Famous authors pick their favorite European novels. Very interesting and unexpected. I never read most of them, to be honest.
[Video] Toilet discussions used to harrass and silence women. Outrageous.
Hans Fallada is finally being translated into English. That’s great news!
A propos our dog discussion, this is what dog lovers have done to dogs out of sheer love.
Clarissa's Blog 
Yeah, people who care even a little bit about the purity of dog breeds creep me out. I feel they couldn’t see their grand vision materializing in human beings, so they decided to focus on dogs instead.
When we do get a dog it’ll be a raggedy old mutt from a shelter. All we care is to give it a few good, stress-free years before it dies.
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There are so many irresponsible breeders out there. They’re not doing it out of “sheer love.” They’re doing it for money, without thought for how their actions actually affect breed standards. The color photos aren’t the greatest examples, though. There are breeders that still hold to older standards.
On another note, I thought you’d find this entertaining:
http://loweringthebar.net/2016/06/reincarnation-permit.html
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The reincarnation permits remind me of companies that sell ownership deeds to specific stars in the universe. As a bonus, they’ll also name the star after you.
You can also buy insurance that will take care of your “left-behind” pet if you’re a devout Christian who’s swept away to Heaven during the Rapture.
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“You can also buy insurance that will take care of your “left-behind” pet if you’re a devout Christian who’s swept away to Heaven during the Rapture.”
-That’s ridiculous. Of course the pets are going with them. :p
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Or perhaps my cat will be traveling alone. Perhaps I owe it to her to pay her way.
At any rate. I’d rather release my cat to paradise while I stay right here in the fiery Southern Arizona desert.,where the least of heaven and the most of hell make a very warm, comfortable place to live for all eternity,
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“At any rate. I’d rather release my cat to paradise while I stay right here in the fiery Southern Arizona desert.,where the least of heaven and the most of hell make a very warm, comfortable place to live for all eternity.”
-But there’s no snow! How do you deal with no snow?!
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If you’re dumb enough to want snow in Arizona, drive about 150 miles directly north (and straight up a mountain) from Phoenix to Flagstaff, which is well over a mile higher.
In the winter. you’ll find enough snow up there to make an Eskimo family (or a Canadian one) feel right at home.
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I might stick to somewhere more northern instead. :p I hear Arizona is beautiful, though. I almost got a chance to go to the Kitt’s Peak Observatory, but a grant was running out that summer and the money just wasn’t there. 😦
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Many purebred dog breeders are just like obsessive crazy stage parents only instead of traumatizing their children while chasing their own fulfillment they systematically deform dogs (and kill them, one of the big dirty secrets of any purebred breeding program is a very high cull rate, that is inferior speciments are killed).
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Europe’s Refugee Culture Clash
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Indeed, the refugee crisis in Europe is more a matter of culture than of numbers. And cultural clashes are much harder to address than logistics – especially once they leave the regulated confines of the asylum center, which can mitigate potential conflicts with surveillance and design.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/europe-refugees-new-reality-for-women-by-paulina-neuding-2016-06#comments
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I thought you would like the above linked post since she talks about the influence of mass migration on European women, btw.
Another interesting post by Omer Aziz:
Muslim leaders have repeatedly been silent on the sufferings of LGBTQ individuals. They have treated them as though they were unworthy of god’s love. But in debasing gays, Islam’s homophobes have only debased themselves. The battle for civil rights and for dignity will never be won, peace in the Muslim-majority world will never be won, freedom of thought and conscience will never be won, until and unless a sexual revolution accompanies an intellectual one.
http://www.germanjoys.eu/2016/06/a-large-swath-of-the-muslim-majority-world-has-a-serious-problem-with-gays.html
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Right and left-wing MKs join forces to limit Israeli sales of weapons abroad
Temple Mount activist and Meretz MK to advance a bill making arms sales dependent on countries’ human rights record; Glick: ‘Weapons must be to protect lives, not to take them.’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4818049,00.html
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Sell weapons to countries with a good human rights record to ensure that this good record changes to a bad one soon!
Sorry, it’s just a joke, couldn’t resist.
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ISTANBUL- A Turkish court placed two Turkish journalists — including a local representative of Reporters Without Borders — and an academic in pretrial arrest Monday over charges of disseminating “terrorist propaganda,” according to the press freedom rights group and
Turkish media reports.
