Many left-behind parents are told that the Hague Convention will bring about the return of their abducted children. Some authorities say that if your child is abducted, you should follow procedures outlined by the Hague, but we don’t agree.

Until 1980, there was no international system in place to help parents recover abducted children who had been taken to other nations. The Hague Convention attempted to create one, but it doesn’t work. If you take the time to read the well-intentioned text of the Hague, you’ll see its many flaws.

In our opinion, it’s not worth the large amounts of money, time and trouble to hire an attorney to try using the Hague Convention to get your child back. You aren’t likely to get him or her back — and even worse, the abducting parent could be “legitimized” by the courts in another nation.

Under the Hague Convention, a case must be filed in the country where the abductor has taken the child. The courts of that country tend to render their decisions in favor of their countrymen, as the Hague Convention focuses on residency, not citizenship. There is little concern for the fact that the child is a citizen of the country from which he or she was abducted, or for the possible detrimental effect on the child.

Even if the child was born in your country, if that child is found to be a “habitual resident” by the courts in another country, the child may be ordered to be returned to that country.

This underscores the need to act quickly.

Few, if any, of the Hague signatory countries are going to send anyone out to physically recover your child for you. Embassy officials will check on the child’s welfare, if it is known where the child is and if the abducting parent lets them.

As soon as abducting parents are aware that that they’ve been located, they’ll usually disappear with the children again.

And about hiring lawyers

You need to be aware that a great amount of money has been spent on lawyers in foreign abduction cases. The unfortunate fact is that they, most often, can’t practice in the foreign courts and are required to hire associate lawyers in the foreign country.

Note: they often have no qualifications or experience working with child abduction cases.

More money…

Educate yourself

Many resources are available to help you learn about parental child abduction. If you’re dealing with an abduction, the better informed you are, the better equipped you’ll be to cope.

Recover your child

Time is of the essence. Parentally abducted children are helpless on their own and confused by the irrational and sometimes abusive acts of non-custodial parents who are supposed to have their best interests in mind. ABP World Group Ltd. has the manpower and the know-how to rigorously cover all avenues, and bring your child home.

Published by: ABP World Group International Child Recovery Service

Visit our web site at: www.abpworld.com

CLIMATE :

 As discussed above, generation of heat is a function  of  gravity, which in turn depends on mass. As long as the mass of the earth is constant, the quantity of geothermal energy produced is also constant. Initially, heat is transferred to the  seas and, thence, to the atmospheric H2O, and  ultimately to the outer  space, when the latent heat is   released on formation of water droplets which form clouds. Simultaneously, heat is being radiated continuosly from the surface of the earth ,both land and sea, as the outer space is considerably cooler  than the earth.

The heat generated by the earth is converted into kinetic energy in a big way, when ocean currents are working round the clock. The volume of water involved in this process  is thousands of times  more than that of  all the rivers of the world.

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes  etc. also eat up considerable quantity of geothermal energy. Diffusion of water in the seas takes place continuously because of hot bottom and cool Polar regions. Part of the energy is also used up by cyclones, tornados etc. (the circumstances in which these are caused by hot steam emanating from the seas will be discussed in BUT-Volume III).

If the total quantity of geothermal energy is T, the energy converted into kinetic form is K and heat lost by radiation R,

T – K – R = the net increase or decrease in the warmth of the globe

From the table given below, it is clear that during the last 200 years there has not been any appreciable change in the warmth of the globe.

For a proper study of this subject, a distinction has to be made between the temperature of the earth and the temperature of the atmosphere. The latitude-mean temperature graph fairly represents the temperature of the earth, as the sea surface is not much affected by weather conditions. On the other hand, land stations will be subjected to violent fluctuations in the weather like extreme summers and winters, especially if the stations are much above the sea level.

The land mass contains lakes, surface soil water, water chambers, sub-terrainian water channels etc. which retain considerable quantity of water. Because of the peculiar structure of the H20 molecule, heat is retained in water for a longer period than other materials. This is the reason why summer extends much beyond the date 21^st June in the northern hemisphere. In the absence of water on the earth the peak temperature will end on that day and we may experience pleasant weather by August. Similarly, but for snow and the water layers lying just below the surface of the earth, the winter will start waning right from 21^st December.

In spite of these differences, data in respect of land stations, too, prove my contention that the globe is not warming!

When we look back

“It is an inquiry of some interest, whether the general temperature of the globe is stable, or is gradually undergoing change through diminution or addition. We have no means of deciding this point, because our thermometrical determinations are confined to a comparatively modern date. The instrument was not brought to perfection until the year 1724, by Fahrenheit, and therefore beyond that period we are dependent upon the recorded experience and sensations of observers, and upon the details of agricultural failure or success, for our knowledge of temperature in former times. We are not warranted to infer from these casual notices any changes of physical climate generally within the era of authentic history, though in particular localities, there is strong reason to suppose that an alteration has taken place; but this has been the very reverse of an impressions that once prevailed respecting it. The existence of a colony on the east coast of Greenland cut off from communication with the external world, and destroyed by the gradual accumulation of the ice upon its shores –the fact of immense forests anciently clothing the highest parts of Britain, and other northern countries, where a tree now can scarcely be made to grow –of the period of the vintage formerly commencing several weeks earlier in France than at present-of vineyards having been planted in the south of England during the time that the Romans held possession of the island, where hops can only be raised with difficulty- and of the sides of the Scottish hills bearing evident traces of the plough, which have long been surrendered to the heaths as incapable of cultivation;-these circumstances have been appealed to, as evidence of a milder and more genial climate having once characterized the northern regions of Europe. Sir John Leslie has remarked upon these details, “that a patch of wood will not thrive in cold situations, merely for want of the shelter which is afforded by extensive plantations. In Sweden and Norway, which are mostly covered with natural forests, it has become an object of police to prevent their indiscriminate destruction. The timber in those sylvan countries is cut at stated periods of its growth, and in detached portions; the vacant spaces being left as nurseries, embosomed amidst an expanse of tall trees.  Some places in Sweden, where the forests have been accidentally destroyed by fire, present the image of sterility, and of wide desolation. It is probable, the vines grown in ancient times were coarser and hardier plants than those which are now cultivated. A similar observation extends to all the productions of gardening. A succession of diligent culture softens the character of the vegetable tribes, and renders them more delicate, while it heightens the flavor of their fruits. The Roman soldiers stationed in Britain would naturally prefer wine, their accustomed beverage, however harsh and poor, to the cervisia, or unpalatable ale brewed by the rude arts of the natives. The marks of tillage left on our northern hills evince only the wretched state of agriculture at a remote period. For want of a proper system of rotation, and the due application of manure, the starving tenantry were then tempted to tear up with the plough every virgin spot they could find, and after extracting from it  a pitiful crop or two of oats, to abandon it to a lasting sterility”. With reference to the colony supposed to have been planted on the east coast of Greenland, now an uninhabitable region of glaciers, there is reason to believe that its name, Oestre Bydg, the eastern settlement, simply refers to its position in relation to another settlement, both of which were on the western coast, now occupied by the Danish factories. From the name of Snowland, afterwards supplanted by that of Iceland, given by the roving pirates of the Baltic to that island upon its discovery in the ninth century, it may certainly be concluded that the climate of the north was then analogous to what it is at present.

