Peace Be Upon You

Peace Be Upon You (Rachelgv; August 31, 2018)

 

Go, and sit there where you need

Bring your poetry and read it her

by the still water in the light of day

Open your heart and your eyes

to let fall all the water that may

Kiss the book, and turn home

in gentle sleep and dreams

Let peace come, and wash it away

 

Angel Visit

 

Angel Visit (Randyjw; August 31, 2018)

 

It’s been awhile since I’ve seen my human angel, who’s been taking it upon herself to help try to feed me. I was kindof glad not to see her, ‘cuz I don’t want her spending her savings trying to save me, when she could be saving more for herself and her boyfriend, whom I learned of this evening. I hope she doesn’t continue, because I’m going to feel like I’m going to have to move, so she can’t find me, but I really don’t have any more spots I know of to move to. I’m in my thirteenth spot, if I’m counting correctly, and I can’t really go back to any of them. Other people tell me I should not be like that, and let people help if they want, as I’m otherwise taking away their blessing (their “mitzvah,” we’d say in Hebrew, about this concept).

 

Well, somehow I think the universe is mocking me, as of late. At times, and even, sometimes, often — or, perhaps, mostly — I’m a jerk. Hahaha. No, but really. Like, lately, I’m just tired of giving away resources I need to other people who want them, too. I had actually made a concerted effort to try to be more selfish after my first marriage had ended, and I was still “giving” for years and years, after-the-fact.

 

So, I jettisoned the normally generous person I had been for most of my nice life, and became, sortof, Mrs. Scrooge. Not really, but I tried to stick to the plan. I never quite made it away from the generic “save the world” facets towards my efforts, but, on an individual level, I somewhat succeeded.

 

Or, failed. I mean, really. Who needs to become self-centered!? Well, there’s got to be balance. If you’re agreeable to everybody and generous to a fault, then there will be people who will take advantage of that, in the worst way. I know, as I’ve experienced it many times. Your energy and resources will be drained, and you will find nobody by your side when you have nothing left to give.

 

But, don’t be discouraged, and don’t be disheartened. Just try to pick yourself up, and realize that human nature contains the good, along with the bad. We’re not all good, and we’re not all bad. It’s alright to learn to say “no” and to not be a people-pleaser, as well as a doormat. It’s okay to expend energy on yourself to attain the goals you’d like to reach. Most people do, anyways; they just make it look like they’re not.

 

If you prefer alot of solitude — enjoy it. Life isn’t a popularity contest. Set your boundaries and let people know what they are. My problem in socializing is that I tend to overdo it by taking on too much, or too many people, at once. I’d be really gregarious and end up overextended, so that I’d wind up unable to sustain any of it, in the long-run.

 

If I look at it frankly, I don’t find much time in the day which would even allow for trying to get together with anyone. Between a work schedule, and the time you need to maintain your life, such as cooking, shopping, cleaning, maintenance of self and abode, and everything else, there really isn’t time left in the day to do so. I’d even turned down occasional offers of new friendship, for this very reason, so as not to hurt the feelings of people when they’d find themselves later disappointed at my pulling back from engagement, because it’s just too much for me, and I’d get tuckered out, and wind up irritable and sometimes snappy, when I got like this.

 

Well, there it is, in a nutshell. One of the reasons I am like I am. There are others, but those are for another time. Or, not at all. Not everything’s meant to be said.

 

But, to those of you, and maybe that’s most, to whom I’ve offended, I am sorry and I apologize. I’m not good with this, and I do have my issues. I think it’s part of who I am. I’m not sure I can change that, but at least I can explain it. I try to limit it by limiting my friendships, and acting in a more generic fashion. I think I’m not alone in this, especially in the social atmosphere. I hope by explaining it, you can understand. And by understanding, maybe you can forgive.

 

So, I’ve been especially crabby lately. My lack of sleep, because of my situation and the lack of courtesy to someone in my shoes, tends to bring out my irritability. So, I don’t feel like I deserve to be rewarded for this bad behavior.

 

But, I find myself suddenly receiving silly wishes granted. This is where I feel like I’m totally being mocked. It’s ridiculous! Like, suddenly, scrambled eggs showed up one day at the soup kitchen, just after I’d mentioned at the table that scrambled eggs with cheese was something I hadn’t had in a long time and missed. Then, like a jerk, I had the audacity not to even eat them when they showed up, because I was nauseated by the odor they were giving off, en masse.

 

I also wished for a bagel from one of those yummy bakeries; I missed those, too. Well, guess what? My visiting angel came by tonight and brought me three (!), along with a small orange, and some sweet and delicious blueberries! Yum! The bagel was delicious, and I’m thinking about eating another one, shortly.

 

But, what’s with this? I’m being guilted with the universe’s kindness. Ugh! I can’t take it! Now I see what they mean when they say “No good deed goes unpunished,” “The evil prosper,” and other kind of like sayings. I’m in a dilemma.

