Friday, December 29, 2006

Friday Foto: Is That A Blackberry?

This photo reminds me of the frequently told story of the conversation between Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter. As the story goes, Begin told Carter that God is easier to reach from Jerusalem: "We have a direct line from Jerusalem."

I wonder who this man stood conversing with during his prayers at the Western Wall.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Friday Foto: Eye-Bex

This ibex was photographed at the park in Tel Aviv. The thing that caught my attention was the rectangular shaped pupil.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Foto Friday: Burgers or Buckers

This herd of young bulls has reached the moment of truth: They prove they can buck or they make their way to your grocer's freezer.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Telephone Tax Rebate

For once, one of those pesky email pass-alongs was real and worth reading. For some reason, this one caught my eye and I didn’t do the normal speed delete, and saw something that was a little unbelievable. But, having checked it out, I can say that it is real and worth the effort to fill in a couple of lines on your tax form.

Three Reasons It Was Unbelievable:
1. It was an email pass-along. I think I can count on one hand the number of “forwards” that have really been worth reading. No matter how much the sender thinks his/hers is different than all the rest, they almost always are just like all the others. You’ve seen the stuff too: 10 Reasons Coca Cola is Better For You Than Water; The Secret to Being Rich; Joey Wants to Get 1 Million Valentines Before He Dies; etc., etc., etc.

2. It suggested that a government tax had outlived its purpose AND by court order was rescinded. Everybody knows that once the government implements a tax, it never rescinds that tax – even if its intended purpose has been met.

3. It suggested that it would be quite simple to get this particular tax refund from the IRS. No muss, no fuss, just show me the money!

Well, it’s true. You can check out Snopes.Com’s explanation, but you might be more convinced by reading the IRS page about this tax rebate.

The long and short of it is, if you have paid for any type of long distance phone service in the United States between February 28, 2003 and August 1, 2006, you are entitled to a one-time tax refund from the IRS. Strange as it sounds, the government has been wrongly taxing long distance telephone service and the federal courts have put a stop to it.

The easy claim is:
$30 for one person
$40 for two persons
$50 for three persons
$60 for four or more persons.

If you actually have your phone records for the 41-month period covered by this refund, you can get all the tax you paid on long distance refunded.

Please let your friends and family know of this. After all, it is your/their money to begin with.

Friday, December 08, 2006

Friday Fotos: Thanksgiving Treat

While other birds were being stuffed in most American kitchens, Grace and I took a trip to the local duck pond and stuffed birds of another kind.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Scary Quote

"Every religious Jew knows that when you keep the Shabbat, the Shabbat in turn keeps and protects you."
Background: Due to a recent public sector labor strike, workers at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport refused to process passengers and aircraft coming or going. This work stoppage caused a tremendous backup that stranded passengers from all airlines.

Once the strike ended, all the airlines, including El Al, Israel’s recently privatized, national carrier, worked overtime on Shabbat (Sabbath) to get their stranded passengers to their destinations. El Al’s “desecration” of the Sabbath has stirred quite a controversy in Israel, particularly but not exclusively among religious Jews.

On Monday, following the perceived Sabbath desecration, a New York bound El Al aircraft had to return to Ben Gurion Airport due to a landing gear malfunction and some (perhaps, many) among the religiously observant community saw it as a sign that God was displeased with El Al.

Minor Question: Is this any different than Pat Robertson suggesting that Ariel Sharon’s massive stroke demonstrated God’s displeasure with his handling of Gaza and the West Bank?

Real Issue: Is it appropriate to suggest that the Sabbath has such powers? Did God intend for the Sabbath to watch over the nation of Israel? Can it really watch over Israel? It is commonly said that if all Jews would observe the Sabbath two consecutive times, Messiah will present himself. While this is clearly an unbiblical assertion, it is dramatically different than suggesting that the Sabbath has protective power.

Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills –
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the maker of Heaven and Earth.

He will not let your foot slip –
He who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, He who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you –
The LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm –
He will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

If I've got a choice between trusting the Sabbath and trusting the LORD, I'm going with the LORD every time.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Friday Fotos: A Little Over the Top?

Explanation: This "toilet target" is apparently located in the restroom of a very devoted University of Oklahoma fan. (For those not from those parts, the longhorn is the mascot for the University of Texas, the longtime rival of OU.)

Question: Is this just a little over the top? Not just the clash of colors and lack of interior design, but the target itself?

I know it's all just fun and a little rivalry, but really. Maybe, I've become a soft OU fan as a result of Texas' recent success.

Confession: My wife and I got up early to watch last year's NCAA national championship game and ran around the room hollering when Vince Young scored the go-ahead touchdown, that eventually proved to be the game winner. That was clearly one of my favorite sports moments since moving to Israel.

Having said all that, we're definitely watching the Big 12 Championship Game and cheering for Oklahoma over Nebraska. Go Sooners!