I lived in Israel for almost a decade — a decade of hope for peace and explosions in Tel Aviv with thousands of innocent victims blown into pieces. I was young and believed that peace would resolve all problems and life would be so much better. It is so simple: all it would take is the cooperation of two nations in creating a better life for their people and future generations to come. Or isn’t it? The handshake in front of the White House did not bring an end to suffering and turned peace into utopia covered with blood and fear of kids living under the Hamas rockets.
Those who still believe in peace are ready to sacrifice their own life for the dream; a dream that may never come true.

On one occasion i witnessed a rabbi attending an anti Israel convention in Teheran. All i could think was “How could a man of the Torah betray his own nation?” It took me years to realize that he is a part of me, and more so that i do not hate him; I do not want to kill him any more. I thank him for showing me and others that we have to be different and we have to be strong. Those liberal Jews that still live in the utopia of making peace with bloody murderers are serving as an example of what not to do. We should really thank them for making us stronger. Do not get me wrong, they cause a tremendous damage to the image of the state of Israel, but without them it would have been harder to tell right from wrong.

The second Lebanon war was a disaster of enormous proportions for the Israeli armed forces. Not only did we lose, the moral of the soldiers was severely damaged. We erased half of the Lebanon’s infrastructure, but we did not carry a decent fight. The army was not ready for this sort of operation. The generals were confused by politicians and the confusion trickled down to the soldiers on the ground.

Many lessons have been learned since, therefore making the “Cast Lead” in Gaza a totally different operation. We hit Hamas in its heart and liquidated most of its infrastructure. The success of the operation may be credited to the lessons learned in Lebanon just a few years earlier. Many will say that we have pulled our forces prematurely, nevertheless, the operation brought some quiet time to the residents of Southern Israel.

When Arabs kill Arabs in thousands, the world is silent. There is no one condemning them. When thousands or unguided rockets fell on Israeli citizens, no one condemns it. When Israel kills a civilian by mistake, the whole world is screaming. I cherish every human life be it an Arab, Jew or a member of any other nation. It is the duty of every country to protect its citizens at all cost, especially in face of the terrorist attacks that are aimed at civilians. This war is not the war between the regular armies; this war is a war against terror — a war that does not have winners.

It is so much simpler for the government of Palestinian autonomy to spend all the money given to them on developing infrastructure, schools, creating jobs etc. Instead all this money is going to support the lavish lifestyle of Palestinian leaders and support terror against Israel. Why should Israel care about Palestinian people if its own government does not? Those of you who donate money to Palestinian organizations, how do you know that your money is not spent building another rocket that will ultimately end up killing innocent Israelis?

More and more people support Israel. Many Christians are standing with us shoulder to shoulder. Although some preferred to support terrorists, I truly believe that they are a minority. Each and every one of us would rather live in peace, but peace is a vanishing dream that may never materialize regardless of how strong we believe in it. Israel should be strong and stop seeking the love of those who hate it or want to destroy it. There are only two choices for Israel: win or be destroyed. I’d rather win because I am Israel and so are you.

By Yougine Abudimer

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I shiver at the ring tone and display of your image on my phone. I desire to click “reject” yet am well aware that if I do, you will leave a voice mail in which you will shout at the top of your lungs as though speaking to an answering machine that I can hear “Ksusha, Ksusha, pick up the phone”. You will repeat the same question, time after time, as though I haven’t heard it before…”where did you disappear to???” and I annoyed will recite a few profane terms under my nose, knowing there is nothing I can do (since I have been unable to do anything about any part of your behavior in my 29 years on this earth under your spell). I will finally relax…just a little…I am well aware that you will ask the same thing you always do…”What are you doing? Where are you? When will I see you? And at that moment I will want to murder you! Is there any better way to say it? Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, I AM TIRED OF YOUR CALLS AND ASUMPTIONS, I wasn’t put on this earth to please anyone, not even you, and if you think that my life will take a backseat to yours, I SAY THIS….Daddy…WAKE THE FUCK UP! I am not interested in seeing you daily. Not even weekly. Once a month might do. You will sit across the table from me but you will stare into the distance. I will force a failed attempt to revive you by bringing up a topic for discussion, yet you won’t hear me as you are elsewhere. I will get pissed off for I will see you staring at the table next to us, or the waitress approaching, and I will know that your next comment will be about me. You will comment on my career, income, possessions and I will be embarrassed for I do not know the stranger at the next table and have no idea on how to respond. They will try to ask me how, who, what, where, when, and I will be signaling for the waiter to bring the check so I can stick my credit card in the pocket of the leather cover and pray that they are quick in sliding it through. I will write the total in, the faster they processed, the higher the tip. I will quickly walk to my car and pray that this event doesn’t reoccur soon, as I simply cannot handle it any longer. Daddy, I will get home and feel guilty. I will equate myself with the bad ones, the ones who always tore you down. Those who laughed or pointed a finger. Those who didn’t understand. Those who never will. I will answer the next time you call. Daddy, I will answer.

