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www.dannielleblumenthal.com

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Contents

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1. 2015

1.1 January

who separates darkness from light (2015-01-03 21:13)

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God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. - Genesis 1:3-5

The essence of business is honesty. Meaning three things:

• The conceptual ability to dis nguish "valuable" from "valueless."

• The concrete ability to execute on this and earn money.

• The moral conscience to earn in a way that ul mately benefits people.

(Note: You can have business sense but no conscience, but if that is the case you’re ul mately going to be blinded bygreed and your business decisions will be bad, because biased.)

Not everyone has business sense, but U2’s Bono does. The band’s "360°" tour was the highest grossing concert seriesof all me, with gross earnings of $736,421,584 ([2]Wikipedia; event photo by [3]Luka Krstulović).

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Whenhe isn’t singing, Bono spends his mehelping the poor, another reflec on of his capacity to separateworthwhileme investments from bogus ones.

A couple of days ago, while in recovery from a terrible accident, he issued "Li le Book Of A Big Year. It’s a funny andimportant [4]reflec on on 2014 that says this:

Capitalism is not immoral, but it is amoral. It gets its instruc ons from us. It’s an indiscriminate engine,and our obliga on is to see that it provides forward movement to everyone, not just to those whosehands are on the levers.

What an important statement to make. One that reflects a kind of Divine perspec ve on money - that is only as goodor as bad as we human beings make it.

Bono’s [5]One organiza on, aimed at figh ng extreme poverty and other social ills in Africa, has more than 6 millionmembers now. It is funded, basically, by rich people - you and I cannot donate.

In the currency-less and weapon-free future toward which we are all headed, money itself will cease to havemeaning.

But wewill remember those who, in these dark and unenlightened mes, had all the cash in the world. Wewill reflecton the many who chose traffic in sex, drugs, and guns; who used corrupt means to exploit those "who don’t ma er"and to make themselves even richer.

Wewill isolate such people from humanity forever, and turn instead to follow the light of the true and honest businessleaders.

All opinions my own. Photo by [6]Mayhem Chaos via Flickr.

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1. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fP9dLw7bZk0/VKiTh4nYY5I/AAAAAAAAQ70/LuL0Y_cX578/s1600/168731840_bf018836dd_z.jpg2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_concert_tours3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_concert_tours#mediaviewer/File:U2_360_tour_stage_Zagreb_2.JPG4. http://www.u2.com/news/title/little-book-of-a-big-year/5. http://www.one.org/us/about/6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mayhem/168731840/in/photolist-6Sbey7-WdoY-3zp5EA-6wTqpR-6wYeRG-4JcX5f-4nx2zL-74JQND-fUN8x-kNkT5V-kNmAiz-4RGCGW-fUN6E-fUN82-fUN7J-fUN94-fUN8J-fUN7a-fUN6V-7orHxg-gJWfqh-8Yxn34-9tejDt-upYa-9Han-9iZEwi-52LgyB-cbh6Rw-6gAbj1-6XzQkP-2rKXjB-8QDLn-8Z5p1-mMmR2H-3bS7f-8xmQH-2GoWe-8DVG23-5qX2ii-2tApjX-4hpT8d-7gF1EM-3jUyC-3A8gD-4Qrw9L-6gzCBU-6gvLwx-6gvCen-4gTibW-FAj1

How You Treat Me When The Chips Are Down (2015-01-04 10:54)

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"She has a million excuses for not wan ng to get together with me," she said.

"Maybe she’s actually busy," I replied.

"No...it’s the same pa ern, over and over again. When the chips are down, she’s never there."

Because they’ve studied marke ng, so many marketers are completely blind to Branding 101.

And the axiom: Our favorite brands are like our friends. There for us in bad mes, not just some mes but primarily.

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I’ll tell you a secret: American Airlines sucks. And if I have any choice about it, I’ll fly JetBlue even if the fare is higher.

Here’s why: Every single flight with JetBlue is like hanging out with your friends. On American you feel like a prisonerdoing jail me.

Let’s start with the employees, because they are the single most important part of every brand equa on. JetBlueemployees joke around. They give you PopChips and a drink. You get a TV for the dura on of the flight. It’s deligh ulto be on board - it’s something to look forward to. Even if you’re having the crappiest possible day of your life, aJetBlue flight is guaranteed to cheer you up.

On the other hand, American’s staff looks and acts absolutely miserable. If you walk onto the flight depressed, thebest you can hope for is to fall asleep un l the very minute it’s over.

I remember the me we landed in DC from Florida. The flight a endant said, "We are now landing" and then walkedup and down the aisles, slamming the overhead bins loudly over our heads. It was so loud the passengers sat up likebirds startled out of their nests: "WTF is going on?"

Another me, more recently, we traveled on Christmas Eve and the airline was so disorganized they changed the gatejust before departure. We wound up at a "combined gate" where you had to either go le for Santa Fe (us) or rightfor El Paso. No less than three mes I had to get up and figure out if we were in the right place, and the passengerswere furious.

"Don’t say anything too loud," someone warned me. "They will kick you off the flight."

I heard someone say, "Don’t complain too loud or they will kick you off the flight."

There were the airline representa ves, standing at themicrophone reading out instruc ons. On top of the stupid gatearrangements, as we boarded they told us we’d have to "give them" our carry-ons - as in, no receipt whatsoever.

"I’m not giving you my bag," I said fearfully. I could just imagine showing up in snowy Santa Fe and being told they’dlost my stuff, or maybe even denying they ever received it, because - you guessed it - I had no receipt.

It was American’s fault not to explain in advance that the plane to Santa Fe would be small, and we’d have to checkour things. They could have supported their staff on communica ng the gate change, so that the customers weren’tmilling around in the frustrated, fearful state they were.

I sat there and felt angry. It’s 2015, they are ge ng tons of money from the customer, and they cannot get their shittogether? They leave their brand ambassadors twis ng in the wind, to be eaten by us starving wolves?

The only explana on: They may market themselves in whatever way, but whoever is in charge doesn’t know the firstthing about branding.

Life is full of big and li le hassles. The s ngs are ameliorated a bit by the brands that cheer me up along the way.

Being my friend is the magic secret. Forget about airlines, which you fly because you have to. Think about the storesyou visit "just for fun," even when there’s nothing in par cular you want to get. Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, Nordstrom,Apple.

In Santa Fe we went to Kadima Levana’s Oxygen Healing Bar. We didn’t need anything, but we wound up staying forfor hours. Kadima became a real friend, that is, we sat and talked with her and her family about important things, andnothing at all. She gave us her me and her ear, and she said "you’ll pay me whatever you feel you can or need to."She said, "I want to build a community, and I hope you come back just to sit here."

Kadima has never been to amarke ng class, and her beau ful hand-cra ed space, full of homemade art, hand-cra edlocal remedies and soothing herbal drinks is my des na on of choice in Santa Fe. (Here’s a link to her [2]site.)

Some mes we hang out with people we don’t like, just because we have to. Those companies aren’t real brands.

Most of the me, we run toward people who make us feel welcome, for no reason at all than that we exist.

If you’re building a brand, make your founda on on empathy and kindness. Make friendship your founding principle.

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Photo by [3]Mark Seymour via Flickr. All opinions my own.

1. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I2XEkaBu-T4/VKlUDTc0QYI/AAAAAAAAQ8E/5nNhovOTsiA/s1600/1604615433_539f532111_z.jpg2. http://santafeoxygenbar.com/3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/markseymour/1604615433/in/photolist-ajAfCU-oxD1XV-5J4DF5-8svDKa-8Gakn9-e43JT1-ov28eL-mocN8-d4GRk-dBEfLz-HBqnZ-7HKexH-cTmVjb-3rSEYy-3rN55Z-3rN4GM-3rN2zg-3rN5gk-3rN6c4-3rN1T6-3rSBif-3rSAHw-3rN8qP-3rN7MZ-3rN45K-3rN2ic-3rSyUy-3rSFCo-3rSyJE-3rSAUu-3rN21Z-3rN4iR-3rSGyo-3rN6u6-3rN4wV-3rN5uD-3rSB9W-3rN7h6-3rSAxS-3rSGis-3rN8F8-3rN716-3rN9x4-3rSCfm-3rSAi7-3rN1bp-3rN1Fp-3rMZYB-3rN9kr-3rN5Wt

Bookmark This: "Century of the Self" (2015-01-05 03:50)

Just ran across this amazing 4-part BBC series available completely free on Vimeo. It is a study of the use of Freudiantheory for the purpose of propaganda.

• Part 1: "[1]Happiness Machines"

• Part 2: "[2]The Engineering Of Consent"

• Part 3: "[3]There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed"

• Part 4: "[4]Eight People Sipping Wine In Ke ering"

You can also see it as a series of 16 shorter clips on [5]YouTube.

I really like the wayMaria Popova summarizes the show in her weekly (free and excellent) newsle er [6]BrainPickings:

"...an u erly fascina ng four-part probe into the depths of consumerism and democracy. Though it fo-cuses primarily on how those in power have used Freud’s theories to manipulate public opinion andpercep on, the series delves into the richest and most profound layers of 20th century culture, from thehidden mechanisms of adver sing to the civil rights movement to the inner workings of poli cal beliefsystems — all whilst managing to avoid the trap of conspiracy-theorism with incredible elegance anddexterity."

"...reminiscent of Naomi Klein’s [7]No Logo in its relentless inves ga on of the cra ing of consumer cul-ture, with all its whims and whimsy, only layered on top of the complex poli cal, psychological and socio-cultural forces that shaped it."

The series is worth viewing for students of psychoanaly c theory (obviously), sociology, mass communica ons,psychoanaly c theory, public rela ons, American history, and the Holocaust. I’m going to take the me. I hope thatyou will do the same and let me know what you think.

H/T to [8]Infowars for sharing._ _

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All opinions my own. No endorsement expressed or implied.

1. http://vimeo.com/859486932. http://vimeo.com/1034400003. http://vimeo.com/544179794. http://vimeo.com/757847655. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAD989035A4E8883D6. http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2010/02/01/the-century-of-the-self/7. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312429274/braipick-208. http://www.infowars.com/the-century-of-the-self-controlling-the-dangerous-crowd-in-an-age-of-mass-democracy/

"You Destroy Me, Or I’ll Destroy You" (2015-01-05 09:07)

[1]

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How much would you pay for your top compe tors’ playbook?

You can’t even imagine ge ng your hands on it.

But if you could, you’d counter their every strategy.

It is rou ne for service professionals to give this kind of counsel.

• Lawyers prepare the opposing case. Behind closed doors, if they’re defense, they fight like dogs for the prose-cu on.

• Doctors plot the likely course of the disease. They study the X-ray carefully, peer at the MRI, focusing on theinvader’s killer path.

• Military leaders probe with great depth the mind of the enemy. Study their weapons. Scope out the terrain.

• Football coaches know the strengths of the other team and each and every one of its players.

• Crisis communica ons advisers can spew forth in three seconds what the world likely thinks of their clients.

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But not everyone is equally willing to listen. The arrogant ones, especially. "We (meaning ’I’) don’t have me," theysay, "it’s unnecessary and nega ve."

It isn’t about the me, or the money, or the a tude. It’s the fear of seeming imperfect, which leads them to falselyshout that they’re fine:

"We don’t waste me chasing others. Let’s focus on leading ourselves."

I bring up this topic because of a line in this book I had the chance to read over vaca on, "Satan: An Autobiography."

It’s an unusually tled book with an incredibly readable style. And the plot is equally compelling: an as-told-to fromthe perspec ve of the common enemy of humankind. He is the ul mate adversary of our collec ve business, whichis staying alive and healthy and produc ve.

He exists to tempt us - to bring us down.

What’s amazing about this book is that the narrator tells us exactly how he does it. It is so easy, he says - all he has todo is puff up our egos. Which, in the end, aren’t even who we really are. Instead the ego is a manifesta on of him.

Our greatest fear, he notes, is that wewill lose everythingwe have. Wewill lose ourmoney and our homes, the peoplewe love, our health, the respect of others...you name it, if you can fear it, it’s going to be taken.

This narrator, our enemy, literally reads to us from his own playbook. He says, you will lose all of these things. Unlessyou destroy me first. And then you will find peace, and I won’t have to literally destroy you.

If you don’t kill your ego, the devil says, I’m going to infiltrate your mind and mess you up real good. I’m gonna makeyou so stupid and greedy that you bring yourself down, and down hard, in the end.

* * *

Yesterday we had shiva on the occasion of my father-in-law’s passing. This is the Jewish ritual where people come toyour home and comfort you for the loss.

My father-in-law was not a trifling man, he was a holy man and I do not say this word lightly. He was completelyselfless, he didn’t know the meaning of the word ego, and in his life he gave and gave un l he literally collapsed.

Shiva goes on for hours and you wind up talking about other things.

One of the topics was the recent scandal of the D.C. rabbi arrested for peeping on women in the ritual bath.

[Let me stop here and say that 2014 was a horrible year in terms of men I respected being accused of sexual assault,whether it was Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, or this rabbi. And 2015 is not looking much be er.]

Someone silenced the roomwith this remark: "What on earth wouldmo vate someone to be a peeping Tom? Imean,couldn’t you just go see a stripper?"

It was a valid ques on. A rabbi is the spiritual center of the community. Everybody respects him. Why would such aperson destroy himself over something so incredibly stupid?

And someone else chimed in. "Someone who is incredibly arrogant. Who is always right, and nobody else."

Some mes I reflect on this rabbi, who I did not know personally but who was, truly, venerated here in D.C. He con-verted my friend, who spoke so highly of him. His synagogue is devastated, decimated, trying to go on a er thisnuclear bomb of a scandal. His wife got up and walked out.

"You can’t make this stuff up," said the first one. "It’s something right out of a novel."

It’s a painful novel, an unnecessary novel, a novel that never wanted to be wri en. Just like the one about billionairepedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who could have been remembered for helping poor young women instead of enslavingthem.

* * *

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Mygreat-grandfather, Rabbi DovidGarfinkel, was famous for his pessimis c saying: "Just don’tmake theworldworse."

In my life I never understood how you could have this type of a tude. Why not tell people to make the world a be erplace?

Looking at the downfall of so many brilliant people carried away by their arrogance, I think I understand what he wassaying.

You will be tempted to "save the world" out of ego, not out of true greatness. Know that in advance, and don’t thinkyou’re so great. Understand this represents your destruc ve capacity, and focus mostly on restraining yourself.

If you do this, there is no limit to the true and infinite excellence you can achieve.

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Photo credit: [2]Adriel Hampton / Flickr. All opinions my own.

1. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DixMe5zsGiU/VKqMbNHimWI/AAAAAAAAQ8U/9h4mo_M3S9o/s1600/16018128627_7ff44d1088_z.jpg2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/adrielhampton/16018128627/

Crisis PR: Alan Dershowitz (2015-01-07 08:11)

As a young person I thought about becoming a lawyer. One of the reasons was Alan Dershowitz. He was a textbookexample of a smart Jewish kid who made a difference with his brilliant mind. My mother knew him as "Dershy," andthough I’d never met him, it was almost like he was a part of our larger family.

As me went on, I chose another path and stopped following Dershowitz’s career. But on the periphery I wasalways aware that he was a staunch defender of Israel. I was glad to have someone that smart on Israel’s side, giventhe amount of an -Zionism out there both among non-Jews and the Jewish community, frankly.

At some point I found out that Dershowitz defended a number of men who vic mized women of many ages.Claus von Bulow, OJ Simpson, the Hasidic rabbi-pedophile Boruch Lebovitz, and more recently the pedophile pimpJeffrey Epstein.

That sort of made me sick. The pa ern of it.

Everyone is en tled to a defense in this country. That’s what makes this country free. But there is somethingthat bothers me about Dershowitz, who also wrote a book called "The Abuse Excuse." It’s more than just thearrogance he clearly displays.

Somewhere, there is a line between doing your job and personally sympathizing for clients who are actuallyevil people. There is a line between not indulging vic m behavior and insensi vity or even brutality towards thosewho have been vic mized. I could be wrong, but I feel like Dershowitz crosses that line. Maybe in his mind.

