Ticked

I really do not want to turn my blog into a strictly Pro-Israel blog. I have always said that I am extremely Pro-Israel but I would like to think that I have other issues that are also important to me. But reading this article from the BBC just really ticks me off. For a change I am not mad at the BBC but at the event.

If this was the first time that Hamas or the Palestinians had "mistakenly" reported a death blamed on the Israelis, I could forgive and forget it. This was not the first or the second or the tenth. They have a pattern of blaming Israel for events that we find out later did not happen. I am sure that this article absolving Israel will not make it to the Arab street. Actually it will not make it to most of the world as it is not shocking. So much for my ranting as most of the world just does not care.

Gaza boy reported killed returns home alive.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8601925.stm

A True Hero Interviewed

Photo by: Ariel Jerozolimski

In the attached article, Natan Sharansky, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, talks about Passover, connection between Israel and the Diaspora and Jewish identity and freedom. This interview is a moving statement of the Jewish world from the perspective of the man most in charge of aliyah to Israel and promoting Jewish education in the Diaspora.

Why a True Hero? Natan Sharansky was a Jewish Refusenik in the Former Soviet Union. Because of his work on Human Rights and Jewish Emigration there, he was imprisoned in the Gulag. For 7 years of the approximately 8 years he was imprisoned, I wore a bracelet as a reminder of his imprisonment. Like many others, I spent time writing letters to and visiting with our federal representatives on his and other Refuseniks' behalf. Whenever our national representatives met with the leaders of the Soviet Union, the freeing of the Refuseniks and the allowing of Jewish emigration was always on the list.

The cause of the Refuseniks in the United States was not just a Jewish cause. Other groups who believe in freedom, justice and democracy also took up the cause. I remember being at a National Young Republican meeting in Washington, DC where Congressman Jack Kemp told the group that if they believed in these ideals, they needed to take up this cause. Trust me when I tell you that this was not a Jewish group. I was probably the only Jewish member attending this conference of approximately 800 people.

Sharansky was the symbol of standing up to authoritarian dictatorship. He was cruelly punished. He never gave up and finally was freed. In my opinion, a true hero.

I hope that you find this interview in the Jerusalem Post interesting. The link to the article is posted below:
http://www.jpost.com/Features/InThespotlight/Article.aspx?id=172404

Success

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

                                      -From If by Rudyard Kipling

I have to admit that when working on something as intently as getting the Iran Divestment bill passed in the South Dakota Legislature, it is difficult not to feel pride. I am grateful that our efforts were successful. So many people were involved in the bill’s passage, that I can only take a very small bit of the credit. Should I feel great for the success or should I feel great because of what this bill represents? Doing what we can to assist our troops is what is most important. This was the issue when we started and is still the issue. At home we do not put our lives on the line day in and day out. Stopping the funding to the terrorists is the least that we can do.

Congratulations to the South Dakota Legislature for passing this bill, the governor for signing it and to all of those who lent their voice supporting this effort. 

Pro-Active for Israel

I just returned from the American Israel Public Affairs (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, DC. Like many AIPAC conferences, most of the attention focused on the issues of the day. Today the issues are crippling sanctions against Iran to entice it to stop its efforts to attain a nuclear weapons capability; recommitment to a strong US – Israel Alliance; and passing the foreign aid bill with its 3 billion dollars in aid to Israel. These issues are the same as in the past many years with some different nuances. We have many friends in both houses of Congress on both sides of the aisle but the support of local constituents lobbying on these issues has a great impact.

Most of the speeches over the 3 day conference focused on these important topics or on the miracle of Israel. The most important speech to me was delivered by Howard Kohr, Executive Director of AIPAC. While covering the importance of these issues and our need to lobby on them, he began a discussion on being pro-active for Israel.

Here is the link to both the video and the transcript of his speech.

http://www.aipac.org/PC2010/webPlayer/mon_kohr10.asp

About half-way through the speech, you will find this paragraph which segues into the pro-active ideas.

