Magdeburger Joe (Also Known As Magdeburger Chossid)

Thoughts Before Sukkos 5769

2008-10-13T15:34:00.003-04:00

Sukkot starts shortly before sunset tonight. There are two aspects of Sukkot that impress me every year. One is the theme of vulnerability. Any other time of year, we can sit at our tables and securely look at raindrops coursing down our window panes. If rain blows in, we close the windows. We look at the stove and timers for the air conditioning to determine our comfort.

On Sukkot, we have no protection against rain. We hope and pray that we won't get washed out of the Sukkah. We have no choice. At the same time, we are aware that rain occupies an important place in the natural balance, however it may inconvenience us. To properly observe the mitzva of Sukkah, we must leave the possibility of even a slight rain penetrating the roof of the Sukkah If we cover the roof, then the Sukkah is no longer fit for the performance of a mitzvah.

The Sukkah is often visible from the street. People who pass by often ask what they are. It is at times like that that one has the opportunity to explain how we were in the desert for forty years, provided for by G-d. Sukkot tends to be more of an open holiday, where people visit each other's Sukkahs. Pesakh by contrast is a holiday in which various strictnesses make visiting our neighbours more complex for some people.

On Pesach, the children of the household ask questions about the seder. On Sukkos, passers by ask questions about the Sukkah. Additionally, in the times of the Bet HaMikdash (the temple), sacrifices were offered on behalf of the nations of the world. During Pesach, the goal of perfecting ourselves is a dominant theme. On Sukkos, the theme of bringing light to the world seems much more revealed.

Between the three festivals, you have Pesach, which involves self improvement. This paves the way directly for revelation on Shavuos, which is the festival seven weeks after Pesach when the Torah was given. Both preparation and revelation leave us the ability and duty to bring light into the world.

One of the other distinguishing features of Sukkot is the blessings said on the four species. The lulav, (palm branch), esrog (citron), hadassim(myrtle),and arovos (willow) represent between them the entire spectrum of Jews, from those with good deeds and Torah knowledge to those with neither learning nor good deeds. All four species representing all types of Jews are necessary for the blessing on the four species. If one of the four is missing, then the mitzvah can not be performed.

On Sukkot, we are reminded of the interconnectedness of the holidays. Just as the organs of the body have separate functions that are interconnected and interdependent, so too does our calendar of holidays function, and within it the Jewish people represented by the four species.

There is a saying that if you don't know how to explain something, that you really don't understand it. The questions of our children at our tables and the questions of passers by who note the presence of a" shack" a "hut" or a "tent" in our front yard focus us. The effort needed to explain to others gives us a clarity within ourselves. Our interdependence on this good ship earth is very much revealed during this long holiday. We are all connected, all interdependent. And it is all very clear during Khag HaSukkot, the Festival of Booths.

Khag Someakh. May the Jewish people and the world be blessed

McCain's Unheeded Warnings and Pelosi Payola

2008-10-12T21:35:00.004-04:00

Back in 2006, John McCain wrote an eerily prophetic letter on Senate stationery. It is signed by 19 other U.S. Senators. Barack Obama absent from the ranks of the signers. The only signatories to the letter are Republicans. At a time when Barney Frank was assuring the public of Fannie and Freddie’s robust solvency, John McCain was asking probing questions that no one on the Democratic side of the aisle wanted to heed warnings.

By contrast, a chorus of Administration figures from Bush on down repeatedly warned the nation as early as April 2001. Who reassured us that all was well? Barney Frank, Charles Schumer and other Democrats. How did they use their influence? They blocked any effective regulations proposed by the Republicans.

Who will take effective remedial action if Obama is presiding over a Democratic Congress? ACORN is pushing night and day to get Barack Obama elected by any means, fair or foul. Acorn also pushed for some of the riskiest home mortgages, many of which are now in default.

We are being hypnotised with a mantra of change……change…… change……. against a backdrop of Obama’s rising poll numbers.

Click here for complete article and McCain's letter

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Pelosi Payola

Nancy Pelosi, the woman who turned the lights out in Congress, is getting ready to call Congress into emergency session after the election in November to pass food stamp increases, unemployment extensions and possibly a tax rebate if Obama is elected, according to an article in My Way News.

According to the article “After consulting with Barack Obama, Democratic leaders are likely to call Congress back to work after the election in hopes of passing legislation that would include extended jobless benefits, money for food stamps and possibly a tax rebate, officials said Saturday.

The bill’s total cost could reach $150 billion.”

According to the article, Democrats are increasingly bullish on their election chances, even as pessimism gains traction with the public about the economy. The promise to convene after the election is predicated on massive Democratic victories. No word is given of what would happen if McCain wins. The $150 billion will come from a far less healthy tax base than existed even a few months ago. In the world of government, expenditures are solid, even though tax receipts are far less certain.

click here for complete article

Thoughts About Our Troubled Times

2008-10-10T16:45:00.001-04:00

As the figures come in, it appears that this is the biggest financial crisis in the little over half a century that I have been on this earth. In all the difficulties are opportunities for redirection.

