Santa Announces Mass Layoff Effective Immediately

From the A.P. desk, 7:04am December 26, 2012

A spokesman for Santa Claus has announced a layoff of 50% of his elite elves workforce, effective immediately. The total workforce, estimated at approximately 7,000 little people has worked for Mr. & Mrs. Claus for generations. Mr. Claus said “When I first started in this business, there were only 25 Elves. “ As the world’s population grew, so did the elf population at the North Pole.   In fact, the elf population grew at a rate 3X the regular population rate, probably attributable to a lot of time off during the year, as well as having to spend a lot of time indoors due to the harsh North Pole winters.”

The spokesman, Hans Claus, said “1000 of the 3500 laid off workers will be retrained to work in a top-secret state-of-the-art factory and/or distribution center that are currently being built in an undisclosed location in the North Pole.  The elves will be trained in the latest robotic manufacturing technologies, as well as logistics. A special group of elves are training to implement the delivery of presents via the latest laser guided drone technology in order address the increased delivery demand.  If successful, the drone program will insure Christmas deliveries well into the next century.”

Mr. Claus said “I have an obligation to ensure the long-term viability of the Claus family business.” If this program is successful, I anticipate a productivity assessment of the rest of the organization in 2014. We are just following trends that are all too obvious in the rest of the world’s economy.

The permanently laid off elves will 2500 elves be given 12 month’s pay, a discretionary retraining expense account to help migrate to another industry, and a generous travel expense allowance to move their families to a new location.

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are holding a press conference at noon today in Chicago to protest this mass re-organization of the Claus family business. “A boycott of the Claus business is not anticipated”, said Mr. Jackson’s spokesperson.

Egypt: Is Obama going to make the same mistake twice?

It is disappointing that President Obama has not come out firmly in favor of the tens of thousands of Egyptians demonstrating against the Muslim Brotherhood regime under Egyptian President Morsi. The Muslim Brotherhood promised Obama that they would not run a candidate for President because of the fact that the Brotherhood was the only organized party and legitimate political competition representing the Egyptian people did not have time to organize and develop. The Brotherhood reneged on their promise and Obama turned a blind eye. Now the brotherhood, under Morsi, has made a move to institutionalize Shiria law in Egypt and rig the political system so that the Brotherhood will have control of the congress and Judiciary. This is not democracy and Obama should be standing up and verbally supporting western educated Egyptians, secular Egyptians and the over 6 million Coptic Christians  in Egypt who are putting their lives on the line. We saw what happened in Lebanon to the Liberal educated Muslim and Christian communities, and know too well how this story is going to turn out if Obama does not intervene politically. Obama threw Mubarak under the bus for far less than what is happening in Egypt at this moment, and there is no way he can remain silent while this continues.

In 2009 tens of thousands of people in Iran put their lives on the line to protest against their government, and President Obama ignored them for 2 weeks while they were slaughtered, finally giving verbal support after the people were already repressed by the military. One would hope that Obama would learn from the “Iranian mistake” and pound his desk at the oppression of true democracy in Egypt. I am not suggesting US military interference on the ground, but I am asking for Obama to demonstrate moral clarity on what he considers American interests: Supporting radical religious regimes  led by dictators that suppress their minorities or the people who want a liberal democracy along the lines of Turkey, which is a model for and Islamic democracy?

First time, shame on Palestinians, second time shame on Israel

The sophistic attempt by the Palestinian Authority to violate the Oslo Accords by achieving non-state status at the U.N. has set the stage for the elimination of the generally accepted pretense by the diplomatic community that a legitimate peace process was ever possible with the Palestinians.  Who was Israel supposed to negotiate this mythical Peace Process - with the Palestinians in the West Bank, or the Palestinians of Gaza?  The Palestinians of Lebanon or the Palestinians in Jordan or Egypt? Until the Palestinians can work out their internal differences, organize pre-state national institutions, accept Israel’s existence and commit to a peaceful solution – they will continue to rely on meaningless ceremonies like their most recent celebration of “statehood”. Firing 1,500 missiles at Israel from Gaza isn't inspiration for the peace process, especially when it comes from territory that the Israel’s gave up in a “land for peace” swap. 

Two simultaneous acts of diplomacy happened on 11/29/12: A meaningless “cyber” Palestinian state was born, and the death of the 1993 Oslo Accords, which was a diplomatic framework for resolving the Israel/Palestinian conflict. It can be debated why the Oslo Accords had not achieved it’s desired goal: Israel’s supporters  contend that it was from a lack of a legitimate partner that wanted peace, or that the Palestinians are  too fragmented to enforce - much less agree on a durable settlement of the issues. The Israelis say that the “pond of peace had been poisoned” by the institutionalization of victimization and anti-Israel (anti-Jew) incitement within the Palestinian educational system and culture. Now, after the 11/29/12 U.N. declaration, Israelis can say that agreements with the Palestinians are meaningless. If they will violate the Oslo Accords, blow up civilian buses in Jerusalem, fire 1500 missiles at Israel – and they are rewarded at the U.N. with an elevated non-state status, I doubt Israel will be in the mood to take ANY RISKS for peace going forward.

