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Gadol, who are these Fuentes, AFPAC,… I don’t know whose these people are. Am I so far from R- mainstream!>
By thy way, this urge to talk about Trump right now is not random noise, it is a recent D- party line. Politico reports that Biden is afraid to brag about his current “successes” because he is afraid that things will go bad [AAQ: they are bad now too, but it is possible to talk about being great], but others D-s see that there is a potential to prevent a disaster in November by playing up Biden’s great war management and contrast with whatever faults they can imagine about Trump. This is a pretty sad and pathetic strategy. And it is not without danger. It leads Biden to pursue shiny actions – one day, we are declaring two oligarchs non grata, another – closing airspace, third – allowing Ukrainian refugees into the country. All nice gestures, but they are not changing the events on the ground.
jackk – you are watching too much fox news – there are no Hannity and Tucker republicans. Read people at the level of Bob Gates. On war: people like David Petraeus, David Deptula, at least journalists who have deep knowledge of military affairs. People disagree but at least their statements make sense.
On no-fly zone. I don’t have a good answer. Recall Putin did “humanitarian” convoys into Eastern Ukraine. Maybe we should do “humanitarian” no-fly zone to ensure delivery of medicines in western ukraine?
Note that the west is already behind with every measure – all sanctions now go as punishment for the things that happen rather than deterrent. And as it is inadequate punishment – you bombard a city, we arrest your yacht; you level a city, we will stop buying vodka – it creates an impression that we will never respond in kind. Right now a powerplant is burning with wind towards west. How is that not a threat to Nato that requires a response?
jackk > I don’t see a single failure in all the cases you mentioned. They are all foreign policy successes.
they are not successes. You are saying that there are excuses for the failures and that situations were difficult. Blaming “intel” is not good enough. Presidents are supposed to lead, ask questions, seek independent opinions. Trump had several generals and thinkers around him who many times disagreed with each other and him, he used to call people he respected in business. Even Obama consulted Biden after talking to generals – even if he did not follow Biden’s opinion.
Biden is known in the past to reverse his silly opinions (like partitioning Iraq) when confronted with strong arguments and opposition. But now he is not getting it: he is surrounded by the bubble of like-minded people, who are less experienced than him. Media is making it worse – they do not criticize him until it is a total failure.
We learn from this how happy we should be that Hashem punishes us for every little error, while other nations only when fail fully.
Avram > I think this is an excellent practice.
Agree, except need to watch inflation – soon giving a dollar will be as insulting as giving a quarter.
huju, thanks, I don’t think this is a full estimate. See my discussion above. I looked CJR 2008 review – for CPB, it also has 14% universities, 10% foundations, and 21% business. Another chart for NPR is is similar – 40% is programming fees coming from local stations that are also subsidized. Each of these groups have a lot of public funds involved.
Here is what is purely private for NPR: 1% membership dues, and maybe 20% sponsorship although this can also be in part from public sources.
By1212, again, this is pure speculation, each side can put their own explanation. If Putin were to think that Trump is weak, he would surely use it to advance somewhere. Why wait for a strong President with 40 years of experience who will unite all allies around him? Given how much Russians tried to affect US elections (going back to at least Reagan), they would surely use their electoral luck. Why meddle then? At worst, they could have attacked after election results were published. would you say that Putin was waiting for Pence to de-certify the results?
the only plausible locations where Putin advanced was Syria and it is not clear how we could have stopped him after he was there already. Case can be made that we limited his advances. note that there were reports that Russian heavily rotated unites in Syria, giving their forces a chance to practice modern warfare – mostly bombing cities. So that was preparation for UKR. As they didn’t include tanks there, this may explain why many of them are standing on the highways.
I don’t think Zelensky actively pursued anti-T policies. He was desperately trying to avoid getting involved on either side of US politics.
Ok, so 3 R-s voted against House resolution. So that is the size of R- Russian caucus? There was before a vote to give visas to Afghani interpreters. 16 R-s voted against. This is the size of isolationist caucus.