A different opinion, that the climate of the midland part of the temperate zone, especially in Europe, is less rigorous now than it was sixteen or seventeen centuries ago, appears to be supported by sufficient evidence. After making allowances for inaccuracy and exaggeration in the statements of the classical writers, they will still be found descriptive of a cold in various districts, as a feature of the ordinary temperature, which is not realized at present. The epistles written by Ovid from Pontus, whither he was banished by order of Augustus, describe the rigour of the climate there, in terms which suit the winder of Hudson’s Bay. He mentions, among other instances of the extreme cold, The Euxine Sea being frozen over, so as to bear men and cattle upon it. Tertullian, one of the Christian fathers in the second century, writing in the style of the fierce zealot and florid rhetorician, against the herectic Marcion, thus refers to the same region:- “That tract, which is called the Pontus Euxinus, the hospitable sea, has been refused all favours, and is mocked by its very name. The day is never open, the sun never shines willingly, there is but one atmosphere- fog; the whole year is wintry; every wind that blows comes from the north; liquors are only such before the fire; the rivers are blocked up with ice, the mountains are heaped higher with snow; all things are benumbed, all things are stiff with cold, nothing but cruelty has there the warmth of life; that kind of cruelty, I mean, which has supplied the stage with fables concerning the sacrifices of the Tauri, and the loves of Colchis, and the tortures of Caucasus. But there is nothing so barbarous and miserable in Pontus, as that it has given birth to Maricion; he is more savage than a Scythian, more unstable than the wild inhabitants of a wagon, more inhuman than the Massageta, more audacious than the Amazon, darker than the mist, colder than the winter, more brittle than the ice, more treacherous than the Danube, more precipitous than Caucasus”. Virgil refers to the winter on the banks of the Ister of the Greeks, the modern Danube, in the third Georgic, in a manner which at present is inapplicable to any part of its course:-

“ The sun from far peeps with a sickly face,Too weak, the clouds and mighty fogs to chase,

When up the skies he shoots his rosy head,

Or in the ruddy ocean seeks his bed.

Swift rivers are with sudden ice constrain’d

And studded wheels are on its back sustain’d;

A hostry now for wagons, which before

Tall ships of burden on its bosom bore,

The brazen cauldrons with the frost are flaw’d.

The garment, stiff with ice, at hearths is thaw’d.

With axes first they cleave the wine; and thence

By weight, the solid portions they dispense.

From locks uncomb’d, and from the frozen beard,

Long icicles depend, and crackling sounds are heard.

Meantime perpetual sleet, and driving snow,

Obscure the skies, and hang on heards below.

The starving cattle perish in their stalls;

Huge oxen stand enclos’d in wintry walls

Of snow congeal’d; Whole heards are buried there

Of mighty stags, and scarce their horns appear.

The dexterous huntsman wounds not these afar

With shafts or darts, or makes a distant war

With dogs, or pitches toils to stop their flight,

But close engages in unequal fight;

And, while they strive in vain to make their way

Through hills of snow, and pitifully bray,

Assaults with dint of sword, or pointed spears,

And homeward on his back the joyful burden bears.

The men to subterranean caves retire,

Secure from cold, and crowd the cheerful fire:

With trunks of elms and oaks the hearth they load,

Nor tempt th’ inclemency of heaven abroad.”

The allusions to the climate of Itay in the Georgics, referring to the Augustan age, are in several respects irreconcilable with its present character. The writer speaks of the freezing of the rivers in the southern part of the peninsula as an ordinary occurrence, and gives frequent directions for the protection of sheep and goats from snow and frost, as if addressing a shepherd of the plains of Holstein or the highlands of Scotland. It is a well-attested fact, that the savage inhabitants of Gaul and Germany usually selected the winter-season for their warlike incursions into the Roman provinces, on account of the facility afforded by the ice for the transport of their armies, horses and baggage, across the grate rivers, which have never been frozen in modern times as to admit of such an occurrence. In the time of Ceasar, also, the rein-deer, now confined to the colder regions north of the Baltic, was found, along with the elk and the wild bull, in the Hercynian forest, which then over-shadowed a grate part of Germany and Poland. A volume published at Vienna in 1788, contains some remarkable passages concerning the state of the weather for more than a thousand years back, gathered from the old chronicles, which detail the state of the harvest, the quality of the vintage, or the endurance of frost and snow in the winter. From this work, Sir John Leslie, in an article furnished to one of the public journals, quoted the following record of excessive winters and summers, to which some additions have been made.”

NOTES:

1. All quotations are from the phenomenon known as Rev. Thomas Milner, M.A’s Physical Geography, re-published in Delhi in 1975. I could not find any other details about his life.

      In the next instalment – TEMPERATURE  DATA

   Tonight I just finished a training session on the island of Mindanao, Philippines.  There are over 100 new students and about 75 students who are nearing graduation from our 10 level training program.  I wanted to start with testimonies so that everyone could be encouraged about what God is doing.  My first question was, “How many of you have a testimony about starting churches since August (a period of four months).  Nearly everyone’s hands went up. 

   That is a normal response for our trainings.  Obviously I couldn’t have all 175 people give a testimony, so I had to narrow it down.  I said, “How many of you have started more than five churches in the last four months?” Three hands went up.   I called on one young man to share.

