A Letter From Israel

My name is Aron Adler.

I am 25 years old, was born in Brooklyn NY, and raised in Efrat Israel. Though very busy, I don’t view my life as unusual. Most of the time, I am just another Israeli citizen. During the day I work as a paramedic in Magen David Adom, Israel’s national EMS service. At night, I’m in my first year of law school. I got married this October and am starting a new chapter of life together with my wonderful wife Shulamit.

15-20 days out of every year, I’m called up to the Israeli army to do my reserve duty. I serve as a paramedic in an IDF paratrooper unit. My squad is made up of others like me; people living normal lives who step up to serve whenever responsibility calls. The oldest in my squad is 58, a father of four girls and grandfather of two; there are two bankers, one engineer, a holistic healer, and my 24 year old commander who is still trying to figure out what to do with his life. Most of the year we are just normal people living our lives, but for 15-20 days each year we are soldiers on the front lines preparing for a war that we hope we never have to fight.

This year, our reserve unit was stationed on the border between Israel, Egypt and the Gaza Strip in an area called “Kerem Shalom.” Above and beyond the “typical” things for which we train – war, terrorism, border infiltration, etc., – this year we were confronted by a new challenge. Several years ago, a trend started of African refugees crossing the Egyptian border from Sinai into Israel to seek asylum from the atrocities in Darfur.

What started out as a small number of men, women and children fleeing from the machetes of the Janjaweed and violent fundamentalists to seek a better life elsewhere, turned into an organized industry of human trafficking. In return for huge sums of money, sometimes entire life savings paid to Bedouin “guides,” these refugees are promised to be transported from Sudan, Eritrea, and other African countries through Egypt and the Sinai desert, into the safe haven of Israel.

We increasingly hear horror stories of the atrocities these refugees suffer on their way to freedom. They are subject to, and victims of, extortion, rape, murder, and even organ theft, their bodies left to rot in the desert. Then, if lucky, after surviving this gruesome experience whose prize is freedom, when only a barbed wire fence separates them from Israel and their goal, they must go through the final death run and try to evade the bullets of the Egyptian soldiers stationed along the border. Egypt’s soldiers are ordered to shoot to kill anyone trying to cross the border OUT of Egypt and into Israel. It’s an almost nightly event.

For those who finally get across the border, the first people they encounter are Israeli soldiers, people like me and those in my unit, who are tasked with a primary mission of defending the lives of the Israeli people. On one side of the border soldiers shoot to kill. On the other side, they know they will be treated with more respect than in any of the countries they crossed to get to this point.

The region where it all happens is highly sensitive and risky from a security point of view, an area stricken with terror at every turn. It’s just a few miles south of the place where Gilad Shalit was kidnapped. And yet the Israeli soldiers who are confronted with these refugees do it not with rifles aimed at them, but with a helping hand and an open heart. The refugees are taken to a nearby IDF base, given clean clothes, a hot drink, food and medical attention. They are finally safe.

Even though I live Israel and am aware through media reports of the events that take place on the Egyptian border, I never understood the intensity and complexity of the scenario until I experienced it myself.

In the course of the past few nights, I have witnessed much. At 9:00 PM last night, the first reports came in of gunfire heard from the Egyptian border. Minutes later, IDF scouts spotted small groups of people trying to get across the fence. In the period of about one hour, we picked up 13 men – cold, barefoot, dehydrated – some wearing nothing except underpants. Their bodies were covered with lacerations and other wounds. We gathered them in a room, gave them blankets, tea and treated their wounds. I don’t speak a word of their language, but the look on their faces said it all and reminded me once again why I am so proud to be a Jew and an Israeli. Sadly, it was later determined that the gunshots we heard were deadly, killing three others fleeing for their lives.

During the 350 days a year when I am not on active duty, when I am just another man trying to get by, the people tasked with doing this amazing job, this amazing deed, the people witnessing these events, are mostly young Israeli soldiers just out of high school, serving their compulsory time in the IDF, some only 18 years old.