Today he stands accused of sex with a minor, one of the vic ms of his client Jeffrey Epstein. As a Jew I do notwant these accusa ons to be true. Forget that it will fuel the already raging an -Semi sm and an -Zionism out there.It has to do with the fact that we are all one people, and what hurts one of us hurts everyone.

Did he do it? I don’t know. I think he likes his sta on in life, and wouldn’t do anything to threaten that. Itseems unlikely that he would be so stupid. But well-respected people have been known to do stupid things thatjeopardize their careers.

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Arrogant people in par cular are tripped up by their fantasies of infallibility.

If he is guilty, there is a videotape somewhere in Epstein’s house, and legal wranglings aside, I believe that itwill come out. The accuser is also wri ng a book; I don’t know why she would pick Dershowitz to accuse, and I don’tbelieve that sexual assault vic ms tend to fabricate accusa ons.

So...there we are.

Many have come to Dershowitz’s defense, because of his efforts to support Israel. To me, the one has nothingto do with the other and in fact Dershowitz is harming Israel’s cause right now by leaning on those loyal es.

Un l he is cleared, his brand tarnishes the Israel brand and he really ought to step away from the whole Mid-dle East fray.

In fact, from a personal branding point of view, it was probably not a good move to spend his career defend-ing horrible people and then try to take on Israel’s cause. Pedophiles and wife-beaters don’t mix with the Holy Land.

Looking back on the past few days, because it’s only been a couple of days since the story broke, I do thinkDershowitz could have avoided this en re whirlwind. Most people would be predisposed to think him innocent. Hecould have acted normal - expressed sympathy for the vic m, which she deserves, and let competent professionalsadvise him as to the right course of ac on.

But he acted arrogant, like a jackass, frankly. Threatening the accuser’s a orneys, lambas ng her as a liar,has ly scribbling an affidavit, and generally going over the top.

Here are two cents from from someone who cares about vic m’s rights, the reputa on of Jewish people, theunity of the Jewish community, and the welfare of Israel. My personal opinion only.

Mr. Dershowitz, you seem like a bully. Rather than using your many contacts and legal knowledge to blanketthe system with an a ack on the vic m and all who have represented her, back off. File whatever affidavits youneed to file, but show some respect, too. This girl has suffered - your client took away her childhood. He probablydestroyed her life.

Forget that you’re a great lawyer. Now is the me to be a mensch.

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All opinions my own.

"Save Penina’s Children’s Charity" - A Jewish Tragedy On Many Levels (2015-01-08 20:58)

So sad tonight to be wri ng this blog. It’s actually painful to put my fingers to the keyboard.

Today an anonymous le er arrived in the mail. Related to my earlier [1]blog on Pearl Perry Reich, it asked meto look into a supposed charity she promotes on her website. From what I can tell, this organiza on is run by her

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boyfriend, Shauli Grossman.

The le er asked me to help prevent a poten al fraud perpetrated by Ms. Reich. But it seemed the underlyingcomplaint also had to do with her open rebellion against Judaism, and specifically her immodesty.

I did go to check out her website, the charity, etc. and here is the informa on I could find. If any of it iswrong, please tell me.

• Ms. Reich runs a website where she [2]sells jewelry. There is a style blog on the site.

• The same site has a tab that links to a [3]supposed charity, "Save Penina’s Children," which is supposedly nolonger about her own children but more generally about protec ng the right of parents and children to betogether despite family religious disagreements. The charity page also has a blog.

• I cannot find this organiza on in the [4]IRS directory of tax-exempt organiza ons.

There are so many tragedies here.

• It is tragic that the religious community could not find a way to retain and harness the talents of this obviouslycrea ve and caring person, and her boyfriend.

• It is tragic that a dispute such as this had to go public and degenerate to such a level.

• It is tragic that the children should be confused and hurt by the divorce, the figh ng, and the different messagesabout religion.

• It is tragic that Ms. Reich and her boyfriend did not receive more secular educa on. I can tell from the bloghow much poten al is there.

• It is tragic that Ms. Reich’s good inten ons are going bad with the site. I don’t believe she’s trying to cheatanyone. I think she just doesn’t know what she’s doing.

May G-d bless and protect this woman, her boyfriend, and the Jewish community and help us find healing and peace.May He end the needless and baseless hatred that keeps us in exile.

_ _ _

All opinions my own.

1. http://www.dannielleblumenthal.com/2012/03/pearl-perry-reich-doesnt-speak-for-me.html2. http://pearlperri.com/collections/3. http://pearlperri.com/blogs/pearlperri4. http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check

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No, Government Branding Is Not A $$ Waste (2015-01-09 08:44)

[1]

Look...I totally get that you, the public are sick of us in the government was ng your money. I am a Libertarian, forcrying out loud!

But when it comes to spending money on brand, I have to tell you, you’re worrying about the wrong thing.

This is not to say we should throw the money out the window. I’m pre y well aware of the ar cles slamming the tensof millions of dollars we spend on slick graphic produc ons. I’m an an -propaganda, open government advocate. AndI worked as a brand consultant - you, the taxpayer most certainly can get soaked.

It’s also not to say we should do branding wrong. The reality is that most organiza ons, government or not, s ll thinkof a brand as a pre y li le logo. Yeah, sure they might have a brand reference handbook, a statement of culturalvalues, and other trinkets of goodwill.

But real branding is so much deeper than all of those things. So much more integrated. I feel like the Europeansunderstand that much be er than we do here in America. (Although to be fair, there are some in the U.S. who havelong understood.) Already ten years ago I read with apprecia on about a more holis c approach: looking at theen re business as the brand, the cri cal role of employee communica ons, aligning the brand with corporate socialresponsibility, and so on.

The U.S. federal government has becomemuchmore brand-savvy. But it has not yet absorbed the fundamental basicsof branding, which have much more to do with organiza onal development, frankly, than marke ng.

We need to do be er. But we will not do be er without a significant, significant investment in the effort. It comesdown to money, but it’s not really about the money - in the end one actually saves on needless, duplica ve andconfusing expenditures.

I started out my branding career at Young & Rubicam, working in the Brand Futures Group (later The IntelligenceFactory). That was all about trendspo ng; it was all about consumer research, branding to the outside. Later, Ilearned the more holis c approach at The Brand Consultancy, as one of their consultants in Washington, D.C., and asthe head of its interna onal Ins tute for Brand Leadership.

What they taught me at TBC, and what I learned from the experts at the IBL, is so very simple and so basic, but let’sgo ahead and shout it from the roo ops just in case.

YOUR BRAND IS YOUR PROMISE.

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IT IS THE PROMISE YOU MAKE.

IT IS THE PROMISE THAT YOUMUST KEEP.

In the government we promise to do somany things. But themost fundamental promisewemake is to work on behalfof the taxpayer. We owe the American public a system that works, that is efficient, that is lean, that is frui ul, thatserves them when and where and how they need it. We owe them a system that does not obey our stovepipes butrather conforms to the way they think and to what they need from a ra onally ordered and civil society.

It would be great if one person alone could write amanifesto and have that transform the en re way that governmentworks. But the reality is that to achieve a great brand you have to bring in resources, you have to work among thepeople on a massive scale and for a sustained period of me. You can never let up.

One final thought here...I’m currently addicted to the new show "Marco Polo" on Ne lix. The show portrays GenghisKhan, how he leads, who he is, what he says in order to mo vate the hordes to ride into ba le and basically get theirheads chopped off.

Genghis Khan, at least as he is portrayed in the show, is an amazing leader and a builder of theMongol brand, althoughone might not naturally think of it that way. Every word he u ers, every step he takes, every breath he breathes isabout the higher order of theMongolian people - their iden ty, their values, their meaning as a people. He welcomesall religions into the kingdom but tells his son, "You will lead as a Mongol and not as a Chinese man, or I will kill youmyself."

In Judaism it is the religious custom to mourn a person who marries outside the faith - as if they had died. It isseemingly illogical to do this, right? A er all, it splits up the family, causes ri s, and the Jewish person can and o endoes maintain their faith separately.

But there is a point to this belief, as unpopular as that may be: Religious observance is part of a total and holis csystem. It is a brand.

You can’t pick and choose from among the fundamentals and s ll be in keeping with the brand, any more than youcould pick apart the Starbucks mermaid and s ll call it authen c.

The lack of understanding as to what true branding is, is the reason why somuchmoney has been wasted on so-calledbranding. It’s why the public distrusts government efforts in this direc on. And it’s a shame, because we need to doa be er job of making promises and keeping them.

_ _ _

All opinions my own. Photo by [2]epsos.de via Flickr.

1. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wf8-b1-6Sis/VK_NCdYoZbI/AAAAAAAAQ84/N95zzrjitSU/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-09%2Bat%2B7.10.30%2BAM.png2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/9032195005/in/photolist-iPDfSg-4KN9xj-5MhiEU-iPCSE1-eL9mU6-4pxDZ5-pQb62S-pFvMp-ktmJjD-oHLPFw-ctAyLq-hs9oDJ-oq6UEY-nWmFj3-pfXPUT-aDv3Y6-6g8x4Q-7ttZaj-bkcGp3-okW3Fn-q5jUY5-d9uhuC-d9uhPU-d9uhkb-pVaFbL-bkcEPh-9WyPHD-7mCw3t-qscHZd-gYUZuK-d9sYPu-d9sYhC-d9sZQL-7jU6cT-8usD9K-nopWq9-3xYpYM-8S69uS-cyKZpm-d9uhGN-8P6Fnc-eCJLSS-d9t1ob-d9sZgE-5dfXKV-asdFxW-diiDUU-diiEq1-diiE9L-kc3X87

The Anthropologist of Shul (2015-01-10 20:33)

My running joke is that it’s my "secular New Year’s resolu on" to go to synagogue with the family.

Of course it is easy to make this kind of resolu on when a kabbalist tells your father that your ancestors on the OtherSide are "pleading" with you "to come back to the fold."

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And you get li le reminders here and there in the form of seeing 6:13 on the clock at opportune moments - such asjust before the Sabbath or when you break it.

It might seem like I’ve suddenly turned over this gigan c new leaf and embraced total religious observance fully,completely and in what you might think of as the extreme. However the kabbalist specifically said that I should takeit slow, and I am taking it slow.

I’d rather do baby steps and stand in each concrete movement forward for a good long while before a emp ngsomething else.

Just one less sin...just one less sin.

Shul has been the hardest step for me to take. Going to shul with the family was the request.

The other two areas are emo onally and prac cally easier somehow. I definitely resist full observance at themoment,but cogni vely I can imagine the point at which I might get there.

• Kosher - it makes conceptual sense to keep the body holy, and is not embarrassing. Nobody really observes if Imake a blessing on my food, or what I choose to eat. (Although my workmates have no ced that I show up atlunch with tea and a bag of potato chips now.)

• Shabbos - feels so healthy spiritually, emo onally and physically. It does good things for the family and we’reall in it together. When it gets to be too much - and let me tell you that 24 hours with no computer is mostdefinitely s ll too much for me - I read on the computer. But no wri ng, no pos ng.

Shul is more of a challenge though. I just don’t want to go...don’t want to be reminded that I’m not "good enough,"don’t want to be confronted by fully observant people. I imagine what they think of me, a phony or lazy or someother adjec ve. I tell myself that only men are obligated to go, so technically it’s not even required.

But I’m going to make myself get up and go, with the family, as instructed. Even if it’s half an hour.

Today I went and precisely a er half an hour, though I didn’t look at the clock, it proved too much for me. I hustledout of there and stood in the lobby. There were people I didn’t know milling all around.

Crazy how you can live in a town for fi een years of your life, call yourself Jewish and even somewhat religious, andliterally not know anybody.

It wasn’t as bad as I feared it would be. I introduced myself to several people. A few were cold and unfriendly,frankly...just as I had feared. But I didn’t die: Another was kind, and warm and friendly. And I saw a couple of otheracquaintances, who took the me to talk to me and wish me well.

To calm myself down, because I waited there for my husband for a while, I told myself I was the "anthropologist ofshul," a tac c once recommended by a career counselor as a way of acclima ng to a new agency.

I no ced that there were all types of people in the synagogue that day. Some of them from America, some not. Somehyperac ve, some calm. Some super-observant in dress, others moderate. Some talking about weddings, othersabout police brutality and civil rights, others bouncing their babies. Some very ill, and grateful not to be laying in ahospital bed or falling to the floor in a spasm.

We went to the kiddush and stood there. "It was a really nice service," my husband said. "I’m surprised you le thereso early. Today it was lots of singing."

It was true, they had a guest rabbi and the style of the service was more high-energy, more full of emo on. I lovedhow they sang to the Torah and danced in front of the Ark. I could really feel it.

I felt bad, and admi ed: "I was claustrophobic a er half an hour, like always."

"I’m surprised."

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"I was standing in the front row," I said. "There were no seats in the back. I felt smushed."

"Oh."

We stood there drinking orange soda.

"It’s a nice synagogue," he said a er a couple of minutes had elapsed. "A lot of nice people here."

I looked around at the group. It turned out that I did know a few people, a er all. I saw the faces of those whowere athis father’s (may he rest in peace) funeral. Who stood in the cold on a Friday a ernoon, made a minyan and selflesslyshoveled the dirt over the casket.

"Yeah," I said. "It is. They are."

"You want to go?"

"OK."

We walked out the exit and someone waved goodbye to us.

Maybe we don’t ever get over our fears, our hangups and bad memories. But we go forward, we have to, right?

I understood then what my aunt said to me when we spoke on the phone this week.

"As you become more religious, don’t go backward in me. Start completely fresh, like a child."

_ _

All opinions my own.

"Why should Muslims repudiate terror? 99.9% of Muslims have nothing to do with terror."(2015-01-11 10:28)

[1]

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This is a great branding ques on that came to me by way of Twi er. Even though it’s none of my business whatMuslims do, I will try to answer it. Not just because it is of interest professionally, but out of many personal interestsas well.

By way of a lengthy introduc on to my thoughts, here is what happened to us just last night.

It was about 8 p.m., just a er Shabbos ended. The local kosher pizza place was packed. It was as if none ofus had eaten for 24 hours, we had to go out and get our "fix" of pizza, french fries or whatever...like blades of grasss cking up out of the earth a er a long winter, we came up for air and out to socialize.

It was nice.

About half an hour into si ng there, I looked out the window and saw three police officers headed towardsthe shop.

I’m a li le slow on the uptake, and it didn’t occur to me that we were si ng right on top of the window, liter-ally, so that if there was any trouble we’d be first to get hit, G-d forbid.

It did occur to me that there were two cop cars si ng outside the synagogue on Saturday morning, presum-ably to defend us against a poten al terrorist a ack, like a sympathy a ack for the one in Paris.

My husband got beat up for being Jewish as a kid. He took self-defense for many years. Immediately upon

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seeing the cops he started to tell us, "Get away from the windows. Get away from the windows now."

I looked up and it seemed like some people were backing away from the doorway, as they looked outsidewith fear in their eyes. I stood up and the rest of us did too.

The cops walked up to some object around the corner from the pizza place and shone a skinny flashlight on it.I was terrified...what if someone had planted a bomb just outside? I imagined the headline flashing across TheWashington Post, "Jews Firebombed At Local Pizza Establishment," and I could see in my mind the blood spa eredall over the faces of the people who had eaten there so happily five minutes before.

Probably like a lot of people, I strive to be oblivious to all the poten al dangers of life so that I can actually goabout my daily business. But it’s always there, under the surface, and the sight of those three police officers reallytriggered it.

What went through my mind in those few seconds? Because there was apparently nothing outside, and thepolice officers walked away and we finished our food.

I was not thinking that the local Muslim community had somehow targeted us. I have to tell you, as I said onTwi er - I live among Muslims, I work with Muslims, and I observe Muslims in the area community all the me. As aJew whose observance is pre y far from what it should be, as someone who makes flimsy excuses for her failure todo be er, I only wish that I had half of their religious devo on.

• It was a Muslim woman praying on the D.C. Metro who inspired me to cover my hair in the tradi onal Jewishstyle many years ago, a prac ce I have since abandoned.

• It was a Muslim employee who showed great loyalty to me in a workplace where, frankly, I was stabbed in theback so frequently, le and right, that I did not even see the knives coming anymore.

