40 Years

Celebrate Jerusalem

http://www.unikron.com/play/play_display.cgi?speed=hi&id=uja_yom_yerushalaim

Hero at Virginia Tech

Professor Liviu Librescu, a Holocaust survivor, was shot as he shielded the classroom door so his students could safely escape.

When Professor Liviu Librescu set off to work at Virginia Polytechnic Institute on Monday morning, did it ever occur to him that he would die while saving his students' lives that day?

The 76-year-old aeronautics professor, a Holocaust survivor, was shot by a crazed killer as he shielded the classroom door so his students could safely escape.

While the massacre at Virginia Tech generates shock waves worldwide, the death of Professor Librescu stands out. He is hailed across the media as a hero -- and even that title seems meager compared to his self-sacrifice.

The published facts are somber and stark: Librescu survived the Holocaust, then trained and began his career in communist Romania until he was hunted down for the "crime" of lack of allegiance to the regime. He eventually escaped to Israel in 1978 and then relocated to Blacksburg, Virginia in 1986 where he was highly regarded in Virginia Tech's engineering science and mechanics department. Students and friends describe him as kind, generous, hard-working, and good-hearted, but they never could have imagined the depth of his fortitude until that fateful Monday.

"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Joe Librescu, one of Professor Librescu's two sons, told the Associated Press from his home near Tel Aviv. "Students started opening windows and jumping out."

A local Virginia newspaper, The Daily Progress, interviewed Josh Wargo, one of the last students to jump out the window to safety. In the moment before he jumped, Wargo looked back to see his professor determinedly barricading the door shut.

"I was in the back of the classroom when this happened. Immediately after I saw students jumping out of the window and almost instinctually I followed them," said Wargo. "I have recently learned from another classmate going out the window that [he and I] were two of the last students to make it out safely. If Dr. Librescu was not at the door, I don't know what would have happened to me."

Caroline Merrey, another student saved by Librescu's bravery, recounted her experience to the Roanoke Times. "I just remember looking back and seeing him at the door," the Virginia Tech senior recalled of her professor before she escaped out the window. "I don't think I would be here if it wasn't for him."

This is a man who risked his own life in the spur of the moment to save his students; who suppressed his own self-preservation instinct so that others could live on. A man who survived the horror of the Holocaust, then went on to be persecuted by the oppressive communist regime in Romania. If human accounting governed the theatre of life, this is a man whose many years of suffering would surely seem entitled to live out his life in comfort and die peacefully, surrounded by family and friends.

But it was not so. Instead, Liviu Librescu was killed by Seung-Hui Cho, who shot the professor and left him to die alone. Librescu perished in the classroom, the place where his son testified that his father "felt most at home." Is there a more immortal way for mortal man to die than by enabling countless others to live?

He received a proper Jewish burial in Israel, thanks to strenuous efforts on behalf of Jewish community members in Virginia and in accordance with the wishes of his wife, Marlena.

How ironic it is that Librescu survived the hazards of the labor camps and ghetto during World War II and escaped the iron rod of tyrannical oppression in Romania, only to perish inside the serene, insular walls of a university campus. Even more incongruous is the fact that he was murdered on Holocaust Memorial Day -- Yom HaShoah.

President Bush paid tribute to Librescu's outstanding heroism during an address at the United States National Holocaust Museum. "With the gunman set to enter his class, this brave professor blocked the door with his body while his students fled to safety," Bush said on Wednesday.

In an about-face, the Romanian government conferred upon him a post-mortem honor in the form of The National Order -- a medal featuring two crosses. Dubious tribute for the Jewish hero, but his selfless actions will long be remembered not only by the students he saved, but by all who hear of his bravery.

The widely circulated photograph of the slain professor shows him with an almost ethereal quality -- his eyes lifted upward slightly, as though deep in thought, his mouth turned up in a tiny smile. Doubtless, his thoughts were complex; he was renowned internationally for his academia and expertise. But his countenance is devoid of bitterness or enmity despite the hardships he underwent.

As they recall the nightmarish events of that terrible Monday in May, the students who escaped from Dr. Librescu's classroom will doubtless remember forever this gentle man whose mild demeanor clearly belied the core of steel that prompted his final sacrifice.

There are those who can transform an instant into a lifetime achievement. Liviu Librescu exalted his final moments by saving countless young lives. His legacy of heroism and sterling character burns bright as we mourn his passing.

by Riva Pomerantz

Water or Coke?

WATER

#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the world population.)

#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger.


#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.


#4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.


#5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.


#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.


#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a ! printed page.


#8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day?



COKE

#1. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.


#2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.

#3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

#4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

#5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.


#6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.


#7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.


#8... To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.


FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

#1. the active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

#2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

#3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean engines of the trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water or Coke?

Eclipse

I saw an amazing eclipse of the moon last Saturday night, it was incredible!

Eclipse leaves sky gazers over the Moon

Millions of people around the world were treated to a spectacular lunar eclipse on Saturday, the Moon glowing a dark coppery red as it passed through the Earth's shadow.

