Obama: Israel is a 'constant sore'

Some times you just have to bow to better thinkers and so here is a comment by my nephew, MR.

The title of that article is unequivocally misleading! Obama is clearly referring to the constant fighting as the "constant sore" that won't go away, not the nation of Israel. I think that he is correct with regard to the settlement issue as well. Israel has repeatedly stood in defiance of U.N. Resolutions as they continue to expandupon their existing settlements. Ma'ale Adumin, for instance, is a settlement that has been continuously expanded upon for years, now housing hundreds of thousands of Jews in what should be the heart of the Palestinian state in the West Bank.

When you look at the three biggest impediments to peace: the right of return for the refugees of 1948, a return to the pre-1967 borders, and the issue of Jerusalem, the settlement dilemma interferes with the latter two of those issues. The right of return for refugees will obviously never happen, nor will there be a return to pre-1967 borders; however, the expansion which is taking place in the West Bank speaks much less to being a security structure than being a tool for other political gains.

Settlements like Ma'ale Adumin jut out into West Bank, creating a quasi divide between the north and south of the land, forming somewhat of an hour glass shape. This hinders the flow of people and commerce within the state. More importantly, however, is the position and formation of these settlements. If you look at where many of them are positioned, they encircle Jerusalem from the east. This serves to block access for Arabs to the city from the east; it is reasonable to think that Jerusalem could someday become subsumed into Israel proper.

Israel's military, political, and economic superiority over the Palestinians is plainly evident and so wholly overwhelming that it is unlikely to believe that there will be a sustainable peace created within the foreseeable future; unless you have bargaining chips, you cannot negotiate. However, the expansion of settlements only shows a tendency of Israel to want to dominate their poor neighbors - it is unnecessary on every practical front. The buffer that these settlements were supposed to provide for the nation can easily be created in other ways: the erection of the massive peace walls, UAVs (Israel's are the most advanced in the world), guard towers, etc.

The settlement issue is very complex, with many actors fighting for and against their existence and expansion. I don't think they serve a useful purpose anymore; I do think they impinge upon even having a faint hope that a peace settlement is possible. They continue to push Israel's borders further away from their pre-1967 positions, and they are choking off the very city that the Palestinians wish to call their capital. I'm not about to pass judgement on whether this is right or wrong, but from a pragmatic perspective, all they do is exacerbate what are already seemingly insurmountable points of conflict.

Your most import resource

Your most important resource is not your bank account or your house, but your knowledge. What you know and how you use your knowledge, is what sets you apart at work and in your community. If you are looking for a new job or a promotion or sometimes, especially in a down economy, you need to know more and be able to apply that information to your position.

If you want to progress in your field you will never stop learning. That means that you need to put effort into learning, the more progress you want the more effort you will want to put into learning. But is that really that hard to do? How many hours do you spend watching television in one day? What if you took fifteen to thirty minutes every day into reading a book in your field, or a biography of someone who excels in your profession?

There is a reason that top companies spend millions every year in training of their employees and that reason is that they get a greater return from that investment. If the company is willing to invest in you don’t you think that you should do the same? We have an ability to learn vast amounts and we are, for the most part, not doing it.

When you are in the car, instead of listening to the radio or that CD, why not listen to something that will improve your life. Discover things that you never knew before and I am not saying that you should focus only on knowledge that impacts your job. Learn about things that you enjoy and that can be what ever you enjoy. Who knows, you may find that you will be changing jobs for something that makes you happy. Read what ever you can about your field and what you enjoy and you could be an expert in your field in a few years.

Wood Power

"Vision is the art of seeing the invisible." Jonathan Swift

Seems like wood is making a come back in Europe where it is being used either in combination with or substituting for coal. There are even a number of European companies building facilities that make wood pellets in the United States. All of this in order to reduce their CO2 emissions and avoid the cost of other fuels.

There are even cooperatives being setup which help farmers increase their income by up to 15%. But think about it; why not add municipalities to these corporative or whoever it is that halls away yard waste.

