September 2006 - Binghamton Review

Binghamton Review September 2006

The Student Journal at Binghamton University

The Student Journal at Binghamton University

WELCOME TO

BINGHAMTON

Truth and two staples

Binghamton Review The Student Journal at Binghamton University Founded 1987 o Volume XX Number 1 o September 2006

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing .”

-Edmund Burke Editor-in-Chief Christopher Powell Managing Editor Thomas Shannon

Business Manager Nathaniel Sugarman

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Treasurer Michael Calabrese Layout Editor Jeff Lichtman

Staff Writers Arielle Deutsch, Megan Donahue, Dylan Lainhart, Harrison Salzman, Nathaniel Sugarman, Thomas Shannon, Evan Engel Contributors Rebecca Kaufman, Alex Rosenthal Friends of the Review The Aronoff Family Dr. Aldo S. Bernardo Mr. Anthony Carlone Sr. Mr. Michael J. Hayes The Janovsky Family Mr. Robert Larnerd The Leonini Family Mr. Michael O’Connell Mr. Tony Potochniak The Powell Family Mr. Conrad Ross Mr. Robert Soltis

Binghamton Review is printed by Our Press, in Chenango Bridge. We provide the truth; they provide the staples.

Binghamton Review

Binghamton University PO Box 6000 Binghamton, NY 13902-6000 binghamtonreview@yahoo.com

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DEPARTMENTS

Editorial: Christopher Powell reinstates the draft.

Presswatch/Letters: A note from the editor.

CONTENTS

Rebecca Kaufman asks students to enter the ring.

Nathaniel Sugarman explains what happened in Melibu.

Meghan Donahue reminisces about the summer.

Alex Rosenthal samples the dating buffet.

Tom Shannon reflects on the Binghamton floods.

Nathaniel Sugarman comments on World War III. Cover Design by Jeff Lichtman

Binghamton Review is a monthly, independent journal of news, analysis, commentary, and controversy. Students at Binghamton University receive two copies of the Review free of charge (non-transferrable). Additional copies cost $1 each. Letters to the Editor are welcome; they must be accompanied by the author’s current address and phone number. All submissions become the property of the Review. The Review reserves the right to edit and print any submission. Copyright © 2006 Binghamton Review. All rights reserved. Binghamton Review is distributed on campus under the authority of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Binghamton Review is a member of the Collegiate Network and is a Student Association-chartered organization. Binghamton University is not responsible for the content of the Review; the Review is not responsible for the content of Binghamton University. Binghamton Review thanks the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

Past Editors of Binghamton Review : John Guardiano, Yan Rusanovsky, Kathryn Doherty, Ephriam Bernstein, Michael Malloy, Paul Schnier, Adam Bromberg, Bernadette Malone, Michael Darcy, Nathan Wurtzel, Amy Gardner, John Carney, Paul Torres, Jason Kovacs, Robert Zoch, Matthew Pecorino, Michael O’Connell, Louis W. Leonini, Joseph Carlone

