BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

B"H -------- Each of us builds our own prison or our own palace. Every conscious thought, every utterance of our lips, every interaction of ours with the world leaves its imprint upon an aura that surrounds each of us and stays with us wherever we go. All life, all blessing, all that is transmitted from Above must pass through that aura. Even if it be the greatest of blessings, the aura may distort it into ugly noise. Or it may resonate and amplify it even more. An aura of beauty attracts beauty. An aura of love attracts love. An aura of life and joy attracts unbounded light. Only you are the master of that aura. Only you have the permission and the power at any moment to transform your thoughts from the ugly to the beautiful, your words from bitter to sweet, your deeds from death to life. And so too, your entire world. A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe - words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman

b y Ze'ev Segal The grave indictment against former prime minister Ehud Olmert was written in anger. The outrage of its drafters, three devoted civil servants - State Prosecutor Moshe Lador, Jerusalem District Attorney Eli Abarbanel and Abarbanel's deputy, Uri Corb - comes clearly through the text. It is not often that an indictment against a senior public figure accused of fraud, deceit and abusing his position and status is worded the way this one is. The gravity of the consolidated indictment, comprising three different cases, lies not in the serious offenses they detail, involving fraudulent record-keeping and fraudulent receipt of funds. Rather, it lies in the aggravating circumstances under which the offenses were allegedly committed. The very serious charges leveled in one case, the Rishon Tours double-billing affair, list these aggravating circumstances one by one: "abuse of his position and status, the scope of the fraud and the systematic manner in which it was c

The old name for this was scapegoating... and it continues on, unabated. In fact, we only need to look at those closest to us and at our elected politicians to see this unfortunate tactic is still in full force everyday. Right, - how about the 'flag' list BARRY? by Kathy Krajco Something all abusers, destructive narcissists or bullies do. And are all too often believed. Projection is a new name for an old thing, scapegoating. In this section I just explain it in general terms, with examples. In the next section, we zero-in on how narcissists project and what is unique about the way they do it. Projection. We find it everywhere. Which should be no surprise. It's actually the oldest trick in The Book. Really. The Serpent pulled it on Eve in the Book of Genesis when, in the very act of lying to Eve, he accused God of being the liar. Here's how the story goes. The serpent had just suggested that Eve eat the Forbidden Fruit, and she replied that God told them not to becau

Aaron Klein World Net Daily Hamas has strongly denied Internet rumors and blog reports claiming the Islamist group last week held a mass ceremony at which little girls were married off. A video circulating on the Internet (above), titled “Hamas shocking mass wedding for 450 little girls,” purports to show children who appear to be about eight to ten years old being married off in a mass Hamas ceremony last week. Little girls in what appear to be wedding dresses are filmed arriving in cars and then walking down the isle with the grooms. The video and related pictures generated scores of blog postings making similar claims that Hamas was marrying off hundreds of little girls. WND received a large volume of e-mail asking the news organization to investigate. Hamas indeed held a mass ceremony last Thursday in which nearly a thousand Palestinians celebrated marriage. Many of the families involved said they could not afford their own wedding party. Each groom received a present of about $500

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy I have a hard time figuring out what to say about Ted Kennedy and his passing. On the one hand, my like my own Dad of blessed memory - he was all about his family. He proved to be a supportive father to his children and friend to other family members. His funeral Mass in Boston was very reminiscent of things about my own Father's Funeral in April 2003. But like my Dad, Ted had his problems. But Ted Kennedy's were much worse. I don't think there is any forgiveness for a man who leaves someone in a car to drown off a Chappaquidick bridge. Mary Jo is said to have lived for 2 hours in that car - enough time to get help. Yet Ted went to bed and didn't report it until morning. I am grateful for the bills he helped pass for Mental Healthcare Parity and helping the disabled. But his personal conduct? One could say he was "just a human being" - but I don't know too many human beings

From the FOREVER GREAT, INCOMPARABLE Uppity Woman : No kidding. You can’t make this shit up. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal government sent about 3,900 economic stimulus payments of $250 each this spring to people who were in no position to use the money to help stimulate the economy: prison inmates. In addition to paying for the food, lodging and weight room for some of Americas most vile subhumans, you will be happy to know you helped them out with stimulus checks so that they can purchase their cigarettes and drugs and keep that old prison economy running smoothly. Prison inmates are generally ineligible for federal benefits. However, 2,200 of the inmates who received checks got to keep them because, under the law, they were eligible, said Mark Lassiter, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration. They were eligible because they weren’t incarcerated in any one of the three months before the recovery package was enacted. “The law specified that any beneficiary eligibl

