22 Jul 2010
by in Uncategorized Tags: birth right, decades, gazans, israelis and palestinians, palestinians and israelis
Enough is Enough our Patience is Running out
I look at the decades-long suffering of Palestinians and Gazans and I cannot help it but sympathize with them. I look at the centuries-long suffering and prosecution of Jews and I also cannot help it but sympathize with them as well. I think the whole world one way or another sympathizes with both sides. each side has a touching story to tell and a number of seemingly good claims, be it religious, Biblical, Quranic, legal, civil, birth-right or otherwise.
But this sympathy, our sympathy, did not seem to have helped either party.
Palestinians and Israelis are somehow like cousins. many Israelis and Palestinians look alike, cook alike and they even sound alike! but they have been fighting for decades and they seem to be determined to go on. I am not suggesting that they enjoy it, but it just seems that they will still go on fighting like that for a while.
Some friends ask me: “What is it to you? Why do you write or even bother to think about this? it is ultimately the Israelis and Palestinians who suffer and get to lose the most. So, it is up to them to find a solution.” In fact, they sadly point out, that the more they, Israelis and Palestinians suffer, the stronger their urge would be to find a settlement.
The trouble is, the bloody scenes are very disturbing. They haunt you. I mean, if the World will close an eye on murdering Gazan children or blowing up Israeli civilians, where does it stop? If the world had decided to close an eye on gassing Jews on the hands of the Nazi regime, the genocide against the people of Kosovo or Darfur where would we be today? moreover, we are literally getting injured in the crossfire. When your neighbor’s home is on fire, you are bound to take an interest, lest the fire may spread to your own home and burn your own children too. And this is not just because we, in Egypt, are their next-door neighbors. Neighborhoods much farther away around the world in this global village, where borders and distances are ever diminishing, are also getting injured in the crossfire. the conflict has spilled over to many lands. it is fueling hatred and maniplulating extremist religious sentiments North, East, West and South.
In any conflict, a solution or a PATH, a strategy towards a solution, be it negotiation, arbitration, resorting to the Internal Court of Justice or the UN, should ideally come from the parties in concern: in this case Israelis and Palestinians. but this does not seem to be the case here. it simply does not work. Even wars, for many decades, did not work.
Several countries in the region, including Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Israel waged or got entangled in one war after another but wars never brought about a settlement to the original problem, the Israeli-Palestinian problem. So, they, or some of them, abandoned wars or pretended to be doing so and chose the path of peace, or appeared as if they had made that choice. Yet not a dawn of a solution even seemed remotely apparent at the horizon. we waited and waited, patiently hosting one round of negotiations and mediations after another, yet, the situation seems to only deteriorate.
Israel claims that Hamas is a terrorist organization which fires missiles indiscriminately at Israeli civilian population. That Arafat was a no-good greedy negotiator who showed no gratitude to generous Israeli offers. Palestinians claim that Israelis are using their military advantage to impose an unjust solution. Hamas says that it is a resistance movement which started with kids throwing stones facing armed soldiers who crushed the children’s bones. Hamas further reminds us that violence against civilians was used by the founding fathers of Israel including prominent members of successive Israeli cabinets, such as former Premiere Menachem Begin, also a former Irgun’s member who was involved in the mass-murder of civilians in incidents such as the one which occurred in Deir Yasin in 1948 as well as the bombing of King David Hotel, Jerusalem, which was filled with civilians including women and children at the time, in 1946. Irgun made several warnings to evacuate the Hotel prior to bombing and they were ignored. If these were the heroes and founders of Israel, Hamas is following their seemingly successful example. after all, Israel managed to erect a state in 1948 through the use of such tactics and others.
I am personally getting fatigued by this whole situation. I no longer believe that negotiations can bring about a just peace. Maybe it is because of the power-parity, maybe because each side is clinging to its story and holy claims or whatever. each party is complaining that the other party is the one responsible for the failure of negotiations.
OK, how about we adopt a new direction, settlement through Binding Arbitration, say with the International Court of Justice. Arbitration seemed to have worked well for the Taba dispute between Egypt and Israel. Why shouldn’t it work for Israelis and Palestinians?
