Today's cartoon: a sign of the times?

Worried about your country's unemployment rate? Worried about the economy in your country? Worried about what your country's politicians are doing to your country?

On a more personal level, are you worried about your job? Worried about your children? Could you use a little good luck for a change? 

Today's cartoon is not a cartoon. It's a sign someone created. 

It's a sign for us all. It reminds us where all good fortune comes from. 

If you and your political leaders could use some good fortune, this sign says it all.

Is this the sign for our troubled times? (see below):

from: onsizzle.com






Want your country of residence-in-exile to be blessed? 

Tell your country's leaders to support Israel. 

Want to be happier? Convince your country's leaders to support Israel.

Arab countries are pariahs, not Israel

The anti-Israel world behaves in a straight-forward manner: it declares how awful Israel is. Then it shouts that Israel is a pariah nation.

Well, according to the blog, elderofziyon, that 'shout' is completely false. In fact, according to one measure of a country's 'acceptability', the real pariah isn't Israel, but the anti-Israel nations surrounding it.

Here's the blog post. It's from October 26, 2017:

• Thursday, October 26, 2017
• Elder of Ziyon

Passport power rankings explode the myth of "isolated Israel"

Passport Index ranks all national passports by a "Power Rank" of the number of countries a passport holder can enter without a visa.

This is a pretty good metric to determine which countries are isolated from the world and which ones are full members.

This year Singapore ranks first, with 159 countries that a Singapore passport holder can visit freely,  followed closely by Germany with 158.

Israel is ranked 50th out of 199 countries with a score of 137, which isn't a stellar score. But considering that most Muslim majority countries would not allow people with Israeli passports to enter altogether, it is a respectable score.

How does Israel compare with other countries in the Middle East and North Africa?

Israel is not isolated at all. It is more a part of the community of nations than every single one of its Arab Muslim critics.

So for all the people who have dedicated their lives to telling the world that Israel is a pariah nation - you are once again proven to be liars.

---

My comment:

Some 27 years ago (in November, 1990), the jerusalempost’s Yaakov Kirschen used a drybones cartoon to illustrate Israel’s reputation as an ‘international pariah‘ (Herb Keinon, “Is Israel really a nation that dwells alone?”, jerusalempost, December 2, 2017): “Good news, bad news about the community of nations?”, one man asked the other in the cartoon.

“Yup”, the second man replied. “The good news is, the world has finally united. The bad news is, everyone has united against Israel” (ibid).

 Such isolation might have been an Israeli truth in 1990. But that's no longer true (ibid). 

The only place Israel is isolated is at the UN, whose influence has plummeted and whose performance-to-help-humanity has been weakened because of corruption--and because of sex-crime charges against UN 'peace-keeping troops' that never get addressed. But in arenas where the true ability to help humanity counts--security expertise, cyber safety, water technology, scientific and high-tech creativity--it is Israel who excels, not the UN. 

The nations of the world know this. On the international stage, nations beat a path to Israel's gate (Keinon, ibid).

Israel has changed since 1990. It's no longer  a pariah. It's a 'go-to' source for science  advancements, information resources, protection skills and medical miracles.

The real pariah nations are those whose citizens are stuck because of their government's evil ways. These citizens are isolated. They can't use their country's visas to travel freely. On the international stage, they are unwanted.

If you want to identify who these unwanted, pariah nations are, don't look at Israel. Look at the Middle East Arab nations that surround Israel.

Advice for Abbas about Israel--from someone who should know

Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas has an obsession with the Jewish Israel. He wants to get rid of it. He wants to replace it with a Muslim state. He can't wait to make that exchange.

We know he wants to do this because his Palestinian Authority (PA) keeps publishing maps of his new Arab Muslim 'Palestine'. His map always shows the same imagined goal: 'Palestine' replaces Israel. 

Here's the 'Palestinian' map:




from: Ilya Meyer, " Sweden approves borders of 'Palestine' with Israel erased", timesofisarael, December 3, 2014)


The plaque this woman holds shows the exact shape of modern Israel. But on this plaque--and on all other PA maps of 'Palestine'--the image presented isn't Israel. It's Abbas' Muslim 'Palestine'. 