There is another reason for these co-ops being formed between farmers and municipalities. How much ‘unused’ land is along our roadsides, especially where there are divided highways? What would it mean to the production of wood pellets if these lands were used to grow fast growing trees? By combining the farmers with local municipalities they would be able to share the cost of building these plants.

Converting oil burning furnaces to wood pellet would decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Getting coal burning plants in America to use wood pellets would decrease their carbon footprint as well as reduce acid rain which would be helpful to those downwind of the plants, while creating jobs within this country.

"It seems to me that it's actually harder to invent excuses than it is to be successful."span> Jeffrey Gitomer

Wind Power

"Lost time is never found again." Benjamin Franklin

Well if you can not come up with a solar power ceiling fan or want a different way of providing power to you ceiling fans would be wind power. These fans may or may not have to have a battery when the wind is not blowing enough to provide sufficient power for your fans, but I would think that something like that would be easy enough to come up with.

We often see giant wind turbines along the crests of hills and may or may not see them off the coast of Cape Cod, all of which depends on the “not in my back yard” syndrome. Why not have small systems for homes, systems that do not have to stick hundreds of feet above your home.

There has to be a way to have a small system that can be integrated into your home and look like it belongs there. What about the tops of barns or buildings in the cities. Can they be integrated into these taller structures which give them a better access to the wind? What about homes along the coasts providing their own power taking them off of the grid? Again, these systems do not have to provide the total power requirements of the facility they are attached to, but rather provide a sufficient percentage of the power to help pay for the system.

I know that if a “home” system can be developed that would provide heat for my home in the cooler months, which sometimes range from September to May in sunny Syracuse what would that mean for reduction of our carbon footprint, reliance on foreign oil and more money in my pocket.

”Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous impatience.” Hyman Rickover

Ceiling Fans

"You are a potential genius; there is no problem you cannot solve, and no answer you cannot find somewhere." Brian Tracy

One of the best things I ever did for my house was to install ceiling fans in each of the four bedrooms as well as the family room. With these fans we are usually able to avoid running the air conditioning, saving us a boat load of money; you can save approximately 14% of your cooling costs with a ceiling fan. With solar powered attic fans, does anyone know of a company which sells solar powered ceiling fans?

I realize that these fans would have to have batteries to run at night when the sun goes down, but I would think that something like that would be easy enough to come up with. But even if these fans only ran during the day time they would be great for people that stay at home or for small businesses.

The next thing would be to have these fans with their motors outside of the living area. No matter your ceiling fans run on the motor creates heat when it is running so you should not run them when you are not in the room. So then why doesn’t a company come up with ceiling fans that have their motors outside of the living area? By placing the motor in the attic I would not be adding heat to the house keeping it cooler as well as not adding an additional heat source when the air conditioning is on. All of which would mean a reduction of our carbon footprint, reliance on foreign oil and more money in my pocket.

“The only thing that keeps a man going is energy. And what is energy but liking life?” Louis Auchincloss

Solar Power; not the next blockbuster

"I used to say, 'Things cost too much.' Then my teacher straightened me out on that by saying, 'The problem isn't that things cost too much. The problem is that you can't afford it.' That's when I finally understood that the problem wasn't 'it' - the problem was 'me.’” Jim Rohn

Does Solar Energy have to be a blockbuster? I do not think that it does, what it needs to do is to work at a level consistent with the demands of the individual. Maybe in order to reduce our carbon footprint, reduce dependency on foreign oil, or simply reduce our utility bills we need smaller projects. Where are the people or companies who will come up with “solar kits” that are easy to install and have the ability to be added to?

A simple kit that would provide enough power supply all of the electric power for our homes when no one is home, thus freeing up energy for other uses. They already make solar powered attic fans so why not solar powered ceiling fans? What about a solar power kit that would charge an electric lawn mower?

The benefit of smaller solar electric systems is endless and since they would be cheaper than a total solar power system more people could afford them.