 

Sharing The Fruit by Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg

 

Sharing The Fruit, by Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg (Randyjw; August 31, 2018):

 

As we lead up to Rosh HaShanah, a message previously written by Rabbi Weinberg shares an essential re-airing:

 

Weinberg, Rabbi Simcha L. “Sharing The Fruit”; thefoundationstone.org; September 6, 2012:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs076/1102365104598/archive/1110925214345.html

 

 

A Sense of History by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

 

A Sense of History, by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Randyjw; August 31, 2018):

 

As we look forward to the Jewish New Year, we reflect on the past as it relates to the future:

 

Sacks, Rabbi Lord Jonathan. “A Sense of History”; JewishPress.com; August 30, 2018:

http://www.jewishpress.com/judaism/jewish-columns/rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks/a-sense-of-history-2/2018/08/30/

 

Astral Rejection

Astral Rejection (Randyjw; August 29, 2018)

 

I decide to visit you this evening

Embarking on the astral plane

which will fling me into space

on this hologrammatically incorrect journey

where, in seconds, I arrive at my destination

Now a glitch in the reservation system

perhaps due to some human kind of communication error

changed the arrival gate,

along with the weather

And now my soul clinks back

against unanticipated glass

these veins top cool, white marble slab

a rather unexpected reception

---

(Just writing the way I feel,

of fictional fantasy fancied unreal)

 

Ecstatically, Esoterically One

Ecstatically, Esoterically One (Randyjw; August 29, 2018)

 

I’ve never been so happy

than deepest in my thoughts with you

where, here, you’re with me, too

 

Shell On My Shirt

Shell On My Shirt (Rachelgv; August 29, 2018)

 

Of the oceans we’re apart,

this shell on my shirt

a home within my heart

 

The Pictures And The Story

 

The Pictures And The Story (Randyjw. August 29, 2018)

 

View pictures of the reality of most of Arab life in the Judea/Samaria, a.k.a. “The West Bank”:

 

Luxury Alongside Poverty in the Palestinian Authority

 

 

Go, Joe!!!

 

Go, Joe!!! (Randyjw; August 29, 2018):

 

Check out my 2012 Presidential Dream Cabinet, and see if I’m a pretty good political-winner-picker! The final election for Florida will come on November 6, 2018. Good luck in the state of Florida, Joe! See you in Congress!

 

https://newsnotes1.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/2012-presidential-cabinet-picks/

 

 

Susim

Susim (Rachelgv; August 29, 2018)

 

B’susim, anashim,

u’zeekeinav, achareihem,

ba’rechev rochvim

 

 

Translation, English:

 

Horses (Rachelgv; August 29, 2018)

 

On horseback, men,

And their elders, after them,

in carriages riding

 

 

A Seminal Piece on Jewish Sovereignty In Israel

 

A Seminal Piece on Jewish Sovereignty In Israel (Randyjw; August 28, 2018)

 

Please read this important piece on Jewish sovereignty in Israel for the full, incontestable facts over Israel:

 

Mehlman, William. “A Landmark Work”; Reprinted at think-Israel.org; September-October 2009 Featured Stories. Review of Howard Grief’s book, The Legal Foundation and Borders of Israel under International Law; Mazo Publishers, October 2008. mazopublishers@gmail.com. Review appeared in the October 2009 issue of Mideast Outpost (http://mideastoutpost.com/archives/000590.html).

http://www.think-israel.org/mehlman.griefbook.html

 

 

Randy’s Reviews: The Founding Conservatives: How a Group of Unsung Heroes Saved the American Revolution

Randy’s Reviews: The Founding Conservatives: How a Group of Unsung Heroes Saved the American Revolution (Randyjw; August 26, 2018)

 

The Founding Conservatives: How a Group of Unsung Heroes Saved the American Revolution

David Lefer. Penguin/Sentinel, $29.95 (416p) ISBN 978-1-59523-069-0

In the course of learning about my people’s, the Jewish people’s, history, I have often heard countless retellings of the stories of famous Jewish people who have contributed throughout the course of history toward the financial gains of their host countries’ continuance. This has often come in the form of providing their own families’ personal wealth in the form of currency toward the war chests of the countries in which they lived. I have heard that the Columbus voyage in discovery of the New World had been financially helped with Jewish funding; and another is the financing of the American Revolution by Haim Solomon, who helped U.S. Treasurer, Robert Morris, refill the American coffers to continue their defense against the British Redcoats, and to win the war for the American side. This salient fact is missing from the above book, which is one reason to question the revisionist manner in which the American story is retold.

Read about Haim Solomon, here, on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haym_Salomon

I was going to give this book an excellent rating for its in-depth research into the machinations behind the men who cobbled together the form of democracy our United States would follow in the years just preceding the colonial uprising against the Stamp Act, resulting in the Boston Tea Party, where cases of imported tea from Great Britain were charged by King George III to be assessed against the thirteen American colonies, eventually resulting in the American Revolution against the British. I detract some of its points for the author having excluded the important, and well-known, contribution made by Haim Solomon to the American cause, overall, and for his blind-eyed focus solely on the known signers (for the most part) of the Declaration of Independence, with their internal debates of the issue of whether to remain a subject colony under British rule of the Monarchy, or whether to break off and become an independent nation.

Read about The Stamp Act, here, on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_Act_1765

It never seems that independence was exactly a foremost thought in the minds of our Founding Fathers – – at least, according to what author David Lefer writes, through his unearthing of the signatories’ diaries, and other records, such as letters found in archival libraries and collections he uses to piece together this interesting and fascinating account of the steps and, almost, missteps, the colonial Congressional Representatives and influence holders take in the construction of our seemingly much-different nation during its formative infancy.

