Giving Day is a yawn

The Brattleboro Reformer published an op/ed I penned about declaring the day after Thanksgiving as a Giving Day, a day to reflect on philanthropy. Sadly, I received no feedback.  Click here to read the piece.

Martin Cohn named Paul Harris Fellow

Newfane resident Martin Cohn was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Brattleboro Rotary Club. The Paul Harris Fellowship Award, named after the founder of Rotary International, is one of the highest honors Rotary can bestow upon a person. Recipients exemplify the highest ideal in Rotary in placing "SERVICE ABOVE SELF."

Cohn, president of a local public relations firm, has served as secretary of the Brattleboro Rotary Club for the past two years. He became president-elect at the club’s annual changeover dinner held at the Brattleboro Country Club on Thursday, June 23, 2011. Cohn produces the Club’s annual film festival, which raises funds for international projects.

The Brattleboro Rotary Club, founded in 1950, is an active community service club of over 80 members who engage in community and human service projects locally and internationally.

For more information about the Brattleboro Rotary Club, visit www.brattlebororotaryclub.org

-ROTARY-

PHOTO: L-R Brattleboro Rotary Club President Liz Harrision presented Martin Cohn with a Paul Harris Award, one of the highest honors Rotary can bestow upon a person.

White House: Gaza flotilla activists may be breaking U.S. law

U.S. State Department says Gaza is run by U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization Hamas and Americans providing support to it are subject to fines and jail.

By Natasha Mozgovaya and The Associated Press

The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on activists planning to challenge Israel's sea blockade of the Gaza Strip, warning that they will face action from Israeli authorities and that American participants may also be violating U.S. law.

The U.S. State Department said Friday that attempts to break the blockade are "irresponsible and provocative" and that Israel has well-established means of delivering assistance to the Palestinian residents of Gaza. It noted that the territory is run by the militant Hamas group, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization, and that Americans providing support to it are subject to fines and jail.

"Groups that seek to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers. Established and efficient mechanisms exist to transfer humanitarian assistance to Gaza. For example, humanitarian assistance can be delivered at the Israeli port of Ashdod, where cargo can be offloaded, inspected, and transported to Gaza," a State Department press release said.

"We urge all those seeking to provide such assistance to the people of Gaza to use these mechanisms, and not to participate in actions like the planned flotilla."

The warning is the third in as many days and follows the announcement by 36 Americans that they will sail aboard a U.S.-flagged vessel in a flotilla to Gaza.

The statement also reiterated the U.S. stance on Hamas, calling the Islamic group "to play a constructive role by renouncing violence, recognizing Israel’s right to exist, and accepting past agreements."

Despite warnings by the State Department, one traveler planning to ignore that advice is celebrated poet and novelist Alice Walker, who intends to join with other European and American activists when they set sail from the ports of some 22 countries.

"Why am I going on the Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza? I ask myself this, even though the answer is: What else would I do?," Walker wrote, explaining her motives in an open letter to CNN and outlining her plan to carry letters to the people of Gaza on board the Audacity of Hope boat. "We will be carrying letters ... expressing solidarity and love," she writes.

Walker's letter goes on to discuss the brave "followers of Gandhi," and the "Jewish civil rights activists" who stood side by side with blacks in the South, and places her current "mission" within this context. She ends with a rebuke to both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies and those in the U.S. that back them.

Meanwhile, the Turkish humanitarian relief foundation IHH has announced that the refurbished Mavi Maramara ship, on which nine activists were killed during an attempt to break Israel's coastal siege on the Gaza Strip in May 2010, will not join the flotilla planned to set sail at the end of the month.

This story is by:

• Natasha Mozgovaya
• Published 19:58 24.06.11
• Latest update 19:58 24.06.11

Awesome article

Beth Sawyers posted an interesting article on ragan.com about how the word "awesome" is overused. She lists 45 alternatives.

Read it here.

Faux Facebook

How to combat phony Facebook profiles

Companies, Army generals and a city zoo battle the problem of false identities in social media.

By Russell Working | Posted: March 16, 2011

Oshkosh, Wisc., has a Facebook problem.

A cyber Grinch created a phony Facebook page for the city zoo and was sabotaging its annual Celebration of Lights, which runs from November to early January.

“It was purely malicious,” says city information technology director Tony Neumann. “They were periodically posting that it was closed, and they were indicating free admission this night or that night, which wasn’t the case.”

Oshkosh isn’t alone is its battle—unsuccessful, so far—to take down the bogus Facebook site. Imposters are using Facebook and other digital media to undermine organizations and smear the reputations of everyone from CEOs to four-star generals.

Read the rest of the article here.

History of Jewish Humor

Just in time for Purim, a fascinating history of Jewish humor.

Badkhn Belt? Jewish humor was born in 1661, prof says

Just in time for the Oscars: Rutland Herald Online

New app allows you to be a movie producer for only $1.99. Watch out Spielberg!

Just in time for the Oscars: Rutland Herald Online

Why did Palin choose "blood libel"?

C.W. Anderson, an assistant professor in the Department of Media Culture at the College of Staten Island (CUNY), wrote an excellent analysis of Sarah Palin's use of the term "blood libel" following the tragedy in Tuscon this weekend.

Anderson's article, “Blood libel”: How language evolves and spreads within online worlds," traces the evolution of the term in news accounts.

It appears that the term first appeared in some Internet accounts and then had the momentum to be used in the traditional media.

This is another example of the power of the Internet in shaping public discourse.