Even voting against their own President’s withdrawal from Syria – 60 R-s against.ChZn well said!
crazy, American political system revolves around 2 parties, so, inevitably, crazies (pardon me) will belong in both parties and they vote. The trick is to keep crazies under 25% on each side, then majority of Ds and Rs will elect moderates within their parties. Maybe someone can count how many Reps in each party belong to the crazy wing. I agree that we here see more of crazy Ds as most of us probably live in blue states. I presume Jewish community in Alabama has a different perspective.
An alternative is to have a multi-party system, like in Italy or Israel, where crazies form their own parties and have representation in parliament. They can then have much larger platform and get influence on their specific interests. It is “more democratic” but historically does not seem more stable. (See: Weimar Republic)
jackk, not saying that there is a simple solution to this problem but in most cases Biden’s original declarations do not hold out – Kabul fell when it was not supposed to; limited sanctions showed Putin that he might go in, thinking that this will be it; supporting NordStream2 possibly showed same thing; declaring before the invasion that we will not fight there; now declaring that we will not enforce no-fly zone as UKR is asking. There are multiple possible justifications for some of these policies – staying in sync with Germans, but excuses for failures is not same as successes.
I think the problem is that current foreign political team is inexperienced and full of theories that they learned. And they apply these theories and are often wrong. Some report that Biden selected such a team to be able to do things he was asking for before and was always frustrated that he was laughed at by Ivy Leaguers (not just Gates, Obama and Bush also disregarded his sage advice).
jackk > Trump voters view Putin more favorably that Biden
why are you falling so low to use this in a discussion? This is a good pun that someone at YWN did. You can as well say that Biden is less popular in US than Putin, or something. Both are marginally popular.
I still have my doubts. Y can now see how unwelcome he is. He will not have time to enjoy his palace and acquire more wealth. He can look at formerly independent Belorus dictator.
There are now articles in the media explaining away why Putin did not attack during Trump time – because, allegedly, Trump was doing what P wanted, such as weakening NATO. Some wording was really hard to come up – T _inadvertently_ (sic!) strengthened NATO (demanding they increase congtributions or else). The fact of such articles is a siman that everyone is asking the question. In truth, we can’t fully rely on such information – dictators do what they decide and they may choose to strike or undermine a US president whenever they want. Much easier to look at specific actions a President did. Most of anti-T articles rely on statements and pictures – he said this and called for that. I feel for those who read this propaganda daily, their heads are becoming soft and ready to be also infected by Russian propaganda that uses similar methods, Ch’V.
These are your meshulachim, they ain’t local and they are dressed “in town” …
Rav stops them from doing it in the middle. It looks like they have lists of times and rules in shuls. Maybe shared online?If this is a genuine need, though, I do not think we should stop that. After all, we are supposed to give tzedoka during davening. Does it have to be to a pushka rather than a person?
Sometimes you can see that the person is really in trouble and even why. I saw one guy several times. he is always distracted, running out every 5 minutes talking on the phone. Once, maybe it was an emergency. But many times – I did not see company CEOs getting so many important calls during davening. Maybe this guy was running some multi-level multi-shul scam and coordinating assaults? Would giving a mussar advice be a substitute for tzedokah? I was thinking about arranging with some local business to recommend them to go work there for a day. Would it be offensive to give a business card?
huju, how did you come to 10%? is it in some IRS docs that they post? We discussed here that claimed 2% is incorrect, but I was not able to get to full estimate.
> Its reporting is generally accurate.
well, we just found out that they lie about their own funding – which is something they could fact check. Are you saying – they only lie about their own benefit, but can be reliable otherwise?
Do CNN or Fox have local stations that get federal funding? Advertisement should be different. Hope it is treated non-partisan, although it could be that some agencies funnel money to preferred media. For example, if someone wants to advertise to minorities that they should apply to Yale, they would naturally go to Black stations that are liberal. Might have happened to covid funding also.