The matter of taxation being imposed on the colonies from afar without the feeling of consideration that they were being properly represented, was probably the main impetus for the cause of the American Revolution against the British. Yet, there were those on the other side of the aisle who felt that America should continue to be ruled by the aristocratic and landed gentry, as they were the ruling classes in a still-feudal and Monarchical society in Britain, holding the land titles and much of the commercial plantations of serfs, which represented the bulk of the capital, at that time.

This book reads like a present-day thriller, of sorts, as equal pressure and equal measures are brought to bear by both sides of the American controversy, to the status, hanging in the balance, of the American future. Already secure in our knowledge of the outcome, we still read how very different the nation proceeded from the start, as compared to its final outcome which we experience now today. It is interesting to learn how this occurred, and what thoughts may have transpired in the minds of the framers of the Constitution by which our nation has successfully managed its founding and consolidation, amongst the diversity of thought, these many centuries later.

For this reason, I recommend the book as a learning opportunity and to enrich our minds in the process of how America was formed and the issues which informed that decision.

Again

Again (Randyjw; August 25, 2018)

 

How do you know

when love is true?

Again and again,

it comes up “you”

 

Sequel

Sequel (Randyjw; August 25, 2018)

 

At the risk of repetition

and the sense of deja vu

I’d love the following edition

provided it was you

 

Counterterrorism Expert Removed Under Statedly False Pretenses From GoFundMe Site

 

Counterterrorism Expert Removed Under Statedly False Pretenses From GoFundMe Site (Randyjw; August 23, 2018)

 

Counterterrorism expert and author, Robert Spencer, reports yesterday that his GoFundMe account has been cancelled, in essence, due to reasons for which the GoFundMe site has stated: that (WePay) is “unable to process payments related to Hate, violence, racial intolerance, terrorism, the financial exploitation of a crime, or items or activities that encourage, promote, facilitate, or instruct others regarding the same.”

 

There is certainly a difference between those who advocate hate and commit terrorism, versus those who seek to explain it. His scholarly pursuit into Islamic theology, law, and history since 1980 and his Masters degree in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, support his serious endeavor to teach about these subjects with more than a modicum of knowledge surrounding the issues. He is the author of eighteen books, among them New York Times bestsellers, and has presented informational lectures to multiple branches of the United States government, including to the FBI and to the intelligence community, to the Justice and State Departments, to various army commands, and to the German Foreign Ministry. His expertise has been sought on countless media programs, including through cable, radio, television and internet venues. He provides consultation to the Center for Security Policy.

 

I’m noticing that perhaps a problem exists in the reading comprehension levels of those customer support-type of people who are tasked with the “censoring” of the internet: perhaps they are confusing the legal terms of their companies’ policies. They see the terms “related to Hate,” as in the above, and believe that it means to encompass any speech referring to hateful acts, of which Jihadist beheadings referenced, perhaps, by Spencer, might be considered one of the criteria. Yes, Jihadist beheadings are certainly hateful. They also see the phrase, “terrorism… or instruct others regarding the same,” and believe that the act of teaching about Jihadist beheadings, and other principles, conflates equally to the act of the actual commitment of Jihadist beheadings (for example).

 

Here is a news bulletin for you: There is no equivalency! Teaching about the hateful acts of another is not necessarily equivalent to actually committing those same acts. I know that some people like to make a comparison of this free expression type of argument by comparing a Nazi reenactment scene, replete with swastikas and armbands, as being akin to free speech about Islam. It is, and it isn’t. I mean, they do still allow neo-Nazis to parade in Skokie, Illinois as their constitutional right to self-expression. Clearly, those who take part in such a demonstration are showing their feelings about Jews – – they hate them. Frankly, I’d be embarrassed if I were them, but they’re not exactly the brightest lights in the universe, now… are they?

 

But, we’ve already found that where logic and the Left goes, well… whoops – – there it goes.

 

 

See the bio of Robert Spencer offered through his website, here:

https://www.jihadwatch.org/about-robert

 

 

Read the article he writes, here:

 

Spencer, Robert. “GoFundMe falsely accuses Robert Spencer of violating Terms of Service, allows no appeal”; Jihadwatch.org; August 22, 2018:

https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/08/gofundme-falsely-accuses-robert-spencer-of-violating-terms-of-service-allows-no-appeal

 

 

Update (September 12, 2018):

Robert Spencer contributes scholarly articles to the FrontPage Mag website, as does Jamie Glazov. Jamie Glazov was just placed on a 30-day ban for his posting of an article on September 10th, one day prior to the anniversary of 9-11, on counter-Jihad. Facebook banned him, on SEPTEMBER 11th, of all days, for the reason given that it didn’t meet their Community Standards. As is pointed out in the updating link, below, what is it Facebook can possibly object to about trying to counter Jihad? Glazov was also banned in May from Twitter for referencing quotes from the Sahih Bukhari texts and to Qur’anic Suras. Additionally, Facebook banned him in April for making a screenshot of a threat he had received on his Facebook page from a man that said he would “break his mouth” and then posting that, along with a post posing a question to Mark Zuckerberg asking if the posted threat was safe for the FB community? He received a seven-day ban and ban notice. In writing to Facebook to learn why he was banned for posting/reporting his receipt of a threat, he received a Facebook Blocks content message, without any further response.