“In the language of doctors that doctors use to diagnose dangerous conditions; these challenges are acute asserting an urgency we deny only at our peril. But doctors also know that there are conditions equally dangerous—not acute, but chronic. The damage they do is slower, toxic; in the end deeply damaging—even deadly. Make no mistake; we will maintain our focus on Iran as the number one item on our agenda. [Applause] We will continue to help Israel pursue her quest for peace and security with her neighbors. And we will work to continue to strengthen the bonds between the United States and Israel. But these acute challenges exist in a broader context. And it is the chronic problems that I also want to talk about this morning.”

We need a public relations campaign. We can no longer allow our detractors the open field. We must challenge their lies and half-truths with the light of truth. We must not allow ourselves the reflexive response of self-doubt. If our opponents’ arguments have a small element of truth, we must not allow that to be a wedge to stop us from providing the entire story.

Howard does not talk specifically about the story of the Muhammad Dura but I believe it to be they type of journalism we want to prevent. A French television network filmed a video in which they show this young boy being killed in a cross-fire exchange between Israel and the Palestinians. The film leads you to believe that the Israelis murdered him. Shortly after this video came out, the world was outraged at Israel. In response the Israelis showed that it was impossible due to the angle of where Muhammad was to have been hit by Israeli bullets. 5 years later after a lawsuit in France forced the French television network release the entire video footage we get to see what really happened. Not only was Muhammad Dura not killed by Israeli cross-fire, he was not killed at all. At the end of the video he just gets up and walks away. Where is the outrage to being lied to? To be pro-active, we must remind the world that our detractors have lied before. When we hear the next outrage, will we demand conclusive evidence before we believe the event or not?

Howard you are absolutely correct. We be pro-active. We need to tell Israel’s story for the entire world to marvel at. We must demand the truth from our detractors and have them explain any fallacies from the past. Other groups have talked about being pro-active for Israel, but I believe that AIPAC will get the job done.

A New Day

Does the Obama Administration wake up every morning and think that the world was just created again? Do they think that they can organize the world as they believe it ought to be? We could discuss this on just about every important issue facing the United States today, but I want to focus on the issue that I have been following for most of my adult life. The issue today is Israel and the Palestinians.

Last week, Israel announced that it would allow construction of 1600 housing units in the eastern part of Jerusalem in a Jewish neighborhood while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting the country. Current United States policy is against any construction in territory that Israel conquered in the Six Day War in 1967. This announcement embarrassed the Vice President. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, immediately apologized for the announcement coming as it did and embarrassing the Vice President. The Vice President formally accepted the Prime Minister’s apology.

Obviously, the Vice President forgot to check in with the President and the Secretary of State before accepting the apology. Upon his return home, Ms. Clinton after meeting with the President, called Prime Minister Netanyahu and dressed him down for the announcement. She said that he was insincere in attempting to hold negotiations with the Palestinians. She demanded that he cancel the construction project and wanted to know what other concessions he would give to the Palestinians to get them to the negotiating table.

Did they just wake up to a new day? Is history unimportant? Since his election as Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu has been calling for negotiations with the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority has used many excuses not to come to the table. Why has this administration not held their feet to the fire to negotiate? Now I know that this is probably way too long ago for this administration to remember but in 2000 then Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the Palestinians a peace deal that was considered overly generous. Even President Clinton condemned Palestinian Chairman Arafat from walking away from the proposal. Chairman Arafat did not make a counter proposal. He just walked away. I guess that is too long ago for the Secretary of State to remember. Israel has formally made offers even before 2000 to solve this conflict but has never had a willing partner.

What have the Palestinians done? How far back does one need to go? Just this week in Ramallah, the current seat of the Palestinian Authority, they renamed a square in honor of a terrorist who was directly responsible in the cold blooded murder of 38 Israelis including 13 children. I do not recall seeing a condemnation of the Palestinians. I could talk about how they call for the destruction of Israel in their mosques and call Jews pigs and monkeys who deserve to be destroyed. I could talk about the celebrations in the past when suicide bombers murdered innocent Israelis in their terror attacks. Remembering these events is just unimportant, I guess. History does not matter.

