must confess i am in love....

literal meanings obscure

-the reaction to watching a recent "free Palestine" promotional video

A lot of the Israeli difficulty in the war against terrorism is its connection (unfortunately considered a bad thing based on recent leaders) to the United States and more recently Canada. As a Canadian proud to finally have a leader (only country) to go against condemning Israel as an “occupying state” in the united nations, the connection between Israel and United States is its belief in democracy. (hard to sell when you just had bush with the big ol' Democracy logo on his t-shirt – not even good enough for an American Apparel ad.) Democracy is laughed at in current terminology, for if you claim yourself to be democratic you can actually laugh out loud and it be accepted.

-33 million Jews remain. The homeland, Israel is the purpose of the Jews and its perseverance has gotten it this far. Israel must never waiver on its ability to stand against the United States for its practises in Wall Street and throughout the world and remember to value each human life.



"I will forgive you for killing my children but I will never forgive you for making me kill yours".

-never waiver from the love of human life and empathy for all. empathy for the conditions in Gaza, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Libya, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, India, and have liberty for all. Freedom to practice faith and harmony and respect for others. With the opportunity to go to school and learn. Not focus on death and the inhalation of an entire people.

People of this world there are two sides to every story and the story is that even if you remove the Jewish presence in that area (as described in the video as the most plentiful in resources and the ability to actually help people and they do) you can’t not take away what the people with extreme Islamic tendencies consider the value of life, to die. Cannot bring hope into people and children.

Stay true to the reality of all situations and help by always believing in the right thing; life and love for your purpose from g-d.

welcome home shalit!! shema yisrael

Netanyahu Welcomes Shalit and Vows to Fight Terror by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed Shalit back home from captivity Tuesday and vowed, “We will continue to fight terror. Every terrorist who returns to terror will have a price on his head.”

He added, “Gilad has returned home and is back with his family, his people and his country," the Prime Minister stated.

After meeting Shalit on the airplane that brought him to the Tel Aviv area Tel Nof base, Prime Minister Netanyahu escorted him to his parents, Noam and Aviva, who have been campaigning for more than five years to bring their son back home, regardless of the price.

“All of us are united with happiness and pain,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said. He explained that the decision to free 1,027 terrorists, including dozens serving hundreds of life terms for murder, was very difficult.

“I faced the need to bring home someone who was sent to fight for Israel….I always knew that if I and my friends were to fall into captivity, the government and the IDF would do everything they could to return me home…"

“I also faced another need – to minimize as much as possible the dangers to Israel. I achieved two results – to leave some terrorists in jail and to deport terrorists outside of Judea and Samaria."

"Hamas for years has opposed this deal, but we received signs the past few months that they were ready to agree…When they accepted our basic demands, I had to decide."

“It is difficult to see terrorists who murdered Israelis freed from prison [but] this was the best agreement we could achieve. Otherwise, Gilad might disappear and…I did not want his fate to be that of Ron Arad, who fell into captivity 27 years ago."

Prime Minister Netanyahu also quoted from the section of Isaiah that will be recited this Shabbat. HaShem reminds the prophet that his life's purpose and duty is to arouse the Jewish people to return to being a light unto the nations, "To open blind eyes, to bring prisoners out of a dungeon; those who sit in darkness out of a prison."

Something Happened

How I seem smarter now that I have read Joseph Heller.



Something Happened begins off slow and endearing. Nothing about it seems regular and yet at points keeps you captivated. For this man is someone who is not unordinary and that makes him hated yet respected. Heller is that of literary genius, patience and detail.

catcher and the rye

was it just me or was catcher and the rye about a character that had an arrogant sense which created a cockiness that he negatively infected on others, then one day become mentally challenged and sees what the world is like when you can only function to the others a certain way despite what your mind may think? he then becomes enlightened and understands that one cannot be judged for even how he acts because how he acts may not be who he is.

something to look forward 2

The days seem faster.

And the nights seem easier when you have something to look forward to.

When there is someone or some event that brings you joy and you know it is fast approaching, or long approaching, you have a feeling of joy and comfort.



Always seek to make your life something to look forward to.

the affair to remember

There is no hope when in love with a married man. He tells me he thinks about me all the time and the sex is amazing. I am affectionate understanding and patient. Everything he needs emotionally. Listening to him and understanding that there are certain questions I am not to ask.