Check online for the map of Israel. Israel is the shape you see above. 

But on this plaque, you don't see anything marked, 'Israel'. The image above is a picture of Israel being renamed.

This woman here isn't holding an Israeli flag along with this image. She's holding a 'Palestinian' flag for this image of 'Palestine'. 

Abbas' 'Palestine' is meant to replace the Jewish Israel. Every 'Palestinian' knows this. 

The map in the picture above does not suggest a two-state solution. It doesn't show two states for two peoples living side-by-side in peace and security (the West's mantra since George Bush One for ending the Arab-Israel conflict). Instead, this map suggests a one-state solution--an Arab state in place of the Jewish state.

That isn't a sign of peace. It's an image of Islamic conquest. 

Palestinians are obsessed with this goal. Abbas promotes it. He can't turn away from it.

Here's some advice for Abbas from one who knows all about becoming obsessed with attacking the Jewish people. Yes, this particular advice is pure fakery. But it's fakery with a point.

It's fictitious advice to Abbas from the ancient Pharaoh of Egypt--the Pharaoh of the Jewish story of Exodus from Egyptian slavery. This advice comes for the satire site, preoccuppiedterritory. It has no date, but I retrieved it before my computer began to freeze up during the last week of December, 2017. I've heavily edited this 'advice' to fit my format:

We Ancient Egyptians Could Have Warned You About Trying To Drive Jews Into The Sea

By Pharaoh

Not that I expect the Arabs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries CE to take my advice, but back in 1948 I’d have counseled against attacking the nascent Zionist state. My cavalrymen and I could have told you what happens when you attempt to push the Jewish people into the sea.

Now, it’s true our two conflicts against the Jews are different in many ways. But several similarities should have alerted the Syrians, Jordanians, and the heirs to my once-great civilization, the Egyptians, not to get too ambitious about attacking Israel.

For one thing, in both modern and ancient cases, our problems began when we refused to accept the power of the Jewish G-d. You refuse to respect that, you'll end up feeling entitled to keeping Jews close only to have them do your bidding. The Jews wanted then--and in 1948--to establish their own land. We said, no. We responded with violence, we ancient Egyptians and twentieth-century Arabs. We attacked the Jews to destroy them.

That didn't work. We lost, disastrously.

A big problem is, you won’t see any soul-searching going on among either the ancient Egyptians or 20th/21st century Arabs. You will notice that my scribes and historians went light on the negative aspects of my rule. They  preferred instead to dwell on my successes only. This neglect of reality might seem familiar to modern-day Arabs. To put it mildly, modern Arab culture, like mine so long ago, discourages any thought of accepting blame for failures. We get into trouble because our cultures reject any honest appraisal of what we do wrong.

We ancients and moderns are kindred spirits: the modern Arabs are not the first Arabs to grab the opportunity to miss an opportunity. I had multiple chances to Let His People Go. But each time, I chose to give my pride priority over intelligent decision-making.

That was a grand mistake--and it's being repeated again. Imagine the prosperity, serenity, and grace that would characterize a Middle East in which I, the great Pharaoh, had endorsed the freedom and sovereignty of Israel; imagine the prosperity, stability, and advancement in the Arab Middle East if only modern Arabs had embraced the reassertion of Jewish sovereignty in 1948.

But you go ahead and keep trying to drive the Jews into the sea. As you do that, stay in touch. Let My People Know how that’s working out for you.

Does this ancient 'Pharaoh' offer Abbas good advice? Yes,  he does. Will Abbas listen? No, he won't. 

Computer update

Well, it's been almost three weeks since my computer began to freeze up. I've been looking for help, but haven't found anyone I feel comfortable with, to have them work on this machine. 

Even when I find repairmen who speak English, I find their personalities a bit too 'quirky'  for my taste. I feel reluctant to trust my machine to them. When I speak to them, their responses to my questions don't leave me with much confidence in them. 

