I am a huge SNN fan, and this was by far the worst episode of Shire Network News I have ever heard. From the horrible interview with the Zimbabwean pundit to the painful rants of Tomer Israeli, I was wondering what went wrong. Surely you could better contributors than that??

 I'd be willing to do a free audio commentary and you guys could take it or leave it, if that means that Tomer Israeli is off. I have my suspicions that the man is acting, tipped off by the comment "We're neocons. We lie in our sleep!"

I am a huge SNN fan, and this was by far the worst episode of Shire Network News I have ever heard. From the horrible interview with the Zimbabwean pundit to the painful rants of Tomer Israeli, I was wondering what went wrong. Surely you could better contributors than that??

 I'd be willing to do a free audio commentary and you guys could take it or leave it, if that means that Tomer Israeli is off. I have my suspicions that the man is acting, tipped off by the comment "We're neocons. We lie in our sleep!"

First of all Gildersleeve, I had to disguise the Zimbabwean Pundit's voice electronically, at his request, for his own safety.

I'm sorry if that impaired the audio quality interview a bit, but it's not really something we had a lot of control over.

It seemed to me that the contect was perfectly comprehensible.

And with regard to Tomer's commentary, for a long time SNN listener, surely you know about sarcasm by now?

It's a joke! Sarcasm! A humourous exaggeration for comic effect.

 Could it be perhaps that you may be missing the presence of some of the usual commentators, Meryl, Laurance and Damian this week and are lashing out because you fear change?

Relax, we're not dropping anything, we're adding to the show.

It can be a bit of a strain putting together audio commentaries each week, and with a couple more contributors we can take some of that strain off.

And do feel free to send in a smaple of your own work, as we have said we ARE open to new talent and I must have missed your e-mail when we advertised that fact over the past two weeks.

 But as you seem to have been disappointed by this week's efforts, I am perfectly happy to refund double your subscription.

 What's that? We don't cost anything?

 In that case I'll quadruple it!

LOL, Tom, I'm sure I am missing Meryl Yourish. And you'll being seeing a short "Great Gildersleeve" audiocast in your email soon.

Sorry, but I have to side with Glidersleeve on the Tomer thing. I'm sure he's a very nice person once you get to know him, but his oratory skills are sadly nil. He's boring, provincial and shallow, he occasionally sees fit to yell in our ears instead of making his point, and his accent is so godawful even I get the willies, and I'm ISRAELI. Please drop him and bring Meryl back, or at least get another Israeli commentator who can see past his own campus classes and get his point across without groaning dramatically and preferrably with a minimum of eloquency. His offerings are about as enjoyable as listening to someone rake a chalkboard, and are sadly contrasted in quality from the rest of the usually excellent podcast.

I'm glad we're having some sort of debate. I'll leave you all guessing as to who'll be in this week's show which should be out tomorrow some time. Points are noted and while we might be a little more charitable and give people a little more time to settle in, we will keep the standards high.

Brian

Aww give Tomer Israeli a chance, he speaks from the heart & he's young(ish) I guess.

But I don't think I don't think I can go another week without Meryl Yourish. Her 'interview' with aHamanejad was hilarious!

Yeah, that Tomer bloke...weather eye, as you say.

No hurries with Meryl Yourish! Those audio inserts drive me loony!~!

Hello.  I finally have more time to go on forums and websites of my favorite podcasts (SNN is one of them, btw) due to that painful strike that is now going in my uni.  But hey, enough talking about my uni.

 I thank everyone who commented here.  I mean that.

First of all, about my campus, I know it seems like it's the only thing I talk about.  Let me tell you some behind the scenes stuff from the SNN desk:  I sent Brian 3 different segments I did about 3 different issues, all in the same day.  One was that German judge, which I thought he should have used, especially because

 The other two recordings were the two you heard.  One was about the role SNN plays in my life, and the other, the one about the Arab activists, was about a legitimate and important article from the mainstream media.  Should I ignore mainstream media reports about the global Islamic threats simply because the location of the islamists and the location of Tomer happens to be the same one?  Gee, maybe Tom should never report about Muslim terrorist cells if one would be discovered in the building he works in, and Meryl should never mention her synagogue even if it blows up tomorrow.  Oh, and I recall that I mentioned how the propaganda happens on east Jerusalem as well as in my uni.  I assure you I never visited east Jerusalem, and have no plans to do so in the future.

 Regarding my accent:  Some recognize it as distinctly Israeli, while others think it's closer to American. I personally think it's very distinct as NOT AMERICAN, but it's not as heavy as other Israelis.  You should know how heavy an Israeli accent can be, Yannai.  You heard worse than me, I'm sure.  I personally hate my accent, but come on, have some proportions, Yannai.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:  Regarding my comment about how NEOCONS ARE LIARS, etc.  I understand that some people are not certain whether or not I'm kidding.  So I'm telling you right now, I totally meant it!  We're neocons, lying is in our nature, and we have to keep on practicing it if we want to rule the Islamic world.  Then, once we're strong enough, let the Jewish neocons build special camps for Arab Christians so we could finally return to making Matza like we used to!  I call Azmi Bshara's blood!

Regarding your other comments, I understand I sound like a raving demagogue, a drama queen and that I "don't talk good".  Noted.  I'm sorry some of you feel that way, but it's a legitimate concern.  Hey, if I continue to do this, and everyone thinks I suck, and Tom and Brian think I suck, then by all means, kick me out.   SNN should maintain it's supremacy, no matter who pays the price.

Again, I thank you for your comments.  I guess we'll see what the future holds.