“Action conquers fear.” Peter N. Zarlenga

Working Together for Solar Power

"A man can get discouraged many times but he is not a failure until he begins to blame somebody else and stops trying." John Burroughs

I just finished reading an article by Jeffery Combs, “Time: Your Most Valuable Commodity” and he talked about the concept of Return on Investment (ROI) and expanded on that paradigm to “Return On Time, Action, and Energy” (ROTAE).

With all of the stress on teamwork in this country as a way to be competitive on a global sense, we should think about it on a local basis. I talked about providing schools and/or a homeless shelter with solar panels to provide not only utilities to these facilities, but also much needed revenue.

So what could this team consist of? You have the facilities themselves, the schools and charitable facilities in your area. Then add to that people that support these schools, whether it is the PTA, PTO or booster clubs. The utilities that provide these buildings with their power, instead of building new generating facilities, use the massive space that makes up the coverings of these buildings to generate their own power as well as power for the utilities.

Environmental groups should join the effort, instead of suing municipalities they can work with them to provide clean, pollution free energy. Charities should find support from these groups to not only provide solar power to these facilities, but also ways to improve their energy use.

Working together we can lessen our dependence on foreign energy sources, reduce the impact of these facilities on global warming. Working together to meet our individual and organizational goals not only can we make this a better world, but do so sooner than later.

"What I am doing today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. -Unknown

Solar Power for Charity

“Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold." Maurice Setter

I have rarely approved of government programs as I believe that they are put into place as a way to control the citizens of this, or any, country. If it were not so these programs would end when the project was completed. There are some programs which can not end, defense, government itself, etc. but that should be a rarity.

In the last article I talked about the state of New York working with individuals to make their homes energy independent. I also brought up the idea that the state should work together with schools and install solar panels on these buildings to relieve taxes payers of some of the cost of the school buy selling excess power, as well as provide electric power to homes and businesses in the area

Well what about other institutions? There is a men’s homeless shelter located in a poorer section of town that uses what is basically a warehouse to provide these men with a place to sleep. For all of those organizations who want to stop global warming, for all of those charities that support those in need why not find something that they can work on together?

If the men’s shelter was covered with solar panels what effect would that have on this charitable organization? Would they be able to eliminate expenditures for heating and lighting of the facility? Would they be able to free up money to provide more and improved services for those in need?

Sell the excess electricity to the water treatment plant and homes around it and what would that mean to the community? The money earned from the excess power could be used to improve the lives of these homeless men as well as provide them and the community at large with additional services.

"Genius is there in all of us, just waiting for us to tap into it." Robert R. Toth

Solar Power

“Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it." Thomas Fuller

I read an interesting article in my local newspaper a few weeks ago about New York State having a program that helps people install solar panels on their homes. Great program and it only costs approximately forty cents per house hold per month added onto your electric bill. That is only $4.80 per year per household.

Now without adding business, which I would assume pay more into this program, that would mean that if the number of households in the state of New York, the state pulls in over twenty-two million ($22,000,000) per year. The problem I have with this program is where is all of the money going? From what I read, with a limit if three thousand dollars a home we would have seventy-six hundred (7,600) homes every year converting to solar, if they are willing to pay for the panels and what ever installation costs that are over the limit.

The question I have is where does the rest of that money go? Does it stay in a ‘lockbox’ as Al Gore talked about Social Security or does it just disappear into the general fund? If it just disappears into the general funds then, why not lower the fee that everyone is paying.

Since governments never want to stop taking from their citizens, then there should be another way of using the funds for the purpose that they were collected for. Why does the State of New York offer additional funding to those people who spent the money to install solar power on their homes? Why not take the moneies and start installing solar power onto schools in the State? Think about not only would that supposedly, remember what I said about governments not wanting to stop taking from their citizens, lower your taxes but help the environment.

Since most schools are closed in the summer, the time of year when the demand for electricity goes up, the schools could sell the power lowering their demand for money on the people. Reduction in power requirements from our utilities. All that would be required is that the schools pay back the monies over time, that they received for the systems in the beginning and after that the money that they bring in would be theirs.

