I am a Jew

This was forwarded by e-mail and I felt worth posting.

I am a Jew Written by an Israeli named Dan Sporn אני יהודי נכתב ע"י ישראלי בשם דן ספורן Our condition, in Israel , has never been better than it is now! Only The television and the media make people think that the end of the World is near.. Only 65 years ago, Jews were brought to death like Sheep to slaughter. NO country, NO army. Only 60 years ago, Seven Arab countries declared war on little Israel , the Jewish State, Just a few hours after it was established. המצב שלנו, בישראל, מעולם לא היה טוב יותר מאשר עכשיו! רק הטלוויזיה והתקשורת גורמים לאנשים לחשוב שסוף העולם קרב. רק לפני 65 שנים, יהודים הובאו למוות כצאן לטבח. ללא מדינה, ללא צבא. רק לפני 60 שנים, 7 מדינות ערב הכריזו מלחמה על ישראל הקטנה, מדינת היהודים, רק כמה שעות לאחר היווסדה. We were 650,000 Jews against the rest of the Arab world. No IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) or Air Force. We were only a Small group of stubborn people with nowhere to go. היינו 650,000 יהודים כנגד שאר העולם הערבי. ללא צה"ל (צבא הגנה לישראל) או חיל אוויר. היינו רק קבוצה קטנה של אנשים עקשנים עם שום מקום לאן ללכת. Remember: Lebanon , Syria , Iraq , Jordan , Egypt , Libya , and S Audi Arabia , they all attacked at once. The state that the United Nations "gave" us was 65% desert. We started it from Zero. זכרו: לבנון, סוריה, עירק, ירדן, מצרים, לוב וערב הסעודית, כולם תקפו בעת ובעונה אחת. המדינה שהאומות המאוחדות "נתנו" לנו הייתה 65% מדבר. התחלנו את זה מאפס. Only 41 years ago, we fought three of the strongest countries In the Middle East , and we crushed them in the Six Day War. רק לפני 41 שנים, נלחמנו נגד שלוש המדינות החזקות ביותר במזרח התיכון, וריסקנו אותם במלחמת ששת הימים. Over the years we fought different coalitions of=2 0Arab countries With modern armies and with huge amounts of Russian-Soviet Ammunition, and we still won. במהלך השנים נלחמנו בקואליציות שונות של 20 מדינות ערב עם צבאות חדשניים וכמות עצומה של תחמושת רוסית – סובייטית, ועדיין ניצחנו. Today we have a beautiful country, a powerful Army, a strong Air Force, an adequate Navy and a thriving high tech industry. Intel, Microsoft, and IBM have all developed their businesses Here. היום יש לנו מדינה יפיפייה, צבא רב עוצמה, חיל אוויר חזק, חיל ים הולם ותעשיית הי-טק משגשגת. אינטל, מיקרוסופט, ו- I.B.M פיתחו כולם את עסקיהם כאן. Our doctors have won important prizes in the medical Development field. הרופאים שלנו זכו בפרסים חשובים בתחום הפיתוח הרפואי. We turned the desert into a prosperous land. הפכנו את המדבר לאדמה פורחת ומשגשגת. We sell oranges, flowers, and vegetables around the world. אנחנו מוכרים תפוזים, פרחים וירקות בכל רחבי העולם. We launched our own satellite! Three satellites at once! We Are in good company; together with the USA (280 million Residents), Russia (220 million residents), China (1.3 Billion residents) and Europe ( France , England and Germany 35 million residents), we are one of the only countries in the World that have launched something into space! שיגרנו את הלווין שלנו! שלושה לווינים בעת ובעונה אחת! אנחנו בחברה טובה: יחד עם ארה"ב (280 מיליון תושבים), רוסיה (220 מיליון תושבים), סין (1.2 ביליון תושבים) ואירופה (צרפת, אנגליה וגרמניה 35 מיליון תושבים), אנחנו אחת מהמדינות הבודדות בעולם ששיגרו משהו לחלל! Israel today is among the few powerful countries that have Nuclear technology & capabilities. ( We will never admit it, But everyone knows.) ישראל היום היא בין המדינות הבודדות החזקות, שהיא בעלת טכנולוגיה ויכולות גרעיניות. (אנחנו לעולם לא נודה בזה, אבל כולם יודעים). To think that only 65 years ago we were disgraced and Hopeless. לחשוב שרק לפני 65 שנים היינו מבוישים וחסרי תקווה. We crawled out from the burning crematoriums of Europe . We won in all our wars. With