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It is such a great feeling to fly down the stairs. The adrenaline rush, feeling of freedom and fear combined. But eventually there comes a crash. We’ve been flying for almost thirty years with increasing acceleration and increasing sense of prosperity. Slowing the downfall will inflict some pain and maybe some broken bonds, and so we are avoiding pain at all cost hoping that the final crash won’t be so bad.

Anecdotal evidence does not correlate with the “jokers” on the screen of the TV in my office. It has been some time since I actually turned the volume on. This is not because I am smarter than any of those guys, but rather because I understand one thing that they do not…..neither I nor them poses absolute knowledge of what is going to happen in the future.

In my line of work, I am quite frequently findign my self face to face with a number of business owners, most of whom are barely making ends meat these days. Their situation continues to deteriorate. Almost all of them do not have access to financing and regardless of my advice use their own capital to keep the business running. Many of them wanted to get some kind of financing from the bank a year ago as well as six months ago with no luck. Now, when the government and our president project from the screens how the lending has increased, they are still unable to get the loans they need to grow or to sustain the operational level. The major reason is that no one will lend money to a business that is in the red, regardless of what the government says.

A friend who runs the risk control unit for the regional bank told me a month ago that regulators do not want banks to lend at all. There is common sense behind this conspiracy. Government knows that there is more to come. They know that they are limited in the amount of adrenalin they can supply into the system. They are deliberately preparing the banks to face another tidal wave of foreclosures in commercial and higher end residential real estate. The “sit and wait” strategy may not work and we will have to face the situation where small and medium businesses will seize to exist, and what is going to be left are big banks and corporations.

The downsizing or complete elimination of the small business will adversely affect the work force and it’s spending ability. The restaurants are still full and people fill the malls. They buy less, but looking at the value of their 401(k)s and investment portfolios they hope that the economy will follow and the times of exuberant prosperity will come back. Once again the tail wages the dog. In my understanding the market has very little to do with the reality and vice versa. Hard to believe, but this is the way it is. In 2007 the market was at its peak and the economy was about to stall. Today the economy is still in intensive care unit and the market rallied 70%.

If you are an investor, the only advice I give you is…… stick to the basics. In the current scenario the risk cannot be calculated or estimated properly. There are too many variables that may cause a trigger event which will cause the market to go down in a very abrupt manner. Your broker is probably satisfied with the performance of the last year and his guard is down. The next wave may be brutal and I do not want you to be in the position where the gains that you had in the last year will evaporate in the market.

Flipping through the channels of the TV set a few years ago I came across the devestating story of the tragic plain crash that left singer Alia dead. There were some passengers that were still talking normally after the crash and were dead just a few minutes after. Our economy and the state of the financial system remind me of that case. Adrenalin in the system allows us to live another day, but the adrenaline (read “money”) supply is drying out and we will soon face the inevitable day where we will get to the edge of prosperity. Another flight of stairs may lead to the crash that will make the 1929 look like a joke.