Gadol, thanks for updating me. You never know what you can learn on YWN.
ujm, you seem to have good sources? there are unconfirmed reports today that Y is indeed currently in Belorus measuring a hat of Kievan princes. So, maybe your hat will survive.
besalel, Ukraine had a lot of Jews even after WW2. Lots of Israeli and NYC “Russian” Jews are actually from Ukraine. Many of those from Eastern parts were more “Russian” oriented than Ukrainian, but recently it seems that even previously pro-Russian people in Ukraine turned against Russia. Presumably, that would include Jews.
This seems to be complicated. Many say that it is not a problem to give even when the recipient is dishonest – “you will get a reward anyway”. I asked the Rav what to do with “out of (my) town” “in town” visitors who scroll their phones until davening ends and then go around? (I saw him giving them). Rav suggested not to refuse at all, but “give a dollar”. Then, I realized why he is always getting money out of the same drawer to give – this is where he had single dollars.
R Kamenetsky’s first job in America was to collect tzedokah o behalf of some organization. He asked someone for an amount “that is same you give last year”. The businessman checked his books and said – you made a mistake, my last year donation was less, please tell them to correct. R Yaakov said – sorry I can’t – I don’t work for them any more, I just resigned.
another SOTU puzzle – why did someone invite Ukrainian ambassador? President said that we are going to watch the war and defend NATO territory only. It made more sense to invite Polish or Latvian ambassador instead of insulting the poor lady and make her thank us for closing our airspace to Russians instead of hers.
L’tzad shut, President did not know that she is there or did not know that these lines would be in the SOTU. He is too much a mench to behave like that. He did not invite former Afghanistan President, for example.
Latest increased appreciation: drones and molotov cocktails
ujm, good, if you checked the heksher, you are already thinking about how it will go down .. take it with Ukrainian vodka. Maybe it will dissolve.
jackk, Bob Gates is not daas yachid. There are plenty of people not thinking Biden is not a boke (as of now about 60% of US population). I think the reason this phrase is repeated is because of Gates reputation as being moderate and mild. And this was unprompted. And quite a succinct way to summarize 40 years.
ukraine is threat to russia
locks are threats to thieves
police are threats to robbersrussia had no problems with ukraine when a pro-russian president was in charge there. Finland is not a threat because Russians don’t speak Finnish. They simply can’t afford having a russian-speaking democratic country on their borders. It will melt their lies.
teen, he moved SOTU to a later date – until Omicron decreases (like Adar 2 because spring is not here yet). He said that he will shut down the virus by July, he just did not say which year
common, is cannabis from plastic bags legal? Teiku
I think he just called all of us mental … “Let get all Americans the mental help they need”
it is not about US. Ukrainians are now majority for NATO membership, including in areas with large russian population (currently being bombed by their “brothers”). They have a democratically elected government and they now have path to Nato in their constitution. Finns were neutral from 1939 (when they fought back Soviet invasion) but are now majority for Nato. Nations are literally standing in line to get into Nato, while nobody stands in line to partner with Russia. Stop blaming some possible tactical missteps for the situation.
jackk > Gates just said today that he thinks that Biden is handling the situation with Putin and Ukraine very well .
I found this was a CNN interview. He is not praising Biden in general. He is asked a pointed question and answers tersely “this was done right” and several minutes later talks about things we need to do differently which implies they were done right before. You are just not used to listen to polite people talking. He is not going to go on a rant and tries to find good things to praise wherever he can find them.
common, a fair point. I doubt Putin would allow CRs out of sight and out of line. R Salanter refused to head a Russian school system when offered to make havdala between kosher and treif. Lazar made his deal with the devil presumably to take care of the Jews there but it came at a price.
Gadol, I think the general principle is that Hashem sends us challenges that make us stronger, but it is presumptuous for us to create our own challenges just to show off. We both seem to agree that pursuing college degree is a legitimate direction in order to be educated and productive members of the society (some obviously disagree), then the question is what risk are coming with the territory and some are taken for no reason.