Well it is a new day. If those damn Israelis would just give up a piece here and there. We are not asking for anything really important.  They can always count on the United States to come to their aid. We always do what we say. Our word is golden. Who does Israel think it is by not doing these little things for us?

Well tomorrow is another day. Maybe the Administration will see this issue in a new light. Maybe we will remember who our friends are. Or maybe some other issue will be important. 

Surreal

While I was walking in Vienna, I told Deborah that in many respects my trip was surreal. Consider that I had left Sioux Falls a few days before. Sioux Falls is a city that is not quite 150 years old. We were walking in Vienna that was established by the Romans as a fortress on the edge of the eastern Alps not quite 2000 years ago. Shortly I was going to Israel. I would be in Jerusalem that we know was King David’s Capitol 3000 years ago and is at least 4000 years old as the bible tells us Abraham was there. I would be driving by Jericho (in the Palestinian Authority area so I was not going to enter), probably the oldest city in the world at nearly 10,000 years old. To think how much history has unfolded at these various places and the span of their lifetimes for a simple man from South Dakota is just mind boggling and surreal.

Sioux Falls to Dimona and Back

Rachel Rachamim with students and Rachel and Kochava Asraf

How quickly time flies! I returned to Sioux Falls last Monday, just a week ago, and it seems like forever that I was in Vienna and Israel. How I long to be again soaking in the waters of the Dead Sea but I will leave that blog for another time.

If you read my previous post, you already know a bit about our relationship. As Dimona and the Network are a Perfect Match, the crown jewel for me, personally, is the relationship developing between Eugene Field School in Sioux Falls and Ami-asaaf School in Dimona. These schools are both Art Magnet (art immersion) schools for their respective communities. Twinning gives these children a chance to learn about a different culture and environment. But kids are kids and art is art no matter where in the world one is.

The story begins last year when Carol and I were vacationing in Israel. Before we left, we had contacted our Network representatives about going to Dimona and seeing what our partnership was doing. We saw several sites but were struck by the reception at Ami-asaaf School. Carol dutifully posted our pictures on Facebook. A local friend of ours, Sara Crosby, saw the post. They had a chance to get together in Sioux Falls and Sara told Carol that we have a similar school here. Being our children have been out of the school system for about 15 years, we had no idea. Sara contacted the school and organized a meeting. Our ideas were received with great enthusiasm. The administration, staff and parents thought that this was a great idea. Many thanks go to Sara.

I contacted Ami-asaaf. Not being in Israel, I do not know what they individually thought but the return email was is a great idea. Summer came and the school year started and the two schools were still trying to get all of the connections made. Emails are being exchanged and the excitement is building. Before I left for my Big trip, I picked up at Eugene Field School letters and artwork from the students to take to Dimona. The box took up a large portion of my suitcase. I was thrilled.

Upon arrival in Dimona, my very first stop was Ami-asaaf School. The teachers, staff and children are so wonderful. I again met Kochava Asraf, the principal and then Rachel Rachamim, English teacher and our liaison. You would have thought that I was a dignitary. I was greeted by a choir who serenaded me. I recorded a portion of their singing and have uploaded it to You Tube. I was next escorted to the English classroom where a saxophone ensemble played for me. I have also uploaded a portion of their performance to You Tube. Following this, I presented the children with my package from Eugene Field School. I wish I could describe the excitement. Like I said, kids are kids everywhere. To add to their excitement, I showed them pictures of all of the snow we have in Sioux Falls. They loved it.

Before we were done, Rachel presented me with letters and art to bring back to Sioux Falls. I brought home as much, if not more, than I had taken. I did not know if I would be able to fit it in my suitcase, but I did not care. I was and am just so happy that this relationship is working and both schools are committed to making it grow.