Binghamton Review, September 2006

EDITORIAL

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A Call to Arms

n behalf of Binghamton Review I would like to While the Review’s metered, academic reporting on welcome one and all, new students and sea- their lectures served to marginalize their unhinged soned veterans, to Binghamton University! messages we still faced a serious problem: only one Two years ago the staff of the Review began a conservative speaker came to Binghamton! And his new initiative: change the way students influence our visit was funded by a confluence of funds from off University. That plan was hatched by campus politi- campus and BR’s own budget! Joe’s Review may not cian-turned-journalist by the name of Louis Leonini, have defeated the leftist academic monopoly yet, but and I’m proud to say I’ve seen progress. we still considered bringing this campus its first conWhen Lou penned his inaugural editorial, “The servative speaker in recent memory a true victory for War on Students”, he challenged students to consider free-thought, and not our last. the injustice of many of our University’s policies. We Since Lou penned his first editorial many similar at the Review had lamented for years about the state of victories have been won: from last year’s NYPIRG campus: a paternalistic administration restricts student budget cut, which saved $20,000 of student monies for freedoms (alcohol policies for starters), enacts over- better appropriation, to the Review’s first SA funding bearing academic codes (see: add/drop deadline) and in 12 years, as well as the demise of Fair Use and the ignores student interests (it still takes 10 minutes to campus crackdown on wasteful student groups such as find a parking spot), but all that was about to change. OCCM. I’m proud to have been one of the students on With the editorship of Mr. Leonini the staff of the the front lines of these debates, fighting for the conserReview unified like never before – using our time to vation of student’s money and the cease of wasteful consider the BU community as well as ways students spending that continue to plague us, such as OC3’s could make an impact, rather than just pointing our fin- habit of sending care packages to prison inmates; our gers. For the first time in BR history staff members war is not over. began to take an interest in campus politics through the The Student Association and its student groups are Student Associations assembly and financial council, still fraught with wasteful spending. There are still through our respective community governments and in many radical student groups who preach hatred that many other ways. The voice of campus conservatism they veil, thinly, as “multiculturalism”. The adminiswas finally going to be heard face-to-face; little did we tration still aims to remove students from university know how eagerly students would listen. governance and enact stricter rules to govern student Last year the Review returned in full force under behavior and “clean-up” the college experience. Well the steady leadership of Editor-in-Chief Joe Carlone I say it’s time that we take a stand (all apologies to whose inaugural editorial charged students with one LASU, but our stand has nothing to do with immigratask: to bring their own brain. Joe warned students of tion) and let the voices of Binghamton’s students be the ever-present dangers of a Binghamton University heard. education, dangers that still threaten the academic In order for students to make a real impact on experience of all bearcats. The most prevalent of these Binghamton University, the kind of impact that would dangers continues to be biased professors. We’ve all improve the student experience for all bearcats present had one: a math professor who couldn’t finish a class and future, we must unite. This university boasts over without taking a stab at the Bush Administration; a 11,000 undergraduates, and if we hope to see it revisionist history professor who claims that the changed more student involvement is needed. So I American Revolution was not a real war (‘cause like, leave you with this: two years ago Lou Leonini opened the only real American Revolution was the sixties, your eyes to the war on campus, study the enemy: read man); someone lowers grades down based on how about the administration’s policies, monitor your proview the subject rather than their knowledge of it. Last fessor’s bias and keep an ear out for student group year the Review beefed up our academic issue in order hate-speak. Just last year Joe Carlone reminded you of to call out more fringe professors and biased practices this war and told you about the weapon of choice, so while lauding those professors who make time for their start reading Pipe Dream, read Binghamton Review students and have the presence of mind to leave their every month, and keep an eye on the actions of the opinions outside of the classroom, but Joe’s warnings Student Association so that your brain is ready because did not stop at the lecture hall. this, fellow bearcat, is your call to arms.

Joe also warned of the bias that dominated student politics on our campus. Although he was the first BR -Christopher Powell editor to begin his tenure with a Student Association budget allowance there was still great injustice on campus. Last year several leftist speakers graced [annoyed] BU; all funded with money from the SA, the Graduate Student Organization or the administration.

Binghamton Review, September 2006

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PRESSWATCH/LETTERS

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A note from the Editor-in-Chief:

WORDS OF WISDOM:

“The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm from others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient to warrant”

Typically, this space would be reserved for the campus presswatch and for letters. Being that it is the beginning of the year and we here at Binghamton Review have not yet had the chance to analyze our rival campus publications, we are unable to provide you with such critiques. In the event that another campus media source prints something that merits discussion (the exception, NOT the rule) you can be sure to find some funny and insightful comments in this space.

As for the letters: we will be reading and printing letters to the editor, so feel free to submit one sometime soon (binghamtonreview@yahoo.com) in response to this issue, or for any other reason at all (I expect many letters, as the Review has outlasted all of our rival media outlets). We always appreciate your input and know that if it were not for our readers we wouldn’t have survived into this, our twentieth year.

-Christopher Powell

- John Stuart Mill

Binghamton Review, September 2006

A Letter from the Academic VP

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

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ollege is about experiences— what you get involved with, who you meet, who you pursue relationships with, and the academic opportunities that you encounter.

What makes college so life changing and unique for every person is how one spends his or her time. There are two common attitudes of students in college: motivated to make a change, or apathetic. As the Academic Vice President of the Student Association it is my goal to get other students involved on this campus and try to fight the apathy that is so prevalent at this University.

The job of the Student Association is to represent the opinions, wants and needs of BU students. I am not writing this article to plug the SA, because I do not think that is my place. However, I am writing to tell you that change can only be made if each and every student makes an effort. This is what the Student

By Rebecca Kaufman

Association is for: to bring students voices together and work toward progress. In the last two years I have seen great changes made and many issues considered. Students have come to the SA with problems ranging from academic calendar issues to a desire to form a BU football team.

We consider every idea and comment and work to make as many positive changes as possible. But the system only works if we have help: BU has a student body of 12,000 strong, and with that many voices we can surely make a difference.

Here is my challenge to you: think about your life at Binghamton University and what you would like to see change; most students point to the add/drop deadline, the weather, class sizes, lack of advising and a lack of availability of faculty. I am saying that if 12,000 students stood together and protested we would be able to move the administration and show

them what we, the students of Binghamton University, want and what MUST be changed.

So instead of sitting on the sidelines, make a difference: join the Student Association, join your residential community council, join one of the 180 + clubs that exist at BU! Can’t find a club that fits your interests?

Make one! Write for Pipe Dream; hell, write for Binghamton Review!

Make your voice heard. Have an idea for a campus-wide event? Plan it and the SA can financially support it.

