(AI generated image via Perplexity)
May 25, 2025
Who Are You to Threaten Israel?
(AI generated image via Perplexity)
September 3, 2023
This is So Not a Way to Become a Jewish Woman
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "This is So Not a Way to Become a Jewish Woman."
I'm sure many of us have seen the new hit Adam Sandler movie, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, and probably most people will tell you it's a great movie.
To be fair, I believe that Adam Sandler did not mean badly with this movie in that it did show him trying to get the often out-of-control teenagers back on track. It was also nice to see that Stacy was ultimately a good person and friend. However, this Hollywood-ized version of a bat mitzvah and Jewish culture is clearly made for profit and not with a Jewish moral compass in mind and soul.
(Credit Photo: Dossy Blumenthal)
This is So Not a Way to Become a Jewish Woman
January 24, 2021
Evils of Sex Trafficking
USA Today article on Sex Trafficking:
- 4.8 million people: 3.8 Million adults + 1 million children! (and another 20 million people trafficked for slave labor)
- 99% female
- 70% Asia and Pacific, 4% in America
- $99 Billion in profits
National Human Trafficking Hotline
- Call: 1-888-373-7888-Text: “BeFree” (233733)
- Chat: humantraffickinghotline.org
Evils of Sex Trafficking
January 19, 2019
Stone Faces Hide The Heart
They go around with a stone face.
No emotion seems to seep in or out.
The face doesn't betray the heart in any way.
You say something or do something, and they just sort of stare at you.
No words, no outward response.
Just a stone face like a poker face.
You don't know what's behind it.
But worse yet is a heart of stone--nothing impacts the inside just like the outside.
Are some people this way because they have been so hurt in the past that they become hardened like a turtle's shell to protect from the outside world.
...Ain't gonna let nothing hurt me again.
Or are they great at using their poker face to fool, manipulate, and get what they are after.
Perhaps the worst possibility is that they are simply a real psychopath--someone without conscience or empathy.
Yes, that is scary because the unthinkable becomes thinkable.
For most of us, reading verbal and non-verbal cues is critical to understanding other people.
Hiding those cues can mean that the stone face is going to shatter someone's world and that won't be a pretty face at all. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Stone Faces Hide The Heart
October 16, 2016
Help Find Missing Children
It was a flyer to help find a missing child.
Every time, I see something like this, I just have to take a big gulp and deep breath, as this seems like one of the scariest things that can happen to a child and their parents.
A child is dependent on it's parents, and when they go missing G-d forbid, the fear of in whose hands they might fall and what may be done to them is unthinkable.
The goal is to get the word and pictures out to find the child as quickly as possible.
From 2002, statistics show about 800,000 children go missing every year (or about 2,000 per day)--that is unbelievable!
Of those, about 204,000 were family abductions, 58,000 were non-family abductions, a 115 were taken by a stranger, and the rest were mostly run-aways.
About 1 in 5 runaways are considered likely victims of child sex trafficking.
A 1997 study showed only 5% of non-family abductions even get reported to police and entered in the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC)--many may not enter a report when a child is gone just a few days or it may get filed under other categories like homicides or sexual assaults.
In the 1972 and 1981, there were tragic cases of missing children Etan Patz and Adam Walsh, both killed at age 6, with Etan's remains supposedly thrown in the garbage in Soho (he was never found) and Adam's located in a drainage canal in Florida.
Etan was the first missing child whose pictures were put on the back of milk carton.
In 1983, the anniversary of Etan's disappearance, May 25, was designated National Missing Children's Day.
In 1984, the Walshes and other child advocates established the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) "to help find missing children and prevent child victimization"--shockingly before this there was no coordinated federal and state mechanism for search efforts.
- NCMEC tip hotline (1-800-The Lost) has received over 4.3 million calls in the last 32 years and they have facilitated the return of 227,000 missing children.
In 1996, America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) was set up as a a child abduction emergency alert system; it was named after Amber Hagerman, a 9-year old abducted and murdered in Texas.
- AMBER Alerts, between 1997 and 2015, were credited with the safe recovery of 723 children.
My heart goes out to these children and their families!
Anything that each of us can do to help with the desperate situation of missing children and their safe recovery is worth not only our attention, but our utmost vigilance and helpful tips. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Help Find Missing Children
April 28, 2013
Vandalism and Vomit -- Only $2,500!
She and her friends want to be near campus and where everyone hangs out.
When we got to the building, the front door glass was smashed in and wooden planks filled the space over the whole door.
While we were waiting in front, a group of girls were walking in--and one was saying to the others, "Oh, he says he loves me, and he wants to have sex with me..."--then couldn't hear the rest as they continued by.
Inside the lobby was this "Vandalism Report" with dates for each (not shown)--Take a look at it (THIS IS REAL!).
- Signs and fire extinguishers vandalized.
- Beer cups thrown off the balcony.
- Graffiti painted on the walls.
- And best for last...urine, vomit, rubbish, and blood discovered--at multiple times and in multiple places!
The slumlord landlord, buys up the filthy apartments, renovates them, and rents out two-bedroom units in this building for approximately $2500, split 4 ways among the students.
He takes 2 months security deposit.
And he makes each person responsible for all the others, so if one person backs out or doesn't pay, each of the other students are responsible--not just for their share (lease).
He advertised one unit, but showed us another.
Then told us this one was also already taken and we should trust him and sign up for another unit that he is purchasing and "it will be the same thing, trust me!"