 

frontpagemag.com. “Facebook Bans Frontpage Editor Jamie Glazov on 9/11 – For Posting on How to Prevent Another 9/11

It’s against Facebook’s “community standards” to try to stop Jihadist attacks on Americans.”; frontpagemag.com* (editor of frontpagemag.com is Jamie Glazov); September 12, 2018:

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271299/facebook-bans-frontpage-editor-jamie-glazov-911-frontpagemagcom

 

 

Update (September 20, 2018):

Still conflating the ideology of Jihad and the following-out of its tenets by the mujahedeen, versus others not engaged in Jihad and who speak out against the ideology as the same thing, Theresa May seems to have still lumped-in Robert Spencer with the former:

 

Spencer, Robert. “UK’s PM May Again Equates Robert Spencer with Jihad Terrorists: Opposing jihad terror and plotting jihad terror are the same thing, right?”; frontpagemag.com; September 20, 2018:

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271373/uks-pm-may-again-equates-robert-spencer-jihad-robert-spencer

 

 

Update (October 1, 2018):

 

Certain types of speech are protected by our Constitution, and have received requisite backing in judicial rulings. While it would be discriminatory against classes of people we have considered protected, such as those of racial groups, ethnic heritage, religion and other sets, to use prejudicial speech and/or to have it result in unfair treatment to an individual(s), some other forms of speech are considered passable (maybe), if they are in parody/satire form. Have you ever noticed how certain exceptions to copyright notices state that small excerpts of copyrighted material may be used, for instance, if for critique, such as in a review, or if, perhaps, used in instructional study. This allows the instructor to showcase bodies of work which point out the particular examples they are purporting to teach. Teaching about serial killers does not make one a serial killer. Therfore, the same principles should apply to teaching about terrorism – – it just should depend upon the intended audience. If one were to teach about terrorism to responsible individuals, there would be no probable cause for concern about untoward influencing to ill effect. If, on the other hand, one is training future terrorists by teaching about terrorist methods, then that has quite different intent. The two, as noted above, are not at all the same. And now, Europe is levying potentially catastrophic fines (4%!) to compel internet companies to remove any potential “hate speech” and “fake news” content from their platforms. However, if they use illogical rationale by conflating the instruction of a reprehensible behavior with the committing of a reprehensible behavior, then they have no business ruling an entire continent, given that they cannot distinguish the clear demarcation between each.

 

Bergman, Judith. “EU: Politicizing the Internet”; gatestoneinstitute.org; September 30, 2018:

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13042/eu-internet-censorship

 

 

Millière, Guy. “Is Criticizing Terrorism ‘Mental Illness?'”;gatestoneinstitute.org; October 4, 2018:

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13072/le-pen-dissent-mental-illness

 

British Airways, Air France Cancelling Flights to Iran

 

British Airways, Air France Cancelling Flights to Iran (Randyjw; August 23, 2018)

 

Beginning in September, British Airways will be cancelling all air flights bound for Iran.

 

Following suit, Air France plans to cancel Iranian-bound flights on September 18th.

 

 

Lev, Tzvi. “British Airways, Air France scrap all Iran-bound flights: Airlines say direct flights to Iran ‘not commercially viable.'” Arutz Sheva / israelnationalnews.com; August 23, 2018:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/250974

New Article By Denis MacEoin

 

New Article By Denis MacEoin (Randyjw; August 23, 2018)

 

On Israel’s Nation-State Law

by Denis MacEoin
August 22, 2018 at 5:00 am

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12880/israel-nation-state-law

 

• Israel is being wrongly condemned for something that not one Muslim state has ever been condemned for: identifying its nationality with its religion — and in the case of those Muslim states, this is done frequently in a manner that excludes or restricts the rights, or even the very existence, of minorities.

Read the rest of the article by author Denis MacEoin at the Gatestone Institute International Policy Council website, here:

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12880/israel-nation-state-law

Freedom Center Under Attack

 

Freedom Center Under Attack (Randyjw; August 22, 2018)

 

David Horowitz, a formerly indoctrinated individual to the Socialist/Communist-leaning ideology, eventually made a complete “recovery” and turnaround, and has been busy since that time helping to expose others of the same left-leaning ilk and dangerous mentality in this country and around the world. The ideology, antithetical to the United States Constitution, calls for the top-down power of the political elite to rule over the governed people by fiat, envisioning a similar outcome for all. Autocratic tyranny has never seemed to work in other countries; it can hardly be expected to work in the United States. Yet, many people do not understand that equal outcomes for all might include consequences they never dreamed.

 

Cognizant of this fact, David Horowitz’s team has been busy trying to alert people to all that he’s discovered while being indoctrinated to viewpoints and becoming someone he had never really expected to be. Luckily, he caught himself and woke up to the reality of the insidiousness of his beliefs. He then decided to turn it around. Starting off with FrontPage Mag, a talented team of crack writers and investigators look into and expose the scandals that have had so much impact in American society. Because of the powerful truths that are revealed, their writers and agencies have been under attack continually from left-wing groups, such as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), who has placed them on a basic boycott/blackmail list, so that companies will try to prevent their business from operating.