> with a nonjewish spouse wearing a Chev Guevara t-shirt.
you missed the comma from that horrific story (that is not the spouse, but the child being a Trotskyist)
I am glad for your kids. 2013 Pew numbers are that 85% of O- educated in general are still O- in the 2os, 60% when in their 30s and lower further. I can’t find numbers correlating these losses with college attendance but would not be surprised that there will be.
Common, he can as well become chief r of the army and bless the troops with holly water. Abraham Hershel wrote, while still in Nazi Germany, that Spanish Jews were better off expelled than if they were to stay and join Spanish in their atrocities in Americas … Maybe send this essay to lazar
maybe we can learn from this: we have Acher who went astray based on reading Greek books (or was it just a sign rather than a cause). And we have, at about same time, Rabban Gamliel has 1000 people learning Torah and 1000 – Greek. Is this only for working with the government? Also, not clear to me – why he seemingly makes 1000 people ignorami, rather than having a dual-curriculum yeshiva? Maybe everyone gets a minimal Jewish education before going into the Greek department? Are there meforshim on this?
NPR seems to be tone-deaf lately.
They have an “ad” today promoting … an exhibition of Russian icons …. Supporting avoda zara and shfihat damim in one shot! If you their supporter, drop them a message or request a refund. Even mild canadiens are stopping drinking Russian vodka!
Avira, so we have different poskim, ok. I think we talked enough here so that you don’t suspect me of quoting reform or OO or anything like that. Again, this is in context of people already on a path to academic career, not a typical case. I brought a an extreme case. I don’t think avoda zara is a big test on campus ourdays.
It well may be that this was the only path of action given the dismal state of political entities, especially in Europe but also here. But so far the gradual escalation that had a declared purpose to prevent further aggression failed. Militarily, the gradual policy is not optimal: a month ago, supplies were flown to Ukraine by air, now they are driven by trucks through Poland and can be easily bombed from the air. Ukrainians probably also need time to position those missiles in the right places. It would have been better to give all supplies in advance and then take them back if they are not needed. It for sure would have been better for the army. Might that have been a better deterrence? Maybe not, but it would not have been worse.
crazy, right, Biden achieved that by first rescinding sanctions, waiting for Putin to start murdering people, and then Germans changing policies. What puzzles me with TDS – there are lots of reasonable ways to criticize Trump and even support some of the current Biden’s policies, despite their failure in several cases, but when you insist that black is white, you will not convince anyone. Presumably, the goal of those who use this approach is to use a crisis to shore up their crazy flank, but those are politicians and media people. What is the hanaah of posting partisan messages on a Jewish discussion site? The only reason I am replyig is that I am concerned for your agitated condition as a fellow Jew.
I have direct answer from a hoshuve Rav that I quoted before about attending a class on comparative religions. The answer depends on a person. The permissive side is based not just on tuning it out, which will be a waste of money for this particular class, but on a positive need to be able to “know what to answer” when operating in academic environment. But this is an extreme and not the most practical example. Not many Jews get into different religions in college, but liberal/socialist ideas are dangerous. I’ve seen sad reform parents who are in serious business, had a son returning from campus not just with a nonjewish girlfriend but also a trotskyist. So the virus is out there, question is whether kids are protected enough. As I now can hear high school and college classes live at home, I can hear a bunch of teachers diverting history, English, biology, even physics into liberal discourses. Not all, not even a majority, but sufficient enough to be dangerous. I would suggest to everyone, try this for a year, and then you will actually see where your kid is holding when under attack, and then decide whether they can go on their own. My in-family estimate so far is about 70 percent are ready…
Maybe gadol as a risk analyst can give us some numbers on risks out there… You saying that many pass the test is not enough, we need to know how many didn’t pass and what is your definition of passing. Many here would not want kids to end up with some of the views you find acceptable.