The refugees flooding into Israel are a heavy burden on our small country. More than 100,000 refugees have fled this way, and hundreds more cross the border every month. The social, economic, and humanitarian issues created by this influx of refugees are immense. There are serious security consequences for Israel as well. This influx of African refugees poses a crisis for Israel. Israel has yet to come up with the solutions required to deal with this crisis effectively, balancing its’ sensitive social, economic, and security issues, at the same time striving to care for the refugees.

I don’t have the answers to these complex problems which desperately need to be resolved. I’m not writing these words with the intention of taking a political position or a tactical stand on the issue.

I am writing to tell you and the entire world what’s really happening down here on the Egyptian/Israeli border. And to tell you that despite all the serious problems created by this national crisis, these refugees have no reason to fear us. Because they know, as the entire world needs to know, that Israel has not shut its eyes to their suffering and pain. Israel has not looked the other way. The State of Israel has put politics aside to take the ethical and humane path as it has so often done before, in every instance of human suffering and natural disasters around the globe. We Jews know only too well about suffering and pain. The Jewish people have been there. We have been the refugees and the persecuted so many times, over thousands of years, all over the world.

Today, when African refugees flood our borders in search of freedom and better lives, and some for fear of their lives, it is particularly noteworthy how Israel deals with them, despite the enormous strain it puts on our country on so many levels. Our young and thriving Jewish people and country, built from the ashes of the Holocaust, do not turn their backs on humanity. Though I already knew that, this week I once again experienced it firsthand. I am overwhelmed with emotion and immensely proud to be a member of this nation.

With love of Israel,

Aron Adler, writing from the Israel/Gaza/Egyptian border.

Bloomberg’s Plan for World Domination

Illustration from Newsweek website by Radio

The November 28, 2011 edition of Newsweek has a six page spread on Michael Bloomberg’s media empire. It is an empire built on the income he earned with his company that provides specialized data to Wall Street traders and stock brokerage companies.

The spread attempts to frighten readers with the possibility that very soon Bloomberg L.P. will control so much of the American media that it will impact almost all of society. It is something on the order of Rupert Murdoch’s control of the media in the U.K. through his News Corporation. The Murdoch holdings include 20^th Century Fox and Fox Television.

The indictment is questioning the right of powerful, successful business men to enlarge their business empires. If we stop this from happening we turn our back on the right to become extraordinarily successful. It would be a strike against capitalism an free enterprise. Free enterprise is a core American value.

If we look at history we have seen the rise and fall of many businesses that appeared indomitable. There was a day when General Motors manufactured more than 60% of all the vehicles sold in the United States. Not too long ago we feared the rise of the Japanese model that would soon overtake the United States. AOL seemed to be a force that no other company could replicate. Ted Turner dominated cable television. The Washington Post was the owner of the very successful Newsweek magazine that is now a shadow of its former self. What ever happened to RCA and Zenith? McGraw-Hill founded Business Week magazine but it was on a path to death until Bloomberg bought the publication and has made it thrive.

Bloomberg L.P. is an honest business that is thriving in a down economy. It is thrilling to realize that some people can see the opportunities that others cannot. We should all celebrate Michael Bloomberg’s success and try to emulate his methodology.

P.S. I would have written this to Newsweek but there is no letters to the editor column.

Parents of Adolf Hitler lose custody battle

This action by New Jersey authorities proves there are reasons for government intervention. From the Toronto Star (Canada)

The parents of little Adolf Hitler and Aryan Nation have lost their attempt to regain custody of a newborn boy.

Heath and Deborah Campbell went to court Monday in Flemington, N.J., after authorities seized the newborn at the hospital when he was born five days earlier.

The couple’s three older children, all with Nazi-inspired names, are in foster care.

“They kidnapped our kid,” Heath Campbell, with a large swastika on his neck and a Hitler-style moustache, said outside the courtroom. “They look at you because of what you wear. I’m German, so what?”