 

Recently, as “reported” by David Horowitz in an email sent to subscribers, of which I am one, he has stated that the SPLC has been able to convince the companies of MasterCard and Visa to stop processing the donations that are made to the David Horowitz Freedom Center, an already operating and IRS-approved 501 (c) (3) charitable non-profit agency. This has taken away a significant means of the Center to receive contributions, as only paper-based fiduciary exchanges, such as a check, for example, can be received by the group. This seems like an awfully unfair restriction of commerce, considering that there is no evidence to indicate that their charitable status is in any way under jeopardy. This is also reminiscent, in my personal opinion, of the IRS scandal which was revealed in FrontPage Mag, in fact, when the agency was discovered to have been targeting Conservative and/or pro-Israel applicants for charitable status by letting their applications languish unprocessed, and which was later admitted had been an operating tactic to exert special scrutiny toward such applicants.

 

Is this prolonging this practice and scandal, yet again?

 

Here is the home page of the group, with their various subprojects (which can be clicked upon visiting the site):

https://www.davidhorowitzfreedomcenter.org/#main

 

 

Update (August 28, 2018):

 

David Horowitz reports that his services and donations will be restored:

 

Frontpagemag.com. “David Horowitz Freedom Center Declares Victory Over Censorship Attempt:…And calls for a coalition across party and ideological lines to defend free speech.”; August 27, 2018:

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271154/david-horowitz-freedom-center-declares-victory-frontpagemagcom

 

 

Update (September 12, 2018):

 

David Horowitz, in an email report received from him dated September 11th, 2018, which I read today, reports now that their subgroup, Jihad Watch, written by Robert Spencer, is now under attack from Discover Card, stopping all donations from being processed to the site.

 

 

Update (September 14, 2018):

 

Frontpagemag.com. “Facebook Lifts Frontpage Editor Jamie Glazov’s 9/11 Ban: Social media network apologizes, says it was a “mistake” — but the battle against leftist fascism ensues””; September 14, 2018:

 

Frontpagemag.com reports Facebook was going to lift its block due to the mistake it had made against Jamie Glazov.

 

 

Update (October 5, 2018):

 

Project Veritas has posted this video on YouTube:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbNLt8UKWQA)

 

 

Update (October 18, 2018):

 

Feoktistov, Ilya. “Visa, MasterCard and the War on The Freedom Center: Financial giants terrorize conservatives while laundering money for terrorists”. frontpagemag.com; October 16, 2018:

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271648/visa-mastercard-and-war-freedom-center-ilya-feoktistov

 

 

Update (December 1, 2018):

 

Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, an oft-contributing writer to Frontpage Mag, was also placed under the MasterCard and Discover Card account freeze. While donations to the David Horowitz Freedom Center have now been able to be processed, meaning that the “ban” had been lifted, Robert Spencer’s account still remains under a freeze, as per his December 1, 2018 email blast, which I received.

 

 

Platinum

 

Platinum (Randyjw; August 21, 2018)

 

I emit peace and contentment

that’s taken my lifetime to embed

The frenetic pace of youth

that’s solely appropriate to age

like a noted piece of poetry

from a younger day’s continuum

The dispenser of advice and wisdom

of greater depth through experience

And here I am right now

Wholly radiant in platinum

 

Nazi SS Guard Deported From U.S. Soil Today

 

Nazi SS Guard Deported From U.S. Soil Today (Randyjw; August 21, 2018)

 

A long overdue goodbye and good riddance goes out to Jakiw Palij, whose 2004 deportation order was carried out today, August 21, 2018.

 

According to today’s White House Press Release, carried on the 1600 Daily, Palij immigrated from Trawniki, Poland (now in Ukraine) in 1949 to the U.S., and became a naturalized citizen in 1957, residing in Queens, New York. It was later discovered that Palij had been an armed guard of the Nazi SS serving at the Trawniki Labor Camp, where about 6,000 Jewish women, men, and children were shot to death as part of “Operation Reinhard,” one of many similar actions to exterminate the Jews from Poland under the main aegis of Adolf Hitler’s all-encompassing “Final Solution.”

 

Palij is being deported to the Federal Republic of Germany.

 

Thank you to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Administration of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States.

 

Read the press release, here:

 

whitehouse.gov / Statements & Releases / Statement from the Press Secretary / Immigration / Aug 21, 2018:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-30/

 

Paying Respect

Paying Respect (Randyjw; August 18, 2018)

Partake

Partake (Randyjw; August 16, 2018)

 

Indulge me

in an utmost joy

of temporary pleasure

Elevate me

with eloquent artistry

to escape the banality

Experience heights

of enlightened sensories

apart from the everyday

Live a lot

equally well with humility

and not solely fraught

with an overwrought decadence

___________________________________________

 

Drowning myself in gluttony with this chocolate cake and ice cream. Someone violated my sleeping space yesterday morning and stole my large sports-team duffel bag with many of my belongings. This self-treat was just what I needed to make myself feel a whole lot better!

 

The Dance

The Dance (Randyjw; August 15, 2018)

 

Leaves curl in piles swept on the ground

The rain drops in misty shrouds all around

Ambling down the windswept avenue

I smile and walk, awaiting that dance with you

 

Beautiful Bridges Slides

 

Beautiful Bridges Slides (Randyjw; August 14, 2018)

 

Have you seen these beautiful bridges yet?

