and dance music thumps at high volumes and is very dance-oriented.

The club also offers many VIP spaces and holds private parties and cocktail parties for special occasions.

Clubbers be warned: Go to Angels for the experience, not for an inexpensive place to get a drink.


South First Billiards, 420 S. First St.

South First Billiards is a large, clean space with 29 pool tables and plenty of space left for seating. The tables are spread out, allowing ample room for the professional pool player and the amateur. There are also separate spaces for a more private setting. The billiards offer $10 flat rate pool to students on Wednesday evenings.

The front of the 14,000-foot space serves as a lounge and offers a full menu, 12 beers on tap, a full bar and disc jockeys and live music on the weekends. There is also an 18-foot TV screen.

South First Billiards, which has been around for 12 years, is an ideal setting for friends looking for a clean, classy place to play pool and enjoy a beer.

Police clean up Mardi Gras

Four people were stabbed and several cars vandalized in Tuesday’s Mardi Gras celebration, said Enrique Garcia, press information officer for the San Jose Police Department. Police made 25 arrests and issued 238 citations, Garcia said.

All of San Jose police special forces and swing shift monitored the area as well as undercover officers in the crowds, totaling over 200 officers.

Officers wore shielded helmets and formed a line with nightsticks in hand and pushed the impeding crowd away from Santa Clara and Second Streets, which has been a problem area in past Mardi Gras celebrations.

“Toon’s is usually good for a stabbing,” said Officer Ed Conover about the nightclub on 52 E. Santa Clara St.

Lt. James Werkema said the police try to keep the crowds moving. Trouble “just moves with the crowds,” Werkema said.

Miranda Radland of San Jose said the police wouldn’t allow her access to her car.
“Every time we turn a corner, they tell us to walk another two blocks,” said Radland. “I’ve walked 20 blocks.”

Some party-goers said the police presence was overdone.

“They’re overdoing it,” said Rick Martin, a San Jose resident. “I think they’re causing more problems than anything.”

Officer Brian Daley said the police response was “measured.”
“That means just the right amount,” Daley said.

Several cars were vandalized on Fourth Street and St. James Street.

The windows of a BMW M3 were shattered and the roof, hood and trunk dented, leaving a skeleton of what was a once-shiny sports car.

“What happened was a whole bunch of people came through here and your car got stomped,” said the officer responding to the vandalism.

All they can do if file a report the following day, said the officer.

“The cops told us to clean up our mess—that’s really low,” said Ryan, a friend of the car’s owner.

Both police and bar patrons said youngsters who cannot drink are problematic because they crowd the streets, vandalize and cause fights.

“There’s supposed to be a big old party—but I guess not,” said Jamie Pelkey, who drove with friends from Oakland to have fun, but said he was not old enough to go into bars.

The San Jose police said they had warned people not to come to the area unless they had a place to go, Daley said.

Marvin Dulay, a SJSU alumnus, said three years ago people were having a good time.

“Now there’s just police,” Dulay said.

“It’s this whole new world order,” said Fernando Julian Perez, a SJSU junior majoring in radio, television and film. It’s excessive force, said Julian Perez.

Last year, there were 45 arrests and 170 citations. “We still have a problem, but it’s getting better,” said Daley.

Houssein Khani, a San Jose State University sophomore majoring in biology, said he planned to stay out of trouble.

“I wore my running shoes,” Khani said.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Panelists explore Israeli high-tech innovations

By Laura Rheinheimer
Posted: 2/27/06

Israel leads the world in high-tech innovation according to panelists from high-tech companies who discussed ties between Israel and the Silicon Valley Thursday.

Three panelists with top positions in high-tech and venture capitalist firms answered questions from an audience of approximately 300 students, faculty and community members about the successes of global Israeli-American companies and the importance of bridging the two regions.

The event was organized by the Entrepreneurial Society, San Jose State University's Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurship, the General Consulate of Israel in San Francisco and Hillel of Silicon Valley.

A short movie shown during the event stated that Israel leads the world in research and development investment.

"That's the foundation of a business," said Chris Surdi, former president of the Entrepreneurial Society. "If they're No. 1 in R&D, they're institutionalized in the global market."

Consul General of Israel for the Pacific Northwest David Akov said the reason Israel leads in research and development might be that the country has no oil. "It makes you work, think and create innovation," Akov said.

Panelist Dave Welsh, a partner in Partech International, a venture-capitalist firm, offered an investor's view of the Israel-Silicon Valley alliance.

"We saw a lot of technological innovations starting to evolve in Israel over the past 10 to 15 years," Welsh said. "Israel has been the best per-company place to make returns. In the end, ... we make money there."

Silicon Valley companies play a role by helping Israeli companies to "focus products to the right market," said panelist Ram Ofir, vice president and general manager of Zoran's digital television division.

Zoran has its business management in Sunnyvale and its entrepreneurship and innovation in Israel.

Some professors sent their classes to the discussion, hoping students could learn more about global business models.

Professor Anu Basu, director of SJSU's Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurship, said students who will enter in the upcoming business plan competition could use the panelists' suggestions.

"It showed the importance of going to the potential customer," Basu said. "Run the idea by people first."

Surdi said he hopes to launch a business and enter it into the competition.

"Getting knowledge about Israel and the research facilities there is an integral part of our business plan," Surdi said.

Dean of the College of Business Bruce Magid said he hoped the event would "whet (the students') appetite" for an overseas experience. He said the recent $10 million donation to the College of Business from Donald and Sally Lucas could go to scholarships for study-abroad programs.

"I'm hoping this program will lead to a business exchange program," said David Ben-Israel, a sophomore majoring in business. "I think students in both areas have a lot to learn from each other."

Jennifer Boldrini, a junior majoring in business management, said she learned more about resources in other countries.

"In the U.S., the focus is on the U.S. and nowhere else," Boldrini said.

Panelist Dan Harkabi, who pioneered flash memory technology, sold his company to SanDisk, where he is currently the vice president of secure contents solutions. He said he understood the need to join a major partner.

"A healthy approach: you cannot win it just by yourself," Harkabi said. Although the technology came from Israel, Harkabi said, the consumer was not there.

President of the Turkish-American Business Connections Association Efe Orhun said he attended the event to get ideas to improve technological trade relations.

Surmi Chatterjee, a graduate student in computer engineering said she was interested in what panelists said on starting a business in the computer industry.

Some audience members asked to know the secret to the panelists' success. Harkabi said anticipating trends and future technology is key.

"When it's 'hot' it's too late," Harkabi said.

All three panelists agreed that Israel keeps ahead of competition in places like India because of the loyalty of employees. Ofir, who has worked for Zoran since 1991, said retaining personnel is "one of Israel's skills." The turnover rate for engineers is too high in India, Welsh said. "Consistency almost overrides raw talent."

Professor Burton Dean, the moderator of the panel, said Americans tend to see their career in many jobs.

"In Israel, they're loyal. ... They work hard," Dean said.

There have been similar events at Stanford University and University of California Berkeley in order to show Israel "beyond the conflict," Tzach Segal, director of business development at the consulate, said.