Israel, Iran, and the Stuxnet Worm

This is certainly better than a military attack or a war.  Of course, the same technology can be used for more nefarious purposes, and there’s the rub.  Still I prefer it done this way.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/world/middleeast/16stuxnet.html?_r=2

Then again, here’s another piece arguing that that the US and/or Israel did not design this worm and that its effect is much more minimal than what has been reported:

http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffreycarr/2011/01/17/the-new-york-times-fails-to-deliver-stuxnets-creators/

Judges Berate Foreclosure Lawyers

Many judges are particularly critical of foreclosure lawyers who use sloppy and improper documentations on behalf of lenders:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/business/11lawyers.html?hp=&pagewanted=all

Jews and Rowing

The Rowing Team
Yeshiva University decided to put together a scull rowing team. Unfortunately, they lost race after race. They practiced for hours every day, but never managed to come in any better than dead last. The head of the Yeshiva finally decided he couldn’t stand any more embarrassment so he sent Yankel to spy on Harvard’s team.

So Yankel shlepped off to Harvard and hid on the bank of the river from where he carefully watched the Harvard team as they practiced.
When Yankel returned to the Yeshiva he proudly announced to the head.
“I have figured out their secret,”

“They have eight guys rowing and one guy shouting and we have eight guys shouting and one guy rowing.”

MERS and Foreclosures

A vast pyramid scheme: http://www.ourbroker.com/foreclosures/the-real-foreclosure-crisis-who-owns-the-mortgages/

A Jewish Bronx Tale

I received this over e-mail from David Wekstein:

GREAT JEWISH BRONX TALE

The  South Bronx in 1950 was the home of a large and thriving community, predominantly Jewish. In the 1950s the  Bronx offered synagogues, mikvas, kosher bakeries, and kosher butchers — all the comforts one would expect from an observant Orthodox Jewish community.

The baby boom of the postwar years happily resulted in many new young parents. As a matter of course, the  South Bronx had its own baby equipment store, Sickser’s.

Sickser’s was located on the corner of  Westchester and Fox, and specialized in “everything for the baby” as its slogan ran.

The inventory began with cribs, baby carriages, playpens, high chairs, changing tables, and toys. It went way beyond these to everything a baby could want or need. Mr. Sickser, assisted by his son-in-law Lou Kirshner, ran a profitable business out of the needs of the rapidly expanding child population.

The language of the store was primarily Yiddish, but Sickser’s was a place where not only Jewish families but also many non-Jewish ones could acquire the necessary for their newly arrived bundles of joy.  Business was particularly busy one spring day, so much so that Mr. Sickser and his son-in-law could not handle the unexpected throng of customers.  Desperate for help, Mr. Sickser ran out of the store and stopped the first youth he spotted on the street. “Young man,” he panted, “how would you like to make a little extra money? I need some help in the store. You want to work a little?”

The tall, lanky black boy flashed a toothy smile back. “Yes, sir, I’d like some work.” “Well then, let’s get started.”

The boy followed his new employer into the store. Mr. Sickser was immediately impressed with the boy’s good manners and demeanor.

As the days went by and he came again and again to lend his help, Mr.Sickser and Lou both became increasingly impressed with the youth’s diligence, punctuality, and readiness to learn. Eventually Mr. Sickser made him a regular employee at the store. It was gratifying to find an employee with an almost soldier-like willingness to perform even the most menial of tasks, and to perform them well.

From the age of thirteen until his sophomore year in college, this young man put in from twelve to fifteen hours a week, at 50 to 75 cents an hour.  Mostly, he performed general labor: assembling merchandise, unloading trucks and preparing items for shipments. He seemed, in his quiet way, to appreciate not only the steady employment but also the friendly atmosphere Mr.Sickser’s store offered.

Mr. Sickser and Lou learned in time about their helper’s Jamaican origins, and he in turn picked up a good deal of Yiddish.

In time the young man was able to converse fairly well with his employers, and more importantly, with a number of the Jewish customers whose English was not fluent. At the age of seventeen, the young man, while still working part-time at Sickser’s, began his first semester at City College of  New York . He fit in just fine with his, for the most part Jewish classmates, hardly surprising, considering that he already knew their ways and their language.

But the heavy studying in the engineering and, later, geology courses he chose proved quite challenging. The young man would later recall that Sickser’s offered the one stable point in his life those days.

In 1993, in his position as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, two years after he guided the American victory over  Iraq in the Gulf War, General Colin Powell visited the  Holy Land. Upon meeting  Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir in  Jerusalem, he greeted the Israeli with the word
“Men kent reden Yiddish” (We can speak Yiddish).

As Shamir, stunned, tried to pull himself together, the current Secretary Of State continued chatting in his second-favorite language. Colin Powell never forgot his early days working at Sickser’s.

“Computers That See You and Keep Watch Over You”

Computer omnivision: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/science/02see.html?hp

Jesus Knows You’re Here

I received this over email:

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said, ‘Jesus knows you’re here.’  He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze.  When he heard nothing more , after a bit, he shook his head and continued.  Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires,  clear as a bell he heard ‘Jesus is watching you.’ Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice.  Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.  ‘Did you say that?’ he hissed at the parrot.  ‘Yep’, the parrot confessed, then squawked, ‘I’m just trying to warn you that he is watching you.’  The burglar relaxed. ‘Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?’  ‘Moses,’ replied the bird.  ‘Moses?’ the burglar laughed. ‘What kind of people would name a bird Moses?’  ‘The kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus.’

Golf Bloopers

I feel pretty good about my golf game now:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sERwdGY_ITU&feature=player_embedded

Pachelbel’s Canon in Dance Form

This is hilarious:  http://www.tvkim.com/watch/244/kims-picks-playing-classical-music-for-laughs

Bank Auditor Scandal

FYI:  http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/crisis-dominoes-start-falling-with-lehman-auditor-20101220?print=true

Bank Break-Ins

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/business/22lockout.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

This is not the way a stable society acts.   It is not good for the residents–or the banks in the long run.

MERS and the Housing Crisis

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/l-randall-wray/merss-smoking-gun-part-1-_b_794713.html?view=print

We need to fix this not only because it’s wrong, but because it is destroying the middle class and will destroy the banks as well.

Net Neutrality

FYI.  http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/help_stop_destruction_of_the_free_internet_now_20101226/

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