That this is an affair and that it is wrong. I try to picture her. I try to find out who this woman is that he decided to spend the rest of his life with. She has him in public and in private.



There will be a time when I have to move on. Maybe I will find someone like him or maybe I will find someone better.

Joseph Heller

It is time for a Joseph Heller readathon!

It is not often when one can look up to someone and truly marvel in their literary talent.

I look forward to reading Catch –22, Something Happened, Good as Gold, God Knows, Picture This, Closing Time and Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man.

Currently I am reading Something Happened. Please await the review that will come shortly.

Jack Layton's Passing

With the death of Jack Layton brings a time for those to reflect. Those who do not know him don't take the time to think about his political beliefs and contributions. Personally, I feel pride in our current Prime Minister to give him a State funeral without question. I was happy to see it done.



Jack Layton represents the NDP party in actuality, having written books (has anyone actually read one??- hope so if you love him :p) and making and ideal of "caring for everyone equally".



I personally do not believe that Jack Layton was able to care for everybody. (Definitely not with respecting women :p.)



Hey got to give the man props for attempting to do something politically within Canada.

live with purpose?

Some people have meaning in their lives every minute of the day.



But most live in comfort - seeking comfort but without purpose

"Everyone needs to find a purpose, something you would die for." but to live and enjoy our purpose not to die.



How do we live life with purpose?

far from the usual...

so there are people out there. they live. walk, breath and eat. sometimes they work, hustle, or collect. they could be smart they could be dumb. but all in the same they are who they are and they do what they do. sometimes you can be left in a corner wondering why you are the way you are and why they are the way they are.



things motivate people, and everyone wants different things. and sometimes your left with nothing. sometimes it is difficult to make sense of things.





1. try to define who you are. make a list of how you see yourself. then be bold and write "proof" of those characteristics through actions. Do you really have any weaknesses? what are your best qualities?



2. write down the important people in your life, from your perspective. why are they important to you? write down the people who have let you down. how have they let you down?



3. define your current status. be honest. are you single? are you un-employed? what are your daily work tasks? are you proud of anything recently? where do you live? how are your living conditions? pretend you are someone else describing you to a potential mate, how do people see you?



4. reflect on childhood aspirations. are they similar to the ones you have now?



who knows really anything in life? sometimes when you are left alone to reflect you are left with only a bit more armor. what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. learn from past mistakes. don't make excuses for yourself. be bold. hope.

ronen

dedicated to ronen: ronen you are an equivalent of a messiah in my life, you guided me to the realization of the guiding light. so handsome and gorgeous you were. whether it was long and all you can see were your eyes. new york worked for you.

rip

maneater

The life of a man-eater can be tough.



It’s nice to be able to walk around and know that if she smiles that she can get any guy she wants.



There are times where guys act like they would never want her, but everyone knows it’s a front.  It gets them so far and when they are standing there with their pants in front of them expecting something that he yearns to have. She can deny them and they will still want her.





on to the next one is her motto



she treats each man with care.



she is stronger and wiser but does not appear this way.

H =

The d dope interval



What is a belief system? Does one (as in human) need a form of "moral" and "guidance" in one way or another? Let’s assume that as a human you are clung to the rings of guidance and opinion in one’s self whether being from any type of influence or lack thereof, of influence and/or environmental factors.



Throughout the world, with a population of almost 7 billion, there is no doubt that the "six degrees of separation theory" has some merit. Although without question one individual being cannot claim personal knowledge of every other fellow human being. It can even be argued that one who has personal knowledge of another human can at times be altered throughout time. The belief of the "six degrees of separation theory" therefore can alter ones perception of knowledge of the fellow human being. Believing you know more than you do.



This point in history shows all (every piece of) land run by a form of government. ie. classes dedicated to the study of government and its forms. Countries of different forms of government. and the realities of prosperity or failure linked to the type of government the country is run by.



Each individual human is prone to human feeling. some lack the feelings of empathy or pain but most are capable of feeling at one point or another all type of human emotion ie. love, hate & joy. Sometimes during one emotion the human mind is left with a forgetting of what the other feels like. Some emotions can be felt at one time but for usually each moment one emotion is most recognizable. This type of experience in essence can be argued alters one’s ability to clearly differentiate between the feeling of different emotion while emotional. Creating constant evolution of feeling depending on events.

some thinking

http://www.aish.com/jw/me/What_is_an_Intifada.html?utm_source=mimi_aish_com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=brand+new+film%3A+Where+Facebook+went+wrong&utm_campaign=brand+new+film%3A+Where+Facebook+went+wrong&utm_term=What+is+an+Intifada_3FAnd+why+Facebook+should+not+be+promoting+it_


WATCH THIS!!

