I do not expect to be blogging during Chol HaMoed.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Chag Kasher V'Sameach!
My family and I will be in Ohio for all of Pesach.
I do not expect to be blogging during Chol HaMoed.
I do not expect to be blogging during Chol HaMoed.
Jonathan Rosenblum: "Many Types Of Heroes"
Many Types of Heroes
by Jonathan Rosenblum
Mishpacha Magazine
March 31, 2009
http://www.jewishmediaresources.com/1287/many-types-of-heroes
What a difference a year makes. Last year, I wrote just before Pesach about Pesach hotels. The impact of my words was probably close to zero. The economic crash, however, proved far more effective than any words of mussar. As our Sages teach, "Greater is the removal of [Achashverosh's] ring than forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel . . . . For all of them did not return them to the good path, but the removal of the ring did return them to the good path" (Megillah 14a).
Conspicuous consumption might have been a topic last year. Today it does not rate high on the challenges of American Orthodoxy. Even among those who continue to enjoy financial security, lavish, highly visible expenditures have become decidedly uncool.
A few weeks ago, The New York Times ran an article on a number of people who were until very recently earning salaries of between $100,000-$200,000 annually and who are today working as pizza delivery boys and the like for minimum wage plus tips. Reading these stories, I was struck by the quiet heroism of the people described. It would have been easy for them to curl up in a fetal position, spending the day in bed. After all, their efforts are not likely to be sufficient to pay their mortgages or continue with even a fraction of their families' previous lifestyles.
It takes courage for them just to go out wearing a set of work clothes far removed from their previous well-tailored suits, knowing that everyone who sees them will make a series of assumptions far different from those made when they were dressed in classier apparel. I thought to myself while reading that I was not sufficiently sympathetic to the trials of the immigrants from the FSU over the last twenty years and what it was like for them to go from being respected doctors and engineers to being unable to find work even as lowly technicians in their former fields.
One interesting aspect of the Times profiles was how many of the subjects were described as waking early in the morning to pray and finding in their relationship with G-d the strength to go on doing what has to be done, without being consumed with self-pity. (The Times is not generally known for its pro-religion sentiment.) Actually, many of us are the beneficiaries of precisely such heroism, as descendants of the post-World War II immigrants. Arriving, in most cases, with no English, little education, nightmares of the horrors they had seen, and little support structure, they took whatever menial jobs they could find and even started families. We are not appreciative enough of what indomitable acts of faith their building of new lives constituted.
I DON'T EXPECT TO SEE in the religious media too many stories like those of the Times profiles. Our community is too small and insular to allow for such a ready sharing of personal details. But no doubt such quiet heroism is being demanded from many religious Jews today, as the plethora or articles on coping with financial stress and unemployment indicate..
A different form of heroism is required today from another group in our community: the remaining gvirim (very wealthy individuals). The heroism to which I refer is to keep giving generously, at a time when the need for tzedakkah dollars by both individuals and institutions has never been greater. The world-wide financial crash has cast tens of thousands of frum Jews below the poverty line, and placed even greater pressure on chesed organizations. Yeshivos, at all levels are increasingly financially strapped, even to the point of cutting the food served to bochurim.
At the same time, the donor class has been dramatically depleted. Some who were generous donors in the past are themselves today in need of communal support. The hardest hit industries – financial services and real estate – are precisely those in which Orthodox Jews were disproportionately found.
It may be hard for the average Joe to understand why it takes a form of heroism for someone who still has, let's say, $30,000,000, to keep giving generously, even if last year he had $60,000,000. He understands that someone who has lost $30,000,000 cannot be expected to give as much as the year before. But he has a hard time comprehending why it is so hard for him to give even as much as others with $30,000,000 did in the past. (I confess that my own speculations on this subject are, to say the least, not based on personal knowledge or even any discussions with those who fall into this category.)
For one thing, someone who has lost tens of millions of dollars over a few months does not view his remaining millions as he did in the past. A cloud of uncertainty hovers over that money as well. If thirty million dollars can disappear in six months, why not the next thirty million as well? And nothing he reads on the financial pages is likely to alleviate that uncertainty.
In addition, the loss of tens of millions of dollars is not only a financial blow, it is a psychological one. For those who don't have money, it may be hard to imagine the degree to which one's self-image can be based on the amount of one's money. But if we think about it, we will recognize that many of us have self-images based on what are pure gifts from Hashem. A person of great beauty will usually react more strongly to being scarred in an accident than someone who self-image has little to do with physical appearance. And another known for his superior intelligence will take the loss of memory harder. So it should not be surprising to hear reports of those broken by their financial reversals, even if they remain very rich by most standards.