a little bit of nothing we built An empire. Who are Khaled Mashal (leader of Hamas) or Hassan Nasrallah (leader of Hezbollah) trying to frighten us? They are amusing us. זחלנו החוצה מהמשרפות הבוערות של אירופה. ניצחנו בכל המלחמות שלנו. עם מעט מכלום בנינו אימפריה. מי אלו חלאד משעל (מנהיג החמאס) או חסאן נסראללה (מנהיג החיזבאללה) המנסים להפחיד אותנו? הם משעשעים אותנו. As we celebrate Independence Day, let's not forget what this Holy day is all about; we overcame everything. בזמן שאנחנו חוגגים את יום העצמאות, בואו לא נשכח מהי המהות של היום הקדוש הזה: התגברנו על הכל. We overcame the Greeks, התגברנו על היוונים, We overcame the Romans, התגברנו על הרומאים, We overcame the Spanish Inquisition, התגברנו על האינקוויזיציה הספרדית, We overcame the Russians pogrom, התגברנו על הפוגרום הרוסי, We overcame Hitler , we overcame Germany and overcame the Holocaust, התגברנו על היטלר, התגברנו על גרמניה והתגברנו על השואה, We overcame the armies of seven countries. התגברנו על הצבאות של 7 מדינות Relax chevray (friends), we will overcome our current enemies. הירגעו חבר'ה, אנחנו נתגבר גם על האויבים הנוכחים Never mind where you look in human history. Think about it, The Jewish nation, our condition has never been better than now. So let's lift our heads up and remember: לא משנה לאן שנביט בהיסטוריה האנושית. תחשבו על זה, העם היהודי, מצבנו מעולם לא היה טוב יותר מאשר עכשיו. אז בואו נישא ראשנו מעלה וזכרו: Never mind which country or culture tries to harm us or erase us From the world. We will still exist and persevere. Egypt ? Anyone Know where the Egyptian empire disappeared to? The Greeks? Alexander Macedon? The Romans? Is anyone speaking Latin Today? The Third Reich? Did anyone hear news from them lately? =0 D לא משנה איזו מדינה או תרבות מנסה לפגוע בנו או למחוק אותנו מהעולם. אנחנו עדיין קיימים ושמורים. מצריים? מישהו יודע לאן האימפריה המצרית נעלמה? היוונים? אלכסנדר מוקדון? הרומאים? האם מישהו מדבר לטינית היום? הרייך השלישי? האם מישהו שמע חדשות מהם לאחרונה? And look at us, the Bible nation – from slavery in Egypt , we are Still here, still speaking the same language. Exactly here, exactly now. והסתכלו עלינו, העם התנ"כי – מעבדות במצרים, אנחנו עדיין כאן, עדיין מדברים את אותה השפה. בדיוק כאן, בדיוק עכשיו. Maybe The Arabs don't know it yet, but we are an eternal nation. All the time that we will keep our identity, we will stay eternal. אולי הערבים עדיין לא יודעים את זה, אבל אנחנו עם נצחי. כל זמן שנשמור על זהותנו, נשאר נצחיים. So, sorry that we are not worrying, complaining, crying, or fearing… אז סליחה שאנחנו לא דואגים, מתלוננים, בוכים או פוחדים..... Business here is beseder (fine). It can definitely be much better, But it is still fine. Don't pay attention to the nonsense in the media, They will not tell you about our festivals here in Israel or about the People that continue living, going out, meeting friends. העסקים כאן בסדר. זה בהחלט יכול להיות טוב יותר, אבל זה עדיין בסדר. אל תשימו לב לשטויות בתקשורת, הם לא יספרו לכם על החגיגות שלנו כאן בישראל או על האנשים שממשיכים לחיות, לצאת ולפגוש חברים. Yes, sometimes morale is down, so what? This is only because we Are mourning the dead while they are celebrating spilled blood. And This is the reason we will win after all. נכון, לפעמים המורל נמוך, אז מה? זה רק בגלל שאנו מבכים את המתים בזמן שהם חוגגים על דם שנשפך. וזו הסיבה לכך שאנו ננצח למרות הכל. Please forward this e-mail to all of your Jewish friends Everywhere in the world. You are all part of our force to Keep our existence. בבקשה העבירו מייל זה לכל חבריכם היהודים, בכל מקום בעולם. כולכם חלק במאמץ שלנו לשמור את קיומנו. This e-mail may help some of us lift our heads up and be Proud to say: מייל זה עשוי לעזור לחלק מאיתנו לשאת את ראשינו מעלה ולהיות גאים לומר: I AM A JEW אני יהודי