Deborah Campbell said nothing, but left the courthouse in tears.

She had earlier told the Lehigh Valley Express-Times the doctor who delivered Hons Campbell on Thursday called the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services. The infant remains at Hunterdon Medical Centre.

The Campbells lost custody of Adolf Hitler Campbell, now 5, and his little sisters JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, now 4, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell (said to be a feminine version of Nazi police commander Heinrich Himmler), now 3, in 2009.

Heath and Deborah had famously been refused a birthday cake for little Adolf Hitler in 2008 by a supermarket that refused to inscribe the boy’s name on it. They refused Shop-Rite’s offer of a generic birthday cake.

Evidence of abuse and threatening behaviour caused an appeals division of the New Jersey Superior Court in 2010 to uphold the custody removal order.

Heath Campbell, the court said, was “unemployed throughout his adult life because of medical and psychological disabilities” and cannot read. Deborah Campbell, a Grade 10 dropout, was also out of work “because of physical and psychological conditions.”

Heath Campbell had been married twice before and a restraining order exists to prevent him from contacting one ex-wife and their children because of violent behaviour.

Five-year-old Adolf Hitler called women “bitch,” and threatened to kill his sister with a vacuum cleaner, all behaviour he learned from his father, the court said.

Deborah Campbell was also described in court documents as a “seriously disturbed woman, who demonstrated hysteria, paranoia, and disordered thinking.”

She had given a neighbour a note about her fears her husband would kill her.

Joe Paterno & Child Abuse in America

Joe Paterno’s motto “Success with honor” was just words without deeds. He is at fault for child abuse. It is an act that society cannot tolerate. From USA Today “In 46 seasons as coach, Paterno built a football powerhouse while touting academics, ethics. But a scandal ended his career prematurely.” Paterno probably won’t be prosecuted but he deserves to be ostracized from society. However, just in case he he is prosecuted he has hired an experienced attorney who regularly represents companies in civil and criminal investigations according to The Washington Post.

It’s something we rarely talk about but just Google “incest in America” and you will find an extraordinary amount of information and most likely mis-information. Many of our states do not allow abortions except in the case of incest or rape. Is that because it is so prevalent?

Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, but the number of unreported instances is far greater, because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened, and the legal procedure for validating an episode is difficult. The problem should be identified, the abuse stopped, and the child should receive professional help. The long-term emotional and psychological damage of sexual abuse can be devastating to the child. More on this subject here.

1. Wikipedia: Prevalence of incest between parents and their children is difficult to assess due to secrecy and privacy; some estimate that 20 million Americans were…

2. AMERICA’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET: CHILD ABUSE AND INCEST …

http://thecapt.blog-city.com /americas_dirty_little_se… – 50k – similar pages

May
31, 2006 … Here in the U.S. we give a lot of lip service to looking out and caring for children but the reality is different. Actions speak louder than words.

3. About Us | RAINN |Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network

http://www.rainn.org/about-rainn – 26k – similar pages

“One of America‘s 100 Best Charities — Worth Magazine”. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization. …

4. Incest – National Center for Victims of Crime

http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=32360
– 81k – similar pages

One of the nation’s leading researchers on child sexual abuse, David Finkelhor, estimates that 1,000,000 Americans are victims of father-daughter incest, and …

How To Regain Your Self-Confidence

From ThirdAge Health & Wellness but you don’t have to a senior citizen to realize these suggestions apply to everyone.

Negative experiences — going through a divorce, losing a job — can profoundly alter the way we see ourselves and deal with the world around us. You may find yourself feeling like you can’t control your life, or that you’re not good enough. And that can lead to more serious problems like depression. But there some smart steps you can take to help yourself bounce back.