We are finding out how much wealth can be created on paper through bluff . People buy and sell property and pump the price up. Then they borrow on the value they have created. When the market "corrects", investors are left with their financial boats docked on sand at high tide.

It is certain that this failure of the financial system to will be studied in order to avoid a repetition in the future.

For years , modest homes that were built for working people were within their means. The mushrooming prices of real estate have left millions treading water with no hope of home ownership. Will a correction in the real estate market ultimately benefit people left behind in the boom years? Just like food is meant to be eaten and not stored forever, so too are dwellings ultimately for human use, rather than simply as investments. We need to rediscover our sense of proportion. Families were becoming enslaved to the roof over their heads and spending less time under that roof with their children. This modern day serfdom needs to be reexamined.

There will be a recovery. Perhaps there will be a reexamination of the practice of building castles on clouds, of building wealth on perceptions instead of substance. The vastness of our current difficulties that has spilled across borders reminds us of the storms we can create with the choices we make as investors. Now we all face that storm together. Whether we are business owners, workers or financiers, we are all sailors on the good ship earth. We need each other and G-d's help

Thoughts of Francesco Guccini, Italy's Bob Dylan

2008-10-10T04:07:00.008-04:00

Francesco Guccini was born in 1940 in the village of Modena. He was displaced with his family for a few months during the war. From the late sixties until even the present, Guccini has loomed large on the Italian musical scene. He is compared to Bob Dylan in America. Both have songs of literary as well as musical value. Both also have influenced other musicians. The Modena City Ramblers as well as I Nomadi were spinoffs of Guccini, and performed some of his songs.

Although Guccini's lyrics seem left of centre in their orientation, they have a soulful quality that escapes dogmatism.

I fell in love with the song in this posting without knowing what it was about. The song is about a railroad worker in the nineteenth century who revolted unsuccessfully against the railroad in which he was employed. I was able to get a sense of the song from a somewhat surrealistic computer generated translation of its lyrics.

The impression I got from the translation was of a worker who felt angry and threatened by the novel invention of the railroads and the turbulence they inflicted upon the order in his daily struggle for sustenance. I feel much the same about some of the inventions that have revolutionised our century.

Listening to music in Italian is for me like going to Prospect Park and gazing into the pond there, attempting to penetrate the reflections from the water with a steady gaze. Sometimes I get a flicker of colour. Sometimes I can even see an entire fish or a submerged turtle or frog. But most of what goes on beneath the water is beyond me. So too is music in Italian for me. I catch fleeting glimpses of its musical and linguistic beauty. But much of its full range of emotion and meaning is beyond me.

I hope you, my readers enjoy this music as much as I have. Francesco Guccini has made great contributions to Italian music. It is fitting that he should come to the attention of Anglophone listeners

Yom Kippur Thoughts

2008-10-08T16:28:00.004-04:00

I bought a watch from an Argentinian friend for my wife's birthday. As we concluded the purchase, we wished each other and the country well.

The current financial crisis evoked for him memories of Argentina's difficulties a few years ago, when bank after bank closed their doors. Wealthy people were reduced to poverty. Thank G-d they have mostly recovered.

How much did banks measure their wealth by perceptions.?A bank could hold the deed to a million dollar mortgage. But it was only good as long as the borrower could pay. And what happens when a house loses value? What makes a house lose value? The Hebrew term for a home owner is a baal habayis. This translates as "master of the house". How many of us are really slaves to the roof over our head? Banks find ways to raise interest on our assorted loans like a tread mill that goes faster and faster. And when we fail, they ultimately fail. An adversarial relationship helps no one whether we like it or not.

How many countries have fabulous wealth in the ground that evaporates because it is mishandled? The Congo has gold and diamonds as well as mineral wealth. Argentina could have been as wealthy as any country in Europe. What derailed them from greatness was the political culture. It was people who enriched themselves at the expense of the country.

America and Europe are up against the same obstacles. Human nature and human goodness can produce wealth. Selfishness ultimately leads to collective poverty. Employers can choose to exploit their employees. Banks can bleed their borrowers without mercy. And employees can bleed their companies into insolvency. They are all drilling holes in the boat they share.

Working together we can create abundance. Our planet has an operating manual. G-d did not set us adrift without a map. Every G-d given law is for the common good.

The expression "smart money" is unwittingly profound. It points to the truth that wealth has no intelligence of its own. It is an extension of what we make it. And what we make of wealth depends on what we make of ourselves. The wealth within ourselves and the goodness in human relationships does not exist separately from money in the bank.

On Yom Kippur, rich and poor wear the same white garment. It is one of the garments in which a man is buried. The choice of attire is an opportunity to focus on matters other than material wealth, to focus on the endless riches of an imortal soul and the power of everyone to coin good deeds.

