mikessdesk.com

To be Misunderstood

Lately I’ve been taking an interest in reading articles online. The source varies like The New York Times, Linkedin and a range of blogs.

What interests me most is the wide range of opinions, which often tell another story and give a wider picture of thinking and perception in the readers’ minds.

Let me you give an example or two.

The first was a promotional video put out by an American society promoting a ‘World without Hate’ philosophy. Running with it was  a song by John Lennon, ‘Let it be let it be.’ Photo’s included Martin Luther King and others who gave their lives for the cause they believed in.

I thought the video was well balanced, told its message fairly, and many of the comments agreed and thought it was promoting a good concept. But the article came under fire for several reasons; 1) for using John Lennon’s song (permission was sought and received); 2) some thought it a disgrace to mention Martin Luther King in this concept; and 3) immigration – some commenters completely raved on about it. I saw no mention of immigration in the video and was hard pressed to understand where their thinking was coming from.

Another New York Times article talked the pros and cons of investing in renewable energy for vehicle running. The article received over 130 comments. Basically there were  two schools of thought; those who argued that America has an abundance of oil and gas so why bother; and those who argued that solar power panels only work in some areas so how was the problem of charging batteries elsewhere going to be resolved?

Solar energy panel

What surprised me most was that out of 130 comments, no-one mentioned what research and development of solar energy could do for the future.

Imagine if you can, a solar panel far more advanced than today’s units. One that won’t require recharging; one that’s built into the roof as part of the vehicle and that will also act as its own battery.

Impossible you say!

Well, think back 10- 15 years when the iPhone and iPod; and digital cameras and recorders were mere pipe dreams – at least to those of us who were not involved in this type of research and development; and that is most of us.

Who would have thought that you could expand a picture on a screen by simply widening it with a spread of the fingers?

Nothing is impossible; given time, imagination is destined to become reality.

Just think for a moment – if the vehicles on our roads were not ejecting poisonous fumes into the atmosphere, polluting the air that we breathe – how much healthier our cities would be. Perhaps that alone is worth the investment.

At the general Assembly the Czechs stepped out of the European indifference and accomplice ship. The Czech Republic’s political weight is negligible, but the moral weight is invaluable.

The vote in the United Nations General Assembly on the upgrade of the status of the Palestine Liberation Organization, commonly known as “Palestine”, reveals more than anything else the moral bankruptcy of Europe. While, on the one hand, the attitude of many European countries towards Israel has moved in the direction of open hostility since the early 1970s it seems, on the other hand, a significant change that more than half of the European Union members i.e. 14 countries, chose many of the most brutal regimes in the world like North Korea, Iran or Syria as their allies instead od Israel and the United States.

Another worrisome fact was that 12 more European countries decided to abstain from the vote, as if they weren’t able to make up their minds, incapable to decide whether to grant Mahmoud Abbas more privileges at the United Nations or not. how, for example, was it possible for one of the allegedly closest allies of Israel in Europe, Germany, to switch its position only hours before the vote from ‘No’ to ‘We don’t know’? How was it possible that Germany couldn’t come to a decision on this vital issue?

Only the small  Czech Republic had the courage to stand up and say ‘No to Abbas’s UN face. The same country that was abandoned by Europe in the 1930s and handed over to Nazi Germany stood by Israel’s side without wavering. The Czech government obviously understood what was at stake, that once again there was an international roundup going on. This time the victim was not Czechoslovakia but the Jewish state. Unlike the rest of the world, the Czech Republic takes the lessons from history seriously: in the face of injustice and evil one must not remain silent.

To understand why the Czech Republic voted as it did, it helps to take into consideration one of the most important books by the former president of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel, called “Living the Truth”. There, Havel elaborated on the idea of truth as the most important value in order to stay human in a totalitarian society. Havel wrote: “Living within the lie can constitutes the system only if it is universal. The principle must embrace and permeate everything. There are no terms whatsoever on which it can co-exist with living within the truth, and therefore everyone who steps out of line denies it in principle and threatens it in its entirety.

At the General Assembly the Czechs stepped out of the European line of indifference and accompliceship , and thereby threatened the Palestinian-European alliance against Israel. Of course, the Czech Republic’s political weight is invaluable. they made it clear that there is a difference between ‘No’ and ‘Abstain”, and there certainly is a difference between ‘No’ and ‘Yes’ in the case of Abbas’s UN bid. Right now, it is not clear that Havel’s words would eventually help dismantle the communist dictatorship in Czechoslovakia.

Furthermore, the brave decision by the Czech government revealed the total lack of morality and the backbone in the other European capitals. The continent that witnessed and participated in the German genocide against European Jews once again turned a blind eye to injustice committed against Jews.