When I returned home, I quickly made contact with Ann Henkhaus at Eugene Field School. I delivered her the package with all of the letters and art. She distributed this to the kids in the school. In visiting, she asked me to come to school and meet with the children to discuss my trip.

As I hope you can see, I am so very excited about all of the connections between Dimona and the Network. For me this local connection is the greatest but all of the ties are wonderful.

Dimona and the Network: A Perfect Match

I just returned from a wonderful trip that took me to Vienna, Austria and several places in Israel. The main purpose of my trip in Israel was to go to Dimona, a small city of about 40,000 in the middle of the Negev Desert. I came as a representative, officially the American Steering Chair of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), to meet my Israeli counterpart, Professor Haim Kalman, see projects in which we are invested, and hear proposals for possible new projects.

Now that I have explained why I was in Dimona, I want to discuss this partnership and what makes it perfect. The Network is a confederation (my description) of approximately 350 small Jewish communities around North America with only lay leadership. We raise funds for distressed Jews in Israel and the Diaspora. Our contributions originally went to the United Jewish Appeal, then toits successor the United Jewish Communities and today to the Jewish Federations of North America. Not quite 20 years ago, a separate division was created, the Network. As I view it and I am sure if someone from JFNA reads this they will disagree, the Network is kind of the Ugly Duckling of the organization. As one would expect, JFNA, is run by the large federations. Many times I have met Jews from large Jewish communities and when I tell them I am from South Dakota they ask are there really Jews there? In the Network, we raise significant dollars but not by a New York, Los Angeles or other large Jewish community standard. Understandably, they cannot overlook our contributions, but likewise, being so small and spread out, what services can JFNA provide?

Dimona is a town established in the 1950s. As with other communities in the Negev, this town was the fulfillment of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion’s dream to populate the Negev. Israel, following her independence in 1948, absorbed hundreds of thousands of displaced Jews from Europe and the Arab world. While Ben-Gurion’s dream was great, the reality was that the government did not have the resources to fully take care of these immigrants. Over the last 12 years, I have been to Dimona 4 times and usually I get asked by Israelis why would I want to go there? Like the Network, Dimona is an Ugly Duckling of Israel.

In 1996, our parent organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel established partnerships between various Jewish communities outside of Israel with communities inside Israel. Dimona and the Network, the two Ugly Ducklings got each other. One could easily say that each got dumped on by its national organization. I disagree, we are a perfect match. We understand what a fight we have just to be recognized. Our adversity creates opportunities to find ways to work together for the betterment of both. While many of the larger North American communities may see their partnerships as just a philanthropic endeavor, ours can be a true partnership. The Network can help fund programs for the less fortunate in Dimona and Dimona can be the Network’s strong bond with Israel. As always, the devil is in the details. Together, we can face our challenges and our needs. Together, we can meet adversity and overcome it. Together, we can win for everyone. These two Ugly Ducklings were made for each other – a perfect match. And like the Ugly Duckling in the children’s story, we will grow into beautiful Swans.

Stress on Flying to a Foreign Land

My great adventure of going to Vienna and Israel is in progress. While I have already been in Vienna for 2 days, I think I will start out with a short story of paranoia about flying to a foreign land.

Actually the trip was pretty much uneventful. I left Sioux Falls on time and because of fog in Munich and Vienna, I arrived an hour and a half late. In the scheme of things that really is not too bad for a 5000 mile trip that was supposed to take about 14 hours.

My stress, self-inflicted, was flying from Munich to Vienna on Lufthansa Airlines. As all of the announcements started coming out in German, I started to question whether I was in the right place at the right time. They were usually followed in English so why should I have been concerned? On flying into Vienna and being an hour and a half late, I wondered what had happened to Deb and Josh who were supposed to meet me in baggage claim. How was I going to get hold of them if they were not there? Was I going to be able to get the information of where we were staying off of my computer? Was there wifi at the airport to access my gmail account? Of course, I had not printed a hard copy out of where we were staying.

To make a long story short, I got my bag and walked out of baggage claim into the terminal. There, Deb and Josh were waiting for me. My stress was over and our adventure could begin.

