Without a Doubt

Teaching and Peace Talks

2010-09-01T23:24:00.005-05:00

BH

My day teaching began with myself walking into a blazing hot room (air conditioner is broken) full of tired, uninterested nine and ten year olds. Nevertheless, we hit the ground running and got them engaged and motivated through some humor, and an introduction to the book that we are going to be reading for the first part of the year "James and the Giant Peach". My major error today was planning on today being only an introduction to the course and its materials without any sort of backup lesson should the intro and discussion on class procedures not fill the whole class time today (which of course it did not) . I would have begun a short ways into our novel for English (math didn't end up being such an issue time wise) but With the holidays being what they are this month Class days are so disjointed, i just worried that the students might have a hard time keeping up with the book. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Middle east peace talks have begun this week between President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and PA President Abbas. for what ever reason , everyone seems very disenfranchised with the whole process, I couldn't imagine why....

New York

2010-08-30T23:06:00.007-05:00

BH

New York Is so interesting. One of the pieces of this blanket statement that has been somewhere on my mind recently is the way people view and interact with other from different groups (races, religions). It seems that one of the byproducts of a city of a zillion people going a zillion miles a minute is the "necessity" stereotypes. It has become wildly apparent that most people here run completely off of stereotypes. In fact, it appears to be the only thing that has transcended the racial/cultural divide.this is not my big gripe about New york, nor is it something that is "the problem with this place", It just seems that while most people (all?) are aware of stereotypes, everyone flagrantly and deliberately runs all interactions and notions of others through stereotypes. It's like some impenetrable force field that insures nobody ever has to waste their time actually looking at someone because they already know who they are and where they came from. The best part is, because everyone works from this set of preconceived notions about one another, no one seems to mind at all. in fact it saves them the time from having to make a friend or an enemy, or neither.

La Haine

2010-08-30T00:59:00.003-05:00

BH

Long, Long day of school meetings and curriculum writing hoopla. Once I finally got home I watched La Haine. great French movie from the mid nineties set during the riots in Paris. two days till school starts. on the bright side, it looks like we'll be taking a vacation to Nashville to visit family later in the month! It'll be mice to be out of Brooklyn for a while. Speaking of which, Murfreesboro made it in the news all the way up here! Of course, it was for someone trying to stop the mosque construction in town by setting the equipment on fire, but I can still be excited. Whats bets it turns out the owners did it just for the money, that would have been as good a time as any. It would be nice if i was correct.

Not to overdo it but...

2010-08-29T05:45:00.000-05:00

BH

So I'm not sure if anyone here has ever taken a gander at Chinese Universities at all, but none of their websites are functional in almost anyway, especially the English versions (not exactly translated well either). Just thought I would share as I was perusing Beijing schools. however i will say that both Japan and China have surprisingly well developed philosophy and religious studies departments, as far as a cursory glance would tell anyway.

http://www.blcu.edu.cn/english/index.asp
http://ev.buaa.edu.cn/index.php
http://english.ruc.edu.cn/
http://www.ouc.edu.cn/E_ouqd.html

Heres where to find them all:
http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/highschool/66744.htm

Times, they are a changin'

2010-08-29T04:44:00.002-05:00

BH

Up all night working on the curriculum for math, science, Rosh Hashanna, and Shlach(in a loose definition of the word work). Had a Farbrenging for Chai Elul which turned out to be much more productive that I had thought it would have been (or at least I hope it will be ;) ) One thing I'm noticing as far as this curriculum I am working on is that almost no one has asked to see it prior to two days before school starts. Its nice to feel as though my administration trusts me but somehow my intuition tells me that it has more to do with oversight and apathy than my extrodanaire ability as an brand new educator, but that might just be me. In any case I am looking forward to the coming year teaching and finishing smicha (BH) because I need to start Grad school soon! I'm going to be here's some photos of things until school actually starts!

The colour blue and a new Kurdish voice

2010-03-04T18:44:00.000-06:00

The colour blue and a new Kurdish voice: "Al Jazeera Blogs"

Purim in Spokane!

2010-02-27T21:10:00.003-06:00

BH

So here I am in spokane, washington for purim. How did i get here? Well, I was chosen as one of Dovid Luna's friends to go and represent everyone at the yeshiva who were friends with Dovid. There was, unfotunatly, only enough money for one ticket. anyway, due to this tragedy, I am making frelich in Spokane. I'm glad I could be here for Dovid even though I wish it was under much differant curcimstances, and I also wish I could be with my Kallah and all my friends (including Dovid) in Crown Heights, but this is were I am and am supposed to be right now. So frelichen Purim to everyone and I can't wait to get back and see everyone!!

Heres a thought

2010-02-24T00:49:00.002-06:00

BH

If the whole idea of individuals not alerting the beis din of the mockery being made in they're name is because we're afraid they'll agree with these schutzim and force us to close down, why is the response instead to just close down...? I'm having a hard time seeing the logic. If they were to G-d forbid attack you, would your defense be, instead of calling the police, to punch yourself in the face? how about doing a little standing up for ourselves, and showing that not only can we write good, but we stand up to bullies good too.

BDE Dovid Luna

2010-02-22T21:14:00.005-06:00

BH

A friend of mine, Dovid Luna just passed away in a car accident. I didn't get a chance to see him very much recently except for at my L'chaim when we danced togather for a few seconds, but i did get to learn with him for a while and gain some great advice about all kinds of things. He was a amazing Jew, chossid, and all around good guy. He is really going to be missed. Your Neshama should get an Aliyah Dovid ben Avraham.

What are they thinking?

2010-02-22T20:45:00.004-06:00

BH

I'm really interested in what these peoples thought process is. Do they think that everyone will stop blogging? do they think that everyone is going to take them seriously? Do they actually believe that the way they are doing things is correct? What is going going through there heads when they are deciding how to hurt another Jew ad desecrating the the mission of the Rebbe? Do they feel justified or self-righteous? here's something more important, do they think that they even have a chance at succeeding in their "mission/chillul H-shem"? Do they imagine the Rebbe smiling and nodding his head that this misdeed? cowering behind a idiotic email address may keep any consequences from befalling them now, but do they think that blackmailing another Jew and impersonating a Beis Din doesn't have its spiritual consequences? When you see something you believe is wrong, I was taught (by my parents and the Rebbe's teachings) You stand up face to face with it and say I think you should stop, or change what your doing, then you help in the change. My Name is Yisroel and you should stop what you are doing, the people you have offend are good Jews and I'm sure would forgive the awful things you said and did. this is Lubavitch, we go on shliuchus, we love Jews. Try that angle instead.

Baruch Dayan emes

2009-10-28T17:47:00.002-05:00

BSD

Today, Rabbi Chanan Feld (chanan velvel simcha ben eliyahu) of berkley, california passed away. Rabbi Feld had been sick with throat cancer. So everyone try to learn at least a little something in his schuss if you can. Also this person was a very close family friend of a fellow blogger we know who needs lots of friends today. I hope the felds, and everyone close to them are given the strength they need to get through this hard time, and that his memory should being a blessing for everyone.

Writing

2009-08-16T01:02:00.001-05:00

BSD Back again! so here i am sitting in an airport at like 1 or 2 waiting to board my 6 am flight thinking about this whole past year and the whole year ahead and the only summation in my mind is thank G-d! happy almost Elul dear friends, ill be back with something more interesting soon!

Library!