• It is a Muslim colleague who is so deeply respec ul of Allah, who is really G-d, the one Universal G-d we allshare, that said "No, No, No" when someone jokingly referred to him as "the G-d of the website," meaning thathe had great exper se.

• It is the Muslims who live in my building who convene prayer groups, quietly, bringing food to one another’shomes. They stand in the elevator withme, we do our laundry in the samemachines, and I am obviously Jewishbut have never once felt any hatred from them.

• And it is a Muslim who, in Paris, saved Jews from the recent terrorist a ack by hiding them in a walk-in freezer.

It is true, occasionally we have had the experience of hatred directed at us. But it is rare, and one could argue thatJews just as occasionally direct their hatred at Muslims. If there is extremism, as the Dalai Lama once wrote, "thereare troublemakers in all religions" and it exists on both sides.

So I was not afraid that Muslims had a acked us. But I was afraid that radical, hateful fundamentalists speak-ing in the name of Islam had done so.

Which gets us back to the ques on of brand. Why should Muslims repudiate terror, if they are not terror-ists?

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And in the ques on itself is a kind of raw honesty, which is the honesty I have experienced from my Muslimcolleagues, and which I appreciate.

The answer is that unfortunately, people (and groups) o en get labeled inaccurately. It may not be true, itmay not be fair, but there you go, there it is.

Even more unfair, to Muslims in par cular, is that people have spoken on their behalf and called terrorism areligious thing.

Jews are no stranger to an -Semi sm, and to jus fy it many labels have been slapped on us. We’re all wealthymoney-cheaters, right? We’re manipula ve liars who all work for the Mossad.

It goes on and on...and it’s par cularly sad to hear of a local young woman, Jewish and - like most Jews - notwealthy. She goes to public school, where the kids thought it would be fun to throw coins in her face.

Worse yet is when Jews do bad things, things that have nothing to do with religion at all, and say they are act-ing in the service of G-d himself. That is nothing short of blasphemy.

So I really, really get it. I get that people act crappy no ma er what religious label they possess.

And I’m not here to a ack Muslims, apologize for Jews, or anything like that at all. I don’t have a hiddenagenda. What I want, very explicitly, is to live in peace. And just like violence begins with words of hatred, peacebegins with concilia on and mutual understanding.

What we know is this, like Tevye said in Fiddler on the Roof: "It’s a very big world," plenty big enough for allof us to share.

G-d is also infinitely merciful, and infinitely gracious.

What we learned in synagogue this week: If we take just a couple of steps toward Him, he will take care ofthe rest, and take care of all of us.

So branding would be very helpful now. Muslims and Jews in par cular ought to speak words of peace, to-gether with mutual respect and security.

Branding does not have to be a tool of propagandists and corporate shills. It can be used for higher purposes.

Done right, maybe it could help bring the Great Redemp on that all of us seek. Without the needless blood-shed.

Let’s unite the world in favor of peace. Let’s call the enemy what it is - terror - and get together as a planet toeradicate it.

_ _

All opinions my own. Photo by [2]Bart via Flickr. No endorsement expressed or implied.

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1. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xw-eSOAR5FE/VLKMwdvEyvI/AAAAAAAAQ94/Khn31EWEjx4/s1600/2051756510_c0138daf6e_z.jpg2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/cayusa/2051756510/in/photolist-geuj2F-8A2Bz-bysnVJ-2Qjwjt-4hrLpi-5WcFWr-48iMJf-pMbezf-pLvxzo-6KzdBE-c23gi-6ZHaJV-bX245y-5Ub2nK-4GzSic-4LfBMb-5cKJXX-dFYwFV-kGQwMY-um9uH

A Comment On Tim Hill’s "Entering The Third Age Of Branding" (2015-01-11 11:14)

Here’s the ar cle:

[1]h p://www.brandingmagazine.com/2013/05/23/third-age-of-branding/

Comment:

Respec ully - the first and second age of branding, agree were about func onal then emo onal/symbolic valuerespec vely. The third age of branding, perhaps could be defined age the age of the brand hijack by people (per thebook of that name). True we are bombarded by brands and look at them in the context of a total experience. Butthe point of branding today is to deliver an authen c human experience - almost like buying a friend. This is whyemployee branding has become primary (because they must believe) and why social media ma ers (because we talkto each other over the brand’s official language - per the Cluetrain Manifesto.)

_ _ _

All opinions my own.

1. http://www.brandingmagazine.com/2013/05/23/third-age-of-branding/

Comment: The First 20 Minutes of "Century of the Self: Happiness Machines" (2015-01-11 11:19)

Link:[1]h p://vimeo.com/85948693

Comment:

This is a seriously good show. It’s going to take me a while to get through, but in just the first few minutes Ilearned about:

• The connec on betweenWWI propaganda and the birth ofmodern adver sing, marke ng, branding and publicrela ons

• How "public rela ons" got its name - as a be er-sounding subs tute for propaganda

• How Freudian theory was used to sell cigare es to women

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If any of this sounds good, I highly recommend watching this show. I’ll keep pos ng comments as I watch it.

_ _

All opinions my own.

1. http://vimeo.com/85948693

The Real Threat To Israel’s Na onal Security (A Comment On Ridley Sco ’s "Exodus") (2015-01-12 09:06)

Ridley Sco ’s "Exodus" may not be historically accurate on all counts. It is not supposed to be, and in changing thefacts a li le bit, it is extraordinarily effec ve. Whether you’re Jewish or not it is impossible to escape the power ofthis film ar s cally, spiritually, and religiously.

Without giving away too much, the essence of the movie is Moshe’s character. Chris an Bale convincinglyplays a man who is se led and happy in Egypt’s royal palace at first, who thrashes and flails at the mere thought ofbeing a Jew by birth. Yet by the end he finds ul mate meaning in leading the people - "my people" he now says - tothe Promised Land.

We are introduced to G-d through the person of a child. Bale argues with Him forcefully and repeatedly throughoutthe movie: We’re supposed to understand that Moshe has his own mind, wants others to do the same, and comesto G-d out of his own choosing.

G-d honors this, but He says to Moshe - don’t write the Ten Commandments unless we’re on the same page.

Moshe nods understanding and writes them.

The leader is worried about the prospects of the Jewish people. "What will happen when they’re not runninganymore?" he asks. Meaning, what will happen when there are "two Jews and three opinions," when the people arefractured. How will they be saved again?

That, right there, is such a powerful message of the movie and for Israel its main point.

The real threat to Israel’s na onal security is the failure to acknowledge the Jewish religion as its founda on -to serve G-d the way we have been asked to.

Just as the Jews were liberated from Egypt through a series of miracles, we can only hope to obtain and retainthe Promised Land with wildly out-of-propor on G-dly interven on and support.

But we’ve forgo en. We ar culate the promise of the land to us, but we repudiate the rules of its giver.

Which are, that Israel it is a Holy Land and we Jews are en tled to it only in accordance with the tenets of ob-servance to the faith.

Over and over again throughout our na onal history, G-d has hit the "eject" bu on specifically because wedisgraced His name. Our holy Temples were destroyed as well, because we disgraced our kinship through baselesshatred to each other.

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When we serve, we will be blessed, and when we don’t we will be punished accordingly.

It is true, the modern State of Israel was formed by people who were not religious. In a series of miracles,that con nue on to this day. I believe that G-d wants the Jews to se le it. But we have taken the liberty we’ve beengiven too far. With the arrogance of thinking we can totally disregard our Maker in the process, and just do thingsthe way we want.

You can’t separate Zionism from Judaism. The two are related, they are one and the same, they are integral.

When you realize this, it becomes clear that the enemy is really ourselves. It’s the ego which says we aresmarter than G-d, that the Torah is obsolete, and that we can make up our own laws to supersede His.

But it’s not - and we can’t.

Our failure to serve in the proper way, to honor the land’s essen al iden ty, is the root of the strength of theterrorists - those who seek to eliminate and eradicate the Jewish state and blow its people sky-high.

The ba les appear to be happening on Earth, but they are really taking place in Heaven. As the representa-ves of our physical enemies say: "The Jews are not worthy of the Land," because we refuse to adopt a theocra cmodel of governance while they (so they say) are willing to.

If we would only humble ourselves and submit as a na on to the One G-d. If we would only, even in concept,admit that the Torah is the governing law of the land. If we would only honor spiritual leaders and the study of Torahinstead of mocking them and spi ng on it as a useless waste of me as versus military service and industrial work.

This may be very hard to comprehend, but in a sense Israel’s na onal enemies are its best friends, becausethey remind us who we really are, when it is oh so very temp ng to forget.

In the movie the Pharoah asks Moshe how his G-d can be a "baby killer." It reminded me of the war in Gazalast summer, when the terrorists (as usual) turned on their own people and then blamed the Jews and Israelis fora acking them. They are masters of this propaganda.

There are me when religious service calls you to pain, torture and death. It is extremely hard to understand.But we waste too much me deconstruc ng G-d’s ways, too much me relying on our own ideas of right and wrong,as well as worrying about what the rest of the world thinks.

One thing I do know: There are enough deadly nuclear weapons pointed every which way in the world. A mil-itary war is worse than fruitless. It is absolutely crazy to play a game of chicken and tell yourself that G-d will reallysave you in the end. Why does it have to get that far?

If only we would bend our necks and accept the yoke of G-d. Take just a step in that direc on, and re-establish Israelas a Jewish State in service of the One.

That is the real task which G-d has set for us. And strangely it seems easier for us to fight a bloody war thanto submit to His supreme power over the world, over our lives and over the Land.

It is hard to submit, though. It’s hard for me. I understand.

May G-d mercifully lead us to do the right thing, because we are a na on weak in our ways. May He help usto accept the yoke of na onhood once again, so that He delivers us from strife and re-establishes peace on Earth and

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in the Jewish na onal homeland, with a single snap of His fingers.

_ _ _

All opinions my own.

Electable (2015-01-13 09:58)

[1]

That elusive, incredibly valuable quality we call a "leadership brand."

Really, what we mean is "charisma."

What is it? Who has it? How do you get it? Can it be taught, or bought? Or is it something you’re born with?

As a li le girl I used to watch Sunday morning poli cal TV. I remember how the panel went at it on that show,TheMcLaughlin Group. And they would vote on the issues throughout the show, and at the end.

"Issue 1!" John McLaughlin, the host would say, and Eleanor Cli and John Buchanan would go at it.

"Issue 2!" then round and round.

Always McLaughlin would have the deciding vote, and always he’d be right on in my mind...because you know what?He was electable! Even though McLaughlin was a moderator, asking for the expert opinion of others, he was the realleader. He had that secret ingredient.

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Very few people have true charisma, which is why so few are electable. In fact it is not something you can teach, buyor acquire. It is something you must be born with.

You know who has it? Which leader came to your mind when I asked? Yep, you guessed it - President Barack Obama.You can agree with his policies or disagree with them (and I am a super-supporter of Israel, so I’ve got a lot of concernsto be sure), you can cri cize his performance on this stage or that, but it is undeniable that if the President shows upat your front door you are going to be elated.

When that doorbell rings you’ll say, "Hello, Barry," as if you had known him all your life. Because he has the capacityto make you feel like a friend, and you’ll get out there and play basketball with him even if you’ve never played.

Here’s another leader who has it: former President Bill Clinton. Again, you may not agree with him; I’m not so oldthat I don’t recall all the scandals that dogged him throughout his Administra on. And I don’t think we’ve seen theend of those. But similarly to President Obama, there is something about Mr. Clinton, when he shows up on TV, thatmakes you simply agree.

A third example, because not all leaders are Democrats: former President Reagan. Who did not laugh and enjoyMichael J. Fox’s portrayal of Alex P. Keaton, the junior Republicanwannabewho quoted all things Reagan to his former-hippie parents on Family Ties? It was Reagan whose charisma extended well past his own persona - he actuallysuccessfully branded the en re United States. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!" - what a priceless symbolicmoment, and nobody else could have u ered those words in that way and generated such a level of patrio sm.

We could go on here, and it could take all day. But the point is this: Very few people actually have any sort of charisma,much less the kind that would get them elected.

It’s hard to admit that you’re scruffy, unfunny and plain. But if you are, take a seat with the rest of us, and get on withyour life and enjoy it.

Personal branding can take you very far. But the key is to amplify what it is that you have, not create whatever it isthat you don’t.

It’s why women look be er without an excess of makeup. We’d rather know the natural you, than have to find thereal person among the layers.

_ _ _

All opinions my own. Photo by [2]Connie Liegl / Flickr.

1. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y7rn_3rpi64/VLUkkRWR8RI/AAAAAAAAQ-M/8tDr8dPhvZA/s1600/1193753418_e9593b597b_z.jpg2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/moonsoleil/1193753418/in/photolist-2Puiiu-cMxodm-6mSmS1-7YxwfV-68NZhL-3FZEHe-ncuQUb-eHmL-9NNFaL-6c3Hh-6Y6vmS-6Y75YY-6xchN-5SUL1J-7oJtXB-9JrJwf-6A1jFg-6A1jG2-aueEmY-9f3rUV-i36rv5-aLbzLe-9q2eCU-asGTZz-hSivfB-dZewM4-3L5n1D-gqfqyH-eZG9Cd-9DZimC-9dpTFW-n6vp56-9Fhzcf-9FexV1-9wSbQJ-gqgJKQ-9DUf7b-pt5WDB-p64dU-5YBUAn-d9wq9Y-5X2Gnv-djiMkt-cMxnMJ-dsbZdz-5Tce5E-em1air-aEyDs4-86mkwK-9DQ897

How the U.S. Should Respond to "Radical Islamic" Terrorism (2015-01-13 21:45)

[1]

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"Radical Islamic" in quotes, because this is not true Islam, but rather a modern, manufactured, extremist and insaneideology that really exists to repudiate the lure of Western culture.

Focusing on these moronic types because they seem to be everywhere causing trouble in the world, whether it’sknocking out Twi er feeds, kidnapping and raping women for sport, or cu ng off people’s heads as trophies.

Because they have targeted both America and Israel, the land of my birth and allegiance, and the land of my na on,which I love.

And because we can learn some very specific lessons from using them as an example of how the U.S. messes up whendealing with terrorists generally.

In this way: We are overly, slavishly, sickeningly polite, when a straight-on frontal a ack is what’s called for.

We think we are so smart, responding with "quiet" moves like sanc ons and the like. We’ve become so poli callycorrect about things, so Ivy-league educated, so postmodernist, so postcultural and postcolonialist, that we literallyhave lost sight of what is up and what is down.

It’s very simple: You’re not supposed to honor terrorists. You are supposed to kill them. They are not just "bad

28

people," they are bad people on a mission to take away life, freedom, and humanity from everybody else.

The U.S. demonstrates flawed reasoning in dealing diploma cally with the fools who take the name of Islam in vain.They seriously believe that such idiots are worried about comics. They are not - believe me, they’re not.

Religion for them is only a decep on. They use it the same way they use women and li le kids as human shields.Because they know you’ll get scared to fight back - you’ll run away.

A couple of thoughts about misplaced respect.

On Passover Jews read the Haggadah, which literally means "to tell." We tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt, wetell related stories and sing songs along the way.

Part of the service concerns the "four sons" who ask about the Jewish faith. There is the wise son, the simple son, theone who does not even know where to begin - and the rebellious one.

Re: the rebellious one - he is "wicked," and the father is to stand up and knock his teeth out.

For a long me this response bothered me. Surely the rebellious son is, deep inside, a very good child. Reach towardhim, my ins ncts said, and perhaps he might be redeemable.

But the rabbis who wrote the Haggadah were smarter than me. They knew that there is a difference between ques-ons asked out of curiosity, and daggers disguised as ques ons - pure hate.

The wicked child, even if this is a Jewish child, is the child that you must symbolically strike. The evil cannot run itsmouth at the table, because it’s only before long before the en re community is infected. Spirituality is delicate; itneeds protec on.

Here’s another story.

The Torah tells of King Saul, who in ancient mes was punished because he did not slaughter all the people of Amalek.Instead of listening to G-d, he showed mercy on the enemy.

Again, why the seeming cruelty? Why punish him for being a good guy, with a conscience?

The answer comes in another story about the same king. He was so jealous of his servant David, who eventuallybecame king. Because David was the be er warrior. And in his quest to murder David, and quench his jealous thirst,the king wound up killing an innocent town of Jewish priests.

