Microsoft Lays Off Thousands Of Workers

israelIn the News (from The Rediff News):Microsoft plans to lay off 5,000” Less than four months after announcing plans to slash 5,000 jobs, software giant Microsoft has warned of more job cuts depending on the impact of the economic slowdown. “As we move forward, we will continue to closely monitor the impact of the economic downturn on the company and if necessary, take further actions on our cost structure, including additional job eliminations,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in a memo to employees on Tuesday.

My Comment: The same thing is happening all over. Meanwhile, we’re led to believe that the crisis is over and everything is fine.

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The Crisis May Soon Bankrupt Entire Nations

european-unionIn the News (from The World Socialist Website):Europe faces ever deepening recession” The cost of bailouts and declining tax revenues due to the slump has led to a spiraling of government deficits, which collectively have hit 2.3 percent of GDP for the 27-nation EU. The government debt to GDP ratio increased from 66 percent at the end of 2007 to 69.3 percent in the euro zone and from 58.7 percent to 61.5 percent in the EU… According to figures compiled by [the Dutch newspaper] NRC Handelsblad, Italy’s national debt is already well in excess of its GDP, Greece is approaching this figure and Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal and Austria all top 60 percent of GDP… Several countries have already gone cap-in-hand to the IMF, including Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Latvia and the Ukraine.

My Comment: There are many more unpleasant surprises ahead, and if we keep closing our eyes to them, we will keep hurting ourselves.

Because people haven’t found the remedy for the crisis, they are choosing to ignore it. But in the meantime, the illness is spreading. Let’s put forth all our efforts to let everyone know that there is a remedy, and by using it, we can quickly cure ourselves!

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“Angel” And “Devil” Parts Of The Brain Battle For Supremacy Inside Us

crisis5In the News (from The Telegraph): People have “angel” and “devil” parts of the brain that are in constant battle over their self control, a study has shown. The “angel” area is strong in individuals with good self control but less pronounced in the weak-willed… The angel section leads a person to weigh abstract considerations such as “healthiness” against the basic desires of the devil part when craving rich food… Those whose “angels” did not speak loudly enough chose the tastier foods, regardless of nutritional value.

Dr. Antonio Rangel, from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), whose research appears in the journal Science, said: “From the perspective of modern neuroscience, the question becomes, ‘what is special about the circuitry of brains that can exercise good behavioural self-control?'”

My Comment: Actually, it doesn’t matter what is special about it, since we cannot change the brain. The brain is just an executing mechanism that’s activated by a prior decision that one makes: one assesses the goal he is going for and how important that goal is. And the latter already depends on one’s free choice: whether he will place himself under the influence of a society that will restructure his priorities.

This is how we were created in order to be able to discover the need to surround ourselves with the right environment and to build a complete connection with one another. This way – under the influence of others – one can safeguard oneself from bad decisions and behaviors, and consequently, from suffering.

For more on this, see the section, “The Influence of the Environment,” in the article “The Freedom.”

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The Rise Of The Stock Markets Is An Outright Lie

a-reshimo-is-ones-complete-future-stateA question I received: In today’s world, the leaders of the big financial companies receive bonuses by the millions. Having received the government’s bailout money, they are using it to their advantage – increasing their personal wealth and not depriving themselves of anything, while the ordinary citizens pay for their mistakes.

My Answer: That’s right! And it will only get worse until we recognize that our egoism is evil. Without this recognition, we will not be able to progress. This is why we will see things get even worse: the “big guys” will try to suck us completely dry, leaving us with just the minimal means for existence.

Everyone thinks that these companies can continue to exist in their current condition, if only they fix a little something here and there, with the help of a government-sponsored, bribed commission. We will continue to pour many more billions of dollars into these companies, until every country will find itself on the brink of collapse and bankruptcy.

In the end, we will reveal the enormous evil that lies within this egoistic regulation, and humanity will then concede that it’s necessary to eliminate this kind of regulation. Therefore, the most important thing for us is to reveal the evil of our egoism faster.

In the meantime, the global financial game continues as we watch the stock indexes rise. But has the manufacturing industry resumed normal functioning? Everything has been shut down. Are they selling more oil? No – because the manufacturing industry, its main consumer, is dysfunctional. Everything is going down, but for some reason, the stocks are on the rise. What is going on here?

People are using any situation that comes their way with a blind approach: no matter what, I must make a profit! But tomorrow, they might have to throw their millions out as they won’t be worth anything! But who cares about tomorrow – today this money means everything to me!

There is no other way for people to see things, because egoism does not sense or see what will happen tomorrow. And so the game continues.

In addition, we have to understand that the financial world does not have a method of coping with the problem. The people there do not understand the changes that are going on. They only know that the profit they receive today is their profit. And if they don’t make a profit, someone else will. This is the law of competition: either I win or you. And since neither the government, nor the society, nor the entire economic system have a solution, they all continue this game. Not continuing it is not an option: they can’t shut down the stock exchanges, at least not now when there is a guise of a recovery. But in truth, the descent continues: statistics show that there is a decline in production. So what is the reason for the rise in stock market? It’s happening because of speculation.

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Why Are Most Israelis Opposed To Their Nation’s Traditional Customs?

why-are-there-so-many-different-words-in-the-torahIn the News (from Haaretz):The majority backs civil marriage” The vast majority of the Jewish community (65 percent) supports civil marriage. Among those who describe themselves as “traditional,” just over 50 percent support civil marriage. Among religious and ultra-Orthodox respondents,13 percent supported it. Among the secular, about 90 percent support it.

My Comment: This is a result of people’s adverse reaction to the religious decree governing marriage in Israel, and the absence of the proper, conventional education that nurtures love and respect of Israel’s traditions. The people’s attitudes to the Jewish traditions would improve a great deal if religion was separated from government. Giving people orders and using violent methods is not the way to have people develop the proper attitude to their cultural traditions correctly!

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My Meeting With NYU Professor Gary Marcus

This week I had a meeting with Dr. Gary Marcus, Professor of Psychology at New York University and Director of the Infant Language Learning Center. He is also the author of books and scientific articles concerning his research on the cognitive development of the mind.

gary-marcus