Baruch Atta

Peace is not a process.

2012-01-24T17:05:00.001-05:00

Peace is not a process. Either you have it or you don't.

Peace requires two things - no violence and a little love.

With peace, everything else will be resolved - borders, settlements, and all.

Without peace, nothing can be settled, unless it is a victor/vanquished relationship after a war.

But with war - there is no peace.

So I say - the parties need to make PEACE first, then settle differences. It is of no use to try to settle differences without already having peace. No war or violence and a little love. That's all.

I just got out of prison.

2011-12-21T16:21:00.001-05:00

I just got out of prison. I was in prison to support the release of a new software package, to be used by the guards. I noticed that the prison system just tears down. In summary, a person adapts to his environment, and prison environment is mostly other prisoners. The guards have as little contact as possible, and anyway, the guards seem to be somewhat defective souls also. (No offence intended) In the ideal world, each offender would be put in an environment where he is surrounded with good people, who would guide the offender. We do just the opposite, we surround the prisoner with other prisoners. Bad. That is simply why recidivism is so high, everywhere. I was in a "pre-release" unit where the environment is like a boy scout camp. However, the prisoners only see other prisoners, mostly. My two days in prison were so depressing for this reason. Also, it reminded me of High School.

CW Artist on Eighty Meters - the Band of Brothers.

2011-12-08T14:55:00.001-05:00

There is a certain feeling that I get when I am Operating CW - I operate my rig, and I am alone in the shack, because it is really hard to hold a conversation with someone in the shack and also copy code. I get into a focus when I copy code, and when I am going well, I get into a groove, I get into the "zone", like a top athlete or artist. But a CW artist is not ever alone. He is connected, literally, to a Band of Brothers. I like to say "Eighty Meters - the Band of Brothers".

I like that - I aught to copyright these phrases - "Band of Brothers" and "CW Artist".

Israel is NOT the " No. 1 recipient of U.S. foreign aid"

2011-12-08T14:10:00.001-05:00

Response to an article

First - Israel is NOT the " No. 1 recipient of U.S. foreign aid". That should be Iraq and Afganistan. Trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives.

Starting during the Vietnam war, Israel rightly claims that not one American soldier risks his life in defending Israel. That is a big point.

Second - in response to "warmonkey" - why are you so "outraged" for "supporting the interests of another Nation"? Huh? Response 1 is that we support the interests of other nations when it is in line with US interests. Response 2 is that the USA is a democracy and support of Israel is the opinion of the overwhelming vast majority of its citizens. Everything else you say is just un-nuanced propaganda.

Response to "go4dan0" is simple. Again you are wrong in so many ways. First, the armistice lines of 1949 were not recognized as borders by any nation. If and when the Arabs return to the negotiation table and resolve the borders and recognize the existence of Israel, then you can claim "illegal". In Arab eyes, the mere existence of Israel is "illegal". And Israel has vowed not to be the first to introduce nuclear weapons to the region, so they will do so in response to another nation doing so first.

And Mr Reid brings the old "apartheid" accusation - this falsehood has been rebuffed many times.

It has been shown many times that Israel is the ONLY full democracy in the region, with many Arab and Druse and other citizens who vote and have full rights. I don't want to get into a digression here, but this is also an accusation with no merit.

If Israel is an "apartheid" then what is Saudi Arabia or Iran?

2011-12-02T14:01:00.002-05:00

An intriguing thought experiment (http://physics.aps.org/articles/v4/102)

The experiment is an extension of the double slit experiment. It seems that the photon "knows in advance" whether the second slit is open or closed. (http://www.hotquanta.com/wpd.html#BM2Slit)

It seems clear that there is some sort of feedback loop between the sensor of the wave/particle and the single/double slits.

In normal experience, we see both waves and particles as moving in one direction, and as time passes, the wave/particle moves along. I would like to theorize an additional dimension besides the four common (three space dimensions and one time dimension). This fifth dimension is outside of time or has no connection to time. So the wave/particle exists in the fifth dimension in a way that is different than the way it exists in the other four dimensions. In the fifth dimension, the wave/particle is the same object both at the single/double slit and at the sensor.

Let me provide a metaphor for this fifth dimension. Let's say I have a box with a dial on the box. I can turn the dial to zero thru nine. I put the box on the table, and turn the dial to zero. I take a photograph of the dial. I put the box on the chair and turn the dial to five. I look at the photograph, and it shows the dial at five.

Let me do a thought experiment. Consider the classic double slit experiment. Only this time, the source of the photon is a galaxy one billion light years away from the single/double slit. Then the sensor is another one billion light years away from the single/double slit. Assume that the wave/particle that exists in this fifth dimension uses the fifth dimension as a feedback. The wave/particle travels from the source galaxy to the single/double slit where a scientist is standing, and then travels to the sensor. When the scientist standing at the single/double slit opens the second slit, the scientist at the sensor sees a wave. When the scientist at the slit closes the second slit, the scientist at the sensor sees a particle. Because the fifth dimension is outside of time, the effect is immediate. It is as if the wave/particle at the sensor is in the same position, fifth dimensionally speaking, as the wave/particle at the sensor, even though the two are separated by a billion light years in the normal three dimensions.

Ok, that's the hypothesis. Now you do the math.

Here is the original article.

http://physics.aps.org/articles/v4/102
A new thought experiment makes it clearer than ever that photons aren’t simply particles or waves.

Proposal for a Quantum Delayed-Choice Experiment
Radu Ionicioiu and Daniel R. Terno
Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 230406 (2011)
Published December 2, 2011
C. Orzel/Union College
Which way did it go? In a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, photons can appear to go along either of two paths (particle behavior) or along both paths (wave behavior), depending on whether the second beam splitter is in place. A new thought experiment would allow both behaviors simultaneously.

Quantum physics tells us that a photon isn’t strictly a particle or strictly a wave. And yet most of us will revert back—whenever we can—to familiar concepts of billiard balls or vibrating strings when picturing photons in our heads. A new thought experiment, proposed in Physical Review Letters, hopes to break us of these old habits. The authors imagine a type of quantum switch that controls whether a simple optical measurement tests for particlelike or wavelike behavior in a single photon. This slight reworking of a famous experiment demonstrates with logical precision the futility of trying to label the photon as a particle or a wave.

The wave-particle duality is often illustrated by splitting a light beam so that it travels along two separate paths that later merge to form an interference pattern from the combined beams. For a dim beam delivering photons one-at-a-time, this interference suggests that each photon is a wave that travels down both paths simultaneously. But if the paths are observed individually, then the photon will behave like a particle, traveling down only one path or the other and generating no interference. The fact that no experiment can measure both the wave and the particle behaviors simultaneously is called the principle of complementarity.

What Incentive Does Netanyahu Have to Make More Concessions?

2011-09-20T13:18:00.001-04:00

What Incentive Does Netanyahu Have to Make More Concessions?

Evelyn Gordon | @evelyng123409.20.2011 - 9:52 AM

Yesterday, I asked why Israel should keep signing agreements with the Palestinians if the world won't enforce previous ones? This question has an important corollary: Why should Israel keep making concessions if it gets no credit for previous ones?

A recent New York Times editorial demonstrates the problem in microcosm. While various parties share blame for the Israeli-Palestinian impasse, it opined, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has been the most intractable, building settlements and blaming his inability to be more forthcoming on his conservative coalition."

In reality, Netanyahu is the only prime minister in Israel's history to impose a 10-month moratorium on settlement construction, a move even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared "unprecedented." Indeed, there has been less construction in the West Bank – and East Jerusalem – during his term than under his predecessors. But he gets no credit for this; instead, he's the premier who obstructs peace by "building settlements." So what incentive would he have to make further such gestures?

As for being insufficiently "forthcoming," Netanyahu, like all his predecessors, has repeatedly expressed willingness to cede most of the West Bank; what he's refused to do is cede the entire territory in advance. By contrast, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hasn't yet agreed to cede anything Israel wants (settlement blocs, the "right of return," recognition as a Jewish state, etc.), but the Times omits him entirely from its list of parties who share the blame. So Netanyahu, who has already ceded most of the West Bank, is "intractable," but Abbas, who has ceded nothing, is blame-free. Given this, what incentive does Netanyahu have to make further concessions?

The problem, of course, is that on this issue, the Times accurately reflects the international consensus – not merely on Netanyahu, but on Israel as a whole. For the last 18 years, Israel has offered nonstop concessions. It evacuated territory and uprooted settlements; it repeatedly offered a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank, Gaza and parts of East Jerusalem; it even offered to cede Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount. Throughout this period, Palestinians haven't offered one singlereciprocal concession – not the settlement blocs, not the "right of return," not recognition of a Jewish state; they won't even acknowledge the Jews' historical connection to this land. Yet still, the world deems Israel the "intransigent" party, the one that must concede even more. Hence most of the Quartet (comprising the U.S., EU, UN and Russia) thinks the appropriate recipe for restarting talks is to demand yet another new concession of Israel –accepting the 1967 lines upfront – while still demanding nothing of the Palestinians.

The consequence of this behavior is that fully 77 percent of Israeli Jews have concluded"it makes no difference what Israel does and how far it may go on the Palestinian issue; the world will continue to be very critical of it." And if there's no quid pro quo for concessions in the form of increased international support, there's obviously no point in continuing to make them.

The only surprising thing is, the world still seems to find this reaction surprising.

Sent from my...

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Intel Core i7-2600 Quad Core Desktop Processor

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AMD Radeon HD 5670 Graphics Card With 1GB Memory

Intel HDA 7.1 Audio

Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless.

Beat that with your tiny cell phone!

Posts to a discussion on Social Security

2011-09-20T12:10:00.001-04:00

BaruchAtta

Oh, and another thing. Since SS is a "pay as you go" plan, then SS really does not need the Treasury Bonds in the "SS Trust Fund". Meaningless trust fund. It doesn't exist.
Soooo....
SS should just "forgive" all of the Treasury Bonds in the Trust Fund, and return the money to the government.
That should lower the national debt by trillions, and we wouldn't need to talk about any silly "debt ceiling" for a long time. (maybe?)
Thank you again.
Baruch less

| Reply | Report abuse

BaruchAtta

A simple solution, a solution that saves the backside of any politician that is afraid of the "third rail" is this:
Link the SS retirement age with the ratio of workers to retirees.
Now wasn't that easy?
It is automatic, like a cost of living increase.
It saves the politicians from ever having to raise the issue again.
It is automatically funded at the proper rate.
Workers can plan with SS in mind.

So, elect me, and I will...
Thank you. less

| Re

IBM Watson and the Future of Robots

2011-07-28T12:25:00.001-04:00

Watson did well in the things that computers do well. That is, to pattern match.
Here is the future in computer development, as I see it now.
2011 - Watson wins Jeopardy
2015 - IBM Watsons are installed in medical and customer service applications
2016 - Watsons installed in robots. Robots can now perform menial household and factory tasks, and programmed by just being told.
2020 - Watsons installed in cars. Driverless cars introduced, first high end (Caddilac, Lexus) then all cars.
2021 - Most trucks driver-less on interstates.
2025 - Most mining operations now use robots.
2030 - A Manufacturing operation uses robots exclusively from mining raw materials, smelting, and production, and delivery.
2035 - Robots manufacture and install solar cells, 95% of all energy now solar. Cheaper than oil.
2041 - First factory that reproduces itself, completely automated, producing robots that build another factory.
2048 - Reproduce-able robot factories now on Moon and Mars.
2050 - Reproduce-able robots now number more than human population.
2066 - Human population falling as people see less need for children to support them in old age due to robot availability.
2070 - Robot population limited by available energy.
2090 - Economics and Money abandoned as population declines and all products are free anyway.
2240 - Messianic age arrives. No more war.

Oh, and one more thing. There is never a "singularity". Watsons never gain consciousness. It is just not what computers can do.

Anthony Weiner and the National Adultery Ritual

2011-06-20T16:47:00.001-04:00

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-national-adultery-ritual/

I am dismayed with all these so-called "men" who snivel at being caught at something which comes natural and is a part of their sexuality. If gays and lesbians can protest for their rights to be who they are, then certainly normal men can. I would think.

I say "grow a pair" and if you are caught, then admit and say "so what?" It's consenting adults and all that.

Cheating? Who is cheating who? It is the men who hide their real sexuality in the closet who are being cheated.

So why hide it in the closet? Men should tell the world: "this is my wife, this is my concubine, and this is my one night fling on a business trip". Men, are you ashamed of what you really are?

It is too bad that Congressman Weiner resigned. I would have liked to see him stand his ground, like a man. Wimp.

Should I Buy a New Radio Now?

2011-06-15T17:50:00.001-04:00

From Pop Sci magazine read through Google Books (copyrighted, presumably fair use - one page)

I often have this discussion with my wife.

Questions for prospective boss

2011-05-20T16:31:00.001-04:00

Questions for prospective boss

What is your management philosophy

If you walk past a meeting and there is laughter - what do you think

How do you show value in this organization

What are the plans of upper management for this department

Explain the organization structure

How do you make decisions

What do you enjoy about your job

What is the communications plan

What are your day-to-day responsibilities

What is the long term outlook for this job

What is the company policy on training and seminars

What is the decision making aspects of this job

Describe an ideal employee

Describe how performance reviews are conducted and received

What happened to the last person on this job

What is the turnover in this job, department and company

Why do you release/file employees

What are the challenges of this job

Can Obama recognize the “Nakba” Nakba?

2011-05-17T16:59:00.001-04:00

President Barack Obama came to town riding on a series of assumptions about the Middle East. But the region's harsh realities have contradicted his fanciful notions.

Demanding a settlement freeze increased Israeli mistrust and Palestinian extremism. The "Arab spring" proved that the Palestinian problem was not the keystone to Middle East progress, or world peace. This week's "Nakba Day" violence revealed that Israel's existence since 1948, not its occupation since 1967, remains the Palestinians' target. Obama must recognize that this "Nakba" nakba – the Palestinians' catastrophic reading of Israel's founding as a catastrophe – damages peace prospects. Yet again, Palestinians seem more committed to destroying Israel than building their own state.

Although outsiders cannot tell Palestinians to ignore their anguish that resulted from Israel's founding, Nakba Day is a new, post-Oslo, 1990s phenomenon. Yasir Arafat inaugurated the day in 1998. It feeds Palestinians' worst instincts – freezing time, distorting history, wallowing in victimhood, dodging responsibility, vilifying Israel, treating the conflict as a zero-sum game. Mahmoud Abbas's May 16 New York Times op-ed epitomizes these vices with ahistorical statements claiming: "Shortly" after the 1947 UN Partition declaration, "Zionist forces expelled Palestinian Arabs to ensure a decisive Jewish majority in the future state of Israel, and Arab armies intervened." Reversing chronology and causation, Abbas ignores that: Palestinians rejected the partition plan; many Palestinians fled voluntarily; Arab armies attacked as Israel became a State, not because of any Israeli action.

Yet the Palestinians have snookered the world, seeking a free pass for violence, incitement, delegitimization, exterminationism, and intransigence. World leaders function as the great enablers of Palestinian dysfunction, rationalizing Palestinians' political culture of negation and hatred, while according them special treatment, including only treating Palestinians' refugee status as hereditary, whereas tens of millions of other refugees from the 1940s settled down.

Every President must make post-inauguration adjustments, replacing outsiders' presumptions with the insider's perceptions. Obama's Middle East-related rigidity is not some idiosyncratic shortcoming. He is imprisoned in a groupthink reading that is popular and resistant to reality.

Too many elite Americans mistakenly compare Palestinians' struggle for statehood with African-Americans' struggle for civil rights (when most Europeans hear "occupation" they think Nazi- or Soviet- which is even more inaccurate and problematic). In his Cairo speech, by reminding Palestinians that American blacks rarely resorted to violence, despite "suffer[ing] the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation," Obama made the comparison. George W. Bush's Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was more explicit, equating her childhood miseries in the segregated South with Palestinian suffering, while comparing Mahmoud Abbas to Martin Luther King, Jr.

This analogy is, in my opinion, sloppy, perverse yet irresistible to many Americans. Americans usually view the world through homemade prisms, with the civil rights movement looming as a compelling, heroic and digestible historical standard. Additionally, Palestinian propaganda has pushed this comparison for decades. The UN's New Big Lie in 1975 labeling Zionism racism implicitly cast the Palestinians as "noble blacks" and the Israelis as "oppressive rednecks."

The false analogy distorts the story into one of racial oppression not national conflict. This reading sanctions Palestinian violence, given our abhorrence of racial tyranny. Perpetuating the "Nakba" nakba treats Israel's very founding as its original sin, like slavery is America's original sin, which had to be undone violently by Civil War. This falsehood also views Palestinians as passive, less responsible players, feeding into a modern liberal condescension empowering those perceived as white rather than those labeled black (ignoring the light-skinned Palestinians and dark-skinned Israelis).

By contrast, recognizing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a national conflict – linked to the Arab-Israeli conflict – restores balance. It makes Palestinians responsible for their choices. It highlights their power, as part of the broader Arab assault against Israel, which, unlike the Civil Rights movement, threatens Israel, seeking its destruction. Understanding this fight as a national struggle among more evenly-balanced forces also explains Israeli sensitivity to Palestinian rhetoric. Calling Israel's founding, its very existence, a catastrophe, delegitimizes Israel and dehumanizes Israelis, justifying violence against this supposedly disaster of a state.

Restoring historical balance and moral accountability would also restore mutuality. Imagine the outrage if Israeli leaders spoke about Palestinians the way leading Palestinians speak, write, teach, preach, and broadcast about Israel. Imagine the scandal if Israel ever proposed let alone adopted anything paralleling the Hamas Charter's anti-Semitic and genocidal wording. Note that, this month, while Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is volunteering new concessions, President Abbas is embracing Hamas terrorists.

Jews' culture of acute self-criticism juxtaposed against the Palestinians' culture of self-righteous condemnation creates absurd imbalances. While Jews, mired in guilt, anguish over how to validate detractors like the playwright Tony Kushner who is accused of spreading Palestinian lies alleging Israel committed sins like "ethnic cleansing;" Palestinians, in their enforced no-criticism zone, feel their biased accusations are justified, yet again dodging any responsibility. Similarly, minor Israeli abuses are treated as major human rights crimes; major Palestinian abuses are ignored.

The multi-dimensional war between Israelis and Palestinians includes a clash of narratives. As America's story-teller-in-chief, President Obama can shape a narrative that brings the parties closer -- or divides them further. Obsessing about Israel's settlements, exaggerating the conflict's international significance, excusing Hamas's genocidal rhetoric, or encouraging the "Nakba" nakba intensifies Palestinian intransigence and Israeli insecurity. Barack Obama must affirm that "Threatening Israel with destruction – or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews – is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of [Holocaust] memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve."

He said that in Cairo. Now, Obama should show he means it, by insisting that all parties, especially the Palestinians, end incitement, stop demonizing others, and learn to preserve their own national stories, including tales of woe, without using words that reveal a collective desire to destroy those whose trust you need to achieve peace.

Gil Troy is Professor of History at McGill University and a Shalom Hartman Research Fellow in Jerusalem. The author of "Why I Am A Zionist: Israel, Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today," his latest book is "The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction."giltroy@gmail.com

Britain's reaction to bin Laden's assassination: surely some mistake?

2011-05-16T17:23:00.001-04:00

Britain's reaction to bin Laden's assassination: surely some mistake?

William Hague and David Cameron have lavishly praised the Americans for assassinating bin Laden. Yet when the Israelis were suspected (but never proved) to have assassinated Hamas front-man Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, Hague and Cameron were so apoplectic with rage that they expelled an Israeli diplomat from London in protest.

This was despite the fact that Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was the person responsible for shipping Iranian weapons to Hamas in Gaza. His work posed a direct threat to Israel's survival. In contrast, bin Laden no longer represented any kind of analogous threat to the USA.

