Earthquake in Chile

An 8.8 earthquake struck Chile. The country has not been destroyed. There has been damage and loss of life. Chile has not called for outside help. As of now, 147 people have been declared dead.

When you compare the difference in devastation between Chile and Haiti you realize how foolish it is that Haiti was devastated.

Chile will rebuild. And if all goes well they will manage the next natural disaster with the same abilities and foresight.

Haiti will rebuild. And if everything remains as it was, they too will manage the next natural disaster with the same abilities and foresight as their last.


UPDATE: 3-1-2010: The death toll in Chile is now above 700. While tragic for each person affected, still less than 1% of the Haitian death toll.

A kosher question

The blog, Life in Israel, posted regarding a ban on fish because the worms in them cause them to be unkosher.

http://lifeinisrael.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-hope-this-ban-becomes-more-widespread.html

This reminded me of a question I once asked a well respected Rav and to which there was no satisfying response.

I told the Rabbi about a dish called Ceviche. This is a dish where you take some raw fish, put it in a bowl and pour over a bit of vinegar or fruit juice or any acetic acid. You let the fish soak for X amount of time while the acetic acid cooks the fish. Serve right out of the refrigerator when X time has elapsed.

So I asked if one could prepare this dish on Sabbath. He replied absolutely not because the acid is clearly cooking the fish and that is forbidden on Sabbath.

So I asked him, what about using vinegar based salad dressing? If you notice, when you eat salad with vinegar, bits of salad wilt and turn black. This is the acetic acid cooking the salad. Should vinegar and other citrus products not all be forbidden to be put on any raw dish on Sabbath?

There was no response. I think he was scared of the idea of assuring vinegar dressing on salad, a staple of the sabbath meal.

Any takers? Who can answer this for me?

Invest in Israel

First Israel Fund, Inc. (The) C

(AMEX: ISL)

1) Almost 12% of the fund is Teva.

2) When the financial aspect of the fund picks up this will be a powerhouse.

3) A strong percentage of fund has exposure to stable cash flow positive value companies.

4) If we really do control the monetary pulse of the world, wouldn't it be foolish not to invest?

Left Wing Egomaniac

Headline from haaretz

Vanunu: Take me off list of Nobel peace prize nominees

Israeli nuclear whistleblower says he does not want to be associated with Nobel winner Shimon Peres.

"The reason he gave was that Shimon Peres had received the Nobel Peace Prize, and Peres he alleged was the father of the Israeli atomic bomb and he did not want to be associated with Peres in any way

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1152034.html

He doesn't say that he won't be associated with Kim Jong II. Kim, the brutal dictator of North Korea who has starved and murdered and tortured and enslaved millions, and won a Nobel prize. Vanunu does not say he will not be associated with Arafat who shared the prize with Peres. People who actually committed mass murder are fine by Vanunu. But Shimon Perez, for allegedly creating a nuclear program which has not ever been used militarily, that is the man with whom he cannot associate.

Like so many on the far left, Vanunu is a fake and a fraud and a hypocrite whose narcissism willingly allows for murder, but not disagreement with his righteousness.

Like all the other fakes on the left who say they support women's rights, gay rights, minority rights, freedom of press and religion but refuse to condemn Theocratic dictatorships like Saudi Arabia. These same frauds criticize Israel without ever even acknowledging that Israel is the only spot in the region that allows for those rights to exist.

1st Grade Homework

A friend sent this. I usually don't care for forwarded e-mails but this one was way cute.

A first grade girl handed in the drawing below for a  homework assignment... After it was graded and the child  brought it home, she returned to school the next  day with the following note:  Dear Ms. Davis, I want to be very clear on my child's illustration. It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip joint. I work at Home Depot and had commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent snowstorm. This drawing is of me selling a shovel. Mrs. Harrington