And he's lost upon the road to peace

Young Abdel Mahdi (Shahmay) was only 18 years old,
He was the youngest of nine children, never spent a night away from home.
And his mother held his photograph, opening the New York Times
To see the killing has intensified along the road to peace

There was a tall, thin boy with a whispy moustache disguised as an orthodox Jew
On a crowded bus in Jerusalem, some had survived World War Two
And the thunderous explosion blew out windows 200 yards away
With more retribution and seventeen dead along the road to peace

Now at King George Ave and Jaffa Road passengers boarded bus 14a
In the aisle next to the driver Abdel Mahdi (Shahmay)
And the last thing that he said on earth is "God is great and God is good"
And he blew them all to kingdom come upon the road to peace

Now in response to this another kiss of death was visited upon
Yasser Taha, Israel says is an Hamas senior militant
And Israel sent four choppers in, flames engulfed, tears wide open
And it killed his wife and his three year old child leaving only blackened skeletons

It's found his toddlers bottle and a pair of small shoes and they waved them in front of the cameras
But Israel says they did not know that his wife and child were in the car
There are roadblocks everywhere and only suffering on TV
Neither side will ever give up their smallest right along the road to peace

Israel launched it's latest campaign against Hamas on Tuesday
Two days later Hamas shot back and killed five Israeli soldiers
So thousands dead and wounded on both sides most of them middle eastern civilians
They fill the children full of hate to fight an old man's war and die upon the road to peace

"And this is our land we will fight with all our force" say the Palastinians and the Jews
Each side will cut off the hand of anyone who tries to stop the resistance
If the right eye offends thee then you must pluck it out
And Mahmoud Abbas said Sharon had been lost out along the road to peace

Once Kissinger said "we have no friends, America only has interests"
Now our president wants to be seen as a hero and he's hungry for re-election
But Bush is reluctant to risk his future in the fear of his political failures
So he plays chess at his desk and poses for the press 10,000 miles from the road to peace

In the video that they found at the home of Abdel Mahdi (Shahmay)
He held a Kalashnikov rifle and he spoke with a voice like a boy
He was an excellent student, he studied so hard, it was as if he had a future
He told his mother that he had a test that day out along the road to peace

The fundamentalist killing on both sides is standing in the path of peace
But tell me why are we arming the Israeli army with guns and tanks and bullets?
And if God is great and God is good why can't he change the hearts of men?
Well maybe God himself is lost and needs help
Maybe God himself he needs all of our help
Maybe God himself is lost and needs help
He's out upon the road to peace

Well maybe God himself is lost and needs help
Maybe God himself he needs all of our help
And he's lost upon the road to peace
And he's lost upon the road to peace
Out upon the road to peace.

TOM WAITS-Road To Peace

Eco Gambling in Ein Hod

Mifal Hapayis (the Israel National Lottery) is opening new windows of opportunity for environmentally aware artists and designers. This year, the Arts and Culture Council turned to the public for suggestions on areas worthy of support and the people spoke up! Letting in a breath of fresh air in more ways than one, the new categories reflect a growing interest in ecology and awareness of the environment.
Seeking to encourage environmental awareness in all aspects of design, performance and art, Mifal Hapayis will give special attention to ecologically oriented projects.
In the performing arts, street theater and other performance events taking place outside conventional frameworks have been added to the list.
In the visual arts, the committee will place an emphasis on:
Architecture and the Urban Environment
Art and Ecology
One project already in the works is “Ecosphera” – which aims to be the largest green event held in Israel. Scheduled to take place in the Artist’s Village of Ein Hod and its environs in mid-April, the festival will be dedicated to the theme of “sustainability.”
In addition to workshops, theatrical events, and an organic farmer’s market, the highlight of the festival will be an international exhibit of green art curated by Dana Tagger.
The Board of Directors has allocated 12 million NIS to fund projects in a variety of areas. Artists, designers, cultural institutions and dreamers who would like to submit proposals may do so in the months of February and May.
(read more...)