48 laws of power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers

 

Law 1

Never Outshine the Master

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior.  In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity.  Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

Law 2

Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies

Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy.  They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove.  In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies.  If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.

 Law 3

Conceal your Intentions

Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions.  If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense.  Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.

 Law 4

Always Say Less than Necessary

When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control.  Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike.  Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less.  The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

 Law 5

So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life

Reputation is the cornerstone of power.  Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once you slip, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides.  Make your reputation unassailable.  Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen.  Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations.  Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

 Law 6

Court Attention at all Cost

Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing.  Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion.  Stand out.  Be conspicuous, at all cost.  Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and timid masses.

  Law 7

Get others to do the Work for you, but Always Take the Credit

Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause.  Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed.  In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered.  Never do yourself what others can do for you.

 Law 8

Make other People come to you – use Bait if Necessary

When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control.  It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process.  Lure him with fabulous gains – then attack.  You hold the cards.

 Law 9

Win through your Actions, Never through Argument

Any momentary triumph you think gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory:  The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion.  It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word.  Demonstrate, do not explicate.

 Law 10

Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky

You can die from someone else’s misery – emotional states are as infectious as disease.  You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster.  The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you.  Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.

Law 11

Learn to Keep People Dependent on You

To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted.  The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have.  Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear.  Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.

 Law 12

Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm your Victim

One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones.  Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people.  Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will.  A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose.

 Law 13

When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest,

Never to their Mercy or Gratitude

If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds.  He will find a way to ignore you.  Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion.  He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.

 Law 14

Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy

Knowing about your rival is critical.  Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead.  Better still: Play the spy yourself.  In polite social encounters, learn to probe.  Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions.  There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.

 Law 15

Crush your Enemy Totally

All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely.  (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.)  If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out.  More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation:  The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge.  Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.

 Law 16

Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor

Too much circulation makes the price go down:  The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear.  If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired.  You must learn when to leave.  Create value through scarcity.

 Law 17

Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability

Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions.  Your predictability gives them a sense of control.  Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable.  Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves.  Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.

 Law 18

Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself – Isolation is Dangerous

The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere – everyone has to protect themselves.  A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from – it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target.  Better to circulate among people find allies, mingle.  You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd.

 Law 19

Know Who You’re Dealing with – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person

There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way.  Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge.  They are wolves in lambs’ clothing.  Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then – never offend or deceive the wrong person.

 Law 20

Do Not Commit to Anyone

It is the fool who always rushes to take sides.  Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself.  By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing people against one another, making them pursue you.

 Law 21

Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark

No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons.  The trick, is to make your victims feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than you are.  Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.

 Law 22

Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power

When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead.  Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane.  Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you – surrender first.  By turning the other check you infuriate and unsettle him.  Make surrender a tool of power.

 Law 23

Concentrate Your Forces

Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point.  You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another – intensity defeats extensity every time.  When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.

 Law 24

Play the Perfect Courtier

The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity.  He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the mot oblique and graceful manner.  Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.

 Law 25

Re-Create Yourself

Do not accept the roles that society foists on you.  Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience.  Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define if for you.  Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.

 Law 26

Keep Your Hands Clean

You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds.  Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.

Law 27

Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following

People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something.  Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow.  Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking.  Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf.  In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.

 Law 28

Enter Action with Boldness

If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it.  Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution.  Timidity is dangerous:  Better to enter with boldness.  Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity.  Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

 Law 29

Plan All the Way to the End

The ending is everything.  Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others.  By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop.  Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.

 Law 30

Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless

Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease.  All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed.  When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more.  Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work – it only raises questions.  Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.

 Law 31

Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal

The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice:  Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets.  Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose.  Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose.  Put them on the horns of a dilemma:  They are gored wherever they turn.

 Law 32

Play to People’s Fantasies

The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant.  Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes for disenchantment.  Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert:  Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.

 Law 33

Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew

Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall.  That weakness is usual y an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure.  Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.

  Law 34

Be Royal in your Own Fashion:  Act like a King to be treated like one

The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated; In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you.  For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others.  By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.