The silver lining is that Israel no longer has to operate under the failed diplomatic pretense that there is a peace process to advance. I’m sure that many diplomats assigned the impossible task of keeping the Oslo Accords alive will try to minimize the Palestinian achievement at gaining non-state status, just like they minimized the 1500 Hamas rockets shot at Israel, the 6 Israeli deaths , the thousands terrorized,  or the Jerusalem bus bombing. The Oslo Accords have failed and the reason doesn't matter now. What replaces it will be more realistic, which actually gives hope to those who viewed the entire Oslo Process as an exercise in failed diplomacy from day one.

First time, shame on them, second time shame on you. If anyone is going to have to take a risk for peace going forward, it’s going to have to be the Palestinians, because Israel has learned that there is no atrocity or violation of agreements that the Palestinians will commit - that isn't celebrated in the U.N.

Obama Foreign policy: Confused and Non-Committal

I am amazed – but not surprised – at the statement from White House Press Secretary Carney regarding the effort by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s decision to assume sweeping powers through a decree which in essence makes him a dictator.  “Our interest in the development and transition to democracy in Egypt is one that reflects what the Egyptian people demanded through the revolution and continue to demand, which is a government that reflects the will of the people. We will continue to work towards that goal because it reflects what the Egyptian people want,” the White House Press Secretary said.

Former President Mubarak, a 3 decade staunch ally of the USA was thrown under the bus by President Obama while trying to keep the country together during the transition to democracy. The Islamic party vowed not to run for office, as they were the only organized party at the time and didn't reflect the “will of the people” if the elections were held in the short term. The Islamic Brotherhood party lied and fielded Morsi as a candidate, who won easily against unorganized opposition. President Obama stood silent while this played out.

There are all types of democracies. Nazi Germany was a democracy. Hamas and Hezbollah both listed as terrorist organizations are democratically elected. Is the Obama administration endorsing illiberal democracies as opposed to liberal democracies like Sweden where human rights and the minorities are protected from the will of the majorities?

The USA used to have a clear vision about where we wanted the Mideast to go in the future: First and foremost, it was to protect American economic interests, but we respected the Islamic religious perspective, but not militant religious Islamic politics that persecuted the very minorities (Christians, Secularists, Western Educated, etc.) that reflect our values of freedom of speech and religion, basic human rights and peace with their neighbors.

The Obama administration is sending out no message, a message that is too late in the cycle to make a difference, or a vague message that is designed to postpone taking a position.  No wonder our allies around the world are looking for alternatives to American leadership. It’s become a trust issue.

Israel Forced into the Abyss of War

The most current escalation in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza has deep roots going back since before the creation of the state of Israel (1948) – when it was part of Egypt.  Israel had tolerated a tit-for-tat low level war of attrition as long as the threat to its citizens was contained. The difference today is that Iran is increasingly supplying the Gaza Palestinians with sophisticated missiles capable of terrorizing the main population centers in the heart of Israel, including Tel Aviv – Israel’s version of N.Y.C... Iran’s surrogate force in Gaza, Hamas, has fired up to 25 Iranian made versions of the long-range Russian Katusha  rockets at Tel Aviv and thousands more shorter range missiles randomly in the south of Israel terrorizing over 1 million innocent civilians, killing scores of Israelis.

Israelis have fought (and successfully won) many long, hard wars and have suffered thousands of casualties. They know the price of war, and they openly admit they love life and grieve for every lost soldier and innocent civilian caught up in this conflict. Israel has done everything it could possibly do in order to minimize its casualties and avoid war. Israel uprooted hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in Gaza in order to test the “land for peace” concept touted by the Palestinians and parroted by diplomats.  In return Israelis received over 10,000 missiles that originated in Iran, and traveled through Egypt unimpeded. Israel can no longer be content with developing and depending on a sophisticated defensive array of anti-missile systems to knock down Palestinian projectiles, as the sheer number of missiles fired assures some will get through the shield to terrorize Israeli civilians. Nor can Israelis depend on sophisticated fortifications to protect its citizens from Palestinian missiles.

The core responsibility of ANY government is to protect its borders. No country on earth would have been as patient as Israel has been with the Gaza Palestinians led by Hamas/Iran. Israel is finally taking the offensive against this threat in order to protect its citizens. In every war that Israel has been in, the outcome was never known or guaranteed. Israel’s leaders are well aware that this unavoidable clash with the Palestinians of Gaza could escalate into a wider conflict with Iran, Egypt, Syria and/or Lebanon.  It is with this knowledge - that the scale of war, the number of casualties, and the outcome is unknown that the Israelis have entered into the abyss of war. 