   He came up to the front and shared, with his head looking toward the ground, “I don’t like to talk much, but I wouldn’t stand up here if I wasn’t faithful in what God called me to do.” He explained that after the August training session he went back to his area determined to reach 9 more villages around him with a new church.   So he and his wife got permission from the nine villages to show the gospel.  Each of the villages were named after the nine planets, from Mercury all the way to Pluto. 

  After showing a gospel film they made contacts for people who wanted to know more about Jesus in each village.  They go each week to each of the nine villages where they are now discipling new believers and forming them into groups of believers (churches).  I wanted to confirm how many group he had started since August and he replied, matter-of-factly, “nine, one for each village we went to.”  He also noted that some have already built small buildings to meet in as well. 

  That is absolutely fantastic.  That is an average of one church start every 10 days! 

   We all rejoiced in amazing fruit in ministry.  As he was about to step down he added one more additional comment.  He said, we went to our local elementary school and asked them if we could teach the section on “values education” (Values education is a part of all Philippine education).  They agreed and he said right now he is teaching all the 4^th through 6^th graders every day our discipleship training program for their “values education” course in school.  

   I only had one more leading question for him.  So I asked, “How much money did you have to do this project?”  His response was exactly what I expected, for it is a focus of our training.  He said, “We have no money at all do to this, we only have faith in God.”  Everyone cheered!  Nine churches started in four months, buildings built, hundreds of people come to Christ, voluntary teaching hundreds of kids about Jesus on a total budget of $0.00. 

   Faith:  It is a higher standard.  It has much more impressive results!

Hopes suddenly rose that a new global climate pact was within reach after rich nations attending a Commonwealth summit here offered to pay poorer countries to help seal the deal.

“Success in Copenhagen is in sight,” UN chief Ban Ki-moon stated, referring to the climate negotiations to take place in the Danish capital December 7-18.

He and Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, both making exceptional appearances at the Trinidad summit despite not being Commonwealth members, stressed how encouraged they were by Britain and France offering to start a 10-billion-dollar fund for developing nations.

By showing willingness to meet “the need for money on the table,” it was now “realistic” to expect Copenhagen to result in the framework for a treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012, Rasmussen said.

“Copenhagen will not be a talk shop,” Ban said. “We will come out with a very concrete foundation for a legally binding treaty.” Success in Copenhagen in sight: UN chief

(L-R) Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon chat during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Port of Spain,

The sudden optimism contrasted sharply with predictions of failure at the climate talks as recently as two weeks ago.

Much of that stemmed from a joint overture by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Commonwealth gathering, whose leaders represent two billion people, or a third of the planet’s population.

The two European leaders proposed to compensate developing countries for the economic disadvantages they would face in cutting carbon emissions.

Britain said it had already set aside 1.3 billion dollars to be paid into the Copenhagen Launch Fund over the next three years.

“Poorer countries must have an understanding that the richer countries will help them adapt to climate change and make the necessary adjustments in their economies,” Brown said on his website.

“We have got to provide some money to help that. Britain will do so, the rest of Europe will do so and I believe America will do so as well.”

Sarkozy, who was also specially invited by Brown to address the Commonwealth summit, did not say how much France would contribute.

But he told reporters the fund would operate for the next three years, beyond which an “ambitious mechanism” for continued payments would be established.

The willingness of developed countries to ante up bolstered other moves that suggested nations were determined to reach an accord.

Important among those were carbon cut pledges by almost all the nations most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.

China, the world’s biggest polluter, has vowed to reduce “carbon intensity” as measured by unit of gross domestic product by 40-45 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels.

The United States, the other major contributor to global warming, is looking at curbing carbon emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

The European Union is unilaterally cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, and is offering to go to 30 percent if other industrialised parties follow suit. The Commonwealth: facts

Brazil, the fourth-biggest greenhouse gas contributor because of deforestation, has offered a reduction of 36-39 percent based on its projected economic output in 2020.

India’s prime minister said on Saturday the country was willing to commit to “ambitious” carbon emission reduction targets as long as it was part of an “equitable” burden sharing framework.

Alone of the big polluting nations, India has not revealed any emission cut targets.

But after meeting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Trinidad, Sarkozy said that he was confident “they will put some figures on the table” within days.

Rasmussen said more than 85 heads of state and government had accepted invitations to attend the Copenhagen conference, effectively turning it into a big summit.

Among those who have publicly said they are going are US President Barack Obama, Britain’s Brown, France’s Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Sarkozy, however, criticized Obama’s decision to turn up for just one day at the beginning of the negotiations, on December 9, instead of the crucial final days of summit when all the other leaders would be crunching figures and concessions.

He added that, if an agreement eluded Copenhagen, “it will be a historic failure.”

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  Tonight we had a testimony of a miracle that God did a week ago.  A humble father and pastor came to report what God had done.  He shared how a large cobra, possibly a king cobra, had bitten his son in the leg.  His body was beginning to shut down and there was no way that they could get him to any hospital.  Yet, even if they did, it would be very unlikely that in the rural Philippines that anyone would have anti-venom. 

  The father is a church leader and the only thing he knew to do was pray.  The son’s body was nearly completely paralyzed and in excruciating pain.  He could feel his body shutting down as the venom went closer and closer to his heart.  The father, at a point of desperation for the life of his son, placed his Bible on his son’s heart and began to pray.  Immediately after placing the Bible on his son’s heart, the pain started to subside.  Within one hour, the son’s body was completely back to normal as the anti-venom of the Holy Spirit was working to expel the cobra’s venom.  The leader told us that his son could feel the venom moving away from his heart where the Bible was and slowly being flushed out of his body. 

   The Great Commission as recorded in the Gospel of Mark says, “¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:17-18). Indeed, this father knows Jesus’ words to be true and is living them out.

Serra Pelada gold mine, Brazil (Photo by Sebastiao Salgado).

Jeffery R. Webber, of University of Regina, reviews the book Latin America and Global Capitalism: A Critical Globalization Perspective by William I. Robinson in the October edition of the Monthly Review:

In chapter two, one of the most powerful and persuasive, Robinson charts the crisis of developmental capitalism, or import-substitution industrialization, in the 1960s and 1970s, and then shifts to neoliberalism, or export-led development, in the 1980s and 1990s across Latin America. Drawing on the historical materialist categories of proletarianization and primitive accumulation, he examines the contours of the new economic model through a focused exploration of nontraditional exports and services. He offers a penetrating look at the cut flowers industry in Ecuador and Colombia, the explosive growth of the fruits and wines sector in Chile, soy production in Argentina and the rest of the Southern Cone, and winter fruits and vegetable production in Central America. He demonstrates how there has been an “accelerated replacement of noncapitalist by capitalist forms of agricultural development” and a “concomitant displacement of the peasantry and its conversion into a rural proletariat. This has occurred along with an increase in rural to urban and transnational migration”; promotion of “flexible…work in the new agro-export platforms”; a move to “predominance of female workers in these platforms”; and “the articulation of local agricultural systems…to global agricultural and industrial food production and distribution chains.”