 Law 35

Master the Art of Timing

Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time.  Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually.  Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power.  Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.

 Law 36

Disdain Things you cannot have:  Ignoring them is the best Revenge

By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility.  The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it.  It is sometimes best to leave things alone.  If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it.  The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem. 

Law 37

Create Compelling Spectacles

Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power – everyone responds to them.  Stage spectacles for those around you, then full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence.  Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.

Law 38

Think as you like but Behave like others

If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them.  They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior.  It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.

Law 39

Stir up Waters to Catch Fish

Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive.  You must always stay calm and objective.  But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage.  Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.

Law 40

Despise the Free Lunch

What is offered for free is dangerous – it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation.  What has worth is worth paying for.  By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit.  It is also often wise to pay the full price – there is no cutting corners with excellence.  Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.

Law 41

Avoid Stepping into a Great Man’s Shoes

What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after.  If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them.  Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making:  Establish your own name and identity by changing course.  Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.

Law 42

Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter

Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual – the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoned of goodwill.  If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence.  Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them – they are irredeemable.  Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them.  Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.

Law 43

Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others

Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you.  You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction.  A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn.  And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses.  Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear.  Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.

Law 44

Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect

The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy.  The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact.  By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson.  Few can resist the power of Mirror Effect.

Law 45

Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform too much at Once

Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit.  Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt.  If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things.  If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.

Law 46

Never appear too Perfect

Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses.  Envy creates silent enemies.  It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable.  Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.

Law 47

Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop

The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril.  In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat.  Do not allow success to go to your head.  There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning.  Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.

Law 48

Assume Formlessness

By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack.  Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move.  Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed.  The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order.  Everything changes.

 

Response to media stunt by Time Magazine

Netanyahu's Senior Advisor Chides TIME Magazine for Distortion
by Ron Dermer

 

INN brought our own and CAMERA's responses to the biased, anti-Israel article that appeared in TIME magazine as soon as it was published last week. The Prime Minister's Office reacted as we did with this official rebuttal:

 

A Response from the Office of Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu by Ron Dermer, Senior Advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister to Time magazine's managing director

Dear Mr. Stengel,

I wanted to bring to your attention a recent article in Time entitled "Israel's Rightward Lurch Scares Some Conservatives." I hope that you will agree that the article's obvious bias and numerous distortions are not worthy of the standards of your prestigious magazine.

Israelis depicted in the article as essentially sliding towards fascism. Your correspondent refers to Israel's Shin Bet (the equivalent of the FBI) as a "secret police," claims that the Israeli government "increasingly equates dissent with disloyalty," and accuses the Prime Minister of "taking a page from neighboring authoritarian states."

The evidence offered for these outrageous allegations includes a preliminary vote in our parliament that would require naturalized citizens to make a pledge of allegiance, a proposal to strip citizenship from Israelis convicted of espionage and terrorism, a motion to investigate foreign government funding of local NGOs, calls on Jews to not rent property to Arabs, and demonstrations demanding prohibitions of Arab boys from dating Jewish girls.

But your correspondent did not find it necessary to inform your readers of a few facts.

Oaths of allegiance are commonplace in most democratic countries, including the United States. Naturalized citizens in America swear an oath to its Constitution and to defend the country against "all enemies, foreign and domestic." Israel's proposed pledge would require naturalized citizens to swear an oath to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, words taken directly from our Declaration of Independence.

Moreover, Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy are just some of the many countries where citizenship can be stripped for various infractions that are defined as undermining "national interests." Are these European countries not democratic?

In the United States, Senator Joe Leiberman proposed a bill last year to "add joining a foreign terrorist organization or engaging in or supporting hostilities against the United States or its allies to the list of acts for which United States nationals would lose their nationality." Is American democracy threatened by such a bill?

As for questioning the legitimacy of foreign government funding of Israeli NGOs, mentioning America's Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) may have presented a more balanced picture.

FARA requires that any organization engaged in lobbying in the U.S. that receives money from foreign individuals, let alone foreign governments, must among other things register as a foreign agent with the Department of Justice and permit the Attorney General to inspect all of its activities.

It is hard to imagine any democratic country accepting foreign governments intervening in its domestic affairs by funding domestic groups engaged not merely in criticism of a particular government's policy but also attacking the very foundations of the State.