2009-06-19T16:12:00.003-05:00

B''H

I am now a member of the Morristown Public Library!! For some magical reason the guy behind the desk decided that I was believable enough that I lived in Morristown to give me a card! I spent like 3 or more hours there! I ended up checking out a book recommended by someone whose opinion hold great sway with myself, "The Blue Sword", A memoir of a Persian boy sent to study abroad during the Islamic Revolution, and a History of the Medici family in Florence. Of course I'm not going to be doing a huge amount of reading of secular stuff whilst I am in yeshiva, but to engross yourself in something without occasionally coming up for air is to drown yourself. I look forward to the day when I can breathe underwater. I hope everyone has a Good shabbos, and I will definitely be wishing I was attending the coolest poetry reading in town!

Ger

2009-06-18T22:21:00.000-05:00

BS''D

Why? Almost every person I have met since has asked me this question when they find out I am converting. Though an understandable question, It always seems to be asked as sort of a reflex. It doesn't matter when or where we are, it just immediately erupts out like an "what happened" When someone passes. Both of these questions seem normal to the person asking, and (in my view point) are the opposite for the person being inquired upon. "How could you just ask in passing about an event in my life that has so altered it that it has become unrecognizable?" This is sometimes what goes through my head as it must for someone in the other scenario. now the difference between the two is obvious, one is a tragedy with only the healing of the wound to look forward to. whereas, In my case, The former is also experience that is painful and tragic but at the same time somehow beyond words. and this is the trouble, it is beyond words.
I always try to answer as best I can. It tell them about Torah Mitzvos, and Avodas ''. I also try to give them a rundown of the last 5 years or so that I've been moving in this direction. AS true as these answers are, none of them ever seem to encompass why. Why I want, Have, need to be Jewish. All I want to shout is "IT IS NOT A LOGICAL DECISION!" I did not choose to want to be Jewish. Any proof I could ever need of this comes from the hardest person to answer this question to, my Mother. Telling your crying mother why you just have to do something that, to her, means you won't be in heaven with her, that means you can never eat her cooking from her kitchen, and that she is going to have to spend all the holidays with the family without her oldest son is not something that is logical or easy. This is part of the story I do not usually share because it is not easy to explain. What there could be that would cause me to make this decision. I love my family very much, and we still have a good relationship, but there will always be a wedge between us. My family will always be the most important thing in the world to me, but this will always be there.
Despite all of this, It is the issue itself that comforts me. Thoughts of being able to wrap tefillin, getting an Aliyah, having my purpose in this world being making it truly better through Torah and Mitzvos. The thought that one day I get to (G-d Willing!) Have my own family, my own children! I will be able to give them something I never had, a Jewish home! I can Serve G-d in everything I do, and try to live my life as the best frum Jew, the best chossid I can be. I expect to fall sort of this goal as a Chossid unfortunately more frequently than I would like, becoming a Ger means that now you are a Jew that makes mistakes, instead of just a person that makes mistakes. but nonetheless, I would rather fail 100 times at being a good Jew, than face life as a perfect non-Jew. I want all of these things and I can't really tell you why because I don't really know. But I do know that whatever it takes to become this, I will do.
There is a lot more I would like to say about this but I'm tired and about out of time. I hope that no one thinks that I don't want to be asked this question "why?" I do! Its just that when I hear it, I am flooded with all of this and more and just can't seem to find the words, if there are any, that can really convey what is in my head and heart.
sorry about the long and random post, I just have been asked a lot recently and been found wanting for an answer, so I just needed to say this. and so everyone knows, I wouldn't trade my life for anything. I hope every has a great shabbos! and I will be wishing I was spending it with my favorite people. take care!

Riots in Iran!

2009-06-14T13:34:00.002-05:00

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/06/2009614135353845916.html

'No document'

At about the same time, a statement on Mousavi's website announced that he had formally appealed against the election result to the legislative body, the Guardian Council.
"Today, I have submitted my official formal request to the council to cancel the election result," the moderate politician was quoted as saying.
In depth
"I urge you Iranian nation to continue your nationwide protests in a peaceful and legal way."
Ahmadinejad was declared the winner by a wide margin, with figures from the interior ministry showing he had taken 62.63 per cent of the vote, while Mousavi garnered only 33.75 per cent.
Ahmadinejad defended the conduct of the election at a news conference at the presidential office in Tehran earlier on Sunday.
He also questioned Mousavi's claims that the vote was "rigged".
"It is not clear how they are questioning the participation of 40 million people in these elections," he said.
"I have still not been shown any documents by anybody, they are just saying the outcome is unexpected."It is like football, everybody expects their team to win."

No concessions

Al Jazeera's Teymoor Nabili, reporting from Tehran, said that Ahmadinejad was not giving too much credence to the idea of a reformist movement taking root.
Noting that Ahmadinejad's analogy was of a football ground, he said: "There may be plenty of people within your field of vision but that doesn't mean that they are the majority of people in the country.
"So he doesn't really seem to think that there is any question that the majority of people within the country are behind his position and his political policies and this election has proved it to him.
"So he doesn't seem to need to reach out or make concessions with anybody who doesn't agree with that."
Robert Fisk, a journalist with the UK's Independent newspaper, told Al Jazeera that Ahmadinejad was repeating the point that the high turnout proved that he was in the majority.
"But many of the people that did vote believe that the vote was switched," he said.
"So it was not the turnout that proved that Ahmadinejad is a popular president. It is what the figures actually were. And that of course is what is still being disputed.
Fisk said one Mousavi supporter had pointed out to him that "if the figures were being counted properly on Friday night, five million votes would have had to have been counted in two hours".
Continued protests
On the ground, thousands of Iranians took to the streets in a second day of violence, fighting running battles with riot police in protest against the election results.
Ahmad Reza Radan, Tehran's deputy police chief, told the official IRNA news agency that at least 60 people had been detained over the rioting and more arrests would be made soon.In Tehran police confronted about 200 stone-throwing protesters.
"Forces used tear gas in some areas to stop the unrest. The situation is under control," Radan said.
Al Jazeera's Alireza Ronaghi, reporting from Tehran, said that IRNA was reporting that a committee led by two senior supporters of Mousavi was organising the riots against the election result.
"Whether this is really an honest outburst of anger against the outcome of the election we don't know yet, but what we see is a major crackdown on reformists and their leaders," he said.
Mohammad Reza Khatami, the brother of Mohammad Khatami, a former president, was among the members of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, which won more than 100 seats in the 290-member parliament in 2000, who were arrested.
"They were taken from their homes last night," Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former Iranian vice-president, said.
Spontaneous responses
Sadegh Zibakalam, head of the Iranian studies department at Tehran University, told Al Jazeera that the demonstrations were largely "spontaneous" responses to the election result.
"No one is giving them commands, no one is ordering them, no one is leading them," he said.
"Nevertheless, the government has started a crackdown on the leading reformist figures ... The government reaction is too harsh, but it is understandable."

Outcry

2009-06-14T10:01:00.001-05:00

BSD

Due to an outcry against private blogs I have deprivatized mine. I try and have a real post up sometime Today or tomorrow!!!

Scheita

2009-06-08T22:10:00.006-05:00

BSD

Here are the pictures from the Scheita today!! exciting eh?

And here are some pictures of the kids I taught before I left nashville!

Sorry about the lack of posts. yeshiva is a all consuming experiance. though i did have an interesting eveing spent with the tomchi bochurs, Very interesting conversations they have. oh and There will also be a video of the scheita when i can get the computer to work!

got one again!

2009-06-05T10:03:00.002-05:00

BH

I managed to grab another computer for a second! I hope everyone that is traveling has a safe flight and a great time out west. :)and Iwill post again when i can. take care!

