Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Women soldiers and motherhood
Yahoo
An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas.
Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, 21, claims she had no choice but to refuse deployment orders because the only family she had to care for her 10-month-old son — her mother — was overwhelmed by the task, already caring for three other relatives with health problems. [...]
An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas.
Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, 21, claims she had no choice but to refuse deployment orders because the only family she had to care for her 10-month-old son — her mother — was overwhelmed by the task, already caring for three other relatives with health problems. [...]
Monday, November 16, 2009
Israeli army - most prolific innovation engine on earth
Newsweek
How does Israel—with fewer people than the state of New Jersey, no natural resources, and hostile nations all around—produce more tech companies listed on the NASDAQ than all of Europe, Japan, South Korea, India, and China combined? How does Israel attract, per person, 30 times as much venture capital as Europe and more than twice the flow to American companies? How does it produce, for its size, the most cutting-edge technology startups in the world?
There are many components to the answer, but one of the most central and surprising is the Israeli military's role in breaking down hierarchies and—serendipitously—becoming a boot camp for new tech entrepreneurs.
While students in other countries are preoccupied with deciding which college to attend, Israeli high-school seniors are readying themselves for military service—three years for men, two for women—and jockeying to be chosen by elite units in the Israeli military, known as the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF.
How does Israel—with fewer people than the state of New Jersey, no natural resources, and hostile nations all around—produce more tech companies listed on the NASDAQ than all of Europe, Japan, South Korea, India, and China combined? How does Israel attract, per person, 30 times as much venture capital as Europe and more than twice the flow to American companies? How does it produce, for its size, the most cutting-edge technology startups in the world?
There are many components to the answer, but one of the most central and surprising is the Israeli military's role in breaking down hierarchies and—serendipitously—becoming a boot camp for new tech entrepreneurs.
While students in other countries are preoccupied with deciding which college to attend, Israeli high-school seniors are readying themselves for military service—three years for men, two for women—and jockeying to be chosen by elite units in the Israeli military, known as the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF.
Government abuse of children:Forgotten Australians
CNN ..............Time Magazine
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologized on Monday to thousands of adults who, as impoverished British children, were brought to Australia with the promise of a better life but found abuse and forced labor.
"My hope today is to reach out to you all on behalf of this nation -- Australia -- and to speak what so often has been unspoken, and to offer this profound apology," Rudd told an audience of former child migrants gathered in the national capital of Canberra and scattered throughout the country. "To apologize for the pain that has been caused. To apologize for the failure to offer proper care. To apologize for those who have gone before us and ignored your cries for help."
The so-called Forgotten Australians -- children who came from British families struggling with severe poverty or from institutions in England -- were brought to Australia in a program that ended 40 years ago. But the program scarred generations of children who were placed in state institutions and orphanages. They later told of being kept in brutal conditions, being physically abused and being forced to work on farms [...]
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologized on Monday to thousands of adults who, as impoverished British children, were brought to Australia with the promise of a better life but found abuse and forced labor.
"My hope today is to reach out to you all on behalf of this nation -- Australia -- and to speak what so often has been unspoken, and to offer this profound apology," Rudd told an audience of former child migrants gathered in the national capital of Canberra and scattered throughout the country. "To apologize for the pain that has been caused. To apologize for the failure to offer proper care. To apologize for those who have gone before us and ignored your cries for help."
The so-called Forgotten Australians -- children who came from British families struggling with severe poverty or from institutions in England -- were brought to Australia in a program that ended 40 years ago. But the program scarred generations of children who were placed in state institutions and orphanages. They later told of being kept in brutal conditions, being physically abused and being forced to work on farms [...]
EJF backer Tom Kaplan - saving the big cats
Telegraph
Who could have predicted that a mild-mannered Oxford-educated historian, with a PhD in the politics of colonial Malaya, would make an absolute killing from mineral extraction, with assets valued at billions of dollars?
Who then could have predicted that, while still in his mid-forties, the billionaire minerals magnate would channel his energies and business acumen into saving big cats from extinction? [...]
Who could have predicted that a mild-mannered Oxford-educated historian, with a PhD in the politics of colonial Malaya, would make an absolute killing from mineral extraction, with assets valued at billions of dollars?
Who then could have predicted that, while still in his mid-forties, the billionaire minerals magnate would channel his energies and business acumen into saving big cats from extinction? [...]
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Blog : 1 million Jewish refugees from Arab countries
An interesting blog - Point of no return - which deals with the Middle East's forgotten Jewish refugees
Jerusalem & the Jews:Countering the Arab Big Lie
Aish HaTorah
What is the Palestinian Big Lie? Palestinian Authority Mufti Ikrama Sabri was quoted in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam (November 22, 1997) as saying that the Western Wall is part of the Al-Aksa Mosque and the Jews have no connection with it. The same newspaper (July 18, 1997) reported that Hamad Yusef, head of the Institution for the Rejuvenation of the Palestinian Heritage, referred to the "false historical claim of the Jews in the holy city, a claim which they were unable to prove in all of the (archaeological) excavations conducted by foreign groups for the past hundred years."[...]
US wants to seize Iranian linked mosques
Time
Amid ever-higher tension with Iran, the Obama administration made a bold legal swipe at Tehran this week that could send shock waves through the Muslim world. In what appears to be an unprecedented move, the Department of Justice filed notice in federal court in New York on Thursday that the government intends to seize the assets of a foundation with alleged links to the Iranian government, including several mosques around the country.