Have a nice day,

South Park and the path to Middle East Peace

Which of these things is not like the other?


'South Park' Creators Could Face Retribution for Depicting Muhammad, Website Warns
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/04/20/website-warns-south-park-creators-face-retribution-depicting-muhammad/?test=latestnews

Islam stops First Amendment right of free speech
http://www.examiner.com/x-23325-Tampa-Deism-Examiner~y2010m4d22-Islam-stops-First-Amendment-right-of-free-speech

Dutch court clears Muslim group over Holocaust cartoon
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164949.html


It is flat out racist to have a set of subhuman standards which are acceptable for the Muslims and another set of Humane behavior which is acceptable for Western society.

Until the Western World realises that Muslims are not sub-human, their behavior will remain understandable and acceptable. Only when we demand that the Muslim world behave with equal humanity will there be equality.

And the same logic follows the true path to middle east peace. Until the Muslim world is forced to accept a code of conduct that is on par, there will be no peace. Unless of course Israel adopts the Muslim standards and then commits genocide. But that would be unacceptable, because they are a western society.

Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway: Trade one fraud for another

Great article here: http://www.thestreet.com/story/10729765/1/will-goldman-sachs-stain-warren-buffett.html

For those interested in Buffet, recall that in a recent article the Oracle of Omaha explained that he did not bail out Lehman Bros. because he felt that he couldn't trust them. They hurt their reputation and therefore he would not invest with them.

And now Goldman Sachs has been charged with Fraud by the SEC.

I wonder if he feels betrayed by their behavior or if they disclosed their behavior and Buffet invested anyhow.

What did he know and when did he know it. Shouldn't he tell us? Isn't Berkshire a publicly held company?

People have a myth of Buffet that because he is a smart and talented and hard working investor and talks about integrity, that integrity to him means the same as it does to you.

My problem isn't with Buffet. I admire his skill and his good fortune. I do have a problem with the idol worship of the person; like a movie star without the sex appeal.

Arrest the Religious Courts

Religious Courts, in democratic western countries like Britain, USA, Canada and Israel, operate under the civil code of Binding Arbitration. This means that so long as both parties agree to the terms, the religious court may hear their arguments in a civil case and render a binding judgment.


The specific Rabbis, Imams and priests operate under the social services/counseling laws. This means they operate with confidentiality as it regards a person's behavior. This confidentiality does not cover cases where the client may harm themselves or others or will commit illegal activity. Because these community counselors have no criminal authority they are required to turn over any of these clients to the public legal authority.

The Religious courts, the orthodox Jewish courts and the secret Catholic Church court have violated the law. They have admitted their sins in public: in newspaper articles and other forms of media. They have openly declared that clients came to them with charges of pedophilia and they did not tell the public authorities.

Why does it matter that the church or Jewish courts have their own reasoning to not tell the authorities?

Pedophilia and abuse are ongoing and future criminal acts. As we know, people with these sexual deviance are always a danger and by law the public authorities must be notified.

Why are the courts not held legally criminally liable for conspiracy to commit pedophilia by virtue of their silence.

Can you imagine a principal or the leader of an atheist/humanist group not being prosecuted for covering up for pedophile teachers?

Why can the religious leaders skate by and flout all authority? Simply because they believe in GOD? God permits them to hide pedophiles from the law?

Arrest them all. Charge them all.

But they have power. Not the power of God, but the power of politics and money, like any other criminal enterprise.

Religious Jews: Celebrating sexual repression

In a blog discussing a holiday celebration this line caught my eye :You won’t see them half naked or men and women dancing together." http://lifeinisrael.blogspot.com/2010/04/haredim-do-celebrate-yom-haatzmaut.html


I am struck by the description and fear that the religious jew has of flesh and members of the opposite sex.


What if a religious celebration was described as, groups of sweaty men all dancing close together, touching and hugging each other with no women present?


This is how the religious writer describes how the religious celebrate:"But in many of the yeshivot, special learning connected to the issues of our sovereignty will be learned, stores are closed, and families spend time together and spend quality time in nature."




As if only the religious spend family time together, or shut their stores, or take a hike in a nature preserve. Clearly the author has a bias if the religious are described as celebrating with their family and the secular are described as dancing half naked.


I am further at a loss to understand where the fear of flesh or the opposite sex comes from. Why is it healthy to repress a person's sexuality and then marry them off in their late teens or early twenties? Why is it healthy to force people to have no interaction with flesh or the opposite sex? I submit that the religious attitude to sex and flesh is repressive and unhealthy and damaging. 


If the religious want to celebrate a holiday by keeping the men and women separate, then so be it. But to portray the homo-eroticism of single sex lifestyle as healthy and portray the secular as sexual deviants is not just biased but flat out wrong.

Two Old Jews

Two old Jewish men are sitting and talking. The first one says, "y'know, even now, at my age, the wife and I do it once a week."