30 seconds!

2009-06-03T18:42:00.002-05:00

BH

Thats about how much time i have on the computer. anyway yeshiva is wonderful and i have a fabulous chassidus chavrusah. aside from that im just studying (24 hours a day) halachos (of everything) and learning to translate gemara and sichos (i can already read them!) I did get to go to a lovely lchaim that had the best of people attending while listening to a great shiur. oh and it was great meeting certain people last week and thanks for your...paitence. congradulations to the new chazzen and kallal! I wish you guys all blessings in life one can have. hope everyone has a good week! Oh and i saw a picture of a wedding that I absolutly loved :) I'll post when i can! (I don't know why I posted like you people don't know who im talking about)

whoops!

2009-05-24T12:51:00.002-05:00

BH

Sorry its been so long since i posted! craziness with subbing and getting ready to leave tomorrow! yay! I will be in CH by 3 pm or so. Ill post more as soon as i can but i dont know how frequent with yeshiva and all. well I hope everyone is doing well and ill post more later!

grrr

2009-05-13T17:33:00.002-05:00

So subbing has been great. the kids are all pretty good considering their age, though i have definitely decided as easy as it is i do not desire to be an elementary school teacher. in other news, i accidentally left my phone at home on Monday, the following day, i returned home to get it and checked missed calls only to find that it wasn't anyway i thought i had left it. this unfortunately leaves me with only one conclusion. being as there are only two places it could be (the house, and Allen's car [he offered to give me a ride that day]) the only other option is that Allen, though meaning well, for some asinine reason decided to take it with him to give to me. where he thought that was going to happen other than home is beyond me. so day three and no phone. hope no one important tried to call. sorry i shouldn't be as upset about this as i am, its just kind of frustrating.

I am the best P.E. teacher ever!

2009-05-09T21:56:00.003-05:00

being a P.E. teacher is possibly the easiest job ever. Im subbing all next week too. and I get to go with the kids on a field trip to a baseball game wednesday! It's pretty much free money. Ill post more and maybe take some pictures later. oh and the school is in one of the worst parts of the city where i used to boot cars! half of the kids are hispanic of some kind and the other from arabic speaking countries. everyone thought i was either a leprechaun or an elf. weird.

Employed!

2009-05-07T17:10:00.001-05:00

BH

I just accepted a job subing as a P.E. teacher at a elementary school starting tomorrow til next friday! and i get out early enough for Shabbos! (as a side not its very hard to find continuous jobs as a sub, its kind of luck of the draw) woot!

Iraqi poetry

2009-05-01T15:45:00.002-05:00

BH

Modern iraqi poetry i read for class

The Prisoner by Dunya Mikhail
Translated by Salaam Yousif and Liz Winslow
She doesn't understand
what it means to be "guilty"
She waits at the prison's door
until she sees him
to tell him "Take care"
as she used to remind him
when he was going to school
when he was going to work
when he was coming on vacation
She doesn't understand
what they are uttering now
those who are behind the bar
with their uniform
as they decided that
he should be put there
with strangers of gloomy days
It never came to her mind
when she was saying lullabies
upon his bed
during those faraway nights
that he would be put
in this cold place
without moons or windows
She doesn't understand
The mother of the prisoner
doesn't understand
why should she leave him
just because "the visit has finished"!

The Last Iraq by Fadhil al-Azzawi
Translated by Salaam Yousif
Every night I place this creature on my table
And pull its ears,
Till tears of joy come to its eyes.
Another cold winter, penetrated by airplanes
And soldiers sitting on the edge of a hillock,
Waiting for history
To rise up from the darkness of the marshes
With a gun in its hand,
To shoot angels
Training for the revolution.
Every night
I put my hand on this country,
It slips away from my fingers,
Like a soldier running from the front.
[1987]

phone :/

2009-05-01T15:39:00.001-05:00

BH

So my phone broke, and i dropped my ipod in a puddle :( i will take til after shabbos til i know if i can salvage either. but it does mean that i think i lost everyones numbers. blech day. I hope everyone has a great shabbos!

Pictures!

2009-04-27T12:27:00.007-05:00

B''H

Here are some pictures of the Rock garden and patios My father and I built at their house (all by ourselves because help is for sissys) and keep in mind that there wasn't anything back there when we first moved in.

and if you look to the left of the far patio, we just built another stone patio with two huge boulders in the middle of it surrounded by red patio brick. oh and the place closest to the bottom of the picture was also layed by myself. just thought i would share. and if anyone wants one just ask! coming soon to crown heights!

trying to finish everything

2009-04-13T14:09:00.002-05:00

BH

So as of yesterday, after a grueling conversation with my grandparents i was not really expecting, they agreed to help me again with school once I finished yeshiva! Very exciting news because even though Imade a big show of paying for the rest completly out of pocket, I had almost no idea how i was going to accomplish that (other than begging for a pell grant). anyway, thats exciting and tomorrow I hear from the yeshiva and buy my plane ticket, I was thinking of maybe going to crown heights for a day before but I'm not sure yet. I also need to move my stuff, pack, get my license back, switch the electrical bill over to my roomate, and get my immunization records. so stuff to do! but I'll be back!

Hello!

2009-04-13T03:29:00.002-05:00

So it looks like I have some great news! Ill put a longer post up in a bit! But its really great and hopefully tomorrow is all the same! hope everyone is having a great chag and Ill post more tomorrow G-d willing with even more good news! :D

Pesach

2009-04-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

BH

Happy Pesach!!! especially to people in california!

cool picture

2009-04-07T21:20:00.003-05:00

BH

My dad gave me a tennessee flag today, and apparently it saw combat! my mother sent him the flag in 1990 and he kept it in his plane. this is a picture of him and another pilot from tennessee with the flag over the plane. Hes on the right.

Pesach

2009-04-06T00:01:00.003-05:00

Sorry guys, busy cleaning my tiny place (someone else's) for pesach. its nice though, I get to pretend i have someone very special :) with me and it is my own home. my family has in essence said that they will not support me, but my dad walked up to me before i left and handed me (along with some one documents i needed from his safe) a gold coin he had bought when i was born. he said "for when you realize what a big mistake this was" the worth of the coin now is about $1,000. He was saving it for the future but gave it to me now "in case my plan falls through". Its nice to know that they are still there, of course now i can never sell it as a point of pride (being that he will ask constanty whether or not ive sold it yet, and this being a moniker of my being wrong and him being right) but it is nice to have some backup. anyway i buy my ticket tomorrow (G-d willing) can't wait to be back in yeshiva! more news to follow! maybe pictures from rocky horror!

here it comes

2009-03-29T23:02:00.001-05:00

BH

Pakistan police academy attacked:

Unidentified assailants have attacked a police training academy near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, killing at least eight officers and injuring several others, police say.
Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the attack was still underway on Monday.
A security official said dozens of police officers were preparing for the training when attackers opened fire on them.

The attackers also hurled grenades at the police officers.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/03/200933033648186784.html

This is probably staged by groups from the tribal regions, which by the way are being supplied and trained by the US. Strange that suddenly pakistan would begin to fall into turmoil just as we focus on afgahanistan.

Just to clear things up

2009-03-29T22:29:00.000-05:00

BH

due to perhaps some confusion, I amd going to be going to yeshiva in may (G-d willing) and will be there up to a year. just wanted to put that out there.

just to add

2009-03-29T22:08:00.003-05:00

BH
So someone was talking about how disney cartoons were really subliminal, and sometimes creepy? well how about this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC43lpARDk0

verdict

2009-03-28T21:13:00.004-05:00

BH

I have decided that I am going. maybe for only 9 months instead of a year (maybe) but I am going to go and get my peice of paper :) I still have to throw this by 3 individuals but I am set. Cannot wait to finally be there!:)

Alot is going on.