The assistant turns the potter’s wheel

Hand coloured aquatint from 'The Costume of Great Britain' (1808), a book containing 60 images of people at work and scenes of everyday life. A potter is making a large pot, while his assistant turns the potter’s wheel. William H Pyne (1769-1843), the son of a London weaver who became an artist and writer, was commissioned to write and illustrate the book by the publisher, William Miller of Albermarle Street, London. The first edition was printed in 1804, but the edition from which this coloured plate was taken was published in 1808. The illustrations are particularly notable as they portray British life on the eve of the Industrial Revolution.
(from science and society ...)

Take the rag away from your face

William Devereux Zantzinger, whose six-month sentence in the fatal caning of a black barmaid named Hattie Carroll at a Baltimore charity ball moved Bob Dylan to write a dramatic, almost journalistic song in 1963 that became a classic of modern American folk music, died on Jan. 3. He was 69.
His death was confirmed by an employee of the Brinsfield-Echols Funeral Home, who said Mr. Zantzinger’s family had prohibited the release of more details.
Mr. Dylan took some liberties with the truth in the song, “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” though there is disagreement over just how many. He recorded it in 1964 for the Columbia album “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” for some reason dropping the letter “t” from Mr. Zantzinger’s name. It begins:

William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll

With a cane he twirled around his diamond ring finger

At a Baltimore hotel society gath’rin’.

The incident occurred on Feb. 8, 1963. Mr. Zantzinger, a 24-year-old Maryland tobacco farmer, and his wife, Jane, had stopped with friends at a restaurant on their way to Baltimore’s annual Spinsters’ Ball, a white-tie affair.
Mr. Zantzinger was wearing a top hat and carrying a toy cane he had picked up at a farm fair. At the restaurant, he became disorderly, hitting employees with the cane, then left with his group after they were refused more drinks.(read more..)
Thanks to Cliff...

When a man loves a woman who loves books

Leonore Dickmann loves books. She has roughly a million of them. Leonore told Bill, “I’ve never met a book I didn’t like.” Collecting books has been a lifetime hobby for Leonore, and she finally collected enough books to open a store. When she outgrew that store, she moved to an old one-room schoolhouse. When she outgrew that, her husband, Lloyd, a farmer said she could use the slurry tank (for storing manure) out at their farm a short distance from Markesan, Wisconsin.
It’s probably a good thing Leonore married a farmer like Lloyd. She is a retired professor from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. When she decided to go back to school to get her Ph. D., Lloyd said he’d sell the cows and go with her. Lloyd did the cooking and cleaning while Leonore got her degree. Leonore may love books, but there is something to say for a man who loves a woman who loves books.

Books: The End

Back before inkjets, printing was a time-comsuming laborious process, that took teams of people working together to produce just one book. Now days, any crabby person can sit at home and crank out stuff on a blog or even make internet video. This movie will make you happy as you watch others toil for 'The Man' under primitive conditions.

The Battle of Gaza

The Battle of Raphia, also known as the Battle of Gaza, was a battle of the Syrian Wars between Ptolemy IV of Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Fought on 22 June 217 BC near Gaza. Ptolemy had 70,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 73 war elephants. Antiochus had 62,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 103 elephants.
At this time war elephants were exclusively supplied from India. To maintain their monopoly over the industry the Indians only exported male elephants. Ptolemy, who had no access to Indian elephants, may have used smaller African Forest elephants, or may have trained female elephants.
The kings split their elephants between the wings of their army. Antiochus began winning at the beginning of the battle when Antiochus's larger elephants drove off Ptolemies elephants. Each army's right wing defeated the opposing left wing and drove it from the field, leaving the Ptolomid phalanx to defeat the Seleucid infantry.
Ptolemy's victory kept the province of Syria for Egypt but it was only a brief respite; at the Battle of Panium in 198 BC Antiochus defeated the army of Ptolemy's young son, Ptolemy V and captured Syria and Judea.
Ptolemy owed his victory in part to having a well equipped and trained native Egyptian Phalanx which formed a large proportion of his phalangites (exactly how much is subject to academic dispute). Also, the Seleucid elephants are recorded to have panicked and fled the battle according to some sources. The self confidence the Egyptians gained has been ascribed as one of the causes of the subsequent Egyptian Revolt.

С Новым Годом от ЛЕОНИДА ИЛЬИЧА