The man I did trust to work on my machine is no longer available. He went out of business in late October, 2017. 

 Absent any good choices, I've started that most dangerous of journeys--fixing this thing myself. This is a pretty dangerous decision because, in my humble opinion, I know nothing--literally--about fixing computer problems.

So far, I've been lucky. I've discovered that a Windows 10 update--one of which completed at about the time my 'freezing' problems began--can cause a PC to freeze up. I have tried to execute a fix for this 'freezing' problem--per a Windows-oriented fix-it website. But as I began this effort, I discovered an interesting issue: you must first open your Windows in order to complete the 'fix' for this Windows problem. This is an interesting issue for me because when my machine freezes, I can't open my Windows.  

One of the websites I went to said that this is, indeed, a nasty problem for anyone trying to self-fix a Windows-update problem. When your Windows won't open, you can 't fix anything related to Windows.

Wonderful.

It took me the better part of a week to figure out how to get my Windows to open when the computer was frozen. Don't ask me how I did that. I just kept trying trial-and-error. Every one of my trials was an error--except, of course, the last one.   

Since then, I've been able to follow a prescribed 'fix' each time the computer freezes, though I can only do a modified 'fix' because I can't find all of the listed 'prompts'. This means that, after  completing my 'fix', I can use the computer. But only for short periods of time.  

Obviously, this isn't a true 'fix'. But it is progress.

I'm working on a couple of new ideas. Yes, I might be the blind man about to blow up his computer while he thinks he's actually making progress. But then, well, who knows. I might get lucky.

Maybe I can even publish an essay or two this week.

We'll see.

Thanks for your patience.

Computer issues

My computer has begun to 'act up'. I had trouble yesterday with 'freezing up' issues. Today, I couldn't even get the machine to start until just a few minutes ago--close to 5 pm my time. 

I sat down to work this morning before 9 am, my time. That adds up to a lot of wasted time just to start to work. 

I've done some trouble-shooting today. Maybe, things are fixed. Then again, maybe not. 

My ability to post essays could be affected. I may need to spend time sorting this out, not writing. 

I'd say, please check into the blog every other day, to see if I've been able to write/post. After all, this problem could be short-lived--perhaps just a two-three day affair. Or, it could be worse. It could take two-weeks to fix. I don't know yet. I'll let you know when I think I'm 'in the clear'.

Thanks for your patience.

Will Israel be hit by a punishing storm?

After some four years of near-drought for Israel, 2018 has begun with a weather bang. Rain, flooding, mud and even snow in Israel's North (Yocheved Laufer, "2018 hits Israel by storm", jerusalempost, January 1, 2018) have descended upon the Jewish land. 

For four years, Israel has had 'not enough rain'. Now, after multiple public prayers for rain, Israel threatens to become very, very wet. 

The Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Yafo, Afula, Arad, Ariel, Ashdod, Beer-sheva, and most points in-between (that is, most of the country) all report forecasts of either rain, storm, thundershowers, thunderstorms or heavy rain for tonight-tomorrow. The cities of Beit Dagan and Haifa have already had half-an-inch of rain in a single two-hour period (Ahiya Raved, Ilana Curiel, "Israel rings in 2018 with heavy rainfall", bridgesforpeace, January 2,  2018). 

Please note, in a desert country like Israel that's not accustomed to or equipped for heavy rain, a half-inch in two hours is 'heavy'. Even the true-desert cities of Mitzpe Ramon  and Dimona have wet forecasts for tomorrow. In places like these, even light rain can have a 'heavy' (dangerous) effect. 

Just days into 2018, there's talk of road closures from flood, mudslide or too-slick roads (Kristina Pydynowski, "Rain to raise risk for localized flooding from Israel to southern Turkey for Friday", accuweather, January 4, 2018). We're being reminded about roads known to be susceptible to flash-flooding (Chana Roberts, "Israel faces stormy weekend, with chance of flooding", arutzsheva, January 4, 2018). 

