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January 6, 2012

Sweden recognizes copying and file-sharing as religion

Here is a bizarre story discussing the intersection between my religion reporting and intellectual property interests: Sweden has recognized copying and file sharing as religion.

The ” title=”Temple 420 was just a gimmick” target=”_blank”>Temple 420 was just a gimmick to smoke pot under the cover of religious worship. At least Craig X. Rubin made an argument that cannabis came from God and groups have long recognized drug use as a vehicle for communicating with God.

Kopimism appears to have been created from whole cloth, which is actually surprising because you might expect its founder to have copied his church’s sacred documents.

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Home Exercises or Chiropractic Care Beat Medications for Neck Pain

Neck pain is a very common problem. Many of us have woken up with a painful neck and found that we couldn’t turn our head because of painful muscle spasm. Doctors use various treatments for neck pain. Pain medication, spinal manipulation by a chiropractor, and physical therapy for stretching exercises are all popular remedies, but there is very little scientific evidence to support any of them. I frequently used to prescribe anti-inflammatory pain medications as an initial treatment, but not anymore.

This issue of ” target=”_blank”>home exercises. They were asked to continue the exercises for the 12 weeks of treatment.

All patients were followed for a year after the start of the study to periodically measure their pain and range of motion.

Surprisingly, both the home exercise group and the chiropractic spinal manipulation group did much better than the medication group. And there was not a significant difference in outcomes between the home exercise group and the chiropractor group.

So the next time you get a crick in your neck, check out the ” target=”_blank”>For Neck Pain, Chiropractic and Exercise Are Better Than Drugs (NY Times, Well column)
” target=”_blank”>Is Spinal Manipulation an Effective Treatment for Neck Pain? (Annals of Internal Medicine, Summaries for Patients)
” target=”_blank”>Spinal Manipulation, Medication, or Home Exercise With Advice for Acute and Subacute Neck Pain (Annals of Internal Medicine article)
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Muslim Brotherhood offered assurances on treaty, State Dept. says

The Muslim Brotherhood assured the United States it would not break Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, according to the U.S. State Department.

A State Department spokesperson said Thursday that the Islamist political party had offered assurances it would not break Egypt’s 1979 accord with Israel, despite statements to the contrary by a party leader.

“We have had other assurances from the party with regard to their commitment not only to universal human rights, but to the international obligations that the government of Egypt has understaken,” Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.

The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s departure from power has raised concerns that political reform in the Arab world’s most populous country could lead to the emergence of a hostile regime that would depart from its historic peace accord with the Jewish state.

In an interview published Sunday, Rashad Bayoumi, the party’s deputy leader, said the group will not recognize Israel “under any circumstance.”

Asked about Bayoumi’s comment, Nuland said he was but one member of the Muslim Brotherhood and that the party would be judged by what it does.

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Cantor vows to raise Iran issues on Middle East trip

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the U.S. House of Representatives majority leader, said he will raise the dangers posed by Iran during a Middle East tour.

The delegation of nine lawmakers—eight Republicans and a Democrat—will head next week to France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

“I look forward to discussing a wide-range of issues, including the very concerning threat posed to the entire world by Iran’s continuing support for terrorism and its pursuit of nuclear capability,” Cantor said in a statement.

Among the trip participants are top congressional foreign policy decision-makers Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), the chairwoman of the foreign operations subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.

Ros-Lehtinen said she would push back against attempts by the Palestinians to achieve statehood recognition in the absence of talks with Israel.

“Responsible nations must stand by Israel, support its right to defend itself, and press the Palestinian leadership to meet its obligations so that a true and lasting peace may be achieved,” she said in a statement. “Support for unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, outside of negotiations with Israel, is deeply disturbing and threatens regional peace and stability.”

Other members traveling include: Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.).

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What is Chavaya Experiences

Yes, Hebrew speakers I know the title is redundant…aval kacha zeh

Chavaya is a Hebrew word that literally translated means experience. But at least in my experience it means more.