Investments in Iran endanger troops

I get to do a little self-promotion. I had an Op-Ed piece printed in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader today. The Op-Ed is very similar to an earlier post on this blog. The piece is timely as the bill, Senate Bill 134, was taken up by the South Dakota Senate State Affairs Committee yesterday. The committee gave it a unanimous "Do Pass." Thank you to all of the senators on the committee. To read my Op-Ed, just click on the link below:

http://www.argusleader.com/article/20100218/VOICES05/2180314

A Topsy Turvy World

Several months ago, in the hopes of renewing Israel –Palestinian peace negotiations, the United States demanded that Israel halt all construction in areas outside of its pre-1967 boundaries. I find this unilateral demand amazing.

We demand that an ally, Israel, with a democratically elected government with a fragile coalition take actions that we know are against the principles of its coalition. On the Palestinian side ruled by a dictatorship, we demand nothing because we are afraid it will hurt the popularity of the leader and therefore the government. Doesn’t something seem wrong here? You demand unilateral action by a government that is popularly elected that goes against its stated self-interest. You refuse to demand anything of a government that maintains its position by the gun.

Our thinking is topsy-turvy. Our policy is just backwards. One government does everything by fiat but cannot do anything is this regard because it might be unpopular. The other who rules democratically is demanded to do something that we know is unpopular. I just don’t get it.

Our Duty

On their own, new technologies do not take sides in the struggle for freedom and progress, but the United States does. We stand for a single internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas. And we recognize that the world’s information infrastructure will become what we and others make of it. Now, this challenge may be new, but our responsibility to help ensure the free exchange of ideas goes back to the birth of our republic.

Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton

January 21, 2010

Some of these challenges are very useful, particularly for the new generation, in whom the essential fervor of the Green Movement (Mr. Mousavi’s Political Movement in Iran) is found. The true achievement of the Islamic Revolution is the struggle against a return to dictatorship and the resistance of the people on this path. The refusal to conform to lies, cheating and corruption, which we witness today (in Iran), clearly shows the presence of this ongoing and everlasting achievement, just as the tightening choke hold on the media and press, the filling up of prisons and the merciless killings of the innocents on the streets, whose only wish is to peacefully obtain what is rightfully theirs; clearly shows the existence of the roots of oppression and dictatorship which are leftovers of the tyrannical monarchy.

Mir-Hossein Moussavi

February 2, 2010

To me, the issues are clear cut. Our Secretary of State says in eloquent terms that access to the internet is a human right. Mr. Moussavi describes the situation in Iran as one in which the ugly head of dictatorship is raising its head.

Today is the 31^st anniversary of the Iranian Revolution and the ousting of the shah. For anyone who is interested, we watch the attempts of thousands of brave men and women trying to stand up to this dictatorship. For the past six months, we saw the people of Iran demand that their votes in the last presidential election be counted. As with the demonstrations today, these people face tear gas and beatings and being shot. They are rounded up and thrown in jail. Some are tortured and some are murdered. When they are rounded up, their families are not told.

What can America do to help? Are we still the great bastion of Democracy or not? Do we have the power to help these people? I think we can help without sending our troops which would have the wrong affect. In the name of promoting the Democracy that we hold dear, we should find a way to open the internet to the people of Iran. The Iranian people need an internet that is not censored by the Iranian government. Do we not have the technology to get something similar to wifi for the Iranian people? How does Google provide free internet in Mountain View? Madame Clinton speaks of an uncensored internet as a basic freedom. We must insure that these freedom seeking people have access to sending and receiving information.

If this revolution succeeds, will the new Iranian government be pro-American? I wish I could answer that positively but I cannot. If we are seen as an ally helping Iranians claim their freedom, we have a good chance. But whatever the outcome may be, a new government can hardly be worse either for us or the Iranian people than what they have now. As Americans, we have a duty to help people seeking freedom. Most Americans believe this. I hope our government does as well.

