We Are Fed Up.........

Dear friends,

I have decided to translate into English the following FB post, written in Hebrew by Tal Gilad. I have done it for the benefit of those among us who are new Olim, native English speakers who are exposes to the biased media and all those “mavins” who try to impress upon us that the Chinese Communist Party Virus, though released accidentally yet spread  around the world deliberately, is nothing bu a scare tactic by our leaders.

Shabbat Shalom padded with abundant health and the best of every blessing. 🇮🇱💜🇮🇱

Here it is.

“I am already tired of the nonsense. I am tired of each of our nine millions citizens is convinced that they are the only ones who know what is good and what needs to be done about the current health crisis (or any other issue). They and only they are the wisest and have all the information on everything since they read on the internet what someone said.

I am tired of hallucinatory  conspiracy theories about the virus which  refer to it as a “fake plague,” a n international plot to try and control our privacy, where we are at any given moment as though Google and Facebook did not do it a long time ago and with our full and enthusiastic consent. Those who are not yet familiar  with the Google timeline is welcome to check. If anyone has forgotten where he urinated  two months ago, Google will remind them and will even draw a map of how they got there and how long they  urinated. They will also provide the exact amount in liters. An analysis of the colour is not yet available, but soon there will be, for sure.

I am fed up with those irresponsible  and impatient’ who refuse to let anyone “make decisions about them” since “the Spirit of Man” and their “Right” and BS, and they do not understand that they not only put themselves in harm’s way but also anyone they meet after, in their vocalism, their invincible young spirit and their fantastic immune system,’ endangered themselves. Don’t you honestly understand that you, in your foolishness, are a catalyst to the virus and cause more infected and the extension of the emergency guidelines?

We are tired of those who seriously believe that Netanyahu is responsible for the virus or uses it to take control or who knows what  the hell else. How much empty space does one need to have in their skull to fill it up with such absurdities?

The entire world confronts the virus. Do you genuinely believe that millions of doctors, nurses, elected officials, leaders, members of the health system, including Arab  and Muslim states, all are employed by Netanyahu and Sarah?

Do you seriously believe that you know about the virus more than millions of doctors’ nurses, elected officials, leaders, and members of the health systems the world over? All of those are brainwashed, receive instructions or threats or are part of an international conspiracy and only you the underground smart-alecks know better?

Are you that thick? Are you honestly unable to, at least for a few months, able to follow emergency guidelines and sit quietly, for heaven’s sake?

We are so fed up with the nonsense. So fed up."

The Day After.......

These three words, if you ask me, are loaded and are relevant to so many situations and circumstances. For some, these words denote that something epic or terrible which presaged them is going to bring upon us one or another doomsday prophecy and the end of the world.

For others, myself included, on the other hand, they reveal a sliver of hope, hold the promise of renewal, rebirth and better days ahead.

The seam which separates between the two is not always a thin one and not always easy to cross, let alone smoothly. The process can be bewildering, taunting and depressing to some.

  

And it is precisely on that very unpredictable joint between the Days of the Chinese Communist Party virus  (AKA Corona) and what the we refer to as “The Day After,” where the world stands. The uncertainties, distrust, the need to change behavioural patterns and learning to face and deal with the unknown, take their toll. The nameless and uncharted future results of the current crisis are certainly bigger and more ominous than that which is presently known, a harsh reality that we are forced to face.

That, however, does not scare or deter the optimist in me. I know that we shall overcome these difficult days and come out of them stronger. It may not happen soon, but it will happen. Moving forward is our only option. A cure and hopefully a vaccine will put an end to the calamity that has befallen humankind.

So where and how do we begin to address this?

Firstly, any reasonable person would tell you that in order to effectively deal with a problem, one must spot its cause, its source.

Despite all the confusion and havoc, one dictum, nevertheless, remains undeniably clear and factual. The origin of the virus is in a lab in China. Though we are still shrouded in darkness as to how it first appeared, at least we know its starting point, its source.

Having said that, let me explain that when I mention China, I am not referring to the average person on the streets of Zhongguo, the Mandarin name for all the territories of the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese are very friendly and harmless people whose sole desire is to live in peace and tranquility. I have been there a few times, did business deals with them, was a guest at their home and spent time in their company. My arrows regarding this sordid “Corona” affair are directed ONLY at China’s brutal communist regime. There are many examples of how that government subjugates its people, how it endeavours to control every aspect of our lives, buying chunks of our world, stealing intellectual properties and others. I, however, am specifically referring to the painful issue of child or underage labour.

Unfortunately, there is almost no available economic study of child labour in China. We do know, however, that “as the largest developing country in the world, China was classified as posing an “extreme risk” of child labor as indicated by Maplecroft’s 2014 Child Labor Index” (Maplecroft, 2014).