And here are some other differences worth thinking about:

in the bin Laden assassination several civilians were also killed
in the al-Mabhouh assassination no other person was harmed

the bin Laden assassination took place in a country that is supposed to be America's 'ally'
the al-Mabhouh assassination took place in a country that is a sworn enemy of Israel.

al-Mabhouh was personally responsible for the slaughter of several Israeli hostages.
as despicable as bin Laden was he had never personally murdered any Americans.

And while on the subject of British hypocrisy has anybody noticed the deafening silence when NATO airstrikes kill children in Libya? Funny how the argument about 'despots using civilians as human shields' is used as a valid defence in this case but is never allowed to be a valid defence by Israel.

Finally, while the news on bin Laden is obviously welcome, it has two extremely worrying long-term implications.

It will enable Obama to claim a personal military victory that could propel him to a second term in the White House (notice his consant use of the first person in his speech today). Such a term will go a long way to achieving bin Laden's objectives anyway.
The media blackout of all other stories will enable Assad in Syria to crush the rebellion there with even greater brutality and speed, thereby possibly ensuring the survival of the Syria/Iran axis which poses the greatest threat to the world.

Update: Guess who has condemned the bin Laden assassination decrying "the killing of an Arab holy warrior"? Cameron and Hague's new best friend Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. What's the betting you won't hear about that in the British media?

posted by Edgar Davidson @ 4:09 PM

ISRAEL SPEAKS

2011-05-16T17:14:00.001-04:00

ISRAEL SPEAKS

Sir, – As our prime minister prepares for his forthcoming visit to the US ("Big speech or big sleep," Diplomacy, May 13), I would urge him for the sake of his supporters who may be intimidated by the constant barrage of big lies that have become "conventional wisdom" to clearly state what I believe is the view of the overwhelming number of Israeli Jews.

We are not occupiers of anybody's land. State lands beyond the 1967 borders came into Israel's possession as the result of a defensive battle. Palestinians never owned these lands and Jordan has relinquished all claims.

Both from the point of view of international law and historical association, Israel has the strongest claim. Nevertheless, it stands ready to make accommodations for a Palestinian entity as a neighbor living in peace, mutual respect and cooperation.

Israel owes the Palestinians nothing. It is up to them to articulate their vision of statehood, their role in the region and their relationship with neighbors.

Should they do so they will find a generous response on the part of Israel.

Binyamin Netanyahu will never have a more sympathetic audience than AIPAC and the US Congress, nor a more auspicious time as the present. Let these words be heard, for they are the words of truth.

SHUBERT SPERO

Jerusalem

Ten top Israeli business ventures that inspire peace in the Middle East | social-action

2011-04-18T13:32:00.000-04:00

Ten top Israeli business ventures that inspire peace in the Middle East | social-action

Mystery Deepens over Deadly Jerusalem Bus Bomb

2011-03-24T11:57:00.001-04:00

jacobblues
Except for the fact that the West Bank GDP is growing at near double-digit rates and auto purchases are the highest in a decade, sure signs of Israel causing the Palestinians lives to be miserable.

Of course, there are people who will rationalize the idea of knifing a baby and his siblings to death in their beds to as 'leigitimate armed resistance'

These same people, who try to equate the decision by the Palestinians to launch rockets at Israeli civilians, with Israel's right to defend its citizens from such attacks, try to make the argument that Israelis "DESERVE" this violence by falsely claiming racism, in this case arguing that the Israeli government is an apartheid one.

Which of course is a lie. The reality is, Israel's government allows voting and participation by all ethnic groups, including Arabs, both Christian and Muslim. Arabs are members of Israel's courts, it's parliment, in its diplomatic corps, and executive cabinet. Israel's free-press, which includes Arab run news organizations provide for free speech. Arabs, both Christian and Muslim serve side by side in Israel, whether it is in the hospitals, where Arab doctors treat Jewish patients, and Jewish doctors treat, not only Arab patients, but Palestinians from the territories and other Arab states as well. But also in the IDF, they have the ability to serve, and do, under the same uniform and flag.

In terms of skin color, which is what Apartheid is based on, Israel not only accepted thousands of Ethiopians as Jews, during the decades when they were persecuted by their Muslim neighbors, but continues to see a stream of refugees flee the violence in Sudan, travelling through Muslim and African Egypt, braving gunfire from Egyptian border guards to flee to this supposed 'Apartheid' state. Someone must have forgotton to tell them about Israel's government.

When the so-called Humanitarians are screaming about the Palestinians, they should remember that these are the same people who handed out candy in celebration of the baby-killings of the Fogel family but two weeks ago.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2061088,00.html#ixzz1HX6chQAN

Robert Blumenblatt replied: "Five Killed in West Bank Attack"

2011-03-23T13:31:00.001-04:00

Robert Blumenblatt replied:

"Five Killed in West Bank Attack"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704296604576196323547699628.html

I consider this a sample of what Muslims, Arabs, Palestinians want to do to Jews in and around Israel. Have you been paying attention to the recent fate of Coptic Christians in Egypt?

World War II was the product of the center of European civilization, the center of the productive culture scientifically and artistically . And the Holocaust, in which 6,000,000 Jews were exterminated. Yet you expect the Jews in Israel to trust the Sharia racist-like culture of Palestinian Muslims and accept the "liberal" terms of the Palestinian cause?

AIPAC is a legal United States lobbying group. Its job is to promote the views and interests of Israel. And if you want to change those views, I suggest you convert to Judaism, under Orthodox terms, move to Israel, and participate in its politics, including Voting there. How dare you second-guess the well-being of Israeli Jews?

What is your problem? There are 22 Arab states. Do you see any of them opening their doors to Jews or Israelis or Palestinians? How come they are so backward politically? Do you blame that on the Americans too?

There was once a strong Liberal and Leftist movement in Israel. But Israel learned its lessons since as to what the Muslim Arab Palestinians want - the end of Israel. All the moves Israel made since the peace with Egypt show that the aim of Muslims is to annihilate Israel. And now, Egypt's Mubarak fell while Jordan's king is under pressure. It may very well be that both will turn on Israel - just as the Turkish demagogue, PM Erdogan has: as he said to Nobel Laureate President Perez of Israel: "You know how to kill people." Perez should have said, "No, we didn't follow your example of the Armenian Genocide, we didn't even simply expel ALL the Palestinians into the surrounding Arab countries.

I suggest you first solve the problems of national-states elsewhere, particularly among the countries with a Muslim majority, and then come back to the issue of Israel.

Look at India and Pakistan, one is Hindu mostly, the other Muslim. They got rid of their dictator - now Sharia law rules and infidels are being executed. And you know, the millions of non-Muslim citizens there must wear a special red head covering to indicate their submission to Islam. What your take on that?

I really would like to understand people like you who have an apparently weird preoccupation with the political virtues of Israel - but it's still primarily a mystery.

In the culture of Islam, Honor and Humiliation plays a major role. And to have Jews, with a state of their own, living in the "third holiest place in Islam" is an insult that can only be solved through a Jihad and Martyrdom. Since the Wall that Israel built, and its most recent wars against Lebanon and Gaza, Palestinians were unable to execute their cause of annihilating Israel through violence. So the effectively created their own International "AIPAC." Of which you seem to be one of its too many informal members. The aim is to de-legitimize Israel. Here it is the Muslims who lobby and control the UN far more effectively than AIPAC influences the US.

The PLO and Fatah are relatively weak - supported by the West in opposition to Hamas which demonstrates what Islamic culture really wants. Read about the rejoicing in Gaza over the murder of the above five Jews. Also, pay attention to the Bedouins in Sinai and how they are raping and ransoming Eritreans who want to go to Israel to work.

If the Arabs where wise politically they would take over Israel the way the Mexicans have in the USA since WWII, and the way the 4 million Muslim Turks have in Germany.

At least I know why the 14 out 15 Security Council members voted to condemn Israel - self-interest, wanting Muslim Oil, and no more Muslim refugees. But why are you an advocate of the Palestinian destroy-Israel position, is beyond me. What do you expect that Israel do on the thorny Palestinian refugee issue - flood Israel with reactionary Muslims and turn Israelis Jews into a minority once more/ Don't you understand the Pogroms and Holocaust of Europe, in the centers of the Modern Civilized World? I suspect that you really want to annihilate Jews. But why/ At least a Palestinian has his self-interest. But your name suggests your Christian. So what's your personal reason for hating the Jews in Israel?

Corporations and Pirate Ships

2011-02-24T12:34:00.001-05:00

Corporations and Pirate Ships

The economic and social model for our modern corporation comes from that of Pirate ships in the 16th and 17th century. So no wonder that CEO/Captains have the run of the place.

Corporations, like Pirate Ships, do what is best for them, selfishly. The country can go to Hell in a Handbasket, but does any corporation head care?

IBM Watson and the Future of Robots

2011-02-18T13:10:00.001-05:00

Watson did well in the things that computers do well. That is, to pattern match.

Here is the future in computer development, as I see it now.

2011 - Watson wins Jeopardy

2015 - IBM Watsons are installed in medical and customer service applications

2016 - Watsons installed in robots. Robots can now perform menial household and factory tasks, and programmed by just being told.

2020 - Watsons installed in cars. Driverless cars introduced, first high end (Caddilac, Lexus) then all cars.

2021 - Most trucks driver-less on interstates.

2025 - Most mining operations now use robots.

2030 - A Manufacturing operation uses robots exclusively from mining raw materials, smelting, and production, and delivery.

2035 - Robots manufacture and install solar cells, 95% of all energy now solar. Cheaper than oil.

2041 - First factory that reproduces itself, completely automated, producing robots that build another factory.

2048 - Reproduce-able robot factories now on Moon and Mars.

2050 - Reproduce-able robots now number more than human population.

2066 - Human population falling as people see less need for children to support them in old age due to robot availability.

2070 - Robot population limited by available energy.

2090 - Economics and Money abandoned as population declines and all products are free anyway.

2240 - Messianic age arrives. No more war.

Oh, and one more thing. There is never a "singularity". Watsons never gain consciousness. It is just not what computers can do.

How much should college cost?

2011-01-24T10:20:00.001-05:00

How much should college cost?

Making the math simple here: let's say one professor teaches five courses, each course has 20 students. Each student takes five courses per semester.

Each student pays 1/20 of the professor. If the prof makes 80K/yr then tuition should be $2000 per semester. Or $16K for a four year degree.

I understand this would be only for subjects where it is all classroom, such as Math, History, Literature, and the all important Liberal Arts.

I also understand that this does not include "overhead" such as classrooms, library, dorms, cafeteria, etc. I believe that donation should pay for buildings, not the students. And doing the math for classrooms and such, it comes to a relatively small amount, like $200/semester.

Technical subject like the Sciences would cost more, due to lab costs.

Athletics pays for itself, thru ticket sales.

Library should be paid for thru donations from alumni.

That is how much college should cost. But even in-state tuitions are triple this. Go figure.

Kenyan Airplane article and comments - funny!

2010-10-20T21:29:00.001-04:00

I don't know which is more insane, the article or the comments!

What did the Arabs really win in the 1973 War with Israel?

2010-10-07T13:47:00.001-04:00

What did the Arabs really win in the 1973 War with Israel?

The author, Firas Al-Atraqchi, is not really clear with the answer. There are a few hints though"
"...In less than a decade, any semblance of Arab unity had crumbled...."
"...El-Shazly later wrote: "This brilliant military victory was turned into a political defeat..."
And the author seems to infer that the defeat of the Arab armies "...helps us understand why Islamic militancy has become a potent force..."
So say it directly; say it clearly. The Arab ruling classes lost unity, were humiliated, and lost power. The radical Islamic militant class gained power.
This is a left hand - right hand move. The Arabs as a whole neither lost nor gained. But some power and influence was transfered from Arab to Arab.
The Arab class structure was ruptured and moved.
In my humble opinion, the war was not about Israel at all. It was only about Arab to Arab relations, and Arab class warfare. And it seems that the author would agree, even if he does not say so explicitly.

Tax consumption, not production.

2010-10-05T22:06:00.000-04:00

The US method of taxation is to tax production. Better to tax consumption.
Income tax, Cap gains tax, business tax, all add to the cost of manufacturing production. These and other forms of tax and costs make manufacturing in the US more expensive. It's well known that most manufacturing jobs have gone overseas due to the higher cost of business in the US.
However, a flat sales tax that is large enough to compensate ("pay for") the elimination of such production taxes would promote the return of manufacturing and the jobs associated with it. A flat sales tax would also happily apply to imported goods, raising the price of imported goods and backhandedly apply the costs to the overseas manufacturers. A flat sales tax would benefit the balance of payments deficit to foreign countries.
A flat sales tax would be effectively neutral to the average consumer, costing the taxpayer the same in consumption tax as currently is paid in income taxes.

An example.
Bob can buy the TV that he wants at Walmart for $1000. In order to have the $1000 available, Bob had to earn $1400, and pay $400 in taxes.
The Chinese factory that manufactured the TV pays no income tax and the workers are paid bubkis.
For the American factory to manufacture the TV, they would have to pay a combination of business taxes, Social Security taxes, and extra pay to the workers to cover the worker's income taxes. The American factory could not manufacture the TV for less than $1800.
Bob can buy the TV that he wants at Walmart for $1000. In order to have the $1000 available, Bob had to earn $1400, and pay $400 in taxes.
The Chinese factory that manufactured the TV pays no income tax and the workers are paid bubkis.
For the American factory to manufacture the TV, they would have to pay a combination of business taxes, Social Security taxes, and extra pay to the workers to cover the worker's income taxes. The American factory could not manufacture the TV for less than $1800.

Now, let's change the tax situation. Imagine this. There are no American income or business taxes. There is a 40% sales tax.

Now, the Chinese factory TV costs $1400 with the sales tax.
But Bob has earned the same $1400 and paid no income tax or Social Security tax. So, the Chinese TV is the same price to Bob.
But the American factory can now also manage to manufacture the same TV for $1000, which will sell for $1400. So the American and the Chinese TVs are now the same price.
Which means that American factory can now compete with the Chinese factory.
Which means that as more American factories compete, more American jobs are created. More Americans have more money to spend. More American goods are manufactured and bought in America.
Fewer Chinese and other foreign goods are imported. The balance of payments is improved and perhaps balanced.
America is returned to financial balance.
All this with a decision to change the way taxes are collected to finance the US Government.
Oh, and the hated income taxes are eliminated. Along with the loopholes and other unfair practices, and the social engineering by tax decree.
Oh, and the Chinese are now paying 40% of their imports into Federal taxes.

Day-traders are greedy bloodsucking scum?

2010-09-08T16:59:00.000-04:00

Day-traders are greedy bloodsucking scum

(I feel strongly about this so I am re-posting)

Government has an obligation to establish the best conditions for a successful and productive business environment. There are some
improvements that the United States Government can take to improve the current business situation.
I am a long-term investor. The day-traders are my enemy. I see day-traders as culprits that cause markets to swing up and down needlessly. The day-traders suck gains out of the market before the long-term guys ever see the profits to their investments. For sure.
The day-traders do what is termed "taking profits". If a stock goes up, they sell, and thus cause a drop in the stock price. The long-term guy suffers with this drop. Happens daily, hourly. Day traders harm the market, the economy and the country. I repeat, day traders harm the United States with their greed. There is no benefit to the larger "macro" economy. The long-term investor is the economy builder, and is vital to the companies that he or she owns.
The day-trader, with his quick buy and sell, is of no benefit to any company in which he or she deals. And this destructive effect is amplified by computer automation.
In my humble opinion, the current recession was not caused by the "mortgage crisis" which is relatively minor in relation to the whole economy. I blame it on day-traders who exaggerated the mortgage event into a real recession.
Government can alleviate some of this day-trader churn by imposing a sales tax on these quick stock sales. Put a five percent tax on stock sales. Then, remove this tax over five years, pro rated. Real
investors will have no tax, because they buy and hold.

Anonymous said...
How can u say day traders a greedy scum when you invest for the same damn greedy reason: to make money. Learn to get in and out at the right time, don't blame others if they know better.

BaruchAttta said...
Ahh...seems that i struck a nerve with this guy.
No, I don't INVEST for any "damn greedy reason". That is not how it works. Read the post.
In short - investors finance production and construction, and share in the profits. That's why they are called "shares". That is a productive use of my money. Does everyone good.
You, you day trader damn greedy scum, you suck value out of the market for yourself, and do no one else any good. You are a legal thief.
I challenge you to defend yourself, and find any good that your greed does for anyone else in this world. Scum.

Anthony said...
I too dislike day traders, but there really isn't too much we can do about it except for making wise decisions. Remember that they can cause a stock to shoot down, they can also cause a stock to skyrocket. So it works both ways.
However we still have to respect them because they are risking their own money in their trades.

Anonymous said...
No they dont invest own money they get stock where no money exchanges they get stuck when market go down but they can also buy insurance so they win both ways short selling should be outlawed.

Anonymous said...
Really? Clearly you are not qualified in finance at all. I'll leave you be with your strange misconceptions.
But I'll also leave you with 3 questions. Who do you think provides liquidity in the market? Who do you think helps EMH (Efficient Market Hypothesis)? What do you think will happen in an illiquid market?
Hint: Think about why arbitrages are so hard to come by nowadays.
Enough Said.

BaruchAttta said...
Ok, another comment. Friendly sort, this chap.
First, about "qualifications". I assume that this chap has the same qualifications that drove the US economy into the worst recession since the 1930's depression. I don't have these kind of "qualifications" but I know a little something about money and investing.
And the chap's three questions.
Liquidity? That means that the money that I have saved up and invested can be liquidly poured down the drain. I don't need as much liquidity as this chap imagines. A real investor who invests for the long term, years and years, can wait for the investment to sell. Houses and other real estate are not "liquid" and yet are fine investments (not counting bubbles, and I dont). I would rather not have such good "liquidity" and have a better return on investment.
EMH is a bluff. It is just an excuse for the day traders. Anyone who was in the market in October 2008 knows about that. I was watching while the market dropped like a rock. For no apparent reason other than everyone else was selling and no one was buying.
Day traders watch the daily and hourly news, not to know about any market trends, but to get ahead of the next guy. If some unimportant but bad sounding news is broadcast, affecting almost no one, but the one day trader will think that the others now will sell so the whole gang sells short and ofcourse the stock price drops. The economy may be strong, long term outlook good, yet the price drops because everyone wants to sell before the other guy.
And what will happen in an illiquid market? Let's say a less liquid market? Because all markets have a certain amount of liquidity. That is the reason for the existence of the market in the first place, to sell. But with the less liquid market, then it takes longer to sell. But the long term investor is not worried about that. Buy a stock, hold for ten years, sell.
Hint: arbitrages? A good arbitrage is better for the long term investor than the sucky day traders. Arbitrage is buying in one market and selling for a better price in another. It evens out the values in markets in different places. The long term investor doesn't care.

Diet. A four letter word.

2010-09-02T13:47:00.001-04:00

Diet. A four letter word.
It means to mentally control one's desire to eat. Which is impossible.
The key is the word "desire". There are different levels of desire, and hunger is one of them.
What we see is that there are those people who can seemingly eat all that they want, and there are those who, if they eat all that they want, will be very fat.
And the key here is also the work "want".
I find personally that I "want" more food than I need. I know that a certain portion will satisfy my hunger. But after eating that portion, I still have a desire to eat more. Not hunger to eat more, just a desire. I want to pack it in, as much as I can. I say "well, I still have room for that", and then I eat that. Until I am fully stuffed, way past being hungry.
So, there is a desire for food that is a desire past hunger and is not hunger.
It must be an addiction.
It may be a throwback to evolution, where those that ate more than they needed, survived the coming famine. Being fat in good times helped one survive the lean times.
Again, it is a matter of desire. My thin friends eat all they want and are still thin because when they eat enough, they dont want any more.
So dieting, that is controlling mentally your eating desires, is doomed to failure.
The trick must be to either fool your desires, or never to develop the desires.
To fool the desire, you eat things that make you feel full, and satisfy.
To never develop the desires, that has to start as a child and continue as an adult.