The department's action against the Alavi Foundation in U.S. District Court in Manhattan expands a forfeiture proceeding which began last December against the Assa Corp., a part-owner of a 36-story high-rise on Fifth Avenue. But in what may be a first, the government also seeks to seize additional properties in New York, Maryland, Texas, Virginia and California, some of which house mosques, Islamic centers and schools. (See pictures of America's Islamic community.) [...]
Amid ever-higher tension with Iran, the Obama administration made a bold legal swipe at Tehran this week that could send shock waves through the Muslim world. In what appears to be an unprecedented move, the Department of Justice filed notice in federal court in New York on Thursday that the government intends to seize the assets of a foundation with alleged links to the Iranian government, including several mosques around the country.
The department's action against the Alavi Foundation in U.S. District Court in Manhattan expands a forfeiture proceeding which began last December against the Assa Corp., a part-owner of a 36-story high-rise on Fifth Avenue. But in what may be a first, the government also seeks to seize additional properties in New York, Maryland, Texas, Virginia and California, some of which house mosques, Islamic centers and schools. (See pictures of America's Islamic community.) [...]
RaP: Goodbye Turkey; Hello Hodu!
RaP wrote:
As a follow-up to the posts on this blog about the decline in relations between Israel's traditional ally Turkey, there have been increasing reports highlighting the fact that Israel has struck up a huge new relationship with India, known as "Hodu" in Hebrew. Interestingly, "tarnegol HODU" is also the colloquial name in modern Hebrew for "turkey" the big tasty kosher bird. The new strategic alliance between Israel and India is even begrudgingly noted by China (see article below) a traditional rival of India (that also does lots of business with Israel!)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/12/content_12436763.htm
Indian-Israeli relationship of convenience
www.chinaview.cn
JERUSALEM, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- India and Israel have reportedly finalized the details of a 1.1-billion-U.S. dollar deal for the supply to New Delhi of the Israeli-made Barak-8 tactical air-defense system. The contract was set up earlier this year, but was sealed this week with the visit to Israel of India's army head, Deepak Kapoor. The agreement is the latest in a series in recent years that makes Israel India's largest military supplier. India is now also Israel's largest customer. The sale of weapons systems to New Delhi is only part of the story. The countries share intelligence in the war on terror and have blooming ties in the agricultural sector.
Malcolm Gladwell- an amateur expert
NYTIMES Prof. Steven Pinker
Have you ever wondered why there are so many kinds of mustard but only one kind of ketchup? Or what Cézanne did before painting his first significant works in his 50s? Have you hungered for the story behind the Veg-O-Matic, star of the frenetic late-night TV ads? Or wanted to know where Led Zeppelin got the riff in "Whole Lotta Love"?
Neither had I, until I began this collection by the indefatigably curious journalist Malcolm Gladwell. The familiar jacket design, with its tiny graphic on a spare background, reminds us that Gladwell has become a brand. He is the author of the mega-best sellers "The Tipping Point," "Blink" and "Outliers"; a popular speaker on the Dilbert circuit; and a prolific contributor to The New Yorker, where the 19 articles in "What the Dog Saw" were originally published. This volume includes prequels to those books and other examples of Gladwell's stock in trade: counterintuitive findings from little-known experts.[...]
Have you ever wondered why there are so many kinds of mustard but only one kind of ketchup? Or what Cézanne did before painting his first significant works in his 50s? Have you hungered for the story behind the Veg-O-Matic, star of the frenetic late-night TV ads? Or wanted to know where Led Zeppelin got the riff in "Whole Lotta Love"?
Neither had I, until I began this collection by the indefatigably curious journalist Malcolm Gladwell. The familiar jacket design, with its tiny graphic on a spare background, reminds us that Gladwell has become a brand. He is the author of the mega-best sellers "The Tipping Point," "Blink" and "Outliers"; a popular speaker on the Dilbert circuit; and a prolific contributor to The New Yorker, where the 19 articles in "What the Dog Saw" were originally published. This volume includes prequels to those books and other examples of Gladwell's stock in trade: counterintuitive findings from little-known experts.[...]
Challenging political correctness in Army
CSMonitor
President Obama says he will hold accountable those who ignored Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's alleged fanaticism as US investigators try to unravel the prologue to last Thursday's 4-minute rampage that left 14 dead (including an unborn child) and 29 wounded at Fort Hood, Texas.
"If there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountability," Obama said in his Saturday morning radio address. "[We] must quickly and thoroughly evaluate and address any flaws in the system, so that we can prevent a similar breach from happening again."
The review is likely to come up not just against individuals who failed to heed numerous red flags thrown up by Maj. Hasan, but a system that some say has gone too far in coddling certain populations to the harm of the military as a whole. Some critics trace the source of political correctness that may have played a role in the Fort Hood massacre straight up to the Pentagon. But will the President? [...]
President Obama says he will hold accountable those who ignored Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's alleged fanaticism as US investigators try to unravel the prologue to last Thursday's 4-minute rampage that left 14 dead (including an unborn child) and 29 wounded at Fort Hood, Texas.
"If there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountability," Obama said in his Saturday morning radio address. "[We] must quickly and thoroughly evaluate and address any flaws in the system, so that we can prevent a similar breach from happening again."
The review is likely to come up not just against individuals who failed to heed numerous red flags thrown up by Maj. Hasan, but a system that some say has gone too far in coddling certain populations to the harm of the military as a whole. Some critics trace the source of political correctness that may have played a role in the Fort Hood massacre straight up to the Pentagon. But will the President? [...]
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