We can, we should, we must carry this awareness into the year ahead

Gaelic Lives!!

2008-10-07T20:55:00.005-04:00

h Sting and the Chieftains Mo Ghile Mear (With Some English

I grew up around many people of Irish ancestry. Some of my friends had grandparents who fought the British for Irish independence. The Irish suffered a lot of discrimination when they came to America. Their traditions and faith were mocked by those who had been in America longer. When my mother told me stories of discrimination endured by Slavic immigrants, she sounded a note very similar to the stories told by nuns of Irish ancestry who taught me and a student body that was in large part Irish American.

It is odd that Irish Gaelic is struggling for survival in its homeland.Irish writers used the language of their conquerors with skill. The English left the predominance of their language as a legacy of the British occupation. Force of will and ethnic pride is however bringing back a resurgence of Irish Gaelic. Not only is it being taught in schools. Some rural areas where Gaelic is spoken in a pure form are being maintained as language preserves.

I do not know a word of Gaelic except for a phrase taught to me by an Irish bartender that would not endear me to anyone who would understand it. But I love the sound of the language.Whenever I listen to Irish music, I try to find it in Gaelic. The death of a language leaves me with an indescribable sadness. A tongue that joins even two people has a soul. There is a melancholy to the thought of the last speaker of a dying tongue singing a song no longer understood by the living. From Coptic to Cornish, the march of human progress is littered with languages left by the wayside.

I am including with this posting two songs that showcase the beauty of Gaelic. I hope this posting inspires in some of my readers an interest in Irish music and in others the desire to preserve their ancestral language and traditions, whatever they may be

Obama's Dubious "Outreach" Efforts and Thoughts of East Germany

2008-10-06T23:02:00.004-04:00

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and American Ally

The spreading news of an “Obama Jugend” (Obama Youth) movement budding in the midst of the presidential campaign troubles me. The idea of party youth groups has a historical resonance that is very troubling.

With the prominence of women in this political race, I find myself thinking of Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany . Merkel was born in the former East Germany to a father who was a Lutheran pastor widely viewed as sympathetic to the communist regime then in power. Although she was at one time a member of FDJ (Free German Youth), she refused to participate in its “Jugendweihe” (youth consecration) ceremony, a common experience to East German youth at the age of 14. Instead, she chose to be confirmed in the Lutheran church. Merkel graduated from the University of Leipzig and has a degree in physics. She is fluent in Russian.

Merkel became active in the democratisation movement “Democratic Awakening” in the late eighties that culminated in the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany. She was elected to the Bundestag after reunification. Her political party later merged with the Christian Democratic Party.

Click Here for complete article and music videos

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Obama Campaign Reaches Out For Felon Vote

The Obama campaign is trying to get any vote it can in closely contested states. The strategy of appealing to various constituencies has been extended to convicted felons.

According to an MSNBC article,“Obama has co-sponsored a Senate measure that would allow all ex-felons to vote, but his campaign isn’t directly targeting ex-felons for registration. His campaign does include relevant info on its Web site and educates volunteers so they can explain state laws to those who may not realize they have the right to vote, according to campaign spokesman Kevin Griffis

“All we’re trying to do is make sure that, if someone is eligible, that they know their rights and that if they want to vote, they can take part,” Griffis said Tuesday. “I think there’s a lot of misinformation out there. Even people who may have been guilty of a misdemeanor feel like the felony laws apply to them and say they can’t vote.”

It is interesting that the Obama campaign assumes that the loyalty of ex-felons is a given. African American communities are afflicted with violent crime rates far higher than those found in white areas. The Obama campaign could give a voice to the weary and traumatised majority of African Americans who are sick of violent crime. He could even articulate a distinction between

Click here for entire article

Thank You Chiune Sugihara

2008-10-05T04:09:00.004-04:00

A true test of character is when someone does the right thing with no hope of reward and a strong likelihood of punishment. Chiune Sugihara of blessed memory passed this test when he was the Japanese consul in Kovno, Lithuania in 1941 at the outbreak of war between the USSR and Germany.

Japanese foreign ministry rules were very strict about issuing residence or transit visas for Japan. A transit visa could only be issued when the applicant had a destination visa for a country willing to accept him. The Dutch colony of Curacao required no visa and issued letters to that effect to those who requested it. This was an extremely dubious loophole for visa applicants. Sugihara's superiors specifically prohibited this as a grounds for issuing a transit visa.

Chiune Sugihara disobeyed his superiors flagrantly and repeatedly in a society and work environment that frowned on disobedience. He did nothing but issue visas from morning to night for days on end. Some desperate applicants came without passports. He would not turn them away. The task was physically demanding. He had to sometimes write out visas by hand one after the other until hundreds of grateful recipients thronged past counting. When his consulate closed, he issued visas from his hotel room. When he was leaving Lithuania, he issued visas from the train station. Only the departure of the train stopped his untiring hands from their work of mercy.