That, for me, as  a human being, as a mother, as a teacher is a very disturbing piece of information. It is that distressing detail that I want you, dear readers, to see in front of your eyes when we finally reach the Day After. I ask you to remember it as you search the internet for “finds,” and keep your post offices buckling under the piles of deliveries containing cheaper items that probably originate in China. Did you ever stop to think why Chinese products are so cheap (in addition to their bad quality)?

The answer is child labour.

Why not pay more and buy products made in our own back yard? Why not support our own industries and home economy that have suffered so much because of the way the Chinese Communist Party handled the spread of the virus? Why not make the Day After a better day for our own home, for us, for our future generations?

Hopefully, along the path to recovery from the pain' loss and suffering of the day before, the Day After will also help build a better world for all.

Made in the USA is good not just for America

This article was written jointly by Roger Froikin and Bat-Zion Susskind-Sacks



One of US President Trump’s policies, which he is already in the process of implementing, is to support American businesses and American jobs.

For far too long, outsourcing has been the common practice on which many of us thrived. Cheap labour resulting in cheap merchandise is a dream come true for many. Our consumptive nature thrived on it. Yours truly, likewise, enjoyed it benefits, selfish and mundane benefits.

Has anyone of us ever stopped to wonder what it took to lower the costs of the goods we purchase? How about questioning the motive behind the constant flow of outsourcing while we were roaming through malls, spending our money and probably never stopping to contemplate the issue?

The answer is clear. It all boils down to cheap labour.

We have seen that cheap labour in countries like Egypt. We witnessed it in countries like India and China. It came in the form of young children sitting in factories instead of attending schools. Rotting in dark rooms instead of playing outdoors in the sunshine. It came in the images of women toiling and bent over for machines. It was reflected in the reflected shadowy images of men whose sad eyes continue to haunt us until this very day.

But America and the rest of the Western world continued to enjoy the cheap merchandise.

Some will come back and say, “But we provided work for those poor souls. We helped improve their lot.” Nice excuse, we say, for those who enjoy their cushioned existence, refuse to remove their blinders for fear of rattling their comfort zone. Life is beautiful as it is, so why change it, why acknowledge some truths?

Wake up people, the only lot you have improved is that of the rich who got richer. Those pour souls whose life outsourcing was allegedly supposed to improve remain in the perdition. They never left it, not even for one second.

But America and the rest of the Western world continue to enjoy the cheap merchandise.

There is, unfortunately, a cost to all this consumerism that goes beyond the price of the latest pair of jeans.   In every Western Nation, unemployment and under-employment has become a serious problem, cushioned only by the growth of welfare systems that have driven Western nations into unbelievable levels of debt that at some point becomes a vicious cycle of economic and social decline following which come other problems.

One such problem is the importing of cheap foreign labor to replace higher cost local workers without consideration of social consequences.   In the USA, companies have fired American workers while exploiting foreign workers imported at a fraction of the wages, providing them with barely livable places to sleep, through a misuse of the H-1 B visa guest worker program, a program designed to fill gaps where American workers were not available.  Those favoring illegal immigrants and mass immigration tend to be those who want cheap labour; ignoring the social problems this may lead to.    In Europe, ghettos of non-Europeans, somewhere police refuse to go, have been the result of big business and industry seeking cheap labour, also ignoring social and cultural consequences.

But America and the Western world continue to enjoy the cheap merchandise.

What we believe is even worse is the fact that cheap labour, in foreign locations or imported into advanced countries, is counter-productive to the development of technologies.  Why seek cheaper and better solutions, when one can find it expedient to just fire American or European workers and ship their jobs elsewhere?

What Roger and I fear is that we might end up with are societies, whole nations, with the middle class disappearing, the poor getting poorer, the wealthy getting much more wealthy, and a vastly growing national debt. We already see it happening.

But America and the rest of the Western world continue to enjoy the cheap merchandise.

For now, however, the problem is that this kind of economics has a limited life span.  Unless Western nations start to turn matters around and worry more about their future than about how many pairs of jeans they have in their wardrobes, the point will come where the whole economies will grind to a halt. That is, in our view, exactly what President Trump aims at preventing.

Of course, matters and attitudes can change direction.  A bit less narcissism.  A bit less consumerism.  A bit more hard work and pride in work.  This might just prevent catastrophe.

As many economists in Europe and the USA have said, the US is the economic engine of the world, and if there is no growth in the USA (which has been the pattern of the last 8 years), Europe, Japan and other countries will have less than no growth. Conversely, if the US economy grows, if the size of the pie grows, then the world will have a chance to grow as well and solve problems for the benefit of all.

With that in mind, the world should be looking to any US President who wants to do what is necessary to encourage faster growth --- whether its elites currently exploiting it like it or not.