The main weakness in this otherwise compelling portrait of the political economy of the Latin American countryside today is the one-sided structural power allotted to capital. Opportunities for increases in agricultural workers’ bargaining power under certain conditions, such as those examined by Ben Selwyn in his important study of export grape production in North East Brazil, are elided.

Today’s suggestion is to support what is basically the freedom of the press and/or personal expression via the written word especially.

Anyone who has followed my Blogs would know that there have been cases where a Blogger has been imprisoned for his/her views. This has been so of Christians in Islamic countries for example.

Supporting the right of expression via the written word is something I do via my Blogs. I report news of Christian Bloggers and those who witness for Christ that are persecuted.

See also:

www.internationalpen.org.uk

A response to reading ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton

My soul stayed behind when I left Iceland, and is now flying over the rugged mountains and flowing in the streams over the basalt columns, bubbling up from the thermal vents, playing with jotuns in the lava fields and horse riding on the high mountain platou.

Iceland must be the most beautiful island in the world. I haven`t seen it all, but I feel there is no more to see. This is the place.

The landscape is breathtaking! You have already heard that, of course, but I cannot stress this enough. Marvellous!

The climate is not that different from Norway, and western Norway, where I live, share some of that mountain-fjord feeling; the ice age U-shaped valleys. The main carvings of the land makes me feel at home; the shapes are familiar, but the texture, the surface, is so exotic! This is of course due to Iceland´s volcanic rocks; the rugged peaks on those mountains, the craters, the black lava scattered all around like numerous lurking trolls…

And the colours! Red iron specked rocks, green Racomitrium mosses, yellow birch and willow leaves and shades from black lava to grey basalt against blue skies and with white fumes rising from thermal fizzures.

All around is sheep and horses of traditional breeds that through small scale use have survived Man´s alteration of the animal body for more meat, more production, more money. No, these are small, natural, old style, furry, multicoloured sheep and horses with wits and instincts. However, the land is suffering from overgrazing and erosion. They are planting exotic, invasive species like Sitka Spruce and Lupins, since very few species can establish in the harsh conditions. I am kind of worried about this, but that is another story.

The language is poetry in my ears. I love the letters ð and þ, and the sharp r´s. Norway share a cultural history with Iceland, but Icelanders are closer to this Norse cultural heritage than us Norwegians, infected by the oil as we are, and having a spatial connection to Europe. The remotedness out on sea has preserved language as well cultural feelings in Iceland. Some people here even believe in trolls, just like me.

Iceland has no army! Just peace.

The city of Reykjavik is quite small and intimate. Everything is centered in one main street. Saturday night in Reykjavik is crazy. I should probably not have gotten so drunk, then I could better have seen how amazing this happy, intoxicated crowd probably was. However, I did contribute well to the spirit of the street.

I love Hostels. I love their atmosphere and how you always talk to strangers who also travel alone. You go eating and drinking with strangers, and travel further with strangers.

Across the street from my hostel I found my regular café! Café Hjomalind, with vegan food and the nicest people, art exhibition downstairs, and beautiful furniture. But they were no longer allowed to rent the place, and had to close the café down three days after I left!

I do not enjoy shopping. However, in Reykjavik, I scraped my account down to the last Icelandic króna.

I found a silverware store that sold entirely traditional jewellery. It is the most beautiful things I have seen; rings and arm rings like those found in Viking graves, bracelets shaped like Midgardsormen, earrings with dangling silver droplets, scythe formed earrings and much more.

The wool store! Oh my god. I spent half a day in there. The icelandic sheep are similar to the Old Norse sheep we have in Norway. The wool has another quality than that of the common sheep; it has two layers and more lanolin. Many products are knitted with the natural colours of the sheep: coke black, brown, red, different shades of gray, and white. The patterns are also traditional, and some of it was hand knitted. I also bought a sheep poster and a horse poster made by Bændasamtök Ìslands, the Farmers Association of Iceland.

Reykjavik is packed with second hand shops! Almost the entire street was filled with them! And the cooles clothes, I have never seen so much nice looking stuff gathered centered in one small place. They have a really good taste in Iceland. I usually hate shopping except from at second hand stores and fly markets. However, this place was the cream of the second hand stores powered by twenty!

Music. Just a few words. The traditional songs are just as cool as those we have in Norway. Iceland has a lot of bands,  a lot of great stuff – I think they all seem to be very original. I have to post one of my favourite Björk songs:

For more Icelandic music, check out the Twitter list @gogoyoko/icelandicbands.

Some of the Icelandic roads are terrible. But I like gravel roads. Maybe we went for the wrong car, we rented the white one, a Nissan Micra.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/08/1989-berlin-wall

Bruni de la Motte
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 8 November 2009 11.00 GMT

East Germans lost much in 1989
For many in the GDR, the fall of the Berlin Wall and unification meant the loss of jobs, homes, security and equality

On 9 November 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down I realised German unification would soon follow, which it did a year later. This meant the end of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the country in which I was born, grew up, gave birth to my two children, gained my doctorate and enjoyed a fulfilling job as a lecturer in English literature at Potsdam University. Of course, unification brought with it the freedom to travel the world and, for some, more material wealth, but it also brought social breakdown, widespread unemployment, blacklisting, a crass materialism and an “elbow society” as well as a demonisation of the country I lived in and helped shape. Despite the advantages, for many it was more a disaster than a celebratory event.

Just two examples. My best friend, a foreign languages teacher, lost her job and was blacklisted because, at the time the wall fell, she happened to be teaching at a government law college. She was not a member of the party or indeed political at all. After much effort she managed to find a job helping young people excluded from school, with no long-term contract and on a much lower salary. My brother, who has a PhD in the philosophy of science, lost his research job at the academy and ever since has only been able to find odd, low-paid temporary jobs.