“"Problems are only opportunities in work clothes." " Henry J. Kaiser

Increase your earnings

“The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat. " Napoleon Hill

People are always talking about using their money wisely or saving it, likewise with resources, but do they? One of the biggest resources you have and one that can never be replaced with another is time. Think about it. If oil runs out we will be able to use something else to power our society.

You have 86, 400 seconds, or 1, 440 minutes, or 24 hours in a day, so what are you doing with them? Are you working harder, putting in overtime or working a second job in order to make the money you would like? Or are you looking at what would make you happy and spending time on that forgoing the pursuit of money because you do not want to or have enough for what you want in life.

People who work harder do not always get the promotions and the raises and if they do they reach a ‘glass ceiling’ once their education starts to fall behind. So how do you break that glass ceiling?

The first thing you have to understand is the game which is played within a/your company. If any of you played sports you had a play book and you had practices and you had team work, unless of course you were in an individual sport. But even then, in an individual sport, you had a coach, maybe a trainer, and other people on the team who you may not have played with against an opponent but they were there.

When I went into the service my father told me a few things about how it was before the war, WWII, and how lucky I was. Well most of the things he said would not happen anymore were unfortunately not true, but finding someone who knew the game kept me from reinventing the wheel thus avoiding a large number of mistakes. When I got out of the service a friend of mine who was a police officer told me to find myself a rabbi and to learn from that person.

Every business, sport or service has these people. People who know how the game is played and are willing to share it with you so learn from them. I am sure that people have seen that what is written in the ‘guidelines’ or promotions for the business you are in are not always true. That hard work and dedication do not always pay off and have seen someone who they thought would never get the promotion get one over you.

Instead of calling them a brown nose or whatever, look at how they got the promotion and follow their lead. Obviously there are plenty of ways to get promoted and some of the ways may not suit your personality, but then there is more than one way to get a promotion.

There are also going to be those people who have reached their glass ceiling after working hard their entire career, but can not seem to get ahead. They may even have to train their bosses in the job that they feel should be their. I worked with such a man who was lucky enough not only to have a friend who gave them good advise as to how to get that promotion, but was smart enough to give it a try.

You see we worked for a Swiss company that was very degree oriented and this man did not have the piece of paper. He started taking my bosses advice, completing his degree at night school and getting the promotion the next time the job opened up.

Now you can complain about the fact that you do not have that piece of paper or do something about it. Take a class at night, if you are reading this you can find accredited colleges that allow you to complete a degree at your pace. The University of Phoenix allows you to complete a class every five weeks. One of the ladies I worked with took these classes even though she already had a Master’s degree in the sciences and received her MBA just in time to get laid off, receive a severance package and get a new job within a month.

“Luck is where preparation and opportunity meet" Napoleon

Cutting your air conditioning bill

“The energy of the mind is the essence of life." Aristotle

Not all savings on your electric bill has to come from reducing the amount of energy you use. There is also the possibility of changing when the power is used, thus receiving a lower electric rate.

Using electricity at night costs less than using it during the day, but I am not sure if you automatically receive that savings. Check with your local power company to see if you do receive the discount or there is something that needs to be done prior to receiving the lower rate.

A Manhattan Skyscraper uses ice to air condition their facility. The tanks holding the water are cooled/frozen at night when the rates are lower. This building saves one million ($1,000,000) dollars a year on their energy bill. Not sure how much of a electric saving during peak hours that is or how much of a reduction that is on the carbon footprint of the building that is.

The company that supplies this system is working on a system for the home and should be available this year. The problem for me is that the system costs $10,000 and for me that is a lot of money. I would have to assume that as the system becomes installed in more houses the price will come down.

Can you supplement the cooling of your building by dumping the ‘heat’ or cooling your air into the water that your building uses each day? Can your water system be used to supplement the cooling of your building by piping it threw the HVAC system? Does your facility have a boiler system which would cost less to operate if the water temperature which is used in the boiler was 10 to 20 degrees warmer?

“And what is a man without energy? Nothing - nothing at all." Mark Twain

Cutting your electric bill

"Energy conservation is the foundation of energy independence." Tom Allen

Never wait for a bureaucracy to save you when a threat is eminent.

