Google Sidewiki entry by Russell

A very effective and convincing presentation, but here’s a few other perspectives on the issues:

Is it possible that the best way for Israel to gain secure and defensible borders is through making peace with all its neighbours, including the Palestinians?

I would love to see an Israel that encompasses the entire Eretz Israel west of the Jordan, but what about the several millions of non-Jewish inhabitants of these territories? Do we expel them (or worse)? Give them Israeli citizenship, and watch Israel disappear as a Jewish state? Keep them under occupation, and watch Israel become a true Apartheid state?

Immediately after the Six-Day War, it was clearly understood by all that changes to Israel’s borders would need to be made, for sound strategic reasons. In the 45 years that have elapsed since then however, the picture has been completely muddied and obscured by all the pseudo-Halachic BS around the Land of Israel and the public relations disaster that is “The Settlements”. We wanted it all, we failed to explain clearly and categorically what our red lines were, and as a result we will end up with nothing. The so-called Settlement Blocs are useless to Israel strategically, and will now only be gained by means of “land swaps”, something that was never contemplated back then.

A strong IDF – without the morally debilitating occupation – and peace with all her neighbours are Israel’s only hope for survival as a flourishing Jewish and democratic state. The outlines of Israel’s alternative are already clear to those with vision. A grim garrison state, ruled by bearded, black-garbed madmen who refuse to work or bear arms, until it eventually falls to the sword of Islam.

Time is not on our side, and Israel today is led by a pompous windbag who has just rejected the notion of a two-state solution within Israel’s existing borders, the very thing that we begged for after 1948 and 1967. Another opportunity is slipping away…

in reference to: YouTube - Israel's Critical Security Needs for a Viable Peace (view on Google Sidewiki)

The mind boggles! From a recent SAJBD update:

“Cape: SAUJS Cape Town hosted a very successful Shabbat dinner at which ANC Youth League President Julius Malema spoke. Mr Jacobson and Mr King attended on behalf of the Cape Council.“

What value could this dangerous, racist buffoon add to a Shabbat dinner? Have our young leaders totally lost the plot?

SAJBD – SA Jewish Board of Deputies

SAUJS – SA Union of Jewish Students http://amplify.com/u/bzmf6

Those signs that advertise “Tree felling and refuse removal” (usually nailed to the trunk of a beautiful, mature tree) really offend me. As if trees were just another form of refuse, something to be cleared out the way, instead of what they actually are: the life forms that quite literally hold the surface of our planet together, while putting oxygen in our lungs! http://amplify.com/u/byuwu

Those of the Orthodox persuasion and lacking a sense of humour may not find this as amusing as the rest of us:

Which tractate of the Talmud is the most popular with the Orthodox? Tractate 64 (alternatively, Tractate 48) - Bubbe Meises. http://amplify.com/u/by171

Jewish tribal loyalty and the Jewish conscience

I find myself agreeing with just about everything that Donniel Hartman writes. Support for Israel has somehow become a divisive issue for Jews. On the one hand, Jewish tribal loyalty seems to demand almost unquestioning support for Israel. On the other hand, though, the Jewish conscience and our experience with oppression is telling us that all is not well, and that Jewish governments can and do make some morally questionable choices (like the settlements in the West Bank). Those who question these decisions made by flawed mortals should not be seen as outside the pale. Loyalty must be balanced with conscience and reason.

in reference to: Talking About Israel: Goldstone, J-Street, AIPAC and the Space in Between (view on Google Sidewiki)

With hours to go until the end of the 31st, the nice folks at Microsoft have shut down Live Mesh Beta (how typical of Microsoft, to shut down an excellent product and replace it with a mediocre one). Couldn't they have even had the decency to wait until 0h00 across ALL time zones before flipping the switch? On top of it all, the graphics card on my desktop has failed, so I can't even check to see whether I have local copies of the files or not. I know it's been said many times before, but you suck, Microsoft, you really do suck! http://amplify.com/u/bxcgp

Microsoft Office Live Add-In

Administrators/Users should probably be advised to uninstall the Microsoft Office Live Add-In to prevent confusion and conflicts with the MS cloud “solution”.

in reference to: Compatibility with other Microsoft® Office add-ins : Google Cloud Connect - Google Docs Help (view on Google Sidewiki)

The timing couldn’t be better!