Whatever you do, do not sit idly by and let your four years at Binghamton University fly by without making a difference. The 2006-2007 academic year has just started, so get involved and make a difference soon, before your time is up.

-Rebecca Kaufman is the AVP and a Junior at Binghamton University.

Binghamton Review: “Where the real debate on campus takes place”

Positions available: Conservatives, Objectivists, Libertarians, writers, cartoonists, debaters, and all lovers of liberty, justice, and the American way.

Join Binghamton Review and become part of the class publication at Binghamton University!

Weekly Meetings: Thursdays, 9 P.M. in our office, WB05 (basement of the New Union below the food court). e-mail binghamtonreview@yahoo.com Binghamton Review, September 2006

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“Driving While Anti-Semitic”

FRUITS & NUTS

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Mel Gibson Reveals Something About Us All

o I really care what Mel Gibson thinks? To be honest, not really—I am more concerned with his DUI infraction than his DWA-S. For those of us who are not familiar with what I am referring to, this summer Mel Gibson was pulled over for drunk driving. During his ride in the police cruiser, he accused the police officer of being a ‘Jew’ while blaming all wars in the world on Jews, among other things. This confirmed the belief of many, formed after the release of the “Passion of the Christ in 2004”, that Mel is a bona-fide anti-Semite. There is a tendency for people to naïvely assume that Gibson is the exception, that we do not all harbor prejudices of our own. I do not care what Mel thinks, but I recognize this as an opportunity for us to be more introspective and examine our own prejudices and perhaps reconsider them.

Mel Gibson exposes us for who we really are—inherently prejudiced beings. Very few people are actually open to new ideas, and are interested in debate, discussion and intellectual growth. Most people do not have the capacity to reason, and they hold the beliefs they learned as a child to be sacred and unalterable. In the film ‘A Clockwork Orange’ we are presented with the story of Alex, a juvenile delinquent who is selected for a new de-programming technique that would cure him of his

by Nathaniel Sugarman

criminality. As expected, the treatment drives him mad and he eventually reverts back to his true evil self. This is how we humans work. Mel Gibson is being treated as an exception, but in reality he is the rule: people are flawed, and people in general do not change.

The media is portraying Gibson as so dreadfully inebriated, that he uttered things which he did not truly believe. I am incredulous of this defense, because anyone who has ridden in a cab with a drunken friend knows that while intoxicated, one says not the opposite of what one believes, but what one truly believes. Often these admittances are striking: one’s defenses are lowered, the curtain of propriety is lifted and secreted thoughts become speech. Does this mean that I do not believe Mel Gibson to be an ignorant redneck? No— in fact that is exactly what I believe. I am not at all fond of him, and the ‘Passion’ was one of the worst movies I have ever seen, but my gripe is not with his petty personal prejudices, but rather with the subtleties of human nature and our own tendency to be prejudiced.

What has disturbed me more than the incident itself is the media’s reaction to it. It has nothing to do with being too hard or soft on him; actually I think the media has been sufficiently harsh. I was listening to the Laura Ingram program on the radio in my car the other night (my CD player was broken), and

Binghamton Review, September 2006

she was talking with Rabbi Marvin Heir, head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group. Rabbi Heir was discussing what Mel Gibson must do in order to convince his fans, many of them Jewish, that he is not a complete anti-Semite. He suggested that Mr. Gibson visit Auschwitz, take classes on the Holocaust, or in some way make an effort to change his opinions on the Jewish people. Heir mentioned in addition that this should be done out of the limelight so it is genuine, and not simply a publicity stunt.

On principle, I cannot disagree with Rabbi Heir; his suggestion sounds reasonable to me. Perhaps I am being cynical, but Mel Gibson is a fifty one year old guy and, from my experience, most college sophomores think they have it all figured out and are not prepared to reevaluate their beliefs.

An obvious response to that observation is: “Sugarman, doesn’t that simply prove that young people are more obstinate than older fellows, and that Mel Gibson can truly change?” Sorry, but no: young people may be more vocally obdurate, but it is true that the older one gets, the more convinced they generally become—that they are right all the time. I implore you, the reader, to test out this theory, and debate an issue with a college friend, and then to broach the same topic with someone of your parents’ generation, and see who is more open to an opinion that is not

their own. One will find that although older individuals are capable of more mature methods of discourse, they are not prepared to change their mind when it comes to core beliefs that they have had for a long time. Rabbi Heir means well, but his belief that people can be ‘re-programmed’ is not realistic.

Mel Gibson has used his alcoholism as a poor excuse for his behavior. This defense is weak, as Mr. Gibson does not have a reputation for being a compulsive drinker.

This is a rather pathetic apology clearly organized by his publicist.

If I were his publicist, I would have done the same thing—to abdicate Gibson of responsibility and transfer that burden onto the ‘disease’ of alcoholism, I find this ridiculous

and I do not empathize with Mr. Gibson. In this particular case, the man’s fondness for the bottle is not the primary issue, the concern is with his attitudes expressed when his guard was lowered.