2009-03-26T13:52:00.003-05:00

BH

Well, as perusual of any monumentally good event or decision in my life, there are always hangups. As of now I am being forced to decide on one of two choices/ or a down the middle path that only works under one circumstance. choice 1 is go to yeshiva now for a year, get a piece of paper Ive worked for for a long time now and perhaps a beginning to something amazing! but with that I will lose any financial support from my family (as well as emotional support) thusly causing me to be unable to finish my BA or pay for yeshiva making me unable to continue in any direction without serious debt, and the inability to get a good job. so probably i would have to get student loans to finish my BA and move back where i am now to complete it. I would also be broke once i left yeshiva.

Or I wait for another year, and finish my BA, another awful, painful, year. and afterward my family promised to fund yeshiva, as well as graduate school. I would also have time to save alot of money and with my BA I could start teaching High school if I really needed money in between yeshiva and grad school. Also after yeshiva i could move to anywhere (literally) we wanted. But if i wait another year it would appear like I was backing out and inspire alot of doubt in my sincerity. as well as make life miserable because it would mean another year before I could really be happy.

I know that the second one sounds better than the first. but, though my family has threatened me that they will not support me if i go now and not later, this does not mean that its true, more than likely it is just a tactic that they believe will prevent me from going. also I can get a job doing almost anything, construction, cleaning, office work, butchering. you name it and I have probably done it (I've had alot of weird jobs). so making money is not a big problem. and worst comes to worst I have no debt as of right now so taking on some would not be the end of the world.

So which is better? Is it better to go with uncertainty and instability and possibly having to spend a few years building back up, as well as being shirked by my family? Or going with stability and certainty, but losing my credibility and sincerity in the eyes of a group very important people. as well as put even more time in between when I can finally be really happy. but having the future set up for me? also is it better to go to yeshiva for a year and have to move back somewhere for another year there there is no frum community. or better to go to yeshiva as long as i want and move directly to any community after that?

This is an unfair question because there is a huge third variable which i can't really divulge that might change the answer, but Ill look to that. anyway this is my predicament. and why this week has not been so good.

Here's to a good decision and a better day!

WOOOOOO!

2009-03-23T17:07:00.003-05:00

BH

Good news! I should be in yeshiva around the 15th or 20th of may! hooray! I also came across some pictures of my dad flying on the internet. I think this is from the early ninties during a demo he was doing after the war.

AIG

2009-03-18T14:02:00.002-05:00

BH

US vows to recover AIG money

AIG has taken $173bn in bailout money and made a $61.7bn loss for the fourth quarter last year [EPA]

Amid mounting anger over bailed-out American International Group's move to give its employees $165m in bonuses, the Obama administration has pledged to force the insurance company to pay the money back.

Timothy Geithner, the treasury secretary, said on Tuesday that AIG would have to promise to reimburse taxpayers as a condition for receiving a further $30bn of bailout money from the government.

"We will impose on AIG a contractual commitment to pay the treasury from the operations of the company the amount of the retention awards just paid," Geithner said in a letter to congressional leaders.

The AIG bonuses have ignited outrage on Capitol Hill, prompting Barack Obama, the US president, to order another look at legal means of recovering the money after government officials had agreed with AIG that it was contractually obligated to pay the bonuses.

Congressional hearing

AIG's government appointed chief executive, Edward Liddy, is expected to be grilled when he goes before a congressional hearing on Wednesday over the bonuses and Sunday's disclosure that $90bn of the bailout money had been paid to other financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and several European banks.

Rosiland Jordan, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Washington DC, said: "He will get a roasting at this hearing.

AIG bonus row
AIG has been kept afloat with more than $170bn of taxpayers money since September.

The US federal govermment now owns over 80% of the insurance company.

The current row is over $165m worth of bonus payments made to 418 executives.

AIG says it is a legal obligation to honour contracts drawn up before the government bailout.

But the so-called "retention bonuses" include over $33m for 52 people who have left the company.

"Even though he was called in by the previous [Bush] administration to try to manage AIG's affairs and manage their derivatives - bringing the company to the brink of bankruptcy - he still went ahead with these bonuses."

Geithner said the treasury was working with the justice department to determine whether provisions of a recently passed economic stimulus bill covering compensation for bailout recipients might be used to get back the bonuses.

"Our review will determine whether we can recoup these bonuses" under that authority, Geithner said.

But he acknowledged the stimulus law would only pave the way for negotiations with the company and the treasury was moving ahead with other steps to ensure repayment.

"We ... want to ensure that taxpayers are compensated for any monies we cannot recover," Geithner said in his letter.

New laws proposed

Angry US legislators scrambled to devise new laws to stop bailed-out firms from giving staff massive bonuses on Tuesday, with Nancy Pelosi, the House of Representatives speaker, saying that legislation could come up within days.

The legislators proposed various options to try to recoup the money, including a 70 per cent tax on bonuses paid to executives at companies that received taxpayer bailout money.

AIG, whose murky and complex financial dealings have contributed to the global financial meltdown, is the largest recipient of the government bailout with $173bn so far.

The company that made a $61.7bn loss for the fourth quarter of last year said it risked being sued if it did not pay the bonuses to staff of AIG Financial Products, the unit of the company that sold credit default swaps, the risky contracts that caused massive losses for the insurer.

Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney-general, said 73 of those employees got bonuses of at least $1m.

Urged to return money

Legislators called for those who received bonuses at AIG to voluntarily give up the money.

"Let the recipients of these large and unseemly bonuses be warned: if you don't return it on your own, we will do it for you"

Charles Schumer, Democratic senator

But they also threatened other measures such as using the government's new majority shareholder position – some 80 per cent - to sue the company to recoup the money or authorising the US attorney-general to recover excessive compensation payments.

"Let the recipients of these large and unseemly bonuses be warned: if you don't return it on your own, we will do it for you," Charles Schumer, a Democratic senator, said.

Criticised by Republicans for not doing enough, the White House said on Tuesday it was considering ways to retrieve the money, "whether it's changing the tax code or whatever ideas" that are being raised in congress.

"The president finds it outrageous and offensive that any of these bonuses exist," Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said.

On Monday, Obama had said it was "hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165m in extra pay".

"How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?"

Pressure on Obama

Jane Hamsher, a blogger and political commentator, told Al Jazeera that "Obama has been largely immune" to political fallout from the AIG situation so far and that it had largely been absorbed by Geithner.

"Obama is going to be in a situation very soon, where some of the stories Geithner has been telling are going to be a little suspect and he's going to have to either stick by his man or incur some of the damage"

Jane Hamsher,
political commentator

"But going forward, Geithner's word isn't sounding so good, people are beginning to lose faith in him," she said.

"And I think Obama is going to be in a situation very soon, where some of the stories Geithner has been telling are going to be a little suspect and he's going to have to either stick by his man or incur some of the damage."

Hamsher said "Geithner's approach to this whole thing is that the system is fundamentally sound and if they just keep pumping money into it, it will be OK".

"But it's not. There are real systemic problems led to these problems."

She cited government deregulation that has been going on since the 1980s and the credit expansion that was made during the Bush administration to allow lending to "people they knew could not repay their loans".

"They haven't done anything to re-regulate or make sure that the system has integrity. So they're just really lighting money on fire as far as a lot of people are concerned."