2013 Nobel Peace Prize goes to the EU? Is this a joke?

I almost choked on my coffee this morning when I read that the Nobel committee gave the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU. Really? Their rather loose explanation is that they are recognizing the EU for staying committed to the concept of the EU during the financial crisis that continues to test the alliance’s union.  I'm sensing a trend in how the Nobel committee prioritizes its selection: Let’s honor and individual or entity that has the potential to advance the EU’s political and social interests, and let’s ignore the actual individuals who have helped the world avoid war(s) or helped humanity. I mean, really, did President Barak Obama – in hindsight – really deserve to receive the Nobel Peace prize as his first act as President – for the image of world peace maker that he projected during his 2008 campaign?

The Nobel Peace Prize committee is choosing to ignore the fact that the EU led the campaign against Libya’s Gaddafi  which ended up in his lynching and the total dismemberment of the Libyan infrastructure, with thousands killed. The country is now run by armed gangs - along with the Al Qaeda Islamist extremists that killed our American Ambassador and 3 others. The Nobel Prize committee is choosing to ignore the fact that the EU, while encouraging the downfall of Bashar Assad of Syria by supplying arms and ammo to the Syrian opposition, has done little else while over 30,000 Syrians have died.

Here’s my nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who has seen his country attacked with thousands of missiles from Iranian surrogate’s Hamas and Hezbollah, while at the same time has given EU/US sanctions against Iran 6 years to work despite the fact that they aren’t stopping Iranian efforts to produce nuclear weapons. PM Netanyahu has always had the necessary military capacity to attack Israel’s enemies, but he has “walked the walk” of true peacemaking and “gone the extra mile” by holding back in hopes of a peaceful resolution to Israel’s “Iranian problem”.

The credibility of the Nobel committee was seriously damaged in 2009 when it awarded Barak Obama the Nobel Peace Prize and elevating him to the same level as Gandhi – a true warrior for peace. This year’s award to the EU is no less offensive. 

Israel should not trust the Obama administration

As the drumbeat of Iranian belligerence towards Israel increases both on the terror, political, and nuclear front continues unabated, my only hope is that the Israeli government doesn’t miscalculate their  relationship with the Barak Obama led U.S. government.  President Obama’s Mideast policy is littered with broken promises, abandoned allies, and a sophomoric propensity to project Western social values on a region where tribal and Muslim values are the bedrock of society. One may be able to debate Obama’s health or economic policy, but his foreign policy has seen a disaster and has reversed 60 years of carefully crafted and consistent foreign policy.

With that said, the Israeli people should be quite concerned with the current situation: Iran is building a nuclear capability and already has a delivery system (which the Obama government is allowing to go forward), Iran is making overt declarations in the press that they have every intent to destroy Israel (which the world is ignoring), and the Obama government is demanding that Israel not attack Iran because of the economic implications to the rest of the world. Given the fact that Obama threw Egypt’s Mubarak under the bus at the first opportunity, didn’t help the Iranian revolution in 2009, and sits and watches as tens of thousands die in Syria - If I were them I would not depend on the Obama led U.S. government to deal with Iran or back them up in a war.

Israel has been under attack in one form or another from Iranian surrogates (Hezbollah/Hamas) ever since the Shah was deposed in 1979. Additionally, Iran has been directly implicated in numerous terror attacks around the world against mostly innocent Jews (Argentina, India, etc.). Israel needs no additional pretext to wage a defensive war against the Iranian government (not the Iranian people). I seriously doubt that had the USA been the victim of this Iranian treatment that they would have tolerated it for 33 years.

As for those who want to bring up the Palestinian issue as an Israeli aggravating cause of the Mideast conflict? Even if you disregard the Jewish historical ties to Israel and buy the Palestinian narrative - historical connections have no ownership implications. Ask the Indians, Incas and the Aborigines. 

Taking a political risk: Time for a talk, Mr. Mayor

Mayor A.C. Wharton is one of the nicest people in Memphis and he was just what the city needed after he took office from Mayor W. W. Herenton on October 6, 2009:  Someone who could bridge the racial barriers, had professional credibility with all segments of the community, and a demeanor that was quiet, yet effective.

My father often told me that it’s easier to give advice than to take it, but I’m going to give the Mayor some advice that is going to be hard to take:  Take a risk. Call the entire City of Memphis into a “cyber living room”, and have that talk about family finances that EVERY family dreads. We need a grown-up to  explain the level of current debt, future debt,  the amount of interest the city is paying, the current income, the projected income, and TELL the city that he has a short term AND long-term plan to redo Memphis’s finances by making some hard decisions. Raising taxes is no longer an option. He knows it. We know it.

 I am not privy to the details, but I know he has had teams of respected Memphis leaders review the city’s finances and made recommendations, and nothing came of it. The low hanging fruit of budget cuts among many others is the City Government pension’s obligation. There is also the bloated payroll of the City of Memphis, which has grown by multiples while the population it serves has shrunk considerably – despite annexations. I could go on and on, but the Mayor knows where the cuts need to take place.

So, we need our friend, our beloved Mayor, to help us help ourselves. Over the past 3 years, he has earned our respect and our loyalty. He has the political currency with the entire community to take this risk, what we want now is political courage. Yes, he will make a lot of people mad at him, and they will say bad things - probably make him have some sleepless nights.  In his heart, he knows this has to be done.