18 game season - make it 36 weeks!

2010-08-26T16:43:00.001-04:00

The NFL wants an 18 game season. But, it's a very valid issue today about injuries. The play today is rougher, the men larger, the game more physical.
Therefore here is a deal.
1. There will be 18 games per season.
2. However, there will be a by week between each game. Each team will play every other week instead of every week. Players will have two weeks to rest and recover.
3. There will be two leagues, the red league and the blue league. Red will play week A, blue will play week B, and so on. Every 6 games, the red and blue will be redistributed, so each team will play each other team.
4. So the season will last 36 weeks.
5. So there will be a Monday night, Thursday night, Sunday night game for 36 weeks, not just 18. Win win for the owners and TV. Weekend games for 36 weeks too. Win win for the owners and TV. Fans get to see much more football over a longer season.
6. I love it!

Next 1 - 13 of 13 Prev COMMENTS

Are We Living Inside a Black Hole

2010-07-29T16:41:00.000-04:00

Are We Living Inside a Black Hole?

By Rebecca Boyle Posted 07.23.2010 at 11:53 am 43 Comments

http://www.popsci.com/comment/reply/47345

Scientists trying to explain the universe’s accelerating expansion usually point to dark energy, which seems to be pushing everything apart.

But an Indiana University professor has a new theory, reports New Scientist: We’re inside a black hole that exists in another universe. Specifically, a black hole that rebounded, somewhat like a spring.

Some fairly mind-blowing physics is involved here, but the gist is that Nikodem Poplawski of IU-Bloomington used a modified version of Einstein’s general relativity equation set that takes particle spin into account.

Baruch Atta's comments

We know that black holes lose mass/energy due to Hawkins Radiation.
Would there be a way to use this to signal any intellegent life that is outside our blackhole slash universe?
Are there any intelegences inside of existing black holes that are signaling us in this manner?

Continuing the thoughts on "Singularity" or Pipe Dream

2010-07-15T15:38:00.000-04:00

My prediction in my previous post regarding the "Singularity" was that before any machine is capable of self-awareness, we will have machines that can, in effect, reproduce themselves. We already have factories with robots. It is not such a strech to increase the use of robots in factories, to the extent that entire factories are run automatically, robotically. So, everything from mining, smelting, and producing will be robotic. Then, make a robot factory with robots operating, and even robots to build robot building factories. So, I predict that robots will be capable of self reproduction, in a sense, long before they are capable of self-awareness, a much higher achievement and much harder to obtain.

This said, I think that we need to come to terms on just how the Robot explosion will happen, and who will be in control.

With robots capable of self reproduction, then two concerns arise. One, how to limit (if at all) the process. And two, who will own the self-reproduced robots. The latter is of special concern. Because if robots self-reproduce in robot built factories, then the only limit is the energy needed to run the show, and time. And with robots producing solar panels, the energy would be mostly free. And with time, the original owner of the first factory would become expontinally rich. While the rest of humanity sinks in deeper poverty; made reduntant by cheap robots.

Therefore I would propose the following. Self-reproduced robots should be considered not owned by the owners of the first robots, but should be considered property common to humanity. Follow me here on this idea.

Consider Antartica and the Moon. These places have been declared as owned by all mankind, and no private or state ownership is allowed. International Ownership Treaties: Antarctic Treaty System, Law of the Sea, Outer Space Treaty, Moon Treaty, International waters, Extraterrestrial real estate (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System)

These places have been declared "non private" because of the unavailability or distance. If they were available, people would claim and exploit.

In a similar way, I would like to see a similar agreement today for generated robots, that is robots created automatically by other robots, and without (much) human intervention.

Dr. Albert Einstein told us that the most powerful force in the universe is "compound interest". Generated robots would be not just compound interest, but even geometric interest. Thus the owner of the first completely automated robot factory would enjoy unlimited expansion. The result would be the rich get richer, and the poor are disposed with, because the robots would do the work formerly done by the poor.

So I would like to see a universal agreement, all nations, that what I will call "generated robots" to be somehow without owner. Or, generated robots to be considered publicly owned, and any future profits or production to be held in common, in some way.

Mr. Sony or Mr. Bill Gates or Mr. Steve Jobs would not own all the robots. The generated robots would go to everyone. So everyone, all six billion or ten billion of us would own and control several robots, and the energy to run them. More robots would be available, billions, for all of the useful productive work, such as farming or manufacturing.

Without such a universal agreement, Sony, Gates and Jobs (or some other individuals) would own all the robots, factories and of course, all of us. Not a future that I would look forward to.

On the subject of population, all (currently) six billion of us, I would like to predict that if everyone's every need were provided for by generated, unlimited robots, then popluation would shrink, especially in third-world countries. In the third-world, people have many children as their retirement investment, among other reasons. If everyone was confident that all their retirement needs would be provided for, then fewer children would be born. The population growth has virtually stopped or retracted in first-world, relatively wealthy countries. This negative population growth would repeat in any place that was wealthy and confident. Other improvements would follow, education, creativity, and life quality would rise. And with the fall in population, concerns such as greenhouse gas emissions, polution, and such, would be reduced. If population goes down from six billion to 600 million, then the energy needs and polution created would also be reduced a similar ninety percent, without any reduction in personal level of use.

The Singularity and the robotic pipe dream

2010-07-07T16:53:00.000-04:00

To pj.connolly@eweek.com, a response to http://www.tinyurl.com/34xn74r

Dear P.J.

You mention the "singularity" in your last column. You describe it as "machine based intelligence taking over...".

And then you mention the class warfare/competition of the haves and the have-nots.

Well, I think that things will work out in a slightly different way.

Long before there is a "singularity" there will be a robotic multiarity. Let me explain. Before the creation of an artificial intelligence that would think for itself (and maybe spell correctly) we will have dumb (by comparison) artificial intelligence (on the level of dogs, say) that can and work for us. And couple that dog level intelligence with robots, and you will have robots that can take over just about any job. Consider: truck driving, mining, factory work, house construction, house cleaning, integrated circuit manufacture, and so on, jobs done by robots that even Chinese working for one dollar a day could not compete with. And did I mention robots that manufacture robots? This is the main point. Robots will get to the point where everything in their manufacture, from mining, smelting, fabrication, and polishing - will be done automatically by robots. No human interference required. At that point, only energy will be the limiting factor, because robots are mostly silicon and aluminum, two of the most common elements on the planet.

As for energy, when robots will be manufacturing solar panels, (or more robots to manufacture solar panels) then even the solar panels will be nearly free, and thus energy will be nearly free.

Now remember, at this stage, the robots will be too stupid to think or control things. I think.

What does this mean to us humans? Well, at this point, anyone on earth could have (theoretically) anything that he or she would want. No one would do labor that the minions of robots would do, unless he or she wanted to. No one would farm, farming by robot would be much more efficient. Maybe I am short sighted, but road construction would be robotic, and all roads would be perfect. I could go on and on with this topic, but you could do too.

One possible outcome of the robotic age could be the reduction of the population explosion. After all the main reason that poor people have lots of kids is to guarantee that they will be provided for in old age. But in the robot age, even poor people would have anything they want and need, and robots to care for them. So as population growth has leveled off in developed rich countries, so population growth would level off in poor countries. And regarding population, how many people do we need? Add up all the scientist, artisans, engineers, and other creative types, add entertainers, doctors, and other (non robotic) service workers, and what would be the total today? That would be the ideal world population. I would not give a number, but it certainly would be less than six billion. Even less than a hundred million, for the human race to continue to progress in every field. Now I am not proposing that people be forced to not have children, and of course I am not proposing that people be selectively killed to achieve the lower world population. But I think that the world population would be greatly reduced in the robot age, for the reasons given.

And if the world population would be reduced by ten times or even a hundred times, then global warming, fossil fuels, carbon dioxide and such would be moot. And food would be plenty and of course, free. Housing free. Clothing, free. Transport, free. Education, nearly free.

So, this is my "pipe dream". This is the direction that we could and should be going, as long as we don't blow ourselves up in the process. World peace through total plenty through robots. It is possible. Should we do it?

Superhero League of American Patriotic Superheros (SLAPS)

2010-05-05T08:21:00.001-04:00

ARCHRET is the evil arch enemy of the Superhero League of American
Patriotic Superheros (SLAPS).

Am I the first to think of this acronym? If so , maybe I will start a
comic book.

Gonorrhea Lectem - beware of this disease

2010-05-03T11:25:00.001-04:00

I did not write this.

The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new
virulent strain of an old disease. Called Gonorrhea Lectem (pronounced
"gonna re-elect 'em"), the disease is contracted through dangerous and
high-risk behavior involving inserting one's cranium into one's
rectum.

The majority of victims contracted it in 2008; but many people, having
been infected for the past one – two years, are just now beginning to
realize how destructive this illness is.

This is distressing in that Gonorrhea Lectem is easily cured with a
drug recently approved by the FDA and available on the American
marketplace. Ask your doctor about Votemout. You take the first dose
in 2010, the second dose in 2012 and simply don't engage in such
behavior again; otherwise, it could become permanent and eventually
wipe out life as we know it.

Several states are reporting positive results with this and other
preventive measures

Peace (without Israel) Now

2010-04-19T16:27:00.001-04:00

The implications are clear. Peace Now (Shalom Ackshav) wants to replace the star with peace. Implying that peace without Israel or Judaism is better than Judaism or Israel without peace. They seem ready to reject and eject any connection with the Jewish people for the sake of peace.
Too bad that History teaches us that this is impossible.

reply to zhayat and his "how ignorant of you" comment

2010-04-08T15:13:00.000-04:00

zhayat has left a new comment on your post "Why do you want to become a teacher?":

Firstly, no i was not wondering about your last name ...

Secondly, it's spelled "Muslim" not "Moslem"

Thirdly, how ignorant of you that you don't even know how to spell Muslim and you have labeled them with the tittle "Terrorist"

Fourthly, 9/11 was an inside job ... know what you are talking about before you blame someone ... don't rely on the "Idiot Box" (a.k.a TV) or Media to tell you whats true or whats false. (Who do u think controls the media??)

Last but not least name a bigger terrorist than the American current (ex or current) president. (Think about this one!!! you will never find an answer)

Other that that liked your essay :)

Thank you, zhayat, for taking the time to add a comment to my blog. You are not the first, but you are right up there.

Now, to answer some of your kind (and otherwise) comments.

"...it's spelled "Muslim" not "Moslem"..." To the contrary, see the New American Heritage Dictionary. "Moslem n. A believer in or adherent of Islam. Also Muslim, Muslem, archaic Mussulman. Moslem is the form...preferred in journalism and popular usage. End of quote. My comment: English is my native language, and I make my living as a writer, so I am very familiar with such issues. However, you and any others may spell the name of your religion the way you like. The English word is just a transliteration of the Arabic. A waw can be a U or a O.

"...and you have labeled them with the tittle "Terrorist..." Well, if the shoe fits.

"...9/11 was an inside job..." Yes, from inside the highjacked planes. You can read the facts if you like, along with the lies, distortions and conspiricy theories. Wikipedia says http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks "The September 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11th or 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners.[1][2] The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City..."
Bin Laden claimed responsibility. CBC News. October 29, 2004. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2004/10/29/binladen_message041029.html. Retrieved January 11, 2009. "al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden appeared in a new message aired on an Arabic TV station Friday night, for the first time claiming direct responsibility for the 2001 attacks against the United States."

"...name a bigger terrorist than the American current (ex or current) president..." The names Bin Laded, Arafat, Hesbola, Hamas, and so on. The majority of the Terrorists and Terrorist Organizations are by far, Moslem, or if you wish, Muslim. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorist_organization for a extensive list.

Oh, and finally, thank you for the "ignorant" label. I will consider the source. Of course, none of your comments have to do with my reasons for wanting to be a teacher.

weaker country

2010-03-22T09:36:00.002-04:00

Usually, when a weaker country negotiates with a stronger country after a war, the weaker country is more eager and motivated to resolve issues and come to a settlement. Because the weaker country is granted assurances and becomes immune from future military actions by the stronger country, by treaty. Borders are settled and the stronger country is bound not to cross them.

However, in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, it is the PA which is refusing to negotiate. The PA is the weaker side, by far. Yet, they walk away from the table.

The PA stipulates that the reason is that Israel is building apartments, schools, roads and infrastructure on land that the PA claims as theirs.

They justify their claim by pointing out that these lands are over the former borders. But the borders were never recognized by ether side.
The lines were drawn in 1949 after Israel's war of independence, and
the lines are simply as much as the five Arab armies could take in that war. The 1949 armistice lines were never recognized by any party.

The obvious solution for the PA would be to come to an agreement with Israel, and finally set the border lines. Once the borders are set, then guarenteed Israel will not be building in the PA area. Somehow, this has been missed by the PA leadership.

And what a double standard is applied. The PA feels justified in firing missles at Israel, and sending suicide bombers to kill, in order to "liberate". But Israel is condemmed because they build roads, houses, schools and so on. Unbelieveable!

Regarding "Topic Israel" in Salon.com

2010-03-18T12:39:00.001-04:00

Regarding "Topic Israel" in Salon.com:
I noticed that in the "Topic Israel" section, that there are seven
articles, and out of those seven, seven are either anti-Israel or
highly biased against Israel.
So much for any supposed editorial balance in Salon.com.

Davining in the dark

2010-03-12T09:55:00.000-05:00

Davining in the dark
Praying but not seeing
Blind prayer to an unseen God
Who are You? Are You there?

Davining in the dark
Maariv at night in the room
Dark outside. Dark inside.
Away and alone
Don't light that candle
I want to be here - but why?
Wouldn't it be more fun to go to minyan?
See people. Talk. Laugh!

Still davining in the dark
Near the window. Facing East.
Watching the snowy cold moonlight.
Below.

Bicycle Racks

2010-03-02T15:03:00.001-05:00

Hi
Please let me urge you to install BICYCLE RACKS in secure locations
around the Reisterstown Road Plaza. I work there everyday (north
tower) and I commute by bicycle, and there really is no secure place
to lock a bicycle. I urge you to contact Baltimore City regarding
this; the city government is in favor of making bicycle racks
available to the public.
Thank you and Sincerely,
Baruch Atta

cc:
Debra Edmonds at demonds@inland-western.com
Michon Williams at mwilliams@inland-western.com
Al Jones at ajones@inland-western.com
Also copy me at ckafer@dpscs.state.md.us

Desiderata - go placidly

2010-02-19T13:09:00.005-05:00

Desiderata was written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s. It is not copyrighted; it is in the public domain. The following commentary is by Baruch Atta - copyright 2009, all rights reserved.

First - the poem itself. Then, my commentary. I hope you will like my commentary and gain from it.
- Baruch Atta

Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me...The Serenity to accept the things I cannot change.The Courage to change the things I can.and the Wisdom to know the difference.-- Author Unknown --
-----------------------------------------------------The following commentary is by Baruch Atta - copyright 2009, all rights reserved.

