JawsBlog

12/10/2008

The Kosher Quandary: Ethics and Kashrut

Filed under: Academia, Jewish Stuff/Judaism — Jaws @ 10:46 pm

An (unofficial) transcript of the discussion at Yeshiva University, titled: “The Kosher Quandary: Ethics and Kashrut” has been posted at my cousins’ blog.

It touches on Agriprocessors/Rubashkins and the fallout from it.

4/17/2008

Reflecting on 60

Filed under: Academia, Israel — Jaws @ 9:36 pm

As the State of Israel is about to celebrate her 60th birthday, it is important, as always, to look back on the young state’s (modern) history.

Even in its young age, the narrative of the State’s history is still a subject of debate, with the “new historians” trying to rewrite the facts of the State’s history.

In the halls of academia, the war for Israel’s history is still ongoing as pointed out by Efraim Karsh.

Karsh also debunks the new historians much more throughly in his book: Fabricating Israeli History: The ‘New Historians’

(h/t: Solomonia)

3/5/2008

Only in Academia

Filed under: Academia — Jaws @ 9:56 pm

Only in the bizarro backwards world of Academia, could one come up with an excuse like this to excuse plagarism. Is academic integrety becoming a thing of the past?

1/29/2008

Saying “Jehova” at Brandeis

Filed under: Academia, Brandeis — Jaws @ 10:09 pm

The alma matter is now starting to get heat from all over the country over the way it handled a complaint that a professor said a racially insensitive comment. My take is that, even though the professor is almost totally and completely misguided politically (he’s from the Sociology department–need I say more?), the way the administration appears to have handled things is inappropriate.  Furthermore, what ever happened to “truth unto its innermost parts”?

11/13/2007

Flying pigs in Waltham

Filed under: Academia, Amusing, Brandeis, Politics — Jaws @ 10:14 pm

In what is a most unlikely scenario, a Republican Senator was able to have a letter published in The Justice.

Not only that, it was a letter from Tom Coburn (R-OK), in which he argues against increased gun control

How this managed to make it into the paper, seems to be somewhat of a fluke.  Are pigs flying in Sherman? (Well, on the non-Kosher side at least?)

10/8/2007

Compare/Contrast

Filed under: Academia, Middle East — Jaws @ 10:22 pm

Compare the reception Ahmadinejad got at Columbia with the one he got at Tehran University What’s wrong with this picture?

9/24/2007

Future lectures at Columbia

Filed under: Academia, Politics — Jaws @ 9:40 pm

On the heels of Ahmadinejad…

Perhaps they’ll invite:

Robert Mugabe to speak on Economic Development

(share your ideas in the comments)

9/23/2007

The continuing demise of common sense

Filed under: Academia, Terrorism/War on Terror, Wierd Side — Jaws @ 7:30 pm

Common sense would dictate that one shouldn’t do anything to provoke any reaction from the TSA.

Apparently one MIT student didn’t think along those lines and decided to wear something provocative (in terms of security) and thought that there’d be nothing wrong with it.

Obviously this student didn’t learn the lesson of the Mooninite affair and how hyper-sensitive Boston is.

Yet another example of where academic smarts don’t correspond with common sense.

9/19/2007

Photop denied; microphone granted

Filed under: Academia, New York City, Terrorism/War on Terror — Jaws @ 9:40 pm

The NYPD and the Port Authority had the sense to deny Iran’s loony rambling leader the change to get a photo op at Ground Zero. However, Columbia University has made the (stupid) move to give the ranting man another forum and microphone.

As if the simple fact that “despot and dictator week: here in NYC wasn’t bad enough (a/k/a UN General Assembly Opening Week).

7/21/2007

Rejected

Filed under: Academia, Wierd Side — Jaws @ 7:57 pm

College application causes bomb scare The student should’ve applied online…

6/16/2007

“Hard” Sciences

Filed under: Academia — Jaws @ 5:51 pm

There’s a reason that certain disciplines (e.g. Math, Engineering, Physics, Biosciences, Chemistry) are known as the “Hard Sciences”

An abstract presented at last weeks Sleep 2008 in Miineapolis further hammered home this point.