DragNet

First, as an aside, the title is not original to me. I saw this in the first article and loved it. Second and much more importantly, if you are concerned about internet privacy and protection of your First Amendment Rights, I suggest you take a little time and read both articles. As I have discussed with many people, I am very concerned about what information the government has on me. I am not worried that I am breaking the law today but what happens if the laws change. If the government has access to everything that I have written or looked at, something lawful when I did it may not be lawful in the future. You may think that I am paranoid, and maybe I am, but I know of incidences in other countries where that is exactly what happened. I hope that you will take time to read the articles and forward them to others who might be concerned as well. Of course, as I have said before, if you are reading my blog you are probably already in trouble.

Police want backdoor to Web users' private data – Cnet News

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10446503-38.html

Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks – Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020304057_pf.html

Is this the Future of Computing?

I think that like many people, I am fascinated by new technology. Without it, I would not be in the printing business. Desktop publishing and simple accounting allowed me to be in business these past 22 years. Likewise, technology may be the destructor of this business with more internet use and less paper. Well, I will stop crying in my beer.

This morning, I came across 2 interesting articles in the Gadget Lab at Wired.com. While each one is interesting in its own right, taken together they are mind blowing.

Not that the order to read them is important but I have listed them in the order that I read them. The first one is about a Portuguese company that is developing a film that turns anything into a touch screen. The second is about the new iPad. I did not think of the iPad as being revolutionary but after reading this article, I am having second thoughts. If the iPad could eventually be made so thin by using the film in the first article, people might be able to carry around a huge computer in their pocket. I realize that we are along way from there but to me the potential is fantastic.

I hope that you enjoy the 2 articles. They are not too long. You might find that you spend more time just thinking about the possibilities and the future of computing.

Thin Film Turns Any Surface Into a Touchscreen

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/thin-film-touchscreen/#ixzz0eOOx1nQc

What the iPad Means for the Future of Computing

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/#ixzz0eORKrOld

On the Road Again

On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again.

                                                                    -Willie Nelson

Just a little past the Ides of February, I am set to embark on a fabulous trip. I am leaving Sioux Falls on Thursday, February 18^th and meeting up with my daughter, Deb, and son-in-law, Josh, in Vienna, Austria on February 19^th. After Carol and I visited them at their home in Zurich, Switzerland, Deb and I talked about my next trip to Europe going to Vienna. She and Josh are making a grand tour of the continent, while Josh works at Google – Zurich.

Vienna is a city rich with history. Being a history major in college (UT-Austin class of ’73), Vienna always fascinated me. The Holy Roman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, of which Vienna was the capital, seemed to get lost. When we studied world history, we were consumed by Britain and France. We studied a bit of German history but mostly Bismarck and later and a very little Russian history. Vienna with its stands against the Ottoman Turks was mentioned but mostly ignored. The Holy Roman Empire was center stage for the throes of the Reformation. So much of the great musical talent has its roots in Vienna, with of course, Mozart being the premier example. But we also find connections to Beethoven, the Strauss’s, Brahms and many others.

I do not know, at least yet, what I plan to see or do. I am sure that there will be more to do than the 4 days that I will be there.

From Vienna, I am flying to Israel. Thankfully, I have been there many times. Yet landing at Ben Gurion Airport always sends chills of excitement down my spine. This trip is going to be part vacation and part volunteer work. The vacation is the 2 days that I will be staying at a spa on the Dead Sea. I don’t know if it is being at the lowest point on the earth or sitting in the waters of the saltiest sea on the planet or breathing in the bromide filled air or all of the above that make this such a relaxing site. I do not remember how many times I have been there but I always come away feeling fantastic.

The work part of the trip will be a day and an overnight visit to a small town in the middle of the Negev Desert, Dimona. Dimona has a relationship, similar to a sister city, with the small Jewish communities in America. Through the philanthropic efforts of these American cities, we are helping many needy people, especially children; find a better way of life. I am on the steering committee of our American effort and will be meeting with some of our counterparts in Dimona. While there, I will continue to work on a very special program that is particularly between Dimona and Sioux Falls. I will write more on that in another post. Just stay tuned.