Focus On Your Strengths

In order to get past nonstop negative thoughts about yourself, begin refocusing your attention on what you’re good at. Perhaps you’re a great listener, a whiz at math, or an excellent cook. Make a list of all of your strengths. Yes, this may seem like an exercise you haven’t done since the fourth grade, but it will help get you into the mindset of believing you are a strong, talented person who is ready to conquer the world.

Start A Creative Project

Perhaps you’ve always wanted to learn how to knit, sew or paint. But a hectic life can make many people forget about these hopes. After you experience a huge letdown, you’re likely to benefit from revisiting your creative desires. What have you been meaning to do for years, but have never actually tried? Singing? Pottery? Photography? Again, make a list, and commit to making one of your creative projects a reality. It will take your mind off what recently happened – and give you something positive to focus on.

Smile

According to several studies, smiling is good for your health and can even make you feel more confident. When you smile – even if you don’t feel happy – you’re sending signals to your brain that can actually cause you to feel happier. Additionally, smiling helps lower your blood pressure,
release endorphins, and lower stress. It’s a good habit to get into!

Surround Yourself With The Right People

Spend time with friends and family members who are sources of positive energy. Ditch that friend who subtly makes you feel bad about yourself. Spend more time with the one who puts wind in your sails and makes you feel empowered. When you surround yourself with people who accept you and appreciate your strengths, you will begin to internalize those sentiments and end up feeling better about yourself.

Exercise

Regular exercise does more than improve your energy levels and physiological health – it also releases neurotransmitters and feel-good endorphins, which can make you feel more happier, calmer, and more centered. That goes a long way towards improving your self-confidence.

Take A Risk

We’re not talking about something extreme, like taking a huge financial gamble or climbing Mt. Everest. But facing one of your fears can make you feel powerful and in control. It’s not easy to do, but the benefit can be significant. What’s something you’ve been afraid to do? It could be something as simple as karaoke, or it could be a bigger commitment, like
learning to surf. By doing something that scares you, you will know that you can do it, and you’ll have a newfound sense of self-confidence.

Be Grateful

When you feel insecure and down, it’s easy to get stuck in the trap of focusing on what you don’t have. That only makes you feel worse and less likely to obtain the things you want, whether it’s emotional validation or money. By appreciating what you already have, you can retrain your brain to be thankful instead of resentful. Set aside some time to write down three things per day that you are grateful for. These could be skills you have, relationships you value, or work that you find meaningful. Do this every day for at least one week, and you will start to feel the habitual gratitude that leads to self-confidence, because you know your life is good.

99% of us Want our Nation Back!

Many people point out that one half the nation pays no income tax. This is not a surprise when you consider the following facts.

The official unemployment rate provided by the BLS remains at 9.1%. There is no indication that the rate will be dropping in the next year or two. The actual rate is closer to double that figure when the under employed and the discouraged are included.

A total of 46.2 million Americans now live in poverty, according to the latest Census Bureau data, the highest figure in the half century the bureau has been publishing such numbers. Last year, 1 in 6 Americans lived below the poverty line-defined as an income of $22,314 for a family of four-and the median household income dropped for the third year in a row. A typical American family brought home $49,445 in 2010, a 2.3 percent drop from the previous year and a level last seen in 1996. The number of Americans without health insurance climbed to 49.9 million, equal to the populations, New York,Alabama, and Vermont combined. “We’re risking a new underclass,” said Timothy Smeeding, a poverty researcher at the University of Wisconsin.

“Your Money” guest on CNN, Lakshman Achuthan, who predicted the last official recession, now predicts we are either in a new recession or heading for one right now. Guest Ken Rogoff says many feel the recession never ended.

Now we have sit-ins in most major cities by a leaderless group called OccupyWallStreet. Their goal appears to be sending a message that the richest people in America must pay for the mistakes made that have impacted the nation’s economy. Just last night Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, told Lesley Stahl he had done the right thing for his company when he moved thousands of jobs overseas. Immelt offered no apologies.

I predicted these demonstrations before anyone else. When congress wakes up perhaps we will have justice. Then again, we all know who they answer to.