Sugihara's wife supported his work with all her heart. Her eyes filled with tears even decades later as she described the desperation of the refugees.

After the war, Sugihara lost his foreign ministry position. The official story is that it was simply a post war shake up. According to his wife, there was displeasure with his actions in Kovno.

Sugihara did not have an easy life. He spent sixteen years working away from his family in the USSR to make a living.

In 1968, a grateful beneficiary of Sugihara's efforts, Yehoshua Nishri located Sugihara and articulated his thanks to the Sugiharas. He was given official recognition as a Righteous Gentile. His family was awarded Israeli citizenship in perpetuity.

When asked why he did what he did, he said as follows. "You want to know about my motivation, don't you? Well. It is the kind of sentiments anyone would have when he actually sees refugees face to face, begging with tears in their eyes. He cannot just help but sympathize with them. Among the refugees were the elderly and women. They were so desperate that they went so far as to kiss my shoes, Yes, I actually witnessed such scenes with my own eyes. Also, I felt at that time, that the Japanese government did not have any uniform opinion in Tokyo. Some Japanese military leaders were just scared because of the pressure from the Nazis; while other officials in the Home Ministry were simply ambivalent.

People in Tokyo were not united. I felt it silly to deal with them. So, I made up my mind not to wait for their reply. I knew that somebody would surely complain about me in the future. But, I myself thought this would be the right thing to do. There is nothing wrong in saving many people's lives....The spirit of humanity, philanthropy...neighborly friendship...with this spirit, I ventured to do what I did, confronting this most difficult situation---and because of this reason, I went ahead with redoubled courage. "

In explaining his actions he quoted an old Samurai saying. "Even a hunter cannot kill a bird which flies to him for refuge."

The descendants of those saved by Sugihara number now in the thousands. The Jewish people owe him a debt of unending thanks. His example is a perfect example of how the best in people can be brought out by the worst circumstances.

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The video with this posting is a short presentation of the Sugihara story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiune_Sugihara

1)Nazi Style Christianity Makes Its Way To American Schools (2)Obama’s Contract on Free Speech In America

2008-10-03T17:29:00.003-04:00

One of the distinguishing features of Christianity in Nazi Germany was its revisionist Approach to the ancestry of Jesus. While traditional texts point to the Jewish ancestry of his mother, Nazi theologians rewrote biblical history so Jesus would have a Roman father and a Syrian mother.

Now , American textbooks with a leftist rather than socialist imprimatur have adopted the Nazi tactic of falsifying Christianity’s early history for political purposes.

According to World Net Daily there are now a host of textbooks that have adopted attitudes to Jews that run the gamut from dismissive to hostile. Even Scott Foresman , a major text book publisher has apparently put its presses at the disposal of individuals with a hidden agenda.

In a particularly outrageous example of biased history, a Scott Foresman textbookcalled “The World,” includes the following passage. ”

“Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus.”

There is a disturbing tendency among textbook producers to take adherents of Islam at their word, producing texts which glorify their faith without a critical counterpoint.

By contrast, Christianity and Judaism are treated with a megadose of skepticism that crosses the border into contempt. It seems as though radical Islam has supplanted revolutionary Christianity as the newest religious fad among the radical chic set. Its infiltration into textbook production is particularly disturbing. Instead of promoting critical and discerning thinking, clear patterns of preference and bias are emerging with disturbing frequency in school textbooks across the nation.

Click Here for Full Story

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Obama’s Contract on Free Speech In America

The Obama campaign has shown a disturbing lack of commitment to freedom of political speech. Letters on law firm stationery calling for McCain ads to be pulled , law enforcement in Missouri contacting political opponents of Obama and Obama’s notorious “truth squads”are egregious examples of the Obama campaign’s willingness to abuse the legal system to stifle political dissent.

The cancellation of Sarah Palin’s appearance at an anti Ahmadinejad rally was presented as a craven cave in to political pressure. According to political blogger Sultan Knish the truth is considerably more sinister.

Organisers of the rally were contacted by a law firm that advised them that a Palin appearance would jeopardise their tax exempt status. Such letters are rarely intended as friendly pro bono legal advice. This letter was no exception. Sultan Knish quotes the Jewish Telegraphic agency as follows.

“A former top IRS official warned Jewish groups that they would likely face a financial penalty and expensive audit process if they went through with plans to have the Republican vice-presidential candidate speak at an anti-Iran rally.

The warning came from Marcus Owens, a 25-year veteran of the Internal Revenue Service and the former director of its tax-exempt unit. According to the general counsel of the UJA-Federation of New York, it echoed the advice of several other lawyers.

Zimmerman’s version of events, confirmed by Owens, would appear to poke a major hole in the claim by right-wing critics that organizers of the rally were motivated primarily by partisan politics in deciding to disinvite Palin and other American elected officials.”