Ayzeh chavaya means that you experienced something that made a strong impression something that you cant wait to tell other people about, that at least for a little while can cause you to change the way you look at some things.

Over the last 3 years I have had the great opportunity to spend a few months a year in Israel. I am up to six out of the last twelve. I’ve also worked my Hebrew up pretty close to fluent which helps. When in Israel my main work is on US hours and I am off Sundays. That means I have plenty of time to look for chavayot.

What is a chavaya for me in Israel.. Having a few beers in the middle of the Negev at sunset with an Israeli student that grew up in the comfortable suburbs of Tel Aviv and has chosen to combine college with building up the quality of life in the “peripheria” periphery of Israel by doing community service might be one. And it’s even more likely to be one if he is joined by a twenty something American Jew who has decided to join him. And that’s just one example.

Mee she mayveen yaveen loosely translated maybe you get what I mean.

What I will be doing here is writing about places that I know and have had “chavayot” with. They range across many parts of Israeli society. Then I want to help you spend some time with these groups too. The whole idea is to broaden American Jews experience. Literally and figuratively to get them off the tour bus and out of the hotel room.

One thing I won’t do here is enter into discussions of “ha matsav” the overarching term for security and foreign policy issues. Not because they aren’t important –l’hefek just the opposite. They are so important that I don’t have anything particular new or insightful to say. And more importantly because my whole goal here is to help you have a broader exposure to life in Israel. Believe me, if you visit some of these places and speak to the people the subject of “ha matsav” will come up or you can bring it up.  And you will hear unfiltered opinions of the people living the situation and you can draw your own conclusions

I am also not fundraising although I think all these groups merit your support in all ways. The people I have met at these groups are hungry to have encounters with “rank and file” American Jew that just want people to learn about what they are doing. I have never ever been solicited for a contribution during my visits to these places. These people know that the more visitors that get exposed to what they are doing the more support they will get. And they also love the idea that American Jews are interested in more about Israel than “ha matsav”.

People that know me know that when it comes to Israel I am bottom up and all about making connections. My main goal is for you to contact me and for me to help you have these chavayot.  Soon there will be a facebook group and people can post from their chavayot. And in this wonderful world of social networking other people will contribute posts about other groups you…and I should experience.

Other things I will be doing here:

Heads up on interesting articles on social and cultural developments of Israel.

Profiles of Israeli artists include some music videos and tv and movie clips.

Suggestions for “non touristy” things to do while in Israel

During the time I am in Israel notes on interesting concerts, lectures and other events.

And who knows what else. It’s a blog we’ll see how it goes.

Each entry will be written by me perhaps with contributions from participants in the program. It’s a blog so hopefully people will kick in with their own suggestions.

In the interest of anonymity I won’t post my personal information here. But the minute we get to know each other by email we’ll meet virtually or in thereal world and get to know each other to set up chavayot.

Of course this isn’t intended just for Americans and I don’t have a specific age group in mind : college age and up works. So if you or your children are in Israel for a year or a semester or a short trip please feel welcome.

As a matter of fact olim chadashim and vatikim and native Israelis are welcome too. Plenty of them don’t know about these groups and don’t get out to meet them. We took a hard core Tel Avivit down to Ayalim village at Ashalim in the Negev. As we were getting into the car to drive back to Tel Aviv she said “what time will we get back to Israel … to which we responded “ we are in Israel “.

Zeh hoo zeh: no talking points, no monetary solicitations. Just helping people have chavayot baaretz.

What is Chavaya Experiences Read More »

What is The Wind Report?

The Wind Report serves as a repository of my writings and research covering a fifteen year framework. It is being made available in this format as a way to share my ideas pertaining to communal policy and social trends. The website is divided among a number of specialty areas that allows the reader to select particular subjects of interest.

I welcome your thoughtful feedback, as I continue to explore new areas of inquiry. Collectively, this material reflects this unique moment in time with its various social and economic uncertainties. The articles and documents that comprise this site seek to examine the implications of these transformational times on the state of political behavior, institutional leadership, organizational culture and management, and our global society. The Jewish community is seen here as a laboratory of study, just as it represents an important and sustaining voice in the contemporary world.