Those who have kept giving with their past generosity – and there are many such heroes – deserve our admiration. In some cases, that giving is of an entirely different nature than in the past. For now, they are giving like the average avreich gives. Not with the assurance that they will never need the money being given or because there is nothing else that they could possibly imagine spending it on, but because Klal Yisrael requires it. Those gvirim who step up to the plate today are taking their avodas Hashem to an entirely new level.
Nachum Segal Interviews Malcolm Hoenlein April 3, 2009
On Fridays, Nachum Segal interviews Malcolm Hoenlein about the week's events:
Nachum interviewed Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who called in live for the latest Weekly Update. Nachum and Malcolm began this week's Update with the terrorist attack that took place in Bat Ayin this week and its possible relation to the swearing in of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They also discussed a statement made by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman regarding Annapolis, and its possible consequences, which lead into an in-depth discussion of the new Israeli Government. Nachum also asked Malcolm to address aspects of the G-20 conference including President Obama's meeting with various world leaders. They covered several other important issues including: The new Russian Minister of Tourism, world reaction to President Obama's stimulus plan, the United States involvement in the UN Security Council, the federal court ordering Iran to pay $25 million to the family of Nachshon Waxman, and much more. Click the link to listen.
Technorati Tag: Israel.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Are You Smarter Than An 8th Grader--From 1895?
Go ahead--give it a try!
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.I know when I'm beat--how about you?
8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS - 1895
FIVE hours to complete:
-
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters..
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion..
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.
Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]
1.. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals& nbsp;
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, f ain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.
Technorati Tag: Education.
Obama Inching Towards Accepting The Saudi Initiative (Updated)
It's only a matter of time.
On November 16, 2009, Uzi Mahnaimi reported in The Times Online:
On November 16, 2009, Uzi Mahnaimi reported in The Times Online:
Barack Obama links Israel peace plan to 1967 borders dealAt the time, there were reasons to doubt the story, and the Obama camp denied that Obama backed the plan:
Barack Obama is to pursue an ambitious peace plan in the Middle East involving the recognition of Israel by the Arab world in exchange for its withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, according to sources close to America’s president-elect.
Obama intends to throw his support behind a 2002 Saudi peace initiative endorsed by the Arab League and backed by Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister and leader of the ruling Kadima party.
...On a visit to the Middle East last July, the president-elect said privately it would be “crazy” for Israel to refuse a deal that could “give them peace with the Muslim world”, according to a senior Obama adviser.
Top Obama aide denies report president-elect will back Arab peace planMaybe what Obama said at the time was false, but the story that Obama backed the Saudi Plan apparently remained true. The Financial Times reported about Obama on January 22nd that:
A senior adviser to Barack Obama on Sunday denied reports that the U.S. president-elect plans to throw his weight behind the 2002 Arab peace plan, which calls for Israel to withdraw from all territories captured during the 1967 Six-Day War in exchange for normalized ties with the Arab world.
...Dennis Ross, Obama's adviser on Middle East policy, issued a statement Sunday, saying "I was in the meeting in Ramallah. Then-senator Obama did not say this, the story is false."
The Times cited a senior adviser who quoted Obama as telling Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: "The Israelis would be crazy not to accept this initiative. It would give them peace with the Muslim world from Indonesia to Morocco.
He called on Arab governments to “act on” the promise of a Saudi-led 2002 Arab peace initiative by supporting the Palestinian Authority headed by President Mahmoud Abbas “taking steps towards normalising relations with Israel, and by standing up to extremism that threatens us all.”Four days later Obama was even more explicit. In describing George Mitchell's itinerary to the Middle East, the ABC News blog noted:
A visit to Saudi Arabia is a nod to the Saudi-backed Arab Peace Initiative, which Obama said Thursday "contains constructive elements that could help advance these efforts." Mitchell will also make stops in Europe to make sure allies are all on board.
Lasting peace requires more than a long cease-fire. And that's why I will sustain an active commitment to seek two states living side by side in peace and security. Senator Mitchell will carry forward this commitment, as well as the effort to help Israel reach a broader peace with the Arab world that recognizes its rightful place in the community of nations.
I should add that the Arab Peace Initiative contains constructive elements that could help advance these efforts. Now -- now is the time for Arab states to act on the initiatives promised by supporting the Palestinian government under President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, taking steps towards normalizing relations with Israel, and by standing up to extremism that threatens us all.