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/10-amazing-pedestrian-bridges-you-need-to-see/ss-BBLMdPu

 

 

The Chicken Came First

The Chicken Came First (Randyjw; August 12, 2018)

 

The Bible tells us that G-d made the fowl of the air. The Creation account of Genesis relates in the First Chapter, verse 20 that G-d spoke of the creation of the moving creatures of the water and the fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of Heaven. Genesis is an account which is particularly detailed and never mentions that the fowl had to first be hatched from eggs. Therefore, perhaps the ancient conundrum of wondering whether the chicken or the egg came first can now be answered with certitude that it was the chicken that, indeed, came first.

 

Genesis 1:20  – –

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

(King James Version)

 

https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/genesis01-03.html

Kin—-

 

 

Life On The Outside

 

Life On The Outside (Randyjw; August 11, 2018)

 

Birds of prey cry out,

born just the other day

Already circling the skies

they fly from tree to tree

Like the hawks, are men

casting a leering eye

through the walls

of my bedroom,

which should have been

I didn’t ask to be here

I didn’t expect that a lifetime

of working

Would land me curbside

on a stoop of brick pavers

A graffitied backdrop

replacing sheer curtains, instead

If you want, you can check

you can see my verifiable record

from when I started my labor, underage,

and how it continued mostly nonstop

And you can screen my drug-free blood

and wonder why these pincushion-like arms

all red and bumpy, and gnawed on by ants and mosquitoes

Have never experienced the wrong shot

Berate me all you want

through your zip-coded status

or your caste-creating lot

I’ve shunned that kind since childhood

having grown up in that spot

But, I will not forgive you your disrespect

your lack of manners, uncircumspect

inviting yourself bedside, beyond my front door

to wake me and grope me through invisible walls

My body isn’t yours for the taking

My head and heart already found a home within

Stop accosting me and assaulting me

And get your dog’s poop cleaned up from out of my yard

I might sleep near the sidewalk, in dark, outside

So I will pray to G-d I might live through this night

---

The stark realities of being a homeless woman, tired of shelters which warehouse people for the money, and instead now living on the street in order to have more freedom to look for work and attend to daily needs, means the presumptions of most people, whether homeless or otherwise, that:

 

1) You choose to be living “the homeless lifestyle”;

2) You don’t want to work;

3) That you’re a drug or alcohol abuser;

4) That homelessness automatically makes you a “lady of the night,” willing to do anything for a couple of dollars, if you’re a woman.

 

I can assure you that none of the above are true. I have been accosted by men more times than I can even begin to recall. There is a chauvinist power trip aspect by the homeless men over the homeless women, using a pretense of protecting the woman, when, instead, they try to take everything they can get from the women. The men will invade the privacy of a woman and baldly interrupt their private attendings. The men will also wake or keep a woman up, so as to deprive them of sleep. While I have worked for years to, while not negative, to at least keep my credit neutral, I now have several unexpected emergency room visits to out-of-network hospitals resulting in major unpaid medical bills to mar my credit, and which I cannot now pay due to homelessness and lack of employment. One such major bill is due to the lack of food and sleep deprivation I was experiencing, caused considerably by these circumstances. Yesterday morning, I woke up to two different men, both of whom had snuck up while I was sleeping and did G-d knows what – – some of which I became aware as I awoke and they were lying next to me. I was being groped. This happened TWICE, yesterday; and it’s not the first time this has happened. I’ve had it up to where three different men have come, basically in succession, to harass me by various means and methods. I am feeling very disgusted, ashamed, harassed, angry, sad, violated. Even surrounded by other people, they didn’t wake up when it was happening one time, and I was loud. Other people will not “get involved” because of the “snitch factor.” Too many people are being stabbed, shot, and killed. Believe me; I am not here by choice, but, unfortunately, through consequence.

 

I pour out my feelings online – – to people, about people, about who I love, or who or what types of behavior (terrorism, chauvinism, anti-Semitism, etc.) I don’t. If someone can love someone, without happening to have a consummation of a physical nature, but love them in heart and spirit, isn’t that enough? Who can decide that answer other than the parties involved? Certainly not by bullying from any outside peanut galleries, wouldn’t you agree?

 

Thank you, angel girl, for coming to my rescue in the midst of this difficult-to-say writing, just as I was beginning to cry. I appreciate the food and cold drinks you brought. It gives me a moment of sustenance and caring, away from danger. Thank you for sustaining me.

 

I thank those, as well, who are working to help stop just such abuses towards women: you know who you are. xoxo.

 

 

Rainy Day

Rainy Day (Randyjw; August 11, 2018)

 

To You, L-rd, I pray

Provide a dry place to stay

Have it rain at day

 

Soul Song

 

Soul Song (Rachelgv: August 11, 2018)

 

Matzati Et

She’Ahavah

Nafshi

a verse,

3:4 – –

from Song of Solomon

on a ring:

I Have Found

That/Him/Her

(in)Which/(in)Who(m)

My Soul Loves

 

Art/Ant Colony

Art/Ant Colony (Randyjw; August 7, 2018)

 

Art appreciation

tends to be a never-ending hedonistic endeavor,

needing deeper and deeper fulfillment and realization,

to the point, sometimes, of desensitizing.

You know…

There’s some poetry in that last bit;

perhaps I’ll beg off now

and get that written.