Thank goodness Google has come to the rescue with this general release of Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office, just weeks before the clowns in Redmond pull the plug on the much-loved and incredibly useful Live Mesh beta, while ensuring that Windows Live Mesh does not and will not support Windows XP. Way to go, Google. You too Redmond. Both doing what you do best…

in reference to: Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office (view on Google Sidewiki)

One of the ironies of the New SA…Isn’t it ironic that, just when the White population of South Africa has largely abandoned (indeed, reversed) the racism of the Apartheid era, an increasing number of Blacks appear to be discovering and revelling in it. At times, the hatred for Whites, Coloureds and Indians (not to mention Blacks from outside SA) is almost palpable. Anything from casual, offhand slurs to the chanting of “one settler, one bullet” or “kill the Boer” has become the order of the day. http://amplify.com/u/bskyw

An old friend – I’m talking about the 70s and 80s – now living in the UK connected with me on Facebook a while back. We no longer share the same interests, but a friend is a friend, and I enjoyed reading his status updates. A little while back I noticed that my friend count had dropped by 1. (Yes, I do notice; with a few exceptions, everyone I connect with on Facebook is (or was) a family member or friend IRL (In Real Life).) I didn’t manage to work it out at the time, but the penny just dropped today. Yes, indeed, said friend has un-friended me somewhere along the line. All I can say is, WTF!? http://amplify.com/u/bs5m3

Line item on a statement from an ophthalmologist. Bear in mind this is supposed to be a description of the medical service provided:“Basic capital equipment used in own room”I recall that a decade or two ago, motoring journalists in SA fought the creeping trend of service stations to charge for “consumables” (basically, rags) when carrying out a service on a vehicle. I don’t suppose we have any medical journalists prepared to make a stand on an issue like this?Who says it’s not just all about the money? http://amplify.com/u/br6ch

Google Sidewiki entry by Russell

This article really needs to be updated to take into account Custom and Predefined Filters, in terms of which many of the instructions are now obsolete or incorrect.

in reference to: How do I exclude my internal traffic from reports? - Analytics Help (view on Google Sidewiki)

Google Sidewiki entry by Russell

Don't bother downloading the manual from this particular site, unless you're totally comfortable with Spanish!

in reference to: User manual SAMSUNG SF-365TP Printer - User guide SAMSUNG SF-365TP - Portuguese - Diplodocs (view on Google Sidewiki)

Is what we’re seeing in the Maghreb and elsewhere the start of a democratic revolution? Or will it quickly become an Islamic fundamentalist counter-revolution, as happened in Iran in the late 70s? http://amplify.com/u/anqxz

My new Samsung CLX-3185FW multifunction printer needs a “catch a ****ing wake-up” button! I wish I’d bought an HP… http://amplify.com/u/anpe4

When did Standard Bank’s Internet Banking become so bloody useless? Just tried to log on and got the error message “Technical Error: Please try again later”. Fair enough. A split second later, however, I got the usual SMS message saying “Standard Bank Internet Banking – you logged on, on [date] at [time]. Go figure… http://amplify.com/u/anm84

Google exec: 60% of businesses could dump Windows for Chrome OS | Tech Sanity Check | TechRepublic.com

URL:  http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=6943&tag=nl....

This is brave talk! Microsoft are doing some amazing things in the cloud at this stage. So this is going to be a long, cold, and tough war!

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/gov3

Nothing really has intrinsic value, not even gold, silver or diamonds. They have value because people desired them (initially for their beauty and /or utility). Now they have value because they have value. How is this critical mass of sentiment in favour of hard assets different to that for Dollar, Euro or Pound notes, or even just numbers in a banking system?They have value because a critical mass of people decided they have value. http://amplify.com/u/fmft