Biden is doing his share as well to lay the foundation for acceptance of the Saudi Plan. On February 7th, he said at the Munich Conference on Security Policy that:
we must lay the foundation for a broader peacemaking effort. In the past -- well, look at it this way -- it's long time passed for us to secure a just, two-state solution. We will work to achieve it. And we'll work to defeat extremists who perpetuate the conflict. And in building on positive elements of the Arab Peace Initiative put forward by Saudi Arabia, we'll work toward a broader regional peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and we'll responsibly draw down our forces that are in Iraq in the process.The latest read on Obama's support for the Saudi Initiative comes on April 3rd from The Jerusalem Post:
On Thursday night, US President Barack Obama reiterated his support for the Saudi Mideast peace initiative in a meeting with King Abdullah, the White House said in a statement.The full text of the White House release is:
The President met with King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia today in London. The leaders reaffirmed the long-standing, strong relationship between the two countries. They discussed international cooperation regarding the global economy, regional political and security issues, and cooperation against terrorism. The President reiterated his appreciation for Saudi Arabia's leadership in promoting the Arab Peace Initiative. He and King Abdullah agreed to continue close consultations on a range of bilateral and regional issues.Obama may not have come straight out and declared that the Saudi Initiative is the way to go, but neither has Obama--contrary to what Dennis Ross appeared to say--dropped the idea entirely.
The basics of the peace initiative as provided in The Beirut Declaration are:
But this is the direction Obama appears to be headed.
A. Complete withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the 4 June 1967 line and the territories still occupied in southern Lebanon.In other words, in exchange for Israel accepting indefensible borders, diluting the Israeli majority and creating an unstable terrorist state on its border--Israel will receive a peace similar to what it has now with Egypt, where the government-regulated press still comes out with anti-Israel material.
B. Attain a just solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees to be agreed upon in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution No 194.
C. Accept the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since 4 June 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In return the Arab states will do the following:
Consider the Arab-Israeli conflict over, sign a peace agreement with Israel, and achieve peace for all states in the region
Establish normal relations with Israel within the framework of this comprehensive peace
But this is the direction Obama appears to be headed.
UPDATE: At American Thinker, Leo Rennert discusses the same issue in more detail and discusses the consequences.
If Gaza Is Occupied, Why Are Kassams Still Being Fired?
When it comes to Israel, International Law has become a favorite tool for bashing the Jewish state. As a result, everyone has become an expert in International Law. During Operation Cast Lead, the term 'disproportionate force' was thrown around by Israel's critics to denounce any step Iserel would take to defend its children.
But the favorite term is 'occupation'--which, like 'disproportionate force', is taken out of context.
In reaction to a New York Times op-ed by George Bisharat of the University of California Hastings College of the Law, attacking Israel, Noah Pollak debunks Bisharat's anti-Israel claims--starting with the cornerstone of his attack:
In reaction to a New York Times op-ed by George Bisharat of the University of California Hastings College of the Law, attacking Israel, Noah Pollak debunks Bisharat's anti-Israel claims--starting with the cornerstone of his attack:
Bishara doesn’t explain how it is conceivable under international law that Israel is still occupying Gaza, but consistency has never been the hobgoblin of international law fetishists. He cites the Fourth Geneva Convention elsewhere in his piece, so he must be familiar with its definition of occupation: “the Occupying Power shall be bound, for the duration of the occupation, to the extent that such Power exercises the functions of government in such territory.” As Dore Gold wrote in an analysis after the Gaza disengagement [Legal Acrobatics: The Palestinian Claim that Gaza is Still "Occupied" Even After Israel Withdraws],The way Noah Pollak takes apart Basharat's claims is instructive.what creates an “occupation” is the existence of a military government which “exercises the functions of government.” This is a confirmation of the older 1907 Hague Regulations Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, which state, “Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army.” The Hague Regulations also stipulate: “The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established and can be exercised.” What follows is that if no Israeli military government is exercising its authority or any of “the functions of government” in the Gaza Strip, then there is no occupation.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Remembering the Massacre of the Hadassah Convoy April 13, 1948
Remembering the Massacre of the Hadassah Convoy April 13, 1948
Dr. Alex Grobman
During World War II, the staff of Hadassah Hospital played a significant role in helping Allied military forces throughout the Middle East. They offered weekly lectures and meetings to British medical personnel that acquainted them with regional medical issues including blood diseases, jaundice, dysentery, anemia and high blood pressure. Courses were also given on how to deal with infestations of sand-flies, worms, poisonous snakes, mosquitoes and other disease carrying insects.