So you see? When you follow your "gut ins ncts," or the fashionable thinking of the day, you may tell yourself it’ssmart and common sense. But it is also possible that you’ve lost your moral compass, and someone has to remindyou of that - bring you back to Planet Earth.

I have no idea what the U.S. is thinking when it comes to terrorism. I don’t know the story on the ground; I’m sure it’s"much more complicated" than it seems on the surface. It always is, isn’t it?

But there is one thing I know for sure. It is never a good idea to "respect" a terrorist, and it’s just plan dumb to letthem fool you into believing that they represent any kind of religion.

Sadly, some people are on this Earth just to do others harm.

And the appropriate response is to destroy them.

_ _ _ _ _

All opinions my own. Photo credit: [2] Johannes Grødem - [3]Flickr: Day a er Oslo bombing, via Wikimedia

1. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FlBC55rbEfs/VLXKE2xcflI/AAAAAAAAQ-g/QKzH7cqEKu0/s1600/675px-Day_after_Oslo_bombing-6.jpg2. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:2011_Oslo_explosion#mediaviewer/File:Day_after_Oslo_bombing-6.jpg3. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:2011_Oslo_explosion#mediaviewer/File:Day_after_Oslo_bombing-6.jpg

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An Open Le er to President Obama: On Figh ng Radical Islamic Terrorism - What I Learned From A Bed-bug (2015-01-18 00:34)

Dear Mr. President,

I did not want to write this le er.

For one thing, I am a civil servant, and I don’t want to cause any trouble. For another, it’s a heavy and upset-ng topic, and I’d much rather kick back and relax on the weekend. Here’s a third: I doubt my qualifica ons to speakto you. I’m not smart enough, not educated enough, and you have experts all around you, and updates 24/7/365.And finally, I am a Jew, so you might think that my agenda is only to help my people.

I will reach out to you anyway, Sir. In all these capaci es, as the total person that I am. It is you who has thepower and influence to fight back, and I believe the American people are wai ng for you to do it.

Here is a li le bit about me, Sir. My Hebrew name is Hadassah - born in 1971, the same year Starbucks wasfounded, on the Fast of Esther.

The Fast of Esther is associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim. It happened roughly 350 BCE, in Persia.Around that me, a Jewish man namedMordechai saved the king’s life. His "reward" was the wrath of a royal advisornamed Haman, who became enraged that Mordechai would not bow down to him.

Haman plo ed against the Jews and almost succeeded in having them killed. But Mordechai’s niece, Hadas-sah, interceded with the king, who was also her husband. Because of the way she handled it, the evil advisor washanged.

Just like me, Hadassah was terrified to speak. She knew if she messed up what the consequences would be.So to bolster her merit, she asked the Jews to abstain from food for three days and pray. The Fast of Esthercommemorates this.

It is in her honor, that I tell you the following story. Hopefully G-d will help me.

It’s about a lesson a bedbug taught me. Or to be more specific, the existen al threat posed to me by a bed-bug. Which sheds light on the situa on in which we find ourselves, with radical Islamic terrorism.

Exactly one year ago, my daughter woke me up in the middle of the night, screaming.

"Mommy, come here! Please! Wake up!"

I couldn’t imagine what was making her scream like that and I came running into her room.

"Look! Look!"

She li ed up the sheet from her bed. At first, I couldn’t tell what she was showing me.

"Is that dirt?" I said. It looked like the edge of the sheet had earth on it or something, like a lot of earthsomeone packed into the part where a fi ed sheet gets tucked under the bed.

Then, the dirt started moving...independently.

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"Oh my G-d," I said.

I didn’t even know what a bedbug was. But it didn’t take a genius to realize that our home had been invadedby thousands and thousands of bedbugs. And they were all over her bed.

All she saw at first was a single bedbug, crawling across the bed. But what lay beneath was an explosive night-mare of pes lence.

I thought I was so quick-thinking, grabbing that en re ma ress and the sheet and taking everything down-stairs. Back upstairs, I back-slapped and congratulated myself: "Well, we’re done now, let’s go to sleep."

But it wasn’t over - not at all. It could have been over with pre y quickly, but I refused to admit that we hadan infesta on. And even when I did admit it, I refused to call in the big guns, i.e. a proper treatment company, andkept dealing with it "on my own."

Which of course, made everything worse.

By the me we finally got rid of them, we’d bought and discarded ma resses; washed and thrown out halfour clothes; and spent a ton of money on two separate full treatments.

By the me I admi ed how bad things were, we were on the verge of selling our apartment and star ng overcompletely in another building.

That’s what I need to tell you, Sir.

Radical Islamic terrorists really are an existen al threat to this country. To every country that speaks in thename of freedom.

I know you want to handle things reasonably, and not get too drama c. I know you believe we can win thisthing by encouraging moderates to speak. That you don’t believe in being direct and confronta onal.

That’s how I handled the bedbugs, at first. I didn’t want to believe they were a threat; I didn’t want to a ackthem full-on. I tried to use a "natural remedy."

But my efforts failed miserably. Un l I went to war on the bugs, they kept on ruthlessly destroying me.

Radical Islamic terrorists are like bedbugs in every way. They mindlessly march forward hatefully, they mul -ply, they feed off of innocent people and they don’t respond to anything except oblitera on.

Mr. President, don’t be like me with the bedbugs. I beg you, take the radical Islamic threat very seriously.You have a mighty gi of speech, expansive intelligence, the power of the pen and of the military, but mostimportantly you have the a en on and respect of Congress and the people. Use these.

You know in your heart, Sir, that these people are an imminent threat to all we hold dear. They are not niceand reasonable and decent. All they want is to consume and to destroy - and they have no moral compass.

President Obama, in every genera on there arises a threat like this. You have the power to take them out -please do it, with every weapon in your arsenal.

May G-d bless you and help you to do this.

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Very respec ully,

Hadassah Miriam Rachel (Dannielle) Blumenthal

_ _

All opinions my own.

The Spitball (a family memory) (2015-01-18 09:42)

A classic Andy Blumenthal story. He wrote about it in his blog but I have to tell you how it went down from where Isat.

We go into the pizza place last night for fries. A bunch of teenagers sits right next to us and they are normal kids -loud.

All of a sudden a spitball lands on Andy’s ear. You should have seen his expression, it was like WTF, and I could see hewas a li le bit startled. He picks up the spitball and we just look at it.

I’m thinking, uh-oh because if you know Andy you know that sending a spitball his way is not a good idea.

I go "don’t worry, they’re just kids," etc. typical mom trying to keep the peace.

Suddenly he picks up one of my French fries and his hand is kind of wobbling...before I know it he lets his hand fly andthe fries have landed in the kids’ camp.

One of the girls in the gangmust have said something, I didn’t hear it or see her expression, but theMashgiach (koshersupervisor - who is a kid himself not much older than them) comes running over to scold THEM for throwing food!He tells them they be er pick it up.

Meanwhile Andy is laughing so hard his shoulders are shaking, and me and Rebecca Blumenthal are too, and we arelaughing for what seems like forever.

Finally Rebecca says, "Dad, you are the coolest Dad ever. I love you."

It was a great moment.

_ _

All opinions my own.

Real Branding Is For Worker Bees (2015-01-18 10:34)

[1]

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The fantasy and fallacy of courses in brand is that consultants work like The Wizard of Oz.

You think we stand behind a curtain, flipping switches and pulling levers, cogita ng and rumina ng. Un l, like apregnant woman, our water breaks. And a fully-formed, living, breathing brand pops out into the world, ready to"rock and roll" and accumulate more and more equity on behalf of its creator.

Ha!

The truth is, we consultants - client-side or consul ng-side - are nothing more than teeny, free-floa ng space sta onsin an infinitesimal galaxy of stakeholder planets.

And there are many planets in your galaxy, even more than you know. Every me a resident of one of them u ers abreath, your brand has been not just represented but re-created.

It’s like a giant game of Operator. And the impact is magnified by every ac on these stakeholders take. Remember,it is the experience that defines the brand image in the customers’ mind - talk is cheap, ac ons ma er and peoplejudge you by what you do, not just what you say.

Every supervisor, to staff. Every salesperson. Every cha y customer service rep. Every supplier, every distributor,

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every recruiter, every partner, everyWikipedia maven who edits your entry, every journalist and graphic designer andcopywriter and public rela ons rep and subject ma er and hired hand for the trade show.

All these people, all of them are the ecosystem of your brand. It is the least informed among them who will make thestrongest impression.

So what then is the role of the brand specialist?

It is to bring together the various stakeholders and unite them around the cause. It is to shepherd the meaning of thebrand among all its various interac ons.

The chief brand specialist is always the leader, whether they like it or not and whether they know it or not. For yourbrand, that means you. For the na on, it means the President of the United States. For a company, the CEO. Thisis the person who stands under the spotlight at all mes, whose every ac on is examined microscopically and fromwhom meaning is extrapolated to the larger group.

This person obviously cannot do it alone...being the star of the show they need a solid suppor ng cast. That is whereyou come in, if your job is explicitly defined as brand. You don’t think up things and issue orders and snap your fingersto make the brand appear and dance a jig.

You serve the Chief Branding Officer.

And if you think that you can limit your role to anything in the realm of communica ons - branding, marke ng, adver-sing, PR, sales, digital engagement, etc. - you are sorely wrong, wrong, wrong.

In this role you func on much more like a senior business advisor, you must work together with the func onal chiefof staff or equivalent at the leader’s roundtable. It is your job to look across the en re organiza on, to see where thebusiness itself is working or where its effec veness is blocked.

And youmake sure that the func onal issues are a ended to, while alsomaking sure the fundamental communica onsbases are covered, quietly suppor ng the leader in being consistent and relevant and credible. Working with theexperts who actually know the work of the company, to make the message accurate. De-clu ering it visually andverbally to ensure it is simple and punchy and clear.

So your day-to-day life is not exalted, you aren’t in a think-tank and you don’t stand around brainstorming "concepts"most of the me.

The truth is you’re just another worker bee, and if you’re with the right brand you are swept up by its meaning, itspoten al to make a real difference in the world.

Holis c brand management is a process. You learn it by studying a li le, and doing a lot. Your reward is having beena part of the journey.

_ _ _

All opinions my own. Photo via [2]Wikipedia.

1. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pZ4uPFlfKyA/VLvESwBXdAI/AAAAAAAARAs/yKcoC_8zBXo/s1600/We_Can_Do_It!.jpg2. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/We_Can_Do_It!.jpg

"Labor Day," A Chick Flick On Steroids (Filed Under: Kate Winslet) (2015-01-19 10:09)

IFRAME: [1]//www.youtube.com/embed/bxETU7WMyX8

Last night I had the chance to pick the movie (Ne lix) and I went to the "Roman c Movies" sec on and Andy went"Oh, no...."

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It was either this or "Jayne Eyre" and I went with this because KATE WINSLET. I say to Andy, "That’s Kate Winslet, shewas in ’Titanic,’" promp ng Andy to say "I hated Titanic" but then, kindly "you did sit through the Zombie show."

The movie started off kind of slow but then again as Andy said, "high budget" and I got the feeling it was going to begood.

IT WAS GOOD. IT WAS TOTALLY GOOD.

I guarantee there is going to be anightwhen you’re si ng around, feeling extremely female and feminine and roman cand womanly and you’ll want to watch a truly quality movie on the caliber of "The Notebook" that makes you cry yourbleeping head off.

WATCH THIS!

Andy wasmaking jokes throughout the first part, i.e. "Look I’ve fallen in love with a criminal" and I was laughing pre yhard, but by the second part Kate Winslet was doing the true Kate Winslet thing...suffering and longing for love, love,love...crying for her loss and the shi y way the world has treated her (and I don’t want to spoil it by saying more).

There is a feminist argument to be made here about how film directors punish women for their sexuality and I’m notgoing to ruin it and go there because...KATE WINSLET. If you liked her in Titanic and you liked her in Revolu onaryRoad you are going to watch this movie and CRY YOUR EYES OUT.

It is funny from a guy’s perspec ve. Andy sees me si ng there and sobbing..he goes "I’m sorry the movie got youupset." And I’m like, "I’m HAPPY that I got to see it, but I feel SO BAD for KATE WINSLET."

It’s a holiday today, you must watch. There.

P.S. Notes for marketers:

• Focus on the celebrity: I watched this movie because of the Kate Winslet brand. It was "her" not the plot orthe trailer.

• Hyper-focus on your audience: You cannot go too far in tailoring your content. Understand and approach youraudience with very thorough knowledge of their interests, needs, etc.

• Think about the role of consump on influencers: I would not have paid to see this movie in a theater, becauseAndy and I pick themovies together. Thus some content is be er tailored for aNe lix-type viewing environment,where each person can choose content more tailored to their individual taste.

_ _

All opinions my own.

1. file://www.youtube.com/embed/bxETU7WMyX8

A Personal Reflec on This Mar n Luther King, Jr. Day (2015-01-19 20:12)

[1]

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Today is Mar n Luther King, Jr. Day 2015 and I should be talking about his vision.

But instead I am thinking more about Malcolm X.

Both men were powerful civil rights leaders. But each espoused a different approach; whereas MLK believed indiplomacy, Malcolm X stood for directness.

(Including his [2]open belief that Jews control the economy and are [3]exploi ve of African-Americans, forwhich he was called an -Semi c, a charge he denied.)

From The Autobiography of Malcolm X:

• "A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."

• "I have been always a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and newknowledge unfolds it."

Malcolm Xwas aMuslim and it is his pure [4]sensibility I think we need today to confront the global war against radicalIslamic terrorism.

• He promoted tolerance as a general principle: "I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segrega-on - EVERY form of discrimina on. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respectedas such, regardless of their color."

• But he would not be tolerant of people who disrespected him: "I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men,but I don’t believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn’t want brotherhood with me. I believe in trea ngpeople right, but I’m not going towastemy me trying to treat somebody right who doesn’t know how to returnthe treatment." — Speech, Dec. 12 1964, New York City.

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• Finally, he refused to apologize for advoca ng self-defense: "There is nothing in our book, the Koran, thatteaches us to suffer peacefully. Our religion teaches us to be intelligent. Be peaceful, be courteous, obey thelaw, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. That’s a good religion."— "Message to the Grass Roots," speech, Nov. 1963, Detroit (published in Malcolm X Speaks, ch. 1, 1965).

The Rev. Dr. Mar n Luther King, Jr. uniquely understood that all people were the same under the skin, and so heapproached racial problems from the lens of finding that common point.

Malcolm X believed we would find peace and harmony only by confron ng the truth. And if the truth hurt people’sfeelings, well then that was just inevitable.

And if Malcolm X were s ll alive, he would tell the President loud and clear: Radical Islamic terrorists bear noresemblance to Islam.

Today I watched [5]American Sniper in the theater, and the audiencewas at first completely silent as the credits closed,then spontaneously broke out into applause before leaving.

IFRAME: [6]//www.youtube.com/embed/99k3u9ay1gs

The film is about American hero Chris Kyle and his resolve to fight against terrorists overseas, and to take care of hisfellow veterans a er coming home.

Underneath the surface the message is that we aren’t doing enough to get the job done and we aren’t suppor ng ourac ve-duty military or our veterans nearly the way we should be.

Sadly, many complain about the moral dilemmas associated with war - they resist the military necessity to defendour na on - even as they take advantage of the freedom others earn on their behalf.

American Sniper is a blockbuster hit, it’s earned $119 million since its short release so far, and if you watch the movieyou will find out why: It defines what it means to be a patriot.

Today we honor the Rev. Dr. Mar n Luther King Jr.’s commitment to realizing the dream of civil rights no ma er howendless the march.

But we should also be honoring the prophe c vision of the man who was similarly assassinated as he was speakingfor his people.

"If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ’freedom’ out of your vocabulary," said Malcolm X.

No ma er how badly you want peace, it is simply not possible to achieve it with people who seek to kill you.

_ _ _

All opinions my own. Photo from the Korean War via [7]Wikimedia. The tle of this post has been updated.

1. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vRVl0BXnPLk/VL2e1nakvnI/AAAAAAAARBY/GYaZcUkU-t4/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-19%2Bat%2B7.17.10%2BPM.png2. http://forward.com/articles/177636/malcolm-x-and-the-jews/3. https://monthlyreview.org/2005/02/01/interview-with-malcolm-x/4. http://www.malcolmx.com/about/quotes.html5. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/american-sniper-shatters-box-office-records/story?id=283230106. file://www.youtube.com/embed/99k3u9ay1gs7. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Warkorea_American_Soldiers.jpg

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The Brand Under Which We Fight (2015-01-22 08:40)

[1]

This is the United States of America, the greatest country in the world, the country that stands for freedom.

• You can be born in this country or immigrate here and you are s ll equally American.

• Blonde, blue-eyed does receive no technical favor.

• Your gender may be male, female, a combina on or a voluntary migra on from one to the other.

• Your poli cal views are tolerated even if the main agenda item on your pla orm is how to build a be er taco.

• You can pray standing up, si ng down or never.

• You can wear unusual clothes and stand up and sing the Na onal Anthem in a football stadium.

• You are free to live wherever you want, among whoever you want.

This is the greatest country in the world - the greatest civil society ever known. The grandest vision of humanity livingside-by-side in total difference, yet not forcing homogeneity.

Other countries hold different dis nc ons. Israel is the Holy Land, at least to me; other countries may bemore socially conscious, more innova ve, more educated. But we stand for something: We pursue freedom.

In this country, we debate ideas and we speak the truth, our truth. We promote free speech, a compe onin the marketplace of words: We don’t put people in jail, or execute them, because they’ve made an insensi ve joke.

We stay out of other people’s business, unless those other people are infringing on someone’s rights as theyare defined by the laws of the country.

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And we acknowledge that the law is not black and white but subject to interpreta on. An evolving interpreta-on, because the law is not set in stone, either.

We are a democracy.

It is true, we have commi ed terrible sins on the way to becoming the envy of other civil socie es, and unfor-tunately we s ll do. We don’t live in a museum or an ivory tower; every day is a moment in a struggle over right andwrong and how we define ourselves.

But this is the greatest country in the world, anyway, and it is the brand under which we fight radical Is-lamic terrorists.

We should name them.

If there were a gang of radical Jewish terrorists blowing up magazines for publishing cartoons of Moses on themountain, we would most definitely say who they were, and how they were jus fying their a acks religiously.

If Catholic extremists were to bomb an abor on clinic we would most certainly name them.

It would go without saying that these individuals were perver ng the essence of the faith to establish a de-viant version of the religion. But this would s ll not negate their use of a par cular set of religious principles to do so.

In any war it is important to establish what the sides are.

If you are figh ng in a war, you will not win unless you believe that your side is right.

Make no mistake about it, we are deeply entrenched in a war, a war between two completely opposing ide-ologies of the world. Two visions of civil society, not of socie es based specifically on religion.

The radical Islamic terrorist vision - as expressed in cults like Isis, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Muslim Brother-hood - is that you eliminate all who refuse to bow down before the most extreme interpreta on of the Koran. Andwhile it may be true that most Muslims are not terrorists - any more than Jews or Catholics - many, many peoplewithin Islam support very, very extremist views. Or 800,00 of them would call in sick the day they held a rally inChechnya to support the a ack on Charlie Hebdo.

The American vision is that everyone gets a seat at the dinner table. That women are free. That all the colorsof the rainbow and the cultures in the world and all the ideas and ideologies and all the religious squabbling - all of itcan take place right here, and we shake hands and go home and come back another day to be a Na on again.

My doctor is a Hungarian immigrant and she complains that the male paramedics ought to show her more re-spect when they come with an ambulance to pick up the pa ent whose pulse has dropped. But they don’t, becauseshe is a woman. I say go sister and right on. I tell her she should be in the doctor’s hall of fame, she is such agood doctor. (She is.) And she says, they won’t put me there, I’m a woman and an immigrant, but let me tell yousomething, more women should be on that list.

I look at my doctor and think to myself, in the Old Country, we’d be si ng in the kitchen or the back of thesynagogue barely able to read. And we come here and we can both get doctoral degrees and get professional jobsand par cipate in the rousing debates that are part of civil society.

This civil society, the greatest civil society in the world, the greatest experiment in diversity and inclusion, this

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belief in compe ng with each other but taking care, too. This mutual journey toward freedom.

This is what we are figh ng for.

I can tell that the President deeply believes in empowering the disadvantaged, in leveling the playing field sothat all willing people can compete, in making sure that rich people can’t take advantage of the poor.

I agree with him.

Also, I can tell that he believes in more than tolerance for other na ons, other worldviews. He believes in adeep respect. He does not think the U.S. is somehow superior to other countries, other cultures, and other poli calsystems, even those based on theocracy. He finds itmorally repugnant to assert that you are be er than anybody else.

Yes.

The President believes the U.S. has a debt to pay for the way we’ve thrown our weight around and trampledon na ve cultures.

Check, check and check.

Here’s the problem though: Too much of a good thing. For whatever reason - because there will always bethings we don’t know and don’t understand - the President has taken respect for other cultures to an extreme.

It’s sort of like being a self-ha ng Jew. You can tell who they are because they say things like, "You can bean -Israel but not an -Semi c. Let me explain that to you." Or, "The Torah is barbaric." Or, "Jews can be the biggestjerks." Such people make exaggerated statements because they, themselves have a fundamental problem with thefact that they possess a Jewish iden ty. There is something about the religion itself, and their connec on to it, thatis deeply embarrassing.

That is the kind of feeling I sense in the President. I think he is a moral person who wants what is best forAmerica. But I also sense his deep embarrassment at our past and current moral failings - the same way Jews arelegi mately ashamed when they believe that Israel, or a fellow Jew, has besmirched their reputa on by behavingimmorally.

It is a painful truth of life that we all get forced to confront the things that are most painful. For this Presi-dent, who is deeply respec ul of and connected to Islam, the dilemma is that he must face radical elements withinthe faith - who use the faith, who can point to chapter and verse to jus fy their beliefs and behaviors - who seek to"punish" the U.S. so badly that they would eliminate our Na on altogether.

And they’d take Israel down along with it, probably first if they had their ’druthers. Because Israel is a gigan c,gigan c thorn in their side, with its insistence that you can preserve a religious homeland while also providingci zenship and freedom for all.

The clock is cking on us all. Radical Islamic terrorists are si ng around and thinking about one thing, justone thing, day and night. Their brand is very sharp and clear and focused and they find it relevant and they fightfor it, loudly and so ly, explicitly and implicitly, with weapons of war and weapons of words, every minute of everysecond of the day.

Here is what happens when you ignore, deny, delay and appease terrorists.

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You find out, four decades a er you were born, what the great-aunts and uncles you never met looked like,because they were carted off to concentra on camp and only one survivor had the resourcefulness to send theirpictures to the historical society to preserve their memories.

[2]

Here is one of them, my great-aunt (RIP) Vicky Mandel, who died in 1944 in Auschwitz.

Do you think I really like si ng around wri ng these kinds of ar cles? I want to go back to wri ng brand re-search, to si ing out the equity in Coca-Cola versus Red Bull.

Nobody likes a war. We want to think about rela onships, career, how to make a be er smoothie, debateover whether the iPhone 6 is too big.

But we don’t have the luxury of ignoring what is happening "out there." The war is on, and it’s coming closerand closer to us every day.

Now, more than ever, we need the President to come down on the side of America’s brand. To make a deci-sion that the kind of freedom we have is worth figh ng for, tooth and nail. That we must get into the dirt and fightthese people, even if some of the things they say are true and even if we as a Na on have not been perfect. It’s true,we have been far from perfect.

This is the greatest country in the world, not because of the things we’ve done but because of the ideals westand for as a civil society. It is a country that allows me to write open le ers to the President without sending thesecret police to my door to arrest me.

The United States, at all mes, needs the President. We need him to believe that our cause is just and true.

Freedom is the brand under which we fight.

Mr. President, please lead us in this war, with passion.

Only you, only you can do this. [1/25/2015 update: Removed this sentence in recogni on of G-d’s omnipo-tence; He is the Most Holy on High. I apologize for this wording.]

_ _

All opinions my own.

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1. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S_OxOtgQ5Q8/VMDuxKPHWTI/AAAAAAAARF8/7YJL0q9gqTE/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-22%2Bat%2B7.36.00%2BAM.png2. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M9W4crMkkaA/VMDvTdmdoHI/AAAAAAAARGE/SrRZxfkERsQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-01-18%2Bat%2B8.31.01%2BPM.png

How To Fire All The Bureaucrats (2015-01-23 10:36)

[1]

Today I had to take care of a small errand and was struck by the inefficiency with which government works:

• Before walking in the door, I couldn’t figure out which instruc ons applied to me. I could barely even find themon the website.

• The appointment system was telephone-based, a frustra ng waste of me.

• Once in the appointment all the forms were paper-based and an ink signature was required.

I am familiar with the government tendency to resist change and avoid new technology un l it’s absolutely impossibleto ignore it.

• Nobody wants to take a risk and get into trouble.

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• Nobody wants to get automated out of a job.

• Nobody wants to collaborate if that means losing their power.

These are natural human tendencies and I totally understand them. But they’re not produc ve for our society. In theexample above:

• How much me is going to get wasted manually reviewing and transferring the paper data to a computer sys-tem?

• How many dead PDFs are we going to create and then try to integrate into a database system down the road?

• How many records will we generate now, only to be completely befuddled later as to what ma ers and whatdoesn’t?

A failure to streamline government is only going to further strain extremely large socio-economic problems that areabout to get much, much worse:

1. Automa on will end most demand for human labor – manual, administra ve, even customer service.

2. The end of jobs will trigger a corresponding rise in need for social services.

3. True compe on will become impossible in an economy controlled by the wealthy and powerful few.

4. Interconnected, integrated, interoperable, easily accessed Big Data will eradicate the possibility of privacy.

5. Small terrorist cells with dangerous weapons will finally be taken seriously for the grave threat they pose.

The way to handle these problem is fairly straigh orward but will require a big change in a tude to adjust to. We’renot going to be able to live the same way anymore. For example, kids aren’t going to graduate college with theexpecta on of a job. It’s just not happening. So here’s what we as a society have to do in order to adapt. These arevery broad general approaches, I’ll leave it to others to figure out the details.

1. Get ahead of the curve and stop reac ng defensively. The risk of not ac ng is bigger than the risk of the statusquo.

2. Stop quibbling over details and unite around a broadly shared vision of progress. Nobody wins with all thedivisiveness.

3. Use commercial, off-the-shelf technology to the maximum extent possible. There is no excuse to be draggingour feet on this.

4. Protect civil rights, dissent and privacy; promote transparency; form fully independent external bodies to regu-late the regulators.

5. Incorporate strong security prac ces into everything we do. There are a lot of people who want to foment andtake advantage of chaos, to steal our freedom and our lives along with it.

Government workers secretly fear that their jobs will become irrelevant in the new economy. That may be true insome cases. But it’s probably more true that our role will evolve:

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1. To rebalance major power inequi es and promote na onal compe veness through a whole-of-society ap-proach to the major issues that confront us.

2. To protect people’s rights and make sure that vulnerable popula ons are supported.

3. To maintain social order and prevent chaos from breaking out.

As we go about our day-to-day lives it’s really easy to s ck our heads in the sand and let others worry about theproblems. But at some point you look around and realize it’s you that’s got the football. And that your standing thereat a press conference, with no excuse as to why you’ve let it deflate.

_ _ _

Photo by [2]Me and the Sysop via Flickr. All opinions my own.

1. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6QD9mxlaNgs/VMJcTBy8LVI/AAAAAAAARHY/7dWWbVeUfes/s1600/3859193105_d36aea3d83_o.png2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/pyxopotamus/3859193105/in/photolist-qby4ag-88XxLU-6T2nEa-CuX2p-5kHjwb-5fVSyR-3Zx5Tq-8CgiUs-mRmDr-5uoE3M-6Mqjb7-qKGLGC-NHYjx-5eCncQ-ig7c5m-KFjAp-cXryQs-bt6pCk-bt6puc-bt6pjT-5thB88-5b3SFi-argLEt-9oQgoE-3cwCA-ouFabr-dCk2b4-9wu8iR-bt6pc4-bt6p3c-bt6oUX-bt6oKZ-bt6oBz-bt6okx-bt6otD-8zrSm-4Mz56q-4D2Lg9-5RtJ5e-4Q58A-bET6Ju-7Tj5DK-7QCg54-5i8fSL-4gENe3-9iqcoF-4wMqGv-aBCcHC-aq9yJi-aqcfNo

Keeping Silent Will Not Save You (2015-01-25 09:48)

[1]

More than once I’ve used my blog posts to be a flaming kiss-ass. I’m not proud to admit it, and it’s not that I do itinten onally, but it happens. Inevitably my misuse of my G-d given talent backfires, because someone always callsme out on it.

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"You should s ck to blogs on branding," a commenter recently said, "because when you write about Obama [note: Iwork for the federal government and have a vested interest in not ge ng my ass handed to me on a silver pla er]you always put your foot in your mouth."

Specifically objec ng to a previous [2]post imploring the President to fight radical Islamic terrorism. Where Isaid:

"Only you, only you can do this."

The comment: "No, only G-d can do this. With your words you blaspheme G-d. Change it, so you won’t bepunished."

Fine, but I’m s ll gonna write about the stuff I’m wri ng about, I thought.

Even though I’m afraid.

I am afraid, like many Jews are afraid.

The nail that s cks out gets hammered.

But when the [3]U.N. convenes a summit on the problem of global an -Semi sm, you know you’re past thethreshold when we could afford the luxury of silence.

This past week’s Torah reading, [4]Shemot, talks to this exact issue. The Jews’ slavery in Egypt began with an -Semi sm and progressed to forced labor; there was quite a bit of run-up.

There was opportunity to speak up to Pharoah, to intervene and influence history.

According to the ancient rabbis, Pharoah’s advisers were rewarded or punished because of how they reactedto his declared inten ons.

Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald [5]explains:

"The Midrash states, that in the 130th year of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt, Pharaoh dreamed that, whilesi ng on the throne, he saw an old man before him holding a scale in his hands. On one side of the scalewere all the elders, nobles and great men of Egypt, and on the other was a single sheep that outweighedall the great Egyp ans.

"Disturbed by the dream, Pharaoh awoke early in the morning and summoned all his advisors and wisemen to help him interpret the dream.

"Among those summoned were Balaam, the son of Beor, the great gen le prophet. Another was Jethro,the future father-in-law of Moses, and the third was Job, a man of great faith, who refused to curse G-ddespite his profound losses and suffering.

"The Midrash depicts Balaam as spewing venomous hate toward the Jewish people....

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"Jethro spoke up, advising Pharaoh not to start with the Hebrews....hewarned Pharaoh that any leaderwho had, in the past, confronted the Hebrews, had met a bi er end.

It was up to Job to decide between the main royal advisors, but he chose instead to sit on the fence,saying simply that since all the inhabitants of the land were under Pharaoh’s sovereignty, it was up to theKing to do as seems fit in his eyes....

Job is perhaps the saddest and most complex of the advisors.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik in his essay “Kol Dodi Dofek” (The Voice of My Beloved Knocks) takes Job totask for being silent before Pharaoh and not speaking up on behalf of the wretched Hebrew slaves.

To paraphrase Rabbi Soloveitchik: You, Job, refused to intervene publicly with Pharaoh because youwere fearful lest you be accused of dual loyalty.

And so it was for the “Jobs” throughout the genera ons...

How sad it is to see how o en history repeats itself. Jews today have their determined enemies andbeloved friends. But, most of all, we have those who are too fearful to speak up on behalf of jus ce,truth, and morality.

We are indeed “a na on apart,” who, as the Psalmist asserts (146:3), must not rely on the goodness ofprinces or mortals.

Speak up, speak up, speak up, speak up, speak up.

_ _ _

All opinions my own.

1. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6C-5jBoivnI/VMT8xQso4JI/AAAAAAAARIE/fmif0lZxgF0/s1600/jude2.gif2. http://www.dannielleblumenthal.com/2015/01/the-brand-under-which-we-fight.html3. http://rt.com/news/225787-un-meeting-anti-semitism/4. http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/612127/jewish/Aliyah-Summary.htm5. http://www.njop.org/html/printfiles/Shemot5771print.html

10 Reasons Not To Miss "The Interview" (2015-01-26 07:38)

[1]

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Weekends are for movies and if you don’t know what to watch the next me you power up Ne lix on your Roku, Iwould highly recommend "The Interview."