The last part of my visit in Israel will be to stay with my first cousin, Wendy and her family. Wendy and Warren have 4 wonderful children and 1 grandchild. Spending Shabbat and enjoying their hospitality is so very, very special. I wish that Carol and I could reciprocate somehow. Well maybe some day.

Needless to say, I am extremely excited. Many new places to see and experience. Several places that I have been before to re-discover. I just can’t wait to get on the road again.

Israel’s disproportionate response

As I stated in my previous post that I am unabashedly pro-Israel. This letter to the editor written in Canada's Jewish Tribune expresses my sentiments. In war terrible things happen that combatants try to prevent. Israel's defense forces may not be perfect. In war, like all armies, they have to make split second decisions on survival. No other country goes to Israel's extreme in attempting not to harm civilians. No other country's military is put under a microscope as is Israel's. Israel's response in Haiti and in other disasters shows how much she cares for the preservation of Human Life. I hope that the message rings loud and clear. Please enjoy this short letter.

http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/201001202526/Israel-s-disproportionate-response.html

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Many countries and world leaders have accused Israel of responding disproportionately to aggression from Hezbollah 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 sent very little.

Israel, a nation of 7.5 million people has sent a team of 220 people that include medical personnel and have established the largest field hospital in Haiti, treating up to 500 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 Muslim 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 favourite 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.

David Yehezkel

Montreal, QB

Heredom

For all of my friends who enjoyed “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown, here is an article from the current issue of the Scottish Rite Journal on many of Dan’s quotes and descriptions of the House of the Temple. I toured the building about 10 years ago but I think I need to go back. Maybe next time when I am in DC I will take the “new” tour. I hope that you enjoy the article.

http://www.scottishrite.org/ee.php?/journal/articles/the_secrets_of_heredom/

Humanitarian Assistance

I know that my prejudice shows that I am pro-Israel. I make no bones about that. I am just proud that this tiny little country understands the needs of those suffering and does all that it can to help. As much as she is maligned in the United Nations and in the world press, she did not ask what is in this for me. She just sent what she could to help in this terrible situation. I hope (and I know that it is a dream) that the world will take notice and before the next knee-jerk condemnation will look at her humanitarian actions.

Praise for Israeli mission in Haiti: ‘Only ones operating’

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3836254,00.html

INTERNATIONAL AID TO HAITI: ARABS OPT OUT

http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/001083.html

(I am copying the appropriate text from this web site as you need to scroll quite a ways down to get to this note.)

This CBS / Associated Press report lists countries providing aid to Haiti in the wake of that country’s devastating earthquake. Conspicuous by its absence is the entire Muslim world, including the extremely rich oil producing nations.

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/14/world/main6097735.shtml

However, Arab countries do not discriminate against non-Muslim countries. Their help was missing after the earthquakes in Turkey and Iran and during war and famine in Muslim Africa too.

Iran Divestment

Not often do we have the chance to truly make a difference. This year, the South Dakota Legislature is being presented with an opportunity to support our soldiers in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan. A bill being sponsored by District 16 Representative Dan Lederman of Dakota Dunes is targeting the divestment of funds invested by the South Dakota Investment Council in companies that are doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Why should the South Dakota Investment Council divest itself of funds in companies doing business with Iran? The primary answer is that Iran is a prime supporter of terrorism. Iran supplies terrorists with both supplies and money, which in turn are used against OUR young men and women in uniform who are fighting for freedom. One of the main weapons being supplied by the Iranians to the terrorists is called an Improvised Explosive Device or IED. The IED's armor piercing capability is incredible. The following is a list of several of South Dakota’s sons who have been killed in Iraq by these devices:

Daniel M. Cuka, 27, of Yankton, was killed Dec. 4, 2005, in Iraq after roadside bombs went off near his unit's Humvees.