Little is known here about what happened to the GDR economy when the wall fell. Once the border was open the government decided to set up a trusteeship to ensure that “publicly owned enterprises” (the majority of businesses) would be transferred to the citizens who’d created the wealth. However, a few months before unification, the then newly elected conservative government handed over the trusteeship to west German appointees, many representing big business interests. The idea of “publicly owned” assets being transferred to citizens was quietly dropped. Instead all assets were privatised at breakneck speed. More then 85% were bought by west Germans and many were closed soon after. In the countryside 1.7 million hectares of agricultural and forest land were sold off and 80% of agricultural workers lost their job.

In July 1990, when the GDR still existed, a hasty “currency union” was introduced with the result that the GDR economy was plunged into bankruptcy. Before unification the West German mark was worth 4.50 GDR marks; however, at currency union it was fixed at parity with an exchange rate of 1:1. The result was that GDR export products rose in price by 450% overnight and were no longer competitive; the export market (39% of the economy) inevitably imploded.

Large numbers of ordinary workers lost their jobs, but so too did thousands of research workers and academics. As a result of the purging of academia, research and scientific establishments in a process of political vetting, more than a million individuals with degrees lost their jobs. This constituted about 50% of that group, creating in east Germany the highest percentage of professional unemployment in the world; all university chancellors and directors of state enterprises as well as 75,000 teachers lost their jobs and many were blacklisted. This process was in stark contrast to what happened in west Germany after the war, when few ex-Nazis were treated in this manner.

In the GDR everyone had a legally guaranteed security of tenure and ownership to the properties where they lived. After unification, 2.2m claims by non-GDR citizens were made on their homes. Many lost houses they’d lived in for decades; a number committed suicide rather than give them up. Ironically, claims for restitution the other way around, by east Germans on properties in the west, were rejected as “out of time”.

Since the demise of the GDR, many have come to recognise and regret that the genuine “social achievements” they enjoyed were dismantled: social and gender equality, full employment and lack of existential fears, as well as subsidised rents, public transport, culture and sports facilities. Unfortunately, the collapse of the GDR and “state socialism” came shortly before the collapse of the “free market” system in the west.

* * *

COMMENTS ON NONSENSE IN COMMENTS

“I don’t know anything about the academic qualification of this person, but she certainly was a person who did not hold political opinions opposing the system; otherwise she could never have become a lecturer in English literature.”

She’s a witch! Burne her!

“According to Anna Funder’s Stasiland, most of the secret police officers did very well for themselves getting jobs in sales and marketing. The basic skills of manipulating people against their own interests work well in both contexts.”

Of course they did. ) That was a stasi’s revolution transformation (under the auspices of western ruling classes). They’ve benefited, manipulated masses have lost out. As you see, all fits.

“I would not have been allowed to even visit the UK country under GDR law! They would have killed or put me into jail had I tried to leave. Did this never appear any odd to you???
By the sound of it you, your relatives and friends who all lost their jobs after reunification were beneficiaries of the GDR system.”

Yeah, indeed! Social breakdown, widespread unemployment, blacklisting, a crass materialism and an “elbow society”, poverty for the potential right to visit UK! Wow!

“I think its fine you lost your job. I wonder what fairytales you would have taught your pupils today.”

Yeah, shot up, witch! You are in a free world now.

“The point to celebrate tomorrow (09/11) is that all changes happened peacefully and that people are allowed to utter their opinions (just like you and me here) and be free to go where they want (don?t you actually think it?s wicked you can go to those countries whose language you used to teach?).”

“Opinions?” “Freedom to go where you want?” For a minute: she’s lost her job. Hello!?

Today’s suggestion is about doing something about the many children throughout the world that receive no education or very limited education. This can be especially true of many girls in some countries and seems to be more so in some strict Islamic communities and regions.

It is difficult to know just what can be done in this field by the ‘average Joe,’ so to speak. Whereas individuals may not be able to do a lot personally, they may be able to contribute by being part of a larger organisation that is able to bring pressure to bear on governments around the world.

It is also possible to be part of a humanitarian organisation that seeks to assist people to receive education and/or by donating money to such a group.

For some ideas on this particular suggestion have a look at:

www.campaignforeducation.org & www.unicef.org

A response to reading ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton

  A few months ago we got a request from Cotabato, Philippines to please come and start Antioch Institute training in their area. This is in the Muslim area of Mindanao and is usually unsafe with bombings and kidnappings common.  Finally in October, Pastor Ben Embaan had a chance to go.  The churches had been praying because they had not seen any growth in many years.  The different churches did not like each other either because of their different “doctrinal” backgrounds.   Finally, they saw the light.  They are all people from the Manobo tribe, but were divided by artificial “doctrinal” positions.  The non-believers in the area were not about to join that mess!  

  In October the churches agreed to unify under the love of Christ and so Pastor Ben came into start an Antioch extension.  One church in Magpit, Cotabato prided itself for being so “large”.  There were about ninety people in the church on a good Sunday. 

   In Antioch Institute our key verse is 2 Timothy 2:2 which says, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others”.  We don’t just train teachers or pastors, but anyone who is willing to teach others in the ways of God.  So Pastor Ben started teaching.  Today we got a report from one of the pastors in Magpit.  He said, since last month’s training, they started discipling their own people and then those people started discipling others in the village.  People started coming to Christ rapidly.  The church has now grown to more than 400 people in one month!  Praise the Lord!

   Following Jesus is not that complicated, it only requires courage and hard work on behalf of everyone.  Once everyone is working together, it is amazing what God allows to happen.

Hattip Trayfish

Wednesday, 25 November 2009
29 chickens died suddenly
Increased spraying disinfectant

NGRABAG – Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (Dispeterikan) Magelang regency, anigen test of 29 chickens that died suddenly, from a population of 86 birds in the village Kalitelon, Sejong Village, Sub Grabag, District Ma-bracelets. Therefore, Hamlet is Kalitelon frontier areas of positive Semarang District attack Avian Influenza (bird flu).

“After we did the test anigen of 29 carcasses of dead chickens, the results are negative. Because there were no H5N1 virus (bird flu). But we continue to do spraying disinfectant into the border region, “said Kasi Dispeterikan Animal Health Magelang District, drh Jonh N, yesterday.

According to Jonh, to prevent the spread of AI in the Magelang district, it did spraying disinfectant on the frontier, the border district of Semarang, Temanggung, Salatiga and Boyolali. While prevention in the border region dintensifkan Semarang District, given the region tested positive for AI virus.