There is a problem with the JTA spin on the warning from Marcus Owens. It comes up in an examination of Owen’s resume. Owens is very concerned with the separation of non profit organisations from the political process. Unfortunately, his concern is tendentious and selective. According to Sultan Knish, he regularly protects liberal religious organisations on their political forays while selectively hamstringing conservatives of whom he disapproves with threats against their tax exempt political status.

According to Sultan Knish and Insight Magazine “The problem with this little charade by the Federation and the JTA is that the only named lawyer consulted here, Marcus Owens is very much a partisan source.

Click Here For Entire Article

On Hunting and Our Fitness To Eat Meat

2008-10-02T10:49:00.004-04:00

Before Rosh HaShanah I was busy posting articles on my sites. Just before candle lighting, I glanced at an article about female hunters. It was on Lemon Lime Moon and contrasted the admiration of the hunters for the beauty of an elk with the gloating that followed their subsequent killing of such a splendid animal.
"One woman was in a hunting blind ooowing and ahhing to her gal pal over a big Elk," Lemon Lime Moon recalled of a documentary on female hunters. "She was amazed by its size and majesty and beauty. She praised how alive and wonderful and full of spirit it was. Then she shot it."

I have had many discussions with vegetarians and hunters. While neither group has won me to their ranks, both have moved me to question my own practices.

I grew up in a home with dogs. I have had rodents of various sorts as pets. One summer, we watched a nest full of robin's eggs hatch under the loving care of their parents. In my world view, the animating life force is refracted through the prism of myriad species. As a husband and father, I sometimes feel a sense of commonality with other life forms whose emotions and issues seem to resemble my own.

Because I am a city dweller, I am able to compartmentalise my view of meat so that it is almost unrelated to barnyard creatures. When looking looking at cows and sheep in a petting zoo with my children, I distanced myself from the awareness that these were species that provided meat. During kapporos, I try to confront this boundary , to feel a commonality with the rooster that is dying at the beginning of what I hope will be another full year.

The rationale for eating meat is that an animal achieves a higher level existence through the person who eats it. Eating meat on Rosh HaShanah is a time that is particularly appropriate to such reflections. The closest I can come to a philosophical embrace of vegetarianism is the thought that much human conduct affords the slaughtered beast a descent from its prior level of existence. What sort of cosmic lottery directs a steak to the table of a gangster or a prophet?

Most of humanity banishes the image of a sheep or cow from the mind's eye as part of the preparation for consuming its flesh. Hunters seem to cultivate an awareness of a living creature even as they kill and consume it. They seem to have a different process of separation from animals than those of us who buy meat packaged in styrofoam and shrink wrap.

The image of a woman as a hunter jars one's sense of women as the nurturing half of the human species. Whatever negative feelings one might have towards a male hunter are greatly magnified if the hunter is a woman.

There is a time to kill. We read Koheles at Sukkos time . Its words seem particularly relevant to this question.

"

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3: A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5: A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6: A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7: A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8: A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Koheles Ch 3)

When it is a time to kill, one must of necessity deaden oneself to certain feelings. Soldiers and police officers are necessary to the peace we take for granted. In order to do their job properly, they cannot meditate upon the common humanity they share with a criminal or an enemy soldier. To a certain extent, they identify the enemy as a threat and then think of them as a target.

Those of us who eat meat delegate the task of psychological separation to a professional who slaughters the beast we use for food.

The disturbing question that occurs to me in seeing a hunter standing over an animal they have shot is what effect it has on their emotions and on their psyche.
I wonder if those who collect rare books or Indian Head pennies are taking their hunting instinct in a different and more benign direction.

We are supposed to be the pinnacle of creation, the top of all living creatures. When I look at an automobile or a laptop computer, I have no trouble believing that. Reading an article about war crimes trials in the Hague and Florida leaves me with the sickening knowledge that humans can sink far below the level of animals.

Lemon Lime Moon expresses some strong emotions towards the female hunters, cursing them out with an adeptness that I envy.

"I don't think she would ever see my blog, Lemon Lime Moon says in her article" but on the very off chance she ever does, this is for her:
Lady, and I use the term loosely you lard encrusted bimbo,... you're a jerk, a moron and an empty headed spittoon. From now on may all your hunting be for Kodiak bear with an unloaded gun and may the ever regurgitating sewers of Rangoon back up into your breakfast". Amen."

If the hunters left the carcass to rot, I would have no trouble saying" amen" to such a blessing. If, however they took the meat home, they are only showing me the fate of homelier but no less sentient creatures than the elk.

I do not take the welfare of animals lightly. One of the Seven Universal Noahide Laws deals with the welfare of animals.

The same sensibilities that move me to question human worthiness to consume the meat of animals moves me to seething anger at humans who hunt humans such as the Liberian man on trial for war crimes in Miami including cannibalism, torture and disfigurement. If he is convicted, such an artful curse as quoted above would not suffice as even a down payment on his portion of eternal misery in hell's lowest reaches.