The point that people are missing in the midst of all this controversy is the fact that Mr. Gibson was driving while intoxicated. The man was putting lives in danger, and all the media can focus on are his idiotic ramblings about the Elders of Zion. Driving drunk is clearly the most important issue here, and it was completely ignored by the media. His ignorance and his intolerance should be secondary.

That said, I still believe that Mel Gibson is an old school anti-

Binghamton Review, September 2006

Semite and that there is nothing anybody can do about it. What we should have learned from Alex, in ‘A Clockwork Orange,’ is that people cannot be re-programmed, and that our beliefs and practices generally do not change. I can only encourage you, the Binghamton Review reader, to keep a more open mind than Gibson, something that most people are not capable of. Mel Gibson is a lost cause, and we should all make a serious effort not to follow in his path while we are still young and openminded.

-Nathaniel Sugarman is the Business Manager of Binghamton Review .

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A TRIBUTE

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Out of respect for the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the staff of Binghamton Review would like to dedicate the centerfold, as well as our thoughts and prayers, to their memories.

Binghamton Review, September 2006

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“The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom.�

Rudolph W. Giuliani Mayor of the City of New York December 31, 2001

Binghamton Review, September 2006

CURRENT EVENTS

Summertime Blues

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A Look at What I (And Some Others) Did Over Summer Vacation

by Megan Donahue

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elcome back everyone. I’m sure that you’re all just as excited as I am to be back at Binghamton for what promises to be another action packed semester. With mid-term elections coming up this fall there should be no shortage of crazed political antics all about the BU campus, the US, and the globe. I wait with bated breath; it’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let’s ease back into life at Binghamton with some tales of summer vacation.

What did I do on my summer vacation? I spent the first few weeks of my summer vacation trying to convince any number of the local shops that I deserved a job because I was a hard working student and needed the money for tuition. Time after time I came across the same response that being a student meant that I wouldn’t be around in the fall so I wasn’t worth hiring. I’m sure there’s an Adam Smith paradox in there somewhere (employers want educated employees; students need money to pay tuition to become educated employees; students don’t get jobs because they are attending college…), but that’s a story for another day. After dozens of applications at the mall, supermarket, video store and the like, I was pretty demoralized: I couldn’t even find a minimum wage job!

Just when I had resigned myself to being unemployed (and therefore, as New York State labor law requires, required to join the Democratic Party) a local employer took mercy on my undergraduate soul and gave me a (really good) job. So to make a long

story short: I got a summer job, hung out with my friends, got a tan and then spent everything I had earned buying books for this semester. So now that I knew how pathetic a BU student summer could be, I reminisced about my younger days when summer was a time to ride bikes, make crafts, and hang out playing goofy kids games.

Following those memories I studied the summers of some “world leaders”, so here’s a look at how some goofy kids spent the last few months:

Advanced Arts + Crafts Iran’s current President and former student radical Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spent his summer in a fruitfully.

Preferring enriched uranium to popsicle sticks and paste, Ahmadinejad apparently decided that the MiddleEast, being the stable political region we all know and respect (in a circa 14th century kind of way), was ready for nuclear weapons. The effect that this development has had on global politics is yet to be determined.

However, if Ahmadinejad’s last great effort at global diplomacy (the armed takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and subsequent 444 day hostage ordeal) is any indication of how his latest endeavor is will play out then we could be in for some really robust UN drama. I expect that the UN response will come in the form of an especially forceful denunciation similar to that expressed by Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in “Titanic” who, upon finding himself freezing to death in the waters of the North Atlantic, stated that he intended to send ‘a

Binghamton Review, September 2006

strongly worded letter’ to White Star.

But, I do have to give credit where credit is due: Ahmadinejad clearly stated that his intent is to “wipe Israel off the map” and it appears that he is working tirelessly towards that end; at least he’s stopped eating the paste.

How much trouble could he get into with his shovel and pail?

Hezbollah summer camp must have let out too early this summer, because with too much time on their hands Hassan Nasrallah, the “spiritual leader’”of Hezbollah, and those rambunctious ‘bollah kids decided to dig an underground tunnel from southern Lebanon into northern Israel, but I’m sure it was strictly an archeological dig gone wrong. At the end of the day this purposeful violation of the Israeli border, deaths of eight Israeli border patrol soldiers and the kidnapping of two others coupled with the constant katushya rocket attacks on Israeli civilians upset the Israeli government. When Israeli Prime Minister Olmert confronted the issue by having the gall to actually fire back Nasrallah and the Hezbollah terrorists expressed surprise and anger.

Nasrallah went on to state Israel had no right to shoot back because: “show me a war, in which two soldiers, or even civilian hostages, were abducted, and a war was waged…all for two soldiers”.