Desiderata - is Latin for "Things to be Desired." The word is in the reflexive case. A more direct statement would be "things that I desire". With the reflexive, the poem perports to be universal, and thus lists things to be desired universally, by all people. By claiming universality, the poem and thus the poet amplifies its own and his own importance. We inspect the poem, and comment on meaning, on applicability (universal or not), and on things missing from the poem. Regarding the latter, we in essence add to the poem, with concepts such as forgiveness and charity. Other similar poetry are also considered and compared.
Go - the first word in the poem, and we are instructed not to remain still, but to "go". Contrast with Ronald Reagan who said "Where ever you go, there you are." hinting at the futility of useless travel.
Go placidly - meaing "be placid", be internally quiet. Do not have internal strife, or be at war with one's self. Like the mishna says, let your insides be like your outsides, that is, avoid the hypocritcal. Say what you think and feel. Don't fake it, keep it real. Do not put up a "game face" unless you are playing a game. Do not play games with emotions with those you love or should love.
Go...amid - this is permission to go there, and be "amid". Even though the "there" may be somewhat undesireable, still you may go there, and travel through. You may think that it would be better not to go "there". You may be right. However, you may go "there" if you "Go placidly".
the noise - sound without meaning. Allusion to people who live without meaning in their lives. These people make a lot of "noise", telling us of their personal prejudices, like and dislikes, and foolish desires.
the haste - these people who live without meaning in their lives understand that life is short, and no one dies without even half of their desires being met. Thus, these people are in a hurry to fulfil their empty desires as fast as possible.
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste - do not be affected by those people, nor their noise, nor their haste. Retain your inner peace, meaning of life, joy, and fulfilment. We all are "amid" by living in this imperfect world, but we should as much as possible, be "placid" and quiet when confrounted with "noise" and "haste".
remember - be aware. Be cognisant of the different types of people, of their desires and wants. Be aware, as much as possible, of everyone around you. Be aware and cognisant of your place, and where you come from and where you are going to. Know.
peace - absence of conflict, self perfection, harmony with others.
peace...in silence - do not reply to their chalenges, taunts, jeers. If you do then you will bring the noise and haste into your life. Your silence guards your inner peace. An unanswered chalenge or taunt disapears like a loud fart. It stinks for a while, then, nothing. That's all that they are.
As far as possible - as much as you are able. You should not only love peace, but you should seek peace and even run after peace.
without surrender - of your morals, character, or values. Because surrender of these would be worse than being in bad terms with someone.
good terms - at peace. Without conflict or arguments. Or if there is conflict and arguments, at least have good communication and understanding, to agree to disagree. At the very least, do not use your opinions as a justification for conflict and war.
good terms with all persons - not just those with whom you agree. You should strive to have communication and understanding with also those with whom you disagree.
Speak - gently, clearly, distinctly. Do not shout, or try to drown out the voice of others. But do speak, when you have something to say. Do not sit silent when you should be heard. Everyone is different, has a different viewpoint and a different way of thinking. There are times when your particular voice is the voice that should be heard.
your truth - that which you know to be true, in your heart. Do not speak that which you think is false. Do not lie. But know that "your truth" is the honest truth as you perceive it. Others may perceive things in a different way.
quietly and clearly - do not shout. Do not try to impress others with the loudness of your voice, or with your vocabulary or education. You should strive to communicate your thoughts and ideas. These are not improved with smooth, elequence. A bad idea, spoken well, is still a bad idea. A good thought, spoken with difficulty, still needs to be spoken and heard.
and listen - and look and feel and smell and taste. Be aware of your world. Awareness of the world enters through the five senses. And through imagination. Sometimes, when you listen, more is communicated by what the other person doesn't say. Your child comes home every day and tells you about his day at school. One day, he comes home and says nothing. What is wrong?
listen to others - to what they have to say, to what they are feeling about the world, and about you. You need this to connect. You need to connect, it is a basic human need.
even to the dull - people of low intellegence.
and the ignorant - people of normal intellegence but uninformed or uneducated.
they too - are people like you and me. You can connect with them, be kind to them, love them. A connection with a dull or ignorant person is still a connection with another human. You gain much in this. More than you think. And they gain, also. This brings peace to the world.
they too - just as you love people that you deem to be dull or ignorant, so too, people who deem you to be dull and ignorant will love you.
they too have their story - and perhaps the story of a dull person will be interesting! The story of an ignorant person will be funny!
Avoid - void and nothingness. You can pick your friends but you can't pick your relatives. So pick your friends wisely. Avoid those relatives who should be avoided. However, relatives, family, good friends, are among God's greatest gifts. These should be cherished and the relationships nourshired.
loud...persons - talking without listening. Talking loud so as not to hear anyone else. Thinking that he should be the only one that should talk.
aggressive persons - who will deny others their freedom, who will command and require obedience.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons - as much as possible, with respect and without insulting.
they are - what they are. They came to be, because there are many different types of people, and each has their place on the Earth. Just not near you.
they are vexatious - they annoy, irk, and irritate. They are trouble and troublesome. Be not loud and aggressive yourself.
spirit - among the many meanings of this word, the author intends, on a simple level, the meaning of mood. The loud and aggressive upset the calm mood. On a deeper level, he may also be warning us of the damage done by loud and aggressive persons to the soul of a sensitive and quiet person. The poem was written in the 1920's. If written today, the author would include loud and aggressive movies, television shows, music and other media.
vexatious to the spirit - you dream of love and happiness, joy and contentment, but loud and aggressive people will deny such to you. They seek to dominate you and control you. They are jealous of your inner spritual calm, of which they are denied. Inner calm is a gift which you can not give, especially to the loud and aggresive. Only you can develop your own inner calm, and perhaps teach about it to those who can learn and accept.
If - warning you to refrain from this.
compare yourself with others - in your own mind. A sensitive person is sensitive to those around. This type of person will be aware of others, their spritual state, their friends, their possesions, their wealth and fame. A less sensitive person will imagine without any real evidence about others.
If you compare yourself with others - Saying my intelligence is greater than theirs, my spritual gifts and achivements are greater than theirs, I am richer than them, I am more famous than them. I have more friends. My friends are of a better class, cooler, more hip. I am more respected. Or, for each comparison, just the opposite.
you may become vain or bitter - definitely, you will become vain or you will become bitter. It is the rare person who compares himself to others and does not suffer vainity or bitterness. It is bad for the person who truely understands that others are better or not better than him. Worse is the person who imagines comparisons falsely.
vain - vainity is a vexation of the sprit. The vain will treat others with distain and aloofness, and generate animosity of others. The vain will ride the feelings of vainity and thus not seek to achive that which they are able, espcially those greater spritual achivements which are real. Vainity is so vaporous; it can easily disolve and leave the previously vain person.
bitter - a taste which implies depression, anxiety, or anger. This is the result when you compare yourself to people who have things that you can not have, or have achived things that you can not achieve. Their success is not your success. Their friends are not your friends. Their children are not yours. Comparison to better people may inspire you to work harder. But more likely it will leave you bitter.
for always - As a fact of life.
there will be greater and lesser persons - a continuum of people. No two persons are totally equal in every way; every person is unique. A person who may be lesser in one aspect may be greater in another aspect. Even in a single aspect of life, whether wealth, health achivements, or even inner calm and personal happiness, no two persons are totally equal.
greater and lesser...than yourself - thus your act of comparison is really an internal act, something that you do to yourself. The author is telling us that such a vain or bitter act will result in vain or bitter feelings. You are responsible for your actions. You can avoid the vain or bitter feelings. Decline the comparisons.
Enjoy - after the author has warned us regarding the vainity or bitterness of unproductive thinking, he now directs us to a more fruitful path.
Enjoy - you may fully take pleasure from and profit by the benefits of...
your achievements - your real achievements. Reaching the goals that you set for yourself. Hitting the target of your aspirations. The measure is you against yourself; what have you achieved for yourself?
your plans - your hopes, desires, asperations. You can enjoy that which you have not yet achieved. You can benefit from that which you do not yet have. If the desire spurs action then idleness is converted to exertion. Dreaming is benefitial; all the more so when it leads to action which leads to achievement.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans - because these are truely yours.
Keep interested - stay involved. Let it be a focus of your life. Family should come first, of course. But do not ignore your career. Be active and even aggresive, within bounds.
career - not just a job or a means of livelyhood. A career should be a calling. Do what you like and you will always like what you do.
however humble - don't think that only the lofty, glorious, or high-status careers are worthy, something to be proud of. Honest work is always dignified. You are distinguished by how you do it, as well as what you do. A career may be deemed by some to be humble, but the humble are also noble.
Keep interested in your...career - be satisfied, but also aspire.
your own career - what you have accomplished will always be yours.
real possession - to be proud of. In retirement, you can look back at a life well lived.
the changing fortunes of time - the high will be lowered and the low will be raised. Times change, and yet remain the same. Horse whip manufacturing is down, so is typewriter manufacturing. Stocks go up. Stocks go down. Strong companies go bankrupt, like Woolworth. Little garage companies grow large, like Apple or Google.
Exercise - vigorously and doggedly.
Exercise caution - read the fine print in contracts. Get good advice. Stay aware and vigilant.
business affairs - buying and selling, making contracts and fulfilling the terms. Paying and being paid. Speculation and enterprise.
Exercise caution in your business affairs - and exercise caution in your affairs of the heart, for that is your business too.
the world - people with whom you do business with, and those that wish to do business with you, and also those that you seek out with whom to do business.
is full - very common.
trickery - deception and fraud. Contract fine print. Ponzi schemes that will not pay off. Promises that were never meant to be fulfilled. Bait and switch. Shell games. Most gambling.
blind - looking without seeing.
virtue - the opposite of trickery. Truthfulness. Fulfilling promises. Full disclosure.
let this not blind you - don't think that everyone is a thief. Because if you do, then you will become one.
what virtue there is - and there is much virtue in the world. The world stands on Truth, Justice and Rightousness. Civilization as we know it requires these. We could not get through even one day without trust in other people. Even driving a car, we trust the other driver to stop at the signal. We trust the on-coming driver not to cross the double yellow line. We trust our employer to pay us, we trust our employees not to steal us blind. We trust the store to have food, and water to come out of the tap. We trust that no one will come and burn down the house.
many persons - most people
strive - attempt to reach. Desire.
high ideals - honesty in business. Ethical behavior. Morality. Love thy neighbor. Do onto others.
many persons strive for high ideals - and most people achive high ideals most of the time. The way to recognize greatness in a person is for that person to be tested with temptation. Few are really tested, most are rarely tested at all. It is fortunate that most people are not conflicted; that their honesty is ingrained, normal and regular. The real test comes when choosing the lesser of two evils. It is hardly a test to choose between the greater of two goods. Choosing between good and evil, right and wrong is hardly a problem for most.
many persons strive for high ideals - and some do not. Be aware and beware of those, and wonder what went awry with them.
and - in addition to those with high ideals, moral and ethical.
heroism - choosing right with courage, when the choice might be dangerous, to risk when the safe choice is not the moral choice.
everywhere life is full of heroism - most people have done something heroic, something which distinguishes from the mundane. The woman who cleans just one more mess without complaint. The driver who doesn't respond in road rage when he might. The child who stands up to the bully.
and everywhere life is full of heroism - worth repeating.
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself - my father gave me this advice before my first date. In relationships, if you are not yourself, but you act as you think the other person wants, then when the other person likes you, he or she really likes the person that you are pretending to be.
Be yourself - unless you are a jerk. Get someone else's opinion. If you are a jerk, if you treat other people badly, then don't be yourself, but strive to improve your personality until you can be yourself and be nice at the same time. Some jerks treat others badly because they don't know that they are behaving badly. Other jerks don't care. The former need training. The latter need instruction.
Especially - most importantly you should strive to be yourself, and show your true feelings, in relationships of love.
do not feign affection - don't say "I love you" when you don't. Especially not when expecting favors in return for love.
Be yourself - let the world accept you as you are.
Be yourself - because you are really wonderful. The other person is lucky to know you.
Be yourself - because you are a child of the universe.
Be yourself - what? You think that maybe you can be someone else? You might want to be someone else, but you only can be the person that you are.
Neither - in addition to being the wonderful you...
Neither be cynical - do not be cynical, do not be skeptical about the motivations of your lover, but trust them, be open and accepting.
love - you are kidding. You expect me to describe love? The greatest poets have not found the right words. You are on your own for this. Love is outside of the scope of this commentary.
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment - yes, she or he blew you off. "Disenchantment" is putting it mildly. You were enchanted with the one you love. Or you were enchanted with the idea of love. And now, it is not there anymore. So you are disenchanted. Sad. Depressed. Or perhaps even suicidal. Don't. Because...
it is as perennial as the grass - There are lots more fish in the sea. There is always another bus. Another train to catch. Believe me, if it did not work out, there was a reason. The fault was not necessarily yours. Look elsewhere. Love will come. Love is everywhere.
Take - it will be freely given with nothing expected in return.
kindly - openly, with respect of elders, with thanks for their wisdom.
the counsel of the years - the wisdom of those older, more experienced than you. Your elders have been through it before. Perhaps they have found the answer. Your problem is their memory. What you fear, they have been a success.
the things of youth - attitudes, feelings, thoughts. The viewpoint of youth is different than that of age.
gracefully - without a fight.
surrendering - recognizing wisdom.
Nurture - Build up, grow up.
strength of spirit - Self image and self confidence. Know who you are and what you want. Be self assured.
to shield you - emotionally stable and spiritually rightous to guard from the consequences of trials and tribulations. Preparations for calamity to protect you from tragedy. Be ready for the pings and arrows of misfortune, emotionally and spiritually prepared.
in sudden misfortune - even misfortune that comes upon you suddenly and unexpectedly, as well as that which you know and expect.
distress - feeling of uneasiness. The feeling that not all is well, someting will happen to hurt you.
distress yourself - as an action, the word "distress" means to apply the feeling of distress. To make yourself have this feeling.
do not distress yourself - So, the author is saying that you, yourself, should not arouse this feeling in yourself. The emphasis is on you, and you should not be the source of this feeling of distress. There may be curcumstances external to yourself, which may be distressing, and then the feeling is normal and justified.
imaginings - thoughts about things that do not exist.
dark - unknown or unknowable; hurtful or harmful; dangerous.
dark imaginings - thoughts about things that may be hurtful or harmful or dangerous, but are unknown and do not exist.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings - because such can and will lead to depression. And depression will lead to inablility to do, or doing actions that are not good. When you are depressed, you will be less able to handle the real world, your interactions with friends and relatives will be affected. Such feelings hold you back from doing and accomplishing that which you want. Imagined and unreal life problems distort your view of the world.
fears - see dark imaginings
fears - the emotion of fear, felt multiple times or for multiple reasons.
fears are born - rather than caused by; when danger is real, the fear is caused by the real threat. But when the threat is imagined, then the fear is born out of imagination, fatigue and loneliness.
fatigue - when tired, and not able to act as vigorously, and not able to defend against the threat.
and loneliness - nowhere to turn for help; feeling abandoned.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness - So, instead of fighing the fear, you should rest, and be a friend, if you can. Thus the fear will disapear. If you can not, then just know that the fear is baseless.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness - so, nurture strength of spirit.
discipline - here, the author intends a spiritual discipline. To enjoy pleasures in moderation, not to overdo or indulge to excess. Enjoyment of eating, but not gluttony. Relaxing after a day of work, but not a life of laziness and sloth. Employment and career, but not to such that work is day and night.
a wholesome discipline - as opposed to the life of the ascetic, who often fasts, denies himself pleasures, afflicts himself, in order to improve himself spiritually.
Beyond a wholesome discipline - in other words, you should be disciplined, structure to your day and a plan for your life. You should.
be gentle with yourself. - but also be kind and sweet to yourself. Don't blame yourself for failings or what you percieve to be failings. Stop the negative things that you say to yourself. Think positive thoughts. Think sweet thoughts. Don't punish yourself over real or imagined sins.
child - innocent
You are a child - still. Even as an adult, there remains that part of you that was a child.
You are a child of the universe - as in "member". You are a member in good standing of the universe club.
no less than the trees and the stars; - or birds or bees. Or bears or moose. Or frogs. Or flowers.
a right - entitlement. Confired upon you by the Master of the Universe.
here - where you are. In this place and time. In this situation. With your friends and relatives, your career, your abilities and skills, your disabilities, the things you own, your community, your country, your planet.
you have a right to be here. - and a priviledge to be here. Enjoy it and be thankful.
clear - if something is clear, it is recognized, apparent and you see it. There is no confusion about this fact. You are totally sure about this and if someone asked you, you would not hesitate.
And whether or not it is clear to you, - It may be clear; it may not be clear. You may be sure; you may be unsure. You may completely disagree. It doesn't matter what you think about this - because this is independent from what you think or feel.
no doubt - emphasis on the the fact. The author is sure, without a doubt. You would benefit to accept this as fact.
the universe - everything far and close. How close? Your nose. How far? The stars.
unfolding - the sequence of events, good or bad, nice or nasty. Everything that happens, happens.
as it should - should implies a Judge.
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. - and best.
peace - without anger and without claims against. No viewpoint of victimhood.
Therefore be at peace with God, - the universe is as it should, and it is the best of all possible worlds.
whatever you conceive Him to be. - because there are different views of the Divine.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Advice not given in Desiderata:
to Forgive - forgivness is a key ingredient to happiness, a very desirable characteristic. Forgiveness is vital for a calm and balanced life. Those without the ability to forgive, and forget, are cursed to remember, keep grudges, and try to get revenge, those people are in the jail of grudge and revenge. Forgiveness is desirable for a person. And Forgiveness is very desirable for society, because it is natural in human intercourse to occationally step on toes, and without forgiveness there would never be any peace.

To love and not hate - The golden rule is a very desirable policy. Love breeds peace. The opposite is undesirable. Hate is destructive. Baseless hate is even worse and more destructive.

Friendship - "friendship or death" the Talmud tells us. Without friends, life is not worth living. We take much joy and companionship from our friends. One should seek friends, by being friendly. A true friend is a golden value.

Education and Ideas - ignorance may be bliss, but education is happiness. An odd combination. The bliss of ignorance ignores what can be and what may be, what is and what will be. Only education reveals those. Discussion of Ideas may be the closest and most intellectual mode of connection of human beings. And true immortality is possible through one's ideas living on in the minds of others.

Art - create beauty and enjoy beauty - one who creates is truely living. One who creates is closest to the Creator.

Fwd: re israel-read and act ASAP: Do not let YouTube cancel this video

2010-02-07T14:43:00.002-05:00

The IDF broadcasting on You Tube, presented by Capt. Avichai Adraee, an Israel officer speaking Arabic, showing and explaining in full clarity what is really going on in Gaza and how Hamas terrorists operate from the midst of civilian neighborhood, schools and mosques and how they used a United Nations school as shelter while firing mortar bombs at Israeli soldiers, thus endangering Palestinian civilians.
However, You Tube wants to remove this video by using the excuse that not too many people are logging in. So please watch the video once, twice and three times and also forward this e-mail to as many people so they also log in and the IDF will be able to have its voice heard.
Just this one time, please send this mail to your entire list to your friend, foes, distant relatives and/or acquaintances. This rally is most important as the Arab propaganda machine has cranked up and stands to completely drown Israel 's position. Thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sznMP3dnCg&feature=PlayList&p=24B34659

COMPLETE VISABILITY

2010-02-03T11:38:00.002-05:00

I am for COMPLETE VISABILITY in taxes and finances.
1. Every stock market trade should be public knowledge, like real estate purchases. Name, date, amount, price.
2. And for that matter, everyone's tax returns should be public knowledge. What do you have to hide? It's the rich that want to hide their (ill?) gotten gains.

Fwd: ISRAEL'S DISPROPORTIONATE RESPONSE

2010-01-20T08:51:00.002-05:00

ISRAEL'S DISPROPORTIONATE RESPONSE

Many countries and world leaders have accused Israel of responding disproportionately to aggression from Hizballah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza .

However, it is time that the world press and media speak of another disproportionate response from Israel .

The terrible disastrous earthquake in Haiti has generated responses from many nations. The US has sent supplies and personnel, Britain sent 64 firemen and 8 volunteers, France sent troops for Search and Rescue. Many large and wealthy nations of the world sent money. The Arab and Moslem world nothing.

Israel, a nation of 7.5 million people has sent a team of 220 people that include Medical personnel and will establish the largest field hospital in Haiti, treating up to 5000 people a day, an experienced Search and Rescue team and medical supplies. As in previous earthquake disasters, such as in Gujarat India in 2001 and in Turkey , in the bombings in Kenya , Israel has been one of the most generous givers of aid and assistance

Turkey seems to have forgotten this help as its extreme Moslem Government is cozying up to Iran .

Judge Goldstone, where are you now? Eating your heart out and hanging your
head down in shame I hope.
The favorite occupation in the UN is Israel bashing. More resolutions have been passed condemning Israel than all the so called democratic nations such as Sudan , China , Russia and others for their crimes against their minorities.

I think it is time that the world should know about Israel 's disproportionate response.
Please forward this to as many people as you can.

"fix" health care is to "tinker",

2009-12-15T13:21:00.001-05:00

And anyway, the best and only way to "fix" health care is to "tinker",
that is to change a little at a time, and checking as you go to see if
what you did was good or bad with unintended consiquences.
Unfortunately, the Dems are pushing the 2000+ page bill through
without any agreement from the Repubs. Big Mistake.
What the Democrat bums are doing now is taking advantage to the
"landslide" that they enjoyed because of the WAR and the ECONOMY at
the time of the election. The Dems did not receive any mandate to f
with health care.
What will happen is that after the next election, the Repubs will
retract most of the Demo. health care bill. It is the same as the
"Catastrophic" Medicare bill of 1987-8 that was retracted the next
year.

Reuters Lies Again

2009-12-11T15:15:00.001-05:00

Today's story:
"...By Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Nidal al-Mughrabi
JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) - Sworn enemies Israel and Hamas..."
Is, in essence, wrong in the very first line. Here is why. Although
Hamas may be considered a "sworn" enemy of Israel, Israel, for its
part, is not an enemy of Hamas or any other Arab group. Israel just
wants to survive and not be attacked, with missles, with suicide
bombers or especially attacked through the media with lies and
distortions.
The latest strategy is to attack anything Israeli or Jewish in the
media with lies and distortions. To the editors: please keep vigilant
in your reporting, for accuracy and truth. Thank you.

Two Silver Dimes

2009-12-11T10:23:00.002-05:00

I have two silver dimes, one dated 1946 and the other dated 1964. I found these when I took the synagogue pushke (charity box) and dumped the change into the convenient change counter machine at the grocery store. The change counter machine rejected the dimes. I "redeemed"
them from the charity box, and now I am the proud owner.
I looked up the "value". The dimes are really not very valuable. The real value is in the silver content. The rate for silver is now $18 per ounce, and the dimes are worth 13 times the face value. Silver quarters, half dollars and dollars are also worth 13 times their face
value, in just silver content.
When I was a kid, in the 60's, you could really get a cup of coffee in a diner for a dime. The song goes, you can't even shine your shoes...for a dime. But the song is talking about Broadway in New York, but out in the sticks, you could get a shine for a dime.
Today, even "penny candy" cost more than a dime. That is how much our currency has inflated, and lost value. A cup of coffee, at Starbucks, is about $1.75, if you get the small. If you get your coffee by the barrel, it is a bit more. At a diner, if any still exist, or maybe at McDonalds, you can still get a coffee for the value of the silver in a dime, $1.30.
So, the coffee is a constant, just our money is drying up. My two silver dimes will buy me a coffee and a shine, to start out my day. Actually, the only place you can get a shoe shine these days is the airport, and it is up to four dollars.

Sarkozy urges Abbas to renew Mideast peace talks

2009-11-12T14:21:00.002-05:00

Sarkozy urges Abbas to renew Mideast peace talks

Instead, he should be urging to compromize and resolve. Talks have been going on since day one. "Talks", to Arabs, mean "demands". It's where Arabs make their demands, between bombings.
The "suicide bomber" was perfected by the Pals, and then exported throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Thanks a lot, Pals. You deserve a Nobel Prize for this, to share with Obama.
The Pals would have a state already if that is what they really wanted. Just declare. Poof, it's a state. But they don't. Hey, Pals, here is how to make peace (pay attention) don't attack.
Don't bomb. Don't kill Jewish people. Instead of the "three No's, you should have the "Three Don'ts". But hey, like the scorpion, it's part of their nature.
That is why Israel is prepared for a thousand years of warfare. How long will it take until Arabs accept Israel? When that happens, there will be peace. Until then, Israel is prepared.