Alleged Liberian War Crimal on trial in Miami

Rosh Hashana Prayers and Greetings

2008-09-29T15:53:00.002-04:00

There will be no posting to Magdeburgerjoe.com from tonight, Monday night through Wednesday night due to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the 5769th year of creation.

Rosh HaShanah is a day when the entire world is judged from the smallest forms of life to the fortunes of the most mighty nations. It is a time when we are reminded of the Hidden Hand and the Seeing Eye that are hidden yet omnipresent.

In the frenzy of daily existence, we focus on the use of our own strength and calculations to achieve our goals and desires. So much is out of our hands. The very strength with which we make our efforts comes from G-d.

Recent events on Wall Street have underscored the fragility of a prosperity we have taken for granted. All of our calculations and all of our efforts bring us to prayer for a good outcome in these times of turbulence.

There is a Jewish saying that the heart of a ruler is in the hands of G-d. In a very real sense, we are ruled by voters and by shareholders. May G-d guide their hearts to the right decisions, and may those decisions bear good fruit.

There is a Yiddish blessing in which you wish a person "GeFeN'. The word gefen translates as "gesund, parnosso and nachas", which means "health, wealth and joy from one's children".

I wish this to all of my readers in America, the Holy Land and the entire world as it says in the "alenu" prayer "


על כן נקוה לך ה' אלקינו, לראות מהרה בתפארת עזך,	Eternal our God, we therefore hope soon to see Your majestic glory;
להעביר גלולים מן הארץ והאלילים כרות יכרתון.	To remove idols from the earth, so that the false gods will be destroyed;
לתקן עולם במלכות שדי, וכל בני בשר יקראו בשמך.	To perfect the world under the Almighty's kingdom, so that all will call on Your name;
להפנות אליך כל רשעי ארץ. יכירו וידעו כל יושבי תבל,	To turn all the wicked of the earth toward You so that all the inhabitants of the world will realize and know
כי לך תכרע כל ברך תשבע כל לשון.	That to You every knee must bow down, every tongue swear allegiance.
לפניך ה' אלקינו יכרעו ויפלו. ולכבוד שמך יקר יתנו.	Eternal our God, before You they will bow down and fall, and honor Your glorious name.
ויקבלו כלם את עול מלכותך, ותמלך עליהם מהרה לעולם ועד.	And they will all accept the yoke of Your kingdom, that You might rule over them soon and forever,
כי המלכות שלך היא, ולעולמי עד תמלוך בכבוד.	For the kingdom is Yours, and to the ends of eternity You will rule in glory.
ככתוב בתורתך: ה' ימלך לעולם ועד.	As it is written in Your Torah, "The Eternal will rule forever." (Exodus 15:18)
ונאמר: והיה ה' למלך על כל הארץ, ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד, ושמו אחד.	And it has been said, "The Eternal will become King over the entire earth. On that day, the Eternal shall be One and His Name shall be One." (Zechariah 14:9) A blessed and sweet year to all.

1)Bloomberg Assault on Salt (2) Barack Obama : Five Star Wuss

2008-09-28T11:41:00.006-04:00

Mayor Mike Bloomberg has added another item to his health agenda. In addition to smoking and transfats, Bloomberg is now admonishing citizens to regulate their salt intake.

"People are eating too much salt, me included," Bloomberg told a crowd of health professionals gathered at the Pierre Hotel for an awards luncheon. In a disturbing note, the Vos Iz Neias website reports that Bloomberg considers his assault on salt to be part of a long campaign to make New Yorkers healthy. And he does not intend it to be the last step.

"After this, we can keep going," Bloomberg reportedly said. "People don't like to have somebody come in and tell them what to do, but afterward, if it turns out to be something that's in their interest, they sure as heck say thank you."

Bloomberg persists in maintaining the illusion that all of our city's more basic problems have been solved. Gunfire in the streets, drugs and gangs are raaising the blood pressure of millions of New Yorkers, adding to the direct fatalities that result from these problems. Many New Yorkers are enslaved like serfs to high rents and mortgages. To all of these problems, the mayor displays a breezy indifference.

I understand the mayor's real concerns. He could promote restaurants for dieters and health education through his already existing communications network. Rather than force feed good health, he could educate instead. His concerns are legitimate, but there are better ways to bring New Yorkers on board. Real change in the area of public health is slow. Less coercive measures than Mayor Bloomberg's have already yielded results in the war on smoking.

