The Council of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, passed a resolution banning the purchase of all products produced in Israel. Well folks, time for a little activism.
To read about the boycott and to see the list of Scotch whiskeys not produced in the area and, therefore, okay for purchase (scroll all the way down) go to http://muqata.blogspot.com/p/official-scotch-whisky-counter-boycott.html
Please keep this in mind--drinking Scotch is a want, not a need, and we so do not need to support an area whose anti-Israel, anti-zionist rhetoric is appalling. They want to ban Israeli products? Well two can play at that game. I hope they find out that they've bitten off lots more than they can chew, and I hope they choke swallowing.
Yes, I hope you pass this information on to others, lots of others, and I hope you add a personal request asking people to not buy any of the Scotch whiskeys from this area.
Please note: taken from the muqata (thanks Jameel): The following Scotches are not under the ban, not being made in West Dumbartonshire-- Glenmorangie,Oban,Glenfiddich
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
On Prioritizing
Thanks to my offspring for sending me this via email. Has some points to ponder that are well worth pondering.
The Mayonnaise Jar
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,When 24 hours in a day is not enough,Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - family, Children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions – Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else --The small stuff.
'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, You will never have room for the things that are important to you.
So... Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. 'Take care of the golf balls first -- The things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked'. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'
The Mayonnaise Jar
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,When 24 hours in a day is not enough,Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - family, Children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions – Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else --The small stuff.
'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, You will never have room for the things that are important to you.
So... Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. 'Take care of the golf balls first -- The things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked'. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'
Monday, May 30, 2011
What Price Choice?
The theme this year for my college's second level composition classes is "What Price Choice?" All the class readings are exemplars of people who face a choice and who pay a price for that choice. In many of the readings an individual's choice is complicated by the choices of the groups/society around that person. How do individuals choose when the results of a choice may put them in conflict with what their society has chosen? Do they choose to go along with everyone else, even if that choice may not make them happy or may cause them difficulties, or do they choose to go against society, where negative consequences may ensue?
This idea of choice and its consequences can certainly apply to the members of Klal, and, indeed, may be at the root of some of the problems and issues that are important today. I'd say that the majority of us in Klal are fairly intelligent. Faced with actual facts we can see if continuing to do something may be detrimental or not. And yet, few individuals, even knowing that the choice they are about to make won't be good for them, personally choose not to make that choice.
A rational human being can add 2+2 and see that if you only have X number of dollars available to you, you can't spend X+30,000. But members of Klal regularly do spend that X+$30,000 and find themselves in financial straits. Why do they do this? Because the group they are a part of has declared that what that 30,000 pays for is a "must have." If you want to be a member of this group then you have to have what the group says you have to have. The group lets you know that if you choose not to spend that 30,000 you don't have to pay for the required items then you will not be a member in good standing, you will be outside of the group, you may be shunned. And most members of Klal buckle under.
Here is where things get sticky however. Just who is this "group" that exercises this control? We know that Klal has no centralized leadership, no group at the top of the pyramid that can be pointed to. Granted, smaller groupings within Klal may have a Rav that they consider as their final decider. Certain geographic areas seem to have some cohesion when it comes to practices that that area "approves" of or doesn't approve of. There are customs as regards public (and yes, some private) gatherings. So, we all seem to buckle under, at least in some areas, without any real idea as to who made the decision that X has to be done. So yes, just who is it we are afraid of going against when we do things that "they" have decided we must not do? If "Big Brother" is watching, just who is this Big Brother? And what is our culpability, as individuals, when we contribute to this ephemeral but powerful peer pressure?
This whole issue reminds me of back when I was young and people were sometimes afraid of the dark because "The Bogeyman will get you." Strangely enough, or perhaps not so strangely, not one person ever, ever saw that Bogeyman, nor were there any reliable documentations of anyone ever being "gotten" by that Bogeyman. And yet, the warning was internalized and worked with as if it were a proven fact. So, doing anything that "they" deem outside of the norm will be "bad for shidduchim" seems to be just another Bogeyman--no proof, no sense, sometimes wholly irrational, but held onto as if it were, in fact, Torah Mi'Sinai.