Most Americans have had to make adjustments with less in this economic environment, and these living room talks are taking place all the time. I know Mayor Wharton prefers a style of governing that is quiet, yet effective - and that is what we needed after the last Mayor. Now, we need a Mayor who is tough, pragmatic and effective – and willing to take a risk for the greater community. 

What it would take for Low cost carriers to seriously consider Memphis International Airport

There is no longer any debate that the “situation” at the Memphis International Airport (MIA) is untenable and has to change sooner than later. Both Mayors, the Airport Authority Board (AAB), The Memphis Convention and Visitors bureau, and the editors of all the local newspapers have already joined the chorus started by the “Delta does Memphis” Facebook website started by  one concerned Memphian and has now blossomed into over 3,500 members. Time, however, is not on Memphis’s side, and unless there is a focused strategy implemented as soon as possible, this momentum will dissipate, and the community will continue to bleed businesses, tourism, and residents.

First and foremost, I would prefer to have this resolved by Delta reducing prices on flights out of Memphis so that we no longer have to drive to Little Rock, Nashville or Jackson, Mississippi. That would elilninate the issue of price gouging, and takes enough air out of the tires of the “Airport Anger” movement to derail it permanently. There is no indication that that is going to happen.

As it stands now, it appears that the “political leadership” and AAB want to tap down the discontent with speeches and half-hearted attempts of “going through the motions” of acknowledging the anger, but without the focus and action that this issue deserves. I would like to put forward a plan of action that, if implemented, would at least get a serious discussion started with the likes of Southwest Airlines, or other Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) that normally search out markets that are overpriced with the intent of making a decent profit.

The Mayors - or the Chamber of Commerce - needs to bring the business community (BC) into one room and explain to them that  it is in their best interest to join together to encourage a LLC  to consider Memphis  - and as an incentive, they could cut their corporate travel costs significantly. In return, the BC will allow Southwest (or some other LCC) to analyze their travel bookings - and with the right offer – the BC would commit to fly the LCC.

Even if the scenario above came to fruition, and a LCC came into the market, it is reasonable to expect that the issue of predatory pricing on behalf of Delta would raise its ugly head and would have to be addressed. Unless the Department of Justice (DOJ) sees this as an anti-trust issue and takes Delta to court, Memphis will need a separate strategy to address the issue.  If Memphis can’t compel Delta to play by the rules legally, then I would suggest that Memphis adopt boycotting Delta as an alternative strategy.  Delta may, of course, just decide to pull out of the airport and just have flights that fly to Atlanta like Airtran has now. So be it.

 If Delta does not value our business now, there is no reason for Memphis to be loyal to Delta. I will be glad to personally sponsor a Delta American Express card burning bonfire ceremony on Tom Lee Park with Southwest employees in the background signing up new rapid rewards members. 

We need honestly from the Memphis Airport Authority Board

The “Delta Does Memphis” FaceBook site has awakened the community to the realization that quality of life issues in Memphis are not limited to “Greenways and bicycle paths”. Having a competitive airport – an airport where we have decent fares and multiple airlines serving the city, is critical to the future of Memphis business and the quality of life of its citizens. 

The Memphis Airport Authority Board (MAAB), whose 7 members have been re-appointed for 7 year terms for the past 20 years, have responded to the public outcry by offering a total of $1 million in financial incentives to other airlines to relocate some of their capacity to Memphis International Airport (MEM). The board members have accumulated a vast knowledge of the airport/airline business over those 20 years, and it appears to me that this “incentive” was a not-so-honest effort to tap down the outrage without dealing with the core issues at the airport.

First and foremost, a $1 million dollar incentive may seem like a lot of money if you are relating it to buying groceries, but we are talking about trying to affect business decisions in an industry that spends billions to grow and protect their market share. The core issues at the Memphis Airport are “price gouging” by Delta when they DON’T have competition in Memphis, and “predatory pricing” to run competition off when a new airline does relocates on Delta’s “Memphis turf”. So, this $1million dollar Public Relations band-aid is, in my opinion – doomed to failure. Both price gouging and predatory pricing are against the law and the Department of Justice has brought cases against the airlines before for both passenger and freight vi0ations in the past. I would have expected the MAAB to address these issues in tandem with incentives.

If the MAAB incentive package is doomed to failure, then the next question is why the MAAB is passing this off as a solution? Why haven’t they put teeth into the core issues of price gouging and predatory pricing?  There needs to be a public hearing held by the Shelby County Commission and/or the City Council where the board members spend the day answering questions regarding these issues and explain what appears to be a $1 million dollar superficial public relations stunt dressed up like an incentive.  The MAAB may have a certain amount of autonomy, and the $1 million may come from fees generated by the airport, but the Mayors both appoint the members and the public has a right to know.