"The Moon took on a beautiful red hue," says Robert Massey, a spokesman for the UK Royal Astronomical Society, who watched the total eclipse from his home in southeast London. "With a small telescope, you could see this wonderful, subtle shading, from the bright part in full Sun down to the darker shadows."

At least part of the 3 March eclipse, which lasted about six hours, was visible from every continent on Earth. One edge of the Moon's face began to subtly darken as the eclipse began at 2018 GMT.

The Earth's shadow completely covered the Moon during the most dramatic phase, which lasted just over an hour – from 2244 to 2357 GMT.

Passing through Earth's shadow made the Moon turn red because sunlight was refracted through the Earth's atmosphere. Effectively, the Moon was lit up by all the world's sunrises and sunsets.

The colour of the Moon during an eclipse is not always the same, however. "It depends on the dust content of the Earth's atmosphere and perhaps the level of cloud," says Massey. "The red colour was certainly very intense and perhaps a little darker than I was expecting."

Providing the local skies were clear, the deepest part of the eclipse was visible from all of Europe and Africa, and in Asia westward of central China. It was also visible in central and eastern North America and all of South America.

Up to three lunar eclipses, including partial eclipses, can happen each year. The next total one will occur on 28 August 2007.

18:09 05 March 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Hazel Muir

Temple Mount Dig - The Truth

http://ws.giyus.org/points/point?id=yn6SXmfmpr4S

flags

http://www.brazilianartists.net/home/flags/

Indict Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

http://www.aish.com/iran/

Globalization

Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?

Answer: Princess Diana's death.

Question: How come?

Answer: An English princess

with an Egyptian boyfriend

crashes in a French tunnel,

driving a German car

with a Dutch engine,

driven by a Belgian who was drunk

on Scottish whisky, (check the bottle before you change the spelling)

followed closely by Italian Paparazzi,

on Japanese motorcycles;

treated by an American doctor,

using Brazilian medicines.

This is sent to you by a Canadian,

using Bill Gate's technology,

and you're probably reading this on your computer,

that use Taiwanese chips,

and a Korean monitor,

assembled by Bangladeshi workers

in a Singapore plant,

transported by Indian lorry-drivers,

hijacked by Indonesians,

unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen,

and trucked to you by Mexican illegals.....

That, my friends, is Globalization

WHAT IS THE SECRET FOR HAPPINESS?

WHAT IS THE SECRET FOR HAPPINESS?

Happiness is the pleasure you have in appreciating what you have; it is looking at the glass as half full. It says in Pirke Avot 4:1 ("Ethics of Our Fathers" -- found in the back of most Jewish prayerbooks), "Who is the rich man? He who is happy with his portion". There used to be a common motivational sign during the Depression hanging in businesses in the United States: "I was sad that I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet."

Happiness is not dependent upon material acquisition. There are plenty of people who have what you desire and they are not happy.

Many people think that Happiness is a happening: "If only such and such happened, I would be happy." Happiness is not a happening. It is a state of mind, a state of being. The Sages say, "He who has one hundred wants two hundred... No one dies with even half of his desires fulfilled" (Kohelet Rabbah 1:34). One has to work on his focus in order to be happy.

According to the Torah, Happiness is an obligation. It is an obligation to those around you. Just like you wouldn't want an unhappy parent, child or spouse, don't be one yourself. It is also an obligation to the Almighty -- even if one serves the Almighty, but "does not do it with gladness of heart" (Deuteronomy 28:47) he is culpable for not acting with joy.

Happiness takes work. If you want to be happy, then for thirty days play the Happiness Game. Make a list of all your blessings, both physical and spiritual. Then add one a day for thirty days. At the end of thirty days, prioritize them according to their value to you. (Doyou value your eyes or your ears more? Your job or your legs?) Whenever something happens or you feel sad, review your list.

If you don't appreciate what you have, there is no purpose to acquiring anything else. You won't enjoy it either.

On a higher spiritual level, if we appreciate that the Almighty loves us, then we can appreciate that all that we have is for our good -- to help us to develop our character, trust in G-d, and our spiritual qualities. If we have this love of G-d and this trust in G-d, it helps us to appreciate what we have.

Why do we need happiness? It gives us energy and power for living. Happy people are healthier, feel better and can accomplish more. Appreciating what you have helps to keep you optimistic towards the future which helps you to succeed!

frog

I came across this picture of a frog in Costa Rica, thought it would add some beauty to the site. Enjoy!

Rally for Truth

Toronto’s recent Rally for Truth, Light & Freedom against Holocaust denial in Iran was one of North America’s most powerful expressions of opposition to the Iranian regime’s anti-Semitic activities. Close to 4,000 people participated in the rally, which is just the beginning of community activities to place pressure on Iran. We will be letting you know very shortly about future endeavours. We thank all those who joined the rally as sponsors or participants. The entire rally is available for viewing at www.jewishtoronto.com To view news stories or video footage from the rally, please click the links on the right.