This idea of choice and its consequences can certainly apply to the members of Klal, and, indeed, may be at the root of some of the problems and issues that are important today. I'd say that the majority of us in Klal are fairly intelligent. Faced with actual facts we can see if continuing to do something may be detrimental or not. And yet, few individuals, even knowing that the choice they are about to make won't be good for them, personally choose not to make that choice.
A rational human being can add 2+2 and see that if you only have X number of dollars available to you, you can't spend X+30,000. But members of Klal regularly do spend that X+$30,000 and find themselves in financial straits. Why do they do this? Because the group they are a part of has declared that what that 30,000 pays for is a "must have." If you want to be a member of this group then you have to have what the group says you have to have. The group lets you know that if you choose not to spend that 30,000 you don't have to pay for the required items then you will not be a member in good standing, you will be outside of the group, you may be shunned. And most members of Klal buckle under.
Here is where things get sticky however. Just who is this "group" that exercises this control? We know that Klal has no centralized leadership, no group at the top of the pyramid that can be pointed to. Granted, smaller groupings within Klal may have a Rav that they consider as their final decider. Certain geographic areas seem to have some cohesion when it comes to practices that that area "approves" of or doesn't approve of. There are customs as regards public (and yes, some private) gatherings. So, we all seem to buckle under, at least in some areas, without any real idea as to who made the decision that X has to be done. So yes, just who is it we are afraid of going against when we do things that "they" have decided we must not do? If "Big Brother" is watching, just who is this Big Brother? And what is our culpability, as individuals, when we contribute to this ephemeral but powerful peer pressure?
This whole issue reminds me of back when I was young and people were sometimes afraid of the dark because "The Bogeyman will get you." Strangely enough, or perhaps not so strangely, not one person ever, ever saw that Bogeyman, nor were there any reliable documentations of anyone ever being "gotten" by that Bogeyman. And yet, the warning was internalized and worked with as if it were a proven fact. So, doing anything that "they" deem outside of the norm will be "bad for shidduchim" seems to be just another Bogeyman--no proof, no sense, sometimes wholly irrational, but held onto as if it were, in fact, Torah Mi'Sinai.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Tidbits from the Past
Some interesting happenings for the period of May 29 through June 4.
May
29 Famous Abraham Lincoln quote: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, & all of the people some of time, but you can't fool all of the people all of time." (1849)
29 Sir Edmund Hillary is on top of the world. He is the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. (1953)
29 Bing Crosby sings "White Christmas" into the record books as the biggest selling record. (1942)
30 The brassiere is invented. As we understand, it received a lot of support. (1889)
31 The trans-Alaska pipeline is completed. (1977)
June
1 The term "Don't give up the ship!' is coined by Captain James Lawrence of the U.S. Chesapeake. (1813)
1 Superman Comic is published (1938)
1 Ed Sullivan's final show. (1971)
2 PT Barnum's circus begins first tour of US (1835)
2 Grover Cleveland is married while serving as U.S. president.(1886)
2 Congress grants U.S. citizenship to people of American Indian descent.(1924)
3 The Rolling Stones begin their first US tour. (1964)
4 China becomes the first to record a solar eclipse. (780 BC)
4 After winning 122 straight races, hurdler Edwin Moses' winning streak is broken. (1987)
May
29 Famous Abraham Lincoln quote: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, & all of the people some of time, but you can't fool all of the people all of time." (1849)
29 Sir Edmund Hillary is on top of the world. He is the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. (1953)
29 Bing Crosby sings "White Christmas" into the record books as the biggest selling record. (1942)
30 The brassiere is invented. As we understand, it received a lot of support. (1889)
31 The trans-Alaska pipeline is completed. (1977)
June
1 The term "Don't give up the ship!' is coined by Captain James Lawrence of the U.S. Chesapeake. (1813)
1 Superman Comic is published (1938)
1 Ed Sullivan's final show. (1971)
2 PT Barnum's circus begins first tour of US (1835)
2 Grover Cleveland is married while serving as U.S. president.(1886)
2 Congress grants U.S. citizenship to people of American Indian descent.(1924)
3 The Rolling Stones begin their first US tour. (1964)
4 China becomes the first to record a solar eclipse. (780 BC)
4 After winning 122 straight races, hurdler Edwin Moses' winning streak is broken. (1987)
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Before We Talk About the Golden Years
More than a few comments on The Golden Years posting asked "So where do we go from here?" I've been giving that some thought. I think we have a major job to do before we can set into place any programs for our upcoming Boomer seniors. Thoughts about what? Read on.