The other old man laughs and says, "that's nothing. my wife and I almost do it every night."

"every night?" he asks shocked.

"Yes. we almost do it sunday night, we almost do it monday night, we almost do it tuesday night...."

UFC 112 Recap

UFC 112 may go down in history as the Worst Pay-Per-View.

UFC 112 was an embarrassment and made the sport look bad.

I usually watch the PPVs at a friend's place. Last night he had some mma newbies. They were laughing at the sport.

BJ Penn lost his 155lb belt to Frankie Edgar in a decision. 25 minutes of hopping around.

Anderson Silva looked like a fool as he showed that he could decimate Damian Maia but did not.

Dana White, UFC Prez., said exactly what everyone at the viewing party said last night, ""If you're that talented, be Mike Tyson. go in there and finish," said White. "I'm so blown away and disgusted and saddened."
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter;_ylt=Av8yOJTGXgNdJC2xdmsoI009Eo14

Matt Huges vs Gracie was unremarkable.

I'm so disgusted. I almost didn't write a recap.

I can understand why people would pirate stream the fights, I feel ripped off and don't feel like investing more money into future pay-per-views.

controlling love and honesty

Tough Love -  there are other types of love.
Brutal honesty - why must it be brutal to be honest?

isn't it dishonest to only offer brutal honesty and tough love? 

if you use them as tools occasionally that seems reasonable, but I chafe when people who only care about their own ego and sense of control, who are only brutally honest, pretend that it is honesty or love that compells their behavior. If your only tools for love and honesty are tough and brutal, then you are neither honest nor loving.

UFC 112 Picks

The UFC is going to Abu Dhabi in the UAE for UFC 112. Here are my picks:

[title fight] Anderson "The Spider" Silva will demolish Damian Maia. Maia has amazing Ju-Jitsu but Silva is the best fighter in the MMA world. If Maia makes it to the third round I will be impressed.

[title fight] BJ "The progidy" Penn vs Frankie Edgar: Anouther match between a great champion and a fighter who just isn't at that super elite level. Bj will take it in round 4.

Matt Hughes vs Renzo Gracie: Matt Hughes takes it. Stronger and great wrestling and faster will trump Gracie's brilliant BJJ.

Check out the rest of the card at : http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=EventDetail.home&eid=2890

In other MMA news, Roger 'el matador' Huerta, a fan favorite, one his first fight back into the world of MMA. Huerta now fights under the Bellator label. A shame really. I'd love to see a remtch between him and Clay Guida in the UFC. But either way, best of luck to you Roger.

My Problem with Religion

"Everything trumps kindness." - M. K.

I wanted to know how to live my life, how to walk my path. My friend asked his wife how they should raise their children, what guiding principles. She told him that she was raised with one rule, "be kind." and everything else was just history or culture or ritual, kindness was the guiding principle.

"The problem with religion," she said, "is that everything trumps kindness."

When you meet a kind religious person it is because that person is a kind person.  There is no commandment to be kind. There is no mention of kindness in the ten commandments. Parents cut off relationships with their child who married out, or won't eat at a function because they keep a different hechsher. If you are religious, every rule and ritual trumps kindness.

I would rather be kind and raise my children to be kind and let them connect to their history and culture through the prism of humanity then through an unyeilding uncompromising rulebook.

Love only yourself with God

"I would rather believe there is something after death, that there is a god and life after death then be an atheist and think there is nothing and then get up there, look at god, and say, "wow was I wrong." - argument by a masters of divinity student.


Except for this: How many Gods are there? How many Gods have there been?

This divinity student is Catholic. He makes no case for the idea that he might die, go to a heaven, and look at god and say "wow was I wrong" because the god he meets is Zeus.

Religious people and Atheists both reject Gods. A religious catholic denies the divinity of 999 Gods and an atheist denies the existence of 1000 gods; just denying one more god, yours.

Apparently, religious people may appreciate that someone believes in a different god then not believe in any god.

In Psychology there was a popular theory that many 'bad' people behaved badly because they had low self esteem. Now there is a recognition that psychopaths love themselves, have very high self esteem, that they are narcissistic and they lash out when people challenge their high view of themselves or interfere with their attempts to reward themselves.

Religion seems to have a similar narcissistic streak. Religious people are more accepting of other religious people then they are of Atheism. The sense is that with other religions, at least those people also have a black and white. god based sense of the world. Therefore, while the god and rules may be different it does not challenge the personal view of belief in Deity. Atheism denies your god's existence. That personal challenge to one's point of view causes the narcissist to revolt at the idea.

Just one more god then you; that is all the denial that separates us.