Army Spc. Patrick Herried, 29, of Sioux Falls was killed Feb. 6, 2006, in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle.

Army Spc. Allen Kokesh Jr., 21, of Yankton died Feb. 7, 2006, at an Army hospital in Texas of injuries suffered in a Dec. 4, 2005, roadside bombing that killed two other members of his unit.

Many others have been killed but these casualties can be directly attributed to Iran's support of terrorism. Can we look at their brothers and sisters in uniform, protecting us, and look them in the face and say that we did all that we could at home to aid them? The passage of this bill will be a definite YES!

Who will be against this bill? The SDIC in a letter to the South Dakota Legislative Research Council has already indicated that they do not want any oversight or prohibition on investing whatsoever. The majority of the letter is about the specific costs but I think their main argument is that this is “social investing”. I see it as nothing of the sort. I do not consider doing all we can to protect our service men and women, whose lives are in harm's way, to be “social investing”. With regard to their argument concerning costs, can they put a price on those people’s lives? Should they??

I hope that whoever reads this blog will contact their state legislators and voice strong support for the bill. If you belong to an organization, please consider passing a resolution supporting our service people and Iranian Divestment.

We truly have a unique opportunity. We can stand up and be counted. We can do our small part in this war on terrorism and the protection of our men and women in uniform. With everyone's help we can truly make a difference.

Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke (Wired Magazine - Jan. 2010)

Is Thorium the “Green” answer? From this article in the January 2010 issue of Wired Magazine, we are certainly led to believe this is so. A Thorium reactor is more efficient than a uranium reactor, would produce literally no nuclear waste, leave no by-products for terrorists to construct nuclear weapons, and the supply of the element is so plentiful as to be nearly inexhaustible. We can quit emitting carbon dioxide from coal fired electric generating plants. With inexpensive, dependable nuclear energy, we can stop funding the terrorists who live on our petrodollars. After reading this article, I am wondering what we are waiting on? I was brought up on the saying that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is right now. Well we didn’t build these plants 20 years ago so shouldn’t we be starting today?
I hope that you enjoy the article.
s. rosenthal

Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke

The thick hardbound volume was sitting on a shelf in a colleague’s office when Kirk Sorensen spotted it. A rookie NASA engineer at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Sorensen was researching nuclear-powered propulsion, and the book’s title — Fluid Fuel Reactors — jumped out at him. He picked it up and thumbed through it. Hours later, he was still reading, enchanted by the ideas but struggling with the arcane writing. “I took it home that night, but I didn’t understand all the nuclear terminology,” Sorensen says. He pored over it in the coming months, ultimately deciding that he held in his hands the key to the world’s energy future.

Published in 1958 under the auspices of the Atomic Energy Commission as part of its Atoms for Peace program, Fluid Fuel Reactors is a book only an engineer could love: a dense, 978-page account of research conducted at Oak Ridge National Lab, most of it under former director Alvin Weinberg. What caught Sorensen’s eye was the description of Weinberg’s experiments producing nuclear power with an element called thorium.

At the time, in 2000, Sorensen was just 25, engaged to be married and thrilled to be employed at his first serious job as a real aerospace engineer. A devout Mormon with a linebacker’s build and a marine’s crew cut, Sorensen made an unlikely iconoclast. But the book inspired him to pursue an intense study of nuclear energy over the next few years, during which he became convinced that thorium could solve the nuclear power industry’s most intractable problems. After it has been used as fuel for power plants, the element leaves behind minuscule amounts of waste. And that waste needs to be stored for only a few hundred years, not a few hundred thousand like other nuclear byproducts. Because it’s so plentiful in nature, it’s virtually inexhaustible. It’s also one of only a few substances that acts as a thermal breeder, in theory creating enough new fuel as it breaks down to sustain a high-temperature chain reaction indefinitely. And it would be virtually impossible for the byproducts of a thorium reactor to be used by terrorists or anyone else to make nuclear weapons. (my emphasis)

For the entire article, go to the following url:
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/ff_new_nukes/all/1