Intuitively, based on personal experience, we know that there are an awful lot of tzedaka organizations and programs and institutions serving Klal right now. It seems like our mailboxes are always full, the emails come by the dozens, the phone calls by the hundreds and the collectors by the carload. And yet, do we really have any idea just how many organizations, programs and institutions we are supporting? The problem of gaining this knowledge is further complicated by the fact that not all programs are just in the NY area but across the country and certainly all over Israel.
Why should we know this information? You can't budget when you don't know precisely just what will need to be supported. You can't divide money if you don't know into how many portions that money needs to be divided into. I've written before that there is duplication in some areas where there really should not be. That duplication--let's say 12 smaller groups instead of 1-2 larger groups--results in duplicated expenses and overhead, taking away from the funds available to be used for the purposes of a program. Yes, in some cases that duplication is actually necessary. To do what it is supposed to do, to serve well, Hatzoloh of SI can't also service Brooklyn, and vice-versa. It certainly can't service Baltimore, or Chicago or Los Angeles. The same can be said about the various local Bikur Cholim groups. But there are hundreds of other groups out there, many of which do duplicate services within a geographic area or cross geographic areas, and many of which leech money out of the community without actually providing a needed/well-run service.
So, first thing some people with an organizational bent need to compile what we don't presently have--a master list of all organizations providing services to the Jewish community. The easiest place to start is by asking every community here in the US to compile a master list of every organization/program/institution that is based in that community. Also, people active in a particular type of organization seem to know about other such organizations located elsewhere--get their input. Synagogues and the programs they offer should also be included in this discovery. Those communities which have Jewish Community Centers should also include the programs offered by these places.
Once such lists are compiled and sent to a central place, we'd need volunteers to create a computer database with all the information. Then the information needs to be divided into categories.
Of course, this is only step one. Once we know how many of each type of organization might be present, we then need to do some investigating into how many people are actually serviced by each group. What kinds of expenses do each of these groups have?
The next logical step, after we know what we presently have to support, is to make a list of what types of services and programs are missing that we need for the community. How many of these services will be necessary? Relatively how expensive or inexpensive will it be to put these programs into service?
Yes, I know this is going to be considered a time-consuming project to undertake. But what choice do we really have? It is more than clear that Klal is in financial trouble, and that the money to support all its programs and institutions as presently structured doesn't seem to be there. But it's all conjecture unless and until we see actual figures in front of us. If we don't know what needs supporting and how much money that supporting will take, how can we possibly have a rational discussion on where Klal's money should go?
So, first things first. Let's get the real facts about just where our money is going now, to what types of programs and institutions. We need to become good gardeners in order for Klal to be healthy. A good gardener knows that first you look at your plot and see how much space you have for new planting. A good gardener recognizes when some plantings have become rampant, taking over the area dedicated to a different planting and threatening that different planting's health and vitality. A good gardener knows that there needs to be balance among plantings so that every plant can get what it needs, but not at the expense of another plant. And a good gardener also knows that first you weed the garden, getting rid of the chaff, before you plant a new plant. So yes, in this season of gardening it's time for us to look at Klal's plot and to do the maintenance required so that the garden of Klal can grow healthily and provide beauty and joy and sustenance rather than being a tangled mess.
Intuitively, based on personal experience, we know that there are an awful lot of tzedaka organizations and programs and institutions serving Klal right now. It seems like our mailboxes are always full, the emails come by the dozens, the phone calls by the hundreds and the collectors by the carload. And yet, do we really have any idea just how many organizations, programs and institutions we are supporting? The problem of gaining this knowledge is further complicated by the fact that not all programs are just in the NY area but across the country and certainly all over Israel.