Students with Medical-related majors more likely to have poor quality sleep 

Amongst the reasons given for this finding is the amount of studying that they have to do relative to their fellow humanities majors?  Or all the time they spend in the lab?

5/14/2007

Everybody Panic!

Filed under: Academia, Personal — Jaws @ 9:46 pm

The Family comes to town tomorrow!

Everybody Panic! (Well, at least I will be panicking)

The Family members are coming for the occasion of the Sister’s graduation from College.

Alas, she has not one graduation ceremony–but three separate ones! Egad–think of all the boring speeches she’ll be subjected to!)

Not sure what the Family members have in mind for this upcoming week….but here goes nothing….

5/5/2007

Where would we be without researchers?

Filed under: Academia — Jaws @ 1:22 pm

Some professors have too much time on their hands:

Content analysis of O’Reilly’s rhetoric finds spin to be a ‘factor’

4/22/2007

Something to be proud of?

Filed under: Academia, Brandeis, General, Politics — Jaws @ 9:08 pm

From Mark Kilmer’s “The Sunday Morning Talk Shows - The Review

On Fox New Sunday:

George Washington University president Steve Trachtenberg boasted that at GWU, not only are the faculty and students disarmed, but so are the campus security officers.

Is this something to really be proud of?

(For that matter–my alma matter is still the same way…which isn’t right either)

4/12/2007

Looking outside for inspiration

Filed under: Academia — Jaws @ 9:35 pm

Perhaps that’s the motto George Washington University should’ve embraced in choosing a Commencement speaker to address their graduates.

Instead, they decided to have the university president give the address

The student reaction appears to be what one would expect….

3/27/2007

Incomplete Advertising

Filed under: Academia, Middle East, New York City, Terrorism/War on Terror — Jaws @ 9:54 pm

On a college campus, the presence of a 50′ inflatable rocket, isn’t usually interpreted to mean what it’s intended to.

Rather, the majority of students will perceive it as a giant 50′ phallus….

The event being promoted by the rocket does sound interesting:

“American policy options in the face of Iranian nuclear proliferation”

Sponsored by the College Dems and Reps and a pro-Israel group.

Related: Press Release

1/7/2007

And college admissions are considered brutal…

Filed under: Academia, New York City — Jaws @ 10:55 pm

A tale of preschool admissions

It’s like this in a lot of other Northeastern cities as well from what I’ve heard.

Makes college admissions seem like almost nothing by comparison.

1/2/2007

Library shelf space–Chic or classics?

Filed under: Academia, Random Musings — Jaws @ 10:43 pm

Saw this post over at The Corner and it got me thinking about all the time I used to spend at the library.

Should shelf space be given to literary classics or should famous novels, not really in circulation be “bumped” for trendier/current reads?

Personally I see a a place on the shelves for works like: For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sound and the Fury, The Glass Menagerie, The Aneid among others. (Don’t they assign these as reading in school? I read a few of them as part of my English courses) .

Furthermore, many of the non-fiction books which sit/sat on the shelf provided me with countless hours of education and entertainment (caveat: I’m a bookworm). Granted, with the advances of the internet, the process of doing research is now different from the way I originally learned. No longer do kids necessarily begin their research by sitting with stacks of 3×5″ note cards navigating their way through books.

While the current bestsellers may make for a good read, down the road, do they really deserve to displace books that may be more valuable to local students (of all ages)?

12/15/2006

Good for Brandeis

Filed under: Academia, Israel — Jaws @ 10:22 pm

Jimmy Carter turns down an offer to debate Alan Dershowitz at Brandeis.

Good for the alma matter (Brandeis) for offering the oppertunity for such a forum to be held. It’s a shame that Carter doesn’t want to debate and defend his arguments.

More to say about this story (including more praise for the University) in coming posts.

I can only begin to imagine how mad this is going to make the noisy far-far-far-far left segment of the Brandeis community. (Pausing to laugh)

12/7/2006

What–no stage rushing or riot?

Filed under: Academia — Jaws @ 10:16 pm

Iranian Ambassador Makes Inflammatory Remarks About Holocaust, FOX News at Columbia University

No one tried rushing the stage this time around?

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