by Yugine Abudimer

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What is a Happy Ending? The definition can vary from one individual to another, and so I ask the question. While some of you may immediately picture a woman of Asian decent in a massage parlor, let’s step away from that image for a minute. When we look at love stories we picture Happy Endings as “happily ever after” as Disney movies demonstrate. However, the recent question posed was based on Romeo and Juliet. Being defined as the greatest love story, “Romeo and Juliet” has been presented in literary and film corners. However, while we look at “Romeo and Juliet” as the greatest love story based on the fact that we see the couple’s few encounters and undying love for each other, the question that arises is what if they didn’t die? Let’s pretend they married and had children. Romeo then left his dirty socks on the floor near the bed, itched his butt, burped, and seldom worked a full day. Can I also add snoring to the list? Let’s also pretend that at the same time Juliet took care of the home and children and cooked. Let’s also pretend that she picked up the dirty socks, constantly covered her nose from Romeo’s disgusting natural release of bodily odors, and wrestled with the pillow throughout the night in a failed attempt to get a few hours of sleep. The two would annoy each other to no avail and finally would either divorce, or in their time probably suffer tremendously due to unavailability of a legal dissolution of a union. In this case the situation would cease to be one defined as “happy ending”. The conclusion i draw is…if Romeo and Juliet were happy and in love after spending a total of a few hours together than their ending was in fact happy, for they didn’t know sorrow or annoyance in each other and were in fact completely content. Yet if they did in fact live, they would have filled their life with sadness at some point. And so, I conclude, Romeo and Juliet had the best ending, for they never lost that which is so precious and hard to find. They died in love, which is more than many can say.

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www.dear-god.net

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…..I have refrained from writing on this subject for quite some time, but enough is enough! Tiger Woods and Jesse James, the examples of the hour, have left little to be said for their behavior, yet they have managed to dupe their wives, fans, and the reading public into thinking that their behaviors is excusable by utilizing one simple word…. sex addiction. While not a big fan of rehabs, I am appalled to see that one can be treated for such a …. condition?!?
However, I am realizing that this new fad of blaming adultery on a disability of sorts may be playing in all our favors. If I may have previously held back when presented with the opportunity of falling into the arms of one other than the one I am committed to, I no longer have to sacrifice the moments of pleasure possibly offered by a handsome stranger. Not only can I now justify this behavior to my self, but if I am caught, I can easily spit the term “sex addict” from my lips into the face of my lover and expect something greater than immediate forgiveness, I can expect sympathy, a hug, and a drive to the nearest rehab.
Have we all gone mad? Magazines on every newsstand are filled with delicious details of male indiscretions and its affect on their families, but all I am seeing is a terrible trend. I don’t argue that sex addiction exists as I am sure some are greatly affected by it, but I am quite sure that everyone claiming the disability isn’t actually affected by it. If we accept sex addiction as a legible excuse that can be utilized to save one’s ass, then we will have to soon agree to much more than an excused affair and a quick trip to a treatment facility……

What do you say?

NY Times Full Story http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/health/23ther.html

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An avid reader, I am drawn to books of difference. Best seller lists never attracted my attention. Often I laugh at people choosing the book after watching the movie. A book may be in print for ages and not one soul will pull it off the shelf to carry to the nearest register and commit to paying $14. Yet, once the film is released and we notice the small print on the advertisement “based on the novel… by …” we immediately rush to Barnes and Noble (due to lack of book shops, where an elderly woman would caress the thinning pages of a masterpiece and recite the content as though one of the great writers) and purchase whatever the book may be. And of course my favorite is the commentary upon reading the literary piece of ahhs and ohhs in presenting oneself as an Einstein of discovery as you too have committed to a read every other moron is reading, simply due to the fact that now the story is on the big screen. Last year like many I was intrigued by the release of “Precious” yet simply never made it to the theater. Now when I am good and ready to see it, it of course is not in theaters. However, I have read a number of reviews which enabled to me to form enough of an opinion to sit on the edge of the couch last night while watching the Oscars. As the movie received attention, I found myself on the iPhone googling the book. To my annoying surprise, the book is not now or has ever been available on the kindle. This of course bothers me to no avail as I fully intend to utilize the thing since it cost enough to feed a family for a month, well maybe not a family of mine, but definitely a family in possession of cooking skills. So now I am torn and very much annoyed that not only am I unable to see the film but also lack the ability to utilize my kindle. At this point I am determined to locate a “book shop” equipped with the read and kindle or not, devour its pages cover to cover.

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I know you want to see me nice and unselfish
But I don’t want to share my entrée
I want to take my time eating the succulent dessert
I want to drink my wine while I smoke a cigarette

For years you have striven
T o elicit from me a loving response to your constant questions
I cannot handout small pieces of my heart
Rather I love you always, no doubts

Like a boulder whose roots go deep in stony soil
I am set in my ways,
Smiling when I am happy, crying when I’m sad
I like to sleep on my side of the bed
Not on the quarter you leave me when you roll to the middle

I don’t give you gilded coins
It’s not because I do not love you, but because I do
I do not want to give you the fake, but rather the real
To love the way I do

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