-AL JAZEERA http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2009/03/20093172334152828.html

What isn't really discussed here is not only was 165 million taken and given to the CEO's but also 95 million of the handout was funneled into foreign banks to keep them afloat.

-ME

oops.

2009-03-13T12:03:00.001-05:00

BH

So i tried to make it private and instead accidentley deleted it. :/ no worries though, I remember it.

2009-03-06T01:30:00.001-06:00

B''H

I don't have enough time to actually post (ill try and post everything im up to later) so instead here is a picture of me from 9th grade found on a friends facebook. wow.

P.S. the light was bright.

a week

2009-03-01T19:59:00.005-06:00

B''H

Another week has gone by. School has been somewhat difficult, trying to learn enough of the information to pass while still resisting enough to satisfy my dislike of the course (still bitter about Gen eds) Im finding more and more time to study whatever sefer I happen to have on me at the time, which is definatly a ray of light in my day. along with just daily torah study i get to chavrusa with a friend of my once or so a week. I have kindof slacked off on my gym routine but im getting back into it tonight. So far the best news ive had this week is that unless they outright refuse me into yeshiva this summer im going (either scholarship or loans)! I decided though that if for whatever reason I do not get in this summer, i am just going to move to brooklyn, because i am not going to spend another year waiting to begin. Fortunatly again though, either way i will eventually be in yeshiva and if i have to get loans to do it i am going to go til i get smicha. So I derfinatly have some highlights this week.
I miss her. everyday. more and more and more. I wrote her another letter, telling her everything in my week, everything in my head and chest. I asked questions that I won't have answers to for sometime. I hope she loves her new job, and that she is feeling better and not too sad. That it snowed today a whole foot and all i could think of all day was how much I would love to see her laughing after hitting me in the back with a snow ball. it was beautiful outside, but it was without her. that is how my days always are, good, and full of things to happy about and grateful for, but without her. With these feelings however comes the incredible joy of thinking about all of these days, times, and events with her!! I have the most blessed (thank G-d) future ahead of me :) right now i just thankful for her brother.
I going to give sincere effort not to be such a bleeding heart but no promises. Unfortunatly I have to go map the stars and constellaations now, but I'll be back.

Job loss international

2009-02-23T00:25:00.002-06:00

B''H

Al Jazeera English: Out of Work on Dipity.

Roller Skating

2009-02-20T01:49:00.003-06:00

BSD

Music

2009-02-19T18:33:00.001-06:00

B''H

Going to a soccer game!!!

2009-02-16T12:51:00.001-06:00

BSD

U.S. v Trinidad in
by David Wilson on February 3, 2009

The U.S. national team will play its home World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago in on April 1. Tickets for this game are now available. Buy U.S. v T&T Tickets
The U.S. team, trying to qualify for its sixth straight World Cup, opens the final round of North and Central American and Caribbean region on Feb. 11 against Mexico at Columbus, Ohio. It plays at El Salvador on March 28 before hosting the Soca Warriors.
The two teams will face off for the third time in seven months after splitting their meetings in the last round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. The United States posted a 3-0 win at Toyota Park on Sept. 10, while Trinidad & Tobago notched a 2-1 home victory against a short-handed U.S. team on Oct. 15th.
The U.S. national team will be playing just its second match in , having suffered a 1-0 loss to Morocco on May 23, 2006 as part of the U.S. World Cup team’s sending off series before the 2006 World Cup. The U.S. Under-23 national team played in the semifinals and final of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying Tournament in March of 2008, beating Canada in the semifinal before losing to Honduras in the final.
Sites have not been determined for the final three U.S. home matches: against Honduras (June 6), El Salvador (Sept. 5) and Costa Rica (Oct. 14) but expectations are that Chicago will get to host the June 6th home qualifier vs. Honduras

2009-02-15T23:03:00.005-06:00

BSD

Well I feel embarrassed. I am an offical jerk.

wow

2009-02-15T20:26:00.003-06:00

BSD

Saudi woman becomes deputy minister

Saudi Arabia has named a woman as deputy minister for education - the most senior role ever held by a female in the kingdom.

Norah al-Faiz, currently an official at the Saudi Institute for Public Administration, was named as the deputy minister responsible for women's education as part of a reshuffle of the cabinet, military and judiciary on Saturday.

King Abdullah also ordered the replacement of the chief of the Supreme Council of Justice, Saleh al-Lihedan, who last year issued an edict saying it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite television channels deemed to show "immoral" content.

The head of the commission is the kingdom's second-most influential cleric.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Humain was appointed as the new head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice which controls the religious police, replacing Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ghaith.

The police have wide powers to search for alcohol, drugs and prostitution, ensure shops are closed during prayer times and maintain the system of sexual segregation in Saudi society.

'Turning point'

The reshuffle, King Abdullah's first since he took power following the the death of his half-brother in 2005, also saw new education, justice and information ministers appointed.

"This is a turning point. It is the biggest change that happened in this country in 20 years," Mohammad al-Zulfa, a member of Saudi Arabia's Shura council, told the AFP news agency.

"It is a new start for King Abdullah. People are expecting changes," he said. "These are new faces who can bring change."

The monarch also appointed Abdul-Aziz Khoja, who was previously ambassador to Lebanon, as information minister, replacing Iyad bin Amin Madani, state-run al-Ekhbariya television reported.

Clerics had often criticised Madani for allowing the local press to take greater liberty in challenging the establishment.

Al Jazeeria news

Life is precious

2009-02-12T17:53:00.001-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw0LKyiiZQ

Job G-d willing!

2009-02-10T00:59:00.001-06:00

bsd

too sleepy to write much but it looks like (G-d willing) i might get a job as a sub for metro schools! good experiance teacing and if i ever needed a full time job. anyway, very exciting. Ill definitly write more later!

Just like heaven

2009-01-30T13:43:00.001-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-nkSGg0lk4

gray and blue skies

2009-01-29T19:12:00.004-06:00

bsd

Well, i have offically joined the ranks of the unemployed again. the kosher resturant i was working at let me go for somewhat vague reasons (I think they're going out of buisness) but either way i am without work. strangly enough i am actually not so down about this. All week i have been in this kind of shell shocked fog not to mention the weird mixture of good and bad things that have happened to me. things like being let go, get insurance money in the mail, a random old doctor bill that i thought was paid but apparently not, along with various other small things (i also go a cheap ipod) either good or bad that happened. despite all of these things i am still essentailly detached from the world around me. i know that i am charismatic enough not to let this be apparent but within myself i am hardly aware of my own being. And the reason for this is the ultimate in my good/bad week, a wonderful/painful decision that i(we) made. i am so happy to have finally made the move into doing the right thing, into stopping was was so that what will be can happen. but for right now i am still just a little dazed. I know that i will be able to snap myself out of this inverted gaze at lest to some extant not long from now, but it is still difficult. right now i need to stop focus on all the great, amazing things that i have ahead of me, go find a new job, and set up a better time to study halacha and school. after that i need to byproxy cheer up a certain friend of mine, and then mail a huge package to the same person to cheer them up because they are wonderful. after all of this i will take lesson to improve my horrific grammer and typing abilities because they are atrocious. anyway i going to at least pretend to be cheery.

Til i see you again

2009-01-27T01:47:00.004-06:00

BSD

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. ~Claudia Ghandi

All days are nights to see till I see thee,
And nights bright days when dreams do show thee to me.
~William Shakespeare, "Sonnet XLIII"

Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle
Everything I do is stitched with its color.
~W.S. Merwin, "Separation"

2009-01-26T09:34:00.001-06:00

Pictures

2009-01-18T02:06:00.003-06:00

B''H

Sefer Machine!