This whole thing was disappointing to my daughter who was excited to be with all her friends so close to campus.
I was proud of her when my wife asked her despite how much she wanted this...did she feel this guy was trustworthy?--and she said, "No!"
Not sure who would want to live in a place like this...but my daughter was disappointed anyway.
It's hard to be practical, when the emotional side for people take over.
These young people are victimized by the slumlords, who prey on their youth, inexperience, and needs.
This place was disgusting--even so, it's tough to be a parent because you want your children to learn from mistakes, but mistakes can be so costly.
Funny thing is, there were plenty of kids in this building--where are the grownups? ;-)
Vandalism and Vomit -- Only $2,500!
February 2, 2013
This Tape Will Self Destruct In Five Seconds
Ever since the 1960's airing of Mission Impossible, where each episode started with the instructions for a dangerous mission on a tape recording, which ended with "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds," have we all recognized the need for self-destructing devices to safeguard information.
This Tape Will Self Destruct In Five Seconds
February 10, 2012
Speak Up or Shut Up
These are the organizations that are dominated by powerful, but narcissistic leadership (notice I do not call them leaders--because they are not).
According to Forbes, (11 January 2012) in an article entitled Why Narcissistic CEOs Kill Their Companies, in these organizations, the c-suite is dominated by those showing four narcissistic personality traits:
- Exploitative--They are in charge and everyone else had better respect--or better yet worship--them. Typically they are surrounded by "yes men" and eager beavers, ready to please at just about all costs.
- Authoritarian--They insist on "being the center of attention," they always know better, are always right even in the face of evidence to the contrary, and with their people, it's their way or the highway.
- Arrogant--They are full of themselves and usually something else :-) and believe they are superior and therefore entitled to their positions of power and stature.
- Self-Absorbed--They admire and and are preoccupied with themselves, and not focused on what's ultimately good for the organization, the mission, and its people.
In such organizations, and with such pitiful leadership, generally we find cultures of fear and what Harvard Business Review (January-February 2012) says are organizations where people "are afraid to speak honestly."
In these dysfunctional organizations with inept leadership, the workforce is stunted--they cannot genuinely contribute or grow and where organizational candor, trust, and collaboration is low, organizational performance is predictably poor.
HBR suggests that greater candor and sharing is possible by "breaking meetings into smaller groups," assigning people to "notice and speak up when something is being left unsaid," and to "teach 'caring-criticism'"--where input is provided constructively and not personally attacking and where honest feedback is viewed as "generous, rather than critical."
I think these suggestions may help organizations that are fundamentally well-run by caring and professional leaders, but when narcissists and power mongers rule the day, then the culture is not speak up, but rather shut up.
One of the things that I have been fortunate to experience and learn is that diplomacy from the top-down goes a long way in creating a professional and productive work culture.
When people are given respect and the freedom to speak up constructively, when they can work in true-teaming environments, and when relationships matter more than winning the day, then the workforce and all the individuals therein have the opportunity to grow to their potential. In speak up organizations, people can voice their opinions, provide valuable input, and contribute to the mission--both the people and the organization thrive.
In contrast, when the workplace is shut up, because of narcissistic and poor leadership, the workforce is essentially shut down--they are in essence muzzled in speech and ultimately in deed. These organizations choke off their own talent and lifeblood, while their head swells from the arrogance and power at the top.
Diplomacy is a skill not only in international relations, but in life and in the workplace, and diplomatic leaders are not narcissists trying to wield and hold power, but rather polished and professional leaders who foster a culture of speak up and team up--they are ready to take their organizations and people to new levels of productivity, growth, and meaning.
Speak Up or Shut Up
September 26, 2010
Now The Computer War Games Are Real
The Iranian nuclear program hit has been claimed for civil nuclear power but has long been suspected of being a cover for making weapons, and Iran has been unabashedly vocal about its hostile intent to many nations, even going so far as to openly threaten some, especially Israel, with complete “annihilation.”
The technical aspects of Stuxnet as a weapon are fascinating, for this is the first computer program “specifically created to take over industrial control systems.” Another article in U.K.’s The Guardian quotes another source as saying it is “one of the most refined pieces of malware ever discovered.”
This worm works by exploiting Windows operating systems security holes and taking over critical infrastructure SCADA systems (AKA Supervisory Control And Data Acquisitions systems or industrial control systems).
What is maybe even more amazing than the technical feat of Stuxnet, is that for months or years, everyone has been focused on and hypothesizing about when a traditional military strike was going to occur to the ever menacing Iranian nuclear threat. However, instead of conventional planes and bombs making a big bang (remember “shock and awe”), we get a silent but “very sophisticated” cyber worm that no one seems to have expected.
So times have certainly changed and with it warfare. Prior military engagements occurred on land, sea, and air with kinetic “bang/boom” weapons. Today they have a new domain in cyberspace with bits and bytes that are just as impactful. But I think what hasn’t really hit home with most people is that cyber war is not just virtual, like playing a video game (like the SIMS) or acting out in virtual reality (like Second Life); cyberwarfare starts online but has real physical ramifications as we see with the Stuxnet worm. Industrial systems like nuclear plants or hosts of other critical infrastructure (in manufacturing, energy, telecommunications, etc.) can be taken out with cyber bombs just like with real bombs maybe even better, faster, cheaper, and cleaner (less collateral damage).
We had all better be prepared for the fight in this new realm as the potential damage is as real as any we have ever seen before.
Now The Computer War Games Are Real