Bloomberg is a wealthy and a healthy man. When he finishes his term as mayor, I would applaud his efforts in the area of public health as a private citizen. Many middle aged men such as myself hope to reach his age in shape comparable to his. A tolerable mix of envy and admiration are a more powerful motive to listen to Mayor Bloomberg than the strong arm of government. Until he returns to private life, he should work on crime, drugs and skyrocketing housing costs. This is how he could bring down our blood pressure

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Barack Obama : Five Star Wuss

The Obama campaign has waged war on free speech in Missouri by getting sympathetic law enforcement officials to go after ads they deem to be inaccurate. The step is a willful disregard of the distinction between political and commercial speech.
Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri has rightfully blasted the Obama attack on free speech in the strongest terms, saying ““What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public …Click here for entire article

Best of National Anthems/Visit to Molossia a Great Microrepublic

2008-09-26T04:55:00.009-04:00

I am a big fan of national anthems. The prize for nicest lyrics could definitely go to Swazi land in the middle of South Africa. Good lyrics often sound universal themes and ideals for a country to live up to The Swazi anthem does this very well.

Swaziland National Anthem Lyrics

Swaziland

Original Swazi Words

Nkulunkulu Mnikati wetibusiso teMaswati,

Siyatibonga tonkhe tinhlanhla,

Sibonga iNgwenyama yetfu,

Live netintsaba nemifula.

Busisa tiphatsi mandla taka Ngwane

Nguwe wedvwa Somandla wetfu;

Sinike kuhlanipha lokungenabucili

Simise usicinise, Simakadze.

English:

O Lord our God, bestower of the blessings of the Swazi;

We give Thee thanks for all our good fortune;

We offer thanks and praise for our king;

And for our fair land, its hills and rivers;

The Blessings be on all rulers of our country;

Might and power are Thine alone;

We pray Thee to grant us wisdom without deceit or malice.

Establish and fortify us, Lord Eternal.

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Micronations are countries that either occupy tiny spaces such as a small island, an acre of land or even an apartment.Most have no legal standing at all. They are tolerated because they constitute no threat. One such "country " is Molossia, which is located in the middle of Nevada on an acre and a half of land. It has three citizens, one of whom is its bemedalled ruler. He is related by marriage or blood to the entire population of his country, all of whom work "abroad". The country is heavily dependent upon trade with the United States. Its border reflects its friendly relationship with its neighbours. There is no fence or visa requirements. So far, there has been no exchange of ambassadors. The language of the country is English. The following videos show the current state of affairs in that country. There are probably enough micronations to form a micro UN which would be a major improvement on the one currently in existence. There are other micronations I intend to feature in future articles. I hope you enjoy today's coverage of Molossia.

State Visit to Molossia

Sealand: A Great Micronation

2008-09-25T20:36:00.006-04:00

My obsession for today is micronations. A micronation is a country on little or no land that has little or no recognition from any other country. They often have flags and passports. Less frequently will they issue stamps and currency.

Sealand is a naval platform in the North Sea that was set up by the British Navy, which abandoned it in the 1960's. On September 2,1967, Paddy Roy Bates, a former British Army major occupied the platform with his family. After consulting with lawyers, he declared the platform to be an independent country. The British government became aware of his secession about a year later and attempted to prosecute him for crimes against the Crown. Amazingly, a British court decided that they had no jurisdiction, since the platform is located in international waters. In the following paragraph from the Sealand official website, this remarkable turn of events is described.

By late 1968, the British navy had become aware of the new situation off the coast of England. They were interested in terminating the state of affairs brought about by an error committed by the most senior military authorities without causing too much uproar.

Units of the navy entered the territorial waters claimed by Roy of Sealand. As he was aware of his sovereignty, Roy of Sealand threatened the navy by undertaking defensive activity. Shots were fired from Sealand in warning.

Since Roy of Sealand was still an English citizen, he was thus accused of extensive crimes in Britain and was summoned to an English court. The result of this lawsuit in Chelmsford, Essex was a spectacular success for Sealand's claim to sovereignty. In its judgment of 25 November 1968, the court declared that it was not competent in Roy of Sealand's case as it could not exert any jurisdiction outside of British national territory. This is the first de facto recognition of the Principality of Sealand. English law had ruled that Sealand was not part of the United Kingdom, nor did any other nation claim it, hence Prince Roy's declaration of a new Sovereign State was de facto upheld. .

Sealand is probably the most spectacular success in the history of micronations, having succeeded in defeating the United Kingdom in its own courts. What is refreshing is the apparent disinterest on the part of its founders in any sort of sinister use for their declared independence such as drugs or money laundry. It is currently up for sale at an asking price of 750,000,000 Euros.

Principality of Sealand

(1)Canadian Rock in French (2) Obama Writes off Four States, Losing Jewish Vote

2008-09-24T23:26:00.007-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNcPTdCt4i8

The distinctive French spoken in Canada is a living reminder of the French role in colonising North America. Because it is descended from a dialect of French that did not achieve political dominance, it is not given the respect that it deserves. I feel a certain hemispheric solidarity with the languages and culture of the New World when they meet up with European feelings of cultural superiority.

One of my favourite Canadian rock groups that sings in French is Vilain Pingouin. I am presenting one of their videos here for your listening pleasure.