This disinfectant spray is the anticipation step, before the deadly virus into the region Ka-bupaten Magelang, especially through the traffic flow poultry trade between regions.

Swine flu
In addition to the bird flu virus, officials Dispeterikan ranks, has intensified socialization or pig flu virus H1N1 has now entered the area of Central Java / Yogyakarta. Even Dispeterikan line, do not hesitate to destroy a nearby pig pen with a chicken coop. “The virus H1N1 (swine flu) related to the H5N1 virus (bird flu), it is very harmful to human health, because the combination of the virus is very fierce,” he added.

Meanwhile, neighboring pig pen with a chicken coop in the village Dampit, Village Mertoyudan, Mertoyudan District, Magelang, had been torn down with the approval of the owner. Animals are pigs, was moved to a place far from pemukinan and chicken coop.

These efforts, he continued to avoid that H1N1 viruses are not in contact with the H5N1 virus. Appeal through a circular letter to the breeder chickens and pigs, so that farmers continue to do routine cleaning of the cage. The goal was to endanger the virus is not transmitted to humans in this rainy season.

Read more

Seven Long Weeks in Turkey – Here is what I learned from my experience there!

Turkey used to be a very cheap place, but now they are now catching up with the world.  It is still reasonably much cheaper than most places.  I spent seven weeks in Icmeler in Marmaris, which was an experience in my opinion.  Being away from my family, which consists of a husband and two teenage sons was undeniably very different for me!  I was free of housework chores, washing, ironing and cooking!  I had only myself to look after, which was pretty much a luxurious lifestyle for me.  Although, I did miss my family and friends, I was determined to enjoy and experience the Turkish countryside and the sun!  I was not there for just fun and pleasure, but for my work too.

The food and the accommodation is always much cheaper than most places in Europe.  The currency is the Turkish Lira and with this you will get 2.5 to the sterling pound and 2.25 to the Euro.

Views from my hotel room.

During my stay in Turkey, I stayed at a hotel called the Kapmar Otel.  this was based in Icmeler, which is only a ten minute bus ride to Marmaris.  This hotel was well equipped with clean and comfortable rooms, a bar and seating areas with a pool and restaurant.  Check it out at www.kapmarotel.com

The food was superb, as I ate there every night and tried nearly every dish from their menu.  The breakfast was mostly English continental and lunches from the menu was equally superb.

The views from the hotel are mostly of the town (take a look at the picture here).

Views from the Kapmar Otel

I stayed in Icmeler for seven weeks.  I was there with the company I worked for PAL Promotions.  They promote the Blanket trip, which is a free half day excursion that tour operators promote for us.  We worked with tour operators, such as, Thomson and First Choice, so I got to see many different locations and a variety of hotels and apartment complexes whilst working there.

The night life in Icmeler is for everyone.  There are restaurants that give entertainment later in the evening, such as shows like Michael Jackosn impersonators, a robot dance, belly dancing, Turkish nights and a waiter’s dance where all the waiters get up and dance for their guests.  In Icmeler you can also see the Stella show, which is a one man drag show who impersonates and mimes to songs by stars, such as, Tina Turner, Cher, Dolly Parton, Shirley Bassey and many more.  It is very funny, entertaining and has a twist at the end that turns out to be brilliant. There are, also, many karaoke bars that do competitions and two night clubs in the area called Eastenders and Pleasure.  I attended both of these night clubs and danced to some great up and coming dance tunes that are out in the charts today.  The music choice for Eastenders night club is excellent in my opinion.

One thing I really noticed, as my time in Icmeler was passing by, was how there were many single women taking their holidays there on their own.  I noticed that most women either came back to look for a Turkish man or they have one already and they were coming back to see them.  They are looking for a Turkish husband or rather the men look for the English women.  The only drawback is that some men are looking for women with money. In my opinion, I would advise all women to be very careful if they meet a man who is suspiciously asking them about their finances all the time.  If a man asks for money or says he is in need of money urgently, then stay away from him!

Most Turkish men are very loving and passionate.  Some are genuine and very kind if you find the right one.  So, be warned, as most do look for women all the time and are on the prowl.   Turkish Muslim men are allowed to have more than one wife! Of course, according to Turkish law this is forbidden, but this still occurs with Muslims today!

The beach in Icmeler is sandy and has some wonderful sea views.  There are water sports to enjoy too.  Also, a boat can be taken from here into Marmaris that costs 7 lira per person.  The views are breath taking and amazing.  Another way, is by getting the bus, which costs 2 lira per person one way.  Also, on Icmeler beach you can get a massage.  The best time for this is in late afternoon when the sun is not so strong.  The only draw back is that you need to check whether that person giving the massage is qualified to do so, as you could end up paying out a lot of money for just a normal back rub!  A lady I met who had a massage on this beach and by the end of that day she was in a lot of pain.  The pain radiated all over her back and later found out that the muscles in her back were bruised!  So, check these people out before having the massage.

Turkey is, also, famous for their Turkish baths.  You can book one for 50 lira with a full body massage included.  The Turkish oils will help to keep a longer lasting tan, so this is a good idea to do at the beginning of the holiday.

There are, also, the famous mud baths in Dalyan.  This is a trip that can booked with your tour operator, such as, Thomson or First Choice.

Another way, to see parts of the area and the mountains is by taking a jeep safari.  This trip can, also, be booked by your tour operator.  You can, also, take a boat trip over to Rhodes, which takes one hour to get to.  It is a good idea to go if you have not been before.

Taking a holiday in Marmaris or Icmeler will in no doubt be an unforgettable experience.  The weather is fantastic in summer with temperatures rising to 50 centigrade in July and August.  A self catering or all inclusive holiday are  available in Turkey with some amazing places to see.  It is an adventure you will not forget!

PhotoVoice is an organisation that encourages “the use of documentary photography by enabling those that have traditionally been the subject of such work to become its creator – to have control over how they are perceived by the rest of the world, while simultaneously learning a new skill which can enhance their lives.” (PhotoVoice’s website)

Take a look at the PhotoVoice film and galleries.

How does PhotoVoice projects bring positive social change ?????

- Promoting SELF-DEVELOPMENT through:

• “Providing a unique means for expression and creativity;
• Enabling vulnerable groups to work through difficulties or trauma that they may have experienced, in a safe and secure workshop environment;
• Encouraging participants to gain confidence in their capabilities and their role in civil society.”