The MAAB may be doing a great job, and are doing the best they can with the region’s current demographics and the current state of the airline business. Then again, they could also have been asleep at the wheel and maybe too comfortable with the status quo after 20 years on the job. Either way, we expect honest answers to problems, not $1 million thrown down the toilet.

The Case for Israel attacking Iran

Regarding Chris Peck’s Sunday March 14^th editorial “Direst strait for Delta’s CEO”: Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Airlines should stick to his day job instead of espousing US foreign policy, because his perspective is solely motivated by his own self interests – which unfortunately are exactly the same as Iran’s – stay away from war because it will drive the price of oil up. Mr. Anderson, are you proposing that the world should be held hostage forever by a nuclear powered Iran who will constantly threaten to close the Strait of Hormuz?

In fact, Anderson’s ludicrous statement that the USA successfully negotiated North Korea to “reduce” their nuclear rogue weapons program – and we should do the same with Iran just shows his total ignorance of the complete failure of Bush and Obama’s anti-proliferation efforts in North Korea.

Whether anyone reading this supports Israel as a US ally or not, it is undisputable fact that while Israel has always faced a very real life and death dilemma being surrounded by a sea of Arabs and Muslims who wish to destroy this tiny country, Iran is upping the ante with its nuclear program and calls for wiping Israel off the map that no country on earth would tolerate. Israel doesn’t want, and has never wanted to go to war, and Israel has never, and will never ask for America or anyone else to send troops to fight for her. Israelis are highly motivated because they are defending their mothers and father and children. We are not talking about a remote war like Iraq or Afghanistan.

A nuclear Iran is a threat to the entire Mideast region, and would not only threaten Israel, but would start a nuclear arms race among Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others. A nuclear Iran is a clear and present threat to the world’s oil supply and to our few Arab allies and oil suppliers in the Mideast. A nuclear Iran would be able to provide a nuclear shield to her surrogates Hezbollah, Hamas that will surely embolden them to be more aggressive around the world. A nuclear Iran and the aggressive policies that it will surely try to impose on the world will drive the price of oil up whether there is a war or not. For over 6 years the USA, the UN and the IAEC has been negotiating with Iran and failed miserably. For over 6 years, various sanctions have been used against Iran and failed miserably. Iran is at the 11^th hour of developing a weapon and those avenues are totally exhausted.

The Israeli government is keenly aware that attacking Iran unleashes an unknown response that could end up with a high price tag in Israeli deaths, the Israeli economy and political damage. Israel is also aware that there could be ancillary collateral damage to Western interests in the Mideast and around the world that Iran may choose to attack.

President Kennedy correctly wouldn’t tolerate a nuclear Cuba on USA borders and he threatened a war against both Cuba and Russia unless they removed the threat. Russia made the correct call and removed their ballistic missiles. Israel does not want a war, but if Iran continues to be belligerent and refuses, the world should blame Iran, not Israel, for simply defending herself.

Obama: 3 years on - no "leadership" and no "change"

Re: The article in the CA (1/26/12, page C2) entitled “U.S. to protect supply chain”: President Obama’s new “strategy” declaring that the USA has a national security interest in protecting economic goods against terrorists in all corners of the globe sounds good on first read, but at the end of the day it can only be interpreted too little too late.

The USA has lost the majority of its essential basic manufacturing capacity and yes – that is a national security issue, but implying that the USA is going to play policeman to the world in order to keep the free flow of these foreign made goods is nothing more than political rhetoric. It is an impossible task from a military and logistical perspective.

What I would have liked to hear from Obama is that he has recognized that it is in America’s national security interests to MAINTAIN and protect certain industrial capabilities, and also to restore some industrial capacity that was outsourced overseas.

I realize this is much more complicated issue than can be debated in a letter to the editor, but what really gets my goat is that Obama promised “change” and “leadership”, and all we have received is rhetoric and dodging the core issues facing America. America sends tens of billions of dollars annually to countries that hate us to pay for their oil. Where is his energy strategy after 3 years in office? Americans need jobs. Where’s his jobs strategy?

If America has become a toothless paper tiger among the nations of the world - as many abroad believe thanks to the assertion of China, Brazil, India – then Obama is the perfect paper President. After 3 years of Obama, I think he is totally out of his league in playing President, and would have been better suited to host a TV talk show.

The Australian Fargotstein Relatives

Below is a letter from Jacob Diner, handwritten by him on June 16^th, 2001. Jacob Diner was the son of Granny’s brother Moshe Diner. Granny was his aunt, Aunt Sally (Sally (Granny) Diner Fargotstein, wife of Sam Fargotstein, mother of Max Fargotstein, grandmother to Shep Fargotstein. Laurie Fargotstein Riskind sent him an invitation to Ariel’s Bat Mitzvah, which was in June 2001, and must have enclosed a note telling things about the Fargotsteins and asking him about the Diners and anything about Sally/Granny. Mom (Esta Fargotstein) had given Laurie his address as they had been in touch a little. Jacob’s son (Adi Diner’s father) I believe is our (Max’s children) 2^nd cousin. Daddy (Max Fargotstein) and Jacob were first cousins. I think. That would make Adi Diner, who Rachel Theran is friendly with already, and who lives in Australia, the third cousin of all of Esta and Max’s 10 grandchildren.