Reporters Without Borders’ Erol Onderoglu, along with journalist Ahmet Nesin and academic Sebnem Korur Fincanci, had participated in a solidarity campaign in support of Ozgur Gundem, a pro-Kurdish publication subject to multiple investigations and lawsuits. The private Dogan news agency said the campaign involved participants acting as chief editor for a day.
The three were ordered arrested after they testified before the public prosecutor with the state judiciary’s Terrorism and Organized Crimes Bureau.
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How would Brexit affect Israel?
Israeli analysts are divided on what Brexit means for Israel, some believe that it portends negative changes and will empower the anti-Israeli elements of the European Union; meanwhile, others hold that it strengthens the case for nationalism in the 21st century and thereby, Israel as well; Palestinian analysts say regardless of results, there is a growing trend of sympathy for Palestinian cause in the UK and Europe.
…
Because of Britain’s close relationship with the United States, London tends to be more sympathetic to Israel than many other EU countries, Eran says. Economically, the EU is Israel’s largest trading partner ”and it is important that it remain robust” he says. In the security sphere, Britain is one of the most active members of the EU and NATO, he notes. ”We prefer to see a stronger Europe in its battle against terror and other threats,” he says.
But it is in the coming diplomacy over the French initiative that Eran believes Britain’s presence in the EU is acutely needed by Israel. In the run up to the planned conference, ”Britain’s role is still very important for Israel,” he said.
In Eran’s view, the United States is not very enthusiastic about the French initiative and is likely to seek to foil it, possibly in favor of an American initiative, provided Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu facilitates this by showing some flexibility on peace issues. In this case, he believes, Britain would assist the US in trying to convince the French and other Europeans to make way for American moves. ”Britain would play the role of facilitator of the American efforts to enable Netanyahu to take a different track than the French initiative.” However, if London exits the EU, ”Israel will lose a moderating factor, a voice that could help it avoid the French initiative if necessary.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose political future depends on a vote to remain, is seen in Israel as a reliable friend. Defense and intelligence ties have reportedly been quietly but considerably strengthened under Cameron. During the Gaza conflict in 2014, his Conservative party for weeks withstood pressure from its Liberal Democrat coalition partners to condemn Israel’s military campaign.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4818829,00.html
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Over the past two years (2014–2015), Israel has experienced a two-percent drop in the number of academic graduates compared with 2013. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) noted on Monday that this is the first time in 20 years that there has been a reduction in the number of bachelor’s and master’s degrees, though the number of doctoral degrees awarded has increased by 4.6 percent.
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Women were the majority of recipients of bachelor’s and master’s degrees (59.8% and 61.2%, respectively) and just shy of half of doctoral degree recipients (49.7%). In the fields of engineering and architecture, women were a minority in all degrees.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4818832,00.html
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Letters reveal that French cement firm paid taxes to ISIS to protect its business in Syria… that has now become a base for Western special forces
Lafarge bought cement plant 95 miles northeast of Aleppo in Syria in 2007
Civil war started in 2011 but firm kept up production at the site until 2013
‘Worrying deals’ made with ISIS to protect business in Syria, it is claimed
Reports suggest abandoned site is now a base for Western special forces
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3653896/Letters-reveal-French-cement-firm-paid-taxes-ISIS-protect-business-Syria-base-Western-special-forces.html
Middle-aged women are being hired for paid, short-term posts because they are seen as more focused and better workers.
A major communications firm is taking on eight staff in their 30s, 40s and 50s who want to re-enter the workforce after taking time out to have children.
PR company Wunderlich Kaplan Communications, which is based in New York, is fed up with younger employees using time in the office trawling the internet or working on other projects.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3653550/Why-older-woman-better-worker-Growing-numbers-middle-aged-staff-taken-short-term-posts-focused.html
I notice those posts are “short term.” If those women are good, why not employ long-term?
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You said there is immigration since Germans welcome it, but this new study by the University of Leipzig reveals a different picture:
One in every ten Germans wants their country to be led by a ‘Führer’ (dictator) who applies a firm hand for the common good.
Eleven percent of respondents say that Jews have too much influence in society.
Twelve percent think Germans are by nature superior to other people.
