Some Links

- An update to the incident I posted about here where a Brooklyn building flying a resident's Israeli flag was vandalized with red paint:

The paint represented the “blood of the Palestinians and Lebanese killed by Israeli terrorists,” a letter found at the scene – possibly written by the vandal – said.

Unfortunately, the resident who had displayed the offending Israeli flag chose to remove it, "out of respect for his neighbors and landlord". And so bigotry and criminal vandalism win this little battle.

- More Mideast war spillover: It's made it to the NYPost's Page Six gossip column, of all places:

THE waitress who got into a late-night bar brawl with restaurateur Brian McNally has come forward to say she was "violently assaulted" by the man behind such culinary hot spots as Indochine and 150 Wooster.

Marianne Vitale tells Page Six she was having dinner at Lucien on the Lower East Side last Thursday night with a group of friends that included writer Anthony Haden-Guest and artist Dennis Oppenheim when McNally, who was alone at the bar, joined their table.

In our story on Sunday about the dust-up, McNally admitted he might have "inadvertently" struck Vitale when he blocked a glass she threw at him during an impassioned argument about the war between Israel and Hezbollah. He said Vitale had made "anti-Semitic" statements, which she vigorously denies.

Nuts.

- Tzemach Atlas has been photoblogging the funerals of IDF chayalim. Truly heart-wrenching. Check them all out.

- Heat Emergency declared in New York, with triple-digit temps hit today and more of the same expected tomorrow. PLEASE make every attempt to check in on elderly or disabled neighbors. Every year, shut-ins die due to extreme weather. Oh, and don't forget all of the usual tips to avoid the heat and prevent power outages like:

• Wearing light-colored, loose-fitting clothing that covers as much skin as possible (no problem there)
• Drinking plenty of clear liquids (Except for that pesky fasting thing)
• Only use appliances that have heavy electrical loads (dishwashers, washers, dryers) early in the morning or very late at night. (no problem with washer/dryer usage during the Nine days - but this heat wave had better be over by the time I'm allowed to do laundry again)
• Set your air conditioner thermostat no lower than 78 degrees; a 75-degree setting uses 18 percent more electricity and a 72-degree setting uses 39 percent more electricity. (Yeah, right. Does anyone ever do that? Well, yes. Guess what happens if you sign up for the LIPA Edge program that supplies you with new, energy-efficient thermostats in exchange for a nice little credit on your next power bill? LIPA gets to call into your A/C system through your fancy newfangled thermostat so that it won't cool your home below 78 degrees. Yeah. You can lower the thermostat all you want - but LIPA keeps your house at a somewhat sticky 78 degrees. So the OrthoFamily is doing their energy-conservation duty - if not by choice. Anyone else?)

- And from the not-entirely-unexpected-news front:

ABC Cancels Holocaust Miniseries Deal With Mel Gibson's Company