Creepiest kids store sign ever!

pictures i took.

Times

2009-01-18T02:01:00.001-06:00

B''H

I have endured much to reach this place in time
Yet I have not been sick, nor mad,
Nor ruined in a wreck.
And yet I feel I have.
There is a thing in me, the walls of cells are thin,
My veins are glass, my heart the merest whim
Of beat and pause and beat,
Deaths in the street are mine. I would not have it so.
I know much more than I would want to know.
The breakfast headlines tell me of a war,
I know they die out there; put down my spoon.
Men land on the moon tonight, I know their joy,
The boy in me goes with them as they tread
Far overhead on dust world beyond reach
They teach my tired blood to love again.
There's rain in downtown Peru tonight,
I wash my face in it. In Indo China, one more massacre,
I run a race in it and lose.
You see?
I cannot choose to be or not to be.

-Ray Bradbury

2008-10-24T01:36:00.012-05:00

I received a camera for my Birthday! so i went for a walk around my university at 2 A.M i think and took some pictures! Later that day i took some of my School in the day and a few of my friends i saw that day.

P.S. I made an A- on my Medieval Mediterranean world class! one of 3 out of 3o (including Grad students!).

My evening began, actually with a ride back to my house from my friend Allan

Here is picture of the courtyard in front of my library and the computer lab (ahead) that i am usually from 10pm to 3am!

Here is my library!Here is a very surprised Heather

Marcus and alethia

and Rhiannon (helped me study for Med Med exam)!

Here is my history building and my religious studies building

and here is the computer I am at for most of my life now (wishing i was in front of penelope :) )

More pictures soon!

213 things that Skippy can no longer do in the U.S. army

2008-10-06T21:31:00.002-05:00

I found this on the internet, apparently this man actually existed during the balkians war.

Skippy’s List: The 213 things Skippy is no longer allowed to do in the U.S. Army
A quick note:I don’t mind if you want to quote a few items from my list of your site. But please do not copy the list in it’s entirety.
Explanations of these events:a) I did myself, and either got in trouble or commended. (I had a Major shake my hand for the piss bottle thing, for instance.)b) I witnessed another soldier do it. (Like the Sergeant we had, that basically went insane, and crucified some dead mice.)c) Was spontaneously informed I was not allowed to do. (Like start a porn studio.)d) Was the result of a clarification of the above. (“What about especially patriotic porn?”)e) I was just minding my own business, when something happened. (“Schwarz…what is *that*?” said the Sgt, as he pointed to the back of my car? “Um….a rubber sheep…I can explain why that’s there….”)
To explain how I’ve stayed out of jail/alive/not beaten up too badly….. I’m funny, so they let me live.

The 213 Things….