Note that he conveniently forgot to mention the deliberate hostage taking, dead Israeli soldiers, violation of Israeli sovereignty and his complete lack of remorse for the ensuing war. To date no one has asked for his shovel or pail.

Red Light – Green Light…

As you can imagine the Lebanese Hezbollah faction has been very busy recovering from the wholly unexpected onslaught by the Israeli Defense Forces following the thoughtful Nasrallah Peace-through-Terror Plan (look for Jimmy Carter to nominate Nasrallah for the Nobel Peace Prize this fall¬).

That plan led to countless civilian deaths and no apparent gain. To help the outside world better understand their current predicament and help counter the patently unfair position Hezbollah currently find themselves in (that is to say being frickin’ terrorists hiding amongst the civilian population), they have given the green light to propaganda and a red light to honest reporting. This was initially real scenes of devastation caused by the Israeli air attacks and the howitzer shelling of Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon. However, the actual photos were apparently insufficient to show what the Lebanese had claimed was an Israeli over-reaction to the Hezbollah attack. To remedy that pesky “reality” problem many photos were staged, scenes were re-enacted for the cameras time and time again, repeating the “discovery” of the same dead child from the rubble of different civilian homes (introducing the world to “Green Helmet Guy”). When staging scenes of destruction didn’t work out at least one AP photographer went about photo-shopping the pictures of burning ruins to exaggerate the extent of Israeli attacks. That last one caused the AP to actually fire the photographer, Adnan Hajj, for getting caught. What they weren’t allowed to capture (but inevitably did) were photos of Hezbollah soldiers dressed in civilian clothing, or firing their rocket launchers from within homes in civilian neighborhoods. Not to mention the

Hezbollah Command and Control bunkers located in the basements of apartment buildings, or the troop deployment tunnels dug over the last 6 years below the streets in southern Lebanon. Yup, good thing these guys don’t have any issues with the West.

Tag! Your it…

In 1959 a socialist revolutionary named Fidel Castro overthrew the corrupt Cuban government of Fulgencio Batista. So long Batista: good riddance to bad rubbish. The aim of Castro’s revolution was to bring social justice and democratic representation to the Cuban people. As of this writing, 47 years later, the Cuban people have yet to actually democratically elect anyone. It seems that El Comandante pretty much picked up where Batista left off and continued in that vein to present day. What has Fidel been up to this summer? He’s been dying…and dying…throwing political prisoners in jail… dying some more...executing political enemies…dying still more…having Hugo Chavez over for a media noche and a frosty Hatuey…and did I mention dying? Maybe there is something to the whole ‘socialized-medicine’ thing: this guy has been holding on longer than Methuselah. Anyway, during the last several months Fidel has been gravely ill. We know this because the Cuban “free” press has been warning the local population not to get its hopes up. Ironically, in what could well be the last worldly act for this old Marxist revolutionary rather than granting to the Cuban people the freedom that they have awaited so long, Fidel Castro, in true dictatorial fashion, has selected his “younger” brother Raul to take the reins (I wonder what U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor would have to say about

Binghamton Review, September 2006

that). Once again the Cuban people have been denied suffrage. Nothing like a good game of tag between two old communists, but isn’t it time they tried dominoes?

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Red Rover, Red Rover, Send Danny Right Over (the edge)…

Wisconsin schoolteacher and budding pyromaniac Dan Holden, in a progressive attempt to teach his class of seventh graders the power of free speech and the accompanying responsibility, lit up an American flag right there in the classroom.

Twice. After understandably disregarding the safety of the children in his charge and wantonly violating what one would suppose would be a required minimal understanding of the local fire code, Mr. Holden set about torching old glory right then and there in 3rd period Social Studies. The local school board sprang into action and, after seizing Holden’s cache of matches and flags, relieved him of his teaching duties. Accordingly he has been placed on non-instructional duties. No comment from the board on how this differs from his previous teaching ability.

But all is not lost; it looks like Mr. Holden has jumped into an early lead for the 2007 Binghamton Review Stick Awards. No word on the rumor that Holden will use this as a springboard to political office as a Democrat.

Ah well, summer is over once again.

Not exactly the way I remember the playground as a 9-year old kid, but the behavior is pretty much on a par…

-Megan Donahue is a Junior at Binghamton University.

The Ultimate Kosher Question

ROMANCE

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A Look at Religion and Dating

hen my parents dropped me of at "The Ivy of the SUNY system" three years ago they were pleased with both the academic distinction of the university and the purported near majority of Jewish students. No doubt they envisioned me sharing bagel and lox brunches with my Jewish buddies and dating a plethora of intelligent Jewish females, maybe even inviting them home for Passover cedars.

In some respects I haven't disappointed them: I've enjoined several Shabbat dinners at the Chabad House (great matzoball soup), and my best friend and roommate for three years is a deeply religious Jew. Overall, I've gained great perspective, and I respect and admire the Jewish people and culture.