I think that the World Patience will one day soon come to an end. it will reach its limit. our patience will just run out. And if the conflicting parties cannot reach an amicable solution, the WORLD must step in, find and impose a solution on their behalf, through the UN or through ICJ or whatever special court, where both parties are invited to make their claims and substantiate their case and are required to abide by the ruling. the International Community must have enough balls to enforce such a verdict/solution perhaps if necessary through economic sanctions, even blockade or by whatever means deemed fit.
We should tell them clearly and we should tell them now:
Find a solution or a solution will be imposed upon you by the International Community. Patience, sympathy and compassion are all great virtues. but everything has a limit.
Find a Solution Or One Will Be Imposed Upon You
17 Jul 2010
by in Uncategorized Tags: decades, energy medicine, healing crystals, treatment session
The gemstone energy medicine movement resurfaced decades ago with interest in crystals for healing and crystal clusters for uplifting the vibrations of rooms. If healing stones are properly cared for, their capabilities are extensive. when applied therapeutically, crystals help release unwanted energies from the patient’s body and aura. in time, these unwanted energies collect on the crystals’ surface as well as in the energy field that surrounds them. much like the clutter on a desk can get in the way of your ability to work, the unwanted energies on a crystal get in the way of its healing powers, and the stones must be cleansed.
If you use crystal clusters in your home or office to help keep the room’s atmosphere clear and uplifted, cleanse the crystals every time you dust, or about once every week or two. This will allow them to work at their best. Healing crystals should be cleansed after every treatment session in which you use them. If you do not cleanse your crystals as suggested, three consequences may occur. first, negative energies that the healing crystals pick up could be transmitted to the next person who receives the treatment. Second, you as the practitioner may unconsciously pick up these energies. Finally, the crystal may continue to absorb the unwanted energies, which will further cloud the crystal, making it less effective as a healing tool.
The good news is that crystals respond particularly well to cleansing. start by cleansing your healing crystals with water. This will remove the dust and dirt that accumulates on the crystals’ surface. use running water from your sink only if your tap water is non-chlorinated. you will also need an old toothbrush and some mild soap or detergent. Hold your crystals under the running water, put some detergent on the toothbrush, and brush the crystal surfaces.
While the soap removes the physical dirt and dust from the crystals, the motion of the running water helps to remove unwanted energies your healing crystals may have picked up during therapeutic use, or while helping to keep the energy in a room uplifted and clear. If your tap water is treated, pour some purified water into a large measuring cup or pitcher. Cleanse the crystals with the soapy toothbrush as before, but rather than using your faucet, rinse them by pouring the purified water over them.
Once the crystals are physically cleansed, you can also clear their energy field using a gem formula energy clearing cleansing spray. This will eliminate unwanted energies that the energy field may have picked up.
While using soap and running water over your crystals is effective for removing unwanted energies, this method is not effective in clearing electromagnetic radiation (EMR) that the crystals may have picked up from a patient’s body and aura during a therapy session. Crystals can also absorb EMR from environments with high electromagnetic fields. A gem formula EMR protection spray was designed to handle this situation. Spray your crystals with this formula to rid them of electromagnetic radiation.
Next, spray your crystals with a gem formula diamond healing rejuvenating spray. This will clear accumulated energy from the crystals’ blueprints to bring forward information about their true purpose. you as the practitioner can intuitively decide the distance from the crystals to hold the spray, and also at what angle. The more carefully you customize the spray cleanse, the more effective it will be.
How to Cleanse Crystals
12 Jul 2010
by in Uncategorized Tags: actuaries, decades, hewitt
It looks like the initial "fine" for not covering employees is going to be a fraction of the actual cost i.e. $2,000 fine vs. actual $10,000 per year to cover employees is an $8,000 per employee per year savings. who wouldn't pass up that short term savings? But that's not the question.