MILLISECOND TRADING

2009-10-23T15:57:00.002-04:00

It was news to me. Certain stock broker firms complained to the NYSE that they are delayed by MILLISECONDS in making their trades.
Apparently, stocks trading is very much in the computer age. These firms are making computer generated stock trades. They make zillions of trades each day, even each second. See:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/NYSE-chief-urges-changes-for-apf-1363961662.html?x=0&.v=2
My point is that this should be illegal. Such "trading" has absolutely no benefit to the economy. The only reason for this action is to suck money out of the stock market, and put it in the pockets of the traders.
Going back to basics, the stock market is a way for productive companies to raise capital, in order to manufacture products and provide services. Certain actions have been deemed to be detrimental to our economy, and have been outlawed, such as monopolies, "cornering the market", trading on inside information, ponzi schemes, and so on.
I say that this electronic trading should also be deemed to be detrimental to our economy, and made illegal. My solution would be to apply a five percent sales tax to every stock trade, and not taxed if the stock is owned for five years, pro-rated. If the stock is owned for one year, the sales tax is four percent, if owned for two years, the sales tax is three percent, and so on. This will bring the day traders and electronic generated traders to a screeching halt, and leave the value in the market for us long-term traders.

Moti

2009-10-08T16:30:00.002-04:00

As he flushed, he though that he was finished peeing and he wanted to complete his urination with the flush. Unfortunately, he needed to continue after the flush was finished. This forced a second flush, which was a waste of water. He silently scolded himself for the needless waste. Moti went from the bathroom into the living room of his small house. The house was a two bedroom, one bath, that his father had bought him for his second marriage. It was in a former blue collar neighborhood of the outskirts of Baltimore, built in the 1930's for immigrants who worked in the canning and shellfish industustries. That would make the house at least 150 years old. Moti himself was only 82. He sat down to look at the news on the computer. The news was dominated with abductions and kidnappings, murders and rape. If it bleeds, it leads, Moti thought to himself, quoting the centuries old phrase. Moti was especially irked by the most publisied news, usually it was about some blond woman or child. Men and blacks seems to be worthy of only a paragraph or two, and even that was way down on the list. If a blond girl was kidnapped, there would be blanket coverage on all the major newsites. Moti remembered his own abduction. It happened during the year that he was lost to his friends. He was lost before he was abducted and he remained lost even after he was released. As was the usual case, the governemt ransomed him from the abductors, and the government then just opened the door and he walked back to what he was doing. Before the abduction, before the lost year, in 2021, Moti was headed for a career. His father had high hopes for Moti. Moti was getting better than average grades, excellent grades in fact. He was to be a robotic engineer. Robotics was a rather mundane, but sensible career. One could get a secure job with one of the many RobApps companies. The robot product was generally considered to be a commodity now that the general design was standardized. Robapps engineering was very intense and difficult, compared to the other engineering fields. Seems that the designers, instead of making the use of their products eaiser, just kept on making it harder and harder to keep up, changing syntax and programming rules every 18 months. But all these plans went astray in Moti's third year. He was dating a girl named Robin, who would have been right at home in the Robots with her name, or so thought Moti. But Robin was a Humanities student, looking to a career in teaching. It was outside of Ner Israel Rabinical College where Moti was waiting for Robin to leave after her interview to be a teacher. A rabbinical student from Germany came over to Moti and asked him if he had an iPod to see the latest soccer scores. Moti didn't have any web accessable devices with him, and said to her that she shouldn't be interested in soccer. She said that no, rabbinical students like herself could have a wide range of interests, and what business was it of his, anyway? "What's your name?" Moti asked."Giselle." she gave him, and asked him his. She was from Dusseldorf, was 19 years old (Moti was 21), and was not interested in being a Rabbi, but was studying there just to be well informed. Moti told her where he was attending (Hopkins) which did not impress her, since the requirements had been lowered so much that one did not even need to pass any tests. "Just like Baltimore high schools" she said. "Not so, for Robapps" Moti insisted. "You have to know your stuff, either it works or it don't." "Could be" she allowed. "For that. But the days are long gone when Hopkins professors would win Nobel prizes." "True." Moti forgot about Robin. He forgot about his Robapps studies. Only Giselle was on his mind. It was a daily occurance. Moti would be waiting outside the Study Hall on a stone bench, like a puppy dog, waiting for Giselle. He would then follow her around, if she went out to shop or to look at the scenery, or just to walk. Giselle was happy for the attention, but not really attracted to Moti. Moti was enthralled with her. She was foreign, and had just a bit of an accent. She was smart, but not only, she was intellegent. There was a lack of self-conciousness, a freedom from watching one's self from that mirror behind one's head using the eye in the back of one's head, a freedom she had which Moti sensed. Or, she talked to you without really caring what you thought. However, she knew exactly what you were thinking, feeling, reacting. Moti had a fear of rejection, which kept him in a constant state of anxiety, simmering just under the surface. Giselle had none of that. If Giselle heard a harsh reply from some acquaintence, she assumed that the other person was so mistaken, or maybe it was true that she deserved the insult, but she didn't care, that's how things were and she is just that. She was so unself-concious, that she could go without clothes, although she wouldn't do that, being a Rabbinical student. Giselle didn't encourage Moti's attentions, but didn't discourage him either. When Giselle went home to Dusseldorf for the holidays, Moti caught an airbus, following her. It was ugly between Moti and her father. Her father finally came out with a shotgun and unloaded the double barrels into Moti's legs. Robin ended up marrying Moti's best friend, George Saranski. George was also in his third year at Hopkins, and also was into Robapps, with Moti. They lived on campus. When they heard what had happened to Moti, it was George who flew out to Germany. When George arrived at the hospital, Giselle's father was there, appolgizing. George wanted Moti to return to Baltimore with him. Moti had a different idea. "Let's go to Cuba." Moti suggested. George had a wife and college to return to, so he declined. But Moti went to Cuba. He stayed in a cheap hotel in Havana. For over a century, the country was on an almost complete embargo from the United States. Cars, houses, the whole country was stuck in a time warp. It was 2048 when the embargo was lifted. The country still looked like it did in 1958, when the embargo began. And even in 1958, the country was considered a Carrabien backwater, with only a few good hotels and casinos. The hotels and casinos, the farms and factories, everything was still dated to around World War II, or so. So in 2048, when the embargo was lifted, the Cuban government agreed to make the whole island into a theme park and "Past time reserve", sort of like the American national park reserves. It became a great tourist destination. The whole country became an historical landmark. No technology that was invented later than 1958 was allowed on the island, except in the airport. Before you left the airport, you had to give up all of your digital watches, iPods, cell phones, inteligent clothing, inteligent optics. Anyone with inteligent implants was forced to disable them, or was just not allowed to come. It was amazing just how long the old cars could be kept running. There was a factory in East Russia that manufactured new cars with 1950's level of technology, some for collecters, but most for the Cuban market.

2009-10-07T16:46:00.003-04:00

Sometimes, Google amazes me.
Well, always. But some things about Google can surprise.
For instance, if I do a search on my real name, and my elementary school, (all of which are on my personal web page) then Google finds me but lists me on page four of the search results. I must be the only one in the world that combines these exact seach terms, so why am I rated so low for the exact search terms?
However, this blog is rated number one in Google! for the following search terms:
uniblogosphere
greedy bloodsucking scum
I am not so surprised at the first term, after all, I invented it, and I am problably the only one in the web to use it.
However the second is surprising. This blog is number one for greedy bloodsucking scum.
Hooray!

Cost of College Tuition

2009-10-07T16:40:00.002-04:00

Cost of College Tuition

Here is a breakdown of "marginal" costs for college level students. By "marginal" costs, I mean the amount that each student should be expected to provide to cover the salary of the teachers and professors.

A Student needs 120 credits to graduate. He usually takes 5 courses of 3 credits each per semester, and so needs 8 sememsters or four years to complete the course to graduate.

Instructors' salaries are as follows (approximately)
Instructor's salary (tenured) $60,000 per year
Instructor's salary (adjunct) $30,000 per year

I will assume that each instructor (tenured) will teach five courses per semester, or 10 courses per year, and the average number of students in each course is 25.

The cost of teaching for each academic course (of three units) is one tenth of the instructor's annual salary. This is $6,000 per course.

Each student's portion of the course is one twenty-fifth of this, or $240.

The five courses that the student needs per semester is five time 240, or $1,200.

Over eight semesters, this would be 8 times $1,200, or $9,600.

I believe that students should be obligated to support their teachers, and thus a four-year college degree should cost around $10,000. I also think that fixed costs, such as buildings, administration, and other non-teaching related costs should be carried by alumni, donors, and government. Students should not be expected to pay for buildings!

My evaluation applies only to courses of academics only, such as history, philosophy, math, and so on. Courses that require laboratories or other added expenses would cost extra, certainly.

However, with state university tuitions reaching over $8,000 per semester and private colleges costing over $40,000, one can see that the students are highly overcharged for the education.

In other words, the teaching cost is very low, compared to the tuition!!!!

Forwarded Facebook Comments

2009-07-28T08:53:00.001-04:00

Forwarded Facebook Comments

I have my facebook account forward my friends' comments to my gmail email account, so I can read them at work. However, people tend to leave out the context, so the comments come in as indecipherable. For example:

"Awwwwwwwwww.......how sweet."
"very, very depressing and disheartening"
"What a nice idea."
"i love sleep and even THAT scares me lol"
"If you had done your research, you would have known that that would happen."

I don't have a clue what these comments were commenting about. Do you have that same problem?

"Iron Yarmulka" (kipat barzel)

2009-07-22T20:45:00.001-04:00

Here is some good news. Even if you dont understand Hebrew, you will understand the implications.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euR7CwhOQ5k

Yossi

Israel Health Insurance

2009-07-15T20:24:00.001-04:00

I really liked my health care plan that I belonged to in <i>Israel</i> And no, my employer did not subsidize, and no, the government did not subsidi9ze. Who did? The political parties in Israel all have their own Medical Plans. I belonged to Macabee - run by the...uhhh... I forgot who ran my plan. Labor? Likud? Agudat Yisrael? Mapam? Mapie? Who cares? Thing is, the political parties ran it right. I was very happy with my health plan in Israel.

Susan Reimer versus Sara Palin

2009-07-13T11:42:00.001-04:00

Susan Reimer:
"...The guys were flabbergasted. The women were furious..."
O.K., time to power-up the BS detector device.
Zssssap. Powered up. Ding ding ding - BS detected. BS detected.
Dowd, Collins, Parker, Tucker, you are all full of it. All these comments are like off the chart, and the only comment I have to say is "what planet are you from?" Because your comments have little connection with the real world as we know it. You are like the wife who asks "does this dress make me look fat?" There are many answers to that, all wrong. The comments all sound like "when did you stop beating your wife?" Which also has no correct answer. And is unfair, to say the least.
"...Women are mad because..."
What? Women are "mad"? There are fifty governors, 100 Senators, and every-one-of-them considers themselves a potential US president. Believe me, all of them have egos the size of a planet. So, women are mad because one governor resigns, as a possible strategy for running for president? So what? Unless the "mad" women are worried that Sarah's dress makes them look fat.
First of all, if you want to get "mad", then get mad at Iran's nukes. Get mad at piracy. Get mad at the three reports of shootings in Baltimore today, showing up on my Twitter subscription to the Baltimore Police. Lots of things to get mad at. Don't get mad at a politician's (surprise) ambition for higher office.
"...The guys were flabbergasted..." BS detected. After all, "flabbergasted" is quite a word, and if you were sending it in Morse Code, it would cost you. I am male, and I wasn't even surprised. I am wondering if that decision is a wise move for Ms Palin, but then again, wisdom was never her strong suit.
So, Susan, your column sounds so far out, so un-real, that I am wondering if you should stick to plants. At least plants don't care if the dress makes them look fat. And, yes, your picture does make you look fat.

Shidduch Crisis

2009-07-06T09:42:00.003-04:00

Shidduch Crisis

http://matzav.com/first-date-20-groundbreaking-shidduchvision-project-aims-to-ease-shidduch-crisis/

Excellent article, and a beautiful, concise description of the possible issues:
1. Orthodox dating is at fault, with its near-hermetic separation between the sexes.
2. no (halachally acceptable) venues for young religious people to meet
3. singles have become too picky
4. men approach dating with a laundry list of requirements
5. parents coddle their children too much, which inhibits the normal social development
6. it's a function of mathematics: boys start dating at a slightly older age than girls
Issues 1 and 2 are related, frum singles don't go to dances and mixers. Issues 3 and 4 are related, and might be the result of issue 5. Issue 6 is a non-starter. Unless you are bad at math, you immediately understand that boys have always looked for girls who are two to five years younger, and it makes no difference in the results.
If I could waive the magic wand and take down expectations a notch, it would have an immediate effect. Too many singles are looking for someone in the top ten percent. And if Rabbi Moshe Pogrow would go back to math class, he would realize that this is the real mathematical reason for the problem.
Instead of looking for someone in the top ten percent, if singles would be happy with someone in the top 80 percent, then the "crisis" would disappear. Of course, this would require that singles meet and socialize and grow romantic connections BEFORE background checks and laundry lists are applied.
It all goes hand in hand.
That is why the video dating idea is not the answer. It will just make it easier to apply the top ten percent expectations, laundry list requirements and background checks. My intuition says that the video dating will have a marginal benefit.

http://matzav.com/first-date-20-groundbreaking-shidduchvision-project-aims-to-ease-shidduch-crisis/

Trip to Binghamton

2009-06-29T23:32:00.003-04:00

We had an absolutely fabulous trip to Upstate New York. We visited with my wife's elderly aunts, each in a different elder care facility. They were actually happy to see us, which was a surprise to all of us. We visited with my brother-in-law and his wife, and attended an unveiling for my father-in-law’s best friend. There is something to be said for a small town like that small town in Upstate New York. Everyone was there at the unveiling, one way or another...

The people in very small town like that that we visited have their own traditions. There were many immigrants to that town in Upstate New York in the early 20^th century. The town had one very large factory, where most of the immigrants worked and made their living. It was Endicott Johnson‘s shoe factory. So, even if an immigrant did not know any English, all he needed to say was “Which way E. J.?” and he would have a job.

Everyone worked in the factory and everyone wore those shoes.

But if you were not from there, you had a choice of shoes. A shoe store in Baltimore, for example, would certainly carry EJs but would also offer shoes from other factories. Customers could have their pick, and of course, the customer was always right.

In last month’s Where What When, I was moved when I read the letter from “BESIDE MYSELF IN BALTIMORE”, in which a “native Baltimorean woman with a sister of marriageable age” is “distressed and disillusioned” by her perception that New York boys don’t want to date Baltimore girls. She questions whether it is a small town mentality or the travel involved.

First of all, let me explain that with the frum community in that small town of Upstate New York, just about every single girl from that town in Upstate New York married a boy from New York City or from New Jersey. Except for my wife, who married a boy from Connecticut. So I don’t think that “small town” has anything to do with it. As for the travel issue, same thing, these couples dated successfully with over 200 miles distance.

So why does this perception still exist, that NY boys might shun Baltimore girls?

I think that it might have something to do with the shoes. Not the shoes that the girls are wearing, nor the shoes that the boys work so hard to polish to shine and impress their dates. But it has to do with the shoes that everyone wore in that one town where they had one shoe factory where everyone worked. In that one town, if someone wore another brand of shoe, they would be “noticed” for that minor infraction. Because everyone knew that everyone wore EJ shoes. And anyone and everyone would notice, because everyone was an expert shoe maker.

So it is in Baltimore. Here, we have one large educational institution, where just about all of our shoine madelach are educated. And just about all come out with an excellent Yiddishe education, good midos, and so on. And, they are “well rounded” with talent and abilities in art, music and all kinds of good things.

But New York is a very large city, a Yiddishkeit central headquarters, and there must be dozens, if not hundreds of educational institutions for frum girls. And each institution is different from the other. So, boys in New York have a choice. And further, like there are many girls schools, there are many more boy’s schools, with even more individuality in each school.

With that much individuality, a boy who attended one school might date girls who attended only a certain other school. Why not? There might be good reasons for a boy to restrict his dating preferences. Perhaps his mother or older sister attended a certain school. Or perhaps he is descended from people who emigrated from a particular location in the old country and he is looking for that type. Or perhaps his father is of a certain minhag or such. There are many reasons, and some good reasons, why a boy might be picky that way. And of course, the customer is always right, or at least he thinks so.

If you asked a hundred New York boys (and their parents) what their preference was for a match, you might get three or five or seven say that they want a girl who attended an educational institution that is exactly like the one very large girl’s educational institution that is here in Baltimore. The other 93 or 95 would also give a similar response, that they are looking for a girl who attended a particular educational institution, just that the girl that they are looking for attended one of the 100 other educational institutions that there are in New York City. It is sort of like the shoes. If you have one large factory, then all the shoes end up rather alike. So, either you like that shoe or you don’t. And the customer is always right, at least he thinks so.

But then, the shoe can be on the other foot, to turn a phrase. Why is this big sister here in our great city of Baltimore crying about New York City boy preferences? Don’t we have many fine young men right here in our city? Or does our big sister and her eligible younger sister feel that Baltimore boys are not good enough? Or are they looking for only that certain type, of which we lack, and now it is the girls turn to be picky?

I know of a certain situation right in town. Two families live next door to each other. One father has two eligible boys, yeshiva educated, with jobs and a parnassa. The other father has two eligible daughters, Bais Yaakov educated, fine midos, and pretty too. These two men daven in the same shul, and cry on each other’s shoulders about how hard it is for their kids to find a shidduch.

"Getting the Most Out Of Your T-Network Antenna Tuner", by Andrew Griffith, W4ULD, QST, Jan 1995.

2009-05-22T11:59:00.001-04:00

My comment is that considering the first tip, I would start step 1 with the lowest inductance, which should relate to highest C-out. Then, do steps 2 thru 5, trying higher inductances as needed.

It really made my Ham experience nicer when I "mastered" the art of antenna tuning. Now, I can work on just about any frequency using my 80 meter vertical (with raised radicals).

Excerpt from "Getting the Most Out Of Your T-Network Antenna Tuner", by Andrew Griffith, W4ULD, QST, Jan 1995.

Practical T-Network Tips
To achieve the highest possible efficiency...tune the network with the highest output capacitance that allows a match...more C-out translates to less loss.
For Tapped-Inductor Tuners
1. Set C-in and C-out to midscale. Select an inductance switch position, and rotate C-out through its range to look for an SWR dip. The dip may be very sleight.
2. If you don't find a dip, set the inductance switch to another position and adjust C-out for an SWR dip.
3. When you find a dip, adjust C-in for minimum SWR.
4. Inch C-out in one direction or the other, and redip with C-in.
5. If the SWR is lower now than it was with the previous C-out setting, continue to inch C-out in the same direction and redip the SWR with C-in until you obtain a 1:1 SWR.
In some cases, an SWR dip can be obtained with two inductance settings. Choose the setting with the lower inductance to get the larger output capacitance.

Samuel Morse's Birthday is celebrated on Google

2009-04-27T11:40:00.001-04:00

GOOGLE:

Your search - --. --- --- --. .-.. . - did not match any documents.

Suggestions:

Try different keywords.

Are Palestinians Insane?

2009-02-02T16:38:00.001-05:00

Dear Ziad
Insanity is defined as many things. The Talmud says it is one who throws his money purse into the sea. Einstein said it is someone who keeps doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Psychology defines it as doing things that are against one's better interest.
So aren't Palestinians "insane"? They do things against their own better interest, they keep doing the same thing and expect a different result, and they throw their money away.
Wouldn't it be better to psychoanalyze the whole group and provide psychotherapy?