What would Britain do if the French government was actively funding a British NGO that sought to eliminate the monarchy? What would the United States do if the Iranian government was funding American NGOs pressing for a withdrawal of US forces from the Middle East?

There is a vigorous public debate in Israel, including within the Likud party, over the best means to address the problem of foreign government funding of local NGOs. Proposals range from launching a parliamentary investigation to laws banning or restricting such funding to measures to ensure full transparency. Far from being a sign of Israel's slide toward fascism, the current debate in Israel is a testament to how vibrant our democracy truly is.

Finally, contrary to the implication of your correspondent, Prime Minister Netanyahu has publicly and forcefully condemned the racist sentiments that were mentioned in the article. For example, this is what the Prime Minister said at the opening of Israel's annual Bible Quiz to an audience of mostly observant Jews a few hours after he learned of the letter calling on Jews not to rent apartments to Arabs:

There are non-Jews among the citizens of this country. How would we feel if someone said not to sell apartments to Jews? We would have been outraged, and indeed we are outraged when we hear such things in neighboring countries or anywhere else. Such statements should not be made, neither about Jews nor about Arabs. They must not be made in any democratic country, let alone a Jewish-democratic country that respects the moral values of the Jewish heritage and the Bible. Therefore, the State of Israel categorically rejects these things.

Contrast this unequivocal condemnation by the leader of Israel to the Palestinian Authority law that mandates the death penalty for any one who sells land to Jews. Such laws are all too common in a Middle East in which Christians are persecuted, gays are hanged in public squares and women are stoned for adultery.

In Israel, things are different. Here, we protect the rights of women, gays and minorities, including the 20% of Israelis who are Arabs, who enjoy freedom of speech and religion and the protections afforded by independent courts and the rule of law.

Every decision in Israel is put under the microscope by one of world's largest foreign press contingents, the hundreds of human rights organizations and NGOs that operate freely here, a famously adversarial local press and most critically, by a vociferous parliamentary opposition.

Israelhas upheld its democratic values despite being threatened like no country on earth. In defending itself against wars of aggression, unparalleled terror campaigns and continuous promises to annihilate it, Israel has a track record on the protection of rights that would compare favorably to the record of any democracy, much less democracies under threat.

Even in peacetime, other democracies enact laws that would be inconceivable in Israel. The Swiss ban on minarets and the French restrictions on headscarves passed in Europe, not Israel.

One final point regarding media coverage in the Middle East. In 2000, after an Italian television station (RAI) was threatened by the Palestinian Authority for broadcasting the film of a Palestinian mob lynching two Israeli soldiers, RAI issued a shameful apology. Similarly, in 2003, CNN admitted to burying negative coverage about Sadaam's regime so that its personnel could continue working safely in Baghdad.

I can assure you that no matter how biased and unbalanced your correspondents' coverage of Israel, they will always be free here to write whatever they want. Of course, Time is also free not to print it.

Ron Dermer

Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister

Published first by TIME magazine, January 18, 2011

Zionism - A Piece of History

It’s funny to think of people like Norman Finkelstein. Maybe when he was a boy Zionism was a somewhat new phenomenon but in reality, it is a piece of the past. Israel exists and it is the home of the Jewish people. Maybe the strife of the Palestinian People bother most, it has been proven they are not willing to have a Jewish state.



What I feel like people like Norman Finkelstein fail to realize is that to be against "Zionism" you are in fact against a piece of historic fact that has happened in the past. Unless you are to go back in time when Zionism was an ideal and not a piece of history, your thoughts on peace in the region would be relevant.



If you fight against Israel you are fighting against the Jewish people and you are ok with Jews not existing in this world.


Further Research:

Norman Finkelstein:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDe65-nF3FQ

BEFORE YOU BOYCOTT ISRAEL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saeky9I5T9c

Props to Dean Blundell for Stopping Shirley Phelps from Picketing 9-Year Old's Funeral

How can anyone hate on Dean Blundell for letting Shirley Phelps from the hateful Westboro Baptist Church spew her hateful garbage on his radio show.



As someone who has had an interest in Shirley for some time when I stumbled along her beliefs on various youtube videos.



Recently on a Toronto morning show hosted by Dean Blundell, they were able to convince Shirley Phelps to not picket a nine year olds funeral, as she believes, "she died because of the sins of gays and everyone on this earth against G-d", tormenting the mourning friends and family.



