Bauer: The fox is guarding the henhouse

Under the rules of the United Nations, it is Africa's turn to choose which nation will chair the 53-member UN Human Rights Commission. The African nations have caucused, held their vote and in their wisdom selected Muammar Gaddafi's Libya! Yes, that's right. Libya is the best they could come up with.

According to a report from our own State Department, Libya routinely tortures prisoners using such methods as electric shock, applying corkscrews to the back, pouring lemon juice in open wounds and suspending prisoners from poles inserted between the knees and elbows.

With each passing day under Secretary General Kofi Annan, the United Nations becomes more of joke. This confederacy of thugs routinely outvotes the free nations of the world and then uses the U.N. infrastructure to harass the United States and our allies. Remember this vote the next time you hear some U.N. bureaucrat criticizing America for how the Al Qaeda prisoners are being treated in Cuba. Compared to how prisoners are treated in much of the Third World, including Libya, the guys we are holding are staying in the equivalent of the Waldorf-Astoria!

Celebrating Their Wedding In Style

Avraham Moshe and Chavi Adamkar, of London, decided to spend the happiest day of their lives making others happy. They were married Monday morning in a modest ceremony in the Jerusalem Rabbinate, and then surprised 600 needy people - who usually come daily to the Meir Panim Soup Kitchen for a free hot meal - by celebrating their wedding feast with them.

Yediot Acharonot welfare reporter David Regev reports that the Adamkars turned the modest lunchroom into a wedding hall for a day, with white tablecloths, fancy dishes and silverware, a sumptuous feast, and a band playing music. "The atmosphere was festive," reported Regev, "and the many guests who celebrated with the bride and groom forgot their troubles for a short while..."

"Our purpose was to give some joy to people who don't have much," the happy bridegroom said. "We fulfilled the mitzvah [Torah commandment] of making a meal for poor people on the wedding day." His new wife agreed: "I'm thrilled that we were able to bring so much joy to needy people on our wedding day."

Practical help for Israeli children with disabilities

My friend (we were in the Nachal together) Shmulik Ben-Dov is a music therapist in Jerusalem. Through his love and talent, this gentle man has helped scores of children and adults with varying disabilities--many autistic, many with different types and degrees of mental retardation. Budgets for his work are always tight. He has been trying for some time to build a wonderfully innovative play area for one of the institutions with which he is affiliated--a musical play area, where the various climbing and playing things will have musical qualities.

He got students from the world-renowned Bezalel School of Design to design the area. All he needs now to make it happen is some money. Not much: I think he said the total would be around $30,000.

Like Israel's hospitals, the facilities for children with disabilities do not differentiate by national origin, race, religion, or anything.

Shmulik tells me the donations are tax-deductible. Please write to him and tell him how much you are sending, so he can tell you where to send it.

Special appeal to children from Israel's "peace partner"

This was said in Arabic, so for the Left, it doesn't count.

HAGANAH: You can do something about terror on the Web

HAGANAH is an outstanding site hosted by the Jewish Federation of Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, & Western Kentucky. It tells you what to do to get sites that support terror shut down, and lists encouraging success stories. (Thanks, Charles.)

Larry Miller: In an Israeli Hospital, Signs of Hardship, Hope, and Horror

In Hadassah hospital, I couldn't help but notice the many Arab families and children. "Oh, yes, we treat everyone," a doctor told me. "It's not easy, I admit. And it gets hard when they cheer when the [Jewish] bodies are brought in." I looked at her. What did you say? She sighed. "Yes, it gets hard when they cheer." (Weekly Standard)

from daily-alert@jcpa.org

Encourage US military personnel

It's a small thing, but meaningful: If you are so inclined, visit the Department of Defense web page below and sign a brief message thanking the men and women of the U.S. military services for defending our freedom. The compiled list of names will be sent out to our soldiers at the end of the month After you sign, you can check out how many others have also signed.

Click here.

GedankenPundit: Controlling the past

Good thoughts from Solly.

What do they mean when they talk about "their own state"?

If you are wondering what the Arabs think a Palestinian state means, see this brief slide show.

Israel saves ex-PLO minister...from? For?

This cryptic report makes me hope there is a tit for this tat somewhere.

Update: This article makes it seem that this is not the case--just another self-defeating well-intentioned blunder on the part of Israel. (Or maybe these protests from Sharon et al are just a screen for the guy to really dump his guts about Arafat's machinations? One can hope.) Sigh.