Economic "building" mode

2009-01-30T11:12:00.001-05:00

Ron
There were a few good years, when the Orioles had stars like Rifkin, Palmero, and so on. The O's made the playoffs, had winning seasons, the stands were full and it was hard to get a ticket. The the O's went into a slump for a few years. They tried to "buy" their way into a winning season. Sammy Sosa was a star and was obtained at high cost. He was good for a few months, but by the All-Star game, he was out.
The Orioles went into a "building" mode. They went and did it the hard way, taking kids out of college, running them through the farm team system, teaching fundamentals of baseball. Pitching and hitting.
Turns out that building a team works much better than buying a team. For the price of a Sosa, you can get a whole AAA team of good prospects.
Our economy is similar to the baseball team. Like our team, our economy is now in a deep slump. This is not a winning season for the economy.
However, it seems that our managers and team owners in Congress have decided that they want to "buy" our way out of the economic slump. This is lunacy. You can no more buy your way out of an economic slump, than you can buy a winning team. You need to address the fundamentals, whether in baseball or in economics.
What are the fundamentals in economics? What works and what fails? This information is well known by economists. I am very surprised that we hear nothing about fundamentals from our esteemed economic leaders.
Just like hitting, pitching and teamwork are fundamental in baseball, so too we have honesty, predictability, fairness, education, training, openness, ownership rights, freedom, and spirit as fundamental for economic success.
We know that top-down control does not work. Look at the Soviets or any Communist country. We know that graft and corruption do not work. Look at any Arab country where the "baksheesh" is rife.
The experts and non-experts know what develops a good fundamental base for economic development, and what does not work.
So why are these so-called experts in economics all singing the tune of "quick fix monetary stimulus" in four part harmony and full orchestration?
I say, let's get back to the fundamentals, and forget the quick fix. It won't work, it will waste trillions, and we still will need to address the FUNDAMENTALS.

Baruch is pronounced Bah-rookh (ending with a clearing throat sound....sorry!)

Pondering guilt through others

2009-01-29T15:58:00.001-05:00

Ron

In my police related work, I often see information related to a protective order. Now I am looking at such a record. I notice that the subject (person being restricted) is a man that was conceived just about the time that i was changing my life style and becoming religious. My thoughts wander to what if. What could I have done to help raise this boy who became a man that beat his wife and thus was put on a protective order?
I mean, I was an adult, when he was born. I could have theoretically been around and helped to direct this boy to become a better man than he has. Sure, when I was that age when he was born, I was a young man, and held no blame regarding men who commit crimes. But now, that I am already a grandfather, do I hold any blame? Perhaps a small amount. Perhaps more. I have lived in my city for 22 years. There are many 22 year old men who are committing crimes near to where I live.
This I ponder.
"Keep it real" they say. Even the criminals. Especially the bad boys, the gangstas. The 22 year old wannabes. Keep it real. It means, don't lie to me, bro. If you think, feel, so tell me, don't put up a "front". Don't act in a way to fool the world about you. Keep it real. Be honest with us.
So, why doesn't Keep It Real and keep it honest, also apply to stealing and murder? Keep It Real honest, don't steal. Keep It Real honest, don't murder.
Pondering this too.
Young boy, don't shoplift, don't bully the little guy. Older boy, don't do drugs. Keep It Real. Honest.

Maybe they could teach "honesty" in school. Honesty doen't conflict with "separation between chrch and state:. Does it?

What attitude started the male-dominant role?

2009-01-28T14:03:00.001-05:00

I know that you have moved on, but I still want to make a point, and maybe you can use it in a future show.

In my blog (http://baruchatta.blogspot.com/2007/11/linton-aryans-and-aristocracy.html)

I make the point that the NOBILITY in Europe had a certain life-style and outlook. This outlook included an aversion from work. In fact, any member of the Nobility who worked for a living, was ejected from the Nobility class. (This situation made for much of English comedy; someone was posing as nobility, or a noble lost his financial support.)

That said, commoner men would strive to be like the Nobility class, to suppose a higher "rank". Now even though a commoner had to work to survive, still he could come home and make AS IF he was a Noble when at home.

I say again, that he would make AS IF he was a Noble when at home.

That means, of course, that he would not do any housework. Housework was for commoners.

You may ask, however, that the wife and extended family womenfolk would still be doing the chores. Wouldn't that make the women feel like commoners?

The answer is, oddly, no. Just the opposite. In this Feudal society, the actual status of the family stemmed from the head of the household, the man. If the man was a Noble, then the whole family was nobility. So, in a left-handed sort of way, the women achieved a sort of higher class status by accepting all of the chores and the actual lower class status. As long as the Husband/Father was idle at home, and thus a semi-noble, then the women would also be of this status.

Of course, in our times (I am talking about the 1970's and onwards) the woman's movement and others have completely missed this point, and blame the male for that situation in those times. And of course, in our times we have eliminated this nobility class (mostly) and such concepts as "a man and his castle"; now obsolete, and thus the abandoned division of household labor. But in those ancient times, it was the women who accepted their role, not the men enforcing the role. We see from recent history (for example, the woman's movement) just how much power men really have to enforce such subservient roles on women, if the women themselves were not volunteering for the role.

Calories

2009-01-25T15:58:00.001-05:00

It turns out (and I have done research) that walking and running use up the same number of Calories. It doesn't matter whether you walk a mile or run a mile. You will burn the same number of Calories. The number of Calories burned is 100. Of course, if you run, you will burn Calories faster, depending on how fast you run. If you do a 6 minute per mile pace, then you will run ten miles per hour and burn 1000 Calories per hour. If you walk three miles per hour, then you will burn 300 Calories per hour. But the number of Calories per mile seems to be rather constant.
Also constant is the amount of Calories contained in a pound of fat. That would be 3600 Calories in a pound of fat. If you are fat, then each pound of fat on you was put there by your eating 3600 Calories. If you want to lose a pound of fat, you would need to eat 3600 Calories less, or exercise the equivalant of 3600 Calories.
Thus, to lose a pound of fat by exercise alone, you would need to walk for 36 miles. This may seem like a lot. It may seem far. But it doesn't need to be done all at one go. You could walk 1.2 miles per day for 30 days. This would be a pound a month. Twelve pounds a year. And 120 pounds in 10 years. Do you intend to be around in 10 years? Then make plans!
Actually, an hour walk is three miles or 300 Calories. So if you walk an hour per day, that should burn about three pounds per month. 36 pound per year.
So why are so many people so fat?
Obviously, it is also a matter of eating too much. You can eat a lot in very little time if you want. For example, a burger with fries and a shake - say 1200 to 1500 Calories. That's 12 to 15 miles.
Of course, everyone burns some Calories even if he or she doesn't walk. The number ranges from 1800 Calories per day for smallish women, to 4000 per day for muscular men. This number is dependent on the weight of your muscles in your body. Fat doesn't burn any Calories at all, at least not enought to be a factor. So even if you do not exercise, your body still burns a number of Calories. But if you exercise, the number of Calories burned goes up according to the amount of exercise.
That is why you warm up when you exercise. The Calories that you burn are almost all turned to heat energy.
The definition of a Calorie is the amount of heat necessary to raise one liter of water, one degree Centigrade. In approximate terms, your body volume (of water) is the equivalent to your weight in kilograms (divide your weight in pounds by 2.2).
Normal body temp is 37 degrees Centigrade. Average weight is 100 kilograms (not really, but it will make the calculations eaiser, and anyway, 100 kg is 220 pounds, so if you are just a little bit overweight, you may eaisly weigh 100 kg.) So if a 100 kg man walks one mile, he will raise the temperature of his body by one degree to 38 degrees. Obviously, his body temperature is regulated by body mechinism (sweating, etc) so his temp remains a constant 37 degrees. So where does the heat go? If he was cold before, cold hands or cold feet, then they are warmed up. If he was already warm, then the heat leaves the body somehow. Or eventually he will die of heat exhaustion.
A person who is sitting and is comfortable is still losing heat to outside the body. If he burns 2000 Calories per day, that means that each hour, on average, he burns 2000/24 Calories. (83 per hour) But you burn less when sleeping, so if you burn 50 Cal per hour sleeping for 8 hours, that is 400 Cal. And so that leaves 1600 Cal for 16 waking hours, or 100 Cal per hour. So our comfortable person, sitting, is really buring 100 Calories per hour, and those would raise his temp up one degree Centigrade if all the heat created would be contained and not released.
That is why you get warm when you exercise.
So, with me, I am about 110 pounds overweight, I think. That would be 50 kg. And that would be about 400,000 Calories or about 4,000 miles. Walking 4 miles a day, that would be 1000 days or about three years. Ok, let's get going!!!!!!!

"I want someone that learns X-teen hours a day"

2009-01-12T11:29:00.002-05:00

This is so good, that I have to copy it. See the whole thing at
http://www.bangitout.com/articles/viewarticle.php?a=2478

"I want someone that learns X-teen hours a day" - No you don't! Who do you think you're fooling? Let me tell you what you, and all Stern girls want: You want to live in a suburb of NYC (i.e. Teaneck), you want to go to Israel for succos, Arizona for Pesach, to send your kids to a modern orthodox yeshiva, modern orthodox camps, and you want to have tons of shiny jewelry! Unless you have someone sponsoring your marriage (i.e. your parents or in-laws) and your husband is a kollelnic with zero responsibilities, than try to be more realistic. If you find a buchur who makes a legitimate effort to go to minyan 3x a day and schedules in time to learn daily, in addition to having a steady income, than you have found yourself a quality buchur and you should be quite satisfied! [For the meidels who have just returned Israel: Save this and read it again in a year when you get more in
tune with reality! Right now you're probably just assuming that I'm off the derech and practice avoda zarah.]

Fair Tax Girl

2008-11-10T15:02:00.001-05:00

Dear Fair Tax Girl

Your so called "Fair Tax" is simply a complete reliance on a sales tax. So what makes a sales tax so "fair"?

And it's unwise. It is like investing your entire retirement savings in to financial stocks. Not very smart. We all know what happened to those stocks. Don't put all your eggs....

I believe that a wiser course is as I describe in my post. It is a three way tax plan - including a 5% sales tax, a 5% income tax and a 0.5% ownership tax, all with certain protections and allowances. Think about it.

On Sun, Nov 9, 2008 Elizabeth sent you a message.

Re: Taxez

"I personally am a fair tax girl. I think your plan has some very great points but the fair tax is the ONLY plan that permanently by Constitutional amendment shuts down the IRS and Income tax. The fair tax would bring in the same mount of money being brought in now but spread out to all who live in America not just those who work. The fair tax ntaxes the poor and closes tax loopholes. Check it out www.fairtax.org ; )"

2008-08-26T15:01:00.001-04:00

Random Thoughts
What is "cool"?
Answer: Cool is a self-assigned feeling of superiority, based on belonging to a group of people, or having superior dress and superior objects.
Why is "cool" cool?
Answer: We evolved thus. There are certain definite advantages with cool. In stone age days, belonging to a group improves one's chances of survival. Superior dress, i.e. warm clothes, also improve one's survival chances. Same for objects such as weapons, shelter, cooking utensils, and so on. Thus, people with the character trait of "cool" survived and thrived in greater numbers than people without the trait.
Is "cool" relevant today?
Answer: No, maybe not. It has little affect on one's chances of survival in the modern world. However, there is one aspect of cool that might be relevant. Beauty is cool, to be attractive is part of the trait of cool. And being beautiful is very important for relationships, mating and reproduction.

Now that I know what it is, the question remains if it is desirable and obtainable. There are certain benefits and advantages of being cool. Cool people seem to have more fun, are outgoing and easy going. Cool people connect with each other better, and help each other, while the not-so-cool are on their own. Better jobs through connections. Attracting and keeping other cool and beautiful people as friends and lovers. Making more money, buying better homes and other things.
In order to achieve coolness, cool people have an unconscious sense of cool. They have this sense, and apply unconscious and final judgment on other people and objects. People and things judged to be cool or have coolness are desirable. Other people or things are shunned. This judgment process is continuous. To be cool is to be judgmental critical, disapproving and disparaging, implying a negative impression. Cool people think of themselves as discerning, discriminating, sharp, astute, perceptive, sensitive and shrewd, all positive attributes.
Conclusion: Cool - get it if you can.

Regarding the tax "rebate" of 2008:

2008-04-29T10:43:00.001-04:00

Regarding the tax "rebate" of 2008:

I am investing in my grandchildren. My $1200 will be put into a IRA for their retirement. They are 5 and 3 years old. In 65 years they will be 68 and 70.

Do the math. By the way, a journalist once asked Albert Einstein what the most powerful force in the universe is. He didn't answer atomic energy or the like. He answered "compound interest".

The math: 10% per year in mutual funds, times 65 years, equals 490. (the formula is 1.10 ^ 65) And 490 * 1200 is $588,000 and this amount is in "today's dollars" (adjusted for inflation, as far as one can now project).

That amount, $588,000 is a nice nest egg, and if then invested in 5% Treasury bonds (as one should do when retired), would provide a yearly income of $29,400.

In other words, this government give-away of $1200 would basically pay for the Social Security payments for my grandchildren when they retire.

So instead of giving it away, it should be invested by the Feds, and used to eliminate Social Security taxes. Social Security is now a "pay-as-you-go" scheme, and that is giving us trouble now with the baby boomer generation retiring.

Thanks
Baruch Atta

The Role of Transportation in Smart Cities in the Information Age

2008-04-16T09:35:00.001-04:00

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:01:08 -0400
From: fyi-poster@umd.edu
Subject: The Role of Transportation in Smart Cities in the Information Age

Gretchen
It is probably not polite to criticize someone that you don't know, so
please excuse me from the start.
But how in the world can the UN predict the percentage of people
living in "urban areas" some 22 years into the future, with an
accuracy of three decimal places???!!!
I doubt that the UN or anyone else can count to that accuracy, even
for today's population.
It definitely depends on how one defines "urban", and so on.
I did some work at a high level political organization, and we had a
hard time just counting employees. Do you count temps? What about
volunteers? And so on. What if someone was hired and didn't start
yet? What about people out on sick leave? With approximately 500
employees, we were lucky to come within 5%.
So I really don't believe the UN statistics.
So why do you quote them?

Anyway, on the topic of the lecture, does the Good Doctor first
preface his theories with defining Social Goals? What is the purpose
of existence? Does the human species require over 8 billion people to
achieve its purpose?
Some human goals could be comfort, technological advancement, art, and
other simple things like "survival".
The major question that I ask to anyone proposing social and human
planning, is "for what are you planning?" For example, do we need all
8 billion to achieve "comfort"? Do we need all 8 billion to achieve
better technology? Or "better art"? (what ever that is.)
Actually not. Is 8 billion better than 4 billion, or just the
opposite? Would "just" one billion suffice? Would 100 million be
enough to ensure survival, and even advance technology, increase
comfort, and so on?
Once these questions are asked and answered (even if the answers would
be "wrong") then and only then does any planning, including
transportation planning, make any sense.

Thanks for listening
Baruch Atta

Subject : The Role of Transportation in Smart Cities in the
Information Age
When : Friday, April 18, 2008 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Where : Preinkert Field House (Bldg 54) : 1112V
Event Type(s) : Lecture

According to the UN, the world population could reach 8.2 billion by
2030, with 60.8% living in urban areas. The resources needed to
support that population could be insurmountable. Dr. Tschangho John
Kim, Professor of Urban and Regional Systems at the University of
Illinois Urbana-Champaign, postulates that urban sustainability refers
to an acceptable level of social costs associated with daily
activities of people. Key social costs are related to the use of
scarce urban land, decay of environmental quality, traffic accidents
and congestion. He will examine the role that transportation should
play in intelligent and sustainable development for smart cities.

Website: www.smartgrowth.umd.edu

For more information, contact:
Gretchen Sweeney
Environmental Finance Center
+1 301 405 4035
gsweeney@umd.edu
www.efc.umd.edu

See the Daniel Estulin page for more info on Bildenberg people.

2008-04-04T16:14:00.000-04:00

http://www.danielestulin.com/?idioma=en See Daniel Estulin's page for more info on Bildenberg people.

Day-traders are greedy bloodsucking scum

2008-03-26T16:05:00.002-04:00

Day-traders are greedy bloodsucking scum?

Government has an obligation to establish the best conditions for a
successful and productive business environment. There are some
improvements that the United States Government can take to improve the
current business situation.
I am a long-term investor. The day-traders are my enemy. I see
day-traders as culprits that cause markets to swing up and down
needlessly. The day-traders suck gains out of the market before the
long-term guys ever see the profits to their investments. For sure.
The day-traders do what is termed "taking profits". If a stock goes
up, they sell, and thus cause a drop in the stock price. The
long-term guy suffers with this drop. Happens daily, hourly. Day
traders harm the market, the economy and the country. I repeat, day
traders harm the United States with their greed. There is no benefit
to the larger "macro" economy. The long-term investor is the economy
builder, and is vital to the companies that he or she owns. The
day-trader, with his quick buy and sell, is of no benefit to any
company in which he or she deals. And this destructive effect is
amplified by computer automation.
In my humble opinion, the current recession was not caused by the
"mortgage crisis" which is relatively minor in relation to the whole
economy. I blame it on day-traders who exaggerated the mortgage event
into a real recession.
Government can alleviate some of this day-trader churn by imposing a
sales tax on these quick stock sales. Put a five percent tax on stock
sales. Then, remove this tax over five years, pro rated. Real
investors will have no tax, because they buy and hold.

Day traders harm United States

2008-03-07T11:02:00.000-05:00

I know money isn't everything, but here I am watching my retirement savings go up in smoke and down the toilet. I am not the richest man in the country, but I was expecting to see some steady growth to my mutual funds.

Thank God that I still have a job and can pay the mortgage and put food on the table. But I was so looking forward to a secure retirement. Can you sympathize with that?

I am writing to you, not because I think that you are responsible for the real estate and mortgage crisis/fiasco. But I feel that there are some improvements that the United States Government can take to improve my situation.

I blame the lenders for lending to sub-prime high-risk borrowers. So I believe that government should not bail-out these fools. And maybe I am one of the fools, because now my broker is telling me that the mutual funds that I thought were balanced were actually heavy into real estate and financial.

I blame also the stock market day-traders. I see these day-traders as the culprits that cause the markets to swing up and down so wildly. I am a long-term investor. The day-traders are my enemy. The day-traders suck gains out of the market before the long-term guys ever see the profits to their investments. For sure. The day-traders do what is termed "taking profits". If a stock goes up, they sell, and thus cause a drop in the stock price. The long-term guy suffers with this drop. Happens daily, hourly. Day traders harm the market, the economy and the country. I repeat, day traders harm the United States with their greed.

Government can alleviate some of this day-trader churn by imposing a sales tax on these quick stock sales. Put a five percent tax on stock sales. Then, remove this tax over five years, pro rated. Real investors will have no tax, because they buy and hold.

I believe that it is the responsibility for the government to repair the harm done by the stock market day traders.

More Taxes....

2007-11-21T09:11:00.001-05:00

Letter to my Legislator about Taxes:

I live in your district and I voted for you in the last election.

Well, I guess that the "T"-word is a necessary evil in a society like ours.

Regarding Glenn Hubbard - yes, he needs and deserves a voice, and oh, hum, it is the same old stuff. I am certainly in favor of tax reform. Heaven knows that our tax laws are a mess. But Hubbard's suggestion starting with "no tax on capital gains or dividends" reveals his agenda, which is to soak the poor and middle classes, and make the rich, richer. The rich are the ones who would have the most to gain in removing the tax on capital gains and dividends.

My alternative, in a nutshell, would spread the burden in a manner more fair. My plan would work in three ways, a "three prong plan" to spread the tax burden more fairly and justly.