Unfortunately the marke ng of this movie was so bad that they almost totally ruined my interest in it. But Ishould have known that if Seth Rogen and James Franco were involved it was going to be a certain kind of funny, andit absolutely was.

Here are 10 reasons you absolutely have to see this movie:

1. James Franco’s portrayal of the host, which is so funny and over-the-top it makes the movie.

2. The screenplay,which is hilarious - these lines are so rich I can’t quote them enough: "America tried that beforeand it didn’t work." "That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it again."

3. The intelligent worldview of the movie, which is that wars are just as much fought through communica ons asguns, that both are equally powerful

4. The plot, which allows us to talk about real issues by combining reality and sa re

5. The focus on North Korean dictator specifically, which was highly imagina ve and which allows us to look athim from a psychological point of view

6. The psychological bent of the movie, which doesn’t use ac on to cover a lack of thought

7. The empowering messages about women, subtle and not-so-subtle: "It’s 2014. Women are smart now."

8. The overall message of the movie, which is that taking care of each other is the most important thing we cando on this planet.

9. The cameos by Eminem, Rob Lowe and Bill Maher, which were very funny.

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10. Seth Rogen’s portrayal of the Jew as Franco’s moral conscience who’s also lost his way because his job pays alot of money, and Franco makes him feel loved and wanted.

As a side note there is a scene in the movie that involves a line that some would consider an -Semi c (to the effectof "Don’t shake his hand...he’s a Jew.") I understood that line to be important to the movie, to have ar s c integrityand to be perfect for the comedy.

Imagine what kind of world we would live in if we could not incorporate an -religious messages - even if crude orinsensi ve - into art the same way we incorporate sexuality and violence. We would be star ng down a path wherethe only end is bleak totalitarianism.

In any case this is a fantas c, funny, movie that is rare in combining true art with a truly important set ofthemes and messages about the world. I hope you take the me to see it, on Ne lix or anywhere else.

_ _ _

All opinions my own.

1. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--oy41XUHhno/VMYgJEHXZrI/AAAAAAAARIs/gjtD9LslIbI/s1600/TheInterview-TheMovie.jpg

Text of New Cyber-Vandalism Response Toolkit (2015-01-28 08:09)

Disclaimer: This toolkit is only a collec on of suggested best prac ces. No warranty is expressed or implied.

Cyber security for social media should be the #1 concern of anyone communica ng online in this way. A fed-eral working group has developed an outstanding guide, useful to any public or private organiza on. I want tohelp promote this message and so am cu ng and pas ng the text below; also posted it to [1]SlideShare. You cancustomize it for your organiza on.

DigitalGov’s Jus n Herman brought the federal working group together; congrats to him and the team: AllaGoldman, Informa on Sharing Environment, Office of the Director of Na onal Intelligence; Ashley Wichman, GSA;Dan Kenny, GSA Emerging Leader Program; me (I work at NIST); David Hamm, State of Minnesota; Debra Harris,Defense Finance and Accoun ng Services; Jacob Parcell, GSA; Jessica Milce ch, USA.gov; Jordan Higgins, DefenseIntelligence Agency; Jody Benne , Department of State; Jus n Herman, GSA; Kat Mullins, USAJobs; Natasha Lim,U.S. Securi es and Exchange Commission; Sco Horvath, U.S. Geological Survey; Travis Brickey, Tennessee ValleyAuthority.

Read the ar cle here:

h ps://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/01/27/new-inter-agency-social-media-cyber-va ndalism-toolkit-launched/

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Readiness, Recovery, Response: Social Media Cyber-Vandalism ToolkitVersion 1, released January 27, 2015 by DigitalGov

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h ps://www.digitalgov.gov/resources/readiness-recovery-response-social -media-cyber-vandalism-toolkit/

Cyber-vandalism presents a serious challenge to online-based communica on tools. Users need available re-sources to counter intrusions of social media accounts. This document provides guidance and security prac cesto federal, state, and local government employees. Sugges ons and resources prepare users to respond to cyber-hijacking. and will empower digital users to make informed choices and enact future policy. This resource is a “livingdocument” designed for con nued contribu on and expansion — if you have input please email [2]Jus n Herman.

Readiness: Phase 1

Cyber-vandalism occurs when an outside party, regardless of iden ty or mo ve, takes control of an agencycommunica on channel and misdirects it. Incidents may contain informa on misleading to the public or threateningto an agent of the United States. Agencies should plan and train prior to an incident, and prepare approved processesand material for the recovery and response to cyber-vandalism.

1. Iden fy a social media stakeholder team to prevent and respond to cyber-vandalism

A direct chain of responsible managers should be aware of their roles in the poten al response to any socialmedia cyber-vandalism, including the necessity of quick, decisive ac on. This team should be connected by email,phone, text and any other appropriate means of communica on. The team should include, but is not limited to:

1. Social media team2. Program manager3. Public affairs representa ve4. General Counsel5. IT Security6. Senior leader/manager

2. Review Individual App/Pla orm Resources

Online-based communica on tools offer resources, each with unique strengths and limita ons. Awareness ofthis support and their unique characteris cs is beneficial before an incident:

1. Facebook: [3]Facebook Security Tips; [4]Facebook Security Se ngs; Learn[5]extra security features includ-ing approvals, no fica ons, trusted contacts and mobile security2. LinkedIn: [6]LinkedIn Safety Center; [7]Preven on Tips; [8]Password Guidelines; [9]Frequently Asked Ques ons |Repor ng Inappropriate Content, Messages, or Safety Concerns3. Instagram: [10]Instagram Privacy & Safety Center4. Twi er: [11]Safe twee ng: the basics5. Google: [12]Keeping your account secure6. Hootsuite: [13]Social Media Security

3. Establish Stakeholder Rapid Outreach Plan

1. Prepare a list of internal and external contacts and processes for a cyber-vandalism incident:

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§ Who is the POC for the app or pla orm when an incident occurs (see Phase 2: Recovery for list)?§ Who is the POC for cyber-vandalism of accounts in the Government (see Phase 2: Recovery for list)?§ Who is on your social media stakeholder team?§ Who are your key communi es and audiences on social media and other channels you must alert?

2. Incorporate relevant contact informa on:

§ Emails; Phone Numbers; Social Media Handles; Hashtags; Listservs and more.

4. Create Communica on Templates

1. Pre-populate different types of messages.

§ Emails; Texts; Social media posts and more.

2. Communicate essen al informa on to convey the nature of the compromise, for example:

§ An account is compromised; An administrator cannot access an account; A username and/or password foran account is compromised; Informa on on the account is unauthorized.

5. Review Secure Social Media Best Prac ces Checklist

1. Ins tu onalize secure web standards, such as HTTPS, as a founda on for secure social media:

§ Using an URI scheme, such as HTTPS, establishes a fast, private, and secure connec on due to its strong en-cryp on benefits

§ Read [14]Why We Use HTTPS in Every Gov Website We Make

2. Establish accounts with official .gov or .mil domains of full- me equivalent employees (FTE) .

§ Allow for more than one FTE to administer an account.

§ Designate an alterna ve as auxiliary support. Limit this designa on to an individual essen al to the opera-on and management of an account.

§ Clearly define the criteria for the administrator and alterna ve.

§ Provide adequate resources to the FTE administrator, including a mobile device and third-party managementtool whenever possible.

3. Create a social media policy with standard opera ng procedures (SOP) for cyber-security.

4. Obtain approval from appropriate agency par es, including IT Security and General Counsel

5. Train stakeholders and others on the procedures and policies of social media cyber-security.

§ Require training before use of an account.

6. Use only authorized URL Shorteners, e.g. [15]go.USA.gov.

7. Add all official accounts to the [16]Federal Social Media Registry, verifying authen city of ownership.

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§ This tool, used by both Facebook and Google to verify accounts, tracks official federal social media accounts.

§ List Department of Defense (DoD) social media accounts in the[17]DoD Social Media Site Registry.

o Per [18]DOD Web Policy and [19]DoDI 8550.01 , use [20]DoD Social Media Registry submission form.

8. Follow best prac ces for secure passwords.

§ [21]Guide to Enterprise Password Management (Dra ) by the Na onal Ins tute of Standards and Technol-ogy

6. Evaluate Two-Step Verifica on

This type of authen ca on verifies a user a emp ng to access a device or system. It requires confirma on oftwo consecu ve, yet dependent, entries. It may not be applicable to those without mobile devices or in secureenvironments prohibited entry of such items. It may also require the use of third-party management tools toeffec vely allow mul ple content coordinators.

1. Facebook: [22]Facebook’s Login Approvals; ZDnet.com supplemental [23]step-by-step guide.

2. Google and YouTube: [24]Google 2-Step Verifica on.

3. LinkedIn: [25]LinkedIn’s Two Step Verifica on.

4. Twi er: [26]Twi er’s Two Step Verifica on Process.

7. Review Special Guidance Per Common User Responsibility

For Supervisors and Directors: Confirm policy is clear, accessible, and distributed among employees. Review,approve, and document all agency accounts regularly. Iden fy and eliminate rogue accounts. Instruct staff adminis-tering accounts to adhere to agency criteria and undergo training where appropriate.

For Social Media Managers: Make security a part of regular social media mee ngs. Conduct security checkson a regular basis. Regularly update passwords. Keep the list of social media accounts updated. Keep accountmanager contact informa on accessible and updated. Remove access for users who are no longer with the agency.Develop a secure method of storing account names, owners, and passwords.

For Social Media Coordinators: Use a protected, official government device. Use protected connec ons. Donot post from an open Wifi network. Use a work VPN, 3G or the work-connected Internet connec on. Generally, usenetwork loca ons with strong firewalls and on standalone equipment. Preview shortened links to see the addressof where they lead. Review the URL of a website in the address bar. Make sure the websites you visit use HTTPSencryp on. If you are unsure of a link, double click the lock icon on your browser’s status bar to display the digitalcer ficate for a site.

8. Conduct Training on Secure Use of Social Media

Live training: [27]Cybersecurity Online Learning (COL) program supplements mandatory FISMA security role-based training by offering in-demand cybersecurity workshops. The Informa on Assurance Branch, United StatesDepartment of State, offers monthly social media security online courses for free for anyone with a “.mil” or “.gov”

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email address, regardless if the applicant is an FTE, military, or contractor.

§ [28]Department of Defense Social Media Security/Privacy Educa on & Training

§ [29]Consumer. c.gov/scam-alerts

§ [30]OnGuardOnline.gov

§ [31]Na onal Cyber Awareness System

§ [32]An phishing.org

§ Webinar: [33]Opera ons Security (OPSEC) & Social Media: Balancing Security, Secrecy, & Transparency

§ Webinar: [34]How to Recover from a Social Media Crisis

§ Webinar: [35]How Government Can Prepare for and Respond to Social Media Hacks

§ Post: [36]Beware the Cyber Security House of Horrors

§ Post: [37]Twi er’s Two Step Verifica on Process

§ Post: [38]Government Must Respond Rapidly to Social Media Hacking

Recovery: Phase 2

Alerts of suspicious ac vity on social media can come from anywhere, including social media itself. If the so-cial media cyber-security stakeholder team or responsible manager determines an incident is in progress, rememberthat minutes and even seconds count. Within minutes you’ll need to alert internal stakeholders, alert outsidestakeholders to help you regain control, and act to isolate the compromise.

1. Immediately: Alert your social media cyber-security stakeholder team, and CC them on following messages.

2. A empt to change passwords to isolate the incident (steps 2 and 3 ideally simultaneously with two employ-ees)

3. Contact the pla orm companies themselves and GSA to help regain control.

1. Contact Informa on to Recover Control A er Cyber-Vandalism

1. Facebook: [39]Online form for Facebook; Email government@FB.com; Email jus n.herman@gsa.gov andbetsy.steele@gsa.gov

2. Twi er: [40]Online form for Twi er; Email: Gov@Twi er.com; Email jus n.herman@gsa.gov andbetsy.steele@gsa.gov

3. LinkedIn: [41]Respond to and Report Various Issues; Email: LCSHelp@linkedin.com; Email: mcirrito@linkedin.com;Email jus n.herman@gsa.gov and betsy.steele@gsa.gov

4. Instagram: [42]Online form for Instagram; Email: government@FB.com; Email jus n.herman@gsa.gov and

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betsy.steele@gsa.gov

5. Vine: [43]Online form for Vine; Email: Gov@Twi er.com; Email jus n.herman@gsa.gov and betsy.steele@gsa.gov

6. Hootsuite: Email: [44]Support@hootsuite.com; Email sajji.hussein@hootsuite.com; Email jus n.herman@gsa.govand betsy.steele@gsa.gov

2. Audit your social media inventory

1. Audit your list of social media accounts, password holders, agency hosted websites.

2. Ensure no former employees, contractors or interns have access to current passwords.

3. Review any third-party app you use to monitor or post to social media, such as IFTTT.

4. Review your other digital services, including websites, for signs of cyber-vandalism and any vulnerabili es.

3. Confirm cyber-vandalism recovery process on different channels

Once securing your other accounts, release pre-approved ini al messages aler ng your communi es that anincident is occurring and that steps are underway in order to recover cyber-vandalized accounts.

4. Ini ate Restora on Ac vi es A er Regaining Account(s)

1. Archive cyber-vandalism messages.

2. Delete cyber-vandalism messages.

3. Stop all pre-scheduled messages.

4. Restore normal se ngs and features.

Response: Phase 3Agencies must not only prepare for and recover social media accounts a er a cyber-vandalism incident, they shouldalso quickly and effec vely respond to their stakeholders and audiences as soon as possible using social media inorder to maintain trust in digital services. Ini al responses to the cyber-security stakeholder team and the publicshould be within minutes of recovering control of your accounts.

1. Confirm Incident and Recovery

1. Cyber-security team confirma on: Send ini al report of recovery to social media cyber-security stakeholderteam.

2. Public confirma on: Distribute as soon as possible social media posts confirming the cyber-vandalism inci-dent and your recovery of affected accounts. Announce a return to regularly scheduled ac vi es.

3. Community confirma on: Deliver addi onal communica on with pre-determined internal audiences andstakeholders to prevent the spread of rumors and misinforma on.

2. Confirm and Verify Changes to Access

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1. Review account holders.

2. Confirm verifica on of login status.

3. Confirm changes and updates of passwords.

3. Conduct a review of lessons learned

§ What type of response worked well?

§ Why did this work so well?

§ What did not work?

§ What unforeseen events occurred?

§ What changes will lead to a be er response?

4. Apply data and analysis of outcomes to improving your program

§ Develop a er-ac on report.

§ Ensure future relevance with accurate informa on.

§ Include lessons learned and best prac ces.