June 16, 2001

Dear Laura, John, Zachary and Ariel,

I was very pleased receiving your letter. I remember when I was in Memphis in 1973, I met (or was it earlier) Max, I believe the youngest boy in the family and one of the girls.

I met also Becky there – once only. Otherwise I know Becky from a photo hanging in our home in Warsaw. The boys of Sally and Shepsle as we used to call him, and the only daughter – Becky. I remember when I was there, Becky’s partner drove me to the cemetery where Sally and Shepsle were lying. Yes, it was important to me.

They came to Warsaw several times. Shepsle’s father was also living in Warsaw though I never met him. I’ve never met Mark, I have never even heard that he had a sister. Yes, that is when families are far away from each other.

Yes, I probably know something about Sally and Sam, who we used to call Shepsle.

It is really an interesting story, but a long one. I might have to write here just a bit and continue in further letters. Sally’s brother Moshe, was my father, he died in Melbourne (?) in 1963./born 1885), they were born in a small shtel called Zavikhost on the river Vistula, in East Poland. At the time, at the beginning of the 20 century, the Haskala in He Cren reached the broad circles of Jewish communities in Poland, Russia and other states. Sally and Moshe moved at an early age to Warsaw, to find work and be with broad social movements that began at the end of the 19^th century.

My father finished yeshiva in Sandomer, the region’s main city to which Zavikhost belonged. He was ordinated as a Rabbi. And soon as they came to Warsaw they joined the Jewish Bund Party. Bund still exists now in the USA and other part of the world.

Then came 1905 and the Russian Revolution. The Russian Bolsheviks were joined in the revolution by many socialist parties, like the Bund, the Polish Socialist Party and others.

How it was with Sally and Moshe - I really know little. What I do know is that all three of them, i.e., Sally Fargotstein, Moshe Diner and Shepsle had to flee to London as political migrants. I do not know much details of that period. What I know is that Sally and Shepard went from London to the U.S.A. My father returned to Warsaw. He did not have a family, but I believe he must already have met my mother Michafine (?) and returned to her.

From that point on, I know very little. I’ve never met my grandparents. I only remember when I came one day from school, still a child, I saw father with wet eyes. He was just told about his and Sally’s father’s death.

Of Sally’s further political interests I do know very little but from letters and certain remarks, while in Warsaw, I understood that she was sympathetic to the Soviet Union.

My father joined the Warsaw the Bund and became active in the Jewish Union movement. 1921 of Parliamentary election he was the second candidate (?) the (?) of the Bund. The first was, you might have heard him and his death in the Soviet Union – Henryk Ehrlikh.

All 100 candidates from the Bund were arrested and released from jail after the election. Not unexpectedly, none of the candidates were elected.

I think I’ll finish here. If you are still interested about other family member’s political activities, I will gladly continue the “big story”. In meantime, I wish your daughter Ariel and the whole family a happy Bat Mitzvah and all the best in the future! I will be glad if you will keep in touch. It is really the first time that anybody of the family has asked these types of questions.

I’m 87 and not that strong at all, to be able to travel to Ariel’s Bat Mitzvah. I wish her and the family – the very best!

Please keep in touch.

Jacob Diner

My family here sends regards.

Laura’s notes to herself:

The shetl town is spelled Zawichost and still exists in southeastern Poland. It is in Sandomierz County.

The Haskala movement was an intellectual movement that started in Germany with Moses Mendellssohn as a Jewish parallel to the European Enlightenment and which then swept to Eastern Europe. Jacob Diner’s grandparents, (whom I’m speculating were born around the 1860’s), whom he never met (I guess because he lived in Australia) were our great grandparents. I’m guessing they died by Hitler.

The Fort - A children's story

“Dad, I want a tree house” said 5 year old David. David had spent the night at a friends house the other night, and the friend had a tree in the backyard that had some wooden stairs and a platform with rails. David was very impressed.

“But David, we don’t have any trees in our yard big enough to build a tree house” his father said in a sad tone. “Okay”, said David in an uncharacteristically upbeat tone. I’ll figure something out.

When Saturday morning rolled around, David told his dad he was going out into the cove to explore the vacant lot that was known as “the woods”. It was a simple pie-shaped undeveloped residential lot with trees and overgrown bushes and weeds. In the middle was a bunch of wooden boxes and a long log that had been strategically placed to serve as the neighborhood meeting place for the “8 or 9 kids in the cove”.

An hour later, David’s father went outside to get the newspaper, and he could hear a whimpering cry “Dad, help! I can’t get down!”. David’s Dad looked up above the vacant lot and saw David at the very top of a 40 foot tree, holding on for dear life! David’s dad called the fire department who rushed a bucket truck to rescue David. David explained that he wanted to see if he could turn the tree into a tree house. His dad knew he had to get a tree house before David got an even crazier idea into his head.