 

On: 76 And 86

 

On: 76 And 86 (Randyjw; August 6, 2018)

 

Honored,

and by your behest

Wishes…

granted,

at your request

Seek,

What you sought to find

Found,

At the place

where your thoughts have led

Surety,

for this closing line

Granted,

that those aren’t mine

 

Fly Free, Little Birdie

Fly Free, Little Birdie (Randyjw; August 5, 2018)

 

It was a video, but I lost it…

 

 

Happy Birthday, Dolly!

Happy Birthday, Dolly! (Randyjw; August 4, 2018)

 

A day late, and many dollars short!

 

Chai, Chai, Chai, Chai … and many more!!!

 

And, here’s the making of Dolly’s Chocolate Cake (and b-day matanot):

 

 

(https://youtu.be/FYzszfwa_nE)

 

 

Stitch

Stitch (Randyjw; August 4, 2018)

 

Dredge paper

lightly through the water

on the plate

Fingertips press

gently adhere the

flour from the tray

Like a bridge

span the gap

don’t fall through

the widened crack

Knead,

needing what

a papier mâché fix

to stitch this heart

 

Love Transcends

Love Transcends (Randyjw; August 3, 2018)

 

I said goodbye

It’s not the end

My love remains

For Love transcends

 

iwwi

iwwi (Randyjw; August 2, 2018)

 

Meeting

was always

a long,

slow

goodbye

Something

this great

Just takes time

 

How The US Sanctions Theft Of Jewish Cultural Heritage

 

How The US Sanctions Theft Of Jewish Cultural Heritage (Randyjw; August 1, 2018)

 

The United States State Department, through Memorandum(s) of Understanding with various foreign nations, is actively sanctioning the theft of cultural property belonging to the Jewish communities in various countries, especially of ancient communities dating back thousands of years living in what are now deemed Arab “countries”.

 

Please read this important press release from Jimena.org (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa) about this destructive and tragic phenomenon, here:

 

 

“Pattern of Abuse: Iraqi Jewish Archive & MOUs”; Jimena.org (Press Release); June 25, 2018:

 

http://www.jimena.org/pattern-abuse-iraqi-jewish-archive-mous/

 

 

Update (October 3, 2018):

 

Video Manager. “Fight Over Iraqi Jewish Archive”; breakingisraelnews.com; October 2, 2018:

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/114457/fight-iraqi-jewish-archive/

 

 

Update (November 26, 2019):

 

Julius, Lyn. “Arab states are claiming the heritage of their expelled Jews”. jns.org (Opinion); November 26, 2019:

(https://www.jns.org/opinion/arab-states-are-claiming-the-heritage-of-their-expelled-jews/)

 

 

 

Facebook Not Safe For Protection Of Jewish People, Per Se

 

Facebook Not Safe For Protection Of Jewish People, Per Se (Randyjw; August 1, 2018)

 

It must be hard to be Mark Zuckerberg — or, even Facebook, for that matter.

 

On the one hand, you have a mega-giant company providing a platform for people the world over to publish their various viewpoints on their opinions regarding the rest of humanity, beyond themselves. Obviously, due to human biases, there is going to be posted many differing views, which may even be considered prejudicial against other people. Therefore, how does one oversee this herculean task to police the hate speech out of existence, while balancing the concepts to allow freedom of speech and expression to flourish (a democratic concept we take mostly for granted, almost even as an entitlement, in the United States, but one for which many people have never known in countries that are not free)?

 

Apparently, one has to plead the role of “platform” over “provider;” for, if one were to be considered the “publisher” of all this, then one would be responsible for all these hateful viewpoints being published, and could be held liable for all the ensuing damages that could occur, under this rubric. Yet, if one were solely just a “provider” of a means of communication through which others are enabled to promote their own viewpoints, then one could not necessarily blame the hardware for being the carrier of what type of content is placed onto it by the millions of individual minds revealing themselves through this manner online.

 

That is not to say that there should be no responsibility upon the provider of said platform regarding the content which is then placed upon it by the general masses, of which there is no contractual agreement to such as those for their “services,” as this is a voluntary recreational space and not a working area with mutual partnership criteria extending to the unknown individuals using the cyberspace provided by Facebook (or Twitter or Instagram, etc.). Protection of speech and source identities has been an underdog issue championed by the media and journalists who make up its trade. They have been the watchdogs who have fought for the American people and have upheld the protection guaranteed to Americans through its Constitution not to be persecuted in the rights to be free from persecution in our individual liberties with regard to the overreach by government into unwarranted and overwrought search and seizure capacities.

 

We have recently been made aware of the extent to which the government has been attempting to research the records of individual Americans through their telephone and email exchanges, while the telephone and internet companies have been steadfastly reluctant (mostly) to provide this information to them, leading to procedures which allow for a petitioning, based on reasonable, probable cause, that such actions are necessary and so would secure a pre-warrantable action allowed for them to do so.