The Toronto Star did claims this type of "PR stunt" gives air time to Shirley and is against journalism ethics. Failing to acknowledge the fact Blundell was able to get the crazy westboro church away from the funeral.



So props to Dean Blundell, you did a good thing, you were able to do something I would jump at the opportunity to do. Stop Shirley Phelps from truly spewing her garbage!


Further Reading

Dean Blundell Blog
http://www.edge.ca/Blogs/DeansBlog/Home.aspx

Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-STpW7jarrs

Son of Hamas Book Review

A Book Review – Son of Hamas

Book Written by: Mosab Hassan Yoseff

Over time the world evolves, there is proof of that. Humans become more technological; science of the human body evolves into curing diseases and human interaction changes. Progressive change within a society is constantly evolving. Sovereignty of nations particularly to the development of the Jewish State of Israel is one that seems to never be able to rest due to the Palestinian refugee problem.

Mosab Yoseff was born into a Muslim family in what is now known as the Palestinian Authority. As a child he grew up in a family that were known Muslim Imams in their community who peacefully preached the word of Allah and the Muslim traditions in their communities. Mosab adorned his father growing up. …and to this day…. his father was also one of the creators of Hamas. Son of Hamas is his story.

The Middle East problem is one that baffles even world leaders. Establishing peace is always the goal of the intellectual in universities and colleges around the world. Classes dedicated to analyzing, debating and arguing for a lasting peace agreement between the Jews of Israel and the Palestinian people. A subject so complicated is in essence a simple one. Peace for the Palestinians is dependant a few factors, some being, a fair and an infrastructure creating government and the acceptance of Israel as a Jewish neighbouring state. This is of course accompanied by Israel having secure boarders and to the recognition of Palestinian State as its own governing body. The complication comes to what really is a simple question; will the Palestinians accept Israel as a Jewish state? Some may argue that Israel does not deserve to even be there. Others will argue that history does allow Jews to be there. But the reality is that the Jews are there and the state has been established, and fought over but it does exist and it is the home to the Jewish people.

Time has even persuaded the most educated Jews and Gentiles of society to lean on the side of the Palestinians being under “terrorist” occupation. Making some convinced that Jihad against Israel is justified.

Mosab being from Palestine had that mentality of anti-Israeli occupation, but as he explains, Jihad against Israel is not justified as beneficial for the Palestinian people and is counterproductive to the creation of a self-governing Palestine as well as peace in that region. For the first time a Muslim with a first account experience is able to clearly explain the “ladder of Islam” some who are moderate can explain and except Jihad as a form of retribution for those who have wronged them in the name of Allah. Blowing yourself as well as innocent people up (even those who believe in what you do) is a one way ticket to heaven. Even those who do not follow Islam, propaganda against Israeli policies is rampant, leaving most understanding the strife of terrorists groups and their methods such as PLO, Hamas, and Hezbollah, to name a few.

What Mosab points out in his book is that Israeli occupation is used as a scapegoat to destroy the Jewish State, and essentially the Jewish people. Through his detailed account of growing up in his family, his environment, being sent to Israeli prisons and subsequently working with the Israeli intelligence agencies you are able to understand the power, death and destruction acts Hamas uses against Jews and their own people. Noting that past and current Israeli methods as necessary.

Nowadays the propaganda against Israeli policies is bigger than ever. Those who have their beliefs on Israeli policies and those who believe in a “new-anti-Semitism” against the Jewish people in the name of Anti-Israeli policies. Those interested understanding the steps for peace in that region, I urge you to read this book.

 Buy Son of Hamas

A Daily Thought on Richard Dawkins

What sort of things can one pass the time by.... reading .....

Youtube is actually a wonderful phenomenon. Recently I watched a speech by Richard Dawkins. The famous voice of atheism...Although I do not particularly believe in Atheism as a whole (when it comes to, if you believe in evolution you therefore must accept the fact that there is no god.) I do continue to have the final question... where did the first particle come from? With that being said, I do find the beliefs of Atheism comforting. I estimate the belief that all are equal is one that can only benefit mankind.

If you start watching  @ 9:43 a lecture by Richard Dawkins where he explains his belief in Atheism, and his thoughts on mankind.

If you start watching  @ 9:43 a lecture by Richard Dawkins.

Be the Greatest you can BE! - Let it go!

It is no secret that everyone has their own personal issues. Even the most "privledged" has their share of emotional difficulty in their everyday life.