1. Not allowed to watch Southpark when I’m supposed to be working.
2. My proper military title is “Specialist Schwarz” not “Princess Anastasia”.
3. Not allowed to threaten anyone with black magic.
4. Not allowed to challenge anyone’s disbelief of black magic by asking for hair.
5. Not allowed to get silicone breast implants.
6. Not allowed to play “Pulp Fiction” with a suction-cup dart pistol and any officer.
7. Not allowed to add “In accordance with the prophesy” to the end of answers I give to a question an officer asks me.
8. Not allowed to add pictures of officers I don’t like to War Criminal posters.
9. Not allowed to title any product “Get Over it”.
10. Not allowed to purchase anyone’s soul on government time.
11. Not allowed to join the Communist Party.
12. Not allowed to join any militia.
13. Not allowed to form any militia.
14. Not allowed out of my office when the president visited Sarajevo.
15. Not allowed to train adopted stray dogs to “Sic Brass!”
16. Must get a haircut even if it tampers with my “Samson like powers”.
17. God may not contradict any of my orders.
18. May no longer perform my now (in)famous “Barbie Girl Dance” while on duty.
19. May not call any officers immoral, untrustworthy, lying, slime, even if I’m right.
20. Must not taunt the French any more.
21. Must attempt to not antagonize SAS.
22. Must never call an SAS a “Wanker”.
23. Must never ask anyone who outranks me if they’ve been smoking crack.
24. Must not tell any officer that I am smarter than they are, especially if it’s true.
25. Never confuse a Dutch soldier for a French one.
26. Never tell a German soldier that “We kicked your ass in World War 2!”
27. Don’t tell Princess Di jokes in front of the paras (British Airborne).
28. Don’t take the batteries out of the other soldiers alarm clocks (Even if they do hit snooze about forty times).
29. The Irish MPs are not after “Me frosted lucky charms”.
30. Not allowed to wake an Non-Commissioned Officer by repeatedly banging on the head with a bag of trash.
31. Not allowed to let sock puppets take responsibility for any of my actions.
32. Not allowed to let sock puppets take command of my post.
33. Not allowed to chew gum at formation, unless I brought enough for everybody.
34. (Next day) Not allowed to chew gum at formation even if I *did* bring enough for everybody.
35. Not allowed to sing “High Speed Dirt” by Megadeth during airborne operations. (“See the earth below/Soon to make a crater/Blue sky, black death, I’m off to meet my maker”)
36. Can’t have flashbacks to wars I was not in. (The Spanish-American War isn’t over).
37. Our medic is called “Sgt Larwasa”, not “Dr. Feelgood”.
38. Our supply Sgt is “Sgt Watkins” not “Sugar Daddy”.
39. Not allowed to ask for the day off due to religious purposes, on the basis that the world is going to end, more than once.
40. I do not have super-powers.
41. “Keep on Trucking” is *not* a psychological warfare message.
42. Not allowed to attempt to appeal to mankind’s baser instincts in recruitment posters.
43. Camouflage body paint is not a uniform.
44. I am not the atheist chaplain.
45. I am not allowed to “Go to Bragg boulevard and shake daddy’s little money maker for twenties stuffed into my undies”.
46. I am not authorized to fire officers.
47. I am not a citizen of Texas, and those other, forty-nine, lesser states.
48. I may not use public masturbation as a tool to demonstrate a flaw in a command decision.
49. Not allowed to trade military equipment for “magic beans”.
50. Not allowed to sell magic beans during duty hours.
51. Not allowed to quote “Dr Seuss” on military operations.
52. Not allowed to yell “Take that Cobra” at the rifle range.
53. Not allowed to quote “Full Metal Jacket “ at the rifle range.
54. “Napalm sticks to kids” is *not* a motivational phrase.
55. An order to “Put Kiwi on my boots” does *not* involve fruit.
56. An order to “Make my Boots black and shiny” does not involve electrical tape.
57. The proper response to a lawful order is not “Why?”
58. The following words and phrases may not be used in a cadence- Budding sexuality, necrophilia, I hate everyone in this formation and wish they were dead, sexual lubrication, black earth mother, all Marines are latent homosexuals, Tantric yoga, Gotterdammerung, Korean hooker, Eskimo Nell, we’ve all got jackboots now, slut puppy, or any references to squid.
59. May not make posters depicting the leadership failings of my chain of command.
60. “The Giant Space Ants” are not at the top of my chain of command.
61. If one soldier has a 2nd Lt bar on his uniform, and I have an E-4 on mine It means he outranks me. It does not mean “I have been promoted three more times than you”.
62. It is better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, no longer applies to Specialist Schwarz.
63. Command decisions do *not* need to be ratified by a 2/3 majority.
64. Inflatable novelties do *not* entitle me to BAQ or Separation pay.
65. There are no evil clowns living under my bed.
66. There is no “Anti-Mime” campaign in Bosnia.
67. I am not the Psychological Warfare Mascot.
68. I may not line my helmet with tin foil to “Block out the space mind control lasers”.
69. May not pretend to be a fascist stormtrooper, while on duty.
70. I am not authorized to prescribe any form of medication.
71. I must not flaunt my deviances in front of my chain of command.
72. May not wear gimp mask while on duty.
73. No military functions are to be performed “Skyclad”.
74. Woad is not camouflage makeup.
75. May not conduct psychological experiments on my chain of command.
76. “Teddy Bear, Teddy bear, turn around” is *not* a cadence.
77. The MP checkpoint is not an Imperial Stormtrooper roadblock, so I should not tell them “You don’t need to see my identification, these are not the droids you are looking for.”
78. I may not call block my chain of command.
79. I am neither the king nor queen of cheese.
80. Not allowed to wear a dress to any army functions.
81. May not bring a drag queen to the battalion formal dance.
82. May not form any press gangs.
83. Must not start any SITREP (Situation Report) with “I recently had an experience I just had to write you about….”
84. Must not use military vehicles to “Squish” things.
85. Not allowed to make any Psychological Warfare products depicting the infamous Ft. Bragg sniper incident.
86. May not challenge anyone in my chain of command to the “field of honor”.
87. If the thought of something makes me giggle for longer than 15 seconds, I am to assume that I am not allowed to do it.
88. Must not refer to 1st Sgt as “Mom”.
89. Must not refer to the Commander as “Dad”.
90. Inflatable sheep do *not* need to be displayed during a room inspection.
91. I am not authorized to initiate Jihad.
92. When asked to give a few words at a military ceremony “Romper Bomper Stomper Boo” is probably not appropriate.
93. Nerve gas is not funny.
94. Crucifixes do not ward off officers, and I should not test that.
95. I am not in need of a more suitable host body.
96. “Redneck Zombies” is not a military training aid.
97. Gozer does not dwell in my refrigerator.
98. The proper response to a chemical weapon attack is not “Tell my chain of command what I really think about them, and then poke holes in their masks.”
99. A smiley face is not used to mark a minefield.
100. Claymore mines are not filled with yummy candy, and it is wrong to tell new soldiers that they are.
101. I am not allowed to mount a bayonet on a crew-served weapon.
102. Rodents are not entitled to burial with full military honors, even if they are “casualties of war”.
103. My commander is not old enough to have fought in the civil war, and I should stop implying that he did.
104. Vodka, green food coloring, and a “Cool Mint” Listerine® bottle is not a good combination.
105. I am not allowed to bum cigarettes off of anyone under twelve.
106. I may not trade my rifle for any of the following: Cigarettes, booze, sexual favors, Kalishnikovs, Soviet Armored vehicles, small children, or bootleg CD’s.
107. Must not mock command decisions in front of the press.
108. Should not taunt members of the press, even if they are really fat, exceptionally stupid, and working for UPI.
109. I am not authorized to change national policy in Eastern Europe.
110. Never, ever, attempt to correct a Green Beret officer about anything.
111. I am not qualified to operate any US, German, Polish, or Russian Armored vehicles.
112. When saluting a “leg” officer, an appropriate greeting is not “Airborne leads the wa- oh…sorry sir”.
113. There is absolutely no need to emulate the people from “Full Monty” every time I hear the song “Hot Stuff”.
114. I cannot trade my CO to the Russians.
115. I should not speculate on the penis size of anyone who outranks me.
116. Crucifying mice - bad idea.
117. Must not use government equipment to bootleg pornography.
118. Burn pits for classified material are not revel fires - therefore it is wrong to dance naked around them.
119. I cannot arrest children for being rude.
120. An EO briefing is probably not the best place to unveil my newest off color joke.
121. I should not use government resources to “waterproof” dirty magazines.
122. Radioactive material should not be stored in the barracks.
123. I should not teach other soldiers to say offensive and crude things in Albanian, under the guise of teaching them how to say potentially useful phrases.
124. Two drink limit does not mean first and last.
125. Two drink limit does not mean two kinds of drinks.
126. Two drink limit does not mean the drinks can be as large as I like.
127. “No Drinking Of Alcoholic Beverages” does not imply that a Jack Daniel’s ® IV is acceptable.
128. “Shpadoinkle” is not a real word.
129. The Microsoft ® “Dancing Paperclip” is not authorized to countermand any orders.
130. “I’m drunk” is a bad answer to any question posed by my commander.
131. No dancing in the turret. This especially applies in conjunction with rule #113.
132. The loudspeaker system is not a forum to voice my ideas.
133. The loudspeaker system is not to be used to replace the radio.
134. The loudspeaker system is not to be used to broadcast the soundtrack to a porno movie.
135. An order to put polish on my boots means the whole boot.
136. Shouting “Let’s do the village! Let’s do the whole fucking village!” while out on a mission is bad.
137. Should not show up at the front gate wearing part of a Russian uniform, messily drunk.
138. Even if my commander did it.
139. Must not teach interpreters how to make “MRE” bombs.
140. I am not authorized to sell mineral rights.
141. Not allowed to use a broadsword to disprove “The Pen is Mightier than the sword”.
142. “Calvin-Ball” is not authorized PT.
143. I do not need to keep a “range card” by my window.
144. “K-Pot, LBE, and a thin coat of Break-free” is not an authorized uniform.
145. I should not drink three quarts of blue food coloring before a urine test.
146. Nor should I drink three quarts of red food coloring, and scream during the same.
147. I should not threaten suicide with pop rocks and Coke ®.
148. Putting red “Mike and Ike’s” ® into a prescription medicine bottle, and then eating them all in a formation is not funny.
149. Must not create new DOD forms, then insist they be filled out.
150. On Sports Day PT, a wedgie is not considered a legal tackle.
151. The proper way to report to my Commander is “Specialist Schwarz, reporting as ordered, Sir” not “You can’t prove a thing!”
152. The following items do not exist: Keys to the Drop Zone, A box of grid squares, blinker fluid, winter air for tires, canopy lights, or Chem-Light ® batteries.
153. I should not assign new privates to “guard the flight line”.
154. Shouldn’t treat “piss-bottles” with extra-strength icy hot.
155. Teaching Albanian children to taunt other soldiers is not nice.
156. I will no longer perform “lap-dances” while in uniform.
157. If I take the uniform off, in the course of the lap-dance, it still counts.
158. The revolution is not now.
159. When detained by MP’s, I do not have a right to a strip search.
160. No part of the military uniform is edible.
161. Bodychecking General officers is not a good idea.
162. Past lives have absolutely no effect on the chain of command.
163. Take that hat off.
164. There is no such thing as a were-virgin.
165. I do not get “that time of month”.
166. No, the pants are not optional.
167. Not allowed to operate a business out of the barracks.
168. Especially not a pornographic movie studio.
169. Not even if they *are* “especially patriotic films”
170. Not allowed to “defect” to OPFOR during training missions.
171. On training missions, try not to shoot down the General’s helicopter.
172. “A full magazine and some privacy” is not the way to help a potential suicide.
173. I am not allowed to create new levels of security clearance.
174. Furby ® is not allowed into classified areas. (I swear to the gods, I did not make that up, it’s actually DOD policy).
175. We do not “charge into battle, naked, like the Celts”.
176. Any device that can crawl across the table on medium, does not need to be brought into the office.
177. I am not to refer to a formation as “the boxy rectangle thingie”.
178. I am not “A lesbian trapped in a man’s body”.
179. On Army documents, my race is not “Other”.
180. Nor is it “Secretariat, in the third”.
181. Pokémon® trainer is not an MOS.
182. There is no FM for “wall-to-wall counseling”.
183. My chain of command has neither the time, nor the inclination to hear about what I did with six boxes of Fruit Roll-Ups. ®
184. When operating a military vehicle I may *not* attempt something “I saw in a cartoon”.
185. My name is not a killing word.
186. I am not the Emperor of anything.
187. Must not taunt officers in the throes of nicotine withdrawal, with cigarettes.
188. May not challenge officers to “Meet me on the field of honor, at dawn”.
189. Do not dare SERE graduates to eat bugs. They will always do it.
190. Must not make s’mores while on guard duty.
191. Our Humvees cannot be assembled into a giant battle-robot.
192. The proper response to a briefing is not “That’s what you think”.
193. The Masons, and Gray Aliens are not in our chain of command.
194. Shouldn’t take incriminating photos of my chain of command.
195. Shouldn’t use Photoshop ® to create incriminating photos of my chain of command.
196. I am not allowed to give tattoos.
197. I am not allowed to sing “Henry the VIII I am” until verse 68 ever again.
198. Not allowed to lead a “Coup” during training missions.
199. I should not confess to crimes that took place before I was born.
200. My chain of command is not interested in why I “just happen” to have a kilt, an inflatable sheep, and a box of rubber bands in the back of my car.
201. Must not valiantly push officers onto hand grenades to save the squad.
202. Despite the confusing similarity in the names, the “Safety Dance” and the “Safety Briefing” are never to be combined.
203. “To conquer the earth with an army of flying monkeys” is a bad long term goal to give the re-enlistment NCO.
204. NEVER nail a stuffed bunny to a cross and put it up in front of the Battalion Headquarters sign as an “Easter Desecration.”
205. Don’t write up false gigs on a HMMWV PMCS. (”Broken clutch pedal”, “Number three turbine has frequent flame-outs”, “flux capacitor emits loud whine when engaged”)
206. Not allowed to get shot.
207. The Chicken and Rice MRE is *not* a personal lubricant. (Skippy wanted this noted for the record that this is not something he has ever attempted or considered! It was something we heard at dinner on 22 September 2001 and it was just so obscene it had to go here.)
208. Not allowed to play into the deluded fantasies of the civilians who are “hearing conversations” from the NSA, FBI, CIA and KGB due to the microchip the aliens implanted in their brain.
209. An airsickness bag is to be used for airsickness *only*. (Also not a Skippy-ism…this was the same dinner.)
210. Must not make T-shirts up depicting a pig with the writing “Eat Pork or Die” in Arabic to bring as civilian attire when preparing to deploy to a primarily Muslim country.
211. Don’t ask LTC Steele to sign my copy of Blackhawk Down.
212. Must not go on nine deployments in six years that require a security clearance that I don’t have, even if the Army tells me repeatedly that I have one and I have no reason to question them.
213. Do not convince NCO’s that their razorbumps are the result of microscopic parasites.