Four in ten people think Muslims should be prohibited from immigrating to the country.
…
Overall, three in ten complained that Germany had been “infiltrated by too many foreigners in a dangerous way”, added the survey, which was carried out after a year in which Germany opened its doors to a record 1.1 million asylum seekers.
Skepticism appears to be running high against migrants, with three in five Germans saying that most asylum seekers “are not really at risk of any persecution in their home country”.
…
an increase in negative attitudes towards Roma or Sinti communities, with half of respondents saying people from such groups should be banned from city centres.
http://www.thelocal.de/20160615/one-in-every-ten-germans-wants-to-be-led-by-fuhrer
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“Overall, three in ten complained that Germany had been “infiltrated by too many foreigners in a dangerous way”, added the survey”
“One in every ten Germans wants their country to be led by a ‘Führer’ (dictator) who applies a firm hand for the common good.”
“Four in ten people think Muslims should be prohibited from immigrating to the country.”
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I found something really cute, for a change. Read the lyrics of the beautiful song, “This Is My Second Childhood,” Manor wrote for his daughter Gali:
http://hebrewsongs.com/?song=yaldutihashniya
(One stanza RE “we are 5 years old” was not translated. If you wish, I can do that.)
Here is the song in Hebrew:
I found an English translation too, but some woman sings it and it’s not half as good, imo.
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Shows how separated we are despite formally living in one state:
A project supported by NGOs and USAID brings Jewish Israelis to Arab Israeli towns and villages during Ramadan to learn more about their compatriots and their culture.
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The dozen Israeli Jews make their way along the stalls of the Ramadan market
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The visit to Kafr Kassem was one of dozens of tours that bring Jewish Israelis to Arab towns and villages in northern and central Israel during the month of Ramadan. While 20 percent of Israel’s population is Arab, most Jews and Arabs live separately and go to different schools. Even at universities, while the two groups study together, there is limited social interaction.
Arab citizens of Israel all learn Hebrew, but few Jews learn more than a few words of Arabic. The tensions of the past few years between Israelis and Palestinians, and especially a wave of stabbing attacks in Israel, have made Jews wary of venturing into Arab towns in Israel.
“The goal of these visits is to create social change using tourism,” Ilanit Haramati, the director of Via Maris, the NGO that organized the visit told The Media Line. “Tourism brings economic gain to the towns. It also brings Jews and Arabs together and it builds pride in the towns that are visited.”
…
“We have this crazy situation where people who were enemies of the state one day become citizens of the state the next day,” tour guide Joel Rosenfeld told them. All Arab citizens of Israel lived under martial law until 1966.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4819400,00.html
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Sounds like a great idea.
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\ Sounds like a great idea.
You know, when I read
“The project is supported by USAID (the US governmental agency for international development) as well as Sikkuy, the Association for the Advancement of Civil Equality in Israel.”
I thought about your descriptions of the value of Western human rights and feminist activists in FSU. The only thing this project achieved or will achieve is making the few remaining Jewish-Israeli Leftists feel good about themselves:
\”Anyone who knows me hears about my political ideas day and night,” Jennie Levin, a writer and translator living in Tel Aviv said. “Sometimes I feel like a fraud because it’s very hard to meet Arabs in Tel Aviv. I hoped to not only make some friends here but to be with like-minded people.”\
At first, I thought “like-minded people” were Arabs, but then understood he most likely meant other Leftist Israeli Jews, a seemingly disappearing group. It all seems so shallow and fake to me. Look at this:
\ Shawkat Amar, a teacher and local guide who was meeting with the group … accepts a pastry and gratefully takes a bite. “The Islam that you see in the media like that guy in Orlando is not the real Islam,” he said before going home to eat with his family. “Islam is not a religious of violence, but of peace. Anyone who says differently is simply wrong.”//
First of all, I do not care about empty proclamations RE what Islam is. What I care about is behavior of Muslims, including that of Israeli Arabs, which is exactly what we see in the media and sometimes, if we’re personally unlucky, in front of us on our streets. Specially when only yesterday a Jewish teen (from a mixed Arab-Jewish town, if I remember correctly) was attacked by a group of Arab teens, who called him a swear word for a Jew and, much more importantly, knifed him.