In other news, Germany finally agreed to Trump’s demand to increase their military budget, and to stop nordstream. Next they will start building LNG terminal. Biden is asking oil and gas to increase production without removing long term disincentives. But do talk about egos.
Putin indeed had a plan to remove the legitimate Ukraine government and put their supporters in. That is why he is going directly to the capital thru Chernobyl. It seems that population is so much against Russia and has guns in their hands that such government would not be able to govern for long. It will be hard to find candidates for the dictator position. Ujm may want to apply, I think you can still fly through Switzerland. Ywn may be blocked in Russia, but do stay in touch.
Anyone remembers how Trump called on Europeans to pay more for NATO? This was considered rude, but they started paying more. That would include javelins they are finally ready to send to Ukraine (on trucks, after air path is closed).
Gadol, I am not discarding in person college at all, I am just calling for always looking for safer options, whether it is online or local. For example, doing first two years online, local and then transferring at a higher maturity point. Now I am thinking that is how seminaries work: delay for a year, and give antibodies for another one…
One question is whether parents are estimating kids correctly. One campus Rav told about a call he got from a mother asking him about details of kashrus at his dining room. Getting annoyed, he asked her back: did your family go hiking. She said yes. He said, did your son take tefilin with him. She thought and said,. I think not…. Then he said, are you sure he will take it to college?
I heard Pfizer came up with a TDS pill, but has trouble testing it because nobody is asking for a cure. The good news is that we reached herd immunity, with 50 percent already sick, and the other 50 sick of hearing those who are sick. So, with no new anti Trumpers to infect, the main problem now is long TDS. I heard some are cured by taking in videos of vitamins b, d,e,I,n for several hours daily. This finally brings sleep and mental relaxation to the sufferers. Refuah shleima
Avira, I counted on your help :)!
Gadol, RebE, lofty concepts, but the reality is that majority of the people expect to live (at least) like others around them. If they don’t get a legit profession, they’ll get it another way. This is mefurash Kidushin 30. The modern machloket is whether we can be meikel and allow collecting money from non-Jewish social programs. But if you not a tzadik he can live poorly (married to a tzadekes) and you are machmir and insist on earning your own living – then your choice is between college and manual jobs. Many talmidei chachamim are not good at plumbing and hairdressing and would prefer accounting and computer programming. So, then, the question is – is it possible to acquire a profession without spiritual risk (Gadol’s approach to disregard the risk entirely sounds like an ostrich policy that failed in previous generations).
Er, thanks for acknowledging that Trump’s unpredictability was a deterrence against Putin. I agree.
And, I think, this is a risk we have to take when dealing with such serious threats. Mitt Romney had a clear anti-Russian position and was laughed at by everyone. So, in the current environment, we can’t get a President that will deter Russia/China/Iran without having some middos problems. I am thinking of Trump like Iftach – someone who is needed under certain circumstances. And then some perspective – I would rather some Brazilian president behave badly possibly influenced by Trump than Putin breaking up post-WW2 order in Europe.>> And Trump’s support of Bibi was a show for evangelicals, who largely support Israel for their own religious doctrine, not for us.
This is a classical example of why midah of gratitude is so difficult. As Kotzker responded when told that someone says bad things about him – “strange, I don’t recall doing anything good to that person!”. Whatever his reasons were, he did a number of steps that sounded outrageous, were predicted to generate a war, and served to strengthen Israel. Is it not good enough to say “thank you”? I understand your larger point that tolerance is good for the Jews in general (Berel Wein remarks that most atrocities happen when Jews are not religious, and non-Jews are; it is better to be other way around). I do disagree with that point, though – with tens of millions of people killed by communists in last century, I weigh the risk of intolerant tolerance higher than you do.
coffee, looks like I misunderstood you, you seem to be streesing that now mothers don’t respect fathers due to feminism, while fathers still follow their obligations respecting their wives. I mean, I would probably show disrespect, but I am just never given that choice!
interesting thought, maybe Rambam davka writes at length about mutual respect because the surrounding culture is different?