David and his Dad went to the hardware store and bought a bunch of lumber and proceeded to build a free-standing 2 story tree house with a roof, a ladder to go up, and a slide to go down. Since it wasn’t in a tree, they decided to call it a "fort". It took a full weekend to build the “fort” and David was as happy as he could be with the finished product. It was sturdy and strong.

David’s one year old brother, Sam, was too young to climb up into the fort, but every once and a while, the Dad would hand Sam up to David and they would play in the fort – sometimes for hours at a time. Sam could slide down the slide without any problem. A few years later, Molly was born and they got a dog named Maggie.

As David and Sam grew older they would still play in the fort, and many of the neighborhood kids would hang out in the backyard fort with them, doing whatever kids do at that age. The dog – Maggie, learned to take a running start to run up the slick stainless steel slide to get to the kids on the second story of the fort.

Eventually, Molly was handed up to Sam and David and the three of them would play all day long in and around the fort. The trees in the backyard had grown considerably by this time and the fort was camouflaged by the trees. When the kids were in the fort, it seemed to be closed off from the rest of the world.

Their father got remarried and they sold the house, but the new house they moved into had a big backyard and the woman the dad married had a 6 year old son named Josh. The father decided to take the fort apart, make any needed repairs and reassemble it at the new house. The slide - after 10 years - had rotted, so the father improvised by installing a cooper pole for the kids to slide down. Josh loved his new “fort” and played in it with his friends all the time. Josh had pictures of his favorite Basketball team in the fort and a box full of “personal treasures’ that only a 6 year old boy could find of value.

By this time, David and Sam had already gone off to college and Molly was into “girl stuff”. The father was happy that the “fort that love built” had found a new life with Josh. As time went on, Molly went off to college and Josh grew up and started to drive. The fort sat in the back yard with no one to play with it. Summer surrendered to winter over an over again, and one day the father noticed that the fort had become dangerously rotted and it was no longer safe. The father decided he had to take it down.

The father built the fort when he was 32. Now he was 57. He waited until a beautiful fall weekend to dismantle the fort, and started taking it apart gently, one board at a time. It was very emotional for him, almost like putting an old family pet to sleep. The compassion and respect the father had for the fort was, of course, because of all the memories he had of his kids playing there.

As he dismantled the fort, he noticed that a lot of the wood was still salvageable, and he decided that he didn’t want to let go of the memories of the fort, so he decided to let the fort live by re-using the wood. He built his wife a beautiful garden surrounded by the heavy wood posts that supported the fort, and he no longer felt so sad about taking the fort down.

Just as the kids had grown and changed, just as the father had grown and changed – the fort had grown and changed.

9/11 Ten Years Later: Are we safer?

The fateful day of 9-11 started with a small newsflash coming across my computer at my office “plane hits World Trade Center”. The assumption at the time was that it was a small single engine plane, and that there was some plausible explanation…pilot heart attack, mechanical malfunction, or pilot error. I called a client on the phone to discuss some business, and as our conversation progressed I could sense his attention was elsewhere. He told me to turn on my office TV.

By this time, it was evident that it was a large passenger jet and the newscasters were correctly assuming that large commercial passenger jets don’t just hit buildings, especially iconic buildings in the middle of Manhattan on a clear day. The next couple of hours were without a doubt the first and only time I have ever felt that America – and my way of life - was under attack. It became personal for me at that moment. Are my kids and wife OK? What should I do? After all, another plane hit the WTC building #2, the two buildings collapse, the Pentagon gets hit, the White House evacuates, the plane goes down in Pennsylvania – and thousands of planes are in the air and all potentially flying missiles. I made a judgment call and stayed at my office and manned the phones as my anxious clients called in one after the other wanting to know what to do with their investments (I’m a financial consultant). Eventually, the assault ended, but there was a stark realization that the thin veneer of stability and civilization in America had been shattered. Now we had to pick up the pieces and make sure this never happened again.

How has America changed since 9-11? Of course. There is a threat awareness that exists with our law enforcement and the American public. Yes, our airline system is safer. Yes, we are aware of the threat of Muslim extremism as a primary threat. But if I was to sum it up, our government has utterly failed to get ahead of the curve when it comes to protecting America’s national security, or even defining what the national security threats are to America. Our border between Mexico is wide open to Mexican gangs, smugglers and extremists who wish America harm. That is a national security issue. Our manufacturing base has eroded to the point of almost non-existence, and as a result our balance of trade with the rest of the world is upside down. That is a national security issue. Our dependence on foreign countries as our creditors has compromised our foreign policy. That is a national security issue. Our dependence on Arab oil, our refusal to drill in Alaska, and the lack of a coherent alternative energy policy has financed Muslim extremism and hardened the intractable positions of many Arab countries. That is a national security issue. Lastly, the inability of our government to function within a budget and actually accomplish meaningful legislation that puts America’s interests ahead of partisan politics has eroded our confidence – and the confidence of the world in our ability to correct the course America has charted for itself. The fact that America is no longer perceived as the traditional “safe haven”, and has abandoned traditional allies without a clear foreign policy objective is a national security issue.

