Gandhi, his Grandson, Israel, and the Jews --

... what did Mahatma Gandhi actually think of the idea of Israel, and of the fate of the Jews of his time?

As it turns out, M.K. Gandhi engaged in sustained conversation with Jewish intellectuals of his day—many of whom were dismayed by the great man's insistence, for example, that Jews in Germany should have willingly "offered themselves to the butcher's knife."

In this essay, Shalom Goldman sketches out the little-known background to a contemporary controversy. ...

Okay, you probably knew that getting arrested in Chicago--or anyplace, and just about any large city in particular--is not likely to benefit you, or for that matter unless you are a rapist or serial killer or the like, society as a whole or anybody who doesn't make a living from the incarceration-industrial complex.

But did you know the Cook County Jail is a biological weapons production facility? Close enough as might as well be anyhow:

Cook County Jail -- a hot spot for the bacteria, known as MRSA -- appears to be contributing to the infectious menace, as hundreds of inmates cycle in and out of the facility daily.

WTF is MRSA, you inquire?

MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, a potentially virulent bacteria that doesn't respond to several antibiotics used to treat common staph infections.

People struck by the bug frequently develop painful skin boils or abscesses and, in rare circumstances, deadly pneumonias, blood infections and other life-threatening conditions.

You could take steps to protect yourself by abandoning that life of crime

Here's to hoping lots more join him. Everyone should respect this man, it's incredibly difficult to stand up to "lawful" orders like this and win- in particular when you're an officer. And, if I may boldly assert that I can tell, why is it so many objectors seem to be people of color?

Lieutenant defies Army over ‘illegal’ war

By William Cole
The Honolulu Advertiser
In one of the first known cases of its kind, an Army officer from Honolulu is expected to refuse to go to Iraq this month with his unit, citing what he calls the “illegal” and “immoral” basis of the war, his father confirmed.

The officer, 1st Lt. Ehren K. Watada, 28, son of former state campaign spending commission executive director Bob Watada, is believed to be one of the first military officers to publicly take steps to refuse his deployment orders.