Interesting Posts and Articles #124

1. The chareidi vs. egged bus dispute, where they want mehadrin buses because they are so packed, and someone smashed a bus' windshield with a rock, something naturally enough covered in Jewish blogs. Here is Daas Torah linking to the YNet story, and here is Life In Israel on it, and HaEmtzah. I don't like the ignoring the needs of customers by not providing enough bus service -- I would suggest people learn to drive, but then again, having a license is not fitting for a ben Torah. Perhaps bicycles, for the men? But they should, IMHO, let the chareidim make their own line. I don't like this imposed monopoly for situations where the company does not answer to its customers.
   
   And if crushing is a problem, then it is a question what to do? I don't think letting the women on in the back is feasible, given that the bus driven needs to clip their cards, and it is a packed bus. The delays would likely be unworkable. How about letting the chareidim self-police themselves? -- designate every other bus a male or female bus, and people in Meah Shearim can selectively go on these buses, forming separate lines.
   
   The reason I do not like this idea of imposing this separation, even where there is crushing, is that while there is precedent and support for making gezeirot to protect against this type of thing, this intrudes upon the general public who would not necessarily accept your gezeirot; and it promoted this as a requirement, which in turn might be a basis for those who would throw rocks. Perhaps a better Judaism would be one which tolerates the accidental touching and makes gezeiros against kannaus, such as a gezeira of not imposing gezeiros in areas where the kannaim go crazy. (E.g. once people start tossing bleach or beating people up on buses, as a gezeira to prevent such incidents, downplay the urge for imposing chumras in this area.)
   
   
2. NY Post on drunk rides the gravy train. But if you read it carefully enough, you might see reason to side with the decision in this case. I did.
   
   
3. I saw the following video embedded on Little Green Footballs: James Randi vs. Dowsing. Interesting, and somewhat entertaining:
   
   
4. Life In Israel on the "Chareidi al-Jazeera," about a kannaish newspaper to be.
   
   
5. On the Main Line on Sforno's sometimes censored into to the Torah.