The Hebrew University’s Department of Bacteriology and Hygiene provided anti-typhus and anti-dysentery vaccines. The Zoology Department’s research on relapsing cave fever taught the British army to avoid encampments near caves.
Malaria was a major debilitating threat to Allied forces. As a result, the British Army established ten anti-malaria units that were sent to Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, India, Burma, Greece and Italy in advance of their troops. Four of these units were under the command of Jewish malaria experts, who pioneered the use of aerial use of pesticides to kill nests of mosquitoes. Medical expertise was provided by the Parasitology Department.
While Hadassah and Hebrew University were assisting the British, Arabs led by the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el-Husseini, were fighting a guerrilla war against the British and Jews. In late 1941, as a refugee in Berlin, the Mufti used radio broadcasts to urge Arabs to become fifth columns in the lands where they lived and to commit sabotage and to murder Allied troops and Jews.
His spies provided the Nazis with information about British troop movements. His reports also described successful acts of sabotage in the Middle East by many of his agents. They cut water pipes and fuel and telephone lines, and destroyed bridges and blew up railroads. He organized an Axis-Arab Legion, the Arabisches Freiheitskorps, who wore German uniforms with “Free Arabia,” patches. They were part of the German army, and were responsible for protecting the Nazi communication system in Macedonia and for hunting down American and British paratroopers who landed in Yugoslavia.
Once the partition of Palestine was approved by the United Nations on November 29, 1947, the violence against the Jews intensified. The equivalent of a Red Cross medical convoy comprised of non-combatants including doctors, nurses and university faculty and students was ambushed by Arabs in the Sheikh Jarrah section of Jerusalem. Although The British High Commissioner and the British Secretary of State personally gave their assurances that these convoys would be protected by British troops and police, seventy-eight Jews were murdered.
The attack, which lasted seven hours, began at 9:30 a.m. and took place less than 600 feet from the British military post. The British watched from the sidelines. Jewish appeals for help were ignored until mid-afternoon. But by then the Jews had either been burned alive in buses or shot. There were 28 survivors, only eight had no injuries.
Among the dead were the founders of the new faculty of medicine, a physicist, a philologist, a cancer researcher, the head of the university’s department of psychology, and an authority on Jewish law. A doctor who waited four years to marry the nurse he loved was killed when he went to say good bye to his patients before leaving on his honeymoon.
One victim, a doctor, treated the Arab peasants in the village of Isawiye on Mount Scopus two weeks prior to the attack. Yet Arabs claimed that the ambush was a heroic act, and the British had no business intervening even at the last-minute: They did not want a single Jewish passenger to remain alive.
Thousands of furious Jews attended the funeral and lined the streets of the procession. British indifference was responsible for this loss of life. The British Army dismissed the ambush as retaliation for an Irgun attack on the Arab village of Deir Yassin. Official Arab response was that they had heard that Jewish gangs were assembled near Hadassah Hospital and Hebrew University. R.M.Graves, the British appointed Chairman of the Jerusalem Municipal Commission, said “…the Arabs do not realize that the killing of doctors, nurses and university teachers was a dastardly outrage.”
Despite this sad and bloody piece of history, Hadassah has endured through hundreds of terrorist attacks and always has been there for the health of Jews and Arabs in the region.
Dr. Grobman is a historian with an MA and Ph.D. from the Hebrew University. He is the author of Nations United: How The UN Undermines Israel and the West. His latest book is on the legitimacy of Israel.
Sources used:
“Fortnightly Intelligence Newsletter” Number 66. (April 21, 1948), National British Archives; Philip Graves, Palestine, the Land of Three Faiths (London: Jonathan Cape, 1923); Rivka Ashbel, As Much As We Could Do (Jerusalem: The Magnes Press of The Hebrew University, 1989). Dov Joseph, The Faithful City: The Siege of Jerusalem 1948 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960). Harry Levin, Jerusalem Embattled: A Diary of the City Under Siege (London: Cassell, 1997).
Technorati Tag: Israel and Hadassah Convoy.
Marketing In Israel (Humor)
From an email:
Know your market.......
A disappointed Coca Cola salesman returns from his assignment to Israel. A friend asked, "Why weren't you successful with the Israelis?"
The salesman explained, "When I got posted, I was very confident that I would make it. But, I had a problem. I didn't know Hebrew. So, I planned to convey the message via 3 posters.