In today's society your in charge of your own destiny (for the most part). The last thing you need to do is have emotional feelings drag you down.

The only way to happieness is to control your destiny. YOU make your decisions. YOU suffer your consequences. Have your back because its your life you should be worried about it. If you find yourself not happy maybe it is because you aren't doing something you should be doing.

You can follow some of the below advice to start taking control of your life. Stop whining, stop being scared and do something to make a difference.

Below are 10 tips to LET IT GO.

1. Stop taking so much notice of how you feel. How you feel is how you feel. It’ll pass soon. What you’re thinking is what you’re thinking. It’ll go too. Tell yourself that whatever you feel, you feel; whatever you think, you think. Since you can’t stop yourself thinking, or prevent emotions from arising in your mind, it makes no sense to be proud or ashamed of either. You didn’t cause them. Only your actions are directly under your control. They’re the only proper cause of pleasure or shame.
2. Let go of worrying. It often makes things worse. The more you think about something bad, the more likely it is to happen. When you’re hair-trigger primed to notice the first sign of trouble, you’ll surely find something close enough to convince yourself it’s come.
3. Ease up on the internal life commentary. If you want to be happy, stop telling yourself you’re miserable. People are always telling themselves how they feel, what they’re thinking, what others feel about them, what this or that event really means. Most of it’s imagination. The rest is equal parts lies and misunderstandings. You have only the most limited understanding of what others feel about you. Usually they’re no better informed on the subject; and they care about it far less than you do. You have no way of knowing what this or that event really means. Whatever you tell yourself will be make-believe.
4. Take no notice of your inner critic. Judging yourself is pointless. Judging others is half-witted. Whatever you achieve, someone else will always do better. However bad you are, others are worse. Since you can tell neither what’s best nor what’s worst, how can you place yourself correctly between them? Judging others is foolish since you cannot know all the facts, cannot create a reliable or objective scale, have no means of knowing whether your criteria match anyone else’s, and cannot have more than a limited and extremely partial view of the other person. Who cares about your opinion anyway?
5. Give up on feeling guilty. Guilt changes nothing. It may make you feel you’re accepting responsibility, but it can’t produce anything new in your life. If you feel guilty about something you’ve done, either do something to put it right or accept you screwed up and try not to do so again. Then let it go. If you’re feeling guilty about what someone else did, see a psychiatrist. That’s insane.
6. Stop being concerned what the rest of the world says about you. Nasty people can’t make you mad. Nice people can’t make you happy. Events or people are simply events or people. They can’t make you anything. You have to do that for yourself. Whatever emotions arise in you as a result of external events, they’re powerless until you pick them up and decide to act on them. Besides, most people are far too busy thinking about themselves (and worry what you are are thinking and saying about them) to be concerned about you.
7. Stop keeping score. Numbers are just numbers. They don’t have mystical powers. Because something is expressed as a number, a ratio or any other numerical pattern doesn’t mean it’s true. Plenty of lovingly calculated business indicators are irrelevant, gibberish, nonsensical, or just plain wrong. If you don’t understand it, or it’s telling you something bizarre, ignore it. There’s nothing scientific about relying on false data. Nor anything useful about charting your life by numbers that were silly in the first place.
8. Don’t be concerned that your life and career aren’t working out the way you planned. The closer you stick to any plan, the quicker you’ll go wrong. The world changes constantly. However carefully you analyzed the situation when you made the plan, if it’s more than a few days old, things will already be different. After a month, they’ll be very different. After a year, virtually nothing will be the same as it was when you started. Planning is only useful as a discipline to force people to think carefully about what they know and what they don’t. Once you start, throw the plan away and keep your eyes on reality.
9. Don’t let others use you to avoid being responsible for their own decisions. To hold yourself responsible for someone else’s success and happiness demeans them and proves you’ve lost the plot. It’s their life. They have to live it. You can’t do it for them; nor can you stop them from messing it up if they’re determined to do so. The job of a supervisor is to help and supervise. Only control-freaks and some others with a less serious mental disability fail to understand this.
10. Don’t worry about about your personality. You don’t really have one. Personality, like ego, is a concept invented by your mind. It doesn’t exist in the real world. Personality is a word for the general impression that you give through your words and actions. If your personality isn’t likeable today, don’t worry. You can always change it, so long as you allow yourself to do so. What fixes someone’s personality in one place is a determined effort on their part—usually through continually telling themselves they’re this or that kind of person and acting on what they say. If you don’t like the way you are, make yourself different. You’re the only person who’s standing in your way.

 email: info.dailydope@gmail.com

Door to Door Scams - Watch who you work for!