Many professedly religious communities, Catholics, Jews and Evangelicals - often close ranks around an abuser. Sexual abuser, harrasser, misogynist, wife beater, verbal abuser, exploiter of the vulnerable, etc. This is wrong . It invalidates victims and their families causing untold psychological harm. When the victims speak out they are called LIARS and their stories are minimized by powerful and duplicitous people. Silence about a wrong is COMPLICITY in my book. When you don't speak out about something that's very wrong - you are not being polite, avoiding Lashon Hara or 'minding your own business' - you are being a lemming and enabling more abuse. - Barbara Here's one of my all time favorite quotes: "Powerful and sneaky people use apologies as end runs around repentance. They betray a trust; and, when they have been found out, they say they are sorry for "mistakes in judgment"... They get by only because we have lost our sense of the differenc

by Gene Messick Frequent arrest of Senators and Congressmen forces a question that has been far too long ignored: How do we deal with sociopaths in our government? Most Americans have a mistaken belief that sociopaths in America are a rare breed, that they are wild eyed, murderous lunatics who are regularly recognized, put away or executed. Most unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. What's a sociopath? Why do we not recognize them for what they are? How do we protect ourselves from them? Reading early FBI descriptions of the crime spree of Illinois Governor Blagojevich and other accomplices is like reading a 3rd rate piece of horror pulp fiction: surely, this did not actually happen! How could this go on and the many people involved NOT know that what they were doing was wrong? How could anyone believe that such cynical behavior as trying to sell a Senatorial Seat is acceptable in America today? To understand this fully, we must first understand what a sociopath i

And just let me add: 1 in 10 women - of puberty age and beyond - suffering from disorders like PCOS. Just like me. And PCOS makes weight loss almost impossible. But that doesn't mean we PCOSers don't eat healthy! Anyone who spends any time with me knows I am not a candy or carboholic. I am not swimming in ice cream, bread and diet soda either. I eat a lot of vegetables - some of them I grow myself, buy my meat either Kosher or from my local CSA , and enjoy beans, grains and seeds as well as plenty of fresh fruit and flavored seltzer. PETA can go ***** themselves. Oh wait, they just did. PETA: Making women feel bad about themselves by Monica Jean Alaniz The following appeared on PETA’s blog “The PETA Files.” It refers to a new ad campaign put out by the non-profit organization: Lose the Blubber: Go Vegetarian. For most of us, summer is fading fast, but for residents of Jacksonville, Florida, bikini season lasts all year. What does the Sunshine State’s endless summer m

I could go on & on about the egregious treatment I've had over my disability from insurance companies. Despite test after test after test proving I was disabled. But I won't. Now come on, would anyone with any intelligence really want to live on the pittance that Social Security Disability pays? I used to make close to $60K a year and that was in 1995! When I landed a commercial acting job? Heck... I'd be good for $50K on top of paralegaling work. And insurance companies & big pharma! Feh! Everyone protects them until they or someone they care about gets sick... then they learn the truth and that people like me aren't just "chicken littles." So WAKE UP before someone you love's life's value is being questioned by corporations who don't even know them! This attitude, by even disability insurers - IMHO - killed my net-friend Dr. Judy Morris last year. She fought the good fight too . At least my major surgery this May? My insurer paid e

A HEARTFELT THANK YOU!!! This weekend my other blog got it's 500,000th hit. That's 1/2 a Million hits in the 6 years since I opened that site to the public. I am honored and awed that so many have found resources and answers there. I am moved often to tears by the thank you emails I get from women & men who found the strength and information they needed to reclaim their lives there. I started that blog in November, 2003 as a way to keep my own personal research on abuse private and out of view from people around me, including my abusive ex. As a voracious reader and a research junkie... I needed answers and I got them. Five years ago I was (for hopefully the LAST time in my life), 'emotionally & psychologically raped' by a narcissistic sociopath. A man who I had cared for more than 1/2 my life and had no idea of his true nature for 27 years. I was left feeling very used & alone with no one to trust. Particularly myself. I made a decision to open this si

Like all victims and survivors, I would be lying if I didn't say I have asked "why me?" many times in my life. I fail to see what I ever did to deserve the abuse, smears, lies and cruelty I have endured. I have tried to live an upright life. Unfortunately I am very empathetic -- which makes me vulnerable and have been coerced and manipulated, only seeing the truth when I took off the blinders. I have had good things happen in my life. The biggest being my children, who are the light of my life. But my marriage failed, every relationship I had failed, a couple failed friendships, my health failed... so it is difficult not to see life as a failure. My conversion to Judaism truly feels like the right thing to do. It is difficult because Judaism is family oriented and I really have no family to share things with. But I achieve satisfaction and purpose in helping others. Without the horrendous verbal, physical, sexual and psychological abuse I have endured - I doubt I w