We want rain. We need it (Mordechai Sones, "Water authority to farmers: we have no water left for you", arutzsheva, January 4, 2018). The problem is, too much rain too quickly might cause more harm than good. 

Tonight, suppertime in Israel, our family members return home from work (or pass through our home (metaphorically speaking) on their way to their own home). As each arrives, we hear reports of warnings they've heard during the day:

-don't leave home at all tomorrow (Friday); 

-don't drive--the roads will be too slippery;

-keep children home who would otherwise travel by van to school;

-make sure you zip, batten down and lock anything that might allow rain to seep into your home;

-don't even think about shopping tomorrow.

-make sure you stay dry.

Will these rains really come? Will Israel experience a gentle, multi-day nourishing rain tomorrow and Shabbat--or will the Jewish land be punished by a harsh and dangerous rainfall?  

More important, will the predicted rainfall be sufficient to help our farmers?

The answers to these questions, of course, can be found in the heavens. Stay tuned.

My predictions for the Arab-Israel conflict in 2018

Today, we stand at the beginning of a new (secular) year, 2018. If you surf the internet, you might have already noticed how many pundits are making predictions for 2018. If such predictions catch your eye, you've come to right place. 

You should know just one thing. There are only two predictions here. But they're good ones. They'll actually come true during 2018.


My predictions begin with a fiction--an untrue, fictitious letter written fictitiously in the name of Israel's national intelligence agency, Mossad. 

The piece of fiction below comes from the satiric website, preoccuppiedterritory. It has no date. I retrieved it January 2, 2018. In any event, I believe it's less than 3 days old. 

I've edited the essay to fit my format. My 2018 predictions follow the essay:

"We Were Going To Undermine The Muslim World, But You’re Managing That By Yourselves"

By The Mossad

As part of our ongoing mission to keep Israel secure by clandestine means, we have long pursued strategies that might involve creating instability in enemy regimes, depending on the situation. But in recent decades our expertise has grown rusty, since we seldom need to lift a finger to undermine Muslim countries in our region. You do it so well on your own.

Once upon a time when the Jewish State’s existence was less secure and its enemies more confident, we had to develop strategies that called for much more drastic measures against neighbors who threatened to drive us into the Mediterranean. Sometimes that meant arming and training our enemies; sometimes that meant selling weapons to enemies of our enemy; sometimes it meant selling weapons to two warring enemies to keep them distracted with each other instead of shooting at us. But all that hasn’t been necessary since the 1990’s. 

It would be nice to take credit for fostering the long-term developments in the Arab-Muslim world that have led to the instability we see in our region, but let’s be honest: we’re good, but we’re not THAT good. We could never have engineered all the systemic failure, dysfunction, mistrust, ruthlessness, cynicism, fatalism, and despair found in today's Arab world. You did these things all by yourselves. Congratulations!

Our motto is, never underestimate an enemy. Our hostile neighbors have shown an immense capacity for certain accomplishments, and we must respect them for those achievements: dismal economic performance, rampant poverty and disease, civil unrest, a penchant for genocide, political repression, corruption, and devotion to an honor-shame culture that causes misery, not happiness. We had nothing to do with any of those "accomplishments". You fellas did that all on your own. 

Of course, nothing we can do will change your fundamental, existential need to blame someone else for your failings. Accepting that you have to fix your flaws would imply that you have flaws, and that would be a source of deep shame – and we know you couldn’t have that! It's far better to say your faults lie elsewhere, perhaps with the Jews--but definitely not with you. 

You just keep telling yourself that, and we’ll just keep sitting here, bored in our Tel Aviv headquarters, wondering if we’ll ever need to do anything to you that you’re not already doing to yourselves.

--

My first 2018 prediction: Israel's Arab Muslim enemies will remain chaotic, genocidal and dysfunctional. They will not change a thing. 

My second 2018 prediction: these Arab-Muslim Jew-haters will once again show the world how ruthless, murderous, corrupt and repressive they can be--towards their own people.