However, where I differ from many of my Jewish brethren and prodding parents is the insane yearning, desire, and need for a Jewish mate. I find this requirement that many Jewish singles have of their respective consorts is un-American and paradoxical to the education that they’re receiving at this institution.

One of the great aspects of

by Alex Rosenthal

Binghamton I’ve seen is the tremendous variety of cultural events put on by the wealth of cultural student groups that emphasize and showcase multiculturalism. How does the common Jewish argument that interfaith marriages are undesirable because they cause intercultural clash hold weight when one sees how successful and interesting cultures mix on campus?

Culture is such a valuable commodity, so isn't it more intellectually interesting to have two different cultures, enjoying your mates culture as well as your own, rather than sharing in only one tradition?

marry a Jewish person only so that you can force your offspring to follow the same religion that you do?

Beyond these pragmatic reasons I believe that dating strictly in-faith is a denial of your freedom. It goes against our freedom as Americans, we should date who ever we want!

Even Rick Santorum isn't against that (as long as you’re straight). Removing one’s right to date whomever one wants is limiting the pursuit of happiness. The mate that will make you happiest (sometimes the other 50% of campus) is more important than any religious, Other Jews will argue cultural or culinary argument. that it is imperative that Jews I hope that the students marry and procreate in-faith for the continuation of the religion. of Binghamton will seriously However, a child born of both consider my argument, but if Jewish and non-Jewish parents this article teaches you nothing often has the choice as to which else at least refrain from asking religion to practice. A child me about my religion before a with an open mind, without pre- dance at The Rat. conceived religious notions, is a wonderful thing. It wasn’t until -Alex Rosenthal is a senior hiscollege that I was able to break tory major who is happily datout and fully experience an open ing a gentile he met at mind. This leads to my ques- Binghamton University. tion: does it make sense to

Binghamton Review

IF GLOBAL WARMING EXISTS, WHY IS IT 50 DEGREES OUTSIDE IN SEPTEMBER???

Meetings Thursdays at 9PM, UU WB05 Binghamton Review, September 2006

FLOOD!

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Reflections on the Flood Ramblings from Under Water

hatever else the flood was, it was quite clearly the greatest thing to ever happen as far as the Broome County Walks program is concerned. The Riverwalk, one of those oh-so necessary federal spending ventures of recent years, was bulging with the curious masses. Ditto for every bridge no overtaken by the waters. Neither before nor since the flood has there been more than five people on the Riverwalk at one time, save for special events. A few Letters to the Editor in later Press & Sun Bulletins were morally outraged that so many people were gawking at the floodwaters from local bridges in the midst of so much suffering. I suspect those letter writers were just too lazy to get out of their cars. Whether we want to hear it or not, the flood was a tourist attraction for natives, an excuse as good as any to walk the seedy streets of Binghamton.

Congratulations to Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan for declaring a mandatory evacuation in certain spots. As it turned out, the mighty Chenango came within three inches of climbing over the floodwall and dousing a goodly portion of the East side. Only problem with the evacuation: nobody left. The Events Center might be a fine place to take in a basketball game, but leaving an intact house to live there for three days is not anyone’s idea of a good time. Many, if not most, of the Binghamton neighborhoods under evacuation never lost power or water. It’s a tough call, but would you have left for courtside bunks?

Sens. Charles Schumer, Hillary Clinton, Rep. Maurice

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by Thomas Shannon

Hinchey (Hillary appears to be taller than Hinchey), and Mayor Ryan gathered near the still underwater Confluence Park a few days after the waters crested. Most comments from the crowds boiled down to: “Omigod, I need money,” and most responses were: “it’s on its way.” But leave it to Sen. Schumer to make the day worthwhile: clearly shooting for an honorable mention in the upcoming paperback edition of Harvey Mansfield’s book entitled “Manliness,” Sen. Schumer literally threw caution tape to the wind and led Hillary, Hinchey, Ryan, and assembled crowd across the still mud-caked Washington St. Bridge. It was fantastic.

The completely out of proportion moral outrage of the aforementioned letter writers was matched only by those who “spoke out” against the handful of crazies who decided that kayaking and canoeing during the flood was a sensible lifestyle choice.

Personally I flirted with the idea of breaking out the ole’ kayak but then I took a walk on the Clinton St. bridge and upon seeing only about a foot of headroom I thought better of it. Some of the lunatics who did go out on the water had to be rescued and therein lies the source of moral outrage. In a free society, people are going to do stupid but ultimately harmless things and, just as surely, there will be self-important preeners waiting to denounce them.

keeping score, sewage plants in Oneonta and Bainbridge are busted as well.

Conklin was widely described as the “epicenter” of flood damage in Broome County.

No surprise here, considering that Conklin has dozens of houses built as close as could possibly be built to the Susquehanna River (“beachfront premiums apply, no doubt).