First, consider the local government use of a real estate tax. This is a tax applied on ownership of real property. Thus we see that a tax on ownership is just as valid as a tax on income. So, the first prong of my plan is to also tax wealth - let's apply a federal tax to real estate, stocks and bonds. How would this work? This would be a simple tax on ownership of stocks and bonds and real estate, say only one percent per year.
This is significant. With the value of the NYSE and NASDAQ of about $24 trillion, plus privately held business worth over one million dollars, plus real estate holdings over $500,000, a rate of just one percent would be at least a third of the Federal Budget. And with the rising value of stocks, it seems to be a fair application. The stock market has risen, on average, about 12 percent per year. For the last 100 years. A one percent tax on value of stocks and bonds would not reduce the GNP. I would exclude a first home up to a value of $500,000 and also exclude IRA/401(k) retirement plans from this tax, as well as small business.

Second, I agree with Hubbard regarding a Sales Tax. It would be a consumption tax, which a tax payer could avoid just by not buying stuff. A Federal Sales Tax would be applied to all goods, imported goods as well as locally manufactured goods. Our taxing of income hurts local manufactures and foreign imports have an advantage, being manufactured without high income taxes applied to the workers. If we taxed sales, then the imports would be paying an equal share. This would be a 5 percent sales tax. A new national federal sales tax could also be used to fund a single payer medical insurance fund, which I also support, also helping level the manufacturing "playing field".

Third, let's reduce the income tax rate to about 5 percent and eliminate all deductions. This would make the whole tax process so much easier for the taxpayer, and eliminate the major part of the whole tax bureaucracy, and I think it would allow all those current tax cheats to come back into compliance. With my other two suggestions, this reduction of income tax rates to five percent is affordable, because the Sales and Ownership taxes would cover the reduction in Income tax.

The total tax income to the Federal Government would remain the same as it is today, and thus cover the same budget. But the sources of government income would be divided in thirds: one third from equity and real estate ownership tax, one third from sales tax, and one third from income tax.

I am against using the income tax laws as a "social engineering" tool. Currently, our tax system is not just to raise money for the workings of the government, our tax system is used as a social engineering carrot and stick. I feel that the social engineering aspect needs to be separated from the important aspect of financial support for our government. Mixing the two has not benefited either function. If you want to give money to college students, home buyers, farmers, or people who buy green cars, then do it, and do not mix this function with taxes. I really hate that our government uses the tax system for social engineering.

Regarding my first suggestion of taxing wealth. Our current system lets the rich (like, say, Bill Gates) own billions of dollars of stock and never pay a penny until taken as "income". Let's get real. And apologies to Bill, but he is such an easy and obvious example.

The plan has another built in fairness. First, let's review the current tax laws. Consider two people, a person who makes $100,000 per year and has a net worth (stocks, house, etc.) of about $100,000 and a person who has a net worth of 10 million and takes an income of $200,000. Under the current tax laws, both would be paying a total tax bill of about 40% (including medicare, local taxes, etc.). So, the first person is paying 40% of his income, but that is 40% of his net worth. The second person is also paying 40% of income, which in dollars ($80,000) is twice what the first person is paying, but it is only eight tenths of one percent of his net worth. In terms of net worth, the second person is paying nearly nothing, less than one percent. Not very fair.

Under my plan, the total tax on the first person would be reduced to about 10% of his income and net worth. His house and his retirement plan would not be taxed. His income would be taxed at 5%, and adding local taxes, a total of 10% or so. However, the second person would be paying about 50% to 75% more, due to his net worth holdings. The tax on the second person still will be a very small amount in comparison to his net worth.

My study shows that the combination of these three ideas would fully finance the Federal Budget, and do it in a more fair and equitable fashion.

The legislator who successfully implemented these types of improvements to our government would earn an honored reputation and place in history. You are probably thinking that this is a radical nut writing to you. Maybe so. Certainly my ideas may seem to be radical, but these ideas are not so new or far out. I hope that you will consider these ideas when the Taxes issue comes up next in Congress. Seriously. You might just make History.

The Bilderberg Group

2007-11-08T09:52:00.001-05:00

For something very interesting....

See the http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/2007/11/06.html
and the Turkish newspaper article high priests of globalization http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=74608

And it's not just in the US. The Bilderberg Group and its parallel groups, among which are the CFR, the Trilateral Commission (founded by David Rockefeller and Brzezinski), the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA) based at Chatham House in London, and their interlocking memberships are at work throughout the Western world and are endeavoring to get their hooks.

Also, his book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0977795349/ctoc

Happy Birthday to me.

2007-11-06T09:22:00.001-05:00

BLOG WARNING: THIS IS NOW A PERSONAL BLOG ENTRY.

Today is my birthday. I have taken the trouble today to plan out the rest of my life. Here it is:

BEGIN PLAN

AGE YEAR
53 - 2007
54 - 2008
55 - 2009
56 - 2010
57 - 2011
58 - 2012
59 - 2013
60 - 2014
61 - 2015
62 - 2016
63 - 2017
64 - 2018
65 - 2019
66 - 2020
67 - 2021
68 - 2022
69 - 2023
70 - 2024
71 - 2025
72 - 2026
73 - 2027
74 - 2028
75 - 2029
76 - 2030
77 - 2031
78 - 2032
79 - 2033
80 - 2034
81 - 2035
82 - 2036
83 - 2037
84 - 2038
85 - 2039
86 - 2040
87 - 2041
88 - 2042
89 - 2043
90 - 2044

END OF PLAN

Now, you should understand that I am not planning on dying at age 90.  I am simply not planning my life past that age.
You can see that even the planning that I am doing is not so involved.  I am just marking my age each year.  Is this an issue with you?  You think that life planning should include dreams and desires, loves and compassion's?  Well, that may be true.  However, the only sure thing that I can predict is that in thirty years I will be thirty years older. Or dead.  And of course, paid my taxes.
You are right about hopes and plans, though.  I did do a list of things that I enjoy and have on my "to-do" list.
Hike or Bike -
    Appalachian Trail, hike from Georgia to Maine
    East Coast Greenway bike from Florida Keys to Maine
    Iceland - all around bike ride.  There are hostels every 30-50 kilometers, easy for a biker.
    Newfoundland - all around bike ride.  You could camp anywhere there, it is so unpopulated.
Israel
    to live, retire.  The problem is that Israel now is not the same as the Israel that I lived in from 1974 to 1986.  Then, the country was still in the middle east, developing.  Now, it is so developed, that the "developing status" was removed.  In order to live in a place like the Israel I remember, I would have to live in Jordan or Lebanon.  Ironic.
Pay Off Mortgage.
    I took a 15 year mortgage when I bought the house three years ago.  I didn't want to have to be paying a mortgage after I would be retired.  Was that a good strategy?  If I will be retiring to Israel, then i will be selling the house and who cares if the mortgage would be paid off then?  This is sort of a conflict in monetary policy, personal style.
Write books
    Mostly interested in SF.  However, I haven't written much, and if one hasn't written much by this age, then when will he ever?
Ham Radio
    I find that Ham Radio is a big time waster.  I like having a working station, and having a place to putter around.  But to spend any large amounts of time on it seems to take me away from other pursuits.
Grandchildren
    Be their Grandpa.  Funny how this got pushed so far down the list.  Guess I just take it for granted.
Boating
    Coast Guard Auxiliary. I volunteer to go on patrols on boats.  Totally other people's boats.  That is the idea.  The famous quote is that a "boat is a hole in the water where you throw your money."  So I don't.  I don't have so much money that I can afford to throw it in a hole in the water.  But as a Coastie, I have plenty of opportunity to go out on the water and have a good time at US Government expense.
    Buy my own boat and use it.  Maybe after i retire and if I don't move to Israel.

And if those are things that i am planning, what is it that I am giving up?
Yes, I did have other plans.  But some things get lost or dropped with time.
Higher Education
    I am talking about a masters or PhD.d.  I don't capitalize these because the value to me has become less and less important.  I was in a masters program at one time.  But the little Jewish college never offered anything that I was really interested in.  They did offer a course in "Amos Oz" the Israeli author.  It would cost me $900 to read all of the books.  I said to myself that I could read them for free.  I don't need to pay tuition to do that.  In fact, almost any course is available without tuition.  I think the most important advantage of a college education is all those contacts that you make and keep for future employment opportunities.  I ended up reading all of Amos Oz's books, some of them in the original Hebrew.
Rabbinic
    This is probably not going to happen.  To be a synagogue rabbi.  I am close with someone who is a rabbi in a shul, and you know, he is frustrated in that job.  If I do not need it, then it is better not to have it.
Radio Talk Show
    I tried this also.  You know, it is a stretch to go from having your own amateur radio station to performing on a commercial radio station.  I was nervous before each show, and i didn't like that feeling.  But the main headache was selling advertising time to support the show.

And there are things that I am not now planning to do, but I may come back and do or take them up.
Sofrus
   I have written five sefrei Torah, and uncounted tiffilin and mezuzos.  I might come back to that in the future, and i am not "writing it off" so to speak.  I sometimes compare this sort of "writing" to the job that I am doing now (well, not really right now, right now I am wasting the taxpayer's money...).  I liked the work, and all.  It is basically working for one's self, I can work when I want, and such.  Problem with that is that I am so lazy that I don't get started until 11:00 am some days.  But that was in my "youth", maybe now I will be a little more disciplined.  The "pay" is a bit less than what I am doing now, but if I didn't need so much money, the hours would be much better.
Teaching
    Actually, I am teaching two periods a day currently.  High school.  I have taught as college adjunct also.  Boy, are these kids wild!  The principal supports me, though and we are removing a couple of kids from the class.  They can do that in a private school.
Business(es)
    I have thought of starting my own business, everything from restaurant (bad idea) to Solar panels for private homes (good idea).  Maybe.

the Science Fiction club

2007-11-01T14:31:00.001-04:00

    Sometimes, your mind can be just wandering, as you browse through old books or magazines. Something you find in and expected place will open a new viewpoint. And something you find in the most unexpected place will change your life.
    At the Baltimore Book Fair last year, the best booth belonged to the Science Fiction club. Why was it the best one, in my humble? They were giving away free books and magazines. I picked up a sack full of old Analogs, Asimovs, and Fantasies. By "old", I mean 1978 vintage old.
    The expected epiphany was to read or re-read these 30 year old stories that were written then as if they would be written in the future. Reading these stories today, I am empowered with vision and observation that the writers couldn't have but wished that they had.
    Observations such as "the engineer picked his teeth with his slide-rule." (Written before calculators.) Or a scene where the main character has all sorts of high-tech gear, like video cameras in his eyeglass frames, but he needs to find a phone booth to make a phone call.   But in defense of the writer, the phone booth had video-phone capability.
    A similar observation takes place with a re-reading of Clark's epic 2001, A Space Odyssey. Why Dr. Clark placed his novel at the turn of the century I don't know, but as of that date we neither have manned expeditions to Jupiter nor Moon bases, nor thinking computers. Computer programming is still at the level of a glorified library card index. Computers still can not think, although pattern recognition programming technology is fairly well advanced.
    At the 1939 World's Fair in New York, it was predicted that by 2001 everyone would commute to work in a "flying car". So, where is my flying car?
    Two aspects of living. First, living in the present and reading about the future. A science fiction story, a good one, will transport your to the future of the author's design.
    Or, living in the future and reading about the future. By this, I mean reading these old science fiction stories.   Not only judging how the author did or didn't get it right, but also looking at your own time from your own past. It doesn't matter whether the story brings me my flying car or an atomic desolation and despair. Expectations and hopes dashed; fears unrealized.
    Looking back at today, I think that things have not changed that much. If at all. If anything has changed, it is I, and only in a few aspects. I have become more observant, and less angry. But that is another blog.
    Things have not changed. Things like relationships. I was disappointed to read in the newspaper today that echs percent of our city's youth do not graduate High School, are in jail, and so on. What happened to raising the younger generation to love, be happy, self motivated and successful, as we all promised to raise our kids when we were all starting out? We failed to be any different than our parents, and it looks like our kids will fail to be any different than us. In that respect.
    My first transistor radio; I was in the fourth grade; I soldered a good pair of headphones to a jack that fit the radio; I walked around with it. The adults and the other kids thought me as a geek. Of course, twenty or thirty years later, everyone I know walks around with headphones. I should have written a science fiction story about a world where everyone wears headphones - it would have been right on the money. Ray Bradbury, in his Fahrenheit 451, has a character that listens constantly to a radio the size of a hearing aid, stuck away in her ear.
    Some SF stories talk about overcrowding overpopulation. People living on top of each other, little personal space. All of the land covered in buildings. I love it; when I close the story and come back to the real world, it is like time travel back to a simpler time. That's right, the real world is like living in the past for me. Example: Huck Finn by Mark Twain. Huck and Jim float on a raft down the Mississippi, and go for miles without seeing any towns or settlements. Try that today. You probably couldn't get away from man-done development. I would guess (although I haven't been there) that you would constantly see buildings and roads as you floated down the river. Jim today would not get a mile down the river before the slave cops pulled him in. But that is just part of the beauty. Living in 1850 with Huck and Tom, and predicting that the riversides would be very developed by 2007, the author would predict how slaves would be guarded and protected on a much better level. In 2007, Jim would just not be able to get away.
    Sometimes, I picture myself, coming from the future, an overpopulated, crowded future. And now, thank Heaven I have arrived a hundred and fifty years in the past, in 2007, where there is still undeveloped space and relatively fresh air. Like Captain Kirk, who was born in Iowa but works in space, I (imagine that I) live in the future but sleep in the present. Thus, reading science fiction makes one appreciate the present.

Linton, Aryans and Aristocracy

2007-11-01T11:46:00.001-04:00

Yogi said "you can see a lot by looking". Yes, you can.
I've been looking in a book. I don't know why I didn't take anthropology in college, but I didn't. And even if I did, I probably would not have noted the same things that i am taking note of now.
The book is "The Tree of Culture" by Ralph Linton, Vintage, 1958. I bought it on Amazon. The library didn't have a copy.
I got hooked on this by reading a science fact article by L. Sprague de Camp "The Breeds of Man", Analog, April 1976. Here is the paragraph:

"True. The late anthropologist Ralph Linton thought that certain Aryan attitudes had survived in the aristocratic code of medieval and baroque Europe. He sited the European aristocrat's reverence for the military virtues, his casual attitude toward sex and religion, his fondness for hunting, fighting and gambling, and his contempt for honest toil. In pre-Revolutionary France, a nobleman caught earning money by any means so shameful as trade or manual labor was held to have forfeited his rank."

Mr. de Camp goes on to doubt the connection between people of "noble" lineage and the Aryans of 1500 BCE.

However, linkage or not, the fact remains regarding the life philosophy of people who hold themselves to be "noble" or otherwise in a higher social class. Dr. Linton, and his wife who completed the book after his death in 1953, provides further details in the book. They mention the love of horsemanship, for example. An aristocratic person in Europe would rather have his morals impinged than his riding ability. So when use of horses gave way to the automobile, there was a certain transference to the auto. Hunting and sports were held highly, and this sort of thing continues.
I read this material, and it rang the bell for me. Because I am a very different sort of person than the aristocracy. I don't think that honest labor is demeaning nor does it lower one's social status. I am oh-hum regarding all sorts of sports and hunting. And one's car does not delineate one's social status. Of course, I am wrong. That is the eye-opener for me. For a great many people, this aristocratic image holds. Cars and sports and business killings are everything.
That explains a lot. For example, boyhood friends that made such a fuss over sports. I just couldn't see the value. But to them, their linkage to sports was not just for the games, although there was a lot of that, but it also proved their social standing to their peers. To say that "look at me, I am important, I have sports memorabilia." That is also why players are so important. And in real life, the people who have this self-image are also the ones that tend to be the ones in control, in management, or owners.

I have found myself now filtering my image of the world through this lens. When I see a celebrity or government official on the news, I think of how this Aryan culture is affecting them in their actions or statements. This attitude is instilled in them from a very young age. Linton explains how, until recently (1953 in his case) that the upper crust aristocracy, that attended the very best private schools like Eton, actually received a relatively poor education. However, they were instilled with "character". That is, they knew their rightful place in life and society. They learned to be brave, and outwardly honest, at least to peers. Of course they could lie through teeth to commoners. They received instruction to have (according to Linton's description) a "...casual attitude toward sex and religion... fondness for hunting, fighting and gambling, and...contempt for honest toil..." is instilled. By the word "character", they don't mean a Boy Scout.

Parking in Pikesville - Or how our merchants screwed up Reisterstown Road

2007-10-09T07:52:00.000-04:00

Let's play a DVD on the history of that very useful machine, the automobile, and let's review the subject of "parking".

Automobiles first began to appear on city streets in the early part of the twentieth century. At that time, automobiles were playthings reserved for the affluent, like John D. Rockefeller, as yachts and private airplanes are reserved for Bill Gates today. And as expensive toys, these "cars" were relatively rare. The common folk would walk or ride a horse, if they could afford that. When one of the landed gentry would travel by car, and then arrive, the car was simply left at the side of the road. The walkers and horse riders could see the rich man's car, be jealous and covet, and still continue on their way.

Later, with Henry Ford's Model T, cars became affordable by more and more people, and thus became more and more numerous. Roads, that in the horse era had been only dirt paths, were paved to handle the increase in automobile traffic. Still, with paved roads, the socially and morally approved place to park the car continued to be the side of the road.

Fast forward the DVD. Today, we continue this practice, to park our cars on the side of the paved street. Sure, some streets have parking restrictions. But for the most part, drivers righteously expect to exercise their legal right to just stop the car on the side of most any road and get out. This quaint custom of car parking on street sides is held over from those early automobile days when cars were rare and owned by the wealthy, and streets were unpaved. Thus, we continue today. Stop DVD.

I am thinking of Reisterstown road in Pikesville, for example. Now, everyone who has been in Pikesville will know that Reisterstown Road is the main drag. It is approximately 44 feet wide throughout the town, and the road is marked with two driving lanes in each direction. An engineering analysis of Reisterstown Road reveals two driving lanes in the north direction and two driving lanes correspondingly in a southerly direction. Driving in a northerly direction, and passing the golf course, entering Pikesville proper, I see that the right lane in occupied by exactly three cars, parked in front of a famous Pikesville eating establishment. This arrangement forces the two lanes of northbound traffic to merge into one, slowing down progress.