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Obama Writes off Four States, Losing Jewish Voters in New York

The movement for hope and change that lit up the world from the Eiffel tower to the Brandenburg gate has now given up hope of changing the minds of voters in four states.

North Dakota, Idaho, Alaska, have all been written off by the Obama campaign, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.(Click here)

In these states, campaign workers have been withdrawn and redeployed in states where the polls show a closer contest. The Obama campaign has also pulled television ads in Georgia.

The four states have a total of 22 electoral votes.

Although the LA Times is delivering encouraging news to the McCain campaign, it does so in a backhand and condescending manner. On their web site, the story is accompanied by a video that discusses white racism. The states from which Obama forces have withdrawn are described in the most pejorative terms.

“The Associated Press reported this evening and an Obama spokeswoman confirmed that the Chicago-based campaign is pulling its 50-some staffers out of the heavily Republican state full of embittered small towns and shipping the workers east to Minnesota and Wisconsin, where the Democrat’s prospects seem brighter and closer.” (LA Times)

Click here for the rest of the story

1)Jerk of the Year Award (2)Should America Outsource Some CEO Positions ?

2008-09-24T01:51:00.005-04:00

I take the laws governing injurious speech very seriously, for this reason, when I bestow an award for outrageous misconduct, I leave the recipient anonymous. This way, if someone else has done the same thing, they might be moved to mend their ways.

Today's recipient of my "Jerk of the Year" award would not be hauled off in handcuffs, but he definitely deserves to be pilloried. He is a Rosh Yeshiva, and his offense involved tuition collection. My friend who told me of this incident sends his son to JOTY's Yeshiva. He was about a week late with his monthly tuition payment. His son, , an eleven year old with some learning problems was sitting in class. The rabbi called him out and told him to come to the office. Without a word of explanation, he handed the boy the telephone and told him to call his home. When the mother answered, he told her he was in the principal's office and didn't know why. She asked to speak to the principal.

Rabbi JOTY got on the line and said gruffly, "You owe me six hundred and fifty dollars for this month."

The mother was stunned and replied that she would have her husband call within the hour. The psychological impact was as though her son were being held hostage. The boy was allowed to return to class. The father made good on his wife's promise and the boy enjoyed the comfort of a desk and a hot lunch for yet another month in Rabbi JOTY's yeshiva. Unfortunately the scene repeated itself yet again with the same boy. As before, payment was quick and complete.

What should the rabbi have done? Yeshivas do struggle. He has to pay his teachers and the building maintenance expenses. I would have told him to give the family a warning and after a week, seven days notice, after which they would be told to keep their son home until payment was made. Rabbi JOTY should NOT have called the boy in or put him on the phone in connection with financial matters.

I am sharing this story because it was not unique. There are other stories as well. It is a measure not only of insensitivity by Rabbi JOTY but also the desperation and sacrifices that even well to do Jewish families endure in providing a Torah education for their children. I hope this article will stimulate needed discussion about aid to both Yeshivas and families. The struggles of harried families should not involve their children. I hope Rabbi JOTY and others like him will take this lesson to heart and use a small measure of tact and compassion in the collection of tuition in the future.

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One of the factors in the fall of communism was the complete disconnect between productivity and rewards. There was complete security for failing employees and failing businesses. An old Soviet era gag line was “They pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work.”

In most cases, heavy government subsidies were coupled with a kleptocratic ethic and under the table set of connections to get scarce goods and services.

Workers in the free world are bound by considerations of productivity. Under-productive workers will quickly find themselves unemployed.

Corporate executives on the other hand earn obscenely high salaries that they collect even when they are laying off employees. The gross disparity between the wages of an average worker and of a corporate executive set Americans apart from their Japanese counterparts. An article in today’s New York Times reports as follows.

Click here for entire article

How Hope and Change Look in Iran

2008-09-22T23:58:00.004-04:00

What do you get when you vote for slogans? What do you get when you vote for image over substance? Hope and change, no more business as usual are all very good, but what are the specifics? Papa Doc, Adolf Hitler and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were all freely elected. Both Ahmadinejad and Hitler won with less than a third of the vote In both their respective elections, parliamentary horse trading could have resulted in a less injurious alternative.

It is interesting to watch the struggle for the human heart and mind on a mass level. Candidates are marketed in the same way clothing and cosmetics are marketed, complete with identifying the various markets and attempting to achieve market saturation.

I am showing with this posting a commercial done by a man who won his election struggle. He followed up his attractive sloganeering with union busting, pandering to corrupt clergy and brutal suppression of ethnic minorities. His commercials, so full of populist pandering evoke a world that is a stark contrast to life in his country after several years under his rule.

The video with this posting is an actual Ahmadinejad campaign commercial with English subtitles. Let it be a warning to turn down the volume on the loud music, slogans and fancy packaging. Let it be a warning to look instead at the fine print. Ahmadinejad fooled enough people long enough to win his election. Are we any smarter?