The foundations of at least two of these houses cut directly into the river’s banks. I don’t mean to kick someone when they are down, but the homeowners who built/bought (and are now rebuilding) these houses were, to a substantial extent, asking for it: flooding on the Susquehanna is not exactly a rarity. All public policy going forward must be a hard headed realization of this. FEMA and New York State should give the direct grants a rest and shift their funds into buyout programs, or is state ownership of environmental property not better than handing these people cash to rebuild every time it floods?

Of all the things now lying face-down in Chesapeake Bay, the one with the most symbolic value is the park bench which used to lie on a Susquehanna River island just downstream of the Route 177 Bridge connecting Conklin and Kirkwood. This was not just any park bench: you see there was a certain metrosexual jet-skier who was fond of using the bench as a tanning bed. Add another Southern Tier treasure to the list of items ripped away by the flooding of 2006.

If you thought aquatic real estate in the vicinity of the Binghamton/Johnson City sewage plant smelled a little organic before the flood, take a whiff now that the -Tom Shannon is the Managing sewage plant is in ruins. For those Editor of Binghamton Review.

Binghamton Review, September 2006

MIDDLE EAST

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The Impotent Giant

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The West is Winning Battles, but Losing World War III

he polarizing war between radical Islam and the Western world manifested itself in the Middle East. This particular part of the world is certainly no stranger to religious conflict, but in the past weeks, as a result of the unprovoked aggression by Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah from Lebanon, Israel has responded with necessary force and new fighting has erupted. This conflict in Israel, the war in Iraq and the looming crisis with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, are all battles in the same war waged by Islamic fundamentalism against the civilized world.

However tempting it might be for us to believe that we, the West, are winning this war, we should not lose sight of what each side is fighting for. By examining this struggle, we will find that we are currently losing. We know what the West’s objective is—it is simply to survive. Despite the rantings of the likes of Chomsky and his ilk, the West has no imperial ambitions; we are content with just fighting those who threaten our existence. The question is, what do the Islamic fundamentalists want?

Do Islamic fundamentalists really believe that they, as rogue states like Iran and Syria, or terrorists like Hezbollah, can defeat Israel and the United States militarily? Surely not. There are other more complex forces at work that distinguish battles, like that of Israel and Lebanon, from the bigger picture. The key to understanding this bigger picture is to determine what exactly the radical Islamists would want to accomplish. What the fundamentalists such as Osama bin Laden, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and others, seek to accomplish is to radicalize the world’s Muslim population so that

by Nathaniel Sugarman

Islam becomes a violent, fundamentalist religion which will rule the world. What better way, for example, than cajoling the world press into believing that they are not the aggressors but innocent victims of Western assault? Consider, for example, the way the New York Times and its ilk carry daily photographs of innocent Lebanese children being killed but no mention of the many defenseless Israeli children slaughtered by rockets.

Islamic fundamentalists know this and have successfully cajoled the media into believing that they are the victims, not the aggressors.

Lebanon continues to inflate “civilian” casualties, and the media continues to select and even doctor photos in order make Israel look like evil incarnate. The images presented on the television and in print are more often than not, Lebanese civilians, who are killed accidentally. We are hardly ever shown photos depicting the ruthless carnage visited upon innocent Israeli civilians being targeted by Hezbollah.

An even more extreme example is Adnan Hajj, a freelance photographer, who has had over 920 of his photos retracted by Reuters because they had been suspected of being manipulated. These photos were used to deceive the world by attempting to convince people that Israel, not Hezbollah, is responsible for the massacre of civilians. This is but a small example of the extent to which the Arab extremists have misled the world. By way of a totally controlled media, the fundamentalists are successfully convincing Muslims around the world that they are the victims of Western aggression, and it is Israel and the United States who are the oppressors.

Binghamton Review, September 2006

Witnessing the West’s military successes in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is indeed tempting to believe in turn that we are winning this World War. Consider, for example, what James Fallows wrote in the September issue of the Atlantic Monthly. He declares that the United States is “succeeding in its struggle against terrorism.” This is based on the false premise that military victories alone define who is winning this war. It is, rather, a public relations war more than anything else, and the terrorists are winning. Fallows further touts the West: “The AlQaeda that existed in 2001 simply no longer exists.” This may be so, but truth be told, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, and Syria are stronger, and Muslim populations around the world are more radicalized than ever. Despite the military successes of the West, what we are losing is the public relations war, which in our day is far more important.

Furthermore, a June 2006 Pew Research Center poll indicates that there is tremendous support for suicide bombings among the world’s Muslim populations. One need not even bother focusing on Arab nations like Egypt and Jordan, supposedly moderate, in which more than a quarter of their populations support suicide bombings against civilians. Nor need one focus on Nigeria’s Muslim population, where one in two Muslims support the murder of innocent civilians in the name of Islam. According to this poll, 16% of Muslims in France support suicide bombings. This is truly alarming, and sadly, it is not consistent with the optimism derived from the military triumphs of the West.