Ramming Speed!

2008-10-03T00:25:00.003-05:00

BSD

The essays are finished and one midterm is down! now only... five more midterms and... 3 more essays in the next two weeks! on the upside i am now the narrator in the Marxist play "The Measures Taken" by Bertolt Brecht. Pretty Exciting if i do say so myself! I believe i promised someone some Moorish Poetry, so here goes :

Verses to My Daughters

With jocund heart and cheerful brow
I used to hail the festal morn---
How must Mohammed greet it now?---
A prisoner helpless and forlorn.

While these dear maids in beauty's bloom,
With want opprest, with rags o'erspread,
By sordid labors at the loom
Must earn a poor, precarious bread.
Those feet that never touched the ground,
Till musk or camphor strewed the way,
Now bare and swoll'n with many a wound,
Must struggle through the miry clay.

Those radiant cheeks are veiled in woe,
A shower descends from every eye,
And not a starting tear can flow,
That wakes not an attending sigh.
Fortune, that whilom owned my sway,
And bowed obsequious to my nod,
Now sees me destined to obey,
And bend beneath oppression's rod.

Ye mortals with success elate,
Who bask in hope's delusive beam,
Attentive view Mohammed's fate,
And own that bliss is but a dream.

---Prince Mohammed Ben Abad

Hopefully this week i should also be obtaining a list of journals and papers to submit my essays to so i can start getting published in an academic setting. And as for the best part of my week, i finally got to talk to penelope after Rosh Hashannah and i have never so longed to talk to someone in my whole life. There is no better way to begin the new year, and may it be a blessed one for everybody!

P.S. i think everyone should know that the nuclear pact between the U.S. and India passed this week, so now the us will be shipping nuclear materials to India, with no promise that they will not be used to create bombs. also that the U.N. be allowed to inspect some (repeat Some) of they're nuclear facilities. I would suggest see Kashmir now if you ever intend to, it may not be much to look at not long from now. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/10/20081021212400686.html

Politics and my day

2008-09-15T18:15:00.000-05:00

Ever reviled, accursed, ne'er understood,
Thou art the grisly terror of our age.
"Wreck of all order," cry the multitude,
"Art thou, and war and murder's endless rage."
O, let them cry. To them that ne'er have striven
The truth that lies behind a word to find,
To them the word's right meaning was not given.
They shall continue blind among the blind.
But thou, O word, so clear, so strong, so pure,
Thou sayest all which I for goal have taken.
I give thee to the future! Thine secure
When each at least unto himself shall waken.
Comes it in sunshine? In the tempest's thrill?
I cannot tell--but it the earth shall see!
I am an Anarchist! Wherefore I will
Not rule, and also ruled I will not be!

JOHN HENRY MACKAY

BSD

Schade, ich fand ein fantastisches Gedicht, so fand ich, dass ich es anschlagen sollte.

Heute, ist trotz dessen wunderbar produktiv gewesen dass ich krank und sehr schläfrig bin. Ich ließ schließlich den Kasten von penelope schicken und hatte eine wunderbare Diskussion Früh yishuv und israelische Politik mit dem prof. Foley an. Jede immer israelischere Kultur und poltics werden immer mehr bismarckien oder Preuße. der das Betrachten der Summierung jener Ideologien erschreckt. nicht, dass ich glaube, dass Israel jemals zum conclusian kommen würde, den Deutschland tat (verbieten G-d), aber das, den sie selbst finden könnten, in dem dasselbe Rätsel traurig wird.
Der Höhepunkt meines Tages war jedoch alle wunderbaren, erstaunlichen Zeiten, die ich bekam, um mit Penelope zu sprechen! Es gibt noone auf dieser Erde, wer ist, wie sie ist. Mein Herz gehört ihr, und meine Gedanken werden mit Images ihres Gesichtes und der Töne ihrer Stimme ständig gefüllt. Die glücklichste Zeit, an die ich denken kann, ist, wenn ich komme, um sie folgend zu sehen. Ich liebe peneople mit meinem ganzen Wesen! :)

I miss Penelope

2008-09-10T12:36:00.000-05:00

Ich will mit dem gehen, den ich liebe

"Ich will mit dem gehen, den ich liebe.
Ich will nicht ausrechnen, was es kostet.
Ich will nicht nachdenken, ob es gut ist.
Ich will nicht wissen, ob er mich liebt.
Ich will mit ihm gehen, den ich liebe."

- Bertolt Brecht