March 30, 2011 So we've got radioactivity too - a gift from Japan. Not surprising, or more scary than what we have in our daily lives. More scary is tomorrow's important PET scan for Ezi. What would we do WITHOUT radioactivity?
March 31, 2011 Why does our doctor wash his hands AFTER he examines the patient? To protect himself. But that can cause a major disaster. Why do we never try to prevent the dangers of others? Just a thought
Tonight is Daylight Savings. We lose an hour of sleep. It's pretty late to start it, but there is religious pressure around here to keep early sunlight as long as possible so early morning prayers are easier. Every time I complain about the religious pressures, but am thankful when we DO get daylight savings I forget about it until the winter comes. April 1, 2011 All right, back to my private life. There are two issues in the news in which I have a personal connection. The first is the story about Tel Aviv University that is roaming the papers. Yitchak Laor, who I admire as a person but don't know intimately, was accused of rape. Benny Ziffer, who runs the literary page in Haaretz and publishes Laor more than any other poet, and had defended Laor in public, was invited to speak at a conference at TAU, but the alleged victim began a campaign to disinvite Ziffer. Orly Lubin, the chair of the department of gender studies, thought to solve the problem by cancelling the conference, but the demand to disinvite Ziffer continued, and Orly finally resigned. We want her back. Haaretz wrote about it but I want to add my voice urging Orly to remain, and deal with the problem. I dont know what Yitzchak did, but I do know he's a bit pushy and agressive, and maybe there is something in it, although I doubt it. But that isn't the issue - the issue is freedom. The other issue is Joe Alon. In 1973 I was teaching English to a few army officers. It was a great evening job. I'd go downstairs to my neighbor, he'd break open a bottle of vodka, and we'd drink our way through an English conversation. There were other students who came my neighbor's, but the most fun was Joe. First, he'd manage to speak intimately without really giving away secrets. "What do you do in Washington?" I asked him. "I buy stuff." We spent many pleasant evenings together like that. I remember discussing condoms in the eighteenth century, female orgasm, and literature. I read their palms. And then one day the neighbor was at my door with the news, "Joe is dead. He was murdered." The neighbor quit the army and moved away soon after, and I only heard what was on the news. We never knew who killed him. But I never stopped being interested in the story. And Joe's wife had been Ezi's favorite nanny when he was small, so we gobble up each detail with great hunger. Now it's coming back into the news, after all these years.
April 2, 2011 Simple. Goldstone sees now that the situation was not what he thought. April 3, 2011 I keep checking the UN site of the Goldstone Report, but although there are blogposts - like from the marvellous Melanie Phillips - there is no update. There were things I doubted way back then, and now I doubt Goldstone totally. Ezi's PET didn't turn out too well, so it looks like he will be undergoing a bone marrow transplant. We're working on it. Socialized medicine helps. So does prayer - His mother's name was Sarah.