1. http://www.slideshare.net/DannielleBlumenthal/cybervandalism-readiness-toolkit2. mailto:justin.herman@gsa.gov3. https://www.facebook.com/help/3792207254659724. https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=security5. https://www.facebook.com/help/4130235620821716. https://help.linkedin.com/app/safety/home7. https://help.linkedin.com/app/safety/answers/detail/a_id/370278. https://help.linkedin.com/app/safety/answers/detail/a_id/385959. https://help.linkedin.com/app/safety/answers/detail/a_id/14610. https://help.instagram.com/369001149843369/11. https://support.twitter.com/groups/33-report-a-violation/topics/166-safety-center/articles/76036-safety-keeping-your-account-secure12. https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/46526?hl=en13. https://hootsuite.com/products/platform/social-media-security14. https://18f.gsa.gov/2014/11/13/why-we-use-https-in-every-gov-website-we-make/15. https://go.usa.gov/16. https://www.digitalgov.gov/resources/readiness-recovery-response-social-media-cyber-vandalism-toolkit/blank17. http://www.defense.gov/RegisteredSites/SocialMediaSites.aspx18. http://www.defense.gov/webmasters/

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19. http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/855001p.pdf20. http://www.defense.gov/RegisteredSites/SubmitLink.aspx21. http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-118/draft-sp800-118.pdf22. https://www.facebook.com/help/14823396524782323. http://www.zdnet.com/article/tutorial-facebook-2-factor-authentication-step-by-step/24. https://www.google.com/landing/2step/25. http://blog.linkedin.com/2013/05/31/protecting-your-linkedin-account-with-two-step-verification/26. https://blog.twitter.com/2013/getting-started-with-login-verification27. https://colcqpub1.connectsolutions.com/content/connect/c1/7/en/events/catalog.html28. http://www.defense.gov/socialmedia/education-and-training.aspx/29. https://consumer.ftc.gov/scam-alerts30. https://onguardonline.gov/31. https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas32. https://antiphishing.org/33. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa7BKJ6sk8g34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0yy3wviTvM35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tesgduqeyjI36. https://www.digitalgov.gov/2014/10/30/cyber-house-of-horrors/37. http://www.digitalgov.gov/2013/05/31/twitters-two-step-verification-process/38. http://www.digitalgov.gov/2013/04/25/government-must-respond-rapidly-to-social-media-hacking/39. https://www.facebook.com/help/131719720300233/40. https://support.twitter.com/articles/185703-my-account-has-been-hacked41. https://help.linkedin.com/app/safety/answers/detail/a_id/14642. https://help.instagram.com/36819132659307543. https://support.twitter.com/forms/vine44. mailto:Support@hootsuite.com

Let Us Remember - Then Let Us Forget (2015-01-29 10:31)

Auschwitz memorial services are about remembering. Those who forget the past are doomed to see it repeat itself.

But the ul mate point of remembering is forge ng. We want to move on with life and deal with one another inperfect faith, like innocent children who haven’t yet learned the terrible ways of the world.

G-d teaches us through example. We ask for forgiveness and are forgiven. It is as if nothing happened.

Unfortunately some people distort G-d’s ways out of evil inten ons. They deny the past and pretend all is well in thepresent.

Think cri cally, and do not be fooled.

_ _ _

All opinions my own.

An Oldie But A Goodie - "CBP 101," Circa 2007 (2015-01-29 22:34)

Stumbled across this presenta on I did many years ago...don’t know who posted it online:

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[1]PPT – CBP 101 PowerPoint presenta on | free to view

1. http://www.powershow.com/view/fcbe-MDFiY/CBP_101_powerpoint_ppt_presentation#.VMrtbcinbTE.blogger

Figh ng The Real War On Terror (2015-01-30 06:58)

I always want to get out of the Washington bubble and learn what real people think, so to speak. At mes, I’ll seesen ments like this:

"The events you see happening in this world are not as they appear. A small group of rich people controls the world,and what they want is a one-world government."

Basically it’s a conspiracy theory. If you add the words "Jewish bankers" a er "rich" and subtract "people," the theorybecomes an an -Semi c stereotype.

As it happens, I came across the following sen ment the other day, which relates somewhat to the first one.

"The only thing preven ng world domina on by the wealthy is religion."

And another concept:

"There will be a war in the End of Days, eventually followed by Judgment Day."

In my mind I put these ideas together.

Absent Divine interven on, it is clear that we are headed toward some kind of explosive conflict in the world.

But G-d always creates a method by which we can avert the natural course of events.

Specifically, when we turn toward Him in faith, and pray for mercy, miracles happen.

What if the real war on terror had nothing to do with weapons?

What if people of all faiths and no faiths got together and decided to surrender everything to G-d?

This doesn’t mean adop ng each other’s religions. It means ending religious war, ending war en rely, and turning tothe One and Only.

It doesn’t sound likely to happen. But we might want to consider, in a world that celebrates conflict, figh ng, aggres-sion, and a ack - the strength it would take for all of us to put our weapons down. And pray.

_ _ _

All opinions my own.

1.2 February

Words That Save, Words That Enslave (2015-02-01 10:55)

IFRAME: [1]h ps://www.youtube.com/embed/ _uwm1tgVLkQ

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This weekend I watched "Twist of Faith" on Ne lix. It’s the story of a man named Jacob Fisher, an Orthodox Jewishhusband and father who sees his family get murdered for no reason and out of nowhere.

When it happened in the movie I immediately started crying in this really gut-wrenching way, because that’s how lifeis, the guy is happy as can be one minute and completely destroyed the next.

I thought about the fact that Fischer had just taught his students the famous quote by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov: "Theworld is a narrow bridge, but the main thing is not to fear at all." He had asked the students, without really thinkingabout it, "what is this statement referring to?" and then the movie answers that ques on, for him.

There are nowords that adequately capture the destruc on of a human beingwho is s ll alive. You can say "catatonic"but that isn’t really it. It’s haun ng and Fischer was haunted. He is si ng shiva and the rabbi starts to tell him heshould not lose faith, that G-d has an inexplicable plan.

Fischer looks like he is going to murder the rabbi - he just gets up and walks out and the next thing you know hisyarmulke, his tzitzis, his wallet and his home are si ng abandoned while he’s in Grand Central Sta on buying a buscket but unable to even ask for a des na on.

The rest of the movie is his encounter with a deeply religious Chris an family in Alabama. Their purity, love and faithsave him and he falls in love with a woman there and becomes the caretaker of their church. I won’t spoil the plotbut let’s just say that he, the woman and the community find redemp on in faith and find faith in religious song.

In the movie Jacob and Nina sing a song about surrendering to G-d together - we surrender through turning ourhearts to the One above, and more importantly through prayer - words that we say or sing.

"This Very Moment" is the most beau ful song I’ve ever heard...it pierced my soul. (Jews inspired by gospelmusic is a Hollywood theme for a good reason - see [2]Keeping The Faith with Ben S ller as the rabbi.)

IFRAME: [3]h ps://www.youtube.com/embed/Qjxr-s8Yz1o

I put a note about the movie on Facebook and a friend commented that the movie was somewhat inaccurate in itsdepic on of Orthodox Judaism (to which I said, OMG this is Life me, what do you want?) and that the movie shouldhave shown the community bringing Jacob back. That it was a badmessage that he had to leave to find his happiness.

My response was that the message of the movie had to do with unity among the truly religious, not so muchwith promo ng intermarriage. And then a much bigger set of thoughts occurred to me. (I posted a version of theseon Facebook.)

Twist of Faith is really about being human, that all people of faith are fundamentally the same in our being G-d’s crea ons. We find redemp on in bowing down before G-d and G-d alone.

Needless and Destruc ve Hatred

I thought about all the an semi sm in the African American community and the racism in the Jewish commu-nity and how pathe c it is. Because people act bad on both sides. Because people totally misunderstand each other,and they don’t take the me to really understand.

I thought about the worldwide cancer of radical Islamic terrorism. Many others have pointed this out, but thewhole thing does have a very manufactured feel. Yes we need to protect and defend but who is s rring up all thetrouble in the first place?

I thought about the hatred of Muslims as a method of figh ng terror which is so colossally stupid, misguided

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and wrong. How in the movies when people fight with each other, o en it’s because someone has spoken words ofhatred in the ears of both par es and ins gated the whole thing.

I thought about my Muslim colleague, who said that "truly religious people never have a problem with eachother" and it is so true. So, so true. Yet we are fooled into believing that Islam is the problem.

What if the conflicts that are taking place in the world are actually ar ficially manufactured, a poli cal tool fora completely different agenda?

I know why people don’t want the Jews to have Israel. It has nothing to do with a war between religions. Itdoes have to do with the Jewish insistence on bowing down to G-d and nobody else - not terrorist dictators, and noteconomic dictators.

In the Torah por on this week we learned about Moses and how he raised his hands to the heavens while theJews fought the enemy, Amalek. When he put down his hands out of weariness the Jews were slaughtered, so theypropped up his hands and then the Jews were victorious.

The ques on is asked, what do Moses’ hands have to do with winning the war? And the answer is that theywere a sign to the Jews to look up to G-d for victory and not put their faith in the weapons of war. Which are onlytools.

I love to learn about religion and have had the privilege of working with and learning from deeply religiouspeople who are Chris an, Muslim and Jewish as well. A friend gave me a book by the Dalai Lama and I used to spenda lot of me reading about Buddhist beliefs too.

From all this I know, deep in my heart, that we could together save the world simply by uni ng in faith. I amthe last person who wants to be wri ng religious sermons but unless you’re living under a rock you must be able tosee that something is going very, very wrong. Not just because terrorist a acks are happening, or because womenare virtually enslaved on much of the planet, or because billions are drinking sewer water and living in condi onsthat would trauma ze most of us who are addicted to our cushy coffee bars and the Superbowl.

The Related, Largely Silent, March Toward World Unfreedom

As a communicator who works for the government, I feel responsible to help make sure we keep our wordspropaganda-free. (Domes c propaganda is also illegal.) But it’s very hard to do that in a much bigger picture wherewe’ve long been mass-directed by the forces of society to do what some super-authority tells us, without thinking.

This is well-documented in the BBC’s [4]Century of the Self (that’s part 1; see also [5]part 2, [6]part 3, and[7]part 4.)

Without freedom to act as individuals, we cannot confront a larger and larger machine, a global machine thatknows no borders or boundaries or restraints and that will leverage every tool, including the fear of a terroristbogeyman, to keep the people under control.

The worst thing is, by the nature of this march, those in power conceal their ac ons and inten ons and therest of us can only surmise: We do not know what we do not know.

A rela vely recent speech by President Obama seems to support civil rights and freedom for all na ons, allover the world:

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"A er the second world war people from Africa to India threw off the yoke of colonialism to secure theirindependence. In the United States ci zens took Freedom Rides and endured bea ngs to put an endto segrega on and to secure their civil rights. As the Iron Curtain fell here in Europe, the iron fist ofapartheid was unclenched and NelsonMandela emerged upright, proud, from prison to lead amul racialdemocracy; La n American na ons rejected dictatorship and built new democracies; and Asian na onsshowed that development and democracy could go hand in hand." - [8]President Obama, March 26, 2014

Yet within the United States itself, the venerated CBS reporter Sharyl A kisson has documented repeatedly howthe administra on has [9]done the opposite of what it says. She has said flat out that it treats journalists as an"[10]enemy of the state" simply because they do their jobs. Meanwhile the Commi ee to Protect Journalists said, ina 2013 [11]report, said that "U.S. President Barack Obama came into office pledging open government, but he hasfallen short of his promise."

So which is it? Things are very confusing.

But we can take clues and cues from nearly 100 quotes over the course of a century, from people in a posi on toknow more - from Presidents on down. I cannot confirm these quotes, but they are pause for thought. They are pro-vided in the order theywere obtained, gathered from [12]here and [13]here. If any are inaccurate, please letme know.

1. “Since I entered poli cs, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men inthe United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there isa power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that theybe er not speak above their breath when they speak in condemna on of it”. – Woodrow Wilson (The NewFreedom – 1913)

2. "The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will bewillingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by theWorld Government." - Bilder-berger Conference, Evians, France, 1991

3. "The powers of financial capitalism had another far reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world systemof financial control in private hands able to dominate the poli cal system of each country and the economyof the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of theworld ac ng in concert, by secret agreements, arrived at in frequent private mee ngs and conferences. Theapex of the system was the Bank for Interna onal Se lements in Basle, Switzerland, a private bank owned andcontrolled by the worlds’ central banks which were themselves private corpora ons. The growth of financialcapitalismmade possible a centraliza on of world economic control and use of this power for the direct benefitof financiers and the indirect injury of all other economic groups." - Tragedy and Hope: A History of The Worldin Our Time (Macmillan Company, 1966,) Professor Carroll Quigley of Georgetown University, highly esteemedby his former student, William Jefferson Blythe Clinton.

4. "The drive of the Rockefellers and their allies is to create a one-world government combining supercapitalismand Communism under the same tent, all under their control.... Do I mean conspiracy? Yes I do. I am con-vinced there is such a plot, interna onal in scope, genera ons old in planning, and incredibly evil in intent." -Congressman Larry P. McDonald, 1976, killed in the Korean Airlines 747 that was shot down by the Soviets

5. "In searching for a newenemy to unite us, we cameupwith the idea that pollu on, the threat of global warming,water shortages, famine and the likewould fit the bill. In their totality and in their interac ons these phenomenado cons tute a common threat with demands the solidarity of all peoples. But in designa ng them as theenemy, we fall into the trap about which we have already warned namely mistaking systems for causes. All

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these dangers are caused by human interven on and it is only through changed a tudes and behaviour thatthey can be overcome. The real enemy, then, is humanity itself." - "The First Global Revolu on", A Report bythe Council of the Club of Rome by Alexander King and Bertrand Schneider 1991.

6. "We are grateful to The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publica onswhose directors have a ended our mee ngs and respected their promises of discre on for almost forty years.It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the brightlights of publicity during those years. But, the work is now much more sophis cated and prepared to marchtowards a world government. The suprana onal sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surelypreferable to the na onal autodetermina on prac ced in past centuries." - David Rockefeller, founder of theTrilateral Commission, in an address to a mee ng of The Trilateral Commission, in June, 1991.

7. "In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, in order to contribute somethingto solve overpopula on." - Prince Phillip of England, Reported by Deutsche Press Agentur (DPA), August, 1988.

8. "The idea was that those who direct the overall conspiracy could use the differences in those two so-calledideologies [marxism/fascism/socialism v. democracy/capitalism] to enable them [the Illumina ] to divide largerand larger por ons of the human race into opposing camps so that they could be armed and then brainwashedinto figh ng and destroying each other." - Myron Fagan

9. "Speaking of a future at most only decades away, an experimenter in intelligence control asserted, ’I foresee ame when we shall have the means and therefore, inevitably, the tempta on to manipulate the behavior andintellectual func oning of all the people through environmental and biochemical manipula on of the brain.’" -Zbigniew Brezinski, Between Two Ages, America’s Role in the Technotronic Era 1970

10. "The technetronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would bedominated by an elite, unrestrained by tradi onal values. Soon it will be possible to assert almost con nuoussurveillance over every ci zen and maintain up-to-date complete files containing even the most personal infor-ma on about the ci zen. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authori es." - ZbigniewBrezinski, Between Two Ages, America’s Role in the Technotronic Era 1970

11. "In March, 1915, the J.P. Morgan interests, the steel, shipbuilding, and powder interest, and their subsidiaryorganiza ons, got together 12 men high up in the newspaper world and employed them to select the mostinfluen al newspapers in the United States and sufficient number of them to control generally the policy of thedaily press....They found it was only necessary to purchase the control of 25 of the greatest papers. An agree-ment was reached; the policy of the papers was bought, to be paid for by the month; an editor was furnishedfor each paper to properly supervise and edit informa on regarding the ques ons of preparedness, militarism,financial policies, and other things of na onal and interna onal nature considered vital to the interests of thepurchasers." - U.S. Congressman Oscar Callaway, 1917

12. "I think the subject which will be of most importance poli cally is Mass Psychology. ... It’s importance hasbeen enormously increased by the growth of modern methods of propaganda ... Although this science will bediligently studied, it will be rigidly confined to the governing class (Elite). The populace will not be allowed toknow how its convic ons were generated." - Bertrand Russell, philosopher, educator and atheist

13. "Gradually, by selec ve breeding, the congenital differences between rulers and ruled will increase un l theybecome almost different species. A revolt of the plebs would become as unthinkable as an organized insurrec-on of sheep against the prac ce of ea ngmu on." - Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society (1953)pgs. 49-50

14. "Diet, injec ons, and injunc ons will combine, from a very early age, to produce the sort of character andthe sort of beliefs that the authori es consider desirable, and any serious cri cism of the powers that be willbecome psychologically impossible." - Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society (1953) p. 50

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15. "A total world popula on of 250-300 million people, a 95 % decline from present levels, would be ideal." -Audubon magazine, interview with Ted Turner, 1996

16. "This is a terrible thing to say. In order to stabilize world popula on, wemust eliminate 350,000 people per day.It is a horrible thing to say, but it’s just as bad not to say it." -Jacques Cousteau in an interview with the UNESCOCourier for November 1991

17. "The world can therefore seize the opportunity [Persian Gulf crisis] to fulfill the long-held promise of a NewWorld Order where diverse na ons are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspira onsof mankind." - George Herbert Walker Bush, September 11, 1990 and September 11, 1991

18. "In the next century, na ons as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single, global authority.Na onal sovereignty wasn’t such a great idea a er all." - Strobe Talbot, President Clinton’s Deputy Secretary ofState, as quoted in Time, July 20th, 1992.

