Pride & Prejudice

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The 2nd of August will be rememberred as a black-letter day for the gay community.

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On a Saturday night, a camouflaged gunman entered the Israeli *LGBT Association's center in Tel-Aviv. Equipped with a M-16 rifle, he began opening fire on the participants of the event. The atrocious massacre came to an end with a sore outcome: two fatalities and fifteen wounded people. The assailant fled from the scene of the crime on foot, still remaining at large.

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The event has evoked complete astonishment among members of the gay community, since no evidence confirms homophobic activity in Tel-Aviv, the most liberal city in Israel. Hundreds of Israeli homosexuals held a rally and lit candles in tribute to the victims of the massacre.
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According to the police, there was no terror motive behind the event. To my mind, the fact that the assailant was prompted by a homophobic factor merely demonstrates that the level of tolerance among the Israeli multitude is meager. The thought of belonging to a shallow and bigoted society saddens me. Hence, I believe that the value of accepting diversity should be delivered to people when they are still in diapers and lack the ability to pick up a rifle and shoot someone due to his supposedly different identity.

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*LGBT = Lesbian Gay Biseuxual Transgender

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This essay was based on the article below:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755400,00.html
http://www.sovo.com/2009/8-7/news/localnews/10450.cfm

When Love Is Suppressed... Hatred Takes Its Place!

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August 17, 2009: A Swedish tabloid, called the Aftonbladet, claimed that Israeli troops killed Palestinians and harvested their organs. According to the report, bodies of Palestinians were being returned within five days with stitches running from their abdomen to their neck. This has evolved a severe diplomatic controversy between Israel and Sweden.
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The author of the article, Donald Bostrom, spoke to Israel Radio, telling he was concerned by the allegations made public. Bostrom said that the article's purpose was to call for an investigation on suspicion to trafficking in organs. Despite this, major Swedish sources have criticized Aftonbladet for publishing a groundless anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
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The baseless report sparked a furious reaction by Israel's Foreign Ministry, who associated the article with the medieval blood libel. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has tenaciously clarified that Israel is not asking for an apology, but for Sweden's official condemnation of the report.
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Bostrom's report is nothing but a composition filled with mendacious utterances to the brim. As a democratic country, Sweden stands for the freedom of speech, but every positive thing must have its own limitations. Recycling historic blood libels is certainly not a way of using that precious tool. I would be more than delighted to read in the forthcoming days about Aftonbladet's deprecation of the report, and of course, Bostrom's sincere apology for Israel.

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This essay was based on the article below:
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1496925.php/Israel-Sweden-crisis-over-organ-harvesting-claim-intensifies

The Face of Facebook

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200 million people across the globe are registered in Facebook, the most common social networking website, which allows people to communicate with relatives, friends and colleagues. Unfortunately, Facebook has recently become a forum for hate groups. I strongly condemn this phenomenon and believe that the current situation has to change.
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We must not adopt a positive attitude towards this phenomenon. It is distressing to see how people abuse the marvels of technology to make their radical opinions public. Teenagers are an easy prey for hate groups since they are not equipped with enough alertness to the flood of hazards in the boundless world of websites. A teenager may not comprehend the severeness of joining a group of The Holocaust Denial, and thus persuade his peers to join the group along with him.
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The ministry of education has chosen to handle this worrisome problem by giving lectures to students concerning the hazards of surfing the net with least caution. Unfortunately, the healthy messages that the lectures convey will not be assimilated in teenagers' minds since they tend to turn off their ears during a lecture.
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In the light of the information aforementioned above, some would suggest to confiscate Facebook, as the best solution to this phenomenon. I believe that the perfect solution is to remove these groups from Facebook. The key people of Facebook, who brought this brilliant concept to the world, have the capability and power to remove hatred promoters and make a spacious room for peace lovers.

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Excellent work, as always.(100)

Daphna.

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"Lucky I'm in love with my best friends..."

Simplify Mornings or Violate Freedom?

"I love my school uniform. It is so comfortably lovely."

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According to recent statistics, more and more school administrators adopt uniform policies. The vast majority of students disapprove this policy, while others believe that wearing school uniforms is a substantial requirement.
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A permanent dress code helps the students perform academically better. Students spend most of their mornings deciding on their wardrobe, and due to a ceaseless occupation with clothes, they abandon their school requirements. With a predefined outfit, students can concentrate more on their studies rather than on how to make a fashion statement. Secondly, children tend to be ridiculed by their peers due to the kind of clothes they wear. Wearing the same type of dress helps blur the socioeconomic differences between the students, and this will help prevent erroneous judgment towards students whose parents cannot afford fashionable brands.
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People, who voice their disapproval of school uniforms, claim school uniforms curtail students' freedom of choice and expression. Clothes are a common tool for expression of thoughts and feelings among teenagers, and when school administrators dictate students what to wear, they violate their freedom of choice and curb their self expression. There is also the issue of cost. Many parents shop for their children's clothes at used and discount stores. Uniforms can cost more money than these families might be able to afford, and this may double the amount of money a family would spend that they would without the concept of school uniforms.
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I strongly believe in school uniforms, since it helps reduce fashion contests and contributes to a healthy academic environment, where children can learn completely free of distractions.
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(95)
Daphna.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PIGLET!!!

Love At First Fight

Mr. McCall is clearly not the perfect husband most women dream of, for he is the complete opposite of Prince Charming. Mr. McCall is a short and clumsy man with eccentric habits and unconventional means of entertaining himself. He isn't the prince who comes to the rescue of the damsel in distress, his wife Mrs. McCall. On the contrary, he seeks for his wife's attention by using physical and verbal violence against her.

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Mrs. McCall is a tall, thin woman with smoothed black hair. She is characterized with an incredible tranquility for she tolerates her husband's atrocious cruelty to her. Mrs. McCall is apparently not a companionable person for the townspeople never call her by her first name, Venita. It is rumored among the townspeople that the couple married not due to endless love, but due to Mrs. McCall's desire to depart her miserable and noisy hometown.

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At the beginning of the story the relationship between the married couple is horrible and brutal. Mr. McCall has no regard for his wife's feelings. He keeps using physical and verbal violence against her. Mrs. McCall tends to remain calm and passive despite her husband's frequent use of obscene language. She would only stare at him with her penetrating black eyes since it makes Mr. McCall feel awkward and bewildered.
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The turning point in the story takes place when Mrs. McCall shrewdly makes her husband think she is going to revenge him for his heartless behavior by poisoning him. Her cunning plan is about to change her marriage life forever. Mr. McCall becomes incredibly openhanded towards his wife for he has bought her a prestigious sealskin coat. Last but not least, Mr. McCall ceases his constant use of physical violence and verbal vulgarity against his wife.
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To my mind, couples who are currently enduring divorce procedures should read this story. The relationship between the McCalls may teach them a crucial lesson about relationships - put your quarrels aside and try to materialize the love between both of you even though you believe your relationship is doomed to fail!
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I loved it. Well done, Michal. (95)
Daphna.