- Promoting ADVOCACY through:

• “Enabling those who are traditionally the subjects of photography to become its creator;
• Giving a voice to those who are too often ignored or silenced;
• Enabling participants to become advocates for change;
• Enabling participants to inform and affect policy on local and international levels.”

- Promoting A BETTER STANDARD OF LIVING for PhotoVoice participants through:

• “Providing training in vocational photography and media skills;
• Supporting particularly talented individuals in pursuing further studies in photography;
• Setting up apprenticeship schemes and work placements in conjunction with other media and training bodies in the project countries;
• Selling and marketing images produced by PhotoVoice participants on their behalf.”

PhotoVoice’s projects have been running “since 1999 [...] working in over 12 different countries with over 1000 beneficiaries, pioneering the use of photography with refugee groups, street children, orphans, the homeless, HIV/ AIDS sufferers and special need groups. Countries that PhotoVoice has worked in include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.”

PhotoVoice changing communities:

PhotoVoice: childrem in Toronto capturing their environment:

PhotoVoice in Kenya:

PhotoVoice in the lives of participants with spinal cord injury:

Other videos:

- PhotoVoice process

- PhotoVoice at the Youth Action Institute

Picture in this post: www.freedigitalphotos.net

]]> http://genevievejerome33.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/international-visitors-speak-in-cultural-awareness-center/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:25:47 +0000 genevievejerome33 http://genevievejerome33.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/international-visitors-speak-in-cultural-awareness-center/

Eleven delegates from various African and Near East nations said Oct. 20 that most Americans seem friendly and appear to participate in the democratic process at City College’s Cultural Awareness Center as part of the U.S. Department of State’s visitor leadership program.

“Americans are very hospitable, welcoming to others, welcome to difference,” said Mageda Yahya Ahmed Ata, from Yemen. “However, I observe some people are looking at me differently, not out of hostility but out of curiosity.”

The delegates also spoke on the level of volunteerism in the United States, which they found to be impressive.

“I think everyone is involved here [in the U.S],” said, Obaid Mutairan T. Aldhafeeri, a delegate from Saudi Arabia.

“I was impressed by the political process. Grassroots is made from the bottom up.”

The delegates gave their opinions about the United States and directed questions to the students in attendance, such as what they like about City College and the kinds of activities that keep students busy.

The speakers were from different countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morrocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Erab Emirates and Yemen. The delegates project is called “Grassroots Civic Engagement, a regional project for North Africa and the Near East.”

“The International Studies Program seeks to expose students, faculty and staff to different international voices and perspectives,” said Riad Bahhur, International Studies instructor. Bahhur stated that the delegation is timely in considering U.S involvement in the Arab world today.

The delegates also examined the ethnic, political, cultural, religious and social trends in the United States and how they compare with their countries.

“First we are human, then we are Arabs, then we are Christian or Muslims,” said Iman Husain Rahma Husain Al Zaabi, a delegate from United Arab Emirates “There is a great deal of discrimination against us Arabs.”

Ultimately the speakers spoke highly of the United States during th event. “We hope our countries will find the same one day,” said Egyptian delegate Gaafar William Magharious Bakkoum. “We know you are all trying to be equal. We hope to one day have a president that will work for our equality too.”

“Corruption not only affects business relationships but poses a considerable risk inside an enterprise. This report documents many cases of managers, majority shareholders and other actors inside corporations who abuse their entrusted powers for personal gain, to the detriment of owners, investors, employees and society at large. Executives, for example, may focus opportunistically on securing generous payouts to themselves, rather than on long-term profi tability and sustainability – a phenomenon that has been identifi ed as an important factor in the current fi nancial crisis. Majority owners may try to leverage their infl uence on corporate strategy to expropriate smaller shareholders through ’self-dealing’ and similar practices. The benefits of majority control are estimated to exceed 30 per cent of equity value in countries such as Austria, Italy, Mexico and Turkey. They amount to as much as 60 per cent or so of equity value in the Czech Republic and Brazil, raising serious concerns about checks on the powers of these actors.”

(Global Corruption Report 2009, p.17)

“Countries such as Brazil, China and India already boast some of the world’s largest markets, and their companies play an increasingly active and important role in global business. As this report documents, encouraging efforts are under way to update many aspects of regulatory and governance standards in these countries. Nevertheless, these efforts need to be deepened and extended beyond the ‘first in class’ companies. Firms from India, China and Brazil are regarded by their peers as among the most corrupt when doing business abroad.“

(Global Corruption Report 2009, p.29)

Would you like to increase your awareness about corruption in the world ? Access Transparency International – the global coalition against corruption.

Check out the Integrity Awards Winners from past years.

Read the Global Corruption Barometer 2009.

If you know other interesting sources about this topic, please leave a comment sharing it.

By Janis Colton

CHEVY CHASE, Maryland– Over the past few years, I had glimpses of the world of Sephardic Jewish history that streamed from the period of the Inquisition, but no real knowledge about these Jewish ancestors.

Finally, this past summer (July 2009), my husband Bob, another couple and I signed up for an Elderhostel trip in New Mexico to learn the Converso/Crypto- Jewish story. In my most enthusiastic expectations I could not have imagined what an extraordinary and deeply emotional experience awaited me. My three travelling companions were just as moved and surprised.
We arrived in Albuquerque on a Sunday afternoon, emerging into the heat and dust of the arid climate. The scenery was, to my surprised eyes, bleak and uninviting, not the exciting vista others had described to me. For the next five days I listened to the surprising story, to envisage in amazement how the Converso families who fled there managed to not only survive in such a hostile climate, but to deal with the everyday tensions defending their Converso status.
Two women led our group of 14; Norma Libman was the lecturer/ teacher. Her scholarly depth of knowledge, dedication, and enthusiasmfor the subject sparked similar feelings in all of us. Karen Long, our group leader, provided, with similar enthusiasm, not only a perfectly planned and executed schedule, but knowledge about New Mexico, the Native Indian and Spanish heritages, and even the climate, flora and fauna, and current social and demographic background.
I’m sure the people who read the Kulanu newsletter know much more about the Converso/Crypto experience than I could absorb in five days. So, I will resist telling you the whole story as it unfolded for us, the significant place of Jews in the history both of Spain and of early Mexico and the United States.