Firms like Mercer, Hewitt, Towers & Watson, Aon, Willis employee 100s of thousands of employees who have been keeping heatlhcare providers "honest" for decades. What's going to happen now that no one will be there to keep healthcare providers in "check" and this huge segment of the employee population no longer has clients because they've all moved to the public exchange? is there going to be a future for these individuals?
Why isn't the media covering the potential loss of employment here that extends to these highly skilled actuaries and financial experts?
Nothing, because
1. The public exchange is primarily being created for companies that do not currently offer any health insurance and for the uninsured. Although there may be some rare cases of participation by companies that currently provide coverage, most clients of the firms that you mention will remain/stay in the private insurance market, continuing to use those firms.
2. Additionally, some of those firms will also provide compliance solutions related to the requirements of the new law, so they will have more business and will need more employees, not fewer.
3. Obamacare was rejected by Congress. The law that was passed was written by Congress, not Obama.
Also, $10,000 is a gross exaggeration of the actual cost to cover employees. Good coverage can be provided for $400-500 per employee and crappy, but legally sufficient, coverage for even less.
As is already the case now, without the "fine", many companies will provide coverage, regardless of cost, because it helps with employee recruitment. Currently, an employer who does not provide any coverage saves 100% of the cost of coverage, and yet many do pass up that savings. With the fine, the savings will be less, so as many or more firms will pass up the savings, for the same reasons as they do now.
What is going to happen to the health and welfare brokerage firms, and consulting firms under Obamacare?
08 Jul 2010
by in Uncategorized Tags: coworkers, decades, job seekers, new job, regard, time energy
Especially in today’s economic environment, employers are becoming increasingly “choosy” with regard whom they hire… and rightfully so. with the unemployment rate reaching highs that we have not seen in decades, more and more job seekers have resorted to “fabricated enthusiasm” in hopes of impressing recruiters. these candidates are willing to settle for a job they are less than passionate about, while waiting for a career opportunity for which they are truly qualified to come around. this makes for a not-so-happy employee, and one with the potential to infect his or her coworkers. this becomes costly for the employer who has needlessly wasted time, energy, and money on an employee who is unlikely to remain long enough to justify the investment.
As a recruitment advertising executive with more than 25 years experience, let me share an important lesson that I learned though working with some of the most successful staffing professionals in the industry. it is simply this: The best candidates for any position are ones who are already employed in a similar or parallel position, and who are not unhappy with their situation. just because they are not actively seeking a new job, however, does not mean they are not open to opportunity when it knocks. The question is, how do you reach the passive job seeker.
While career websites are a vital tool for recruiters, I have to believe that someone who takes the time to go on such a website is actively looking for a job. does that make such people bad candidates? Of course not, but it does suggest that career websites are unlikely to provide more than a very limited number of the passive seekers described above.
Daily Newspapers, on the other hand, can be very successful tools for reaching the passive seeker – especially those who commute. And guess what? these people are commuting because they are going to work… because they are employed! Advertisements in national and regional dailies have performed very well at bringing these passive job seekers to our clients.
Using metropolitan New York City as an example, many of our clients advertise in such prominent dallies as the NY Times, Post, Daily News, and Newsday on a steady basis, especially those looking for top-notch salespeople and healthcare workers. Another excellent vehicle for reaching the passive seeker is the daily newspaper, amNewYork. Distributed at no cost at commuter venues throughout New York City and its suburbs, amNewYork enjoys a huge commuter circulation.
What about younger candidates who appear to be losing interest in the print media? some magazines already have interactive editions compatible with such platforms as smartphones and the new iPad. these turn print advertisements into live videos that are certain to attract the younger demographics. And as augmented reality applications help transform the print media into entry portals for web-based interactivity, they are bound to recapture a substantial share of the younger audience. They will undoubtedly find ways to dazzle those of us in the older demos, retaining our interest as well.
So, if your entire recruitment strategy is based on career websites alone, you may be missing out on a pool of ideal candidates. only by integrating your online efforts with the print, radio, and television are you likely to find the golden goose, and not just one of an army of unemployed people eager to double park for a while on your dollar!
The Passive Job Seeker is Golden
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