“The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value." Theodore Roosevelt

Turn off those appliances that are not being used. I use a power strip to turn off my entertainment center (TV, receiver, DVD player, etc) at night when I turn off the television and do not turn it back on until I am ready to watch the television.

Do you have a spare room with a television, radio, etc? Then unplug them when no one is in there. This seems to drive my wife nuts when I turn off the clocks in the spare room, but it takes a minute to reset the clock when we have company staying in the room.

“They can't do without electricity. They can do with less electricity." Kenneth Lay

I believe that being a pragmatic country we can overcome any obstacle that we are now facing if we work together. Where are the Edison’s and Einstein’s, who will lead the energy “Manhattan Project”? I am sure that they are out there, waiting for some government to give them the money to follow their dream project. Or entering the 2009 X-Prize contest to create a car that gets 100 mpg as Cornell Universityalready is.

Until there is an energy program similar “Manhattan Project” we should be able to rely on the ‘small’ home style inventor for help. Someone out there should be able to come up with a way to:

• provide enough power (solar, wind, etc) to supply a typical home with electricity during the day to reduce the load on the power grid
  
• control those vampire electrical units in the house and turn them off when we are not using them
  
• more efficient appliances

The Government Won’t Save You

“Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions." Edward R. Murrow
If you are getting beaten up by the high cost of energy, don’t wait for the government to help you. If you believe that manmade CO2 is causing global warming, don’t wait for the government to save you. Never wait for a bureaucracy to save you when a threat is eminent.

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." William James

We have been called a pragmatic country, one that recognizes a challenge, defines the challenge and conquers the challenge. If you want to have a positive effect on the economy, the environment and the country start doing something.

“Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions." Edward R. Murrow

You can reduce your driving by 10% carpooling one day a week and the next week you are the passenger. Or if possible take mass transit one day a week. Doesn’t sound like too much of a hardship as you still have the other eight days free to drive yourself, unless of course you find it easier?

“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells

Reduce you energy use at home or at work. Turn off the lights, when not in use, use a smaller wattage if possible or change over to CFL (compact fluorescent lights). Turn your heat down or your air-conditioning up depending on the season. Because despite the environmental groups harping on the transportation industry, buildings (home/work) use more energy and are responsible for 25% more CO2 than transportation.

No new program needed to donate

" No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions; he had money as well. " Margaret Thatcher

Let’s not allow our government to establish a tax which is not needed, instead our representatives cut our taxes by 65 billion dollars and allow us to do as we see fit with the money we earn. American’s donated over 300 billion dollars ($300,000,000,000) in 2006, and that is not counting the time donated.

“The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." Will Rogers

There is also the possibility, strong in my opinion, that once this money is given to the United Nations, because that is where it is going you will not see an additional good will towards the United States as claimed by the sponsors of this bill. And what happens when the seven years ends? Who will be pushing for a continuation of these monies and more being sent to the United Nations for good works around the world? Effectively allowing the United Nations, an organization which does not represent America, place a tax on the America public.

“It would be a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their income." Benjamin Franklin

Seems that American’s are already very generous and do not need our law maker creating additional taxes just to make them look good. There is also the problem that once the government takes your money they really do not want to stop taking it. They love to say that they give you money as with this rebate, but if you did not take the money in the first place you would not have to give it back, and it would not cost me additional, millions is cost to my government which comes out of my taxes.

“The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination." Ronald Reagan

What would happen if instead of taking our tax money the tax payer, you and me, were allowed to donate the money as they see fit. Not providing ten to thirty cents on the dollar tax break, but directly off the top. You give ten dollars and ten dollars comes off your taxes.

What if we took the 65 billion ($65,000,000,000) dollars each year for the next seven years and not have the government give the money back to us, but rather not have the monies taken from our pay check. You worried about a recession, probably would not be a worry anymore. Not only would you be allowed to help who you wanted and donate to organizations you want to support, but you would be helping to expand the American economy.