19. "Un l the control of the issue of currency and credit is restored to government and recognized as its mostconspicuous and sacred responsibility, all talks of the sovereignty of Parliament and of democracy is idle andfu le... Once a na on parts with the control of its credit, it ma ers not who makes the laws....Usury once incontrol will wreck the na on." - William Lyon MacKenzie King, former Prime Minister of Canada

20. "It was a carefully contrived occurrence. Interna onal bankers sought to bring about a condi on of despair, sothat they might emerge the rulers of us all."" - Louis McFadden on 1929 Stock Market Crash. Louis McFaddendied of poisoning shortly therea er.

21. "We shall have world government whether or not you like it, by conquest or consent." - Statement by Councilon Foreign Rela ons (CFR) member James Warburg to The Senate Foreign Rela ons Commi ee on February17th, 1950

22. "The governments of the present day have to deal not merely with other governments, with emperors, kingsand ministers, but also with the secret socie es which have everywhere their unscrupulous agents, and can atthe last moment upset all the governments’ plans. " - Bri sh Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, 1876

23. "Since I entered poli cs, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men inthe United States, in the Field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that thereis a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, thatthey be er not speak above their breath when they speak in condemna on of it." - WoodrowWilson,The NewFreedom (1913)

24. "I am a most unhappy man. I have unwi ngly ruined my country. A great industrial na on is controlled by itssystem of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the na on, therefore, and all our ac vi esare in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completelycontrolled and dominated governments in the civilized world. No longer a government by free opinion, nolonger a government by convic on and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress ofa small group of dominant men." - President Woodrow Wilson (who introduced the Federal Reserve act whichallowed the privately owned Federal Reserve to begin in 1913)

25. "What is important is to dwell upon the increasing evidence of the existence of a secret conspiracy, throughouttheworld, for the destruc on of organized government and the le ng loose of evil." - Chris an ScienceMonitoreditorial, June 19th, 1920

26. "The real menace of our republic is this invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy lengthover city, state and na on. Like the octopus of real life, it operates under cover of a self created screen....At thehead of this octopus are the Rockefeller Standard Oil interests and a small group of powerful banking housesgenerally referred to as interna onal bankers. The li le coterie of powerful interna onal bankers virtually run

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the United States government for their own selfish purposes. They prac cally control both poli cal par es." -New York City Mayor John F. Hylan, 1922

27. "From the days of Spar cus, Wieskhopf, Karl Marx, Trotsky, Rosa Luxemberg, and Emma Goldman, this worldconspiracy has been steadily growing. This conspiracy played a definite recognizable role in the tragedy of theFrench revolu on. It has been themainspring of every subversivemovement during the 19th century. And nowat last this band of extraordinary personali es from the underworld of the great ci es of Europe and Americahave gripped the Russian people by the hair of their head and have become the undisputed masters of thatenormous empire." - Winston Churchill, stated to the London Press, in 1922.

28. "We are at present working discreetly with all our might to wrest this mysterious force called sovereignty outof the clutches of the local na on states of the world. All the me we are denying with our lips what we aredoing with our hands." - Professor Arnold Toynbee, in a June 1931 speech before the Ins tute for the Study ofInterna onal Affairs in Copenhagen.

29. "The New World Order under the UN will reduce everything to one common denominator. The system will bemade up of a single currency, single centrally financed government, single tax system, single language, singlepoli cal system, single world court of jus ce, single state religion...Each person will have a registered number,without which he will not be allowed to buy or sell; and there will be one universal world church. Anyone whorefuses to take part in the universal system will have no right to exist." - Assessment of the New World by Dr.Kurk E. Koch

30. "The conscious and intelligent manipula on of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an importantelement in democra c society. Those whomanipulate this unseenmechanism of society cons tute an invisiblegovernment which is the true ruling power of our country. ...We are governed, our minds are molded, ourtastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the wayin which our democra c society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this mannerif they are to live together as a smoothly func oning society. ...In almost every act of our daily lives, whetherin the sphere of poli cs or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by therela vely small number of persons...who understand the mental processes and social pa erns of the masses.It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind." - "Propaganda" by Edward L. Bernays (the fatherof modern adver sing), 1928.

31. "The government of the Western na ons, whether monarchical or republican, had passed into the invisiblehands of a plutocracy, interna onal in power and grasp. It was, I venture to suggest, this semioccult powerwhich....pushed the mass of the American people into the cauldron of World War I." - Bri sh military historianMajor General J.F.C. Fuller, 1941

32. "The ques on was how should we maneuver them [Japan] into firing the first shot... it was desirable to makesure the Japanese be the ones to do this so that there should remain no doubt as to who were the aggressors."- Henry S mson, US Secretary of War prior to WWII, Nov. 25, 1941

33. "For a long me I felt that FDR had developed many thoughts and ideas that were his own to benefit thiscountry, the United States. But, he didn’t. Most of his thoughts, his poli cal ammuni on, as it were, werecarefully manufactured for him in advanced by the Council on Foreign Rela ons - One World Money group.Brilliantly, with great gusto, like a fine piece of ar llery, he exploded that prepared "ammuni on" in the middleof an unsuspec ng target, the American people, and thus paid off and returned his interna onalist poli calsupport. The UN is but a long-range, interna onal banking apparatus clearly set up for financial and economicprofit by a small group of powerful One-World revolu onaries, hungry for profit and power. The depressionwasthe calculated ’shearing’ of the public by the World Money powers, triggered by the planned sudden shortageof supply of call money in the New York money market....The One World Government leaders and their everclose bankers have now acquired full control of the money and credit machinery of the U.S. via the crea on of

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the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank." - Cur s Dall, FDR’s son-in-law as quoted in his book, My ExploitedFather-in-Law

34. "Very soon, every American will be required to register their biological property (that’s you and your children)in a na onal system designed to keep track of the people and that will operate under the ancient system ofpledging. By such methodology, we can compel people to submit to our agenda, which will affect our securityas a charge back for our fiat paper currency. Every Americanwill be forced to register or suffer being able toworkand earn a living. They will be our cha els (property) and we will hold the security interest over them forever,by opera on of the law merchant under the scheme of secured transac ons. Americans, by unknowingly orunwi ngly delivering the bills of lading (Birth Cer ficate) to uswill be rendered bankrupt and insolvent, securedby their pledges. They will be stripped of their rights and given a commercial value designed to make us a profitand they will be none the wiser, for not one man in a million could ever figure our plans and, if by accident oneor two should figure it out, we have in our arsenal plausible deniability. A er all, this is the only logical wayto fund government, by floa ng liens and debts to the registrants in the form of benefits and privileges. Thiswill inevitably reap us huge profits beyond our wildest expecta ons and leave every American a contributor tothis fraud, which we will call "Social Insurance". Without realizing it, every American will unknowingly be ourservant, however begrudgingly. The people will become helpless and without any hope for their redemp onand we will employ the high office (presidency) of our dummy corpora on (USA) to foment this plan againstAmerica." - Colonel Edward Mandell House is a ributed (but unverified) with giving a very detailed outlineof the plans to be implemented to enslave the American people. He stated (this), in a private mee ng withWoodrow Wilson (President 1913 - 1921)

35. "The real truth of the ma er is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has ownedthe Government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson." - A le er wri en by FDR to Colonel House, November21st, 1933

36. "The real rulers in Washington are invisible, and exercise power from behind the scenes." - Supreme CourtJus ce Felix Frankfurter, 1952

37. "...at that me the economy of the United States will be going down and the next boat people will be Americansleaving America looking for work abroad." - Jacques A ali in his 1990 book "Millennium: Winners and Losers inthe Coming World Order"

38. "Fi y men have run America, and that’s a high figure." - Joseph Kennedy, father of JFK, in the July 26th, 1936issue of The New York Times.

39. "Today the path of total dictatorship in the United States can be laid by strictly legal means, unseen and unheardby the Congress, the President, or the people. Outwardly we have a Cons tu onal government. We haveopera ng within our government and poli cal system, another body represen ng another form of government- a bureaucra c elite." - Senator William Jenner, 1954

40. "The case for government by elites is irrefutable" - SenatorWilliam Fulbright, Former chairman of the US SenateForeign Rela ons Commi ee, stated at a 1963 symposiumen tled: The Elite and the Electorate - Is Governmentby the People Possible?

41. "The Trilateral Commission is intended to be the vehicle for mul na onal consolida on of the commercial andbanking interests by seizing control of the poli cal government of the United States. The Trilateral Commis-sion represents a skillful, coordinated effort to seize control and consolidate the four centers of power poli cal,monetary, intellectual and ecclesias cal. What the Trilateral Commission intends is to create a worldwide eco-nomic power superior to the poli cal governments of the na onstates involved. As managers and creators ofthe system, they will rule the future." - U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater in his 1964 book: With No Apologies

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42. "The Council on Foreign Rela ons is ’the establishment’. Not only does it have influence and power in keydecision-making posi ons at the highest levels of government to apply pressure from above, but it also an-nounces and uses individuals and groups to bring pressure from below, to jus fy the high level decisions forconver ng the U.S. from a sovereign Cons tu onal Republic into a servile member state of a one-world dicta-torship." - Former Congressman John Rarick 1971

43. "The directors of the CFR (Council on Foreign Rela ons) make up a sort of Presidium for that part of the Estab-lishment that guides our des ny as a na on." - The Chris an Science Monitor, September 1, 1961

44. "The NewWorld Order will have to be built from the bo om up rather than from the top down...but in the endrun around na onal sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece will accomplish much more than the old fashionedfrontal assault." - CFR member Richard Gardner, wri ng in the April 1974 issue of the CFR’s journal, ForeignAffairs.

45. "The planning of UN can be traced to the ’secret steering commi ee’ established by Secretary [of State Cordell]Hull in January 1943. All of the members of this secret commi ee, with the excep on of Hull, a Tennesseepoli cian, were members of the Council on Foreign Rela ons. They saw Hull regularly to plan, select, and guidethe labors of the [State] Department’s Advisory Commi ee. It was, in effect, the coordina ng agency for all theState Department’s postwar planning." - Professors Laurence H. Shoup andWilliamMinter, wri ng in their studyof the CFR, "Imperial Brain Trust: The CFR and United States Foreign Policy." (Monthly Review Press, 1977).

46. "The most powerful clique in these (CFR) groups have one objec ve in common: they want to bring aboutthe surrender of the sovereignty and the na onal independence of the U.S. They want to end na onal bound-aries and racial and ethnic loyal es supposedly to increase business and ensure world peace. What they strivefor would inevitably lead to dictatorship and loss of freedoms by the people. The CFR was founded for "thepurpose of promo ng disarmament and submergence of U.S. sovereignty and na onal independence into anall-powerful one-world government." - Harpers, July 1958

47. "The old world order changed when this war-storm broke. The old interna onal order passed away as suddenly,as unexpectedly, and as completely as if it had been wiped out by a gigan c flood, by a great tempest, or by avolcanic erup on. The old world order died with the se ng of that day’s sun and a new world order is beingborn while I speak, with birth-pangs so terrible that it seems almost incredible that life could come out of suchfearful suffering and such overwhelming sorrow." - Nicholas Murray Butler, in an address delivered before theUnion League of Philadelphia, Nov. 27, 1915

48. "The peace conference has assembled. It will make the most momentous decisions in history, and upon thesedecisions will rest the stability of the new world order and the future peace of the world." - M. C. Alexander,Execu ve Secretary of the American Associa on for Interna onal Concilia on, in a subscrip on le er for theperiodical Interna onal Concilia on (1919)

49. "... when the struggle seems to be dri ing definitely towards a world social democracy, there may s ll bevery great delays and disappointments before it becomes an efficient and beneficent world system. Countlesspeople ... will hate the new world order ... and will die protes ng against it. When we a empt to evaluate itspromise, we have to bear in mind the distress of a genera on or so of malcontents, many of them quite gallantand graceful-looking people." - H. G. Wells, in his book en tled The NewWorld Order (1939)

50. "The term Interna onalism has been popularized in recent years to cover an interlocking financial, poli cal,and economic world force for the purpose of establishing a World Government. Today Interna onalism is her-alded from pulpit and pla orm as a ’League of Na ons’ or a ’Federated Union’ to which the United Statesmust surrender a definite part of its Na onal Sovereignty. The World Government plan is being advocated un-der such alluring names as the ’New Interna onal Order,’ ’The New World Order,’ ’World Union Now,’ ’WorldCommonwealth of Na ons,’ ’World Community,’ etc. All the terms have the same objec ve; however, the lineof approach may be religious or poli cal according to the taste or training of the individual." - Excerpt from A

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Memorial to be Addressed to the House of Bishops and the House of Clerical and Lay Depu es of the ProtestantEpiscopal Church in General Conven on (October 1940)

51. "He [John Foster Dulles] stated directly to me that he had every reason to believe that the Governor [ThomasE. Dewey of New York] accepts his point of view and that he is personally convinced that this is the policy thathe would promote with great vigor if elected. So it is fair to say that on the first round the Sphinx of Albany hasestablished himself as a prima facie champion of a strong and definite new world order." - Excerpt from ar cleby Ralph W. Page in The Philadelphia Bulle n (May 1944)

52. "In poli cs, nothing happens by accident. If it happened, you can bet it was planned that way." - U.S. PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt

53. "The developing coherence of Asian regional thinking is reflected in a disposi on to consider problems andloyal es in regional terms, and to evolve regional approaches to development needs and to the evolu on of anew world order." - Richard Nixon, in Foreign Affairs (October 1967)

54. "He [President Nixon] spoke of the talks as a beginning, saying nothing more about the prospects for futurecontacts and merely reitera ng the belief he brought to China that both na ons share an interest in peace andbuilding ’a new world order.’" - Excerpt from an ar cle in The New York Times (February 1972)

55. "How fortunate for Leaders’ that men do not think." - Adolf Hitler (MAY HIS NAME AND MEMORY BE ERASEDFOREVER AND EVER)

56. "The exis ng order is breaking down at a very rapid rate, and themain uncertainty is whethermankind can exerta posi ve role in shaping a new world order or is doomed to await collapse in a passive posture. We believe anew order will be born no later than early in the next century and that the death throes of the old and the birthpangs of the new will be a tes ng me for the human species."- Richard A. Falk, in an ar cle en tled "Towarda New World Order: Modest Methods and Dras c Visions," in the book On the Crea on of a Just World Order(1975)

57. "My country’s history, Mr. President, tells us that it is possible to fashion unity while cherishing diversity, thatcommon ac on is possible despite the variety of races, interests, and beliefs we see here in this chamber.Progress and peace and jus ce are a ainable. So we say to all peoples and governments: Let us fashion to-gether a new world order." - Henry Kissinger, in address before the General Assembly of the United Na ons,October 1975)

58. "At the old Inter-American Office in the Commerce Building here in Roosevelt’s me, as Assistant Secretary ofState for La n American Affairs under President Truman, as chief whip with Adlai Stevenson and Tom Finle erat the founding of the United Na ons in San Francisco, Nelson Rockefeller was in the forefront of the struggleto establish not only an American system of poli cal and economic security but a new world order." - Part ofar cle in The New York Times (November 1975)

59. "Further global progress is now possible only through a quest for universal consensus in themovement towardsa new world order." - Mikhail Gorbachev, in an address at the United Na ons (December 1988)

60. "We believe we are crea ng the beginning of a new world order coming out of the collapse of the U.S.-Sovietantagonisms." - Brent Scowcro (August 1990), quoted in The Washington Post (May 1991)

61. "We can see beyond the present shadows of war in theMiddle East to a newworld order where the strongworktogether to deter and stop aggression. This was precisely Franklin Roosevelt’s and Winston Churchill’s visionfor peace for the post-war period." - Richard Gephardt, in The Wall Street Journal (September 1990)

62. "If we do not follow the dictates of our inner moral compass and stand up for human life, then his lawlessnesswill threaten the peace and democracy of the emerging new world order we now see, this long dreamed-ofvision we’ve all worked toward for so long." - President George Bush (January 1991)

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