All of which poses an even more frightening question: Do the

attacks on Hezbollah and Hamas in fact compromise these groups’ ultimate objective? No! On the contrary, it works to their advantage.

Conventionally, attacks make the enemy weaker, but in this war things are different. There are aspects more significant than the ground war, it is really the public relations war that America has been losing since its invasion of Iraq, and Israel since its establishment in 1948. The major reason that the West is losing the war on terror, or World War III, is that whether or not we choose to fight Islamic fundamentalists around the world, they win either way. If we were to lay down our arms, America and Europe would be overrun by terrorism, and beleaguered Israel would be pushed into the sea by its hostile Arab neighbors. If we choose to engage the enemy, then we give them more fuel to convince Muslims around the world that the West is imperialistic, aggressive, and an enemy of Islam. This often acts as a recruitment device, and in the end strengthens the enemy.

Walid Shoebat, a former member of the PLO, is a writer and intellectual, who is now a vocal opponent of radical Islam. He has examined the way Muslims around the world are being led like sheep down a dangerous path by fundamentalists. He recognizes that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is more than a powerful Western country oppressing a stateless minority.

“The Arab refugees,” he tells us, “are being used as pawns to create a terror breeding ground, as a form of aggression against Israel.” In fact, he calls into question the very existence of “Palestinians.” He asks also, “Why is it that on June 4th 1967 I was a Jordanian and overnight I became a Palestinian?”

This illustrates that there was, and still is, a public relations campaign against the West that Islamists continue to win. Even an issue as fundamental as the existence of Palestinians we learn is nothing more than a farce. Arial Sharon, Israel’s hospital-ridden former

Prime Minister, was born in Israel before 1948, when it was called Palestine. Technically, he is a Palestinian. Not only is the dynamic of aggressor/victim between Israel and the Palestinians completely fabricated, but the actual existence of Palestinians themselves is a complete invention.

This war is more than just the conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq, and Gaza.

It is clear that Israel and the United States are tremendously similar when it comes to the values they cherish and the threats that they face, and they are staunch allies on one side of this war. It is also clear that most of the Arab nations are not friends of the United States or Israel and would destroy them if they could. There are many countries, such as China and Russia, often referred to as ‘second world,’ whose allegiances are determined more by self interest than by values shared. It is only a matter of time before these current Middle East conflicts escalate into a true World War, where coalitions of superpowers engage each other militarily.

The only way to win any war is to know who your enemy is, who you are, and what defines victory. As of now, none of these have been identified. President Bush has spoken of the ‘axis of evil,’ and ‘bringing the fight to the terrorists.’ We have begun to do so, but we are far from victory. Once upon a time, the Bush doctrine declared, ‘you are either with us or against us.’ This idea is potentially a very useful tool, but it has not been implemented. What is the axis of evil? Does this include countries like Egypt and Russia, with snaky leaders like Mubarrak and Putin? As for bringing the fight to the terrorists, Iraq and Lebanon qualify, but we should by no means be limited to these relatively small battles in a much greater war. The axis of evil is most of the Arab world and those countries that support them. There are dozens of countries which threaten the West just as much as Iran now and Iraq three years ago.

We did not err in sending troops to Binghamton Review, September 2006

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Iraq, nor did the Israelis now fighting in Lebanon. However, we must remember that terrorist entities can regenerate. In addition, the monies used to support terror against Jews and Westerners come from these sources: Iran, Syria, much of the Arab world, and by mercantile extension, Russia, France, and China. President Bush must identify these entities as our enemy and distinguish them from ourselves if he plans to win the war on terror.

Now we find ourselves, alas, on the brink of World War III. As in World War II, we did not truly recognize it as a World War until well after it had begun; at one point it was simply a localized conflict between Germany and Poland; much as the current world war is often misinterpreted as an isolated conflict between Israel and the Arab world. As we did during World War II, we must first define who our enemy is. We must engage the enemies, most notably Syria and Iran, militarily. Is should not be by means of the UN, and not in a curbed or weakened fashion in an attempt to placate the Arab nations into believing that we are sensitive and kind. The Arab nations will accuse the United States and Israel of war crimes against civilians regardless of how they fight. Therefore we must not hesitate—our enemies must not be given the chance to recover. World War II ended by the United States army dropping atomic bombs on Japan, and by the Red Army mercilessly shelling Berlin, reducing the capital of a mighty superpower to rubble. We did not hesitate then in the determined pursuit of our goals, even though significant collateral damage was inevitable. Civilians died, but the world was finally rid of the Nazi menace, and we must make no apologies for collateral damage. What mattered was our enemy’s utter destruction and their inability to recover. A new World War is upon us, and it’s about time we take a lesson from history by defining who our enemies are and destroying them.

Binghamton Review

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