Thank you for taking the time to journey through these commentaries.

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President Obama at the Union of Reform Judaism: He embodies our values

There is a reason President Obama received numerous standing ovations during his address on Dec. 16 to the 6000 delegates to the General Assembly of the Union of Reform Judaism.  This is a President who embodies the values and aspirations of the Jewish community.  He ran for President on these values.  He fights for them, and his achievements embody them.

First among these is his strong and consistent support for Israel—for example, imposing the toughest sanctions against Iran and obtaining support for these sanctions from Russia and China, and his eloquent support of Israel at the United Nations—leading Israel’s Defense Minister Barak to praise President Obama not only as a friend but as a “leader”, as “a man who is capable and ready to undertake the fiercest of political risks to his survival, in order to make good on what he believes”.

Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak have effusively thanked President Obama for the unprecedented level of defense cooperation between Israel and the United States.  Prime Minister Netanyahu recently said that President Obama’s staunch support of Israel at the United Nations merited a “badge of honor”.  And Danny Ayalon, Israel’s former Ambassador to the US and current Deputy Defense Minister, has said, “We have not had a better friend than President Obama.”  The reason Israeli leaders can make such claims is simple – every time the world tried to isolate Israel, President Obama said before international community: I’m right here with you.

Some partisans have tried to drive a wedge between President Obama and the Jewish community.  But anyone evaluating this President’s record should perhaps weigh more heavily the views of these Israeli leaders than the assertions by those who averred from the outset that they were determined to undermine the Obama Presidency.

At the Union of Reform Judaism General Assembly, President Obama underscored a range of areas where his principles are precisely those most cherished by our community.  I was particularly moved by his statement that “When my Jewish friends tell me about their ancestors, I feel a connection.  I know what is like to think ‘Only in America is my story even possible.’”

This is a President deeply comfortable with who he is and what he believes, willing to engage in candid discussions about the values he holds and for which he fights, and to clearly state the connection between his own values and those of the Jewish community.  At the General Assembly, he said:  “American Jews have helped to make our union more perfect.  Your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents … fought bigotry because they experienced bigotry.  They fought for freedom of religion because they understood what it meant to be persecuted for your religious beliefs.  Our country is a better place because they shared the same values that bring you here today, the same values that led Justice Brandeis to fight for an America that protects the least of us.”

And not only has President Obama’s administration embodied these Jewish values, but this President frames his accomplishments and his remaining goals in the context of tikkun olam and other deeply Jewish concepts.  In his speech, he invoked the Biblical “Hineni” to remind the audience of the fights he has led and won:

*to provide “health care reform that we passed after a quarter of a century of trying, reform that will ensure that, in the United States of America, nobody goes bankrupt just because they got sick”;

*where now “insurance companies [are] not … able to charge you more just because you are a woman or deny you coverage if you have breast cancer”; and

*where now “2.5 million young people … have health insurance on their parents’ plan because of the Affordable Care Act”;

*to increase fuel efficiency standards for the first time in 30 years, as a tangible accomplishment—against bitter opponents—toward ending our addiction to oil;

*of appointing two new Justices to the US Supreme Court “who will defend our rights including our First Amendment rights surrounding religion”;

*and to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, so that, as the President put it:  “You don’t have to hide who you love to serve the country you love”.

Some partisans have engaged in some pretty wild distortions and misrepresentations of President Obama’s record, regarding Israel and other subjects.  But anyone evaluating this President’s record should perhaps weigh more heavily the views of these Israeli leaders than the assertions by those who averred from the outset that they were determined to undermine the Obama Presidency.  And his speech to the Reform General Assembly truly speaks to the nature of the man and his Presidency.  That is why the warm reception he received was so appropriate. The General Assembly members understood that President Obama is imbued with Jewish values, and his record demonstrates his allegiance to the highest priorities of the Jewish community.