The General Assembly in it’s last session adopted 21 resolutions concerning Israel  and only 4 on the rest of the world combined. No European diplomat dared to speak out against this bias at the UN. Not one of the European countries which on a regular basis claim to be interested in a lasting peace in the Middle East voiced it’s opposition when the chairman of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas, spread his vicious lies about Israel.

He called Israel a “racist and colonialist” state compared it with South African Apartheid and blatantly told the General Assembly that Israel had conducted “ethic cleansing” against the Palestinians and continues to do so. European diplomats sat there and in some cases even applauded Abbas’s vitriolic speech. and they did so because they lack the moral compass, they don’t care whether Israel exists or not, although they wouldn’t say so in public.

In Europe where a post-modern ideology of relativity of historical facts and moral values has taken over, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that those receive acclaim who shout the loudest and spread the most fantastic lies.

Given this situation it seems as is the Jewish state and the Jews have lost a cold-hearted Europe.

But one shouldn’t take the example of the Czech Republic and it’s 8 fellow dissenters for granted. In a world and an age of lies, it is incredibly daring to speak the truth, and one should keep in mind the national motto of the Czech Republic: “Pravda vitezi” or “Truth prevails”

The writer is a doctoral candidate in philosophy, writing on the Jewish-American philosopher Horace M. Kallen. He is a frequent contributor to the German blog “Die Achse des Guten” (www.achgut.com ) Article taken from ‘Israel & Christians’ Today New Zealand Feb 2013 www.c4israel.org www.whyisrael.org

Possibilities and Opportunities

Everyone at some stage or other gets fed up with the work they are doing, or the people they work with.

The unfortunate ones may have an awful employer or a troublesome employee. Either way, it can be a difficult situation to extract from. School students may consider their teachers unfriendly or worse still, not good teachers. So what is the answer? What can a person do to create the lifestyle they want?

As a past employer I wanted five things from my staff.

→           Be good ambassadors for the company’s image

→           Be reliable

→           Be honest

→           Do a good professional job

→           And be helpful and courteous towards our clients

If they failed consistently in any of these areas, they were encouraged to seek other employment opportunities.

For my part I wanted staff to enjoy the work and I did this by having a good attitude towards them. I wanted them to be happy working for my company, I really did. I paid and rewarded them well and treated them as equals. To me they were part of the company, I was no more important than they and, for the most part, I was very fortunate with the people I hired.

Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Employees and employers do not always work out together. Sometimes a person simply has to move on.

I personally believe that all of us, employer and employee alike, are entitled to enjoy the hours we spend doing our job and, if we don’t, then we need to consider either moving on or, if you are the employer, moving the employee on.

This was rarely a problem for me, I was fortunate with 95% of my staff, but I know for many employers it can be both costly and stressful. In this country, employers need to follow an explicit set of rules before actually laying a staff member off but still it can backfire if an employee decides to sue for unfair dismissal.

In an instance like this, my advice would be to avoid that situation at all costs. It is far better to dampen any bad feelings and try to come to a mutual and amicable end of the road with the employee.

Life is too short not to enjoy it

In creatinglifestyle.com   we discuss the endless opportunities and possibilities that surround us all. My wife and I were fortunate in 2012 to visit Israel and I found it incredible that so much originally barren and desolate land has been turned thousands of hectares of high producing crops. Most would have looked at that land and dismissed it as worthless

Masada Israel

but the Israeli people saw an opportunity and brought the land to life. Sure, it would have been very hard work and a huge investment over many years, but they kept at it and made it their own. Having seen it for myself, I hold great admiration for these masters of irrigation.

Israels Oasis

Opportunities are everywhere

We know that, just like the millions of radio, mobile, and TV signals that are constantly passing through the atmosphere. We can’t see them or feel them and subsequently don’t know which direction they are heading, but my mobile, my radio, my laptop and my TV can pick up those signals. I just have to turn the appliance on.

Opportunities are like that – you can’t see them until you tune into them, and part of that tuning in is to be constantly searching and investigating possibilities. By subscribing to our newsletter you will receive one or two emails a month, pointing out numerous opportunities, tips, and ideas on how to go about creating a new lifestyle for yourself.

Simply sign into the subscribe box in the top right hand corner and you will receive a welcome letter then emails outlining all the newest opportunities we have come across and researched for you.

video with Deepak Chopra MD

shared Mike Cooke‘s photo.

<p>Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America . . .</p>
<p>The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.</p>
<p>My confession:</p>
<p>I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.</p>
<p>It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crib, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.</p>
<p>I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.</p>
<p>Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.</p>
<p>In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.</p>
<p>Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”</p>
<p>In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself. And we said OK.</p>
<p>Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.</p>
<p>Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.</p>
<p>Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'</p>
<p>Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.</p>
<p>Are you laughing yet?</p>
<p>Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.</p>
<p>Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.</p>
<p>Pass it on if you think it has merit.</p>
<p>If not,