Maybe we need to be more vigilant about the greatest threat to America. The people we elect.

The Real Tradegy is the UN

The CA 07/27/11 article (A7) entitled “Officials: 800K African children could die”, is particularly tragic in the fact that such a large scale human disaster may have been easily avoided had the UN been less obsessed with the political agenda of the majority “non-aligned movement” (NAM) that controls the General Assembly. For those who don’t follow the antics of the UN, the NAM consists of 118 countries controlled by the 22 member Arab League. The NAM membership is diverse, including most of Africa, the Mideast - and most small countries without a political alignment with the USA, Europe, China or Russia. Originally the NAM was formed to protect the territorial colonialism of it’s small member/states – a legitimate concern when it was formed in 1961, and still a legitimate concern today.

However, it wasn’t long before the NAM became controlled by the influential members of the 22 member Arab league, and specifically the dictates and agenda of the 12 countries that make up the wealthy oil cartel . This “automatic majority” in the U.N.’s General Assembly gave the NAM total control over the agenda of this once important and effective body. Even though the Wikipedia definition of the NAM describes it as having concerns for human rights and other admirable traits, many of it’s members are dictators, human rights abusers, and banana republic’s with little regard for human life, much less human rights. Of the thousands of resolutions passed by the NAM since 1961, 96% obsess against Israel and for the Palestinian movement. In other words, the U.N. agenda has been hijacked by the anti-Israel Arab League at the expense of the legitimate needs of many around the world – including the 800,000 dying children in Africa.

More tragic than the above mentioned abuse of “voting blocs” within the UN General Assembly is the hypocrisy of the NAM movement itself: The NAM has been colonialized by the Arab League at the expense of the tragedies unfolding in their own backyards. Even the” global political left” (the socialists, the anarchists etc. -and I include President Obama in this category) have bought into the anti-Israel Arab League agenda while ignoring the human tragedies that could have been avoided – had the UN had its priorities straight. Those on the left, who claim the moral high ground and loudly champion “human rights”, have given political support to this grossly anti-Israel movement at the expense of more pressing global issues - and this hypocrisy only serves to de-legitimize their credibility and the credibility of the UN itself.

Shep Fargotstein's speech at Margaret"s 50th b-day party at Jims Place 06/21/2011

I want to thank everyone for coming today to celebrate Margaret’s 50^th b-day. Margaret is a lucky woman to have so many good friends.

I’m going to be as brief as I can be – but as many of you may suspect, I find this opportunity to address all of Margaret’s friends’ simply irresistible…….

Of course, I am going to get around to professing my undying love for Margaret …….as any man with half a brain would do…. if he were in front of so many of her friends.

But I think it is important to roll back the clock 37 years to 1974 when Margaret and I first met. Margaret was 13 years old, I was 20, and she was dating my little brother Bill. Margaret was dropped off at my parent’s house at 6pm to get a ride with Bill to go to his Bar Mitzvah party. Margaret rang the doorbell. I jumped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist, and answered the door dripping wet.

Keep in mind I don’t remember ANY of this story, but later Margaret told me I looked like a Jewish Fabio.(Haaa) Margaret was 13 years old, undeveloped, and absolutely of no interest to me at the time. BUT, this obviously left a lasting impression on her. I guess it was the first time she has been flashed.

Margaret was the only adolescent that I ever flashed in my life. Had I known flashing little girls was so effective, I might have ended up in jail. (Haaa)

You have to give Margaret credit, she is tenacious, and she gets what she wants..even if it takes decades (haaa)

Fast forward 25 years later to 1999. I have been divorced for 13 years. Margaret was newly divorced. Leslie (Bill’s wife), my sister-in-law, unbeknownst to me was playing matchmaker and invited Margaret and I separately to their house for Sukkus.

I remember that evening as if it were yesterday. As Leslie and Bill introduced us, Margaret walked across the room, we shook hands, and she gave me that Margaret smile.

I remember saying to myself “She’s a good looking Jewish woman – bad hair and too thin, but she has lots of POTENTIAL.”

Margaret……I am pleased to announce that you now have great hair, you’re not too thin (Haaaa), and even though you get better and better every year like a fine wine, you still haven’t reached your potential. (laugh?)

I now have to confess to you the real reason why I was attracted to you….it was your beautiful smile.(Ahhhh)

Margaret, I was going to read the 2 page letter that my father wrote in 1970 to one of my sister’s question “What is Love?”. But it was too wordy, and it wouldn’t have been “MY WORDS”.

It hasn’t been easy blending our families, but looking back, there is nothing in my life - that was worthwhile - that wasn’t difficult on some level. Marrying you was the best decision I ever made in my entire life.

You are a great friend.

You make me laugh. (I love your perverted sense of humor)

You are a great cook.

You’re a sexy, beautiful woman

And, of course, I love you.