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Israel concerned it may be under cyber attack

Israeli officials said on Friday they were concerned the country may be under cyber attack after a wave of credit card code thefts in the past week by a hacker who claims to be operating out of Saudi Arabia.

Credit card company officials said 14,000 numbers had been posted on line on Tuesday and another 11,000 on Thursday. However, they said some of the codes had expired and that the active cards were all being cancelled.

The hacker has identified himself as OxOmar and says he is part of a Saudi Arabian hacker team. In a post on Thursday he said he had leaked information about more than 400,000 Israelis and said the “Jewish lobby” was hiding the scale of the attack.

Israeli officials say the hacker has also released email addresses and passwords, but have yet to confirm where he is based.

“This incident should be treated as a cyber attack,” Justice Ministry official Yoram Hacohen told the Ma’ariv daily.

“When it comes to digital felonies committed outside the country, it is difficult to locate the perpetrator if he took the correct precautions,” Hacohen added.

The data theft was one of the worst that Israel has said it has faced, and while the financial damage was reportedly minimal, the breaches have heightened concerns about the potential use of stolen information by Israel’s enemies.

“These matters are worrisome,” Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz told Israel Radio, calling the incident “a sample of the great danger out in cyberspace.”

He added that Israel had “impressive capabilities” and was setting up an agency to deal with the issue, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged last year.

On the back of the credit card theft, a parliamentary committee has scheduled a session for the coming week to review Israel’s readiness to defend itself from cyber attacks.

“We must prepare to cope with cyber threats in anticipation of any attempts to use Internet terror to strike at Israel,” said lawmaker Ronit Tirosh, the committee chairwoman.

Some newspaper columnists speculated that hackers might be retaliating for recent attacks in Iran, including the mysterious Stuxnet computer virus that snarled its controversial nuclear computer systems.

“The peculiar incident we are facing could be a bad joke, a youthful prank, a hate-driven terror attack for beginners or the first stage in an Iranian cyber-terror attack,” commentator Ben Caspit wrote in Friday’s edition of Ma’ariv.

However, Hershkowitz dismissed such speculation, saying: “the imagination tends to soar.”

The hacker wrote in his Web post: “So, I’ve started thinking of sending all Israeli credit cards I own which reaches 1M data.”

“Enjoy it world! Purchase stuff for yourself online, buy anything you want,” he added.

Dov Kotler, CEO of Isracard, a unit of Bank Hapoalim , said 5,200 credit card numbers listed by the hacker on Thursday, belonged to his customers.

The thefts have dampened Internet sales in Israel, media reports said, though no figures were immediately available. Israeli reports have indicated that most of the information stolen had been gleaned from online commercial sites.

Editing by Crispian Balmer

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Interior Minister: Suicide bomb kills 26 in Syria

A suicide bomber killed 26 people and wounded 63 in Damascus on Friday, Syria’s interior minister said, vowing an “iron fist” response to the carnage in the heart of the Syrian capital after similar attacks two weeks ago.

The blast came two days before an Arab League committee was due to discuss an initial report by Arab observers who are checking Syria’s compliance with an Arab plan to halt President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on nearly 10 months of unrest.

The meeting may decide whether to continue the mission or to refer Syria to the United Nations Security Council, perhaps paving the way for some form of international action, a scenario that many Arab countries are keen to avoid.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said he was sending a message with Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, asking the Syrian government to work “with integrity” to halt the violence.

Interior Minister Ibrahim Shaar, quoted by state television, said 26 people had been killed in the blast in the Maidan district of Damascus, including 15 who could not be identified because their bodies had been shredded in the blast.

“We will strike back with an iron fist at anyone tempted to tamper with the security of the country or its citizens,” he said. He said that about 63 people had been wounded.

Some in the opposition said the government itself had staged the attack to try to show that it is fighting blind violence rather than a pro-democracy movement.