But wait, there is more. Someone up at the head of the line decides that he must turn left at that point, where the three cars are parked, right at Sherwood Avenue. In this situation, all of the drivers in all of the cars must stop and wait at Sherwood Ave. for Mister Left Turn. And Mr. L.T. needs to wait for a break in the seemingly unending parade of southbound drivers to end. It is very much like a automotive southbound replay of the Exodus of Egypt. As I sit behind the row of cars waiting for Mr. L.T. I am wondering about these right lane parkers, and what birthright the parkers of the cars blocking the right lane might think that they have in impeding my forward progress. Mr. L.T. will eventually make his left turn. But the parked cars seem to be permanent fixtures to Reisterstown Road right lane. I have a message for Mr. Parker. Hey, guys, there is space in the back of the famous Pikesville restaurant for parking your car. I happen to know, and I want to make you aware, that the restaurant owner pays good money to the county government authority for the privilege of owning that parking lot property in the back of his restaurant. He pays a whopping property tax on the parking lot. Unfortunately for me as a northbound driver, the same county government authority has marked the right lane of Reisterstown Road as a parking lot, and reserved the right lane for those drivers with weak knees and flabby thighs who find it too much trouble to walk the extra fifty feet from the restaurant parking lot. Alright, for the sake of argument, maybe it is really seventy five feet from the restaurant parking lot. Whatever. So, Mr. Parker, in order for you to save those few steps on your dainty feet, hundreds of people are inconvenienced. Ask yourself, it all this worth a pastrami on rye, with mustard and a pickle on the side?
At this point in our discussion, while Mr. Parker carelessly enjoying his sandwich and Mister L.T. looking for his lost love on Sherwood Ave, let's call on our colleague and good friend, Doctor Traffic Engineer, Ph.D . He has a German accent, a goatee, and Einstein hair.
Me: "Hello, Dr. Traffic."
DT: "Hello. What can I do for you today?"
Me: "Well, we have this situation on Reisterstown Road in Pikesville ."
DT: "Yes, I am aware of that."
Me: "Doctor Traffic, tell me, is there a solution?"
DT: "Perhaps. But you have to remember, before you can have a solution, you have to be sure that you have a problem."
Me: "What? Of course there is a problem. You just said that you are aware of the situation."
DT: "Yes, there is a situation, and in your eyes it is a problem. But from someone else's viewpoint, perhaps things are the way that they want."
Me: "How's that?"
DT: "For instance, the Pikesville business owners. If drivers can stop and park right in front of their businesses and shop, that is a benefit to business. And if this situation also performs the function of slowing traffic so the other drivers can look in the business windows and maybe decide to stop and buy, that is also a benefit."
Me: "So you are saying..."
DT: "...that the situation that you describe as a problem, is exactly what the business owners on Reisterstown Road want."
Me: "Oh. I never thought of that. OK, and thank you, Dr. Traffic Engineer."
DT: "You're Welcome."
That explains a lot. It's ironic how one's understanding of a situation could change when one takes the time to view the situation from another point of view. Yes, Dr. Traffic, you are right. It is the business owners on Reisterstown Road in Pikesville who want to allow parking on the road in front of their businesses, and who also want to slow down the traffic to a crawl and a standstill. It all makes sense now. How silly of me to think that the county government would plan a road that would perform the optional road function of moving traffic along. The vital and important purpose of Reisterstown Road is to bring cash carrying customers to the few existing commercial businesses located there in beautiful, central Pikesville.
But let's bring back Dr. Traffic for one more question.
Me: "Dr. Traffic, let's say, in an imaginary world, where roads are primarily designed to move traffic efficiently, how would you change Reisterstown road in Pikesville"?
DT: "That's easy. I have, after all, a Ph.D. in road design and traffic. So, here is the imaginary, ideal plan. First, no parking at all on the road. All business have plenty of parking behind the buildings, and public parking is available. Second, change to only one lane northbound and only one lane southbound."
Me: "One lane? But now you have two lanes, and it is slow. Won't it be even slower with just one lane?"
DT: "That is, I mean, one unimpeded lane in each direction. From the current two lanes northbound, change to having only one lane northbound. Same thing southbound. Then, you have room in the middle of the road for a designated lane for left turns, north and southbound. And on the sides, north and southbound, you have half a lane remaining, which will be designated as a bicycle lane."
Me: "So in this imaginary design, you will be able to drive completely through Pikesville, unimpeded by left turners and parkers. You will also be able to ride your bicycle safely through the town."
DT: "Correct!"
Me: "Thank you again, Dr. Traffic."
DT: "You are welcome, again."
Well, Dr. Traffic has come through for us again, with an idea for our town that will make our lives easier, or at least, less difficult. Obviously, this will never happen. Or, alternatively, I do not expect this to happen anytime soon.
Next week: How I hate "Customer Parking Only" signs, and how
Pikesville businesses should cooperate for their common benefit.

Fwd: another web based, maybe funny blog

2007-10-09T07:50:00.000-04:00

Welcome, Pikesville fans. Today we interview John Forbes Nash, Jr.
Dr. Nash was an eminent but psycho and schizo genius. He was a
Research Mathematician at Princeton University and Nobel prize winner.
His biography was made into a movie named "A Beautiful Mind" and he
was played by Russell Crowe.
Me: "Hello, Dr. Nash."
JN: "Hi there. Call me John."
Me: "Hi, John. Welcome to 'A Beautiful Pikesville'."
JN: "What's that all about?"
Me: "We are looking for ways to make this town a better place to live."
JN: "Oh, really? So why do you think it needs to be a better place?
Isn't it already 'Beautiful'?"
Me: "Yes, but we brought you back from the dead to discuss some of
your mathematical theories on competition and cooperation."
JN: "Yes, I am dead right now, aren't I. I am not imagining that, I
don't think. I did imagine a lot of crazy stuff when I was still at
Harvard."
Me: "Princeton."
JN: "Oh, right. Princeton. Go Bulldogs!"
Me: "Bulldogs - that's Yale."
JN: (much louder) "Go Bulldogs!"
Me: "No need to yell, sir."
JN: "Sorry, but you said 'Yale'."
Me: "What was your theory on cooperation?"
JN: "It's like this. Imagine you and three of your guy friends go in
a bar. In that bar are five ladies. Four of them are normal, average
gals. But the fifth is a drop-dead gorgeous movie-star beauty. What
would you do?"
Me: "I'd go for the beauty. You never know. Try your luck and all that."
JN: "And what do you think your guy friends would do?"
Me: "Well, the same, I guess."
JN: "And what do you think would happen?"
Me: "This really did happen once to me and my buds. In the end, we
were all like tripping over each other in order to impress Ms.
Butterfly Eyes. We ended up looking like fools."
JN: "Any one of your friend or you get to first base with her?"
Me: "Nope. I don't blame her either. Some really rich looking
preppie got her."
JN: "That would have been John Kennedy Jr., right?"
Me: "Yeh, now that you mention it, that preppie sure did look familiar."
JN: "Now, what would have happened, if you and your guy friends looked
at the situation first. You all would realize that the odds of making
time with the Movie Star were relatively low."
Me: "Of course."
JN: "But if you all cooperated, and each guy picked out one of the
average gals so that you could concentrate your attentions on one
without any competition, what would be your chances?"
Me: "Well, pretty good, I think. That's how I met my wife."
JN: "So, as a mathematician, I analyze. Results of competition: zero.
Results of cooperation: 100 per cent."
Me: "I see."
JN: "So, will there be anything else? I want to get back to
mathematician's heaven."
Me: "No, you have told us something very valuable. I can imagine what
Math heaven is like."
JN: "Each to his own. I enjoy it, immensely. Thank you for inviting
me here to your blog."
Me: "And thank you, Russell Crowe, for joining us in 'A Beautiful
Pikesville, I Wouldn't Mind'."
And as John Nash disappears into an imaginary square root, let's
discuss these important ideas that he left us with.
1. Even crazy academics can get movies made about them.
2. I shoudda tried harder for the blond.
3. The square root of negative one is not an imaginary number in
heaven. Integers are the imaginary numbers there. Along with the
extra seven microscopic multiple dimensions and string theories.
3. Cooperation is sometimes better than competition. Almost always.
Alot. Cooperation: Good. Competition: Bad.
It's this last point that I want to stress. You know what irks me
about Pikesville? Besides Reisterstown road, that is? It's the
parking. Not that there is necessarily a parking problem. Because
there seems to be enough parking. I mean, I have never not found a
place to park in Pikesville.
It's the No Parking signs. What irks me is those signs in the parking
lots behind every store in Pikesville. You know, the ones that say
"Parking for this store customers only. All others towed away."
Doesn't that just soak your Twinkies?
Well, my Twinkies are pretty mushy about these signs. My Twinkies are
so mushy, that I can't even pick them up to eat them. I have to slurp
them off of the saucer.
To think that if I shop in one store in Pikesville, and as a customer
I park in the store parking lot, and then walk over to another store,
that the first store might just get so soaked that they call the
towing company about me.
To be fair, I have never been towed out of a Pikesville parking lot.
I have never seen it done to anyone else, either. On top of that, I
haven't seen any cars towed out of Pikesville for bad parking, either.
("rim-shot")
But nevertheless, it sure is irritating to see those No Parking
Customers Only signs. It is like the owner is saying "I want only my
customers in my little store to park in my little parking lot.
Everybody else - go to hell."
Which may or may not be the actual sentiment of the various business
owners. But that is how it looks to me. Which may mean that I have
paranoid tendencies. Which may be true.
And speaking of paranoid schizos, John Nash believed that Commie
Russian Spies in the U.S. were communicating secret U.S. Government
secrets to the Commie Russian Communists, using newspaper articles and
advertisements, in special secret Commie codes. John Nash, using his
specially trained mathematical beautiful mind, would read all of the
newspapers and magazines, and attempt to decode the secret Commie code
communications. He also believed that he was working for the CIA.
The truth is, that there is no such agency as the CIA. You are not
even allowed to type the letters CIA more than three times in any one
document. And you can never type the letters NSA. Because there is
no such agency.
John Nash was actually successful in finding the secret messages. Not
that it helped him get the blond.
There was one very secret message about Pikesville. It said that the
business owners and merchants should work together and cooperate
regarding parking in Pikesville.
Which I don't really believe. I mean, why should Commie Russian spies
be reporting valuable business information back to the Kremlin? The
Kremlin would just tell you to park in Siberia for ten years.
My secret message to the business leaders, movers and shakers of
Pikesville would be to cooperate with each other regarding parking,
take down all those nasty No Parking Customers Only signs, and invite
in fact, offer free car washes for anyone who parks his or her car in
Pikesville. Sort of "clean up your act".
Pikesville is competing with the Owings Mills mall, and Reisterstown
Plaza for business. I think that Pikesville should act collectively,
like the owner of a mall. They should all cooperate in attracting
customers and businesses into the town. Take down all the parking
signs. They don't help. Not a secret. And Russel Crowe is much
better looking that John Nash ever was. Guess who got the blond?

Who would get the blond?

2007-10-03T16:19:00.001-04:00

Who would get the blond, Russel Crow or John Nash? Send me 99 cents per vote.

Fwd: glad I dont live in that universe

2007-07-20T15:53:00.001-04:00

Glad that I don't live in this universe: see photo.

Getting to know your friends

2007-04-26T09:58:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the new  edition of getting to know your friends. Okay here's what you're supposed to  do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun! Just copy (do not forward) this  entire e-mail and paste into a new email that you can send. Change all the  answers so that they apply to you.  Then send this to a whole bunch of people  you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you

1.What is your  occupation?
2. What color are your socks right now? black
3. What are you listening to right now?
4. What last thing that you ate?
5. Can you drive a  stick shift? Yes
6. If you were a  crayon, what color would you be? why?
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
8. Do you like the  person who sent this to you?
9. How old are you  today?  53, beats the alternative
10. Favorite  drink?
11. What is your favorite  sport to watch?
12. Have you ever dyed  your hair?
13. Pets?

14. Favorite  food?
15. What was the last  movie you watched?
16. Favorite day of  the year?
17. What do you do to vent anger?

18. What was your favorite toy as a child?

19. What is your  favorite -- fall or spring?  Spring
20. Hugs or kisses?
21. Cherries or  Blueberry?  Cherries
22. Do you want your  friends to email you back?  Yes
23. Who is most likely  to respond?
24. Who is least  likely to respond?
25. Living  arrangements?
26. When was the last time you cried?
27. What is on the  floor of your closet?
28. Who is the friend you have known the longest that you are sending this to?
29. What did you do last night?
30. What is your favorite smell?
31. What  happened to question 31??
32. What are you afraid of?
33. Plain, cheese or  spicy hamburgers?  Spicy.
34. Favorite breed of dog?
35. How many years at your current job?
36. Favorite day of  the week?
37. How many states  have you lived in?
38. Favorite  holiday?
39. Ever driven a  motorcycle or heavy machinery?
40. Who's your  favorite NFL team?
41. Do you have a  house phone that is NOT cordless?
42. 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather?

Why do you want to become a teacher?

2007-02-18T15:15:00.001-05:00

The Personal Statement
Why do you want to become a teacher?

Why teach? An amazing question, with a complicated answer. The truth is that a responsible adult and parent can not escape from teaching. One is always teaching by example. Every word, every praise or (heaven forbid) every criticism is a teaching encounter. The question is not whether to teach or not. The question is why teach in the structured environment called a "school" and why accept the great responsibility to lead students as they learn. And, on a personal note, the question becomes one of why do I think that I would be a great teacher.

Your web site provides some of my answer to these questions. The points are to "make a difference" with "socially meaningful work". But my answer, in light of the way that I frame the question, is different.

Of course, the school structure is necessary and desired. We live in a very structured society. Students benefit from learning about society, its structure and requirements. School is a preparation for living in our social structure and framework. And thus, society also benefits.

Acknowledging the great responsibility of a teacher causes me a hesitation. But as with my experience in calligraphy, the clean white parchment is sacrificed for the finished document.

And I do think that I would be a great teacher. I find myself often contemplating being a teacher; being in a classroom; making lesson plans in my head; thinking of ways to explain ideas in algebra or calculus; and also explaining to students who I am; my particular history and culture. Add to the desire to teach, I also bring a highly successful career in technology and computers, a career that requires me to reinvent myself every five years as the technology changes. I am constantly learning.
My motivation to choose teaching has a 'push' aspect and a 'pull' aspect. The 'push' comes from days in an isolated cubicle in front of a computer monitor with hands on keyboard. The 'pull' is an attraction to the idea of being an example and role model for students; of interacting and listening; of being there for them.

I live in Baltimore City, and I am aware of the need for good teachers in these so-called 'high-need' schools. Actually, the term 'high-need' might be indicative of a school that could be better categorized as 'low-performing' or 'under-performing'. In other words, in such schools there are fewer students that do well. I believe that in 'high-need' schools, the 'need' is for better teachers. I intend to be a full-fledged member of the 'better teachers' club. If the students in the 'high-need' school are under-performing, then it might be the fault of the teachers or the administration. It would be my challenge to rectify that fault, and I am always up and ready for such a challenge.

Alternatively, a 'high-need' school might be one where there is a lack of qualified teachers. If this is the case, then I am attracted because it is very appealing to me to be needed. I would be in an elite cohort on the front-line of effort. (I hesitate to use the word 'battle', because I hope that the classroom environment is one of cooperation.)

And one of the reasons that I am choosing to enter the BCTR Math Immersion Program is just that. Since there is a special, higher need for Math teachers, then that is exactly what I want to do. It fits me to be teaching a high-need subject in a high-need school.

Additionally, I want to be a Math teacher because I am using the subject in my current career as a Computer Technology professional. And I have also taught some Math in college adjunct classes. Although I did not major in Math, I did do well in the subject and like the subject. I often go back to my old Calculus and Linear Math books for the challenge, as other people do crosswords or suduku. I would be an excellent Math teacher in any school, high-need, low-income, or otherwise.

The goal of high academic achievement for all students is a very important responsibility of a teacher. Other intangible types of learning, growth and maturity can not be readily measured. It is the academic learning that can be measured and tallied. In my career as a computer technology professional, one of the most important skills that I have developed is my ability to listen to the client. My daily tasks often involve design of system requirements. To develop system requirements, I must get to know what the client wants and needs. It is a two-way process. I listen to what the client says he or she desires in a computer system. And I teach the client what is possible and what can be done. Sometimes the client decision maker describes a smaller, under-performing system than what he or she really needs. In this case, I must educate the client on the capabilities of our staff to create a better performing product. And sometimes it is just the opposite. The client may ask for more features and performance than is possible with the time and budget available. So I need to identify what it is that the client really needs for the business environment, and pare down the 'pie-in-the-sky wanna-haves' to the 'must-haves' that budget and time allow.

So, a large part of my responsibility is to listen to the client to understand his or her position and job requirements. It is this ability to listen that will be very useful in the classroom. Not when the students are all 'getting it' do I need to apply my listening ability. It is when a student or students are not understanding a lesson, or have other issues, that my ability to shut up and listen to another individual is valuable. In my chosen field of mathematics, it is highly important to understand what has been taught before the current lesson. It takes listening to the student to detect what it is that the student has not acquired.

Taxes. Taxes. taxes.

2006-03-19T21:06:00.000-05:00

Taxes. Taxes. taxes.
Well, I guess that the T-word is a necessary evil in a society like ours.

My alternative, in a nutshell, would spread the burden in a more fair manner. My plan would work in three ways.

First, like local real estate tax, let's tax wealth - let's apply a federal tax to real estate, stocks and bonds. For example, with the value of the NYSE of about $24 trillion, a rate of just one percent on that and the NASDAQ would be at least a third of the Federal Budget. And with the rising value of stocks, it seems to be a fair application. The stock market has risen, on average, about 12 percent per year. for the last 100 years. A one percent tax on value would be about an 8 percent tax on the rise in value.

Second, I agree with Hubbard regarding a Sales Tax. It would be a consumption tax, which a tax payer could avoid just by not buying stuff. A Federal Sales Tax would also be applied to imported goods as well as locally manufactured goods. Our taxing of income hurts local manufactures and foreign imports have an advantage, being manufactured without high income taxes applied to the workers. If we taxed sales, then the imports would be paying an equal share. This would be a 5 percent sales tax.

Currently, our tax system is not just to raise money for the workings of the government, our tax system is used as a social engineering carrot and stick. I feel that the social engineering aspect needs to be separated from the important aspect of financial support for our government. Mixing the two has not benefited either function. If you want to give money to college students, home buyers, farmers, or people who buy green cars, then do it, and do not mix this function with taxes.

Regarding my first suggestion of taxing wealth. Our current system lets the rich (like, say, Bill Gates) own billions of dollars of stock and never pay a penny until taken as "income". Let's get real. And sorry, Bill, but you are such an easy and obvious example.

My study shows that the combination of these three ideas would fully finance the Federal Budget, and do it in a more fair and equitable fashion.

Blogging is harder than it looks...

2005-06-12T07:24:00.000-04:00

Blogging is harder than it looks. At least blogging well is harder than it looks. I am not talking about kids that type out their stream of consiousness. That type of blogging is, as it implies, just for kids. But I refer to blogging as journalism. To blog well is just as hard as, and in many ways, similar to writing a column for a newspaper or magazine. In essence, they are the same activitiy, with a different delivery system.
I bring this up because I have been carrying with me a list of issues that I wish to bring forth in my blog. But due to procrastination, time constraints, and other un-professional problems, the issues that I wish to discuss and that need to be discussed are left in my brain as good ideas only. Also, when the ideas pop up, the computer is far away; when I am at the computer, the ideas seem to dry up. And it doesn't require a computer to dry up my thought process; just picking up a pen does it for me also. That said, I will do my best to bring forth these ideas and thoughts, ideas that I think are worthwhile to write and worthwhile to read.
Subjects for future blog entries:

Palestinian lunacy - they are probably the stupidest people on the face of the plannet.
Israeli lunacy - why smart people do dumb things.
Nagia and Yichud - the source of these halachas and what it means for us.
Marriage today - is it just for kids? Find out why we get married and stay married.
Antisemitism in Sweeden - suprising that it exists, and what would you say to the Nobel committee about it.
Talking to a Palestinian - what would you say to them to put some sence in their heads.

These six subjects are a start. I want to make this blog an excellent source of thought and discussion on subjects of interest to Jews and everyone. I plan to keep the blog entries relatively short, so one can read it quickly and get the information that I intend. I understand that there are so many other blogs out there, and that this is just another one trying to get your attention. So this blog will endevor to be the best in terms of depth of thought and quality of writing - clear and concise. I will also check spelling and use sunscreen.

Not very active

2005-06-05T23:40:00.000-04:00

As you, dear reader can see, we have not been very active in my blogging activities. There are certainly better and more prolificblogs out here in cyberspace.

It's a little demeaning. Blogging, or it's programming equivalent has been available to us since 1988, when we received our first email address, and subscribed to a few discussion groups. We did a google on our name, and sure enough, the original list is still available on line. Amazing. We have been fairly active online, until family tookhigher priority.

Our original blog was really just a standard web site, which we used our talents in html and cgi to produce the equivalent of a blog. Justthat we didn't call it that then.

We are dismayed that now just anyone can create a blog web site, even dorks with no appreciable programming skills or experience. We wouldprefer that technical issues be left to those with technical skills.

Baruch Atta

2004-06-10T21:57:00.000-04:00

Ok, now that it is working, I think that I should get to work too.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976. That is impressive, for a Jew from Montreal and Chicago. He has been awarded many other literary prizes before and after. I would not say "won" the prizes, unless I could say that he was in competition for them. The only person that a writer is in competing with is himself.