First poster: A man lying in the hot desert sand, totally exhausted.
Second poster: The man drinks Coca Cola.
Third poster: The man is now totally refreshed.
"These posters were pasted all over the place."
"That should have worked!!" said the friend.
"The heck it should have!!, said the salesman.
"I didn't realize that Israelis read from right to left!!!"
Technorati Tag: Israel and Humor.
Jews And The Stimulus Package--Of Nazi Germany
Jonathan Tobin writes about the attempt of some--particularly David Leonhardt of The New York Times--to support Obama's economic policies by defending FDR against those who claim that FDR's New Deal was not as effective as is claimed.
Leonhardt writes:
Every so often, history serves up an analogy that’s uncomfortable, a little distracting and yet still very relevant.In response, Tobin writes:
...More than any other country, Germany — Nazi Germany — then set out on a serious stimulus program. The government built up the military, expanded the autobahn, put up stadiums for the 1936 Berlin Olympics and built monuments to the Nazi Party across Munich and Berlin.
The economic benefits of this vast works program never flowed to most workers, because fascism doesn’t look kindly on collective bargaining. But Germany did escape the Great Depression faster than other countries.
...I found it fascinating that in the course of Leonhardt’s latest piece on this issue, he saw it fit to prove the genius of stimulus spending by pointing to the example of the Third Reich.I was struck by the idea that part of the success of the economy of Nazi Germany was derived by what they did to the Jews in Germany at the time.
That’s right. Leonhardt believes that Adolf Hitler’s building of the autobahn, facilities for the 1936 Olympics, and other public works projects such as monuments to the Nazi Party “helped Germany escape the Great Depression faster than other countries.” Unmentioned by Leonhardt was Hitler’s vast expansion of the German military (long before the United States expanded its own armed forces) as well as the wealth that accumulated to various official arms of the state from the theft of Jewish properties. Later in the same piece, Leonhardt also lauds America’s World War II mobilization as showing the genius of a stimulus, though he fails to mention that along with all the tanks, planes, and ships that were built, nearly 15 million Americans were also under arms during the war. That helped lower unemployment too. [emphasis added]
I am also struck by the lengths some will go to find redemption in evil.
When it comes to reviving a country's economy, history records that Mussolini was no slouch either:
Back in November 2005, Steven Erlanger was already writing:
When it comes to reviving a country's economy, history records that Mussolini was no slouch either:
Now with some backing Mussolini formed the National Fascist Party. With this power he was able to take over the government and declared a complete dictatorship. The Italy that was once falling apart was now back up on its feet. Mussolini was a dictator of the people. He built roads, harnessed rivers, increased production and ran the trains on time. The standard of living Italy was increasing and the people were loving him. He was someone the people could relate to he was a success story. From poverty to ruling the country and improving it on the way.All can be forgiven when one is 'a dictator of the people.'
Back in November 2005, Steven Erlanger was already writing:
And yet, the budget deficit has been tamed, city employees are getting raises and more roads are being paved courtesy of the new party in power - Hamas.From dictators of the people to terrorists of the people.
...But in its short tenure, Hamas has also brought a new measure of modernity to this town of 45,000 people. It has tackled the budget and even predicts a surplus. It has introduced previously alien practices, like computerized bookkeeping and competitive bidding on city contracts, and has begun to investigate past corruption.
Nazi Germany and Mussolini brought disaster to their people--and Hamas is doing the same.
Let's hope that in a democracy the long range results are better.
Technorati Tag: Stimulus and Global Economy.
Anecdote: Golda Meir On The PLO And UNESCO
Jay Nordlinger compares Obama's decision to join The UN Human Rights Council in the context of how the US withdrew both from The UNHRC and UNESCO. In a postscript to that post, Nordlinger recalls:
Bernard Lewis once told me a story about Golda Meir at Princeton. She did not give a speech. She just said, “Look, you know my views. You know my outlook on the world. I have been a public figure for a long time. Why don’t you just ask me some questions.”So, during this session, someone said, “Why is it that the PLO belongs to UNESCO while Israel does not?” (Israel was forbidden to join, of course.) And Golda said, “Well, let’s see: ‘UNESCO’ stands for ‘United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.’ Obviously, the Palestinians have more to contribute to education, science, and culture than we do.”
Sometimes, sarcasm is the most effective tool in the box.
Technorati Tag: UNESCO and Golda Meir.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Seed Newsvine