State television showed body parts, bloodstains and broken glass from the explosion. Several riot police shields were shown near a wrecked bus that was among several damaged vehicles.

On December 23 at least 44 people were killed by what Syrian authorities said were two suicide bombings that targeted security buildings in the Syrian capital, one day before the head of the Arab League observer mission arrived there.

GRISLY FOOTAGE

Syrian television footage of Friday’s blast showed yellow caution tape stretched around the wrecked bus and cars with smashed windows in a street. People collected body parts on blue plastic sheets amid pools of blood and scattered shoes.

Arab monitors in white baseball caps and orange vests inspected the area, taking notes and filming. A local police station was visible, apparently untouched by the explosion.

The TV showed crowds of angry locals gathered at the scene, chanting “God, Syria and Bashar only” and “God protect the army” and “With blood and soul we sacrifice for you Bashar.”

The monitors confirmed they had visited the scene. “We are only here to observe and document,” one of them told Reuters by telephone.

Syria bars most independent journalists from the country, making first-hand reporting impossible.

However, a BBC Arabic service reporter was able to accompany three Arab monitors on a five-hour visit to the town of Irbine, on the outskirts of Damascus, the BBC reported.

It was the first time foreign media were known to have been able to cover the activities of the monitors directly, although media access was a condition stipulated by the Arab League.

The BBC said it had been able to film, unhindered by the security forces, an anti-Assad protest in Irbine.

Protesters and residents told the observers, all Algerian diplomats, of harsh treatment at the hands of the security forces. The observers then witnessed a demonstration in which the crowd demanded Assad’s execution, the BBC said.

The League’s special committee on Syria is due to meet in Cairo on Sunday to debate the initial findings of the observer mission, which has been criticized by Syrian activists who question its ability to assess violence on the ground.

Arab states are wary of instability in Syria, which the Arab League has suspended for failing to honor its first peace plan. Syria has been a major regional player, allied with Iran and the Lebanese Shi’ite Hezbollah group.

Hezbollah, a political and militant group that fought a war with Israel in 2006, blamed the United States for the blast.

“This is a second step in the plan by evil American forces and those under its control in our region to punish Syria for its firm support of resistance forces against the Zionist enemy (Israel) and the West,” it said on its website.

The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed in the popular uprising against Assad. The government says “terrorists” have killed 2,000 members of the security forces during the revolt.

FATE OF ARAB MISSION

The monitors began work on the streets on December 26 to try to verify whether the government was keeping its promise to pull troops and tanks out of cities and free thousands of detainees.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), an armed opposition force composed mainly of army deserters, condemned the Maidan attack and blamed the Syrian authorities. “This is planned and systematic state terrorism by the security forces of President Bashar al-Assad,” FSA spokesman Major Maher al-Naimi said.

An opposition activist, who asked not to be named, said Islamist militants were taking hold in Syria and may have been behind the blast. “I think we will be seeing more of these attacks in the coming days, I am sorry to say,” he said.

One Damascus resident, who gave her name only as Dima, said the city had been tense even before the blast. “Some friends who work in the security forces were warning my family since yesterday to stay at home,” she said. “The streets were empty.”

The violence in Syria has raged unabated since the Arab monitors arrived, with scores of people reported killed.

Security forces killed four protesters in Hama on Friday when they shot at people shouting anti-Assad slogans after weekly prayers, activists said.

Pro-Assad forces also wounded at least three protesters when they fired at a crowd at a Damascus mosque in a district where a security headquarters is located, a witness said.

The witness said pro-Assad militiamen and secret police agents fired water cannon and then assault rifles after the protesters in the Kfar Souseh district refused to disperse.

“I saw three people on the ground and I do not know if they are dead or alive,” said the witness, who lives nearby.

Arab government sources said on Thursday the League monitors would pursue their mission in Syria, despite criticism from Qatar’s prime minister that they had made mistakes.

Syrian activists say the Arab monitors have had inadequate access to trouble spots, a charge denied by Damascus.

Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Tim Pearce

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