Why should we know this information? You can't budget when you don't know precisely just what will need to be supported. You can't divide money if you don't know into how many portions that money needs to be divided into. I've written before that there is duplication in some areas where there really should not be. That duplication--let's say 12 smaller groups instead of 1-2 larger groups--results in duplicated expenses and overhead, taking away from the funds available to be used for the purposes of a program. Yes, in some cases that duplication is actually necessary. To do what it is supposed to do, to serve well, Hatzoloh of SI can't also service Brooklyn, and vice-versa. It certainly can't service Baltimore, or Chicago or Los Angeles. The same can be said about the various local Bikur Cholim groups. But there are hundreds of other groups out there, many of which do duplicate services within a geographic area or cross geographic areas, and many of which leech money out of the community without actually providing a needed/well-run service.
So, first thing some people with an organizational bent need to compile what we don't presently have--a master list of all organizations providing services to the Jewish community. The easiest place to start is by asking every community here in the US to compile a master list of every organization/program/institution that is based in that community. Also, people active in a particular type of organization seem to know about other such organizations located elsewhere--get their input. Synagogues and the programs they offer should also be included in this discovery. Those communities which have Jewish Community Centers should also include the programs offered by these places.
Once such lists are compiled and sent to a central place, we'd need volunteers to create a computer database with all the information. Then the information needs to be divided into categories.
Of course, this is only step one. Once we know how many of each type of organization might be present, we then need to do some investigating into how many people are actually serviced by each group. What kinds of expenses do each of these groups have?
The next logical step, after we know what we presently have to support, is to make a list of what types of services and programs are missing that we need for the community. How many of these services will be necessary? Relatively how expensive or inexpensive will it be to put these programs into service?
Yes, I know this is going to be considered a time-consuming project to undertake. But what choice do we really have? It is more than clear that Klal is in financial trouble, and that the money to support all its programs and institutions as presently structured doesn't seem to be there. But it's all conjecture unless and until we see actual figures in front of us. If we don't know what needs supporting and how much money that supporting will take, how can we possibly have a rational discussion on where Klal's money should go?
So, first things first. Let's get the real facts about just where our money is going now, to what types of programs and institutions. We need to become good gardeners in order for Klal to be healthy. A good gardener knows that first you look at your plot and see how much space you have for new planting. A good gardener recognizes when some plantings have become rampant, taking over the area dedicated to a different planting and threatening that different planting's health and vitality. A good gardener knows that there needs to be balance among plantings so that every plant can get what it needs, but not at the expense of another plant. And a good gardener also knows that first you weed the garden, getting rid of the chaff, before you plant a new plant. So yes, in this season of gardening it's time for us to look at Klal's plot and to do the maintenance required so that the garden of Klal can grow healthily and provide beauty and joy and sustenance rather than being a tangled mess.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Someone is Paying Attention to Marketing
I'm not telling you anything new when I say that Jewish publications and organizations have gone slightly batty in what they consider appropriate pictures. Where once pictures of women and girls routinely appeared on the pages of the publications, today they are photoshopped out as a matter of tsnius, or so they say. And it's also no secret that this attitude is causing a further breach between the more left and more right wings of frum Jews.
Enter money. Sure, there are some in the most right sectors of the frum world with some money. But given attitudes towards education, training and working in this sector I'd venture to say that there is more money among those in the groups more to the middle and the left of the frum world. The right wing elements aren't stupid--they know where the money is--and they routinely approach those of the middle and left for donations to support the structures of the right. A lot of those so approached are not giving any longer or have greatly reduced what they are giving, not liking what they see happening in the far right.
Well, someone on the right finally figured out that "tsnius" is going to have to take a backseat when money is involved. I received in the mail a full-color 5x12 postcard, printed on both sides, reminding me about the 103rd Anniversary Dinner for one of those truly to the right schools. And yes, my mouth dropped open. I know this school rather well, and what I was seeing on that postcard was not what you would see in the school.
First, one one side there were pictures of girls and on the other side there were pictures of boys. Pictures of girls? Okay, the girls were fairly young--maybe in the 4-7 range, but still. The boys looked a bit older than that. But here is what was truly puzzling--not a single picture showed a student wearing the school uniform, nor were the students pictured wearing what we usually think of as right wing dress. Two of the girls were--gasp!--wearing articles made out of denim. The outfits were in a variety of real colors. Of the six boys pictured only one was wearing a white shirt--the others were wearing colorful plaid shirts, one wearing an obvious hoodie.