Charities like Sick Kids Foundation and Worldvision do great things for the community. Everyone should put aside some of their earnings and contribute to those in need. 


It is important though, that when you do contribute you don't contribute in the wrong way. Many marketing/networking agencies now make profit on "selling" monthly packages of "monthly donations" to charity via door to door sales.


Now here is the rock. and here is the hard place. These companies claim to contribute thousands upon thousands of dollars to their specific chairity, but only 5%* from the montly donations they get. So yes the charity is recieving money they might not of, but these companies are recieving over 90%*.


These companies pride themselves on being a non-profit organization, but with more prying (went to several interviews from these network companies) I noticed that people who started just months ago were now "owners" of their own office. Wow that is a little fast for working with charities no?


The company lures their employees in with false hope of "helping children in need" you then come to realize you are walking door to door, rain or shine, lying to those nice enough to open their door. To sign someone up you must tell them about "leukemia, heart disease and various other illnesses..stuff that no child should ever go through"......and if the person has children, be nice to them in order to guilt the parents. Sometimes it is wise to ask them if they have heard of "Sick Kids Hospital" most say yes, "well then you are aware of the wonderful work they do right?" to top it off you must then tell them that they will recieve up to 100% tax deductable receipts for the next tax return on all their donations....."so whats the harm in setting aside $15-35 dollars a month?" especially when "100% of it goes directly to the children" (umm no I do not get paid :S). Oh and not to mention this donation is a withdrawl from your bank account or credit card on a specific day of the month, and it wont end untill you give 30 days notice cancellation. "It is your intention to help these kids for at least a year right?"


Now the pay structure for the door to door sales is quite simple, minumum wage an hour, but if you sell one "monthly donation" per day you can make up to $40 per hour. Oh and of course the catch, if you do not sell more than "two per week" you are fired... yes you do sign for that at the beginning, you know while reading about the hospital/charity you will be helping. The job itself is not difficult work, if you dont mind walking for hours during peoples dinner times, keeping track of those who do/do not answer their door, so you can return to hound them again, and being dropped off in usually low budget areas.... you spend the morning "practicing your pitch". Isnt this suppose to be genuine charity work??


If you aren't so lucky and you did sign up for a monthly donation you are then told that you are going to speak with someone from the actual foundation/charity to verify your information. In fact you are speaking with the networking groups "call center". They do not work at the actual charity. You are coached to just say "yes" to whatever they ask you by the door to door salesperson. Buggers trying to verify anything and everything! These calls are recorded and you do agree to all the charges they will start issuing.


For those who do take the time to think about all the information about these charities, and want more information, they are told to go to the charities main web page and they do not have any literature because "that would cost to much, when all the money should be going to the children". Oh and say "child" not "kid" because it pulls on the persons heart strings more. They are only in the area for the evening and would have no problem coming back after you "read the website".


This type of "charity marketing" has been exposed in the past. Below are links to the story covered in 2007. But this is still going on. In Toronto there are over 3 offices that I am aware of and have visited personally, I do believes others exsist all over Canada. The big umbrella is the TNI network. If you are lured for an interview make sure that you ask if TNI is involved. Do your research and stay informed.


http://www.benedictionblogson.com/2007/07/16/world-vision-canada-ends-poor-fundraising-relationship/

http://www.scambusters.org/charity.html

http://www.scambusters.org/charityfraud.html




*5% is an appx
*90% is an appx

Disclaimer

These charities DO NEED YOUR HELP. Please do not let door to door scams deture you from helping people in need. Do what you can and help those around you.  

Happy Holidays - From Hate Comes Love

Over 1 million Israelis live in constant fear of terror. Kassam rockets are fired regularly at children and other civilians. Today we pay tribute to Yaron Bob. Yaron makes menorahs from the remnants of Kassam rockets fired into Israel.

Beauty from Ashes, turning something so full of hate, death and war into beauty, hope and devotion is what happens when these objects are transformed.

For the full story or to purchase the Menorahs follow the following link:

http://rocketsintoroses.com/lp/menorah1/?utm_source=activetrail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Rockets%20and%20Roses