 

The attacks of September 11, 2001 ushered in the Patriot Act, which degraded these formerly ironclad sensibilities against internal domestic spying on America’s citizens, although much really hasn’t changed but the agency hierarchies and oversight, as well as an easier capacity for knowledge-based sharing between the various organizations which exist for these purposes. Loopholes still exist in being able to take advantage of any of these situations, both in the past, and, still, in the present; yet, still will result in some type of eventual public outcry and resolve by government to help try to make themselves more accountable to the citizens in an all-around cosmetic effort at mollification and anaesthetization of the believing masses. The media, meanwhile, also hold much of the blame for having so openly felt themselves privileged to release America’s deepest, darkest secrets — and not always to their safe and secure advantage.

 

Angel or devil? An amalgamation of both, I would propose. Many times, it is the reality as it appears in the eyes of the beholder. For instance, I can understand Mark Zuckerberg’s position (which seems like it might be evolving, depending upon how much trouble he might be averting at the moment, what his lawyers say, his feelings, whatever) and my own feelings on the matter of an almost sacrosanct dedication to protecting freedom of speech through the media and individual expression, via any manner. Yet, I also see the problems that speech which smacks of hatred for others and which then promotes violence against them can actually lead to harm against those people, whether physically, emotionally, spiritually, and in myriad other ways. Where do we draw the line? We keep bringing it to court, and many times it is ruled by the courts that free speech has a right to be spoken, regardless of most of its content. So, while we can not yell “fire” in a crowded theater, we can still watch a bunch of neo-Nazis parade through the streets of Skokie, Illinois, spreading their anti-Semitic gestures and conspiracy theories around, and their rights to assemble and to do so will be protected by our Constitution.

 

But, we Jews have a lot to fear from this. We already know that such voicings result in much harm to our community. Yet, because of much residual anti-Semitism, we can’t seem to find redress of these problems through most venues which exist, today. I suppose it matters to which master we bow – – and because those of us Jewish people who still hold a religious and contrite heart will not bow to any but our One and Mighty G-d, we can hope for Him to step in, which He will do, when you least expect it, and we can also help Him (and ourselves) along in these matters by choosing to fight/protest such treatment – – which we do all the time.

 

For instance, due to the plethora of terrorist organizations and individuals who subscribe to or sympathize with such anti-Semitic leanings, there are multiple accounts operating in cyberspace, and including on platforms like Facebook, which promote their vicious, anti-Semitic viewpoints online, while laughing at the weakness of our democratic system, which allows them to slip in through our open doors, and sow their seeds of destruction and hatred throughout. This has led to the slow genocide of the Jewish people, yet again, through this strategic war of attrition that the Arab Islamic Jihadist community wages and perpetrates against the Jewish people. The journalist, Daniel Pearl, comes to mind. He was killed by beheading because he was lured into a trap of trying to track down terrorist ties for his news articles for the Wall Street Journal, but the terrorists he wound up dealing with only tricked him because he was Jewish and fell gullible in the pursuit of his craft.

 

Many Jewish groups and individuals have attempted, over the years, to bring the matter to the attention of Mark Zuckerberg and the staff at Facebook, to review the content of the accounts which are promoting these Jihadist or terrorist philosophies. In a way, though, allowing those accounts to remain on would perhaps give Facebook a way to track such  perpetrators, allowing the public to see how vile these individuals really are. Would that deter people from joining such groups? The answer has been quite the opposite — even enjoining others to take on the cause of these killers. It tends to glorify the murderers, unfortunately; and that is much to the detriment of the Jewish people, as well as the other unfortunate people who fall victim to the Jihadist ideology. Facebook has been accused of allowing much of these terrorist groups to remain online and perpetuate their ideas, while at the same time removing many conservative-leaning accounts, according to many of the accountholders.

 

Yet now, in a strange Phoenix-like rising, Facebook wants to weigh in as the underdog hero, pulling 36 accounts from its various Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts/sites, which it deems were acting in-authentically — and which, in some news reports, is being linked with possible potential to influence upcoming American mid-term elections (or at least falling within the timeline of its occurrence), in a strange echo of the supposed Russian meddling of the 2016 election (which we were all told by the left-wing Democratic-leaning news sites was attributed to “fake news”). You will notice that, for liability purposes, Facebook still  takes the “hardware-provider” position, leaving themselves in the reactionary (second place) role to investigate any reports not meeting their guidelines, which are reported by Facebook users. Facebook states that they are now becoming more proactive to remove accounts or posts which do not meet their community standards, and they often temper this with a reference to take it in context of the culture from which it comes. But, just because anti-Semitism is common to most Arab-Islamic countries does not mean that it is okay to be anti-Semitic. Right?  – – They will more likely censor content for such things as paid political ads, or things that affect their shareholders. This means that the burden of proof might often lie with the victimized to prove that the offenses were such to warrant and to cause or to result in harm. No guilt until it has been proven, right? But, are the Jew-hating Facebook accounts which still remain online really all that innocent?

 

Here is the Facebook guidelines and their recent actions taken, in their own words:

 

https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/07/hard-questions-content-reviewers/

 

https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/07/removing-bad-actors-on-facebook/

 

https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/04/comprehensive-community-standards/

 

https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/04/community-standards-examples/

 

https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/04/keeping-terrorists-off-facebook/

 

 

Here are some outside sources and their dealings with Facebook:

 

https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-enabled-advertisers-to-reach-jew-haters

 

https://psmag.com/social-justice/facebook-stop-letting-the-haters-play-u

 

http://jcpa.org/article/facebook-holocaust-denial-and-anti-semitism-2-0/

 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/249203