Yup, I'm truly suspicious as to why this postcard was sent out. Further, I wonder if everyone got the same postcard or if this postcard was mailed only to those not in the yeshiva's "family." The whole presentation reminded me of the type of literature you still might get from a kiruv organization, showing children who were being brought back into the fold but not yet right wingers.
As I said, I know just what position this particular yeshiva holds in the frum world, and it isn't anything like what is pictured on that postcard. But for someone who wouldn't know, the postcard makes the school look like a middle of the road place, someplace the middle of the roaders might want to give some money, or even those way to the left.
Amazing--when it comes to money then hyper tsnius takes a seat so far back on the bus it isn't even a passenger.
Enter money. Sure, there are some in the most right sectors of the frum world with some money. But given attitudes towards education, training and working in this sector I'd venture to say that there is more money among those in the groups more to the middle and the left of the frum world. The right wing elements aren't stupid--they know where the money is--and they routinely approach those of the middle and left for donations to support the structures of the right. A lot of those so approached are not giving any longer or have greatly reduced what they are giving, not liking what they see happening in the far right.
Well, someone on the right finally figured out that "tsnius" is going to have to take a backseat when money is involved. I received in the mail a full-color 5x12 postcard, printed on both sides, reminding me about the 103rd Anniversary Dinner for one of those truly to the right schools. And yes, my mouth dropped open. I know this school rather well, and what I was seeing on that postcard was not what you would see in the school.
First, one one side there were pictures of girls and on the other side there were pictures of boys. Pictures of girls? Okay, the girls were fairly young--maybe in the 4-7 range, but still. The boys looked a bit older than that. But here is what was truly puzzling--not a single picture showed a student wearing the school uniform, nor were the students pictured wearing what we usually think of as right wing dress. Two of the girls were--gasp!--wearing articles made out of denim. The outfits were in a variety of real colors. Of the six boys pictured only one was wearing a white shirt--the others were wearing colorful plaid shirts, one wearing an obvious hoodie.
Yup, I'm truly suspicious as to why this postcard was sent out. Further, I wonder if everyone got the same postcard or if this postcard was mailed only to those not in the yeshiva's "family." The whole presentation reminded me of the type of literature you still might get from a kiruv organization, showing children who were being brought back into the fold but not yet right wingers.
As I said, I know just what position this particular yeshiva holds in the frum world, and it isn't anything like what is pictured on that postcard. But for someone who wouldn't know, the postcard makes the school look like a middle of the road place, someplace the middle of the roaders might want to give some money, or even those way to the left.
Amazing--when it comes to money then hyper tsnius takes a seat so far back on the bus it isn't even a passenger.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Tidbits from the Past
Some interesting happenings for the time period of May 22 through May 28.
22 Former Vice President Aaron Burr is tried and acquitted for treason. (1807)
22 The Great Train Robbery. (1868)
22 First reported sighting of the Loch Ness Monster. (1933)
22 The debut of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."(1967)
23 Legendary bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde Barrow are shot to death in a police ambush in Louisiana. (1934)
24 Nursery Rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was written by Mary Hale of Boston. (1830)
25 Ford ceases production of the Model "T." (1927)
25 The movie blockbuster "Star Wars" is released. (1978)
26 Michael Jackson marries Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley. (1994)
27 Achsah Young is the first woman to be executed as a witch in Massachusetts. (1647)
27 The pop-up toaster is patented. (1919)
27 German battleship Bismarck sunk by British navy. (1941)
28 President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushes a button that opens San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. (1937)
22 Former Vice President Aaron Burr is tried and acquitted for treason. (1807)
22 The Great Train Robbery. (1868)
22 First reported sighting of the Loch Ness Monster. (1933)
22 The debut of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."(1967)
23 Legendary bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde Barrow are shot to death in a police ambush in Louisiana. (1934)
24 Nursery Rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was written by Mary Hale of Boston. (1830)
25 Ford ceases production of the Model "T." (1927)
25 The movie blockbuster "Star Wars" is released. (1978)
26 Michael Jackson marries Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley. (1994)
27 Achsah Young is the first woman to be executed as a witch in Massachusetts. (1647)
27 The pop-up toaster is patented. (1919)
27 German battleship Bismarck sunk by British navy. (1941)
28 President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushes a button that opens San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. (1937)
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