In the interest of emphasizing the novelty of the subject for us, I will list some “factual” items that some of my companions told me know that Jews were ever noted as sailors or navigators, let alone dominated the field in the 14 and 15 hundreds.”

“I didn’t know these Jews were so numerous in the settlement of New Mexico and other areas of the southwestern United States.”

“I didn’t know that at the time of the Inquisition Conversos accounted for 40% of the Spanish colonization of the area now known as New Mexico.”

“I didn’t know the Inquisition was active in Mexico and even in the then Spanish held parts of America.”

“I didn’t know the Office of the Inquisition in Spain was not closed until the 1900’s and then only in response to

Spain’s desire to have the Olympics held there.”

And so on!

As a fairly literate Jew, I have read and heard much history.

How could such a dramatic part of Jewish and American history havebeen omitted from my education? We Ashkenazic Jews rightfully hold the Holocaust as the loss of a significant portion not only of our population, but also of our culture and heritage. So, too, was the loss of that cultured and large community wiped out by the Inquisition. Its tattered remnant also fled to our shores and deserves to have its proud tale enrich our study of history. Perhaps the parallels between these two events are too ominous to integrate into our thinking.

The new scholarship being done on our Southwestern Jewish history is quite amazing. ( I thoroughly recommend New Mexico’s Crypto-Jews: Image and Memory, Cary Herz’s wonderful book of photographs, interviews, and essays. And I learned much from Stanley Hordes’ To the End of the Earth: A History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico.) As more and more unfolds, it will be fascinating to see if any Crypto-Jewish community survives as such or if it is absorbed into the existing community. Either way, we can all be grateful to have the opportunity to learn about these courageous people.
We are very grateful to the Elderhostel for providing this course.
**

This story previously appeared in the fall 2009 edition of the Kulanu newsletter.  http://www.kulanu.org/newsletters/2009-fall.pdf Janis Colton is  a retired Clinical Social Worker, specializing in Adult Psychotherapy. She is enjoying this phase of her life exploring new places, people, skills and ideas.  She lives in Chevy Chase, MD.

By Janis Colton

CHEVY CHASE, Maryland– Over the past few years, I had glimpses of the world of Sephardic Jewish history that streamed from the period of the Inquisition, but no real knowledge about these Jewish ancestors.

Finally, this past summer (July 2009), my husband Bob, another couple and I signed up for an Elderhostel trip in New Mexico to learn the Converso/Crypto- Jewish story. In my most enthusiastic expectations I could not have imagined what an extraordinary and deeply emotional experience awaited me. My three travelling companions were just as moved and surprised.
We arrived in Albuquerque on a Sunday afternoon, emerging into the heat and dust of the arid climate. The scenery was, to my surprised eyes, bleak and uninviting, not the exciting vista others had described to me. For the next five days I listened to the surprising story, to envisage in amazement how the Converso families who fled there managed to not only survive in such a hostile climate, but to deal with the everyday tensions defending their Converso status.
Two women led our group of 14; Norma Libman was the lecturer/ teacher. Her scholarly depth of knowledge, dedication, and enthusiasmfor the subject sparked similar feelings in all of us. Karen Long, our group leader, provided, with similar enthusiasm, not only a perfectly planned and executed schedule, but knowledge about New Mexico, the Native Indian and Spanish heritages, and even the climate, flora and fauna, and current social and demographic background.
I’m sure the people who read the Kulanu newsletter know much more about the Converso/Crypto experience than I could absorb in five days. So, I will resist telling you the whole story as it unfolded for us, the significant place of Jews in the history both of Spain and of early Mexico and the United States.

In the interest of emphasizing the novelty of the subject for us, I will list some “factual” items that some of my companions told me know that Jews were ever noted as sailors or navigators, let alone dominated the field in the 14 and 15 hundreds.”

“I didn’t know these Jews were so numerous in the settlement of New Mexico and other areas of the southwestern United States.”

“I didn’t know that at the time of the Inquisition Conversos accounted for 40% of the Spanish colonization of the area now known as New Mexico.”

“I didn’t know the Inquisition was active in Mexico and even in the then Spanish held parts of America.”

“I didn’t know the Office of the Inquisition in Spain was not closed until the 1900’s and then only in response to

Spain’s desire to have the Olympics held there.”

And so on!

As a fairly literate Jew, I have read and heard much history.

How could such a dramatic part of Jewish and American history havebeen omitted from my education? We Ashkenazic Jews rightfully hold the Holocaust as the loss of a significant portion not only of our population, but also of our culture and heritage. So, too, was the loss of that cultured and large community wiped out by the Inquisition. Its tattered remnant also fled to our shores and deserves to have its proud tale enrich our study of history. Perhaps the parallels between these two events are too ominous to integrate into our thinking.

The new scholarship being done on our Southwestern Jewish history is quite amazing. ( I thoroughly recommend New Mexico’s Crypto-Jews: Image and Memory, Cary Herz’s wonderful book of photographs, interviews, and essays. And I learned much from Stanley Hordes’ To the End of the Earth: A History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico.) As more and more unfolds, it will be fascinating to see if any Crypto-Jewish community survives as such or if it is absorbed into the existing community. Either way, we can all be grateful to have the opportunity to learn about these courageous people.
We are very grateful to the Elderhostel for providing this course.
**

This story previously appeared in the fall 2009 edition of the Kulanu newsletter.  http://www.kulanu.org/newsletters/2009-fall.pdf Janis Colton is  a retired Clinical Social Worker, specializing in Adult Psychotherapy. She is enjoying this phase of her life exploring new places, people, skills and ideas.  She lives in Chevy Chase, MD.

I’m technologically inept. However, I have many interests that I feel will allow me to share my thoughts. I enjoy writing, traveling, eating, drinking, friends, and photgraphing them all. Now, I have a place to put all of these things. That is if I can figure out how all this works! As overwhelming as it is, I hope I can stick with it and eventually step into the twenty-first century (my phone can’t even access the internet). I may even learn what a, “Widget” is. The picture above is of a recent trip to Ireland, and the Cliffs of Moher.  Whoopiecat is a “techno-ego”.  All of my gadgets and gizmos carry this name.  Don’t bother asking me why, I really don’t have an answer.  I compare myself to a rubics cube.  It was perfect out of the package, once opened (one second into life) it is all scrambled and may never get put back into uniformity, and I like it that way.  My life has just taken on a whole new persona.