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The alternative is doing nothing at all. At least, people are trying to bring the two cultures together.
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I found this post very eduicational:
First-Person Testimonial from a Former Refugee Volunteer
http://www.germanjoys.eu/2016/06/he-believes-nobody-in-german-has-to-work-they-get-free-money-from-the-government-this-is-a-common-belief-in-syria.html
The most enlightening bit I haven’t thought of before was who gets sent to EU:
\ Back in Syria, Halil was was the ‘ass’ of the family, his father bossed him around and forced him to run errands. They sent him to get the free money in Germany because he didn’t seem to have much of a promising life ahead of him. When asked directly by Udo, Halil said his family had no problems in Syria, and that they were not going to try to follow him because “they’re doing OK” there. \
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“Back in Syria, Halil was was the ‘ass’ of the family, his father bossed him around and forced him to run errands. They sent him to get the free money in Germany because he didn’t seem to have much of a promising life ahead of him.”
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\ The alternative is doing nothing at all. At least, people are trying to bring the two cultures together.
This week:
Echoing anti-Semitic claims that led to the mass killings of European Jews in medieval times, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority accused rabbis in Israel of calling on their government to poison the water used by Palestinians. He made the unsubstantiated allegation during a speech to the European Parliament on Thursday.
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“Echoing anti-Semitic claims that led to the mass killings of European Jews in medieval times, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority accused rabbis in Israel of calling on their government to poison the water used by Palestinians. ”
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\ That’s what I’m saying: the only way to make sure people don’t believe such insane claims on either side is to let them know each other as friends, neighbors, colleagues, lovers, Facebook buddies.
1 – It simply won’t happen without long enough period of peace. Hasn’t happened yet, has it?
2 – Abbas was talking to the European Parliament, not to Israeli Arabs or even Palestinians. Europeans en masse will hardly know Israeli Jews as neighbors or Facebook buddies. 🙂
Also, it shows something about EU that Abbas felt comfortable to say such stuff there. Most comments on Hebrew news site express happiness that Brussels became less powerful since some Israelis think Brussels is more against Israel than quite a few of its individual members which are pressured into anti-Israeli position by EU officials.
Others hope weaker EU won’t (be able to) pressure Israel as much. Also, some hope that the failure of EU will strengthen old national identities, granting legitimacy to Jewish nationalism \ Zionism in the world’s eyes.
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“Also, it shows something about EU that Abbas felt comfortable to say such stuff there. ”
“Also, some hope that the failure of EU will strengthen old national identities, granting legitimacy to Jewish nationalism \ Zionism in the world’s eyes.”
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EU supports Ukraine (vs Russia) and supports Palestinians (vs Israel). The framing does not arrive out of nowhere.
Also, Abbas is not a dog. He rightly thinks Europeans will accept such accusations rather than call him on that and see him as making extremist claims as opposed to behaving as somebody ready for serious peace negotiations.
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A new (to me) way to analyze the consequences of (college, in that case) rape:
What One Rape Cost Our Family
Another advantage of exercising: ” regular walking, cycling, swimming, dancing and even gardening may substantially reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. […] Study, begun in 1989, which has evaluated almost 6,000 older men and women”
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/sweat-smart/?contentCollection=smarter-living&hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
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“What One Rape Cost Our Family”
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\ It’s a tragedy to have such a horrible mother. My heart goes out to poor Wilma. What a horror.
Is she horrible because she tried to evaluate the monetary price of rape? Because she published it? I think her daughter agreed to the article being published because otherwise it is too horrible. But if the daughter truly agreed, isn’t this aspect worthy of mention too since poorer families may become financially devastated on top of everything else? I think financial effects must be discussed too, but without any identification of the victims. Not “my daughter was,” but “in one case.”
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“Is she horrible because she tried to evaluate the monetary price of rape? Because she published it?”
“I think her daughter agreed to the article being published because otherwise it is too horrible.”
“But if the daughter truly agreed, isn’t this aspect worthy of mention too since poorer families may become financially devastated on top of everything else?”
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“Another advantage of exercising: ” regular walking, cycling, swimming, dancing and even gardening may substantially reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.”
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How To Prep For Grad School If You’re Poor
Thought this might be a useful document. You can add suggestions if you like. How much of this overlaps with being an international student?
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